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Post by stevie on Sept 27, 2023 8:41:28 GMT
Good points Snowcat.
I’ve only done a few playtests of DBF so far, but that is exactly what I found.
Since I know that the enemy LH army only gets that ‘zero PIP’s move’ in the first bound, and subsequent moves cannot be closer than 1 BW, I just sit on my baseline for the first bound. Then it’s business as usual…the LH army are back to being mere wimps.
It would be far better if the LH received some sort of move advantage in every bound, an advantage that doesn’t require them to have more PIP luck than their opponents.
Paddy suggested that LH only pay ½ a PIP to move, in all bounds, and this does lead to the weak LH zipping about all over the place, no matter what the enemy does.
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Post by stevie on Sept 26, 2023 21:18:45 GMT
Thank you Brian…although modesty prevents me from answering directly. (“Ha! Yeah…as if. Some of us have met and know you Stevie!” )To address Kugenar: it’s all about simulating historical reality. We know that half of the Roman army were ‘Auxilia’, lighter armed than the heavy legionaries. Why did the Romans have these…what function did they perform? Well, Phil Barker (bless him) decided they were a counter to Warbands. And the Battle of Mons Graupius in Northern Britannia in 84 AD is an example of this. The Caledonians were uphill ( a gentle or difficult hill?), and Agricola kept all his legionary Blades in reserve while he sent his Auxilia to confront the Warbands. This is a fundamental feature of wargames… …you make rules to simulate and give the the right effects on the wargames table, and then ‘invent’ justifications for that rule. It’s the effects that matter…not the justifications. You might also be interested in Jim’s “Hint Cards for DBA 3.0” →HERESome Helpful Downloads can be found here: fanaticus-dba.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Reference_sheets_and_epitomes And here is the latest Nov 2022 FAQ: ancientwargaming.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/dba_faq_q4_2022_final.pdf
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Post by stevie on Sept 25, 2023 7:35:29 GMT
Ohh I have a question. Say you have a 2 deep Wb that keeps pursuing an element of Ax (because they are stupid and that's what they do) and it still has the Ax to it's front as well as 2 side contacts to the rear element (due to punching through the line. 2 more elements have no joined the Ax to offer side support, sooooo is this a -4 to the Wb due to 2 side edge contacts and 2 corner to corner or is there a max you can have? I think this situation is covered by the latest FAQ, which can be found here:- ancientwargaming.files.wordpress.com/2022/10/dba_faq_q4_2022_final.pdf Q: My opponent is facing my line of Blades with a Pike block. I moved another element into side-to-side contact with the rear Pike. A flank contact against a supporting Pike counts as a flank contact against the front element. Does my side-to-side contact against the rear Pike element count as an overlap? A: No. (So much for Phil Barker (bless him) always being right. He is a genius when it comes to thinking up rules… …but is not very good at writing them and conveying meaning. Hence the strange obscure language known as ‘Barkerese’…)
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Post by stevie on Sept 22, 2023 18:22:51 GMT
Hmmm…well, sort of. Although nothing more than an April Fool jest, have a look at page 5 of this: ibb.co/Mks6Xng
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Post by stevie on Sept 22, 2023 17:44:15 GMT
That’s good link Martin. 👍 My own alternative to dice skb777 is to use two packs of ordinary playing cards. See fanaticus.boards.net/post/33487 . There is still luck...but at least you'll know that your bad luck will end, and your good luck won't last forever...
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Post by stevie on Sept 22, 2023 16:12:28 GMT
Any system that has a dice to determine an outcome isn't going to create a historically accurate result. It doesn't matter which rules system you use, if you role badly your likely lose. Oh I don’t know skb777…if recreating the Battle of Agincourt, and the English roll loads of ‘6’s’, or the French roll loads of ‘1’s’, that would pretty much simulate an historical result (and if the situation were reversed, it would simulate Bannockburn ) ALL wargames are abstract simulations, and use dice to abstractly simulate the many variables and uncertainties of actual combat. I suppose you could have a loooong flowchart showing whether the men had a big breakfast or not, how hot it is that day, how far they have marched from their camp, is it windy or not, is the local commander popular or hated, is he distracted because he recently had an argument with his wife, how long its been since he had sex, plus a myriad of other trivial minor details instead of a die roll… …but it wouldn’t be quick or much fun.
