Rules and basing for Renaissance army

[Ockius]

Hi all,

I have been sorely tempted by a number of 'Renaissance' era armies for a while now, and am thinking about taking the plunge, but the old problem of working out how to base them and, connected to that, what rules to use, is holding me back from buying anything as yet.

I have ordered Field of Glory Renaissance, which is on its way to me, but not sure if that has faded out of popularity in recent years.

I'm looking at collecting 15mm, either Henry VIII's English, 16th Century Polish, 16th Century Russian, or Gustavus Adolphus's Swedes. Interested in the figures by Essex, Museum and Timecast so far.

Any rules suggestions (along with the basing for them)?

[M.P.]

Hi,

What kind of rules do you like? Beer & pretzels? Simulationistic? Big battles or small?

[SteveBurt]

FOG: Renaissance is a very good set - better than the ancients rules, IMO.
If you base for those rules, you will probably be able to use the figures for many other sets.
I very much like 'for King and Parliament' for ECW stuff, and there is a Renaissance variant in the works.

[Ockius]

Hi,

What kind of rules do you like? Beer & pretzels? Simulationistic? Big battles or small?

I think big battles, I generally like them not too abstract I think, and I like there to be quite a few specific troop types with varied stats so that armies have character.

I don’t have a lot of experience of rules though so open to suggestion

[Ockius]

FOG: Renaissance is a very good set - better than the ancients rules, IMO.
If you base for those rules, you will probably be able to use the figures for many other sets.
I very much like 'for King and Parliament' for ECW stuff, and there is a Renaissance variant in the works.

That’s good, I was hoping that I would be able to base them in a way that fits various rules options. I’ll have a look the the For King and Parliament rules, thanks

[RichBliss]

I based all my troops on 60mm square.  I find that using square bases facilitates formation and facing changes and make certain situations easier to adjudicate.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

If you're looking at FoG:R, then you need to base as follows for 15mm figures:-

Foot - 40mm wide by 20mm deep
Horse - 40mm x 30mm
Generals, Light Horse, Dragoons and Artillery - 40mm x 40mm

I believe quite a few other Renaissance rule sets use the same measurements (eg By Fire & Sword).

FoG:R is still going strong and there is a solid core of competition gamers who are splendid chaps and not at all typical of that genre of wargamer.

PM me your location and I'll try and give you someone local to contact.

[Ockius]

Okay thanks for the tips guys.

Baron I will send you a PM

[SJWi]

Ockius, I saw that you plan to look at "For King and Parliament". You need to know that to use these you will need a gridded mat plus some other game aids. I'm a huge fan of Simon Miller's rules and game using both "To the Strongest" for ancients/medieval and "For King and Parliament" for ECW. I've invested in several mats and all the game aids and my ancient gaming hasn't looked back! 

[Ockius]

Ockius, I saw that you plan to look at "For King and Parliament". You need to know that to use these you will need a gridded mat plus some other game aids. I'm a huge fan of Simon Miller's rules and game using both "To the Strongest" for ancients/medieval and "For King and Parliament" for ECW. I've invested in several mats and all the game aids and my ancient gaming hasn't looked back!

Oh right, thanks for the info. Yes I have seen that grid with To The Strongest, and heard lots of people like it. I am mostly an ancients player actually but only have the Hail Caesar rules. I'll look into the grid setup and see if I want to invest in it

[tabletopwargamer]

Warlord games Pike & Shotte

[SJWi]

Ockius, if you are mainly an ancients player I would suggest you try "To the Strongest" (TTS) before diving into "For King and Parliament" (FKaP). Both share the same basic mechanics, but FKaP is more detailed as it is more period specific . My little group of gamers all like TTS, but some think FKaP too detailed for their liking.

I don't know where Mr Miller has got to with his "Renaissance" set.
     

[Ockius]

Okay, thanks for the heads up.

[Philhelm]

I can't provide specific examples of Renaissance era games, but perhaps a ruleset with loose basing requirements might be the way to go.

[Hu Rhu]

Pike and shot.  Highly recommended, basing is agnostic (as long as both sides are simiar), no figure removal and very adaptable rules allowing you to get the right stats for each unit.