Tactical Scenario Campaign Rules

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6. Playing The Battle - Scenarios

This section describes each of the twelve scenarios that can occur in the TSC.

Battle

The two armies face off, neither with the advantage. Only a foolish General would fight against even odds - or a desperate one, but neither side can afford to back down, and a bloodbath is inevitable.

Each army deploys its units on its side of the table. Units must be placed no closer than 10cm from the side edges of the table, and no closer than 20cm to the half-way line (leaving a 40cm-wide band across the middle of the table).

Deploy units one at a time, alternating sides. The larger army (by number of units) deploys first; dice for equal armies. If one army has at least two more units than the other, have it deploy two units for every one deployed by the smaller foe, until the number of units remaining to be placed by each side is within two. Place characters afterwards, using the same method.

For example, an Orc & Goblin army with 20 units faces a High Elf army with 13 units. Since the Orcs have more units than the Elves, they place first. Since they have 7 more units than the Elves, they place 2 units for each one the Elves place. After the Orcs have placed 12 units with 8 remaining, the Elves will have seven remaining after their placement, so the Orcs can begin positioning one unit at a time.

Roll dice to determine which side gets the first turn. Victory points are calculated as normal.

Ambush

After a pitched battle between advance units, the defending army is routed and begins fleeing. Sensing imminent victory, the attacking General mobilizes his army in pursuit. The following morning, however, the trail has grown cold, and the night's patrol parties have mysteriously failed to return. Twenty minutes later, messengers report fighting on both flanks - ambush!

The attacking army has been lured into an ambush by the defenders. The attackers set up first, and may set up anywhere on the table, except within 25cm of the sides or the enemy edge. The defenders (the ambushers) set up second, and may set up anywhere within 20cm of their edge or either side edge.

The ambushing army gets the first turn. Victory Points are calculated as normal.

Breakthrough

The attackers, realizing that their army is insufficient to defeat the defenders in a mass battle, mount a daring midnight raid. Perfectly timed, it routs the defenders. At daybreak, the defending General finds his army split split into two disorganized groups with the raiders between them.

His surviving scouts inform him that the rest of the enemy force is merely a day's march and will soon be upon them. If he cannot defeat the raiders and reunite his army, the defenders will be destroyed piecemeal on the morrow. If he succeeds, however, the smaller attacking army will surely be vanquished.

Each army deploys into the basic deployment box (described in the Battle scenario, above). The defending army deploys its entire army first, followed by the attackers. The attackers get the first turn.

The attacking army calculates victory points as normal. The defending army gets 100 bonus VP's for each non-flying unit that exits the table from the enemy table edge (whatever its condition).

Desperate Raid

The attacking General, knowing that he cannot hope to defeat his numerically superior foe, mounts a desperate twilight raid in the vain hopes of catching his well-prepared enemy by surprise.

Seldom will an army willingly attack when the enemy is in a known superior position, but occasionally it is necessary in order to prevent the opponent from reaching a critical objective. In this scenario, the attacking general tries to use the element of surprise by attacking during the twlight hours.

Set up the battle as per the Battle scenario, above. The battle begins a few hours before sunrise, or a few hours before sunset, at the option of the attacking player.

If the battle begins before sunrise, it is Night (refer to the Helluva Night rules for the effects of night-time play). At the beginning of the attacking player's second turn and subsequent turns, before issuing any commands, roll a D6 to see if the sun rises.

If a 5 or 6 is rolled, it becomes Twlight for the both players' turns. On the attacker's next turn, it is Daylight. Keep rolling at the beginning of the attacker's turn until the sun does rise.

If the battle begins before sunset, it begins during Daytime. At the beginning of the attacking player's second and subsequent turns, roll D6 to see if the sun sets. On a roll of 5 or 6, it becomes Twilight for both players' turns. On the attacker's next turn, it is Night.

The attacking raiders get the first turn.

Hasty Defence

A raiding army has evaded the defenders' counter-attack and now plunders the homelands unopposed. The defending army endures days of forced marches in the hopes of catching up with the raiders before they reach the capital, but they arrive after the battle has started.

Set up the battle according to the Village Pillage or Storm the Walls scenario, depending on whether the battle takes place at a village or a fortress. The defending army only deploys half of its units, however.

The remaining units of the defending army represent the troops returning from the front lines. These are brought on as reinforcements at the beginning of the defending player's second turn, and must be placed within 15cm of the enemy table edge.

The defending player may opt to place any of his characters with the reinforcements, except for the General, which must be placed on the table at the beginning of the battle.

The attacking player gets the first turn. Victory points are calculated as normal.

Helluva Night

The army is caught mid-march in a sudden and intense downpour. This isn't the rainy season.. is it? After three days of unsuccessfully trying to locate the main enemy force in the pelting rain, the army is well and truly lost. The officers' morale collapses, and convince the General to return to the homelands in the morning. When dawn breaks, the rain lifts for an hour to reveal the enemy army, encamped not three hundred yards away.

