“And well I like a noble lord When boldly the attack he leads,
For he, whene’er he wields his sword, Inspires his men by his brave deeds,
Their hearts with courage filling. When tide of battle’s at the flood,
Each soldier then, in fighting mood, To follow should be willing.
For no man is accounted good Till blows he’s given and withstood.”
-Bertran de Born
Welcome friend, to the page that asks, "Emperor, King... Count ... Duke.."?
Strongbow
Warfare in the Feudal West from 1050-1300AD
The first supplement to Ironbow- our miniatures rules for Crusades era battles.
The Captain Gets Medieval
Soon after our second edition of Ironbow was released, an esteemed colleague of ours, one Anthony Holton, approached us with plans to create a supplement covering Feudal warfare in the British Isles and France. We thought it was a great idea… and so began the collaboration that produced Strongbow!
Strongbow will allow you to create the armies that clashed anywhere in France or the British Isles- from the brow of Senlac Hill in 1066 A.D. to the bridge at Irfon in 1282. You can run down Norman invaders in forests of Wales, trample Kerns in the green fields of Ireland, turn naked Scots spearmen into pincushions in North Yorkshire, have mailed knights crash headlong into each other in the Norman Vexin, overthrow Albigensians in the Occitan valleys, and hear the snapping of Flemish pikes on the field of Bouvines.
The Strongbow supplement includes:
•New special rules that allow for Shieldwall tactics, Mixed Spear units, Clan Ambushes, Huscarls’ last stand, and more, and new options for visual casualties from shooting and melee.
•A new Quick Reference Summary sheet that includes these changes, along with a revised Order Sheet, and new Status Cards for the new status types in Strongbow.
•48 new unit cards that cover the clans of Ireland, Wales, and the Scots Highlands, Lowland Scots, Late Vikings, Islemen, Saxons, Normans, Southern and Northern French, the Low Countries and more.
•19 Army lists that cover the armies of the troop types mentioned above, including special lists for conflicts like the Anarchy and the Baron’s Revolts.
•213 commander counters, including 96 historical commanders (like Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardraada, William the Conqueror, Robert Curthose, Somerled, Diarmait Mac Murchadha, Philip II Augustus, Richard the Lionheart, William Marshall, Simon de Montfort, Edward Longshanks and of course- Richard de Clare- AKA “Strongbow”) and 117 generically-named commanders… underlings to fill in the lower ranks, and die for their liege lords!
•5 Historical scenarios- the battles of Wilton (1143), Coleshill (1157), Clashacrow (1169), Gisors (1198) and Largs (1263)
•Full notes that explain all the items above, and a comprehensive guide to creating your own commanders, units, armies and battles of the era.
And now, WARNING!
Strongbow has many full colour components that can be printed up; however, you don’t need most of these to play a game, so only print what you need!! We have tried to minimize wastage by arranging elements so the least amount of items may be printed to create a game in any given part of the Western European or theater of conflict. A few cards which are often used by two opposing armies have doubles in the set in carefully chosen locations, so hopefully you won’t have to reprint a whole sheet to get one card. And army lists don’t even have to be printed at all, if your computer is in the same place as your gaming area is. Be prudent! The Captain does not wish to see his esteemed colleagues impoverished by ruinous printing costs!
WELL, SOME INSPIRATIONAL POETRY
I LOVE the spring-tide of the year
When leaves and blossoms do abound,
And well it pleases me to hear
The birds that make the woods resound
With their exulting voices.
And very well it pleases me.
Tents and pavilions pitched to see,
And oh, my heart rejoices
To see armed knights in panoply
Of war on meadow and on lea.
I like to see men put to flight
By scouts throughout the countryside,
I like to see, armed for the fight,
A host of men together ride;
And my delight’s unbounded
When castles strong I see assailed,
And outworks smashed, whose strength has failed,
And near the walls, surrounded
By moats, and by strong stakes enrailed,
The host that has the ramparts sealed.
And well I like a noble lord
When boldly the attack he leads,
For he, whene’er he wields his sword,
Inspires his men by his brave deeds,
Their hearts with courage filling.
When tide of battle’s at the flood,
Each soldier then, in fighting mood,
To follow should be willing.
For no man is accounted good
Till blows he’s given and withstood.
Axes and swords and spears and darts,
Shields battered in with many a blow
We’ll see when first the battle starts,
And clash of arms as foe meets foe;
The steeds of dead and dying
Wildly will rush throughout the field,
And all who wish to be revealed
As brave will e’er be trying
How best their axes they may wield,
For they would rather die than yield.
Not so much joy in sleep have I,
Eating and drinking please me less
Than hearing on all sides the cry
“At them!” and horse riderless
Among the woodlands neighing.
And well I like to hear the call
Of “Help!” and see the wounded fall,
Loudly for mercy praying,
And see the dead, both great and small,
Pierced by sharp spear-heads one and all.
Barons, without delaying,
Pawn every city, castle, hall,
And never cease to fight and brawl.
Papiol, make no staying,
Lord Yea-and-Nay go rouse and call,
Tell him this peace on me doth pall.
-Bertran de Born
We made them all.. If we don't have your guy here, then he was just a legend...
Keep track of your army's morale, it will tell you when it's time to run for it
Spiffy new cover!
Armies from Ireland to Germany; if they ever crossed swords, we've got 'em
See? Even more Kings, Counts, Pretenders and Scoundrels!
REMEMBER
Strongbow is a SUPPLEMENT of IRONBOW
You MUST have Ironbow to play Strongbow
