Kingmaker Cyprus: Lion Rampant Game One.

A Lion Rampant Game based on a Kingmaker Cyprus game.  Sir Roland has rushed to Nicosia with his retinue, hoping to position himself to crown his proxy, Sir Piers, who is the Bastard son of the last de Luisignan King. 

Sir Roland has boasted that he will destroy Sir Richard`s entire force, a huge boast, but then he is playing the Hammer and Anvil scenario card, allowing him to trap Sir Richard on the table between himself and a force under Sir Piers.

The Leaders in this game had their characters evaluated immediately prior to play:

• Sir Roland  - Lionheart  (During attacks Leader's unit may reroll up to two failed hit dice)
• Sir Richard - Vulnerable (Killed by lucky blows on a score of 2 or 3)
• Sir Piers - Strong  (During attacks the Leader's unit may reroll one failed hit dice)

Both Sir Roland and Sir Richard have 24 point retinues, similarly composed from the Crusader list:

• 2 Mounted Men-at-Arms* @ 12 points
• 1 Mounted Serjeants @ 4 points
• 1 Foot Serjeants @ 4 Points
• 1 Crossbowmen @ 4 points

Sir Piers only has:
• 1 Dismounted Knights @ 6 points (his bodyguard)
• 1 Foot Serjeants @ 4 Points, (from his control of the Nicosia Castle guard.)

For Hammer and Anvil Piers is deployed on table at the Eastern edge, blocking Sir Richard's road home / or the gates of Nicosia.  Sir Richard at the Western table edge knows that Sir Roland will begin arriving behind him after turn two and that he has to destroy Piers, before he is trapped.  Of course if Piers is killed Roland`s plan to crown him King will fail.

The city of Nicosia is off map to the NE,  Sir Roland will appear on the Western edge, having marched his Retinue from his fief at St Hilarion Castle.

Sir Richard must deploy between the dry river bed and the Rough going of the rock walls and tilled fields in the NW corner of the map.



The Game

My table, using a Hotmatz European fields pattern.  On the tabletop those entry and exit points started to look narrow!

 Sir Piers the Bastard with his dismounted retainers, and some Nicosia Militia Spearmen, blocks the exit for Sir Richard.
15mm Essex Miniatures.

 Sir Richard's retinue deploy, and they look angry!
Sir Richard takes his horsemen across the field to deal with Sir Piers, cunningly leaving his foot to block the entry on table for Sir Roland.

 Sir Roland storms on table pushing aside the foot with contemptuous ease.  Good dice!

 Even Richard's foot Men at arms, meant to stiffen the line, are surrounded and destroyed. 

 Meanwhile I varied Lion Rampant a little.  Sir Piers commanded two units of his own retinue, so I judged it correct that he could challenge Sir Richard to personal combat.
I`m not sure if this was pushing the rules, but it seemed correct.
However the dice were unequivocal, and Sir Richard was comprehensively defeated.

 From my reading of the history of the Latin Kingdom of Cyprus I also judged it proper that Richard was given a chance to submit.  A quick dice roll and I realised I was wrong and that he had been killed!  So much for Sir Piers chances of collecting a ransom.

 Richards remaining units didn`t think much of his defeat and failed their command rolls.

Roland arrives having won his boast.  I know that if I could draw a Bishop as the next crown pack draw Roland could have Piers crowned as King of Cyprus.  Alas he drew Turkish Mercenaries, the vile garden lurker Amin Yashed and his Turcopoles.

Of course Sir Roland could yet cut a deal so the game continues.





I think that my solo amendment to the rules will stand for the duration of these games.  One of my lesser "Knight" characters, present within the retinue of one of the "Big men" Knights will still be able to offer personal combat to a Knight on the other side.  How often this will happen is of course restricted by the campaign game, and reliant on the game factions massing forces that include different characters.
I enjoyed Lion Rampant, but I`m still getting to grips with it.  Sharp eyed individuals would notice that I use Infantry in groups of 10, not 12, ten being a proper Medieval organisation, and saving me a couple of figures here and there.  The way the dice work it makes no difference, but I prefer it.