What was the last rules set you played 2019

Started by Duke Speedy of Leighton, 01 January 2019, 08:19:59 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

FierceKitty

21 October 2019, 11:22:57 AM #330 Last Edit: 21 October 2019, 11:29:36 AM by FierceKitty
1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? – Ten More Sons!
2) What armies were fighting? - Late 15th century Italians and French
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? – Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? – Not a bit of it
5) How many players were in the game? – two
6) What went well? – Lucky shot by a Stradiot took out the French second-in-command just before a critical cavalry melee.
7) What could have been improved? - French artillery took a heavy toll of my Milanese centre, despite the rain. Venetian cavalry had trouble with the mud (but, to be fair, so did the French).
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

Last Hussar

I've found the rule that says half gunnery at half ship points.
Need to play again now! Not sure if its adequate, also need to try my idea.
I have neither the time or the crayons to explain why you are wrong.

GNU PTerry

steve_holmes_11

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? – Dragon Rampant
2) What armies were fighting? - 16th Century Portuguese navigators against Somalis.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? – Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? – No, I think it was game number 3 (or perhaps 2)
5) How many players were in the game? – two
6) What went well? – Generally remembered all the rules since our last game.
7) What could have been improved? - I forgot the winning conditions (of my own devising), which led to a protracted endgame.

Westmarcher (of this forum) and I played the second game of a linked mini-campaign of three battles.

Vasco Mourinho "The Goader of Goa" led his raiding party inland intent on looting the nearby Somali Town.
Al Masudi, the son of the Emir gathered a force of his own, determied that the invaders would return empty handed (or better still, not return at all).

The Portuguese had 2 companies of shot, one of offensive minded close fighters, a party of Chinese allies and their secret weapon, Adamastor - the exiled titan of the cape.

The Somalis had a scouting band of slingers, trained archers, the Emir's son led a fine cavalry unit.
He placed his faith in 2 warbands of fierce Hadendoa warriors, and Kardakaan - a legendary mutant rhinocerous that the locals venerated as the "righter of wrongs".

Both sides manoeuvred cautiously to begin.
The Portuguese trying to maintain order in their ranks.
The Somalis aimed to skirmish with their slingers, archers and cavalry before unleashing the more impetuous Hadendoa and Kardakaan.

The Portuguese drew first blood when the Emir's son inadvertently led his cavalry into range of the Portuguese shot.
Panic pinned the noble riders there for the duration of several volleys, after which they were a spent force for further combat.

Amid desultory fire, the Somalis responded with charges that routed one unit of enemy shot, and saw the Chinese allies heading back to the shoreline.
The other Portuguese shot quickly dispatched one Hadendoa warband as they attempted to regroup.

Then the Portuguese unleashed Adamastor who bounded from a patch of forest.
Both sides paused to draw breath as Kardakaan launched a wild charge at him; Titan and Legendary Rhino were set to duel to the death.
Victory went to the Titan, causing something of a wobble to Somali Morale.

Some skirmishing followed until the Portuguese were able to trap Al Masudi and his surviving bodyguard, and win the battle.


In the third and final act, Vasco Mourinho will attempt to lead his loot laden troops back to their ships.


Many Thanks to Westmarcher for attending, for humouring my vision of a fantasy age of exploration, and congratulations on his victory.

Steve J


paulr

Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

FierceKitty

Quote from: steve_holmes_11 on 23 October 2019, 08:02:51 PM
1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? – Dragon Rampant
2) What armies were fighting? - 16th Century Portuguese navigators against Somalis.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? – Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? – No, I think it was game number 3 (or perhaps 2)
5) How many players were in the game? – two
6) What went well? – Generally remembered all the rules since our last game.
7) What could have been improved? - I forgot the winning conditions (of my own devising), which led to a protracted endgame.

Westmarcher (of this forum) and I played the second game of a linked mini-campaign of three battles.

Vasco Mourinho "The Goader of Goa" led his raiding party inland intent on looting the nearby Somali Town.
Al Masudi, the son of the Emir gathered a force of his own, determied that the invaders would return empty handed (or better still, not return at all).

The Portuguese had 2 companies of shot, one of offensive minded close fighters, a party of Chinese allies and their secret weapon, Adamastor - the exiled titan of the cape.

The Somalis had a scouting band of slingers, trained archers, the Emir's son led a fine cavalry unit.
He placed his faith in 2 warbands of fierce Hadendoa warriors, and Kardakaan - a legendary mutant rhinocerous that the locals venerated as the "righter of wrongs".

Both sides manoeuvred cautiously to begin.
The Portuguese trying to maintain order in their ranks.
The Somalis aimed to skirmish with their slingers, archers and cavalry before unleashing the more impetuous Hadendoa and Kardakaan.

The Portuguese drew first blood when the Emir's son inadvertently led his cavalry into range of the Portuguese shot.
Panic pinned the noble riders there for the duration of several volleys, after which they were a spent force for further combat.

