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This is a thread to discuss playing Sharp Practice 2, the skirmish wargame by Two Fat Lardies. The plan is to use Roll20 to play the game, allowing us to play asyncrinously and get a feel for the game. I've already mentioned this in the Historicals thread, so this is mainly to stop cluttering up the main thread. So, what era would people be interested in playing, I don't mind making up several token types for the various units, but I don't want to commit to making tokens for every unit in every time period! I'm interested in AWI, Napoleonics and ACW. I don't mind feilding questions about Roll20 either - although I'm not an expert. I'll fill this out with more info once we get going.
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Aug 17, 2016 12:01
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 21:28 |
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I would be interested in handling a small force, either on my own or as part of something larger - but if you want to play one person with a big engagement, that isn't me. I'd prefer Napoleonics
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Aug 17, 2016 12:23
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I don't care much, except that I am really not excited about ACW.
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Aug 17, 2016 13:40
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I'm a volunteer as well, would prefer Napoleonic.
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Aug 17, 2016 15:34
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I'll play whatever era and I can be Napoleon.
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Aug 17, 2016 22:28
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What scale is it
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Aug 18, 2016 08:42
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Looks like Napoleonic is a clear winner then. So, as we can all do our turns whenever, what do people want to do, a series of smaller games, or a large game where we all control a smaller force (80 points or so) - Either wya, I think the starter armies from the rule book would be a good place to start. goodness posted:What scale is it Any scale we want! I was thinking about scaling it to be around 28mm though, with each base being an inch wide on a 6x4 "table" , but I can easily drop that/increase the table size. On that, does anyone have any ideas for maps? I can draw up pretty much anything, but if anyone has any good ideas to get me going I can base them off that.
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Aug 18, 2016 11:30
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Attack on a hamlet/tavern/inn that needs to cross a brook either through a bridge or a ... well, one of those shallow places in you use to cross rivers while also getting wet in the process. Crossing?
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Aug 18, 2016 12:35
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A series of battles of escalating size, starting small with basic infantry and then including more toys? Sounds to me like the easiest way to get to grips with the rules.
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Aug 18, 2016 14:23
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Good idea, the base lists in the books look like this -quote:BRITISH REGULARS quote:FRENCH REGULARS TO 1812 We can add artillery and cav later on.
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Aug 18, 2016 14:55
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Grey, i think maybe we should figure out the game at some basic level live before going all in with asyncronous play.
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Aug 18, 2016 15:52
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I thought sharp was too small for cav and cannon!! Would lead some frenchies to their deaths, yes. Grey, you in Europe, right?
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Aug 18, 2016 15:54
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Also the rulebook is kinda weirdly organized, with tables for how gentlemanly an officer is interspersed with melee combat.
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Aug 18, 2016 16:08
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JcDent posted:I thought sharp was too small for cav and cannon!! yeah, I'm a brit.
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Aug 18, 2016 16:15
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Panzeh posted:Also the rulebook is kinda weirdly organized, with tables for how gentlemanly an officer is interspersed with melee combat. Can't be worse than FFG's 40K RPG (CCCOMBO) books. Grey Hunter posted:yeah, I'm a brit. Great! No worries about timing, then.
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Aug 18, 2016 18:41
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JcDent posted:I thought sharp was too small for cav and cannon!! Hell naw, I'm building my IRL SP force to be from the III cavalry corps at the invasion of Russia. Starting with Dragoons, and will add horse artillery later. Basically we'll play cavalry skirmishes against Russian Jagers and Cossacks, so stuff like Dragoons and Hussars will work great.  Painting them dismounted first, and adding horsies later. I'm also in Europe, UTC+01:00 lilljonas fucked around with this message at 08:12 on Aug 19, 2016 |
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Aug 19, 2016 08:09
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I'm not up for a live game (though if you recorded it I'd watch it). I'd prefer asynchronous so I can flip through rules at leisure. I like the idea of starting with basic infantry then adding in extra stuff as get more familiar
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Aug 19, 2016 10:59
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The two basic forces do have skirmishers so you'd have to know about their free move and ability to screen other formations but these two forces would be the game at its most basic.
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Aug 19, 2016 11:23
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Yeah, I didn't mean not including skirmishers
simplefish fucked around with this message at 17:01 on Aug 19, 2016 |
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Aug 19, 2016 16:47
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How does this look? Its all layers, so I can shift things around.  Here are the tokens. Grey Hunter fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Aug 20, 2016 |
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Aug 20, 2016 18:40
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I'm down with that.
