tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35680602703018987162024-03-13T06:19:21.933-06:00Wargame BayouAn outlet and a motivational tool for my painting and wargaming projects.
Leave a comment on the posts!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.comBlogger213125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-81476986771076916142013-01-04T09:18:00.002-07:002013-01-04T10:57:39.731-07:00Creeks and StreamsWhile surfing the web, I came across the <a href="http://refight2013.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Harper's Weekly</a> blog. These fellas are doing a Gettysburg project - which seems totally awesome to me!<br />
<br />
Anyway, besides that, the header picture of the site - specifically the little streams - caught my eye. They are wonderfully narrow which seems great for scale and look great. So...can I make some too?<br />
<br />
Here are some pics of the attempt in progress. My issue was in figuring out a way to make the banks tough enough to stand the handling, the troops on them, being stored and taken to meetings, whatever. I knew regular glue would not do.<br />
<br />
Gorilla Glue! It is water activated and foams up a bit. That oughta hold the rocks and stuff in place rather well. So I wet the banks of the MDF I cut and applied a layer of the Gorilla Glue. In this goop I laid my rocks. This morning when I awoke, the foam did its thing and makes me think this may work.<br />
<br />
More pics after I paint and flock. Thanks Harper's Weekly gang! Inspiration can be found in many places!<br />
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UPDATED: Got the two test sections painted up. I think they look OK. So, yeah, I think I'll make some more!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-75469529741662100642012-12-29T13:22:00.001-07:002012-12-29T13:22:50.328-07:004X4 Leadership Ratings<h2>
What are we trying to model?</h2>
<br />
<h1>
<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We want to provide conditions and ratings that try to model the actual "leadership" of the commands involved in a manner that
reflects their historical actions given the conditions of the terrain and darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My personal opinion is that we can use Leadership to model the darkness, confusion and caution. If this were a battle in broad daylight, I'd raise the Leadership values shown here and have different logic behind the ratings.</div>
<h2>
What levers do we have?</h2>
<h1>
<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Field of Battle gives us two distinct levers:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">1.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The Leadership rating of the individual
commanders</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">2.</span><span style="font-size: 7pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">
</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">The Leadership rating of the Sequence Deck</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<h2>
What specific goals do we have for each command?</h2>
<h1>
<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h4>
Confederates</h4>
<h2>
<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the Confederate force, I think we want to have an
Average Sequence Deck. Other than caution, I do not feel that the Confederate
command was particularly good or bad. We’ll give Johnson, the division
commander a D8 Leadership rating. This may reflect his caution by providing the
conditions for smaller differences in impetus points.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Steuart’s command made the most movement and progress. Let’s
give Steuart a D10 Leadership rating. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the remaining Confederate brigades,
we’ll assign a D8 Leadership rating. In the battle, these forces went in
against the works and tied down the Yankees there for a bit, nothing
spectacular. If the Confederate player wishes to use these forces in a
different manner, the lower Leadership will help to model the caution and
darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Should any commanders fall and be replaced, all replacement commanders will be a D8.</div>
<h4>
Federals</h4>
<h2>
<o:p></o:p></h2>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Federal army should have a Skilled Sequence Deck. The overall Federal command on the hill fell to Wadsworth: a
capable man with a battered command. If we retain the notion that smaller
impetus variances may model this action best we should rate him as a D8 Leadership.
This may feel like a slight to the man, but let’s default on the side of the scenario
design objectives. I feel we can justify a D8 rating based upon the condition
of his command, the condition of the terrain and darkness and the critical
importance of this sector of the line.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Greene’s men fought stubbornly, able to refuse the flank and
hold on. If we give Greene a D12 Leadership rating, his men will be better able
to maneuver and rally, giving the model soldiers an opportunity to repeat their
actual performance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Likewise, Cutler and Meredith had an elite force that was
able to send some help to the other end of the line. Let’s give both of these
commanders a D10 Leadership rating.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As for the Flying Dutchmen, I think a D8 Leadership rating
for their commander will help them maneuver less and rally less.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Like the Rebels, all replacement commanders will be a D8.</div>
<h2>
Summary</h2>
<h1>
<o:p></o:p></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, play testing will discover the truths of course, but
for the starting point, here is what we have…<o:p></o:p></div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; mso-border-insideh: none; mso-border-insidev: none; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><u>Commander<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><u>Leadership<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><u>Side<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><u>Command Level<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Johnson<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CSA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Division Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Steuart<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CSA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Williams (Nicholls)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CSA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Jones<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
CSA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Wadsworth<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
USA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Division Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Greene<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D12<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
USA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Amsberg<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
USA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Cutler<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
USA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 113.4pt;" valign="top" width="151">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Meredith<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 67.5pt;" valign="top" width="90">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: .5in;" valign="top" width="48">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
USA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 99.0pt;" valign="top" width="132">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Brigade Command<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next up? Special rules for the scenario. Should there be
any? What are they? I think possibly, this is a key design element and can give conditions that the players must manage and enhance the challenge to them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-67698697565514211032012-12-29T11:32:00.004-07:002012-12-29T11:33:37.817-07:004X4 Union Unit Strength DeterminationI know I said "leadership" would be next, but, I wanted to close the loop on the infantry forces by addressing the Union command for the scenario.<br />
<br />
The Yankees have a nice mix of men defending the hill. Well, nice from a wargamer's perspective as it offers a rich palette. From the perspective of the Union high command, it is a little frightening actually.<br />
<br />
Let's not forget that the hill not only guards the right flank of the Union army and its loss would unhinge the excellent position of the remainder of the army, but, the hill also guards the Baltimore Pike. Vital for supplies and men arriving on the field.<br />
<br />
By the time of the Confederate assault at dark, the only troops available to defend the hill are a mix of:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>Superb units that were mauled on July 1. Meredith's (Iron Brigade) and Cutler's units suffered in the range of 47% to 77% losses on the first day.</li>
<li>Greene's brigade of New Yorkers, just arrived earlier in the day and led by the oldest soldier in the United States Army - who, until 1862, was out of the army for 25 years.</li>
<li>Nearby and able to move up in a time of need is Amsberg's brigade of "Flying Dutchmen". Ridiculed in the army for their flight at Chancellorsville and their flight through Gettysburg on July 1.</li>
</ol>
<br />
Earlier in the day, the hill was much more strongly defended. But XII Corps was ordered to vacate their defenses and move to support other areas of the line under attack. Greene's brigade was left to defend a portion of the line, but the area by the lower knoll of Culp's Hill was "in the air".<br />
<br />
I think that the Federal army was quite lucky that the attack here did not begin until darkness. I believe that a battle lost is a lot like a football game lost. Seldom can you attribute it to one play or one event. It is the collection of events, added together, that make the loss or the victory. "In war, events of great importance are the results of trivial causes" said Julius Caesar.<br />
<br />
Having lost Culp's Hill would have made for a much more difficult July 3rd for the Federals!<br />
<br />
OK onto the Yankees...<br />
<br />
<table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: margin; mso-table-anchor-vertical: page; mso-table-left: left; mso-table-lspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-rspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-top: 89.6pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
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<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">GREENE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
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<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
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60 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
313<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
78 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
202<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
102 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
248<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
137 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
456<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D12<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
149 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
319<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">CUTLER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
7 IN<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
434<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
76 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
141<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
84 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
101<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
95 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
126<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
147 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
82<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
56 PA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
122<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">MEREDITH<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
19 IN<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
98<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
24 MI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
133<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
2 WI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
69<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
6 WI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
176<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
7 WI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
186<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">AMSBERG<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
82 IL<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
204<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
45 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
151<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
157 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
202<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
61 OH<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
200</div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
The above numbers show the strengths of the units at the time of the action on Culp's Hill. The numbers for Amsberg, Cutler and Meredith have been adjusted to reflect the losses from July 1.<br />
<br />
These ratings are based upon the ratings guidelines from the previous post. So you can see that the superb men from I Corps are pretty worthless in FoB game terms. Also, those are some really small units. So, let's manage the scenario!<br />
<br />
We'll converge some of the individual units into "game units", this will work fine and be more correct in terms of unit frontage and all that jazz. Also, I have read that even though these units were hammered, they still had a high fighting spirit. So, we'll adjust the Defense values upwards.<br />
<br />
Greene's men are easy, we need make no adjustments as they are newly arrived on the field and have not been bloodied.<br />
<br />
Amsberg's men were bloodied on July 1, and once again trounced by the rebels. If they were at full strength, we'd be reducing their Defense values. They're good to go as they are.<br />
<br />
There are a couple of Yankee artillery batteries available too, but they'll be range challenged by the darkness.<br />
<br />
So, if you compare the two infantry forces, the Yanks will be challenged! Thank goodness there will be some works to hide behind along a portion of the line! As a player, isn't a challenge what you want? I know it is for me. The Rebs will be challenged by the terrain and by the confusion of a night assault.<br />
<br />
Here are the final values...<br />
<br />
<table align="left" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoTableGrid" style="border-collapse: collapse; border: none; margin-left: 6.75pt; margin-right: 6.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: margin; mso-table-anchor-vertical: page; mso-table-left: left; mso-table-lspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-rspace: 9.0pt; mso-table-top: 89.6pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">GREENE<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-left: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
60 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
313<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
78 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
202<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
102 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
248<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
137 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
456<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D12<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
149 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
319<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">CUTLER<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
7 IN<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
434<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Converged NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
368<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Converged NY/PA<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
204<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">MEREDITH<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Converged IN/MI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
231<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
Converged WI<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
431<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="background: #365F91; border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-background-themecolor: accent1; mso-background-themeshade: 191; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">AMSBERG<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Strength <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Combat<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
<td style="background: black; border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-background-themecolor: text1; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: white; mso-themecolor: background1;">Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
82 IL<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
204<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
45 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
151<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
157 NY<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
202<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
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D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
