Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege
Storm Over Jerusalem: The Roman Siege Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
- 2.0 Components
- 3.0 Setup
- 4.0 Sequence of Play
- 5.0 Tactical Cards
- 6.0 Impulse Phase
- 7.0 Movement
- 8.0 Attack
- 9.0 Applying Damage Points
- 10.0 Assault
- 11.0 Reinforcements
- 12.0 Control of Areas
- 13.0 Special Rules
- 14.0 Judean Leaders
- 15.0 Victory Conditions
- 16.0 Optional Rules
- Examples of Play
2.0 Components
The game contains the following components:
- One rulebook
- One 22"x34" map
- Two counter sheets
- One deck of 55 cards
- Two player aid cards
- Four six-sided dice (two red and two blue)
2.1 Counters
The game contains two types of counters: units and markers.
2.1.1 Units
Roman units represent Legions, Auxiliaries, and Cavalry. Judean units represent Light Infantry (1-8-3 or 1-7-3), Heavy Infantry (2-8-3), and Judean Leaders. Each unit has a front side (fresh) and a backside (spent). You can differentiate these two as the backside is a paler color than the front side. A unit with its front side up is in its fresh state and can still perform an action that turn (see 6.1). A unit with its backside showing is in its spent state and can no longer perform actions that turn. Fresh units have white text and spent units have black text.
On the front of each unit there are 3 numbers going down the right side. These values represent the unit's firepower, defense strength, and movement. On the back of the counter, there is only one number, which represents the unit's defense strength.
The nationality of a unit is shown by the color of the counter. Red is Roman and blue and purple are the two Judean factions.
Roman units are labeled with the Legion they are assigned to or designated as Auxiliary and/or Cavalry units. Judean units are divided into two factions labeled by their leaders (Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala). See 14.0 for specifics on Judean Leaders.
The number or letter in the black circle is the setup identification for the location the unit is placed during setup (3.0). Starred (*) units are placed via the Captured Roman Arms event.
Unit counters show, for Roman units, firepower, defense strength, and movement on the front (fresh side) and defense strength only on the back (spent side), plus the setup area identifier and unit type (Legion, Cavalry, or Auxiliary). Judean unit counters (Heavy Infantry, Light Infantry, and Leaders) are marked the same way, plus a color indicating which faction (Simon bar Giora or John of Gischala) the unit belongs to.
2.1.2 Markers
There are nine types of markers in the game:
- Control Markers: If during play the control of an area changes from the side that controlled the area at the start of the game to the other side, place one of these markers in the area control box (with the appropriate symbol shown to indicate which side now controls this area).
- Siege Towers: These markers are placed in Roman controlled areas when they are built. The Roman card #26 (Siege Towers) allows Siege Towers to be placed in Judean controlled areas. They have values between 1 and 3. Siege Towers have a fresh and spent side like units but are not considered units.
- Wall Defensive Value Markers: These show the reduced value of the Jerusalem Wall Defensive Value, once walls are damaged. They are +3, +2, +1, and Breach.
- Turn Marker: This marker is placed on the game turn track to indicate the current turn.
- Supply Restrictions: This marker is used to track the Judean Supply Restrictions. The Supply Restrictions can range between 1-9.
- Out of Supply (OOS): Used to mark Judean areas that will not refresh during the end turn step. OOS areas have no effect on Roman units.
- Siege Ramp: These markers are used to mark the location of a Siege Ramp (13.2.5).
- Game End: This marker is placed on the Turn 8 space of the turn track when the Judean card #54 (Romani ite domum) is played. This signifies that the game will end at the conclusion of turn 7.
- Victory Point Markers: These markers are used to track Victory Points earned by each player.
2.2 Game Map
The game map is printed on 22" x 34" mapsheet and should be laid out on a flat surface so that the entire map is accessible to both players. Rivers and pools on the map have no effect on gameplay.
2.2.1 Map Areas and Reinforcement Zones
The game map is separated into multiple areas and zones. Area boundaries are brown lines or Wall of Jerusalem sections.
General Areas: The general areas contain an area control box showing the side that controls the area at the start of the game, a circle containing the area number identifier including a color-coded Defensive Value (Red = +3, Orange = +2, Tan = +1), and may contain the historic name of the area. The circle outline of the Defensive Value is also thicker as the Defensive Value increases. City areas are numbered 12-31.
Area 19 (Tyropoeon South) and Area 30 (Lower City) allow the side that controls either of them to receive an extra tactical card each if there are no enemy units in either of the two areas (see 5.1).
Reinforcement Zones: These boxes, labeled A through D, surround the outside of the map and are where Roman reinforcements are placed during setup. Roman units are moved to map areas during the reinforcement phase (11.0). (Boxes with the same letter are assumed to be the same box and units can be moved between them at any time). Judean units may not move into, Attack or Assault reinforcement boxes.
2.2.2 Tracks
Game Turn Track: The turn marker is placed here to show the current turn number (see 4.0) and hand size for each player.
VP/Supply Restrictions: Both players track accumulated victory points with their respective markers. The Supply Restrictions marker is also placed here to show the current Judean Supply Restrictions value.
