The US Army and TRWNN

Old West

By Dean R. Halley

With all of the Cavalry figures put out by The Foundry for the Old West with Infantry and Artillery rumored to follow eventually), I am surprised there are no specific rules for them in THE RULES WITH NO NAME (A.K.A TRWNN) . For those of you not familiar with TRWNN it is a set of rules for the Old West written by Brian Ansell of The Foundry. If you like Hollywood style games set in that era, then I heartily recommend you give it a try. A copy of TRWNN can be found in MWAN #82, or you can contact The Foundry directly for one. Either way I don't think you'll be sorry.

I am not going to try and review TRWNN here, because others before me have already done that with much more flair than I could ever muster (Walter O'Hara and David Markley in MWAN #96, and Rob Lusk in MWAN 498). But what I am going to do is provide TRWNN players with some (unofficial) rules for the Army that will allow soldiers to fight as a unit (after all, soldiers were not cowboys, so there is no reason they should have to fight as if they were). And as an added bonus I have included some new rules for the Indians, an unofficial set of rules for a Campaign Game, and an ambush option that is cheesy but fun. Ail in all it is a package deal that you will find useful if you play TRWNN out on the range.

The new rules have been set up in an outline format. I hope that will make them more palatable and easier to use.

PART I: GETTING THE ARMY ORGANIZED

SECTION A: CHARACTER CLASSES.

There are five Character classes in the Army. They are:

Greenhorns: These men have just joined the Army, and they donn't know the first thing about fighting Indians (or anyone else for that matter). Greenhorns are equivalent to an "Improved" Citizen, and they have the rank of private.

Old Sweats: These men have been in the Army for a few years, so they have a fairly good idea of what's going on. Old Sweats are equivalent to a Gunman, and have the rank of Private.

NCOs: These are the Sergeants and Corporals who tell the Greenhorns and Old Sweats what to do. Corporals are equivalent to an "Improved" Gunman, and Sergeants are equivalent to a Shootist.

Officers: These are the men who tell the Greenhorns, Old Sweats, NCOs, and (depending on rank) each other what to do.There are six different ranks for them to choose from: 2nd Lieutenant, 1st Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Colonel, and General.

    2nd Lieutenants are equivalent to a Gunman.
    1st Lieutenants are equivalent to an "Improved" Gunman.
    Captains are equivalent to an "Improved" Shootist.
    Majors are equivalent to a Shootist.
    Colonels are equivalent to an "Improved" Gunman.
    Generals are equivalent to a Gunman.

Only one Officer per rank is allowed in each game (I.E. there can't be two Captains in the game) . The rank limitations are meant to reduce the number of rules, but if you don't mind the extra work then feel free to treat Officers like NCos when it comes to having more than one per rank.

The rationale of having a Captain in a higher Class than a Colonel or a General has to do with TRWNN being a Skirmish game. I think it's fair to say that a Captain would usually perform better in combat than a Colonel or General, because in most cases the Colonel and General would have been awav from "the whites of their eyes" type fighting for quite a number of years.

Scouts: These men (usually civilians) knew the plains and mountains like the back of their hands, and they were hired by the Army to keep them from getting lost or ambushed. Scouts are equivalent to Legends, and they can use all of the Action cards in the deck except the one for a Mighty Warrior.

Make an Action Card for each Class and add it to the Fate Deck. Soldiers can use any appropriate cowboy Action Cards that's in the Deck (I.E. a Greenhorn can use a Citizen Action Card), but they cannot use Indian Action Cards.

Any Character that belongs to an "Improved" class (I.E. an Improved Citizen) is still in that class, but he is treated as if he is in the class above him. For example: A Greenhorn ~who is equivalent to an "Improved" Citizen) can only use the Citizen or Greenhorn Action Card, but he can move, fight, and check nerve as if he was a Gunman. This was the easiest way I could come up with to compensate soldiers for their training and organization (which is different than their ability or experience).

SECTION B: THE CHAIN OF COMMAND

The rank of each Soldier establishes where he is in the Chain of Command (I am assuming that everyone who plays these games knows what a Chain of Command is, so I am not going to bore you by trying to explain it further. For those of you who don't know what it is, then find someone who does and have them explain it to you). To insure that the Chain of Command doesn't become top heavy (you know, more officers than privates) I recommend using the following ratios when handing out rank:

  • One Corporal for every three Privates (fractions rounded up).
  • One Sergeant for every two Corporals (fractions rounded up).
  • One officer for every six enlisted men (fractions rounded down).

The Officers are assigned rank from the bottom up. The first officer selected becomes a 2" Lieutenant, the second Officer selected becomes a 1" Lieutenant, the third officer selected becomes a Captain, and so on and so forth.

