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Introduction FatherTillyIV 3 TheABOneSystem 3Organisation FigureBasing 4 MovementBases 4 UnitOrganisation 4 Order 4Unit Formations InfantryUnits 5 CavalryUnits 6 SwedishUnits 6 Artillery 7Initiative and Command Initiative 8 CommandActions 8 Example 8Sequence and Movement GamesSequence 9 Movement 9 ChangingFormation 10 ChangingOrder 10Shooting Procedure 11 Damage 11 Artillery 13 AmmunitionSupply 15Combat TheCharge 16 CombatProcedure 17 Damage 17 ResultsofCombat 18Morale UnitMorale 20 VictoryandDefeat 20War Tokens MainSubject 21 Sub-Heading 22 PlayingWarTokens 23Army Deployment Procedure 24Generals Profile CommandProfile 26Orders OrderDefinitions 27Unit Profile UnitAttributes 28 Costs 28Terrain 29Glossary 31Examples 32

CopyrightStephenDanesandWarbandMiniatures2009

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationorabstractionfromitmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanicalincludingphotocopyingortrasmissionbyemailorinternet,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthecopyrightholder.

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Father Tilly ivFatherTillyisagamethathasbeenaround,inseveralguises,forafewyearsnow.OriginallyitwasdevelopedoutofaninterestintheThirtyYearsWarandthefortunatediscoverofGuthrie’sexcellentbooksontheperiod.Withsomuchdetailedinformationavailable(inEnglish),Ifeltthattheperiodcouldnowbeeffectivelytackled.

In its original format, Father Tilly was my attempt atrecreatingthelargebattlesoftheThirtyYearsWar,using15mmfiguresrepresenting literallyeveryunitpresent.After numerous games, several re-writes, and a greatdealoffeedbackfromfellowenthusiasts-FatherTilly3wastheresult.Withtheserules,allofthemajorbattlesof the period were fought, including White Mountain,LutzenandRocroi.

Sincethen,asagamerandfigurepainter,Ihavebecomeincreasinglyinterestedinlargerscalefiguresanddecidedtogive theThirtyYearsWarago - in28mm. Iquicklyrealised, after looking at the rules, that they wouldrequiresomanymodificationstoreflectthechangeofscaleandtheemphasisof28mmgaming,thatImightaswellstartfromscratch-soIdid-andFatherTillyIVistheresult.Theemphasisnowisthesmallscaleactionsandcrucialencounters thatoftendeterminedtheoutcomeofmuchbiggerbattles.

The rules themselvesare fast and funbutwithplentyofperioddetail.Casualtiesareinflictedandfiguresare

lostleadingtothegradual(ornotsogradual)erosionofunits.AddedtothisistheWarTokensystemthatbringsagreatdealofextrafun,stressand“period-feel”tothegame.

the ab one systemHavingnowplayednumerousFatherTillyIVgamesithasbecomeobviousthattheysystemwouldworkratherwellforseveralotherperiods.Suggestionshaverangedfromthe Medieval to Napoleonic and even Franco-Prussianbattles.Obviouslytheorganisation,formations,weaponsand tactics would differ, but the core mechanics areprobablysuitable,andtheWarTokenswouldbetheretoaddadditional“period-feel”.SoImightstartlookingatnewperiods-aslongasIdon’thavetopainttoomanymorefigures!

FatherTillyIVoperatesusingtheABOneSystem.AgamesystemthatIhopetoadaptforotherperiods.Thenameis derived from a commonly heard call during game-play,especiallyduringclosecombat-“whatdo Ineedtohit?”theanswerbeing“anythingbutone!”Andasallexperienced players recognise, as soon as that deadlyphraseisuttered-youknowexactlywhattheplayerisgoingtoroll.Infactarecentgamehadaplayer(sorryJoe)rollfouronesduringareasonablycrucialcombat,turning what should have been an easy victory intosomethingfarlessuseful(butprovidingmuchamusementfortheotherplayers).

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Figure BasingWith these rules players have the option of basing alloftheirfiguresindividuallyorinmultiplefigureblocks.Either is acceptable, however Father Tilly is a systemthatrequiresfigureremovalsoallunitiswillrequireatleastsomeindividuallybasedfigures.

Foot figures should be based on 20mm square bases,cavalryon25mmby50mmrectangularbases.Artillerypiecesarebasedseparatelytothecrew(whicharebasedasotherfootfigures).Thesizeoftheartillerybaseisnotimportant but must be appropriate to the size of thegun.However, ifplayershavefiguresbasedon slightlydifferentsizedbases-thisisnotaproblem-asallunitsmustbeplacedonmovementbasesanyway.

Movement BasesMovement bases are pieces of card (or other similarmaterial)thatthefiguresareplacedonandwhichdefinethe exact area that the unit occupies. There are twotypesofmovementbase-infantryandcavalry.Infantrybases are two inches square, cavalry are three inchessquare. It is on these bases that figures are placed todenotethattheyareorganisedintounits.

