Fourth Unit – The Blue Spearmen

The Blue Spearmen

This is the next spearmen unit and again I went with a unique shield pattern as before. The colors are Blue and White to match with the archers. I don’t really care for the way the shields came out, but they will do. I am going to try a uniform pattern on the next group while still varying the shield style.

I tried going with a dark brown on the spears, then highlighting it up to the lighter color. It looked OK but was not interesting enough to warrant the extra effort. In the end I went back to the single color.

This week was busy with a lot of unexpected interruptions. I am glad I got at least one unit added. I am way off schedule, but I am not going to get down on myself. I am keeping in mind that every unit completed is one step closer to my goal. I am going to go with a herculean effort to get three units finished this coming week.

Third Unit Painted

The Green Spearmen

This is my first spearmen and I decided to make each shield unique to add a less uniform look to the unit. They are in the same Green and White as the Green Arrows to give these two a linked retinue appearance. I like the way they came out, but in future I am going to go with full body shields for everyone to give spearmen a more protected feel.

Another thing I tried was leaving the spears a single, unshaded wood color. It was certainly easy, but I am not sure I like it. I might add a darker color and then highlight with this brown. As a note, the brown is the same base color as on the bows, but with those I have added a highlight to make them look more like yew, or ash wood.

Green Arrows with Green Spearmen in Support

Joining Battle

Once forces are organized battle can begin. These are the basic charts for how to resolve a turn. 

CHAINMAIL CHARTS REVISDED

Turn Sequence

Roll Initiative – Winner determines who is side A

A – Declare Charges, move all non-charging units, resolve all Split Move & Fire, Receive all Pass-Through Fire. Complete Charges. Resolve Regular Missile Fire.

B – Declare Charges, move all non-charging units, resolve all Split Move & Fire, Receive all Pass-Through Fire. Complete Charges. Resolve Regular Missile Fire.

Missile Fire – Resolve fire for any unit that has not fired this turn, or second fire for stationary Bows.

Melee Resolved

Moral Checks

Movement Rates

Troop Type	Move	Charge
Light Foot	9	12
Heavy Foot	9	12
Armored Foot	6	8

Troop Type	Walk	Canter	Gallop
Light Horse	0-10	11-20	21-30
Medium Horse	0-8	9-16	17-24
Heavy Horse	0-6	7-12	13-18

Horse may move up or down one level per turn. Must move at least the minimum listed each turn. See NOTES on MANEUVERS.

Maneuvers

From	To	Time, or Requirements
Column	Line	1 Turn
Line	Column	1 Turn
Face Left/Right		1 Turn*
Face Rear		2 Turns*
Column/Line	Square	2 Turns* Infantry Only
Wheel		Count 2” for each 1” moved
Side Step		1 Turn*, 3” Left or Right Infantry Only

*Units caught in melee while maneuvering must beat opponents dice roll or count as flanked.

Squares once formed have no flank but may not move.

Cavalry may only maneuver by Wheel if at a Canter, and if at Gallop may only wheel up to 45 degrees at the beginning of the turn.

Wheels work by holding down the inside corner and move forward along the outside. A second unit following moves directly into rear contact of the lead unit.

Terrain Effects

Terrain	Effect	Prevent Charge
Gentle Hill	Half Speed Up Hill	Yes, Up only
Steep Hill	Half Speed	Yes
Woods	Impenetrable except to Ambush started in	Yes
Rough	Cavalry Half Speed Walk or Canter Only	Yes, all
Marsh	Half Speed. Cavalry Walk Only	Yes
Fordable River	Halt on contact. One turn to cross. Cavalry Walk, or Canter Only	Yes

Moral Levels

Quality Level	Casualty %	Score to Remain
Mob*	N/A	If a mob checks moral it automatically routs
Militia	25%	8 or better
Regular	33%	7 or better
Veteran	33%	6 or better
Elite	50%	4 or better

Combat Results

Light Foot Vs.                                                                                        Light Horse Vs.

Light Foot - 1 die per man, 6 kills                                            Light Foot - 2 dice per man, 5, 6 kills

Heavy Foot             - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills                           Heavy Foot             - 2 die per man, 6 kills

Armored Foot         - 1 die per 3 men, 6 kills                           Armored Foot         - 1 die per man, 6 kills

Light Horse             - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills                           Light Horse             - 1 die per man, 6 kills

Medium Horse        - 1 die per 3 men, 6 kills                           Medium Horse        - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills

Heavy Horse          - 1 die per 4 men, 6 kills                            Heavy Horse          - 1 die per 3 men, 6 kills

Heavy Foot Vs.                                                                                      Medium Horse Vs.

Light Foot - 1 die per man, 5, 6 kills                                         Light Foot - 2 dice per man, 4 – 6 kills

Heavy Foot             - 1 die per man, 6 kills                               Heavy Foot             - 2 dice per man, 5, 6 kills

Armored Foot         - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills                             Armored Foot         - 2 die per man, 6 kills

Light Horse             - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills                             Light Horse             - 1 die per man, 5, 6 kills

Medium Horse        - 1 die per 3 men, 6 kills                             Medium Horse        - 1 die per man, 6 kills

Heavy Horse          - 1 die per 4 men, 6 kills                              Heavy Horse          - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills

Armored Foot Vs.                                                                                    Heavy Horse Vs.

