A Wargamer in Cyprus: Tweaking Might and Reason

Sequence of Play

Each turn

A Command Phase

Each side rolls for command dice

Determine initiative

B Pulses

Actions in order of initiative

C When all CDs played:

Dice to remove suppressiion

Dice against basic length; Day ends or another turn?

Troop types

Guard Heavy Horse SP 8
Cuirassier SP 6
Heavy horse SP 5
Dragoons SP 4
Hussars or light horse SP 4
Guards SP 9

Grenadiers SP 8
Line Infantry SP 7
Poorer Line 5
Skirmishers 2
Irregular Cavalry SP 3
Horse Guns 2
Heavy Guns 2

Force Morale

Count up the number of Regular Cavalry and Infantry brigades. Add the Commanders rating. That is the army morale.

Irregular forces count one for two.

A Commander issues action orders to his subordinate commanders. If he joins a subordinate he may use seize the labels and issue an additional action order of his own to the units in that sub command.

Lieutenant Generals are rated by how many actions they may receive and activate per turn. These range from 0 to 3. A 0 rated General requires two orders to activate and randomly chooses between the two.

Playing the Game

The starting time

1-2. Early morning 1

3-4. Late morning. 2

5. Noon. 3

6. Afternoon. 4

Weather. Basic Length

1-2. Precipitating. 5

3-4. Overcast. 4

5-6. Sunny. 3

Roll on 2d6. A roll over the Start time plus basic length ends the battle.

The Command Phase

Determine Command Dice

Determined by the skill of the Commander by d6.

Poor. 1

Average 2

Good 3

Great 4

CDs may be used to:

Issue orders to subordinates

Reroll a dice in combat

Influence a rally roll

Move the commander

Influence the initiative roll

Grab the lapels

Musketry

Units firing within, or firing into an area from another area, divide that by allocating it unit vs unit. Any unit without a target may add it's fire to gang up on an enemy.

Ranges. Dice per SP. Terrain

Within an area. 1:1. 2:1

Adjoining area. 2:1. 3:1

Irregular Inf

or Dragoons. 2:1. 2:1

Always round down. Hits on a 6. A hit removes one SP from target.

Shooting into terrain uses the second column.

Battalion guns +2 dice.

Artillery

Two types:

Heavy guns, which are set up at the start of the battle and do not move, and Horse guns which may move.

Line of fire must be clear. Guns do not shoot over intervening troops unless Mortars. Guns shoot 2 areas, unless in precipitation when it is only 1.

Firing within an area guns use canister fire.

Type. Dice. #Hit Cannister. Dice. #Hit

Heavy guns. 3. 6. 2. 5+

Horse guns. 2. 6. 2. 5+

Battalion Guns. Added into an Infantry brigade's musketry dice at +2

Resolving Five

Modifiers to firing dice

Enemy in March formation +1 dice

Battalion Guns added +1 dice

Vulnerable target. +1 dice

(Crossing bridge, fording)

Precipitation. Reroll all hits requiring a 4+

Applying Hits

Infantry and Cavalry, one hit removes 1 SP

Artillery. One hit suppresses. Guns have only 2 SO

Suppressed artillery cannot fire until the suppression is removed at the end of the turn. Hit's however remain. Guns that lose both SO are removed.

Giving commands

Distance from CinC Number of CDs that can be given

1-2 areas Up to two

3 areas One

4+ areas Two for One

Attached Officers

An Officer may attach himself to a single unit. If he has a V rating he may add a dice on combat. he may also reroll any Rally dice.

Irreg Inf may only attack inside terrain.

Retreat Loss and Recovery

Troops who lose a combat fall back an area.

Generals in the front line are killed if four or more sixes are rolled by the enemy. The following turn a new Lieutenant General will rise from the ranks.

Artillery who lose a single S P are suppressed and must dice to recover at the end of the turn. Losing more than one SP are destroys the battery.h

Units who are reduced to zero SP are broken. The army loses one morale.

Victory

The side with the fewest brigades lost if the day ends.

The side whose morale is still positive if the enemy morale reaches zero.

If neither sides morale has broken there may be a second day of battle. Dice for each side. 1-3 marches away overnight, 4-6 remains and offers battle.at

Actions /1 CD

March
Volley fire into an area

Platoon fire within an area
With the bayonet!
Cavalry charge
March Attack into an area
Rally a brigade
Bombard into an area

Cannister within an area

National Advantages

En Masse

Feudal levies

Great Captain

Skirmishers

Crashing volleys

Steady Lads (rerolls)

Professional train

Rally to the colours

Oblique order (March across corners)

Maison du Roi

Giant Grenadiers

à la Baïonnette!

