Mare Nostrum (Our Sea in Latin) by Gavin Tovrea os a 1:1 scale miniature set of rules covering the Successor, Punic War and Roman Civil War periods. Ships covered are Hemiola, Bireme, Trieres or Trireme, Quinquereme, and the Dekares or "10."
The rules come in a five page pamphlet. One drawback to this size is 8 pt type -- makes the rules hard to read. I'd suggest that the older treirarchs (Greek Captains) have a magnifying glass handy to allow them to read the fine print. Other than this trivial problem, the rules are laid out in a businesslike manner that makes following them rather easy. There are no diagrams of play. but the author provides many fine examples of play, so understanding the system is not difficult.
This rule set is written to use the author's wooden galley models that he manufactures, (more on that anon). but for our playtest we used old Iami 1:100 scale model Quinqueremes (five banked galleys). For marines and sailors, we used "Knight Designs" 6mm Macedonians.
My friend and I pitted two Roman heavy Qnints. against two Punic heavy Quints. This is is when we discovered that although the light Quinquereme could have superior rowers, there is no rule for carrying out a diek-plus. (Oar sweeping: breaking off the opponents' oars, something that superior seamanship could do. It was a favorite Carthagiman tactic.) So. I opted for heavy Quints as well.
The turn is broken down into a sequence. First one determines initiative. After that the ships move in the order that initiative was gained.
Initiative is determined by rolling a 6 sided die then oarsmen class modifiers are added. The die roll can not modified above 6 or below 1. At this point the die is left by each ship. until that ship is moved. During movement, ship's speed is determined, masts may be lowered or raised. Movement is completed, ram attacks are determined. Next grappling attempts are carried out abd then missile and machine fire. Finally, the rowers are checked for fatigue. This completes the movement phase.
First turn of the game. so that we could get a feel for the movement we moved simultaneously with a "gentlemen's agreement" that we would not engage in combat. (Keith has fought in all my galley based ancient campaigns for 22 years, so we know each other's tendencies .
Both of us had good class rowers, so our turning radius were the same. We also discovered a quirk in turning where the models turn by the bow, not by the stern as the do in real life. This makes them more maneuverable, where in rality they would be rather cumbersome.
Another oddity is that you can't carry your turn mode expenditure from one turn to the next. This is weird as ships do not stop between turns but motion stays constant This would cause me a major headache later
After 20 minutes of moving about, we felt we were ready. We set our opening game speeds secretly, then commenced to roll initiative. My ships the Astraroth and Hides had opted to go in at full speed, while the timid Roman wolf crept at cruise speed. Yet he won both initiative rolls and moved first.
He migrated slowly toward my ships but was careful to maintain his distance. I sprinted at him to line up on his side for his ships, maneuvering a ram.
At this point I must digress.
Galley tactics are based on speed. A vessel that is moving faster then one slower has several advantages. Its one disadvantage is it is not as maneuverable. A slow boat can maneuver, but its hard to get out of the way if the attacker. A modern example is stuck in a stalled lane on the freeway. You can maneuver into the next lane but can you avoid the metal missile that is whizzing down that lane at 4 times your speed? No. You have to wait until that traffic slows down to your speed of 5 MPH. or the lane beceoms clear.
The battle continues:
I turn Astraroth and move the remaining 4 inches of my move. I'm poised to execute a ramming attack next turn. My other ship is executing a periplus, getting around the Roman's rear. I roll for fatigue. You must roll D- 10 each turn you move above cruise speed. Nope. I needed 1-6 for fatigue and did not get it.
We now went to the missile fire phase. I'd receive one 10 sided per firing figure I had 6 Baleric slingers per ship. To my amazement it takes a 9- 10 to score a hit. And this is at close range!
Obviously this is a battle that will not be won by missile fire. My Roman adversary has watched my impotent missile fire with glee Now he reveals to me that there are no limits to the number of three span Arrow Shooters that one can put on a galley. (What?)
He unleashes a deadly broadside of 6 throwers. Astraroth is transformed into a floating pin cushion, marines and Balerics drop by the score.
Hides also receives incoming darts, but since the range is long. little damage results. It takes a 10 to score a hit at long range. But next turn I'll have my revenge. I am 6" away from hitting the Roman in the flank and I'm screened off from his other ship. All I have to do is win the initiative roll and . . . Drat he wins. Another peculiarity: a ship that is moving at ramming speed receives no modifier, though it is moving faster than one moving at cruise.
Hmmm, maybe a rewrite is in order. Too late, the Roman "duck" kicks up to full and speeds away. No matter. I'll get him anyway. Oops, it seems that you cannot carry turn mode from one turn to another. I can only turn twice, and I miss him. This is ridiculous. The ship is not stopped between turns. A rewrite is in order. Check for fatigue. No, a five. My rowers are fatigued, dropping my class to Poor, That means that I can no longer move at ramming speed next turn.. Incoming fire! Now at 3" range my remaining Balerics and a good portion of my marines become porcupines from Roman dart fire.
On to the next turn. No luck. Baal has deserted me. Now that I am one rowing class lower. Astraroth has a zero modifier added to the roll. Both Romans are moving before me. I relive the galley battle scene from "Ben-Hur" where the enemy galley with the fire pots over the bow can be seen by the terrified rowers through the oar port bearing in, ready to ram.
