A clash of arguments.

A bollocks set of rules for the lazy gamers of this world.

(or Horse and Musket?)

By Craig Grady & Will Riley

Hi there, and welcome to the first in a series of no nonsense wargames rules that cut out all the idle points of a lot of games and streamline a set of rules that should (if played properly) dispense with all the usual arguments that often crop up when gaming. We will try too bring you rules for a wide spectrum of traditional wargames, from as many periods as we can cover. Coming up in the near future, we will be bringing you WWI & WWII skirmish rules, Samurai warfare among many others. If you find any flaws or problems with these rules when playing, please mail us and let us know, also any and all feedback is greatly welcomed.

Marc Farrimond

October 98

 

HORSE AND MUSKET RULES!

Phases

Each turn consists of the following five phases;

Initiative

Move

Shoot

Hand to Hand

Moral

Initiative

Each player rolls 1 d12 with the highest choosing to move first or second.

Each (unit / individual) is move alternatively on each side.

Coherency

If you are playing a unit game then figures must be within 8 inches of the unit leader at all times. If they move out of this then all they can do next turn is move back into coherency.

If you are playing the game using individuals then there is no coherency and your figures may move as they wish.

Wounds

If you are playing a unit game then each figure has 1 wound, whilst officers have 2 wounds. This cuts the need for mass record keeping and allows the game to flow.

If you are playing an individual game then all figures have 3 wounds each.

Movement

Foot move 5 inches

Calvary moves 10 inches

Special movement

Foot may crawl at half normal move

Foot / Cavalry may run / charge, a unit or individual can only run / charge for to consecutive turns

Terrain effects on movement

Terrain Type

Movement Lost

Dense Woods

half move

River

half move

Walls / Hedges under 2"

half move

Entering a building

half move

Cavalry when wounded

half move

Foot when wounded

lose 1 inch per wound

Light woods

quarter move

Stream

quarter move

Wounded foot may not run.

You cannot move and reload.

You cannot move and fire.

When running you must spend a turn readying your weapon (i.e. remain stationary for a turn).

If you end your move in base to base contact with terrain you can nominate that you will hide in / behind it. If so you may not fire or be fired at.

Figures may stand and fire when charged, however, the attacker must be more than half a charge move away and your weapon must be loaded.

Shooting

All gunpowder weapons take one turn to reload.

Breechloaders and repeaters may fire every turn.

All weapon ranges are measured in inches from the centre of the firer to the centre of the target.

Weapon

Close range

medium range

extreme range

Rifled musket

10

20

40

Carbine

6

12

24

Shotgun

6

~

10

Pistol

6

10

~

Roll a d12 and a hit is achieved on a 6+

To hit modifiers

Type

Modifier

Elite

+2

Veteran

+1

Regular

+0

Raw

-1

Hard cover

-2

Soft cover

-1

Target crawling

-2

Target running

-2

Each wound

-1

Close range

-0

Medium range

-1

Long range

-2

On a to hit roll of a 1 your gun has misfired. Roll on the misfire table below;

Number Rolled

Effect

1

Weapon explodes, roll on wound table

2 ~ 7

Jammed, Reload Weapon

8 ~ 12

Bad powder, Firer again next turn

 

Wounding

Roll a d12 for each hit to establish its effect.

A rider who is thrown from its mount and survives may elect to remain on foot or spend one turn remounting.

All figures wounded are pinned for the next turn.

A weapon fired at close range gives +1 to your dice score on the above table.

Hand to Hand

When enemy figures enter base to base contact they are considered to be in hand to hand combat. To resolve this melee each player rolls a d12, applies any modifiers, and the highest wins.

If a figure is being attacked by multiple opponents it may only attack one opponent of its choice, however it still rolls to defend itself against the other attackers, if it wins then it simply blocks the blow.

Apply the relevant modifiers to your die roll;

Type

Modifier

Elite

+2

Veteran

+1

Regular

0

Raw

-1

Sword

+2

Bayonet

+1

Each Wound

-1

Charged

+1

Defending cover

+1

Additional attacker

+1

Cavalry

+1

Effects of hits

Die difference

1-2

3-4

5

6+

Effect

1 wound

2 wounds

2 wounds, roll d12, 6+ dead

dead

Morale

Roll a d12 for morale in the following situations;

25% losses of unit

When wounded, one test per turn

When charged

When friendly model killed within 12" and line of sight

If you are using units the for each kill roll a d12, on a 12 the officer / standard is killed

Morale Table

d12 result

effect

1-2

Panic full move away from enemy, surrender if in combat

3-4

Retreat to cover, continue if in cover

5+

continue as normal

Apply the following modifiers to your morale roll;

Circumstance

Modifier

per wound

-1

charged by cavalry

-1

if charged and weapon unloaded

-1

Elite

+2

Veteran

+1

Regular

+0

Raw

-1

Officer / standard killed

-1

in cover

+1

If Officer / standard in L.O.S.

+1

Optional rules.

Skills and Troop Types

 

It is recommended that if you are going to use the following rules then you do so as follows;

In unit games only Officers should roll for skills and troop type in order to reduce record keeping.

In individual games all figures should roll for skills and troop type.

Troop type table

The following table allows you to establish your troop type and their fieled of fighting

expertise, whether it is combat or shooting. This should be noted as it effects all your action rolls in the game.

Troop Type

Combat / Shooting

Shooting / Combat

Roll

1-6

7-12

12

Elite

+2/+1

+2/+1

10-11

Veteran

+1/0

+1/0

2-9

Regular

0/-1

0/-1

1

Raw

-1/-2

-1/-2

©F.W.E/Gamers Web 1998.

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