Slaughter on Clapgate Commons

Introduction - This scenario was built as a large, multi-player (8) game with a few twists. I ran it for my club mates in January using the Dragon Rampant rules (see https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2019/02/january-gaming-cancon.html).  It was a great day with lots of chaos and mayhem! This is the scenario:

Background
Last fighting season the Mallardian army, fresh from its successes over the Spring, besieged the Hopsland border city of Haresburg.  While parts of the city were raised and sacked, the invaders were finally ejected from the walled city and both sides regrouped over winter. When the snows melted the Mallardians attacked from their captured territories, only to find found a renewed Hoplandian force arrayed for battle before them on Clapgate Common.  Would the defenders break through and take the city this time? Or will the Rabbit Army successfully defend its ground and shift onto the offensive…

Umpire Notes: The use of an Umpire, at least for the first half of this game, was found to be essential.  I really pushed the envelope of multiplayer gaming with this scenario, enabled by the simplicity of DR’s tactical rules, and it became a little overwhelming at times. I was also going to add some weather effects and was glad I did not.

Units: As part of their greater Army, each player has a 30 point force under their command, and will be allocated a battle position on the day by their CinC. Players wearing a Fez or Hawai’ian short earn an additional 1 point (for each).  Each player must designate one of their units as their Sub-General.

Army Generals are represented with an additional elite foot or cavalry bodyguard unit, attached to the CinC Player’s force and in addition to their 30 (or 31, or 32) points.

Each Army also has a Reserve Units of 30 points held offboard at game start (see the Reserves Special Rule) and controlled by the CinC

The Combatants:

Mallardian Army of One True Duck – 4 Players (1 designated as CinC)

Hopslandian Scions of the White Rabbit – 4 Players (1 designated as CinC)

Deployment:

Table size: 12 x 6 (adjust to suit)

Scout and Light Cavalry units: start the game 12 inches onto the table

Some sectors will have special rules for the terrain, such as hidden deployment (Umpire discretion)

Umpire Notes: Each 'sector' of the table had a special terrain feature to focus the two opposing players.  Both players were told that some area looked 'interesting' - once a unit got to that location they had to activate it (as a move action) to find out what it was.  This varied between areas - the Cemetery made it easier to resurrect undead (or harder if the opponent held it), a building turned out to have a stash of weapons which upgraded a single unit etc.  This worked well in general but was another layer of complexity.

Multiplayer Rules – players will generally fight against their opposite number across the table, but must stop once both players have completed their turns to keep in synch with the other players (though feel free to attack other enemy units at your convenience of course).  This coordination will be important to the wider battle and the umpire will coordinate.

Victory Conditions:

Uncontested control of a table area: 15 points

Destruction of an enemy force: 30 points

Killed Enemy CinC: 20 points

Killed Enemy Sub-General: 10 points

Key Objectives: as designated

Special Rule: Reserves.

Each Army has a Reserve force of 30 points which starts off the table on Turn 1, and behind one of the players’ armies on the table, at the CinC’s choice.  The Reserves cannot enter the table until after Turn 5, but can shift laterally as they await their chance for glory. Once all Sub Generals have finished their turn, the CinC can either leave the Reserve in place or try to move it.  To do so, the CinC must successfully roll to activate the Reserve Force’s Sub General unit for a Movement action.  If this is successful, the reserve force can relocate laterally by one player position (ie if it was loitering behind the second player it can move to be behind the first or third player, but not the fourth).  This moves all units in the Reserve together - as it is easier to have units obey when not engaged with the enemy and in march order.

From the end of Turn 5 the CinC may choose to either leave the Reserve where it is, move it as usual or bring it onto the field from its current location.  The mechanism to bring the Reserve onto the table is the same as moving it, and if successful, it will begin entering from the table edge in the next turn.

Umpire Note: Assigning this force to a player who had fared badly in the first few turns of the battle was a good way of keeping them involved in the game.

Special Rule: Possible Turncoat!

