Adventures of Erindale - Part 1

With lockdown continuing on...maybe forever...the need to get some sort of gaming in has become more and more top of mind for me. So if all else fails, do it yourself. In other words, play a solo game. I've owned Joseph McCullough's Rangers of Shadow Deep (ROSD) since shortly after it was released and have always wanted to give it a go. There's no time like the present.

ROSD is a solo (or cooperative) miniatures games set in a dark fantasy world where the "Shadow Deep" is encroaching on civilization. You (or several of you) play a Ranger and their band of companions, playing through programmed scenarios to defeat the evil rampant in the world. Each scenario defines the game board setup, objectives, random events, clues that can be found that tie in to the multi-scenario adventure paths, treasures available to be found, and gives basic artificial intelligence on how to control the evil creatures you are fighting against. No matter how many players you have, you are all on the same side fighting against the evil.

I would be remiss to note that ROSD is a different-flavored adaptation of the same game engine that runs McCullough's well-received earlier game Frostgrave (published by Osprey), which pits wizard-led war bands against each other in a player-versus-player version of basically the same game, but in a different fantasy setting (and much more oriented toward magic).

Scenario 1 from the rulebook is called The Deserted Village, and pits a brand new Ranger and his companions against swarms of zombies and giant rats while trying to discover clues as to what happened to the villagers. The initial set up is shown below. [I had so much fun fumbling though this first scenario that I forgot to take any more pictures after this one...]

Game Setup - The Deserted Village

A few notes on the scenario (and the setup). The Ranger and his companions start in the center of the 36" square board, surrounded by zombies and rats. There are a few houses spaced around the board, and 6 clue markers (the white beads, some of which are visible in the picture). The good guys need to collect the clues while surviving the attacks of the bad guys and their reinforcements, which come on every turn in the form of random events. I painted the terrain board. The rest are houses and various other pieces from my collection. The figures at this point are almost exclusively D&D figures from the various WizKids lines, although I have a bunch of new Frostgrave figures that I am assembling and painting specifically for ROSD.

I found the rules to be simple but fun, and made for an enjoyable ~2 hours. If I knew the rules better, this probably would have been played in under an hour. The nice thing about the AI for the enemies, and the randomness of the clues and events, is that by some very simple mechanics, it removed the usual issue in solo gaming of how to play the enemy at least somewhat fairly...

As for my mini-campaign, I created a Ranger named Erindale, named for my earliest Dungeons and Dragons character I can remember (an elven ranger from the AD&D days of the late 1970's). Erindale would be supported by his companions Roderick the guardsman, Volko the archer, Irina the tracker, Thomas the recruit and Ethan "Grayblade" the rogue.

In a very quick recap of this scenario, we took some significant damage early, but then had a good run of luck in the mid- and late game, resulting in a smashing success. Nobody dropped to zero Health, and we achieved all of the scenario goals, getting experience points for those, and also killing a bunch of zombies and rats in the process.

The role playing game aspect of ROSD is that your Ranger gains experience (XP) for things that happen in each scenario, allowing you to "level up" after gaining enough XP. This in turn allows you to improve your stats, skills, etc... Your companions can also improve, but at a much slower rate (they get a point of XP if they survived the scenario without dropping to zero Health, and advance at a different rate). A Ranger or companion that drops to zero Health during the game (i.e. out of play) must roll on a chart to see if they are killed, suffer a long-term wound/effect etc...

Since we had such a successful mission, Erindale will advance from level 0 to level 1, gaining some skill points as a result. I can't wait to play the next (and final) scenario in this two part mini-adventure. Which might happen tonight. Or I might work on some terrain, or paint some figures... There are other adventure paths available after this simple 2-scenario one.

Lastly, if you want to see great examples of what ROSD is about, go to YouTube and search for Guerrilla Miniature Games, then look for his Rangers of Shadow Deep playlist and find this scenario as one of the very first videos listed).

Impetus Refresher - Germans vs Italians

We couldn't muster up enough people for a D&D game last night (a Friday night leading into Memorial Day weekend), but Ryan and Josh were available, and Josh had expressed an interest in playing historical miniatures, so that's what we did. When setting up the game (and trying to remember the rules) it occurred to me just how long it had been since I had played anything. Or painted anything. Going back through blog posts, it was probably the Impetus solo game that I played last November.

With little time to prep anything new, the game we played ended up using the same forces (and little cheat-sheet unit cards) from that game. Feudal Germans vs Communal Italians fighting in Italy circa 1250.

Forces close on each other (Germans at left)

In order to be able to start with the simpler rules (movement etc) and explain as we went, I set up a basic meeting engagement with no terrain other than a few hills and roads, and some decorative fields and hedges. The hills were decent sized, and flanked an open valley in between. In all pictures, the Germans will be on the left/far side and the Italians will be on the right/near side.

Contesting the Center

One of the main things I like about Impetus is that the rules are simple enough to remember fairly well from one playing to the next, but present enough choices to make the game-play interesting. It turned out to be a very good set to teach a new person. By the end of the evening (7 turns I think), Josh had a pretty good grasp of the basics.

