Introduction These are rules for a small scale skirmish action in which there are two basic types of men: Leaders and regular troops. Each man, regular or Leader, has one of three possible states: (a). He's fine and functions normally. (b). He's routed, somewhere on the field, and needs the guidance of a leader to be rallied. (c). He's dead. In Case (a), leaders that have been wounded have their command capabilities reduced, even though they move normally. In Case (b), the man , whether regular or Leader, is removed from the field and temporarily placed in the "Rally Zone" until called into action. Case (c) speaks for itself. 1. SEQUENCE a. Each side is initially given 3 Leader (L) cards. Each turn, Active Side draws a Mass Movement (MM) card. b. Active Side either plays 2-Leader (L) cards or plays any number of MM cards. If L cards are used, 2 more L cards are drawn to provide a total of 3. c. Active Side moves and fires. d. Melees are resolved. e. Fires are started, or put out. f. Active Side rallies his men. g. If Viking, check to see if boat appears, or if boat has already arrived, it may move. Each turn, the chance of the boat appearing is: (Turn Number x 5)% 2. MOVEMENT a. Infantry move 8 inches. b. Cavalry move 12 inches. x. Archers may move half and fire. d. Although a man may start movement within a Leader's Zone of Control, he does not have to stay within the Zone. e. The Viking boat moves its own length every turn; it takes one complete turn to reverse course. f. Any man encountering an obstacle has 30% chance of stopping his movement completely. This includes charging the walls of the garrison, charging onto the deck of the ship, or going through rough terrain. 3. LEADERS a.Each side has 5 Leaders. Their initial Combat Value (CV) is 6, and their Morale Value (MV) is (6 x CV). b. The CV of a Leader is reduced by 1 point when: a. The Leader loses a melee. b. The Leader fails a morale test. c. The Leader is hit by missile fire. c.Initially, each Leader may move 5 men (not including himself) within 5 inches, i.e., a Zone of Control 10 inches across. d.The Zone of Control, and the number of men controlled, decreases with each wound. Example: a Leader down to 4 points controls 4 men within 4 inches. e. Capturing a Leader is worth 5 Victory Points UP). f. Killing a Leader is worth 3 VP. g. Rallying a Leader reduces VP by 4. h.In a melee, the Leader will not fight until the only remaining man on one side is a Leader. At that time, the side with the greater number of men has the option of committing its Leader each round. 4. COMMAND DECKS a. Leader (L) cards. 1. Each Leader has 3 cards in the L deck. 2. With 5 Leaders, the L deck of each side has a total of 15 cards. If a Leader is killed, his cards remain in the deck as buffers. 3. A Leader may be moved on an MM card. He may not be moved by another Leader, i.e., via an L card for another Leader. b. Mass Movement (MM) cards. 1. The MM deck is a shared by both sides; it has 15 cards in it. 2. Each card is numbered: 1, 2, or 3. 3. The makeup of the MM deck is: 4 "1" cards 5 "2" cards 6 "3" cards (15 cards total) c. A side may play any number of MM cards desired, and move the number of men equal to the total shown on the cards. 5. MORALE a. Morale is tested when a man is hit by missile fire. b. To test morale, up to 3 men on the field are selected, and the distance, D, between the two men furthest apart is measured. c. Each man has a Morale Grade (MG) of 30 points. Each Leader's MG equals (6 x CV). d. The Morale Level (ML) of the men selected is: (1st man's MG) + (2nd man's MG) + Ord man's MG) - D e. Percentage dice are thrown, and if the result is greater than ML, all the men tested are placed in the Rally Zone. f. If a Leader is in a failed group, he loses 1 CV point. 6. FIRING a. Archers may move 4 inches (half distance) and fire full effect. b. The probability of hit is: P = 3 x [15 - (Rang.. in inches)]+ K c. The K factor is defined to be: K = 30 if the target is in the clear. K = 15 if the target is in cover. d. Unless a target figure has no one within 2 inches of him, archers will fire at groups of men. If a hit occurs, roll a die and count off to determine the particular man that is hit. Thus the same man may be hit more than once. Fire Result [dice throw and TARGET RESULT] 100 ------------ NOT AFFECTED P ------------- PLACED IN RALLY ZONE P/2 ---------- KILLED 0 ------------- 7. RALLYING a.At the end of a player's turn, any number of men may automatically be rallied from the Rally Zone. b. Leaders may also automatically be rallied. c. Rallying men costs Victory Points. d. A rallied man, regular or Leader, is placed next to any Leader on the field. 8. MELEE a.When a group charges forward, the maximum number of men it will contact equals the number of men in the attacking group. Thus if 6 men attack a larger group of 12, only 6 of the 12 will melee. b.Men in the melee are paired off, one by one, until only one side has men of the original group present. c. The Combat Value of men fighting is: Regular CV = 5 Leader CV = 6 (Note that the Leader's CV will be reduced by wounds) d.Add 1 point to a man's CV for an advantage (uphill, behind works, etc.), but note that there are no flank or rear attacks. e.To take a prisoner, a man reduce-s his CV by 1, and if he wins the melee, his opponent is captured. f. Combat Points are defined as: CP = CV x (10-sided die) g. Melee results are as follows: Cp(1) greater than C (2): CF(2) falls back 12 inches; the direction is chosen by the winner. Cp(1) greater than 2 x CP(2): CP(2) placed in the Rally Zone. Cp(1) greater than 3 x CP(2): CP(2) is killed. 9. BURNING A SHIP/GARRISON a.The ship is not protected by its crew and can be set afire if an enemy gets aboard. b.The garrison is defended unless all 25 defenders are stationed outside. If an attacker enters, the garrison may be burnt. c.Fires may be started, or put out, by men that are unopposed by the enemy. If there are opposing men present, a melee is fought, and after the melee is resolved, the "fire die" is thrown. d.Burning: each turn, throw one 10-sided die (regardless of the number of men present). A total of 35 points destroys the ship or the garrison. e.Quenching: each turn, throw one die for every man devoted to fire fighting. 10. PRISONERS a.Prisoners must be escorted. b.One captor can escort: 2 captured slaves, or 2 captured warriors (regulars or Leaders), or 3 animals, or 2 people plus 1 animal c.Prisoners are freed if the guard is defeated in melee or removed by missile fire. d.When firing at a guard, there is a chance that the prisoner, rather than the guard, is hit. The procedure is the same as when firing at a group of men. 11. VICTORY POINTS Prisoners: regular +3, Leader +5 Kill an enemy: regular +2, Leader +4 Rout an enemy: regular +1, Leader +2 Booty: Princess +5, Slave +2, Horse +1 Burn the ship or garrison: +10 Rally your own men: regular -1, Leader -2 Back to PW Review July 1987 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 Wally Simon This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com