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 Being a scenario depicting the unjust depredations of the Parliamentarians and their intolerance for the entertainments of the common man. |
Setting the Scene
Upon hearing of Roundhead plans to shorten the doorway of his local public house Flee Prodestantism Pistol and a band of like-minded common folk decide to make a stand. They seize the local public house, The King's Head, and hold the publican and his wife hostage.
The local (Royalist) lord, Sir Hugh Cholmley, sets out for the site of the "rebellion" with the intention of putting down the rebels and restoring order. When he arrives he meets with Pistol and is so incensed by the proposed act that he decides to join with Pistol and defy the Parliamentarian menace.
Parliament, determined to quash the rebellion before it takes hold, immediately despatches Away With This Popery Fairfax (no relation) and a combined force of musket, pike and cavalry. They arrive to find the rebels holed up in The King's Head and determined to make a stand.
Action commences at 10:00am with the Royalist company arrayed in and around the buildings of The King's Head. The Roundhead force approaches by road from the East, with the cavalry scouting ahead.
The following is intended as background information on the major characters involved. Each group is headed by an individual who is somewhay better than the other group members and suitable for use as a player character.
| Character Name | Background Information |
| Flee Protestantism Pistol | The worst kind of rebel leader. Totally paranoid and self important with a firm belief in maintaining his roots - hence the scythe. A reasonable shot and deadly in hand-to-hand due to his fanatical belief in his cause. |
| "Nutter" Cooke | A former Clubman and all around nasty piece of work. Only in it for the fun and the grog. |
| Sir Hugh Cholmley | A typical landed lord prior to the rise of parliament. Fat, arrogant and more than a little inbred. He is convinced of the idea that some people and simply better than others ie.) him and commoners. Also a firm believer that the King, be he and addle-headed, drunken fool is still the King and therefore unimpeachable. |
| Sergeant Blomfart | Late of the Continental Wars, a man of considerable girth and ferocity. Another believer in the divine right of King Charles. Modelled upon a real historical re-enactor. |
| Away With This Popery Fairfax | The kind of zealot that gave Puritans a bad name. Totally dedicated to the Parliamentarian cause and rooting out Popish heresy wherever it may be found. Voted for cancelling Christmas, banning dancing and singing, and shooting all small animals owned by continental royalty. |
| Anthony Scrope, Esq. | An aspiring officer in the Parliament army. A crack shot. |
| Sir Digby Strange | Horsey chap. Runs to hounds. Good egg. Not much between the ears. |
The Royalists must hold The King's Head for the remainder of the day in the hope that they can escape the better armed and trained Roundheads after dark by a path known only to Pistol.
The Parliamentarians must attempt to rescue the publican and his wife and capture as many rebels as possible. Not doing so before dark will represent a failure in the eyes of the Parliament and Fairfax will be replaced.
Darkness can be declared as having fallen after a pre-dertemined number of turns or hours of actual play time.
This map shows the position of The King's Head in relation to the surrounding countryside. Pistol's secret escape route lies through the trees in the NW corner of the map. Whoever plays pistol should know this information but for any Royalists to escape via this route they must accompany Pistol himself. Other escape routes may be taken from the area but only Pistol's route is sufficiently well hidden to ensure that no pursuit is possible.
Those playing Pistol would be wisely advised to keep him a little out of harms way. In our initial playtest of the scenario a lucky shot through the head killed the rebel leader in the first turn and left his followers with no secret escape route.
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Flee Protestantism Pistol | 5 | 7 | 9 | 2 | Flintlock Pistol, Scythe |
| Sam Brown | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | Longbow, Backsword |
| Tom Brown | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | Longbow, Backsword |
| Bill Miller | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | Pitchfork, Dagger |
| Giles Strode | 3 | 5 | 6 | 2 | Pitchfork, Dagger |
Pistol's Band of Rebels - Part the II
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| "Nutter" Cooke | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | Crossbow, Dagger, Club |
| John Prynne | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | Scythe, Backsword |
| Nathaniel Burton | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | Spear, Dagger |
| Robert Bastwick | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | Pitchfork, Backsword |
| William Wycliffe | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | Spear, Backsword |
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Sir Hugh Cholmley | 6 | 8 | 11 | 1 | Flintlock Pistol, Backsword |
| Drummer Hampden | 4 | 5 | 8 | 0 | Backsword |
| Musketeer Morley | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Walton | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Peters | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
Sir Hugh Cholmley's Company of Foote - Part the II
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Sergeant Blomfart | 5 | 5 | 7 | 1 | Wheel-lock Pistol, Backsword |
| Musketeer Beadon | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Wensleydale | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Muncke | 3 | 6 | 7 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| AWTP Fairfax | 6 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 2 x Flintlock Pistol, Backsword, Horse |
| Pikeman Jebediah | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | Pike, Backsword |
| Pikeman Willingham | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | Pike, Backsword |
| Pikeman Sexton | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | Pike, Backsword |
| Pikeman Pious | 4 | 6 | 8 | 3 | Pike, Backsword |
Fairfax's Company - Part the II
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Anthony Scrope, Esq. | 5 | 9 | 6 | 1 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Perkins | 4 | 8 | 6 | 1 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Scroggins | 4 | 8 | 6 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
| Musketeer Sedley | 4 | 8 | 6 | 0 | Matchlock Musket, Backsword |
Fairfax's Company - Part the III
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Sir Digby Strange | 5 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 2 x Flintlock Pistol, Backsword, Horse |
| Trooper Hans Up | 4 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 x Wheel-lock Pistol, Backsword, Horse |
| Trooper Hans Down | 4 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 x Wheel-lock Pistol, Backsword, Horse |
| Trooper Hans in His Lap | 4 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 2 x Wheel-lock Pistol, Backsword, Horse |
The "Hans" brothers are late of the continental wars and identical triplets, hence their names. OK Really, "Hans Up", "Hans Down" and "Hans in His Lap" are so named as it was the only way in which we could distinguish between the cavalry figures we used in our playtesting.
The following folk can be used to add interest to the scenario but are so pathetic that they are unlikely to make for anything other than extra chaos.
| Character | Exp | Fire | Mel | Arm | Weapons |
| Fat Billy | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Fists |
| Missus Billy | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Wooden spoon |
| Ole Man Nugget | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Tankard, nasty when deprived of grog |
Ed
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