“Gold.. errr.. Copper.. on the Scales” - Game Part 2 ♠♥◆♣

Time to bring our little saga to a close.. 😁

For the dramatis personae I refer you to this previous post [clicky]..

So just a reminder of where we are; the bad guys are attempting to rob the Assay Office and have shot one of the two Assay Office guards, and badly wounded the other who has holed up in the Barber's. It's not all gone their way though, as the gangs boss, Clay, is currently lying trussed up on the ground by the side of the hotel, with an angry Nugget standing over him....

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Move 5:

First the bad guys: Emmett 10♣, Bart 3♠ and Joe 2♠. Then the good guys, Jesse (in the Saloon) 2♣, Nugget (standing next to the tied up Colt) A♠ and finally Wyatt 3♣

Nugget is indeed angry, and getting angrier by the minute, and when he sees the bad guy in the fancy duds (Emmett 😏) gun down Waylon it tips him over the edge and he races across the street with the intention of battering him senseless. Emmett sees him coming and is just turning to fire as Nugget smashes into him, staggering back  Emmett has been badly dazed.

While they're tussling however, Bart runs into the Office to join Joe and the bags  of loot - across the way, Wyatt has seen his mate go down but is badly wounded and has no targets - he opts to stay low for the time being..

In the Office, Joe looks at the sacks and decides its way over time they get away. Joe picks up a sack and moves to the door shouting to Bart as he goes past that it's "time they got the hell out of here, grab a bag, boy!". Crossing the Office he steps outside next to the wagon and heaves the sack in to the back of the wagon.

Mechanics behind the narrative (and in order of activation):

1. Nugget (by the Hotel)  A♠: Moves twice, to engage hand to hand with Emmett. I gave Nugget a +1 because Emmett was lily livered, and he won, but the wounds rolled for on the to hit table were only grazes. I also allowed Emmett an opportunity to get the draw on Nugget before the hand to hand which Emmett also failed.
   
   (Here you go JBM - had to be done... 😁)
   
   
   
   
2. Emmett 10♣: I adjudicated that Emmett just having been bashed, and failed a get the draw had finished his move.
3. Bart 3♠: Moves twice
4. Wyatt 3♣: No action
5. Joe 2♠: Picks up bag (1 action) moves (1 action)
6. Jesse 2♣: Fires twice (2 actions), misses with both
7. Tension Clock: 3 (no action)

Move 6:

First the bad guys: Emmett K♣, Bart (in the Office) A◆ and Joe 7◆. Then the good guys, Jesse (in the Hotel) 6◆ , Nugget 2♥ and finally Wyatt A♣

Bart cottons on quickly, picks up a bag, moves outside, and heaves it into the wagon next to the other. 

Wyatt, in the Barbers, fires twice at Joe who is standing next to Bart, hitting him in the arm.. "that's one for you, mate"..

On the rise Emmett has recovered, and brings his guns up as Nugget tries to do the same - Emmett's faster, and guns him down. Nugget collapses.. unconscious..

As Joe moves back in to the Office, Jesse across the way in the Hotel curses..  "this is going belly up fast!" Limping to the door he moves to the side of the hitching rail - he needs to get across and help Wyatt while he still can.

Meanwhile - in the distance, the bell in the church starts ringing frantically...

Mechanics behind the narrative (and in order of activation):

1. Bart (in the Office) A◆: Picks up bag (1 action) and moves (1)
2. Wyatt A♣: Fires twice (2), short range, but -1 for character trait "nervous" and hits once at  rolling 'arm wound' on the to hit table
3. Emmett K♣: Automatic recovery from Lily livered due to the K. Fires twice (2) - Nugget tried to beat him to the draw but failed - Emmett hit twice rolling 'leg wound' and 'severe wound' on the to hit table - a severe wound knocks the recipient unconscious
4. Joe 7◆: Moves into the office (I erred again, he had 3 actions to play with as a result of the 7 - apologies Joe, I can only blame heat of the game.... and besides your unpleasant.. 😁)
5. Jesse (in the Hotel) 6◆: Moves outside (1) reloads (1)
6. Nugget 2♥: Unconscious - he tested to to recover but failed
7. Tension Clock: 6 - only two moves left - saved by the bell?? 😏

Move 7: 

First the bad guys: Emmett 9◆, Joe (in the Office) 5♣  and Bart 6♠ (by the wagon). Then the good guys, Jesse (by the hitch rail in front of the Saloon) 8♠ , Nugget (unconscious) 6♥ and finally Wyatt 4♣

As the bell in the church continues ringing frenziedly, Emmett runs across to the wagon and shouts to Bart and Joe "we got no more time left, I think I saw a cloud of dust away up the main street beyond the town - lets get out of here - leave the last bag!" 

