Today
I thought I would share a couple of memories from my early days of working at
Osprey Publishing as well as my first recorded attempt at writing a wargame!
Although it is hard to believe, when I first went to
work for Osprey Publishing some 13 years ago, I was the only wargamer on the
small staff of 24. While Osprey books had long been connected with the
wargaming hobby, and some even had small wargaming sections in them, Osprey as
a company wasn’t directly linked to the larger industry. That all changed
shortly after my arrival, when Osprey teamed up with Slitherine to produce Field of Glory.
With this new direction, the Osprey bosses thought it
would be a good idea to increase the overall staff awareness of wargaming and,
being the only one on staff with a hobby background, I got the call. I was
asked to run a wargame in the office for as many of the staff as wanted to try
it out. While this sounded like fun, it also presented a major problem.
Having emigrated to Britain only the year before, my available
collection of figures was rather limited. It was certainly not enough to
accommodate the dozen people in the office who wanted to try it out. Instead of
doing the sensible thing and scheduling a bunch of small games, I set about
assembling the easiest 12-player game that I could. Thankfully, I was big into
1/72 modern soldiers at the time, and these not only came 50 to a box, but
painted up quickly and easily. It only took me a couple of weeks to assemble
two forces of about 50 guys each plus some tanks. I divided each force into six
units and was ready to go.
At the time, the Osprey staff room contained one of
the largest tables I have ever seen. Seriously – I couldn’t reach the centre of
that table from any side without leaving the ground! Okay, I have short arms,
but it was still a massive table. I always wondered why it was originally
built, and now I’m curious as to what become of it, as it was much too large to
fit into most people’s houses. Regardless, it was a wonderful wargaming table,
even if I didn’t have any kind of cover that could go over it. I did, at least, have a bit of model railroad terrain,
and I supplemented this with a bunch of rocks and sticks from just outside the
office building. It all made for a decent set-up.
When the day finally arrived, an even dozen Ospreyistasassembled
around that table. Can you imagine running one wargame for 12 people, none of
whom have ever wargamed before? It sounds like chaos, and perhaps it was, but
everyone was there to learn and have fun, and I think they did. I used a card
activation system, with each card linked to a unit, and stole most of the rest
of the mechanics from Warhammer 40K
because they were simple and only involved d6s. Many 1/72 soldiers died that
day.
I don’t know how much the other employees took away
from that day, or if it had any effect on Osprey in general, but soon thereafter
Phil Smith joined the staff. Phil was also a wargamer and would go on to have a
huge impact on the development of wargaming at Osprey. He currently serves as Head
of Osprey Games.
Together, Phil and I tried to continue the wargaming
education of our colleagues and had an open invitation for anyone who wanted to
join a little circle of painting and playing. We decided to go with Napoleonics
as these are great figures to paint and highlight the connection between Osprey
books and their hobby use as painting guides. I think we had about six takers,
and I can still remember organizing that first order from Front Rank where we
all picked out five or six figures we wanted to paint.
Now, of course, the problem with Napoleonics is that
they are generally associated with ‘big battle’ wargames and, at the time, I
was unaware of any small skirmish rulesets that would be appropriate. So, I set
out to write my own.
These days, I’m often asked: “did you write any
wargames before Frostgrave?”, and I generally
say “no”. This is true, in the sense that I never wrote a complete wargame
before Frostgrave, but it was not my
first attempt. That came those many years ago when I started work on a little
ruleset called The Oxford Front.
The idea behind the The Oxford Front was that Napoleon successfully invaded Britain in
1808 and pushed all the way inland to Oxford. (I chose Oxford partly because of
its distinct architecture, but mostly because that is where Osprey is based!) There,
his offensive ground to a halt due to long supply lines, trouble at sea, and
attacks from elsewhere. Thus, the ruins of Oxford became a no-man’s-land, where
small parties of skirmishers launched raids, sniped at one another, and
attempted to ‘liberate’ the treasures of Oxford. I guess, now that I think
about it, there is a touch of ‘Frostgrave
Napoleonic’ to it!
