Development Notes: NIPPON Warring States ARMY BOOK

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With the release of Total War: Shogun 2, it's now time to kick-start this old project of mine again.

The Nippon Army Book was always confronted with three possible routes, historical, mystical or mythical (and by that I include anything over the top from anime and manga sources).

The top contenders for secondary sources to structure the book around would be have been truly historical Turnbull/Osprey, etcetera or RPG based, especially L5R. L5R was slightly more in the mystical camp, so when another Fandex based their model on that, I was relieved, since it freed the approach to a more historical army list. Studying Shogun 2 allows a more disinterested perspective in how such a list should look like, without getting caught in the mire of trying to defend your position too greatly.

Army composition should, in my view, go along these lines:

Core - Peasants, Ashigaru

Special - Samurai, Ronin, Monks

Rare - Artillery, Ninjas, Tengu, Oni

Characters - the usual suspects, selected youkai


Character mounts and monsters are actually a problem in a more historical based list. The best I came up with was the Ki-rin, who's remarkable pacifistic in nature, the Dragon, who's even rare than the Elven ones, and the flying cloud, which I nicked off Dragonball. You don't see chariots used in warfare.

Shogun 2 makes no mention of armed peasants, they're added for colour and completion, possibly also as troop types for pirates and brigands; Ashigaru are an essential part of any Nippon army.

Samurai are the raison d'etre for playing this faction, and you should be able to craft them into any form you want. Ronin is a more difficult topic, since supply usually depends on the recent demise of a clan, and the retainers finding neither need nor desire to join their masters in the after life. Supply of Monks doesn't appear to be a problem, just their representation.

Artillery tends to be confined to sieges, but in this game you have to have this option for the field. Ninjas, I've always seen this more as a character, CA makes them grenade throwers and nasty at close range in short combats. Tengu and Oni seem to be the only mythical creatures that tend to organize themselves, and easily cloned from similar troop types.

My take on this army is to remove the champion, musician and standard bearer options directly from each unit. Most of the army doesn't have great personal initiative, it needs to be inspired by it's leaders, who together with unit upgrades get added separately later.

There seems to be a trend to limit Magic Items to around eight per book, so figuring out which ones would contribute the most without going overboard is going to be interesting.

Another form of upgrade, that's based more on generalship should compensate.

I'll probably have to revise the magic system again, which is a pity, since I thought it was rather elegant.

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WAKATO

Levied from the peasants that till their fields and labour in their holds, the Wakato units are usually tasked with mundane tasks of porters and labourers, and while equipped with hand weapons, only in extremis would any commander be desperate enough to deploy them in battle.

............M Ws.Bs S T W I A Ld Points
Wakato .4 . 2 . 2 .3 3. 1 3 1 5 . 02

Unit Size:
10+

Weapons & Armour:
Hand Weapon

Special Rules:
Peasant

OPTIONS

Weapons (one choice only):
Yari ....... 1 point

Additional equipment (one choice only):
Rocks ....... default





CHUGEN

While drawn from the Peasants class, Chugen are trained as a militia to supplement the professional troops under the command of their overlords, though most due to the requirements of their local economies, rarely deployed outside their immediate provinces nor for any extended period. Most Chugen will plant their spears in the pathways between the rice fields, which permits them to be mustered almost immediately in the face of any threat or unexpected incursion.

............M Ws.Bs S T W I A Ld Points
Chugen .4 . 3 . 2 .3 3. 1 2 1 6 . 04

Unit Size:
10+

Weapons & Armour:
Hand Weapon

Special Rules:
Peasant

OPTIONS

Weapons (one choice only):
Yari ....... 1 point

Additional equipment (one choice only):
None ....... default






Peasant
A deference enforced by feudalism and reinforced by severe discipline for incurring the merest slight, peasants' incentive for showing initiative may be severely tempered. Peasants must take a leadership test in order to declare a charge against an enemy unit, unless the unit is joined by a character.

