Oh My God it’s Uncle Richard!! (WOTR large skirmish rules)

[Harry Faversham]

Cracking stuff!
I've downloaded the rules, apart from those for cannon, the Knights of the Oblong Table don't possess any. But, after reading that well written AAR, they soon will do, sounds fun, keeping yer fingers crossed everytime you let one off!

 

[KarwickWingmaker]

Thanks so much!

More AARs to come 

sounds fun, keeping yer fingers crossed everytime you let one off!

Happens to the best of us 

[Harry Faversham]

Happens to the best of us 

BOOM!!!

 

[Vagabond]

I passed through Rowsley today but saw no evidence of the battle, Haddon Hall was quiet too. Most strange.

Thanks for that epic battle report, an amusing read.
Cheers

[KarwickWingmaker]

I passed through Rowsley today but saw no evidence of the battle, Haddon Hall was quiet too. Most strange.

You should have been there in the 15th century!!

[KarwickWingmaker]

The Ambush on Beeley Moor - 1462

Part 1 - The Ambush

Sir William Cavendish waited to catch his nemesis, Sir George Cook, alone and unawares.



Finally, days after the fighting on Rowsley hill, Sir George finished his celebrations with his new allies and began to move his forces north from Rowsley toward Beeley.



Along the road, Sir George came across what appeared to be a solitary unit of crossbowmen, hired by the Manners family to hold a small hill on the moorland outside of Beeley.



With his ego boosted from his recent victory, Sir George did not pause to check the forest to the south of the road as he marched his forces west toward the small outpost. Hiding within the forest was where Sir George’s greatest foe waited patiently to strike.



Suddenly, the cry of “Cavendish!” was heard coming from the forest to the south of the road. Cavendish’s men rushed toward Sir George’s forces.



The Cavendish light horsemen crashed into the rear of a unit of billmen serving under Sir George, causing several casualties.



Before Sir George’s billmen could recover and put up a coordinated defence, the horsemen were gone, readying themselves for another charge.

Sir George’s panic-stricken forces hurried into position, the battle had begun.

[KarwickWingmaker]

Part 2 - The Battle



Sir George’s billmen hurried along the road, preparing to defend the hedgerows as Cavendish’s forces advanced toward them.



At the same time, Sir George’s archers clambered through the hedgerows to provide support to the infantry.



Sir George saw a chance to remove the greatest threat to the rear of his forces, the Cavendish light horse. He wheeled his unit of mounted men at arms around to face the Cavendish cavalry and rushed toward them.



The Cavendish pike moved to block Sir George and suddenly fell upon him, hoping to see a swift end to the fighting.



At the same time, Cavendish moved his billmen up to the hedgerow, defeating Sir George’s billmen and pushing them back.



 Cavendish crossed the hedgerow and urged his men on, hacking mercilessly at his foe.



Miraculously, Sir George survived the opening combat with the pikemen, turning his attention once more to the Cavendish light horsemen. The pikemen were not going to be easily defeated, however, and moved up to provide support to the light horsemen.



Once again, Sir George showed his expertise in leading his cavalry, wheeling them around to threaten the rear of Cavendish’s own unit of billmen.



The archery duel had been a bloody affair, but due to Sir George’s archers and handgunners vastly outnumbering the Cavendish crossbowmen, it was always going to be a relatively one-sided affair.



The Cavendish light horsemen crashed into a bewildered unit of Sir George’s billmen …



… only to be completely outclassed in the combat, all but one of them falling in the vicious melee.



As he fled away from the billmen, the final Cavendish light horseman was shot down by a unit of Sir George’s archers.



Before Sir George’s unit of mounted men at arms could charge into the rear of Cavendish’s billmen, they were charged by the Cavendish pike and cut down.



Surrounded, terrified and alone. Sir George was dragged from his mount and slain. His treachery in the previous battle now paid for with his life. A cheer went up in the Cavendish ranks as Sir George’s forces routed. “Let them run!” Sir William Cavendish shouted to his men, “The score is settled.”

