TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................... 1

[1.0] INTRODUCTION ......................................... 2 [1.1] DESIGNERS NOTES 2 [1.2] PLAYING A GAME 2 [1.3] NOTES 2 [1.4] IMPORTANT 2 [1.5] DEDICATION 2

[2.0] PLAYING EQUIPMENT AND

REPRESENTATIONAL SCALES ....................... 2 [2.1] CHOICE OF FIGURE AND MODEL SCALE 2 [2.2] PLAYING AREA 3 [2.3] ARMY SIZE AND TROOP REPRESENTATION 3 [2.4] GROUND SCALE AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENT 3 [2.5] TIME SCALE 3 [2.6] DICE 3 [2.7] DESIGN PHILOSOPHY 3 [2.8] GAME EQUIPMENT 4

[3.0] TROOP DEFINITIONS ............................... 4 [3.1] TROOP TYPES 4 [3.2] MOUNTED TROOPS 4 [3.3] FOOT TROOPS 5 [3.4] OTHER TROOPS 6

[4.0] BASING ......................................................... 6 [4.1] BASE WIDTH 6

[4.2] BASE DEPTH 6 [4.3] BASING YOUR FIGURES & MODELS 7 Cases; 7

[5.0] BATTLEFIELD & TERRAIN ..................... 7 [5.1] BATTLEFIELD 7 [5.2] CHOOSING AND PLACING FEATURES 7 [5.3] AREA TERRAIN FEATURES 8 [5.4] AREA TERRAIN EFFECTS 8 [5.5] LINEAR TERRAIN FEATURES 8 [5.6] LINEAR TERRAIN EFFECTS 9 [5.7] CHOOSING AND PLACING FEATURES 9 [5.8] TERRAIN EFFECTS SUMMARY 10

[6.0] BUA .............................................................. 10 [6.1] BUA DEPLOYMENT 10 [6.2] CITY 10 [6.3] FORT 10 [6.4] HAMLET 10 [6.5] EDIFACE 10 [6.6] BUA GARRISON 10

[7.0] CAMP .......................................................... 11 [7.1] CAMP DEPLOYMENT 11 [7.2] CAMP GARRISON 11

[8.0] FIGHTING THE BATTLE ........................ 11 [8.1] DEPLOYMENT 11 [8.2] SEQUENCE OF PLAY 11 [8.3] PLAYER INITIATIVE POINT DICING 12 [8.4] PLAYER INITIATIVE POINT & MOVEMENT 12 [8.5] COMMAND DISTANCE & TERRAIN 12

[9.0] TACTICAL MOVES .................................. 13 [9.1] OVERVIEW 13 [9.2] SINGLE ELEMENT MOVES 13 [9.3] GROUP ELIGIBILITY 13 [9.4] GROUP MOVEMENT 13 [9.5] COLUMN MOVEMENT 14 [9.6] LITTORAL LANDINGS 14 [9.7] TACTICAL MOVE DISTANCES 14 [9.8] SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT TACTICAL MOVES

DURING THE SAME BOUND 15 [9.9] DISMOUNTING 15

[10.0] MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS ............. 16 [10.1] CROSSING A RIVER 16 [10.2] INTERPENETRATING FRIENDLY TROOPS 16 [10.3] CUTTING CORNERS 16 [10.4] THREAT ZONE (TZ) 17 [10.5] TERRAIN EFFECTS ON MOVEMENT 18

[11.0] MOVING INTO CONTACT WITH

ENEMY ................................................................ 18 [11.1] MOVING INTO CONTACT WITH ENEMY

SEQUENCE OF PLAY 18 [11.2] CONTACT 18

[11.3] CONFORMING & ADJUSTMENTS 20 [11.4] FLANK & REAR CONTACT 20 [11.5] SPECIAL CONTACT CASES 21

[12.0] MOVEMENT IN CLOSE COMBAT ..... 21 [12.1] BREAKING-OFF FROM CLOSE COMBAT 21 [12.2] TURNING TO FACE A FLANK OR REAR CONTACT 21

[13.0] DISTANT SHOOTING ............................ 22 [13.1] DISTANT SHOOTING ELIGIBILITY 22 [13.2] DISTANT SHOOTING RESTRICTIONS 23 [13.3] DISTANT SHOOTING TARGET 23 [13.4] SHOOTING SUPPORT 23 [13.5] SHOOTING ON A REAR EDGE 24 [13.6] DISTANT SHOOTING & TERRAIN 24

[14.0] CLOSE COMBAT .................................... 24 [14.1] CLOSE COMBAT ELIGIBILITY 24 [14.2] COMBAT WHEN OVERLAPPED OR

