Testing OHW Fantasy Game ideas

 John Y over at the 54mm or Fight! blog kindly shared ideas and mechanics he uses to adapt Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames (OHW) rules to Fantasy Wargames. I've tried some of them out this morning in a little game using some 10mm figures; here 2 foot, or 1 horseman on a base equates to a unit.

I have included a Hero on each side (Knight on the Human side, Ogre on the Orc/Goblin side) as defined by John and used the Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic that John discusses for Heroes and for flank/rear attacks instead of a bonus, which seemed to work. For this game I gave all units 8SP to start with (this is convenient as I have some small 8 sided dice to track damage). I used d3 instead of d6 for firing and combat. In true OHW style I didn't use a morale check in this game so it was a bloody fight to the finish. The types of unit are a mix of different rule sets from OHW, as John states in his post, but as this is Fantasy that's par for the course!

The Army of men comprised:

A Knight, a company of horsemen, 3 Heavy Infantry units, a unit of archers and a unit of peasants.

The Orc/Goblin Army comprised:

An Ogre, a company of wolf mounted orcs, 2 Orc Heavy Infantry, 1 Orc archer unit and 2 Goblin Light Infantry units.

First encounter

The Orc army is blocking a pass through the hills through which the Army of Men must move. A pitched battle ensues. (Note: a grid square with a tree counts as wooded and has a defence bonus). Things started off well for the Men (apart from the peasants who were pitted against Goblins hiding in a wood).

Orcs attempt to out flank the Army of Men

The Orc Army began to fight back, and as so much depends on which side has initiative, a run of good luck meant that the Orcs could equal the early damage done by the Men.

Hero v Anti-Hero

Both sides lost their Heroes but fought on desperately.

The last remaining company of Orcs fought to the finish in true Fantasy style.

Two units of men were all that left the field

The mechanics of John's that I've tried in this game worked well and I hope to try out some more in another game in the future.

Three Bloody Skirmishes or The Bishop's War

 

I dug out some old Medievals this weekend with the intention of playing another Mini-Campaign in the style of the recent ACW one. I went for some fast, brutal rules (an OHW 3-hit variation) which generally lead to bloody battles, which seemed fitting for Medieval religious conflicts.

Two Bishops find themselves on opposing sides of a schism in the church (neither side could agree on a theological technicality relating to how many Angels could dance on the head of a pin*). The result is armed conflict. (*the answer of course depends on how much space is taken up by the band...)

Opposing Clerics

Battle 1

The first game was a straight-forward encounter. 

Army White quickly got the upper hand (so much depends on initiative) with some high dice rolls.

Very soon Army Red was overwhelmed and destroyed (one unit of archers hightailed it for the nearest village with a hostelry). 

Battle 2

Seeking revenge for the ignominious defeat, the Red Bishop sent a force to burn down some villages and generally harass the domain of his rival. The White Bishop, getting news of the approaching Red Army, quickly blocked the road with a weak looking force to lure in the Red Knights while his own Knights formed up to attack the flank.

The impetuous White Knights rushed in a little early...

and some found themselves outflanked.

Army Red swept away the White Bishop's Knights

 and then cleared the road of his men at arms and peasantry.

Battle 3

In the deciding game of the Mini-Campaign, the White Bishop's force found itself surrounded and needing to break out through the Red Army lines. (The objective for White was to get the units off the board to the North).

The White Commander knew his force would benefit from their defensive spot on the hill, however staying there wasn't going to win the day. He therefore decided to attack and destroy the enemy to the South first, and only then tackle those to the North.

Winning the initiative White attacked

The plan worked, and White had soon removed the threat to his rear

In the meantime, Red had attacked the hill, but the defenders were able to hold on with ease.

All that remained was to chase off the last stragglers of Red's Army and march off the board.

A decisive victory for the White Bishop. 

Down on the Farm

 The following game was played a few weeks ago and has been neglected due to other distractions. The inspiration was a game I read about on the very nice The War Crow blog. It's a Fantasy game but could be played as a couple of bands of hill tribesmen or brigands fighting over resources..?

Situation

Times are tough in the Mountains. Both the Orc and Goblin tribes have seen a shortage of available food. Pushed to the edge they have been forced to raid the valley dominated by men. A foraging party from each tribe has coincidently arrived in the vicinity of the land farmed by Barley Moe and his sons at the same time. 

Objective

The objective of both parties is to finish the game with sole occupancy of the farm. The objective of the humans is the same (just seems less likely).

Minor objective: Kill the other side's leader.

Human force: Archers will fire at nearest enemy unit or weakest if more than one is nearby. Humans will fight any enemy entering the farm complex.

Rules

I used a gridded variant of OHW rules, with 3-hits. I wrote them for the game, and then discovered an almost identical set I'd written a year ago... 

The game set-up as planned

The actual board and starting positions

Both sides started with 5 infantry units, two cavalry, two archers, a Commander and retinue and a Troll.

Orcs rush from the hills towards the farm, as the Goblin force
boils out of the forest.

Fast moving "Cavalry" clash - Orcs on wolves, Goblins on Wild Boar

The Goblin cavalry is quickly swept aside..

but the Goblin Infantry is a tougher opponent 

The Forest Troll has got into the Farmyard!

Fighting intensifies as both sides smell fresh food

The Farmer and his sons have fallen. A few labourers with bows fight on

The surviving Goblins hold the farm

but not for long. Orcs and a Cave Troll reduce their number

The remaining Goblins leg it for the forest with empty bellies...

The Orc's achieved both Major and Minor objectives and win the day (and the Farmer's supplies).

OHW31

 A further extract from the memoirs of General Wells recalls how, as a young Brigadier General, he was charged with holding the two villages of West and East Hampton...

This scenario is the creation of Disgruntled Fusilier and can be found here. The game was played with a variant of the Horse & Musket rules from OHW. The two armies were picked randomly using the table in OHW - both sides rolled a 2 and fielded  3 units of Line Infantry, 1 of Artillery and 2 of Light Infantry. According to the scenario instructions Red always moves first. Victory for Blue can only be achieved by holding both villages, which I assume means Red can win by holding one village at Turn 15.

The battlefield with West Hampton in the West...

Early morning and the assault of West Hampton begins

Red artillery arrives

General Wells arrives but so do more of Army Red

Blues Line Infantry have been wiped out.
The Light Infantry quickly replace them.

As the fight for West Hampton grinds on, Red Line Infantry appear to the NE

They are followed by a Blue Light Infantry unit 

Midday: Red is now attacking both villages

General Wells rushes to replace the fallen Light Infantry in West Hampton
(East Hampton is secure with the destruction of Red's force)

Too late! Red occupies the village

Blue's artillery has finally arrived and manoeuvres towards the action

General Wells and Staff fall back towards East Hampton

Day's end: West Hampton is firmly in Red hands.

The Battle of the Hamptons represents the first defeat in the career of General Wells.

A nice scenario to play; my compliments to the author, Mr Fusilier.

Redoing

 The Fiddler's Bottom game has been replayed, this time using my original 3 hit version of OHW Horse & Musket, plus a bonus for embedded Generals. This time the attacking force out numbered the defenders. Again no specific artillery units were present. To win Red need to exit 3 units within 10 turns.

The opening position

Early cavalry clashes have taken their toll for Blue

Red's Infantry move forward cautiously.
Red cavalry have brushed aside the Blues.

Red in a position to exit three units

Red almost reaches his objective, luckily as casualties are high 

Red achieves his objective and is victorious!