Craig
03-11-2014, 06:45
Ring of Destruction
A wild conflict rages around a remote island. All against all, the battle rages chaotically over the seas as more ships, large and small, continuously pour into the fray. Smoke swirls around the island as ship after ship plunges to the bottom. Will the maelstrom of fire never end?
Ring of Destruction is designed to be a balanced, fun ahistorical scenario that is friendly to novice players, interesting for veteran tacticians and completely flexible as to player numbers, time available, map area and number of ships required.
Number of Players
Any number of players, but the more the merrier. The scenario works best with at least three players.
Gaming Surface
Any size map surface, although you will probably want to roughly scale the map size to the number of players if possible. You'll need one island of any size to place in the middle of the map. If you have a large playing area, you may also wish to add a ring of shoals and islands around the periphery of the map.
Ships in Play
You will need one Frigate and one Third-Rate (i.e. 74 gun ship) for each player.
Special Rules
Begin the game by arranging the players at starting positions spaced evenly around the edge of the map. Give each player some type of marker (e.g. a chit or a die) to show their starting position for later reference. After starting positions are assigned, randomly determine wind direction. Players then place their ships, facing in any direction but contacting their start position marker.
Each player chooses after wind setting whether to begin in the Frigate or the 74. As each ship is defeated (destroyed, surrendered or abandoned), it is replaced by the other ship of that player. These replacement ships appear touching the player's starting marker, again with any facing. The replacement ships begin undamaged, with struck sails and unloaded guns (but can use continuous fire as usual). Replacement of ships continues indefinitely, alternating Frigate/Third-Rate until the end of the game.
Use of the wind-change rules is recommended as a way of enhancing the mayhem and reducing the disadvantage of a downwind starting position.
Winning conditions
Defeating a Frigate is worth 1 pt, defeating a Third-Rate is worth 3 pts. Points for defeating a ship go to the attacker that delivered the final blow, even if another ship caused the bulk of the damage. If multiple ships are firing on a target, resolve damage in order from nearest to most distant attacker, and give the VP to the ship that delivers the killing blow. Flip a coin (or draw randomly from between a blank and boarding counter) to resolve draws.
Ships which run aground may continue fighting, but are not replaced until they are abandoned. When they are abandoned, the nearest enemy gains the points for the ship. Similarly, fled ships give points to the nearest opponent when they leave the map. Ships which flood or burn their way to defeat also give points to the nearest enemy.
Play continues until time runs out. This should be a time decided on before the start of play, but the possible duration of the game is completely flexible. Every player is opposing every other player, and the highest points total at the end is the winner.
Tactical Notes
This is a scenario that rewards creative tactics. While starting with the larger ship is tempting, the scoring rules make sharp manoeuvring and long range-sniping a viable option for smaller ships. And if it doesn't work out, that just means that you'll be sailing into action on a brand-new Third-Rate while the other players are busy heavily damaging each other (and due to bring their own Frigates into action soon...). Predicting the ship choice of your opponents may be key.
A wild conflict rages around a remote island. All against all, the battle rages chaotically over the seas as more ships, large and small, continuously pour into the fray. Smoke swirls around the island as ship after ship plunges to the bottom. Will the maelstrom of fire never end?
Ring of Destruction is designed to be a balanced, fun ahistorical scenario that is friendly to novice players, interesting for veteran tacticians and completely flexible as to player numbers, time available, map area and number of ships required.
Number of Players
Any number of players, but the more the merrier. The scenario works best with at least three players.
Gaming Surface
Any size map surface, although you will probably want to roughly scale the map size to the number of players if possible. You'll need one island of any size to place in the middle of the map. If you have a large playing area, you may also wish to add a ring of shoals and islands around the periphery of the map.
Ships in Play
You will need one Frigate and one Third-Rate (i.e. 74 gun ship) for each player.
Special Rules
Begin the game by arranging the players at starting positions spaced evenly around the edge of the map. Give each player some type of marker (e.g. a chit or a die) to show their starting position for later reference. After starting positions are assigned, randomly determine wind direction. Players then place their ships, facing in any direction but contacting their start position marker.
Each player chooses after wind setting whether to begin in the Frigate or the 74. As each ship is defeated (destroyed, surrendered or abandoned), it is replaced by the other ship of that player. These replacement ships appear touching the player's starting marker, again with any facing. The replacement ships begin undamaged, with struck sails and unloaded guns (but can use continuous fire as usual). Replacement of ships continues indefinitely, alternating Frigate/Third-Rate until the end of the game.
Use of the wind-change rules is recommended as a way of enhancing the mayhem and reducing the disadvantage of a downwind starting position.
Winning conditions
Defeating a Frigate is worth 1 pt, defeating a Third-Rate is worth 3 pts. Points for defeating a ship go to the attacker that delivered the final blow, even if another ship caused the bulk of the damage. If multiple ships are firing on a target, resolve damage in order from nearest to most distant attacker, and give the VP to the ship that delivers the killing blow. Flip a coin (or draw randomly from between a blank and boarding counter) to resolve draws.
Ships which run aground may continue fighting, but are not replaced until they are abandoned. When they are abandoned, the nearest enemy gains the points for the ship. Similarly, fled ships give points to the nearest opponent when they leave the map. Ships which flood or burn their way to defeat also give points to the nearest enemy.
Play continues until time runs out. This should be a time decided on before the start of play, but the possible duration of the game is completely flexible. Every player is opposing every other player, and the highest points total at the end is the winner.
Tactical Notes
This is a scenario that rewards creative tactics. While starting with the larger ship is tempting, the scoring rules make sharp manoeuvring and long range-sniping a viable option for smaller ships. And if it doesn't work out, that just means that you'll be sailing into action on a brand-new Third-Rate while the other players are busy heavily damaging each other (and due to bring their own Frigates into action soon...). Predicting the ship choice of your opponents may be key.