Clash of Rhyfles Playtest

Today, a little experimentation with Quar. This is not laid out neatly, and is more for my benefit than the readers' - if you're disinterested, skip as this will have some rules and calculation. If you are interested but know nothing of Quar, the rules I'm using can be found here. I'm thinking of using them for small-scale VBCW as well.

One thing I liked about the old 40K starter sets was that they would start you off with just one or two figures a side and go through the turn structure piece by piece. I chose to take a full three-man fireteam of each side, so that I could try out all weapons and the Pluck mechanic too (used only by leaders). The Crusaders have a standard team of Milwer (corporal) with Bogen rifle, Rhyfler with rifle, and Ryfler with Ryshi "heavy rifle." The Coftyrans (who don't do fireteams, but have the WWII British squad organization with seven rifles and a three-man LMG team) get a machine gun team with the same layout, but slightly different weaponry. They start at opposite corners of a 2x2 square.

This will not be nearly as clear or as useful as Stew's much-better-illustrated playthru, but it'll help me. I hope.

L-R: Coftyrans and Crusaders.

Round 1: All three Crusaders move once, 5" towards the enemy. For their fourth action this card, the Ryshi gunner fires. (If I "knew" I had a fifth action, I'd spend two pluck to provide him supporting fire for +4 to his check). He's 17" away, so two full range bands for -2. The target will dive for cover, reducing the Ryshi's check to -6, so he rolls a 6 or less on 3d6: 12! So he missed, but the check is less than 13 and target dove. Attacker moves the target, who is gobsmacked. For Action Five, only the Milwer is left, and goes on Overwatch.

Round 2: The Gobsmacked Coftyran stands up for one action. The Milwer moves closer to the machine gunner, then for his second action spends two Pluck points to provide Supporting Fire. Do we have a fourth action? We do. The Cryfen machine-gunner has the Milwer touching him (+1 for Loader) and a Pluck point is spent for support fire (+2 for each of the two guys within 4"). He does Area Fire (-1 for each target in a 4" circle, so -2) and the targets are 17" away for two full range bands (-2). The Ryshi will dive for cover (-4) and the Milwer fire a snap shot (-1). I choose the latter for the snap shot as they are both two range bands away but the latter's Bogen rifle has only -2 to its snap fire; the Ryshi has -3. We'll target the Milwer first at 12-. I rolled an 11 - target out of action. The Ryshi gunner is 9- and I rolled an 8 - also out of action! This means the Milwer can't snap-shot back, as that comes after he's shot at (I got that wrong during the Hurricon game).

Whoops, forgot the Overwatch, who probably could have done something about this. Let's fire the Crusader Milwer. Two range bands (-2), shoots at the Milwer (who snapshots back (-1). 9 or less. He rolls exactly 9, so the Coftyran Milwer is OOA. He could thus not have provided the pluck point, so -5 to the rolls. Both would have been 13+, thus both Crusaders move to cover. There isn't any, so they stay put. The Ryshi dove for cover so is prone, while I assume the Milwer is still standing.

I need to make notes re: which photos go where.
I wonder if I can name photos whilst taking them.

Well, this IS why I'm doing this - to learn to watch out for things like that.

Round 3: The Crusader Ryshi returns fire, spending two pluck to provide support (+4). We're doing Area Fire again, able to hit all three opponents (-3) two range bands away (-2). The Cryfen gunner will snap-shot back and the Milwer will load him (I assume this means he cannot snapshot or dive for cover). The third Quar dives for cover. Cryfen to-hit is thus 10-, Milwer 11-, Rhyfler 7-. The Cryfen to-hit is 12 (nothing, as he didn't dive); Milwer 7 (out of action), Rhyfler 10 (dived for cover, so may move 1" and go prone. He could move 5", but there isn't any cover to dive for so he's just hitting the nearest dirt).

