Turn 1. First Operations Phase (Roman)

Transcription

1 any other type of stratagem. The Roman player doesn t purchase any more stratagems due to his low treasury, but the Barbarian rolls a die and also receives one, Agentes. Turn 1 Each turn represents a year, during which a lot can happen. Since this game is one of the Boots system games, chit pulls determine which forces are activated. First Operations Phase (Roman) by E.R. Bickford Production: Lise Patterson 2011 Decision Games Bakersfield, CA. This is a replay of the Mid-4 th Century Scenario of Julian: Triumph Before the Storm (S&T #266). The Roman forces are attempting to consolidate their empire and secure the frontier regions, while the Barbarians, Armenians and Persians are determined to invade and conquer as much as possible of the empire. This scenario lasts nine game turns. The Roman is the first player. The optional rules are being used. During set up the Roman player rolls a d6 to determine his opening treasury points. A one is rolled; so the Romans begin with only 10 TP. Another die roll determines the number of stratagem chits with which the Roman begins play. The roll gives the Romans only one, Imperium. That chit allows a die re-roll, or it can masquerade as The first operation is the Roman Praefecture Oriens Command. That allows the Roman player to activate any of his units within that praefecture. They must remain within the borders of their praefecture. The Romans have the initiative, but with only 10 TP they don t have much to spend on reinforcements; so that option is passed on for now. The Roman commander decides to use his opening to make a preemptive thrust into Persia. The 8-5 Comitatenses uses road movement to advance from Caesarea in Syria to Edessa and then to the south of the Persian garrison at Nisibis. The 3-(3) Rhaetia Army moves to Edessa and then to the Persian border, where it joins a Roman 2-0 garrison. Next the 4-(3) Tinget Army moves into position to attack Nisibis. The Praetorian Guard in Nicea redeploys to Constantinople with Augustus. The Roman player declares combat against the Persian Militia at Nisibis. Though Nisibis is outside the praefecture of Oriens, the Roman player s units may attack as they are still within the praefecture. They will not, however, be allowed to advance after combat if they re successful. Three Roman armies attack along with a militia force. The Persian forces are considered civilized and therefore gain the defensive combat bonus for the city. The combat result is defender routs. The Persian 2-0 unit is eliminated. The Orient Army remains poised to the west of Nisibis, which is now unoccupied. The Roman player collects two stratagem chits at no charge, called for by the combat result. They re chosen randomly; one is Credo and the other is Dux. A1 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

2 Photo 1 T1a Likewise, the Barbarian must discard a stratagem, which leaves him with none. The Roman player decides not to pillage any cities, though his TP are low. That ends the 1 st Operations Phase. The next chit is selected by the Barbarian player. 2 nd Operations Phase (Barbarian) The Caesar chit is selected. That s a Roman chit, and play normally continues with the Romans. Had the Barbarian player expended a Federate chit, he could have played a rebellion using Caesar. Alas, the Barbarian player doesn t have a Federate stratagem. A leader chit can activate itself and any units with which it s stacked. Six points are expended from the treasury to raise a 6-8 field army with Caesar in Mediolanum (Milan). That leaves only four TP in the Roman coffer. Caesar and the new field army move toward the Danuvius River to Augusta Vindelicum (Augsburg). The excellent Roman roads facilitate movement. To the northwest is the city Arae Flaviae (Rottweil). Caesar will launch an attack with his forces against a 6-3 Alamanni warband. That battle devolves into a bloodbath: the Alamanni unit is eliminated and the Thrace 6-5 field army is lost. The Romans don t pursue, and simply remain on the south side of the Danuvius. The Romans could ve advanced into Barbarian Territory, because the Command chit was a leader. 3 rd Operations Phase (Roman) The Alamanni chit is selected. Since it s the Roman turn, that Barbarian Command chit is set aside and there s no activation. 4 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) Persia command is drawn. That s controlled by the Barbarian player, though the Persians are civilized. All Persian units on the map are activated. The Barbarian player builds three units during the reinforcement segment. One 8-5 Persian regular army is built along with two 3-(3) Persian regional armies. Those units are placed in Ctesiphon, which is thereby temporarily overstacked. Then, during the movement segment, two 8-5 field armies cross the Tigris River for an incursion into A2 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

