Battle wagons

[rogerg]

Battle wagons don't work. They cannot move to a position and deploy fast enough to be a barrier to mounted. They are an easy walk over for foot. One crossbow per base width of shooting is negligible offensive capability.

Suggestions:
* Remove the CMT to move rule - being undrilled and having to turn to shoot is penalty enough. Simplifies the rules and speeds the game a little.

* Count as two bases per wagon in any formation. There is currently a rather pointless penalty on groups of four wagons in two ranks. These are already at a disadvantage in manouvering. Simplifies the rules.

* Make the wagons a plus POA in impact and melee against all but elephants. The wagons cannot charge or shoot effectively and manouvre slowly. Their only possible use is as a barrier, so the barrier needs to be effective. With the plus factor, wagons with heavy weapon, would be at plus against most mounted in impact and melee. They would be plus at impact against any but impact foot and pike and better in melee against any but pike and skilled swordsmen. None of this seems unreasonable

* Give the wagons a restricted zone from the side edge. This will avoid the nonsense of troops walking past them at point blank range.

* No death roll for shooting. A loss on a four base group creates a hole in the wagon wall at the opposite end to the shooting. This is odd. A few bowmen can destroy a two base wagon group with a lucky shot. They can reasonably easily reduce its morale level with archery alone. The additional hazard is unnecessary. The idea of killing a wagon is also rather odd.

Results:
Given the above changes, wagons could be moved to a position on the table and form a barrier. They would still be expensive for the points, but would have a role.

[philqw78]

Remove the CMT to move rule - being undrilled and having to turn to shoot is penalty enough. Simplifies the rules and speeds the game a little.

Or deploy them up to 15MU forward and keep the manouver the same. I thought they moved little once battle was joined, until the enemy decided to run away.
I personally believe they should be split on 40x40 bases. Put the horses on one and the wagon on the other, or some such arrangement, and then treat them as a base each for shooting, HPB, etc.

[azrael86]

I personally believe they should be split on 40x40 bases. Put the horses on one and the wagon on the other, or some such arrangement, and then treat them as a base each for shooting, HPB, etc.

A practical issue is that most wagons won't fit on a 40x40. Forward deployment is a good idea, and possibly should extend to Heavy Artillery.