GAME SCALES AND THE MAP
Each Game-Year is six turns long. Each turn represents a nominal week of actual military activity. Each hex on the game map is a nominal 5 miles across, or about 1/2 day's march for infantry.
The map shows towns, roads, rough and mountain terrain, sea hexes, plus prevailing wind directions. If the players' maps do not have a hex overlay, a distance scale will be provided, showing the distance one "hex" occupies.
SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
- Referee hands out rules and data sheets, with initial forces and warchests.
- Players purchase forces, etc. and turn in initial placements to referee.
- Referee correlates placements, gives initial spy and scouting reports, plus date of first move.
- Players turn in Move Sheets by requested date. Late moves are not accepted.
- Referee coordinates moves, arranges and fights battles, returns move sheets for next move, with next due date.
- On Turn 6, referee also notes taxes collected by each player (minus or plus transferred funds), and tells date new purchases are due.
- Players turn in Purchase Sheets by requested date.
- Referee coordinates placing of troops, returns Move Sheets for Turn 1 of next Year along with initial scouting and spy reports.
The game ends whenever one player has achieved his victory conditions, or when a given number of turns has passed. This naturally varies depending on the game in question.
CONTROLLING TOWNS AND COLLECTING TAXES
At the start of the game, each player receives a certain number of towns which are "loyal" to him. A player may give away title to a town (in writing) at any time. In this case, the town becomes loyal to its new owner at once.
If a player captures a town, garrisons it for 2 full consecutive turns, and pays a bribe of 10 crowns, the town then becomes loyal to him, as if its title had been transferred.
In any event, a garrison inside a town ensures control, whether the town is loyal or not. However, towns controlled only by garrison deliver fewer taxes, due to the lack of a proper local administration, etc. The minimum garrison is 10 infantry or cavalry.
To capture a town, however, requires a force of at least 20 figures. This is to prevent "swarming" of an enemy player's territory by a lot of petty forces.
There are thus two ways to control a town: By conquest and garrison, or by loyalty. A loyal town needs no garrison. If the garrison of a town drops below the minimum, assume that local forces rise up and eject the remaining troops from the town. During a siege, this means they are eliminated. The town then reverts to the control of the player holding its loyalty.
At the end of each Year, each player collects crowns for the towns he controls. A town controlled via garrison yields only half normal taxes. Cities under siege for all of Turn 6 yield no taxes. Pillage may reduce the tax value of a town as well.
Players may transfer money only by physically moving it from their exchequer to that of another player. Money "in transit" is treated as if it were "plunder" (see Pillage). It moves at wagon rate.
Newly collected taxes appear in each player's exchequer. Each player may only have one exchequer at a time. If his exchequer is captured, he loses all his saved money to the enemy player, but receives a new exchequer next Year. An exchequer moves at wagon rate.
BUYING AND PLACING TROOPS
The Cost Chart lists the troops available and the cost to buy them, per figure or model. A player may purchase troops in any unbesieged town which he controls.
There were no standing armies during this era (except for the few dozen personal thugs each lord kept at home); rulers raised armies from scratch as needed, then disbanded them at once at the end of the campaign season. Therefore, each Year, all existing forces (including spies, supply, siege trains, and leaders) disappear. They must be re-bought at the end of the Year, after taxes are collected.
If a player holds a town by garrison, his control continues if he places an appropriate garrison there when re-buying his troops. Sieges, however, always fail if not successful by the end of the Year.
FEUDAL LEVEES
Each year, you receive the following troops for each loyal town you control. You may place them normally, as for any other troops: Large Town:
- 4 Foot Knights (Grade B)
- 12 Billmen (Grade C)
- 6 Longbowmen (Grade C)
Small Town:
- 2 Foot Knights (Grade B)
- 6 Billmen (Grade C)
- 3 Longbowmen (Grade C)
If you are under Anathema (see Papal Influence), only half of these levees appear.
