The Hunt for Red Octavia....

Another 15mm Three Musketeers Adventure....

Scarlet woman and all round naughty-but-nice egg-about-town Octavia d' Eté, mistress of the influential Comte Tes-poules (and currently sought by His eminence the Cardinal for certain compromising correspondence concerning the relationship between the good Comte and herself, letters which she is believed to have about her - ahem - person) has secreted herself in the small town of Petiteville while awaiting a rendezvous with the Comte.

The Comte has arrived in this town this very morn, and he and his suite are currently using the cover of "enjoying" the (limited) pleasures of the town's weekly market.

The Musketeers intend to find Octavia, and ensure that she is safely escorted to the presence of the Comte himself, whereupon she may personally hand him the documents of concern - thus removing the chance of the Cardinal having access to items likely to increase his leverage re. the Comte...

Meanwhile, His Eminence the Cardinal, along with a number of his personal guard, have also arrived to attend the town festivities. Pure coincidence, of course.....

The Game set Up:

The Musketeers and various search parties of the Cardinal's Guard will be moving through the town, speaking to the civilians (of sundry types) around, in the hope of finding Octavia's hiding place.

There are also five of the Kings Musketeers in town (NPCs). Two are attached to the Comte's party, but three others are also searching for Octavia...

I will play the Four Musketeers and servant Planchet . The various other patrols & personalities will move randomly; making make random (dice) choices at waypoints/junctions UNLESS:

a) They contain elements who have previously obtained “info”. Such search parties will make their way towards a relevant/associated “info point” by shortest route. If more than one info point is involved/there is a conflict over which info point should take priority then again dice for this.

b) There is a gunshot: a gunshot will attract all non-player search parties, wherever they are on the table, to that location for three moves. If there is nothing else to draw them to that spot (more shooting, shouting or someone in LoS) within three moves of the original shot, they will resume patrolling.

c) There are sounds of shouting/sword play. These will attract all search parties within LoS or within 9” (as the crow flies) to that location. If the fighting/shouting stops, and there is nothing else to draw them to that spot (more shouting, shooting or someone in LoS) within three moves of the last sound of shouting/combat, they will resume patrolling.

d) There is a target or sus activity within LoS.

Most townsfolk are at the Fair (off table) and those civilians still about are divided into "ordinary/random folk", beggars, barmaids, filles de Joie and foodpads. Each type will react to questioning in different ways, and the reliability of their intel. will vary....

Neither side are actively seeking a fight UNTIL Octavia is discovered. However, tempers CAN erupt if, for example, there is an encounter in a narrow passage ("We do NOT give way, M'sieur") or if parties from either side are actively checking intel. too close to each other.

The Musketeers need to take Octavia to the Comte. The Cardinal's men need to take her to the Cardinal.

The scene is set.. On with the play.....

The Musketeers and Planchet spilt up - and start quizzing civilians.... Including footpads....



Footpads lurk here and there.... They will run from the Cardinal's men and non-NPC Musketeers, but speak to the Musketeer characters. If cornered by the Cardinal's Guards they dice for attitude (fight or yield). If they yield, and cooperate, they are let go.

 
 
Friendly barmaids are a good source of intelligence.... The green token below shows Planchet has some intel from the lass.... (Green = barmaid intel, Brown = civilian, Black = footpad. Blue = ladies of the night, Yellow = beggars) I haven't yet tested to see where this particular bit of info. might lead...



Also potentially helpful are ladies of negotiable affection...

 

Even respectable ladies can respond, if asked nicely.... But they're not as responsive to servants as they are to gallant musketeers........



Rochefort and the Cardinal's officers will do their share of quizzing too....

The game proceeds with various leads being uncovered - by both sides, but the Musketeers seem to be getting most intel. 

Meanwhile - a patrol of Cardinal's Guards and NPC Kings Musketeers come face to face at the north end of town. The Cardinal's men are up for a fight - but the King's men are discrete (tested for).. Intent on keeping the king's Peace they grudgingly give way..... This time.........



My lads question everybody..... Any news Gaffer..? The Intel. is suggesting the areas around the two town squares are looking the likeliest target areas..... 



The data is building up. The SW quadrant appears to be collecting possible leads...... My lads should be concentrating there....



But they are not alone.. The itel. is clustering there for both sides.... Rochefort and his men come face to face with my lads. There is some rapid dicing for attitude. Both sides seriously suspect the other of being up to something - but neither pass enough "aggression" tests to start a rumpus....



Lucky for me... I'm seriously outnumbered in this square at the moment...

They do, however, test their intel. This was one of the early moves, where I neglected to identify on the table which token was associated with which side (I did this later to save confusion)

The intel for the Cardinal's lads is no good, but the Musketeers have a possible lead...... They will dice for a detailed location within the quadrant..



The Cardinal's boys move off to do some more quizzing (they do not know about my lad's good intel). My lads move off too, as a bluff - but Octavia seems most likely to be hiding in the brothel.........

