Oops, I missed some things.
Here are the full revisions.
(David, I don't know if you have seen the last 2 paragraphs or not
But I would value your opinion of them.
)
Rules for Playmobil Melee Combat
I GAME PLAY
Introduction
The Battle field set up is the same as in H.G. Wells little wars, both sides should be also balanced forces. For the amount of time each player gets per turn and any rules not specified here, all players should agree upon before play begins. (Unless, it does not fit in the situation for the scenario.)
Game Preparation
Set up the gaming area with appropriate terrain for the type of battle to be fought. Both players roll one dice each; reroll ties until you have a winner. The winner decides what edge of the playing area he sets up on. The other player set up opposite from him.
Turn Sequence
The player who lost the Game Preparation die roll gets to move first. Each unit or figure gets one move per turn. When he has moved every figure he can, or wants to, the turn switches to the other player. Melee Combat in not simultaneous.
Combat Resolution
When rolling dice for attacks, the highest roll wins. All ties go to the attacker.
II TROOP TYPE
Infantry
Light infantry (no shield or small buckler): Can move 1 foot per turn, 1 attacking die, and 1 defending die.
Light spearmen (no shield or small buckler): Can move 1 foot per turn, 1 attacking die, 1 defending die. (Against cavalry or war elephants, spearmen gain +1 attacking and +1 defending die, but only if facing the attack (more about that later))
Heavy spearmen (shield): Can move ½ a foot per turn, 1 attacking die, 2 defending die. (Against cavalry or war elephants, spearmen gain +1 attacking and +1 defending die, but only if facing the attack)
Heavy infantry (shield): Can move ½ a foot per turn, 1 attacking die, 2 defending die.
Note: Any thrown weapons can be thrown 1 foot (this does not include archers or artillery). Thrown weapons can only be thrown once. Once they are thrown the enemy cannot reuse them, and the side that threw them cannot pick them back up. One man can only throw a weapon once per turn. He cannot throw a weapon and attack an enemy with his melee weapon in the same turn either.
Cavalry
Light cavalry (no shield or small buckler): Can move 1 ½ feet per turn, 1 attacking die, 2 defending die. (Special ability Charge: Cavalry can move 2 feet per turn and gain +1 attacking die. Note that this ability can only be used if the cavalry attacks enemy units at the end of its 2 foot move, the special ability cannot be used to retreat/move in any other direction or if the cavalry is already engaged in battle. This ability can also only be used once every 3 turns.)
Heavy cavalry (shield): Can move 1 ½ feet per turn, 1 attacking die, 3 defending die. (Special ability Charge: Cavalry can move 2 feet per turn and gain +1 attacking die. Note that this ability can only be used if the cavalry attacks enemy units at the end of its 2 foot move, the special ability cannot be used to retreat/move in any other direction or if the cavalry is already engaged in battle. This ability can also only be used once every 3 turns.)
Note that cavalry can dismount, but they must wait one turn without moving or without being attacked to do so. Once a man dismounts he leaves his horse behind and continues with the stats of an infantry man. In order for the dismounted rider to remount he must return to his horse and repeat the dismounting procedure (waiting one turn). If the dismounting rider is carrying a lance or some other object unsuitable for ground fighting the weapon may be switched for a more suitable one.
Archers
Infantry archers: Can move 1 foot per turn, 1 attacking die (melee) 1 attacking die (archery), 1 defending die. (Special ability Flaming Arrows: Archers can ignite arrows to rain fire upon the enemy. The archers loose 2 attacking points (say if you roll a 5, your attack only counts as 3) (archery), but kill 2 men instead of one if they hit the enemy. Note that this ability limits the amount of arrows the archer can fire per turn to 1.)
Mounted archers: Can move 1 ½ feet per turn, 1 attacking die (melee) 1 attacking die (archery), 1 defending die. (Special ability Charge: Cavalry can move 2 feet per turn and gain +1 attacking die. Note that this ability can only be used if the cavalry attacks enemy units at the end of its 2 foot move, the special ability cannot be used to retreat/move in any other direction or if the cavalry is already engaged in battle. This ability can also only be used once every 3 turns. This special ability cannot be used if the mounted archer fires arrows at the end of it’s’ 2 foot move, the attack must be a melee attack.)
(Special ability Canterbean Circle: This special ability allows your mounted archers to attack from the range of any other mounted hoarse archer within a foot of each other. Ex. There are 3 mounted archers, but one of them is just 1 foot ahead of the other two and is the only one who can attack the enemy, your special ability allows all 3 mounted archers to attack the enemy, even though the other 2 are out of range.)
Note that archers can fire only 3 times per turn. Mounted archers can dismount, but they must wait one turn without moving or without being attacked to do so. Once a man dismounts he leaves his horse behind and continues with the stats of an infantry man. In order for the dismounted rider to remount he must return to his horse and repeat the dismounting procedure (waiting one turn). Mounted archers cannot use the Flaming Arrows ability as is will spook the horses; they must first dismount in order to use Flaming Arrows. Archers can fire 1 foot with a short-bow or crossbow, but can fire 1 1/2 feet with a longbow.