| Cost Chart | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troop Type | Description | Cost per Grade | ||||
| A | B | C | D | E | ||
| Mtd. Knight | Close order AC, Lance | 21 | 18 | 15 | - | - |
| Mtd. Sergeant | Close order HC, Lance | - | 12 | 10 | 8 | - |
| Foot Knight | Close order AI, Polearm | 10 | 8 | 6 | - | - |
| Billman | Close order MI, Polearm | - | - | 4 | 3 | - |
| Spearman | Close order HI, Massed Spear | - | - | 5 | 4 | - |
| Routier | Close order HI, Handarm | - | - | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Longbowman | Loose or skirmish order LI, Longbow | - | 10 | 8 | 6 | - |
| Crossbowman | Close, Loose, or skirmish order LI, crossbow | - | 5 | 3 | 2 | - |
| Spy / Counterspy | 5 | |||||
| Supply Unit | 20 | |||||
| Siege Train | 50 | |||||
| Leader | 50 | |||||
| Ship | 50 | |||||
| Unwalled to Walled Town | 100 | |||||
| Walled to Castle Town | 100 | |||||
PILLAGE
There are two types of pillage, ravage and plunder. To pillage a town requires at least 20 figures.
Ravaging takes 1/2 turn. The tax value of the town drops to half its normal value (or to zero if already below full). You collect no plunder.
Plundering takes a full turn, and the tax value drops as above. You collect plunder equal to 1/4 the current tax value of the town. You must move this plunder into your exchequer before you can spend it.
If a starving force enters a town (even one of your own), it will ravage it at once on a 1D6 score of 1-2. If a force captures a town via siege, it will also ravage on a 1-2 (1-4 if starving).
A pillaged town delivers only half normal supply (or none if pillaged twice).
If a pillaged town lasts for an entire Year without being pillaged, its tax value rises to normal.
MOVEMENT
All movement is simultaneous and hidden, except as spies and scouts reveal it. Each turn, players turn in their movement orders, specifying forces by numbers of figures, rather than units. A sample move might be:
"48 Grade C routiers, 12 Grade B mtd. knights, 12 Grade C mtd. sergeants, with Leader #4, march along the road from City A to City B".
A force (a body of figures moving together) may not move voluntarily unless a leader is with it. The referee may make a leaderless force move on its own, if he judges it appropriate.
A force may force-march at extra speed, suffering attrition.
Each turn, a force gets a certain number of Movement Points (MP), which it expends to march one hex in various terrain types. The Movement Table below lists these rates. "P" indicates entry prohibited, unless along road. Mountains are impassable, except along roads.
| MOVEMENT TABLE | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troop Type | MP/Turn Forced March | MP Cost to Enter | |||
| Road | Clear | Rough | X-River | ||
| Heavy or Armored Inf. | 10(12) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Light or Medium Inf. | 12(16) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
| Heavy or Armored Cav. | 10(12) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 |
| Light or Medium Cav. | 16(20) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Wagons, etc. | 8(10) | 1 | 2 | P | P |
| Leaders | 20(20) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
SUPPLY
There are two states of supply, determined for a force at the start of each turn: Supplied and starving.
A starving force suffers attrition and combat penalties. There are two methods of supply: From towns or from supply units. A large town may supply up to 200 figures. A small town may supply up to 100 figures. Besieged towns give no supply. Pillaged towns give reduced supply (see Pillage). A supply unit supplies up to 50 figures each turn, if they are in the same hex as the supply unit.
For "strategic" purposes, if part of a force is starving, treat the entire force as starving. For attrition, only excess figures suffer attrition (player's choice if noted in orders, otherwise referee inflicts losses randomly).
SCOUTING
When two forces are in adjacent hexes, the referee compares their Scouting Point (SP) values to get a ratio of the higher to the lower, then delivers a scouting report based on this ratio.
Light infantry and heavy cavalry is worth 1 scouting point. Medium cavalry is worth 2 scouting points. Light Cavalry is worth 3 scouting points. A force needs at least 6 SP to scout.
| SCOUTING TABLE | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ratio (Higher:Lower) | Higher Learns | Lower Learns |
| 1:1 | Enemy strength to nearest 50 figures | Enemy strength to nearest 50 figures |
| 3:2 | Enemy infantry to nearest 50 figures; Enemy cavalry to nearest 25 figures; number of leaders | Enemy strength to nearest 100 figures |
| 2:1 | Enemy infantry to nearest 25 figures; Enemy cavalry to nearest 10 figures; number of leaders; number of supply units and siege trains | No information possible, except enemy is "outscouted" |
SPIES AND COUNTERSPIES
A spy is immobile, and must reside in a town. Each turn, a spy reports on all activity within and near the town. A spy's reports have a general accuracy of +/- ID6 X 10%. During a siege, spies do not report.
