First attempt at a "Proper" Chainmail (and 0D&D) game
Aug 2, 2021 1:01:40 GMT -6
tkdco2, doublejig2, and 4 more like this
Post by vasious on Aug 2, 2021 1:01:40 GMT -6
So last Saturday been was my first attempt at a "Proper" Chainmail (and 0D&D) game, and I thought I would share it here.
Many thanks to those who have answered my questions to get me to this point :-)
"Proper" being two fold, firstly first with 2 players, as opposed to me just running sims
And with the caveat some things will be mistakes, or calls made on the day.
The Scenario set up was that the Red Moon Clan of Goblins have been kidnapping Villages and the King has called for some heroes to save the villagers.
The Game will run in 2 phases;
Phase 1
The Field Battle between the forces of the Red Moon Clan and the Forces of King Bérenger
Phase 2
Once (if?) the lair entranced is secured on the surface by the battle in phase 1, then the heroes will delve into the dungeon to find out what is really behind the Red Moon Clan's Kidnapping as a 0D&D adventure.
I controlled the forces of the Red Moon Clan, as I will take the role of the referee in the Dungeon exploration portion
The Second player, my willing test subject, was give four PCs Pregens
Sir Charles de Foulque, Dame Sophie de Thomas, Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger & Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr were rolled up as 0D&D characters, at 4th level .
***
Forces of King Bérenger de Frédéric of the city of Méraud
Hero Sir Charles de Foulque; Level 4 Fighter
Leading 10 Knights; as Heavy Cavalry
Hero Dame Sophie de Thomas; Level 4 Fighter
Leading 10 Men At Arms; As Heavy Foot
Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger; Level 4 Cleric
10 Brothers & Sisters of the Order of Saint Bérenger The Just; As Heavy Foot
Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr; Level 4 Cleric
10 Brothers & Sisters of the Order of Saint Guõmundr The Brave; As Heavy Foot
10 Light Crossbowmen
10 Light Crossbowmen
10 Halberdiers
The Goblins of Clan Red Moon
Red Goblin King Kdipeleyi; as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Warriors; as Heavy Foot
Red Goblin Chief Ddekr; as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Warriors; as Heavy Foot
Red Goblin Chief Xlem;as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Worg Riders; As Medium Cavalry
10 Red Goblin Warriors; As Heavy Foot
10 Red Goblin Warriors; As Heavy Foot
10 Red Goblin Archers; As Archers
10 Red Goblin Archers; As Archers
The Orge Divashtich zk Urak; 4+1 HD Ogre; as 4 Heavy Foot
4 Simultaneous hits needed to kill if not in Fantasy Combat
***
***
To begin, before setting out a Joust was had between Sir Charles de Foulque & Dame Sophie de Thomas to determine who had the honour of overall command
The Army commander would allow their +1 Moral for any unit within Charisma Radius
Three tilts, 1 point a broken, lance, or first to unhorse.
One the First Pass both Sir Charles and Dame Sophie broke a Lance scoring a point a piece.
(Using the errata to allow position 4 OR 6 after a broken lance)
They begin their second pass both obtaining a glancing blow but no points.
On the finial tilt, however, Sir Charles scored a solid blow on Dame Sophie unhorse and injuring her, though his lance did not break, where as Dame Sophie's lance missed the mark entirely and made no contact.
With the unhorsing (and loss of 3 hit points) of Dame Sophie, Sir Charles was confirmed as Army Commander and the Force set out to the Red Moon Clan's Lair
Upon the Arrival of the Force at the vicinity of the lair, the weather was determined to be overcast enough that the Goblins would not suffer the sunlight penalty.
Whilst the Force could wait for a Sunny break, the fate of the Villages taken being unknown it was decided to take the battle to the Goblins.
***
The Account of the battle is not necessarily move by move, turn by turn, but an account looking back as the focus at the time was on the playing and not the documenting
The Forces were arranged as such from the point of view of the Heroes
With the Caveat that to keep things simple there was no terrain or fortifications just an open field, only a market for the lair entrance.
Would have been nice for terrain and some defences but baby steps
The Knights were on the left flank, the Clerics in the Centre and the Crossbowmen, Men at Arms and Halberdiers on the right flank.
Opposing them, the left flank faced 20 Red Goblin Spearmen, 10 Red Goblin Archers and a Chief
Divashtich zk Urak the Ogre took up the centre of the field
And on the Right Flank another 20 Red Goblin Spearmen, 10 Red Goblin Archers and the King, supported by the 10 Worg Riders and Chief.
The Goblins held their ground allowing the Forces of the King to advance, only moving to ensure the spear tips faced the approaching threats.
