Very good video mainly for people like me that are on the same stage in the game. I made already a game test only with the Infantary and Artillary to see how the main rules work. What did not work was the movement range as the movement is based on the 28mm Black powder. The reason that I'm using this 13,5mm scale is due to the small size of my table that is 5 x 3. If we use the long edge to deploy our Army to have more space for units and manouver, having a result of 3 orders (36") Units will cross the border in 1 go. With Artillary is the same problem. Having shoot ranges of 36" and 48" means that the guns even using the smallest range can shoot from an edge reaching the target in the border of the opposite edge. So we decide to use the suggestion of halving the ranges that still is maneuvarable. I thing the original ranges will work well for tables bigger than 6 x 4 . Keep up with your good work and good games.
Thanks for the advise on ranges. I was thinking that 12 inch movement on infantry stands was a lot. Especially when you can move up to 3 times. So 36 inches total. I hadn't thought too much about converting distances. I think you're probably right.
I have a small playing area also, 3x4' which I designed for playing Command & Colors hex based ACW & Napoleonic battles with miniatures. I am converting the relative movement and firing ranges to 4" hexes. For example; Black Powder movement ranges (page 36) are Infantry 12", Cavalry & Horse Artillery 18". that is a ratio of 2:3 Inf/Cav. So for my hexes based games, it would be Infantry 2 hexes and Cav 3 hexes. That gives me an opportunity to maneuver on a very much reduced game table. Of course this also changes the game mechanics of Black Powder.I intend on playing only part of the scenarios, and/or using the Epic figures for Command & Colors battles. You can play the Black Powder as written by using the tables for converting inches to mm's or cutting the movement and ranges in half as suggested in the Black Powder rulebook.
On smaller tables, just directly convert all ranges to cm. You can also halve all the imperial measures if you prefer to stay in inches. If you make up your own reference charts it makes this even easier. Black Powder rules are technically designed for 6x9 or 6x12 tables to match what the authors and the the Perry bros. have available. Must be nice.
I wanted to add a bit about the Generals in BP. You usually assign the same staff rating to all the brigade commanders unless you are working off a specific scenario that defines them or using the army list option that let's you point build a force out a la 40k or whatever. That's under staff rating on page 11 of Waterloo, though using army lists can change that up if desired. This rating is usually the rating of the General which represents his overall plan, ADCs, command structure, leadership style, choice of brigade commanders to carry out his orders, etc. So you can buy an upgraded General and just apply their staff rating across the army if that's the way you and your opponent want to do it for simplicity or customize each brigade commander with their own pointed rating and command trait. Remember again, that this is a toolbox set of rules and you pick the option that works for you and can change it each game as needed. Also, the General and brigade commanders can join unit to personally lead them. That's how you are able to use all the special rules that special characters have. That's on page 84-85. Note that a staff rating of 8 or more adds a +1 bonus attack in melee even if their listing doesn't say so. If you take a named General, like Napoleon or Ney, they have to be the army general according to the rules and that's in the 1st para on 157 of the Waterloo book. That's usually for specific scenarios and I think the Hundred Days book has points values for them for matched games. That is' oddly' one of the things that most army lists in BP supplements are pretty specific about and likely to prevent loads of special characters running around commanding units. I would also recommend going for 8 or above, with only occasional 7s for ratings too. The game is now fun when everyone just stands around and units sit there. Hundred Days also adds a chained re-roll rule for brigades, divisions, etc that I have no experience with. Seems a bit ornate for my tastes.
