Bashing the Bishop

7/25/2019 Bashing the Bishop

1/3

l 6

Bashin0

he

Bishop

by Rtchard

Clarke

INTRODUCTION

ENTER

TI{E BISHOP

For my money

I'll

play,

and enjoy equally,

two rypes of wrgaine.

Firstly thee is the

sincereatrempt al hisiorical

accuracy,where well

fesedched and

elegantly slructu.ed

ule syslems allow

us ro

(hopetully

)

gain

a

greate.

appreiation

of

warfde

in a sp@ific codflicr

or

period.

S{ondly

is somethhg

quite

diffe.ent.

rhe FLD,I

gme.

where

the

gane6

enjoy

lhen

gaminS

or

quile

differen! bur who is ro

say

le$er, re.!ons.

Indeeda ook at ey warganes

show or convenrionwitl

see a lirge

nunber of the

laner,

wheG participalion

ganes provide

newcomeB

o the hobby with

a tun. fast dd fatic

fint blooding. dd

I

e,hat

e.

rhebfl rerie\

of romeot uscynjcal ld ampagne6.

In the case of fun

games.

where the emphasis

s on laughter nor

laurcls.

rhe rules we need

are

quire

different frcm any

others. nd@d

this faci was

brcughr home

to me only recently when a ioad of

Medieval

figures d

"losr"

nearly

wenry

yem

ago fonuitousty

cme

to ighrjnst

n time o

get

hen

in shapeor ourmnDal

ChristDas

ame

of fun, frivolity

and down.ighr

foolishns.

h hd to

be said hat my o.iginal purchdhg

decisioneas

b6ed oD he

fact ftar

EssexMiniatrcs

Medievil rangewas so dmnably

atrEctive

thar coul.h

r resisl hem.The

acr Oa1 hadmt the dighElt

krowledSe

of warfire

in that

period

eded

6 no bEke on my enriusiasm,

md hom

of carcful paindnS

bek rhen

(I

ccd in thosedays

I) actuatly atlows

ihem

b srill stand cturiny

oday. ndeed heir e-emergence

eft me keen

to

Eet

hembackonhe

1able soon s

possible.

So,

et\

keep t nice dd simple.

Onebishop

plus

rctinue md

a

goody

bag. Half a dozen knighc wirh

their rclinues, all of whom want

the

goodiesr

ali of whom distrust

each other. md some

of

whom

really

HATE eachother ln fact o

make t more un we allowed

he Knighrs

{i.e.

our

gmers)

to forge temporary

auianceswilh some

of rhe other

clds in the eea, bur ensmd ftar somewouldb@ terible grudgeshat

woDldmean

cerlain isticuffs were rhey

to meeron someconnrry

de.

For thosegrapple

ans mongst us rhis was

reminiscentof rhe

King of

the Ring

competitions hat used

10 fill ITV wrestling on

a Saturday

aJbmoon

n the 9?0s.All we needed

ow was be ules.

DECISIONS,

DECISIONS

SortinS hrcugh the

newly discolered

goodies

discovered two figure

setof a mounedand

dismounredishop, longwith

a smallrerinue

f

monks. small ight-bulb

wenton somewheG

ndd ideawas

bom

tharwashopefully good

it fora w&ganes

tubbasedn

SrAlbans.

As hone 1o

Brilain s lrst

Chrisrian manyf tbe Abbey

Church of St

Albd is a

huge

iece

fdchilecture

noursm.llcityi

skyline.ndeed

the

relics of lhis ageing esident

of VerulmiDm de

stiil there n a

grear

biebox.

These ays or

qlite

somany

il8rims

one.

blt in theMiddle

Ages he

place

as packed

wiih rhem.

So,within har on1ex1.visit

by somebig wig

bishop,wouldbeeninely

appropriale.o

na.ke im

more attractive o

someof the ocal ne'eFdo-wetlgentry

ne old duiier

couldbebrinSing

orne xciting elic.o. sinply

a bi8boxof cash.We

have o assumehere hal the afoementionedgenlry would not be too

concernedabort

cracking him over lhe

head o snarch tese

goodies.

but ookingdound

ar he nhabildls roday

ftink lbat hal s a fairly

saf onclusiono reach.

