This man is a specialist in silent killing, creeping about and snooping. When activated, he can move 3D6 inches and, if he makes contact with his target, attempt to despatch him with a knife or cosh him if he prefers to take the man prisoner. Roll 2D6 on the Sneaky Actions chart below.
Dipper
This man can pick a pocket (or two). When activated, he can move 2D6 inches and, if he makes contact with his target, attempt to pick his pocket. Roll 2D6 on the Sneaky Actions Table below.
T
ABLET
WENTY‐T
WENTYT
HREES
NEAKYA
CTIONSDay Night Result
2‐5
2‐3
Caught in the act. Alarm raised. Take one hit if target is armed 6‐7 4‐5 Succeeds, but alarm is raised in the process 8‐12 6‐12
Success. Target is killed, coshed or his pocket is picked
Cracksman
This fellow of low station has clearly avoided the gallows by luck rather than judgement. However, his skills are not without use. He cracks safes and is expert at breaking and entry. He uses the following Task values.
Task
Value
Crack a safe 24 Pick a lock 10 Jemmy open a feeble window 3 Ditto, but silently 5 Jemmy open a formidable window 5 Ditto, but silently 910.3
D
ERRING‐D
OLeaders may choose, or be obliged, to engage in acts of Derring‐Do. Largely, what foolhardy enterprise they choose to embark upon will be thrown up by the game. However, it could be leaping from roof to roof, swinging from chandeliers, hurling themselves from speeding trains and generally attempting to avoid death through dangerous behaviour.
It is impossible to legislate for every such act, however the umpire should consider what chance he thinks that the Leader has and roll a D6 on the following table. If no umpire is available, the players should agree in a gentlemanly manner on the chance of success.
Chance
Dice
Good chance 2‐6 Fair chance 3‐6 Even chance 4‐6 Poor chance 5‐6 Slim chance 6 Here are some examples. Leaping a 6’ gap: Good chance Leaping an 8’ gap: Even chanceLeaps from the first storey building to the hard ground: Even chance of landing safely Leaps from a two storey building into a hay wagon: Even chance
Leaps from a slow moving coach or cart:
Good chance
Leaps from a fast moving coach or carriage: Poor chance
Leaders who have followed a Sporting Life improve their chance of success by one level.
If they succeed then they live to fight another day. If they fail then they have fallen or landed badly and they must test to see the outcome. They may be lucky and get away scot‐free or could end up breaking their neck.
For a fall from the first storey or higher or from a moving vehicle, roll a D6. Add +2 for each additional storey the fall is from. Subtract ‐2 if the fall is a particularly soft landing (grass is not a soft landing unless it is a large pile of cuttings!). Subtract ‐1 if the Leader has followed a Sporting Life. On a total of 5 or 6 roll for one hit on the Leader as though he has been shot.
Landings in water are considered safe provided there is sufficient depth. Rivers, lakes, ponds and sizeable water features are safe, lesser features, such as streams may be counted as either hard or soft landings depending on the scenario.
10.4
E
NG
ARDE!
While gentlemen can engage in Fisticuffs, they can also challenge a foe to individual combat in a duel. They may only challenge persons of a similar social standing. All officers are considered gentlemen, whatever their background. Civilians can only be considered gentlemen if born to that class. Money is a very poor indicator of class. A wealthy merchant is “in trade” and would be considered socially inferior to a poor gentleman farmer. All civilians with a title must be considered a gentleman, even if he is the most despicable Foreign Johnny. Wallahs and chaps who do not own a pair of tailored trousers or dress for dinner are never gentlemen.
An officer can refuse a challenge from another officer whose Status level is two levels junior to him by making a Loss of Face roll on the Force Morale table. He can refuse a challenge from an officer of the same Status level or one Status level different, only by making a Cowardly Act roll on the Force Morale Table.
No gentleman would consider a duel against a civilian of inferior social standing. Should he be challenged by such an individual he can laugh off the challenge, obliging the civilian to withdraw his challenge. Damn his impudence!
