Saga: The Crescent and The Cross
Saga: The Crescent and The Cross Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- What is SAGA: The Crescent and The Cross?
- What You Will Need
- The Basics
- Battle Boards and SAGA Dice
- The Orders Phase
- The Activation Phase
- Movement
- Shooting
- Melee
- Fatigue
- Terrain
- Armoury
- Timing of SAGA Abilities
- An Activation Phase Example
- Mustering the Warband
- Warlords
- The Priest
- Faction: Crusaders
- Faction: Saracens
- Faction: Milites Christi
- Faction: Mutatawwi'a
- Faction: Spanish
- Faction: Moors
- The Dogs of War
- Scenarios
- Often overlooked rules
- SAGA Dice chart
What is SAGA: The Crescent and The Cross?
The SAGA system recreates clashes between powerful Warlords and their Warbands from ancient and half-forgotten times. Highlighting martial prowess and larger-than-life feats of arms, SAGA is not a game for the faint-hearted. The system piles on the pressure as each turn demands multiple tactical choices that together will determine the fate of your warriors; heroic glory or ignominious defeat!
SAGA's first incarnation was published back in 2011 as SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes. This book is the second manifestation of the game system. SAGA: The Crescent and The Cross offers the opportunity to sail to the Holy Land and take part in the Crusades. For SAGA veterans, in these pages you will find a brand new environment, new Factions, new rules and new scenarios for a game system you already enjoy.
Ragnar (sidebar, addressed to SAGA veterans): Throughout these rules, comments in sidebars let veterans of SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes know how to incorporate the new features in this book into their Dark Ages games.
What You Will Need
Figures. Our preferred scale, and the one used for the official figure range, is 28mm, but SAGA can be played with 15mm or 40mm figures if you prefer. Players organise their figures into Warbands representative of their chosen Faction (explained in full later in the book).
A surface to play on. The standard board size for a good game is 48" x 36". A larger surface may be needed once you get used to the rules and want to field more figures.
Dice. Two kinds of dice are used in this game. The first are the regular six-sided dice. The other type is the SAGA dice. These are also six-sided, but with one of three symbols on each face. This book uses two different types of SAGA dice: the Muslim dice (yellow and black) and the Christian dice (red and white). Each player should have his own set of the relevant SAGA dice for his Warband Faction, depending upon the Warband's faith. (SAGA dice can be replaced by common D6, see the SAGA dice Chart.)
Measuring. SAGA uses four different measurements: Very Short (VS), Short (S), Medium (M) and Long (L). You can either use a tape measure or sticks cut to the right lengths.
Battle Boards. Each Warband Faction has its own Battle Board. There is a Battle Board for each Faction included with this book. The Battle Boards are used in conjunction with the SAGA dice. At the start of his turn, each player rolls his SAGA dice and places them on his Battle Board to grant the chosen effects and abilities to his Warband this turn. Each player should place his Warband's Battle Board within easy reach beside the gaming table. Some players even like to have a copy of the opponent's Battle Board in front of them so they can keep an eye on what nasty tricks he is preparing.
Markers. SAGA uses some in-game markers. Some are specific to a given Faction but one type of marker is used by all Factions to represent Fatigue. Fatigue affects warriors who fight for too long or who are asked to do too much by their Warlord. Fatigue markers can be photocopied from the page at the back of the book or printed from downloadable pdf documents on the publisher's website.
Scenery. Ideally representative of the Middle-East where most of the conflict depicted in The Crescent and The Cross took place. You do not need a lot of terrain to play SAGA.
Scenarios. SAGA is a scenario-based game. This book includes six scenarios (and one extra multi-player scenario), each with a descriptive outline plus each player's objectives and any scenario specific special rules. Once familiar with the game system, players are encouraged to design their own scenarios.
The Basics
Warbands and Factions
Each player leads a Warband into battle. A Warband is the collection of figures that the player has selected, based on the units available to his Faction, plus his Warlord to lead them. You select models in groups of the same troop class with one point providing you a variable number of figures, and SAGA is usually played with Warbands of between four and eight points, six being the norm. For your first games we recommend using four point Warbands as they make learning the game easier, without removing that much tactical depth.
Each Warband belongs to a Faction, which can be based upon a culture, nation, or military organisation. This book offers six Factions to choose from, each represented by a Battle Board, and each of them has its own different approach to warfare and consequent playing style.
Troop classes
Each figure used in SAGA belongs to a class. The four different classes are:
- Warlords. The leaders and most influential men of your Faction are classed as Warlords. Each Warband is led by a Warlord. Warlords benefit from some special rules which are detailed in the chapter dedicated to them. Unless specifically stated, all Battle Board abilities which have an effect on a Hearthguard will have the same effect on a Warlord. Some abilities have their effects restricted to Warlords only and a few specifically exclude Warlords.
- Hearthguards. This class contains the most powerful troops at your disposal, usually the household troops of your Lord, such as knights or personal guards. They are almost always professional soldiers.
- Warriors. This class contains the bulk of the fighting men, gathering when their Lord requires their services. They may be non-professional or part-time soldiers or professional soldiers that are less well armed and trained than the Hearthguard. The term Warriors can cover a wide range of troops such as citizen militia, sergeants and semi-professional soldiers.
- Levies. This class contains all those men forced to fight by their Lord. What they lack in quality, they make up for in numbers. Weight of numbers is pretty much all you can expect of them.
Each class of troop has two different characteristics: its Armour (which reflects such aspects as the troops' determination and training as well as their physical protection such as helmets, shields etc) and the number of Fatigues required for the unit to count as exhausted. These values may be altered by equipment or by some special Faction rules, but generally all figures belonging to a given class will share the same characteristics. E.g. a Crusader Knight (who belongs to the Hearthguard class) will have the same Armour value as a Saracen Ghulam (also a member of the Hearthguard class). In some cases, the Armour of a model can be different against Shooting and against Melee. If an ability or special rule refers to the Armour value of a figure, use its Melee Armour value, unless otherwise indicated.
The class of a figure also determines the number of dice it will be able to roll during combat; the higher the class, the better the fighting capabilities. This is covered in detail in the chapters on Melee and Shooting.
Units
In SAGA, figures are arranged into units consisting of between one and twelve models. With a few exceptions (e.g. the Warlord or Priest), most units must have a minimum of four models.
The number of models in a unit is fixed at the start of a game (see the chapter Mustering the Warband) and the units are normally not allowed to split or merge during a game.
Formations
There is no such thing as facing in this game. We assume that the models can see all around and they don't suffer any penalties for fighting to their sides or rear.
If a unit has more than one model, each model within a unit must always remain within VS of at least one other model in the same unit.
Unless specifically authorised by the Faction rules, all models in a given unit must share the same class and the same equipment.
Equipment
All your troops are assumed to be equipped with clothes and a hand weapon (which can be a knife, a sword, a spear or a small axe). They may also have a shield.
For gaming purposes, they may be given some extra equipment which will affect the way that they fight. The choice of additional equipment, if any, is set out in the Warband Faction lists.
Typical extra equipment are mounts, heavy weapons, ranged weapons, etc. SAGA is not really concerned with differences in 'every-day' weaponry, and only highlights really nasty weapons or unusual equipment. These are detailed in the chapter Armoury.
Figure bases
There is no imposed standard basing in SAGA. However, since the size of the bases may have an impact on the number of models allowed to participate in a Melee:
- For a single foot model, any base smaller than 2cm or larger than 3cm in any direction (length or width for rectangular bases or diameter for round bases) is considered as unsuitable for SAGA.
- For mounted models, any base smaller than 4cm in depth or less than 2cm in width or larger than 6cm in any direction should be avoided. With round bases, mounted models must be based on bases with a diameter between 3 and 5 cm.
- As an exception to the above, Warlords may be based on larger bases (up to 5cm for foot or 6cm for mounted) as befits such larger than life characters. This allows players to create special dioramas (e.g. an accompanying standard bearer or a pet) to enhance the high status of their Warlord.
The bases can be round or square and can even support several models (with appropriately extended minimum and maximum sizes).
Sidebar: The basing requirements are meant to stop players creating an unfair advantage by abusing the freedom left for modellers.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): When it comes to moving figures on the table, behave with good manners. If your opponent moves his figures so that they stay out of range of your bows, be content that they are out of range, and do not fuss over a few millimetres here and there.
Measuring distances
There are four different measure distances in SAGA. They are:
- Very Short Distance, referred to as VS and that is 2" (5cm) long
- Short Distance, referred to as S and that is 4" (10cm) long
- Medium Distance, referred to as M and that is 6" (15cm) long
- Long Distance, referred to as L and that is 12" (30cm) long
These abbreviations are commonly used through the rulebook, scenario descriptions, Faction specific rules and the Battle Boards. For example, when you read that a bow can shoot at a maximum range of L, it means that it can shoot up to 12". We highly recommend that you use sticks (either self-made or bought) as they are far handier to use than a tape measure.
All distances can be measured at any time during the game.
"Within X"
Sometimes you will see a statement in the rules that a unit, terrain feature or something else must be "within X", with X being either VS, S, M or L. "Within X", in SAGA terms, means at X or less than X (just to be clear, if you are at exactly X away, you are considered within X). Unless specifically stated otherwise in the rules, you do not have to have the entire terrain feature "within X", just some point on it. Likewise, so long as at least part of the base of one model is "within X" then the unit is considered to be "within X". The same applies to uneven ground: if any part of a model's base is in uneven ground then that model is considered to be in that uneven ground.
Re-rolls and modifiers
In SAGA, some Battle Board abilities or special rules may allow a player to re-roll a die or dice if desired. However, a player may only re-roll any die once per turn and the re-rolled score always replaces the original score, even if the result is worse. Please note, the same die can be re-rolled multiple times, if each re-roll is triggered by a different player.
A die roll may be modified during the game, and this can bring its score above 6 or below 0. Any die roll of less than 0 is counted as 0. There is no upper limit to a modified score (so a roll of 5 modified by +2 becomes 7).
Note however that the Armour value of a figure can never be less than 2 or greater than 6.
The turn
The game turn alternates between each player, with a turn being divided into two phases: The Orders Phase and the Activation Phase. During the Orders Phase, the player plans his turn by rolling SAGA dice and placing them on his Battle Board, and in the Activation Phase the figures are moved, shoot and act. Once this is done, the player's turn ends and his opponent starts his turn.
So when you see a "turn" mentioned, it is a player's turn. "Until the end of the turn" can be read as "until the end of the current Activation Phase". "Until the start of your next turn" means that the effect lasts until the very start of your next Orders Phase.
The scenarios also use turns, but these are "scenario turns". A scenario turn consists of a turn played by each player. Scenario turns are only used to fix the length of the game, and have no impact on the rules otherwise.
Fractions
From time to time, you will see the rules mentioning fractions, as either 1/3 or "one per three models". There is a simple rule in SAGA governing fractions: always round up. So, for example, if there was a rule which said "Eat a dough-nut per three models in your unit", and you have only a single model left in the unit, you would still get to eat a dough-nut.
Battle Boards and SAGA Dice
Battle Boards
The Battle Board, along with his SAGA dice, is the most important tool a SAGA player has at his disposal.
A Battle Board contains the following:
- The name of the Faction with which this Battle Board is used.
- Fifteen SAGA Abilities. Each of these can be triggered at some point during the game and when triggered, grant benefits to its triggering player. For example, by activating a unit, boosting the capabilities of some of your troops or even interfering with your enemy's plans. Above the name of the Faction you will find abilities that can be triggered any number of times per turn. Below the name of the Faction are abilities that can be used only once per turn.
- Some boards also contain boxes for markers or tracks to record the value of a game parameter, both specific to that Faction. The use of these markers, tracks or special features is described in the relevant Faction Rules.
SAGA dice
The Battle Board is used in conjunction with SAGA dice. These special dice (that can be replaced by common D6 by using the SAGA dice Chart) have three different symbols on their sides: the most common appears three times, two sides have the uncommon symbol and the rare one is depicted only once.
The symbols depicted on the SAGA dice correspond to the symbols on the Battle Board. When the dice are rolled, they will be placed on a matching symbol on the board, in one or more of the boxes, and thus "pay" for the SAGA Abilities.
You should have eight SAGA dice corresponding to your Faction. No more, and no less. You cannot steal, borrow or otherwise obtain more than eight SAGA dice to play with.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): Basically, SAGA is a game where you roll SAGA dice, weigh up the options you have with the symbols rolled, and place the dice in boxes on your Battle Board to plan your strategy for the turn.
SAGA Abilities
A SAGA Ability, for example:
Ascalon (Melee 2) — May only be used on your Warlord or Knights. Gain five Attack Dice (plus five Defence Dice if a [Warlord's] was discarded).
- The name of the ability.
- Below the name is the timing of the ability. This tells you when you may play the ability. Some abilities are limited to a single phase of the game sequence and others can be played in several instances, in which case you'll see several timings listed, each separated by "or". In this example, we have a Melee ability, which means that it is meant to be triggered during a Melee.
- Below the timing is the description of the ability. This describes the effects that will happen if you choose to play this ability. It may start with a statement in italics which further restricts when the ability may be used. "May only be used on your Warlord or Knights" means that you cannot use this ability on one of your units of Warriors or Levies.
- At the top of the ability's space on the Battle Board is the cost of the ability in terms of SAGA dice.
- The location of the ability is also significant. If the ability is in the area below the name of the Faction, it can only be triggered once per turn. If it appears above the Faction's name on the Battle Board, it can be triggered any number of times each turn.
The Orders Phase
The Orders Phase is the most important phase for a SAGA player as it will determine what your Warband will be able to do during the turn to come.
The Orders Phase starts your turn and is divided into four steps:
- Generating and then rolling SAGA dice
- Opponent may react
- Placing dice and triggering your Orders abilities
- Opponent may react
Sidebar: Remember the sequence: first you generate and roll your SAGA dice, then you place them on your Battle Board. But, before you start placing SAGA dice and again after the dice have been put on your board, your opponent(s) can react, perhaps using certain abilities from their own Battle Board.
Generating SAGA Dice
The first thing to do is determine how many SAGA dice your Warband generates. Take:
- One SAGA die for each of your Hearthguard or Warrior units on the battlefield.
- Two SAGA dice for your Warlord (if he is still on the table).
Put these SAGA dice into a single pile. This is the number of SAGA dice generated by your Warband.
The number of SAGA dice you are allowed to roll is equal to the number of dice generated by your Warband with a maximum of six. So, even if your Warband generates more, you can only ever roll six of them at the start of the Orders Phase. Once you have taken the number of SAGA dice generated, take six and put the rest aside.
Finally, before rolling some dice, you must look at your Battle Board and see if there are SAGA dice left on it from a previous turn (this can happen when, in a previous turn, you have placed dice on abilities, but in the end did not get an opportunity to trigger them). These dice may be left on your board, or be immediately taken off. From the dice you are allowed to roll, you must deduct the number of SAGA dice left on your Battle Board.
For example, during your last turn you had a Melee ability with dice on, ready to be triggered during your opponent's turn, but in his turn he did not engage with any of your units in Melee. At the start of the Orders Phase, you have to choose if you leave the dice there, or take them back to be able to roll them again during the Orders Phase.
After the dice have been rolled, your opponent will be able to react by using Orders/Reaction abilities (see Timing of SAGA Abilities).
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): A Warband is composed of two units of Hearthguards, three units of Warriors and a unit of Levies. Plus the Warlord. So this Warband generates two SAGA dice for the Hearthguards, three for the Warriors, and two for the Warlord. Levies do not generate any SAGA dice. That's seven in total but at the start of his turn, the player is only allowed to roll up to six SAGA dice, even though his Warband generated more. Looking at his Battle Board, the player sees that two dice have been left on it from the previous turn. As they use symbols that are quite difficult to roll, he decides to leave them there. But now, he must deduct these two dice from the six he may roll. So, he picks four SAGA dice and rolls them. Losing units in SAGA reduces the number of dice you generate as well as leaving you with fewer men.
Placing SAGA dice
Now that you have rolled your SAGA dice, it is time to place them on your Battle Board.
Each of the SAGA Abilities has a cost in SAGA dice (there are a couple of exceptions for very specific Factions of enlightened fanatics). The cost is the dice whose symbols appear at the top of the ability's box.
Choose an ability which requires only one die and place one of the SAGA dice you rolled that is displaying the relevant symbol in that box. Now the ability is ready, meaning that you can trigger it. The timing of this trigger depends on the timing of the ability (see Timing of SAGA Abilities).
Some SAGA Abilities give you the choice of the die you will use. For example:
The Great City (Shooting/Reaction) — May not be used on Levies. The cost shows two different symbols side by side (a mounted-knight symbol and a cross-flag symbol): you could use either symbol to pay this ability, depending on the symbols available on your dice and your future plans.
Not all abilities require a single SAGA die. Some of them cost two (even three) dice. In that case, the dice are separated by a "+", as shown here:
Dance of Spears (Melee/Reaction) — cost: scimitar + scimitar. This ability requires two scimitars to be triggered.
For abilities that cost more than one die, you can, if you want, place only a part of the required cost (in the example above, you could place only one scimitar and not the other). Of course, you will not be able to trigger that ability until all the required dice are placed in the box, but for abilities that require rare symbols, you might want to place a part of the cost, hoping to complete the set next turn.
During your Orders Phase, the only abilities you can trigger are Orders abilities (as written below the ability's name). Your opponent will be able to trigger Orders/Reaction abilities during your Orders Phase.
Abilities below the Faction's name can only ever have the required die (dice) placed on them once. These abilities can only have one combination of dice (of one or two dice) placed on them. Also, you can only use these abilities once per turn, even if you manage to place the required dice combination on them later during your turn. In that case you would have to wait until your opponent's turn to trigger the ability again.
The abilities above the name of your Faction can have any number of dice (or relevant combinations of dice) placed on them, allowing them to be triggered any number of times during a turn, as long as you have dice to pay for them.
After your dice have been placed, your opponent has one more opportunity to play Orders/Reaction abilities. Then the Orders Phase is finished, and any die you rolled that has not been placed on your board is discarded.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): SAGA is a game of planification and anticipation. During the Orders Phase, you will have to formulate a plan for the forthcoming turn. If, during your Activation Phase, you discover that you have forgotten to put a die on the Activation ability of your Hearthguards, you won't be able to go back and rectify the situation. So, during the Orders Phase, consider all options, plan your movement, Shooting and Melees and put the dice on the Battle Board according to that plan.
A Complete Orders Phase
Example, using the Moors Battle Board and eight Muslim SAGA dice. Hashim Ibn Khalid assumes that his opponent does not have any SAGA dice placed on his Battle Board and so he will not be able to trigger any Orders/Reaction abilities during his Orders Phase.
On the table, Hashim has two units of Hearthguards, three units of Warriors and his Levies. With himself generating two dice, that comes to a total of seven SAGA dice, but he is only allowed six of them. He rolls them. His opponent has no dice on his board and so could not react; he starts placing his dice and using Orders abilities.
1. He puts one die on the "Activation Pool", as this ability allows him to roll more dice. He immediately triggers this ability, takes two more SAGA dice and rolls them. He gets two of the symbol he wanted.
2. He places these two dice on the "Betrayal", one of the most powerful Moorish abilities.
3. Then, he starts thinking about his other plans. He will put one die on the "Jund" ability, to activate his Hearthguards during this turn. He takes one die to shoot with his "Mujahid" Levies, as they require fancy symbols to be activated.
4. As he expects his Warriors to be engaged in Melee during his opponent's turn, he wants to give them some support in the shape of a solid SAGA Ability. He takes two scimitar dice and places them on "Impaling Spears".
5. As he expects the Crusaders to rush towards him, Hashim wants some abilities to defend his other soldiers. He would like to trigger "The Moor's Gold" to annoy his opponent, but he does not have the die required, as he has already placed all his dice of that kind. After some careful thought, he finds the answer. He will place one die on "Corruption". This ability will only be triggered during the enemy's Orders Phase, but will give him a die. He will then place this die on "The Moor's Gold", and trigger it.
All his dice are placed. But before the end of the Orders Phase, Hashim triggers "Betrayal", and designates five pilgrims that are protecting the Crusader's crossbowmen. Now, his enemy has the choice to either let him take control of them during his turn or take three Fatigues with his Warlord. The Crusader decides to cancel it and takes the three Fatigues.
Hashim is now ready to start his Activation Phase. He has placed all his dice: some of them are ready for this turn, while others will be used during the Crusader's turn.
The Activation Phase
Many things will happen during the Activation Phase. While the Orders Phase is the part of the game dedicated to hatching plans and scheming, the Activation Phase is full of action, exchange of blows, daring moves and vicious strokes. Without a properly prepared Orders Phase, your Activation Phase won't be decisive. The reversal is also true.
Activation abilities
During the Activation Phase, you will trigger your Activation abilities. Activation abilities have Activation appearing under their title. The Activation abilities that you will use most frequently appear, with slight variation, on all the Battle Boards. For example:
- Jund (Activation): Activate a unit of Hearthguards or a Warlord.
- Hashid (Activation): Activate a unit of Warriors.
- Mujahids (Activation): Activate a unit of Levies.
Most Factions have very similar Activation abilities in the top section of their Battle Board (although there are some exceptions). All these abilities allow a player to activate a unit. Activating a unit allows it to act, by moving, Shooting and other actions. In the examples above, each Ability activates a different class of unit, with "Jund" activating Hearthguards and Warlord, "Hashid" activating Warriors and "Mujahids" activating your Levies (the Hearthguards and Warlord are the easiest to activate based on dice symbol frequency, while the Levies are the hardest to motivate). Some other Battle Boards do not activate all their units based on class, but rather on other criteria. For example, the Spanish Battle Board has an ability to activate mounted units and one to activate foot units. But all Battle Boards will have abilities that activate your troops, and these abilities are always usable more than once per turn.
To use a SAGA Ability, you simply have to discard the die or dice from the SAGA Ability box and the ability will trigger. This die or combination of dice is what we call the cost of an ability. This is true for all SAGA Abilities, not only Activation ones. So, to use a SAGA Ability you only have to discard the required dice and resolve the ability.
Your opponent(s) will also be able to trigger their abilities, if they have the Activation/Reaction timing. We will cover these triggers in the chapter dedicated to SAGA Abilities Timing.
The Activation Phase sequence
During your Activation Phase, you will use Activation abilities one at a time.
You start with paying the cost to trigger an Activation ability, then you resolve its effects.
Your opponent will be able to react to some of your actions performed during the Activation Phase. The Activation/Reaction abilities always explicitly state when the reactive ability can be triggered and it is the opponent's responsibility to ask you to stop so he can use his reaction ability - he has to actually react to your action.
Some special rules (such as the Warlord's "Determination") can also be used during the Activation Phase, without that being an Activation Ability.
Once you do not want to use any remaining Activation abilities or special rules that would allow you to act during the Activation Phase or once you do not have any left, then your Activation Phase ends, and with it, your turn.
Activating Units
The core of the Activation Phase lies in the activation of units. When a SAGA Ability or special rule activates a unit, it has the choice of three different options:
- It can move
- It can shoot
- It can rest
Moving allows the unit to move about the battlefield. See the chapter dealing with Movement. If the moving unit ends its movement engaged with an enemy unit, a Melee sequence will have to be immediately resolved. See the Melee chapter for the resolution of a Melee.
Activating a unit for Shooting is only possible if the unit has missile weapons. Activating for Shooting initiates a Shooting sequence which is resolved immediately.
Resting allows you to get rid of a Fatigue token. Some circumstances give Fatigue tokens to units, and these can hinder the capabilities of those units. Sometimes a welcome break is needed and Resting offers such a break.
A unit may be activated any number of times during a turn, as long as you have the means to activate it. You can go back and forth between two units as well.
Multiple simultaneous activations
Some SAGA Abilities (or special rules) allow the player to activate more than one unit at the same time. In these cases, when the ability is triggered, all targets of the effect must be designated. Despite the units being activated at the same time, the resolution of the activations is sequential, with each unit being activated (and any ensuing Shooting or Melee sequence resolved) before moving to the next unit.
If the type of Activation is not determined by the ability, the player will only have to announce the type of activation when he actually activates that particular unit. In other words, if you activate three units, you only have to tell your opponent which units will be activated, and not the type of activations they will perform.
SAGA abilities that allow a player to activate multiple units share some wording such as: "activate up to X units", or "activate all units that...". A general rule is however that in the case of multiple simultaneous activations, no unit may be activated twice. So, if you are allowed to activate 3 units, this must be 3 different units.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): In SAGA, there are no Shooting or Combat Phases. A unit is activated to shoot? Resolve the Shooting immediately. A unit charges another and engages it in Melee? Prepare the D6 and SAGA Abilities, as blood will be spilt immediately. You can chain your activations in such a way that your units collaborate on the battlefield: shoot with one unit to soften the enemy, then activate another unit to engage this enemy. This is one of the joys of SAGA, having an absolute freedom on the timing of things - if your opponent lets you play that kind of game. He will most likely have a few Activation/Reaction abilities to trigger and ruin your plans.
Movement
Movement on the battlefield is an important part of life for a SAGA player. The movement rules are simple, but each of them needs important consideration as they might restrict what you can and cannot do.
Unit Formation
In SAGA, models are arranged and operate in units and these units must have a coherent formation. Each model in a unit must be within a reasonable distance of his fellows, and we call that the Unit Formation.
The rules are simple: a model must always be within S of another model in the same unit with the unit forming a chain of models, with no more than VS between two models of that unit. This rule should be enforced at the end of each movement by the unit. You cannot voluntarily break this formation, and if your unit suffers casualties, you cannot remove models that would break this rule.
Some units, such as Warlords, consist of a single model. Obviously, these units do not have a Unit Formation.
Diagram: a unit with a legal formation, with all models having another model within S, and forming a chain of models with no gap of more than VS.
Movement distance
The normal movement distances are M for a foot model and L if the model is mounted.
When you move a unit, this movement distance is measured for each model in the unit and no model may exceed that distance. When you move, you may rearrange the relative positions of your models in the unit as you wish, as long as no model in the unit moves more than its allowed movement distance.
Remember that the unit formation rule above must always be respected. At the end of the unit's movement, each model will have to be within VS of another model in the unit.
Diagram: this is not a legal formation, as the (red) model is more than VS from any other model in his unit.
Effects of terrain
Some terrain is more difficult to move through and will slow your troops down. In SAGA, terrain can be of three types: Open, Uneven or Impassable.
- Open terrain is landscape that is not covered by any scenery item. Roads, bridges and gentle elevations are also considered to be open terrain. Open terrain does not reduce movement.
- Uneven terrain is all terrain which limits movement (woods, brush, rocky areas, sandy patches, buildings...). All units, whether mounted or on foot, have a movement distance of S if any part of the unit, even a single model, is in uneven terrain.
- Impassable terrain needs to be identified as such by the players before the game begins. It may be cliffs, ponds, deep rivers... As the name implies, movement is impossible on or through impassable terrain.
Terrain should be clearly delineated and have its boundaries well identified on the table. For example, if you have a few trees on a decorated base, then it is often preferable to say that the whole base counts as uneven terrain. For more rules about Terrain, refer to the Terrain chapter.
Interpenetration
For game purposes, all figures (even friendly ones) are considered as impassable terrain if they belong to another unit.
The same applies to any gap between two models of the same unit; this gap counts as impassable to all other models that do not belong to this unit (during Melees, there are some exceptions to this rule, described in the relevant chapter).
Players should therefore take care when they place a unit of models around another figure, for example a Warlord, as it is fairly easy to inadvertently create an impassable ring and block the figure's movement. Such positions are illegal and can never be built on purpose. Should such a situation occur without both players realising it, it should be fixed as soon as identified, by moving the relevant figure or figures from the unit by the minimum distance necessary to enforce a legal situation.
Diagram: the Warlord (red) cannot be deployed like this, as he is standing in what counts as impassable terrain.
Movement constraints
There are some constraints when moving that must be considered.
Within VS of an enemy. You may never move within VS of an enemy figure unless your unit is ending its movement in Melee. See later for the rules which determine how you may initiate such a Melee.
This rule has some consequences that must be highlighted:
- If you intend to engage an enemy unit in Melee, you must be able to come within VS of it before you are within VS of another enemy unit.
- If you start your movement within VS of several enemy models (this may happen as the result of previous Melees) and have been activated for a Movement, you must end in contact with one of these models. If the contact is impossible for some reason, then the whole activation is cancelled.
- If you do not have enough movement to end up in base to base contact and initiate a Melee, you must stay more than VS away from all enemy models.
Buildings. If a unit wants to enter a building, it is sufficient that its movement (reduced to S due to entering the building which is uneven ground) reaches the boundaries of the building. In order to be able to enter the building, all models in the unit must be in range to do so. This means that if a single model does not have enough movement to reach the wall, then the whole unit will have to stay outside.
To avoid an enemy unit entering a building and also ending its movement within VS of an enemy unit hovering around the building, it is illegal to finish a Movement within VS of any building. This applies to all movements, even when you initiate a Melee (so you cannot be within VS of a building you don't attack).
See the Buildings rules for detailed rules on buildings.
Movement restrictions: second movement within S of an enemy
As seen in the Activation chapter, there are no limits to the number of activations that a unit may receive in a given turn. However, if a unit is activated for a Movement when it has already been moved this turn, then, if the unit starts this movement within S of any enemy unit, it must engage that unit in Melee. If that is impossible, the activation is simply cancelled.
Please note that:
- There must be a legal path between you and the enemy unit and that path must be up to S long. E.g., if you are within S of an enemy via a straight line but this line passes through impassable terrain and the shortest legal route to the enemy is more than S long, then the movement is impossible and the activation is cancelled.
- If there are several enemy units within S of a unit when it is activated for movement a second time this turn, you must engage the nearest enemy unit in Melee. Contrary to the VS case above, you have no choice in the matter.
- It may happen that you are prevented from making contact (e.g. your opponent spends a Fatigue to reduce your movement so that you end up out of reach, see the chapter on Fatigue). In this case, your activation for movement is impossible and is simply cancelled.
Diagram: Your (blue) unit is activated for a Movement a second time this turn. Being within S of at least one enemy unit (in our case, two units) it has to engage the closest in melee. After checking the distances on the table, the players see that the red cavalry unit is the closest enemy unit, so Blue will have to engage it in melee.
