Monday, February 21, 2011

a new year dawns


Spring 211 sees the initiative still with the armies of Gaul.

Monday, February 14, 2011

a daring raid turns to ignominious disaster

The tattered remains of the Spanish army, hoping to take advantage of the Gaul's preoccupation with Sicily, launched a sudden attack on Akra Leuke. But they did not account for the Gallic network of messengers and the steely resolve of the Celtic warchief, who shepherded his men aboard ships and raced back to Iberia as swiftly as the wind.

Despite the strong winds that drove their ships, the Gauls reached land safely in time to drive off the few armed bands that were acting in the place of a war host of the Spanish. Scattering in the face of the unexpected Gallic host, the Spaniards became lost and scattered in the hills that they had hoped would shelter them. Terrorized by terrible storms, swept away in flash floods in rocky canyons, few of the Spanish lived to return to their remaining halls. Spain was, for the moment, broken.

New map to follow.

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Carthage pounces! (and a much-needed map update)


Having recently declared war (an announcement deflated by its previous publication by the notorious Julius Assanguinis), Carthage lost no time in pursuing it. The Poeni launch their armies eastward against the Syrcusans. Their army arrives outside the walls of Agrigentum. Will their scouts find the army of the Tyrant their to meet them? Stay tuned!

Friday, February 11, 2011

excitement as armies sweep across the Med!

The army of Gaul, having captured Panormus, advances on Messina. The army of Syracuse retires to its capitol, and the Gauls settle down and start trying to starve out the defenders.

In the meanwhile, to the north, an assault in the pre-dawn darkness captures the gatehouse of the principal Etrurian stronghold and Bruttia takes control of the province.

What will Syracuse do next?

Monday, February 7, 2011

rules interps

I posted these to the Fanaticus thread, but they are buried somewhere in the past, so I'm reporting them here.

I've made one change, marked with asterisks. Players *may* send multiple contingents in a turn (the rules clearly allow this), but if they commit to sending a contingent it counts as sent, whatever the eventual outcome.

DBA Campaign Rules Clarifications/Changes for Punic Peril

Declarations of War

Players can declare war or peace at the beginning of each round (Spring, Summer, Autumn). Declarations should be submitted to the umpire before the first player's orders for that season are posted. The umpire will set a deadline for all “diplomacy” to be concluded before calling for orders.

Any power that has war declared upon it will be considered to be at war with the declaring power without having to make a formal declaration of its own.

Both powers must assent to a declaration of peace.

Movement

Contingents do not lose elements to storms at sea.

Combat

Battles and sieges are resolved in the player turn they are initiated, before the next player's orders are posted and resolved.

Armies and contingents retreating by sea do not lose elements to storms at sea.

Victory conditions are not adjusted for the size of armies; no matter how many elements an army starts a field battle with, it loses once it has lost its general or four elements and has lost more elements than the enemy.

Prestige is not adjusted for the size of armies. No matter how many elements an army starts a field battle with, it earns one point of prestige for each element it eliminates (as defined in the rules) in excess of its losses (plus points for generals and camps as specified in the rules).

Contingents

A player cannot send a contingent to assist another player if his army has already moved that season and either a field battle or a siege resulted.

However, a player may send a contingent if his army remained stationary and conducted a continuing siege or if it moved but no combat resulted.

***If a player commits to send a contingent to assist another player, he is restricted for sending it, whether or not a battle results and whether or not the contingent arrives during the course of the battle.****

A player cannot send an allied contingent to help attack a nation he is not at war with unless he is a tributary and required by his overlord to do so. In such a case, this serves as an automatic declaration of war.

A player may send a contingent to assist in defending against a nation with whom he is not at war. In such a case, this serves as an automatic declaration of war.

Supply

Supply must be drawn at the end of each movement a player executes, before any battle or siege, and at the end of all players' turns in autumn.

A tributary is not required to provide supply to his overlord's army.

Errors in Resolution

If players see an error in post-battle resolution (prestige points, remaining army rosters) they should alert the umpire immediately. If a battle is later resolved using an army list that contains an error from previous resolutions that has not been corrected, the result will stand.

Unfulfilled Losses

If a battle needs to be resolved and an army hasn't pruned additional elements since its last battle (for the loss of a general or camp in a previous battle or from a siege, the umpire will randomly choose the elements to be lost.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

mid-summer madness 212

With Gaul's foothold on the island of Sicily, things look a little different in the Med. Bruttia remains in besiegement of Etruria while Syracuse ponders its next move.