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Aug 20, 2016 20:30
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Looks good. How are we doing this then? Goons vs Grey Hunter, 1v1, 2v2? Live or asynchronous? E: silly ask, but could we change the "Present!" marker to a Christmas gift box? Seems in keeping with the game's tone simplefish fucked around with this message at 16:31 on Aug 21, 2016 |
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Aug 21, 2016 16:28
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Asychronous would work best for me, I can make copies of everything and we should be able to have more than one game running. SImplefish, I guess that means you and me! I'll pm you the game invite. If others want to sort out a live game, I can do the same for them.
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Aug 22, 2016 05:03
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Received and replied!
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Aug 22, 2016 05:19
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Okay, so we'll play a simple encounter with no bonus points - keeping it really simple! Which side do you want? north or south?
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Aug 22, 2016 05:33
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Just from European geography I'll take south, since I'm the French
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Aug 22, 2016 05:35
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 Not the best place for my deployment point, but it will have to do!
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Aug 22, 2016 06:03
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Uh, Grey, I followed the Roll 20 link. I know it's correct because I saw you on the table earlier. I'm having map issues though. I don't know if it's to do with GM settings, but all I can see is a green grassy grid with no features, tokens, or your DP on the table. I have my opening post largely done, and I'll do the rolls I need in the roll20 now to save time (you should be able to see them regardless).
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Aug 22, 2016 10:18
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Guess which moron didn't change the player window..... It should work now.
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Aug 22, 2016 11:09
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Grey Hunter posted:Guess which moron didn't change the player window..... It's good now, I'll have my post up soon
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Aug 22, 2016 11:13
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Disclaimer: This is my first game of this, ever! I will be trying (perhaps in vain) to put together a flowchart to make future games easier. I won't be explaining rules (buy the darn thing!) but will probably in that flowchart reference page numbers for you all to follow along at home. IF I GET ANYTHING WRONG PLEASE TELL ME It's been mentioned before but the rulebook jumps all over the place. That's why I'm trying to get a followable flowchart up and running. It also means I'm going to get things wrong. I will push forth with confidence, but don't feel bad about correcting me. MY FLOW CHART IS ALREADY WRONG! HOORAY! Deploying onto the table is covered on p24, I'll update it later. I also know nearly nothing about Napoleonics. If anyone wants to chime in with things I've become mistaken about, it'd be very welcome! For example, I have no idea whether my ranks are appropriate or not. I think it's good to commit to some sort of schedule for updates (at least, for me that seems to work). I'm going to be promising some sort of update every day. Hell, I post several times a day, I can at least make an update however sketchy. I'll be playing the part of Colonel Louis Sot-Poisson We have accidentally happened across Les Rosbif near the tavern we were heading to, hoping to give my men a break from the horrors of war and show them the bottom of a bottle instead. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- With that out of the way, let's get going! STEP 0: Our forces (p105-106) (year is 1809-1812)  Let's see who is here today... ah yes, we have Me! - Colonel Louis Sot-Poisson (LEADER III) Capitaine Amiens(LEADER I) The Marseille Line Infantry, armed with muskets [Pas de Charge] The Montpellier Line Infantry, armed with muskets [Pas de Charge] Commandant Angers(LEADER II) The Nantes Line Infantry, armed with muskets [Pas de Charge] The Nice Line Infantry, armed with muskets [Pas de Charge] Commandant Avignon (LEADER II) The 1st Voltigeur skirmishers, armed with muskets [Sharp Practice] The Versailles Voltigeur skirmishers, armed with muskets [Sharp Practice] . Hmm... but really, who are these Officer chaps? Let's find out. Cl. Sot-Poisson: BREEDING - Former Gentleman Ranker; PERSONALITY - Prig  SKILLS - None; PHYSIQUE - Strapping  LOOKS - Plain and unremarkable; CHARISMA - Affable  Cpt. Amiens BREEDING - Impoverished Military Family; PERSONALITY - Honourable  SKILLS - None; PHYSIQUE - Sickly cove  LOOKS - No looker; CHARISMA - Affable  Cdt. Angers BREEDING - Risen from the Ranks - NOT A TRUE GENT; PERSONALITY- Honourable  SKILLS - No skills; PHYSIQUE - Average Stamp  LOOKS - No Looker; CHARISMA - Affable  Cdt. Avignon BREEDING - New Money NOT A TRUE GENT; PERSONALITY - Honourable  SKILLS - None; PHYSIQUE - Average  LOOKS - Face like a slapped arse; CHARISMA - Dislikeable  Ah yes, Commandant Avignon, the ugly, odious little man. I remember now why we put him in charge of the skirmishers - far away from the rest of us, and more likely to eat a bullet! STEP 1: Roll force morale We see our opponent! He is a Hunter, of the Greyford Hunters! (<< I'll change this if you plum for a different name) Time to see how the men are doing...   