Hail Caesar Skirmish #12: Ambush!

"All right lads, let's practice one more time! The Romans'll be here soon. Everyone back into the forest!"

After wrapping up our quick "Cavalry vs. Infantry" scenario, we had just enough time to run a second scenario. For our second match we chose "Ambush" from the classic Table Top Teasers. A quick report of a Celtic ambush of a Roman column after the jump.

Hail Caesar Skirmish #11: Infantry vs. Cavalry. Kind of.

"Hey, for our Hail Caesar game tomorrow, let's do something different this time" my gaming pal Mike said, "Not just a line 'em up bash."

No problem. I'd been looking forward to trying a Table Top Teaser and this seemed a great chance to shake things up with a new scenario. I flipped through the collection to find something suitable, which proved a bit challenging as most seemed to work better for more modern armies (Horse and Musket or later), or required a ton of cavalry or terrain. I finally settled on "Infantry vs. Cavalry" and "Ambush". Check out our battle report for Cavalry Attack after the jump.

Hail Caesar Skirmish #10: Battle at the Pig Farm

It was obvious when I got home from work that I was having a crummy day. After dinner, we washed up, I got my son ready for bed and tucked him in. I clomped back downstairs and out of the corner of my eye caught a glimpse of our kitchen table set up with a pair of armies facing off across a forest clearing.

My wife smiled sheepishly. "I think you'd feel better if we played a game." It was true, my mood did a quick 180 as we settled in to a surprise game of Hail Caesar. My wife GMs her first Hail Caesar game after the jump.

Unique Commander Qualities for Hail Caesar

I was reading a thread on TMP that requested a set of ancient rules that included (among other things) variable generals. Many people suggested Hail Caesar, but it was pointed out that generals in Hail Caesar are all cut from the same cloth, barring their command value.

Commanders in Hail Caesar only have a few game rules associated with them that might be altered, but with a little bit of tweaking I think there are a lot of possibilities in bringing a unique flavor to individual generals. The Hail Caesar rules already have a few suggestions:

• Command Rating: The number under which the command dice must be rolled to issue a command. Typically 8. Vary it by +/- 1 to customize the commander. 
• Combat Ability: Maximum number of dice a commander can roll in combat. Typically 3. Increase or decrease the maximum number of combat dice, up to 6 dice for a legend such as Alexander the Great.

There are a few other inherent numbers associated with commanders that could be changed for variety: 

• Command Distance: How far away a unit must be before suffering penalties to the command roll. The standard command radius is 12", but this could be adjusted by say +/- 3" to represent a commander with especially well or ill trained runners or communication system. 
• Survivability: After concluding combat in which the commander was attached to an engaged unit, 2d6 are rolled to determine if the commander is hit in the melee, with an additional 1d6 rolled to determine whether he is wounded or slain. Grant the commander a chance to reroll one of the 2d6 (perhaps once per game), or to gain a +/-1 to the following 1d6 roll to represent either a particular hardy or weak warrior.

Commanders also receive a few special actions to help their divisions, Rally! and Follow Me! Both of these could be modified by allowing the commander to roll three dice rather than the usual two, taking either the two best (or alternately two worst) dice for the result, representing commanders who are either particularly charismatic or hated. If that's too fiddly, simply give the commander a bonus or penalty to their command rating when issuing a Rally! or Follow Me! order.

Finally, just as units receive unique special abilities, the same could be applied to commanders. A Wild barbarian general might be able to reroll the dice he adds to the first combat he engages in. A Tough Roman commander might get to reroll one of his combat dice each turn.

Want to randomly generate the quality of your army leader before the battle? Roll a pair of d6, one assigned to the general's positive qualities, and one to his negative qualities. If the you rolled a double, the general has no special qualities, otherwise consult the chart below:

Positive Die	Quality
1	Pious: Once per game, re-roll one of the two command dice. The new roll stands, even if the result is worse than the former roll.
2	Stern: The commander suffers distance penalties when issuing commands to units beyond 15" (rather than 12")
3	Orator: Roll 3d6 discard the highest die when issuing a Rally! command.
4	Charismatic: Roll 3d6, discard the highest die when issuing a Follow Me! command.
5	Warrior: Only slain on a 1 or 2 (rather than 1-3) when determining fate after being hit in combat.
6	Fierce: Roll the general's combat dice separately from the unit he is attached to. Once per game, re-roll any of the general's misses.

Negative Die	Quality
1	Drunkard: May not use the general's re-roll ability to re-roll a blunder.
2	Undisciplined: The general suffers distance penalties when issuing commands to units beyond 9" (rather than 12")
3	Not One for Speeches: Roll 3d6, discard the lowest die when issuing a Rally! command.
4	Coward: Roll 3d6, discard the lowest die when issuing a Follow Me! command.
5	Ill Health: Slain on a 1-4 when determining fate after being hit in combat.
6	No Taste for Blood: Roll the general's combat dice separately from the unit he is attached to. For each die that is a miss, reduce the maximum number of dice the general can roll by 1 in future combats.

These aren't tested, and might be too fiddly in practice, but I thought there might be something there worth trying.

Psst! eBay Deal : 28mm Celtic Cavalry

I was trolling eBay - window shopping really - and stumbled upon this deal for a boxed set of Warlord Games Celtic Cavalry for less that half of retail price. I was sorely tempted to bid myself, but I'm moving house in the next few weeks and don't necessarily need to be buying extra things just to pack them up for my move. The seller also has few of the Warlord gallic foot sets too for the same price. I wish I could take advantage myself, but thought I'd pass these on in case you were interested.

Source Games and Comics

My family and I flew out to Minneapolis for the wedding of a good friend of mine. Whenever I'm in a new city I like to keep an eye out for the local game and hobby shops to see how the locals do things, but game shops being few and far between I'm rarely rewarded with discovering even a "hole-in-the-wall" store with a few GW Space Marine boxes. This trip turned out to be a gold mine. I spotted Source Games and Comics on the way to the rehearsal dinner. "Yeah! It's huge! You need to check it out!" my pal remarked when I mentioned it to him. I was able to sneak in a quick visit between wedding events, and he was right.

The largest game store I've visited was The Game Parlor in Chantilly VA, but Source outclasses it. This place is huge, a wide and extremely long store, one side devoted to comics, the other to games of all types, with a large open gaming area with a dozen tables in the rear.

A view from the front of the store, comics on the left, games to the right.

The store was bright and clean, and the staff was ready to help. I was surprised at the amount of historicals they had in stock as well. A full aisle dedicated to Flames of War, but rows and racks of Old Glory, Peter Pig, and a large number of historical rules sets for sale.

Historicals, the near shelf full of various rules, the far set dedicated to FoW,
historical miniatures extending to the back of the store.

The gaming area was a hive of activity with a number of card games and RPGs in full swing, but I spotted a collection of wargame terrain ready to go as well. What a store! Minneapolites, you've got quite a gem on your hands!

Historicon 2013: This Year's Picks

Martian skyships battling it out during Historicon 2012

It's like Christmas morning! The PEL for Historicon 2013 was just posted, and my gaming buddies and I are making our short lists of the games we are hoping to get into. There are TONS of great looking games, far too many to even see while we're at the con, let alone get a chance to play. Some of my favorites for this year after the jump.