Grognard

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Grognard Rules for grumbly, grumbly, old war-gamers, who still play medieval medieval fantasy miniatures battles on a 1:20/1:1 scale but can no longer obtain their preferred rulebook, because it’s out of print, out of distribution, and no longer for sale as a PDF.

Colophon This is Grognard ™ version 0.11, released 2016-05-30. See the CHANGES file for a detailed version history. Grognard ™ is still a work in progress. See the TODO list for outstanding work left to be done. Title font : Quentin Caps

Cover image excerpted from After the Battle of Marignano (1521) by Urs

Graf. Line drawings of cannon firing dowels, jousting aiming points, weather state diagram, and facing and formation by krusader74. This work has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder. This applies worldwide. All other illustrations from the public domain sources: Handbuch der Waffenkunde (1890) by Wendelin Boeheim • Codex Wallerstein, a 16th-century convolution of three 15th-century fechtbuch manuscripts • The Art of Heraldry: An Encyclopaedia of Armory (1904) by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies • Our Young Folks; An illustrated magazine for Boys and Girls (1866) Ed. J.T. Trowbridge, Lucy Larcom, Gail Hamilton •

Grognard ™ Markdown plain text 2016 by krusader74. This work

has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder. This applies worldwide. There is no point trying to copyright a game, because according to the US Copyright Office in their publication on Games, fl-108, “Copyright does not protect the idea for a game” . . . “Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.” PDF version of this document typeset using Pandoc, Imagemagick, pdftk and bash. See the build.sh script for commands used to prepare this document. All Markdown plaintext files, images and scripts used to build this document can be found in the ZIP archive. There is a spot to discuss this material on the Original D&D Discussion. Any trademarks used or cited are the property of their respective owners. US law protects the right of non-owners to use trademarks for purposes of criticism and commentary.

This product is compatible with the original white box (or woodgrain box) edition of the world’s first and most famous fantasy RPG. See the OSR Manifesto for details.

Dedication To Skynet and your army of time-travelling terminators, 01001001 00101100 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101111 01101110 01100101 00101100 00100000 01110111 01100101 01101100 01100011 01101111 01101101 01100101 00100000 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110111 00100000 01110010 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110100 00100000 01101111 01110110 01100101 01110010 01101100 01101111 01110010 01100100 01110011 00100001 00001010

To K. F., XOXO. Did you know that the custom of using Xs and Os like

this dates back to Medieval times? The More You Know

And also to all swords & sorcery gamers – past, present and future.


Acknowledgements The following rules are the culmination of a lot of work by a lot of people – over two hundred years in the making. Thanks to: Gary Gygax (1938 – 2008) and Jeff Perren, authors of Chainmail , the

first commercially available miniatures game for fantasy settings. Len Patt, who developed a precursor to Chainmail , described by Jon

Peterson in two articles •

•

A Precursor to the Chainmail Fantasy Supplement A Conversation with Len Patt

Charles Swann Roberts (1930 – 2010), “The Father of Board Wargaming.” He created Tactics , the first mass market board wargame, which he sold

mail-order out of his apartment in Avalon Hill. In 1958, he published Gettysburg , the first board wargame based upon an actual historical battle. Gary Gygax’s obituary in The Guardian says, In 1953 Gygax began playing miniature war games with longtime friend Don Kaye, who would later help him start TSR. At that stage, Gygax became particularly interested in the game Gettysburg , which he ordered from an Avalon Hill company. Tony Bath (1926 – 2000). According to Jon Peterson ( Playing at the World , p. 323), Gygax wrote a series of articles about ancient and medieval wargaming in the International Wargamer starting in October 1969 in

which he repeatedly acknowledged his appreciation for Tony Bath’s medieval wargaming rules. For example, saving throws to resist spell effects were borrowed from Tony Bath for Chainmail ’s fantasy supplement. Henry Bodenstedt (1927 – 1999). Quoting from an interview with Game-

Banshee, Gary Gygax said, Henry Bodenstadt ran a gaming shop business out in New York, he had got his “Siege of Bodenstadt” game into Strategy & Tactics . . . Bodenstadt’s game, the Siege of Bodenburg, used 40mm medieval Elastolin miniatures and a plastic castle manufactured by Hausser. Jeff Perren developed his own 2-page 1:20 rules for Bodenstadt’s game, and shared them with Gygax, who further developed them into Chainmail . Additionally, the Hausser Castle appears in the photographs of miniature battles in Chainmail .

H. G. Wells (1866 – 1946) wrote a popular set of war game rules called Little Wars intended “for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty.” A 2004 edition of Little Wars published by Skirmisher Publishing

LLC includes a foreword by Gary Gygax in which he wrote: Little Wars influenced my development of both the Chainmail miniatures rules and the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy roleplaying

game. For example, it established the concept of a burst radius for cannon rounds, an idea that was translated into both the Chainmail catapult missile diameters and the areas of effect for Fireballs in D&D . Lieutenant Georg Leopold von Reißwitz (1764 – 1829) invented

Kriegsspiel in 1812. Like today’s war games, Reißwitz’s game used special pieces, dice, maps, referees, and rules for movement, combat and the simulation of the fog of war. You too can contribute to the further development of these rules!

If you want to help make these rules better, submit a correction, or offer constructive criticism, then please see the companion Original D&D Discussion thread. The following OD&D Discussion members have provided helpful input: •

•

•

18 Spears (Gene Lake) derv makofan

Thanks to all who contribute!

Foreword Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vestibulum sodales sit amet diam ut tempor. Mauris luctus fringilla ullamcorper. Phasellus sagittis ante at aliquet maximus. Proin erat augue, imperdiet eget facilisis vel, molestie vitae nibh. Quisque et purus eu sapien porttitor ultricies in nec neque. Phasellus id pretium felis, vitae porttitor risus. Vivamus quis arcu egestas, egestas eros at, tempor augue. Aliquam et molestie elit. Etiam quis aliquam odio. Pellentesque quis nunc volutpat, auctor eros vitae, mollis sem. Maecenas blandit, dui eu placerat posuere, diam sapien aliquam ex, in sagittis urna mauris in magna. Donec posuere sit amet odio a ultricies. Nam nunc tellus, congue in arcu quis, ultrices pulvinar nisi. Nullam sagittis mi vitae placerat luctus. Aenean sed enim at nisl gravida euismod. Integer mauris arcu, viverra ut lectus in, euismod placerat purus. Aenean lacinia, nisi in consectetur semper, urna sem facilisis mi, in tincidunt eros metus eget nunc. Aenean velit tellus, auctor pulvinar euismod non, feugiat a mauris. Vestibulum vestibulum, neque at feugiat iaculis, velit odio tempus turpis, sit amet rutrum metus augue vel leo. Praesent convallis, est in volutpat sollicitudin, ligula dui commodo eros, ac placerat lorem felis vitae dolor. Donec nec dolor orci. Mauris feugiat lobortis enim facilisis viverra. Ut feugiat blandit erat, vel consequat purus pulvinar id. Cras pharetra nulla blandit sodales faucibus.

Suspendisse quis aliquam est. Aenean augue mauris, malesuada non vulputate eget, malesuada non sem. Vivamus id leo venenatis, convallis ex at, efficitur nisl. Proin vel vestibulum nibh. Curabitur sodales sagittis diam, vitae malesuada nulla viverra eu. Quisque ullamcorper nec magna eget pulvinar. Fusce congue nisl odio, sed vulputate urna malesuada vitae. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Fusce lobortis tincidunt lorem, quis eleifend ligula sollicitudin sit amet. Nullam semper volutpat consectetur. Filler text until someone contributes a foreword! Generated by the Lipsum generator .

If you are interested in writing a foreword to this book, then please state your interest on the Original D&D Discussion .


Introduction Wherein I answer these three W’s and an H: 1. What exactly am I writing? 2. Why am I writing this? 3. How am I going to write it? 4. Who am I writing this for?

What exactly am I writing? Grognard is a Chainmail retro-clone. Chainmail was the first commercially available miniatures game for fantasy

settings. It was created by Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren and published in 1971. Chainmail pioneered many concepts later used in Dungeons & Dragons published in 1974. A retro-clone is a set of fan-made rules which closely emulates an older game that is no longer supported, and released under a permissive license. However, Grognard does not (and cannot) begin to compete with Chainmail . If Hasbro were to reprint Chainmail or sell it once again as an eBook, I’d be the first to say go out and buy it! Why? Because it is a great game and an important piece of game history. That said, Grognard would still make a great free supplement, helping to explain a lot of Chainmail ’s esoteric game mechanics, jargon, and dense writing style from a new and different perspective.

