A Wee DRAM of Napoleon

Deploy is the transitional order and can change to any other. Reserve (resting, not within 1 mile of enemy), Manoeuvre (march column) and Attack (engaging enemy) each restrict the next order: Reserve and Manoeuvre to D/R/M, Attack only to D/A. The order sets movement rate, combat effectiveness, and whether the division may reorganise.

Deploy Changing between other orders Any ... Reserve Resting, not possible within 1 mile of enemy D,R,M ... Attack Engaging enemy DA ... Manoeuvre March Column D,R,M

Issuing an order to a stand within 2 miles costs 1AP, +1AP if not in direct line of sight, +1AP if 2-4 miles away. A general's AP rating limits how many orders he can give each turn. Higher-level generals may also send written orders to subordinates up to AP miles away.

It costs 1AP to issue an order to a stand within 2 miles. If not in direct line of sight + 1AP If between 2 and 4 miles distant + 1AP

CR is added to combat and reorganisation rolls; AP pays for orders. A general in combat rolls 2D6: 2-5 carry on, 6-8 near miss, 9-10 light wound (lose CR or AP), 11 serious wound, 12 killed. A separate 1D6 above CR makes him flee. A lost corps general is replaced by staff at CR 0, AP 1.

Commanders (leading corps or larger formations) are rated for charisma (CR) and ability (AP). CR may be used to assist subordinate units in reorganising and combat.

Order chits are placed in the final phase and revealed in the first phase of the next turn, so commanders work with a one-turn (one-hour) delay. Combined with the random corps move order, this is meant to stop players acting as all-seeing generals.

This, together with the existing command and control rules creates enough of a "buggeration factor" to prevent the clairvoyant demigod approach to wargame generalship.

1 base is a brigade (1"x1"), 1 stand is a division of 1-6 brigades, and 1 gun is 2-4 batteries. Corps and army HQ stands carry the general figures and CR/AP markers; supply columns are a wagon on its own stand.

1 base = a brigade, 1 stand = a division, 1 gun = 2-4 batteries

1 SP per 2000 infantry, 1000 light cavalry, 750 heavy cavalry or 12 guns. Add +3 excellent (Old Guard), +2 good guards, +1 good line, 0 average, -1 poor (Landwehr), -2 awful; +/-1 for good or poor officer corps; +/-1 for heavy or light guns.

1 SP per 2000 infantry or 1000 light cavalry or 750 heavy cavalry 12 guns ... +3 if excellent troops eg Old Guard

The test is taken when SP first falls to 50% or less of the starting value, and on every later turn the stand takes losses. Roll 1D6: below current SP no effect; equal, no advance towards the enemy this turn; above, immediately adopt D orders and fall back a full move each turn until a general changes the order.

Roll a dice and read off the result from the following table: No effect, carry on as normal Dice < current SP ... Dice > current SP Immediately adopt 'D' orders and fall back one full move per turn

Each infantry or cavalry stand on R orders that is not in combat rolls 1D6, adding the corps general's CR if within 1 mile and +1 if a higher general is within 1 mile, with -1 if enemy are advancing or in contact within 2 miles and -2 for cavalry. On a net 3+ it regains 1 SP, up to its original rating.

Infantry and cavalry stands with 'R' orders which are not engaged in combat may attempt to reorganise.

Rates are listed per order (D, R, M); for example infantry 1/2 mile in Deploy and 2 miles in Manoeuvre, light cavalry up to 3 miles in Manoeuvre. Corps move in initiative order.

Movement rates in miles are as follows. 'M' rates x1.5 on good roads. Difficult terrain will halve movement.

Manoeuvre-order rates are multiplied by 1.5 on good roads, and difficult terrain halves movement.

'M' rates x1.5 on good roads. Difficult terrain will halve movement.

Roll 1D6 for every corps and place it on the commanding general's stand. Movement is carried out sequentially, corps that rolled 1 moving first, then 2s, and so on, so movement order is interleaved randomly across both armies.

Roll 1D6 for every corps and place the dice on the stand of the commanding general ... corps which rolled a '1' going first, followed by '2s' and so on.

Each one-hour turn runs: 1 Reveal order changes, 2 Exhaustion tests and compulsory order changes, 3 Initiative, 4 Movement, 5 Combat, 6 Re-organisation, 7 Issue new orders. Orders issued in phase 7 take effect when revealed the following turn.

Reveal Order Changes ... Exhaustion Tests & Compulsory Order Changes ... Initiative ... Movement ... Combat ... Re-organisation ... Issue New Orders

Each hit removes 1 SP. Stands pushed into negative SP are removed, and stands that began the turn at zero are removed if contacted by enemy in D or A orders. Removed bases straggle back through friendly lines.

Stands which started the turn with zero SPs are removed if contacted by enemy in 'D' or 'A' Stands which are forced by combat results into negative strengths are also removed.

Combat dice, exhaustion tests, reorganisation and initiative use 1D6; general risk uses 2D6.

Roll 1D6 per stand

Stands in prepared defences, normally permanent fortifications, ignore the first SP loss per stand.

Troops in prepared defences (normally permanent fortifications) ignore the first loss per stand.

Stands in contact, plus Attack-order artillery within half a mile, count their SPs plus modifiers (+CR of a general in contact, +1 Attack-order infantry defending difficult terrain, +1 cavalry that charged, +1 artillery, -1 cavalry charging into BUA/woods or attacking over a bridge or ford). That many dice are handed over and rolled on a table indexed by own order and enemy order, each die meeting the listed score costing 1 SP. For example a deploying unit is hit on 5-6 by attackers, and an attacker is hit only on a 6 by deploying troops.

Count out the relevant number of dice and pass to the enemy player, then roll on the following table to see what casualties he has inflicted on you. The scores shown are those required to suffer a casualty (1 SP).

Players are generals of corps or larger formations, so a big battle fits in an evening with 2-8 players. The Ligny game took 3 to 11 players, from just the commanders-in-chief up to every corps commander.

DRAM was originally conceived as a means of enabling small numbers of players (say 2-8) to fight, to a conclusion in an evening, any of the significant continental battles