83. Feudal Patrol - Game 2

Hello again!

Hopefully you're here because you just finished reading my Feudal Patrol - Game 1 battle report, and you simply can't wait to find out how the minor changes I made for Game 2 have played out!  So ExCiTinG!!1!!!

Please see Game 1 here for details on Feudal Patrol and my method of playing, as well as some of what I did and did not like and/or use.  Certain optional rules will be used more in the future, but not for this game.

For Game 2, I positioned the troops in the exact same places, with the same weapons and ratings for whether they were Elite or Regular.  The only thing I changed was the Level of Encumbrance (LoE) for Robin's Men (from Light to Medium [which was a mistake I made in the first game and didn't catch until setting up this game]), AND I changed chain mail from reducing damage by 1 point to 2 points.  I felt like this was appropriate (although I fully admit I have no actual, real-world knowledge of the protective factor of chain mail as compared to leather armor), plus I felt that the Sheriff's men needed a bit more protection since they are mainly a close-combat force.  They needed to be able to survive the charge into melee against all those arrows.

Naturally, the flow of the game will be different, because of the d6s and the Activation Deck card draws.

Surely, no two games would ever be the same.  Let's find out!  More details are under each picture, which will enlarge if you click on it (but you knew that already).

The initial table setup.  Identical to the first game, because this is actually the same picture.  The table setup:  3' x 3'.  At the south end, left to right:  Sergeant Brunette, the Sheriff, and Deputy Blonde.  At the north end, l to r: Little John, Robin, and Friar Tuck.

The Honorable Sheriff of Nottingham, come to demand Robin's surrender, with a small bodyguard.  The Sheriff is rated as Elite, his men are Regular.  They wear chain mail on their chests and waists, and this group does not have head protection.  All at 2 damage points reduction.  One has a shield, three have swords, one has a crossbow.

"Let the varlet come out!  Again!  And maybe not shoot at me this time!"

The S.W. corner and Sergeant Brunette.

Sergeant Brunette reporting, with men with swords.  The Sergeant and his men are rated as Regular.  They wear chain mail on their chests and waists, and this group has head protection too.  All at 2 damage points reduction.

The view from the South East, of Deputy Blonde.

Deputy Blonde, reporting.  The Deputy and his men are rated as Regular.  They have swords, and one has a crossbow.  They wear chain mail on their chests and waists, and this group has head protection too.  All at 2 damage points reduction.  Two carry shields.

Robin and some of the Merry Men, coming out of the house upon hearing himself called a varlet.  Robin is (naturally) Elite, and in this case, so are his men.  They are armed with longbows and swords, wearing leather armor on their chests, waists and arms.  This gives them 1 damage point reduction.

Friar Tuck also pokes his head from the (perhaps) tavern.  He is also rated Elite, but his men are Regular.  They are armed with longbows and daggers, and wear leather armor on their chests, waists and arms.  This gives them 1 point of damage reduction.

The view of the West edge, where Little John and two Men are arriving after a long day stealing from the rich and hopefully giving to the poor.

Little John is rated as Elite, and his Men are Regular.  They are the only figures armed with only a quarterstaff, and wear leather armor on their chests, waists and arms.  This provides them with 1 point of damage reduction.

I rolled dice and drew the first card.  (I'm feeling a little déjà vu here....)

This time, Sergeant Brunette Activated first and, rather than dilly-dally along, Sprinted for the cover of the trees.  When they get there, they are Stunned until they catch their breath...

...which they do on the very next Activation card draw!

Robin hears himself being called unpleasant names and walks out to investigate.

Little John hears Robin being called unpleasant names and walks over to investigate.

With Sergeant Brunette's men hidden in the trees, Little John just keeps walking.  "What, ho, Robin?"

"That scallywag doth call me 'varlet,' Little John.  Merry Men, give him a taste of feathered pointy-sticks!"  Robin's Men shoot their longbows at the Sheriff.  The Sheriff comes out of this particular encounter a little better than in Game 1.  "'Ods bodkins!  I see-eth my life flash before mine eyes!"

"Friar Tuck, move thine holy carcass out of yon tavern at a goodly pace!"  Friar Tuck Sprints to the fence, and is Stunned as they catch their breath.

