Morris' Wargaming Escapades

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. 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 alte...

Inspired by Shaun's blog I decided to start a Five Parsecs From Home 1st edition campaign. I like this edition because it has less book keeping than the current edition and the FiveCore combat system is suited to my taste. I will use these books: Five Parsecs From Home (1e) FiveCore Skirmish gaming (1e) Every Star an Opportunity supplement for planet descriptions  Scum and Villany for factions because they are quirky and fun Session 0 involved character creation. The group will consist of 3 PC + 1 goon. They meet in the planet Nemain because all three of them are in trouble with the authorities.The randomly generated characters were (from left to right): Echo (a bounty hunter with a Power Claw), Sakir (and ordnance specialist from a religious cult) and Christa (a genetically enhanced hulker modified to have an absurdly strong body). And below is their full character sheet, including talents, backstory and current armoury:  Nemain would bet quite an agreeable planet if it we...

In this variant I wanted to capture three things that in my opinion represent ACW fighting well. There are of course other views, but these are fairly standard: At the onset there was a mish-mash of different weapons that evolved during the war. Later on the rifled musket became dominant. The Union tended to have better muskets. Cavalry could fight dismounted. Charges were less frequent.  Confederate cavalry was better until the balance changed later in the war. Lurkers should be given a more skirmishing role (they can shoot).  I use some deployment rules that avoid the effect of skirmishers “teleporting” behind enemy lines and popping up in a forest or BUA. Ambushes are still possible but risky.  DOWNLOAD HERE 

Today I tested my HoTT Napoleonic variant playing a battle of French Vs British with Wofun 18mm miniatures. I used the Solo Tactical Engine uploaded by David Lemon to the file section of the DBA & HOTT Wargaming FB group. It worked great! Before the battle, poor scouting only revealed to the French the presence of  Highlanders in the village. Napoleon deploys with a strong center of  veterans wearing dustcoasts.   ... and a battery strategically placed on the heights.  Wellington chooses a mixed center, allied infantry stiffened by the thin red line... ...and close artillery support... ...which he directs personally. The battle rages on!! Specially in the center and the French right. On the left, conscript units on both sides just stare at each other, The French veterans advance and do not waver when battered by cannon fire. On the British left, 1st Foot infantry advances with Dragoons in close support. The chaps of the 1st Foot face and repel an ambush from v...

Refight the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt with these lists for French Republican armies, Mamluks and Ottomans. It includes some experimental rules for forming square s that may come in handy against unrelenting waves of Mamluks! A new variant for Hordes of the Things (HOTT).   DOWNLOAD HERE         

This file contains in just a page the armies and rules to refight battles in the Waterloo campaign. Some granularity has been added to shooters and lurkers to replicate Napoleonic tactics, troop grades and even national characteristics. Hopefully this black powder adaptation displays (yet again!) the flexibility and fun of the Hordes of the Things rules. The unit types in this file can be generalized to other napoleonic campaigns and even ACW. DOWNLOAD HERE    

   I like the rules in the book Wargaming: Nineteenth Century Europe 1815-1878 so much that I'm thinking of backporting them some years earlier to use them also in the Napoleonic period. However, I would like to do it with the minimum fuss and changes that break the elegance of the original. So far I'm considering two key areas:   1 Cavalry is not to be so much dissuaded from charging. 2 Close-order infantry in column formation needs an extra oomph when defending against Cavalry. Often it was trivial to turn the column into what was effectively a square.   These are the two rule changes I have in mind at the moment for each area. Thoughts welcomed.    1. Infantry charged by Cavalry or Dragoons needs to pass a morale test for the sole purpose of using defensive fire (no base loss). If they fail, the only consequence is that there's no defensive fire, and therefore no morale test for the Cavalry for being shot at. This simulates the sheer terror and confusio...

Team for 'When Nightmares Come' X-Files setting: Mulder, Scully,  a SWAT element and a couple of conspiracy weirdos.   

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 y...