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DARKER HORIZONS | PORTABLE HAMMER

PORTABLE HAMMER Arthur Harman gives a solution for adapting the Portable Wargame for fantasy battles

Words by Arthur Harman

M

r Cordery’s system has generated a deal of traction in gaming circles: last month Conrad Kinch gave us some ACW rules and scenarios for it. This month, Mr Harman dips yet another toe into fantasy… Ed. I recently reviewed Bob Cordery’s Developing The Portable Wargame that contains a set of Ancient rules, with which my daughter and I have played a few enjoyable games. Since I don’t possess any figures of ancient troops – being more interested in the black powder era – we had to improvise by borrowing the pieces from our Lord of the Rings Risk game.

Which made me think: ‘Why don’t I adapt Bob’s simple, eminently playable Portable Wargame rules so we can use them to fight fantasy battles?’ This article does not offer a complete set of rules, but simply my ideas and suggestions for adapting Bob’s systems, so you will still need a copy of his book to play a fantasy wargame with them.

PORTRAYING TROOPS FROM FANTASY FICTION I began by adapting the list of troop types from the Portable Wargame: Ancient rules. Then the simplest way to create your fantasy armies is to decide which of the categories

After requests from readers to see them displayed as a full unit, these are the 28mm Gondolin Elven forces, converted and painted by Graham Green, from issues 410 and 411. Mostly Foundry figures. Photo by The Editor. 40

Miniature Wargames November 2017

below most closely approximates to a particular type of warrior/creature in your chosen source material. For example, you might consider that the Rohirrim from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings are Heavy Cavalry, whist Orcs/Goblins from the Misty Mountains are a mixture of spear and bow armed Light Infantry, but the Uruk Hai of Isengard are Heavy Infantry or Spearmen - or even Pikemen, if following the Peter Jackson film trilogy, rather than the novel! (Heretic! Ed.) Another thing you can do is adjust the units’ Strength Points (SP), movement rates and weapon ranges, if appropriate. I have made a few basic assumptions with which not all

Fantasy wargamers may agree, but which do allow most of the typical and the more interesting types of warriors to be fielded without undue modification to the basic mechanisms used in the Portable Wargame: Ancient rules. My main assumption was that the types of troops to be found in most Fantasy armies can be summarised as follows: Most of the Fantasy races – Men, Elves, Dwarfs, Hobbits, Goblins, Orcs, Uruk Hai – are essentially humanoid and so can be portrayed by tinkering with the existing Portable Wargame: Ancient SP values and, where necessary, adding one or two special rules peculiar to that race. Elvish archery could have a longer range and greater accuracy that the short bows of Goblins/Orcs, for example. Even the anthropomorphic animals found in, for example, Brian Jacques’s Redwall series, are effectively humans in fancy dress. Three types of Infantry: Light Infantry/ Warriors, armed with missile weapons such as throwing spears, bows, and slings, who fight as individuals rather than in formations

such as shieldwalls and may be used to harass and break up enemy formations; Heavy Infantry/Guards, often armoured, armed with pikes/long spears and swords, disciplined troops who have been trained to fight shoulder to shoulder in tight formations, such as shieldwalls, and form the bulk of an army, and Citizens/Rabble who have simply snatched up hunting weapons and tools to defend their homes. Two types of Cavalry: Light Cavalry (who are the more mobile, mounted equivalent of Light Infantry) such as Goblins/Orcs riding wargs or wild boars, and Centaurs from Greek mythology – and CS Lewis’s Narnia! - and Heavy Cavalry (who are the more mobile, mounted equivalent of Heavy Infantry) such as the knights of Minas Tirith and the Rohirrim. Chariots/War Waggons: Mobile platforms for missile-armed troops, drawn by horses, wolves, wild boars or giant lizards that can be used to harass and break up enemy formations as well as battering weakened Heavy Infantry.

Flying Creatures: such as fire-breathing dragons, which act not unlike ground-attack aircraft; Nazgul that cause such fear that units under their flight-paths are petrified (equivalent to ‘pinned’ in the Portable Wargame: Modern rules); giant eagles that can either attack enemy ground units or serve to rescue Commanders/Heroes/Mages from otherwise hopeless situations (similarly to casevac/dustoff helicopters!), and flocks of birds or swarms of bats used for aerial reconnaissance. The rules for aircraft can be adapted to portray the various kinds of Flying Creatures. Monsters: Trolls, Giants, Ents, Huorns, Minotaurs and similar creatures that fight with their own teeth, claws and feet as individuals – unlike War Beasts which have riders or crews on their backs – and cannot be controlled completely by either their handlers or their allies. Such creatures may sometimes, maddened by wounds, panic and charge back through their own army… War Beasts: Creatures such as elephants, mammoths, mumakil, rhinoceros and giant lizards/dinosaurs which are mobile platforms

