Random charge distances in Rebels and Patriots

First blog post for 2019 will be a in-depth deskription of a rule in the up comming Rebels and Patriots rules that go a bit outside the confortable "rampant" box, random charge move distances.

So what is it all the fuss about and way...

It actually started with all Cavalry was shoot to pieces during the playtest games, Cavalry are and should be fragile to firing as well as Infantry in the open BUT at least the Cavalry should have a chanse to reach a enemy before the unit was all gone, at least for the sake of playability of the rules.

The solution on our chalange was to introduce a longer but random charge move, giving the charging unit a chance to closing in befor they was taken out, but also puting the to a risk of ending up in between if they failed to gain enought momentum in their charge.

When your unit want to charge a enemy unit it has to be within Maximum Attack Distance, 12" for Infantry and 18" for Cavalry.... sorry if i choked you..

So we asume your unit are within Maximum Attack Distance, then you roll to Activate the unit as usual suceeding on a 6+

If you suceeded with the Activation, the unmodified dice roll,is the distance your unit must move forward the target unit of the attack. All Cavalry units add +6" to the dice roll. The attacking unit must move the full distance even if it wont bring it in contact with the target unit, remember to honour the 3" rule for proximity to enemy units if the attack dosent make it in to contact.

With this simple solution a unit have the chanse to be able to perform an charge before taking to many casualties, there is still a greate risk to expose themself to enemy fire.

The enemy also act under the threat of being charged before they can eliminate the threat as they cant really be sure when the enemy will comit to attack, will he chanse to Attack further away with the risk of being caught in between or will he try to play it safe and move in possision to get a shorter Charge distance...

This also effect the triangular metaplay between Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery, as for example Cavalry are now a greater threat to Infantry that in responce form-up in Close Order (better protection from cavalry) but that would make the Infantry more vulnerable to Artillery fire.

Here are an example of the random charge move:

An infantry unit wants to Attack an enemy unit that is 7" from them. The unit rolls 5 on the Activation Test and remains stationary as they failed the test (they need 6+ to Activate). If the Attacking unit had their Officer within 12", giving +1 on all Activation rolls, they would have succeeded with their Activation and moved 5" (the unmodified number rolled on the Activation dice) towards the enemy, but they would not be able to make contact as they started 7" away. Instead, the Attacking unit has to stop 3" from the enemy and no melee will occur. 

If the Attacking unit was a unit of Light Cavalry, they would still fail to activate on the roll of a 5, but with the Officer close by they would have gained their vital +1, totalling 6 and succeeding – thereby moving 5" + 6" (Cavalry add +6"), a total of 11" which would have galloped them into contact with the enemy 7" away. 

If the unit being charged was another Light Cavalry unit that chose, and succeeded, to Evade, it would then make a half move (6" for Light Cavalry) as a response to the Attack. Meaning that the unit would be 13" away from the Attacking unit before the Attacking unit moved. The Attacking unit would only make a move of 11" – not enough to contact the target, so the charging Light Cavalry would stop 3" short.

I hope you will like the new charge concept and that it will give you even more interesting games with the Rebels and Patriots rules.

Below some more pictures from a sucessfull British "charge" :)
all minis painted by my matey jesper.

2018 Retrospect

Happy New Year !!! 

...2019 are just to start in a few hours and I bring you a summery of 2018 for my blog. I hope you have liked my posts during the year even if I had a lower blogpost output than erlier years... might be a trend but I hope to post more in 2019, but no promise.

The wargaming year 2018 in numbers...