SECTION C: USING THE CHAIN OF COMMAND

The Officer or NCO with the highest rank at the beginning of the game will start the game as the Officer in Charge (A.K.A. OIC) , and he remains the OTC until he is killed or the game ends. The OIC is in command of all other soldiers and Scouts in the game.

Since the OIC is the Military's version of a "Bossman" a Character automatically gains the "Bossman" skill when he becomes the OIC (this is in addition to any other skills he already has). The Bossman skill can only be used by the OIC.

If the OIC is killed during the game, then the Chain of Command kicks in and the Officer or NCO with the next highest rank becomes the OIC. If there is more than one eligible Character (I.E. two sergeants) then each of them rolls 2d6. The Character with the highest roll becomes the OIC. If this new OIC is killed, then the Chain of Command kicks in again, and so on, until there are no officers or NCOs left. When that happens the Army is temporally out of anyone qualified to be an OTC, so the Old Sweats and Greenhorns that are left have to finish the game without one.

All of the Greenhorns that are left when the last OIC is killed have to roll 2d6. It the roll is greater than or equal to "9" then they panic for the rest of the game (Panic is explained in Part III, Section J).

SECTION D: THE CHARACTER OF A CHARACTER.

Each Private has to roll 2d6 to determine if he starts the game as a Greenhorn or an Old Sweat.

    1 to 7He is an Old Sweat.
    8 to 12 he is a Greenhorn.

Each Officer and NCO has to roll 1d6 to determine what type of Leader he is.

    1 An Outstanding Leader.
    2, 3, 4, or 5 - An Average Leader.
    6 = A Terrible Leader.

An Outstanding Leader is the type of man who instinctively knows what to do when the poop hits the fan. A Terrible Leader couldn't pour water out of a hoot if the instructions were wyitten on the heel. And an Average Leader is somewhere in between.

Each Soldier rolls 1d6 to determine what kind of rider be is. Greenhorns subtract 1 from their roll, and Officers and NCOs add 1.

    1 = an inept rider.
    2 = a poor rider.
    3, 4, and 5 - a good Rider.
    6 = an expert rider.

SECTION E: OIC ACTION CARDS.

Make three OIC Action Cards for the Fate Deck. How many of those Cards are used at any given time will depend on the type of Leader the OIC is. An Outstanding Leader gets three; an average Leader gets two, and a Terrible Leader gets one. The required number OIC Action Cards are shuffled into the deck each time there is a new OIC.

This means the number of OIC Action Cards in the Fate Deck may change each time the Army gets a new OIC. The only good way to deal with this (that I can think of anyway) is to add or subtract the necessary Cards and then reshuffle the entire deck. If the number of OIC Action Cards doesn't change (because the old and new Leader are the same type) then the only time you have to reshuffle the deck is when one of the OIC Action Cards has already been played.

OIC Action Cards can only be used by the OIC.

SECTION F: THE OIC'S COMMAND RANGE.

The Command Range is the distance at which the OIC's voice can be heard when he is yelling to get things. The Command Range is used in Group Movement Actions to determine which soldiers will take part in it (Group Movement Actions are explained in Part III, Section A). Soldiers that are in the Command Range have to take part in the action, while soldiers out of the Command Range can't take part even if they wanted to. The Command Range is measured in inches.

The Command Range is increased three fold if there is a bugler within three inches of the OTC (I.E. a Command Range of 5 would be increased to 15). Only the bugler can be a bugler, so once he's dead your out of buglers.

SECTION G: SKILLS AND ATTRIBUTES.

Soldiers cannot use the following skills:
Crack Shot, Legend of the West, Lightning Fast, Marksman, Quick Shot, Stealthy, True Grit, Vengeful, White Knight, and Wildman.

Each Old Sweat and Officer starts the game with one skill, and NCOs start the game with two (Greenhorns are too green to start with anything).

PART II: MORE RULES FOR THE INDIANS

SECTION A: NON- COMBATANTS.

Non-Combatants are a new class of Characters that is made up of old men, Women and young children. Non-Combatants cannot attack anyone (but they can defend themselves), and they have to subtract 2 dice from any shot they take with a firearm or bow. The Game Master is allowed to modify this on a Character by Character basis (there are recorded cases of Old Men and women fighting along side the younger Warriors) . Non-Combatants are equivalent to a Citizen, and are good riders.

SECTION B: FIGHTING TO THE DEATH.

Indians were known to fight to the death from time to time, so I thought it would be fun to allow the Indians that option in TRWNN.

Fighting to the Death is always voluntary, but a Character must decide to do it before the game starts.

Indians that are fighting to the death never has to check for nerve, they have to stay on the playing area until the game ends, and they get the following skills:

    Hard as Nails (doubled).
    Nerves of Steel.
    Tough.