Wait, the Ryshi was prone. Any effect? No. The Cryfen gunner shoots back (-3 for snap shot, -2 for range, -2 for prone target, +1 for loader). He needs 6- and rolled a 9. The Ryshi may move an inch, but is already prone.

Supporting shooters may do nothing else, so we're done.

Round 4: Given the lack of cover, both sides should have been prone already, but poor shooting has led to no casualties so far. Coftyrans all move 5" and go prone. One of them had to stand to do this, so that's three actions. They're done, but closer to the enemy and at -2 to be hit.

Round 5: Two more Crusaders go prone and move 2.5". The Ryshi tries aimed fire (no range penalty, but spends two actions - has he a fourth action to do it with? Yes! He picks on the prone Milwer, and spends two Pluck for support fire. (his Milwer has one remaining.) -2 for prone target (who dives for cover - only 1" for no cover) so 6- to hit. The score is 12, so the target is Gobsmacked. We have a fifth action but, due to the support fire, can't use it.

These photos aren't very interesting or illuminating, are they?

Round 6: The Coftyran Milwer Recovers and stays flat. Let's try a grenade next, which uses both actions of the Rhyfler. He throws at a target w/in 10" - the Ryshi gunner who just shot at his boss. He suffers no penalty for being prone. We throw two dice and get 12! That's the best result - all three Crusaders are hit! For the Milwer this is 3D6 vs. his 4 toughness. I rolled a 14 - this is thrice the toughness so the Ryshi gunner is dead! The other rolls, on 2D6 instead, are 6 and 4 respectively, so the Milwer is Gobsmacked and the Rhyfler can be pushed an inch - this seems odd for a grenade to do, but he rolls over half an inch away from the blast. No more actions.

Round 7: OK, that's pretty tough for the Crusaders. The Milwer will recover and both figures stand and move. My intent is to experiment with assault. The Milwer spends his last pluck to Charge, and picks on the opposing Milwer. This chap may take Opportunity Fire, but I assume he fires at the range his target was at from the beginning of the move, so is two range bands away. -3 for snapshot and range, +2 for automatic shooting at a single target, so 11-. He rolled an 8 which would take the charger out of action; for testing purposes let's assume he misses.

(I reverted a bit to see what might happen if the Crusader Rhyfler tossed a smoke grenade first, which would have given a further -3 to hit his boss [which would have still hit, so no prob]. I rolled a 2/2, which meant the Coftyran player would get to place the grenade, so it wouldn't block his LOS anyway.)

In goes the Crusader on his prone opponent (+2 to his skill, so 14-). He rolls 11, a hit, and rolls D6+2 Might vs. Toughness 4. He rolled a 2, so equals the Toughness, which only pushes his opponent. No good. Curiously, since this is a Combat action he can't fight again even though he is Engaged, so he'll Steady, giving him back a single Pluck point for future use...

That's the second time someone has basically rolled over
in response to an attack.

But it's getting dark, IRL and I guess in-game too. At this point, having tried all the mechanisms I wanted to, and needing to get to bed soon, I'll stop here. Comments from Quar veterans gratefully welcomed.

More Reading

Today, I finished one book, and got well into another. I was sitting at a desk all day while Early Voters filed past me; we're not open Sundays so I was just there to open the door for the election staff. Didn't even have to answer the phone.

I also built some Paperboys for display, some for Halloween and some for Veteran's Day (as wargame minis, the latter will double as part of my International Games Month display).

When I got home, my table was in bright natural light and I considered playtesting Quar: Clash of Rhyfles; then I went to sleep instead, because I'd been at work from 6am. This is my real problem; even a quick three-figure-a-side demo just seems like too much work. Tuesday, then. Must hold myself to that. The alternative is playing outside, which I just might be able to get away with as there shouldn't be anyone else in the "common area" on a weekday morning.