Jesse limps across the street as fast as he can, and takes cover at the back corner of the wagon, raising his gun he shoots at Bart who is nearest and is just raising his gun to fire back at him. Bart staggers back from the wound. Raising his guns again though, Bart fires back at Jesse. Both men are badly hit..

Joe runs out of the Office and jumps up on to the wagon grabbing the reins, "come on boys, time to saddle up!"

Across the way two shots ring out from the Barbers, and Joe curses as his hat is shot off...

Mechanics behind the narrative (and in order of activation):

1. Emmett (on the rise) 9◆: moves twice (2)
2. Jesse (by the hitch rail in front of the Saloon) 8♠: moves (1) shoots (1) - I allowed Bart to get the draw which he failed - Jesse hits and rolls a "chest wound" - Bart passes his Toughness test
3. Bart (by the wagon) 6♠: Fires (2) - hits twice, and rolls "graze" and "leg" on the to hit table - Jesse passes his Toughness test
4. Nugget (unconscious) 6♥: Unconscious - he tested to to recover but failed
5. Joe (in the Office) 5♣: Moves (1) Jumps on to the wagon (1)
6. Wyatt (in the Barbers) 4♣: fires twice (2) at Joe (short range but I gave Joe cover from the wagon load) - hits once and rolls "graze" on the to hit table. Joe passes his Toughness test.

Last turn:

First the bad guys: Emmett 4♣, Joe (on the wagon) 10♥ and Bart 7♥ (back of the wagon). Then the good guys, Jesse (also back of the wagon) 3◆ , Nugget (unconscious) 5♣ and finally Wyatt 7♠

On the wagon Joe is feeling the tension and shouts to Emmett and Bart, "get the lead out, dammit"!

Wyatt is also feeling the tension he knows their time is running out to stop the outlaws from getting away - he fires twice but again only grazes Joe!

Emmett and Bart take on Jesse

Bart snaps off a shot at Jesse and then jumps on the wagon - Jesse ducks... 

"Nugget fails to recover consciousness.."

...until Emmett, who has also jumped into the wagon, snaps off a shot at him who attempts to get the draw but fails. Emmett's shot hits Jesse in the leg, and kills him outright.

Joe whips up the horses and the wagon, with outlaws and bags on board, moves off in a rush, regrettably, they've no time to recue Colt..

Mechanics behind the narrative (and in order of activation):

1. Joe (on the wagon) 10♥: defers his move
2. Wyatt 7♠: fires twice (2 Actions) - hits once, getting graze on the to hit table. Joe fails his toughness test  and becomes Lily Livered (yet again I fluffed here, Joe should have had another action - I can only blame getting engrossed in the game too much!)
3. Bart 7♥ (back of the wagon): fires at Jesse (1) and then moves (1) - he hits but only scores a graze on the to hit table. Jesse then fails his toughness test becoming lily livered. Jesse tried to jump the gun, but failed.
4. Nugget (unconscious) 5♣: fails again to recover 
5. Emmett 4♣: Moves (1) and fires (1) at Jesse who attempts to jump the gun, but fails. The shot hits (I gave Jesse cover bonuses) , and he rolls "leg wound" on the to hit table - that's Jesse's third leg wound so it kills him outright.
6. Jesse (also back of the wagon) 3◆: Dead

Post Match Analysis:

• First the body count:
  
  The Good Guys lost two dead - Jesse and Waylon. The Bad Guys lost one captured - Colt.

• Then the scores:


• The Outlaws inflicted 17 wounds (for 17 pts) and escaped with two of the bags (for 4 pts) - a total of 21 pts. Their shooting and hand to hand hits were way above average.. Poor Wyatt took 9 hits alone - no wonder he ran for it and hid in the Barbers!


• The Good guys inflicted 8 wounds (for 8 pts) and retained one of the bags (for 2pts), but I'm also giving them a bonus 3 pts for having captured Clay - a total of 13 pts. 
  
  So a clear and incontrovertible win for the bad guys...

• I think without a doubt two things played into the Bad Guys hands - first, the game swung with those two bouts of hand to hand that Bart won. In "Ruthless", Hand to Hand combat is harsh - an automatic two rolls on the 'to hit' table for the loser. Second though, even when the Good Guys did eventually win a hand to hand they rolled very poorly on the to hit table. The Bad Guys were rolling well, the Good Guys, not so..


• I need a little handy reference card for the card activation values so that I stop missing those 7's! 😏

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...

Attack on Brill - setup and game..

Time for another update..  and a game for once, a vaguely historical refight of an actual engagement in the English Civil War - the Attack on Brill - which was promoted by a post on Farcebook by the excellent Battlefields Trust

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Historical background.. 

December 1642, and after their defeat at Turnham Green and their subsequent withdrawal to Oxford, the Royalists had established winter quarters for their army in the towns and strategic points around their new capital. 

