Proposed DBM V 2.1 Amendments

Explanation

© by P. Barker and R. Bodley Scott 1998


The authors permit this document to be freely copied, but not altered in any way.

  • PLAYING AREA. Amendment allows the terrain rules to work correctly for 25mm competition games on 6' x 4' tables, and incidentally allows the same terrain pieces to be used as for 15mm games.
  • Reduced AP cost of Expendables and Psiloi (X). [It is our deliberate intention that Expendables and other wacky troop-types should not be fully cost-effective. We do not want to over-encourage their use - they were only used occasionally even in most of the armies that are allowed them in their lists. However, we do agree that 10 points for expendables was somewhat paranoid.]
  • Double-based elements specified in the army list books get their AP cost adjusted: Rear rank element costs 2 less than normal if Regular, 1 if Irregular. [NOTE: The points deductions for double based troops only apply if double bases are specified in the army list books. They do not apply to troops double based SOLELY from the players' choice - i.e. not specified in army list book. If the army list book specifies optional double-basing (e.g. Classical Indian, Burgundian Ordonnance), then the deduction does apply. Some cases that will be clarified by 2nd Edition list books: Nan Chao Pk (X)/(I) will no longer be specified as double-based in 2nd edition list, so do not get the deduction. Neo-Babylonian archers upgraded to (X) can be double based with (O), in which case the (O) get the deduction. ]
  • TF compulsorily defending camp cost only 1AP.
  • Changes to terrain rules include:
    • More terrain on the edges, less in the middle.
    • Invader can place road and 0-4 steep hills. [The increase is to compensate for the fact that the invader will no longer be able to place 6 half-equivalent hills - see below. It will allow him to place a maximum of 3 small, 1 medium and 1 large steep hill and those each have 2/3 chance of being placed on the table edge . A series of test dicings demonstrates that this produces terrains where the narrowest gap in the centre of the table between the hills is usually > 1800 paces, and there is usually scope for at least one viable off table flank march.]
    • Defender must dice and score 5 or 6 to choose a waterway unless it is compulsory. [Failure represents the situation where a defender was hoping to give battle near a waterway, but the invader struck inland and forced the defender to move inland to intercept him elsewhere.]
    • Hills blocking waterway placement are moved to allow waterway to be placed.
    • Defender cannot put a BUA on the opposite flank from an invader-placed waterway.
    • Defender cannot block off half the table by a maximum size WW, BUA and enclosed field. The combination cannot now encroach beyond the flank sector.
    • Rivers cannot meander sufficiently to prevent troops crossing.
    • Transverse rivers are 1 point easier. [They are more likely to be tributaries].
    • To improve terrain variety, no player can place more than 3 features of the same feature equivalence (size) and going.
  • Baggage must be deployed in sensible formations.
  • Ambushes can only be in flank sectors or in a player's deployment area, and cannot be in BUA. [This follows from a historical literature search carried out by Phil, which reveals that most ambushes were on flanks. BUA do not appear to have been used for ambushes - there is one instance of an ambush being made from a tree-filled ruined stadium, but that could be regarded as a wood rather than a BUA. It will prevent the unrealistic use of ambushes in the centre of the battlefield to prevent march moves or to force enemy to make unreliable allies reliable. It will also encourage both sides to attempt to contest any terrain in the centre of the battlefield - a common historical occurrence, often escalating into a full-scale battle.]
  • PIP penalties changed so that irregular LH & Ax can move with slower troops without penalty.
  • Break off moves must be at least 100p.
  • Wide group moves into contact with enemy in difficult going are possible if all elements have enemy visible to their front. [This prevents combats in difficult going becoming completely bogged down by lack of PIPs, although the approach march will usually be penalised.]
  • Light Horse now conform to enemy groups contacting them even if in a group, as previously did psiloi. As previously applied only to psiloi, they are not destroyed if other skirmishers are pushed back into them when facing another direction, but are pushed back instead. Both types of skirmisher now only conform if the enemy group is larger. [The purpose of this change is to prevent blocks of 2 LH elements placed at an eccentric angle from indefinitely delaying an infantry advance. The main side effect is that a LH group no longer suffers so greatly when being attacked in the flank. It is also possible for enemy cavalry to kill more than one enemy LH element by attacking them at a funny angle so that if they double them they kill two elements instead of one, but only if they do so with a group larger than the group of LH. Our own playtesting suggests that these advantages and disadvantages largely cancel out, the overall effect being to slightly improve the usefulness of LH.]
  • Chariots etc. can charge out of rough or difficult going, but can only move as single elements in both.
  • Bowmen and Artillery (X) move 100p. [Consequences: Indian armies will lumber along slowly as historically. Japanese blades in light armour will move faster than the bows, who are in the traditional heavy armour. English mounted longbowmen will have a more pronounced mobility advantage over unmounted.] [For those who have suggested Bw (F), we think all potential Bw (F) candidates are covered by Ps (O).]
  • War-wagons, artillery etc. move 50p in difficult going.
  • SPONTANEOUS ADVANCE. Target is now the "closest enemy element of which it is aware, measuring between furthest apart front corners". [This does allow some minor anomalous situations but has the virtue of being unambiguous.]
  • Demoralised general loses his +1 general's combat bonus. [But does not get -2 for being demoralised].
  • Troops shooting to or from a wood get -1 tactical factor. [We are aware that this make Bw duels in woods deadly, but the rationale is that in these close and confused circumstances one side or the other is more likely to panic than in the open.].
  • Demoralised troops get -2 when being shot at, but not when shooting without being shot back at.
  • Paltry river does not give -2 to spears, pikes etc.
  • Bowmen (S) & Artillery (S) get +1 on winning score, even against artillery and elephants.
  • Knights are not destroyed by bowmen (S) on less if they contacted them in flank or rear.
  • Shoulders of death perpetrator destroyed, but element recoiling in a gap from a flanked enemy element does not destroy the enemy element on the other side of the gap.
  • Demoralised flank marchers only flee towards the flank table edge if they successfully flank marched - i.e not if they were driven on to the table by an enemy flank march.
  • If a defender chooses to give battle near a BUA, he must defend it or suffer morale consequences. (4 element equivalents added to total army losses if enemy penetrate to centre of BUA). [We recognise that there could be some dispute over the position of the exact centre of an irregularly shaped BUA. However we feel that this should be resolvable without too much difficulty in most cases by the invader moving his element through the centre point as specified (within reason) by the defender, or (in competition games, if the defender is unreasonable) by the umpire. We did contemplate requiring the BUA to have a clearly marked centre point, but felt that this would be open to greater abuse in giving defenders scope to pre-mark an incorrect centre point.]
  • Baggage camps must contain baggage!

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