Here Come the Irish!

 

Albrecht Durers Kerns revisited by Antediluvian Miniatures 

Here Come the Irish

The Irish are an interesting and very different Ruckus Retinue, sporting two very different types of warrior. There are the Fast, Nimble and Woodcrafty Kerns who although lightly clad can deliver a hefty punch with their ferocious charge and Gurt Big Swords and then there are mail clad Gallowglass and their huge Sparth axes.

The Irish Retinue lacks any Support and that fact alone will create some interesting situations, this is a Retinue that if badly handled can get itself into trouble very easily. It is also a racy hard hitter, an attacking force, that can knock holes in any opponent if it gets the first blow in. This Retinue offers a different type of game which requires new tactics and a lot of yellow paint!

Here is a quick run down of how this Retinue differs from the norm

The Galloglass Originally, having read how heavily armoured these warriors were, I gave them a Saving Throw of 3+. After a bit more reading though, and realising that they mostly wore mail, I moderated it to 4+. This also restores a bit of balance to the Retinue as the Kern do have a lot of Traits! The Galloglass are  essentially Billmen who have exchanged Support for a Gurt Big Sword, which reduces their opponents saving throw, they are therefore, a more aggressive profile than the BiIl men

The Kerns The kerns are radically different to any previous Retainer Profile, they even have their own Trait -Kern that means that although they are Shootists they are never Encumbered in melee, this combined with Ferocious Charge and the ability to arm themselves with a Gurt Big Sword gives the Kern an aggressive melee option that no other shootist has and can provide a significant back up to the main melee arm...the Galloglass. Fast and Nimble means that a sprinting Kern can move up to 12”across any terrain.

Kerns Saving Throw. Initially this was 6+ but felt too vulnerable. Peasants have a 6+ save and do not last long on the table, particularly against Archers, so I increased it to 5+. However, I did this after adding several Traits such as Woodsman and Nimble so it may be that the Kern is a bit OP! But that’s Ruckus! Get used to it! Balance is for other game systems! If that doesn’t suit your style of play try using them with a saving throw of 6+ but I doubt they will last long.

Javelins. As Shootists the Kern are pretty tame and are always going to come off second best in a shooting contest against Archers with their ability to shoot twice and their much greater range. Originally the javelin range was 6” but it was little lame. One thought was that javelins should only throw to 9” only if the Character throwing the javelin moves towards the target, otherwise the range should be 6” and this I feel would be a rather more realistic take on how javelins work but does make the rule more complicated. In the end I dropped it for simplicity’s sake but Players should feel free to try it. 

Support or the lack of it! The Irish are a fast-moving, hard-hitting Retinue but lack Support. This requires some completely different thinking especially against those Opponents who do have support. This Retinue is very new to all of us and so the only observations I can offer are to use Terrain to your advantage and attack where your enemy is weakest! 

Mounted Characters. The Irish also suffer from poor cavalry, the lack of stirrups and the Irish saddle being no more than a strapped on cushion mean that they can not couch a lance nor deliver a heavy blow from horseback. They do however, gain the ability to throw javelins when mounted which is something no other Retinue can boast! 

Creating an Irish Retinue

I used Perry and Antediluvian Miniatures for my Retinue. Of the two I would say that the Antediluvian are by far the better sculpts. These were particularly poor by Perry standards I thought, the Gallowglass are in very stiff static postures and lack animation or character. Having said that, they seem to represent the Kerns leine, the voluminous saffron-dyed shirt/tunic, more accurately.

Flags of War, Border Wars, the Fighting Irish look to be the very best of the bunch and I know I shall end up getting some even though I really need no more! I have a few of their figures and they are superb sculpts, crisp, casts, with good definition and excellent poses and animation. They would make an excellent Retinue, however, I should point out that several of them are sporting morions and so should only be used for the later period

There are no commercially available Irish cavalry for this period that I know of but you could do worse than follow Steve Woods lead in kit-bashing some. Here is a link to his blog

https://arcanesceneryandmodels.co.uk/modelling-irish-wotr-medieval-cavalry-part-one/

These are a Retinue born to have fun! Slainte 

A Murder of Peasants AAR

 

A Murder of Peasants

Thomas de Lynne did not like Ireland, he hated the people, the food and most especially the weather. And on this particular day, as the chilling rain ran from his sallet and his sodden gauntlets dripped, steaming in the frigid early morning air, he hated the King for sending him to this God forsaken stinking midden of an island.