Banbury, Reading and Abingdon were major garrisons but others, like Wallingford, Burford and Islip guarded important crossings of the Thames and its tributaries. Then to the east of Oxford there were a number of small garrisons in Buckinghamshire, there purely to retain their control of the county - one such garrison was established in the small hilltop village of Brill. 

Worth noting that the village was equidistant between Oxford and Aylesbury - roughly 15 miles from each but slightly closer to Oxford..

The village had been an important royal manor during the Middle Ages, but in the December of 1642 was home to two Royalist Lancashire foot regiments, under Lord Molyneux and Sir Gilbert Gerard, who proceeded to fortify it with banks and ditches around the church. 

The nearest Parliamentary garrison was at Aylesbury. There, Colonel Arthur Goodwin the Parliamentary Commander-in-Chief for Buckinghamshire, had three foot regiments (Bulstrode's, Holmstead's and Tyrell's) along with his own regiment of horse and Browne’s Regiment of Dragoons. 

Portrait of Arthur Goodwin in about 1639 by Anthony van Dyck

Goodwin had decided to eliminate the Royalist presence in Brill, and marched out of Aylesbury in late January with his horse, Homestead’s Regiment of Foot, and Colonel Browne’s Dragoons but he also had with him two pieces of ordnance (described as sakers [clicky] ie. slightly smaller than a 6pdr) in order to breach the defences. 

The refight..

Parliamentary entry point is bottom of table..

...with a church and village, surrounded by makeshift earthworks

Royalists deploy within the earthworks

OOB:

Royalist:

All regular foot, and at full strength (6 Strength Points or SP)

• Charles Gerard's Regiment of Foot
• John Belasyse's Regiment of Foot (standing in for Molyneaux's)

Parliament:

All units are regular and at full strength (6 SP)

• Brooke's Regiment of Foot (for Homestead's)
• Gramson's Horse (for Goodwin's)
• Wardlowe's Dragoons (for Browne's)

Scenario specific rules:

• Rules will be my SYW variant [clicky]
• It seems likely that the sound of gunfire would clearly have been heard in Oxford which was only 12 miles away, so I am also assuming that there was a clear need to get this done quickly - my moves are quite short in terms of time so the scenario is limited to 15 turns (roughly two or three hours)
• Artillery ammunition was not plentiful at the time [clicky], and as this was also a bit of a flying column, I'm assuming Goodwin didn't bring a lot with him - the guns are therefore limited to 10 shots between them (ie. 5 each)
• I am going to assume* the earthworks were not substantial as the Royalists had only arrived in December, and Goodwin attacked in January - so they would be almost trenches with a raised parapet. Accordingly, each earthwork section is worth 3 SP's, once this is reduce to 0 by any artillery fire (only) that section is removed... 

* This is probably an unsafe assumption, but I have done it for playability reasons, as normally an assault on a fixed and defended position needs a clear 3 or 4 to 1 advantage (if I had been Goodwin, I would have brought both the other foot regiments with me, and probably any other units I could scrounge or lay my hands on as well. Shock and awe always works...😏) 

The refight:

Initial deployment was as follows..  Goodwin's sole foot regiment on the right flank - then cavalry in the middle, and the dragoons ready for a quick advance on his left. The sakers are deployed on his far right on a slight knoll..

In the village - following - the Royalists are limited in what they can do, so both regiments sit waiting while 'enjoying' the hectoring of the local monk.. 😁

I figured the real Goodwin wouldn't do anything before his sakers had done their work, so other than a general advance to just outside of musket range by his foot and horse, the only other major tactical move for my fictional Goodwin was to send his dragoons off to one flank - when the time came for an assault then an attack on two fronts could only help..  the following shows about move two., with the general advance by the horse and foot, and the flanking move by the dragoons..

..note the purple dice in front of the earthwork section in the following - the sakers are doing their stuff..

...and the plan worked surprisingly well - one of the trench sections has been blasted into nothingness (black pom poms - see following) and the sakers then switched what was left of their fire to the now unprotected Royalist foot regiments..

To forestall the inevitable, and because if they just sit there they're going to continue being shot at by the artillery, Belasyse's charge down the hill into Brooke's, but are repulsed bloodily and rout (see following - red dice). Meanwhile the Parliamentary dragoons are ready to climb the hill - the intention is to occupy the church, the cavalry also stand ready...

In the next turn Belasyse's recover their moral though, and halt shaken, only for Brooke's to then charge up the hill, banners flying (the mental image puts me in mind of Sir Bevil Grenville leading his Cornish regiments up that hill at Roundway 😊). Unlike the Cornishmen though, and against all the odds, Belasyse's stand and send the 'Butchers and Dyers' reeling down the hill in rout!

Regrettably though, it was all too late for the Royalists, the Parliamentary dragoons had now occupied the church and were peppering Gerard's with musket fire from their flank, and Goodwin's horse now charged up the hill causing Belasyse's to rout from the village and the hill. 

