Battalion: War of the Ancients
Battalion: War of the Ancients Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Overview
Battalion: War of the Ancients is a game of careful army composition, strategic unit movements, tactical card play, and cruel dice. Assemble your army out of your chosen faction, either according to the instructions for a set battle or as you see fit for a mustered battle. Then take it in turns to direct your forces, by first redeploying units across the sectors of the battlefield, then commanding an attack.
If you deal casualties, your opponent will need to decide whether to remove ranks from their injured unit, or embrace the disorder and keep them in play. Should a unit be completely removed from the battlefield, the commander of the defeated unit draws a tactic card, but be wary: tactic cards are limited and the lifeblood of any commander. Rather than attacking, a player may need to rally their troops to recover valuable command tokens and draw a tactic card of their own.
You win when your opponent is forced to draw a tactic card but has none remaining or if, at the start of your turn, they have left their camp defenceless.
Components
I. 144 rank tiles (36 per faction)
II. 72 tactic cards (18 per faction)
III. 4 camps (1 per faction)
IV. 4 sector markers
V. 6 eight-sided dice
VI. 24 command tokens (12 per side)
VII. 4 reference cards
VIII. 1 sequence card, for 4-player games
Rank Tile Breakdown
A single tile represents a rank, i.e. a group of troops.
I. Faction: the faction to which the rank belongs.
II. Trait: special abilities that the rank grants its unit – many ranks have more than one trait.
III. Cohesion: the rank's capacity to take hits and to hold disorder.
IV. Name: the name of the rank.
V. Formation: the banners indicate the maximum number of ranks that can be placed in any unit containing this rank.
VI. Class: the icon indicates a rank's class – some ranks may have multiple classes.
VII. Attack value: the number you must meet or exceed in order to deal a hit. A rank may have multiple types of attack value, or even more than one of the same type. These types are:
A. Melee X: used for hand-to-hand combat.
B. Ranged X: used for missile combat.
Rank Classes
- Regular Infantry
- Skirmish Infantry
- Cavalry
- Special
The Regular Infantry icon depicts a maximum of 3 ranks for this Han unit.
The Cavalry icon depicts a maximum of 2 ranks for this Roman unit.
Units
Create a unit by arranging a number of ranks, up to that unit's maximum, one in front of another.
The maximum number of ranks in a unit is dictated by the smallest formation shown on any rank within it.
All of the ranks in a unit must be of the same class (e.g. regular infantry), but may be a mixture of names, except for Special class units, which cannot be made up of differently named units.
Once created, a unit always acts as a single entity: the ranks move together and share markers, and each rank's traits are common to all ranks within the unit.
The Battlefield
The steps of setup vary depending on whether you wish to play a mustered battle or a set battle, and whether you are playing with two or four players. The setups for each of these possibilities are detailed in their own section on pages 15-16.
A set battle provides a list of units to play with, whilst a mustered battle enables players to build and place their own units.
In all cases, the key concepts of the battlefield are the same. Here, we use the two-player 'Set Battle 1 – Roman Republic vs Carthage' to illustrate the general layout.
Example, Set Battle 1 – Roman Republic vs Carthage
1. Sectors
The battlefield is divided into sectors; three in a two-player game and five in a four-player game. Your units are deployed within these sectors. A unit is generally only able to attack enemy units in the same sector.
2. Engagement Zone
Between the two sides of every sector is an engagement zone, where you move units into melee combat. Units in contact with an enemy count as engaged. They typically remain in the engagement zone until they have defeated any units with which they are engaged, at which point they move back to their side's formation zone.
3. Formation Zone
The formation zones lie either side of the engagement zone. Units in the formation zone are ready for battle but are not engaged with enemy units.
The movement of units between the formation zone and the engagement zone does not necessarily represent real movement, but simply shows a 'status change', from 'unengaged' to 'engaged'.
4. Camp
Each faction has their own camp where they place their tactic deck, available order, and any disorder from disbanded units.
Each faction's camp is placed behind the central sector of the battlefield on their own side.
If, at the start of your turn, you have a unit in the central sector and your opponent does not, you win the game!
5. Reserve Zone
Next to each faction's camp is their reserve zone. Units may be played here at the beginning of the game.