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November 2017 Miniature Wargames

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DARKER HORIZONS | PORTABLE HAMMER

for missile-armed troops whose primary function is to break up enemy formations. Often a ‘one shot’ weapon that can be devastating if used correctly. Such creatures may sometimes, maddened by wounds, panic and charge back through their own army... War Machines/Siege Engines: Relatively immobile, missile-shooting/stone-throwing weapons whose primary functions are to break up enemy formations/batter enemy fortifications to create a breach for assault parties to enter. Bombards: large, cumbersome early siege guns whose primary functions are to batter enemy fortifications. Commanders/Heroes/Mages: individual characters whose military prowess/individual skill in hand to hand combat/magical power enables them to exert an extraordinary influence upon units of troops or even the whole battle!

UNITS (See table below)

NOTES: • Light Infantry armed with bows or slings have an SP of 2. • Light Infantry armed with throwing spears have an SP of 3. • Light Infantry armed with bows or slings and Light Cavalry armed with bows have a weapon range of 3 grid areas. • Light Infantry and Light Cavalry armed with throwing spears have a weapon range of 2 grid areas. • Chariots and War Beasts are assumed to be carrying missile-armed crews. • War Machines are lighter, ballista type weapons or war rockets, that may be moved on wheeled carts or pack animals; Siege Engines are catapult/trebuchet type weapons that are assembled on site and do not move thereafter. UNIT TYPE Light Infantry/Warriors Heavy Infantry/Guards Citizens/Rabble Light Cavalry Heavy Cavalry Chariots Flying Creatures Monsters War Beasts War Machines/Siege Engines Bombards (early siege guns) Commanders/Heroes/Mages

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Players are free, of course, to add other types of units to their armies, basing their Strength Points, Movement, and Weapon Ranges on the examples included here. Rather than allocate one set of ratings to all Monsters, I think it preferable to determine them on an ad hoc basis by agreement between players before the game, based upon their interpretation of the fantasy source material. In The Portable Wargame rules, a unit has four characteristics: • Its Strength Points (SP) which reflect the unit’s initial numerical strength, training/ discipline/morale and ability to suffer casualties before becoming ineffective in combat. • Its Quality (Elite, Average or Poor)which affects its reaction to being shot at or engaged in Close Combat. • Its Movement Allowance, reflecting its mobility on – or, in the case of Flying Creatures, over - the battlefield • Its Weaponry, which determines whether it can engage enemies by shooting and, if so, the range; and any special rules/modifiers to be applied because of those weapons. To remain true to the concept of The Portable Wargame only these characteristics, together with just one or two special rules or modifiers, should be used to portray/reflect the differences between the typical races and creatures found in fantasy books and wargames. But the appearance of the troops and creatures is also very important: players should be able to tell immediately whether they are facing Men, Dwarfs or Orcs, for example. Readers who already possess Fantasy armies will have no difficulty fielding appropriate figures on the tabletop; others may have to use Ancient and/or Medieval figures as proxies, but should make some effort to make such units’ Fantasy identities

STRENGTH POINT VALUE 2 or 3 4 1 or 2 2 3 2 see see 3 1/2 2 6 or as agreed

Miniature Wargames November 2017

MOVEMENT (in grid areas) 3 2 3 4 3 3 Section Notes 3 2/1 1 3

WEAPON RANGE (in grid areas) 2 or 3 Adjacent Adjacent 2 or 3 Adjacent 2 below below 2 6 5 Adjacent or Magic

clear. Norman knights, for example, may serve as Rohirrim by simply adding a standard bearing the badge of the House of Eorl; Wars of the Roses billmen or pikemen could represent the Uruk Hai, as imagined by Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, by adding standard banners bearing the White Hand of Isengard, and so on. Dwarfs (‘Dwarves’ in proper ‘Tolkienesque’. Ed.), with their preference for axes, could be portrayed by English huscarles fighting under a suitable banner. If using 25/28 mm figures to portray Men, one could use 15mm figures for shorter races, such as Dwarfs, Hobbits and Goblins; if using 15/18 mm figures, then 10 mm. Mention of Goblins brings us to the question of how to portray Orcs, if using proxy figures, In Tolkien’s books, they are often referred to as ‘black’ but a wellknown publisher of fantasy rules and producer of wargame figures (whose name I will not utter here) decided long ago that Orcs should be green, and such has been its influence on Fantasy wargaming that green seems to have become the ‘norm’ for such creatures (not on my table… Harrumph! Ed.). But there will be no ‘greenskins’ among one’s historical armies, so what to do? For Orcs I suggest simply using figures portraying appropriately armed troops of a radically different culture and/or even another historical era from those representing their opponents, so that there won’t be any confusion. So, if using Dark Ages or Medieval warriors for Men, Dwarfs or Elves, one could use Assyrians, Ancient Britons, Aztecs, Saracens, Ming Chinese or even Victorian period FuzzyWuzzies, for example.