"Warlord's Pride" Special Rule
Warlords have reached their lofty status by proving their worth to their men. This implies that they must behave in a manner which inspires respect. This is represented by the following rule:
If you activate your Warlord for a Movement and he is able to engage an enemy Warlord in Melee, then he must do so. You have no choice in the matter.
Note however that the above compulsions to charge (within VS of an enemy, within S in second Movement activation) take precedence over the "Warlord's Pride".
Nor does "Warlord's Pride" apply if your activation specifically prevents ending your movement in Melee (as is the case with some activations triggered by Battle Board abilities).
Moving into contact
Several rules apply when you want to (or sometimes must, see above the various cases where engaging in Melee is compulsory) end in base-to-base contact with an enemy. This will initiate a Melee and this action is called "engaging in Melee". Some abilities only apply when you engage in Melee (i.e. your models were moved to initiate the contact), others apply only if you have been engaged (i.e. it is the opponent's models that were moved into the contact).
Engaging in Melee is done one figure at a time. You will therefore designate and move your figures one by one until the entire unit has been taken care of.
The first model that you choose must make contact (i.e. end his movement in base to base contact with an enemy model) but you are free to choose which one to move first if several can make contact.
For each designated figure, the movement must comply with the following rules:
- If the figure can contact an eligible enemy model, it must do so by the shortest path possible. This path must avoid impassable features (terrain or other models) or any terrain that would slow the unit down such that making contact with the enemy becomes impossible. Note that a figure may cross terrain that would reduce its unit's movement if the reduced movement still allows the model to make contact or, if the model was to avoid the terrain, it would not be able to make contact. In other words, the model trying to get into base-to-base contact with the enemy will do its best to achieve that by whatever route needed, prioritising the shortest one.
- An enemy model is eligible as a target if it is not already in contact with two of your own models. If the closest enemy model is ineligible, your figure will move to contact the next closest eligible enemy model.
- The first figure that you move must end in contact with an enemy and, while it moves, it must stay out of VS from all other enemy units until it is within VS of its intended target. This applies only if your unit starts more than VS away from the target of the movement.
- Once at least one of your figures has made contact, all other figures of your unit will ignore the "not within VS" prohibition. Also your models may pass through a gap of less than VS between two models of the target unit if this allows you to reach another eligible model beyond.
- If an enemy model is deployed within a building, it is considered to be contacted by your model if your model is in contact with the building. If there are several units in that building, the opponent must declare which unit will defend the building as soon as your first figure makes contact. The eligibility rules mean that the number of models in contact with the building may not exceed twice the number of models in the unit which makes up the building's defence. For more details about Buildings, see the Buildings rules.
- If your model does not have sufficient movement to engage an eligible enemy model in base to base contact, or if there are no eligible enemy models left, your figure must move into base to base contact with the nearest figure of its own unit which is already in base to base contact with the enemy, using the shortest path to do so.
- If no such friendly figure can be contacted, you must try to end within VS of an enemy model in the target unit (or the building that it occupies if this is the case) if you can, trying to keep in contact with a friendly figure of your unit if possible.
- If none of these positions can be reached, you must move as near as possible to the enemy.
Remember that unit formation must always be respected (you may not end the movement with a figure more than VS away from its nearest friend), as does the restriction on being within VS of a building that you are not attacking.
Diagram: The Spanish (blue) engage the Moors (red) in melee. They start with the first model (1) and move it into contact. Then 2 and 3 both engage the same model. 4 cannot engage the same model, as an enemy model cannot be contacted by more than two models, so he moves to another enemy. 5 engages the same enemy model as 4, and although this movement brings him within VS of another enemy unit, his unit is already engaged in melee and so may ignore this movement restriction. Finally, 6, being out of movement reach of any enemy model, can only move as close as possible. Note that he cannot engage the cavalry unit in melee, even if he has a sufficient movement.
Unless attacking a building occupied by several units, you may only contact the models of the one enemy unit you are engaging in Melee. As explained above, you may come within VS of other units but you cannot actually touch them.
The only exception to the standard Melee of one unit on each side comes about through the use of the "Side by Side" special rule as follows.
Once he has engaged in Melee, but before the Melee itself is resolved, a Warlord may call for assistance from a friendly unit. That unit must have already been activated by his "We Obey" special rule and also be able to engage the enemy unit in Melee. The friendly unit will immediately move into contact, following the above procedure for moving into contact in all respects. See the Melee chapter to see how this double Melee will be resolved.
If, for any reason (e.g. the opponent reduces the speed of the called upon unit by exploiting Fatigue or if there is not enough space), the unit called for cannot place any models in contact, then the Melee is immediately resolved between the Warlord alone and the enemy unit, and the activation of the friendly unit will be resolved later.
Note that the Warlord must already be in contact with the enemy to use his Side by Side special rule and so, obviously, executes his Movement activation before the other friendly unit.
For more details about the "Side by Side" special rule, see the Warlord chapter.
Shooting as part of a Movement
When a unit has been activated for a Movement, some weapon options allow it to benefit from Shooting. This Shooting is free and does not generate any extra Fatigue (see the Fatigue chapter) nor does it require any additional SAGA dice to be spent.
This Shooting is considered to be part of the Movement activation. This means that Battle Board abilities which can be used when a Shooting activation is used (i.e. any Activation/Reaction ability that can be triggered as a reaction to a unit being activated to shoot) cannot be called upon when this type of Shooting occurs.
The Armoury chapter presents the rules for the weapons that may be used to shoot as part of a Movement activation.
Shooting
To be able to shoot, a unit must be equipped with ranged weapons (some SAGA Abilities might even confer a ranged weapon for the duration of their effects). See the description of your Faction to know which units are, or can be, so equipped.
A shot can be performed when the unit has been activated to shoot or, with some weapons, before or after movement when the unit has been activated for Movement (see Shooting as part of a Movement and the Armoury).
When you are about to shoot, you must declare which enemy unit is going to be the target. At least one model of your unit must have a model of the target unit in Line of Sight and within range.
A Shooting is always resolved with a single Shooting unit targeting a single enemy unit. You can never target more than one unit with a given Shooting. The player who controls the Shooting unit is called the Attacker. The player who controls the target unit is called the Defender.
Line of Sight
To be able to shoot, a model must be able to draw a Line of Sight between any point on its base to any point on the base of any model in the target unit. This Line of Sight is a straight line and must not be blocked by any of the following:
- Any model except another model from the unit Shooting.
- The space (if that space is of VS or less) between the models of any unit other than the unit Shooting and the target unit.
- Any scenery item classified as high terrain (See Terrain).
The first two points mean that you may never shoot through another unit. However, the space between two models from two different units does not block and you may draw a Line of Sight through it.
Note that, in SAGA, the models can see all around and that actual facing is irrelevant, both for the shooter and the target.
Range
Each ranged weapon has a range. This is the maximum distance that it can shoot. The distance along the Line of Sight must not exceed the range of the weapon in order for the target model to be counted as within range.
Ranges are pretty simple and depend on the weapon used:
| Weapon | Range |
|---|---|
| Bow, sling, crossbow | L |
| Javelin, composite bows | M |
How to shoot
Follow these steps in order to resolve a Shooting.
Step 1: Check eligible shooters and generate Attack Dice
Count the number of models which are eligible to shoot. To be counted, a model must:
- Belong to the Shooting unit
- Be able to draw a clear Line of Sight to a model in the target unit
- Be in range (measured along the Line of Sight).
The number of Attack Dice that your unit will generate depends upon the unit's class and is determined by the following table.
| Class | Number of Attack Dice generated |
|---|---|
| Levy | 1/2 per eligible shooter |
| Warriors | 1/2 per eligible shooter |
| Hearthguard | One per eligible shooter |
| Warlord | 2 |
Diagram: The Moors (yellow) target the Spanish knights with their bows. After checking the range, only the model 6 is out of range, being more than L away from any model of the target unit. But model 7 cannot shoot either, as his line of sight is blocked by the intervening friendly red unit. The 5 models will be able to generate attack dice during this shooting. Warriors generate 1/2 attack die each, with the final number of dice being rounded up, for a total of 3 attack dice.
Step 2: SAGA Abilities
Once the number of Attack Dice has been determined, both players may try to affect the result of the Shooting by using some of their SAGA Abilities or exploiting Fatigue.
Note that, in multiplayer games, no player other than the shooter and the target may interfere in the Shooting.
The Attacker must use his abilities first. There is no limit to the number of Shooting abilities he can trigger and he can freely choose the order in which he plays them. The Attacker can use only abilities that have Shooting in their timing (the timing of an ability appears below the name of the ability). Once he declares that he is done with his abilities (either because he has none left or because he wishes not to use those that he still has), the Defender may start to use his abilities and exploit Fatigue.
When the Attacker declares that he is done with his abilities, he may have to discard some Attack Dice so that his total number of dice does not exceed twice the number that he had at the end of the Attack Dice Generation Step. So if the player had two Attack Dice and used an ability which allowed him to gain three extra dice, he will have to discard one die to keep his total to four (twice the two that he originally generated).
Once the Attacker has used his abilities, the Defender can trigger his. Only abilities which have Shooting/Reaction in their timing can be used by the Defender. Some of these abilities will allow the Defender to gain extra Defence Dice. These will be used during the Defence Dice Rolls Step.
Only the Defender may exploit his opponent's Fatigue during a Shooting. In exchange for discarding a Fatigue marker from the Shooting unit, the Defender's unit's armour value will be increased by one for the duration of this Shooting. See the Fatigue chapter for more information. Remember that armour may never exceed 6.
Step 3: Attack Dice Rolls
The Attacker takes his Attack Dice (from the Attack Dice generation step but possibly modified during the SAGA Abilities step) and rolls them.
The Attacker applies any effects which may alter the results obtained, including the abilities triggered in step 2. When the Attacker is done, the Defender applies all effects that alter or change the dice being rolled (including effects that would change dice altered by an ability used by the Attacker!)
He then compares the final number after any modifications to the Armour value of the target unit. Each result that equals or exceeds the Defender's Armour value becomes a hit.
Any additional automatic hit(s) granted by SAGA Abilities or special rules are now added to the Attacker's hits.
As a rule of thumb, keep in mind that all effects generated by the Attacker's abilities are resolved before any from the Defender's abilities.
Example: The Attacker uses an ability that says, "Re-roll all Attack Dice that fail to hit their target", and the Defender has triggered an ability that says "Apply a -1 modifier to any Attack Die of 4 or more". The Attacker rolls a 5, two 4s and two 1s. The 1s fail to hit the target with its Armour of 4. As a result of his ability, he re-rolls them and gets a two and a 6. Now, we apply the modifier from the Defender's ability, for a final result of 4, 3, 3, 1 and 5. So the Attacker scores two hits.
Step 4: Defence Dice Rolls
The Defender takes one Defence Die for each hit inflicted by the Attacker in the previous step. He adds to this pool of dice as many dice as granted by all abilities currently in effect and applies any other effect which would modify this number of dice.
He then discards as many dice as required so that his total does not exceed twice the number of hits inflicted by the Attacker.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): My bowmen inflicted three hits on the approaching unit of Knights. A SAGA Ability cowardly used by the Defender during step 2 of Shooting grants them four extra Defence Dice. So they take three Defence Dice (for the hits inflicted by my glorious archers) and add four additional Defence Dice (for their ability). They must, however, discard one of these Defence Dice, as the number of dice they have exceeds twice the number of hits inflicted by one. (Sic, as printed: the pool is seven dice against a maximum of six.)
The Defender rolls his dice. He then applies any effect which alters the dice rolled and their score. If several occur, first he applies the Attacker's effect(s), and then the effect(s) that he created himself. A typical effect is to allow the re-rolling of some dice, others discard dice which show a given value. Both sorts of effect are carried out at this moment.
All scores which now are 4 or higher cancel a hit (as we will see below, cover allows hits to be cancelled by rolls of 3 or more). The remaining un-cancelled hits are now called casualties.
Step 5: Casualty Removal
Some abilities may affect the number of casualties caused. They are applied during this step and may modify the total number of casualties that the Defender will have to remove.
The Defender removes one of his models for each casualty taken. He can choose which figures to remove and these can even be models which were out of range or out of sight at the time the Shooting was initiated.
Remember that this casualty removal may not break the unit formation.
Remark: Note that even if you can only see one single model in a unit at the time the Shooting was declared, you can still kill two or more of them as a result of the Shooting. Models that are deployed on the battlefield are not frozen in place during Shooting; we can imagine that the Shooting happened during a previous movement, when some models were visible. Most of all this approach keeps things simple.
Any ability or game effect that is resolved at the end of the Shooting is now resolved.
Once this is done, any Fatigue resulting from a Shooting Activation is attributed to the shooter (see Fatigue).
Cover
A unit will gain benefits from being deployed in terrain that provides cover. As you would expect, trees in a wood become obstacles to any Shooting targeting a unit within that wood, and the unit will be more difficult to hit than a similar unit in the open.
To benefit from cover, a unit must be on foot (so mounted models will never benefit from cover) and have at least 2/3 of its models within an area terrain that provides cover.
When Shooting targets a unit in cover, the Defender cancels the hits with a Defence Die result of 3 or more rather than 4 or more.
Diagram: Here, the Blue unit will benefit from cover when shot at as at least 2/3 of its models are within the wood. If they had another model outside the wood, the whole unit could not claim any cover benefit.
Hard cover
Some terrain features, such as a rocky outcrop, or buildings, grant hard cover. A unit in hard cover increases its Armour value against Shooting by one. This Armour increase is always active, even outside the Shooting resolution. So, if a SAGA Ability needs to determine the Armour value of a unit against Shooting, and that unit is within a hard cover area terrain, its Armour will be considered to be one point higher than normal, subject to the usual maximum of 6.
For more details about terrain and cover, see the Terrain chapter.
Warlord's "Resilience" Special Rule
Warlords benefit from a special rule which allows them to ignore one casualty hit and also to remove models from a nearby friendly unit rather than take a wound. This special rule applies during the Casualty Removal Step. For more details, see the chapter about Warlords.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): I had my unit of ten Levy archers target a unit of eight Sergeants skulking in a wood. First I had to determine the Lines of Sight and ascertain eligible shooters. One of the bowmen was out of range and so did not count as an eligible model. This left me with nine Levies Shooting. As they generate 1/2 Attack Die per eligible shooter, the unit generated four and a half Attack Dice, rounded up to 5. During step 2, both sides considered using their SAGA Abilities. As Attackers, my archers went first and used a Battle Board ability that grants them two extra Attack Dice. As I didn't want to over commit to this Shooting, I decided to stop there. The Sergeants then decided not to use any of their abilities, but as my bowmen had one Fatigue, they decided to spend it to increase their Armour by one, as the Defender is permitted to do during a Shooting. Step 3 then started, with the glorious Attacker rolling seven Attack Dice. The Armour of the Sergeants was 4, but increased to 5 thanks to the Fatigue spent. Allah being on our side, we scored 3 hits. We moved to step 4, during which the Sergeants tried to cancel these hits. They received one Defence Die per hit inflicted by my unit, plus any extra Defence Dice granted by SAGA Abilities. In this case, they had only the three Dice that my hits gave them. As they were in a wood, they benefited from cover (even though two of them were actually in the open, at this stage 2/3 of the unit was in cover). The sergeants rolled their three dice and got a 5, a 3 and a 1. The 5 cancelled a hit, as did the 3, thanks to the cover. The 1 however didn't cancel any hits and became a casualty. During the last step of the Shooting, the Sergeants removed one model as one casualty was taken. They wisely decided to remove one of the two figures outside the wood.
Melee
In every game of SAGA you will hear ringing blades, slashing axes and impaling spears, all singing their deadly songs. The Melee is the beating heart of SAGA. Follow each step in strict sequence, and you will avoid any issues or rules problems. Once you have resolved a couple of Melees, this system will become second nature and you will enjoy all the tactical depth hidden behind deceptively simple mechanics.
Engaging in Melee
As we have seen in the Movement chapter, for a Melee to occur, at least one unit must end a Movement activation in contact with an enemy unit. In the Movement chapter we have dealt with such a Movement activation and the constraints that apply to it, and as a reminder we will summarize them here:
- To engage in Melee, at least one model of the engaging unit must end in base-to-base contact with one model of the engaged unit.
- You may not contact more than a single enemy unit. The only exception to this can occur when engaging a building and that building is occupied by more than one unit. In this instance, the Defender will have the choice of which unit will actually defend the building.
- Except for movements made with the "Side by Side" Warlord special rule, you may never engage a single enemy unit with more than one of your units.
- When moving to engage in Melee, each model must try to end its movement in base-to-base contact with an enemy model, taking the shortest path to that model.
For more details about these engaging movements, refer to the Movement chapter.
How to fight
As with the procedure for dealing with Shooting, the Melee is broken down into steps. During the Melee, the two sides are respectively known as the Attacker (the side that initiated the Melee) and the Defender (the side that was engaged in Melee).
Sidebar: Units will gain, lose and discard Attack and Defence Dice during the Melee stages. We recommend the use of coloured dice during the Melee, as it helps to identify which are Attack Dice and which are Defence Dice. In our games, we always use red dice for Attack, and white ones for Defence.
Step 0: Reacting to Melee
At the very start of the Melee, each side may be able to use some SAGA Abilities that will affect the next steps of the Melee. These powerful abilities are the ones that have the Melee/Reaction timing, as indicated below the ability's name.
Usually, most Melee/Reaction abilities will have an impact in a later stage of the Melee, such as the "Dance of Spears" ability below.
Dance of Spears (cost: scimitar + scimitar; Melee/Reaction) — May not be used by units equipped with ranged weapons. During the step 1 of this melee, all units engaged in this melee only generate half their normal number of Attack Dice but gain a number of Defence Dice equal to the number of Attack Dice generated.
First, the Attacker activates and resolves all his Melee/Reaction abilities that he wants to use. One ability must be entirely resolved before he can trigger another one. When the Attacker is finished with his Melee/Reaction abilities, the Defender will have the opportunity to trigger any number of his own Melee/Reaction abilities, in the order he wants, resolving each ability entirely before triggering another one.
Step 1: Generating Attack Dice
During the first step of the Melee, we determine the number of Attack Dice generated by each unit involved in the Melee. The number of Attack Dice each unit generates depends upon the class of its models, and the number of its models actually able to take part in the Melee. Some Melee/Reaction abilities used earlier in step 0 can also affect the number of dice a unit generates such as the "Dance of Spears" ability above.
To be able to contribute toward its unit's pool of Attack Dice, a model must:
- Be in base-to-base contact with an enemy model OR
- Be within VS of an enemy model in base-to-base contact with another model of its own unit OR
- Be in base-to-base contact with another model of its own unit that is itself in base-to-base contact with an enemy model.
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): This last point is quite new for us SAGA veterans. It deals with some issues players had when using slightly larger than expected bases, and most of the time, it makes working out which models are fighting much easier. It won't change much in your games but it does prevent some frequently asked questions.
Once you have determined the number of models that generate Attack Dice, the table below indicates how many Attack Dice each of these models generates, according to its class:
| Class | Number of Attack Dice (per model) |
|---|---|
| Levies | 1 per three models |
| Warriors | 1 per model |
| Hearthguards | 2 per model |
| Warlord | 5 per model |
Diagram: The Spanish (blue) have engaged the Moors in melee. All their models in base to base contact with an enemy model will generate Attack Dice. Models labelled A, which are within VS of an enemy model that is in base to base contact with a friendly model, also generate Attack Dice. The Spanish model B however, is not within VS of any enemy that is in base to base contact with a friendly, so does not generate attack dice. As all models in these units are Warriors, the Spanish will generate 6 Attack Dice, and the Moors will also generate 6 Attack Dice.
Step 2: Defender reduces his Attack Dice pool
Once the number of dice generated by each unit involved in this Melee has been determined, the Defending unit has the option to trade some of its Attack Dice for Defence Dice in order to bolster its defence. This is entirely optional and in no way mandatory. But remember the old adage - sometimes the best defence is to attack.
A defending unit that chooses to reduce its Attack pool must discard half the number of Attack Dice it generated during step 1 (rounded up as usual).
In exchange, it immediately gains a number of Defence Dice equal to half the number of Attack Dice discarded (rounded up as usual). These Defence Dice are put aside for the time being, and will come into action during step 5 of the Melee.
Step 3: Melee SAGA Abilities
During this step, both the Attacker and Defender will be able to trigger and use SAGA Melee abilities, and use the Fatigue of enemy units engaged in this Melee. The Attacker uses all his abilities and spends the Defender's Fatigue first. Once he announces that he is finished, the Defender can use all his abilities and use the Fatigue of the enemy units in this Melee.
Only Melee SAGA Abilities can be used during this step. The timing of an ability is indicated below its name, as in this example:
Ascalon (Melee) — May only be used on your Warlord or Knights.
Both players can trigger any number of abilities, but each ability must be fully resolved before proceeding to the next one. Players can also alternate between SAGA Abilities and Fatigue expenditure (see the Fatigue chapter for more details about the use of Fatigue in Melee).
Once the Attacking player has finished triggering abilities and spending Fatigue, but before we move on to the Defender, the Attacker must check the Attack Dice pool of each of his engaged units. At this stage, no unit can have more than twice the Attack Dice it generated during step 1. Any excess dice are discarded.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): If the "Ascalon" ability above is used on an attacking unit of two Knights, it would gain an additional five Attack Dice. Unfortunately the Knights would have to discard one Attack Die after all abilities had been used by the attacking player.
Once the Attacker has finished, the Defender may use any number of SAGA Abilities and spend the Fatigue of its opponent(s) in the same way as the Attacker. Like the Attacker, he must not end this step with more than twice the number of Attack Dice generated during step 1 (note that this threshold applies to the number of Attack Dice generated before reducing the Attack Pool to generate Defence Dice during step 2).
Remark: Quite a few abilities used during this step will affect forthcoming stages of the Melee. An ability that allows the Attacker to re-roll his Attack Dice will be activated during this step, before actually rolling any Attack Dice! Once step 3 is over, you may not trigger any further abilities during this Melee. Anticipation is the key to the success here.
Step 4: Attack rolls
The Attacker and the Defender now take all the dice in their respective Attack Pool and roll them. A Defender engaged against two units will have to distribute his Attack Dice between the two enemy units before rolling. See page 31 for more details.
The Attacker applies any effects which may alter the results obtained, including the abilities triggered in step 3. When the Attacker is done, the Defender applies all effects that alter or change the dice being rolled (including effects that would change dice altered by an ability used by the Attacker!).
Remark: As we have seen in the Shooting chapter, all abilities triggered by the Attacker are implemented before resolving the Defender's.
After any and all modifications have been applied, each player then compares the final values of their Attack Dice to the Armour value of their target unit. Each value which equals or exceeds this Armour value becomes a hit.
Any additional automatic hit(s) granted by SAGA Abilities or special rules are now added to each player's hits.
Step 5: Defence Rolls
Both players take one Defence Die for each hit inflicted upon them in the previous step. They add to this pool of dice any dice granted by all abilities currently in effect and apply any other effect which would modify this number of dice.
The Defender then adds into this pool the number of additional Defence Dice generated in step 2.
Each player must now discard as many dice as required so that his total pool does not exceed twice the number of hits inflicted by the opposing side at the end of the step 4.
The Attacker rolls his Defence Dice first (obviously the Attacker does not have the advantage of the additional Defence Dice generated in step 2). He then applies any effect that affects the dice rolled, before the Defender can apply any SAGA Ability or game effect that alters the Defence Dice rolled. Each Defence Die with a result of 5 or more cancels one hit. Other hits are called "uncancelled" and become casualties.
The Defender now follows the same procedure to work out how many hits caused by the Attacker are converted into casualties.
Step 6: Casualty Removal
Starting with the Defender, each player must remove one figure for each casualty taken during the previous step. The choice of which figure to remove is left to its owner, with the following constraints:
- You may not remove a figure in a way that would break the unit formation.
- You must leave at least one of your figures in base-to-base contact with the enemy, respecting the point above.
As long as these points are enforced, you may remove any model, even the ones that did not contribute to the Attack Dice Pool.
The rules above also apply when figures need to be removed as casualties during any step of the Melee, as part of a SAGA Ability for example.
Diagram: In this melee, the Moor suffered four casualties, and the Spanish two. The Spanish Defender (blue) can remove its two models as shown. It does not break its formation, and there are still models in base-to-base contact. The poor Moor (red) cannot remove models on the left because he must keep at least one model in base-to-base contact with the enemy without breaking the unit formation.
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): Another new feature is this constraint of keeping one model in contact with the enemy. It prevents the treacherous tactic of removing all models in contact when you know that a second round of Melee will be fought due to a Melee SAGA Ability. Of course, cowards will leave only one single model in base-to-base contact in that case, but one is better than none!
The end of the Melee
The next two steps are known as the end of the Melee. This is a part of the Melee when players do not have any choices to make, and some game effects are applied. Some SAGA Abilities are resolved during the end of the Melee. These would either resolve during step 7 or 8, with the exact timing indicated in the SAGA Ability description. If no timing is indicated, such abilities would be resolved at the very end of the step 8.
Step 7: Fatigue attribution
During this step, each unit engaged in the Melee takes one Fatigue. To do so, simply add one Fatigue token to the unit. This represents the stress and exhaustion generated by combat. If timing is an important consideration, the Attacker takes his Fatigue first, followed by the Defender.
For more details about Fatigue, see the next chapter. Note that some effects or SAGA Abilities will add extra Fatigue during this step, and these are resolved now.
Step 8: Disengagement
With the Melee almost finished, the units must now break contact.
If one side has been wiped out during a previous step, no unit has to disengage.
If there is at least one unit remaining on each side, each player determines how many casualties he removed during step 6 (if, thanks to a SAGA Ability, more than one round of Melee has been resolved, only the casualties during the latest step 6 are counted). This includes casualties suffered from units not engaged in this Melee, such as the models sacrificed to save a Warlord through his "Resilience" special rule. A side with two units engaged must add up the casualties from both units.
The side that suffered the most casualties must disengage. In case of a tie (even if no casualties were inflicted!), the Attacker must disengage.
The disengagement move is made by the player controlling the disengaging unit, and must follow these principles:
- The disengaging unit must move as far away as possible from the enemy unit(s) it was engaged with.
- The disengagement move cannot exceed S.
- Once the movement is made, no disengaging figure can finish within VS of any enemy model.
- Disengagement moves ignore any movement penalties. As far as special rules and SAGA Abilities are concerned, disengagement is not considered to be movement.
If the loser (as determined above) cannot disengage within the constraints above, then the winner (the side that originally forced the other to disengage) will have to disengage instead. However, this disengagement move does not count as disengagement for the purpose of the effects of SAGA Abilities or other special rules.
If for whatever reason neither the winner nor the loser of the Melee can disengage, then the Attacking units are wiped out with all models removed as casualties.
Cover in Melee
During Melee, no benefit is given by soft cover, only hard cover counts. Also, only the Defender may benefit from cover in Melee, never the Attacker, even if that cover is provided by a special rule or SAGA Ability. To gain benefit from cover, at least 2/3 of a unit's models must be in area terrain providing hard cover.
When a unit benefits from cover in Melee, it cancels all hits on results of 4s rather than 5s as usual.
Wiped out and disengaging units
At some point during a Melee, one side may have all its units involved wiped out, in particular before step 6, possibly the consequences of a special rule, the resolution of a SAGA Ability or the wrath of Allah and God. In that case, the Melee does not end. All the steps are resolved as fully as possible. This is especially important, as it means that a unit that generated Attack Dice at the start of the Melee will still roll them during step 4, even if it no longer has any models on the table!
On the other hand, some game effects might break the contact between the units engaged in Melee, with one unit moving out of the Melee, usually by performing a disengagement move out of sequence. In that instance, the Melee ends immediately, with all subsequent steps skipped.
Fatigue
Fatigue is a concept unique to the rules of SAGA. As the game progresses, events will give Fatigue to units, representing the strain put on the fighters' nerves as the battle wears on. Your enemy will use this Fatigue, represented by tokens, to make them more vulnerable in Melee, to slow them down or reduce their effectiveness in battle.
Taking fatigue
In SAGA, units take Fatigue for a variety of reasons. Most of them result from action taken by the units, but SAGA Abilities and special rules can also give Fatigue to units.
These latter circumstances are described in the relevant SAGA Ability or special rule descriptions, but for now we will focus on the actions that units perform which will generate Fatigue.
For each Fatigue a unit takes, place a Fatigue token behind or near the unit. The following actions give a unit one Fatigue token:
- A unit takes one Fatigue after each Movement or Shooting activation, if that unit has already been activated for Movement or Shooting earlier during the current turn. The Fatigue is gained after resolution of the Movement (before any ensuing sequence, such as a Melee or a Shooting sequence if the unit is armed with javelins) or immediately after the Shooting resolution, after the removal of any casualties. Remember only Movement and Shooting Activations generate Fatigue, not any movement or Shooting performed outside the framework of an activation (i.e. a Shooting with javelins following a Movement activation never causes Fatigue). Also note that a unit that is activated more than once during an enemy's turn is eligible to take Fatigue.
- One Fatigue is taken during each Melee. Each unit engaged in that Melee takes one Fatigue, and this Fatigue is attributed during the step 7 of the Melee, before the disengagement move.
- A unit takes one Fatigue when another friendly unit is eliminated in Melee within S. To be considered as eliminated in Melee, a unit must have its last model removed as a casualty during the Melee sequence, even if it was not engaged in the Melee itself (for example, a unit which has its last model eliminated as a glorious sacrifice with a Warlord's "Resilience" rule would cause a friendly unit within S to take one Fatigue).
There is no limit to the number of Fatigue tokens a unit may have. At some point, though, the unit will be "exhausted", as we will see later.
Removing fatigue
There are different ways to remove Fatigue tokens from your units. Some SAGA Abilities, special rules or equipment (see War Banners in the Armoury) allow a unit to discard Fatigue tokens. But the main and easiest way to remove Fatigue from your units is to Rest them.
Rest is an activation that a unit can make. After being activated to Rest, a unit discards one Fatigue token. Resting must be the unit's first activation during this turn. If the unit has already been activated to move or shoot during this turn, it cannot be activated to Rest. Also, you can only be activated to Rest once per turn, as your first activation.
Removing Fatigues by means other than Resting does not count as a Rest activation, and will not prevent a unit from Resting.
Spending fatigue
It is important to note that in SAGA, the main way a player can deal with his own Fatigue is to discard it by Resting. However, in some circumstances, your opponent can use the Fatigue accumulated by your unit to his advantage, and you can use an enemy unit's Fatigue. This is what we call "spending Fatigue".