So, decisior me.

Should now spendmomhs

of cdeful resedcb

piecitrS

oeerher

te subilenudces of conflicr

n rhe MiddleAges?

Somehope.No,

this was o definitely

e a lun

gane,

where lavour

lates

precedence

ver minuriae.

and, indeed,

perhaps

all those

coments

in thisaugusr

oDmal

along

te linesof

"sod

hishry

ler's

8eton with thegame maywell bavehi1 heir arger r asr

So, eaving he

dustyhistoricalones n plac.

was ooking

or a

set of rules rh4

matched he fiBures we had

available. The nuobes

involveddictated

ldgeish skimish game,with

roDghlya

dozen

figms aside.

oweverherewa onegrearer

etor ofimpondce:

hey

I

can

well

rccall a Wild Welt

skimish

8me

tnar I

d

participated

n

as a

youngster

be

scenario

as

obviously esigned

or iaDghs. s

were

fte namesof rhe chamcte.s,

however his cade

ro an abruptend

when the

rules came inro use.

Seventy our differenr

facros ro

considel

rso ilseemed.orshooring.

ndmore or simpl)

gelting

he

gun

out of fte

bloody holster This was nor

for me.

Wbat wdted ws

a setof"invisible ulej',

in orhe.words ules

tar

did not sland ! tne wayof lhe gde, a nuts and bolrs flmework rhat

would

get

us

onto he ablead dealwith

rhebasices*ndals

of the

game.

nmely frovemenl,

shootinged conbar

(anythinS

elsecould

be

factored n by the

unpne) andbe

preuy

much

unnoriceable hen n use.

So, staiting fron the

premise

hat infdry nove

6"

(and

tankl) dy

rules n

which

tey donl

shouldbe

viewed

d suspecrl)

dived n.

Firing was

coveredby basr&dising

my WWI] mou. penetnlion

system.whitst

meleesaw a

slbrle

vanarion

on ml

Dr Cldke\

Univeaal

Panacea ussid

Civil

wa.

MeleeSysrem This

atter use

nlher

moreoften to snake il

asacurc o! everywrgaming

ll. ud

see o

reasonordiscddinga winning

bmula now-

In fact.

all in all, tbe sysren s rarher

olly.

prcducing

fun

game

wi$ont too

much builr n derail.

am fimrly convincedhal {hen

running game

fthis nature ufrpi.e

shouid e ree o gild

rhe ily

wheneve. pprcpriate,d avoid r whennot. ndeed he utesysten

should e sophisticatednough

o allow

pans

of thegame

0bealmosr

role

played

a la

DunEeons DtuBon\ whilst

orher es relelan,

drmaric

bits can be

played

$mugh

al sped.

A key

iador here s to avoid

oveFengineering he rules.

There de

cenain ssues

hat ce be avoided n print

and eft to rhe uinpire.

Take


2/3

for examplea knight and his rerinue acconpanying a

prrry

of nonks

on a lon-q

oumet

perhals

escortiDg ome esterirg old Elic to sne

eqlally fesreringold monasteryWhilst stop?ingovemight ar the Bull

lnn in Do6etshire FalherAeltlric is approached y a lady of the niSht

offenne her w@s- Now do we imdiately write a trarche of mles

under he heading \,ic6 & Tarls". I would su8gest ot. In fact therc

de few issles outside he key :@s of sb@ling, fiSbting dd noving

ft cDnor be h&dld

brler

(and probably

a bundred

imes

nore

hufroroully) in a skimish game$an by a roll of a dicewiih de unpne

making his decisionbasedon that rcsult.

Secondly t is etrtirely

possible

o cover cerrainmd. suchasmorale.

by avoiding sepdate rule sectionsand sinply

prescribing

or certain

situarions.Fo. exaDple in the rules that follow neone ever takes a

mo.al. te!t. The rcaction of their force s diclatedby the

peEonaliry

of

thea leaderor in somecases heir troop we. Alche6, for example

will

no1 tand n the ace of m advuce by nelee troops,but will rctire. dd

will keep doing so urtil their

puBuer

s stopped.Men of all typeswill

fight in a meleeDniil fteir

smngft

falls Io a

point

where tey ftink.

