"New version of "Throw me a '6'..." Topic

…can be found here. link

Very nice. Thank you.

Thank you for these. They look like they'll be a lot of fun.

Can't wait to try a game, can we expect army lists in the future?
I appreciate that you are accepting player feedback!
Thanks
Austin

Thanks all!

@aapch45 I can do some armies. Maybe fairly generic ones.

Just played out Magnesia. I'll have a battle report soon. The game only lasted 4 turns which is not what I expected. Part of the reason is that when a unit gets defeated, that leaves the enemy to go hunting for a flank which usually ends poorly for the target. So more units on the table will result in more hunters for one side or another. Regardless, some great fun!

Thanks John! I am (im)patiently awaiting the arrival of my fellows from Carthage, and this Christmas should find the Romans under my tree, so I am looking forward to giving these a try!

Perhaps units that break their enemy might pursue? Especially undisciplined troops or cavalry.

I put two generic infantry units on the table last night. They clashed, each rolled two dice. The Normans got a hit on the Saxons and won the fight. The fallback roll came up six so the Saxons ran 6 inches with their backs to the enemy. If the Normans go first next turn it will be over, most likely. The guys are coming over tonight for some DBA. Maybe I can throw a short "6" game on afterwards.

For generic units, there is a 50/50 chance they will run and turn their backs to the enemy.

OK, I played out the rest of the fight. The Saxons won the initiative and faced their foes. The fight went back and forth. The Normans ran once but turned and faced their foes. Finally, with two stand each, the Saxons fled one more time. This time the Normans struck first with four dice and got a hit.

So, is the Saxon unit (down to one stand) removed immediately or does it get to hit back before exiting, stage left?

Perhaps units that break their enemy might pursue? Especially undisciplined troops or cavalry.

Units always pursue a half move even when they've destroyed there enemy.

So, is the Saxon unit (down to one stand) removed immediately or does it get to hit back before exiting, stage left?

If the winner was not in a first strike situation (1st round only with pikes or attacks on the flank/rear) then the Saxons would get a strike back.

Note that if the cavalry run, they recoil first 2" and then roll the die for the rest of the distance. If either are veterans, then you MAY deduct 1 from the die roll. The 2" recoil was to make cavalry retreat faster without upsetting the game mechanic of retreats.

OK, Saxons fled but this was after a long drawn out brawl. Even though their backs are turned the fight is simultaneous?

Here's my take on a Hun army. The subject Goths are rated inferior because they might not be all that enthusiastic. This assumes 8 units per army.

Huns

no of units
0 – 1 Hun noble cavalry. Average half-armor, bow.
4 – 8 Hun horse archers. Average no armor, bows.
0 – 1 Subject Gothic cavalry. Inferior half-armor shock cavalry.
0 – 2 subject Gothic infantry. Inferior no armor warband, javelins.
0 – 1 subject Gothic light infantry. Inferior no armor light infantry, bows.

For cavalry, the best thing to do is charge and fight. Then make a breakoff move, charge and fight. Make a breakoff move, charge and fight. That way you take advantage of your charge bonus.

Rear attacks are not simultaneous on the first round after a charge…at least that is the way it is written. Now that I think about it, it probably should be a first strike after a unit retreats so even if you remained in contact, you should get the first strike in. +2D does apply of course. If that fight is inconclusive, then you still get +2D but the fights are simultaneous. It's assumed that some brave warriors have turned around.

Units always pursue a half move even when they've destroyed there enemy.

That one eluded me. I was thinking they might roll to continue the pursuit another turn. The enemy unit is destroyed as a combat unit but surely still has numerous people fleeing in panic who have valuables to be looted.

Correct! That is exactly what I was going for. They are "mopping up" at that point.

I liked the suggested army list for huns above!

Thank you for adopting the superior, average, inferior system, it is working really well. exactly the way it did when I had it as a house rule.

I got two games in today, much better. No feedback right now.

