 ochoin  | 14 Jul 2026 8:46 p.m. PST |
My Anglo-Zulu War rules handle early mechanical machine guns—like the Gatling and Gardner—with their deadly rate of fire but high propensity to jam with an unusual rule mechanism. I use the following 'push-your-luck' rule:
Machine guns may roll as many firing dice as the player pleases.Roll two 1s: The gun jams for 1 move.Roll three 1s: The gun jams until a 6 is rolled on a subsequent turn.Roll four or more 1s: The gun is permanently jammed for the rest of the game.Note: A gun scores no hits on a turn where it jams. I love this rule because it creates great tabletop drama. Usually, a cautious player will roll only a few dice. But when the British square is in danger of being broken by a Zulu charge, great handfuls of dice are rolled in desperation! url=https://postimg.cc/mPxsz16k]
Hidden away in your favorite rulesets are their any "hidden gems" or unique mechanics you wish to share? |
 doc mcb | 14 Jul 2026 9:38 p.m. PST |
The sand in the desert is sodden and red, red with the wreck of a square that broke. The gatling's jammed, the colonel dead, and the regiment blind with dust and smoke |
| doc mcb | 14 Jul 2026 9:40 p.m. PST |
The gatling's jammed, the colonel dead, and the regiment blind with dust and smoke |
| Steve Wilcox | 15 Jul 2026 2:19 a.m. PST |
On a pedantic note, Newbolt himself got the gun wrong in the poem, as it was a Gardner gun at Abu Klea, not a Gatling. |
| doc mcb | 15 Jul 2026 3:47 a.m. PST |
AS to the original question, yes, the hero rule in PRIDE OF LIONS was elegant. Hero allows a reroll -- probably om a D20 that rolled a 1 or such -- but if result is odd the hero dies. |
 Herkybird | 15 Jul 2026 5:39 a.m. PST |
Funny, my rules have a similar Gatling rule!
'As they were prone to jam, if two 1's are thrown on the dice, the gun is jammed for the following turn. If 3 1's are thrown in one turn, the gun is jammed for D6 turns, if 4 or more 1's are thrown in one turn, the Gun is jammed for the rest of the game.' |
| Eumelus | 15 Jul 2026 5:39 a.m. PST |
It may seem obvious now, but when "Fire & Fury" combined the command check and the morale check into a single die roll for each unit at the start of that side's turn it struck me as singularly elegant. |
| Frederick | 15 Jul 2026 7:15 a.m. PST |
But you know, Whatever happens
We have got
The Maxim gun
And they have not |
| dmclellan | 15 Jul 2026 9:01 a.m. PST |
I think this line came from Laugh-In male: Do you like Kipling? Female: I don't know, I've never kippled before. |
| doc mcb | 15 Jul 2026 9:11 a.m. PST |
Ochoin what are your three favorite Kipling poems? If you choose wisely much may be forgiven. |
| ochoin | 15 Jul 2026 3:43 p.m. PST |
'The Men Who Would be Kings' has something I thought really clever: Commander Personalities: Each general has traits eg: Aggressive,loves charges, cautious, drunk etc It changes how armies are played. You can play the same scenario many times & they will play differently. |
| doc mcb | 15 Jul 2026 6:50 p.m. PST |
Yes. One of my favorite old computer games, warlords, has personalities for the compute opponents. Give them randomly and it adds a lot of uncertainty. |
| robert piepenbrink | 18 Jul 2026 9:57 a.m. PST |
dmclellan, that joke is older than television, let alone Laugh-in. Actually, in that exact form, it's older than voice radio. At least 1917, if not older. link This version dates to 1892: "When the Rudyards cease from Kipling
And the Haggards ride no more." |
shows us that you don't need money to have great bases.
