Imperium Romanum II - The Year of The Four Emperors: Upcoming!

[Ironclad]

Thanks, looking forward to reading that. Just a thought but would it be helpful to mention that you are now recruiting in the heading,

[anderarcos11]

I am also interested in playing this campaign.

[SpeedyCM]

Oh man I loved this board game back in the day, I still have it minus the box in a drawer next to mu PC (can't recall what exactly happened to the box).

Definitely interested in participating on this.

[carpenkm]

count me in too. the choice of campaign is great

[kronenblatt]

Great! I've put you on the list in the opening post, along with an updated intro and RECRUITING in the subject.

[Karvon]

I'd be interested in this. I'd lean towards Sassanids, but Goths would be alright; I'm not interested in playing the Romans.

Karvon

[kronenblatt]

I'd be interested in this. I'd lean towards Sassanids, but Goths would be alright; I'm not interested in playing the Romans.

Karvon

Thanks, Karvon: added you to the list. Once we're approaching launch, I'll ask you all to submit your 1-2-3 wish list of the three factions and then start doing the puzzle...

[kronenblatt]

Overview

• This campaign covers the period after the middle of the fourth century AD when Rome had to face threats from the Sassanid Persians and their Armenian client kingdom in the east as well as from the Goths along the lower Danube frontier, culminating in the defeat at Adrianople in 378 AD.

• Each of the players belong to one of three factions: Goths (Grey), Romans (Purple), and Sassanids (Green), co-operating within their factions and dividing up commands among themselves, while fighting the other two factions.

• The campaign lasts for a maximum of twelve rounds (starting to count after the first engagement of the campaign has been fought), but will end earlier as soon as (at the end of a round) one of the three factions claims victory through fulfilling its victory conditions:
  • Goths: Control at least four provinces originally controlled by the Romans and with all Gothic armies located in any of these controlled provinces.
  • Romans: Control at least two provinces originally controlled by the Sassanids and there being no enemy armies located in any of its originally controlled provinces.
  • Sassanids: Control at least four provinces originally controlled by the Romans and still control all its own originally controlled provinces.

• If none of the factions has fulfilled its victory conditions after twelve rounds, the winner will be the faction with the highest number of won engagements.

Map

• The campaign uses the map from the Imperium Romanum II board game, of which parts of the west have been made inactive and off-limits (at least at start), as indicated by the whitened area (picture download link).
  • In addition, the province of Armenia can not be entered by Roman or Gothic armies (even though counts as originally controlled Sassanid province) until a Sassanid army is located in Armenia (whether started, raised, or moved).
  • At such time the province of Armenia becomes accessible to all factions, like all other active provinces.
  • Thus, it is the Sassanid faction and its player(s) who through their actions control whether (and when) the activation of the province of Armenia is triggered or not.

• The map is drawn at a scale of 1:5,000,000, with each hex being approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) across.

• Provinces in which it is always summer (and thus never winter) are marked with a small sun symbol next to the province's name on the map.

• Towns and cities are represented on the map as red dots and circles, respectively.
  • Towns or cities being the capital of a province is printed in CAPITAL letters on the map.
  • If a town or city hex has spikes radiating from the center of the hex but none radiating upper-left ("10 o' clock"), the town or city does not exist for the purposes of this campaign.
    • This corresponds to period 5 of the Imperium Romanum II board game.
    • For example, both of Adrianopolis and Constantinopolis exist, while none of Olbia, Tyras, and Palmyra does.
  • Towns and cities with no spikes always exists (for example, Nicomedia).

• Ports are represented on the map by anchor symbols.
  • A port in a town or city hex exists only if the town or city itself exists.
  • If a port has no town or city in its hex always exists.

• A faction's control over towns and cities (and ports, if in the same hex as towns or cities) is indicated by semi-transparent hexagons in the faction's color on the map.
  

• Ports (if not in the same hex as towns and cities) can not be controlled.

• A faction gains control over a town or city if its Defense value is reduced to 0 or lower through siege and/or corresponding assault, as set out in Sieges and Assaults below.
  
  

Provinces

• A faction retains control over a province as long as it controls the provincial capital (printed in CAPITAL letters on the map).

• A faction gains control over a province once it captures the provincial capital and at least half the other towns or cities of the province.

