An Algonquin palisaded village from the late 16th or 17th centuries. The drawing is based off an English colonist’s sketch, and is courtesy of Dover Publications, Inc. Sample file Wars Campaign Rules & Scenario Book by Mike Demana for Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules

The Beaver Wars Campaign Rules and Scenario Book are designed to be used with Song of Drums and Tomahawks skirmish rules. The campaign rules can be easily adapted to any man- to-man skirmish system. The scenarios will also work for any 17th-18th century game. This book was produced by First Command Wargames and also contains historical information on the time period that will be useful to the wargamer or casual reader. 2 Campaign rules written and designed by Mike Demana

Published by First Command Wargames

www.fi rstcommandwargames.com

© 2017, Lulu, Mike Demana. All rights reserved. ISBN 978-1-365-90455-4

Available in print or PDF download from Lulu.com and WargameVault.com. Also available on the Ganesha Games website: www.ganeshagames.net Cover photo: Jan Gross Cover Design: Mike Demana Graphic design by Mike Demana

The author and First Command Wargames would like to thank Dover Publications, Inc., for use of its line art from its excellent series of historical coloring books. We would also like to thank Jan Gross and James Ablett for use of their photographs of painted 28mm miniatures. Other photos are from the collection of the author. Additional artwork comes from the American Revolution Bicentennial Advisory Commission. Sample file

For more information or updates to Beaver Wars, see the First Command Wargames website: www.fi rstcommandwargames.com. Or check us out on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/groups/312605638895971/

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means -- for example, electronic, photocopy, recording -- without the prior written permission of the author. The only exceptions are brief quotations in printed reviews, copies of the scenario maps that a game master is using to set up his table, and reproduction of the charts into a format that assists the players for their games.

We would also like to thank the following playtesters in alphabetical order: Bruce Adamczak, Keith Finn, Tom Graves, Joe Merz, Steve Phallen, Allen Sams, Joel Sams, Mike Stelzer, Andy Swingle, Jenny Torbett, Steve Verdoliva, and Dave Welch. Special thanks to Taranto’s Pizzeria in Lewis Center, OH, for providing us with space for our playtest -- plus lots of delicious pizza and sandwiches!

3 Table of Contents

Prologue...... 4 Introduction...... 5 4 CAMPAIGNS...... 39-53 Thunder...... 39-43 CAMPAIGN RULES...... 6-15 Into the Valley...... 44-47 Objectives...... 6 Great Wars on the .....47-50 War and Hunt Cards...... 7 The Vacuum...... 50-53 Order of Card Play...... 8 Declaring Attacks...... 8 TRIBAL HISTORIES...... 54-68 Creating a Troop List...... 9 Delaware...... 54 Deployment...... 11 Erie...... 55 The Battle...... 12 ...... 56 Post-Battle...... 13-15 Iroquois...... 56 Awarding Points...... 13 Kickapoo...... 58 Reward Cards...... 14 Miami...... 59 Awarding Beaver Pelts...... 15 ...... 60 Neutrals...... 61 SCENARIOS...... 16-38 Ojibwa...... 62 Introduction to the Scenarios...... 16 Ottawa...... 63 Scenarios Chart...... 17 ...... 64 Effects of Terrain...... 17 ...... 65 War vs. War Scenarios...... 18-23 ...... 66 War vs. Hunt Scenarios...... 24-31 Wyandot...... 67 Hunt vs. Hunt Scenarios...... 32-38 Bibliography...... 69 Card Templates...... 70-75 Sample file

Around the Council Fires of the Iroquois Confederation, sachems, shamans, and chiefs debate whether to take the path of war. 28mm miniatures from the author’s collection -- mostly Conquest Miniatures, but with some Flint & Feather and Old Glory mixed in. Painted by the author.

