The battle of the river Oze: The last battle of Ii clan's Red Devils (TMWWBK)

During the Second Chosu Expedition (1866) forces of the Ii clan were expected to attack Chosu Domain by going westward in Honshu island. Their traditional army, who seemed straight out of the Sengoku Jidai, was ambushed by a modernized Chosu forcé when crossing the river Oze, making quick work of them. Could it have gone otherwise? The scenario is "Take the high road" from the core rulebook. Lists were made using the "The last samurai rebellion" sourcebook. Both sides use the rebel army list but the leader traits came from the rebel list for the Chosu army, meanwhile the Bakufu used the Imperial trait list. I also had to change some stuff to accomodate the period (e.g.: samurai using teppo). Here are both armies' compositions: 

                      Literally this cover depicts the battle (Source: bacninhminiatures.blogspot.com)

Chosu forces 

Type                                    Leadership      Leader Trait 

Well drilled crewed weapon      5+          Cream of the crop (+1" movement) 

Samurai volunteers                    7+          Loyalty (first time the leader is killed on a 4+ it's a trooper instead) 

Samurai volunteers                     7+          Inspiring presence (reroll failed rally tests) 

 Bakufu forces 

Type                                             Leadership              Leader Trait 

Rebel riders (no shooting)                   6+                  High Spirits (+1 Discipline until first killed) 

Rebel riders (no shooting)                   7+                  Sake (roll each turn. 1-3 Ld becomes 8+, 4-6 Ld becomes 6+) 

Samurai volunteers (Fierce, pikemen) 5+                 Crippled (reroll one succesfull hit in melee) Samurai volunteers (Obsolete musket) 5+              Sake (roll each turn. 1-3 Ld becomes 8+, 4-6 Ld becomes 6+) 

Shimpuren samurai 7+ High Spirits (+1 Discipline until first killed) 

 We went native so the Chosu rebels were led by mr. Babbage.

 Chosu artillery (ok, they should have looked more modern but I have my bakumatsu crew unpainted and missing right now)

Kiheitai infantry holding the bridge

We used WFB's terrain generator. There was a lot of terrain (which wasn't good at all for the shogunate side, although it may seem the contrary).

Shogunate deployment. Yes, there are some unpainted samuai cavalrymen (shame on me and on my cow) 

Unarmoured samurai with teppo (I didn't have enough miniatures su mixed them with archers and armoured samurai) and shimpuren samurai 

On the first turn, every bakufu unit marched on the double

First cavalry unit suffered two casualties in the rebel turn. "They surely won't get pinned down..." (see the test result) 

End of turn 1

"We are going to reevaluate the tactical situation" (they won't regroup until the end of the game)

Second turn. Again everybody runs at the double, and then the second cavalry unit is obliterated in the rebels' crossfire

Third turn. A samurai pikemen is shot to pieces. The cannon fails to activate

May this guys change the tide?

4th turn: the cavalry regroups!

But the pikemen fail to activate and are shot to pieces!

The cannon hits the armoured samurai and kills more than half of them!

It's almost over for the bakufu

The rebels' first casualty comes from a teppo shot

Pikemen charge but are annhilated in the end

The (last) armoured samurai charges the cannon but is repulsed. More teppo samurai are shot dead...

... and one third of the rebels are just sitting idle. So we decided it was a good time to concede victory to mr. Babbage.

My opinion on/ mi opinión sobre la Ultimate Medieval Guide: Feudal Japan

Fuente: http://mysticalthrone-ent.com
Source: http://mysticalthrone-ent.com

A continuación os pongo mi opinión de cada parte de este suplemento de Savage Worlds


Next comes my opinion on each section of this Savage Worlds supplement

Introducción

Dividida en dos partes:
- Una corta explicación sobre los nombres japoneses empleados, nombrando la costumbre del cambio de nombre (pero no la de poner delante el apellido).
- Una descripción de las islas del Japón. Es posiblemente lo mejor de la guía, dado que explica cosas como el clima o la orografía que raramente ves en ningún libro similar. Aun así hay muchas referencias a lo que se produce en la actualidad (¡en una guía del edad media!) y algunas descripciones me parece que están equivocadas, por no decir que a veces inducen a error. Además es una sección muy corta.