• If a province contains no towns or cities (such as Adiabene), it is gained control over by a faction if the sizes of that faction's armies located in the province sum up to an amount larger than that of all other factions (checked each round during the Province Administration phase).
  • The faction then retains control over such a province until another faction gains control over it, in line with the above.

• Exception: wild provinces (such as Dacia, Iazygia, Lugia, Sarmatia) can never be controlled by any faction.

• The Province Status Map from Imperium Romanum II immediately below (picture download link) shows which provinces:
  • are cultivated and which are wild (having effects on supply).
  • have roads and which do not (having effects on movement).
  

Factions

• Even though the common enemy of the Goths and Sassanids is the Romans, Goths and Sassanids are strictly separate as factions, i.e., they may not use each other's towns, cities, ports, and generals, and may not join forces to take part in the same battles.

• However, discussions, negotiations, and co-ordination of movements (if so desired) are all allowed without limitations between all three factions, as part of normal diplomatic relations.

• The factions and their armies use army lists, as follows:
  • Goths (Grey): Germanic Horse Tribes 260-492 AD with or without Dacian (Carpi) 107-380 AD allies.
  • Romans (Purple): Roman 313-378 AD without allies.
  • Sassanids (Green): Sassanid Persian 350-476 AD with or without Arab (Bedouin) 300-636 AD allies (and for their client kingdom of Armenia: Armenian 253-476 AD without allies).
  • Whether an individual army uses allies or not (to the extent at all available above, i.e., only for Goths and Sassanids) is set for each army when raised or upon start.
  • This setting remains fixed for the army until it is reinforced or merged with another army or other armies at which time the allies composition of one of the merged armies is used.

• The different factions originally controls provinces at the start of the campaign, as follows (picture download link):
  • By Goths (Grey): none.
  • By Romans (Purple): Dalmatia, Illyricum, Pannonia Inferior, Moesia Superior, Moesia Inferior, Thracia, Macedonia, Achaea & Epirus, Creta, Rhodus, Cyprus, Asia, Bithynia & Pontus, Galatia, Lycia & Pampylia, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Osrhoëne, Syria, Judea, Arabia Petraea, Aegyptus.
  • By Sassanids (Green): Armenia, Adiabene, Mesopotamia, Atropatene, Babylonia, Charax, Media, Hyrcania, Sagartia, Persia, Elymais.
  

Armies

• An army's size ranges (in integer steps) between 1 and 5, i.e., 1 (weakest), 2, 3, 4, and 5 (strongest).
  • The size of an army will affect its strength and thus its number of FP in Field of Glory II:Ancients games as well as how much supply it requires in order to not weaken.
  • Size is reduced in integer steps as part of incurred casualties during engagements or from lack of supply.
  • Once size is reduced to 0 or below (for whatever reason), the army is eliminated and its counter removed from the map, with its commanding general (if any) considered killed.

• Armies are numbered and represented on the map using counters, as follows:
  

• The "Army Information" table (showing size, allies, general, etc.) is published and kept updated in the campaign thread or on the map (example below):
  

Starting the Campaign

• Ideally, for the sake of balance when reflecting the two fronts that the Roman faction is exposed to, the number of Roman players will be roughly equal to the players of the two other factions combined.

• Each of the factions raises and places armies as follows, and at the cost specified in Raising New Armies below:
  • Goths (Grey): can raise new armies of sizes 2, 3, 4, or 5 using up to 44 Army Replacement Points and place them in any hex in the provinces of Dacia, Iazygia, Lugia, Sarmatia.
  • Romans (Purple): can raise new armies of sizes 2, 3, 4, or 5 using up to 88 Army Replacement Points and place them in any hex in the provinces that it originally controls.
  • Sassanids (Green): can raise new armies of sizes 2, 3, 4, or 5 using up to 44 Army Replacement Points and place them in any hex in the provinces that it originally controls, subject however to:
    • Sassanid Persian 350-476 AD (with or without Arab (Bedouin) 300-636 AD allies) not being placed in the province of Armenia.
    • Armenian 253-476 AD only being placed in the province of Armenia.

• None of these Army Replacement Points can be saved, so those not used at start of the campaign are lost.

• Factions obtain generals in the numbers as set out below, to be used in order to command armies and placed with their armies at start:
  • Goths and Sassanids : 3 generals each.
  • Romans: 6 generals.

