For The People 3.1

This new FTP module was created by Brian Reynolds. Special thanks to Game Designer Mark Herman who answered esoteric rules questions during development, as well as Mark Simonitch from GMT who supplied the hi-res art from the latest edition of the game. Thanks also to Steve Petras, Knutz Grunitz, and Judd Vance, along with anyone else who contributed to earlier versions of the module -- much inspiration was drawn from their excellent work!

The module is presently maintained by Brian Reynolds - please report any problems to brian@brianreynolds.net.

First Things First

Under the "Help" menu you will find a link to the latest Living Rules version of the For The People rulebook. If you are still learning how to play the game itself, several YouTube videos are available online, including an excellent one by Mark Herman himself at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmcAi-k2mCg

If It 'Runs Too Slow'

If you find the module running too slowly on your computer, go to the "Rules & Preferences" tab (or Alt+R and turn off "Auto Stack Organization". This will speed up unit movement at the expense of the automatic organization of big stacks. You can still manually invoke the reorganizer for a stack with Ctrl+A.

1. Choosing a Side

The side you choose gives you access to its hand of cards--or choose Solitaire to have access to both (also useful for e.g. local play on one computer, or when using the ACTS server). For players and competitive events in need of security for cards and dice rolls, it is recommended to use ACTS (acts.warhorsesim.com) or a similar server -- the Vassal client may discourage "casual cheating" but by itself cannot provide meaningful security.

    

2. Cards

To reduce window clutter, card decks have been placed on the main map below the board. Cards can be drawn through several methods, including right-clicking on the draw pile, or the "Draw" buttons in each player's hand window.

Playing Cards: Select a card in your hand, right click, and choose from: Play as Event (Ctrl+E) to play as an "EC" or Play for OPS (Ctrl+O) to play as an OC. There is also a "discard" option.

Random Discards: In each player hand window is a button which will cause a single card to be randomly discarded - use when this is required by an event.

  

3. Units and Markers

PC Markers, Forts, Armies, Generals, SP's, and the various map markers are separated into different game piece layers to prevent accidental movement and stacking. The drawing order from bottom to top PC Markers, Forts, SPs, Generals, Armies, Status Markers, Cards. Units of the same exact type placed in a space will stack with other units there (double click to expand a stack so that individual pieces can be clicked on).



Automatic Stack Organization: By default, groups of units will auto-organize when placed in the same space, so that the contents of the space are easier to view. Several organization formats are automatically switched between, including a "battle mode" when forces from both players are present in the same space. This auto-organization DOES use come computation power, and can optionally be turned down or off under the "Rules and Prefs" button on the toolbar. Even when off, auto-reorg can be invoked manually using Ctrl+A. Even when auto-organized, pieces can then be manually readjusted within a space without harm.

 

4. Armies

If sufficient SP are present in a space, an army can be created by right-clicking on the General you wish to put in command and selecting the desired army. Creating an army in this fashion will automatically manage Strategic Will adjustments; an army can still of course be "created" manually by dragging its piece to the map and moving appropriate generals manually to its display area.

Army Counter Stats: The current SP strength of an army is shown as a large numeral on the lower right of the counter. The Strategy rating of the army's commander (or 3 if no commander i.e. "default" commander) is shown on the left side of the counter. Next to the strategy rating will appear an asterisk (*) if the army contains at least one cavalry brigade, or an exclamation point (!) if it is a "Mongol Army" consisting entirely of cavalry SP and therefore not allowed e.g. to flip PC markers.

Picking Up and Dropping Off SP's: With an army selected, using the PGDN key will cause an SP to be dropped off in the current space, and one point will automatically be deducted from the army's strength display. Similarly, the PGUP key will pick up a strength point and add it to the army. Ctrl+PGUP and Ctrl+PGDN will pickup/dropoff larger groups of strength points.

Picking Up and Dropping Off Generals and Cavalry: Armies can similarly drop off and pick up Generals using Ctrl+G/Alt+G, and they can drop off and pick up Cavalry using Ctrl+V/Alt+V.

Manually Adjusting Army Strength: With an army selected, hitting the + and - keys on the Numpad will manually adjust the army's strength. Or hitting Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 will directly set the army's strength to a value 1 through 9. Alt+0 through Alt+5 will set the strength from 10 to 15. The Army SP marker on the army display can also of course be manually adjusted (or any of these hotkeys can be used with the Army SP marker selected).

