Hello again!
I recently pre-ordered and received "Feudal Patrol: Skirmish Miniature Gaming in the Ancient, Medieval & Fantasy Periods" by John R. "Buck" Surdu, author of "Combat Patrol: WWII" (which I do not own). The two rule sets use very similar mechanics, substituting card draws from a dedicated deck for dice rolls and charts.
You can find reviews of the rules elsewhere easily enough, I'm here to show you pictures of the first of two solo games I played. The rules include a method of playing solitaire, however I did not use them for this game; I simply played the old-fashioned way, and took turns playing both sides to the best of their (my) ability.
I also used only some of the optional rules in the rule book, mainly "sprinting," "additional cards in the Activation Deck" and "Burying the Reshuffle Card." There are many more optional rules that would add much more strategic depth, that I plan to use in the future.
This was my second-ever game with this system, the first being a simple 1-element vs 1-element game just to get the basic mechanics understood. But the game play is smooth and easy to grasp; the only rules I had to keep referring to were some of the after-melee results.
I did make mistakes, which I realized when I started the second game (linked here). However I had fun and really enjoyed playing.
This was a game of Robin Hood and his Merry Men versus the Sheriff of Nottingham and his soldiers. The total number of figures per side was equal, and I didn't use points values. The main difference was in how the figures were equipped: to Robin's men I gave the equivalent of leather armor on their chest, waist and arms, long bows and swords or knives (all depending on how the miniature was portrayed). Three of them had only a quarterstaff (which, oddly enough, is not listed in the rule book as a weapon, so I improvised).
The Sheriff's men were equipped with chain mail on their chests and waists (and some on their heads), and a few had shields. Significantly (as it turns out) I did not assign chain mail to their arms, as the miniatures didn't really look like they had it to me. They were armed mostly with swords, and two with crossbows.
There is an error in the rule book regarding how much damage chain mail protects against: in 3 of the 4 places in the book, it reduces damage by 1 point; in the first of the 4 places (which is what I read first), it reduces damage by 2 points. I did confirm with the author that 1 point is correct, but the Law of Primacy meant I had a hard time getting the other result out of my head. This would come into play in this game more than I expected, and would be something I changed in Game 2.
Game play proceeds by first rolling a d6 for each element's leader, then drawing a card from the Activation Deck. Elements with dice that match the card get to activate. There are two sets of numbers in the deck, red 1 to 6 and black 1 to 6; as well as a few specialty cards. There is also one "Re-roll and shuffle" card. When this is drawn, you re-roll the dice and shuffle both the Activation Deck as well as the Action Decks the players use to determine the results of what they wanted to do.
For every shuffle, I shuffled each deck three times in my automatic card shuffler that I bought years ago. I don't trust myself to shuffle consistently well, and I hate bending cards. So no matter whether the re-shuffle occurred after only three turns, or at the end of the Activation Deck, I ran them through three times each, and then cut them by the top third. Each time. (Hey, I play solo, I have all the time in the world. And yes, I am anal that way. My table, my rules.)
In the pictures that follow, you'll see my homemade square tokens, used to represent wounds and other conditions. You obviously don't need these, only simple colored beads or rings for a few conditions, but since I sometimes step away from the game for days at a time, I like to be able to figure out what I'm coming back to. They do tend to clutter the table, and with so many in play at once, they're a bit fiddly. I'll probably try to come up with replacements later on.
TL;DR version:
A great, smooth-running and fast game. Brutal combat results. I have a hard time rationalizing the randomness of card decks, even though it worked very well. (It's really just my mindset in regard to cards versus dice.) I feel that chain mail ought to provide more protection that a 1 point reduction, which is something I changed for Game 2. I might be more inclined to go along with it as 1 point if I also had figures wearing plate mail on the table, which is a 2 point reduction. Also, the stat values for the figure characteristics can make a huge difference in effectiveness (which is no different than most other games, you just have to be careful how you assign them here).
Further details on specifics of the game are under the following pictures. You can click on the photo to enlarge it (as if you didn't know that).
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The table setup: 3' x 3'. The game recommends 4' x 6' but this was readily available to me. 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.
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| 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 1 damage point reduction. One has a shield, three have swords, one has a crossbow. |
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"Let the varlet come out!"
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The view from the South West of Sergeant Brunette.
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| 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 1 damage point reduction. |
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The view from the South East of Deputy Blonde.