Introduction

Divided in two parts:
- A short explanation about the japanese names employed, naming the tradition of changing one's own name (but not talking about the japanese tradition of positioning the surname before the name)
- A description of the japanese islands. Possible the best thing of the entire guide, as it explains things like the weather or the islands orography which are rarely mentioned in any similar books. Even so, there are several referencies to things being produced nowadays (in a medieval age guide!) and some descriptions seem erroneous, or at least guiding the reader to false conclusions. Also, it's a very short section.

Historia del Japón Feudal

Bastante buena. Aunque contiene algunas afirmaciones discutibles (como que los ainu y los emishi son lo mismo), ofrece un punto de vista que intenta alejarse de las idealizaciones que son tan frecuentes en este tema.  Lo mismo puede decirse de las siguientes secciones (Evolución de la guerra samurai, Clases sociales y Religión).

Feudal Japan History

Quite Good. Although it contains several argueable statements (like saying that the emishi and the ainu are the same people), it also offers a point of view which tries to get away to the ever present idealizations on this subject. The same can be told about the next sections (samurai warfare evolution, social classes and religion)

Personajes del Japón Feudal

Absolutamente horrible. Introduce muy pocas ventajas y desventajas nuevas, que además me parecen salvajemente descompensadas.

Feudal Japan Characters

Horrible beyond mesure. It introduces very fer new advantages and disadvantages, which also seem terribly unbalanced.

Equipo

Seguramente la peor de las secciones con diferencia. Faltan algunas armas (el daikyu por ejemplo), otras son ridículas. Por ejemplo, si un arco y un arcabuz alcanzan lo mismo, pero el arcabuz hace menos daño (y no tiene PA ni nada de eso), y se usa la misma habilidad, ¿para que usar arcabuces? además que es poco realista: ¿Porque se hicieron armaduras antibala si un arco te mata con más probabilidad?. La parte de las armas de cuerpo a cuerpo es "fancy" a más no poder: wakizasi con AP2, katanas que son como las del manual pero a una mano etc etc. Un despropósito total.

Equipment

Probably the worst section in the entire book. There are several weapons missing (like the daikyu or "big bow"), and other weapons are simply ridiculous. For example, if an arquebus and a bow have the same range, but the arquebus delivers lower damage than the bow (and has no AP or any other special characteristic), and both are used with the same skill, why use arquebuses at all? also, it's completely unrealistic: why were bullet-proof armours developed with the introduction of the arquebus if an old and trusty bow would kill you more easily?
The melee weapons section is completely fancy: wakizasi (short sword)with AP 2, katanas exactly like the ones in the manual (which are completely unrealistic) but wielded one-handed (and there are no rules for using them with both hands), etc. A hopeless mess.

Personajes no jugadores

Hay pocos(tres), pero están algo trabajados. Bien, supongo


NPCs

There are only three, but they are quite good. I guess it's ok.

Nevados

Una aventura, lo que es muy de agradecer, aunque el argumento es un poco tópico (asesinatos en una posada donde la gente está atrapada en una nevada). Al menos se puede enganchar en cualquier campaña, algo es algo.


Snowed

An adventure is included in the book, which is something always welcomed, although its argument is a bit topic (a murder in an inn were people are trapped during a violent snow storm). At least it can be used with any kind of campaign. "It's something"

Conclusión

Para mi gusto, no valió el dinero que pagué por él. No lo compres.

Conclusion

Not worth the money, at least for my tastes. Don't buy it.

FUBAR en la EurosteamCon

La foto promocional. No se si se acabó usando (y me doy cuenta que es kk)/The promotional pic. I don't know if  it was used at all (and I realize its  a sh*t)

El pasado 1 de octubre fue la EurosteamCon, la feria steampunk de Barcelona. Yo había asistido el año anterior y había participado en una partida de rol de los mitos de Cthulhu... ambientada en el presente. Como pensaba que no le pegaba nada, me presenté voluntario para montar dos partidas: una de estrategia y una de rol.

