Spartacus! (Great Battles of Julius Caesar)
Spartacus! (Great Battles of Julius Caesar) Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
General Notes
The Gladiators
There were many types of gladiators, equipped with exotic and varied arms and armor. While their sword-fighting skills were easily adapted from the arena to the battlefield, other specialties (such as the retiarius' trident and net) were probably not as useful. Since the gladiators comprised only a small percentage of Spartacus' army, their greatest value may have been as trainers and instructors. The list below outlines some of the basic gladiator types:
- Andebate — limbs and lower torso protected by mail armor, chest and back plate, large vizored helmet with eye holes
- Dimachaerus — sword fighter, but using two swords, no shield
- Equestrian — armored riders, chest plate, back plate, thigh armor, shield, lance
- Essedarius — fights from war chariots
- Hoplomachus — very similar to the Samnite, but with a larger shield. His name was the Latin term for a Greek hoplite.
- Laquearius — most likely much like the Retiarius, but using a 'lasso' instead of a net and most likely a lance instead of a trident
- Myrmillo — large, crested helmet with vizor (with a fish on its crest), little shield, lance
- Paegniarius — whip, club and a shield which is fixed to the left arm with straps
- Provocator — like Samnite, but with shield and lance
- Retiarius — trident, net, dagger, scaled armor (manica) covering left arm, projecting shoulderpiece to protect the neck (galerus)
- Samnite — medium shield, short sword, 1 greave (ocrea) on left leg, protective leather bands covering wrists and knee and ankle of right leg (fasciae), large, crested helmet with vizor, small chest plate (spongia)
- — large, almost spherical helmet with eye holes or large crested helmet with vizor, small/medium shield
The fighters' equipment as it is mentioned above is not based on an absolute rule. Equipment could vary to a point. A retiarius for example did not necessarily always have a manica on his arm, or a galerus on his shoulder. The above descriptions are merely rough guidelines.
Gladiator Leaders
Gladiator leaders are either Gladiator Generals (G. Gen), equivalent to "Tribal Chiefs" (TCs) in CCoG or Gladiator Chiefs (G. Chief) equivalent to "Chiefs" in CCOG. These counters are provided with the C3i insert in this issue.
Gladiator Leader Names
Spartacus, Crixus, Castus and Gannicus were the actual gladiator-officers of the slave army. Three later famous gladiator names are used for other leaders.
- We know Flamma from his gravestone "a secutor, lived 30 years, fought 34 times, won 21 times, fought to a draw 9 times, defeated 4 times, a Syrian by nationality. Delicatus made this for his deserving comrade-in-arms."
- Hermes, according to the poet Martial, was a great star, considered the master swordsman of his day.
- Rutuba was another star of the Coliseum.
Counters
Counters come from either Caesar: Conquest of Gaul, SPQR (for Picenum and Silarus only) or the insert included with this issue of C3i. The counters From column in the set-ups indicates the origin of the counter; either CCoG for Caesar: Conquest of Gaul, SPQR for SPQR or C3i for the C3i insert.
Substitute Counters
If you have only CCoG but not SPQR, don't despair. You can substitute counters from CCoG as follows:
- for SPQR (green) Numidian LI (1-10), use CCoG (grey) Briton LI (1-10).
- for SPQR (light blue) Iberian LI (1-10), use CCoG (blue) Helvet LI (3-12).
- for SPQR (brown) Pergamum & Achaea LI (6), use CCoG (grey) Briton LI (11-16).
- for SPQR Macedon and Numidia LC use CCoG (grey) Briton LC (1-2)
- for SPQR Iberian LN use CCoG Helvet LN.
Maps
Maps come from Caesar: Conquest of Gaul.
Set-ups
Set-ups: see the Spartacus GBoH/Simple GBoH Inserts in this issue of C3i Magazine.
Not transcribed: the scenario set-ups themselves are not in the source copy of this module. They were printed on the physical C3i #21 inserts referred to above.
