free hack - the ganesha games free irregular ezine...free hack - the ganesha games free irregular...

Free Hack - The Ganesha Games FREE irregular ezine

2

Since last issue, Ganesha Games haspublished three new titles: Flashing

Steel for your pirate and musketeersfans, Mighty Monsters for giant monster

combat, and Drums and Shakos LargeBattles for divisional-level Napoleonic

gaming. All are available as $8 PDFs. DSLBis a 44 page full color book but the PDF

download comeswith an ink-saving

version with all thedecorative borders andperiod illustrations removedso it won’t eat up your colorink cartridge if you print itat home.

FLASHING STEEL writtenby Andrew Boswell andGreg Hallam brings a quasi-rpg feel to yourswashbuckling scenarios. Ituses a point system to designyour characters one by one,although in this issue of FreeHack we added a few“standard” troops you maywant to use to play largergames or when you are in arush. Because of theacrobatic and cinematicnature of swashbucklingcombat, Flashing Steel worksbest with small numbers offigures (the gamerecommends 8 to 15) and with lots of scenic items. You’llneed tables to leap over, chairs that can be picked up andsmashed on the head of your foes, and all kinds ofobstacles to create improvised weapons and trip yourcharacters.

While Flashing Steel is more than sufficient to playMusketeers and most pirate scenarios, pirates areinsanely popular these days, also thanks to Hollywood,so we immediately bought a few Ainsty Castings ships(http://ainstycastings.co.uk/) to be used as backdrops forour pirate scuffles. This gave us the idea of a piratecampaign supplements with lots of additional detailsabout boarding actions, treasure, scenarios, and so on.We’ll see how quickly we can put that together. As usual,

we are at the whim ofthe local playtestersand their fleetingwargaming interests.

In addition to thissupplement, AndrewBoswell is working ona larger version ofFlashing Steel calledForged in Blood forlarger historicalbattles in the sameperiod (still at the onefigure equals one manscale) and on a Scarletpimpernel campaignset during the FrenchRevolution and basedon BaronessD’Orczy’s classicbooks.

Back to the rules: Afan has taken RayForsythe’s javascriptwarband builder and

has modified it into a Flashing Steel builder. You candownload it on the Song of Blades Yahoo! Group andon www.ganeshagames.net in the builderssection.

New

Games


3

An interesting feature of Flashing Steel is the wayscenarios are generated. A series of tables coupled witha dice roll give you the who, what, how, why and whereof the battles you are going to fight. This system isobviously optional as not all players will have time toplay a series of games, but the system (used with a bit ofcommon sense) comes with the highest of

recommendations. The tables assume one playerwill run the “good guys” and the other player a

variable opposition. For best results, of course,at the end of the mini-campaign you should

reverse roles and play some more until avictor is determined.

Like it happens with new games, we managed to slip inquite a few mistakes in the final edit of Flashing Steel, soin this issue of Free Hack there are errata, clarifications,and designer’s notes.

From floppy hats and rapiers to nuclear breath, wartyrubber suits, and gigantic claws that can fell skyscrapers:a recent addition to the Ganesha stable is MightyMonsters, our miniature game of giant monster combat.Given the size of some of these “miniatures” we use toplay, maybe the word is a misnomer!

In typical Ganesha Games philosophy, MightyMonsters may be played in many differentways. You could play a simple one -on-oneduel, with two players each controlling a giantmonster, or do the same with one playercontrolling a monster and the opponentcontrolling the army. Or you may (this is ourfavorite play style) have each playercontrolling 3-4 monsters and fight an all-out,titanic slugfest and destroy the city. As cheesyas the B-movie source material is, we tried tomake the game tactical and engaging.

Monsters are designed with a point system.You buy the Quality and Combat scores ofeach part of the monster’s body, e.g.A r m s , legs, torso, head. You then

apply special rules (some ofwhich come in levels) toevery body part, or to the

monster as a whole. As youmight have guessed, designing a

monster is much like designing awarband or squad in other Ganesha Gamesrule sets, with the monster’s body parts beingthe warband members. During the game, youactivate the body parts you want toact with. So for example if you havea monster with three pair of arms and


4

want to punch your opponent,you could activate the first pairof arms, punch, then activatethe second and punch again,and finally activate the thirdpair of arms to deliver theultimate haymaker to youropponent. Activation, like inother rulesets, may cause aturnover, so a monster with manyappendages is not necessarily at anadvantage unless the player is really goodat dice rolling.

The rules encourage players to design creatures just likethe ones seen in the movies and TV series of the Japanesegiant monster genre.

Unlike other Ganesha Games rule sets, combat in MightyMonsters is NOT a simultaneous roll off. One monsterattacks, choosing a maneuver from a list of many options(such as claw strike, bite, punch, body slam, tail sweep,and so on) and the target of the attack defends. The diceroll + Combat results are compared and an effect isdetermined based on how much the attacker managedto beat the defender by (e.g., beaten, doubled, tripled etc).In certain cases, if the attacker fails badly (e.g., hisCombat roll is doubled by the defender’s roll), thedefender gets to perform a free counterattack to thatmove, or something equally annoying for the attackerhappens. For examples, flying kicks are powerful butmay send your monster sprawling in the floor if they failbadly.

Attacks that hit cause an effect (such as knock back orknockdown) and/or a certain number of wounds. As youmay have guessed if you know our other rule sets, hereat Ganesha we are not big fans of book-keeping andavoid it whenever possible. So how do we record themany “life points” that a monster has, and which are agenre staple?And at the same time, how do we create theuncertainty which is so typical of our rule sets when youhave a playing piece that can withstand a hit from anICBM?

Monsters (and other large things like spaceships) use asystem of colored dice to keep track of their healthconditions. A monster begins the game with three whitedice. These are simply the dice used by the player to rollfor the activations of the monster’s body parts. As themonster receives wounds, his white dice become yellowor red. Yellow dice are “annoying” and red dice are“dangerous”. Basically, every time the monster rolls a 1on a yellow die, he must roll on a “bad stuff” table (thereare actually three tables, and the monster rolls on one orthe other based on his current number of yellow or reddice). The same thing happens every time the monsterrolls a failure on any activation roll on a red die. So, theplayer of a slightly wounded monster may want to rollless dice (rolling only the white ones) but if he overexerts, bad stuff might happen... Things like the monster losingits balance or being stunned or losing he use of one ofits appendages... This process continues until eventuallythe accumulation of red dice and activation failuresknocks out the monster.

So, uncertainty is created because you never know whenyour monster will succumb to its wounds. Atthe same time, the dice used for activation(which must be on the table anyway) are usedas damage counters, so there’s no need for


5

mitigated. Failing activation rolls causes Reactions,which is a new concept in Ganesha rules unless youalready play Armageddon Hour. Basically, every timeyou fail a roll, you are giving the opponent a chance toreact with one of his units. Reactions are limited (a unitmay react only once per turn) but as they happen in theacting player’s turn, they often wreak havoc with hisplans...

Combat is another innovative part of the rules. First ofall, combat is divided into two distinct phases, Approachand Contact. Approach represents the moment when aunit launches an attack and starts shooting from adistance, while Contact represents close quarter fightingand point blank shooting. How a unit performs in theApproach phase affects the Contact phase. Will the unit“lose steam” and be repelled as the men realize their fire

is ineffective, or will they gainenough impetus to close in for thekill?

Instead of a simple dice roll offlike in our other games, Drumsand Shakos Large Battles uses a“bunch of dice” approach. Dicerolled are not totaled. They arecompared one by one, in orderfrom the highest to the lowestscoring, with the dice rolled by theopponent, and this comparisontells you the story of that clash. InDrums and Shakos Large Battles, you can win but take losses asyou do so, cavalry may perform abreakthrough, unit may lose

ground , and so on, all with a simple comparison of thedice. Modifiers to the score of troops are always addeddice.

Drums and Shakos Large Battles uses casualtyfigures or disorder token to mark attrition onunits. The rule book shows several ways to dothis, but we found that the least obtrusive way

writing down stuff on a play sheet or cluttering the tablewith extra markers.

This issue of Free Hack has a few photos by AndreaSfiligoi showing how he built his Monster Island whichwas a huge success at Lucca Comics and Games (Italy’smost famous geek con and the largest of its kind in theworld in terms of attendance).

Also a few pictures show how to build rubble counters(destroyed buildings) with scrap materials.

Drums and Shakos Large Battles is Sergio Laliscia’sruleset for divisional level Napoleonic battles. Playablein any scale in under three hours, this set is aimed atexperienced grognards wishing to re-fight historicalbattles. It is also easy enough that relative newcomermay learn it in a few games, however, if this is your firstNapoleonic game, we recommendlearning the rules with counters (orusing a friend’s collection of figures)before committing to painting alarge force.

We think Sergio did an excellent jobwith these rules, but we are biased:we saw him working on them andtweak them for almost three years,testing them at home at the club atat any convention Ganesha hasattended in the last two years. Therules have gone through manyincarnations, and every time Sergiowas hitting a snag in design he wasalways wondering “how can I makethis part of the game more exciting?”or “how can I do something which satisfies the detail-loving Napoleonic enthusiasts yet remains playable in acouple of hours?”.

