Non fortunatam nocte

73BC Near Vesuvius

Spartacus' orders had been clear and simple enough. Of all the Roman forces approaching the hideout, one was clearly under the leadership of a superb officer. That man posed a serious threat, and to ensure the outnumbered gladiators and other escapees stood the slightest chance in the coming fight, that man had to die. Now Umbrus was leading a small party, ten men with another group guarding their backs against Roman patrols, to a small peasant farm to carry out those orders they seemed less simple and more suicidal. The dark night was playing tricks on his mind as he crept forward with his men, each slight clink of metal armour or weapons, each shifting rock or animal noise seemed deafening. Ahead, he could hear the crunching of hobnailed sandals on gravel as the Roman sentries paced about. He nodded to Silas, who led his small team off to the east, the plan being to hit the farm from two ends. It had been a long time since Umbrus had fought against the legions, and now he would have his revenge on the nation that had taken everything from him.

The Scenario

After a quick playtest with my Dad over Christmas of his gift from yours truly, Osprey's new Black Ops rules, I had to get myself a copy for the stealth rules alone. This duly done, I set about devising a game to make best use of them with my current collections (although I won't rule out getting some ultra-modern or sci-fi special forces and foes at some point). The game is set in the immediate aftermath of Spartacus' escape as he is first gathering a following. Romans are closing in and one particularly capable officer has been targeted for removal by the gladiators. While the stealth rules will be those from Black Ops, the combat will be run via the rules from Osprey's Ronin (with the Gladius supplement)

The Romans were set up encamped in a small farm, with the officer, one Lucius Vorenus, a centurion acting as a prefect for the city of Capua, his trusty sidekick Titus Pullo (thanks to Warlord Games handy character models), leading a force of 12 local militia and 4 veteran triarii. Eight of the militia would form the sentries, the rest of the troops were sleeping in the farm buildings. The milita were Level 2 troops, with Medium Armour, swords and shields, while the veterans were level 3, armed with spear, sword and shield, with heavy armour and the attribute "Intuition" giving them an extra defense token each combat round, given these guys would have come through some pretty tough fighting in the civil wars immediately preceding the Spartacan revolt they must have had a solid survival instinct.

The farmstead at the heart of the action prior to the arrival of the Romans, looking east. The gladiators entered the playing area from the north (left)

The gladiator assassination squad consisted of 10 individuals. The first group consisted of Umbrus, a level 5 champion, armed with a trident with the powerful, fast and acrobatic attributes, Hyspax, a level 2 Hoplomachus armed with spear and shield, Xilus, a level 3 Dimachaerius with the fast attribute, armed with two swords, Bomilcar the level 3 Secutor with the powerful attribute armed with spear and shield and Scylax the level 3 Retiarius with his traditional trident and net and trident mastery as his attribute. The second group was two led by Silas the level 4 Crupellarius, armed with sword and shield, wrapped up in heavy armour with the Intuition and tough attributes, Corvus the Thracian, level 4 with sword and shield, with sword mastery and powerful attributes, Vestus the Murmillo, level 2 with sword and shield, Garrus the level 3 Secutor with sword mastery and Silo the Provocatore with sword and shield.

The Game

The farm was close, so Umbrus signaled the group to leave the track they were on before they were spotted. Bomilcar followed him off to the east, heading behind some scrub and a hedgerow, while Xilus lead the other two of his team to the west of the track into the marshy area. The Roman sentries could be heard ahead, they were far enough off that they couldn't see the approaching gladiators, but it felt like there were several heading in his general direction. Umbrus hoped the interest the Romans were showing in this end of the village would clear Silas' route into the village.

As quietly as they could, Bomilcar and Umbrus clambered over the hedgerow into a field, slipping out of view of Xilus and his two companions. Scylax cursed softly as he slipped in the marsh, seeming to draw the attention of a pair of militia who advanced on their position. Xilus was certain they'd been spotted, and he waved his men forward, hoping Silas and his team were on schedule and hitting the farm from the east. He and his men burst from cover, startling the sentries who began to call for help. Xilus grimaced as he, Scylax and Hyspax formed up opposite the two Romans as he saw a third militiaman rushing to their aid. As the men sized each other up, just for a moment Xilus though he heard the sound of fighting.

Roman sentries are surprised by the sudden appearance of gladiators from the marshes.

Silas could only watch as the rest of his group began to outpace him. Even flat out, the weight of his armour was slowing him enough they could outpace him and get ahead. They were advancing up the eastern edge of the fields north of the farm. Corvus had reached the corner and glanced up the track into the farm. "Two sentries coming this way." he hissed "Don't look like they know we're here." Silas nodded. If those sentries came much closer, chances were they'd spot them and the advantage of surprise would be lost. "Take them." he whispered. With that, the entire group rushed out from the hedgerow, pouncing on the terrified looking Romans. Silo and Garrus caught the nearer Roman, as he turned to face Silo, Garrus stabbed over the Roman's shield, slicing into his neck and felling him instantly.