These skills are in addition to any others they already have. If a character that is fighting to the death is already Hard as Nails then the skill is tripled.

SECTION I: REINFORCEMENTS.

The Indians need to have some sort of edge to offset the Army's ability to conduct Group Movement Actions. The only one that I could come up with (that didn't need a lot of rules), was to let the Indians get reinforcements during the game.

The number of reinforcements the Indians get is determined by rolling two white dice and two black dice, and then subtracting the sum of the white dice from the sum of the black dice (if the result is less than 0, then the Indians don~t get anything). I recommend that the rolls be made in secret, so that the Army doesn't know how many (if any) reinforcements are coming.

When and where the Reinforcements show up at is determined by designating one edge of the playing area as the North side before the game starts, and having the Warleader roll 2d6 each time the Fate Deck is shuffled. If his roll is less than or equal to the number of times the deck has been shuffled then the reinforcements have arrived, and the Warleader rolls ld6 to determine where they arrive at.

    1 On the North Side of the playing area.
    2 On the East Side of the playing area.
    3 On the South side of the playing area.
    4 On the West Side of the playing area.
    5 On the side of the WarLeader's choice.
    6 On the side of the OIC's choice.

The Reinforcements are placed anywhere along the edge the owning player(s) deem appropriate, up to a maximum of two inches in; and all the new cards are shuffled into the Fate Deck (I.E. Character Cards for the Reinforcements and any new Action Cards). The two inches are measured from the edge of the playing area to the rear/side of the figure's base.

Resume play after the reinforcements are in place.

PART III: NEW RULES FOR THE GAME

SECTION A: GROUP MOVEMENT ACTIONS.

A Group Movement Action is an action that allows two or more soldiers to move at the same time. Group Movement Actions can only be initiated by the OIC when one of his OIC Action Cards is drawn. There are four different Group Movement Actions for the OIC to choose from. They are:

    Forming a Firing Line (see Section C for details).
    Disbanding the Firing Line (see Section F for details).
    Moving as a group (see Section G for details).
    Cavalry Charge (see Section I details).

Group Movement Actions cannot be used in conjunction with any other action.

SECTION B: USING THE OIC ACTION CARDS.

An OIC Action Card cannot be taken into the OIC's hand for later use. When an OIC Action Card is drawn the OIC has to use it right then to either pass or initiate one (and only one) of the Group Movement Actions (I.E. he can't do anything else):

The OIC Action Card is placed in the discard pile after the Action has been completed.

SECTION C: FORMING A FIRING LINE:

The OIC declares he is forming a firing line, and then rolls a 2d6. The result is the OIC's Command Range (so if the OIC rolls a "6" then he has a six inch Command range) . Any soldier in the Command Range has to form up into a Firing Line.

There are two different ways you can form a Firing Line. The first way is the easiest. Move all of the soldiers in the OIC's Command Range to any location on the playing area that is in front of the OIC, and within his Command Range (try to balance it out, so they don't all end up on one side or the other of the OIC).

The second way requires a little more work, but is more pleasing to the eye (and isn't that what miniatures are all about?). Make a rectangular shaped Template that is two stands wide by eight inches long (if the size of the stands vary then use the largest one as the standard) . Center that template in front of the OIC, up to two inches away from him, and then move all of the soldiers in his Command Range onto the Template. The order in which the Characters are moved is left up to the OIC/Game Master. All of the soldiers on the Template have to be within one and a half inches of at least one other soldier. if the Template is not big enough for everyone moving onto it then increase the width of it until it is. No movement rolls are required for this, but each character can only move the distance needed to position him self on the template.

Regardless of which option you choose all of the soldiers in the Firing Line have to he facing in the same direction as the 0IC. The only exception to this is the soldiers on either end of the Line. They can act as flank security by facing up to a 90 degree angle away from the OIC. If the length/area of the Firing Line in option 42 exceeds the OIC's Command Range, then any soldier within the boundaries of Firing Line automatically join it. For example: The OIC rolls a "S" for his Command Range, but the template for his Firing Line is eight inches long. That means that any soldiers within the area covered by the Template automatically joins the Firing Line.

The Only actions that can be taken by a Character in a Firing Line are to fire, Reload, and Fix his weapon(s) (this includes the OIC). Soldiers cannot leave the Firing Line until the OTC disbands it or the Line becomes breaks

SECTION D: THE BENEFITS OF A FIRING LINE.

Soldiers in a Firing Line get the following benefits:

  • They add one dice when firing a rifle, carbine, or pistol.
  • They can use any equivalent Action Card in the deck.
  • They can use any Action Card of the Class above them.

