The great cattle raid

All was quiet in the early evening mist of late summer around the village of Frith. Birds were singing lazily, the cattle were lowing gently as they ambled back towards the safety of their barn, and even the metronomic thock-thock-thock of Jerome the woodcutter's axe had lapsed into an irregular beat before stopping. In fact there he was, running from the woods, straight to the Seigneur's house and barging in through the door. A pause..... then shouting, lots of shouting, and the tolling of the bell.

The monsters had returned, and they were hungry....

As a break from the normal order of things, mini-Rab #1 (CJ) and #2 (EM) took on the role of the "baddies" today, using the models from my Tzeentch warband to raid Frith for cattle. I had to hastily assemble a force of peasants, and hopefully a hunter or two or even a questing knight would be attracted by the  and come to their aid. Without their cattle the winter ahead would be a hungry one!

We used Song of Blades and Heroes, without any consideration of balanced forces (except roughly in my head). To take control of a cow, a model had to move adjacent to it and use a success to grab it, with any extra successes to move the mobile burgers along. An uncontrolled cow would, at the start of the villagers' turn, move directly away from the nearest model on an even number or remain stock still on an odd number.

Would right prevail, or would the spawny dice of my children leave the village a smoking, desolate and cow-free ruin? Place your bets now!

It begins - EM charges in headlong to snatch a cow before the villagers can react

Oh, look at that lovely dice bag ;)

Villagers stagger from their hovels to face down the nameless terrors

"After you, Jacques." "No, no, you first - I insist, Bernard!"

Soon the cows are all over the place and it's chaos!

Allowing first one cow...

... and then a second to be snaffled by the raiders. That's half the herd of this poverty stricken village!

"Oi, dat's my cow!"

Hurrah, the plucky peasants get a cow safely to the barn...

... just as the fourth and final bovine heads off to certain doom!

The final tally for the baddies....

... and the goodies. Oh dear.

Fortunately, Mrs Rab returned at just this moment with the cheering news that, in order to get some offer at the supermarket, she'd had to spend a certain amount, so she'd bought me "a couple of beers". I love my wife!

Did you bet on the children winning? You'd be a fool not too! CJ got a bit carried away with fighting and kept my peasants well and truly occupied. EM kept his eye on the prize, however, and if it hadn't been for a spectacularly lucky combat for me, he'd have got away with all four cows instead of just three. A born reiver, that one!

I hope your Sunday afternoon was as enjoyable,

Rab