ECW Mercurius Rusticus

[Elk101]

Last night we had the first practical playtest of our DIY English Civil War skirmish rules. The Royalists were encamped in fields to the west of a meandering river,  the rearguard of a baggage train. The lead cavalry of the Parliamentarians entered the table to the south west, just on the edge of a small hamlet.

The Parliamentarians were entirely unaware of the presence of the Royalist camp and spurred on through the hamlet only to be greeted by boohs and jeers. Whether it was a stray thrown turnip or a casual kick at a peasant that started things off, armed clubman appeared in the crowd and threw themselves at the last few horsemen. The ensuing fracas saw a cavalryman run through from behind by a crude polearm. A gunshot alerted the closest Royalists.

The following turns saw the alerted Royalists mount up and race their horses down the road and across the river heading straight into the Parliamentarian horse who had decided to stay and make an example of the hostile peasantry. A unit of Royalist dragoons moved up to the bridge at the same time as a unit of heavy Parliamentarian horse crossed the river from the south. The Royalist camp guards had also been alerted and a volley into the newly arrived enemy horse killed one and split several horsemen from the main group.

The hamlet turned into a bloodbath with no side giving ground. The second unit of Parliamentarian horse engaged the Royalists from the rear but were firmly held at bay, then broken by several volleys from the dismounted dragoons.

We left things there due to time, but the first draft worked for us so we'll look to develop them further.

[Elk101]

A few more photos. Figures by an ECW enthusiast friend and terrain by another friend, the rules were my contribution. This was the first ECW game two of the players had ever played despite having some 30 odd years historical gaming experience between them.

The second group of clubmen in the farm turned out to be non hostile to both sides, but their presence kept units largely out of their way.

[morrigan]

Looks like fun. I'm always interested in ECW skirmish rules.

[Elk101]

Thanks Morrigan. The rules are based on some Border Reiver rules we're putting together. An ECW fan in our group has been steadily painting figures and was really keen to get a game in so I'm adapting them to ECW skirmish. The rest of the guys thought ECW was dull but after the game they've now asked for a campaign!  The rules are still handwritten scrawl at this stage. They're d10 based but also use average dice for a few things. We are going to test the rules for accompanying preachers and ranters in the next game. We may throw a few pike on too (push of pike = feigned yawns amongst the others!).

[Elk101]

We had another rules playtest which I've only just had a chance to put up. A small Royalist force of shotte with some pikemen arrested a Parliamentarian spy and were detailed with bringing him back to their garrison for questioning. Unbeknownst to them they were about to be intercepted by three Parliamentary horse units headed by a particularly vicious colonel. The Royalist garrison were aware of this and had sent some dragoons over to cover the escape of the prisoner escorts.

[Elk101]

The Parliamentarian horse cross the river looking to cut off the Royalist foot. They were split up as several horsemen couldn't cajole their mounts across the water. One rider took half the game to get across.

Meanwhile the Royalist dragoons,  having heard the cavalrymen cross the river, dismounted and moved through the woods to cover the retreat of their comrades.

[Elk101]

Sorry for the multiple posts but I'm having a lot of bother attaching images via my phone.


The Royalist foot spotted the enemy horse crossing the river and the pikemen formed a barrier across the road, using the bridge and farm wall to secure their flanks. Unfortunately (randomly rolled for)  a second unit of Parliamentarians came galloping across the bridge but failed to make contact with the musketeers who leapt over the bridge to safety. The cavalrymen pulled their pistols out and shot several musketeers running towards them.

The first unit of horse crashed in to the pike and were stalled. Meanwhile the prisoner was passed to the second unit of shotte who moved through the churchyard angering local villagers who scattered.

Unfortunately one of the villagers ran across the front of the dragoons who had formed a skirmish line to harass the flanks of the Parliamentarians. The Royalist commander ordered them to fire anyway. The smoke cleared and the villager lay still. The local preacher ran to the Royalists shouting admonishment and damnation. Unfortunately for him these were the Royalist's veteran units and no one took any notice. Had this been one of lesser Royalist units the sermon may have shaken men, causing them to fear for their souls.