Silas' team rush two hapless militiamen, cutting one down in a heartbeat.

Silas snarled, unable to reach any enemy, but pleased to see his men were doing well. He watched as the second militia soldier faced off with Vestus and Corvus, terror was etched on the Roman's face, but he clearly wasn't going to back down. As Vestus closed on the soldier, the Roman feinted low and Vestus' dropped his shield just as the Roman reversed his swing.

The Roman's swing (those are 6s)

Vestus' block.

With his shield in the wrong place, Vestus was next to defenseless as the sword sliced through his arm just below the shoulder, nearly severing it before carving into his neck. Vestus dropped like a stone, leaving Silas almost as stunned as the militia soldier. Corvus avenged his comrade moments later with a thrust into the Roman's guts. He went down screaming, leaving the gladiators free to seek out fresh blood.

At the cost of Vestus, the gladiators cut down the first pair of Romans they come to grips with.

Ahead a pair of Roman sentries had reacted to the sudden assault by rushing to form up, presumably as their basic training kicked in, but their two person shieldwall looked almost tragic and far too good a target for Corvus to pass up. Heedless of the risk, he charged the pair of them alone, with Silas and the rest trailing behind him. He slammed into the shields, knocking the Romans off balance, before fending off their attacks, snatching a fleeting opening in his opponents' defense to get in a strike that drew blood.

Corvus clashes with a pair of militia, getting the upper hand despite being outnumbered.

The sound of steel on steel and screams reached Xilus, convincing him that Silas' men had engaged the Romans. Knowing Bomilcar and Umbrus would be sneaking towards the farm buildings, he needed to keep the nearby sentries' attention fixed away from the fields. With a roar he and his two companions charged the three sentries.

Xilus, Scylax and Hyspax clash with three Roman sentries to the west of the farm.

Hyspax tried to use the reach of his spear to strike his opponent before the Roman could get in range to use his sword and was rewarded with a slash across his forearm for his trouble. Stung, he made a more measured attack, outwitting the Roman who took the spear through his hip, the strike was angled up to emerge from his lower back just below the rib cage. The Roman fell back and Hyspax placed his boot on the Roman's chest to help lever the spear free. Scylax used the prongs of the trident to trap the next Roman's sword, before twisting to rip it out of it's owner's grip. In desperation, the Roman slammed his shield into Scylax's foot. The pain seemed only to enrage the Retiarius, and two quick thrusts later and the Roman's thigh was ripped open and his flank was punctured, leaving him in a heap on the ground, bleeding profusely as his lungs slowly filled with blood. The final Roman fended off Xilus, taking a flesh wound but managing to stay alive.

The town militia prove inadequate to the task at hand, and pay for it with their lives.

Silas felt like things were going their way, when suddenly he heard the cry going up "To arms! Intruders!" from the buildings. The doors burst open and Roman troops rushed out. Some were militia like the men they'd been fighting already, but others were clearly better armed and equipped, older and tougher looking. One he caught a glimpse of was clearly a brawler, a legionary and the final man he saw emerging was an officer, his transverse crested helmet identifying him clearly. Their target was at hand, but he was out of reach, standing in the door to the large farm building beyond two of the Roman spearmen. Two of the veteran looking Romans joined the two militia fighting Corvus, surrounding him, while Silas found himself being rushed by three militia. In a vicious melee of blows and blocks, Silas fended off the militia, not having enough time to inflict any real harm, but Corvus could not stand against the veterans coming at him, taking a spear thrust through the chest and falling, spitting blood into his killer's face as he fell.

Romans rush the gladiators as they emerge from their quarters, the sudden assault costing Corvus his life.

Xilus heard the arrival of the Roman reinforcements as he blocked a blow from the militia soldier he was fighting, enjoying the look of surprise that passed over the man's face as Scylax's trident appeared in his stomach. A savage twist before it was wrenched clear left the man curled up on the floor trying to hold his innards in. Knowing he was no longer a threat, and seeing their comrades needing their aid, Xilus led his men towards the fighting, seeing Bomilcar storm towards the Romans from the field, while Umbrus tried the farm's side door and slipped inside. Ahead, Silas and his surviving comrades turned on the militia emerging from the smaller farm building, squaring off. With almost disdainful ease, Garrus parried a poorly executed blow, before delivering a strike on the withdrawing sword arm of his opponent, cutting it off. The man fell away, curling up to protect himself from a finishing blow even as he tried to stem the flow of blood from ruined limb. Garrus didn't even pause before stabbing the helpless man just under the shoulder blade. Silo fended off his opponent, leaving a small slash on the man's shin that was sure to slow him down, while Silas failed to inflict a telling blow on his target, although his heavy armour protected him from any harm.

An unholy mess of a melee dominates the farm, leaving the dead littering the ground, while the wounded and dying try to drag themselves clear.