Units in the reserve zone:
- Cannot attack or be attacked.
- Can later be redeployed to any sector during a player's redeploy phase.
- Do not protect the camp.
Fighting the Battle
In a game of Battalion, players alternate turns.
Your turn is composed of two phases:
- Redeployment: you may move units to adjacent sectors of the battlefield by discarding tactic cards.
- Action: you either spend order to command one of your units, or recover spent order by rallying.
REDEPLOYMENT
ACTION: RALLY OR COMMAND
Redeployment Phase
At the beginning of your turn, you may discard one or more tactic cards from your hand, without applying their text effect, in order to redeploy the same number of your units across the battlefield. This can include moving units onto the field from the reserve.
If you redeploy a unit, it cannot be commanded that turn.
For each discarded card, you can move one unengaged unit from any sector to an adjacent sector, or from the reserve onto the field.
Carthage discards two tactic cards from hand to redeploy two units; one from the flank to the central sector and one from the reserve to the central sector.
Action Phase
Rallying Units
If you decide to rally, follow these steps, in order:
I. Draw one tactic card from your tactic deck.
II. Recover all the order assigned to your units by placing them in the "Command Tokens" space of your camp.
III. Flip all the disorder on your camp to show the order side.
IV. Flip all the disorder placed on your units in the battlefield to show the order side.
Your turn is over. No unit can be commanded when rallying.
Tactic Cards
In each battle you have a hand of tactic cards. Tactic cards can be discarded to:
- Perform special actions according to their text.
- Redeploy units across the battlefield.
- Boost the strength of attacks.
The tactic decks are different for each faction in the game.
Artillery — At the beginning of your turn, instead of taking an action: Target an unengaged opponent unit in any sector, roll 6 dice and inflict a hit on each 7+. This is considered a ranged attack.
Banners of War — When commanding a unit, either as an action or reaction: Your command requires 1 fewer order (to a minimum of 0).
Turmoil — When your opponent commands a unit: Commanding the unit requires 1 more order. The opponent can choose to command a different unit at no additional cost.
Relentless — After commanding a unit, on your turn: Immediately command the same unit again (spending order as required).
If your opponent needs to draw a tactic card but cannot, you win the game!
Commanding a Unit
To command a unit, place the required number of order on it:
- Commanding a unit with no order on it requires one order.
- Commanding a unit that already has at least one order on it requires a number of order markers equal to the number already placed on it.
- In either case, if the ranks of the unit have two or more different names, commanding the unit requires one additional order.
Disorder is not considered when counting the number of order already present on a unit.
In this case commanding the unit requires only one order.
In this case commanding the unit requires three order, two to match the pre-existing two and a further one because the unit is composed of units with different names.
Command Tokens
At the beginning of the battle, you get a number of command tokens equal to the number of units.
You use command tokens to activate your units on the battlefield and to absorb hits they suffer.
Command tokens are double-sided, and always in one of two states: order or disorder.
Order: A command token showing this side is called order. You use order to command units on the battlefield, and you recover them when you rally.
Disorder: A command token showing this side is called disorder. Disorder represents hits taken by a unit.
Given the dual use of command tokens, it is up to you to decide when to use them one way and when to use them the other. Using disorder markers reduces your ability to assign order to your units, and vice versa.
Commanded Actions
Once you have spent the required order, perform one of the following actions:
- ASSAULT: continue a fight with a target already engaged with the commanded unit;
- BARRAGE: attack an unengaged target on the opposing side of the same sector;
- CHARGE: attempt to engage a target on the opposing side of the same sector.
Assault
When commanding an assault, you make a melee attack against an already engaged unit.
Choose an engaged unit, and one of the enemy units engaged with it to be the target of the attack, then follow the steps described in 'Resolving the Attack' on page 12.
If the target unit has not been disbanded, your opponent then performs a counterattack with the surviving ranks against the attacking unit.
A counterattack is calculated the same way as a standard melee attack, without spending any order.
If neither engaged unit has been disbanded, the units stay in contact in the engagement zone. Otherwise, any surviving unit that has become unengaged returns to the formation zone of its sector.
An assault.
Barrage
When commanding a barrage, you make a ranged attack.
