Long Bows and Short Knights

Comparison of Medieval Miniature Rules

Medieval Warfare

by Russ Lockwood and Rich Pichnarczyk

Dicing for the quality of the leaders, the Scots rolled up a pair of Exceptional commanders (C-n-C may place 5 orders and the sub-general able to place 4 orders), while the Welsh rolled a Charismatic (5 orders) C-n-C and an Average (3 orders) sub-general. Each order allows you to move a unit. Given there were only seven Welsh and eight Scot units in total, there would be no order shortage. However, in larger games, order shortages do occur.

The Scots set up as far forward as possible, eager to get to grips with the Welsh. The marsh in the right center would prove to be an impassible obstacle, but the far right flank offered room for some maneuvering. Robert of St. Marks was given the skirmishers for speed and the Islemen men-at-arms for strength with the idea of holding the line — and thus the flank — at the stream, and pushing forward if opportunity arose.

As for the main battlefield left of the marsh, C-n-C Robert of Scotland sent spears and bows to the front backed by the reserve of knights. The terrain proved too tight for proper deployment of all spear units, so one had to be put into a block rather than line, with the idea of opening up after clearing the marsh.

The Welsh strung their forces in a long line with the idea of anchoring their right on the woods and their left on the marsh, with delaying units on the far left pushing forward to the stream. The longbows in the middle would darken the sky with arrows while the noble foot and knights stood ready to exploit any wavering the opposing line. Earl Palomir waited behind the Longbowmen while Mason of Llandor would command the Light Cavalry and Skirmishers on the left.

Turn 1:

With a wave of a flag (and outdicing the Welsh for initiative), the Scots advanced in accordance with Robert's plan, quickly attaining the stream on the right, pushing forward in the center, and floundering a bit on the left as the Galwegians spear and archers were delayed crossing the field. In MW, "light terrain" such as the field (which we deemed the equivalent to an "orchard"), requires a d6 roll for delays of up to half movement. Additionally, the spear, being close ordered troops, were disordered. The Welsh also advanced to their positions.

Movement is straightforward enough, with a two-band approach. If units are outside 12", they use "strategic" movement that's 50% faster for infantry and twice as fast for cavalry. Once 12" is reached, the units stop cold. Inside 12", units use "tactical" movement.

Turn 2:

As the Scots dressed lines on the main part of the battlefield, opening shots occurred on the right side as Robert of St. Marks pushed the Islemen across the stream (disordering them in the process) and towards the gentle hill and sent the skirmishers into the woods. The disordered Galwegians remained disordered as they pushed to the edge of the field.

The Welsh also moved forward into position. The Skirmishers went into the woods to counter the Scot skirmishers while Light Cavalry occupied the crest of the hill and peppered the advancing Islemen with javelins.

For missile fire, you start with a base number at a given range, add and substract modifiers, and come up with a final "to-hit" number. Each stand rolls a d10, although this number is halved in certain situations (such as firing disordered, target in cover, etc). Each hit puts a casualty on the unit—when enough casualties occur, a stand is removed. In the case of the Light Cav, it was a base 6 (close range), +1 for a two figure stand firing, +1 for moving and firing in the same turn, and -1 for a target (like the Islemen) who are Lightly Armored Infantry, equalling a 7+ to hit on a d10. The Light Cav, being four stands, rolled 4d10, but all missed. The Islemen responded with javelins: 6 base, +1 for a target uphill, +1 for moving and firing in the same turn, +1 firing at a Skirmish Cavalry target, and -1 for firing on an "Unarmored" target, equialling an 8+. However, the firer was disordered and so lost half the number of dice (round down). The three stands of Islemen tossed a single d10, missing.

Turn 3:

Robert of St. Marks, nervous about the enemy cavalry—even if it is of the unarmored skirmishing variety—issued a "Recover" order to the Islemen to put them back in order. He splashed across the stream with his bodyguard to give the light cavalry something to think about. The skirmishers continued to advance through the woods.

Meanwhile, C-n-C Robert issued move commands, finally advancing the Galwegian Spear and Archers out of the field. The rest of the force pivoted to maintain contact, keeping their right firmly anchored on the marsh. The Archers fired at the Welsh spear in front of them for no effect.

Earl Palomir rose up in the saddle and squinted. He yelled at his Longbowmen, "Advance! And give 'em the shaft!" and pointed at the Scottish spear opposing them. The Noble foot kept pace to rest on the gentle hill, and his knights trotted uphill to overlook the marsh. On his far right, the Levy Spear hugged the side of the woods and his other Spear unit extended that line. On the far left, Mason sent in the skirmishers and held the Light Cavalry ready. His job was to delay, not engage.

Robert of Scotland smiled for a moment a a gap appeared between the Welsh Longbowmen and the Spear, but it was only for a moment as his attention turned to hundreds of longbow arrows streaking for his line. Screams pierced the air as arrows buried deep all along the line.

Six hits! One stand removed — and that causes morale check! For morale checks, a unit starts with a base number. In the case of the "Average" Spear, this is a "7." If it was "Veteran," it would start at an "8." Then, you add and subtract modifiers: in this case, a general within 6" is +1, but a stand loss is -1. Robert of Scotland rolls a d10 for an "8," which misses by 1. In MW, the worse you miss, the worse the result. Missing only by 1 causes the unit to become disordered.

