Author Rob Grayston introduces The Wars of the Roses, the latest supplement for Hail Caesar, addressing his love for the period, balancing the history with the game, and his solution for abortive wargames campaigns…
Rob: To talk about me and wargaming the Wars of the Roses, I’m going to start with the most logical entry point. This is very obviously the Mongol warlord Genghis Khan.
When I saw an open call for Warlord Games supplements in 2021, I knew I had to give it a go – they wanted an example scenario to see how I wrote, so I got wracking my brain for something that would make me stand out.
I knew that people would have looked at all sorts of familiar settings, such as Romans and Napoleonics, so I settled on a different bit of history – the Battle of the Indus between the Mongols and Khwarazmians in 1221. I dutifully learnt all about Jalal al-Din and his escape, pulled some special rules together, wrote some background to it, and… someone at Warlord liked it!
I was asked to submit some concepts for game supplements, and from the four I submitted, the Wars of the Roses was picked. See? Genghis Khan. Logical entry point.
My own wargaming background started when I was around 8, with 2nd edition Warhammer 40,000. Encouraged by my Cub Scouts leader at the time (thanks, Derek!), I kept up an interest in historicals alongside my love of grimdark and the fantastical.
I’ve been lucky enough to have refought Waterloo with thousands of miniatures per side, delved into multiple skirmish games, done some great club games (thanks to the likes of the Hertfordshire Volunteers and the Bottisham Mordheim Gang), and of course I have the mandatory lead/plastic pile which I’m sure is growing when I don’t pay attention.
With the Wars of the Roses in particular, I’ve been fascinated since Sixth Form due to my history A-level, with a bit of encouragement from The Black Adder, a.k.a. series one of Blackadder. The idea of dynastic struggles and knights bashing each other with some colourful flags definitely appealed to my teenage brain.
Having read a bit more around the subject, with the occasional visit to places like Bosworth and the National Portrait Gallery, I felt like I had a pretty reasonable handle on the topic. Was it objectively perfect knowledge? Oh my, no.
Was it something I felt could stand up to the rigour of a pub debate? Almost certainly, and especially with the Wars of the Roses, there are plenty of opinions and conjecture. My approach has been to try and capture the feel rather than try to portray a definitive answer to some things, as our sources are somewhat lacking in many respects.
Because of this, I wanted to try and bring in a little bit of flavour with the idea of a ‘Battle Plus’ or ‘Campaign Minus’ setup for battles which people could do for one-off games, along with the historical and what-if scenarios – and because we all like to try something new, I wanted to make sure there were some non-Wars of the Roses battles included as well. Another chance to use your lovely miniatures, but without everyone having a pre-determined idea of what should happen. That sounds good to me – and hopefully you, too!
I also had a long thought about campaign rules as, like many of you reading this, I have been involved in many a wargames campaign which started with the best of intent but then… fizzled. My Big Brain idea here was to limit the number of campaign turns, allowing some slight wiggle room for ‘roleplaying’ elements to happen outside of the battles. As a big fan of megagames (big wargame/roleplaying game hybrids with 30-100 players), I know that even inside the most ardent tournament player would still be keen to gain the office of Royal Privy Cleaner if it meant a shiny badge, or to wear a paper Christmas cracker crown.
My approach from this should be reasonably clear – I read the history, enjoy the history, but also am not wholly constrained by it. I believe flavour and counterfactuals are where a lot of the fun lurks, but the book also presents the narrative of the Wars of the Roses so you can follow along. Some elements might not be agreed on, like details on how people fought, or whether Richard III deserved a World’s Best Uncle mug, but if you want a proper in-depth history, I encourage you to grab a history book or check out the bibliography at the back of the supplement.
So, does this all this venturing into what-ifs and random tables mean I’ve ignored the history? You’ll have to be the judge of that, but every battle of note gets its own scenario, with plenty of special rules and some guidance on army lists. I even made it so you don’t need ten divisions per side at Towton! (although I have played in a BIG Hail Caesar Towton game, and I can’t deny that if you get the chance to put a huge number of figures on the table it is a fantastic experience)
I’m hoping you enjoy this book, as it was a blast to research and write – with a quick thanks to Dylan my editor! When you get hold of your own copy though, if there are things you’d like to tweak, I am a pro-tweaking wargamer and you very much have my blessing. As it’s my first crack at a wargaming book I’d love to see what people think, especially when it comes to things like the special rules for the Dramatis Personae and the ‘make your own commander’ section. Spy me online and fancy asking something, or want to ask me for some thoughts on your podcast? The worst I can say is ‘not right now, I’m a tad busy’!
Now, where’d I put that box of Perry Miniatures’ Mercenaries, I have a hankering after making Schwartz’s lads at Stoke Field…
~Rob Grayston
The Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic conflicts where the English aristocracy turned against itself as a weak king led to opportunism and violence. This supplement for Hail Caesar gives you the opportunity to refight the famous battles of the period, from the initial round of fighting at the First Battles of St Albans and Blore Heath, all the way to the bitter end of the conflict at Bosworth and Stoke Field.
Within, you will also find a guide for running campaigns and creating your own Wars of the roses hero or villain, What If? scenarios, and rules for using some of the most colourful characters of the era as your commanders. Also included is an overview of the heraldry of the period, and a guide on the late medieval ways of war.
