Skirmish games are quickly and easily organised and quite often the result of one game can hint at the next scenario. "Invader" is an set of Skirmish rules which I have devised over the years. They have very simple mechanics and are therefore ideal for solo play. To keep chart reading to a minimum, I write each figure's Name, Move, Strike, Defence and Morale on it's base which really helps to speed up play.

Example:

WULF
M	S	D	MD
3	7	19	D8

As briefly as possible the basic rules are as follows:

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

1. Each side rolls one six sided die (1D6). The side with the highest score moves first.
2. Movement (infantry before cavalry)
3. Missile Fire
4. Melee
5. Morale

MOVEMENT (M)

Measure movement in inches for 25mm figures and in centimetres for 15mm figures. NOTE: All movement is halved over rough terrain.

FOOT	3	CHARGE	6
ARMOURED FOOT	3	CHARGE	5
MOUNTED	6	CHARGE	12 (Minimum move=1")

DEFENCE VALUES (D)	FOOT	MOUNTED
LIGHT / UN-ARMOURED TROOPS	15	17
MEDIUM ARMOUR	16	18
HEAVY ARMOUR	18	20
+1 If figure has a shield

WEAPON STRIKE VALUES (S)	FOOT	MOUNTED
Weapons are listed in strike priority
WEAPON	FOOT	MOUNTED
SPEAR	7	9
TWO HANDED AXE/SWORD	8	-
SWORD, AXE	7	9
JAVELIN, SHORT SWORD, CLUB	6	8
DAGGER	5	7
To these add or subtract: +1 charging +3 attacking from rear -1 if attacking over obstacle

To melee throw 3D6 and add their total to a figure's strike value(s). If the overall total is greater than the opponent's defence value then the opponent is disabled and removed from play. Any figures that are outnumbered lose one from their Defence value (D) for each figure that they are outnumbered by, up to a maximum of 4.

Example: Three figures against Wulf whose "D" was 19 reduces it to 17, thus increasing his chance of being disabled.

MISSILE FIRE

To score a hit roll 1D6:

To hit at Rhort Range requires a die score of 2,3,4,5,6
To hit at Long Range requires a score of 3,4,5,6.

Subtract one from die score if target moved, if firer moved, or if target in cova.
Subtract two from die score if target is in hard cover.

Weapon	SHORT RANGE	LONG RANGE	MISSILE STRIKE VALUE
CROSSBOW	6	30	8
JAVELIN	6	-	7 (-1 at Long Range)
BOW	6	24	7
SLING	6	18	6

Throw 1D6 to score a hit, if successful, "strike as normal using the Missile Strike Value. All missile weapons may move and fire, but it takes 1 full turn stationary to reload a crossbow.

MORALE Each figure has it's own morale dice (MD) which varies depending upon the quality of the troop type.

MORALE	MORALE DICE
RAW, LEVY TROOPS	1D6
AVERAGE, TRAINED TROOPS	1D8
VETERAN TROOPS	1D10
ELITE TROOPS, CHAMPIONS	1D12

REASONS TO TEST MORALE:

• Leader disabled / routed within 12" this turn.
• Friends disabled / routed within 6" this turn
• To test to Charge or Counter Charge
• To Rally from rout (which counts as 2 reasons). Note: figures may have only one attempt to rally from rout. Each reason to test for morale counts as one (rallying = 2). Add up all the reasons and roll the relevant die for that troop type.

Results:

• A dice score which is higher than the total nurnber of reasons = the figure carries on as the player desires.
• A dice score which is equal to the total number of reasons = the figure withdraws facing the enemy one move.
• A dice score lower than the total number of reasons = the figure routs at charge speed. Note that if a leader figure is witbin 6" of a figure that is testing for moral, tbe number of morale reasons is reduced by one.

These rules are great fun for games with up to 20 figures per side and extra flavour can be added with a few optional rules.

1. Most figures may suffer only one wound before becoming disabled. To make leaders a little more heroic throw 1D6 to see how many wounds they can take before becoming disabled. Throw 1D6. Results of 1,2, or 3 = 2 wounds; 4 or 5 = 3 wounds, and 6 = 4 wounds.
2. Campaign causalities. This simple rule belps players run campaigns. At tbe end of a game turn throw 1D6 for every disabled figure: Results of I or 2 = light wound, figure recovers in 1D6 days. Results of 3 or 4 = heavy wound, figure recovers in 1D6 weeks. Results of 5 or 6 = figure is dead.

I have also developed simple rules to deal with burning building, herding animals, a serious wounds chart, aura and even luck, all dependant on a single die throw. However the above basic rules should be enough to get you going. All you need now is half a dozen or so Dark Age figures per side and a few dice then you too can become the "Invader"!

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