My changes to Sharp Practice

Here are my rule changes, based on Silver Whistle's changes with added goodies, both my own and from Jim's Dux Britanniarum mods. I might make them into a PDF if i find out how to do it.

Movement

As Silver Whistle, with archers and other missile troops adding a pip to every die and men at arms removing one. I might remove the latter, not sure yet (fully armoured men could walk at the same speed as most men, i've seen a video ;-D )

Firing

Nothing new for ranges.

0-12 4+ to hit, 13-24 5+ to hit, 25-36 6 to hit.

This is the same for longbows and crossbows.

Handgonnes

0-8 4+ to hit, 9-16 5+ to hit, 17-25 6 to hit.

Rate of fire: Longbows don't need to reload, so can fire once on each dice (two a turn if no move or spotting). Crossbows and handguns need 2 dice to reload.

Effect: As rules, with an armour save. This is the same as SW:

Light, 6

Heavy, 5+

Plate, 4+

Milanese plate (commanders), 3+
Crossbows and handguns lower armour saves by 1, so light armour provides no protection against these weapons. This is to balance out the fact that longbows fire three times as fast!

I treat light as helmets, jacks and maybe some mail/brigandines, usually archers or lightly armoured bill men (militia come to mind). Heavy is jacks, helmets, brigandines and mail and some plate, mainly billmen and the like. Most 'average' melee soldiers. Plate is plate, either full gothic harnesses, 3/4 or just fully armoured men (such as mail and brigandine with plate on the arms). Reserved for the men-at-arms, the elites.

When a groups is hit by archery, they can roll to save any Shock or Kills. A save will seen Shock ignored and a Kill reduced to a point of Shock.

Melee

As rulebook, with an armour save for any possible Kills. In melee, there are no saves for Shock, but a saved Kill will result in a point of Shock instead.

Bonus Cards

Like SW, i use a Draw Bonus Card in the turn deck, as i never remember to check for random events. So i have included some of the events in the Bonus deck and added some new ones...

Out of ammo*: A missile armed group runs out of arrows, quarrels or bullets. X2

Ammunition: A missile unit that has ran out of ammo can fire again. X1

At the double: +1 die to move. X2

Stand fast: -d6 Shock. X2

Stuck in the mud*: -1 pip to next move. X2

Church blessing*: No move for one turn. X1

Looting*: Two men loot nearest building, stopping if contacted by a Big Man. X1

Fear*: Big Man and group must retire for one turn. X1

Drunkard*: One man passes out. X1

Hello ladies*: d6-2 men go to nearest house until contacted by Big Man. X1

Damnation!*: Loose all Bonus Cards in your hand. X1

Broken string*: An archer breaks his string. Replace on a 5 or 6 (one roll a turn). X1

I fathom not your intent: An activated Big Man may not move. He may remove Shock, shoot and spot as normal. X1

Well i thought that went well: Loss margin in fisticuffs is lowered by 2, as the men think they did better then they really did. X1

Look out milord!: Cancels one hit of a Big Man. X1

I have a cunning plan: Either Stakes or Pits. Each take 2 activation dice to place. Stakes count as a defended square against cavalry, pits as an obstacle (needs testing). X2

Treachery!: -33% dice in fisticuffs (1 group) as some idiot shouts this in the rear rank. X1

Bonus Cards effect the last Big Man to activate. Some of the cards will be played straight away (such as out of ammo, if a missile group fired last turn then they are effected) but if the card cannot be played right away (last group activated was a melee group for example) then the card may be kept and played at on a latter turn.
The cards with * are the ones i use straight away, just to give you an idea.

So there we are. Any ideas will be welcome, and check out Silver Whistle's blog for the original draft.

Wagon raid

Continuing my Franco-Burgundian campaign, Steffan decided to conduct a raid into the French lands for some loot before winter. The month is September and with only one month of the campaign year left, the siege would be over winter.

Rolled for a wagon raid, so Alain has the task of getting his column of winter supplies into a small castle. Here the French come onto the table over the hill.

The first Burgundians to arrive are actually the English archers. Using a fate card, the English find one of their groups is composed of untried youths (one group was lowered to 'levy' status). They dash forward and let loose some arrows at the soldiers, who form up on the hill.

