Potrero War 2025

Armored Combat Scenarios

This information is also available as an easy-to-print document.

The following should generally be applied to all scenarios unless specifically noted otherwise in the scenario description: 

BACKGROUND

For nearly 300 years Vikings raided, conquered, settled, and traded throughout the British Isles. Their activities there began with initial coastal raids at the end of the 8th century including sacking the monastery at Lindisfarne, continued with the invasion and establishment of Danelaw in the 9th and 10th centuries, and came to an end along with the Viking Age in the 11th century after the invasions and conquests by Sweyn Forkbeard, his son Cnut, and Harald Hardrada. The legacy of these Viking warriors, conquerors, settlers, and traders is felt throughout the British Isles and is present in the very formation of England itself.

BATTLEFIELDS

  • The boundaries of each battlefield will be defined by rows of black garden cloth, hay bales, or natural features, and will be clearly announced prior to each scenario.
  • A Safety Zone extending 30-feet from the edges of all battlefields for all scenarios will exist. 
  • The Safety Zone will generally be defined by ropes and stakes. 
  • Only combatants in full armor and marshals will be allowed in the Safety Zone during battles.

SET-UP

  • Marshal’s Point will open at 9:00 AM on Friday through Sunday for armor & weapon inspection. 
  • Scenarios will start at 10:00 AM on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
  • Generally, there will be a five minute break between battles of each scenario, except the Open Field, and a ten minute break between scenarios.
  • Marshalls will brief any special rules (resurrections, scoring, boundaries) between each scenario.
  • ‘Hats On’ will be signaled by a distinct horn, whistle, or verbal signal 5 minutes before ‘Lay On’.
  • ‘Lay On’ will be signaled with a distinct air horn, whistle, or verbal signal. 
  • Battles will end with a distinct airhorn, whistle, or verbal signal. 

SCENARIO RULES

  • All legal weapons are allowed at all times for all scenarios.
  • Combat archery, siege weapons, and thrown weapons will be described as missile weapons and will be allowed in all battles of all scenarios. Gleaning bolts and arrows may be accomplished in between rounds or off the battlefield during battles. Combat archers and siege engineers are advised to bring enough munitions and/or melee weapons in order to maximize their participation.
  • Combatants who step over the edge of the battlefield with two feet will be considered dead. The black garden cloth is considered part of the battlefield. 
  • Marshals should ensure Safety Zones are adhered to during battles in order to reduce the likelihood of missiles endangering spectators.
  • Marshals should wear protective gear, such as eye protection, and exercise caution at all times, especially during battles.

SCHEDULE

Friday & Saturday (10 AM to 1:30 PM)

  • Healers & Valkyries (Four or more battles; 40 minutes)
  • Capture the Bridge (Two or more 10-minute resurrection battles; 40 minutes)
  • Raid the Village (Two 10-minute resurrection battles; 40 minutes)
  • Batter Down the Gate (Two battles; 30 minutes)
  • Longship to the Keep (Two battles; 30 minutes)
  • Mead Hall Brawl (One or more battles depending on attendance; 30 minutes)

Sunday (10 AM to 12:30 PM)

  • Healers & Valkyries (Three or more battles; 30 minutes)
  • Capture the Bridge (One or more 10-minute resurrection battles; 20 minutes)
  • Raid the Village (Two 10-minute resurrection battles; 40 minutes)
  • Batter Down the Gate (Two battles; 30 minutes)
  • Hay Bale Clean-Up (30 minutes)
HEALERS & VALKYRIES - Open Field Scenario

BACKGROUND

After landing a short distance up the coast, the Viking invaders march toward the nearest village. They are met on a large open field by an army gathered by the local thegn. Both armies have brought their battlefield surgeons. The physician-goddess Eir has blessed these healers, helping them select those who would live and those who would be carried to Vahalla by the Valkyries. 

BATTLEFIELD

Flat and open. The edges of the battlefield will be clearly announced prior to the scenario.

SET-UP

The armies will begin the battle on opposite sides of the battlefield. Each army will designate four Healers to be outfitted as described below. 

SCENARIO RULES

  • Each army will have four flags on 9-foot rattan poles, which will be carried by the Healers.
  • Healers must have a full gauntlet on the hand(s) carrying the flag.
  • Healers must carry the flag upright and visible to the entire battlefield when not healing.
  • Healers may revive dead combatants by placing their flag on a combatant and saying “You are healed.”
  • Combatants must fall, or indicate they are dead, where they were killed and remain there until healed.
  • Combatants should call for healing with “healer” and should not use “medic.”
  • Once healed, combatants must stand to engage and be engaged.
  • Healers may fight enemy combatants and can be killed.
  • Healers may carry a shield or single-handed weapon in addition to the flag.
  • Healers may use the flag pole to defend themselves, but cannot strike with it.
  • Healers cannot be revived once killed and their flag cannot be picked up by another combatant.
  • The battle will be fought to the last combatant standing. The army with remaining combatants will be judged the winner. 
  • The scenario will be fought four times with the armies switching starting sides after the second battle.
  • Missile (combat archery, siege, and thrown) weapons will be allowed in all battles.
CAPTURE THE BRIDGE - Bridge Scenario

BACKGROUND

The Viking invaders routed the thegn’s warriors and began to raid the countryside. The region’s ealdorman  rallied and regrouped the army then attacked the invaders as they crossed the bridge leading to the next town.