No comment lads....

The Cardinal's men carry on searching. The Cardinal himself gets involved - using The Force - of his personality - but gets nowhere.....

Meanwhile, the Comte takes a promenade into town.....



Watched by a footpad...... But he has bodyguards.... Footpads may prey on rich, vulnerable targets....



Up at the North end of the town things are kicking off.... Some cornered footpads make a fight of it (attitude dice) with the Cardinal's men.. Casualties ensue - and the shooting draws the patrols..... This is good for me, as my action is in the south....



After a tussle, two footpads and one Guard are down. But "Yay!" for the Cardinal. Some intel. for THIS quadrant from the captured footpad.......
.


My lads hustle Octavia from her hiding place, while the Comte considers the inn......



Rushing Octavia, unseen, across town is tricky. Luckily the Cardinal's lads - for the moment - are being drawn by the shooting towards the north.... We watch them carefully..

We bide our time, but not for too long, they may come back... "Come on missy.....".



But the Comte decides against a drink, and moves deeper into town.. This is good news for me, as it brings him closer... The dice are being kind......



But suddenly -  not so good..  Rochfort changing his mind (there has been no more shooting from the other end of town) and leading his boys back into the square with the inn is a pain.... They ignore my lads, as they are on a mission to get to the square, but that was close thing....

I rush Planchet up to block the northern alley with his mule. Athos and Aramis run and block the alleyway to the square where Rochefort has led his boys, while Octavia, Porthos and D'artagnan scuttle towards the Comte's party.......



We run Octavia from cover, taking her face to face with the Comte... Contact is made. The documents are discretely passed over.... Job done - and no fighting....!!!!!    (Well, not with my lads...)

I love the stench of barely-washed French aristos in the morning.. It smells of.......Victory..!!!!!!



And after...? Well, the "Little People" have done their scurrying about and dying.... At the top it's game over and all friends together, as the Cardinal smiles away his frustration and the Comte breaths a secret sigh of relief......

Politics, politics. Toujours les politiques...........

Tuning the Tables...

An Interim Post....

In between projects post Battle o' Hastings (We lost. Again...). Apart from nursing a few bruises later (see B. o' Hastings) and with nothing new to write up (just more painting of 15mm Blue Moon bods - oh dear...) I thought I'd tidy up a couple of my posts from the Solo FB group (from last year) re. my use of tables for Tactical Decisions.

In the pic below are some very simple example tables for the "AI" army I occasionally adopt for large battles, using a standard playing card deck, plus an example of a typical "Blinds Reveal" table (I use "Blinds" a lot - I love imponderables).

Usually Activation of "MY" forces will be by SP type tokens or cards. Enemy (AI) grand strategy or random activities will be dictated - on a draw of THEIR Army (or, sometimes, Division) token/s, then a draw from a standard playing card pack - by the appropriate Table. I will usually draw up such tables based on the scenario and backstory - or as dictated by the campaign where appropriate..


 

Although, in theory, my own sub-commanders will obey orders (yeah. Right..) there is scope of initiative for those reacting to circumstances or out of my Control Radius. An example of one of these tables is given below.

The above assumes I have an Enemy/Blinds on the table. The table below shows the kind of thing I use for when the enemy aren't on the table to start with. This table assumes use of firearms, but could be adapted for any missile-using AI enemy (e.g. bow-armed outlaws etc.).



For standard large battles my usual M.O. is that:

1) have a set of "General Orders" for the "AI army " based on the scenario/situation (e.g "Defensive Stance", "Aggressive Stance" or "Unknown Stance"). I then draw up a "General Table" (like Table 1 above) to add uncertainty on my part (e.g. see my "replaying" of the Battle of Watling Street post).

 
2) However, once battle has joined there will be situations where IMP provides an opportunity to the AI - e.g. a flanking opportunity. In such cases I do a quick, scribbled ad hoc table to see if the local commander sees and has the initiative to take advantage Again, in my Battle of Watling Street post, this happened - my left flank was doing reasonably well and pushing back the Roman right.  However, in following up that local success the flank of one of my units was exposed to a possible opportunistic attack from enemy cavalry. I scribbled a "proportionate table" to allow for the Roman cavalry unit c.o. to check if he would see - and be prepared to use his initiative and exploit - this opportunity. As it happened he did, charged my hitherto successful unit, broke it - and, as the reaction spread - broke my whole army... Brilliant - even if it did mess up the experiment...)


Below is a quick example of my tables "In Action".  Yes - heresy - these are 5mm figs, and I'm using SP cards rather than tokens for visibility purposes.

EXAMPLE:
OK: I have drawn up tables for this game based on the "Scenario Story" (a border clash between two rival Greek colonies out in the far and murky Celtic West) and the "Stance" of both parties. In this case both parties are aggressive.

The "Greek" tables below are for the AI (my enemy).

