For The Barons' War: Fantasy Skirmish game, I've revisited the rules for Commanders and Command Groups in combat. These rules are currently in place as we prepare to lay out the fantasy compendium. I'm keen to hear what players of The Barons' War think.

Command Groups In Combat

Commanders are an exception to the rule that all warriors in a group must have identical equipment. The warriors in a Command Group can have different Abilities and equipment from those of the Commander. If so, the warriors’ Ability will not pass to the Commander, although it will apply to the group as a whole. Similarly, the Commander’s Abilities only affect them unless otherwise specified. When resolving combat with a Command Group, the controlling player may need to use differently-coloured dice to represent the Commander’s Attack and Defence dice if they are directly involved in the combat.

If the Command Group gets bonus Attack or Defence dice, the player can decide whether to assign them to the Warriors or the Commander unless they derive from Weapons, Abilities or other special rules specifically affecting one but not the other. For example, a bonus Attack dice from the Strength of the Charge can be assigned to either.

In Ranged Combat, Commanders roll separate Attack dice using their Attack value, Weapon and relevant Abilities, provided the model is in range and has Line of Sight of the target.

In Melee Combat, Commanders are treated differently depending on where their model is physically located:

• If the Commander’s model is in base contact with at least one enemy Warrior, the Commander rolls Attack dice separately (or using different coloured dice). These Attack dice use the Commander’s Attack value and Weapon and are affected by any relevant Abilities or Traits the Commander possesses. However, enemy Warriors in base contact with the Commander may choose to direct their Attacks at them (see below). Casualties caused by the Commander’s Attack dice should remove enemy Warriors in base contact before any others.

• If the Commander's model is not in base contact with an enemy Warrior but is within 1” of a friendly Warrior who is in base contact, the Commander adds one additional Attack dice to the Command Group. This Attack dice uses the regular Warriors’ Attack value, Weapon and any relevant Abilities or Traits - the Commander is assumed to be shoving and supporting but not getting stuck in directly.

• If the Commander’s model is neither in base contact with an enemy Warrior nor within 1” of a friendly Warrior who is in base contact, they generate no Attack dice and cannot be a target.

  
  

Combat can be a risky place for a Commander:

• In Melee Combat, if the Commander’s model is in base contact with at least one enemy Warrior, enemy Warriors in base contact with the Commander may choose to direct their Attacks at them rather than at the Command Group. These Attack dice must be rolled separately, and the Commander must use their Defence value (and any Shield rolls). If the Commander fails any Defence rolls, successful hits may remove them as a casualty.

• If the Commander’s model is not in base contact with any enemy Warriors, Attacks may not be directed at them specifically. Instead, Attacks are directed at the Command Group, using the Warriors’ Defence value - they will protect their leader and thus be removed as casualties first. If the group suffers more hits than it has warriors (thereby putting the Commander at risk), roll the Defence dice and make Shield rolls one by one until all the warriors in the Command Group have been removed. If there are still surplus hits, start to roll against the Commander’s Defence stat.

If a Commander is killed in a Combat Action, the Command Group must take a Morale check or become Broken. This applies even if the Command Group won the Combat - assume they escort their badly wounded hero to safety.

Fallen Commanders: in the event that a Commander is removed as a casualty, their Command Group is treated as a regular Group for the rest of the game. Reduce the Command Group’s Actions to the number customarily assigned to the Group.

Command Group upgrades that affect Command range and Orders (for example, banners and musicians) have no further effect on the game since there is no longer a Commander. The warriors can be left in place or replaced with regular models as the player wishes.

Here is something else you might want to try in your games of The Barons' War. By clarifying if Commanders are in combat or not, we can start to assign them interesting new rules. This one is included in the Fantasy Skirmish game.

Using Actions as Extra Attack or Defence Dice in Melee

If a Commander is in base contact with an enemy in Melee or within 1” of a friendly Warrior in base contact with the enemy, they can spend unused Actions. Each Action allows the Commander to add an extra Attack or Defence dice to the Melee.

If you fancy a bit of Fantasy with your The Barons' War rules come and join us over at the Hobday & Hicks Facebook group.