MAGIC ADDENDA For convenience I have placed the use of Magic with the Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine Shooting and Magic Phase at the start of each turn. Units affected by Magic will react accordingly instead of being activated. Personally, I prefer Fantasy wargames where Magic is used sparingly, rather than dominating the battlefield. So here I just suggest a few Spells, based upon the Pinning, Shooting and Smoke/Gas rules from Developing the Portable Wargame. I imagine it would be quite easy to create some more, based upon the Spells used in your preferred literary sources, by adapting appropriate rules from either the Ancient or Modern versions of the Portable Wargame rules.

“Trolls, Giants, Ents, Huorns, Minotaurs and similar creatures... cannot be controlled completely by either their handlers or their allies. Such creatures may sometimes, maddened by wounds, panic and charge back through their own army...”

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An Uruk of the White Hand of Orthanc. A 28mm Mantic plastic figure, painted and photographed by Kevin Dallimore. November 2017 Miniature Wargames

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DARKER HORIZONS | PORTABLE HAMMER

PETRIFIED BY FEAR SPELL In fantasy, combat units often become incapable of taking action when they are overcome by fear of a Flying Creature, such as a dragon or Nazgul, War Beast, Monster or as a result of a magic spell, and once they have been so petrified by fear, it requires great effort on the part of a Commander/Hero/Mage (CHM) who is already accompanying them, or joins them, to get them up and moving again. This is similar to the ‘Pinned’ concept in the Modern Portable Wargame, so I suggest adapting Bob’s rules on ‘pinning’. To incorporate this requires a number of modifications both to the actions a unit can undertake when it is activated and to the Resolving Hits On Units table. These changes are shown below.

PETRIFIED BY FEAR AND RECOVERING • A Commander/Hero/Mage and certain types of troops, such as Uruk Hai, skeleton warriors and the Dead, cannot be petrified by fear. • Any unit that is petrified by fear can shoot at enemy units but with reduced effect. • Any unit that is petrified by fear cannot move or initiate any form of Close Combat with an enemy unit. • A unit that is petrified by fear and that is attacked by an enemy unit in Close Combat may fight back as normal but must reduce its D6 die roll score by 1. • A unit that is petrified by fear and that is successfully attacked by an enemy unit cannot retreat. It is deemed to be unable to retreat and automatically loses 1 SP and remains petrified. • A unit that is petrified by fear can try to recover the next time the unit is activated if it is not adjacent to an enemy unit. • A unit that is recovering may not move or initiate any form of combat including shooting with an enemy unit during the turn in which it is recovering, but may defend itself if attacked by an enemy unit in Close Combat. • Petrifying is not cumulative.

RESOLVING HITS ON UNITS RULES Any unit that is hit as a result of Magic, Shooting, or Close Combat rolls a D6 die to resolve what happens. 44

Miniature Wargames November 2017

UNIT RESULTS QUALITY 1 or 2 = Unit loses 1 SP and Elite becomes petrified by fear. 1, 2, or 3 = Unit loses 1 SP and Average becomes petrified by fear. 1, 2, 3, or 4 = Unit loses 1 SP and Poor becomes petrified by fear.

3, 4, 5, or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area or lose 1 SP and become petrified by fear. 4, 5, or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area or lose 1 SP and become petrified by fear. 5 or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area or lose 1 SP and become petrified by fear.

• Any unit unable or unwilling to retreat 1 grid area loses 1 SP and becomes petrified. • If a Commander/Hero/Mage is co-located with a unit that must retreat and it is able to do so, the Commander/Hero retreats with that unit. • If a Commander/Hero is co-located with a unit that becomes petrified by fear, the Commander/Hero/Mage is not petrified.

