From: colin@news.jussieu.fr (Jean-Yves COLIN) Subject: Ancients: additional rules Date: 7 Mar 1995 20:44:14 GMT Hi! I promised to post the rules we added to the game Ancients by 3W. Here they are. Note that they are mostly adaptations from the DBA/DBM miniatures rules by WRG. The three main points are : - additional rules for light troops : they are now unaffected by bad going, and some may pass through other friendly units; - additional Command rules : a player is no more allowed to move freely its units. It may give a (usually very small) number of orders either to individual units, or to whole battle lines (in a limited form); - additional Control rules. Miscelleanous other rules include stratagems and new hidden rules. A simple two players campaign is described. Also, a way to convert to Ancients the 200+ armies from 3000BC to 1485AD presented in the DBA book, is proposed. IMHO, the result is at is best when the "luke-free" rules are used. Generalship is then everything, and you do not need a lot of counters, nor several hours to play interesting, and apparently realistic (whatever it means) ancient battles. It replaced the GBOA/SPQR games by GMT for us... If you try it, give us your opinion ! Finally, a lot of extensions to DBA were published, official or not, that, IMHO, can be converted to Ancients without to much work. I will soon post propositions for a fantasy "Ancients", and others for a renaissance variant... Enjoy ! -- Jean-Yves Colin colin@litp.ibp.fr P.S. Even if you are not into miniatures, you may read the DBA rulebook, for its simple, abstract but realistic command system, and for its innovative way of classifying troops; you may also read DBM for its clearer rules, and its elegant control system... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ancients (3W) Advanced rules (added to or replacing official optional= rules) Miscellaneous . time allowed to a player for all its movements in a turn must be limited to 1 or 2 minutes maximum ! Facing, turning and ZOC . an unit faces an hex corner instead of an hex edge. The two front hexes of a normal unit are its Zone of Control (ZOC). The four other adjacent hexes are considered flank hexes. . an unit can move forward in one of its two front hexes. It never changes facing, except by turning on place and spending 1 movement point in the process, or during retreat before combat. . firing is limited to the 60=F8 area in the front of the unit. . a disordered unit has no ZOC. . an unit can leave the ZOC of an enemy unit only if - it is faster than this enemy, or - if this enemy is disordered (hence has no ZOC), or - if it is itself disordered. . an unit can always turn inside the ZOC of any enemy. . as indicated in the official optional rules, a unit that leaves an enemy ZOC cannot attack this turn. Movements Use DBA rules to limit possible moves and reward players that maintain realistic battle lines : . number of available Player Initiative Points (PIPs), rolled by player at the beginning of its turn (treat negative result as 0 PIP this turn) no leader (D6 -3) PIPs 1 leader (D6 -2) PIPs 2 leaders (D6 -1) PIPs 3 leaders (D6) PIPs For each point (PIP) rolled, it is possible to make a tactical move, i.e. - move one individual unit, or - move one Group, or - voluntarily disorder one individual unit of its own army. . a group may move as a line if it is a group of units in contact that are facing in same direction, and none is in woods or swamps, and none begins in contact with enemy units. A line can be several units deep. . a group move cannot include units that were not in contact with the original group at the beginning of the move, and it cannot leave behind units that where in it at the beginning. . units in a line can be moved as long as all units remain in the same direction, in contact with other units of the line, and no unit moves more that its movement allowance. Possible moves include 'all units move forward x hexes', 'all units turn left/right', 'partial moves forward of the leftest units', etc ... and combinations. . a column is an exception to the rule that all units in a line must face the same direction, so it is a special case of line. It is a one unit wide group of units that are in contact, and none begins in contact with enemy units, and each unit (except the first and the last units, and possibly units in a bend of the column) has an unit in its front, and another in its rear. They can be in wood or swamp hexes. A column always follows the path of its head, that is the first unit of the column. This head unit moves at the speed of the slowest unit in the whole column. . a group may mix column and line moves, as long as the conditions above are respected (i.e. a line of 3 LC may have all its units pivot to the left, becoming a column, move forward 4 hexes and then pivot