Introduction & Historical Notes

When researching and designing an ancients game, which SoJ certainly is, alternate historical interpretations can be explored. Furthermore, this First Assault Period Scenario is a kind of “Full Siege Game” unto itself, resolvable in a single Assault Period.

So if you and your opponent(s) don’t have time or inclination to play a “Full Siege Game” through, this should serve as something of an alternative. It will certainly reveal insights to many “Full Siege Game” playing considerations and provide a gaming session with the full scope and grandeur of attacking one of the Ancient World’s best fortified cities… Jerusalem! The design of the boxed Avalon Hill SoJ “Full Siege Campaign Game” allows the Romans complete freedom of action in deciding how much time to spend mining. With experience, many Roman Players will elect to use as little time possible, expressed in “weeks before Assualt” on SoJ’s Preparation Chart to achieve 3 or 4 main mine shafts as preparation for the 1 st Assault Period. In this respect the Roman Player is in the role of Titus. However, with this scenario we’ll put the Roman Player in the role of Titus’ Chief of Staff, Tiberius Alexander, and compel closer adherence to Titus’, as well as many of this officers, historical attitude towards Jerusalem and its Judean defenders.

This does not invalidate the “Full Siege Campaign Game’s” design approach. It is, along with Judean “Increased Factionalism” rules built into this “First Assault Period” scenario, another alternative interpretation of the event. These two new design elements are:

1 Roman Confidence:

Many of the legionnaires, as well as their officers, believed either through a misguided interpretation of Jerusalem’s defenses, their enemies’ capabilities and determination, or just plain arrogance, that four fully readied Imperial Roman Legions would swiftly crush Judean resistance within the city. Consequently, little time was spent “Preparing” (at least in relative SoJ game terms).

2 Increased Judean Factionalism:

Although we won’t go so far as having different factions actually fight one another; there’s little doubt that historically Judean factions’ concern with politics external to the fight against Rome did impact Rebel military effectiveness. In this scenario’s interpretation, no neighborhood of the city wishes to be without defenders and vociferously protests reduction or loss of their protection.

This is reflected by the Inactive/ Active Factions & Judean Initial Placement rules. The Romans’ knowledge of the Judean initial placement’s basic pattern reflects that they have some idea of their enemy’s deployment through their own observations, spies, and/or Judean Roman-Sympathizers.

Roman & Judean Forces with their Set-Up on Map

1 Refer to “The Full Siege Campaign Game” Card provided with SoJ for both sides Order of Battle details.

2 Conduct the Card’s set-up steps 3 (Judean secretly records artillery positions) and then step 5 (Roman sets-up units on or off map) only.

3 The Roman Player may now complete one main mine shaft resolution. There are no Judean repairs possible. No other “Assault Period Interphase” actions take place. Use regular SoJ mining rules.

4 After the Romans have set-up and resolved their one main mine shaft, the Judeans place their surviving artillery in their pre-recorded positions and place their four factions units on the map, one faction for each listed deployment zone:

4.1 The deployment zones are

4.1a New City

4.1b Antonia Fortress / Temple Quarter / City of David

4.1c Lower City

4.1d Upper City / Herod’s Palace / Fortress Triangle / Yafo Gate Complex

4.2 Every gate, bastion, and fortress hex of a deployment zone’s external-to-Jerusalem wall perimeter must, if possible, be occupied by at least one Judean unit. Garrison (purple) units may fulfill this requirement, as permitted, in lieu of faction units. The Judean Player may assign Zealot 7-7 units, as desired, to supplement a faction’s 5-7’s & 2-6’s.

4.3 The Judeans must also garrison, with at least one unit, all internal gate hexes leading into a deployment zone. Should one of these gates be garrisonable by more than one faction, which faction occupies it is the Judean Player’s choice.

4.4 After all garrison hexes are occupied by at least one Judean unit of any type, excess units may be added to each hex at the Judean Player’s discretion per stacking limits.

5 Special Rules: Inactive / Active Judean Factions

To reflect the Judean forces’ poor threat response times due to command control problems in this scenario, not reflected in the regular “Full Siege Campaign Game”, all faction units are inactive at the start of play. Zealot units and artillery are exempt from this restriction. Inactive faction units, 5-7’s, 2-6’s and their Leaders, are flipped to their disrupted side to indicate this status.