Umbrus rushed through the farm building, knocking aside the jumbles of gear the Romans had left scattered about, aiming to get to grips with the Roman officer who was standing in the door ahead of him. At the last second the Roman turned and faced him and they began to spar. To the right, Umbrus was aware of Xilus and his men smashing into a ragged line of militia and the veterans, joined by Bomilcar, while ahead Silus, Silo and Garrus faced more Romans, both Silo and Silus taking on two apiece. Silo managed to hold off the two militia he faced, doing better than Umbrus had ever expected of him.

The rookie gladiator holds off two Romans, buying time for his compatriots to achieve their objective.

To the right, Scylax cut down by the Romans, while Xilus managed to overwhelm one of the militia and put him out of action. In the central melee, Umbrus saw Garrus take a spear through his knee, leaving him unable to fight. A second blow, delivered with the haft to the side of his head, knocked him unconscious. Umbrus realised that if Garrus was luckless enough to survive the fight, only a cross awaited him. The fleeting distraction this thought provoked proved costly, as the Roman centurion found an opening and smashed his shield into Umbrus' arm, the pain from the impact slowing his ability to move it. Fortunately, the Roman caught his shield on the door frame, leaving just enough of an opening for Umbrus to catch him with a blow from his trident, only a small cut, but a start, probably bringing them back to an even footing. Beyond his personal duel, Umbrus caught a glimpse of Silas, surrounded by four Romans, getting a gladius thrust between his shoulder armour and his helmet, leaving his head hanging at a crazy angle. Not content with cutting down one opponent, the tough looking legionary who had killed Silas then turned and attacked Silo, inflicting a savage blow across his back.

Defiant to the last, Silas goes down amid a scrum of Roman blades

The gladiators were finding themselves increasingly outnumbered, as more of their number fell. Silo was surrounded by four Romans, while Xilus and Hyspax, toiling with wounds already suffered, were felled in quick succession. Bomilcar took a powerful blow, a large cut across his ribs. Silo was cut down in a flurry of blows, never having a chance to strike out before he died. Umbrus faced the Roman officer, the restriction provided by the doorway preventing nearby Romans assisting him. Not that he seemed to need assistance, as he stabbed Umbrus' thigh just below the hip. Umbrus dropped to one knee, realising he would now never be able to escape.

Silo goes down against overwhelming odds.

The Roman officer clearly was thinking the same way, and he prepared to deliver the final blow to Umbrus. Drawing back his sword, his shield moved slightly, but it was all the gap Umbrus needed, he struck hard with his trident, punching through the man's chainmail, puncturing his lungs. With a shocked expression, the man fell away, into the melee outside.

Despite his wounds, Umbrus manages to fell the Roman prefect, snatching victory even as the gladiators are being massacred by the Romans.

 Fully aware that he was going to bleed to death from his wound, Umbrus dragged himself deeper into the building. Outside he heard the arrival of a Roman column, screaming as the last gladiators outside were caught, overwhelmed and massacred. After the fighting died away, he heard more screams as the Romans cut apart the wounded gladiators scattered about the farm. From his dark corner, Umbrus saw the hated sight to Roman crests as the men stormed into the building, and then a flash of steel.

Results

With the death of the Roman prefect, the game was a victory for the gladiators, although given the death of almost the entire force before that happened, and the near certain death of the two survivors, it was very much a Pyrrhic victory. The Romans would certainly not be bragging of the nights events, with most of the militia having been killed. The loss of Vorenus and the determination shown by the gladiators would not have done the morale of the force any good, giving the gladiators an edge in the coming battle.

Everyone who was playing had a lot of fun, both with the stealth section of the game and the main fight. Both sides had a good shot at winning up to the last turn, and the victory snatched from the jaws of defeat was a good end to a fun game, worthy of the best Spartacus film or TV adaptions.

Schrodinger's Panther

We played this scenario at the latest wargames night in the office. It's based on the patrol scenario from the Chain of Command rulebook. The situation is in recent fighting, a Panther tank was knocked out in what is now No-Mans Land. The Germans are sending out a patrol to escort some Panzer crew to repair it and get it back to their lines, while the American have sent out a small force to destroy the tank. In the case that the Panther becomes operational, the Americans have a Sherman on standby, which will remain out of the vicinity to avoid alerting the Germans to the American activity. 

Panther 112 in the graveyard during the morning's fighting. It would be knocked out as it withdrew along the road to the left of the picture.

The final twist, which both sides were unaware of, was that the company commander of the next American company in the line was concerned about the possibility of the Panther being retrieved so had ranged in a mortar battery on its position. In the event he heard engine noise from its rough position he would order the area bombarded, although it being nighttime, the deviation from the target could be large.