Amid desultory fire, the Somalis responded with charges that routed one unit of enemy shot, and saw the Chinese allies heading back to the shoreline.
The other Portuguese shot quickly dispatched one Hadendoa warband as they attempted to regroup.

Then the Portuguese unleashed Adamastor who bounded from a patch of forest.
Both sides paused to draw breath as Kardakaan launched a wild charge at him; Titan and Legendary Rhino were set to duel to the death.
Victory went to the Titan, causing something of a wobble to Somali Morale.

Some skirmishing followed until the Portuguese were able to trap Al Masudi and his surviving bodyguard, and win the battle.


In the third and final act, Vasco Mourinho will attempt to lead his loot laden troops back to their ships.


Many Thanks to Westmarcher for attending, for humouring my vision of a fantasy age of exploration, and congratulations on his victory.

Pictures of the real troops, please. This sounds worth seeing.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.

steve_holmes_11

24 October 2019, 12:33:37 PM #337 Last Edit: 24 October 2019, 12:42:35 PM by steve_holmes_11
Quote from: FierceKitty on 24 October 2019, 07:03:41 AM
Pictures of the real troops, please. This sounds worth seeing.

I've struggled to post photographs here in the past, so may request some help form the camera-tech savvy posters.
I've also been heavily focused on painting to complete another large contingent.

Noted: I ought to break out the troops for a photo parade.

Perhaps I'll open a new thread where I outline the campaign background, with a photo-call for some of the contingents.


I'll close by saying that Dragon Rampant provides a fast moving battle for small contingents.
It has the sort of command/movement randomness that create heated debate on TMP (for example the endless debate about Bolt Action Vs Chain of Command).

I enjoy the fact that initial plans cannot be relied on to succeed or fail absolutely.
The troops aren't wholly obedient, but there is scope to adjust a plan in the light of enemy action or personal misfortune.
Most of all, the rules are fairly simple and consistent, meaning that duffers like myself can play at a steady rate, finish a game in under 2 hours, and not develop a frontal lobe headache in the process.

The rules are a straight life of the Medieval set, Lion Rampant, with added fantastic and magical elements.
I've exploited these to tack a couple of extra centuries onto the timeline, using the "Sufficiently advanced technology looks like magic" approach.



Westmarcher

Good write up, Steve. It's just as well Jason and the Argonuats had yet to be released and translated into Somali, otherwise one of your intrepid Hadendoa might have had the idea of unscrewing that valve in my Titan's ankle ....   :P

Thanks again for hosting an enjoyable afternoon.
I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

steve_holmes_11

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? – Dragon Rampant
2) What armies were fighting? - 16th Century Portuguese navigators against Somalis.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? – Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? – No, I think it was game number 4.
5) How many players were in the game? – two
6) What went well? – Generally remembered all the rules since our last game.
7) What could have been improved? - I probably missed the odd event to trigger army wide morale tests - but we are getting better at this stuff.

Game 3 of the mini campaign featuring Westmarcher (of this forum) as navigator Vasco Mourinho - the goader of Goa.

In our last adventure, Vasco's forces had defeated the Somali field army, led by emir's son Al Masudi.
The Portuguese raiders failed to capture the town with its immense wealth, but had seized some loot.

In today's game, the raiders were following a river leading back to the coast and their ships.
Some of the banks were swampy, otherwise the river banks were clear for an approximate musket range beyond which stood clumps of woodland.

The Portuguese had 2 units of heavy fighters, 2 of shot, 2 of arquebus scouts and a unit of undead in tow.
The undead bore a startling resemblance to Egyptian mummies.
Al Masudi entered on a flank through the woods.
He brought 2 units of close fighters (lacking armour of their Portuguese enemies), 2 units of slinger scouts, a warband of impetuous Hadendoa warriors and the mythical reaper figure Huur.
Huur bore a close resemblance to an Egyptian jackal god, and being over twice the size of a man caused fear in his enemies.

The Portuguese advanced their heavy units down the riverside plain, with the close fighters in front and shooters behind.
Their scouts and undead worked their way through the forest, the terrain better suiting their abilities.
The Somalis pivoted to oppose them, one unit of close fighters guarding the the forest flank, the remainder aiming for the plains to block a Portuguese march down the river.

After some posturing, the undead crept within charge range of the Somali close fighters, who caused a chunk of losses, drove them back, but failed to break them.
The Somalis won a second melee round, but their courage failed and they fled the table.
An unexpected win for the undead, who both leaders wegarded as little more than a speed-bump.
This caused the Somalis to divert Huur back into the woods to prevent a simple "home run", his presence was missed during the fight on the plains.

The heavy Portuguese column continued down the river bank with their loot while the Somali close fighters deployed on the plain, their scouts taking pot-shots from forest edge.
The Portuguese fancied their chances in a firefight with 4 shooting units against 2 relatively brittle scout units.
A lengthy sequence of abysmal dice saw the Portuguese fail to shoot for 4 or 5 turns while the Somali scouts produced a niggling stream of casualties to their lead units.

