First to second August 1798, the Battle of Abukir or Battle of the Nile took place near Alexandria/Egypt.
For Prague Summer Con 2017 (21.-23.04.17) I'm working on a scenario for max. 8 players + host.
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First to second August 1798, the Battle of Abukir or Battle of the Nile took place near Alexandria/Egypt.
For Prague Summer Con 2017 (21.-23.04.17) I'm working on a scenario for max. 8 players + host.
Possible winning conditions:
The Royal Navy under Nelson's command win the game if:
a) More French ships are destroyed or forced to surrender then British ships
and
b) The Orient is destroyed
and
c) three to four ships of the Royal Navy have sailed between the coast/shoals and the French line
Rules in play:
Standard rules with collission
Sail setting for the RN
Let the men drink for the RN
Special rules:
The Orient: No special damages except for the Orient. The moment she receives a fire damage, she gets one fire damage marker at the start of every round. The moment the Orient is destroyed and on fire, she explodes. As a result of the explosion, each French ship gets two crew damages and no ship (French & British) is allowed to fire for the following round.
French ships: A lot of sailors were not on board of the French ships when the RN arrived at Abukir. Each French ship has one crew damage token at the start of the battle to represent this.
Sunset: The last 30 minutes before the scenario ends (2 hours) - each ship can only fire at half range for the rest of the game
British captains: Are free to discuss the order of their ships, targets to destroy, movements and positions they want to sail to. It's allowed to show and plan open the sail setting tokens and the let the men drink token, but it's not allowed to show the planned movement cards to each other.
Ranking order in the RN: There will be two RN commanders - Nelson on the HMS Vanguard - in command of the ships that will attack from the seaside
and
the Captain of the HMS Goliath (Thomas Foley) - in command of the 3 - 4 ships that will sail between the coast/shoals and the French line.
Admiral Horatio Nelson & HMS Vanguard: Will get some Captain & crew abilities
Hidden special rule: Will be announced during play as a surprise.
...
My goal is to display the battle in a smaller scale with less ships on two gaming mats.
One side is blocked with terrain tiles to represent coast and shoals.
The French fleet will be anchoring in the bay in a line with their flagship Orient in the middle.
I'm thinking about 8 ships of the line (7x 3rd rates & 1x 1st rate) with one frigate or sloop near the coast.
The RN will get two divisions with 8 ships of the line (8x 3rd rates or maybe 7x 3rd rates and the 4th rate Leander :wink:).
Some aspects I have to work on:
Setup:
Setup of the terrain tiles. (add some shoals?)
Position of the ships.
Distances between the ships.
Wind direction.
How to equip the used ships with historical names?
Ships:
What ships to use?
Maybe a 4th rate for the head of the French line to represent the old Guerrier & Conquerant?
French Temeraire class ships for the strong 80 gun ships Franklin & Tonnant.
2x Temeraire class for the RN to give them two strong division heads. (Vanguard and... maybe Zealous?)
Rules & historical aspects:
Abilities for Nelsons' ship & Crew.
Block one crew section of every French ship in the setup to represent the lack of Crews?
Reduce the left broadside power of every French ship towards the coast by one? (gunports that are blocked with stuff)
Special rules for the Orient (once the ship catches fire it burns every turn until it explodes - dealing out 2x crew hits to every French ship then)
Winning conditions for The RN (destroy the Orient and cause more losses to the French)
Maybe a bonus for entering the space between the French line and the coast?
Standart movement with setting sails - no special damages except for the Orient
Challenge of the sceanrio:
Should be a cooperative sceanrio - gamers vs. a host controlled Frech battle line
Historical aspects: One RN Division (min. of 2 - 3 ships) has to sail between the coast and the French line
Player can choose their ships, their position in the RN divisions and talk about their battle plan.
I'm ready for some tips, ideas or comments. :wink:
Just seen this Sven. It looks really good. I will give it some consideration and then get back to you on it.
Rob.
Sven what of the possibility of a small gun battery on the headland? (ie Entry point end of the RN).
You can read my mind, Neil.
In fact I need the small battery tile, that one with the weakest costal battery to complete the bay at the northern edge.
See the picture.
...smartphone didn't upload it correct. :question:
I have a set of shoals and that battery if you need them Sven.
The battery question also answers one of my questions about the British Fleet being too strong, but I guess trialing the game will show up any anomalies in that respect.
Rob.
Made a first test setup for the scenario.
One picture with and one without the RN and the wind direction.
One challenging element for the RN will be to get the second division (Foley/Goliath) between the French line and the coast. So there is a navigation element in this scenario. Just sail down the French fleet would be too easy.
Another factor is, not to underrate the fire from the French line with the movement of the first divison (Nelson/Vanguard) down the French line.
Thanks, Rob, I think my terrain tiles will cover the setup requirements. :salute:
I don't know if the battery has an balancing effect, may a little disturbing one for the second division, but the Goliath and the following ships willhave a spare right broadside for this battery. :wink:
Beside this I think the French line is bent too much on the picture.
