The Renegade Priest.

Sir Hugh and his retinue are Bishop's men.  They have cleared the threat from Cestria Moor and Plaw's enclosure, and are now visiting Kibble's farm to root out a reported heretic.  His Eminence' Witch Smeller, the ragged Findlay is attached to Sir Hugh's retinue.  

A deeply unpleasant pointy man Findlay has already attempted to accuse several of Sir Hugh's men of Witchcraft, but has stopped doing that since being warned by the veteran Sergeant 'aWood that Witch Smeller's are not immune to a "Bliddy good hammering."

Near Kibble's farm is a shrine.  The Bishop's Archivist would call it the "Misericordia," the shrine to God's Pity.  Local legend however would say that this is an oak grove, a place of worship to Saitada, Celtic Goddess of Grief. (A goddess genuinely associated with North Eastern England incidentally)  

Local priest, Lionel of Aykley, defrocked by the Bishop, has begun preaching the Heresy of Pity, using the rites of the Celtic Goddess.  Turns out Lionel is quite persuasive and has gathered a flock of local folk.  

(Ayk is Oak in Old English, ...ley is place, so clearly an oak grove.  Akley is just south of here.)

Contract: Aid community 

A small community has sent out messengers that they are being menaced by a hostile group. This job can be done this or the following campaign turn. Place a new village on the map. To complete the job you must travel to them (rolling once on the “To village” column of the encounter table) and then conduct a battle against a random enemy chosen from the table in this chapter. The village has no other current Threats. 

This is a "Contract" mission under Five Leagues. Old Goodman Kibble has complained to Bishop Godfrey of the strange goings on around the nearby shrine. "Neccked dancin` my Lord!  'Taint right Sor!"  Sir Hugh has been given this task by the Bishop, and the payment will be 200 marks.  Witch Smeller Findlay can "smell a burning."

The fight

The Bishop's Men approach the shrine to the shouts of "Pity me! Pity me," the call of Lionel's congregation, who are armed to the teeth.  As fanatics they will neither give nor expect quarter.  Lionel himself however rolled the dice as a Prince of Cowards, and will spur his flock into action before fleeing.  Sir Hugh must seize this naughty fellow for the Bishop's Justice. and for his reward of 200 marks!

The Game

Scheduled later today!

South of Kibble's farm.

Lionel's men have pulled down the Holy Cross.  Heretics!  Also base coated and flesh under colour guys! 

Fast move, the four men at arms rush forward

Still in the Lumley colours though.

The Bishop's Men Retinue archers get stuck in.

Sir Hugh, wearing the correct badge for the Farthingdale's here, has a go with his big chopper.

Fr. Lionel flees on his ass.

The sixes and ones are critical, and the fanatics fight to the end.

Sir Hugh finishes the last of the fanatics off. 

Lionel escapes the field.  It seems like we will catch up with him in another game but for now Hugh can`t claim the 200 marks.  

Loot

The fanatics had little in the way of loot and I recoup 14 marks.  

Before we move onto the Sacrist Church however a pursuit of Lionel must be mounted.  He has headed off towards Nettle's farm, where the last stand of this area will be made and hopefully I can get rid of the last threat point.  

The dice however indicate that this is a Dark Secret threat.  It seems that one of the other Noble Houses is behind the troubles on the Great North Road.  A last dice roll informs me that Nettle's farm is abandoned.  Clearly named for the nettles that grow there!  It's the lair of the final "Boss" for this part of the campaign.  ("Boss" is my word here!)  The terrain will also include a ruined keep, long forgotten by history, but newly constructed by me!

The fight at Plaw's Enclosure

In the future Plaw's land would become known as Plaws enclosure or Plaws-worth farm, but in Medieval Cestria the Yeoman farmer Plaw and his family live here in a collection of ramshackle buildings.  

Having been ambushed by a "patrol" of the Lambtun's, and cleared a threat point Sir Hugh and his retinue have arrived at Plaw's farm.

Threat Points remaining = 3.

It's a happy moment since Goodwife Plaw's brews an excellent heavy beer, and supplies this to the retinue, improving morale. 

The first encounter is a Combat encounter, located in a farmstead.  Clearly it's an attack on Plaw's farm.  

The Attackers are Torn Flags, the black tabard Expelled, who have terrorised the Great North Road. 

The Retinue marches into Plaw`s farm

The Crow's Eye view.

Old Plaw, sampling Goodwife Plaw's best "Heavy" Brew. 
Back in the 15th Century women brewed the beer something that only changed as the 17th Century dawned .

The "Combat" Encounter begins.  Sir Hugh uses the narrow lane through the farm to restrict the area of the fight.

The Black Coat's archers engage in a duel with the Bishop's men.

The fight continues, as the "Expelled" are pushed back.

The Bishop's men are veterans and push through into the enemy.

One of the Bishop's Men at Arms gets to the farm wall whilst the archer's engage in an arrow fight.

The Black Coats flee. They leave five men on the field, two men at arms, two archers and a billman.

Loot Rolls - Paying the lads.

