Solo Campaign Planning in the Ancient World of Edrador
Introduction
“Decimo” is a campaigning game I have devised. It is a set of rules aimed at ancient warfare in an imaginary setting. The basic idea is to have fun - historical accuracy is not that relevant. The characterization element is as important as the army type, perhaps more so. I am not offering anything original, indeed the formula is as old as the hills. I have unashamedly plundered the pages of Lone Warrior.
Decimo - What you need to get started
Decimo Fast Play: This part of the game does not use painted figures to fight the battles. It also has straight forward rules to allow a fast game. All you need is some paper, pens, dice, playing cards and plenty of imagination.
Decimo Classic: This part of the game uses conventional wargaming and contains more complex campaigning and battle rules.
Decimo - Which period
The rules were drawn up for ancient wargaming, but I believe you can use them for medieval and even early renaissance periods. I plan to add further rules specifically for wargaming the Italian Wars of the Condottiere Period and that of England during King Stephen’s troubled reign.
Decimo - The Rules The rules of Decimo (literally “on the tenth”) are based on my ideas for ancient mythical campaigns. I have been influenced by many books and articles and specific ones are listed here:
- Wargames Campaigns by Tony Bath
De Bellis Antiquitators, Wargames Research Group
“Morale” by Paul Grace in Lone Warrior 109
“DBA Campaign” by Ian Duncan in Lone Warrior 110
“Map - Back to Basics” by Steve Foster in Lone Warrior 112
“Artificial Intelligence for Solo Battles” by Chris Grice in Lone Warrior 131
“Solo Diplomacy” by Mike Elliot in Lone Warrior 132
“A DBA Campaign for the Fall of the Sui-Dynasty China 617-618 AD” by Steve Neale in Issue 211 of Slingshot.
Thanks for all the great ideas!
My original rules revolved around campaigns measured in days, with all aspects of logistics and characterisation covered. Not to mention daily weather forecasts and their effect and almost a newspaper column of Birth, Deaths, & Marriages.
As you can guess, Tony Bath’s book is a celebration of these ideas and for me is still an excellent source. But I found I wanted a set of rules which deal with the rise and fall of kingdoms over several years. Enter WRG’s DBA rules. These have proved a godsend and form some of the basic elements of my game.
In Decimo you may even detect the spirit of Dungeons and dragons, some of whose ideas I have dredged from my 1970’s copies (when it put a temporary stop to my conventional wargaming activities).
The rules cover such things as:
- Desperate Measures: No time to fight your battles or paint your armies? Then use the look up tables.
All at Sea: Frustrated that all your wars seem to be on dry land? Head for the sea with some brutally simple rules.
A Blight on the Land: A simple approach to the effects of war.
A Block too far: Getting carried away with Blobs.
Raiders and Traders: Its war, war, war or peaceful gains.
I hope these articles give you ideas for solo gaming. A Massive big thanks to my sources and especially Lone Warrior. HAVE FUN!
More Decimo Campaign Rules
Decimo Part 2
Decimo Part 3
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