For example: an Old Sweat in a Firing Line can use the Greenhorn, Citizen, Old Sweat, Gunman, Hot Blood, NCO, ShootisL, and Warrior Action Cards.

SECTION E: BREAKING THE FIRING LINE.

The Firing Line breaks when the OIC is seriously wounded or killed, anyone in the line (including the OIC) becomes engaged in close combat, and/or a soldier in the Line is hit by a shot coming from the flank or rear. The flank is determined by the facing of the Characters on flank security, and the rear is determined by the facing of the OIC.

Everyone in a Firing Line that breaks has to roll 2d6. Greenhorns Panic if their roll is greater than "9". Old Sweats Panic if their roll is greater "10". Officers, NCOs, and Scouts panic if their roll is greater than "11". Subtract "1" from everyone's roll if the OIC is an Outstanding Leader, and add "1" to everyone's roll if he is a Terrible Leader (see section J for Panic rules).

SECTION F: DISBANDING THE FIRING LINE.

The OTC verbally declares that the Firing Line has is disbanded. When a Firing Line is disbanded the Soldiers that were in it can take any action they want to, and the benefits from Section E no longer apply.

SECTION G: MOVING AS A GROUP.

The OIC verbally declares his command will move as a group, and then rolls 2d6. The result is his Command Range. All of the soldiers in the OIC's Command Range must move, or move and fire. Where each character moves to is left to the discretion of the owning player (the OIC can try to influence where he goes, but no one has to listen to him). The OIC always moves first.

Characters moving as a group cannot engage the enemy in close combat, conduct any passing blows, trample anyone, or move closer to the enemy that they were when the Group Movement started.

SECTION H: CAVALRY CHARGE.

The OIC verbally declares a charge is going to take place, and then rolls 2d6. This is his Command Range. All of the soldiers in his Command Range have to perform a mounted charge against the enemy. The order in which everyone moves is left up to the discretion of the OIC. Each Character taking part in the charge has to try and engage one or more of the enemy in the closest combat possible. (I.E. fire a weapon at close or short range, trample someone, strike one or more passing blows, or make an heroic leap onto another Character).

The combat can take place during and/or at the end of the move. Everyone has to be mounted before the charge can begin, so if anyone in the Command Range has to mount up then everyone in the charge subtracts the lowest dice roll from their first movement roil. If a soldier's horse is dead he can't take part in the charge. The type of combat each soldier engages in is left up to the discretion of the owning players. Characters can fire twice during the charge, and they are temporarily moved into the riding class above them (so a poor rider becomes a good rider for the charge, but reverts back to a poor rider after the charge is complete).

If the charge is a bust ~because his roll was too low to reach the enemy) then the charging Character has to fire his rifle or pistol at the nearest enemy after he is done moving ~taking a lucky shot if need be).

A charge was very hard on the horses involved, so only two Charge Actions are allowed per game. The first Charge Action is completed without penalty. But the second Charge Action would be on tired horses, so the characters involved have to subtract the lowest movement dice in each of their rolls.

A mounted charge could be a very intimidating thing if you are on the receiving end of it. So all enemy characters that have a Line of Sight to the OIC when the charge is declared have to check for nerve before the charge is made (the soldiers have to hold up a for a minute or so while they resolve their nerve). Any character that fails this nerve check immediately runs away by taking a free movement Action. Characters run away by rolling the maximum number of movement dice their mode of transportation allows, and then move that many inches. The only direction they can move is away from the charge, and each Character that runs away has to keep running until he can pass another nerve check at the beginning of any of his subsequent turns. Any character forced to exit the playing area is out of the game.

A Character that passes his nerve check can choose to run away voluntarily, but he can't take his free move until after the soldiers have charged.

For example:

Yellow Buzzard is on foot, and Wolf Dog is mounted on a f-,ne paint. They see the 01C forming the long Knives up for a charge, so each of them make a nerve check. Both Yellow Buzzard and Wolf dog fail, so they immediately -run away (this is not panic; It's just a time where discretion becomes the better part of valor). Yellow Buzzard is on foot, so he -rolls 3d6. The result is "18" (he -really must not want to be there), so he turns his back to the cavalry and moves 18 inches in as straight a line as possible. Wolf Dog is an expert rider, so he rolls 9d6 (or he can roll 3d6 three times, moving after each roll). The result is "31", so he turns his back to the cavalry and moves 31 inches in as straight a line as possible. The soldiers now make their charge.

Yellow Buzzard's Character Card is drawn next. Since his last action was to run away, he has to make a nerve check to see if he keeps on running. Yellow Buzzard passes his nerve check, so he can take any action he wants to for his turn. Wolf Dog's card is drawn a short time later, and he has to take a nerve check too before he does anything else. Wolf dog fails his check, so he has to keep on -running by rolling 9d6 and moving that distance in the direction he is facing. This moves Wolf Dog off of the playing area, so he is out of the game.