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CA lists the following as infantry:

Loan Sword Ashigaru - The Japanese can manufacture swords in industrial quantities, sufficient to even equip their huge armies, the question I have would be if these would be up to the quality we usually associate with Samurai swords, which even the most common ones require weeks of production. In the game, this unit is great for making up the numbers, since their upkeep is 50 koku, and in the long run that pays for itself, but historically, you went to battle with either a polearm or a missile weapon, anything else seems rather unhelpful.Also, for the tabletop, you want to distinguish between the equipment your common troops have access to and the Warrior elite.

Katana Hero - Character with upgrades that effect a unit.

Katana Ronin - Don't see any problem with this, though I wouldn't give them an automatic skill boost.

Katana Samurai - Default; despite the fact that they should be carrying spears.

No-Dachi Samurai - Really impressive charge; though I'd move the Banzai ability to a character upgrade; admittingly, that means that every unit can potentially do that.

Samurai Retainers - Upgraded Samurai, I think Hatamoto should cover it.

Naginata Samurai - Not a problem

Naginata warrior Monks - A weapons upgrade, since I want to leave them bare to customize as needed.

Onna Bushi - Colourful, but don't contribute anything really to the list, so will be left out.

Warrior Nuns - Heard about them, but like Onna Bushi, I doubt they contribute anything substantial to the list.

Fire Bomb Throwers - Not sure if this should be included.


Weapon Upgrades:

Matchlock - Teppo; might link this to a required character attribute.

Yari - Yari by itself is a normal spear, there would be another one available for more pike type length and effect.

Bow - Little ambivalent on this, if all three should be available, the classic one would just be the longbow.

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Cavalry is rather scarce, both in reality and in the game; in the original concept, cavalry is an upgrade for a Samurai unit:

Katana Cavalry - That would be the default, though they're more likely to be equipped with yari.

Bow Cavalry - Longbow upgrade.

Light Cavalry - Basically, light armour, no barding.

Yari Cavalry - Not sure if they should be allowed lances; barding permitted.

Great Guard - Originally, I had them down as Samurai upgraded to Hatamoto, unique; in a large game, one per warrior lord.

Monk Cavalry - I don't feel this works out with the aesthetic, so no.

Non-samurai Cavalry - Ronin are too poor to afford horses, and peasants would not be tolerated on them; this doesn't count for characters.


Weapon Upgrades:

Naginata - Not really sure how effective they are from horseback, but usually equipped the Hatamoto with them during test matches last year to even the odds.

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And finally, we get to war machines:

Cannons - Historically, the Japanese got theirs from three sources, China, Europe and home grown. Apparently, against the stone fortifications built by Japanese engineers, it didn't have much effect in the medium term, more of a demoralizer, and if they did use them on the battle field, it was from a fixed position. The most effective ones were "liberated" or bought from European traders, and would be the standard game cannons. The Chinese ones were probably useless, which is why they seem to have disappeared from the scene, though the secret of gun powder remained. The local brass ones fired a two pound ball, which I can't believe had any effect against the Japanese stone castles, and probably not worth bringing to the battlefield. The other variant is cast from iron with breech loading, though beyond that fact, I haven't been able to track down any information as to how effective it was. This could be represented as a cheaper alternative with a higher rate of malfunction. One interesting type that turns up later in their history but is "viable" in terms of their current technology, are wooden cannons, which probably had a greater rate of failure than iron cast ones, but would be cheaper and faster to manufacture.

Fire Projecting Mangonels - Until I saw them in Shogun 2, I never heard of them in the Japanese context; basically, I'd say they were a Halfling Hotpot with splash effect. I'm not sure I would include them. There was an exchange of knowledge with the mainland, so siege engines and techniques can't have been unknown in Japan, but you never really get to hear of them using the ones you'd logically expect to be effective.

Fire Rockets - At the time we tested the original list, the players were insistent on some form of artillery, so we basically adopted the Nenelwerfer from the Empire book, though I felt that had a more Korean flavour. While I did know the Japanese had and used rockets, this was the first time I saw them deployed as grenade launchers, which I feel can bring more or less the same effect as the Nebelwerfer, while keeping it unique to this Army Book. Something to work out in the course of writing the list.