A counterspy acts to prevent spies from reporting. The referee rolls each turn to see what effect the counterspy has. He may prevent one spy from reporting that turn, or eliminate one enemy spy. Roll 1D6. On a '4-5', one spy is prevented from reporting. On a '6', one spy is eliminated. -1 if player does not control the town in question.
Spies and counterspies may never trade roles.
BATTLES
The referee determines the terrain and setup areas for any battles that occur.
When two forces enter the same hex, each must declare evade, defend, or attack. If one force is outscouted, it must declare first.
If a force evades, it moves one hex away at no MP cost, and suffers attrition. A force may evade as many times as it needs to, even beyond its MP allowance. A force evading across a river suffers double attrition (unless at a bridge). A force evading into impassable terrain is eliminated.
If a force defends, it is standing and offering battle to the enemy, but is not on the attack.
If a force attacks, it has one "day" (24 battle turns) to break the enemy's army morale. If it fails to do this, its own morale breaks. A force on the attack gets +1 on initiative die rolls.
If both forces defend, no battle occurs; however, neither side may move through the other. In order to leave the hex, a force must evade; however, evasion vs. a defending force is half normal.
A force may change from defend to attack upon the arrival of new forces, but may not go from attack to defend.
A force's army morale breaks when 60% of its point value in infantry and cavalry is routed, killed, or demoralized. Judge this at the end of a turn.
When army morale breaks, the force evades at once, suffering attrition. All killed or routed figures are lost. The "winner" receives back all routed figures, and half of all killed figures. The winner also receives plunder from enemy dead, and from half of all enemy routed figures:
For each knight (mounted or foot), 3 crowns. For each other figure, 1 crown. Treat this as plunder (see Pillage).
If a given leader wins three Major battles (100 or more figures per side) in a row, he becomes a hero: He adds +2 to morale if attached to a unit, and that unit gains I extra combat point. Also, any figures bought and placed in his hex cost only 3/4 normal (round up to nearest crown).
Two turns of battle represent 1/12 of a strategic turn. This allows detached forces to converge on the battle field.
No unit may voluntarily leave the field. However, after turn 8, any player may raise his hand and cry "Treason! Fly!" at the end of any turn. Once cried out, his army morale breaks at once, and his troops are removed from the field. His force evades one hex at once, and is treated as having lost the battle (even if his allies go on to win the fight).
ATTRITION
The chart below list attrition rates for various causes of attrition:
| Troop Grade | Evasion | Other |
|---|---|---|
| A | 10 | 5 |
| B | 20 | 10 |
| C | 20 | 10 |
| D | 30 | 20 |
| E | 40 | 30 |
| Wagons | 50 | - |
SIEGES
To besiege a town, you must outnumber the garrison by at least 3:1, and have at least 20 figures in your force. To besiege a coastal town, you must have at least one ship in the town's hex. If a siege lasts until the end of the Year, it fails.
Roll 1D6 at the start of each turn of the siege. A modified '9' or better means you have captured the town. The garrison is eliminated as if killed in battle. Modify as follows:
Siege Die Roll Modifiers
- Each Full Turn of the Siege: +1
Each Siege Train Present (up to 3): +1
Outnumber Garrison 10:1 or More: +1
Vs. Unwalled Town: +5
Vs. Walled Town: +2
Vs. Castle Town: 0
Your Force Unsupplied: -1
Town is in Rough/Mtn Hex: -1
At the end of each turn of the siege, the garrison inflicts 1 figure loss on your force (determined randomly) per 10 figures in the garrison (roll 1D1O for remainders). Your force inflicts I loss on the garrison per 50 figures (roll 1D50 for remainders).