Palomir is pleased. He is less pleased when the Scottish Crossbowmen score lucky hits on his Noble Foot, and becomes displeased when a messenger from Mason brings him news of the disastrous fate of his skirmishers. In trading shots with the Scots, the Scotsmen took a hit (Welsh also received a "Low on Ammo") , but the Welsh took two hits, removing a stand and triggering a morale check. The check started at a 7+, had +1 for cover, -1 for a stand loss, and -1 for being unsupported, equalling a 6. Mason rolls a "9" and the Skirmishers fail by 3: "Retire Fragmented" (one step below "Rout"). Retire is a forced move with many combat and order restrictions. The Welsh skirmishers run back the way they came. All is not lost, as the Light Cavalry place a pair of hits on the Islemen.

Turn 4:

With the Longbow threat apparently small, Robert of Scotland pushed forward his force, hurrying up the Galwegians to try and get into combat with the Welsh Levy Spear. The Archers also went forward while the rest of the line pivoted to keep in contact. The reserves of a spear unit and the knights hovered close by, ready to exploit—or plug—any gap. On the right, Robert of St. Marks steadied his bodyguard with a Recover order and sent in the Islemen at the Light Cavalry (which evade to the rear) while the victorious skirmishers pursued the through the woods.

The hapless Scottish Archers, who haven't hit anything but the ground, are forced into melee by the advancing Welsh Spear.

In melee, players first roll a d6, with the high roller adding the difference into the combat. Robert and Palomir both rolled 3s, so cancelling each other out. Then it's morale level as a base with modifiers such as weapon factor, leadership, terrain and such added and subtracted to the base. In this melee, The Welsh Spear started with Average morale (0), +2 for facing Unarmored enemy, +2 for having Long Spears, and +1 for facing shieldless enemy, for a total of 5. This number is multiplied by the numbers of stands — in this case 5, for a total of 25, and then divided by 10 to get the total number of casualties inflicted on the enemy. If a remainder, the attacker tosses a d10 to see if he counts an "extra" hit. Thus, 25/10=2.5, for two hits plus a 50% roll for a third (which was missed). In reply, The Archers were 0 for average morale with +2 for facing Unarmored enemy for a total of 2; times 3 stands = 6; which is divided by 10 for 0.6, or a 60% chance to score 1 hit (missed).

The Welsh, having inflicted more hits, pushes back the losing Archers 1 inch and disorders them. The melee continues, with the Archers taking it on the chin again, losing a stand and failing a morale check by 5. This routs and vaporizes the unit (lose 2 additional stands, but there were only three in total to start). Worse, the Galwegians next door see routers, take a morale check, and fail by 3: retire fragmented. No doubt the Levy Spear breathed a sigh of relief—Palomir was concerned enough with these unstable troops to place them in a special formation: shieldwall, which offers morale and melee bonueses.

The Crossbowmen picked off another Noble Footman. The Welsh Longbowmen put another four hits into the Scottish Spear, removing another stand and forcing another morale check—which it promptly failed by 5, and routs (losing another two stands). The reserve Knights and Spear pass the morale checks caused by seeing routers. Oddly enough, the Welsh knights, fired with the zeal of seeing enemies flee, tried to charge in frenzied mode (a particularly fierce charge that requires a morale check), and failed their own morale check, retiring in disorder.

Turn 5:

Robert of Scotland knew he was in trouble. His center just collapsed and his left was shaky. He knew he could plug the center with a fresh Spear unit and his Knights, but also figured he had only a small amount of time remaining before the Welsh came screaming in from the direction of teh field. His right, however, did better than expected, and offered a glimmer of hope that he could roll up the Welsh line.

He tried to rally the routing Spear, but failed—watching them go was difficult. He shook the Galwegians back into order and maneuvered his reserve out of reserve and closer to the front line, still screened by the Crossbowmen. Robert of St. Marks stormed the hill with the Islemen and his bodyguard, and sent the Skirmishers chasing after the reformed — if shaky — Welsh skirmishers.

Palomir, guessing that the Knights would immediately charge, issued his Longbowmen a Defend order, and had them hold their fire from fear of running low on arrows. On his far right, the Levy Spear and regular Spear positioned themselves to attack the Galwegians. He reformed his Knights to keep an eye on the Islemen, and sent the Noble Foot crashing into the Scottish Crossbowmen. Mason moved the Light Cavalry back up to both threaten the Islemen, pummel them with javelins (to no effect) and counter the bodyguards. The Skirmishers formed up as best they could.

The Crossbowmen sunk quarrels into the Nobles, then meleed them to death! Shocked, the Longbowmen failed their morale test and fell back in disorder, with Palomir swatting at them with the flat of his sword trying to hold them from any further backpedaling. The swap of Skirmisher fire resulted in another failed morale test and rout of the Welsh.

Turn 6:

A flurry of morale rolls ended the game as charges hit home. The big spear melee between the Galwegians and the one-two combination of regular Welsh Spear and Welsh Levy Spear result in lost stands and morale checks. The Galwegians rout, the Welsh regular Spear rout, and the Levy Spear retire. The Longbowmen see that and also Rout, taking Earl Palomir along with them. The Welsh Knights attempt to charge the Islemen, but fall just short. Robert of St. Marks and his bodyguard charge the Light Cavalry, which wisely evade and then retire off the field. The Bodyguard and Skirmishers both retire. In the end, Robert of Scotland remained on the battlefield with a fresh unit of Knights and a fresh unit of Spear, the Crossbowmen, the Islemen, and the ability to recall Robert of St. Marks' bodyguard and skirmishers. Earl Palomir, could hope to rally the Longbowmen in time, but not quick enough to overcome the odds against his one fresh unit, the Kinights. He allowed his force to continue off board to fight again some other day.

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