Warlords of the Dark Ages: A Warhammer Shieldwall Campaign

This page describes the course of a Warhammer Shieldwall campaign set on the mythical Isle of Lyonesse, said to lie south of Ireland and west of Cornwall.

The map represents the fictitious island of Lyonesse in what corresponds to our 10th Century AD. The map is representational, much like the schematic maps available during the Middle Ages. It shows the important towns and castles on the island, known as areas. Each area has:

1. A name
2. A point value
3. A loyalty indicator (pennon)
4. A control indicator (guidon).

An area with no pennon or guidon is neutral. For simplicity’s sake we are ignoring naval warfare.

There are three sizes of force in the game, small, large, and huge. A small standard (rectangular flag) represents a small force, a larger one represent a large force, and the largest a huge force.

There are five players, whose icons have these colors:

• Dalriana (Irish): Yellow
• Murchia (Norman Franks): Light blue
• Cymria (Welsh): Green
• Sumnia (Flemings): Red
• Marchester (Norman Franks): Dark blue

Fuzzy brown lines connect areas to one another. These represent efficient routes of travel. The other mountains, hills, and woods on the map indicate what sort of country surrounds each area, and will affect its terrain. It also gives you an idea of why there is no road for example between Ayrlow and Fennian.

Each castle area is worth 600 tax points. Each town area is worth 200 tax points. Tax points represent both hard cash and also the vassals available in each area.

We will play the game as a set of game-years, each four turns long. Each turn represents ten actual days. Thus a game-year represents the nominal 40-day period when each lord's vassals were expected to gather under his banner and fight his wars. We assume the Dukes and lesser lordlings spend the rest of the year feasting, feuding with loved ones, and fonding priests to read their tax rolls to them.

Movement of all forces is public each turn, but contents are not. There are three sizes of force:

• Small (1-50 models)
• Large (51-200 models)
• Huge (201+ models)

The Map

Campaign Rules [pdf]

Campaign Background

Of old, Lyonesse was divided into three kingdoms: The Cymrians in the west, the Dalrianans in the north, and the Saxons in the south and center. The ancient border of Cymria was the Goreflood River. Of old, Dalriana’s lands extended east to the end of the Ayrlow Mountains. Cymria and Dalriana both laid claim to the Belshaw Hills and disputed ownership vigorously. The Saxons held the east and the south, but laid claim to the entire island.

Between 650-750, several waves of Carolingian Franks migrated to Lyonesse, overran the Saxon lands and pushed the Cymrians and Dalrianans out of much of their ancestral territory.

Over the next two centuries the Franks assimilated with the Saxons they had conquered, ruling from the ancient capital at Malten Castle. They also regarded themselves as the rightful rulers of Cymria and Dalriana, which led to constant warfare along the ill-defined borders of the three kingdoms.

In 940 the Frankish King Adelbard II died of wounds suffered during a friendly chess game with his seneschal. T claimants to the throne of Lyonesse promptly went to war (with a brief pause to behead the seneschal): The Duke of Sumnia in the east, the Duke of Murchia in the north, and the Duke of Marchester in the south. Dalriana used the anarchy as a pretext to claim “protective rights” over the lands of Cymria as well as the north of Lyonesse. After several stalemated wars between 941-945, the borders simmer with trouble and the center of Lyonesse lies ungoverned. The major powers have spent five years recovering, to continue the argument.

Winning the Game

AD 950:

AD 950

Player	Force Location and Size
Cymria	Large force in Llanfennen, small force in Sudley
Dalriana	Small force in Middleby, small force in Meltham, large force in Carador
Murchia	Small force in Norwald, Small force in Harwich
Marchester	Large force in Marchester, small force in Malten, small force in Chevion
Sumnia	Large force in Chelby, Small force in Westpool, Small force in Drimby

Solemn Oaths:
Solemn oaths are by nature public, as are breaking them and releasing other players from them. At the start of the game two players made reciprocal oaths:

There were no solemn oaths announced prior to turn 1

King Rory made several offers to Marchester and Cymria during the winter, but the other players rejected them. As the year began, spearmen, bowmen, and slingers began mustering both in Llanfennen castle and around the walls of Carador.

