FIGURE SET UP

I have collected 25mm figures from a variety of sources for this game. You will need five British units each consisting of 22 enlisted men, 2 NCO's and one officer. At least one of these should be Highlanders. In addition two units of 8 riflemen, 1 NCO and one officer are required and six extra Portuguese figures. The French require 4 officers, 4 NCO's, 8 light infantry, 8 grenadiers, 20 artillerymen, 2 sappers, and 5 guns (2 twelve pounders, 2 eight-pounders and 1 four-pounder). Pull out the figures that will reinforce the battle from the list above. All the others will be deployed for the game. It will take two players or more to manage the French and five or more to manage the British. The idea is to have fun - so anyone trying to win should be placed on half rations for the duration of the game.

'I've included a copy of a casualty sheet for the game. Photocopy it on heavy card stock, color or paint in the drawings and cut them out to mark the losses. You will need about eighty to one hundred casualties for the British and ten or so for the French. That should give you an idea of how the game will go for the British. Use cut up red pipe cleaners for marking wounded figures. Cut them in one-half inch lengths and wrap them around the legs or arms of wounded figures.

GAME RULES

Forlorn Hope is an event driven game system. The game revolves around the siege and assault on the French held fortress. The British players (the forlorn hope) will be attacking the breach at Ciudad Rodrigo or Badajoz. The French players will be defending.

Before they move, the British side rolls 2D6: on rolls of seven, eleven, or doubles the French player will draw a card and the players will execute the instructions that correspond to the card from the list below. The French players should manage the deck and keep track of the turns. The British players will be busy moving troops.

COMBAT RULES

Method: Player 'A' moves five men or two/three horseman or a commander, player 'B' fires or loads a unit or a commander. Each group of four men (British) or two (French) moves once or fires/loads once per turn. A unit may elect to load rather than move. Each one officer may move twice per turn. Each group completes its actions before the next group begins its actions. Mark units that have moved or fired.

Tactical Sequence

• Player "A" moves or fires a unit.
• Player "B" moves or fires a unit.
• Player "A" and "B" conduct all close actions.
• Repeat 1, 2, and 3 until all units have moved and fired the number of times required. A player may pass a unit when his turn comes to move or fire but that counts as that unit's move. For record keeping ease, I recommend that at the start of each turn place poker chips or pennies or other markers next to each unit in a number equal to the number of moves it is allowed in the turn. As that unit moves or fires remove a chip. When all chips have been removed start the next turn by placing new chips down.

Movement

Foot figures move one D6 plus two inches.
Mounted move one D6 plus 4 inches per Phase.
Officers move as foot or mounted. Artillery and carts move one D6, minus 1" for each puller short of the required number.

Organization of Units

Figures must be organized into groups as follows:

French foot: two figures
British Foot: four figures
Artillery: Gun and four to eight figures

Firing

Each group selects a target and fires at it. Measure the distance to the target and check the range table to see the chance for a hit. Roll the number of D6 required and apply the result to the target.

Fire Table

MUSKET
Range (in inches)	# of d6	Result to Hit
1-6	2	3,4,5,6
6-10	2	4,5,6
10-25	1	5,6
25-60	1	6
RIFLE *
1-15	2	3,4,5,6
15-36	1	4,5,6
36-50	1	5,6
50-80	1	6
*Rifles take two turns to reload.

Subtract one from the D6 roll for each man short of the total required for firing. A roll of six is always one hit. Add one to the die roll for French light and grenadier figures.

Single soldiers and officers roll one D6 and hit as follows:

1-6 inches	4,5,6
6-20 inches	5,6
20-40 inches	6

Pistols hit on one D6 with a roll of 5,6 at any range below 6 inches and a roll of 6 at 6 - 15 inches.

Pass Through Fire can be issued if the target moved through the field of fire of the firing unit during the target's move. But this fire must be taken immediately and counts as the other player's move/fire that phase.

Hits:

Figures hit by fire or in hand to hand combat roll on the hit table below.

Hit Table
D6 roll	Result
1	No effect
2-3	Wounded
4	Dying, D6 for # turns left.
5-6	Killed

Mounted targets: Roll a D6:

Roll of 1 or 2: the rider is hit and rolls on the Hit Table.
Roll of 3-5 and the horse is wounded.
Roll of 6 and the horse is killed.