War Elephants
War elephants can move 1 foot per turn, 3 attacking die, 3 defending die. Note that if the rider of the war elephant is killed the war elephant looses -1 attacking and -1 defending die. After the rider is killed the elephant will not move unless troops from either army come within ½ foot of the war elephant. Then the Elephant will attack the troops and the opposite players will role the die for the elephant. The elephant will attack once per turn whether or not it kills anyone, only after the troops move over ½ foot away from the elephant will it stop attacking them. The elephant must attack the closest troops (ex. A unit of men is attacked by a rider-less elephant, they move away from the elephant, but towards another unit. After the attacked unit passes the other unit the elephant must switch to attacking the passed unit). The elephant rider can only be killed by archers or thrown weapons. Though the elephant has 3 defending die, the rider has his own attacking and defending die. If an elephant dies his rider survives. Elephant riders cannot dismount in battle.
Chariots
Chariots can move 1 foot per turn, 3 attacking die, 1 defending die. Chariots can attack 2 men in one strike but only if the chariot hits both men. Though the chariot itself only has one defending die, the charioteer has his own attacking and defending die. The charioteer cannot be attacked while the chariot is still intact unless the charioteer is attacked by archers or thrown weapons. If a charioteer is killed while the chariot is still intact then an enemy infantry man can mount the chariot and annex it for his own team’s use, the same goes for an infantry man of the team who lost the charioteer. Charioteers can dismount from their chariots like cavalry. They must wait one turn without moving or without being attacked to do so. Once a man dismounts he leaves his chariot behind and continues with the stats of an infantry man. In order for the dismounted charioteer to remount he must return to his chariot and repeat the dismounting procedure (waiting one turn).
Artillery
Since artillery can shoot in real time they have a special set of rules. Artillery can shoot 1 time per turn. Once a bolt or rock (or other projectile) is thrown from the artillery it cannot be used again. (Whether by the opposite team or by the team that threw it.)
Artillery also has a certain amount of hits that must strike the enemy soldier/device before it can destroy that soldier/device.
Man, (heavy or light) 1 hit. (If a shot from a lighter artillery unit (i.e. a Scorpio or Ballista) were to hit a heavy infantry man’s shield then the shield would become unusable and it would be removed from play. But he would survive as a light infantry man.)
Horse, 1 hit. (If a projectile hits a horse the rider does not die, but his horse is removed from the battle field. If that rider is carrying a lance or some other object unsuitable for ground fighting the weapon may be switched for a more suitable one.)
Elephant, 3 hits.
Chariot, 2 hits.
Walls may only be attacked by artillery (or another siege engine, ex. a battering ram). Walls take differing amounts of hits to break or destroy depending on the structural design, (ex. a slanted wall) or what the wall is made out of, (ex. wood or stone). Thus I will let the people playing decide the amount of hits necessary to knock over the wall.
The type of artillery used may also lessen the number of shots it takes to kill or destroy something. (Ex. a cannon could kill an elephant in 2 hits as opposed to 3 and a chariot could be destroyed in one hit as opposed to 2.)
Facing an attack
Whether or not your unit of men is facing an attack can be of a drastic difference in deaths. If your unit is not facing an attack their defending die decrease to 1, (no matter how many defending die the unit originally had). This means that if cavalry charges a unit of heavy infantry from the rear the cavalry charge would be faced with the defense of that of light infantry, 1 die. The same rules apply when being shot at by archers or thrown weapons. But how can you tell if your unit is being attacked from the rear? It is a simple matter of angles. Your unit is facing 90o, if an enemy unit were to attack you from anywhere past 90o to either side of your unit then the enemy would be attacking that unit’s rear.
Attacking
Your men can attack as many times in a turn as they want, so long as they continue killing opponents. As soon as your man misses or is blocked by an opponent (i.e. the defender rolls a higher score then the attacker) he cannot attack again until next turn. That goes for all units no matter what type they are. That does not mean that the rest of the unit that the man is in cannot continue the attack, just the man who was stopped.
If your soldier wishes to continue killing men from the opposing team then after they kill one man they must step forward to reach the next man. If the next man to attack is over 2 inches away then your soldier cannot attack him. This rule applies in any situation.
A soldier can melee attack any person within 2 inches, whether facing them or not (unless there is something between your soldier and the enemy soldier, be it a large rock, a tree, or another soldier). After the soldier has attacked the enemy soldier he will remain facing that soldier or (in the case of the enemy soldier having died from your soldier’s attack) where that enemy soldier stood (unless he moves to attack another soldier within 2 inches). You must wait until your next turn to turn your soldier around.
If your men attack they cannot move until your next turn. You can move and then attack an opponent’s units, you just cannot move after you attack them.
If a cavalry man is attacked and the attacker roles a higher score then the cavalry defender the attacker has the choice of mounting the enemy’s horse. If the attacker chooses not to mount the horse, the horse is killed as well.
Burning/Destroying Siege Engines
To burn a siege engine you must either have men carry torches and stand by the engine for one turn, or have archers using the flaming arrow technique hit it 3 times. Ladders cannot be burned, while battering rams have 2 defending die, and siege towers have 3. To destroy a siege engine you need to hit it with artillery. Again I will allow the players decide how many hits it will take to destroy the siege engine.
Your General
Your general has 2 attacking die and 2 defending die and is considered heavy infantry even if he has no shield. If your general is riding a horse he gains +1 defending die and is considered heavy cavalry even if he has no shield.
