EDITORS NOTE. This is one way to get fantasy gamers into historical gaming. They can use their existing armies to try out historicals. I have recently joined the ranks of gamers addicted to playing De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) by WRG. I was finally convinced to buy the rules after reading several highly favorable reviews of the game by other people who, like myself, find the standard WRG Ancients rules too tedious and boring to play. After reading the rules, I was eager to try them. I began studying figure manufacturer's advertisements for ready-made DBA armies, and was greatly attracted by the low cost of the armies. A complete set of six 15mm armies to play one of the mini-campaign games presented in the rules would only cost about $100-150! Soon, though, the glaze dropped from my eyes and I decided it would be wise to try actually playing the game before buying more armies for my collection. Surveying the collection, my fantasy armies seemed suitable for use to try out my DBA. De Bellis Antiquitatis (Concerning the Wars of Antiquity) thus became De Bellis Phantasiae (Concerning the Wars of Fantasy). After several months, and countless battles later (for those who are unfamiliar with DBA, it takes about an hour to set up a battle and play it to conclusion; several games can be played in an evening; (one or two years of a campaign game can be played in an all-day bash), I am ready to say that fantasy armies are the best ones to use for this game. I know this will sound like heresy to fanatical historical-only gamers, but read on... There are 180 basic army types listed in the rules ranging from Sumerian to Burgundian Ordonnance. There are 48 campaign game set-ups listed, ranging from 1720 BCE to 1478 CE. By using fantasy figures instead of historical ones, one can create any of the armies listed, gaining the most flexibility to play the game. With a few different armies; such as Dwarf, Elf, Goblin, Human, Orc, and Undead; one can recreate any historical army's troop mix and play any of the campaign games. Dragons, Gargoyles, Giants and other fantasy monsters can be used to fill in for exotic troop types such as Elephants and Scythed Chariots if required to fill out specific historical armies. With a few extra armies; such as Gnomes, Hobbits and Kobolds; one can mix and match troops from different combinations of armies to facilitate creating armies for campaigns. If I had purchased historical armies for the game, I would cringe to use Saxons and Normans to represent Macedonians and Indians. But using Dwarves to represent Vikings or Illyrians seems fine. In fact, I have no problem using my Wars of the Roses English to represent Early Byzantine when they are fighting Undead Visigoths. So, by using fantasy armies, one can enjoy the full spectrum of opponents possible with this game. When playing a battle with fantasy figures, one player can dice for which of the 180 armies to use; the opposing player then dices for which of the historical opponents of that army to use. Then look at the figures available and choose which of the historical opponents of that army to use. Then look at the figures available and choose which armies have the best troop type mix available to represent the historical armies. When setting up armies for a battle it also helps to be flexible in designating which figures represent which troop types in the game system. Figures with Halberds can be used as Blades, Warbands, Auxilia, or even Spears in a pinch. Figures with bows or crossbows can be used as Bows or Psiloi; those with javelins can be used for Psiloi or Auxilia, those with slings can be used for Bows, Psiloi, or Auxilia. Figures used as Cavalry in one game might be used as Knights or Light Horse in another. The important thing is to make sure that all players know at the start of a battle which figures represent which troop types. Since my fantasy figures were already mounted on bases (of dimensions other than those required for DBA), I cut out heavy card bases to slide under my figures. The only weak point I found in the rules was the size requirements for bases. A variety of base sizes are called for so that figures mounted on them can also be used for WRG Ancients