Drums and Shakos Large Battles uses the standardGanesha system of Q, C , special rules and activationrolls. However, these rules put the player in the role ofthe Commander in Chief, so turn-overs are somehow


6

to mark losses is to use a colored chit using a trafficlight color progression (green, yellow, red) to showdifferent degrees of attrition.

An appendix also gives you guidelines to use the rulesat even larger level (we did playtest it at corps level using6mm models).

As we type this, we are play testing in house Song of Spearand Shield ( ancient skirmish rules), Power Legion(superhero rules) , Song of Armies and Hordes (large scalefantasy battles) and Samurai Robot Battle Royale (ourgiant robot combat set, a standalone book which will becompatibel with Mighty Monsters). Additionally, we areworking on two sets we are writing in collaboration withsome of our favorite miniature manufacturers.

We are doing these sets because we like the figures and themanufacturers have agreed to work with us in acollaborative, cross-promotional deal. There is noexchange of money involved. We sell the rules, they sell

the figures. It’s simple as that. Ganeshais NOT abandoning their “play with any

figures you have” philosophy. We just likethese figures because they are the ones we

use in our games.

One is Apocalypticum, a Mutants and DeathRay Guns variant written for the excellent line

of 28mm post apocalyptic miniaturesmanufactured by Lead Adventure

(www.leadadventure.com). This will be more“realistic” than MDRG and will be set against thebackdrop of a bleak central/Eastern European cityinfested by mutant rats the size of dogs, and humanscavengers who are much, much worse than theiranimal counterparts. Neo-communist warlords,police forces, primitive survivors, tunnel raiders,zombies, scientific exploration teams and bands ofveterans complete the picture.

Some of our favorite figures from www.leadadventure.com

In Playtest


7

The other ruleset inspired by a miniatures line isSwatters, a large scale bug-hunting science fiction gameinspired by the Khurasan Miniatures 15mm models.Troops move and fire as units (fire tems or swarms ofbugs). This is designed to be played with plenty of figureson a large table (6x4’ is possible, although most of thetesting is being done on a 4x3’ or a 4x4’). Twelvescenarios and two ready to run army lists (plus a pointsystem to create more) are included in the book.

The rules are very simple. They are not meant for playerswho love a lot of detail. Weapons are abstracted intogeneral classes and effects, you wont see a bonus for highcaliber or the like. The idea here is to play a large battleto a conclusion in one hour or slightly more, nuke bugsfrom orbit and clean up infested planets.

Figures represent one man or bug each, and move usingmini-CD as cohesion distance trays. Models fight aswhole units (I.e., one die is rolled for the whole unit, andthe unit has a Combat score equal to the number ofactive, non-flinching figures on it). Leadership isrepresented by the ability to recover those flinchingmodels and bring back the units to full combat efficiency.

This will be a full color, 48 page book with pre-designedfactions. The profiles are built with the usual Javascripttroop builder so you may tweak them if what we put inthe book doesn’t really fit with your plans. This is goingto be a shooty game (nearly all figures come equippedwith firearms) with a campaign system and vehiclerules. Apocalypticum will be playtested by someof the fine gentlemen of the Lead Adventure forum.

Work in progress logo for SWATTERS

A few SWATTERS figures from Khurasan


8

The two books closestto publication date at

the moment of writingare Ghostrangers (Ben

Boersma ghost huntingcampaign supplement for

Fear and Faith) and Tales ofBlades and Heroes (Ganesha

Games generic fantasy RPG, abook for players and Gms of the

roleplaying game, soon to be followedby the GM’s book/monstercompendium Tales of Beasts and Perils.Both should be available before the endof February, 2012 if the gods of layoutand editing assist us.

Available Soon


9

Originally appeared at

http://wargaming.info/2011/the-95th-rifles-song-of-drums-and-shakos/

By John Moher at Wargaming.info(http://wargaming.info)

I’ve been giving some thought to skirmish gaming overthe last year or so – it started with Fantasy, as I waslooking for something to do with my collection of classicD&D (Dungeon’s & Dragons) RPG figures that I’vecollected over the years (which are quite a mix with somedating from the early 1980s, others being more recent2000 acquisitions prompted by the release of the 3rdEdition D&D rules which had tempted a (very) briefrevisit to the Pen & Paper RPG world. However the idearapidly spread to Napoleonics (as I wanted to use myassorted surplus figures from my larger Lasalle armiesfor smaller games), and eventually the early NewZealand Wars, and ultimately the 18th Century F&IW(French & Indian War)

I was looking for something simple, fast, and suitable forfairly small forces (and if possible that could covermultiple periods), and that would be great for quick 1-2hour games on small tables when there wasn’topportunity to play full sized games, and perhapsincorporation into campaigns for minor actions… Myoriginal thoughts were to use Sharpe Practice as I’d heardlots of good things about it, so I purchased these andseveral supplements and while promising one thing that

struck me is there’s a lot of focus on larger games so it’snot really a true ‘skirmish’ set, as it’s designed for you torun anything from 30-150 figures a side…

However meanwhile at the Auckland Wargaming Club(NZ) a couple of the guys had been trying out Song ofDrums and Shakos (SDS) and they had been findingthem fast, easy to play and enjoyable, and they weremuch more focused towards games of around 6-24figures a side. What’s more, in addition to Napoleonic’sthey’d ideally suit and be easily adaptable to small scaleactions of the early New Zealand Wars (i.e. the WairauAffray, Flagstaff War, Hutt Valley Campaign, &Wanganui Campaign over 1843-1847) and obviouslyF&IW games too. What’s more they already had thefantasy stuff covered I mentioned above with the originalSong of Blades and Heroes (SBH)! So I quickly pickedup both SBH and SDS and several supplements includingthe latter’s expansion More Drums and Shakos (MDS).

I soon organised a game with my regular opponentKieran, who is a big fan of the rules, and set towork organising a force – I always only want toplay historical games (as I just can’t stand

Battle

Report The 95th Rifles’ Song of Drums and Shakos


10

anachronistic opponents for some reason), and hadhoped to use my force of Perry’s dismounted FrenchDragoons (who are redundant from the Perry PlasticDragoon units in my Lasalle French Army), however asKieran had only French ready to use (actually a PolishRegiment – the French 6th Ligne I believe) I opted touse some of my British skirmish figures – the choicebeing either the 95th Rifles or some Highlanders. I optedfor the former and quickly worked out a ‘standard’ 400point force (okay well actually it was 401 points). Myforce consisted of Lieutenant Richard Sharpe (of course),“Chosen Men” Patrick Harper, Daniel Hagman, andFrancis Cooper, and Riflemen Isaiah Tongue, BenPerkins, and Ben Harris (all being characters out of thebooks and/or the TV series) – although Patrick Harper

couldn’t be made an NCO due to lack of points! Howeverall 7 men were rated with Élan, Light, & Rifle armed,while the three “Chosen Men” were also Marksmen andLieutenant Sharpe was also obviously a Leader and ratedSword as well as Rifle armed.

Kieran meanwhile had a detachment of fairly averageFrench Ligne Infantry, okay well actually they werePolish, so in real life a bit better than average, and hisforce included an Officer, NCO, Porte-Fanion (StandardBearer), Drummer, 3 Grenadiers, 3 Voltigeurs, and 3Fusiliers – 13 men in total! The 95th would beoutnumbered nearly 2:1. However they hadminimal special ratings, the Grenadiersobviously being rated Strong (so a mêlée bonus)and the Voltigeurs rated Light, but otherwise


11

their muskets had less accuracy than the 95th Rifles Bakerrifles, while the Officer had only a Pistol & Sword, andthe Drummer was unarmed (his benefit being the abilityto transmit orders further than voice range). Quality-wise all the troops were similar with both sides Officers& the Polish NCO, Porte-Fanion, & Drummer all beingbetter (3+) than the remaining troops on both sides (4+);however as the 95th Rifles all had Élan they effectivelywere one better again for motivation/initiative (i.e. theywere easier to activate to take actions than the

French/Polish). All except the Polish Drummer (+1) hadthe same combat rating (+2) when it came to mêlée,shooting, and such (the difference for shooting being theBaker rifles of the 95th).

The action would be an encounter, with two forcesmoving to occupy a small farm. A French detachmentwas out foraging for their regiment, and happened acrossa British patrol watching the flank of a larger Britishforce. Lieutenant Sharpe on observing the approachingFrench deployed his men in 3 teams of two, each led bya “Chosen Man”, positioning himself with the centreteam. The plan was to secure the farmyard’s flanks withtwo of the teams and then personally lead the centralteam to the decisive position as needed. The Polish

meanwhile approached the farmyard either side of a lowrise in 2 loose groups, one heading for the farmhouse(led by Lieutenant Koslowski and Officer portant lefanion Gryzbowski) and the other the barn (led bySergeant Adamicz). The 95th Riflemen had theadvantage of the ground and were first to the buildings,the two flank teams quickly moving alongside bothbuildings while Sharpe’s team moved into the centre ofthe farmyard.

