“AGE of NAPOLEON” a 1796 variant for Empires in Arms
Version 2
(Less reverently titled “Bony’s Excellent Adventure”)
by Warren K. Bruhn
April 5, 2009
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1. Conditions at Start
2. Armies and Leaders
3. Setup
4. Special Rules
5. Optional Rules
6. Design Notes
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1.0 Conditions at Start
1.1 Starting Players
6: Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, Spain, Prussia
5: Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia, Spain
4: Great Britain, France, Austria, Russia
3: Great Britain, France, Austria
2: Great Britain, France
1: Hey! Get a life!
1.2 UMP’s
Spain is an active French UMP
Austria is an active British UMP
Prussia, Russia, and Turkey are neutral UMP’s
1.3 Starting Date
Campaign begins July 1796.
1.4 Starting Political Status
Austria As(II) [neutral 2]
France Fr(I) [dominant 2]
G. Britain GB(I) [neutral 9]
Prussia Pr(I) [neutral 10]
Russia Rs(I) [neutral 7]
Spain Sp(I) [neutral 5]
Turkey Tu(I) [neutral 3]
1.5 Ending Date
End with the economic phase of June 1815, but game ends immediately if the Napoleon A leader is removed a second time due to peace condition C.6. The victory conditions below do not depend on a set end date to the campaign, so players may set an earlier or later ending date.
1.6 Starting Wars
The ONLY war at the start of the game is France against an alliance of Austria and Great Britain. Pre-game declarations of war are not allowed.
1.7 Starting Victory Points
All players begin with Zero victory points.
1.8 Starting Alliances
The only existing alliance at the start of the game is between Austria and Great Britain. Pre-game alliances other than this one are not allowed.
1.9 Starting Enforced Peace Conditions
Spain and France have an enforced peace until July 1797.
Prussia and France have an enforced peace until April 1797.
1.10 Starting Special Peace Conditions
France may not declare war on Hanover, Hesse, Saxony, Mecklenburg, Duchies, or Berg until April 1797 (Peace of Basel). If using special rules for diplomacy on minors, Prussia has the right to conduct diplomacy with these minors, but France does not until April 1797. France recognized Prussia’s sphere of influence in this area in exchange for Prussian recognition of similar French rights on the left bank of the Rhine. Prussia also may not declare war or conduct diplomacy on Holland, Kleves, Palatinate, Flanders or Switzerland until April 1797.
1.11 Special Garrison Rights, Changes to the Map, and Modifications to Minor Countries
A. Austria has the right to garrison and place depots in the cities and areas of Nuremburg, and Ulm, and may use these cities as supply sources, until peace condition C.8 is chosen by a victor against Austria. These rights are restored if Austria chooses peace condition C.9 against all major powers that previously applied peace condition C.8 against Austria. These areas are not otherwise treated as home nation territories for Austria. Forcible access penalties do not apply. However, Wurttemburg army factors may not be placed in Ulm, and Bavarian army factors may not be placed in Nuremburg, unless these minor countries are Austrian controlled free states, until at least one major power applies peace condition C.8 against Austria.
B. The Wesel and Minden areas are Prussian home nation cities and territories. Treat them as being part of the Prussian Magdeburg province. They are not part of Hanover and Berg. If the Magdeburg province is ceded, the Wesel and Minden areas go with it. Prussia may place corps, garrisons, and depots in Wesel and Minden at start, and may use these cities as supply sources. Forcible access penalties apply, as these are Prussian home nation territories.
C. Corsica is a French home nation province, not a minor country.
D. Hamburg and its area are part of Hanover, not Denmark.
E. Georgia is a minor country in this campaign, not a Russian home nation province. It is neutral at the start of the campaign. Russia needs to gain control of Georgia in order to use the cossack unit(s) that are available based on control of Georgia. National modifiers for control of Georgia are: Russia +2, Turkey +2, all others zero.
1.12 New & Modified Political Combinations and Multi-district Minors
A. Add the “Kingdom of Sardinia” as an optional political combination, consisting of Piedmont and Sardinia. Formation results in +1 PP. Any nation may create the “Kingdom of Sardinia.”
B. Only Turkey may create the Ottoman Empire.
C. Change the composition of the “Kingdom of Italy” to Lombardy, Romagna, and Venetia. The Papacy and Illyria province are NOT required and may NOT be added to the “Kingdom of Italy.” Formation of the “Kingdom of Italy” is NOT required in order to make use of the Venetian fleet. The “Kingdom of Italy” may only be created by France, and France may not create the “Kingdom of Italy” until the Napoleon A leader is available. Formation results in +1 PP to France.
D. Add the “Cisalpine Republic” as an optional political combination. Component territories are Lombardy and Romagna. Formation results in +1 PP to France. Only France may create the “Cisalpine Republic.” France may not create the “Cisalpine Republic” after the Napoleon A leader becomes available.
E. If Sweden no longer controls Finland as a secondary district, and a major power controlling Sweden and Norway does not also control Denmark, then Norway can be added to Sweden as a secondary district. However, money and manpower values are NOT doubled for Norway when Norway is a secondary district of Sweden.
F. Austria, Prussia, and Russia do not gain +1 PP for creating “Poland” (“The Grand Duchy of Warsaw”). The first time “Poland” is created by any major power Austria, Prussia, and Russia each suffer an immediate -1 PP. This is a one time penalty, and if Poland is created multiple times it does not result in additional -1 PP penalties. Whenever “Poland” is created by Austria, Prussia, or Russia, Polish morale is reduced to 3.0 for the first 24 months after “Poland” is created, after which Polish infantry morale reverts to 4.0 for the remainder of the campaign. Polish morale is not reduced if “Poland” is created first by another major power. If “Poland” is ceded to either Austria, Prussia, or Russia before spending 24 consecutive months under the control of a major power other than Austria, Prussia, or Russia, then Polish morale will be reduced to 3.0 for 24 months following the ceding. Polish morale would immediately revert to 4.0 if “Poland” were ceded to or was recreated by a major power other than Austria, Prussia, or Russia during this time. Note: This is a complicated rule, but the intent is that it will take 24 months before Polish troops gain any kind of enthusiasm for fighting for the three major powers that carved up Poland, no matter how grateful they might be at being granted some limited autonomy. Please interpret the rules and any loopholes discovered with this intent in mind. Also, the rule is intended to reflect the fact that Austria, Prussia, and Russia had a clear joint policy of keeping Poland conquered and carved up between them, and some negative diplomatic repercussions would flow to them from any power granting the Poles free state status.