Forces meet on the eastern hill

As for the battle itself, it was a straight-forward move ahead and meet in the middle fight, with attention paid to the high ground on either flank.

Fighting for the hilltop

In general, Ryan (the Germans) rolled very well for initiative, but rolled poorly in combat. Exceptionally poorly in many cases. He was especially good at failing Cohesion Tests in cases when all he had to do was roll anything but a 6. And then invariably rolled a 6...

End of game

By the end of the game (7 turns I believe), the situation had been decided. Out of three leaders per side, the Germans had lost one killed and one captured, and the fighting had largely gone against them. Some good things had happened, but not enough to keep the Italians from clearly having the upper hand. The Germans lost 5 units to the Italians 4, but the types of units lost and the relative position (and condition) of the remaining troops on the field made it extremely likely that the balance would continue to tip further in the Italians favor.

It was a fun evening, and Josh seemed to to enjoy himself (there was no doubt Ryan would, as he has played with us many times before). Impetus, as always, provided a fun game.

Impetus - Germans vs Italians, The End

Part 3, The End
Turn 10 - On the Italian right, a timely charge by arriving knights from the last command succeed in routing German knights while the remainder of the command hurries to deploy.

Turn 10 - Italians charging up the hill

In the center, both sides have taken a beating, and the long-engaged German sergeants and Italian light cavalry are rolling one die apiece to try to break the stalemate (to no avail). On the Italian left, two units of heavy cavalry charge up the hill into the German infantry, but both become bogged down in ongoing melees. More and more German foot troops deploy and move up the hill.

Turn 10 - End of turn

Turn 11 - On the Italian right, knights engage each other in a swirling melee while the last of the German knights hurry to support them. The Germans have now been split so that all of their remaining infantry are clustered around the hill near town, and their cavalry is all gathered in the plain below.

Turn 11 - Italian knights bogged down on the hill

In the center, the German sergeants finally rout the valiant light cavalry, but are now by themselves in that part of the battlefield, surrounded on three sides by enemy and hanging on by a thread. There aren't many Germans left on the plain.

Turn 11 - Germans faltering in the center

On the hill, the Italian cavalry launches repeated charges at the German crossbows and infantry, and makes little headway. The impetuous Italian cavalry has outpaced their infantry supports, and are taking some losses in the attempt to drive the German foot off the hill.

Turn 12 - On the Italian right, the German horse pulls back, forming some semblance of a line. In the center, the German sergeants rout from the combined shooting of two Italian bow units.

Turn 12 - End of turn

On the hill, the Italian cavalry destroy a crossbow unit on the crest, but take losses in the process, and both units move to the rear to regroup. German infantry forms a solid line on the hill as the Italians recoil.

Turn 13 (The End) - No units are engaged in the turn, and both sides take the opportunity to reform their lines.

Turn 13 - The End

Wrap up - At the end of turn 13, it was apparent that the battle had reached a logical end point. On the open level ground, the Germans only had three somewhat battered knight units opposing the bulk of two Italian commands. The Italians facing them had taken some losses as well, but had sufficient combined arms numbers to make a renewed attack by the Germans suicidal. At the other end of the field, the Italian knights were fairly well spent by their unsupported assaults on the hill, which was now lined with a solid wall of fresh German foot and crossbowmen. The logical conclusion is that the German cavalry would cover the withdrawal of the infantry back through the town, leaving the field to Italians. The Italians would be able to claim a decent victory, losing three of their own units while routing six German units (including all four units of the German vanguard), but with a number of battered units of their own.

Summary and Conclusions - As noted before, I like Impetus as a rule set. It is a little simplistic in places, and a little too rigid for my tastes in others, but makes for a fast playing and fun game. It gives a good feel for this period, which is something of an accomplishment in that the rules are designed to be able to play anything from ancients through the Renaissance (basically everything before true gunpowder periods).

As for this particular game, I enjoyed playing it solo, and have a good idea of how I will create a scenario somewhat similar to this for when we are able to get the guys together for a real game.

It also continues the urge to paint. I wish I had some of those 12th century infantry primed and ready...

Impetus - Germans vs Italians, Part 2

Part 2 - The Fighting Starts
Turn 5 - Some desultory shooting occurs, to no effect. Both sides jockey for position in the center while rushing up reinforcements. German knights head for the open ground supporting the center, while the new foot troops head for the hill. The Italian command all heads down the road behind their lines in the direction of the hill (on their left flank).

Turn 5 - Jockeying for position

Turn 6 - The Italian scutiferi light cavalry shoot at the sergeants to their front, disordering them. In their turn, the German sergeants both charge. The first unit engages the archers, beat them and force them back, but have insufficient pursuit movement to catch them as they retreat (this would almost certainly have finished them off). The other unit of sergeants charges the light cavalry, who evade. The second commands continue to march.

Turn 6 - German sergeants charge

Turn 7 - The Italian light cavalry continue to harass the sergeants, shooting at them and causing Disorder and one loss. A unit of Italian feudal infantry wheels and charges into the side of the unit of sergeants that was driving back the archers. Both take one loss, disorder, and remain engaged. In the German turn, these units fight again, with each taking one loss but with the Germans winning. The Italian foot retreat 1 inch, are pursued and caught. In the next round of fighting, no damage is caused and they remain engaged yet again. This foot unit was performing heroically (and it would get even better...).