Steffan arrives with a group of men at arms and soldiers, and they make their way up the hill, aiming on taking the supplies by force.

Some archers (harassing troops) take cover behind a fence to watch for any reinforcements coming from the castle.

Just afterwards, Perrin Ledoux leads some handgunners, crossbowmen and militia to aid the supply column. They enthusiastically run at the archers.

Steffan aims for the French soldiers, who form ranks and wait for help.

Almost there...

Both sides clash, pole arms swing and despite the uphill advantage, the men at arms manage to push the soldiers back.

(note the 'supply column', made of spare horses until i get some wagons)

Pressing home the advantage, the men at arms charge again next turn, causing casualties. 

View of the table. Alain, the French lord has rode ahead as some Burgundian mounted men at arms appeared to threaten the militia. The crossbowmen on the hill fire at the English, killing one man and suffering two dead in return.

As the soldiers are pushed further back, the supplies are moved down the hill in an attempt to get away from the grasping raiders.

Horse race across the table. The French just miss their target (by an inch or two).

On the hill, the French soldiers under Robin either run or die, leaving only three left who back off with no chance of recovery. Steffan leaves them and turns his attention to the supplies...

Sneakingly, the Burgundian men at arms slip away again from the French with the Evade card, and are ready to charge some militia crossbowmen caught in the open. In the background, the English have advanced on the supplies, defended by only four crossbowmen.

Perrin and his militia watch the horsemen pass by from the safety of a fence.

The situation on the hill. The French feel slightly outnumbered...

'Screw this!' (or 'Merde!') The militia try to panic the horses then leg it, deciding discretion is the best part of valour here.

The Anglo-Burgundians get away with the loot, but are harassed on their way home, seeing their victory being reduced from +4 to +2.

I played this out the other week but only how have loaded up the pictures. I'm getting the hang of Sharp Practice now too, so i'll probably be playing more of that. I may continue the campaign with Sharp Practice, maybe i'll even finish it (don't hold your breathe though)!

First Sharp Practice and some pikemen (two in one!)

First try of Sharp Practice with the 'ol medievals.

As a first go, i can't give you a proper idea, as i forgot several things; reloading times, the bonus cards (might do Silver Whistle's idea) and some other things. I played it a little like Dux Britanniarum at one point! In a way it's similar, but very different. Also i need to revise my force organisation next time. Anyway...

Just a small bash up. Two lords meet in the peaceful English countryside and their aim is to kill or capture their rival. Easy.

Team one, some archers, crossbowmen, billmen and men at arms.

Team 2, men at arms and archers.

Meeting in a little village.

Team 1 (for want of a better name) advances faster and charges first, but the first engagements don't go according to plan...

After a counter attack by the red and black men at arms, Team 1 looses their lord, who is badly injured. I rolled for popularity (to see if his men like him and try to save him) and it turned out he was hated!

So they abandoned the poor devil!

With this i ended the game.

So, next time i will be upping the side (the rules recommends minimum of 30) and adding more Big Men. I guess practice makes perfect, so the more i play the better i'll know.

I also need to think of formations. I might think of creating a knew formation, like a block perhaps, deeper than a line but wider than a column. Not sure though, so i shall play some more and see.

I also decided to make some more pikemen to expand the militia, who shall not re-become Lowlanders. I didn't fancy having shoudlered pikes though, as the pole arm armed chaps are rather more agressive looking. So, i converted them...

That's better! Now they look like they're in a fight, not just wandernig to battle.

They need some militput to cover some gaps, at shoulders and hands.

Most are armoured in jacks and helmets, with a smattering of brigandines, pieces of plate or mail shirts. I will do a couple of heavily armoured men with pikes or poleaxes as Poorters, the richer citizens. I will also do a harnessed leader, with the flag on his helmet to show his rank.

A little WIP to show how i did them. I used the pike arms from the mercenary set.

Cut, trim, slice, glue, curse because it won't hold, then glue again.

Add head of choice:

Some battle pics

Volia some photos of a battle played between me and my sister. We were testing out some rules, By arrow, bill and sword, written by Silent Invader over on the Lead Adventure forum for mass skirmishs (link to rules), with modifications for 6 sided dice. It didn't work as well, so i'm thinking it over.

The game was fun though.

My force below. Men of Warwick, Hanbury, the militia and some French mercenaries.

