Steve Carey - Apr 9, 2006 8:55 pm (#30 Total: 45) PAX ROMANA (GMT) - it's the ancient world in a box Here's a recap of an ftf contest today between me (Greeks) and Ken Tee (Romans). The hope here is to give others a taste for the game, and also to let us know what we did right/wrong. Battle Report - Scenario I (The Pyrrhic War) Before the scenario starts, the Romans setup one Garrison in Capua and one Garrison with their 2 Legions to the north in Placentia. Greek AM One (Expansion): Pyrrhus rolls a 1, so adding in his Campaign Rating of 4, he gets 5 MP. Embark (1 MP) the army in Corcya, naval transport (sail, 1 MP) to Tarentum, and debark there (1 MP). Since a small NTP was entered, I roll on the Naval Disaster Table, getting a 5 so Pyrrhus is safe. Pickup the 1 Cav in Tarentum (1 MP) and move to Venusia (1 MP), thus finishing his move. The Greeks pass on their 2 Minor Moves, so they're done. Roman AM One (Recruitment): Ken raises the 2 available Legions, placing them in the Town of Capua. The first chit draw of the game is Greek AM Two (Expansion): Pyrruhs rolls a 2, so he has 6 MPs to spend this activation. Pyrrhus moves on Capua (1 MP). The Romans attempt to Intercept from Rome with a +5 DRM (Leader Rating of 2 plus a 3 bonus intercepting from a City), but roll a 6 on 2D6 and fail (modified roll is an 11, but a 12 or better is needed to Intercept). Pyrrhus attacks Capua (1 MP), and the 2 Roman Legions (and Garrison) opt to use the Walls of the Town. This is a key move since Pyrrhus now cannot use his Cavalry (nor his Elephants) per 7.31, and despite his Tactical Rating of 3 he can only get a 1 leadership shift (per 10.51, step 4) in the siege. The Greeks have 12 Battle Points (BP) of Heavy Infantry to the Roman 8 BP of Legions plus 2 BP for the Town Walls. The 12 to 10 ratio yields no battle shift for strength. I roll a 2 while Ken rolls a 3. I use the 1 leadership shift to lower his roll to a 2, so the battle is a draw. 20% of the Greek 12 BP is a 2 loss, so I eliminate 1 HI for 3 BP loss. 20% of the Roman 10 BP is a 2, so Ken chooses to reduce the Walls of Capua 1 Level to satisfy the 2 BP loss (7.32). Since the Romans don't Retreat, Pyrrhus freely Regroups (10.97) back in Venusia. Pyrrhus (4 MP remaining) next continues moving by returning to Capua (1 MP), and this time the Legions (with the 2-4 Leader) in Rome successfully Intercept (rolled a 7+5DRM = 12). The battle costs the Greek another (1 MP). Ken opts for a field battle, holding a 24 BP (6 Legions) to 11 (9 HI, 2 Cav) advantage. The Greeks decline to use their Elephants (the Romans have no Cavalry). While a 24-11 ratio provides 2 shifts, the Greek leadership advantage (3 to 2, so 1 shift) and Cavalry Supremacy (2-0, so 3 shifts) giving Pyrrhus a 2 shift advantage. I roll a 3, which I bump up to a 5, and Ken rolls a 3. Pyrrhus wins, inflicting a 50% (12 BP) casualty on the Romans, while losing another HI unit (30%, so 3 BP). Ken eliminates 3 Legions and declines to Retreat. Pyrrhus uses (1 MP) to force the Romans back to Rome, which decreases their losses by 10% (per 10.92); Ken brings back 2 BP (a Reduced Legion) back into play, and his whole force Retreats to Rome. Losing a battle in his Home Territory, Ken announces he will raise Militia (-1 Stability). He rolls a 6, which is halved to a 3. Three Roman Militia appear in Rome. Pyrrhus has captured the Town of Capua, though its Walls remain at -1 Level (from the prior combat). He has 1 MP left, but declines. Likewise, the Greeks decline their 2 Minor Moves, so they're done. The next AM draw is Greek AM Three (Expansion): Pyrrhus falls back to Tarentum to claim his glory. Using one of the Minor Moves, the Garrison from Paestum occupies Capua. The second Minor Move is skipped, so the Greeks are done. Roman AM Two (Expansion): The army (with a 1-5 Leader) in Placentia rolls a 1, so they have 6 MP. All (6 MP) are used to move to Capua, automatically routing the Greek Garrison and recapturing the Town. Ken declines his 2 Minor Moves, so the Romans are done. Roman AM Three (Expansion): The army in Rome rolls a 3, so it has 7 MP. It activates and moves into Capua (1 MP) and picks up the other Legions (1 MP) there before moving to Venusia (1 MP) and routing another Greek Garrison (1 MP). With 3 MP remaining, the Romans march (1 MP) on Tarentum and the Greeks offer open battle (1 MP). The Romans earn 3 shifts for their large strength advantage (25 to 9 BP), but the Greeks get 1 shift for their Leader and 3 shifts for their Cavlary Supremacy, for a total of 1 Greek shift advantage. I roll a 2, bumped up to a 3, while Ken rolls a 6. The Romans have triumphed, inlflicting a 5 BP loss on Pyrrhus while suffering 8 BP loss themselves. The Greeks eliminate 1 LI, 1 HI, and 1 Cav for their 5 BP loss. This leaves Pyrrhus with only 4 BP, so the best he can hope for is a draw. The Romans eliminate 2 Legions to satisfy their 8 BP loss. Using their last (1 MP), the Romans force Pyrrhus to Retreat back to Brundisium (the 10% casualty savings still results in a 5 BP lost, so no change to the Greek forces). This allows the Romans to capture Tarentum, and they win the game! Great Fun for a simple 1 turn scenario that only gives a snapshot into what PR has to offer. I'm absolutely lovin' it already.