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equips them with the best weapons and conducts the riskiest operations. His father is proud of him,
I can see it when he looks at him. And because the great king Eadwine loves war too.
Cyning Eadwine of Deira is more than a man, when you stand at his side, you don't feel small, like
with his son, you feel like the luckiest person in the world, even if it's just to serve as a footstool for
mounting his horse.
Eadwine is tall, despite the years weighing down upon him, lean like a staff pole, and his hair has
barely grayed despite being near 50. Eadwine is the king of Bernaccia and Deira, the most powerful
man of the Angle & Saxon Brittania...he is Brytenwalda.
In another time I knew him well, he and his sons, I was a priest of Woden and I gave counsel, and
thanks to that I knew how to keep myself far from war.
Then, politics caused Eadwine to convert to Christianity, though his heart remained pagan, and I left
his side.
He gave me a farm in the lands of his son Osfrith and made me his serf. I took a wife and I
dedicated myself to ploughing and bringing children into the world. Until today, when they claimed
me in the levy to face the most important battle of our time.
I hear the horns and the sweat begins to bead on my forehead, while the first welshmen appear
between the trees on a hill. Here comes Cadwallon ap Cadfan, the Brenin of Gwynedd, the High
King of the Britons. I had hoped that our enemies would not accept the battle that day, but I was
mistaken.
Gwynedd commands the best men of the welsh kingdom, hundreds of spears that hate us for
stealing their lands, even though it happened hundreds of years before they were born.
If Eadwine is a titan, the best king that the Angles know, Cadwallon is his alter ego, a legend among
his people, able to unite the welsh and drive them towards victory. Some say that he's a second
Arthur, but I don't think that anyone had caused such a great loss to our people before.
Cadwallon, gods curse him, had killed more Angles than all the previous kings put together.
Without him, Eadwine would have long since subjugated the lands of the north, and all these wars
would have been finished. But Cadwallon and Eadwine are two suns who struggle to shine, two
giants for whom the world is too small, and when they die, their war will continue in the Waelcyrge.
But the men who say that are fools.
Together with Cadwallon comes Penda with his army, Cyning Penda with the Angles of The March,
our brothers from the south who prefer to fight at the side of the welshmen, but to repay them like
always we have tried to steal their livestock and their women.
They say that Penda is a rising star, that he'll never be as great as Eadwine or Cadwallon, but he'll
survive when both stars go out.
I have never seen Penda, but I've heard things. They say that he's a born warrior, a man without
scruples who desires to be Brytenwalda above all other things.
I have heard that he is a hard man, strong like a mule...and I have heard that his mother was a Briton
and that he feels more Briton than Angle.
Now he comes at the head of his people to massacre us.
If only I had been born in another time, less overshadowed by the terror of weapons, where I could
read books or sit around the hearth, listening to stories about an age of heroes, about how Eadwine
and Cadwallon faced each other, near Caer Daun, in the Final Battle. But that's not how it is, and the
horns sound out around me calling out to war.
There are some priests (Eadwine permits it, now that he's Christian) delivering blessings among the
troops, who accept them with fervour, prepared to try to receive the blessings of the old gods just as
5
Brittania denique subito duabus gentibus transmarinis vehementer svis, Scottorum a circio,
Pictorum ab aquilone, multos stupet gemitque per annos.
-The Venerable Bede,
In the meantime, three vessels, exiled from Germany, arrived in Britain. They were commanded by
Horsa and Hengist, brothers, and sons of Wihtgils. Wihtgils was the son of Witta; Witta of Wecta;
Wecta of Woden; Woden of Frithowald; Frithowald of Frithuwulf; Frithuwulf of Finn; Finn of
Godwulf; Godwulf of Geat, who, as they say, was the son of a god, not of the omnipotent God and
our Lord Jesus Christ (who before the beginning of the world, was with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, co-eternal and of the same substance, and who, in compassion to human nature, disdained
not to assume the form of a servant), but the offspring of one of their idols, and whom, blinded by
some demon, they worshipped according to the custom of the heathen. Vortigern received them as
friends, and delivered up to them the island which is in their language called Thanet, and, by the
Britons, Ruym. Gratianus Aequantius at that time reigned in Rome. The Saxons were received by
Vortigern, four hundred and forty-seven years after the passion of Christ, and, according to the
tradition of our ancestors, from the period of their first arrival in Britain, to the first year of the
reign of king Edmund, five hundred and forty-two years; and to that in which we now write, which
is the fifth of his reign, five hundred and forty-seven years.
