This is the first report in our new narrative campaign series, Campaign of Thrones. After each battle, the characters on the losing side will potentially be captured or killed. This will transform the story as we know it, inspiring new ‘What If?’ scenarios and battle reports. Join us on this alternative dice-driven version of the War of the Five Kings and battle at the Wall.
We begin the Campaign of Thrones with Escape from King’s Landing. Ned Stark is surrounded, having just been betrayed by the conniving Petyr Baelish. The Lannisters have ordered their guardsmen to establish complete control over the capital and take Ned's daughters hostage. An iconic moment in the series, this battle will have massive consequences on the story going forward (especially if the Starks are able to pull off the upset victory).
The game size was quite large at 55 Points per army. The lists were:
HOUSE LANNISTER:
Units (Attachments)
Kingsguard (Joffrey Baratheon, Commander)
Lannister Crossbowmen (Model Only Petyr Baelish)
Red Cloaks (Meryn Trant)
Mountain’s Men (Assault Veteran)
Lannister Guardsmen (Guard Captain)
Knights of Casterly Rock
NCUs
Tywin Lannister
Tyrion Lannister
Pycelle
HOUSE STARK:
Units (Attachments)
Eddard’s Honor Guard (Eddard Stark, Commander)
Tully Sworn Shields (Model Only Sansa Stark)
Tully Sworn Shields (Model Only Arya Stark)
Stark Sworn Swords (Syrio Forel)
Stark Outriders
Stark Outriders
Tully Cavaliers
NCUs
Catelyn Stark
Rodrik Cassel
DEPLOYMENT
Stark and Lannister units were deployed throughout the city with several impassable buildings blocking the way. The major showdown took place in the ‘Throne Room’: Eddard’s Honor Guard were surrounded by Joffrey's Kingsguard and Littlefinger's Lannister Crossbowmen. Not a great spot for Ned (he did warn you not to trust him).
The other big clash would see Red Cloaks with Meryn Trant, Mountain’s Men, and Lannister Guardsmen against 2 units of Tully Sworn Shields (1 with Arya, 1 with Sansa) and Stark Sworn Swords with Syrio Forel.
Arya, Sansa, Littlefinger, and Cersei are able to join the fight with the custom Model Only rule:
The Starks went heavy on cavalry, hoping to race to the Throne Room and rescue Ned. In particular, the Tully Cavaliers were deployed nearby to decimate Petyr Baelish’s Lannister Crossbowmen before they had the chance to finish off Eddard's Honor Guard.
ROUND 1
In Escape from King’s Landing the Starks always begin the game as first player. This was the move the Starks were pondering all week. In the end, they decided to play it conservatively and claimed the swords with NCU Rodrik Cassel to block the Crossbowmen from getting a free attack in the rear. The Lannisters played Intrigue & Subterfuge to block Rodrik’s vulnerable token, demonstrating early how potent their denial game is. Pycelle activated next and claimed the letters, utilizing his NCU ability in addition to the zone effect to make the Honor Guard both weakened and vulnerable. Things were already looking bleak for poor Ned, so Catelyn claimed the horse zone and the Tully Cavaliers began maneuvering towards the Throne Room.
The Lannisters, worried about the incoming heavy reinforcements, decided to get their crossbow shots off now. With re-rolls and -3 to defense saves (sundering + rear attack), they did 5 wounds to the Honor Guard. With the help of Ned’s Iron Resolve ability, the Honor Guard passed their panic test. The Tully Cavaliers were ready to charge in and save the day, only needing a roll of 2 to charge the Crossbowmen in the rear. Seeing this dangerous cavalry attack coming, the Lannister player used Tywin’s once per game NCU ability The Rains of Castamere. First, Tywin blanked the Tully Cavaliers Lance ability. Then he targeted Ned with 4 hits, resulting in 2 wounds. Tywin also targeted Ned with a panic test which Ned initially failed, but then he played Northern Defiance and automatically passed. After all that, the Tully Cavaliers finally charged in and ended up doing 9 wounds total to the Crossbowmen.
