March to the Sound of Guns

an adaptation of Games Workshop's "Warmaster" rules

by Herbert Wong

These are my first attempt at very fast play Napoleonics rules, "March Toward the Sound of Guns", using Games Workshop's Warmaster rules as inspiration, that allow corps sized battles to be comfortably finished within 4 hours of play.

Please note that the following features, usually present in Napoleonic games have been neglected or changed:

• Skimishers - as a Divisional/Brigade level game, it is pointless for an Army commander to worry about the captain's job.  So I have already factored skirmishers into infantry's fire range.

• Defensive fire - in order to keep the game fast flowing, I skip it.

• Cavalry reaction move - I skip it too, for fast moving gameplay

• Leader casualties - neglected, to make the game simple

Basic rationale:

• As an Army commander, what you need to do is select the right location, select the right time and commit the necessary force in order to rout your enemy.  My rules try to simulate this.  The player should spend the time in "strategic" thinking instead of checking the rules.

• I hope any epic battle, such as Waterloo, can be finished within 4-5 hours, allowing large battles to be fought at our monthly meetings.

• By playing historical battles on an epic scale battle, interest in collecting figures/models of this historical period is maintained and encouraged.

Future advanced rules which may be added:

• balancing point system for non-historical battle

• more details in troop quality

• more detail rule for commanders

Don't hesitate to give me your comments and ideas.

Herbert Wong

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