My house army lists and rule changes for TtS Crusades games. TtS Even Longer.

Following the lengthy reply I made in comments relating the last Crusades post, I thought it might be useful if I posted these. They are the army lists and quick reference sheets that I'll use here for TtS Crusades games. They have all of the house rule amendments included (at least I'm pretty sure they do), and the sheets over ride the rules as originally published.

Obviously, the lists reflect what's in my collection. The rule changes have been made purely to add an extra layer of depth to give my Crusades games more period characterisation - this is especially the case when it comes to missile weapon technology. 

I've added a new formation called whirling mass specifically to reflect the tactics of Turcoman horse archers. Unlike settled Seljuk Turks and Arab troops, who used shower shooting whilst stationary, Turcomans were constantly on the move when shooting. Turcomans used, what I can only describe simply as, 'shooting by tribal caracole': That is sweeping in in large groups, before shooting, then retiring, the process constantly being repeated by more groups behind. This whirling, dust raising multi-unit tactic is a difficult thing to model, so I've come up with whirling mass. (see notes under Turcomans in the lists below).

I've also added a couple of simple rule changes for impetuous troops who often charged without orders, and made a simple change to the way artillery works. 

Possibly the most radical change I've made is to dispense with ammunition chits altogether because so much in the Crusades shoots; having stacks of chits everywhere isn't great; I frequently forget to expend them on shooting (or worse put them into the replenishment stack); it is a needless complication that slows the game down. Units do still go out of ammunition (and such units are marked with a counter) but, they do so following activation to shoot, on drawing a 1 (ace) chit when determining if there is a hit or not (javelins are treated slightly differently - see QRF). Ammunition is replenished in the usual way except that on a single replenishment the unit counts as 'loaded' until it draws a 1 (ace) chit again. I do something similar for lances. I do not have separate lance and ammunition chits, they amount to the same thing and have been termed 'replenishment chits'.

I'll stick my neck out here and say that Simon M. will not mind me publishing this as I think the official TtS army lists and QRF are free to download from his site, and he's quite open to new ideas. He calls his amendments TtS Even Stronger; I call my amendments TtS Even Longer.

EDIT: Since originally posting I have edited the tables and reposted them here. Some people are not getting the tables in the right format. If you are experiencing difficulties, drop me an email (see my contact details in the sidebar), and I'll send you the original MS Word doc.

Syrian
Unit		Description	#	Save	Cost
Generals & heroes		Mounted, attached general	1 - 3	2+	5
		Upgrade to heroic	Any	3+	+1
		Upgrade to senior general	0 - 1	-	+1
		Mounted, Turcoman tribal leader ¹	0 - 1	2+	5
		Heroes	4 - 8	-	1
Askari or Ghulams		Cavalry lance, veteran	1 - 3	6+	11
		Upgrade by adding composite bow	Any	-	+2
Other Syrian or Kurdish cavalry		Cavalry lance	1 - 6	7+	9
		Upgrade to veteran	Up to 1/2	6+	+2
Bedouin cavalry		Light cavalry lance or javelin, raw	0 - 4	8+	4
		Upgrade from raw	Any	7+	+1
		Reform two units into tribal mass ²	Any	-	-1
Turcomans		Light cavalry composite bow	4 - 8	8+	5
		Reform two units into whirling mass ³	Up to 1/2	-	0
		Upgrade to impetuous ⁴	Any	-	-1
Ah’dath		Shieldwall, raw	0 - 5	8+	5
		Upgrade spearmen to glaiveman (2HCW)	Up to 2	-	+1
Muttatawwia		Warriors, deep, impetuous	0 - 2	7+	10
		Upgrade to warriors, fanatics, deep, impetuous ⁴, added hero	0 - 2	8+	+1
Kurds or Daylami foot		Javelinmen, veteran	0 - 2	6+	7
Crossbowmen		Light infantry, crossbow	0 - 2	8+	4
Al-ashair		Light infantry, composite bow, raw	0 - 5	9+	3
Naffatun		Small light infantry unit, hand hurled ITW weapon ⁵	0 - 2	8+	3
Artillery		Small artillery unit.	0 - 2	7+	7
1	Notes Must command at least at least four tribal units; may not command other troops.
2	·         A tribal mass is represented by placing one unit directly behind the other with the same facing. ·         A tribal mass has two hits; it is disordered after receiving a first hit, lost after receiving the second. ·         A tribal mass is not required to evade when charged; it may, however, choose to evade. ·         A tribal mass may charge disordered formed troops frontally. ·         A tribal mass cannot share a box with any other troops. ·         A tribal mass is treated as light troops in all other respects.
3	·         A whirling mass is represented by placing the stands in a circle running clockwise with the command stands arranged so that the facing of the formation is clear. ·         A whirling mass has two hits; it is disordered after receiving the first, lost after receiving the second. ·         A whirling mass can shoot twice on the same activation unless it is disordered, in rough terrain, or it is partially OOA (partially OOA with one OOA marker, totally OOA with two) when it can shoot only once. ·         A whirling mass never presents a flank to shooters but always presents a flank to chargers. ·         A whirling mass cannot share a box with any other troops. ·         A whirling mass is treated as light troops in all other respects.
4	A failed activation on a 1 will cause impetuous troops to charge the nearest enemy unit within reach and remain impetuous until successfully activated again. Whilst impetuous light troops may not evade. Impetuous troops always hit on 6+ in the first round of combat.
5	If Naffatun turn a 1 when activating to shoot (throw) their fire pot incendiary terror weapons (ITW), someone drops a pot and the unit must make a save or be lost.