Turn 7 - Melees ongoing in the center

Turn 8 - The Italian first command won the initiative and had a solid turn. The light cavalry shot at the sergeants to their front, caused a loss (double Disorder), and then charged them, inflicting another double Disorder loss, and remaining engaged with them (yes, I did this wrong by the rules - the light cavalry would have retreated from an engaged melee with heavy cavalry...oh well). I chalk this up to extreme bravery since they had been fighting so well.

During turn 8 - Sergeants fighting Italian foot

The engaged unit of Italian foot continue to fight the German sergeants, and miraculously hold them off (bad dice all around). 

In the German activation, a newly arrived unit of German knights charges the other Italian feudal foot unit and routs it in one combat. The German knights pursue only 1 inch, but are now behind the other engaged Italian foot unit. It looks like that heroic unit's days are numbered. Both engaged units of sergeants fight their opponents again, and both take a loss from double Disorder (remaining engaged) while the Italians both avoid damage. The improbable continues, and both German sergeant units are wearing away faster than their weaker opponents...

Turn 8 - Lines forming in the center

Over by the hill, the Italian knights move up to threaten the German crossbows and foot holding the high ground, and look to be in position to charge next turn. Crossbow fire Disorders the lead Italian knight unit.

The last command for each side arrives on the table and march forward.

Turn 9 - The German first command activates, thinking that things must get better. They don't. The Italian foot rout the first sergeant unit, and the light cavalry fights the other to a draw. Again.

The German second command activates next, and the unit of knights that had just ridden down the one Italian foot wheels and charges the one that just destroyed the sergeants. While this charge appears to be a Rear charge, it technically isn't. Still, the Germans will roll ten dice while the Italian foot rolls one die.

Turn 9 - German knights charge from behind

The charmed life of the brave foot unit continues, as neither side scores any damage (a point of damage is caused by each 6 and each pair of 5's). In ten dice, the Germans could only manage a single 5... They remain engaged.

Rolling 10 dice vs 1 die - no hits scored!!

The Italian second command activates, and the knights charge up the hill, defeating, pursuing and routing the German crossbow unit. Foot units are moving up in support.

The Italian first command activates in the center, meaning more melees for the engaged units. The light cavalry takes a loss but remains engaged. The heroic foot roll one die versus the 6 dice of the knight unit, cause 1 loss on them, and send them retreating!

Turn 9 - Italians holding on in the center

Meanwhile, more troops move up...

Turn 9 - Moving to the sound of battle

Next - The Fighting Escalates

Impetus - Germans vs Italians, Opening Moves

Our planned-for Impetus game Sunday evening fell apart, but I had the figures out and table prepared, so I spent some time pushing figures around solo. Since it was just me, I decided to have the armies come onto the table on roads from opposite corners. Meeting engagements of this sort would probably have been less common than in most other periods, but it allowed me to jump right in with no set up. Each army had three commands. The smaller of each three would begin barely on the table, and the others would arrive on turns 4 and 8. Easing into things would also help me get reacquainted with the rules. German and generic figures are using the early Imperial German list, and Normans (and Crusaders) are using the early Communal Italian list.

Most of my first brief playing session on Sunday night would be just a lot of moving, as troops entered the field. This was fine, as I had a football game on in the background and needed a rules refresher.

Turn 1 - Early turns would see much use of the road March rules. I pushed both sides hard and there were a lot of movement related Disorders. Germans are entering through the town at top left and the Italians are entering across the stream at lower right.

After turn 1

Turn 2 - Italian Scutiferi light cavalry and skirmish archers are first to arrive in the center of the battlefield. Their foot struggle to keep up. The Germans have longer to go; through town and either around or over the big hill outside of town. Two units of German sergeants will swing around, while a unit each of crossbows and foot head for the hilltop.

Turn 2 - Italian lights advance in center

Turn 2 - Germans debouching from town

Turn 3 - The Italian lights wait nervously in the center while the Germans close in on them. The foot on both sides lag behind. It's a good thing the Italian foot doesn't have as far to go, as their one unit of light cavalry will be no match for two units of German heavy cavalry.

Turn 3 - Italian foot deploys

Turn 3 - Germans advance on the center

Turn 4 - By the end of turn 4, things were about to heat up. German heavy cavalry sergeants were in position to charge the Italians in the center, but infantry support was coming up to support the light cavalry and missile troops. German foot were moving onto the hill on the sergeants' flank, and the second commands for both sides were moving onto the table. At this point, only a few long range missile shots had been taken, and no casualties inflicted.

Turn 4 - Contesting the middle (from German side)

Turn 4 - Second German command marching on

Next...Some Action

Fireball Forward! - Ukraine 1941

Relatively spur of the moment, Leo and Ryan and I were able to get together for a game of Fireball Forward! last night. Ryan has been dying to play WW2, I loved FF! when Leo and I played it a couple of times last summer, and it had just been generally way too long since we had an actual game of any sort.

