Another in the GREAT* series of Wargame Rules Yes, my latest epic set of rules is titled FIGHTING SWASHBUCKLERS... blah, blah, blah... which should be referred to as FSOTFLBTDTATSSD, but which, in the interests of sanity, will hereinafter be called FS. * Genuinely Realistic, Excruciatingly Accurate and True It all stated with a phone call from Bob Hurst: "There's an open house at one of the local toy soldier dealers." This particular dealer specialized in old 54mm Britains and similar collector's items... not cheap stuff at all. As I wandered around the displays, trying to combat the feeling that I had to buy something, Bob asked: "Have you seen the bargains on the other side?" and WHOOSH! ... I was off and running. The upshot was that I purchased about 100 schlock 54mm figures, which no respectable collector would want, which have a coat of paint on 'em, which look sort of desert-troop and foreign-legionairish, and which gave me the opportunity to put some thoughts on paper about yet another set of skirmish rules. Each time I acquire a new set of figures for my Distorted Toy Soldier collection, whether they be klunkies, or stretchies, or just plain schlock, I rise to the occasion by generating a new set of GREAT* rules to celebrate my acquisition. And so was it here... The figures came in four poses, and this gave me the clue to the tone of the game... each pose comes with certain attributes which are "built in". so that merely by looking at a unit, one can recognize its weaknesses and its strengths. Pose Running Standing Kneeling Prone Fire Factor 1 2 3 4 Melee Factor 9 8 7 6 Note that the prone man has the best fire factor, while the running fella has the best melee value. 1. Morale I grouped the figures into "squads" of four men each, and used the above factors in a morale game format. Each squad starts out with a Morale Level (ML) of 100 percent; when the squad is fired upon, the ML is temporarily reduced, and the unit takes a morale check: 100 ------------------------------------------ Fail Morale Test Odd dice throw: one man removed, 1 marker placed Even dice throw: two men removed, 2 markers placed ML ------------------------------------------ No effect 1/2 ML ------------------------------------------ Unit is provoked Cavalry: Advance* (Cavalry and infantry will deploy, if necessary, to advance or fire.) Infantry: Fire 01 ------------------------------------------- *If the advance takes the cavalry into contact, the defending unit gets another defensive fire (causing another cavalry morale- test) before the melee is To-ught. The morale test results indicate that in case of a morale failure, the entire unit does not run... instead, it disintegrates by "pieces", by ones and by twos. The men so removed are placed off the table, and can be rallied, and may thus reappear later in the sequence. Morale tests must be taken when a unit is impacted upon by fire, or one of the two "stress" situations, described below, occur. As men rout and a squad's size decreases, so does its Morale Level. The Morale Level in percent is obtained from: ML = 60 + [10 x (Number of men in the squad)] With a full strength squad, i.e., 4 men, this gives an ML of 100% and each marker reduces the ML by 5. In a "stress" situation, the "normal" ML of the squad is halved; this occurs in two situations... cavalry charging infantry frontally, or a unit being charged on the flank or rear. If an infantry squad being charged in flank or rear reacts to its "stress" test by firing, it automatically turns to face the charging unit before firing. Because of this facing, the reacting unit will not be disadvantaged in the subsequent melee. In similar fashion, if a cavalry squad being charged in flank or rear reacts by advancing, it turns to face the attacking unit and is not disadvantaged in the melee. 2. Firing Rifles have a range of 24 inches. Fire Factors range from a high of 4 for prone men, to a low of 1 for running figures. When a squad of men fires, the impact on the target is: Target Morale - 100 - ( 5 x Number of Markers) When a full squad fires, the number of markers automatically placed on the target unit is equal to the Fire Factor of the squad. If there is less than a full squad, the chance of placing markers is: With 4 men 100% With 3 men 75% With 2 men 50% With 1 man 25% If the dice throw is successful, the number of markers is always equal to the Fire Factor of the squad I regardless of the number of men firing. In other words it's "all or nothing". A machine gun squad contains the standard number of four men. When the squad fires, the impact on the target is to place 4 markers (from the machine gun itself) plus the rifle effect from the rest of the men in the machine gun squad. Machine gun range is the same as that of the rifle, 24 inches. Cannon may range in for the entire length of the field as long as the target is visible. The effect of cannon fire takes range into account by using as a modifier the ten's digit of the range measurement: a. Roll a 10-side die, D, and subtract the ten's digit of the range measurement, R. b. The impact on the target is to place a number of markers on the target equal to ( D - R ). c. If D is less than R, there is no impact. 