Issue #38 by the Sword: Late Summer 2014 Genesis of a Campaign
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Issue #38 By The Sword: Late Summer 2014 Genesis of a Campaign The highlight of being Wargames Campaign book periods. in a gaming group surely from WRG down off the must be participating in a shelf and went through it Random events. I love campaign. Whether it is a for the 100th time over the random events and it long, ongoing affair or just last 30 years. There’s makes the campaign a three or four night short some good ideas in there, much more enjoyable. campaign, it is a complete- but some of them, such as Economics. I think it ly different experience than drawing out all of the maps is important for play- your regular one night bat- for every place on the con- ers to be able to man- tles that are usually waged tinent, seems on the tabletop. If you’ve like maybe a bit been reading this magazine too much. for any length of time you So, I sat know that I’ve participated down and com- in several campaigns, both posed a list of good and bad, but I’ve what I wanted never given even the bad to see in the ones a second thought! campaign and Campaigns are such a what I thought unique experience that they my group might should always be tried want. Since I whenever possible. was the one Our group definitely who was going loves Warmaster Ancients to be left doing (although other rules sys- this thing, I may as well age their income and tems can easily be used) enjoy what I’m creating! expenditures, but not and we’ve grown to the The campaign needed to to the point of needing point where we have have the following things: an accounting degree! around eight armies. We’ve looked at various An area movement A campaign that can campaign systems and have system. Point to point go on for quite some fought several one day and hex by hex take a time, possibly years. tournaments over the last large number of rules This would give even few years. However, most to get right and the players in hopeless of the campaigns we’ve campaign bogs down situations the possibil- looked at have been of the into a movement fest. ity of a comeback and simple variety and we’ve to create a compelling been thinking about doing A fantasy world set- narrative. something a bit more com- ting since we would be Armed with this shop- plex. using a variety of his- torical armies from ping list of ideas I went to I pulled my Tony Bath across multiple time work. The (cont. on p3) Inside this issue: Special points of interest: BKC2: Russian Link Up Attack 4 Several battle reports featuring Ronin, Phantoms: MIGCAP over North Vietnam 6 BKC2, TSATF, F&F ACW, and Phantoms. F&F ACW: Battle of Nashville 12 Two new Engagements scenarios. WASATCH FRONT HISTORICAL GAMING SOCIETY SOCIETY GAMING HISTORICAL FRONT WASATCH Engagements-Scenarios for Wargamers 14 Kit and book reviews. TSATF Northwest Frontier Action 18 Review of the reborn Ares magazine/game. WMM: Saracens vs. Crusaders 24 Interview with the creator of Trenchworx. Warning Order Interview with Dave Baker of Trenchworx 26 By The Sword: Genesis of a Campaign (cont.) (cont. from p2) first thing to come up was changed. This only took a few hours and paign system, now is not the time to the map, so I started I had my campaign map. Yes, it’s not skimp on things! to think about all of original, but I think it will serve its pur- With the map, cards, and gazetteer out the options that there pose well. of the way it was now time to focus on were for maps that The next thing to do was the event the starting forces. How much is too could be used. I had cards. I thought that this might be easier much? What size armies do we currently been researching fan- to do before starting the rules than vice- have and how much painting would be tasy maps online and versa. I found a Word playing card tem- done to bring them up to where I thought came up with a wide plate and went to work. The idea was to they should be for the upcoming cam- variety for sale, how have 52 cards and one card would be paign? I settled on two armies for each to make your own drawn during each campaign turn. This payer that would be 1500 points each and with a variety of soft- ended up being a lot of work and literally one 500 point force kept in the player’s ware, etc., but nothing took a few weeks to get all of the cards castle (think of it as household troops, really interested me. done. Fortunately, I play a lot of what bodyguard, etc.). Most of us have 1500 Although I work in are called CDGs, or Card Driven Games, point armies, but there will be the need to the IT field, many of such as Paths of Glory, Successors, Twi- expand these forces as the campaign pro- the map making appli- light Struggle, etc., which gave me a lot gresses. cations have a high of ideas. learning curve and I It was also at this time that I settled on didn’t want to focus Most of the cards are one time events the rule where everyone needed to have on that in my free and are applied randomly. However, their forces in armies no smaller than 500 time. there are a few cards where the explana- points. While it may be more realistic to tion of the event simply will not fit onto keep track of forces spread all over a Then the answer was literally staring the card! For these special cards I had to player’s kingdom, in reality it is a night- me in the face. On one of my gaming devote a section of the rules where I mare. There was already going to be shelves was a copy of the Avalon Hill could fully explain their ef- some paperwork involved in the game Wizard’s Quest. I remember that it fects. One card, called campaign, but I didn’t want to see had been successfully used for a medieval “Invasion” took up an entire players focusing exclusively on campaign in several issues of The Courier page! It’s also very hard to that aspect. The 500 point mini- magazine. I opened the game box and strike a balance between cards mum would keep things a bit un- after unfolding the game board I knew that are worthless and those der control. that this was the direction I needed to go that cause too much chaos. I in. For starters, it uses area movement From there it was on to move- also wanted a few cards to and it was a great fantasy type map in ment and in particular, how to use make the players understand that all of the regions were broken up into naval movement. Both of these that while they are fighting six territories, plus several castles. took some explaining, but the re- each other for control of the sults turned out better than I had The one thing is that it does have this continent of Marnon, there are hoped for. The big issue for miniatures weird “continental tunnel” that I had to times where they may have to unite for campaign is always how much is too take out using Photoshop (I found a the greater good. much movement? I’ve participated in scanned copy of the map on BGG) and I The next thing up was the gazetteer. some campaigns were the movements of needed to add sea zones as well as ports. This is a section of the rules that outlines each force were elaborately tracked and Also, the scrolls with the sequence of the geography shown on the map and there were response moves, scouting play and name of the game needed to be then breaks down each region into what forces, etc., which was realistic, but took are called territories. forever to do a turn. I’m from the school There is a listing of terri- of having little movement, thinking that tories, their location, and each of these territories on the map are their economic value. I pretty large, the armies aren’t very fast, also decided to not save and it makes players think more about time and just use text, but where they’re going and what their plans rather I traced an outline are, instead of zooming around the cam- of each player’s region paign map! and used that with the Next up is the combat phase, where information presented. again, several decisions needed to be Again, my thinking is that made. I basically gave the players sever- if I’m going to put this al choices in how the (cont. on p 20) much effort into a cam- Page 3 WARNING ORDER Russian Link Up Attack BKC 2 Battle Report Back to the Eastern Front where it’s ground, which could pose the Destruction of Army Group Center in numerous problems for the late 1944. The Russians have broken Russians. clean through the German lines and ele- The Germans began the ments of an armored spearhead are locat- game with two small battle- ed deep behind the front lines. A second groups already on the board. Russian armored thrust is going to at- These consisted of various tempt to link up with this force and then assault guns, armor, infantry, continue the drive towards Germany.