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Post by paulhannah on Jan 29, 2018 15:31:05 GMT
This week's NAGS DBA Game Night theme is titled, "All Gaul is Divided". I'd love to present an historical, Gallic Wars scenario.
Does anyone here have a ready-to-play, Gallic Wars scenario? If so, would you be willing to share it here? --Ideally, one with hard-coded terrain and deployments, and a fun, special-rule or two. (If you have a BBDBA scenario, maybe I can adapt for standard DBA.)
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Post by timurilank on Jan 29, 2018 19:29:53 GMT
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Post by stevie on Jan 29, 2018 22:11:46 GMT
Those links are an excellent resource Timurilank! Thanks for posting them. They are a must see for all DBA players. (I'm going to try and meet paulhannah's challenge and see if I can quickly knock-out a recreation of Sambre/Sabis... ...although I won't have time to test it) 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
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Post by paulhannah on Jan 29, 2018 22:54:05 GMT
A " Battle of the Sabis River" scenario does indeed look compelling. Thanks for that U-Tube link, Robert. I'll be eager to see what you come up with, Stevie. I found this Giant DBA scenario of this battle online. BBDBA isn't my cup of tea, but one or two of their special-rules may be worth considering.
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Post by stevie on Jan 30, 2018 3:11:25 GMT
Well paulhannah, here it is…the Battle of Sabis, 57 BC. Here is a link to the actual battle with some maps: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Sabis. It’s bit crude, but it’s the best I could do at short notice. I’ve tried to keep the terrain to DBA 3 sizes and rules, but you might want to make the hills larger:- The TerrainThe battlefield is on a small table, 15 BW x 15 BW. The Romans are on a gentle hill. Whether the other hills are difficult or also gentle is up to you. All hills are as large as possible, 6 BW x 3 BW, and the river is paltry. The Roman camp is only half built, so it may or may not have any defensive value (hmmm, probably not?). The ForcesThe Romans have 8 x 4Bd (legions), 2 mounted, and 2 psiloi, but two of the blades haven’t arrived yet. Caesar's cavalry and skirmishers are touching the centre-line, and will be hit by the fast moving warbands in the first bound. The Beligc tribes have 12 x 3Wb elements (you could use 4Wb bases if you like, but treat them as 3Wb). Special RulesTo simulate the Belgic numbers, I’ve used ‘decorative double bases’ (see fanaticus.boards.net/post/10670 ). These are just two normal bases on a 1 BW x 1 BW card, which act in all respects as a single element…it just looks more impressive. So despite the looks there are still only 12 elements a side. Think of it as their being tried after running across the river and uphill so -1, but gain a +1 for their deep formation (as well as rear support if one ‘decorative double base’ has a supporting ‘decorative double base’ behind it, as normal) Or just use normal single 3Wb bases for the Gauls, it’s up to you...but 'decorative double bases' certainly do look formidable! The two off-table Roman blades will appear when Caesar has a PIP roll of 3 or more. When they appear they are placed within 1 BW of the rear table edge for no PIPs, and cannot move on the bound they arrive. Victory conditions remain unchanged whether they arrive or not…i.e lose 4 element equivalents to be defeated. The Belgic tribes have the first move, and their first PIP roll is an automatic ‘ 6’. Note that the Romans are facing the wrong way. This is to simulate their confusion and disorder. Optional Special RulesI like the victory conditions to be you must lose more than 4 element equivalents to be defeated. It makes battles last a bit longer. The Romans could also be treated as 3Bd for combat, but as 4Bd for movement, to further emphasize their disorder. I haven’t had time to test this, so I don’t know if this is too harsh or not. (Please feel free to change anything you like, or even ignore it altogether if you prefer) 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
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Post by paulhannah on Jan 30, 2018 3:59:33 GMT
Stevie, Wow-- You did it! That scenario, the map, special-rules, et all, look beautiful. I really like all the "chrome" you worked in there. Marvelous.