This is what happens to me. I watch. unable to dodge while the second Roman galley crunches into my side. As my remaining crew scrambles to their feet, Keith rolls his damage effect. He receives 3 D-6s and rolls a 1-3-2, a six! My hull 50% integrity, but I'm still afloat. Clunk! Keith has rolled 1 in his grappling attempt. I'm grappled, and the Romans swarm over the gunwales.
The legionaries are considered elite marines and receive a plus to their roll. My remnants attempt to hold them back so we can degrapple, but it s no use. There are too many of them I fall fighting. With the marines gone, my cowardly crew surrenders. The Hides fleas for Carthage to inform the Shophet not to play with these rules until some major changes are made!
Going for It?
Actually the game has a lot going for it. Tovrea's wooden models are nice, and the rules are simple. Still, the galley's movement doesn't follow physical laws. I would suggest that ships moving faster than ships that are moving slower should get some advantage to the die roll for initiative. The rules now gives the same advantage to a ship that is backing up as a ship racing forward.
The turning restrictions also causes movement problems. By not allowing the carrying over of movement expenditure for turning modes from one turn to the other. this effects the ship's maneuverability. Light Quints, Quads and Triremes cannot turn better than their heavy brothers unless the oarsmen class is Superiod.
In the rules. usually the Cathaginians, Rhodians and Athenians would have Superior rowers, but not always. It was the ship's light weight that contributed to the shi p's smaller turning circle. As mentioned before, by denying the Carry over, the nations mentioned are paralyzed and cannot use their normal strategies. I would not like to be the Athenians playing with these rules during the Peloponnesian war. As it is now, they do not receive any plus to their ramming die or movement mode that would make them superior to a Corinthian fleet.
Tovrea also does not take into effect any historical limitations. He allows many types of ships to coexist in his rules. Again the ancient authors speak about Dionysius of Syracuse's R & D staff developing the "5" (The Greek 'Penteris' to offset the advantage that the Carthaginians had with their "4." Tovrea does not include the 4 (Tetries) in the rules that is ironic since it was the mainstay of the Rhodian fleet (best drilled and trained fleet during the Hellenistic period) used in the Wars between the Successors and later Rome, yet he allows Rhodian fire pots to be used in the game by anybody!
The rules permit the use of assorted galley hardware. Fighting towers (castles), machines, corvuses. harpaxs, Rhodian fire pots and dolphins are all covered. This leads to another commentary.
Main Objection
My main objection to machines in these rules is that there is no consideration to weight and space in these rules (machines lake up both).
The common weapon carried was the three span arrow shooter. If we can believe the ancient authors. this took up the space alloted for 10 marines. Only the largest warships carried machines. The broad beam and deck space made it easier. There must be some limitations for machines, otherwise players will do what Keith did: load up on missile fire equipment. The age of the gun galley should be still far off.
It is unknown when arrow shooting machines were regularly mounted on ships, but the first mention is in the Inscriptiones Graecae from an Athenian ship shed manifest. This is dated between 330-322. (There is no written proof that Dionysius of Syracuse, Sicily mounted his newly invented arrow shooters on his ships as some historians believe. He did use them as shore artillery against the Carthaginian fleets at the siege of Motya in 397 BC.)
By the battle of Cyprus Salamis (306 BC) both the Antigonids and the Ptolemaic faction had ship mounted machines. Demetrius also introduced stone throwing catapults. These would cause greater execution on the enemy crowded decks then darts. (Stones bounce and roll, causing, additional casualties.
The stone throwers also could throw other things (Hannibal Barca used them to throw vipers on to the Rhodian decks at Sides) but the first use of catapult thrown combustibles are mentioned at Actium 31 BC.
The author also allows the use of the Harpax -- a winch operated catapult fired grapple that allowed the shooter to grapple a ship at distance, then haul it in to waiting boarding party He calls this device "Iron Hands" and it may be used by anvbody. The Harpax's invention was credited to Octavian's admiral Agrippa and it was not used until the battle of Naulochus in 36 BC.
Athens had used catapult fired grapples in battle but lacked the winch. Without the winch to reel in the captured ships, it was useless. The word "Iron Hands" by the way is Greek slang for grapple.
The rest of the rule's Galley hardware: fighting towers. Dolphins, Corvuses, Cataphracts an Ataphract ships, as well the forgotten Lembos. I will cover in my next article.
With some historical modifications, Gavin's already good game can be much better. I'll also give some thoughts on doing that in my next article. Other that these rules are simple useful and handle galley movement without extensive notation. Unlike Ed Smith's Trireme and my rules, Rake, Ram & Board, it's this notation that makes playing galley warfare so tedious. So don't be surprised if you see me running a galley game at the next convention.
The Rules Mare Nostrum and Ships are available from Gavin Tovra at: 1519 Pen Hollow Ct. N. Las Vegas, NV 89030 As yet there are no crew and marine figures for the ships. but the ship are 15 mm scale. so figures are available from Essex Mini-figs and Donnington manufacturers.
Stephen Phenow has a degree inAncient History with an emphasis on Byzantine Studies. He has always found the study of Oared Warfare in Antiquity fascinating. He read Morrison's Greek Oared Ships when he was 15. (He did not totally understand it, but he read it.
He has instructed an elective class on galley warfare, and has writter two sets of Galley warfare rules. His next project is to build Phormio's 22 ship Athenian fleet that foupht at Patras 419BC at the Narrows of the Corinthian Gulf with Gavin's ships Ed
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