Rounds

• Each round constitutes two months; thus there are six rounds in each year cycle.

• Once the sixth and last round in a year cycle is done, another year cycle starts anew, in the first round of that year cycle.
  

• The first two rounds and the last round in the cycle will always be "summer" season (marked in orange above and on the map, with normal conditions).

• The third and fourth round in the cycle will always be "winter" season (marked in blue above and on the map, with lower supply and higher movement costs).

• The fifth round could either be winter or summer, determined randomly at the beginning of the Supply and Upkeep phase each time (using the derived "random" number ranging between 1 and 10 from the previous round, with 1 - 4 resulting in winter and 5 - 10 in summer).

• A round consists of six phases:
  
  1. Supply and Upkeep: checking supply, obtaining new Army Replacement Points, paying upkeep for armies.
  2. Recruitment: raising new armies, reinforcing existing armies, replacing killed generals.
  3. Movement: obtaining movement points (15 MP, plus 3 MP if commanded by a general (i.e., 18 MP)), providing movement instructions, executing army movement, initiating sieges.
  4. Battles: playing out engagements and assaults as Field of Glory II:Ancients games.
  5. Province Administration: managing sieges (reducing Defense values), changing control over towns, cities, provinces.
  6. Army Administration: merging and splitting armies, moving generals (30 MP).

Supply

• An army needs to be supplied, either from foraging in the hex itself or from a nearby port, or its size will be reduced to a level that the hex can supply.

• Supply is checked in the Supply and Upkeep phase of each round.

• A port can provide supply to a faction's army if:
  • it (or rather the town or city if in the same hex) is not controlled by any other faction, and
  • it is unbesieged and unblockaded, and
  • it is located in a controlled province, or there is at least one controlled (if town or city) port in a controlled province adjacent to the same sea.

• If a port can provide supply, any of the faction's armies (independent of size) in the port hex and within 4 MP of the port hex is in supply.

• For the purposes of this rule, there are three seas in this campaign: Pontus Euxinus, Mare Internum, and Mare Adriaticum.

• The size of army that a hex can supply (through army foraging) is outlined in the Army Supply Chart below and on the map.
  • The terrain effect is enjoyed by the army in the hex in all situations.
  • If a town or city in the hex, its (potentially) additional effect is enjoyed by the army only if its faction controls the town or city.

• Any army size in excess of what the hex can supply and not supplied from a port will be removed accordingly.
  • i.e., the army's size will be reduced to the hex's supply level at such time.

• If the size of an army is reduced to 0 or below, the army is eliminated and its counter removed from the map.

• Generals have no effect on supply and do themselves not need to be supplied, but is considered killed if commanding an eliminated army.
  
  

Upkeep

• Existing armies need to be upkept or be eliminated, in part or in full.

• Upkeep cost is paid in the Supply and Upkeep phase, after having received the round's Army Replacement Points, adding to the factions' current Army Replacement Points pools, as follows:
  • Goths and Sassanids: 24 each.
  • Roman: 48.

• Upkeep cost for each army amounts to 2 plus its current size in Army Replacement Points (i.e., 3, 4, 5, 6, 7).

• If, and only if, a faction's level of Army Replacement Points is insufficient to upkeep all its armies, the faction needs to reduce the size of certain armies accordingly.
  • The faction then decides which of its armies whose sizes are reduced and by how much as long as the upkeep cost for all remaining armies is paid.

• The size of an army may also voluntarily be reduced, in part or in full, in the Supply and Upkeep phase but only after upkeep cost for it has been paid.

• Any Army Replacement Points remaining in the faction's pool after upkeep has been paid can be used to raise new armies or saved for use in future rounds.

Recruitment

Raising New Armies

• A new army can in the Recruitment phase be raised in a hex as follows, provided that there is no enemy army within 6 MP:
  • Goths: in any hex located in the provinces of Dacia, Iazygia, Lugia, Sarmatia.
  • Romans: in any hex containing a controlled and unsieged town or city and located in an originally controlled province.
  • Sassanids: in any hex containing a controlled and unsieged town or city and located in an originally controlled province, subject however to:
    • Sassanid Persian 350-476 AD (with or without Arab (Bedouin) 300-636 AD allies) not being raised in the province of Armenia.
    • Armenian 253-476 AD only being raised in the province of Armenia.