Choose one of your unengaged units that has at least one ranged attack value to be the attacker. Choose an unengaged enemy unit in the same sector to be the target, then follow the steps described in Resolving the Attack on page 12.
A barrage.
Empty Sector. If your opponent does not have any units in the same sector, you may barrage units in an adjacent sector.
Charge
When commanding a charge, after a potential reaction, you both move into engagement and make a melee attack.
Choose one of your unengaged units to be the attacker. Move it to the engagement zone of its sector, showing its intention to engage an enemy unit in the same sector. You do not need to declare which enemy unit you want to engage.
A charge.
Your opponent may take a reaction (described below) with one of their units in the same sector.
If your unit is still unengaged after your opponent has had the opportunity to react, select one enemy unit in the sector to engage:
- If the unit is unengaged, move it into contact with your charging unit.
- If the unit is already engaged with another one of your units, you may overlap it (see 'Overlapping' on the next page).
- If the unit is already overlapping another one of your units, you may split the engagement to create a separate engagement. (see 'Splitting an engagement' on the next page).
After completing all of the above, follow the steps for resolving a melee attack (and the following counterattack) as described under 'Assault'.
Empty Sector. If your opponent does not have any units in the same sector, you may charge into an adjacent sector.
When charging from an empty sector, the opponent does not have the opportunity to perform a reaction. However, they will still counterattack if they survive the charge.
Taking a Reaction
When charged, you can choose to react. To do this, spend order on an unengaged unit in the same sector. You must spend the same amount of order as you would if commanding that unit for any other action. You may choose to either: fire against the charging unit or counter-charge.
Fire Against a Charging Unit
To make a ranged attack, spend order as you would to command that unit. Resolve the attack as normal.
Unless the ranged attack causes the charging unit to disband, the charge continues as if there had been no reaction.
A fire reaction.
Counter-Charge a Charging Unit
You can prevent your opponent from having a free choice of target by commanding one of your units (spending order as you would to command it) in order to counter-charge. Move the counter-charging unit into contact with the charging unit.
Then, resolve the melee attack and counterattack portion of the charge.
A counter-charge.
Engagements With More Than Two Units
Overlapping
When charging, you may target a unit that is already engaged. To do so, place the charging unit against the right-hand side of the enemy unit, at 90° degrees to the first engagement.
The charging unit, and any others already engaged with the target, are now overlapping the enemy unit. The enemy unit is overlapped.
When attacking (or counterattacking) with an overlapping unit, you roll one extra die for each other unit engaged with the target unit.
Overlapping.
Splitting an Engagement
If you command a unit to charge, and target an enemy unit overlapping one of your other units, the engagement splits. The target unit and charging unit are moved to a new, separate engagement in the same sector.
Splitting an engagement.
Attacking With an Overlapped Unit
When resolving a melee attack with an overlapped unit, you may only target one overlapping enemy unit, and only that enemy unit is allowed to counterattack your unit.
Attacking with an overlapped unit.
Resolving an Attack
Rolling and Assigning Dice
When one of your units performs an attack or counterattack, follow the steps described below:
I. Gather the dice pool (maximum six) for your attack:
- Start with three dice.
- Add one die for each of your units that overlaps the target enemy unit.
- Add any dice granted by your unit's traits.
- Add one die per tactic card you choose to discard.
II. Roll the dice.
III. Set aside all "8"s; these always count as hits without being assigned to a particular attack value.
IV. Assign dice to attack values:
- You may assign a die as long as it equals or exceeds an attack value of the correct type (melee X or ranged X).
- Only one die may be assigned to each attack value.
- A rank with more than one attack value may have dice assigned to each value of the correct type.
- Dice that cannot be assigned to an attack value are discarded.
V. Total the hits. One per "8" rolled, and one per assigned die.
These Principes have rolled five dice for their attack: 3 from the basic dice pool, 1 from their Attrition trait, and 1 by discarding a card.
The 8 is automatically assigned as a hit. The Roman player then chooses to assign the 6 to one attack value and a 5 to the other for a total of 3 hits.
Taking Hits
Whenever you take hits, you decide how those hits are dealt; either by removing ranks or by creating disorder:
I. First, one or more ranks may be removed from the unit. Removing a rank counts as taking hits up to that rank's cohesion.
- Ranks are always removed from front to back.