2.3 Tactical Cards
The deck of 55 cards contains 27 Roman tactical cards and 28 Judean tactical cards. All cards are separated into two stacks, one with all the Roman cards and the other with all the Judean cards. You can differentiate the cards by the colors on the back of the cards. (The Roman cards have red backs; the Judean cards have blue backs).
Cards with a Green title are response cards and can be played during the opponent's impulse.
Each card shows a card number, a title, the event text, and (where applicable) a Wall Repair Value, a Siege Tower or Siege Engine value, and whether it is a Response Card. The map itself is keyed with area numbers, area names, area control boxes, Wall sections, Victory Point locations, "No Siege Engines" areas, Defensive Values, and area boundaries.
2.4 Dice
The game contains four six-sided dice. Rolling 1 die is designated by 1d6. Rolling 2 dice is designated by 2d6. In some instances, the rules or a card may call for a 1d3 roll. To accomplish this, roll 1d6 and divide the result by 2. All fractions are rounded up.
3.0 Setup
To determine which player takes which side, we suggest that sides are chosen by mutual agreement. Players may use Optional Rule 16.1 to bid for sides. The Roman and Judean players place their units face up either in the area or Reinforcement Zone corresponding to the one on the counter.
Each player shuffles their tactical cards and places them face down in front of themselves.
Finally, place the turn marker on the turn 1 space of the Game Turn Track and the Supply Restrictions on the 1 space of the VP/Supply Restrictions track.
Place both Judean Leaders, all other units, and markers in a convenient spot near the map.
Players should designate an off-map location for placement of eliminated units and leaders.
4.0 Sequence of Play
Each turn the following sequence is performed:
A. Draw Phase: The Roman and Judean players draw enough cards to fill their hands. If a player has more cards in hand than their hand size, they must discard down to their hand size. The Game Turn track indicates the hand size of cards each player has for that turn. Note that there is one value for the Roman player and another for the Judean player. Control of Area 19 (Tyropoeon South) or Area 30 (Lower City) with no enemy units in the area provides one additional card to the controlling player (see 5.1) for each area.
B. Impulse Phase: Both players perform alternating impulses (see 6.0). The Roman player takes the first impulse on each turn.
A player may pass if he does not wish to perform any actions for their impulse. If a player has no units that can perform actions and does not have any cards remaining in their hand, they automatically pass.
If the Roman player passes the turn enters the end phase, unless the Judean player immediately discards one of thier tactical cards (the card is not played, just placed in the discard pile). Exception: Judean card #54 (Romani ite domum) can be immediately played after the Roman player has passed, it does not require another card to be discarded. If a card is discarded, the game turn continues normally, with the Judean player taking their impulse, and then the Roman player taking their impulse, and so on.
C. End Phase: Both players peform the following sequence listed below.
- Cards may be discarded (see 5.3), with the Roman player discarding first.
- Remove any Out of Supply markers from the map.
- If the Roman player controls areas 1 through 11, the Roman player rolls a die to see if the Judean Supply Restrictions will increase on this turn (13.3).
- Then the Judean player must check the Judean Areas Unable to Refresh (13.3) to determine how many areas containing spent Judean units will not flip to their fresh side during this End Phase. The Judean player should mark the affected areas with an Out of Supply (OOS) marker. If there are not enough locations with spent Judean units, any excess OOS locations are ignored.
- Next, players should flip all spent units and siege towers to their face-up ("fresh") side, other than the units in areas that the Judean player designated as OOS in the previous step.
- The Roman player may remove any Siege Towers from Roman controlled areas.
- The Roman player now receives up to 6 reinforcement units for the turn and places them on their fresh side in any area adjacent to their Reinforcement Zone (see 11.0). Roman reinforcements do not all have to come from the same Reinforcement Zone. If there are no units in any of the Reinforcement Zones, this step is skipped.
- If the Roman player controls both Area 22 (Temple Mount) and Area 27 (Herod's Palace) the game ends with an automatic Roman victory.
- Each player that controls Area 22 (Temple Mount) or Area 27 (Herod's Palace) gains 1 Victory Point for each area. If the Judean player controls all city areas (12-31), they gain 1 VP.
- The Roman player gains 1 VP for each Judean Leader that was not placed on board this turn. After this, remove any Judean Leaders on board so they can be placed during the next turn.
- At this point the turn ends. If it is not turn 8, the turn marker is advanced one space on the Game Turn Track, and the sequence of play is repeated. If the current turn is turn 8 (or 7 if the Judean player played Judean card #54), the game ends. Both players must discard all cards and all Escape the Siege cards discarded at this time will trigger as an event.
5.0 Tactical Cards
5.1 Receiving Cards
At the start of each turn, each player draws cards from their deck until they have the appropriate number of cards in their hand, as indicated on the Game Turn Track (or, as can very rarely happen, if they already have more cards in their hand than the number, they discard down to this number). Note that there is one value for the Roman player and another for the Judean player.
Additionally, each turn, a player who controls Area 19 (Tyropoeon South) and/or Area 30 (Lower City), with no enemy unit present, may draw one bonus card into their hand for each of the areas so controlled.
On game turn one, the Judean player will receive both bonus cards, so they will draw a hand of 5 cards (3 cards as indicated on the Game Turn Track, plus the 2 extra cards for controlling Area 19 (Tyropoeon South) and Area 30 (Lower City).