5.1 A faction is immediately activated, with all its units free to move and fight normally, the instant one of its units is attacked by fire or melee combat (can effect only a single inactive faction) and/ or a Judean Rally Phase begins with…

5.1a An area of Jerusalem under Roman control (effects all inactive factions) or

5.1b A Roman unit occupies any interior hex of The Temple Quarter (effects all inactive factions), or

5.1c Any Roman unit is within three hexes of one of a particular faction’s initially deployed units. In this case, all of that faction’s units are activated (only effects the units of the faction(s) within range of the triggering Romans).

5.2 An inactive faction may partially mobilize its units during each Judean Rally Phase

5.2a If there’s at least one Roman unit within any Jerusalem area’s exterior wall perimeter (Temple Quarter exempted, since as noted before, a Roman unit within its wall perimeter activates everything), each faction with inactive units makes a 2 dice roll.

5.2b Otherwise, a faction makes a one die mobilization die roll each Judean Rally Phase, starting with Turn One.

5.2c The result of a mobilization die/dice roll is the number of inactive faction units flipped to their fresh side. The units may be freely selected by the Judean Player from those eligible. They may then move and attack normally.

6 Victory Conditions

The Romans automatically lose the game, resulting in a Decisive Judean win, if they sustain 400 or more casualty victory points. The Roman Army mutinies after such grievous casualties (see SoJ rule 18.91).

Otherwise, this scenario’s victory conditions strictly pertain only to the percentage of Jerusalem under Roman control at play’s end.

Percentage of Jerusalem under Roman control (see “First Assault Period Scenario” - Victory Condition Result Rule 18.6 for each area’s value):

25%: or more: Roman Decisive Victory: Titus' Legions are home before Spring's end.
20%: Roman Substantive Victory: The Legions are home before Summer's end.
15%: Roman Marginal Victory: The Legions may be home by Fall.
10%: Judean Victory & Historic Result: It's gonna be a long hard siege with many Legionnaires never seeing home again. Survivors lucky to be home by Christmas / Saturnalia.

7 Time Limit:

Play the “First Assault Period” scenario as a regular “Full Siege Game” Assault Period insofar as its time limit is concerned (SoJ rule 18.1).

Players Notes

Here are some broad observations from prior playings of this scenario. A Decisive Roman Victory, what Titus was going for historically, seems to have three possible strategies:

A) Capture New City and, believe it or not, The Lower City: This isn’t as bad an approach as it may initially seem, although the Romans will have to move fast and hope for some poor Judean faction activation and Reserve Release die/dice rolling for this to really work.

B) Assault the Temple through its eastern exterior and northern (via New City) walls: This strategy will likely result in a bloodbath of problematic outcome for the Romans since this scenario provides but a single main mine shaft.

C) Capture New City, Tyropean City, and Herod’s Palace: This seems doable, but Roman resources and the scenario’s time limit make this a “toughie”.

The difficulty of achieving a Roman Decisive Victory, controlling 25% of the city, is as it should be. This goal seemed so elusive that the group with whom I playtested this scenario believed it best for the Romans to be content to strive for a Substantive Victory: 20% control of Jerusalem. This is still no easy task, but seems more attainable.

Our strategy duplicated Titus’ historical approach. All four Legions are flung at New City, with forces directed to impede the flow of Judean reinforcements by seizing and blocking key wall and road hexes. This isolates New City’s sparse defenders. Moving swiftly across New City’s open ground and roads, the Romans should be able to strike Tyropean City’s walls by Turn Four or Five and hopefully take control of that city area by Assault Period end.

The Romans did decline the Judeans kind offer to concede New City (SoJ rule 18.11) and immediately conclude the Assault Period. Of course, should you as the Roman Player succeed in grabbing control of Tyropean City at the end of any Judean Melee Phase while simultaneously holding New City, end the Assault Period instantly per rule 18.1… certainly do so if the goal is a Substantive Roman Victory.

An alternative strategy is going for New City and Herod’s Palace for the Marginal Victory.

Both sides should notice that with “The First Assault Period” scenario’s restrictions on Judean units’ initial placement, it’s possible for the Romans to escalade attack up some Jerusalem exterior walls on the game’s very first turn.

I will leave observations and suggestions concerning the Judean side for this scenario to others. Judean Players should take heart as “The First Assault Period” scenario is designed to reflect historical forces in place. It isn’t that easy for your Roman Player adversaries to do better than Titus did in 70 A.D., he only took New City, but it is possible to do better, so watch out!

The Siege of Jerusalem: 70 AD Scenarios

Introduction
1: The Rebellion
2: Delayed Rebellion/Quick Roman Response
3: The First Assault Period

The Siege of Jerusalem Review and Analysis
The Siege of Jerusalem: Designer's Notes
Jerusalem and Matthew 19:24 : Camel Through Eye of Needle