GEHEIM

Kampfbericht, Befehlshalter 116sten Panzerdivision
Bericht fur Aktion am: 11ten Juni 1944
Hauptoffizier der Aktion: Leutnant Torsten Weitzman

Bericht:

Following the fighting in the morning of the 11th of June, in which one of our Panther tanks was knocked out, my platoon (3 Platoon, C Company) was ordered to escort a group of Panzer crew to salvage the tank, which was stranded between our and the American lines. In this action we were accompanied by Feldwebel Frischer from the Company command.

We left our lines at 2130, moving up the road in tactical column. When we reached the vicinity of the tank it became apparent an American patrol was present, possibly having the aim of destroying the Panther, or retrieving maps or other intel from the wreck. (Note: Interrogation of prisoners appears to indicate the Americans were not just conducting a routine patrol).

German forces move towards the tank, escorting the repair team.

As we advanced, we heard an artillery piece, probably an anti-tank gun, firing. At least three rounds were fired, aimed at the Panther. The first round was fired before we were in position and we are unaware of what effect it had, two more were fired as we approached. One round missed, and the second was deflected by the Panther's front armour.

Section 1 rapidly advanced to take positions south of the Panther, while Team A of Section 2 moved up to the north of the tank, both groups using the bocage and walls as cover, allowing the Panzer crew to reach the vehicle, at which point they began repairs, aiming to get the weapons systems working to provide support against the American troops.

German and American troops make contact as the repairs on the tank begin.

Team B of Section 1 moved up to the Panther, aiming to cover up the main lane past the graveyard, providing security for the repairs, at which point they came under fire from an American machine gun position, which devastated the squad, killing three of the four men. Mortar fire from the vicinity (probably a 60mm mortar) also hit the team, and the survivor withdrew rapidly. Obergefreiter Freibel reorganised his section as a single unit of 6 men. This combined force then moved into a small gully, spotting and engaging in a firefight with an American squad moving along the graveyard walls, inflicting at least some casualties. 

Team A Section 2 moved to the bocage to the north of the tank, spotting what appeared to be another American squad moving in the vicinity. Their appearance appeared to dissuade the Americans from moving through that field.

In an attempt to outflank the American machine guns, I deployed Section 3 to the north of the lane in the bocage, and they began a cautious advance before events overtook this move.

The two American infantry squads made a sudden, rapid advance up the lane towards the Panther, using the cover provided by the hedgerows to avoid incoming fire in the main. Team A Section 2 reacted, moving to enfilade their advance with fire, but was caught in a vicious hand to hand fight with at least 16 Americans. 5 Americans were killed in the fighting, and an NCO was wounded, but Team A Section 2 were killed to a man, along with Obergefreiter Peter Gruber. Finding themselves suddenly exposed, the Panzer crew retreated towards cover and Team B Section 2 rather than face the Americans.

American troops rush the first line of security around the tank, overcoming them in a brutal fight. But can they summon up the strength to overpower the remaining defenders?

The Americans then attempted to charge the remnants of Section 1, but only one squad appeared to be able to summon the required resolve after the bloody fight with Section 2. This squad hit Section 2, killing three men before being overwhelmed. Before Section 2 could shoot at the other American squad, under considerable urging from their NCO, they charged into contact. Fortunately, they were clearly exhausted and demoralised, in the ensuing fight they were rapidly overcome, with the only loss in that fight being Feldwebel Frischer who was knocked unconscious.

The last desperate push by the Americans is beaten back by Section 1, who are bloodied, but hold their ground.

Any remaining American forces, such as the machine guns that hit Section 1, withdrew from the area at this point and recovery of the vehicle was achieved by 2213.

During the action, our unit lost 10 men killed or wounded, including one junior NCO. We killed or wounded at least 20 Americans, taking several of the wounded prisoner. Two of the American dead were identified as NCOs. In addition to driving off the American patrol, we were able to recover Panther 112 and it will be available for use again.

I request that my platoon be rotated off the front at least temporarily to allow my wounded to recover and for the unit to be reorganised to compensate for our losses. Replacements, particularly for my lost section leader, would be extremely valuable to improving the unit's combat readiness.


The scenario was a good success to my mind, both players had a good time, even if the American player did find his dice to be uncooperative. A couple of points did emerge from the game however. Firstly, the Panther was incredibly tough, and was next to impossible for the Americans to destroy. I think in future I'd use the modified armour penetration rules in the Advanced Rules section as long as the tank is unmanned, as I assume it's easier to concentrate on getting a perfect shot on a tank if it's not fighting back, and once it starts moving or shooting staying alive becomes a significant distraction. Secondly, the German Panzergrenadiers are really heavily armed for this scenario, as the fighting was naturally funneled towards the tank, so it would probably be better to use the regular infantry platoon.

Assassins Creed: Syndicate First Impressions Review

The Good

Where to start, firstly the setting. The London the team have created is amazing. Walking around the place in the game reminds me of living in the city, and the city seems alive and dynamic in a way that Paris in Unity did not. The attention to detail, from the colour of bricks, to the adverts and the mannerisms of the NPCs all seem top notch. Even better, the Industrial age cityscape is far better for exploring and climbing around than I anticipated. Combined with the magic zip line producer, navigating the city is a joy. (One thing I should clarify here, although the setting is fantastically realised, all my points in my rant on the setting are valid).