My sister's force, Stafford, and the German and Danish mercenaries.

We played a meeting engagement, with both forces wanting to move through a village. No factions here just a noble feud.

My men advancing to the village, archers in front.

The few militia archers prepare a 'volley'.

The Germans marching up the road to greet Warwick's men.

Although outnumbered and suffering losses, my men held on fierecly and wore the mercs down.

On the other side of the houses, a small archery duel breaks out, as Stafford's men advance.

Charge!

Meanwhile, the militia are cheerfully cut down in a melee including militia, French and Danish mercenaries and some archers. My French men at arms also begin chopping into the German handgunners.

After a hard fough 2 hours we stopped, me gaining a slight victory (yey!)

It was good to get almost all the painted men on the table, but the rules need changing. I'm thinking of just changing the Dux Britanniarum rules, using Silver Whistles mods for Sharpes Practice as a starting point.

The militia are now finished, and waiting for bases to be painted and grassed. That's for the next post, post number 100...

First attack

   We counted the dead; thirteen. Not a lucky number.
   With wounded men and empty arrow bags we returned to our base, the small castle on the border. Yesterday we had left here confident of an easy victory, but the wheel of fortune turns and God was not with us and Steffan's speech was less than inspiring. Even the drink did not help us and only made our aim worse.
   We had gone north, attacking into a lightly defended estate protected only by a manor house. The French knew we were coming and had marched out to meet us, and we, confident in victory, went to meet them. The French waited in a good position; with their crossbowmen on a hill and some fields to their front. We lined up opposite them with our tight on some houses. I was with the archers and John on the right, while Steffan and Charles held the center to face the enemy men at arms.
   Steffan tried to raise our spirits with a speech, but it did the opposite to the men. A priest was called to bless us and even then God turned away for the priest spilled the holy water and hurried the rest of the blessings. We eventually passed round the ale and the men took up their weapons, hoping the French were even more scared than we were.
   They weren't, and they advanced with confidence. Their crossbowmen rained fire on our men at arms and killed one, while we the archers aimed at the handgunners that took shots at us. One hit my neighbour  Nicolas, straight in the face, broke his nose and teeth and went through the back of his helmet. I put an arrow on my string, aimed at a smoke cloud and let loose, and when the smoke cleared i saw a crawling Frenchman with an arrow in his chest.
   The men at arms then got to grips, and to my horror our men we being pushed back. Not many were dying but the French were brave and eager, while we were nervous and more soldiers came towards us through the wheat fields. We loosed volleys at them, some of our shots going wildly wide while some found their mark and the French soldiers began to waver. Our men at arms fell back and before us five French lay dead or wounded by our arrows.
   Urged by their success, the crossbowmen approached along their hill, raining fire if our men at arms pulled back too far, and i saw our horse holders coming up. Steffan was planning on retreat. I saw four of our scouts behind the enemy and they chased off the handgunners and turned on some spear men, who suprised them and killed their horses with their spears. They dispatched the riders and we returned the favour with a volley.
   The men at arms managed to hold off the French long enough to force them to stop, and then in a sudden mounted up and galloped away. Steffan shouted at us to follow, and we stepped back, loosed a final volley and ran back to our horses too. John grumbled that the battle was far from lost and that Steffan was a coward, but he decided to follow us when we retreated.

   Back at the castle, John began to argue with Steffan and he called me over to translate. He could speak French but when he was angry he spoke English and he asked me to translate for i spoke French better than any of the other archers.
   John did not bother to argue long and instead strode away shouting at the archers and kicked a loose helmet.
   "He has no control over his anger." Steffan told me quietly. "I won't how he became a captain."
   "Luck, lord." I replied.
   "Or gold."
   "Perhaps, lord."
   "He is a rogue," Steffan continued after a pause, "but he brings men, so i need him, even if i don't like him. If we loose again i imagine he'll leave us, taking you with him."
   "I would stay, lord." Steffan looked at me surprised. I liked John, but liked Steffan even more for he was kind as well as stern and he could be generous with plunder. John was a good soldier while Steffan was a better leader.
   "We shall stay here until we get more men. I want you Thomas to scout to the west. Take three men with you and report what you find."
   "Yes lord."

No photos of the battle, sorry.

