Campaign on Welsh Border, P.1

Battle on the Welsh Borderlands!

Lord Rhys ap Robert of Wales on left, a Border Lord of mixed heritage. Lord William Fitzwilliam on Right, an English Lord with an eye towards enlarging his domains. Originally, these were painted as Lords and retinues for "Day of Battle", a characterful but clunky set of rules very much in the old style - worth stealing ideas from!

Well, the best way to work with the rules is to play them, and a campaign seems like just the thing. Working with what I have that is more or less ready to be on the table [if not entirely ready to look at re: basing] I'm going to be playing Welsh Border Lords against English neighbors. For this play, I upped the Bowmen to D6+2 attack like in the book, and didn't use the rally rules. I also used regular D6 instead of my D5 "Average Dice".

Below, is the force I rolled using the book's Force Matrix to make it easy on you viewers out there. A '3' gave the invading English a force of 3 Knights, 2 Serjeants [Men at Arms], and a Freemen [Levy] At center is the English Lord, in William Marshal's colors.


A '2' gave the defending Welsh 3 Knights, 2 Freemen and a Bowmen [Archer]. All Figs are Old Glory, the Welsh spear from the War of the Roses line, and the Bowmen from the Dark Ages line, I believe. All are on 5x2/5" bases of flooring about 1/4" thick for easy handling.


I chose #5: Bridgehead, as I figure these two neighbors have a river between them that must be successfully breached or the planned raid can't succeed.

And below is my take on the table for the battle. At left, top and right are the reinforcement entry points for the responding Welsh - on a 1-2 at left, 3-4 top at the road, 5-6 to right.


Setup. At bottom, the English Serjeants are placed within 6" of the all-important ford, with a Knight Errant Personality leading them [he inflicts 1 Hit in Melee - it adds up! Battle opens with the Welsh going first and entering two units at top, rolling a '3'. I chose an Archer and a Knight since I wanted the combination of shooting and melee ability. I have also found that using the knights early can lead to the knights getting into trouble on their own.Victory goes to the Welsh if they destroy all English Units North of the River within 12" of the ford.


Turn 1. The Welsh move Bowmen down the road and Knights onto the Hill. English respond by shifting the Serjeants to the right to oppose the Knights and leave the road open.


Turn 2. Welsh shoot, rolling a '6+2' for 8 Hits, halved for the Armor. Welsh Knights charge, also rolling a '6+2' and inflicting net 4 hits also. English Serjeants are half dead! English Knights enter, moving 15" up the road, across the ford. Serjeants roll a '4' which is +1 for their Knight Errant, but not added in yet [it is correct in next pic].


Turn 3. Welsh roll a '4' and bringin a Freemen down the road and Knights to the left within Charge range, moving Bowmen towards the Hill. English ponder and then bring in another knight and Charge the Welsh Knight. Serjeants roll '1' compounding the excellent Welsh luck with very poor luck on their part [sort of like the dreaded 6/1 split in DBA combat]. One need to see combat as a series of rolls, not just one or two, and look to win the melee, but taking 22 Hits [halved] and inflicting back seven won't dig them out of a defeat, here.


Turn 4. The Welsh decide the Bowmen can help their left Knight, so move down the road to shrink the bridgehead, passing up on the short-term advantage of a flank attack. Both melees move along, with either being set to end if the Welsh roll average next turn. English Knight 3 enters, but is bottled up without a lot space to deploy, so feeling that the advance down the road was the right thing to do for the Welsh Freemen.


Turn 5, Welsh. Reinforcements enter on a '5' to the right, the last Freemen and a Knight. Welsh knights blow out English Knights, while their comrades take out the Serjeants and the Knight Errant [who is starting to look more like a Knight Error]. Things aren't looking good for the English - their third Knight is available, however.


Turn 5, English. Knight 3 charges and breaks Welsh Knight. But, is pretty much surrounded with few options except a desperate charge. The center melee needs to end quickly, but the English roll a '1' needing more like a '6'. Serjeants 2 enters and is crossing the ford.


Turn 6. Welsh put a lot more hurt on the English, wiping out knight 3 in one go, and badly damaging Knight 2, leaving it with 1 Hit left! English put a few Hits on the Freemen then move their infantry across the ford, led by the Serjeants.


Turn 7. Welsh reposition and wipe out English Knight 2. English Charge the Serjeants out of the river and move up the Freemen, desperate to try and hold the Bridgehead.