''Bueger

this, 'm

off

hone".

ar

which

poinr

hey

will

indeedeave he

batle. To my nind whar s losr

by

nor having a

sepmle

norale

systen

is more td compensatedor. in this

"tun"

onenbred situation,by the

fNter

play

of the rules.

Wlat follows is the sel we cme up with. I bave added some

explanatorycometrts. A1l

you

n@d is a bucket tull of dice, sone

figures dd a

particuldly

waiped scetrdio designermd lmpire.

t7

when

neeting a f'night he do6

not know he wi]I rcI a

D6- On I 3 he wiu attack.on +6 he

will

be his besr

kdieJ Mm Will always ead fton the iont

when

any female under

60 s watching,howverafter a ossof two strength

poinc

will retire from battle o have his woundsboundby the

said female.RoIs with +1 for tm initiativ when adies

prsenl.

ktled or caphned his

preDiry peac@k

will be

left lo his fale by his men.On metiog a kriSht he d@s

no! know he may act as be chooses.

lmortal well, HE rhinks he sl

will

always ead ron rhe

ront, all

his retinue

will

have + I dice in melee o

refler rheir

conJidence

when

he Ieads ten,

he

gers

+2

penonaily-

will

roll with a + I for tum initiativ.

If killed or capttDed

all of his forc. wilt risk their ljves ro regainhis body or

free him imediatell On meting a Knight he dcs not

know he will roll a D6. On a 6 he will attack.on my other

rsuh

he will act

as

he ch@ses-

Inconlinem A fonie stencb s upon himl His opponents mele

receive a minus. tf killed nobody

(not

even a Priest) will

go

ne& his body. Nobody wouid take his festeringoaf

prisoner.

he d stink the castleout. Any knight meeling

him will attenpl to

Sive

him a wide berth-

WithoDt Honour This appliesONLY to a kni8ht who hasbroketr he

code of chivalry that rhe rules dictate.With imediate

etrsl he wiil have

2

for initiative dd his mer wiu fiBht

wirh

'l

dice in melee- f Klled he will be deseded y his

men, he may not be caFured

as no

quaner

will be

given

to rhis blackguardl A kright, excepdng

a cowddly

one,

meeting his individual

will

atwaysattackhim.

A chdacter may be one or morc of these. an Obse Cowdd lbr

exmple. or d lncontinetrt.Drunken LadieJ Md. Th choice s

yoml

Charsctr Strength

As a nom all knights

wilt

be robqsf or betlei Sergeants obust',

Men-at-Ams Need Feding. and

peasants

Softiet. Feel fiee to

embetlishas

you

desire,

ust

don t over seasonhe

pot.

Tough

Guy 5

Soft/ 2

Big Gi.ly I

Infatry

-

6'

(ofcourse)

Cavalry 12'

The move sequence ses altemadve movenent. At the start of each

tum the opposing

playeB

will dice o seewho hd initiativ in that tum.

The highest adjustedscore, aking into accounl

personality

defects,

begins he tum. Tl'e

player

with iDitiative has a choice of

whether

o

more or fire fist. but he Dust do so with all of his men and may not

mix the order

Finng

Tr@ps may move a coDpletnov and no1nre or move half and nre.

Their larget will alwaysbe the ne@sr enemyas ong as no ftiends de

wiftin 2"

of the

ltrget-

Crossbow

amed men need one emire tum

sktionary and not in conbat to reload.Archrs or other missile troops

will

be obliged to

withdraw

if oy eneny melee oops come

within

6"

CHOPPERS, HIVALRY & CHASTITY BELIS

Sadly

all KnigbB

cannot be heroe!, some cannot even manage

hygienic,

but such

vmiety

addsspice o our

quest.

n discussionsr

was

feit that

peEonalities

or knighls would a.ld much to the

gue.

ud

whal

follows is simply someof lhe morc

printable

options we used.

Puenle,yes.but behind closeddooB with othe. conseDtingwargameB

good.

silly fun! I would

recomend this as an opportuniry o insult,

ridicule dd huniliate fellow

club membersa!

will.