To spend a Fatigue, remove a Fatigue token from the enemy unit and discard it. This will trigger an effect, depending upon the circumstances.
Spending Fatigue during Movement. When an enemy unit is activated to move, you can spend one Fatigue from that unit to reduce its movement by one distance band (from L to M, M to S and S to VS depending on the movement distance of the unit). Spending Fatigue to reduce movement is done just before the unit is moved, at the point at which you know that the unit will move, but you cannot wait to see the intent of the unit before you decide if you want to reduce its movement or not.
You may only spend one Fatigue each time a unit is activated, and the movement of a unit can never be reduced below VS.
Spending Fatigue during Shooting. If an enemy unit shoots at one of your units, you can spend one Fatigue from the shooting unit during step 2 of the Shooting sequence to increase your target unit's Armour by one until the end of this Shooting. A unit cannot increase its Armour by more than one by using the shooter's Fatigue.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): As a shooter, you cannot spend Fatigue from the target. You may only spend enemy Fatigue when you are shot at.
Spending Fatigue during a Melee. During step 3 of the Melee, you can spend one Fatigue from an enemy unit to increase the Armour value of all units engaged with that unit, until the end of the Melee. This Armour increase is only applied to attacks made by the unit that had a Fatigue token discarded, and won't be applied against attacks made by any other enemy units also engaged in this Melee. You can only trigger this effect once per enemy unit (i.e. you cannot spend two Fatigues this way).
During step 3 of the Melee, you can spend one Fatigue from an enemy unit to decrease its Armour by 1, until the end of the Melee (this Armour reduction is applied against all attacks targeting that unit during this Melee round). You can only spend one Fatigue per enemy unit to decrease its Armour.
Exhaustion
Each unit has a Fatigue threshold which determines at what point that unit becomes "exhausted". This threshold is determined by the class of the unit, as shown in this table:
| Class | Exhaustion threshold |
|---|---|
| Levies | 2 Fatigues |
| Warriors | 3 Fatigues |
| Hearthguards and Warlords | 4 Fatigues |
When a unit has a number of Fatigue tokens equal to or higher than this threshold, it is "exhausted", and subject to the following rules:
- The unit may not be activated for anything other than a Rest. Any other activation is cancelled by the exhaustion.
- In Melee, the unit loses half its Attack Dice at the end of step 1.
As soon as the number of Fatigue tokens falls below the threshold, the unit ceases to be "exhausted".
Terrain
Terrain not only makes your table top pretty, it also provides interesting tactical challenges and objectives for scenarios.
The main problem with terrain is that, between what the various manufacturers offer and the home-made scenery items, the shape, size and types of terrain are endless. Trying to cover them all within these rules is an impossible task. That is why SAGA takes another approach, handling terrain with abstract principles that are easy to remember and that can be adapted to any scenery item.
Buildings, being a bit trickier, have their own section in this chapter.
Defining scenery items
In SAGA, a scenery piece is defined according to three criteria.
The height. A terrain item is classed as either low or high. The height of a terrain item dictates if that terrain does or does not block the line of sight. See below Terrain, cover and line of sight.
The cover. A terrain piece may provide cover. If it does, this can be soft or hard cover. Both protect a unit against Shooting, but only hard cover gives any benefit in Melee. To benefit from cover against Shooting or in Melee while in area terrain, a unit must have at least 2/3 of its models in that terrain.
The difficulty. A terrain item can be either uneven or open. Uneven terrain will reduce the movement of units starting, ending or moving through it. Open terrain does not slow down units and never provides any cover.
So a dune will be classed as a high, uneven terrain providing no cover. It means that it blocks line of sight, will slow units down, but does not provide any cover.
Terrain, cover and line of sight
Low terrain never blocks line of sight.
High terrain blocks line of sight if that line of sight crosses the perimeter of the terrain twice. In other words, you can see into a high area terrain but not through it.
Diagrams: The Spanish Warriors (blue) cannot see the Moors (red) as their line of sight is blocked by an intervening high terrain (a wood). Here all the Moors (red) are in sight of the Spanish, as they are in the high terrain. The distance between their model and the edge of the high terrain area is irrelevant. As long as they are in, they can be seen from outside.
As we mentioned above, to benefit from cover from terrain, a unit must have at least 2/3 of its models in a single piece of terrain. If a unit is deployed in two different terrain pieces that provide different type of cover (for example a terrain that provides hard cover and a terrain providing soft cover) then it cannot claim any benefit from cover.
Note that units in a high area terrain do not gain any benefit to their line of sight. So a unit on a hill will have its line of sight blocked by any model standing between it and its target.
The position of the Shooting unit never affects the cover granted to the target unit by terrain.
Buildings
In SAGA, buildings are always High Uneven terrain that provides hard cover. Also, buildings have a fourth characteristic: their size. They can be small or large, and that size determines the maximum number of models that can occupy the building at any given time.
Small buildings can be occupied by up to eight models. Large buildings can be occupied by up to twelve models.
More than one unit from the same Warband can occupy the same building, as long as the total number of models does not exceed the building's allowance. All models within a given building are considered to be within VS of each other.
Moving around, in and out of a building. A unit may only enter a building if enemy models do not occupy it, and only if all models in the unit will be able to enter that building with a single movement. As a building counts as uneven terrain, this means that all models must be within S of the building to be able to enter it.
A unit may not enter a building if some of its models have to be left outside (so a unit may not be split between standing in the open and cowering in the building) or if the building is not large enough to accommodate all its models (so a unit of ten models will never be able to enter a small building).
A unit that enters a building may not voluntarily move out of the building during the same turn.
Once a unit is in a building, its position within the building is irrelevant. We assume that it takes up the best positions to defend the building. Once a unit is within a building, its subsequent movements will be measured from any point of the building, usually the outer walls. Also note that openings such as doors and windows do not matter. Units can move into or out of a building through any part of it.
No unit may be within VS of a building (even if that building is unoccupied or occupied by friendly units), unless that unit is engaged in Melee with an enemy unit occupying the building. This means that any unit that wants to enter a building must start its move outside VS of the building. If a unit that is trying to enter a building has its movement reduced by Fatigue or SAGA Abilities and can no longer make the distance, then the unit must halt its movement more than VS from the building. The only time you can have a unit within VS of a building is when it is engaged in Melee, and as you will see below, as soon as the Melee is resolved this situation will end.
It also means that you cannot move within VS of a building unless you either end your movement in that building or finish your movement engaged in Melee with a unit occupying the building.
Tip: One of the SAGA play-testers puts his building on bases with the base representing this VS zone around the building. That way he is reminded that his figures cannot finish their move on the base unless they meet the criteria detailed above.
Shooting into and out of a building. A unit with ranged weapons that is occupying a building can shoot at an eligible target outside the building. The unit's line of sight will be drawn from any point of the building and measured from the outer walls. All models in the building are considered to have a line of sight to their target if you can reach it from the chosen point of the outer wall.
When Shooting at a unit in a building, you need to be in range and line of sight of any part of the building. The target unit benefits from hard cover, as usual. If more than one enemy unit occupies the building, you can choose which one you will target.
Engaging an enemy unit in a building. You can engage the occupants of a building in Melee. Treat the building as the area occupied by the enemy unit. This means that to be able to engage an enemy unit occupying a building, you have to reach the building with at least one of your models (i.e. end its movement in contact with the building), and all of your models that are within VS of the building will be able to take part in the fight, i.e. generate Attack Dice.
If more than one enemy unit occupies a building, the defender chooses which unit will defend the building. Only that unit is engaged in Melee, although the models in the other unit are still considered to be within VS of that defending unit for the sake of special rules and SAGA Abilities.
The Melee is resolved normally with the exception of step 8. Ignore step eight and instead, at the end of step 7, if there is still at least one enemy model within the building, the attacking unit(s) must disengage. As they cannot end within VS of the building that disengagement movement must end outside VS of the building. If that proves to be impossible (yes it can happen but it is VERY unlikely), the attacking unit is eliminated.
If, at the end of step 7, there are no enemy units in the building, the attacking unit(s) must immediately occupy the building, if all of its models are within S of the building. This is not considered to be either an extra movement or an activation.
If this is not possible (e.g. the attacking unit are mounted, or are too many for that size of building to accommodate), then the attacking unit must disengage and is eliminated if it cannot end its disengagement outside VS of the building. Note that in the case of two units attacking a building at once, all attacking units must either occupy the building or disengage. You cannot have one unit entering and another one disengaging. You also do not have a choice about occupying the building: if you can occupy it, you have to.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): Note that there are some special rules or SAGA Abilities which may force or allow a unit to disengage (and leave the building) during the Melee (outside the regular disengagement movement of step 8). This unit must then finish his move outside the VS perimeter of the building. Should this happen, the other unit that was previously engaged in Melee may occupy the building as explained above.
Optional rule: linear obstacles
Astute readers will have noticed that when discussing terrain we did not cover linear obstacles such as walls, hedges and fences. Also, if you look ahead to the chapter on scenarios and their set-up, you will see that these scenery items do not appear in the terrain charts.
The decision to leave linear obstacles aside was based upon our observations that, unless checked, these terrain features (especially hearty stone walls) tend to appear in increasing numbers and in the most surprising of places. The cover granted by this scenery acts like a magnet and the game becomes a race into cover from which units appear reluctant to leave. Not very SAGA-ish I think you'll agree.
In our games we might use some nice linear scenery items for aesthetical purposes, especially in conjunction with buildings or livestock, but we simply ignore them during the game. However, if you have a specific scenario which justifies their use, please use the following special rules:
Linear obstacles are classified in the same way as other terrain items: they can be high or low, and offer soft or hard cover.
During a Movement, any figure that crosses a low linear object will suffer a movement reduction as per moving in uneven ground. High linear obstacles may not be crossed.
In order to gain cover from a linear terrain feature during an enemy Shooting, the target unit must have at least two thirds of its models in contact with the feature AND the line of sight of at least two thirds of the shooting models must cross the obstacle. Both these conditions must apply for an obstacle to provide cover.
Linear obstacles do not offer any cover in Melee. However, a model in contact with a linear obstacle that is facing an enemy model on the opposite side of the same obstacle is considered to be in base to base contact with that model.
Armoury
All units in SAGA are considered armed with appropriate close combat weapons and wearing a level of armour commensurate with the unit's class. This standard equipment is reflected in the game by their Armour value and their ability with their weapons by the number of dice they generate in combat.
This chapter deals with unusual weaponry or equipment, whose singularities justify some special rules. Access to special equipment is given by options in the Faction rules or is indicated in the description of the unit in the case of Dogs of War.
Bows and slings
Bows and slings are ranged weapons with a range of L and are not subject to any special rules. Most of the time Warriors and Hearthguard equipped with bows and slings suffer an Armour value reduction, but this is indicated on a case by case basis in the relevant Faction rules.
Crossbows
Crossbows are ranged weapons with a range of L. When targeted by a unit with crossbows, the target reduces its Armour by one. This reduction takes place as soon as the target is designated during step 1 of the Shooting sequence. Warriors and Hearthguard units equipped with crossbows have their Armour reduced by one to represent the less cumbersome armour they have to wear in order to operate their crossbows.
Javelins
Javelins are ranged weapons with a range of M. They can be used when the unit is activated for Shooting but can also be used at the end of a Movement. Immediately after moving, a unit equipped with javelins can throw them. This initiates a Shooting sequence. This neither constitutes a separate activation nor does it generate additional Fatigue (see the Fatigue chapter for more details). Any Fatigue generated by a Movement activation is taken before the Shooting sequence. Javelins may not be used if the unit ended its movement engaged in Melee with an enemy or "exhausted". Warriors and Hearthguard equipped with javelins may have an Armour reduction, but this is indicated on a case by case basis in the relevant Faction rules.
Composite bows
Composite bows are ranged weapons with a range of M. They can be used when the unit is activated for Shooting but can also be used at the beginning or the end of a Movement (you can choose one option, but not both). Immediately before or after moving, a unit equipped with composite bows can shoot with them. This initiates a Shooting sequence. This neither constitutes a separate activation nor does it generate additional Fatigue (see the Fatigue chapter for more details).
Any Fatigue generated by a Movement activation is taken before initiating a Shooting sequence following Movement.
Composite bows may not be used if the unit ended its movement engaged in Melee with an enemy or "exhausted". A unit that shot before its movement cannot engage an enemy in Melee with the subsequent movement. If engaging in the Melee with the movement is made mandatory by other rules (as the unit starting within VS of an enemy unit) then Shooting is prohibited.
Most of the time Warriors and Hearthguard equipped with composite bows suffer an Armour reduction, but this is indicated on a case by case basis in the relevant Faction rules.
Heavy Weapons
Heavy Weapons are weapons such as double handed axes, bastard swords or heavy hammers.
A unit with Heavy Weapons adds +1 to all its Attack Dice rolled during Melee. So, rolling a 4 ends with an Attack Die of 5.
A unit with Heavy Weapons reduces its Armour by one during Melee (but not against Shooting). This reduction is applied as soon as the unit engages, or is engaged, in Melee, during step 0. Hence, a unit with an Armour of 5 and heavy weapons would have an Armour of 4 during Melee.
War Banners
When you deploy your Warband, each unit of at least six Hearthguards or ten Warriors may upgrade one model to a War Banner. This should be an appropriate model holding a banner, standard or pennon as would befit his nation or unit.
This option is available to all Factions, even if it does not appear in the Faction Rules. Dogs of War and Legends of the Crusading Age (see the Dogs of War chapter) cannot have War Banners.
A War Banner model behaves like any other model in his unit but does not generate any Attack Dice, either in Melee or Shooting. He is far too busy brandishing his banner!
A War Banner can be removed as a casualty at the owning player's discretion. If the War Banner, due to the unit's formation, is the only model that should be removed, just exchange his position with that of another model within the unit before removing the casualty. In other words, you'll never have to remove a War Banner model unless you want to.
If a unit is reduced to a single War Banner model, the War Banner is immediately removed from the game, as we assume that he wisely, and not at all cowardly, decides to carry his banner off the battlefield. A War Banner model can never be brought back to the table once eliminated, even with a special rule, SAGA Ability or game effect. Such a game effect would be cancelled if it includes the War Banner bearer amongst its target.
Each unit with a War Banner may be activated to "Rally around the banner". This is considered as a Rest activation (i.e. it removes one Fatigue) but this activation may be resolved at any time in the turn and any number of times. Note that this activation is not automatic and must have its cost paid with a relevant Activation SAGA Ability or by any other effect that activates the unit.
After having "Rallied around the banner", a unit may not be activated by its controlling player for a Movement or for a Shooting this turn. If it is activated again by its controlling player, that activation must be another "Rally around the banner".
Note that a unit carrying a War Banner can still be activated normally to Rest, following the standard rules.
In addition, any unit carrying a War Banner that was not activated during the turn removes one Fatigue at the end of its owner's Activation Phase, without requiring an Activation to be paid for.
Horse-mounted models
Some units may be fielded mounted on horses. A unit that starts the game mounted on horses may not dismount during the game.
Horse-mounted units are subject to the following special rules:
- The movement of a horse-mounted unit is increased to L if entirely made in the open. Note that their movement in uneven ground is still reduced to S, as for foot models.
- Horse-mounted units may never enter buildings. They can engage in Melee with units occupying a building but will not be able to occupy that building, even if they eliminate all models in that building.
- If a horse-mounted unit ends a Movement Activation with at least one model in an uneven ground area terrain, it takes an extra Fatigue at the end of this movement activation, in addition to any normal Fatigue generated by this movement. (Note that the unit must actually end its movement with one or more models in this terrain to suffer from this penalty. Any movement that would count as being made in uneven ground would not generate any extra Fatigue).
- Against Shooting, the Armour value of horse-mounted units is reduced by one. This is applied as soon as they are designated as the target of a Shooting.
Please note that the Faction lists show an armour value for the different troop types against Shooting. This value already has the -1 modifier applied so no need to apply it again!
Horse-mounted units may never benefit from any kind of cover, in Melee or Shooting. This not only applies to cover provided by scenery, but also by SAGA Abilities or other special rules.
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): Yes, this is an addition to the standard mounted rules of SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes. You're choked? Stop playing cowardly Normans, Byzantines, Nomads and all these nasty horsemen based Warbands.
Camel-mounted models
Some units may be fielded mounted on camels. A unit that starts the game mounted on camels may not dismount during the game.
Camel-mounted units are subject to the following special rules:
- The movement of a camel-mounted unit is increased to L if entirely made in the open. Note that their movement in uneven ground is still reduced to S, as for foot models.
- Camel-mounted units may never enter buildings. They can engage in Melee with units occupying a building but will not be able to occupy that building, even if they eliminate all models in that building.
- Camel-mounted units have an Armour value reduced by one. This applies both against Shooting and in Melee.
Please note that the Faction lists show an Armour value for Camel Mounted troops. This value already has the -1 modifier applied so no need to apply it again!
Camel-mounted units may never benefit from any kind of cover, in Melee or Shooting. This not only applies to cover provided by scenery, but also by SAGA Abilities or other special rules.
When engaged in Melee against a unit mounted on camels, a horse-mounted unit only generates half their normal number of Attack Dice. So a horse-mounted Warlord would only generate three Attack Dice if engaged with a camel-mounted unit. The number of models in the camel-mounted unit is irrelevant. A single camel is sufficient to reduce the number of Attack Dice generated by all horse-mounted units he is engaged with.
Timing of SAGA Abilities
All SAGA Abilities have a timing, which appears under its name. The timing will tell you when exactly you will be able to use that ability. An ability can never be used outside the phase or sequence allowed by its timing type.
In SAGA, an ability is defined by its location on your Battle Board (above the Faction name for abilities that can be triggered any number of times per turn, below the Faction's name for abilities that can only be used once per turn); its cost (the dice that need to be spent to pay for the ability); its effects (as indicated by the text in the ability space) and finally, its timing (the wording appearing just below the ability).
Timing is an important feature of an ability, as it indicates when you can trigger that ability. There are eight different types of SAGA Ability timing:
- Orders
- Orders/Reaction
- Activation
- Activation/Reaction
- Shooting
- Shooting/Reaction
- Melee/Reaction
- Melee
Orders abilities
Orders abilities are used during your Orders Phase, after you have rolled SAGA dice, and during their placement on your board.
Orders abilities affect your Orders Phase, the number of SAGA Dice you have to place and their symbols. During the Orders Phase, after your opponent has had the chance to trigger any number of Orders/Reaction abilities he wants, you can use any number of Orders abilities. This can be done before, after or during the placement of your SAGA Dice on your Battle Board.
Once you have finished placing your dice and triggering all the Orders abilities you want to use, your opponent gets a last chance to play Orders/Reaction abilities before the Orders Phase ends.
Orders abilities may never be triggered during an opponent's turn.
If you triggered an Orders Ability that can only be used once per turn (below the Faction's name), you may not place SAGA Dice on this ability again this Orders Phase. You will still be able to put SAGA Dice on that ability during the Activation Phase or during your opponent's turn, if you have the means to roll and place SAGA Dice outside the standard frame.
Orders/Reaction abilities
Orders/Reaction abilities are used during an opponent's Orders Phase, either before he starts placing dice on his Battle Board and using Orders abilities or after he has finished, just before the Orders Phase finishes.
Orders/Reaction abilities can only be played during an opponent's Orders Phase.
Unless specifically stated, there are only two windows during which you can trigger Orders/Reaction abilities. The first one is after your opponent has rolled his SAGA Dice but before he uses his Orders Abilities and places his dice on his Battle Board. The second is after he has finished placing his dice and has used his Orders abilities. You get a chance to trigger any number of Orders/Reaction abilities before the Orders Phase ends.
Each Orders/Reaction ability must be fully resolved before you can trigger another one.
If you triggered an Orders/Reaction Ability that can only be used once per turn, you may not place SAGA Dice on this ability again this Orders Phase.
Activation abilities
Activation abilities are only used during the Activation Phase of your turn. They can never be used during an enemy turn.
Activation abilities are exclusively used during your Activation Phase. The Activation Phase is actually a succession of Activation SAGA Abilities played by a player, which may be interrupted by the opponent's Activation/Reaction. Some special rules or game effects can also be used during the Activation Phase, such as the Warlord's "Determination", but these are not considered Activation abilities.
The framework of resolution for an Activation Ability is always the same:
- Pay for the ability by discarding the required SAGA Dice.
- Designate the target(s) of the ability.
- Resolve the Activation ability.
At any point in this process, the opponent(s) will have the opportunity to trigger an Activation/Reaction ability.
The target(s) of an ability may be obvious in the text of the ability: "Activate all your Levies" makes the targets of the activation obvious, but "Activate one of your units for a Movement" requires the player to state which unit will be activated as soon as the ability is triggered.
Activation/Reaction abilities
Activation/Reaction abilities are only used during an opponent's Activation Phase. Each Activation/Reaction ability will indicate in its description when it can be triggered.
Unless specifically indicated, Activation/Reaction abilities are triggered in reaction to an opponent's activation during his Activation Phase. Every ability indicates in its description when the ability is triggered (such as "Play this ability..." or "Use this ability..."), and that usually precedes or follows an activation of an enemy unit.
The resulting effects of the Activation/Reaction are fully resolved before finishing the resolution of the ability or game effect that it interrupted.
A player may trigger multiple Activation/Reaction abilities in a row, reacting to the same activation or game effect. Each ability must be fully resolved before triggering the next one.
If after the resolution of Activation/Reaction, the initial activation or game effect cannot be resolved (such as a unit eliminated by an activation and ensuing Melee produced by an Activation/Reaction), its effects are cancelled without further effects.
Shooting abilities
The Attacker plays Shooting abilities during step 2 of a Shooting sequence.
Shooting abilities are triggered during step 2 of the Shooting sequence. The Attacker always triggers his Shooting abilities before the Defender triggers his Shooting/Reaction abilities. Note that their effects can take place in forthcoming steps. A simple example would be an ability that allows the shooter to re-roll failed Attack Dice. This ability would be triggered during step 2, but would be resolved during step 3, during which Attack Dice are actually rolled.
When it comes to resolving abilities, Shooting abilities always have their effects resolved before Shooting/Reaction abilities. This can have some unexpected importance, as we will see below.
Shooting/Reaction abilities
The target of a Shooting plays Shooting/Reaction abilities during step 2 of a Shooting sequence.
The Defender during a Shooting sequence triggers his Shooting/Reaction abilities during the step 2 of the Shooting, after the Attacker has finished triggering his Shooting abilities. As highlighted above, the effects of the Shooting/Reaction can actually be applied later in the sequence, for example an ability that would allow the Defender to re-roll some of his Defence Dice. The Defender's ability effects are always resolved after the Attacker's effects if there are any timing conflicts.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): Imagine a Warlord targeted by Shooting. He has an Armour of 6 and a Shooting/Reaction ability that increases his Armour by one. He knows that the Shooting unit is ready to trigger an ability that will reduce his Armour by one. Let's say the shooter triggers that ability. Our Warlord then triggers his. As the Attacker ability resolves first, the Armour value of the Warlord is reduced by one to 5. Then, the Defender's abilities take effect, increasing his Armour back to 6. If we had to proceed the other way round, the Warlord could not have increased his Armour (as it is capped at 6) and would have ended with an Armour of 5, due to the Attacker's ability. Hence the importance of respecting the correct timing when resolving SAGA Abilities.
Melee/Reaction abilities
Melee/Reaction abilities are resolved during step 0 of a Melee sequence. They precede the generation of Attack Dice. The Attacker resolves his abilities first, then the Defender.
The first step of any Melee gives the opportunity to the Attacker and then the Defender to trigger Melee/Reaction abilities. The Attacker triggers and resolves all the Melee/Reaction SAGA Abilities he wants before the Defender can use any of his.
As usual, if there is a timing conflict for which effect should be resolved first, effects generated by the Attacker are always resolved first.
Melee abilities
Melee abilities are used during step 3 of the Melee. Firstly the Attacker uses all the Melee abilities he wants, then the Defender resolves his abilities.
Melee abilities may be used as long as you have at least one unit involved in the Melee. During step 3 of the Melee, the Attacker triggers all his Melee abilities before the Defender can trigger his. Once the Defender has started triggering abilities, the Attacker cannot trigger any Melee abilities again during this step.
Quite often, the Melee abilities will impact forthcoming steps of the Melee. If there is a timing conflict (i.e. effects that take place in the same step), the Attacker's effects are always resolved before the Defender's effects.
When a Melee ability gives a benefit (such as additional Attack or Defence Dice, an Armour increase, a modifier to the dice, etc...) its effects are limited to a single target unit, unless otherwise specified.
Remark: A Melee ability that says "Gains three Attack Dice" will provide these three dice to a single unit of your choice. These three dice cannot be split between two units, nor benefit all your units engaged in this Melee.
Timing conflicts
At some point in the game, there might be timing conflicts with abilities that need to be resolved simultaneously. Actually, the abilities are always resolved sequentially, by using the following principles:
- During a Shooting or a Melee, when there is a timing conflict, the Attacker's abilities are always fully resolved before the Defender's abilities.
- When two abilities triggered by the same player have to be resolved during the same step at the same time, the triggering player chooses in which order they will be resolved.
- In a multiplayer game, if two or more players want to trigger an ability at the same time, the player whose turn it is determines the order in which the game effects will be resolved.
An Activation Phase Example
This is the situation at the end of the Orders Phase. The Saracen player has finished his Orders Phase with a Battle Board filled with dice (please note that we will assume that he has more units on the board than the ones displayed in this example, but we will focus on a limited part of the battlefield for the sake of clarity).
In these examples, the Saracen player controls his mounted Warlord, one unit of Ghulams (Hearthguards) armed with bows, and one unit of Hashariyan (Levies) with bows.
Facing him is a unit of dismounted Knights with heavy weapons, a Warlord who also has a big axe, and a unit of foot Warriors with crossbows. The Crusader player has a couple of dice left on his Battle Board (note that the Crusader has acquired the Temperance virtue). (The book illustrates the two Battle Boards here.)
The Saracen player decides to start his Activation Phase by activating his Levies. He discards the SAGA die on the "Hashariyan" space, and announces to his opponent that the unit is going to be activated to shoot. As the Crusader has no Activation/Reaction ability to trigger, they can move on to the Shooting resolution.
The players start step 1 by generating Attack Dice for the bow-armed Levies. They check the range and without any doubt, all the levies are in range. According to the Attack Dice generation rule, Levies generate a half Attack Die each. But in SAGA, everything is rounded up, so the four and a half Attack Dice generated become five Attack Dice.
The Saracens can now use their Shooting abilities, as we move on to step 2. Looking at his Battle Board, the player only has two options: "Arrows & Shields" and the "Piercing Shots" abilities. As his unit is further than M from any model in the target crossbowmen unit, he cannot use "Piercing Shots". "Arrows & Shields" might be useful here, but the Saracen decides not to use it right now, as he has better plans for this turn. He announces that he has finished using his SAGA Abilities so his opponent may now trigger his Shooting/Reaction abilities. As the Crusader wants to keep some crossbowmen alive, he decides to trigger his "Great City" ability. He discards the die in this space, and this increases his crossbowmen's Armour to 4 (being armed with crossbows had reduced the Armour of these Warriors to 3, as explained in the Armoury chapter, and so the ability increases it back to 4). As he does not want to trigger any other ability, both players now move to step 3.
The Saracen player takes the five dice he generated and rolls them, getting two 4s, one 3 and two 1s. Against an Armour of 4 this means two hits (note that the "Great City" ability was useful here to avoid one hit).
The Defender, our Crusader, now has to roll his Defence Dice during step 4. He takes as many Defence Dice as hits suffered, and would now add any extra Defence Dice generated by a SAGA Ability had he any. Against these two hits, he will hence roll two Defence Dice, with a result of 4 and 1. The four cancels one hit (in Shooting 4s or more are enough to cancel hits) while the other becomes a casualty.
Moving to step 5, the Crusader player decides to remove the leftmost figure of his unit, to keep the crossbowmen within M of his Warlord (you never know...).
This ends the Shooting sequence, and by the way, the activation of the Hashariyan.
The Saracen now activates his Warlord, by using his "Determination" rule, which allows him to be activated once per turn without the need to spend any SAGA dice. He also announces that he will be using the "We Obey" special rule that allows him to activate for a Movement a friendly unit which is within S of his Warlord when he is activated for a Movement.
He designates the Ghulams as the target for the "We Obey". As he plans to engage the Knights in Melee with both his Warlord and Ghulams, he has to move his Warlord first, according to the "We Obey" rule (see the Warlord chapter). He moves the Warlord by the shortest route into contact with the Knights, and then moves his Ghulams into contact.
With opposing units in contact, a Melee needs to be resolved now.
During step 0 of the Melee, both players can trigger Melee/Reaction abilities. As neither the Saracen nor the Crusader has any, they skip this step and move to step 1, during which both sides will generate Attack Dice.
The Saracen starts with his Ghulams. As Hearthguards, they generate two Attack Dice per model. He generates twelve Attack Dice as all models are either in base-to-base contact with the enemy or within VS of an enemy who is in base-to-base contact with a friendly model. The Saracen Warlord generates five Attack Dice. The player takes care to separate both pools of dice.
The Crusader player takes twelve Attack Dice, as all the Knights are in position to generate Attack Dice.
They now choose to reduce the number of Attack Dice to Defence Dice. The player is torn between the desire to save his Knights and the opportunity to inflict a goodly amount of casualties on the lowly armoured Ghulams (they only have an Armour of 4 in Melee due to their bows, as explained in the Saracen Faction rules). Finally, he decides to go for an all-out Attack, and does not reduce the number of Attack Dice he has.
Moving to step 3, the Saracen player can now trigger SAGA Abilities. Looking at his Battle Board, he decides to trigger "A Pure Heart" and discards the relevant dice, designating the Ghulams as the target of the ability. To resolve this ability he needs to roll 2D6 and in doing so obtains a 5 and a 1. After much thought, he decides that the 5 will provide him Defence Dice while the 1 will provide him Attack Dice. So, according to the ability, he takes three Defence Dice (as half of 5 rounded up ends with 3) and one Attack Die. A clever plan in mind, he announces to his opponent that he has finished using SAGA Abilities. As the Defender, the Crusader can now trigger SAGA Abilities. He decides to use the die that is left in his "Combat Pool" to gain one Defence Die, which he puts aside for step 5. With an empty Battle Board, he is done.