3. Movement & Sequence There are three permitted actions which a squad may perform: fire, move, or deploy. A unit may initially be ordered to perform two actions each turn While the first action is "free", whether or not it performs the second is a function of the commander's Command Points or CP (see Section 6): Chance for a second action = 10 x CP The sequence is an alternate one, with provisions for a reaction by the non-phasing player: 1. Side A is the phasing player. a. Side A moves and fires. B's units impacted by A's firing are given markers. b. B reacts with fire only; movement is not permitted. The number of B's reacting squads is a function of B's CP; every 10 points permits one unit to react: Reacting Points = CP x (10-sided die) All of A's units impacted by B's fire are given markers. C. All units with markers, A and B, test morale. This may result in additional firing (see the morale results chart) and subsequent morale tests. Squads in a "stress" situation, with or without markers, also test morale. d. Resolve melee. e. A tests to see if he may rally his routed troops. 2. Repeat the above sequence with B as the phasing player. Note in the above sequence that although a unit may not be ordered to fire more than twice - it may do so as a result of a morale test. For example, if A is the phasing player and A's Squad XX fires, the target may, as a result of its morale test, fire back, thus impacting on XX. Squad XX then tests morale, and may, as a result, fire again. Infantry and cavalry essentially have two formations: one is column and the other is "not-column", i.e., line. A column is defined as four men, each behind the other; a line is defined as four men abreast. The move distances are the same for the two formations, 6 inches per action for infantry and 10 per action for cavalry, but each formation has different attributes: An infantry unit in column, one man wide, may not fire. A unit in column suffers no terrain penalties. A unit in column, if meleed, fights with only one man. All men fire if an infantry unit is in line. All men melee if a unit is in line. A unit in line has a 70% chance each turn to pass through rough terrain. If the unit fails, it stands for the remainder of the turn. 4. Rallying Rallying is another function governed by the CP of the Commanding Officer. Here, when this phase of the sequence is reached, the number of men that will rally is: Number of men -(1/10) x [CP x (10-sided die roll)] If the result is a whole number plus a fraction, throw percentage dice for the fraction. If men rally to a squad on the field, they are placed with that squad. If it is decided tht an entire squad of four men is to be rallied, the unit appears at the side of the Commanding Officer. 5. Melee On the first page, Melee Factors for infantry were given, ranging from 6 for a prone man to 9 for a running man. Cavalry have a Melee Factor of 10. The men in each opposing unit are paired off, and their Melee Factors multiplied by a 10-sided die throw. The man with the higher product fights on, the other withdraws from combat. If the winner's product is three times that of the loser, the loser routs from the field, to be rallied and returned later. Otherwise, the remnants of the losing unit withdraw 12 Inches, in good order. If one of the engaged units has an advantage, add 2 to the value of each man. This would include a squad behind works, defending a building, attacking an enemy unit in the flank, etc. 6. Officers Each side's Commanding Officer is graded for Command Points (CP) at the beginning of the game: 01 to 33: 3 CP 34 to 66: 4 67 to 100: 5 As previously noted, these CP aid in three critical areas: a. In determining, each turn, if a side gets a second action. b.In determining, each turn, how many units get reaction fire. c.In determining how many men return to the field in the rally phase. In addition to the Commanding Officer, each side has several under-officers to help out. These are diced for, and are of three types: 01 to 33: A good leader, admired by his men. May assist in testing morale. 34 to 66: Run of the mill 67 to 100: A martinet, hated by his men. May assist in melee. The good leader may allocate any number of points to a unit under his command to help that unit's morale check. If he does so, he is at risk, i.e., he may be killed, and the chance that this occurs is twice the number of points with which he helped out. The martinet will add one point to the Melee Factor of every man in the squads under his command. During the melee, however, there is the chance that the men under his command take the opportunity to clobber him; the test for this occurs when the combat is finished. If his squad won ... 30% chance he's had it If his squad lost ... 