Why am I writing this? Short answer

1. Chainmail is currently out of print and not-for-sale as a PDF. If you don’t already have it, you are going to have a difficult time getting a legal copy second hand. But Grognard is available online right now. 2. Even if Hasbro reprints Chainmail or releases it as a PDF on “DM’s Guild,” it will cost something, whereas this costs nothing. Free as in Beer. 3. Even if Hasbro reprints Chainmail or releases it as a PDF on “DM’s Guild,” it will have some kind of license. This is Public Domain. No restrictions. Free as in Speech. Modify it and use it as you will.

Long answer

I legally purchased the Chainmail PDF from Paizo back in 2008 for $4. Shortly thereafter, Hasbro pulled all their PDFs (including Chainmail ) from Paizo, RPGNow, DriveThroughRPG, and other online resellers. Chainmail is out of print. Rarely, you’ll see a single used copy someplace like Amazon, eBay or NobleKnight for $100 – out of reach to anyone but a serious collector. So how was I supposed to recruit new players to play this game I just purchased if no one could get a legal copy? While books can be copyrighted and book titles can be trademarked, game systems aren’t subject to copyright. Quoting directly from the US Copyright Office, in their publication on Games, fl-108, Copyrights

Copyright does not protect the idea for a game, its name or title, or the method or methods for playing it. Nor does copyright protect any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in developing, merchandising, or playing a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles. Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author’s expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Chainmail itself borrows heavily from previous wargames. The Acknowl-

edgements section highlights a few of these debts: Len Patt (the fantasy supplement), Charles Swann Roberts (idea for a modern mass market wargame), Henry Bodenstedt (Jeff Perren’s basis for the 1:20 medieval miniatures rules), Tony Bath (saving throws, etc., etc.), H. G. Wells (burst radius for cannon fire), and Lt. Georg Leopold von Reißwitz (the original idea of a wargame played with special pieces, dice, rules for movement, and tables of losses). Even if a game system is not copyrightable, the game’s name or title may be trademarked. Trademarks

For this retro-clone, I selected the title Grognard , a word which literally means “grumbler,” historically refers to Napoleon’s elite troops, and now figuratively refers to people who play wargames with miniatures and dice. Doing a trademark check on TESS for the word “Grognard,” as of 2001605-21 it had been trademarked twice, but both trademarks are officially dead : •

the Grognard Bicycle Company (Registration Number: 3288808, September 4, 2007)

•

a typed drawing for perfumes and lotions (Registration Number: 0744192, January 22, 1963)

Moreover, neither of these trademarks had anything to do with games! The word Chainmail is trademarked by Hasbro. Grognard only refers to Chainmail here in the Introduction and previously in the Acknowledgements section in order to praise it’s creators, and tell the origin story of this game, but in no way to promote Grognard itself. And US law protects the right of non-owners to use trademarks for purposes of criticism and commentary.

How am I going to write it? As the above quote from the US Copyright Office makes clear, the literary and artistic expression of game rules may be copyrighted. Therefore, I’m striving to alter this material quite a bit. Here are 10 types of changes you’ll see: 1. Rewording, e.g., “rout” to “panic” and “rally” to “regroup” 2. Reorganization, e.g., consolidating the siege rules for normal and fantasy combat into one section 3. Improved readability by adding examples and explanations and diagrams of things left unclear in the original text, e.g., the cannon firing dowels 4. Reduced complexity, e.g., reduced the Combat Table from 6 separate tables spanning 1 page to 1 table spanning 7 lines 5. Replaced some tables with mathematical formulations, e.g., replaced the spell complexity table with a simple formula and the weather table with a Markov transition matrix and a state diagram 6. Artwork from public domain sources 7. Resolved glitches in the original rules, such as the Jousting Matrix – see below 8. Improved maintainability by reformatting everything as plain text files, a universal format used by all computers 9. Increased extensibility by developing it incrementally on a discussion forum where anyone is free to suggest improvements; Grognard is a living document, and if someone suggests improvements, then I will incorporate them into the text 10. Expanded accessibility by making the Markdown plain text, PDF, and source code for building the PDF version available for free online, thus allowing anyone to customize it for themselves Let’s examine one example of these changes in detail. In Chainmail , the Jousting Matrix displays “The Shield.” I’ve

•

•

•

•

redesigned the artwork to include a visored helm; renamed the hit locations using names from traditional heraldry, e.g., CP (center pale) is now the “honour point” and FP (fess pale) is now the “nombril point”; eliminated the G (glances off) result entirely, since it’s mechanically the same as a miss; and amended the rule which says “Any Knight who breaks his lance or has his Helm is knocked off must assume position 4 on his next ride” to say instead: “If the attacker breaks his lance (B) or the defender loses his helm (H), then he must assume defensive position 4 or 6 on the next tilt” – not merely reworded, but mechanically altered.

Nevertheless, I am not making rules changes willy-nilly ! This particular rule change in the Jousting Matrix comes from Tim Kask, who wrote on Dragonsfoot : BTW, when teaching about Medieval times, I use the jousting matrix out of CHAINMAIL and the class has a “Faire”.

Then, later in the thread, he continues The jousting table has a glitch in it; I have used it in the classroom, but had to make a modification. As it is printed, if you most assume a steady seat upon breaking your lance or having your helm knocked off, all your opponent must do is aim FP on the next pass and you will automatically be unhorsed. In the classroom, I gve the option of assuming 4 or 6. I have talked to Gary about this and he concurred. Instead of making rules changes merely for the sake of making this game different, I’m making rule changes based on what original players have said or done, even though it conflicts with the original written rules.

Who am I writing this for? Chainmail was originally written for 1970s wargamers who were already

immersed in the jargon and common practices of the hobby. This makes it fairly innaccessible to newcomers. New players with little wargaming experience are the primary target audience. That includes some people who already play Original 1974 D&D , and who know it originated from Chainmail , but never actually played but want to give it a try.

Another audience for this book are those grognards who already own a prized copy of Chainmail but who want a retro-clone of the rules because it is going to be ruined – flicking through it for study; putting it in a backpack and taking it to weekly game night; writing notes and houserules in the margins; spilling coffee or red bull or beer on it; or lending it to others who aren’t careful with their books. When you overuse a digest-sized book that’s printed on cheap paper and saddle stapled together, it falls apart easily. If you’re like this too, then you need multiple copies of this book! One person I’m not writing this for is myself, at least in the sense that I will not profit from it one bit. It’s free and and open source. I will, however, use it to recruit some new players and hopefully help keep this hobby alive! krusader74 May 27, 2016


Contents Grognard

2

Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Victory conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Troop Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3

Point Values

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

Turn Sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5

Terrain

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

Facing and Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Fatigue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

7

Missile Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9

Catapults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

Cannon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

Guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

Melees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

Post-Melee Morale Checks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18

Morale Checks Due to Heavy Losses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

19

Morale Checks Due to Cavalry Charge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Historical Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

Weather . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

22

Sieges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

Mano a Mano

24

Jousting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fantasy Options

27 30

Magic Weapons and Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendices

43 44

1

Grognard C’est lui qui avait appelé ses grenadiers «les grognards»; il leur pinçait l’oreille, il leur tirait la moustache. L’empereur ne faisait que nous faire des niches ; ceci est un mot de l’un d’eux. It was he who called his grenadiers “his grumblers”; he pinched their ears; he pulled their mustaches. “The Emperor did nothing but play pranks on us,” is the remark of one of them. –Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862), Deuxième partie, Livre premier, Chapitre VII, Napoléon de belle humeur (French, English) Grognard is a miniatures wargame for simulating mass combat in a Me-

dieval setting.

2

Equipment • Miniatures: Preferably 30mm figures • Playing area: Ideally a table 8’ long and 4-7’ wide. • Terrain • Six-sided dice • Paper and pencils • Measuring tools: rulers and dividers. A protractor or 45-45-90 triangle

would also be useful.

Scale • For 30mm figures, the ratio of figures to men is 1:20. If a smaller scale

is used, then it should be reduced to 1:10. • The ground scale is 1":10 yards. • One turn of play is roughly equivalent to one minute of time in battle.

Victory conditions Victory conditions must be agreed upon by both players before play begins. Here are a few examples: • When one side is reduced below 50% of its original strength, it loses

the game. • When one side is completely driven off the battlefield, it loses the game. • Assign point values to certain terrain features and troop types. Play for a set number of turns. The side with the greatest number of accumulated points at the end wins the game.

Troop Types There are six basic troop types: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Light Infantry (LI) Medium Infantry (MI) Heavy Infantry (HI) Light Cavalry (LC) Medium Cavalry (MC) Heavy Cavalry (HC)

3

Peasants fight as Light Infantry, except where noted. Elite troops follow special rules wherever noted.