As it turned out, most of our little circle never finished
painting their figures, and none seemed very interested in actually playing a
wargame. We played at least one large game, and Phil and I played a couple more.
But soon the group drifted apart, and The
Oxford Front was forgotten. Phil and I went on to push wargaming in Osprey
through the publishing schedule more than the education of our fellow
employees. Phil has turned Osprey Games into a real force in the wargaming industry;
in fact, I suspect Osprey now publishes more different wargames than any other
company. I, meanwhile, turned my attention to writing a fantasy wargame set in
a Frozen City.
Then, not too long ago, I was going through some old
files on my computer, and discovered one labelled The Oxford Front. It was all of the rules I had ever written for
the game. It is not complete by any means, but there is enough there that the
game can be played with a little work and imagination. I present those rules
here without modification (other than cleaning up grammar) because I know if I
were to start working on them, I would end up writing a complete game, and
that’s just not something I have time for at present.
I think they serve as an interesting marker as to
where I was as a game designer ten years ago. More, I think they are a fun
footnote to my career at Osprey and the development of Osprey Games. I hope you
enjoy them.
The
Oxford Front: 1808
The
Turn
Players alternate turns. Each turn, every soldier in a
player’s unit is able to perform two actions. Actions consist of movement,
shooting, reloading, and special actions. A soldier may not perform the same
action twice in the same turn, but is otherwise free to take any combination of
actions in any order desired. Soldiers are not required to take two actions and
may take one or none. Soldiers should take their actions one at a time, with
one soldier completing all of its actions before the next soldier takes his
actions.
Movement
Infantry Soldiers may move up to 6” in an action. This
is reduced to 4” if any of the movement is across rough terrain or over an
obstacle. After a player has moved all of his soldiers, any soldiers in base to
base contact with enemy soldiers automatically fight.
Note:
If an enemy soldier is already in base to base contact with a friendly soldier,
a second soldier can only be moved into contact if there are no other unengaged
soldiers within movement distance.
Shooting
A soldier with a loaded weapon can shoot at any enemy
soldier within its line of sight and in range of its weapon. Roll a d10. If the
result is greater than or equal to the firing soldier’s shooting score, then a
hit has been scored.
Note:
this roll is never modified.
Weapons
Musket:
Range 48”
Rifle:
Range 60”
Pistol:
Range 12”
Blunderbuss: Range 10”, -1 to opponent’s save
Fighting
When two opposing soldiers are in base to base contact
at the end of a player’s turn, they automatically fight. Both soldiers roll a
d10 and add their fighting score. The soldier with the higher total scores a
hit on his opponent. No hits are scored in the event of a tie. If one side has
more than one soldier in base contact, that side may roll a d10 for each of the
models, pick the best one, and add the highest single fighting score of his
soldiers engaged in the combat. If this score beats the opponent, one hit is
scored. If an uneven fight is won by the side with only one model, the player
may choose which enemy soldier takes a hit.
Reload
Once a soldier shoots, place a marker next to the
model to denote that it needs to reload. The model cannot fire again until it
takes a reload action.
Save
If a soldier has had a hit scored against it, it must
make a save. Roll d10 and add any applicable modifiers. If the roll is equal to
or greater than the soldier’s save score, the hit is ignored. If the result is
1 or 2 less than the save, the soldier is wounded. If the result is 3 or less
than the save, the soldier is out of action and removed from play. His ultimate
fate can be determined after the game.
Save Modifiers for
shooting
+3
For solid Stone or metal cover
+2
For solid wood cover
+1 For each piece of intervening terrain not counted
as cover
Save Modifiers for
fighting
+2
For Higher Ground (including mounted versus infantry)
+1
For Armoured Helmet
+1 For Breast Plate
Wounded
Place a wounded soldier on its back. At the start of a
player’s turn, he should roll a d10 for all of his wounded soldiers. On a 9 or
10 the soldier is no longer wounded and may act normally. On any other result
the soldier is still wounded. Wounded soldiers who take a movement action, move
only 3” through normal or rough terrain. Wounded soldiers fight at -4. Being
wounded does not affect a soldier’s shooting or save scores. Wounded soldiers
that are wounded again are considered out of action.