to the right, becoming a line again, for just 1 PIP). . a unit may not participate in several tactical moves (even if its movement allowance allows it to move further), i.e. a unit cannot join a line for 1 PIP, then the whole line be moved as a group for one more PIP, for example. . however, the movement allowance of a unit or of a all units in a group may be doubled or tripled, if - it never starts or moves closer than 4 hexes from the nearest visible enemy, and - the player spends 2 PIPs, to double, or 3 PIPs, to triple the movement allowance, for the unit or for all the units in the whole group. [this simulates march formations, fast but always done at a safe distance from the known enemy units] . it is possible to voluntarily disorder one (or several) of its own units, in its own movement phase. Just flip the non-disordered unit. [this simulates a feigned withdrawal, done to trigger an impetuous advance amongst enemy units] The player may also elect to put a leader on a unit, and not rally it at the end of its turn if it is disordered. Special moves . sparse LA (i.e. "normal" LA) and sparse MM (MM used because there are not enough LA counters available in the game box to accurately represent all the sparse LA normally present in a particular army, cf. converting DBA armies to Ancients) units are allowed to pass or retreat through other friendly units without disordering them [this simulates the very sparse nature of foot skirmishers]; they also become disordered themselves in the process only if retreating. Dense LA (units with 3 missile attacks per turn, i.e. Longbows, and other dense formations of shooters) and dense MM ("normal" MM) units disorder passed through units and are disordered, as usual. . sparse LA, all MM, and barbarian LI (x3 once) units are allowed to enter a wood or swamp hex without being disordered; their movement allowance in a wood or swamp is 3. Dense LA are disordered (if not already) and are stopped when entering a wood or swamp hex, as usual. . removing from or putting a leader on the map does not cost a PIP. . a movement limited to a turn (to face an enemy unit in contact, for example) does not cost a PIP. . a retreat before combat does not cost a PIP. Impetuosity The following units are impetuous, that is difficult to control : . KN, all LI, SC, and Camelry, . any unit (except artillery and war wagons) that has the enemy Camp nearer than any other visible non-disordered enemy unit (i.e. no other enemy unit is nearer or as near), . any unit (except artillery and war wagons) that has one slower or as slow visible disordered enemy unit nearer than any other visible enemy unit (i.e. no other non-disordered enemy unit is nearer or as near). . roll a D6 before any movement and consult the following table for control of the impetuous units no leader always uncontrolled 1 leader 1, 2, 3 or 4 : uncontrolled this turn 2 leaders 1 or 2 : uncontrolled this turn 3 leaders always controlled . an impetuous uncontrolled unit must immediately (before any other moves) advance toward the nearest visible enemy (always avoiding woods or swamps if cavalry of any kind or elephants or chariots) following the movement indications presented in the optional rules in the game. As indicated there too, the barbarian charge bonus must be spend this turn if it is still available. . no PIP is spend for this spontaneous move, but it forbids any other tactical move by this unit. [this simulates the fact that an uncontrolled unit will not move if no enemy is visible, and it will only charge the nearest enemy unit it can see if one is visible.] . the unit is immediately disordered, if not already, if it must turn during its spontaneous move. . units in spontaneous advance, except LA and MM, must make a close attack if possible. If the strength ratio is inferior to 1-2, use the 1-2 ratio for combat. Combat Missiles . an unit can attack one enemy only. Firing must be done against the nearest possible enemy unit. . Dense LA may fire thrice only against a non-infantry enemy unit. If there is a choice, a dense LA unit must choose between firing once at one enemy infantry unit, or up to thrice at an enemy non-infantry unit. [this is because the original LA(3 shots/turn) seems historically too powerful against infantry] Close combat . any cavalry, chariot or Elephant unit attacking an infantry unit in wood or swamp fights at 1-2. . optionally, attacking from the two rear hexes may give an advantage of strength x3 instead of x2. Results of a combat . units in contact with a destroyed Chariot or Elephant unit, are disordered if not already. Retreat before combat [retreat rules are slightly modified.] . A retreating unit must face so that the hex just left is now a rear hex. . If the retreating unit is not attacked or is not destroyed, the rest of its movement allowance