""There Stand Empires" - new Grand Tactical Napoleonics rules" Topic

Folks:

My club has been playtesting these rules for several years now, but I finally got around to writing them up and publishing them. They use a web app to adjudicate combats and other things like lost orders, but play like a very grand tactical rules set. Designed to play entire battles out in a single session. They are free – rules are about 30 pages.

Check them out: link

Interesting, thanks for sharing

"They use a web app to adjudicate combats"

Well that put me right off. I work in IT and I don't want my hobby to be like work!

Thanks, I downloaded and read through quickly, couldn't find anything about a command system for representing the command and control differences between say Davout's 3rd Corp at Auerstadt and Brunswick's Prussian's at the same battle or anything to show the widespread ineptitude of Russian Generals vs the French Army in 1805 and 1807 and 1812 for example, or Austrian generals?!

Have to say that for me at least thats pretty important. There are a number of brigade level rules sets around that do include differences between nations, periods and command systems. I'm not into generic "push-some-figures-around" rules but I acknowledge thats just me.

nsolomon99:

That is a fair point. I tend to dislike rules where the capability of commanders is restricted to an artificially-enforced standard, even if based on historical track records. If the idea is that we can change history, I want my army and its doctrine to be reflected, but I do not want to be forced to be a poor commander because the one I am sitting in for was.

To reflect the inability of subordinate commanders, however, we simply use troop ratings and the organisational structure – poor generals are simply not included on the table, as they would have no effect on the course of a battle, leaving a smaller number of commanders to run more troops, and with less tactical flexibility (all of a commander's troops move at the same point in the turn sequence, which can lack nuance when the enemy has more generals and more opportunities to respond). (Alternately, you simply deny poor generals the ability to favorably affect their troops reposnse to commands, ehich means you get more delayed and "lost" orders.) This leaves it all up to the scenario writers.

That said, I have played a lot of systems like "Napoleon's Battles" where every commander of the era was given a rating, and I always found this to be dubious at best. (I enjoy the game a lot actually, but it plays much slower than this one.)

I was intentionally aiming at a fast-playing system which did not bake in anything but what a Napoleonic general was likely to think of his troops: which ones are more reliable, and the basic functions of each troop type. Some doctrinal differences can be expressed, but these are fairly minor. (I discuss this in the design notes).

To be honest, we were looking for something different, and I admit it is a matter of taste. We won't stop playing other Napoleonic games, but we do like this one for what it is good for: large battles fought to a conclusion rapidly.

MajorB:

The only person who interacts with the web app is the game master (or masters, if you have more than one).

Having GMed and played games for many years, it is simply a lot faster and more accurate to use a web app than it is to use a load of printed rules, paper charts, and dice, with modifiers you have to calculate yourself. Player make a lot of mistakes, even with the best intentions. The web app makes that harder to do.

Don't knock it until you try it. (I also play real computer-assisted games like Carnage & Glory but that is something else again…)

The only person who interacts with the web app is the game master (or masters, if you have more than one).

Sorry, still too much like work. I mostly game solo.

it is simply a lot faster and more accurate to use a web app than it is to use a load of printed rules, paper charts, and dice, with modifiers you have to calculate yourself.

I disagree. If rules are so complicated that mistakes are inevitable then they are too complicated.