Even the magic zip line producer, or the rope dart launcher as the game calls it, doesn't impact on the game as negatively as I feared. If anything, it seems to have opened up the free-running, making streets less brutal obstacles and removing the need for all the steel cable clothes lines of previous games, and opening up the vertical dimension in play for exploitation. This combines well with the increased numbers of tall buildings and smoke stacks etc, but the device is sufficiently restrictive as to not kill off completely the normal climbing as a useful tool.

What little of the story I have explored has also impressed me. Although it lacks in world shaking history changing events, the small scale gives it a greater human element. It feels (and I am only part way through) like a small skirmish in the Assassin-Templar conflict, giving the two leads key roles in the fight. It's a nice balance, where the actions of the player is actually driving the game, rather than just being a pawn, and hopefully will develop into something larger later on.

Having two playable characters is also an interesting idea, and one which has worked well. Giving the characters separate skill trees with different high end options allows you to customise them to suit tasks early on, broadening them out when points become available. Having them be twins is also genius, the sibling rivalry interplay is brilliantly done.

The NPCs I've encountered thus far are also engaging and surprisingly rounded, even the historical ones who have (in my opinion) in previous games been a bit one note.

Combat has been refined again, and I like the new style. Quick kills and combo streaks are welcome additions, and for once it feels like wait.. wait.. counter is not the only viable strategy. I will also say that the kill animations are impressive, I'm not normally squeamish but a few of them make even me wince.

The side quests, particularly the territory unlock ones are another high point, they're fun, with a good level of challenge and fit the themes of the game well. I also like that the full sync bonus objectives are no longer considered necessary for completion, but completing them gives extra money and XP, which seems like an adequate compromise.

The Bad

Well, more the missed opportunities, as so far I have no major criticisms. I have seen a handful of bugs, mostly sudden spawning in of models onto impossibly terrain, occasionally lifting a body where the body freezes in it's dead on the floor pose, and once I think I saw a pedestrian vanish into the sky.

A couple of things I think could have been done to make things even more fantastic, firstly if a character has just been in the Thames (as in in the water) they should be made more obvious (they'd smell awful) when trying to stealth elsewhere. I'd also like it if I could hop on the trains at stations and know where they were going. (I know there is fast travel, but occasionally I just want to enjoy the environment/grab a drink etc.) The final niggle is a bug where the vendors always respond as if you've not bought anything when you exit the shop, even if you have.

The Verdict

Well, let's put it this way: This post has been much delayed as I've been playing not typing.

In more detail, this is an excellent addition to the series, it feels fresh, the environment is amazing and the story is excellent. It's too soon (for me) to say if it tops AC II or IV, but it is certainly up at their level.

Assassins' Creed: Syndicate: A rant about settings

Why Syndicate's setting is bad, and why this is good

 

When I first heard that the next Assassins' Creed game would be set in Victorian England, I was highly disappointed. To my mind, it's a terrible setting for an AC game, there were no great power struggles, no great revolutions. Power in Britain was firmly in the hands of the Parliament, the Industrial Revolution had already passed and society had adapted, the British Empire was the undisputed superpower in the world and would remain so for nearly 50 years. The only attractions of the period are a couple of famous instances, Darwinian theory and the Whitechapel murders (my guess now, Jack the Ripper will be a Templar attack dog and you'll kill him).

So why was this period chosen for an AC game? Well, the fame of Jack the Ripper, the fact Victoria is one of the few British monarchs that many people outside the UK will know of. But overall, I'd say it's a boring, pointless period to put the game in. And this is good.

For those of you I've now lost, let me clarify. AC Unity was set in one of the most fascinating power struggles in European history, where an ancient monarchy was overthrown, the church was challenged and "dangerous" ideals like equality first got a real airing. This was followed by the onset of reality, terror and tyranny overturning the ideals of the revolution and a return to a monarchy (albeit a new one given a certain lack of candidates from the old family). And Arno did next to nothing of note in this great event. Instead we had a (admittedly good) murder mystery and conspiracy story. Arno was not motivated to free the people, by equality or any other Assassin ideal, he was motivated by the desire to redeem himself in the eyes of his former guardian's daughter. To me, this was a colossal waste.

Why this happened I don't know, I think (based on nothing but playing Unity) the team had become more interested in the modern day story/meta game components than the historical part of the story. While I can respect that, and it does have some level of interest for me, I'd much rather take part in the great events in history. This is why I'm pleased that Syndicate is set in a pointless part of history, I can enjoy an interesting story (if of no consequence to the universe) without the nagging feeling that taking part in the events around me would be a better story.

A British Assassins' Creed Game: Where I would set one

 

British history (and to clarify a point that will become important shortly, I'm referring to Britain as a geographical term rather than a political one) is littered with periods of flux, revolution and changing of balances of power. One in particular stands out to me as a perfect setting for an AC game, and I'll lay out my thoughts on why and what form the game could take here.