Traction Trebuchet - Probably use this to substitute for the Fire Projecting Mangonel. It's not mentioned in Shogun 2, but it does pop up when you research siege weapons in Japan. Actually, so does a form of a very heavy crossbow, but that seems to disappear in a generation or two after it's introduction, so the Japanese must have found it impractical.

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General - There are two types of Generals, those from the family of the ruling Daimyo, and others that have managed promotion through the ranks of the Clan and associated minor clans. Inspiration and Stand & Fight are interesting capabilities; default leadership of non-family generals might be a point lower. Specializing in various arms also differentiates Nippon generals from others.

Geisha - I would really like to see a Geisha on the battlefield, but she's a sitting target without even a forcefield to deflect damage, though conceivably she'd have a short range poisoned missile weapon and disorientation at close quarters.More of a strategic asset.

Metsuke - Wrong game, but Commissar material. Being of Samurai caste, they'd know how to fight, and might even be able to spot infiltrators and shore up morale.

Missionary - Imported Empire Warrior priest? Doesn't fit in, in any case.

Monk - Morale booster and advanced scout; my concept was more along the lines of Warrior Priest and Arch Lector, which is not terribly original.

Ninja - The obvious use is as an assassin, though advance scout is just as likely. The only character that should be allowed to join a unit of Ninja.

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These are unit abilities, and how I'd think they would be used on the tabletop; whether they would be a viable addition to the army book in whole, part of modified form is open to question:

Stealth - Hard to say; no LoS to unit; can neither be purposefully targeted nor units moved to intercept? This one is difficult to pull off, beyond pre-deploying before battle begins.

Bamboo Wall - Fixed, impassable terrain?

Banzai! - Unit frenzied; WS and movement increased by 1; one turn only, every three turns.

Blinding Grenades - Ninjas only; lowers movement, WS, BS, AC. Initiative and leadership by 2; once every three turns.

Burning Buildings - Bloody pyromaniacs.

Fire Arrows - Bow equipped units only, not in wet weather, once per three turns.

Increased Range - Unit increases range of their missile weapon for one turn, every three turns.

Inspire - One unit within 6" range of the general; increase by 1 WS, BS, ROF, Attacks, Initiative, Strength and Leadership for one tunr, available evry three turns per game.

Mines - I'm wondering if you can use this on land; probably only for sieges.

Ranked Fire - Default; maybe fire and movement otherwise.

Regroup Position - Rallied troops gain an immediate free movement towards a point indicated within the command range of the general; one turn only, usable every three turns.

Rapid Volley - Matchlocks only; no movement; can't be used on the first turn; one turn only, usable every three turns.

Screens - Fixed; +2 to AC.

Second Wind - Cavalry units only; 6" range, no negative leadership modifiers, no negative movement modifiers, one turn, once every three turns per game.

Rapid Advance - Yari unit increases speed by 1 for one turn, available once every three turns.

Stand & Fight - Unit with general only; no movement, no flanks or rear, non-warmachine and non-monsters friendly units within 6" range increase WS by one and double ROF; leadership radius increases by 25%.

Hold Firm - 6" range, no negative modifications to leadership, one turn, once per game.

Swooping Crane - Horse archers, two shots, lowers speed by two, for one turn, once very two turns.

War Cry - Lowers leadership, AC and speed of opposing units by one within 8", for one turn, once every two turns.

Whistling Arrows - Lowers leadership by 1 of all units over which the arrow(s) fly, for one turn; does not stack with other whistling arrows fired by other eligible units, once every two turns.

Yari Square - No movement, no flanks or rear, two ranks on all sides.

Yari Wall - Maybe the equivalent to Pikes: First strike, three ranks, front only, no movement.

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As an interesting character, you could have the Fukkan - nothing really exceptional in fighting capability, but his continued presence on the table allows spectators to make solicited or unsolicited comments and advice on the owning player's current and future tactics, deployments, movements, as well as possible opposing player's units, intent, tactics, equipment and so on, as long as it's dramatically expressed in an exaggerated Japanese accent.