Turn 8, the Welsh retreat the Freemen on the road, placing the forgotten abbot with them. Their Knights to left inflict a few Hits on English Serjeants before being destroyed. Welsh Knights charge Freemen holding the ford, with Bowmen moving up to support.


Welsh abbot rolls a '5' and removes that many Hits from the Freemen - clearly a man of inspiration! He now departs the battle and returns to his monastic retreat to pray.


Turn 9. The Welsh keep up the pressure, with the combination of Bowmen and Knights wearing down the English Freemen steadily. The Welsh Freemen are overmatched by the English Serjeants, but help is near at hand, so little hope for the English at this point.


Turn 10 sees the English Freemen wiped out, but the Serjeants fight on doggedly.


Turn 11. The Welsh Knights hit the Serjeants flank. The Serjeants almost break the Freemen, but needed a '5' to do so.


Welsh Turn 12. English Serjeants are wiped out.


Whew, what a battle!
I really thought things looked good for the English, but they got spread out too much by charging around. Upon reflection, they should've lead with their Serjeants, and carefully expanded the bridgehead behind them, allowing the knights to reinforce them. As it was, they got pretty beat up and defeated piece by piece.

In terms of rules, I was going thru a "have I changed things too much?" phase. Generally, I think the rules work very well, but getting the right balance with the scenarios is tough. I miss the rally rules - I really like how they reward careful players who conserve their Units with a strong end game, like in real life. However, I think they could be placed in the optional section, and rallying off hits reserved just for Units with a personality, instead of making all Units able to rally.

The bowmen hit a bit harder with the +2. This is not quite right for Feudals, but makes them less of a liability should you get 2 of them in your force. I also bagged the ammo limit of three shots. It didn't make much impact on this battle, but I like my original version best - they are D6 shooting, with no ammo limit, but they do run out on the roll of a natural '5' [which works on both D5 or D6 of course].

I played this scenario several times with the original rules from the book. I reminded myself that there are way too many gamey possibilities with all units turning twice.

Overall, while I think that some of my add-ons are not essential, they do add to the game and fix things that I actively dislike or are a bit gamey in the original rules.

Next time - The Revenge of the Welsh!

30,000 Posts - Woo HOO! Thoughts...

Well, the numbers keep growing. Granted, about half are courtesy of Russian and Chinese spies, something I would've never thought of despite growing up in the Cold War. Not because I don't regard us to be in a competition with them for world influence, but b/c I would never have thought that anyone would ever consider this blog to be a place worth spying on! So Thank you Putin, Jinping, et al. And  by the way, you can't win against:


Texas and 'Merica

This blog has evolved a bit as my gaming interests have become more refined. Interestingly, one is pretty committed to figures since they are so expensive and time consuming - they are almost more in control of my gaming than I am! So, it pays to return to the Very First Post Here and see how things have changed - or stayed the same - about gaming The Dark Ages.

1. As less is known, there's a bit more space to be creative in this period.
2. Colorful, and the scale of events is smaller - smaller battles, more raids, etc.
3. cool 40mm Sash and Saber Viking and Anglo-Dane figs,
4. some good rules to play around with and fewer figs to prepare.

Hmm, well, all is still the same, except that I got away from 40mm Vikings / Anglo-Danes and skirmish rules. How did that happen? Well, first real life got in the way for 7 months, and I didn't really do anything. Then, I refocused the Blog in a post HERE. Basically, DBA 3.0 came out and a battle game got on my list of things to do again - I ordered my copy. I also reminded myself that I've a bunch of loverly Testudo Gauls / Romans, and Peloponnesian War Greek projects that were in advanced stages of completion. Plus, bunches of 25mm armies in various stages of untouched to ready for table.

Then, I received my copy of DBA 3.0 came out and I did a review of it, HERE. I have to say that it seems like the best version of hte rules ever, and I gave it a glowing review with every intention of playing it a bunch of times. But then...

I got a copy of "One-Hour Wargames" after reading a few comments and reviews of it, probably starting with TMP, somewhere in a search of One Hour Wargames among post titles HERE. Then BANG! I was hooked! Reading thru DBA 3.0 made me realize that it's still too much of a headache to try and bang out a few games of at night before bed, or explain to total newbies, etc. Also, there's really only one scenario, a tournement style "kill the enemy" one, and that gets repetitious. OHW really turned my thinking around and offered so much in so little time, that I was certain I'd actually play the game a lot.  And I do! Anyway, my initial review is HERE and since then most of the posts and direction of this blog have been towards OHW topics.