Apologies for delay replying to this but wanted the book in front of me when i did and I do so many replies from my phone usually when book isn't at hand. I saw the section on page 11, but it didn't seem to indicate you just pay for the general and apply that to all commanders. Just that you would usually use the same value as the general across the army. So would need to pay for them However, if you choose a staff 9 general, the highest British infantry brigade commander is only an 8. As I don't yet have a huge selection of painted models to choose from (and neither do my opponents), replaying the historical scenario's is a bit tricky. So the army list style of play is what will work best for us. Essentially building a force with what we have and then working out the points. I still think from a gaming perspective, selecting a bog standard staff lvl 7 general/CiC/Division commander (0pts) and then having all special characters/better commanders as brigade commanders makes more sense as you get the benefit of all their rules all the time. I did see the detail about an extra attack when staff level 8 or more, though that then makes some of the character special rules redundant. E.g. wellingtons +1 attack if he charges. He gets it anyway without the need to charge. However, i did miss the bit on page 157 that says choosing any special character (mentions Ney or Blucher as examples) means they are the army general. Not sure how that works if you choose more than 1 named character if playing a big game, and again makes it a pointless selection because as soon as they are the army general you cant use their staff rating or any special rules. Joining a unit only allows them to give bonus attacks. So if this really is the intended rule (all special characters must be the army general) there would be no reason to ever pay or take a named character, and there was no point in giving them staff ratings or special rules in their entry. I've read through the 100days book and intend to do a video on it. It was really good at fixing some things, and all the scenarios that are in it are awesome. However it still overlooks many things such as generals not being able to use staff rating or special rules. Again as you say you just get chained re-rolls. So may as well just take bog standard 0pt general/cic/divisional commander.
@Midlander Gaming The special rules for Naps are all still 1st edition expansion books. They have not been reworked for 2nd ed BP, and that unfortunately includes the Epic books. In first edition Generals could issue orders. So if a Brigade Commander failed the general could try and issue an order or just start that way outright. In second they get rid of that and give him the reroll tests rule instead. I think that if you want to use named characters as written, then it's probably better to use the first ed rules for that. I can go into a bit more detail if you need, but it wouldn't hurt to grab a 1st ed rulebook on ebay or a secondhand shop somewhere. It will really help making sense of the "expansion" books. It probably would also make an excellent video topic if you had the first ed rules, because I'm sure loads of new players are having lots of the same issues as you are over this. It's really a mess, and I dislike how Warlord handled it. Normally for BP players will buy a general and his staff rating applies across the army. It's representative of his battle plan, pre-battle orders, and his staff of runners, ADCs etc. That's usually to keep the numbers easy. The point list thing is really very new to Epic and not at all how most BP games are ever run. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it without house ruling to taste. You probably noticed that the Hundred Days is an extra points system for mostly pre-generated brigades along roughly historic lines. That adds another area of complication over the Waterloo points lists. I'm not sure I would bother using the points but maybe choose a few Hundred Days brigades and use them as build examples. Remember that BP is not a tournament game and really just a tool kit. If you want Generals to work, then 1st ed is the best way.
Thanks for the message and new subscribe. I really think just having a small skirmish will also help cement the rules in my head. Until I have enough models (and my mates stuff is also ready) then the next best thing is just releasing these video segments and have a discussion on any of the phases or rules as we go.
Very nice intro video. All of this becomes second nature really quickly about halfway through your first game. I highly recommend halving all the ranges though.
Ive just started building and painting my Epic Napoleonics. Ive dabelled with getting into Black Powder for years but the size of tabel space even for just a single brigade made me sit on the fence. This scale i believe is absolutely spot on for Black Powder Napoleonics. Im so glad I came across your channel and this series of Epic BP Naps for those of us that are complete newbies to the game. Its looking like such a tactical game as well with the orders and formations and when to do what order, keeping in command etc. Fascinating. look forward to your next video on this one.
I'm still new to it myself. not really played a game yet. However the main draw for me was the scale. i just love wargames at a more epic scale as it feels more like a battle rather than a skirmish. it does look wonderful with all the unit arranged in regiments too. Let me know how you get with your stuff.
@@midlandergaming7319 will do, an that's certainly what immediately attracted me to this release. I was tempted by the American Civil war release but then I heard rumours about Epic Napoleonics. I went for both the British and the French starter sets so as to make getting games easier. Based on the 100 day war book I'll look to grab the Prussians at some point so can follow a campaign series of games. Would be tremendous to get a game in with you sometime.
@@ratelmike8825 that's sounds awesome. You got a lot to paint and make then. I just had the British starter set and all expansions and that was a huge amount alone. Where are you based?