OVERLAPPING. 25 [14.3] MUTUAL SIDE EDGE CONTACT 25 [14.4] CLOSE COMBAT AGAINST A CITY, FORT OR

CAMP 25 [14.5] CLOSE COMBAT & TERRAIN 25 [14.6] CLOSE COMBAT REAR & FLANK SUPPORT 26

[15.0] COMBAT RESULTS ............................... 26 [15.1] RESOLVING SHOOTING OR CLOSE COMBAT 26 [15.2] COMBAT OUTCOME 27 [15.3] DESTROYED ELEMENTS 29 [15.4] RECOILING 29 [15.5] FLEEING 29 [15.6] PURSUING 29 [15.7] LOST ELEMENTS 30

[16.0] WINNING AND LOSING THE BATTLE30 [16.1] ENDING THE GAME 30 [16.2] CALCULTING ELEMENTS LOST 30

[17.0] EXTENDED OR MULTIPLE GAMES .. 30 [17.1] MULTI-GAME TOURNAMENTS 30 [17.2] BIG BATTLE D.B.A 30 [17.3] GIANT D.B.A 31 [17.4] HISTORICAL REFIGHTS 31 [17.5] CAMPAIGNS 31

[18.0] ARMY LISTS ........................................... 31

[19.0] RELATED PUBLICATIONS .................. 32

[20.0] CONTACT ADDRESSES AND

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................ 32 [20.9] LINKS 33

Antike Krieg Spielregeln

DE BELLIS

ANTIQUITATIS

DBA v3 Warfare in the Good Old Days

REFORMATED Version 1 Copyright © 1990, Version 3 Copyright © Phil Barker & Sue Laflin-Barker 2012.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior

permission in writing from the copyright holder.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 2 6 March, 2013

[1.0] INTRODUCTION

[1.1] DESIGNERS NOTES

DBA is an ancient period war-game on a small

board, using a minimal number of model figures and the simplest set of rules that can produce a

historically and visually realistic and exciting

game.

Its genesis was an experimental set for battles

between Romans and Celts demonstrated by Phil at

the 1988 Society of Ancients conference. This led to a more general two-page rule set called “De

Bellis Societatis Antiquorum” used for a knock-out

competition to be played in the small gaps between events at the 1989 conference. Its popularity

produced pressure for a commercial version “De

Bellis Antiquitatis” which extended the combat system, added a few extra troop types, and included

fuller explanation of procedures and philosophy

than had been possible in two pages; and incorporated set-up information and army lists for

more than 300 ancient and medieval armies. It has

proved the most influential war-games rule set of recent times and is still the most played ancient set

worldwide.

Like all our other rule sets, the order of the sections

is that in which they are used. It starts with

definitions, then army preparation, then terrain preparation, then the battle rules.

Our original intent was to provide the simplest

possible set of war-games rules that retain the feel and generalship requirements of ancient or

medieval battle. The rule mechanisms were then

entirely new. They started from the assumptions that the results of command decisions could be

shown rather than the minutia of how orders were

communicated and interpreted, that the proportions of different troops fielded were decided by

availability within their culture and not cost-

effectiveness against the current opponent, that differences between troops of the same class and

era were relatively unimportant, and that most

shooting regardless of theoretical weapon range was at very short distances.

The resulting system is more subtle than may be

immediately apparent, and is the fruit of much detailed development work.

The average player has memorised sufficient of the

battle rules part way through his or her first game, but tactical skill, especially in the use of light

troops, takes longer to develop. A game usually

lasts less than an hour, so that a 6 round convention competition can be completed in one day and still

leave plenty of time for visiting the trade stands.

Since all battles end in outright victory, the organiser's work is minimised.

This version 3 of DBA is the result of a thorough

revision process by a large panel that included

DBA competition organisers and umpires on three

continents and been available for open testing on

line. Some changes are only to improve clarity.

Others eliminate geometrical ploys beloved of some gamesmen that have no historical basis. In

particular, troops that would contact or shoot at

each other in real life must now also do so in the game. Yet others improve historical balance by

giving troops of the same type already depicted

differing by basing or bow type, but now shown to sometimes behave differently, slightly different

capability. War-games rules often favour methodical safety-first generals, while in real war

commanders with flair often out-perform them. A

new method of measuring distances helps simulate this by increasing mounted moves relative to foot,

which makes the use of a reserve to exploit

opportunities easier, makes it harder to hide vulnerable troops out of reach at the rear; and is

also more convenient. The period covered has been

extended up to 1515 to take in the early part of the Great Italian Wars and the fully revised army lists

include extra description to inspire beginners.