 

 

 

Seljuk
Unit		Description	#	Save	Cost
Generals & heroes		Mounted, attached general	1 - 3	2+	5
		Upgrade to heroic	Any	3+	+1
		Upgrade to senior general	0 - 1	-	+1
		Mounted, Turcoman tribal leader ¹	0 - 2	2+	5
		Heroes	3 - 6	-	1
Ghulams		Cavalry, lance, composite bow	2 - 5	7+	11
		Upgrade to veteran	Any	6+	+2
Seljuk horse archers		Cavalry, composite bow	2 - 5	8+	9
		Upgrade to veteran	Up to 1/2	7+	11
Turcomans		Light cavalry composite bow	6 - 12	8+	5
		Reform two units into whirling mass ²	Up to 1/2	-	0
		Upgrade to impetuous ³	Any	-	-1
Armenian knights		Cavalry, lance	0 - 2	7+	9
Armenian light cavalry		Light cavalry lance or javelin	0 - 2	8+	5
Syrian cavalry		Cavalry, lance, veteran	0 - 1	6+	11
Bedouin cavalry		Light cavalry lance or javelin, raw	0 - 1	8+	4
Turkish or Armenian foot.		Javelinmen	0 - 5	7+	7
Turkish or Armenian archers.		Light infantry, composite bow	0 - 5	8+	4
Kurds or Daylami foot		Javelinmen, veteran	0 - 2	6+	9
Adhath		Shieldwall, raw	0 - 2	8+	5
Crossbowmen		Light infantry, crossbow	0 - 2	8+	4
Naffatun		Small light infantry unit, hand hurled ITW ⁴	0 - 2	8+	3
Artillery		Small artillery unit.	0 - 2	7+	7
1	Notes Must command at least at least four tribal units; may not command other troops.
2	·         A whirling mass is represented by placing the stands in a ‘circle’, running clockwise, with the command stands arranged so that the facing of the formation is clear. ·         A whirling mass has two hits; it is disordered after receiving the first, lost after receiving the second. ·         A whirling mass can shoot twice on the same activation unless it is disordered, in rough terrain, or it is partially OOA (partially OOA with one OOA marker, totally OOA with two) when it can shoot only once. ·         A whirling mass never presents a flank to shooters; it always presents a flank to chargers. ·         A whirling mass cannot share a box with any other troops. ·         A whirling mass is treated as light troops in all other respects.
3	A failed activation on a 1 will cause impetuous troops to charge the nearest enemy unit within reach and remain impetuous until successfully activated again. Whilst impetuous light troops may not evade. Impetuous troops always hit on 6+ in the first round of contact.
4	If Naffatun turn a 1 when activating to shoot (throw) their fire pot incendiary terror weapons (ITW), someone drops a pot and the unit must make a save or be lost.
Other Notes ·         Danishmend armies can also include Syrian cavalry and Adhath. ·         Great Seljuk armies can include everything except Armenians. ·         Following the First Crusade, Seljuk armies did, on occasion, field allied contingents of Franks.

