The Bastard at Bay

A Sharp Practice scenario

Spain, 1812

Captain Algernon Hawkesworthe of the 95th Rifles has been assigned to maintain possession of the village of Nostra Villa on the flank of Wellington's advancing army. His command consists of a single company of soldiers (two platoons) but they are of the highest quality and he knows them all very well. His trumpeter, Nigel, is a young lad but boys grow up fast in the Peninsular war.

Early this morning, a Spanish 'gentleman' by the name of Alejandro Calatrava made his way on foot to the village, seeking the protection of himself and his prisoner. In tow, he had a French Lady of rare beauty by the name of Paulette d'Hiver. She was, insisted Calatrava, a spy and saboteur. It was his intention to take her to the local representative of the Junta where she could be given a trial. She, of course, protested her innocence vehemently and when the Captain began to question the Spaniard more thoroughly, he was deflected by assertions that it was not for them to judge her. The Junta would decide. She was, he explained, also remarkably wily and a seductress. She had twisted the reason of many otherwise good men. His arguments were fairly persuasive but when it was added that already battalions of Frenchmen were in hot pursuit of this valuable agent, there was nothing for it but for Nigel to put lips to horn. The Company was deployed for battle.

The two priests of the village know Alejandro Calatrava. He is 'The Bastard' and he is no gentleman. It is not entirely certain what his intentions are toward Lady d'Hiver and her jewels but the priests will be keeping an eye on things.

Captain Anatole de Montesquiou was outraged. His friend, the Lady Paulette d'Hiver, had been stolen away from her villa in the middle of the night by the seducer, Alejandro 'The Bastard' Calatrava. As if Guerillas and Bandits weren't enough of a dnager, there were also bounders and scoundrels. Anatole had warned her numerous times about the men in her life. Now it was too late. No! It was not too late. A rescue would be undertaken. Being unattached to any present command, Captain Montesquiou was only momentarily at a loss for ideas. He could, he knew, attempt the rescue alone and have a reasonably good chance of pulling it off but he knew where The Bastard would be taking his prize: to the protection of the English. He would need assistance. For two bottles of wine, he managed to persuade that young Lieutenant Marat of the 83rd foot that a Company of Voltigeurs could be well employed  in such an adventure. Fortuitously, all the hullabaloo of getting underway also attracted the attention of a certain Hussar with a detachment of his men.

Marechal-des-Logis Henri Darlon, the greatest swordsman in all of France,  with a cheerful smirk watched the excitable Montesquiou preparing for his expedition.  This was going to be an adventure and Henri Darlon does not allow adventures to march past unaccosted. Indeed, within minutes Henri and Anatole had set out the terms of a wager: Whichever of them was to personally rescue Lady d'Hiver would win the opportunity to slay Alejandro Calatrava in a duel. If The Bastard up and got himself killed or wounded in the process of the rescue attempt, then the victor would instead get 10 Francs. Now that the strategic operational planning was done, the campaign could get under way.

FORCES

Player 1:
Captain Algernon Hawkesworth - Jolly Good chap (rolled randomly) with attached bugler
2 platoons of 10 elite riflemen

Player 2:
Captain Anatole de Montesquiou - Jolly Good Chap Physique 4, Pretty Boy, To the Manor born (serious wealth), a fair hand with a sword, and an accomplished horseman. He is chivalrous, prefers the company of men to women (though more opportunist than lecherous), and is a Man of Arts and letters.
Lieutenant Marat - Young Buck (rolled randomly) with a drummer boy
2 platoons of 12 good light infantry with muskets and 1 platoon of 12 good fusiliers

Player 3:
Marcehal-des-Logis Henri Darlon - Cock o the Walk, Physique 5, a Handsome Devil, a popular cove without money or influence. He is an accomplished swordsman and horseman. Henri is honourable but suffers from Pride so no others may order the Hussars. He is charismatic and Athletic.
1 platoon of 6 Hussars.