As a result of bad planning or poor organization combined with the inclement weather, the two armies have caught each other by surprise. Each army places its units in the same order as described in the Battle rules. To reflect the mutual surprise, units must be placed within 25cm of the half-way line of the table, and not within 10cm of the edges.

Roll D6 to determine the type of weather conditions faced:

D6	Conditions
1-2	Light Rains (or Snowfall)
3-4	Heavy Rains (or Thick Snowfall)
5-6	Torrential Rains (or Blizzard)

The effects of inclment conditions are described in the Helluva Night rules. At the beginning of each player's turn, roll a D6. If the result is a 1 or 2, then the conditions become less severe by one category. Torrential Rains become merely Heavy Rains, and Light Rains dry up completely, yielding to normal daylight conditions. If the result is a 6, the conditions worsen by one category.

Whichever player rolls highest on 2D6 gets the first turn. Calculate victory points as normal.

Last Stand

A series of devastating surprise raids by the defending army have whittled the attacking army down to a fraction of its original strength. Its attack thwarted and its supply lines cut, it digs in for a desperate last stand.

The attacking army deploys first. All of its units must be placed within 25cm of the centre point of the table. The defenders deploy second, and may place units anywhere on the table except within 30cm of the centre point of the table.

The attackers get the first turn. Calculate victory points as normal.

Storm the Walls

The invading army has reached the enemy's fortress at the centre of their homelands, and proceeds to lay waste to it.

Play the battle according to the siege rules described in Warmaster magazine #1. The table's terrain should be set up by the defender, and should obviously include a castle, fortress, or other well fortified area.

Both armies may spend some of their army list points on the siege equipment described in Warmaster magazine #1, unless it arrives at the battle disadvantaged. If this happens, there was no time to make the necessary preparations before the battle, and it must make do without specialized siege equipment. In the case of an attacker, this can make the siege very difficult.

If both armies are advantaged, disadvantaged, or neither, both armies should alternate placing units as described in the rules for the Battle scenario. If one army has the upper hand, however, it may deploy all of its units second.

If both armies are advantaged, disadvantaged, or normal, the first turn goes to the player that rolls highest on 2D6. Otherwise, the army with the upper hand gets the first turn. Calculate victory points as normal.

Surprise Attack

Due to the poor organization of the defending army, they have been caught by surprise by the sudden enemy advance. Set up the battle according to the Battle scenario, above, except that the defending army deploys all of its units and characters first. The attacking army deploys second.

The attacking army gets the first turn. Calculate victory points as normal.

Unseen Enemy

The attacking army has been able to conceal its movements and numbers from the defenders. The defender deploys first, into the normal deployment zone as described in the Battle scenario. The attacker deploys second, but may conceal any eligible units and characters from view as described in the Fog of War rules. If you do not wish to use the Fog of War rules, the attacker merely deploys second.

The defending player gets the first turn. Victory points are calculated as normal.

Village Pillage

The invading army has reached a enemy village, and will raze it to the ground unless the home army can stop it in time.

Set up a collection of small buildings in the centre of the table to represent the village. Set up terrain as normal afterwards, depending on what kind of terrain the village is situated in.

Cross-index the attacker's and defender's status on the scenario table to determine the scenario as normal. The following rules also apply:

The owner of the village is the home army, the other army is the invading army. Note that depending on which army reached the village hex first, the home army can be either the attacker or the defender.

At the end of the invader's movement phase, any units not within 10cm of a home unit set fire to all buildings within 5cm of the attacking unit. Represent this with cotton wool or other suitable marker.

At the end of the home army's movement phase, any units not within 10cm of an attacking unit put out any fires within 5cm.

Any fire which is not put out in the home army's turn burns down completely at the start of the invader's next turn.

Calculate victory points as normal. The invaders gain a 50 VP bonus for each building that has burned to the ground.

During the tactical game, for example, an army crosses into enemy territory and moves into the hex adjacent to an enemy village. The army that owns the village rolls a 3 on 2D6 and moves into the village hex with Advantaged status. On the invader's next turn, they roll a 9 - disadvantaged, and the home army elects to move them into the village hex. A disadvantaged attacker and advantaged defender on the scenario chart indicates the Last Stand battle, with the attacker setting up in the middle of the table and the defender surrounding it.

Because this the battle takes place in a village hex, the surrounded invading army is setting up right on top of the village. They will almost certainly burn it to the ground before the home army can stop them.

War of Deception

Both armies have been successful in deceiving the enemy as to their precise movements and numbers. Set the battle up as described in the Battle scenario, except that each player may conceal any eligible units or characters from view as described in the Fog of War rules.

If you choose not to use the Fog of War rules, then have the players deploy their armies in secret instead, either by erecting a barrier so each player can't see the other side or, if this is inconvenient, by having each player draw a diagram of his or her deployment in secret.

For the purposes of unit placement order, one concealed unit token represents one unit.

The player that rolls highest on 2D6 gets the first turn. Victory points are calculated as normal.

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