Dominion of Pike and Shot

I have been touting Dominion of the Spear since I discovered it earlier this year. Now the author has published a version for Renaissance battles. Welcome to Dominion of Pike & Shot (which I shall abbreviate as DoPS).

Overview

The game engine is pretty much the same as the original Dominion of the Spear, which I described in a previous post. Naturally, there are modifications to account for differences in warfare in this new period. For example, there is a pre-battle bombardment phase as well as artillery units. But most units still fall into the Foot or Mounted, Missile or Melee dichotomies. And again, there are modifiers for elite or armored units (no ferocious this time, though).

Test Run

I decided to give DoPS a quick test run the other day.

The year is 1529. The Ottoman army advances towards Vienna. An Imperial army stands in its way.

Here are the opposing army rosters, with units from L to R then in reserve.

• The Ottomans (blue army) - Sipahis (elite horse archers), Janissaries (elite Arquebusiers), Akinjis (horse archers); reserve = Azab archers and horse archers.
• Imperials (red army) - Székely Hussars (horse archers), arquebusiers, mounted arquebusiers; reserve = Landsknechts (armored pikes), gendarmes (armored heavy cavalry)

As the armies deployed, both sides initiated rather desultory cannonades with a scattering of light artillery. The bombardments were ineffective.

Note - pre-battle bombardment occurs even if the army has no artillery units. I take it that this represents a small number of artillery pieces behind the lines covering the advance.

Initially, both sides probed for weaknesses without any serious engagement.

In other word, no casualties in the first turn.

Then, the Ottoman Sipahis attack and rout the Hussars (L). In the center, the Janissaries advance versus the Imperial arquebusiers. There is withering fire from both sides. The Janissaries rout the arquebusiers, but they in turn are too shot up to be of any further use.

The Imperial commander brings up the cream of his army, gendarmes (L) and Landsknechts (center). The Landsknechts charge the Azabs, clearing them from the field.

Then the Landsknechts lure the Turkish horse archers into melee, slaughtering them without mercy. On the flank, the gendarmes and Sipahis have been dueling in a back-and-forth struggle. But the gendarmes break.

This allows the Sipahis to descend on the Landsknecht flank. Exhausted from its prior victories and surprised by the sudden attack on the flank, the Landsknechts break.

With that, the Imperial army must retire. The road to Vienna is open.

Thoughts

• Well, that was an entertaining battle, It could have gone either way. If the Sipahis had failed, then the Landsknechts were going to fall upon the flank of the horse archers.
• Like DotS, DoPS really creates an interesting and plausible narrative. For someone who likes to write battle reports, it really works well!
• The Dominion series also gives you the feel of an army general. You decide where to launch your attacks, and which units from the reserve to plug into the battle line. All in under 10 minutes!
• There is one change from the original DotS rules that I really like. Originally, you determined combat results in each zone, from left to right. Now, the attacker chooses a zone to resolve then the defender chooses another one. This allows for some decision making - which is the optimal zone to contest? That really gives the feeling of being a general (Gentlemen, we are going to launch our initial attack on the left flank...)
• I forgot to use one new rule - rallying. Although after I put away the game, I rolled to see if I could have rallied the Landsknechts. I rolled a 1.
• I added a little randomness. I roll to see who goes first every round. The side determined to be the attacker at the start of the battle gets a +1 modifier to this roll. This represents the changing tide of battle - the initial defender may go on the counterattack. It also adds just an extra touch of fog of war.
• I need to try another new features of DoPS - artillery. Some of the later armies should have artillery units. Next time.