• Armies can only be raised in sizes 2, 3, 4, and 5 (i.e., not 1).

• The cost of raising a new army amounts to 4 plus twice such size in Army Replacement Points (i.e., 8, 10,12, 14).

• It must be specified for a new army (from the Gothic or Sassanid faction) whether it uses allies or not.

Reinforcing Existing Armies

• Existing armies can in the Recruitment phase be reinforced up to size 5 (independent of its original size), provided that the following applies:
  • Goths: the army is located in any of the provinces of Dacia, Iazygia, Lugia, Sarmatia.
  • Romans: the army is located in a controlled and unsieged town or city in an originally controlled province.
  • Sassanids: the army is located in a controlled and unsieged town or city in an originally controlled province, subject however to:
    • Sassanid Persian 350-476 AD (with or without Arab (Bedouin) 300-636 AD allies) not being reinforced in the province of Armenia.
    • Armenian 253-476 AD only being reinforced in the province of Armenia.

• The cost of reinforcing an existing army amounts to twice the size increase in Army Replacement Points (e.g., 2 Army Replacement Points if reinforcing from size 3 to 4.

• A reinforced army (from the Gothic or Sassanid faction can change its use of allies (i.e., either remove or add allies to the army).

Replacing Killed Generals

• Generals serve the purpose of increasing strength by +1 in engagements and movement by +3 MP for armies that they are commanding.

• A general must always be in command of an army and can only detach from an army if he is attaching and starting to command another army (see Moving Generals below).

• If the army that the general is commanding is eliminated for whatever reason, he is considered killed and removed from play, but can then be replaced, as set out below.

• In order to keep the number of generals manageable, new generals can only appear as replacements to killed generals.

• This takes place in the Recruitment phase, provided that there is an army located and available for the general to command (i.e., not already commanded by another general) in the following provinces:
  • Goths: Dacia, Iazygia, Lugia, Sarmatia.
  • Romans and Sassanids: a province originally and currently controlled.

• The cost of replacing a killed general amounts to 1 Army Replacement Point.

• Once having appeared, the general will start commanding that army with immediate effect.

Movement

Movement Points and Costs

• At the beginning of the Movement phase, all armies get 15 MP each to be used for movement that round.
  • Armies that begin the round commanded by a general will get an additional +3 MP, i.e., 18 MP.

• Movement cost in MP for entering a hex:
  • depends on inter alia the hex's terrain, rivers, narrow seas, whether winter or summer, and whether the province in which is the hex is located has roads or not (see Province Status Map below).
  • is specified in the table on the lower right part of the map.

• Mountains and Lakes can not be traversed, if they cover roughly half or more of the hex side on the map.

• Narrow seas can only be crossed during summer, and then at the additional cost as specified on the map.

• Rivers are applicable if covering roughly half or more of the hex side on the map and can be crossed year-round at the additional cost as specified in the table.
  • Rivers flood during the first summer period after winter, i.e., either round 5 or round 6 of the year cycle (depending on the "random" number).
  • Exception: the Nile always floods in round 2.
  • The total cost of entering a hex through crossing a flooding river is twice that under normal circumstances, i.e., calculate the total cost of entering the hex (terrain plus non-flood river crossing) and then double it.

Movement Instructions

• Thereafter, still in the Movement phase, each player provides movement instructions for the armies that he controls. These direction of a moves is based on the sides of the hex and the "clock":
  
  • Move up to the right (northeast) = 2
  • Move down to the right (southeast) = 4
  • Move down (south) = 6
  • Move down to the left (southwest) = 8
  • Move up to the left (northwest) = 10
  • Move up (north) = 12
  • Stand still = 0
    

• Movement instructions are expressed as a sequence of individual moves, e.g., 2 4 2 6 0 6, with no other symbols in between, only blanks (for easy copy-pasting by the administrator).

• All players send PMs containing their instructions to the administrator, who publishes the instructions for his faction before opening the PMs of the other factions' players.

Movement Execution

• All armies move simultaneously at the end of the Movement phase, spending their MP move by move, and if necessary MP by MP, all armies at the same time.
  • The moves are conducted by the administrator and presented once all armies' movements have been completed.

• No army can at any point in time be located in the same hex as another army, whether from the same or from another faction.