Leo had a scenario that he had created, which was adapted from one of the Skirmish books, and he would umpire while Ryan and I played. The scenario was a Russian counterattack against a German defense at a small village and stream crossing. Playing with an umpire is great because everything starts off the table out of sight and is only revealed when spotted (generally when it shoots). The Germans had a couple of infantry platoons, some company weapons assets, a 75mm infantry gun and a pair of 37mm AT guns. I (the Russians) had 4 infantry platoons (in two companies, each with a few company assets), a Kommissar (who proved to be a worthless fraud), and 7 tanks in 3 groups; a T28 (?) in a group by itself, and two groups of 3 BT7's each.

The battlefield ( a nice compact 3' by 4', which is typical for FF games - lots of great action in a small space...), looking at the first picture from the Russian edge, had a cluster of buildings on either side of a stream in the distance. A road went up the middle, with a plowed beet field on the left and a swampy area on the right. The wheat colored rectangle at middle left is a field of high crops which would prove to be the hinge point of the game.

Turn 1 - Russians can opt to bring their infantry on in trucks, which I chose not to do. That would mean an open ground ride right up the middle, and I envisioned a lot of burning trucks and dead guys. I elected for a broad front advance, mostly avoiding the swampy area on my right flank. I should have been more aggressive with my one good tank, which cautiously inched onto the board (and ended up bringing up the rear of my turn 1 advance). The crappy little BT7's advance bravely. And died bravely. The first one got lit up by a flank shot from a 37mm ATG in the swamp. The second one went to face the ATG and died soon after. The second came on and fared little better, with one getting knocked out and another immediately panicking and fleeing the field. I needed to occupy buildings to win, which tanks cannot do, but I had hoped that they would be a little more...less dead less quickly.

Mostly through Turn 1

Turn 2 - As can be seen in the mid-turn picture below, the Russian infantry are advancing through the beet field (bottom of pic) while all the BT7's are either dead of have fled (4 dead, 2 panicked and gone). German infantry (machine guns) have exposed themselves by shooting out of the wheat field, tying up my infantry in the center. 5 out of my 6 infantry units are either on the road or left of it. The one remaining infantry platoon near the swamp will try to take out the 37mm ATG.

During Turn 2

Turn 3 - The last Russian tank (the good one) dies, my armored force having done nothing of consequence, other than to hold the attention of the 3 German guns. The Russian platoon in the swamp got into melee with the ATG and a supporting German infantry platoon, and that series of combats lasted the rest of the game, with the heroic gun crew beating back wave after wave of Russians. As it turns out though, the German infantry would have been better served moving to support the buildings in the center once the tanks were gone. The ATGs had served their purpose and could be left to die.

During Turn 3

Turns 3 and 4 saw a concerted effort by Russian infantry to advance in force through the wheat field, around its flank, and up the road if possible. I was able to run the gauntlet with one squad into the center building near the road, and worked my way around the one behind the flank of the wheat field. I was taking some casualties, but was also inflicting some and slowly clearing out the wheat field itself and chipping away at their supporting units.

During Turn 4

Turn 4 - The Germans were thinned out enough that I was able to use numbers to tie up the remaining Germans while a squad ran across the stream and into the building on the other side (2 victory points). At that point, I had the 4 victory points I would need to win the game after 5 turns (2 VPs for a building on the far side of the stream, and 1 each for two buildings on the near side). A last ditch German counterattack near the end of turn 4 to try to oust me from a building failed, and it was agreed that there was no way the few remaining Germans near the buildings I occupied would be able to push me out.

After Turn 4 (game effectively over)

It was a great game, and a good learning exercise for Ryan and I. We both made some mistakes, and both did some good things. We have a lot to learn about the rules, but that's the fun part. Our dice rolling seemed very particular on both sides. Ryan didn't shoot very well, except when shooting at tanks (which was great), and his morale rolls seemed good when testing under fire, but atrocious when trying to get his troops to enter a melee. On the other side, my firing was pretty good, my morale to enter combats was good, my rallying was OK, but I couldn't pass a morale check when fired on to save my life. It seemed like any time Ryan succeeded in hitting me with a shot, I broke. When in melees themselves, no matter how advantageous the combat for me, I would roll whatever I needed to remain locked in melee until the next turn. Among other things, it is these dice rolling patterns that develop during a game that makes games fun (what?! again?! really?!).

A few observations:

• I love this game system and can't wait to play more. It is fantastic with a referee.
• This is the first time we had a game of this with vehicles, and it showed. Ryan on the other hand had never played the system at all but did fine.
• Russians are frustrating in their rigidity. Units activate by random card draws. Unlike the Germans (and the Americans when we played them) who get to choose which unit to activate when one of their cards comes up, the Russians have to splay the specific unit noted on the card. Getting things to occur in the sequence you would hope they would is almost impossible. But the Russians had notorious command issues early on in the war especially, so this felt right.

While the excitement of last night's game is fresh in my mind, I suspect that Paint Table Saturday today will revolve around taking stock of my modest WW2 collection, identifying needs, maybe a little painting and almost certainly some basing of existing infantry, which I am partway through. And maybe a side trip to a shop nearby that stocks the Flames of War miniatures range to pick up a few things...

