A successful War of the Roses club demo game put on at Fiasco 2023 at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. Congratulations to all those involved in managing the project, supplying and painting units, and building the terrain. Fingers crossed for a new club member (or two).
In this final post on the BASIC IMPETUS series, I’ll mention a few extra things and give my overall thoughts on the game.
Each army has a single Impetus Re-roll for free, to use when
desired. There is also the option to acquire more re-rolls by forfeiting an “S”
unit. See the Army Lists for other options.
A series of alternate rules mods are detailed for fighting
battles with two or three times the quantities of units of a normal game.
Special advantages can be acquired by taking an “Ace In The
Hole”. Sounds painful, but they’re quite good – allowing the player to bend the
rules under certain conditions, such as ignoring charge limitations, rolling
extra dice for initiative, cohesion test bonus, etc.
I like the simplicity of the system over some other games,
especially with unit contact and the smaller number of modifications to rolls.
And the thing that really attracted me was the small number of bases required
and the larger size of said bases.
However, there are a few things that could be better (not
saying they are bad, but I have gotten used to some nice mechanics from other
games). Here are my suggestions for “House Rules”:
RANDOM ACTIONS. After rolling Initiative to see who is the
Active Player, roll a D6 (+2 if General
still on table) to see how many actual Actions you can perform on your turn. I’ve
never really been a fan of being able to move anything an everything in a turn,
so using the DBx idea should work well enough.
COHESION TEST: I’m not convinced by the mechanics of the
Cohesion test; it seems very powerful and too linear in relation to VBU for my
liking. But I can’t think of a way around it without making it a little more
complicated, so I’ll grudgingly stick with it. It’s the same for everyone, so,
yeah, we’ll keep it for now.
Full IMPETUS. Once we’ve played a few more games with the
BASIC rules, I’ll red the full version and see where the improvements are. Most
people who play the full version suggest going straight to that one, but I
bought the BASIC set first and so can’t just put it aside without trying it. 😉
And that’s it. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on the
gaming table!
Continuing the Impetus series, now we look at how units Fight.
A unit moves into contact but does not have to be perfectly
lined up. They halt when they touch. Any move into contact is called a CHARGE. Units
with 0 impetus bonus cannot charge - with a few exceptions.
There are three types of charge: Frontal, Side, and Flank/Rear,
the latter of which provide advantages the better the position. A unit that
loses a cohesion test after being hit in the Flank/Rear is destroyed. Wagenburgs
have no Flank/Rear.
Large units have a bonus in melee depending on their weapon.
They also have special rules for tests and taking damage;
they use the front unit for tests, and damage comes off the rear unit first.
They are not considered disordered until the rear unit is destroyed. They are
powerful, but unwieldy and reduce your army flexibility.
The Impetus bonus is added to VBU after a charge, or pursuit,
providing the unit is still Fresh.
There are a number of special situations where the bonus is cancelled,
such as Foot charging Mounted, Mounted charging certain units armed with pike, some
terrain types, etc. And some units always get an impetus bonus; Elephants (unless
against S) and Scythed Chariots.
Similar to the Firing procedure. Each side rolls their modified
VBU and determines Damage. If suffering damage, make a cohesion test and apply
losses to VBU. Side that suffers most losses loses the melee and must retreat.
Impetuous units must pursue, most others have the choice (they
also get to angle their pursuit direction to follow a retreater if necessary).
Retreat and pursuit involve a random roll for distance and thus a unit may not
reach a retreating foe. If contact is made, a new melee is fought immediately
(pursuer gets Impetus Bonus if still fresh). Continue until foe is destroyed.
In a drawn melee, the units will fight again when one is
activated.
Check for interpenetration and disordering of units behind a
retreating unit. Units behind Routed units are automatically Disordered if
within 1H of their destroyed friends.
Combats are usually one-on-one, and should be split up as
best suits the situation as per the suggestions in the rules.
When two units fight
a single foe, determine the main combatants (the once with most frontal
contact/ZoC overlap). The other friendly unit adds half its base VBU (rounded
UP) to the main combatant’s own dice for the melee.
If the main unit wins and pursues, the other does not (unless
impetuous). If the main unit retreats, the other does (separate roll).
Units in a group that contact at an angle move in a staggered
line to contact before any melees take place.
Next time, in the final post on BASIC IMPETUS, I’ll mention
a few other things that add to the game, and give my thoughts on the system.
Continuing the Impetus series, we discuss how units shoot.
Note: The expressions Fire and Shoot are interchangeable in the rules and are not dependent on the specific era or weapon used.
Shooting is not compulsory, but units must be ordered to
shoot one-by-one.
A player rolls a number of dice equal to the unit’s VBU,
modified by a number of factors, such as range, type of target, Disordered,
etc.
