Back in Operations 13, I presented a series of Random Event tables to add a few twists to CWB games. Here are tables for the latest releases: In Their Quiet Fields II, No Better Place to Die and April's Harvest. The ITQF table presented here is a revised version for the new game, but it can be used with the original ITQF.

General rules for Random Events from the original article, along with the Standard Random Event Table, appear on page 13. The following are the game-specific tables.

In Their Quiet Fields II

Division Command Failure - This event affects the phasing player. The non-phasing player may select a number of enemy divisions: the Confederate player may select any two Union divisions when this event occurs, while the Union player may select one Rebel division. The phasing player rolls one die for each division selected; if the number rolled is greater than the division leader's command rating, then that division suffers command failure. A Union division that suffers command failure may not move this turn. A Confederate division that suffers command failure is considered to be a "loose cannon," and the Union player may write an order for it.

Delay Reinforcements - Apply the standard random event described in Operations 13. By all rights, Lee had no reason to expect his reinforcements to be as timely as they were in this battle. Anderson's and McLaws' march to the battlefield was slowed by Union parolees returning north, and A.P. Hill's 17-mile march was a remarkably speedy achievement. This event introduces some uncertainty and "white-knuckle time" for the Confederate player.

Fords Discovered (once only) - The Union player may not freely use the fords south of Burnside's Bridge until they are discovered. Fords are considered discovered when either A) this event occurs, or B) a Union leader next to a ford hexside makes a successful Initiative roll. No anti-initiatives or loose cannon results apply to this discovery roll, and more than one leader may roll for a given formation (i.e., if a corps commander fails, the division leaders may check also).

"Dr. McGuire, they have done their worst" (once only) - This is what Jackson said to a surgeon who feared Hooker might attack again in the afternoon. If the Union player has had a corps become uncommitted through Corps Attack Stoppage and this event occurs, then the Union player may not recommit that corps for the rest of the game. If this event could apply to more than one corps, the Union player may select the frozen corps.

John Barleyeorn Inspiration - Although Franklin's 6 Corps did not take a large part in the Antietam fighting, one brigade (Irwin's, 3-2-6) did make an unsupported attack due to the "inspiration of John Barleycorn in our brigade commander" (according to the regimental commander ordered to lead the attack). When this event occurs, the Union player gets free use for one full turn of any brigade in an uncommitted corps. This brigade may attack, ignore command radius rules, and costs no McClellan Points. Beginning with the next Union Command Phase, the brigade reverts to its normal state.

Hobbled Commander - All three of the top Rebel leaders were suffering from minor injuries at Antietam: Lee had broken one of his hands in a fall of Traveller, Jackson had recently fallen off a horse, and Longstreet was forced to wear slippers due to a bad blister. If this event occurs, randomly select one of these three commanders. The selected leader cannot issue any orders or roll for initiative this turn. After this turn, the leader is confined to an ambulance; he moves as a limbered artillery unit with a movement allowance of 7 MPs.

Couch Arrives - The Union player receives Darius Couch's 1st Division of 4 Corps. It arrives at Entry Hex B with orders to join Franklin's 6 Corps. It is considered to be attached to 6 Corps and follows its orders and commitment status. The McClellan Point cost to commit 6 Corps is immediately increased to 5 points; to recommit costs 2.

No Better Place to Die

Rain - Intermittent showers fell throughout the Murfreesboro battle. When rain occurs, the following conditions are in effect:

• visibility drops to a maximum of 5 hexes,
• all non-road movement costs one extra MP per hex for all units except cavalry, leaders and HQs, and
• if it is a night turn, the +2 DRM for straggler recovery is canceled.

At the beginning of each player turn after this, roll a die to see if the rain stops; it does so on a 1. If it does not rain at all with within a 24-period (i.e., this event does not occur), then Stones River becomes fordable; apply the special rules regarding Stones River in Scenario 6.2 until it rains again.

Division Command Failure - This event affects the phasing player. The non-phasing player may select a number of enemy divisions: the Confederate player may select any two Union divisions when this event occurs, while the Union player may select one Rebel division. The phasing player rolls one die for each division selected; if the number rolled is greater than the division leader's command rating, then that division's subordinate units may not move this turn.

Pillow in Command (once only) One of the more alarmingly bad commanders in the Confederate army, Gideon Pillow, arrived at the Murfreesboro battlefield on Jan. 2, and Bragg saw fit to give him command of Palmer's brigade. If this event occurs, P-B-H has its morale drop to a C class unit. Also, should P-B-H become wrecked, it is treated as a wrecked brigade of a wrecked division, regardless of the actual condition of Breckinridge's division.

Request for Troops - If the Union player has any troops on the east bank of Stones River, those forces; become nervous and request reinforcements. The Union player must detach one brigade from any division on the west bank and attach it to a division on the east bank (or assign the brigade a divisional goal, if no division is on the east side). Do this by sending an order to the division detaching the brigade. The Union player is under no obligation to keep that brigade there; once the order is accepted, the Union player may send a new order (this time to the east bank division) again detaching the reinforcing brigade and returning it to its parent unit.

Bragg Sulks - Bragg becomes angry at his subordinates for not following his carefully considered plans. Bragg is prohibited any orders until the Confederate player rolls a I or 2 on one die in the Delay Reduction Segment of the Command Phase.

