So since my last posting on Black Powder for the SYW and my experience using the rules in various battles I've been able to reread Duffy's Armies of Maria Theresa.
I think trying to add too much gritty detail and 'national characterisitics' is totally opposite to what Black Powder is aiming for and the route to madness. I mean how many Napoleonic rules have made my eyes bleed? Even (especially) the oxymoronically titled Fast Play Empire?
The same Austrian commander who in the summer of 1757 handed Frederick the Great a nasty defeat at Kolin was later that same year given a very nasty defat by Frederick at the Battle of Leuthen using exactly the same tactics. So maybe in the second battle he just had crap staff rolls?
In our first Colonial game, I gave Dan a potentially very strong brigade with Highlanders and Gurkhas and a staff rating of 9. But his staff rolls were appallingly bad and he only ever got one unit of Gurkhas moving the entire game. So I think giving everyone the same staff ratings and letting the dice decide is the way to go. I think I'll keep the unit ratings outlined previously though and apply them to all armies. The 'unreliable' rule as applied to my Freikorps last game gave a satisfying result and would I think work well for the Reichsarmee or the newly raised Austrian regiments at Mollowitz.
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I haven't played syw but am busy painting a commission army at the moment. you've got a nice wee blog here keep up the great work
ReplyDeleteI think your experience is much like mine. I will try the unreliable for the freikorps. For a subtle difference between early Prussian and Austrian infantry, I have had good results by giving the Prussian "superbly drilled" - the guaranteed (short of a bungle)move makes it just a little bit easier to launch a coordinated attack.
ReplyDeleteYes, after your previous comments on my earlier postings I was able to get through more of Duffy. I guess it's due to 19th century German national myth making that Frederick gets built up so hugely, but in retrospect the honours seem pretty even between the two armies. The rash and impulsive Frederick captures the imagination more than the more cautious Austrian commanders.
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