I have some friendly (presumably because I am paying them) Celts from the hinterland as allies. These will generally do as I ask, but since they are not actually "my guys" they have a table too.




The board and armies are set up. Turn sequence is as follows:

1) The "Table Phase"; I have a normal pack of playing cards (the "Table Deck") to activate the tables. Each move I throw a dice. On a throw of "6" on a 6d I draw one card from this pack and apply the result, moving the units/leaders affected as if this were a "normal game move" and they had been activated in Phase 2. I then discard this card.

Note that in this scenario, after two moves I add one point to the dice throw, increasing the chance of table activation. After the fourth move I add an additional point to this throw. Thereafter it will only take a throw of 4 to activate the Table Deck.

Once I have checked for/activated the table I then move on to Phase 2: the Leader Activation Phase.

2) Leader Activation Phase: Leader activation will be via the Sharp Practice cards (pictured) me having already written out which unit commander has which card leader number. There are some additional "Command" card in use to speed things along.

Once activated Leaders/units will move as "normal game rules" (in this case my House Rules) as per army stance.

The game then proceeds.

Move one - and no tables get activated this turn. Normal Activation as per the SP cards commence. Enemy are aggressive so as their units activate they will advance. The AI advances his skirmishers and follows up with his phalanx and right flank cavalry.

I don't get a look-in.

At end move skirmishers exchange fire...

Move Two and the Table Pack dice throw activates the AI Pack.

A Jack o' Diamonds "Advance Right Wing to Flank Enemy and/or Deploy Reserve is drawn. The AI advances his right wing (cavalry) and I do a quick "does he add his reserve?" throw (1-3 No. 4-6 Yes). His right cav. & cav. reserve move round to threaten my flank...

Meanwhile the enemy's phalanx moves through his skirmish line and forms up.

MY Activation Cards allow me to adjust my left backwards to meet this threat AND to set my Allies moving.

Again the Table Pack activates (dice)and the enemy moves his phalanx (this is all one formation - formed of 4 units forward). My allies get charged, and recoil....

At end move all I can do is shoot my skirmishers...

 

Next go again the Table Pack gets activated - and the Enemy left gets a flanking order. However, there are walls and vineyards in the way, do to do this the enemy left cav. must take a detour....

Meanwhile their right cavalry (threatening my left flank) get no cards at all.

Thanks to Activation my CiC now gets the chance to inspire and swing my allies round and into the enemy phalanx left flank/rear, scattering his skirmishers in the process His leftmost hoplites break - and with one of my phalanx units charging his centre (lucky Activation card and plucky unit commander!!!) there is a chain reaction, with his whole phalanx panicking, prompting a route....  PHEW!!! NOT the result I expected at all, but none the less welcome for that......



Things could have gone very differently. My Allies could have misbehaved, the Activation Cards could have been totally different,  but as it was it was a short, sharp, fun game..

Well, I hope that was of some use as a basic demo. of the Table Activation & use. These aspects can be applied to any move/shoot/fight rules (I was using my basic SP/Featherstone House Rules)....

Any queries please ask as usual...

Next time:  another Musketeer exercise in Data Gathering (watch this space) then on with more 1/72 painting (1stC Jewish insurgents) ....

A "No Fighting" month... Well, almost......

October has come.....

More Three Musketeer skirmishing, solo board game playing (mainly Camp Grizzly) and figure painting (more "Musketeer" bods - Cardinal's Guards, sundry civilian folk & mounted bods) and other displacement activity has distracted me  from my "Main Projects"  - and the weeks scamper by apace.



I have also been having a look at the "Two Hour Wargames" mechanisms (which keep being recommended to me by other solo players).  They appear (from reading rather than playing) to do what my "House Rules" do, but with "blinds" and different mechanisms, plus period/scenario/campaign chrome I am happy to work out for myself. Seem good for someone not already an "Old Solo Hand" (now THAT sounds worse than I intended).

I will have a play before venturing on a "review" (something I usually avoid - esp. when a rule set is particularly popular.. Rules are such a personal thang).

Meanwhile have been building up and training folk (plus getting kit together - a sword and a seax are "de-rusting" even as I type and a couple of scabbards made) for "The Battle of Hastings" reenactment at (appropriately) Battle Abbey (let's not get drawn into "It didn't Happen there" controversy...) this weekend.....

"Secret van", the red WagonR "Mary Poppins" is packed for Hastings - almost (HOW do you lose a kite shield in a room 8ft x 8ft...?)

Beer and provisions to buy, final check, pick up warrior & load his stuff, then off for a weekend to battle William the Bastard....!!! Godwinson!!!!!!

(Unless they make us change sides again.... In which case "Normandie..!!!" )

 

Assuming my fingers survive, more painting and playing will commence the week afterwards  - in theory the rest of the musketeer bods, some more medievals and my seriously delayed Romano-Judean project (which looks like being a Winter one now....).

Onwards and upwards... 

