Flower of Chivalry Practice Game

Not much of a battle report as such.  Four Rejects gathered via Zoom, and a fifth spectated, to have a practice medieval game using Flower of Chivalry rules.  These will be the rules used to fight any tabletop actions arising from the Imagi-Medieval campaign.

The Battle of Crecy, from an illuminated manuscript of Jean Froissart's Chronicles

Jonathan and Ray were pitted against Steve and Dan. Meanwhile, Lee spectated.

For the campaign, I have given Flower of Chivalry units points values.  For this game, I asked both sides to produce a 1000 point army.

Ray and Jonathan constructed the following:

1st Battle (Ray)
1 unit of foot knights
1 unit of men at arms
1 unit of Longbow

2nd Battle (Jonathan)
1 unit of mounted knights
1 unit of foot knights
1 unit of men at arms

Steve and Dan had:

1st Battle (Dan)
2 units of longbow
3 units of retainers

2nd Battle (Steve)
1 unit of longbow
4 units of men at arms

It looked like a situation of quality versus quantity.

Based on the number of units, the Army Morale Points for Ray/Jonathan is 6 and for Dan/Steve is 10.

The figures are 2mm Irregular miniatures.

The Battle

Jonathan's and Ray's smaller army look north across the table to Dan's and Steve's array.

Both sides advanced towards each other.  Dan's Battle showed unwelcome enthusiasm by racing forward.  However, Dan's longbow units quickly starting finding their mark.  It was important now for Ray to get his foot knights into contact.

Ray's foot knight charge into contact.  Meanwhile, the rest of Ray's and Jonathan's troops continue a steady advance.
The white labels are just my temporary fix to have at a glance unit stats... apologies.

It would be true to say that Ray and Jonathan both cursed that they were not getting the number of actions that would help them most.  All players also suffered the frustration of not having all of their orders come through.

Flower of Chivalry allows for personal challenges.  This is really a high risk and limited return strategy.  If you can kill or capture an opposing commander then an opposition Battle or even the Army could find itself stalled and unable to move.  If a player is challenged and refused, then all units in that Battle have their morale reduced until the leader either challenges or accepts a challenge.  So, a challenge is a risky move but at the right moment could be important.  Well, Ray challenged Dan.  In the process, Dan was killed and Ray was captured!  Very funny.

Ray's foot knights and men at arms in melee with Dan's archers and retainers.  On the right, Jonathan's mounted knights trample under foot a unit of men at arms.

Ray's foot knights destroy a unit of longbow but are now stranded as his men at arms are forced to retreat.
Jonathan's mounted and foot knights are annihilated by Steve's counterattack, and his men at arms forced to retreat.

With army points reduced by one for every unit forced to retreat and two for each destroyed unit,  Dan and Steve have their army morale reduced to 6.  However, the game ends as Jonathan and Ray find their Army Morale Points have been reduced to zero.

Jonathan and Ray put up a good fight against a larger army.  They didn't always enjoy the best of luck.  I reckon that we could play this again and get a different outcome.

Afterthoughts
Army Morale Points were based on the number of units. On reflection this benefits the side that buys lots of cheap troops or tries to "game" the system.  I am now reviewing this and may link the Army Morale more closely to the amount of points the army is worth.

I was really pleased with the game.  It played out well, in my opinion, and provided the kind of uncertainty that perhaps ought to be in a medieval battle.  Sometimes the troops don't want to move, sometimes they will charge forward when you would rather have a more controlled advance.

The rules are essentially IGOUGO. However, the uncertainty about orders and how many actions available from turn to turn prevents any advantage being derived from going first or second.

From my perspective the game was fun, but also very instructive for all.  As well as the Army Morale, I'm going to look at tweaking the personal challenges.

Lastly, in my opinion, the result was plausible, and you can't ask too much more from a set of historical wargames rules.

Imagi-Medieval Campaign Part 3: First Moves

After the previous selection of neutral areas (see part 2), some players were rather exercised by who chose what. Most vociferous being King Leopold of Austria (Ray).  He seemed frustrated by Trent being closed to him.  I don't know his strategy - nor would I divulge even if I did - but I think that he'd very much like to extract revenge!

Detail from Arrival of the English Ambassadors by Vittore Carpaccio

Whilst the orders for Turn One were being contemplated, many flowery worded missives were being sent back and forth to fish for information and secure alliances.  The players have certainly entered into character and communicate accordingly, forsooth!  

I must confess that with "emissaries" and "ambassadors" hurrying wither and thither, it was a little tricky to keep up with the various twists and turns.  I think that there may even be an alliance cemented through marriage (is this role-playing now going too far?), but I'm not sure.  