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| 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 1 damage point reduction. Two carry shields. |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Little John is rated as Elite, and his Men are Regular. They are the only figures armed only with a quarterstaff, and wear leather armor on their chests, waists and arms. This provides them with 1 point of damage reduction.
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I rolled dice and drew the first card.
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| Friar Tuck's Men Sprinted (one of the optional rules I used; it's a double card-draw for movement) to a place with some protection. Upon arriving they are Stunned as they catch their breath. |
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The next Activation card allowed both Robin and the Sergeant to activate. Even though they really wouldn't interfere with each other, I drew cards to see who moved first. Robin won. Robin (or his side) won every single contested draw in this game! The Sergeant had his soldiers move into the woods.
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| The next card was the same number, different color. Again Robin won the "who goes first" draw, and shot arrows at the uppity Sheriff. Meanwhile the Sergeant advanced through the woods. |
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The bow fire was devastating to the Sheriff. Robin's Men have an Accuracy rating of 4, which is really good (the lower the better). But I felt they should be really good (and I'm the one who assigned it to them; it was not in the rules).
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The next card draw saw Little John casually walking back to town. All of the Sheriff's men were out of sight from him, so why would he hurry?
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The late Sheriff of Nottingham's group activated, and the morale checks saw one of the two survivors run away. It also left the last man Pinned, which means he would only Activate on a black matching card. Meanwhile, on the right, the Deputy's group advanced.
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After an element Sprints, they are Stunned. This Activation saw Friar Tuck un-Stun themselves; that's all they can do.
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| The Activation card draw had the Deputy able to advance into the trees for cover on the right. I then re-rolled and shuffled. |
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Friar Tuck Activated, so he shot at the only group he could see: the surviving man from the Sheriff's bodyguard...
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...with murderous accuracy.
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Friar Tuck Activated again. I fired at the Sergeant in the woods. It didn't do much harm other than Stunning one soldier (with attendant morale check).
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...especially since the Sergeant Activated next anyhow. He easily cleared the morale check token and then he and his men Sprinted to get into contact with Friar Tuck's Merry Men. They will be Stunned but only after melee is complete. Well, they all Sprinted except for the one previously-Stunned guy, who as his only action can un-Stun. So he gets left behind for a while. "Huh? What? We're moving out?"
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This is the result of that melee combat: pretty inconclusive. Nobody dead, only a few wounds caused, lots of people Stunned.
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Little John Activates, sees what's going down right in front of him, and moves into melee too. "I say, you blighters, what's all this hullabaloo?"
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The Sergeant's men are still Stunned from their Sprint but that didn't prevent them from defending themselves. There were a few morale checks caused, but no injuries.
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But Little John was not to be denied, and Activated again. This time the results were worse for the Sergeant's men, 2 down and more morale checks needed.
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Robin won the draw-off against Deputy Blonde and was able to move further away from their expected charge. The Deputy moved his men out of the woods into the open in preparation for a charge, gambling he would get to go first. I then had to re-roll and shuffle.
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Little John renewed his melee against the remaining soldiers...
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...but this time not doing as well. One Man took 2 wounds (of 3) and only caused 1 wound on the enemy. More morale checks....
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Deputy Blonde's gamble pays off, as he Activates (now no longer sharing the same d6 number with Robin)...
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...and Sprints across the sward to attack the weaker-looking target of Little John and his Men.
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In the aftermath, there are multiple Stunned markers, morale checks, and dead and wounded on both sides. It is a bit cluttered with my cardboard chits, I admit.
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| Sergeant Brunette is able to Activate and in the course of clearing out his morale checks... |
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...one of his men runs away, while the guy who had been Stunned previously finally catches up and heads over to help.
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After the Sergeant's men get finished, Friar Tuck's Men are looking a bit scattered, with Stun markers and wounds. The good Friar, however, is unharmed for the moment.
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To add insult to injury, the Sergeant Activates again, right away, and shouts a command for the approaching soldier to attack Friar Tuck with him.
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The fat Friar is not to be denied yet, and fends off both attackers.
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This is a case where I think I messed up, not in understanding the rules, but in forgetting whether I'd already gone or not. Since I play solo, I leave it set up for long periods at a time, and I think I must have come back from such a time and not realized I'd already had the Sergeant Activate twice. Because, this is his third Activation (and while that can happen in certain circumstances, that wasn't what happened here). So the Sergeant, in the course of clearing his morale checks, failed one spectacularly enough to cause him and his men to run away!
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Meanwhile, Friar Tuck cleared his morale checks, and un-Stunned his men and had them advance back to the fence.