Meanwhile the Poles advancedsomewhat sporadically – not showingthe same urgency as the Riflemen. In factKieran was being a bit more cautious, asthe Polish were a bit harder to activate(not having the Élan of the Riflemen), sohe wasn’t risking rolling 3 dice per figurefor actions (as failure on 2 or more diceimmediately handed initiative back tothe enemy). Consequently the Poles wereonly conducting 1 or 2 actions to the 2-3of each Rifleman. The Poles however hadsome readymade cover immediately infront of them, as both groups had someconvenient linear obstacles (stone wallsor hedges) they could gain cover fromonce they advanced – the Riflemen’sonly equivalent being to occupy the farm

buildings if able. While Patrick Harper & Ben Perkinsinvestigated the farmhouse on the left flank, “ChosenMan” Francis Cooper on the right began engagingSergeant Adamicz’s group on the British right, from theside of the barn, his first shot knocking one of the Polesoff his feet. In the centre Sharpe was uncharacteristicallyindecisive and led Hagman and Tongue forwardsomewhat cautiously (he was attempting group movesand getting dreadful activation rolls despite only needing2+ due to his Élan)…

There followed a period of intermittent fire and cautiousmaneuvering – on the British left Harper &Perkins got into the farmhouse and Harperfinally (after great procrastination) began


12

sniping (very ineffectually) from the 1st floorwindow, supported by Perkins from the frontdoorway (also very ineffectually). On the British rightCooper was much more effective, his fire forcing thePolish off their feet or back a couple of times, but notable to get a telling hit. Harris was in support but onlymanaged to get off one shot the whole time. Bothgroups of Poles meanwhile continued to advanceslowly, moving up close behind the stone wall andhedge respectively… The Poles were also sporadicallyreturning fire once they got into range, but theirmuskets were not as accurate as the Baker rifles –however out of the blue a Voltigeur got a lucky shotoff at “Chosen Man” Daniel Hagman that rippedthrough the poor rifleman and instantly felled himwith a serious wound! That was then promptlyfollowed by one of the other Poles getting a near-misson Isaiah Tongue that knocked him off his feet.

This seemed to impact Sharpe quite critically –despite repeated attempts to advance and engage thePoles he just refused to do so – losing all motivationand able to only fire off a sporadic shot at the closergroup led by Lieutenant Koslowski (in fact activationrolls for Sharpe were pretty dreadful for the entiregame – he seemed to be a magnet for 1s on the dice

and combined with the other Riflemen occasionallylosing the initiative before Sharpe could even attempt totake an action it made his group incredibly inert). In factthings weren’t going that flash for the British generally,and the much vaunted 95th Riflemen weren’t hittingmuch with their rifles at all! This ineffectual firing andmaneuvering had now been going on for some time.

The Poles however were getting into a stronger positionas the fight progressed, most of their men were in covernow, and many were able to snipe back (albeit at longrange) at the British. What’s more most of the Britishwere in the open or at least in a position that onlyprovided cover from some of the enemy. About this timePatrick Harper abandoned his upstairs window to movedownstairs to rejoin Perkins – the intent being to joinup with Sharpe and Tongue for an assault on the groupof Poles behind the stonewall (in a combined groupmove led by Sharpe).

Sharpe was still decidedly indecisive and numbers werestarting to build up against the riflemen – on the rightCooper and Harris were in serious danger ofbeing hit and in fact were dangerously close tobeing charged, so they began withdrawing tothe rear of the barn. Harper finally emerged


13

from the 1st floor into the farmhouse’s kitchen to joinPerkins (obviously having been first waylaid by some“Enlisted Man’s Shopping” within the farmhouse –actually he rolled poorly for a couple of activationattempts)…

It was by then apparent the Riflemen were going tostruggle to overcome the Poles – as the ranges closed thePolish numbers would start to tell, and the Riflemen’ssuperior accuracy and motivation (although there hadbeen little actual evidence of either so far in the game)were going to be neutralized, so there was no choice butto begin a withdrawal, and after the initial moves of suchat which point we called the game over; with a nominalwinning draw to the Polish (as we agreed the Rifleswould be able to make a fairly clean and prompt get awayfrom their current positions due to their Élan). As a firstgame of SDS it had been an interesting experience andhighlighted the need for some planning in your actions,

and the old maxims of concentration of force andsimplicity! With the way the SDS mechanics work it wasa key difference for the Riflemen to be able to throw 3dice at times with a reasonable chance of getting 2-3actions and not losing the initiative, but still highlightedthe need not to rely on such things continuously. WhileKieran was reduced to throwing 2 and often just 1 dicefor actions to minimise the risk of losing the initiativetoo easily, and/or keeping his chaps close to their leadersto facilitate ‘group moves’ for similar reasons! Sogenerally a positive first outing with some obvious subtleeffects and in some respects a similar style of game toArty Conliffe’s Crossfire with the initiative and variablebounds (which also augurs well as I rate the latter veryhighly). So I will be looking forward to another bash inthe near future, and then hopefully a fantasygame or two with SBH… And first impressionsof SDS are “Highly Recommended”.

Do you have a blog? If you write battle reports of gamesbased on our products, please send them to us forinclusion in the next issue of Free Hack.


14

Look! Up in the sky. It’s a bird, it’s a plane,It’s Power Legion! This is how all super heroskirmish games should start. I recently saw where PowerLegion, Ganesha’s SOBH super hero offshoot neededsome play testers and with a horde of unused Hero Clixfigs, I was game. As I offer a few thoughts on the game,let me be clear, I received a rough, unfinished version,hence the play testing, but even a rough version playedwith the strength of the Green Muscle Dude. I beganstatting up my teams, both villains and heroes. There isa learning curve here that is different from other Songengine games, because you have to have a power to act,and every ability has a cost. Once you learn this, you'llbe pro character creator in no time. The villains I chosewere lesser-known villains to see how they played, andI was not disappointed. I have changed the names of theheroes and villains to keep in compliance withtrademarks, but you are free to guess their real names.My villains were :

Ball and Chain

Mind Spell

The Aussie

Total Points: 925

And six Mooks to help out and be heropunching bags if nothing else. The Heroes Ichose were

The American Shield

Red Devil

Eagle Eye

Crazy Claws

Total Points: 1500.

The point difference was largely due to one hero whohad a bunch of qualities you could not leave off as to betrue to the character In fact, both teams were pretty evenwhen we started, but I had to add some abilities as I wentbecause I would say things like, “Well he should be ableto do that.” But, don’t t let the point difference fool you;this was a tough battle. You can find the battle report onthe Yahoo Message Boards.

What I liked:

Authenticity

This game played like a comic book battle. Because of Balland Chains tough skin and Armor 2 rating, Crazy Clawswould often cause him to recoil. He was not taken down untilI could get a few heroes over there to help out.

Varied Consequences

The damage table adds a fun twist to the game because of theincreased knockbacks and the potential for being K.O’d. orthrown off the table. You can be hit and still battle on but youmay be stunned, groggy, or exhausted from the battle.

What I struggled with:

Like I said earlier, this was a rough copy of the game , whichmade it a little difficult in the explanation department. You

can’t over explainsomething to me , so Ilook forward to moreexamples, and clearerdefinition in thecomplete package.

In the end, you shoulddust off your cape,shine up those boots,and get your eightbucks ready, becausethis is another greatproduct coming fromGanesha Games.

A Behind the Scenes

Look at Power LegionBy Paul Turner


15

Swordsman/ Swashbuckler PhillippeQ3 C3 Rapier Pistol Panache, Blur of Steel,Danger sense, Hero, 103 pts

Swordsman/ Swashbuckler DiegoQ3 C3 Rapier, Main-gauche, Panache,Dashing, Elite, Multiple foes, 92 pts

Swordsman/ Swashbuckler GustavQ3 C3 Rapier, Pistol, Panache, Impetus, Followon, Great defense, Hero, 107 pts

Guardsman AlphonsQ4 C2 Rapier, Pistol, Polearm, Guardsman,Bodyguard, 35 pts

Guardsman EttieneQ4 C2 Rapier, Main-gauche, Polearm,Guardsman, Gang, Eager, 54 pts

Guardsman JeanQ4 C2 Rapier, Light musket, Polearm,Guardsman, Gang 54 pts

Soldier HansQ4 C3 Sword, Pistol ,Double pistols, SecondIn Command, Steady under fire, 52 pts

Soldier ClausQ4 C2 Sword Heavy musket, Brawler,Quick reactions, 55 pts

Sample Characters for Flashing SteelSoldier PieterQ4 C2 Sword,Pike, Danger sense, Murderous, Steadyunder fire, 53 pts

Highwayman ThomQ4 C 3 Sword, Pistol, Double pistols , Fear , 47 pts

Highwayman HarryQ4 C2 Club, Pugilist, Slippery, 30 pts

Highwayman DickQ4 C2 Light musket, Knife, Leader, 47 pts

Militia FrancoisQ5 C2 Light musket, Guardsman, 19 pts

Militia HermanQ5 C1 Sword, Guardsman, 12 pts

Militia OscarQ5 C1 Club, Guardsman, Eager, 11 pts

Assassin The faceless oneQ3 C3 Acrobat, Fearless, Knife thrower, Rapier,Follow on, Firelock musket, 81 pts

Assassin Herr SchwarzQ3 C3 Sneaky,Sprint, Wall climber, Maximiseweapon,Multiple foes, Firelock musket, Murderous, 86 pts

Assassin Doktor ToteQ3 C3 Dashing, Leader, Panache, Passingstrike, Rapier, 90 pts