• An army adjacent to a hex in which an army from even its own faction is located will, if instructed to move to that hex, halt and move no further that round.
  • This said, armies from the same faction are allowed to move through each other's hexes, if having and paying the necessary MP to do so and and if not ending its move in the hex of any other army.

Engagements and Battles

Engagements

• Two armies from different factions that, after movement in the Movement phase has been completed, are located in adjacent hexes will fight an "engagement" (another expression for and in the form of a Field of Glory II: Ancients game).

• The engagement will in Field of Glory II: Ancients be set up as follows:
  • Scenario: Open Battle .
  • Turn limit: 24 turns.
  • Map size: Wide (40 x 32).
  • Armies and allies: The two armies use their respective specifications of army lists (and allies, if any).
  • Map type: the terrain as specified in Map terrain of engagements below.
  • Force size: depends for the two armies on their difference in strength, as follows:
    • 1600 FP + strength difference * 30.
    • Thus, each step of strength difference will affect both armies' FP with 30 in different directions, making each such step result in a 60 FP difference between the two armies.
    • For example, a difference in strength of 2 results in the stronger army using 1600 + 2*30 = 1660 FP and the weaker army 1600 - 2*30 = 1540 FP.
  • Each of the two armies obtain their strengths through adjusting their respective sizes as follows:
    • -1 for each engagement that the army will fight in total this round (e.g., -1 if fighting only 1 engagement, -2 in each engagement if fighting 2 engagements, etc.).
    • -1 if just having crossed a river (applicable if covering roughly half or more of the hex side on the map) or narrow sea to enter the hex from where it fights its engagement this round.
    • -1 if that river is flooding.
    • +1 if commanded by a general.
  • An army's strength in an engagement can never be lower than 0.
  • In the example below, Roman army VII (size 5) has crossed the river from the city of Adrianopolis in order to confront and fight Gothic army IX (size 2), which is standing still in its hex and commanded by a general. Since the Roman army crossed a river in order to get to the hex where it is to to fight the engagement, it will suffer a -1 strength adjustment, resulting in a strength of 5 - 1 - 1 (for fighting 1 engagement) = 3. The Gothic army starts off with size 2, adjusted by -1 (for the 1 engagement it is fighting) and +1 for being commanded by a general, bringing its strength to 2 - 1 + 1 = 2. The strength difference is 3 - 2 = 1 in the Roman army's favour, resulting in it fighting with 1600 + 1*30 = 1630 FP and the Gothic army with 1600 - 1*30 = 1570 FP. (If the Gothic would have not stood still in this round but had moved to the Philippopolis hex, from the 'Hebros' hex to the north, it too would have crossed a river to get there and therefore too suffered the river penalty of -1, bringing its strength to 1 instead, with a strength difference of 2 in the Roman army's favour and thus 1660 FP for the Roman army and 1540 FP for the Gothic army.)
    
    

• The player having spent the fewest MP that round normally sets up the engagement in-game.

• The winner, or the player having incurred the fewest casualties, reports the results in this thread.

Battles

• A "battle" consists of one or more engagements between armies from two different factions.

• Normally one battle involves only one engagement and thus only one army from each of two factions, but it may consist of several individual engagements involving several armies from each of the two factions, if and to the extent that more than one army from one faction has at least an army from the other faction in common as opponent in engagements.
  • For example, if two different armies from the same faction are both fighting the same army from a different faction, both these two individual engagements make up the same "battle". If in addition one of these two armies are fighting yet another army from that different faction, the engagement between these two armies is included in the battle as well.

• Other examples (with armies A, B, and C being from one faction, and X, Y, and Z from another):
  1. A is fighting X, B is fighting Y, and C is fighting Z in three separate battles, since none of the armies from one faction has an army from the other faction in common.
  2. A fighting X as well as Y, B fighting Y, and C fighting Z results in one battle including three engagements; A vs. X, A vs. Y, and B vs. Y (since A and B have Y in common as opponent), whereas C vs. Z is still a separate battle.
  3. A fighting X as well as Y, B fighting Y as well as Z, and C fighting Z results in one battle including all these five engagements (since A and B have Y in common as opponent, and B and C have Z in common).

• This means that each army can be involved in several engagements but only in one battle each round.