5.2 Playing Cards
When playing cards, any directions given on the card take priority over the normal rules and if the card does not indicate any special rules, then the normal rules are applied. As players play cards, they should give their opponent sufficient time to respond with a card of their own.
When the card text starts with "For your impulse…" the effects of the card are performed and count as that player's entire impulse. A player may only play one card of this type in their impulse.
When the card text starts with "Play as part of your impulse…" the card effects can be played at any point during your impulse, including when a player passes.
Response cards can be played during the other player's impulse. Response cards are identified by their green title.
Other cards can be played when the restrictions on the card are fulfilled, such as Roman Brutality.
For some cards, the effects of multiple cards are cumulative, as stated on the cards.
Once a card has been played or discarded, it is placed in front of the player face up in their discard pile. Some cards indicate that once they have been played, they are removed from the game. In this case, do not place this played card in the discard pile, it is removed from the game instead.
Roman cards have a Siege Tower value (red circled number between 1 and 3) used for building Siege Towers (13.2.1).
Judean cards have a Wall Repair value (blue circled number between 1 and 3) used for repairing walls (13.1.3).
Some cards are designated as Siege Engines. See section 13.2.6 for restrictions on playing these cards.
5.3 Discarding Cards
During the end phase, if a player has cards left in their hand, they can choose some, all, or none of them to discard and place in their discard pile in front of the player. Any cards not discarded during the end phase are kept for the next turn, and these count towards that player's hand size. Both players may inspect either discard pile at any time.
5.4 Replenishing Discards
Each player keeps their discards separate from the other player's discards. At the beginning of a turn, if a player does not have enough cards remaining in their stack to replenish their hand, they combine their discards with the remaining cards in their stack and shuffles them to form a new stack, then draws their cards for the turn. This could lead to a situation where a player does not draw all the cards in their deck.
6.0 Impulse Phase
The current impulse player can either: perform a unit action, a card action, discard a card, or pass for their impulse.
6.1 Unit Actions
The player selects an area, and the fresh (face up) units of their side in that area may perform Movement (see 7.0), Attack (see 8.0) or Assault (see 10.0) as an action. Each player may choose some, or all, of their fresh units in that area. Units from the two different Judean factions may not perform a unit action in the same impulse, unless a Leader's Common Enemy placement method (14.1) is used.
All units selected to perform an action must perform the exact same action. For example, they must all Assault the same area or Move into the same area.
Once units have performed an action, they are flipped over to their spent (face down) side.
It is acceptable for only some of a player's eligible units in an area to participate in an action, and those that do not participate in the action for the impulse remain fresh.
6.2 Card Actions
If a player plays a card which has text beginning with "For your impulse…" this card counts as their action for the entire impulse.
7.0 Movement
Units have a number of movement points equal to the movement value on the counter. If a unit has insufficient movement points to enter an area, it may not move into that area.
Movement Example:
The two Judean Light Infantry units in Area 15 (New City NE) can move into Area 14 (New City) at a cost of two movement points. One movment point to enter the area and an additional movment point because there are Roman units in Area 14 (New City).
The two Judean Light Infantry units in Area 14 (New City) could move into Area 18 (Tyropeon West) at a cost of two movement points. One movement point to enter the area and one additional movment point for moving out of an area containing Roman units. The Wall of Jerusalem does not impact Judean movment (13.1).
The Judean Light Infantry unit in Area 17 (Struthion Pool) can move into Area 15 (New City NE) at a cost of one movment point.
The XV Legion unit in Area 14 (New City) can move into Area 13 (New City NW) at a cost of two movment points. One movement point to enter the area and one additional movment point to leave an area containing a Judean unit.
The XII Legion in Area 13 (New City NW) cannot enter Area 18 (Tyropoeon West) because it would have to cross an unbreached Wall of Jerusalem (13.1) while entering an area containing a Judean unit.
7.1 Movement Point Costs
It costs 1 movement point to enter an adjacent area. If entering an area currently under enemy control and/or containing at least one enemy unit, it costs 1 additional movement point. If moving out of an area currently under enemy control and/or containing at least one enemy unit, it also costs 1 additional movement point.
Diagonal movement is not allowed, Area 17 (Struthion Pool) is not adjacent to Area 19 (Tyropoeon South).
7.2 Stacking Limit
Each side has a stacking limit in each area. The Roman player may stack up to 5 of their units in an area at any time. The Judean player may stack up to 6 of their units in an area at any time. Movement that would result in more units being in an area than these limits is forbidden. For example, if the Roman player has an area with 4 units in it; they may not move a stack of 3 units into, or through that area. Stacking limits do not apply to Reinforcement Zones.
8.0 Attack
8.1 Attack from a Unit
An Attack can only be performed by fresh units against enemy units in the same area. (Exception: Roman Auxiliary and Judean Light infantry are allowed to Attack units in adjacent areas). No Attacks may be made into or out of a Reinforcement Zone.
8.2 Attack from a Tactical Card
If an Attack is taking place from a tactical card, follow the directions printed on the card. Once the card has been resolved, it is placed in the Discard Pile. No Attacks from a Tactical Card may be made into a Reinforcement Zone.
