PHUT! Thou Art Slain! - Version 3

PHUT! - Thou Art Slain!

FAST PLAY RULES FOR LARGE EARLY RENAISSANCE BATTLES Version III

All units are made up of a number of bases representing historical formations.


Units have a single number allocated to them, representing training & morale. This number is represented by adding up the total bases in the unit. As bases are removed, the number is reduced accordingly.

Each player rolls D6 and sets aside a pool of ‘I Think Not’ counters equal to that roll +1 (1-7). Think of these as an abstract form of leadership quality, and are used to alter the turn sequence.


TURN SEQUENCE

Roll 2D6 per side to establish initiative - highest roll is ‘Active’ player for the turn.

At this point the ‘I Think Not’ counters may be played to reverse the result, starting with the loser of the initiative roll. You may use I.T.N counters to counter I.T.N until one player concedes or they are used up. Use them wisely because once used, they are out of the game.

Active player moves
Passive player shoots and calculates casualties
Active Player shoots and calculates casualties
Active Player calculates melees and casualties are applied
Passive player calculates melees and casualties are applied
Establish if any units are routed on either side
Both players move routed troops and rally previously routed troops if possible



MOVEMENT

Infantry 2D6
Cavalry 3D6
Artillery may not be moved once placed, with the exception of light artillery which may pivot by 45 degrees.

Light Infantry and Light Cavalry may re-roll the lowest die

Heavy infantry and heavy cavalry must re-roll the highest die

Linear obstacles take a full turn to cross. A unit must stop when it contacts a linear obstacle, and will take the next full movement face to cross and reform on the other side. Fordable rivers are treated as linear obstacles.

Woods may only be entered by light infantry and cavalry and movement is 1D less with no re-rolls.

Pike blocks may ‘drift’ left or right by up by 2 per move phase. They are large and cumbersome, being essentially ‘point and fire’ units/

Non-pike armed units may wheel up to 45 degrees before moving.

Light infantry cavalry may wheel up to 90 degrees at any point during their move

Bodies of friendly troops may interpenetrate each other unless either body is a pike block. BOTH bodies remove one base of models in doing so.



SHOOTING

Bow armed troops may move and fire , crossbows and firearms may not fire if they have moved this turn.

The active player may fire with any missile troops by rolling a number of D6 equal to the rating of the unit,modified as follows:

Long range -2D
Target in light cover -1D
Target in hard cover -2D
Target is 3 or more bases deep +1D
Firer moved -1D
Light artillery 3D per model
Medium artillery 4D per model
Heavy Artillery 6D per model
Firers using crossbows +1D

Pavise armed troops count as in light cover in the open  and as heavy armoured for the purposes of hit allocation.

A hit is scored for every result of 5 or 6, unless the target is heavily armoured in which case only rolls of 6 are counted.

Every hit removes a base from the target Unit

Any unit armed with gunpowder weapons, including artillery which fails to score any hits is deemed to be out of powder and ammunition, and may no longer fire.

Any artillery piece which rolls all ‘1s’ has had a major mishap and is removed from play

Ranges

Light artillery: S 0-12 L 13-24
Medium artillery: S 0-18 L 17-36
Heavy artillery: S 0-24  L 25-48
Bows: S 0-18 L 17 - 36
Crossbows: S 0-16  L 17-32
Firearms: S 0-16  L 17-32



MELEE

Melee is initiated when a unit moves into base to base contact with an enemy unit. Both sides fight during the melee phase.

Roll a D6 equal to the rating of the unit, modified as follows:

Attacker is pike armed +1D per full rank of pike after the first
Attacker is in close order +1D
Attacker is swordsmen Versus pike +2D
Attacker is swordsmen versus other pole arms -1D
Fighting over linear obstacle - 1D
Attacker is lance armed cavalry in first turn of combat +3D
Attacker has bill or similar +1D
Attacker is in skirmish formation -1D
Target is in skirmish formation -1D
Targets are carrying shields -1D
Target is in close order +1D


Pavise armed troops count as being behind a linear obstacle in the open  and as heavy armoured for the purposes of hit allocation.

A hit is scored for every result of 5 or 6, unless the target is heavily armoured in which case only rolls of 6 are counted.

Every hit removes a base from the target unit.


Swiss may re-roll any misses against all opponents once per melee round.

Landsknechts may re- roll any rolls of 1 or 2 unless fighting Swiss or other Landsknechts whereby all misses are re-rolled once per melee round.

Gendarmes may re-roll any rolls of 1 or 2 once per melee round.

Italian militia or native French infantry must re-roll any rolls of 5 once per melee round.

Artillery contacted in melee, is considered to have been overrun and abandoned and plays no further pat in the game. Simply turn the models around.



ROUTS & RALLIES

If a Unit suffers loses more 50%  (rounded up) bases than an opponent in melee it routs. A routing unit moves directly away from it’s opponent, re-rolling the lowest movement dice.

If a unit suffers 4 or more hits in a single round of missile fire, it routs. A routing unit moves directly away from it’s opponent, re-rolling the lowest movement dice.

Swiss and Landsknechts do not rout as such. Instead they still retire the normal movement distance, removing one base per turn, but face their opponents, being able to fight back if contacted again. If they win a round of combat whilst retiring, they are considered to have rallied and may then advance as normal.

Gendarmes rout for one turn, re-rolling their lowest die. They then halt, remove a base of figures and may move as normal in the next active player phase.

Other unit types may only rally if a staff officer comes into base to base contact. In this case, the unit removes a base a base of figures and reforms. It is able to move as normal in the next active player phase.

Bodies of routing troops may interpenetrate friendly units. The interpenetrated body remove two bases of models as a result.


Copyright: Mark Hides 2022