Clubmen and highlanders in VWQ?

[Lazybones]

I am enjoying the Victory Without Quarter rules very much. I especially like their "quick play" nature and the ability to get reasonably-sized games onto the restricted table top space available to me. Nice!

I am wondering if Clarence (should he read this) or anyone else has developed house rules for clubmen and highlanders. How do you base them? How do you handle them in melee?

Looking forward very much to the rumoured second edition!

[quindia]

Working rule for Highlanders:

Highlanders move 5 inches (charge bonus 5 inches).

Highland charge: They can attempt to charge any infantry (not just shaken units). They take a morale check at an unmodified 5... if they pass they then charge throwing 2d6-2 to see at what range they discharge their weapons. They roll two dice per stand, scoring hits on a 5+ (no modifiers). The unmodified throw is to represent the fact that not all troops would have missile weapons.

If they inflict any casualties on the target unit this will have to take a morale test . The melee then takes place as the core rules if this results in a Highland victory it continues as core rules. If the highlanders are defeated and there is no chance of another clan coming in behind them to support as with cavalry squads then the highlanders will disengage 5 inches back shaken. They cannot fire any missile weapons again until the
reload card is drawn.

The highlanders did not like cavalry and will always attempt to evade if charged by cavalry in the open. They cannot charge cavalry unless the target unit is routing.

I don't have a rule for clubmen, but would probably make them a four stand unit deployed 2x2. They would most likely be poor troops at best...

[Lazybones]

Clarence, thanks for taking the time to post these working rules.

Are you thinking of fielding the highlanders in units of three stands or of two (more like Commanded Foot)?

I realise that the clubmen are not much chop. But they do figure in many of the northern battles that I am interested in. I'd like to field them, if only to give them a chance to run away!

Thanks again.

[Emir of Askaristan]

We used Clarence's amendments at my local club to play the Battle of Inverkeithing, which featured a single unit of Highland Scots .

I think they worked quite well and there was talk of them being adopted and used for other games such as Auldearn.

As for unit size, then it would depend on how many were in your particular action. At Inverkeithing around 800 highlanders fought, so possible half the size of a normal unit of foot - three stands was perhaps too much but we really didnt give it much thought

[quindia]

Two stand units are probably better, but I agree with the Emir... if a battle has an unusually large unit of Highlanders you could field them as a three stand unit, though I might opt to place them on the table as two units of two stands.

[bibio]

Clubmen we counted them as raw in the open and trained if defending that way they are not a battle winner but give enough of a niusance value.In certain scenarios i've toyed with the idea of making them neutral at the beginning of the game then as the first side encounters them dicing to see where their loyalties lie.

iain

[quindia]

In certain scenarios i've toyed with the idea of making them neutral at the beginning of the game then as the first side encounters them dicing to see where their loyalties lie.

iain

Nice bit of extra chaos and very in the spirit of VWQ!

[bibio]

Tried the highlanders as two stands I feel it makes them too brittle,maybe two stands requiring three casualty markers or making them harder to hitwould even it out.We are going to play Alford in a couple of weeks time in six mm and because of the way they are based most of the units will be two stands but we are going down the three casualty marker route.

iain

[Emir of Askaristan]

Alford sounds interesting. Do let us know how you get on.

I've yet to play another game featuring highlanders, not enough folk in the Aberdeen club have them !