CHM WHO ARE CO-LOCATED WITH UNITS THAT HAVE BEEN HIT If a Commander/Hero/Mage is co-located with a unit that suffers the loss of 1 SP and becomes petrified by fear, the side that has inflicted that loss may choose to see if the CHM has been ‘killed’. They roll a D6 die:

First Age Elves in 28mm by a long forgotten French manufacturer from the late ‘80s, painted by Graham Green. Photo by The Editor.

RESULTS: • If the D6 die roll score is 6, the Commander/ Hero is ‘killed’ and the co-located unit loses 1 additional SP and becomes petrified by fear; a Mage may, however, use Magic to save himself, by throwing less than his SP on a normal die, but reduces his SP by 1 for the remainder of the battle and may not use Magic to do anything else that turn. • If the D6 die roll score is 5 or less, or a Mage saves himself by Magic, the CHM survives and the co-located unit does not lose 1 SP and is not petrified by fear.

SHROUD IN MIST SPELL Mages can cast a spell that shrouds a ground unit in a dense fog that prevents the troops from shooting at or seeing the enemy and also disorientates them so that they may deviate from their intended movement or leave their position: • Mages may be allocated one Shroud in Mist Spell that can be used during a battle. Mages may only cast one such spell in a battle, provided they throw less than their current SP on a D6 die, showing they have sufficient magical energy to cast the spell. • Shroud in Mist Spells are cast on a unit in the same way as Bombard/Siege Engine shooting, and any grid area that is affected

by a Shroud in Mist Spell is marked appropriately with a marker that represents the resultant Mist Cloud. • Shroud in Mist Spells remain in force on the unit, even if it moves out of the grid area it currently occupies. • Shroud in Mist Spells persist for a maximum of three turns before they disperse, when the Shroud in Mist Spell marker is removed. During that time their persistence is determined during the Bombard/Siege Engine Shooting Phase. • Roll a D6 die for each Shroud in Mist Spell: • D6 die roll score = 4, 5 or 6: Shroud in Mist Spell remains in force on the unit, even if it moves out of the grid area it currently occupies. • D6 die roll score = 2 or 3: Shroud in Mist Spell remains in force in the same grid area. • D6 die roll score = 1: Shroud in Mist Spell fades and the Mist dissipates, leaving the grid square clear and ceasing to affect any unit in that square. • Shroud in Mist Spells block lines-of-sight so Units cannot see into or through the grid areas affected by the spell. • Units, Commanders or Heroes that are in or pass through a grid area affected by a Shroud in Mist Spell will be affected by the Shroud in Mist Spell.

• Units, Commanders or Heroes affected by a Shroud in Mist Spell must throw a D6 die to determine into which of six hexes around unit they move, ending the turn facing the hex side in the direction of their movement, counting the hex immediately in front as 1 and going round anti-clockwise. They will initiate Close Combat with any unit in an adjacent hex they are facing or in a hex into which they would move if it was empty, interpenetrating and disorganising themselves and the other unit. If using squares, throw 1 d6 die: on 1, the unit remains in the same square, pertrified by fear; for other scores, move the unit into the square shown in the diagram below, facing in the direction it has moved (shown by F on diagram, below).

F6 F5

F Unit (1) 4 F

2F 3F

FIREBALL SPELL Mages may throw Fireballs at enemy ground units or flying creatures. In order to throw a fireball, Mages must not be engaged in Close Combat, have a direct line of sight to

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the target, and score less than their current SP on a D6 die, showing that they have sufficient magical energy to cast Fireballs. More than one Fireball may be thrown in a turn, but 1 is added to the die score for every Fireball previously thrown that turn. Once a Mage has failed to throw a Fireball, he can throw no more for the rest of the battle, but if a Mage stops throwing Fireballs without failing, he can attempt to throw them again in a later turn. Fireballs may be thrown during both Shooting/Magic and Close Combat phases. Fireballs are treated as Bombards for purposes of determining hits, but a unit hit by a Fireball will automatically lose 1SP and retire one move, in addition to SP losses inflicted by the dice; Ents/Huorns hit by Fireballs will be petrified and burn on the spot; Monsters hit by Fireballs will panic and rout back off the table, disorganising any units in their path; War Beasts hit by Fireballs will panic and rout, but may be brought back under control by their

riders/crews if they throw less than their current SP on a D6 die, adding 1 for each previous attempt; Flying Creatures hit by Fireballs will also exit the table, but by the nearest edge. A Siege Engine hit by a Fireball will be set afire and destroyed; a Bombard’s ammunition will explode, causing any units in all six adjacent hexes to dice for potential SP loss or panic.

