The First Crusade - Narrative Campaign (Hail Caesar) - 01 TAKE THE VILLAGE

[@YOUPIMatin123]

Love those narrative campaigns! i am planning a campaign for Pike and Shot, taking a few ideas from you guys, thanks a lot!

[@7thson726]

We really enjoyed them, we've just about finished planning the next part. I did think about one for P&S at some point but I think we're just letting that one grow organically game to game 👍

[@robandrosehobden3344]

Evening all bin looking forward to seeing this game 🤠🤠👍👍

[@7thson726]

Hope you enjoyed it 👍

[@reecedignan8365]

Brilliant game lads and a good start to the campaigning season. As for how to deal with Horse archers as the crusaders… they kind of did suffer at that historically. During one march a group of them became surrounded by Seljuk horse archers. Forming a circle of shields around the peasants/followers inside, they literally endured hours of being peppered with arrows against their shields while standing under the heavy sun. During said defence the women would bring them water and some even tended to wounded and dying men - some of the wooded still stood their post just holding their shield up as they had their wound tended too. A priest even got them civillians to sing to keep the men spirits up. So how did they defeat it? Well after reinforcements came and went in with cavalry that began to disrupt the circling horse archers, the knights and sergeants amongst the encircled group mounted and charged the enemy themselves. So best way to beat them is how he did really. Endure the hell of arrows being shot at you then hit them from the flank or front with cavalry. Either they’ll break and retreat (evade) to a point they go off board or don’t become a problem for a few turns or as shown you catch them and run them down. - my only slight suggestion for maybe tempering evasion is that when you roll to evade you have to get atleast 2 orders to eveade. 1 to spur it (essentially the horse riders noting that a charge is coming) and the 2nd order to actually evade. - other option is that a evading unit essentially has to forgo its next turn of movement as it uses its movement to evade. Could have this as you can not move this turn and use it to evade in your opponents turn while retaining your movement for next turn, or if you have moved this turn you forgo your next turns movement.

[@7thson726]

Thanks for taking the time to comment, really appreciate it 👍 I think you're spot on. Unless you are going to ignore them and try to soak up the casualties they are causing you'll need to commit just a portion of your force to keep them as a small threat 👍

[@raycarpenter6466]

Great looking game .. Enjoyed the spectacle but I do think Robin was robbed by a technicality .. He was clearly in control of those objectives.. Looking forward to the next game ..

[@7thson726]

Thanks it was good fun 👍 the next one the shoe will be on the other foot 😅 always glad to hear feedback. The main focus is narrative play so we look at how the battles end and that feeds the story. Similar to what we said he simply ran out of time, remember he is in hostile land and away from the main army which is not a good position to be in and in the context of the campaign it was a failed action, Kilij Arslans Seljuk army arrived on the horizon and they had to abandon what they were doing and leave, that's why we had the rule about holding it for a turn without any contact, we may change the aftermath a little though to include a straightforward loss of 1 point each if the difference is only 0 - 5 VPs and then minors at 6-10 and Majors at 11+ 🤔

[@basement1908]

Holy crap! This is going to awesome! Thanks for sharing Martin!

[@7thson726]

You're welcome, thanks for watching 👍😁

[@Terayob]

Super Super cool format guys!! keep them coming :D

[@7thson726]

Thanks! Will do 😁

[@robandrosehobden3344]

Brilliant game really enjoyed it and it went well for the first game looking forward to the next one cool 👍👍👍🤠🤠🤠

[@7thson726]

Glad you enjoyed it 😁

[@TheRendar]

Love it! Great battle report and campaign . Excited to see the next one .

[@7thson726]

Glad you enjoyed it! Hope you're keeping well. Were looking forward to it as well, just busy constructing palisades for it 😁

[@squigs1917]

Great to see the campaign start, I do feel even with the narrative that the result was a little extreme and penalised Robin quite severely. I would have most probably not given the Ottomans the points for the contested areas and not given the Crusaders them either which would have made it a minor victory rather than major. I also noted Robin lost some hits couple of times he’d scored one more than the number you rolled. Easy done. But I’m looking forward to the next engagement

[@7thson726]

Glad you enjoyed it. Retrospectively should have included a result but that's part of the process as until you play it you can't really know. We've added a wider scope of results for the coming battle 👍

[@thekrausecollection15mmmin53]

Martin thank you. Really fantastic. Can’t wait to try the campaign with my mates

[@7thson726]

Thanks very much, glad you like it, let me know how is goes 👍

[@cianrowan8169]

Loved the campaign setup

[@7thson726]

Thanks, it's been fun to put together 😁

[@rickrussell8382]

The game was close till the end. Robin did a great job, just ran out of time. I don`t think it should have been a major victory. The Seljuk got their ass kicked on the battlefield. But the Crusaders failed in their mission so it was a strategic victory. I thought the Selijuk did well to prevent a loss but they were rewarded in the aftermath. Good start to the campaign.