4 Prologue

Yes, it is a funny name, and no, the set off a gold rush of over-trapping that began to themselves weren’t doing the fighting. From the deplete tribal lands within decades. Traditions of mid-1600s into the 1700s, Native American tribes sustainable hunting were cast aside as each tribe fought the most devastating wars in their history. raced each other to obtain goods they were com- They were fighting over exactly what these wars ing to depend upon more and more. The fact that are named after — those semi-aquatic mammals it was an arms race, too, led to a sense of despera- bearing perhaps the most magnificent fur on the tion among the Indians. When they believed their North American continent. At least, it was mag- tribe’s survival at stake, they were willing to cast nificent to the Europeans — where, across the sea aside long-held habits and beliefs about hunting. — the going rate for beaver pelts spiraled up- Also abandoned was the centuries-old system wards and upwards. This made venturing into the of limited raiding warfare that seldom led to the dangerous Eastern Woodlands worth great risks destruction of tribal groups. and expense. Historians agree that the Five Nations of Beaver pelts were the organic gold that Eu- the Iroquois Confederation were the aggressors ropean nations entered the woodlands to mine. who sparked this series of wars. A century or so Their willing miners were the Native American earlier, the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, tribes, who hunted and trapped the animals the and Mohawk tribes had formed an ingenious con- Europeans sought. Each spring, Indians would federation to end tribal fighting and allow them bring bundles of pelts to European encampments to cooperate against common foes. Later, the Iro- in return for those wondrous trade goods brought quois Confederation was quick to trade with the from overseas: copper kettles, steel tools, cloth, Dutch when they arrived at Fort Orange (Albany), and of course, firearms. Once the Indians real- and later the English, when they replaced them. ized the extent of the European desire for pelts, it The Dutch were happy to trade firearms with the Confederation as long as the Iroquois kept the furs coming. Sample fileIt wasn’t long before beaver began disap- pearing from the Iroquois’ upstate homeland, though. The problem for the Con- federation was they felt boxed in on all sides by hostile nations — the Huron Confederation to the north, Mahican to the East, Susquehannock to the south, and Erie to the West. Seeing no alter- native for their survival, they began raiding Hu- ron canoe convoys paddling towards . Emboldened by success, the Confederation de- cided upon warfare to achieve their economic and territorial needs. This warfare eventually engulfed the Ohio Valley, the entire Great Lakes area, and much of the Eastern seaboard from Delaware to Maine. It raged west to the River, bordering the . Through it all, the Ohio Valley was seen by the Iroquois as the ultimate prize. It was a virgin hunting ground where they could hunt and trap to their heart’s desire — once they’d driven off all the tribes inhabiting it! 5 The Beaver Wars played out in a number by the violence of the Beaver Wars. Competition of phases. There was the initial Iroquois explo- among these new and old neighbors was stirred sion against their neighbors. Tribe after tribe by infighting amongst the Europeans themselves. surrounding them was crushed and driven fleeing Britain and France each sought to control Ohio. from ancestral lands. The Confederation followed They knew control of the territory depended upon up its victories over rivals until they found them- alliances with the Indian tribes, and worked back- selves raiding into what is now modern Illinois room deals to pit tribe against tribe. Once again, and . Another phase of the Beaver war came to the Ohio Valley, the last chapter of Wars saw the Great Lakes tribes teaming up the Beaver Wars. with the French to hurl the Iroquois back. They This campaign and scenario book gives smashed parties and pursed them players a chance to recreate this clash of tribes all the way back to Seneca homelands on the from long ago. Players will take on the role of a shores of Lake . The reeling Confederacy Native American tribe seeking to establish control sued for peace, closing the book on what Histori- of this crucial territory. European powers are in- ans see as the Beaver Wars. volved only in an abstract sense. It will be Indian However, an important epilogue occurred on Indian warfare — one of raids, ambushes, and next in the Ohio Valley. The wars had depopulat- desperate skirmishes under the canopy of the ed much of the area, creating a vacuum inhabited Eastern Woodlands. Will you guide your tribe to by few. This inevitably sucked tribes into the area, the top, and establish hegemony over the region? as they sought new lands. Some, like the Dela- Or will your people fall beneath the tomahawks of ware (), were being steadily driven west- their foes, and be forced to flee your homeland? wards by European settlement. Others, like the This campaign will determine the answer to that Miami and Shawnee, seized the chance to return question. to ancestral homelands they’d been driven from

Introduction

The Beaver Wars in Ohio is both a historiSample- fileThe author and playtesters fought out cal sourcebook and set of campaign rules for re- their campaign battles using “Song of Drums and fighting the 1600-1700s struggle between Native Tomahawks” (referred hereafter as SDT) skir- American tribes for control of the Ohio Valley and mish rules. These are produced and sold sepa- surrounding areas. Two to eight (or more) players rately by First Command Wargames and Ganesha will each take on the role of a Native American Games. However, any man-to-man skirmish set tribe seeking hegemony over the area’s lucrative can conceivably be used to refight this campaign. -- particularly in beaver pelts, which are Likewise, the 18 scenarios included in these rules in much demand by European traders. There are can be used not only to resolve campaign encoun- actually four separate campaigns included in this ters, but also provide one-off battles. The histori- book, beginning with the initial Iroquois on- cal information has been thoroughly researched slaught in 1650 and ending nearly a century later and obtained from a variety of resources and with the repopulation of the Ohio Valley. Each of publications, which are listed in the Bibliography. the four campaigns will last for a specified num- Hopefully, reading this book will not only provide ber of turns, some predetermined, some decided enjoyment on the gaming table, but also inform beforehand by the players involved. At the end and fascinate the purchaser. of the final turn, the campaign mechanisms will determine which tribe has won control of the de- sired hunting lands. In some two-player variants, the campaign will end when particular victory conditions are obtained. 6 Campaign Rules

Sample file Objectives

Each tribe will be competing to accumulate Game Master controlling the campaign — who points in three categories: can easily be a player, as well — will tally up each individual tribe’s total of BPs, PPs, and SVPs. The (1) Beaver Pelts (BPs) -- which represents GM will rank the tribes in each category from first an abstract number of bundles of furs traded to last. To determine the number of points each to the Europeans in exchange for goods (espe- tribe receives, simply use the number of play- cially firearms). ers for the top scorer, reducing this by one for (2) Prestige Points (PPs) -- which are second, two for third, and so on. For example, if awarded for battlefield triumphs, termed as a campaign has six players, the player who has Major Victories, Minor Victories, or Minor accumulated the most BPs will score 6 points in Defeats (no points being awarded for Major that category, second will score 5 points, etc. If Defeats). two or more tribes tie for a place, they split the (3) Scenario Victory Points (SVPs) -- points of the two positions they occupy. In the which are accumulated by fulfilling the stated, above six player campaign, if two players tie for tactical objectives of the battles themselves. first they split the points for 1st and 2nd place In each of the three categories, players will (6+5=11, divided by two, for 5.5. points each). be ranked first, second, third, etc., according to This means a player’s score is relative to ri- the amount of points they have accumulated. The val tribes in each category. Players should keep an 7