A short solo set of rules written especially for the Britannia Miniatures' heliograph team figures. You, the player, take the role of the junior NCO in charge of a heliograph station somewhere on the North West Frontier. You have to survive on the top of the hill for, say, eight hours; during this time the Pathans may attack and you will also have to pass messages of varying coherence up or down the line. Each turn is roughly half an hour; if fighting begins, presume that it is resolved within the half hour - unless it really turns into a major siege. Each turn roll 1xd6 to see what happens: 1,2 Nothing happens, the rocks get hotter, the lads get thirstier and any Pathans creeping about in the nullahs get closer.... 3,4 A message is passed form a station in the chain; roll to see what it is as you relay it. 5 A Pathan sniper takes a pot shot 6 Roll again. On a 1,2,3 there is heavy sniping; 4,5,6 a group of Pathans try to rush you. The good news is that after eight hours you are relieved. The Message Must Get Through Roll 1xd6 three times to create a random message: Each message that does not make sense means +1 to the next roll for events; obviously it was a warning but someone garbled it before it reached you. Die Roll Subject Situation Location 1 Sgt McTavish is pinned down in a nullah 2 Lt Boddington has captured the Mad Mullah at the Khyber Pass 3 Col. Moriarty is under close attack at Kandahar 4 Mr. Danvers, the Political Agent has negotiated a treaty at the Residency in Kabul 5 Mrs St.John Dawlish has caught the fever at a tea party in Lahore 6 Naik Chaterjee of the Poona Rifles has been arrested drunk and disorderly in a brothel at Cawnpore Casual Irritants A sniper hits a random Jock on a 6 on a 1xd6. Roll for effect: 1,2 - Mere scratch 3,4 - Wounded - may carry on at -1 per wound 5,6 - Major wound or worse, out of it Heavy sniping consists of 1xd6 snipers, all havincg a pot shot. Snipers will continue to shoot until they have missed for three successive shots. You may fire back to deter them (see Mr Lee Metford's Finest Moment below) A rush of Pathans consists of 2xd6 of them charging the position. It will take them 3-4 dashes to close in; each time they dash, you get a shot at them. Each time they try to dash, they must roll below the number of Pathans to do so. If they fail to do so, they hide behind rocks, fire back and then disappear. Mr Lee Metford's Finest Moment Simply roll 9+ on 2xd6 to hit a Pathan or 11+ if aiming at a sniper. You can give the order for rapid fire. This allows the lads to fire three times, but expends an ammunition point - and you have three per man. Normal fire does not expend points and points may be scavenged from the wounded. If the Pathans close to melee roll 1xd6 for each man, the highest wins. Allow the desperate Jocks +1 for all that bayonet practise and the fact that there is no where to run to. A Pathan figure with a shield sets a 4,5,6 saving throw but one wound is enough for a Pathan. Jocks roll for the effect of losing: 1,2,3 wounded -1 to shoot and fight, 4,5,6 mortal wound, collapses Each round of melee the Pathans must roll below their number on 2xd6 to remain in the fight. There are no morale rules for our kilted heroes; they are tough men in a tough situation. This is a simple game; the result should be quite clear cut. The message rules are really there for a bit of colour and amusement. Back to The Gauntlet No. 16 Table of Contents Back to The Gauntlet List of Issues Back to Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Craig Martelle Publications 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