16

Thug BorisQ4 C2 Club, Strong, 23 pts

Thug EricQ5 C2 Sword, Brawler, 35 pts

Fanatic DominicQ4 C3 Fanatic, Sword, Impetus , 47 pts

Fanatic FranciscoQ4 C2 Hatred, Main-gauche, Dashing, 31 pts

Fanatic AlessandroQ4 C1 Fanatic, Pistol, Double pistols, Follow on, 39 pts

Gypsy EsmeraldaQ4 C1 Acrobat, Climber, Sneaky, Physician 20 pts

Gypsy MarkoQ4 C1 Light musket, Hawkeye/poacher, Forester, 26 pts

Gypsy SaphiraQ4 C1 Blur of steel, 23 pts

Civilian OttoQ5 C0 Club, Passing strike, 16 pts

Civilian HelgaQ5 C0 Leader, 16 pts

Civilian MichelQ5 C0 Polearm (pitchfork), 11 pts

Aristocrat GeorgeQ3 C3 Rapier, Main-gauche, Duellist, 60 pts

Aristocrat LouisQ4 C3 Rapier, Pistol, Duellist, Mounted, 61 pts

Aristocrat HeinrichQ4 C2 Sword, Mounted, Duellist 38 pts

Pirate Long JohnQ4 C3 Brawler , Great defence, Murderous, Oneleg, Sea legs , Parrot , Sword 73 pts

Pirate Old TomQ4 C2 Acrobat, Club, Lucky Tattoo, Drunkard, Sealegs, 31 pts

Pirate Captain FootQ3 C2 Acrobat, Dashing, Duelist, Leader, Main gauche(hook), Sea legs, Rapier , 76 pts

Pirate Toothless BillQ4 C 1 Acrobat, Pistol, Double pistols, Gang,Drunkard, Sea legs, Monkey, Sword, 38 pts


17

The period of 1560 to 1660 marks the final transitionbetween the medieval and the modern. Before, therewere kings and aristocrats (robber barons made good)who conducted their wars as personal vendettas usingtheir populations as disposal pawns. After, came theideas of scientific discourse, the rights of man, theresponsibilities of government and the equality of allmankind.

Spain enjoyed its peak and then decline as the worldsuperpower. Gold from the New World made it rich, butits feudal economy had it teetering on the brink ofbankruptcy at the same time. Spanish Tercios ruled thebattlefield until surpassed by the more agile Dutch andSwedish formations.

France was home to the semi-mythical Musketeers thatDumas wrote of. It was torn apart by religious warbetween the protestant Huguenots and the royal RomanCatholics. When Louis the XIII came to the throne as achild he had Cardinal Richelieu, a dedicated statesman,to assist him. The Cardinal reduced the power of thearistocracy – always the bane of French politics – andcentralised it around the king. He made few friends.

Protestant England was an unregarded secondary poweruntil the unprecedented victory over the Spanishinvasion fleet in 1588. It was if a flea had toppled anelephant. Elizabeth I ruled till 1603. Shakespeare died in1616. The English Civil Wars started in 1642 in the firstof what was to become a long list of revolutions across

Flashing Steel Background and Designer’s Notes

By Andrew Boswell

the world where the divine rights of kings were strippedaway.

Germany was a geographic shorthand. Instead, therewere hundreds of countries and principalities in whatwas called The Holy Roman Empire. The Empire wasprosperous and powerful, led by the Austrian branch ofthe same family that ruled Spain. When the Reformationcame and different countries chose what faith to follow,the administrative structure of the Empire was unableto cope and as a result it fell into the devastating 30 YearsWar.

Flanders, or what we now called The Netherlands andBelgium flew into revolt against its Spanish masters inwhat became the 80 Years War. Lower Flandersremained Spanish (now Belgium) and the upper partremained unrepentant and heretic.

This was also a golden age of Piracy. Spain’s worldsupremacy depended on its control of the sea-lanes.England, France, and the Dutch actively challenged theSpanish at sea, where they were unable to directly hit onland. This is the age of Sir Francis Drake.

On the periphery of Europe, the Transylvanians, nowfinally subdued by the Turks, invaded the Empire onseveral occasions. Ottoman Turkey itself had started itslong decline from greatness, but still mountedseveral assaults on the Empire. The adventuresof Baron Munchausen occur just after this


18

period. The dreaded Polish Winged Hussars were at theirpeak. Sweden surged from being a vassal of Denmark tobeing the pre-eminent Baltic power, and then witheredaway again.

Outside of Europe, China was enjoying the rule of theMing Dynasty, and Japan was wrapping up its SengokuJidei civil wars and settling into a period of isolation.

This period is generally referred to asthe Pike and Shot age. The armouredknights of previous centuries becametoo expensive to maintain, and thetwin power of trained professionalinfantrymen armed with long spears(pike) and muskets cut them down.

Command and control on thebattlefield was extremely limited. Thebest a commander could do wasorganise his army as it formed up, andthen hope that this carried the day.Training made the difference, alongwith initiative at the lower ranks. Itwas a peculiar time of professionalismmixed with individual heroism.

The weapon of choice for the late Renaissance gentlemanwas the rapier: a narrow bladed cut and thrust weaponthat used advanced steel making techniques to make itas light as possible. It was often paired with a secondaryshort sword to parry with.

It should not be confused with modern competitionfencing swords, which have been reduced to balletproportions and are designed to prevent injury.

Other swords were utilised for their heavy power: theZweihander and Claymore (two handed swords), theircheapness to produce for common infantry issue, or forother reasons such as ease of use in the saddle.

Every man of substance was expected to be armed at alltimes in Renaissance Europe. Fights for honour orrevenge were everyday events. Offences to face or dignitywere expected to be remedied quickly, and with blood.

The standard musket ofthe period was muzzle-loaded and fired bybringing a smoulderingsaltpetre-soaked cordinto the flash pan.

Heavy, or regular, lineinfantry at the start ofthis period were armedwith large andcumbersome musketsthat fired a ball of halfan inch or larger(remembering thatthere was no such thingas ‘factories’ producingthese things. Every onewas hand made, though

standardisation was a desirable outcome). These largemuskets required a rest in order to keep the muzzlepointed in the right direction.

Smaller and lighter muskets were developed to allowgreater mobility, right up to models for use on horseback.

The firelock, or flintlock, musket was a high-techdevelopment that ignited the main charge by striking aflint against steel. Though technically no morelethal that matchlocks, they were cheaper tokeep in the field as troops did not need to be


19

supplied with matchcord, and they were undoubtedlysafer to use. The basic pattern developed by the end ofthis period was more or less the same as those thatcarried by Napoleon’s troops to glory.

Pistols were usually wheel locks, expensive andcomplicated pieces of machinery that had clockworkmechanisms to throw sparks into the firing pan.

Conspicuous by their absence in these rules are artillerypieces. At the time, cannon were hugely heavy and drawnby large ox teams (with the exception of the few specialisttypes). They were beloved by technology-loving rulersand this fascination fuelled experimentation. In timetheir reducing weight made them practical tacticalweapons. But in the Late Renaissance, cannon werepredominantly immobile on the battlefield and moresignificant in siege actions.

This should not prevent you from modelling them inyour games. They make excellent objectives for raidingparties.

The core engine was already complete with Songs ofBlades and Heroes. The system was so generic, sostreamlined, that it provided a strong foundation for thiswork.

What we wanted to do was incorporate the successfulideas that came out of And One For All from EurekaMiniatures: the free wheeling swashbuckling pace ofRenaissance combat.

Pace is what it is all about. A Renaissance musket wasnot the same as a Napoleonic musket. It was slower toload, for a start. It was also fired using a live, burningmatchcord, which made it even slower for safety reasons.But it was the terror weapon of the age. Make no mistake,if you were hit, you were in a lot of trouble. It was themusket that ended the reign of the armored knight.

On top of this, Europe had been at almost continual warfor over a thousand years. Nowadays we associate thewords ‘martial arts’ with Eastern practices. But Europewas awash with martial arts schools, teaching everyconceivable way of killing and maiming your fellow maneither with or without a weapon. The fact that theEuropeans lost these arts is a historian’s tragedy. It is atestament to Asian sensibilities that they preserved theirsin the face of technological redundancy.

So, the goal of these rules was to slow down the pace ofgunfire, but increase its relative lethality, while at thesame time increasing the pace of close combat to reflectthe dynamic professional environment.

And also, of course, we wanted to allow the kinds ofdramatic, cinematic action that we enjoyed when wewatched The Three Musketeers. It may have beenfantasy, but it was good fun. That’s how we like toimagine our history.


20

Stomping GroundsBuilding scenics for Mighty Monsters with scrap materials, by Andrea Sfiligoi

I had some leftover pieces of foam in a box. Actually,these are the pieces you pull out of a miniature-carryingcase. They are the right size to model some destroyedbuildings to go with my 40-70mm gashapons I use formy Mighty Monsters games. So I white-gluedthem on heavy steel washers and added a littlegrit on top…

…added some polyfilla on top to create flames and let itdry for a few hours. A big gloop of polyfilla may take thewhole night to dry. Add it straight from the tube,creating a flame-shaped swirl as you do so. Smaller dropsmay be used to model smaller flames on the sides of thebuildings.

