GAME TURN EIGHT

>>TURN GUIDELINES<<

The current turn will start one month after the fireship attack, but we fill in how that month was spent. As all of you are assuming new commands the first thing you need to do is...Read Yourself In...If the officer you are relieving is a Player Character make arrangements for a change of command and do a brief joint write up. Make sure all ship's books and records are checked. (ie... read all previous turns of your new command) If the officer you are relieving is an npc you do your own write up with any interactions handled by the gamemaster. Frigate Captains, Rear Admiral Medicus will be present, as the change of command involving post captains requires a little ceremony. Sloop Commanders will have no dignitaries present as this is your first command the Admiral feels it is your moment and should not be overshadowed by anyone else on board.
You each have three weeks to shake down your ship and crew. Let me know how you are using that time. You may put to sea for during the second or third week, if you choose to do so, let me know you approximate course and speed. I will roll for encounters. You may sail individually or in consort with another. The Admiral is allowing a great deal of command discretion to let you get the feel for your new command. All Vessels must be in port on May 1. The Squadron will sail for the American Coast at that time to conduct amphibious operations in conjunction with the Army.

>>SQUADRON COMPETITION<<

Each Ship has 20 points, total, to allocate for contestants skills, minimum one and a max of ten per event; this number plus 1D6 to represent chance and luck will determine the winner. Each ship can receive one bonus point per event for good role playing, ie... describing why your ship's contestant has that edge that makes him just a little better.
The GM has picked the Crab's numbers and she doesn't get the bonus point option to reflect her much smaller crew.
Gunther

Skill Number Chosen+Modifier if any+die roll for luck and chance

Events: Buffonia Willow Watcher Crab
Boat Race 1+1+3 3+1+2 2+4 10+2
Boxxing 1+0+6 7+1+4 5+6 5+3
Fencing 9+1+3 Lt Harris 6+1+4 CdrCallaghan 5+4 5+5
Marksmanship 9+1+1 4+1+6 8+1 1+3

Winners are
Boat Race Crab wins by 6 lengths, Watcher and Willow tied for 2nd, Buffonia
Boxxing Willow, Watcher, Crab, and Buffonia
Fencing Lt Harris of Buffonia, Cmdr Callaghan Willow, Crab, Watcher
Lt Harris normally carries a rapier but used the standard issue Cutlass
Marksmanship Tie between Buffonia and Willow; Watcher, Crab
This was a musket competion
Tie breaker between Buffonia's Sgt of Marines and the Willow's Midshipman
Mr Becker edged the Marine out

Willow 2 events, Buffonia 1 Event, Crab 1 Event, Watcher 0 events.

>>EXPLAINING THE GAME<<

Gentlemen All Players,
Feel free to help me out in explaining how this game works...
Gunther GM

Don Observer,
***I gotta tell you the truth, I still don't have much idea of how things work in
HBN :)