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Post by stevie on Sept 22, 2023 12:20:18 GMT
If I wanted to ‘just play a game’, then I would stick to Chess or Risk. I want DBA to at least simulate what I read in the history books. And so does Phil Barker. Why do you think DBA has Blades/Longbows/Crossbows ‘quick killing’ Knights & Camels on an equal score, side-support for Spears, not to mention the deployment limitations, Psiloi fleeing, the trampling effects of Elephants & Scythed Chariots, BUA’s, Littoral Landings, plus much more. Phil Barker (bless him) knows that Bows are too weak, so he ‘invented’ them getting side-support from solid Blades to give them a much needed boost, and did the same for Light Horse getting rear support. These things were added to DBA 3.0 in order to better simulate reality. Unfortunately, they alone are not enough, and a bit more is needed. (Especially to better simulate Light Horse on our wargames table)Otherwise, people will begin to shun DBA for other rule-sets…
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Post by stevie on Sept 20, 2023 21:57:55 GMT
By the way, my latin is very rusty–did you ever check your new rules' title, grammar, casus, modi, etc? [under the cover of darkness, Brian sneaks up to a statue and starts painting Latin graffiti on the plinth of a statue; he is caught in the act by a centurion who gives him a Latin grammar lesson]Centurion: What's this, then? "Romanes Eunt Domus"? "People called Romanes, they go the house"? Brian: It says "Romans, Go Home". Centurion: No it doesn't. What's Latin for "Roman"? Come on! Brian: "Romanus". Centurion: Goes like? Brian: "Annus"? Centurion: Vocative plural of "annus" is? Brian: "Anni"? Centurion: "Romani". [the centurion takes the paintbrush and corrects the first line of Brian's graffiti]Centurion: "Eunt". What is "eunt"? Brian: "Go". Centurion: Conjugate the verb "to go". Brian: "Ire, eo, is, it, imus, itis, eunt". Centurion: So "eunt" is? Brian: Third person plural present indicative. "They go". Centurion: But "Romans, go home" is an *order*, so you must use the...? Brian: The imperative! Centurion: Which is? Brian: Um, oh, oh, "i". Centurion: How many Romans? Brian: Plural. "Ite". Centurion: "Ite". [the centurion corrects the second line of Brian's graffiti]Centurion: "Domus"? Nominative? "Go home". This is motion towards, isn't it, boy? Brian: Dative! [the centurion suddenly draws his sword and holds it to Brian's neck]Brian: No, not dative! Accusative! Accusative! "Domum", sir. "Ad domum". Centurion: Except that "domus" takes the... Brian: The locative, sir. Centurion: Which is? Brian: "Domum". Centurion: "Domum". [the centurion corrects the last line of Brian's graffiti]Centurion: Understand? Brian: Yes, sir. Centurion: Now write it out a hundred times. Brian: Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Hail Caesar, sir. Centurion: Hail Caesar. And if it's not done by sunrise, I'll cut your balls off.
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Post by stevie on Sept 20, 2023 19:32:12 GMT
But now in Blue Sky's mode: what if a Fleeing Element that contacts another friendly Element of equal or Lower CF triggered a Flee by that Element? rather than blocking the rout? TomT Tom, Tom, Tom…YES! In fact, the existing HoTT 2.1 rules already have this provision. Fleeing, at bottom of page 25 of the existing softback edition, says:- “Friends (the fleeing troops) cannot pass through, under or over, nor avoid, are burst through, then flee behind it until it stops.”
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Post by stevie on Sept 17, 2023 14:48:36 GMT
All my armies have flaws…but some have more than others. On the other hand, ‘Matched Pairs’ means you can bring two historical enemies, without worrying about Warbands having to face masses of Knights (which is nice).
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Post by stevie on Sept 14, 2023 22:36:33 GMT
But Simon, you looks so calm and at peace when you are running and also having to play at the same time. Naaa…it’s just the Valium kicking in…
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Post by stevie on Sept 7, 2023 16:34:56 GMT
Having watched the links provided by Jim, I thoroughly agree with them. More than that…I think that DBA 3.0 has got it broadly right.
