"This Ain't Kafiristan" etc. Part Two"...

Further Explorations:

Well the rabbit-hole of research gets deeper and more obscure.... 

As the amazing Schuyler Jones (helpfully?) says in his  "A bibliography of Nuristan (Kafiristan) and the Kalash Kafirs of Chitral": 

"It will be noted that the spelling of the majority of terms and place names is highly erratic. I have left them so. Lut-dib, Lut-dih, and Lutdeh, for example, all refer to the same village, the correct name of which is Baragamatal. Further, the term Lutdeh (a Chitrali word) is occasionally used to describe the entire tribal area of Katrgul or Kantoz which contains some 30 villages. Despite our efforts at clarification, the average reader is in for a puzzling time...".

You said it matey.....

People who believe in certainties when it comes to history - especially those who have tried to persuade me of certainties concerning more distant history than THIS project covers (a well documented era less than 130 years ago) - will be unsurprised to know that I am unsurprised...

All things considered therefore I have cut to the chase, and some corners, (pending more research) and produced the following. 

The Game Bits...

After the research, some thoughts on the actual gaming processes. This is still very much a work in progress/to stimulate other folks' ideas.

There are two ways of doing this project which spring immediately to mind (well, actually, more than two, but if I don't limit myself this'll never get typed up).

1) "This Ain't Kafiristan Lite": simply wargaming the political and military aspects. 

Starting with Dravot & Carnehan having already got their ammunition boots in the door it would be relatively simple to set up a zonal map using the Robertson map and operate a military/political campaign of controlling zones (by military actions or persuasion/demonstrations of force).

For someone wanting to simply wargame the campaign action I'd suggest looking up and adapting my "This Ain't Siluria" game suggestion/rules the other year (see my post here 20th April 2018 or the PDFs on the "Solo Wargames with Miniatures" Facebook group).

Personally I'd make a Zonal Map (see example below) and either start with Our Heroes already established as having influence over one area/tribe (or group of villages if one wanted to split the tribal areas into Zones) and work up from there. 

Map 1) Draft Rough Zonal Map. Red/brown are the zone boundaries, as per my "this Ain't Silurua" game. Blue the watersheds. Initial thoughts were to treat as impassable except in special circumstances, but reading further it looks like there is an element of "fluidity" over the watersheds; at least for small parties.  It has been difficult identifying the actual mountain passes so far - I need to plumb Robertson, McNair et al with a fine tooth-comb. The British Political Officer's reports on the Afghan invasion of 1895 seemed promising, but see below.  
Note: the above is NOT intended as an accurate map of "the real thing", but an ad hoc game map; largely because 1) period maps differ, and appear, to a degree, to be partly guesswork. 2) period accounts, especially the potentially amazingly useful Political Officer reports, are confusing - due to name changes and assumptions of reader awareness of locations, names and other data 3) useful 20thC or more modern maps have, thus far, been noticeable by their absence, but I've found a couple of useful sites (I might have got further if I read Russian) through which I am still clawing.
Given military operations in the area this millennium, there are probably useful US/NATO maps and supporting reports online not yet found. Regard, therefore, the above as a Work In Progress.

So where are we..?

We have the tribal areas (marked on the maps posted). 

We have rough ideas of period populations of most tribes, others can be guestimated, and thus we can come up with numbers of recruitable fighting men (see map 2 below. Say divide the total populations by five to get a full "levy", by 1.5% to get troops for "The Army").

We have Robertson's report, period maps and the actual Kipling story online (Project Gutenberg), plus Google Maps to guide us re. feel of the period and  terrain.

The Masonic/political/religious/aspects (if desired) could be addressed by an Events Table (example below), perhaps with tweaking the ideas set out in my "Council... What Council" post of 30th May 2018 for Councils (right click open maps/images in new tab to read them better) .

Council of Elders.

Councils MUST be called to ratify:

1) Any invasion or war on neighbouring tribe which have not themselves invaded friendly territory.
2) Any request for Dravot to marry.
3) Any request to recruit more men to The Army (per occasion).
4) Any alliance with other tribe not part of a marriage agreement

The "Will there be a revolt" aspect could be handled with a simple "Local Confidence" chart (popularity can go up or down) similar to my "Robinometer" process (mentioned in my post here 14th August 2018); so that victories or demonstrations of prowess and "Masonic" actions are "pluses", defeats, wounds, getting drunk (necessary to keep in with the chiefs and the men?), having liaisons with women (for example, as part of a necessary diplomacy process re. other tribes?) could be "minuses" (or could swing either way through dice-driven processes) - with a trigger point leading to a revolt if popularity drops below a certain level (example below).

 
Popularity modifiers could be things like:

Events Affecting the Popularity Chart (cumulative):
 

On each occasion they occur the following will affect the Popularity Chart. 

Dravot or Carnehan  make successful Saving Throw in battle +12 first occasion (each protagonist) +6 thereafter. 