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D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
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<td style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
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61 OH<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
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200<o:p></o:p></div>
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<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
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D8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 119.7pt;" valign="top" width="160">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
D4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
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OK, leadership really is next.<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-47850752879534312012012-12-28T13:56:00.000-07:002012-12-28T16:17:26.151-07:004X4ing: Unit Strength Determination<br />
This post continues on the 4X4 scenario idea. The topic is a method of determining the combat and defense ratings for the forces involved in a given historical scenario.<br />
<br />
The premise of the post is that while I enjoy the rating system laid out in the Field of Battle rules, I’d like to apply something a little more “scientific” to the rating of the units involved in these scenarios. This is particularly true for scenarios where there is good muster data around the units involved.<br />
<br />
I am going to state here that the goal is to rate a unit based upon its potential as an instrument of battle. The potential of the unit has these characteristics:<br />
<br />
<b><u>The armament of the unit</u></b><br />
Field of Battle has a Musket and a Rifle category. My thought is that this adequately manages this aspect for me and this characteristic of a unit does not need to influence the ratings.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The size of the unit</u></b><br />
The size of the unit is a big factor. The number of guns and bayonets that a unit can focus on the enemy is a valuable figure. A unit of 200 men will theoretically throw less lead than a unit of 400 men given similar conditions. In a pure weight of numbers match, the larger unit has an advantage in close combat power. Similarly, a larger unit could have more staying power reflected in the ability to sustain losses more efficiently than a smaller unit.<br />
<br />
These are the premises which with to begin the ratings. These are simply the “cold and impersonal” numbers portion of the ratings. Upon these factors we will generate a “base rating” value for both combat and defense for each unit.<br />
<br />
I don’t believe that there is any need to manipulate the Unit Integrity (UI) values of units in this modeling exercise. First of all, why worry about which unit has how many UI? Let’s just let UI be the measuring stick for the effectiveness of enemy action against the unit. The ratings of the units will properly influence the outcome of the die rolls by adjusting the size of the dice used.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The élan of the unit</u></b><br />
Élan encompasses a lot of concepts. You could consider the training of a particular regiment. You could consider the past battlefield experiences to say that a unit is “veteran” or that it is “green”. What I am suggesting we consider – within the context of writing a wargame scenario around a slice of historical action – is this: the actual performance of the unit in the action itself.<br />
<br />
Accounts of battle are loaded with the exploits of various units and their bravery under extreme stress. The opposite is also true, where units broke quickly even after only light casualties.<br />
<br />
So, if the accounts of a battle call out particular units for their performance – for good or for ill – allow that to guide you in modifying either the combat or defense rating, or both, for those units.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Statistics</h3>
So with that in mind, let’s look at some statistics. One of my favorite books is Regimental Strengths and Losses at Gettysburg. The amount of detail about the various units at the great battle is simply astounding. I’ll gladly let that guide my thoughts…<br />
<br />
<b><u>The armament of the unit</u></b><br />
Of 238 Union infantry regiments present, 27 (11.3%) went into the Battle of Gettysburg at least partially armed with smooth bore muskets. Of these, 10 (4.2%) were seemingly fully equipped with smooth bore muskets.<br />
<br />
A relatively accurate breakdown of Confederate infantry armament is seemingly not available for the Battle of Gettysburg. So, we’ll simply invent a workable estimate that is acceptable for war gaming the 1863 period. Let’s say that 30% of the infantry regiments and battalions would be at least partially equipped with smooth bore muskets and that 10% would be fully equipped with smooth-bore muskets. This is nearly three times the rate of the Army of the Potomac.<br />
<br />
<b><u>The size of the unit</u></b><br />
The Army of the Potomac had 238 infantry regiments available for the Battle of Gettysburg while the Army of Northern Virginia had 170.<br />
<br />
The average size for a regiment in the Army of the Potomac was 301 men. In the Army of Northern Virginia, the average infantry regiment size was 338 men. Generally speaking, for both armies at Gettysburg, the percentage of infantry units that were within approximately 50 men of the above numbers is about 30%.<br />
<br />
So, I devised this chart with which to give my initial ratings values.<br />
<br />
<u>Strength</u><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> <u>Combat</u><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Defense</u><br />
250 or less<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 4<br />
251-350<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
351-450<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span> D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<br />
451+<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 12<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<br />
<br />
I think that this gives a good, basic representation of a unit’s theoretical effectiveness as an instrument of battle.<br />
<br />
Let’s look at the forces involved on the Confederate side of the July 2nd Culp’s Hill action.<br />
<br />
<b>Steuart’s Brigade</b><br />
<u>Strength</u><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Combat</u> <u>Defense</u><br />
1 MD Bttn<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>424<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<br />
1 NC<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>401<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<br />
3 NC<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>582<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 12<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<br />
10 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>293<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
23 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>266<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
37 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>281<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
<br />
<b>Williams’ Brigade</b><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<u>Strength</u><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Combat</u> <u>Defense</u><br />
1 LA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>183<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 4<br />
2 LA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>251<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
10 LA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>240<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
14 LA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>298<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
15 LA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>198<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 8<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 4<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Jones’ Brigade<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></b><br />
<u>Strength</u><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><u>Combat</u> <u>Defense</u><br />
21 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>251<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
25 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>297<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
42 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>281<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
44 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>241<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
48 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>281<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
50 VA<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>254<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 10<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>D 6<br />
<br />
<b><u>The élan of the unit</u></b><br />
Here is where we have a great opportunity for adjusting the values of various units. For the Confederate side, I have no read of any especially heroic or less-than-heroic acts by the units involved. I do know that the losses reported by the units involved were generally large. The First Maryland Battalion reported a 47% loss of men at Gettysburg. Some of these losses surely occurred on July 3rd but we can be safe in saying that the battalion participated in some pretty rough action. While I don't think that we can make a blanket statement that high losses indicates a stellar performance - we may be able to say that is certainly does not indicate a lack of willingness to engage the enemy.<br />
<br />
So, for the Confederates, I’d be inclined just to leave the base ratings as they are. When we get to talking about the Union forces, we have some interesting conditions to consider. The 137th NY Volunteer Infantry seemingly performed very admirably, nearly in the same vein as the 20th Maine on the opposite end of the Union line. While the actions of the 137th NY are not as flamboyant as those of the 20th Maine, there is no doubt that their actions contributed heavily to saving this flank of the Union army. I am sure that we should consider upgrading their ratings to reflect this.<br />
<br />
Also, several of Wadsworth’s units had been mauled on July 1st but still had a high fighting spirit. For example, the 7th Wisconsin began the great battle with 364 men and reported 48.9% losses during the three days. Let’s assume that most of those losses occurred on July 1st and theorize that the regiment has about 200 men available on July 2nd, purely hypothetical. This would, using our base rating system, give this regiment a Combat rating of “D8” and a Defense rating of “D4”. This is down considerably from a July 1st rating of “D10” and “D8” respectively. Given the reported “fight” that remained in the unit, maybe we should adjust the July 2nd rating back to a “D8” defense die. The quality and élan of the unit remains although they have fewer muskets.<br />
<br />
Leadership at the regimental level is often a cause for these adjustments. Was the 20th Maine made up of men that were more superior to the men in other Union regiments? Unlikely. The unique combination of events, timing, and immediate leadership converged to create a superior result!<br />
<br />
Lastly, we could always adjust the ratings for a unit that could be considered "elite" or "green". But, I think the performance of the unit on the field overrule this factor. How many green units stood and fought because they did not know when it was time to skedaddle? How many veteran units retired because they knew they could not win and the loss of life would be without gain? Our gaming notions of green and elite are not always aligned with events.<br />
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So, we should allow the history of a unit to modify the combat and defense ratings upwards or downwards as appropriate for a given scenario.<br />
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<h4>
What If</h4>
Taken together, this provides us with good ground for “what if” variations on scenarios. What if the 1st Minnesota was a really crappy regiment on July 2nd? What if the 20th Maine was led by a less able man?<br />
<br />
This is a whole different angle than “what if Hood had gone around the right” on July 2nd.<br />
<h4>
<br />Next</h4>
Next up, we’ll talk about Leadership ratings. My inclination is to lower overall Leadership to reflect the confusion of nightfall. This would result in a little less movement segments and more difficult rally actions. The trick is not to lower Leadership too much; the terrain will do some of that for us. Also, the Sequence Deck will be a great tool for modeling the Leadership difficulties.<br />
<br />
I really enjoy the Field of Battle system, it gives us so many levers and switches we can pull to adjust circumstances!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-61806170918340885792012-12-26T21:25:00.001-07:002012-12-26T21:25:27.816-07:004X4ing?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Nope, this has nothing to do with 4-wheel drive vehicles.
This holiday weekend, I began to wonder about if it were possible and rewarding
to play games of Piquet Field of Battle on a small table, 4' X 4' to be
precise. My table here at home is 6' X 6'. When we play at Brent's we play on a
9' X 5' table. Those are fine table sizes, I have no qualms, naturally, about them
- plenty of freedom to maneuver, lots of opportunities for hotspots on the
battlefield. Now, a 4' X 4' is a tight size with less freedom of maneuver with
28MM miniatures than the larger sizes. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what would a 4X4 FoB game offer me? Well, I think, several
things:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Scenario design.<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the big one. It allows a canvas for creative
scenario design. If you’re going to fight on a tight field I believe that
you’re going to need a tight scenario. You have to select good actions to game
and actions that present challenges to the players. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Historical
Snapshot. <o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Focusing on a 4’ X 4’ battlefield makes you zoom in on some
portion of a larger battle. Without having to worry too much about the larger
battle in general, you can drill into the historical facts and features of the
particular focus. This fuels our love of reading and research! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In terms of scenario design, you can detail units and
commanders in a manner that attempts to model them in the terms of the game.
You can also prescribe “scenario rules” that attempt to force the players to
manage special conditions of the actual action.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>What if? Variants.<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just like you can prescribe “scenario rules”, you can build
in a few twists to provide replay options. What if Ewell’s attack on Culp’s
Hill was able to start earlier in the day? Well, at the very least, there would
be fewer breastworks to face. What were the movements of the other units near
the field and what would their effect on the action be? What if Walker’s
brigade could have been committed to the attack?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>A requirement for
fewer miniatures on the table.</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, this really is not an issue for my ACW collection as I
have gobs of units for both North and South. But, for some players, this may be
an issue. Also, fewer miniatures means less set up and tear down time and less
time spent rating the units and commanders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u><o:p><br /></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><u>Shorter game time.</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This generally is not an issue with me, long games are fine.
Also, Field of Battle generally produces games of acceptable length.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><u><o:p><br /></o:p></u></b></div>
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<b><u>A fun gaming
session with a good friend.</u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sometimes, two people would like to bang out a quick,
decisive and fun game. A person does not always have an entire group of folks
to play. As much as I enjoy getting together with three to six buddies and
gaming, a two-player game is also an opportunity for a fun evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<h4>
Culp’s Hill – July 2, 1863</h4>
So, I started looking at the action Culp’s Hill as a pilot
for making a 4X4 scenario. Read up on various print and online sources and
decided that the action should take place on this map:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l2VD6lzCv5g/UNvMtCTz0qI/AAAAAAAACs4/V68bYNuH1Sg/s1600/Capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="319" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l2VD6lzCv5g/UNvMtCTz0qI/AAAAAAAACs4/V68bYNuH1Sg/s320/Capture.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Each square is 12” inches and the map contains the major
features of the action: The two hilltops, the forested nature of much of the
area, the contours of the terrain and Spangler’s farm. Spangler’s farm is a 6”
square “built-up area” per the rules of Field of Battle.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The key feature of the terrain is the actual contour lines
of the hills. In Field of Battle, during movement, units will be delayed in
moving up this ridge due to stopping at the contour lines. The important
scenario design item to get right with respect to the map is how many contour
lines should there be? The danger is having too many and making the game
delayed. My map indicates what I think the MOST number of contours should be.