Intrigue and treachery are all part of war and both side are playing for keeps. Spies and envoys are everywhere, currying favour and coaxing some to switch sides with the promise of riches and women with huge tracts of land.  Will the foe before you see the error of his ways become your friend? Or will the comrade guarding your flank turn and stab you in the back…

At the end of the second turn players will randomly select a chit from a bag or cup – in it there will be two ‘Loyal’ chits per player and a single ‘Traitor’ token.  Keep your result secret! The traitor, if there is one, can declare any time he chooses and must do so by the end of his Turn 5. After announcing, he immediately takes another turn, fighting for the other side – the benefit of surprise and treachery. The betrayed force immediately gains 25VPs for the infamy and notoriety of the enemy.

Umpire’s Note: I took inspiration for this special rule from a Warhammer Scenario in the General’s Compendium – it generated an appropriate amount of mayhem and chaos!

Overall, I was pleased by the way this big game scenario worked, having done a bit of work to ensure that all players were kept engaged and busy throughout. In the CinC role think we found the limit of what one player can comfortably manage and I would suggest that perhaps keeping the CinC as a seperate player, in charge of the Army reserve, would be useful - and allow you to expand to a 10 player game.  In the end, everyone got a lot of toys on the table, lots of dice were rolled and it was a fun and noisy environment filled with laughs: the best kind of gaming.

January Gaming + CanCon

Great times with good friends

Looking back on my January hobby month I was struck by the variety of games I have played, many of which were new to me, and all of which were big, multiplayer games. And also that I kept getting invited too :-)

General d'Armee (2 x 2 players) French vs Anglo-Spanish
My first foray with these rules, hosted by Aled and his father Dean, which I really enjoyed.  Slowpainter John and I ended up facing off on an action packed flank and it came right down to the wire.

Slaughterloo (3 x 3 players)
This fun game is a tongue in cheek Napoleonic big battle in a fantasy setting - good fun but also very god rules which would work equally well for historical games. All sorts of mixups and mayhem, and we converged on Slowpainter John's Orc Guarde in the Centre with a singular purpose - and tough buggers they were too!  Postscript: John has never played in the central position since!

The Battle lines are Drawn!

The Advance to contact!

The last stand of John's Orc Guarde - sandwiched between my Flank attack and Marty's Cavalry charge

Dragon Rampant (4 x 4 players, but with a twist!)
A return to our Foulwarren fantasy campaign when I hosted the guys at mine for a big 4 v 4 player Battle Royale on a 12 x 5 table.  But one of them was a traitor, and just didn't know it yet...  I'll write up and post the scenario later but it was an awesome 'toys on the table' mega game

Three Quarters of the table (and players!)- I had to take this pic through the window from outside

The wearing of Hawaiian shirts and a fez earned players additional army build points!

Kaiser's Pirates
We played this GMT game at the club a few times actually.  The theme is really well executed and the resource management is quite dynamic. With 3 or 4 players this really hits a sweet spot.  Now to find my own copy (its OOP).

Congo
I enjoy Studio Tomahawk games and their innovative mechanics but hadn't tried this before. Cub mate Mac shared his lovely terrain and figs with me for an introductory game one club night and I really enjoyed it (and not just because my Tribesmen War Party cleaned up his cursed Zanzibari Slavers!).  I really liked the multi-layered resource management that the game uses bu without slowing play pace, and most of all it felt like an adventure not a scenario.  A game I am definitely interested in playing more, and maybe making a warband for.

And then to top it off, a bunch of us did a road trip to CANCON and had a cracking hobby day out. Good times indeed!

Working Hard vs Hardly Working!

The fourth Annual catch-up: thanks for organising Barks!

So thanks indeed to all the club lads and lasses for their companionship, time, and sharing their wonderful toys.  A most memorable summer of fun gaming.  It comes at expense of AHPC painting time, but I'll choose gaming with friends over a brush any day :-)

Scenario and Campaign Update: Haresburg Held!

Ducks Defeated! Haresburg Held! In a very closely fought battle, the Mallardian raiders were thrown out of the Hopsland border city. The Defenders held their own and inflicted savage casualties on the Duck forces, though the latter did take substantial booty with them. Will this reversal of Duck fortunes be reflected across the frontier or is this just a local set back? Only time will tell...

In the quiet pre dawn at Haresburg...

Unwanted Guests on the doorstep

Dwarf Bezerkers lead the forlorn hope

And enter the killing ground at the gatehouse. Even those glorious red beards could not save them...