Light Foot - 1 die per man, 4 – 6 kills                                          Light Foot - 4 dice per man, 5, 6 kills

Heavy Foot             - 1 die per man, 5, 6 kills                              Heavy Foot             - 3 die per man, 5, 6 kills

Armored Foot         - 1 die per man, 6 kills                                   Armored Foot         - 2 die per man, 5, 6 kills

Light Horse             - 1 die per man, 6 kills                                   Light Horse             - 2 die per man, 5, 6 kills

Medium Horse        - 1 die per 2 men, 6 kills                                Medium Horse        - 1 die per man, 5, 6 kills

Heavy Horse          - 1 die per 3 men, 6 kills                                 Heavy Horse          - 1 die per man, 6 kills

Missile Combat

Weapon	Range	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Short Bow	5/10/15	6-7-8	6-7-8	6-7-8	7-8-9	8-9-10	9-10-11	10-12-/	12-/-/	10-12-/	12-/-/
Light Crossbow	6/12/18	5-6-7	5-6-7	5-6-7	6-7-8	7-8-10	8-9-11	9-11-/	11-/-/	9-10-/	10-12-/
Horse Crossbow	5/10/15	5-6-7	5-6-8	5-6-8	6-8-9	7-9-10	8-10-11	9-12-/	11-/-/	9-11-/	10-12-/
Heavy Crossbow	8/16/24	4-5-6	4-6-7	4-6-7	5-6-8	6-8-9	7-9-10	8-10-11	0-11-12	7-9-12	9-11-/

Rate of Fire: All but Heavy Crossbow can move full and fire. Heavy Crossbow can move half and fire, or if moving over half, if they beat their opponent’s die roll (both sides roll 1d6). Bows that don’t move and are not in melee can fire twice in a turn.

Bows, but not crossbows may fire indirectly. The target must be over 3 inches from them. This reduces their range to -/6/10. Their targets armor increases by one category, with categories 7 and 8 becoming arrow-proof.

Armor Classes

1)    No Armor 2)    Leather or Padded 3)    Shield Only 4)    Leather Armor and Shield 
5)    Chainmail 6)    Chainmail and Shield 7)    Partial Plate 8)    Partial Plate and Shield 

9)    Horses – No Armor 10)  Horses – Barded

Organizing for Battle

At the start of a battle the King decides were each noble’s retinue will be deployed. A retinue is deployed in whole in a single Guard/Battle, with the exception that all but the Middle Guard maybe composed of only Cavalry. Your main character deploys with his retinue, or if it is split may choose either group.

The highest-ranking noble is in command of each Guard/Battle. The prestige of each, ranked in descending order is Vanguard, Middle Guard, Rear Guard, and Reserve Guard. The exception is the King may join any Guard/Battle but is normally in charge of the Middle Guard.

Characters affect their units moral. A Guard/Battles commander affects all units in the Guard/Battle they command. A standard Character affects only their retinue. The King can affect all units on his side.

This is the list of all Guards/Battles and their location on the field.

Organization

Units are grouped into 2 – 4 Guard/Battles, The Guard/Battles are:

The Van (leads the march, and forms on the right)

Main (follows the Van in the march and holds the center)                      

The Rear (follows at the back and forms on the left)

Reserve (formed only in battle, behind the Main, or deployed in ambush)

The King determines how many battles to form (2-4), and if he has the tactic available if the Reserve Guard will be in ambush.

Preparing for War

Each player in the game needs to provide the following information to my standard email. DO NOT REPLY HERE ON THE BLOG.

1)    Name your main character and his second in command. No titles (Lord, Earl etc.), just sir and family name. Keep to English, or French names.

Example: John de Marl, Robbin of Loxley.

2)    Pick another player as your rival family. Part of the victory conditions for you will depend on how well you do, and how poorly your rival does. Each player may only have 1 rival, so I will be locking up pairs on a first come bases. Check with me privately if you are not sure who is participating and can be a rival.

3)    Building a force. YOU DO NOT NEED TO PROVIDE YOUR OWN TROOPS. Those that do have their own figures will get priorities on their Rival choice. If you don’t use your own figures your choices will be limited by my troop mix.

For those that wish to bring their own troops the basic unit for cavalry is 6 figures, individual mounted on 40mm round bases. For infantry there are 8 figures individual mounted on 25mm round bases. The reason is I will be using the GW LotR unit bases and those rounds fit in them.

You will also need a main character that will be on a 60mm round base. This will be two figures, the character and the banner bearer. You may also want to provide a second in command that will be mounted the same way.


Players choose 4 units from the following list. The number after the entry is the maximum of that type you can start with.

Heavy Cavalry Knights x1 (6 figures)
Armored infantry with spears & shields, or halberd x1 (8 figures)
Heavy Infantry with spears & shields x3 (8 figures per unit)
Light Infantry with bow, light crossbow, or heavy crossbow x1 (8 figures)

Three of these units (your choice) represents your Riding Retinue, which are the troops that follow you anywhere you go. The other is your Well Wishers that may be available for battle.

When you are awarded Titles, you will gain additional troops (approximately the same number as your starting force but varies by Title). These will normally provide one unit for your Riding Retinue, with the others being Well Wishers.
You will also have levied troops that MAY appear, but only in your home territories.
Titled and Levied troops will be of an inferior moral quality to the Riding Retinues.