I’ll have to playtest and determine what feels like a good number. I believe
that all contour lines will be Class-II terrain. The thing is that the slopes
up which the Confederates advanced were steep.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On top of the contours, the wooded area is also a hindrance
to movement and to visibility. The woods here have some rocky areas and,
coupled with the contours, will make the wooded hill areas Class-III terrain. This
would mean that movement in these areas is at half-speed. The woods at the
extreme southeast corner of the map, would be an exception, those will be
Class-II woods.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rock Creek will be a Class-II feature, but the other streams
will be Class-I, they are just there for simplicity and geographical note.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spangler’s farm would also be a Class-II feature given the
nature of a handful of buildings and some fields and fences.<o:p></o:p></div>
<h4>
Scenario Circumstances</h4>
<h1>
<o:p></o:p></h1>
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So, what would make the scenario interesting? Naturally, the
fog of war that Field of Battle creates would give the players many challenges.<o:p></o:p></div>
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First of all, this is mainly an infantry affair, especially
from the Rebel point of view. Any Union guns on the field are severely limited
in effectiveness, save any in the open areas on the west of the map – darkness will
limit those guns.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Secondly, if we consider the following map as a plan for the
initial deployment of forces, we can begin to talk about possibilities.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Turning the Flank<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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The Union troops are ensconced on the hill behind breastworks;
their right flank is a bit in the air giving Steuart’s Confederate brigade a
flanking opportunity. This area is the location formerly occupied by men of
Slocum’s command. They moved off to counter other Confederate attacks in the
center. The Union commander will have to get reinforcements to this area. This
is where the scenario’s tension and maneuver should be directed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Reinforcements<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Initially restricting the freedom of Union movement will be
essential to provide tension in the scenario. Historically, the Union troops
facing north were critical to protecting the area from Ewell’s support of the
attack on Cemetery Hill and remained in place. Some of the Union reinforcements
initially sent to hold Steuart had been battered on the previous day’s
fighting. One group of six regiments sent in mustered only about 700 men
between them at the time!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Other Union troops are available to enter the map from the
western edge, including artillery. The timing of these reinforcements is an
important feature of the scenario.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Darkness<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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By the time the assault got going, it was dark. Not only does this limit visibility, but offers the possibility of other scenario flavor.</div>
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How can one inject some confusion into the game? Units don’t always recognize another as an enemy unit. Maybe some initial “identification” tests can be worked out on the southern end of the table?</div>
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Is there any value in representing a small possibility of friendly fire? None of this would be needed in the northern sector. Clearly, along the line of breastworks, if it is on the other side of the logs, shoot at it.</div>
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Maybe all Leadership rolls are DOWN-ONE due to the darkness and confusion? This would also be useful to drive the scenario to a conclusion.</div>
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Anyway, just thinking out loud. Feedback encouraged...</div>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-1783624404781325062012-12-24T10:13:00.000-07:002012-12-24T10:13:01.141-07:00Pirates! Part Three - My Crew<br />
In <a href="http://wargamebayou.blogspot.com/2012/12/pirates-part-one-beginning.html" target="_blank">Part One</a>, we talked about setting up the table and some of the notions we set about with for our pirate game. In <a href="http://wargamebayou.blogspot.com/2012/12/pirates-part-two-goals.html" target="_blank">Part Two</a>, we discussed the list of potential goals we would have as miniature pirates. In this portion, we'll address the goals and makeup of my crew.<br />
<br />
I opted for five goals, the rules were that you rolled a D100 to determine each goal. If the result was 78 or less then you accepted that numbered goal from the list (we had 78 goals). If you rolled a 79 or higher, then you got to select any goal from the list. You cannot have the same goal twice, re-roll if this happens.<br />
<br />
The goals I randomly acquired were:<br />
1. Capture a rich citizen and trade him/her to the cannibals for the captured crewman.<br />
2. Ensure that your gang of pirates kills a particular model in the other player’s party (randomly determine which one) to settle some score for a perceived slight against you.<br />
3. Burn the native hut.<br />
4. Capture the wagon on the roadway and use it to sneak into town.<br />
<br />
I was able to roll a 79 or higher on one occasion and selected this goal:<br />
5. Blow up the merchant ship by exploding the powder in the ship’s magazine. The ship is armed with 4 guns, surely there is powder on the ship!<br />
<br />
At this time, Matt rolled up his goals - both of us kept the goals a secret. What was fun, as we found out, was that we each shared one goal in common! We both acquired the "Capture the wagon on the roadway and use it to sneak into town." goal! This would lead to some furious combat between our two crews.<br />
<br />
So, with my goal in place and 200 points to spend on my crew I began to define the band of nautical misfits that would see me to a successful conclusion of the evening's gaming. One interesting thing we did was rule that when equipping our crew, you MUST purchase the items seen on the model. So, if your model pirate has a musket and a sword then you must buy a musket and a sword. If he has a peg-leg, eye-patch and a parrot, the you must buy a peg-leg, eye-patch and a parrot! Disadvantages such as the peg-leg and the eye-patch give points back to you, so that helps. This was really fun as we tried to fit the models available to us into our points and our plans! Luckily, my pirate collection is good sized. 100+ miniatures of all types.<br />
<br />
Let's begin with my leader, Marten Hubrect, a Dutchman seeking his fortune or his fate by "going on the account". I gave Marten a QUALITY rating of "2" and a COMBAT rating of "4", which make him a rather nasty character. Given a six-sided die roll for activations and a Quality of 2 only a result of a "1" is a failed activation. In battle his combat rating meant adding 4 to a six-sided combat die roll. In combat, with other assorted modifiers, you are trying to beat, double or triple your combat opponent's roll. So, a +4 is pretty terrific. Now, these ratings consumed 50 points of my 400 right off the bat. But solid leadership is essential in this game.<br />
<br />
I then decorated Marten with various other skills and equipment to help him on the tabletop. I was obliged to purchase the LEADERSHIP skill so that he could help his mates with their activation. Also, I armed him with a SWORD and TWO-PISTOLS. To assist with his longevity, I gave him GREAT DEFENSE which is sort of a once-per-game saving roll designed to lessen a combat loss. Lastly, I gave him DASHING after all, Marten is dashing! This skill allows him to initiate melee on the same action that delivers him into contact with the enemy. This makes him more efficient all around and if there is an extra action available he can use it for a melee bonus instead of using it to get a round of combat in.<br />
<br />
With 49 points spent, Marten has consumed 99 points, 49% of my total! I will have to be frugal on the remaining crew!<br />
<br />
Trevelyan Hale, my English first-mate, was given a QUALITY of 4 and a COMBAT of 3. A good fighter, but pretty average on initiative - he'll need Marten's help with activation. His extra outfitting were a PARROT, a PISTOL and a SWORD. The parrot can be a distraction in combat to nearby enemies.<br />
<br />
Anthony, an American sailor was also given a QUALITY of 4 and a COMBAT of 3. He had DOUBLE-PISTOLS a SWORD and was STRONG. This strength is a melee bonus.<br />
<br />
Benoit Gaubert, a French swordsman, was a key part of the crew. Benoit was also given a QUALITY of 4 and a COMBAT of 3. He was also DASHING and armed with a RAPIER. His other attributes were SLIPPERY which would allow him to easily break off melee contact, and BLUR OF STEEL which would enable him to attack with additional actions in a given turn.<br />
<br />
Keith Thomas, another Englishman, was the final member of the crew. He has a QUALITY of 4 but I could only afford a COMBAT of 2 and still have enough points to equip him. A MUSKET and a SWORD and a DAGGER completed his kit. He is also a HAWKEYE giving him a bonus on "aimed" shooting.<br />
<br />
I spent exactly 200 points. I had a crew of five desperate men. The men were good enough fighters to be sure, but not the most motivated lot. I would have to keep Marten and Trevelyan near to keep the men moving.<br />
<br />
So, how would I do? What are the details of Matt's crew and goals? Well, those questions will have to wait for the next installment!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iAerWhTYthk/UNiMqrTPHeI/AAAAAAAACrc/RgLAEcS69Mg/s1600/94.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iAerWhTYthk/UNiMqrTPHeI/AAAAAAAACrc/RgLAEcS69Mg/s320/94.jpg" width="246" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Marten Hubrect</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5ryhZ3hsJZ8/UNiMrFdpbHI/AAAAAAAACrk/guwQFwT1CLo/s1600/95.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5ryhZ3hsJZ8/UNiMrFdpbHI/AAAAAAAACrk/guwQFwT1CLo/s320/95.jpg" width="259" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Trevelyan Hale</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ymMpD7J8YQ/UNiMrzEkvxI/AAAAAAAACrs/AftJwkPKglY/s1600/96.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3ymMpD7J8YQ/UNiMrzEkvxI/AAAAAAAACrs/AftJwkPKglY/s320/96.jpg" width="308" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Benoit Gaubert</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sDrAYItQSTM/UNiMsgHciuI/AAAAAAAACr0/s3RX-bINC48/s1600/97.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sDrAYItQSTM/UNiMsgHciuI/AAAAAAAACr0/s3RX-bINC48/s320/97.jpg" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Keith Thomas</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4p5jMrQ0TA/UNiMtD_PVTI/AAAAAAAACr8/ynbjFq1xGqU/s1600/98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p4p5jMrQ0TA/UNiMtD_PVTI/AAAAAAAACr8/ynbjFq1xGqU/s320/98.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Anthony</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-30675753408693859372012-12-23T15:42:00.000-07:002012-12-23T15:42:02.033-07:00Chinese GeneralsIt was time to create the command element for my second Chinese army, and another general as well...got these guys finished up and ready for action.<br />
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Now, back to the rank and file...Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-4920064701404032372012-12-11T18:50:00.003-07:002012-12-11T18:50:55.787-07:00Pirates! Part Two - The Goals<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Before we get to the goals, in <a href="http://wargamebayou.blogspot.com/2012/12/pirates-part-one-beginning.html">part one</a> of the post, I gave a little backstory on the town of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Donat</i>. Now, let me tell you why our
pirates were there! Our two bands of pirates where part of a ship’s crew that
just lost their captain. In electing a new captain, the crew was divided into
two factions, each supporting a different candidate for captain. So the two
factions decided that the best candidate would be determined by the outcome of
a raid on <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Donat</i>. Each candidate would
lead a shore party. Surely the best pirate would rise to the occasion and prove
his worth of the captaincy!</div>
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Lastly, let’s talk just a tad about “Flashing Steel”. The
rules are keyed to act on a system of activating models or groups of models –
and – they do put an emphasis on leaders. Having leaders nearby is a great
benefit in activating models. Once you know how many actions a model or group
has (zero to three) you can conduct activities with those models such as
moving, aiming, shooting, reloading, etc.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Also, the Song of Drums and Shakos rules (by Ganesha Games)
utilize a selection of “special rules” to add flavor to the models for a
particular period. The special rules for pirates are pretty sweet. Including
such gems as “One Leg”, “Parrot or Monkey” and “Panache”.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In addition, they have a nice section on “Swashbuckling
Maneuvers” and “Skill Checks” for activities that may require a difficulty resolution
die roll (picking locks, climbing a rope, whatever weird stuff pops up in
games).</div>
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As you may gather from the above, there is a lot going on
and each model may have different statistics and special rules. Rosters are
handy. I would say that a single player with some experience with the rules can
efficiently manage a dozen or so models (maybe more). Fortunately, a pirate
game is not one with hundreds of models on the table.</div>
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OK, onto the goals of the game! Here is the entire list of
goals. OK, it is big and maybe readers don’t care to read the whole thing,
that’s cool. You’ll get the gist of things pretty quickly. For me, I’d just
like to have it documented here for the future enjoyment and recollection of
Matt and me.</div>
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<br /></div>
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You will see some goals duplicated. This is because both
Matt and I came up with the same idea. We just figured that goals on the list
twice just have a greater chance of becoming player goals since the concept was
so obvious.</div>
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Where goals have less definition, we thought we’d just
figure out the details when and if it happened.</div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Steal the cow, take it off board.</li>
<li>Rescue the 2 pirates on the merchant ship.</li>
<li>Capture the merchant ship by having at least three pirates on board and no enemies.</li>
<li>Capture and adopt the tamed monkey on the dock. He’ll come if you offer food and pass a “difficult” test. Try as often as you like, 1 action per attempt. The monkey will now give the model the “Monkey” special rule.</li>
<li>It is rumored that hidden in a crate or barrel on the dock is a treasure map. To locate it you can try one “very difficult” task test per crate/barrel terrain piece at one action per attempt.</li>
<li>Pillage the upper floor of the tavern. (Admittedly, we did not define what “pillage” meant other than spending some actions to possibly locate valuables).</li>
<li>Pillage the lower floor of the tavern.</li>
<li>Pillage the upper floor of the house.</li>
<li>Pillage the lower floor of the house.</li>
<li>Capture the Mayor’s daughter (upstairs in the house) for ransom. You must move into “melee contact” and spend an action on a “difficult” task test.</li>
<li>Convince the prostitute to come away with you on your pirate travels. You must pass a “very difficult” task test but can only try twice! One action per try.</li>
<li>Capture a wealthy businessman in town for ransom. You must move into “melee contact” and spend an action on a “difficult” task test.</li>
<li>Toss a wealthy businessman into the outhouse. You must move into “melee contact” and spend an action on a “difficult” task test to subdue, then move at slow speed to the outhouse.</li>
<li>Steal cabbages from the garden for our provisions. Collect at least 4 cabbages at one action per cabbage to collect.</li>
<li>Steal corn for our provisions. Steal at least 3 actions worth of ears.</li>
<li>Kill the crocodile and haul it off table (presumably to our ship). The skin is valuable and the meat is tasty.</li>
<li>Rescue the pirate held captive by the cannibals. The guy in the pot is done for. The cannibals are friendly unless provoked and will defend their meal, so, you’ll have to attack them!</li>
<li>Hijack the wagon on the roadway and take it off board, but not off board via the roadway.</li>
<li>Purchase the native girl from the friendly natives near the dugout canoe on the beach. </li>
<li>Pay homage to Teach’s Bones. Go to the skeletal corpse exposed in the jungle.</li>
<li>Find and kill the panther that is stalking the jungle. You must “spot” the panther to be able to charge or shoot him. This takes an action as a “difficult” task test. The panther will charge attackers if the opportunity appears.</li>
<li>Steal the gold cross from the monk.</li>
<li>“Acquire” a fancy native shield.</li>
<li>Loot the native hut. Only a single attempt can be made in the game using a “tricky” task test. If that fails then you find nothing. This goal is a failure unless you find something of value.</li>
<li>“Acquire” a set of shrunken heads (many of the models of native warriors are festooned with shrunken heads on the miniatures! Awesome, thanks Old Glory!).</li>
<li>“Acquire” a business man’s fancy hat, and coat, and trousers.</li>
<li>Loot the captain’s quarters on the merchant ship.</li>
<li>Using the powder on the dock, blow up the dock!</li>
<li>Blow up the merchant ship by exploding the powder in the ship’s magazine. The ship is armed with 4 guns, surely there is powder on the ship!</li>
<li>Put the Mayor’s head on a pike at the gates to the town to repay an earlier offense to you.</li>
<li>Find a barrel of rum and haul it off to the ship.</li>
<li>The native totem in the jungle has bejeweled eyes – climb up there and steal those jewels! Obviously, the natives will not like this. No, not one bit.</li>
<li>Ensure that your gang of pirates kills a particular model in the other player’s party (randomly determine which one) to settle some score for a perceived slight against you.</li>
<li>Steal the gold cross from the monk.</li>
<li>Capture a snake and take the venom to the native witch doctor.</li>
<li>Take the merchant ship.</li>
<li>Take a rich hostage off the table.</li>
<li>Rescue the crewmember from the cannibals.</li>
<li>Get a panther pelt (by hunting the panther) and trade it to the natives for a “safe passage” token.</li>
<li>Recruit a new cabin boy for the crew.</li>
<li>Obtain a Letter of Marque from the officer at the table in the tavern.</li>
<li>Obtain fresh water for our ship.</li>
<li>Find the remains of the missing crewmember (the skeletal remains in the jungle).</li>
<li>Rescue captured crewmembers from the merchant ship.</li>
<li>Capture the wagon on the roadway and use it to sneak into town.</li>
<li>Obtain the cargo manifest from the dock master and sell it to the captain with the spyglass on the beach.</li>
<li>Escort the missionaries to the friendly natives on the beach.</li>
<li>Convince delinquent children to steal cabbages for the crew.</li>
<li>Relieve the drunken man of his pan-wielding female accoster.</li>
<li>Have the smith repair your pistol.</li>
<li>Obtain an incriminating rumor about a local dignitary.</li>
<li>Sneak into the merchant ship captain’s cabin and steal his map.</li>
<li>Rob the house.</li>
<li>Rob the tavern.</li>
<li>Obtain native masks and trade them to the crew of the visiting merchant ship.</li>
<li>Ensure the safe passage of the wagon into the town’s gates.</li>
<li>Find buried treasure in the jungle.</li>
<li>Kill the Captain of the Guard, he’s rumored to be a badass.</li>
<li>Kill the Mayor, he dresses funny.</li>
<li>Capture a rich citizen and trade him/her to the cannibals for the captured crewman.</li>
<li>Substitute a pirate for the real night watchman.</li>
<li>Free the governor’s slave – he can sign aboard our ship!</li>
<li>Burn the town to the ground.</li>
<li>Burn the native hut.</li>
<li>Kill the cannibals.</li>
<li>Bribe the dock-master.</li>
<li>Capture three female characters.</li>
<li>Find the hidden clue in the skeletal remains and follow that clue to buried treasure on the hilltop.</li>
<li>Steal a boat and take it off table.</li>
<li>Obtain a weather prediction from the captain with the spyglass on the beach.</li>
<li>Recruit a disgruntled sailor into our crew from the crew of the visiting merchant ship.</li>
<li>Feed the Mayor to the sharks.</li>
<li>Rescue the farmer’s son that has been impressed as the cabin boy on the merchant ship.</li>
<li>Arrange a secret rendezvous with the Mayor’s daughter. She likes dangerous men!</li>
<li>Take a chest or strongbox from town and bury it in the jungle after marking two trees as clues.</li>
<li>Arrange for the missionaries to be eaten by cannibals.</li>
<li>Take a chest or strongbox from town and bury it in the jungle then kill all your crew that knows of its location.</li>
<li>Retrieve the barrel of run floating by the dock. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span> As you can see, not all of the goals are “rooting, tooting,
shooting piratey” actions – some require subtlety and perhaps the division of
your little command of pirates. Some are just way out there.</div>
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<br /></div>
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We each had a minimum of three goals, but could take more.