I first discovered Philip Bradley through his On Shaggy Ridge, an engaging account of the Australian 7th Division in late 1943 and one of those little-known jungle battles. Several of his books are now on Hoopla. Australian Light Horse is about the WWI Light Horse Brigade in Egypt and Palestine. There are lots of photos and quotes from the soldiers involved. A good introduction to the campaign, and plenty of useful description for colonial wargaming inspiration. There are side jaunts to Lawrence of Arabia and the air war, too.

So I finished that, and got about a third of the way into Fighting Vichy From Horseback before I left for the day. This is a unique story of British horsed Yeomanry from WWII, and so far it's very appealing. That first third is about the enlistment, training and transport of the Yeomanry from May 1939 on, and there are many interesting tidbits of life in a Yeomanry regiment that could inspire "fluff" for VBCW. There remained a class distinction, with gentry providing many of the officers, but also lots of men with experience in hunting and racing. Horses were simply requisitioned at low prices, and relinquished with emotion, to the point that one is said to have had a note attached - "Seven years old, can be led by a child. Take good care of him." Some of the sergeants and sergeants-major had been commissioned during WWI. Little examination was done, and some of the mares were pregnant and foaled during the voyage to Palestine. A Free French unit rode stallions and care had to be taken that the mounts didn't "mix!"

The author's thesis is that, even at the time, horsed cavalry could still be an integral part of a "modern" army. Cavalry wasn't horsed just because it was cheaper than tanks - it was horsed because horses could go places tanks couldn't - like the heavily broken ground of Lebanon. Also, they feed themselves, though the disadvantage is that they're harder to care for than a motor vehicle - and this was a problem for the WWII British cav, who were largely not trained horsemen to begin with.

He points out that the Germans had cavalry, and even crossed swords with the stereotypical Polish lancers who never actually attacked tanks; while the Soviets used all-arms formations, with riders scouting for the armor! All three services also armed their horsemen with the same heavy weapons as the infantry - this comes up in Bradley's book too, where several times cavalry was able to reach an infilading position with machine guns to cut up Turkish attacks and convoys. 

The Yeomanry were reorganized several times before the campaign, some elements being mechanized, then their vehicles taken away and rehorsed. Part of the problem was that the British were badly overstretched in the Med in mid-1941, and in fact the Yeomanry were the only mobile troops available in Palestine because everyone else - including some of their own - had been sent to Greece or the Western Desert. In times of unrest, their mounts made them useful Aid to the Civil Power.

So, quite interesting, and I look forward to finishing it. Others I've picked up include a biography of sniper Billy Sing (mentioned in the Light Horse volume, though by the time of the Middle Eastern campaign he had transferred out), and Henry Hyde's Tabletop Battle Tactics. I enjoy his style of writing, even though I doubt this volume will be much use to me!

See you next time, hopefully with something more meaty.

More Lateral Progress

Ten days since my last post. Been reading 40K novels (catching up on Dan Abnett's Sabbat Worlds Crusade macrocosm), and not really trying to build, paint or play with anything plastic. Though (inspired by a readthru of Beneath the Lily Banners 1st Edition) I did build more of the Spanish 1680s Paperboys I've been working on:

This is the standard unit in BLB - three musketeer bases
and one pike base behind, all of six figures.

Will be doing lots more reading coming up, since I get to come in early and often to work for Early Voting. Starting with tomorrow at 5:30am.

More and more Helion books are turning up on the Hoopla reading app - right now I'm working my way through their wargaming manual for the First Carlist War. It's quite good, lots of basic information for a newbie like me, plus lovely photos of Perry Miniatures.

I'm still waiting for the one
on the Anglo-Sikh wars.

Others I'm working on or coming up to:

From 1987, so long out of date,
when many were brand new.
Contains a lot of technical detail.
A bathroom read.

Another Helion volume from Hoopla.

By Pen and Sword this time.

I really liked his chapter in
the "alternate Napoleonic Wars"
volume, and this is shaping
up to be very enjoyable.
With sardonic humor, too.