If the horse is killed the rider will fall off and could be hurt, roll a second D6

Roll of 1 - 2: the rider rolls on the Hit Table
Roll of 3 - 6: he is stunned and can not move until next turn. He will count as wounded for the turn knocked down only, in a hand to hand action. A horse wounded three times is killed on the third hit.

Wounded horses roll for horse panic:

Roll of 1 - 3: the horse will charge away from the shooter full speed (3D6) two turns.
Roll of 4 - 6: it will behave normally.

Charges: Charges to contact result in hand to hand combat. Charges take effect immediately and are treated as part of movement. Any unit that has an enemy unit move to within two inches of it must make a morale check. If it fails, then it will rout away, the rout movement counts as its move for the phase. If it fails and has no movement chips left, it must roll on the Panic Table. If it passes morale and has loaded muskets and has a movement phase left it may fire at the chargers prior to hand to hand.

HAND TO HAND COMBAT

Figures that move into hand to hand combat make base contact and each rolls a D6 and adds all modifiers. The high roll wins and the loser checks the result by looking at the difference on the Hit Result Table. All losing results including "No effect" results require the loser to move two inches away from the winner, the winner may occupy the loser's position. For example, if the difference was two then the loser is wounded and moves two inches back, the winner may occupy the loser's vacated location.

Hand To Hand Modifiers
Charging	+2
Bayonet armed	+1
Sword armed	+1
Wounded	-3
Officer	+1
Elite	+1
Mounted	+2
Second combat in turn	-2
Unarmed	-1
Defending obstacle	+3

After the hand-to-hand combat each side must check morale taking into consideration all casualties generated in the hand-to-hand.

Artillery Fire

Reloading the gun takes two move phases and one fire/load phase. Add one phase for each man short of four operating the gun.

Morale: Units have a base morale of 10 for the French and 15 for the British. Units taking hits must roll a D10 below the morale number to pass.

Morale Modifiers (modifies Base Morale):

Each hit on unit: -1
Each kill in unit: -1
Each 2 wounded in unit: -2
Officer attached: +3

Units that fail morale must roll two dice and move that number of inches to the rear away from the enemy. They will dice each turn until there is another group of friendly troops between them and the hostile force or an officer makes contact with one of their bases. Wounded may only move one D6. Units moving in rout status may not fire or load. Players may attempt to avoid panic by rolling on the panic table below rather than running the unit to shelter.

Panic Table

Victory Conditions

The British players win if they manage to get three figures from their group through the breach and to the stairs

SPECIAL RULES

Jumping

Ditch Ledge: Roll one D6 when the troops apprDoach the edge of the first ledge, a roll of 1 or 2 and a bundle of straw lies below. Any other roll and its rock city to break his fall.

High ledge: When the figure jumps down, if he lands on the straw he will fall on a roll of one or two on a D6. If there is no straw he will fall on a roll of 1-5 on a D6. If the figure falls he will receive one wound on a D6 roll of 1 or 2.

Low ledge: The figure will fall into the water on a D6 roll of 1, 2, or 3. If the figure falls into the water see water obstacles below.

Water Obstacles: Crossing water obstacles will slow the figure to half speed. Each turn in the water the figure will roll a D6, on a roll of 1 or 2, if the figure was wounded before he falls he will role two D6's and die on a roll of 2 ,3, or 12.

The Breach: Climbing the breach will be a slow process. The figure will move one platform space per move if ascending or descending and can move the number of inches rolled if moving laterally.

Obstacles: Linear obstacles like stakes or abatis will stop the attacker for one turn, on the next move he may move to cross. He may not cross if there is a defender on the other side. The defender must be defeated before the figure may cross.

Falls: All figures that fall will spend the next turn recovering. That means no forward movement. In water they must roll again even if they do not move to see if they fall down.

French Problems

Once the British figures get on the last board the French player must move his figures to the top of the wall to shoot at them. If the French player elects to do this, his figures are lost on a saving roll as if they were in the open.

Once the British figures are on the last two two-foot sections French artillery may fire at every figure in the cone of fire. On the outer two boards they may fire into a beaten zone two inches deep at the width that matches the range for the artillery.

Example: an eight-pounder firing at twenty-one inches has a target area fourteen inches wide and two inches deep, every figure in the zone can be hit on a D6 roll of 1 or 2. The British player still rolls for saves.

Forlorn Hope Introduction
Random Event List (cards)

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