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Miniatures Adventure => Pikes, Muskets and Flouncy Shirts => Topic started by: Dalauppror on February 07, 2016, 08:56:25 AM

Title: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Dalauppror on February 07, 2016, 08:56:25 AM
God morning

I have been fortunated to get a copy of the latest Osprey Wargaming rules, En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - OWG12 by Craig Woodfiled, so I thougth I put up a short review of the rules at my blog. (http://dalauppror.blogspot.se/2016/02/en-garde-swashbuckling-skirmish.html)


I hope you all will have a really nice sunday !

(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7946q7hbDEU/VrJT77rJzQI/AAAAAAAAIsk/m1XasVyXo-Q/s400/51Mj-ms4ydL._SX369_BO1%252C204%252C203%252C200_.jpg)
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: pocoloco on February 07, 2016, 09:05:37 AM
I got the rules some time ago but haven't had time to read them through, only to skim the different lists so I need to give a read to your review now :)
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: robh on February 07, 2016, 09:34:20 AM
That extract from the shooting phase......
 :o

I thought the days of taking a calculator with you to games had gone with Newbury and TTG rules.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: traveller on February 07, 2016, 10:02:10 AM
Thanks for the review! Very helpful!

I was hoping these rules would provide a fast flowing game without the traditional mechanics but it seems not... I get a bit tempted though with the nice artwork, is the book worth it for only the pictures?
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: manatic on February 07, 2016, 10:21:50 AM
Thanks for the review! I think I'll stick to Ganesha Games' Flashing Steel for my swashbuckling.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Dalauppror on February 07, 2016, 10:54:52 AM
Glad to be of use.

I defenetly think you should give it some games if you are in to the period as the cost an´t that much as for oll Osprey wargames in the serie they give good period inspiration and for me it is alwasy nice to read rules, good or bad they give ideeas to the grale - The prefect set of wargaming rules;)

Haven´t read Ganesha Games' Flashing Steel so cant make any comparisson.

Best regards Michael
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: pocoloco on February 07, 2016, 11:56:40 AM
The shooting rule is very simple:

you roll 2d6 and add or subtract modifiers. The resulting number is the shooting roll. Then you deduct 6 from the score and if that result is greater than zero, you hit. That number also becomes your attack's wounding score to which you then add or subtract modifiers including target's armour.

Maybe it all could have been written "open" to be bit more clearer but no university maths needed, it seems :)

Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Dalauppror on February 07, 2016, 12:14:46 PM
The shooting rule is very simple:

you roll 2d6 and add or subtract modifiers. The resulting number is the shooting roll. Then you deduct 6 from the score and if that result is greater than zero, you hit. That number also becomes your attack's wounding score to which you then add or subtract modifiers including target's armour.

Maybe it all could have been written "open" to be bit more clearer but no university maths needed, it seems :)



Indeed as writen now it might scare people of... But as with most game rules every rule are easy when you have played a bunch of games, as back in the days when we played the RPG RoleMaster or RuleMaster as we called it...
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: leadfool on February 07, 2016, 11:11:46 PM
We played our first game on Friday.  We used it for a 4 way fight.  Small groups of 5 figures each because that was what we had.  Almost all of our figures were modeled with muskets or pistols, so we had a lot of shooting.  IT WAS VERY BLOODY.  Most figures were killed by shooting, in melee, the fights seemed to last a while, but with lots of wounds.  Of course we through together the lists and rereading afterwards  realized the forces were balanced but not in compliance with the "army lists" 
I think we will be playing with them some more.  Although no rule set survives contact with the Sacramento group.  I will try to include photos.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: WillieB on February 08, 2016, 12:02:18 AM
Bought it today at Poldercon. Had a quick read through it but think that Donnybrook will remain my favourite for that period.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: manatic on February 08, 2016, 10:37:37 AM
you roll 2d6 and add or subtract modifiers. The resulting number is the shooting roll. Then you deduct 6 from the score and if that result is greater than zero, you hit. That number also becomes your attack's wounding score to which you then add or subtract modifiers including target's armour.

Maybe it all could have been written "open" to be bit more clearer but no university maths needed, it seems :)

Wonder why they put the subtraction in there in the first place? You could just say "If the shooting roll after modifiers is larger than six, you hit."
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: pocoloco on February 08, 2016, 11:28:39 AM
Wonder why they put the subtraction in there in the first place? You could just say "If the shooting roll after modifiers is larger than six, you hit."