1.13 Victory Point Targets & Selection of Players for Major Powers
The number of victory points needed to be eligible to win is are a multiple of the number of economic phases that occurred in the game times the following number of victory points for each major power, with number in parenthesis being used for the number of economic phases that the nation spends as a dominant power:
Austria 7.5 (8.5)
France 7.8 (8.8)
Great Britain 7.7 (8.7)
Prussia 7.4 (8.4)
Spain 7.3 (8.3)
Russia 7.6 (8.6)
Turkey 7.2 (8.2)
If multiple major powers have reached the victory point goal required by this calculation, then determine victory by dividing the excess points over those required to be eligible to win by the victory point numbers listed after each major power name above. The highest resulting total wins. However, Britain, which begins as a dominant power, automatically loses if it is not a dominant power at the end of the game, or if any other power is a dominant power at the end of the game. Also, France automatically loses if it is not a dominant power at the end of the game.
2.0 Armies & Leaders
2.1 Leaders
Introduction: For version 2 of this campaign, I’ve decided to scrap the huge number of leaders used in the version 1 that I wrote back in 1997. Instead, this version employs very few leaders, only those counters found in the original game and in the 1792 campaign variant published in the General, with the Dumouriez counter from that variant being used to represent Jourdan. Many leaders with tactical ratings of 3 or less are a composite representation of several individuals rather than being merely a representation of the named leader. As such, they are an abstraction of the command capacity of each major power. Most leaders, with noted exceptions, are treated as being immortal within the time span of their availability in this campaign. Do not roll for leader casualties in combat except for those leaders noted to be “mortal” in their national leader section. The “mortal” leaders are those who died in battle or while in command during the time frame of this campaign variant. Hoche is treated in a unique way due to the circumstances of his death. Several leaders are removed due to historic retirement due to illness and impending death, or assassination in the case of Fersen. In order to maintain play value for each nation over the long haul of a 19 year campaign, rules below provide for keeping two leaders in play at all times for Austria, Great Britain, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Turkey. In order to make this leadership system work over the course of a very long campaign, the following specific rules are used:
A. Only leaders with a tactical rating of 4 or 5 may be removed due to peace condition C.6.
B. Only those leaders specifically noted as being “+mortal+” roll for the possibility of being a leader casualty in combat.
2.1.1 Austria
On map at Start:
4.4.4.B Charles
1.3.2.B Wurmser
Austria has two leaders in play at any time. The primary leader is the Archduke Charles. The tactical maximum rating for Charles is initially 4, but this rating is increased to 6 at the moment when the Napoleon A leader becomes available for placement by the French player.
The available Austrian secondary leader is random, based on d6 rolls after the secondary Austrian leader fights and fails to win a battle in which the secondary leader was in command. The die roll is made in the first Austrian reinforcement step following the failure of the Austrian secondary leader to win a battle.
First, roll one d6 in the next Austrian reinforcement step after the Austrian secondary leader fails to win a fought battle. A modified die roll of “1" results in a chance the leader will be replaced. The die roll is modified by the number of PP lost if the Austrian leader actually lost the battle, -1 for a -1 PP loss, -2 for a -2 PP loss, and -3 for a -3 PP loss. If the Austrian secondary leader was in command in more than one battle in the preceding month, the modifiers for PP loss are cumulative.
Then, if the results of the first d6 roll indicates a change, roll another d6 on the following table, and immediately replace the recently unsuccessful leader with the counter indicated, if different:
1 - 1.1.2.C John
2 - 1.1.2.C John
3 - 1.3.2.B Wurmser
4 - 1.3.4.A Mack
5 - 2.3.3.D Melas
6 - 2.2.3.C Schwarzenburg
The Austrian player may elect to stop this variable process for determining the Austrian secondary leader on or after January 1810 and begin using the 2.2.3.C Schwarzenburg leader as the permanent Austrian secondary leader for the balance of the game. This choice, once made, is irrevocable.
Also, if the Charles leader is removed due to peace condition C.6, then another Austrian leader may temporarily take his place while he is removed. Roll on the secondary leader table to determine who, but the secondary leader currently in play is not eligible to serve as a temporary replacement for Charles. The process of secondary leader replacement is not used with the temporary leader replacing Charles, and that leader is not eligible to replace the other secondary leader per that process.
2.1.2 France
On map at start:
4.5.3.C* Hoche +mortal+ (special removal rules Sept 1797 & when Napoleon A leader available)
3.3.3.B Jourdan (special removal when Napoleon A leader available, use Dumouriez counter)
4.4.4.C Moreau (special removal when Napoleon A leader available)
5.5.3.C Napoleon
Later arriving leaders:
5.5.4.B Napoleon (per special rule)
5.5.6.A Napoleon (per special rule)
2.2.2.B Bernadotte arrives April 1799 (remove in August 1810, transferring to Sweden)
4.4.3.C Massena arrives April 1799 (remove July 1811 due to ill health related retirement)
4.5.2.B Davout arrives when the Napoleon A leader becomes available
2.3.3.B* Murat arrives when the Napoleon A leader becomes available
2.4.1.C Ney arrives when the Napoleon A leader becomes available
3.3.3.C Soult arrives when the Napoleon A leader becomes available
3.3.1.C Eugene arrives January 1806 if the Napoleon A leader is in play and not removed
2.2.1.D Jerome arrives January 1808 if the Napoleon A leader is in play and not removed
Optional later arrival:
3.4.3.C Pichegru (per special rule)
Special rules for French leaders:
Napoleon’s rise to power: When the Napoleon C leader has been in command of French home nation forces in three victorious field battles, then the French player replaces the Napoleon C leader with the Napoleon B leader during the next French reinforcement step. When the Napoleon B leader has been in command of French home nation forces in three victorious field battles AND France is a dominant land power, then the French player replaces the Napoleon B leader with the Napoleon A leader during the next French reinforcement step. Also, during the first French reinforcement step in which the Napoleon A leader is available, remove Hoche, Jourdan, Moreau, and Pichegru, and replace them with Davout, Murat, Ney, and Soult.
Bernadotte transfers to Sweden in the French reinforcement step of August 1810. He was elected to be the new crown prince of Sweden that month. He is available for placement with Swedish corps beginning with the reinforcement step of November 1810.
Massena is removed in the French reinforcement step of July 1811. He retired permanently due to ill health at about that time.
Arrival of Eugene and Jerome depends on whether or not the Napoleon A leader is in play and is not removed. Those conditions must be met in order to add these leaders as available reinforcements. If conditions are met after the scheduled arrival dates for these leaders, then they may enter play as soon as the conditions for their arrival are met.
