MOVEMENT: Roll 1d6 as follows: 1: Natural Events Chart: Roll 1d6 to determine what occurs. 2-4: Party moves that many hexes in Savannah terrain. 5: Party moves 5 hexes in Savannah terrain IF African native warriors or Great White Hunter lead (NO Encumbrance) - Others move 3 hexes. 6 When Animals Attack Chart: roll 1d6 to see what happens. CHARGING: +1 hex (to a maximum of 4 unless African warriors) Native bearers NEVER charge anything! FOR FLEEING only!!! Drop all baggage and FULL MOVE AWAY on the quickest safest exit. No rally permitted during battle. Killed or captured if caught running. TERRAIN MODIFIER DIE: In non-Savannah terrain the following penalties: In rough or bushy terrain -1 hex In Swamp or Jungle -2 hexes Fording a river always costs 1 hex Great White Hunter/Native guide add +1 to move SHOOTING: TO HIT BASE NUMBERS: Q-Die (Quality Die) per shot fired. () if standing still. WEAPON SHOTS CLOSE (4+) EFFECTIVE (7+) LONG (12+) Musket *(1) 1 2 4 Muzzleloader Rifle *(1) 1 4 6 Breechloader Rifle 1(2) 1 4 6 Repeating Rifle 2(3) 1 3 5 Hunting Rifle 1(2) 1 4 7 Elephant Gun 1(2) 1 3 4 Bow and Arrow 1(2) 1 2 4 Pygmy Bow/Arrow 1(2) 1 3 - * May not fire if they move at 3 + speed MODIFIERS TO THE DIE ROLL: All modifiers are cumulative. FIRER is: TARGET IS: Stationary +2 Stationary +1 Moved 3+ hexes -2 Moved 3+ hexes -1 Pygmy at close +1 Pygmy in jungle -1 Expert Shot +1 In brush/Lt woods -1 In Jungle/Swamp -1 (not Pygmy) In Jungle Swamp - 2 HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT: MODIFIERS TO THE DIE ROLL: Longer weapons attack first!* Enemy is Special *** -1 You are Special *** +1 You are outnumbered (1.511) -1 You outnumber foes (1.5/1) +1 You charged this turn ** +1 Your morale is bad - 1< Pistol (2 shots if moving, 3 shots if stationary) Pistols Spear, rifle with bayonet, swords Long Weapons Hand axe, clubbed rifle or musket, short blades Standard Weapons Knife, improvised weapon, bare hands Short Weapons Must move at least two hexes to count this factor Special: European regulars, shields vs. non-shields, behind cover HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT: Results of the Die Roll: +5 kills Side losing the largest percentage of its starting force loses the Hand-to-Hand Combat, and must check Morale or Rout. MORALE: Check when any of the following occurs: 1 . A party sustains casualties or loses a Hand-to-Hand Combat. FAIL: Run for cover farther back. Move to the rear one full move. 2. A Native party comes under fire from any Machine Gun. FAIL: Run for cover. Full move away until no longer fired upon. 3. A party is surrounded or cut off from escape route or main body. FAIL: Unit panics and all figures are d6 next round. 4. A party reaches 25% and 50% casualties of its original size. FAIL: Party retreats at full speed until rallied. 5. Any Party attempting to close into Hand-to-Hand Combat. FAIL: Does not close with the enemy. Rated as next lower Q-Die for game. TO PASS A MORALE CHECK: Roll the Quality Die of the Leader. If the roll fails, then roll for each man in the party and apply the results. European regulars, African warrior tribes, Great White Hunters 4+ All other tribes, Zanzibaris, Askaris, and Civilians 5+ MODIFIERS TO THE BASE NUMBER - For Leader roll only! Lost men this turn +1 Regulars cut off or surrounded -2 Wounded men in unit +1 Native unit vs. feared enemy +2 Each 25% losses so far +1 Natives defending their village -2 vs. Pygmies in jungle +2 Whites defending a secure structure -2 Unit is outnumbered (2/1) +1 Natives entering hand-to-hand* +4 Regulars in jungle +1 Europeans entering hand-to-hand -2 This DOES NOT APPL Y to Zanzibaris, Askaris, Bowmen or Pygmies! This DOES NOT APPL Y to European soldiers or Great White Hunters! INDIVIDUAL MORALE CHECKS (After leader morale check fails): 2+ to pass. Figures who fail this check disappear into the underbrush! Europeans who fail after a Surrounded check will commit suicide. Leaders always pass individual morale checks. They truly believe in what they