8.3 Resolving an Attack
After an Attack is declared, the attacker may play cards as part of the Attack and then the defender may play cards. Once cards have been played, an Attack is resolved in three steps. First the number of attack points is determined, then the number of defense points is determined, and lastly, the number of damage points is determined and applied.
8.3.1 Determining Attack Points
First the firepower values of all the Attacking units are added together, adding any card modifiers. Then roll 2d6 and add the result to the total firepower. This will give the total number of attack points.
8.3.2 Determining Defense Points
The number of defense points is equal to the highest defense strength of any single unit in the target area, plus the Defensive Value of the terrain in the target area if the defender controls the area, including any card modifiers from played cards. If this is a Roman Attack, also include the Wall Defensive Value if the Attack crosses a Wall of Jerusalem section.
8.3.3 Determining Damage Points
The number of damage points is equal to the number of attack points minus the number of defense points. If the number of damage points is zero or fewer, the units being Attacked take no damage. If the number of damage points is one or more, the units being Attacked must apply this many damage points (if possible).
Attack Example and Applying Damage Points:
The Judean player has four units in Area 22 (Temple Mount) that want to Attack the Roman units in Area 6 (Absalom's Pillar). Since Light Infantry and Auxiliary units are the only units that can Attack an adjacent area, the two Heavy Infantry units can't participate in the Attack.
The two Light Infantry units have a firepower of 1 each, so combined they have 2 firepower. The Judean player rolls 2d6 and rolls a 10, adding this to their firepower they have a total of 12 attack points.
To calculate the defense points, you take the highest defensive strength of any unit in the area. In this case, both X Legions have a defensive strength of 9. Since the Roman player controls Area 6 (Absolom's Pillar) you add the Defensive Value of the area, which is 1. The total defense points is 10.
Subtracting the 10 defense points from the 12 attack points and the Roman player must apply 2 damage points to units in Area 6 (Absalom's Pillar).
The Roman determines how to apply the 2 damage points. One option would be to flip both fresh Legion units to spent. Another option would be to flip one fresh Legion unit and then retreat it to Area 5 (Gethsemane). The Roman player could also choose to flip one fresh Legion to spent and retreat the spent Auxiliary unit to an adjacent area. The final option would be to eliminate the spent Auxiliary unit.
Attack from a Tactical Card Example:
The Judean player could play Judean card #32 (Onager) against the units in Area 6 (Absolom's Pillar).
Card #32 (Onager) provides a 4 firepower Attack against an area adjacent to Judean units. The Judean player rolls 2d6 and rolls a 7. Adding the 7 to the 4 firepower, the total attack points would be 11.
The highest defensive strength of a unit in the area is 9. Adding the Defensive Value of the area, which is 1 will give the total defense points of 10.
Subtracting the 10 defense points from the 11 attack points and the Roman player must apply 1 damage point to a unit in Area 6 (Absalom's Pillar).
9.0 Applying Damage Points
When damage points are received, the player owning the units that are Attacked must apply all the damage points to their units in the target area. They use the following method to assign the damage points, until all the points have been successfully assigned. The list below is the only way in which damage points may be assigned. No other permutations are allowed.
1 point
Flip a face-up ("fresh") unit face down ("spent").
or
Retreat a face-down ("spent") unit to an adjacent area.
or
Eliminate a face-down ("spent") unit with no retreat path.
2 points
Move a face-down ("spent") unit to the eliminated pile when a retreat path is available.
or
Flip a face-up ("fresh") unit to face-down ("spent") and retreat it to an adjacent area.
3 points
Move a face-up ("fresh") unit with a retreat path to the eliminated pile.
9.1 Application
While the player owning the units that received damage is free to choose how to apply the damage, as many of the damage points as possible must be applied. If more damage points are received than can possibly be applied, the excess points are ignored. For example, if an area contains only a single face-up unit, and 5 damage points have to be applied to the area, 3 points are applied by removing the unit from play, and the remaining 2 points are ignored.
9.2 Retreats
All retreats must be made to an adjacent area controlled by the side of the retreating unit. If there is no such area available, the retreating unit is eliminated.
When retreating, if there are multiple legal retreat destinations, the area selected is the one that contains the fewest number of enemy units and would not cause overstacking. In other words, if given the choice between retreating into an area with no enemy units (but overstacking would occur), or into an area containing some enemy units (but overstacking would not occur), the latter must be chosen.
If there are multiple areas the units can retreat to, all containing the same number of enemy units, the retreating player can decide which area each unit goes to, and the units do not all have to go to the same area.
Retreating into an area that would cause overstacking (more than 5 Roman units or 6 units for the Judean player) is not allowed, unless there are no other adjacent friendly-controlled areas. If the retreating units must cause overstacking, use the same procedure as given above to retreat them again. If this next area cannot accommodate them due to overstacking, they must continue retreating. A unit may never retreat back to the area that was the target of the Attack or Assault. If there are no legal places for the units to retreat to, they are eliminated.
Roman units may not retreat across an un-breached Wall of Jerusalem section, but Judean units may retreat across an un-breached Wall of Jerusalem section.
10.0 Assault
An Assault is an impulse where one or more units move into an adjacent area containing at least one enemy unit, and then an Attack is performed by the units that moved. It is essentially a combination of a Movement impulse and an Attack impulse.