- If the cohesion value of the removed ranks was greater than the number of hits taken, you can refund the difference by recovering disorder to your camp.
- You can only recover disorder from the unit taking hits.
- You can only recover disorder placed during previous hit assignment.
- Do not flip any recovered disorder.
II. Then place disorder for any remaining hits. Do so by taking order from your camp, flipping it to disorder and placing it on the unit.
- Disorder is not placed on a specific rank, but is instead placed on the unit as a whole.
III. If you do not have enough command tokens to do this for the remaining hits, you must remove ranks from the unit until the added disorder and removed cohesion sum to meet or exceed the total hits taken.
- If you have placed disorder you cannot return the difference.
With three hits to take you could either choose to add three disorder, or remove the front rank (worth two cohesion) and add one disorder.
With one hit to take you could either choose to add one disorder, or remove the front rank (worth two cohesion) and recover one disorder to your camp.
Disbanding a Unit
A unit is disbanded when its final rank is removed, or when no more disorder can be placed on it. A unit can only hold up to, but not including, its total cohesion.
To disband a unit, complete the following actions in order:
- Flip any order on the unit to disorder.
- Move all disorder on the unit to the camp.
- Remove all ranks in the unit from the battlefield.
- Any units that have become unengaged due to the unit being disbanded return to their formation zone.
- Draw one tactic card from your tactic deck.
Winning the Battle
If, at any moment, your opponent needs to draw a tactic card and they have no cards left to draw, you immediately win the battle.
OR
If, at the start of your turn, your opponent has no units in their central sector, and you have at least one, you immediately win the battle.
N.B. Units in the reserve do not protect the camp.
Traits
Rank traits are passed on to the entire unit of which they are a part. When a rank is removed from a unit the trait is lost. Multiple occurences of a trait in a unit have no further impact.
ANTICIPATE — When you command this unit to counter-charge, your counterattack is resolved before the enemy attack.
ATTRITION — When you command an assault with this unit, add one die to its dice pool.
DISCIPLINE — When you rally, first move one disorder from this unit to your camp.
EVADE — Immediately after attacking (or counterattacking) a unit during an assault, you can immediately command this unit a second time to move it back to your formation zone. Even before an enemy counterattack.
ENVELOP — If this unit is in the furthest left or furthest right sector and you command an assault or charge with it, add one die to its dice pool.
FRIGHT — If you command a charge with this unit, your opponent must spend one additional order to react.
GUARD — When you counterattack with this unit, add one die to its dice pool.
HARASS — If this unit deals one or more hits on an enemy unit, your opponent must place one order on the target, if able.
IMPETUS — When you command a charge with this unit, add one die to its dice pool.
POWERFUL — Add one die to the dice pool of this unit.
SCREEN — When you fire against a charging unit with this unit, add one die to its pool.
SLOW — Commanding this unit requires one additional order, added after all others.
STEADFAST — When this unit is dealt one or more hits, you can ignore one hit by placing one available command token (order or disorder) on this unit as order.
SWIFT — When you redeploy this unit, you do not need to discard a card for it, and it may be commanded in the same turn (at the normal cost).
Any trait that adds to the dice pool is still limited by the maximum of six.
4-Player Battles
A 4-player game of Battalion: War of the Ancients is a team game, with two commanders in charge of each faction. Although each player has their own sectors to command, teammates share a camp, central sector, command tokens and tactic cards, so must work together closely to succeed.
When playing 2v2, we recommend playing battles with at least ten units per army, so that each player has a considerable number of units under their command. The changes to the rules used for 1v1 battles are as follows:
Setup - Changes
- Decide together on the two teams and the factions they will use. Each team fields troops from a single faction.
- Divide the battlefield into five sectors rather than three.
- On each side, the two team members have different areas of command where they, and only they, can deploy and command units. One takes the two left-hand sectors and the other takes the two right-hand sectors. Both team members can access the central sector and reserve, so these count as part of both areas of command.
If playing a mustered battle:
- Assemble the units of the army together as a team.
- Determine the order of placement,
- Roll a die and use its result in combination with the sequence chart card.
- On their turn, a player deploys one complete unit to their area of command, the reserve, or the central sector.