* * *

The next day, a messenger brought the head of Sir George to Sir Ralph Manners. The gruesome trophy brought him a small amount of joy, though he found it disturbing to look on the deceased face of his old ally. He had Sir George’s head, along with his body, sent to his family to allow him a proper burial.

[Harry Faversham]

Some very naughty boys kicking about round your way, my dear Karwick!

 

[KarwickWingmaker]

Some very naughty boys kicking about round your way, my dear Karwick!

Don't worry, I've double-locked my door

[KarwickWingmaker]

Explanation of Narrative Gameplay

Here are some examples of where the game mechanisms have added to the narrative of these battle reports:




First of all, cannon malfunction on the roll of a double (see the rules for a deeper explanation on cannons). The roll was a double 6, meaning that the cannon exploded, causing hits to nearby units. Cannon can be quite deadly so this was a major drawback for the attacking forces so early in the battle.







Treachery is a random event that can be caused by a drawn initiative roll at the start of the turn. It forces one of the players to roll for each of their nobles, one of which may leave the battle. This caused the mounted men at arms, who were in a position to possibly tip the balance of the battle, to leave the field. This also gave the narrative of Sir George Cook becoming an enemy of the army he had been fighting alongside.







The cowardly leader in the attacking army (seen here wearing in his gold sallet) was caused by the random army leader special rules. As he is a cowardly army leader, he will avoid fighting in combat if possible. There are benefits and drawbacks to putting your army leader / nobles / standard bearers in harms way, as  they can be very effective when they fight in the combat, but only the models that are in base contact with the enemy can be removed in the combat.

Also, the distrusted nobles in the first battle report are another of the special rules available to characters in this system, though the effect of this is slightly less game-changing than having a cowardly army leader.

The players can choose to roleplay some of these special rules, such as the cowardly army leader in the first battle report keeping his own unit away from the melee until absolutely necessary. I would recommend doing this as it adds to the overall narrative of the game, and relates to the personality of the characters.







The threat caused by the nobleman who charged the defending army’s leader was due to his “duellist” special rule. This causes him to roll 3 dice in the combat, rather than 2, and any rolls of 6 may be allocated to any model in the target unit. This allowed him to cut down the enemy standard bearer (he also put one on the army leader but he made his armour save roll), before choosing to put hits on the defending army leader each turn. Eventually, this is what caused the defending army leader to be cut down, which immediately caused the attacking army to be victorious.

The attacking army leader was also under threat in combat, though due to the attacking army having initiative for that turn, they could determine the order the combats took place. Therefore, the defending army leader was slain before the players had the chance to make the combat roll for the melee containing attacking army leader. The moment that one of the army leaders is slain, the battle is over.

[Wellington Bonaparte]

Thank you for these sumptuous AAR's, really enjoyed the whole thing. I wouldn't mind trying something similar with Pastons and their enemies in Norfolk at roughly the same time. Lots of little private wars and score settling going on then.

[KarwickWingmaker]

Thank you for these sumptuous AAR's, really enjoyed the whole thing. I wouldn't mind trying something similar with Pastons and their enemies in Norfolk at roughly the same time. Lots of little private wars and score settling going on then.

Thanks very much!

I have only been using a real-life locations for these battles, but the characters fighting within them are fictional.

Nothing to stop you fighting out some of the real-life battles and local conflicts using the rules though! I'd love to see what you come up with 

[KarwickWingmaker]

Hey all!

The final version of the 1st edition of Oh My God it's Uncle Richard is out now!

Available to download for free at: https://orriblelittlemen.wordpress.com/downloads

Lots of play-testing and editing has gone into these rules, I hope you enjoy them!


Some of the changes that have been made:
- Army Morale is a new (and more likely!) way to win battles
- Cannon/Ribauldequin are less likely to be removed from the battlefield for malfunctioning
- Campaign systems have been added
- 12 Scenarios have been added