These are my notes on the 13th Century Cestria campaign. I will be taking this up again over the summer.
Five Leagues from the Borderlands has some great strengths as a game. It's a solo game, written and designed to be played solo, against an "Enemy" system. More than that it has the campaign system built into the rules, so much so that the campaign is part of this game. I'm not sure that "pick up games" or playing these rules against an opponent would work, although Nordic Weasel say they would.
Thing is though that these are rules for a miniatures RPG style fantasy game. That gave me some pause initially. I have a chequered history with this sort of thing, probably my favourite literature genre, but on table it never seems to work. Where Borderlands is different is that this is low fantasy, the equivalent of the "Black Company" novels, the old T.T.G heroes RPG or the Harn setting. No sorcerers or elves, just fantasy elements that can be thought of as realistic.
Borderland issues,
I do have some issue with the rules beyond this. For a start there are no cavalry rules. Everyone is afoot. Only pack mules make an appearance. An easy enough fix however with some basic amendments.
Of course the use of anoher ruleset rather than the Fivecore engine would work well, it's just that I haven't found those rules yet!
The use of set number of figures irritates me too. Retinue, also an old TTG game handles this better, raising forces to points not set numbers. I'll probably just go with a base table. Not all Warbands are created equal and actually I want more than a single warband in play.
The nature of the game is dealing with threats. But what if I want to game the threat, or one of my warbands actually is the threat? The combat rules, focus on small groups, all well and good. Larger games are possible though with some creative thinking, and although the rules have no command structure I would want to use the "Command" and "tactics" skills to allow a Knight to move a small group on his activation.
There is no grouping by weapon types, but at this level of game its probably not an issue. I have more of a problem with the concept of "heroes," and this is bound up with my issues on "Fantasy" itself. Stronger, faster (with a better diet) battle trained individuals are always going to dominate, but let's leave Conan at home (although Howard's Hyboria is a low fantasy setting.)
Of course the superstitions of the medieval period provide us with the basis for all of that fantasy literature, but any fantasy elements I would allow would be one of background rumours. After all there are a lot of elements that can be drawn on for Threats: Heresy, revolting peasants, wolf's head outlaws, torn flags mercenaries, Border raiders, wild animals such as huge bears and wolves.
My feeling is that Five Leagues is a game that translates to other periods. Initially I attempted using my 15mm Cry Havoc collection, perfect in- period figures for the game. This left me a little cold, mainly due to the figure scale not being immersive enough. I moved the game forward two centuries into the Fifteenth Century, and it worked far better, although I'm determined to collect some Barons war figures for this.
Actually though, as a concept Borderlands has even wider possibilities. An Egyptians garrison in the Bronze Age, defending against rampaging Sea People's, Libyan tribesmen and desert raiders. Norman adventurers in southern Italy attempting to seize and control territory. Frontier Ranger patrols in the French Indian wars. A Roman Centurion and his men keeping the local villages free of dark druidic plotting.
My campaign setting is a little more conservative, and seemed the obvious one for me. Medieval Cestria is based on my home town of Chester Le Street in North East England. It has a rich history to build the game on. Initially a Roman Fort and Vicus on the Great North Road it was where Saint Cuthbert's body was brought from the Holy Island to keep it safe from Vikings.
By the 13th Century it was part of the Prince Bishopric of Durham, and although I have deviated from history somewhat, I can give the game a realistic and grounded feeling.
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| Mythic Cestria circa 1200 AD |
In my "Imaginations" campaign Cestria has its own Bishop. There is a rival Bishop in Dyrham, to the south, but our town kept hold of Cuthbert's body, and the great Minster Church over his grave has only just been completed. The Earldom of Nothumbrya over the river Tyne to the north has been overun by the Scots, as has much of the lake lands to the west. To the south the Barons are squabbling with the King as the Long Anarchy of the last century seems to be repeating itself. The Vikings are still out there over the sea to the East, their raiding a threat.
For fantasy elements this area has the legend of the Wyrm, a genuine story of a Dragon from the Middle Ages. Its not been seen recently but everyone knows its there, and the family curse that follows the Wyrm is well known. Just to the north of Cestria is the village of Perkinsville, which reminded me of "Baskerville" so let's add a werewolf story, a big wolf attacking people in the woods. (And I had my own "werewolf in the woods" moment near here years ago after imbibing too much snakebite in the Plough Inn on one fateful night)
South across the moors is the oddly named Pity Me. That will be a shrine to "God's Pity" the Misericordia, but also an ancient Grove to the old gods and a local Celtic Goddess of Grief. Heretics bound to the old gods are found here, or those are perhaps just stories. Another oddly named village is No Place, so perhaps literally No Place, a mist swirled hamlet that seems to shift, or does it? What kind of ale are they brewing to give travellers such an experience?
It's the Middle Ages so some allegations of witchcraft are in order. Is the Hag of the New-field a witch or a celebrated curer of swine fever? A local ghost story is the Grey Lady, much talked of rarely seen, so that can also be added.
Another fantasy element that is realistic is the "Caliban" option. During the Middle Ages any physical deformity was seen as God's judgment and a sign of an evil inner nature. I've just finished Deane's "A History of Medieval Heresy," and it's clear that different was dangerous, so I want some characters who look the part, a huge ugly Satanic knight, A cyclops child born with only one mid forehead eye and serrated teeth, who haunts the moors, a leprous priest leading a congregation of the diseased, a reality far more horrific than the modern idea of "zombies."
My figures are painted and based for Standard Games Cry Havoc. All the figures are named. Six big knights are the basis of six factions, four of these being the Houses from my old school. Ten more knights are aligned between these factions. This gives me the names I need, locking that detail into the game and avoids me using the rude double entendre names I'm prone to, and which would destroy the atmosphere I'm going for.
The Houses of Lambtun, Lumley, Ravensworth and Finchale (from my school days) will be joined by Stanley (a name synonymous with treachery in Medieval England) and Wessingtun. A Wessingtun went on to become first President of the United States so our lot should do well. Finchale is of course named for a local Priory, so will be "Bishop's" Finchale, as the ruling Bishop's own house.
Gaming Cestria with my 15mm collection didn't work very well. I didn't feel it. The use of Wars of the Roses figures in 28mm worked much better, but really only spurred me into the decision to transform my 15mm figures into a Longships variant, and collect a force of 28 mm Foundry Baron's War for this game. Since I'm expecting to be back in Durham pretty soon Ill have a big force of Normans to add into the mix. That should allow me to pick this game up again during the summer
