"How would you handle elephants in TSATF?" Topic

Just wondering.

off-board

Interesting question. For Melee, the target takes a morale check to stand (maybe with a negative mofifier) and the elephant tests to close. Failure to close results in a scatter dice situation where the elephant runs in a random direction for a random distance. I haven't given any thought to how the elephant would fight in melee.

Very carefully.

Don't upset them, they never forget!

I would expect only as draft animals for artillery. Perhaps allow them better movement thru rough terrain.

There were a few "states" in India during our period whose Maharajas longed for "the good old days".
It would make for a good game for visual appeal.
Plus, my gaming partner has armies for the Sikh Wars, and the Mutiny.

Nothing against developing TSATF combat stats for elephants, but I do think the visual appeal can work even if they're only used in the more obvious, low-key manner as Col Durnford suggests:

Totally making this up as I go, and assuming we're considering elephants as warrior mounts rather than transport:

1. War elephants are only likely to be used in battles between native forces, being too valuable (and the perch atop them too risky) to face massed European firepower;

2. A unit of War Elephants consists of 3 elephants with two warriors and a mahout atop each;

3. The warriors counts as cavalry (+2 in melee), the unit leader and the mahouts are key personnel, with the elephant itself removed when the mahout is;

4. The unit always counts as a Class IV target vs fire, to represent the robustness of the beasts themselves versus musket fire or bows;

5. Due to their terrifying nature, non-elephant units must re-roll declared charges against elephants and stand-vs-charge when attacked by them, and the elephant unit does not shed stragglers when charging.

Maybe something like this?

Interesting! I like 79th PA's general approach. I'd like to use this as a starting point, and also incorporate it into pre-gunpowder variants (e.g., take "The Sword in Gaul" ancient variant and expand it into the Hellenistic or Punic Wars era).

Something that would require careful thought is how to handle an elephant's vulnerability to damage (edged weapons; firearms). I expect an elephant would have a sort of artillery-like hit factor, that would decrease as it takes hits from attacks. What if an elephant starts as if it were a four-man crew gun piece in terms of how much damage it can absorb? Only it takes a Heart card (or maybe a Key Figure face card?) to actually "hit" the elephant? (All other cards drawn for hits are treated as inconsequential wounds.)

Each hit weakens the elephant's ability to inflict close combat damage, same as an artillery piece being whittled down as crew are lost. After three "hits" the elephant is under 50% and must start making Critical Morale checks.

This might be the simplest way to incorporate elephants within the existing rules.

I'm assuming that this is a Sikh War or First War of Independence (the current approved name for the Mutiny) situation.
The local rajah, who can trace his ancestry back to Akbar, is still living in Ye Good Olde Days. The Company has left him alone. He has trained war elephants. And he means to use them.
Back when I played GASLIGHT regularly, this would not be an issue. 😄🤷🙄
But, I'm asking how to shoehorn it into TSATF.

To me, the main factor here is how badly does musketry annoy the elephant?
Her Majesty's Loyal Punjab Rifles roll up 5 hits. Class… 3 target?
Flip cards. Ignore all black cards. Only count face cards. As Penny said to Sheldon, "I can't do this myself!"
Which cards trigger a reaction test? What do you roll to panic and rout? Charge in a rage?
Muskets cannot kill Nelly.
But artillery? 🤔

Since this is hypothetical, figure out how the crew fights. Make the mahout a Key Card.
I'm not writing rules for anyone. Just asking for suggestions.

Having a mechanism where the elephant becomes uncontrolled is a good idea. If not a result of a Morale failure, I'd simulate this with the damage card draw. Specified card(s) cause the elephant to move in a random direction one move (d8 or d10) and potentially trample anything in its path. Like a Rout result.

As I said above, this is for ideas.
Not hard and fast rules. Besides, I was not consulted by the Gang working on the 40-45-50th Anniversary. 🙄

No elephant is likely to be "trained". This is both due to their very nature, and by the time "our period" is being gamed, battle elephants were virtually unheard of.
But whoever said that TSATF is confined to Late Victorian times? I've used it quite successfully with AWI and FIW, plus Comanche vs Spanish and Pirates on land.
Mughal armies are very colorful and at least used elephants for rather gory executions.
Bows, matchlocks, weird melee weapons, immobile artillery, etc. Strange concentrated spices? Use those Gunga Din figures.

Artillery should be an instant Morale check. You decide how to do it.
The noise alone should trigger a test. Hits, another one? Red face cards … Red Aces a kill?

Does proximity to an elephant, or being charged by an elephant, cause enemy Cavalry to make a special morale check? That could be considered.

Oh, definitely.
Frankly, I can't see any sane infantry unit standing its ground.