EurosteamCon, the steampunk fair of Barcelona, took place the past 1st of October. I had been there the last year and I had played a Cthulhu Now game. I thought it wasn't the kind of game more appropriate for a steampunk event, so I voluntereed to organize two games: a wargame and an rpg.

Para la de estrategia necesitaba un sistema sencillo, así que me decidí (tras probar el Land Ironclads) por el FUBAR, ambientando la partida en el Japón bakumatsu y metiendo "brutos mecánicos" (que es como llamaban a los robots del malo en Mazinger Z). Pero había que probarlo, así que pedí permiso a los propietarios de Landrómina para jugarlo en su tienda.

For the wargame I needed an easy system, so I decided (after testing Land Ironclads) it would be FUBAR, placing the action in bakumatsu Japan and getting some "mechanical brutes" (that's how they christened the evil robots in the "Mazinger Z" anime in Spain). But I had to try it first, so I asked for permission to test it in Landrómina (a local shop).

Los conejillos de ind... digo, jugadores. Dios, ¡como quiero a esta gente!/The test subjec... I mean, players. God, how much I love this people!

La partida (pese a estar diseñada para 4 jugadores) fue bastante entretenida. Al rato había un montón de gente mirando y preguntando, mientras los jugadores se repartían caña a base de bien.

The game was quite interesting although it had been designed for 4 players and only 2 showed up. Shortly after beginning it there was a lot of people looking and asking questions. Meanwhile the players killed each other's armies with a passion.

¿Con que "para que sirven esos palos afilados"?/Now you know what those "sharpened sticks" were good for!

 

Bang! Cada 5 o más era un muerto. Hagan sus cálculos/Each 5+ was a dead man. Make your own calculations.

Al final monté la mesa el día que tocaba y... no vino nadie a jugar (aunque había gente apuntada). Muchas personas se interesaron en la mesa, le hicieron fotos  y me preguntaron por la marca de las minis, pero nada. Un rédito muy bajo para el palizón que fue llevarse los 10 kilos de minis en una maleta hasta allá. Bueno, al menos la partida de rol salió más o menos bien.

In the end I organized the game the day it was announced and... nobody came to play (although there were several suscribed players). A lot of people took interest on the table, and asked questions about the origin of the miniatures. It was a quite meager reward after taking more than 10 kg of miniatures thee. Well, at least the rpg game went ok.

Vale, quizá no era suficientemente bonita/Ok, maybe it wasn't the most beautiful table in the world

Por cierto, por si alguien le interesan las listas de ejército, las podeis ver AQUI
By the way, if anyone is interested in the army lists (in Spanish, you can find them Here

¡Y Aun más bakumatsu!/ And still more bakumatsu!

It's been a while but at least i finished a handful more troops for the boshin war. At this rate I'll have a proper army by 2025, but it's ok. There are things more important than painting.

Me ha costado pero por fin he acabado un puñado más de tropas para la guerra boshin. A este paso tendré un ejército propiamente dicho en el 2025, pero está bien. Hay cosas más importantes que el pintar.

Testing Ronin for the Boshin War/Probando Ronin para la guerra Boshin

Nirkhuz came home to play Ronin. As he doesn't own any samurai miniatures, I defined both buntai on my own. He didn't seem very pleased with the idea of using Boshin war period rules, but he was about to change his mind. I have to admet I wasn't sure about how balanced the game would be, so I expected to play it two times switching sides. As a bonus, we had to play in my parent's backyard - something I think you will notice once you check the pics.

Nirkhuz vino a casa a jugar a Ronin. Como no tiene miniaturas de samurais, me tocó crear las dos bandas (Buntai). No parecía muy entusiasmado con la idea de usar las reglas de la guerra Boshin, pero estaba a punto de cambiar de idea. Yo tengo que admitir que tenía mis dudas sobre lo equilibrado del juego en este período, así que pensaba jugar la partida dos veces intercambiando bandas. Como extra, jugamos en el jardín de casa de mis padres - algo que creo que se nota cuando se ven las fotos.

Nirkhuz decided to use the traditional buntai, comprised of 6 ashigaru (half with spears, half with spears) without armour, and a samurai with the intuitive skill.

