Medieval Warfare £0 - free PDF download now available By Slim Mumford A classic set of skirmish wargaming rules in the Tony Bath style covering the medieval period.

Society of Ancients Publications

This is a reprint of a set of rules first published by the Society fifteen years ago.  Although both wargames and rule-writing have advanced in the intervening years, readers may like to reflect on whether these simple rules do not compare well with present-day complexity. Phil Barker, one of the most significant figures in the development of wargaming during this time, has written a special introduction to what we hope will prove a popular and thought-provoking addition to our series of booklets.

Ian Greenwood, July 1984.

Slim Mumford's Medieval Warfare Rules - an Introduction by Phil Barker

This set of rules was a late development of the Bath/Featherstone system that held sway before the days of WRG, and is widely considered to have been the ultimate in 'fun' rules.  I remember listening with bated breath to an account of an assault by Slim Mumford's troops on the city held by Tony Bath's warrior bishop (or was it the other way around?). The first shot fired at the main gate by the assailants' bombard passed clear over and slew the bishop on the battlements of his citadel.  The defenders abandoned the walls to pray in the crypt. The besieger laughed cruelly, fired again, and knocked the gate flat - but couldn't do anything about it, his horse bolting from the bang to a distance from which his cry of 'Forward'' was either unheard by the waiting assault party or assumed to be directed at his horse.

This re-publication of a classic may hopefully serve to remind today's rule-writers that it is NOT necessary to parrot WRG formulae or heap complication upon complication. Even today, it is as good a set of semi-skirmish rules for combats in open field, around fortifications, or on shipboard as you are likely to find. It may lack modern features such as reaction tests, but where else will you find rules that account for the obstacle value of a herd of frightened pigs in a courtyard? A developed version is still used for the longest running of all postal campaigns, the epic struggle for power between the rival popes Genesis III and Exodus IV. Long may both continue!