I am tinkering away on a homebrew set of rules for playing large battles within three hours. The game focus is not on the special abilities and pizzazz of individual units, but rather on the various commanders and their ability to maneuver their commands effectively against the enemy.
So while the unit-level rules are attempting to be fairly simple and abstract, I'd like to have some command & control elements in play.
Would welcome your feedback on the mechanics I'm messing with right now.
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1.1 Design Goal
Introduce gameplay elements that reflect the challenges an army commander in the sixteenth century would have faced:
a. Simple orders are faster to transmit and be acted upon than complex orders.
b. You have a limited amount of time and couriers to react to battlefield conditions. You can rarely have your command do everything you want.
c. Sometimes units don't do what you want them to do at all, in the tumult of battle.
1.1 Design Challenge
How can these elements be designed so they reflect the historical record while being simple, fast-playing, and not a burden?
There's an explicit recognition that is takes little in the way of chance-based C&C to frustrate competitive players. But I don't have competitive tournament play in mind and rather want rules that reinforce the historical flavor of the game.
2. C&C Mechanics
Currently, there are three subsystems being considered, either as a comprehensive approach to command and control or as individual bolt-on mechanics.
2.1 Order Pools
Units have an "Available Orders" stat which, together with all the other units in their battalia, create a combined "order pool" of points available to the Battalia's Commander (this pool is also being called a "Couriers Pool").
A commander can do and expect more with experienced troops than with green recruits or conscripts, so Veteran troops contribute more points to the pool than Raw troops.
Players spend their Commanders' order points to have their units move and fight on their respective turns (i.e. unit reactions do not require points), tracking their expenditure as their turn proceeds.
Units are limited to what they are able to coordinate and execute during a limited period of time. Large blocks of infantry or tightly-packed throngs or cavalry are more unwieldy than skirmishing horse or a forlorn hope. A Unit's size also dictates the maximum number of Orders a Unit can perform on its turn (and some other rules). Smaller units can do more quickly than a larger unit. This is a Unit stat called "Order Capacity."
A Unit doesn't have to act up to its max Order Capacity, and often won't, as the Player (Commander) must judiciously allocate his couriers to where they are most needed.
2.2 Command Activation: Simple vs Complex Order Phases
Armies are divided into multiple battalia or commands, and each battalia is activated individually.
Players select which respective battalia they want to activate, then roll initiative. The winner goes first.
The First Player first activates those units he wants to issue "Simple Orders" to: 1 order point actions (usually a simple movement, shooting, melee, etc.). During the simple orders phase, no Unit can use more than 1 order point. Once the First Player decides he has issued all his simple orders, the Second Player issues his own simple orders.
The "Complex Orders" phase follows. The First player may then use any remaining points from his Commander's order pool to issue Complex Orders to his remaining Units: multi-point actions that would typically combine movement with shooting or melee combat. These complex orders include any number of actions up to their Order Capacity (although the largest Units may only have an order capacity of 1, and therefore always go during the Simple Orders phase). When the First Player is done, the Second Player takes his complex orders turn.
The Players then choose another pair of battalia and begin again.
2.2.1 Reactions
Right now I'm undecided if a defending player's reactions cost Order points or not. Would add to the poker math going on with how to spend your order pool, which I kinda like.
2.3 Unit Activation
When an individual Unit is activated (or "given orders") it must pass an activation test using the Commander's dice rating, which represents the battalia's command structure and officer quality.
Pass, and it may act on orders as intended by the Player.
Fail, and it responds according to some preset criteria (e.g. shaken units make rearward movement, an enemy Unit within movement range is charged, if no one is near, the Unit either advances or does nothing, etc.).
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Would welcome your feedback!