Brytenwalda: Wargaming in the Age of Arthur

Welcome to Brytenwalda, a ruleset which will allow you to recreate battles and raids during the so called British “Age of Arthur” and Saxon invasion. In Brytenwalda you'll impersonate a Chieftain during the Dark Ages, commanding his men in the defence of their homelands or looting and burning those belonging to your enemies.

There were many battles during the Dark Ages (specially in the British islands), but the armies used to be surprisingly small. The laws of King Ine who reigned between the 7th and 8th century provide a good frame of reference. A group of seven ravaging men are regarded as thieves, from seven to thirty-five is called a band and any any group larger than this is regarded as an army. Usually, an invading army arrived in just two or three ships, and even kings could be seen commanding armies no larger than three football teams.

Although the Dark Ages were an extremely violent era with a great number of battles and raids, but only a few were detailed in the chronicles, such as decisive pitch battles or those in which an important person died. Brytenwalda is focused on these kinds of battles which the modern wargamer would call a “skirmish”. While you wont be able to re-enact the Battle of Hastings in Brytenwalda, you'll have plenty of fun leading a band of Scot-Irish pirates, a group of raiding Saxons or a unit of Romano-British pedites patrolling the frontier.

Grab your lucky dice, gather your men, and get ready for battle!

—description from publisher