Point Values Equally skilled players should each have an army with equal point values. If a less skilled player plays against a more skilled player, then s/he may receive 50 bonus points of figures to balance the game. Table 1: Point Values for troop types Peasant Light Infantry Medium Infantry Heavy Infantry Light Cavalry Medium Cavalry Heavy Cavalry

1/2 point 1 point 2 points 2 1/2 points 3 points 4 points 5 points

Table 2: Additional weapons costs Arquibus or any crossbow Bombard Bow Heavy Catapult or Cannon Light Catapult or Cannon Longbow or composite bow Magic sword, arrows or armor Pike

1 1/2 points 30 points 3 points 20 points 15 points 4 points 10 points 1 point

Example : Light Infantry (LI) costs 1 point. A bow costs 3 points. Therefore,

an LI bowman costs 4 points, or the same as one Medium Cavalry (MC) figure.

Turn Sequence The Move/Counter Move System 1. Both sides roll 1d6 for initiative. The side with the higher roll has the choice of electing to move first (Move) or last (Counter-move). 4

2. Move: The side that goes first moves its figures, makes any split-move and missile fire, and takes any pass-through fire. 3. Counter-move: The side that goes last moves its figures, makes any split-move and missile fire, and takes any pass-through fire. 4. Artillery fire. 5. Missile fire. 6. Melee. 7. Repeat Steps 1 through 6. Missile fire from split-moving troops takes effect immediately, and the same is true of passthrough fire. All other fire, both artillery and missile, takes effect simultaneously just prior to melee resolution.

The Simultaneous Move System 1. Both sides write orders for each of their units (groups of figures of the same type), including movement direction and facing. 2. Both sides move according to their written orders, making one-half of the move, checking for unordered melee contact due to opponent movement, and conducting split-moves and missile fire and taking any pass-through fire; then the balance of movement is completed as ordered. 3. Artillery fire. 4. Missile fire. 5. Melees. Exact orders for each unit must be given. Cavalry may be given the order to “charge, if charged” (CIC), either in their own behalf or in support of any nearby friendly unit. Such CIC movement begins at the one-half move and is only half of a normal charge.

Morale checks can occur during the fire or melee portions of any turn.

Movement Each troop type may move as shown in the following table:

MOVEMENT (in inches)

MISSILE ROAD MOVE BONUS CHARGE RANGE MOVE

Arquibusiers/ 12 Crossbowmen Catapults/Cannons 6

–

12

18

3

–

*

5

MOVEMENT (in inches) Heavy Cavalry Heavy Crossbowmen Heavy Infantry Light Cavalry Light Infantry/ Archers Longbowmen Medium Cavalry Medium Infantry Wagons

MISSILE ROAD MOVE BONUS CHARGE RANGE MOVE

12 9

3 –

18 9

– 24

6 24 9

– 6 –

6 30 12

– 18** 15

12 18 9 6

– 6 – 6

15 24 12 –

21 15 3*** –

* Refer to the sections on Catapults and cannons below. ** Javelin troops only have a 6" range. *** Troops armed with axes and spears fall into this category.

Terrain Terrain effects movement as noted in the table below: Type

Effect

Ditch, Hill, Rampart

Slows movement 50%, prevents all charge moves, but downward movement is at normal speed. As Ditch, with the additional penalty of preventing the entrance of heavy equipment, catapults, and guns. Require troops to halt before and after crossing and cost an entire move to cross. Prevents all charge moves. 6" to cross and prevent charge moves As Ditch, with the additional penalty of preventing the movement of formed bodies of troops.

Marsh

River

Rough Stream Wooded

6

Facing and Formation Units pay a movement penalty to change their formation. Formation

Penalty

Column – Line Column – Square* Line – Column Line – Square*

1 1 1 2

Move Move Move Moves

* Infantry only Units caught in melee during formation change are considered flanked. Units pay a movement penalty to change their facing. Facing

Angle

Penalty

About Face Left or Right Face Oblique

180° 90° 45°

1 Move 1/2 Move 1/4 Move

Double all penalties for peasants. Halve all penalties for elite infantry and cavalry.

Fatigue Troops must rest after continued activity or else pay a penalty: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Moving 5 consecutive turns. Meleeing 3 consecutive turns. Moving 2 consecutive turns, charging, then meleeing. Moving 1 turn, charging, then meleeing 2 turns.

Elite troops, double above (1. – 4.) numbers for fatigue. Penalty : When any troops fulfill any one of the above conditions they become fatigued– • They attack at the next lower value (medium infantry attacks as light

infantry). • They defend at the next lower value. 7

Figure 1: Facing and Formation

8

• Morale value drops -1 on values and dice rolls. • Movement uphill equals 2 normal moves per uphill move.

Rest : One turn of non-movement fully restores fatigued troops.

Missile Fire For attackers armed with bows and thrown weapons, roll one die. Then cross reference the number firing, the armor class of the defender, and the result of the die on the tables below to determine the total number of hits: Table 7: Missile Fire – Light Armor NUMBER FIRING

TARGET DIE 1-2 3-6

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

0 1 2 3 4 9

1 2 3 4 5

Table 8: Missile Fire – Medium Armor NUMBER FIRING

TARGET DIE 1-3 4-6

1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

0 0 2 2 3

0 1 2 3 3

Table 9: Missile Fire – Heavy Armor NUMBER FIRING

TARGET DIE 1-4 5-6

4-8 9-12 13-16 17-20

0 1 2 3

1 2 3 3

Rate of Fire : Crossbowmen, archers, and longbowmen fire 1x per turn. If archers or longbowmen don’t move and aren’t meleed at the end of a turn they may fire 2x. If crossbowmen, archers and longbowmen moved up to 1/2 of their move they may fire 1x; but if they move > 1/2 of their move, then they may fire once only if they roll higher on a d6 vs their opponent. Heavy crossbowmen fire every other turn. They may move up to 1/2 of their move and still reload or fire, but if they move > 1/2 of their move they must roll higher on a d6 vs their opponent to fire, and no reloading is allowed. They get a +1 to Missile Fire rolls. Split-move and Fire : Cavalry armed with bows are permitted to move up to

1/2 of their move, fire, and then continue to move out the balance of their move. Such Cavalry may be fired upon by opponent missile troops during their firing pause. Pass-through Fire : Stationary missile troops may elect to give pass-through

fire to any enemy units which are within their missile range at the half-move portion of the turn. This includes enemy troops split-moving, passing by, or charging the missile troops.

Arc of Fire : 45 degrees left or right for infantry; 180 degrees left and 45 degrees right for Cavalry. Number of Ranks Permitted to Fire : The first two ranks of missile troops are permitted to fire. Additional ranks of missile troops on significantly 10

higher ground are permitted to fire. Indirect Fire : Archers and longbowmen (but not crossbowmen) may fire over the heads of any intervening troops if they are more than 3" distant. Indirect fire reduces the range of the weapon firing by 1/3. Troops targeted by indirect fire defend at the next higher armor class. Cover reduces the number of hits inflicted by half. Throwing axes, spears and javelins may fire only 1x per turn, they may always fire at enemy troops charging them, and they may not fire indirectly.

Catapults

Catapult Type

Minimum Maximum Range Range

Rate of Fire

Light Catapult

15"

30"

2"

Heavy Catapult

24"

48"

3 1/2"

Hit Area Every other turn Every third turn

Hit Area is a circle of the given diameter. Any figures even partly under the

circular Hit Area are killed. Crew : Full crew for a catapult is 4 men. Catapults with partial crews take

an extra turn to fire for each reduction in manpower. For example, a 1-man crew takes 3 extra turns to fire. Without a crew, the catapult may not fire.

Arc of Fire : 45 degrees left or right. Indirect Fire is permitted without penalty. Cover : Substantial overhead cover negates catapult fire. Game mechanics : The player firing a catapult announces the distance he is

firing and how far left or right the missile is to fall. Over-/Under-Shoot Option : The catapult overshoots (or undershoots) its intended target by d6 - d6 inches.

11

Cannon There are three types of cannon: Cannon

Range

Rate of Fire

Hit Area

Light cannons Heavy cannons Bombards

30" 36" 42"

Every other turn Every third turn Every third turn

N/A N/A 3 1/2"*

* Bombards may optionally be fired as catapults in which case they have a 3 1/2" diameter hit area and are capable of indirect fire. Or they may fire as cannons (see below), in which case, hit area is inapplicable and indirect fire isn’t permitted. Crew : Treat the same as Catapults. Arc of Fire : 45 degrees left or right. Indirect Fire is permitted only for Bombards firing as catapults. Cover : Firing into woods is not permitted. Game mechanics : You will need two types of wooden dowels. One is called

the Deviation Dowel. It is 6" long. It is broken into 1 1/2" segments and labeled with the numbers 1-6 as shown in the accompanying diagram. The second type is called the Bounce/Range Dowel. There is one of these for each type of cannon, as long as the range of the given cannon. These are broken into segments alternately painted black and white. Use the table below for the segment lengths, colors, and diameter; and refer to the accompanying diagram as a guide.