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Robin Activates and marches his Men to a firing position.
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Despite seeing Robin moving to help, Little John fails his morale checks, and he and his surviving Man run away, Pinned and Stunned. Then I re-rolled and shuffled.
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The new d6 gave Little John and Friar Tuck the same number, which was the first to Activate. Little John simply un-Stunned (all he was allowed to do), and the Friar had his men re-man the wall. A single melee occurred, with the Sheriff's man breaking his weapon (that's the red bead; I didn't make a cardboard token for that particular condition).
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Robin Hood's Men next unleashed a deadly hail of arrows, killing Deputy Blonde and everyone else...
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...except for the one guy who had run away (who now gets all of the morale check tokens, as he's nominally the leader [of himself]).
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Sergeant Brunette un-Stuns...
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...but Friar Tuck is faster, and repositions his men. And then I had to re-roll and shuffle.
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They now share the same d6. Friar Tuck draws the faster card and fires at the fleeing soldiers (a bit cowardly, perhaps, but exactly how "good" is this Friar, hmm? He was hanging out in a Tavern, after all....). However, all is in vain as no permanent damage is done.
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The Sergeant clears his morale checks and Sprints away, discretion being the better part of valor...and of being alive!
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| The sole survivor of Deputy Blonde's men fails his morale check and runs away. "Why meee?" |
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To the Sergeant's horror, the "6" card is drawn again, and yet again Friar Tuck (aka Robin's side) wins the contest. They shoot, this time ending Brunette's luck...and life.
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The mantle of leadership falls to the next guy, and surprisingly he rallies on the first morale check and heads back to the enemy, screaming, "Noooo! Sergeant Brunette!" (This is a bit of a bastardization of the optional "Leader Death" rule, since it's not the full rule.)
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However, on the second morale check, he decides he didn't really like the Sergeant all that much after all, and convinces the wounded guy to run away with him.
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This is the state of the table at the end of the game.
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Robin Hood and his Merry Men are undaunted and mostly unhurt. Robin's element was never even touched. Little John lost one man. They remain pretty cocksure of themselves.
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Friar Tuck also survived to eat and drink again. One of his Men ran away during one of the morale checks, but I forgot to note when. So 2 total casualties (only one of which was death. Technically, in the game, downed figures are incapacitated, not necessarily dead. Only certain morale check results "kill" figures.)
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The Sheriff's men were slaughtered.
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This is what led me to decide that for Game 2, I would up the defense factor of chain mail from 1 to 2 points reduced damage. I felt they needed a more robust defense. One other thing I got wrong that I realized (when beginning the second game) was that in this game I had Robin's Men's Level of Encumbrance (LoE) wrong for their armor type. This affects their speed in moving; although I don't really think it would have made too much difference in this game.
Another important factor for this game was the fact that I made each of Robin's leaders Elite, and gave them significantly better shooting stats. Going from a 6 to a 4 seems to make a difference. The Elite aspect came into play more in the second game than this game, as that Activation card didn't ever come up for this game.
Robin's Men: Accuracy 4, Melee 5. Friar Tuck's Men: Accuracy 4, Melee 5. Little John's Men: Accuracy 6, Melee 4. (Little John had no ranged weapons, though.)
The Sheriff's men: Accuracy 4, Melee 5. (He only had one crossbowman.) Deputy Blonde's men: Accuracy 6, Melee 6. (He had 1 crossbowman.) Sergeant Brunette's men: Accuracy 6, melee 5. (He had no ranged weapons.)
I really thought that since the melee numbers were pretty similar, that the Sheriff's men's armor and shields would make the difference. But instead the frighteningly accurate bow fire at stat 4 decimated the attackers enough to diminish their ability to fight. Plus they seemed to be damaged in areas where they had no protection (arms & legs). So looking back on it now, after game 2 as well, perhaps it's not so much that chain mail was the problem; maybe it was the Accuracy stat. It seems to be a combination of things, really. As it should be in a well-crafted set of rules.
Being Pinned suuuuucks. It is tough to un-Pin. It wasn't as much of a factor in Game 1, but since I'm writing this after Game 2, I can tell you that there are Optional rules to help mitigate this and I intend to use them in the future (although I did not for Game 2).
For Game 2, the only things I changed were: I upped chain mail to protect against 2 damage and corrected Robin's Men's LoE. Everything else was the same, even the starting positions and element compositions. Please come back soon to read my Game 2 report.
Thanks for reading!
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