Book of War -- questions

T

Ted Sandyman

First Post

• Nov 3, 2016

• #1

Any fans of Book of War by Daniel "Delta" Collins out there?
It's sort of like a version of Gygax and Perren's Chainmail reversed engineered from OD&D.

I'm starting up a campaign soon (6 miles to the hex w/ some support material pulled from Mentzer Companion), but some rules questions have come up and while perfectly capable of just making a call, I'd like to see how other folks have tackled some of the same situations.

 

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J

Jack R. Short

First Post

• Nov 10, 2016

• #2

Hi,
I am a great fan of Book of War. Good to see that you are coming with a campaign. Best wishes for that.
Thank you

 

T

Ted Sandyman

First Post

• Nov 11, 2016

• #3

Here are a few of the questions that came up in our first several matches:

1. Who chooses which models to lay down (and later remove) as casualties, the attacker or defender?
[I suspect it is the defender]


2. Are casualties ALWAYS removed from the back ranks of a unit or from the ranks farthest from the unit inflicting the casualties? (e.g. a unit being assaulted from behind)
[I suspect that it is from the rear rank]


3. What happens when a unit takes enough casualties to cause it to no longer have contact with an enemy unit?



This happened twice in our recent game. In one case a unit with many files (one rank) entered combat with a very small unit (4 files, two ranks) and suffered enough casualties that every model touching the enemy was lost. In the same match a unit flanked front and rear lost its entire rear rank due to casualties, leaving a "gap" between it and the rear attacker.


Does combat end (the units touching corner-to corner) or is the attacker simply moved forward to re-engage as a sort of bonus move?

[I suspect that the attacker is advanced slightly to maintain contact]


4. When a unit fails a morale check does it get a "free" about face or does it have to await its own turn and pay the regular cost for this maneuver (1/2 move) before moving away from the enemy that routed it?


If the latter is the case, doesn't that mean that routing units can almost always be overtaken by pursuers? (not that this is a bad thing of course)

[I suspect that turning to rout is not "free"]

5. When squaring up during an attack, does the attacker shift to match the defender's position or vice versa?

[I suspect that you "eyeball it", but generally shift the attacker to square up]


6. How do you resolve this when the squaring up adjustment carries the unit into contact with additional enemy units?

[I think that contact can be initiated this way, but units can only attack one enemy unit so they cannot inflict losses on multiple enemies even if in contact]


7. Casualties from missile fire are also removed from the back of the unit first, true (even if the farthest archer couldn't actually reach the rear rank of the enemy unit)?


[I suspect this is the case]


8. What do you perceive to be the relative costs in points/gold for various attributes? For example, skeletons would not break morale, regardless of losses. We discovered that to be very impactful on the battlefield of course. How should I weight the point value appropriately if I wanted to play a balanced match?

[I have no idea on this one]


9. How about the point values of movement, hit dice, and AH?


10. No firing into woods, true? What if a unit is only partially in the woods (left flank exposed)?

[I suspect that units only partially in the woods can still be targeted]


11. When turning (wheeling) are terrain costs counted as well as the cost of 1" per file for turns between 45 and 90 degrees? For example, a cavalry unit wheeling in the woods pays double terrain plus the number of inches that it has files ... or the number of files it has times terrain cost x2 (since it is cav)? Sort of an order of operations question

[I suspect that terrain is still counted.]


12. Are terrain costs paid from the front of the unit? For example, a unit five ranks deep is in the woods, 1" from the edge. It advances an inch (at a cost of 2") then a second inch (at a cost of 1") before halting. The rear two ranks are still in the woods, but when the unit moves next turn it doesn't pay any additional terrain costs, true?

[I suspect that terrain costs are only paid for front rank]

13.Can you launch arrows OUT of the woods?

[with archers arrayed 3 men deep for a single stand, occupying 20' to the inch, I doubt that fire out of woods is permitted]




14. Pg 9, para 6 says, "At the end of a turn in which it [a routed unit] avoids any loss, a unit may attempt another Morale check to recover from the routed status..." Since a unit can only take losses on its opponent's turn, is that what is being referred to here (the normal morale check phase rolled at the end of the enemy's turn, or is this referring to something else? A separate morale check made at the end of a unit's own movement for instance?)

[I'm really curious about this one]


15. A unit of skeletons was attacked both from the front and upon the right flank by two separate enemy units. The skeleton model on the front, right corner found itself in contact with two separate enemy models. The player would have to choose, as an entire unit, which enemy unit to attack on the skeleton turn, true?

[I think that's right -- they can only fight one enemy unit]


16. In the same battle the skeletons, who were about four ranks deep, were simultaneously attacked from both front and rear. In this case could the skeletons, on their own attack phase, attack the enemy units both to their front AND their rear (at a -1) or would they have to choose between the two? If the answer is the former, what does that imply for the hedgehog formation? Does it merely prevent the -1 penalty?

[again, I think that you can only battle one enemy unit with each unit per turn]