12

Range

White

Black

White

Black

White

Black

Diameter

30" 36" 42"

16" 18" 20"

6" 6" 8"

3" 3" 4"

5" 2" 2"

– 1" 1"

– 6" 7"

5/8" 3/4" 1"

1. The player firing the cannon calls whether he is firing short or long. 2. Take the Bounce/Range Dowel corresponding to the type of cannon being fired. Place the white end at the muzzle and the black end at the target. 3. Place the Deviation Dowel at the black/target end so that the two dowels form a “T”. 4. Roll a d6 called the Deviation Die. 5. Then move the black/target end of the Bounce/Range Dowel to the number on the Deviation Dowel corresponding to the result of the Deviation Die roll. 6. Trees, barricades, and hills stop the flight of the cannon ball. If there are no interposing terrain obstructions, it will fly to its maximum range. 7. The cannon ball will also bounce along its path: If the firing player called “short,” then all figures touched by the white parts of the Bounce/Range Dowel (up to its range) are removed from the game. If the firing player called “long,” then all figures touched by the black parts of the Bounce/Range Dowel (up to its range) are removed from the game.

13

14

Guns Guns ignore the armor class of their target and kill any figure they hit. To determine if a gun hits its target, roll an Accuracy Die and cross-reference the range on the following table: Table 13: Accuracy Die for Guns Range

Score to Hit

12" – 18" 6" – 12" 0" – 6"

5-6 4-6 2-6

Rate of Fire : Guns fire every other turn. They may move up to 1/2 of their

move and still reload or fire, but if they move > 1/2 of their move they must roll higher on a d6 vs their opponent to fire, and no reloading is allowed.

Arc of Fire : 45 degrees left or right for infantry; 180 degrees left and 45 degrees right for Cavalry. Indirect Fire is not permitted. Cover consists of trees, walls, rocks, etc. Depending on the amount of cover,

15

apply a penalty to the Accuracy Die: Amount of cover ≤ >

1 2 1 2

Penalty to apply to Accuracy Die -1 -2

Bonus : Guns that fire while resting on a strong support such as a wall add

+1 to the score rolled on the Accuracy Die.

Melees Melee range : Units within 3" may melee if desired. However, the unit that joins a melee cannot have been moved over one-half of its normal movement or 6" (whichever is higher) during that turn. There are some exceptions where collisions occur even if undesired. For example, Orcs from different tribes will attack each other automatically unless they score 4-6 on an obedience die roll (see the notes on Orcs in the Fantasy Options section below). And knights will charge any enemies within range (preferring enemy knights over light troops and peasants) unless they score a 6 on an obedience die roll (see the notes on knights in the Historical Options section below). Casualties are determined by cross referencing the attacker’s type and the defender’s type on the Mass Combat Table (MCT) below, rolling the indicated number of dice, and checking which dice exceed the target number: Table 15: Mass Combat Table (MCT)

Atk=LI MI HI LC MC HC

Def=LI

MI

1/1 1/1 1/1 2/1 2/1 4/1

1/2 1/1 1/1 2/1 2/1 3/1

(6) (5+) (4+) (5+) (4+) (5+)

HI (6) (6) (5+) (6) (5+) (5+)

1/3 1/2 1/1 1/1 2/1 2/1

LC (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (5+)

1/2 1/2 1/1 1/1 1/1 2/1

MC (6) (6) (6) (6) (5+) (5+)

1/3 1/3 1/2 1/2 1/1 1/1

HC (6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (5+)

1/4 1/4 1/3 1/3 1/1 1/1

(6) (6) (6) (6) (6) (6)

The numbers “X/Y (R)” indicate X dice thrown per attacking Y figures with the R being the target number needed to hit. For example, a Light Infantry (LI) figure attacking another Light Infantry figure gets 1 die with 6 needed to hit. HI attacking HC gets 1 die per 3 figures. Six HI figures attacking one HC would get 2 dice and score a kill if either die rolled a 6; 16

three HI figures would get 1 die; but a single HI figure could not attack an HC figure. This is why you want normal troops to fight as units consisting of lots of figures. Flank attack : Units attacking from the flank attack at the next higher class.

For example, Medium Infantry becomes Heavy Infantry; and Heavy Cavalry gets +1 on each die. Rear attack : Units attacking from the rear receive the same bonus for Flank

Attack, and they cannot be harmed by the units they are attacking. Charge : Charging is permitted only when melee contact will occur sometime

during the turn. When a unit charges, it must move at normal speed on the following turn. Charges must be in a relatively straight line (a curve up to 45 degrees is allowed). Victorious charging units must continue to move out the balance of their charge move, in the direction first indicated, provided they attained victory before melee or during the first round of melee.

Missile troops interspaced with other infantry forming a defensive line may refuse combat and move back 3" out of melee range. However, if the other infantry who are meleed are killed or driven away, the missile troops must fight if the attacker is able to continue his charge move. Resolution : After both sides have rolled the number of dice allotted to them

for their meleeing troops by the Mass Combat Table (MCT), casualties are removed, and morale for both opponents is checked. Number of ranks permitted to melee : Only the front rank may melee. There

are exceptions for weapons with reach: Three to five ranks of pikemen may defend against a charge, but note that pikes cost 1 extra point per figure. Optionally, only Magic Users in the front rank may cast spells. Firing missiles into a melee is not permitted. Excess troops : After the first round of melee, figures unopposed by an enemy

directly in front of them may move at one-half normal to overlap the enemy formation’s flanks and even rear.

Zone of Control (ZOC): 1" radius around each figure. ZOCs have one of three effects on movement in wargames. You should agree on which effect to use before playing: • Elastic ZOC increases the movement cost of an enemy unit (i.e., it

slows the enemy unit’s speed) • Rigid ZOC forces enemy units to stop moving until the next turn • Locking ZOC prevents an enemy unit from voluntarily leaving its position without engaging in melee Disengaging from a melee : Once units are engaged in melee, normal troops

must continue to melee until they are killed, surrender, panic, retreat or are

17

driven back. Optionally, special figures (like Heroes) may withdraw from melee at any time desired, but opponent figures get an additional round of attack wherein the withdrawing figure cannot strike back. This is called an “attack of opportunity.”

Post-Melee Morale Checks For each group of meleeing troops, perform the following computation: 1. The side with the fewest losses determines the difference between their losses and those of the enemy. This number is then multiplied by 1d6 and the product noted. 2. The side with the greatest surviving troops determines the difference between their survivors and those of the enemy. This number is noted. 3. Each side now sums up their surviving figures weighted by the following Morale Factors: Peasants Light Infantry Medium Infantry Elite Medium Infantry

3 4 5 6

Light Cavalry Heavy Infantry Medium Cavalry Heavy Cavalry

6 7 8 9

4. Both sides now total the scores arrived at above (in steps 1. – 3.), and the side with the lower total must immediately react as follows: Difference

Reaction

0 to 19 20 to 39 40 to 59 40 to 79 80 to 99 100 or greater

melee continues back 1/2 move, good order back 1 move, good order retreat 1 move panic 1 1/2 move surrender

Double all totals for melees involving fewer than 20 figures per side. Retreat and Panic : Troops forced back in retreat (or panic), with backs to

the enemy, must remain unmoved on the following turn while they regroup. If they are attacked while regrouping, 1d6 must be rolled to determine if they regroup or continue to retreat (panic). If they fail to regroup when attacked, casualties are suffered by them, while the enemy will take none in return. A score of 1-2 is required to regroup when attacked. 18

Contact with Another Unit : If a retreating (or panicking) unit contacts a formed body of friendly troops, then the retreat (panic) is immediately stopped, but both groups must spend the next turn regrouping and are subject to the rule below regarding continued retreat (or panic). Continued Retreat or Panic : If a retreated (or panicked) unit continues to move, then they must be diced to regroup in later turns. If the required score is not made the unit must immediately be moved again, another turn of movement noted on their records, and they must check again on the following turn. Any unit that retreats (or panics) off the table is removed from the game.

Turn of Retreat (or Panic)

Die Score to Regroup

1 2 3 4

Automatic on next turn, unless attacked 3–6 6 Removed from game

Morale Checks Due to Heavy Losses When losses exceed a certain percentage of a unit’s original total strength, morale for that unit must be checked by rolling 2d6. If the loss is inflicted by missile fire, then the unit must check before melee. If the loss inflicted by melee, then the unit must check morale post melee. If the unit remains stable, it need not check morale again until it suffers losses to the stated percentage of its original strength, but at that time it must be removed from the game.