BATTLEFIELD

A flat bridge with edges defined by rows of single hay bales. Each end of the bridge will have two Towers defined by hay bale stacks of two or more. Each army will have a resurrection point off of their side of the bridge designated by a flag. The edges of the battlefield and the resurrection points will be clearly announced prior to the scenario.

SET-UP

The armies will begin the battle off of the bridge on opposite sides. 

SCENARIO RULES

  • Both armies will have unlimited resurrections.
  • Only combatants using missile (combat archery or thrown) weapons may enter the Towers.
  • Only missile weapons may be used by and against combatants in the Towers.
  • Combatants may not stand on or fight from hay bales, except for those in the Towers.
  • Combatants will be considered dead if any part of their body touches the ground on the opposite side of the hay bales from the bridge.
  • The battle will be fought for 10 minutes.
  • A point will be awarded and announced every 2 minutes to the army holding the center of the bridge.
  • The battle will be fought twice with the armies switching starting sides for the second battle.
  • The army with the most points after two battles will be judged the winner.
RAID THE VILLAGE - Broken Field Scenario

BACKGROUND

After meeting resistance, the Viking invaders boarded their longships and sailed toward a lightly defended coastal village, intending to raid quickly and carry away whatever treasures they find. A local shepard spotted the longships and warned the villagers who have gathered near the hall to defend their homes.

BATTLEFIELD

Uneven with trees, buildings, and other obstructions. The buildings will be defined by hay bale stacks of two or more. Four flags will be placed randomly in the buildings. One flag, designated as the defending army resurrection point, will be placed off of one edge of the battlefield. Three viking longship prows, designated as the attacking army resurrection points, will be placed on the other three battlefield edges. The edges of the battlefield and the resurrection points will be clearly announced prior to the scenario.

SET-UP

The army that won the previous two scenarios will begin as the attacking army. The defending army may start anywhere on the battlefield, arrayed at the army’s discretion. The attacking army must start at their resurrection points, divided between the three points at the army’s discretion. 

SCENARIO RULES

  • Both armies will have unlimited resurrections.
  • The defenders may resurrect freely at their resurrection point.
  • The attackers may resurrect at any of their resurrection points, but may only enter the battlefield from a resurrection point when a group of at least ten dead attackers has gathered at that resurrection point.
  • The walls of the buildings are infinitely high and may not be fought over or crossed in any way.
  • The attackers earn points by carrying the flags from the village to their resurrection points.
  • Only one point may be scored per flag.
  • An attacker must have full gauntlets to carry a flag.
  • An attacker may carry a shield or single-handed weapon in addition to the flag.
  • An attacker may use the flag pole to defend themselves, but cannot strike with it.
  • If an attacker is killed while carrying the flag then the flag must be dropped where they were killed. Another attacker may pick up the flag.
  • The defenders cannot not pick up or move the flags.
  • The battle will be fought twice for 10 minutes each.
  • The armies will switch attacking and defending roles after the first battle.
  • The army with the most points after two battles will be judged the winner.
BATTER DOWN THE GATE - Castle Scenario

BACKGROUND

The Viking invaders have decided the most glorious prize would be to capture a castle and settle the region. They brought their best engineers to break through the castle defenses and claim the keep.

BATTLEFIELD

The Castle will consist of an outer Curtain Wall with a Gate House, an inner Keep, and a Tower. The Curtain Wall will be defined by a row of hay bales stacked two high, with three hay bale high crenellations placed at regular intervals and a row of single hay bales on the inner side for a step. There will be a small Sally Port pathway at one end of the Curtain Wall with three siege targets placed next to it. The Keep will be defined by a row of hay bales stacked two or more high. The Curtain Wall will have a Gate House that is an opening blocked by a Gate that is a row of hay bales each standing upright on their smallest side. The Tower will be a wooden structure inside the Keep and will and will only be accessible from off the battlefield. There will be a resurrection point for the attacking army outside the Castle designated by a flag. The edges of the battlefield and the resurrection points will be clearly announced prior to the scenario.

SET-UP

The army that won the previous scenario will begin as the attacking army. The defending army may start anywhere inside the Castle, arrayed at the army’s discretion. The attacking army will start outside the Castle at or behind their resurrection point.