3 4 th Century Roman Victories the Roman frontier. Both units enter Roman ZOC and must attack. The first attack is the Persian 8-5 against the 2-0 Roman militia to the north of the Euphrates River. The result is defender routed. The Roman 2-0 is destroyed. The Persians collect two stratagem chits, Dux and Agentes. The Persia field army pursues. The Romans randomly discard a stratagem (Credo). The second battle rages just to the south of the first. The Roman 2-0 defends south of the Euphrates River, but has the benefit of frontier fortifications, which doubles its strength. The combat result is defender defeated. The Roman 2-0 is eliminated and the Persian army pursues. Next the Persians gain a Military Stratagem while the Romans randomly discard the Dux stratagem. The Persians don t pillage. 5 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Saxons activation chit is selected and has no effect. 6 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) Barbarian Event. A die is rolled on the Barbarian Event Table. The result is: Barbarian Hordes. The Alamanni chit, which was already selected, is returned to the command pool. 7 th Operations Phase (Roman) Gallius Command. Two treasury points are expended (two TP left) to build a 2-0 militia in Lugdunum (Lyon). Then the Gallic 8-5 field army moves along the road from Lugdunum to the Danuvius River and crosses over to occupy the city Arae Flaviae. The 4-(3) Argent regional army moves to the northern end of the Danuvius. An attack is launched against the Franci 2-2 tribal unit across the river. The battle results in defender catastrophe. The Franci are eliminated, but the Roman Britannia Army doesn t pursue, as it may not leave the praefecture. Two stratagems are added to the Roman pile, Dux and Federate. The Barbarians lose two chits, Dux and Agentes. Photo 2 T1b 8 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) Armenia is activated. The Roman player expends his Federate chit and temporarily usurps control of the Armenians. An Armenian 8-5 regular army is built as reinforcement and crosses the Tigris River and pins a Persian army against the Euphrates River. The Armenians attack the Persians. The result is bloodbath. Both sides armies are destroyed. 9 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Romans randomly choose from the command pool. The chit pulled is Crisis Chit, the three VP Curiales Crisis, meaning the municipal officials balk. (Crises markers are optional rules, but they greatly enhance the drama and historicity of the game.) Since the Romans have no Civic Works markers, none are removed. Unfortunately the Romans also lack enough money to build the necessary civic works to end the crisis. That will ultimately give the Barbarian player a credit of -3 VP. (Only the Romans collect VP; so Barbarian VP are subtracted from the Roman total.) 10 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) The Sarmatae become active and build two reinforcement units. Then the Sarmatae move three warbands to attack a Roman 2-0 frontier militia across the Danuvius River. The Romans are doubled by the river, and the battle becomes a bloodbath. The Roman 2-0 militia and the Barbarian 4-5 warband are both eliminated. 11 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Goths command is selected by the Roman player; so it remains inactive. 12 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) Pict command. The Celts raise a warband on the northern side of Britannia. That forces remains idle, though. 13 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Roman player selects the Franci command, which remains inactive. 14 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) Barbarian Event: Omens. A die is rolled and it results in bad omens. The Barbarian discards his last remaining stratagem chit, a Military Stratagem. S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A3