Still, he had a job to do and he led his Retinue forward to see if the reports of yet another raiding party were true. Sir Thomas was mounted on his favourite grey destrier, Binky, and his two billmen were on good solid coursers. He had enlisted some local help for this foray, from the primitives known as Kerns, and a tall strong fighter from the Pale, Bodraig, dressed in the bizarre banded, segmented plate armour that these wild fellows seemed to prefer. His nephew Ralph de Lynne followed in the centre with a trio of archers and Edward de Lynne led the locals on the left.  

Finn Mac Cullachan led his men swiftly and quietly through the thinning morning mist listening keenly for his prey, the livestock of his enemy.  His Chief of Kerns, the wild and hairy Padraic Mac Craic, leading one group of three Kerns on his left and his trusty lieutenant Cullan Mc Bolloch leading a Galloglaigh and Kern to his right. The odd stranger, Ferd, a wandering Galloglaigh who had turned up at the fireside last night (Friends at Court), strolling along on his own, following at a distance. Finn paid him little heed, the man would either fight or run, there was nothing to be done about it.

We played this game, the Cattle Thieves, at BIG. Ben Mallet played the defender with his de Lynne ancestors Retinue augmented with some Irish allies. I was the first time we used the Irish and I was keen to see how they performed Ben was equally eager to try out the mounted rules.

The bigger picture. The Irish enter the table from the right, the Anglo-Irish from the left

In this scenario, the Attackers, the Irish, are raiding for cattle, the Defenders are hurrying to prevent the loss of their livestock. Cattle were most commonly left to wander free across the moors and will need to be collected and rounded up into a herd.

From behind the Irish Position. 9 objective markers are placed evenly across the board, one in the centre and the others at least 9” or so apart and surrounding the central marker in a box shape. We used cows and sheep as our markers

Padraic Mac Craic and his Spear move quietly up on the left flank

Finn and Ferd with the Kerns armed with bows in the centre

Cullan Mc Bolloch with a Galloglaigh and Barry the Kern on the right flank

a mixed bag of Anglo-Irish on Sir Thomas' left flank

Ralph and his archers have the centre ground covered

Sir Thomas and his Prickers advance on the right flank

First Blood! A lucky arrow takes out one of Ben’s Kerns

“Sure…it was me best arrow like!”

 

Cullan Mc Bolloch orders his Spear forward to seize the Cattle

Padraic Mac Craic and his Spear secure some sheep proxying for Cattle

They have their eyes on another prize but Sir Thomas is fast approaching!

From Sir Thomas POV! We didn’t have enough cows to so used various other beasts as Objective markers

Ambush! An angry gang of four Peasants having heard the approach of the Irish spring from the hill and Charge Padraig’s Spear

They scrag a Kern but pay the blood price as one of their own falls to a Kern sword

Padraig hacks down a Peasant and the Kerns hurl javelins at the others…

…taking out another! Ferd wanders into the fray and takes a wound from a peasant but gets his man in the second round

The Peasants have served their purpose though, slowing Padraic’s advance and preventing his Spear from reaching a second objective before Sir Thomas appears on the scene.

  A kern throws a javelin…

…hitting one of the Warhorses and causing it to bolt! The Pricker makes his roll and stays in the saddle

On the other flank, some hot kern on kern action!

Gurt Big Sword wins the day!

Sir Thomas spurs Binky on and they pass the Charge Gambit Roll and hit the Wounded Ferd, killing him instantly

Sir Thomas is right fiery one when his dander is up and it is up today! Berserk Rage means if he wins a melee in the first round, he can charge a second opponent and he swings Binky round and piles into Padraic Mac Craic. Wounding the Chief of Kerns! 

Padraig is no push over though and he manages to stay on his feet and survive the combat...