As the Heavy Cavalry moved on the left flank to disrupt the lines of Goblin Spear, on the Right Flank the Worgs moved into a mirroring flanking position on the advancing Halberdiers, Crossbows and Swordsmen.
As the Crossbows started to loose on the Goblin Spears on the Right, the Worgs attacked, for the Halberdiers had judged the speed which they could move, and they Halberdiers where hit in the flank.
Though their discipline allow them to stand before a Cavalry charge, the horror of the worgs tearing into the men was too much, and with half their number slain the Halberdiers took flight, having managed to kill two worgs and their riders in return.
The Momentum of the Worgs charge carried the melee into the nearby Men At Arms.
Meanwhile on the other side of the battle Field, the Knights began their charge.
The Archery fire from the Goblin lines caused one rider to fall but the remaining 9 Knights and Sir Charles hit the Goblin Spearmen lines killing 10 of the 20 Red Goblins losing not a single knight in return., despite the presence of a Goblin Chief, the spearmen were routed and fled.
The Chief elected to stay with his Goblins in an effort to rally them
Finally in the Centre the Ogre hit the lines of the Warhammer wielding Order of Saint Guõmundr The Brave
As the Vicar could not engage in Fantasy Combat, the Ogre found the unit as 4 heavy foot but needed 4 Simultaneous his in one turn to fall.
Divashtich The Ogre slew two Clerics, before what can only be divine intervention, the Clerics rolled SIX 6s on 13 dice to slay the ogre!
The Ogre held the Centre no more and the flanks of the Goblin lines were now open to the Clerics who begin moving in to the gap.
The melee between the Worg riders and the Men-at-Arms continued, with Dame Sophie and Chief Xlem engaging in one on one Man to Man (or Woman to Goblin) combat.
(whilst it should have been one round of combat, we played it out until the end just to get more time using the man to man combat and to give it a more heroic duel feel)
Dame Sophie's Plate and Shield deflected many a blow from the Spear of Xlem who took advantage of the height the Worg afforded, limiting Dame Sophie's ability to land a blow against the Chain and Shield bearing Goblin. Worse too, the Worg kncoked Dame Sophie about like a play thing.
(we ruled that rather than needing 4 Simultaneous his in one turn to fall like a Chainmail Hero, the Fighting man class PCs avoid the first 4 hits on any given engagement and only then started taking 1d6 damage per hit)
Undeterred, Dame Sophie rationalised, she was fighting a Goblin brute on a beast, not a Knight on a Steed, whom would have dismounted to fight her fair, and so there was no dishonour attacking the Worg directly. 4 hits in one go slew the beast, causing Chief Xlem to fall and be stunned and 7s to fall to a coup de grâce.
This Caused the Worgs to fall back, but in good order, only to discover 20 Light Crossbows loosed upon them
By this time the heavy Cavalry had, after riding over the Goblin Spear lines, had done the same with the archers in the second line, though amazingly a brave but now dead Red Goblin Archer managed to bring down a knight and their steed.
In the centre the Clerics now hit the routed Goblin Spearmen who had by now drop their spears and shields to find any hidey hole to save their wrenched lives, Chief Ddekr nowhere to be seen
Red Goblin King Kdipeleyi now led the 20 Red Goblin Spearmen forward at Dame Sophie's Men at Arms
Both sides being peppered by Crossbow bolt and Arrow before the melee began.
The Red Goblins to their credit forced the men at Arms back, winning on kills as well as weight of number.
The Few Men at arms that survived were still in Good Order but the Crossbowmen had to fall back for risk of the melee lines reaching them if the Goblin Forces were as successful again next turn.
As the Last of the Men At Arms were slain, fighting to the last, Dame Sophie issued a Challenge to King Kdipeleyi for One on One combat.
(Over) Confident the Goblin agreed and the two fought as the rest of the forces gathered to watch.
The Spear of the King, however, proved no match for the Dame's armour as blow after blow after blow (so many 11s needing 12s) was deflected by shield or castle forged steel plate.
Whereas Dame Sophie's sword with each riposte probed the kings maille, and in each exchange of blows just one in four might find a weak point and was not deflected by armour or shield but this saw more and more Goblin Blood spilt from the King unit Kdipeleyi's limbs count not carry his weight and he collapsed to die.
At this the handful of Red Goblins Surrendered or fled, and the heroes prepared to enter the caves beneath.
***
Thus ended a fun battle, and next time we can meet we shall play out the exploration of the caves beneath to rescue the Villagers, with just the 4 PCs, as the Army stays on the surface to guard the entrance.
Sir Charles de Foulque, Dame Sophie de Thomas, Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger & Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr.
