Furioso: The Italian Wars

This supplement to the Furioso rules takes a more in-depth look at the Italian Wars of the sixteenth century. One of the main sections of the book covers a number of the major battles of the period and provides scenarios for such battles as Fornovo, Pavia and Ceresole. The historical scenarios provide player with army lists for each battle, maps to allow players to set up the terrain and show deployment areas and also provides special rules specific to each battle. Using these scenarios players can explore these famous battles and compare their efforts to the historical outcomes of the day.

Another prominent section of this supplement covers mercenary units and generals. Here players can really get into the spirit of the Italian Wars by hiring famous mercenary units to include in their armies. However, players will have to bid against their opponents to get the best units and must be prepared to lose their favourite unit to the highest bidder. Each of these renowned mercenary units will have its own profile and special abilities so generals will be keen to include them in their armies.

What is also included in this supplement are rules for solo play. Solo play allows players to fight battles on their own against an opposing army which is controlled using the solo mechanism, a mechanism that will be trying equally hard to destroy the player’s army as the player is trying to destroy their opponents. Using the solo play rules players that are new to the game have an enjoyable and interesting way to familiarise themselves with the rules processes before trying the game out against their wargaming friends and opponents.

The last main section of the rules covers the Da Vinci inventions. Those with an interest in the Renaissance period will be familiar with the marvellous and evocative drawings of strange craft that have endured through history. These fantastical and improbable creations are given ‘life’ here and players can now include them in their armies if they wish (and can of course purchase the models such as the Da Vinci Tank from Alternative Armies). But don’t worry, these inventions are unlikely to over-power more conventional forces. They are sometimes as unstable as they look, often providing more amusement than fear as they break down or crash out of the sky. Enjoy!

To complement these weird and wonderful inventions is a new breed of soldier trained specifically to fight them. Armed with new weapons, new tactics and near suicidal bravery, Renaissance warfare really is entering a new phase of destruction and brutality.