McColla's Bodyguard

[ochoin]

This is, specifically, a Field of Glory question but could be pertinent to any rule set as long as its as inflexible as FoG.

The famed McColla, Irish leader of men & a stalwart in Montrose's army, had an equally redoubtable bodyguard of about 140 men who were Hebridean kinsmen, picked Irish soldiers & various Highland Heavies. This operated as a discreet unit in the Scottish bit of the ECW.

This is definitely a small unit but one capable of literally turning battles. If you were to be strictly rule-bound, it would be about 2 bases with a total of 6 figures: a Commanded Shot-sized "unit". Such a formation, on its own, would be quickly annihilated by any standard 6 base (20 figures) pike and shot regiment and have no real battlefield impact.

My wee pals and I are discussing how to represent this unit in our wargames. My position is to make it a 6 base unit in order to represent its abilities rather than its actual strength.

Your opinions?

donald (BTW why aren't there any tartan-clad emojis on this site?)

[Essex Boy]

Isn't the first question, how did the unit turn battles (and of course, did it really do that)?

Iain

[grizzlymc]

This is the Guard question in wargamng.

The answer is that they fight like gods and do not break. Inspiration for units in contact is good too.

[valleyboy]

They could get to fight first and also reduce the morale of any opponents they face

[ochoin]

This is the Guard question in wargamng.

FoG, for all its faults, doesn't let you have "super units": certainly not too many of them.
If you follow their army lists - and we do - Montrose gets mostly Average units, some Poor and one or maybe two Superior.
The Strathbogie Regiment &, perhaps, McColla's chaps (if we make them a proper unit). No Elites at all.

This is much like their Covenanting opponents who have Campbell of Lawers Foot as their Superior unit & a bunch of Average & rather too many Poor units.

And the "super power' of Superior units? They re-roll '1's in morale, movement & fighting. Useful but not overwhelmingly so.

Of course, we can & do adjust the Quality of units depending on the scenario.

donald

[Essex Boy]

But what do they do to turn a battle?

Iain

[ochoin]

But what do they do to turn a battle?

Iain

The classic was at Auldearn when Hurry surprised Montrose. McColla & his BG entered the fray & held the Covenanters until Montrose could organise a counter-attack.

So their "super-power" was bloody-minded determination......re-roll '1's in morale.

donald

[Essex Boy]

Sounds about right.