The Sheriff Activated, and in clearing the morale check markers, decided that heading to the nearest cover would be a good idea.  Unfortunately, he also became Pinned.

Sergeant Brunette, seeing his foe Stunned, and knowing that in melee combat Stunned combatants fight second in the battle order, decided that even if it was meta-gaming it was a good idea.  So he and his men Sprinted to make contact and fight a round of melee!

Alas, the fate's were not over kind to the good Sergeant.  The melee was inconclusive.  A few morale checks were created, and only one Merry Man was wounded; he also broke his weapon (that's the red bead).  The Sergeant himself was wounded as well.  I then drew the "re-roll and shuffle" card.

Pinned elements only Activate on black cards that match their d6.  (As you may recall from Game 1, there are red and black Activation cards, numbered 1-6 each.)  Getting un-Pinned is a difficult proposition in the basic rules.  The Sheriff was able to Activate and moved up against the hedge so as to allow the crossbowman to shoot.

With a shouted challenge, Little John crashes into the line of Sergeant Brunette...

...with an unfortunate outcome for a Merry Man!  For the rest, a stand-off result.

Little John Activates again, closes into melee again.  His other Merry Man turns to the soldier next to him and bats him with his quarterstaff.

The Sergeant continues to hold his own against the lumbering Little John, but his soldier falls to the clubbing.  More morale check tokens follow.

This was one of the few times the 'Elite' Activation card came into play.  When drawn, Elite units whose d6 matches the previously-drawn Activation card can Activate again.  So Little John moved into melee with the Sergeant once more...

...but he pushed his luck too far, and falls to the Sergeant's greater skill (or luck)!

Upon seeing his loyal companion fall, Robin orders a volley fired at the Sergeant's men, with devastating effect.  Three men down, including the Sergeant!

Friar Tuck Activates, and in the course of clearing morale checks, gets Pinned.  He then un-Stuns.

Determined to leave no survivors in retaliation for Little John, Robin shoots again, leaving only one alive, with a plethora of morale checks!

That sole survivor, wounded, finds himself in charge (of himself, essentially) and begins clearing the morale check markers.  The first causes him to run away; the second card (shown here) kills him.

Though Pinned, the Sheriff orders his lone crossbowman to shoot, inflicting 2 wounds on a Merry Man.

Robin Activates next, clears his morale check marker (which causes the wounded man to die), and exacts revenge by killing the crossbowman.

Deputy Blonde finally Activates and Sprints to cover behind the house.  This was a change from the previous gameplay, in that I felt I should respect the deadliness of the longbows more.  They are Stunned as they catch their breath.

The sole survivor of Little John's group ("he was like a father to me!") decides to flush out the Sheriff.

The '4' card is Activated again.  The Deputy un-Stuns and Little John Jr. continues his walk.  I then had to re-roll and shuffle.

Robin and the Deputy both have the same d6 of 5.  I drew contesting cards to see who moved first, and Robin won (again).  Perhaps I should have "let" the Deputy go first, as then Robin could have shot at him over the hedge, but I really wanted to see whether the soldiers could do more damage in melee.

The Deputy moved his men up behind the hedge, but not touching the hedge.  This provides the concealment, and prevents them from being shot at.  The Deputy is hoping to go first the next time.

The Sheriff Activated on a black card, but had to clear the morale check markers.  The end result was him moving backward a short distance.

Robin and the Deputy's card number came up again, and this time the Deputy legitimately drew a higher contested card number (the only time Robin's side didn't win).  His men Sprint into melee with Friar Tuck's Men.  

A closer view of the melee about to begin.  The Deputy is hopeful he can cut down most of the Friar's Men before Robin's Men can attack.  It's a 1-to-1 match up, excluding Friar Tuck, and one of Robin's Men has no melee weapon (it broke earlier).

...aaand the resolution.  The weaponless Merry Man is, in fact, struck down, and one other is wounded.  But otherwise, it seems very little return for such effort, especially now that the Deputy's men are all Stunned.

Robin Activates for second half of the #5 card, and moves into melee, deeming it too dangerous for bows (too many of his own Men in the mix).

As the dust settles, three soldiers remain, one has dropped his weapon, and the Deputy is wounded.  He will have multiple morale checks; Robin has one to make.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the table, Little John Jr. attacks the Sheriff directly...