must be spend fleeing from the nearest visible enemy unit(s). At the end of the fleeing move, the unit may freely turn in any direction (usually to again face the enemy units), at no cost. Stratagems Before the battle, a player may discard one of its available Leader unit to try a stratagem. The Leader unit is not lost, it just cannot be put on the map in this battle : . it still counts as an available leader for determining troop control; . it still counts as an available leader for determining the number of available PIPs at the beginning of a player turn. Only the fact that a stratagem is used must be announced to the opponent (a player may also announce that it will use a stratagem while using none actually) before deployment. What kind of stratagem (if any) and other relevant informations must be written on a paper, and announced when appropriate. Possible stratagems are : . false deployment (defender only) : just after the enemy first turn, the defender may exchange several of its cavalry units and/or several of its infantry units : infantry units can be exchanged with infantry units somewhere else on the map, and cavalry units can be exchanged with cavalry units somewhere else on the map. It is not possible to swap one cavalry and one infantry unit. Units that are neither infantry nor cavalry (Camp, Elephants,...) cannot be disguised so cannot be exchanged with anything. . night/surprise attack : once deployed, 1/3 (in value) of enemy army starts disordered. The owner chooses which units are disordered. . tactical trick : one kind of unit is doubled in defense (not in attack) against one kind of enemy unit for the first three turns of the battle (the discarded leader cannot be used during the three other turns). [this simulates the situation where a general, by careful positioning, briefing, training, etc ... of some of its troops before the battle, managed to get a temporary advantage] . strategic advantage : the player starts with one Victory Point. [this simulates the situation where a general, using pre-battle maneuvering, managed to gain an advantage before the battle by cutting the supply lines of the enemy, or exhausting him, etc ...] . rear/flank march, or reinforcement/reserve : up to half the army (in value) may be left out of the battlefield and may enter later from a chosen edge (costing 1 PIP, as other moves). This edge of arrival must be written on a piece of paper before the battle : - If the edge is the player's own, it is a reinforcement left in reserve, and the units enter when the player wants them to, except during its first or second turn. - If the edge is the enemy's own, it is a march on its rear and the units enters only at the beginning of their own fourth turn. - If the edge is a flank edge, it is a flank march and the units enters only at the beginning of their own third turn. If the two players tried flank marches on the same map edge, a second battle must immediately be fought on another map between the flank marching units. There is no camp in this battle. After the battle, surviving units that did not flee may enter the map from the written edge, in the half part of it nearest to their own camp. When the left out group actually enters the map, a number of the nearest enemy units equal to one half (in value) of the entering group immediately receive a DD result, except units with one or more leaders that receive only a M result. [this simulates the usual panic or at least disturbing effect caused by such arrivals on the troops] Several stratagems can be played by the same player in one battle. It is even possible to start a battle with no leader unit (all being spend on stratagems). If desired, the players may decide to forbid some stratagems, i.e. a barbarian army may be limited to a surprise attack, a strategic advantage, and maybe a false deployment, while its regular opponent may use any stratagem except surprise attack, for example. Hidden units [The optional rules of the game for hidden movement are too cumbersome to be useful. The following are a little less realistic, but much easier to use. Some honesty is required ...] During the deployment, a player may put some of its units in hexes where they cannot be seen by enemy units (either in a wood, in a swamp, or behind a hill). . the position of each unit is written on a piece of paper, and each unit is kept out of the battlefield - until the player decides to move it from its initial hidden position (spending 1 PIP as usual for the move), or - as soon as an enemy unit is able to see it (use the firing rules to determine visibility, except that a unit can see in all directions, and units do not hide other units behind). . hidden units are subject to impetuosity. . units revealed start non-disordered (even if in a wood or swamp). The owner chooses the