@@midlandergaming7319 well I just went with starter sets and commanders at first. Recently just bought the Highlander and skirmishing 95th for the British and the Imperial Guard for the French. I'll be looking at the full French Calvary Imperial Guard pack a bit further down the road. I'm based just west of Northampton Town. Within a few miles of the M1. So pretty centrally placed. Be great to catch up directly.
That would be awesome. My friends have the Prussians and French, but are struggling to find time to finish there armies. I actually work in Hinckley, which I don't think is far away from Northampton, but might be a bit too late for me to game after work and still get home. However, I'd be up for meeting at warlord games or some other venue. I just want to start playing the game. To help me stay motivated also.
Yeah would really be awesome. Never say never though. If Napoleon can march all the way to Moscow, I'm sure driving around the UK at some point in the future could be possible. 😆
Did you mean to write more in your comment? it seems to cutoff mid sentence. Basing is tricky at small scale i suppose. I dont mind how they are, although not much room to add scenic stuff. But I hate basing so its ok for me.
Alternately What you can do is have a brigade commander on rating 8 to give Brigade orders but if you select individual commands- instead, as in a regt you can do rating 7
Will try. I do notice I talk a little quiet at times. Need to work on the sound. I try to enhance the audio in edit but it's difficult to settle on a volume. Maybe I need a mic too as I record on my phone and the pickup might not always be the greatest
Yay, 1080P version is now uploaded. A bit of a nicer viewing experience now.
So far this is perhaps the best Black Powder tutorial I've seen on RUclips. I'm looking forward to the rest!
That's very kind thanks. I think I can still do better, i should have refreshed myself with my notes before filming.
Very good video mainly for people like me that are on the same stage in the game. I made already a game test only with the Infantary and Artillary to see how the main rules work. What did not work was the movement range as the movement is based on the 28mm Black powder. The reason that I'm using this 13,5mm scale is due to the small size of my table that is 5 x 3. If we use the long edge to deploy our Army to have more space for units and manouver, having a result of 3 orders (36") Units will cross the border in 1 go. With Artillary is the same problem. Having shoot ranges of 36" and 48" means that the guns even using the smallest range can shoot from an edge reaching the target in the border of the opposite edge. So we decide to use the suggestion of halving the ranges that still is maneuvarable. I thing the original ranges will work well for tables bigger than 6 x 4 . Keep up with your good work and good games.
Thanks for the advise on ranges. I was thinking that 12 inch movement on infantry stands was a lot. Especially when you can move up to 3 times. So 36 inches total. I hadn't thought too much about converting distances. I think you're probably right.
I have a small playing area also, 3x4' which I designed for playing Command & Colors hex based ACW & Napoleonic battles with miniatures. I am converting the relative movement and firing ranges to 4" hexes. For example; Black Powder movement ranges (page 36) are Infantry 12", Cavalry & Horse Artillery 18". that is a ratio of 2:3 Inf/Cav. So for my hexes based games, it would be Infantry 2 hexes and Cav 3 hexes. That gives me an opportunity to maneuver on a very much reduced game table.
Of course this also changes the game mechanics of Black Powder.I intend on playing only part of the scenarios, and/or using the Epic figures for Command & Colors battles.
You can play the Black Powder as written by using the tables for converting inches to mm's or cutting the movement and ranges in half as suggested in the Black Powder rulebook.
On smaller tables, just directly convert all ranges to cm. You can also halve all the imperial measures if you prefer to stay in inches. If you make up your own reference charts it makes this even easier.
Black Powder rules are technically designed for 6x9 or 6x12 tables to match what the authors and the the Perry bros. have available. Must be nice.
I wanted to add a bit about the Generals in BP.
You usually assign the same staff rating to all the brigade commanders unless you are working off a specific scenario that defines them or using the army list option that let's you point build a force out a la 40k or whatever. That's under staff rating on page 11 of Waterloo, though using army lists can change that up if desired. This rating is usually the rating of the General which represents his overall plan, ADCs, command structure, leadership style, choice of brigade commanders to carry out his orders, etc. So you can buy an upgraded General and just apply their staff rating across the army if that's the way you and your opponent want to do it for simplicity or customize each brigade commander with their own pointed rating and command trait. Remember again, that this is a toolbox set of rules and you pick the option that works for you and can change it each game as needed.