Thanks
Austin

I like the simplicity of the rule mechanism which allows you to use tactics not rule mechanisms which can become an obsession
I have come to like the simple perspective and having been party to rule writing and frequent discussions on a regular basis . I feel that there is an evolutional process by which one starts with just pure almost un-informed mechanism based systems which then grow to sets that resemble encyclopedic attempts to test for the impact of every possible eventuality such as being downwind of a cabbage eating legionary. You then move to the informed simple system that focuses on crucial factors such as cohesion, morale, control and how combat/casualties impact on these

I like the simplicity of the rule mechanism which allows you to use tactics not rule mechanisms which can become an obsession

It's the kind of game I look for these days. Most rules should be belted out in 10 pages or fewer. I used to have an idea that 20 pages is the most rules I ever wanted to read. It has shrunk considerably over the years. I am pretty happy with some of the "one page" systems out there.

Just running my favourite 'test' over these rules – Warband vs a Roman legion

On contact the warband get 4 dice and the Romans 2. (Roman armour doesn't count and I assume the Romans are not being upgraded as "Better combat skill than opponent") The Warband could get 5 dice if they have a chariot in support. Is that right ?

If they are not routed straight away, on subsequent rounds the Romans will get 3 dice to the warband 1 (2 if there is a chariot attached) – Yes ?

If the Wb lose a base, when does the Chariot get removed ? Can a unit with 1 base and a chariot still function ?

TIA

On contact the warband get 4 dice and the Romans 2. (Roman armour doesn't count and I assume the Romans are not being upgraded as "Better combat skill than opponent") The Warband could get 5 dice if they have a chariot in support. Is that right ?

Correct. Of course that's assuming the WB does not get hitwith the pila. They could be down 1 die for that round of combat.

they are not routed straight away, on subsequent rounds the Romans will get 3 dice to the warband 1 (2 if there is a chariot attached) – Yes ?

Also correct. Note you might have a full armor body guard type on the field as well which would be 3 to 2 and the chariot would still add 1 if attached.

If the Wb lose a base, when does the Chariot get removed ? Can a unit with 1 base and a chariot still function ?

The chariot remains with the unit untilthe unit is no longer in contact or the unit is destroyed. The chariot will no detach in the middle of a melee. That would be a very un-heroic thing to do right?

Got to play a game last night, played Celts vs Romans. After a close fought game the Romans won 6 to 3. I really like the way these rules are shaping up.

Everything played out pretty smoothly, I did get into one situation I wasn't sure about. Rome had a unit of Celts surrounded buy three units, one to the front and one on each flank. It was Rome's turn and I was unsure about how to handle this. I played it as three separate attacks (which the celts won).

I was also unsure how to classify Auxillia, they didn't seem to really fit anywhere.

I think upping the base combat dice from 2 to 3 would be a good idea. I also think having a command and control mechanic would really be great. Something simple like DBA pips or rolling to active a unit after it's been damaged.

Any thoughts on movement rates for single based 60mm frontage figures? I halved all measurements, but it still seemed off.

Thanks for putting these together John, I'm looking forward to playing more of them.

Everything played out pretty smoothly, I did get into one situation I wasn't sure about. Rome had a unit of Celts surrounded buy three units, one to the front and one on each flank. It was Rome's turn and I was unsure about how to handle this. I played it as three separate attacks (which the celts won).

It would be total hits vs total dice and not separate attacks. Whomever the Celts fought would be the ones that retreat. The idea here is that they probably would not win that fight over time without reinforcements.

So assuming all things being equal, the Celts would get two dice. The others would get 2 dice for the front and 2 dice +1 for the flank for each of the flanks. So we are looking at 8 to 2.

I've also added that a unit must attack to the front first. If no enemy is there then either flank, players choice and finally the rear if no flankers.

For measurements, it works out to 3/4 really. I am assuming an 8 cm frontage on a unit. So a DBA stand in 15mm would be exactly half. It would follow 3/4 measurement for 6 cm. That said, it is probably going to come out with some icky measurements. Double the listed rates and call them centimeters. Close enough.

Thanks John, I'll give the cm conversion a try this weekend.

That make a lot more sense than three separate combats, I'll keep that in mind the next time.