Shieldbearer

Ancient Combat Rules

review by Dick Bryant

I have been reading about these rules, written by Michael Young, for some time now in various English publications, particularly SLINGSHOT. As a consequence, I have been anxious to obtain a copy.

The rules consist of a 41 page soft cover booklet with a quick reference chart on the back cover. in addition, there are three pages of amendments and copies of unit record sheets which upgrade them from version 1.0 to 1.02 (May 28, 1992). The rules are well organized with an index and line numbering throughout the book. There are numerous diagrams and examples intended to promote clarity of understanding.

The philosophy of these rules as detailed by the author is to stem the growing dissatisfaction with other available rule sets in which troops have too much freedom of action and in which games are won by the ability of the player to perform perfectly coordinated maneuvers with individual units (my suspicion is that they are primarily offered as an alternative to WRG and their clones). These rules are intended to emphasize the morale aspects of warfare and speed play. The rules are also intended to be a simulation of battlefield behavior designed to present a wargames table that looks like an ancient battlefield and which allow battles to unfold in an historical manner, and they are alleged to be a good vehicle for competitive gaming.

One of the assumptions behind the rules are that coordinated maneuvers aware not performed to the extent that they often occur in other games, and formation changes were very difficult procedures and rarely performed. Another assumption is that light troops acted as a swarm of individuals and were capable of much more fluid movement but not likely to hold ground against close order troops or inflict damage on them very rapidly.

Generals have little opportunity to influence battles once commenced and this is reflected in the order system which does allow sudden intricate maneuvers. While morale is the most important factor(morale penalties are even assessed for changing orders), inferiority in weapons or armor does have an affect on outcome. Unless troops have a very high morale they will refuse to with or stand against a superior enemy. Luck does not play a in the morale system and an individual unit will not break a fine, on the contrary, the entire battle fine may grind to a while facing the enemy. Few casualties resulted unless units and this, in turn, is reflected by not removing figures, greatly simplifying record keeping I have some difficulty this concept, as I have gone towards whole figure casualties in order to avoid the time consuming aspect of keep records. Simply looking at the unit status on the table, seems a much faster process to me. All of this means that the player to plan ahead as the initial layout and order writing is to be deterministic of wether a game is won or lost.

Scale of 1 to 100 for infantry and 1 to 50 for cavalry. Troops are otherwise based on the standard element width which may be initially confusing for those not familiar with the clement concept of play. Having missed this important point during my initial screening of the rules, the movement aspects were difficult to understand.

Troops are classified in standard dose, loose, and open order categories and have the typical array of weapons. Armor classifications include none, medium, heavy, complete and plate. One interesting concept is that the armor of the mount is used against missile fire or when fighting infantry, whereas the armor of the rider is used when fighting other mounted hand to hand. Troops are likewise classified as shock (i.e. tribesmen) and drilled. Although there are two occasions where troops can be both or neither. Light infantry gain no benefit from being drilled, Morale consists of seven possible categories and a conversion is provided for WRG fists. Another interesting classification is that of riding skill. The turn sequence is divided into eight phases including dicing for the arrival of flank marches.

Orders are in four categories and can be combined in various fashions attack, defend, withdraw and skirmish modified by in support of, against, or on. Skirmish troops will maintain a certain distance from infantry units. Formation changes are limited to turns of 180 degrees, and wheels; right or left faces are not permitted. certain troops can move backwards. Broken troops, pursuers or troops with skirmish orders may, in essence move in a swarm without any limitations. The ability to change orders is affected by the category of the general, either rash, average, or cautious. When orders are changed, the unit will suffer a certain number of hits. Interpenetration is also substantially limited and the usual categories of disorder exist as well as a detailed chart summarizing the effects of difficult terrain on various troop types, based not only upon their order, but also their armament and the completeness of their armor.

Determination is the term used to categorize a unit's morale.

This affects the ability of troops to keep their orders and those with low determination may withdraw or stand in place. It also effects their ability to close in hand-to-hand combat. A separate shock table establishes the minimum determination needed to close. Missile hits reduce the level of determination. If determination is low enough, troops may even break.

Combat involves choosing one element, regardless of the number of units engaged, to fight against a particular enemy unit. Other potential combatants provide additions (or subtractions) to the die roll. The effect of combat is to score hits which lower determination. Units may break as a result of hand-to-hand combat if they suffer a certain number of hits more than their opponent or if they fail to make their shock table score and suffer a certain number of hits. Troops which break are not permitted to rally are followed up by victorious opponents who do not have certain restrictive orders. Finally a unit may recover hit points by staying stationary and away from opponents.

The rules are rounded out with some additional period specific rules including the use of champions, berserkers, etc. An annex describes two game start up procedures and a point table for a point system game. The point system extends to the certain type and placement.

While the rules are extensively diagrammed there is an 8 page appendix which provides examples of play.

I have to admit that after much anticipation of these rules, I was not overly excited. This perhaps reflects my personal concepts of ancient warfare, as well as my biases concerning game systems, even though I agree with much of the author's underlying philosophy. I question the case of play and fast play aspects though written reports by others emphasize these aspects. Those who are happy with Tactica or other systems less complex than WRG may find these overly complex. they are nevertheless worthy of your examination and consideration as a viable alternative. At the price of $10, they are worth a look for food-for-thought alone, Available from Terry Gore, SAGA, 890 James Rd., Rochester NY 14612

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