Bind The Lady..... An "Out of Scale" Adventure......

A Dip into 15mm.... 

Having been inspired by a re-viewing of the (to my mind superb) Richard Lester Musketeer movies and our re-enactment captain luring me into a couple of sessions of Osprey's "En Garde" I had a mind to get some musketeer figs for skirmishing...

Unfortunately 1/72 variants seem as thin on the ground to the point of being rare as hen's teeth (the Ultimate Ratio bods were considered, but seem to be hard to get hold of & would have needed conversions to get more guards etc.) and while there are some lovely 28mm & 40mm figs out there they (or rather their terrain features) are always a bit "too big" for me - esp. as I wanted some "Town Action" - for my table. This being the case I took a punt on some Blue Moon ("big" 15mm) figures on the basis that they weren't going to cost the earth and SHOULD work with my existing ikkle card houses.

Well, I have to say, I was impressed. The castings were well detailed, with minimal flash, full of character and (and this IS still Me typing this) fun to paint (!!!!). I've even ordered some more (but don't worry folks 1/72 is still my first love)..

Anyhoo; to the skirmish; as always, a backstory....

Les Trois Mousquetaires, having landed at a petite porte de peche, have the naughty Milady in custody. Their job, just as dawn is breaking, is to get from the riverside godown where they have hidden overnight to any of the three stables in the port. Once at a stable they can commandeer steeds and away, Hey, Ho for Gay Paree...... To help them they have d'Artagnan's servant, Planchet and his "mistress of the week", Christina.

Alas there are two flies in their consommé...

First: The Comte de Rochfort and a squad of the Cardinal's Guard have hit the port and are looking for our gallant desperadoes. Also with him are Chevrotin and Livarot; two of his undercover underlings.

Second: In order to stop the wily Milady from jumping ship on the way here she has been manacled. Good move - but before they can get her on a horse they're going to have to get to a blacksmith's and prise off the irons. This will take at least one move. Possibly longer.

Also, while she is manacled she doesn't move as fast (her dice throw movement factor is halved).

Also also: once the manacles are off she MUST remain within "poking with a rapier distance" of at least two musketeers in order to be considered "safe".

If in the charge of less than two flashing blades there is a risk she will use her womanly wiles (or at least her size 8, sharp-toed nadger-crunchers) in an attempt to get free; thus defeating the whole object of the exercise......



Rules:
My House Single Combat Variant - an amalgam of my standard hand to hand rules, tweaked with some ideas from En Garde.

Turn sequence; Move/shoot/special actions. Hand to hand. End move.

Movement: Standard movement 6cm plus 1x6D. Running 10cm + 1x6D.

Decisions: I play the Musketeers' side - who think as one (let's say responding to Athos shouting) except in very special circumstances, in which case a decision dice throw is made.

The "AI" plays the Cardinal's men, who will stay put until activated. They activate (throw per group per move till active) on a throw of 5 or 6 on a 6D. Once active they will patrol - direction decided by random dice if no indication of my bods' presence.

Rochefort is in command. He will give orders to attack if the Goodies are spotted by him.

He has two sergeants with his squad. If not actually within 6" of him - or if he is engaged - they may think for themselves (dice decision).

Otherwise basic Zombicide rules apply: Baddies go towards enemy in LoS or towards shouting/sounds of fighting (which carry 20cm) or gunshots (Livarot prefers pistols to swords), which carry across the whole town.

Fighting: Initiative/Priority as En Garde rules and attack/defend/ploy tokens are deployed by the fighters as per their standard rules. My "hits and damage table" is different.

With regards the Attack/Defend tokens I decide how mine will be allocated. The AI draws their tokens randomly, ALWAYS placing them after I have made my decision - even if my figure has initiative. Decisions AI re. Ploys are decided by a table.



Quick Example:

Billy Nomates (My guy. 3 CPs. Initiative bonus - 0, Fight Bonus 1), is in single combat with Popular Dick (AI character: 4CPs, Initiative - 1, Fight Bonus 1, Weapons Master).

They throw for initiative - unsurprisingly (given his bonus) Dick wins. However; he is an AI Character, so I have to lay my tokens down first anyway. I draw two Attack and one Defend token. I place my first token. I have chosen to attack.

I then randomly draw a token from Dick's token tub (of three Attack, two Defend and one Ploy tokens). Dick happens to draw a Ploy Token. I then draw another token from Dicks tub, because although I know he will try a ploy, I don't know if that will be Aggressive of Defensive. He draws an Aggressive one and decides to launch a Mighty Blow (allows an extra dice throw which allows him to swap that for an earlier throw). We are both attacking* so we BOTH throw two dice. I place two Attack tokens under his Ploy token, to remind me he will be using these to carry out his Ploy.

(*This is one of the departures from "En Garde", as I understand it. My "convention" is that if both figures intend to attack there is a flurry of aggressive play from BOTH sides, so that the "defender" is making reposts, rather than just fending off blows.)

