The Strategic Layer - botting the campaign part 1...A Campaign Design Process Update

 

This image, among many others from this series of atlases, is what inspired me to want to run miniature campaigns of this nature, nearly 30 years ago.

 I must preface my post here by stating that I've yet another of my migraines, which first started yesterday and has intensified in the past half-hour. However, I need to get the below out of my head else I cannot relax.

What follows is a general idea that I have been working on, changing, re-working, and so on since about June of 2020. There is quite a lot to it, but most of my notes are short-hand with no meaning without context and the graphics as sub-bar for any standard. 

I own Campaign Cartographer 3, but have never really worked with extensively, although I did create the first two versions of my campaign map with it, but which were then lost due to harddrive failure. I'll be going back to that at some point, but as it kept crashing for an unknown reason, it became a frustrating process. Therefore, I went to work in GIMP, which was, to be honest, a mistake as that is a total PITA to work with. 

Therefore, please forgive the crap drawing that I am using to illustrate what I write below. BTW, due to the number of images, it is a long post.

 The Strategic Layer

The strategic layer for the campaign is made up from several elements, which each works with and influences the others in some way. Politics, economics, religion, records of past conflicts, and especially the campaign map all have their parts to play within this Imagi-Nation campaign.

One of the key aspects that I am attempting to simulate or model in something more than a completely random on haphazard way, is how a friendly military force would have dealt with an invader, above the battlefield itself. 

In modern times, satellites, radios, television, drones, and the cellular phone are all brought to bear in spreading word about movements of enemy forces, not the least of which being "news broadcasters" who either accidentally or purposefully give the enemy forces information that should be denied them (the BBC in the Falklands and nearly all news sources in Desert Storm, being two examples).

In more primitive times, usually the first sign of trouble was when word of refugees running in terror was heard, somewhere from a border area.

It is here where I wish to begin and create a system that, while random, has some reasoning and "realism" behind it. 

At the start of the campaign season (more about this later), possible invasion/entry points from the enemy nation are marked on the campaign map. This marker, also known as a "main body" marker differ in appearance from the "possible enemy" marker.

The wooden markers pictured above would be examples of what might be used. I have several differently shaped wooden pieces, in red and blue, but I am looking to add a few more for future testing.

At the end of the first campaign turn, a possible enemy marker is placed in each friendly location connected by road to an enemy main body. At the end of each subsequent campaign turn, a possible enemy marker is placed in the friendly country in every location connected by road to either an enemy main body or possible enemy marker.

Here, we have a lousy map that I drew in GIMP. There is a river running from southwest to northeast, separating Nation Red from Blue Nation. This is at the start of a campaign season. The blue marker is the current location of a Blue Army just finishing its mobilization after winter quarters.

At the end of Turn 1 of the year's campaign, Nation Red chooses to invade Blue Nation and so possible enemy markers are placed across the river in the locations connected to the Red main bodies by road. Blue Nation foolishly did not guard the river crossings. 

Turn 2. Blue Nation's main body is hearing rumblings of enemy activity, now that some likely enemy scouts or raiders have moved adjacent to its main body. Had Blue Nation sent out its own pickets or patrols, it would have learned about the enemy in the previous turn (each turn is approximately one to two weeks in length).

Turn 3. Blue Nation has taken action, finally, by sending cavalry to try and locate the enemy main body.

 Turn 4. Blue Nation's cavalry has successfully cleared the locations, either it was just a few enemy or simply false reports. Although, they COULD have found an enemy main body advancing quickly upon its objective, the location with the three stars. Blue's main body has also moved, anticipating the enemy to head to the port to the northeast, where much loot could be gained as well as stores and other supplies.

Turn 5. Blue Army's main body has discovered that there were no enemy in its present location and the adjacent friendly cavalry realized they'd been sent on a wild goose chase. Meanwhile, the other Blue cavalry patrol ran into the the enemy main body and recoiled. It was either that or be destroyed or captured. 

Turn 6. Blue's main body decided to let its cavalry rest, hoping the enemy would approach it. However, Red's true objective is not the coastal port at all, but the city to the southeast. Note, a possible enemy marker has been placed where the main body once stood. There could be a supply caravan or other enemy troops there, or nothing.

Turn 7. The Blue cavalry attempts to delay the enemy main body, but fails and it falls back to its city. The commander of the Blue main body realizes he has made an error and force marches his troops back to the city, leaving cavalry behind him, else the enemy may cut him off from the port.

Turn 8. Blue wins the battle, decisively, capturing many of the enemy forces. It immediately advances in pursuit, but the enemy's escape is cut off by the cavalry who capture the crossing location and who harass the Red main body to where they capitulate.

Turn 9. There are still some likely enemy raiders around, so Blue continues to mop up and scout for perhaps a second main body. The likelihood of more than one main body depends upon the political decision of Red, either to skirmish/harass, raid, reconnaissance in force, or invade. This "invasion" turns out to be a mere reconnaissance in force.

Turn 10. Blue's cavalry has cleared the countryside, with no additional Red forces found. Normally, a red possible enemy marker would have been placed in the river location that the blue cavalry has just vacated, but no possible enemy force markers may be placed in a location between two opposing markers, at a bridge crossing or mountain defile, it would  have to be a main body marker, instead. However, Red has had enough for this year and does not advance its forces.

Blue Nation consoles itself in victory, the Blue commander being glad he was not sacked for incompetence...yet.

Now, this is what I want to do with my system, creating one which provides for the above. I've decided how I will do it, now I just need to create the actual mechanics, with the numbers and possible outcomes.

One thing that did not show up in this example is that friendly towns and cities will attempt to "clear" adjacent possible enemy markers (through patrols and such), but cannot clear enemy main bodies. If the friendly town is then covered by a possible enemy marker, though, it cannot make any attempts to clear them, as it "might" have actually been captured.

Also, fortified cities and fortresses will have an additional possible enemy force marker placed on them, each campaign turn, indicating a good chance that an enemy main body is actually there, laying siege to it or otherwise preparing an assault. The more possible markers present, the greater chance the enemy main body shows up, which means it may well be too late to save the city.

Also, there's always a chance that an enemy main body may be in the location of a possible enemy marker, either there's nothing, a small scouting force, a raiding force/cavalry patrol, or a main body. The closer the marker to a friendly location, the higher the chance the enemy shows up nearby.

Much of what I have written here is in note form only, but I've created other illustrations, which I did to show a friend what I was working on. The system is mostly all in my head and I need to begin the writing of it, in addition to creating the various matrices that will help to resolve the campaign movement.

Primarily, I want to avoid the player's knowing everything, in this case the player is just me, but in case someone else wants to use something like this, I do want to be clear and open about how things work and why.

I would really appreciate any comments or thoughts on this, as I am open to the fact I may have left something out of my thought process or may not have fully considered the idea's complexity or whatever.

The charts and matrices will be my weekend project, should my migraine lessen up enough for me to think more clearly.