Artillery Academy

Cadence

Cavaliers

Clerics

Depot Battalions

Engineer

Exploring Officers

Terrain Effects

Limits damage to rolls of 6
Combat and shooting
Out of area half SP dice rolls
Within area one dice per SP
A 6 hits.
Actions are given to Lieutenant Generals who may lead out to one area around them.
A General attached to a Brigade gives that formation +1 BR

Use o Maurice Notables as Generals
Britain The Duke of Cummerbund
France Marshal Du Sexe
Austria Crown Prince Ferdinand
Prussia King Frederich
Bavaria The old Elector
Spain Prince Don Juan
Turkey The Sultana
Russia General Gorki
Sweden King Charles the sweet

Die Altburg Sonne

Consternation in Vienna this week as the Emperor Charles dies after consuming a gourmet dish of poisonous mushrooms. Frenetic diplomatic work has begun to ensure that his daughter, Princess Maria Theresé can ascend to the throne. Archbishop Heinz has already proposed the "Pragmatic Sanction" to allow her ladyship to replace her beloved father.

In the Grand Duchy of the Blaü the Gröan has already been mustering forces for war in support of his Sponsor the Prussian King.

In other news Fat Colonel Pumphosen has been leading a wild geese Regiment in support of the Exiled English Duke Bigmouth. They have landed in the West Country and will seek battle at some remote bog named Sedgemoor...

Events and Wars

The return of the Exiled Prince

The return of the Exiled Duke of Mons-Pubis

The Krön Prinz defends Saxony

The War of the Pragmatic Sanction. Young Frederick invades Siliesia, First Silesian War

Second Silesian War

King George's War,

The War of Jenkins' Ear,

First Carnatic War

The war of the Blue Succession, the Red attacks Blue

The Sultan's War. Ottomans attack Austria through the Balkans.

on the Imperial Weiß

The War of Farhtgasse' Ear. Red attack the Blue

The Irish rebellion

The war of the Double Alliance. Red attacks the Blue, assisted by Baden. The Franconians ally with the Blue.

The Baden War. The Red Prince attacks his former allies.

The Great Highland Rebellion.

The War of the Grand Alliance,

The War of the Archbishop's Mitre

The Rebellion.of the Clans

The Tea War

The War for Balkan Independence

The War of the Red Prince's Mistress

The Whisky War

The Rebellion of the Younger Prince

The War of the Grün Succession

The Austrian Civil War

The return of the Exiled Count

The British King's attack on Sicily

Monmouth and Sedgemoor

The first of my Young Pumphosen games is Monmouth and Sedgemoor. My games are semi Imagi-Nations based, although set in quasi historical Europe I have added the Red and the Blue, and altered some names in my own inimicable way.

Pumphosen, our youthful hero is but a Colonel in his early twenties, leading a Brigade of Grand Duchy Infantry in the service of the Exiled James, Duke of Bigmouth, (maybe Motormouth would work better for Monmouth, but I've done the labels now!) who has landed in the West Country where he has armed three brigades worth of yokels with pikes. In fact the mercenaries are about his best troops.

Opposing the Duke are the Royal forces under the Duke of Cummerbund. That fellow John Churchill is probably with them.

So Sedgemoor, and very little hope it will go well.

The Duke Bigmouth will go back into my random events table as the Exiled Duke of Monspubis, renegade of the Principality of the Röt.

The soldiers of "Butcher" Cummerbund confront the Exiled Duke of Bigmouth and his ragtag army.

The Forces

The Crown

Duke of Cummerbund

4 Infantry

1 Dragoon

1 gun

Maj Gen "Scruffy" Herbert

2 Grenadier

2 infantry

+ one Battalion gun

1Dragoon

Colonel the Margrave Flatulenz

1 Heavy horse

1 gun

Duke James Bigmouth

1 Pike

2 Regt French Italian Mercenaries

1 Dragoon

Count Saveloy

2 Pike

1 Dragoon

1 heavy horse

1 gun

Baron Pumphosen

2 Inf G.D Blau mercenaries

1 lights

Maj Wurst Farhtgasse

Badmouth's Heavy horse

1 dragoons

The Rebels win initiative.

Pumphosen's seasoned veterans Platoon fire into the churchyard.

Young farhtgasse goes wide, as his Dragoons infiltrate the woods.

Second turn, and it's a tie the Rebels retain initiative.

Pumphosen assaults the village.

Saveloy takes a pounding, and not for the first time if Court gossip is anything to go by.

Saveloy responds with his battery.

And he goes in, pikes leveled, against Skirmishers.

Saveloy takes the village.

But initiative passes to the Royalists. Its 6cds to 4

The Royalists volley and Charge. Bigmouth Pike get ready to recieve.

It's a Grenadier March Attack. The Pike are wiped out. The Dragoons cling on.

Pumphosen defends the churchyard.

The Royalist line close on the French Regiments, and its a massacre. Three sixes is risk to the officer, that roll of one is "shot through the head." The Duke of Bigmouth's promising career is cut short.