Fantasy Campaign - The Shadow Wars Maps.

I love games with a narrative. One way of achieving that is to make the battle part of a campaign. I had already fought several battles using the Fantastic Battles rules. These have involved a variety of opponents that reflect my old 10mm Warhammer collection. However, I decided to use my old Orcs, now labelled the Umbarji, the Shadow Ones, in a campaign against the tribes of the Wilderness Steppes. The campaign events occurred two years after the inconclusive Battle of Blackthorn Abbey. Again, Ozbeg, the Umbarji warlord, is the aggressor, launching a campaign of conquest to control the Amber Way, a vital trading highway. Therefore, the Second Shadow Wars began a series of Umbarji raids along the trade route and the market towns of the Lakes.

The Campaign Rules

Eventually, I will post the rules, but I am using this campaign to develop and amend them. The campaign rules in Fatalistic Battles acted as my starting point, which I have adapted for solo play. Therefore, I have added ideas from Henry Hyde, Tony Bath and William Silvester. So, in brief, there is nothing particularly original in the overall design, but as they have developed, some of my ideas have started to appear. This blog aims to introduce the campaign and the thinking behind my rules.

Basic Concepts for the Campaign Rules

Here are my main design principles for the campaign. Keep it simple as possible with a minimal amount of record-keeping.
I have used the campaign rules in Fantastic Battles as the framework for these rules.
A Campaign Year has four seasons, three ‘Active’ Seasons' and 1 'Winter Season' for recruiting diplomacy and cleaning up events from the campaigning season.
Each season consists of three months. Each campaign move is one month.
Each month, a Chance card is drawn per side to create uncertainty and aid solo play.
Charlie Wesencraft's weather barometer forms the basis for the weather rules.

The Strategy Map

The design approach of minimal record-keeping means that my campaign maps does the heavy lifting. The most important map is the Strategy Map, which provides an overview of the region where the campaign is being fought. The map below is the second iteration of the Strategy Map for my Shadow Wars campaign. It covers an area about the size of the Iberian Peninsula. Therefore, each hex is about 20-24 miles from face-to-face, roughly equating to a two-day march (in good conditions), although movement rates varied tremulously in the pre-industrial period.






Other maps will include a Diplomacy Map and possibly a Local Map if the action focuses on one area. Using a Local Map is at the player's discretion because the campaign's Active Seasons can be managed by using the Strategy Map alone.

Using the Strategy Map

A ‘point-to-point’ system is used in the Fantastic Battles rules, and this is the system I have adopted. The central locations are picked out as points or nodes on the map. Forces travel from one point on the map to another by moving along roads, paths or ancient causeways that join the different locations. Each path is marked with a circle showing the movement points required between the two nodes. The monthly movement allowance for a Force (a group of units under a single command structure) is four movement points. This can be varied by force marches, faster moving forces, for example, cavalry only or flyers and the climatic conditions.

Movement.

I have adapted the Fantastic Battles movement mechanism of drawing chits to provide the movement order. Place chits into a container/bag so there is one chit for every separate Force (army, naval, flying, or a character is unattached to a force). This means the chits may vary each month as armies divide and characters attach and detach. The monthly move is completed when all chits from the container bag have been removed.

Basic Movement

The basic movement allowance is 4 points, and a unit must end its move in turn on a node. This means that a Force might be unable to use all its movement because it has insufficient points to get to the next node. Movement points not used are lost and are carried forward. The basic assumption is that (Ancient and Medieval) armies followed established routes on land, riverways, and sea lanes.
These base rules on movement can be varied positively and negatively; examples are given below. A fuller list will be published after more playtesting.

Positive Effects on Movement.

1. A cavalry (mounted) only force gains one movement point. They lose this if they have taken loot or enslaved people.
2. Flyers could count all the circle movement points as 1.
3. A chance card can increase movement, scouting or secret route. 
4. Force marches can increase movement by 1d3, but the army is subject to desertion and fatigue in living armies.
5. Magic may enhance movement

Negative Effects on Movement

1. The map shows three types of roads. The best route is the Amber Way, built by the ancient and is well supplied with fortified inns and water points. It is the fastest route and is less affected by climatic conditions. 
2. Weather. The lesser roads/routes can deteriorate the rate due to climatic changes. This may be heavy rainfall, snow and wildfires (something that plagues the Wilderness Steppes). In winter, some of these routes become closed.
3. Supply Lines. A Force that can not trace a clear line of nodes back to its home base(s) loses one movement point because more time is needed to forage. However, continuing this can lead to desertion and reduce fighting quality.
4. Chance Cards can reduce movement through broken vehicles, poor planning or raiding by a third party, bandits, or resistance.
5. Magic can produce weather conditions, illusions and confusion that can reduce movement. 

These are the movement rules I used in the first year of my campaign, which started in 1046 of the New Gods and led up to the first battle of the Shadow Wars that occurred north of Lakeside at Spindle Moor.