The DBA 3.0 rules and lists are also included in Sue’s forthcoming hardback “Start Ancient

Wargaming”, which has extra explanation and

background, including a photographically illustrated example battle; and another forthcoming

book will have a new campaign system replacing

that in earlier editions of DBA and include a number of example campaigns.

A more complex large army derivative “De Bellis

Multitudinis” (DBM) produced in 1993 has been superseded since 2007 by “De Bellis Magistrorum

Militum” (DBMM). There is a large overlap

between players of DBMM and players of DBA; so DBA can serve as a simpler introduction to DBMM

(or to ancient war gaming in general) as well as a

stand-alone game.

[1.2] PLAYING A GAME

General Rule;

Before you can start playing, you need to Select Armies, Roll for Invader, Set Up Terrain, Roll for

Board Orientation, Place Camps & Deploy Armies

Cases;

[1.21] STARTING A GAME SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Stage Description

Select Armies Stage

Each Player selects their Army. See Army Lists I to IV.

Defender Determination Stage

Each player rolls a die to determine who the invader is and who the defender is. See Case (8.11). The battlefield terrain is the defenders home terrain. See Case (5.21).

Terrain Selection Stage

The defender selects the battlefield terrain pieces. See Case (5.23).

Terrain Deployment Stage

Roll for the deployment of each terrain piece. In some circumstances the invader may need to deploy a terrain piece. See Case (5.7)

Board Orientation Stage

The invaders selects his edge. See Case (8.12)

Camp Placement Stage

The defender deploy his camp, after which the invader does the same. See Case (8.14).

Deploy Army Stage

The defender deploys his army, followed by the invader. See Case (8.15)

1st Player Turn. The defender executes the first

player turn. See Case (8.21)

[1.3] NOTES

These rules are a reformed version of the beta DBA V3 rules as available on the internet, dated 28th of

November 2011. As this is a beta set of rules,

addition changes to the rules may occur before the final version is printed. Players should always

purchase an official version of the rules to act as

the final source of truth.

The source text is in RED and is henceforth

referred to as the Holy Text. Concept is similar to

the Luther Bible or King James Bible, where text attributed to the Lord is in RED.

The only changes to the Holy Text are designed to

make it easier to learn the rules and to use the rules as a reference document. To achieve this the Holy

text is reformed by breaking up the paragraphs and

providing a CASE number for each reformed paragraph. The only changes to the Holy Text are

to make the broken up paragraphs read clearly. If a

paragraph refers to Cavalry, each split off sentence has this reference repeated. The rule order is

retained; however some rules are repeated for reference purposes. The original rule is always

referenced in these cases.

Other text is additional comments not found in the DBA v3 rule book. These are not formal rules, only

an interpretation based on the reading of the rules

text. Always verify any interpretation against the Holy text.

If there is any dispute always use the original rules.

[1.4] IMPORTANT

No attempt at modifying the rules is being attempted, all interpretations are based on the

source BDA v3.betaNov2012 rules.

Text not designated Holy Text, charts and tables may be in error, although all effort has been made

in ensuring they are correct as per the “official”

rules.

The purpose of this is a learning document, not an

actual set of rules. Once proficient in the rules the

large number of diagrams will be of minimal value.

[1.5] DEDICATION

Dieses Dokument ist Charles I, dem letzten Kaiser

des österreichisch-ungarischen Reiches, gewidmet. Möge er in Frieden ruhen.

[2.0] PLAYING EQUIPMENT AND REPRESENTATIONAL SCALES

[2.1] CHOICE OF FIGURE AND MODEL SCALE

General Rule;

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 3 6 March, 2013

DBA is played in two basic scales. The first is

intended for 15mm figures and the second is

intended for 25mm figures. The two differ in

element sizes and the ground scale, but the rules are

the same.

Cases;

[2.11] These rules can be used with any scale of

figure or model, but two scales are usual.

[2.12] The larger uses a base width (BW) of 60mm with nominally 25mm (actually 20-28mm) figures.

[2.13] The smaller uses a 40mm base width with

nominally 15mm (actually 15-20mm) figures.

[2.14] 15mm has been the most usual scale since it

combined cheapness with convenience.

[2.15] The larger scale offers easier visibility for

spectators and opportunity for more detailed

painting; and is gaining in popularity with the availability of cheaper plastic figures.

[2.16] Greater numbers of 10mm, 6mm or 2mm

figures can be substituted for either scale.

[2.2] PLAYING AREA

General Rule;

The playing area is a square surface, typically made

of cloth, felt, or wood. All action takes place on the game board. The playing area, known as the

battlefield, is of a fixed size. The standard

Battlefield is 15 x 15 BW’s (Base Width), with a larger option of 20 x 20 BW. The larger size is not

recommended.