Detail from The Month of April: A Wedding Procession

With at least a couple turns before some of the players clash over areas, I'm guessing that everyone is playing it coy and sounding each other out until actions confirm suspicions.  One thing is certain, Ray has a duplicitous reputation that proceeds him from previous campaigns.  Will he be able to overcome this character handicap?  I suspect that Duke Frederich in Brandenburg (Jon) may apply some of his silver tongued skills to good effect... oh, who am I kidding, they are all as mad, bad and untrustworthy as each other!

With only unoccupied territories to conquer, our six rulers can divide their army strength (in points) to invade and capture some.  This is where I start to see some small differences in strategy.

To conquer an area the players must allocate a certain number of army points to invade.  If the ratio of army to area value is 4 to 1 in favour of the invader, then the area is automatically won.  The smaller the ratio the greater the risk of failure.  Each aspiring empire starts with 750 points to allocate to armies and/or comment to savings or the Pope.

In placing their orders, there are those that seek certainty and those that gamble on the odds.  Some you win some you lose.

Here is the map of Mittleuropa as it stands after Turn One.

The circled areas are the neutral principalities that no one can invade or move through for at least six turns.

The areas with coloured dots show ownership.

In the previous post, Norm placed his money on King Elrond of Franconia (Surjit).  It's early days, but who is making a good early impression with you?

Imagi-Medieval Campaign Part 2: Players and Opening Tasks

As part of setting up the campaign, we needed to know who would take command of which aspiring empire.

The players willing to put their reputations on the line are Rejects Ray (Don't Throw a One), Lee (Big Lee's Miniature Adventures), Dan, Steve and Surjit, along with the Chief of the Rejects USA Chapter, Jonathan (Palouse Wargaming Journal).

Who Chooses First?

I could have picked names out of a hat.  However, I thought that here was the first opportunity for a test of knowledge and speed.

The six players were sent an email giving them seven days notice that at 8pm on 15 September they would receive an email with two questions.  The first to answer the questions correctly would choose first from all six countries; the second would choose from the remaining five, and so on.

The two questions were not difficult:

1. What was the name given to Louis XVI at his trial and execution in Jan 1793?

2.  I am always in front of you but you can never see me.  What am I?

The first correct reply come back at 8:01pm!  Keen or what!

The order of response was as follows:

1 - Ray at 20:01

2 - Lee at 20:02

3 - Steve at 20:09

4 - Dan at 20:11

5 - Jon at 20:28

6 - Surjit at 21:42

A close call between first and second.

Who Chose What?
Now that we had established the order of selection, what did they choose?

Ray - Austria

Lee - Lombardy

Steve - Batavia

Dan - Bohemia

Jon - Brandenburg

Surjit was left with Franconia

Interestingly, a couple of the players expressed surprise that certain countries were not chosen.  Especially  that Franconia was not picked at all, but left to last place Surjit.  Do you agree?

Naming and Neutralising

The next tasks were for the players to access their campaign order sheets and to give names to their ruler and three generals.  For the battles, the generals will all start with the rating of "plodding".  With time and battlefield success they can improve their ratings.  The rulers' will be given a permanent rating at random.  The ratings are buffoon, plodding, efficient and brilliant.  These ratings affect the weighting of the number of actions per turn and command radius.

The names of the various rulers and their three army commanders are:

Austria: Ray will now be known as King Leopold V, the Virtuous (howls of laughter now coming from the rest of the Rejects).  His generals are Prince Frederick the Krieger, Duke Heinrich II Jasomirgott, and Count Lukas von Graben zum Stein.

Batavia:  Steve now becomes Earl Ragnar Lothbrok assisted by his three Constables Sweyn Forkbeard, Ivar The Boneless, and Harald Fairhair.

Bohemia:  Dan has a rather formidable sounding Queen by the name of Eliska Premyslova.  Her loyal army commanders are Lords Oldrich of Vitkov and Zbynek of Lichtenburk, and General Jan of Rozmberk.

Brandenburg:  Jonathan is now Duke Frederich von Freytag.  His trusted commanders are the Counts Ulrich von Lindow, Hermann von Orlamünde, and Dietrich von Stade.

Franconia:  Surjit now becomes King Elrond the Wise.  He has the loyalty of Marshal Gandalf the Great, Prince Aragon the Brave, and Prince Legolas the Swift.

Lombardy:  Lee is now transformed into King Ottaviano di Valperga.  His three army commanders being Duke Giacomo da Varenna, Count Ottone Grimaldi, and Marshal Matteo Farracorta.

Each player must also secretly submit the name of one area/principality in Mitteleuropa that will remain neutral for at least two campaign years (six turns).  That means that no-one, including the person who selected it, during that time may invade and capture those territories.  So, a careful choice could give advantage, protection and possibly hinder a rival.  These were their choices placed in alphabetical order of territory:

Cisalpine

Eins

Mainz

Neu

Sesia

Trent

Would you have made different decisions?  How do you think these choices might impact play?

As I type, emails are already flying back and forth as rival rulers negotiate pacts, alliances and (no doubt) spread rumour and sow discontent.  At the same time contemplating their orders for turn one.