Dwarven Combat - The Maths!



So in a game where you have to roll dice why do theory hammer?


Well I am sure there are many people out there that can give you many good and varying reasons for it. For me, well lets just say I like Maths, and I also like having an idea of the outcome of the combat before I get into it.

If nothing else than to unerve my opponent (not that it really ever works).


Ok, so now I have given you my reasons why I am doing it, now I need to tell you how I am going to do this.


Well I am going to take a look at the best Dwarf Combat unit in the game. The Ironbreakers.


I am going to have a look at how they do in combat against various enemies. Be these elite units or cheap units.


So what unit size? Well I really like Horde units, and I cannot afford to hit 40 dwarves at the moment, so we will be going for a 30 Man Ironbreaker unit.


The unit will have full command, no heroes, no standards. This unit comes in at a 420 Points.

There are three different formations to try this unit in. Each [--] represents one Ironbreaker. The Command models are not represented in the diagrams below, but rest assured they are present.


The first is the Horde unit,


[--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--][--]


The second is 7 wide, a slightly wider frontage for fighting units only 5 wide.


[--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--]


The third is 5 wide to maximise the number of ranks can get, and to hopefully be steadfast at the end of the combat, or deny it from my Enemy.

[--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--]

[--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--]
[--][--][--][--][--]


Obviously each of these formations will require its own set of calculations.

So what I propose to do is lay out the pertinent stats for the Ironbreakers here, and then at the beginning of each following article I will confirm the percentage chance they have to hit & wound the enemy, and what percentage chance the enemy has to fail their armour save & ward or regeneration save.

I will then list these percentages for the enemy to hit and wound my unit and their chances to fail their armour and ward save.


If anyone spots any faults in my maths, feel free to point it out, and if anyone has any unit suggestions to pit my Ironbreakers against (in a game of averages of course) then feel free to drop me an email at varcancluster@sky.com, or leave me a comment on any of the articles relating to this.

So what are the important stats?


Well simply put they are:


Weapon Skill, Strength, Toughness, Initative, Leadership, Armour Save & Ward Save.


With all this information I should be readily able to figure out the average combat results and determine how the unit will perform against certain enemies.

So what do the Ironbreakers have?


Weapon Skill: 5
Strength: 4
Toughness: 4
Initative: 2
Leadership: 9
Armour Save: 3+
Ward Save: 6+ (Parry Save)


Not bad as I look at them, very durable, and decent chances to hit things.

So my first Opponent are giong to be Bloodletters... the combat beasts of this world.


That post will follow in the next week. I will do my best to keep this as a weekly post.


If anyone has a combat unit they feel is better in the Dwarven book let me know about it as I will happily give it a shot to see how it compares.

As I get a little more confident with how these posts will look, I will start looking at Characters and other goodies being included.

Comments

RTGamer said…
Nice idea. I would always just go 5 wide or 10 wide... 7 wide doesn't give you any advantage in my opinion.

7 wide v 5 wide = 14 attacks (15 with champion)
10 wide v 5 wide = 21 attacks (22 with champion)

Less ranks by 1 but 7 extra attacks will do more damage...

What is your thoughts?
Kraggi said…
I threw it in there as another example... I dont think in the four opponents i have picked it has actually worked out as a benefit... but then again I havent pit my Dwarves against anyone with a 20mm base.

Also gonna have a look at replacing the diagrams with real birds eye views of models... something prettier to look at me thinks.

Hope you had a good New Year sir!
RTGamer said…
I did hope you did too. I know it was a difficult time for you and yours.

Check out the combat modeller in the Fantasy general forum on Warseer for some combat stats I think it is pretty nifty.

Are you comparing exact points or similar sized units?
Kraggi said…
Will have a look athat tonight.

The comparisons will not always be equal point units.

Sometimes it will be a unit of more or less points, but always around the same unit size in models.

May look at changing that as I go through and depending on the feedback I get.