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Author Topic: I Have a Vocation -- And You're All Coming With Me  (Read 15626 times)

Cyrano

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on: November 22, 2019, 04:23:23 PM
If you could see my command centre from which I play Tabletop Simulator -- really all I play these days -- you would see a growing pile of rulesets.

Last night, as these rulesets threatened to topple and crush me, I realized I have a mission -- perhaps even a calling.

I must find ALL the fast-play, grand tactical, Napoleonic rulesets in print, play, and review them.

With this in mind, I must first assemble the list of all FPGTNRs...which spells nothing...

My List:

Big Bloody Battles
Black Powder (Y)
Blucher (Y)
Commands and Colors: Napoleonics (Y)
De Bellis Napoleonicis
Fast-Play Grande Armee (X)
Horse and Musket
Horse, Foot, and Guns
Le Petit Empereur
March Attack
Morale Napoleon
Snappy Nappy
Volley and Bayonet (X)

X:  Played, but not on TTS
Y:  Played on TTS

If I were to confess it, Black Powder only BARELY makes the list, but I think it is intended as a fast-play system.  Note that this is different from a system that plays quickly.  Everyone who loves a rule system will tell you that it plays quickly once you get the hang of it.  This is a nonsense.  If I may be more clear, "Altar of Freedom" is so beautiful for what it does in the ACW that I sort of want to just mod it for Napoleonics.  But I wonder if there's anything out there for Napoleonics!   "Shako 2" -- a wonderful system -- is not fast-play, whether or not you think you can play Wagram using it.  By the same token, neither is ESR.  We will not here speak of LFS, GdB, CaG2, NB, AoE, RtE, GdA, &c., &c.

So, to begin, which systems am I missing?

I will then begin building TTS sets and YOU.  Yes YOU will help me play them!

Best,

Jim
« Last Edit: November 24, 2019, 07:23:13 PM by Cyrano »

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bbmike

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Reply #1 on: November 22, 2019, 05:37:43 PM
Hmm, not sure it's a mission or a calling. It could be a sickness.  :whistle:

"My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplace of existence."
-Sherlock Holmes

My Own Worst Enemy


besilarius

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Reply #2 on: November 23, 2019, 08:25:27 AM
Thank you for this necessary public service.  I hope the painful slog will not seriously undermine your sanity.

To keep things fresh, Tim Tilson has put together a number of scenario books for Black Powder.  We've given them good plays and they are pretty challenging.  I'd guess these would be adaptable to many of the other systems listed.

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/238601/Wars-of-the-Bourbons

Its far too late to worry about that  ;)
« Last Edit: November 23, 2019, 08:36:31 AM by bob48 »

"These things must be done delicately-- or you hurt the spell."  - The Wicked Witch of the West.
"We've got the torpedo damage temporarily shored up, the fires out and soon will have the ship back on an even keel. But I would suggest, sir, that if you have to take any more torpedoes, you take 'em on the starboard side."   Pops Healy, DCA USS Lexington.


bob48

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Reply #3 on: November 23, 2019, 08:37:30 AM
Thank you for this necessary public service.  I hope the painful slog will not seriously undermine your sanity.

To keep things fresh, Tim Tilson has put together a number of scenario books for Black Powder.  We've given them good plays and they are pretty challenging.  I'd guess these would be adaptable to many of the other systems listed.

https://www.wargamevault.com/product/238601/Wars-of-the-Bourbons


Its far too late to worry about that  ;)

“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'


Cyrano

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Reply #4 on: November 24, 2019, 12:10:43 PM
Before this goes public -- Facebook -- I'm trying to normalize the  list.  Here is what is certain to make its way to the tabletop::

Big Bloody Battles
Black Powder (Y)
Blucher (Y)
Commands and Colors: Napoleonics (Y)
De Bellis Napoleonicis
Fast-Play Grande Armee (X)
Horse and Musket
Horse, Foot, and Guns
Le Petit Empereur
March Attack
Morale Napoleon
Snappy Nappy
Volley and Bayonet (X)

Here is what will be excluded and the reasons therefore:

Age of Eagles (NFP) (p)
Carnage and Glory 2 (I need not elaborate.)
Empire in all its iterations (I need not elaborate.) (p)
Et Sans Resultat (NFP)
General d'Armee (I need not elaborate.)
General de Brigade (I need not elaborate.) (p)
Le Feu Sacre (NFP) (p)
Napoleon's Battles (NFP) (p)
Napoleonic Command (NFP by its own admission)
Shako 2 (NFP) (p)

(p) = I've played this.  More for my own reference.