I throw the dice. Dick gets a modified 9 (his Mighty Blow dice was a 2 - no use to him). I then add 2 to his dice as he has Initiative, bringing his total to 11. I get a modified 7; he wins by 4 . I consult the Hit Table. Billy is Shaken. He steps back 1cm and next round this move - if there is one - he loses his +1 Fight bonus.

Dick decides to follow-up (Dice decision 1-3 No, 4-6 Yes). He uses one of his two remaining tokens to move to close up. I decide to attack again (I still have one defensive token in hand) , as does he. This time, despite losing my fight bonus, I win - throwing a modified 11 to Dick's total of 7. it is Dick's turn to step back. I only have one CP left, so cannot both follow-up and fight. This ends this bout.

So, the scene is set. En avant.....!!

Initial moves: The musketeers send the neutral-looking Planchet and Christina to distract the guards by the riverside. Convincing the sergeant there to follow them (dice decision) they take the guards on a wild goose chase to the north, allowing the musketeers to scurry from cover.

All goes well for a couple of moves. Rochfort heads north east to scout around the stable at that corner of the town. The sergeant of the river patrol, convinced by Christina (tests every three moves) that she saw something suspicious behind the inn, seems to be leading his guys nicely away.



(Technical note: every three moves - assuming no external factors intervene - the goodies must test to see if they have kept the sergeant's attention and trust. Simple dice test - a dice per "persuader" a dice for the sergeant. If the sergeant's throw exceeds that of the two "neutrals" he is getting restless and will resume his duties - or if exceeding either dice by three or more will smell a rat and attempt an arrest. Christina adds 2 to her dice throw - 'cos she's pretty and cute, with big eyes...).

Unfortunately for me Chevrotin and Livarot get activated. Bad luck brings them towards where my lads are heading for the southernmost blacksmith's shop. They spot us, but luckily through a narrow alleyway. Aramis and d'Artagnan block this, while Athos and Porthos drag Milady to the blacksmiths.

There is a sharp fight at the alley entrance. Chevrotin, leading from the front, clashes with Aramis, but is forced back, wounded, onto his supports. At a disadvantage, skewered by Aramis, Chevrotin falls. Next move the good guys get Priority. d'Artagnan rushes into the alley, stabbing Livarot, but the villain gets a shot off before falling, wounding d'Artagnan in return. Luckily the rest of the Cardinal's men at the other end of the alley hesitate, but the shot has rung across the town. All of the Cardinal's minions head this way....


 

Up at the north end of the town the Guards with Planchet and Christina hear the shot and turn towards it.

With the initiative in their favour again my team take advantage. In the south we manage to get the shackles off Milady.

In the north Planchet and Christina test, and strike out (bottle & clog) at the backs of two of the guards - who have turned towards the gunshot; wounding one, before running off to the stable at the north east, from whence they make their escape. The attacked guards have to choose between chasing this pair or following their sergeant. They dice to follow sarge. The net closes on the main party, as all of Rochfort's lads now head, at a run, towards the shot.



Things start getting messy. Taking advantage of the bottleneck Aramis and d'Artagnan should be in a good position to delay a goodly number of the enemy - but the sergeant of the riverside gang has other ideas, and runs his guys south to ouflank the bold pair. Athos and Porthos run Milady off towards the stables - but are spotted by Rochfort.

Now the fighting really starts: Aramis and d'Artagnan conduct a fighting retreat as the enemy swarm out of the alleway and round the building on the south side. One of the Cardinal's Guards falls, mortally wounded, but not before he has driven d'Artagnan back. Aramis wounds another guard, and forces him back, but the numbers will start telling soon. Meanwhile, Rochfort engages Athos at another bottleneck.


 

The wounded d'Artagnan runs back to help Porthos drag Milady to the horses, while Aramis and Athos fight a delaying action, but Rochfort runs Athos through, and he collapses. Decision time... Keep to the mission - and Abandon Athos - or place the whole plan in peril....? With Aramis in command there is no decision - La France has to come first... He runs to the next bottle point, preventing a swarm of enemies from heading stablewards...

Meanwhile: Planchet and Christina get to the north east stable - and fly to safety.....


 

In the alleyway alongside the stable it is a single (again) musketeer in a face-off with Rochfort. The Comte is on form today - Aramis is disarmed, and has to run back towards the alleyway alongside the stable. At his warning, Porthos and Milady, already mounted, ride off . Pausing only to throw his sword to Aramis, d'Artagnan swings into the saddle and follows - their prisoner is the priority now...

As Porthos and d'Artagnan look back they see a furious Rochfort being driven back down he narrow alleyway by a swirling blade - the sword of d'Artagnan in the fist of Aramis, before the sea mist closes around them, and they head for Paris..... Victory - of sorts......



Meanwhile, back that the alleway, and with the Cardinal's Guards mustering behind him, Rochefort grimly gestures with his rapier: "Will you yield your sword, musketeer?"