2 burned objectives later...

The Rabbit relief force rides forth!

Followed by the Duck extraction team

In the end the raiding force burned 2 of the 4 objectives but were wiped out on return.  Their relief force did make contact though and some made it off the table despite the heavy horse units trying o block heir escape. It came down to the wire, but the defenders where up by 1 VP at game end to claim a pyrrhic victory, but a Victory nonetheless!


Here is the scenario:

Hopping Mad at Haresburg

An escalating Dragon Rampant scenario for 4 players.

Situation: The Mallardian Spring Offensive has caught the enemy off guard, capturing much of the frontier zone.  The Army of the One True Duck is now encroaching upon the Hoplandian homeland and outlying towns.  But with supplies of fresh underwear and Oil of Uhlan dwindling, Prince Arr l’Orange is having trouble controlling his adventurous

Royal Army of the One True Duck.

Phase 1 
While the Army bypassed South of the walled town of Haresburg, a number of Troll Mercenaries in Duck employment decided to boost their pay with additional loot, and a number of the Army’s units joined them to destroy effigies of the false Rabbit God.  The Hoplandian garrison must now defend the town, while the Duck forces seek to loot (and burn, obviously - there must always be burning) four objectives around the town.

Phase 2
Meanwhile, Prince Arr l’Orange is furious at the unauthorised fun and decreed that anyone participating in the pillage should leave the town within the hour. However, his delivery of this order through interpretive dance was not well received so he personally leads a body of his horsemen to cease the mayhem and hang the ringleaders (and confiscate the loot, naturally).

Simultaneously, the Commander of the Rabbit army’s flank guard ses the smoke haze above the walled town and rides to investigate and destroy any raiders in the area.

Table setup
The table represents the approaches to, and parts of the walled town of Haresburg. The table to played lengthwise, split into two halves by a curtain wall. The southern approaches to the town should be cleared with scattered areas of light cover, crop fields and hedges but no major obstacles. Place a road leading to the curtain wall gatehouse.

The town wall runs East-West across the width of the table and has two access points to the city; the gatehouse, and a 6-8inch breached section of the wall (its been undermined by all those warrens). The gate is open (traitors…) and is clear terrain to move through, while the wall breach counts as
rough terrain (so both parties attack and defend on 5+ and with armour 2).Inside Haresburg there should be a number of buildings setup along street lines; moderately crowded but with enough space to manoeuvre units. Designate four objectives inside the town in separate and prominent buildings (Guild Hall, Church etc)

Forces– two initial and two relief forces. Each operates independently and has a warlord. Once one or more relief force arrives, player sequence is determined by random card draw.

Attackers: Royal Army of the One True Duck
Phase 1 - Duck Raiders. 36 points. To simulate their unexpected approach to the city, they can deploy up to 12 inches from the Haresburg city wall.

Phase 2 - Duck relief force. 24 points, all mounted forces (including warbeasts). Enter via Special Rule in the SE corner of the table

Defenders: Scions of the White Rabbit
Phase 1 - Rabbit Garrison Defenders. 24 points. One unit may start at the city wall. The remainder deploy on the northern edge inside Haresburg. May take up to one war machine (heavy missile with weighty projectiles)

Phase 2 - Rabbit relief force. 32 points, all mounted forces (including warbeasts). Enter via Special Rule on the SW corner of the table

Objectives
This is a game of two halves with changing objectives and shifting initiative.

The initial Duck force is trying destroy the 4 objectives (see special rules on how to set an objective alight). The initial Rabbit force is to defend the town and prevent this.

The aim of the Rabbit relief force is to prevent more of the town being destroyed and stop the Ducks from escaping. The Duck relief force is to stop the unsanctioned attack and aid the escape of the remaining Duck forces.

Special Rules

Setting alight an Objective. A unit can capture objective but setting it alight through the following procedure (taken from Lion Rampant)
- A unit must start its activation in contact with the objective
- instead of move, attack etc, the activation is to “Fire the Building!” and is successful on a 8+ if above full strength and 9+ if below half strength . Commander rerolls do not apply
- If successful: the fire catches, cannot be extinguished and objective becomes impassable.
- If unsuccessful: the unit enjoyably spends its turn drinking wine, eating some cheese and catching some rays.
More than one unit can attempt to fire the same obstacle in a turn.