Unit Type Figures per baseRegularFoot 4IrregularFoot 3SkirmishFoot 2DisciplinedHorse 3Horse 2SkirmishHorse 1-2

Forexample,aregularfootunitsuchasapikeandshotregimentwillhavefourfigurespermovementbaseandwillbemadeupofanumberof suchbasesdependingontheunitsize.Regularhorseregimentswillhavetwofigures per base and skirmish cavalry units will havea mixture of single figure bases and two figure bases(roughlyhalfandhalf).

Unit OrganisationTheThirtyYearsWarwasaperiodwhendifferenttacticalformationswereusedbytheopposingsides.Briefly,theProtestantarmies favouredsmaller infantry formationsthat emphasised firepower while the Catholic armiestended to use larger infantry formations of greaterdepth,oftenwithahigherproportionofpike.

There were also differences with the organisation ofcavalry.Again Protestant cavalry tended to operate insmaller formations and favoured swift but controlledcharges,theCatholiccavalryontheotherhandusuallyempolyedlargeranddeeperbodiesofhorsethatrelied

more on firepower than the charge. Although theseformationswillbedescribedinmoredetaillater,hereisabrieflookattypicalformations.

Unit Type Base DepthProtestantinfantryregiment 1Protestantcavalryregiment 1Catholicinfantryregiment(Tercio) 2-4Catholiccavalryregiment 2Skirmishcavalryregiment 1Forlornhope 1

ThereforeProtestantinfantryregimentswillusuallyhavea depth of one movement base (meaning two figuresdeep).TheseunitswillcomeupagainstTercio’sthatcanbeuptofourmovementbasesdeep(uptoeightfiguresdeep).

OrderMostinfantryunitswillbearrangedincloseorderwhichisrepresentedbyplacingfourfiguresoneachmovmentbase. Units can be also be arranged in open order orskirmish order, but these tactics are usually reservedforshotdetachmentsonly.Foropenorder-placethreefigurespermovementbaseandtwoforskirmishorder.

Regularcavalrywillusuallybedeployedwithtwofigurespermovementbasealthoughespeciallydisciplinedandelitecavalry(andveryrare)canbedeployedwiththreefigurespermovementbase.

Note,aunitcanonlyhaveonetypeoforderatonetime,it must be entirely close order or entirely open order(andnotbothatthesametime).

Unitscanchangetheirorderduringagame,seeChangingOrderinthemovementsectionoftherules.

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Infantry UnitsTheseventeenthcenturysawthedevelopmentofinfantrytacticsawayfromthehugeblocksofpikemenusedinthepreviouscenturytosmallermoremobileunitswithlessemphasisonthepikeandanincreasingrelianceonmoreeffective firepower. Interestingly, this rate of changewasnotuniformwhichmeantthatinmanybattlesolderstyletacticswereusedagainstmoremodern,anditwasnotalwaysthemodern innovationsthatprevailedovertheoldtechniques.

This section shows players the way to organise theirarmiesforFatherTilly.Thediagramsshowhowfigures,representedaseitherPike(P)orShot(S),arearrangedonthesquaremovementbases.

Early TercioThesewerelargepikesquares,surroundedbymusketeersin varying positions and proportions. These are slow,cumbersome units designed to withstand attacks fromfront,flankandeventherear.

Theearlyterciowasaveryslowmovingformationbutwasabletogenerateall-roundfireandallroundprotectionwiththepikes.Thiscertainlyseemedtobetheformationused in the sixteenthcenturyandcertainlyappears intexts(writtenandpainted)intheseventeenthcentury.There is however considerable debate as to whetherthisformationwascontinued intotheThirtyYearswarperiod.

Fromthediagramabovewecanseethatthisformationwould present a formidable opponent with twentyshotable tofire to the frontor rearandconsiderablefirepowertoitsflanksaswell.Atthecentreofthetercioisasolidblockofoverthirtypikewhowouldbeabletopunchitswaythroughanyopposition.

Despiteallofitsstrengths,theearlyterciodoesmakeaverynicetargetforartillery,slowmoving,lotsorranks!

TercioThis formation was more common in the Thirty YearsWar,especially intheearlierphases.Stilladenseunitwithacentralblockofpikesflankedbymusketeers(andscreenedtothefrontbymusketeersifneeded).

Thediagramaboveshowshowtheemphasisfortheterciochanged.Stillwithastrongcentralbodyofpikemanandsupporting shot, this tercio has less depth than earlyformations and would be easier to manoeuvre on thebattlefield.

Theterciodepictedinthisexamplehasequalnumbersofpiketoshotgivingitagoodbalancebetweenfirepowerandclosecombatpower.Astheperiodprogressed,thetrendwasforthemuskettotakeprominanceoverthepike, althoughmany commanderswere forced tofieldmainly pike formations when firearms were in shortsupply.

Later Tercio ThelatertercioistheformationthoughttohavebeenadoptedbytheCatholicarmiesaftertheirdefeatbytheSwedish army at Breitenfeld. It was a much shallowerformation, reducing thenumberof ranksof theTerciofrom25toaround10.ItwashopedthatthiswouldgivetheunitgreatermobilityandallowittodealwiththesmallerSwedishunits.