60% chance he's had it The run-of-the-mill officer assists neither in morale nor melee. He may, however, act as an additional man in melee when a squad under his command is in hand-to-hand combat. Neither he nor his squad receive a bonus in combat. Note that the good leader and the martinet do not actually engage in combat as does the run-of-the-mill officer. The Commanding Officer can, if attacked, defend himself, but he is forbidden to initiate melee. His melee point value in combat is 12, and if he loses any round, is considered captured, and the game is up. 7. The Hyper-Space Rangers All the preceding is fairly standard fare... morale. movement. melee, etc. Now let's depart from the ordinary. Remember that I had on hand a quantity of prone firing figures, who, while having the best Fire Factor, just sort of lay there... prone inert, not exciting at all. I decided to give these fellas a piece of the action, and bring a little adventure into their lives. A squad of prone men is given a special movement allowance. On any turn, during the movement phase, the phasing player can pick up a squad of prone people and remove them from the field. Then, on his next movement phase, on the next turn, he can place them anywhere on the field he desires. This means that for two turns - the first being the one on which they disappear, the second when they reappear - these troops do nothing; their only function is to dematerialize and materialize. Only on the third turn do they strike out at the enemy. At first glance, it appears that one can gain a great advantage by setting down these Hyper-Space Rangers in the middle of the enemy camp, ready to dole out death and destruction on the next turn. At second glance, this is not the case. First, since they reappear and do nothing for one full turn, this permits the opposition to get in first fire, to blast away at them on his next turn, and, if possible, to close with them in hand-to- hand combat. Second, because they are prone, they have the worst Melee Factors on the field, and if they are contacted, the chances are that they will not survive. I am, at present, forced to admit I have not discovered too many historical precedents for the Hyper-Space Ranger ploy, but I'm still looking, and o'wotthehell ... it's only a game! 8. Unit Organization Despite my reference to these rules as encompassing a small scale squad-size skirmish game, they still have what may be termed "tactical overtones". All "morale games" may be termed thus, mainly because of the commander's ability to short circuit the time scale and bring units up to reinforce any part of his line if, of course, it is within his ability to rally a sufficient number Tf troops. The 4-man "squads" ar e grouped in larger units of two or three, and so if the squads are termed "regiments", we now have a brigade-size unit... each brigade with its own Commanding Officer (admired martinet, etc.) and each division of three or four brigades with a Divisional General who has his own CP value.  Playtest In the very first playtest game, I faced a fellow PWer, Steve Becker, who somehow managed to zip through three units I had placed to defend MY Commanding Officer. A one-sided melee occurred in which my General fought Steve's four-man cavalry unit, and, despite my bestowing an extra 2 melee points on the General (he counted as 12, the cavalry as 10 per figure), he was captured. Once the Big Fellow was gone. I discovered that I fought in a losing cause. Without the Commanding Officer's Command Points, I had no chance for a second action each turn, I had no reaction fire, and I had no CP to rally my routed troops. As an interesting aside, just before I acknowledged defeat, I had taken a unit of prone figures off the board, Hyper-Space- Ranger style, ready to land them somewhere in the rear of Steve Becker's force. They were still airborne when I handed over my sword... for all practical purposes, therefore, there's a squad of prone figures floating in limbo, somewhere in the universe, who will appear, someday, on someone's gaming table. The second time out, I presented these rules, in a format modified for the American Civil War, to a group of the Smithsonian Associates at our recent HMGS convention. These were people who were unfamiliar with any of the aspects of wargaming... for example, I had to start from scratch, explaining the workings of percentage dice. Despite it all, they picked up the elements of the game in rapid fashion. Their reaction was of interest to me, for one rarely gets a chance to present a rules system to participants who know absolutely nothing about the hobby, the mechanics of play, or procedures. I was interested to see if they raised any questions of the order of "Why this?", or "Why that?", or asked about the rationale behind the system. I did throw in some mumbo-jumbo about the Civil War, about formations, and unit size, and weapon ranges... this seemed to satisfy their curiosity, and all went well. The third exposure, also during the convention, another Civil War battle, had four participants on each side. There were some woods (worth 5 Victory Points each), some hills (5 each) and a village with 2 buildings (20 points each). Additionally, I counted 3 points for a side when it won a melee. Around Turn 5, the Confederates were going great guns, mainly because they had taken the 40 point village, and led about 60 Victory Points to 20. The Union gradually pulled even, taking back one of the buildings, and winning a series of cavalry charges against infantry. This last, of course, was not supposed to happen, but for some reason, the cavalry passed its "stress" morale test each time it had to close, and proceeded to whomp the infantry. The Confederates finally pulled it out, however, due to two factors: first, the Union never seemed to be able to get their second action each turn (they had 40% chance of doing so), and second, they developed a "backlog" of routed troops and could never rally enough of them. Back to PW Review April 1988 Table of Contents Back to PW Review List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1988 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