-Nennius. Historia Brittonum.
Introduction
Tabletop
This is the place where you will fight your
battles. The field of battle can be as simple as a
table covered by green fabric or as sophisticated
as a hobby project with modular terrain. The size
of the tabletop will vary depending on the scale
of your miniatures and the size of your
warbands. For small battles between two forces
of around 600 solidus, a 60x60cm board may be
used.
In bigger battles with around 1.000 or more
solidus per warband a larger table will be
8
Tokens
Although not necessary, tokens may come in
handy to remember which units have already
performed an action during that turn. They will
be also useful to indicate a shieldwall formation.
Scenery
If you do not want to play your battles over a
desert wasteland, you will need scenery.
You can choose among a great variety of
elements. Common features in Dark Ages
Britain would be hills, rivers and streams,
marshes, buildings (maybe go into more detail
about what types of buildings, i.e. stone,
thatched-roof, etc.) and forests.
Some of these terrain features have their own
rules, which will be explained later.
two actions:
1.Switch the positions of two pieces of terrain.
This does not allow you to relocate a terrain
feature to an empty quadrant.
2.Eliminate one of the elements. The attacker
can choose one of the terrain features placed by
the defender and remove it from the battlefield.
Profiles
Troop
Movement
This is the distance in centimetres that this unit
can move across open terrain. When a model
marches or charges this measure is doubled.
Combat
This characteristic indicates how good the
warriors are when fighting a melee. This number
is added to the combat dice roll.
Defence
Indicates how well protected the warrior is,
including factors such as armor, physique, and
10
Quality
This characteristic is a measure of the
professionalism and training of the warriors.
Quality is used to measure another important
statistic, a warriors guts.
Talents
This category includes the equipment carried by
the warriors, as well as any special skills they
may have.
Solidus
This is the cost of each model that makes up the
unit. The measure is estimated in Solidus (an old
Roman currency). Solidus function in the same
way as points in most wargames, measuring
the overall effectiveness of units and armies.
Tier
The level of each troop type. There are two
types, conscripts and veterans.
Characteristics Tests
Sometimes you will be required to perform
Quality or Defence tests. To do so, simply roll a
die; if the result is equal to or less than the
corresponding characteristic, you have
succeeded.
Talents
Considering the scale of Brytenwalda, a
warriors training, morale, and equipment will be
the difference between success and defeat.
Talents are a way of measuring these
differences.
Temperance. These troops have a strong temper
and are able to hold their ground in situations
where other units would fail. Units with the
Temperance talent may reroll one failed Quality
check each turn.
Scouts. These warriors scout ahead of the main
army to inspect the ground and warn their fellow
troops of potential ambushes. Troops with the
Scouts talent are deployed after both armies have
deployed all other troops, except for the
Explorers, and must be deployed in a piece of
terrain in their half of the game board. If there is
no terrain in their half of the board, they must be
deployed with the rest of the army.
Ferocity. Some troops are especially fierce and
will fight any enemy. Fierce troops add +1 to the
Combat value of the unit.
Brutality. In any society there are always
individuals who are likely to solve problems
with more strength than skill. Troops with the
Brutality talent reduce the Quality of their
enemies by 2 whey taking a morale check after
loosing a combat.
Impetuous. If a unit with the Impetuous talent is
within charge range of an enemy unit that it may
legally charge, that unit must pass a Quality
check or charge against it immediately. If the
11
Units in Detail
Unit Sizes
Units are divided into four types according to
their size: a team (3 miniatures), a group (6
miniatures), a band (9 miniatures) and a horde
(12 miniatures). Whatever its size, it is
considered a unit for all purposes. The
maximum number allowed to be allocated in the
first rank will be always five, regardless of the
size of the unit.