Then Gerard's also failed their morale and followed them, Gerard and Molyneaux cursing and trying to rally them as they went, and Goodwin advanced and took control of the village..

Just a small action in the greater picture of the war, but a much need propaganda fillip for Parliament I think..

Post Match Analysis:

• what a fantastic little game - in the end we got nine full moves in, and I had no idea that the Parliamentarians would be so successful, but they did get good dice throws, the sakers were very effective, hitting 60-70% of the time 
• still felt that it all rested on a knife edge though, so the scenario specific rules worked..
• butchers bill was as you would expect - Parliament losing 6SP's, 50% casualties. The Royalists lost 3SP's, just less than 20% casualties (not counting the sakers in the overall total)

...and what actually happened??

Arriving before Brill on the 27th January, Goodwin had ordered Homestead’s foot regiment to assault the defences as the artillery opened a breach. Browne’s Dragoons were to stand-to until the breach was affected at which point they were to also launch their attack. Unfortunately, due to some confusion, the Parliamentary artillery did not concentrate its fire long enough to affect a breach and although Homestead’s men launched several charges, their firing was ineffective against the earthen defences. 

The fighting continued for two hours, but the Parliamentarians could make no impression on the defences. They were eventually forced to retreat due to the Royalist’s use of a smokescreen to drive away the attackers as detailed in a letter to Parliament: 

‘The Fight continued two houres, the Parliaments forces not giving way on one side in all that time; but at last the winde, and so the smoke being so in the face of them, which was made greater by wet straw which the enemy set on fire, they retreated, which the enemy perceiving made out after them in great triumph, pursuing them 4 miles with their horse...’  

(I wonder where that horse came from, reinforcements from Oxford I wonder?? Google tells me horses can trot at between 8 & 12 mph, and Brill was only 15 from Oxford - so given the battle/skirmish lasted a couple of hours that would have given the Royalists time to put a relief force together and also get there in time.. Theoretically.. 😏)

The Parliamentarians claimed that they lost between 10 and 17 dead including a captain, but the Royalists claimed (a probably highly exaggerated) 70 killed. 

Following the battle, the Royalist’s reinforced the garrison with cannon and sent tools to further improve the fortifications. 

Although Parliamentary forces moved up to Brill on a number of further occasions, the garrison was never attacked again and in April, needing troops to help relieve the besieged garrison at Reading, the King withdrew the garrison in order to reinforce the Oxford Army

Brill was not occupied again, except in passing, for the remainder of the war. 

More Reading:

• Wiki article on Goodwin
• The Farcebook post that started this off..

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...

"Firing into the Brown" #95 - “The Noon Stagecoach Wagon Job” game, fort speak, and stuff

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update.. and the game has been played, and what a load of fun for reasons that will become clear..  😏

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For me, as a solo player, the narrative is always key, but I accept some find the mechanics interesting as well, so each move has both - you can read one or the other (or both), as required..😁

For the dramatis personae I refer you to the previous post [clicky].. the scene opens with the three good guys exiting the cantina after a quick meal...

Move 1:

Characters/order of activation: Jebb (7♤), Clay (4♡), the Deputy (3♤), Weaver (3♧), Shotgun (2♤) and then the Marshall (2♡) 

Shots start to fly as the three men exit the cantina - from across the way one of the bad guys, clearly up to no good, runs across the open ground in front of the cantina. Stopping behind the wagon, he fires at the Deputy as he comes in to sight. The Deputy raises his gun to shoot back, but misses.. 

"I know him", shouts the Marshall, "that's Jebb Carden! Where he is, Clay Hardin ain't far behind"

Sure enough he spots Clay just behind, who skids to a halt behind Jebb to also fire at his trusty deputy, hitting him in the leg and causing Luke to grunt out in pain, but not stopping him getting off a couple of shots at Jebb. He only graze him, but Jebb looks decidedly shaken.

More shots ring out, and the Marshall also spots 'Long Tom' Weaver in the brush behind them - his Winchester smoking. Luke's definitely the focus of attention - he nods at him to let him know he ain't alone in this.

Then out of nowhere he see's Shotgun run past for the steps of the cantina roof - "damn - he's running!" thought the Marshall but had cause to eat his words when Shotgun reached the roof, leant over the parapet, and fires off a barrel from his shotgun at Jebb - "well done old timer!", he shouts..

Time he took part in this little lead party himself. He fires quickly at Jebb, missing him, but spooking the horses on the wagon who snatch jerkily forward, and causing the strongbox to fall off the back of the wagon! 

"What the..!"

..but he has time to react to see Clay now exposed by the movement of the wagon, and fires off a shot at him - he's looking as shocked as Jebb..  pretty clear no one was expecting it to go like this!