Also, the General and brigade commanders can join unit to personally lead them. That's how you are able to use all the special rules that special characters have. That's on page 84-85. Note that a staff rating of 8 or more adds a +1 bonus attack in melee even if their listing doesn't say so.
If you take a named General, like Napoleon or Ney, they have to be the army general according to the rules and that's in the 1st para on 157 of the Waterloo book. That's usually for specific scenarios and I think the Hundred Days book has points values for them for matched games. That is' oddly' one of the things that most army lists in BP supplements are pretty specific about and likely to prevent loads of special characters running around commanding units.
I would also recommend going for 8 or above, with only occasional 7s for ratings too. The game is now fun when everyone just stands around and units sit there.
Hundred Days also adds a chained re-roll rule for brigades, divisions, etc that I have no experience with. Seems a bit ornate for my tastes.
Apologies for delay replying to this but wanted the book in front of me when i did and I do so many replies from my phone usually when book isn't at hand. I saw the section on page 11, but it didn't seem to indicate you just pay for the general and apply that to all commanders. Just that you would usually use the same value as the general across the army. So would need to pay for them However, if you choose a staff 9 general, the highest British infantry brigade commander is only an 8. As I don't yet have a huge selection of painted models to choose from (and neither do my opponents), replaying the historical scenario's is a bit tricky. So the army list style of play is what will work best for us. Essentially building a force with what we have and then working out the points.
I still think from a gaming perspective, selecting a bog standard staff lvl 7 general/CiC/Division commander (0pts) and then having all special characters/better commanders as brigade commanders makes more sense as you get the benefit of all their rules all the time. I did see the detail about an extra attack when staff level 8 or more, though that then makes some of the character special rules redundant. E.g. wellingtons +1 attack if he charges. He gets it anyway without the need to charge.
However, i did miss the bit on page 157 that says choosing any special character (mentions Ney or Blucher as examples) means they are the army general. Not sure how that works if you choose more than 1 named character if playing a big game, and again makes it a pointless selection because as soon as they are the army general you cant use their staff rating or any special rules. Joining a unit only allows them to give bonus attacks. So if this really is the intended rule (all special characters must be the army general) there would be no reason to ever pay or take a named character, and there was no point in giving them staff ratings or special rules in their entry.
I've read through the 100days book and intend to do a video on it. It was really good at fixing some things, and all the scenarios that are in it are awesome. However it still overlooks many things such as generals not being able to use staff rating or special rules. Again as you say you just get chained re-rolls. So may as well just take bog standard 0pt general/cic/divisional commander.
@Midlander Gaming The special rules for Naps are all still 1st edition expansion books. They have not been reworked for 2nd ed BP, and that unfortunately includes the Epic books.
In first edition Generals could issue orders. So if a Brigade Commander failed the general could try and issue an order or just start that way outright. In second they get rid of that and give him the reroll tests rule instead. I think that if you want to use named characters as written, then it's probably better to use the first ed rules for that.
I can go into a bit more detail if you need, but it wouldn't hurt to grab a 1st ed rulebook on ebay or a secondhand shop somewhere. It will really help making sense of the "expansion" books. It probably would also make an excellent video topic if you had the first ed rules, because I'm sure loads of new players are having lots of the same issues as you are over this. It's really a mess, and I dislike how Warlord handled it.
Normally for BP players will buy a general and his staff rating applies across the army. It's representative of his battle plan, pre-battle orders, and his staff of runners, ADCs etc. That's usually to keep the numbers easy. The point list thing is really very new to Epic and not at all how most BP games are ever run. I wouldn't put a lot of faith in it without house ruling to taste.