5 2 3 4 - 30
Troop M C D Q T S
Vet
5 3 4 5 - 40
Infantry
Most of the warriors fought on foot during this
period. Although some were more skilled or
better equipped, most fought in a very similar
manner.
Archers
A unit armed with bows considered archers, and
can make ranged attacks. They can also fight in
close combat, but suffer a -1 penalty to their
Combat and Defence characteristics.
They may be either conscripts or veterans.
Cavalry
Cavalry units are mounted troops, so they are
able to move more quickly through the
battlefield. They are especially good when
charging, so they receive a bonus of +1 to their
Combat characteristic the turn they charge. They
also get a Movement value of 10cm.
Heroes
Heroes are elite warriors with exceptional skills.
They may be included in any unit to boost its
combat power. Each warband may include up to
6 characters, including a chieftain.
12
Chieftains
Each warband is led by a chieftain, who directly
represents the player on the battlefield. The
Chieftain is the commanding officer and his
orders dictate the armys performance. It is
mandatory to include one chieftain per warband,
no more, no less.
The Romans have no concern for us, so we will
concern for ourselves. Good men and good
faith is all we will need.
Saint Patrick
Heroes in the
battlefield
Both the chieftain and other heroes should be
deployed inside a unit. These men represent the
heros retinue, and they will not abandon him,
thus linking his fate with his companions.
You can include up to a maximum of two heroes
in each unit.
Orders System
The troops do not move through the battlefield
on their own will, nor are they directed any
heroes that have joined their unit. Instead, all
units will obey the orders of the army chieftain,
the brave strategist who will enjoy the spoils of
victory or the infamy of defeat.
The command structure of a warband is formed
by the chieftain and the other heroes.
Both the chieftain and the other heroes in the
army should be represented by suitably
outstanding miniatures, so they may be
identified amongst their troops.
Giving orders
As mentioned above, an army will follow the
orders of their chieftain to act effectively on the
battlefield, otherwise they would remain in place
or charge against the enemy as a directionless
crowd.
To coordinate the actions of the troops the
chieftain will give orders to his men during the
battle.
The chieftain may give one order per turn to
each of his units within his command radius of
30cm.
It is very important to note that each unit may
only receive a single order each turn, a group of
soldiers may get quite confused if they receive
contradictory orders.
Charge!
Halt!
Type of orders
The chieftain can give several types of orders.
Some orders are specific to a particular troop
type, for example a unite of spearmen can not
receive the order, Shoot! because they do not
have any kind of projectile weapons.
As we said each unit can only receive one order
per turn, when they receive a new order they will
forget the previous one and will begin to follow
the new.
Available commands are:
Forward!
This is the most basic order. The unit can move
in any direction as long they keep the same
formation and no miniature move more than its
movement value.
Shieldwall!
Only shield bearing units may perform a
shieldwall. The unit receiving this order must
stop in that turn. Place a token to indicate that
the warriors are forming a shieldwall. Warriors
on shieldwall cannot march nor charge as long
the formation lasts. Warriors forming a
shieldwall will add +1 to their Defence value
when shot by missile weapons. Warriors
forming a shieldwall will not recoil when
loosing a combat..
Fire!
Only units bearing missile weapons.
A unit with missile weapons will shoot the
nearest enemies if they have not received any
further orders. When they receive Shoot! May
shoot at any enemy within their range and line
of sight.
March on!
As Forward!, But movement value will be
double and the whole movement should be
straight. All units charged while executing
March on! Will suffer a -1 penalty in their
Combat, Defence and Quality values during the
first round of the melee. Cavalry unites man not
March on! Through difficult terrain.
Move back!
This order can only be performed by cavalry
engaged in combat with infantry. Cavalry may
break off from melee and march straight back.
They will keep marching in the same direction
as long as they do not receive a new order.