Dravot and/or Carnehan falls ill; -1 per move incapacitated per protagonist.

Dravot or Carnehan sustain injury -12

Each enemy killed/wounded by Dravot or Carnehan at long range +2

Each enemy chief killed or wounded by Dravot or Carnehan at long range +8

Each Challenging Friendly Chief killed by Dravot or Carnehan in duel +6

Each Challenging Friendly Chief arrested and executed -4 despite Council advice.

Battle Won +6

Each Council decision lost. -1.

Engage in drinking bout with Elders and Warrior Chiefs; throw 1x6D for effect. Throw another to see in which direction (1-3 negative, 4-6 positive).

Carry out Masonic ceremony; throw 1x6D for effect. Throw another to see in which direction (1-3 negative, 4-6 positive).

Marry - each occasion. Polygamy permitted. Throw 3x6D for effect. Throw 1x6D to see in which direction  (1-5 negative, 6 positive).  Add 2 to the direction dice if a Diplomatic Marriage.

Override Council decision re. Alliance or Marriage; minus 8.

Davot marries against council advice; minus 12 

Map 2) My "scribbling notes" map. Numbers are population estimates, fort numbers and passes so far gleaned; mainly from British by Political Officers' reports of the 1890s found online.
Note the error on the above two maps. I managed to put the Minjan and Pomoru as two separate tribes, rather than clocking the two names for the same tribes..

Movement etc. 

I'd probably work on armies armies moving two zones per day (again, see mt "This Aint Siluria" for thoughts.

Detailed terrain for battles in the Zones can be easily obtained on Google maps.

So that's idea one.. Needs some kicking into shape and playtesting will reveal flaws and needed tweaks, but I feel a game based on the above/similar principles would give a good "feel" for "replaying" the film and book.


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2) "This Ain't Kafiristan" or "make Your Own Kafiristan" aka "Into The Unknown": 

However, while the above is a possible project for me in the future (or to spark others' thoughts) I LIKE the "not knowing what's out there" aspect to the original story, feeling that THAT is more the essence of the tale that appeals to me and so I have also put my addled brain to concentrating on this approach (see below), rather than the "almost oven-ready" idea above....

Mapping the Kingdom to be...

I have sketched out the following three maps:

Basically Roberson's map, with watersheds and rivers highlighted.

Ditto. Watersheds and starting rivers only.

Ditto.Watersheds and Rivers

Using the either of the maps (based on Robertson) our protagonists might begin at Points A, B or C , with the choices of: 

1) From A push up the Alingar/Kao River Valley, the Alishang River Valley or over the hills to the territory of the Ashkun Tribe.

4) From B push up the Pech River or over the hills to the territory of the Wai Tribe.

5) From C push up the Bashgul River

4) Retrace steps back to the Kunar River or the Kabul River/Kabul-Jalalabad road trying further east/west.

The maps have no real details since the territory is relatively unknown. The idea is to  will fill in the map as we go along.

1) Movement and Exploration:

Now, the first thing to say is that we are talking a largish, but not huge playground - especially given that most of it is inhospitable hills and mountains. The whole of modern Nuristan is estimated at 9,225 km² - which I make as being about the size of Cyprus, or roughly half as big again as Delaware State or about 10% smaller than UK's Devon & Cornwall combined. Luckily the terrain is such that there will be little in the way of "Blitzing" though the countryside without sticking to the valleys.

Most travel will be along said valleys. It is assumed that these are mainly good-fair going and that every Main Valley has a stream/river running along it, roughly in the middle -though actual position of this stream/river will really only be relevant when one has to be crossed, or when transferring to the table for any fighting, but if not specifically chosen it is assumed that the party will be on the Northernmost or Westernmost side of any valley when terrain permits (to catch the early sun). 

Pencilling in the time scale and distance to be travelled each day I'm going to divide the "working day" in to three "Walking Sessions"; two morning sessions.
one afternoon session (note; British Political officers of the 1890s say that the locals can make 25 miles a day. Also, that cattle can push their way over most of the high ground... Looking at the terrain I'm not convinced this includes the watersheds, but....).

I've been experimenting with calculating the distance travelled with a "starting distance of two miles per session plus a dice throw for each session (e.g.  First Walking Session will be along a valley. Throw 1x6D. This happens to be a ""5". The distance it would be possible to travel that session would thus be 7 miles along the valley, if uninterrupted by settlements, bad going or streams. However, see below "Terrain".)

I am also looking at applying the following modifiers to the movement total.

Halve the movement allowance (rounded up) for Bad Going.

Reduce movement to a third (rounded down) for Very Bad Going.

Lose a thrown 1x6 movement allowance per stream/river crossing.

Lose a thrown 1x6D movement allowance per settlement encountered (one mustn't be rude).

Watersheds can only be crossed where there is a Pass or track or following a stream to the watershed apex. 

Vegetation only affects spotting, combat and ambushes.