SHOOTING RULES ADDENDA I have added rules for Bombards (early cannon) and Siege Engines:

GENERAL BOMBARD/WAR MACHINE/ SIEGE ENGINE RULES • Bombard/War Machine units may only shoot at enemy units that are in direct line-of-sight. November 2017 Miniature Wargames

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• Siege Engine units – but not Bombards may shoot over friendly units/fortifications if the friendly unit/fortification is not adjacent to the War Machine/Siege Engine unit. • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine shooting is simultaneous; therefore if a Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine unit is destroyed, it may still shoot that turn before it is removed. • Bombards/War Machines/Siege Engines shoot within a shooting arc that is forward of the direction in which they are facing. • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine ranges are measured orthogonally (i.e. through the edges and not the corners of the grid areas). • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine units may only shoot once each turn. • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine shots can damage any type of ground unit. • Bombards/Siege Engines can damage fortifications by hitting them directly; Siege 46

Miniature Wargames November 2017

Engines shooting over walls with Greek Fire type projectiles may set buildings on fire – treat the projectile as a Fireball (see Magic) • War Machines can also shoot at airborne Flying Creatures. • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine units can shoot into woods, built-up areas, and fortifications. • Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine units can shoot out of woods, built-up areas, and fortifications if they are in a grid area that is on the edge of the woods, built-up areas, or fortifications (i.e. the adjacent grid area in the direction they are shooting does not contain woods, built-up areas or fortifications).

BOMBARD/SIEGE ENGINE (B/ SE) SHOOTING RULES • The target grid area is identified. • Roll one D6 die for each unit firing and add or subtract any relevant modifiers:

• Increase the D6 die roll score by 2 if the (B/SE) unit has a direct line-of-sight to the target grid area. • Increase the D6 die roll score by 1 if the (B/SE) unit has shot at the same target during the previous turn. • Increase the D6 die roll score by 1 if a friendly Commander is in the same grid area as the (B/SE) unit. • Reduce the D6 die roll score by 1 if the (B/SE) unit is currently pinned. • Reduce the D6 die roll score by 1 if the target is in cover or fortifications. • Results: • Modified D6 die score = 5 or more: (B/SE) shooting lands on the target grid area. • Modified D6 die score = 4, 3 or 2: (B/SE) shooting has been totally ineffective. • Modified D6 die score = 1 or less: Bombard/Siege Engine malfunctions, putting its crew at risk. The crew dices

DARKER HORIZONS | PORTABLE HAMMER

• With the exception of War Beasts/Monsters, a unit may change its direction of movement any number of times during its move but must end its move facing the edge of the grid area not the corner. • A War Beast/Monster may change its direction of movement before it moves but must then move in a straight line and must end its move facing the edge of the grid area in the direction it has moved. It may not end its move facing the corner of the grid area. • With the exception CHM, a unit may not start or end its move in the same grid area as a friendly unit. • A unit must stop as soon as it enters a grid area that is adjacent to the front, flank or rear of enemy unit and – with the exception of a War Beast unit – must turn to face the enemy unit at once. • A War Beast unit must stop as soon as it enters a grid area that is adjacent to the front, flank or rear of enemy unit, but must remain facing the direction in which it was travelling.

RESOLVING HITS ON UNITS ADDENDA RULES Orc siege equipment. Crews are very old Goblins by Citadel in 28mm (or so) while the trebuchet are from Atlantic in a hard polythene with added string (rendering them non-functional!). Painted (around 30 years ago) by The Editor.

as if it has suffered a hit; the Bombard/ Siege Engine remains inoperable for the remainder of the battle. • Any unit in the grid area that the (B/SE) shooting lands in is hit, and a D6 die is rolled to determine the effectiveness of the (B/SE) shooting upon that unit. (See the RESOLVING HITS ON UNITS section earlier in the rules.)

MOVEMENT ADDENDA RULES • B/SE units may not be moved after they have been deployed in a grid area, but may change their targets provided they can be reached from that grid area. • With the exception of War Beasts, Monsters and Chariots, a unit may interpenetrate a friendly unit whilst moving. unit may not interpenetrate a friendly unit if it has been forced to retreat. (See the RESOLVING HITS ON UNITS).

• Any unit that is hit as a result of Bombard/War Machine/Siege Engine Shooting uses the table above for Resolving Hits on Units • If a Commander/Hero/Mage is colocated with a unit that must retreat, the Commander retreats with that unit.

