At least when we derail it is to take the piss out of FSN!
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=366019 (http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=366019)
Does any one here have suggestions on pre battle manouever? Please no comically missing the point.
But why not use the real map :-\
;D ;D ;D
Actually a sensible system with an interesting goal. I would suggest making some tiles objectives and allowing units to withdraw but only if the enemy is more than, say, 3 tiles away
But I have promises to keep,
And tiles to go before I sleep.
And tiles to go before I sleep.
TMP closed for maintenance, hopeless DB he has.
Er, not knowing more, can you crib owt from Peter Pig? They always have interesting pre-battle games, sometimes big enough to overshadow the actual game itself...
Edit: Good grief, they really did seem to miss the point. Except Martin Rapier, but then he's always good :D
Conclusion - Great War Ace is thick and may best be advised to go for a less cerebral hobby.
Have you looked at "the perfect captain" he has a campaign map system you can use for randomly generating terrain etc..
http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/bfinder.html
Not sure this helps?
I used a similar system a while back but using playing cards with sticky labels applied as the terrain tiles. Each card had a heading and notes on the terrain. They were laid out 6 cards wide by 8 cards deep.
E.G.: LIGHT WOODLAND - 6 Woods , 0-1 stream, 2 Gentle Hills, 0-1 BUA
Each player had two VP markers (representing valuable settlements) to be placed anywhere in their half of the set-up. VPs were scored depending on placement. Friendly markers were worth 1 VP per card row, starting with the players own edge, if held at the end of the game. Enemy VPs were worth 1 VP per card row, starting at the mid-line.
Taking a VP token was done by remaining stationary and rolling 1D6, needing a 6 on the 1st attempt, 5 or 6 on the second, and so on.
These VPs were added to scores for the accompanying battle(s).
Cards were face down until entered but once revealed both players could see what was there - too much hassle to have two sets and an umpire to have proper hidden movement for us.
Each player had a deck of 10 cards - 8 movement direction and two "No Movement."
Cautious/ Incompetent leaders played a card this turn for next turn, then revealed the card played last time. Meaning if they wanted to head in a particular direction every second card had to be a No Movement card.
If players were on adjacent cards the player with the lower scouting value revealed a card and the other player then chose and revealed theirs.
If one player stayed still and the other moved on to the same card the static army set up terrain, otherwise terrain was placed alternately until all terrain was placed or neither side wanted to place an optional item.
The card orientation and table set up were the same so you might find one player entering on a long edge and the other on a short one or both entering on short edges, rather than our normal deployment on long edges.
I have the Battlefinder cards, and have used them in a couple of ways. One I used the 6 x 6 grid they supply for ACW, with preplotting of moves, and once for a Roses campaign. There was a linear 'map' of 6 spaces. Each space had 4 cards assigned, and a maximum number of points for Warmaster. Each area had a lord, who could have a retinue up to the maximum for that area, plus a total (which was less than total of the 6 areas).
We drew a battlefield from the deck, and moved the lords to that area. Every space they moved on the linear map there was a chance of a special event on their retinue.
For this system I want a quick method to move the armies, giving the attacker a chance to outmanoeuvre the defender
For the Strategic maps I want to use these rather fine point-to-point maps
http://www.murat.ca/maps.htm (http://www.murat.ca/maps.htm)
Look at the Britain/England map and look at Aylesbury (N-W of London). For that I would go 5 parts plain, 2 parts hill, 1 Part wooded hill, 2 part wood, plus 1-2 towns. By 'part' I mean roughly equal handfuls of 7-10 tiles, plus a town. For St Albans (at "12 o'clock" from London) I'd add more towns because there are 4 major roads going in, where Aylesbury has only minor roads. Then lay the tiles out - I do the Rivers first, then roads, then fill in the gaps. To do the roads I pick spaces on the edge and put a road tile in. I then draw a terrain tile for the next space. If it is 'open grass' place a road tile of choice, if it is hill/wood then place it, with a thin strip road on it to show terrain with gap/road (for artillery) - the players may have to fudge roads to make them join up. Towns count a crossroads, but don't need to have an exit from each side.
The counters are on 4 pages of A4 if anyone wants them.
You could turn them all face down then try and find matching pairs and if you do that is the piece of terrain that is encountered
I have vague recollections of a card system they were put on a grid 6 x 6 if I remember correctly.
each player had the opportunity to remove, turn over face up, or rotate. this meant that over time you would reduce to one card which became the battlefield.
each card had a battlefield on it rather than parts of a battlefield.
The palyer with the highest scouting points would choose which side they set up on. a bit basic but it worked.
Resurrecting this. Does any one have suggestions on the maneuver part: despite me saying I am looking for rules to close, PMT keeps banging on about where to source maps.
Are you wanting a system to setup reasonably balanced table top games - or one that gives more unbalanced but perhaps more realistic battles?
You can end up with a campaign system that becomes its own game - and the table top games can become very one-sided.
I would go with simple movement, say 1 square a turn - with some scouting, to have a chance to find the enemy. Ensure that each side has a fixed camp / base that they have to protect which stops them from swanning around in completely odd directions.
And allow units/forces to arrive on the battlefield with extra moves from the map after the start of the battle - this allows flank attacks, but perhaps with some delay.
I'm thinking of no more than 2 corps per square
The Age of Reason rules have some very good pre-railway era maps for campaigning or for use as one off games. A two dice roll gives a 6x4 table.