As promised, here is the main mechanism that I used in the scenario described in LW136. First of all, I will cover a few fundamentals which a lot of you will no doubt be familiar but it never hurts to restate them.
FUNDEMENTALS
First let me summarise the possibilities when you throw dice. For more detail see the Article by Michael Gray in LW134.
If you throw a 1D6 the chance of throwing any number 1 to 6 is as follows
| 1D6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chance | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Percent | 16.6 | 16.6 | 16.6 | 16.6 | 16.6 | 16.6 |
So to increase the chance of any action occurring, you simply attach more die numbers.
Putting this into context lets look at a table for a commanders style and his likely orders:
| Commander Style | Attack | Defend | Retreat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rash | 1,3,5 | 2,4 | 6 |
| Average | 3,5 | 2,4,6 | 1 |
| Cautious | 1 | 2,4,6 | 3,5 |
Now when you throw 2D6 you have 36 possible combinations as follows:
| 2D6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHANCE | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| % | 2.7 | 5.5 | 8.3 | 11.1 | 13.9 | 16.6 | 13.9 | 11.1 | 8.3 | 5.5 | 2.7 |
This basically means that the increased chance is to a degree already built in. Of course you can still increase the chance by attaching more dice results but it is just not quite so simple.
Move distances and combats were resolved using my own modified set of rules used for ACW but you can use any that you feel comfortable with.
Now let me move on to the actual mechanism in the scenario.
EVENT AND ACTION TABLE
Rather than use cards, I formatted a table to supply me with both events and the possible actions resulting. All this required was that every turn after turn one 2D6 were thrown and the result looked up in the table then the action was determined by further dice throws.
| Throw | Event | Action | Subsequent Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Stagecoach sighted | Send scout and 1D6 sections of troopers to the stagecoach. Throw 1D6:
1 - Stopped but empty. 2 - Burnt out 3 - Proceeding with escort 4 - Proceeding with escort 5 - Stopped with escort 6 - Running at speed | - |
| 3 | Smoke | Send scout + 1D6 sections of troopers to investigate | Next turn throw 1D6: 1,6 scrub burning - return 2,5 fire unattended return 3,4 Fire + 1D6 X 8 Indians - fight |
| 4 | Dust Cloud | Send scout + 1D6 sections to investigate | Next Turn throw 1D6 1 - Nothing 2 - Buffalo 3 - Nothing 4 - Indians [1D6 X 4] - fight 5 - Indians [1D6 X 8] - fight 6 - horses |
| 5 | Indian Sighted | Send scout + 1D6 sections to investigate. | Next Turn throw 1D6: 1 - Can’t find him - search 2 - still running 3 - got 1D6 X 8 friends - Fight 4 - got 1D6 X 8 friends - run 5 - large dust cloud retreat 6 - can’t find him - return |
| 6 | Nothing | Your command - your orders | - |
| 7 | Nothing | Your command - your orders | - |
| 8 | Nothing | Your command - your orders | - |
| 9 | Ambush | Consists 1D6 X 40 Make your dispositions and fight. Indians fire first +2 good cover | Survive!! |
| 10 | War party sighted | Consists of 1D6 X 40. Throw 2D6: Any double and you can make a run for it otherwise make your dispositions and prepare to fight! | Next throw 1D6 to see how Indians are armed: 1 - 20 % rifles 2 - 30% rifles 3 - 40% rifles 4 - 50% rifles 5 - 60% rifles 6 - 70% rifles |
| 11 | Smoke | Send scout + 1D6 sections of troopers to investigate | Next turn throw 1D6: 1,6 scrub burning - return 2,5 fire unattended.- return 3,4 Fire + 1D6 X 8 Indians fight |
| 12 | Sight Gun Runners Wagon | Send scout and 1D6 sections of troopers towards them: Throw 1D6: 1 - Take into custody 2 - Empty and deserted. 3 - Full but deserted 4 - turns away at speed. 5 - Indians (1D6 X 8) arrive. 6- turns towards you at speed | Escort action: 1 - return to command 2 - return to command 3 - take wagon and return 4 - pursue 5 - Find defensive position 6 - Proceed 1/2 speed. |
The events and actions above are relatively simple. You, of course, can make these as detailed as you wish. Then again, you could write them up on cards and dispense with the initial dice throw altogether. Create an event deck and just shuffle the deck and turn over a card; it works just as well. You could even create action decks of various types as well.
I hope this short article has at least given you something to think about. Remember, the most important aspect of wargaming is FUN. Happy soloing, Graham.
Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #137
Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues
Back to MagWeb Magazine List
© Copyright 2002 by Solo Wargamers Association.
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