Brave King Joffrey decided enough was enough and commanded his Kingsguard to get into the action. He removed one of his Baratheon banners to gain vicious and played You Will Obey Me! to gain +2 dice and sundering. The attack was too much for the Honor Guard to handle. Eddard and his loyal defenders were destroyed by the arrogant young King. The scoring rules for this scenario state:
When Eddard, Sansa, or Arya Stark’s unit is destroyed, roll a D3. If you roll a [1], you do not score 1 Victory Point from Victory Through Combat. If you roll a [2] or [3], you score 1 Victory Point from Victory Through Combat (as per usual).
They rolled a 3. The Lannisters led the game 1 to 0.
With the Honor Guard destroyed, Sansa’s unit of Tully Sworn Shields gained a token from The North Remembers tactics card that was placed on them earlier in the game. Hoping to take the Lannisters by surprise, Sansa used her guaranteed charge distance roll of 6 to stun the Red Cloaks and hit them in the flank. The Red Cloaks giggled as this ambush ended up doing 1 measly wound. The Mountain’s Men returned the favor by counter charging the Sworn Shields in the flank, but after 3 defensive dice blocks and using the order Shield Wall, the Sworn Shields shrugged off the potentially devastating attack. Arya sent the Bravoosi master fencer Syrio Forel into the fray to save her sister, then maneuvered herself away from danger.
ROUND 2
The Mountain’s Men continued their attack on the Sworn Shields with little effect. It certainly helped that the Tullys rolled an 11 to pass their panic test. The Stark Outriders, who began the game deployed on the other side of King’s Landing, had now reached the battleground and attacked the Mountain’s Men in the rear. After using a weakened token and playing I am the King!, the rear attack did absolutely no damage. Syrio must not have been the only one using a wooden sword because none of these hits were getting through.
Meanwhile in the Throne Room, the Crossbowmen healed up and survived another blow from the Tully Cavaliers. Brave King Joffrey used all his remaining banners and charged into the Tully cav, dishing out an underwhelming 5 wounds. With the Tully Cavaliers now tied up with the Kingsguard, the heavily wounded Crossbowmen turned and fled.
Back at the Red Keep, the Knights of Casterly Rock finally arrived to the fight. They attacked a unit of Stark Outriders in the rear (a running theme of this battle), dealing 7 wounds. The damaged Outriders used Swift Retreat to propel themselves forward and headed towards the mass of units fighting inside the Red Keep.
After attacks from the Red Cloaks and Mountain’s Men, Sansa’s Sworn Shields were finally destroyed (with a big assist from the extra panic wound from the Assault Veteran’s Intimidating Presence ability). The Lannister player rolled a D3 to determine victory points and rolled a 1, so the score remained 1 to 0. Still, things looked quite hopeless for House Stark.
ROUND 3
To confirm the hopelessness of the Stark’s situation, they began Round 3 by attacking Lannister Guardsmen with an Outrider unit, but that Outrider unit was destroyed by Lannister Supremacy. Score 2 to 0 for the Lannisters.
In the Throne Room, the Tully Cavaliers tried to take out the King, but the Kingsguard’s Counterstrike ability ended up doing more wounds in return. The Kingsguard finished off the Cavaliers next turn, clearing out the Throne Room and ensuring that King Joffrey and Littlefinger would survive the fracas. 3 to 0 for House Lannister.
ROUNDS 4 - 6
The Lannister infantry quickly finished off the second unit of Outriders. 4 to 0 for the Lannisters. Syrio Forel was destroyed while defending Arya. 5 to 0. The Lannister troops tried to reach Arya and table the Starks (which would greatly heighten the odds of the Stark characters being captured or killed). Despite their best efforts, the Sworn Shields strong defense protected Arya until the end of the game.
Final score: 5 to 0 for the Lannisters
WRAP-UP
This scenario is designed to be an uphill battle for House Stark, but with the Lannister’s superior tactics cards and their auspicious defensive dice rolls, the Starks barely put a dent in them.
In the end: Ned was captured, Sansa was captured, Syrio was killed, and Arya escaped, so... it ended up exactly like in the book. At least it was a lot of fun to play. Since the events transpired exactly as they did in the books, we’ll continue to follow the story as it originally unfolded and move on to the Battle of the Green Fork and the Battle in the Whispering Wood. After that, we’ll decide Ned’s fate and see if Jon Snow is going to swear his Night's Watch oaths or head south to join his family in the war against the Lannisters.