Skirmishers in DOK

Whether armed with bows, slings, javelins, handguns, or crossbows, skirmishers in DOK haven’t always worked for me. It usually hasn’t mattered, as they often don’t feature significantly in many of the most iconic Western European battles of the 14th and 15th century. As I explore DOK in more detail, I can see situations where skirmishing units should have opportunities to make more of a difference, particularly in the early stages of the battle. And yet they still shouldn’t matter much with regard to the overall health of the army’s morale. A rules conundrum for sure.

Enter Age of Hannibal to the rescue. In their efforts to adapt Chipco mechanics to ancient warfare, the authors really made some nice adjustments with regard to how skirmishers impact the game. I mentioned a few of these in my archery ramblings. Let’s see if I can come up with a skirmisher stat line that meets my needs.

CF 0, Move 3, Rally 8+, Skirmish

Skirmish: Skirmishers may move and change direction without penalty. Skirmishers have a range of 4 squares, always use the 1 table, may never combine missiles with other units, and must always shoot at the closest enemy unit.

How skirmishers affect Army Morale will vary depending on the scenario.

As an aside, I thoroughly support Chipco’s decision to no longer allow Bows (DOK’s skirmisher equivalents) to attach as in DOK1. It has a better feel and Age of Hannibal followed suit.