As the sound of the hoof-beats is swallowed by the mist, Aramis smiles "Not MY sword, Monsieur, so why not...? Meanwhile, could I trouble you for the cost of a breakfast - and a bandage for my unlucky friend.....?"

The What-t'-'el of Battling Street.....

How NOT to control a Crowd..... Or Boudi and GSP get stuck-in......

In my last post I mentioned an experiment from last year (also posted on the FB Ancient & Med. and Solo Groups) reworking the Battle of Watling Street.
I don't propose setting out a Bat Rep. (I did that over a series of days in those groups), but here are some more details on the mechanics I used; with some additional notes and reflections.....Basically this was a solo Command & Control challenge with me standing in for Boudica. (Why am I humming, to Boney M's Rapsutin,"Boo Boo Boudica, Norfolk’s somewhat cross mama...."? ). There were major issues for me to cope with:

First the nature of the forces at my disposal; their abilities and tolerance of discipline, command & control.

Bousi's force is a tribal army, made up of disparate tribes, themselves made up of disparate septs/clans/kinship groups and all (potentially) with disparate motives/motivation and objectives (from vengeance, looting or just out for the craic). Despite my hopes and plans there will be a tendency for this amateur hotchpotch of an army to just fling itself Celtic-style, possibly bit by bit, at the organised, disciplined enemy (a la Culloden etc.).



My job, if we were to have a cat in hell’s chance of getting anywhere, was to utilise what forces I had in a coordinated manner, using our strengths to best advantage. Ideally I wanted to get my skirmishers & chariots to harry and draw the enemy from their position of strength, then swarm with my numbers to swamp them.

As well as the control aspect, also working against me was the fact that the tribes that made up my force (Iceni, Trinovantes, Corieltauvi and a few Catuvellauni renegades) have, by the time of the Revolt, been officially disarmed/at peace under the (enforced) Pax Romana for over a decade. By 60AD we are NOT talking Silures & wild tribes regularly raiding & rustling from their neighbours.... Like practically everyone else south of the Trent & east of the Severn my guys were seriously NOT experienced, wild tribal warriors....

What this means in practice is that while my folk would be enthusiastic and physically fit (and presumably used to hunting, settling local issues with their fists, animal slaughter etc.) my army only recently started out as a mob of untrained, unbloodied farmhands & artisans with an smear of actually quite inexperienced "warrior" class bods in charge (and even if a guy was a fit, experienced warrior "Back in the Day" he has been Pax Romana'd for seventeen years, not likely to have held a weapon in action for 13 years and is now a nearly 50yo, out-of-practice arthritic from damp Norfolk. Jeez - he sounds worse than ME...). This means we will mainly be looking to the wholly inexperienced teens & twenties to carry the cause....

Some of my "non warrior class" troops will have acted as back-up in the storming at Colchester etc. and taken part in the subsequent massacres.
Some may have helped in the destruction of part of the 9th Leg. & its supports. But the nearest to actual “warriors” with recent, extended combat experience at my disposal will be the odd renegade/bandit and any members of the amateur upper classes who MAY have bothered to maintain levels of training and weapon use in the preceding decade (or may not) and/or have been off messing about outside the "settled zone" (i.e. the ones who presumably will have been the shock forces/doing most of the fighting in those fights my army has had thus far). 



My force therefore consisted of:

A small force of chariot and horse "elite".

5% guys with body protection, helm and shield: the social elite.

10% 2nd rate Front-line "warriors": with the kit (helm and shield) and experience and social clout to be at the front.

20% 3rd rate wanna-be warriors; with at least one piece of protective kit (helm or shield and a proper weapon.

The rest 4th rate - some with shield all with spear, club or pointy stick.

Aside from from my core of "warriors/bandits-come-good" and the above, the rest are just partially tooled-up (thanks to all the second hand looted stuff) "rioters". What I am saying is that, basically, I didn't have an "army" in any meaningful sense of the word. I had an armed mob....


Then there are the Romans.... 


 

They ALL have shield, body protection, helm and top of the range killing tools.

They DO know what they are doing.

They HAVE trained.

They know the guys standing either side of them as comrades. They eat, share a tent, drink, bicker, train and fight together. Each man knows the guy next to him is a proven fighting soldier - and not just thick cousin Aodhan, your noisy boss who thinks he's Caractacus just 'cos he's got his dad's helmet - and that guy from down the river who tried it on with your sister, can't even manage a hoe properly and only has that ex-legionary sword because he has longer legs than you and got to it first....I need to control my "mob". The Romans will act based on their Plan, IMP & the card deck.
Anyhoo, that was my "Problem". What I wanted was something to try to "replicate" the problems of commanding such a force. Now to the conventions/rules I used.

