It is February 1306; the Scots nobility has gathered for the Justice Sessions. Arch rivals Sir Robert the Bruce and Sir John Comyn, the Red, Lord of Badenoch meet in a chapel at Castle Wynd. There is no love lost between the pair, the country is too small for the both of them, let alone a small chapel. There is a brief exchange of insults. A nasty little brawl ensues and only one man steps into the night air to claim his place in history. Well, something like that! Nigel Tranter tells it much better in the first part of his superb Bruce Trilogy "Steps To The Empty Throne". This is not a long game; the objective being to taunt the opponent into drawing a dagger first, then drawing your s and claiming self defence - otherwise mitigating what some would say was murder on holy ground. This may seem more like a western gunfight. Is this unaccurate ? Tranter`s tale reads well and seems plausible given the Bruce/ Comyn track record. Play it solo or head to head. If the latter use real insults to get the blood boiling, though in this case make sure the sharpest thing to hand is the dice ! Remember, Bruce had sided with the English, his wife was daughter of a friend of Edward I, and Comyn simply hated his guts. And of course, they were both rivals for the throne of Scotland. Bruce was perhaps the more cautious man (wearing concealed armour) ; whilst Comyn would have had a fiery character, quickly roused. To him, Bruce may even have seemed effete in his ways....well that`s how Tranter reads anyway. Now, over to the action....... THE INSULTS Bruce and Comyn roll 1d6 each. The highest insults the other really badly and wins this round of dice. WHO CRACKS FIRST? Subtract the lower from the higher ; this is the 1d6 chance of the loser going for his dagger. Due to Bruce`s self control, he reduces this roll by 1 for the first roll he has to make. A COOL HEAD PREVAILS If the loser doesn`t crack, he still suffers -1 to his next round of insults. THAT DOES IT! If the loser goes for his dagger, roll d6 for each of the antagonists. The highest gets in the first blow, on a tie, they hit simultaneously. If you think Comyn overconfident, then give Bruce +1 here. THE FIRST BLOW The first man rolls 1d6 : 1,2 - MISS 3,4 - WOUND 5,6 - MORTAL WOUND As Bruce is wearing armour he may make a Saving Throw of 4,5,6 on the first strike his opponent makes and 5,6 thereafter. Both may recieve 2 wounds (perhaps give the bulldog, Comyn 3). Each wound means -1 to hit. AND THEY ALL PILE IN Several adherents to the cause of each man stand in the doorway to the chapel, they now dash in to join the fray : Sir Robert Comyn, Sir John`s Uncle (1 Wound, Sword) Master William Comyn, a Cleric (1 Wound, Unarmed) Nigel Bruce, Bruce`s Brother (1 Wound, Sword) Thomas Bruce, Bruce`s Brother (1 Wound, Sword) Sir Christopher Seton, Bruce`s Brother-in-law (2 Wounds, Sword, +1 Melee) Each rolls 1d6. They react in that order as the player requires. Usually they will dash in and attack their leader`s assailant. Master William will try to seperate the two leaders, but will in fact restrain Bruce, giving his opponents a free hack. Wiliam can be taken out by a firm backhand slap at no extra cost by Seton or on a roll of 4,5,6 by either of the Bruce brothers. Should this succeed, the brothers can then still pile into the scrap. If you have a favourite set of Melee rules, by all means use those, otherwise use the simple ideas outlined above. In my play test, Bruce cracked first, missed Comyn and was saved by his armour ; Sir Christopher Seton then landed a fist on Master William ,then killing Red Comyn. To make sure, the Bruce lads turned on Robert Comyn and cut him down. Nasty , short little game but heaps of fun. Now it`s your turn to decide the fate of Scotland. Here and now...... I was so taken by this little gem of a game that I couldn`t let it pass without exploring "out loud" so to speak, some of the alternative uses: Skullduggery in the Roman Senate; excellent opportunity to buy those Foundry blokes in Togas, Palace Guards etc. - "Beat me Indie!": Indiana Jones vs Nazi types in some forbidden temple - Feuding Vikings, Drunken Cowboys, Trecherous Pirates, ECW clubmen vs Looters etc, etc. Back to The Gauntlet No. 11 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Craig Martelle Publications This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com