Hoche fell ill with tuberculosis and died in September 1797 while commanding a French army, although at the time there was suspicion of poisoning. The game moderator for a pbem game, or the players in a face to face game prior to selecting which players play each major power, should select one of the following three options for dealing with the historical fact of Hoche’s illness:
a. Simply remove Hoche in the French reinforcement step of September 1797
b. Roll a pair of d6 in the French reinforcement step of September 1797, and on a die roll total of 7 or less remove the Hoche leader.
c. Roll twice during the French reinforcement step of September 1797 as if Hoche had been indicated as a casualty in two separate battles, and remove the Hoche leader if either result indicates that he is dead. If not, then add the results of the wounds to determine the number of months before he is again available.
Also, Hoche is the only French leader in this long campaign who is treated as “mortal,” so always check for casualties when Hoche is present during combat. Hoche is also removed when the Napoleon A leader becomes available, along with the other Republican era generals Moreau, Jourdan, and Pichegru. Emperor Napoleon would not tolerate potential rivals.
Optional availability of Pichegru: This peasant general was involved in pro-royalist intrigues and had resigned his army command. He had previously denounced Hoche, leading to a period of imprisonment for Hoche. Pichegru’s ratings are somewhat suspect, but France had so many talented subordinate commanders that even a mediocre army commander could be made to look good. Pichegru was elected to the chamber of deputies, was later exiled, and upon his return he was imprisoned and died in prison under suspicious circumstances, probably on Napoleon’s orders. Historically he never served as a French general during the period of this campaign. However, in order to balance the probable loss of Hoche, the GM in a pbem game, or the players in a face to face game prior to play, could agree to possible availability of Pichegru on the following conditions: If Hoche is currently dead or removed as a result of application of peace condition C.6, and the Napoleon A leader is not yet available, then Pichegru becomes available in the status of a removed leader, as if he had been removed by a major power under peace condition C.6. Pichegru may then be placed in play under rule 10.6.4, or may be placed in play at no -PP cost if France has surrendered unconditionally to any major power and peace condition C.6 has been applied against France resulting in the removal of the Napoleon B or C leader.
2.1.3 Great Britain
Great Britain has two leaders in play at any given time.
Available at start:
2.2.2.A York (replace with Wellington in July 1806)
3.4.2.B Abercromby +mortal+ ( replace with Moore if killed, or in July 1806 if not dead yet)
Later arriving leaders:
Nelson +mortal+ arrives in the January 1798 naval reinforcement step
3.4.2.A Moore +mortal+ (replaces Abercromby if Abercromby is killed, or replaces Abercromby in July 1806 if Abercromby is not dead yet; and Moore, if killed, is replaced by Beresford)
5.5.3.B Wellington (replaces York in July 1806)
3.3.1.B Beresford (replaces Moore if Moore is killed)
Abercromby, Moore, and Nelson are treated as mortal due to the fact that each of them was killed in battle during this period. Moore replaces Abercromby. Beresford replaces Moore.
Also, if the Wellington leader is removed due to peace condition C.6, then York returns as a temporary replacement leader until Wellington is returned to play.
2.1.4 Prussia
Prussia has two leaders in play at any given time.
Available at start:
2.1.3.A Brunswick +mortal+ (replace with Yorck if Brunswick is killed before July 1806, and in July 1806 if Brunswick is not already dead by then)
1.2.4.B Hohenlohe (replace with Blucher in July of 1806)
Later arriving leaders:
3.3.2.D Yorck (replaces Brunswick in July 1806, or earlier if Brunswick dies in battle)
3.4.5.C* Blucher (replaces Hohenlohe in July 1806; if Blucher is removed by peace condition C.6 then Hohenlohe returns as a temporary replacement while Blucher is removed)
2.1.5 Russia
Russia starts with two leaders. Tormazov is initially an abstract generic Russian or mercenary general who provides Russia with a secondary army commander until the Kutuzov & Bagration pair replaces Suvarov. The Tormazov leader may be temporarily returned to play if the mortal Bagration is killed prior to the arrival of Alexander and Bennigsen.
Available at start:
4.5.4.B* Suvarov (remove and replace with Kutuzov & Bagration in January 1800 due to illness)
1.2.3.D Tormazov (generic, remove and replace with Kutuzov & Bagration in January 1800)
Later arriving leaders:
3.4.4.B Kutuzov arrives January 1800 (replacing Suvarov and Tormazov; also remove Kutuzov in January 1813 due to illness and impending death)
2.4.4.C Bagration +mortal+ arrives January 1800 (replacing Suvarov and Tormazov; if Bagration is dead before April 1801 then Tomazov returns as a temporary replacement leader until the April 1801 reinforcement phase, at which time he is removed again)
1.2.3.A Alexander arrives April 1801 (remove Tormazov if in play due to early Bagration death)
2.2.3.C Bennigsen arrives April 1801 (remove Tormazov if in play due to early Bagration death)
3.3.5.C Barclay arrives January 1810
1.2.3.D Tormazov arrives January 1811 (permanently returns to play as the actual Tormazov)
2.2.4.C Wittgenstein arrives January 1812
2.1.6 Spain
Spain has two leaders in play at any given time.
Available at start:
2.2.3.A De la Union (replace with Castanos in July 1806)
1.2.2.B Ruby (replace with Cuesta in July 1802)
Later arriving leaders:
1.2.3.A Cuesta arrives July 1802 (replaces Ruby; Cuesta is replaced by Blake in July 1808)
3.3.3.C Castanos arrives July 1806 (replaces De la Union)
2.2.4.B Blake arrives July 1808 (replaces Cuesta)
2.1.7 Turkey
Turkey has two leaders in play at any given time.
Available at start:
1.2.4.A Grand Vizier (replace with Kushanz Ali in July 1806; but return if Kushanz Ali is killed)
2.3.2.B Ahmed Pasha (replace with Pechlivan Khan in July 1806; but return as a temporary replacement leader if Pechlivan Khan is removed due to peace condition C.6)
Later arriving leaders:
2.3.3.B* Kushanz Ali +mortal+ arrives July 1806 (replaces the Grand Vizier)
3.4.3.B Pechlivan Khan arrives July 1806 (replaces Ahmed Pasha)
2.1.8 Sweden
Sweden has the following leaders available whenever it is a minor free state or a “major-minor” with a player:
2.3.2.C Fersen, from the start until the reinforcement step of June 1810 (assassinated)
2.2.2.B Bernadotte, from the November 1810 reinforcement step until the end of the campaign
2.2 Reduced Corps Sizes July 1796 through June 1806
Summary: The maximum number of infantry type factors (g/i/m) allowed in corps other than home nation corps of France is reduced to 10, except that the Austrian I & II Insurrection corps are not reduced. There are no increases in corps sizes from those allowed in the 1805 campaign. The maximum guard factors allowed in guard corps of France, Prussia and Russia is reduced to 5g. The artillery corps for France and Russia are not available until July 1806. The only cavalry reductions are in the Syrian corps, reduced to 6i-6c, and various French corps as noted below. The 1805 campaign max corps strengths are used beginning July 1806. However, the French Imperial Guard corps is available beginning in July 1806, regardless of whether or not the Napoleon A leader is available and not removed, but it is limited to 10g-2c until the Napoleon A leader is first available and not removed, after which the regular 1805 max corps size is used.