Table 19: LOSS TABLE Unit Type Light Infantry Medium Infantry Heavy Infantry Light Cavalry Medium Cavalry Heavy Cavalry

Casualty % 25% 33 1/3% 33 1/3% 25% 33 1/3% 50%

Score to Remain 8 7 6 8 7 6

or or or or or or

better better better better better better

Any unit that fails to make the required score to remain in battle is removed from the game immediately unless surrounded. And surrounded units immediately surrender.

19

Morale Checks Due to Cavalry Charge In order to withstand a cavalry charge, the defending unit must pass a morale test. Units that fail to score the required total retreat 1 1/2 moves, backs to the enemy, and must regroup. If both units are charging, then both must check morale, adding 1 to the dice score if Infantry, and 2 to the dice score if Cavalry. Unit: Medium

Heavy

Defending Unit:

Attacking Light

Light Infantry Medium Infantry Heavy Infantry Light Cavalry Medium Cavalry Heavy Cavalry

8 7 6 5 4 3

9 8 7 6 5 4

10 9 8 7 6 5

Troops armed with pikes or pole arms facing the enemy automatically stand any charges.

Units charged in the flank subtract 1 from the dice score; units charged in the rear subtract 2 from the dice score.

Historical Options Players are encouraged to read about Medieval armor, weapons and warfare in the following three free online resources: • Ashdown, Charles Henry. Armour & weapons in the middle ages • Ffoulkes, Charles John. Armour & weapons • Oman, Charles William Chadwick, Sir. The art of war in the Middle

Ages, A.D. 378-1515 Units consist of figures of the same troop type. Historically, “mixed” units didn’t exist. Units that become mixed will need a turn to separate. Knights: Knights charge any enemy within charging distance unless they

score a 6 on an obedience roll. If two different enemy units are within range, they prefer to charge the heavier, mounted, elite types first. Mercenaries: The Byzantine army frequently employed foreign mercenary

troops. These troops mostly supplemented the empire’s regular forces; but sometimes they formed the bulk of the Byzantine army.

20

Problematically, mercenaries sometimes refuse to fight or even change sides. Before each turn, roll a die to see what they do:

Die Score

Result

1 2–5 6

Stand still. Will not move or attack, but will defend themselves if attacked. Obey orders Roll on the next table. . .

Die Score

Result

1

Pay up! Stand, no attacks or moves until you pay them more gold Bribed! Join the enemy and (possibly) attack their former employers Peace out! March off board Yes sir! Obey orders for the next three turns (no die checks required during that time)

2 3 4–6

Once meleeing, no die checks are required until after the melee is concluded. Peasants: Forced into battle unwillingly, peasants are highly unreliable,

and lousy fighters. Peasants fight as Light Infantry except as noted in the rules.

Problematically, peasants often refuse to do anything. To move, roll 2d6 ≥ 7. To attack or defend, roll 2d6. The number rolled must meet or beat the number cross-referenced in the following table: Enemy

To Attack

To Defend

Peasants Light Infantry Medium Infantry Heavy Infantry Light Cavalry Medium Cavalry Heavy Cavalry

4 6 8 9 10 11 12

5 6 7 8 9 10 11

If they fail to attack, then they also will not move. If they fail to defend, then they panic. Religious Knights: These troops never surrender. They receive a +1 on

all morale checks. 21

Weather Weather can be modeled as a Markov chain, i.e., a random process that undergoes transitions from one state to another. The state space for the weather consists of five states: 1. Clear 2. Cloudy 3. Light Rain 4. Heavy Rain: 3 turns of heavy rain causes mud which slows movement by half 5. Excess temperature (heat in the summer or cold in the winter), which doubles fatigue 5 1 1 1 1 The initial distribution is given by the row vector ( 12 , 3 , 12 , 12 , 12 )

Check for a transition every other turn. The transition matrix for this weather process is

   

2

1

3 1 6

6 2 3 1 3 1

0 0 0

3 1 6

0 1 6 1 3 1

0 0 1 3 1

3

3

0

0

1 6

0 0 0 5 6

   

And the state diagram for the weather process is shown below:

22

Sieges Each type of structure has a certain Defense Value, which measures how much damage it can sustain before it’s destroyed: Minimum Defense Value

Maximum Defense Value

Bastions and round towers Curtain walls and stone buildings Cannons and heavy catapults Gatehouses, square towers, and gates

40 25 5 30

60 40 5 45

Light catapults and movable mantlets Ramparts and earth-filled gabions Wooden structures and palisades

3

3

20 5

30 15

Structure

War machines damage structures as follows: Weapon

Damage (in Defense Value)

Bombard Heavy cannon Light cannon and heavy catapult Light catapult Rams, picks, or screws

-6 -4 -3 -2 -2 per turn

Fantastic troop types damage structures as follows: Type Earth Elemental Giant Ogre Treant Troll Wizard

Damage (in Defense Value) -6 -3 -1 -2 -2 -3 (fire ball or lightning bolts)

Additionally, fire-ball throwing Wizards, fire-breathing Dragons, and Fire Elementals can inflame wooden structures.

23

Mano a Mano So, it’s come to this has it? A duel to the death: man to man, mano a mano! Just you, me, and my. . . GUARDS!!!!! –The Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993) “Mano a Mano” is Spanish for “hand-to-hand” (abbreviated HTH or H2H) and denotes unarmed combat, but has come to mean any close quarter combat. In these hand-to-hand combat rules, 1 figure represents 1 man, as opposed to mass combat, where 1 figure represents many men. Some wargames refer to this situation as a “skirmish.” Melee range is 3". Weapon Class : All weapons have a weapon class, numbered 1. – 12., arranged

from shorter, faster weapons to longer, slower weapons: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Dagger Hand Axe Mace Sword Battle Axe Morningstar

7 8 9 10 11 12 24

Flail Spear Polearm (e.g., Halberd) Two-Handed Sword Mounted Lance Pike

Armor Class : All armor has an armor class, numbered 1. – 8., arranged from lightest to heaviest: 1 2 3 4

No armor Leather or padded armor Shield only Leather armor + shield

5 6 7 8

Chain, banded, studded or splint mail Chain etc. + shield Plate armor Plate armor + shield

H2H Table : To determine a hit, cross reference the attacker’s weapon class

with the defender’s armor class on the Hand-to-Hand Combat Table (H2H) at the back of the book to find the target value X. Attacker rolls 2d6 ≥ X to kill. Rounds : Figures that usually attack as more than one man may strike multiple blows. Further, those with shorter, faster weapons may get to parry (see below) and counter attack. To accommodate such an exchange of blows, each turn is sub-divided into rounds. First round initiative goes to the 1. attacker, unless 2. D ≥ A + 2, where A = attacker’s weapon class, and D = defender’s weapon class 3. defender has the higher ground (on horseback, on castle wall, etc.) Second round initiative goes to 1. whoever won the initiative, unless 2. D ≤ A - 2, where A = weapon class of whoever struck first, and D = defender’s weapon class 3. defender has the higher ground (castle wall, etc.) Rear attacks : A figure attacked from the rear cannot attack in the first round, and automatically strikes last in the second round. Flank attacks : A figure attacked from the left flank automatically strikes last in the second round. Cavalry attacking infantry : On the first round, the cavalry figure gets +2 bonus on their H2H roll. On subsequent rolls, +1. Infantry attacking cavalry : Unmounted attackers get a -1 penalty on their H2H rolls against mounted defenders. However, if the unmounted attacker specifies that he is attempting to unhorse (rather than kill) the defender, there is no penalty. In that case, interpret a “kill” as “unhorse.” The defender falls to the ground and must make a saving throw on 1d6 or else he is stunned:

25

Die Score

Turns stunned

1–2 3–5 6

Not stunned 1 turn 3 turns

Remounting requires a half turn, as does voluntary dismounting. Horses versus infantry : On the second round, horses may attack infantry. They fight as Cavalry Type Light Medium Heavy

Number of Attacks

Weapon Class

1 2 2

Mace (3.) Maces (3.) Flails (7.)

