It's hard to believe that it has been so many years since De Bellis Antiquitaris (DBA) first hit the wilds of Minnesota. In those years, I went from a total disinterest in Ancients games to writing the rules for and running campaigns using the De Bellis Multitudinis rules to resolve all land battles. The rules set that started that change was DBA; now it's back.

The following is a review and reaction to the latest version of DBA.

What's New?

The DBA Battle Rules have some significant changes in the latest version. I'll list them (with some commentary) in the order in which they occur in the rules. Hopefully, I got them all.

1. War Wagons can shoot. By allowing the element to extend its strength, the WWgs is a stronger element. This gives the player the ability to use the WWg in a more aggressive manner.

2. Moving Elephants requires the expenditure of an extra PIP. This will certainly take some flexibility out of those armies that feature the pachyderms. I suspect that this means that Elephants may prove easier to counter and eliminate.

3. The wording about breaking off from elements in contact has changed from verbose to terse. It would have been better changed from obtuse to explanatory.

4. The, for want of a better phrase, Zone of Control has changed from four inches to 40mm (for 15mm elements). This should significantly help those armies or elements that depend upon their speed to get into and out of trouble, and may open the field of play somewhat.

5. The speed for Light Horse on roads has increased. So what? This could be some subtle psychological ploy on the part of Barker and Scott to make Light Horse armies tie themselves to roads.

6. Warbands can support each other. This is great news for the Warband fans out there. On the other hand, the Romans and other Blade armies or those armies that made extensive use of Auxiliaries to counter the Warbands can look forward to greater difficulties. On the down side for the Warband armies, supporting Warbands decreases the area that the battle line can cover and may present some flanks for exploitation.

7. Troops moving into contact with War Wagons can give support, while those that first move into contacl with the other shooting elements can not. Why? Maybe this is a miscue on the part of Barker and Scott.

8. Flanking units that lose a combat are forced to recoil. I like this.

9. The definition of overlap has been modified to mirror that in DBM. Good.

10. Note the disappearance of the phrase "most dangerous opponent" in the Combat Outcome section. This means that those Elephant-killing Psiloi are going to have to stand in front of the Elephant!

11. If the die roll of the victor is greater than that of the loser, Elephants are also destroyed by Auxilia and Light Horse. Admirers of Elephants beware!

12. If the die roll of the victor is greater than that of the loser, Knights are no longer eliminated by Artillery. However, I don't feel any greater impetus to charge the Artillery.

13. If the die roll of the victor is greater than that of the loser, Auxilia are no longer killed by Scythe Chariots.

14. If the die roll of the victor is greater than that of the loser, War Wagons are only destroyed by Artillery or Elephants.

15. If the die roll of the loser is half or less that of the victor, Light Horse are eliminated by War Wagons. I can see it now - the next KILLER army - the Hussite armies.

16. If the die roll of the loser is half or less that of the victor, Psiloi are not killed by just any Mounted. Psiloi shoutd prove to be a bit more resilient.

17. Warbands that support other Warbands are eliminated when the supported element is eliminated.

That seems to be the extent of the changes to the Battle Rules. To me, the big winners in the version 1.1 sweepstake seem to be Warbands and War Wagons. The big losers - Elephants. Armies with speed should also perform better under these rules.

Campaign Rules Changes

DBA version 1.1 also introduces some changa to the Campaign Rules. These are:

1. All players secretly declare war in the Spring Round. I guess this means that players are restricted to declaring war once per year.

2. A city under siege can not serve as a source of supply. Make sense to me.

3. There is a list of cans and cannots for allied contingents. Actually, including these seems like a reaction to some rules lawyer to me.

4. Be very careful to read the Tributary Rulers and Conquest sections. There are no more provisos for players that are knocked out of the game, which eliminates my usual mode of play. In addition to the old standard of asking to become a vassal, players can become tributaries through conquest. I especially like the fact that tributaries can declare their independence when their overlord loses two consecutive battles.

The Campaign Rules are better, and that's enough.

Finally, DBA 1.1 contains a lot of changed army lists, too. I reviewed 30 of the armies that I have played with or against. In that sample, I found that about 90 percent of the lists were changed.

Great Expectations

DBA 1.1 not mod my expectations and bothered me in some ways. I would have liked more visual examples. I would also like someone to give the Barker/Scott team's work a good rewrite and edit for the American audience. By the simple expedient of using a smaller font size, the authors could have used more words in the same space or added more examples. I certainly would have been willing to pay for more pages of good material.

I would dso like to know what happened to the Possible Game Variants and the Battles With 7th Edition Armies sections from the onginal rule set. I used all of the variations and the battles rules. Of course, the battles rules became DBM, but there are still the unconverted out there...

My Unmet Expectations were:

I would have liked a clear explanation of the steps needed to convert B DBM army list to a DBA army list. I think I have a rough understanding; four two figure DBM elements for a single two-figure DBA element, five three- figure DBM elements for a single three figure DBA element, and six four-figure DBM elements for a single four figure DBA element. However, some further guidance would have been appreciated.

I would also like to have Hordes included as a troop type in DBA. This is easy to add, particularly for those familiar with DBM and Hordes of the Things:

Description: HORDES, including all umvilling or incompetent foot, brought to swell numbers and/or perform menial tasks. They are attracted by desperation, religious or political fanaticism, or grecd. Examples include Crusader pilgrims, Sassanid levy spoars, and so forth. PIP Expenditure: Replacing an eliminated Horde costs 1 PIP. The replaced Horde reappears adjacent to its camp; if this is not possible, anywhere on their base edge. They can then use other PlPs to move. Combat Factor: Hordes -2 against all. Combat Outcome: If the elements total is less than, but more than half, Hordes are destroyed by Scythe Chariots, Elcphants, Knights, or Warbands if in good going. If not, recoil.

I would like a point system. To put it simply, I don't like sides with an equal number of elements. There has to be some way to assign some worth to the elements for points. My suggestion is a variant of that used in Hordes of the Things:

4 AP for Elephants, Artillery, Scythe Chariots, and War Wagons.
3 AP for Knights, Cavalry, Camelry, Pike, Spears, and Blades.
2 AP for Light Horse, Warbands, Auxilia, and Bows.
1 AP for Psiloi, and Hordes

Players can agree on the number of AP in an army; I suggest 24 to 30.

Also, change the victory conditions to reflect the point system. An army loses when its general or a third of its AP are eliminated and has lost more AP then its enemy.

Closing Shots

Frankly, I can't wait for my next campaign. This time, I'll use DBA 1.1 as the tactical rules set. But I'll also add my personal touches.

My recommendation to my friends - buy the new rules. DBA 1.1 is an improvement over the original, it's just lacking a few things. It's still the best game around to introduce others to Ancients miniatures, and it's a short step from DBA to DBM.