You probably noticed that the Hundred Days is an extra points system for mostly pre-generated brigades along roughly historic lines. That adds another area of complication over the Waterloo points lists. I'm not sure I would bother using the points but maybe choose a few Hundred Days brigades and use them as build examples.
Remember that BP is not a tournament game and really just a tool kit. If you want Generals to work, then 1st ed is the best way.
@@midlandergaming7319 No problem with delays, I'm way behind on watching videos too, and that's the easy job!
Nice video. We are also figuring the rules out. This should be a great video series
Thanks for the message and new subscribe. I really think just having a small skirmish will also help cement the rules in my head. Until I have enough models (and my mates stuff is also ready) then the next best thing is just releasing these video segments and have a discussion on any of the phases or rules as we go.
Very nice intro video. All of this becomes second nature really quickly about halfway through your first game. I highly recommend halving all the ranges though.
I think I'll switch to CM for ranges and then I can still use the same values which may help with any narration in videos.
Ive just started building and painting my Epic Napoleonics. Ive dabelled with getting into Black Powder for years but the size of tabel space even for just a single brigade made me sit on the fence. This scale i believe is absolutely spot on for Black Powder Napoleonics. Im so glad I came across your channel and this series of Epic BP Naps for those of us that are complete newbies to the game. Its looking like such a tactical game as well with the orders and formations and when to do what order, keeping in command etc. Fascinating. look forward to your next video on this one.
I'm still new to it myself. not really played a game yet. However the main draw for me was the scale. i just love wargames at a more epic scale as it feels more like a battle rather than a skirmish. it does look wonderful with all the unit arranged in regiments too. Let me know how you get with your stuff.
@@midlandergaming7319 will do, an that's certainly what immediately attracted me to this release. I was tempted by the American Civil war release but then I heard rumours about Epic Napoleonics. I went for both the British and the French starter sets so as to make getting games easier. Based on the 100 day war book I'll look to grab the Prussians at some point so can follow a campaign series of games. Would be tremendous to get a game in with you sometime.
@@ratelmike8825 that's sounds awesome. You got a lot to paint and make then. I just had the British starter set and all expansions and that was a huge amount alone. Where are you based?
@@midlandergaming7319 well I just went with starter sets and commanders at first. Recently just bought the Highlander and skirmishing 95th for the British and the Imperial Guard for the French. I'll be looking at the full French Calvary Imperial Guard pack a bit further down the road. I'm based just west of Northampton Town. Within a few miles of the M1. So pretty centrally placed. Be great to catch up directly.
That would be awesome. My friends have the Prussians and French, but are struggling to find time to finish there armies. I actually work in Hinckley, which I don't think is far away from Northampton, but might be a bit too late for me to game after work and still get home. However, I'd be up for meeting at warlord games or some other venue. I just want to start playing the game. To help me stay motivated also.
Fantastic overview, thank you! I am familiar with Sharpe Practice but never encountered Black Powder before!
Nicely done mate, pity we don't live closer as a battle of Epic would be great
Yeah would really be awesome. Never say never though. If Napoleon can march all the way to Moscow, I'm sure driving around the UK at some point in the future could be possible. 😆
What I dont like about epic scale is the basing. Feel need split up for column/square and move down roads or built up areas, I
Did you mean to write more in your comment? it seems to cutoff mid sentence. Basing is tricky at small scale i suppose. I dont mind how they are, although not much room to add scenic stuff. But I hate basing so its ok for me.
Alternately What you can do is have a brigade commander on rating 8 to give Brigade orders but if you select individual commands- instead, as in a regt you can do rating 7
Yeah that's not a bad idea too. Think it certainly nerds to trial out some options.
Great intro
great video 🤩. helps me a lot to learn the rules👍
You're welcome. Glad it's useful. Shooting phase next, where things really get fun
So do the rules come IN the box? Im still confused.
Each starter set contains a rule book yes.
Thank you for this really helps
Glad it helped!
Talk a little louder, please
Will try. I do notice I talk a little quiet at times. Need to work on the sound. I try to enhance the audio in edit but it's difficult to settle on a volume. Maybe I need a mic too as I record on my phone and the pickup might not always be the greatest