Is This the Real Life?

 Nope. This is just fantasy (or my attempt to write a set of fantasy rules).

I've been looking for a set of big battle fantasy rules for a long time. Many year ago I  made several huge Warhammer Fantasy armies but I never played a game because it didn't appeal to me. So I sold the armies. Last year I played Dragon Rampant and then I got into playing Rangers of Shadowdeep. I enjoyed both games and they really got me interested in fantasy wargaming again. I was a long time D&D player from 1980 to the mid 90's.

During our long 2020 lockdowns I bought and painted masses of orcs and elves and all sorts of beasties and creatures. I played solo SAGA Age of Magic and I really enjoyed it. But look as I might I couldn't find a big battle Fantasy game that I liked. So, after a brief exchange with a friend, I've decided to make my own. 

I've spent the past few days trying to put together a set of rules that works. I've managed to achieve that much but they still have a ways to go yet. Most of the basic ideas are nothing new and I've taken what I like from various sources and tried to meld them together. They work and that's a start but now I need to twist things, hammer them, spin them around to develop a more original and streamlined system. I'd like to avoid mathematics as much as possible but I fear I some number crunching will be inevitable.

One of the things I like about Dragon Rampant and Saga AOM, is the ability to put your own stamp on your army. Both systems have their own methods of taking a basic template and creating fantasy creatures to your own vision. I like the idea of integrating monsters/creatures with regiments. I tried it in this game and it seemed to work. 

I'm also keen on using different unit formations. I've been working on rules for shieldwall, bow and spear (bill and bow), warbands, phalanx and other types. I want each type of formation to work differently and to require a different style of play. They worked out okay in the game.

One of my favorites is the mix of bow and spears. They have a pretty good offensive shooting capability and reasonable defence. They can interchange ranks which worked well.

The blue unit below was a phalanx and was pretty tough in a frontal fight. They didn't get hit in the flank but what I've written for the formation should make them pretty vulnerable if it does happen.

Orcish boar riders (from Mantic). The cavalry rules I wrote were way over powered. And I tried a few different things mid-game. I do want a this to be a bucket o' dice game but when I pitted the cavalry against each other I was in the realm of 20+ dice each and that was too much. First contact and they wiped each other out. So I moved them apart and started again with a couple of changes.

Light cavalry (spiders) vs chariot skirmishers. They didn't really do much and I'm not too sure about the chariot rules yet and i didn't get to fully test them.

The armies got into action pretty quickly. Archers and skirmishers were getting off shots by turn two. The formed archers can be powerful but not overly so. They managed to inflict steady casualties for the most part over couple of rounds and only one round of shooting was truly destructive due to very good dice.

These regiments below shot their first volley of arrows and after shooting in the next turn (turn3) they switched ranks to await a coming charge. The idea with these is they can shoot and switch or vice versa. They can also switch ranks when charged if they haven't yet activated in a turn but they have to pass a moral test to see if they become disordered. Best to switch ranks early. 

The first charge and melee of the game came when a wolf pack lead by a werewolf charged the elf king's phalanx. Needless to say, they came off second best.

I gave the troll a Special Ability "Ambush" whereby it can remain in reserve (of board) and deploy in any area of rough ground. It popped up behind the elf line in the woods on their right flank.

The elves had a jabberwock. It's a big crazy creature. It's special ability is to "Bound" into it enemies flank or rear. But here it got charged by an orc warband.

Unexpectedly, the jabberwock won the melee thanks to some dreadful dice rolling by the orcs. Also, the orc warband has poorer armour protection whereas the jabberwock has a pretty tough hide.

Below is a pic of a combined shieldwall and two handed axe regiment. Like the bow and spear they can swap ranks. Initially they advanced with the shieldwall to the front for the better armour protection.

Then they swapped ranks to put the axemen in the front rank in anticipation of charging in the next turn.

The pics below show a spear and bow unit getting charged. In the first pic the archers are to the front. In the second pic they managed to swap ranks because they had not yet activated and recieved the charge with the spearmen to to the front.

Regarding Activation: I decided on a card activation. Draw a card and activate a commander (ala; Too Fat Lardies). The commander then activates the units under their command. Some units that don't really require commanders will activate on other cards (ie: Fantastic Beasts card for the wolf pack and jabbewock).

There was a big cavalry battle on the elf left. I tried several things and I'm still not happy with the rules. The orc general lead his riders which gave them good hitting power which was good but there was something missing. 

Integrating monsters into the regiments worked okay. The orcs had a couple of ogres in the mix and they added a bit more striking power without being over powering. The warband is pretty tough on the charge but in the pic below they were disordered and the elf king's phalanx was too tough for them. The warband routed but the elf king was wounded in the fight.

Elf light infantry in the woods managed to hold up the troll in a small battle that went nowhere. Neither the elf swords nor the troll could get any decent hits in on each other.

The orc general eventually routed the elvish horse but I'm not sure how it happened. I really have to re-work the cavalry.

The northern axemen hit one of the elf spear and bow units. The elf unit held at first and the first combat was a draw with both regiments dealing out damage. But the next combat saw the axes drive the elves back and a bad Valour test saw the spear and bow break, leaving the flank open.

So that was my first test battle. It ended when dinner was on the table.

What about Magic Spells I hear you ask?

There was a spell casting element in play but I couldn't really photograph it. I've come up with a system that I thought looked good on paper. In play it was really good and I'm very happy with how it worked. It revolves around Battle Mage companies instead of individual spell casters. They have a Magic Dice Pool and can throw spells and counter spells when their card is drawn. One orc warband got held in place for a turn and the evil guys managed to get off a magic missile. Other times the counter spells worked and stopped spells getting through. Strong counter spells can also cause damage on the spell caster. The magic rules work just as I hoped.

Units: I'm not sure yet. Should I have single rank Companies or double rank Regiments or both? I've opted for both to start with but I think it might be confusing having both. I'll have to work more on this aspect. Single ranked companies work better on paper but larger double ranked bases looks better. I'm more inclined to the latter because, for me, "spectacle" makes up about 80% of the reason for wargaming.

Card System: It's not original but I like it. For me playing solo, it adds an element of uncertainty. I'll have to test it in a two player game at a later date. I can't see why it shouldn't work.

More to come after some more writing and testing.