First Game

[rkhlaw]

Just finished my first play test of the rules and subject to the following comments, was very pleased.

After so badly misunderstanding the shooting rules on first read through, I decided to conscript my Belisarians into the role of Thematic Byzantines and take on an Abbasid army. Both armies were 600 points as I didn't want to get overwhelmed at the first attempt.

The Byzantine force consisted of:
Two 4 stand BGs of Tagmatic cavalry; Cav., Superior, Arm'd, Dr, Lancers, Bow*
Four 4 stand BGs of Thematic cavalry;Cav., Average, Arm'd, Dr, 1/2 Lancers, 1/2 Bow
One 4 stand BG of Alan Merc. Cavalry; LH, Average, UnPro., UnDr., Bow, Sword
One 8 stand BG of Byz. Skutatoi; 6 HF Average, Arm'd, Dr, Def.Spr. plus 2 Light Foot, Average, UnPro., Dr, Bow

I decided to take 2 FGs and 1 TC figuring that the army would likely end getting quite spread out.

The Arab force consisted (IIRC) of:
Two four stand BGs of Arab Cav.; Cav., Superior, Arm'd, UnDr, Lancers, Swordsmen
Two four stand BGs of Arab Cav.; Cav., Average, Arm'd, UnDr, Lancers, Swordsmen
One four stand BG of Bedouin Cav; LH, Average, UnPro., UnDr, Lancers, Swordsmen
One four stand BG of Khurasanian Cav; LH, Average, UnPro., UnDr, Bow
One six stand BG of Arab Archers; MF, Average, Pro., UnDr, Bow
Two twelve stand BGs of Arab Foot; 8 HF, Average, Pro., UnDr, Def. Spr, Spr
plus 4 LF, Average, UnPro., UnDr, Bow

Being significantly outnumbered I wanted to make maximum use of my bow superiority. On my left, I deployed (starting closest to table edge) the Alans in column, BG of Thematic cavalry, BG of Thematic cavalry and BG of Tagmatic cavalry (deployed in one deep line. My center consisted of the lone skutatoi BG and my right consisted of the remaining Tagmatic BG (again deployed in a single rank) sandwiched between two Thematic cavalry BGs.

The Arabs deployed with their foot in the center, the better cavalry BGs and the Bedouin on the left (my right) and the remainder facing my stronger left wing.

The Arabs had the initiative and began to surge across the plain, broken by various open and enclosed fields and a plantation towards the waiting Byzantines. The Alans rode ahead and engaged the Khorasanians with archery getting the upper hand on the first exchange. The Byzantine centre was held back having taken a fairly secure position between two fields. The rest of the Byzantine cavalry on both wings advanced to meet the Arabs who quickly closed within charge reach of the Byzantine cavalry.

Back on my left, the Alans had given the Khorasanians a pretty good mauling after disrupting them with archery and then charging. But then, disaster struck. The left wing Tagmatic BG suddenly decided, without orders I might add, to charge the enemy to its front (failed CMT) and went careening into a BG of Arab cavalry and a BG of Arab foot. Oh joy! One my right things got even better. Again wanting to try to disrupt the Arab cavalry before charging, all three units, 2 Thematic, 1 Tagmatic declined to charge preferring to feather their foe for a time. But three CMT and two failures resulted in the two Thematic BGs charging into Arab BGs while the Tagmatic unit stood there. Hits were exchanged during the impact phase and the BGs becoame locked in melee.

In the melee phase my left wing Tagmatic BG was significantly beaten by the Arab spear and cavalry BGs and became broken. The Thematic BG to its left failed its CT and became disrupted as well. On my right, the innermost Thematic BG lost the melee and failed its CT badly resulting in them becoming fragmented.

At that point we decided the Byzantines were in big trouble and called it a night in order to have a little time for a post mortem.

