"... Before I lay my gray and toothless head down for its final sleep, I will tell you my saga once more. i, Valoric, King of the Valedad Goths, will explain how our people rode from the bitter, blood-soaked plains to these sunny, green lands where we now live.

Since my father's father's time, we had endured the raids in the East by the halfmen mounted on their ponies, When / was acclaimed king, merchants told me of the lands to the South. Of sunnier skies ruled by softer men. We loaded all aboard the wagons and rolled through the mountain passes to the south..."

This is an account of my entry into the 15mm De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) Tournament at Cold Wars, this Spring. I signed up in the "Classical Division," which is normally dominated by Greeks, Macedonians and Romans. I wanted a slight twist, though. I would play those warriors who tore down the Roman Empire -- the Early Goths. Warband armies can be deadly in DBA, but require fortune (and the dice) to smile upon them.

My first opponent was Steve Agricola with a borrowed - appropriately enough -- Roman army (I'm not sure if he is a direct descendent of the famous Roman governor of Britain, thoughl). His Marian Romans were on the attack, (like Agricola against the British tribes), so had to deploy first. Of his 12 units or "elements," eight were legionaries (Blades, in DBA), three Cavalry, and one Psiloi -- a Greek term my Valoric would doubtless despise, for skirmishing light troops. Steve deployed his Psiloi with seven legionaries on a long, steep hill in his center. On his left, he placed the final legionary and two Cavalry. A lone Cavalry element staked out the opposite side of the hill.

My Early Gothic army is best played as an aggressive, attacking army. It consists of three elements of mounted troops classified in DBA as Knights for their impetuosity, six Warbands and three of my own Psiloi. Looking at the Romans through Valoric's eyes, I noticed his isolated left wing and knew it would take a long time for his legions to clamber down the steep slopes to support it. So, I sent my Knights and one Psiloi to quickly overwhelm them. My Warbands, their flanks guarded by the other two Psiloi, would slowly advance in the center. They were there more to protect the Knights' rear than because of any eagerness on my part to engage his legions. Blades vs. Warbands is a volatile matchup in DBA. If my dice rolls were good, I could shatter them quickly. On average, though, Blades should slowly push back and beat Warbands.

As my advance force bore down on their two Cavalry and one legionary element, the Romans tried to shift troops to their aid. The steep hill fragmented their command and control, though, so only minimal help arrived. My Knights slammed into his weak left and trampled it after a few rounds of combat. Meanwhile, Valoric and the legions eventually clashed in the center. Exhorted from the front rank by their general, my Gothic Warbands overwhelmed the legionaries on the right of the battleline. Overlapped, the next Romans in line soon crumbled. With four enemy elements lost, the battle was over.

"... The Romans, who we knew of old, tried to stop us in the foothills. Their horsemen could not match ours and were driven from the field, leaving their infantry naked. As we closed with them, I began to pound on my green and yellow shield that yet hangs over yon fireplace, you see. My warband's heart was stirred, but the Romans'thews turned to water and they fled. We had now passed the mountains and rolled downhill into Greece... "

Second Round

In the second round, I faced an Early Hoplite Greek army led by Doug Irish. My Goths were, quite frankly, his army's worst nightmare. Ten of his 12 elements were Spear. Combat in DBA is done by adding an element's normal combat factor (a number ranging from two to five) to the roll of a dice. This score is adjusted by tactical factors such as overlapping enemy, supporting ranks, etc. Normally, your unit must score twice its enemy's sum to destroy them, otherwise they simply fall back. However, my Warbands and Knights only needed score one higher to destroy Spear elements.

Added to this mismatch was a battlefield empty of terrain. His slowmoving infantry battleline would have nothing guarding its vulnerable ends from my quicker Knights. So, the Greeks deployed in a long, thin line, with his one Cavalry and one Psiloi element behind in reserve. My Gothic horsetroopers whooped for joy at the sight and sped towards his right flank which hung open in the middle of the battlefield. The Warbands huff ed and puffed, trying to keep up, but also aiming for that end of his line. The light troops moved in to screen off and slow down the rest of his line.