SECTION I: TARGET PROXIMITY.

Mighty Warriors, Officers, Sergeants, and Scouts can shoot at who ever they want to. Ail other figures have to shoot at enemy closest to them.

SECTION J: PANIC.

Panic is a state of sheer terror. The only Action a Character can take when he panics is to move, and the only move he can make is to try and get off the playing area by the shortest route possible.

If he is surrounded, then he has to ride past the enemy without engaging them in any type of combat.

SECTION J: PURSUIT.

Soldiers who panic are extremely vulnerable to pursuing Indians. Any Indians who wants to can pursue a soldier who has Panicked if there are no other soldiers closer to him. The Indian(s) in pursuit would view the chase much like a buffalo hunt, and their goal would be to run the soldier down and kill him. The Indian who actually kills the soldier gets to count it as taking coup. The Soldiers goal in the "hunt" is to get off the playing area before he is killed.

The pursuing Indian(s) and the fleeing soldier both take a movement action when any of their Character Cards are drawn. The Soldier always moves first. The Indians(s) can move or move and fire, but the soldier can only move. Action Cards are used normally. The pursuit ends if the soldier is killed before he can exit the playing area, or when the soldier exits the playing area before he is killed. If the soldier is able to exit the playing area without getting killed then the pursuing Indian(s) have to follow him out of the game. If the soldier is killed before exiting the playing area then the pursuing Indians can rejoin the battle normally.

For example:

Private Smith has Panicked, so he must flee the playing area as fast as he can. Yellow Buzzard sees Smith Panic, so he decides to go after him. When Smith's Character Card is drawn Smith must take a Move Action and Yellow Buzzard can take either ~ Move or Move and Fire Action. When Yellow Buzzards Card is drawn Smith must take another Move action, and Yellow Buzzard must take another Move or Move and Fire Action. The chase continues until Smith makes it off the playing area, followed by Yellow Buzzard, or Yellow Buzzard kills him before he does.

SECTION K: INDIRECT FIRE.

One of the tricks the Indians used at the Battle of The Little Big Horn was to shoot their arrows in an arc from behind cover in the hope that it would came down on top of someone. I don't know how effective that was (because no one was left alive to tell us), but I thought it would be a fun option for the Indians to use.

Indirect fire can only be used with a how at medium, long, or extreme range, and requires the use of a 6" circular template (making one out of paper is fine) . The center of the template is placed on a soldier at the appropriate range, and the shooter rolls 1d6. If a hit is obtained, then each of the figures under the template roll 2d6. The character with the highest roll is the one who gets plugged (re-roll all ties if the tie is for the high roll). Resolve all hits normally.

Indians using indirect fire have to be behind cover or concealment, and completely out of sight of the enemy Character they are shooting at.

SECTION L: SCOUTS.

Scouts don't have to take part in "Group Movement" Actions if they don't want to (in essence, they ignore the OIC). Scouts can also act as a surrogate Leader for Greenhorns to prevent them from panicking. The Greenhorns have to be within 6" of a Scout to get that benefit, and the Scout acting in such a capacity doesn't get any OIC Action Cards.

SECTION M: FRAGGING.

No fragging is allowed. For those of you not familiar with the term it means intentionally killing an Officer or NCO by "friendly fire". Such a tactic would be useful in getting rid of any Terrible Leaders you have, but I imagine it didn't happen much in the late 1800s (so you'll have to let the Indians do it for you).

PART IV: THE CAMPAIGN GAME

These Campaign Game rules provide a systematic way to promote and/or improve Characters between games, and to allow the end of one game to effect the start of the next. A few definitions are in order before you proceed. The term "surviving" refers to a Character who survived the last game. The term "new" refers to a soldier who is promoted between games (so he will start the next game at a higher rank than he ended the last game at). The term "Force Pool" refers to any appropriate figures that are not currently being used.

SECTION A: REPLACEMENTS FOR THE ARMY.

The Army uses the time between the games to lick its wounds, and replace it' S dead with new Recruits (i.e. Greenhorns). The number of Recruits the Army gets depends on the number of men it lost in the last game. The Game Master rolls 1d6 to determine how many that will be.

DRRESULTS
1Replace 50% of the men that were killed in the last game.Complete Army Notes 1 through 16.
2Replace 75% of the men that were killed in the last game.Complete Army Notes 1 through 16.
3Replace 100% of the men that were killed in the last game.Complete Army Notes 1 through 16.
4Replace 150% of the men that were killed in the last game.Complete Army Notes 1 through 16.
5There are no replacements to be had. Complete Army Notes 2 through 16.
6Massive desertions take place! Remove 25% of the Greenhorns and Old Sweatsthat survived the last game. Complete Army notes 17 through 19.