Clan Traits

Oda - Ashigaru units and upgrades cost twenty percent less; Ashigaru leadership tests are conducted with a +1 bonus.

Shimazu - Infantry samurai units cost ten percent less; infantry samurai units have +1 bonus to WS; difficult to corrupt General if samurai caste.

Mori - Amphibious assault bonus?

Tokugawa - Tricky; above normal character equipment allowance.

Takeda - Cavalry units cost ten percent less; cavalry unit leadership +1 bonus; cavalry units +1 bonus to WS.

Uesugi - Above normal monk equipment allowance; warrior monk units cost twenty percent less; warrior monk units have +1 bonus to WS.

Date - All units can Banzai charge; infantry samurai units equipped with no-dachi have +1 bonus to WS; nodachi upgrade costs 50% less.

Chosokabe - All bow equipped units cost ten percent less; player may field an extra ten percent larger army than normal point restriction.

Hattori - Units can be upgraded to scout.

Hojo - More effective artillery units (I'm thinking Dwarven efficiency).

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Actually, I was going to post the last for the basis for the Army Book, unfortunately, it was lost yesterday during the re-login; I'll redo it by the weekend, though it's on the rather frivolous combat traits, less frivolous than the civilian ones.

Basically, there are two versions planned for this faction - the core of the first one can be still seen in my old Warseer thread, and the nominal project name is NIPPON Rising Son, based on the system I was developing for the generic DOGS OF WAR Soldiers of Fortune. The second one, which came about because of some advice from an old GW hand (who's gone on to better things), is the whose genesis you're witnessing; it's basically simpler and more compatible to the current Army Books that GW is producing, with a couple of tweaks that make it unique enough to differentiate from it's compatriots, easy enough to use and interesting enough to continue to use.

NIPPON Rising Sun ARMY BOOK is more of a self indulgent intellectual exercise, railing against the current dumbification of the system.

One problem that can't be ignored is the general ignorance of the history and conditions in Warhammer's Nippon. The culture is fairly easy to extract from our universe's version. Balancing the clan traits against each other seems pointless without relentless play testing, so a better system might just be a generic one - the clans remain nameless and you pay for what you want.

In this period, the Imperial family is purely a figurehead, special characters would be limited to the Shogun, a magic user, and some of the more colourful warriors that had the temerity to appear.

I had two magic systems for the original one prepared, but for Warring States it would be reasonable to see if you can just use the generic one already available, that doesn't sound very interesting, and seems implausible, unless the Elves decided to teach it as well in the Far East, rather than the Eastern civilizations developing it independently themselves.

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The Arts of Bushido

Bushido - Units that follow the Code of Bushido cannot use non-Bushido characters' leadership for tests.

Strategy of Defense - All units within command range gain bonus +1 to AC when attacked.

Strategy of Attack - All units within command range gain bonus +1 to WS when attacking.

Way of the Sword - Unit specific; bonus +1 to WS for katana and hand weapons identified as blades.

Sword Expertise - Unit specific; Banzai charge for katana units.

Kenjutsu Mastery - Unit specific; bonus +2 to WS for katana and hand weapons identified as blades.

Way of the Spear - Unit specific; bonus +1 to WS for yari.

Spear Expertise - Unit specific; can form spear square.

Sojutsu Mastery - Unit specific; bonus +2 to WS for yari.

Way of the Bow - Unit specific; can use fire arrows (must have brought along their own brazier).

Bow Mastery - Unit specific; bonus +1 to BS for bows.

Kyujutsu Mastery - Unit specific; can fire bonus volley for every two rounds of continuous fire.

Heaven and Earth - Bonus baggage train? A chicken in every pot?

The Five Elements - Command radius increase bonus +25%.

Form - Unit specific; cavalry unit can execute Swooping Crane.

Horse Mastery - Unit specific; cavalry unit bonus +1 to movement.

Shih - This one looks a little over-powered; army point allowance increased by 5%; bonus +1 to WS for all army specific charging units; bonus +1 to general's leadership; bonus +1 to AC for all army specific units.


Well, that's it. The trick is to convert all these troops, characters, capabilities and traits into a Warhammer compatible army.