Download VWQ

[quindia]

From the Forward...

Having been through nearly every set of commercial rules for the period I could find, I decided to take a stab at writing my own. It's not that I found anything wrong with the rules available, but they didn't fit exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a card based system with simple mechanics that would allow me to play battles with eight to twelve units per side in an evening. I also wanted to be able to field my units on multi-figure stands and have a way to keep track of battlefield losses without resorting to rosters or figure removal. What follows are the results of my efforts. There is nothing revolutionary about these rules - they have been inspired by many contemporary rule sets on the market, as well as traditional authors like Donald Featherstone and Charles Grant.

These rules are not designed for competition play and not every situation that could arise is covered. If questions come up use common sense to work them out or, failing that, choose two likely results (usually your interpretation and that of your opponent) and roll a die to decide the outcome. These rules have not benefited from exhaustive play testing, but the games I've run so far have worked well and seem to capture the feel of the period. Feedback would be welcome! Nothing is set in stone at this point.

The rules are designed for 28mm figures although they should be easy enough to adapt to 15mm by halving the base sizes and replacing all references to "inches" with "centimeters".

The title for the rules was the field word for William Waller's army at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge.

You can download Victory Without Quarter free from:
http://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B2z9Y0PeMN7TMjVmOGU3NDItMmYzZC00Y2RiLTg1YjItNjRhNGQxNDRkZTlm&hl=en

Again, these rules are designed to work best with armies of eight to twelve units per side. Beyond that the chance element becomes a little too random and throws off the balance of the game.

Barry and I had several discussions about VWQ in the downtime between games, though the onus is on me to knock it into better shape for actual publication. To maintain the link with other LoA publications, some of the combat mechanics may closer resemble BLB2 (or modifications thereof) which have undergone far more playtesting, though I am going to maintain the card control system and casualty system. For those who HATE card driven games, the BLB2 command rules will be included in the Optional Rules section.

Anyway, it is in the future plans for a full LoA treatment, but for now you can try out the really fast play version... I've had a lot of fun with these rules and had good feedback over the years in general (of course, when they are free, people can't complain too much)...
_________________
Clarence
www.quindia.com
www.quindiastudios.blogspot.com

"Please read the accompanying qualification notes and explanations before dismissing my decisions as the ranting of a man who has lost the plot." - Barry Hilton from R2E

[bibio]

quote]Again, these rules are designed to work best with armies of eight to twelve units per side. Beyond that the chance element becomes a little too random and throws off the balance of the game. [/quote]
Clarence we have played some big battles with them 18 plus units per side and by adding an extra event and end of turn card i think we kept the balance not too badly -nobody complained-

iain

[quindia]

Things like that will be good to know as we go forward. This part of the forum will be a good place for people who have used the rules the rules to chime in.
_________________
Clarence
www.quindia.com
www.quindiastudios.blogspot.com

"Please read the accompanying qualification notes and explanations before dismissing my decisions as the ranting of a man who has lost the plot." - Barry Hilton from R2E

[Liam A of E]

Clarence, good to know you are looking at these for the future.

Just one request - please dont change the mechanics so much that it changes the feel of the game. The card based play, simple mechanisms and events makes it what it is.

I have posted on several sites about how good this game is.

We play very regularly indeed at GDWS, and the biggest game we had was over 20 units a side. We solved the big game/ random movement issue simply by taking out the end of turn card for two turns, which meant that everyone was on a decent position on the table and had a fighting chance to be involved.

Ian F at the club has made up some rules for Highlanders, and in the past we have improvised rules for clubmen and forlorn hopes. We have even turned our hand to a bit of a siege, over a brilliant redoubt that Andy M painted up. We have also fiddled about with pre-battle events to delay brigades and so on, or improve their fighting ability etc.

We tend to play scenarios we have made up - of the "Hold that village till your cavalry comes up" type - or just thrown on everything we have and see who is left standing!

We could probably send you a "wish list" of things that we would like to see, or even problems we have solved over the piece if that would help development.

For me, off the top of my head:-

Personality stats for Historical figures (Cromwell, Montrose, etc)
Sappers and sieges
Highlanders and Irish, Clubmen, foreign mercenaries etc
Pre-battle or expanded events ("Where is MacColla?" "Scotch Mist" "Witchhunter!")

But really, these would just be added bits, as the system works!

Keep us posted on how things are going - happy to try stuff out and give you feedback!
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Vex me Not, or I will have you dragged awhile....

[quindia]

Careful, Liam, or you will end up in the playtest group!
_________________
Clarence
www.quindia.com
www.quindiastudios.blogspot.com

"Please read the accompanying qualification notes and explanations before dismissing my decisions as the ranting of a man who has lost the plot." - Barry Hilton from R2E

[bibio]

He's already been volunteered -although he does'nt know it yet.

iain