Impetus Campaign - Beren Roadblock

Henry de Cheraute's detachment is on the road to Beren with a little pillaging in mind when they find the road ahead blocked by a small force of enemy infantry...

Turn 1 (Henry advances...)
Friendly - All units move ahead two moves, only the left flank light infantry under Larcevaux disorder as they enter the woods.
Enemy - All units are on opportunity. The crossbows elect to fire on Boncarre's skirmishers, rolling one damage that luckily only causes disorder (skirmishers are very fragile with a low VBU and thus a low critical number - one damage and one bad cohesion test and they can vanish in an instant).

End of Turn 1

Turn 2 (...and advances some more...)

Enemy - The crossbows fire again, missing. No other actions.

Friendly - Larcevaux's light infantry fail to rally and move ahead into the woods. Pominville's heavy infantry move twice along the road (but not on it) and disorder. Boncarre's skirmishers rally, move ahead once, fire their javelins at point blank range at the crossbows...and miss. Oops. Morenz's light infantry move up behind the skirmisher screen. Wilkinson's crossbows move forward once and shoot at the heavy infantry directly to their front and cause one damage, but this only disorders the target. Cadogan's little band of Scottish pike men move forward along the road then form up, ending in disorder.

End of Turn 2

Turn 3 (The enemy gets aggressive)

Friendly - Boncarre's javelinmen breathe a sigh of relief at the double move (two friendly turns in a row; lost initiative last turn, won it this turn) and shoot at the crossbows, disordering them. Wilkinson's crossbows hold their ground and shoot at the disordered heavy infantry, failing to hit them. Pominville and Cadogan both fail to rally and move once forward. Larcevaux's men in the trees rally and move once forward, clearing the edge of the woods. Thomas' mounted men at arms wheel toward the open flank and move forward, disordering.

Enemy - At the start of the enemy turn, I roll a d6. On a roll of 6, some number of enemy units will appear, but the roll fails. I step back and survey the field, noting that I have pushed Henry's lighter units forward in advance of the heavier troops, leaving them somewhat exposed. I decide to randomize the enemy reaction, and on a d6 scale of 1 being very cautious through 6 being very aggressive, roll a 6. Aggressive it is, then. I decide the most logical course of action would be to attack with the enemy right and center, and refuse the left flank unit against the advancing knights. The left flank heavy infantry moves once to the rear, disordering. The crossbows rally, shoot at the skirmishers at point blank range and miss again. On the enemy far right (left of the picture), a unit of levy heavy infantry charge forward into Larcevaux's light infantry, disordering themselves as they charge far enough to make contact. In the ensuing fight, no casualties are inflicted and the units will remain disordered and locked in melee. Next, the enemy commander urges his own unit of heavy spearmen forward, wheeling once and charging Morenz's light infantry behind their skirmisher screen. Boncarre's javelinmen, seeing the enemy heavy infantry charging in from off to their side, toss one last round of javelins ineffectively before dispersing and fleeing the field. [A review of the Evading rules when this situation arose showed that a skirmisher unit being charged by a unit that began entirely outside of its frontal projection does not permit an Evade move...live and learn]. The enemy unit continued its charge through the fleeing skirmishers and into Morenz's unit in good order. Both units cause damage but only manage to disorder each other; they also remain locked in melee.

End of Turn 3

Turn 4 (The enemy waver...)

Enemy - The enemy win the initiative, so now they get a "double move". Another reinforcement roll fails. The melee between the levies and Larcevaux's men goes another round, causing a loss on the levies and forcing them to retreat 3 inches. The enemy commander's men fighting against Morenz's light infantry are not as lucky. In a ferocious and bloody melee, 2 losses are inflicted on Morenz, but the enemy suffers 3 losses in return. Morenz suffers a minor leg wound, but the enemy commander is swarmed upon as his unit retreats and is killed. Amidst the carnage to their right, the crossbows fired on Thomas' knights and inflicted a loss.
Friendly - Larcevaux's men fail to rally but charge the retreating levies to their front. They cause one damage, and yet another "6" on the cohesion test has the levy unit rout. Morenz, apparently distracted by his wound, fails to rally and holds position. Wilkinson's crossbows target their counterparts and cause one damage. The cohesion test results in the third "6" in a row, and the enemy crossbows rout. Seeing the combat in front of them, Pominville's heavy infantry rally and move ahead, as do Cadogan's Scots. The knights fail to rally but wheel to face the remaining fresh infantry unit.

End of Turn 4

Turn 5 (...and then crumble)

Friendly - Morenz's light infantry fail to rally, but move to the rear, interpenetrating Pominville's fresh troops as they go. Pominville rallies off the resulting disorder and charges the remnants of the enemy commander's unit. In the ensuing combat, the enemy unit takes its final loss and routs from the field, effectively ending any organized resistance.
Enemy - There is nothing left for the enemy but for the survivors to flee the field of battle as best they can, as only one unit remains.

End of Turn 5 / Game

Game recap and a few more thoughts on Impetus
This was a short little game that ended very quickly once the forces became engaged. An untimely string of three "6's" in a row on enemy cohesion tests effectively vaporized the enemy battle line in a matter of moments. Without those bad die rolls, this could have been a very different game (or certainly a longer one!).