To perform an Assault, fresh units in an area (that contains no enemy units) are moved to an adjacent area that contains enemy units. The units must have enough Movement Points to enter the area being Assaulted, and it must be an area they can legally enter. Cavalry units may not Assault into areas numbering 17 or greater (these are areas with +3 Defensive Value), nor Assault across an un-breached wall.
Assault Example:
The Roman player performs an Assault against Area 14 (New City) with three Legion units (2 firepower each) and two Auxiliary units (1 firepower each). The attack points for this Assualt will be 8.
The Roman player rolls 2d6 and rolls a 7. Adding the attack points from the units, the total attack points for this Assault will be 15.
The Judean defense points will be 14 (8 defense points from the highest unit's defensive strength, 2 defense points from Defensive Value of the area, and an additional 4 bonus points from the Defensive Value of the Wall of Jerusalem that is crossed by the Assault.
The Judean player must apply 1 damage point to the units in Area 14 (New City), 15 attack points minus 14 defense points.
The Judean player flips one of the Light Infantry units to its spent side. Since the Assault crossed an unbreached Wall of Jerusalem section and all of the Judean units were not eliminated or retreated, the Roman units may not remain in the Assaulted area. They are moved back to the area they Assaulted from, Area 2 (Women's Gate).
Since the Roman player inflicted at least 1 damage point on the Judean units, the bonus Defensive Value for the Wall of Jerusalem section is decreased to +3.
Next, perform an Attack against the enemy units, using the Attack procedure in 8.3.
At the end of the Assault, the Assaulting units are flipped to their spent side.
If a Roman Assault was performed across an unbreached Wall of Jerusalem section, and at least 1 Damage Point was assigned to the defending units in the area, then the Wall of Jerusalem section crossed is also damaged (see 13.1.2). Reduce the current Defensive Value of the wall by one (using the Wall Defensive Value markers).
- If after a Roman Assault across a Wall of Jerusalem section there are no Judean units in the Assaulted area, then the Wall section is automatically breached (mark the Wall section with a Breached marker).
- If after a Roman Assault the wall is breached (either before the Assault took place or because of the Assault), the Assaulting units remain in the area Assaulted.
- If after a Roman Assault across a Wall of Jerusalem section the wall is not breached and Judean units remain in the Assaulted area, the Assaulting Roman units are moved back to the area from which they moved.
11.0 Reinforcements
11.1 Reinforcement Units
The Roman player receives reinforcements during the end phase of a turn. The Roman player may place up to 6 units per turn as reinforcements.
11.2 Placing Reinforcement Units
The Roman player places their reinforcement units into a Roman controlled area that is adjacent to the Reinforcement Zones from which they originated.
11.3 Reinforcement Zones
Units may not move into a Reinforcement Zone from a map area. Roman units may retreat into Reinforcement Zones.
Reinforcement Zones have no limit to how many units they can hold.
Units in a Reinforcement Zone may never be the target of any kind of Attack, even from cards, may not be Assaulted, nor experience any effect due to card play. Units in a Reinforcement Zone may not be selected for any purpose, except for placement as reinforcements.
12.0 Control of Areas
At the start of the game, all the areas on the map have their initial control side printed on the map.
At any moment during a game turn, if the player controlling an area does not have any units in the area and the opponent has at least one unit in the area, control transfers immediately to the opposing side.
Either place a control marker in the area control box if there is no control marker in the box or remove a control marker if there is currently a control marker in the area control box.
13.0 Special Rules
13.1 Walls of Jerusalem
The city of Jerusalem was surrounded and divided by massive stone walls. These walls provided significant advantages to the Judean defenders. Roman units may not use a Movement action to cross a Wall of Jerusalem and to enter an area that is both Judean controlled and occupied by Judean units, they must use an Assault action to enter the area. Roman units may use a Movement action to cross a Wall and enter a Judean controlled area that does not contain Judean units.
The Walls of Jerusalem do not affect the Judean player's Move, Attack, or Assault actions in any way.
13.1.1 Defensive Advantage Bonus
Any Roman Attack or Assault into a Judean controlled area that crosses a Wall of Jerusalem section will grant an additional bonus +4 Defensive Value to the Judean Defenders. This bonus is in addition to the normal Defensive Value of the area. The Wall bonus can be reduced or negated by the Roman player during an Assault. (10.0)
13.1.2 Breaching the Walls
The Roman player can lower or eliminate the Defensive Advantage of the Walls of Jerusalem by Assaulting across a Wall section, using a tactical card, or by damaging the wall section with an Onager, Catapult, or Battering Ram card.
Each Assault across a Wall section that causes 1 or more damage points to Judean units reduces the Defensive Advantage Bonus by one. The damaged Wall Defensive Value is tracked with Wall Defensive Value markers (+3/+2/+1/Breached). The Wall Defensive Value applies to the section between two areas. Walls may also be breached via card play, as mentioned above.
All Wall sections between two Roman controlled areas are marked with a breached marker. When a Wall section is breached, Roman units may freely move across the Wall section.
13.1.3 Repairing the Walls
By discarding one of their cards, the Judean player can repair damage to a Wall section by selecting a Judean controlled area that does not contain Roman units and is adjacent to a damaged Wall section.