Each “6” or “double-5” causes a DAMAGE point.
If there is any Damage caused on the target unit, make a
COHESION test by rolling 1D6 against a target number (the modified VBU,
adjusted by damage, Disorder, General’s presence, etc). If you have to make the
roll, the unit becomes Disordered after the test. The number by which the roll
is failed indicates the actual loss to VBU. Test is always passed on a “1”, and
always failed on a “6”.
There is a firing table providing modifiers to the number of
dice rolled for shooting depending on the weapon used by the unit. These seem
rather restrictive, but are in line with the movement rates. Another list of
modifiers follows the table, taking into account target type among other
things.
Failure of cohesion test does not result in retreat for most
units, however, elephants have their own set of rules for this issue.
There are a few paragraphs on firing arc (45 degrees from
straight ahead for most, and 360 degrees for CL), visibility of target, how to
measure distance to target, special cases (such as large units), and a list of
firing priorities.
ART C can use indirect fire under certain limitations.
Units with Pilum and Point-Blank Weapons have a section on
how they grant extra damage immediately prior to the melee phase.
Missile troops (T) can perform defensive fire if charged frontally
before melee, if they pass a test to do so. Run through the damage procedure, if
necessary, before melee.
Wagenburgs can also use defensive fire but have some special
rules.
Next time, we take a look at how units engage in melee.
Continuing the Impetus series, here we take a look at how
units move around and the implications encountered in doing so.
This is a fairly large section with some situations that may
take a while to sink in.
A unit can only move once (and normally only straight ahead)
up to its specified movement rate given in multiples if “H”.
CL and S may move an additional 2H but in doing so …
Cannot charge.
Cannot be in or enter an enemy Zone of Control.
Cannot be in Terrain that disorders them.
Cannot shoot
A unit or group can wheel once per movement (ahead only, not
to its rear). If not Disordered, it can wheel and then move the remainder of
its distance (but not vice versa), but will be Disordered at the end of the move.
You cannot contact the enemy with a wheel
Artillery and chariots have additional rules that limit
their wheeling ability.
Units can also make OBLIQUE, SIDEWAYS, REARWARD, and
ABOUT-FACE manoeuvres.
These are only allowed for individual units and Disorder the
unit after completion (unless S, CL, CGL, or other special types mentioned in
the army lists).
FL (if not
Warband or a Large Unit) and CM can make a sideways or an oblique move without
being disordered up to a maximum of 1H.
No oblique
move is allowed in Terrain that disorder.
You cannot
perform oblique/side/rear moves if you are already Disordered The one exception
is that Skirmishers and Light Cavalry Units can perform a rear movement (but
not sideways/ oblique) even if they are disordered.
You may not
contact the enemy with one of these moves.
A Unit not in
melee and not in Disorder can perform an about-face. Such a move must be the
only action for this activation
Every Unit,
not disordered and not in melee, has a Zone of Control (ZoC) that extends the
front edge out by 1H.
There are restrictions on movement within the ZoC.
When a unit moves to contact an enemy, it is said to CHARGE.
Some units have an extended movement distance when they
charge, and all units may roll to try to gain an additional H of movement to
contact.
You can wheel and charge if not disordered begore the wheel,
but will be Disordered on contact.
Some troops are considered Impetuous and must charge an
enemy when they get within charge distance.
A series of paragraphs determine which units can voluntarily
interpenetrate other types.
There are also a number of situations noted regarding troops
not having sufficient movement to reach the other side of units they
interpenetrate.
And another series of situations for involuntary interpenetration
due to evades and retreats.
CL and S can attempt to evade if charged. This is determined
by a dice roll. The distance they evade is a single move straight backwards.
The charger may roll for extra move.
Next time, we take a look at how units engage in missile
fire.
Continuing the Impetus series, this time we look at who goes first and what you can do with your units.
Both players roll 2D6 and add +2 if their General is still
on the table. The highest score chooses to go first in the round. They are the ACTIVE
player. Re-roll ties.
Each side is allowed one free Initiative re-roll. Other
re-rolls are possible at the cost of an S unit as per the army lists.
The Active player activates their units one-by-one until all
have been activated or he passes the turn over to the other player, who then
becomes the Active Player.
A unit can MOVE, SHOOT, MELEE, or RALLY.
Movement is by individual unit or a group of units.
Shooting is by individual unit.
Units can shoot before/after moving, but there’s a -2D
penalty to the shooting roll.
Melee is by individual unit.
Units can melee after the move, which is called a CHARGE and,
in some cases, allows extra movement distance to contact. A fresh unit adds its
Impetus value to the combat
Rally is by individual unit and removes a Disorder marker.
Units can shoot after rallying, but suffer the -2D penalty
as if they’d moved.