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Jebb (7♤) gets 3 actions as a result of the 7..  moves, aims, and fires at the Deputy who attempts to 'get the draw on him' but fails (NB. Jebb gets +1 for trigger finger) but Jebb then throws snake eyes and misses - Horse spook test no effect
• Clay (4♡) moves to join Jebb and also fires at who fails to 'get the draw on him' too and for his pains the Deputy is hit in the leg - Horse spook no effect. The deputy passes his lily liver test (what in 'Ruthless' is the morale check😁) he also has a +1 bonus for the Marshall's 'commanding presence' trait.
• the Deputy (3♤) - fires twice at Jebb hitting once and only grazing him - horse spooks no effect - Jebb fails his test and becomes lily livered
• Weaver (3♧) fires twice at the Deputy - hitting once but only grazing him - horse spooks no effect - the deputy again passes his lily liver test
• Shotgun (2♤) runs up the stairs on the outside of the cantina - leans over and gives one barrel at Jebb - hits him but only grazes him - horse spooks no effect- Jebb is already lily livered so no need to test again
• the Marshall (2♡) is last to react but fires twice - first at Jebb - the shot misses but spooks the horses, causing the wagon to jerk forward 2", and the cash box to slide off the back onto the ground (two 1's in succession on D6s!) - which reveals Clay as a target, so his second shot is at him grazing Clay, and causing the horses to spook again (another 2"). Clay fails his lily liver test

Move 2:

Characters/ order of activation: Deputy (K♧), the Marshall (7♢), Weaver (5♢), Jebb (4♢) lily livered/yellow pin, Clay (3♡)lily livered/yellow pin, and finally Shotgun (2♧) - the clear pin marks the strongbox on the ground

Conditions are getting downright warm and lead rich out in the open so the Deputy dashes back into the cantina taking up position at the slit window where he fires at Jebb - and is rewarded by the sight of  a blossom of red on his leg and a cry of pain.

The Marshall see's the deputy move into the cantina, weighs up the odds and agrees that's also the best move for him... he needs some cover! Firing rapidly at Clay he also moves into the cantina to the other slit window.

He sees Weaver across the way in the brush looking for targets, and firing at a target above him..  but then the sound of a shotgun above him on the roof - "well Shotgun's certainly ok" he mutters to the Deputy. He then see's both Jebb and Clay move into cover.. and out of sight.. "now where are those two off to.."

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• the Deputy (K♧) moves into the cantina and fires at Jebb from the side window hitting him in the leg - he is already lily livered so no need to test again, and the horse spook test has no effect
• the Marshall (7♢) has 3 actions as a result of the 7 and fires two times at Clay before following the Deputy into the cantina - he hits Clay twice but only grazes him  - he is already lily livered so no need to test again, and the horse spook test has no effect
• Weaver (5♢) fires twice at Shotgun on the roof of the cantina - Shotgun counts partial cover - he hits once but only grazes him.. Shotgun passes his lily liver test - no horse spook test required as they are too far away
• Jebb (4♢) - fails to recover from being lily livered and as a result must move immediately to cover - once there he snaps off a shot at long range and further negative modifiers at Shotgun and not surprisingly misses - no horse spook test required as too far away
• Clay (3♡) - passes his lily liver test and recovers but is alone in the open so moves to cover with Jebb, he fires at long range at Shotgun and misses  - no horse spook test required as too far away
• Shotgun (2♧) - fires off his last barrel at Weaver - only grazes him - and drops down behind the parapet wall to reload - the horse spook test has no effect - Weaver fails his lily liver test

Move 3:

Characters/order of activation: the Marshall (A ♤), the Deputy (A♢), Clay (A♧),Weaver (10♧), Shotgun (9♤) and finally Jebb (8♧) - yellow pins for lily livered, and the clear pin for the strongbox

With no other targets the Marshall fires twice at Weaver across the way in the scrub and is rewarded with a shout of pain and Weaver dropping in to cover.. the hammer clicks on an empty chamber - he's out of bullets! By his side the deputy also fires twice, and hears another grunt of pain.. 

Meanwhile, Jebb and Clay move to the lead horses on the wagon - keeping them between them and the cantina for cover..

On the roof Shotgun reloads.

Weaver is strangely quiet..