SCENARIO RULES

  • The attackers have unlimited resurrections.
  • The defenders have no resurrections. 
  • The defenders may leave the Castle through the Sally Port and engage the attackers.
  • The attackers may not enter the Castle through the Sally Port until all of the siege targets have been knocked down by siege engine munitions.
  • The attackers will have a Battering Ram that must be operated by at least two attackers wearing full gauntlets.
  • The attackers must knock down the Gate hay bales with only the Ram (no hands, feet, weapons, shields, etc.)  then pull them out of the way before entering the Castle.
  • The defenders cannot enter the Gate House until the Gate is knocked down & pulled away.
  • The defenders cannot stand immediately behind the Gate or reinforce it in any way.
  • The attackers may only pass through the Gate or Sally Port to enter the Castle.
  • Only combatants using missile weapons may stand on the Curtain Wall steps or enter the Tower.
  • Combatants may only stand on a single hay bale and not on stacks of two or more.
  • Only missile weapons may be used to or from the Curtain Wall and the Tower.
  • Once a combatant enters the Tower they may not leave until the scenario has ended.
  • The battle will be fought until the last defender, who is not in the Tower, is killed and the time will be noted.
  • The armies will switch attacking and defending roles and the battle will be fought a second time.
  • The army that ends the battle while attacking with the fastest time will be judged the winner.
LONGSHIP TO THE KEEP - Advancing Assault

BACKGROUND

Feeling blessed by the Æsir, the Viking jarl wishes to seize the momentum of their conquest and advances on a second castle in the region. They intend to launch the assault once they land their longship and not stop until they have claimed the keep. The Anglo-Saxon ealdorman has gathered his army to stop them.

BATTLEFIELD

This scenario will utilize the battlefields from the Bridge, Broken Field, and Castle scenarios. The attacking army will have a starting resurrection point defined by a flag off the Bridge on the side closest to the Open Field. There will be three redoubts for the attacking army to capture with one each on the Bridge, Broken Field, and Castle battlefields. The Castle battlefield will not have Gates in the Gate Houses. There will be a resurrection point for the defending army defined by a flag at the edge of the Castle battlefield furthest from the attacking army starting point. The edges of the battlefields and the redoubts will be clearly announced prior to the scenario.

SET-UP

The army that won the previous scenario will begin as the attacking army. The attacking army will start off the Bridge on the side closest to the Open Field. The defending army will start on the edge of the Broken Field closest to the Bridge. The attacking army will have three flags to be planted in the capture/resurrection points.

SCENARIO RULES

  • The Wall, Building, and Tower rules from the Bridge, Broken Field, and Castle scenarios are in effect for each respective battlefield.
  • An attacker must wear a full gauntlet on the hand(s) carrying a flag.
  • An attacker may carry a shield or single-handed weapon in addition to a flag.
  • An attacker may use a flag pole to defend themselves, but cannot strike with it.
  • If an attacker is killed while carrying the flag then the flag must be dropped where they were killed. Another attacker may then pick up the flag.
  • The defenders cannot not pick up or move the flags.
  • After the battle begins each army may move around the all three battlefields at their discretion.
  • The armies must move across the Bridge and not around it. 
  • The defenders will have unlimited resurrections until the redoubt in the Castle is taken by the attackers. An announced that the defenders no longer have resurrections will occur.
  • The defenders must use their single resurrection point for the entire battle until their resurrections have ended.
  • The defenders may not take a redoubt back from the attackers once it is captured.
  • The attackers will have unlimited resurrections for the entire battle.
  • The attackers may resurrect from any redoubt they have captured with a planted flag.
  • The battle will be fought until the last defender, not in the Tower, is killed & the time will be noted.
  • The armies will switch attacking and defending roles and the battle will be fought a second time.
  • The army that ends the battle while attacking with the fastest time will be judged the winner.
MEAD HALL BRAWL - Four-Team Melee

BACKGROUND

The Viking warriors have gathered in the mead hall to celebrate their victory with a feast to Odin. However, it is not long before the drinking and boasting prompts a fight to break out, interrupting the festivities.

BATTLEFIELD

A rectangular field surrounded by rows of hay bales stacked two high. Inside there will be four tables made by stacks of hay bales two high by two wide by three long with benches on either side of the table made of rows of single hay bales.

SET-UP

The combatants will form four teams and each team will sit at a table. The size of the teams will be determined by the number of combatants participating in the scenario. Multiple battles will be fought if there are more combatants than the field can accommodate in one battle.

SCENARIO RULES

  • All weapon types are allowed, except siege weapons and combat archery.
  • All combatants must begin sitting on the hay bale benches.
  • Combatants must not stand on or climb onto the hay bales.
  • When the battle begins, teams will rise and fight the other three teams
  • The battle will be fought to the last combatant.
  • The team with combatants remaining will be judged the winner.