Fortunately none died in battle, and the Clerics cast no spells for all are still available for the dungeon crawl.
Hopefully this will be next Saturday
Many thanks to those who have answered my questions to get me to this point :-)
"Proper" being two fold, firstly first with 2 players, as opposed to me just running sims
And with the caveat some things will be mistakes, or calls made on the day.
The Scenario set up was that the Red Moon Clan of Goblins have been kidnapping Villages and the King has called for some heroes to save the villagers.
The Game will run in 2 phases;
Phase 1
The Field Battle between the forces of the Red Moon Clan and the Forces of King Bérenger
Phase 2
Once (if?) the lair entranced is secured on the surface by the battle in phase 1, then the heroes will delve into the dungeon to find out what is really behind the Red Moon Clan's Kidnapping as a 0D&D adventure.
I controlled the forces of the Red Moon Clan, as I will take the role of the referee in the Dungeon exploration portion
The Second player, my willing test subject, was give four PCs Pregens
Sir Charles de Foulque, Dame Sophie de Thomas, Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger & Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr were rolled up as 0D&D characters, at 4th level .
***
Forces of King Bérenger de Frédéric of the city of Méraud
Hero Sir Charles de Foulque; Level 4 Fighter
Leading 10 Knights; as Heavy Cavalry
Hero Dame Sophie de Thomas; Level 4 Fighter
Leading 10 Men At Arms; As Heavy Foot
Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger; Level 4 Cleric
10 Brothers & Sisters of the Order of Saint Bérenger The Just; As Heavy Foot
Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr; Level 4 Cleric
10 Brothers & Sisters of the Order of Saint Guõmundr The Brave; As Heavy Foot
10 Light Crossbowmen
10 Light Crossbowmen
10 Halberdiers
The Goblins of Clan Red Moon
Red Goblin King Kdipeleyi; as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Warriors; as Heavy Foot
Red Goblin Chief Ddekr; as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Warriors; as Heavy Foot
Red Goblin Chief Xlem;as 3 HD Exceptional Goblin
Leading 10 Red Goblin Worg Riders; As Medium Cavalry
10 Red Goblin Warriors; As Heavy Foot
10 Red Goblin Warriors; As Heavy Foot
10 Red Goblin Archers; As Archers
10 Red Goblin Archers; As Archers
The Orge Divashtich zk Urak; 4+1 HD Ogre; as 4 Heavy Foot
4 Simultaneous hits needed to kill if not in Fantasy Combat
***
***
To begin, before setting out a Joust was had between Sir Charles de Foulque & Dame Sophie de Thomas to determine who had the honour of overall command
The Army commander would allow their +1 Moral for any unit within Charisma Radius
Three tilts, 1 point a broken, lance, or first to unhorse.
One the First Pass both Sir Charles and Dame Sophie broke a Lance scoring a point a piece.
(Using the errata to allow position 4 OR 6 after a broken lance)
They begin their second pass both obtaining a glancing blow but no points.
On the finial tilt, however, Sir Charles scored a solid blow on Dame Sophie unhorse and injuring her, though his lance did not break, where as Dame Sophie's lance missed the mark entirely and made no contact.
With the unhorsing (and loss of 3 hit points) of Dame Sophie, Sir Charles was confirmed as Army Commander and the Force set out to the Red Moon Clan's Lair
Upon the Arrival of the Force at the vicinity of the lair, the weather was determined to be overcast enough that the Goblins would not suffer the sunlight penalty.
Whilst the Force could wait for a Sunny break, the fate of the Villages taken being unknown it was decided to take the battle to the Goblins.
***
The Account of the battle is not necessarily move by move, turn by turn, but an account looking back as the focus at the time was on the playing and not the documenting
The Forces were arranged as such from the point of view of the Heroes
With the Caveat that to keep things simple there was no terrain or fortifications just an open field, only a market for the lair entrance.
Would have been nice for terrain and some defences but baby steps
The Knights were on the left flank, the Clerics in the Centre and the Crossbowmen, Men at Arms and Halberdiers on the right flank.
Opposing them, the left flank faced 20 Red Goblin Spearmen, 10 Red Goblin Archers and a Chief
Divashtich zk Urak the Ogre took up the centre of the field
And on the Right Flank another 20 Red Goblin Spearmen, 10 Red Goblin Archers and the King, supported by the 10 Worg Riders and Chief.
The Goblins held their ground allowing the Forces of the King to advance, only moving to ensure the spear tips faced the approaching threats.
As the Heavy Cavalry moved on the left flank to disrupt the lines of Goblin Spear, on the Right Flank the Worgs moved into a mirroring flanking position on the advancing Halberdiers, Crossbows and Swordsmen.
