"Unit scale and formations in Warlord's Black Powder rules." Topic

Hi, I'm just starting to paint up my Napoleonic Peninsular War collection. I have decided to base and organise the figures for myself rather than to conform with any particular set of rules; I'm collecting both sides, and enough of them, not to need to conform to the figures of others; I want to be able to use several rule sets so basing for one would be counter-productive in the long run.

I quite like the look of Warlord Games' Black Powder rules, and plan on giving them a go, but they have thrown up a couple of critical questions about how the game might be altered by my basing, and aesthetic bias.

1. How many guns does a BP battery represent? I was planning on using three gun batteries (2 guns & 1 how) because I'm not a fan of one gun representing a whole battery – would that have much of an effect on game play?

2. In BP, is it essential that a 'mixed formation' has 1/3 of its figures out skirmishing? I was planning on just using a few individually based figures thrown out in front, to signify a unit with a skirmish line, as it will save a lot of faffing about in bigger games, so would doing that effect game play?

3. I was planning on only using 'large units' to represent a very few extra large formations, such as British Guards. In BP scenarios these seem to be rather more in evidence than they do in most of the OOBs I've seen. What is, in game terms, the qualitative combat difference between two large and three standard sized units.

Please advise.

Thanks,

James

In BP one gun represents a battery. But we've played using two gun models to represent a battery because it looks better but kept the same firing stats. Letting your 3 model battery fire as three guns in BP would be overwhelming.

Your plan for formation sounds fine.

I mostly use "standard" size units myself. Only the odd large or small units to accommodate numbers of figures.

2. In BP, is it essential that a 'mixed formation' has 1/3 of its figures out skirmishing?

No.

What is, in game terms, the qualitative combat difference between two large and three standard sized units.

A large unit usually rolls 4 D6s rather than 3. So two large units would roll 8 dice while 3 standard sized would roll 9.

Thanks for the responses.

In BP one gun represents a battery. But we've played using two gun models to represent a battery because it looks better but kept the same firing stats. Letting your 3 model battery fire as three guns in BP would be overwhelming.

Yes, I would roll as though three were just one, I was worried more by the effect of frontage, etc. If you are using two guns (firing as one) and it works I would settle for that.

A large unit usually rolls 4 D6s rather than 3. So two large units would roll 8 dice while 3 standard sized would roll 9.

Sorry, I should have totted that up myself (doh). The reason I phrased it like this is because I would, in most cases, simply divide the number of men in a historical brigade by around 600 to get the number of battalions in a similar way to Lasalle rules; this usually means that the brigade fights with less battalions because small battalions tend to get amalgamated, or large battalions become rarer because the extra men bolster weaker ones. Note that, in the case of a formation like the Guards brigade of 1st Division, I'd always represent it with two large units not three small ones, because it has a certain level of historical aesthetic having two big ones.

Psst, James. I have compiled an unofficial index to Black Powder. Please let me know if you'd like a copy.

I'd be interested in that, please.

As would I – an index at last!

There is a nice set of BP Napoleonic rules out there, that built on the basic game's "toolbox approach"

link

They deal with bigger gun batteries by adjusting gun stats. I like them and feel they really give a Naps feel. YMMV of course.

Units – I use standard for most, but have recently based up some small units and some large, to add extra "flavour" to my games (to save everything being vanilla).

Can't wait to see your game, as to date your periods on your blog have been truly draw dropping

Marc