Quiberon Bay, out of the fog.

Rule tweaks for Black Seas.

The brig.  These rules get brigs wrong, my brigs carry the correct light guns instead of heavy, and Royal Navy brigs were increasingly being carronade armed with long nines as chasers.

Activations.  The weather gauge is one of the strengths of these rules, but for me the entire suite of additional and advanced rules are needed.  Vessels may choose to rig boarding nets and load swivels as an activation but doing do halves the number of guns that can fire since boarding nets were restrictive aboard.  Ships must declare a load of different shot type at the beginning of its activation.  

More importantly Napoleonic ships would only fire one broadside at a time, due to crew number restrictions.  Even highly over crewed vessels such as Privateers would have this restriction since they would have too many crew for room to fire both.  A fore or aft gun may fire along with a single broadside under my amendment, with a -1 for the second to fire.  Fire as she bears similarly restricted to one shot.

The Game

Off the Glenans Fearless begins a new day surrounded by the morning mists. It's scenario one and an encounter with a French fifth rate.

Engagement off the Pennemarc rocks

SCENARIO 1 – OUT OF THE FOG 

It is early morning. The rising sun is burning off the night fog that has enshrouded your  ship, when the distinctive sound of a bell chiming four times is heard in the distance – beat  to quarters! Unsighted by the thick fog two frigates from opposing fleets nearing the end of routine patrols have sailed unawares into close proximity of one another. As the fog dissipates both ships prepare for battle. Neither is fully prepared for this unexpected encounter and so both will attempt a fighting retreat in order to fight another day. 

BATTLE AREA This scenario is played on a 4' x 3' area, with the wind blowing from the west. 

DEPLOYMENT Randomly decide who will start in which deployment zone. Then, place one 5th rate ship each in the specified areas with the back of their wake markers touching the table edge. Both ships begin sailing at Battle Sails.  

SPECIAL RULES For this scenario you gain 1 victory point for each point of damage caused on the opponent’s ship, plus 4 victory points if you make it to the opposing table edge undamaged (or 2 victory points if you make it there but have sustained damage).  The game lasts until the first ship leaves the battle area.  If neither ship is capable of leaving the battle area the result is a hard fought draw! Some scenarios have specific rules that only apply to that scenario. These need to be followed in addition to the Core Rules and any Advanced Rules you chose to adopt. For this scenario the experience of the crews for both frigates is Regular. 

VICTORY Each scenario will give you the conditions of victory. This is often done with victory points to help you work out the result.  

The Glenans islands off
 the coast of Brittany

As Fearless reaches before a weak westerly they find a huge fog bank hanging over the Glennans. As they approach a pair of French warships nose out of the mist, a schooner and a brig.  

Outnumbered Fearless is too close to withdraw and "Flash" Harry Farthingdale points the bowsprit directly at the enemy.

 

Fearless sights the enemy.

Using my new game
frames

Fearless frame
customised

Now with brass sheet sails.  A Conquest class carronade brig.

The Glenans islands.   Note to self keep out of these.

The Enemy.   The schooner (closest) with the brigantine behind 

They close.  

And the carronades fire a first Broadside. That's a five hit smasher.

The schooner is battered and suffers a quarterdeck hit.  It's enough to sink her outright.  Carronades - not to be messed with.

And the schooner sinks.  The Brigantine broadside is masked.

The Brigantine moves away trying to open the range.   But a critical from Fearless and that six is a fire aboard.

The Brigabtine begins to turn to present her Armament.   But this is just inside the carronade range of 8".  The smashers hit twice.  Another six points.  Flash Harry is lucky on the dice.

The Brigantine is down.  A 100% victory for Fearless.   Flash gives his crew a celebratory tot.  The brig was outnumbered in terms of points but obce again those carronades were deadly.

Word is now going down the Breton coast and the French are preparing ships to engage Fearless,  including a pair of Frigates.  In the next game "a chance encounter" Fearless faces a 20 gun corvette, significantly larger 6th rate.  It should be a closer game.