How to represent casualties and shock?

[Cerebus]

What do you guys use to indicate casualties and shock?

Whilst I’d love to have enough figures so that I can replace 5 man bases with 4 man bases etc , time, finances, the fact that I have two armies and one is already completed FOW style is preventing that.

I have tried a “platoon card” off table with markers following each section to determine who they are, but that seems to interrupt the flow of the game because we’re always checking back to see what shock and casualty levels are (and often forget). Casualty and shock markers on table always seem obtrusive and spoil the look of the game.

So I was wondering if anyone had come up with an alternative, or a better way of what I’ve tried already.

[Vis Bellica]

The rings of death! The rings of death!



Small dice for Shock; rings of death for casualties on a multi-figure base. You can use black rings if the white ones stand out too much for you. And green dice.

[Archdukek]

Small micro-dice mounted in dice frames on a coin and textured to match the table work for me, white for shock and red for casualties. You can also build the dice frames into support weapon bases if you want. The coin mounted versions will work in a variety of TFL games including Chain of Command and Sharp Practice.

John

[Cerebus]

Hmm. Not convinced with the on table stuff. I'm a bit of a scenery nerd when it comes to wargaming, and anything that sticks out as "not part of the countyside" will annoy me ( I have been known to set the table up just to see what some new scenery looks like "in game", stare at it for a while and then pack the whole thing away. Yes I know, the wife thinks I've lost it too). I could flock the rings I suppose......what are you using? plastic washers or polo mints

I have seen some mdf counter dials which can be decorated to match the terrain, which are a possibility. In fact , if I got the larger size I could base directly onto them......hmm.


Or I come up with a OOB sheet, with stats for the units, and keep check with a pencil.

[Emilio]

Use pebbles, like these:

http://syw6mm.com/2011/01/keeping-busy/

[Cerebus]

Use pebbles, like these:

http://syw6mm.com/2011/01/keeping-busy/

Now that I like. Especially if I have similar rocks around the battlefield on scatter terrain, that way no one will notice they're following the units! Great idea Emilio.

[Emilio]

Nice you like it!

[Cerebus]

Just wondered if anyone has tried magnetising their bases and the individual figures so that you can actually remove casualties. This approach would seem to be the ideal solution but magnetic paint is expensive (especially as it may not work and only likely to use a few brush strokes) and magnetic sheets may not cut well to fit individual figure bases.

[Zippee]

You can buy ready magnetised sabot bases from Warbases and suitable magnetised figure bases for that solution - harder if you've already based your troops, especially if on round bases. Otherwise sheet cuts easily down to as small as 10mm x 10mm without issue.

That said I did the section/gruppe sabot thing for a while and it was too much hassle, in the end we just dropped the sabot and used the individual figures from the get go.

I know I have old photos showing the sabots but I'm currently in darkest Cornwall and t'net seems to be on a hand-crank so I can't get at them.

[Archdukek]

Magnetic Displays/Coritani used to sell a range of self-adhesive steel paper discs already cut to fit holes in sabot bases which you could stick to the bottom of MDF based figures to use the Warbases sabots with magnets.

If I remember correctly I think the guys on Lard Island have their 15mm figures based in pairs with a couple of singles for removing casualties but keeps movement a little quicker than having everything on single bases.

John