Thediagramabove showshow the later tercio canberepresentedintheFatherTillyrules(notehowcertainmovementbaseshaveonlyoneortwofiguresonthem).

However, not all Catholic armies took up this option;someSpanishregimentsstillretainedtheearliertercioformationlateintothewar,atleastuntilthedisasteratRocroi.

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Linear Infantry FormationsThe Protestant armies of the Thirty Years War usedsmaller, more linear units. These formations wereusuallysixtoeightmendeepwithavaryingproportionofpikeandshot.Theunitsweredesignedtodelivertheirattackforwardonlyandrelyonothersupportingunitstoprotecttheirflanksandrear.

Thediagramabove showsa twenty-fourmanpikeandshotregimentwithshotoutnumberingthepikeby2:1,atypicalinfantryformationofmostProtestantarmies

Detached ShotA common practice for all armies of the period wasto detach shot from their parent unit. These smallerunitswereabletooperateinareaslesssuitedtolargerformations.Playerscanorganisetheirshotincloseorderunits(fourfigurestoabase),oropenorder(threefigurestoabaseasshownbelow).

Cavalry UnitsCavalryunitswerealsogoingthroughaperiodofchangeinthisperiodasarmiestriedtosettleonthebestmethodof delivering a cavalry attack. Some armies relied ondeep formations of cavalry used to deliver successiveranksofpistolorarquebusfire,whileotherarmiesusedtheircavalryinmuchshallowerunitsthatreliedmoreonspeedandimpactthanfirepower.Thetwotypesoftacticemployedwilldeterminethelayoutoftheunit.

Caracole CavalryThe caracole was the preferred method of attackformuchof the cavalry employed in the Imperial andCatholicLeaguearmies.

Cavalry would be deployed in deeper formations witheach rank riding forward to deliver their fire before

ridingtotherearoftheformationtore-load.

Trotter/Galloper CavalryThevariousProtestantarmiesfavouredcavalryformationsoflessdepthandforthepurposesoftheseruleswillbedeployedinonerank-asshownbelow.

Swedish UnitsTheSwedisharmyoftheThirtyYearsWarwasaproductoftheearlyreformsoftheDutcharmyandhard-foughtbattles with Polish cavalry. The army of GustavusAdolphus employed infantry in smaller more linearformations as did other Protestant armies - but tookthesedevelopmentsastagefurther.

Infantry BrigadeThe diagram below shows the deployment of a largeSwedishinfantrybrigade,thepikemenleadthewaywithadditionalpikeandshotinsupport.

Thisnextdiagramshowsaless“text-book”arrangementforSwedishinfantrywiththreeregimentsofferingmutualsupportinonebrigade.

It is entirely up to players which of these formationstheyuse,althoughIsuspectthelatterwasprobablyusedmoreoften.Andcertainlyduringthelatterstagesofthewar,afterthedeathofGustavusandwiththeincreaseduseofforeignmercenaries,themoresimpleformationsweremorefavoured.

unit formations

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unit formationsSwedish CavalryLike other Protestant cavalry at the time, the Swedesemployed their horse in linear fashion. The diagrambelow shows a typical deployment of Swedish cavalrywithsupportingdetachedshot.

artilleryAvarietyofartilleryisavailable,fromveryheavypiecesto much lighter regimental guns. Gun models do notneedtobeplacedonamovementbaseasareotherunit,butplayersshouldmakesurethatcrewfiguresarebasedseparatelyfromthegun(ascrewcanberemovediftheysufferhits).Iftheplayersartillerymodelsarebased-upwithcrewalready-simplyuseanadditionalmarkertoreflectwhenafigureislost.

Eachgunshouldbeservedbyatleastthreecrewandfourfortheheavierguns.Regimentalgunsthatareattachedto a unit need not be represented by an actual gunmodel,however,playersshouldinformtheiropponentsoftheirpresenceifnotactuallyrepresented.

mixed formationsMostinfantryunitswillbemixedformationsofpikeandshot.However,certainarmiesevendeployedmixedunitsofcavalry,witharquebussquadronsattachedtocuirassiersquadrons, the ideabeingthat thearquebusierswouldfire on their opponents as a prelude to the cuirassierchargingin.Playerscanfieldsuchmixedunits,withthearquebusiers ridingon theflanksof theheavycavalry,ortheycandeploythecavalryasseparateunitsfightingalongsideeachother.

dragoonsDragoons were used during this period, increasinglytowardstheend.Theywouldusuallyoperateasmountedinfantry,preferringtofightdismounted.Dragoonswereequipped with musket as well as pike (the formeroutnumbering the latter). One movement base ofmounted dragoonswould be converted to one base ofdismounteddragoons (theactioncountingasachangeformation).

army listsTheFatherTillyruleswillbeaccompaniedbyextensivearmyliststhatcovertheentireperiodoftheThirtyYearsWar (available separately from the main rules).Thesewillincludearmiesfromtheearlyphase-theBohemianRebellionrightthroughtolaterFrenchphase.Thearmylists will include all the information players will needdescribing the different formations used as well asdetailsoflikelyunitsizes,tacticsandgrade.

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