This is going to take some doing.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2019, 07:23:36 PM by Cyrano »

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Negotiator of the fragile peace between Ruritania and Strakenz

Weeple Herder to the Emperor


panzerde

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Reply #5 on: November 24, 2019, 02:56:57 PM
Volume V of Horse & Musket will cover the Napoleonic Wars.

I actually don't really like games.

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres


Cyrano

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Reply #6 on: November 24, 2019, 07:24:10 PM
Added.

Size of hex grid?

Also, keep weird terrain to a minimum.  My quest for redoubts is killing me.


Sergeant-at-Arms - Fraternite des Boutons Carres

Negotiator of the fragile peace between Ruritania and Strakenz

Weeple Herder to the Emperor


panzerde

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Reply #7 on: November 25, 2019, 05:26:45 PM
Added.

Size of hex grid?

Also, keep weird terrain to a minimum.  My quest for redoubts is killing me.

Hex size is dynamic and representational depending on scenario. It's pretty much like C&C.

There's a limited number of terrain types in the base module, and we ain't adding any more. We have the generic "entrenchments" and "fort." No redoubts, ravelins, covered ways, counter-scarps, wadis, sink holes, blue holes, or extinct volcanic cinder cones.

I actually don't really like games.

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres


Cyrano

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Reply #8 on: November 25, 2019, 05:33:03 PM
Added.

Size of hex grid?

Also, keep weird terrain to a minimum.  My quest for redoubts is killing me.

Hex size is dynamic and representational depending on scenario. It's pretty much like C&C.

There's a limited number of terrain types in the base module, and we ain't adding any more. We have the generic "entrenchments" and "fort." No redoubts, ravelins, covered ways, counter-scarps, wadis, sink holes, blue holes, or extinct volcanic cinder cones.

I was worried about cinder cones...very worries...

What I mean re: hexes is the board is how many hexes wide by how many deep?

C&C only comes in three sizes:  Basic, Epic, and Grande Battles; whatever that latter is.  The first, I think is 11 X 20 or so, and the others get bigger.


Sergeant-at-Arms - Fraternite des Boutons Carres

Negotiator of the fragile peace between Ruritania and Strakenz

Weeple Herder to the Emperor


panzerde

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Reply #9 on: November 25, 2019, 05:36:36 PM
13x9

I actually don't really like games.

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres


bob48

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Reply #10 on: November 26, 2019, 05:54:04 AM
Is the new map for Horse and Matchlock bigger?

“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'


panzerde

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Reply #11 on: November 26, 2019, 08:35:51 AM
Is the new map for Horse and Matchlock bigger?

It's the same number of hexes, but the hexes are double the size.

I actually don't really like games.

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres


bob48

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Reply #12 on: November 26, 2019, 08:43:17 AM
I like the new counter art  :bigthumb:

“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'


panzerde

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Reply #13 on: November 26, 2019, 03:51:45 PM
I like the new counter art  :bigthumb:

Ilya did a nice job. As an illustration of how OCD certain game developers are, he and I had an exchange over the art for the arquebusiers. I felt like the original illustration had too long a barrel. He wanted to be sure that the illustration reflected the weapon being a wheellock since horse won't tolerate matches. We also had to do a bit of deep diving to find all of the leader portraits for some of the less well-known leaders from some of the smaller conflicts.

I actually don't really like games.

Castellan -  La Fraternite des Boutons Carres


bob48

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Reply #14 on: November 26, 2019, 04:51:04 PM
Well, it paid off - most impressive! Looks like I'll have to wait for the PnP version to become available. I'm particularity interested in trying some of ECW scenarios.

“O Lord God, let me not be disgraced in my old days.”

'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers'