Lt Rawlings and Fast Freddie

 Happy Thanksgiving everyone.   This will be the first month since my dad died that I will have 2 posts in a month; progress I suppose.  

First, Flotilla Forward is done.  It is in word format.  It just needs editing and graphics.  I just have no motivation to accomplish either right now; sorry.

Second, my mashup  with DIF and the combat system from BTH ( modified of course) is going very well.  Have played several battles with my squadrons but am still tweaking the rules and frankly they haven't been blog material. 

 

Painted up 4 buffaloes to guard Singapore!  First painting of airplanes in a long time. [ 1/300 Raiden]

Third, my mashup with Black Seas and Post Captain isn't working well.  It has been difficult to get the chrome I want into a streamlined system.  I have canceled the project and gone back to Post Captain which on its own is a great ruleset.  To celebrate I decided on a quick pirate tale in the outer banks...

Good news and Bad news Lt Rawlings thought.  I finally have a ship and a fine ship she is.  HMS Savage was 18 gun brig with an excellent crew. The bad news is I am stuck in a backwater colony in the Americas.   After paying a visit to Williamsburg he heard of a new brigand that has been causing havoc in the area, a chap by the name of "Fast Freddie", sounded american.  After two weeks of investigating he felt he found this rouge.  Time to start making a name for himself and his ship...

Lt Rawling     Crack leader with Elite crew [ hey I rolled it up fair and square] 18 gun brig stats but use 9  8 pdrs on each side .

Fast Freddie   Green crew for all but hand to hand where they are elite.   Use schooner stats with 6  6pdrs on each side but give them same number of crew as brig.  

HMS Savage upper left.  Freddie on the right.  Wind moderate right to left.  Freddie must escape to win or take over Savage for a highly embarrassing defeat of the Royal navy.  

both ships use battle sail as neither can afford catastrophic damage to rigging.  Lt Rawlings plan is to close and then cut off Freddie.  If he doubles back try to keep up as best he can.  He will rely on superior gunnery and reloads to dismast her.  

Freddie doesn't waiver so Lt Rawlings finally turns to starboard and unleashes a broadside about 200 yards.   No significant damage!  So much for superior gunnery.  

As predicted Freddie quickly turns as well and partially rakes the Savage as he passes.  Several guns and their crews are hurt on the Savage.  

Lt Rawlings can feel the battle slipping away.  He turns again to starboard and with a calm he doesn't feel orders another broadside at the fleeing pirate. Through his glass he sees the lowest yard on the foresail come crashing down.  Huzzah for his tars!  

With Freddie significantly slowed Lt Rawlings once again maneuvers to cut him off... 

A bow rake at under 200 yards does significant damage. [ also damages the steering but he doesn't know that.]

[ One of the neat rules of Post Captain is you roll for eddies and current changes.  Fast Freddie got one of these so was able to move farther than expected which put him in a perfect position to stern rake.]

Unfortunately Lt Rawlings misjudged Freddies' speed and to his horror had to withstand a devastating rake.  It left half his crew injured.  He could see his Bo'sun was not happy.    He now did not have enough crew to repair sails and reload cannon.  Boarding Freddie would be out of the question as many of his marines had been injured as well.    Very well, he had speed still and he was a Royal Navy officer; he would sink the bastard.  

HMS savage fires a broadside at Freddie doing some damage.  To Lt Rawlings amazement, there is no return fire.  As the tars reload Rawlings spies the pirate flag being lowered and Freddies' ship heaving to.  The pirates are surrendering!  Three cheers erupt from the deck of the HMS Savage including the Bo'sun.   

The last shot resulted in a critical hit which hit Freddie.  This triggered a morale check which the ship failed by 4 resulting in surrender.  So Lt Rawlings last shot killed Freddie outright.  With their captain killed, sails badly damaged, steering out and 25% casualties the pirate crew decided to throw themselves on the King's mercy.

Great game that played in under an hour!   Needless to say I am very happy sticking with Post Captain rules and using the Warlord [and Hagen] ships.

Happy thanksgiving everyone.  Please remember all those in the military serving far from home.

Enjoy

Joe