CHOOSING YOUR FORCES

Almost any protagonists will do for playing a coastal raid so spare a thought to the story that runs through your scenario. Will you recreate the folk of Anfalas defending their shores against Corsairs, for example? Are the Men of Númenor landing in Harad to end Sauron's control here once and for all? Only your imagination can limit the setting and scale of your game. Whatever your backdrop, both players should agree on a points value for the game - both the attacker and the defender should have with equally-sized forces.

BOARD LAYOUT

Coastal raids are best played on a board 48"/112cm by 48"/112cm, although of course they can be played on gaming tables of any width or length. The quayside stretches 24"/56cm out from the landward board edge and should be covered with suitable terrain. It's worth noting at this point that the term 'quayside' is used as a term for a generic shoreline - it does not have to be an urbanised harbour. There is no reason why a quayside could not be a heavily wooded shore with just a few jetties to land boats at - or even have no conventional landing points at all! As normal, it's always best if players agree terrain (and its effects) before the game begins, although it is worth noting that some objectives will require specific terrain types. The rest of the board is the sea (or river) itself, and should be mostly empty of terrain, although there is no reason why there cannot be piers or jetties stretching into the water, or rocks or debris projecting through the waves.

A typical board layout for a Coastal Raid scenario.

When the board has been set up, the defending player may place 2D6 barricades (lines of obstacles up to 1"/2cm high and 6"/14cm long) anywhere along the quayside. In addition, he may place D3 boats of his own anywhere in the water, provided that they are touching the quayside itself, or a pier or jetty.

DEPLOYMENT

Unless any of the special deployment conditions are being used, the defending player always deploys his forces first. In a basic game this is always on the quayside, within 12"/28cm of the landward board edge (see map). When he has done this, the attacker deploys his boats (and their forces within them) no more than 6"/14cm from the seaward table edge.

These rules are enough to play many coastal raids. That said, you can always vary the deployment a little to add more variation to your games by limiting where each side deploys, perhaps, or having them arrive late. To help add a little more variety to your games, I've created a series of tables for all manner of variations that you can add to your games - simply decide with your opponent which one you wish to use, or roll a D6. This month I've focused on Deployment options, Game Length and Special Rules, but next time I'll explore some Mission Objective variants to give your games extra variety.

DEPLOYMENT VARIANTS

Prepared Defences (D6 roll of 1-2)
The attackers have taken some time to get organised, giving the defenders a breathing space to redeploy. After both sides have set up, the defending player may move all of his barricades and 2D6 of his defenders up to 6"/14cm.

Scattered Defenders (D6 roll of 3-4)
The defenders are thinly spread, holding several positions against the incoming assault. At the start of the game, the defending player splits his force into equal halves, dividing his Heroes equally between the two. He deploys one half normally, but keeps the other to one side. From the second turn onwards, the defending player rolls a D6 at the end of his Move phase for each model put aside in this way. If the roll is lower than the current turn number, the models may move onto the board from anywhere along the quayside. If the roll is failed then another attempt may be made next turn.

Flanking Manoeuvre (D6 roll of a 5-6)
In an all out attempt to thwart the defences, the attackers have landed a portion of their warriors further along the shore. Before the game begins, the attacker may put up to a quarter of his force (including up to one Hero costing less than 60 points) on one side. He deploys his remaining forces as normal and nominates which board edge his other warriors will enter from. From the fourth turn onwards, the attacking player rolls a D6 at the end of his Move phase. If the roll is lower than the current turn number, the models put aside at the start of the game may move onto the board from any point along the edge he nominated earlier.

OBSTACLES AND BARRICADES

There are all manner of different kinds of obstacles that you can use for coastal raids, depending on the kind of board that you're playing on.

Barriers like those found in Gondor are best represented by stone walls. The one above is sold at GW Hobby Centres, but they can also be constructed with a little foam board.

For more rural settlements, such as the sparse villages of Anfalas and Minhiriath, simple wattle fences can be constructed from thin wire woven around bamboo skewers.

Finally, if your coastal raids are taking place along uninhabited terrain, why not make use of scattered rock piles, shaped from pieces of insulation foam.

Next: End Conditions
Previous: Introduction