- Each team shuffles and draws from a single deck of tactic cards – the deck is shared by the team, though each player has their own hand of cards.
- Each player draws one tactic card.
Fighting the Battle - Changes
- During the battle, the command tokens form a common pool for both players of the same team.
- A 4-player game is made up of rounds in which each player will take one turn. Determine the sequence of these turns at the start of each round by rolling a die and referring to the sequence chart. Teammates may always confer, but the active player makes the redeployment, command, or rally decisions.
- Only units in the active player's area of command may be commanded.
- A player can only play their tactic cards onto units in their own area of command.
- When a unit is disbanded, the player who controls the sector where the unit was disbanded draws a tactic card. When a unit is disbanded in the central sector, or when a rally turn is performed, the active player, or if none, the next active player draws the tactic card.
4 Player Sequence
Roll a die. Start play in the corner indicated, then follow the solid arrow with the same number to the player on the opposite team. After that, follow the dashed arrow with the same number to the third player, and then finally go to the last remaining player.
Example of the result of a 6.
Setup Rules for Mustered Battles
I. Decide on a number of units per side, this is the size of the battle and must be the same for both sides. It can be any number between six and twelve.
II. Place sector markers to create a battlefield of three sectors.
III. Then, each side:
A. Chooses a faction and takes all rank tiles belonging to that faction.
B. Places their faction's camp behind the formation zone in the central sector of the battlefield.
C. Shuffles their tactic deck and draws a number of cards equal to the agreed-upon size of the battle. This deck is placed face down in the corresponding area of their camp. Any remaining cards are returned to the box.
D. Draws two tactic cards from their deck to form their starting hand.
E. Takes a number of command tokens for the agreed-upon size of the battle and places them as order in the "Command Tokens" area of their camp.
F. Assembles their units as follows:
i. Each unit can only be composed of rank tiles that share a class (e.g. regular infantry).
ii. The number of rank tiles composing a unit depends on the lowest formation value of the ranks within it.
iii. When assembling a unit, stack the rank tiles so the front rank of the unit is on top of the pile and the ranks behind it are in descending order beneath it.
iv. Unused rank tiles can be placed back in the box.
IV. Both players roll a die, the player with the higher result has the initiative (re-roll in case of ties).
A. The player with the initiative flips one of their command tokens to its disorder side.
V. Starting with the player with the initiative, the players take turns deploying a unit into one of the sectors of the battlefield, or their reserve.
VI. Once all players have deployed all their units, they can place the rank tiles of the unit on the field, with the top tile as the front rank, the tile beneath it as the second rank, and so on.
VII. The player with the initiative is the first to play.
Setup Rules for Set Battles
When you play a set battle, follow these steps:
I. Choose a set battle.
II. Decide faction.
III. Place sector markers to create a battlefield of three sectors.
IV. Each side:
A. Deploys the ranks in units on the battlefield, as shown in the set battle list.
B. Places their faction's camp behind the formation zone in the central sector of the battlefield.
C. Shuffles their tactic deck, draws a number of cards equal to the number of their units and places them face down in the tactic deck space of their camp. Any remaining cards are returned to the box.
D. Draws two cards from it to form their starting hand.
E. Takes a number of command tokens equal to the number of their units and places them as order in the Command Tokens area of their camp.