direction of facing. . once on the map, units cannot be hidden, or re-hidden. Note that you do not need to discard one leader to hide units (this is not a stratagem as defined before). Simple Two-Players Campaign The campaign is played in a series of battles, until one player admits defeat. Campaign set-up Each player builds or uses a 200 pts (or more) campaign army. More points means more battles. Battle set-up Up to 100 pts can be fielded in a given battle., using only units from the campaign army. The army fielded is of course also limited by the counters available in the game box (i.e. no more than three leaders, etc...) even if the original campaign army build is not. Use the free set-up rules for positioning units. The winner of the last battle is the attacker for the current one (roll for the first battle), i.e. - defender : choose map, setup camps, set-up own army; - attacker : relocate own camp if desired, setup own army, move first. Playing the battle Play battle in 6 game turns, using normal victory rules. The stratagems and other additional rules may be used, if desired. Post-battle results Any draw is considered a victory for the defender. The loser of a battle additionally loses 1/4 (in value) of all its surviving fielded units, including the units that fled out of the battlefield. [this simulates the pursuit and/or demoralization effects]. The winner recovers all its units that fled out of the battlefield (if any), and also 1/4 (in value) of the units destroyed in this battle (if any) for each victory point above its adversary. (optionally, recovered units cannot include leaders, except if there is no remaining leader in the whole army.) Remarks . no stratagem can be played in the first battle, and the number of available stratagems should be limited, i.e. a player can use a maximum of two stratagems during the whole campaign, for example... . the system can easily be extended... Luck free battles . Number of available PIPs in function of the available leaders no leader 1 PIPs 1 leader 2 PIPs 2 leaders 3 PIPs 3 leaders 4 PIPs - the number of available leaders includes leaders spend on stratagems. [rules for control are modified, and based on DBM rules] . an impetuous unit is always uncontrolled, except if explicitly controlled by spending 1 or more PIPs. . controlling an impetuous unit (or group) costs - 1 PIP if no enemy unit can be reached in one move by the impetuous unit, - 2 PIPs if an enemy unit can be reached in one move. . Additional PIPs must be spend if movement is desired. Example: a line of barbarian LI (hence impetuous) and of LA (not impetuous) is at six hexes of the nearest enemy unit. 1 PIP must be spend to keep control on the LI (so they will not rush toward the nearest enemy), and 1 more PIP must be spend to move the line, as usual. On the second turn, the LI of the line are now at 3 hexes from the nearest enemy units, so they can reach them in one move. 2 PIPs must be spend to keep control on the LI (so they will not rush toward the nearest enemy), and 1 more PIP must be spend to move the line, as usual. [note that it is now possible to always control the impetuous units in an army. However a careful deployment, a rigid formation and some skill will be needed, especially if only 1 leader is available. Woods and swamps must be avoided, for example, because they break groups. Note furthermore that this rule may also be used in place of the standard control die roll if the 'luck free' rules are not used.] . combat : [using the game optional rules] ratio effect 1-2 AD 1-1 M 2-1 DD 3-1 DE - a leader that is with a just disordered unit does not roll for destruction, as usual. However, it then cannot be put on the map during the owner's following player turn. It is considered unavailable for this whole turn ! - a leader with a unit that is destroyed is destroyed too. It is considered unavailable for the rest of the battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANCIENTS SEQUENCE OF PLAY AND SUMMARY SHEET (with the additional rules) Remove Leaders Check for Panic fail if - all Leaders are lost, or - 'Panic' number met or exceeded. If Panicked, disorder all units : they must move away from enemy toward nearest edge until rallied. An army may not fail more than once per battle. Arrival of friendly troops on the map Put troops on the desired edge hex. Determine effect on enemy troops. Movement Determine number of available PIPs. Check command control for - KN, all LI, SC, and Camelry units, and - all troops (except AR and WW) near enemy Camp and able to see it, and - all troops (except AR and WW) near a disordered and not faster enemy unit and able to see it. Move troops in spontaneous advance toward nearest visible enemy unit. Move one group or unit per available PIP - units in a line must be kept in contact, and in the