Rosecrans Rides - Once Bragg's attack was underway, Rosecrans was a constant presence all over the battlefield, riding from place to place and restoring order. When this event occurs, the Union player may move Rosecrans up to 13 MPs at any time during the order issue phase. During Rosecrans' ride, he may issue IPV orders to as many commanders as he can reach during this move.

Rosecrans may still move normally in the movement phase as well. When using the Random Event rules for April's Harvest, the Union player does not make a separate arrival check for Buell's Army of the Ohio-this is built into the Random Event table.

April's Harvest

Stragglers and Looters Shiloh was legendary for the number of stragglers experienced on both sides: thousands of Union men were separated from their regiments in the early part of the fighting, while many Rebel soldiers dropped out of line to loot Union camps. When this event occurs, the phasing player must make a 1/2-to-1 Loss Straggler Check for all of his units on board.

Confederate Confusion (once only) - Confederate command control breaks down entirely. From this turn until nightfall, the Rebel player ignores the regular orders and Command Radius restrictions and must instead abide by the special rules in Scenario 5.2. As long as this event is in effect, the Confederate player may decide (in any friendly command phase) to immediately implement Option 3.5 (A. S. Johnston's mini-division) by conceding 3 VPs to the Union player.

Union Alert / Buell Arrives

If rolled before 8:30 AM: The Union player may immediately select any one division and consider it alerted.

If rolled 8:30AM or later: The Army of the Ohio arrives this turn.

Gunboat Friendly Fire For this turn only, the Confederate player commands any Union gunboats. A gunboat may only be used to shell Union ground troops, not another gunboat. At the beginning of next turn, control of the gunboats reverts to the Union player.

Bragg Goes Berserk During the fighting around the Hornet's Nest, Bragg lost all control of his already questionable tactical faculties and ordered Gibson's brigade to make a lone charge against the strong Union position three times. If Bragg's 2 Corps (or a portion operating under divisional goals) has attack orders, then the Union player may designate any one brigade in that Corps and require it to make a close combat attack in this turn's Confederate Movement Phase. The Union player may even select a wrecked brigade, as an exception to the normal close combat rules.

Grant is Hobbled (once only) Grant, normally a fine horseman, had his mount slip under him the week before the battle, which severely bruised the general's ankle and hobbled him during the battle. If this event occurs, Grant has worsened his ankle injury and is relegated to an ambulance. The Union player may not use Grant to issue orders this turn. After this turn, Grant moves as a limbered artillery unit with a movement allowance of 7 MPs.

[Ed. note: Players are firmly admonished not to holler "I've fallen, and I can't get up! "]

Overall Random Events Rules

Each turn, as the first action of his Command Phase, the phasing player rolls one die. If the result is a 1, he rolls two dice and reads the result on the Standard Random Event Table. This roll either gives a standard result or directs the player to roll an additional die and consult the Game Random Event Table. If the random event specifies certain conditions and these do not exist, ignore the Random event for this turn-do not generate another in its place.

The game-specific tables usually produce different random events for the Union and Confederate sides. Follow the explanations. Note occurrences of events marked "once only" and treat their subsequent occurrences as no event.

Note that these Random Events aim to work with the full battle, "campaign" treatments of the CWB titles. Some of the events may unbalance or be inappropriate for the shorter scenarios. Also, the use of some variants may render certain events irrelevant.

Standard Random Event Instructions

Leader Casualty-Select one of the phasing player's leaders (infantry or cavalry, division, corps, or army commander) from the map at random. Use any mutually acceptable procedure, such as placing all the leaders in a cup and drawing one. Roll one die: on a roll of 1-2, that leader is killed; on a roll of 3-6, that leader is wounded. The leader's current location does not matter, nor does the proximity of enemy troops; this event covers such actions as friendly fire or non-combat related injuries. (For the curious, there is only a I -in-216 chance per turn of this event happening, and even then some unlucky division commander is usually the victim. Yet somehow, the Confederate army lost Robert E. Lee to this event in one of our Bloody Roads South games. The Wilderness claims yet another Confederate leader at the hands of friendly fire. Shades of Jackson's ghost!)

Order Lost Consider one random aide-delivered order currently in transit lost and disregard it. The army commander may reissue the lost order in any friendly Command Phase.

Delay Reinforcements If the phasing player should receive reinforcements this turn, he gets them next turn instead. Alternatively, in games with a variant requiring players to roll 10 or greater on two dice to receive reinforcements, the player may not roll to bring any reinforcements on this turn.

Advance Reinforcements If the phasing player should receive reinforcements on the next turn, he receives them this turn instead. Alternatively, in games with a variant requiring players to roll 10 or greater on two dice to receive reinforcements, the player automatically receives any reinforcements for which he is eligible to roll this turn. He may not receive or roll for reinforcement groups for which he is eligible to roll beginning next turn.

Loose Cannon The phasing player must randomly select one infantry division or cavalry brigade (chosen by a mutually acceptable random means, such as blind selection). The selected command becomes a Loose Cannon this turn; the non-phasing player may write an order for it as if the command were attempting to obtain initiative and rolled a 2.

Panic Check/Loose Cannon In games with army status rules and panic checks, the phasing player must check his status. If it is a 1 or 2, he must conduct a Panic Check. If those rules are not in play, the phasing player undergoes the Loose Cannon result described above.