Using the repair value of the discarded card, the Judean player can repair a Wall section adjacent to the selected area. The Repair value determines how many Repair Points are gained. Any number of Repair Points can be used to repair the Wall Defensive Value of a section. For example, it takes one Repair Point to change a Breach to a +1 Wall Defensive Value or a +2 Wall Defensive Value to a +3 Wall Defensive Value. Once damaged, the Wall Defensive Value for a section cannot be repaired above +3.
For each Wall section repaired, one Judean unit in the selected Judean controlled area (that is free of Roman units) must be flipped to spent.
The Judean player is not required to use all the Repair Points from a discard.
13.2 Siege Towers/Siege Engines
The Roman army were masters of siege warfare and used siege towers and siege engines to overcome the advantage the Judean defenders were provided by the Walls of Jerusalem.
13.2.1 Building Siege Towers
The Roman player as their impulse may discard a card to build a siege tower(s) in Roman controlled areas. The Siege Tower Value points on the card determines how many and what value towers can be built. A card with a Siege Tower Value of 3 points can build one 3 value Siege Tower, three 1 value Siege Towers, or one 2 value Siege Tower and one 1 value Siege Tower in different areas. When built, Siege Towers should be placed on their fresh side.
The Roman player may also upgrade existing Siege Towers in Roman controlled areas by using the Siege Tower Value points of the discarded card. Upgrading a tower does not change the fresh/spent status of the tower.
The Roman player does not have to use all of a card's Siege Tower Value points when building or upgrading siege towers.
Siege Towers are limited by the counter mix. Siege Towers that are removed or destroyed may be reused.
13.2.2 Siege Tower Stacking/Moving
Any number of Siege Towers can exist in a single area. Siege Towers do not count towards stacking limits at any time and are not considered units. Siege Towers can be moved with other Roman units that were activated for movement or used in an Assault. After they are moved or used in an Assault, flip the Siege Tower to its spent side. Siege Towers may not retreat from an area.
13.2.3 Assaulting with Siege Towers
During an Assault, the Roman player may select one Siege Tower to participate. The Defensive Advantage Bonus (Wall Defensive Value) of the Wall section being crossed is reduced by the value of the participating Siege Tower. After the Assault, the Siege Tower is flipped to its spent side and must remain with the units used for the Assault.
13.2.4 Destroying Siege Towers
Siege Towers are not units and cannot be assigned Damage Points. If in an area with no Roman units, all Siege Towers are removed from the map.
Siege Towers can also be removed or have their value decreased by card play. For example, if a card reduces the value of a Siege Tower by 2, a 3 Value tower would be reduced to a 1 Value or a 2 Value tower would be removed. If a Siege Tower is reduced to a lower value and that value counter is not available (off board), then the next lower value should be used. For example, if a 3 Siege Tower must decrease by 1 and there are no available 2 Siege Tower counters, the player must replace the 3 Siege Tower with a 1 Siege Tower. If no lower value counter is available, the Siege Tower is removed from the map.
The Roman player may also remove Siege Towers during the End Phase of the turn (4.0 C).
13.2.5 Siege Ramps
Siege Ramps are created via card play. Once a Siege Ramp marker has been placed in an area, the Roman player may Assault the adjacent area using the Siege Ramp. Any Wall Defensive Value adjacent to a Siege Ramp marker is ignored for this Assault. When using a Siege Ramp, Roman units may remain in the Assaulted area even if all Judean units were not eliminated by the Assault. Roman units may retreat as normal from the Assaulted area back across the Siege Ramp. Cavalry and Siege Towers cannot be used as part of an Assault that uses a Siege Ramp. If the Roman player controls both sides of a wall section with a Siege Ramp marker, the wall is considered breached.
Siege Ramp markers remain on the board when placed, unless eliminated by the Judean player. As an impulse, the Judean player can activate any number of units in an area containing a wall section adjacent to a Siege Ramp and roll a die. If the die result is 6 or greater, the Siege Ramp marker is removed. For each unit greater than one that is activated, the Judean player will get a +1 modifier to the die roll. All activated units are spent after the removal attempt.
13.2.6 Siege Tower/Engine Placement Restrictions
Neither Siege Towers, Siege Ramps, nor Siege Engine cards can be placed into or played from areas 5-9. For example, a "Battering Rams" card cannot be played as part of an Assault that originates from Area 8 (Hinnom Valley).
13.3 Judean Supply Restrictions
The Judean Supply Restrictions determines how many areas that the Judean player is unable to refresh and are OOS during the end turn step. The Supply Restrictions can be increased by the Roman Palisades Built card or decreased by Judean control of areas 1-11. It can also be increased during the End Phase of the turn (4.0 C) by the Roman player. The Judean Supply Restrictions can range between 1 and 9.
