The battle of Leeds (1)

Battle

Scenario: Battle of the barn

Or rather skirmish of the barn.

This is  a simple scenario for a quick ECW game. I use the Witchfinder General Days of Revelation rules for ECW skirmish, but this should work for any system that uses one model as one man. The scenario is untried as yet, so I may adjust it after I give it a few plays.

The Scenario

Matthew Rook and two of his veteran musketeers are trapped in a barn surrounded by a band of Royalist soldiers. Help is on the way however, in the form of a band of local club-men. Can Rook and his comrades hold out long enough for help to arrive, and then make their escape…

The Forces

Parliamentarian:

Matthew Rook, Armed with two pistols and a sword. Pickering and Drake, armed with flintlock or matchlock muskets and a sword each.

Royalist:

The royalist forces are six musketeers and one officer.

The Farm

There is a suggested map layout of the farm on a 4’x4’ table, on the previous page, but any layout with plenty of walls, houses and trees will do. It is essential that there is a building to represent the barn and a building to represent the farm house.

You can also have miniatures on the board to represent the farmer and his family. These are non-combatants.

The Barn counts as sturdy cover and only figures at the doors or windows of the barn are in sight.

Victory conditions

Parliament win a total victory if all Rook, Pickering and Drake make it off the board alive.

If only one or two of the Parliamentarian forces get off the board then it is a draw.

Royalists win if Rook and both of his men are killed or captured.

If one or two of the Parliamentarian forces are killed or captured it is a is a draw

Special Rules

Clubmen to the rescue! After turn 2 (from the start of turn 3) there is a chance that some local club men arrive to help Rook and his men. At the start of each turn the Parliamentarian player must roll 1 D6 on a roll of 4,5,6 club men arrive. If they do arrive, roll the D6 again, then half the score (rounding up) to calculate the number of club men that arrive. Do this each turn. The maximum number of clubmen allowed to join the game is 6.

Fire, fire! After turn 32 (from the start of turn 4) the Royalist player can attempt to burn the barn. (See the burn the barn rule section)

The game is advised for gloomy conditions, see page 86 in the main WFG rule book.

Download this scenario, with full stats for WFG here (4mb) .pdf

Barn by Renedra Ltd, miniatures by Warlord Games.

Skirmish! (2)

Fearsome Skirmish at Skipwithe AAR

A most fearsome a dreadful skirmish has taken place in the small village of Skipwithe. It has resulted in the wounding and death of several godly Englishmen. In the very early hours of Tuesday morning a group of skirmishers from the Hon. Lord Hawksby’s regiment sought to apprehend two Royalist officers of horse, who were leaving the notorious ale house the King’s Head.

The assault begins

The officers dash for cover

The battle of the well. The King’s dragoons are holding well.

A spot of fisticuffs

Disaster for the Royalists. A dragoon is killed and in a drunken state one of the officers drops his pistol and shoots himself… dead.

The remaining officer is captured and the dragoons flee… a victory for the greencoats…

… but at a cost.

The scenario and battle were written for Witchfinder General rules, an excellent set of skirmish rules, that can be used for straight ECW games as well as those with a supernatural twist. The rules can be obtained from Dashing Dice Games.

The Scenario can be downloaded here.

Skirmish! (1)