The period in question is the English Civil Wars on 1639-1660, where fighting took place not just in England, but also in Scotland and Ireland, giving the wars their other name, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.

During the course of the wars, the English monarchy was deposed and for the only time in history an English monarch was condemned to death and executed by the British people in a (dubiously) legal process. The state religion was challenged, nearly demolished and a new, radical sect seized control. Britain went from a monarchy, to a Commonwealth to a Protectorate, allies became foes and finally a counter-revolution restored, on the surface at least, the status quo from before the wars. 

As I see it, the game would start around the time of the Bishop's War, with Assassin's (including our protagonist as a rookie) supporting the Scottish army as they advanced against the English army arrayed against them. Naturally the Templars will be controlling and backing the established monarchy. Attacking the English camp to assassinate a key Templar and perhaps sabotage powder reserves or similar would provide a clean and easy tutorial mission.

Next, we'd proceed to the increasingly riotous and rebellious Long Parliament, with our character helping to delay the arrest of the 5 Members of Parliament by Charles I soldiers. spreading anti-monarchical pamphlets and otherwise contributing to the rise of the rebellion. When the rebellion breaks out, the Assassins would be tasked with eliminating Royalist officers (the casualty rates among senior officers in the conflict was horrific), sabotaging siege trains and other military related activities, aiming to assist the rebellion in the difficult early stages of the war.

A point on gameplay, I envisage the game returning to a more similar format to the earlier games, with multiple major cities to visit, rather than concentrating in just one place. As the fortunes of war change, the guards in major settlements and strategically located garrisons and camps will change between Royalists and Parliamentarians, with garrisons launching patrols of the hinterlands between the cities (giving players a reason to deal with them rather than just the 100% completion). In settled areas, the Clubmen faction, locals who had banded together to defend their locality from marauders, could form a permanent 'police' to keep the player from stealing and killing at will, while enemy garrison troops would be far more hostile (suspicious on sight etc) while friendly troops would be tolerant of most minor offenses and could assist the player against enemy troops.

I also imagine their being dynamic attacks by Templar forces aiming to recapture garrisons and settlements, even when the player isn't present, just so that the oppressive concerns of civil war are brought home, never knowing if a safe area is still so.

In the next act, the player would have risen in the Assassin Brotherhood after successful actions against the Royalist armies. Their new task would be to concentrate of breaking the Templar hold on the country, as it looks like the rebellion might fail. Going after Templars, their allies and assets would be the first task, after which the hunt for any Precursor artifacts they're using. The relentless pressure on the Templars and the loss of Pieces of Eden would critically weaken the Royalists, allowing the Rebellions fortunes to improve. The Assassin could also be sent to protect the negotiations for the alliance between the Parliament and the Scots, a critical turning point in the war.

At this point, we throw in the curve ball to the plot. The rebellion's leadership at this point fell heavily under Puritan influence, a formerly small, reclusive sect with extreme beliefs and an intolerance for outsiders. When they become a dominant faction in the rebellion, they turn on the Assassins, revealing that they're a Templar dominated faction. The game changes, as all guards are intensely hostile to the Assassins, hideouts come under assault from Parliamentarian troops led by Templar kill squads. Dozens, if not hundreds of Assassins, including key leaders, are killed and the Brotherhood is nearly annihilated. The player escapes with a handful of companions.

The next act would consist of trying to rebuild the Brotherhood in a brutally hostile environment. Establishing safe houses, supply networks and spy rings will be key, followed by recruitment and training of Assassins. At this point the player will become a senior Assassin, by the simple method of having lived. Eventually, the Templars will abandon the Royalist faction as the rebellion becomes unstoppable. For want of better allies, the Assassin's will assist the Royalists, taking part in the escape of Charles I's children and his prison escape attempts prior to his execution. Ultimately though, the new, Templar dominated government will be installed and the Commonwealth will ensue. The Assassins consider abandoning Britain, and many do, leaving the player as the leader of all remaining Assassins in the Three Kingdoms.

Under the player's guidance, the Assassins will attempt to undermine the Commonwealth, eventually triggering the Templars to abolish the Parliament, making Cromwell the Lord Protector, a functional monarch with military backing. This plays into Assassin hands, as the people begin to resent the loss of freedom and imposition of religious values and the abuses of the regime. Eventually, the resentment of the Protectorate, combined with the death of Cromwell (perhaps by Precursor poison or similar that makes it look like a natural death), leads to the return of the monarchy. Unfortunately for the Templars, Charles II holds them responsible for the death of his father, and with a little help for the Assassins, he launches a purge of the Templars, allowing the Assassins to gain ground in the British Isles.

