Random Movement Variant for One-Hour Wargames

This variant uses up to three average dice* to randomize movement distances for Neil Thomas' rules.

*(dice with the faces numbered: 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5)

The advantages of doing this are that you cannot predict things mechanically ('in three turns I'll get the skirmishers to those woods'). Charges also become more thrilling as you are not 100% certain that you can make contact and reach that exposed flank this turn.

For the Horse & Musket period the randomized movement is:

Infantry and Artillery: Sum of two Average dice - 1
Skirmishers: Sum of two Average dice + 2
Cavalry: Sum of three Average dice + 1

Note that the most likely results still are 6", 9" and 12", but you get a whole range of possible results.

*How to convert a normal die to an average die. Using white dice for example, take white paint and fill in the 2 center pips on the six, this now becomes a 4. Now take black paint or a marker and add two pips to the one side to make it into a 3. Now you have an average die with 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5. That's all it takes.

Comments

5 wargaming mechanics that I dislike

1. Command Radius . Ok, it may work if there is only one general (like in DBA), but this business of each commander having his own radius as if it is a shouting contest... Wally Simon debunked it long ago better than I could: "There was only one way Kris could maintain control of his entire division, keeping them all within his magical 3 inch radius, and that was to continually scrunch all six units together in one solid mass, cavalry, infantry and artillery [...] There are many gaming ploys that deal with command response functions, systems that supposedly reproduce the difficulties of commanders keeping their forces under their control, and, in my considered opinion, the 'mysterious aura' ploy is probably the worst of them all" (PW Review May 1999) Guilty party example: Grande Armée. 2. Rerolls . The kind of rerolls that bother me are not those tied to some mechanic but what I call the insert-coin reroll. You start the battle with X rerolls and you may use them wh...

Five Parsecs From Home (1e) Week 1

Fleeing from the brutal crackdown decreed by governor Mantis on people that are not up on their taxes, our drifters ( see session 0 ) meet in a back alley of the mega-city Nemain. They don't want to be pressed on the local guard to make up for their debt. They read on each others eyes the fear of being at the end of the rope. Sakir, a paranoid and resourceful enforcer tasked by a fringe religious group to scout the galaxy for ancient artifacts, suggests to the pair a temporary refuge. He knows the location of an Ashtari Cult den. After all, they also worship artifacts and their religion is in good terms with Sakir's fringe cult. The other two agree. Mostly to rest for a while and also for the chance to sample the infamous gasses that the Ashatari inhale to have visions of archeological sites. Sakir Once in the den they relax. Perhaps a little too much. Echo, the quiet and lethal bounty hunter, wrecks a sofa with her power claw while whole-body-shaking enthralled by the drug. An...

One-hour Simplicity - Bridgehead (scenario 5)

A contested river crossing is one of the hardest situations in warfare. I present scenario 5 from the book One-Hour Wargames , but resolved using another Neil Thomas' ruleset called Simplicity in Practice (SiP). For adaptation notes see my first battlerep with this combo HERE . The objective of the scenario for BLUE is to consolidate a bridgehead north of the river The composition of the armies is: BLUE: 4 infantry, 1 skirmishers, 1 cavalry RED: 3 infantry, 1 skirmishers, 2 cavalry Blue will arrive along the road and Red piecemeal at three random points: west of the woods, on the road and east of the hill. At the start BLUE has a single unit north of the river: shadowy voltigeurs have taken the woods. The first RED units show up west of the woods Since cavalry cannot enter the woods, they take a tortuous route around them. Unseen, the lurking skirmishers take aim BLUE cavalry crosses the bridge benefiting from a road move of 30cm. In a river crossing, Space i...

Morris' Wargaming Escapades

Search This Blog