Spray them black, then paint. Gray for thestill intact parts of the building, yellowand red for the flames. Here’s how theylook next to plastic buildings andgashapons. I use a square piece of MDFas a play area.

Gashapon figures by BANDAI.

Plastic buildings fromM O N S T E R P O C A L Y P S Ecollectible game by PrivateerPress.

Destroyed Buildings


21

Monster IslandThis was my big project for the launch of the Italian edition of Mighty Monsters at Lucca Comics and Games, quitepossibly the geekdom’s largest get-together. It had to be large enough to catch the eye and hold a sizeable amountof monsters, so visitors could recognize their favorite critters from a distance. My modeling skills are limited atbest and I had only two days to finish this. This is how I did it.

Take a 3x3’ piece of very thick foam core (polystyrenesheet used for insulation) and cut the island shape witha hot wire cutter. Sand it to give it a rough finish (usefine grain sandpaper). Make sure you sand it outside –the polystyrene “dust” is not something you want onyour clothes, lungs, or house. Wear some work clothesand vacuum them when you’re finished.

With patience and a bit of elbow grease, I created adepression on one side to represent a beach.

Also using the hot wire cutter, you can cut away a smallsection and the lift it, leaving it in place. This creates acave. Maybe this makes little sense from a geologicalpoint of view, but looks good on the table. Plus it’s a niceflat surface that a monster may use to gain a heightadvantage.

Paint it all with acrylics. Use a flat color base (do notuse spray cans as the solvents will melt the polystyreneand cause noxious fumes), then dry-brush with a lightercolor so that the rough texture of the ground shows.


22

I also created a volcano (similar to alayered cake) and boulders/rocky hills withthe extra foamcore. All is painted with thesame basic browns and left to dry.

Here’s how the island looks .

More texture can be added to the island by sprinklingtrain-modeling grit, sand etc over patches of whiteglue/PVA. Be careful with other glue types as they maycause a chemical reaction with the polystyrene (I do iton purpose with spray glue when I want t create aweathered look but please do it outside as the fumes arereally noxious .

Dry brush the surface with a much lighter color to bringout details. I scored some crevices and holes in theground using nails, blades and ballpoint pens, paintedthe inside black, and then dry-brushed the edges of thecrevice with a light gray/tan color.


23

I added sand on the beach. This is not real sand butextra fine modeling grit from Gale Force Nine.

These crevices were made by hitting the foamwith a hammer and then pouring some dilutedink in the cracks.

It’s now time to addflock to create patchesof green. Other formsof vegetation (shrubs,trees) are best keptremovable (i.e., do notglue them on theisland) so you caneasily change the layoutof the island for adifferent scenario.

Use white glue/PVA forthe flock.


24

Small trees can be modeledby taking small nails or bitsof copper wire, rolling oneend into a gloop of semi-hard white glue/PVA, thenrolling the gloop into a jarof flock. Let them dryovernight. If one end of thewire is pointed enough, youcan drive them through thefoamcore and place themwhere you need them.

Here I used white metalleftover spears from 28mmSong of Spear and Shieldfigures. Nothing goes towaste!

Here’s the finished island! Placeon a dark blue felt mat torepresent the ocean. I usedfluorescent red play-doh to modelthe lava flowing from the volcano.This is not truly recommended ifyou plan to reuse the lava, as theplay-doh cracks when it dries. Ifyou keep it in its plastic container,though, it will last a few games.


25

By Dale Hurtt

Originally posted on Dale’s Wargames onhttp://daleswargames.blogspot.com/

Review

Well, I've been waiting for this one for a long time:Ganesha Games has finally released the English editionof Drums and Shakos Large Battles (DSLB)! And onlyfor a mere $8 as a PDF. So what do you get for yourmoney? A full-color version of the rules (meant for ane-book reader), an ink saver version of the rules, separatefront and back cover pages in color, and a QuickReference Sheet (QRS).

In case you have not been following the progress of theserules on the Song of Blades Yahoo forum or the author'sblog, DSLB is "designed for Divisional-level battles whereeach player controls two to three Brigades and a smallreserve".

Units are represented by bases of multiple figures, ratherthan individually based figures. (I am sure you can usemovement trays to solve that issue, however.) Aninfantry unit is a battalion of four bases, cavalry aregiment of two bases, and artillery a battery of 2 bases.The number of figures on a base is irrelevant and thepreferred basing is:

● Infantry bases with a frontage of 1.5:1 to 2:1 to depth.

● Infantry and cavalry bases with the same frontage.

● All players using the same basing scheme.

The game requires several markers: disorder 1-3, batteryfired, proximity violation, and successful reaction. Formeasuring sticks they now use: Very Short, Short,Medium, Long, 2 x Medium, and 3 x Long.

As with previous variants with the Song engine, a unithas a Quality and a Combat score (although artillery onlyhas Quality). In addition, a unit tracks its Disorder level,which is from 0 to 3. The more you are disordered, themore dice your enemy will roll against you in combat.Further, disorder affects your unit's ability to approachthe enemy and to count for victory purposes. Animportant note: once a unit is disordered (DIS1 ormore), it can never rally back to DIS0. Finally, infantryunits will have a Skirmish (SK) value,represented as singly based figures.

Drums and Shakos Large Battles Review and Playtest

Free Hack is a house organ magazine, butwe ask for bloggers’ permission to “reprint”their reviews of our games. No real edit hasbeen done other than by the original authoron the text so any criticism of the game isleft unchanged. We think that this couldhelp us make better games in the future! Ifyou have any detailed reviews, pleasesubmit them for inclusion in the next issues.

http://daleswargames.blogspot.com/

http://drumsandshakos.blogspot.com

http://drumsandshakos.blogspot.com


26

As with most Napoleonic rules where units equalbattalions, the infantry can form in Line, March Column,Attack Column, and Square, cavalry can forms in Lineor Column, and artillery can be Limbered or Unlimbered(deployed). Unlike some other rules, you do not have tobe behind a unit's front edge to count as being on theflank; if an enemy unit starts wholly outside of a unit'sfront arc (which is basically straight ahead), it isconsidered on its flank or rear.

Command span for Leaders has changed from 1L to 2Mand is not affected by line of sight. There is now aCommander in Chief, which is a Leaderof Leaders (much like the Captain inSixty-One Sixty-Five) who has aCommand span of only 1L, but it allowsa Leader within range to re-roll 1 failedactivation dice.

The heart of the Song engine is theactivation roll and the resulting numberof actions. In DSLB the player stillchooses to roll one, two, or three dice andcompares each die to the unit's (orLeader's) Quality to determine if it is asuccess or failure. As with other Songrules, two or more failures is significant;however rather than ending your turn,you simply end any more chances ofactivation for that specific Brigade. Whatdiffers from the other rules is that a failurenow allows your opponent to try aReaction.

For each failure in activation, your opponent can throw1D6 to attempt a reaction by one of their units. Thereare a number of restrictions to reactions, but suffice it tosay that the primary one is that a unit can onlysuccessfully react once per turn. Reactions, however, canbe performed either before the acting unit's actions, inbetween its actions, or after all of its actions arecompleted. What is slick about this reaction system is

this is how cavalry counter-charges, defensive fireagainst charges, evasions from charges, first volleys, etc.all occurs without complex reaction rules. Granted, ittakes a failure on the part of your opponent, and then asuccess on your part, to pull off, but it is elegant.

Group orders are handled much differently now. Issuingthe group order uses an action by the Leader, as before,but now the activation by the group is made against theLeader's Quality, not the lowest Quality value within thegroup. This means that a good Leader can lead poorquality troops around rather effectively. Group orders

cannot be used, however, to getwithin Approach (1S) range.

DSLB treats the Reserve specially.First, let me state that it is good tosee rules that call out a Reserveand have a definition and afunction for them. In DSLB theyare essentially a pool of unitsunder the care of theCommander-in-Chief, who dolesthem out to other Brigades. Unitsin the Reserve do not move untilthey are assigned out.

(Remember though, this is aDivisional Reserve and theCommander-in-Chief is theDivision Commander, notNapoleon or Wellington!)


27

Movement in DSLB is handled a little differently than in61-65. In the latter rules you move a specified distance,but had a limitation on the number of actions that couldbe used for moves, based on your formation. In DSLByou can move for as many actions as you rolled, but theformation dictates how far each move is. To be honest,I prefer the DSLB way, as it is easier to remember.Basically movement is 1S for infantry in Line and 1M forinfantry in column while cavalry is 1L. Movement iswithin the arc of 45º to the f r o n t ,anything outside of that causesa reduction of one length (e.g.1S become 1VS, 1M becomes1S, etc.). Maneuvers allowedare: move straight, move oblique(up to 45º), move laterally, movebackwards, wheel (up to 90º), andabout face.

There is an interesting rule in DSLB:the Proximity Rule states that a unitcannot end its movement within 1VS ofanother friendly unit, unless it is Approachingan enemy. The author later explained that this wasto avoid jamming troops up against each other, makingfor a "more Napoleonic" look.'

Combat is represented in three ways: Bombardment,Approach, and Contact. Bombardment is onlyallowed to unlimbered artillery, while Approachis the range of volleys (although cavalry does getto fight in Approach). Finally, Contact is very short-ranged firefights, cavalry melees, and even the rarebayonet charge.