We each took five goals! We did not tell each other what the goals were until
after the game. So, if we both ended up with some identical goals, then it
would be harder to accomplish those and would create points of conflict amongst
our model pirates!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We figured that at the end of the game we would talk about
the goals we each had, their difficulty, and how we did in trying to accomplish
our goals. Not there would be a “winner” necessarily. We don’t care about
winning and losing – we care about the spectacle and the enjoyment and the
creativity.</div>
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<br /></div>
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In the next post, the pirate bands and what happened!</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VxsgAwTgXDU/UMfiTse7ktI/AAAAAAAACo0/ZUCBzaB837Q/s1600/42.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VxsgAwTgXDU/UMfiTse7ktI/AAAAAAAACo0/ZUCBzaB837Q/s320/42.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dangerous Waters</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3YDJJy5vJg/UMfiUZ2SX6I/AAAAAAAACo8/kqhu234tXU4/s1600/43.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="124" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3YDJJy5vJg/UMfiUZ2SX6I/AAAAAAAACo8/kqhu234tXU4/s320/43.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking for tasty pirates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6XFFXnh8Xbc/UMfiWPd-7sI/AAAAAAAACpE/mS_ycjOfmhs/s1600/46.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6XFFXnh8Xbc/UMfiWPd-7sI/AAAAAAAACpE/mS_ycjOfmhs/s320/46.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ_XNOrHnIs/UMfivPUidoI/AAAAAAAACpM/PvW9OWThne0/s1600/47-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rQ_XNOrHnIs/UMfivPUidoI/AAAAAAAACpM/PvW9OWThne0/s320/47-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The town on the sea</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-43520812906974404862012-12-08T10:13:00.000-07:002012-12-11T08:14:37.983-07:00Pirates! Part One - The BeginningThe Sunday after Thanksgiving was consumed in part by football and in part by pirates! I downloaded "Flashing Steel", a set of pirate skirmish rules from Ganesha Games. We enjoy the "Song of Drums and Shakos" rules very much - so I figured what the hell, let's try these.<br />
<br />
So, Matt and I sat down to play - but, having been drinking (what? isn't it a law that you have to be drinking while playing pirate games?) we got creative. We decided that we'd set up a table full of terrain and people, then we'd make up little goals that we would have to accomplish.<br />
<br />
We set up a beach area, with a fledgling town at the beach. Anchored just offshore was a merchant ship. The town had a dock, two buildings and a partial stockade. Outside of the stockade was a strip of cleared land that contained a few farm plots. Beyond the cleared land was the jungle. Cutting through the jungle and into the town was a road.<br />
<br />
OK, terrain is set up, let's populate the area with people and things. We tried to be very detailed in everything to help our goal setting. So we used a ton of items, the buildings even had some furniture. Here are some highlights of the terrain set up, there were many more details present...<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>On board the merchant ship, two prisoners were being held. Presumably they were captured pirates.</li>
<li>The coast of this area is shark-infested, so swimming to the merchant ship would be perilous. </li>
<li>Most of the merchant crew was in the town carousing with the few locals.</li>
<li>The dock was loaded with crates and barrels of all sorts, including run and powder. One of the crates even had a monkey on it eating a banana.</li>
<li>A couple of businessmen were on the dock discussing, well, business.</li>
<li>A small launch from the merchant ship was at the dock. </li>
<li>A grenadier was on guard duty on the dock.</li>
<li>A drunken seaman sat near the dock on a barrel being harassed by his frying-pan-wielding wife.</li>
<li>Farm workers in the fields.</li>
<li>Cannibal natives with a couple of prisoners ready for the cooking pot.</li>
<li>A prostitute advertising her services from the balcony.</li>
<li>The gate to the town guarded by a couple of pike-armed militiamen.</li>
<li>The stockade patrolled by a couple of regular soldiers.</li>
<li>Missionary monks off to call on the local natives.</li>
<li>A small wagon heading down the road back into town.</li>
<li>A crocodile living in a small creek.</li>
<li>The skeletal remains of a long lost pirate, somewhere in the jungle.</li>
<li>Native totems. </li>
</ul>
<br />
People on the board included the Mayor, his daughter, a night-watchman, the Captain of the Guard, the guardsmen and the militia, the Christian missionary monks, wild and docile natives, prisoners, a prostitute, various businessmen and other civilians.<br />
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Here are some images of the town and the surrounding area:<br />
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After creating the table, we needed a bit of a back story for the setup. Here is what we crafted: "Being visited by the French merchant ship '<i>Seraphin</i>', the town of '<i>Donat</i>' is just beginning to place itself on the map of French settlements. Befriending the nearby natives with trinkets, despite their apparent cannibalistic tendency, the town has begun to build. Although small, the Mayor and his people have faith in the stockade and the small military establishment, to keep them safe enough for now."<br />
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Then we looked at all we did and silently began to write out the goals. The idea was that each of us would take on a minimum of three goals, but could take as many as desired. The goals would be randomly determined and kept secret from the other player.<br />
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So we made a list of 78 goals! I made 33 goals and Matt 45, wow! We could have done more for sure, but, hey, we wanted to play! The goals vary from ridiculous to ridiculously simple to multifaceted goals.<br />
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The next post will detail all of the goals!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-35866065157917251612012-12-08T09:40:00.001-07:002012-12-08T09:40:09.112-07:00Gargoyles, Decals and Board Gaming...Time to catch up on blogging a few odds and ends...been pretty busy. Two weekends ago, Thanksgiving weekend, was a weekend of gaming and football. Having to do the greater family thing on Thanksgiving, we get no leftovers...so...on the Friday after Thanksgiving, we always do our own turkey at the house and invite over some friends.<br />
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While all were here, we played several board games, but I was only able to get pics of a few. We did a marathon session of the old game Balderdash, in which Matt proved his superiority to us all!<br />
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I do enjoy a good board game. Robust games with plenty of decisions, even if the game is a little dry, I enjoy being able to make sound - or ill - decisions. Puerto Rico, Goa and Caylus are a few of my favorites in this category, to name a few - always looking for more.<br />
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That said, I enjoy a good, lighter game too...one with plenty of opportunity for screwing over other players and fun interactions. Corsairs and Bootlegger are two in this category.<br />
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Anyway, beside Balderdash, these games made the table:Ysphahan, Cthulhu Gloom, Corsairs, King's Breakfast.<br />
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Also, I ordered some decal paper that goes through the color printer. I wanted to try to make a few of my own. Here is my first attempt, marking for Chinese shields. We'll see how it goes, they will go on the unit I am currently painting. <br />
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Oh yeah, Gargoyles. The baggage claim area at DIA has Gargoyles! Awesome! I love Gargoyles!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-46354233942876216292012-11-19T20:01:00.002-07:002012-11-19T20:01:51.970-07:00Die Fighting with Bob JonesThis Saturday was a nice treat - the gang gathered at Bob Jone's house for some horsing around with miniature soldiers! Bob has been focused on his writing and his family very much lately and we all have been long overdue in wasting an afternoon in the pleasurable pursuit of our shared hobby.<br />
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Bob is building a new collection of 28MM WSS armies and was eager to get them bloodied. The minis are beautiful, Bob!<br />
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On the day, Terry, John, Greg and I accompanied Bob in this undertaking...assisted nobly by several types of delicious beers. John and I played the British, Dutch and Austrians while Terry and Greg managed the French forces with a smattering of minor allied units.<br />
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In Die Fighting, dice are the currency of battle - the first side to run out of dice must capitulate. In this day's battle, several key points on the field would earn additional dice upon their taking. Due to the tough fighting, only one key point would be taken - out of the (if I recall correctly) nine key points on the field. The honor of taking that key point would be grabbed by John Mumby! Well done, sir! Earning our side 100 additional dice.<br />
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The British side would be the victor, with the French calling it a day with about a dozen dice remaining and no real chance of taking a key point soon. The British had about 30 of their original dice remaining, plus the fresh 100 dice.<br />
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I won't bore us with points about the battle, the real point of the day was to reengage and play the game so that we could embark on a small campaign series in the period. The units from today would soldier on in the campaign however! A unit of Swiss Guard was really badly defeated by some British dragoons - likely forever to be known as the Swiss Cheese Guard thereafter! That dragoon unit proceeded to capture the aforementioned key point. Both of these units earning changes to their ratings for the next battle - one bettering itself and the other, well, not so much!<br />
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So, this is not much of a battle report, my apologies. It is more just to get these pics online so they can be shared with the gang. It was very nice to see Bob again! Considering that I worked the remainder of the weekend, Saturday afternoon really made the weekend for me! Thanks guys!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Austrians</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg and Bob</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terry</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg (and his dice)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Greg moves in the Dragoons!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragoon closeup</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Terry in action</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Dragoons meet their end</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Artillery</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Cavalry</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone in action</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">British Dice at the end</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French dice at the end</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Churchill</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Panorama!</td></tr>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-72504944557443206322012-11-17T08:52:00.001-07:002012-11-17T08:52:23.714-07:00Nutha Round of Pulse of BattleOn the 3rd, we gathered for two more Pulse of Battle games. The first one was a blow out, not interesting at all - we've all been there, the game play was just a one-sided wash. "Not interesting" does not mean "not fun" - it is always fun to move around lead miniatures with a good group of guys.<br />
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The second game was really good. We just laid out a couple of straight, historical deployments for the Romans and the Macedonians and went at it. Which I believe was a good testing of the rules. Chris. John and I were the Macedonians. Greg, Greg and Eric were the Romans. <br />
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It was a close run affair. After all of the light troops in both armies had done their jobs and had been brushed away, the Romans hit us hard on our left and right, trying to avoid too much phalanx contact. A break thru was made on our left and although contained, it did allow other Romans to begin to turn onto the left flank of the phalanx. On the right the Roman attack was halted and pushed back, but with good losses on both sides.The right end of the phalanx actually pushed into the Romans and won ground as well.<br />
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The problem was that left flank. We were unable to get our reserve foot (stationed behind the phalanx) over to cover the problem. Such are the fates of battle...and the pulse of battle...you have a plan, the troops are available in reserve, but the friction of battle prevents their timely arrival. The Piquet games do a good job providing players with a flavor of that friction!<br />
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In the end, a Roman victory was earned...and I do mean earned. It was a tough fight up and down the lines with plenty of tension. Jupiter's favor won out over Zeus' favor.<br />
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Next games are on December 1. This afternoon, we're gathering at Bob Jone's house for some 28MM WSS using Die Fighting. Looking forward to it all!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-9782748207764885142012-10-31T20:48:00.000-06:002012-10-31T20:48:05.282-06:00Pulse of Battle Three KingdomsMatt was over this past Sunday, so we were able to get the Chinese on the table for another Pulse of Battle play test. My daughter, Jessica, joined us as well as another friend, Desmond. The teams were Matt and Jessica against Desmond and Tony.<br /><br />We deployed the forces using the new deployment system, it was (again) fast and good. Matt commented that he liked it. Matt and Jessica had 11 units and 10 morale points. Desmond and I had 12 units and 14 morale points. Matt/Jess had an exceptional sequence deck and command ratings and Desmond/I had an abysmal sequence deck and command ratings. Desmond/I had an edge in horse units and Matt/Jess had an edge in missile units.<br /><br />So, having a crappily-generalled army means one of two things:<br />
<ol>
<li>Be conservative, let the battle come to you. </li>