4 Photo 3 T1c 15th Operations Phase (Roman) The Roman player selects the Vandal command marker, a Barbarian chit. Therefore it remains inactive. 16 th Operations Phase (Barbarians) Magister Equitatum. This Roman leader isn t in play yet. There aren t enough TP to bring him into play. 17 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Augustus leader command is selected. The Praetorian Guard Army is deployed with him. Augustus leads his force across the Hellespont and, using Roman roads, he advances all the way to Edessa, where the Persians threaten. No attacks are conducted. 18 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) A Crisis Marker is selected, but since there s already an ongoing crisis, this one is treated as no event. 19 th Operations Phase (Roman) The Alamanni command is selected by the Roman, and thus has no effect. This was the chit that was replaced in the randomizer due to the Barbarian omens event. 20 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) The Mauri command is selected. They re a North African tribe. One reinforcement point allows a warband to be mobilized. That warband advances north to engage the Roman militia on the frontier south of Lepcis Magnus. The battle result is bloodbath, and both the Roman 2-0 militia and the Mauri 2-5 warband are eliminated. 21 st Operations Phase (Roman) The Arab command is selected; so it remains inactive. 22 nd Operations Phase (Barbarian) The Italia Praefecture command is activated. The Romans don t have many TP left; so no reinforcements are raised. The 6-8 Italy Army uses roads to join Caesar along the Danuvius. Additionally, the Libyrrum Army joins Caesar s force. Caesar launches an attack against a 2-2 Alamanni tribal unit across the Danuvius, which results in a defender routed. The Barbarian unit is eliminated, but the provincial command doesn t pursue. As a result of the victory the Roman A4 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

5 4 th Century Roman Victories player adds two more stratagems to his hand, Agentes and Federate. 23 rd Operations Phase (Roman) The Alani command chit is drawn by the Roman player, and is inactive. 24 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) A Crisis chit is pulled and treated as no event. 25 th Operations Phase (Roman) The leader Magister Peditum is selected. That leader isn t in play yet. The Roman player expends his Dux marker to bring him in. The leader is deployed in Argentoratum in Galliea. Magister Peditum advances with the Gallic Army into Arae Flaviae, which is currently unoccupied. That gives the Romans a foothold in Barbarian territory. 26 th Operations Phase (Barbarian) The Roman command Praefecture Illyricum is selected. All Roman units in that praefecture can activate and perform actions within its boundaries. The last two TP are expended to create a militia along the Danuvius. There are no attacks or pillaging. 27 th Operations Phase (Roman) There is an extra phase due to the return of the Alamanni command to the randomizer. The final Crisis chit is selected and is no event. That concludes the Operations Phases. Game Turn Inter-phase All of the Command Chits are returned to the pool. Next the Roman player conducts taxation. In Galliea, 15 TP are collected. Twelve TP are added from Italia. Illyricum brings 10 TP and Oriens 27. That brings the total Roman treasury up to 64 TP. Now both players check for Supply Attrition. It costs the Romans 31 TP to supply all of their forces. That amount is expended, leaving the Roman treasury at 33 TP. An Armenian 4-5 army is operating in Persia and is out of supply in clear terrain. It must roll a 1-3 to survive attrition. A 4 is rolled and the unit is eliminated. A Persian 8-5 army outside of Edessa also evaporates to attrition. The rest of the Barbarian player s units are found to be in supply in their home regions. If the Barbarian player can have a tribal unit stacked with his warbands, he can avoid attrition. Now the players conduct the Crisis Resolution Phase. The Curiales Crisis has occurred. The crisis isn t resolved; so the Roman player doesn t receive those three VP, and the chit is returned to the pool. There are no other penalties to that crisis. The Barbarians collect the three VP for the unresolved crisis. Then game proceeds to turn two. The Roman player has weathered his low TP situation from the start of the game. A Roman army has a toehold in Barbarian territory in the Franci wilderness across the Danuvius River. Though the Romans took some combat losses in Oriens praefecture, Persian and Armenian forces also dried up due to attrition. Turn 2 This turn I will report in a more abbreviated style, focusing more Photo 4 T2a on the main action rather than a blow by blow account. During