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Ace heavy turn..  and yes I did shuffle them.. 😁
• the Marshall (A♤) - at the right of the two windows - fires twice at Weaver in partial/soft cover - hitting him twice in leg and chest - Weaver already lily livered - the Marshall is out of bullets for his revolver - no horse spook test required as too far away
• the Deputy (A♢) - at the left of the two windows also fires twice at Weaver in partial/soft cover - also hitting him twice - in the arm, and for a second time in the chest, killing him outright - no horse spook test required as too far away
• Clay (A♧) swaps cards with Jebb as the Ace is also a 'recover from lily livered' card
• Jebb (now A♧) gets an automatic recover from lily livered and moves twice to the front horse of the wagon
• Weaver (10♧) - dead - though the Deputy and the Marshall don't know it yet
• Shotgun (9♤) - loads both barrels (action) and raises his head over the parapet to see what's going on (action)
• Clay (now 8♧) - joins Jebb at the front of the wagon

Move 4:

Characters/order of activation: Jebb (Q♢), the Marshall (K♢), Shotgun (8♡), the Deputy (5♤) - Weaver (red pin) is dead

At the head of the wagon Jebb and Clay have a quick conversation to agree the plan and Jebb grabs the lead horses collar, and encourages it to step backwards so as to encourage the rest of the team to push the wagon back towards the strong box..

In the cantina the Marshall and his Deputy reload, but are surprised to see Shotgun hurtle down the ladder from a rooftop door and then sprint out the back door..  he just has time to let them know what Jebb and Clay are up to, and "by the way - you plugged the guy in the scrub out back, he's dead"..

At the wagon, Clay moves with it and positions himself by the rear to keep an eye on the cantina door

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Jebb (Q♢) - uses both actions to walk the horses backwards towards the cantina (and the strong box!) - had to play the movement distance by ear as it's not stated, but I assume that with two moves, and the fact that the wagon had only spooked forwards 4" that would be good
• the Marshall (K♢) - spends his two actions reloading
• Shotgun (8♡) - exits the cantina by the terrace door, and the door at the back and run across the open ground up the stairs to the terrace of the second house 
• the Deputy (5♤)  - also spends his two actions reloading
• Clay (2♢) moves to the back of the wagon - in cover to keep an eye on the front door of the cantina - he takes the action to reload

Move 5:

Characters/order of activation: Marshall (A♡), Clay (K♡), Shotgun (Q♡), Jebb (J♡), the Deputy (J♧) - Weaver (red pin) is dead

Now fully loaded, the Marshall follows Shotgun out of the back door - he can see him on the roof of the house opposite and runs across to the far corner of it to see if he can get a clear line of sight on either Jebb or Clay.

At the wagon, Clay moves, picks up the strong box, and slides it back into the wagon, just as the sound of a shotgun bellows out from the roof of the house opposite the cantina.

..."the sound of a shotgun bellows out from the roof of the house opposite the cantina"...

Clay shouts "I'm ok... it's done!", and Jebb starts to lead the horses forward, ducking down behind them to get as much cover as possible..

The Deputy meanwhile moves to the front door of the cantina and can see Clay in the open - a clear target! He fires and hits him in the arm...

"The Deputy meanwhile moves to the front door of the cantina"....

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Marshall (A♡) - runs out of the back door used by Shotgun, and across to the far corner of the house opposite to see if he can get a clear line of sight
• Clay (K♡) - uses both actions to pick up the strong box and place it back in the wagon
• Shotgun (Q♡) - moves to the back corner of the terrace and fires at Clay (partial cover/short range), but only grazes him - horse spook test has no effect - Clay just passes his lily liver test
• Jebb (J♡) walks the horses forward 6"
• the Deputy (J♧) - moves to the door and fires at Clay in the open, hits him in the arm - Clay passes his lily liver test - no horse spook test required too far away

Move 6:

Characters/order of activation: Jebb (Q♤), the Deputy (J♢), Clay (10♢), Shotgun (8♢), Marshall (4♤) - Weaver (red pin) is dead

Jebb continues to walk the horses forward he even begins to think they may get away with it!

The Deputy fires twice more at Clay, who turns and raises his gun, fires off a quick shot..  and the Deputy drops to the ground as the world goes black on him...

Clay snatches a quick look to make sure he's down for good, and runs to the nearest cover.. some scrub just behind him..

"Unless we do something that strongbox is lost!" the Marshall shouts to Shotgun.. Shotgun runs down the stairs and across the open ground and finally gets a bead on Jebb - it's long range though - not ideal for a shotgun and he misses. The Marshall does the same, also fires and also misses.. 

"Damn!!"

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Jebb (Q♤) walks the horses forward 6" - they are at the table edge
• the Deputy (J♢) - fires twice more at Clay in the open, who tries to get the draw on him - neither get +1 for shooting skills as the shooting is not aimed or long range so straight dice roll  - Clay wins hits him and inflicts a serious wound knocking the deputy unconscious - no horse spook test required too far away
• Clay (10♢) - uses his remaining action from 'getting the draw' to move to the nearest cover
• Shotgun (8♢) - runs down the stairs and across the open ground and fires at Jebb - long range (-1) and misses - no horse spook test required too far away
• Marshall (4♤) - runs across the open ground to get clear line of sight and fires at Jebb - and also misses!

