ImagiNation Campaigning - Part Deux

Before I continue on with the ImagiNation campaigning ideas, I've noticed the New Years blogger trend of reviewing painting output for the past year. I was curious to see how many figures I had painted in 2010 and came up with these numbers:

28mm cavalry/mounted: 49

28mm infantry: 282

15mm infantry: 48

According to my long-dead painting points idea (see here), that amounts to 404 points (or just a tad over one point per day for the whole year). I recognize that I don't pump out figures at the rate of some gamers but I'm quite happy with these numbers. Besides, these numbers don't take into account terrain items and the 28mm WWII vehicles I've added.

Moving on...

To compliment the ImagiNation Campaigning ideas I presented here, I've put together some ideas for the naval portion of the project. These are based upon my current preferred Age of Sail rule set, Kiss Me, Hardy from Too Fat Lardies. Take a gander:

IMAGINATION CAMPAIGNING 

NAVAL FORCES

Note: Full understanding of these naval campaigning ideas requires knowledge of Kiss Me, Hardy but most of them can be easily understood regardless.

CREW QUALITY

Most crews begin as Landlubbers and Poor Sailors. It is recommended that one squadron of up to three ships begin as Sans Cullottes. As they accumulate experience, winning or losing their battles and capturing or sinking enemy vessels, they will change in the way that they see themselves and this will gradually change the way that they behave on the tabletop. Crews are categorised according to their experience, gunnery skills, and seamanship.

A crew is rated according to its Class and Quality. As stated, most begin their Class as Landlubbers but crew Quality is variable within each Class level.

Normally, a crew must participate in at least two actions at its current Quality level to be eligible to advance to the next highest Quality level. When this happens, roll 1d6: on a 5-6 the crew is advanced to the next Quality level (within its Class strictures). If unsuccessful, roll 1d6 after each subsequent action, adding +1 for each subsequent action fought. Advancing to the next Class level follows the same rule, except a 6 must be rolled on 1d6.  When a crew advances its Class level, it retains its current Quality level. It is entirely possible to advance a crew’s Class and Quality levels simultaneously.

(Note: Particularly notable achievements may allow players to advance a crew’s Class and/or Quality level ahead of schedule, if all participants agree).

Crew Class	Crew Quality
Landlubbers	These crews have seen little or no time at sea, let alone in action with an enemy. They have no positive factors assigned automatically, will fire at a minus, and are more likely to strike. When building/creating a new vessel/crew, roll 1d20: 1-10 =Average (poor sailors; poor shots after first broadside) 11-20 = Poor (poor sailors; poor shots at all times; cowardly; foul-bottomed) Note: Elite not permitted
Sans Cullotes	These crews have seen some action but are not as professional as Jolly Jack Tars. Elite crews under this category have taken the opportunity to train boarders and develop a cohesive and enthusiastic unit. Average crews have no automatic extra characteristics but can purchase any using the points system. It is quite possible that vessels operating under this system will be ‘cowardly lubbers’, and a fair proportion will be poor sailors, unable to sail in tight formation. When building/creating a new vessel/crew, roll 1d20 (ignore this roll if the crew is advancing from a lower Class): 1-4 = Elite (boarding party; determined) 5-15 = Average (no modifications) 16-20 = Poor (poor firing after first broadside; poor sailors; cowardly)
Jolly Jack Tars	These crews attempt to close with the enemy as soon as possible and are well-trained and experienced in rapid fire. To reflect this in the rules, these crews have an improved fire factor at point blank and short range. Ships with this characteristic are manned by experienced sailors and officered by professionals with a firm control over their crew. They will automatically assemble boarding and counter boarding parties when necessary, and may count as ‘fervently determined’. These ships are not automatically fast sailors, and in fact, due to extreme service at sea, may be ‘foul bottomed’. No crews in this Class can be ‘cowardly lubbers.’ When building/creating a new vessel/crew, roll 1d20 (ignore this roll if the crew is advancing from a lower Class): 1-13 = Elite (double shot at close range; boarding party; fervently determined) 14-18 = Average (double shot at close range; boarding party; determined) 19-20 = Poor (boarding party; determined)

THE SIZE OF YOUR PURSE

Bonus features for ships and/or crews may be purchased as per Kiss Me, Hardy.

ENHANCE YOUR FLEET

As your fleet fights its battles it will, you hope, gain some victories; with these come Victory Points that may be used to enhance your fleet in several ways. How these points are achieved is listed below.

Result	Points
Your objectives are achieved and your enemy is obliged to withdraw	2
Your objective is achieved, but you are forced to withdraw	1
You failed to achieve your objective	0
Your fleet flagship was sunk or captured	-1
75% or more of your force was sunk or captured	-2

The points are awarded to the fleet as a whole, not to the various elements within the fleet. This serves as the basic model for gaining Victory Points. Some scenarios may have variations on this theme. These points may be spent as follows:

Enhancement	Points
Advance a crew to its next Class Level without a die roll (assuming it has otherwise satisfied the requirements for such an advancement)	4
Advance a crew to its next Quality Level without a die roll (assuming it has otherwise satisfied the requirements for such an advancement)	3
Improve Initial Broadside: adds one dice per deck for the initial broadside on either side of the vessel and is in addition to any other gunnery characteristics	1
Give a crew/ship the Fast Sailor trait: such vessels may double the lowest die score thrown when that vessel moves, or half it if a minus die	1
Give a crew/ship the Determined trait: crews with this characteristic are less likely to strike and therefore can add 10% on to any throw made on the striking table	1
Give a crew/ship the Fervently Determined trait: crews with this characteristic may add 20% to any throw made on the striking table.	2
Give a crew/ship the Boarding Party trait: vessels with this characteristic may double the lowest die thrown in a boarding action	1
Remove a crew’s Cowardly Lubbers trait	2
Remove a ship’s Foul Bottom trait	1
Remove a crew’s Poor Sailors trait	2

FLEET DETERIORATION

Negative things may also happen to your crews/ships if they perform badly in a battle.

Roll 1d6 for every ship/crew that had its squadron flagship sunk or captured during a battle. On a roll of 6, the unit is downgraded one Quality level. Add +1 to the roll for every other ship/crew in the squadron that was also sunk or captured. Add +1 to the roll if the fleet flagship was sunk or captured. If the fleet flagship was sunk or captured, all ships of the fleet present at the battle must make this roll. If a crew is downgraded to a Quality level that includes the Poor Sailors trait, ignore the latter.

If a ship is sunk, it is obviously removed from the fleet list. A new ship can be built but must begin at the Landlubbers Class level.

If a ship is captured, it can be added to the enemy's fleet list and appropriately renamed (and the model surrendered as well). The new crew for this vessel must begin at Landlubbers Class level.