A lot of shooting by Artillery at both long range (Bombardment 4-24bw) and short range (Volley- Canister at 4bw) and musketry (Volley at 4bw).
All fairly slick and intuitive with a basic score of 4+ (Artillery can vary) to hit adjusted for cover with varying numbers of dice rolled based on formation of artillery type/weight.
Very few factors to consider but of course use of D6 means even a single plus or minus can have effect.
Infantry in Attack Column (Mass) are 2 wide by 2 deep and only fire with a single dice per front line base whereas a 4 base wide column would fire with 6 dice (2 per central base and 1 per 'outer' base) again with variations for Sharpshooters, Square, March Column.
All hits are then rolled for again against the targets Resilience (varies from 3+ to 5+ with 6 required vs artillery) to generate Disruptions which can lead to Permanent losses if failing to Rally these off successfully.
With average units being strength 6 it seemingly can take awhile to reduce units to Shaken (average is upon reaching 2 strength) or Broken (zero strength) which makes the Rally action another interesting decision as it can lead to permanent losses but can revive faltering units.
Enjoying the action/interrupt system combined with MO expenditures as you need to plan your actions and reactions to get best out of your MO 'energy'.
Once units get to within close range (4bw) things start to slow as forward moves are reduced (you can 'retire' full move) and some more Interrupt action allowed, eg you can issue Rally orders outside 4bw without enemy reaction but within 4bw they can Interrupt.
Still not managed any Melee type actions.
Charges are not seperate actions as such being a function of Movement but do count as a Complication (ie +1 MO expended) unless unit has a Trait such or Shock or Attack Columns which cancel the extra MO cost.
Thanks for the posting the AAR. I could never get my group to use the rules. They are stuck on their home made rules. The outcomes are foolish to say the least. Great blog... Stay warm.
ReplyDeleteCheers, they are a nice set of rules but maybe not for players that like lots of Nationality traits or lots of variety in troop types and grades. They are very much in the slick/fast play style but have a good lot of decisions for the gamer to make each turn.
DeleteInteresting watching how this plays out and if it's better then the original which was quite good. I have my copy in the mail.
ReplyDeleteChristopher
I liked original Lasalle but it had a couple of major problems for me (squares run over by Cavalry too often and 2 Assault Columns vs Line was a massacre). Version 2 is in many ways radically different. To be honest really only the basing system/formations and some of the is retained. Feels much more akin to Blucher than original set and that is no bad thing. Somewhat strangely for Division sized game it is scaled at there is a lack of direct Command (ie Officers) compared to original as such issues subsumed into Momentum system. Think they will fit a niche for a quickly set up points based game (sort of like FOGN) that is playable in a few hours which is also fun to play.
DeleteOnce again, thanks for the report and more thoughts on the rules!
ReplyDeleteThey are a fast play fairly low complexity set which seems to be what Sam was aiming for but with enough depth of play for a fun game. More game than history than several sets I have and a nice alternative. I you like Blucher you will like these.
Delete