V. Both players roll a die, the player with the higher result has the initiative (re-roll in case of ties).
A. The player with the initiative flips one of their command tokens to its disorder side.
B. The player with the initiative is the first to play.
Set Battles
Set Battle 1 – Roman Republic vs Carthage
6 Units | 6 Command Tokens | 6 Tactic Cards
Roman Republic
- Sector I: 2x Roman Cavalry; 2x Hastati, 1x Velites
- Sector II: 1x Cretan Archers, 1x Velites; 1x Praetorian Guard, 2x Hastati
- Sector III: 2x Cretan Archers; 1x Praetorian Guard, 1x Hastati, 1x Velites
Carthage
- Sector I: 2x Numidian Cavalry; 2x Samnites, 1x Scutarii
- Sector II: 2x Caetrati; 1x Celt Infantry, 2x Samnites
- Sector III: 3x Scutarii; 1x Celt Cavalry, 1x Numidian Cavalry
Set Battle 2 – Han Empire vs Greco Bactrian Kingdom
6 Units | 6 Command Tokens | 6 Tactic Cards
Han Empire
- Sector I: 2x Horse Lancers; 2x Crossbowmen
- Sector II: 1x Conscript Infantry, 1x Halberdiers, 1x Imperial Guard; 2x Steppes Horse Archers
- Sector III: 1x Crossbowmen, 1x Convicts; 3x Halberdiers
Greco Bactrian Kingdom
- Sector I: 2x Cataphracts; 1x Thureophoroi, 1x Scythian Archers
- Sector II: 2x Hoplites, 1x Thureophoroi; 3x Hoplites
- Sector III: 2x Scythian Archers; 2x Companion Cavalry
Set Battle 3 – Greco Bactrian Kingdom vs Carthage
8 Units | 8 Command Tokens | 8 Tactic Cards
Greco Bactrian Kingdom
- Sector I: 1x Companion Cavalry, 1x Horse Archers; 2x Cataphracts; 2x Scythian Archers
- Sector II: 2x War Elephants; 3x Hoplites
- Sector III: 2x Peltasts; 1x Thorakitai, 1x Hoplites, 1x Thureophoroi; 1x War Chariots
Carthage
- Sector I: 2x Numidian Cavalry; 2x Caetrati
- Sector II: 1x Balearic Slingers, 1x Caetrati; 1x Celt Infantry, 1x Samnites, 1x Sacred Band
- Sector III: 1x Celt Infantry, 1x Samnites, 1x Scutarii; 2x War Elephants; 3x Scutarii; 1x Numidian Cavalry, 1x Celt Cavalry
Set Battle 4 – Roman Republic vs Han Empire
8 Units | 8 Command Tokens | 8 Tactic Cards
Roman Republic
- Sector I: 2x Roman Cavalry; 1x Triarii, 1x Hastati, 1x Velites; 2x Cretan Archers
- Sector II: 1x Cretan Archers, 1x Velites; 1x Praetorian Guard, 1x Principes, 1x Hastati
- Sector III: 1x Praetorian Guard, 1x Triarii, 1x Hastati; 1x Triarii, 1x Principes, 1x Hastati; 1x Allied Cavalry, 1x Roman Cavalry
Han Empire
- Sector I: 2x Horse Lancers; 2x Halberdiers, 1x Imperial Guard
- Sector II: 1x Conscript Infantry, 1x Halberdiers, 1x Imperial Guard; 2x Crossbowmen
- Sector III: 2x Steppes Horse Archers; 1x Convicts, 1x Crossbowmen; 2x Heavy Crossbowmen
- Reserve: 1x War Chariot
Set Battle 5 – Greco Bactrian Kingdom vs Roman Republic
10 Units | 10 Command Tokens | 10 Tactic Cards
Greco Bactrian Kingdom
- Sector I: 2x Companion Cavalry; 1x Scythian Archers, 1x Peltasts; 2x Scythian Archers
- Sector II: 2x War Elephants; 3x Hoplites; 2x Horse Archers
- Sector III: 2x Peltasts; 1x Cataphracts, 1x Companion Cavalry; 1x War Chariots
- Reserve: 1x Thorakitai, 1x Hoplites, 1x Thureophoroi
Roman Republic
- Sector I: 2x Allied Cavalry; 1x Hastati, 1x Principes, 1x Triarii; 1x Velites, 1x Cretan Archers
- Sector II: 1x Hastati, 1x Principes, 1x Triarii; 2x Cretan Archers; 1x Principes, 1x Triarii, 1x Preatorian Guard; 1x Velites, 1x Hastati, 1x Preatorian Guard
- Sector III: 2x Velites; 1x Hastati, 1x Principes, 1x Triarii; 2x Roman Cavalry
Set Battle 6 – Carthage vs Han Empire
10 Units | 10 Command Tokens | 10 Tactic Cards
Carthage
- Sector I: 1x Numidian Cavalry, 1x Celt Cavalry; 3x Scutarii; 2x Balearic Slingers
- Sector II: 2x War Elephants; 1x Sacred Band, 1x Samnites, 1x Celt Infantry; 1x Caetrati, 1x Balearic Slingers
- Sector III: 2x Caetrati; 1x Scutarii, 1x Samnites, 1x Celt Infantry; 2x Numidian Cavalry
- Reserve: 1x Celt Infantry, 2x Samnites
Han Empire
- Sector I: 2x Horse Lancers; 1x Convicts, 1x Crossbowmen; 3x Halberdiers
- Sector II: 1x Conscript Infantry, 1x Halberdiers, 1x Imperial Guard; 2x Steppes Horse Archers; 2x Heavy Crossbowmen
- Sector III: 3x Conscript Infantry; 2x Crossbowmen; 1x Heavy Crossbowmen, 1x Crossbowmen
- Reserve: 1x War Chariot
Example of Play
Dido and Remus sit down to play a set battle. As it is their first game they go for 'Set Battle 1: Roman Republic vs Carthage'.
