"Rules suggestions for Medieval large skirmish?" Topic

I am looking for rules for large skirmish for this period.

I have lookd at Lion Rampant but whilst I appreciate they are very poular they are not what I am looking for.

I am looking for something of similar size – so a large skirmish but would like a little more depth/detail and more emphasis on the leaders/leadership.

So essentially if you could cross Sharp Practice 2, Muskets & Tomahawks and Lion Rampant you'd be there! Particularly interested in High Medieval 1400 onwards or Northern Crusades.

Is anyone aware of anything which fits the bill?

I appreciate that a stock answer is "Well write your own" or "write a conversion for X" but sadly I simply do not have time so am hoping there is a commercial set out there.

Many thanks

Nick

That seems to be very laser focused. "Write your own" may be your only answer.

I think Pig Wars would do the trick, or at least give you a core to build on. It's technically Dark Ages ("When men were men and pigs were money"), but strecthes from Rome to the Normans in the rules and has everything you need in terms of armor and weapon types. Units are large (20 figures recommended), but can be of mixed types – so I've played games where each player had one unit (raid) up to each player (or side) having about 6-8 units. Leaders play a role in personal combat and morale, but there aren't any more complex leadership roles (activation points, etc.).

Cheers,

Christopher

I wouldn't have thought of Pig Wars, but Christopher is right, it could work. They have a Yahoo group, and the files section includes a Late Medieval Variant, though you may have to join to see it. The group is here: link

The group has been quiet lately; it could use some stirring up.

Grelber

The Games workshop LOTR skirmish set could be worth looking at – just leave out magic and monsters.

I use Captains and Kings by TwoHourWargames and like them very much.

I agree – Lord of the Rings. Very fun game engine. Ideally suited for adding in a bit of Hollywood chrome through leader traits, easy to get copies (Ebay has a lot of them cheap). Just proxy your troops types and away you go.

Plus, if you want to add a dragon or a Grendel you'll have a game that can handle it!

Too Fat Lardies have an article in one of their recent (within the past 2 years) "Specials" on gaming War of the Roses using the Sharp Practice (Ver. 1) rules. I haven't read it, but it might do what you want. I'm not sure how much tweaking you would have to do to bring it in line with the SP 2.0 rules, but it should be do-able.

I hope you find the right rules for your needs.

I've used LOTR SBG for Vikings vs Saxons. Worked out great. Not hard to stat up your own troops, but we used Uruk-hai as Vikings and Rohan as Saxons. We had a blast.

Xin/Jeff

Captains and Kings would work. Here's more info.

link

Also there's about 10 Bat Reps on the blog that goes into detail.

Also has three full Campaigns.

Many thanks for all your suggestions.

I will certainly take a look at Captains and Kings.

I have the TFL WoR adaptation but to bring that into line with SP2 would require essentially starting from scratch and (as you would expect with an article in a Special) it is very limited in scope plus I found the original SP mechanisms a bit clunky and slow.

As I said a medieval version of SP2 would be perfect but I just dont have the time towrite and playtest it.

Hi Nick

My next project will meet your requirements exactly. I am working on a large skirmish game (40 – 100 figures per side) that will work for ancient and medieval battles (and fantasy, although that might be split out and come later).
It's something I've been working on on and off for the last year or so, and now I've pretty much got Sword & Spear Fantasy out of the way, this is what I'll be focusing on.

Ah, that would be great as Sword & Spear is our "go to" ancients and medieval battle rules. I'll look forward to seeing these immensley.

Will they allow for characterisation of leaders?

Cheers

Nick

What about Dux Britanniarum by Too Fat Lardies?

Again, it is aimed at the Dark Ages, but may be easy enough to adapt. It is big on leaders as characters, though!

What about "Bashing the Bishop" that was free to download from Wargames Illustrated? It was written by Richard Clark of TooFatLardies. I'll see if I can find a link.

Ah, that would be great as Sword & Spear is our "go to" ancients and medieval battle rules. I'll look forward to seeing these immensley.

Will they allow for characterisation of leaders?

Yes, I thought I remembered your name as a Sword & Spear player.

Leaders will be important in the rules and the Warlord will be able to have particular leadership traits, so yes they will allow for characterisation of leaders.
Posting on here about them yesterday inspired me to do some work on them today. I had some free time so I spent a couple of hours writing up some ideas I've had recently regarding the unit activation system.

Ah, those delightful Lardian euphemisms…

I always post to the page where I introduce our home brew rules. Three games, actually, of varying complexity, for very young players to the older set. link

From the description in the first post, Captains and Kings may be a good choice, as others have said.

My vote is for Lords and Servants by dadi and piombo the guys behind impetus. Good flexible leader rules and a cheap PDF.