The SAGA of Ragnar Hairy Pants

Xelee · **Posted:** Fri Dec 30, 2011 7:26 am

I got SAGA for Christmas and have put paint on my Warlords and got some games in.

Quote:

My lord Ragnar had heard the womanish Christians would be indoors for Christmas. So he took some long-boats and marched us through the snows to find glory and plunder.

On the road to York we saw a large farmstead - promising food, loot and warmth.

We also found a band of local warriors, roused from their mothers' skirts....

Full report here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.com/2011/12/s ... .html#more

Thanks for reading.

valpas · **Posted:** Fri Dec 30, 2011 8:19 am

That was a good read, thanks for sharing. The game looks like it has been properly designed to fit the dark ages instead of just splashing a couple of special rules on top of a generic system. After reading so many Bernard Cornwell's danes vs. saxons books a couple of months ago this battle report was especially interesting.

-- Pasi

Xelee · **Posted:** Fri Dec 30, 2011 7:31 pm

Cheers Pasi,

Yes there are a lot of good choices, systemwise, these days. There are also plenty of good plastics out there so that we can afford to provide both armies to show new games to our mates/club!

Skirmish isn't usually my thing but I like this game.

Jamros · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2012 5:51 pm

That was quite an enjoyable read

So is SAGA pretty simple, in terms of complexity? It seems like you guys were able to pick up the rules rather quickly.

Xelee · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2012 7:28 pm

Hi Jamros, thanks.

Yes the rules are pretty straightforward: You activate units one by one (or two, if the warlord and another unit together) and then complete all their actions before moving on to the next. Each faction only will have about 4-5 different types of unit and the broad classes of units are very similar across factions. So the only complicated bit is how to use the abilities in the battleboard to best effect. Vikings are pretty straightforward - charge in and fight but Anglo-Danes took a couple of games to figure out as they need to play for a longer game to work.

The main thing is though that it is pretty fun and the Dark Ages are a great period.

Jamros · **Posted:** Mon Jan 02, 2012 8:04 pm

Reminds me a bit of Warmaster. Thanks for the info!

Xelee · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 4:21 am

Quote:

Ragnar seems to call on the favour of all the gods of Asgard at will!

Now the darkened skies wash blood-red and I can hear the howls of Fenrir on the wind.

Behind me, the Berserkers clamour and yell and Ragnar gives a bloodcurdling cry and we are all caught up in Ullr's call to glory.

Full report of Ragnar's latest exploits here: http://roughwotr.blogspot.co.nz/2012/01/saga-of-ragnar-hairy-pants-ii.html#more

Thanks for reading.

Sticky Fingersss · **Joined:** Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:20 am **Posts:** 1072

Those cards look really cool. How do they effect the game?

Xelee · **Posted:** Tue Jan 10, 2012 8:24 pm

Hi Sticky Fingersss, the Cards (they call them Battleboards) pretty much are the game.

You get a dice pool then allocate dice (you do all your allocation then do the 'wargame bit') to do things like activate units etc but the board also has a range of a abilities that are different for each faction. So I was using mine to stack up abilities on that warrior unit I sent running at those Knights early on, he used it back when he crushed the warriors, then I used it to make my Thralls fight better, he used it to get a big charge with his cav then.... that photo shows what a big turn you can have if you really want to concentrate on something. So dice are a big resource and how you allocate them matters a lot. It is a situational tradeoff between moving enough units and getting key units to do really well.

Cheers

Sticky Fingersss · **Joined:** Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:20 am **Posts:** 1072

That's a pretty cool and original (i havn't seen that before but I could very well be wrong) idea. I might nick that idea if I were to create a new game!

Jamros · **Posted:** Thu Jan 12, 2012 4:27 am

Great read once again Xelee!

Xelee · **Posted:** Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:38 am

@ Sticky Fingers, it is basically a 'dice pool' mechanic which I have seen in some RPGs and I am also told is used in boardgames. The battle-board type thing (kind of like having cards) is from that type of euro-boardgame design. I daresay we could do with some more designers with a boardgame background to come up with new miniatures games.

@ Jamros, thanks. I loved actually commanding Ragnar when he was winning!

The SAGA of Ragnar Hairy Pants

Who is online