Bow vs Pike and Shot - a solution

[quackstheking]

As you may have noticed, I'm strongly averse to the change in bow range purely to fix the interaction between bow armed BG's and pike and shot units when all the historicall match ups seem to work OK. So I don't just put in challenges without a potential solution - here's mine!

The issue is that bow armed units have a strong USP (lots of bow fire at 4" yet P&S have no USP even if they get into combat) . Even if they get into combat with bow, their only advantage is a -1 to the warriors Cohesion Test if they lose which generally doesn't happen as the P&S will have taken a pounding first - I get that.

So the solution is to give the P&S a USP rather than reduce the bow USP!

I assume bow armed warriors are there to bombard and break the enemy via a high volume of fire and don't particularly want fisticuffs especially against a "disciplined" western P&S unit. Therefore why not give bow armed warrior or medium foot units a -1 for fighting a "protected" Heavy Foot unit in the open during impact AND melee. Even if the bow disrupt a P&S unit, 4 dice on 4-6 should be the equal of 6 dice on 5 and 6. In addition consider making a bow armed warrior foot unit take a compulsory CMT to charge Heavy Foot! Together with the -1 on Cohesion tests for losing to heavy foot the match up is now more even and the P&S have a reason to fight!

Now the bow have an advantage in ranged combat (albeit they may lose bases to the shot unit) but the P&S unit has an advantage if it gets stuck in.

Issue solved!

Don

[timmy1]

Don

Good to have your input.

Agree with the -1 in impact melee. Disagree with the CMT because we we have Highlanders where SOME are armed with bow vs P&S and the Highlanders do charge (and very effectively most of the time). However extending your idea, I would like to propose two alternatives:

1, All Warriors with Bow instead get regraded as Bow* - this reduces the reason to just shoot it out
2, Make Bow short range 3MU rather than 4MU and make it impossible to hit troops in fortifications at long range (this fixes the Japanese ahistorical stand at 3.9MU and shoot down the arquebus behind fortifications and can't shoot back which we know did NOT occur and can be justified on the basis that angled fire is required to hit troops behind forifications)

I prefer option 1 as it does not change the Bow/Warrior range/move thing but recognise the list change impact.

Regards
Tim

[quackstheking]

Don

Good to have your input.

Agree with the -1 in impact melee. Disagree with the CMT because we we have Highlanders where SOME are armed with bow vs P&S and the Highlanders do charge (and very effectively most of the time). However extending your idea, I would like to propose two alternatives:

1, All Warriors with Bow instead get regraded as Bow* - this reduces the reason to just shoot it out
2, Make Bow short range 3MU rather than 4MU and make it impossible to hit troops in fortifications at long range (this fixes the Japanese ahistorical stand at 3.9MU and shoot down the arquebus behind fortifications and can't shoot back which we know did NOT occur and can be justified on the basis that angled fire is required to hit troops behind forifications)

I prefer option 1 as it does not change the Bow/Warrior range/move thing but recognise the list change impact.

Regards
Tim

Having used every flavour of Scots from Flodden to Jacobite Rebellion I think you'll find they are all Bow*, Impact Foot so wouldn't get caught under this - only bow armed warriors/medium foot would be caught (and remember it's only against Heavy Foot so those South and North American armies in period aren't facing Heavy Foot!). The only "in period" impact appears to be be in the east where there can be a few P&S Europeans and a smattering of bow units but not whole armies of bow armed units!

Don