the Stratagem Phase the Roman player decides to expend four TP to choose two chits. They re Agentes and Dux. The Barbarian player rolls a d6 and gains two stratagems, Federate and Military. Operations Phases The Barbarian player selects the Persia Command during the second operations phase. The Roman player decides to lay down a Federate stratagem. Since the Barbarian player has no antidote, the Romans temporarily gain control of the Persians. A Persian 8-5 army is mobilized as reinforcement. During movement the two 3-(3) regional armies fall back from Ctesiphon toward the eastern border. Next, both of the Persian 8-5 armies move south into the Arabian Desert. The Romans draw the Illyricum Praefecture command. Since there s no leader in that area, there s not much to do. A 2-0 militia in Athenae is withdrawn for redeployment. The Barbarian player uses the Mauri command chit to build 2-5 armies. (This was an illegal move as the Mauri may only build one unit at a time.) Those units advance to contact S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A5

6 Photo 5 T2b with the Roman 2-0 militia in the city of Lepcis Magnus. An attack is launched. The Barbarian player expends the Military stratagem to double the attack factors of his two warbands. The battle results in defender defeated. The Roman militia is wiped out. The Mauri pursue and capture the port. Next the Barbarian player gains a free stratagem, Federate. The Romans lose one, Agentes. The Augustus command activates. The Roman player expends six TP to raise the Thrace Army, a 6-8, in Edessa with Augustus. Then Augustus marches with the Praetorian Army and the Army of Thrace to the threshold of Ctesiphon. An attack is launched against that fortress. The Roman player expends an Imperium chit, employing it as a stratagem, doubling his attack strength. The result is defender routed and the Persian base is eliminated. Augustus pursues and captures the city of Ctesiphon. Then two additional stratagems are selected, Agentes and Military. The Barbarians forfeit a stratagem chit. Next the Roman Player selects the Rhine Frontier Crisis marker. The Barbarians activate the Alamanni and Saxones. The Romans already have the leader Magister Peditum in Arae Flaviae, which is one of the requisites to resolve this crisis. The Alamanni advance with three warbands and attack the Romans at Arae Flaviae. The Saxones also advance against the Britannia Army to the northwest. The Roman player uses his Military stratagem to double the defense strength at Arae Flaviae. The combat result is attacker catastrophe: the Alamanni are wiped out. Because of the catastrophe result, the Barbarian player must roll a d6 for each unit to determine its availability as a reinforcement. He gets lucky and rolls a 1 for two of the units and a 3 for the other, representing the number of turns of delay before they can be rebuilt as reinforcements. The Romans collect two stratagem chits; both are Credo. The Barbarian player loses his last stratagem chit. Another attack is launched by the Saxones against the Roman Britannia Army. Fortunes are now reversed, and the battle results in defender catastrophe. The Roman 4-5 army is eliminated. That unit won t be able to rebuild as until Game Turn 5. The Barbarians advance to the Danuvius. Two stratagem chits are selected, Federate and Agentes. The Romans forfeit their two Agentes markers. A6 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

7 4 th Century Roman Victories Later the Barbarians select the Oriens Praefecture Command and immediately play a Federate Chit. As a result the Barbarians roll a d6 and the Roman player has to eliminate that number of units in the praefecture: one militia unit is eliminated. Then the Barbarian player deploys a Roman rebel unit. That unit is picked at random and turns out to be a 2-(3) regional army. It s deployed at Edessa. Magister Peditum constructs a base in the city of Arae Flaviae. That costs four TP, leaving 50 remaining. In Galliea a militia is raised in Parisii. That costs two TP, leaving 48. Then the Magister Equitatum Command is selected, allowing that leader to enter. The Romans expend 10 TP, leaving 38. He s deployed in Thessalonika. Then three more TP purchase a 3-16 fleet that also deploys at Thessalonika, leaving 35. The Barbarians activate the Vandals, which bring aboard two new warbands. Three Vandal warbands attack the Roman base at Sermium. The result is attacker defeated. Two of the warbands are eliminated and the third retreats. The Barbarian