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by George Smithson

2/17/98

Please try these out and see if they work for your naval battles, landings, river crossings, attacks on offshore island or coastal towns, etc. I will be happy to hear from you and hopefully a useful DB rules for naval will result at least informally.

Preparing for Battle

Set Up Dicing

After setup dice are thrown, if the set die score is for a moonless night (if defenders last setup die score is even) then low water will occurred at the hour of the attacker's inital set die score ( rolls a 1 then 0100 is low water, a 3 then 0300 is low water and so on). If on a night with a moon ( the defenders last setup die score is odd ), defender's total die score will be the hour of high water.

A tide cycle consists of 4 phases Low water 2 hours( 8 bounds), Flood tide 4 hours 15 minutes ( 17 bounds ), High water 2 hours ( 8 bounds), and an Ebb tide last 4 hours 15 minutes ( 17 bounds ) for a 25 hour cycle of 2 tides a day. Note that in certain places tides vary from this patern so adjustments must by made by the interested parties to fit those circumstances.

TERRAIN CHOOSING (naval)

A historical naval attacker would choose the season and route of the invasion, which in this era was usually along the coast, sometimes across a streach of open sea or following an island chain. In some countries naval campaingns were conducted along the major rivers often in conjunction with an army. The defender would chose where to oppose him, at a narrow straits between islands or mainland, at a river mouth, anchorage or port, or choose to meet them at sea or on the great rivers in open combat. These combats are simulated by terrain features placed on a flat blue playing area.notionally first bisected then trisected into 4 flank and 2 central sectors, which are then numbered 1 to 6. Terrain features can be linear such as a single coast line or the 2 shorelines of a narrow strait at sea (WWs) , river banks of major rivers (WWr) or rivers (Rv). If portraying a river or bay mouth these may have a shore line facing toward an open sea area in the opponents half of the table. These large land areas may have land features placed on them from the defenders army list per DBM land battle rules. When land features are placed entirely in the water (GGo) they are Islands if Hills, Shoal water if rough terrain or reefs if difficult terrian. Terrain is laid in 2 phases.

1. The Invader can choose whether or not to position one only of the following:
   • Single coast line in a flank sector.
   • Up to 3 Hills as islands if defender has these in his terrain list.
   • 2 shorelines in both flanks that may extend into the central sectors if WWr or Rv is on the attackers list
2. 2. The defender now provides and positions 1 each of cumpulsory terrain features both land and naval. of a type not yet present, then 0-3 further feature equivalents of his choise, land features, BUA and contiguous feild first, except that:
   • He can use a second shoreline in the opposite 2 flank sectors. They may only be into the central sector only if he has WWr or Rv on his list. The width of the GGo between the land features must conform to the width of Rivers if it is used. Roads can bridge Rivers and WWr. These are considerd flamable wood unless stone is paid for as if for a PF wall elements. If roads are used BUA must appear on it on one side of the river.
   • He may replace the flank sector shoreline with a shoreline within his half of the table, the central sector of which is at least half to entirely GGo, thus making a bay, anchorage or port mouth. If the central sector GGo extends to the defenders rear table edge the shore line is assumed to he continueous off table. If a BUA is placed it must be adjacent to the water and must be fortified as a port. A fortified mole may enclose the harbor mouth to 1-2 elements wide that may be counted and paid for as a gateway with a chain closeing the harbor mouth and Towers at either side. Defenders with artillery may fortify the mouth of any bay, or anchorage.
   • He may place a BUA on one of the attacker placed islands. If it is adjacent to the water then it is a port and fortification is compusory as noted above.
   • He may place Hills on the Flank table edge as Promintories of large islands or mainland, preventing flank marches by portions of the enemy fleet.

An area feature cannot be more than 1,000p across in any direction, nor less than 100p. If it nowhere exceeds 500p across it counts as ? a feature equivalent, if it anywhere exceeds 750p as 1?. A BUA incorporating a hill or island counts double, and as the size of the larger. An area feature can be:

Naval Area features

• Good Going [ GGo (water)] breeze swept water for sailing naval, or calm or breeze swept water for rowed galleys and boats.
• Difficult going [DGo(water)], calm water for ships, strong wind swept water for naval, or flooded Marsh [FM] for boats depending on wind, tide and naval element type.
• Variable going [Varies depending on tide conditions from GGo to Rv for naval or DGo or RGo for land.] includes Shoal Water and Reefs
• Impassable going: Shoreline Land to naval, Shoal Water if not passable to naval (except boats ) is treated as a type of River or if impassable to boats as RGo or DGo to land elements, depending on the tide level of the Shoal Water. GGo in WW is impassable to land.

The space between features in the water is good going and represents open water of adequate depth for all naval unless weather alters its character to difficult going.