PAPAL INFLUENCE
What Medieval campaign would be complete without the benign presence of Holy Mother Church? In this era, religious factors controlled nearly every phase of life. Even the most hardened mercenary killers still trembled at the thought of dying without absolution. Furthermore, priests and monks were vital to the proper administration of a lord's government, since only they could read. The following rules reflect those aspects of the Church which directly affect military campaigns.
Each Year, after collecting taxes (and also at the start of the game), you may present a gift of crowns to the Church. The player giving the largest gift receives Papal Influence for that Year. Note that the gift is not refundable! You may also give a town to the Church, if it is loyal to you and you control it. Such a town counts as six times its tax value toward the value of your gift. (Giving land was very popular; by A.D. 1500, about 1/3 of the land in France and Germany belonged to the Church).
Papal Influence confers the following benefits:
- Your taxes next Year increase by 10%
- You may use the Holy Banner. This gives +1 on morale to any unit carrying it. If captured, it is lost for the rest of Year (the enemy does not get to use it).
- Bribes and garrisons to gain town loyalty are half normal.
- You may ask the Church to remove an existing Anathema against one other player (or yourself). This always happens, unless that player is holding towns loyal to the Church.
- You may ask the Church to pronounce Anathema against one other player. This will only happen if that player gave a gift less than 10% of his present tax base (a tithe). You may only ask once; if denied, you may not ask it against another player that Year.
- Your taxes for next Year drop by 25% (no monks will work for you!)
- Bribes to gain town loyalty double, and garrisons needed to control towns double.
- All attrition rates are increased by 10%.
- Only half of normalfeudal levees appear (rounded down).
Once pronounced, Anathema remains in effect until removed.
You may never gain the loyalty of a town held by the Church. If you capture or pillage it, any player may request Anathema against you at anytime, and it will occur.
SHIPS
In this era, especially in northem Europe, there was no clear distinction between "warships" and "merchantmen". Lords did not keep fleets of their own, but simply impressed ships from coastal towns when needed. These rules reflect that situation.
You get one ship free for each coastal town loyal to you, which you control. You may of course buy additional ships at the listed cost. You may place ships in any coastal town you control.
Ships do not need supply.
Ships receive 32 MP per turn. They may not force-march. A fleet of ships must have a leader with it in order to move voluntarily, just like any other force. It costs 1 MP to move "with" the prevailing wind (the three hexsides away from the arrow). It costs 4 MP to move "against" the wind (the other three hexsides). It costs 1/2 turn to embark or disembark troops. This may be done in any coastal hex. Ships were small enough that a "port" really was not necessary.
A ship may carry 60 "cargo points". Troops take up cargo points as follows:
-
Cavalry Figure or Leader: 3
Infantry Figure: 1
Siege Train: 30
Supply Unit: 30
Exchequer: 20
If two hostile fleets enter the same hex, a battle occurs if either fleet desires it. Each ship is worth 1 combat point. If a ship carries 20 or more figures, it is worth 2 combat points. Roll on the table below to see the results. The Attacker is the side with more combat points. If both are the same, roll randomly to see which side is the Attacker. 2:1 is the highest odds.
| Die Scores | Odds (Higher:Lower) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1:1 | 3:2 | 2:1 | |
| 1 | AE | AE | EX |
| 2 | AE | EX | DE |
| 3 | EX | DE | DE |
| 4 | EX | DE | DE |
| 5 | DE | DE | DE |
| 6 | DE | DE | DE |
AE or DE means Attacker or Defender Eliminated: The losing fleet is either sunk or captured (roll 1D6 per ship, 4-6 = captured). A captured ship may be sold at the end of the Year for 25 crowns. The winner suffers 1 ship sunk (roll randomly) per three losing ships (roll for remainders).
EX means exchange - an inconclusive fight: The Defender loses one ship sunk per three Attacker ships (roll randomly, and roll for remainders). The Attacker loses an equal number of ships. The Defending fleet then "retreats" one hex away from the Attacker's advance.
All the troops on a sunk ship, except leaders, are lost.
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© Copyright 1993 Hal Thinglum
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