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Friday 29 October 2010

Memoir of Battle: First draft of the rules

MEMOIR OF BATTLE
Turn Sequence
Each turn is divided into several distinct phases. These are:
  • Both sides fire their Artillery. (N.B. Artillery fire is deemed to be simultaneous, and an Artillery Unit that has been hit may fire that turn – even if it is destroyed – if a suitable target is in range.)
  • Both sides throw a D6 die. The side with the lowest score moves and fires first that turn.
  • Once they have moved their Units, any of their Units that are within range of enemy Units – with the exception of Artillery Units as they have already had the opportunity to fire that turn – may fire.
  • The other side then moves their Units.
  • Once the other side has moved their Units, any of their Units that are within range of enemy Units – with the exception of Artillery Units as they have already had the opportunity to fire that turn – may fire.
  • Once both sides have had the opportunity to move and fire, the turn is complete and the next turn can commence.
Battle Dice
The six faces of the D6 Battle Dice are marked as follows:
  • 2 x Infantry
  • 1 x Cavalry
  • 1 x Artillery/Machine Gun
  • 1 x General
  • 1 x Retreat Flag
Units
Infantry
  • Four foot figures.
  • Move two hexes or;
  • Move one hex and battle.
  • Range = 4 hexes; four battle dice are thrown: 4-3-2-1.
Machine Guns
  • One machine gun and two crew figures.
  • Move two hexes or;
  • Move one hex and battle.
  • Range = 5 hexes; five battle dice are thrown: 5-4-3-2-1.
Smooth-bore Artillery
  • One gun and two crew figures.
  • Move one hex or battle.
  • Range = 5 hexes; five battle dice are thrown: 5-4-3-2-1.
Rifled Artillery
  • One gun and two crew figures.
  • Move one hex or battle.
  • Range = 6 hexes; three battle dice are thrown: 3-3-2-2-1-1.
Cavalry
  • Three mounted figures.
  • Move three hexes and battle.
  • Range = 1 hex; three battle dice are thrown: 3.
General
  • One foot or mounted figure.
  • Move three hexes.
  • Add one battle dice to Infantry and Cavalry units they are in the same hex with.
Terrain
Wood or Forest hex
  • Units must stop when they enter a wood or forest.
  • Units entering a wood or forest may not battle.
  • When battling a unit that is in a wood or forest, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one.
  • Woods or forests block line of sight.
Orchard or vineyard hex
  • No movement restrictions.
  • No battle restrictions except that when battling a unit that is in an orchard or vineyard, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one.
  • Orchards or vineyards do not block line of sight.
Hill hex
  • No movement restrictions.
  • When battling a unit that is on a hill, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one except when a unit on a hill is battling a unit that is also on a hill; in this case the number of battle dice thrown is as per normal.
  • Artillery firing from a hill increases the range they can fire by one hex (5-4-3-2-1-1 for smooth-bore and 3-3-2-2-1-1-1 for rifled artillery).
  • Hills block line of sight except when units on a hill are looking at units on other hill that are the same height.
Built-up Area hex
  • Units must stop when they enter a built-up area.
  • Units entering a built-up area may not battle.
  • When battling a unit that is in a built-up area, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by two.
  • Built-up areas block line of sight.
River or Stream hex
  • Units must stop when they enter a hex containing a river or stream.
  • Units may only cross rivers or streams in hexes that contain a bridge.
  • Rivers and streams do not block line of sight.
Field hex
  • No movement restrictions except that units in fields containing tall crops may only move one hex.
  • When battling a unit that is in a field containing tall crops, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one.
  • A field of tall crops block line of sight.
Rough terrain hex
  • Only Infantry may enter rough terrain.
  • No battle restrictions.
  • Rough terrain does not block line of sight.
Fence or Wire hex
  • Units must stop when they enter a hex containing a fence or wire.
  • When battling a unit that is in a hex containing a fence, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one.
  • When in a hex containing a fence or wire, Infantry either reduce the number of battle dice thrown by one when battling or do not battle and remove the fence or wire.
  • Fences or wire do not block line of sight.
Fieldworks hex
  • No movement restrictions for the fieldworks; other restrictions may apply.
  • When battling a unit that is in a fieldwork, reduce the number of battle dice thrown by two.
  • Units in fieldworks ignore the first ‘flag’ rolled against them.
  • Fieldworks do not block line of sight.
Sand hex
  • Units moving on sand may only move a maximum of two hexes.
  • No battle restrictions.
  • Sand does not block line of sight.
Water hex
  • Units moving on a water may only move a maximum of one hex if they are landing; units may not retreat into water.
  • Units on an water may not battle.
  • Water does not block line of sight.
Firing
The number of Battle Dice thrown by a Unit depends upon:
  • The type of Unit it is.
  • The range at which the Unit is firing.
  • The terrain the firing Unit and target Unit are in.
  • The presence of a General with the Unit
The number of Battle Dice thrown by a Unit does not depend on the number of figures in the Unit.

For each face of the Battle Dice that matches the type of Unit the target Unit is, the target Unit loses a figure.

When all the figures in a Unit have been removed, the Unit is destroyed.

2 comments:

  1. Looks good fun, Bob! I've printed off a copy to annotate in order to produce a black-powder smoothbore era set.
    I like the battle-dice; the idea of being able to read results directly off the dice without referring to tables or the rulebook has appealed to me ever since I saw the principle in the original 1824 Kriegsspiel, where the faces of the dice listed both casualties and close combat results. In that system, different dice with different combinations of faces were used in different situations to relect the chances for/against the attacker. Altering the number of battle dice/ignoring certain faces in particular circumstances could achieve a similar effect.
    Looking forward to seeing how these rules develop.
    Arthur

    ReplyDelete
  2. Arthur1815,

    Let me know how you get on with a black powder, smooth-bore era set of rules.

    I had forgotten about the special dice used in the original Kriegsspiel rules ... even though I seem to remember having a cardboard set that were produced years ago.

    I had hoped to run a play-test of the rules today, but a variety of circumstances have conspired to stop me. I might manage a play-test tomorrow; if not, it will probably have to wait until next weekend.

    All the best,

    Bob

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