All of our troops are Regular - no Elites or Militia amongst us. That gives us a total Force Morale (FM) of 10 It seems, however, that our opponent feels his men's morale is lower, and has already started to deploy! Whether this is true or not remains to be seen, but we'll work in response to it. STEP 2: DEPLOYMENT   We enter the area near the tavern from the South-East We spot our opponent in the North West! Looks like it'll be a fairly even rush to get to the pub >>>insert image of map when DP is here Certainly, this shall make for tasty sport. STEP 3: FORCE SUPPORT  Following along with us we have...  8 points of support (Grey is a very gentlemanly opponent) For us Frenchies, that's going to mean: Physic (1 point) Water Cart (2 points) Spirits and tinder (1 point) Musician (1 point) Scout (3 points) I will probably misuse these things and/or forget I have them. But that's the fun of the fair! STEP 4: MINOR CHARACTERS  I shall take the Liberté of rolling for minor characters.  Nope, nobody important at the bar today. In the spirit of Egalité and Fraternité, I would have let Grey name the notable patron, but there we go. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- That's all I've got time for right now, next up is placing stuff onto the table ALSO MY FLOW CHART IS ALREADY WRONG! HOORAY! Deploying onto the table is covered on p24, I'll update it later.
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Aug 22, 2016 12:06
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I'm already enjoying seeing the similarities and differences compared to Chain of Command, good effort this far. 
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Aug 22, 2016 12:19
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So for my game against Simplefish, it’s time to see what my leaders look like - with the tables from the book! I’ll not go into as much detail, Simplefish is doing a fine job of that! Say hello to the 1st Innsmouth Regiment Group 1 Leader, Status III - Sir Reginald Smashington-Smyth. Military family with wealth and influence Honourable Sporting Life Giant of a man Face like a pig’s backside Pleasant Three Groups of 8 Regulars, Muskets (Companies I through III) Sir Smashington-Smyth heads up this brave detachment of the British Army. He’s a rich sportsman how towers above all around him. Shame he’s repulsive to look at! He’s well known to be a pleasant and honorable man. As long as you can have a conversation with him facing the other direction. Group 2 Leader, Status II - Captain Horice Hogswash Military family with wealth and influence Cad or Bounder View Halloo Diminutive chap Face like a pig’s backside Affable Two Group of 8 Regulars, Muskets (Companies IV and V)[/code] Shame the same can’t be said for Captain Hogswash! He to has the “Innsmouth look” - but he’s a tiny mad, and a Bounder to boot! Group 3 Leader I - Sargent Blunt Risen from the ranks Honourable Flashing Blade Average Stamp Fair of face Pleasant One Group of 6 Light Company Skirmishers, Muskets (The 1st Dunwich Lights) The Light Company is commanded by Sergeant Blunt. He’s a good looking chap - for now, it’s a real shame that his current swashbuckling charm is going to fade as his “heritage” comes in. The 1st Innsmouth has been sent on a scouting mission to see where Frenchy is! They seem to get a lot of detached operations. Some would uncharitably say that's because the rest of the army gets uncomfortable when they are in camp! The Frogs have the drop on the good Colonel!  They have the high ground, but this will not stop a Smashington-Smyth! The next three cards are all command cards, which would normally cause an event, but as no-one is on the table, it’s ignored. Then the card for the french 3rd Group comes up! EDIT! My Extras will be a Physic, two musicians, a water cart and an ammunition cart. (I think that makes 8) Grey Hunter fucked around with this message at 12:57 on Aug 22, 2016 |
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Aug 22, 2016 12:33
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Simplefish - just to let you know, I've added tokens for the support options, and you are good to go for turn 1, where your group 3 has been drawn. I assume thats your skirmishers. Worst luck for me. 
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Aug 23, 2016 09:55
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Thanks - I can't get roll20 to work on an ipad so I'll be getting on the proper computer a bit later Sorry for the delay
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Aug 23, 2016 10:15
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No problem, I wasn't sure if you were waiting on tokens/knew it was your activation. Btw, if anyone else wants a game , let me know and I can set one up.
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Aug 23, 2016 10:25
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Thanks, but I will follow this one, and maybe be up for a game when it's done.
