A blogged Medieval refight

[Erpingham]

Forum member Alex has been creating a scenario to refight the Battle of Orewin Bridge 1282. In a three part blog post he explains his design process (which is based on stitching together OHW scenarios) then refights the battle using Chainmail rules - real Old School.

If just interested in the refight, it is here

https://darkages40and25.blogspot.com/2024/12/orewin-bridge-1282-w-chainmail-3rd-ed.html

But I do recommend the two previous blog entries on the preparations as there are some interesting design questions and solutions which may have application.

[Ian61]

I have made no secret of being a fan of the OHW book, I have plundered both rules and the many scenarios ruthlessly over the years. This however was a new idea, rather than stretching out a scenario he has stitched three of the maps together, that's got me thinking.

[Imperial Dave]

Marvellous blog and specific battle report

And yes OHW is really a mine of usefulness

[Erpingham]

This however was a new idea, rather than stretching out a scenario he has stitched three of the maps together, that's got me thinking.

I've seen three strung together like a mini campaign but not to make a table for a multiplayer game.  Glad I'm not the only one who found the idea interesting.

[Keraunos]

Thanks for flagging this up, especially the background article on preparing the scenario.  Lots of good ideas there.

[Erpingham]

In comments on the blog, Alex has suggested this might be a good Slingshot article. I know you are stepping back, Dave, but for your successor's sake, I'd bite his hand off 

[Brasidas19004]

I'm flattered that my post made it onto such an august platform - or is it a December platform at this point?
 

The two most important aspects of that scenario process are source material and workable thinking tools.
My go-to for medieval battles on the Welsh marches are the excellent books by Paul Renfry. Unfortunately, he has not yet gotten to 1282 for Medieval Wales Battles!  So I had to make-do with various other sources. I need to buy Lost Battlefields of Wales by Martin Hackett...

The "One-Hour Wargames" book is a perfect thinking tool because NT distills the most important aspects of both history and game design, leaving one less distracted by game mechanics [many of which fall into the category of "false differentiation" for me, anyway].

In 2017, I was working on an introduction of my variation on OHW medieval rules for my long-standing club. They typically have 6-8 people show up for a Wednesday night game.  I was thinking of a scenario and how to playtest it on the limited space available in my office, a 3x4' table.  That's when I realized I could just put three scenarios together and playtest each one separately. 
https://darkages40and25.blogspot.com/2017/05/one-hour-wargames-big-battle-medievals.html

After that, it became clear that the 3x3' scenario maps could be manipulated by rotation and placement, but not while in the book! So I photocopied them all. I found them extremely useful, and realizing that I would do this again I laminated them and keep them on the shelf with the OHW book itself.

While I put three together side-by-side, which is perfect for both club and competitive games [sort of like three games of DBA next to each other], I've also considered putting the scenarios together to create larger campaign maps for a limited "mini-campaign".  Any reasonably well documented battle could be used for this. It would need information available on both the battle and the concerns of leaders just before, during and after the battle.

Hmmmm... this would make a good article for Slingshot, wouldn't it Dave?   

Best, Alex

[Brasidas19004]

In comments on the blog, Alex has suggested this might be a good Slingshot article. I know you are stepping back, Dave, but for your successor's sake, I'd bite his hand off 

Here, we see that English is a common language, but that its usage is uncommon.  I'm guessing at the meaning here of "take advantage of the opportunity" but struggling with the hand-biting expression... 

But I will likely write this up no matter what.

[Erpingham]

I'm guessing at the meaning here of "take advantage of the opportunity" but struggling with the hand-biting expression... 

It means to snatch/seize very eagerly. Think dog being offered a treat in your fingers.

Add : By extension, extreme eagerness to take up an offer "I had his arm off up to the elbow".

[RichT]

Hmmmm... this would make a good article for Slingshot, wouldn't it Dave? 

I'm certain Dave's successor would be delighted to have this as an article (or series) - please do go ahead!

[Imperial Dave]

Seconded!