Finally here - T&T Colonial Supplement

[James Morris]

I got home from work from a pretty hard day today and was delighted to find the T&T Colonial Supplement on the side. 

I've had a skim read and it's a big step up from the previous booklets - presentation and layout are excellent.  I especially enjoyed the colour pages throughout, and there is some fine brush-work adorning the pages.  (All the pics are credited as well, which is useful, as my experience with writing Warhammer Ancient Battles supplements was always that people would ask 'Who made the models on page 62...?')  The 'Pulp' style of T&T works so much better on buff -coloured pages.

Content also looks good, with some brief history but plenty of new rules to get started with.  Coverage, as Bjoern says, is mainly limited to campaigns involving the British, but the special rules will be easy to use to portray other colonial adventures.  No rules for gunboats that I could see, despite a superb model pictured, but probably not hard to create your own. 

Best T&T product so far, I think.  And I suspect the presentation will encourage a wider spectrum of gamers to give it a look.

Cheers Bjoern & co!

[guitarheroandy]

Thanks for posting that James. Am eagerly awaiting delivery of my copy...as you know from our past conversations, this is what I've been waiting for...I just need to find time to actually paint some models now!!!!

[Gluteus Maximus]

I just need to find time to actually paint some models now!!!!

  Ain't that the truth! 

So far I've seen nothing but praise for it. I just hope the German Postal Service is as efficient as they were when I ordered T&T itself.

I know Jens will be, so hopefully I won't have long to wait.

[Westfalia Chris]

No rules for gunboats that I could see, despite a superb model pictured, but probably not hard to create your own.

I've actually done "half" a naval vehicle supplement (that is, the movement rules are done), but didn't really have time get it finished until now (or rather, I did not make time to do it). I'll run it by Bjoern once it is finished with combat rules and some preconstructed vessel types, and we may publish it as a PDF on the website until we can integrate it into a supplement book at a later time.

A problem with ships is that they have quite marked requirements in terms of table space, models etc., especially if you want the models to move around, so their use is naturally limited; as well as that, gunboats would have quite an impact and may be game-breakers in what is essentially a land-based infantry mass skirmish. I still would like to do proper railway rules, and both of these would, I'll happily admit, be ultimately needed for a "full-blown" late colonial game environment.

[Argonor]

Yeah... will have to go to Pardulon, buy basic rules + colonial, then some of Jens' minis..... salary due, soon.... 

[Plynkes]

Gunboat rules is something I'm looking to cook-up, as we need to conclude our WWI naval epic at some point, and I have permanently switched to T&T for Colonial WWI gaming, so I need such rules.

Extra damage tables and such are quite easy, and small gunboats (of the Mimi and Toutou kind) can be played with the rules pretty much as is. The thing that is holding me up is that I can't decide whether a big gunboat should be played as a single card, or split up into "teams" each with their own card in the turn. A big gunboat can sometimes need to do several things at once. Firing with multiple guns, damage control parties, navagation and movement controlled from the bridge, communication with spotter aeroplane, etc. But if you split it all up too much you might end up with too many cards and bog the game down a bit.

[Westfalia Chris]

Extra damage tables and such are quite easy, and small gunboats (of the Mimi and Toutou kind) can be played with the rules pretty much as is. The thing that is holding me up is that I can't decide whether a big gunboat should be played as a single card, or split up into "teams" each with their own card in the turn. A big gunboat can sometimes need to do several things at once. Firing with multiple guns, damage control parties, navagation and movement controlled from the bridge, communication with spotter aeroplane, etc. But if you split it all up too much you might end up with too many cards and bog the game down a bit.

I have actually come across the same problem. Coincidentally, we originally had a vehicle rule concept (for large tanks) that worked similar. I think it is possibly the best to handle it like that if the model is rather substantial, and especially if there are multiple weapons, in which case it should probably be immobile to somehow reduce its impact.

That's what I meant by game-breaker - such a gunboat would usually be a huge chunk of one side's force, and if you have, pardon the expression, a horde of heathen savages as your opponent, it's pretty much insurmountable unless you play a riverine ambush where they have a chance to board before the guns get to fire. All very tricky. I'm currently working with a three-size approach, from dinghys to ships some 8-16" large, tops - anything else should probably be treated as scenery.

[Plynkes]

The game I have in mind pits two such boats against each other on a very large table, with various other sundries per side, so the "gamebreaker" aspect doesn't necessarily apply there, and I think it's important that they move in such a game.

But I see where you are coming from in a purely colonial game. Then as you I would just have a big gunboat as a static piece of scenery, providing fire support from its gun crews, and you wouldn't need to worry too much about a load of naval warfare game mechanics, just whether or not the guns and their crews were still firing.

[Westfalia Chris]

The game I have in mind pits two such boats against each other on a very large table, with various other sundries per side, so the "gamebreaker" aspect doesn't necessarily apply there, and I think it's important that they move in such a game.

Certainly. If you actually focus on the gunboats (i.e. no units except the crew of and the gunboats themselves), then I think having full detail should work fine and would make for quite an unpredictable game.

[Gluteus Maximus]

Maybe you could have all the movement, damage control etc played as a single "command team" card but have the guns split down into individual teams, or maybe by gun type eg MG teams, pom-pom teams etc? This might allow for more coherency in movement etc, but still allow for some randomness with the gunnery.

[Driscoles]

I just opened a gun boat thread. Please discuss the rules and ideas  there.
Thank you !

http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=19484.0

[former user]

I still would like to do proper railway rules, and both of these would, I'll happily admit, be ultimately needed for a "full-blown" late colonial game environment.

You can drop me a line if You want, I've slapped together some rules for my railway and tested them in our Riga scenario, and they worked very well. They are only very little modified T&T rules. We also used a moving gunboat in another game.

In both cases, they were not "gamebreakers", although the armored train had 2 cannon and 8 lMG. also the army lists were only slightly "blown up"

[Gluteus Maximus]

One day I'd love to recreate the train ambush from Young Winston. I have enough British and Boer figures, just no armoured train or rules 

Having a T&T supplement covering the rules would be a great incentive to try and get a train