Category Archives: Miniatures

Campaign Game – Opening Moves & Encounter

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Sessions

The Portuguese completed an unopposed landing, without loss, and advanced along the coastal track towards the northern port town of Mwenye (I used a random name generator which is found here).  Since the inland natives’ relations with the coastal Zanj are bad, the Portuguese inland flank is secure.

A Zanj force moved to block the advance, with the two sides meeting at the forest/oasis of Ejiro.  This would be  a set piece battle with the Zanj occupying a fairly strong defensive position.  However, some Zanj units were effected by an cholera epidemic.  As a result, their resolve was lowered, while skilled medical care kept the Portuguese healthy.

Here’s a pictorial overview of the initial stages of the battle.

Flanks Anchored By Rough Ground And Ridge, Zanj Tribal Warriors Await The Portuguese Advance
Flanks Anchored By Rough Ground And Ridge, Zanj Tribal Warriors Await The Portuguese Advance
Portuguese Advance Begins
Portuguese Advance Begins.  Grenadiers On Left
Zanj Advance In Response To Portuguese Fire
Zanj Advance In Response To Portuguese Fire
Another View Of Zanj Advance
Another View Of Zanj Advance.  Interpenetration Not Allowed By Rules.

Campaign Set Up Moves Forward

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Sessions, Solitaire,

Rolled for leader qualities and other parameters.  Rather than insult you with another scan of scribbled fragments of index card, I’ll post up a “clean” copy of the tables/charts used.  Tried to link the variables to the Irregular Wars Chance Cards, with outstanding aspects allowing for good DRMs, and poor aspects leading to bad DRMs.  Normal is just normal, with no DRMs.  Card use has been difficult to implement solitaire and I hope this is a viable alternative.

Ming Chinese:

Lei Qiu:  An inexperienced leader, but bold.  Staff includes a skilled logistician and physician.

Portuguese:

Eduardo Nicolau Rolando:  Experienced and inspiring leader.  Staff also includes skilled logistican and physician.  Also, the Portuguese have good local knowledge, which negates many effects of unfavorable terrain.

The Portuguese, facing hostility from the Coastal Arabs, have to decided to invade before the Ming can establish a military presence.  At this time, only Chinese traders are allowed in the area, and the Coastal Arabs will resist any attack by the Portuguese.

Zanj:

Relations with natives are bad.  They will fight if attacked.  There is internal dissent, and government support is weak.  This weak support limits their army to 10 elements.

Their leader, Jabir Efe, is inexperienced but bold.  Being the home team, they have good local knowledge.

Neither side was able to recruit any natives to augment their forces.

The respective armies are based on both Irregular Wars and DBR lists, given what I have available.  Oh My!  I’m not following an army list.  After years and years of therapy I’ve finally made the jump of just putting something together that has some historical basis and works.  Thank Goodness for that.

 

Start Up

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Sessions, Solitaire

Used the cards shown in my Zapped! post to get the East African Renaissance Campaign off dead center.

Worked fairly well, but the results were mundane.  Had been hoping for a civil war situation, which is the result of both colonial powers being supported by the Zanj or Inland Natives.

Here’s the results:

Ming Chinese

Natives are helpful neutrals, and will provide access to their cities and supplies.  The Zanj are neutral but open to other offers.  Government support is weak, and their initial troop strength is 10 bases.  Their primary objective is a port, with inland towns as their secondary and tertiary objectives.

Portuguese

The Natives are neutral, but open to others.  The Zanj are uncooperative and will fight if attacked or territory occupied.  The Portuguese also have weak government support, and only 10 bases.  Their primary and tertiary objectives are ports, with an inland town a secondary objective.

I’ll start using the Irregular Wars rules to set up some operational parameters.

 

Zapped!

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Solitaire

Finally back at the Pine Cone Lodge, and have spent the past few days setting up projects for the Fall gaming season.

My IPad locked up over the trip and required drastic measures to return to operational condition.  And yes, I had not backed it up.  Stupid.  In a flash, I lost all my back issues of Miniature Wargaming and lots of other stuff.

Stung and motivated, decided to plow ahead with my Renaissance East Africa campaign game without notes and resources.  Set up a solo-decision making chain for the initial scenario.

The overarching concept is that the Ming Dynasty continued their ocean going voyages when proposed in 1477.  They encounter the Portuguese as far north as Malindi, Kenya circa 1510.  The Chinese had visited this city back in 1417, with the Portuguese arriving in 1498.  I don’t have Kenyan native figures, but I’ll make my other Sub-Saharan forces do.