...who manages to fend him off with wounds on both sides.  The Sheriff's improved armor saved him.  I then had to re-roll and shuffle.

Robin Activated first, and attempted to clear his one morale check token.  It caused his Men to "lose cohesion," with half running for cover and the rest becoming Stunned.

The next card let Robin Activate again, so he simply un-Stunned his Men.

Little John Jr.'s morale check caused him to run away...

...and then he Activated again and, with nothing to lose except his life, moved back toward the Sheriff.

The black '4' card allowed the Pinned Friar Tuck to Activate, so he and two other Men moved to melee.

The result was one downed Man, and morale check tokens on both sides.

Before Little John Jr. could cause more trouble, the Sheriff of Nottingham Activated.  His first morale check result is shown here....  Guess who it applied to, as there were no other wounded figures.

The second morale check fell to the new "leader" of the Sheriff's men.  He was Stunned to find out he was the last one left <snicker>.

Robin is not above fighting a little dirty (he is a 'hood,' after all), so while his two Men rally themselves to return, he double-teams both the Deputy and one of the soldiers.

The Deputy goes down, the soldier breaks his weapon.  There are optional rules for when a leader is incapacitated, but I wasn't using them here.

The Deputy's survivors Activated, and each morale check had one figure running away, so away they went.  And then I drew the re-roll and shuffle card...

...which then allowed Robin to Activate.  He split his shooting at both fleeing targets (I told you he's a bit churlish) using another optional rule that hadn't really come up before, but only hit one.

The luck of the draw saw Robin Activate again and shoot, and this time...

...he put down that disreputable cur!

Meanwhile, back the ranch, Little John Jr. is still hungry for a kill.

He Activates again.  His movement is slow, partly because of low numbers on the card, but also because he is wounded.

Still Pinned, the soldier is able to un-Stun, but can do nothing else.  I then had to re-roll and shuffle.

After the shuffle, Little John Jr. moves into melee:  last man standing vs. last man standing.

Despite attacking first, Little John Jr. fails in his death wish (or succeeds, depending on how you look at it), as the soldier lashes out and lands a fatal blow on his head.

The aftermath of battle.  Death and destruction everywhere.

The sole survivor voluntarily flees.  The game was over by this point, so I "said" he was finally able to un-Pin.

The carnage is complete.

The Merry Men:  four dead.  The Sheriff:  all but one.

Well, my hope that increasing the damage reduction protection of chain mail from 1 to 2 would give the soldiers better survivability didn't work.  In fact, more soldiers were killed/incapacitated this game than in the first, and I can't blame it all on being shot by arrows.  One of the factors that I didn't mention in the play-by-play portion is that the soldiers had a lot of unlucky damage-location card draws:  many, many times they were hit on the leg or the arm, neither of which location had any armor protection; whereas Robin's Men had protection on their arms.  That's nothing to do with it being a fault of the game.  If I were rolling dice and consulting tables, it could be the same thing.

One thing I don't know, and am still wrapping my head around in using cards, is how the author has divided the "spread" of hits, armor, cover, damage and so on throughout the deck of cards.  I'm sure he has an algorithm of some sort that he used to quantify how often certain numbers come up, and I don't think the deck is weighted too far one way or the other.  That's also partly why I shuffle each deck three times with my automatic card shuffler every time I am required to shuffle, with a third-deck split at the end.  To me, decks "feel" less random than dice, but there's no objective reason for me to feel that way.  I think it's just psychology.

None of these criticisms in any way detracted from my enjoyment of the games I played.  In fact, I found the card mechanism interesting and exciting (ie, the "what will I draw next" factor).  I think it's just the gamer in me who wants to tinker with, modify and understand "why" a rule is the way it is.  If I have any complaints, I think that adding in the optional rules will go a long way to removing them.  There are a number of optional rules that seem to do a lot of what I was wanting to have happen at various points.

My biggest problem is with Pinning.  It's very difficult to un-Pin, so your element is only half as effective.  But like I said above, there are optional rules to help mitigate it some.  

I am very satisfied with purchasing this game, and look forward to more games using it.  Next up:  Fantasy!