 

 

Crusader (Frankish)
Unit		Description	#	Save	Cost
Generals & heroes		Mounted, attached, heroic general	1 - 4	3+	6
		Upgrade to senior general	0 - 1	-	+1
		Upgrade senior general to ‘Great’ as Bohemund ¹	0 - 1	3+	+4
		Upgrade to mounted, attached, heroic Military Order general ²	0 - 1	3+	0
		Mounted, attached, Armenian ally general ³	0 - 1	2+	5
		Heroes	4 - 8	-	+1
Army standard		True Cross or Holy Lance of Antioch, attached ⁴	0 - 1	-	4
Knights		Knights, lance	2 - 6	6+	11
		Upgrade to veteran	Up to 1/2	5+	+2
		Upgrade veteran knights to Brother Knights, fanatics, plus added hero	0 - 1	5+	+2
Turcopoles		Light cavalry, lance, composite bow	0 - 4	7+	6
Armenian knights		Cavalry, lance	0 - 2	7+	9
Armenian cavalry		Light cavalry, javelin	0 - 2	7+	5
Bedouin cavalry		Light cavalry lance or javelin, raw	0 - 1	8+	4
Foot Sergeants		Armoured foot with integral bow or crossbow support	0 - 8	6+	10
		Upgrade as bolstered by foot knights (2HCW) ⁵	0 - 4	5+	+2
		Upgrade as veteran Brother Sergeants	0 - 1	5+	+2
Arriere-ban or pilgrim soldiers		Shield wall, raw	0 - 3	8+	6
Crossbowmen		Armoured light infantry, crossbow	0 - 2	7+	4
Archers / slingers		Light infantry, simple bow or sling	0 - 3	8+	4
Pilgrims		1st Crusade, civilian mass, IPW ⁶	0 - 5	9+	4
		Upgrade to Mob, deep, IPW as pilgrim militia	0 - 2	8+	+3
Armenian foot		Javelinmen	0 - 3	7+	7
Armenian archers		Light infantry, composite bow	0 - 3	8+	4
Syrian archers		Light infantry, composite bow, raw	0 - 3	9+	3
Maronite archers		Bowmen, composite bow	0 - 1	8+	7
Artillery		Small artillery unit.	0 - 2	7+	7
1	Notes Bohemund may play two replacement ‘activation chits’, or ‘to hit chits’, or a combination of both, in a single turn rather than the usual one. When testing for injury he always picks the lower of two chits.
2	General must attach to Military Order knights; he may only command knights, sergeants, crossbowmen and turcopoles. Military Order knights require a military order general.
3	An Armenian ally General is needed if more than four units of Armenians are used.
4	Add three extra VP medals to the army’s total; lose three VP medals if it is lost. Count as a hero for any unit within 1 box range. Units in the same box, or adjacent boxes, never test for routing units.
5	The number of available mounted knight units must be reduced by one for every bolstered foot sergeant unit fielded.
6	Civilian mass are 1st Crusade pilgrims ‘on the road’ rather than an armed mob. They have two hits (to reduce staying power). They do not count as deep for box occupation. Upgraded mobs are as per the standard rules and include campaigning pilgrim militias. Both count as deep formations for movement.
Other notes ·         Military Order Brother Knights and Brother Sergeants are only available after 1128. The save of Brother Knights is not downgraded for being fanatic due to their discipline, hence 2 points extra. ·         Armenians are only available to the armies of Antioch and Eddessa. ·         Maronite archers are only available to Tripoli. ·         Knights did not regularly dismount to fight. During the last year of the 1st Crusade (1098 -99) half the total number of knights fielded must fight on foot due to a lack of horses. German knights dismounted to fight in the difficult terrain, “as was their Teutonic fashion”, outside Damascus in 1147. ·         Frankish armies sometimes included larger Islamic contingents than listed. E.g. Bedouin tribesmen under their own chieftain, large numbers of Turcoman mercenaries, or the army of an allied Islamic state.