14
Shooting
Units armed with missile weapons can shoot at
enemy units if they receive the appropriate order.
Legal targets
In order to be targeted by a unit of archers, an
enemy unit must meet the following criteria:
- Be within range of fire of the shooter.
- Be within line of fire of the shooter.
Brytenwalda does not use the dear old IGOUGO -Not be engaged in close combat.
(I go you go) turn system. Instead of that, both
players will share the same turn.
Ranges
Both players roll a dice and the winner will get
The are two kinds of missile weapons in
the initiative that turn. The player with the
Brytenwalda: bows and throwing weapons.
initiative will choose one of his or her units; that
-Bows (including crossbows and all kinds of
unit will attempt to perform their order. Then
bows) 30cm.
the other player will get the initiative and will
-Throwing weapons (including javelins,
give an order to any of his or her units.
franciscas and so on) 15cm.
Place a token next to units that have already
These ranges determinate the distance of
received an order this turn to remind yourself
effective fire. This does not mean that a longer
that they cannot be activated again until next
distance cannot be reached, but it pretends to
turn. A player may choose not to give a new
show that these kind of shoots would be erratics
order to a unit if he or she wants the unit to
and little effective.
continue performing the previous order, or wants
Remember that you can measure distances
them to stand still. If one player fields more units
whenever you want.
that the opponent, he or she may also give orders
to any units left after the enemy finishes his or
her last activation. When all units have received Line of sight
The line of sight determinates which targets can
their orders, the turn is over and initiative is
be in sight and can be chosen as a valid
rolled for again.
objective. Line of sight may be blocked by:
A unit engaged in a melee maybe chose to fight -High terrain. Features such as forests, hills and
The turn
15
Linked shooting
Shooting
Once you have determined your target, you may
roll the dice to see if you hit and how badly they
are damaged.
Both the shooter and the target must follow a
simple procedure:
Shooter:
Add the number of miniatures in the unit plus
the units Quality value plus 1D6
Target:
Add the number of miniatures in the unit plus
the number of heroes in the unit plus the units
Quality value plus 1D6
Supporting unit
Any supporting unit, no matter how big or
small, just adds its number of miniatures to the
total score.
Charging
17
Accidental Charges
Units are not allowed to move into contact with
the enemy without being given the Charge!
order. In the event that a movement would lead
them to contact with an enemy unit, stop them at
5cms away from the nearest enemy model.
If a unit reacts to a charge by fleeing, the
charging unit may redirect their charge against a
new enemy unit that is located in the path of the
charge. The new target of the charge has not
enough time to do anything but stand still.
Saxons on all sides into disgrace will come;
their age has passed away; there is not a
country. Death has been accomplished to the
black auxiliary.
Armes Prydein Vawr, Book of Taliesin
Close combat
This is the most exciting phase, the troops are
finally face to face and can settle disputes manto-man at a very personal distance.
The combat in the ancient world is not as epic as
the movies and novels can make us think, the
fighters were more concerned about staying alive
than killing their enemies. A warrior will try to
keep his body as safe as possible behind his
shield; stabbing his enemy was secondary.
We can almost imagine the fighting formations
approaching each other timidly, while being
harangued by their officers and egged on by their
compatriots behind them.
Determining Casualties
Melee
Determining contacts
defeat.
If just one man falls during the combat, then no
test will be necessary. If two or more men have
been killed, the unit must take a Quality check.
Each hero in the unit (including the chieftain)
adds +1 to the unit's Quality characteristic when
performing this morale check. If the Quality
check is failed, the unit flees. This check can be
re-rolled if there are one or more men in the
second rank of the unit.
Adding pressure
If the defeated unit does not flee, the winner may
choose to move as many of his or her miniatures
to contact as he or she wishes. Only models
which are not already in combat can be moved
this way.
Scenery
The various components of the landscape are
represented in the game by terrain pieces, such
as hills, villages, marshes, rivers and so on.
Some terrain features have their own rules.
Multiple combat
19
Difficult terrain
Impassable terrain
Buildings, walls, cliffs, crags, deep lakes...
