A HUSSAR'S DUTY
A demonstration walk through with the Sharp Practice rules.
Scenario
This is a variation on Arteis' wagon train scenario. A Squadron of France's 1re Hussars are to escort a mule train across the map. A small contingent of infantry awaits them there. Meanwhile the British are seeking to foil them. I'm playing the game solitaire with a bias toward the French.
Forces
The Hussars are led by Henri Darlon (level 4), Capt Louis Banville (2), and Lt Jean Destot (1). Having recently been reading de Brack's manual and being told how to conduct escort duty in such a situation, I broke the Hussars into four half-companies of 6. They have a trumpeter that attaches to Banville.
Waiting in the village are a fusilier and a Voltigeur company. In charge is Captain Montfort (2) and Lt Marat (1)
The Riflemen are in three groups of 8 with Capt Hawkesworthe (3), Lt Dallyrumple (1), and Sgt Corgi (1). For this mission they have neither chosen men nor hornist.
Lt Day (2) has 12 light dragoon in a single group.
Setting up the decks
The Only Big Men that start in the deck are the French Hussars. What I'll do with the British blinds is allow them, on the Tiffin card, to decide if they will reveal themselves. If they do, their Big Men card will go into the deck before it is shuffled for the next turn. Likewise, if a blind is spotted, the British Big Men card only goes into the deck at the start of next turn. The French infantry commanders will not go into the deck until there's been a visible British group on their half of the table. I play with a house rule that puts cards into the Big Men deck that determine when to draw Bonus cards and some Bonus Cards can be played to trigger random events.
Going into the decks are all 4 Graspez le Saucission cards and the lower three Grasp the Nettle cards. There's no point in the highest since there is no level 4 British character. I decide to put two 'British Blinds' cards into the deck for balance purposes. We wouldn't want the French getting through without ever getting an enemy on the table (oh, the irony!)
Initial Deployment
No British blinds start on the table. Each time the British Blinds card is drawn, I deal a random Blind card and place it in a random start position. With six blinds, I write on the back of four of the blinds what force it represents and then have two dummy blinds.
I decide to clump the Hussars all together because if I give them the spacing that they'd like they'd be half way to the village. The rule I'm going to use for the dry riverbed is that any group that reaches the center of the riverbed from a higher bank has to end its movement there so it cannot be charged across. The French infantry begin formed up in the village.
Turn 1
British Blinds comes up so one blind is rolled for randomly. It then moves a bit onto the table. Tiffin then comes up and the turn ends.
Turn 2
Immediately, the British Blinds card comes up again. Happily for the British perhaps, it arrives in the same location as the other, a little bit behind it.
Henri Darlon gets to move and he uses his four initiatives as follows:
1. Activate the lead patrol - The patrol trots up the road rolling 2D6 +6
2. Activate the Left patrol - The patrol uses one of its action to open ranks
and go into skirmish order and then uses the next to walk their horses 1D6+1
3. Activate the right patrol - The patrol uses one of its action to open ranks
and go into skirmish order and then uses the next to walk their horses 1D6+1. It
stops when it gets to the bottom of the gulley.
4. Activate the convoy - It simply moves 2D6 up the road.
Turn 3
Yet another British Blind appears but this time it is on the French right and quite distant. Lt Destot will get a chance to act but as he is lowly and only gets 1 activation, he sends the left flank detachment trotting toward the British blinds moving 2D6 +6".
This achieves what he desired and both nearby British blinds choose to reveal themselves. Perhaps unfortunately, the blinds turn out to contain riflemen with Dallyrumple in the fore and Hawkesworthe in the aft. Their Big Men cards go into the deck after the Tiffin comes up.
Turn 4
Sharp Practice card comes up first and British choose to shoot with Hawkesworthe's rifles. It looks like 6 of the men can get a clear shot plus they get an extra dice per four men firing and two dice for first volley so that gives them 9 dice. Rifles will be hitting on 4-6 normally but these men are in line so they get +1 to all dice (effectively hitting on 3-6). Surprisingly they only get 4 hits but then when we roll on the effects table we find that only two are shock and two were near misses.
I put down two smoke markers to indicate that the rifles will need to reload twice and put 2 shock on the lead Hussars.
...and then the turn ends.
Turn 5
Hawkesworthe gets to act and orders his riflemen to hightail it for cover. He could stand there and reload but fears the cavalry getting to him in the open. As Hawkesworthe gets three initiatives, he uses one to activate Dallyrumple's men and then one to activate his own (including himself as he remains attached). Dallyrumple moves with his men as he too is attached. Hawkesworthe has no use for his third initiative. Both move 2D6+2" and I leave the smoke markers behind to remind me that the one group of men are still unloaded.
Another turn goes by without any French activity.
Turn 6
Sharp Practise is the first card so Hawkesworthe's group starts on the reloading. I remove one of the smoke markers.
Dallyrumple next gets to act so he activates his nearest group of riflemen and they shoot out at the French skirmishers. There are 8 firers, plus 1 per 4 for being elite plus 1 dice for firing under the Big Man's initiative plus 2 for first volley so he gets 13 dice requiring 4-6 to hit. He gets 7 hits from which 4 shock are produced after effects are rolled for.
Another British blind arrives and the one across the dry riverbed moves into the rough ground. Lt Jean Destot, with a Graspez le Saucission I gets two initiatives so uses one to activate himself to ride to the left flank skirmishers and then uses his second to remove a point of shock from them. Perhaps not the wisest course but the French are banking on their luck having to change so that they will get at least one good turn of activations coming up soon.
So far it is naught but a shooting gallery for the British.
The French Infantry Commanders are put into the deck.