Mike

Basic Rule

Normally, you can only “charge” the target of the charge.  So you would have had to declare both units the target of your charge. In that instance, both units were legitimate targets of the charge, while the cavalry is allowed to discontinue its charge against the square once it closes to 3″ from the square, it is not automatically…[Read more]

The only thing I would add is Heavy Cavalry with the 1D3 modifier is reserved for the truly elite heavy cavalry.  In contrast, what was once called “Heavy” Horse or “Heavy” Dragoons get the +1 modifier.  The term “heavy” referring more to the horse, than the soldier.

So you would have attack both units as you did.  If you won the melee, than both the infantry and artillery unit would be required to take a break test.  Artillery is destroyed if it loses a melee, so it would be gone.  If the enemy infantry rolled 7 or higher, it would “hold its ground” and continue in melee.  But keep in mind in the next rou…[Read more]

I think you are confused regarding the Proximity rule.

First, you are either in “proximity” or not.  In your picture, you are due to multiple enemy units being within 12″, but it takes only one.  So since you are in proximity what are your options with regard to the Grenadiers.

1) you can make any move in your front quarter you choose.  As lo…[Read more]

Agree with Al.

If you read the section on mixed formation (pg 90, I believe).  Mixed formation taking “small arms” hits (musketry/archers, etc) to its front quarter with deployed skirmishers is treated as a “skirmish target” in all respects.  But cannon fire as well as any fire hitting the unit from other quarters treat the unit as as either a c…[Read more]

Both are possible outcomes.  To some extent Black Powder does “capture” this.  In some cases, after a breakthrough move involving two separate combats, my cavalry unit has sustained enough hits to cause it to be shaken or close to shaken.  This dramatically limits the effectiveness of the unit until it can rally off some damage.  In the mea…[Read more]

I misread his example, I thought he had three units charging a unit on the flank… not three units being charged on the flank…. I agree a unit being attacked on the flank gets no support.

It is only restricted to 4 H2H dice when it adopts a “closed column” and is in a column of companies.  It is adopts closed column and is in an attack column no such reduce H2H applies.  This is why you must identify whether the unit is in closed column or simply a column of companies or attack column.  Perhaps turning the back rank and facing it…[Read more]

The answers above are pretty straight forward… Black Powder is a “tool kit” that taken all together provides a set of rules to game in the Black Powder period.  To make the system work over more than a 200 year period the rules could not be so granular as to differentiate between guns other than to allow you the freedom to classify them as…[Read more]

In the example, of three battalions charging the flank of unit normally only one unit will melee and the other two units will provide potentially flank or rear support.  So say both units normally got 6 HTH attacks… then the attacker would get 6 attacks and the “flanked” defender would get 3 HTH attacks (the other 3 would fight to the front and…[Read more]

You simply replace him in the next player turn.  Most players have House Rules to determine what the leader is SR rating and characteristics will be.  The two most common conventions are to roll for the leader’s SR rating or bring in a “new leader” one SR level less than the leader he is replacing.  Most also put a floor of SR7 so if an SR7 di…[Read more]

I agree with Mr Wills.  I think the extra shooting die only applies to units in line.  Units in column or mixed formation get no incremental shooting benefit.

I think they forgot to update the QRS for the change in the enfilading rule… so re-roll misses.

Regarding units in buildings… page 97 says units in buildings have “no formation as such”.  The rule for enfilade fire is clear that skirmishers do not get it, but I can’t find where it definitively says one thing or the other regarding units in…[Read more]

Prior to the Napoleonic wars, the “hollow” square was not used.  Austrians used what many rules called “battalionmasse” or a solid square when infantry was exposed to cavalry attacks.  This formation simple involved the left and right side of the column to face outward.  It helped them deal with massive amount of Turkish cavalry they faced in th…[Read more]

First, I agree with Invisible Officer the line refers to “battalions”.

Without getting into the history of the “brigade” formation… Black Powder relies on the “brigade” as its primary “higher” level commander… in effect, your role in the game is to act primarily as one or more brigade commanders issuing orders.  Individual cavalry regiments…[Read more]

Not sure how that could happen since cavalry retreats from melees it does not win even if it is a draw, I don’t believe it ever “locks in hand to hand combat” like infantry does.

We conduct each melee separately.  The defender allocates the unit’s H-t-H dice against each target but never more than half of them to the unit striking its flank or…[Read more]

One of the rules changes between version 1 and 2 is that skirmishers no longer get +1 to hit.  That was a good change in my opinion as units in skirmish formation were simply to deadly.  Prior to that elimination skirmishers were even more effective hitting on 3 and being hit on a 5.  To be clear, this positive shooting modifier is no longer pa…[Read more]

yes… the command phase is about more than just “getting orders”.  It reflect any and all reasons why a unit may not follow orders as you intended it to… so maybe after moving for a turn, the unit commander thinks he sees something and halts the unit to investigate… maybe he believes he is about to have his orders countermanded and so slows…[Read more]

3lb smoothbore artillery are definitely “light” guns… as are the French 4lb smoothbores…

Most people I know classify 6-9 lb artillery as Field artillery.  So the British 6 and 9 lb guns are both Field artillery.

I have seen some people put the British 9lb guns in the heavy category to offset the French 12lb guns.

A case could be made for…[Read more]

The 1st Edition has a section on P94 called Personal Qualities of Commanders… there were three qualities: Aggression, Decisiveness, and Independence.  Each Commander was “rated” on all three of these qualities.  Each quality had three possibilities.  The high and low quality each came with rules modifying the command effect of a command die ro…[Read more]