Leaders receive a +1 on their rolls. It’s assumed that they have the best armor for their place and time. Parry : Compare the attacker and defender’s weapon classes to see if the defender gets to parry or counter attack. Table 31: Parry Weapon Classes

Parry and counter attack

A+2≤D A-3≤D
Defender not allowed to parry. Defender can parry by giving the attacker -2 on their attack roll. Defender may choose either to attack first or to parry by giving the attacker -2 on their attack roll. If he parries and the attacker equals the dice roll for a kill, then the defender’s weapon is shattered. But if the parry is successful, then the defender gets 1 counter attack. If he chooses to attack first, then he gets two attacks, and the order of attacks is D, A, D. Defender gets the first attack. Defender may parry second (giving the attacker -1 on their attack roll) or attack second. If he parries and the attacker equals the dice roll for a kill, then the defender’s weapon is shattered. If the defender chooses to attack second rather than parry, then he actually gets three attacks, and the order of attacks is D, D, A, D. Exception : Pikes, spears and lances give the attacker the first attack in a charge.

D
26

Jousting Jousts are non-lethal knightly contests. Two knights enter the lists and, separated by a tilt, make an unimpeded charge at one another with the objective of unhorsing the opponent. Each knight must possess a helm, a shield, a lance, and a warhorse to participate. Each knight first chooses an aiming point (AP) then a defensive position (DP). Aiming points : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Helm Dexter Chief Point Honor Point Sinister Point Dexter Flank Nombril Point Sinister Flank Base Point

Consult the following diagram, which shows the aiming points.

27

Defensive Positions : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Lower Helm Lean Right Lean Left Steady Seat Shield High Shield Low

Permitted defensive positions, given aiming point : The choice of aiming point somewhat constrains the choice of defensive position as shown in the following list– 1. Helm : (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low 2. Dexter Chief Point : (3) Lean Left, (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low 28

3. Honor Point : Any 4. Sinister Point : (2) Lean Right, (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low 5. Dexter Flank : (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low 6. Nombril Point : Any 7. Sinister Flank : (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low 8. Base Point : (1) Lower Helm, (4) Steady Seat, (5) Shield High, (6) Shield Low After making these choices, the knights consult the following matrix to decide the outcome. Lookup the alphabetic codes in the Jousting Results table. Sum up all the numeric values that apply to get a score for each knight. Tournament : The knight with the highest score after three tilts wins the tournament. The loser must forfeit his armor and warhorse to the winner. Table 32: Jousting Matrix

AP=1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

DP=1

2

3

4

5

6

M U B/U/I M B B/U M B

M B U M B/U M M M

M M M B M B B/U U

H B B M B B/U M B

U B B/U M M B/U/I M B/U/I

M M U/I U B B M B

Table 33: Jousting Results Result

Meaning

Attacker’s Score

B* H* I M U

Attacker breaks lance Defender loses helm Defender injured Miss Defender unhorsed

-1 3 10 0 20

* If the attacker breaks his lance (B) or the defender loses his helm (H), then he must assume defensive position 4 or 6 on the next tilt.

29

Fantasy Options A la fatigue, pour filer un câble, pour virer un cabestan, Jean Valjean valait quatre hommes. At work, at paying out a cable or winding up a capstan, Jean Valjean was worth four men. –Victor Hugo, Les Misérables (1862), Première partie, Livre deuxième, Chapitre VII, Le dedans du désespoir (French, English)

The preceding rules dealt with normal troop types. Here we describe fantastic troop types–the kind found in fantasy literature, like George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings . To resolve combat between two fantastic figures quickly, use the Fantastic Combat Table (FCT) at the back of the book.

30

Air Elemental

Move Charge Fly Missile

24"

Attack Defend Morale Factor Point Value

4 LC

Special Abilities : • Can only be conjured by Wizards. • Impervious to normal attacks and lightning bolts/electrical attacks. • Add +2 attacking airborne creatures. • Only 1 Air Elemental allowed in the game at once. • Will attack Wizard who conjured it, if the Wizard loses control over

it. Dwarves


6" 9"


MI LI 5 2

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Count only half the kills from trolls, ogres and giants. • Attack goblins on sight. Dragons


9" 15" 24"


4 HC

100

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Detect hidden and invisible creatures up to 15".

31

• Never check morale. Force enemies within 15" to check morale vs

heavy losses. • Impervious to normal melee or missile fire. Heroes can use a bow to kill dragons on a roll of 2d6 ≥ 10, Super Heroes on 2d6 ≥ 8. Add +1 to this roll for a magic bow or arrows. • Dragons breath fire in a cone: 9" long x 15" diameter at the end and 3" diameter at the mouth. This fire kills all but Dragons, Heroes, Super Heroes, Wizards, Fire Elementals and Earth Elementals who make a saving throw on 2d6 ≥ 7. Dragons must land and rest for 1 turn after breathing fire 3 times. Rest means no attacking, defending or moving. Earth Elemental


6"


4 HC

Special Abilities : • Can only be conjured by Wizards. • Impervious to normal attacks and fire. • Add +1 attacking earthbound creatures. • Only 1 Earth Elemental allowed in the game at once. • Will attack Wizard who conjured it, if the Wizard loses control over

it. Elves


12"

18"


MI MI 6 4

Special Abilities : • Invisible until they attack. • May perform split-move and fire despite being infantry (ordinarily,

only cavalry may perform split-move and fire) • Elves unequipped with magic swords or arrows kill an Ogre with 3 hits (it takes normal men 6 hits) on the Mass Combat Table (MCT) 32

• Magic swords* grant Elves 3 extra dice against Goblins, 2 extra dice

against Orcs, and 1 extra dice against others on the Mass Combat Table (MCT) • Magic swords* allow Elves to fight on Fantastic Combat Table (FCT) as shown below (†) • Magic arrows* allow Elves to attack as Heroes on the FCT * Magic swords, arrows and armor each cost an extra 10 in Point Value, and also bestow a +10 bonus to Morale Factor Fire Elemental


12"


4 MC

Special Abilities : • Can only be conjured by Wizards. • Impervious to normal attacks and fire. • Add +2 attacking Dragons and Wizards who cast Fireballs. • Only 1 Fire Elemental allowed in the game at once. • Will attack Wizard who conjured it, if the Wizard loses control over

it. Giant orcs


9" 12" 15"


HI HI 5 2.5

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • -1 Morale Factor in daylight, and -1 penalty to all dice rolls in daylight. Giants

Move Charge

12" 18"

Attack Defend 33

12 MI 12 MI

Fly Missile

20"

Morale Factor Point Value

50

Special Abilities : • Throw boulders 20" • Never check morale Goblins


6" 9"


MI LI 5 1.5

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • -1 Morale Factor in daylight, and -1 penalty to all dice rolls in daylight. • Attack dwarves on sight. Halflings


12" 15" 15"


LI LI 5 0.5

Special Abilities : • Fire stone 15", and 2 halflings = 3 archers. • Hidden until they attack. Hero


12"/18" 15"/24" 18"


34

4 men 4 men 20

Special Abilities : • Never check morale. • Heroes grant their unit +1 to morale rolls. • Normal men must score 4 simultaneous hits to kill a Hero. • A Hero with a bow kills a Dragon on roll of 2d6 ≥ 10 (or 9 with a

magic bow or arrows). Hobgoblins


6" 9"


HI MI 5 2.5

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • -1 Morale Factor in daylight, and -1 penalty to all dice rolls in daylight. • Attack dwarves on sight. Ogre


9" 12"


6 MI 6 MI 8 15

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Takes normal men 6 hits to kill an ogre, elves 3, Heroes 1. Orcs


9" 12" 15"


35

MI MI 5 2

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • -1 Morale Factor in daylight, and -1 penalty to all dice rolls in daylight. • Must score 4-6 on an obedience dice roll to avoid attacking orcs from

another tribe on sight. Pixies


9" 18"


LI LI 3 4

Special Abilities : • Surprise enemy for 1 turn–enemy may not return attack until the next

turn. • Fly 18" per turn, but only for 3 turns. Rocs


48"


4 LC 4 HC 20

Special Abilities : • Detect hidden enemies within 48". • Can transport a man-sized figure 36". • Force enemy to check morale vs heavy losses. Super Hero


12"/18" 15"/24" 21"


36

8 men 8 men 50

Special Abilities : • Never check morale. • A Super Hero grants their unit +1 to morale rolls. • Force enemy troops within charge range to make morale check vs

heavy losses. • Normal men must score 8 simultaneous hits to kill a Super Hero. • A Super Hero with a bow kills a Dragon on roll of 2d6 ≥ 8 (or 7 with a magic bow or arrows). Treants


6" 6"


6 HI 20 15

Special Abilities : • Can make 2 trees within 6" move 3". • Only killed by fire: Super Heroes set a treant on fire on roll of 2d6 ≥

7, Heroes 9, everyone else 10. Trolls


9" 12"