Move 7:

Characters/order of activation: Marshall (J♤), the Deputy (Q♧), Clay (10♡), Jebb (7♡), Shotgun (8♢) - Weaver (red pin) is dead

The Marshall fires twice more at Jebb, this time hitting him in the leg but it also spooks the horses who jerk forward violently causing the strong box to again fall from the back of the wagon!

By the cantina the Deputy, recovers consciousness and climbs groggily to his feet, checking himself over for wounds..

Clay ducks down and moves quickly behind the scrub to the back of the wagon - "it ain't over yet!" he mutters, as he also sees Jebb move to the strongbox..

With no line of sight to the bad guys because the Marshall is in the way, Shotgun reloads and moves closer to the wagon making sure to get some cover as he does it..

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Marshall (J♤) - fires twice at Jebb - grazes him and also hits him in the leg - the horses spook but also so abruptly they cause the strong box to fall off the back of the wagon again! (I kid you not - 1 on a D6 twice in succession, for the second time in the game!)
• the Deputy (Q♧) - recovers consciousness (successful die roll)
• Clay (10♡) - moves twice to the back of the wagon
• Jebb (7♡) - recovers from being lily livered and then moves to the strongbox
• Shotgun (8♢) - reloads and moves to the side as the Marshall is blocking line of sight

Move 8 (Last Move):

At the wagon the lead again begins to fill the air, as Clay fires desperately at the Marshall, but misses with both shots..  

"DAMNITT!!"

Shotgun meanwhile gives Jebb both barrels but can see he's only grazed him, though Jebb is looking far from happy..

He's only going to get unhappier though as the Marshall also sends a couple of shots in his direction, one of which wounds him badly and knocks him out cold. As he slumps to the floor, the wagon jumps forward, the horses spooked again.

Clay can see the game is up, and what's more he can hear the sound of approaching horses and doesn't fancy waiting to see if they are friend or foe.. he runs to the nearest cover, and shortly after the Marshall hears the sound of a fast moving horse..

Mechanics behind the narrative:

• Whatever happened on this move unless the bad guys got the strongbox off the table by the end of it, they would lose..
• Clay (K♤) - fires twice at the Marshall, but misses both times - the horse spook tests have no effect
• Shotgun (10♤) - fires off both barrels at Jebb - hitting him twice but only grazes..  Jebb fails his lily liver test
• Marshall (9♢) - also fires twice at Jebb - hitting him twice - one of which is a sever would that knocks him unconscious - the horses spook  - and move forward enough to exit the table
• the Deputy (6♤) - moves to the centre of the yard to clear his sights and fires once at long range at Clay but misses
• Jebb (4♧) - fails to recover consciousness..

Afterword:

As the Marshall stands up from tying up the now conscious Jebb, a fast moving column of cavalry come into view, under the command of a young Lieutenant..  

His horse sliding to a halt amidst the dust of the column, the Lieutenant, gun drawn, looks down at the Marshall .. "mind telling me what your up to, Mister"

The Marshall explains that he's on government business, and is able to prove his and his Deputy's identity, and having done so the Lieutenant visibly relaxes, as does the rest of the column. 

Over a glass of rough wine in the Cantina the Marshall describes the attempted robbery, and the the Lieutenant explains that they were just out on one of their regular patrols and happened to hear the shooting so came to investigate.

"I can give you an escort as far as Cedar Gulch if that's any use to you?"

The Marshall gladly agrees, and he the Deputy and Shotgun return to the wagon to get her ready to depart..

"Hang on a moment Lootenent, just one small job to do first" says Shotgun.

As the Marshall and the Deputy look at each other quizzically, Shotgun climbs down, goes to the back of the wagon and then ties down the strongbox firmly..

"You can't be too careful" he says, as he climbs back on to the wagon and flicks the reins to get the horses moving..

Post Match Analysis:

• Clay and the boys were SO close! I thought it was all over for them by turn 3 and then Jebb pulled it out of the hat and gave us the close result we got.. 

• Yes I know the good guys could have shot the horses - but that wasn't going to happen - this is Hollywood for goodness sakes, and they were the good guys! 😁

• A first for me - this entire scenario was generated from ChatGPT - all I asked for was "a simple Western skirmish scenario with two to three characters a side for the Ruthless ruleset" and it came up with this..  I don't think 'Ruthless' is well enough known for the AI to come up with the specific characterisations but it did have a go (from what I can tell I think AI was using 'Red, Dead, Redemption' instead) and the characterisations were mostly generic enough I could retrofit them to 'Ruthless'. Those that weren't generic enough I tweaked - in fact one of them, 'Commanding Presence', was so good that I may add it to 'Ruthless' permanently.

• Butchers bill:

NB. This is missing the 'severe wound' Jebb picked up on the last move/turn.. oh, and he's a prisoner so in reality the Outlaws lost two...

