"Writing fictional historical or Fantasy scenarios" Topic

When I began wargaming, years ago, most of my games were simple encounter battles. Not because I preferred them, but because I had little access to published scenarios. If I wanted a battle, I put two armies on the table and got on with it.

Over time I bought the odd scenario booklet, found ideas in magazines etc and later discovered a wealth of material on the internet. Gradually I began writing my own scenarios, and now scenario design is a major part of my enjoyment of the hobby.

A scenario trying to re-create an actual battle has the hurdle of scaling back: numbers, battlefield size & time. Fictional scenarios have different hurdles.

I've found that a well-designed scenario can transform a game. Different objectives, asymmetrical forces, uncertain reinforcements, awkward terrain, time pressures and command problems often create far more interesting decisions than a straightforward "line up and fight" battle or even a re-creation.

For those who write their own scenarios:

What inspired you to start?
Where do you get your ideas?
What elements do you think make a scenario memorable?
Have you developed any rules of thumb or design principles over the years?
Do you prefer historical, fictional or completely self-generated scenarios?

I'd be interested to hear how others approach scenario design and whether it has become a hobby within the hobby for them as well.

For me it Is a story. I have heard or read writers say that they create a character and then are surprised at what that character does.

Scenario stories are often inspired by terrain. The Texas ranch house invites multiple scenarios, as does the blockhouse and the trading post.

And my miniatures, especially the characters, beg to have their stories told.

I generally prefer historical scenarios, but I will often tweak them somewhat to make an interesting game.

These days I'm quite lazy so a lot of games are based on published scenarios, which I then re write.

"I generally prefer historical scenarios, but I will often tweak them somewhat to make an interesting game.'

The master of this, IMO, was Charles Grant. His "wargaming in History" series is wonderful.

"A scenario trying to re-create an actual battle has the hurdle of scaling back: numbers, battlefield size & time."

I'd have to disagree here. You're talking about the consequences of a rules/battle mismatch. Use a set of rules around 1"=150 yards, for instance, and most SYW battles, or corps-size Napoleonic engagements, go neatly on a card table: most of the effort is in the transcription. It's trying to fight Leipzig with 1"=10 yards rules which create the "scaling back" problem.

Anyway, for non-historical battles, I usually fall back on Grant: There are lots of them, and Grant's assumptions about troop types, unit sizes and table dimensions haven't changed much, so once you have a decent formula for converting a Grant scenario to a given set of rules, it goes on working.

At skirmish/RPG level, I'm still looking.