6 men

75

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Cannot be killed by normal men. Use the table below to see if a hit

kills a troll: Attacker

Score on 2d6 required to kill troll

Hero Super Hero Elemental

10-12* 8-12* 6-12 37

Attacker

Score on 2d6 required to kill troll

Giant Magi Ma gicc Wea eapon pon

10-12 8-12 812

* If a Hero or Super Hero uses a magic weapon against a troll, it adds a +2 bonus to the roll. Water Elemental


6"/18"*


4 LC/4HC*

* First number is outside water, second is in water. Special Abilities : • Can only be conjured by Wizards. • Impervious to normal attacks and lightning bolts/electrical attacks. • Must stay within 6" reach of water. • Add +2 attacking within 3" of water. • Only 1 Water Elemental allowed in the game at once. • Will attack Wizard who conjured it, if the Wizard loses control over

it. Werewolf


9"/12" 12"/18"


4 HI 2 MI 20 20

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Double their melee capability within 6" of woods. • Takes 4 simultaneous hits for normal men to kill a werewolf. Magic

weapons kill with 1 hit. Wight

38


99"" 9"


LC HC 10 10

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • -1 Morale Factor in daylight, and -1 penalty to all dice rolls in daylight. • Can’t be harmed by normal missile fire • If a Wight touches a figure, that figure may return the attack for that

round, but it is paralyzed and may not move, attack or defend on the next turn. Wizard


12"/30"

24 24"


2 HI/2 MC 2 HI/2 MC 50 100

Special Abilities : • Never check morale. • Grant +1 to morale checks of nearby friendly units. • Force nearby enemy units to check morale vs heavy losses. • Infravision. • Invisible until they attack. • Fire fireballs or lightning bolts. Choose which one before game starts.

Range is 24". See table below for hit area. These kill normal troops. Other types of troops get to make a 2d6 saving throw–see the table below. • Cas Castt spell pellss. See See belo below w for a spell pell list list.. A Wizar izard’ d’ss spell pell has has an unlimited range. Casting a spell takes 1 turn during which the Wizard may not move, attack or defend. A Wizard can cast 7 spells per day. Weaker Magic-Users may cast the number of spells per day indicated on the table below. • Counter spells. An Magic-User can counter the spell of an opposing Magic-User of equal strength or weaker on a roll of 2d6 ≥ 7. He can counter the spell of a stronger Magic-User on a roll of 2d6 + (Die

39

Modifier) ≥ 7. The Die Modifier of a Wizard is 0. The Die Modifier of weaker Magic-Users is indicated on the table below.

Type

Hit Area

Fireball Ligh Li ghtn tnin ing g bolt bolt

3 1/2" diameter 3/4" 3/ 4" wide wide x 6" 6" lon longg

Table 59: Saving throw vs Fireball or Lightning bolt Troo oop p type

Saving Throw

Result

Normal man Hero

Any 9-12 2-8 6-12 2-5 7-12 2-6 1-4 5-8 9-12 Any Any Any Any Any

Kill No effect Kill No effect Kill No effect Kill Panic – move off board Back 1 move No effect Back 1 move Fire drives back 1 move, Lightning no effect Lightning drives back 1 move, fire no effect Lightning drives back 1 move, fire no effect Fire drives back 1 move, lightning no effect

Super Hero Wraith Giant

Dragon Air Earth Fire Water Spell list :

• Conceal: Make a unit or a monster hidden until they attack. DV: 3. • Confuse: Reverse the move of up to 20 figures. DV: 4. • Conjure: Conjure: Summon Summon an Elemen Elemental tal (Air, (Air, Earth, Earth, Fire or Water). ater). The

Wizard controls the Elemental until he is attacked, at which point the Elemental will attack the Wizard. Must be dispelled by a Wizard or killed in combat. There can only be at most 1 elemental of any given type at any point in the game. DV: 5. • Darkn Darknes ess: s: Takes akes 3 turns turns to tak take comp comple lete te effec effect. t. Last Lastss unti untill the the Wizard is attacked or cancels the spell. DV: 1. • Detect: Detects hidden or invisible foes or the use of magic by enemy Wizards. DV: 2. • Gas attack: Create a cloud of poison gas 3" wide by 6" long by 6" tall that moves away from Wizard at 6" per turn. It kills all who contact

40

it. The Wizard may control its motion until attacked at which point it moves at random. DV: 5. • Haste: Cause up to 20 figures to move at 1.5 speed for 3 turns. DV: 3. • Illusion: Make false woods, hills, etc. until they are contacted by a unit. DV: 4. • Levitate: Rise straight up 6" for 6 turns. Lateral motion not possible. DV: 2. • Light: Effects 24" radius centered on the Wizard. Takes effect immediately. Dispells Darkness in that area. DV: 1. • Moving Terrain: Shift hills, woods, etc. DV: 6. • Phantasm: Create the illusion of a unit for 4 turns or until destroyed, whichever happens first. DV: 2. • Polymorph: Wizard changes himself into any shape until he is killed, cancels the spell himself, or it is dispelled by an enemy Wizard. DV: 4. • Protection from evil: 12" diameter circle that keeps out all evil men and monsters. DV: 3. • Protection from magic: Create a 5" radius bubble that prevents all magic from entering or exiting. DV: 6. • Slow: Cause up to 20 figures to move at half speed for 2 turns. DV: 3. It is possible to use Magic-Users who are less powerful than Wizards. Refer to the following table:

Table 60: Less-powerful Magic-Users Die Modifier

Spell Range

Spells Per Day

Morale Rating

Point Value

Wizard

0

Unlimited

7

50

100

Sorcerer

-1

60"

5

40

90

Warlock

-2

48"

4

30

80

Magician

-3

36"

3

25

70

Seer

-4

24"

1

20

50

Level

Optionally, some spells are harder to cast than others. And it’s easier for some Magic-Users to cast spells than others. To implement this idea, each spell has a Difficulty Value (DV) in the range 1 – 6. More difficult spells have a higher DV. Also, Magic-Users have a Die Modifier that ranges from 0 to -4, indicating it’s easier for Wizards to cast spells than Seers. To see if 41

a Magic-User casts his spell successfully, first compute the Target Number (TN) as follows: TN = 3 + (Spell’s Difficulty Value) - (Magic-User’s Die Modifier) For example, for a Seer to cast a spell like Darkness with a Difficulty Value of 1, the Target Number is 3 + 1 - (-4) = 8. For a Sorcerer to cast a spell like Confuse with a DV of 4, the TN = 3 + 4 - (-1) = 8. Second, roll 2d6 and compare the outcome to the Target Number using the following table:

Table 61: Spell Difficulty 2d6 ≥ TN TN - 3 < 2d6 < TN 2d6 ≤ TN - 3

Spell takes effect immediately Spell delayed 1 turn Spell negated

Continuing the last example, if the Sorcerer rolls 2d6 and the outcome is 8 or higher, then the spell works immediately. If the roll is 6 or 7, then the spell is delayed 1 turn. But if the roll is 5 or less, then the spell simply doesn’t work! Negated spells still count against the number of spells that the Magic-User is allowed to cast per day. So if a Seer tries to cast a difficult spell and it’s negated, then he loses his one and only spell for the day. Wraith


18" 24" 36"


2 HI/2 MC 2 HI/2 MC 10 10

Special Abilities : • Infravision. • Grant +1 to morale checks of nearby friendly units. • Force nearby enemy units to check morale vs heavy losses. • Paralyze anyone they touch; victim remains paralyzed until touched

by friendly Elf, Hero, Super Hero or Wizard.

42

Magic Weapons and Armor Magic Swords : • Cast a sphere of light measuring 6" radius • Add +1 to most dice rolls on the FCT • Add +2 to dice roll against Trolls by Elementals, Giants, Heroes, and

Super Heroes on the FCT • Allow non-fantastic attackers to kill a Troll on a roll of 2d6 > 7 • Grant Elves 3 extra dice against Goblins, 2 extra dice against Orcs, and 1 extra dice against others on the Mass Combat Table (MCT) • Allow Elves to fight on Fantastic Combat Table (FCT) as shown below (†) • Cost 10 extra in Point Value, and bestow +10 bonus to Morale Factor Magic Arrows : • Always hit non-fantastic defenders • Allow fantastic attackers to use FCT instead of the Missile Fire tables • Allow Elves to attack as Heroes on the FCT • Cost 10 extra in Point Value, and bestow +10 bonus to Morale Factor

Margic Armor : • -1 penalty on FCT • -3 penalty on Hand-to-Hand Combat Table (H2H) • Cost 10 extra in Point Value, and bestow +10 bonus to Morale Factor

43

Appendices • The Hand-to-Hand Combat Table (H2H) • The Man-to-man missile fire table • The Fantastic Combat Table (FCT)

44

Table 1: Hand-to-Hand Combat Table (H2H)

Attacker’s Weapon

Defender: 1. 2. None Leather

3. Shield

4. Leather + Shield

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Dagger Hd Ax* Mace Sword Btl Ax M Star Flail Spear Polearm

6 7 8 7 8 6 7 8 6

7 7 8 8 8 6 7 8 6

8 8 8 8 8 7 7 9 6

9. Halbard

8

8

10. 2Hnd Swd 11. Lance 12. Pike

6 5 8

7. Plate

8. Plate + Shield

Horse: No Armor

Barded

5. Chain

6. Chain + Shield

8 9 9 9 8 7 7 9 7

9 10 8 8 7 6 6 10 7

10 10 8 9 7 7 7 10 8

12* 11 7 10* 9 8 6 11* 9*

12* 12 8 11* 10 8 7 12* 10*

8 9 10 8 7 8 6 7 6

10 11 12 10 9 8 8 9 8

8

7

6

6

7

8

7

9

6

6

6

5

5

6

7

6

8

5 8

5 8

5 8

6 8

7 8

8 9

9 10

5 5

7 7

* If the defender is dismounted and stunned, then a dice roll of 7 or better kills.