Too leave enough space between the French ships for a British breakthrough, is difficult on only two gaming mats. :question:
Looks good to me Sven. With slightly less kink in the line should work well.
Without shooting off to get my Maritime Atlas, is the range stick indicating the wind direction?
Rob.
At least two British ships anchored between french ships raking them. Hard to do in that set up.
I'd use SGN 104 for the British (Leander when it becomes available) and SGN 102 for the French, except for Orient.
You could use the stats I use for the Tonnant-class. It's basically the best stats you can find for a Téméraire. There's a very tight span for the stats between the Téméraires and the British first rates where both Tonnants and second rates should be.
Well... You have the space you have and have to make it work. Sacrifices will have to be made. The French meant to make the gaps too small for the British to get in there so perhaps you could leave just one gap wide enough?
I will follow your project closely. I've been working on it myself, but with all the ships.
I just checked both my books with charts of the battle Sven, and neither show the wind direction.
Rob.
Jonas - Thx for Support
Rob - I only know at the moment, that Wind conditions we're in favour for the RN. I'll have a Look tomorrow in my Books.
(It's cool that we have Goliath & Vanguard as SoG Minis:happy:)
The wind was from the north and slightly from the east.
I read today, that the the wind was blowing constantly from (North-)North-West. :question:
Yes, sorry. I meant constantly from the north and slightly from the land, which is west.
Bellerophon drifted pretty much just downwind.
Certainly ideal to circumnavigate the French van then, and for cutting the line.
Rob.
Bought another Le Berwick (Elizabeth class) and HMS Spartiate (Temeraire class) yesterday in a flagshipstore in Nürnberg. :moneygone:
Spotted a single Commerce de Bordeaux (Temeraire class), too...
Good going Sven.
Some of the ships are starting to become difficult to get now.
Rob.
Ok so I had my first thoughts on the scenario goals:
Winning conditions:
The Royal Navy under Nelson's command win the game if:
a) More French ships are destroyed or forced to surrender then British ships
and
b) The Orient is destroyed
and
c) three to four ships of the Royal Navy have sailed between the coast/shoals and the French line
Rules in play:
Standard rules with collission
Sail setting for the RN
Let the men drink for the RN
Special rules:
The Orient: No special damages except for the Orient. The moment she receives a fire damage, she gets one fire damage marker at the start of every round. The moment the Orient is destroyed and on fire, she explodes. As a result of the explosion, each French ship gets two crew damages and no ship (French & British) is allowed to fire for the following round.
French ships: A lot of sailors were not on board of the French ships when the RN arrived at Abukir. Each French ship has one crew damage token at the start of the battle to represent this.
Sunset: The last 30 minutes before the scenario ends (2 hours) - each ship can only fire at half range for the rest of the game
British captains: Are free to discuss the order of their ships, targets to destroy, movements and positions they want to sail to. It's allowed to show and plan open the sail setting tokens and the let the men drink token, but it's not allowed to show the planned movement cards to each other.
Ranking order in the RN: There will be two RN commanders - Nelson on the HMS Vanguard - in command of the ships that will attack from the seaside
and
the Captain of the HMS Goliath (Thomas Foley) - in command of the 3 - 4 ships that will sail between the coast/shoals and the French line.
Admiral Horatio Nelson & HMS Vanguard: Will get some Captain & crew abilities
Hidden special rule: Will be announced during play as a surprise.
These are my first thoughts and I'll put them in the second post of this thread for a better visibility.
More ideas?
Like the ideas Sven.
Have you thought about the French guns facing the shore which apparently could not fire because of stores being stacked up on that side of the ships? I suggest a time delay in them being able to fire and no first salvo bonus.
Rob.
No comment. :wink:
...but as far as I know had the First two French ships less firepower in General and not all French ships had Blocked gunports toward the landside.
Need to study this Detail.
I have to think about this First Salve Bonus. This is something from the Advanced rules, Means: Not allowed!:shock:
Checked this in my Literature: Guerrier and Conquerant (First 2 ships) had blocked gunports.
Sorry about the false trail Sven.
The book I read must be in error.
As far as first salvo goes, I missed your reference to standard rules.
With Let the men drink, and Sail setting I had taken it to mean we were playing the Advanced rules and Optional rules.
My mistake sorry.
Rob.
Sven you could add an additional 2 ships to both groups. You have more than enough room. Also the RN victory condition of sailing 4 ships between French ships and the land, I would remove this otherwise it is too easy for the RN to win, or if you do keep it in have a condition that for every ship sailing round the French first ship there is a chance that they will run aground.
Hey Rob - no reason for a sorry. :shock: I know you're a fan of this first salvo.
For historical accuracy - does anyone has informations that all French ships had blocked gunports? :question: Maybe my book isn't that precise...
Neil - Yes it's true that there can be more ships on the gaming area. I Limited it to 8 Players and a Host because of the place on and around the table.