No infantry or cavalry unit may move through
scenery pieces classified as impassable terrain.
Hills
Hills are a type of scenery that play an important
tactical role, so they have their own special rules.
When two or more units in combat are fighting
on a hill, the unit closest to the center of the hill
will add +1 to its Combat value. Most hills will
not be perfectly circular, but you may use an
imaginary point, paint a small dot, or place a
token such as a small rock to mark the center of
the hill.
Walls
A unit defending a wall will add +1 to its
Combat and Quality value during the combat. A
unit is only considered to be defending a wall if
it did not move during the previous turn and the
enemy unit is in contact with the defending
units front facing.
Note: a wall built on a hill is a very
advantageous position so, yes, the bonuses for
defending a wall and having an uphill advantage
are cumulative. A unit receives a +2 to Combat
and +1 to Quality when defending a wall with an
uphill advantage.
Rivers
Rivers are another scenery piece with special
characteristics.
A river must be placed on the table so that it
enters into a quadrant and leaves by an adjacent
one (ie, can not leave the table by the diagonally
opposite quadrant).
There must be at least one and no more than two
crossings on every river. These passages may be
either bridges or fords and they must have a
minimum width of 3cm and a maximum width
of 6cm, which are considered passable as if they
20
Warband Lists
Romano-British
Heroes
Denomination
Amount Solidus
Chieftain
Pendragon
60
Warrior
Teulu
0-5
50
21
Warriors
Tier
Talents
Solidus
Ardu
Conscripts
36
Aulue
Conscripts
Spearmen, Shields
34
Rherel
Campwyr Veterans
46
Shields, Ferocity
46
Helwyr
Conscripts
Bows, Scouts
38
Saethwyr
Veterans
Bows
46
Marca
Veterans
52
Saxons
Heroes
Denomination
Chieftain
Amount Solidus
Thegn
60
0-5
50
Scholar
0-2
50
Scop or Galdre
22
Warriors
Tier
Talents
Solidus
Gebur
Conscripts
Shields
32
Geogue
Conscripts
Spearmen, Shields
34
Dugue
Veterans
Spearmen, Shields
44
Gesias
Langbogascotendas Conscripts
48
Bows, Shields
38
Mearc-pret
Veterans
50
Ered-pret
Veterans
Cavalry
48
Scots-Irish
Heroes
Denomination
Chieftain
Amount Solidus
Arras
60
0-5
50
Scholar
0-2
50
Warriors
Ceitherne
Tier
Talents
Solidus
Conscripts
38
Shield
32
Veterans
Spearmen, Shields
44
Cliathairi Gaemor
Veterans
Pikemen
44
Deaisbard
Veterans
Shield, Brutality
46
Fiagania
Conscripts
Bows
36
Guirran
Veterans
52
23
Picts
Heroes
Denomination
Chieftain
Amount Solidus
Gai Aurmahr
60
0-5
50
Scholar
0-2
50
Warriors
Tier
Talents
Solidus
Dim
Conscripts
36
Gairlorm
Conscripts
Spearmen, Shield
34
Gaimorlom
Veterans
Pikemen
44
48
Chodaoer
Conscripts
Shield
32
Elbharu
Veterans
Bows
46
Myrchan
Veterans
52
Battle length
Scenarios
Choosing a battle
Both players may agree on which scenario to
24
Bridgehead
Relic Raiders
Ambush!
Kidnapping
Pitched Battle
25
Bridgehead
Setting up
Use the same procedure for placing terrain as in
a Pitched Battle. When the defender has set all
the scenery the attacker must choose a hill or a
wall which will serve as the objective and place
it in one of the quarters. The attacking warband
must be deployed in the same quarter as the
objective, and he or she must deploy one unit
defending the objective (either behind the wall
or at the center of the hill). The defender deploys
on the opposite quarter and at least 15cm. away
from any enemy model (enemy scouts and
surveyors do not count on this deployment
restriction).
Conclusion
Relic Raiders
Ambush!
