The following system is designed as a quick and simple system of figuring cover, saves, and type of wounds all within the same system. It can be used for any musket era through bolt action rifle time period under the following circumstances: Assumption #1. That figures moving in skirmish order are always attempting to make the best possible use of cover. Assumption #2. That figures moving in formation, or moving while mounted, or charging toward an enemy are not allowed the benefit of cover. Assumption #3. The for the purposes of these rules cover shall be defined as follows: 1. Light Cover - This covers brush, grass, rail fences and such cover that in itself does not give protection, but which gives protection by concealment. 2. Hard Cover - This covers such items as stone fences, ridge lines, gully lips, trees, etc., where the cover not only gives concealment but some protection as well. 3. Extra-Hard Cover - This covers manmade fortifications, blockhouses, trenches, etc. To use the system take an ordinary pack of playing cards. For each hit flip over one card. Hearts are kills, diamonds are seriously wounded, and clubs and spades are hit wounds. However if the figure is in cover, use the following as automatic saves: Light Cover - Count cards of 2-4 as saves; Hard Cover - Count all cards of 2-7 as saves; ExtraHard Cover - Count all cards of 2-10 as saves. The system that I use assumes that fire is always between skirmishers, and so when firing at formations or mounted troops a plus is added. Using this system and firing at figures in light cover, you would ignore cards with a 2-4, and count the other cards as hits, and use the card for the type of hit. Fieldcraft can be used with this system to make good troops better, and make poor troops easier to hit. I assume that there are three levels of fieldcraft. They are: Crack: Experienced hunters or troops with long service in the field. They can find cover on a billard field, and automatically seek it out. Boers, Hereros, and the like fall into this category - you could add some American Indians (Seminole would be a good example) and your famous mountain men. Average: The usual field soldier - if cover is there he will use it, but he does not seek it instinctively. This covers the basic soldier. Poor: The novice or soldier new to the trade, or unfamiliar with his environment. Naval Brigades are an excellent example of this type of unit. Units are given one of the three levels of fieldcraft, which can be applied to the system as follows: Units which have their fieldcraft rated as crack will always count cover as one level better than it actually is. Therefore a figure out in the open is considered as in light cover; figures in light cover will count it as hard, and figures in hard cover count it as extra hard. Units which have a fieldcraft rated as poor will always count cover as one level less than normal, so that light cover is considered as no effect; hard cover becomes light, and extra hard cover becomes hard. To show how this might work consider a Boer and a member of the British Naval Brigade stalking each other on the veldt of South Africa. The Boer, dressed in his nondescript homespun, and at home on his native soil, would be rated as crack for fieldcraft. The sailor, dressed in his duty blue and white, and far from the sea and out of his depth on land, would be rated as poor fieldcraft. If both figures were in cover, the Boer would be treated as being in one level better, and the sailor would be treated as one level worse. Assuming that their chance of hitting was the same, the Boer would have a 23% better chance of being saved, while the sailor's chance would be increased by 23% of being hit. You wouId need several sailors to get one Boer. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #1 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1986 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com