Special Rules
- Slave Tribes: The groups of units listed in each scenario (Germans, N. Gauls, S. Gauls, Belgae, Iberians, Africans, East, Gladiators, Mounted Slaves, etc.) each function as a single "Slave Tribe," even when the units may come from multiple tribes. Slave Tribes (including BI, LI and GS) benefit from Rule 6.8 (Barbarian Impetuosity) and Rule 8.5 (Barbarian Ferocity).
- Slave Command System: In general, the Slave Armies follow Rule 4.5 (Tribal Command System). Gladiator Chiefs function as Tribal Chiefs (Rule 4.52) except that they may command any assigned Slave Tribe. Gladiator Generals (Spartacus, Crixus and Castus) may command an assigned Slave Tribe, or an entire Slave Army. Chiefs listed with a Slave Tribe may command all the units in that Slave Tribe.
- Spartacus as Elite Commander: The provisions of Rule 5.5 (Caesar as Elite Commander) applies to Spartacus in all scenarios where he is present.
- Labienus: The counter for this legate may not be used in any of these scenarios.
- Gladiator GS: These elite units may belong to any slave tribe, or be formed as their own tribe (at Mt Garganus). Although they are HI (or LG?), they may join any tribal line of BI and/or LI (standard rules) or any Slave Tribe formation (Simple) to which they are assigned. Gladiator GS benefit from Rule 6.8 (Barbarian Impetuosity) and Rule 8.5 (Barbarian Ferocity) as if they were BI of their assigned Slave Tribe.
SimpleGBoH Special Rules
- All Slave leaders use the smaller of the two Command Ranges printed on the counter, unless noted otherwise. A contiguous line may NOT be used to extend the range. Spartacus is also treated as an elite leader.
- Units that are Out of Command may not move adjacent to an enemy unit nor may they leave a hex if already in an enemy ZOC. Out of Command units may change facing in an enemy ZOC, unless or until they have an enemy unit in their ZOC. Units that begin the turn in an enemy ZOC and move out of that ZOC, may not move adjacent to an enemy unit during the rest of the movement turn.
Formation Charts
Both players have a Formation Chart that describes the overall organizational capabilities of that army. Each row of the chart lists the units in the Formation and the leader that commands that Formation. If more than one type of unit is given for a single Formation, all units of those types must activate unless the phrase and/or appears in that Formation entry. In this case, the player can activate any combination of the unit types listed. However, if a given type is activated, all units of that type must activate. Formations without a Formation Commander are treated as Auxiliaries. A dashed line denotes separate Formations that are led by the same Commander.
Not transcribed: the Formation Chart tables themselves are not in the source copy of this module.
Formation Groups
If a Formation has more than one commander listed, any one of the leaders listed can be used to command that Formation during that Player Turn. Allowable Formation Groups and their Commanders are either indicated as separate entries on the Formation Chart or indicated as notes. The Formations can be activated as a group if the following conditions are met:
- the individual Formation Commander is within Command Range of the Commander of the group listed on the Formation Chart, and
- the Formation Commander is stacked with or adjacent to a unit in his Formation
The Commander of the group is activated and may move whether or not he commands one of the Formations. If there is no Commander for the group, all listed Formations may activate, however, the player must roll one die for and compare the roll to each Formation Commander's Initiative Rating. If the die roll is higher, the units in that Formation are automatically Out of Command for the player turn. If the die roll is a '9', only one of the eligible Formations may activate — owning player's choice. If a Formation is not automatically Out of Command, the Command status is determined separately for each Formation per 4.11. The player is not required to activate all of the listed Formations.
Cavalry Formations
Formations listed as Cavalry Formations on the chart may activate on every non-Seized Player Turn along with any other Formation or group of Formations. The Formation is automatically Out of Command when activated along with any other Formation. The units may, however, leave an enemy ZOC at the cost of 1 Hit.
Cavalry formations are defined as formations that contain only cavalry or chariot mounted infantry units. There may be no other types of units in these formations to be eligible for this rule.