3) Terrain:

We know from the above how far we could move. We would then use a Terrain Generator to see what kind of country we are traversing and what random events might occur. 

Thoughts so far are are two tables using ordinary playing cards;

A) The Valley/Defile/Stream Table: This is for when your party is going along a main valley.

For every mile (rounded down) being traversed throw three, different coloured/differentiated 1x6D dice (or throw in sequence one dice three times). Also get out a pack of standard playing cards. Make a deck consisting of hearts & diamonds, and two others; one of Clubs, one of Spades. 

One Dice will be designated the Valley Terrain Dice. This deck dictates what the terrain ahead and along the valley being traversed that session will be. On a throw of 4-6 on this dice pick a new card from the Heart/Diamonds deck. On a throw of "1 to 3" there is no change in terrain.

One dice will be for the Spades deck. On a throw of 3-6 Pick a new card from the Spades deck. This deck dictates what the terrain along the left hand side of the valley being traversed will be. On a throw of "1 or 2" there is no change.

One dice will be for the Clubs deck. On a throw of 3-6 Pick a new card from the Spades deck. This deck dictates what the terrain along the right hand side of the valley being traversed will be. On a throw of "1 or 2" there is no change.

Where there is a Watershed marked on the map (optional), if your party progresses so that it gets within one mile and is heading directly for said feature  draw a card from each of the Black Suits to discover how the valley comes to an end. 

2) Along Hill/Mountain Track Table: This is for when your party is diverting from a Main Valley (above) into higher ground on a track/up a reentrant (draw) at a valley's sides. Similar principle as above, except all the cards are in one pack and the chart shows the terrain encountered on your route NOT at the sides (i.e. you are sticking to the track/stream to ascend/descend the watershed, NOT moving ALONG the high ground, since the high ground can only be traversed on tracks/along a stream bed. 

For accident tests: throw 1x6D for each party member/animal, minus 1 per existing injury. On a 2-3 they have an injury. Otherwise OK. 


Other thoughts: 

4) Feeding and Trade:

Decide on how many days food your folks have with them and how many units of "trade goods" they carry. Or dice for it... (Note; in the story the guys have 20 rifles with them and have only enough food to get them into the first valley)

Test at each settlement to see if locals will sell you food with a 1x6D. Result as follow. Minus one to the throw per each village of the same tribe already hostile.
Add 1 to the throw if per free gift of one unit trade goods offered in advance.  
Plus 3 per rifle passed as free gift. 

1: No they won't trade - and the settlement turns hostile

2-3; No. No sale.

4-5 :Yes, will trade - 1x6D's worth per one unit of trade goods.

6: Local hospitality. No sale, but get fed today and get one day's food to take away for nothing).  

5) Councils:

In the event a "Council" of local bigwigs need to make a decision (to join you,  or reject you or to go along with any plans you might have) see above.

6) Direction (optional):

To add a complication, if desired - especially if the decision is to ignore the river and watershed map and create a whole new country within the confines of the watersheds (or not at all) - the direction of the valley itself could be determined with a Direction Spider.

Use of this is simple enough. Throw a 1x6D as each Movement Token is drawn. On a throw of 4-6 the valley changes direction. Use the Direction Spider to find where it is heading.

Throw eight dice or total eight 1x6D throws. The result is the new direction of travel (note: direction may not actually change despite the test being required).

On approaching a Watershed the valley will turn so at to run parallel to said watershed and in the direction of travel. 

Wargaming: 

Once the terrain and encounters have been worked through, unless they have been massacred or died of injuries, the protagonists should have a base.

It can then be reasonably assumed that now they are ensconced they now have access to local knowledge - so switch the Game can switch to the Zone wargame idea above. 

For wargaming the story it would depend on how pedantic one was being regarding figures. The main characters are easy enough, but images of Kafiri fighters suggest they look more like "ancients" than typical N.W. Frontier types. My temptation (in 1/72 - my fave scale) would be to mess about with a mix of conversions of ancient Persians and 16th century Russians/Ottomans (for the matchlocks).

Terrain is reasonably simple - most combat will be in the valleys. Rivers/stream will be important. 

Buildings: trickier - unless one already has the type of "piled-up" hill-village properties distinctive to the area..




In the valley bottoms one can likely cheat a bit with suitable looking flat-roofed buildings.

I have been finding reference to small forts - in considerable numbers - in Political officers reports, but have not so far found a specific period image.  I suspect these are actually very small - more "fortified" compounds with a tower - or maybe just a tower (?). 

Summary:

Well, these are my first thoughts for this project. Lots of tweaking and playtesting might be needed, but the principles work. This has certainly been a really interesting exercise - and I have been really taken with the amount of data out there on the Web. Even if there is a LOT of sifting and cross-referencing to be done... 

It has also given me a good excuse to get back to Kipling...

Anyway, I hope this sparks some thoughts and some ideas for others. As always thoughts and comments welcome.