Will

alwaysattackany knight or rctinue he meets,

assuming hen lo be hosnk.

will

roll for tum initiative

with a + L If he s killed or captrred be will be left lo rot

while his rctinue head or the nemsr

pub

to celebrate!

will

always ead from the red, all his rennuewill have

-l

dice n melee o reflect the fact that rhey have oDeeye

fimly

behindhem

o check e\

notleggedt again.

il l

oll aith a

-2

for

tum

nitiative.fhe

is killedor

.aprued i . rer inue l l r l l lee l rn{dr ly \vhenmeer ing

a knighr e

does ot

know

he

will

never ctagg.esively

His more tm mple

ginh

eives

him

-2

in melee.

Once

dismounted e my not remounrwitbour rhe assisrdceof

a dee winch.Once nocked ownhewill stru$le to

regain is eet.Rollswilh a

-l

for tum niliative.

If he s killed no one will attempt10shift his deadweight,

but if capturedhis nen

will

attempt o free him

imediately.

wlEn

Deetine a knighr he doesnol know

hemayacl ashechooses.

Has a

-l

to his total dice n combalbut benefi s ft on a + I

one br 1um niliatile. f being hotat by an dcher he

addsone dice lo his defensive oll to rflect the difficulty

of hitting swaying, ombling nnkdd. If he s knocked

over he

will

only regain his feet

rith

help from a ftiend.

Ifkilled or captured ll hismen

pill

riskdeath o rescue

hisbodyor freehim nnnediatly

lit

s his ound oxl.,.


3/3

l 8

FiBt mI 2D6 to hit

Rarge Ro[ Needed

0 ,

1 2 " 6

12,

24'

7

24' -36' 9

36'

-

48' l0

If a hit is achievedconsult he table

below io se how Imy dic e

rclled for penetntionusing he spcificweapon.

Ob6e

:2

IDDonal

+2

Opporera

hs'toule stench"

-2

Per strcnSth

point

lost

-t

Defendingobst@le

+2

Prone 50%

Moumed

v f@l +50%

Ixfensive stanc

+sOE

A key issu hec is the flexible

level of detail that

you

can use

lbr

fighting

your

melees.For exmple

wben two knights were fighting

head o had this could be covered n some

delail, whilsl a dozenoiks

in a big $rilmag coutd be

worted oul with one simple rcll of dice.

Ctiv6lry

In thes

nles, if not n reality, knights havea codeof

chivalry to which

they are no.rjly

bound. tf they brak lhe code lheir

cbmcter

imediately chmges

1o

"Without

Honoui and they suffer

penalties

Knights my

yield

at dy

poinr

in ctoseconbar

dd mDstbe spared

by a fellow kniSht who will artempl o take thempnsoner or rdsom.

Sergmis

may

give

knights

qudter.

as knights

mmy to sergedts. bu1

this

is enlirely optional. The xcepnonhere

s Inconnnentchdacte6

who no sde

pe6oD

would wdt dywhe.e nem fteir

csde, nn hin

lhrcugh dd move asay

post

haste.

Duing his own initiative

phase

uy knight

may challengedother

wilhin emhol

(whateve.

hat is!) to fighq

nm to md. This challenge

must be accepted

r honour will be lost. If it is accepEd

boft

panies

will

fight to

the end

(or

at east o the

poiDt

of one

yielding) whihr their

@tinuesstand by uking

no

pan

in fte fighl. TIE loseas side

will

withd@wat the

victor's

bidding.

Sh@ting

& Mel Resolts

The$ should be applied o each ndividul

relevdt ro the number of

hits taketr n that tm,

Hits Resqlt

1 I stretrB$

point.

Unhoned

or falls over on I or 2

2 2 strength

points.

Unhorsed

or falls over on 1 to 4

3 3 strengrh

poitrts.

Automatically

nnhoned or falls over

4

-4

slrcn8th

points.

As abovebut alsostunned,o acnons

ext m

5

-5

st ength

poinE.