Nirkhuz decidió usar el buntai tradicional, compuesto de 6 ashigaru (la mitad con lanzas, la mitad con arcos) y un samurai con la habilidad de "intuitivo".

That left me with the imperialist (Chosu) buntai, made of 5 soldiers and a samurai without armour and with the kenjutsu skill.

Eso me dejó a mi con el buntai imperial (de Chosu), compuesto por cinco soldados y un samurai sin armadura con la habilidad de "kenjutsu". 

Nirkhuz deployed first in a corner. I deployed in a napoleonic-style fireline, got the initiative, and with my first shot inflicted a grievous wound to an spearman. It seemed the game wouldn't last long, as after shooting 3 times another spearmen was wounded. I moved two soldiers and the samurai to cover the blind zone  behind a house were almost all of Nirkhuz's troops moved. He also put one of his archers behind a house (?).

Nirkhuz desplegó primero en una esquina. Yo desplegué en una linea de fuego estilo napoleónico, gané la iniciativa y le hice una herida grave a un lancero con mi primer tiro. Parecía que la partida no diraría mucho ya que tras 3 disparos otro lancero estaba herido. Me decidí a mover dos soldados y el samurai a cubrir la zona ciega tras la casa a la derecha de mis tropas, donde casi todas las fuerzas de Nirkhuz se habían movido. También movió uno de sus arqueros detras de una casa (?).

Next turns things got interesting: one of the spearmen was killed while other took a grievous wound.

Al siguiente turno las cosas se pusieron interesantes: uno de los lanceros murió mientras otro recibía una herida grave.

My samurai charged one of the spearmen who had boldly runned forward and cut him down, only to run away when Nirkhuz's samurai came closer. He went to the center of the table just to be killed by the ashigaru archers in the following turn (Nirkhuz had had some terrible dice rolls until then: in fact, when there are no armours the rifles and the bows are equal, or that's what we thought*). There was a quite epic combat between an ashigaru and a soldier and another between the samurai and three soldiers!

Mi samurai cargó contra otro de los  lanceros de Nirkhuz que había corrido bizarramente el turno anterior y lo mató, solo para salir huyendo cuando el samurai de Nirkhuz se acercó. Lo puse en el centro del campo de batalla solo para que Nirkhuz lo matara con sus arqueros el turno siguiente (Nirkhuz había tenido muy malas tiradas hasta ese momento. De hecho, cuando no hay armaduras los rifles y los arcos son iguales, o eso creíamos*). También hubo un combate bastante épico entre un ashigaru y un soldado y otro entre el samurai y nada menos que 3 soldados.

The samurai killed two soldiers before getting shot to death at close quarters (According to Nirkhuz, this guy was my Deadlands' character). Then morale wavered on both sides and it became a really close match which ended with a lonely ashigaru fleeing from the table and two almost dead soldiers remaining in the field. A very close call for the imperialists!

El samurai mató a dos soldados antes de morir de un tiro a bocajarro(según Nirkhuz, este tipo era mi personaje de Deadlands). Entonces la moral de ambos bandos bajó y la cosa estuvo muy igualada hasta que acabó con un ashigaru huyendo y dos soldados imperiales medio muertos quedando dueños del campo. ¡Una victoria muy ajustada para los imperiales!

* In fact, rifles should shoot only once per turn. This is a bit lame, as during the Boshin war there were rifles capable of firing ten rounds per second, while the probably most accomplished archers in history (the english longbowmen) were capable of shooting between 12 and 15 shots per minute. After centuries of peace, I doubt any japanese could be a match for them. Anyway, giving the rifles two shots per turn didn't seem to have unbalanced the game.

* De hecho, los rifles solo pueden disparar una vez por turno. Esto es un poco tonto, dado en que en la guerra Boshin había rifles capaces de disparar dies balas por minuto, mientras que los que probablemente sean los mejores arqueros de la historia (los arqueros ingleses) eran capaces de disparar entre 12 y 15 flechas por minuto. Tras siglos de paz, dudo que ningún japones se acercara a esta tasa de fuego. De todas formas, darles dos disparos a los rifles no parece haber desequilibrado la partida lo más mínimo.