These little games continue to serve their purpose for me. I am becoming more and more comfortable with the core rules and can focus more on learning the implications of the various charts and rules and their effect on game play. I still haven't come across anything that I really dislike. There are a few things that I still need to get used to, and formulate an opinion on. One is the fact that a poor cohesion test die roll can make a lesser unit disappear instantaneously; one moment fresh and perfectly fine, the next moment gone. The other is the lack of any morale rules. Nothing effects a unit, despite whatever may be going on around it, until the whole command reaches its break point and picks up and disappears. I suppose this works fine for a fairly simplistic game.

One possible criticism I would have is a similar one that I would have with many other miniatures game rules, and that is the draconian adherence to unit facing with regards to movement and charging. In truly linear periods such as the Seven Years War or the Marlburian period, this makes sense. I would argue that in much of the medieval period, where "units" as we would consider them would be more along the lines of "a bunch of guys", things shouldn't need to be quite so rigid. We need structure in the rules, I understand that. But I find that the result of the "thou shalt move very rigidly and in geometric precision only" rules tend to result in tabletop occurrences that often defy common sense. Movement often devolves into a weird stylized version of chess. I do not like the commandments of "thou shalt not deviate from a straight forward move." Or "thou shalt not wheel while moving." Or "thou shall only be permitted to wheel if it is the very first thing you shall do during your move." Why? If movement is a function of time spent and ground covered, why can't I wheel during my move and not only at the beginning (or the end), or as an entirely separate movement action? This is why I find games like Armati to be an unplayable exercise in ridiculousness. Which isn't to say that Impetus movement rules are any worse than most, they just trigger a personal pet peeve of mine, that's all.

All that being said, there is an aspect of the movement rules for Impetus that I really do like, and that is the opportunity to have multiple moves, discipline tests permitting, and with the risk that pushing your men too hard will result in disorder, leaving them vulnerable to the enemy. This creates good decision making points in the game, and adds a lot of uncertainty. This is good stuff.

Campaign - Henry's easy defeat of the enemy force allows him to plunder Beren, pillaging the village and burning crops, mills and property. No substantial losses were inflicted on Henry's forces, although Morenz's light infantry took a couple losses, so I will put a note next to them (maybe next time they get a discipline penalty or something).

Next...I need a scenario #3...

Impetus Campaign - Henry's Choice

Henry surveys the field

Henry de Cheraute, advancing in a northeasterly direction to the north (left) of Raymond's main body with a predominantly infantry contingent, was sent to "investigate" the village of Beren. As his troops trudged along the muddy road to town, Gauthier de Morenz, commanding the light infantry advance guard, reported back that an enemy force was drawn up near a crossroads beyond the next ridge. Henry, riding with his men at arms under his younger brother Thomas, crested the ridge and surveyed the scene before him.

Ahead, beyond a small clump of trees, was a fork in the road. The left fork, curving to the north, led to Beren. The right fork continued east in the direction of Henry's next rendezvous with Raymond, where he was due by nightfall tomorrow. Centered on high ground to the north of the road fork was an enemy force that appeared smaller than his own. He did not see any cavalry, but his visibility was hindered by the trees and the high ground.

Thomas studied the scene for a few more moments as their foot soldiers clanked up the road behind them. Finally he spoke. "Well, brother, what's it to be? We could double back the way we came. Or force our way down the east road. Or fight."

Henry smiled and replied "My orders were to pay a visit to the good citizens of Beren. Let's go test these gentlemens' resolve..."

The (visible) enemy

Scenario #2
Through a bit of random selection, our second scenario will be a small fight between two primarily infantry forces. After laying out the basics of the situation I randomized whether Henry should behave aggressively (fight), moderately (bypass and head east) or cautiously (retreat). On a 1-10 scale, I rolled the low end of aggressive, so Henry's plan will be to attack, but prudently. If things do not go well, he will look to disengage and head east.

Henry's forces (with their newly named "captains"):

• Commander Henry de Cheraute (Fair quality)
• Mounted men at arms (Thomas de Cheraute)
• Provincial heavy infantry [FP] (Richard Pominville)
• Provincial light infantry, long spears [FL] (Gauthier de Morenz)
• Provincial light infantry long spears [FL] (Emile Larcevaux)
• Crossbowmen, class B [T] (Edmund Wilkinson)
• Javelinmen [S] (Phillippe Boncarre)
• Scottish mercenary pikemen [FP] (Robert Cadogan)

The defenders of Beren:

• One leader whose rating will be randomized the first time we need to use it for something substantial
• Two units of heavy infantry [FP] with long spears
• One unit of crossbowmen [T] (class B)
• One unit of town militia [FP]

In addition to these named forces, beginning around the time the troops become engaged, I will begin to randomly test for enemy hidden forces or reinforcements (size and type TBD if they appear). Henry might get a surprise of some sort...

...to be Continued

Impetus Campaign - Cazalet Finale

Second and final part of the skirmish at Cazalet
Turn 6
Friendly - Longbows rally, shoot with 3 dice at the heavy infantry and miss. The mercenary crossbows rally, fire 4 dice at short range, score 2 damage resulting in 3 losses and rout/destroy the enemy crossbows on the hill. The remainder of William's forces work on forming some sort of battleline with the heavy cavalry and the heavy infantry billmen ending disordered. William and his knights edge forward.
Enemy - The heavy infantry fails to rally, and the two levy infantry units inch forward to stay hidden behind the hill.

