Flight to the Berezina
We're planning a winter Napoleonics skirmish scenario this weekend. This is what I've got so far for the game, and comments/suggestions welcome!
November 1812. Napoleon’s Grande Armée is in tatters. Groups of survivors seek to reach the
Berezina River and escape from Russia.
Objective:
reach the bridge over the Berezina River with as many of your comrades
as possible. In addition, each player
will draw two Objectives Cards, which will provide additional victory points.
There will be one victory point for each
survivor, 2 for each sergeant and 5 for each officer (sergeants and officers
being of greater value in rebuilding the Grande Armée). Other victory points will be assigned based
on individual objectives.
Layout:
·
4’x6’ table with white drop
cloth or similar
·
River with bridge (the
Berezina) on one of the long table sides
·
Trees – snow-covered if
available, otherwise whatever is available.
Leave paths between the trees.
Treed areas are difficult terrain.
·
Russian village – Brian B to
provide
·
Other terrain as available
Each player will get one squad as provided
by Malcolm M. Squads should be of
similar strength, and each squad should have at least one leader (NCO or
officer).
Each player will draw a card for lead
character’s motivation:
·
I must be the last Frenchman in
Russia! Bonus points for being the last character to reach the bridge.
·
The Emperor presented this
eagle to the regiment with his own hands! It must not fall into the clutches of
the Russians. Bonus points for getting eagle off the table. Eagle bearer will
be -1 in h-t-h combat, and unable to carry more than 2 rations.
·
That scoundrel d'Hubert
embarrassed me at Mme DuLeon's soirée in Strasbourg. Finally I have my
opportunity to wreak my vengeance upon him. Bonus points if you duel with and
kill the officer leading one of the other parties (determine which one
randomly).
·
A damsel in distress must be
provided all assistance! Escort a civilian lady to the bridge and ensure that
no harm comes to her.
·
This whole operation has been a
disaster from the get-go, but at least we managed to loot that nobleman's
household. Bonus points to transport a cart full of looted goods to the bridge.
Cart will be slow, unable to move in difficult terrain and will prevent the
squad from carrying any extra rations.
·
Bloody French. This whole mess
is their fault, and the worst part is they dragged us honest Germans (or
Italians, or Spaniards, or Dutch or whatever) into it with them. Bonus points
for killing French (but only if out of line of sight from the bridge!).
·
Vive La France: If two or more
other players achieve their objectives, you win (you beat them).
Random
Encounters:
each turn, players will roll a die.
On a ‘6’, the player will have a random encounter. Draw a card:
·
Wild bear attack! If defeated, the bear yields 6 rations.
Bear
S F ST G A W P FA FT
- 6 5 5 2 3 6 0 0
Skills: Heavy Furs, Scout, Dirty Fighter,
Fury, Sidewinder
Abilities: Move 8”
·
Wolf pack! A pack of wolves attack. Wolves will run if they are defeated.
Wolf
S F ST G A W P FA FT
- 5 3 3 1 1 5 0 0
Skills: Scout, Nimble, Dodge,
Stealthy
Abilities: Move 8”
·
Angry peasants. 6 peasants attack with improvised
weapons. If defeated, each will yield
one ration.
·
Marauding Cossacks. 6 cossacks attack.
·
Wandering French or allied civilians. They may be attacked or assisted. If attacked, each will yield one ration.
·
Dead horse: The party finds the remains of a horse. One turn spent butchering
will provide 1d6 rations.
Special
rules or modifications to written rules:
Ammunition. Any time a '1' is rolled for shooting, the shot misses. In
addition, roll again and if the result is another '1', then the figure is out
of ammunition until it manages to get a resupply. This could be from a dead
comrade or enemy - spend one turn and on a 4+ the figure finds a few more
rounds. (NB – replaces ‘jam’ rule from LotoW rulebook)
Running: normal movement for figures on foot is 6". Any figure may
attempt to run during the shooting phase. This will yield an additional
1d6" of movement, but if a 1 is rolled, the figure trips and falls.
Running will increase fatigue level by 1.
Pluck
tests: As
per LotoW rules subject to following modifications:
Head for the Hills test: if a squad of
soldiers fails their ‘Head for the Hills’ test, then the surviving members will
drop heavy loads (including weapons and rations) and either run for shelter or
surrender to the nearest Russians.
Either way, the squad is effectively done.
Good points, Malcolm. LotOW requires
figures to check their pluck to avoid ducking for cover, but the head for the
hills test can be modified to either run for the nearest cover and directly
away from the immediate threat, or surrender if running isn't possible (for
example, if all avenues of retreat cut off).
Fatigue: Any extreme exertion will
increase fatigue level, and running away will be one of those things that
increases fatigue. Runners should also drop muskets or other loads that they
are carrying (like food), so even if they escape the immediate threat, they'll
still be in a bad way.
Ways to increase fatigue level will include
running (voluntary or otherwise), hand-to-hand combat, breaking down doors and
moving in difficult terrain (deep snow, woods, or whatever else we decide on
the day). Fatigue can be reduced by consuming rations. Each figure will start
with two rations. Once the rations are expended, then the figure will be
fatigued. I think it will be too much bother to keep track of different fatigue
levels, so the only distinction will be fatigued or not fatigued. There will be
opportunities to find more rations, either by stealing from other French, from
Russian peasants or soldiers, dead animals and possibly from encounters or stockpiles.
I'm still thinking about the potential effects of fatigue - I'm currently
considering a reduction in attributes (minus one to movement, fighting ability,
courage, strength and toughness), but might consider a -1 penalty on dice rolls
instead.
Profiles
Heroes
In addition to what is shown on the profile
below, each officer and sergeant will get one skill from p. 90 of the LotOW
rulebook (randomly determined, but if an inappropriate skill is generated, then
a re-roll will be allowed at the referee’s discretion).
Officer
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
4+
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
2
|
1
|
Special:
Leader
Sergeant
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
4+
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
Special:
Loyal
Village headman
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
6+
|
3
|
4
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
Special:
Leader
Village Priest
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
6+
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
0
|
3
|
Special:
The Holy Bible (per Preacher in LotOW rulebook)
Sappeur
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
5+
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
2
|
4
|
1
|
1
|
Special:
Female civilian
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
Fa
|
Ft
|
4+
|
2
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
Special:
Hoy poloi
Soldier
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
4+
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
Special:
None
Grenadier
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
4+
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
4
|
Special:
Voltigeur
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
4+
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
Special:
Light infantry – ignore movement penalties for difficult terrain.
Cossack
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
5+
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Special:
Life is precious. Cossack life,
that is!
Peasants
S
|
F
|
St
|
G
|
A
|
W
|
P
|
6+
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Special:
Safety in numbers
Looking
at skills or abilities for hero characters, a brief list could include:
Swordsman
- rerolls 1s when using a sabre
Trick
shooter - ignores penalties for cover
Sharpshooter
- rerolls misses
Deadly
shot - adds 1 to wound rolls
Fury
- gets an extra attack when charging into a fight
Pistolier
- may shoot twice if armed with two pistols (still subject to slow reload,
though!)
Woodsman
- no movement penalty for woods
Nimble
- may reroll failed movement tests (jumping, climbing etc)
Dodge
- gets a save against being wounded by shooting
Born
in the saddle - +1 to riding tests (thrown rider or jump)
Strongman
- no penalty for using two-handed weapons
Pugilist
- counts as armed with a hand weapon even when unarmed
Dash
- may take a second move in the shooting phase instead of shooting
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