The RN needs to fullfill all objectives a + b + c. That' Not so easy, because they Need good Navigation, Sailing and timing. Remember: Collisions and hidden movements with one maneuver planed ahead.
Veteran Captains would solve this with ease, but what about The other players?
Another Point is The French line - all they have to do is continuous Fire. ...and those Temeraires around The Orient are nasty. :takecover:
If Nelson Sails down The line too fast, he will be destroyed when reaching The Orient.
The RN needs a good teamwork.
I Need a new Setup picture with 8 French ships. Sorry for Posting The first Setup with only 6 ships. :surrender:
...and I think The French line Need some correction.
The Wind direction should be ok ( displayed) by The ruler.
Sven, I'll get back to you with ratings, but in the interests of simplicity I might suggest you make firing Center Broadside Only.
I'm still sorry Sven.
You were asking for advice, and my answer mucked you about.
I will be only too glad to get into your game no matter first shot or not is allowed.
Rob.
Here's what I have from Walram's scenario research...
French Fleet
Orient: Obviously SGN106 Orient
Franklin, Tonnant, Guillaume Tell: Wave 4 Tonnant 80's--for now use SGN102 Temeraires and I'll get back to you with the Stat Committee proposed stats as an interim measure.
Spartiate, Aquilon, Genereux, Timoleon: SGN102 Temeraires
Guerrier, Conquerant, Peuple Souverain, Heureux, Mercure: I've been lobbying Ares for an "Old French 74" sculpt, but for now use more Temeraires.
Justice, Diane: Both up-gunned members of the Hebe family. Use SGN105, but slow down the damage track since these were 40's to 44's at various times. (True 44's, not the only-on-paper kind like Constitution.)
Serieuse, Artemise: Use SGN101 Concordes.
TOTAL: 1x SGN106, 12x SGN102, 2x SGN105, 2x SGN101
British Fleet
Goliath, Zealous, Audacious, Theseus, Vanguard, Defence, Bellerophon, Swiftsure: SGN104 Slade Common 74s.
Orion, Majestic: SGN104--at game scale, the Canada and Bellona draughts are so indistinguishable I have to check the filenames to keep them straight.
Minotaur: Ahh, here we have a problem. The Stats Committee is still debating whether the Courageux class is better served by using SGN102, SGN104 or a new sculpt, but if memory serves they were Middlings--so I would base their logs more on SGN102.
Alexander: Unsure what sculpt best fits the Royal Oak/Alfred classes, but definitely SGN104 stats.
Culloden: Ganges class--same situation as Alexander.
Leander: SGN110 Leander.
Mutine: Unsure about the French Belliqueuse class, but for now use any Swan except Thorn.
TOTAL: 10x SGN104, 1x SGN110, 1x SGN107, three unknowns.
Hope this helps.
Thank you for the detailed work, DB. :salute:
I need to check, how to display this with my miniatures.
I have another information, that the Conquerant (2nd French SoL) was underarmed and outdated, too. Only equipped with 18 pounders. :question:
I thought about this before and this might be an important point of balance if you look at the profile of the French line in the bay. The way the line is bent could be a big advantage for the RN if the French fire is limited to broadsides only.
Oh Rob...
:wink:
You really want me to order you to scrub the deck for this "first salvo thing"? :erk:
I'm really gratefuly for all the input.
That is also certainly going to help us to provide the correct ships for Sven when we do the game at Doncaster 17.
Thanks DB.
Rob.
I think the first test run will be with 6 ships each side.
I'm not shure about the position of the Orient at the moment, but with 8 vs. 8 she should be on position number 6 or 7.
Now she's on position 5.
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...5&d=1477399229
I'm not shure about the starting formation of the Royal Navy too, at the moment.
A double colum isn't that historical, but gives the players the chance to appear quick on the scene.
The ships have to start outside of the gaming area at the moment, but I can fix it with moving the bay tiles a little bit. What I definitely need are some fixpoints to determin the correct starting position of each ship (French & British).
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...6&d=1477399229
Admiral Nelson is in full favour of the wind. The RN get the NNW wind directly in the green zone (reaching).
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...4&d=1477399229
I modified the bay to have a fixed starting positions for the British ships.
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...7&d=1477401077
This is how it could work.
The gap between the coast/shoal and the Guerrier is only half a ruler. If Captain Foley maneuver well, the mission can be a succesfull one. :wink:
Questions is how the other RN captains will perform. :steer:
The following RN ships will appear on the same position (Nelson's or Foley's).
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...8&d=1477401077
The small French fort.
I'm happy that my terrain and fortification set can display the bay that well. :clap:
http://sailsofglory.org/attachment.p...9&d=1477401077
What do you think about the double column?
Should the RN Start in "historical" order in one line (means player number 8 will start to maneuver in round 8, not in round number 4)? :question:
How are you numbering your ships in the double line Sven?
If one line, where would each ship come in that line?
On the face of it, two lines would seem to get ships into action more speedily, and this could be an important factor in getting the game finished in the allocated time slot.
Rob.