Andrew Preziosi - 10:43am Aug 25, 2001 PST (#307 of 308)
http://members.spree.com/sip/byjingo

First of Many

Okay Folks, here it is, I had re-written a few weeks back, but couldn't
find it, so spent the AM typing it up again.

IF you would like this in Word, drop me a line at the above E addy. This
is a tidied up and expanded version of Jesus's original concept.

Andrew (more later)

THE JEWISH WAR

OPTIONAL RULES AND VARIANTS

#1 Bloodbath and Slugfest! (Andrew Preziosi)

For those of you who think that all Terrain Effects should be cumulative
for Combat purposes, knock yourselves out!

In accordance with the standing rules for Combat (see 8.0), if both
players agree, all Terrain Effects for Combat purposes are NOW
cumulative. Due to the nature of the game and the rules affecting
combat, this should prove to be very bloody pounding indeed!

#2 No Rules Lawyers allowed in Masada (Andrew Preziosi)

The spirit and intent of the game is meant to be fun, but we all know
that Rules Lawyers abound in our hobby, so the following rule may be
inserted by any of the players at the start of the game and is in full
effect throughout.

While it may very well be that the game comes down to a few Jewish units
holding our in Masada (or Jerusalem), it is illegal for the Jewish
player to purposely march EbY and his two strongest units off early in
the game to garrison Masada and hold up there until assaulted by the
Roman player.

The Jewish player has an equal chance of defeating the Roman player if
he plans on using his forces in an offensive-defense mode. Many games
are won during the 1st Game Turn, depending on how well attacks against
the Foederoti go and how bold the Jewish player is. To sit back and
watch your units die one by one while sitting safely in Masada is NOT
the purpose of this game.

Therefore, at no time prior to Game Turn Five (GT5), may more than one
Jewish unit (preferably Militia) garrison Masada proper. If at the
beginning of Game Turn Five (GT5) the Jewish player feels himself to be
losing, after trying his utmost to win the game, he is free to attempt
garrisoning Masada with whatever troops he has on hand.

#3 The Siege of Jerusalem (Jesus Serrano Mateo/AJP-clarification)

Having considered the importance of Jerusalem to the Jews, I have added
these "Home Rules" to the up the game a bit:

If the Zealot player occupies Jerusalem, the "Jerusalem Militia" counter
may be placed in that hex. This "citizen's levy" counter has the
following benefits:

1) The unit has no Movement Allowance and no Attack factors; it is used
solely for defensive purposes.

2) This unit does NOT have to conform to the stacking rules. It is free
to stack with up to two Jewish units and the EbY counter, if any
combination of those units are stacked inside the Jerusalem hex.

3) The "Jerusalem Militia" may never add its combat factors to an attack
by Jewish units either garrisoning Jerusalem or in offensive combat
against any Roman unit adjacent to Jerusalem.

4) The "Jerusalem Militia" may add their strength points to any combat
in which a Roman unit(s) is directly attacking Jerusalem.

5) The "Jerusalem Militia" counter appears automatically the first turn
any Roman unit attacks Jerusalem. At least one (1) Jewish unit of any
type (including EbY) must be in the city for this unit to appear.

6) If at any time during the game, after the city has been captured by
the Romans, Jerusalem is unoccupied by the Roman player (i.e., not
garrisoned by any type of Roman/Foederoti unit), the "Jerusalem Militia"
counter may be removed from the deal pile and placed inside the
Jerusalem.

7) The only conditions precluding Rule #6 above is that if the
"Jerusalem Militia" counter never meets the preconditions for being
brought into the game in the first place, it cannot be (re) placed in
the city just because the Romans fail to garrison that place.

Editors Note: What we are trying to do here is simulate a mass uprising
of citizens who are going to support EbY and his troops if the duke it
our in the streets. If a battle never occurs and the Romans just "move
on in", then the population is never going to get the nerve to rise up
on their own. AJP

#4 The Treasure of the Temple (JSM/AJP-clarification)

Reading Josephus, you realize that the defense of the Temple game the
Jews a near fanatical morale boost, which completely astonished the
Roman generals. By the same token, after the sack of the Temple, and the
subsequent massacre, Jewish morale was never the same again.

The "Treasure of the Temple" counter must be places in Jerusalem at the
very instant it is occupied by Jewish Troops (of any type). Once placed,
the counter performs in the following manner:

1) The defensive bonus for Jerusalem is increased by one (+1), giving it
a +3 altogether, as long as the city remains under Jewish control (i.e.,
is garrisoned by Jewish troops).

2) The "Treasure" counter is free to stack with any and all allied units
with Jerusalem at the time (including the "J. Militia" unit).

3) If Jerusalem falls to the Romans and they occupy it, the "Treasure"
counter is removed from the game. From here on out all Zealot die rolls
in an "attack" are modified by one (1).

Developers Note: Due to the uncertain nature of the CRT, to flatly state
the attacker would suffer a minus or plus one on the die roll may
possibly gain him an unintended benefit. Therefore this DRM is the die
worst roll result within the range of the original die roll itself. For
example:

A) A roll of three (3) forces the attacker to choose between 2 through 4
for the worst possible result to choose from within that range.

B) If used in conjunction with the EbY counter, this modifier would:

1) Cancel out the +1 DRM if stacked with just one unit. (You're stuck
with what you rolled)

2) Allow the EbY counter to pick the best possible Die Roll within the
range of +1/-1, if stacked with two units. (In other words, instead of
having a five die rolls to choose from, his choices are now limited to
just three. He is allowed to pick the "best of the bunch" in this
situation though.)