Heroics
Soldiers with hero points may spend one point at any
time in order to reroll a die. Any die roll can be rerolled any number of
times, provided the soldier keeps spending hero points. If the reroll is worse
than the original roll, the original roll may be kept but the hero point is
still spent. Soldiers can also use hero points to seize the initiative!
Seize the Initiative!
After a player has taken actions with all his
soldiers, any soldier with hero points has the opportunity to seize the
initiative. By spending a hero point, a soldier may take one additional action,
or give an additional action to any soldier in his unit with 6”. Each soldier
may only be given one extra action per turn; however, a soldier with multiple
hero points may give as many extra actions as he has hero points and friendly
soldiers within 6”.
Note:
Extra actions gained through seize the initiative can be used to take any
action, even if it is an action that the soldier has already performed with his
regular actions. Thus, it is possible for a soldier to shoot, reload, and then
shoot again with an extra action.
Constructing
a Unit
A Unit consists of one or more officers (Captains and
Lieutenants) and a number of Sergeants and Line Infantry. Starting Units have a
Reputation score of 50. This Reputation may be used to purchase and upgrade
soldiers.
Captains
Each Unit may have one, and only one, Captain.
Reputation:
18
Shooting:
6
Fighting:
5
Save:
7
Hero
Points: 5
Equipment: Sword
Lieutenants
Each Unit may have 1–3 Lieutenants
Reputation:
13
Shooting:
7
Fighting:
4
Save:
7
Hero
Points: 3
Equipment: Sword
Sergeants
Each Unit may contain a number of Sergeants equal to 1
plus the number of officers in the unit.
Reputation:
10
Shooting:
7
Fighting:
4
Save:
7
Hero
Points: 3
Equipment: Halberd
Line Infantry
Each Unit may contain a number of Line Infantry equal
to 2 times the number of Hero Points possessed by its officers.
Reputation:
7
Shooting:
7
Fighting:
4
Save:
7
Hero
Points: 0
Equipment: Musket & Bayonet
Upgrades
Individual Soldiers may be given the following by
paying the appropriate Reputation Cost:
Musket
or Rifle: 5 points*
Muskets
Upgraded to Rifles: 0 points**
Blunderbuss:
3 points*
Pistol:
2 points
Helmet
and/or Breastplate: 1 point
Additional
Skills: 3 points
Extra Hero Point: 3 points
* Most officers and Sergeants will not carry a Musket,
Rifle, or Blunderbuss. Players wishing to do so, must provide a reasonable
explanation.
** The difference in effect between a musket and a
rife in this game is minimal. Players may upgrade to rifles for free, but again
must provide a reasonable explanation.
Skills
A soldier may have as many skills as he has Hero
Points, or one, whichever is higher.
Sharpshooter: If a 10 is rolled
for shooting, the enemy save is given a -2 modifier.
Tap Load: A soldier may
reload and shoot with the same action, but will only score a hit on a roll of
10. Note, Tap Load is considered a special action. It may not be taken twice in
the same turn (except in conjunction with seize the initiative), but does not
prevent the soldier from taking a shoot or reload with his other action.
Fencer: When fighting
with a sword, this soldier gets a +2 modifier to any Fighting Saves.
Tough
as Nails: This soldier recovers from being wounded on a roll
of 6+
Maximum
Hero Points
Captain:
10
Lieutenant:
5
Sergeant:
5
Line Infantry: 1
Unit
Deterioration
Through the course of a Campaign it is possible to
lose officers, and thus make the Unit formation illegal (i.e. have more
Sergeants or Line Infantry that would normally be allowed). In this case, the
unit can continue to function normally, but cannot purchase any Sergeants or
Line Infantry until the formation is made legal again.
Out
of Action Roll
After a battle, roll once on the following table for
every soldier who was taken out of action.
1:
Soldier is dead. Remove from the Unit Roster
2–3:
Soldier is recovering and must miss the next battle
4:
Soldier recovers, but loses one hero point or skill (if possessed)
5–10:
Soldier recovers and is ready to fight in the next battle