It becomes the wound roll.

If it was 6+ in the beginning, everything would be gone with the fist hit.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Smith on February 08, 2016, 11:34:51 AM
Wonder why they put the subtraction in there in the first place? You could just say "If the shooting roll after modifiers is larger than six, you hit."

The amount by which you hit also determines how much you're likely to wound an opponent. Without that subtraction, every attack would be doing +6 damage per strike.

Just a warning in case anyone is looking to house-rule things!
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: manatic on February 09, 2016, 05:57:27 PM
Ah, that makes a lot more sense then!
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Schogun on February 10, 2016, 12:52:55 PM
Have the close combat rules changed at all from Ronin?
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Kadzik on February 10, 2016, 03:36:01 PM
Have the close combat rules changed at all from Ronin?
There are more options to spend Attack and Defence counters. Besides 3 from Ronin (to boost Initiative, Attack and Defence) there are some new one like Feint (you can disengage) and Counterattack (if you defended succesfully, you can wound your opponent).


I truly love elegance and colorful of Ronin mechanic, and En Garde! is truly improvement. No flashy add-ons, but simple improves for an even better game.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Curst Eckie on February 10, 2016, 08:51:10 PM
Hi All,

Really looked forward to these rules to play Border Reivers. I initially thought the shooting and combat mechanisms would be clunky but by playing out a few examples myself, I seem to have got the hang of it and it will suit the very small scale actions I will play so a good fit. I really like the combat pool idea and the attributes. This allows you to tailor a figure to a specific character in mind - in period Little Scot Elliot of the Park can be a duellist and fast. The Bold Buccleuch can be beguiling etc. Also you can mix and match the profiles from other lists so that I can build a militia force with bills, bows and war dogs as the Warden's men. One of the charactistic weapons was a latch, a small crossbow so I have given the same range as a pistol with no positive modifier on the hit. The scenarios look adaptable so I'm preparing a small one day campaign for 4 players at our club so a thumbs up from me.

Never played Ronin but understand the combat mechanism is similar.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: SteveBurt on February 11, 2016, 04:20:40 PM
Would these rules work for Pirate games?
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Curst Eckie on February 11, 2016, 07:18:43 PM
Hi Steve,

Yes they are suitable. There is a swashbucklers faction list.

John
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Curst Eckie on February 16, 2016, 10:39:14 AM
I have play tested the rules for Border Reivers. Report plus photos are on the Steel Bonnets2 Yahoo group. Really enjoyed the period specific feel and characterisation I could put into the scenario. For me the rules work really well. I'm won over.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Ghost on March 10, 2016, 08:08:04 PM
Hello,

I have read the rules and i am wondering what is the advantage of the fantastical attribute "relentless". It is wrote : "the model may not use defence counters".
So why paying a cost of 3 points and not have the opportunity to use defence counters ? Is there something missing in the rules ?

Thank you !
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Cory on March 10, 2016, 10:36:39 PM
We couldn't make out a reason for that either and came to the conclusion there was text missing.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: WitchfinderGeneral on September 29, 2016, 01:57:41 PM
Just want to add my two cents:
I finally bought this book because it covers a lot of interesting topics (pirates, musketeers, conquistadors, border reivers). I can't say much about the rules as I haven't played them yet but I like what I read. Fights can last longer than a single combat round but fighting and shooting should be deadly enough for a quick game.

I was a bit disappointed by the pictures in the book. The paintings are really good (in the same style as the front cover painting) and I expected the photos of miniatures to be the same quality. Don't get me wrong, the minis and terrain are really good (a lot of Captain Bloods stuff you can see here on the forum). But there are too much variants of the same scene (the harbour scene that can be seen on the back cover). I found the pics in other Osprey titles much more inspiring than those seen here.
Title: Re: En Garde! Swashbuckling Skirmish Wargames Rules - Review
Post by: Stéphane on October 02, 2016, 12:54:20 PM
I have read the rules and i am wondering what is the advantage of the fantastical attribute "relentless".

I didn't find it in my rules. May be a change between two reprints ?

En Garde is not the most easier rules that I have read in my live. The Osprey's typographic rules don't help you very well. We could believe in a window's phone.  :D