Now both players take their Attack Dice, and roll them. But as the Knights are facing two units, they can divide their Attack Dice between the available targets. The Ghulams only have an Armour of 4, and have three extra Defence Dice. The Warlord on the other hand, has an Armour of 5 but no Defence Dice. The Knights decide to put as many Attacks as possible against the Saracen Warlord. As they are restricted to half their Attack Dice aimed at the enemy Warlord, they allocate six Dice against him.
The Attacker starts rolling his Dice. Taking the 13 Dice for the Ghulams (12 Attack Dice generated plus one for his SAGA Ability), he rolls them, and will score hits on 4s (as the Armour of the Knights is reduced by one for handling big heavy weapons). He scores six hits. Then he moves to his Warlord who will also need 4s. The Warlord has five Attack Dice and gets two hits. So the Knights have taken eight hits!
The Crusader now rolls the six Attack Dice targeting the Ghulams. He will need 4s but his heavy weapons provide him with a +1 bonus, resulting in 3s becoming hits. He only scores two hits. However, against the Warlord, who is hit on 4s, they get five hits!
With the step 4 done, we will now see which of these hits are translated into casualties by rolling Defence Dice. The Ghulams roll their Defence Dice first. They get two Defence Dice for the hits taken, and three extra Defence Dice received by "A Pure Heart". However, you may never roll more Defence Dice than twice the number of hits taken, so this limits the number of Defence Dice rolled to 4 in our case. They need 5s to cancel hits in Melee, and roll one 6, one 5 and two 3s. They cancel two hits, reducing to nil the number of hits taken.
The Warlord now rolls his Defence Dice. He has five Dice to cancel the five hits and gets two 6s, three 4s and one 1. So he cancels only two hits. Fortunately, his "Resilience" special rule (see the Warlord chapter) cancels another hit. He suffers two hits.
The Knights must defend themselves now. They have suffered eight hits and have an extra Defence Die provided by their "Combat Pool". So nine Defence Dice to cancel eight hits. They manage to cancel four hits, but that still leaves four hits uncancelled.
During step 6 both sides have to remove their casualties. The Ghulams did not suffer any, but the Saracen Warlord suffered three hits. The Saracen is now facing a dilemma. Either to let his Warlord die, or save him with his Resilience special rule by eliminating the two Ghulams that are within VS. As the life of his Warlord is precious, he kills two faithful and loyal Hearthguards. The Knights have to remove four casualties, and decide to remove the models that are the furthest away from his Warlord.
During step 7, each unit takes one Fatigue. Finally, during step 8 the Knights, which are obviously the side that suffered the most casualties, have to disengage and do so.
The Saracen Activation Phase is not over yet, as there are some SAGA Dice left on the Battle Board that the player can use. For his final activation, he decides to use the die placed on the Hearthguard Activation space. With this ability he could either activate the Warlord or the Ghulams. Activating the Warlord would result in the Warlord engaging in Melee, as he has enemy units within S at the start of a second or subsequent movement activation, and crucially he is within range of the enemy Warlord. So he would lose his head and jump on him. Not a prospect that appeals to the Saracen player.
So he decides to activate the Ghulams, but not for a Movement as they would have to engage in Melee (enemy units within S at the start of a second or subsequent activation). Instead he activates them to shoot, opening a Shooting sequence.
He chooses this time to shoot at the Crusader Warlord. As all his models are within range, they each generate one Attack Die, for a total of four Attack Dice. Deciding to make the Shooting decisive, he triggers the "Piercing Shots" (adding +1 to his Attack Dice as at least one model is within M of its target) and the "Arrows & Shields". Rolling for the Arrows, he obtains a 3 and a 2. So it will grant his unit three Attack Dice and provide two Defence Dice to the enemy Warlord. So he will be rolling seven Attack Dice, with the Armour of 6 of the Warlord as target number. The Crusader Warlord does not see the point in spending the Fatigue of the Ghulams as his Armour cannot exceed 6, and he has no available ability left on his Battle Board.
They proceed to the Attack rolls, with the Saracen rolling one 6, two 5s, three 3s and one 1. With his +1 bonus (due to the "Piercing Shots") he scores three hits.
The enemy Warlord now takes his Defence Dice. Three dice for the number of hits, and two extra dice for the "Arrows & Shields" (factually the "shields" part of the ability!). He manages to cancel two hits, and the remaining hit is cancelled by his "Resilience" special rule.
Our Saracen player must now admit that his turn is finished. He has no ability to use and no special rule that could activate a unit. He felt that he has missed an opportunity here, and fears that the counter-attack might be deadly. Time will tell...
Mustering the Warband
With the reader having (hopefully) a clear idea on how the game works, we will now deal with the Warbands that we have repeatedly mentioned in the previous pages. We will see how you can muster your Warband, decide its composition and make sure you have the right tools to crush your opponents.
Your Warband
A Warband is the collection of figures that you will lead during the game. The number of figures in your Warband depends upon the size of the game you are playing (from four to eight points) and the choices you make about the troop types you muster. The better the fighters, the lower the figure count will be!
Each Warband is defined by:
- Its Faction (you will find the description of the six available Factions of The Crescent & The Cross in the following pages)
- Its number of points, as decided with your opponent.
So if you decided to play a Crusader Warband of six points, you will have six points to spend on troop choices that are offered by the Crusader Faction. Most Factions allow you to take Hearthguards, Warriors and Levies, though some of them are more restrictive (for example, Milites Christi do not have any Levies.)
Sidebar: For your first games, refrain from the urge of playing large six (or even bigger) point games. You can have a lot of fun with four points games, and the limited number of figures does not lessen the tactical choices you will have to make, but will make the learning curve of the rules much simpler. Then, once you feel ready to venture into bigger games, you can field six (or even 8) point Warbands and enjoy the wealth of options offered by a standard SAGA game.
Irrespective of the Faction you play, each point spent will give you a set number of models, which depends on the class of figures that the point has been spent on.
Your Warlord
The Warlord is the most important figure in any Warband and is actually your alter-ego on the table-top. He does not cost any points, unless you choose to upgrade him to one of the legendary figures known as Crusading Heroes.
The Warlord is usually the best fighter of your Warband, and provides it with quite a few SAGA Dice to activate and unleash a torrent of SAGA Abilities. But be careful, as he is far from being invulnerable, and in some scenarios his death heralds the end of the game.
Such an important character deserves a chapter of his own (see the Warlord chapter).
Your Retainers
There are three different classes of Retainers and they are: Hearthguards, Warriors and Levies.
Hearthguards. They are obviously the most powerful retainers at your disposal, knights, companions, and household soldiers that are ready to die for you. You can have a Warband made entirely of these men, but be prepared to face a more numerous foe.
Hearthguards have an Armour of 5, two Attack Dice each when fighting in Melee and one Attack Die each when Shooting. It takes four Fatigue to exhaust them. A Hearthguard unit generates one SAGA Die.
Warriors. Warriors are the most common sight on the Crusade battlefields. They can be sergeants, lesser men-at-arms, armed militia or trained soldiers.
Warriors have an Armour of 4, one Attack Die each when fighting in Melee and one Attack Die per two models when Shooting. It takes three Fatigues to exhaust them. A Warrior unit generates one SAGA Die.
Levies. Well, not all members of your Warband are first-class combatants. Sometimes, you need numbers and some men that will (willingly or not!) die to protect your best troops. The Levies are exactly that: not really trained for war, they are peasants, citizens hastily armed or slaves. But when playing SAGA, you'll soon discover their usefulness.
Levies have an Armour of 3, generate one Attack Die per three models when fighting in Melee and one Attack Die per two models when Shooting. It only takes two Fatigues to exhaust them. Levy units do not generate SAGA Dice.
So, how does that translate into figure numbers. Well, that is quite simple. Warband composition in SAGA will not take hours, and will leave more time to prepare a proper strategy.
Each point spent gives you a varying number of models, depending on the class of troops you want to add to your Warband. Each point may be spent on a different class, giving you the option of adding more or less of a type of troops in favour of another. Please note that there are no such things as 1/2 points in SAGA, as we felt they were way too complicated for your average wargamers like us.
There is only one thing to remember, here it is:
One point gives you four Hearthguards OR eight Warriors OR twelve Levies.
1pt = 4 Hearthguards = 8 Warriors = 12 Levies
Other Retainers
There are other types of retainers that are worth mentioning. Neither of them is a troop class, but nonetheless they can be added to your Warband and will cost you points to do so.
- The Priest is a single figure that can join any Warband. He counts as a one figure unit, and, if not as efficient as your Warlord, may provide you with benefits that will give you the edge during battle. Each Priest costs one point, and given their importance, they are the subject of a special chapter (see the Priest chapter).
- The Dogs of War are mercenary units that you can add to your Warband to mitigate its weaknesses, give it some extra punch or (if you are like us) because the figures look cool. Each Dogs of War unit costs one point, but its composition (number of models) and troop class will be detailed in their special rules. We have dedicated a chapter to them (see the Dogs of War chapter).
You will also be able to recruit elite units that are restricted to some Factions: the Legends of the Crusading Age.
Some units of your Warband will have the option to be upgraded that way, for a cost of 1 point usually. When such units are upgraded they will benefit from the bonuses and special rules in the relevant section of the description of the Legends of the Crusading Age. These units are still standard units of your Warband, and are activated and behave like other units. The choice of upgrading a unit to a Legend of the Crusading Age must be made when mustering the Warband, before the deployment.
Unless otherwise specified, a Warband that includes a Legend of the Crusading Age cannot also include a Hero of the Crusades.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad), mustering a Saracen Warband: Allah being on my side, he gave me six points to spend on inspired devotees. As a Saracen Warlord, I can choose Hearthguards, Warriors and Levies. I'll need some tough fighters to take on the Crusaders, so I start by recruiting two points of Hearthguards. That gives me eight Ghulams, ferocious riders that are ready to fall on the Western vermin. I'll then spend three points on Warriors. Dedicated city soldiers who will bravely defend their homelands against the pillaging horde. Each point providing eight good lads, I'll have 24 of them under my inspired command. I deliberated for some time over recruiting either a Dogs of War unit or a Priest for the last point, but finally decided to add some Levies to my Warband. One point provides twelve fellows. So, I'm leading 44 good soldiers to battle. With me, that makes 45 walls of faith upon which the waves of Crusaders will crash.
Organising your Warband
When starting the game, the only thing you need to know is how you spent your allowance of points. You do not need to decide how to split your figures into units before the game actually starts, as these decisions will be taken during the deployment of your Warband on the table. When you have to deploy units on the table, they are subject to the following constraints:
- No unit can have less than four models, unless it is made up of a Warlord or a Priest
- No unit can have more than twelve models.
- All models within a unit must be of the same class
- If a choice of equipment is available to that class (according to the Faction Rules), all models in the unit must have the same equipment.
The Warlord, Priest and Dogs of War form units of their own and may never be mixed with other figures. So your Warlord will be deployed alone, as will your Priest, and each Dogs of War unit will be deployed separately.
When some equipment or upgrade options are available to a class of troops (as described in the Faction Rules) you only have to choose which option when deploying the unit on the table.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad), deploying the six-point Saracen Warband: I decide that my Hearthguards will be deployed in a single 8-model unit. With 16 Attack Dice in Melee, I'm sure they will easily crush the 12-model Knights unit they are facing. I decide not to give them the optional bows that my Faction Rules permit in order to avoid any Armour reduction. Then I have to deploy my Warriors. I decide to deploy them in three different units. One of them will be made of twelve models, which I decide to mount and arm with bows as allowed by my Faction rules. I split the remaining twelve models into two units, each composed of six models, and equipped with spears and shields. Finally, for the Levies, I choose to deploy them into two units also, one of eight models and the other of four models. They are armed with bows, as indicated by their description in my Faction rules. As far as my SAGA Dice count is concerned, my Warband generates six SAGA Dice. One for the Hearthguards, three for the Warriors and two that I generate myself. Note that is precisely the maximum number of dice you can roll at the start of the turn, as allowed by the rules.
Time taken to think about your Warband organisation will not be wasted as unit structure is crucial during the game. Bigger units are more resilient, generate more Attack Dice and occupy more ground. But you will only have a few of them, and any loss will dramatically reduce the number of SAGA Dice you can use. You have to make these choices at deployment and they will weigh on your shoulders during the whole game, so better to think twice before taking a decision you may regret.
Warlords
Warlords are larger than life characters who lead Warbands for their own personal ambitions, to defend their homelands, conquer new territories or simply because they fancy a good brawl with a like-minded psychopath. In SAGA, they are especially important as they represent the player on the table, and confer many advantages during a game. Let's face it: losing your Warlord sucks. It does not mean that you have lost the game (well, unless the scenario being played says so) but it will be tough to overcome such a loss.
Warlords benefit from a few different special rules that we will detail below. Using them at the right time can make all the difference.
The benefits of being a Warlord are:
- Increased Armour
- SAGA Dice generated
- Attack Dice generated
- Resilience
- Determination
- Ability to command with the "We Obey" rule
- Ability to fight with another unit with the "Side by Side" special rule.
Increased Armour
The Warlord has an Armour of 6 against Shooting and an Armour of 5 in Melee. This makes a Warlord a hard nut to crack, especially with an arrow!
SAGA Dice generated
The Warlord generates two SAGA Dice at the start of each turn, and not just one like other units.
Attack Dice generated
The Warlord generates five Attack Dice in Melee, and two when Shooting. And yes, he is worth more than ten Levies in Melee on his own.
Resilience
Warlords are the toughest members of any Warband and so shouldn't die to the first blow exchanged. Also, their retainers are ready to give their lives to protect them, and quite rightly too.
The "Resilience" rule gives two benefits.
The first is that during each Shooting or Melee, the Warlord ignores the first un-cancelled hit he suffers, after having rolled his Defence Dice. So a single un-cancelled hit is not enough to remove a Warlord figure as a casualty, and it will take at least two hits to kill him.
This rule applies during each Shooting or Melee resolution. So, you can use it if a unit targets you with a ranged attack and again when another unit resolves its Shooting against your Warlord later during the turn.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): Your Warlord takes four hits during a Shooting. Fortunately he cancels three of these hits with his Defence Dice. With his "Resilience" special rule, the last remaining hit is cancelled. The same Warlord is engaged in Melee during the same turn. In the same way, during the step 5 he will cancel one hit that was not cancelled by a Defence Die.
The second benefit is that if a hit would cause the Warlord to be removed as a casualty, you can remove a friendly non-Levy figure within VS of the Warlord, instead of removing the Warlord himself. This applies to Shooting and Melee and actually in any other circumstances that would kill your Warlord.
Depending on your point of view, you could imagine some loyal men jumping between the deadly strike and their lord, or maybe a Warlord picking a nearby soldier as a shield!
In Melee, any model removed as a casualty with the "Resilience" rule counts as a casualty inflicted during the Melee to determine which side will have to disengage.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): If during the Shooting mentioned above, the Warlord only cancelled two of the four hits, he could cancel one hit with his "Resilience", and instead of joining his ancestors in Heaven, he could sacrifice a retainer - a Warrior or Hearthguard - within VS. Sacrifice is encouraged in most religions...
Determination
Unlike their Retainers who follow orders, the Warlords are inspired and autonomous.
Once, during his controlling player's Activation Phase, the Warlord can be activated for free, without requiring any SAGA Die to do so. This activation can be used to shoot, rest or move (and in that latter case, can trigger the "We Obey" special rule detailed below).
Despite being free, it still counts as an activation, and can trigger reactions from enemy units, counts as a relevant activation for the sake of Fatigue, etc...
We Obey
Warlords are able to issue orders to their retainers, and unsurprisingly, the latter blindly obey!
Once during your own turn, when a Warlord is activated for a Movement, he can choose to activate a friendly unit within S of himself. That unit is activated for a Movement, and that activation does not consume any SAGA Dice.
As soon as the Warlord is activated for a Movement, you must decide if you are issuing a "We Obey" order and announce it clearly, at the same time designating the unit that will benefit from this free Movement activation. You can then start by moving the activated unit or the Warlord, unless you want both of them to engage the same enemy unit. In that case, the Warlord will have to move first, as we should expect from a battle leader!
This free activation still counts as a regular activation, which may trigger reactions from your opponent, will potentially cause Fatigue, etc... also, the activated unit can freely finish its movement more than S away from the Warlord.
Side by Side
By using the "We Obey", the Warlord and the chosen unit can engage the same enemy unit. This is the only way in SAGA to have two units fighting a single unit.
This kind of Melee is handled like any other Melee, with the following exceptions:
- Each of your units (Warlord and accompanying unit) generates their own separate Attack Dice. If using a SAGA Ability that grants a benefit to a unit, you must choose which unit will benefit from it.
- The enemy unit engaged by your two units must choose, before rolling its Attack Dice, how it will divide them between your two units. No more than half of its Attack Dice can target your Warlord (but there is no minimum number of dice that need to be allocated to him). Warlords are exempt from this limitation, they can direct all their Attack Dice against the enemy Warlord, ignoring the accompanying unit.
- The casualties suffered by the accompanying unit must be removed before dealing with the Warlord's hits. This means that before the Warlord can remove friendly models within VS, the casualties on the accompanying unit must have been removed. So take that into consideration before sending your Warlord and a lonely Hearthguard into Melee. If the guard is killed, the Warlord won't have any models to remove using his "Resilience" ability to avoid being killed!
Being a Warlord does not only provide benefits. It also comes with a burden. And that is the...
Warlord's Pride
There can be only one. We are talking seriously here, whether it be a clash of faith, ambitions, honour or whatever. Just remember that your Warlord wants his opposing counterpart to eat the grass by the roots.
Each time your Warlord is about to resolve a Movement (so after your opponent has made any decisions to reduce your Warlord's Movement by Fatigue expenditure, and used any Activation/Reaction ability, etc...), and before you actually move the Warlord, you must check if you could engage the enemy Warlord with that movement. If this is the case, you must move and engage the enemy Warlord in Melee. You have no choice, and you should actually be proud to do so!
Note however that in some cases your Warlord is subject to contradicting mandatory movements. For example, if your Warlord starts within VS of an enemy unit and is also able to engage an enemy Warlord that is further away. In these cases the other mandatory movement takes precedence over the "Warlord's Pride". In our example, the Warlord would have to engage the enemy within VS, ignoring the obligation to engage the enemy Warlord.
Sidebar (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): Astute Warlords could use the "We Obey" rule to avoid being penalised by this rule. You could activate a nearby unit and have it move between you and the enemy Warlord to avoid having to engage him in Melee. Not very brave, but the Holy Land is full of the graves of brave and silly Christians.
Warlord Priests
As we will see later, your Warlord can be upgraded to a Warlord Priest for free. This represents a religiously inspired battle leader or any kind of bloodthirsty crank. Please refer to the chapter dealing with Priests for more details about this upgrade.
Heroes of the Crusades
Alternatively, your Warlord can be upgraded to a Hero of the Crusade for one point (a Warlord upgraded to Warlord Priest cannot become a Hero of the Crusades!). Crusading Heroes are historical leaders, kings and commanders that we took from the History books and threw shamelessly into our SAGA games.
Each Hero of the Crusade comes with his own set of special rules. They might even affect the composition of your Warband, so the first choice to make when mustering the Warband is whether or not your Warlord will become a Hero of the Crusades!
Unless otherwise specified, the Heroes of the Crusades have all the same special rules and stats as a standard Warlord, as described above. They also have the same equipment options as the standard Warlord for your Faction, unless otherwise specified.
It might happen that two players both field the same Hero of the Crusades. Obviously one is an impostor, disguised to impersonate the real Hero, and God's Judgement will prevail and determine who is truly a Hero! In other words, that will not be a problem as far as the gameplay is concerned.
A Warband may only ever include one single Hero of the Crusades. A Warband led by a Hero of the Crusades cannot include Legends of the Crusading Age nor Dogs of War, unless otherwise specified.
The Priest
Priests and other guardians of faith played an important role in all early medieval societies and cultures. They were the keepers of knowledge and lawyers, and always on the look-out for their followers' souls. Their impact on the policies of the kingdoms cannot be underestimated. More often than not, they took part in the conflicts of their peers, leading men to battle and ensuring that their behaviour was in accordance with the dogmas of their faith.
Adding a Priest to your Warband
You can muster a Priest in your Warband for the cost of one point. A Priest is always a single figure unit (in a similar way to a Warlord). A Warband may never include more than one Priest. The gaming stats of a Priest (his Armour, the number of Attack Dice he gets in Melee, etc...) depend upon his type, as described further. In addition, if the Warlord of your Faction can be mounted, then the Priest in your Warband may also be mounted (the Priest may choose freely which kind of mount if more than one is available). This is the only equipment option a Priest ever gets; he doesn't have access to any of the Warlord's other equipment options.
Priests are activated like Warlords, and as far as Battle Board abilities are concerned, they are Warlords (but they are not Warlords for other game effects, like the "Warlord's Pride" special rule). A SAGA Ability that cannot target a Warlord won't be able to target a Priest either. Like Hearthguards and Warlords, Priests are exhausted when they have four Fatigues.
A Priest is worth four Slaughtering victory points (see Victory points for full explanation).
Warlord Priests
You can also upgrade (or downgrade some would say...) your Warlord to a Priest. This does not cost any extra points, as the Priest will simply replace your Warlord.
All the characteristics of your Warlord are then replaced by those shown for the chosen type of Priest.
Also, the Warlord Priest gains the "Determination" special rule and becomes subject to the "Warlord's Pride" special rule.
The Priest type
There are three Priest types: the Warrior Priest, the Religious Advisor, and the Enlightened. When recruiting a Priest into your Warband, you must decide which type your Priest will be.
The Priest type uses the same template for the description of their abilities and stats, with the following details:
- Attacks: This is the number of Attack Dice the Priest generates in Melee.
- Armour: the Armour of the Priest; the first number is used in Melee, the second against Shooting attacks.
- SAGA Dice: the number of SAGA Dice generated by the Priest at the start of each turn.
- Special Rules: the special rules that the Priest benefits from. Some of them are the same as the special rules for Warlords in the rulebook. Please refer to their description in this rulebook with any reference to Warlord being replaced by "Priest".
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): Priests only existed during the Crusades? During the Dark Ages, we had our share of mad hermits, sooth-sayers and even one or two decent holy men who actually enjoyed a good punch up too. Players of SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes can use these rules straight out of the book.
The Religious Advisor
The Religious Advisor was taken onto the battlefield by his Warlord to gain the support of his god(s). He is not here to fight but rather to support the men and be a witness to their bravery...or otherwise. After the battle, he will write, or sing, of (and properly exaggerate) the magnificent feats of arms that were performed this day. He can be a skald, a monk, a Celtic bard (druid) or an imam and has to be depicted by an unarmed figure as his number of Attacks shows.
Attacks: 1 Armour: 4/4 SAGA Dice: 2
Special rules:
- "Resilience" (see Warlords)
- "Spiritual advice": At the start of your turn, if the Religious Advisor is within S of your Warlord, the maximum number of SAGA Dice you may roll is increased by one (if the Religious Advisor is himself a Warlord, this bonus always applies as long as he is alive).
- "Belief": At the start of each of his controlling player's Activation Phases, the Religious Advisor removes one of his Fatigues.
- "Faith": At any time during your Orders Phase, the Religious Advisor may take any number of Fatigues (he must stop when Exhausted though). For each FATIGUE taken that way you may either (each one of these abilities may only be performed once per turn):
- Roll two additional SAGA dice.
- Remove one FATIGUE from a unit within M of the Religious Advisor.
The Warrior Priest
The Warrior Priest has taken the sword (or the axe) to defend his beliefs, preaching with steel rather than words. He can be a Christian Bishop fighting with a mace, a savage Norse God, a fearsome leader from a Celtic war cult or an Islamic Qadi. Obviously, he should be represented by a properly armed figure displaying the signs of his faith.
Attacks: 3 Armour: 5/6 SAGA Dice: 1
Special rules:
- "Side by Side" (see Warlords)
- "Order, We Obey" (see Warlords)
- "Resilience" (see Warlords)
- "The Blade that Punishes": During your Orders Phase, you may discard any one of the SAGA dice you rolled this turn to gain the following benefits:
- The Priest generates three extra Attack Dice
- He immediately discards one FATIGUE.
- Any non-Levy unit that engages in combat alongside your Priest (by using his "Order, We Obey" and "Side by Side" special rules) generates one extra Attack Die per every two of its models (rounded up as usual).
All these benefits last until the start of your next turn.
The Enlightened
The Enlightened is likely to live as a hermit, far away from the tumults of the lives of others. His life has been given over to his beliefs, and consists of meditation, prayers and introspection. Sometimes, a convincing Warlord might be able to persuade the Enlightened out of his hermitage, with the hope that such a mystic will attract the blessings of the god(s).
Attacks: 1 Armour: 4/4 SAGA Dice: 2
Special rules:
- "Resilience" (see Warlords)
- "Belief": At the start of each of his controlling player's Activation Phase, the Enlightened removes one of his Fatigues.
- "Visionary": During his controller's Orders Phase, after the SAGA Dice have been rolled but before any SAGA Ability has been used by his controlling player, the Enlightened may take up to four FATIGUES. For each FATIGUE taken, you may take one SAGA die and change the symbol of this die to any symbol you want. If you use this special rule, you may not gain any extra SAGA Die during this Orders Phase.
Faction: Crusaders
The men who answered the Pope's call to defend the Christian East against the infidel and regain the Holy Land for the faith came from many countries in Western Europe, though in the early days, principally from France, Normandy, Flanders and Italy. They did not call themselves Crusaders, this being a much later term. The nearest thing to a contemporary description is probably "fideles sancti Petri", the "faithful of Saint Peter". The forces participating were raised via the feudal system, in that leaders of various social standings would decide to make the journey and take their vassals with them; this might be a great lord with a sizeable force, or a minor one with only a few knights in his train. Pope Urban had promised the remission of penances due for sins committed to anyone who "took the cross" and this may have been influential on some, though the chance to fight and loot in a good cause was a more likely reason to go.
The feudal nature of the forces, plus the fact that no ruling monarch took part in the First Crusade (though they all piled in later) meant that the command structure of the "armies" was fractured, with social status and politics playing a major part in deciding who might lead. But at the level of your Warband, this is not an issue, and you can view the whole force as being the feudal retainers of a single magnate - your Warlord. He is likely to be a man of some influence, possibly a Count or of a similar level in society. He will be trained from a young age to arms and will be proficient in both mounted and dismounted combat with a variety of weapons - which is lucky as he has both of these options.
Your Hearthguard will be drawn from the knightly class. At this time much of the later romantic mystique of the knight had yet to be created, and your knights are best seen as professional soldiers and leaders, able to concentrate on fighting due to the support provided by their demesnes. They owe allegiance to their lord and can fight on foot or mounted, when their charge is especially feared by their knightly opponents.
Your Warriors are trained soldiers in the pay of your knights, while some may be provided directly by your Warlord, which does not matter for the purposes of the game. They are proficient at their trade and, while not as well protected as knights, can be expected to give a good account of themselves. Warriors can follow various specialisms and this gives you access to both foot and mounted options, with and without ranged weapons, including the feared crossbow.
Quite a large number of civilians and fighters of lower quality than the warriors also "took the cross" and these provide your Levies. They have little fighting skill and few weapons, but are strong in their faith.
Faction rules: The Virtues
"We know that there are four cardinal virtues - temperance, justice, prudence, fortitude." Ambrose, Commentary on Luke, V, 62
The Crusader Battle Board is based on the Christian Virtues: Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude.
Each of these Virtues has a dedicated box on your Battle Board. The Crusader player starts with the Prudence Virtue and should place a marker in that box as a reminder.
Each Virtue has a title colour that matches the colour of the squares by the abilities on the Battle Board plus a symbol which matches one on the SAGA Christian Dice for the Virtues Temperance, Justice and Fortitude.
The Siege (Activation) — Activate each of your units for a Movement or a Shooting. Any activated unit that did not engage an enemy in melee or does not cause at least one casualty with a Shooting, takes a Fatigue after its activation.
The ability "The Siege" depends on the Justice Virtue, as shown by the colour of the blue squares next to its Title.
The abilities available to the Crusaders depend upon which Virtues they have, so at the start of the game, only Prudence Abilities are available. A SAGA Ability may not be used until the Crusader player has acquired the relevant Virtue, as described below.
During the game, Crusader players will try to acquire new Virtues, and these Virtues will unlock abilities from the Battle Board and some of these Virtues may boost existing abilities.
Acquiring Virtues. At the very start of his turn, even before the SAGA Dice are generated, the Crusader player may try to gain a new Virtue.
To do so, he announces his intention to be virtuous, picks a number of SAGA Dice (between 1 and 8) that are still on his Battle Board and rolls them. He can then acquire any one Virtue, as long as he rolled at least one of the symbol needed by the Virtue. He can then place a marker in the relevant Virtue box, and the Virtue is acquired until the end of the game.
All the dice used for acquiring a Virtue (not just the one that matched the needed symbol) are put aside, out of play, until the start of the Crusader's next turn. The player will have to play his turn with a reduced pool of available dice.
Example (Hashim Ibn Khalid Ibn Abad): The Crusader player starts his turn. He wants to acquire a new Virtue, and after some thought, decides to dedicate three SAGA Dice to acquiring a Virtue. He rolls them and gets a mounted knight symbol and two helmet symbols. With these symbols, he can either acquire Temperance or Justice. He decides to go for Temperance, and puts a marker on this Virtue. From now on, he can use all abilities related to Temperance. Now he has to generate SAGA Dice. His Warband generates seven SAGA Dice, but six is the maximum allowed to be rolled by the rules. To make things worse, he has only five SAGA Dice to play with, as three dice from his total available dice pool have been put out of play by seeking to acquire a Virtue. He rolls five dice, and as a silly Christian, starts by talking about repenting sins...
At the start of the next turn, any SAGA Dice that were out of play are returned to the pool of available dice.
NB - A Crusader player may not acquire more than one Virtue per turn.
Crusader Warlords and Hearthguards may be mounted on horses or fight on foot. If fighting on foot, they may have heavy weapons.
One unit of up to eight models of Warriors may be equipped with crossbows but these Warriors have an Armour of 3 (in Melee and against Shooting).
Another unit of up to eight models of Warriors may be mounted on horses.