Next time, we discuss the many aspects of unit movement.
Continuing the Impetus series, this time we look at the battlefield terrain and army placement.
A quick note on Distances. The game uses the half-base-width
“H” as a standard unit of measurement.
There are six types of terrain used in Basic Impetus:
OPEN GROUND: No effect on movement or combat.
BROKEN GROUND: Disorders all except T, FL, and S on
entering.
DIFFICULT GROUND: Disorders all except FL, and S on entering.
All move at half speed.
IMPASSABLE GROUND: No units can cross unless on a road.
ROADS: Units follow course, if entirely upon them.
RIVERS: Two types. Crossable (but Disordered on exit) or
uncrossable.
Apart from the Disordered modifier, all mounted, and FP with
pikes suffer -2D if fighting within or against a foe entirely within Difficult
Terrain.
Units within 1H of a wood edge can shoot and be shot at with
-1D mod.
In Broken or
Difficult ground, only Impetuous FL get their Impetus Bonus unless charging non
impetuous FL or S.
Gentle hills
give a tactical advantage to the defender’s Cohesion roll if they are higher up
the hill than the attacker.
It is important
to specify if terrain blocks line of sight when placing the terrain.
Natural Terrain
pieces should be oval in shape and between 2H and 8H at the longest point. Man-made
areas can be rectangular and of the same size. A river (only one per battlefield)
and roads run from one table edge to the opposite.
The players
take it in turn rolling twice on a specific table depending on if they have
more mounted or foot in their army. The first placement can be anywhere, the
second must not be closer than 8H to first, all others can be anywhere.
The defender
rolls first and is determined by a 2d6 roll modified by number of mounted units
in the army.
The players take it in turn placing their units in a
specific order of type, defender first.
Units are placed in a zone no closer than 4H from the
centreline of the table, and no closer than 4H from either side edge.
Next time, we consider the Initiative roll and actions.
As they were written in Italian, and translated to English
afterwards, some of the unit acronyms take a little getting used to, and some
of the wording within the rules are ‘odd’, but on the whole, they are easy to understand
and follow – especially for those used to rules such as the DBx family.
There are two versions of the core rules; Basic and ‘full’. They
both use the same troop types/basing system, battlefield terrain, etc., but the
fuller version has many extra bits tagged on. The Basic rules run to around 15 pages,
whereas the full version runs to around 55. You get a trimmed down version of
the hundreds of army lists with the basic set, but have to purchase additional
PDFs for the main set (5 in all covering various periods/wars).
In the Basic game, an army can comprise from 7 to 13 units.
CP: Heavy Cavalry. Come in two grades; CP1 (the really heavy
stuff) and CP2 (the standard heavy cavalry). “C” stands for Cavalry, and I
think “P” stands for Premier.
CM: Medium Cavalry. Melee and missile options (mostly melee).
CL: Light Cavalry. Melee and missile options (mostly missile).
FP: Heavy Foot. No extra distinction between these, other
than weapons used (shown in the army lists).
T: Missile Troops who use concentrated firepower. I can’t
decipher what “T” stands for, so I imagine it as the image of a crossbow.
FL: Light Foot. Includes auxilia, warbands, etc., with or
without missile weapons.
S: Skirmishers. Armed with bows, javelins, or slings.
CGP: Heavy Chariots. No idea what the “G” stands for.
CGL: Light Chariots.
CF: Scythed Chariots. “F” stands for Falce (scythe).
W: Wagonberg war-wagons.
EL: Elephants.
ART: Artillery. Come in three grades A, B, and C.
Camel-mounted troops are identified in the army lists and
have some special rules (as de Wagonbergs and Elephants.
The army lists also show which units can have an integral General
(they have an asterisk beside them).
VBU: Base Unit Value. Indicates number of dice rolled to
shoot and melee. It will reduce as the unit takes damage. When it reaches zero,
the unit routs, and removed from play.
I: The Impetus value added to the VBU under certain
conditions in melee.
VD: Demoralisation Value. When the unit is destroyed, this number
is deducted from the army demoralisation value (sum of all unit VDs). When the
army losses exceed half total army VD, the army routs and the game is over.
Units can be FRESH (taken no loss to VBU) or WORN (taken at
least one loss to VBU).
They can also be DISORDERED which occurs under some (quite a
few actually) conditions. This affects their ability to do things, like fight
and make special moves for example.
You can Rally off Disorder, but losses to VBU are never recovered.
Units can move as a group for one activation order, but are
cumbersome.
Some units can pair-up and act as a single unit. They gain
benefits. Use the front unit for rolls (except shooting if rear units is T),
and losses come off the lead unit first. They gain a rank bonus in melee.
A General must be included in one Unit. They add a bonus for Cohesion
tests and is lost if unit routs.