The Anglo-Burgundians were defeated. It didn't start well, with their morale plunging from 8 to 5, but some over indulging brought it back up. The French were in a better mood and evidently God was on their side.

The French lost men, but only Light losses while Steffan lost thirteen, Moderate losses. Alain cannot become a Knight yet but, if he needs to, he can hire some mercenaries for the next battle. For now the harvest shall be gathered without worry of raids and the fighting shall continue in September.

The shortest Dux game ever?

First off, the characters for my sort of Historical campaign in France.

The heroes of France:

Left, Perrin Ledoux. Son of a Doyen (esquire), Perrin is 25 and is out to make a name for himself. He is Devout and is of Average build. He leads the militia crossbowmen.

Centre, Sir Alain Le Grande. Alain is 21 years old, tall with the Constitution of an Ox and good looks. He is the younger son of a noble family with no inheritance and for the time being has been left on his brother's estates while he fights elsewhere against the Burgundians. Now is Alain's chance to shine.

Right, Robin Vallet. A professional soldier, he is 30, short and a Master of Arms after years of fighting. He leads Alain's soldiers.

The Burgundian raiders.

Left, Charles. He is noble, but now he has nothing and has been forced to become a mercenary to live. He is short and a heavy drinker, and he hopes he can take some land worthy of his ancestors. He is 23.

Centre, Steffan Vogel. Son of the gentry, Steffan is 26, tall, a Devout Christian and ambitious. He fights for Burgundy and Marie and leads the mounted men at arms to battle.

Right, John Stafford. An English mercenary, John is Gentleborn of the rough sort. He is Lustful and has a Lust for Power (-3 loyalty!), and is tall and strong. He wants gold and land and leads a band of English archers just as rough as he is.

The forces i 'm using in this campaign are slight modifications of the normal lists (thanks to Jim for the lists he made). The French can assemble: 6 men at arms, 12 soldiers, 6 militia and another 12 militia armed with crossbows. Alain also has 4 skirmishing handgunners.

The Anglo-Burgundians have 12 men at arms, 6 soldiers, 12 English archers and 4 light horsemen (replaces missile troops).

March, one year in the 15th century (i'll think of one some time soon)

Alain has received good news; Robin is returning with some men to support him against the routiers some of the farmers had spoke about. These raiders have been seen scouting the border lands and Alain has assembled the militia and his few men at arms at a tower, both to watch out for the Burgundians and wait for Robin's return.

A sentry spots Robin and his men and Alain goes out to meet him. (The brown strip is a river, i need to cut out some blue fabric to make a proper one!)

Robin and his men, glad to be home.

What's that? A glint of metal? A whine of a horse? Robin forms up his men against the threat.

There is a mighty war cry, and suddenly twelve mounted men at arms burst from cover, lead by Sir Vogel himself.

Ahhhh! Unpainted men!

Robin and his men are caught unawares and half the men fall wounded or dead. Robin himself is wounded.

Not even the cover of the fence can saw them as some cavalry rides around the house and kills another 4 men. Robin and the wounded surrender. Alain watches in disbelief from the stream.

Steffan ransoms the men back for a Soldier's Pay and puts the French out of action for 2 months. They could have contested but down on 10 men Alain would not risk it. Instead Steffan amasses much plunder and by June has an eye to capture a manor close to the border...

Two turns. The Burgundian lord was the last to activate on the first turn and the first on the second, effectivly giving him a double go. His cavalry, aided by cards, devastated the French soldiers. In these changes, men at arms can mount and dismount so we keep them at 6 man strength, which also makes them very hard on the charge.

Steffan, after 2 months raiding, is now promoted to a Knight and can commence battles (yes, already!) So we all know what's coming next...

Beginnings

   We all jeered in truimph as we let our captive go and the gold was given to us. It was a good start to a promising year, and the men were smiling and happy. They were money makers, loot hunters and they were getting what they came for. The French pulled back to their tower and we rode away, leaving the dead to be buried by the vanquished.

   Perhaps i should introduce myself. My name is Thomas. You might think i am a lord or noble, at least a one of the gentry, but i am only an archer. My father was a free man farmer who owned a small portion of land, and like many others i had to practice with the bow from young age. I began to enjoy it, and decided to become a soldier, for our times are troubled and there is a constant need of good fighters. There had been a good amount of feuding and strife in England, but in my time we were at peace. I saw my chance when our King Edward decided to invade France.