The rough/beta decision making chain shown here involves the reaction of Inland Native and Coastal Arab Zanj trading cities.  Will they ally themselves with one group, cooperate, or remain strictly neutral?  OK, it’s backwards, but the scanner is cranky.

Other considerations to be worked on are levels of government support, and reactions of groups that might lead to a civil war.

More to follow.

 

Renaissance Skirmish – Actions

Miniatures, Renaissance, Sessions

Played a repeat of the mounted scenario last night, incorporating the new thoughts on rules and use of dice to guide play.

Added “Quality” as a troop attribute, using “Excellent”, “Good”, “Average” and “Poor”.  These classifications were assigned probability percentages of 75, 60, 50, and 40 percent, respectively.   I also rolled a D4 to see how many individuals might have qualities that differed from the group. Another D4 to determine what that might  be, with a roll of “4” being “Excellent”, a “3”, “Good” etc.

Final “Yes”, “No” roll was for awareness, which effected the ability to react in the first few turns of the game.

Turn 1:  Blue had initiative, but was unaware, so Red entered at a trot.

Turn 2:  Blue again had the initiative, became aware, with crossbowman moving to the road to shoot. Red accelerated to a gallop and entered into melee with the crossbowmen, with one bowman killed, and the other locked in melee with Red’s leader.

Turn 3:  Death of the bowman did not effect Blue’s fear rating.  Blue troops charged out of the house, surrounding the Red troopers.  However, the troopers (excepting the leader locked in melee), simply charged through the swarm of their assailants.  Red leader killed the other crossbowman.

Turn 4:  Death of the second bowman increased Blue’s fear rating.  Still having the initiative, Blue fled into the woods.

In retrospect, it was a bad move to move the crossbowman to the road.  Should have waited.  Still a quick and fun scenario.  Another run-through tonight.  Here’s a few photos.

Red Surrounded. Note Identification Colors On Rear Of Cavalry.
Red Surrounded. Note Identification Colors On Rear Of Cavalry.
Blue Troops Swarm Out of House
Red Leader In Melee
Red Troopers Gallop Past Assailants. Leader Still Locked In Melee
Red Troopers Gallop Past Assailants. Leader Still Locked In Melee

 

Renaissance Skirmish Rules – Resolution?

Miniatures, Renaissance, Solitaire

Out on the road for the past week. Long drives. Had some time to think about the skirmish rules.

Will stick with RAW’s basic framework but will rely on the dice to determine the probability of actions not covered, but intuitively needed.

The “Yes, No” dice will take care of questions such as “Can he fire this turn or must he reload?”, or “Is there a modification for this moving target?”, or “Can he add pistol to melee strength”.

Don’t want to bogged down in charts and modifiers. Will add gallop (walk, then trot, then gallop), but other than that.  Just play the game and rely on common sense.  Will see how it works.

Renassiance Skirmish – New Scenario, New Thoughts

Miniatures, Renaissance

Started another scenario last night.

It involved five of my recently mounted cavalry descending on a house being looted by seven infantry, two of which armed with crossbows.

Rolled for whether cavalry was moving at trot or gallop, and whether looters were aware of their approach and could then move during the first turn. Cavalry galloped and looters moved.

The cavalry charged into the village, with most of the looters running into the house. The two crossbowmen snapped off shots, one of which killed a horseman. A horseman shot the looters’ leader (who also fired – and missed – while remaining outside the house) but, wearing armor, survived with a saving throw.

The horsemen charged past the house, regrouped and turned. The crossbowmen could not turn and fire. The horsemen then rode once again past the house. During the exchange of fire the looters’ leader was killed.

I stopped at this point, overwhelmed by the number of situations in these few turns that are not addressed by RAW.

1) There is only one speed for horsemen.
2) No reloading time for missle weapons.
3) With RAW sequence, shooters that are not oriented towards targets cannot turn and shoot, or can they?
a) If not, how long does “turning” take?
4) What happens if a leader is killed? Quick rules read-thru twice, no answer.
5) Galloping horseman easy to kill as running human?

I fully understand that these rules are somewhat secondary to nautical and campaign considerations. However, I’m not working with those two aspects.

In short, wrong rules. Good framework – especially greed/fear as I have mentioned before. But not enough detail.

But how much? Ahhhhh, the eternal Grognard question. I have Donald Featherstone’s classic Skirmish Wargaming, as well as the earliest published version of The Sword and The Flame.

Sounds like a mash-up. Another try tonight, with a couple new concepts.