RULES FOR WAR BEASTS/MONSTERS Any War Beast/Monster unit that is hit as a result of Artillery Shooting, Non-Artillery Shooting, or Close Combat throws a D6 die to resolve what happens: (See table below) • Monsters cannot be classed as Elite. They always add 1 to the die roll to reflect the fact they have no crew to control them. • If as a result of being hit a War Beast unit must retreat, it must turn through 180° and retreat 1 grid area, even if another unit is in its way.

• In these circumstances the unit that is blocking the War Beast unit’s retreat is automatically destroyed. • During subsequent turns the War Beast unit may not change its direction of movement and will continue to move in a straight line at a movement rate of 3 grid areas per turn until it leaves the battlefield. • The War Beast unit will not need to be activated to move, and it will move after its side has activated all the units it wishes to activate this turn.

FLYING CREATURES ADDENDA Battles in fantasy fiction often differ from those in Ancient history by featuring various kinds of Flying Creatures. I have separated the types of Flying Creatures for the purposes of Portable Wargame fantasy battles into four categories that are closely based on Bob’s aircraft types:

SPIES IN THE SKY, SUCH AS BATS, RAVENS AND SMALL PTERODACTYLS/DRAGONS • Their only task is to seek out the enemy and relay information of his position/strength back to a Commander/Hero/Mage. • They have no ability to engage other creatures or units in combat; if shot at or attacked, they can only attempt to defend themselves by evasive action and flight – in both senses of the word!

FLYING FIGHTERS • Their primary task is to deny the enemy access to the airspace over friendly ground forces by attacking enemy Flying Creatures and to protect their own side’s Spies in the Sky. • Their secondary task is to attack enemy ground units. • Their riders may be armed with bows or javelins. Riders who are Mages may use Magic.

GIANT EAGLES • Their primary task is to attack enemy ground units by snatching up warriors with their talons, climbing high above the battlefield and dashing them to the ground.

UNIT RESULTS QUALITY Elite 1, 2, 3, or 4 = Unit loses 1 SP. 5 or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area and lose 1 SP. 4, 5, or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area and lose 1 Average 1, 2, or 3 = Unit loses 1 SP. SP. 3, 4, 5, or 6 = Unit must retreat 1 grid area and lose Poor 1 or 2 = Unit loses 1 SP. 1 SP. November 2017 Miniature Wargames

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• Their secondary task is to rescue Commanders/Heroes/Mages from extremely hazardous situations by picking them up in their talons or allowing them to ride on their backs and flying them to another location on the battlefield or off the table altogether, abandoning their forces.

• When a Flying Creature’s Strength Point value is reduced to 0, it is either killed, or panics, and is removed from the battlefield.

EXHAUSTION POINT • The Strength Points of any Flying Creatures fielded by a side are included in that side’s total initial Strength Point calculation.

FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS • Their primary task is to attack enemy ground units with their fiery breath, but they may also land and use their teeth and claws in Close Combat. • They may attack other flying creatures by incineration with their fiery breath, or by seizing them in their jaws or with their claws. • Some Dragons may have riders who can engage other flying creatures and/or their riders with bows if they are warriors or magic spells if they are Mages. • Fire-breathing dragon arcs-of-fire can be discovered by referring to Figure 52 in the Portable Wargame: Modern rules. A dragon’s arc-of-fire on a hexed grid is indicated by the light and dark grey shaded area ahead of the aircraft/dragon, as the dragon can move its head to direct its fiery breath, rather like a trainable machine gun. For square grids or offset squares, see Diagrams 53 and 54 and apply the same principle. (See table below)

NOTES: Dragons and Nazgul have an endurance of six turns over the battlefield; other Flying Creatures have no limit. (By ‘Nazgul’, you mean a ‘Ring Wraith on a Fell Beast’, I assume. Ed.)

STRENGTH POINTS • Flying Creatures are allocated a Strength Point value (SP) before the battle begins; this may be adjusted in order to take into account their own type and the level of any rider’s skill. • Flying Creatures may lose Strength Points as a result of Magic Spells, Shooting or Close Combat, and these reductions must be recorded (i.e. on a roster, by the use of markers, or by some other method).

FLYING CREATURES Spies in the Sky Flying Fighters Fire-breathing Dragons Nazgul Giant Eagles 48

STRENGTH POINT VALUE 2 3 4 5 3

Miniature Wargames November 2017

PETRIFYING AND RECOVERING • Flying Creatures cannot be petrified so that they are unable to move, but can be so frightened that they flee the battlefield.

