Tony_Baths_Setting_Up_A_Wargames_Campaign.pdf

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Setting up a Wargames Campaign
Hyborian War Elephant (photograph from Tony Bath
's
Col/ection
courtesy of Rudi Geudens)
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ORIGINAL FOREWORD by Phil Barker and Bob O'Brian
First pubfished in the 1973 edition of setting up a Wargames Campaign
Wargaming has become one of the fastest growing indoor hobbies,
and is now served by a growing number of firms making excellent
models in all scales and periods, as well as a vast and increasing
literature, anda number of specialist magazines.
Tony Bath with Don Featherstone, and a few other hardy
enthusiasts, have been concerned with the hobby since the days when
the numbers were so small that most wargamers knew each other
personally! Tony was the founder member of the Society of Ancients,
which has now grown to lnternational status, and is also the presiding
genius of all the affairs of Hyboria, probably the longest running and
most successful (and nerve racking) campaign ever. We speak with
feeling, and sometimes bitter experience, both having major parts in
the production!
War, in all its forms, is rightly abhorred by the vast majority. For
all that, it will always be one of the most compelling of subjects for
study. We believe that the wargamer, who researches his subject,
delves into the history and causes of wars and becomes aware of the
colossal blunders and mis-chances of conflicts, becomes far less
belligerent than many who do not follow this hobby.
This book, written by an acknowledged master and enthusiast,
will enable the wargames campaigner to make his
own
decisions, and
produce his own particular flashes of brilliance, or abject disasters
-
and with no one hurt-feelings excepted.
!
1.
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Assyrian and Roman lnfantry 40 mm "flats" used as soldiers of the
Hyborian Kingdon (photograph from Tony Bath
's
Co/lection courtesy of
Rudi Geudens)
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INTRODUCTION
When Phil Barker first suggested to me that I shauld write a baok an
campaigning, it didn'.t occur to me just what I was letting myself in for.
The difficulty has been, not to decide what to put in, but in deciding
what has to be left out in order to limit this volume to a reasonable size!
There is so much to be said about campaigning that it is not easy ta
know where to begin, or indeed where to end.
I have decided to assume that the average reader is fairly
ignorant about war game campaigns and to explain things with a fair
amount af detail. lf this is annoying ta more experienced readers I am
sorry; but in anything as complicated as this subject can be, it is
essential to start aff with a firm idea af what you are trying ta do.
Almast all new wargamers start their careers by fighting a
succession of single, unconnected battles; this is inevitable since it
takes time to get the feel of the hobby, to learn the rules etc. But if a
new recruit is really going to take up war gaming, then before very long
he begins to feel that something is Jacking: that these individual
games, though well enough in their way, need same connecting link to
make them more satisfying and ta give an objective other than just
trying to destroy the other fellow's army. In other words, the desire to
fight campaigns rather than battles.
This is the point where the newcomer can make a mistake. It is
not wise to try and run before you can walk, and it can be equally
unwise to plunge immediately into complicated campaign rules. Same
people are capable of doing this, but for many it can end by getting
bogged down amang the complications and, in the ensuing frustration,
vowing never to go in for that sort of thing again. For that reason it is
often best to start off with a simplified campaign, and elsewhere in this
book you will find ideas and rules for these. lf you try these
successfully you will probably then find the urge to go on ta something
bigger and better.
Again, to indulge in a campaign yau need at least two, but
preferably more people who can engage in it on a regular basis.
Campaigns are ideal for local clubs to embark on, but they can also be
run by more widely scattered groups. ldeally, a complicated campaign
needs a fair-sized group with at least one, preferably two people who
do not participate in the campaign as generals or rulers but act as
impartial controllers and umpires. However, it is perfectly feasible for
two people to run a satisfying campaign; it is even possible for one
person to do so with the occasional assistance, for the purpose of
battles etc., of visiting firemen. Suggestions and rules for all these
eventualities will be found in this bock.
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What makes campafgning so rewarding? Why, if you have fairly
limited time available for the hobby, should you use time that could be
spent in fighting on the table-top in poring over maps and situation
reports? The answer is that no real-life general could limit himself to
the purely tactical problems of the battle-field, and a campaign is the
way in which the wargamer general widens his horizon.
The player who merely participates as a general or a ruter finds
the opportunity to practice strategy as well as tactics. He may find
himself having to solve problems of supply and finance, and, if the
campaign isa complicated one, matters of diplomacy etc as well. He
must learn one of the hardest lessons fora wargamer: when to cut his
losses and abandon a losing battle, instead of fighting on to the bitter
end.
The wargamer who either runs or helps to run a campaign gains
even more, for he can give full rein to his creative genius, both as
regards the rules he uses and the countries and characters he creates.
A radio interviewer once asked me whether the desire to runa mythical
continent of my own was a sign of power mania; I replied that this was
possibly true to some extent, since mast of us like the idea of playing
God to same degree, but more important was the freedom it gave toa
bent for organising things. Certainly campaigning will indulge many
complexes. Further, in running a campaign you have to learn to be as
unbiased as possible, and to find methods of solving tricky problems,
of setting up scales by which to decide just how successful a certain
move by a player will be. An example of this isa situation that cropped
up quite a while ago in Hyboria, my own mythical continent. Control of
the Sea of Vilayet is vital to the interests of Hyrkania, which naturally
maintains a large navy; they heard that Turan, on the other side of the
sea, was building warships in the port of Agrapur. Hyrkania and Turan
were at peace, so Hyrkania could make no overt move, but Charles
Grant, the ruler of Hyrkania, gave orders for same old merchant ships
to be scuttled in the harbour mouth to effectually block in the Turanian
ships. He was of course prepared to deny having any hand in this
fortuitous accident! I then had to sum up the chances of suctess of
such an operation, considering the possibilities of challenge by the
harbour defences, the accuracy of the scuttlings, etc. On this basis I
set up a dice scale of from 2 to 12, 2 being complete failure and 12
being complete success, and rolled two dice. The result gave Charles
a nearly complete success which prevented the larger Turanian ships
getting out of port for many months, and the whole thing was an
enjoyable little exercise for me.
As your campaign develops, you will find yourself adding fresh
angles to
it
which, while quite unnecessary from a purely practical
viewpoint, can add much fun and interest to the proceedings. The
provision of a campaign newspaper, as mentioned later, can add both
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