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Aug 23, 2016 10:28
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Firstly, I should be a gentlemanly opponent and let Grey know - your Musician is attached to your Force Leader (Sir Smashington-Smythe, I think). I think that means you can only have one, but on the plus side, you get an extra support point to spend. Also, I will get the flowchart updated after this post goes up. I'll be typing as a stream of consciousness this time. It helps me keep my thoughts in order and it's obnoxious to read - what's not to love? Time to move the game along! -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- So we draw cards, ignoring command cards, until a Leader card is drawn. As Grey rightly says, that's: Commandant Avignon (LEADER II) The 1st Voltigeur skirmishers, armed with muskets [Sharp Practice] The Versailles Voltigeur skirmishers, armed with muskets [Sharp Practice] It's my choice whether to activate Cdt Avignon or not; we activate the leader. Activating a leader dueing the deployment phase (p24-25) is where things will start to get messy. In another stroke of simplification, I'm going to just use 45 degee increments Forget that! The Roll20 ruler is now working for me, which it wasn't yesterday! Although, I have to say, it's more generous with diagonals than I was going to be... Some things to keep in mind: 1) My scout gives me an extra deployment point (p82). That point can be up to 24" away from my primary DP - as long as I keep it 30" away from Grey's DP and don't deploy within 12" of his troops (p25) 2) Cdt Avignon comands skirmishers - that's 12" from the DP (p25) 3) My scout also gives me an extra 3" deployment range (p82) The caveat in point 1 is going to keep me largely under control on this small map, but I am going to have a distinct advantage in occupying the tavern, and getting the first pint in before the bloody Brits arrive - perhaps that's where my scout ended up! (you don't deploy scouts as units on the table. They're always "around", but out of sight.)  I'm using a touchpad and the laptop screen is small so it's hard to be exact, but for a tryout game I'm happy to call the yellow line the exclusion zone from Grey's DP I measured each end of it, and I think I've been generous in the middle So I place my second DP 24" away and on the road. This will hopefully give me an advantage with movement (I haven't looked up the rules for movement in detail yet but I'm sure there will be a bonus!) I'm going to have to be a little careful where I deploy. The big problem is that at this stage, I have no real plan. Skirmishers could be useful - they can serve as a screen to protect infantry behind - but who knows when my next leader card could come up? On the other hand, if they're within sight of Grey, that could be trouble. When you deploy onto the table, you can't move but you can take an action - and that includes firing! (p25) The range on his muskets is 24" at long range (p44) so I might need to be a bit careful if I'm using the forward DP Do I want to rush them into the tavern? Actually where are the windows?  One gentlemanly conversation later... What are the rules for being inside a building? (p44) And do I want it to be my skirmishers? there are hints that skirmishers get better shooting on p42 - with their muskets they effectively load and fire with a single action - plus they get to-hit bonuses on p44. Well, best not to worry about it too much for now. Who knows what the next turn will bring?  I deploy Cdt Avignon over to the East. I know I'm not using my shiny new DP that I placed, but that may still come in useful later. I place the skirmishers next. Realising that I have placed Cdt Avignon 15" away, the maximum (12"+3", see above) I instead put the 1st Skirmishers there and work inwards with Avignon - dispicable little man that he is - bravely leading from the rear. The skirmishers are in an open formation, as they must be, up to 2" between each, for each group (I have 2 groups) (p9) And they must stay within 6" of Cdt Avignon, for he is a Status II Leader (p22)  I'm not sure if I've done the right thing. Skirmishers can move well - they get an extra movement action for free each turn (p) - but the grey path (a ford?) is a Major Obstacle according to p36, if we count a forded river as a small stream (seems reasonable to). I guess we'll cross that bridge, if you'll pardon the pun, when we come to it. I don't mind saying that; Grey will have added those fords in for a reason when he made the map, and will surely know what I'm trying to do, deploying all the way over there. I also don't know if the way I have deployed will hamper them having to cross single file. I do hope not - my intention is clearly to cross the ford soon. I finish off by adding unit and leader labels, to keep track. It also occurs to me that I need to designate who has the tinder and spirits - that's going to be: The Marseille Line Infantry, under Colonel Sot-Poisson (and his deputy, Capitaine Amiens) The Nantes Line Infantry, under Commandante Angers It's offscreen, but the markers are added to these units. Also I have to deploy my Water Cart - but adjacent to the Deployment Point my Force Commander uses, and at the same time as he is deployed (p82) simplefish fucked around with this message at 19:06 on Aug 23, 2016 |
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Aug 23, 2016 19:04
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So I can't read rules! I shall replace my second Musician with a Holy Man from the local Esoteric Temple of Dagon! I also draw the next command card.  drat. Sir Smashington is really letting the French get the drop on him!
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Aug 24, 2016 06:18
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I'll get Cdt Angers on the table tonight, hopefully it shouldn't take me as long
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Aug 24, 2016 06:21
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