"Best rules for a HYW chevauchée 28mm skirmish game?" Topic

I'm looking for recommendations for rules for a large scale skirmish set in 100 Years War, please.

I do not want to go down the SAGA route and I (personally) find the Lion Rampant rules a little too simplistic.

Any other suggestions?

Many thanks

Nick

If you find something please let us know.

Retinue? That's more complex than lion rampart.

Not sure how many skirmish rules there are for medievals.

There's quite a few, but I've yet to find one that really works for N. Europe in the 14th C…..or a large battle rule set for that matter.

Have you considered writing some UFB? You seem to know a lot about the period from your posts here.

It's a thought I suppose. Middle Ages is funny for wargame rules – if we accepted the same standards for WW2 we'd have flying tanks – largely, I think, to an unquestioning acceptance of poor Victorian scholarship (sych as Oman) and uncritical re-hashes of the same by political historians who are not really very interested in combat. There's also a good deal of 'Ye Merrie Englande/Robin Hood' sentimentality, hence unreliable knights on carthorses and longbows that are more accurate than a .303.
As for army lists……
I don't really accept that complicated rules are more valid than simple ones, but rule-writers do try to cover too much time in one set of rules and there is a tendency to complicate the issue by adding in things that are not really relevant (armourless rabble with sticks for instance) or things that the writer clearly has not researched/understood properly or to 'legislate' for the generality of combat on the basis of a unique event. How many rule sets pretty much encourage (or even force) Scottish armies to deploy in circular schiltroms? Loads. How many battles involve circular schiltroms? One – the result of which convinced Scottish commanders not to do it again!

There is decent current research on the HYW. See Sumption, Curry, Barker, Strickland and Rogers. Beware of DeVires and careful with Michael Jones. Re very nitty gritty combat some of the Mike Loades stuff is OK.

Lion Rampant is not hopless just unfinished. I wrote up a proposed list of rule additions (its in my post "Weekend of Lion Rampant). With this stuff added its an OK get you by for now set of rules. Saga is fun but with very gamey mechinisms.

Columbia Games did a version of their role playing (Harn) combat system for mass skirmish – Battle Lust. Good rules though could use a bit of stream lining.

TomT

Some of Kelly's stuff is out of my sphere, but his Scottish stuff ('Infantry Thingie in the 14th C') is just a re-hash of Oman I'm afraid. Sumption is weak in the Scottish side of things, but I think pretty sound otherwise.

Hmm now there is a good question.
what number of figures were you thinking per side and operating as units or individuals?
what rule sets do you normally like?
my suggesting if you don't care for lion rampant (I love 'em) in no particular order;
Montjoie (old thw set)
Lord of the Rings SBG (without magic obviously)
perhaps a single figure unit version of WAB? (basically LOTR)
TFL did a War of the Roses variant of Sharpe Practice in one of their specials
Chain Reaction Swordplay (2hw)
Age of Blood (a free viking set but pretty good)
hope that helps a little
~Joe
PS: please keep us in the loop because I want to run this as well!

Battlelust is a great set of rules for historical skirmish (pre-firearms), I've thought many times about trying to streamline it for faster/easier play…. But I haven't done it yet. It's worth taking a look at.

Logain , I redid the combat charts. Simplier and better !
If you want to have a look , send me a email at luisito@electronicbox.net