Technical:

Basic rules are my standard Activate/Move/Fight rules; an amalgam of SP and Dux Brit. Units are activated by command figures, who are themselves activated as per standard SP conventions. However, there are, for this game, some specific "tweaks"....Shooting rules are a tweak on SP type system with saving throws based on armour/protective gear. Chariots are moving javelin platforms & staff cars... All skirmishers will avoid fisticuffs where possible...

Combat bonuses: higher quality/experienced troops get an extra dice when fighting lower quality troops (as SP).Saving Throws: Basically if you have a big shield or a helmet or one other form of protection which you haven't trained with (e.g a looted maille shirt) you have a chance to turn a kill to a "shock" on a throw of "6" on a 6D.

If you have both, or good body protection that you are used to your chances improve (5-6).

What this means is the that least protected bods get killed off quickest.



If you are a fully trained Legionary with helm, lorica and big shield (and, boy, having worn about 8 different types of helmet the IstC AD Roman one is, for my money, the best helm I've ever worn - and the lorica seg. an amazing piece of kit) your chances rise to a throw of 4-6.  OK, the shock effect can build-up for the Romans, but if I have a double ranked trained-up cohort with full command still in place I allow centurions who still have all their back up (signaller & standard) to double their "shock removal" abilities (justified by "rank-swapping" training, relief of wounded front-liners and unit coherence effects).

When a chariot is hit by missile fire I dice to see if occupants or horses/ponies are targeted. If the horses; I ignore the shock aspects but a horse kill wrecks the chariot. If the fighting crewman dies the driver can go get refilled. If the driver is hit it is assumed the warrior takes over the driving, so ditto.
If both; the chariot is assumed to run off the field uncontrolled.

Roman troops employing the old "One-Two" of pilum & charge home get a first rush bonus of +1 to their charge/fisticuffs dice throw. They can also form "Cohort Wedge", which increases their "punch" (+2) and penetration power in a charge (it is assumed that, like my re-enactment group, the Romans trained NOT to telegraph to the enemy that they are going wedge charge, and thus allow for counter-measures - which is silly -  but change formation on the trot, just before charging home).

Otherwise shield wall and most other combat is a DuxBrit/SP1 amalgam, but any close combat rules could be applied.

 


Activation: 

All of my (Iceni, Catuvellauni, Trinovanti and Corieltauvi) Big Men tokens go in the Tub and activate as standard SP rules. 

Roman Big Man Activation tokens are only added to the tub/pack when the Romans are activated by the Event Cards. Until then Roman units will work on "automatic" pending a stimulus - e.g the horse and foot skirmishers stand their ground & shoot/return shot at/with enemy in range, but withdraw in the face of close-combat troops as soon as these get within their charge range. All skirmish units with officer figures will automatically use those officers to prioritise the removal of shock rather than add to fire-power WITHOUT needing Activation until their tokens go in the Tub as a result of an Event Card.
 
Legion and Auxiliary close-combat units will all hold position pending an Event Card Decision or an enemy close-combat unit approaching within "pilum n' charge range. The Big Men tokens for affected units will be added to the tub/deck. All units with officer figures will automatically use those officers to prioritise the removal of shock rather than add to pilum fire-power WITHOUT needing Activation until their tokens go in the Tub as a result of an Event Card.




Boudi and the "Big Men":
My commander (Ms. B.of Norfolk) has six "let's call them "Command Points" (CPs) per move. When activated she can use them for moving herself about the field (6" +1x6d per CP expended), activating units, rallying or for bossing folk about within her command range as usual SP practice.... 

However, she can also "lend" Command Points to any of her Iceni  "I want to call them officers but this ain't a real army so lets settle for Respected Shouty Fellers" (RSFs aka Iceni Big Men with one inherent CP) within her Command radius, allowing them to act on her behalf that move (call it delegating along the command chain/passing orders). Once passed CPs these RSFs can do anything SHE can do re. trying to activate, rally, inspire or otherwise kick into line her recalcitrant command if passed some of her CPs. They do NOT need to be individually activated to do this.

They also each come with one inherent "Command point" of their own for Shock/Rally/Inspire purposes if activated by SP card/token (but these are not used for Activation of units; only Boudi can do that) - any CPs added by Boudi are a bonus in addition to this.

They can also "telegraph" Boudi's CPs along a line of RSFs, but at a 1 CP cost per signal passed (i.e. if they pass on an "message" they use their inherent CP in order to do so).

However, the RSFs are all Iceni (they represent the gaggle of advisors, old-timers who have seen action and gallant Icenian noble blades). While they can shout at their own kin, who will (roughly) do as they are told, but each other tribal contingent has it's own Big Men/RDFs who, while they will be prepared to take a direct order from Boudi (She is, after all, a persuasive, forceful, bit scary, possible manifestation of Andrasta.. With BIG hair....) they will need to be "persuaded" by any of the Iceni RDFs passing an order from her - i.e they will not take kindly to being ordered about (Activated) by any old Spot-bellied, Norfolk Swampcrawler....