ARMY NOTES:

1. All replacements start the game as Greenhorns.
2. All surviving Characters have their wounds healed.
3. All surviving Characters recover from Panic (I am not sure when this would be needed, but you never know).
4. All surviving Greenhorns are "promoted" to Old sweats.
5. Determine how many Sergeants you will need for the next game refer to Part 1, Section B). If there aren't enough Sergeants left, then promote as many of the surviving Corporals as required to fill the vacant Sergeant slots. If there are more surviving Corporals than there are vacant Sergeant slots, then all of the surviving Corporals roll 2d6. Each Corporal gets to add a +1 modifier to his roll for each game he=s been a Corporal. The Corporal with the highest modified dice roll gets promoted first, followed by the Corporal with the second highest modified dice roll, and so on until all the vacant Sergeant slots have been filled. Ties are re-rolled only if it effects who gets promoted and who doesn't. If there aren't enough surviving Corporals to fill all of the vacant Sergeant slots, then go to the Force Pool and get the rest of the Sergeants from there (I doubt you'll ever have to go to the Force Pool, but I included it just in case).
6. Determine how many Corporals you need for the next game. if there are not enough Corporals left (because they either got killed or promoted) , then promote as many of the surviving Old Sweats as required to fill the vacant Corporal slots. If there are more surviving Old sweats than there are vacant Corporal slots then all of the surviving old Sweats roll 2d6. The Old Sweat with the highest roll is promoted first, followed by the Old Sweat with the second highest roll, and so on until all the vacant slots have been filled. Ties are only re-rolled if it effects who gets promoted and who doesn't. If there aren't enough surviving Old Sweats left to fill all of the vacant Corporal slots, then go to the force pool and get the rest of the Corporals from there. All new Corporals have to roll for the type of Leader they are.
7. Replace the number of Old Sweats that were promoted to Corporal with an equal number of Recruits. In other words, if three surviving Old Sweats were promoted to Corporal, then three new Recruits are added to the ranks from the Force Pool as their replacements.
8. Only one Officer per rank is allowed (I.E. there can't be two Captains in the same game) , so if all of the Officer ranks are filled at the end of a game then you don-t get any new officers for the next game.
9. All surviving Officers are promoted one rank if the rank above them is vacant. Otherwise, they stay at their current rank for the next game.
10. The only replacement available for a dead officer, regardless of what his rank was, is a 2nd Lieutenant; and you're allowed only one replacement per game. In other words, if one or more officers are killed then you replace them all with one 2nd Lieutenant from the Force Pool! Any 2`~ Lieutenant coming aboard as a replacement has to roll for the type of Leader he is.
11. If the 2'd Lieutenant spot is vacant, but no Officers were killed in the last game, then roll 2d6 to see if you get a replacement 2nd Lieutenant anyway (notes #9 and #10 are mutually exclusive, so you can't do both). On a roll of "7" you get a 2nd Lieutenant from the Force Pool. On a roll of anything else you don't. Any 2nd Lieutenants coming aboard as a replacement has to roll for what type of Leader he is.
12. If you're out of Scouts (because he was killed or you never had one to start with) then roll one 1d6.

    1 or 2 = No scout for the next game.
    3, 4, S, or 6 = Add a Scout for the next game.

Subtract 1 from the roll if the OIC for the next game is a Terrible Leader (it's that "I don't need you to tell me how to get there" type of arrogance).
13. Each surviving Officers and NCO who is a Terrible Leader can try to become Average by rolling a 2d6. If the roll is doubles or a "7" he becomes Average. If the roll is anything else he remains Terrible.
14. officers and NCOs must use all of the Officer and NCO figures that are available before they can start using enlisted figures. Regardless of what type of figures you're using don't feel obligated to tell your opponents who is what.
15. New Old Sweats and replacement 2nd Lieutenants draw for the appropriate number of skills. All surviving Old Sweats, New Corporals, surviving NCOs, and Officers roll 2d6 to see if they get new skills or lose existing ones.

    2 or 3 = Draw a new skill.
    4 to 11 = No change in his skills.
    12 = Lose a skill (The owning player's choice).

Legends subtract 1 from the roll. The ability to lose skills is clue to age or human nature, ind yes it is possible for a character to be skill-less by his third game.
16. Surviving Captains, Majors, Colonels and Sergeants arc, eligible to become Legends if they meet the following qualifications:
  • They aren't Yellow, Stoopid, or Jumpy.
  • The Officers was the OIC in at least one previous game. The eligible characters roll 2d.6. On a result of 2 or 12 they become Legends. Any other result is just a wasted dice roll.