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On my way to the pub the other day I had reason to pass one of the multitude of open green spaces in Portsmouth and happened to notice it was called "Ravelin Park" - aha, thought I - that'll be something to do with the Old Portsmouth fortifications that I bored you with last winter...

Time for some maps... we love a map...

Note the Park and the associated House and their proximity to Landport Terrace..  which allows us to locate the specific Ravelin the park is named for on the 1860 map as Landport Street and Terrace are indicated...

..so it was named after the "East Ravelin". The ravelin is long gone, but the clues remain - fascinating, eh, and another word added to the English/fortspeak dictionary.. 

Further reading:

• Ravelin - Wikipedia

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 "Mr Bailey retired with Poll [Paul] Sweedlepipe as soon as possible; but some little time elapsed before he could remove his friend from the ground, owing to the impression wrought upon the barber's nerves by Mrs Prig, whom he pronounced, in admiration of her beard, to be a woman of transcendent charms." (from "Martin Chuzzlewit" by "Charles Dickens")

...now tell me Dickens didn't like a good chuckle...  😄

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 'Laters', as the young people are want to say...

"One Hour Wargames" - Scenario 28 - "Botched Relief" - Game

Time for another update.. and time for the little metal men to march again...  

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So as per the last update a Confederate force of four units is attacking a Union held town. 

The Union force comprises six units, but they are commanded by a bit of a McLellan who is loath to commit his entire force, so only three of them are ever active at one time, two of them are positioned close to, or in, the town which is the objective for the game. 

The other active Union unit, and the rest of the inactive Union force are positioned on a hill to the south west of the town - the kicker being that, only one Union unit from the group on the hill can be active at any time - the moment the active unit is removed from play for any reason, only then can the next one can come in to action..

This gives a surprising number of tactical conundrums for both sides - I will be using my variant of the One Hour Wargame rules (but in which the key elements of the books rules are still present) - 

• Interestingly this is the first period where Thomas doesn't allow Hand to Hand combat. His view - probably rightly - was that it was so rare as to not need representing, since in most cases the two lines of infantry just closed to musket range and blasted away at each other until the other side ran away. I modified this in my rules to allow it (how can we not have the "Rebel Yell"?? 😁), but only when one side has a significant advantage over the other.
• Thomas also penalises units shooting at units in a town - half casualties. I adopted this as well - but for a scenario where the objective is to capture the town, you know the attackers are going to have a hard time!

So here we are - start of game... as Union player I chose to put my two strongest (in terms of firepower) units in the town - the Zouaves and the artillery. The other active Union unit is the one to the fore on the hill top left..

The Confederates started with their artillery deployed, but other than a decision whether to put their zouaves centre or right flank, the only other decision was to leave one of the two 'bread and butter' infantry units to cover the left flank and that damned hill.

...and so we start with the two artillery pieces exchanging counter battery fire - but with the Confederate artillery doing considerably less damage because of the cover. The Confederate infantry advances on the town with the left flank regiment (the 33rd Virginian) moving to cover the advancing Union infantry (14th Indiana) from the hill.

The 33rd continues to pour fire in on the 14th Indiana, but clearly with three more units ready to take their place there is a sense that these are just pinpricks - and, regrettably, they are blocking line of sight for their own artillery.

As the Confederate infantry nears the town, the Union artillery switches targets to the now much closer Louisiana Tigers - the Confederate artillery continues to fire, but is doing little damage because of the cover bonuses. They are within musket range and the two sides start to exchange fire..

On the flank the 'Mexican stand off' continues..

In the town the artillery is loading grape and tearing great swathes out of the Tigers - they're almost done - high water mark of the Confederacy? Worse still, in order to close the gap, they have now blocked line of sight for their artillery who now have no targets..

With the Union infantry and artillery in the town continuing to tear chunks out of the Confederate attackers, and a battle of attrition on the left flank they couldn't hope to win, the Confederate commanders orders the withdrawal..

End of game.. Union victory

Post match analysis:

• First the butchers bill...
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ...clearly a bloodbath for the Confederates though the 33rd were holding their end - well until the next regiment turned up!


• Well - not sure what else I could have done differently to be honest - you can manoeuvre so as to attack a different edge of the town - or even split your forces so as to attack two sides and split the Union, but they'll still be effectively dealing double casualties and units in towns have a 360' arc of fire anyway - there are no flanks


• In the Thomas rules, you either move or fire, so to advance on the town requires you to give up the right to fire in order to advance - an additional penalty when one side already holds the objective of the game


• I am not sure that the artillery should have been allowed in the town but I played it that it could - specifically the rules say that in this period only infantry and skirmishers can end their turn in a town - but the scenario states that units can set up anywhere within 12" of the baseline so the artillery actually start the game there - they never moved...

Bottom line - this is a very difficult scenario for the attacker to win given their paucity of numbers, even with McLellan in charge of the defenders!

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...