Few questions about our first (epic) games

[julias666]

Hello

first of all i would like to say that after our 3 first games, we love this system, how the map looks in real, etc. (whole game )

but we have some questions about rules

1) Joining general into unit. It must be made in general move, or the general can stay in some hex, and when the units move, he can be picked up and continue in his movement ? We know that if je joins any unit , he then can move with them again, but dont know if he can move if he is picked by other unit, or can be picked at all.

2) We used war wagons and they have that Hard Target rule, the enemy shooters cant harm them , but they can surpress them. Is it mean only for small arms ? or any shooting ? We ve been confused that large field gun cant destroy wooden wagon.

3) Shooting into adjacent woodland hex. If enemy is in adjacent woodland hex, we are in hand to hand combat , shooters cant shoot at all. So what this adjacent woodland hex rule mean? I guess that its the first woodland hex that shooters can see and have the range to shoot. so i cant shoot at enemy behind wood hex.

4) If unit attack shooters, they can turn around and shoot on that attacking enemy. How exactly is this shooting resolved ? Enemy unit make contact with them and right after that its resolved ( so i can probably shoot again in shooting phase ? ) or enemy unit make contact, then we wait to the shoot phase and then we resolve this.

5) A and B unit class dont have to follow up ?

6) There is always fight like 1 vs 1 , or 2 , 3 etc. it cant be 2v2 etc. i think its clear , but want to make sure .

Thanks very much for reply.

[Ratty]

Hi,

1 The general movement phase is before the troop movement. The general can join a unit and move with them during the troop movement phase, but cannot be picked up by a unit during the troop movement phase and move with them.

2 Not sure about this one, not used them. I assume the hard target rule applies to small arms shooting rather than artillery. You might find something you could use in the siege and assault supplement to modify to suit your game.

3 Range is only 1 hex into woodland. This effectively means the shooting unit will only be firing at units moving into contact with them as a charge. Firing at a unit on the other side of a woodland hex is not permitted as the woodland blocks line of sight. Remember also artillery can't fire into woodland hexes.

4 Attackers do turn to shoot at attackers, but remember they can't turn if they have been disrupted. If multiple units attack, you choose who to turn the shooters towards. The actual shooting is resolved as usual at the end of the movement phase, with the shooters firing at eligible targets- including charging units.

5 As I understand it in the current rules, units must follow up in combat. However, A and B class infantry have an option to move out of MELEE combat only during their movement phase, although the enemy unit can choose to move with them to maintain contact. There has been previous mentions in the forum about shield wall rules which mean some infantry units do not have to follow up, but these have never really been officially expanded upon, and until the official update/ new edition rules come out, you'll either play the game as currently written, or create your own house rule about it.

6 Units pair off in combat. It is usually pretty clear who fights who, although the strategy comes in when committing units to the combat who you want them to fight, and also where one side outnumbers the other the units pair off as normal but the player with extra units has the advantage of which fight to commit the extra units- this is also usually pretty clear.

Hope that helps.

[Paul K]

Hi Julias,
Ratty has already answered most of your questions - many thanks Ratty - things have been rather busy at Kallistra HQ recently!

Q2 Artillery shooting at hard targets. This has been an area of discussion in our club games. We allow artillery shooting as normal(unlike small arms), when shooting at hard targets such as warwagons or units behind stone walls and other hard obstructions. For example 3 hits would disrupt a 'C' class warwagon and 4 hits would inflict the loss of a wagon stand.

Q5 A and B class units do have to follow-up after combat as the rules are currently written. However, giving 'A' class infantry units the option of not following-up would seem to be the proffered option among many players.

Q6 Again Ratty has explained this 'pairing -up' 1:1 of opposing units really well. The 'extra' units on the flanks of any line of engaged units which allow for a 2 or more units against 1 are a very important feature of the rule system. This enables a large number of weaker units to out-flank and therefore out-number stronger enemy units. It encourages players to maintain strong battle lines, protect their flanks and keep units in reserve.

The additional 'Shield wall' rule which has proved very popular with players using the system for ancients has added more historical accuracy to the way the H&H system works for particular armies. I will post a copy on this thread very soon.

[Paul K]

Please find below the Shield Wall rules.

Certain armies contain units which can form a shield wall, which reflect the way in which these particular troops fought historically. This means that units forming a line of adjacent hexes can be said to be giving support to each other. Unit types which can form a shield wall are detailed in the various army lists.

Units in a shield wall do not have to follow-up after hand-to-hand combat but they have the option of doing so. They do not recoil from shooting or hand-to-hand combat and have no option to do so.

Units can still become disrupted through shooting or hand-to-hand combat and will flee, effectively leaving the shield wall, if forced to do so by combat result.

Only A, B or C class troops can form a shield wall.

Hordes can form part of a shield wall, but must have a non-horde unit on either side, or they will recoil and follow-up as usual as a response to shooting and hand-to-hand combat. Aggressive hordes will break from the shield wall as soon as an enemy unit comes within their normal move range.
The units on ether end of a shield wall can only retain the characteristics and benefits outlined above if their open side hex is:-
A forest, river or stream hex not in the zone of control of an enemy unit.
A mountain, lake or impenetrable terrain hex which cannot be entered by an enemy unit and over which no ‘zone of control’ can exist.