<li>Be bold and try to mitigate some advantages. In either case, you must have a little luck on your side and you'll still have a challenge to handle...but...the first option gives all of the initiative to the enemy (See Cornell, I *was* listening!). </li>
</ol>
So, I opted for the second option. But, the second option only became apparent to me during the deployment phase as the enemy was having to deploy commands before we did, giving us a little reactionary advantage. Now, our hand of deployment cards was not great - hence the need for a little luck.<br /><br />As the enemy deployed in a even line across their edge of the tabletop, it gave us an opportunity to deploy more strongly to one side, and if the aforementioned luck was with us they would not be able to counter it! So, I had Desmond deploy some foot units about 4" short of their deployment limit - planning to redeploy my horse units in front of them during the redeployment action. If the enemy got tricky and fouled that plan, then we could simply redeploy Desmond's units forward the last 4".<br /><br />Well, luck was not with us. We had to make our redeployment action before the enemy did (in this game, each side had only one redeployment action due to the small number of units involved.). So, Desmond and I consulted and said, "screw it", redeploy the horse to the front of the foot. They'll be facing some non-missile foot units. If the enemy reacts by moving over some missile troops they will have to deploy to the rear of the target line...if we can get there first and fast, we got 'em!<br />
<br />So, that's exactly what happened. The enemy missile units redeployed to the rear of our targets. But, the game was to play out differently than we hoped. You see, we made two errors in hoping that we could get into grips with them before their missile troops moved up:<br />
<ol>
<li>There was a waterway in the path of the advance, this will slow us down.</li>
<li>The commanding general of the mounted forces is a D8 Leadership. Uh, he sucks and his command will likely not enjoy tons of opportunity to befuddle the enemy.</li>
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Our horsemen died gallantly on the assault with only one of the three units successfully crossing the waterway. The missile troops, including two light bolt throwers, tore us up.<br />
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However, the rest of the battle was a real slobber-knocker. There were two villages on the table and they changed hands a couple times before the matter was resolved. Our forces had to contend with some wooded areas and the leftmost extent of the waterway, but we managed. On our extreme left flank, we had a crossbow unit a little exposed and they were driven off the table and pursued off the table by a unit of enemy medium horse - interesting and cool.<br />
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At the end of the game Matt had four chips and I had one, I surrendered
with the situation being hopeless and the arrival of BBQ. The game took
three hours, but we had two rookie players and did everything
sequentially. Also, we laid out a lot of terrain, that'll delay the
movement times of some units.<br /><br />
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We had a fun time and really enjoy the rules. The BBQ was good too, good rations to be issued after a tough battle!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-3654984245273738812012-10-28T09:25:00.000-06:002012-10-28T09:25:12.829-06:00Pulse of Battle, October 22, 2012Two more Pulse of Battle games played last Saturday...the first game again pitted the mighty Romans against the Macedonians. The winner of this battle would take on the Three Kingdoms Chinese.<br />
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We deployed the forces and realized that both armies had a certain affinity for the same half of the battlefield! Both sides had packed their armies into opposing halves of the table. We Macedonians, Chris and I, did deploy our mounted force on our far right, being the only forces from either army on that half of the table. We had dreams of galloping into the flanks of the Romans! Our phalanx held the center firm and our left was held by our allied forces and a unit of war elephants. Our light troops were arrayed to the front of our formation.<br />
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The Romans, Greg, Greg and Terry, deployed in their lines, using their horsemen on their right - opposing our allies. Their light troops fronting the lines. Signifying to us that they were gonna come on.<br />
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The empty half of the table was a real mystery for us, as it offered a flanking maneuver to our horsemen. We Greeks were pleased that the Romans were going to come smashing directly into our forces and not try to flank our phalanx.<br />
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Well, yep, on came the Romans. Wow! Greg, Greg and Terry did once heck of a job in this game! The Romans got up and got up quick and pounded us. It was one of the nights for the Greeks. Our Allies got flanked and rolled up and our horsemen on the open flank manged only to move within threatening distance of threatening distance. We had lost 15 or our 17 morale points and the Romans had only lost 3 of their 15!<br />
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With a total butt-kicking going on and being down so much, we Greeks capitulated with the two chips remaining. Our Phalanx was about to join battle on the offense, but too much damage had already been inflicted on us, the battle was irretrievable. <br />
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Again, really nice job fellas!<br />
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So, the Roman powerhouse was now set to take on the Three Kingdoms Chinese (3KC). The armies of the 3KC are half crap - the force we fielded was just under half "regular" troops of the standing army of the Kingdom of Wei. The bulk of the force was conscript footmen and then rounded out by a little barbarian horse archers and foot warbands as well as a unit of peasant levies. Lastly, Terry provided two units of heavy chariots to the army and we had two units of light bolt throwers.<br />
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Given the comparatively crappy quality of the Chinese, we expected another Roman smashing. <br />
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This battle's setup in most ways mimicked the first one. Half the battlefield was in use and the Romans deployed almost identically. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We Chinese, Chris and I again, placed our chariots in the center and supported their flanks with footmen and bolt throwers - each flank included a generous amount of crossbowmen. Our tribal allies and the peasants were deployed to our far left. <br />
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The 3KC advanced to begin the battle. We drew an early Move card and used a Command Movement to move the entire army. What this is is an opportunity to move the army using the C-in-C's Leadership rating rather than the individual commander ratings. Pretty cool if you have some questionable leaders! So, we did this and got three movement segments and won with an "even" roll. So we could initiate melee!<br />
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So, we said, what the hell, send out the chariots! They crashed headlong into the Roman line, shattering the unit they encountered! Awesome! But, they would be "stuck in" for the remainder of the battle. One of the units would be lost in the fight but the other would survive...and...they tied up an entire Roman command in the center of the field for the entire action.<br />
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This meant that our flanks would be where the battle would be won or lost, so we advanced into the fray. With two commands on our left flank, Chris bore the brunt of the fighting - and he fought magnificently! Especially considering the conscripts and junk he had in part of his force.<br />
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Chris had to make good decisions with his men and make careful attacks, the Romans were the superior force on the table...they just continuously ground forward a few inches at a time through what seemed like an endless stream of melee combat. Hats off to Chris on his work! <br />
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My little right flank force was man-handled by the superior Romans and driven back but not without loss to the Romans.<br />
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The battle ended when we had lost the last of our 17 chips and failed on a subsequent Army Morale Card. When we lost our last point, the Romans were down to 4 points left themselves. So, the Chinese gave them a much more difficult fight than we thought they would have - and even in defeat covered themselves with glory!<br />
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Some great rules adjustments came out of the evening's games about light troops, shock and melee in general. The game is really taking shape!<br />
Thanks again to Brent for his monthly hospitality and thanks to the gang for being fun and excellent gamers! <br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-65566629724287521152012-10-15T15:29:00.001-06:002012-10-15T15:29:09.079-06:00Chinese Tribal AlliesWell, the batch of minis from Curtey's arrived and I quickly cranked out a unit of tribal allies for the Three Kingdoms armies and Pulse of Battle.<br />
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This unit is a "warband" unit. So they could be a little fierce! Of course, from a quality perspective they could be anywhere. So, opponents will never know what to expect!<br />
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The flag is much later than my period, about 1181AD, and is of The Cham Kingdom (Vietnam)...but I think it looks really cool!<br />
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OK, back to the painting. I want to have my peasant units ready for action this Saturday! More Pulse of Battle play testing!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-56843450253918970022012-10-15T15:23:00.002-06:002012-10-15T15:23:45.376-06:00Weekend BoardgamingIt was a busy weekend for me...didn't work this weekend so I played some boardgames! Played five different games and a total of seven games:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Cave Troll (played twice)</li>
<li>Cold Wars</li>
<li>Manoeuvre</li>
<li>Scopa (played twice)</li>
<li>Caylus </li>
</ul>
Several points to be made.<br />
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Cold Wars is, in my opinion, one of the funnest and best two-player boardgames on the market. I always enjoy this game. It was recently reprinted, so if you don't have it, get it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=184">http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=184 </a><br />
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Scopa is the national card-game of Italy and is a blast. Beautiful cards too! We play using our iPads and the iScopaHD app. There are many decks to choose from and you can customize the rules a bit to reflect various regional differences. The interface works terrific and you can chat and send emoticons to your opponents. We like to play to 21. The second hand ended in "over time": 24 to 22! So close!<br />
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The Caylus game was one of the closest three-player contests of that game I have seen. six-points separated first place from last place!<br />
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Manoeuvre is a really good game! Napoleonic themed, the game is card-based for actions and uses polyhedral dice. So, lovers of Piquet games would find a fair bit of comfort in the rules. Try it, it is a fun game!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-6654386546572288712012-09-30T10:20:00.000-06:002012-09-30T10:43:46.398-06:00Two More Pulse of Battle Playtests<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a few previous playtest games, Brent had made some changes,
additions, deletions and tweaks, so it was time to run through the rules
again. So, last weekend, we gamed two more playtests of the PoB rules.
Both fights involved the usual cast of characters and armies - Romans
and Macendonians. </div>
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We hoped to be able to get in two games. Game
one would be a straight "no terrain" battle so that we could test rules
features without terrain being a factor. Obviously, terrain is a factor,
so we wanted to do a second game with a little terrain. Matt and I had
done two previous playtests with the Chinese using lots of terrain, we
had no big issues, just some suggestions.<br />
<br />
I have played in 4
battles now with Romans and Macedonians and 2 battles with Three
Kingdoms Chinese. Considering that some 500 years separated those two
periods, they were both handled well. In my opinion, the rules are
coming along nicely. I have seen maturation of concepts while remaining
faithful to core Piquet concepts. Fans of classic Piquet and Field of
Battle will find familiar mechanisms but with several new twists here
and there.<br />
<br />
I personally think that the interactions of the
different troop types and weapon interactions is looking really good. I
do get the feeling that my decisions matter with regard to the right
guys at the right place at the right time. Of course, what Piquet excels
at is wonderfully interfering with my attempts to get the right guys at
the right place at the right time! <br />
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The games did not drone on.
Both games were completed promptly with a clear decision on victory and
defeat! We did not use particularly large forces, so that is a
contributing factor in keeping the games short. But we used large enough
forces to have an enjoyable battle (about 15 units per side). We use
larger armies when we play horse and musket games (25+ units per side)
and those games do obviously take longer to conclude.<br />
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Here are the two battle reports, with pictures. The second battle report follows the pictures of the first, this is a long post, so scroll down...</div>
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<u><b>Battle One - The Golf Course</b></u><br />
Using
zero terrain, we deployed the armies using Brent's experimental new
system. This system has charm due to its simplicity and speed. If you
are fighting a pick up battle and you need to deploy forces on the fly,
this gets the troops on the table and into action pretty quickly. It is
done with a standard deck of cards. Your hand is randomly drawn but
weighted by the quality of your overall command - so, if your command
quality is better than the opponent's then you probably have a more
advantageous hand to play at deployment time. But, you never know, the
Gods of War are fickle at times! Playing the cards determines deployment
and change sequences - soon, the lead legions are ready to move out.
