Campaigning
17.11 During the Summer some or all of the regular army will go on campaign, as decided by the Minister of State and MoW. Given these decisions, the Field Marshal comes up with a force structure for the campaign, which dictates the number of fleets, armies and divisions.
17.12 At the beginning of the Summer Campaign season, the Force Commitment and Deployment tables are consulted by the MoS and MoW respectively. A die is rolled on each for NPC minister (subject to influence) while a PC simply chooses a number. The FM then decides on a force organization in August, using the guidelines in the tables, and decides whether there will be a substitution (see Volunteers).
17.13 The summer campaign takes three months. The each month units receive a battle result (BR) with an individual BR depending on luck, the MA of the commander and his adjutant (or Bde Maj for a brigade's result), and the success or otherwise of higher level commands. The BR is determined separately for the second and the third months.
17.14 As well as the effects in the Military Ability section, and the 'Occasions for title attempts table', a commander's BR may modify his own circumstances. If a commander's BR is better than his immediate superior's he gets a -1 modifier for promotion and MIDs (a btn/sqn commander also gets a +1 death modifier); if the BR is 2 or more worse than his immediate superior's these modifiers are reversed. Note that a PC btn/sqn commander only calculates a BR to get these modifiers, get title attempts and MA increases; the regt's BR is still used to assess the personal outcome for all members of the regt.
17.15 A BR of 5 or 6 if commanding a bde, div or army leads to court martial charges of gross incompetence, as does a BR of 6 if commanding a regt.
17.16 This is an example command structure for a campaign where 4 brigades are sent, showing the key positions:
Field Army (Commander/Adjutant)
1st
Division (Commander/Adjutant)
Heavy
Brigade (Brigadier/Brig Major)
Frontier Regiments
(Commanders/Adjutants)
2nd
Division (Commander/Adjutant)
1st
Foot Brigade (Brigadier/Brig Major)
3rd Foot Brigade (Brigadier/Brig
Major)
Guards Brigade (Brigadier/Brig Major)
Note that the Guards Brigade serves directly under the army commander, outside of any division, in this particular example. So, before the BR for the Royal Marines is assessed, we need to know the BR of the Field Army, 2nd Div and 1st Foot Brigade. Individual battalions/squadrons also have their own BR if commanded by a PC, as affected by the MA of the Btn commander, but without any adjutant.
17.17 The following people will be on campaign : commanders of armies, divisions and brigades involved (as well as their aides and adjutants or Brigade Major for a bde), members of a regt on campaign (including chaplains), and volunteers. A character attached to 2 units serves with the higher level one. Commanders, aides and adjutants of brigades and above use the command modifiers instead of regimental ones.
17.18 Given a unit's BR each PC (and NPC of importance) has a chance of death, promotion, mention in despatches and plunder. This depends on the deployment for that unit and the rank, command position and regiment of the individual. Note that NPCs do get the benefit of regimental but not of rank modifiers. Orders for a character at the front, should include under what circumstances he will be recklessly brave or be a poltroon (e.g. if death roll is over 10 reduce it to 10, if death roll is under 8 increase it to 8). These instructions are shown on the character sheets and remain in force until a change is ordered.
17.19 When being recklessly brave (reducing the death roll) the opposite modifier applies for promotion, mentions and plunder.
17.191 Characters may also choose to Poltroon. Poltrooning acts as the reverse of Bravery, with the Poltroonery modifier increasing the character's chances of survival but decreasing their chances of gaining either MiDs or Promotions. A poltrooning character does not gain Plunder. When being a poltroon (increasing the death roll) there is a chance of being noticed. Where the character fails to gain an MiD or Promotion as a result of the negative modifier incurred as a result of their Poltroonery, that character's conduct is noticed and they are Criticised in Dispatches (CiD). Each CiD is worth -1 to 6 SP each month for six months and a permanent -1 sp thereafter, further a character who incurs a CiD who already has MiD may not count those MiD towards the minimum number required for a title roll. A character faces charges for cowardice (roll of 4+ and may be influenced) for each 3 CiDs accrued. Example: Major Flashman has set his Poltroonery score to 10. This means that if his death roll is less than 10 , it will be raised to at least 10. Let's say that Major Flashman's death roll would have been 7. That is less than 10, so he now needs to roll a 10 or higher to risk dying, not a 7. The effect of this is that Major Flashman has modified his chance of dying by 3. So, he now has a -3 to his chance of gaining MiD or Promotion and he may not gain Plunder. If Major Flashman misses a roll for MiD or Plunder by 3 or less he will receive a CiD (and this will be published in the Times). Finally, any MiDs Major Flashman had already accrued will not count towards the minimum number of MiDs required for a title roll.