Cases;

[2.21] The standard playing area, “the battlefield”,

is square; with sides 600mm/24” to 800mm/32” for

the smaller scale and 900mm/36” to

1,200mm/48”square for the larger scale.

[2.22] Be warned that areas larger than the

minimum are unnecessary and may encourage overly defensive play or result in longer or even

unfinished games.

[2.23] It is usually assembled from separate terrain

features placed on a flat base, but a single integral

terrain block or grouped quarter-size blocks, may be provided instead by a competition organiser. If

so, he must avoid making the terrain too

symmetrical or average.

[2.25] BATTLEFIELD SIZE CHART

Scale BW Battlefield Size

Smaller Scale (2mm - 15mm)

15 600mm x 600mm

20 800mm x 800mm

Larger Scale (20mm - 28mm)

15 900mm x 900mm

20 1200mm x 1200mm

[2.3] ARMY SIZE AND TROOP REPRESENTATION

General Rule;

Each army consists of twelve troop elements, an

optional camp, and an optional camp follower

element. One of the twelve troop elements must be designated as the army’s general.

An element is the basic building block of your

army. It represents a group of soldiers (or camp followers) that move and fight as a single unit.

Physically, an element consists of a rectangular

base with one or more figures or models attached.

Cases;

[2.31] An army consists of 12 elements as specified

in their army list, 1 of which includes its only

general. Others can sometimes be replaced by elements of another army listed as allied. See Case

(18.0)

[2.32] The army must also have either a camp or a city and can have both. See Case (6.0) and (7.0).

These can be occupied by 1 of the 12 elements of

its own list, or by camp followers or BUA denizens additional to the 12. See Case (6.0) and (7.0).

[2.33] An element consists of a thin rectangular base of card or similar material, to which is fixed

figures (or the equivalent 6mm or 2mm blocks)

usually representing 6 to 10 ranks of close-formed foot, 4 or 5 ranks of most mounted troops or of

skirmishers, or a single rank of elephants, scythed

chariots, artillery or wagons. It nearly always has

the same size and number of figures as

corresponding DBMM (and the obsolete DBM and

WRG 7th) elements, but represents more men.

[2.34] The number of men represented by a single

element varies according to the size of army

simulated, but is always at least twice that in DBMM.

[2.35] In the standard game, each element

represents 1/12 of the army, whatever its size; but larger numbers of elements are used in the Big

Battle and Giant Battle rule variants, which you

will find on pages 13-14.

[2.36] Although each element is depicted as a rigid

rectangular block, this does not imply that the

troops it represents are necessarily in such a block or do not vary their position.

Element Example

This is an example of an element. In this case a 4Pk element, which consists of 4 pike figures places on

a 40mm by 15mm base (if using 15mm).

Each element has a front, rear and two flank edges,

as well as 2 front corners and two rear corners.

These are important concepts in the game and affect play.

This set of rules will use the above representation

for elements in its example diagrams. The direction of the element can be determined by the arrow,

which represents its normal forward movement

direction.

[2.4] GROUND SCALE AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENT

General Rule;

All distances are specified in base widths (BW). For 15mm a Base Width is 40mm, for 25mm a

Base Width is 60mm.

NOTE: A Base Width was previously 100 paces, but in this version of DBA this has been reduced to

80 paces. It should also be noted the use of paces

has been removed from this version of the rules; all

distances are in Base Widths (BWs)

Cases;

[2.41] The unit of measurement is the width of an

element base (a BW). For movement or maximum

shooting range, this is roughly equivalent to 80

paces in real life.

[2.42] Distances are specified in the rules as multiples or halves of a base width.

[2.43] They can be measured on the table either

with a selection of rods cut to length, or a with a strip of card or similar material 5 BW long marked

at 1 BW intervals, which can also have other

information on its reverse to serve as the equivalent of a reminder sheet.

[2.44] You will find that distances can often be estimated visually without measurement.

[2.45] A rectangle 1 BW x ½ BW with a vertical

handle is also very useful for measuring gaps. “Within” means “at or closer than”.

[2.46] Move Stick: A small stick marked in 1 Base

Width increments is helpful for measuring movement.

[2.47] ZOC Marker: A square piece of wood or

metal, one base width on a side, is used to determine if an element is within the ZOC of

another element. A handle simplifies moving it

around on a crowded battlefield.

[2.48] GROUND SCALE CHART

Scale BW Metric

15mm 1 40mm

25mm 1 60mm

[2.5] TIME SCALE

General Rule;

Nominally, each Game-Turn in DBA simulates

approximately 15 minutes of time on the battlefield.

