"Black Powder - on going effects in a battle-campaign?" Topic

This thread is SPECIFICALLY about Black Powder rules.

As mentioned elsewhere we are fighting a large battle by breaking it down into lots of smaller actions. This allows us to have a battle with 7 CS divisions vs 8 Union, fought at Unit=Regiment.

At the moment we have agreed
1) A unit that ends Shaken has 1 hit for the next battle from the start.
2) Routed units roll at some point 7+ Unit reforms, 5-6 lose one size, 4 or less permanently lost. (Numbers to be confirmed.)

QUestion 1.

When should Routed units roll to reform. End of the day – ie overnight? or after 'x' hours?

Question 2
A brigade that has units rout. In the next battle, assuming it isn't continually pressed- i.e. the division has a chance to fall back – how should the 'Break' point be calculated? On original strength, or on reform strength. We us OVER half for break

Example
A Brigade of 6 regiments goes into action. Break point is 4 (over half of 6). 2 Regts Rout. The Division is pulled back and pauses for an hour or 2. Do we recalculate the break point on 4, or keep the original?

I would think how quickly they are to reform would depend largely on how experienced they are. Iīm using BP to play out an imaginary ACW campaign and as units see action they have more of a chance to reform after breaking.

About units that cannot reform at all, I would use their numbers to make good losses from other units.

1. I would roll at end of day/overnight as stragglers trickle back in
2. I would let it recalculate it's break point

I like your other ideas.

1. I would roll at the end of the day unless there is some obvious place to rally and they go there, then maybe allow them to rally after x hours. Another option would be to allow the players to try to rally them sooner with a penalty and then allow them to rally them at the end of the day with the same penalty.

2. I would recalculate the break point too. Although if units rally back in it would be based on the total to include them.

I like Texas Jack's idea of them getting more likely to rally as they gain experience but if this campaign only represents a single battle I don't really think that would apply.

For question 1, I think the factors involved are the distance from the enemy, and the leadership of the commander attempting the rally. So add simple modifiers for how many moves they are from the enemy on the leadership value of the commander – something like half the distance in feet as a modifier to the command roll. For example, they have taken the time to retire (in relative terms off table) 6 feet from the enemy, and the Brigadier's leadership is 8, so he gets one roll with a plus 3. If they were only 4 feet from the enemy, only a bonus of 2 – or some other ratio you can agree on….

I'd go with "end of the day" for both 1 and 2. That way, if a routed unit reforms, you will be able to include it in the brigade break point calculation for the next day.

Follow up.how long is reasonable for division to re order after a fight, assuming unmolested.

My division charged, US held firm. Having suffered losses, and being a campaign game, I withdrew to preserve units.

The US, seeing the next division coming up the road, also retired.

No brigades were broken, but getting close.
1st bde 1 out of 6 shaken
2 bde 3 out of 6 shaken
3 bde 3 out of 6 routed.

Would an hour be enough for regiments to re order? The shaken will carry 1 hit for the rest of the day.

@Texas Jack – Any details on your campaign? Sounds interesting.

-Will

The campaign is ACW but with imaginary officers. All units start off as green and as they gain experience they become seasoned, veteran and elite. Elite units are few and far between. A veteran unit is more likely to survive a break test than a green, and so on. The unit rating also affects how quickly they come back to fight if they do run.

Officers also get better as they gain experience. So it is possible for a guy to start off with a command rating of 7 or even 6 and work his way up to command a corps. Unfortunately, if an office rolls a blunder within range of enemy rifle or artillery fire, there is a chance that the officer will be killed or wounded.

Both sides have an army of two corps, with two divisions each (thatīs all I have figures for!). Within the divisions are brigades and regiments. It is possible for a regimental commander to make his way up the ladder and eventually lead the army, but he will need a bit of luck- good for him and bad for his superiors.

I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything. And thatīs about it!