WiP (M&T):Trail to the Stoney river campaign

(Muskets and Tomahawks campaign)

Design Notes:

This is an outline of Musket and Tomahawks campaign I am thinking about running at some point in the future. The photos come from another work in progress project. The original concept came from the campaign article by Jim Webster in Miniature War-games issue 392

Some in New England a British supply column prepares to move out

Setting:

Set a few years before the outbreak of the French Indian wars. An Indian tribe has decide to migrate to another hunting ground.  Unfortunately, the way to the new hunting grounds has been forgotten and most of the trail is White man control. Several war-band leaders have volunteered to scout the path for the tribe

While some Frenchmen gather for no good

Introduction:

Your tribe has grown weary of the ways of the white man. The only thing bigger than his lies is his greed.  The tribal ancients tell of a happier time before the white man in a place where the hunting was plenty and the land was generous.  This happy place lies somewhere east of the Stoney river.  Unfortunately, nobody in living memory of the tribe has made the journey and most of the land in between is now under the yoke of the white man. A few brave sachern have decide to brave the journey  to try to find a path to the Stoney river. gathering their best warriors they set out on the trail. If they succeed in finding the path to the Stoney river the trail will be open for the tribe to follow and the sachern will be the saviours of the tribe. If they fail the tribe will trapped in the lands of the white man destined to a bad end.

Colonial Marines ambush a supply column lead by a particularly eccentric British officer

Starting forces:

Each warband start of with a sachern and twenty warriors armed with muskets and six days of rations. The warband moves on from the left of the map and must exit on the right

A second unit of French appear to harass the column

The campaign

The campaign use an array of five by thirteen hexes using normal playing cards with no jokers. Each card represent a days travel for the warband.  Heart and diamonds are open ground, Clubs are wasteland and Spades are occupied ground. The number of the card is its value in any test the warband must make. open ground is neutral tests as normal. Wasteland is barren there is no much food around but then again there is less chance of meeting the militia.  Occupied ground is the opposite of wasteland there is more chance of finding food and milita. Wastelands count as the two of Hearts for all tests. With occupied ground the warband must re-roll failed forage and detection test ie if they did not find food and/or were not detected they must re-roll the result

Is that a Bear in the Woods?

campaign flow (a typical turn)

1. Eat rations. A warband eats one ration per day.   If there is not enough rations then the war party must forage instead of moving or can move back one hex.
2. Move into a new hex and reveal the card
3. Decide to forage or not
1. If the warband decides to forage it must roll under the value of card to be successful in foraging for weapons and rations.
2. Weapons: warband finds D6-2 firearms
3. Rations: The warbands finds 2D3 rations. A warband can forage a maximum of four rations per test.
4. If the warband rolls equal to or over the value of the card they fails to find forage.
4. Test to be detected.
1. The warband must roll under the value of the card to be detected.
2. If the warband opted not to forage the value of the card is halved for the test.
3. If undetected move on
4. If detected
1. test for new warriors and Milita
2. New warriors: warband gets D3-1 new warriors with muskets and 2D6-4 warriors with only a hand weapon.
3. Milita: Warband meets a group of militia roll a D6 .

Roll	Result
1	Very small sized militia group 50% the size of the warband
2-3	Small sized militia group 75% the size of the warband
4	Average sized militia group 100% the size of the warband.
5	Large size militia group 125% the size of the warband.
6	Very large size militia group 150% the size of the warband

4. Each indian is worth two milita. Every one in thirty militia must be replaced with a civilian leader.
5. Warbands can opt to fight or evade.
6. If they opted to evade roll a D6 on a 3+ the warband evades the militia and moves back one square.
7. If they fail to evade the militia they must fight a battle. In addition a second group of militia joins the fight. Roll a D3 to determine the size of the second group of militia. All the militia fight as a single force for the battle.
8. If the warband opts to fight roll a D6. on a 3+ they are the attacker. Otherwise the militia are the attackers. If the warband opts to evade and fails roll a D6 on a 3+ the milita is the attacker.
9. roll a D3 to see what type of battle is fought.

Indian attacker	1 Indian have a scouting mission. Militia have a engagement mission
	2   Indian have a raid mission. Militia have a defence mission
	3 Both sides have an engagement meeting
Militia attacker	1 Indian have a protection mission. Militia have a Slaughter mission
	2 Indian have an engagement mission. Militia have a scouting mission
	3 Both sides have an engagement meeting

10. If the warband wins they get one musket per ten militia removed from play and D3 rations
11. If the warband loses it retire back one hex.
12. Roll a D3 for each warrior removed from play during the game.  
1. Recovers. The warrior recovers straight away and it available to the warband for the next card turn.
2. Injured. The warrior is not available until the warband rolls a six at the start of the next card turn. Add plus one to each roll  after the first.
3. Dead. The warrior is permanently removed from play.
13. Walking wounded. In dire times a warband can opt to form a unit of walking wounded. At the start of the next battle a warband can try to form a unit of walking wounded. All warriors currently in the injured group form a single unit and can fight in the next battle. All the warriors counts as braves (ie not as good a uninjured warriors. And any walking wounded removed from play during the game is automatically dead after the battle.
14. If a warband in detected all the adjacent cards become alarmed. When entering an alarmed card the warband must re-roll failed detection test ie if not spot on the first attempt re-roll the attempt.
10. At the end of the turn the warband can opt to spend one ration to all the adjacent cards.

British supply column on the move

Victory Conditions.

First war band to make it across the map is the winner.

If no war band makes it across the map after twenty one days the campaign ends with no winners.

sample info graphic for the campaign,

British supply column on the move

Column takes fire from French militia

Redcoat=Red meat as far as this bear is concerned

Being shot at by milita and attacked by a bear on the flank some days are better than others

British milita trade fire with their French counterparts

While the Bear goes for something a bit french

Indians destroy the first supply wagon

Militia fire on the french in the woods

Indian fire the second wagon

French militia fire the last wagon

That is all for now, thanks for stopping by.