So here goes with something a little more ambitious 😬 !
Some background waffle first.Details of the actual scenario, special rules, and how it is initially setup after (skip to the picture!)
This was my second game of MeG, and it is fair to say I was still getting to grips with the basic mechanisms. It's at times like these that you realise just how valuable having another player taking you through those early stages can be.
The scenario was adapted slightly from one I have previously played solo with good result (using DBMM)...which in turn was adapted from the original source - the scenario of the same name in Charles S. grant's "Programmed Wargames Scenarios".
For me, a key element of the scenario needed to be command friction, making it hard for the numerically superior side to bring their forces to bear, within the time available. And a certain amount of randomness in decision-making imposed by the game mechanisms themselves helps to make a solo game something more than just a dry exercise in pushing pieces around on the tabletop.
I had been looking out for some time for a ruleset, for the Ancient
period, that would be simpler to play than my primary DBMM (which is complex and
needs more regular use than I had been giving it to stay lodged in my head), retained friction and
randomness of command and control in some form, and could be scaled down better to fit in the
space I have available to me at home. But nothing I had looked at really
caught my attention, and then life took over and I stopped playing at
all...until now. And MeG had caught my attention, especially with the addition of
the smaller "Pacto" game mode, as potentially being very suitable.
Scenario context
A period that has always particularly interested me is that of 376-382 or thereabouts. Goths are loose within the Roman Empire, roaming the Balkans, trying to feed themselves whilst avoiding being squashed by the Romans. The Romans are scrambling to minimise the damage they can do, keeping them from breaking out into new regions to plunder, whilst hoping to assemble enough forces themselves to confront them effectively. The Romans think they can finish things in 378, but lose the battle of Adrianople badly, and it is back again to cat-and-mouse. Probably with a number of smaller engagements which don't really make an impact on the historical record.
This scenario fits well into the feel of that period. A moderate force of Goths are trying to pass through the mountains, along one of the major Roman routes, to gain access to as yet untouched farmlands and cities beyond. The Romans are aware of this and a sizeable force is moving up from the far side to occupy and fortify the mountain pass. But to give them time to get there and do this, he Goths must be delayed, and a suitable spot is identified where the road leaves the plain and encounters the first foothills, some way short of the mountains proper. There are a few small Roman forces close enough to assemble in the right place, just quickly enough to be able to achieve this aim. Their command structure is not very unified and their deployment a bit rushed and disorganised, but they must work together as best as they can to get the job done.
The Goths are advancing quickly, they know they are against the clock, so their scouting is limited and they are mostly in column along the road, apart form two smaller forces acting as flank guards. Their co-ordination is also suffering from their circumstances, and the flank guards are struggling to consistently keep up.
The head of the Gothic column arrives on table to see the road continue into the distance between the rising foothills, and also a small part of the Roman forces who will oppose them.
Scenario details
This is what the battlefield looks like, Goths arriving from top left (which I shall henceforth call NW, although to fit in with the real-life geography it would make more sense to have rotated the table...never mind!) and needing to exit with sufficient of their heavy forces along the road to the SE without taking too long about it.
The hills are all rough going, the trees denote solid forests (difficult going); the marsh is impassable; the village has small walls and the villagers will oppose Gothic attempts to enter should they do so - and there is no reason for them to try to do so, so it could be regarded as effectively more impassable terrain, but prettier.
The sheep and goats grazing by the marsh are also just there for visual effect, because they came to hand when I was sorting through my boxes for the troops and I like them!
There were a number of scenario-specific rules I came up with after literally minutes of thought.
a) The presence of the road is a key element of the scenario, accordingly it should benefit units moving along it:
- They get to move additional distance, +1MU for infantry, +2MU for cavalry.
- Following the road as it curves does not count as wheeling for movement difficulty purposes.
- Two units count as one for block movement purposes (i.e. two units count move as if a single unit; a block move can consist of twice as many units as would normally be permitted based on the grade of commander).
- Cavalry and infantry can be considered part of the same block for block movement purposes.
- Units marching in column along the road are not subject to forced charges that would take them off the road.
b) Out-of-command range effects on movement are ignored. I see this as a relatively small-scale encounter, and the disposition of forces and their reaction to the situation is intended to be somewhat chaotic. (With hindsight, I think I should probably have also rated all of the Roman commanders as instinctive rather than professional, which would fit in well with my idea of a hastily assembled force with no unified command structure or communication channels).
c) I allow infantry to make fallback moves. For simplicity, I made these the same difficulty as cavalry fallbacks, so I did not have to consult a second QRS!
d) The absolute cutoff for the Goths to exit the SE corner is 24 turns, but even then a judgement needs to be made on whether their forces are in sufficient number, quality, cohesion etc. to be able to achieve their aim of forcing the mountain pass somewhat further down the road.
e) Casualties are a secondary factor for the Romans. Delaying the Goths successfully will be the key element in achieving a win; suffering relatively light casualties in doing so can be regarded as bonus points.
f) Normal army break rules are ignored - both sides may achieve their aim despite heavy casualties, the termination of the game and the result must be adjudicated.
g) Goth forces 4800 points, deployment in 4 commands:
- Advance body, approx 25-35% of total forces, arrives turn 1 in column along the road.
- Main body, approx 40-50% of total forces, dices each turn after the advance body has fully entered the table to arrive (4+ on d6) in column along the road.
- Left and right flank guards, each of approx 10-20% of total forces, can arrive deployed within 8MU on the appropriate side of the road, both dice independently for arrival (5+ on a d6) each turn, starting from turn 2.
h) Roman forces 3200 points, deployment in 3 commands:
- Advance picket, should be relatively light forces, approx 30-40% of total forces. These have been retreating ahead of the Goth columns. May deploy anywhere in the W two-fifths of the table, and at least one unit must be deployed with clear visibility of the W entry point of the road.
- Main blocking force, should be relatively heavy forces, most or ideally all infantry, approx 30-40% of the total. These have recently arrived in the area, from a different direction. May deploy anywhere in the SE quarter of the table.
- The fire brigade, relatively less heavy/foot in composition, including most or all of the heavier cavalry elements, approx 30-40% of total forces. These have only just arrived on the road from the SE, sent ahead by the main army fortifying the mountain pass further down the road. May deploy anywhere in the SE sixteenth of the table, and at least half of the units must be in column on the road.
- Because this is solo, I can get away with the above guidelines. I know what my intent is! For a multi-player version I might need to be more explicitly restrictive.
Any forces which cannot been from the W entry point of the road are not deployed on table until they move, or Goth units obtain line-of-sight to them.
Some dicing was done to determine some general guidelines on how the various commanders on both sides would approach things.
No comments:
Post a Comment