Let's be beardy or Saga for one

Ok folks there was a post on facebook about if saga can be played solo , well the good news it can

I did a 4 point Anglo-Saxon Vs Norman control the ford scenario

The normans had 2 units of 4 hearthguard mounted knights , 1 unit of 8 warriors with sword/shield and 1 unit of 8 warriors with crossbow.

The Anglo-Saxon had 1 unit of 4 hearthguard with dane axe , 2 units of 8 warriors with spears and a unit of 12 levies with bow


Here is my Saga AI

Create 2 armies , you will control one of them and the AI the other , roll for each armies aggressiveness , intelligence and posture and assign victory conditions , you will then dice for which army you will control and which will be controlled by the AI.

Determine the aggressiveness and intelligence of the warlord for the game and the army posture
Aggressiveness :- Cautious 2-4 , Normal 5-9 , Rash 10-12 ( roll 2d6 )
Intelligence :- Dumb 2-4 , Average 5-9 , Clever 10-12 ( roll 2d6 )

Army Posture :- will it be attacking (4-6) or defending (1-3) roll 1d6 for each turn 

A -1 modifier to the dice if there are more missile focused units that are not Exhausted in the army

A +1 modifier to the dice if there are more melee focused units that are not Exhausted in the army

Applying dice to battle board

The AI dice placed columns 2 and 3 are not removed until the order can be completed but may be removed if the intelligence rating dice roll decides otherwise , completed orders must be used this turn or removed from the battle board at the beginning of the next turn.

When selecting dice for the AI’s orders if there are more than one choice for order selection

Spend dice on the unit types depending on the aggressiveness and intelligence of the warlord and if the army is attacking or defending this turn.

A Dumb warlord will select Levies before other types

An Average warlord will select Warriors before other types

A Clever warlord will select Hearthguard before other types

Activating the same unit again

A Dumb warlord will activate that unit again on a 3-6

An Average warlord will activate that unit again on a 4-6

A Clever warlord will activate that unit again on a 5-6

A Cautious warlord must spend at least 2 dice in the 1st Column of the battle board (any number of times)

A Normal warlord must spend at least 1 dice in the 1st Column of the battle board (any number of times)

A Rash warlord must spend at least 0 dice in the 1st Column of the battle board (any number of times)

A Cautious warlord must spend at least 0 dice in the 2nd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Normal warlord must spend at least 2 dice in the 2nd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Rash warlord must spend at least 1 dice in the 2nd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Cautious warlord must spend at least 0 dice in the 3rd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Normal warlord must spend at least 1 dice in the 3rd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Rash warlord must spend at least 2 dice in the 3rd Column of the battle board (once per turn)

A Cautious warlord must spend more dice on Levies and Warriors than Hearthguard

A Normal warlord must spend more dice on Warriors than Hearthguard and Levies

A Rash warlord must spend more dice on Hearthguard than Warriors and Levies

An Attacking warlord must spend more dice on “Orders” and “Activation”

A Defending warlord must spend more dice on “Reacting” and “Shooting”

A Cautious warlord must spend more dice on “Reacting” , Units will Rest (1-3) or Shoot (4-5) or Move (6)

A Normal warlord must spend more dice on “Activation”  , Units will Shoot (1-3) or Move (4-5) or Rest (6)

A Rash warlord must spend more dice on “Melee” , Units will Move (1-3) or Shoot (4-5) or Rest (6)

Fatigue points on the enemy side will always be spent as soon as they can.

If a side looses their warlord they can only put dice into the first column

End of turn intelligence rating dice roll (roll 1d6)

A Dumb warlord will remove all dice on the battle board at the beginning of the turn on a roll of 4-6

An Average warlord will remove all dice on the battle board at the beginning of the turn on a roll of 5-6

A Clever warlord will remove all dice on the battle board at the beginning of the turn on a roll of 6

So Now to the battle

As you can see this is a 15mm game on a 2 foot table , i used a measuring stick marked off in 1/2 inches

The Normans rolled a rash / average commander and the Anglo-Saxons a normal / clever commander

So from the outset the normans decided that the anglo-saxons were not going to deploy on the edge of the river and defend they would take the battle to the enemy

so the  Norman warlord with a unit of knights charged but from a little too far away , and gained a little too much fatigue for their own goon and when it came down to the fight the levy held and the anglo-saxon hearthguard flattened those knights and the warlord

This is the scene after turn 2 with the anglo-saxons preparing a defence of the stream

With the loss of their leader the rest of the Normans wanted vengeance so like any good Norman would do they charged another unit of knights only to be thrashed again  , this really was the straw that broke the camels back as the only units left after this were just the infantry which were then being peppered by the anglo-saxon levy bow.

On the whole a quick fun game which i used the AI for both sides rather than taking control of one of the sides