I agree, the Belgae should all be on foot. Now, here's hoping Eric can muster twelve Fast Warbands. (Whaddaya think, Eric?) The "decorative", double-deep basing looks really intriguing.
1) Shouldn't Caesar's scouts be deployed at start on the far shore of the River Sabis, though? Perhaps you're assuming they've already seen the enemy and have retired in order to their own side of the river?
2) What effect, if any, should the "Roman Unbuilt Camp" have on game play? --Maybe treating it as an "Enclosure" (RG) would work nicely?
Can't wait to give this one a try. Again, many thanks. (And this is why I so love playing other people's scenarios. I'm not nearly as creative or innovative, and have no clue how to do such spiffy graphics!)
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Post by stevie on Jan 30, 2018 5:07:30 GMT
I wouldn’t worry too much about mustering 12 fast warbands… …in fact a mixture of 4Wb and 3Wb has a nice ‘barbarian’ feel to it. Just treat them as if they were all 3Wb. Anyway, if you’re going for the deluxe ‘decorative double base’ look (and scare the hell out of the Roman player!), then you’ll need 24 bases. But who’s going to notice if there are Britons, Germans, Thracians, Dacians, or even Spanish figures in the second rank? The reason for having Caesar’s mounted and skirmishers on his side of the river is simple…fleeing. I want the Roman Cv element to be destroyed (in the real battle, Caesar’s Treveri cavalry said “sod this for a game of soldiers” and were off!), but we need the LH and Ps to survive as they played a role later. And page 12 paragraph 8 says that fleeing troops are destroyed if they enter any river. So until the two off-table legions arrive, the Ps is all Caesar has as a reserve to plug any gaps should a Bd be killed. But that’s a good idea about having the half built Roman camp as a piece of rough enclosure. It’ll rob the Gauls of rear support if they get within it. Good thinking. Oh, and if you do use 'decorative double bases', remember that they act just like a single element of 3Wb...so only recoil them 1/2 a BW. 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
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Post by paulhannah on Jan 30, 2018 5:30:17 GMT
The reason for having Caesar’s mounted and skirmishers on his side of the river is simple…fleeing.
Exactly. It occurred to me later that it was the Fleeing issue that probably caused you to place them back on their own side. Really good thinking there. And I just remembered I have dozens of loose, painted Early Germans. Germany is next to Belgium. Close enough. I can get them based and flocked by Wednesday. (If, for some reason, the scenario doesn't work, I can always put them back into the Dunk Tank™.)
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Post by goragrad on Jan 31, 2018 4:14:23 GMT
Nice looking scenario, Stevie.
Will have to give it a run, although I will have to sub some MIR for the Romans.
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Post by Baldie on Jan 31, 2018 11:42:03 GMT
Look forward to reading about it. I am trying to convince my group to play some of the scenarios from HC Britannia, Germania and Age of Caesar. Think they could be reasonsbly converted to DBA.
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Post by paulhannah on Jan 31, 2018 17:01:03 GMT
Historically (or, at least, in Caesar's account of it), the battle turned in favor of the Romans when Caesar inserted himself there, rallied, and led his troops personally. So, what do you think of this additional, special rule, further augmenting the value of the General's element? CAESAR RULES- At the start of any Roman bound, but only once per game, the Roman player may spend 2 PIPs to exchange any Blade element with the Blade (Gen) element, so long as the Blade (Gen) element did not start the bound in enemy contact. Both elements may then move normally.
- The Blade (Gen) element may always choose to ignore any Pursuit outcome moves.
- If the Blade (Gen) element is lost, it counts as two extra elements lost. (Is this perhaps too severe, since the "helicopter move" benefit is just once per game?)
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Post by primuspilus on Jan 31, 2018 17:46:58 GMT
And Stevie shows again, in fine form, why I am such a fan of using the 12 element game to reflect historical battles. DBA v3 is a fine engine. Better than 2.2. Historical refights are far better with the 12 element game, and some ingenuity, in v3 than they were in 2.2.
