Warrior Kings

Ancients-Medieval Rules

Reviewed by John Boehm

Warrior Kings: A Tactical Rules and Campaign System For 3000 BC to 1492 AD

This rule set was written by Ed Teixeira and published in 1998 by Breakthrough Games. It consists of a soft cover, 8 ½ x 11 booklet consisting of fifty pages. Also included is a two page handout explaining the cause and effect generated by the reaction test, and two card stock play sheets, one for the reaction test printed on both sides and a one sided sheet for movement, missile fire, casualties and melee. The price of the book is not listed.

The rules themselves are designed for battles in the context of a campaign. The battle and campaign rules consist of 21 pages. There are also two and half pages of frequently asked questions and a two-page sample battle. The remainder of the book is devoted to 23 army lists beginning with the Successors and the Punic Wars, and proceeding through the Spanish Reconquista.

The rules are designed to be played with 15 mm. figures, although conversion factors are provided for 6 and 25 mm. figures. Only six sided dice are required and movement is in inches. For 15 mm. figures, battles are intended to be played on a surface approximately 3 x 4 feet. The basing system seems to be compatible with most rules using 40 mm. wide bases for 15 mm. figures and 60 mm. wide bases for 25 mm. figures, each base containing from one to four figures. The figure scale is approximately 1 to 100.

The pre-battle phase involves defining the units, assigning leaders, establishing a war rating for each army, determining who will be the attacker, selection and placement of terrain, and forming individual units into bodies. Units are defined as to their overall purpose, either melee, missile or skirmish and each have a combat value (CV) ranging from three to six. There are also three armor classes, and obviously a division between mounted and foot troops. For this purpose elephants and artillery are included as foot troops. Troops may have various special weapons or other characteristics and receive various bonuses. This includes shock cavalry, dual armed troops, troops with combination weapons (such as pila, etc.), terror troops, fanatics, barbarian frenzy, pike, elite training, and stakes.

There is an overall commander and additional leaders may be purchased if desired. A war rating is established for each side, based on a die roll for the commander with subleaders adding additional points to this rating. The ability to activate bodies of troops is based upon this war rating. As indicated, an attacker is selected. This is based on a die roll and various other factors inherent in the campaign and the types of troops available. Terrain selection involves the defender randomly determining the number of terrain points available, then selecting the various terrain features based on those points. Different terrain obviously has different effects for different troop types. The defender places the terrain and the attacker is given the two rights of refusal with loss of a campaign turn on the third such refusal. Troops are placed into bodies, which are defined as those units in base to base contact at the beginning of a turn. These bodies of units may subsequently be broken up either voluntarily or as a result of reaction tests. The author apparently envisions units being composed of one stand of figures, although provide for up to four stands of figures to comprise an individual unit.

The battle sequence involves successive turns between players. In his turn a player activates one or more bodies of troops at his discretion. The ability to activate bodies again depends on the army's war rating. The turn ends when all activated bodies have moved, missiles fired, melees fought and reaction tests administered. The result of reaction tests is an element of loss of control and establishes certain causes and effects dictating additional events. As previously indicated, movement is done by bodies of troops and thus, for example, a wheel will be done by an entire body of troops as opposed to individual units. As a result of reaction tests, bodies may be forced to stop, give ground, follow up, retire, rout, pursue and advance. During the course of the battle, units receive morale losses, and casualties from missile fire and melee. All of these are treated as hits and are recorded on the unit for calculation in subsequent reaction tests. Missile and melee combat is fairly straight forward involving a die roll and various modifiers for reach unit involved. All leaders must be attached to various units, and thus are at risk in various situations. Loss of a leader will also result in decreased ability to activate troops.

The reaction tests occur as a result of various events and involve a die roll and modifiers. The results of the test dictate the further reaction of the testing troops. There are six such tests, including a test for an enemy threat, receiving fire, attempting to charge, being charged, involved in a melee, and loss of a leader. The required reaction is based on the relative strength or weakness of the test result.

When a battle is concluded by mutual agreement or one player with units remaining on the field, there is a provision for major pursuit involving additional hits on the opponent, and casualty recovery on the losses inflicted to both sides which apply to future campaign turns. There are also provisions for solo or single sided play based on a die roll determining the type of tactic that a particular army will use during the battle. The type of tactic to be employed will govern where and how the non-player army deploys its troops.

The army lists determine the number of units available in a basic 200-point army. In addition, there is a provision for a number of recruiting rolls that the army will receive for each additional 200 points used over the basic list. The type of troops recruited for the additional points will be based on a die roll result. The author recommend playing armies of 400 points, thus including the basic army and an additional set of recruiting roles for the remaining 200 points.

The campaign rules are described using an example based on the Spanish Reconquista. A campaign is played in early turns with each turn consisting of four seasons. The events during a winter season are different than for the remainder of the year. The campaign can include non-player states. There are provisions for determining if a particular state is going to war, who fights who, and where to attack. There is also a provision for establishing national morale based on a leader's war rating. It is recommended that at least three years be played in a particular campaign. While the scenario of the Reconquista scenario provides adequate information, including a map, for playing for that particular campaign, it appears that players will have to develop their own criteria for campaigns between other armies.

The reviewer has not play tested the rules, but the overall battle rules appear to be fairly straight forward and designed to generate an interesting game. The overall size of the armies and numbers of figures involved appears to be somewhat small, particularly if one uses only one stand to represent a unit. While the basic layout of a campaign system is provided, players will be required to develop the type of detail necessary to play a campaign such as the one described in the example. This should not be too difficult, however. The rules provide helpful examples explaining various situations, special player notes, and appear to be clearly written. Additionally, very helpful is the frequently asked questions and answers section. Gamers looking for a system to provide a context and meaning for their battles in the course of a campaign would be advised to check these out. Available from Ed Teixeira, 2360 Widgeon Drive, Lake Havasu City AZ 86403. $20, including shipping.

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