SAND!

Episode #1
Using TS&TF 20th Anniversary Edition
by Ray Trochim
A gunboat with a rescue party sets forth from a nearby British fort to look for a visiting official who has
gone sightseeing with his wife. Now the British commander needs to rescue the adventurous young couple
from a sudden local uprising. During the rescue, the gunboat runs aground just short of their goal. Do they
continue their mission by sending troops further up river, or get the boat free first? If they send the troops,
can they afford to send enough men and still have enough manpower to get the boat free? If they dont
send the troops, what will happen to Captain Joseph Turnpikes promising career if Willoughby-Fourkees
and his lovely wife are slaughtered by the Dervish? Will the dastardly Dervishes attack the boat while our
noble heroes are trying to free if from the muddy bank? All this and much more will be revealed in this
episode of SAND!
Game setup and details: Recommended number of players for this scenario is five. Two British players
and three Dervishes players. Each British player will control one British unit and one Egyptian unit. The
player who controls Captain Turnpike commands the field gun. Each Dervish player will control three
Ansar units and a tribal leader.
British player:
2x British units (40 figures)
2x Egyptian units (40 figures)
1x Field gun crewed by four sailors
1x Captain
1x Sergeant Major
Dervish player:
8x Ansar units with spears (160 figures)
1x Ansar unit with rifles (20 figures)
3x Mounted tribal leaders
The British have to rescue the official and his wife by locating the building in which they are being held
captive. The turn after they are found, they can be moved three dice per turn. Once the official reaches the
gunboat (gets within 2) the Dervishes will stop their attack and retreat from the battlefield. During the
game, the Dervishes cannot kill the official and his wife. If by the end of the game, the sight seeing couple
is not saved, they will never be heard from again and the British troops are made responsible their demise.
If the British attempt to free the gunboat before rescuing the official and his wife, the Dervishers will
assume they are of no importance and be put to the spear. The British player will need at least 40 soldiers
to push the gunboat free. If they lose more then 46 (out of 86 total) figures in the battle, they will not have
enough men to get the boat free.
If the British rescue the official and push the gunboat free, it is a major British victory. If the British
rescue the official and his wife but cant get the gunboat free, it is a tie. If the British cannot rescue the
official and his wife, it is a major Dervish victory.
The British rolls 2xD6 to determine the amount of ammunition the gun has. All British and Egyptian
infantry units have unlimited ammunition. However, they are not allowed to fire blindly as they do not
want to risk accidentally hitting the official and his wife.

 All Dervish units (spear and rifle) also have unlimited ammunition. Remember that Dervish units can
only throw their spears if they charge their target.
Major morale rules (loss of highest ranking leader) will not be used in this scenario.
At the start of the game and before the Dervish players deploy their forces, they roll one D6 to
determine which building the official and his wife are being held in. See map below.
The British field gun starts out on the gunboat. The turn after the first British/Egyptian unit (not scouts)
reaches the center of the board, the British player has the option to disassemble the field gun and unload it
from the boat. It will take two turns to disassemble, one turn to unload, and two turns to re-assemble (5
turns total) the gun.
The rough terrain features are roughly 8x5 and represent brush and rocky areas. These areas do not
block line of sight but may conceal one (and only one) unit at the start of the game. When firing at targets
in rough terrain, treat targets as class III targets. When firing through the rough terrain at targets on the
other side, treat the target as a class IV target.
The two hills can be represented by what ever is on hand.
Only 10 figures can fit in each building.
The diagram below shows a game table of 5 by 9.
Go to: http://www.thewayitwas.com/tsatf.html to get more information about THE SWORD AND THE
FLAME - 20th Anniversary Edition