By the way, I like the double base effect. A nifty way to play. And if you ARE so inclined, by removing on e of the pair on a kill, and letting the remainder fight on, you end up with a kind of attrition mechanism, without having to have markers, that can track degrading morale in more resilient formations!
Long live Ceasar! And long live the 12 element game.
BTW, Stevie, how about designing Gergovia for us! Caesar lost that one badly (well, not according to him, though...)
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Post by paulhannah on Jan 31, 2018 21:19:14 GMT
Just gave Stevie's "River Sabis" scenario three playtests. All played quickly and were entertaining. Rome won 2 of 3 very handily, and only lost the third due to very fortunate Gallic die-rolls. Three takeaways:
- The 40mm square basing for the Nervii looks great but does cause them some problems, e.g. when spun sideways, have to recoil, and can't. (Content to leave this as-is. The visuals look too cool to change.)
- The Roman "scouts" were very effective at delaying and breaking up the Gallic advance with minimal loss. (Not sure of a solution there. Content to leave this as-is.)
- It seemed that the disordered Roman Blade elements on the hill could very easily and simply turn around and wait for the Gallic advance. I propose one more special rule to simulate the Romans' disorder:
- The first move for each Roman Blade element that is facing the Unbuilt Roman Camp, except for the Blade (Gen), costs 2 PIPs.
- If any Roman Blade element is contacted by an enemy element while still in its initial “disordered” position, it suffers a -2 in CC and receives no Uphill bonus.
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Post by stevie on Jan 31, 2018 22:55:36 GMT
And I was worried that the Romans having to spread their PIPs between saving their skirmishers from being surrounded, and getting the off-table reserve legions into action (what with them being out of Command Range, as Caesar is on the wrong side of the hill crest), AND turning the blades around (so their Threat Zones have an effect, and they can overlap the warband columns), would prove to be too difficult! * Yes, ‘decorative double bases’ do have a slight disadvantage when flanking an enemy. This was expected (see fanaticus.boards.net/post/10670 ), but they don’t need to ‘hard flank’ blades, as these don’t recoil from warbands, they die. So there’s no point in having Wb turning to flank attack Bd. * As for the skirmishers…how about having the Belgae 2½ BW away instead of 3 BW? Then they could be in mutual flank contact with the Ps, who would be overlapped and have more chance of fleeing. * Perhaps that ‘treat all Caesar’s 4Bd as 3Bd for combat to simulate disorder’ is necessary after all. The off-table reserve legions wouldn’t be disordered…but they are newly raised, and tired from rushing to battle. Having -2 in close combat for their disorder is a bit too harsh. As I said, they don’t recoil from Wb, they die! (Anyway, Caesar did say he was impressed how his veteran legionaries could handle themselves without direct orders…i.e. DBA lets them automatically turn-to-face when they are attacked in the rear)* And the PIP cost for turning the blades and having Caesar joining elements to bolster them… …I’ve answered your private message with something called “Roaming Generals” that I’ve been working on. Have Caesar ‘roaming’ on the rear table edge and not attached to a blade element at the start of the battle. Then the blades will cost 2 PIPs to turn, because they will be out of Command Range (that hill crest again). (For those that don’t know, a roaming general is a single mounted figure, and when not in contact with friends they +1 to their PIP roll at the beginning of the Movement Phase. Generals in contact with friends are in the front rank, so +1 to combat as normal, but also -1 from their PIP roll, as their attention is distracted. They move as Cv for no PIP cost, but only move at the end of the Move Phase, after everyone else has moved. I’ll be posting the full details in the House Rules soon after a bit more testing…although it seems to work fine so far) Alternatively, limit Caesar's first PIP roll to be an automatic ' 2', because he too was taken by surprise. This would also delay the arrival of the reserve legions by a bound, as his PIP roll will be less than ' 3'. But the big question we are all asking is: where are the full detailed battle reports and the photos? As for Gergovia for primuspilus… …leave it with me. 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
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Post by bob on Jan 31, 2018 23:23:19 GMT
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