2.2.1 Austria
Reduce the size of I through IX corps to 10i/m-1c.
2.2.2 France
Reduce the size of I through VI corps to 15i/m-2c. The Imperial Guard corps is not available in the July 1796 through June 1806 period until the Napoleon B leader (“Director for Life” and then “First Consul”) is available, and is reduced to 5g-1c. The Imperial Guard may not be committed for a +2 morale shift until July 1806, but may be committed for a +1 morale shift before then. The Imperial Guard corps becomes available in July 1806 regardless of whether any Napoleon leader counter is in play, but it is limited to a size of 10g-2c until the Napoleon A leader is first available and not removed, after which the regular 1805 campaign Imperial Guard maximum corps size is used. The Artillery corps is not available until July 1806.
2.2.3 Great Britain
Reduce the size of I corps to 2g-8i/m. Reduce the size of II & III corps to 10i/m.
2.2.4 Prussia
Reduce the size of the Prussian Guard corps to 5g-1c. Reduce the size of I corps to 10i/m-4c. Reduce the size of II through VIII corps to 10i/m-3c.
2.2.5 Russia
Reduce the size of the Imperial Guard (V) corps to 5g-2c. The Russian Imperial Guard corps may not be committed for a +2 morale shift until July 1806, but may be committed for a +1 morale shift before then. Reduce the size of I corps to 10i/m-2c. Reduce the size of II & III corps to 10i/m-1c. The Artillery corps is not available until July 1806.
2.2.6 Spain
Reduce the size of I corps to 2g-8i/m-2c. Reduce the size of II through VIII corps to 10i/m-2c.
2.2.7 Turkey
Reduce the size of Nizami Cedid corps to 10i-2c. Reduce the size of Janissary I & II corps to 10i.
2.2.8 Minor Countries Corps
Until July 1806, reduce the maximum corps sizes of minor country corps to the following:
Bavaria to 10i-2c
Denmark to 10i-1c
Egypt I & II to 10i-4c
Hanover to 10i-2c
Holland to 10i-2c
Lombardy to 10i-2c
Poland to 10i-2c
Portugal to 10i-2c
Syria to 6i-6c
2.3 Minor Countries’ Status and Forces
The following table shows differences at start from those in the 1805 campaign game:
Minor status infantry cavalry ships
Baden As C 0 0 -
Corfu As C - - -
Georgia N - - -
Hanover N 7 2 -
Malta N - - -
Palatinate As C - - -
Romagna Fr C - - -
Saxony N 8 2 -
Sweden N 15 3 12* (also has 3 hulks)
Switzerland N - - -
Tuscany Fr C - - -
Venetia As FS 0 0 0* (but has hulks noted below)
Other minor countries start as in the 1805 campaign game. The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies is in existence if that option is being used.
2.4 Minor Countries’ Hulks
The following minor countries have hulks located in the below noted ports:
Minor Hulks Port
Denmark 13 Copenhagen
Holland 15 Amsterdam
Malta 2 Malta
Naples 1 Palermo
Portugal 5 Lisbon
Sweden 3 Karlskrona
Venetia 7(*+3) Venice (*+3 hulks building at Venice available March 1797)
3.0 Major Power Setup
Major powers set up in the following order:
3.1 Austria
Austria begins with 30 money
-Garrison in Mainz: 14i, 1m
-In the northern area of Baden: 1 infantry corps and the light infantry corps with 14i, 3c
-In the Freiburg area: 3 infantry corps, 1 grenadier corps, with 5g, 30i, 5c, and the Charles leader
-In the Nuremburg area: 1 depot garrisoned by 1m
-In the Ulm area: 1 depot garrisoned by 1m
-Besieged in Mantua: 1 infantry corps containing 4i, 2m, 1c
-In the Salzburg area: 2 infantry corps, 1 depot, 23i, 2c, and the Wurmser leader
-1m city garrison in each of the 25 cities in the Austrian home nation other than Salzburg
-The Insurrection I & II and Tyrol revolt corps are at full strength but are not set up
Reinforcements scheduled: 1c and 1 infantry corps available for placement in August 1796
3.2 France
France begins with 30 money
-In the Mantua area (besieging Mantua): 21i, 2c, 2 corps, 1 depot, and the Napoleon C leader
-In the Milan area: 1 depot, 3i set up as depot garrison
-1i city garrison in each of the following seven cities: Turin, Genoa, Piacenza, Bolgna, Ancona, Leghorn, and Florence
-In the Grenoble area: 1 depot, 10i set up as depot garrison
-1m city garrison in each city in Holland, Kleves, Flanders, and the France home nation except for Paris and Ajaccio
-10m city garrison in Paris
-In the port of Toulon: 1 fleet, 10 ships, 3 hulks
-In the Strasbourg area: 1 depot, 3 corps, 35i, 4c, and the Moreau leader
-In the Cologne area: 1 depot, 3 corps, 34i, 4c, and the Jourdan leader
-In any port city area on the west coast of France: 3 fleets, 45 ships, 6 hulks, 3 depots, 3 corps, 10i, 20m, 1c, the Hoche leader (fleets, ships, and hulks set up in ports)
-In Holland: 1 depot, and the Holland corps containing 4i,1c
-In the port of Amsterdam: 15 hulks, and the Holland fleet containing 15 ships
Reinforcements scheduled: 1c and 1 infantry corps are available for placement in August 1796
3.3 Great Britain
Great Britain begins with 30 money
-In the British home nation: 1g, 15i, 4c, any desired corps and depots
-In port cities in the British home nation: 110 ships, 30 hulks, any desired fleets
-15m set up as city garrisons in the British home nation, no more than 1m per city
-In Gibraltar and Corsica (GB has option to garrison Ajaccio at start): 5i
-The York and Abercrombie leaders are available and may be set up if desired
3.4 Prussia
Prussia begins with 15 money and 20 manpower
-In the Prussian home nation: 3g, 60i, 12c, any desired corps or depots
-2m set up in Berlin and 1m sets up as city garrisons in each of the other 13 Prussian cities
-The Brunswick and Hohenlohe leaders are available and may be set up if desired
3.5 Russia
Russia begins with 15 money
-In the Russia home nation: 3g, 70i, 10c, 2 cossacks, any desired corps or depots
-15m set up as city garrisons in the Russia home nation, no more than 1m per city
-In port cities on the Black Sea: 9 ships, 3 hulks, 1 fleet
-In port cities on the Baltic Sea: 30 ships, 36 hulks, 2 fleets
-The Suvarov and Tormazov leaders are available and may be set up if desired
3.6 Spain
Spain begins with 15 money
-In the Spain home nation: 1g, 30i, 6c, any desired corps or depots
-15m set up as city garrisons in the Spain home nation, no more than 1m per city
-In port cities in the Spain home nation: 39 ships, 39 hulks, any desired fleets
-The Cuesta and De La Union leaders are available, and may be set up if desired
3.7 Turkey
Turkey begins with 15 money
-In the Turkey home nation: 30i, 7c, any desired corps or depots
-15m set up as city garrisons in the Turkey home nation, no more than 1m per city
-In port cities in the Turkey home nation: 18 ships, 9 hulks, any desired fleets
-Feudal corps start at full strength, and may be set up in the Turkey home nation if desired
-In Syria: the Syria corps containing 5i, 6c
-The Grand Vizier and Ahmed Pasha leaders are available, and may be set up if desired
4.0 Special Campaign Variant Rules
4.1 French Dominance
France is not a dominant land power. Reduce French money by 10 and French infantry morale is reduced to 3.0 until such time as France may gain dominance. France continues to pick its spot in the land sequence until another power gains dominant land power status.
