Post by decebalus on Mar 12, 2019 11:55:47 GMT
Deeper bases for DBA in 28mm
28mm DBA has got a new life here in Northern Germany by using deeper bases. There may have been around 20 new armies and some big campaigns.
Why deeper basing?
DBA is a great set of rules. It requires an interesting mix of skill and luck, has a very short playing time of about an hour and with the small armies of 12 bases gives you the opportunity to collect many different armies. Finally, for example you can collect all those armies involved in the Punic War (Romans, Carthaginians, Iberians, Gauls, Numiders and Greeks).
But for 28mm gamers the problem is, that DBA armies look relatively unattractive, somehow puny and non believable. In the end it's a matter of personal imagination, but for many players, an element with a single row of four spearmen is no Greek phalanx. Probably 28mm gamers see this problem even more, because they are more interested in the aesthetic side of gaming.
The solution: deeper basing!
The biggest aesthetic problem with normal DBA is that infantry elements have only a single-row. This can be overcome relatively easily by using just a little more figures and deeper bases. So you can base with two rows. The useful rule of thumb is twice the official depth and about 150% of infantry models. Armies are still small and can be painted quickly. But suddenly the army looks great. Specifically for an infantry element, the best is a depth of 5cm and the official width of 6cm.
Adaptation of the rules
If you know the rules well, you will notice that there are some differences that arise from deeper bases. But we only play two changes to the rules: 1. Infantry always retreats half a BW, mounted one BW. 2. If an element is turned and touches another element, it will be put 2mm apart. (So you get the chance for one retreat.)
All other changes to the rules that happen, we just play as they are. Most serious are certainly two things: 1. Mounted elements that knock a hole in a front line can not flank in the gap. 2. The rear support of Light Horse is outside the thread zone, so the supporting element can freely move. For tournament players, these changes may be a problem, in a normal game with friends you dont have to bother at all.
Possible objections against this basing scheme
There are two usual objections against this specific basing.
1. It is no longer possible to recognize the type of troop by the number of figures: Originally (that is, in DBA 1.0), the number of figures also corresponded to the combat value of an element. However, this has long since been abandoned in DBA. In addition, with 28mm miniatures you can see much better, which troop type is depicted.
2. Why not take a multiple of the original size: With 28mm players there was already a discussion to simply increase the original base size proportionally. Some have experimented with twice the 15mm scale, i.e. 8cm wide and 4cm deep bases. But maintaining the official 6cm width has several advantages:
1. The deeper based army is compatible with officially based armies.
2. The table can keep the normal size of 120 * 120.
What base sizes do we use?
In the end, you can use, what looks the best for you. The following sizes have worked very well for us:
Blade / Spear / Pike: 5cm deep, 6-8 miniatures.
Warband / Aux (solid): 5cm deep, 5-6 miniatures.
Warband / Aux (fast): 5cm deep, 5 miniatures.
Psiloi: 5cm deep, 3 miniatures.
Horde / Spear (deep): 6cm deep, 7-9 miniatures.
Knight / Cavalry: 8cm deep, 3 riders. (Please note that the 6cm width is in the front, so the models have to be staggered on the base, which looks pretty good. I would only use 3 models for cataphracts.)
Light Horse: 8cm deep, 2 riders. (I always put the bow-shooting riders at an angle, as if they were about to turn after the shot.)
Artillery / Elephant / Chariots: 8cm deep, one model plus crew.
Knight (deep): 10cm deep, 4 riders.
Bow (deep): my suggestion would be to only use 5cm deep bases and have a first row with shields.
28mm DBA has got a new life here in Northern Germany by using deeper bases. There may have been around 20 new armies and some big campaigns.
Why deeper basing?
DBA is a great set of rules. It requires an interesting mix of skill and luck, has a very short playing time of about an hour and with the small armies of 12 bases gives you the opportunity to collect many different armies. Finally, for example you can collect all those armies involved in the Punic War (Romans, Carthaginians, Iberians, Gauls, Numiders and Greeks).
But for 28mm gamers the problem is, that DBA armies look relatively unattractive, somehow puny and non believable. In the end it's a matter of personal imagination, but for many players, an element with a single row of four spearmen is no Greek phalanx. Probably 28mm gamers see this problem even more, because they are more interested in the aesthetic side of gaming.
The solution: deeper basing!
The biggest aesthetic problem with normal DBA is that infantry elements have only a single-row. This can be overcome relatively easily by using just a little more figures and deeper bases. So you can base with two rows. The useful rule of thumb is twice the official depth and about 150% of infantry models. Armies are still small and can be painted quickly. But suddenly the army looks great. Specifically for an infantry element, the best is a depth of 5cm and the official width of 6cm.
Macedonians against Greeks
If you know the rules well, you will notice that there are some differences that arise from deeper bases. But we only play two changes to the rules: 1. Infantry always retreats half a BW, mounted one BW. 2. If an element is turned and touches another element, it will be put 2mm apart. (So you get the chance for one retreat.)
All other changes to the rules that happen, we just play as they are. Most serious are certainly two things: 1. Mounted elements that knock a hole in a front line can not flank in the gap. 2. The rear support of Light Horse is outside the thread zone, so the supporting element can freely move. For tournament players, these changes may be a problem, in a normal game with friends you dont have to bother at all.
Possible objections against this basing scheme
There are two usual objections against this specific basing.
1. It is no longer possible to recognize the type of troop by the number of figures: Originally (that is, in DBA 1.0), the number of figures also corresponded to the combat value of an element. However, this has long since been abandoned in DBA. In addition, with 28mm miniatures you can see much better, which troop type is depicted.
2. Why not take a multiple of the original size: With 28mm players there was already a discussion to simply increase the original base size proportionally. Some have experimented with twice the 15mm scale, i.e. 8cm wide and 4cm deep bases. But maintaining the official 6cm width has several advantages:
1. The deeper based army is compatible with officially based armies.
2. The table can keep the normal size of 120 * 120.
3. The bases are suitable for other rules. Two bases next to each other can be taken as a base for impetus. A deeper base can also be taken as a double base for DBM (M) or FOG.
Kurpfalz against French 1470
What base sizes do we use?
In the end, you can use, what looks the best for you. The following sizes have worked very well for us:
Blade / Spear / Pike: 5cm deep, 6-8 miniatures.
Warband / Aux (solid): 5cm deep, 5-6 miniatures.
Warband / Aux (fast): 5cm deep, 5 miniatures.
Psiloi: 5cm deep, 3 miniatures.
Horde / Spear (deep): 6cm deep, 7-9 miniatures.
Knight / Cavalry: 8cm deep, 3 riders. (Please note that the 6cm width is in the front, so the models have to be staggered on the base, which looks pretty good. I would only use 3 models for cataphracts.)
Light Horse: 8cm deep, 2 riders. (I always put the bow-shooting riders at an angle, as if they were about to turn after the shot.)
Artillery / Elephant / Chariots: 8cm deep, one model plus crew.
Knight (deep): 10cm deep, 4 riders.
Bow (deep): my suggestion would be to only use 5cm deep bases and have a first row with shields.
Camp: 10 * 14cm (the official size)
Punic against Roman