player returns one of the two Agentes stratagem chits to the pool. The Romans select a stratagem, Federate. The Arabs receive a 2-5 reinforcement in the desert. That doesn t pose much of a threat to the Romans. The Roman Italia Command expends four TP (31 remaining) to reinforce the cities of Ravenna and Aquilea with 2-0 militias. Then the Saxones launch an attack against the Roman militia on the Danube to the northwest of Arae Flaviae. The result is a bloodbath. The Romans lose the militia and the Saxones sacrifice a 2-2 tribal force. Due to good omens, the Barbarian player receives another Agentes stratagem. The Romans collect 65 TP in taxes. Added to the current treasury, the Romans have 96 TP. All Roman forces are paid by expending 33 TP. That leaves 63 in the treasury. The two Mauri bands in Lepcis Magnus both pass their attrition die rolls due to the port. In the Arabian desert the two Photo 6 T3a Persian armies are vanquished by attrition. A warband of Vandals is also eliminated. Two Saxones warbands disappear in the barbarian wilderness. The Romans attempt to resolve the Rhine Frontier Crisis. To do that they need a leader in Arae Flaviae and control of the city free of enemy ZOC. Additionally, they expend a Federate stratagem. The crisis is resolved and the Romans collect six VP. The Roman benefit is to eliminate one Alamanni unit and one of the Saxones units. There s only one qualifying unit left to destroy. The turn ends. Turn 3 Starting with 63 TP, the Roman player decides to purchase some stratagem chits to improve his overall situation. Having three chits already, up to seven may be purchased to a maximum of 10. (That s because the Roman player has all four leaders in play.) Thus, 14 TP are expended to draw seven additional chits (49 TP). The Barbarian player rolls a d6 and receives one chit. Operations Phases The Operations Phases resume. The Roman player selects the Mauri tribe in North Africa. He decides to employ a Federate chit to gain control to get them out of Lepcis Magnus. The Barbarian player plays an Agentes marker to negate the Federate chit. The Saxones activate next and add two warbands as reinforcement. The two new units advance to the Danuvius and launch a raid against the Roman 2-0 militia. The Barbarian player employs a Military stratagem to double his combat strength, but the Romans counter by doubling the defense with their own chit. The Romans are defeated and sacrifice a stratagem chit, while the Barbarians gain one. The Saxones choose not to pursue. The Magister Equitatum boards ship at Thessalonika and moves to Cyrene in North Africa. There s already a Roman army there. He will eventually address the Mauri tribe s incursion into Lepcis Magnus. The Romans draw the event: In the footsteps of Trajan. Caesar is activated and advances along Roman roads from Aquinicum, using a Military stratagem to double his movement. The road is followed to Istrus, where Caesar crosses the river and occupies the Goth city of Olbia. That fulfills the objective of the event; so the Roman S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A7

8 Photo 7 T3b rolls two d6 for TP. The result is 11 TP, bringing the Roman total to 60. The Barbarian player is able to activate the Arabs. They build an additional warband. Then the Arabs advance into the city of Palmyra and capture it unopposed. Now the Alamanni bring on reinforcements, cross the Danuvius and capture the undefended city of Aquinicum. The Roman player selects a Random Event that results in Secret History Published. The Romans collect a bonus stratagem chit, Dux. Augustus raises a militia in Ctesiphon, expending two TP (58 remain). Then the Oriens Praefecture activates. Magister Equitatum and the Africa Army advance to the outskirts of Lepcis Magnus. A fleet from Cyrene and another from Cyprus both successfully move to amphibious assault the Mauri units in the port. The Mauri expend a Military stratagem to double their defense strength. That s not enough, and the combat result is defender defeated. A Mauri 2-5 warband is eliminated, and the second warband is destroyed during retreat through ZOC. The Barbarians lose their last stratagem chit and the Romans collect another, Military. Lepcis Magnus is recaptured by the Magister Equitatum. Near Sermium the Sarmatae attack a Roman militia across the Danuvius. The Romans expend a Military stratagem, doubling their defense strength, but it s not enough to defeat the barbarians. The raid is successful and the militia is eliminated. Since the