4.2 Increased Foraging Losses
From July 1796 through June 1806, all corps except French home nation corps add +1 to foraging rolls. Note that this +1 modifier applies to Russian, Turkish, and Arab State corps, unlike the rule in the 1792 campaign variant. This modifier does not apply for besieged supply.
4.3 Arab States
The following minor countries are referred to as Arab states: Syria, Palestine, Egypt, Cyrenica, Tripolitania, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Arab states produce no manpower when conquered by major powers other than Turkey. Major powers other than Turkey may not convert conquered Arab states into free states, although major powers may gain control of an Arab state through the minor country control step when another power declares war on an Arab state. Major powers other than Turkey may not move Arab state corps into land areas outside of the Arab states or the Turkey home nation. Major powers other than Turkey may not create the Ottoman Empire. If a major power other than Turkey declares war on an Arab state, Turkey may immediately declare war on that major power at a reduced cost of only -2 PP before rolling the die in the minor country control step, and may then use the at war modifier when rolling for control.
4.4 Political Changes Related to Napoleon
A. If option 11.9.2 is being used, removal of the Napoleon leader is not required for France to surrender to Great Britain unless France is a dominant land power and the Napoleon A leader is in play. Use of option 11.9.2 is not recommended for this campaign variant, because the victory rules under 2.13 above make Britain automatically lose if another power is a dominant land power at the end of the game and make France automatically lose if it is not a dominant land power at the end of the game. There is already a fundamental clash of objectives between France and Britain under the victory rules, and players for those two powers should be given flexibility as to how they pursue these mutually exclusive goals without the restrictions of option 11.9.2.
B. Until France first becomes a dominant land power with the Napoleon A leader in play, France may not choose the royal marriage peace condition, and other powers may not choose royal marriage as a peace condition against France.
4.5 Irish Rebels
If France is at war with Great Britain and lands a corps in Ireland, then the French player may roll one d6 to determine how much support is received from Irish rebels. Add a number of militia factors to any one French corps equal to the number rolled on the d6. In each subsequent month add one Irish militia factor to any one French corps in Ireland that is not besieged.
If Spain is at war with Great Britain, it may receive support from Irish rebels in exactly the same manner. If France and Spain are both at war with Great Britain and both have corps in Ireland, then only one of them can receive each factor of Irish rebel militia. France and Spain may agree on which is to receive the Irish rebel militia, or, if they do not agree, must make competing d6 rolls for each factor of Irish rebel militia with the high d6 gaining the Irish rebel militia factor. The d6 roll is modified by France and Spain’s position on the political status display.
Additionally, one time prior to July 1801 the French player may purchase a corps and place it in Ireland as a revolt corps, rolling as above to see how many factors of Irish militia join the revolt.
4.6 Provincial Janissaries and Anatolian Militia
The Turkey nation had lower grade provincial janissaries and various forms of local militia available to garrison cities. Turkey starts with and may build or rebuild static immobile militia factors in cities in the Turkey home nation. These factors may never be moved, even to garrison a depot in the area, and may not be put into corps, but otherwise cost the same and perform like other nations’ militia in sieges and in operation of port defenses. The number of militia factors that Turkey may build in each city is limited to one militia factor per city spire.
5.0 Optional Rules
5.1 Optional Cavalry Rules
A. Any force containing only cavalry factors has a strategic rating of 5 for resolving withdrawal attempts unless attacked by an enemy force which also contains only cavalry factors.
B. Any force containing only cavalry factors has a strategic rating of 5 for resolving reinforcing attempts.
C. Foraging in areas: Whenever a foraging corps suffers more than three losses in a single foraging attempt, one of the losses must be a cavalry factor if present in the corps.
D. Foraging in cities while besieged: Whenever a corps being besieged contains one or more cavalry factors, if the besieged forces in the city suffer more than one factor loss in a single besieged foraging attempt, then one factor lost must be cavalry.
E. Cavalry Reserve Commitment: players controlling one or more cavalry corps in a battle, not including the Austrian light infantry corps or Turkish feudal corps, may “commit the cavalry reserve” in order to obtain morale table shifts in a manner similar to that of guard commitment. Players may obtain a +1 morale table shift by committing one or more cavalry corps which contain at least 4 cavalry factors. The cavalry corps so committed will suffer a number of casualties indicated by a roll on the +1 morale shift table for guard commitment. Players may obtain a +2 morale shift by committing one or more cavalry corps containing at least 8 cavalry factors. The cavalry corps so committed will suffer a number of casualties indicated by a roll on the +2 morale shift table for guard commitment. It is not intended that this rule be used for cavalry with an intrinsic morale of less than 3. So if players have house rules or other options for using lower morale grade cavalry than that used in the original rules, do not allow this cavalry commitment option to be used by the lower morale grade cavalry. This is, of course, an optional rule. So if players want to extend the option to the Prussians or Egyptians by treating a 4 factor cavalry component of the Prussian I corps or of the Egyptian I & II corps, then feel free to do so.
