The Command Phase
Units usually moved in the Command phase. A unit usually requires orders before it will move but if the enemy is very close, a unit is able to react directly to its presence. Otherwise, if a unit receives no orders it remains where it is and awaits further instructions.
The Command phase proceeds in the following sequence:
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Initiative Movement
Any units moving by initiative do so.
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Ordered Movement
Orders are given to other units to move.
Initiative movement
Units within 20cm of the enemy at the start of the Command phase can use their initiative to move without orders. They do not have to do so – it is up to the player to decide whether to use initiative or to issue an order. If the player requires any of his units to use their initiative, they must do so before any orders are issued.
Before we concern ourselves further with initiative movement, we need to understand how ordered movement works. For this reason, an explanation of initiative movement and further rules for it are given in the Movement section of the rulebook.
Ordered movement
Issuing orders is one of the most important features of Warmaster. An order is given to a unit to enable it to move. Once a unit has moved, another unit may be given an order and moved and so on. This represents the process of relaying instructions by messenger, or a local commander’s interpretation of orders either given by signal or arranged before the battle.
Orders are issued by Generals, Wizards and Heroes, collectively known as characters. Specific rules for Generals, Wizards and Heroes are given in the Generals, Wizards & Heroes section of the rulebook.
Giving an order
The player begins giving an order by choosing a unit which he wishes to move. He must then take a dice test to determine if the order is received and acted upon. This works in the following way:
Roll 2D6 (i.e., roll two dice and add the results to get a score of between 2 and 12). If the score is equal to or less than the character’s Command value then the unit has received its order and can move full pace. If the score is more than the character’s Command value then the unit has not received its order and can move only half pace (see Movement). This represents unit’s commanders being able to act on their own to some limited extent.
Once a character has begun to issue orders, he must finish issuing all of his orders before another character can start to do so. It is not permitted for a character to issue an order, then a different character to issue one, then the first character again.
Once a character has failed to give an order, he cannot issue any more orders in that Command phase. Once the General has failed to give an order, no further orders can be issued by any other characters in that Command phase even if they have not done so already. The character has run out of time, the distance between him and the unit he is issuing orders to is too great for his signals to be discerned, or the message may have been lost or confused (perhaps the messenger has been caught up in nearby enemy action and killed).
Giving further orders
When a unit is given an order, it moves to a new position. Usually this enables the unit to move 20cm if it is infantry or 30cm if cavalry, but some troops move at different speeds as we shall see later.
Once a unit has moved, the character can give it a further order to move again or he can attempt to give an order to a different unit. However, he is not permitted to go back to a previously moved unit once he has moved another unit. Nor is a different character permitted to give a unit an order if that unit has already been given an order that turn, even if the order was failed. This is an important rule so it is worth remembering right from the start. If you want to move a unit several times, the character must finish ordering it to move completely before he can try to issue an order to a different unit. Note that a unit can be given up to a maximum of three orders in succession. A unit failing to receive a further order cannot move at all.
The player continues issuing orders and moving his units until he no longer wishes to move or until he can issue no more orders. It is possible to fail to issue any orders at all during a Command phase, although this happens rarely. More commonly, a player might manage to move only one or two units before a dice roll ends movement. This represents the confusion of battle, the indecisiveness of unit leaders, occasional stupidity and all those other annoying things that bedevil the process of waging war.
Command penalties
Circumstances can sometimes make it harder to issue an order. For example, a unit might be a far distant speck on the horizon or it might be obscured within dense terrain. All of these things make it harder for the character to identify what is going on and less likely that an effective order will be formulated or received. To represent this, we apply the following penalties:
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If the distance between the character and the unit you wish to move is more than 20cm, the character suffers a Command penalty of −1 per full 20cm of distance. When measuring distances between characters and units in this way, measure the shortest distance between them.
Distance to Unit Command Penalty Up to 20cm
none
Up to 40cm
−1
Up to 60cm
−2
Up to 80cm
−3
per +20cm
minus a further 1
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If a unit has already been issued an order during the Command phase then there is a Command penalty of −1 each time the character gives it a further order. This accounts for fatigue and the limits of time, so a unit which has already moved several times is harder to move again. This penalty is cumulative, so a unit’s second order is at −1, its third order is at −2.
Order Command Penalty First
none
Second
−1
Third
−2
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If the distance between the unit you wish to move and the closest enemy unit is 20cm or less, there is a Command penalty of −1. Units close to the enemy are naturally inclined to use their initiative to react, so it is harder to give them a specific order.