There are several miniature projects I need to build:

• Assemble and label the new Wofuns I picked up at Hurricon. I've used up most of my names, so a hasty reread of the Branion series is in order.
• Assemble the second box of Travel Battle. I may model some as light infantry.
• Assemble the BEF. I'm thinking of one squad of Scottish militia (in berets) and the other two as LDV with Springfield rifles.

Of course, I should be playtesting Quar and VBCW, and there is the Port Royal kickstarter turning up in a month or two... oh, and cleaning my table, or at least getting another, would be a good idea. The Closet of Shame is about to get deeper.

Hopefully some real hobby progress next time.

Hunker Down and Hobby. Plus 200 Posts!

So, Hurricane Milton went through, which means I have a three-day weekend though I only caught the edge and there wasn't even any rain. A couple coworkers north of me lost power. Spent Wednesday keeping an eye on the track, watching Boney episodes and Games Workshop videos, and building Quar and Paperboys:

Crusaders, three fire-teams of three plus a Yawdryl (Sergeant).

Coftyrans, in WWII British squad organization - rifle group
and machine-gun group. Though the Crusaders get the Brit helmets.

Pirate-era Spanish.

Also finished reading Wellington's Redjackets, a history of the 45th (1st Nottinghamshire Regiment) in the Peninsular War. Good, if typical of the other period regimental histories I've read. I did enjoy learning more about the South American expedition of 1807, and the 1814 invasion of France, which I was unfamiliar with.

Last blogpost was my 200th.

Among the first Asimov
nonfiction I read.

• In the course of the last hundred, I discovered Very British Civil War, obtained nearly all the sourcebooks and plenty of useful miniatures for the period, and began to experiment with rules for the "period." I also discovered Quar.
• I also got in several programs of miniature painting at work, as well as Paperboy displays and papercrafting activities. I've moved to a branch where I have more kids to work with, but fewer teens, so some of that has been reduced in complexity. I'm effectively in charge of a Chess club now, so I have opportunities to experiment.
• I read dozens of books.
• I went to two HMGS-South conventions. I ran a game of Charge! at one.
• I organized and named my Wofun regiments so as to play Charge! The game I ran provided much useful feedback, so I should be able to play some more soon.
• I even painted a little on my own account, for the first time in quite a few years, and obtained some terrain to play with. (I have got to get a lot more hills and colored patches for forests.)
• I started working through the Charles Grant Programmed Wargames scenarios - so far three.
• I played five Minceheim games solo.
• I played in 10 games at Das Krieg Haus over roughly two years - not bad actually, given that I can only get there every other Saturday. (Some of the available Saturdays, I chose to attend the Virtual Wargames Club instead.) These were nearly all GMed by Oriskany Jim or Mark Ritchie.

What didn't I do? That would be actually finishing, or even seriously progressing on - any particular project. Except for the Jacobite mostly-solo campaign.

I would like to:

• Prep and run Picacho Pass - I have an increasingly enthusiastic partner for it, so I really need to get on that.
• Play more programmed scenarios, with an eye to working through the entire book.
• Obtain more natural terrain to do it with.
• Paint the Quar and start playing it.
• Start playing VBCW, or even running it for the club. It doesn't help that there are numerous rules that would work; I am actually considering Quar: Clash of Rhyfles for small games.
• Do some more library gaming and -adjacent activities. My supervisor has voluntold me to prepare take-and-make crafts for the foreseeable future, so Paperboys are on the horizon. I also ended up with accidental responsibility for a display case that is ideal for miniature displays...

Not too shabby, really. I still think this blog is pushing me to actually do hobby stuff; it's also opened up a community of fellow bloggers whose encouragement is just as invigorating. Thanks, and I'll see you in the next hundred!

Hurricon 2024: Sunday

 Last day of the convention.

A couple sports games:

Another of Pete Panzeri's.

I got drawn into a DBA game - Jim was running a small "biblical" campaign.

Some terrain and "camp" objectives.