In the heat of battle a duel will always be fought with swords rather than pistols. To initiate a duel, the Leader whose Turn it is will invite his opponent to fight man to man. The opposing Leader can refuse, in which case the player rolls for a Cowardly Act on the Force Morale table. The duel is immediately fought to a conclusion or until there have been four rounds of combat, in which case both parties take a breather before continuing upon either’s next activation.
If the challenge is accepted, both Leaders will have 6D6 to represent their fighting power. A player with a Flashing Blade can claim an additional D6 in the first and any one other
round of combat in the duel. Both players
choose the number of D6 they will use to attack in the current Turn, by selecting the relevant number of pips on a single D6 which they then reveal simultaneously.
Next they both roll a D6 to see who attacks first in this round of combat. The player who rolls higher (if there is a draw roll again) may now decide whether to make his attack or to withdraw from the combat. If he withdraws he automatically allows his enemy to claim the victory and tests his Force Morale Level for a Cowardly Act.
If he makes his attack the player rolls all of the D6 he has allocated to the attack scoring one hit for each 5 or 6 rolled. His opponent rolls any dice which he had not allocated to his own attack, deflecting one of their opponent’s hits with each 5 or 6 they roll (6 if their opponent has an Impressive Weapon). Any net hits over and above successful defence rolls count as wounds and reduce the number of D6 that the wounded Leader may subsequently roll. This includes reducing the number of attack dice in this current round.
If the other Leader has any attack dice
remaining, he must now use them to attack. He may not withdraw from combat in any Turn in which he does not hold the initiative. He makes his attack, rolling all of the D6 he allocated to the attack (less any lost due to wounds). As above, he is looking to roll 5’s and 6’s whilst his opponent rolls any dice kept for his defence. He is also seeking 5’s and 6’s, or 6’s if his opponent has an Impressive Weapon. Any net hits over and above successful defence rolls count as wounds and reduce the number of D6 that the wounded Leader may subsequently roll.
In the subsequent Turns, both Leaders reduce the number of dice that they can allocate to attacking and defending by the number of wounds they have suffered. If a Leader has no dice left with which to attack or defend, he has been killed. The combat between Leaders continues until either one Leader dies or withdraws. Until that happens, neither Leader can use their Command Initiatives for any purpose. A Leader killed in single combat will test for his Force Morale as a consequence. The player will test to see if a replacement Leader arrives when his card is dealt or on a Chapter End.
A good scenario can be the difference between a good game and a great one. This is even more true in Sharp Practice, where the game is all about developing a narrative as your characters find their own personality and build a reputation over multiple games.
By far the best setting for games of Sharp Practice is a campaign where the story‐line continues to evolve between games. We plan to produce a collection of these covering a wide range of conflicts.
You are encouraged to produce your own ideas and settings, but we appreciate that not everyone has the time or inclination. So here are six scenarios to get you started. Together with the campaign enhancements, they are a great way to begin playing Sharp Practice.
A
SSEMBLINGY
OURF
ORCESBoth players should select their core force select from the Army Lists. We recommend that the forces are from the same conflict. Confederates fighting Frederick the Great’s Grenadiers is never going to produce the sort of narrative we are looking for.
You will find core forces and their points values in Appendix B. These will allow you to get started with forces which have some kind of balance. However, you don’t have to stick to the lists provided. You can make up your forces if you and your opponent are agreed.
In addition to the core force listings, there are support lists which give a wide ranging choice of options to deploy alongside your force. These range from a bugler at one end of the spectrum, to dashing Cavalry Groups and parties of
Engineers at the other, all ready to do your bidding.
Some of your support options will be linked to the Force Commander, activating on his card. The Force commander will be the Leader with the highest Status in a force or, where two or more Leaders share the same Status, he will be selected as the player as the Force Commander.
P
LAYINGY
OURG
AMEA huge part of the pleasure of wargaming is to play on a well set up table. Our miniature battlefield will have the usual roads, buildings and trees, but adding the small details will bring the table to life. People live in houses with gardens or yards. They have fences around their house and the odd pig hanging about ready to provide the winter bacon. Crops grow in their fields, boats float on the rivers and lakes, carts stand waiting to be taken to market. Adding these details to our table is the hallmark of a game of Sharp Practice.