same direction, - units in a column must follow the first that moves, - a single unit may voluntarily be disordered, - units may not participate in more than one tactical move, - the movement allowance may be doubled (resp. tripled) if 2 (resp. 3) PIPs are spend and the unit does not start or move closer than 4 hexes from any visible enemy. Additional factors - may advance only into one frontal hex, not rotating, - rotating a unit costs 1 movement point, - a unit may move through a friendly unit (both are disordered, except if passing is sparse), - units with a movement allowance of 1 treat all terrain as '1', - Wood or Swamp : stop movement for turn and become disordered (except all MM, and sparse LA, and sparse LI), Free moves - a move limited to a turn is free. Leaders Place each available leader on map. A leader may always retreat before combat - remove counter, - any unit stacked with the removed leader may retreat too (see below) if possible. If it cannot retreat, or chooses not to retreat, it still immediately suffers a 'DD' before combat. Captured if an enemy unit enters hex, either during movement or advance after combat (see below). Combat Shooting (non-phasing player) - target must be in front arc of shooting unit, and must be the nearest in this arc, - shooter must have a clear line-of-sight, - target defends as Phalanx if in Village or Woods, - target hit receives a 'DD' hit, - dense LA(3shots/turn) may fire once against infantry, or up to thrice against an other kind of troop, Close Combat (phasing player) - target must be in a front hex, - retreat of target unit before combat - target must be faster than attacker, and must not be disordered, - move to any empty adjacent hex (a sparse infantry unit may retreat through one friendly unit) - face so that hex just left is now a rear hex, - become disordered, - if still in a front hex of attacker, resolve the attack, - if not destroyed, flee rest of movement from nearest visible enemy. Turn freely at the end. - compute odds - x2 to attack and defense for each leader, - x2 to attack and defense if infantry on a Hill, - x2 to attack and defense if * against cavalry, - x2 to attack if against enemy's flank, - x2 to defense if infantry in Village or attacked across Bridge, - halved in attack and defense if occupying a stream hex, - halved in attack across Ford. - resolution - advance after combat (attacker only) - if enemy is destroyed or has retreated before combat, the attacker must move to occupy the vacated hex (exception : HI, SP, PK and Leaders), - the moving unit does not change facing, Rally Disordered units of the phasing army stacked with a leader flip back to their normal side, if desired. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Converting DBA/DBM(WRG) armies to Ancients (3W) DBA Ancients value notes --------------------------------------------------------------------- Artillery AR(2G1/1G1)*new* 8 - max range 7 : at 2 hexes or less : 1-3 to get a DD against anything at 3 hexes or more : 1-2 to get a DD against CP, EL or WW, 1 to get a DD against anything else - may not fire if moved in its own last movement phase Auxilia MM(2B3)(dense) 4 - not disordered by woods or swamps or LI(2*3/2*3)*new* 4 - no shield nor missile, but with a pole weapon (medieval or Japanese Ax) (Ax(X) in DBM) - doubled against non-infantry - disordered by woods or swamps as usual or 2 LI(2-3) 2/LI - DBM Hordes used when not enough MM Blades HI(4-2) 7 Bows LA(1A3)(dense) 7 - Bows(3shots/turns) vs non-infantry or HA(3A2) 5 - Crossbows, and Bows mixed with others (Bows(X) in DBM) Cavalry LC(2-6) 2 - inferior Cavalry (Roman...) or HC(4-5) 8 - most Cavalry or HC(4B5) 10 - Cavalry with bows Camelry LC(2*6/1*6)*new* 6 - doubled against all types of cavalry Elephants EL(6*3) 16 Heavy Chariots HH(8B4/3B4)*new* 13 Hordes 1/2 LI(2-3) 2/LI - DBM : 1 LI = 2 Hordes Knights KN(8-4) 12 - usual shock cavalry or KN(8B4) 14 - Late Byzantine cataphracts ? Light Chariots CH(4B4) 9 - Light Chariots Light Horse LC(2B6) 5 Psiloi 1/2 LA(1A3)(sparse) 4 - not disordered by woods or swamps - may pass or retreat through any unit without any bad effect or 1/3 MM(2B3)(sparse) 6 - not disordered by woods or swamps - may pass or retreat through any unit without any bad effect or 2 LI(2-3) 2/LI - DBM Hordes used when not enough MM Pikes 1/2 PK(6*2/2*2)*new*16/PK - 16 men deep light phalanx - fired upon as HI, not phalanx - one PK = two DBA Pikes Scythed Chariots SC(8-4/1-4)*new* 10 - may never be rallied Spears 1/2 PK(6*1) 16/PK - 16 men or more deep heavy phalanx - one PK = two DBA Spears or HI(4*1/3*1)*new* 8 - 4 or 8 men deep phalanx - fired upon as phalanx - doubled against cavalry - movement limited to 1 hex Warband LI(2-3)(8-2 once, for all) 4 - heavy warbands (Germans, ...) - disordered by woods or swamps as usual or LI(2-3)(6-2 