Sieges and Assaults

Sieges

• An army that, after movement in the Movement phase has been completed, is located in the hex of a town or city controlled by another faction may decide to initiate (or continue, if a friendly army was already sieging it until this round) a siege, provided that all of the following applies:
  • There are no armies from any other factions located in adjacent hexes, and
  • The army's size is at least half the initial (or current, if continuing siege) Defense value of the town or city in question.

• When a siege is initiated, the initial Defense value is as follows:
  • Constantinopolis: 10.
  • Ctesiphon: 8.
  • Other cities: 6.
  • Towns: 4.

• A sieged town or city will in the beginning of the Province Administration phase get its Defense value reduced by the current size of the sieging army.
  • This reduction applies also in a round that a siege is initiated and/or an assault is made and also in the same round that the siege is initiated)

• If a sieging army (for whichever reason) leaves the hex of the sieged town or city, another army must enter the hex in the same round in order for the siege to continue at the current Defense value.
  • Otherwise, an initial Defense value (as listed above) for the new siege is used.

• If the Defense value of the sieged town or city is 0 or lower at the end of the Province Administration phase, the sieging army's faction gains control.

Assaults

• A sieging army may decide to assault the sieged town or city in order to (hopefully) reduce its Defense value further, potentially down to zero.

• The assault takes the form of an "engagement" (another expression for and in the form of a Field of Glory II: Ancients game), set up as follows:

• Scenario: Open Battle .

• Turn limit: 24 turns.

• Map size: Wide (40 x 32).

• Armies and allies:
  • Assaulting army: its specification of army list (and allies, if any).
  • Defending army: its faction's army list, without any allies.

• Map type: the terrain of the hex of the sieged town or city as translated (without the use of any random value) into a map type in Map Terrain of Engagements below.
  • For example, the map type when assaulting Nicomedia is always Hilly, since Nicomedia is located in a hex with Rough terrain.

• Force size used for the two armies depends on the difference in strength, as follows:
  • 1600 FP + strength difference * 30.
  • The defending army's strength equals the sieged town's or city's current Defense Value divided by 2 (rounded down to nearest integer, e.g., 1 rounded down to 0, 3 rounded down to 1, and so on).
  • The assaulting army' strength equals its current size, adjusted by +1 if commanded by a general.

• The player of the defending army sets up the engagement in-game.

• The winner, or the player having incurred the fewest casualties, reports the results in this thread.

Map Terrain of Engagements

• The map type and terrain of the engagement played out in Field of Glory II: Ancients will be selected in three steps as follows:

• Firstly, the selection is centred around the location of the army having spent the fewest MP that round (until having completed its movement).
  • if both armies have spent the same amount of MP that round, of the army with the lowest size.
  • If the two armies are of the same size as well, then the location of the army most to the south will be used.
  • This selected army is then, for the purposes of determining map type, located in the hex marked with '7' in the picture below, with surrounding hexes marked 1-6:
    

• Secondly, a "random" number between 1 and 10 (0 being 10) is generated from all armies' movement instructions in the same round (see "Random" Numbers below).
  • If the value of the "random" number is:
    • between 1 and 7, the terrain of the hex as highlighted in the picture above is used.
      • if such terrain is non-land (e.g., Coastal or Deep Sea), the terrain of the immediately applicable lower number’s hex is used instead.
      • in all cases, if the hex side between 7 and the used hex (other than 7, of course, since can not have any side to itself) contains Mountain (as indicated on the map), Mountain terrain will be used.
    • between 8 or 10, Clear terrain is always used.

• Finally, the selected terrain results in the following map types in the Field of Glory II: Ancients game:
  • Mountain = Mountains
  • Clear = Agricultural
  • Forest = Wooded
  • Rough = Hilly
  • Marsh = Marshy
  • Desert = Desert

• In the example below, Roman army VII has crossed the river from the city of Adrianopolis in order to confront and fight Gothic army IX, standing still in its hex. The location of the Gothic army is therefore (since having spent the fewer MP of the two armies) considered hex 7. The "random" number generated turns out to be 3, which is the Rough terrain hex immediately south. But since the hex side between 6 and 7 contains Mountain, the terrain used will be Mountain, corresponding to Mountains in the Field of Glory II:Ancients game. (If the "random" number had been 4, used terrain would have been Rough, due to no Mountain side in that direction, and thus Hilly in the Field of Glory II:Ancients game.)
  