MOVEMENT FOR FLYING CREATURES Since Flying Creatures – other than birds or bats – in fantasy fiction are ‘magical’ (most dragons don’t seem to obey the normal aeronautical rules that apply to fixed wing aircraft; see How To Train Your Dragon!), I have abandoned Bob’s rule that aircraft must move forward one grid area before each turn, but simply allowed Flying Creatures to turn as many grid edges as desired in a turn, but at the cost of the loss of one grid area of movement.

RULES • All movement is measured through the edges of the grid areas not the corners. • Once deployed, Flying Creatures must be activated each turn they remain over the battlefield. Failure to activate a Flying Creature during a turn will result in that creature immediately fleeing the battlefield, as it will be deemed to have panicked despite any rider’s efforts to control it. • A Flying Creature may be moved only once each turn. • A Flying Creature that is landing to engage in Close Combat or to rescue a Commander/ Hero/Mage reduces its airborne movement by 1 grid area. Taking off also reduces its airborne movement by 1 grid area. • A Flying Creature may change its facing/ direction of movement any number of times during its move but must end its move facing the edge of the grid area not the corner. Each change of facing or turn ‘costs’ the loss of 1 grid area of movement. MOVEMENT (In Grid Areas) 12 12 10 8 9

AIR COMBAT RANGE (In Grid Areas) N/A Adjacent 4 See below Adjacent

• Some Flying Creatures, such as Dragons and Nazgul, are able to hover in midair. Hovering over 1 grid area costs the loss of 2 grid areas of movement. If its Movement allowance permits, a Flying Creature may move, hover and move again in the same turn. Other Flying Creatures, such as birds or bats, may circle around a grid area by losing the number of sides of the grid area from their Movement allowance. • Because Flying Creatures ‘fly’ over the battlefield: • They are not affected by obstacles on the ground and may fly over woods, hills, and built-up areas; • They can move over grid areas occupied by friendly or enemy ground units; • They may occupy – hover or circle over – a grid area that is already occupied by a ground unit, even if that unit is an enemy unit. • No Flying Creature may start or end its move in the same grid area as an enemy Flying Creature. • If an airborne Flying Creature unit enters a grid area that is adjacent to the front, flank or rear of an enemy ground unit, it is not required to stop or to turn to face the enemy unit.

FLYING CREATURE COMBAT RULES • All ranges are measured through the edges of the grid areas not the corners. • The ranges of bows or javelins carried by riders of Flying Creatures are the same as those for ground units using such weapons; similarly, the range of Magic Spells is the same as if the Mage was on the ground. The riders of Flying Creatures may shoot only once each time the Flying Creatures are activated, but note that a Mage may cast more than one Fireball in a turn (see MAGIC). • Spies in the Sky, such as flocks of crows or swarms of bats, are unable to attack ground units or other Flying Creatures, but may be hit by Shooting or affected by Magic.

• Flying Fighters are armed with teeth and claws with which they may engage enemy ground units or Flying Creatures directly below or in front of them. • Nazgul may not attack ground units without landing, but they may Petrify a ground unit directly underneath their flight-path, or in any of the six adjacent hexes to that over which they are hovering. • Fire-breathing Dragons are armed with their fiery breath, with which they may engage an enemy ground unit or Flying Creature that is within an arc that is forward of the direction in which the Dragon is facing or is below them if they are hovering and also have teeth and claws with which they may engage an enemy ground unit immediately below them or Flying Creature in the air within an adjacent grid area.

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Conversion of a 54mm Britains Charging African Elephant into a 28mm Lord of the Rings Harad Mumak, with putty, balsa and various manufacturer’s figures. Conversion, painting and photography by The Editor. November 2017 Miniature Wargames

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DARKER HORIZONS | PORTABLE HAMMER

COMBAT BETWEEN FLYING CREATURES AND GROUND UNITS • Fire-breathing Dragons may attack ground units or other Flying Creatures that have landed with their fiery breath as a ranged attack, using the Shooting rules. They must fly in a straight line for at least two grid areas towards the target or hover within range before breathing fire over it. If their approach/hovering is within the frontal Shooting arc of the ground unit they will receive Shooting; otherwise they are deemed to have surprised the ground unit and receive no Shooting, before breathing fire over it. A Fire-breathing Dragon may attack with both its fiery breath and with its teeth and claws. • Dragons and other Flying Creatures, but not Nazgul, may attack ground units by swooping over the grid area they occupy, receiving any Shooting, if their approach is within the frontal Shooting arc of the ground unit; otherwise they are deemed to have surprised the ground unit and receive no Shooting, before engaging the enemy with their teeth and claws, which is resolved as a Close Combat. Ground units attacked from the sky in this way fight at a disadvantage, reducing their die roll by • Flying Creatures may, instead, land by spending 1 grid area of movement and then engage ground units in Close Combat with their claws and teeth. • Flying Creatures which land on the flank or rear of a ground unit can claim the appropriate modifiers to their die roll in the first round of combat only, after which the ground unit will be deemed to have turned to face the Flying Creature – unless it was already engaged in Close Combat with an enemy. • Close Combat between Flying Creatures that have landed and ground units is resolved in the normal way.