Overall, the rules played very smoothly and while some time was spent flipping through the rules to confirm a few details, we had no difficulties or complaints about the mechanisms. However, we did have a problem/concern with the CMT tests for drilled shock troops. After manouevering to get into a position to damage their opponents with archery, half the Byzantine BGs, including one BG of elite Tagmatic troops threw away their advantage and charged headlong into their enemy which included a large body of spearmen. This just did not feel/seem right. Would an elite unit (superior really) charge head on into an undisrupted unit of spearmen? I think not. While this might not be such a big deal for heavy foot who must close to within three MUs of their opponent before being subjected to the CMT, bow armed cavalry must CMT test prior to shooting as their charge range exceeds their shooting range. It seems to me unlikely that the Byzantine cavalry would throw away their tactical advantage to fight on even or worse terms.

In summary, our biggest beef was the CMT for drilled shock troops and the incredibly high chance of failure. Perhaps the problem is in classifying mixed lance/bow cavalry units as shock troops. ALternatively, perhaps a modifier for drilled troops depending on their quality. Again, would an elite unit really charge into a unit of formed spearmen where a significant defeat is almost inevitable?

Other than that, loved the rules and am eagerly looking forward to my next test game - Hittites v. NKE.

Kent

[shall]

Glad you enjoyed it - hittite vs NKE is a very good game ....have fun and look forward to hearing more soon.

Si

[hammy]

In summary, our biggest beef was the CMT for drilled shock troops and the incredibly high chance of failure. Perhaps the problem is in classifying mixed lance/bow cavalry units as shock troops. ALternatively, perhaps a modifier for drilled troops depending on their quality. Again, would an elite unit really charge into a unit of formed spearmen where a significant defeat is almost inevitable?
Kent

Superior and elite troops get to reroll 1's and 1s&2's respecitvely for CMT's. If they have a general nearby they get another +1 and if the general is with them yet another.

The % chances of failing a CMT for Superior or Elites are:

Code: Select all

              No mod    +1    +2    +3
Superior       72.9    85.3  94.0  98.8
Elite          82.7    92.6  97.5  99.5

I suspect from your comments you may not have been rerolling low rolls for CMT's and / or had no generals or ignored them too.

Hammy

[lawrenceg]

Superior and elite troops get to reroll 1's and 1s&2's respecitvely for CMT's. If they have a general nearby they get another +1 and if the general is with them yet another.


Hammy

Quality re-rolls do not apply to the CMT to avoid charging.

If they allowed them to apply to drilled troops, on the basis that superior drilled troops would have better discipline than average drilled troops, that might satisfy those who think they charge too easily. But it's already easier for drilled troops to pass the CMT, and as has been pointed out, there is little historical evidence for drilled shock troops standing around within spitting distance of the enemy. There is some evidence (e.g. the Spartans at Plataea), but it is still possible to do that by passing the CMT.

As a modern analogy, we might consider the reputation of say, the Paras, for good discipline compared to other infantry. Hmmmmmmm....

[hammy]

Superior and elite troops get to reroll 1's and 1s&2's respecitvely for CMT's. If they have a general nearby they get another +1 and if the general is with them yet another.


Hammy

Quality re-rolls do not apply to the CMT to avoid charging.

If they allowed them to apply to drilled troops, on the basis that superior drilled troops would have better discipline than average drilled troops, that might satisfy those who think they charge too easily. But it's already easier for drilled troops to pass the CMT, and as has been pointed out, there is little historical evidence for drilled shock troops standing around within spitting distance of the enemy. There is some evidence (e.g. the Spartans at Plataea), but it is still possible to do that by passing the CMT.

As a modern analogy, we might consider the reputation of say, the Paras, for good discipline compared to other infantry. Hmmmmmmm....

Oops

OK without quality rerolls the numbers are:

No modifier 58.3
General near 72.2
General with or IC near 83.3
IC with 91.7

I suppose you have to have a general with the BG's to really keep them reined in.

Hammy