17. Only Greenhorns and Old Sweats can desert, but the number Lost through desertion is counted towards replacements forthe next game.

18. Each of the surviving Greenhorns and Old Sweats roils 2d6. The one with the highest roll deserts first, followed by the next highest roll, and so on until the 25~~ level have been reached. Ties are re-rolled only if it effects who goes and who stays . The Characters that desert are immediately removed from play as if they were killed.

19. The surviving Leader (if there is one) is held responsible by the War Department for the desertions, so as punishment he won' t be promoted for the next three games. During that time any Officers of lower rank can be promoted past him when and if the rank above him becomes vacant.

For example: The 1st game in a Campaign is over, and Captain Smith and 2nd Lieutenant Jones are the only Officers who survived it. That makes Jones the Surviving OIC. In preparation for game #2 the Game Master rolls 1d6 or Replacements. Unfortunately for Jones, he rolls a "6", so massive desertion to take place in the ranks. The War Department finds out post haste, and Jones is held responsible for the desertions because he was in command when it happened. The War Department punishes Jones by making him ineligible for promotion for the next three games (I.E. he can't be promoted until the Game Master rolls for replacements at the end of game #4). But 2nd Lieutenant Smith is eligible for promotion, so he is promoted to 1st Lieutenant for game #2.

At the end of game #2 1st Lieutenant Smith becomes eligible for promotion again, but since Captain Jones remains stuck at Captain Smith is meritoriously promoted past him to Major for game #3.

At the end of game #3, Smith is promoted to Colonel while Jones remains a Captain. At the end of game #4, Smith is promoted to General and Jones is finally promoted to Major (provide of course that the rank of Major is vacant, because other officers besides Smith may have been promoted past him while he spent all that time at Captain).

20. All other surviving officers complete notes #7 through #10.

SECTION B: REPLACEMENTS FOR THE INDIANS.

Roll 1d6 on the following table to determine how many Indians there will be in the next ga

    1, 2, or 3The Indians outnumber the Army by at least ld6. See the War party Notes bel
    4, 5, or 6The Indians outnumber the Army by at least 2d6. See the War Party Notes below.

This may not seem like much at times, but remember there is always the chance of reinforcements.

War Party Notes:

  • All surviving Hot Bloods are promoted to Warrior.
  • Warriors become Mighty Warriors the same way that Shootists become Legends.
  • All eligible Warriors are promoted to Mighty Warriors.
  • All surviving Indians are used first. Get any others you need from the Force Pool.
  • All Indians obtained from the Force Pool roll 2d6.
      1 To 7 Hot Blood.
      8 To 12 Warrior.
  • The term "at least" refers to those rare occasions where the number of surviving Indians exceeds the number needed for the War Party. In that case all of the surviving Indians are still used.

SECTION C: PICKING A WARLEADER.

The Warleader will be selected according to class. Mighty Warriors become Warleaders before Warriors, and Warriors before Hot Bloods. So select the warleader based on who is available. If more than one Indian is eligible to become Warleader then each of them rolls 2d6.

For example: War Party #1 has two Mighty Warriors, seven Warriors, and five Hot Bloods in it. Each Mighty Warrior rolls 2d6 to determine which of them will be the Warleader. The one with the highest roll is it.

War Party #2 has eight Warriors and eight Hot Bloods in I r. Each Warrior rolls 2d6 to determine which one of Lhern will be the Warleader. The Warrior with Lhe highest roll is it.

Re-roll all ties only if it effects who is the War Leader and who isn't.

SECTION D: SURVIVING A FIGHT TO THE DEATH:

Anyone that survives a Fight to the Death has achieved whatever goal motivated him to do it in the first place, so he becomes ineligible to fight to the death for the next two games.

PART V: THE AMBUSH OPTION

This option will only work in scenarios where a patrol is out looking for Indians, or it is trying to get from point A to Point B. The Ambush Option requires the game to be played in two consecutive phases. The first phase is called the Ambush Phase, and the second phase is called the Battle Phase. In the Ambush Phase the Indians try to ambush the soldiers by using a slimed down version of TRWNN. In the Battle Phase the ambush is over and everyone plays the game normally (with the new rules of course).

SECTION A: SETTING UP THE AMBUSH PHASE.

The OIC has a little bit of paper work to do before anyone sets up his figures. This consists of drawing a map of the playing area, and then marking on it the patrol's entry and/or exit points (don't try to be an artist, just make it legible).

