Simulating smoke in Horse and Musket wargames. Waste of time?

[chalimacos]

Reading one of the wargaming pioneers always gets one thinking. This time the book was Terence Wise's American Civil War Wargaming (Airfix, 1977). In the rules in this book smoke is simulated and has effects on line of sight and charges. Wise has quite a convoluted system that links smoke movement to a unit's rate of fire (in a way, smoke has a proprietary unit!). What I found really thought provoking is his "Charging through smoke" section that forces a unit to use this fabulous charge deviation template:

Therefore, the unit can get completely lost, charge the wrong unit, expose a flank, etc. How cool!
Is simulating smoke worth the time and hassle? Wouldn't it force the players to establish wind direction, strength and changes like in a naval wargame? However, by not doing it, are we not ignoring an important factor that was often decisive? These are the questions that crowded my head. To see if something (relatively) simple could be done, I drafted this quick smoke rules (the distances are scaled for Simplicity in Practice, but the concept could work in any ruleset).

• Only the densest clouds are tracked.
• There's no need to track wind direction and speed until someone actually generates some dense smoke.
• When a unit fires in addition to its usual fire dice, it rolls a D10. On a 10 the unit has generated a dense cloud. Place a cotton marker as wide as the unit on it's front.
• Now is the time to establish wind direction and speed.
• • Wind direction: Roll a d8: 1N, 2NE, 3E, 4SE, 5S, 6SW, 7W, 8NW
  • Wind speed: Roll 2d6

• At the beginning of each turn all clouds of smoke on the table drift the wind speed in cm in the direction of the wind.
• If firing at a unit though smoke, the unit counts as in cover.
• If moving through smoke, use Wise's deviation template.
• Smoke lingers until it drifts out of the play area.
• OPTIONAL. A 1 on the "smoke dice" (the d10) dissipates the smoke cloud closest to the firing unit if there is any.
• OPTIONAL. If firing artillery against a town, a 10 on the d10 sets it on fire. The town generates a dense cloud every two turns.
• OPTIONAL. The above assumes a constant wind speed and direction. If you want to go full simulationist, track each turn changes in direction and speed by this method:
• • Wind direction: 1 Backs anticlockwise one step. 2-5 No change. 6 Veers clockwise one step.
  • Wind speed: 1 Reduced by 1cm, 2-5 No change, 6 Increased by 1cm 

   What is your take on this? Is it going to far? Have you ever tried something similar?
 

[Moriarty]

While the idea appeals, the execution doesn’t. Looks nice on the table, and I’m going to use smoke to indicate those units that have fired, but don’t plan on adding complication for its effects.
I’d think smoke would affect everyone equally, unless the wind was from an inconvenient direction. Perhaps a Chance Card result rather than a standing rule?

[Harry Faversham]

'Simplicity in Practice', clue's in the name, don't overthink it!
 

[chalimacos]

I’d think smoke would affect everyone equally

The effects would be for any unit that tries to fire or go through smoke. The problem I see in my rules is that tracking changes in direction and strength each turn may actually be necessary to avoid players treating smoke as a moveable and predictable cover. I agree on the aesthetic effect.

[warwell]

If you go this route, also consider the length of time that a turn represents vs. the time for the smoke to dissipate.

From my days (long ago) in Civil War reenacting, it seems that smoke dissipated pretty quickly and that it was never a serious issue. But my memory may be foggy, and we also used less powder I believe.

Still, if a turn represents 15 minutes or more, is smoke an issue?

[chalimacos]

it seems that smoke dissipated pretty quickly and that it was never a serious issue. But my memory may be foggy, and we also used less powder I believe.

Still, if a turn represents 15 minutes or more, is smoke an issue?

Very true. Rather than generating lots of smoke and having it to dissipate quickly, in the rules above I treat it as rare event (dense accumulations) and let it drift away (so as not having to track turns).

[traveller]

Interesting post! I need this kind of rule mechanics. I only managed to start in the other end 

[chalimacos]

Interesting post! I need this kind of rule mechanics. I only managed to start in the other end 

Amazing!

[jon_1066]

I think smoke is better as a marker.  Eg GdA2 where a unit that has lost fire discipline is marked with smoke and suffers from an inferior volley.

Similar in Sharp Practice.  It marks uncontrolled firing.

Complex rules tracking each cloud is time consuming.  Having said that one idea I had was roll 2d6 for the initial cloud size.  Each turn roll 2d6 for each cloud.  If it’s higher than its current length it dissipates and is removed.  Otherwise change it to the length rolled. 