Also, light types have some advantages in being able to be deployed
further forward if desired. <br />
<br />
We Romans, in this battle, planned
to try to avoid contact with the Macedonian phalanx, focusing on the
supporting wings of the enemy army. To that end, we deployed with a
large gap between our center and our right. Our left was a completely
inadequate force of light and medium horsemen of one of our allied
countries. The enemy's left was a force of allied barbarians stiffened
with one pike formation. Their right was a powerful force of horsemen.
The Macedonian center was the phalanx with the elephants bracing the
right extent of that line.<br />
<br />
Not being Macedonian, I have no idea
what their plan was. The Roman plan was to smash the barbarians on our
right and flip into the flanks of the phalanx. On our left our only plan
was to try to occupy the enemy horse with ours for as long as possible
before being crushed under their weight. If the enemy horse got on the
left flank of our center, all would be lost. Our center was to split in
two! One part to advance on the elephants and cause the phalanx to
either advance forward or hold position without getting pummeled by the
phalanx. The other to shift right and pin the enemy phalanx for the
flank blow.<br />
<br />
That is pretty much how the battle went too. Our
horsemen were expended but did not allow the enemy to fight our center -
Greg felt a little like Custer with his assignment. The center split
and the left portion was able to engage the elephants and to avoid
contact with that extent of the enemy phalanx. The right portion of
center faded further right and engaged to pin down that extent of the
enemy phalanx. The Roman right was able to battle through the barbarians
and get the heavy foot onto the flank of the phalanx.<br />
<br />
The losses
to the barbarians and to the phalanx drained the enemy morale points
and the game ended in a Roman victory. It was fairly close though, we
lost a bunch of points losing our mounted force and in the bloody fight
with the barbarians! Good job to all!<br />
<br />
Brent recorded on his blog
that the battle was about 2 hours. Honestly, I cannot recall if that
included deployment time or not. Nevertheless, impressive!<br />
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<u><b>Battle Two - The Big Hill</b></u><br />
For this battle, we re-rated the armies to mix it up and laid down a large hill on the table. There were a couple wooded areas on the flanks of the table also. Used the same deployment method as in game one.<br />
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I was again Roman in this game, so I cannot record the enemy plan. From the deployment of the enemy, we can deduce that the phalanx would advance to their right of the hill to grind up the Romans while the mounted troops would dominate the hill. That deployment, if it developed as we thought, would leave their left completely open. So, we deployed our horsemen, "stiffened" with one unit of light foot on our right to either swing 'round and raise havoc in the enemy rear or to divert the enemy horse a little to our right. Our footmen deployed en masse to face the enemy phalanx, elephants and horse.<br />
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As the battle developed, the Macedonian horse did indeed advance strongly and occupied the hilltop. To their right, the phalanx did not advance - even to use the hill to protect the flank, so their flank was indeed wide open. Now, that open flank was some 50 or 60 inches away from our horsemen - so, it was sorta safe...for now.<br />
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The Roman foot tasked with engaging the enemy horse marched up that hill bravely and soon was entangled with the horse and elephants. Those forces fought really toughly for many, many, many card draws - sharing in both success and failure. Terry and Greg really both fought their forces well here! This engagement did allow for the horse of our force to get moving on that flank move. Our light horse actually made it all the way to that exposed flank of the phalanx!<br />
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As the battle on the hill ground on, and the light horse was making its way throught the enemy rear, our left flank was slowly advancing towards the enemy phalanx, screening the movement with light footmen. The enemy phalanx stayed frozen in place.<br />
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Eventually, our light horse impacted the phalanx on its flank and begin to drive the footmen away! In the end we tied up a large body of enemy pikemen with a small body of horse, disrupting two-thirds of the enemy formation. However, the Macedonian horse got the upper hand on the hilltop and fractured the Roman force opposing it. Not only did this expose our left to being run down, it drained us of morale points - and the game soon ended in a Macedonian victory! Another well played game!<br />
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Brent recorded on his blog that the battle was about 1.5 hours. Again, I cannot recall if that included deployment time or not. But again, an impressive showing of time!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-6556625781595378962012-09-19T07:53:00.004-06:002012-09-19T08:15:56.997-06:00The Forces of the Three KingdomsTo play Three Kingdoms games, you need to be able to create army lists that reflect what we think we understand. So, based on readings of various sources, the below is the basis of our army lists for generating 3K forces.<br />
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<u><b>The Forces of the Three Kingdoms </b></u></div>
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The Three Kingdoms (3K) period, generally considered to over
the years 220 to 280, provides wargamers with a vast palette from which to
color our tabletop games! It should be noted that the although the Han dynasty
officially ended in 220, wargaming this period could begin around 189 when
things really started going bad for the Han and the land became fractured with
the fighting against Dong Zhuo, Cao Cao’s machinations and his battles to gain
control in the northlands, and the battles fought trying save the Han dynasty.
The famous Battle of the Red Cliffs was fought in 208.</div>
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During the3K period, the kingdoms not only fought each other
but various tribesmen on their borders. From the generals and the soldiers to
the intrigue of the internal and external politics to the guile employed by
famous military strategists, the period is pretty wide open for creative gamers.
This is true whether you enjoy the history of the period with or without the historical-romance
flavor of the great novel.</div>
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With regard to relative national strengths, the Kingdom of
Wei comes in first, having the largest population, with Wu ranking second and
Shu third. However, the armies of each of the three kingdoms were likely very
similar in construct. Although Wei appears to have had a larger standing
army, all 3K forces seem to be a mixture of standing armies, paramilitary
forces (warlords and feudal barons), conscripts/levies and various tribal and
barbarian allies. Generally speaking, tribal alliances could be fleeting and
often these soldiers were thought of as unruly and unreliable. This would,
naturally, provide a great variance in the moral quality of the units within
the armies – as it was in the later Han period. </div>
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Mounted troops of the standing armies and paramilitary
organizations, that have had some training, can be thought of as being of
higher quality soldiers given the expense of their training and equipment – but
this need not always be the case. Many of the allied nomad and barbarian
horsemen are fine riders and raiders, dangerous in battle, but not employed is the
traditional battle cavalry of the 3K armies. The halberd with a sword-like tip is
the most common cavalry weapon of the main forces – but many employ smaller
crossbows or bows and were able to fight on foot as well. As in Han times,
cavalry remained an important arm in 3K armies although it is thought that
their use began to decline near the end of the period due to the loss of
northwestern provinces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>
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Chariots had passed out of general use in battle but still
could be seen as the mount of important generals. But, we feel that it would
not be completely out of context to field a chariot unit once in a great while,
most likely with Wei’s forces.</div>
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On foot, the typical Han 5-rank deployment likely remained
the norm. Unless armored, in Pulse of Battle terms most Chinese units will be
rated as “medium foot”. The typical Chinese combat weapon was the halberd with
a sword-like tip. Chinese armies did not typically deploy throwing spears other
than some javelin-armed light foot, although allied auxiliaries may have
employed some throwing spears. Crossbows and bows were most often used in mass “indirect”
shooting, like artillery is used today. It is conceivable that a minimum of half
of the units in our tabletop armies could be crossbow or bow armed – including
the horsemen!</div>
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Individual units probably varied in uniform, color and
armor. It is thought that the primary color of Wei was black, Wu green and Shu
red. It is likely, especially in the conscript and levy units, that these
colors would appear in the banners flown by the unit while the soldiers wore
various clothing.</div>
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<u><b>Wei</b></u><br />
With around 60% of the Chinese population at the time, Wei
is set up as the most powerful state of the three kingdoms. Given the proximity
to the horse tribes of the north, Wei has an advantage over its enemies in
acquiring horses and mounted allies, making them able to field powerful mounted
forces.
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On our tabletops, the forces of Wei could consist of up to
half of the units in the army being mounted units. Typically this force would
be a mixture of Chinese cavalry and allied light horsemen. The remaining units
typically being a mixture of heavy and medium foot with few if any light foot
troops. Naturally, smart generals tailor their forces to meet the expected
conditions of the campaign, so we don't consider these suggested
proportions a requirement!</div>
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It seems that the Kingdom of Wei had a large standing army; some sources say Cao Cao had 1,000,000 men under arms before his death in 220. Regardless of the actual number, the point is clear, the army of Wei could have
a fairly large percentage of trained men in most forces - with the remainder filled out by
conscripts and tribal allies. </div>
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<u><b>Wu</b></u><br />
Sometimes allied with Shu against Wei, Wu uses its many
rivers to provide natural defensive positions and obstacles to enemy maneuver. A
large portion of the kingdom is tropical and this terrain is often unsuitable
for cavalry armies. As a result, Wu fields little cavalry, what cavalry it does present would likely be light Chinese cavalry.<br />
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Trained men certainly would be available, but we consider that the majority of Wu’s forces are
conscript footmen (heavy, medium and light) with auxiliaries from the southern
tribes. The terrain making it practical to employ a larger number of light foot
than the other armies of the period. An alliance with the Kingdom of Annam
(modern day Vietnam) can add both medium and light footmen as well as elephants
to their armies. In addition, Wu has strong naval forces.</div>
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<u><b>Shu-han</b></u><br />
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Sometimes allied with Wu against Wei, the western kingdom of
Shu was noted as the land of many of the most famous personalities in China. </div>
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Shu appears to have been very successful in recruiting the western tribes to
their cause. This provided both foot and mounted units for their armies. Shu
can field good sized cavalry forces, perhaps up to one-third of a tabletop army
could be mounted troops. These troops, like Wei’s, would be of Chinese cavalry
and allied light horsemen.</div>
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As with Wu, although trained men certainly would be available, we consider that the majority of Shu’s forces would be conscripts, with the
armies filled out by allied auxiliaries. Shu’s footmen would be a mixture of
heavy, medium and light with the allies usually providing the majority of the
light foot.</div>
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<br />
<u><b>The Bottom Line</b></u><br />
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To us, it is this terrific mix of quality and troop types
that gives us a lot of potential for wargames that can contain the
opportunity for tabletop generalship. Not only do you have to worry
about getting the right troops to the right place at the right time, but you
must be aware that some portion of both armies on the field are somewhat
less reliable than others. Disaster and opportunity dance freely together! </div>
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This equals enjoyment and entertainment for us. Collecting and painting armies and learning about the history is fun. Using them on the tabletop and having fun in that realm closes the loop!</div>
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I'll make more posts about troop type distributions that we use and stuff like that. Hopefully, someone will be inspired to look into this colorful period!</div>
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Leave a comment if you have information or ideas to contribute to our efforts!<br />
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-75363282703246679252012-09-03T17:18:00.001-06:002012-09-03T17:19:42.322-06:00Pulse of Battle - Three KingdomsWell, following on from the previous post, Matt and I played a Pulse of Battle game using the 28mm Chinese troops. We set up a nice looking little battlefield and divided the miniatures as evenly as we could.<br />
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I have only 16 units painted and based up at the time, so we each took eight units. Each of our armies was divided into 2 commands. Because the battle was small and we wanted it to last as long as it possibly could - we're play testing, so, we wanna play - we gave ourselves the maximum number of army morale points: 10 each.<br />
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We deployed the forces using a system Brent is working on possibly for PoB and quickly had troops on the table. So, I took some images (the works are just for show, we did not use them).<br />
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We just kept the same sequence decks from yesterday, I ended up with the Poor deck, again. We re-rated our leaders and both commanders ended up as D8 Leadership dice.Matt again represented Wei, and I, Wu.<br />
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We also decided to play using all of the rules notes for potential adjustments we discussed the night before in the previous game. This was good, because we refined a few notes, tossed some aside and added more notes. The important thing was experiencing stuff so that we could report data to Brent for his consumption and judgement.<br />
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Matt opened the festivities with some light horse coming around but overall was content to sit tight to see what I did. Well, with my right anchored on some woods I decided to launch an assault on Matt's right flank. His flank was also anchored in some woods, but behind those woods was an opening that I thought I could slip some light horse through.<br />
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So, I crashed as much as I could onto his line to hold them and swung my light horse around!<br />
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They made it around the woods and crashed into the rear of an enemy unit while it was also being hit in front! Destroyed that enemy unit but good! Hey, maybe I'd have my revenge on Matt today?!?!?<br />