once, for all) 4 - fast warbands (Gauls, all Celts, Vikings... and war dogs) - not disordered by woods or swamps War Wagons WW(4A1/3A1)*new* 10 - have no flanks - may not fire if moved in its own last movement phase - armies with at least one WW do not need a camp Suggested value for the leaders units : first free, each additional 20 (additional leaders should be limited to regular armies, or armies with an outstanding general, or both ...) The camp is of course free. Notes : - The DBA usage of considering the global effect of an unit on its contemporary enemies (and not its strict technical description) is followed. For example, the Norman cavalry, or Alexander Companions, are technically HC but, due to moral, training and formation, had approximately the same shock effect during their period than far heavier medieval Knights much later, so are considered KN too. This makes DBA armies list much easier to use and translate ! However, only historically possible battles should be simulated with these armies. - When converting an army, follow the relative proportions, i.e. an army with 4 Kn out of 12 elements in the DBA list should have approximately 33 point in KN, that is 3 KN = 36pts. - DBA Psiloi (sparse formations of light troops trained to skirmish) must be represented by LA units (named "sparse LA" here). They include javelins armed skirmishers (formerly classified as MM in Ancients). They are allowed to move and retreat without bad effects through other units. Because there are few LA counters in the game, armies with lots of Psiloi (and no Auxilia) may also use "sparse MM", and LI. The sparse MM units are allowed to move and retreat without bad effects through other units too, but costs 6pts each. LI are normal. - DBA Auxilia (heavier and more numerous troops, still light enough to skirmish somewhat but with better close combat capabilities) are represented by normal MM (named "dense MM" here). Use additional normal LI (DBM "Hordes") or barbarian LI(x3 once), if not enough MM counters are available. - Due to their sparse nature, sparse LA, all MM, and barbarians LI(x3 once) units are allowed to cross woods and swamps unaffected. - Some Auxilia (in DBM) had no missile weapons, using instead a pole weapon and fighting in closer formations (Japanese Ashigaru, Akkadian or medieval spearmen...). They may be represented by a LI(2*3/2*3) if properly trained, or by a normal LI (representing more men) if of poor quality. Both are disordered by woods or swamps. - DBA Warbands are best represented by "dense" barbarians LI(x4 once), affected by woods or swamp. Faster warbands (in DBM) like Gauls are represented by "sparse" barbarians LI(x3 once), unaffected by woods or swamps. - DBA Bows are dense formations of archers trained to shot by volleys and stand fast, hence are all converted here to "dense" LA (with 3 shots/turn), because they all had the same relative effect on the cavalry of their respective periods. However, they are disordered in woods or swamps. Note also the advanced optional rule that still limits them at 1 shot/turn against infantry. HA are used to represent Crossbows, and also mixed formations of archers, and sword, spear or pike armed infantry in DBM. - Spears formations were usually only a few ranks deep, hence are best simulated by slow HI (4*1/3*1), with 1 HI = 1 DBA Spears. Unusually deep formations of Spears (Epaminondas' phalanx), with more ranks, are represented by the normal PK(6*1/2*1), with 1 PK = 2 Spears. The deep of a Spears phalanx must be decided at the beginning of the battle. - DBA Pikes represent phalangites that were less heavily armored than hoplites, hence were faster, but had much longer spears and almost always fought in deep formations. So 2 DBA Pikes are represented by one fast PK(6*2/2*2) that is fired upon as HI, not phalanx (while a deep hoplitic phalanx is PK(6*1/2*1) but is fired upon as phalanx). - The B-missile of Heavy Chariots comes from accompanying infantry. - Some new units are based on DBM new types, and useful only if using DBM army lists. - When additional LI are needed, they are in fact Hordes (a type that appears only in DBM). - Note that a sparse LA is stronger than a DBA Psiloi, while a dense MM is somewhat weaker than a DBA Auxilia. - Artillery can be represented by a ship counter. - There are 2 red camps, so using the two may implies that they are both WW. - Build 100 pts armies (some modifications must be done to adapt some DBA armies to the available counters in the game). Modify them if desired as follow : 120 pts + 0 leader - regular or irregular armies led by military incompetent 100 pts + 1 leader - irregular armies, or poorly led regular armies 80 pts + 2 leaders - irregular armies with good general, or regular armies 60 pts + 3 leaders - regular or irregular army led by military genius