defender is routed, the Barbarians collect two stratagems while the Romans discard two. Next the Vandals launch a raid across the Danuvius that results in a bloodbath. A Roman militia is eliminated along with a Vandal warband. During the last chit draw the Barbarian player selects the Italia Praefecture. Playing the Imperium chit, and using it to masquerade as a Federate chit, he attempts to instigate a rebellion, but the Roman player expends an Agentes chit to negate that effect. The Roman player collects taxes, which brings his treasury up to 118 TP. Then he pays his forces, which leaves 80 TP. The Arabs in Palmyra must roll for attrition, but they survive. A warband of Vandals disappear in the wilderness of the Goths. The Curiales Crisis is unresolved again, and the Barbarians collect another minus-three VP. A8 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

9 4 th Century Roman Victories Photo 8 T4a The turn ends with the Romans reclaiming Lepcis Magnus and captured Nisibis and Olbia. The Barbarians have successfully raided Aquinicum and the Arabs are in Palmyra. Turn 4 The Roman player again purchases his maximum of stratagem chits. The Barbarian player rolls a d6 and gains only one chit, Military. Operations Phases The Roman player expends eight TP to build Civic Works and a 3-(3) regional army in Thessalonika. The regional army advances to the city of Serdica. The Persian chit selection is pre-empted by the Roman play of a Federate chit. The Roman player decides not to build Persian reinforcements, and keeps the tribal units pinned against the eastern map edge, away from Augustus s position at Ctesiphon. The Roman player expends 10 TP to build Civic Works in Roma and Carthago. That leaves 52 TP. The Saxones decide to invade across the Danuvius at Vindobona. Both sides expend Military stratagems, and the Roman militia is eliminated. The Saxones advance into the city and regain their Military stratagem by random selection. The Romans lose their valuable Federate chit. Next, Augustus is activated. He leaves Ctesiphon behind and joins the Tingit and Rhaetia Armies outside Edessa. Edessa is occupied by a rebel army. Both sides expend a Military stratagem. The battle devolves into a bloodbath, and Augustus reclaims Edessa. Magister Equitatum activates with a 6-5 army in North Africa. That force expends a Military chit and traverses the desert to attack the Mauri garrison in Garamanas. The result is defender catastrophe, and the Romans capture the city. The Alani activate and move into the Goth wilderness. They settle for an attack against the Romans in Panticapaeum. The Romans defend with a militia unit and expend a Military stratagem in order to bolster their defense. The result is a defender routed. The Alani capture the city and collect two stratagems. In North Africa the Mauri rise again and defeat a Roman militia on the frontier. That results in an redistribution of stratagem chits. Then the Franci activate. The Romans attempt to usurp, S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A9

10 the Meso regional army, a 2-(3) unit, in Aquilia. It moves to occupy Vindobona. Next the Coloni Crisis occurs: the small farmers rebel. That s worth three VP, and should be easy to resolve, but it will cost the Romans TP. The Roman player expends four TP to build the Argent Army in Illyricum. It moves to deal with the Alamanni at Aquinicum. A militia is built at Vindobona. The Romans attack the Alamanni at Aquinicum. That results in a defender catastrophe. Photo 9 T4b but the Barbarian player expends an Agentes chit. That s then negated by the Roman play of an Agentes chit. The Roman player wins in the end when the Franci attack the Roman forces in Arae Flaviae, an ill-advised attack, and are subsequently routed. In Britannia the Picts attack the Roman militia. As a result, Eboricum falls to the Celts. That city has no tax or VP value, though. The Romans next move is to build Civic Works in Augusta Trevorum, expending five TP. While the Alamanni recruit reinforcements in the wilderness of the Barbarians, the Romans build Civic Works in Constantinople. A 2-0 Roman militia unit is built in Edessa for two TP. Then Augustus and two regional armies move toward Palmyra. An attack is launched to force the Arabs from that city. The combat results in an Arab catastrophe. Augustus marches through the city and reinstalls Roman control. The Romans collect taxes (73 TP). Then the Romans pay their armies (-41 TP). The Barbarians must roll for attrition. The Celts are the