  

• In assaults, the terrain of the hex of the sieged town or city is used as the selected terrain, and applied above (without any "random" number) in order to result in a map type for the Field of Glory II: Ancients game.

Outcomes and Effects of Engagements and Battles

• The level of incurred casualties (as shown in the upper left corner of the screen when the Field of Glory II: Ancients game ends) after an engagement is concluded will reduce army size at the end of the Engagements and Battles phase, as follows:
  • 0 - 19%: 0.
  • 20 - 39%: -1.
  • 40 - 59%: -2.
  • 60 - 79%: -3.
  • 80 - 99%: -4.
  • 100%: -5.

• The adjustments above also apply to reduce an assaulting army's size as well as the Defense value of the sieged town or city (then using the defending army's incurred casualties in the assault engagement).

• If the size of an army is reduced to 0 or below, the army is eliminated, its counter removed from the map, and the commanding general (if any) considered killed.

• The results of the individual outcomes of all the engagements within a battle will determine the total outcome of the battle, which in turn will affect whether control of structures is changed and armies are moved from the locations.

• A faction and all its armies involved in that battle are considered to have won a battle against an enemy faction if at least one of the faction's engagements in that battle is won and none are lost, with the enemy faction (and all its armies involved) in that battle then considered to have lost the battle.

• If there is no winner and hence no loser of a battle, the battle is considered to be a draw for the involved factions and armies.

An army having:

• lost a battle moves 12 MP away from the armies it fought, and any general commanding it is considered killed.

• drawn a battle moves 6 MP away from the armies it fought.

• won a battle either (at its player's choice):
  • remains in its hex (as default choice), or
  • moves into the adjacent hex previously occupied by a removed losing enemy army.
    • If more than one army wishes to move into the same hex, the army with the lowest incurred casualties will make the move.
    • If a tie the army with the highest inflicted casualties will make the move.
    • If still a tie, no army will move into that hex.

• However, an assaulting army does not move, whether winning, drawing, or or losing (unless eliminated, of course) and if losing, its commanding general (if any) is not considered killed (unless the army is eliminated, of course).

Army Administration

Merging Armies

• Two or more armies from the same faction that end a round in adjacent hexes to each other can in the Army Administration phase merge, the merged army's size becoming the sum of the merging armies' current sizes.

• However, a merged army may never obtain a size exceeding 5 (i.e., if three size-2 armies merge, the merged army's size will become 5, not 6).

• If at least one of the merging armies uses allies, the merged army may (but does not have to) use allies too.

• If none of the merging armies uses allies, the merged army will not use allies either.

• The merged army will be located in one of the hexes of the merging armies, at the faction's choice.

Splitting Armies

• An army of size 4 or 5 can in the Army Administration phase split up into two armies, each of size 2 or 3.

• The two resulting armies use the allies (if any) of the original army.

• One of the resulting armies will be located in the hex of the original army, and the other resulting army in an adjacent hex, at the faction's choice.

• The commanding general (if any) stays with the army to be located in the hex of the original army.

• The cost of splitting an army amounts to 2 Army Replacement Points.

Moving Generals

• A general can in the Army Administration phase detach from the army he currently controls and move up to 30 MP, provided that he attaches and starts commanding another army of the same faction.
  • Otherwise he must remain with his current army so that he is always commanding an army.

• The general is then considered to command that other army already at the end of the same round.

"Random" Numbers

General

• "Random" numbers are generated from the submitted movement instructions for all armies.

• The general approach is to sum up a pre-defined set of such submitted movement instructions (adjusting that sum with the number of 6's (addition) and 12's (subtraction) in that set) and using only the single digit of that sum, with 0 being viewed as 10.

• "Random" numbers are currently used for two different purposes, determining the season (summer or winter) in the fifth round of each year cycle and the terrain and map type to be used in engagements.
  • The methods to generate "random" number differ slightly between the two purposes, as detailed below.

Summer or Winter?

• For the fifth round of the year cycle, it is randomly determined whether it is summer or winter season.

• Only one "random" number is required for that.

• Such "random" number is generated by summing up all movement instructions for all armies, adding the number of 6's and subtracting the number of 12's among such movement instructions, in order to arrive at a total.

• The "random" number itself is then obtained through using only the single digit of that total, with 0 being viewed as 10 (i.e., 2, 4, 6, 8, 10).
  • For example, 54 becomes 4, 48 becomes 8, 60 becomes 10, 100 becomes 10, 102 becomes 2, etc.