rules. However, it works best for the mechanics of the DBA rules if all the cavalry figures are on square bases and all infantry on rectangles half the size of the cavalry base. These dimensions facilitate turning some bases in a battle line to face on other directions. So I adopted the following base sizes for my 25mm figures: Cavalry 60mm X 60mm, Infantry 60mm X 30mm deep. Also, the number of figures the rules call for per base are based on the WRG Ancients and are not necessary for DBA. As in many rules sets, I suspect these standards were written by people who do not paint figures - they call for too many figures to be crammed into too small a space, thus preventing the base from protecting the figures and also obscuring the painting detail from view. Two figures per base works fine for all troop types. In some battles when I need to use the same type of figure for two different troop types, I vary the number of figures on a base. For example, I use stands with three figures to denote Blades and two figures Warbands if I must use the same type of figure to represent each in the same army. (If I were to collect 6mm figures for this game, I would vary the number of figures on a base, but with a different system than that recommended in the book. I would have the number of figures in the front row of the base be equal to the combat modifiers vs. Infantry, and the second row equal to the modifiers vs. Cavalry). The army list below are suggestions for "universal" fantasy armies that can fill in for any historical type. I have not done a thoroughly exhaustive comparison of the possible opponents. There may be a few combinations that these lists will not cover. Any such odd combinations can be covered by the inclusion of a few extra fantasy monsters. Numbers of troops listed refer to stands of figures. Since Light and Heavy Chariots are functionally the same as Cavalry and Knights, separate Chariot figures are not required unless you want to capture the visual flavor of a Chariot army. Armies A and B can be used for any pair of historical opponents. Armies 1 to 6 can be used for any campaign; any pair of opposing forces can also be created from these six. I recommend having a common pool of monsters to draw from to fill in for Chariots and Elephants when required. With these few fantasy armies, players can simulate over 3,000 years of historical warfare. It's fun - give it a try! ARMY A: 12 Halberds, 4 weapons and shield, 4 pike/spear, 8 bow/psilol, 4 Auxilia/psiloi, 2 artillery, 6 knights, 6 knights/cavalry/camelry, 12 cavalry/light horse, 4 elephants, 4 war wagons/heavy chariots/scythed chariots, 5 light chariots, 1 war dog. ARMY B: 4 Halberds, 10 weapons and shield, 9 pike/spear, 8 bow/psiloil 6 Auxilia/psiloi, 2 artillery, 7 knights, 8 cavalry/camelry, 4 cavalry/light horse, 4 elephants, 4 war wagons/heavy chariots, 3 scythed chariots/heavy chariots/light chariots, 4 light chariots, I war dog. ARMY #1: 6 Halberds, 10 weapon & shield, 6 bow/psiloi, 6 auxilia/psilol, 1 artillery, 12 knights, 2 cavalry, 2 light horse, 7 light /heavy chariots, 1 elephant, 1 war dog. ARMY #2: 3 Halberds, 9 weapon & shield, 4 spear/pike, 6 bow/psiloi, 3 auxilia/psiloi, 1 artillery, 4 knights, 1 cavalry, 4 light horse, 4 light/heavy chariots, 4 elephants. ARMY #3: 3 Halberds, 5 weapon & shield, 6 spear/pike, 8 bow/psiloi, 4 auxilia/psiloi, 1 artillery, 2 knights, 2 cavalry, 12 light horse, 1 light chariot, 3 heavy chariots, 1 elephant, 1 war dog. ARMY #4: 3 Halberds, 4 weapon & shield, 9 spear/pike, 6 bow/psiloi, 3 auxilia/psiloi, 1 artillery, 6 knights, 4 cavalry, 8 light horse, 4 light chariots, 2 heavy/scythed chariots, 4 elephants. ARMY #5: 4 Halberds, 3 weapon & shield, 6 spear/pike, 8 bow/psiloi, 3 auxilia/psiloi, 2 artillery, 2 knights, 6 cavalry, 4 light horse, 7 light chariots, 2 heavy chariots/war wagons, 1 elephant. ARMY #6: 12 Halberds, 3 weapon & shield, 3 spear/pike, 3 bow/psiloi, 3 auxilia/psiloi, 2 artillery, 2 knights, 2 cavalry, 2 light horse, 3 heavy/light/scythed chariots, 2 war wagons. Back to Table of Contents -- Courier # 61 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1993 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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