Unlike other Song rules, DSLB has you roll a number ofCombat Dice (CD). Only three of them count, but if youhave more, they are not completely wasted. Each sidecompares its dice, from highest to lowest, to determinehow many (and which) wins you achieve. The numberof dice you throw is affected type of combat, type of unit,formation of the unit, range (for bombardment), theenemy unit being disordered, and conditions. The nice

part is that the modifiers add or subtract dice, not modifythe die rolls themselves.

For Bombardment, the battery winning the first(highest) die results in the target being Disordered, butwinning the second die results in the target retreating,while winning the third die allows the shot to bouncethrough and hit a target behind. So, as you can see, theopposed die rolls provide more variety than in the

general Song engine, which concerns itself withbeating (even and odd), doubling, and tripling.

Approach represents volleying and the moralethreat of cavalry. As with Bombardment, CombatDice are rolled and compared from highest tolowest. The first die can inflict disorder on the loser(to both in a draw), but the second and third die

gives the winner of that comparison an action touse. Thus the attacker could have 0, 1, or 2actions from approach while the defender could

also have actions. Generally, these actions canbe used to move into contact, change

formation, back away from the opponent,and even cancel out one action of youropponent.

It is these actions that help represent counter-charging, forming a hasty square in the face

of a cavalry charge, etc. that relieves theauthor of writing a whole slew of specialrules to cover special situations. Forming

square is simply a formation change, but ifyou did not do it in anticipation of a cavalry charge andwere caught in line when the charge was launched, youhad better win one of those actions in the Approach! Ilike it!

Contact is a consequence of Approach; you must use oneof the actions from the Approach combat results to moveforward into Contact. Combat in contact is much moredecisive (as you might imagine). The first diedetermines who wins and there are a numberof situations in which a loss in Contact means


28

your unit is eliminated. Note: infantry not in squareagainst cavalry is one of those situations.

If cavalry eliminates their enemy after Contact, andanother enemy unit is within range, they can take aBreakthrough and move directly into Contact with thesecond enemy unit. Personally, I have always likedcavalry breakthrough moves.

There are rules for Built-Up Areas (towns, etc.), tablesetup and deployment, grand batteries, wornunits, a host of special abilities torepresent different units types(Militia, Cuirass, Lance, Impetuous, etc.) and Leaders(Charismatic, Cautious, etc.), somescenarios – both historical andconjectural – rules on making yourown force lists, and even an FAQ.

The last item I want to focus on are therules for winning the battle. The two criteriaare: losses and penetration into enemyterritory (gaining ground).

Before the game each player calculates theirDivisional Break Point (DBP), which isbasically 1/2 the number of units. As unitsare eliminated points are accumulated and once theDBP is reached, the battle is lost. Note that in generaleach unit is worth one point, but some are worth more,such as Guards, Elites, Heavy Cavalry, Artillery, andLeaders. In addition, which a Brigade is Shaken (hasmore DIS than units in the Brigade), an additional pointtowards the DBP is gained.

In addition, penetrating into the enemy's territory(moving units into the enemy's Zone 1, 2, or 3)temporarily creates points towards the DBP. So, forexample, a cavalry unit breaking into the rear can havean effect on a Division that might ordinarily hold a littlewhile longer.

If both players reach their DBP in the same phase,penetration into enemy territory is treated as a tie breaker.

Summary

I clearly like the Song engine – although these take themin new and exciting directions, rather than the tried andtrue – and these build on that foundation. RossMacFarlane came up with a method of reviewing rules,so I will give that a try here.

Drama – The mechanism for activating –choosing the number of dice to roll anddetermining the number of successes –always adds tension for the player. It is

lessened a bit by having two failures stopactivation within a Brigade and not by

t h e entire side, which is a goodthing, but it is still

lessened nonetheless.Conversely, tension isincreased because

additional actions can beconverted to CombatDice. That and notlimiting the number of

movement actionsgives the player more

of a reason to push the envelope and roll moredice. I definitely like tying one player's gambling to theopponent (i.e. activation failures give your opponent achance to react and exploit that failure).

Uncertainty – The Song engine is all about uncertainty,as it adds a number of random factors through the rules(activation, combat, etc.). Uncertainty is increased evenmore, due to your opponent being able to react duringyour move and to the way combat is resolved.

Engaging – DSLB engages the players with meaningfuldecisions. One of the features that I really like aboutDSLB is that a number of special rules are notrequired for special situations. A good exampleis forming square. Many rules simply let theplayer form square if charged by cavalry (some


29

may require a roll to succeed). In many cases that takesaway the incentive for the player to form square duringhis own turn, in anticipation. In DSLB you could formsquare, for example:

● During your own activation.

● In reaction to an enemy cavalry unit's activationfailure.

● By winning an Approach action.

Forming square at each of those points has its own setof risks. Forming during your turn may cause the enemyto forego the charge and have them send in the infantry,to take advantage of your vulnerable formation. Formingduring a reaction requires an enemy failure and asuccessful Quality check of your own, but at least younow know the cavalry is committing. But doing it thenmeans your firing during Approach will be penalized.Waiting until winning an Approach action is clearly theriskiest proposition and would likely only occur whenthe infantry is clearly better quality than the cavalry (orif the player is an unrepentant gambler). Knowing whento take the risks, and knowing that the consequenceschange is what makes these rules so engaging.

Heads Up – This is the ability to easily memorize therules, even to the point of playing without a QRS.This is the area that will require confirmationby playing it a bit, but my gut feel is thatthe increased complexity of thecombat interactions, especially whatmodifiers come into play in the threetypes of combat, will lower these rules'score in this area.

Appropriately Flavored – Largely itwill be determined by the tables in theback of the rules that are used to buildand purchase an army. Flavor isprovided by adding combinations ofQuality, Combat, and Special Rulesand applying them to the units, butthere is probably going to be a lot

of objections from the historical purists about how easyit is to produce an "unrealistic" force.

The use of skirmishers looks simple, but effective.

Another factor that the Napoleonic purists will not like,as they complain about it with other rules, is the genericsize of all units. Specifically people like to see large units(Austrians, British Guards, etc.) modeled, which DSLBrepresents by adding to the Combat factor of a unit, notby adding to the number of bases.

Scalable – Ultimately these rules are targeted at a playercontrolling a Division of about 16 maneuver units. It isprobably not difficult for an experienced player to handlemore, but I think 24 would be about the limit. Multipleplayers per side would allow you to play out Corps-sizedbattles, but then you start running into problems withtiming at the Divisional boundaries (i.e. which Divisionactivates first). The typical method is to gloss over thisproblem and deal with it when the situation comes up,just so the turns keep moving. But it definitely could bea problem with a turn taking a long time, due to a lot ofcombat, with one Division, leaving all of the otherDivision commanders sitting around.

For me the question becomes one not of scaling theserules from skirmish to Corp-level, but that of scaling thefigures used through those levels. Given the flexiblebasing requirements, if you base your figures singly youcan use them for Song of Drums and Shakos, aNapoleonic version of Sixty-One Sixty-Five, and, byusing movement trays, with Song of Drums and Shakos

Large Battles.

I look forward very much togiving these rules a try.


30

Playtest

I am wary to completely grade a set of rules on just areading; so many times I have found what looks good onpaper does not always work on the tabletop. I haveequally found that subtleties in a rule missed in readingsuddenly dawn on you when you get whacked with theirsignificance during a critical moment. I can start bysaying that there were no negatives for me, but morethan a few whacks on the fanny during the game.

The Scenario

I decided to play the Battle of Eckau (18 or 19 July, 1812depending upon the source), which is about 6,500 menversus 5,500 men – just the right size to try out the rules.George Nafzinger has a write-up of the battle in his bookNapoleon's Invasion of Russia and there is an excellentmap on a Latvian re-enactment web site. I also usedDigby Smith's The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars DataBook for the order of battle.

First off, this is an unusual Napoleonic scenario in thatit is Prussians attacking the Russians in what is modern-day Latvia (southwest of Riga). The Prussians were partof Napoleon's Grande Armee in 1812 and were on thenorthern attack route. What is interesting is that therewere several engagements and they did inflict casualtieson one another. So, why did I choose this? To be honestit was that my French are way too far from beingre-based, but my Austrians, Russians, and Prussianswere not, so I dug through Digby and up came a battlejust the right size. Historically the Prussians won, but thenumber of casualties was roughly the same (dependingon the source) and relatively low.


31

Let's start with the map. As you can see, the Prussians (in blue) are attacking from boththe southwest and the northeast, with the Russians (in green) in the central positionand eventually retreating northward. (By the way, if you want to look at this area inGoogle Earth – and see how little it has changed – search for Iecava, Latvia, which isits modern name.)

According to the map, the river (creek?) is sunken and the ground slopes upwardsaway from it.

In translating this map to the tabletop I counted the water as difficult to cross –Nafzinger's description does not mention any particular problems with the Prussianscrossing nor with being forced to assault across the bridge. The "town" (built-up areain DSLB) is on the Russian's left flank and includes a prominently large building (aschool, I believe). Other prominent features include a hill to the Russian rear and asmall knoll by the bridge.


32

The Forces

The 1st Brigade was composed of the four Musketeerbattalions and the Jagers (deployed as skirmishers). TheJager deployment was not historical – it was actually inthe woods in the northeast corner – but the map showsa 1/2 Fusilier battalion that is not in Smith's OOB. Thatcombined with the fact that I had not completed paintingthe Jagers convinced me to deploy them out!

