Scenario Generator

If there's one thing that I wanted to get away from, it's the tendency for a wargame to have two armies line up facing each other and fighting until x number of units have been destroyed. This still should be a frequent happening, but I feel that there should be other scenarios that result from an encounter between two armies.

Before the battle starts, the player must pick a stance: Attack, Defend or Recon.

The opposing commander will have a reputation: Cautious, Bold or Rash.

After the player has picked his stance, roll 1 die to determine the opposition's stance. Cautious commanders subtract 1 from the roll. Rash commanders add 1 to the roll.

Result         Stance
2 or less      Defend
3 or 4          Recon
5 or more    Attack

Now we come to the concept of scouting. The player must select which units, if any, he wishes to use as scouts. Each unit selected is worth a number of scouting points:

4 points     Flyers, Airships, Magicians, Rogues.
3 points     Mounted Archers.
2 points     Skirmishers, Auxiliaries, Lurkers, Cavalry.
1 point       Other troop units.

A maximum number of one third (rounded down) of the units in the army may be selected as scouts.

The opposing army has a pool of potential scouts equal to the maximum number of scouts that could be picked, starting with units worth the most scouting points.

To determine which of these units are selected as scouts, roll 1 die for each unit. A unit is selected if a 4 or more is rolled. Cautious commanders add 1 to this roll, Rash commanders subtract 1.

Each army adds together the the scouting points of units selected as scouts. Each side adds 2 to this total if the army commander is rated as average, and 4 to this total if rated as superior. Each side also adds the roll of 1 die.

After scouting, roll 1 die for each unit that was selected to scout. On a 1 or 2, something has happened to that unit. Roll another die. On a 1 or 2, the unit is destroyed. On a 3 or 4, the unit misses the battle. On a 5 or 6, the unit is late for the battle and is placed with the army's reserves.

Compare the total scouting scores of the two armies. If one side scores three times or more the total of the other, the lower scoring army is surprised, otherwise the lower scorer is outscouted.

Scenario Outcome Table
                                                   Attack                         Recon                   Defend
                
                  outscouts            Pitched Battle             Pitched Battle              Assault
Attack        tied with                Special*                       Special*            Assault Special*
                  surprises            Surprise Attack           Surprise Attack      Surprise Assault

                  outscouts            Pitched Battle                   Skirmish                 Assault
Recon        tied with                Special*                        Special*                  Special*
                  surprises                Ambush                        Ambush            Surprise Assault

                  outscouts               Assault                          Assault                   Skirmish
Defend        tied with            Assault Special*                Special*             Disputed Border
                  surprises                  Trap                               Trap                        Trap

Special scenarios. Roll 1 die:

1     Seize Magic Item
2     Wizard's Tower
3     Treasure Raid
4     Dragon's Lair
5,6  Surprise Encounter

Assault Special scenarios. Roll 1 die:

1 or 2     River Crossing
3 or 4     Urban Assault
5 or 6     Amphibious Landing

Pitched Battle is your standard line 'em up and knock 'em down scenario.
Assault requires the defender to select a stronghold, which is a fortification and also counts as an objective, worth Victory Points to whomever is holding it. An Assault scenario may instead be a Siege if the defender has a castle in the area.
Ambush has the surprised army set up in the middle of the board with all it's units disorganized - each unit must be ordered once to remove the disorganization before it can be ordered to move.
Surprise Assault is the same as an Assault but the defending army is disorganized.
Skirmish has neither army set up on the board at the start. Each army scores victory points by moving units off the opposing army's base edge.
Trap has the attacking army disorganized. The defending army can place field defences and infiltrate some troop units which can be deployed anywhere on the board.
Disputed Border has both armies dug in and a town in the middle of the board, the town being an objective worth victory points.

The first four Special scenarios all have the relevant pieces placed in a random location on the board.
A surprise encounter has both armies disorganized.

River crossing has a river running across the middle of the board. The attacking army receives Victory Points for units that cross the river.
Urban Assault has a large town on the board which counts as an objective.
Amphibious Landing requires the attacking player to use boats to land troops.

That's 15 different scenarios, and enough variety to keep me happy!