Bravado!
V2.1
Being
a Universal set of War Games Rules based on the revolutionary concept of Player
Determined Initiative Risk Order.
Bravado (n) – boasting, swaggering pretence.
The Bravado Philosophy
· Players test their mettle and ingenuity against each other, not the rules.
· A single dice roll should determine what happened in any situation
· Rolling High is always better than rolling low
The Bravado Concept
· Bravado Initiative means that players determine in what order units move, attack, etc. One side may continually claim the initiative, but risk 'exhausting' their command stock.
The Bravado Phase
1. Each Players selects a number on a d6 called the "Bravado Number"
2. Players reveal their Bravado Number simultaneously
3. The Player who has the highest Bravado Number wins Initiative
- in the event of two or more players having the same number, roll d6 to determine who has won Initiative
- High roll wins
4. The Player with Initiative may select any Commander under their control
5. The Commander may activate any number of units within Command Range
6. After Movement, the Commander may move up to their full allowance
7. The Player rolls a d6 and subtracts the number of 'Activation Markers' with that Commander
- if Less than the Bravado Number, General is 'exhausted'
- do not remove the model, but place on its side
- if the Commander has a 'restored' marker the model is removed from the game.
8. add 1 activation marker to the General
- even if depleted
9. Begin a new Bravado Phase
Alternative Rules:
"Simple Bravado" - A Commander with an activation may not be activated
"Command Efficiency" - A Commander may move up to half their movement allowance before step 5. The Commander may move their remaining allowance in step 6.
Ending the Turn
Once every Commander on the field has at least one activation marker, the turn has ended. Remove all activation and restored markers.
Alternative Rules:
"Short Turn" - The Turn ends once every Commander on one side has at least one activation marker. Remove all activation and restored markers.
"Short Aggressive Turn" - The Turn ends once every Commander on one side has at least one activation marker. Remove all activation and restored markers from that side only.
The Pluck Concept
· The spirit of an army is not necessarily represented by the quality of troops or officers. Some armies are highly motivated, others are not. At any point during the battle a Player may use a 'Pluck Marker' to re-roll a Bravado Test result. The second result may not be re-rolled.
Determining Pluck
· Before the Game begins roll a number of "Pluck Generating Dice"
- For every Commander roll 1d6.
For Each roll of 1,2,3 - gain 1 pluck
For Each roll of 4,5 - gain 2 pluck
For Each roll of 6 - gain 3 pluck
· represent Pluck with some form of markers
· keep the markers hidden from the opposing players until you wish to alter a d6 result.
· Return 1 Pluck marker to the store for each use
· Once you run out of markers, you are out of re-rolls!
The Combat Concept
· Troops inflict damage on enemies either through Firing weapons at them at range, or closing to Melee
· Fire from long range is less likely to inflict damage and be less decisive than melee
· Melee ends with one (or both) sides damaged and withdrawing
Combat Test – Fire
The Target unit test morale with dice, and adjust for combat specifics.
A roll of 7 or more is a success.
Failure results in moving down a morale grade.
Combat Test - Melee
Both units test morale with dice, and adjust for combat specifics.
A roll of 7 or more is a success.
Both units continue to test until:
The Morale Grade Concept
· For most of history, combat units would cease to be combat operational long before damage or losses made them ineffective
· The morale strength of a unit is often more important than the number of casualties inflicted (although high casualties will usually (though not always) lead to falling morale)
Morale
Grades
There are Five Morale Grades
A - Fine - the Unit operates as normal - noo marker required
B - Some Disorder / Unease about the situation - the unit is more likely to break and run, but could still be reformed to fighting effectiveness - marked with YELLOW
Units in condition B may return to A if stationary, and there are no enemy units within a certain range.
C - Serious Disorder / Very Concerned about the way the battle is progressing - the unit will not return to "A" Grade this battle, but will still continue to fight - marked with RED
D - Unable to Operate at this time - the unit may not respond to any order except "Form" - marked with RED and YELLOW. The unit may return to condition B if a General is attached at the end of the turn.
E - The Unit has lost all will to fight - Unit is removed from battle - no recovery is possible
Playing the Game:
1. Determine Era and Scale of Game
2. Determine Forces and Scenario
3. Determine Special Rules (if any)
4. Deploy Forces
5. Determine Pluck
6. Begin Bravado Phases
7. End Game when:
a. One side concedes victory
b. All opposing Commanders are depleted or removed
c. 1/4 of initial enemy units are Morale Condition 'D' or removed
d. Scenario Victory Conditions are met