Samurai 1550-1600
OHW Wargame Rules
These rules are a variant of Neil Thomas’ One-Hour Wargame Pike and Shot rules which include unit activation. Unit types are geared towards the latter part of the Sengoku period (1467-1615) when Japan was in a state of near-constant civil war and saw the introduction of the arquebus into the armies.
These rules use D3 dice for combat and a simple activation system where the opposing player gets to react during a player’s turn.
Unit Types
The game uses the following units types which will need to be consistently based:
Foot Samurai. These units were the main heavy infantry to perform shock tactics. They were well armoured and wielded a variety of weapons such as swords, polearms and spears. Often Samurai would arrive on horse and fight dismounted due to the terrain in Japan.
Mounted Samurai. These units performed as medium cavalry used to harass and flank enemy units, and pursue retreating units. During the 1500’s most Samurai had moved from using bows to being armed with spears of various lengths.
Ashigaru. These units formed the backbone of samurai armies during this period. They wear lighter armour than Samurai and are armed with spears (yari) arquebus (teppo) and bows (Yumi); these various arms worked together as units.
General (Daimyo). Samurai armies still remained quite feudal and their Generals (Daimyo) would be attended by his personal bodyguard of samurai (Hatamoto). A general must be attached to either a foot or mounted samurai unit.
Command Post. The Daimyo’s headquarters surrounded by a Maku are used by Daimyo’s to communicate to their forces. Should an enemy unit be able to attack this, remove 1 unit, the owning player’s choice.
Sequence of play
Players take turns trying to activate all or some of their units. As they activate their units there may be opportunities for the opposing player to react and make an activation. When a player activates a unit, they must first check to see if the opposing player’s army can react with one of their units.
You will need 6 dice of one colour and 1 die of another colour. If you are playing with more than 6 units then additional dice will be required.
The procedure is:
At the start of a player’s turn place one dice for each unit in play and any reserves due that turn into a dice bag (or tin). Make sure they are all the same colour. Then add one additional die of a different colour to the dice bag or tin.
Shake bag and draw one die. If it is not the odd colour, the player can move or shoot with one of their units. If it is the odd die, then the other player can react by moving, charging, combat, or shooting with one of his units.
The player continues drawing dice until they have activated all the units they want, or until there are no more dice.
Repeat step 1 for the other player.
The game ends after 15 turns.
Movement
Movement Allowances. Units may move up to the distances listed below during their turn:
Ashigaru - 6”
Foot Samurai - 9”
Mounted Samurai - 12”
Turning. Units turn by pivoting on their central point. They may do so at the start and/or end of their move.
Terrain. Units are affected by terrain as follows:
Woods. Only foot Samurai may enter.
Towns. Mounted Samurai may not end their move in a town.
Marshland and lakes. These are impassable to all units
Rivers - These may only be crossed via bridges and fords
Roads - Units moving by road increase their movement distance by 3” if their entire move is spent on the road. This bonus may not be received if charging.
Hills - These are impassable to Mounted Samurai.
Moving and Shooting. Unit cannot move and shoot.
Interpenetration. Units cannot pass through other units.
Charge Moves. Charges are resolved by moving the attacking unit into contact with its target. They are subject to the following restrictions:
Ammunition. Ashigaru may only charge if they are out of ammunition.
Under Fire. A unit cannot be charged if it has been shot at by another unit this turn.
Turning. A charging unit may turn once, at the start of its move. This evolution may not exceed 45 degrees.
Limited Engagement. Only one attacking unit may contact each face of the target (these being Front, Left Flank, Right Flank, and Rear).
Fighting. Combat is resolved immediately.
Shooting
Only Ashigaru units may shoot, the procedure for which is as follows:
Adjudge Field of Fire. Units may only shoot at a single target within 45 degrees of their frontal facing.
Measure. Ashigaru have a shooting range of 12”.
Assess Casualties. Units roll a D3. The final score gives the number of hits the target acquires, which is modified as follows:
Cover. Subtract 1 for target units in woods or towns.
Check Ammunition. Ashigaru which have rolled a 3 have run out of ammunition, and may not fire for the remainder of the game unless a resupply chance card is drawn.
Hand-to-Hand Combat
The procedure for Hand-to-Hand Combat is as follows:
One sided combat. Units only inflict casualties during their own player activation or reaction.
Assess Casualties. Units roll a D3. Ashigaru and mounted Samurai use the unmodified score and foot Samurai add 1. The final score gives the number of hits the target acquires, which is modified as follows:
Mounted Samurai. These units subtract 1 if attacking Ashigaru.
Foot Samurai. These units subtract 1 if attacking mounted Samurai.
Terrain Advantage. Defenders in towns, woods, on a hill, or defending a river crossing, subtract 1.
Multiple unit combat. The attacking unit if engaged by multiple units subtracts 1 for each unit not being attacked.
Movement Within Combat. Units may turn to face an attack upon their flank or rear, but only if they are not simultaneously being frontally engaged.
Disengaging. Units can disengage from combat if their movement allowance is greater than the unit they are in combat with.
Eliminating Units
Units are eliminated upon the acquisition of 9 or more hits. If a Daimyo is assigned the unit is treated as being there Hatamoto, and are eliminated with 13 hits.
Loss of the Daimyo and their Hatamoto will result in all remaining units taking D3 hits.
Additions
Before the start of the game and as part of setup, players can select up to 3 items from the list below and assign them to units, no more than 1 addition per unit.
Tate (max. 2) - wooden shields were used throughout the samurai period. They were planted in the ground and provided protection against missile attacks. A unit can carry these, but once used they are treated as immobile and removed from play if the unit moves. All missile attacks are halved.
Bamboo Palisades (max. 2) - Loosely constructed bamboo palisades protect against melee but not missiles. Treat these as immobile and remove from play if the unit moves or is eliminated. All hand-to-hand attacks are halved.
Ammunition Supplies (max. 2) - An Ashigaru unit can have additional ammunition supplies which allow a unit to ignore the first time they are out of ammunition. Place a supply marker with the unit.
Cannon (max. 2) - An Ashigaru unit can have a cannon. A cannon adds 1 to all shooting. Cannons are removed when a unit moves, is charged, or runs out of ammunition. A unit with a cannon cannot have additional supplies.
Tsukai-Ban (max. 2) - Tsukai-Ban are messengers who carried the Daimyo’s orders during the battle. One Tsukai-Ban can be played at the start of a player’s turn. A unit may make a free movement (not a charge).
Personal Challenge (max. 1) - At the start of a player’s turn a personal challenge may be issued. The enemy unit being issued with the challenge must be within 12 inches of a unit. The enemy unit may not be activated by the enemy during their next turn and cannot be attacked by the player issuing the challenge. Samurai often used personal challenges to delay the enemy so they could buy time to retire or reorganise.
References
A very useful website https://gunbai-militaryhistory.blogspot.com
Samurai Warfare, Dr Stephen Turnbull
Samurai Armies 1550-1615, Osprey Men-at-Arms Series, S.R.Turnbull
Samurai, Osprey Warrior Series, A.J. Bryant and A. McBride
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