AAR: Jan 2015 - When the Fog Lifts - A Dark Day For France

[Mycenius]

Ohé matelots,

News reports speak of an encounter between an intrepid vessel of the République (Vive la France!) and one of the enemy English establishment: Read More Here! (at Wargaming.info) (http://wargaming.info/2015/when-the-fog-lifts/).


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Scenario Deployment: HMS Sybille (AI) in the foreground, Dryade (P) in the distance, wind blowing right to left (left is North).

[Mycenius]

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Turn 3: HMS Sybille (AI) gets off her second broadside into Dryade (P)!

Rules
Played straight Basic Rules - nothing from Standard/Advanced nor Optional Rules.

(Did consider using Initial Broadsides, Rakes, and Collision Rules - but decided not to - luckily as it turns out - could have been far worse for the French if I had!)

AI Deployment:
Location Roll 4 (West), Heading Roll 7 (South-South-West).

Turn Summary

Turn 1
Dryade (P): Plays Card 1 – Receives Broadside causing 0, 3, 0 Damage.
HMS Sybille (AI): CDA Roll 6+1 however Taken Aback Card 4 – Fires Larboard Bow Broadside at Range A.

Turn 2
Dryade (P): Plays Card 1
HMS Sybille (AI): ACB Roll 6+1 however Taken Aback Card 4.

Turn 3
Dryade (P): Plays Card 1 – Receives Broadside causing 0, 2C, 1C.
HMS Sybille (AI): BAD Roll 2, Plays Card 5L – Fires Starboard Bow Broadside at Range B.

Turn 4
Dryade (P): Plays Card 9 – COLLISION – Fires Musketry – Receives Broadside & Musketry causing 2, 2C, 1, C.
HMS Sybille (AI): BBD Roll 4+2, Plays Card 9 – COLLISION – Fires Larboard Bow Broadside at Range B + Musketry – Receives Musketry causing 0.

Turn 5
Dryade (P): Plays Card 5R.
HMS Sybille (AI): ABB Roll 3+2, Plays Card 1.

Turn 6
Dryade (P): Plays Card 9 – Fires Full Starboard Broadside at A – Uses AC ability – Receives Broadside causing 4, 3, 0 Damage.
HMS Sybille (AI): CDD Roll 1+2, Card 3 but overridden with Card 1 (due to ending less than ½ ruler from edge of playing area) – Fires Larboard Bow Broadside at A – Receives Broadside Causing 2, 0, 1 Damage +0 Damage (from Dryade’s AC ability).

Turn 7
Dryade (P): Plays Card 9 – Fires Musketry – Receives Broadside & Musketry causing 3, 4, 0, C Damage. Crew over 50% Damage, Roll OK, Captain unwounded. Less than 3 Hull Boxes Left, Rolls a 5 (Must Disengage).
HMS Sybille (AI): ADC Roll 5+1, Plays Card 2 – Fires Starboard Bow Broadside at Range B + Musketry – Receives Musketry causing C damage.

Turn 8
Dryade (P): Flees off the closest edge of the playing area.
HMS Sybille (AI): Victorious.


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Turn 4: Collision about to occur!

[Mycenius]

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Turn 6: Tight Manoeuvring (this is actually very close to the playing area's edge)

The Final Ships' Logs
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Captain’s Logs:
Capitaine de frégate Josepe Aurèle Géroux [AC] (P) / Returned To Port / No Victories
Commander Crofton Merrick Seward-Beckham (AI) / Returned To Port / Victory (2 points?)

[Mycenius]

This was my first ever game of SGN - however flowed fairly smoothly and wasn't too difficult - even with playing Solo and doing the extra stuff for that. Biggest challenge was taking the photos at regular points - as it was a bit disruptive to game flow...

For the record it was played Friday Night New Zealand DST (27 February 2015).

Rereading the rules looks like I got everything right first time around and didn't inadvertently muck too much up EXCEPT some firing:

I did the bow and stern broadsides back to front (even though there's an orientation silhouette on the ship's log) - it would have reduced HMS Sybille's firepower by 1 chit in her last (Turn 7) broadside - so might have resulted in one less hull box damage to Dryade (so not needing to throw to disengage at end of Turn 7)? Oddly enough I was thinking the asymmetrical factors looked a bit odd (and you'd have though you'd align the data left to right the same as you read - i.e. bow of the ship to the right in the direction you read the text)?
Completely did Musketry wrong - for some reason I only drew 1 chit per ship per turn - both ships fired their musketry twice so net effect would have likely been 1 extra Crew damage each (i.e. 2 volleys with 2 chits instead of 1 chit each equals 2 extra E chits at approximately 50% crew hits = 1 extra hit).