Remus decides he will play as the Roman Republic, and so Dido will lead Carthage. They roll for initiative and Dido rolls the higher number. As such she flips one of her starting order to disorder and takes the first turn.
Turn 1 – Carthage (Barrage)
Dido considers her starting position and decides to see if she can provoke Remus into an early scrap with her centrally positioned Caetrati. So, she skips the redeployment phase and commands her unit of Caetrati to barrage by placing one order on it.
Dido targets the Roman unit composed of two Hastati and one Praetorian Guard, and assembles her dice pool. In this case it is just the base of three dice. In a ranged attack, her Caetrati can generate hits on 5 or higher. She rolls a 7, 3, and 2. Only one of the dice (the 7) can be assigned, so she assigns it to a rank of Caetrati to deal one hit. Remus decides to take the hit by placing disorder on the unit, rather than removing a rank.
Turn 2 – Rome (Charge)
With the ranged attack over, it is now Remus' turn. Remus thinks he will try to put his central infantry unit to work before they are picked off from range. Skipping his redeployment, Remus commands the unit to charge, by placing two order onto it (one as the base cost, and one because the unit is comprised of multiple differently named ranks). Remus moves the unit into the engagement zone, and Dido is given the chance to take a reaction before Remus completes the charge.
Dido reacts by firing upon the charging unit with her unit of Caeterati. This expends another one of Dido's order, but the unit has the trait "Screen" which adds one extra die to the dice pool when conducting a fire reaction. Dido places the one order and rolls the dice pool of four dice, with the result: 7, 5, 5, 1. Her Caeterati can hit on a 5 or better, and she has three such results. However, with only two ranged attack values she can only assign two of the hits. Remus wants to preserve all of his ranks for the imminent melee and opts to takes those two hits as two more disorder.
As his charging unit is still unengaged, Remus can now choose an enemy unit to engage. Remus chooses the Caeterati that have been causing him so much grief, and moves the Caeterati unit into the engagement zone, engaged with his charging unit.
Then, Remus conducts the melee attack portion of his charge. He has just the base dice pool of three dice and rolls a 6, 2, 1. Not happy with the result, Remus plays a tactic card, Veteran Troops, the text of which allows him to reroll a die. He rerolls the 1 and gets a 4, for a final result of 6, 4, 2. The 6 can be assigned to one of the Hastati, and the 4 to the Praetorian Guard. This generates two hits for Dido to assign, which she decides to take by removing the first rank of Caetrati which has a cohesion value of exactly two. Although it will likely weaken her counterattack, she will get to preserve her order.
The melee attack portion also provokes a counterattack from the targeted unit: Dido rolls the standard dice pool of three, and gets the result 6, 1, 1 – this generates one hit. Rather than spend his remaining command token on more disorder, Remus decides to prepare for an upcoming rally action by instead removing the front rank of Hastati from the unit: the Hastati have a cohesion of three, which is two more than the number of hits Remus must take, therefore Remus will also return two disorder from the unit to his camp.
Historical Note
Whilst the factions of this game have a historical basis, the way they are presented here is a fiction. The specific dress and representations are an amalgamation of surviving archaeology; modern interpretations of written accounts often made hundreds of years later; and artistic license; in order to create distinctive and striking figures. It is based heavily on the military history of the four factions depicted; around approximately the year 200 BCE. Whilst historical accuracy has been an important value in the development of this game, it has consistently given way to the demands of creating a better play experience. For example, displaying information in consistent ways and creating distinctive visual identities for each unit.