I got the 1500BCE Hebrews, a mix of foot troops...

... against whoever came after the Hittites, mostly light and fast.

I have got to get me some of this cuttable Cigar Box terrain.

Deployment.

A couple turns in, I've taken the high ground...

... and eliminated one base, though not the general,
which would have won the game outright.

Closeup of combat. You don't have to destroy a unit outright
to eliminate it - you can force it to retreat with another on its flank.

The cardboard is a measuring device in various lengths.
I'm threatening his camp from the woods but his chariots
are close enough to hit me if I go for it. At least they're diverted
from the rest of the battle.

Complex maneuvering.

I ultimately won (and got another certificate), but this was because my opponent was a national champion and coaching me all the way. Still, quite enjoyable. I find DBA complex, but I also find actual play to make things a lot easier - there is nothing like it for learning the rules, as I found with Quar and Charge!.

So, overall a successful, if more leisurely, convention. Would go again. 

On to LOOT:

• Three painted British policemen, useful for VBCW.
• A handful of extra Quar - three Crusader Rhyflers, three Crusader Trench Raiders, and three Coftyran Sharpshooters.
• A box of 30 Wargames Atlantic BEF/Home Guard, also useful for VBCW if I ever get around to building and painting them... also bases, which I learned are not included in the boxes.
• An extra, slightly battered Perrys' Portable Wargame. Will be interested to see how it goes on a 2x2 board.
• Featherstone's guide to the Peninsular battlefields. Coincidentally, it mentions Pete Panzeri as someone who came home from fighting in Desert Storm and immediately wargamed it.
• An Osprey on the British Army, 1816-1853 - a period I've never looked closely at, except some of the Indian campaigns.
• A Squadron/Signal on the T-34 tank - another I'm unfamiliar with. This series is one I grew up with (we had one Osprey in the house and a dozen Sqn/Sigs), but I don't see it around much these days.
• A book on Market Garden illustrated with miniatures, a good companion to Pete's game.
• A Munchkin box, which I might find use for at work.
• A copy of Beneath the Lily Banners, an older edition. I've heard a lot about this game (and understand it's inspired by Stephen Simpson's) but never found it online. I was tempted by the newer hardcover edition, but I'll start with this one.
• And of course, in order to run the Charge! game from last post, Wofun starter sets of WoSS and '45 Rebellion, 30 dice, and a "Rattlesnake Ranch" Cigar Box mat (which Peter Dennis has started using for his more desert/Western minis, so like the Grasslands one it matches all the Paperboys I've got).

Speaking of which, I've somehow, in an 800-sq-ft apartment, misplaced all the Fistful of Lead material I acquired last time out. Jeff reminded me that I'd planned to run a Picacho Pass scenario at some point, and that has hung fire for years. Must get back on that...

Gaming can be either a whirlwind or a slog, depending on mood. I think this was a good time all around.

Hurricon 2024: Saturday

Three more games. This has been a more relaxed convention than the last one, and I even dared to run my own game!

The first was Pete Panzeri's Op: Market Garden game, part two (He'd done the first five or so days of the battle on Friday). This is the same operational scale and ruleset as a D-Day game at Krieg Haus broadcast by Sitrep Podcast which I missed, so it was good to get into this one. Hopefully we will see a Bulge version in December. It was quite elaborate - the table stretched from the Dutch border to well north of Arnhem. This means the minis were purely representative - each infantry base, vehicle and gun represents roughly a company, squadron or battery.

The Einhoven sector, clear of Germans by this point.

I was 82nd Airborne, in charge of the sector from Nijmegen to Arnhem where the Brits and Poles (who'd gotten there early thanks to good weather) were slowly running out of ammo and equipment.

Part of my initial position. The Nijmegen bridge is unbroken,
but the forward edge of XXX Corps is jammed on it.

Some supporting artillery.

More of the 82nd, with Arnhem to the left and ...

beleaguering Germans to the right!

