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Solo Sharp Practice

 

Hi all,

I've been having the conundrum of only really owning one army for each game I play, making solo games impossible (I can't do paper stand-ins, I'm allergic.) I did just have a brainwave about my Sharp Practice British though, why not play a mission with deserters vs regulars in the peninsula.

I have enough to do a small game maybe a skirmish in a village or something similar. For example rescuing a captured officer from the deserter's camp in an abandoned village, working with maybe a couple of groups per side or very small forces. What's the best way of injecting a bit of narrative into the game?

I'll use the minor character and sentry rules for the initial set up so I suppose I really need to figure out who has what in terms of figures and give it a bash. The only thing I'm missing is an Elizabeth Hurley miniature, but we can't win them all.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips on making a good scenario around very small / TV drama style actions? Might as well chuck in a bit of dueling of course ;)

Cheers,
Pete
 

I was having a think about something similar to this since listening to the Oddcast the other day covering solo games.

I had an idea that there were a range of reasons why a small detachment might want to enter a church. The brass bells might be needed for recasting into cannon. A valuable artefact is hidden there, hostages may need to be rescued, a spy with vital information took refuge hidden among the deserters. One of the deserters is married to a woman with influence at court, and she has persuaded the Duke that he was innocent of wrongdoing and needs rescuing (as a twist, you could make him a prominent leader among the deserters).

Or one side in British uniforms may not actually be British... and if they were, then deserters must be rounded up for punishment. One option might be for example to have a third force of British military intent on killing the deserters, but another British force needs them alive as one holds a valuable secret. A lot would depend on just what figures you have available (priests, friars, civilians, guerrillas, etc.)

Put together some characters that make sense from the character generation tables, assign them a side, and a motivation, generate some random objectives and draw them at trigger points in the game. Don't be scared to jury-rig it for the sake of the narrative before the game starts.

I'd be interested to know how you go. And I'm reminded of why these days, I like to build both sides.

Doug

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Peter Mellett
Sent: Monday, 4 May 2020 2:29 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [TooFatLardies] Solo Sharp Practice

Hi all,

I've been having the conundrum of only really owning one army for each game I play, making solo games impossible (I can't do paper stand-ins, I'm allergic.) I did just have a brainwave about my Sharp Practice British though, why not play a mission with deserters vs regulars in the peninsula.

I have enough to do a small game maybe a skirmish in a village or something similar. For example rescuing a captured officer from the deserter's camp in an abandoned village, working with maybe a couple of groups per side or very small forces. What's the best way of injecting a bit of narrative into the game?

I'll use the minor character and sentry rules for the initial set up so I suppose I really need to figure out who has what in terms of figures and give it a bash. The only thing I'm missing is an Elizabeth Hurley miniature, but we can't win them all.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips on making a good scenario around very small / TV drama style actions? Might as well chuck in a bit of dueling of course ;)

Cheers,
Pete
 

Thanks Doug, some good ideas there.

It was interesting hearing Charlie's thoughts on the oddcast, I'd been thinking of asking him about his games actually so that saved me a job.

I didn't give it a bash tonight because I can't bear to play with unpainted figures so I batch painted my 95th rifles I'd half finished.

I should get a chance to try it out tomorrow so that's the plan.

I've also come around to the both sides way of thinking, especially with historical it's much easier to be able to put both forces on the table even with an opponent.

Cheers,
Pete

On Mon, 4 May 2020, 23:07 Doug Melville, <dougmelville@...> wrote:
I was having a think about something similar to this since listening to the Oddcast the other day covering solo games.

I had an idea that there were a range of reasons why a small detachment might want to enter a church.? The brass bells might be needed for recasting into cannon. A valuable artefact is hidden there, hostages may need to be rescued, a spy with vital information took refuge hidden among the deserters. One of the deserters is married to a woman with influence at court, and she has persuaded the Duke that he was innocent of wrongdoing and needs rescuing (as a twist, you could make him a prominent leader among the deserters).

