Some time ago, I picked up a quantity of 10mm figures… they stem from the Games Workshop WARMASTER line, which seems to be selling well. I set up a solo battle between Count de Borno and Lord Phlab. The field consisted of a table-size green gridded cloth, with each grid, or square, about 2-inches by 2-inches. Stand size measures ¾-of-an-inch by an inch-and-a-half, which means that 2 stands fit neatly into each square. I therefore termed the two stands in a square a “unit”, and proceeded from there. Each side had an army of the following types of troops: Chart 1 Unit COMBAT VALUE FOR MELEE FIRING Hvy cavalry 7 x Med cavalry 6 x Light cavalry 2 x Hvy infantry 5 x Med infantry 4 x Light infantry 2 x Archers 3 3 Cannon 0 3 I used the tried and true DBM combat procedures… each side tossed a 10-sided die, added its combat value, referenced the difference, and referred to the following chart to see what happened to the side with the smaller total value. Chart 2 DIFFERENCE RESULT Double or more 2 stands destroyed 5,6,7,8,9 (but not double) 1 stand destroyed Unit retreats 2 sqs 3,4 1 stand to Rally Zone Unit retreats 1 sq 1,2 Unit retreats 1 sq Difference is zero Locked in combat Each loses 1 stand to Rally Zone Note there are 5 potential outcomes. In DBM, the results are either to fall back or die, since an element can’t take partial casualties. Here, due to the 2-stand unit, I had a little more leeway. I could take off a stand, leaving the unit somewhat weaker. In Chart #1, above, if a 2-stand unit faced a 1-stand unit (the result of a previous combat), then the 2-stander added a +1 to its combat value. Aggressor Count de Borno was the aggressor. He came forward rather rapidly, due to the draw of his sequence cards. Each side had a deck of 8 cards which were drawn alternately. On each was annotated two types of units that could move. One card, for example, might say “Hvy cavalry move 5 squares, Medium infantry move 4 squares”. The types were listed on more than one card… for example, heavy cavalry appeared on 3 of the 8. On one card was listed the requirement to test all stands that had been consigned to the off-table Rally Zone from previous combats. A stand stayed here, in limbo, until this card was drawn. Here, the side that drew the card tested every stand that it had in the zone… there was a 70 percent chance it survived and returned to the field. if it failed the test, it was destroyed. In retrospect, I’d reduce the 70 to a 50 percent… too many stands were returning to their units. Count de Borno’s heavy cavalry cards came up immediately, and off they charged to counter Lord Phlab’s heavy cavalry. Despite their +7 modifier, de Borno’s cavalry couldn’t keep up with Phlab’s horsemen. The dice de Borno tossed were consistently low, and his heavy cavalry either died on the spot (their totals had been doubled), or were consigned to the Rally zone, to await the ‘rally card’. Lord Phlab’s men were placed to defend a small village, and de Borno’s heavy infantry were first to make contact there. The village was represented by an area of 15 squares, and to control it, a side had to drive all opposing units out, no mean task. Phlab’s archers were in the front rank, but their firing, using their +3 combat modifier, produced no results as de Borno’s men (heavy infantry with a +5) came forward. De Borno had 5 heavy infantry units… 2 were successful and made their way into the town. But once again, the dice failed de Borno. De Borno contacted a number of defending medium infantry… this gave the heavies a +5 to the medium’s +4… and de Borno couldn’t hack it, even with his +1 advantage. His heavies were driven out of town by the lighter troops. In the meantime, having decimated de Borno’s heavy cavalry, Phlab’s heavy cavalry were now free to come around to de Borno’s flanks and strike the advancing infantry units. De Borno’s heavy infantry were fighting in the town, and there was a huge conglomeration of de Borno’s lighter troops waiting to enter. Cavalry were not permitted to enter the town… their function was to keep to the flanks of the army and fend off enemy cavalry. And here, having defeated the enemy horse, Phlab’s cavalry were completely freed up to attack the opposing infantry. Phlab’s heavy cavalry were decisive… POW! SMASH! WHOOM!… just about every unit that Count de Borno had either lost a stand or was sent retreating or was whooshed off to the Rally Zone. A combat value of +7 for the cavalry proved too much for the +4 and +3 values of the de Borno contingent. I kept track of each side’s losses. When a stand was destroyed, I registered 2 points against the owning side, and when a melee was lost, I registered 5 points against the loser. My intent was to see if I could come up with some criterion, in terms of point values, to assess victory conditions so that the battle wouldn’t be fought to the last man. At first I thought that a total of around 100 points would be sufficient, but at the 100 mark, the battle was still in full swing. At the time I finished going through the sequence decks 2 times (2 full bounds), de Borno’s loss points totaled 200… and Phlab wasn’t that far behind. I have to do more thinking on the victory point requirement. Back to PW Review October 2000 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 Wally Simon 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