Doug's command and control dice were woeful, preventing him from reacting to the oncoming avalanche. Desperately, the hoplite Spear began to back away, hoping to give the rest of the army time to march to their aid. Warbands and Knights caught them, though, and charged. Three Spear elements were destroyed. His reserve Cavalry and Psiloi attacked the Warbands, but were sent running, too.

So far, fortune AND the dice had smiled upon my Goths. There was only one other unbeaten army among the ten entrants in the Classical Division. The next game would be for the championship.

" ..The soft Greeks met us as we left the foothills. Theirgeneralwas a proud man and did not fear us, even though we knew his men trembled at our sight. He ordered his phalanx in one long line, expecting to march forward and simply sweep us from the field like last week's debris. Hal Men my horsemen began to cut down his men on his right, and my brave warbands the spearmen to his front, he was stunned. When he awoke from his shock enough to send cavalry to halt our advance, we chased them off, too. Then, he knew fear, like his men. The wagons of the Valedad Goths rolled over the corpses of his army. As we chased the survivors, we caught sight of the great lake the Romans call the Middle Sea..."

Third Round

It my Goths were a Greek army's worst nightmare, then my next opponent was mine. I faced an Early Seleucid army in the finals. The Seleucids were one of Alexander the Great's Successors. This type of army is part of the reason he is known as one of the world's greatest conquerors. It consisted of three Knight elements (who destroy my Warbands as easily as we did Spear), two Elephants (who destroy both Warbands AND Knights), one Light Horse, four Pike (who, when supported, have the highest combat factors in the game), and two Psiloi. I had noticed that three Seleucid armies were in our division and dreaded meeting them.

The battlefield was crossed by two parallel pieces of difficult terrain that looked like a pair of parentheses rotated a quarter turn. Since I lost the die roll and had to set up first, this terrain would be critical. I deployed my Warbands in two ranks between them, abutting the left hand one. Valoric was in his customary front rank next to the difficult terrain. Alongside him, my Psiloi raced in a column. I had big plans for them this battle. Their role would be crucial. The Knights guarded the Warband's right flank.

My opponent deployed his Pikes in double ranks between the Elephants. His Psiloi guarded the right of these imposing bookends, the Knights the left. The Light Horse were poised for a long circle of the terrain to end up behind my army. His horsemen spurred forward to open the battle, followed cautiously by the Elephants and Pikes. My plan was to strip 'his right flank's support with my more numerous Psiloi and the terrain. The Pikes would then be vulnerable to my Warbands it overlapped.

As our battlelines edged towards each other, a fierce mounted clash took place between our Knights. Soon, my light troops were in position. His right hand Elephant was forced to either halt or launch an unwise charge into the thick terrain. They stopped, but the Pikes and remaining Elephant marched on. Valoric seized the chance. Light troops swarmed onto the flank of the end Pike block while Valoric's Warband charged them frontally. They smashed through the hedge of spear points and scattered them.

The enemy was still deadly, though. The rest of their battleline countercharged. The Elephants trumpeted deafeningly as they trampled a two- deep block of Warbands. The Seleucid Light Horse finished their circuit of the terrain and pounced on the rear of one of my Knights, who was engaged with enemy lancers to the front, also. They were ridden down, bringing my losses to three elements. One more, and the Goths would taste defeat.

Valoric roared at the neighboring Warbands that had recoiled from the enemy Pike. Shamed, they surged back into contact as Valoric's men pressed them from the flank. Behind them, in the terrain, came the shouts of Gothic light troops as they pinned and cut down a unit of Seleucid Psiloi. Nearly surrounded, the Pikemen wavered. This tipped the scales as Gothic warriors dove under or knocked the long pikes aside, and fell upon them, slashing with swords. The Seleucid will melted, and the Pikes streamed away, leading the retreat of their army.

"... It was a good land we had found along the coast, and it was a good battle we fought to seize it. The Seleucids sent the flower of their army against us -- fearsome elephants, veteran pikemen who had marched, they said, to the edge of the world for their god Alexander, and brave lancers. Our horsemen were their equal, though, and my light troops foiled their elephants. It was my Gothic warband, though, that conquered their pikemen.

The Valedad Goths took the green land by the sea, and all other nations -- frightened by our valor -- sent us tokens of peace. When songs are sung at feasting time, they praise the army of Valoric, King of the Valedad Goths..."