Eliminating/Removing Armies: Pressing Ctrl+E with an Army selected will eliminate that army, sending generals and cavalry to the appropriate turn on the turn track for future re-entry. Strategic Will will be adjusted for loss of an Army, including an additional penalty of the commanding general's political rating if there is another army in the space.

   

5. Generals

Newly arriving generals are available near the turn track at the lower right of the map, each just above the appropriate turn for that general to arrive.

Randomizing New Generals: A stack of newly arriving generals can be randomized by right clicking their stack and selecting the "Randomize Generals" (Ctrl+R) option. They will be flipped upside down and randomized. The upside-down tokens can then be dragged to desired locations to assign them, before flipping them back up to reveal them.

Randomizing General Casualties: When a general needs to be selected randomly as a casualty, this can be done by stacking all the generals who qualify to be casualties in a single stack (including, if applicable, Cavalry Brigades) and then selecting the "Randomize" option. The General (or Cavalry Brigade) which is randomized to the top of the stack is the one which should be taken as the casualty.

Generals With Armies: Generals on an army display will have a right+click option to allow them to be placed on the map with their army. Likewise Generals on the map in a space with an army will have an option to send them to the army display. Generals in the "turn track" region also have several "quick deploy" options to place them with armies or in common locations on the map.

   

6. Cavalry Brigades

Cavalry Generals have a menu option allowing them to form a cavalry brigade when an SP is present with them on the map (or in the army to which they've been assigned). Cavalry Strength points will thenceforth register as an SP when present on an Army display, and will be properly tracked when picked up and dropped off. Cavalry Brigade pieces have appropriate right+click options when either the SP or the General need to be taken as casualties. If the "Cavalry General Replacements" optional rule is in effect, killed Cavalry Generals will automatically have their substitutes added to the turn track as appropriate.

   

7. Strategic Will

There are several ways to adjust Strategic Will (in addition to manually adjusting it by moving/flipping the counters on the display).

1. The Strategic Will screen (Alt+W) contains buttons which can be clicked to apply an adjustment -- these will in turn apply an appropriate "fortunes of war" additional adjustment when the SW momentum flips between + and -.

2. Playing an Event Card that includes an SW adjustment will automatically make the adjustment, including fortunes-of-war bonuses and penalties.

3. Displacing a Capital will automatically apply the appropriate SW penalty and fortunes of war.

4. Destroying a Resource Site will automatically apply appropriate SW adjustments.

5. Controlling a State: When a State Control marker is placed (or flipped) in the square for a state, appropriate SW adjustments will be made automatically.

   

8. PC Markers and State Control

The numbers of PC Markers present in Border States, and the number of Union PC Markers in Confederate States (and Confederate PC Markers in Union States) are automatically tracked and displayed near the state's name. If a Border State becomes Confederate Controlled, only the Union PC Markers will henceforth be tracked; once a Border State becomes Union Controlled no further tracking is necessary and the tracking numbers disappear.



9. Empty Spaces and menus

Clicking on an empty space allows access to a special right+click menu (and special hotkeys) for that space -- for example SP's can be added directly, or PC Markers, without the need to drag them from the Markers display (but the Markers display is also available for players who prefer it). With an empty space selected, Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+6 will add a Confederate SP marker of the appropriate value; Alt+1 through Alt+6 will add a Union SP marker.

 

10. Strategic Movement

To prevent the necessity of repeatedly scrolling to the left side of the screen to update rail markers while conducting strategic movement, global hotkeys are provided: CTRL+Numpad+PLUS and CTRL+Numpad+MINUS will update the Confederate Strategic Movement (Rail) marker, and ALT+Numpad+PLUS and ALT+Numpad+MINUS will update the Union Strategic Movement (Rail) marker. These hotkeys are always available, no matter what unit or marker is currently selected.

   

11. Preferences

The Rules & Preferences screen, accessed from the toolbar or Alt+R, allows Optional Rules functionality to be turned on and off for Cavalry General Replacements and Additional General Capabilities rules. Automatic Stack Organization can also be turned up or town. The VASSAL / ACTS preference determines whether the "Draw Specific Cards" option for the draw pile will reveal the card names.

12. Movement Trails

Movement Trails can be turned on and off for all units with the button on the toolbar. The movement histories for all units can be cleared with the adjacent button.

13. LookAt "Flare" feature

Ctrl+Clicking on any part of the map will briefly place a circular "flare" symbol on the map in that location to call attention to that location. This symbol will appear on the opponent's map in both server and logfile/PBEM play.