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Well, Matt is a good soldier. He knows how to handle his troops. He was able to salvage a new line to prevent further havoc from my light horse. The troops on his new line were damaged and disordered, but they were there...we'll see what the sequence deck brings us! <br />
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To counter my move, Matt saw an opportunity on my right to launch his light horse on a death ride into my army - first hitting a foot unit on the flank. This unit was rated as a D12 combat die and a D4 defense die - Matt figured he could cause some damage before the unit was destroyed.<br />
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Well, his light horse smashed through than unit and through the gap and
into my bolt throwers, taking them out too! As my only reserve unit - a
really tough unit of halbardiers - moved to counter them, they withdrew
to safety. Once again, Matt schooled me on the use of light horse! I
think he rode with Genghis Khan in a past life!<br />
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To seal the deal, Matt sent his medium horse forward to clean up the scraps. Meanwhile, encouraged by Matt's light horse, I sent my lights back in for more duty but they got swamped and had to pull out with losses.<br />
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At one point, I had Matt down to 1 morale point while I had about 6. Now, I was at 0 and he was back to 5. The battle ended soon thereafter on the appearance of the army morale card. I guess I was not going to get my revenge after all! Well played Matt! Good work!<br />
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After the action we had several good notes to send to Brent and the satisfaction of having gotten the 28mm Chinese on the table for the first time and had an awesome fight with them!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-73165119191469722132012-09-03T16:49:00.000-06:002012-09-06T09:20:50.379-06:00More Pulse of Battle - 15mmOn Saturday and Sunday, Matt was over and we played two play test battles of Pulse of Battle using the Three Kingdoms period of ancient China as our environment.<br />
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In the first game, we played with Matt's 15MM Chinese armies based for DBA. The PoB system worked absolutely fine around that basing style. We considered one DBA element a "unit" in PoB. We rated up the troops and had at it. Also, we used half-distances for the battle. So a 5" range was played as a 2.5" range, etc. That seemed to work well for us, easy too.<br />
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Matt, representing Wei, took an army of 18 units. My buddy John came over about this time and joined me in running a 14 unit army representing Shu.<br />
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We set up using the Field of Battle deployment system, the Fate and Command Decision tables and about the only thing that came out of that was that Wei had a huge deployment advantage in terms of being allowed a very forward deployment in one sector of the field.<br />
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Wei's army had a Skilled sequence deck and Shu had a Poor sequence deck - so the odds were stacking up rapidly against Shu. The commander of Wei had a D12 for Leadership while Shu had only a D8. Wei ended up with 23 morale points and Shu with 18.<br />
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So, as you can see from the deployment picture below, Wei was able to place a large force very close to the Shu lines. John and I, co-generals of Shu - John was the "General of the Left" and I was the "General of the Right" - decided to huddle up in the middle with the bulk of our forces but to deploy some crossbowmen in the woods to harry the flank of the most forward enemy units.<br />
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When the action started, the initiative die roll difference was nine! Nine! Ouch. The armies of Wei will have a lot of leeway on the first turn! Matt quickly tossed out a strong screen of horse archers and really was able to use them very effectively! He put a hurtin' on the horse in our defensive line - weakening them before the inevitable assault of his heavier horsemen (yes, we had to improvise with puff balls for shooting markers, sorry).<br />
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Our own missile troops were able to return some damage to the barbarian horsemen! <br />
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At that point, the battle quickly escalated. The heavy horse came in and we had many desperate situations developing, before we knew it we had lost 12 of our 18 morale points - to just 3 or 4 of Matt's being lost!<br />
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Shu's lines held and we drove off the horsemen assailing us. The
heavy foot we had ended up being rated pretty high and were real
monsters! Even the elephant of our Annam allies got some good action in!<br />
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Things slowed down a little as Matt's
remaining forces got into position - they were not able to deploy so far
forward and had to march to the fight. Wei's heavy foot crested a hill
and their missile troops crept around our right using the woods for
cover. On our left, the heavy horsemen of Wei's allies had been dealt
with and would not return - but - the light horse was still there as a
threat.<br />
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When Matt sallied forth a few unsupported units of foot, I took the opportunity to hit them.<br />
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Sadly, this little battle did not end up well for John and I. Let's just say that the enemy will be eating elephant flesh for a week. Yummy. That ended the fight as we had lost all of our morale points and failed the test roll on the Army Morale Card. Matt had lost 10 of his 23 points, but had 1 returned to him through our losses.<br />
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It was fun - a little weird to get used to playing with units that are "one element" due to the DBA basing - but we managed. We made lots of notes for Brent during the game and resolved to play another game in the morning - using the 28mm Chinese troops!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-83551064113567779212012-08-27T18:45:00.000-06:002012-08-27T18:45:48.943-06:00Pulse of Battle - Game One (and two)<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Hooray!
Last evening we played our first play test of Pulse of Battle! We actually
played twice...two smallish games. The first game was simply a taste of things
-<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>many things are different from Field
of Battle. So we lined up our forces and marched them into each other to get
our feet wet.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">A Roman
force, consisting of a solid core of foot with a couple of mounted auxiliaries
was set against a Macedonian force. The later force was heavy in pike men and
supported by a strong mounted force.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The first
game was played rather quickly as we worked our way through several new rules
and worked out some rough edges on various details. The Romans were soundly
thrashed in the process...but what did it matter? Victory was not the point,
but rather getting into various situations to exercise the rules!</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Having
many notes written, rules tweaked, amended, added or removed, we moved into game two.
This game would be played more seriously and would prove to be quite fun.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Commanding
the Roman force was Greg Cornell. His wing commanders were Eric Elder and Terry
Shockey. Commanding the Macedonian force was Greg Rold, with the support of
John Mumby and myself. The battlefield was a "golf course" to keep
things simple for us all.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The Roman
army consisted of six units of heavy infantry and three of medium infantry.
They were supported by two units of light infantry and one of light cavalry and
one of medium cavalry. Most of the Roman main-body infantry was armed with the
Pilum.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Not being
a student of the Roman periods, I'll refer to these units by their generic
classifications...</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The
Macedonian army consisted of seven units of pike-armed heavy infantry. Three
units of medium infantry and one of light infantry. the mounted arm included
one unit of elephants and two heavy cavalry and one medium cavalry units.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Not
trying to get squirrelly, we deployed the pikes in the center in two phalanx
formations and proceeded to place the remaining army in protective locations to
their flanks. I commanded the center (the likes) while Greg took the right with
the light foot and the mounted troops...John took the left with the allied
footmen. </span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Facing
John, on the Roman right was Eric with a force made up of heavy Roman infantry.
Greg deployed a force of three heavy and one light foot across the center to
oppose the pikes. Terry and the remaining Roman foot and cavalry deployed on
the Roman left.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">So, from
my left to my right, we would see medium infantry battling heavy infantry,
pikes against heavy infantry, elephants against lights, and a combined force of
medium foot and horse against horse of higher weight. Should be a good run
through. It was.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">The game
played with a good flow, action was hot and heavy...especially on the two
flanks. </span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Melee
combat was good. Don't wish to divulge too much as the rules are in
development, but the initial impact of forces mattered, the weight
classifications of the troops mattered, light troops seemed to work well and
the weaponry employed mattered...but none of this was in an overbearing way.
This continues the Piquet tradition of respectful abstraction and
simplification: you get enough details, not the bog, and you get to worry about
getting the right stuff to the right place and have the appropriate range of
potential results - which is the important thing in Piquet - results.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Also
"trained" troops had some advantages when it came to unit
interpenetration. Light troops were allowed to evade combat and use their
missile weapons to their annoying capabilities.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">One thing
I thought was cool was that units didn't really rout like in the horse and
musket period. Yes units would fall back, but destruction rather than rout and
rally is in play as the survivors ceased to exist as an instrument of war.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Formations
and maneuver are more restricted than horse and musket, as you would expect. But, moving your units
is not painful - Brent is keen on the balance between making things difficult
on the players but not making the game unplayable. We're interested in having
fun and reaching decisions in our little games, and trying to experience the
period conditions, not interested in using protractors to move the little
fellows!!</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Brent
tried some new ideas on deployments too. I liked them. Simple and clean. We'll
see where this goes as I am a fan of the Fate and Command Decision tables from
FoB.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">All in
all, I felt like it was possible for a general to try to get the right troops
to the right place in the right circumstances which may indeed be the primary
essence of commanding bodies of soldiers.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Regarding
the battle itself, the Romans roughly handled our left flank...but...John did a
great job in holding them off of the flanks of the phalanx. His troops were
out-classed but sold their morale chips dearly.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">On our
right flank, Greg was savaged by the enemy foot and horse, but held his own
until the end. His elephant did not accomplish anything, canceled out by some
bold lights...but his horse wrecked the Roman flank. In the end however, he had
practically nothing left.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">In the
center, the phalanx slowly advanced...at first, Greg pulled back his line
shrewdly creating more ground for the unwieldy phalanx to cover. At one point,
my flanks were in a dangerous position and I felt like I was maneuvering a
battleship in a bathtub! But, the gods of war showed us some favor and we
managed to hit the Roman line. We made only slight success...when it
happened...the dreaded Army Morale card! The losses on our flanks had reduced
our morale points to the negative and I rolled a freakin' one on the morale
test. The game ended in a defeat for our forces.</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Again,
good stuff and a good time too. Those darned Romans are tough customers. I look
forward to more Pulse of Battle and getting some Chinese armies out there in the near future!!!!</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
<span style="mso-hansi-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";">Here are some pics!</span></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y10JTTUPRe0/UDwS2dueVBI/AAAAAAAACB0/_-1E0Rgsk18/s1600/42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y10JTTUPRe0/UDwS2dueVBI/AAAAAAAACB0/_-1E0Rgsk18/s320/42.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roman High Command</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hBYGVhh2Ao/UDwS2xEvO3I/AAAAAAAACB8/qZO2ghuYSgo/s1600/43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hBYGVhh2Ao/UDwS2xEvO3I/AAAAAAAACB8/qZO2ghuYSgo/s320/43.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brent and John</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAMwI8ZiukA/UDwS3g1GsVI/AAAAAAAACCE/8LQxgcyDBK8/s1600/44.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tAMwI8ZiukA/UDwS3g1GsVI/AAAAAAAACCE/8LQxgcyDBK8/s320/44.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macedonian High Command</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kWg98rezVMs/UDwS4HIzUnI/AAAAAAAACCM/fCeCsIQDHzU/s1600/45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kWg98rezVMs/UDwS4HIzUnI/AAAAAAAACCM/fCeCsIQDHzU/s320/45.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game One - Start</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_hspPhPc1Zk/UDwS45a4ywI/AAAAAAAACCU/j_-wM_QUN5g/s1600/46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="157" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_hspPhPc1Zk/UDwS45a4ywI/AAAAAAAACCU/j_-wM_QUN5g/s320/46.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can actually see the wheels turning!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5pnnkhdsMqY/UDwS5RAo8CI/AAAAAAAACCc/ErfRzy7OIlY/s1600/48.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5pnnkhdsMqY/UDwS5RAo8CI/AAAAAAAACCc/ErfRzy7OIlY/s320/48.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impact!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-70cYyN2koWA/UDwS58R6KoI/AAAAAAAACCk/plXLXYTz9cc/s1600/49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="186" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-70cYyN2koWA/UDwS58R6KoI/AAAAAAAACCk/plXLXYTz9cc/s320/49.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game Two - Start!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leSBG853Pys/UDwS6Tig_AI/AAAAAAAACCs/ibw0wcUaTQU/s1600/50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-leSBG853Pys/UDwS6Tig_AI/AAAAAAAACCs/ibw0wcUaTQU/s320/50.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romans are getting serious!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zt1WHhvAyJY/UDwS7FISQCI/AAAAAAAACC0/11jZOaTIRVU/s1600/51.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Zt1WHhvAyJY/UDwS7FISQCI/AAAAAAAACC0/11jZOaTIRVU/s320/51.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macedonian left</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macedonian right</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ML0J9Vr4P_4/UDwS72OyprI/AAAAAAAACDE/iRW-Qwr5EuI/s1600/56.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="146" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ML0J9Vr4P_4/UDwS72OyprI/AAAAAAAACDE/iRW-Qwr5EuI/s320/56.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macedonian center</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZQXX-Siwqo/UDwS8WipupI/AAAAAAAACDM/9reEpCdc1H8/s1600/59.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5ZQXX-Siwqo/UDwS8WipupI/AAAAAAAACDM/9reEpCdc1H8/s320/59.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Romans!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0qXws_RbVo/UDwS82tC9-I/AAAAAAAACDU/AKoD8vaL9mU/s1600/61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I0qXws_RbVo/UDwS82tC9-I/AAAAAAAACDU/AKoD8vaL9mU/s320/61.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clash!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PT6ZEfv93CQ/UDwS9oZYSCI/AAAAAAAACDc/0lhXI93suc0/s1600/63.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="232" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PT6ZEfv93CQ/UDwS9oZYSCI/AAAAAAAACDc/0lhXI93suc0/s320/63.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cavalry meet!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-65368755752498995932012-08-02T09:40:00.001-06:002012-08-02T09:41:53.116-06:00More TK ChineseI was able to complete a couple more Chinese units for the army of Wei. Below is a medium cavalry unit and an infantry unit of mixed halberds and crossbows.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UD0_t_QjoQc/UBqeyXn8X8I/AAAAAAAACA8/2ggsf7yl4uA/s1600/27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UD0_t_QjoQc/UBqeyXn8X8I/AAAAAAAACA8/2ggsf7yl4uA/s320/27.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Also a photo of the birds that nested on our front porch...four birdlings (chicks?). This photo is a couple of weeks old now. Two of the fellows didn't make it. The other two have. At night, the mom and dad and the two little ones fly under the porch roof and spend the night on the top of the support columns. Pretty cool. I figure they'll be long gone soon tho, heading for where ever birds flit off to.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ROYz4Lydwko/UBqft7HaVWI/AAAAAAAACBM/K966pWvM99g/s1600/29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ROYz4Lydwko/UBqft7HaVWI/AAAAAAAACBM/K966pWvM99g/s320/29.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-39520926974118857552012-07-31T10:47:00.002-06:002012-07-31T10:47:55.554-06:0055th NY Flag - ACWI love flags! I am a VERY AMATEUR vellixologist! I happened upon this flag this morning and decided to make one for my ACW troops. The 55th NY Volunteer Infantry.<br />