only ones affected by attrition, but their two units manage to pass their die rolls. Finally the Romans resolve the Curiales Crisis, as they have deployed the necessary Civic Works. As a reward, several additional Civic Works markers are deployed, and the Curiales chit is removed for three Roman VP. At this point the Romans are winning with a commanding lead. The Barbarian player needs to be more aggressive in getting into the empire and taking cities. It would not hurt for the Barbarian to begin the turn with more than one stratagem chit. Turn 5 It s Turn 5 and the Alamanni raise three warbands in an attack against Colonia Agrippina. The Romans use a Military stratagem, but the battle results in a bloodbath. The Argent regional army is eliminated, and the Barbarians capture the city. The Romans construct a militia unit in Palmyra. Magister Equitatum recruits a militia in Garamanas (58 TP remain). In North Africa the Mauri rise up and launch an attack against the weakly held Roman port of Cyrene. The attack is turned back, and the Mauri warband is eliminated. In Italia the Romans player takes control of the Saxones with a Federate chit, and he moves them back into the Barbarian wilderness. That leaves the city of Vindobona unoccupied. Then the Romans build In northern Britannia the Celts attack the Roman militia. That results in a defender routed, which allows the Barbarians to pick two stratagem chits, Federate and Imperium. The Romans lose a stratagem. In Galliea, the Romans build the Britannia Army (48 TP). Then an attack is launched against the Alamanni at Colonia Agrippina. The Barbarians expend an Imperium chit as a Military stratagem, doubling the defense strength. The result is bloodbath. The Barbarian hordes are eliminated. Because the previous battle left no units in the city from either side, the Barbarian player is able to occupy Colonia Agrippina with the Franci. The Romans collect 72 TP in taxes and spend 42 on the army. All the Barbarians are in supply except for the Pict in Britannia, but they re in a city and pass their attrition die rolls. The Roman player determines he can resolve the Coloni Crisis. Augustus is in Constantinople, and the Roman player deducts 20 TP, thereby resolving the crisis and obtaining three VP. The Romans still have 58 TP. Turn 6. The Romans spend six TP to bring their stratagem hand up to the maximum of 10. The Barbarians finally obtain a good die roll and collect six chits. The Romans build two regional armies in Galliea, expending eight TP. Additionally, a Credo chit is played to collect two chits from the Barbarian hand. Then the Romans launch an attack against the Franci at Colonia Agrippina. Both sides play a Military stratagem. The battle results in defender catastrophe. The Franci are wiped out and the Romans capture the city. A10 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

11 4 th Century Roman Victories Photo10 T6a Now the Persians become active again. Two regulars are built, and they converge on the Roman Orient Army in Nisibis. The battle results an a bloodbath, and both sides lose one unit. The Persians recapture the city. The Alamanni recruit two warbands and launch an attack against the militia across the Rhenus River. The barbarian tribe is defeated. (Both sides expended military stratagem chits.) After that the Romans select the Pay the Troops event. A total of 18 TP are expended. That leaves 34 in the Roman cache. The Romans decide to rebuild the Orient Army in Edessa. Then an attack is launched against the Persians in Nisibis. The Roman attack is successful, and the Persian 8-5 is eliminated. Nisibis again falls to the Romans. The Romans collect a stratagem, Federate. Another crisis occurs in the imperial court: Cubicilliari. To resolve it the Roman must place Augustus in Constantinople and expend an Agentes chit. The Augustus is already in Constantinople, and the Roman player has an Agentes chit; so he s hopeful. In Africa the Mauri flare up and launch an attack with the 2-5 warband against the Roman 2-0 militia in Cyrene. The Mauri win that battle, wiping out the Roman troops. Cyrene falls to the Mauri. The Barbarian player gains a Federate chit, while the Romans lose a Dux chit. The Barbarian player attempts to disrupt the Romans using the Federate chit on the Illyricum command, but the Roman player counters with the play of an Agentes chit. There are no actions in that region, but in Africa, Magister Equitatum moves with the African Army to the outskirts of Cyrene. A Military stratagem