The 2nd Brigade was composed of the two Fusilierbattalions, the two Hussar regiments, and the two HorseArtillery batteries. Note that the Hussars are smallregiments, two squadrons each, so they are penalized -1C, as indicated in the rules (page 34).

The Reserve is composed of the two Dragoon regiments,the Light Foot Artillery, and the Medium Foot Artillery.As with the Hussars, the Dragoon regiments arepenalized -1 C as they are two squadron regiments.

Given the size of the forces involved, the Prussiancertainly seem to possess a lot of artillery, even if it ismostly light.

I intentionally chose to give the Prussians two smallDragoon and two small Hussar regiments, rather thancombining both and making two standard sizedregiments, as I wanted to see the effect of more butweaker units versus fewer but stronger ones.


33

The Russian 1st Brigade consisted of one Heavy Artillerybattery (on the knoll), three Militia battalions, and oneDragoon regiment. This mixture of militia infantry andcavalry is unusual and was only done because of thepositions shown on the map. (I now realize that the unitpositions may not reflect starting positions, but someunknown point within the battle, which may account forreserves being committed and Brigades intermingling.)

The Russian 2nd Brigade consisted of the Russian jagerbattalion and three Russian musketeer battalions. TheJagers and one Musketeer battalion are isolated from therest of the Brigade as they are stationed in Eckau and theschool.

The Reserve consisted of one Heavy Artillery battery,one musketeer battalion, the Uhlan regiment, and theCossack pulk (regiment). Note that at 500 men, theCossacks are a large unit, so they have an unusually highC. I made them Unpredictable, as the author suggests,rather than giving them a Q of 5. I added a few otherspecial rules – Scout, Opportunistic, and Wavering – asI felt they fit. Opportunistic would offset a Q of 5, but

seems deadly with Unpredictable, which I do not thinkfits. Wavering properly reflects their reluctance toApproach on the battlefield.

Deployment

Deployment was as indicated on the original map, savethat the Prussian Jagers were dispersed amongst theMusketeer battalions, as previously noted, and thePrussian Reserve was allowed to choose whether toappear behind the 1st or 2nd Prussian Brigades. Myopponent, Don, chose to put them behind the 1stBrigade, in the southwest corner of the board.

The Russian deployment is a bit muddled on the originalmap. The 1st Brigade was deployed forward and towardsthe southwest while the 2nd Brigade covered Eckau andthe east. The Reserve was to the north and quitesome way behind the lines.


34

Here is how the original maptranslated to the OOB I used fromSmith.

The Battle

As the Prussians were the attackershistorically, and they actuallysurprised the Russians to someextent, they moved first.

The Prussian Fusiliers attacked intothe town of Eckau and drove outthe Jagers from the first BUA sectorwith some hot die rolling (and amisinterpretation of the rules on my part). The horse artillery unlimbered are started bombarding Eckaufrom long range with little effect.

This was largely due to my having not completely read the rules on Built-Up Areas, so the Jagers yieldedthe town much too easily.

On the opposing flank thePrussian attack immediatelystalled when the Russian heavybattery opened fire. One Prussianbattalion took heavy fire as didthe limbered reserve artillerybehind it.

The Russians were able tobombard in reaction and thenimmediately reload and bombardin their turn. The dice for thePrussians did not help either. Thebattalion quickly accumulatedDIS and with bounce-throughsand the retreating infantry, onebattery to the rear accumulatedDIS2.


35

The Russians, in turn, were able to move the Uhlans up from reserve while advancing their 2nd Brigade towardsthe bombarding horse artillery batteries.

One quickly finds out just how far cavalry can charge if they get a good roll. One Russian musketeer battalion hadbeen sneaking up on a horse artillery battery (with a successful reaction roll) when the Prussian Hussars chargedand rolled over the infantry, caught in attack column.

DSLB is pretty unforgiving of infantry caught in the open in line or column by cavalry. They stand a chance(less so in attack column), but the odds are against them, even if they have taken no DIS.

With a battalion of regulars quickly lost, the Russian left flank enters square in the face of two Hussar regiments.Unfortunately, this is also in the face of two horse artillery batteries (though at long range). In the 1st Brigade, theDragoons move to try an flank the Fusiliers moving to secure Eckau, but it is too late, the Prussian Fusiliers chasedown the Russian Jagers and drive them off at the point of a bayonet. The Jagers rout.

Suddenly, with a roar the Prussian infantry pushes up the hill and attacks the unloaded Russian battery on theknoll. With little effort they overrun the Russian position, ending up with their right flank behind the RussianDragoon regiment. The Russians quickly react and turn their unit around, ready to charge the Prussians in theflank ... but somehow the Russians cannot muster the courage.

This is one of those "oh boy" moments when you have a great move and the dice just will not co-operate. TheDragoons, with a Quality of 3, and within Command Span of their Leader, need only a 2 or better to activate.I grab three dice and roll ... three 1's! The Dragoons and the whole Brigade stands frozen.


36

On the left flank the Russians realize that if they do not remove the cavalry threat their squares will get torn apartby the horse artillery. The Uhlans charge the first Hussar regiment and ride it down. In their breakthrough theycharge the closest horse artillery battery, but are told off by canister.

Technically, a cavalry breakthrough puts the cavalry unit directly into Contact, bypassing the Approach, butmy dice failed me and not my opponent's so it sounds better that I was told off by canister than to admit thatmy troopers were beaten by ramrod-wielding men!

As the Uhlans were recalled in great disorder, the Cossacks were finally committed to that flankin order to stop the remaining Hussar regiment from wreaking any havoc on the infantry. Atthis point the Russian 2nd Brigade is shaken. I only have a single heavy artillery battery in reservenow.

The Prussian advance at the bridge continues, with the Dragoons leading. The Russian Dragoonsfinally receive their orders and charge the still-exposed flank of the line infantry on the knoll,destroying them. The Russian Dragoons are then recalled to a position behind the knoll just asthe Prussian artillery starts to site the position for fire.


37

The Prussian Dragoons stall at the river (they cannot use the bridge as they are deployed in line) while their artillerylimber up and move towards the bridge. The Russians know that if the Prussians get past the bridge the positionwill be lost. The Brigadier orders the Russian Dragoons to charge, and save the command.

The combat between the Dragoon regiments is hardly a contest as the Russians have the upslope and the Prussiansare caught in the water and a smaller regiment. The Russians cut through the Prussian Dragoons, forcing them toretreat, then breakthrough into the limbered artillery on the road directly behind them, destroying them. However,the Russians are recalled in great disorder, which confuses the Russian militia into thinking that the Dragoons arerouting and a general panic ensues. The entire Russian line retreats, ending the battle.

Note that a recall cannot cause arout, this is just literary license.What happened was that I hadpushed the Dragoons into onecombat too many and they wererecalled with DIS3 on them, whichtipped the Brigade over the edgeand caused it to be Shaken, whichtipped the Division over the edgeand caused it to reach itsBreakpoint. I lost because I won.How ironic!


38

Summary of the Game

I really enjoyed the game even though it felt a bit slow atfirst. I attribute that to our not being used to the rules,the unusual setup (surrounded on two sides, splitcommands versus interior lines, etc.), and to getting usedto the Reaction rule.

Let's start with that rule. Essentially, in Ganesha Gamesdesigns the player gambles by deciding whether to use1, 2, or 3 dice to activate, then rolling them against atarget number to count successes and failures. In DSLBevery failure is significant in that the opponent gets toroll a number of dice equal to the failures to see if he canactivate to react to the opportunity of your failure.

This "reaction to the opportunity of your failure" isabstract, however. The unit testing to react does not haveto have any relation to the unit failing. For example, itdoes not need to be the unit or Brigade acted against,within a certain distance of the failing unit, or evenwithin line of sight. It is not even restricted to reactingto the unit that failed. Simply put, the acting playergambled and lost, and the reacting player can take someaction in consequence. It is a simple extension of the riskversus reward decision that the player has to make everyturn for every unit acting.

The reason this rule is significant is because it makesgame play very fluid. Most activations, unless lucky orusing few dice, fail at least once, giving your opponentsomething to do (if only to pick a unit and roll). Thismade it feel much less like an IGO-UGO game. All thatsaid, my opponent definitely did not like the rule, at leastnot the aspect that the reaction could be taken by anyunit anywhere. In correspondence with the author, heindicated that some of his "old school" gamers initiallyobjected to the rule too, but eventually saw the utility ofthe rule and accepted it.

Final Analysis

Naturally, with any new rules you need to get used tothem. The second game will generally always be betterthan the first as you will in all likelihood play the rulesmore consistently as you correct your mistakes. This wasthe Heads Up rating given in the initial review.

So, to review my review let's go down the points I raisedand the final ratings.

I've discussed the reaction rules above and I think myinitial assessment was correct in that this solves moreproblems than it creates. It saves the author from writing,and the player from remembering, a rash of special rulesto deal with the problems of a traditional IGO-UGO turnsequence. The Lasalle rules addressed this by turning thetraditional Move-Fire-Melee turn sequence on its ear;DSLB shows that there is another, more elegant method.(Now all I have to do is convince my opponent of thesuperiority of it without diluting its effectiveness toomuch by adding house rules limiting its use.)

