Black Powder rules summary

[Happy Wanderer]

Gentlemen of Warlord games,

Your Hail Caesar rules provide an excellent and useful rules summary in the back of the book.

In such a popular rule system as BP, can we end users please be provided with a rules summary to provide the means to keep on top of all the game rules that these rules summaries do so well.

Kindest regards

Happy Wanderer

[Blackbottle]

I cannot recall the source, but this was part of a review by Mark Severin (due apologies):

Mechanics Summary

GAME MECHANICS:

The Orders System:

Black Powder uses a gentlemanly orders system. To issue an order, the player states the order. He then rolls 2D6 and compares this to the leader’s rating. if the roll exceeds the rating the order has failed. If successful the unit so ordered may be able to move once, twice or even three times depending on the die roll. A player may only attempt to give a unit one order per turn. Orders are expected to be “in a straightforward, robust fashion without conditions or vagaries.” Units can engages in melee and firing without orders. They need an order to change formation or charge, however.

Rules may require more than one move to complete.

If a player rolls a double six when making a command check, a blunder has occurred. If the overall commander blunders, no other units or commanders may be issued orders that turn. Additionally, the player must consult the blunder table to see what kind of blunder occurred.

Players may also issue brigade orders which apply to an entire brigade. Under such orders, a group of units all move under one order. They must be within 6” of each other and the commander tests as normal. Success allows the entire group to move, failure means none may be given an order this turn.
The test for successful adoption of orders is modified by distance and formation though the list of modifiers is short.

Orders also include rally, “follow me” and initiative (allowing a unit to act on its own).


Movement:

Movement rates for foot are 12” per move. Given that under the command system a unit may, with a good leader and cooperative dice, move three times on a single order, you can see that infantry can cover a lot of ground on even a 6’ wide table in a single turn!

The movement orders are otherwise quite streamlined. There are few details about wheels, obliques, etc. Interpenetration is allowed, as is man-handling artillery. Formation changes require one complete move (remember, a unit may have up to three in one turn).

Terrain effects are covered in a separate chapter.

Unit Ratings: Units in Black Powder each have several ratings. These are:
Hand-to-hand: The average value is about 6
Shooting: An average level is about 3
Morale: An average level is about 4 while 3+ is excellent, and 6+ is awful
Stamina: The number of casualties needed to make a unit “shaken”
In addition units may have special capabilities/rules, such as “Crack” or “Steady.”


Shooting:

In BP shooting is resolved by unit. A unit rolls one die for each point of shooting rating. This may be modified by formation or unit size. Shooters inflict a hit on a 4+. This hit number may also be modified by terrain, cover, etc. For every hit scored, the target rolls a save against its Morale. If any hits are scored place a casualty marker next to the unit. The unit is automatically disordered. The unit become shaken when it has as many hit markers as its Stamina.

Artillery resolves fire in the same way except that range dictates how many dice are rolled.
The rules go into some detail on shooting. They cover Enfilades, skirmishers, a limited kind of opportunity fire, etc.

Melee:

In order to bring on a melee, a unit must charge the enemy - which requires a specific order to do so. Once in contact, melee is resolved almost identically to shooting. Each side rolls one die for each point of Hand-to-hand rating. Large units roll more dice, and there are modifiers for cover, formation, flanks etc.

Each side scores hits, the as with shooting, each side attempts to make morale saves. Once hits are counted, a winner may be determined. Each side counts the number of hits they inflicted, then adds in for supporting units and terrain. the higher total wins (ties are a draw). The losers make a break test, while winners have several options. They may change formation or advance, or occupy the ground.

Morale:

BP uses morale in two ways. First, units save against hits using their morale rating. Second, they must make “break tests” in certain situations (after losing a melee, or taking lots of casualties for example). To perform a break test roll two dice. In general if you roll a 7 or more the unit has passed. The lower the doe roll the worse the result. On a roll of 4 or less the unit breaks and is deemed destroyed.

Note that the rally order does not affect morale directly. A successful rally removes a casualty marker. If the unit is over its Stamina rating it remains “shaken.”

[Happy Wanderer]

Thanks very much for that useful summation Blackbottle.

This would be a good overview for a demo game.

The detailed summary in Hail Caesar is sort of what I was thinking off.

Lots of people have taken on BP as a viable game system and I think the Warlord crew would do us a ll a great service by providing a detailed rules summary.

Please Rick, Jervis, John and crew,....can we have that rules summery to the Warlord Games standard?

Regards


Happy W

[rick priestley]

Point noted

It's really nice to hear that the Hail Caesar summary is appreciated by somebody! I sometimes wonder if people ever make use of them as they are often ignored.

I'll see if I can find time to have a go - they are absolute *%£@'s to do though - takes ages - difficult to get right - makes games designers cry and resort to gin.

Rick

[Happy Wanderer]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for your reply. Your rules summary is most certainly noted and appreciated in HC.

One of the nice things about BP is the engaging manner of the rules as they are written, to the point of being quite descriptive with explanations. That’s all really good.

However, sometimes it’s useful to be able to rumble through the rules in a crisp ‘refresh my memory’ type manner that will help in staying on top of things and for brushing up after a few weeks without a game. This is where the rules summary shines.

I very much hope you can bring BP into line with HC in this regard as so many people are now playing BP.

Kindest regards


Rolf

[Magic Dave]

Hi all, just wanted to bump this back to the top, joined the fourm looking for this as it would be handy for multiplayer games.

Cheers

[JLH]

Immitation is the highest form of flattery - I've liberally copied this summary (with a few modifications) into a briefing for new players in a big game we are running to commemorate the battle of Borodino. Thanks. It works really well.