[@7thson726]

Thanks for taking the time to comment, really appreciate it, It was close for sure, it was a timed scenario and with the Seljuk forces starting to appear and flood the area they had to scarper, I'm going to make sure for future games to be clear on the parameters Strategic Victory/Defeat - that's perfect. We have decided to add a new margin for aftermath for a difference of 0-5 so we'll use that 👍 then 6-10 minor then 10+ major Think the Strategic win will be simply no change and a strategic loss maybe -1FP, we'll play about with it a bit, it's all part of the fun and taking on board suggestions is a great way to grow the campaign 😁

[@rickrussell8382]

@@7thson726 Its a learning curve. Hard to get everything to work right away. We have played the battle of Waterloo 5 times and are still tweaking the deployments, Generals, artillery damage. Thanks. You guys are doing a great job.

[@Recursion_TwistingNether]

Loved the battle report. Great game and was a lot of fun to watch this Sunday morning!

[@7thson726]

Thanks very much 👍

[@MiniatureRealms]

Brilliant stuff s always, minis and table look fantastic

[@7thson726]

Glad you enjoyed it 👍

[@carlclink9993]

Nice battle report, been a while since I’ve been able to watch your channel, or any channel. Hey I’m so sorry to hear about Ted the cat. So sorry for your family’s loss. I alway enjoyed watching the background for his antics. Again so sorry.

[@7thson726]

Thanks buddy, really appreciate it 👍 he was a good old boy and missed very much

[@paulbenson9015]

Well done Gents! Looking forward to the next instalment. As ever Martin, your explanation of the rules and your commentary of the game make it very easy listening. Great for people new to the hobby/period/rules 👍

[@7thson726]

Thanks Paul, it's always been a point to try and explain things the way I would want them explained if I was watching as sometimes it can be really hard to follow along in battle reports 👍

[@paulspaintshed3511]

Great game and campaign rules. The timing factor in the game added to a real sense of urgency for the crusader force. Although Robin came very close i dont think the aftermath was unduly harsh due to his forces being exhausted, suffering from the affects of heat, lack of water, disease, desertion and probably attacks on stragglers during the retreat. Top stuff look forward to game 2.

[@7thson726]

Really glad you like it mate, it's been alot of fun playing about with the system. You hit the nail on the head, it should be a struggle for the Crusaders. Their strength lies in the variety of nations and troops available and the use of heavy infantry and cavalry. The Seljuks have the home side advantage and if the Crusaders loose sight of that it'll cost them 👍

[@josephcade6425]

Looking forward to this!

[@7thson726]

Hope you enjoy it 👍

[@josephcade6425]

Great start, love it!

[@7thson726]

Glad you enjoyed it 😁👍

[@petercarlson8240]

This is fantastic! Looking forward to the next one, great fun and nice campaign design.

[@7thson726]

Thanks very much, I'm looking forward to seeing how it develops 👍

[@rbale2]

Love this ❤

[@7thson726]

Thanks

[@basicminiaturepainting]

Really excellent game,very enjoyable and a great set up

[@7thson726]

Thanks mate, hope you're well 👍

[@BootsontheTable]

Fun game guys. The campaign is off to a great start

[@7thson726]

Cheers buddy 👍

[@vonketteringham]

Very interesting 👍👍

[@7thson726]

Cheers mate

[@Maxyshadow]

Always enjoy these first crusade battle reports. Looking forward to the campaign. Was wondering about how to go about making those Bedouin tents? I am putting together my own campaign and need some. 🙂 PS These reports have almost single handedly swung me on to using Hail Caesar as the rules.

[@7thson726]

Thanks so much, really pleased to hear you enjoy them. I see HC as more of a sand box that we can build on. I'll ask Robin to pop up a response, as he made them 😁

[@Maxyshadow]

Thanks. I think they may be popular. @@7thson726

[@walkaboutgamez2502]

Have the notifications on 👍👍

[@7thson726]

😁 awesome

[@loadmaster666]

Mate what size tabledid you play on. It looks great.

[@7thson726]

Just a 6 X 4, glad you liked it, we had a great time 😁

[@anthonyhinton-west9944]

I love "Robert de Boucheron" ...Bob the Butcher! Can he do it? I'll have to watch the rest of the batrep!

[@7thson726]

Haha he did have a certain panache with the names, other ones are types of cheese 😅

[@marctitley7020]

This was great to watch thank you. Looking forward to the rest you have in line for the campaign. How did you come up with the abilities of the commanders and also with their subsequent upgrades or downgrade? Thanks

[@7thson726]

Thanks, it was alot of fun to put together 👍 I came up with the upgrades and downgrades just based on what had worked before in our WOTR campaign. HC is about command and control so it makes sense that bonuses should be conferred to units rather than the commanders themselves (although there are a couple in there for that) 👍

[@YorikKurland]

look forward to😀

[@7thson726]

Excellent, hope you enjoy it 😁

[@anthonyhinton-west9944]

Seeing the first two turns, perhaps in future scenarios where one side starts off table but is attacking, perhaps grant a +1 on orders to get troops deployed. Robin was v unlucky, but it made for a strange narrative of a half hearted, piecemeal attack on the village, with predictable results.

