DUEL OF IRON
INTRODUCTION
Civil War era tactical combat simulation.
Players each control one or more Ironclads.
The rules are for the basic scenario, in which one player controls the
Confederate Merrimac, and one player controls the Union Monitor.
THE MAP
Use a hex map.
Indicate which spaces are land and which are water.
Indicate whether water spaces are shallow or deep.
PIECES
Six, eight, and ten sided dice are needed.
Use cardboard counters (chits) to represent the ships.
Draw an arrow on the chits to indicate the forward facing.
SETUP
The ships are placed at opposite ends of the map.
TURN SEQUENCE
Initiative Phase
Move Phase
Attack Phase
Penetration Phase
Damage Phase
Ramming Phase
End Phase
INITIATIVE PHASE
The Monitor rolls 1D8.
The Merrimac rolls 1D6.
Reroll ties.
The ship with the lower Initiative roll moves first in move phase.
All to-hit and damage rolls are simultaneous.
MOVE PHASE
Each ship makes a "move" roll.
The Monitor gets 1D6+1 move points.
The Merrimac gets 1D8-3 move points.
A move point can be used to move forward 1 space.
A move point can be used to change the ships facing by one hex face.
Shallow water hexes can be moved into by expending 2 move points.
Ships cannot enter land spaces.
The Monitor could do 7 knots compared to the Merrimacs 5 knots.
The Merrimac drew 22 feet compared to the Monitors 10 feet.
The Merrimac would more often get stuck in shallow water.
Neither ship was Seaworthy. Both would sink in a bad storm.
ATTACK PHASE
Short range is within 2 hexes.
Medium range is 4 hexes.
Long range is a maximum of 8 hexes.
Each ship has four 90 degree arcs: Bow, Stern, Port, and Starboard.
The Monitor can attack with its 2 cannons out of its Stern, Port, or
Starboard arcs.
The Monitor cannot attack out of its Bow arc. (It would hit its own pilothouse)
The Merrimac can fire one cannon from its Bow and Stern arcs.
The Merrimac can fire a broadside of four cannons from its Port or
Starboard arcs.
Attacking cannons must make a "To-hit" roll.
Roll 1D100 using 2 ten sided dice. This gives a number between 1 and 100.
The Monitor has an 80% to hit at the Merrimac short range.
The Monitor has an 40% to hit the Merrimac at medium range.
The Monitor has an 20% to hit the Merrimac at long range.
The Merrimac has an 40% to hit the Monitor at short range.
The Merrimac has an 20% to hit the Monitor at medium range.
The Merrimac has an 10% to hit the Monitor at long range.
The Monitor was a much smaller target.
PENETRATION PHASE
The Monitor had two 11 inch Dahlgren guns. (also called the soda-water bottle)
The Merrimac had 10 guns, the largest of which were 9 inch.
Cannons that made a successful to-hit roll now make a "Penetration" roll.
This is also a percentage roll.
Short range shots from the Monitor have a base 21% to damage the Merrimac.
Medium range shots from the Monitor have a base 14% to damage the Merrimac.
Long range shots from the Monitor have a base 7% to damage the Merrimac.
Short range shots from the Merrimac have a base 15% to damage the Monitor.
Medium range shots from the Merrimac have a base 10% to damage the Monitor.
Long range shots from the Merrimac have a base 5% to damage the Monitor.
Historically, the Merrimac left its solid steel ammo on the dock in Norfolk
in favor of explosive shells which were more effective against wooden ships.
Optionally, you may allow the Merrimac to have its solid shot.
This doubles the Merrimacs base chance to damage the Monitor at all ranges.
Historically, the Monitor used only half the powder it could have because
the guns were experimentally new and untested.
Optionally, you may allow the Monitor to use double charges.
This doubles the Monitors base chance to damage the Merrimac at all ranges.
DAMAGE PHASE
If a shot from the Monitor damages the Merrimac roll 1D6 on the following table:
1D6 Location Effect
1 Rudder Move roll -2
2 Crack Hull All future penetration rolls at +5%
3 Cannon Lose 1 cannon; The Merrimac has 10 cannon
4 Casualties Lose 1 crew; The Merrimac has 5 crew
5 Leak Move roll -1
6 Smokestack Move roll -1
If the Merrimac accumulates -5 damage to its Move roll it becomes disabled.
The placement of guns on the Merrimac can be switched.
Crack Hull: One cracked hull result would give the Monitor a 12% chance to
damage the Merrimac on its penetration roll at long range, instead of 7%.
All damage is cumulative.
Two cracked hull results would bring it up to 17%.
If a shot from the Merrimac damages the Monitor roll 1D6 on the following table:
1D6 Location Effect
1 Pilot House Move roll -2
2 Crack Hull All future penetration rolls at +5%
3 Cannon Lose 1 cannon; The Monitor has 2 cannon
4 Casualties Lose 1 crew; The Monitor has 2 crew
5 Leak Move roll -1
6 Turret Jams
If the Monitor accumulates -7 damage to its Move roll it becomes disabled.
If the turret jams, the Monitor can only attack out of the arc it is currently
facing for the rest of the game.
Optionally, the gunners are no longer disorientated by the merry-go-round
turret and their base chance to hit is increased by 5% at all ranges.
RAMMING PHASE
If the Merrimac is adjacent to the Monitor and facing it, the Merrimac may
attempt to ram. Roll 1D8 on the Following table:
1D8 Result Effect
1-4 Monitor swerves away None
5 Glancing blow The Merrimac recieves a Leak damage result
6-7 Solid blow The Monitor gets 1D3 Leak damage results
8 Drive her under The Monitor sinks
The Merrimac also had a fifteen-hundred pound, plow shaped iron ram that broke
off in the belly of the Union war sloop, the Cumberland.
Optionally, you may allow the Merrimac to retain its ram.
This gives the Merrimac +1 to rolls on this table.
END PHASE
Also called Victory Determination Phase.
If a ship is disabled, the other ship wins.
A ship is disabled if it cannot move, or it loses all of its crew or cannon.
GAME DESIGNERS NOTES
The sinking of the Minnesota is not included as a victory condition for the
South because it would be too easy, even though it didn't happen in real life.
In scenarios with multiple ships, the Merrimacs can fire a maximum of four
guns per turn.
Quantity of Ammo is not a consideration. The Monitor did not have to reload
until after 3 hours of fighting.
In the real battle, neither ship was disabled. The Monitor wandered off after
her captain was hurt. (the only casualty)
The Merrimac retreated shortly after because the tide was going out.
The Monitor was also known as "Ericsson's Folly" and was described as a
"tin can on a shingle" or a "cheesebox on a raft."
The Civil war saw many more Ironclads, and battles between them, by
the wars end.
LINKS
Ironclad Models