The Roman player rolls a die to see if the Judean Supply Restrictions will increase on this turn. Before the die is rolled, the Roman player may discard a tactical card from their hand to add +1 to the roll.
| Turn | Increase Roll |
|---|---|
| Turn 1-2 | Increase on a 5-6 on 1d6 |
| Turn 3-6 | Increase on a 4-6 on 1d6 |
| Turn 7-8 | Increase on a 3-6 on 1d6 |
The Judean player should then roll a die to determine how many areas containing spent Judean units are unable to refresh during the End Phase of the turn (4.0 C). After rolling the die, reference the Judean Supply Restriction table to see how many areas are marked OOS. There are no modifiers to this roll.
| Supply Restrictions Level | Areas OOS |
|---|---|
| Level 1-2 | 1d3 -1 Areas |
| Level 3-4 | 1d3 Areas |
| Level 5-6 | 1d3 +1 Areas |
| Level 7-9 | 1d3 +2 Areas |
If the Judean player gains control of any area 1-11, immediately lower the Judean Supply Restrictions by 2. This can happen more than once during a turn.
The Judean Supply Restrictions can never be reduced below 1.
14.0 Judean Leaders
Judean Leader counters represent the leaders (Simon bar Giora and John of Gischala) of the two rebel factions during the Judean revolt. Judean Leaders are placed in an area by the Judean player. Judean Leaders can only be placed in an area containing units from their faction. Only 1 Judean Leader can be in an area at any given time. When the turn ends, the Roman player will gain 1 VP for each Judean Leader that has not been placed that turn.
Judean Leaders can't be moved using a Movement action, they must remain in the area that they were placed into (except the Sortie Out card). They can be forced to Retreat.
Judean Leaders can be assigned Damage Points like other units. Judean Leaders do not count as a unit for stacking purposes.
14.1 Judean Leader Placement
Judean Leaders can be placed in an area in one of 4 ways:
- Attack – When declaring an Attack or Assault, a Judean Leader can be placed with the Attacking or Assaulting units. Judean Leaders provide a bonus +2 Attack Value to an Attack or Assault. Judean Leaders should be flipped to spent after the Attack or Assault has been resolved.
- Defense - When an area containing Judean units is Attacked or Assaulted, but before dice are rolled, place a Judean Leader in the area. The Judean Leader is placed on his spent side and will contribute a bonus of +1 defense value to the area. After the Judean Leader is placed, the Attack or Assault will continue as normal.
- Common Enemy – When selecting an area for an Attack or Assault action (6.1), you may place the Judean Leader in the area and activate all units in the area not just units from their faction. The Judean Leader must Attack or Assault with the active units. When using this placement method, the Judean Leader does not add +2 to the Attack or Assault. Judean Leaders should be flipped to spent at the end of the impulse.
- Rally – As their impulse, the Judean player can place a Judean Leader in an area that is not OOS and contains spent units from their faction and rally units from their faction. Flip 3 faction units to their fresh side. Judean Leaders should be flipped to spent after the Rally action has been resolved.
A Judean Leader that was placed using any of the above methods will add his +1 Defensive Value to any Attacks or Assaults against the area he occupies.
14.2 Judean Leader Elimination
A Judean Leader is eliminated by damage points, like any other unit. Eliminated Judean Leaders are not available to be placed on board in subsequent turns. This will give the Roman player 1VP during the End Phase of the turn (4.0 C) per eliminated Judean Leader that cannot be placed during each of the remaining turns.
If a Judean Leader is in an area containing no other Judean units and contains Roman units that are activated by the Roman player, that Judean Leader is eliminated.
15.0 Victory Conditions
During the End Phase of each turn (4.0 C), both players may earn Victory Points.
If the Roman player controls both Area 22 (Temple Mount) and Area 27 (Herod's Palace) the game immediately ends with an automatic Roman victory.
The player that controls Area 22 (Temple Mount) or Area 27 (Herod's Palace) gains 1 Victory Point for each area. If the Judean player controls all city areas (12-31), they gain 1 VP.
The Roman player gains 1 VP for each Judean Leader that was not placed on board during a turn.
At the end of the game (turn 8 or turn 7 by card play) each player gains 1 VP for every 2 enemy units that have been eliminated (fractions rounded down). Players may track this during the game if they wish.
The Roman player wins if they have more VPs than the Judean player, otherwise the Judean player is the winner.
16.0 Optional Rules
Players are free to use any of these optional rules if they are mutually agreed upon by both players.
16.1 Bidding for Sides
If both players want to play the same side, then players may secretly bid VPs for that side. The player who bids more for a specific side will play that side and the other player will start with VPs equal to the difference in their bid. For example, if player one bids 3 VP to play the Romans and player two bids 1 VP, then player one would be the Romans and player two would play the Judeans and start with 2 VPs. If both players bid the same then use a die roll to determine the winner, the loser would get the full amount of VPs bid by the winning player.
16.2 Reduced Victory Points for Judean Units
Instead of earning 1 VP for every 2 Judean units eliminated, the Roman player earns 1 VP for every 3 Judean units eliminated. This favors the Judean player.
16.3 Reduced Victory Points for Roman Units
The Judean player only earns VP for Roman Legion units eliminated, Auxiliary and Cavalry units do not count for Victory Points. This favors the Roman player.
Examples of Play
Extended Assault Example:
The Roman player performs an Assault against Area 13 (New City NW) with all the Roman units in Area 11 (Tower of Psephinus) including the Siege Tower 2. The firepower of these units is 7. The Roman player rolls a 9 on 2d6. Total attack points for this Assault will be 16.
