The disposition at the end of the last turn saw the Gondorian's almost eradicating one squadron of Corsair ships. However the Gondorian's still had to contend with a second squadron of Corsairs and also fight out the ongoing boarding action from the previous turn. The next few turns would be interesting as they get into the thick of it.
One boarding action remained from last turn. Neither side inflicting any casualties as they slug it out of the decks of their respective ships.
The second Corsair squadron rounds the island and heads north.
Current wind direction from last turn.
Wind direction in context to the action. Wind check sees no change in the wind direction.
Gondor wins the Initiative.
And elects to move their southern squadron around to face the Corsairs. This means sailing in to the wind and slowing the ships down.
The boarding action continues (the Gondorian Cog is still in Command Range of its squadron).
The Gondorians manage to score 2 Crew Hits on the Corsairs, for nil in return. The "Exploding Dice" mechanic means that any roll of a six is equal to 2 hits and an additional dice is rolled. But the additional dice yields no extra hits as the Corsair crew are whipped out anyway.
Another prize for the Gondorians! And this time the Prize marker was placed on the correct ship. The Corsairs have now lost three ships (all from the same squadron) for no loss to Gondor.
The second Corsair squadron is closing in however and prepares to fire their broadsides at the Gondorians.
The closest target is one of the Gondorian ships that carries a Prize marker from having won a Boarding Action and capturing a Corsair frigate in the previous turn.
The first Corsair frigate checks for a broadside attack using a full attack rather than a half attack.
The second Corsair also checks for a full broadside attack.
Finally the last Corsair ship also checks to see if the Gondor Cog is fully within a full broadside attack. All three Corsair ships have the Gondorian within a full broadside attack.
Checking for range, the first Corsair ship has the Gondorian within Range 1.
The second Corsair has the Gondorian Cog within Range 2.
Finally the last Corsair within the squadron checks for range and finds the Gondorian is also in Range 2.
The Corsair squadron uses Linked Fire in order to provide the best chance to score enough hits to either damage or sink the Gondorian Cog. The combined hits on a Small Target (i.e. needing a 5 or 6 to cause a hit) results in a total of 9 hits, due to the Exploding Dice mechanic.
A total of 9 hits exceeds the Critical Rating (CR) of the Gondorian Cog. Being a Small Ship with only 2 Hull Points if the ship suffers enough, or more, damage to score a Critical Hit then the ship is immediately sunk rather than suffer the effects of any Critical Damage. The Gondorian gets blasted by 9 hits and sinks immediately.
Now the second Gondorian squadron circles upwind to the North and comes around in a circle from the north to face the Corsair squadron.
The Gondorians eye off the Corsairs and close for the attack.
The Gondorians then check the distance to the closest Corsair Frigate in their squadron. They find that the enemy is at Range 2.
The Gondorian's open fire and score a total of 4 hits due to the Exploding Dice mechanic. This is enough to score a point of Hull Damage but just not enough for a Critical Hit to sink the ship.
The lead Corsair ship suffers a single point of Hull Damage. With that, the current turn comes to an end.
The new turn opens with a check on the wind direction. The dice roll comes up with a double, indicating that the wind direction changes. The double is an even number, and so the wind shifts anti-clockwise a single point on the wind compass.
The wind is now a Southeasterly blowing to the north west.
The Initiative roll again comes up trumps for the Gondorians and they gain the first move of the new turn.
The Gondorians elect to move in closer to Range 1 and open fire again on the closest Corsair ship.
They close to within only a few inches of their target, ready to unload with Linked Fire.
They take aim on their closest enemy with their forecastle mangonels.
And open up with a barrage of fire that scores a total of 9 hits on the Corsair.
This total damage overcomes both the Damage Rating and the Critical Rating. In either case, this sinks the lead Corsair ship and she goes down with all hands.
Next, its time for the Corsairs to seek vengeance. They move up close to the Gondorians in order to unload their broadside weapons.
The furthest Corsair ship checks and finds that the targeted Gondorian ship is within its Full broadside attack.
Likewise, the other Corsair finds the same.
Both check their range and find that the Gondorian is within Range 1.
They open fire and MISS!!!
The Gondorian's cheer to see the Corsair shots fall short. Now the other Gondorian Cogs move up to make their attack.
They check their range and find the closest Corsair ship is within Range 1.
They open fire. The Corsair is a Small Target and therefor the Gondorians must roll a 5 or greater to score a hit. But they also miss too!
The turn comes to an end.
A new turn and a new check to see if the wind changes direction. It doesn't.
The state of play on the board now shows that the Gondorians still have five ships in play compared to the two Corsairs. In any general game, to win a side must sink or capture a total of 75% of the enemy's fleet. This means that the Gondorians only need to sink or capture another Corsair ship to win the encounter and see the Corsair Raiders off with their tails between their legs. Its going to come down now to who wins the Initiative and can either fire first or put as much distance between themselves and their enemy.
The Initiative roll comes up again for Gondor!
The Gondorians check their range to their desired Corsair target...
...and open fire. The score, with the Exploding dice mechanic results in a final total of 4 hits on the Corsair.
It's enough to cause a point of damage but not enough to sink her.
The Corsairs decide on a desperate tactic. Instead of running for it they move closer to the Gondorians in an attempt, using Linked Fire, to try to sink an enemy ship. Given that the Gondorian Cogs only have a forward 90 degree fire arc, this could give the Corsairs a decent hit and in a later turn keep to the stern of the Gondorians. It might just work!
The first Corsair identifies its best Gondorian target.
The second Corsair also checks and the best visible target is chosen for their attack.
They open fire and score just a single hit. Given this isn't enough to penetrate the Damage Rating of the Gondorian Cog, the hit bounces harmlessly off the Gondorian Cog's hull, much to the sighs of relief from its Captain and crew.
Next, the second Gondorian squadron closes in on the damaged Corsair.
They open fire and score a total of 3 hits through the Exploding Dice mechanic.
Three hits is enough to equal the Damage Rating for the Corsair Frigate and she goes down. With that the Gondorians give out a loud cheer and the remaining Corsair sets full sail and makes a break for it well out into the Bay of Belfalas.
The Gondorians have staved off another raider attack on their coastal villages by winning a decisive victory against the Corsairs at sea.
The total number of ships sunk is Gondor = 1, Corsairs = 3.
Moreover two additional Corsair ships are taken under sail by skeleton crews from the Gondorian Cogs and sailed back to port. These will be useful for infiltration and spying on the Corsairs in future encounters.
Thoughts: A fun game that plays well and is learnt fairly easily. I can see myself adapting (i.e. using house rules) for use with ancient galley war gaming using the Uncharted Seas rule set. Something I would be keen to give a shot at once I have enough painted galleys.
Its a shame that Spartan Games went belly up. They had ended the Uncharted Seas line about a year or so before the company folded. But I found the rules to have enough diversification and randomness to permit some interesting situations to occur in the game. Can't wait to give the bigger galleys a go as well as some ancient Greek or Roman war galley battles. Something for a future blog post.