• 1 Russian Galley 28mm built and painted. 
• 1 Medieval Blida 28mm built and painted. 
• 1 Article published in Wargames Illustrated  
• 1 Trip to Salute, Running the awardwinning "Battle at Stäket 1719" demonstration game with master terrainbuilder Jan. Thanks to Collin, Andy, Jesper, Steve and Teemu that helped out during the day ! 
• 1 Salute 2017 runner-up award, The Bill Brewer Best Presented Game Memorial Award, for our demonstration game "Battle at Stäket 1719" 
• 1 Building a 1,8m x 3,6m terrain board in about 2 days for a Demogame at the 299 day of the Battle at Stäket 1719.
• 2 Dogs 28mm painted 
• 3 Guns 28mm painted 
• 3 Blogposts published on the Osprey official blog
• 4 Artillery 8mm painted 
• 5 Houses 8mm painted 
• 6 Vehicles 28mm painted 
• 4 Articles published in Wargames Soldiers and Strategy 
• 12 Houses 28mm build and painted.
• 32 Mounted minis 8mm painted
• 60 Monunted minis 28mm painted 
• 62 Blogposts 
• 172 Foot minis 8mm painted 
• 613 Followers ! Thank you very much to you all !!! and especially thanks to the 19 new one that signed up during 2018, very appreciated ! 
• 654 Foot minis 28mm painted
• 1 000 000+ page vievs sins I started this blog in 2010 

 Here comes some pictures from the the wargaming year of 2018.

8mm minis from Perry miniature Travel Battle

Battle at Stäket 1719 at salute 2018

Medieval Blida

Star Wars Legion terrain and minis.

Strontium Dog

Building a Russian Galley

Building terrain board for demogame

Buildign the Sheriffs Office and Wild West gaming

Painted lots of minis for Rebels and Patriots some for ACW but most for Mexican-American War

Also got some blogposts published on the Osprey blog in regards of the release of the Rebels and Patriots rules :)

...yes you can! Conflicts included in the Rebels and Patriots rules

British Loyalist Skirmishers, American War of Independence, miniatures painted by my matey Jesper

One of the most common questions I get regarding Rebels and Patriots are: 

Can I use the Rebels and Patriots rules for this conflict... 

The answer to that question is:

Yes you can! 

...at least with a minimum of adjustments, if any at all.

Swedish Light Cavalry charged by Russian hussars fielded as Shock Cavalry, Finnish War 1808-09

Rebels and Patriots are writhen with a focus on North American Conflicts from the Seven Year War until the American Civil War and a bit further and we have included more than 40 example army lists for 13 different North American Conflicts:

• French and Indian War (1754–63) 
• American War of Independence (1775–83) 
• Northwest Indian War (1785–95) 
• Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) 
• War of 1812 (1812–15) 
• Texas Revolution (1835–36) 
• Canada Patriots Rebellion (1837–38) 
• Mexican–American War (1846–48) 
• Cortina War (1859–60, 1861) 
• American Civil War (1861–65) 
• The Mexican Adventure, French intervention in Mexico (1861–67) 
• Fenian Raids (1866–71) 
• What-if: British Intervention Force in North America (1860s)

British Highlanders fielded as Shock Infantry, American War of Independance, miniatures painted by my matey Jesper

With these army lists as a base it should not be a problem for you to make your own army lists for any conflicts raging over the globe during this period of history, in short  ...Yes you can use Rebels and Patriots for other conflicts. 

Swedish Line Infantry  in Close Order fielded as 2 units of Line Infantry, Finnish War 1808-09

For example you can use the Rebels and Patriots rules for the Finnish War 1808-09 as I do, using the latest Perry Miniature  range Napoleonic Swedes OR way not for Napoleonic Peninsular War games ;)

Perry Miniatures, Swedish Infantry 1808, picture from www.perry-miniatures.com

I even throw in a 24-point Peninsular War list I would use as a Christmas gift.

Sharpe´s Rifles 1809-12

• Officer Richard Sharp, Trait: Heroic Leader (1 mini)
• 1 unit of Veteran Skirmishers that are Sharpshoters  - Chosen men of the 95th rifles (5 minis + Officer).
• 2 units of Light Infantry - Captain Fredrickson and 60th rifles (2x12 minis)
• 1 unit of Mounted Skirmishers - Teresa Moreno´s Spanish guerrilla (6 minis, most on foot and a few mounted or horseholders)

As it happen Brigade Games have a extensiv Napoleonic range with a bunch of minis that look very much as the charachters in the Sharps serie, all sculpted by the most talanted Paul Hicks.

Brigade Games, British RiflesVeterans Command - Chosen Men, picture by Paul Hicks

I hope you all will have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

By the way... on Christmas eve there is only one month untill Rebels and Patriots are published:)