Any unit of Warriors that did not choose either of these options fights on foot either with spears and shields or with bows. Warriors equipped with bows have an Armour (in Melee and against Shooting) reduced to 3.
The levies are armed with knives, slings, sticks and stones and anything else they can lay their hands on. In game terms they are considered to be equipped with javelins, but these javelins have a reduced range of S rather than M. As they are more motivated than other Levies, they generate one Attack Die per every two models in Melee and not one per three models as usual.
Faction summary chart: Crusaders
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | On foot | 5 | 6 | |
| Warlord | On foot with heavy weapon | 4 | 6 | See Heavy Weapons |
| Warlord | Mounted | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Hearthguards | On foot | 5 | 5 | |
| Hearthguards | On foot with heavy weapon | 4 | 5 | See Heavy Weapons |
Crusader Battle Board
Dice symbols on the Christian SAGA dice: helmet, mounted knight, and cross-banner (flag). The Battle Board lists the following abilities and costs (costs given as the dice symbols that can pay for them; where several symbols are listed as alternatives, any one of them pays the cost).
Top row (any number of times per turn):
- Knights (Activation): cost helmet, mounted knight or banner. Activate a unit of Hearthguards or a Warlord.
- Crusading footmen (Activation): cost helmet or banner. Activate a unit of Warriors.
- Pilgrims (Activation): cost mounted knight or banner. Activate a unit of Levy (two units if the discarded die was a banner).
- Activation Pool (Orders; Prudence): cost banner. Roll two extra SAGA Dice.
- Combat Pool (Shooting or Melee): cost helmet, mounted knight or banner. Gain one Attack or one Defence Die (three dice if you discarded a banner and have Fortitude).
Virtue boxes: Prudence (starting Virtue); Temperance (you must roll a helmet to get this virtue); Justice (you must roll a mounted knight to get this virtue); Fortitude (you must roll a banner to get this virtue).
Once per turn abilities (the Virtue each depends on is given in brackets):
- Taking the Cross (Orders; Prudence): cost mounted knight. Until the end of the turn, the movement of your models is increased by VS for foot troops and by S for mounted troops.
- Peasant's Crusade (Orders or Orders/Reaction; Prudence): cost mounted knight. Until the end of the current turn, your Pilgrims engaged in melee generate Attack Dice as if they were Warriors.
- The Bosphorus (Activation; Prudence): cost banner. Discard up to three Fatigues in total from up to three different units. These units may not engage an enemy unit in melee this turn.
- The Great City (Shooting/Reaction; Temperance): cost mounted knight or banner. May not be used on Levies. Increase your Armour by one. If you have Fortitude, your unit also gains three extra Defence Dice.
- Holy Land (Melee; Temperance): cost mounted knight. Your unit removes all its Fatigue at the end of the step 7 of this melee. If used on Pilgrims, immediately re-roll the SAGA Die spent for this ability and place it on your Battleboard.
- Dorylaeum (Melee; Justice): cost helmet, mounted knight or banner. May only be used on a unit of at least 4 Knights that engaged an enemy in melee. Gain three extra Attack Dice (if you have Fortitude, gain five Attack Dice instead).
- Victory! (Melee; Justice): cost helmet. May only be used on a unit of at least 4 Knights that engaged an enemy in melee. Reduce your armour by two. During step 5, the Defender must discard three successful Defence Dice.
- The Siege (Activation; Justice): cost helmet + banner. Activate each of your units for a Movement or a Shooting. Any activated unit that did not engage an enemy in melee or does not cause at least one casualty with a Shooting, takes a Fatigue after its activation.
Crusader SAGA Abilities description
Knights (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is the first of the series of abilities that are used to activate your units. This one allows you to activate a unit of Knights (Hearthguards) or your Warlord.
Crusading footmen (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The second ability that activates your units, this one enables you to activate your Warriors.
Pilgrims (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The last Activation ability at the top of your Battle Board activates your Levies. Note that if a banner is discarded, two units will be activated rather than one. Of course, if you only have one unit of Pilgrims, the second activation will be wasted. When two such units are activated, you must declare the units that will be activated, but will resolve their activations (and ensuing Shooting or Melee) one at a time. For more details, see Multiple simultaneous activations.
Combat Pool (Shooting or Melee; may be used any number of times during a turn). This ability is rather generic and with some subtle changes will appear on most Battle Boards. It allows you to give a unit some extra dice during a Melee or Shooting. In the case of Crusaders, it grants Attack or Defence Dice during Melees, but only Attack Dice during Shooting, as the timing of Shooting/Reaction is not available with this ability. The Combat Pool has an increased efficiency if the player has acquired Fortitude and spends a banner when using this ability, as it will then give three dice rather than one.
These abilities depend on Prudence. As Prudence is the starting Virtue of all Crusader Warbands, they may be used at the start of the game, without constraint.
Taking the Cross (Orders; may be used once during your turn). This ability will increase the movement of all the models of your Warband. Your foot models will have their movement increased by VS (for a Movement of M+VS for most of the troops) and your mounted models will benefit from a movement increase of S (for a total movement of L+S for most mounted models). This effect lasts until the end of the turn, so will not affect any movement made during the opponent's turn. It also only affects Movement activations; any other movement does not get this distance bonus. This bonus is unaffected by terrain or Fatigue expenditure. So a foot model will move by S+VS in uneven ground.
Peasant's Crusade (Orders or Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability will make your Pilgrims a force to be reckoned with. When used during your Orders Phase or during an opponent's Orders Phase, it will allow your Pilgrims to generate Attack Dice in Melee as if they were Warriors. So, instead of generating one Attack Die per two models, each model will generate one Attack Die! The effects of this ability will last until the end of the current turn.
The Bosphorus (Activation; may be used once per turn). This ability will be triggered any time during your Activation Phase. When you trigger it, you must choose up to three different units. Each of these units discards one of its Fatigue tokens. A price has to be paid though. Any unit that benefited from this ability may not engage an enemy unit in Melee this turn. Note however that you may use this ability on a unit that has engaged the enemy in Melee earlier this turn. It just means that the affected unit won't be able to engage the enemy in Melee again later during this turn.
These abilities depend on Temperance. Temperance must be acquired by rolling a helmet on one of the dice rolled to gain a Virtue. Without Temperance, these abilities may not be triggered or have dice placed on them.
The Great City (Shooting/Reaction; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may not be used on a Levies unit. This ability increases the benefiting unit's Armour by one. If you have both the Temperance and Fortitude Virtues, then in addition to an Armour increase, your unit will gain three Defence Dice.
Holy Land (Melee; may be used once per turn). This ability will trigger during step 3 of the Melee, but will actually be resolved during step 7. At the end of this step, your unit will discard all its Fatigue tokens. This means that your unit will end the Melee without any Fatigue tokens unless it gains any during step 8 as the result of a special rule or another SAGA Ability. In addition, if you used this ability on a Pilgrim unit, you may immediately re-roll the die spent to trigger this ability and place it on your Battle Board, on any legal SAGA Ability.
Activation Pool (Orders; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is an ability that you will see appear on most SAGA Battle Boards. When triggered, it gives you two extra SAGA Dice to roll. As it costs you one die to trigger it, it ends with a net benefit of one SAGA Die.
These abilities depend on Justice. Justice must be acquired by rolling a mounted knight on one of the dice rolled to gain a Virtue. Without Justice, these abilities may not be triggered nor have dice placed on them.
Dorylaeum (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: this ability may only be used on a unit of at least four Knights that engaged an enemy in Melee. So it cannot be used on your Warlord, on units made of less than four Knights, on Warriors, Levies or Dogs of War. The unit benefiting from this ability gains three extra Attack Dice as soon as it is triggered. If you have both Justice and Fortitude, you will gain five extra Attack Dice instead of three.
Victory! (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: this ability may only be used on a unit of at least four Knights that engaged an enemy in Melee. So it cannot be used on your Warlord, on units made of less than four Knights, on Warriors, Levies or Dogs of War. As soon as this ability is triggered your unit's Armour is reduced by two (to a minimum of two as usual). The other effects will take effect during step 5 of the Melee. During this step, the Defender will have to discard three successful Defence Dice. The Defender chooses which ones will be discarded, and if he has more than one unit engaged in this Melee, which unit will have to discard successful Defence Dice (these choices are made after all the Defence Dice of his units have been rolled).
The Siege (Activation; may be used once per turn). This ability activates all your units when triggered. Each of these units is activated for either a Shooting or a Movement (each unit can choose a different type of activation). The drawback for these cheap activations is that any unit that has chosen a Shooting and did not cause any casualty suffers one Fatigue after the resolution of the activation, and any unit that has chosen to move and did not engage in Melee with the movement (even if it was due to a SAGA Ability or an opponent's game effect, like spending the unit's Fatigue) takes one Fatigue as well. Note that this ability constitutes the perfect example of multiple simultaneous activations, as described in the Activation chapter.
These two abilities depend on Fortitude. Fortitude is the hardest Virtue to acquire, by rolling a banner on one of the dice rolled to gain a Virtue. Without Fortitude, these abilities may not be triggered or have dice placed on them. Also, Fortitude will increase the efficiency of some other abilities on your Battle Board.
Ascalon (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used on a Knights unit or your Warlord. This ability is very cost-efficient, as when triggered it will give your unit five extra Attack Dice, and five extra Defence Dice if a banner was discarded to pay for it.
Birth of a Kingdom (Melee; may be used once per turn). This is a powerful Melee ability. It allows one of your units to re-roll all its Attack Dice that failed to hit their target. The Armour of the benefiting unit is reduced by one unless you discarded a banner to pay for this ability. Of course, combining it with Ascalon won't give your opponent much of a chance.
Heroes of the Crusades: Crusaders
Godfrey de Bouillon
Godfrey was the son of the Count of Boulogne, born about 1060 and made Lord of Bouillon. As a younger son, he would not have expected great lands, but he was made heir to the important Duchy of Lorraine by his uncle. He was not able to take up his inheritance until 1086, having proved his loyalty to his suzerain, the Holy Roman Emperor Henry, over a prolonged period in which he gained much fighting experience. Godfrey responded to the Pope's call by raising loans against his lands, enabling him to gather together a sizeable host of knights and their retainers for the crusade. Godfrey played an important part in the campaign and, crucially, was the only other major protagonist who went with Raymond of Toulouse on the final stage to Jerusalem. He and his knights were the first into the city. When Raymond refused to become King, Godfrey accepted control of Jerusalem, though he refused to be called King, saying the true King of Jerusalem was Christ.
Legendary Hero: Godfrey generates three SAGA dice at the start of each turn, instead of the usual two for other Warlords. It will cost you one point to have Godfrey de Bouillon as Warlord of your Warband. Godfrey is always mounted on a horse.
Ideal knight: According to William of Tyre, the later 12th-century chronicler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, Godfrey was "tall of stature, not extremely so, but still taller than the average man. He was strong beyond compare, with solidly-built limbs and a stalwart chest. His features were pleasing, his beard and hair of medium blond." Because he had been the first ruler in Jerusalem, Godfrey of Bouillon was idealized in later accounts. He was depicted as the leader of the Crusades, the King of Jerusalem, and he was included among the ideal knights known as the Nine Worthies. Hence, Godfrey can use the "We Obey" special rule twice per turn (but only once during each of his Movement activations) and when using the "Resilience" special rule you may eliminate a friendly non-Levy figure within S of Godfrey instead of the usual VS.
God's on my side: A Warband led by Godfrey starts the game with the Temperance virtue active (i.e. the player can place a marker in the Temperance virtue box).
Peter the Hermit
Peter was born about 1050 and was a priest in the city of Amiens when Pope Urban called for the crusade. Peter embraced the call enthusiastically and began preaching the Pope's message around the country. He was able to gather a large number of pilgrims, possibly 40,000 souls in total. While this number did include many poor knights and others with military training, it was largely comprised of inexperienced men, and a number of women. The whole group set out ahead of the main military muster and encountered many difficulties in crossing Eastern Europe to reach Constantinople, losing perhaps a quarter of its strength en route. The Byzantines ferried the mass of people across the Bosporus to Asia Minor, where they began to loot and pillage as they moved into the area held by the Turks. By the time the Turks responded to their presence, Peter had lost control and had returned to Constantinople, so he was not amongst those slaughtered by Kilij Arslan. He later joined the main crusade but had largely lost his influence; he returned to Europe in 1099.
Legendary Hero: Peter is a Warlord Enlightened Priest and costs one point. He only generates one SAGA Die, rather than two as other Warlords. A Warband that includes Peter may not have another Warlord or Priest. It may include up to two Fanatical Pilgrims units (this is an exception to the normal rules as these forbid Fanatical Pilgrims from joining a Warband led by a Hero of the Crusades) but no other Dogs of War units. Fanatical Pilgrims are not subject to their "God's Shepherds" special rule when included in Peter's Warband.
Shepherd: All Pilgrim and Fanatical Pilgrim units in Peter's Warband generate one SAGA Die.
Peter may only sacrifice Pilgrims (or Fanatical Pilgrims) to avoid being eliminated when using his "Resilience" rule. When using his "Resilience", rather than needing to be within VS of Peter, the model to be eliminated needs to be within M.
Pilgrims: Peter's Warband may only include one unit of Warriors (and these Warriors may not be equipped with ranged weapons). The unit may not exceed eight models. All other units in Peter's Warband must be either Pilgrims or Fanatical Pilgrims.
For SAGA Abilities on the Crusaders Battle Board, any Fanatical Pilgrims unit in Peter's Warband count as a unit of Knights and so may use abilities that are normally restricted to Knights.
Shield of Faith: All Pilgrim units in Peter's Warband roll two extra Defence Dice when fighting in Melee or when shot at.
Faction: Saracens
"Saracens" or "Paynim" were the general purpose terms used by the Franks (i.e. all Western Europeans) to describe the inhabitants of the Middle East at the time of the Crusades. A complete lack of knowledge of the region meant they had no idea of, or interest in, the actual political structures they were attacking. Thus we need not have regard for this either, and so you may view the Saracen Faction as being comprised of Seljuk Turks, Warriors of the Ayyubid Caliphate, or troops of the Fatimid Caliphate at your own option.
Caliphs were most unlikely to take the field at this time, though the Seljuk Sultan often led his troops. Your Warlord is much more likely to be a regional Emir or city governor, of noble birth and probably of the same tribe as his ruler. Like his Christian counterparts, he will have trained extensively for war, but is much more likely to have read the military manuals of the ancient world and of his Byzantine opponents.
Your Hearthguard is formed from Ghulams, slave soldiers owned and trained by the state or the Emir to a high degree of proficiency. They were initially recruited from Slavic tribes, and were often born as Christians. These well drilled mounted warriors were equally adept with sword, spear and bow, and can be fielded with or without ranged weapons. They were intensely loyal to their masters and could rise to senior positions in the establishment, despite their origins.
The bulk of "Saracen" armies are fierce tribesmen or trained city militias. This latter term has come to have a sense of indiscipline or lack of professionalism, but this was not the case at the time. Syria had been the base of one of the best of the original Arab Junds or tribal armies in the early Caliphate, and the troops were still effective. Seljuk mounted troops were primarily archers, while Syrians might fight with sword and spear instead. Infantry were mainly spearmen. It is possible for Seljuk armies to include Byzantine units drawn from the Themes of Asia Minor, conquered only twenty-five years before the First Crusade and now fighting, perhaps reluctantly, for their new masters.
Less well trained militias or poorer tribal troops provided a force of infantry archers, who would shoot from behind the spearmen; these are your Levies. Do not despise them, as they are capable of giving good support to your other troops, if used wisely. However they are no longer the conquering tribes of earlier days, so do not expect too much!
Faction rules: Saracens
Your Warlord is mounted on a horse.
Your Hearthguards are mounted on horses. They may have bows, but bow-armed Hearthguards have an Armour of 4 in Melee.
Your Warriors are either on foot or mounted on horses. Mounted Warriors may have bows - if so their Armour is reduced by one in Melee.
Your Levies are armed with bows.
Faction summary chart: Saracens
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | Mounted | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Hearthguards | With bows | 4 | 4 | See horses and bows |
| Hearthguards | Without bows | 5 | 4 | See horses |
| Warriors | Mounted, with bows | 3 | 3 | See horses and bows |
| Warriors | Mounted | 4 | 3 | See horses |
Saracen Battle Board
Dice symbols on the Muslim SAGA dice: scimitar, crescent, and Allah calligraphy (Allah). Costs: where several symbols are listed as alternatives, any one of them pays the cost.
Top row (any number of times per turn):
- Ghulams (Activation): cost scimitar, crescent or Allah. Activate a unit of Hearthguards or a Warlord.
- Ghazis (Activation): cost scimitar or Allah. Activate a unit of Warriors.
- Hashariyan (Activation): cost crescent or Allah. Activate a unit of Levy.
- Activation Pool (Orders): cost Allah. Roll two extra SAGA Dice.
- Combat Pool (Melee, Shooting or Shooting/Reaction): cost scimitar, crescent or Allah. Gain one Attack or one Defence Die (two dice if you discarded an Allah).
Once per turn abilities:
- Piercing Shots (Shooting): cost crescent or Allah.
- Saracen's Trick (Activation/Reaction): cost crescent.
- Rise of the Crescent (Activation): cost scimitar or crescent.
- The Prophet's Curse (Melee, Shooting or Shooting/Reaction): cost scimitar.
- Omens (Orders or Orders/Reaction): cost scimitar. Choose a symbol from your SAGA dice (scimitar, crescent or Allah) and roll up to four of your unused SAGA dice. Any die that has the symbol you chose may be immediately placed on your Battle Board. The other SAGA dice are returned to your pool.
- Visions (Orders or Orders/Reaction): cost crescent. Your Warlord takes one Fatigue. Until the end of the current turn, each time one or more D6 are rolled to determine the effects of one of your Saga abilities, you may add or subtract one from the score of one of the dice rolled.
- Shifting Sands (Orders or Orders/Reaction): cost crescent + crescent. Roll 2D6. Designate in each warband in play a number of units equal to the difference between the two dice rolled. Each of these units must either take one Fatigue or eliminate one of its models.
- Arrows & Shields (Shooting): cost crescent or Allah. Roll 2D6. Your Shooting unit gains a number of Attack Dice equal to the highest score rolled; the target unit gains a number of Defence Dice equal to the lowest score rolled.
- A Pure Heart (Melee): cost scimitar + crescent. Roll 2D6. Choose one of the dice rolled: your unit gains a number of Attack Dice equal to half the score of that die, and a number of Defence Dice equal to half the score of the other die.
Saracen SAGA Abilities description
Ghulams (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is the first of the series of abilities that are used to activate your units. Similar abilities, with different names, will appear on almost all Battle Boards. This one allows you to activate a unit of Ghulams (Hearthguards) or your Warlord.
Ghazis (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The second ability that activates your units, this one enables you to activate your Warriors.
Hashariyan (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The last Activation ability of the top of your Battle Board activates your Levies. Of course, Levies are more difficult to activate than the previous troop classes.
Activation Pool (Orders; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is another example of what is a "standard" SAGA Ability. It allows you to roll two extra SAGA Dice, which are immediately available to be placed on your board. Of course, the die used to pay for it is the rarest symbol (Allah) but it will give you a net gain of one SAGA Die, something to consider, especially in the later stages of the battle, when your Warband does not generate as many SAGA Dice as at the start.
Combat Pool (Melee, Shooting or Shooting/Reaction; may be used any number of times). This is the final ability that is shared by most Factions, some with slight differences. The Saracens can use their Combat Pool in all circumstances during a Melee or Shooting, to gain Attack or Defence Dice. Each die discarded provides one Attack or Defence Die, unless an Allah is discarded, which would provide two dice. If gaining two dice with an Allah, both of them must be either Attack or Defence Dice, as you generate both of them with the same triggered ability.
All the abilities below can only be used once per turn, as they appear below the name of the Faction:
Piercing Shots (Shooting; may be used once per turn, during step 2 of the Shooting of one of your units). This ability will make your ranged attacks more efficient, by adding +1 to the result of the Attack Dice of the Shooting unit, as long as it is within M of its target (remember that to be considered to be at M, your unit just needs to have one single model within M of a single model of the target unit).
Saracen's Trick (Activation/Reaction; may be used once per opponent's turn). Restriction: Must be triggered after the movement activation of an enemy mounted unit, and will be resolved before this movement is resolved. Triggering this ability gives the opponent a (difficult) choice: either move his unit as close as possible to the closest of your mounted units; or inflict two Fatigues on his unit and cancel the activation. The position of the unit after this movement must be considered carefully, by taking into account all modifiers for this movement: Fatigue expenditure, the reduction of movement by terrain and other game effects. Sometimes the most direct route will not bring the unit as close to your mounted unit as moving around a patch of uneven ground. Note that the standard movement constraints still apply and override this SAGA Ability. So a unit that is activated for a second or subsequent time for a Movement this turn will have to engage an enemy that is within S, ignoring the effects of the Saracen's Trick.
Rise of the Crescent (Activation; may be used once per turn). Restriction: You must have at least three units on the table to trigger this ability. When this ability is triggered you must designate three of your units (hence the restriction above). Then, the opponent chooses one of the designated units, which immediately takes one Fatigue. The two other units are activated (either for a Movement, a Shooting or to Rest) and these activations do not generate Fatigue (any ensuing Melee still generates Fatigue, you just ignore the standard Fatigue that such an activation would produce if it was the second or subsequent Movement or Shooting activation of the turn). This constitutes a case of multiple simultaneous activations, which is dealt with in the Activation chapter.
The Prophet's Curse (Melee, Shooting or Shooting/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability is used in the relevant step of the Shooting (step 2) or Melee (step 3). When triggered, you choose an enemy unit involved in this Shooting or Melee, and immediately roll a D6, then choose if this ability will affect the Attack or Defence Dice rolled by the target unit. Until the end of the Shooting or the Melee, all Attack or Defence Dice (according to your choice) that end with a score equal to the result of your die will be ignored (i.e. they will not inflict a hit or cancel an enemy hit). It might be worth considering here the timing conflicts that this ability may cause, especially if the opponent has abilities that modify the results of the dice. The Prophet's Curse will be resolved during the Attack Rolls step or Defence Rolls step, depending on the choice of the player. Within that step, the abilities of the Attacker are resolved first, then the abilities of the Defender. So depending on the circumstances, modifiers will be applied before checking the result of the "Prophet's Curse" or after these effects have been checked.
Omens (Orders or Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This is an ability that may not appear useful at first sight, but that in practice is very handy. When triggered, you must announce a symbol of your SAGA Dice (scimitar, crescent or Allah) and pick up to four of your unused SAGA Dice. By unused SAGA Dice we mean the available dice that are not yet placed on your Battle Board. You then roll the dice picked and each die that ends with the symbol you have announced may immediately be placed on your Battle Board, as if you rolled them at the start of the turn. The other dice are discarded, and moved back to your unused dice pool.
Visions (Orders or Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). "Visions" is an ability that will increase the efficiency of quite a few of the other abilities of your Battle Board. Quite a few abilities on the Saracens Battle Board use D6(s) as a way to determine their effects, making them more random than the SAGA Abilities of most other Factions. "Visions" allows you to take some limited control over this randomness. While this ability is active (from the moment it was triggered until the end of the current turn), each time you have to roll one or more D6 as part of the resolution of one of your SAGA Abilities, you may add or subtract one to the result of one of the D6 rolled. Note that this may bring the die score above 6 or below 1. These visions have a price, as your Warlord must take one Fatigue when this ability is triggered. Not having a Warlord on the table does not forbid the use of this ability however.
Shifting Sands (Orders or Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). When you trigger this ability, you start by rolling 2D6 and work out the difference between the two dice. Then, you have to designate in each Warband in play (i.e. this ability will affect all Warbands involved in a multi-player game) a number of different units equal to the difference between the two dice. If the difference is higher than the number of units in any given Warband, then you designate them all (this does not prevent the effects of the ability from happening). For each designated unit, the owner must choose to either remove one model from the unit, or to give it one Fatigue. If the two dice rolled are equal, the difference will be 0, and this ability will have no effect. That is why it is usually recommended to combine it with Visions.
Arrows & Shields (Shooting; may be used once per turn). When this ability is triggered, you have to roll 2D6. Your Shooting unit immediately gains a number of Attack Dice equal to the highest score rolled; while the target unit gains a number of Defence Dice equal to the lowest score rolled.
A Pure Heart (Melee; may be used once per turn). This is the close quarter counterpart of "Arrows & Shields", and works pretty similarly. When it is triggered you roll 2D6 and choose one of the dice rolled. Your benefiting unit will gain half that number of Attack Dice (remember to round up!); and will gain a number of Defence Dice equal to half the score of the other die rolled. Unlike "Arrows & Shields", there is no benefit given to your opponent!
Faith Strike (Activation; may be used once per turn). This is another ability that will require rolling 2D6 to determine its efficiency. After rolling the 2D6s you must pick one of the results rolled. You may activate any number of your units (but these activations will be used to move only), up to half the score of that die. Any unit that engages in Melee with this movement will generate (during step 1 of the Melee) a number of extra Attack Dice equal to half the score of the die you did not choose. These units will also gain as many Defence Dice during that step.
Heroes of the Crusades: Saracens
Kilij Arslan
Sultan of the Rum Seljuks, Arslan married the Emir of Smyrne's daughter in 1092. He had his stepfather assassinated the next year to gain the favour of the Byzantines. He was 17 years old when the crusades started. He slaughtered the Peasants' Crusade on the 21st of October 1096 after having lured them out of their camp at Civitot. Occupied by a conflict with the Danishmenids in the east, he lost his capital Nicea to the First Crusade in June 1097. He made peace and allied with the Danishmenids to attack the Crusaders at the battle of Dorylaeum. His initial attacks failed and he was eventually surrounded and routed. In 1101, he destroyed three crusader columns in Anatolia. His son Masud would similarly completely block the Second Crusade.
Legendary Hero: Arslan generates two SAGA Dice. Using Arslan costs you one point.
Leader of the Turks: Arslan's Warband can contain as many Turcoman units as you like. Turcoman units in Kilij's Warband generate one SAGA Die each.
Turkish short bows: All Hearthguards of Arslan's Warband must be equipped with composite bows and their Armour in Melee reduced by one. Mounted warriors equipped with bows in Arslan's Warband must also exchange them for composite bows. See the Armoury for the rules of composite bows. When triggering a Shooting SAGA Ability that uses D6s as a variable in the effects of the ability, the player controlling Kilij Arslan may add or subtract one from one of the dice rolled. This may be combined with the modifier provided by the "Visions" ability.
Bedouins: Arslan's Warband can contain as many Bedouin units as you have Turcoman units. Note that Bedouins units do not generate SAGA Dice, unlike the Turcomans.
Master of Tactics: After deployment but before the first turn, each unit in Arslan's Warband may be redeployed within his deployment zone. No model may end this redeployment more than L away from its previous position. This is done before any special movement by Bedouins. If Arslan's Warband only includes mounted units, his controlling player will always have the first turn in scenarios which normally randomly determine which player goes first.
Saladin, the Knight of Islam
Coming from Sunni Syria to intervene during a civil war in Shiite Fatimid Egypt, Salah ad Din (known in the West as Saladin but meaning Righteousness of the Faith) managed to gain the Fatimid post of Vizier. He extended his power and managed to encompass the end of the Fatimid caliphate. After the death of his former master, he conquered Syria, survived several attempts on his life by the assassins of Rachid ad Din and eventually united all the Muslim neighbours of the Crusader states in the Levant. He destroyed most of the crusader army at Hattin and successfully besieged Jerusalem. He then allowed all its Christian inhabitants to safely leave if they wished. He later negotiated with Richard the Lion Heart to allow Christian pilgrims to visit Jerusalem and have their own prayer places there.
Legendary Hero: Saladin generates three SAGA Dice at the start of your turn instead of the two for other Warlords. Using Saladin costs you one point.
The Chivalrous: Saladin was very respected by all his opponents for his noble acts (after Richard the Lion Heart lost his mount in battle, Saladin sent him two of his own. He also sent his personal doctor when Richard fell ill). During each game, Saladin can trigger each of the following special abilities once. They all count as SAGA Abilities that do not cost any SAGA Die:
- As a Melee/Reaction ability, allow all friendly and enemy units involved in a Melee in which Saladin is engaged to ignore one uncancelled hit when removing casualties. It complements and works in addition to the usual Warlord special "Resilience" rule.
- As a Melee/Reaction ability, increase by one the armour of all friendly and enemy units involved in a Melee in which Saladin is engaged.
- As a Melee/Reaction ability, allow all friendly and enemy units involved in a Melee in which Saladin is engaged to gain three extra defence dice.
- As an Activation ability, allow two units of each player, designated by the Saracen player, to remove all their Fatigue markers. All designated units must have at least one Fatigue marker (the action cannot be used if a player does not have enough units with Fatigue markers).
- As an Orders ability, allow each player to roll two extra SAGA Dice and place them on their Battle Board. Each player must have two available dice for this ability to be used.
Faction: Milites Christi
After the success of the First Crusade, a series of Frankish states were formed in Syria, namely Jerusalem, Tripoli, Antioch and Edessa. Armies of the Crusader Faction after this time continued to be of a feudal nature, now owing allegiance to the King of Jerusalem or the leaders of the other states. Unfortunately most of the crusading host had returned home and the states were always short of manpower. Fortunately an alternative source of military power soon manifested itself.
A number of knightly orders soon sprang up in "Outremer" and these were each granted Papal protection and favour over time. Only the Knights Templar were founded as a military force, to give protection to pilgrims on the road; the Knights Hospitaller, the Teutonic Knights and the much smaller orders of St Lazarus, St Thomas Acon and Montjoie were all initially nursing orders. However all later became primarily military forces, and the Templars and Hospitallers became the most significant military forces in Outremer by the mid-twelfth century.
The leader of each order was known as the Grand Master, and either he or his Marshall or Constable is likely to be your Warlord, although if you wish, you can view your Warband as being the military strength of one of the order's Commanderies or local manors, and thus it will be led by the Commander.
The main striking power of the Orders was provided by their brother knights, whose main difference from their feudal counterparts was their complete dedication to war against the heathen and to the faith. They were therefore extremely effective troops, though always a minority in any army. These men form the Hearthguard of your Warband. They would fight bravely and often fanatically unto death, not counting the numbers arrayed against them: "We do not ask how many, but only where the enemy are".