And after about 75-100 games of it, I'm still enjoying the game concepts, still trying to find the right balance of simplicity and history, and still learning a LOT about game design!

Well, he seems like a cantankerous old geezer, but hey "Hats off" to Mr. Thomas.

And that's where this blog has mostly been every since.

09/13/17 One-Hour Wargames Medievals: #8 Melee

Welsh Marcher Lord practicing encroachment...

Turn 1 of Scenario #8: Melee. English sit tight [having no Brigans / Skirmishers, they have no one to enter the woods, a good T1 Red move in #8]. Welsh force enters the Board via the road.

Yes, it's time for a classic scenario with this slightly more streamlined latest version. I rolled up two forces on the regular force matrix in the book. Based upon what I have ready for the table [more or less] I ended up with a Wales Border Lord attacking an English neighbor. The key to the encroachment is the hill, as it overlooks both the main road and contested lands. 
The Red defender has 4 Knights, a Serjeant [Men at Arms], and a Freemen [Levy].
The Blue attacker has 3 Knights, two Bowmen [Archers], and a Serjeant.
The key here is a test of how useful Bowmen are on the attack. In this Feudal version, they are quite useful, inflicting Dx Hits a turn [1-6 on D6, 2-5 on D5, I offer a choice], but not the mesmerizing machine guns of the original rules which has them shooting D6+2 with unlimited ammo!

This is actually the second play of the rules. The first scenario went great, with a decisive result in well under an hour. The Red defense of a Freemen [left] and Serjeant [right] were attacked by a Knight and two Bowmen. However, this was way too slow an attack, and Red reinforced quickly and the Blue flank attack led by two Knights was narrowly defeated, resulting in the hill assault fizzling out.

This second play I kept the Red defense as-is, since it appears to have no weaknesses. My newest decision is to lock down the right flank against the board edge, and leave the coverage gap towards the center where it can quickly be filled by reinforcements. This is my new go-to defense for this scenario. BELOW you can see the rules mechanics at work giving decisiveness to the Red player's setup decisions [a key aspect of this approach to rules is to return decisiveness to the table]. My OHW rules requires a gap of a Base Width [BW=5"] for regular movement between two obstacles [Units or Terrain in any combo], but only a Base Depth [BD=2.5"]. The space between the woods and the Red right flank is too big to not have a flank open somewhere, so I've chosen the center, hoping reinforcements will arrive quickly enough to plug the gap. Blue of course hopes he can exploit it first!

Above. BD between board edge and both foot Units, but a charge Gap to the center.

Turn 1. Red doesn't move, Blue advances three Knights onto the Board. The first two get a BW + a BW for a Fast Move, not being within a BD of any enemy Units [my take on a ZoC rule]. The third moves 2BW+BD up the road, giving an option to cover front or move left.


Turn 2 below. Red stands, Blue advances, pushing the 3rd Knight left to reinforce the attack.


Turn 3 below. Red reinforces with two Knights near the road. Blue attacks or positions to attack. The Serjeants are tough, taking 1/4 Hits on the hill. With a D5, this results in 1-2 Hits a turn, a slow slog. The Freemen take 1/2 Hits on the hill, putting them on parity against the Knights. Rolling up fractions results in 2 Hits on the Serjeants...13 more to go!


Turn 4 below. Red positions a Knight to hit the hill, covering the Serjeants left, and moves the other down the road. Blue hits the Freemen with a Knight but rolls a '2' [phbbbb!] while the third Knight charges the Serjeants open flank. They can't see the Red Knights due to the hill crest, anyway, and they need to get into that flank while they can. They will also be uphill of the Red Knights, taking 1/2 Hits for that, altho x2 for being hit on Flank, so a wash. A tough decision, but I didn't see the situation getting any better, so it had to be done. They roll a 4+2 for 6, doubled for Flank but halved for uphill and halved again for Serjeants armor, resulting in 3 Hits for 7 total - halfway there! [arguably, the Serjeants aren't uphill...but it could go either way so I gave it to them since Blue did get a flank].
Finally, Blue reinforcements enter, posing an unpalatable and unmanageable force to the lone Red Knight - they will be shot to pieces or hit on a flank the turn after they charge.


Red Turn 5, below. Things heating up...Rightmost Knight about-faces and dashes away to get some space. Red's dice hit solid for 3+2,x2/2 for 5 on the Blue Knight, 5 on the center Blue Knight, and 4 on the left one.