Persuasion is simple; Throw a 1x6D for the Icenian RSF and add all of Boudi's CPs he has been lent/has in hand (but only the unexpended ones) to the dice. Then throw a 1x6D for the non-Icenian Big Man/RSF - adding 1 to the dice for each unit of HIS tribe currently routing or pursuing/following up. If the Icenian's throw is higher the non-Icenean RSF is activated/commanded as if by Boudi herself for that move. If his score is higher he will remain unpersuaded. If Boudi passes more CPs to her RSF next move he can have another go. 

The Event Card Packs: 
 
I will have my plans; meanwhile there is a set of random cards which will dictate what the various parts of my force (and, to a lesser extent, the enemy) will be trying to do "'cos they want to" and without orders (see below). Rather than actually making cards this time I am using a standard playing card deck, well shuffled....

Each move, before I begin Boudicca's command moves, I throw a 6d die.

If a 5 or 6 is thrown I throw another die.

1-2 = draw 1 card. 3-4 = draw 2 cards. 5-6 = draw three cards.

Card results:

Hearts;
 
Cards 2-3: All of the Catuvellauni close combat troops will spontaneously advance towards the enemy. It is assumed that the Catuvellauni "Better in Battle" bods who have turned up are anti-Roman die-hards, some of Cractacus's old comrades and those recalling the days when THEY ruled the roost in Southern Britain. It is assumed that their commanders understand the importance of coordinated action.
 
Cards 4-7: Trinovanti close combat troops will spontaneously advance towards the enemy. The Trinovantes have been Romanised/de-militarised for decades. They are not a military bunch and their behaviour will reflect this. For them This will might mean they make and an incremental, independent advance in 3rds rather than as a mass (So: lowest number card = one 3rd of them advance, 2nd lowest card two 3rds. Thereafter all the tribesmen advance). Nearest warriors to the enemy always advance first - they will be the best armed/of highest status.

Cards 8-10 = Corieltauvi as Trinovantes.

Diamonds:

Iceni only. An incremental advance in 10ths. (rounded up) of close combat troops towards the enemy.

Dice to discover the sub-units involved (throw 1x6d. If 5 or 6 thrown the unit advances), starting with the troops furthest from Boudicca. Always start with the troops nearest to the enemy in each unit block (i.e the best armed/most "noble", as above).


 

Clubs: 
 
The British skirmishers only:

2: Skirmishers panic. Any in front of the army will scuttle back until out of range of any enemy skirmishers/if within 24" of visible enemy cavalry.

3-5: Skirmishers will NOT engage without inspiration/orders. If being shot at will retire to the front line of the close combat troops.

5-8: Skirmishers will press the nearest enemy with shot, advancing if out of range.

9-10: Skirmishers will press to close range of nearest enemy.

Spades:

2-3: Roman skirmishers pull back to behind the Roman battle line. Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.

4-6: Roman skirmishers press to close range. Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.

7-8: Roman Auxiliary flank troops charge nearest enemy (1x6d: 1-2 = Roman left. 3-4 Roman right. 5-6 = both flanks.). Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.

9: Legions advance (as one) to close (measured, approach to pilum range, throw & charge) OR Romans regain control of an uncontrolled charge and halt.Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.
 
10: Legions uncontrolled charge... The sight of all those heads of their mates and desecrated standards we've been waving at them and the irritation from our skirmishers has got them riled. Trampling their centurions, losing all order, they rush to contact.... Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.



Colour cards:

Jacks: British only. Adjacent units follow/conform to any reacting neighbours.

Queen: British only. Spontaneous General advance.

King: British only. Bloody hell, they're doing what I want.... Whole army will conform to any single order by Boudica (uses all CPs that move). These are the ONLY cards that can be held over to another move if desired. All other cards must be played at once. Up to 4 Kings can he held, and played at will.

Joker: British only. Spontaneous Panic in one unit. Dice for location.

Aces:

Hearts: British only. An Allied tribe panics en mass. (1x6d: 1-2 = Trinovantes. 3-4 Corieltauvi . 5-6 = Catuvellauni )

Diamonds: British only. Elements of Iceni potentially panic. Start with nearest troops furthest from enemy & work forward. Throw 1x6d per unit. Throw of 1 or less & unit panics. Take 1 from the dice for every 5 shock points. Take 1 from the dice for every adjacent panicking unit.

Clubs: Roman General Advance to contact (measured) OR Romans regain control of an uncontrolled charge. Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.
Spades: Roman General Advance to contact- rapid, in cohort wedge OR Romans regain control of an uncontrolled charge. Appropriate Big Man tokens go in the Tub.



Conclusion:

It was a fun exercise, and epic battle (click on the pics to make 'em big) - and a "typical Me" Solo Game.. Fairness" and predictability got defenestrated - and it kept me guessing (and swearing) from start to finish.. Chess this aint....

If anyone has any ideas or comments - all welcome as always.