By the time this abysmal run of luck ended, their leading close fighters were badly depleted.
They charged the Somali close fighters - hoping their superior armour would decide the fight, but failed their morale check, fleeing back into sling range of the Somali scouts., and inevitable destruction.

Mourinho manoeuvered his shot units into effective range and drove off the Somali scouts and Al Masudi's close fighters unit, but not before his other close fighting unit had suffered more slinghots.
This left the Hadendoa facing 2 units of musketeers, awaiting a deadly volley, but the Portuguese misfired once again.
Seizing the initiative Hadendoa's wild charge slammed into one unit of shooters, who drove them off with sword and clubbed musket.
This was perhaps the third time when a vastly superior group broke while the odds were all in their favour.

The route to the coast was now open, the 2 surviving units of shot marched to their ships carrying their loot.
Back in the forest, the rump of the Somali scouts wiped out the undead with some accurate shooting, while the surviving Portuguese scout evaded Huur the Reaper and straggled into the Portuguese camp an hour behind the main force.


The Portuguese sailed for Goa with enough loot to satisfy their sponsors, and few enough survivors, that each soldier would enjoy an enhanced share.
In strict terms, the Portuguese gained 5 points for bringing 3 units and 2 loot home,while the  Portuguese gained 4 for each routed enemy unit.
The Somalis also completed a 2 point quest  "Smite their champions" by destroying the most expensive enemy unit.

This yields a marginal campaign victory to the Somalis (12 glory points to 11), though it's difficult to portray such a close and attritional fight as a clear victory for either side.


Points of note from today's battle.

1. A long sequence of poor activation rolls for the Portuguese saw them pinned, while Somali skirmishers caused a steady stream of casualties, and the heavier units established a defence in depth.
2. The three biggest close combat were won by the underdog after the favourites suffered poor morale results.
3. Scouts, in favourable terrain and facing heavy (ie slow) enemies can really turn the fate of a battle.


I'm off to revise the 3 battle mini-campaign, and hope to provide a few photographs of the figures involved.
Perhaps the Indonesians and Ming Chinese will get involved in later campaigns.



Duke Speedy of Leighton

You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

paulr

Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!
2023 Painting Competition - Runner-Up!

steve_holmes_11

Quote from: mad lemmey on 30 October 2019, 08:10:39 PM
Sounds great

Lots of fun and great company.

The Dragon Rampant rules provide a quick moving small encounter, forces usually fielding between 4 and 7 units or 6 or 12 figures each.
Some of the magic units and heroes have far fewer figures.

The "roll to activate" mechanism divides opinion on other gaming forums - Since the days of Warmaster, some love it and some hate it.
It does serve to prevent a larger or heavier force form steamrolling their opponents.
In a marching encounter, like the one described above, it also makes the precise meeting point of the armies far less predictable.
This increases the importance of having a contingency plan, and sufficient reserves to carry it out.


kustenjaeger

Greetings

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Tripods and Triplanes
2) What armies were confronted? - 1/144 Martian tripod vs Entente air forces 1918
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Not yet
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - yes.
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo
6) What went well? - Two test games of the basic scenario resulted in a win for each side.
7) What could have been improved? - Remembering to put on the recovery tokens and remove them at the right time (needed to represent the recharge times of Marian weapons).

The basic scenario features the material from the basic boxed starter set - a Nieuport N.16 (not using rockets in this scenario) vs a Mk 1 tripod - the promise is that the biplane has to get a photo of the tripod from close range and escape with this intelligence off its own table edge without being fried by the heat ray or eaten away by the black smoke cloud that the tripod can deploy.

In game 1 the Nieuport escaped having suffered 6 of 10 damage. In game 2 the Nieuport was forced off the table (and therefore losing) by suffering rudder damage having lost 9 of its 10 damage points. I played on as if it had managed to get back on the playing surface and it was promptly shot down by the waiting tripod.

Regards

Edward

FierceKitty

04 November 2019, 12:52:32 AM #344 Last Edit: 04 November 2019, 12:54:50 AM by FierceKitty
1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? – Alamein to Zem Zem
2) What armies were fighting? - Krauts and Commonwealth
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? – Reasonably. Don't play moderns frequently, so needed to look things up too often. Would that the opps would read the rules!
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? – Not a bit of it
5) How many players were in the game? – two
6) What went well? – Lucky shot by a 25 pdr took Rommel out, scout car got right around the side of an unheeding Tiger and shot it up, and one anti-tank gun crew once took the trouble to aim.
7) What could have been improved? - My air support were wasted points on the whole, I rolled very poorly for most order transmission and shooting (when I could shoot at all), and I lost most of my armour and the 32nd Melbourne. Lucky to get a draw.

Lee wasn't playing this time.
I don't drink coffee to wake up. I wake up to drink coffee.