>>>Me either sometimes :->
>>>I'll try and shed some light if I can. Keep in mind this game is developing as it moves forward. The main thing I need to emphasize is I try to eliminate "number crunching and rules lawyers." If I fire this gun at that range I have that percentage chance of getting a hit. Nice in theory but not very realistic. Or paragragh 3 section 1 states, if you win on a technicality or a loop hole what have won?
What I'm looking for is 'Spirit of the Law' not 'Letter of the Law.' <<<
>>>This is role playing and wargaming combined; into one format. That does take some getting used to. I've found this works very well from past experience running Local, PBM, and PBEM games using rules from Battletech/Mechwarrior, Start Fleet Battles/Star Trek Role Playing and Twilight 2000/Combined Arms. All wargame role playing combinations. It puts the "Fog of War" back into the game.
***So far, I see what appears to be a free-form RP with all the adjudication
being done by the GM and no actual rules...
>>>I don't know if you ever played Dungeons & Dragons, I'm dating myself here but I started playing back in the 70's in college. Anyway the players had the Players Handbook, but only the Gamemaster was supposed to use The Dungeon Master's Guide it kept some mystery and challenge in the game.
>>>Most of the die rolling is behind the scenes. Results are based on character actions within the limits of attributes and skill levels modified by the situation.
For instance a character has melee/cutlass skill of six, out of a max 10 in character creation. Normally that's a 60% chance to hit, but I take into account other factors. Strength and wounds for instance. Also character background. A young noble lieutenant who acquired his skill through hours of practice is not the same as petty officer who acquired his skill through half a dozen boarding actions. Both of their skills would be modified by their opponent. Rather than writing out a dueling routine such as in En Garde you describe what you are attempting to do.<<<
***But there are supposed to be these naval battles being resolved with gaming
rules (BTW, I am pretty familiar with Wooden Ships, but not the other ones
you have there), but I don't see any of the orders etc for actual engagements.
>>>If you are looking for a move order of Frigate A moves forward three hexxes and turns right 60 degrees, then fires 4 long guns at Frigate C two hexxes away.
Then resolve that fire on CRT such as in WS&IM you won't find it in the single ship actions. All that is happening but its described through the role play posts.
Larger Squadron actions will use a more traditional "wargame approach"
From the web site Intro...
"The games allow for supporting ships and events beyond a player's control to be simulated. They also allow for character influence to improve or detract from sailing, gunnery or boarding capabilities. For example Captain Smith has been training his Marines in boarding actions and cutting out expeditions but not marksmanship. His vessel will probabily get a positive modifier in small boat "
>>>In WS&IM terms this might represent one extra movement point or a +1 to the CRT die roll. Again the numbers are in the background.
***In this respect, I can't see the purpose in the RP posts because I still don't
understand the structure underneath (or whether there is a structure or not :)
>>>The role playing posts are the bread and butter of the game. They allow the turn to cover more ground. Naval combat is interesting and fun to play out but its only part of the game. The game also ventures into areas that WS&IM barely covers such as land fortifications and amphibious ops. "Ship of the Line Miniatures Rules" cover these areas in greater detail.
Web Site intro...
You control your character's actions and have limited influence on nonplayer character activities. You write your turn describing your actions until you reach a point where you interact with another player character or reach a point where the gamemaster would have to make a ruling or die roll. For example Captain Smith can take his ship's boat and visit another vessel. He can order Midshipman Brown to send a signal to the convoy. Both of these actions allow him to continue his turn. The player controls his own actions and a Midshipmen obeys a Post Captain 99.9% of the time. If he goes ashore and and wants the harbor master to bring the powder hulk alongside his ship at 0800 hours his turn stops because the gamemaster has to make a decision, if the harbor master is agreeable to that request. This decision might be influenced by previous encounters or the bottle of wine that was delivered with the request
>>>Here again numerous skill rolls are being made.
Am I missing something?
You might also try bouncing some questions off the other players as they might explain how they see the game working.
Hope this helped,
Gunther

PS
If you prefer a more rigid structured game I'm planning on running Nelson's Navy which is more Wargame Oriented and will cover specific engagements. The first planned is The Battle of Nile with a dozen ships of the line on each side it should prove interesting. Local players will command the French Ships. Rules will be modified "Ship of the Line" if your familiar with WS&IM you find these no problem.

Hi there,

To me, as you may have noticed from my postings so far, the role playing is almost more important than the fighting! As an avid reader of Napoleonic naval fiction, the appeal for me is to role play the captain of a frigate but in a wargame where I have little or no control of what actually happens. I give the orders but, just as in real life, I'm not too sure that those orders are going to be carried out exactly as I want them to and I have to deal with the responses that Gunther and the other players supply. Admittedly, I have yet to see a "major" action but the role playing adds a lot more to me as I try to act out what happens.

As an example, to be told I need a 5 or a 6 to hit the frigate I am fighting and on a broadside of, say, 20 guns I got 4 1's, 2 2's, 4 3's, 5 4's, 4 5's and only 1 six doesn't mean much as I am not rollling the dice myself or seeing them rolled. To be told that the shooting was in general "good" as 1 shot in four hit and one of the hits knocked over a gun, means I can role play a response from the captain to his crew. In real life, I would probably gloat over the table at my opponent as I knocked out one of his guns, killed or wounded 6 of his crew and reduced his speed by a quarter because of damage to the rigging (I'm not a nice person to wargame with! <grin>). That opportunity is denied me in this game but my guess is that 2 of the players are in the UK and the rest (probably) in the States (I stand to be corrected!) and I can't see that group getting together any other way.

I hope, and believe, that Gunther takes some notice of the actions in the role playing posts to affect the outcome of the wargaming that takes place. From my point of view I get the fun of role playing without the tedious "first 5 moves getting into range" followed by a half-hour argument over whether or not a British frigate would fire chainshot! I don't really care and, if one of my fellow captains wants to use chainshot, then Gunther decides on the effects and the game moves on. I love it!

I doubt it has but I hope this helped.

Pete

Gentlemen,
This is to advise all members of HBN that I will not be participating in any Age of Sail RP Activities. The group mailing list was used without my knowledge.
Gunther Bellows
Hornblower's Navy
Gamemaster