I have a great deal of fun playing ancient miniature games, but I have never been satisfied with the order writing system many rules sets employ. They are usually cumbersome and leave too much open to interpretation. As a result, my gaming group developed a movement system based on order chits, (we are primarily Civil War gamers and got the idea from Johnny Reb).

The system is simple; at the beginning of each turn, you place an order chit behind each unit, both sides reveal their orders and play proceeds as normal. The possible orders are Move this Direction (^), Charge (C), Hold (H), and Formation Change (FM).

Move this Direction: Units so marked must move a minimum of half their move in the direction of the arrow on the chit is pointing. The exception to the minimum move is if there is an obvious terrain feature the unit can stop at, such as a hilltop or the edge of a wood.

Charge: Units so marked must move at their charge rate toward a target designated by the player.

Hold: Units so marked must stand in place.

Formation Change: Units so marked stand in place and change their formation. If it only takes 1/2 move to change formation the unit may move for the other half of it's movement.

After the movement phase all chits are left on the table until the next movement phase. During the next order phase, new chits are placed next to the old ones because there is no guarantee that your units will do what you want them to. Each unit must roll 2D6 and beat it's activation number in order to change it's orders. This number is based on the unit's morale and training. Using WRG classifications, the following chart is used:

Morale	Training
	Regular	Irregular (normal/within charge range)
A	3+	4+/9+
B	4+	5+/8+
C	6+	7+/6+
D	8+	9+/9+

As you can see, a regular unit will always follow orders better than an irregular unit and a higher morale unit will follow orders better than a lower morale unit. The second number for irregular units is for when the unit gets within charge range of an enemy unit it is allowed to charge. Once it is close enough to attack, the player must roll in order not to charge. Impetuous units subtract two from their die roll. Units are not required to roll not to charge if the unit is defending fortifications of some sort. Players may agree not to use the forced charge rule for Irregular B/C units from a more disciplined army. For example, Irregular B Celts should have to roll but Irregular B Viking Housecarls probably should not have to roll.

If a unit does not make it's activation die roll, it must follow it's orders from the previous turn. Formation Changes become Hold or Move this Direction.

EFFECTS OF OFFICERS

Each army is divided into commands and an officer must be appointed to command each one. Each officer is rated either Good, Average, or Poor. A unit in the command of a Good officer adds a +1 to all of it's activation die rolls. A unit with a Poor offi cer subtracts a -1 from all it's activation die rolls. Players may designate an especially good commander as a +2 if they have ample evidence that he rates it, i.e., Alexander the Great would be a +2.

A unit will always respond to orders if the officer is attached to it. All other units in the command receive a -1 modifier to their activation rolls if the officer is attached to a unit. The exception is if the officer has a bodyguard. It always follows orders but other units do not receive a -1 modifier.

If playing a pick-up game, roll two dice for each officer to see what his rating is.

2-4 = Poor
5-10=Average
11-12=Good