The recent republication by DeCapo of Theodore Ayrault Dodge's famous biographies of Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar was the main inspiration for this effort to devise an elegant and satisfying set of rules for the ancient period. The debates over WRG, DBA, DBM, Tactlca, and others demonstrate both the popularity of the period and the learning of many of those who game it The rule sets I have enjoyed the most are those published in past MWANs by Father Aelred Glidden, dealing specifically with the Peloponnesian and Gallic Wars, and the clash between legion and phalanx.

Last year the Society of Ancients published Philip A.G. Sabin's Legion, a clever and comprehensive volume of rules, with the option of using a map and unit and terrain counters. Also included is scenario information on 36 battles from 490 BC to45 BC. Especially interesting is a matrix which gives each unit type a range of different unit strengths against different defenders. I've adopted that idea, although my matrix reflects my own opinions and prejudices about ancient troops. I've also tried to design a very simple system, with few modifiers, and a different approach to movement and command control. The following rules incorporate design philosophy as well; I hope the game is straight forward enough to be playable from the charts alone. I make no claims to originality.

Unit Organization

Basing Is up to the players, but assumes 2-5 figures on a rectangular stand of about 40 mm in length and 15-30 mm In depth. (As in DBA/DBM.) Other sizes would work just as well, and if your figures are Individually based you can group them on small stands. I base chariots and elephants one per 40x4O mm stand. Stands in contact are all considered one "command" for movement purposes. Combat and terrain may cause a command to become split involuntarily into two or more separate commands, making future moves more difficult.

Celts, Gauls, and most auxiliaries are 'medium infantry." Slingers, velites, and peltasts are lights. I complicate things by treating archers as "light infantry" in melee combat only and as "medium" for all other purposes, such as movement Huge forces are unnecessary. A typical army could have 10-12 heavy infantry units, 6 light, 6 medium (auxillary swordsman or Celts, say), and 4 cavalry. I have tried a number of battles with various combinations of Egyptians, Hittite Nubian Assyrians, Romans, and Greeks. (Not all at once.)

Movement

Nothing should be predictable and certain when it comes to movement or battle. I distrust rules which allow a player to move all his units their maximum rate on every turn. DBA improves on this as a player can only move 1-6 of his commands each turn. However, he still knows his limitation before he moves anyone. My preference is to force players to worry that their present move may well be their last. This is accomplished by requiring a player to roll a six-sided die after every command has been moved. On a "6" his movement phase stops and his opponent begins movement. (A player may of course also stop moving at any time, and must stop once all commands are moved.)

You may have wanted your cavalry on the right and left wings to advance simultaneously, to strike both flanks of your opponent at once. Many commanders have wanted to do this, but it has seldom come off as planned. So here, you may charge your right flank cavalry forward, only to then roll a '6", ending your movement. Your opponent then concentrates his forces on your one, overextended flank, and you're historyl (Then, with the benefit of hindsight the experts can opine, "His plan was an overly elaborate and unrealistic one, and doomed to failure.' Naturally, if you had not rolled that blasted "6", the experts would declare, 'With fine elan and careful foresight, his cavalry enveloped his enemy, and destroyed the haughty host arrayed against him.")

This movement system "simulates" the commander's presence, or at least the focus of his attention and that of his staff. Thus, he is certain to be able to move the first command he selects, but thereafter the possibility of continuing to move grows more remote. Further, a commander is less likely to stick his army's neck out by moving a command forward its full movement distance if he cannot be sure that the nearby but unconnected commands on either side are going to be able to move up to guard its flanks.

In short, I think this movement system is simple, fairly realistic, and provides another excellent excuse if I lose.

Because of the built-in uncertainty of this system, I use fixed movement rates. All cavalry is 12", light infantry 9", and everything else is 6". Rates are halved when in rough terrain. Light infantry and light cavalry may scamper In any direction without worry about facing. All other units must move forward or oblique up to 45 degrees. I use a 3" diameter circle around which units must traipse If they wish to turn. Mark 1" increments along its perimeter. All units may "about face" in place, losing 3" of movement by doing so.

Combat

The special melee modifiers work a bit differently in that the first three can apply to both attacker and defender. Positive modifiers for the defender are the same as negative modifiers for the attacker, and vice versa. (Example: Heavy Infantry attacking light Infantry in rough terrain. The heavy infantry suffers a "-2" and the light infantry enjoys a "I' modifier. The net is a -3 to the attacker. Observe that this exactly cancels the "3" basic melee modifier which heavy infantry normally receives when attacking light infantry.)

The "locked" modifier requires explanation. One possible result of combat is that the units become locked in melee. This on-going struggle, like a rugby serum, may involve a lot of pushing and shoving and jockeying for position. Units with armor and long spears were quite effective at this form of combat Others, such as cavalry or especially chariots, which got a good deal of their original attacking power from the impetus of their charge and the anxiety it produced in their target, suffer if "locked' in a continuing melee. Legions were particularly adept at bringing their reserves forward and resting their front ranks, and so, as the notes indicate, get another "1" modifier when locked.

Units must roll successfully on the "Disengaging from Melee' chart during movement in order to break away from a "locked" melee. Disengagement tests are by unit, not by command.