allows doubled movement. An attack is launched against the Mauri, and a bloodbath results in wiping out both sides. The leader and his small force advance into Cyrene. The Pict become active, and the Roman player expends a Federate stratagem to usurp control. One of the warbands moves to the northern part of Britannia, while the other makes an ill-advised attack against Londinium. The Celts are destroyed, and the Romans get to select two stratagem chits, Credo and Military. A Roman 8-5 army continues in Olbia. The Gothi tribes launch a massive attack on the city. Despite the Roman play of a Military stratagem, the battle devolves into a bloodbath. The Roman S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A11

12 Photo 11 T6b Illyricum Army is eliminated, and the Gothi sacrifice a warband and a tribal unit. Olbia reverts to Barbarian control. The Romans collect 79 TP in taxes. Then 34 TP are spent on supply, leaving 79 TP in the treasury. A 6-3 Alamanni warband disappears in the Saxones wilderness. The Cubicilliari Crisis is resolved, and the Romans choose bonus Stratagem chits. They happen to be two Federate chits. Turn 7 The Romans purchase stratagem chits. The Barbarians roll a d6 for the same. Then, during operations, Caesar s command is activated. The Barbarians attempt a usurpation with a Federate chit, but that s countered by the Roman play of Agentes. Caesar builds militia in Istrus and then moves out with the Praetorian Army. They advance to Trapezus. The Magister Equitatum builds the Africa Army in Cyrene. The Barbarian player selects an event that turns out to be the Plague. After the dice roll, both players lose four units. The Romans lose both of their Dux chits, and the Barbarian player forfeits all his remaining chits. The rest of the Operations Phases are skipped as a result of the Plague. The Romans collect taxes (132 TP), and then pay their troops. Turn 8 Due to the Plague event, the campaigning last turn was limited. The Roman treasury is high. Three stratagem chits are purchased, while the Barbarians gain six stratagems due to their die roll. The Gothi launch a double invasion across the Danuvius. In both cases, Military stratagems are employed and the Barbarians are defeated. Caesar builds a regional army and then advances with a field army to the outskirts of Phasis in Armenia. He launches an attack that results in the capture of that city. Later the Barbarian player rolls the Earthquake event. These prove to be apocalyptic times. A dice roll of eight causes a vast loss of life across the Roman Empire and into the Barbarian tribal areas. The Barbarians also forfeit their last stratagem, but the Romans must lose six. The Operations Phases come to a dramatic halt. The Romans collect taxes and pay their troops, leaving 113 TP. There are no attritional losses. A12 S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011

13 4 th Century Roman Victories Turn 9 Again the Romans decide to purchase stratagems up to their maximum limit. A die roll of one gets the Barbarian player only one. The Barbarian player has been unlucky with his overall die roll results for stratagems. While Augustus drives into Persia with his armies, the Goths attack across the Danuvius. Though both sides take loses, the Goths manage to capture Adrianople. Then the Vandals manage a raid into Augusta Vindelicum. Playing a Military stratagem, the barbarians double their strength and destroy a Roman Regional army and force another to retreat southward. Due to disease, the Alans don t activate this turn. Then the Romans gain control of the Armenians, which leads to a risky attack that destroys the Armenian Army. Caesar launches an attack with his Praetorian Army against the Armenians in Artaxata. Using a Military stratagem, Caesar doubles his strength and the Armenian base is eliminated in what amounts to an Armenian catastrophe. The Saxones launch an attack across the river and dislodge the Roman militia from the city of Vindobona. The battle is a Roman catastrophe; so they lose stratagem markers while the Barbarians gain them. In North Africa the Mauri attack the Roman militia in Garamanas. The Romans are destroyed and the Mauri reclaim their city. The game ends and the Romans win a Divine Victory. One key mechanic is the awarding (and forfeiture) of stratagems as a result of combat. While the Roman can purchase stratagems, the Barbarian must even that out by carefully planning battles he can win. Photo 12 T9a Photo 13 T9b S&T 266 AFTER ACTION REPORT jan feb 2011 A13