Cases;

[2.51] Play is in alternate bounds, providing action and response. The real life time represented varies,

since sometimes response was immediate, but

sometimes both armies paused for reorganisation or rest.

[2.52] Averaged over the battle each bound

represents about 15 minutes. Move distances were those needed rather than the maximum theoretically

possible in the time.

[2.6] DICE

General Rule;

DBA uses normal six-sided dice. Each player has 1

dice; each should be a different colour.

Cases;

[2.61] Each player uses a single ordinary 1 to 6

dice, which should be used for the whole game for all purposes, unless changed at the request of the

opponent.

[2.62] Dice with spots are more easily read across the table by an opponent than those with numbers.

[2.7] DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

Commentary;

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 4 6 March, 2013

The DBA command system is arbitrary, but gives

results very similar to those of more elaborate

systems using written orders, transmission by

messenger or signal and testing of interpretation on

receipt. It also substitutes for the testing of troops’

reaction to events and effectively simulates loss of cohesion in battle.

War gamers pay more attention to weaponry than

did real commanders. Surviving ancient manuals lump all foot skirmishers as psiloi whether armed

with javelins, sling or bow, defining them by

function rather than armament. We have applied the same principle throughout with no apparent loss

of overall realism. Morale and training distinctions have also been discarded as linked with function.

Thus, most knights are rash, all warbands are fierce

but brittle, all skirmishers are timid.

Similarly, a real general did not know a unit’s

losses until next day, if then. However, he would be

able to see if a body was advancing cheering, standing its ground, edging back looking over its

shoulders or had broken in rout. We provide

players with that information and that only. Victory as well as realism under these rules is most likely to

be achieved by thinking of elements as bodies of

real troops rather than playing pieces, and using them historically.

[2.8] GAME EQUIPMENT

General Rule;

The basics required to play the games are Two players, playing area, an army for each player, a

six-sided die for each player, a measuring device

and a number of terrain pieces.

Procedure;

Playing Area, See Case (2.2)

Armies, See Case (2.3).

Dice, See Case (2.6)

Measuring Devices : You’ll need some way to

measure distances on the game board. You can make do with a tape measure or use

specialized playing aids. A couple of these (a

move stick and TZ (ZOC) marker) are described in Case (2.4).

The Terrain Pieces, See Case (5.0)

[3.0] TROOP DEFINITIONS

General Rule;

Troops are defined by battlefield behaviour instead

of the usual formation, armour, weapons and

morale classes. We distinguish only between troops

whose fighting style differs sufficiently to need to

be treated differently by either their general or their

foe. Apparent anomalies caused by grouping together disparate troops can be rationalised as the

disparity being compensated by other factors, such

as ferocity or skill, are unobtrusive if the army fights opponents of its own era, and are minimised

by further defining foot (mostly identified by

number of figures per base) as either “Fast” or “Solid”.

Cases;

[3.1] TROOP TYPES

General Rule;

Each element can be one of three basic troop types,

foot, mounted and other. Foot troops represents troops which moved and fought on foot, mounted

are troops which moved and fought while on, or

pulled by, an animal and others represents special troop’s types which do not clearly fall into these

two categories.

Cases;

[3.11] Mounted troop types are: Elephants,

Knights, Cavalry, Light Horse, Scythed Chariots or

Camelry.

[3.12] Foot troop types are: Spears, Pikes, Blades,

Auxilia, Bows, Psiloi, Warband, Hordes, Artillery

or War Wagons.

[3.13] Camp followers and denizens of a city are

not included in the allowed total of 12 troop

elements, but are extra elements of armed civilians and count as foot.

[3.14] A few army lists permit some of their

mounted elements to “dismount” i.e. be exchanged for a related foot element during the game by using

a complete single element tactical move to dismount, but cannot remount.

[3.15] More armies have mounted elements that

can be deployed either mounted or dismounted at the start of a game.

[3.16] A very few have mounted infantry (prefixed

by “Mtd”). These are on larger bases with their mounts and fight as their foot type, but can move

more than once during a bound.

[3.2] MOUNTED TROOPS

General Rule;

Mounted troop’s represents men mounted on

animals, such as horses, camels or elephants, or in

wheeled vehicles pulled by animals designed to engage in combat, such as chariots.

Cases;

[3.21] ELEPHANTS (El), of any breed or crew complement. These were used to charge solid foot,

or to block mounted troops, whose frightened

horses would often not close with them. Pikes fought them on nearly level terms, and they could

be killed by artillery or showers of lighter missiles,

or be distracted by psiloi. Maddened by combat, they would always pursue.