The majority of the manpower of the military orders comprised of Sergeants and Turcopoles. While the latter are light cavalry, mainly of local origin, the former might fight as heavy cavalry or on foot, and contained contingents of archers and crossbowmen as well as close fighters. All these troops were full time professionals, paid for by the incomes from the vast estates gifted to the Orders by many European monarchs and the Pope. At time of need these men could be supplemented by mercenaries.
As a full time, professional military force the Orders did not use feudal levies on the battlefield, any lesser members of their establishments being restricted to providing staff for their hospitals. Therefore your Warband may not include Levies.
Faction rules: Milites Christi
Piety. The Milites Christi use a unique game mechanism, Piety. The Warband's level of Piety is indicated by a token placed on the Piety track of their Battle Board. Milites Christi start without any Piety, but may acquire Piety tokens through the use of their Prayers SAGA Ability.
Most of this Faction's abilities refer to Piety as a way to measure their efficiency. When an ability refers to "your Piety" it refers to the number on the spot where the Piety token is on the Piety track on the Milites Christi Battle Board. This is fully explained on a case-by-case basis in the SAGA Abilities description.
Your Warlord and Hearthguards are mounted on horses.
Your Warriors may be on foot or mounted on horses. Any Warrior unit on foot may be armed with crossbows, as long as the number of models armed with crossbows does not exceed the number of Hearthguards in your Warband. Warriors with crossbows have an Armour of 3 (in Melee and against Shooting).
This Faction does not have Levies, and despises them.
Faction summary chart: Milites Christi
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | Mounted | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Hearthguards | Mounted | 5 | 4 | See horses |
| Warriors | Mounted | 4 | 3 | See horses |
| Warriors | On foot | 4 | 4 | |
| Warriors | On foot with crossbows | 3 | 3 | See crossbows |
Milites Christi SAGA Abilities description
(The Battle Board dice costs are not printed in the text of the scan, except where stated in an ability's description.)
Brothers (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is the first of the abilities that are used to activate your units. Similar abilities, with different names, will appear on almost all Battle Boards. This one allows you to activate a unit of Brothers (Hearthguards) or your Warlord.
Sergeants (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The second ability that activates your units, this one enables you to activate your Warriors.
Prayers (Orders; may be used once per turn). Special: Despite being a "once per turn" ability, you may place an unlimited number of dice on this space. This ability is the only way to increase your Piety. It also has a variable cost that depends on your current Piety. Basically, to increase your Piety, you will have to use (i.e. discard from this space) a number of SAGA Dice displaying either the mounted knight or banner symbols equal to your current Piety +1. So, to move to Piety 1, you will have to spend one die (0+1), to increase your Piety to 2, you will have to spend two dice, etc... Of course, this ability allows you to discard more SAGA Dice than necessary, but the reasons that would lead you to do that remain obscure. On a practical point of view, you will rarely increase your Piety above 3, as four dice to spend on that ability is quite expensive.
Activation Pool (Orders; may be used any number of times per turn). This ability is similar to the Activation Pool of the other Factions, except that it relies on the Piety as a variable. When triggered, you roll one extra SAGA Die, plus a number of extra SAGA Dice equal to your Piety level (e.g. with a Piety level of 2, you would roll three extra SAGA Dice).
Combat Pool (Melee or Shooting/Reaction; may be used any number of times per turn). Like the Activation Pool, a high level of Piety will definitely boost the efficiency of this ability. When triggered, you gain one Attack or one Defence Die, plus a number of extra Dice equal to your level of Piety (the dice gained through your Piety are of the same type as the dice provided by the ability). Note however that this ability is harder to trigger than on the other Battle Boards.
All the abilities below can only be used once per turn, as they appear below the name of the Faction:
Armour of Faith (Melee or Shooting/Reaction; may be used once per turn). When this ability is triggered, your unit gains two Defence Dice if a helmet or mounted knight was discarded, and four Defence Dice if a banner was used.
Martyrs (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: At least one Brother must have been eliminated during the current Melee for this ability to resolve. This ability will be triggered during step 3 of the Melee, but will only be resolved at the end of step 8. Before it can be resolved, you must check if at least one friendly Brother was eliminated during the Melee (between steps 0 and 8). A Brother eliminated through the use of the 'Resilience' special rule of a Warlord would meet these conditions obviously. If this is the case, the unit removes all of its Fatigues. Note that you do not actually have to use this ability on a unit of Brothers. You can use it on your Warlord if he is engaged alongside a unit of Brothers, and it will be resolved as long as one Brother has been eliminated. Some Grand Masters had their own peculiar concept of martyrdom...
By the Book (Melee; may be used once per turn). This ability is a double whammy. When it is triggered, you may remove a number of Fatigues equal to your Piety level +1 from the target unit engaged in this Melee. Then, for each Fatigue removed, that unit gains one Attack Die.
Deus Vult (Orders; may be used once per turn). This ability has an effect that lasts until the end of your turn. Once activated it not only prevents your opponents from spending Fatigues from your mounted units, it will also forbid them from using Activation/Reaction SAGA Abilities in response to a mounted unit being activated. Even if the mounted unit is part of a multiple simultaneous activation with foot units, the opponent will not be able to trigger Activation/Reaction abilities. Your opponent will still be able to play Activation/Reaction abilities when or after one of your foot units is activated, and can still spend Fatigue from your foot units.
God is Merciful (Activation/Reaction; may be used once per opponent's turn). Special: This ability is triggered immediately after the end of a Shooting that targeted one of your units, and which resulted in at least one casualty suffered by the target unit. When this ability is triggered, the unit that was the target of the Shooting is immediately activated for a Movement (if the Shooting unit was allowed to move after the Shooting, as with composite bows or through a SAGA Ability, "God is Merciful" will resolve first before the unit can use their post-Shooting movement). At the end of this Movement, if the newly activated unit has engaged in Melee with the Shooting unit (which is not mandatory), each model of the activated unit generates one extra Attack Die during step 1 of the Melee. That should punish those cowards that use sticks rather than steel!
Blasphemous War Cry (Melee/Reaction; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used on a unit of Brothers or on your Warlord. This ability is triggered at the very start of the Melee, during step 0. It allows the benefiting unit (of Brothers or your Warlord) to generate a number of extra Attack Dice equal to three times your Piety Level. Then you must reduce your Piety to 0, and you will not be able to increase it again for the remainder of the game. Discard your Piety token to remind that.
Repent Sinners (Melee/Reaction; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used on a unit of Brothers engaged in Melee with enemy Levies. When this ability is triggered, remove from the enemy Levy unit, a number of its models equal to twice your Piety level. Please note that, as described in the Melee chapter (casualty removal), there are some strict rules governing the removal of these casualties. If no enemy model remains engaged in Melee after the resolution of this ability, the Melee immediately ends. This constitutes an exception to the rules for "Wiped out and disengaging units" described in the Melee chapter.
For the True Cross (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used during a Melee that sees one of your units of Brothers engaged against one or more units whose total number of models is at least twice as many as the number of Brother models. Triggering this ability will reduce the Armour of a target enemy unit by your Piety level +1. Remember that the Armour of units cannot go below 2.
This is my Body... (Melee; may be used once per turn). This ability has a variable effect. It will cancel the next "X" SAGA Abilities triggered during this Melee by any player, with "X" being the Milites Christi Piety level (e.g. with a Piety level of 2 the next two abilities triggered will be cancelled). An ability that is cancelled in this way does not get back the dice (or models or anything else) that paid for its activation. The effects of a cancelled ability are simply ignored, and will not resolve. Note, however, that abilities triggered before "This is my Body..." will still be resolved. This ability has no effect on abilities triggered earlier in the Melee, so will generally only be used when the Milites Christi player is the Attacker in a Melee.
...This is my Blood (Activation; may be used once per turn). This ability will activate a number of friendly units equal to your Piety level +1. Mounted units that use this activation to move will increase their movement by S. This increase is applied after any reduction due to terrain or Fatigue expenditure. So, your mounted units would move S+S in uneven ground. The downside of this ability is that any activated unit that does not engage in Melee with this activation, will take one Fatigue after its resolution.
Heroes of the Crusades: Milites Christi
Raymond du Puy, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem
After the capture of Jerusalem, hospices for men and women were established within the city. The first Rector running these was Gerard, who laid the foundations for the Order of St. John, recognised by the Pope in 1113. He was succeeded in 1118 by Raymond du Puy, a French nobleman who had served under Godfrey du Bouillon during the crusade. Raymond reorganised the order so that it included military, medical and clerical arms and became the first Grand Master. He expanded the Orders' capabilities and influence, taking part in many campaigns culminating in the Order being responsible for the capture of the city of Ashkelon in 1153. He died in office in 1160.
Legendary Hero: As leader of the Hospitallers and a true believer, Raymond du Puy generates a number of SAGA Dice equal to his Faction's current Piety. It will cost you one point to have Raymond du Puy as Warlord.
"With the Cross and the Sword": Raymond made the Order of Saint John into a military order, promulgating the rules by which it would operate. But he was not a fanatic, and let his faith guide him wisely. When Raymond du Puy leads your Faction, you start with one Piety.
Relentless warrior: Under the leadership of their Grand Master, the Hospitallers joined Baldwin II in all his wars in the Holy Land. They were his best troops, and had the confidence of the king, fighting relentlessly against the infidels. At the start of Raymond du Puy's Activation Phase, each Milites Christi unit of his Warband that is within M of an enemy unit may either be activated once to Rest or to Move for free. All these activations must be resolved before moving to the standard activations of the Activation Phase.
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon (Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici)
After the success of the First Crusade, pilgrims began to make the journey to Jerusalem, arriving by ship at Jaffa and making the dangerous journey from the coast to the city. In 1120 a small group of knights approached King Baldwin II, proposing to establish a monastic military order to protect the pilgrims. Baldwin granted them a base within the palace on the Holy Mount, built over the Temple of Solomon, from which they took their name. Initially operating in poverty, the order was recognised by the Pope in 1129 and rapidly gained in wealth as estates were granted to it. The Templars became a powerful fighting force, much feared for their prowess. The founders included Hugues de Payens, Godfrey de Saint-Omer and Andre de Montbard.
The Founders: The Poor Fellow Soldiers are the eight original founders of the Order of the Temple, whose mission was to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. You may include this unit in your Milites Christi Warband for two points as an eight model mounted Hearthguards unit (and this is the only Hearthguard unit your Warband may include), subject to the following special rules. This unit generates two SAGA Dice rather than one for other Hearthguards units.
Ruled by God: A Warband led by the Poor Fellow Soldiers does not have a Warlord but the whole unit counts as your Warlord for any scenario special rule or deployment step. Each model in the unit is worth one Slaughtering Victory Point, except the last model who is worth 5 Slaughtering Victory Points (so the whole unit gives twelve Victory Points when it is eliminated). The Poor Fellows also count as a Warlord for any enemy "Warlord's Pride"!
Protected by Faith: During step 5 of a Shooting that targeted the Poor Fellows or during step 6 of a Melee during which the Poor Fellows suffered at least one casualty, roll one D6 for each casualty suffered by this unit. For each die that rolls a score equal or lower than the current Piety of the Warband, cancel one of the casualties suffered and instead put a Fatigue token on that unit.
Driven by Duty: The whole unit benefits from the "Determination" Warlords special rule.
Angered by Sins: During step 1 of the Melee this unit generates a number of extra Attack Dice equal to your Piety. A Warband including the Poor Fellow-Soldiers may not include Dogs of War or a Priest.
Faction: Mutatawwi'a
Mutatawwia is an Arabic term meaning a volunteer, more specifically one who acts to enforce religious correctness and who punishes those who are lax. It has connotation of the vigilante and in the earliest Arab armies, was a term applied generally to the majority of troops who had joined the Jihad of their own initiative.
Many of the earliest troops were fighting as much for loot as they were for religion, though a belief that they would go straight to heaven if they perished must have helped morale enormously. As more regions were converted, the new recruits from them increasingly fought zealously for their faith, and the phenomenon of the fanatic came into being.
By the time of the Crusades, Arab society was mature and the armies defending it had become professional in nature. However there were still fanatic elements to be found, especially on the frontiers. Although there were no longer entirely fanatic armies, forces of a size that can be readily reflected by a Warband still existed, and such a force provides an interesting and different variation to the normal Saracen troops.
Your Warlord is likely to be a tribal chief in a frontier area, possibly a Berber, Bedouin or Turk. His people are probably poor and may come from a desert region, as it was in such places that the concept of Jihad continued to resonate with the inhabitants - they had no trappings of civilisation to make them soft.
The tribesmen are not as well equipped as regular troops, and may not have armour, though many of the better-off men will have a mail shirt, helmet and shield. They form the Hearthguard of the Warband. Such men would usually own at least one prized horse on which they would fight, though they would travel by camel, leading the horse. Some might choose (or be forced) to fight on camel-back. They expect to charge their enemies, often from unexpected directions, and generally after the foe has been weakened by the warriors. These men are quite capable of fighting on foot if the situation demands it, and will do so stubbornly.
Other tribesmen will be spearmen protected by a shield and perhaps a helmet. While they will ride to battle on a camel, they fight on foot, holding the centre of the line. They are hardy and can fight on successive days if need be. A proportion of the men will stand behind the spearmen and shoot at the enemy with bows. All these men form the warriors of your Warband.
In a Mutatawwia force there are no levies, as there are none but volunteers in the Warband - every man is there by choice and ready to die for his faith.
Faction rules: Mutatawwi'a
Sacrifice. Several SAGA Abilities call for the sacrifice of a model. These abilities all have a silhouette in the cost of the ability to identify them. (Example shown: Fatal Blow (Melee), cost: crescent + sacrificed model. During step 5, after your opponent has rolled his Defence Dice, you may designate up to 3 Defence Dice...)
The sacrifice is subject to the following special rules:
- When the silhouette appears as part of the cost of the ability, one model of the unit must be sacrificed as part of the cost of the ability. Hence, this ability not only costs SAGA Dice, but also a sacrificed model. A sacrificed model is removed from the unit, and counts as an eliminated figure for slaughtering victory points (in games with more than two sides, the sacrificed model counts as eliminated for each opponent).
- When a model is sacrificed, one Martyr token is placed in the "Martyr Pool" ability box.
- Only models from the Faction list can be sacrificed. For example, Dogs of War hired by the Faction cannot be sacrificed.
- Unless otherwise specified (as with the "Hijrah" ability), the sacrificed model must come from the unit using the ability. Hence, for example, a unit engaged in Melee and that wants to use a Melee ability that requires a sacrifice, must take one of its own models as the sacrifice.
- Some abilities have an improved effect if a Fanatic (i.e. Hearthguard) is sacrificed. To determine the effectiveness of the ability, consider the actual model sacrificed. So, for example, if one of your Warriors units uses "Fatal Blow" and sacrifices a nearby Fanatic with the "Hijrah" ability, then the effects of "Fatal Blow" would be those for the sacrifice of a Fanatic.
Your Warlord may be mounted on a camel or a horse.
Your Hearthguards may be mounted on camels or horses.
Your Warriors may be armed with bows, but being armed that way reduces their Armour to 3 (in Melee and against Shooting).
This Faction does not have Levies as they are not prepared and so not worthy of martyrdom.
Faction summary chart: Mutatawwi'a
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | Mounted on camel | 4 | 5 | See camels |
| Warlord | Mounted on horse | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Warlord | On foot | 5 | 6 | |
| Hearthguards | Mounted on camel | 4 | 4 | See camels |
| Hearthguards | Mounted on horse | 5 | 4 | See horses |
Mutatawwi'a SAGA Abilities description
(The Battle Board dice costs are not printed in the text of the scan, except where stated in an ability's description.)
In the top section of the Battle Board you have the abilities that can be used any number of times per turn. In the middle of these abilities, the "Martyr Pool" is the space where your Martyr tokens will be stored until they get used. Note that the "Martyr Pool" IS NOT a SAGA Ability, so any game effects that target SAGA Abilities will not have any effect on the "Martyr Pool".
Fanatics (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This ability allows you to activate your Hearthguards or your Warlord.
Chosen Ones (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This ability permits the activation of Warriors.
Allah Akbar (Melee/Reaction; may be used any number of times per turn). Restriction: You must have at least two Martyr tokens in your Martyr Pool to use this ability. It may only be used on a unit of at least three models. This ability allows you to bring back models that were previously eliminated. In addition to the cost of the ability, you will have to discard two Martyr tokens (or four tokens if you target a friendly Fanatics unit). When triggered, the ability returns to the target unit one model that was previously removed as a casualty. It must be placed within VS of a model in the target unit (respecting the unit formation rule), and may not be deployed within VS of any enemy model that does not belong to a unit that is currently engaged with your target unit. Note that the rules for the size of units still apply, so you may not add a model to a unit that already has twelve models. You may bring back any model previously removed as a casualty, and add a model to any unit, even if that unit has not taken any casualties since the start of the game. Of course, another Chosen One may only reinforce a Chosen Ones unit, and a Fanatic will only be able to join Fanatics. You may never bring back Dogs of War models or your Warlord. As the model is brought back during step 0, it will generate Attack Dice as normal.
Combat Pool (Melee; may be used any number of times per turn). This ability is similar to the "Combat Pool" of the other Factions in this book, with the exception that it will only provide Attack Dice, and can be enhanced by sacrificing a Martyr token. When using this ability, you may discard one Martyr Token to gain one extra Die. Only one Martyr token can be discarded each time you use a SAGA Die from the "Combat Pool".
Like Djinns (Activation; may be used once per turn). This ability will activate one of your foot units for a Movement. It increases the target unit's movement to L if the move is made entirely in open ground (and the unit must start in open ground to qualify for a L movement) or M if any part of the movement is made in uneven ground. The downside is that if the unit fails to engage in Melee with this activation it will take one Fatigue at the end of its resolution.
Distraction (Activation/Reaction; may be used once per opponent's turn). Special: A model must be sacrificed as part of the cost of the ability. "Distraction" is used when an enemy unit is activated, once it has paid the cost of this activation, designated the kind of activation it will resolve, but before it is actually performed. You then trigger your ability by paying its cost and cancel the activation. A cancelled activation is considered to never have happened. The cost (in SAGA Dice or special rule) is still paid for, but the unit is not activated. This is particularly important to remember when it comes to determining Fatigue caused by subsequent activations. So, if a unit is activated for a Movement, and that activation is cancelled with "Distraction", the next Movement activation for this unit will not cause Fatigue. In the case of multiple simultaneous activations, you only cancel one of them, of your choice. The unit whose activation has been cancelled by a "Distraction" paid for with the sacrifice of a Fanatic will also take one Fatigue if it did not have any before the Distraction.
Suicidal Charge (Melee; may be used once per turn). Special: Sacrificing a model is necessary as part of the cost of the ability. Restriction: May only be used on a unit that has single-handedly engaged an enemy in Melee (i.e. without fighting "Side by Side" with another friendly unit). This ability is triggered during step 3 but will only resolve during step 4. During that step, a target enemy unit will take additional automatic hits equal to half the number of hits you have already inflicted (if you sacrificed a Fanatic, the number of extra hits is increased and is equal to the number of hits you have already inflicted). The cost to pay for such a powerful effect is that your unit will not roll any Defence Dice during step 5, and so each hit your unit takes will become a casualty.
Prayer of Vigour (Activation; may be used once per turn). Special: Sacrificing a model is necessary as part of the cost of the ability. This ability is unusual in that it will not benefit the unit triggering it! Instead, each friendly unit (other than the unit sacrificing the model) within M of the target unit will remove one Fatigue (two Fatigues if a Fanatic was sacrificed).
Fatal Blow (Melee; may be used once per turn). Special: Sacrificing a model is necessary as part of the cost of the ability. This is another example of an ability triggered during step 3 that will be resolved later. In this case, it will be resolved during step 5, after the Defence Dice have been rolled. The Mutatawwi'a player will be able to designate up to three (five if a Fanatic was sacrificed) Defence Dice rolled by the opponent and force him to re-roll them. These dice can be from one or two different units.
Paradise's Promise (Orders; may be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during your Orders Phase, and has an effect that will last until the start of your next turn. Its effects are quite simple: each time a unit is eliminated (i.e. its last model is removed as a casualty) all your units within M of the eliminated unit remove one of their Fatigues.
The Hijrah (Orders; may be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during your Orders Phase, and has an effect that will last until the start of your next turn, in the same manner as the "Paradise's Promise" above. It grants to all your units the possibility of sacrificing a friendly model within S as part of the cost of an ability rather than sacrificing one of its own models. This is especially handy as it gives the option to your Warlord to use abilities that cost a sacrificed model! As explained in the rules for sacrificing, the nature of the model sacrificed determines the effects of the ability. So, a Fanatic unit using "Suicidal Charge", but sacrificing a friendly Chosen One within S will only receive a number of extra hits equal to half the number they scored.
Fight to Death (Melee/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during step 3, and will affect the end of the Melee. After step 7, with the Defender getting to decide first, each player involved in this Melee may choose not to disengage and stay in Melee. Any unit that chooses to disengage (and, in this case, a unit may only disengage if it is not exhausted) will take three Fatigues at the end of the disengagement movement. Once the Defender has made his choice, the Attacker must decide to either disengage or stay in the Melee. If at least one unit from each side remains after these decisions have been taken, then the Melee starts again, with step 1 (the step 0 of this new Melee is not resolved). Note that this ability will last as long as units remain in contact. So, a new Melee fought will still be a "Fight to Death" meaning that after step 7, the players will have to choose if they stay in the Melee, potentially resulting in a third Melee being fought, and so on!
Allah Provides (Melee; may be used once per turn). Special: Sacrificing a model is necessary as part of the cost of the ability. This is a simple ability that will reward bold moves. When triggered, you have to count the number of your models in the unit engaged in this Melee (after the sacrifice has been made) and the total number of enemy models engaged in this Melee. Your target unit gains a number of Attack Dice equal to twice the difference, if the number of enemy models is higher than the number of your models. Keep in mind though that a unit cannot have more than twice the number of Attack Dice it originally generated.
Invoking The Name (Activation; may be used once per turn). Special: Sacrificing a model is necessary as part of the cost of the ability. "Invoking The Name" is the only ability on the Battle Board that provides extra SAGA Dice. When triggered you can choose to either roll two (three if a Fanatic was sacrificed) SAGA Dice from your available pool (i.e. those not on a SAGA Ability space) and put them on your Battle Board or activate the unit that made the sacrifice (and if a Fanatic was sacrificed, this ability does not cause any Fatigue). This ability is special in that it does not cost any SAGA Dice, only the sacrifice of a model. Please also note that as it is used outside the Orders Phase, if the extra dice rolled are placed on Orders abilities, you will not be able to use them immediately.
Heroes of the Crusades: Mutatawwi'a
Rachid ad Din, The Old Man of the Mountain
During the 11th century, Hassan i Sabbah started a new Ishmaelite (a variant of the Shi'ite branch of Islam) predication from the Alamut fortress in Iran. He was the first to use assassination as an influence method against his neighbours and to take the "old man of the mountain" title. His Nizarite sect spread to Syria during the 12th century. From the fortress of Masyaf, Rachid ad Din built a state of a similar type and took the title from 1163. He negotiated the autonomy of his lands both with Salah ad Din and Richard Lion Heart while keeping commercial relationships. Many legends speak about the blind faith of the Old Man's followers. As a prophet, Hassan held the keys to paradise. By providing his better men with a beautiful garden where houris and haschich were freely available, he knew how to keep his men's fanaticism. One legend tells that two disciples committed suicide when given the order (one jumping from a cliff, the other knifing himself) to impress a Crusader emissary. Despite large bodyguard details, several neighbouring leaders were assassinated. Most of the time, the killer remained at the site of his crime, creating an even greater impression on the imagination of their contemporaries.
Legendary Hero: Rachid ad Din generates three SAGA Dice at the start of your turn. Using Rachid ad Din cost you one point.
The Old Man: Due to his old age, Rachid ad Din generates only one Attack Die in combat. However, he is so skilled in combat that the maximum number of Attack Dice that he may have is five (instead of twice the original number generated as usual).
Master of Assassins: Rachid ad Din and his soldiers use poisoned weapons. Hits inflicted by any model in Rachid ad Din's Warband may never be automatically cancelled by the use of special rules (such as the Warlord's "Resilience") or by SAGA Abilities. They may still be cancelled by rolling Defence Dice successfully.
Faithful Followers: Rachid ad Din may sacrifice any model of his band within VS of him to pay for an ability which requires a sacrifice. This works exactly like the "Hijrah" ability with a limited range. If the "Hijrah" is used, Rachid ad Din may sacrifice models within S as with all other units of his Faction.
The Assassins: the reputation of the sect led by Rachid ad Din was so terrifying that most of his opponents were in disarray before the battle began. After deployment but before the first turn, each enemy unit must roll one D6. If it fails to roll a score lower than the Armour value of the unit (in Melee) that unit starts the game with a Fatigue.
Abdullah ibn Yassin, The founder of the Almoravids
In the middle of the 11th century, Abdullah ibn Yassin accepted the task of preaching the Maliki (a school of religious interpretation of the sunnite branch of Islam) religious law when asked to by Abou-imram el fasi, leader of the Lemtouna tribes in south Mauritania. He founded a ribat (a military monastery) and spread his influence through Jihad. His generals Abou Bakr and Ben Youssef conquered all the west of Africa, from Senegal to Algiers and onto Andalus Spain. He died in 1059 while trying to subdue a heretic tribe on Morocco's coast.
Legendary Imam Warrior: ibn Yassin is a Warrior Priest (see the Priest chapter). Being extremely motivated, he generates two SAGA dice at the start of your turn. Using ibn Yassin costs you one point and you must still have a standard Warlord to lead your band. A Warband including Abdullah may not include Dogs of War.
Charismatic leader: As long as ibn Yassin is alive, you get one extra SAGA die each time that you sacrifice a model from your Warband. This die must be rolled and can be either discarded immediately to fuel the "Sword of God" ability (see page 64) of ibn Yassin (even outside the Orders Phase) or placed on the "Combat Pool" ability of your Battle Board. The limit of eight SAGA dice on the Battle Board remains applicable (hence, if you already have eight SAGA dice on your Battle Board, you do not gain any new die and cannot get the advantages of "Sword of God").
Uncompromising: Abdullah ibn Yassin viewed failure as a demonstration of corruption and punished the "corrupted ones" harshly. Any unit in his Warband that must disengage (through the standard Melee rules or by any game effect or SAGA Ability) takes an extra Fatigue after disengaging.
Faction: Spanish
The Christian forces in the Iberian Peninsula are engaged in the slow but steady reconquest of the vast areas lost to the Moorish invasion of 711, when their holdings were reduced to a tiny area in the northern mountains. By the time of the First Crusade, the Kingdoms of Leon, Castile and Aragon held most of the North of Spain. Warfare was endemic, and a large debatable frontier zone was largely denuded of people; it was a life of raid and counter-raid, interspersed with occasional battles, themselves usually the result of larger scale raids, though sometimes a serious attempt was made to capture a major town or city and move the frontier. Up until 1086 the tide had flowed in favour of the Christians, but from then until about 1200 the Moors were resurgent, due to the arrival of two successive waves of invaders from Africa, both the result of takeovers there by more fundamentalist and militant sects of Islam: the Almoravids and the Almohads.
The Kingdoms operated on a feudal system, and your Warlord is likely to be a nobleman, possibly an Infante (a leading noble, or prince) or even a Rey (King). Whichever he may be, he will be a brave and capable fighter, perhaps even the near-legendary "El Cid".
Christian nobles and knights form the Hearthguard of your Warband. Well mounted, though perhaps not so well armoured as crusader knights, their charge is nevertheless feared by their Moorish opponents. They were often held to be lacking in discipline, but never in martial prowess.
Lesser nobles and commoners form the warrior element of the Warband. Both sides in this war have influenced the style of the other, so the Christian Spanish do not fight like the Franks north of the Pyrenees. Other than the knights, their mounted troops are less likely to mount a charge, preferring instead to skirmish with javelins until the enemy is worn down. Missile fire is very important to both cavalry and infantry. Foot warriors will fight with spear and shield. Very often territorial loyalties were greater than religious ones, and it would not be unusual to see Muslim troops fighting as mercenaries for Christian leaders; so warrior units can be recruited from the famous Jinete light cavalry of Andalusia.
The servants of the nobility, and some peasant units provide the levies for your force. They fight with ranged weapons and might use bows, javelins or slings, and in some cases crossbows. Again Muslim peasants can be impressed to perform this role, allowing you to field a colourful and diverse Warband.
Faction rules: Spanish
Your Warlord is mounted on horse.
Your Hearthguards are mounted on horses.
Your Warriors can be mounted on horses. If mounted, your Warriors have javelins and their Armour is reduced to 3 in Melee due to their preference to avoid melee.
Your Levies are armed with bows or javelins. One single unit of Levies may exchange their bows or javelins for crossbows. Levies with crossbows take one Fatigue at the end of each of their Shooting. This extra Fatigue comes in addition to any regular Fatigue the activation would have caused.
Faction summary chart: Spanish
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | Mounted | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Hearthguards | Mounted | 5 | 4 | See horses |
| Warriors | On foot | 4 | 4 | |
| Warriors | Mounted | 3 | 3 | See horses and javelins |
| Levies | Bows | 3 | 3 | See bows |
Spanish SAGA Abilities description
(The Battle Board dice costs are not printed in the text of the scan, except where stated in an ability's description.)
The Spanish Battle Board may look similar to most other Battle Boards but when used, you will discover that amongst the Factions introduced in The Crescent & The Cross, they are the most tricky to use. A lot of their abilities will be used during the opponent's turn, and, at first sight, will appear ineffective but when used properly they can be devastating. Because of this, we do not recommend The Spanish to players new to SAGA. Once familiar with the game, its mechanism and tempo, the Spanish will prove to be a very interesting and challenging Warband to lead to victory.
Caballeros & Jinetes (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The differences between the Spanish and the other Factions start here. The Spanish do not have an Activation ability for their Hearthguards, Warriors and Levies. Instead, this ability allows you to activate any mounted unit, irrespective of its troop class.
Peones (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This is the counterpart to the preceding ability. It allows the Spanish player to activate their foot units, and as made evident by the SAGA Dice required, they are more difficult to activate than mounted ones.