Or one side in British uniforms may not actually be British...? ?and if they were, then deserters must be rounded up for punishment. One option might be for example to have a third force of British military intent on killing the deserters, but another British force needs them alive as one holds a valuable secret. A lot would depend on just what figures you have available (priests, friars, civilians, guerrillas, etc.)

Put together some characters that make sense from the character generation tables, assign them a side, and a motivation, generate some random objectives and draw them at trigger points in the game. Don't be scared to jury-rig it for the sake of the narrative before the game starts.

I'd be interested to know how you go. And I'm reminded of why these days, I like to build both sides.

Doug

-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Peter Mellett
Sent: Monday, 4 May 2020 2:29 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [TooFatLardies] Solo Sharp Practice

Hi all,

I've been having the conundrum of only really owning one army for each game I play, making solo games impossible (I can't do paper stand-ins, I'm allergic.) I did just have a brainwave about my Sharp Practice British though, why not play a mission with deserters vs regulars in the peninsula.

I have enough to do a small game maybe a skirmish in a village or something similar. For example rescuing a captured officer from the deserter's camp in an abandoned village, working with maybe a couple of groups per side or very small forces. What's the best way of injecting a bit of narrative into the game?

I'll use the minor character and sentry rules for the initial set up so I suppose I really need to figure out who has what in terms of figures and give it a bash. The only thing I'm missing is an Elizabeth Hurley miniature, but we can't win them all.

Does anyone have any ideas or tips on making a good scenario around very small / TV drama style actions? Might as well chuck in a bit of dueling of course ;)

Cheers,
Pete
 

A few years ago I ran a small, 4-player, low-figure-count game.

While reconnoitering, a charming French cavalry officer encounters a beautiful girl and charms her into coming with him. Turns out she's the British commander's daughter. She has escaped though and has has fled to the nearby town.

Both sides' mission is to enter the town, gather information about her whereabouts, find her and bring her back to headquarters.

So you'd need an Elizabeth Hurley figure.

Or... change the girl into a wounded officer who escapes and must be found.
 

¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Hi,

Take a look at the TV series "Sharpe". It has several episodes that describe what you just said. Deserters, bad criminals, prisoners, even one episode on Aztec sacrifices!

I'm sure the name of the game came from this TV series.

Eliseo
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¿ªÔÆÌåÓý

Spot on Eliseo, I'm thinking specifically of the raid on the church in Sharpe's Rifles and the deserters (plus Hakeswill!) capturing Liz Hurley in Sharpe's Enemy.


Cheers,

Pete


On 05/05/2020 14:53, Eliseo Luis Vilalta wrote:

Hi,

Take a look at the TV series "Sharpe". It has several episodes that describe what you just said. Deserters, bad criminals, prisoners, even one episode on Aztec sacrifices!

I'm sure the name of the game came from this TV series.

Eliseo
????????????????????????
????????????????????????
?
?????????????????????????

 

All sound ideas above. Since you¡¯re planning a very small engagement you may want to consider buying the twenty or so figures you need. There was a scenario in one of the older?specials about a rescue of a female captive but I can¡¯t recall the exact details. You may be able to scale it down for your needs. Have fun.?
 

Thanks! I'll write it up properly with some pics but it was largely successful and good fun.

I looked at the usual places I get my naps and they're all closed or swamped on a skeleton crew so rather than put it off to wait, or place an order and make somebody's life difficult, I just made do with what I had.

I think I'll get myself some civilians and minor characters in future though, good fun.

Pic features the epic duel to free the grumpy artillery officer, ungrateful little...

Cheers,
Pete

On Tue, 5 May 2020, 18:04 genew49 via , <genewolotsky=[email protected]> wrote:
All sound ideas above. Since you¡¯re planning a very small engagement you may want to consider buying the twenty or so figures you need. There was a scenario in one of the older?specials about a rescue of a female captive but I can¡¯t recall the exact details. You may be able to scale it down for your needs. Have fun.?

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