Land on Fire 1796: General Actions and the combat system

Land on Fire, my prototype game of the Irish rebellion period of 1796-98 (not strictly historical, as it assumes some serious 'what ifs' on the part of the French First Directorate), is progressing slowly. As ever with these exercises, I'm doing some reading around the topic, and it is proving to be very interesting indeed.

This post deals in more detail with what British generals do in the game. Generals and the troops under their command represent the primary tools of player agency in Land on Fire. Each turn they roll 2D6 to determine how many action points they have for that turn. This MAY be too much, but we will only find out through play testing.

Each general may carry out the following actions:

Movement - costs 1 AP for each town the army travels through. Note: may not move through towns with rebels or French armies without fighting them first.

Sea movement - costs 4 AP to move an army from one port to another. Note: cannot be used when there is a naval mutiny or bad weather event card in play.

Perform special ability - usually can be used without an action point unless the general's description says otherwise.

Play an asset card - 1 AP per card played.

Reinforcements - can only be played at a port. Draw two asset cards for each AP spent in a port.

Recruit - may recruit more troops: raise troops in any CITY (e.g. Belfast or Cork) for 2 APs per regiment. Troops can be recruited for free in Dublin. Can only be used if that army has taken losses. Cannot recruit in a town where rebels or French troops are present.

Attack rebels - costs 1 AP per rebel unit attacked, the general rolls 1D for each rebel counter in an area. Note that asset cards played now - e.g. Firing Squad, Whiff of Grapeshot - cost extra APs. The general must spend enough APs to engage all the rebel forces in a town. A town with four rebel counters would need 4 APs to attack, although the general could roll more dice than this if he was to play asset cards - e.g. Whiff of Grapeshot brings an extra 3D to the party. When fighting rebels, the British attack strength is based off 1D per rebel unit plus any asset cards played. This is different from fighting regular French troops.

Attack French army - costs 2 AP, see rules below for major battles and for putting down revolts. Note: if a general is already in a town into which a French army moves, he does not need to pay 2 APs as the French attack him automatically. French armies will not seek to detour around a blocking British force - they will follow the fastest route to Dublin, but will prioritise an attack against a British army in the way, rather than seek to detour around one.

Pacification - costs 1 AP and allows the removal of a Pillaged marker at that general's location. Note that Pillaged markers in this simulation are not just a measure of the damage done to the locality, but also track the overall state of chaos and unrest in the country. Once there are 12 on the board, anarchy descends and the British lose.

Combat rules

There are two different types of combat in Land on Fire, vs rebels and vs French field armies.

Fighting rebels

Rebel combat is relatively easy. An army that is present in a town rolls 1D6 per rebel unit present, Depending on the level of discipline of that faction, the result needed to disperse the rebels will vary. Asset cards must be played before the roll. Note that multiple generals can attack the same rebel town, but one general has to pay his AP and carry out his operations first. If there are still any rebels left, the second general may attack.

IF there are still rebel forces present, they may be attacked again using more APs. Note, however, that if an army ends its turn in a town with rebel forces, it will lose one regiment per rebel unit still active. These losses can be shared between armies if there are more than two British armies in that town.

Fighting the French

To attack a French army, one or more British armies need to be in the same space when the combat phase begins. They may engage any rebel units in the area first. If these are not dealt with, then again, the British will sustain losses equal to the number of rebel bands still active when the battle starts.

The general must spend the APs required to attack the French army, and play any asset cards they wish to use in the battle. This will be 2 AP per general launching the attack. The British roll dice according to the number of British regiments plus any additional assets in the battle. Each French army will have a target number the British need to hit it. Apply hits to the French army accordingly.

If the French army is still in the field after a round of combat, the British take losses according to the consequences listed with each French general. They then have the option of continuing the battle with another round of combat. No further APs for initiating the battle need to be spent. If all the regiments under French command are eliminated, then the French army has been defeated. An eliminated British general is out of the game.

The British may choose to disengage rather than fight another round of combat, in which case they may retreat their armies to adjacent towns with no rebel presence. IF there are no other options than to retreat into a rebel-held area, the army in question takes an automatic one unit loss. If there is only one unit left under command (ignore assets), then the army has been defeated by the rebels. French armies do not retreat.

Revised victory conditions

Note: I am slightly changing one of the Irish victory conditions. Originally I said the British would lose automatically if  one region in Ireland had four rebel bands in every town. I've decided to revise that to an upper limit of 25 rebel bands per faction - i.e. if any of the four rebel factions has all its counters on the table, the British lose the game automatically once a 26th is needed. They have lost control of Ireland.