are attempting to accomplish, no matter who else does. SPECIAL RULES: Type Q-Die Short Medium Long MACHINE GUNS 2d6* 0-10" 10- 20" 20-36" Possible jam: roll 2d6 as follows: Gatling gun, Mitralleusejams on a roll of 10+ Lewis guns will jam on a roll of 11+ Maxim or Browning machine guns jam on a roll of 12 + If the machine gun is manned by a trained native crew, add 1 If the machine gun is in swampy or jungle terrain, add 1 If the machine gun is being manned by an untrained crew, add 3 MACHINE GUN MOVEMENT: Machine guns (like native bearers with loads) are Encumbered Troops and so they always move at the slower speeds. They also lose an extra hex when moving through non-savannah terrain and strike last in Hand-to-Hand combat. PYGMIES IN THE JUNGLE: Pygmies use a number of defensive tactics in the jungle. To represent this, if Pygmies are attacked in the jungle, the following apply: 1 . Pygmies ALWAYS have an extra modifier in the jungle, and ignore any modifiers to movement or shooting caused by the jungle! Also, Pygmies who are fighting in the jungle cannot be seen at more than one hex range! 2. Any unit attempting to charge a group of Pygmies in the jungle roll a d6 for each figure in the charging unit. On a roll of I or 2 the figure is entangled in nets! The figure is trapped for 2 turns (1 if helped by another figure NOT trapped) to escape. While in the nets, he may not shoot, and if meleed, he automatically has the shorter weapon and uses a d6 for combat! 3. Pygmies use poisoned arrows. If using the wounds rules, Pygmy arrows cause no wounds, they are ALL kills. 4. Most Africans were afraid of the Pygmies when in the jungle. Any African (tribal, Zanzibari, or Askari) who finds themselves facing Pygmies in the jungle must take a morale check as if at 50% losses! If they fail, they must RUN out of the jungle next turn! WOUNDS: In smaller games, a player may want to keep track of wounds rather than having all be kills. Roll a Q-die when a hit occurs: 1 Grazed. -1 to all rolls this turn. 2-5 Wounded. -1 to all rolls and move reduced by 1 hex for rest of game. 6+ Killed. No further actions for the rest of the game. Modifiers: Hits by musket and pistol are +1 (1 is always grazed) Hits by rifles are +2 (1 is always grazed) Hits by elephant guns are +3 (Elephant guns never graze) CONVERSION FROM HEXES TO INCHES: If the gamer wishes to use inches instead of hexes, simply multiply the number of hexes by a factor of four (4). RANDOM HAPPENINGS: Roll if the movement dice show a 1 (roll twice if two 1's are rolled). The Happening occurs immediately! Roll 2d6 to determine the occurrence: 2 QUICKSAND If the unit is not charging, then one randomly selected figure is swallowed up. If the unit is charging, roll a d6 for the number of figures who are caught, and on a I or 2 it is lost. d12 figures are NEVER caught in the quicksand! 3 BIG CAT(S) A large hunting cat of the appropriate type* has attacked a figure in the unit. Roll a Q-die for the poor fellow who needs a 6 or better to get off a shot (at a -2 for surprise). Any figures in the same hex as the poor fellow may also attempt to shoot the big cat as well! 4 ELEPHANTS d6 elephants have decided to inform the group that they are far too close for comfort, and to move away! On a d6 roll which exceeds the number of elephants, a bull elephant will charge the group! 5 BIRDS The group has spooked a huge flight of birds, and the suddenness of the event mesmerizes the group for this turn. No movement, return fire only, after taking losses. 6 SPOOKED Some undetermined happening has frightened the group into inaction! Only affects troops who use d6, d8, or d 10, who are African or Zanzibaris! 7 JUNGLE DRUMS No effect beyond a I hex loss of movement next turn! 8 BAD OMEN Group must pass a morale check immediately, or it will withdraw a full hex toward its entry point. Does not apply to Europeans. 