17.192 A roll greater than the death roll leads to death, while a roll equal to the modified death roll leads to a roll on the 'Dicing with Death' table (no promotion, MIDs or loot; see Capture section below). Note that even if the death roll is 12 or more, a roll of 12 gives a 50% chance of death and a 50% chance of rolling on the 'Dicing with Death' table - everyone on the battle field faces some risk.
17.193 If the promotion roll is made or exceeded the character is promoted as above provided there is a vacancy and he meets the minimum requirements. A character can be promoted by battlefield results only once per season. If the promotion can not be taken then a MID is received instead.
17.194 If the mention roll is made or exceeded the character gets a mention in dispatches worth 1d6 sp per month for 3 months on returning from campaign. After the 3 months each MID is worth 1 sp per month for life. A character who gets his third MID is entitled to a title attempt (only once). Second and subsequent mentions for a character below SL 6 do not count as his title attempt. The next MID once he is SL 6 and above (provided he has at least one already) give his one title attempt for mentions.
17.195 If the plunder roll is made or exceeded the character gets a random amount of loot affected by the type of deployment and the battle result.
17.196 When on campaign pay and allowances are received though no personal support costs, club dues, or other monthly expenses need be paid. (Exception: Mistress upkeep must be paid). Characters on campaign gain the equivalent of one week's practice with their regimental weapon for each month they spend at the front.
The Royal Navy and Campaigns
17.2 For game purposes, the fleet(s) of the Royal Navy will be treated under the same rules as independent brigades and ship(s) will be treated as regiments under the command of the fleet(s) in question. Except where noted in the rules.
17.21 The smallest unit that may volunteer for campaigning is a ship.
Capture
17.31 Capture by the enemy leads to several possibilities (see Spying). Captives will be held prisoner for a maximum of 3 months after which they are killed or released (50% chance) and have a 1 in 6 chance of contracting a serious illness per month. Friends may offer a ransom of captive's SL x 100 cr from the month after capture, but only once for each prisoner. There is a 50% chance a ransom will be accepted (otherwise no money is spent) with the prisoner returning to London at the end of that month. Aside from waiting to see what happens, there are 3 other ways to get free: escape, rescue, and treachery.
17.32 Prisoners may not communicate with other characters (this can not be enforced but it breaks the spirit of the game) though they can with people they are held captive with. Two or more people from the same army that are captured in the same campaign will be held together. A prisoner who escapes or is released has one fewer horse, if any, than before.
17.33 An escape attempt takes a month (see Escape table). People held captive together may choose to make a group escape attempt, though they must all order this for it to happen. Seriously ill people may not attempt escape on their own though they can be part of a group. The modifier for people with a STR of 15+ can apply up to twice if their are 2 such people in a group. Rank modifiers apply as higher ranks are guarded more closely; a group takes the least favourable rank modifier of all participants (only once). Everyone in a group shares the same fate. If successful they return to London at the end of the month.
example : Am Ensign, Major and Lt Col from the same army are captured. They decide to wait out the first month and see if their ransoms are offered, but they are not! In this month the Major becomes seriously ill. They decide to mount a group escape attempt in their 2nd month of captivity. The Ensign and the Lt Col both have a STR of 15+. Total modifier for the group is -2 : -1 (group), -2 (2 with high STR), 0 (rank mod for Lt Col) and +1 (Major's illness). If they had tried to escape individually, the Major would be unable as ill, the Ensign would have a -2 mod (rank and STR), and the Lt Col would have a -1 mod (STR). So in this case the Ensign has nothing to lose by teaming up with the others, and on the plus side has the opportunity to tell his daring escape tale over and over, and might gain the eternal gratitude of the Major.
17.35 A rescue attempt may be mounted by one or more PCs acting as a group. Such an attempt takes a whole month (no costs or status as if at the front). A group gains a -1 mod if they number 3 or more; anyone having an MA of 6+ in the group gives a -1 mod (only once) and STR and rank mods apply as for escapes. There is an additional -1 mod if the prisoners had planned their own escape that month. The outcome is taken from the Rescue table and is independent for each rescuer and prisoner: there are no mods to the death roll and an exact roll leads to 'Dicing with Death' as usual. If captured, rescuers are kept together and with any prisoners that didn't escape (daft foreigners never learn!). If the mission is a success (at least one prisoner makes it back to London) all rescuers get an automatic MID.
17.36 The final option is for the captive to be treacherous and offer to 'bat for the other side' (spy for the capturing nation). This may only be attempted if he is being held on his own, and only tried once. A roll on the treachery table determines whether his captors laugh at this pathetic attempt to save his skin, kill him for being such a weasel, or indeed take him on as a spy. If they do, he is treated as having escaped and all spy rules then apply to him.
