Things Newbies Don't Like about Black Powder!

[grant]

My tourney experiences were strictly Warhammer based and a mixed bag. I dyed to try and win best painted (only missed it once) and Sportsmanship (always close...) so for me I have fun. Most people are cool, the odd one I have wanted to smash.

[King Tiger]

My tourney exp comes from warhammer, 40k, and warmachine, never again thank you, don't care if it can be good, don't wanna risk it, I'd rather do friendly games with no points, just a laugh, rolling dice between people who care about the history.

[BigMike]

I marshalled a Lotr tournament a few years back which was excellent - almost ego free, people who just wanted to play and have a laugh, totally unlike the 40k or wfb ones going on

[Comte Michel]

I agree with Ady's comments. Tournaments are not as bad as some seem to think.

I have played in five of them in 40 years of gaming. The first two were in the late 70's/early 80's. In those day historical comps were full of cut-throat rules lawyer types, who would argue and throw tantrums. That experience put me off competition style games for life - or so I thought.

To be fair my comments about tourneys are based on experiences from the same period as Alan's, I'm quite willing to be advised that things have improved nowadays. Maybe there was something about those old rulesets that brought out the worst in people. I know our local ancients group at the time was populated by the most objectionable, argumentative bunch of *expletive deleted* you could ever have the misfortune to meet.

A typical evening at their venue would go like this:

1900 Players arrive and set up 4 or 5 tables

1930 Games start

2000 Argument breaks out on one of the tables involving potential fisticuffs

2015 Argument continues

2030 Play ceases at the remaining tables as most of the participants are now involved in the original argument

2100 Rest of attendees retire to the pub in disgust leaving argument raging

Sad to say that some of these people ended up becoming quite prominent on the national wargaming scene. And no, I will not reveal the names

[Grossi]

Follow me orders. Get the strongest unit under the commander and go off without needing to say orders just race three moves around flanks and kill enemy units.
Micor-moving attack columns so they exaclty charge and get two units on a single unit.
Infantry that charge but that don't get stopped by being shaken by closing fire because they pass a break test on a7+ and then win the hand-to-hand .
Infantry hand-to-hand that lasts turns - boring.
And the most recent one - cavalry that can't charge artillley because they take a break test if casaulties from artillery

[Big Al]

Follow me orders. Get the strongest unit under the commander and go off without needing to say orders just race three moves around flanks and kill enemy units.
Micor-moving attack columns so they exaclty charge and get two units on a single unit.
Infantry that charge but that don't get stopped by being shaken by closing fire because they pass a break test on a7+ and then win the hand-to-hand .
Infantry hand-to-hand that lasts turns - boring.
And the most recent one - cavalry that can't charge artillley because they take a break test if casaulties from artillery

Sorry for being picky here, but you have been a little contradictory. You can't really complain that closing fire doesn't stop a unit and then complain that it does! The complaint about infantry passing a break test is one that could then be applied any time a unit passes a break test. What you're implying is that infantry should never be allowed to pass a break test when hit by closing fire. Why not?

On the follow me order, firstly the command has to be passed. Secondly, the unit can't move onto a flank and then charge that flank in the same turn, if that is what you are talking about. It can only charge an enemy unit on the same quarter it was facing when it began its movement.

Infantry hand to hand lasts turns in other rule systems too. They can be long drawn out affairs.

The micro movement is annoying, gamey and definitely not in the spirit of the game! The unit has to make contact via the shortest route and then has to cover as much of the front of both units. If the shortest route is straight forward and the whole unit would have to shuffle sideways to make room for a second column, I just wouldn't allow it and show the fellow the rule and which says that he can't - page 58. He would then only get one column

[jazbo]

I find it a bit depressing that "historical" wargamers can't find the mental energy to read some history and make games up. Isn't that what we did with Fire and Fury etc? Points, schmoints.

[Darkwing Duck]

Here here jazbo.

Now we play a game until the publisher goes belly up then get rid of the rules because there is no support. I remember the days when there was no support and we read our history rather than jumped on to forums which unlike this one can be quite dodgy. I half prefer the old days of trolling through a library trying to find what I'm after and half going to a forum or using google.

As for things i don't like about Black Powder (just to keep on topic) the rules over multiple engagements is a tad vague. Playing a game the other night a cavalry unit in line hits two infantry columns despite being the chargers the cavalry end up disadvantaged in having 6 h2h dice (lt dragoons) to 12 hth dice for the infantry. To balance out I gave the cavalry +1 for extra momentum charging down hill.



steam vented back to watching cossacks.

[grecian1959]

For me to date perhaps the complete freedom to use FOLLOW ME. I feel it should be in the game but perhaps limited somehow to a number of uses etc per battle. Mainly because since i know its the last order but it increases the chance say for example a 7 rated general whose troops(napoleonic ) are in attack column +1 upping his rating to 8 (esp if the troops are unreliable)race forward with a unit and take an objective While in his next turn tho still attached try and order up the rest in support. I feel if Archduke Charles grabs the flag and shouts vorwarts to a battalion thats him off radar for a while?????? I'd do it myself LOL yet it seems a tad gamey

[Big Al]

Don't forget that "Archduke Charles" will have some negative modifiers to his orders next turn, due to the distance he is away from those other units he wants to order up for support. Perhaps there should be a -1 modifier if the commander is with a unit engaged in combat. That might help make people think hard about using the Follow Me order.