5.2 Optional Method for Inflicting Casualties
I personally don’t like the mathematical break points that result from rounding off casualty percentages, and the resulting unrealistic concern of the players to make sure certain numbers of troops are present for battle. Instead I suggest the option that a d20 be used, with each factor have a chance of inflicting a casualty in either land or naval battle based on the percentages that result from the respective combat resolution charts, together with the limitations set out in variant rules 2.2 and 4.6 above. These tables all use increments of 5%, so they easily convert to d20 numbers. Just roll a d20 for each factor’s chance of inflicting a casualty. For example, the combat resolution chart calls for inflicting 15% casualties on the enemy, so each factor must roll a 3 or less on its d20 to cause an actual casualty to the enemy. But factors with morale 1 or factors in excess of the limits imposed by the leader’s tactical maximum rating in field combat must roll a 1 on a d20 to inflict the casualty. And factors with morale 2 may only be able to inflict casualties at a maximum rate of 2 or less on the d20 in field combats. The results will be more random, but casualty results should be less random the more the dice are rolled, which makes bigger battles reasonably predictable still. I think the trade off to get rid of the mathematical break points with the calculation and rounding system are worth it. And there is one less math step to do and more dice throwing, which I think is more fun. Try it and let me know what you think.
5.3 Optional Restrictions on Army Factors’ Ability to Inflict Casualties
A. The maximum number of army factors which may inflict casualties on the enemy in any one round of land combat is limited based on the date, and may not exceed the following totals:
-40 army factors from July 1796 through June 1806
-80 army factors from July 1806 through June 1812
-120 army factors from July 1812 until the end of the campaign
B. Ability of army factors to inflict casualties in field battle is limited by leadership:
-10 x leader tactical max rating from July 1796 through June 1806 may inflict > 5%
-15 x leader tactical max rating from July 1806 through June 1812 may inflict > 5%
-20 x leader tactical max rating from July 1812 though the end of game may inflict >5%
C. Ability of army factors to inflict casualties in field battle is limited by morale:
-factors with morale 1 inflict casualties on the enemy at a maximum rate of 5% in field battle
-factors with morale 2 inflict casualties on the enemy at a maximum rate of 10% in field battle
-army factors with low morale perform normally in sieges, trivial combats, and pursuits
5.4 Optional Depot Supply Limits
From July 1796 through June 1801 each supply depot may supply no more than 4 corps.
From July 1801 through June 1806 each supply depot may supply no more than 5 corps.
From July 1806 through June 1812 each supply depot may supply no more than 6 corps.
From July 1812 through June 1815 each supply depot may supply no more than 7 corps.
5.5 Optional Peace Condition and New Type of Peace
A. Victory Point Subtraction by Great Britain: If players are allowing Great Britain to subtract victory points per the rule for that, then add a special peace condition B.8 which can be chosen against Great Britain which disables Great Britain’s ability to subtract victory points from the power that chose peace condition B.8. Also add a special peace condition B.9 which can be chosen by Great Britain against a power that previously chose B. 8 which reinstates Great Britain’s ability to subtract victory points from that power.
B. Allow players to make a “formal peace without victory.” Both players suffer a -1 PP penalty for ending a war via a “formal peace without victory.” There is an 18 month enforced peace as a result of this type of peace. Prisoners are exchanged. Players may agree to terms on a voluntary basis, including the ceding of territory, and may gain +1 PP each for agreeing to a royal marriage.
5.6 Optional Naval Rules
A. Amsterdam’s Excellent Sailors: the Holland’s Fleet gets a +1 in naval combat, as in the 1792 campaign variant. The Holland Fleet also gets a +1 for determining the wind gauge.
B. Blockading Forces Blown Off Station: A player with blockaded fleets may choose one port each month to check whether the blockading fleets have been blown off station. The blockaded player rolls a d6 before commencing his naval movement phase, and if a 6 is rolled then the blockading fleets at the chosen port’s blockade box are moved to an adjacent sea zone of the blockaded player’s choice. The formerly blockaded player may then move his fleets.
C. Captured and Disabled Ships: Hulks are included in the setup for major powers and minor countries. When naval combat results indicate that a ship is “sunk” instead roll to determine the fate of the ship. On a d6 roll of 1 or 2 the “sunk” ship is converted to a hulk but is still owned by the originally owning player. On a d6 roll of 3, 4, or 5 for the “sunk” ship it becomes a captured hulk. On a d6 roll of 6 the “sunk” ship is really sunk. If the original “sunk” results were caused by British ships commanded by Nelson, then add a +1 to this die roll. Also, against ships and hulks in a port battle +1 is added to this d6 roll, by both sides. The port battle and Nelson +1 modifiers are cumulative. The same table is used even with hulks in port, and a “sunk” result on the naval combat table still requires a roll on the second to determine what actually happened. A disabled result without capture does not have any effect on the hulk, and it remains a hulk. Whichever player now controls the ships converted into hulks by these results, the players must make attempts to get each individual hulk home to ports controlled by the player by rolling a number on a d6 which is equal to or higher than the number of movement points necessary to reach the designated friendly port from the spot of the naval battle. This does not require actual movement of the fleet counters. If the player is unsuccessful in the d6 roll to get a hulk back to a controlled port, then the hulk is sunk. Players may attempt to return ships converted into hulks in battle to a port controlled by an ally who is also at war with the same enemy, with that ally’s permission. The hulk may be rebuilt into a ship in the ally’s port with the ally’s permission, or players may transfer hulks to allies. Each December economic phase roll a d6 for each hulk, and on a roll of 6 the hulk is eliminated due to irreparable rot and decay.
D. Defeat of Invasion Fleets: When a fleet or stack of fleets carrying corps are defeated in naval battle, the victorious fleets are considered to be in pursuit with a chance to interfere with landing the corps, and an invasion fleet landing corps would be vulnerable to attack. If the defeated and retreated fleets transporting the corps have not yet moved in the naval phase, then they must move and succeed in any necessary evasion attempts in order to land corps. If the defeated and retreated fleets transporting corps have already moved, then they must make a successful evasion roll of 2 or less on a d6 in order to be able to land corps.
E. Engagement Limits: No naval battle during the period involved the effective engagement of more than 30 ships on a side during any single day of combat. The number of ships of either alliance involved in a naval battle which are allowed to attack in any single day of naval combat is limited to 30 ships. Naval battles may take place over multiple days. A fleet or stack of fleets that is victorious in a day of naval combat may attempt to engage in a another day of combat. If the fleet or stack of fleets that was defeated wishes to avoid another day of combat, it may do so by making a d6 roll of 3 or less to evade (assume sufficient damage to the victorious ships that the chance to evade has improved over the evasion roll needed on the previous day).