The "supporting rank" melee bonus is of course essential when dealing with the phalanx or legion of classic warfare. The notes indicate that here is where a phalanx enjoys an advantage, if massed In depth. Naturally, the deeper heavy infantry are massed, the less frontage they can cover, and the more vulnerable will be their flanks.

The 'flank/rear" modifier refers to a bonus accorded the attacker whenever fighting the unit type indicated. Thus, there is a "3" bonus when hitting a heavy unit's flank. Light units effectively have no flanks.

All of these modifiers are cumulative.

The Greeks and Romans employed few if any missile troops, though if you field armies such as the Nubians or Egyptians you will use a good number of archers. Stingers and javelin tossers are of course interesting components of many ancient armies, though not of decisive power, by any means. The 'Missile Range* and "Missile Fire Modifiers" charts are self-explanatory. Note that ranges are halved when the firing unit is mounted or in chariots; (2) all units firing at one target unit shoot together, and "1" is added to the roll for each extra unit shooting, (3) ignore 'locked" and results adverse to the attacker.

After one player's movement is complete, his opponent fires all ranged weapons. Missile units may fire 450 to either side. They may shoot at units in their field of fire which moved Into contact with them that turn, but not if already locked in melee.

All combat, both melee and missile, is resolved by a single D10 die roll and the "Attack Results" chart. A unit recoiling maintains its facing but moves directly away from its attacker I inch. One which flees turns and moves D10 inches away from its attacker. If doing so causes it to collide with other units in its own army, the owner must either cause the friendly units it bumps into to flee also or voluntarily disband the fleeing unit

I try to require units moving forward into melee to "square off" against individual defending units as much as reasonably possible, and do not allow one unit to melee more than one defender in one turn. (Optionally, you could allow successive melees by the attacking unit with a cumulative "-2" for each additional battle that turn.)

Bibliography and Inspiration

The Dodge biographies listed above are profusely illustrated with hundreds of line drawings and maps. The long out-of-print Whitman game, Phalanx, with its geometric cardboard counters, first excited my interest in ancient warfare. (Has anyone else ever played it?) Grant's The Ancient Wargame and Wargame Tactics are guaranteed to kindle enthusiasm for the period. Harkness's Easy Method for Beginners In Latin (1890) has wonderful prints of Roman troops, and I studied it with enormous anticipation in the summer of 1969, eagerly awaiting my first year of Latin. Anyone with an interest in classical warfare or wargaming should join the Society of Ancients and read Slingshot, their bi-monthly magazine which reaches number 200 this fall. The idea of "locked" combat comes from Paddy Griffith's Craonne boardgame in A Book of Sandhurst Wargames, wherein units had a separate -pinned- combat strength. My title, by the way, comes of course from the legend of the young Hannibal Barca swearing an oath of undying enmity toward Rome.

Turn Summary

Players dice for Initiative after set-up.
Player 1 moves, stopping after he rolls a "6", runs out of units to move, or grows weary of movement
Player 2 fires missile units.
Player 2 moves, with the same qualifications as Player 1.
Player 1 fires missile units. Repeat until victory is declared.

Basic Melee Modifiers

Attacker	Defender
	Heavy Infantry	Medium Infantry	Light Infantry	Heavy Cavalry	Light Cavalry	Chariots	Elephants
Hv. Inf.	0	1	3	1	3	3	1
Med. Inf.	1	0	2	1	2	2	1
Lt. Inf.	-1	-1	0	0	0	1	2
Hv. Cav.	0	0	3	2	1	2	-2
Lt. Cav.	-3	-2	-1	-2	0	0	-3
Chariots	1	1	1	1	0	0	-2
Elephants	1	1	0	2	1	2	0

Special Melee Modifiers

Melee Modifier	Heavy Infantry	Medium Infantry	Light Infantry	Heavy Cavalry	Light Cavalry	Chariots	Elephants
Locked	1*	-1	-2	0	-1	-3	-1
Rough	-2	0	1	-2	-2	-3	0
Supporting Rank (each) **	1	1	0	0	0	0	0
Flank/Rear	3	1	0	1	0	3	1

Notes to Charts:

* Legion heavy infantry enjoy an extra "+1" for a total of +2 when locked.

**There is a limit of +2 supporting ranks bonus for most heavy infantry, with the exception of hoplites and phalangites, which can receive up to +3 in rear rank support and, if Thebans, +5. The maximum supporting rank bonus for medium infantry is +1.

Target	Heavy Infantry	Medium Infantry	Light Infantry	Heavy Cavalry	Light Cavalry	Chariots	Elephants
Modifier	-2	-1	-3	2	1	2	2

Missile Ranges (Halved if mounted)
Weapon	Bows	Slings	Javelins
Range in inches	9	6	3

Attack Results
< or = to 1	2	3,4	5,6	7	8+
Attacker Destroyed	Attacker Recoils	Locked	Defender Recoils	Defender Flees	Defender Destroyed

Disengaging from Melee
Disengaging Unit	Heavy Inf ***	Med. Inf	Light inf.	Heavy Cav	Light Cav	Chariots	Elephants
Succeed on	7+	5+	Always	5+	Always	9+	7+

Notes to Charts:

*** Legions are +2 in disengaging, while hoplites and phalangites are -2.