Total 27 marks gained.  Equipment: Armour valued 200 marks.  Two arrow sheafs, three swords (one fine), three pole arms.

These are loaded on the pony.  The three farms now have only two threat points.  The plan is to head to Kibble's farm and arrest a reported heretic, before the Black Coats make a last stand at Nettle's farm.  Then its on to the Sacrist Church to begin the second series of games.

Conflict in Fifteenth Century Cestria

Studies into Conflict in Fifteenth Century Cestria, by Professor Augustus P. Farthingdale , Cestria University Press. 1973.

Overview.
Situated on the Great North Road the former Roman Fort and settlement of Cestria was isolated between warring neighbours for much of the later Fifteenth Century.  Local families took the opportunity to pursue feuds and raiding across the county in the absence of any central authority.  Worse, a local resurgence of the great plague caused uprisings, heresies and roving robber bands among the common folk.  All of that before we even mention the Scotchmen reivers from the North.
Legends of the now famous Hooded Robin of the Riverpark stem from this period, as do the tales of Lady Marion of Lumley, the Evil Sheriff of Cestria and Guy of Guis-Birtley.  The tale of the Wyrm of the Lambtons, and that of the Hound of the Perkinsvilles are thought to be somewhat earlier.
The Bishop, from his palace, located within the walls of the ancient fort, made efforts to quell the Anarchy that was swirling around the county, sending out his very limited forces in an attempt to regain control.  It was an attempt that doomed from the beginning, but gives us an insight into the conflicts that gave rise to colourful local legends.

Foreword
My thanks go to the team from the Whitemore Library, and particularly Head Archivist Miss Lucille Love, for the wide ranging Documents from the period collated for this work.  As ever, Miss Lucille affords local scholars great satisfaction. 

Using 15mm figures for a warband scale skirmish game has left me unimpressed.  The rules for Five Leagues from the Borderlands were really enjoyable and I have a pretty great collection of fourteenth century medieval figures in 15mm, but of late the scale falls to grab me.  The problem is almost certainly to do with fielding only a few figures on a tabletop.  

To counter this for Five Leagues I'm going to try moving the action into the later Fifteenth Century, using 28mm Wars of the Roses figures,  and a mix of scrounged up add ons.  I may be a curmudgeon when it comes to elves and goblins, but there are other ways to make this game a fantasy one.  This will be Imaginations Fifteenth Century. 

The Scots Reivers will be naked Celts fanatics, a nod to the Galwegians at the Standard perhaps.  The Peasants and bandits will be similarly scrounged from figures that I have lying around from other periods.  I'm curious to see if this will work. 

Locations

The Bishop's Lands

The Sacrist Abbey

Finchale Priory

The three farms

The Lambton Lands

Wessingtun

Birtley

Lambtun

The Lumley Lands

Lumley

Penshaw

Chiltun

The Ravensworth Lands

Peltun

Beamish

Causey

Special scenarios (If I were to do "Fantasy!")

The Hound of the Perkinsvilles

The Wyrm of the Lambtun's on the Burnt Moor

The Great Bear of the Woods

The Backstabbing Stanleys

The Shrine of Pity

The Wildmoor at Chilton

The Grey Lady of Beamish 

Starting Forces
d6 x Household  Men at Arms including the Lord who is one of these and a stand-in for the solo player.  M.at.A. are typically a Knight, Squire, or Captain.

d6 x Retinue = Retained soldiery, Typically a Master Archer and Sergeant of Billmen, or Veteran Soldiers

d6 x Levy =  Roll for each 1-2 archers, 3-4 billmen, 5-6 Assorted followers, hired hands, henchmen and minions. Roll on the table below

d6 x Hangers on = 1-2 idiot yokels, 3-4 nasty gutter rabble, 5-6 wheezy prison in-mates 
 

Followers D100 roll

1-13 Hired Guide

14-24 Stout Yeoman

25-35 Wily Rogue

36-48 Militia Man

49-56 Former Soldier

57-67 Hopeful Youth

68-73 Deranged Wretch

74-81 Angry Villager

82-89 Outcast Drifter

90-100 Roving Wanderer

Five figure groups with the Retinue troops in house colours,

Lambtun Red, Lumley Blue, Ravensworth Green, Finchale Yellow, and the black tabards of the Expelled, renegades and truants.

Establishing threat levels
We need to know what sort of dangers await us and how serious they are.
There are three types of Threat: Outlaws, Border Tension and Dark Secrets.
Use the table below to determine the Threat level for each village in turn.

Threat level
Region	Outlaws	Border Tension	Dark Secrets
Hinterlands	1D3+1	1D3+2	2D3
Borderlands	2D3	1D3+3	1D3+1
Wilderness	1D3+3	2D3	1D3+1
Campaign goals The aim of the campaign is to reduce all threats to 0 in every village.

Encounters
To village	To region	Adventuring	Encounter
1-30	1-20	0	Nobody encountered
31-60	21-40	1-15	Roadside Encounter
61-75	41-65	16-65	Combat Encounter
76-90	66-85	66-90	Roadside AND Combat Encounter
91-100	86-100	91-100	Monster tracks!