F. Finding the Enemy: There is no satellite or aerial reconnaissance in the Napoleonic era. Fleets may not simply move into a sea area and attack enemy fleets as if they had perfect knowledge of where the enemy fleets are. Instead, a fleet or stack of fleets that moves into a sea area and wishes to attack enemy fleets in that area must roll to find the enemy. This requires a d6 roll based on the number of movement points remaining for the moving stack of fleets. The fleet in a moving stack with the least movement points remaining determines the number of movement points left for the stack attempting to find the enemy. If the moving stack of fleets has 1 or 2 movement points left, then the d6 roll needed to find the enemy and make the attack is 1. If the number of movement points remaining is 3 or 4, then the d6 roll required is a 2 or less. If the number of movement points remaining is 5 or 6, then the d6 roll required is a 3 or less. Nelson does not affect this d6 roll. However, there is a -1 to the d6 roll to find the enemy in a sea area adjacent to the moving fleet’s controlled land territory (not radar, just more friendly patrol and dispatch vessels in the area, and potential spotting of the enemy fleets from land).
G. Ships Allowed in Ports Without Fleets: Ships are not automatically eliminated or reduced to hulks when the fleet counter containing them is removed. Ships may be present in a port without a fleet counter. Those ships are simply immobile until a fleet counter adds the ships. Therefore players can stand down their fleets and leave functional ships available in ports until the player decides to deploy fleet counters again. Ships may also sit in port after being built with no requirement that a fleet be placed there or be moved to that port within any specific time limit.
H. Hulking Fleets and Ships: When peace condition C.1.c is applied against a surrendering power, the ships in the removed fleets are not totally destroyed, but are merely demobilized by converting the ships into hulks belonging to the surrendering power. The hulks are distributed in the surrendering power’s controlled ports as the surrendering power decides unless the removed fleets are blockaded by fleets of another power that the surrendering power remains at war with. In that case, the ships in the removed fleet or fleets are converted to hulks in the blockaded port. A player may voluntarily reduce ships to hulks, with or without removal of a fleet counter, and this may be an agreed term in a “formal peace without victory.” When a player succeeds in capturing enemy ships in a blockaded port by having land forces capture the port city and winning the resulting battle in the blockade box, the captured ships are immediately reduced to hulks. The capturing player can immediately attempt to get the captured hulks to a port in the player’s own controlled territory in the manner used after a battle, or may leave the hulks in the captured enemy port. The capturing player may destroy the hulks in the following month or any month thereafter while in possession of the enemy port.
I. Interception Bonus: Nelson does NOT give intercepting fleets a -1 on the interception roll. He was really not any better at intercepting enemy fleets than other admirals. However, there is a -1 to the d6 roll to intercept when the fleet or stack attempting to intercept is attempting to intercept a fleet or stack of fleets that is moving into a sea area that is adjacent to the interceptor’s controlled land territory.
J. Building Hulks and Converting Hulks to Ships: Hulks may be built in 9 months at a cost of 6 money and 0 manpower. The build location must be specified in writing when the build cost is paid, and then the build and location are announced at the end of the builds part of the economic phase, after all players have made their builds. Hulks may be converted into ships in 6 months at a cost of 4 money and 1 manpower. Commencement of this process must also be announced at the end of the builds part of the economic phase after players have all made their builds. Hulks being converted to ships are not subject to elimination due to rot and decay per rule C above.
K. Kaiser und Koenig Navy: Austria and Prussia may develop a naval tradition and fleet skills over the course of such a long game. There is at the start of this campaign, a -1 for determining the wind gage by an Austrian or Prussian fleet, or by a stack of fleets containing an Austrian or Prussian fleet, in addition to the -1 on the combat roll suffered by a fleet or stack of fleets containing an Austrian or Prussian fleet. Both these -1 penalties, for wind gage and combat, are permanently dropped for either of these nations if the nation maintains a fleet counter on the map containing at least 10 ships for 48 consecutive months.
L. Wind Gauge Modification: All fleets in a stack must be British and/or Dutch in order to get the +1 for determining the wind gauge. If any fleet in a stack is Austrian or Prussian prior to development of a naval tradition for that fleet per special rule K above, then the stack receives -1 on the roll to determine the wind gauge.
M. Multi-National Fleets: Fleets may contain ships from different major and minor countries. Just keep track of how many ships there are from which country in each fleet. The fleet counter must be maintained by the country which actually owns the fleet counter.
N. No Stacking: Fleets always move and attack or defend individually. The Multi-National Fleets option above would allow simulation the Franco-Spanish fleet at Trafalgar. Ships may only be transferred between fleets in a port or blockade box, unless friendly fleets find each other in a sea zone on a single d6 roll of 3 or less, with -1 to the d6 roll if either fleet is adjacent to a friendly controlled land area. Fleets sizes could be increased to 36 ships with this option.
5.7 Optional Rule for Napoleon’s Leadership
The morale of French infantry stacked with Napoleon may have their morale increased to 3.5 while France is not a dominant land power, for up to 15 infantry factors for the Napoleon C leader and for up to 20 infantry factors for the Napoleon B leader.
5.8 Brazil
Historically, when Junot’s forces captured Lisbon, the King of Portugal, the government, and the treasury were loaded onto the Portuguese fleet and sailed to Brazil, to continue resistance from there. When a power which is at war with Britain conquers Portugal by taking Lisbon, if the power does not have Lisbon blockaded and the Portuguese fleet is in existence containing at least one ship, and is not blockaded in another port, consider that the Portuguese King, government, and treasury have transferred to Brazil. Remove the Portuguese fleet, and it is not available for use by the power that conquered Portugal. Six months after the removal of the Portuguese fleet, if Britain is still at war with the power which conquered Portugal, and regardless of which power may have controlled Portugal prior to the conquest, the Portuguese fleet will become available for use by Britain containing half rounded down of the number of ships that the Portuguese fleet contained before it transported the Portuguese government to Brazil. Britain may continue to use the Portuguese fleet for as long as it remains at war with the power that conquered Portugal. If Britain makes peace with whatever power controls Portugal, and Britain does not gain control of Portugal, then the Portuguese fleet and its ships are removed and considered to have returned to Brazil. Whatever power then controls Portugal as a free state may build a new Portuguese fleet.