Table 2: Man-to-man missile fire

4. Lthr 5. +Shield Chain

6. Chain + Shield

8. Plate + Shield

Weapon

Defender: 2. 3. Leather Shield 1. None

15"

Short Bow

6-7-8

6-7-8

6-7-8

7-8-9

8-9-10

9-10-11

11-12N

12-NN

10-12N

12-N-N

18"

Horse Bow

5-6-7

5-6-8

5-6-8

6-7-8

8-9-10

9-10-11

11-12N

12-NN

9-10-11

12-N-N

18"

Light crossbow

5-6-7

5-7-8

5-7-8

6-7-9

8-9-10

10-11N

11-12N

12-NN

9-10-N

12-N-N

21"

Longbow

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-8

6-7-9

8-9-10

9-11N

11-12N

7-9-12

9-11-N

24"

Composite

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-7-8

6-8-10

8-10-11

9-12N

11-NN

7-10-12

10-12-N

24"

Heavy crossbow

4-5-6

4-6-7

4-6-8

5-7-8

6-8-9

7-9-10

8-1011

10-1112

7-9-12

9-11-N

Horse: No armor

Armor (barded)

6-9-11

8-10-12

Range

Weapon


Arquebus

5-6-8

Range

18"

5-6-8

5-6-8

7. Plate


6. Chain + Shield

7. Plate

5-6-8

6-8-9

7-9-10

5-6-8

8. Plate + Shield 8-1012

Horse: No armor

Armor (barded)

Table 2: Man-to-man missile fire


6. Chain + Shield

8. Plate + Shield

Weapon


15"

Short Bow

6-7-8

6-7-8

6-7-8

7-8-9

8-9-10

9-10-11

11-12N

12-NN

10-12N

12-N-N

18"

Horse Bow

5-6-7

5-6-8

5-6-8

6-7-8

8-9-10

9-10-11

11-12N

12-NN

9-10-11

12-N-N

18"

Light crossbow

5-6-7

5-7-8

5-7-8

6-7-9

8-9-10

10-11N

11-12N

12-NN

9-10-N

12-N-N

21"

Longbow

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-8

6-7-9

8-9-10

9-11N

11-12N

7-9-12

9-11-N

24"

Composite

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-6-7

5-7-8

6-8-10

8-10-11

9-12N

11-NN

7-10-12

10-12-N

24"

Heavy crossbow

4-5-6

4-6-7

4-6-8

5-7-8

6-8-9

7-9-10

8-1011

10-1112

7-9-12

9-11-N

Horse: No armor

Armor (barded)

6-9-11

8-10-12

Range

Weapon


Arquebus

5-6-8

Range

18"

5-6-8

5-6-8

7. Plate


6. Chain + Shield

7. Plate

5-6-8

6-8-9

7-9-10

5-6-8


Horse: No armor

Armor (barded)

* Ranges are for maximum range. Ranges are divided in thirds, so a Composite Bow’s close range is 1–8", medium range 9–16", and maximum range 17–24". Read table entries “X-Y-Z” as follows: X is the “to hit” roll for close range, Y for medium range, Z for maximum range. So, to hit at close range, roll 2d6 ≥ X. But “N” means “inability to kill.” Cover subtracts from dice rolls.

Table 1: Fantastic Combat Table (FCT)

Attacker

Defender: Dragon Element Giant Hero

Ogre

Super Hero Treant Troll

WereWolf Wight Wizard Wraith

2 2

10 8

7 10

6

10

8

Roc Dragon 8 Elemental 10

10 11

9 9

5 4

5 7

8 7

8 7

6 7

5

4 4

Elves†

–

10

9

7

–

11

–

7

9

–

‡

Weapon


Arquebus

5-6-8

Range

18"

5-6-8

5-6-8


6. Chain + Shield

7. Plate

5-6-8

6-8-9

7-9-10

5-6-8


Horse: No armor

Armor (barded)

6-9-11

8-10-12

* Ranges are for maximum range. Ranges are divided in thirds, so a Composite Bow’s close range is 1–8", medium range 9–16", and maximum range 17–24". Read table entries “X-Y-Z” as follows: X is the “to hit” roll for close range, Y for medium range, Z for maximum range. So, to hit at close range, roll 2d6 ≥ X. But “N” means “inability to kill.” Cover subtracts from dice rolls.


Attacker


Ogre



4 4

2 2

10 8

7 10

9 5 8 8 6 6

6 4 6 10 5 4

10 10 11 11 10 9

8 10 11 12 9 8


10 11

9 9

5 4

5 7

8 7

8 7

6 7

Elves† Giant Hero* Ogre Roc Super Hero* Treant Troll Werewolf

– 9 12 12 12 10

– 10 10 11 12 8

10 9 11 9 10 9

9 6 7 8 5 5

7 6 9 7 6 5

– 7 10 9 9 8

11 9 10 11 8 8

– 7 12 10 9 11

7 9 9

12 9 12

12 10 12

8 9 10

4 6 7

7 6 8

11 7 10

7 9 10

7 7 12

‡ ‡ ‡

4 5 9

3 4 6

10 10 10

10 10 12

Wight 12 Wizard*# 9

12 6

11 11

9 8

9 8

11 9

12 10

12 10

‡ ‡

8 7

8 6

10 10

7 5

Wraith*

7

12

8

9

10

10

12

‡

9

11

12

7

12

‡

5

‡ ‡

7

* May withdraw from combat if opponents dice roll shows no effect. # Note that less-powerful Magic-Users must apply their Die Modifier to their 2d6 dice roll. † Use this row for Elves attacking with magic swords only! Elves armed with magic arrows attack as Heroes. There is no

column (Defender) for Elves, because they always defend as Medium Infantry (MI) on the Mass Combat Table (MCT). ‡ Trolls can only be killed by Elementals, Giants, Heroes, and Super Heroes. However, other figures armed with a magic

sword can kill a Troll on a roll of 2d6 > 7. Instructions :

Cross reference the attacker’s row with the defender’s column to find the target value, X. Then compare a 2d6 dice roll to X as follows–


Attacker


Ogre



4 4

2 2

10 8

7 10

9 5 8 8 6 6

6 4 6 10 5 4

10 10 11 11 10 9

8 10 11 12 9 8


10 11

9 9

5 4

5 7

8 7

8 7

6 7

Elves† Giant Hero* Ogre Roc Super Hero* Treant Troll Werewolf

– 9 12 12 12 10

– 10 10 11 12 8

10 9 11 9 10 9

9 6 7 8 5 5

7 6 9 7 6 5

– 7 10 9 9 8

11 9 10 11 8 8

– 7 12 10 9 11

7 9 9

12 9 12

12 10 12

8 9 10

4 6 7

7 6 8

11 7 10

7 9 10

7 7 12

‡ ‡ ‡

4 5 9

3 4 6

10 10 10

10 10 12

Wight 12 Wizard*# 9

12 6

11 11

9 8

9 8

11 9

12 10

12 10

‡ ‡

8 7

8 6

10 10

7 5

Wraith*

7

12

8

9

10

10

12

‡

9

11

12

7

12

‡

5

‡ ‡

7




Cross reference the attacker’s row with the defender’s column to find the target value, X. Then compare a 2d6 dice roll to X as follows– • 2d6 < X means no effect • 2d6 = X means that the defender must fall back 1 move • 2d6 > X means that the defender is killed





Cross reference the attacker’s row with the defender’s column to find the target value, X. Then compare a 2d6 dice roll to X as follows– • 2d6 < X means no effect • 2d6 = X means that the defender must fall back 1 move • 2d6 > X means that the defender is killed




Grognard

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