"Generic Historical Scenario Design" Topic

In terms of broad periods, where would you imagine the lines would be where scenarios would stop making much sense? For example, how far forwards and backwards would you imagine that a Waterloo-based scenario could be moved forwards or backwards in times with only relatively small changes in forces and/or ranges? Or Hastings, for example?

Regards

Ancmed scenario generators for the ancient and medieval "period". Or even specific generators for a particular war within that long period. Same holds true for later. I think a Thirty Years War generator, and ECW generator, and AWI and Napoleonics and ACW generators are necessary to "make sense" out of scenarios for those periods….

I'd say that any scenario where men line up and "do stuff" at each other would work well in any period – from Marathon to Waterloo (in order categorical). At least as far as the basic setup goes – Infantry here, cavalry there; a walled farm here, woods there… Mechanics-wise, your *rules* might not make sense, but you can proxy Companions for British heavy cavalry and Sakae for the Garde cavalry and go at it. You can take any battle map and play with forces from antiquity to nearly-modern (or maybe it's just me).

Sometimes you may find that the particular period opponents don't have artillery (Saxons v. Vikings) but for the most part, if you are willing to suspend disbelief Wellington and Napoleon could meet over the plains of Marathon, or Alexander's phalanxes could face Xerxes' hordes in the valley of Waterloo.

Once you get into mechanised killing, (Say, WWI or or), then it becomes much more difficult, since people no longer stand up to be shot at.

There are very few scenarios that wouldn't be "translatable" into other periods. But you need to have a bit of imagination.

Hougoumont at Waterloo. Infantry assaulting the farm.
I think you could use that scenario for any period from ancients up to the present.

If you replace cavalry with humvees you could do a lot of Lawrence of Arabia's battles. Maybe even Pharoah's battles.

Thermopyle, Camerone, Alamo are all last stands that could be dropped into virtually any other period.

I think it will be harder to find a sceanrio that COULDN'T be translated into more periods.

I suppose air power would be hard to move back much past WWI.

Sometimes morphing a scenario into another period is a viable way of disguising it so players don't enjoy the luxuries of hindsight – otherwise I wouldn't do it: most periods have plenty of scenarios of their own time.

Phil

It may take a little more effort for some scenarios, and a little less for others, but most should be adaptable.

I have to agree that timeperiod isnt the most important factor.I have CS Grant's Programmable scenarios,and you can use them for any period.

Judging by the scenarios advocated by Warhammer 40K, scenarios based on ancient battles can be propelled 42000 years forwards in time.

It is really a mater of what you think is critical to a scenario. If you feel a historical scenario is really defined by the interplay of weapon technology available, tactical doctrine, and historical context, then scenarios can only be moved forward or backward by perhaps a decennium at most.

However, if you think in terms of "a number of units defending a farm against repeated attacks by an overwhelming enemy", then any scenario can be used in any other setting by just scaling up or down troop levels and or weapon ranges.