I like the sound of these rules, from the information available here/on the site. Always fancied starting an ECW project, especially with small-scale actions. I'd also be interested in any AARs or maybe a run through of a couple of example turns if anything like that is in the offing.
'Crane' I would certainly recommend trying the smaller ECW actions, whether with these rules or not. There are lots of small and interesting real actions. With plenty of scope for scenarios, etc. Indeed these small actions are in many ways more typical than the big battles. Although the big battles are also of course interesting and indeed can be fought as multiplayer games. The scenario booklet (and others in the series) mentioned on the web page in the post to Dave is a great gaming source and I would highly recommend it/them as well.
We intend to add extra scenarios and also AAR's as we go along. This weekend we are putting on a game at a local show and the plan is to put up a scenario for this & an AAR. So with luck more news on this soon.
Meanwhile I can run you through a turn, hopefully this will give you some idea of the game. I won't go into every detail but just an overview. So play is simultaneous and at the start of a turn the players roll for command points for each general. These command points can be used by the general to move himself, inspire units, issue orders, effect dice rolls, rally unites, etc. Basically all kinds of ways but of course you will only have a limited number. You will see both the commanders in the Whalley scenario get a D6 plus 1 per turn.
Next comes routs/retreats/pursuits, etc. Routs and retreats give DP's (disruption points) to units who see them. DP's are key to the game and basically give you a minus on doing most things. Once you have 5 and further you get means take a base off. The number of DP's a unit gets for seeing routs/retreats depends on the relative quality of the 2 units. If the unit running is better the unit will receive more DP's and the opposite if it is worse.
Next is issuing orders. Orders are fairly general so for example you might for example order some infantry with a lot of musketeers to advance and shoot at some stated enemy units or some terrain feature. While some other infantry with a lot of pikes you might say advance and charge instead. You might have noticed that the Royalist commander in the Whalley scenario is noted as being 'Slow Witted'. This means it costs him extra to issue orders. Generals can have, notice the Parliamentarian commander doesn't in this scenario, additional characteristic to reflect different skills/problems/etc - i.e. they can be personalised. Obviously for real commanders these will reflect the capabilities of the real commander but you can also roll for random characteristic if doing a pick up game. So for example a random characteristic could be 'Quick Witted', i.e. it costs him less CP's to issue orders. Or he could be 'Hot headed' - this has various effects but one of these is it means it costs him less to issue advance and charge type orders. There are lots of characteristics effecting various things the commanders can do.
After this you do charges . In charges you normally have to take a charge test. A charge is seen as a kind of combat, maybe a kind of game of 'chicken' to see who flinches first. If one side is firing they must take a nerve test before the charge test to see if they manage to get off a competent volley. This test like most tests can be influenced by the commander using CP's. If they score hits these will count in the following charge test & perhaps halt the charge. In the charge test both sides roll a dice and add/subtract various factors, unit quality, numbers of DP's, general inspiring, etc. The difference in the final scores results in that many DP's being given to the loser. This could be decisive on its own and can lead to other effects. For example Pistoleer cavalry normally have to stand and fire at a charger. But if that fire is effective enough they can counter charge the now disarrayed enemy to finish the job.
The above sounds more complicated than it perhaps is. But hopefully this allows different tactics to be represented and give the player plenty of opportunity for decision. For example an infantry unit with a commander near might want to spend command points on inspiring the unit to fire effectively, you can for example try for a point blank volley if you want. Maybe that will work and stop the charge but maybe it is better to spend the CP's on inspiring them to stand firm in the charge test or even wait to use them in the close combat or some other idea.
In any case next you do the normal actions of a turn. Firing has been mentioned on the web site. In short if the units has a bigger ratio of muskets to pike it is easier for it to hit when firing, and the opposite for it to hit in close combat. In both cases all bases fight but each DP you have loses you a dice. Stationary units fire first and the effects applied then moving units fire. So stationary fire is generally better, see saving rolls as well. Saving rolls are made for all hits and are based on unit quality - i.e. good units have a better chance to save. But other factors also apply - cover, armour, if the firer is moving, etc. Any unsaved hit will you a DP or lose you a base if you have too many DP's.
For moving you in short get DP's for doing most things that are not a straight march forward and you might get some for doing that! So for example if you wheel you get 1DP for doing that. Movement is random and the player decides how many dice to roll - up to 2 for infantry and up to 4 for cavalry. But you must declare any manoeuvres you will do before you roll and move the full distance you roll, so you have to be careful when deciding how many dice to roll. In addition when moving you can get DP's depending on what you roll. So in wood each 1, 2 or 3 you roll you get a DP and even in the open/plain a roll of a 1 gives you a DP (representing the small dips, odd bits of terrain, etc, that are on battlefields but not enough to put on the table). Basically you are likely to pick up DP's just from moving around without any interference from the enemy. So getting rid of DP's is always important and the player must weigh the benefits of moving fast/doing complicated things compared to the gains/loses they will get from a better situation and the DP's they will pick up.
After this you do the close combats. These are similar to firing generally but as already mentioned having a lot of pikes will mean infantry have a better chance of hits. For cavalry the number of dice they rolled to enter combat helps to decide what they need to roll to hit - you need to roll equal or lower to a number plus the number of dice you rolled to charge to hit. But of course again is it a good idea to roll a lot of dice with the risk of getting movement DP's? Hits are saved as with fire but in this case do not directly lead to DP's. Instead the number of hits are compared to give the result of the combat. This can lead to units routing/retreating and possibly to pursuits. These are done at the beginning of the next turn but I glossed over them above. I will just mention here that cavalry using aggressive tactics are more likely to pursue. In general the whole area of close combat and after are as you might expect. Generals can inspire the units in combat or help stop a pursuit. Having a large good quality unit, with few DP's, a good combat technique (i.e. lots of pikes or aggressive cavalry) and a good tactical situation is likely to be good news at this stage of things. Unfortunately this seems to be a very rare occurrence when I play
Finally you have removing DP's - a key phase. is it better to pause and remove DP's and risk losing an advantage or better to press on. Good units can remove DP's themselves, usually by doing nothing during the turn - better units remove more. Generals can also remove them by using CP's and for poor quality units they will have to as the units can't do it themselves. As with most things some generals have to spend more/less to remove CP's if they have that characteristic.
OK well hopefully that will give you some idea and also has been useful for us. Like most rules I suspect any description will not get over everything and of course I like the rules. I will put something up on the web page like this so is there anything I can add that might help?
27 February 2011, 10:32:26 AM