The Royalist commander once again determined that the villagers would not interfere and ordered the preacher silenced. A short battle with the villagers ensued with a predictable outcome.

On the other flank the Royalist foot were determined to hold up the Parliamentarian as long as possible. A third unit of horse crashed across the river, chasing down retreating Royalist shotte.

The Royalist commander then galloped into the straggling Parliamentarian horse killing one instantly as he brought his horse out of the river. A second horseman, however,  ran him through to everyone's surprise, as the commander swiped wildly passed him. It didn't matter for the Royalist objective though,  as one of the Parliamentarian horse units broke and a Royalist unit of horse appeared to take the prisoner back.

We called it a night with the assessment that the Royalists had secured the prisoner but at the cost of a commander. They had also broken an enemy unit. The Parliamentarians had killed the enemy commander and were likely to have destroyed the valiant enemy pike.

[Elk101]

We had a rather good game at the weekend,  with a Royalist cavalry force supported by a unit of dragoons advancing on Yarm, defended by Royalist foot, with a small unit of horse and two light guns. One gun was placed on the bridge and the other in an earthwork redoubt covering the road and fields. The advance force of Royalist dragoons on the Royalist right flank were immediately spotted as they rode onto the board. They dismounted and advanced. On the Royalist left flank a large unit of horse thundered into view. The Parliamentarian gun in the redoubt was set up to cover the road (the player was asked very specifically where he wanted to site it) so they sent their much smaller horse unit forward in an aggressive move.

[morrigan]

Glad to see that you are still working on, and having good games, with your rules!

[Elk101]

Thanks. My phone went all hissy fit on me so I couldn't post any more.



The gun guarding the bridge.

The Royalist dragoons advance.

The Parliamentarian horse ride out to meet their Royalist counterparts.

[Elk101]

The bridge gun fired on the advancing dragoons and overshot. However the shot bounced into the dragoons horseholders, killing one and causing most of their horses to break.

The redoubt gun also fired but fell short. The dragoons fired on the redoubt, badly wounding a musketeer who had repositioned himself for a better shot.

[Elk101]

The Parliamentarian horse rode through the Royalists with half their number chopped down, though they did take several Royalists with them. They then got an initiative break and turned to catch the straggling Royalist horse. They stopped just short,  however,  then were run down as a fresh troop of Royalist horse charged on. The Royalists,  lead by a particularly aggressive commander wheeled part of his troop around behind the redoubt and part rode on with him towards the field where the Parliamentarian commander was. The horsemen fired their pistols into the redoubt, pulling men away from their gun, but only after a shot of grapeshot inflicted more casualties causing the unit to flee back to the woods.

One of the gun crew managed to pull down two horsemen before being run through. The unit of horse that had mopped up the Parliamentarian horse crashed into the redoubt, though several horses pulled up. The defenders were quickly destroyed without mercy.

The Parliamentarian commander , though surrounded refused to surrender and managed to fend off three attacks before the Royalist commander himself rode in, discharging his pistols at point blank range before the melee. Again the Parliamentarian refused to surrender so was despatched.

[Metternich]

I'ld be even more interested in the Border Reiver rules.

[Elk101]

The Parliamentarian left flank on the bridge,  having helped repulse the dragoons opened fire on a rapidly advancing troop of Royalist horse. They inflicted a number of casualties as the horse closed but the officer spurred his men on and a melee commenced. The shotte managed to hold their own but the appearance of the victorious Royalist horse on their right flank decided the matter and they agreed to leave the bridge to the Royalists.

It was good fun, with one player previously declaring ECW to be the dullest of any period, stating that the game had been excellent (and he lost). The rules are coming together nicely,  with some elements I had thought were 'clever' being ditched for simplicity and to allow fast progress. The artillery rules seemed to work well enough too. The Parliamentarians employed a marksman who should have performed better in his attempts to target leaders but who's dice rolls were appalling. He was shot in the back and badly wounded as he attempted to defend the commander.

[Elk101]

I'ld be even more interested in the Border Reiver rules.

The ECW rules will form the basis of the Border Reiver rules but have rules for the Hot Trod,  etc.