9 HIPPO/RHINO The group is confronted with d3 belligerent hippos! (I if on land). The hippo will hold up the group for this turn, making short rushes, and bellowing if on land. If in water, the hippo will attack the nearest figure on a d6 roll of 1 or 2. 10 LIONS The group finds a pride of lions hunting directly in their path. The group will be held up for one turn, unless a I is rolled on a d6. Threat this as a #2. 11 STAMPEDE The group has startled the local fauna, and a stampede comes directly at them from the nearest board edge. The group may fire at the stampede. IF enough casualties are caused to exceed the roll of 2d6, the stampede will alter course to the nearest board edge (or split and go around the group if they are closest edge). 12 SNAKE! One randomly selected member of the group is attacked by a poisonous snake. Make a Q-die roll of 4+ or the snake bites the figure causing its removal (cobras and mambas are very deadly, eh what!? Big Cats: For jungle terrain, use a leopard or black panther. For the savannah terrain, use a lion or cheetah. SAMPLE TROOP TYPE QUALITY DICE (Q-Dice): Troop Type Firing Melee Morale Weapons Used Great White Hunters d12 d12 d12 EG/HRIP/m European Adventurers d10 d8 d10 EG/HR/P European Regulars d10 d8 d10 BLR/MLR w bayonet Baluchis d10 d10 d8 Mu*/S&S Good Askaris d10 d8 d10 BLR/MLR Poor Askaris d8 d8 d8 Mu Zanzibaris d10 d8 d8 BLR/MLR/ Mu Elite native spearmen - d12 d12 Sp Average spearmen - d10 d10 Sp Young spearmen - d10 d8 Sp Native archers d10 d8 d8 B Young native archers d8 d8 d8 B Native musketmen d8 d8 d8 MLR/Mu Ruga- Ruga d8 d8 d8 MLRJMu Pygmies d10 d6 d8 PB Native bearers - - - - WEAPON DESIGNATIONS HR Hunters rifle MLR Muzzle loading rifle Sp Spear EG Elephant gun BLR Breech loading rifle B Native bow P Pistol Mu Musket PB Pygmy bow m Machete Mu* Matchlock musket S&S Sword and shield Note: remember that native leaders, Askari leaders, etc., will sometimes be one Q-die higher than the quality of their troops. For example, a Baluchi leader would often be a dl0, while most native leaders will be d10's or d12's. ANIMAL STATISTICS: Animal Q-Die Normal Other Appearing Panic AGG TF Antelope* d6 2/6 1/5 3d6 2+ 0 1 Gembok* d8 2/6 1/4 2d6+6 3+ 1 3 Giraffe* d8 2/5 1/4 d6 4+ 1 4 Warthog d8 2/4 2/4 1 9+ 4 6 Wildebeest d8 2/6 1/5 2d6+6 4+ 2 5 Zebra d6 2/6 1/5 2d6 3+ 1 4 Cheetah* d8 2/7 2/5 d3 6+ 4 3 Black Panther 2d10 2/5 2/4 1 9+ 5 5 Leopard 2d8 2/5 2/4 1 8+ 5 5 Lion 2d10 2/5 2/4 d6+4 8+ 4 6 Jackal d6 2/5 2/4 d6 3+ 3 2 Hyena d8 2/5 2/5 d6+2 5+ 3 4 Elephant 3d10 2/5 2/5 d6** 8+ 3 12 Hippopotamus* 2d10 2/4 2/4 d3 7+ 4 12 Rhinoceros 2d10 2/4 2/4 d2*** 9+ 4 12 Crocodile d10+d8 1/2 1/2 d6 7+ 4 6 * Can only run one turn ** If the APPEAR number is 1, it is a rogue male and has an AGG of 6! *** If two (2) APPEAR, the second is a baby, and the AGG is 6! AGGRESSIVENESS (AGG): - Likelihood that it will attack - roll a d6 if exceeds the AGG, it does not attack. TOUGHNESS (TF): Simplified to show the relative difficulty of dropping the animal with a shot or in melee. IF a hit has been scored, roll the Q-die listed below. If the resulting number exceeds the animal's Toughness, the animal has been killed. If the number rolled is equal to the roll, the animal has been wounded, and its AGG is 4+, its AGG is now 6, otherwise, the wounded animal flees at full speed taking one wound per turn (bleeding) till it drops dead at 0 wounds. A wounded animals Toughness is lowered by 1 for each would. At 0 wounds the animal dies. Weapon Strength Pistols d10 Muskets d10 Most rifles d12 Hunting rifles D20 Elephant gun D20 Bow& Arrow d8 Hand-to-Hand d6 Figures d6 d8 Figures d8 d 10 Figures d10 d 12 Figures d12 Spear +2 Machete/Sword* +1 Animals vs. Elephant/Rhino/Hippo* Big Cats add their Q-die rolls into one total. Hand-to-hand in water is at \1 vs. Crocs/Hippos This bonus DOES NOT APPLY when fighting ElephantslHipposlRhinos. These animals may only be wounded in hand-to-hand, not killed outright! SAMPLE CHARACTER CARDS FOR BEYOND THE PALE: Back to MWAN #103 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum 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