There are many phases to a turn (representing a day), many of them administrative - supply, air cover (including a bad-weather check), bombardment, etc. When playing demo games, I feel the best are those where the GM simply tells you what to roll, but the rules seemed fairly simple regardless - each base or vehicle added two dice to a pool, sometimes increased or reduced owing to assorted circumstances - 

For example, if a dropzone, represented by the supply canister
at right center, is under fire, or if a command element (on the hill
at center) is isolated enough to be destroyed.

- and any sixes rolled were hits and removed a base. The choice was that of the player, so if there was a primarily-armor formation, infantry units with it could be "ablative."

Closeup south of Arnhem. I hastily decamped some troops
to the ridge to hold off the Germans coming in from the west,
and headed the rest towards Arnhem to help 1st Div, still holding out.

Artillery support eliminates monst of the panzers,
then along comes the XXX Corps column.

I also started building a Bailey bridge to get my infantry across.

At this point, another panzer column crosses east of Arnhem...

.. while the north side swarms with bad guys.

Some more, during the "air cover" phase.

XXX Corps hurries toward Arnhem.

... While heavy bombers unsuccessfully try to interdict
the panzers in the woods.

I've got the Bailey bridge up.

Boating some of the 82nd into Arnhem to help hold off the Germans.
(Quicker than getting to and across the bridge - remember this image
represents several miles, and it would take a turn or more and mean
getting in the way of tanks that must use the bridge or nothing.

Furious combat in Arnhem.

Germans streaming in.

The dead pile.

XXX Corps with tank destroyers leading are almost there.

They have a clear road - a couple turns of concentrated bombardment
and the panzers this side of the river are now gone.

End result - a minor victory for the Allies, as we a) held more buildings than the Germans and b) had at least a few tank units across. My view was a bit constricted as I was concentrating on the 82nd sector, but while I had some scary moments, the player handling 1st and Polish Brigade was earning his pay too. It looks crude, but this was an excellent and strategic game with a very good GM. I even came away from it with my very own Combat Infantryman's Badge.

At this point, I paused - I had not got into Jeff's game as I hoped, so I roved the hall:

Blood and Plunder.

Gaslands.

Salamis, also by Pete Panzeri.

Another Quar demo:

Some of Jeff's NW Frontier game, I think:

Some magnificent 3D prints - here a CG4 glider.

Fantasy skirmish.

More ancient naval:

Chariot race. The buildings were reset
next day for a gladiator game.

Wings of War.

At this point, I bit the bullet, bought and assembled a couple more packs of Wofun Paperboys (and some paper rulers), and ran a Charge! scenario for the first time with my Pocketmod ruleset.

Meeting engagement between Stephen of Raven Banner Games,
who provided the minis and mat, and another guy named Steve.
Books for hills as with the original.

Each side started in column. Stephen aimed to put one
of his guns on the hill. Movement and shooting went well.

There were some cavalry clashes, which turned out more
problematic because CC in Charge! is man-to-man rather than
one die per 8 men (for infantry) or per shot (for guns).
The other issue was morale - I kept forgetting that cavalry
are understrength at 2/3 casualties, not 1/2.

In general, it went well. Here Steve captures one of Stephen's guns.

I did this on the spur of the moment - I wish I'd thought to bring some of the troops I already had, though. I'd forgotten how difficult it is to construct the Wofun MDF cannon - one, having broken both trail pieces, will have to be converted to a howitzer! More difficult to run than I expected, but like Quar, a very useful playtest that will help me improve both the rules and my GMing.

Another TSATF game I observed with delight, this one a Mexican scenario between Pancho Villa and Federales. An elaborate setup:

A lovely Curtiss Jenny.

Fantasy jousting, with Halflings...

And camel riders.

Lord of the Rings 15mm Rohirrim.

And Uruk-Hai.

A Crusade game.

I'll pause here, because the post is getting really long. Next time, Sunday and loot!