 …and when his time comes, he is not found wanting! He charges the Pricker who counter charges and Padraic, handing his sword and offering its point, lays the Englishman out on the cold, damp sward of Ireland

Things are not all going the de Lynnes way however, over on the other flank Cullan Mc Bolloch hands out the laldy,taking down the AngloIrish Galloglass , Bodraig,  although he is wounded in the melee 

Edward de Lynne is not found wanting

Back in the main event Padraic, against the odds, gets in a deadly blow with his gurt Big Sword only for a Lucky Talisman, worn by Sir Thomas around his neck, to deflect the blade and preventing a Wound…

…and with a callous indifference the English Lord dispatches his valiant foe

He then chases down one of the remaining and feckless kerns who, although he has the Fast trait, is not quite nippy enough to stay out from under Binky’s hooves

I think it’s fair to say that the luck was against the Irish this day, they won only one Cunning Plan and Ben drew four Divers Alarums, including, this a second Ambush Card!

  Six angry Peasants, who had obviously been drinking, emerge from the darkness, leap into the central compound and attack the Galloglaigh there

they quickly surround him and try to subdue him with their obnoxious breath!

meanwhile a fine shot from a Kern archer brings down the last Pricker…

…this brings both sides to the Wavering level and at the end of turn five we both rolled and passed the WTF test

Finn is the only Hero left in action on the Irish side. His Command of six is all that is holding his side together at this point. 

The Bigger Picture. The Position at the beginning of the sixth turn

Sir Thomas charges Finn! This is it!  The climax of the battle! Whoever emerges as the victor will win the game…

...in one of those classic wargaming moments, Sir Tom rolls bones!

…and pays the price!

Wound for Wound, the two Captains battle it out, unable to finish the doughty Finbar, de Lynne breaks away

Behind Finn his last Galloglaigh fells another Peasant

But a fight at such disproportionate odds cannot last long even against mere peasantry 

Turn 7 and the still angry Sir Thomas thunders in again, this time rolling well and the unfortunate Finn is taken out! A well-deserved Anglo-Irish victory with Sir Thomas as the undoubted hero of the game

Afterthoughts

This was an excellent game! It was a lot of fun with some bold Heroics and lots of action. It felt like an uphill struggle for the Irish mostly because of the run of luck and it became obvious after the first turn that they were not going to get even a few Cattle away.

I have played this scenario, or a variant of it before with Hundred Years War Retinues and the English accomplished a victory fairly easily as the Attacker so I would be loath to change the scenario too much without playing it through again.

What we learnt. The Irish are swift and flexible and can be hard hitting. The dice did not favour them today and we did not see them at their best. I forgot that the Kerns shields give them a Fend in melee!

The de Lynnes were on the table in no time as their cards were all drawn before any of the Irish, this meant that the Irish advantage of starting on the table was nullified and they failed to secure any Cattle. I am not sure whether a change to the way the Defender enters the table, to introduce the chance of delay, is a good idea or whether that would unbalance the scenario. One to think about.

Another idea would be to have “drovers,” peasants, to herd the cattle leaving the Characters to do the fighting, I quite like this idea I think we should try this scenario again with maybe a few drovers for the Attacker.  

The Drovers would move in the End Phase and would run away if attacked.

Postscript

Having thought this through I would like to play the game again using this modification

The Defenders have been caught off guard and will take a while to respond to the attack

The Defenders Hero cards are shuffled and placed face down on the edge of the table. Randomly draw one and shuffle it into the Play Deck before the start of the game. In the End Phase of the first turn draw a second Hero card and shuffle it into the Playdeck. In the End Phase of the second turn shuffle the final Hero card into the Playdeck. The Defenders enter, in Spears, from the opposite table edge to the Attacker, each as their card is drawn.

And “the Drovers” is a good idea but would probably work better and be more Ruckus as a Divers Alarums…so…

Drovers If the Defender draws the Divers Alarums card 6 Ambush treat it instead as “Drovers- A Band of helpful Peasants, d3+3, appear and will help Drive the Cattle. The Defender may place them anywhere on the table within 6” of any of their Heroes, they may be placed as a group or as individuals. Each Peasant may drive a cow as per the scenario specific Special Rule Driving Cows. However, the Peasants are “Unreliable Under Orders”, whenever a Peasant attempts to drive a cow roll d6 1= “Where Did He Go?” the Peasant has lost interest and wandered off. Remove them from the table

Going Forward

I think if I introduce a new Retinue, it should be with a tried and tested basic scenario such as “Get Orf Moi Land” likewise, if I try a new scenario, it should be with a basic standard Ruckus Retinue, this should reduce the unknown variables and make an assessment of both Retinue and Scenario easier and more accurate