"Highlanders in Muskets & Tomahawks" Topic
9 Posts
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vlad48 | 26 Feb 2017 9:06 p.m. PST |
We'll be using some Highlanders in our Muskets and Tomahawks games and looking for some ideas of traits or abilities to differentiate these tough fighters from regular line units. I've considered giving them a better Aggressive rating or the Savage trait – wondering if anyone has any thoughts or experience with highlanders in these rules. |
piper909 | 26 Feb 2017 10:25 p.m. PST |
I expect to use Highlanders in these rules as well. But I'd want to avoid making them cartoon supermen. They should be tough troops, certainly, but not historically implausible (otherwise, how did the Jacobites ever lose the '45??) Their regiments were usually sent abroad at higher than usual strength (easy recruiting!), so there's that. Give their units a few more figures than standard. And perhaps a greater morale rating as long as leaders are present; and a certain bonus for initial melee combat that they initiate. They should be keen to attack but not any more steadfast in defense than other British infantry, in my view. |
vlad48 | 27 Feb 2017 12:21 a.m. PST |
yes, the keen to attack idea sounds right but you're also right that they shouldn't be supermen in kilts. |
bruntonboy | 27 Feb 2017 6:14 a.m. PST |
Treat them as bog standard British infantry IMHO. Any differences (apart from dress obviously) were probably more apparent then real. |
piper909 | 27 Feb 2017 11:25 a.m. PST |
The Highland regiments did have a certain level of social cohesion and sense of communal spirit in those early decades, when they were mainly composed of native Gaelic speakers who felt and carried themselves as men apart from "the Sassenachs". This spirit wasn't wholly dissipated until after the mid-1800s, when fewer and fewer native Highlanders could be found for the regiments. The records indicate they fought with elan when well led by men they trusted and were generally well behaved and self-disciplined, compared to their line counterparts. This can be reflected in the rules in little ways involving morale and aggressiveness. |
Jcfrog | 27 Feb 2017 11:53 a.m. PST |
Maybe a special abilty: They can skirt the battle field? |
spontoon | 27 Feb 2017 5:28 p.m. PST |
More liable to charge is about all the bonus I'd give them. |
Khusrau | 01 Mar 2017 4:11 p.m. PST |
The other point was that in the highland regiments, soldiering was seen as a respectable career, unlike the standard line regiments, which were very much the last resort for most of the men. |
infinite array | 02 Mar 2017 6:45 a.m. PST |
You could try using the Grenadier unit as a Highlander stand in – they'll get the Elite Trait and a higher Aggressiveness stat. Northstar also has a Highlander force (an Officer and 2 units of ten infantry), and they use British Regular Infantry with the Elite stat (you could just ignore the stipulation that all Regular units have to be Elite if you want to field Highlanders along with other Regulars). |
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