End of turn 6

Turn 7

Enemy - Heavy infantry rallies. The enemy hold their ground.

Friendly - A battle line is formed, more or less, but the heavy cavalry, billmen, longbows and mercenary crossbows all end in disorder primarily because of the necessary obliqueing and sidestepping.

(I forgot to take a picture).

Turn 8

Enemy - One of the levy units charges into the billmen, who are advancing up the gentle slope to their front. The enemy wants to deny the hilltop to the billmen, and also take the opportunity to get an impetus bonus on their charge. The levies roll 4 dice (VBU 3 plus 1 impetus), score 3 damage, and inflict 2 losses. The billmen roll 4 dice also (VBU 5 minus 1 disorder), score 1 damage, but also inflict 2 losses. As this is a tie, both units remain locked in melee. The levies become disordered (the billmen already are, and since they took losses I didn't give them another for disorder on top of already disordered - I think I did this correctly...). 

Friendly - Mercenary crossbows fail to rally, move once forward and declare a point blank shot at the levy unit in front of them. Since this shot is likely to be very effective, the levy chooses to reaction charge the crossbows (they can do this as the crossbows have entered their 5 inch forward zone of influence and are shooting at them). My interpretation was that this charge happens in lieu of the shooting as the opportunity/reaction takes precedent over the triggering event (the declared shot), and this is point blank range where the missile unit is not a class A longbow. I believe a class A longbow would have been able to shoot as the levy charged in. The crossbows rolled well, causing 1 damage resulting in 2 losses for the levies, who failed to hit in return. The levies retreat 2 inches and end disordered.

The billmen activate next and fight their continuing melee against the other levies. No result is achieved and they remain locked in melee. As both units have 2 losses and are disordered, they roll very few dice and therefore it is hard to hit the opponent (billmen have current VBU 3 minus disorder for 2 dice, and the levies have current VBU 1 minus disorder for zero dice, and roll the minimum 1 die). The way I am reading the rules, there does not seem to be a minimum effect of a round of combat, so nothing happens.

The longbows shoot and disorder the heavy infantry behind the hedge. The mounted troops wait patiently.

End of turn 8

Turn 9

Friendly - The mercenary crossbows fail to rally, but still shoot 7 dice at the damaged levies in front of them (VBU 4 plus 4 bonus point blank vs infantry for class A crossbows minus 1 disorder). Only 1 damage is caused but the cohesion test for the levies goes poorly and they lose their last loss and rout. The billmen fight another inconclusive round of their melee with the other levies. The longbows shoot at the heavy infantry again, cause 1 damage, which due to more poor French cohesion die rolling turns into 2 losses. The light infantry move forward, the heavy cavalry remains disordered and William bides his time...

The Men at Arms clash in turn 9

Enemy - The constable sees the situation slipping away from him, and pride dictates (randomly) that he take matters into his own hands. He grabs his banner and spurs his men at arms forward down the road, aiming directly for William's banner. William, being charged in the front but not being on opportunity must pass a discipline check to countercharge, which he passes. He spurs his knights forward and they crash into the constable's oncoming men. Each side rolls 11 dice (VBU 7 plus fresh first round impetus bonus of 4). Both sides roll poorly, inflicting only a damage or two, and no losses to either side result. Both units become disordered and locked in melee. Neither attached leader is required to check for casualties as neither cohesion test rolled a "6".

End of turn 9

At the end of turn 9 we have two ongoing melees. The situation for the French blocking force is dire; the heavy infantry are being shot up with no real option but to stand and take it, and the brave levies are having a tough time with the better quality (and more numerous) opposition.

Turn 10

Friendly - The mercenary crossbowmen rally, move, wheel, and end in disorder. Still, they are able to shoot with 1 die across the field into the flank of the heavy infantry sheltering behind the hedge, but do no damage. The billmen fight another round of their ongoing melee and take a loss (their third out of 5) and retreat 2 inches back down the slope from the valiant levies. The longbows then target the heavy infantry, causing 2 damage and 2 losses, which sends them routing from the field.
The swirling clash of mounted men at arms continues. Each unit rolls 6 dice this time instead of 11 (VBU 7 and disordered). The constable's men take a loss and retreat 3 inches. William's knight roll for pursuit and catch the retreating French, precipitating another immediate round of combat. In this round, William's men take one loss and retreat from the fight. I am not sure according to the rules whether these retreat/pursuit cycles continue indefinitely or not, but I chose to not allow a second pursuit beyond the one already conducted in this phase. Lastly, the skirmishers fire into the flank of the French knights and surprisingly cause a loss.

During turn 10

Enemy - The constable urges his men forward one more time and crashes into William's knights. The French cause 4 damage but miraculously no losses. William's troops cause 2 damage which ends in 3 losses (poor cohesion check), along with a casualty check for the constable (cohesion die roll was a "6"). The constable escapes unscathed but retreats. William's knights pursue, catch the French, and fight another round of melee. William suffers 1 loss, but another cohesion roll of "6" for the French sees a total of 5 additional losses and the death of the constable.