At the coronation of Charles II, the ending of the game, our character, now a Mentor of the Brotherhood, and a young Assassin will be watching from the roof of the Palace of Westminster as, once again, power was invested in one man. When challenged by the young Assassin about his failure to change anything, our character points out to him that, although on the surface, nothing had changed, below there were new rules. The people had learned they could challenge the authority of the old orders, power now rested firmly with the Parliament, as they allowed a King to exist, and that this knowledge and fact would be impossible to undo, even by the most devious Templar machinations, planting a seed that the Brotherhood can nurture into a permanent victory over the Templar desire to control. In my mind, this monologue takes place over a montage of momentous events through history where powers were challenged (American and French Revolutions, Fall of the Berlin Wall etc) as suits the speech.

Aside from the story aspects, the English Civil Wars also suit AC gameplay. Firearms were limited and slow to reload, making reliance on bladed weapons critical in scraps on the scale AC games play at, but allowing for some dramatic battlefield action when needed for the story. High attrition rates among officers allow for assassination missions without the need to make up deaths, the key role of printing presses, powder mills and local fortified strongholds give natural side quests, with obvious gameplay benefits (Clubmen will be hostile if the enemy control local printing presses, and neutral if it falls to the Assassins, powder mills supply local Assassin forces making them more able to defend themselves and allowing the player to re-arm for free, removing enemy garrisons reduces or eliminates enemy patrols).

So that's my little idea for an Assassin's Creed game where the player becomes part of history, just needing one of the "modern world" stories around it. Sadly, with the English Civil Wars being relatively unknown, I suspect it'll never go from my head to reality. But then again, stranger things have happened.

Lion Rampant - Adapting for the Ancient Period

Recently I hit something of a snag, I've been painting up some Romans, Gauls and Germans in 25mm, planning to use them in skirmish level scraps (village raids, patrols and ambushes and the like) when it occurred to me I haven't got a set of suitable rules.

No problem, thought I, to the internet, a quick search for Ancient Skirmish Rules will soon see me straight. Saga, nope too late, Dux Bellorum, ditto, and so on. For the Roman period, there seems to be no skirmish rules, only massed battles (well with the possible exception of some Warhammer thingy, but no).

Since I've always been tempted by the idea of collecting middle ages skirmish figures (choosing between the First Crusade/Outremer, collapse of the Byzantine Empire, Mongol Invasions or Wars of the Roses period being the main stumbling block at this time), and with a "Must only buy terrain this year" Salute coming up, I indulged in a copy of the Lion Rampant rules by Osprey and having read through it occurred to me the rules covered exactly the scale of fighting I was looking for in my Ancients.

The task I've set myself is to convert the rules to be suitable for the mid-late Roman Republic, which involves the following steps:

• Adapting/creating suitable troop types to cover the options available and getting as close as possible to fair "Retinue" points
• Coming up with suitable leader tables for the Gauls, Germans and Romans (and possibly the Gladiators if I intend to play some gladiator revolt battles)
• Suitable renaming of everything to be less medieval
• Tweaking various things like challenge rules etc to better reflect the ancient setting.

With luck, I'll soon have two rule sets for the price of one, expect to see updates here at some nebulous point in time.

Assault on Villa Giulia

To: Lt P. Leinster, CO 2nd Platoon Dog Company 53rd Armored Infantry Batt.

From: Cpt. J. Northman, Dog Company, 53rd Armored Infantry Batt.

Your platoon is to immediately take position around Villa Giulia (GR: 7612-4431). Battalion S3 reports enemy activity consistent with the expected counterattack. Your platoon is to hold the villa at all costs.



Having pumped out a pair of platoons and supports for Chain of Command in short order, the time had come to put them on the table and get stuck in. The scenario was Attack and Defend right out of the rule book, with the American Armored Infantry platoon defending the locality of the Villa Giulia from an attack by German Panzer grenadiers. 

Villa Giulia dominates the valley floor and the road through it, making it critical to controlling the local area.

American officers take advantage of the villa's comforts.

The Americans took an adjutant, a minefield and a FOO with an 81mm mortar battery, while the Germans took an adjutant, a sniper team and a Panzer III. The Americans also declined to bring any of their integral bazooka teams.

To: Battalion Command, 53rd Armored Infantry Batt
From: Lt P. Leinster, CO 2nd Platoon Dog Company

Combat After Action Report for 23/11/1944 around Villa Giulia

At 0550 we became aware of German scouts probing around out outposts. Shortly after, a German squad was sighted advancing up the road towards the villa, and another squad was seen to the west of the road. Our machine gun squad engaged the Germans in the road, inflicting at least one casualty and causing the Germans to move east off the road.

A brazen German advance up the road is met by a hail of lead from the defenders of the villa.

With German troops taking cover behind the stone walls of a field east of the road, I deployed 1st Squad to cut off their advance. A brisk firefight broke out, in which what we believe to be the German officer in charge was wounded. 

After the initial rebuff, the Germans head east, joined by the platoon CO.

The firefight decimates the German section, and the Platoon CO is wounded.