   Alas, my hoping was in vain, for after marching to and fro we had neither loot nore enemies, and when i learnt our king had settled for a truce, i parted with a group of men who were going east to fight for Burgundy, who was in need of fighters i heard.

   It was in their pay i killed my first French man, and i was in the company of a man named John Stafford. He was from a town near my village and he was kind to me, as i turned out to be an excellent shot with the bow, but he was known for being a womanizer, loving the company of married women, and he also wanted money and power well above his birth. He was a good rogue, i thought, and i think we did too.

   After perhaps a year, we were attatched to the company of a Burgundian named Steffen Vogel, or Sir Vogel i should say. He was a tall, good looking man and he was brave and a good Christian. He was planning to attack France, not an invasion but several over border raids, and he hoped to take some land from the less well defended places. We went south, i can't say where, and set up our base in some old castle. Some said we were in the south of France, but i had no real idea and nore did i care.

   We scouted the French lands and discovered that many of the fighters were away fighting elsewhere, and the plunder was ripe for the taking. Steffan, smart as well as brave, heard of a column of soldiers returning from the Burgundian wars elsewhere and was returning to protect the estates from raiders. We set up an ambush near a look out tower and waited.

   I did not see the skirmish, but it was quick. Sir Vogel and his men at arms, mounted on horses, galloped from their cover and quickly cut down some of the French men. The others, including their leader, took cover behind a fence but some of the men at arms surrounded them and, after killing more of them, they surrendered. I followed on foot, bow strung, and i saw more men coming to help them. They lost heart when they saw us and Steffan held us back from attacking, not wanting to loose men and also seeing a band of crossbow men in the tower. Instead, he called their leader forward and, after some talk, decided to ransom back our prisoners and went to find the gold. I think they took it from a church for they were quick, and we returned to our castle unmolestered.

   If the French thought we had gone, they were wrong, for during April and May we raided them. They did not seek battle and so we rode freely through their lands and after one raid Steffan rewarded us more than normal. He promised land and more gold if we fought well, and so, in June, we marched out to take the French lands.

This is the started for a campaign i am running, where a Anglo-Burgundian force is trying to fight off the French. It is away from the main fighting of the Bugundian War of Succession and is instead in a far flung part of France, where the defence lies on the militia boosted by some professionals. The first game (only lasting 2 turns!) gave the Anglo-Burgundians two months uncontested raiding and Steffan was promoted to a Chevalier.

I'm using a mix of Jim's modifications, and images and more info will come in the next post, with pictures of the first raid.

Ambush

Sir Peter Walter, lord and veteran of the Battle of Tewskbury, is riding to his estates to inspect them. He is riding with his son, Edward, and a small retinue of men at arms. All seems calm, until they reach a place where the path passes by a steep hill...

Peter's scouts riding ahead.

The scouts spot something coming from the bushes, and soon a band of brigands appears, blocking the route!

Peter, a tough warrior, knows the only way to break through is to charge...

In a wave of horses, the bandits are cut down, but something is strange about them. Although they wear no badges, they wear good armour and look like soldiers, not ragged bandits.

The surviving bandits take cover behind a fence and Peter pulls his horsemen back to the road, leaving one shocked foot man after their charge, and prepares to break through the road block.

The charge hammers into the bandits and Edward goes for their leader, who wear a good harness, much more than any bandit could afford.

'Come to die, puppy!' The leader, dodging Edward's lance, plunges his sword through the young man's visor, killing him instantly. He lifts his helmet to reveal himself; the leader is no other than Sir Adam, who burned the south with his Germans and the rearguard for the Gueen's defeated army. Peter's standard bearer kills his crony and tries to clear the path for his lord.

Numbers are starting to tell, and the arrows and the bills of Adam's ragged band slowly bring down the men at arms. Peter makes a break through to escape, only to run into some archers hidden in the woods further on.

From the hill and the trees, arrows fly, killing Peter's horse. He is wounded too, and his chances of survival seem limited. His standard bearer rides to his rescue.

Alas, an arrow kills his brave standard bearer and, surrounded by enemies, Peter is brought down and killed. Adam's men loot the dead and sneak into the wilds...