[3.22] KNIGHTS, representing all those horsemen

that charged at first instance without shooting, with

the intention of breaking through and destroying

enemy as much by weight and impetus as by their

weapons; such as Macedonian companions,

Sarmatians, Gothic horse, Norman or medieval knights (3Kn), Parthian and similar cataphracts in

full armour on fully armoured horses trotting in

tight formation (4Kn), and also un-scythed heavy chariots (HCh) with more than 2 animals or wheels

or crew greater than 2 or armed with a lance.

Massed bows could shoot them down as at Crecy, or steady spears or pikes stop them with a dense

array of shields or weapon points, or sword or axemen kill horses in a standing melee. Other foot

were likely to be ridden down. Knights could be

confident of defeating ordinary heavy cavalry, but light skirmishing horsemen were a greater danger.

These must sooner or later be charged rather than

accept a constant drain of casualties.

However, an over-rash pursuit risked being

surrounded and shot down in detail. Knights were

not well suited to dodging elephants or scythed chariots. A few armies such as Later Byzantines

and the Teutonic Order used knights in deep

wedges with the most heavily armoured in front and on the sides and lesser troops inside, which are

depicted as double elements (6Kn).

[3.23] CAVALRY, representing the majority of ancient horsemen, primarily armed with javelins,

bows or other missile weapons but combining these

with sword or lance (Cv), and also light chariots (LCh) with 2 animals and 1-2 crew. They usually

started combat with close range shooting, using

rapid archery or circulating formations to concentrate a mass of missiles, but charged when

that would serve better or to follow up an

advantage. They could destroy or drive away psiloi or auxilia, ride down foot bows caught at a

disadvantage, and force other foot to retire or even

destroy them. Not as committed to the charge as knights, they could retire out of range of archery or

to breathe their horses between missile attacks on

pikes or spears. They were outmatched in hand-to-hand combat by knights, but, being more agile and

having missile weapons, were in less danger from

light horse, elephants or scythed chariots. A few armies such as the Byzantines used deep formations

with lance-armed cavalry in front and bow-armed

behind, depicted as double-elements with lancers in the front row (6Cv).

[3.24] LIGHT HORSE, including all light

horsemen (LH) or camel riders (LCm) who skirmished in dispersed swarms with javelin, bow

or crossbow and would not charge unshaken

enemy; such as Numidians, Huns, Parthian horse archers, Late Roman “Illyrians” or Equites

Sagittarii, genitors or border staves. They typically

fought by sending a constant stream of small parties to gallop past shooting several times at close

range, then return to rest or change ponies while

others took their turn.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 5 6 March, 2013

The boldness engendered by their near

invulnerability, the point-blank range and their

continuous rapid shooting made them as effective

against most foot as much larger numbers of foot

archers and more so than cavalry in formation and

lacking their large numbers of spare mounts. They did not charge until fatigue, casualties or disorder

made the enemy incapable of resisting. If charged,

they evaded shooting behind them, ready to turn on an over-confident pursuer. They detested foot

archers, who outshot and outranged them, and

artillery, who made their rally position unsafe. They were unlikely to destroy solid foot with good

shields and/or armour unless these had an open flank, but could greatly hamper their movements.

They were often used for wide flanking movements

behind the enemy, operating semi-autonomously rather than under close control, so are permitted

extra movement out of contact and are rarely

affected by distance from the general.

[3.25] SCYTHED CHARIOTS (SCh), with four

horses and usually a single crewman, so with a high

power/weight ratio, which, with no need to conserve the horses’ energy, enabled them to

charge straight ahead at a mad gallop into enemy

formations early in a battle to disrupt or destroy them. Since they usually wrecked in the process,

the drivers often jumped out at the last moment,

offering some hope to the target that the horses might swerve away from contact. They were

mainly dangerous to those troops who offered a

solid target and could not dodge easily, so were often countered by psiloi.

Since they usually wrecked in the process, the

drivers often jumped out at the last moment, offering some hope to the target that the horses

might swerve away from contact. They were

mainly dangerous to those troops who offered a solid target and could not dodge easily, so were

often countered by psiloi.

[3.26] CAMELRY (Cm), including those camel-mounted warriors who charged to close quarters or

used mass archery, but not those that only

skirmished or infantry transported by camel. Their chief value was to disorder those mounted troops

that depended on a charge into contact. They were

vulnerable to missiles and to troops closing on foot.

