My Paladin Rules - So Far

Last month I mentioned that I had a hankering for some small scale fantasy wargaming. Since then I have run a couple of experiments (such as this skirmish) using scenarios from Dragon Rampant. I'm writing my own rules and they are still in flux. I thought I'd jot down some notes about where the rules stand.

Organization
Technically, the rules use a 1:1 figure scale, meaning that an individual "figure" represents 1 man or beast. However, I am using 3mm figures which are based on stands. Each stand (which I call a lance) operates independently. In a sense, these rules are very much like Squad Hammer in that the basic unit is essentially a squad.

The good guys are based with 1 strip of figures to a stand. I am using the strips from my generic army project.

Heavy infantry (in silver armor) are 8 figures to a stand

Light infantry (in green) are 4 figures to a stand.

I also based some cavalry with 4 figures per stand.

An "army" (company? retinue?) thus equates to about 20-30 troops.

The bad guys (in black) have 2 strips per stand of heavy infantry. The idea is that the baddies are more numerous, albeit not as skilled, as the heroes.

Combat
I wanted combat to have a bit of an RPG feel to it (more about that later) but I did not want to use a D20. Thus, I have borrowed the 2D6 system used by Barbarians of Lemuria. Ironically, the system has a lot in common with Squad Hammer. To hit you need to roll 2D6 equal or greater to a target number, which will vary depending on the toughness of the enemy.

If your to-hit roll is successful, the target will have a chance to defend against it (essentially they are dodging or parrying the blow). Armor will help with defense. Still not sure how this will work but I am leaning toward a D6. That may change however.

I'm still trying to flesh out the details.

Leveling Up
When I mentioned that I wanted an RPG feel, I meant that I want to follow the careers of certain characters and have them advance in power -  i.e. level up. Again I have borrowed from Barbarians of Lemuria, which has 5 levels. Thus, I want my heroes to reach up to level 5 with commensurate increases in combat ability.

Now I don't plan on tracking individual characteristics. Instead, each lance will be named after its leader and the lance as a whole can level up. Lances will start at level 1. I still need to work out the leveling rules.

Progress
I've run a couple of games with the bare bones of this system. They have been quite fun, even if they are half baked still. Work shall continue.