[Ray Rivers]

I remember we used to use smoke in our ACW games. I don't remember what the exact rules were though, because it was a house rule.

I believe we made a wind speed chart for the start of the game in which you rolled a 6 sided die to determine. Essentially, in still conditions smoke would last 3 turns. As the wind speed increased, the smoke would diminish much faster. The number of smoke lines between units was a modifier to the casualty tables. Six lines of smoke (worse case with still wind) would obscure line of sight and no firing or charging was allowed. We didn't move the smoke due to wind speed or direction.

For the most part, smoke had only a small effect on the game. Where it was most pronounced was with the targeting of artillery.

[Redshank]

I can think of plenty of battle accounts where smoke gets noted as important, like Zorndorf or Waterloo, or Von Bredow's charge at Mars-le-Tour.

Even if it would be important for both sides, it still might be decisively advantageous for one or the other side at a given point. You could just say that's all wrapped up and abstracted in the rest of the rules, but that seems to give up a bit of flavour. That said, having loads of smoke markers wafting around feels like too much extra rules cruft for the payoff.

Complex rules tracking each cloud is time consuming.  Having said that one idea I had was roll 2d6 for the initial cloud size.  Each turn roll 2d6 for each cloud.  If it’s higher than its current length it dissipates and is removed.  Otherwise change it to the length rolled.

I like this a lot. Depending on your game scale, you might say "smoke" affects the whole battlefield, or only a zone. It reduces visibility, fire effectiveness etc. proportionate to cloud size (visibility reduced by cloud size in inches or something). And it would work for fog, smoke from burning buildings etc. as well.

[chalimacos]

Having said that one idea I had was roll 2d6 for the initial cloud size.  Each turn roll 2d6 for each cloud.  If it’s higher than its current length it dissipates and is removed.  Otherwise change it to the length rolled.

Very nice mechanic!

[fred]

I do think that modelling smoke should be part of a game.

There are a few games that abstract it a lot on the assumption there is just lots of smoke and dust around (thinking Battlefront which requires a spotting roll always - but WW2 smoke and dust feels a bit different to linear warfare)

Other rules use it to represent reloading, or volleys that negate movement. Which feels more like using smoke as a natural marker, rather than modelling what effects smoke has on the battlefield.

Regarding wind, I do a lot of cycling so am very aware of wind, especially heads winds! And wind strength and direction doesn't vary that much over a few hours - so I think rolling for wind direction and strength at the start of the game is probably sufficient. If your game coves a whole day, then perhaps checking every few hours of elapsed in game time might be useful.

But I also suspect that with lines of firing troops wind effect is going to be less noticeable, as even if your unit's smoke drifts away, you will just be getting the smoke from an adjacent unit drifting in-front of you. Wind strength likely matters, on a still day smoke will just sit there, but on a windy day it will disperse.

Anything that involves rolling for each cloud of smoke feels excessive. But some randomness feels useful to avoid too much player knowledge.

Which kind of leads me to modelling for effect - so top down, rather than bottom up.

Roll for wind strength at start of game (say 1 = still, 6 = windy)
When units fire put smoke in front of them
If its windy it comes off at the end of the turn, if medium, then the end of the next turn, if still it stays in place)
If they stay in place and fire again, just push back the removal time, don't place more smoke

Then decide what effects you want from the smoke - I do like the charge deviation idea!
And shooting accuracy reduction makes sense (though I assume with linear warfare, one of the expectations was a lot of smoke, and a target straight in front). But knowing your opponent is drifting away feels hard to know.

One downside to all of this is that it slows things down - which I suppose is up to you to decide if that is a good or bad thing for a game.

[chalimacos]

I do think that modelling smoke should be part of a game.

[...] And wind strength and direction doesn't vary that much over a few hours - so I think rolling for wind direction and strength at the start of the game is probably sufficient.

Many thanks for your interesting ideas! Yes, I've read from naval wargamers that too frequent changes in wind direction, besides being unrealistic, kill all strategy. In a land battle, however, the question is how to avoid turning smoke into a moveable and predictable cover. To reduce rolls, I'm thinking of using the same roll that 'creates' smoke clouds to dissipate them. Something like:

A 10 on the "smoke dice" (the d10) places a smoke cloud in front of the unit.
A 1 on the "smoke dice" (the d10) dissipates the smoke cloud closest to the firing unit if there is any.

[aphillathehun]

Great as a marker.

I used to play a rules set (GaPa) for WSS that had the battlefield overall get smokier as the fighting got more intense.  So after a certain number of units fired in the same turn, the range for visibility and, hence, command, reduced.  That was simple, effective, and kind of elegant.