Concealed Ambushes

Interesting proposal - worth thinking about.

We use a variation of the HOTT "Lurker" rule. Skirmishers can be held off board at time of deployment and then when an opponent enters a certain type of terrain (woods for instance) you can deploy the Skirmishers for a PIP in contact with the "intruders". Thereafter the Ambusing element (generally Ps) becomes a normal element of its type.

TomT

I too have been thinking along very similar lines to Macbeth with what I call “Event Cards”.

In order to keep certain ‘special events’ infrequent and rare, each player at the start of the campaign (I’m only interested in two-player campaigns) randomly draws say two “Event Cards”, which they secretly keep in their hand and can only be used once.
So timing, and using their precious cards at the right moment in the right battle, is important.
I’ve found that by simply keeping a card in hand, no matter what it is, is in itself a strategy, as it keeps the enemy guessing.

“Event Cards” cover such things as:
    Scouting and Reconnaissance (who deploys the terrain or decides the deployment areas, such as Agincourt 1415 AD)
    Flank marches (like a Littoral Landing, but on land)
    Ambushes (fairly self explanatory)
    Temporary Field Defences (such as anti-cavalry ditches, as used at Orchomenus 85 BC and Daras 531 AD)
    Extra Troops (huge armies such as Gaugamela 331 BC - more elements, but victory conditions remain the same as normal)
    High Army Morale (your army is only defeated when 5 element equivalents are lost)
    Low Enemy Morale (the opposite - the enemy is defeated after only 3 elements lost)
    Dissension or Confusion (one group remains stationary for one bound, as at Manzikert 1071 AD)
    Impetuous Charge (one group surges forwards a full move for no PIP cost)
    Feigned Flight (one group breaks-off a full move and the enemy must make a full move pursuit for one bound, stopping short of contact)
    Wild Mounted Pursuit (all the horse on the wings must make a full move pursuit of defeated enemy, the effect lasting for the entire battle, as happened to Demetrious at Ipsus 301 BC and the Roman horse at Zama 202 BC)

...and so on.

Note that these "Event Cards" can be used against your own troops if you like, instead of against the enemy.
So you could use an Impetuous Charge on one of your groups if you are short of PIP's, or use it to counter a Dissension and Confusion card.
Or use a Wild Mounted Pursuit on yourself (such as at Cannae 216 BC - it gives Hannibal's horse a full move pursuit instead of 1 BW, so they are a full 4 BW from the Roman Threat Zones and counter-attacks, and thus able to move about more freely)



Some potentially useful player aids can be found here, such as the “Quick Reference Sheets” from the Society of Ancients,
and the new “Army List Corrections” file: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Reference_sheets_and_epitomes
And this is the latest January 2018 FAQ: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ_2018

Well, I was only talking about hypothetical ‘what-if’ campaigns, not recreating an historical campaign.
For historical ‘real-life’ campaigns, I would suggest arranging the event cards to reproduce actual events that occurred.

For example, Hannibal conducted an ambush at the River Trebia in 218 BC, and an even more spectacular ambush a year later at Lake Trasimene in 217 BC. So ambushes were certainly Hannibal’s favourite tactic. But note how even he didn’t create any ambushes at Cannae in 216 BC or at Zama in 202 BC. This shows that as much as they might want to, generals can’t have an ambush when they feel like it. The terrain has to be right for one thing, and the ambush force successfully hidden from enemy scouts, spies, and deserters.

Of course, generals like Belisarius probably actively attempted to seek out battlefields where they could attempt an ambush.
But they didn’t always have it their own way. It all depended upon the movements of the enemy, and the current situation.

Having a limited number of ambush cards simulates this. It represents that general actively seeking out a suitable battlefield.
But they can’t do it in every battle...sometimes they just have to dash to protect a city, or to help out a vulnerable ally.

And it’s the same with all those cards. Use the right cards to simulate events that happened during that historical campaign.
Neither Alexander nor Darius conducted any ambushes during the Macedonian invasion of Persia for example.
And Alexander only once used a wide off-table outflanking march, at the Persian Gates in 330 BC, to go around the defenders.

For an Alexander v Darius campaign, I’d give each side the following cards:-
　　Alexander: Flank March (for if the Persians flood the table with bad going), and Low Enemy Morale (for any battle really).
　　Darius:      Extra Troops (for Gaugamela), and Confusion (to simulate that gap that opened in the Pike phalanx at Gaugamela,
                      that let the Scythed Chariots through and allowed the Persian cavalry to reach the Macedonian camp).
　　
Of course, one of the problems with having set Event Cards for a campaign is the players know what’s coming.
The real generals in these historical conflicts didn’t have our luxury of hindsight...



Some potentially useful player aids can be found here, such as the “Quick Reference Sheets” from the Society of Ancients,
and the new “Army List Corrections” file: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Reference_sheets_and_epitomes
And this is the latest January 2018 FAQ: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/FAQ_2018