Morris' Wargaming Escapades

Before the battle each side chooses 3 out of these 4 actions: scouting, maneuver, reorganization or propaganda.  The side that lost the last battle rolls one d6 in each chosen table. The side that won the last battle rolls one d8 in each chosen table. SCOUTING 8 May deploy after knowing the disposition of the enemy 7 May move one terrain piece (even a town) up to 3d6 inches 6 May deploy one unit in forward position (up to 2/3 of the table) 1-5 No effect MANEUVER 8 May have an extra unit in reserve coming from own baseline or flank  7 May have an extra unit in reserve coming from own baseline  6 May deploy one unit in ambush (hidden) 1-5 No effect REORGANIZATION 8 Upgrade one random infantry or cavalry unit to elite 7 Add a skirmish screen to one infantry unit 6 Local guide. One close-order infantry unit can move through rough terrain without penalty 1-5 No effect PROPAGANDA 8 If during the battle a Cavalry charge wipes out an enemy unit, regardless of the result of the...

This is the report of the first month of upheavals and the first decisive battle fought in the Peninsula. I'm using these rules: Campaign Rules: Domino Theory Campaign from No End in Sight (Ivan Sorensen). This campaign motor was intended for the Cold War, but it works perfectly for any conflict that has a strong ideological component like the Napoleonic Wars. It works on the basis of two tables. Each turn there are two random rolls, one in the Spread of Ideology table and another in the Spread of Order table . To these rolls a third is added depending on the outcome of that month's main battle. A very clever system by a designer notorious for rules such as Five Parsecs From Home. Tabletop rules: Simplicity in Practice by Neil Thomas (house rule: +2 for each melee factor, not +2 dice) Situation at the onset Simplified map of the Peninsula The numbers in each region represent Alignment. Positive numbers stand for Susceptibility to revolutionary ideals and the negative ones ...

 It has been discussed to exhaustion how these medieval rules were a crucial influence in the genesis of Dungeons & Dragons. This is not the purpose of this post. I will focus on its virtues strictly from a wargaming perspective as a mass battles ruleset.  Chainmail contains a variety of rules. I will only discuss point 1 in the following list: Medieval mass battles rules Siege rules. Man-to-man (skirmish) medieval Jousting rules Fantasy additions to mass battles rules and sieges It is history of gaming how Dave Arneson meshed 3 with 5, added  Hit Points and created the concept of RPGs. There is plenty of books and articles discussing this. On the contrary, I will highlight 3 sub-systems of the mass battles rules that I think deserve more attention. WEATHER  This table in my opinion is pure genius. So simple, dynamic and elegant. It can be overlaid into any ruleset. I would only add perhaps the possibility of mist (reduced visibility) in the cloudy table. O...