The Loose Association of Wargamers

Several rule sets enable any commander to control any troops in his army rather than stipulating specific commands.

The 'Field of Glory' sets do this. Over the years we've been using them, this aspect gets regularly queried- it's not really all that realistic & I've thought of running a game that changes this key notion.

I'd think a C-i-C would have the authority to impose his will on any units in his army. But the 2-3 lesser commanders allowed in FoG may well not obeyed by troops outside their command?

So, has anyone tweaked the rules to have junior commanders with only specified units under their control? Does this have any unexpected consequences? What else might you have to alter to make it work (eg what happens if a junior leader is killed?

donald

Conceptually that depends on whether you regard yourself as representing the C in C only or the entire command system.

Might be worth looking at DBM which (if you don't know) had units assigned to commands under a sub-commander and then action points rolled for to determine how many commands each could undertake during the turn.

The FoG:R variant restricts commanders of allied contingents to troops from their own force, and prevents other generals (even the C-in-C) from commanding them, which sounds realistic. In practice, I think that it is rare for junior generals to have to take over other troops in the course of a game. Having only played FoG:R, what tends to happen is that one general leads each wing (usually cavalry/dragoons, occasionally other light troops) and the C-In-C with his greater command radius, takes charge of the bulk of the foot in the centre. That, too, sounds fairly accurate historically, for Renaissance-era scraps.

As far as having a general killed is concerned - and I speak here from masses of personal experience - this tends to happen only in impacts/melees which generally occur in the second half of the game after everyone has advanced to contact. By that point, what you lose tends to be primarily dice related (ie re-rolling 1s or 2s) rather than actual command function (eg divisional moves).

Allied commands are restricted in FoG;Ancients too.
Do you know, we've never gamed FoG using Allied contingents?

Stu - DBM: another round of dice throwing each turn to decide PIPs? Do you want the game to last forever?
I *do* like many aspects of DBM but it is overly complex for my tastes. I say this having read the rules several times (useful ideas in writing your own) but never played a game, so I may be harsh.

donald

I agree with your assessment of DBM - version 1 was fine and then, as with FoG it got ruined by having to keep filling in the holes competition gamers exploited.

But it did have specified commands....I think MeG does as well but don't know much about those rules as yet.