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<a href="http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/55thInfFrNat.htm">http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/55thInfFrNat.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/55thInf/55thInfMain.htm">http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/55thInf/55thInfMain.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/55thInfFlankMarker1995.5645.htm">http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/btlflags/infantry/55thInfFlankMarker1995.5645.htm</a><br />
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Looks like they had some action in the early war period. Remnants being merged after December of '62. <br />
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What I like about it is the obvious French flag! I know that I did not get the laurel quite right, but I can't draw that stuff! I found an image to use on the great Internet. Making the flag is easy, colored rectangles. The "wavy texture" is from the excellent "Flag Monday" series at <a href="http://quindiastudios.blogspot.com/p/awi-flags.html">Quinda Studios</a>. That gentleman makes some amazing flags!<br />
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I printed this up for my Yankees. I can't wait to see it waving on my tabletop!<br />
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-23962562920891352932012-07-29T19:35:00.001-06:002012-07-29T19:40:44.856-06:00Status: 28mm 3K Chinese Army for Pulse of BattleNow that I have eleven units completed, out of seventeen units planned, I thought it may be time for a status update for my Three Kingdoms Chinese army of Wei. The intended use for this army is for Pulse of Battle. Terry has an opposition army, and I plan another Three Kingdoms army of my own.<br />
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When completed, this army will consist of the following units and bits and pieces:<br />
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1. Commanding General and a detachable Military Strategist.<br />
2. A Hero that is in the direct service of the commanding general.<br />
3. Four generals to lead individual commands and a couple of musicians to accompany them.<br />
4. Two bolt-thrower artillery units.<br />
5. Two units of allied Tribal Light Horse.<br />
6. One unit of Heavy Cavalry.<br />
7. Two units of Medium Cavalry.<br />
8. One unit of mixed missile/halberd Medium Infantry.<br />
9. One unit of mixed missile/halberd Heavy Infantry.<br />
10. Two units of unarmored crossbow (Light Infantry).<br />
11. Two units of armored crossbow (Medium Infantry?).<br />
12. Two units of unarmored halberds (Medium Infantry).<br />
13. Two units of armored halberds (Heavy Infantry).<br />
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The second army, likely Wu, would be similar, but with more foot than horse.Further potential units, that could play in either army include various tribal infantry and peasant infantry. I have a wild hair about Vietnamese levies/allies for the Wu that could include an elephant! We'll see. Dream now, act later. The Wu also employed naval units.<br />
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I am looking forward to getting in on the play testing activities for Pulse of Battle. Currently, Brent has scheduled us for the 25th of August to dive in. I eagerly look forward to that date. The Chinese are not on the schedule on that evening - I believe that we're doing Rome and Carthage or something like that...I can't recall at the moment.<br />
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When the Chinese make their appearance, I am hoping to field some units and ideas that causes some good thoughts within the game, or just around the game. I have been making notes: mixed-missile units, fire-ships, stratagems - especially stratagems. I love the intrigue and guile employed by the warring parties in the book! Excellent mini-campaign fodder!<br />
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Well, here are some pics of the eleven finished units and other bits...(NOTE: I see that several of these images really suck. I'll replace them tomorrow with better ones).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bYIND5fhAog/UBXkZfwEQeI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/nIWJo8ebSs4/s1600/33.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="139" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bYIND5fhAog/UBXkZfwEQeI/AAAAAAAAB_Q/nIWJo8ebSs4/s320/33.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The host - at present</td></tr>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3568060270301898716.post-26342609605880815982012-07-29T10:34:00.000-06:002012-07-29T10:34:58.633-06:002nd Annual DBA SmackdownYesterday, two wargaming clubs: Colorado Military Historians and Colorado Springs Gamers Association, met for the second consecutive year to engage in the DBA Smackdown! Unlike the previous year, the honor of the CMH organization was upheld as we defeated the opposing club by a narrow margin on the honorable fields of battle.<br />
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First, we participants would like to thank the organizing members of both organizations for their efforts in coordinating the event, food, venue, etc. Thanks guys! Secondly, a big thank you to the hosts, Collector's Mania in Parker. Nice people, clean store and plenty of varied inventory - go see them. And, last but not least, thanks to the CSGA for providing all of us with worth and able opponents! Job well done on everyone's part!<br />
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The Smackdown consisted of several games: one BBDBA event; many one-on-one DBA battles using 2.2; one 3.0 battle and even a couple of Hordes of Things battles (15mm and 28mm). There were also some pick up games of DBA going. There were prizes given out in several categories, and all parties seemed to have a great time!<br />
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I know I had a ball. I played in the BBDBA event. The theme was Roman Civil War and the two sides set parameters months ago for the ranges of Roman and allied armies allowed. The actual selection of armies and allies was a closely guarded secret of both clubs until the time of the game.<br />
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I can really only speak to the details of the big game I played in...so: My partner/emperor was General John Brown, he commanded the Roman 2/3 of our army. I commanded the allied contingent, Later Pre-Islamic Arabs. Art, our opponent for the day ran a Constantine-era Roman army with Alan allies.<br />
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Being the attackers, Art deployed first, 2/3 of his command, all of his Romans were placed in their positions. The right wing of the army was left open at this point as Art's main Roman force of footmen deployed ominously in the center - auxilia supporting the wings. This was perfect due to the positioning of two wooded areas nearby. This would be a tough fight for us against that deployment. A small force of Roman horse deployed to the left wing of the army. We assumed that the Alans would likely deploy in the vacant right wing, but could deploy on the left and try to overwhelm our own right with a strong and fast horse army.<br />
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We then deployed our forces in total: the Arabs on the left wing, a small Roman contingent in the center and a powerful Roman force dominated by horse on the right wing. There was no enemy opposing the Arabs at this point - but - Art did indeed then deploy his Alan allies to oppose them.<br />
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We took a while in debating our deployments - to the delight of Art. He did indeed cause us much conversation - so, kuddos! In the end, I think we decided on the right approach. We essentially ignored the large force of slow-moving infantry in the center and fell upon the two weaker flanks. We broke both flanks of the enemy army - and the center of the enemy only engaged in combat on the last turn of the game and after the flanks had been broken. The battle had good flow and all players had glory and challenges.<br />
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There was a particularly awesome moment in the game where Art had maneuvered his elements in a position to attack our C-in-C element from both front and flank - killing the C-in-C would obviously had a detrimental effect on the outcome for us. It was a pretty tense moment and a relatively even die roll...I tapped a drum roll on the table as the dice flew...and...we won the little fight! Whew! I took a picture as the enemy elements recoiled! <br />
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At awards time, a really funny thing happened. We award a pink die to the player that rolled the most "1" results in the Smackdown. This year, there were three nominees. So, each of them stepped up to roll the pink die - with the award going to the lowest resulting roll. Art won the award - yep - by rolling a "1". Had to get a picture of that! The other awards were DVDs, a jar of hummus and a copy of DBMM - I forget now what the categories were (sorry). There was a can of chili and beans to be given out for sacking a camp - but alas, no camps were sacked this year! I won the hummus (yuck!).<br />
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Fun stuff, the General and Art are both stellar players and good coaches. I like DBA, particularly Big Battle DBA. Here are some pics:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVc7y885h40/UBVkGbOgsvI/AAAAAAAAB8g/RrnPicy1sNE/s1600/Picture1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sVc7y885h40/UBVkGbOgsvI/AAAAAAAAB8g/RrnPicy1sNE/s320/Picture1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Club Leaders get us started!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sZWozRGMqXg/UBVkIuRpF8I/AAAAAAAAB9M/SkOkkxAE2AA/s1600/Picture2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sZWozRGMqXg/UBVkIuRpF8I/AAAAAAAAB9M/SkOkkxAE2AA/s320/Picture2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art, and the deployments of the armies.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7xTP8qotTNc/UBVkJHkeC0I/AAAAAAAAB9U/MN-dg-Qctxs/s1600/Picture3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="208" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7xTP8qotTNc/UBVkJHkeC0I/AAAAAAAAB9U/MN-dg-Qctxs/s320/Picture3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">General Brown, and the deployments of the armies.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QiiZnDxYdZw/UBVkJb9JUGI/AAAAAAAAB9c/YE9wZofX0zM/s1600/Picture4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QiiZnDxYdZw/UBVkJb9JUGI/AAAAAAAAB9c/YE9wZofX0zM/s320/Picture4.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Advance!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gXJKpG6C7Qw/UBVkKRKLc2I/AAAAAAAAB9o/EbzwBv-cSHA/s1600/Picture5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gXJKpG6C7Qw/UBVkKRKLc2I/AAAAAAAAB9o/EbzwBv-cSHA/s320/Picture5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roy's awesome Egyptians do an amphib on Terry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QItutWv0On4/UBVkK9J82WI/AAAAAAAAB9w/rqru0RqwJC4/s1600/Picture6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QItutWv0On4/UBVkK9J82WI/AAAAAAAAB9w/rqru0RqwJC4/s320/Picture6.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men, hard at play!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l8b4ylbKZq4/UBVkLWojOqI/AAAAAAAAB94/8Gdgqq7wQ6s/s1600/Picture7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="279" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l8b4ylbKZq4/UBVkLWojOqI/AAAAAAAAB94/8Gdgqq7wQ6s/s320/Picture7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Men, hard at play!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ApzmTtRx34c/UBVkLgAcq2I/AAAAAAAAB-A/CCg2MAuSwYw/s1600/Picture8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ApzmTtRx34c/UBVkLgAcq2I/AAAAAAAAB-A/CCg2MAuSwYw/s320/Picture8.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The C-in-C has a narrow escape!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6DorKBwYUI/UBVkMMKyMUI/AAAAAAAAB-I/Cj2hdDxQhlA/s1600/Picture9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-X6DorKBwYUI/UBVkMMKyMUI/AAAAAAAAB-I/Cj2hdDxQhlA/s320/Picture9.jpg" width="274" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Constantine's Banner - awesome, Art!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pInXJhNQl34/UBVkGrQiiYI/AAAAAAAAB8o/i3OJLGRo4uM/s1600/Picture10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pInXJhNQl34/UBVkGrQiiYI/AAAAAAAAB8o/i3OJLGRo4uM/s320/Picture10.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awards time!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6w4P6-mR1Ro/UBVkHX6W6FI/AAAAAAAAB8s/80bEZpJCRFs/s1600/Picture11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6w4P6-mR1Ro/UBVkHX6W6FI/AAAAAAAAB8s/80bEZpJCRFs/s320/Picture11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awards time!</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_3Mig6AG890/UBVkHifdGvI/AAAAAAAAB80/PSKBuQTgbsk/s1600/Picture12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_3Mig6AG890/UBVkHifdGvI/AAAAAAAAB80/PSKBuQTgbsk/s320/Picture12.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awards time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUn7O_R6CRg/UBVkH2eDguI/AAAAAAAAB88/fhNcETDzR7c/s1600/Picture13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yUn7O_R6CRg/UBVkH2eDguI/AAAAAAAAB88/fhNcETDzR7c/s320/Picture13.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awards time!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-trPBuja_PFY/UBVkIDjvXII/AAAAAAAAB9E/CAwxgKsM_CA/s1600/Picture14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-trPBuja_PFY/UBVkIDjvXII/AAAAAAAAB9E/CAwxgKsM_CA/s320/Picture14.jpg" width="284" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awards time! The Pink Die!</td></tr>
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<br />Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05354526425526645291noreply@blogger.com0