5.9 Spanish Capitals and Spain’s American Empire
A. Spain’s government operated for most of the Peninsular War from Cadiz, even while it was under siege by the French. Cadiz functions as a second Spanish capital. Occupation of either Madrid or Cadiz during an economic phase by forces at war with Spain and which are not besieged costs Spain -1 PP. If both are occupied by enemy forces not besieged, then Spain loses -2 PP. Occupation of both capitals by enemy forces not besieged is required to prevent Spain from collecting money via taxation.
B. The longer the Peninsular War dragged on, the more the loyal Spanish colonies in the Americas became disillusioned with the lack of significant representation in the Spanish Cortez and juntas meeting in Cadiz, and the lack of concessions by the conservatives governing Spain. This led to the wars for independence in Spain’s American Empire. To reflect this, for every 36 consecutive months that Madrid is occupied by enemy forces, even if those forces are besieged, the Spanish gold convoy die roll is permanently reduced by -2. If the resulting modified die roll is less than 2, then Spain receives no gold. This does not result from enemy occupation of Cadiz. There is no recovery from this reduction. Spain suffers this negative modifier for the remainder of the game. The modifier is increased by -2 for each consecutive 36 month period that Madrid is occupied, and this modifier is cumulative with the modifier for being at war with Britain.
6.0 Design Notes
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I attempted to bridge the French Revolutionary War period and the Napoleonic Wars by drafting a 1796 campaign variant, using the career of Napoleon himself as the bridging principal. I failed. I doubt if anybody has ever played the variant. After getting interested in Empires in Arms again after 12 years away from the game, I took a look at my old 1796 campaign variant and decided that it should be rewritten.
First, the huge number of leaders seemed impractical, and would require players to make their own counters. That’s by no means impossible, but why go to the trouble unless there’s a payoff that makes it really worthwhile? But trying to run a very long campaign with few leaders, given the possibility of leader casualties and leader removal did not seem appealing, as it might leave some nations with no leaders to play with. I decided one solution was to make only those leaders who actually died in battle or while in command vulnerable to casualties during the time frame of the campaign. The other solution was to make peace condition C.6 applicable only to leaders with tactical ratings of 4 or 5. I decided to regard many leader counters as being representative of more than one individual over time. This was not a new concept, really, as the Grand Vizier counter has always represented more than one individual over time.
Accepting that level of abstraction with regard to the leader counters, I was then able to think of arbitrary replacement times as a reflection of the increasing command capacity of the nation as the scale of warfare increased. But some replacement points could be set due to history of the individuals involved, such as the replacement of Suvarov by his two subordinates upon his retirement. The replacement point for Prussian leadership is a few months early, but given that the campaign will depart from history on turn 1, it seemed more reasonable to have that change occur at the same time as the leadership changes for Great Britain, Turkey, and Spain, along with other changes in the scale of warfare.
The Austrian leadership presented a unique challenge. There really is no way of knowing what sort of relative leadership quality Austria might have displayed during this period if it had fought wars against anybody but France. The named leaders on the counters are mostly a series of generals who were beaten by Napoleon and his generals, most of them being retired in disgrace after defeats, with Mack suffering the added indignity of being stripped of his rank and being imprisoned. One constant in the Austrian leadership system was the preference for generals from the high aristocracy, particularly Archdukes Charles, Ferdinand, John, and Louis, and later Prince Schwarzenburg. It was more important to have the necessary social standing than to have any great skill at generalship. I hope that the table for replacing the secondary leader proves to be workable and fun for players, and will provide the historical flavor of Austrian command.
When it came to reducing the corps sizes for the earlier part of the campaign, I finally decided to use something that would be very easy to remember across all major and minor countries’ corps sheets. I hope that players like the general reduction of most corps to only 10 infantry factors for the first 10 years of the campaign, along with the general reduction of guard corps to 5 guard factors. (Even at Austerlitz in 1805 the Russian Guard only had the equivalent of 3g-2c.) There seems to be a number of players who are restricting the size of corps transported on fleets to 10 factors. I hope that the corps sizes will be appealing to them. I hope that the corps sizes chosen properly reflects the relative advantages of France during the earlier part of this period.
Unlike my effort 12 years ago to include as much historical trivia as possible, this time I actually thought about whether rules added anything to play or whether the historical chrome added was really worth the trouble. For example, I finally decided to throw out specific rules about some militia forces like the French National Guard, the British Constitutional Force, and the Spanish Ordenanza. I had no choice but to add the Turkish militia and provincial janissaries, as Empires in Arms had left these out. I decided that it made more sense to just start each nation with city garrisons, as the numerous lower quality garrison troops, whether actually called militia or not, were an important part of military establishments of the time. In the 1805 and 1792 campaigns players need to build some militia at the beginning in order to free up their regulars from garrison duty. I decided it would allow players to get going on their plans for world domination more quickly if they each started with 15m or more. Besides, that is more historical, in my opinion.
Among the rules that I think are really important is the Arab States rule. I’m not the only person out there that thinks inclusion of Arab manpower for countries other than Turkey is absurd. Just as bad is the idea that a country other than Turkey would have moved Arab corps into Christian regions of Europe. I don’t really see that rule as optional, though some of you may.
The optional rules restricting the number of factors that can inflict casualties, and at what rate, are not complicated, and I think that they would really help reflect the changing scale of battle over the time period covered by this campaign. The “monster stack” is one of the most obnoxious aspects of Empires in Arms, and it’s one of the reasons that I quit playing the game. Most of the battles of the period were much smaller than those endless repeats of Borodino and Leipzig that so often happen in Empires in Arms. It’s unfortunate that the game system didn’t make those giant battles a rarity.
The naval rules are another area of Empires in Arms that wasn’t particularly enjoyable. Seeing massive naval stacks was as bad as seeing massive army stacks. And the combat wasn’t that fun. While the Advanced Naval Rules weren’t entirely satisfactory to many players, the use of hulks really does add an enjoyable dimension to naval combat, and better captures the flavor of the age of wooden ships. Capturing prizes is really what it was all about for British naval officers. I’ve thrown out a lot of naval options that I think would improve the historical feel, true scale of naval battles of the period, and flexibility in naval play.
Some readers will look at the huge space devoted to optional rules, and campaign special rules that could be regarded as optional, and think that I’m using this variant campaign as an excuse to publish just about everything that I’d like to change about Empires in Arms. That’s right! I am! But I have held back from proposing entirely new combat systems, including one for naval combat that takes into account the actual gun ratings of all the ships of the line in the world. The campaign does need to be appealing to players who are used to and like Empires in Arms as it is, in spite of the six or seven pages I devoted to rules that are optional or pretty much optional. In the end, even playing the game at all is an option, so make use of whatever there is here that looks good to you, and leave out what doesn’t. It’s your time to spend on your hobby.