The Judean player now calculates their defense points. The highest defense strength is 8, plus 2 for the Defensive Value of Area 13 (New City NW). Because the Assault will cross an unbreached Wall of Jerusalem section, the Judean player gets a bonus of +3 to the Defensive Value of the area. However, since the Roman player has a Siege Tower, the bonus Defensive Value is reduced to +1 (+3 for the damaged wall - 2 for the Siege Tower). The total defense points for this Assault will be 11 (8+2+1=11).
The Judean player must apply 5 damage points to the units in Area 13 (New City NW), total attack points of 16 - total defense points of 11 = 5 damage points. To apply all 5 damage points the Judean player will need to elimate the fresh Light Infantry unit for 3 points and will have to eliminate the spent Light Infantry unit for the remaining 2 damage points. If there had been another unit in the area, the Judan player could have spread the damage points across all three units and retained control of the area.
Since all the Judean units were eliminated (or forced to retreat) the Assaulting Roman units along with the Siege Tower will remain in Area 13 (New City NW), they will be spent. The Roman player will gain control of the area and the Wall section will become breached.
On a later impulse, the Roman player wants to Assault Area 12 (Amygdalon Pool). The Roman units in Area 10 (Tower of Phaesel) will perform an Assault action. To try and ensure a successful Assault, the Roman player decided to play card #1 (Ballista) and card #11 (Battering Rams) as part of the Assault. After the Assault has been declared, the Judean player decides to place the Judean Leader, Simon, to help in the defense of Area 12 (Amygdalon Pool).
Before the Assault is resolved, the Roman player rolls a 1d6 for the Battering Rams. They roll a 1, so the Wall is not breached and the Assault is resolved normally. If the Battering Rams roll had been 3-6 the Wall would have been breached and there would be no bonus Defensive Value added to Area 12 (Amygdalon Pool) for this Assault.
The Roman player calculates their attack points (5 firepower from the units + 3 firepower from the Ballista card = 8) and rolls 2d6 and the result is a 7. The total attack points for this Assault is 15.
The Judean player calcualtes their defense points (8 for the defensive strength of the Light Infantry + 2 for the Defensive Value of Area 12 (Amygdalpon Pool) + 4 for the bonus Defensive Value of the Wall +1 for Simon) for 15 total defense points.
Since the attack points and the defense points are equal, no damage is done to the Judean units. The Assaulting Roman units are returned to Area 10 (Tower of Phaesel) and flipped to their spent side. Since no damage points were assigned to units in Area 12 (Amygdalon Pool) the Wall of Jerusalem section is not damaged.
Retreat Example:
The Judean player decides to Attack the two spent Roman Legions in Area 15 (New City NE). They declare an Attack action in Area 15 (New City NE) and select the three Light Infantry units from Simon's faction. Since units from the two Judean factions cannot perform actions on the same impulse (without the Common Enemy leader placement method), the John Light Infantry unit won't particiapte in this Attack.
Once the Attack is declared by the Judean player, the Roman player plays card #15 (Testudo) and will add 2 to the defensive strength of on Roman Legion in the area.
The Judean player has 3 firepower from the three units and rolls a 9 on 2d6. The total attack points for this Attack will be 12.
The Roman player now calculates their defense points. They have a defensive strength of 10 from the Legion (a base of 8 plus 2 from Testudo). They do not control Area 15 (New City NE), so they cannot use the Defensive Value of that area. Total defense points will be 10.
Subtracting the 10 defense points from the 12 attaack points leaves 2 damage points that the Roman player must apply to units in the area.
The Roman player can apply both damage points to eliminate one of the spent Legions. Since eliminated Legions are worth Victory Points for the Judean player, the Roman player will retreat both Legions instead by applying 1 damage point to each spent Legion.
Since a Roman unit cannot retreat across an unbreached Wall section, the two Legion units must retreat to Area 4 (Mount Scopus).
Wall Repair Example:
The Roman player appears to be massing for an Assault into Area 15 (New City NE). For their impulse, the Judean player decides to discard a card to repair a Wall of Jeruslaem section that is adjacent to Area 15 (New City NE).
The Judean player discards card #46 (Escape the Siege) and selects Area 15 (New City NE), then flips one of the Light Infantry units from its fresh side to its spent side. This will give the Judean player 3 Repair Points (3 in the blue circle notates the Wall Repair Value for this card) for this discard.
The Judean player uses the 3 Repair Points to improve the Wall section between Area 15 (New City NE) and Area 4 (Mount Scopus) and replaces the Breach marker with a +3 Wall Defensive Value marker. It takes 1 Repair Point to go from Breach to +1, 1 Repair Point to go from +1 to +2, and 1 Repair Point to go from +2 to +3. As a reminder, Wall sections that have been damaged can only be repaired back to +3.
Unfortunatly the Judean player did not have another card and had to discard card #46 (Escape the Siege) for the Repair Points. Since card #46 (Escape the Siege) states that when discarded the event will happen, the Judean player must now follow the directions on the card.
The Judean player could have used the 3 Repair Points to repair any or all of the Wall sections adjacent to Area 15 (New City NE), but they would have been required to flip one fresh unit in the selected area to spent for each section of the Wall that was repaired.