During the firefight several of our men were hit, but the Germans lost at least four men. The men also reported a possible sniper beyond the German infantry, although this remains unconfirmed.

The Germans deployed an additional squad to try and break through, and the heavy fire from their MG42s inflicted heavy losses on 1st Squad.

MG42 fire devastates 1st Squad as the Germans try to push through the American defense.

1st Squad having been rendered combat ineffective, I deployed 2nd Squad to take over holding the German flanking movement. The firefight continued with light losses on both sides. The Germans then brought forward a Panzer.

2nd Squad suddenly finds itself on the end of the steel fist of the German war machine.

To break the Germans before the Panzer became a serious issue, I deployed my HQ squad at the opposite end of the stonewalled field to the Germans to bring them under fire from two directions.

The HQ squad surprises the Germans from the flank, adding to their misery.

Under pressure from two sides, one of the German squads broke and fled back towards the road where they came under fire from the machine guns in the villa. The survivors fled from the combat area.

Pressure from American rifle fire pins down the second German section.

Fleeing back from the Americans brings the German second section into the sights of the machine gun squad, who carve into them and drive them off the field.

With the Germans clearly in some confusion, we applied further pressure to the surviving Germans east of the road, driving them off. The remaining German forces then withdrew, leaving us in control of the field.

Our losses in the action amounted to 10 enlisted dead and wounded, and one Sergeant lightly wounded and another killed. We estimate we inflicted at least 20 casualties on the Germans, including at least two senior NCOs and and an officer killed or wounded.

A rather resounding victory for the Americans, who had a Force Morale of 8 remaining when the Germans sank to 0. The German players had made a few errors, but two things more than anything crippled them throughout the game: Their wounded senior leader, meaning that he couldn't be activated with all the 4's they rolled for their activations, and their terrible to hit rolls, rarely making more than a 25% hit rate even with a 50% to hit chance.

The latter could have been overcome, given the firepower the German sections could bring to bear, but the former became a serious issue. The German Lieutenant could have been directing the German forces around the field, which would have freed up their Junior Leader and squad activations that the German players had to use to keep that firefight going to activate their third section (west of the road) to flank the American position or bring their tank into play sooner, either of which could have changed the result massively.

That being said, the American player did well, constraining German options and committing sufficient force to the firefight to overpower the Germans in the attrition battle.

Most importantly, everyone had a good dead of fun, even the Germans. Chain of Command is definitely going to become a staple of our office wargames evenings.

New Project: Chain of Command Platoons

Why not add to the lead pile

Having recently acquired a copy of the Too Fat Lardies rules Chain of Command, and having had a couple of test games with stand in models (the sight of Roman legionaries advancing into the MG42s of the Gauls is not one I will soon forget), I have decided to bite the bullet and add to my not inconsiderable painting pile with two platoons. After a bit of consideration, I picked late war western front (Italy or France/Germany) and the Americans and Germans for the forces I'd use.

First up, the Americans. I chose to go with an Armored Rifle Platoon, which consists of the Lieutenant and Platoon Sergeant, two large infantry squads, a smaller HQ squad, a machine gun squad with two medium machine guns and a mortar team as standard. In addition I got some support options, a 57mm Anti-tank gun, a flamethrower team, a mine clearance team, an observer team for a mortar battery, an M8 armored car, an M10 tank destroyer, an M24 Chaffee and an M4A3E8 Sherman.

To face down the green machine, I picked the German Panzergrenadiers, with a leutnant, panzerschreck team and three squads of two teams, each with an MG42 and a small clutch of riflemen. To back up the core platoon there is a sniper team, an extra senior leader (probably some form of senior NCO), an MG42 team, a mortar battery observer, a mine clearance team, a motorbike with sidecar, a Pak 40 Anti-tank gun, a Sdkfz 234/3 armoured car, a Stug III, a Panzer IV and a Tiger 1.

The rationale for choosing these forces was, as usual with me, they offer a variety of play styles. The Germans are fairly simple to play conceptually, each fire team has a lot of firepower, plus panzerfausts to keep tanks on their toes. This also means that a section or team can perform fire support or maneuver roles, giving tactical flexibility. Their weakness comes from a lack of senior leaders (one to the American two) which hampers activity on the field or deployment, and a general fragility due to limited numbers.

The Americans play very differently. With their large squads of riflemen and separated out firepower in the medium machine guns and mortar units, the Americans have great resilience, but need to coordinate their firepower and movement more carefully than the Germans. The presence of two senior leaders also allows the Americans much more flexibility in battle in terms of patching up unit morale, directing the action and deploying troops. The Americans can also bring serious anti-tank firepower by adding bazookas to the infantry squads.

So with the forces assembled (although I won't deny it is entirely possible more supports will be acquired at Salute later in the month), the painting shall soon begin. Assuming my other unpainted projects don't get in the way. Like the 100 or so 28mm Gauls currently occupying the painting table. Bah.