End of turn 10 - Battle over

With the two best units on the French side lost in this turn, and the constable dead on the field of battle, the last vestiges of resistance crumble. William gathers his troops and continues his march to Cazalet and the rendezvous with Raymond.

Recap and Campaign Notes - This scenario did what I wanted it to do; it gave me an introduction to the rules. I can now reread certain sections of the rules and try to answer some of the questions I scribbled down as I played. Despite what ended up being, as expected, an easy win for William, there were some moments of potential future impact that could have turned on a die roll. Given that I am using this as part of a series of linked battles in a campaign, a bad cohesion die roll on any of a few different occasions could have gotten one of William's units beaten up pretty badly, and as we saw with the constable, it only takes one bad cohesion die roll to end a leader's career in an instant. As for the forces involved, there were no serious casualties, so there should be minimal impact to this contingent going forward.

I will post my thoughts on the Impetus rules themselves in a separate post.

Grace, who helped me push some figures around and was my designated dice roller for a few turns this morning, is already asking me when we will play the next scenario. I told her "soon Dear, soon"...

Impetus Campaign - Cazalet Part 1

Turn 1
Enemy - Wins the initiative and puts his impetuous Men at Arms and the crossbows on opportunity.
Friendly - Skirmishers and mercenary crossbows both take two moves and end disordered. Longbows move twice, end in good order, shoot at the enemy crossbows with one die and miss (4 die for VBU minus 2 for moves minus 1 for long range vs infantry).
Reinforcement roll fails (would have needed a 1).

End of turn 1

Turn 2
Enemy - Wins the initiative but nothing to do.
Friendly - Skirmishers fail to rally and make one move. Light infantry rallies and moves twice, disordering again. Longbows make one move and fire at the crossbows, rolling one damage but only disordering them. Mercenary crossbows rally and move once, firing but missing.
Reinforcement roll succeeds, so the heavy infantry will enter next turn.

End of turn 2

Turn 3

Enemy - Wins the initiative again. Crossbow fails to rally and so cannot go on opportunity. Nothing else to do.
Friendly - Heavy infantry makes three moves on the road and ends in good order. Skirmishers fail to rally again and move forward toward the stream. Longbows remain stationary and fire at the crossbows but miss. Mercenary crossbows move twice, wheeling and then moving ahead, ending in disorder. The light infantry fail to rally and only creep forward a few inches so as not to get in the way of the advancing reinforcements.
Reinforcement roll passes so William will arrive next turn at the head of his household Men at Arms.
The range advantage of the friendly longbows and mercenary crossbows compared to the regular enemy crossbows is substantial, but the friendly fire continues to have trouble hitting anything. We will continue to close the range.

The enemy sits and waits patiently.

End of turn 3

Turn 4

Enemy - Wins initiative, fails to rally the crossbows, who still don't have a target, as the nearest target is just outside of 15U (inches).
Friendly - Skirmisher rallies and moves one move to the edge of the stream (remember the stream is just decorative in this particular game). Mercenary crossbows fail to rally, shoot with 1 die and miss. Longbows move once ahead, and shoot at the heavy infantry ahead of them behind the hedge (at short range; 4 dice minus 1 for the move, total 3 dice). They miss. Again. Light infantry fails to rally and moves once to get to the right flank. The heavy infantry moves once up the road and then a second move to form up in place (I think I am making this rule up...but it needs it), ending in disorder. William and his Men at Arms move twice up the road and then a third move to form up, ending in good order.
The reinforcement roll is passed, meaning that the last unit, the heavy cavalry, will enter next turn.

End of turn 4

Turn 5

Friendly - William wins the initiative for a change and surges forward. The skirmishers sidestep one move to give the following troops more room. Longbows move one move oblique to the left front, automatically disordering. They shoot at short range with only one die (4 minus 1 for move, minus 1 for disorder, and giving a minus 1 for the hedge). The roll a hit to get a damage, but the target heavy infantry passes its cohesion test (but therefore does end disordered). Crossbows fail to rally, move ahead into short range of the enemy crossbows, and shoot but miss. Light infantry fails to rally but moves once toward the right flank. The heavy infantry rally, move twice forward and end in disorder. William and his knights move twice and end in good order. The newly arriving heavy cavalry move twice up the road and then a third move to form up, ending in good order.

Enemy - Heavy infantry and crossbows both fail to rally. The crossbows have a target now and shoot 2 dice (3 minus 1 for disorder) at the mercenary crossbows and miss. The constable and his men at arms stay on opportunity to keep from having to act on their impetuousness.

End of turn 5

After 5 turns of almost no action, I am satisfied with the exercise so far. I have been able to fumble through a few turns of basics; initiative and turn sequence, command, movement, disorder, rallying, and firing. This is exactly why I set this scenario up the way I did. Things should get much more interesting very soon though, as we have missile troops within short range, formed troops fairly close to each other, and the command issues for the good guys straightened out with the arrival of William. Next order of business will be to get the good guys deployed so they can get stuck in...

...to be Continued