 

Easy Activations
Move or Charge one box straight ahead, or two boxes straight ahead if mounted.
Move and Shoot one box straight ahead (light troops armed with javelins only).
Shoot and Move backwards, facing in same or opposite direction (light troops armed with bows only).
Replenish units that are out of ammunition (OOA), or replenish ‘broken lances’.
Rally.
Difficult Activations (Light troops ignore all difficulty)
Move or Charge one box diagonally ahead, maintaining facing; mounted units may move or charge one further box straight ahead thereafter.
Move one box sideways, maintaining facing.
Move backwards one box, or two if mounted, facing in the same or opposite direction.
Change facing, or exchange places within their box. After this, mounted may move one box straight ahead.
Move or charge into, through, or out of rough terrain.
Save Modifiers
Type	Circumstance	Mod
Melee	Light infantry in rough terrain, except when charged by light infantry.	+2
	Foot when charged across fortifications.	+2
	Any hit by improvised peasant weapons (IPW).	+2
	Foot when charged uphill.	+1
	Foot in rough terrain charged by mounted.	+1
	Any, defending against a charge across a stream, bridge, shoreline or stakes.	+1
	Foot (except light infantry), who are not disordered, receiving a frontal mounted charge.	+1
	Charged by foot wielding two handed cutting weapons (2HCW).	-1
	Light infantry charged by mounted in the open.	-1
Shooting	Units hit at three boxes range by composite bows.	+2
	Any hit by improvised peasant weapons (IPW).	+2
	Units hit, at any range, by simple bows or slings.	+1
	Foot behind field fortifications, except versus artillery or incendiary terror weapons.	+2
	Shieldwall, or any units behind cover, except versus artillery or incendiary terror weapons.	+1
	Light infantry, light cavalry or artillery, except versus artillery or incendiary terror weapons.	+1
	Units hit from behind a flank or rear, except versus artillery or incendiary terror weapons.	-1
Rally	A general is present in the box.	+1
	For each unit in a position from which it could charge the testing unit.	-1
Special Saves
All units in a targeted box, hit by artillery (artillery targets a box, not a unit) regardless of circumstances.		7+
Any unit hit by incendiary terror weapons (ITW).		9+
Useful Reminders
Shooting	Target priority is always the nearest target, with diagonals measured as 1.5 boxes. All hit on 8+.
	Range: Javelins, IPW and ITW: 1 box. Simple bows, crossbows & slings: 2 boxes. Composite bows: 3 boxes (save bonus applies at 3 boxes range). Artillery: 4 boxes.
	Bowmen, veteran Ghulams, veteran Askaris, and double strength Turcomans in whirling mass, may shoot twice except when disordered or in rough terrain.
Melee	All hit on 6+, except disordered and light troops, bowmen, artillery, civilian mass and mobs who require an 8+.
	Note: Fanatic troops always hit on 6+. Impetuous troops always hit on 6+ in the first round of combat.
Evade	3+ if mounted in the open evading foot, or foot evading any in rough terrain.
	5+ if mounted in the open evading mounted, or foot in the open evading foot.
	7+ if foot in the open evading mounted, or mounted evading any in rough terrain.
Injury to Generals	Generals must save each time the unit is hit. Generals failing to save draw a second chit to determine the effect: 9-10= Killed; 6-8 = Seriously wounded must retire from battle; 1-5 = Lightly wounded, no effect, a second light wound is a serious wound. A general surviving attached unit loss automatically joins another of his command.
Difficult Activations & Out of command	Difficult activations are 1 activation point harder to achieve than normal; all difficulty is cumulative. Deep units and civilian mass find difficult activations ‘doubly difficult’ (e.g. 2 levels of difficulty is 4 points harder).
	If the command’s general is dead or has left the field; the general is more than 2 boxes away, or 3 boxes away if the unit is light troops, difficulty will always be 1 point harder. Not cumulative.
Replenish OOA & Lances	Any bows or crossbows, artillery, ITW, or IPW go out of ammunition (OOA) after turning a 1 to hit.
	Light troops with javelin go OOA after turning a 1-5 to hit; others with javelin go OOA automatically.
	Lances need replenishing after turning a 1 to hit.