Optional Rule: (to the Optional Rule)

If both players agree, the "Treasure of the Temple" counter may start
the game in Jerusalem "protected" by the Foederoti.

If Jewish units attack Jerusalem and the "Foederoti" unit is killed
outright, then the "Treasure" counter is allowed to remain and be used
by the Jewish player.

If the Foederoti unit is allowed to retreat from the hex (i.e., was not
surrounded in the first place and survives combat), then a 1d6 is
rolled. On a die roll of Three (3), the "Treasure" counter is considered
looted/pillaged during the retreat and is removed from the board. The
Jewish player receives no benefit from the counter, but suffers the
negative, not minus, DRM of One (1) from here on out. Any other die roll
results in a Foederoti retreat, but the Treasure remains behind, intact.

#5 Roman Siege Train (JSM/AJP-clarification)

The Roman Legions always excelled as Siege Engineers. This rule helps
simulate the Sieges of Jerusalem and Masada (along with a potential
Siege of Caesarea).

At any point after a Roman Combat Phase, when at least one (1) Roman
assault on a walled city results in failure for the Romans, the Roman
player may declare a "Siege of the City" (at least one Roman unit must
be still adjacent to the city though). At the beginning of the next
Roman Combat phase, the Roman player:

1) Gets the Roman Siege Train counter, and,

2) May choose NOT to attack the besieged city until further
reinforcements arrive and suffers no other ill effects (from remaining
idle on his part, that is).

If the Roman player elects not to attack the city, the Jewish defenders
inside:

1) Continue to exist with no ill effects until attacked

2) May reinforce up to their stacking limits as long as the city is not
completely surrounded and cut off.

3) Are NOT forced to attack out of the city (but may choose to do so if
they so desire). If any Jewish attack is successful in wiping out the
defenders in the Siege Train unit hex, the Siege Train is permanently
removed from the game.

4) If Jerusalem, they automatically get the "Jerusalem Militia" counter
(even if conditions for its employment have not been met or it was
previously destroyed), unless it is already present.

Once the Romans declare a "Siege of the City', they have up to Two (2)
complete turns to bring up troops in order to surround the city (if they
so desire) before being forced to attack. Once the Romans elect (or are
forced) to attack, the Siege Train counter is also used to drop the
Walled City defensive modifier from +2 to +1.

Special Note: The Romans cannot surround Masada; it may only be "cut
off". The instant the Roman player decides to besiege Masada, before any
other actions, the following happens:

1) The Jewish defenders get to launch an immediate counter-attack out of
Masada, if they so choose. They get any benefits they would normally
receive, but no special DRM's are applied.

A) If successful, the Siege is dropped

B) If unsuccessful, the Siege is now in full swing. Even if just one hex
adjacent Masada is occupied, the fortress is now considered cut off and
the garrison is forced to stay inside that hex, the cannot evacuate.

2) If Condition B is met, the Romans may place the Siege Train marker
and have now isolated Masada. They can conduct the Siege as stated in
the previous rules (even if there is only one unit in front of Masada).

3) The only difference in this "Siege of the City" is that the Roman has
only one (1) game turn in which to bring up further reinforcements
before being forced to attack. If reinforcements do not arrive to occupy
both hexes in front of Masada on the very next turn, the Roman player is
forced to attack with his original (remaining) unit(s). While the
Defensive bonus for Masada would now be dropped to a "+1" to account for
the presence of the Siege train, if the Romans fail to enter the hex
(i.e., wipe out the defenders), they suffer the following consequences:

A) The Siege Train marker is permanently removed from the game.

B) The surviving unit is forced to retreat its full movement allowance
away from Masada (it must head towards either the road net or the
Jerusalem plateau).

Developers Note: The Masada rules represent the fact that, historically,
the Jewish garrison consisted of Zealots. While they would take
advantage of their defensive position, they would also exploit any
opportunity they could come up with to drive the Romans off.

#6 Vespasian and Titus (JSM/AJP-clarification)

Vespasian was the Roman general assigned to deal with the Jewish Revolt.
When he became Emperor he appointed Titus, his son and heir, the finish
with the mopping up.

Vespasian and Titus are represented throughout the game in a manner
similar to that of EbY. The following rules apply to the V/T counter and
supercede any conflicting rules. Vespasian is placed with any Roman
Legion unit during the Roman Reinforcement phase of Game Turn Two (GT2).
If still alive at the start of Roman Game Turn Four (GT4), the counter
is flipped over to its Titus side and continues to play until the end of
the game (or until it is destroyed).

A) The V/T counter is Free to stack with any Roman Legion unit(s).

B) The V/T counter may NOT stack with any Roman Auxiliary unit.

C) A stack of three (3) units is NOT considered to be over stacked as
long as one of the counters is the V/T counter.

D) Unlike the EbY counter, The V/T counter is NEVER considered a combat
unit, under any circumstances.

E) If the stack it is with is wiped out, then the V/T counter is
considered destroyed and is permanently removed from the game.

F) The V/T counter is considered a Leader unit only and is allowed to
influence combat in the following manner: Depending on "who" is present
at the time, the V/T unit may add or subtract 1 or 2 numbers to the die
roll (+/-2 or +/- 1 DRM), in both attack and defense. Within this range,
the Roman player is allowed to choose the die roll that is most
advantageous to his side.

Editors Note: While players are free to pick and choose which Optional
Rule (or rules) they would like to use in a game, it is strongly
recommended that the players use Rules #3 through #6 in conjunction with
each other, in order to provide the maximum balance and flavor to this
game.