While the OIC is drawing the map one of the other players needs to make up 20 Movement Cards and 10 Ambush Cards (the Movement Cards will have the word "Movement" written on them, and the Ambush Cards will have the word "Ambush"). The Movement Cards are used by the Patrol for movement. The Ambush Cards are used to determine the success of the Ambush. These cards are shuffled together to form an ISY Deck (ISY stands for I SEE YOU). The ISY Deck is the only deck used in the Ambush phase, so set the Fate Deck aside for now.

When the OIC is through drawing the map he shows it to the Warleader for 45 seconds. After those 45 seconds are up the OIC takes the map back (be nice).

The Warleader picks an Ambush site that is at least 24 inches away from where the patrol enters or sets up (hint, hint make it on or next to the route they will take) . Place the Warleader on the Ambush site, and then set up the rest of the War Party behind him, within eight inches of his stand (owning players get to choose final placement).

The patrol sets up in column formation next to their start/entry point. The column formation must meet the following criteria:

  • The OTC sets up next to the entry/start point.
  • The bugler sets up on the left side of the OIC.
  • The Standard Bearer sets up on the right side of the OIC.
  • The rest of the soldiers set up in single or double files directly behind them (the OIC decides which it will be).
  • The maximum distance between each figure will be two inches, measured back to front and near side to near side.
  • If a Scout is available then roll two dice and set him up that many inches in front of he OIC.

SECTION B: THE AMBUSH PHASE

Begin the Ambush Phase by shuffling the ISY Deck and drawing the top card. If a Movement Card is drawn the OIC rolls one dice and adds three. That is the number of inches the Patrol must move along their pre-designated route (this includes the Scout) . Move the Scout first (if there is one) , the OIC second, the Bugler third, the Standard Bearer fourth, and the file(s) last. Everyone has to maintain their place in the formation as they move.

If an Ambush Card is drawn the following steps are completed in the order given (read each step in its entirety before completing it):

Step #1: Go to Step 42 if the Patrol has a Scout. Go to Step #6 if it doesn't.

Step #2: The Scout tries to spot the ambush by rolling percentage dice. The Ambush is spotted if he rolls doubles, and/or his roll is less than or equal to 25-1 (the doubles represent the possibility of some Hot Blood springing the ambush prematurely). The scout adds 1* to the roll for each inch he is from the Warleader (fractions rounded up). Go to Step 47 if the Ambush is spotted. Go to Step 43 if it isn't.

Step #3: The Warleader decides to either spring the Ambush now or wait for the Patrol to get closer. He has to verbally declare his choice before going to the next step. Go to Step #4 if he decides to spring the Ambush. Go to Step #5 if he Joesn' t .

Step #4: each Indian in the Ambush site conducts a Fire Action at the soldier closest to him. Go to step #7 after the action is completed.

Step #5: Draw the next card from the ISY Deck.

STEP #6: The OIC rolls two 2d6. The Ambush is spotted if he rolls a 2, 3, 11, or a 12 (this represents anomalies like the sun reflecting of a bright object or a rock giving way). Go to Step #7 if the Ambush is spotted. Go to step #3 if it is not.

Step #7: The Ambush Phase ends. Go to Step #8.

Step #8: Replace the ISY Deck with the Fate Deck. Go to Step #9.

Step #9: Begin the Battle Phase by drawing the top card from the Fate Deck.

SECTION C: THE BATTLE PHASE.

The Battle Phase starts when the Ambush Phase ends (I.E. in Step #9 of the Ambush Phase) . The term "Battle Phase" is a fancy name for playing TRWNN normally until the game ends (with the new rules of course).

SECTION D: RESTRICTIONS DURING THE AMBUSH PHASE.

The only thing the Patrol can do during the Ambush Phase is move along it's pre-designated route (no move and fire actions) . The only thing the Indians can do is to spring the ambush before they're spotted.

SECTION E: LETS BE FAIR ABOUT THIS.

If three Movement Cards are drawn in a row then the third Movement Card will be treated as an Ambush Card. This will prevent the patrol from riding past the Ambush without the Warleader getting a chance to spring it.

For example:

If three Movement Cards are drawn in a row the third Movement Card will be treated as an Ambush Card. If six Movement Cards are drawn in a row then the third and sixth card will be treated as Ambush Cards. If three Movement Cards are drawn, followed by an Ambush Card and two more Movement Cards, then the third Movement Card will be treated as an Ambush Card and all of the other cards will be treated normally.

PART VI: CONCLUSION

These rules are not meant to be a dissertation on the Army's organization and tactics in the Old West. Rather, they are intended to give you a feel for the differences between the Army, the Indians, and the Cowboys, and how those differences can make a fun game even better. In this I hope I have succeeded.

Good luck and good hunting.

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© Copyright 2000 Hal Thinglum
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