Iberia (Activation/Reaction; may be used any number of times during an opponent's turn). Restriction: May only be used on mounted units. This is a very different Activation ability as it will be triggered during an opponent's turn. It is also the only Activation/Reaction ability in this book that can be triggered any number of times per turn. It allows you to activate a mounted unit after the resolution of the activation of an enemy unit. The possibilities are endless, and the Spanish player will find multiple ways to take advantage of these out-of-turn activations.
Activation Pool (Orders; may be used any number of times during a turn). The Spanish Activation Pool is very similar to most others as it will give you two SAGA Dice to roll when triggered.
Combat Pool (Melee or Shooting/Reaction; may be used any number of times during a turn). This "Combat Pool" will provide Attack or Defence Dice during Melees, but only Defence Dice during Shootings. Like most of the other "Combat Pools", when the rarest symbol is discarded, you gain two dice rather than one.
Opportunity Shot (Activation/Reaction; may only be used once per opponent's turn). Restriction: The target unit must have ranged weapons. This ability may be used during an opponent's Activation Phase, after an enemy unit has finished a Movement within M of one of your units. If the enemy unit ended its Movement in Melee, this ability may not be used. Immediately after the Movement is complete (including resolving any resulting Shooting), your target unit (that must be within M of the enemy unit) resolves a Shooting with the enemy unit as the target. Note that this does not constitute an activation. So, Activation/Reaction abilities may not be used, and this does not constitute an activation for subsequent Movements or Shootings made by your unit (quite important as the Spanish have plenty of options to activate during an opponent's turn!). Spanish Levies with crossbows will still take their Fatigue due to handling some devilish weapon!
Stunned (Activation/Reaction; may only be used once per opponent's turn). Restriction: May only be used when an enemy unit with one or more Fatigue(s) is activated. "Stunned" simply cancels the Movement or Shooting activation of a unit that has at least one Fatigue. Furthermore, the unit cannot be activated again this turn.
Exhausting Fight (Melee or Shooting/Reaction; may only be used once per turn). This ability will punish players who put all their eggs in one basket. It is triggered during step 2 of a Shooting or step 3 of a Melee, will have its resolving conditions checked during step 3 of the Shooting or 4 of the Melee and will finally be resolved at the end of the Shooting or Melee sequence. Any unit, friendly or enemy, which rolled more than six Attack Dice will take one Fatigue at the end of the Shooting or the Melee. These units may not be activated again during the current turn.
Desperate Tactics (Melee/Reaction; may only be used once per turn). At first sight, "Desperate Tactics" might appear to be a waste of SAGA Dice, but once you consider the repercussions it can have, it will appear much more attractive. It is triggered during step 0 of the Melee, and will give one Fatigue to each enemy unit engaged in the Melee. The downside is that each of these units will generate two extra Attack Dice. But as the Fatigue can later, during step 3, be converted into either an Armour bonus to your unit or an Armour reduction for an enemy unit, most of the time, the trade-off is worth the two SAGA Dice spent for this ability.
Burning Sun (Shooting; may only be used once per turn). This ability is used during step 2 of one of your Shootings, but will be resolved during step 5. If, during that step, the target unit loses at least one model, it cannot be activated again during the current turn. Keep in mind that the Spanish have plenty of possibilities of Shooting during an opponent's turn, and preventing the activation of a unit might be decisive!
Light Horses (Activation; may only be used once per turn). This ability will activate one of your mounted units... with a twist. It allows the activated unit, if it is equipped with javelins, to shoot, move then shoot again. The two Shootings must be against different targets, but both the targets will have their Armour reduced by one for these Shootings (note that this Armour reduction is applied immediately after the target of the Shooting has been designated).
Spanish Perfidy (Melee/Reaction; may only be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during step 0, its conditions checked immediately and then it is resolved during step 1. If, at the time of triggering, all engaged enemy units in the Melee have at least one Fatigue, and none of your units in the Melee has any, then the enemy units will only generate half their number of Attack Dice during step 1 of this Melee. There is some synergy here with another SAGA Ability of this Battle Board...
Battle Chaos (Orders/Reaction; may only be used once per opponent's turn). When triggered, this ability will redistribute all the Fatigues of a target Warband (and yes, it might be your Warband). You take all the Fatigue tokens currently on any unit of the target Warband and re-allocate them on any unit(s) of that Warband, with no more than two tokens per unit. If this is not possible, any excess tokens are simply discarded.
Reconquista (Orders/Reaction; may only be used once per turn). This ability must be triggered after the opponent has finished placing more than five SAGA dice on his Battle Board, and before he moves to his Activation Phase. When it is triggered, you may designate one enemy unit for each SAGA Die after the fifth placed on his Battle Board (although you may not designate a Warlord). Your opponent may not activate these units this turn.
Broken Command (Orders/Reaction; may only be used once per opponent's turn). When triggered, the enemy player must discard as many SAGA Dice placed on his Battle Board as his Warlord generated at the start of the turn. This might be particularly penalizing against players who use Heroes of the Crusade, as they tend to generate more SAGA Dice than other Warlords, or in the later stages of the battle, when SAGA Dice are quite limited as units have been eliminated.
Heroes of the Crusades: Spanish
Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar, El Campeador (aka El Cid)
Rodrigo Diaz was born in Vivar, Castile, around 1043 into a noble family. He served in the royal household and became the royal standard bearer in 1065. He fought against both the Muslims and the Christian Kingdoms of Leon and Galicia, which were ruled by the brothers of his lord, King Sancho. Unfortunately when Sancho died Alfonso, one of those brothers, succeeded him and Rodrigo lost his influence, eventually being exiled in 1081. He became a mercenary leader for the armies of Zaragoza, fighting against other Muslim states and Aragon, but never Castile. In 1086 he was reconciled to Alfonso and fought for him against the new Almoravid threat. Rodrigo operated almost independently, and when he captured Valencia in 1094 he set up his own independent principality. He defended Valencia successfully until his death in 1099. He was known to the Christians as El Campeador (The Champion) but to the Muslims as El Cid (The Lord).
Legendary Hero: El Campeador generates three SAGA Dice at the start of your turn, rather than two like other Warlords. It will cost you one point to have Rodrigo Diaz as your Warlord.
El Cid: Rodrigo knew and respected the Andalusian culture, serving Zaragoza for almost a decade. At the start of each of his Warband's turns, the player controlling El Cid's Warband may decide to use either the Spanish or the Moorish Battle Board during the turn. The board chosen will be kept until the start of his next turn. If using the Spanish Battle Board, he will use Christian SAGA Dice. If using the Moorish Battle Board, he will use Muslim SAGA Dice. If switching from one Battle Board to the other, all SAGA Dice still left on the Battle Board are discarded and lost.
Living Legend: The reputation of El Cid during his time cannot be exaggerated. He inspired fear in his enemies, and confidence in his followers. When El Cid engages in Melee, as soon as he comes into contact with an enemy model, he can take one of his Fatigue tokens and give it to the enemy unit he engaged. If this happens, any friendly unit within M of El Cid can discard one Fatigue token.
Count Garcia Ordonez, el Crespo de Granon
Garcia was another Castilian noble, a contemporary and rival of Rodrigo Diaz. He gained experience fighting for Castile and also as a mercenary in the pay of Granada. When Rodrigo was exiled in 1081, Garcia took his place at court. As Count of Najera he continued to fight against all the King's enemies of either faith. He was killed in 1108 at the Battle of Ucles, unsuccessfully defending the King's heir.
Legendary Hero: Count Garcia may lead your Warband for one point. He generates a variable number of SAGA Dice at the start of his turn. If he has no enemy unit within L of his model, he only generates one SAGA Die. If he is within L of any enemy models at the start of the turn, he generates two SAGA Dice. If he has an enemy within M at the start of the turn, he will generate four SAGA Dice.
War Leader: When Count Garcia or any unit of Knights in his Warband is activated for a Movement within L of an enemy unit, the movement of that unit cannot be reduced by the use of Fatigue.
Lord of Battle: Count Garcia benefits from a +1 bonus to all his Attack Rolls during Melee.
Faction: Moors
Moor is a Western European term for the Muslims in Spain and North Africa, again applied as a catch-all by people largely ignorant of the societies involved. As the Muslim conquest expanded, it was the newly converted and zealous troops of the frontier zones that carried the faith further away from its origin point in the Arabian peninsula, and so it was the Berber tribes of the West who raided and then invaded Spain. They were then reinforced by Arab troops, and it was a mixture of these two who expanded and then defended Al-Andalus or Andalucia, "the land of the Vandals". This became a cultured land, initially part of the Ummayyad Caliphate and then its sole surviving constituency under its own Caliph. Later central authority waned, and it became a land of squabbling princelings, until the Almoravid Berbers swept in from Africa to take control. They were later supplanted by another Berber sect, the Almohads. Al-Andalus would survive in an ever-reduced state until 1492, when the Christian Reconquest was completed.
Your Warlord is likely to be an Andalusian noble, perhaps an Emir or Sayyid. However at times purely mercenary forces were fielded, so he could equally be a Berber chief or even a Christian noble! Later on the likelihood of him being a Berber increases.
Moorish nobles were excellent horsemen, and these cavalry provide the Hearthguard for your Warband. While well armoured, they fight in the skirmishing style, avoiding contact and pelting their opponents with javelins until they are worn down and disordered rather than charging home. Their dress can be extremely colourful.
The Jinetes were the archetypal cavalry of Moorish Spain and these troops form your mounted warriors. All Moorish cavalry fought in the same style, so these men operate in the same way as the Hearthguard, they are just less effective due either to training or inclination. They might be local men, or Berbers, or even Christians. Warriors on foot are spearmen, and will usually be mercenaries or Berbers (or Berber mercenaries!) as Andalusian infantry were not felt to be particularly effective.
Due to their lack of resolve, Andalusian infantry would seldom fight in formed array but would usually be found operating as skirmishers alongside the poorer Berber tribesmen, largely as archers, with some slingers and javelinmen. These form the Levies of your Warband.
Faction rules: Moors
Your Warlord is mounted on a horse.
Your Hearthguards are mounted on horses and are equipped with javelins. They have an Armour of 4 in Melee due to their unwillingness to fight at close quarters with the enemy.
Your Warriors can be mounted on horses. If mounted, your Warriors have javelins and their Armour is reduced to 3 in Melee for the same reason as the Hearthguards.
Your Levies are armed with bows. One single unit of Levies may exchange their bows for crossbows. Levies with crossbows take one Fatigue at the end of each of their Shooting resolutions. This extra Fatigue comes in addition to any regular Fatigue the activation would have caused.
Faction summary chart: Moors
| Troop Class | Options | Armour (Melee) | Armour (Shooting) | Special |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warlord | Mounted | 5 | 5 | See horses |
| Hearthguards | Mounted | 4 | 4 | See horses and javelins |
| Warriors | On foot | 4 | 4 | |
| Warriors | Mounted | 3 | 3 | See horses and javelins |
| Levies | Bows | 3 | 3 | See bows |
Moors SAGA Abilities description
(The Battle Board dice costs are not printed in the text of the scan, except where stated in an ability's description.)
Jund (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This ability is a traditional Activation ability. It is restricted to Hearthguards and Warlords.
Hashid (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). This ability will be used to activate your Warriors.
Mujahids (Activation; may be used any number of times during a turn). The last of the standard Activation abilities that may be used any number of times per turn is used to activate your Levies.
Activation Pool (Orders; may be used any number of times during a turn). As with most of the other "Activation Pools", this ability trades a rare dice symbol for two extra SAGA Dice.
Combat Pool (Melee, Shooting or Shooting/Reaction; may be used any number of times during a turn). This "Combat Pool" is very versatile as it can be used in Melee or Shooting activations to gain either Attack or Defence Dice.
Corruption (Orders/Reaction; may be used once per opponent's turn). Restriction: This ability must be used immediately after your opponent rolled his SAGA Dice. At first sight it may seem that this is a weird ability, as it will provide a new SAGA Die to your opponent. When triggered you must pick one of your opponent's unused SAGA Dice (i.e. a SAGA Die not placed on his Board) and roll it. This SAGA Die joins the SAGA Dice rolled by your opponent. Then, you may take one of your own unused SAGA Dice (i.e. that is not placed on your own board) and place it on any relevant space of your Battle Board, displaying the Allah face up. Of course, the ability that has this die placed on it is immediately available if the right number of dice to trigger it is now placed in its space. This ability cannot be used if your opponent does not have any available dice, for whatever reason.
Song of Drums (Activation; may be used once per turn). This ability will activate all your units that are not equipped with ranged weapons and that are fighting on foot. Each unit may use this activation to move or rest, and this is an example of multiple simultaneous activations, as covered in the Activation chapter.
Impaling Spears (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used on a unit that has been engaged in Melee by an enemy unit and that is not equipped with ranged weapons. This is an ability that will give a choice to your opponent. When triggered your opponent must choose between either discarding half the Attack Dice of all his units engaged in this Melee; or to give to your unit a +2 bonus to all its Attack Rolls! A choice between the anvil and the hammer.
Dance of Spears (Melee/Reaction; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used by units not equipped with ranged weapons. This ability is special, as it will affect all units engaged in this Melee, changing the way they generate their Attack Dice. All units engaged in this Melee (your units included) will only generate half their normal number of Attack Dice, but gain a number of Defence Dice equal to the number of Attack Dice generated. In most cases, this means that the casualties inflicted by either side in this Melee will be dramatically reduced, making "Dance of Spears" an effective defensive ability.
Fury of Swords (Melee; may be used once per turn). Restriction: This ability may only be used by units not equipped with ranged weapons. "Fury of Swords" is a simple ability that will truly shine with big units. When triggered it grants the benefiting unit a number of Attack and Defence Dice equal to a third of its number of models (rounded up as usual).
Discord (Activation/Reaction; may be used once per opponent's turn). "Discord" has very specific triggering conditions. It must be triggered when a unit is activated to rest, before this activation is resolved. It allows you to place one Fatigue (two if you discarded an Allah) on any one other unit that is within M of the activated unit (it means that you cannot place a Fatigue on the activated unit).
The Moor's Gold (Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during an opponent's Orders Phase, and has a lasting effect that will be carried until the end of your opponent's Activation Phase. Its effect is to put a Fatigue on his Warlord each time one of his units is activated, if that unit is more than M away from his Warlord. The Fatigue is applied as soon as the unit is activated, before resolving it.
Doubts (Orders/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability, like the previous one, has a lasting effect. "Doubts" will deprive the enemy Warlords of most of their special rules. They lose their "Determination", "We Obey" and "Side-by-Side" special rules. In addition, reduce by two the number of Attack Dice they generate in Melee or when Shooting.
Friendly Fire (Shooting/Reaction; may be used once per turn). This ability is triggered during step 2 of a Shooting, but will only be resolved during step 5 of this sequence. When you have to remove figures due to Shooting casualties suffered during this step, up to half of the casualties may be removed from an enemy unit that is within M of the target unit, and that is not the shooter.
Betrayal (Orders; may be used once per turn). Restriction: May only be used on a Warriors or Levies unit made of up to six models, and that is not within M of their Warlord. This powerful ability will give you control over an enemy unit, for one complete turn. It is triggered during the Orders Phase, but can be immediately cancelled by your opponent if his Warlord is not exhausted. But cancelling this will give his Warlord three Fatigues! Something that should be considered extensively... If it is not cancelled, the target enemy unit (that must be announced before your opponent decides whether or not to cancel this ability) will be considered as a friendly unit that is part of your Warband until the end of the current turn. That means that for all considerations it will be a Warriors or Levy unit from your Warband that can be activated and used like any other Warrior or Levy unit under your command. Obviously you will have to trigger abilities or use some special rules to activate it and you can use your own relevant abilities or special rules (like your Warlord's "We Obey" special rule) for that purpose.
All models eliminated by the betraying unit count as eliminated by the Moorish player, except for models that are part of his own Warband (that would count as casualties caused by the owner of the betraying unit). Models from the betraying unit that are eliminated during their 'betrayal' count as casualties caused by the Moorish player.
Heroes of the Crusades: Moors
Ben Youssef
Abu Bakr was a leader of the Lamtuna and one of the original disciples and the general of ibn Yasin. He took the fertile Sus and its capital Aghmat in 1057. Before going to suppress a revolt in the Sahara in 1061, he gave his pious cousin, Ben Youssef, the stewardship of Sus and his wife. Ben Youssef then extended his power by conquering the western half of Maghreb (Algiers fell in 1083) and, responding to the call of the last Taifa king, invaded Spain, defeating the King of Castile and Leon Alfonso VI at the battle of Sagrajas in 1086 and effectively stopping the Reconquista for several decades. Ben Youssef sent three of his generals to attack Valencia which paid tribute to the famous Spanish Hero El Cid but each failed. He attacked a fourth time in 1097, killing El Cid's son in battle. He eventually captured Valencia from El Cid's wife in 1100, one year after El Cid's death. Ben Youssef died (not in battle, unlike all his predecessors) in 1106.
Legendary Hero: Ben Youssef generates three SAGA Dice at the start of your turn. Using Ben Youssef costs you one point. Reluctant to fight in Melee, Ben Youssef only generates two Attack Dice in Melee.
Pious: Ben Youssef was renowned for his piety and issued several fatwa (religious judgements) against the Taifa kings who had agreed to pay tribute to the Christians. At the start of his turn, he may choose not to roll any number of SAGA Dice. For each SAGA Die that he decides not to roll, he may choose one SAGA Die placed on any opponent's Battle Board and discard it.
Patient: Ben Youssef always took time to ponder his decisions and execute his plans. Ignore any dice left on your Battle Board when determining the number of dice that you may roll at the start of your turn. The limit of eight SAGA dice still applies.
African horsemen: Ben Youssef had raised an elite regiment of Sub-Saharan warriors, mounted on white Arabian destriers. If Ben Youssef is leading your Warband, a unit of up to eight mounted Hearthguards can be upgraded to represent these African horsemen. The movement of these models is extended by S when they move in the open and these models do not lose any Attack Dice when engaged in Melee with camels (see Camel-mounted models).
Tuareg camelmen: Ben Youssef used camel mounted Tuareg warriors at the battle of Sagrajas. If Ben Youssef is leading your Warband, a unit of up to eight mounted warriors can be upgraded to represent the Tuareg. They are armed with spears and they have an armour of 3 both against Shooting and in Melee (taking into account the Armour reduction for being mounted on camels).
Legends of the Crusading Age: Moors
Black Guard
The North African empires (Almoravids, Almohads) organised an elite guard regiment called the Black Guard. These highly trained warriors were feared by all opponents and were an inspiration to the rest of the army.
Legend of the Crusading Age: At the cost of one point, you may dismount one (and only one) of your Hearthguard units of eight or less models.
This unit behaves like any ordinary foot Hearthguard unit but gains the following advantages:
Tough Soldiers: At the start of your activation phase, before you activate any other unit, you may activate the Black Guard to Rest. This does not cost any SAGA Die.
Inspiring Soldiers: Every time that you activate the Black Guard for a Movement, you may also activate a friendly foot unit within S of the Black Guard for Movement, as long as that unit is not equipped with ranged weapons. This extra activation does not cost any SAGA die.
Skilled Soldiers: At step 2 of a Melee, if you choose to discard Attack Dice, the Black Guard unit gains one Defence Die for every Attack Die discarded (rather than one for two dice discarded).
Trained Soldiers: Since the Black Guard is on foot and not equipped with ranged weapons, it may benefit from the "Song of Drums" ability. When activated by this ability, the activation does not generate Fatigue for the Black Guard unit (other units activated by the "Song of Drums" are subject to normal Fatigue rules).
The Elite: each time a Black Guard model is eliminated (in Melee, by Shooting or for whatever reason), each other friendly unit within M takes one Fatigue.
If Ben Youssef leads your Warband, you may include the Black Guard as well. This constitutes an exception to the standard rules that forbids Legends of the Crusading Age to be mustered in a Warband that includes a Hero of the Crusades.
The Dogs of War
Some Warbands might want to use troops that are not part of their culture, nation or organisation. Mercenaries and allies were a common sight during the Crusades, and could shift the balance of forces during combat against the enemy.
The rules to add Dogs of War to your Warband are described in the Mustering the Warband chapter. All Dogs of War units are described using the same template which provides all the necessary information including any constraints about the recruitment of the unit, which Factions it will join, how many points you will have to spend to add it to your Warband, how it is composed and their special rules.
Note that a Warband may only recruit each Dog of War unit once. So, you cannot recruit two Naffata units.
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): Note that Dogs of War ARE NOT Swords for Hire! So, Dark Ages Factions may not recruit them, nor may Crusading Factions recruit Swords for Hire.
Bedouin Scouts
The Bedouin tribes of the North African desert, Syria and Egypt were valuable auxiliaries used indiscriminately by Muslims and Christians during our period. They were used as scouts, especially useful with their talent to survive in the harshest conditions.
Recruiting the Bedouins: It will cost you one point to add the Bedouins to your Warband. They are a unit of eight models and may be mounted on camels (see Camel-mounted models) or fight on foot.
Bedouins: The Bedouins are a unit of Warriors with an Armour of 3 in Melee (and 3 against Shooting if they are mounted) and equipped with javelins. They only generate one Attack Die for every two models when they fight in Melee or when they shoot. They do not generate any SAGA Die and are worth 1/2 Slaughtering victory point each. Note that the Armour in Melee of the Bedouins is not further reduced if mounted on camels.
They may be activated any number of times during your turn, without the need to spend any SAGA Die. They may also be activated during an opponent's turn, according to their "Survival" special rule below. They may never benefit from any of your SAGA Abilities, and if one of your SAGA Abilities affects more than one unit, they won't be affected though your other units will still be. In addition during any melee or shooting where the Bedouin Scouts are involved, you may not trigger SAGA Abilities, even if other units are also involved on your side.
Scouts: When fighting on foot, the Bedouins move at M even when starting, ending or moving across uneven ground. All Bedouins on foot (but not when mounted on camels) may, after deployment but before the first turn, make a Movement (that does not constitute a Movement activation). They may not engage in Melee with this movement.
If more than one Warband benefits from this kind of pre-first turn movement, determine randomly which Warband will do all its pre-first turn moves first, then proceed clockwise with the other players.
Survival: During an enemy's Activation Phase, each time an enemy unit ends its movement within M of the Bedouin, and if this unit did not end its movement engaged in Melee (even with another unit than the Bedouins) the Bedouins may be activated for a Movement. This activation is resolved after the movement of the enemy unit (including any Shooting resulting from that activation), and after the resolution of any Activation/Reaction SAGA Ability resulting from this activation. The Bedouins may never engage in Melee with this movement and this movement is cancelled if engaging in Melee would be mandatory.
Daylami
The Daylami were a notoriously harsh and warlike people from Persia, their name being derived from the mountainous province of Daylam in modern day Iran. The Daylami were subjugated by the Turks in the 11th century and converted to Islam.
Recruiting the Daylami: It will cost you one point to add the Daylami to your Warband. This unit is composed of eight models, and they may only join a Warband using the Muslim SAGA Dice.
Daylami: The Daylami are a unit of eight Warriors equipped with javelins, and fighting on foot. They have an Armour of 4 in Melee and against Shooting. The Daylami unit generates one Attack Die per model, increased to two Attack Dice per model if the unit engages the melee (but not when it is engaged in melee). They generate one Attack Die for every two models when Shooting. They do not generate any SAGA Die and are worth one Slaughtering victory point each.
Savages: The Daylami may never benefit from any of the SAGA Abilities on your Battle Board. Instead, you may activate them by discarding a SAGA Die from your Battle Board. To activate the Daylami you can discard one die from any box on your Battle Board. In addition to these activations, the Daylami may be activated with the "We Obey" special rule of your Warlord. During any melee or shooting where the Daylami are involved, you may not trigger SAGA Abilities, even if other units are also involved on your side.
Mountaineers: While all the models of the Daylami unit are within a non-building uneven terrain that provides hard cover, the Armour of the Daylami is increased by one, to an Armour of 5. This comes in addition to the Armour increase of hard cover when shot at, hence giving an Armour of 6 to the Daylami when shot at while entirely in a non-building hard cover terrain.
Foreign Mercenaries
Mercenaries were a common sight during the Crusading Age. Flemish on the Spanish peninsula, Armenian or Greeks in the Holy Land were all eager to serve whoever paid them. Well trained and well equipped they were a force to be reckoned with.
Recruiting the Mercenaries: These Mercenaries may be included in any Warband using the Christian Dice for one point.
Mercenaries: This unit is made of eight Warriors fighting either on horse or on foot, but with an Armour of 5 (reduced to 4 against Shooting when mounted). Due to their equipment and formation, their movement is reduced to S in open terrain if fighting on foot, M if fighting mounted (both move at S in uneven ground as usual). They do not generate any SAGA dice, and each Mercenary figure is worth one Slaughtering victory point.
Foreigners: The mercenaries may be activated once per turn for free (without spending any SAGA die). They may not be the target of the SAGA Abilities of their controlling player, even Activation abilities. If a friendly ability targets more than one unit then the mercenaries may not be included in the effects. In addition during any melee or shooting where the Mercenaries are involved, you may not trigger SAGA Abilities, even if non Foreigners units are also involved on your side.
Close Order: When they are engaged in Melee by an enemy unit (but not when they initiate Melee) or are the target of a Shooting, the mercenaries, if fighting on foot, are always considered to be in hard cover.
Fearful Charge: When they engage an enemy unit in Melee and all models on both side are in the open ground, each mounted mercenary generates one additional Attack Die.
Naffata
The Naffatun were a specialized type of Turkish infantry that used as their weapon the deadly and terrifying naphta, a light and volatile flammable liquid housed in primitive bombs and thrown at their enemies.
The naffata troopers instilled fear in their enemies as their burning combustible could penetrate the heaviest armour, and the smell of burning flesh after a naphta strike would drive men and mounts mad. Their task was a risky one, as the chance of the bombs exploding in their own hands was far from negligible.
Recruiting the Naffata: It will cost you one point to add four Naffata models to your Warband. They may only be included in a Faction using the Muslim SAGA dice. Each naffata trooper is worth one slaughtering victory point.
Individuals: During deployment of your Warband, the Naffata troopers must be included within other units of your Warband. Each Warrior unit on foot (except Dogs of War or Legendary units as these may never include Naffata in their ranks) may be joined by up to two Naffata troopers. Hearthguards are too clever to let these madmen join their ranks, and Levies are absolutely frightened by these mysterious weapons, so only Warriors may include Naffata. A unit including one or more Naffatun is still limited to twelve models. Units joined by Naffata troopers may not have a War Banner.
When a Naffatun joins a unit he is considered to have the same Armour as the unit. He does not generate any Attack Dice, except when using his own weapon as described below. If the Naffata troopers are the only models left in a unit, they are immediately removed from the table, fleeing hopelessly.
You never have to remove a Naffata trooper unless you want to. If the Naffata is the only model that can be removed as a casualty, simply exchange his position with any other model of the unit. You may voluntarily remove any Naffata trooper as a casualty anytime your unit takes a casualty.
A unit that includes Naffata troopers is not considered to be armed with ranged weapons, unless the other models of the unit are actually equipped that way.
Burn, baby, burn: The Naffata troopers included in the unit may shoot at the end of each movement activation of the unit, in the same way as javelins. If the unit shoots at the end of this activation (with a special rule, a SAGA Ability or if equipped with javelins) the Naffata may not shoot. In other words, the Naffata may only shoot if they are the only models in the unit to shoot after the movement and Shooting after a Movement is the only way to use the Naffatun (i.e. they may not shoot during a Shooting activation, with the Shooting resolution of a SAGA Ability or any other special rule).
Their weapon has a range of S, and each trooper generates between one and three Attack Dice (the choice being made by the controller of the unit). During the resolution of this Shooting, skip step 2, so no side may use SAGA Abilities or the Fatigue of the unit that the Naffata accompanies.
When Shooting, the Naffata benefit from a +2 bonus to their Attack Rolls and ignore any cover the target unit benefits from. If the targeted unit suffers at least one casualty, it will take in addition two Fatigues (three Fatigues if the target is a mounted unit).
For each unmodified "1" rolled by the Naffata troopers while Shooting, the unit they are included in must remove one of its models as a casualty (this might be a Naffatun and this comes in addition to any hit scored by that die). Note that casualties produced in this way do not add Fatigue to the unit that includes the Naffata.
After each Shooting resolution involving the Naffata, the unit that includes them takes one Fatigue, representing the fear that the terrible weapon induces in the unit.
Turcomans
The Turcomans were some of the best horse archers that could be found during our era. They formed the bulk of many Muslim armies, but could also serve as mercenaries for the Christians and face their fellows across the battlefield. During the Reconquista, they travelled to Spain to serve there, and were known as Ghuzz.
Turcomans: The Ghuzz Horse Archers may be included in your Warband for one point.
Horse Archers: The Ghuzz consist of eight mounted models and count as Levies. As Levies, they do not generate any SAGA dice, but may be activated or benefit from eligible SAGA Abilities on your Battle Board. They have an Armour of 3 in Melee and 3 against Shooting as they are mounted. Unlike other Levies they only generate one Attack Die per four models in Melee. They are worth a half Slaughtering victory point per model, like Warriors.
Horsemen: The Turcoman are born in their saddles. When they move as part of a Movement activation (and do not engage an enemy in Melee) their movement benefits from an S distance bonus, if that movement is entirely made in the open. This bonus is never affected by any Fatigue expenditure (so if you use the Fatigue of Turcomans to reduce their movement, they would move by M+S).
If the Turcomans decide during step 2 of the Melee to reduce the number of Attack Dice to gain Defence Dice, they must discard ALL their Attack Dice to gain one Defence Die per Attack Die discarded (and not half the number of Attack Dice as is usually the case).
Short bow: The Turcoman are equipped with composite bows.
Eagle eyed: During step 3 of a Shooting, the Turcoman may re-roll any "1s" they have rolled on their Attack Dice.
Turcopoles
The Turcopoles were Turks, Greeks or Syrians who served as auxiliary horse archers in the Byzantine armies, and joined the Crusaders in their journey toward the Levant. They served as scouts and light cavalry and their knowledge of Muslim tactics was invaluable.
Recruiting the Turcopoles: It will cost you one point to add the Turcopoles to your Warband. This unit is made up of eight mounted models armed with bows, and may only join any Warband using Christian SAGA Dice.
The Turcopoles: The Turcopoles are Warriors and hence have an Armour of 4 (reduced to three against Shooting as they are mounted). They generate one Attack Die per model in Melee and 1/2 when Shooting. Each Turcopole is worth 1/2 Slaughtering victory point as usual for Warriors. The Turcopoles do not generate any SAGA Dice.