Blue turn 5 below. The slog in center continues. The Serjeants are at 10, but a '2' by the flanking knight really hurt, made much worse by the center knight also rolling a '2'! They advance the infantry full forward to push on the road, but are just over a BD away so won't be slowing down the Knight, in any event. One Bowmen advances to help the hill slog.


Red turn 6 below. The right Red Knights pull way back using the road. Two more enter board to reinforce, one heading to the far left flank and the other to the hill. They inflict solid casualties on the Blue Knights, which are now up to 10 and 12 Hits, so about a turn to live...


Blue turn 6 below. The two Knights finally break the Serjeants holding the hill, getting exactly 15 Hits. The Freemen to left are losing by 3 Hits, and a Bowmen Unit is moving up at bottom right to plug the gap left by a destroyed Blue Knight. The Blue Serjeant and Bowmen advance down the road, keeping the pressure on Red Knight Unit.

Turn 7 below. The Red Knights charge down the road and hit the Bowmen rather than take shooting Hits, and counting on support from reinforcing Knights to discourage the Serjeants, but they decide to take the chance and flank the Knights anyway, rolling poorly...On the hill, Blue Knights to right are destroyed, unsurprisingly. Center Blue Knights charge the flank of the Freemen to clear the hill, figuring there's little chance to rally Hits with two Red Knights just over the crest.
Mid-Game Sitrep: Red's lost hill control and two Units, with a third in bad straights. Blue's lost only one Unit, but another Knight is almost dead and fresh Red Knights are moving up. Anyone's game at this point, in my opinion, altho positioning and Hit levels are critical.

Turn 8 below. Red Knights advance up hill. Center Blue Knight is destroyed while the other prepares to charge Bowmen below, who shoot for 4 Hits. Blue Knight retaliates by charging open flank of left Red Knight but can't destroy them even with a '5'. To right, the Red Knight is destroyed while the Bowmen and Serjeants are damaged; the Serjeants are also in a bad position that the Bowmen can't help much with, needing to reposition to shoot or melee.

Turn 9 below. The Red Knights on hill are destroyed, but only because they rolled a '2' on their turn, leaving Blue Knights at 14 Hits. Center Red Knights put 7 Hits on center Bowmen, while Serjeants and Bowmen have nearly zero chance to survive against rampaging Red Knight on the right, due to math working against them.

Turn 10 below. Serjeants die, Bowmen shoot on the Right. Blue Knights prepare to intervene in center as Red Knights chew up Bowmen. The 1-turn delays of the Blue Knight intervention - one in destroying the Red Knight, the other in getting on the hillcrest for LoS, will result in the Bowmen being destroyed. Here we see that Bowmen are a bit weak.

Turn 11 below. Both Bowmen are destroyed, if only barely. In turn, center Red Knight is charged on rear and destroyed. Remaining are a Blue Knight with 14 Hits, and a Red Knight with 7. At best, the Blue Knight would have parity after 3-4 turns of Rallying, which they can't get due to the mandate to hold the Hill. Seems hopeless, but I play it out to test the game mechanics and see if I may have overlooked something...

Turn 12 shows that there's just not enough space for Blue to recover some Hits.

Turn 13 ends with Red Knights inflicting 3 Hits despite the uphill position of Blue Knights.

Wow, that was super-close, but of course there was no hope for the final Blue Knight, since Red's infantry didn't do enough damage to it before disappearing.

I think this game deserves one more play, but the frontal attack on the hill should be all infantry, while the flank should be all Knights, attacking the T2 Red Knight reinforcements very aggressively. Aside from this, I don't see how to crack this hill defense within the time allotted and the force available. 

Bowmen discussion. It may be that I'm not using Bowmen well enough, or that they are just a bit too weak. Either could be possible, but I found them way too powerful in the original rules [English Longbow devastating] when they shot d6+2. Granted, they still only had D6-2 in Melee, but with unlimited missiles they were like a machine gun platoon! It may be that for game balance, I need to make them D6+2 since I have given them a 3-shot limit. However, I've found them to be relatively easy to foil due to maneuver limits. It is always possible to hide beyond a hill crest and deprive an attacker of shooting opportunities. Another solution would be to allow a substitution for the scenario attacker of a Freemen for any Bowmen.

Scenario balance, as always, is the most difficult thing to achieve!

I'll be giving this one more try with an infantry attack on the hill and Knights straight up the road.