• War Machine units with ballistae may shoot at enemy Flying Creatures during the Shooting Phase of the Turn Sequence. • The target Flying Creature unit is identified. • Resolve Shooting in the normal way by rolling one D6 die for each ground unit Shooting and add or subtract any relevant modifiers: • Increase the D6 die roll score by 1 if a large Flying Creature – a Dragon or Nazgul – is hovering. • Reduce the D6 die roll score by 1 if any Flying Creature is moving directly towards or away from the Shooting unit. • Reduce the D6 die roll score by 1 if the Shooting unit is Petrified by fear. • Reduce the D6 die roll score by 2 if any Flying Creature is moving across the front of the unit. • A modified D6 die roll score of 5 or more is a hit on the target Flying Creature and each hit causes the loss of 1 SP.

• A Commander/Hero/Mage riding a Flying Creature may reconnoitre the enemy and gather intelligence in the same way, communicating with his ground units by hovering over or landing next to them.

RESCUING CHARACTERS FROM THE BATTLEFIELD Giant Eagles can swoop low over units and/ or Commanders/Heroes/Mages to seize the latter in their claws and carry them to a place of safety. The Giant Eagles must fly in a straight line for a minimum of 3 grid areas, the middle one of which must be the grid area containing the Commander/Hero/Mage in order to seize them successfully. To seize a Commander/Hero/Mage successfully the Giant Eagles must roll one D6 die and score less than their current SP and the character being seized must also score less than his/her SP. If Giant Eagles carrying a Commander/ Hero/Mage suffer the loss of an SP due to Shooting, the character will also be at risk. Follow the normal rules for a Commander becoming a casualty. If Giant Eagles carrying a Commander/ Hero/Mage have their SP reduced to zero by enemy action, the character is also killed. Giant Eagles carrying a Commander/Hero/ Mage can land, by reducing their movement by one grid area, and deposit the characters safely on the ground. The Commander/Hero/ Mage will be able to act the following turn

“Personally, I prefer Fantasy wargames where Magic is used sparingly, rather than dominating the battlefield. So here I just suggest a few Spells, based upon the Pinning, Shooting and Smoke/Gas rules...”

COMBAT BETWEEN GROUND UNITS AND FLYING CREATURES • Units armed with bows or javelins can Shoot at enemy Flying Creatures that are ‘flying’ above the battlefield and are not engaging them in Close Combat. • Such units may shoot at enemy Flying Creatures during the Shooting Phase or the Close Combat Phase but cannot shoot twice during the same turn 50

Miniature Wargames November 2017

RECONNAISSANCE/INTELLIGENCE GATHERING BY SPIES IN THE SKY OR RIDERS OF FLYING CREATURES • Spies in the Sky can spot enemy ground units that are in the grid area directly above which they are circling for one turn or any one grid area that is within a distance of two grid areas from the grid area over which the Spies in the Sky are circling. • All distances are measured through the edges of the grid areas not the corners. • Spies in the Sky must return to circle above, or land in, the grid area immediately above a Commander/Hero/Mage to communicate the intelligence of the enemy they have gathered. They must do this before they can be sent on another reconnaissance mission. They can report the type and composition of units/formations they have observed and damage done by Bombards/Siege Engines to buildings and fortifications. They cannot report on units Shrouded by Mist. • Spies in the Sky that are forced to flee the battlefield, before they have reported the intelligence they have gathered, may not return to do so.

FANTASY SKIRMISHES My adaptations and suggestions above are primarily intended for fantasy battles, but Maudlin Jack Tar (Projects and Procrastination blog pampersandp.blogspot. co.uk/2017/08/hungry-hungry-trolls.html) has used the Portable Wargame rules for a skirmish between small groups of humans and some marauding trolls intent upon stealing their livestock. He has simply used one figure per SP point for small groups of warriors, but treated the Knight and the Trolls as individuals, which is an easy way of giving ‘Hero-type’ characters the edge over numbers of dastardly minions, henchmen, orcs and suchlike! His experiment suggests there is no reason why the Portable Wargame systems cannot be used for skirmishes or dungeon adventures. ■