Flooded Marsh is a marsh adjacent to a flooded river or WWr or adjacent to WWs at high or flood/ebb tide. It is passable to naval by boats only, but only with difficulty by following meandering waterways within it. It is passable to land elements varying between Rv and DGo..

Shoal Water is an area feature in WW or WW within 1 elments width of steep shorline or 2 elements of any other shoreline, except at BUA where the WW is always GGo.

Reefs are areas of water with visable hazzards ( such as visible rocks, breaking water, etc. ) indicating rocks, reefs, sandbanks, snags and other ship wrecking features. Reefs are like shoal water but are impassable to all naval but boats except in extreme high tides. Reefs destroy naval elements that ground on them in strong wind otherwise they strand.

After terrain set up a die is rolled by the attacker and compared to the chart below to determine the effect of the tide cycle. The result determines the nature of the shoal waters, reefs and tidal marsh in that tide cycle. The effect of the shoal water section can be modified by the nature of a the coastline or wind conditions. At the end of the first tide cycle a die is rolled to determine the effect of the next tide cycle.

The die roll is modifed for terrain types and weather conditions by the following:

+1

Passage between mainland and island

+1

Adjacent mainland shore is dune or marsh or River mouth

+1

Calm

+1

Strong wind blowing onshore

-1

Strong wind blowing offshore

-1

Adjacent shore rocky or steep

If the total score is	Tide is				Terrain is
	High	Ebb	Flood	Low	Reef	Tidal	Marsh
-1 to 0		GGo	GGo	GGo	GGo*	GGo*
1		GGo	GGo		GGo*	[DRv]	[DRv]
2		GGo	GGo		GGo*	[TRv]	[TRv]
3		GGo	GGo		[DRv]	[ERv]	[ERv]
4		GGo	GGo*		[TRv]	[PRv]	[PRv]
5		GGo	[DRv]		[ERv]	[RGo]	[DGo]
6		GGo*	[TRv]		[PRv]	[RGo]	[DGo]
7		[DRv]	[ERv]		[RGo]	[RGo]	[DGo]
8		[TRv]	[PRv]		[RGo]	[RGo]	[DGo]
9		[ERv]	[RGo]		[RGo]	[RGo]	[DGo]

• GGo Normal naval movement unless wind or calm atlers it.
• GGo* Check for grounding within an elements width of steep shoreline and if within an elements depth of other shorelines.
• [DRv ][TRv][ ERv][ PRv] difficult, tricky, Easy or palry river to land and boats
• [RGo] Rough going for land
• [DGo] Difficult for land

Land going if in brackets is passable to land elements and are impassable to naval. Naval caught in shoal water when it becomes Rv or a land type is stranded until the tide changes it back to

Shoreline land adjacent to WW or Rv. It must conform to all the DBM land terrain requirements for land features of the appropriate type in that location. Counts as impassable to all naval.

PASSAGE OF SHOAL WATER, REEFS AND TIDAL MARSHES

Ships and Galleys will have to roll a die in GGo* shoal water, reefs or tidal marsh terrain to see if passage can be made each bound within that terrain. If the tide is low enough it becomes passable to land elements as a Dangerous, Tricky, Easy or Paltry river and allows passage only to Boats.. At extremely low tides shoal water becomes impassable to all naval and becomes RGo or DGo for land elements.

Naval elements may pass thru shoal water checking for to see if they run aground at the end of the movement phase when they are in GGo* shoal water. If the element upon checking strikes a reef the element is stranded or destroyed in strong wind. Low draft craft can move thru with little risk in high tide in calm. Once an element of a naval group has crossed the shoal the rest may follow at the same speed and route as the lead element as the passage is assumed to be marked.

In GGo* naval elements run aground if the number on the chart below and the result of a die roll is greater than 6. If aground in Stong wind the element is destroyed (wrecked.). Grounded ships may become unstuck if they make their number in the tide level they grounded or a higher tide.

Shp(S)	4	Shp(O), Gy(S)	3
Shp(I,X), Gy(O)	2
Gy( F), Bt(S)	1
Bt(O,I,X)	0

• -1 Aground in Low water or Flood
• +1 Aground in Ebb
• +2 Aground at High water

PASSAGE OF FLOODED MARSHES

Boats may pass thru Flooded marshes moving in DGo as indicated by the die roll on the chart below.

If the total score is	Move
1	difficult 45 degrees left
2	stranded ( no movement this bound )
3	normal ahead
4	difficult ahead
5	impassable (back up one full movement)
6	difficult 45 degrees right

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Dave Heading for the inspiration of his Renaissance Naval rules, Ian Stewart Grey for his naval expertise and critical eye that has improved these rules greatly over my original concept, Kevan Donovan and Chris Cornuelle for other critical thoughts that have helped me hone these down to a simpler DB like system.

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