Horse Archers: The role of the Turcopoles was mainly to scout and act as light horse, and it was not expected that they would charge the enemy. The Turcopoles may never benefit from any Melee or Melee/Reaction abilities on your Battle Board, but may benefit from all the other abilities of your Faction, including the relevant Activation abilities.
Fire & Flee: A tactic inspired by Turkish horsemen was to deliver a deadly volley then turn back and keep your distance from the enemy. Immediately after they have been activated to shoot (after the resolution of the Shooting), the Turcopoles may be activated for a Movement for free. They may not engage in Melee with this movement, and this movement does not generate any Fatigue. If, due to their position, a Movement to engage in Melee is mandatory (as if activated to move for a second time and within S of an enemy) the movement is cancelled and may not be carried out.
Fanatical Pilgrims
In 1095 a number of factors were conspiring to provide the Pope with an unexpected response to his summons to liberate the Holy Land. Millenarianism, the belief that the world would end at the end of 1099, was gaining currency. Amidst this feeling that remarkable things might happen, the populace noted a number of miraculous signs; a meteor shower and a comet were visible in the heavens; the aurora borealis was noticed much further south than usual; and there was a lunar eclipse. Many areas had experienced drought, famine and plague in the preceding years. Against this mixed background of hardship and the marvellous, the Pope's call seemed to offer an escape from hardship and the insurance of guaranteed entry into heaven. As a result, large numbers of peasants and some lesser knights answered the call and upwards of 40,000 men, women and children started the journey to Jerusalem.
The "army" was lacking in discipline and military value, but large. It proved of more danger to the inhabitants of the areas it passed through than to the Saracens, though it did lay waste to some Seljuk territory. It was largely destroyed by Kilij Arslan.
Recruiting Fanatical Pilgrims: It will cost you one point to add Fanatical Pilgrims to your Warband. This unit is made of twelve models and may only join any Warband using Christian SAGA Dice. They may not join Warbands led by a Hero of the Crusades.
Fanatical Pilgrims have exactly the same characteristics as Levies (and count as Levies of your Warband), but do not have any ranged weapons nor any other equipment options. Each pilgrim is worth 1/2 victory point (like Warriors). In a Crusaders Warband, Fanatical Pilgrims count as Pilgrims for SAGA Abilities.
God's Shepherds: As long as the Fanatical Pilgrims are within S of the Warband's Warlord at the start of the turn, they generate one SAGA die.
Martyrdom: Every time a Fanatical Pilgrim is killed or eliminated during an enemy's turn, their controlling player may immediately take one unused SAGA die (i.e. a SAGA Die not placed on his board and available), roll it and place it on their Battle Board.
Troubadour
Most Warlords want to leave a record of their passage in this world. What better than to have their feats and deeds told for years to come at banquets and sung to rapt audiences at all the best gatherings?
Recruiting a Troubadour: A Troubadour may be hired by any Warband not led by a Hero of the Crusades. He is free to hire and forms a unit on his own. He counts as a Warrior but does not have any equipment options except that he must be mounted if your Warlord is mounted (he must choose the same type of mount as your Warlord). He is worth two Slaughtering victory points. If he is killed, the Warlord immediately takes one Fatigue.
Storyteller: With a storyteller at his side, we can expect that your Warlord will have to be on his best behaviour unless he wants his reputation tarnished. The following rules apply to your Warlord throughout the game even if the Troubadour is killed.
- Your Warlord may not Rest unless he has two or more Fatigue markers
- Your Warlord may not benefit from his "Side by Side" rule (i.e. he may only engage the enemy by himself).
Inspiration: As long as the Troubadour is within S of your Warlord, your Warlord will gain the following benefits:
- Any enemy model killed by your Warlord is worth double Slaughtering victory points (Make sure you keep them safely aside from the 'normal' casualties. If there is any doubt, you will lose the extra points!).
- Your Warlord may use his "Determination" and "We Obey" special rules twice every turn. Only one "We Obey" per activation though.
Scenarios
Scenarios are an important component of any wargame, and even more so in SAGA. They offer tactical challenges, reduce the chances of seeing the same Warbands all the time, and challenge the gamer's habits. Also, they add narrative to the games, facilitate the design of campaigns with linked scenarios, and generally make for all the things that make wargaming such a fascinating hobby.
Over the next few pages you will find six scenarios. You may determine which scenario to play by mutual agreement with your opponent or let the fates decide by rolling a D6 and playing the scenario corresponding to the number you rolled.
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): The scenarios are brand new, although some share aspects with already published scenarios. Players of SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes can also use these new scenarios. Also, if you prefer the set-up rules from The Crescent & The Cross, you can use them in your SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes games, as long as you agree with your opponent beforehand.
All the scenarios are presented using the same template which gives you all the various information needed to set up the scenario, determine the deployment, the objectives and ultimately, who will win.
Layout explains how to set up the battlefield and the scenery items used. Most of the scenarios use the standard Scenery Set-Up rules as described below, but some of them have special constraints which will dictate how the scenery should be set up.
Length of the game tells you how long the game will last. Some scenarios only end when some specific victory conditions are fulfilled, some others will last for a given number of rounds. A round is made up of two players' turns. So, if the game lasts for six rounds, it will consist of six turns played by player A and six turns played by player B.
Deployment dictates how the Warbands should be deployed.
Victory conditions tell you how you will win the game. Read this section carefully as in the heat of battle, it becomes quite easy to forget your primary objectives!
Special Rules present any specific scenario rules governing the scenarios or expands the sections outlined above. As with the victory conditions, they should be read carefully.
Setting the scenery
To set up the scenery, follow these steps:
Choose table edge. Each player chooses his table edge, as dictated by the scenario.
Scenery bids. Each player secretly chooses a number between 1 and 3. This can be done by writing the chosen number on a sheet of paper, or using a die hidden from the opponent's view.
Reveal choices. Each player reveals his choice. This is the number of scenery items the player will be able to place on the table.
Setting up the scenery. Each player, starting with the one that has chosen the highest secret number (roll a die if tied) selects a number of scenery items equal to the number he revealed. All items should be taken from the chart below, and may not exceed the maximum number for each type of scenery.
Starting with the player that selected his scenery first, each player places on the table one scenery item he has chosen. Players alternate placing scenery items, one at a time, until all selected items have been deployed.
If for any reason, a scenery item cannot be placed on the table, it is discarded without being replaced.
The deployment of scenery items is subject to the following constraints:
- The items may be laid out anywhere on the table, but not within M of any previously deployed item.
- If you have more than one item to deploy, at least one of the items chosen must be deployed in contact with any table edge.
- No more than one single scenery item may be set up closer to the opponent's table edge than it is from your own table edge. To determine the closer table edge, compare the distance between the closest part of the item and each table edge.
Altering the battlefield. Finally, starting with the player that has chosen his scenery items first, each player may choose one of the scenery items laid out by either player (not any scenery item dictated by the scenario), and rolls a die for this item:
| D6 | Effect |
|---|---|
| 1-2 | Nothing, the scenery item stays as is. |
| 3-4 | The player may move the item up to M. |
| 5-6 | The player may move the item up to M, or remove it from the table. |
If a player has placed fewer items than all his opponents, that player benefits from a +1 on his dice roll.
To move an item, take the central spot of the item, move it up to M, without changing the orientation of the item. Please note that moved scenery does not have to comply with the original constraints explained above; i.e. you may move an item so that in its final position it is closer to the opponent's table edge even if you already placed an item in such a manner. However you may not place a scenery item within M of another scenery item. This rule must be enforced even when moving scenery.
Terrain types
The following chart lists all terrain that you may choose when using the Setting the Scenery standard rules. For each item its height, cover and type are indicated (as explained in The Terrain chapter of the rules). The Maximum Number, as its name suggests, is the maximum number of different pieces of this type that can be used (for both players, so if one of the players has selected a marsh, his opponent will not be able to select a second marsh). Maximum Size indicates the maximum size of the item. No distance measured across the item may exceed the maximum distance indicated in the chart.
So, if you want to place an elevation on the table, it should not measure more than L, this measure being taken from the widest (or longest!) points of the scenery item.
The minimum size indicates the minimum size of the item. No distance measured across the item may be less than the minimum distance indicated in the chart.
So, if you want to place a building on the table, it should not measure less than S, this measure being taken from the two closest points of the scenery item.
Let's recap: The maximum and minimum size of scenery indicates the maximum or minimum distance across the item.
| Scenery item | Type and Cover | Max Number | Max Size | Min Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood or vineyard | High Terrain, Soft Cover, Uneven Ground | 2 | L | M |
| Brush and crop fields | Low Terrain, Soft Cover, Uneven Ground | 2 | L | S |
| Rocky ground, or gully | Low Terrain, Hard Cover, Uneven Ground | 1 | L | S |
| Building | High Terrain, Hard Cover, Uneven Ground | 2 | M | S |
| Large Building | High Terrain, Hard Cover, Uneven Ground | 1 |
Deployment and Warband composition
The Warbands will be deployed according to the scenario Deployment conditions. It is important to keep in mind that though your roster indicates how your points are spent, the composition of your units and their equipment options do not need to be decided before the relevant unit is deployed on the battlefield.
Example: Fabien has spent three of the points of his Crusaders Warband on Warriors. When he has to deploy a Warriors unit, he will have to decide how many models this unit will be composed of and if they will be mounted or on foot, equipped with crossbows or not, etc. He does not have to make these choices prior to the deployment of the unit.
Determining the first player
Some scenarios indicate which player starts the game. If nothing is indicated, once the Warbands are deployed, use the following rules to determine who goes first.
Each player rolls one die, and adds the number of SAGA Dice his Warband generates as it is deployed (note that this might exceed the six SAGA Dice you may roll, so if all your units generate eight SAGA Dice, add eight to your roll). The player who rolls the highest total (in case of a tie, the player with the most impressive facial hair) chooses who will become the first player and start the game.
Once the choice is made, the second player may roll three SAGA Dice and place them on his Battle Board. Note that this does not constitute an Orders Phase, and no SAGA Abilities or special rules may be used at this point. The dice are simply placed, ready to be used during the first turn of the game. Note that these three SAGA Dice are only allowed if the scenario does not specify who starts the game. If the scenario indicates the starting player, the other player is not allowed to roll them, unless otherwise specified.
Victory points
Some scenarios use Victory Points to determine the winner of the scenario. Depending on the scenario, Victory Points (VPs) are awarded either for enemy models eliminated or for achieving objectives with your units. The first way of gaining VPs is nicknamed the Slaughtering Victory; the other is the Conquering Victory. Both use a different system to award VPs.
Slaughtering Victory Points. These VPs are gained based on the number of enemy models the opposing Warband has lost during the game, irrespective of how these models were lost.
- An Enemy Warlord eliminated is worth three VPs, seven if it was a Hero of the Crusades.
- Every Hearthguard figure killed is worth one VP.
- Every two Warriors (rounded up) earn you one VP.
- Every three Levies (rounded up) earn you one VP.
- Dogs of War and other special units indicate in their description how many VPs they are worth when eliminated (if nothing is indicated the victory points depend on their troop class, but these are counted separately as this could have some effects on round-ups).
- Legends of the Crusading Age are worth four extra Victory Points when the whole unit has been eliminated, in addition to the Victory Points gained for eliminating all its models.
Note that the Warriors or Levies do not need to come from the same unit. You just sum up the number of the relevant figures eliminated and determine the VPs earned, rounded up as usual.
Example: Darren has killed three Hearthguards, seven Warriors and five Levies. He earns three VPs for the Hearthguards, four VPs for the Warriors and two VPs for the Levies.
Conquering Victory Points. These VPs are generally awarded for controlling scenario-specified objectives. Each scenario will list the conditions to gain these VPs. Unlike the Slaughtering VPs they are awarded for units rather than for figures, based on the following list:
- Each Hearthguards unit is worth three VPs.
- Each Warriors unit is worth two VPs.
- Each Levies unit is worth one VP.
- Swords for Hire units are worth a number of VPs equal to the troop type they count as.
- Units made of three or less models do not earn any VPs in Conquering Victories scenarios (this extends to units that started the game as single figure units, such as Warlords).
Endless Warband
Some scenarios will specify that one (or both!) Warbands are Endless. This means that the Warband may recycle its eliminated troops and bring them back at the start of their turn.
At the start of your turn, before determining how many SAGA dice you are entitled to roll, you may bring back one unit (and only one per turn). This unit will be made up of figures that have been eliminated during this game. This unit must be legal, made up of between four and twelve models, all of the same troop type and equipped with the same equipment options. Also, the models previously removed as casualties keep their equipment options, and may not change them while removed as casualties. As an example, if you lost six Warriors with bows and four others without any equipment options, you cannot meld these ten figures into a single unit as they would not share the same equipment.
Also, the following constraints apply:
- Only Hearthguards, Warriors and Levies units from your Warband may be brought back. Warlords, Dogs of War and any other special unit (including Heroes of the Crusades and Legends of the Crusading Age) may not be brought back.
- Models from units limited in your Faction rules to one single unit (e.g. Crossbowmen in a Moorish Warband) may not be brought back.
The unit must be placed in contact with any legal table edge (some scenarios limit the table edges where these new units would appear, and units brought back suffer from the same limitations as Off-table units, see Off-Table units below), with all its models within VS of that table edge, and no models within S of any enemy model.
The unit becomes immediately available as a unit of your Warband.
Off-table units
Some Faction or scenario rules (such as the Endless Warbands above) allow a player to bring new units onto the table, either made up from eliminated figures or that have been kept off-table at the start of the game.
Some scenarios restrict the table edges from which off-table units may enter. Off-table units (and any unit entering the table during the game) may never enter the table or be placed in contact or within S of this (or those) table edge(s).
Sidebar (the old fellow returns): There are no off-table units in The Crescent & The Cross (yet!), but there are plenty of them in SAGA: Dark Age Skirmishes. So, for completeness sake, we covered them here.
No Saga dice
A player immediately loses the game if at the start of any turn his Warband does not generate any SAGA Dice. This overrides any victory conditions of the scenario being played.
Scenario I: Champions of God
The scene is set, the forces deployed. Pray to your God for divine aid in the press of battle, and slaughter your foes with his blessing. Victory to the righteous!
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table (players use a long table edge as their starting table edge). The scenery is arranged according to the rules described in the introduction to this chapter.
Length of the game. The game lasts for six turns.
Deployment. The player who placed his scenery items first deploys his Warlord on the table within L of his own table edge. His opponent deploys his own Warlord anywhere within L of his own table edge. Then, starting with the player that deployed his Warlord first, each player must deploy one unit. Players alternate the deployment of their units until all units are deployed.
Special Rules. The following rules apply to the deployment:
- All units with ranged weapons in a Warband must be deployed before units without ranged weapons are deployed.
- When deploying units, all foot units must be deployed before mounted units.
- Note: it can be summarized as: foot units with ranged weapons, then mounted units with ranged weapons, then other foot and finally, mounted units.
When the deployment is finished, the first player is determined randomly, as explained in the introduction to this chapter.
Victory conditions. At the end of the sixth turn, add up Slaughtering Victory Points. If a player has at least three VPs more than his opponent, that player wins the game. Otherwise the game is a draw.
Scenario II: Battle Twilight
As the day wears on, the weary Warband is returning to camp, the troops straggling over a wide area. Suddenly the enemy appears, similarly dispersed. Your men must fight where they stand until nightfall; surviving in the waning light will be a victory in itself...
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table (players start with a long table edge as their starting table edge) with four point Warbands or a 48" x 48" for 6-8 point Warbands. The scenery is arranged according to the rules described in the introduction to this chapter.
Length of the game. The game lasts for six turns.
Deployment. Starting with the player that placed his scenery items first, each player deploys one unit, anywhere on the table; but more than M away from any enemy unit. When a unit is deployed no model of that unit can be more than S away from all other models of its unit. Players alternate the deployment of their units until all units have been deployed (if some units cannot be deployed, they are considered as lost, but may eventually take part in the game by using the Endless Warbands rules). When the deployment is finished, each player must place one Fatigue token on each of his units. When the deployment is finished, the first player is determined randomly, as explained in the introduction to this chapter.
Special rules. You may not engage an enemy Warlord during the first turn. After the deployment but before the game starts, the battlefield is divided into four quarters, by drawing horizontal and vertical lines crossing in the central spot of the table. Both Warbands are Endless Warbands (see Endless Warband).
Victory conditions. At the end of each of his turns, for each table quarter the player who finished his turn compares the number of Conquering Victory Points he has in that table quarter (see above for the way to separate the gaming surface into four table quarters) to the number of Conquering Points his opponent has in the table quarter. Units can only count toward the table quarter where the majority of the figures are in. In case of a unit evenly split between two table quarters, the owning player chooses toward which quarter that unit will count for Conquering Victory Points.
For each table quarter where he has at least two more Conquering Victory Points than his opponent, that player scores one point (that should be tracked by appropriate tokens or written down on a sheet of paper).
At the end of each second player's turn (so the end of the turn of the player that did not start the game), check to see if one player has reached six points. If his opponent has not reached six points, he wins the game. If both players have reached six points, play another turn, and at the end of this last turn, the player with most Victory Points wins the game. If both players have the same number of points at the end of this turn, the game ends with a draw.
Scenario III: Assault at Dawn
In the pre-dawn gloom, shadows flit across the land as men move into position to attack. Half-seen figures loom out of the darkness only to recede again... he who can locate his enemy first will surely prevail.
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table (players use a long table edge as their starting table edge). The scenery is arranged according to the rules described in the introduction to this chapter.
Length of the game. The game lasts for six turns.
Deployment. Each player rolls a die and the highest scoring player starts the deployment (the player that can quote the more Suras of the Koran in case of a tie). He starts by deploying one Unit Marker within L of his table edge. His opponent then deploys one Unit Marker, within L of his own table edge. Players alternate the deployment of their unit markers one at a time, until all markers have been deployed. The player that finished his deployment first starts the game.
Special rules. In this scenario off-table units may not be used nor enter the table.
Before the deployment, each player should arrange and prepare his units outside the gaming area. The way that his units are made (number of models, equipment, etc.) should be clear and known to the opponent.
Each of these units is assigned to one Unit Marker (a 4cm circle token, available as a download on the publisher's forum or website), secretly (by writing on a sheet of paper the corresponding letter of the Unit Marker). When the Unit Markers are deployed on the table, the unit assigned to it remains unknown to the opponent (but the owning player can look at any time at the reverse of the marker to check the corresponding unit!).
Unit markers are not units! They are subject to the following special rules:
- Each Unit Marker may be activated once per Activation Phase of its own player, for free, without requiring SAGA Dice expenditure. No Activation/Reaction abilities may be used when a Unit Marker is activated.
- Unit Markers move like foot models.
- They are totally immune to SAGA abilities, even triggered by their owner.
- They may not be engaged in melee nor shot at.
- They may not move within M of an enemy Unit Marker or unit.
- At the start of his Activation Phase, a player can replace any number of Unit Markers with their relevant units. To do so, deploy one model in the centre of the marker, and all the other models of the unit in Unit Formation, but not closer than M from any enemy Unit Marker or enemy model. Any model that may not be deployed respecting these rules is lost and considered as eliminated. The newly deployed unit is free to act as it wants.
- If an enemy unit comes within M of an enemy unit marker, the relevant unit must be deployed on the table immediately. This happens as soon as the enemy unit comes within M, and stops the movement of that unit. Any movement distance left is lost. The replacement of the Unit Marker with the relevant unit is done as described above.
Victory conditions. At the end of the sixth turn, add up Slaughtering Victory Points (as described in the introduction to this chapter). For each of his Unit Markers still on the table, each player scores two extra Slaughtering victory points. If a player has at least three VPs more than his opponent, that player wins the game. Otherwise, the game is a draw.
Scenario IV: The Last Stand
Your luck has run out, you are surrounded by a countless sea of foes. Hold them off and create a legend that the bards will recount for generations, or perish gloriously with the name of the Lord on your lips.
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table. The defender (see below how he is determined) may place two scenery items, each of them with at least one part of it within S of the table edge. No other scenery item is used in this game.
Length of the game. The game lasts for the number of turns determined by the attacker.
Deployment. The defender must deploy all of his units first. All figures may be deployed anywhere on the table but no closer than M from any long table edge or within L of any short table edge. Once all the units have been deployed, place a FATIGUE on each defending unit. The attacker's units are not deployed at the start of the game. The attacker plays first.
Special rules. The attacker's units are not deployed at the start of the game, but will enter the table during the first turn (and cannot use any special rule that would allow them to move before the first turn). During the attacker's first activation phase, all his units will benefit from a free activation. All his units must enter the table during the first turn and these free activations may not trigger Activation/Reaction abilities or be altered or cancelled in any way.
Note that as his units are off-table at the start of the game, the Attacker does not generate any SAGA Dice during his first turn and this does not constitute an auto-lose condition for the Attacker!
During the game, if the Attacker has any mounted units, they will enter the table by one of the short side edges of the table, and will measure their movement from any point along this table edge. Units on foot may enter the table via any point of any table edge. During their arrival, the attacker's units may engage in melee if their movement allows it.
The defender MUST deploy all his units on the table at the start of the game, and he cannot bring any new figures onto the table, even with any special rules. So off-table units are entirely disregarded for the defender.
The attacker benefits from the Endless Warband special rule.
Victory conditions. Before setting up the game, each player secretly bids how many turns he will need to eliminate all enemy figures from the defender's Warband (except the Warlord). This bid may not exceed ten turns. This bid is written on a piece of paper by each player and the bids are revealed simultaneously. The player who has chosen the lowest number of turns becomes the attacker (in the case of a draw, the attacker is determined randomly).
If, at the end of the number of turns chosen by the attacker, there is at least one non-Warlord enemy figure on the table, the defender wins. If, at any point of the game, there are no non-Warlord defending figures on the table, the attacker wins.
Scenario V: God will recognize his
Both sides have their entire strength to hand. Final victory could be within your grasp as the banners advance. Kill them! Kill them all! Deus Vult! Allah Akbar!
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table in width (players use a long table edge as their starting table edge). The scenery is arranged according to the rules described in the introduction to the scenario chapter.
Length of the game. The game lasts for six turns.
Deployment. The player who placed his scenery items first deploys his Warlord on the table within L of his own table edge. His opponent then deploys his own Warlord anywhere within L of his own table edge. Then, starting with the player that deployed his Warlord first, each player must deploy one unit. Players alternate the deployment of their units until all units are deployed.
Special rules. The following rules apply to the deployment:
- All units with ranged weapons must be deployed before units without ranged weapons are deployed.
- All foot units must be deployed before mounted units.
- Note: deployment order can be summarized as: foot units with ranged weapons, then mounted units with ranged weapons, then other foot and finally mounted.
When the deployment is finished, the first player is determined randomly, as explained in the introduction to the scenario chapter.
Both Warbands are Endless. Off-table units may not enter the table by the opponent's table edge during the game.
Victory conditions. Each time an enemy figure is eliminated during a melee sequence (between step 0 and step 8), note down the troop class of that figure on your scoring sheet. Figures eliminated in any other ways (Shooting, SAGA ability, special rule, whatever) do not count and are not recorded. At the end of the sixth turn, sum up Slaughtering Victory Points (as described in the introduction to this chapter) for the models you have noted down as having been eliminated.
If a player has at least four VPs more than his opponent, that player wins the game. Otherwise, the game is a draw.
Scenario VI: Captured!
In a daring raid, you have managed to capture your opponent's Warlord. Now you must escape with your valuable hostage as they are worth nothing to you dead.
Layout. The game is played on a 48" x 36" table. A road runs across the centre of the table from one long table edge to the other. The remaining scenery is arranged according to the rules described in this chapter; however, no terrain piece or building may be placed within M of the road.
Length of the game. The game lasts for eight complete turns.
Deployment. Both players roll a D6, and the winner decides if they will be the "Raider" or the "Rescuer" (in case of a tie, the player that can name the most books in the New Testament is the winner). The raider then chooses one of the long table edges as their starting table edge and deploys all their figures within L of that table edge. The raider must deploy all their figures within M of the road. The rescuer then deploys all their units (excluding their Warlord) within L of the opposite table edge. The raider then deploys their opponent's Warlord between two figures in a Warrior or Hearthguard unit. The rescuer starts the game.
Special rules. The "Warlord's Pride" rule does not apply in this scenario. The Rescuer may not have a Hero of the Crusading Age.
The Raider must allocate two figures (Hearthguard if possible, Warriors if not, and Levies only if you do not have anything else), from the same, non-Dogs of War unit, to act as an escort for the captured Warlord (this may bring down the number of models in the original unit below 4).
The escort, along with the prisoner, form a unit of their own, but may not engage the enemy in melee and do not generate any Attack Dice during Shooting or melee, nor generate additional SAGA Dice. It is activated as a normal unit of its class.
The escort must remain in base to base contact with their prisoner at all times. The prisoner moves at the same rate and at the same time as the escorts.
The captured Warlord does not generate any SAGA dice while he remains a prisoner.
The escorts may not be targeted by Shooting as there is a risk of hitting the prisoner.
The prisoner may be freed by killing both the escorts in melee. When that happens, the Warlord is freed. He may immediately be activated (but this activation will have to be paid for, or done using his Determination special rule), and he may then generate SAGA dice in subsequent turns and participate in the game as normal. It is assumed that the Warlord is able to grab a discarded weapon and he keeps his usual stats and special rules.
No off-table unit can enter the table in this scenario.
Victory conditions. The raiders will win if they manage to either exit from the opposite table edge with the opposing Warlord or kill all the Rescuers (a captured Warlord counts as killed for this purpose), otherwise they lose.
Multi-player scenario: Brothers in Arms
This special scenario is designed to be played with two teams of two players each. It requires a larger gaming surface than the normal SAGA carnage, and will take slightly longer. But this is the price you pay to get someone on your side to blame for your failures!
Layout. The game is played on a 72" x 48" table with players facing each other using the long table edges of the table for their deployment. The scenery is arranged according to the rules described in the introduction to the scenario chapter, with each player secretly selecting his number of scenery pieces, with a maximum of two rather than three as usual. The limit on the number of copies of a single terrain piece is increased by one (e.g. you may have up to three woods or orchards on the table).
Length of the game. The game lasts for six complete turns.
Deployment. Each player rolls a die and the side that gets the highest total starts the deployment (in case of a tie, set up a ring and handle that affair like men). Each player of that side deploys one of his units. The unit may not be deployed closer than M to the middle line of the gaming surface, and no further than L away from that line. Each side alternates the deployment of their units one at a time. If a player doesn't have any units left to deploy, his team partner must deploy all his remaining units at the same time. The side that finished deployment first starts the game.
Special rules. This scenario is designed to be played with Warbands of four to six points each player.
Heroes of the Crusading Age (or Heroes of the Viking Age if you play the scenario with SAGA Dark Ages) may not be used in this scenario. Each Dogs of War (or Swords for Hire) unit may only be used once per side. So, you will not be able to have two units of Turcoman on your side, for example.
For movement, within each team, all units are considered as friendly. However, a player may only activate, or play SAGA Abilities on, his own units; he does not control his partner's units. Your SAGA Abilities may never affect your partner's units, unless these abilities affect all units on the table.
When a SAGA Ability or special rule refers to "an opposing Warband", you will have to choose which of the two enemy Warbands you will target. On the other hand, "all opposing Warbands" game effects would affect both opposing Warbands.
Rather than playing a turn for each player, each side will take their turn. During a side's turn, each of its members plays the phases simultaneously. So, for example during the Orders Phase, each player of that side generates and rolls his SAGA Dice, uses Orders abilities, etc.
However, for the sake of clarity, each SAGA Ability or special rule must be triggered and resolved before triggering another ability or special rule. This should keep the game flowing smoothly, and give time for the opponent to react to the triggering of the abilities or game effects.
During the Activation Phase, players of a side can play Activation abilities or trigger special rules one at a time. Each Activation or special rule must be entirely resolved before moving to the next one. We recommend a strict application of this rule, as it prevents confusion and misunderstanding.
If both players use the same SAGA Dice (e.g. Muslims, Christians...) the players of that side may exchange their SAGA Dice during the Orders Phase. They may do so at any time during the Orders Phase, when they are able to trigger Orders abilities. They may not exchange SAGA Dice that have been placed on their Battle Board, and for each SAGA Die given, one SAGA die must be received in exchange.
Off-table units may enter the table by the side edges of the battlefield.
Victory conditions. At the end of the sixth turn, add up Slaughtering Victory Points scored by each side (the sum of the victory points scored by each player of that side). If a side has at least six VPs more than the opposing side, that side wins the game. Otherwise the game is a draw.
Often overlooked rules
- Generating SAGA Dice is different from rolling SAGA Dice. There is no limit to the number of SAGA Dice your Warband generates, but you can only roll a maximum of six of them at the start of the Orders Phase.
- If a unit wants to Rest, it must be the unit's first activation of the turn and it may only Rest once per Activation Phase.
- When starting a second or subsequent Movement Activation within S of an enemy unit, you must engage the closest enemy unit in Melee.
- You may not move or be deployed in the gap between two friendly models from another unit if that gap is VS or shorter.
- An Exhausted unit loses half the Attack Dice it generates.
- Before using his SAGA Abilities, the Attacker should politely give the Defender the opportunity to reduce their Attack Pool in order to gain Defence Dice.
- Attack Dice - A unit may not roll more than twice the number it initially generated. Defence Dice - A unit may not roll more than twice the number of hits taken.
- Hits are cancelled on 4s against Shooting, 5s in Melee!
- All friendly units within S of a unit wiped out in Melee take one Fatigue.
- Points spent to buy figures are different from units deployed on the table! So, for example, if you buy twelve Levies with one point, you can organize them into two units of six on the table.
SAGA Dice chart
If you do not have SAGA Dice, you can either download the SAGA symbols from the publisher's website and forum and make your own dice, or use the chart below and regular D6s.
| D6 result | Muslim SAGA die | Christian SAGA die |
|---|---|---|
| 1-2-3 | scimitar | helmet |
| 4-5 | crescent | mounted knight |
| 6 | Allah | banner (cross flag) |
The back of the book also provides Fatigue markers (crescent and cross), Virtue markers (Temperance, Prudence, Justice and Fortitude/"Courage"), Martyr tokens, a Piety marker and measuring sticks (L, M, S, VS).