On the topic of elephants (or at least their armament, load-bearing capabilities, and sources of procurement), the reader may need to make up their own mind. For those with a strong interest in the depiction of units the following titles are suggested further reading:
- Men-at-Arms 69: The Greek and Persian Wars by Jack Cassin-Scott
- Men-at-Arms 121: Armies of the Carthaginian Wars 265–146 BC by Terence Wise
- Men-at-Arms 218: Ancient Chinese Armies 1500-200 BC by CJ Peers
- Men-at-Arms 284: Imperial Chinese Armies (1) 200 BC-589 AD by CJ Peers
- Men-at-Arms 374: Roman Military Clothing (1) by Graham Sumner
- Men-at-Arms 470: Roman Centurions 753-31 BC by Raffaele D'Amato
- Men-at-Arms 477: Macedonian Armies after Alexander 323-168 BC by Nicholas Sekunda
- Men-at-Arms 537: The Numidians 300 BC-AD 300 by William Horsted
- Elite 50: The Praetorian Guard by Boris Rankov
- Elite 201: Carthaginians 6th-2nd Century BC by Andrea Salimbeti and Raffaele D'Amato
- Warrior 150: Carthaginian Warrior 264-146 BC by Nic Fields
- New Vanguard 150: War Elephants by Konstantin Nossov
Quick Reference
On your turn: Perform Redeployment (optional), then either: Command one unit OR Rally.
Redeployment
Move one or more of your units between sectors, discarding a tactic card per unit.
Commanding a Unit
Command one unit by assigning it orders. If the unit:
- Has no pre-existing orders: 1 order.
- Has 1 or more pre-existing orders: Equal to all pre-existing orders.
THEN:
- Contains more than 1 rank name: +1 order.
- Has a trait that requires extra orders: as specified.
Your commanded units may:
Assault if engaged – make a melee attack against a unit with which it is already engaged.
Barrage if unengaged – make a ranged attack against an unengaged unit in the same sector.
Charge if unengaged:
I. Move your unit into the engagement zone.
II. Opponent may spend order to react:
- Fire – make a ranged attack versus the charging unit.
- Counter-Charge – move a unit into contact with the charging unit.
III. If still unengaged, choose an enemy unit to engage.
IV. Then, make a melee attack.
Rallying
I. Draw 1 tactic card from your tactic deck.
II. Recover all order assigned to your units to the "Command Tokens" space of your camp.
III. Flip all disorder on your camp to order.
IV. Flip all disorder placed on your units to order.
Melee attack icon: X. Ranged attack icon: X.
Attacking
I. Create and roll the dice pool:
- Start with three dice.
- +1 die for each overlapping unit.
-
- dice from unit traits.
- +1 die per tactic card discarded.
II. Deal 1 hit per "8" rolled.
III. Deal 1 hit per die that can be assigned. To assign a die, the result must equal or exceed an attack value. Each attack value may only have one die assigned to it.
IV. Opponent decides how to takes hits:
- Remove ranks from front to back. Each removed rank counts as hits up to its cohesion value. If the cohesion value is higher than the number of hits, the difference may be made up by recovering previously taken disorder from the unit to the camp.
- Place disorder: Each disorder counters 1 hit.
- If a unit has disorder equal to or greater than the sum of its cohesion values, it is disbanded.
V. If the attack was a melee attack, there is a free counterattack by the defending unit, if it was not disbanded.
Disbanding a Unit
To disband a unit, complete the following actions in order:
- Flip any order on the unit to disorder.
- Move all disorder on the unit to the camp.
- Remove remaining ranks in the unit from the battlefield.
- Draw one tactic card from your tactic deck.
- Return any units that are now unengaged by the removal of the unit to their formation zone.
Empty Sectors
If there are no enemy units in a sector:
- Barrage may target units in adjacent sectors.
- Charge can be used to move into the engagement zone of an adjacent sector, and the opponent does not get a reaction (they may still counterattack in the event of survived melee attack).
Victory
If at any moment your opponent needs to draw a tactic and they have no such cards left to draw, you immediately win the battle.
OR
If at the start of your turn, your opponent has no units in their central sector and you have at least one, you immediately win the battle.