MicroBattle: Fire & Sword

On my Battle of Taplaea post, Oliver asked for a copy of my MicroBattle: Fire & Sword rules. I have posted them below.

I designed these rules to give me simple and quick battles using the same core rules for a large swath of history. I use them for battles from ancient times until the end of the horse & musket era (19th century). During this time major battles generally involved clashes between big blocks of troops, which I depict with stands of miniatures.

I do not claim that these rules give an  accurate depiction of battle. They are quick (under a half hour for a game) and simple (I rarely have to refer to the rules), so they meet my design specifications.

Note that these rules are a constant work-in-progress. I often fudge or change things on the fly. In particular, I often tweak the unit stats. If you try these rules, please feel free to modify things to your liking.

Set Up

• These rules are designed for a 6 x 8 gridded battlefield
• I determine terrain randomly, using terrain cards that I created (I use 4 for a 6 x 8 field)

Terrain cards in action
(Top - Woods, Clear x 2, Hill, Bottom - Clear, Hill, Clear, River)
Also have cards for rough ground and fields

• I usually use the army generation rules from One Hour Wargames. It has great scenarios, too. Well worth the purchase price.

Turn Sequence

1. Initiative - Each side rolls a D6. Winner goes first this turn
2. Payer 1 Turn
1. Roll for Activate Units
2. Take Actions (Move and/or Attack)
3. Player 2 Turn
1. Roll for Activate Units
2. Take Actions (Move and/or Attack)

Activation

• Roll two D6s. Take the higher roll.
• Can activate number of units = roll

Movement

• See unit stats for movement allowance
• Move of 1-2 or 2-3 indicates a 50% chance of being able to move the higher amount (roll 4+ on a D6)
• Movement is always orthogonal, not diagonal
• Ranged infantry may move and fire. Artillery may not
• Movement in rough
• Any unit may enter
• Heavy units must roll 4+ to exit

Attacking

• Combat may occur if a unit is within range (see unit stats)
• Range of 0 means that the attacker must be able to move into the defenders space
• Only the attacker rolls
• Each unit rolls a D6 + mods. Hit on roll of Combat Value (CV) or greater
• + or -1 if advantaged / disadvantaged (I determine this on the fly)
• -1 if SHAKEN
• Defender in melee may counterattack if attacker fails to hit

Battle Results

• For every hit taken, units roll a D6. Need to roll Defense (Def) or greater
• Unit is SHAKEN if it fails the roll
• Unit routs (remove it from the field) on a second SHAKEN result
• Unit also RETREATS on a roll of 1
• Retreat = move 1 space toward baseline
• May move diagonal
• Unit routs if it cannot retreat

Morale

• If an army drops below 50% of its initial strength, roll a D6
• Roll for each unit lost after 50%
• Roll of 4+ means that the army continues to fight. Otherwise it retreats (game ends)

Unit Stats

(Move/Range/CV/Def)

From the Shock Period (Ancient / Medieval)

• Heavy Infantry               1 / 0 /4+ /4+
• Auxilia Infantry             1-2 / 0 / 5+ / 5+
• Archers                          1 / 2 / 5+ / 5+
• Skirmishers                    1-2 / 1 / 5+ / 6+
• Warband                        1-2 / 0 / 4+* / 5+ (* 3+ when charging)
• Cavalry                           2 / 0 / 4+ / 5+
• Knights                           1-2 / 0 / 4+* / 4+ (* 3+ when charging)
• Light Cavalry                 2-3 / 0 / 5+ / 6+

From the Horse & Musket Period

• Regular Infantry            1 / 2/ 4+ / 5+
• Light Infantry                1-2 / 3 / 5+ / 6+
• Cavalry                          2 / 0 / 4+ / 5+
• Field Artillery                1 / 4 / 5+ / 6+

Notes: 

• I've been toying with ideas about making light troops a bit more resilient. Perhaps ignore a SHAKEN result if they retreat.
• I also keep toying around with rules to rally troops. In the heat of battle, however, I constantly forget to use them.