AOD is a 1:25 set of rules that covers the Renaissance, ECW, and 30YW era. The rules use a unique chart that handles morale, melee, and firing all from one chart with various modifiers. The rules do an outstanding job with handling the confusing nature of combat during this period, with units fleeing the battlefield for no apparent reason at times and fighting to the death at others! This is a very colorful and unusual period, which everyone should try at least once. For this game we used forces from the 1525 Pavia timeframe with a few minor tweaks to the army lists. The figures are all 15mm primarily from Essex, Venexia, and Old Glory, but there's the odd Tin Soldier and Minifigs units still around.AOD: The Tercio Attacks!
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Imperialist vs. France-1544 period
We had so much fun with the last Renaissance battle a few weeks ago that we decided to do another and everyone wanted to finally see the tercio used with the AOD rules. We had used it with FOGR, but found that system was not the greatest for group play. Unfortunately, I didn't have the correct troop percentages, so I had to fudge just a bit. Although the strength points were about even, the French definitely had the upper hand in terms of troop quality and withdrawal factors. The French also had a huge superiority in cavalry, which gave the Imperialists problems most of the night. The Imperialists decided to attack, with the tercio anchored on the village and the main effort was to get to the enemy's camp before the Swiss and heavy cavalry crushed in the flanks.
In the end that's what basically happened anyway, although the tercio gave everyone fits for awhile, likened somewhat to a battleship on land that went by and fired broadsides at the enemy!
The tercio ran headlong into several units of Swiss, which started a multi-turn death match with very high casualties. The cavalry battles didn't go too badly for the Imperialists, but in the end numbers began to tell and it came down to the pike match in the center. The Swiss, despite getting off to a slow start, gradually wore down the tercio and the French began to prevail on the flanks as well. After a few more turns it was clearly going to be a French victory and the game was called. Overall it was a very fun affair and the tercio is a sight to behold on the gaming table. We did have some concerns about how it is handled in the rules and came to the conclusion that it was underpowered with there needing to be some adjustments. The next time we use it I will hopefully have some fresh units to provide better flank protection and to stop those pesky Swiss!