Roadside Encounters
1	Messenger	8	Minstrel	15	Wild Ponies
2	Peasants (2-12}	9	Lazars	16	Stray hound
3	Charcoal burners	10	Miller with cart	17	Boar
4	Colliers	11	Outlaws	18	Shepherd and flock
5	Peddler	12	Lord/Lady with retinue	19	Milkmaid and big cow
6	Friar	13	Merchants	20	Wolves
7	Monks&/or Pilgrims	14	Bull or Stag

                                                   

Combat Encounters
Roll	Border	Outlaw	Dark secret
1-12	Raider	Thieves	Taken
13-25	Nomad	Brigands	Corrupt
26-37	Barbarian	Deserters	Roaming Dead
38-50	Torn Flags	Slavers	Fanatics
51-62	Military Patrol	Desperate Mob	The Outcast
63-74	The Untamed	Smugglers	Cultists
75-86	Skirmishers	Renegades	Night Folk
87-94	Militia	Looters	Grave Walkers
95-100	Fang Tribe	Rebels	Fog Born

 1D6 to determine the tactical situation.

Encounter while Travelling  - Roll Encounter type
1-25	Attacked by enemy
26-70	Encounter while travelling
71-90	Located camp *
91-100	Located lair *
*             If the Threat started the campaign at 3+ and currently has 1 point remaining, play a Last Stand instead

Roll Table theme 

1-12 Meadows and fields

13-18 Marshlands

19-28 Near a farm house

29-37 Edge of the woods

38-41 Deep forest

42-46 Foot hills

47-57 Along the road

58-63 Along the river

64-70 Village outskirts

71-74 Old church

75-78 Grave yard

79-88 Overgrown ruins

89-95 Ruined tower

96-100 Cave complex

All a Work in progress

I am still working on converting the rules to Wars of the Roses period and will keep a Campaign rules and background document at:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/quv4h1mh93g9al2/Cestria.docx?dl=0

First Game

Month	Old English	Old High German
January	Æfterra Gēola "After Yule", or "Second Yule"	Wintar-mánód
February	Sol-mōnaþ 'mud month,' Bede: "the month of cakes, which they offered in it to their gods."	Hornung
March	Hrēþ-mōnaþ "Month of the Goddess Hrēþ" or "Month of Wildness"[	Lenzin-mānod"spring month"
April	Easter-mōnaþ "Easter Month", "Month of the Goddess Ēostre"	Ōstar-mnod "Easter month"
May	Þrimilce-mōnaþ "Month of Three Milkings"	Winni-mánód "pasture month"
June	Ærra Līþa "Before Midsummer", or "First Summer" Þrilīþa "Third (Mid)summer" (leap month)	Brāh-mānod
July	Æftera Līþa "After Midsummer", "Second Summer"	Hewi-mānod "hay(making) month"
August	Weod-mōnaþ "Weed month"	Aran-mānod "harvest month"
September	Hālig-mōnaþ "Holy Month"	Witu-mānod "wood month"
October	Winterfylleth "Winter full moon", according to Bede "because winter began on the first full moon of that month"	Wīndume-mānod "vintage month"
November	Blōt-mōnaþ "Blót Month", "Month of Sacrifice"	Herbist-mānod "autumn month"
December	Ærra Gēola "Before Yule", or "First Yule	Hailag-mānod "holy month"

The Narrative of Brother Thomas

9th day of Easter Month, Year 1455 of our Lorde.

"This day, Gregory of Finchale, Bishop of Cestria, summoned Sir Hugh of Farthingdale, a Knight from Lancaster, known as "the Hund," a veteran of wars in France and the wilds of Prussia.  He commanded him to raise a small retinue and to deal with bandity and heresy among the Bishop's lands to the south of Cestria, sending myself, Father Findlay, His Reverence's Witch-Smeller to join this expedition.  

The Knight swiftly gathered his loyal Men at Arms, veterans of the wars he has followed, and raised retinue men and followers.  

The Bishop's lands are: The Sacrist Abbey, Finchale Priory and, the three farms.

The first encounter would be on the Great North Road, and an ambush by a "patrol" of the Men of Lord Lambtun who attacked without warning.

On the Cestria Moor, just north of Plaw's farm, the Lambtun's attempt to ambush the Bishop's men.  Perhaps it's because the Bishop seems to have dressed his men in Blue, the Lumley colours rather than the yellow of Finchale.  Sir Hugh passes his tactics roll and the encounter be, comes a face off rather than an ambush. 

Sir Hugh gets stuck in.  He wins Initiative and hits, driving back the Lambtun Captain.

Clearly I need to paint surcoats.  The Bishop's men win.

Three of the Lambtun's flee the field.

The Lambtun Captain stands rearguard.  He is knocked down and captured.  The Witch Smeller demands a burning, but the captive is sent back to face the Bishop's justice.  Need to sort the painting detail and basing on these figures!