VICTORY CONDITIONS

The game ends if any of the following occurs:

1. The Bastard and Lady d'Hiver leave the map together. All players lose.
2. Lady d'Hiver gets 12" from the village in the company of a French Big Man. The player of the Big Man wins.
3. Lady d'Hiver falls in love with Hawkesworthe and The Bastard is dead (or run off). As both French Big Men are honourable, they must accept this defeat.

SPECIAL RULES

Set up:
The bastard is set up inside any building with at least two door exits. The Lady begins in base-to-base contact with him. Two priests may be set up anywhere within 6" of him.
Player one's forces may be set up anywhere on the village side of the river, no closer than 18" from the French entry points. They may use blinds. They are allowed one dummy blind. It is recommended that sentries be considered.
French forces are set up using blinds in either starting location, within 12" of the table edge but no closer than 10" from any British. They have two dummy blinds available. At least two blinds must be set up in the anticipated entry area.

Bonus Cards in the deck:
Water, Stand Fast, Ammunition, Forced March, Bugle Call, Siesta, Damnation!, At the Double!, Ambuscade, Sharp Practice, 3 x Thin Red Line, 3 x Pas de Charge,  3 x Hop to It. Each French player may start with one bonus card. The British player may start with 2 cards.

The Possible Ford:
If a blind card can make it to the river's edge where the possible ford is located then it is indeed a ford. It is not a ford for deployed troops.

The Bastard and the Lady

Player one may not attack or otherwise fight the bastard until he has been found to commit an outrage. Player two and three may attack and fight him to their heart's content. He has physique 4 and is a fair hand with a sword. If the bastard is challenged to a duel by someone eligible to attack him, he will accept.

Each time the Tiffin card is drawn, the Bastard will be checked for his list of actions and will do the one appropriate (or inappropriate action). Until rescued, the Lady always remains in base to base contact with him. Players should take turns doing his actions.

1. If there are no British troops within 12" of the Bastard but there are spotted French troops within 12", he will move 1D6" toward the nearest table edge that is away from the French.

2. If there are other characters or NPCs in line of sight to the Bastard (and the Lady) and within 18", he will move 1D6" to try to get out of line of sight.

3. If the Bastard and the Lady are not in line of sight to any other character or NPC, he will attempt to seduce her. He must roll an 11 or 12 to succeed (she is not married but is a Lady). If he has successfully seduced her, then all other attempts at affaires de coeur with her will fail.

4. If the Bastard and the Lady are not in line of sight to any other character or NPC and he has failed at two seduction attempts, he will then act in a most ungentlemanly manner toward her. He will no longer move but instead continue to act in this manner until he is within line of sight to any character or NPC. At this point, having been caught in flagrante delicto, he will be seen to have committed an outrage.

5. If he has lost the Lady but retains his life, The Bastard will move 2D6" toward the nearest table edge hoping to escape.

Spotting the Bastard
If the bastard is out of line of sight of all characters but is within 2" of being within line of sight, characters can attempt to spot him (likely counting as badly obscured). If successful, the Bastard should be moved the minimum distance until he is again in line of sight.

Priests
The priests count as sentries and act on the sentry card. They may not fire or join a unit but may move 1D6" per action dice.

Rescuing Lady d'Hiver
Successfully defeating The Bastard will allow the Lady to attach to the base of the one that defeated him and then she will move with him. She may also be taken unawares: If a character moves to within 2" of the Lady but is not in line of sight to The Bastard, they may attempt an act of Derring Do to devilishly whisk her away from her guardian. There is but an even chance of this succeeding though (4-6). If The Bastard happens to be ravishing her at the time, the difficulty drops to poor (5-6).

Lady d'Hiver cannot be fired upon. If the character escorting her is defeated such that she is unattached to anyone, any Big Man within range may use initiative to move her 1D6" in any direction. Any character touching her base will then retain control of her.