Warrior Ancient and Medieval Rules

[jamiepwhite]

This is our fourth game trying Zulu. You'll note that the disastrous second and third games with Zulu did not merit a report.

Shaka Rick drove up from his kraal in central Florida to meet with Shaka Jamie to take up the gauntlet recently hurled down by Dereckus and the Oracle. We tested Zulu against some greek LTS army and used a much more balanced Zulu list using a mix of 8, 16, and 24 man units. Terrain on the board was randomly scattered about with wide open spaces for close order troops to use. Zulu does have an advantage as the terrain density increases so the table was kept reasonably open. RC Zulu went into the terrain, brushes on the right and a rear woods on the left. Several bounds of melee then proceeded, there's not much missile fire with Zulu and the Bantu infantry rules negate a lot of shooting at the Zulu infantry. Eventually being RB mattered against mixed ID/C troops when the big down rolls popped up. Some Zulu units were lost in melee on the side of the dice when the LTS units would roll up.

A few thoughts popped up:
The -2 for Bantu infantry currently applies always. What about
being shot in the rear
being shot while disordered
being shot in the flank
being shot while routing

The last one, getting a -2 for being prep shot while routing, did seem a bit much.

Another rules question was turning the rear rank to face about for close order and regular loose foot. We all seemed to remember this old rule but couldn't find it. Were we remembering a rule from an older version?

[Ed Kollmer]

Great testing.
Two questions
What happen in games 2 and 3?
Did the shooting radically effect the outcome of the battle?
Oh another question!!!
How did the battle come out??
Ed the uninformed simpleton Kollmer

[jamiepwhite]

Shaka Jamie and the Oracle poohed poohed Dereckus's very different list of Zulu that was build around having 26 or 27 eight man units of Zulus running around the table. We tested it out against a Wallachian list that the Oracle and I threw together, the Wallachian list was just trashy Mongol ally, polish knight ally, and more trashy knights and light cav. We were aiming for a list that we thought you would reasonably see in tournament. Tossed some terrain on the table and away we went.

Game 2 someone experimented with putting the RC Zulus in front of the RB Zulus in checkerboard pattern, reasonably hoping to absorb the lance charges on the RC troops and then countercharge with the RBs in subsequent bounds. The dice gods looked down upon the game and felt that Dereckus had not suffered enough abuse lately and allowed 1s to rain down upon his army like a cow peeing on a flat rock (or any other colorful simile that you like). Derek, Steve, and I play fast, but that disaster was a record.

Derek reasonably asserted that game was a fluke and wanted a rematch. We had plenty of time left (did I mention game 2 being a speed record?) so away we went again. Derek reversed the checkerboard this time and had the RBs in front with RCs shield behind. This game wasn't wrecked by initial bad die rolls but even with better luck and experience, the Zulu list was still having a tough time of it. The RB Zulu units did do a much better job of fighting the lance cavalry charges but a couple still got routed. The idea of swarming the cavalry charges on the flanks was working though in different areas of the tables. Some areas were swept clean by the cavalry, other areas the Zulus were able to swarm the cavalry flanks and rout them back out after two or three bounds. The battle was a lot closer but the Zulu were still not working well in eight man units.

Shooting for and against Zulu hasn't really mattered. Zulu shooting is limited to 40 paces for throwing javelins so doesn't amount for much other than pounding light infantry into next week. Shooting against the Zulu, the -2 for Bantu infantry means that it really takes a lot of missile power to get to two cpf on a 16 man unit. We've seen the occasional unit get shot for two with an +1 die roll, but you have to line up enough missile power and roll up.

The fourth game ended in a draw, something 450 to 550 when we counted points. It wasn't going to get any better for either side, the Zulu were pounding the other army into next week but were having trouble with commands nearing retirement.

[Ed Kollmer]

Nice report.
Gives good insight into the Zulu's
Like the cow peeing
It will be interesting to get these results

to my son Matt
As I said he is slowly building a Zulu Army
Thanks for the work and time.
EdK

[Ed Kollmer]

Gives good insight into the Zulu's
Like the cow peeing
It will be interesting to get these results

to my son Matt
As I said he is slowly building a Zulu Army
Thanks for the work and time.
EdK

[jamiepwhite]

Rick Parrish traded me some WarLord Miniatures plastic Zulu figs. I'm painting them now to do the first 64 of the 250 or so figures that a Zulu list will need. I'll try to post some pictures in a few weeks when I get them done. I''m also going to borrow the sheep and cattle camp from my Anglo Irish army to be the Zulu camp.

[Ed Kollmer]

I think that is the same figs my son Matt has.
They are plastic also.
I remember him saying that there are a ton of figs.

I think he is spray them and then do the detail work and
dry brush them.
Ed K