Closest Enemy Command Penalty Up to 20cm
−1
More than 20cm
none
-
If the unit you want to move is in dense terrain then there is a Command penalty of −1. The penalty applies if at least one stand is even partially within dense terrain. Typical dense terrain features are woods, in and around buildings, ruins and similar. See the Movement section for more about dense terrain as well as Advanced Terrain Rules for more examples.
Dense Terrain Command Penalty Within feature
−1
For example, a General (Command value 9) wishes to order a unit of infantry to move forward. The unit is 25cm distant (−1 distance penalty) and within a wood (−1 dense terrain penalty). The player therefore requires a dice roll of 7 or less to successfully issue an order.
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If the unit has lost one or more stands as casualties then there is a Command penalty of −1 per stand lost. Units which have suffered casualties are harder to motivate than fresh units.
Casualties Command Penalty Each Stand
−1
Charge!
A move which brings a unit into contact with the enemy is called a charge. A charge does not imply that the unit concerned covers the whole distance at a mad gallop but, nonetheless, we will use this word as a convenient and dramatic term to describe a move into confrontation. Units that failed to receive an order cannot charge.
Once it has charged, a unit cannot receive any further orders that turn. It is committed to battle and must fight in the ensuing Combat phase. See the Combat phase section for further explanation.
Brigades
In order to save time, it is permitted for an order to be issued to up to four adjacent units simultaneously. This means that fewer tests need to be taken to issue orders to the entire army and ensures that units move at the same time, maintaining a coherent battle plan. If you find this a bit confusing, don’t worry. You can safely ignore the Brigade rules for your first few games. Later on, once you’ve got the hang of other aspects of the game, you can have a go at giving orders in this way.
A brigade consists of up to four units arranged so that they touch, forming a single body. Units comprising a brigade at the start of the ordered movement part of the Command phase can be given a single order and are moved together as a body. Once it has moved, the brigade can be given further orders if required, potentially moving several times in just the same way as individual units.
Bear in mind that it is not obligatory to move units as a brigade simply because they happen to be touching at the start of the Command phase. A brigade is not a formal division of the army but a convenient ad hoc formation that can be changed from one turn to the next. Units formed up together can be given separate orders if you prefer, or two or three units can be divided from a larger formation and treated as a completely separate brigade. It is really up to you whether you choose to move touching units as a brigade or not.
To give orders to a brigade, measure to the most distant unit in the brigade and take one test. Remember to apply the −1 penalty if any units in the brigade are within 20cm of the enemy, in dense terrain, if the brigade has moved before or if any units have lost casualties. Don’t apply any penalties more than once (if two units are in dense terrain for example) and in the case of casualties apply the penalty for the unit which has lost the most stands. If your test is successful, the entire brigade is in receipt of an order, whereas if you fail, it is not and the whole brigade moves at half pace or doesn’t move at all depending on whether it is a first or subsequent order (see Giving an order).
Assuming an order is successfully issued, the brigade can move. Except when units wish to charge, brigades move as a body, with each unit remaining in touch with the brigade as a whole.
Individual units in the brigade can change their relative positions but must still form a brigade once its move is complete. Individual units in the brigade can change formation as they move. No stand in any unit in the brigade may move further than its permitted move distance.
Conceivably, some units in a brigade might wish to charge the enemy whilst others do not, as shown in the following diagrams. Any units in a brigade that wish to charge do not have to remain in touch with the rest of the brigade as a whole. Even though a single brigade order has been issued, individual units can always charge. They do so individually, one at a time, exactly as if they had been issued separate orders. Units which do not charge still have to end their move touching.
Once a brigade has moved, the player may not want to move the whole brigade again but might wish to move an individual unit or subset of touching units. Alternatively, he may wish to divide the brigade into two and move it in two different directions. To do this, the player must issue a separate order to each unit or sub-brigade. The individual units or sub-sets will carry over any Command penalty for a second or subsequent move.
Once a brigade has moved, the player must finish moving all the units in the original brigade before he moves other units. If he divides a brigade into two (say A and B), he must complete the movement of each subset in turn before moving anything else (so he must finish moving group A, then group B and then he can move other units in the army).
Brigades cannot use initiative as a body. Units using initiative must be moved at the start of the Command phase in the usual way.
During a battle, units may be moved into touch to form a new brigade. However, a brigade cannot be formed and subsequently moved in the same Command phase. Units must be in a brigade at the start of the ordered movement part of the Command phase to move as a brigade.