• Since season is determined at the beginning of the Supply and Upkeep phase of that fifth round, such "random" number from the previous round (i.e., the fourth round and its movement instructions) is used.

• If the "random" number is 1 - 4, it is winter, and if it is 5 - 10, it is summer.

• The example below results in a total of 588 and thus an 8 for the purposes of the "summer or winter" generation, i.e., summer.

Terrain and Map Type of Engagement?

• Every non-assault engagements needs an individual "random" number to determine which terrain and map type to be used in the corresponding Field of Glory II: Ancients games.

• To generate such a list of "random" numbers, the following approach is applied:
  • For the first "random" number, the sum of the first movement instructions for all armies is used, adding the number of 6's and subtracting the number of 12's among such movement instructions (introducing the possibility of obtaining odd "random" numbers too).
  • The first "random" number itself is then obtained through using only the single digit of that total, with 0 being viewed as 10 (i.e., 2, 4, 6, 8, 10).
  • The second "random" number instead uses the set of the second movement instructions, still for all armies and still adding the number of 6's and subtracting the number of 12's in that set, using only the single digit of its total.
  • And so on, until there are no movement instructions (differing from 0's) that can be used.

• In the example below, a list of 13 "random" numbers are generated that can be used. If not enough, they will be re-used, starting from the first "random" number in that list (i.e., the first used again as the fourteenth, and so on).

• "Random" numbers are applied on the round's engagements in the same order that the two participating armies are presented in the Army Information table.
  • In the example under "Armies", "random" numbers are first applied on the engagements (if any) of Gothic army IV, then on Gothic army VIII, then on Roman army I, etc.
  

[Ironclad]

Thanks for the detailed rules. Surprised there's not a better response - probably too many other campaigns still in play.

[kronenblatt]

Thanks for the detailed rules. Surprised there's not a better response - probably too many other campaigns still in play.

Yes, probably. I believe it'll be sufficient with 8 committed players (2 Goths, 4 Romans, 2 Sassanids), so hopefully the roster will be filled shortly. I'll post in The Few Good Men forum too to check the interest.

How did you find the rules, btw?

[Nathangun]

Count me in.

[Ironclad]

Welcome, you help move us towards the magic eight minimum players.

[kronenblatt]

Count me in.

Welcome, Nathangun! Nice to have you here as well, and congrats to your first post in the Slitherine forum!

[Ironclad]

How did you find the rules, btw?

Happy to give you feedback but everytime I try to get into the rules I am frustrated by the fact that when I zoom in on the map to try and see the details of the province, cities and towns its totally obscured by the blurring which results on zooming. Saving or copying the image into another viewing program produces the same zoom blurring.

When looking at the cultivation screen on your post I can't distiguish any differences between the shading. Saving or copying it doesn't help, I use Libre Office instead of Word (or Excel) and there the overall cultivation screen (and provinces ownership one) is seriously cutback so most of the area doesn't show up.

Btw a magnifying program doesn't help either as it gets the same blurring effect.

Any ideas to get around these problems wold be appreciated.

[kronenblatt]

How did you find the rules, btw?

...

Any ideas to get around these problems wold be appreciated.

Yes, it's in order to get the proper picture sizes in the rules post.

What I can do is upload the files themselves on my Google Drive, available for download. Should hopefully do the trick. (Although keep in mind that the map itself is scanned, so will never be really good quality when zoomed in.)

EDIT: done now. Thus, you can now find picture download links within the rules, nearby (in the section above) the three different maps.

[Ironclad]

Thanks, fingesr crossed.

[kronenblatt]

Thanks, fingesr crossed.

Yup, let's hope for the best. Please let me know otherwise.

[Aetius39]

Hi guys, I'm in if you need another player to start!

Aetius

[kronenblatt]

Hi guys, I'm in if you need another player to start!

Aetius

Absolutely, Chris: welcome!

[kronenblatt]

Faction preferences

• Ironclad: 1. Romans, 2. Sassanids.

• kronenblatt

• anderarcos11

• SpeedyCM

• carpenkm

• Karvon: 1. Sassanids, 2. Goths.

• Nathangun: 1. Romans, 2. Goths.

• Aetius39

• …