On this content page, I share references and resources that I have produced in support Osprey's Lion Rampant II rules.
The player reference is a one-page, two sided resource that should provide most of what is needed to play (at least that's what we have found). On the front, the information is broken down into color-coded sections: admin/game system (black); movement (green); combat (red); and courage/morale (purple). Each section contains page references to the rules (should you want to look things up). On the reverse is a listing of special abilities (again with page references). These are not all inclusive, but are a selection of specials that are most common, may apply to more than one unit type, and/or are not reflected in an adjustment to the values and scores on the unit profile (things like Veteran, for instance, which has different adjustments for different units: those are reflected on the unit matrix).
Unit Matrix V5 (click for pdf)
The unit matrix is intended to be used in conjunction with the player reference. As the name suggests, it provides unit-specific information needed to play. As with the player reference, it also has the special abilities listed on the back, along with page references. Given that upgrades can be "stacked," the unit matrix does not list all possible variations for the unit, but a representative range of likely unit configurations, with each line showing one upgrade.
Click to Enlarge
The information is broken down by the major unit on the first line (all in caps and highlighted in gray), with its variants listed below (upper and lower case, no highlight). The above shows the first unit on the matrix (Elite Cav) with its variants below: Motivated, Drilled and Mounted Bow. The stat-line for each reflects the characteristics of that variant. Reading left to right, you can see the point value, the number of figures, the type (H=Horse/Mounted; F=Foot/Infantry), the unit, the unit profile page, and the rest is self explanatory. The activation number for specials (when applicable) is in brackets. Finally, in parenthesis you see abbreviations for the Fearsome and Bloodthirsty upgrades for this unit and its variants (which are other options available). In practice, I use the unit matrix as a central reference when designing scenarios and orders of battle.
I have found when running games of PL that there are players who basically play off of the unit matrix (as opposed to unit cards), using the player reference on an "as needed" supplement for other information. As a game host, I find the opposite: I use the player reference continuously and refer to the unit matrix when to facilitate unit-specific cases. Of course, your mileage may vary!
If you do grab one of these, drop a line to let me know you visited. And of course, if there are any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a line as well.
Very Good. Tanke you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note: hope that you find them useful.
DeleteThank-you. Very helpfull resource.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Bill. Thanks for dropping a note.
DeleteThe stats for the stampeded animals seems to be missing the wild charge number from the rule book. Any idea what it is?
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with stampeded animals as a unit type (so not included in my references). Maybe it's in the optional unit types somewhere (in LR I?).
DeleteThis helped me immensely in convincing a friend to try Lion Rampant for a few quick skirmishes - thanks a ton!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe there is a small error in this - Drilled Elite Cavalry and Mounted Bow Elite Cavalry are listed as only having an Attack score of 4+. These are supposed to remain 3+, yes?
The Stampeded Animals are described in one of the example scenarios later in the book.
Levied Infantry also have one default rule (Go Back to Your Farms - can only take 3 of these per 24 points of battle) and one optional one (Smelly - Elite Cavalry do not have to Wild Charge Levied Infantry) which you may or may not need to include on the matrix.
Do you have any intention of including Chariot options for Heavy Cavalry, Pike options for Heavy/Light infantry, or Handgonners stat blocks?
This was still very useful to me, really simplifying the matter of determining which units were good for what tasks, and how their various upgrades compared to one another. I wrote up my own based on what you have here, and it made army building a breeze.
Thanks, Klikkat, for pointing out the error on the Elite Cavalry. I have done so many versions of this matrix for both LR I and II, as well as Pikeman's Lament, that I think some stats from a previous matrix persisted there. I have posted a corrected version (Version 5). You can tell it apart by the black headers (and it has V5 on it, too). Use it in good health!
DeleteI'm so glad to hear that the references were useful and used. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
The "Smelly" on the Levied has no effect, so I didn't bother putting it on the matrix (I left off the wild charge exemption given that it is an optional rule--certainly easy enough to implement in a game or could be pencilled in on the sheet if you wanted it in effect). I also didn't include the "Go Back to Your Farms" because that is a warband building rule and the matrix is focused on "in game" rules (although like you, I have found that I, too, use the matrix as a tool when building warbands).
As far as the other optionals (Chariots, Heavy Cav, Pike, etc), there are just too many to fit into the matrix in a summary fashion, so I stuck with the base rules only (had to draw the line somewhere).
Cheers!