Stop the looting!
The Duck looters will cease if the Duck relief force can place one of its units into contact with one of the initial Duck raider units. The Prince’s cease and desist order will then be relayed and all Duck raiders can then begin to withdraw from the table.

Arrival of the Relief Forces
Once an objective has been set alight, each player rolls separately each turn to see if their relief force arrives. This occurs on 9+ on two dice for the first turn, 7+ the second, 4+ on the third and then automatically. Entry points are detailed in the Forces section.

To move onto the board, each unit must successfully make a move activation. This means that they cant charge directly into combat from off table. If a unit fails this activation test, it will automatically enter on the relief force’s next turn.

Victory Conditions
Score Glory as follows (plus any boasts)

Attackers (Royal Army of the One True Duck);
3 points per objective burned
3 points if the relief force manage to cease the destruction.
1 point per unit to escape.
2 points per enemy leader slain

Defenders (Scions of the White Rabbit);
2 points per objective unharmed.
3 points if they stop the Duck Force from leaving.
1 point per enemy unit destroyed.
2 points per enemy leader slain

Note: This scenario is factually based; during Henry VIII’s march to Therouanne in his 1513 campaign, Landsknechts in his pay attacked and looted the city of Ardres (which was paying Henry protection money) and were followed by some of the English in Henry's army. The Hapsburg Netherlands Garrison held out as best they could, until a furious Henry personally led a body of heavy cavalry to the city, hung the ringleaders and restored order.

Adapted from a battle report and description at:
https://stuartsworkbench.blogspot.com.au/2017/10/battle-report-raid-on-ardes.html

Many thanks Stuart!

Campaign Update: Mallardians Advance Strongly!

The Ducks flew home from their winter retreat early to take the Rabbits by surprise in their Spring Offensive. The fiercely contested Ticklecock bridge was eventually taken and a commanding position on Nutter's Knoll protects their southern flank. It wasn't all the Duck's way though and the heavily forested Scratchley Bottom is a no man's land filled with bones picked clean by Dragons. 

As the Mallardians advance toward the Hopslandian frontier town of Haresburg, the continuing action will no doubt be thick!

(Additional Dragon Rampant scenarios from the Spring Offensive will be published shortly)

Battles in the Land of Fowlwarren: our Fantasy Campaign

I've been too busy painting and playing to blog lately. Awesome :-)  Mostly we have been getting our Dragon Rampant on, and I wrote a number of new scenarios which I will share here.  But first let me introduce our fantasy campaign setting: the Land of Fowlwarren.  Note that our group lies firmly on the 'light hearted with whimsical tendencies' side of the wargaming spectrum, not uber competitive.  But we do love a narrative setting and linkage between games where possible.

Our campaign setting is based entirely on this cartoon which I came across last year:

..which I then used to develop the multiplayer Battle at Duffers' Drift, between the Scions of the White Rabbit and the Defenders of the One True Duck God.  Ultimately inconclusive in its results (other than the associated fun, laughs and adult beverage consumption), it formed the basis of this year's Spring Campaign...

In the aftermath of last year’s battle royale at Duffer’s Drift, 

the opposing armies retired to lick their wounds and plot their revenge. 

Now the snows have melted, the crops are planted and there 

is plenty of fighting time before the harvest. 

‘Tis time to put down the plow and take up the sword – have at you!

To the East The Scions of the White Rabbit, under the command of Duke Fare d’enough, are the pride of the Empire of Hopsland.   Opposing them in the West are the Empire of Mallardia and their quasi-religious Army of the One True Duck, commanded by Prince Arr l’Orange.  They (mostly) battle in the disputed territories between them, split by the River Piddle (a raging torrent at this stage of the evening).

While skirmishes can and do develop throughout the region, principal clashes  erupt in the forested basin of Scratchley Bottom, the strategically pivotal Ticklecock Bridge and the commanding terrain of Knutter's Knoll in the south.

Thanks to Aled at the club for developing this excellent campaign map!

Its not exactly Tolkien, but it is a bit of fun and we will build on it as we go. 
More to follow...