Movement is an area where the players must bescrupulous in execution, otherwise the game is thrownoff. Oblique moves maintain facing, wheels only turn thefront and have no straight movement, and pivots simplychange the direction faced. If you move 'sloppy' like thefree movement with a DBA element, you essentially blurthe distinction between a line and a column, thus givingthe line a tremendous advantage. This is especially trueof the Approach and Contact moves; these must bestraight ahead only, so if a unit is not pointed 'dead on'you must burn an action pivoting or wheeling to line upcorrectly. This can make the difference between asuccessful charge or not, but can also often negate thecavalry's ability to overrun skirmishers (which must bedone in the first action).


39

Combat - Bombardment, Approach, and Contact - wentvery smoothly. Once you understand the basics, and thenumber of Combat Dice to throw, you really don't needthe reference charts. The number of modifiers are fewand are easy to remember. That said, I still had not gottenthe hang of what winning the first, second, or third diemeant by the end of the game. Probably in another gameI will. What makes for some issues are the special cases:Cavalry automatically takes a DIS after contact if it didnot acquire one during combat, who retreats how much,infantry takes the position on winning but cavalry doesnot, etc. Eventually it will become second-nature, so let'sjust call this a learning curve. Not at all steep, but onenonetheless.

Design Choices

I noted in the initial review that I wanted to discuss theProximity Rule with the author, and here is what hewrote:

“I made some design choices, to reflect what Iconsider to be a "wrong" way to play, and isallowed by all rules out there. The Proximity ruleis about this. All players I know - when they attackor defend - cram every single square inch of thetable with units, so that sometimes you cannot tellone unit from another. I've seen peopleoverlapping one base with another in order to fitboth in the same space. That is not what happenedon the battlefields. If you want (as I wanted) toavoid this you have no other way than to write aneasy rule that plainly says that players can't dothat. That's what I did. By the way, many Italianplayers who have played the game told me thatthe table looks "more realistic" and "orderly" withthis rule. In all, they say it's more "Napoleonic".”

In other correspondence with the author he shared someof his design choices with me, which might help youdetermine if DSLB has the right historical flavor for you.

Attack Columns – it is the author's opinion that theproper method of attack should be using the attackcolumn for speed, switch to line and then approach toweaken the opponent, before going in with the bayonet.If the opponent is sufficiently disordered, the attackcolumn formation can be maintained, allowing them tokeep their momentum for a minimum number of actionsused.

The French predilection for close combat is modeledwith the Determined special rule, which allows a re-rollof a die during Approach. This is not restricted to aparticular formation.

Cavalry versus Infantry (Not in Square) – Put simply,the author believes that cavalry, especially battle cavalry(dragoons and heavy cavalry), should be greatly fearedand that infantry – even those units that are fresh, in line,and facing the charge – should get into square or facedestruction. The math is such that only an exceptionallylucky infantry unit can stand in line in face of a battlecavalry charge; all others will be destroyed.

As I reflect upon other rules, this is also generally theresult, so it is not an unusual perception. Perhaps whatstruck me is that: 1) the odds are greatly in favor of thecavalry in DSLB while it is less so in other rules; and 2)the potential distance that a cavalry unit can charge from3L plus 1S or 62 cm, where an "average" move is 12 cm.That is a charge five times the distance of an infantrymove in column. (Please note that 62 cm is anexceptional roll, but I was caught by the equivalent of a44 cm charge, as was my opponent.)

So, I need to add a new factor in rating rules: FiddlyGeometry. This is a rating where small measurementsor angles play a role in whether some action succeeds ornot. A game like Pirates of the Spanish Main rates VeryHigh; DSLB rates Above Average. Why? Whether acharge is lined up perfectly to 'clip' a unit or an artilleryunit is lined up to bombard can be by a fewdegrees simply because there is no 'arc'; it isstraight ahead or nothing.


40

This is why I say that playing with 'sloppy' movementactually hurts the game. As it is relatively easy to roll twosuccesses with heavy cavalry, burning one action to pivotand 'line up the charge' means a difference of 18 cm thatthe unit has to use for charging.

By the way, one other comment my opponent made was:"this might be a good game to convert to hexes." Thatwould certainly solve all of the the Fiddly Geometryissues.

Final Grade

So, how do I rate DSLB overall? Easily four out of fivestars for me, as I like the level of tactical decision makingthat the player is presented with, which have definiterisks and rewards; no decision is without tangibleconsequences. The sole detraction was the FiddlyGeometry rating, which has always been the bane of mygaming. I think the fiddly nature of bombardments caneasily be solved: allow a battery to pivot up to 45º whenperforming a Bombardment action.

As for stopping the long range cavalry charges, well, Ithink you just have to be a stickler with those angles.Having to burn one extra action to line up makes a worldof difference. The best solution – one that will lead to thefewest arguments – is to declare your intentions. If youintend to be lined up with a unit at the end of your move,declare it as such and ask your opponent to verify. If theenemy unit does not move during its turn, gently remindyour opponent that you were lined up as you roll threesuccesses with your Cuirassiers!

Will I game with DSLB again? Absolutely. (In fact, Iknow I am going to be playing this very scenario overagain, as it seems like an interesting one, and one thatwould play differently now that I am used to some of therules and their impact on tactics.) Given the optionsavailable, it is not a game easily taught to new players.You will probably have to figure a way to ease playersinto it. The rules complexity is on the lower side ofIntermediate. The real draw is the uncertainty andexcitement generated from activations and reactions. Ittakes the standard Song engine to a whole new level ofdecision making.

And that is a Good Thing.

Ganesha Games Errata and FAQGanesha Games Errata and FAQ

What is the Huge rule and howdoes it work in FF?Huge in FF works like in ourother games. A Huge figuregets +1 in melee vs otherfigures, including Big ones.However, the Huge figure istargeted at +1 by rangedattacks.

What is the Unique rule?The explanation of this specialrule is in the campaign rules.Unique means that thecharacter can't be replaced ifhe dies. So the rule appliesonly to characters incampaigns. It should have anentry in the special rules forconsistency.

The profile for Giant Scarysnake originally includes twoprofiles separated by a slash,but they got mixed up. Thereare two versions of The Giantscary snake

Animal, Big,Forester, Poison, Slow

Animal, Big,Forester, Slow

The following errata are forpeople who bought the printversion. The PDF version of therules has been updated so if youlogin on the Ganesha site anddownload it again, you aregood to go.

ability shouldstate that you need Pistolability to take Double Pistol.

should statethat it can be used once pergame. Just in case you arewondering, it doesn't workagainst gunfire - you can'tparry bullets.

: thewording may not be clear tonew players, so we state itagain: both players roll a d6,add their Combat Value withthe firer adding any applicablemodifiers, and then comparethe results and consult theCombat Results of the CloseCombat Section.

in thecampaign section mentions aTough rule, ignore that.

- they were

removed from the final versionof the game.

The concept of "range bands"isn't explained or defined in theRanged Combat section (oranywhere else for thatmatter.)Yes, range bands arementioned in the special rulesfor various weapons and thecombat modifiers are listed, butnothing is written about howthese range bands aredetermined.

All ranges in the game aremeasured using the sticks.Every iteration of a stick is a"band".

The knife thrower special rulestates: "This model haspracticed with throwing knivesand can throw these either witha C+1 combat bonus over thenormal range, or can extend therange by one band withoutpenalty (but not both.). Whatexactly is meant by "normalrange"?

Range of thrown knives isShort.

Follow up questions on the Knifethrower special rule.a) Since this ability talks aboutimprovements to a standardposition does this mean thateveryone can throw knives (but"Knife Throwers" throw thembetter)or that only characterswith "Knife Throwing" can throw

knives. I assume the latter is thecase.b) I presume that one getsKnives to throw for free whenyou buy the Knife Throwingability. (so in this case the abilitydoes come with a free set ofsteak knives!)c) In genre I reckon that eachcharacter would only have asingle throwing knife. Would itbe worth making KnifeThrowing a once per gameoption- similar to Great Defence.

To clarify: anyone can throw aknife by picking it up from adead opponent or from ascenario. Models who paid forthe skill have an unlimitedsupply of throwing knives ona bandolier or hidden in theirclothes, because we do notwant to count them during thegame.

The Bite attack description hasbeen rephrased for clarity asfollows:

Only monsters with the Fangsspecial rule may Bite. Biteattacks represent attempts tomortally wound youropponent with bodyweaponry like fangs, spines,horns, or sharp appendages.Bite attacks can cause onlyWounds (not knockback). A

bite is performed spendingone or more Head actions,using the Head’s C score +1against the target’s Body Cscore.

In the QRS on page 40, themodifier for a Maim attackmust be -2, not -1. The QRS iswrong.

P. 11 Close Combat Modifiers:“Attacking an Entangled orKnocked Down foe". It is notclear if this applies when you aredefending against a KD foe whois attacking you?No it doesn't. the verb"attack"has been used becausethe modifier applies onlywhen performing an attack.

Can a knocked down monsterbe knocked back?Yes it can happen. Themonster remains on theground but is pushed away.

free hack - the ganesha games free irregular ezine...free hack - the ganesha games free irregular...

Documents