[3.17] MOUNTED TROOP TYPE CHART

Type Description Code

Elephants All El

Knights Macedonian companions, Sarmatians, Gothic horse, Norman or medieval knights

3Kn

Parthian and similar cataphracts in full armour on fully armoured horses trotting in tight formation

4Kn

un-scythed heavy chariots HCh

knights in deep wedges with the most heavily armoured in front and on the sides and lesser troops inside

6Kn

Cavalry primarily armed with javelins, bows or other missile weapons but combining these with sword or lance

Cv

light chariots light chariots with 2 animals and 1-2 crew

LCh

Light Horse

light horsemen LH

camel riders LCm

Scythed Chariots

SCYTHED CHARIOTS with four horses and usually a single crewman

SCh

Camelry camel-mounted warriors who charged to close quarters or used mass archery

Cm

[3.3] FOOT TROOPS

General Rule;

Foot troops represent men who move and fight on

foot.

Cases;

[3.31] SPEARS (Sp), representing all close

formation infantry fighting with spears in a rigid

shield wall; such as hoplites, Punic African foot,

Byzantine skutatoi or Saxon fyrd. The mutual

protection provided by their big shields, tight formation and row of spear points gave them great

resisting power, so that two opposed bodies of

spears might fence and shove for some time before one broke. Theban hoplites that formed very deep

are depicted by double elements (8Sp). Steady

spears could usually hold off horsemen, but psiloi or light skirmishing horse could force them to halt

and present shields, and might surround and destroy an outflanked body. They are all classed as

“Solid”.

[3.32] PIKES (Pk), including all close formation infantry who fought collectively with pikes or long

spears wielded in both hands; such as

Macedonians, Scots, Flemings or Swiss. Their longer weapons made pikemen even better than

spearmen at holding off charging mounted troops.

When fighting against foot, the combination of longer weapons and deep formations enabled them

to roll over most foot if forward momentum could

be maintained, though the long shafts also made formation keeping more difficult, so that gaps

resulting from movement or the stress of combat

could be exploited by blades or warband. Less effective shields made them more vulnerable than

spears to bows and psiloi. They are all classed as

“Solid”, except for hillmen with long spears used in both hands and mostly lacking shields (3Pk), such

as Hittites, Koreans or North Welsh which are

classed as “Fast”.

[3.33] BLADES (Bd), including all those close

fighting infantry primarily skilled in fencing

individually with swords or heavier cutting or cut and thrust weapons; such as Roman legionaries,

huscarles, galloglaich, dismounted knights,

halberdiers, billmen, clubmen or later samurai. They often had better armour or shields than other

foot, weapons that could more readily defeat

armour, and often added supplementary missile weapons or closed quickly to avoid missiles. They

were less safe than spears or pikes against charging

mounted troops, but were superior in hand-to-hand combat to any foot except pikes in deep formations.

Generals in litters (Lit) surrounded by bodyguards

and standard-bearing wagons with guards (CWg) of the Khazars and Italian city states are also classed

as Blades. Blades are classed as “Solid”, except for

those more lightly equipped but faster moving (3Bd), such as Dacian falx-men, Roman lanciarii or

medieval Indian swordsmen, who are classed as

“Fast”, as are also Swiss halberdiers acting offensively in columns (6Bd), but not dismounted

knights mounted 3 to a base to match mounted

numbers.

[3.34] AUXILIA (Ax), representing javelin-armed

foot able to fight hand-to-hand but emphasising

agility and flexibility rather than cohesion.

Irregulars (often mountain peoples) such as

Thracians, Spanish scutarii, Armenians and Irish

kerns (3Ax) are classed as “Fast”. These were outclassed in open country by other close fighting

foot and more vulnerable to cavalry than Spears,

but useful to chase off or support psiloi, to take or hold difficult terrain, as a link between heavier foot

and mounted troops and occasionally as a mobile

reserve. Those that acquired regular discipline (4Ax) such as Hellenistic thureophoroi and

Imperial Roman auxilia were an ideal counter to Warband and are classed as “Solid”.

[3.35] PSILOI (Ps), including all dispersed

skirmishers on foot with javelin, sling, staff sling, bow, crossbow or hand gun. These fought in a

loose swarm hanging around enemy foot, pestering

it with a constant dribble of aimed missiles at close range and running out of reach if charged. They

rarely caused serious casualties, but were very

useful to slow and hamper enemy movements, to protect the flanks of other troops, to seize, hold or

dispute difficult terrain, to co-operate with cavalry,

and to counter elephants or scythed chariots. Unsupported psiloi in the open were vulnerable to

cavalry. Archer’s integral to units of close fighting

foot are not classed as psiloi, but assumed to be included in their elements. Psiloi are all classed as

“Fast”.

[3.36] BOWS, representing foot formed in bodies who shot at longer range than psiloi, often in

volleys at command. Weapons that often penetrated

armour at very short range, such as longbows (Lb) or crossbows (Cb), are differentiated by effect.

