Dux Brit Freebie

I finally painted this chap up that I got a couple of years ago free with Dux Brit.

I'm still playing with camera settings, hence the slightly different colours...

I have to agree with Scrivs, not the nicest model. The pose is very awkward, head at midday, feet at ten past one and arm at three. Not a pose I'd want to hold for very long. And he's small compared with the chunky Musketeer and GB figs. Still he'll do as a spare officer for my Late Romans.

A (final?) game of Dux Britanniarum

And so on to what will probably be the final game of our campaign.

With my church just finished it was logical that I'd want to burn it to the ground - so that was the battle we played

 The church bells ring, not to summon worshippers but to warn of attacking Saxons

 The British defenders gather by the back door

 Shieldwalls form and the taunting begins

 With a shout the armies clash

 The British are driven back, leaving the church vulnerable

 The British general rallies his men on the hill

 Meanwhile the Saxons make off with their plunder

 Pursued by irate Christians

Outpacing their enemies the Saxons fight their way clear

And thus ends our campaign. We'd played four or five games and quite enjoyed the campaign element of it, but the actual gameplay proved tiresome and didn't get easier with familiarity. So with the end of a campaign year (and the birth of the British players child) I think that will be the last campaigning Elmet will see from us (using these rules).

Another game of Dux Britanniarum

And so we returned the fields of Elmet and this time my mission was to attack a farm. My British chum had just finished basing up some rather splendid trees he'd ordered from e-bay, so it was a heavily wooded battlefield that greeted me.

 Dawn breaks and Saxons sneak into the woods

 This peaceful bucolic scene is about to be shattered

 Alerted by the alarmed mooing the British forces arrive

 Undeterred the S axons start to smash their way in

 Before making off through the woods with booty

 The Saxon rearguard holds firm

The Saxons flee the vengeful Britons

Again my Saxon raiders scored a victory, albeit with their leaders cut down as they made off with their ill-gotten gains.

This game also saw the arrival of movement trays from Warbases

Dux Britanniarum

So some month ago, having had the rules for nigh on a year, we embarked on a Dux Britanniarum Campaign.
I had high hopes for the game as the feedback around the interwebs had been universally positive and sensible fellows with good taste like Guitarhero Andy and Fleetfoot Mike had been having lots of fun with the games.
Sadly I have to report that I don't like Dux Britanniarum, There. I've said it. Apologies to all of you out there enjoying it, but I'm not feeling the love.
I've tried, really I have, but I just can't seem to get on with it. After the last game my opponent looked at me and said "If it wasn't for the campaign system, we'd have given up on this long ago" and he was all too right. So when he returns from his enforced leave from gaming, induced by that terribly illness fatherhood I doubt we'll be picking up the floppy rulebook and tasteful plastic box of cards again. I think we'll play something we like.
That said we struggled on through  a number of games all of which were pleasing on the eye and I took some pictures, so there will now follow a few blog posts with eye candy of the Fall of Elmet campaign

 The hairy raiders race down the valley with stolen cattle in tow

 Suddenly the British general appears to block their way

 In heroic style the British leader hurls himself at the Saxons

 Meanwhile the raiders continue to driver their plunder on

 More Britons block the way

As the casualties mount the brave British warriors begin to melt away

This was our second game. The first had ended somewhat prematurely when the random set-up and starting rolls meant I was unable to envisage a win and so withdrew to preserve my forces - historically accurate, maybe - but not much fun for an evening gaming. 

I'm pretty sure the Saxons won this game - I think the British broke and fled leaving me the field - possibly after I had killed their general.

Someone Else's Work

We've been playing a bit of Dux Britanniarum recently.
This has meant investment in movement trays and a bit of painting.
By way of taunting my opponent sent me this picture of the fine men of Elmet* parading in their best bib and tucker, just waiting to be cut down by some marauding Angles.

You'll never take our natty three-quarter length trousers!

Mainly, I believe the rather splendid Gripping Beast Welsh. I think they look very jolly.

My Saxons meanwhile wait patiently for their own trays to be flocked...

* you may wonder why proud Norherners from Elmet would be waiving a Kentish flag. Well their owner hails from daarn sarf (I know, tragic) so I think he thinks they're from down that way. But I picked the campaign setting and decided I'd invade Elmet from Petuaria.