I've been enjoying my first few steps into the grungy rebellion side of The Rampant Family and thought you might like to see what this game looks like when used to play around in the Vendee.
My Republicans pull double duty by fighting against Redcoats and Royalists, so you'll have to forgive a proxy here and there.
This is my take on the "Bullets and Beans" scenario.
It has taken me some time to get the system down. It's just close enough to the rest of the Rampant games for me to get complacent, but just different enough to stumble over some of the minor details. I really like having a uniform 6+ to activate, even if the conditionals (leaders and disordered status) complicate things a bit. the two-tiered disordered/broken status, which simplifies the game in some ways.
Mendenhall's Battery
One thing I have struggled with is cavalry. So far they haven't done much in my games. Light or Shock, they just haven't managed to line up a solid charge. My tables feature some dense terrain, and I've had a cannon on the table waiting for them every time. In one case, they took a disorder marker after being charged in the flank by infantry (bad charge results will do that to you), and retreated clear off the table. As a result, they've been more of a liability than an asset, and one that is overpriced.
The Vendee right flank at Lament Ridge
Despite my struggles with cavalry, the games have been even to date. The Vendee forces are heavy on the Native contingents, with the odd captured cannon here and there. The Republicans oddly enough have done better when bringing morG green troops to the show rather than spending army points on Veterans. Go figure.
Royalists in what passes for dressed lines in their army
And it might just be the dice, but my games have been hard on leaders. About half of them have failed their survival rolls, and usually in the first couple turns of the game. Even when Blessed with a +1 on the survival check, they've blown it with a roll of snake eyes.
Fun game. I'm really enjoying it. It plays smooth, and most of the conditional modifiers are right in line with 'what you would expect', which makes them easy to remember.
06 January 2018, 09:38:17 PM