As above. uth@ked out 6 to revile each

'm

tf a mounted igure is unhoNed he is arsumed

1o ed on his feet-

Chdacte6 in melee

who

are knocked

over wil

generally

c8ain heir

f@t if they win the nexfound

of mel@. Exceptionswould be druntr

dd obese bamcters make something

up.

peferably

humorcus.

Cleri6

Respected y all: nobody

will kill a cleric unless hey @ herencsor the

cleric atlacks

first.

Clerics

often cairy about some interesting stuff,

.elics, bils of w@d, holy hmd

grenades

tc. that may be or

imest 1o

playeB.

Whilst to us this is

quite

clearly a

load of old flbbish, to

medievaloll( r

qa

ot

\alue

beyond

ri.e.

so n de\i8nin8 scendio

some clevut

'powe6

should be devised.

nded they were m les

tr@tive hat the modemday

placebo

your

doctor

pscribes

to half of

his

patients.

n an energency clerics

cd be called on to use lheir

healing

powrs,

cmoving a single

point of dmage, bui they donl like

So therc we have t, a

game possibly even more fun thd Buckmo.

what is morc. d a club

prcj@r

this is the type of

low cost optior tnat

can

prolide m interestitrg @asioMl diveBion

jiom

the rigours of

drcaf old historical accurey.

trt cltrb menbeB buy a dozen o twenty

figurcs each.and tet\ face

ir

therc

de somenice ones out there. dd

before

you

know i!you'll be bahirg

the Bishop on a re8uld basis.

Longbow 12

Check the chan for

weapon

and

rdge, the rcsulting figurc being the

numberof sEike dice

.olled,

5 or 6

hits. The defender clls a numbrof

savingdice thalreflecr

his

gdb,

se rhe able below-

Garb

DefNe V.lue

Plare 12

Mail

9

Nowt 2

Add or subtracl

rom the nrnber of dice rclled a below...

Light cover

+?

Tuget stationrry

-l

...thetr cll saving bows as or sFike,

with

5 or 6 negating te

eret of

one successful it. SeeFiring dd Melee results or effe.c

Melee

For individual conbat on md

venus

one

mm, take the number of

dice relevat for his Amou

value

on the ch6n

above.Adjtrst this for

the specincsituation.AgaiDa resuttof 5 or 6

will

count

as a

successfDl

hit. The wimer is cledly the md who inflicts the mosr hits: doing the

net monnt of .lamage o his enemy

e.9.

Sir Ralph rclh nve hits. Sir

EdmDnd our The net esult is that Sir Edmund oses one sFengt

poinr).

If reduced o one Stength

point

the man

will disengagen his

oM tum dd anempt o slope off hone lo bed

d s@n s he

gains

he

initiative. Any

who

fall lo zero are

dead.

In a nultiple combat,where Oere

s more thm one mm on oDeor

mo.e sids, otal up the points for eachmd Dd rcll d a whole. The

victor's net number of hits d split equally

blwen the opporents.

with

dy odd hits being appliedby

the igms' owneras he s@s it. Any

rhar

all

to one srngh

poinr

slope

otr dy below that @ dead.

In his nitiative

phe

a

player

may chosehow he confiCures mlee.

For exmple if five men @ fidting three he nay choose o have

wo

single combats,with one multiple cornbatof 3 agarnst

- ln the cae of

multiple conbat againsta single oubumbredknight, he

nay eiect to

fight with a defensiv

posturc.

n this cashe

wjll

add 50%

more dice,

but if he wins the meleehis hits will not resuh

n his

opponents

osing

stEngth

points,

it nay stilt.

"howver

result

in him unsatirg or

kn@king down d opponentor regaining

hi!

own

fet. ln this way he

my hope o

prcvenl

his demise or long enough

1oallow his comdes

We de not concmedhrc with

what *e3pons the men @ fiShting

with, we

presune

that they chos their favourite and nost eFe.tive.

What

maters

here s class!

The adjustments o the total number

of number of dice rolled in

meleem as otlows, applied n this order

Those n bold only apply to

knights-

St ite Factor

tz-u"

1 0

8

l0

2+36"

l 0

l 0

36-44"

8

6

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Bashing the Bishop