Player	Force Location and Size
Cymria	Large force in Llanfennen marches to Carador and fights the battle of Carador. Small force in Sudley holds
Dalriana	Small force in Middleby sends a small force to Chevion, storming and capturing the town. Small force in Meltham holds Large force in Carador defends but Cymria begotiates the return of the town.
Murchia	Small force in Norwald holds. Small force in Harwich moves to Malten but is too weak to assault the town.
Marchester	Large force in Marchester re-captures Tiltham. Small force in Malten holds. Small force in Chevion holds but is wiped out.
Sumnia	Large force in Chelby sends small force to Tiltham but there is no battle with Marchester. Small force in Westpool holds. Small force in Drimby holds.

Solemn Oaths:

Marchester and Cymria swear again not to cross the Goreflood during AD 951 without mutual permission.

Dalriana and Murchia have exchanged a solemn oath not to attack one another during AD 951.

I Dux Rollo of Marchester hereby make a solemn oath not to attack Baldwin van Etten of Sumnia. I recognize his right to take the towns of Ilway and Corway and bequest the right to pass through Tiltam in his adventure to take Ilway and Corway.

I, Baldwin van Etten of Sumnia make a solemn oath not to attack Rollo of Marchester and recognize his right to Tiltam. I will pass by Tiltam to take Ilway and Corway and will not disturb Tiltam's inhabitants or disturb it in any way as I will bring my own supplies with me. I also agree not to attack any other town or castle that Rollo currently posses.

Announced at end of turn: Dalriana swears to return north out of Carador, and not to attack Cymria during AD 951 or AD 952. Cymria swears to give Dalriana 200 silver marks at the end of AD 951 and not to attack Dalriana during AD 951 or AD 952.

King Rory and King Rhodri scavenged their dead, patched up their wounded, then left Carador and marched back toward their home territories (to the joy of the peasants in Carador). The Duke of Murchia abandoned his designs on Malten and hurried back up to Harwich. Duke Etten of Sumnia, true his oath, left Tilltam alone and took his army south to capture Illway. Duke Rollo of Marchester left a small garrison in Tilltam and trotted his main force north to Chelby, but did not attack the town.

(As an aside, the lone town of Ban still stands neutral and free despite a Murchian force next door since the start of the campaign. Ban seems like an easy grab, but there may some political reason for its special status.)

Solemn Oaths: None this turn.

No action of note happened, skipping these turns...

Dalriana: Dalriana stayed out of trouble, consolidating it sforces and conserving tax points.

Cymria: Cymria dropped out of the game after Marchester outmaneuvered him badly (see map below).

Marchester: Marchester invaded Cymria after Cymria refused to renew their solemn oath not to cross the Goreflood River without mutual agreement. Duke Rollo advanced to Sudley Castle where King Rhodri had most of his army. Rhodri decided to hide in the castle rather than fight a pitched battle. So on turn 3 Rollo simply marched off into central Cymria, capturing Rhodri's capital at LLanfennen. At that point, in despair, Rhodri dropped out of the campaign, with his towns in civil disorder.

Murchia: Murchia pulled off a risky but clever move. He marched his Dux plus a picked force from Harwich southeast through the forest to Drimby and snapped it up. This required three turns, but it gave him a bridgehead into Sumnian territory.

Sumnia: The Sumnians grabbed Illway and Corway but took no offensive actions against other players.

Dalriana: King Rory now spent most of his carefully-saved warchest, assembling a huge force of over 2000 men at Meltham, plus a large force at Chevion to keep Duke Rollo guessing. He then moved the huge force south and overran Carador.

Marchester: Duke Rollo sent a mounted force from Tilltam to capture Sudley Castle, and part of his force at Llanefennen to grab Llanaber.

Murchia: The Murchians again used the cross-country ploy to send part of their men at Drimby toward Chelby.

Sumnia: The Sumnians sent their garrison at Westpool north to assault Drimby. But he did not prepare the attackers very well and the defenders' crossbowmen tore the Sumnians to pieces.

Dalriana: King Rory and Duke Rollo met at Sudley Castle for first pitched batle of the campaign: 900 Marchestrian defenders against 1300 Dalrianans. It was a signal victory for Duke Rollo due to some tactical errors on the part of King Rory. See the Battle of Sudley Castle for details.

However, one gleam of light for Dalriana was their capture of Llanfennen Castle.

Marchester: See above.

Murchia: The Murchians' force reached Chelby but wisely decided not to attack the garrison. They turned back across country toward Drimby.

Sumnia: The Sumnians retired their damaged force to Westpool and reinforced it from Chelby.