As the Crossbows started to loose on the Goblin Spears on the Right, the Worgs attacked, for the Halberdiers had judged the speed which they could move, and they Halberdiers where hit in the flank.
Though their discipline allow them to stand before a Cavalry charge, the horror of the worgs tearing into the men was too much, and with half their number slain the Halberdiers took flight, having managed to kill two worgs and their riders in return.
The Momentum of the Worgs charge carried the melee into the nearby Men At Arms.
Meanwhile on the other side of the battle Field, the Knights began their charge.
The Archery fire from the Goblin lines caused one rider to fall but the remaining 9 Knights and Sir Charles hit the Goblin Spearmen lines killing 10 of the 20 Red Goblins losing not a single knight in return., despite the presence of a Goblin Chief, the spearmen were routed and fled.
The Chief elected to stay with his Goblins in an effort to rally them
Finally in the Centre the Ogre hit the lines of the Warhammer wielding Order of Saint Guõmundr The Brave
As the Vicar could not engage in Fantasy Combat, the Ogre found the unit as 4 heavy foot but needed 4 Simultaneous his in one turn to fall.
Divashtich The Ogre slew two Clerics, before what can only be divine intervention, the Clerics rolled SIX 6s on 13 dice to slay the ogre!
The Ogre held the Centre no more and the flanks of the Goblin lines were now open to the Clerics who begin moving in to the gap.
The melee between the Worg riders and the Men-at-Arms continued, with Dame Sophie and Chief Xlem engaging in one on one Man to Man (or Woman to Goblin) combat.
(whilst it should have been one round of combat, we played it out until the end just to get more time using the man to man combat and to give it a more heroic duel feel)
Dame Sophie's Plate and Shield deflected many a blow from the Spear of Xlem who took advantage of the height the Worg afforded, limiting Dame Sophie's ability to land a blow against the Chain and Shield bearing Goblin. Worse too, the Worg kncoked Dame Sophie about like a play thing.
(we ruled that rather than needing 4 Simultaneous his in one turn to fall like a Chainmail Hero, the Fighting man class PCs avoid the first 4 hits on any given engagement and only then started taking 1d6 damage per hit)
Undeterred, Dame Sophie rationalised, she was fighting a Goblin brute on a beast, not a Knight on a Steed, whom would have dismounted to fight her fair, and so there was no dishonour attacking the Worg directly. 4 hits in one go slew the beast, causing Chief Xlem to fall and be stunned and 7s to fall to a coup de grâce.
This Caused the Worgs to fall back, but in good order, only to discover 20 Light Crossbows loosed upon them
By this time the heavy Cavalry had, after riding over the Goblin Spear lines, had done the same with the archers in the second line, though amazingly a brave but now dead Red Goblin Archer managed to bring down a knight and their steed.
In the centre the Clerics now hit the routed Goblin Spearmen who had by now drop their spears and shields to find any hidey hole to save their wrenched lives, Chief Ddekr nowhere to be seen
Red Goblin King Kdipeleyi now led the 20 Red Goblin Spearmen forward at Dame Sophie's Men at Arms
Both sides being peppered by Crossbow bolt and Arrow before the melee began.
The Red Goblins to their credit forced the men at Arms back, winning on kills as well as weight of number.
The Few Men at arms that survived were still in Good Order but the Crossbowmen had to fall back for risk of the melee lines reaching them if the Goblin Forces were as successful again next turn.
As the Last of the Men At Arms were slain, fighting to the last, Dame Sophie issued a Challenge to King Kdipeleyi for One on One combat.
(Over) Confident the Goblin agreed and the two fought as the rest of the forces gathered to watch.
The Spear of the King, however, proved no match for the Dame's armour as blow after blow after blow (so many 11s needing 12s) was deflected by shield or castle forged steel plate.
Whereas Dame Sophie's sword with each riposte probed the kings maille, and in each exchange of blows just one in four might find a weak point and was not deflected by armour or shield but this saw more and more Goblin Blood spilt from the King unit Kdipeleyi's limbs count not carry his weight and he collapsed to die.
At this the handful of Red Goblins Surrendered or fled, and the heroes prepared to enter the caves beneath.
***
Thus ended a fun battle, and next time we can meet we shall play out the exploration of the caves beneath to rescue the Villagers, with just the 4 PCs, as the Army stays on the surface to guard the entrance.
Sir Charles de Foulque, Dame Sophie de Thomas, Vicar Ancel of Saint Bérenger & Vicar Agnès of Saint Guõmundr.
Fortunately none died in battle, and the Clerics cast no spells for all are still available for the dungeon crawl.
Hopefully this will be next Saturday