[@7thson726]

It's actually normally -1, we upped it to evens , he was just really unlucky 😅

[@rovens]

I'm nothing if not half hearted.

[@paulparker5456]

Loved this game 😊

[@7thson726]

Thanks 👍😁

[@robertalanbuckle9809]

great game guys , but can't get into the first crusades you have got me into war of the roses and saga but love the game

[@7thson726]

Hahaha there is still time 😁 glad you enjoyed it

[@persallnas5408]

Great uppload, this is going to be a blast to follow. One opinion, your rules imply that one side may get a momentum over the other wich I think is cool. If that happens please do not change the rules to make it more "balanced".

[@7thson726]

Thank you 😁👍 Don't worry I'm very much in favour of uneven odds ,😅

[@blecao]

I mean if you play a campaign in wich one player just instantly snowball it stops being fun quite fast

[@7thson726]

@@blecao this campaign won't really work like that, it's a little easier to explain when we're on the next map as I'm getting ahead of myself but essentially each map is a scene for a few battles then as the crusade moves on historical so does the action and the big events that effected the belligerents of the conflict will come into play; starvation, the in fighting between the Seljuks, the arrival of reinforcements. We'll also be taking our own look at the major battles, such as Dorylaeum and Antioch.

[@blecao]

@@7thson726 oh no i was not talking about this campaign in soecific but in general I had see some people say thing like that any kind of balance is bad and shit like that and i was speaking in general It would be stupid for me to do that when i hadnt even see the rules for your campaign in detail and i honestly respect your work

[@7thson726]

@@blecao no worries at all. I totally get where you're coming from, i'm hoping these games can show people how a general framework for building your forces can lead to enagiing and fun games :)

[@GalegHelross]

Nifty

[@7thson726]

Thanks 😁👍

[@tracygrove3484]

Great batrep guys! Have you thought about an optional "dismount" rule for times like when the Heavy Cavalry was reduced to patrolling the rest of the game? Maybe offset it with once dismounted they must remain so for the remainder of the game? I see no reason they couldn't enter the town and fight as Heavy Infantry in a scenario like this.

[@7thson726]

Thank you 😁 it was alot of fun to play. That's certainly something to consider. Would have been really cinematic to have them jumping over the wall at the back 👍

[@grantpavitt3198]

Great game but I am refusing to do the crusades. As now I have just got a parliamentary force. And have still not finished my W.O.T.R Lancastrian army yet😊 looking forward to the next game.

[@7thson726]

Thanks mate, it's always good to have a few projects on the go 😁👍

[@Svefred2]

Great stuff, love the narrative and campaign setting. I am bit divided about the end of game roll: Clearly Robin was winning, but due to bad luck and time constraint he lost because he could not grab those objectives. The results rolled for Robin does not match the game, as well the state of his army compared to yours, but yet «his army did not fare well».. It does not make sense. I know this it nitpicking but I hate to see the objectives alone, which had no impact on his army, make such results possible. Only if he had lost more units than you I would agree.

[@7thson726]

Thanks, it's an evolving process.really appreciate the feedback, don't worry no one nitpicks more than us 😅 Totally get where you're coming from. The thing is there has to be a cut off, remember the Crusaders are in a hostile and foreign land and any force separated from the main army at Nicea risks isolation and destruction which happened a fair bit. In the narrative the Crusaders couldn't grab what they needed before more of the Seljuks arrived in massive numbers forcing them to retreat to Nicea and the shelter of the main army. Those forces would be harassed continuously. Also those Force Points can come back up, it represents troops willing to fight, well enough to fight and the lord's ability to command support to requisition troops from the main army (on both sides). I think we should certainly add another result to the margins though so it's not so clear cut (win/loose), perhaps 0-4 = Draw (essentially just a -1 FP all round) 5-10 minor then 11+ major 🤔

[@craigalexander1191]

Really enjoyed the bat rep. What size table are you playing on?

[@7thson726]

Thanks, this is just on a 6 X 4 👍

[@johncsonka2278]

What company made the terrain mat? Great first battle. Well done.

[@7thson726]

The Mat is from Geek Villain 👍😁

[@johncsonka2278]

Thank you. Looking forward to the next battle.

[@Kallistosprom]

Thank you for sharing your lists. Can I ask where you got your rules for character traits?

[@blastvader]

They wrote them themselves.

[@7thson726]

We came up with them ourselves, trial and error based on our WOTR games. Just working out what is too powerful Vs ineffective 👍

[@Kallistosprom]

@@7thson726cheers thank you

[@loadmaster666]

Gents, where did Robbin get the houses from - Home made of purchased?

[@7thson726]

I got the houses from Blotz MDF scenery 👍

[@Valathiril]

Which minis did you use?

[@7thson726]

Mainly Victrix, Reconquer and Gripping Beast 👍

[@loadmaster666]

And same question for the walls - home made or purchased

[@7thson726]

No problem, the walls are from Last Valley on FB 👍

[@HappyHungrySleepy23]

This is super cool

[@7thson726]

Thanks 👍😁