Roman Blades deserve a high combat value. Local Centurions would pursue, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on the situation. And they do need reserves, in case something goes wrong and gaps appear in the battleline.
All in all, DBA 3.0 makes a good (if abstract) simulation of Roman tactics.
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Post by stevie on Sept 5, 2023 12:58:24 GMT
I previously said I wasn’t going to add anything new… …well that didn’t last long did it. Latest adjustments to version 4:- ❶ I’ve slightly increased the Number of Barbarian Armies (as I hate it when the Goths don’t turn up). ❷ I’ve slightly reduced the size of Each Barbarian Army (so slightly smaller armies, but there are slightly more of them.) ❸ Changes to the Target Prestige Points Per Turn chart (making it a bit harder to reach the outstanding score) ❹ And I’ve added a new “ Taxing Based on Success” option:- Using the Target Prestige Points Per Turn chart from page 8, determine whether you are above or below the expected value. If you are below, then add an extra 100 Talents each Turn to your Tax Income, and if you are above then minus 100 Talents each Turn from your Tax Income. This will help if you are falling behind, and slow you down if racing too far ahead. Version 4 can be found →HERE(And I absolutely totally and completely promise this is the very last version…well, maybe… )
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Post by stevie on Sept 2, 2023 17:02:05 GMT
I thought it might be a good idea for me to display a picture like Brian has so that players can compare the two. I’ve used the ‘folded-over standing-up’ method, and all the units plus the map have been laminated with sticky-back plastic, as has the front & back pages of the booklet as well as the Target Prestige Chart. (Note that I'm using the pack of cards option, after a very unfortunate game where I sent 2 Legions against one Barbarian, both were defeated, so I sent another two, both these were also defeated, and then sent in another two, also defeated! That 6 defeats in a row. At least with a pack of cards I know that 6 pieces of bad luck will be compensated with 6 good luck. Talk about "Publius Quinctilius Varus, where are my Legions!")My 1st Turn went as follows:- Involuntary Actions Tax Income 500 Talents, no Economy roll, and I didn’t get a Brilliant General. Since there is no Random Event Roll on the 1st Turn, I didn’t bother with a Donative. Barbarian Phase Carthage Attacks I defended with the Consul, who was victorious, then switched the defence to one of the Legions, which was destroyed. Now since I only had one Legion left, a Civil War would have no effect (½ rounded down is zero units lost), so my Consul was safe to fight again, and was again victorious but was defeated when I used him a second time and he fled into Rome itself. This left one Legion facing one Carthaginian, but I won (had it lost then Rome would fight). Generating Barbarians Three (!) Barbarian Armies: 3 Germans in Germanicus Magna (who went to Caledonia), 2 Sarmatians in the Southern Steppe (who just reached Dacia), 4 Persian-Parthians, one of which was lost due to attrition. None of these reached Italia, so there were no combats. Roman Phase I wanted Sicily and Hispania, as both of these would give my forces a +1 against any Sea Crossing Barbarians. But to get to Spain I first need to occupy Cisalpina & Narbonensis…which cost me a Legion fighting the natives. My objectives secured I took a risk and spent my last 100 talents on buying a Legion to invade Illyria, success. Lastly, I moved my Consul to reinforce the Legion in Cisalpina, as he could retreat to Italia if defeated next Turn. I left Africa for next Turn, as I felt safe from any Maghreb attacks as Sicily was now mine. (In reality, Rome conquered Carthage in the 3rd Punic War in 146 BC, i.e Turn 2). 6 Prestige points in Turn 1, one above average, which ain’t bad.
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Post by stevie on Sept 2, 2023 14:47:32 GMT
Ah, but where are the new Barbarian Armies?
The Barbarian Phase in the First Turn should be:- ① Carthage attacking the Romans in Italia. ② Generating Barbarian Armies. ③ Moving Barbarians and Combat. Then comes the Roman Phase…
(They don’t call me pedantic Stevie for nothing you know… …in fact I’m called far worse than that!)
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