Setting up
Setting up
26
Designing a campaign
A campaign can be as simple as writing a story
and playing a string of scenarios build around
that story, or playing a tree or map based
Setting up
campaign, and fight for the conquest of a
Follow the same set-up procedure as in the Loot number of provinces or critical places. The more
and Plunder scenario. In this scenario, the
players partaking in a campaign, the more fun it
attackers kidnapping target is residing inside the is, no matter which type of campaign you choose
objective building.
to play.
Conclusion
In the event that two or more players want to
When an attacking unit contacts the building, it play as the same faction, each player may simply
will kidnap the dweller. If the kidnapping unit is choose a different kingdom to ally themselves
with (consider two Romano-British players - one
destroyed or flees, set the kidnap victim on the
may fight for Gwynedd while the other will sell
battlefield. The victim will remain stationary,
but may either join or be recaptured by any unit his sword to the king of Dumnonia). In ancient
which contacts it depending on if that unit is an Britain, it was not uncommon for warbands
hailing from similar cultures and regions to be at
attacker or defender.
odds with one another.
The battle lasts until one player escorts the
dweller to his or her board edge or one player
concedes or all models on one side are fleeing or Aftermatch
dead.
Fallen units
Note that although you may use a miniature to
represent the kidnapped person, it will count as a Even if a unit is completely massacred during a
token, and you must not deploy it inside the unit battle, some of the men may have only suffered
injuries or possibly even ran from the battlefield
which carries it, even though it may remain on
(woe the cowards!). Roll on the following table
the board and move with that unit.
to see how many of them have managed to
survive for the next battle. Vertical is the size of
Then all the councillors, together with that
the original unit, vertical is a 1D6 roll:
proud tyrant Vortigern, the British king, were
Kidnapping
Campaigns
Although playing separate battles may be fine
27
12
Fallen heroes
A noble death.
Captured
6
He is alive!
When a chieftain or hero is captured, the
warband which defeated them may ask for a
ransom. Both players may negotiate the amount
but, if there is not a deal, the captors can keep
him captive as long as they want, or even kill
him.
Booty
When the battle is over, the winner can pillage
the fallen enemies and sell the prisoners to the
nearest slave trader. Winner gets 200 solidus
after the battle.
The defeated warband may sell the properties of
the fallen companions and seek for
reinforcements among the nearest towns. The
loser gets 100 solidus after battle.
Relic Raiders and Kidnapping scenarios gives
100 extra solidus to the winning warband.
Units
Favor of the gods. You may re-roll a Defence
check once per battle.
Pathfinders. Infantry units only. This unit may
march through difficult terrain.
Raiders. Before beginning a battle but when all
units are already deployed, the unit may make a
move as though they received a March on! order.
Bold. Unit ignores their fist failed Quality check.
Elite. Unit adds +1 to their Combat value.
Warband
Relentless. Once per battle you may gain the
initiative for the turn without rolling the dice.
Strategist. You may re-roll when determining
who is the attacker and the defender of a battle.
Battle standard. Your chieftain's command
radius is increased to 45cm.
Devious. When both players have deployed all
their units, you may swap the positions of two of
your units. The new position must be legal for
both units (this skill does not give scout or
surveyor talent!).
Appendix
Creating new warriors and
warbands
Although this rulebook attempts to cover the
main kinds of warriors of each culture, you
might want to create some new ones like elite
kontos-bearing Romano-British cavalry, or Pict
warrior women. You may also want to create
your brand new warbands of Goths or Vikings
for other games backgrounds.
These are the points used in the creation of the
warbands you can enjoy in Brytenwalda. Try to
be sensible when designing new warriors or
warbands; do it fun to play with and against.
Conscripts 30
Veteran
40
Temperance 2
Scouts
Ferocity
Brutality
Impetuous 0
Shields
Spearmen
Pikemen
Assault m. 4
Throwing w. 4
Bows
Cavalry
29
Do not be disheartened by limitation. Do what you can, until all strength is spent, and you have
done heroic things. A man can only do so much. If he could do more, he'd be God.
St. Columba
31