In the basic game it did feel strange not having any negative effects from a collision (and doing the radical veering turn e.g. from a 1 card to a 9 card in successive turns)... Barring the movement planning (time to react) I wouldn't see the rest of the Standard Rules as being too onerous for Solo Play (i.e. Veer, Raking, Special Ammo, and Collision/Overlapping Damage)?

:salute: :happy:

As for Capitaine Géroux's tactics - well that's another matter altogether!

[Mycenius]

UPDATE for Eric: In the above the Dryade did not exit via the Western Edge (just noticed this reference in Jim's AAR--When the Fog Lifts January 2015 Campaign Scenario (French Privateers) (http://www.sailsofglory.org/showthread.php?3026-AAR-When-the-Fog-Lifts-January-2015-Campaign-Scenario-(French-Privateers)) thread). So technically Dryade may not have successfully disengaged and in fact has surrendered?!

:shock: :wink:

[Nightmoss]

Well done AAR, John. Good photos and I like the turn by turn concise summary of what transpired. :thumbsup:

It does seem at this point we have more losers than winners on the January scenario (yup I lost too)!? I'm bringing an ironclad the next time! :wink:

I missed the blog link. Super!

[Mycenius]

Well done AAR, John. Good photos and I like the turn by turn concise summary of what transpired. :thumbsup:

Thank You my good man! :beer:


It does seem at this point we have more losers than winners on the January scenario (yup I lost too)!? I'm bringing an ironclad the next time! :wink:

Yep! The French especially seem to be taking a hammering! An Ironclad's probably being conservative! :bleh: :wink:

[Mycenius]

Well done AAR, John. Good photos and I like the turn by turn concise summary of what transpired. :thumbsup:

P.S. You did follow the link to my Blog?

[Nightmoss]

P.S. You did follow the link to my Blog?

Yup, when I came back I saw the bolded text and link. Very nicely done there as well.

As for your message above. Only the AI has to leave the Eastern edge of the mat. I went back and saw nothing in Eric's setup saying that Players needed to leave via the Western. So, if you roll for disengage as a player any edge will do. If I missed something I'll claim it's too late to be reading websites. :wink:

[Mycenius]

Yup, when I came back I saw the bolded text and link. Very nicely done there as well.

Great (and Thanks).


As for your message above. Only the AI has to leave the Eastern edge of the mat. I went back and saw nothing in Eric's setup saying that Players needed to leave via the Eastern edge. So, if you roll for disengage as a player any edge will do. If I missed something I'll claim it's too late to be reading websites. :wink:

Post 6 First Sentence (http://www.sailsofglory.org/showthread.php?3026-AAR-When-the-Fog-Lifts-January-2015-Campaign-Scenario-(French-Privateers)&p=42752&viewfull=1#post42752) (30 January). :wink:

[Ozariig]

Great report, John. I'm sorry to hear that success has eluded your captain as well. We'll take our revenge in February's mission, no doubt :drinks:

I guess technically your ship surrendered by going off the wrong edge, but as HMS Sybille wasn't pursuing I don't think it really matters; you could have gone off the correct edge easily enough had you known. IMO that counts as returned to port.

[Nightmoss]

Great (and Thanks).



Post 6 First Sentence (http://www.sailsofglory.org/showthread.php?3026-AAR-When-the-Fog-Lifts-January-2015-Campaign-Scenario-(French-Privateers)&p=42752&viewfull=1#post42752) (30 January). :wink:

I told you I was too sleep deprived to give the correct answer. Ironically, I'm the one who asked for confirmation that the Player ship needs to leave the western edge. :embarass:

[Mycenius]

Great report, John. I'm sorry to hear that success has eluded your captain as well. We'll take our revenge in February's mission, no doubt :drinks:

Here's Hoping! :takecover: :wink:


I guess technically your ship surrendered by going off the wrong edge, but as HMS Sybille wasn't pursuing I don't think it really matters; you could have gone off the correct edge easily enough had you known. IMO that counts as returned to port.

Yeah - I'll leave that to Eric to confirm though - it is his scenario - in fact Dryade was almost on the edge of the playing area so exited to the North (a little on the Western side of the North-South centreline) immediately (hence only 1 turn required to disengage) - but to have exited to West would have been a big challenge, it'd have required about a 270º turn to Starboard across the wind (so would be taken aback for 1-2 turns halfway through the turn) in the face of HMS Sybille's superior firepower and position (with the weather gauge) - so would have been worthy of a medal just for the escape from that position in those conditions!

:shock: :wink:

[Mycenius]

Ironically, I'm the one who asked for confirmation that the Player ship needs to leave the western edge. :embarass:

Umm, yeah - there is that... :wink:

[Bligh]

Nice report there John.
I would treat the Western edge or not just as the fog of war.
Bligh.