Troops unhappy to stay and fight hand-to-hand

(3Bw, 3Lb, 3Cb) are classed as “Fast”, those that defended themselves with light spears, heavy

swords or clubs and sometimes behind stakes or

pavises (4Bw, 4Lb, 4Cb) are classed as “Solid”; as also are mixed units with several ranks of close-

fighters (rather than a single rank of pavisiers) in

front of the shooters and depicted as double elements (8Bw, 8Lb, 8Cb) with close fighter

figures in front and bowmen behind..

[3.37] WARBAND (Wb), including all wild irregular foot that relied more on a ferocious

impetuous charge than on mutual cohesion,

individual skills or missiles; such as most Celts and Germans. Enemy foot that failed to withstand their

impact were swept away, but they were sensitive to

harassment by psiloi and to mounted attack. Those that charged most impetuously, moved most

swiftly, were used to woods, but were brittle in

defeat (3Wb), such as Britons or Galwegians are classed as “Fast”. Those that kept a shield wall in

adversity and fought it out toe-to-toe (4Wb) are

classed as “Solid”.

[3.38] HORDES (Hd), representing unskilled and

unenthusiastic foot levied from peasantry to bulk

out numbers and perform the menial work of sieges and camps and typically huddling in dense masses

whose inertia provides a kind of staying power allowing them to be classed as “Solid”, if only by

comparison (7Hd). Others (5Hd) such as rioters,

street gangs, revolutionary mobs, religious fanatics and Aztec militia were more enthusiastic, so “Fast”

but equally incompetent.

[3.39] FOOT TROOP TYPE CHART

Type Description Code

Spears close formation infantry fighting with spears in a rigid shield wall

Sp

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 6 6 March, 2013

Pikes close formation infantry who fought collectively with pikes or long spears wielded in both hands

4Pk

hillmen with long spears used in both hands and mostly lacking shields

3Pk

Blades All close fighting infantry primarily skilled in fencing individually with swords or heavier cutting or cut and thrust weapons

4Bd

lightly equipped but faster moving

3Bd

Swiss halberdiers acting offensively in columns

6Bd

Generals in litters surrounded by bodyguards

Lit

standard-bearing wagons with guards

CWg

Auxilia All javelin-armed foot able to fight hand-to-hand

3Ax

regular discipline 4Ax

Psiloi dispersed skirmishers on foot with javelin, sling, staff sling, bow, crossbow or hand gun

Ps

Bows with bow Bw

With Long Bow Lb

With Cross Bow Cb

Warband wild irregular foot 3Wb

kept a shield wall in adversity and fought it out toe-to-toe

4Wb

Horde unskilled and unenthusiastic foot

7Hd

rioters, street gangs, revolutionary mobs, religious fanatics and Aztec militia

5Hd

[3.4] OTHER TROOPS

General Rule;

Other troops represent men who man war

machines, such as artillery, or manned mobile

fortifications, such as war wagons.

Cases;

[3.41] ARTILLERY (Art), whether tension,

torsion, counterweight or gunpowder. This could

annoy the enemy at long range, destroy war wagons

or elephants and counter enemy artillery, but was

relatively immobile once deployed, so is “Solid” foot.

[3.42] WAR WAGONS (WWg), including

Hussite mantleted wagons, mobile towers, and other wagons that fought mainly by shooting and

could move during battle, but not laagered transport

wagons. They are “Solid” because, except for mobile towers which can assault a city, fort or

camp, they had great resisting power to blunt

attack, but could not themselves charge. They were vulnerable to artillery. Since they could fight all-

round, they count the first edge in contact as their

front edge when in close combat and can choose any one edge each bound to shoot from. They could

not shoot effectively on the move. In DBA they are

usually depicted without draft animals, simulating the removal of these before combat, and so can be

on square bases.

[3.43] Other Troop Type Table

[3.43] OTHER TROOP TYPE CHART

Type Description Code

War Wagons

All WWg

Others Camp Followers -

denizens of Built-Up Areas -

[4.0] BASING

General Rules;

All figures must be “based” onto elements. The size of elements is fixed and affects game mechanics.

Examples;

The diagram shows examples for the 4 basic element sizes used for 15mm. Shown are an

element of Blades, Cavalry, Auxilia and Elephants.

Cases;

[4.1] BASE WIDTH

[4.11] All figures must be combined into elements

of several figures, or an elephant, vehicle or

artillery model, fixed to a thin rectangular base. Base width is critical and must not be changed.

[4.12] Base Width: It is 60mm for the larger scale

and 40mm for the smaller. See Case (2.1)

[4.2] BASE DEPTH

[4.21] Players should keep as closely as possible to

the minimum depths recommended below. Larger alternatives are to accommodate figures based for

DBR or over-large figures by manufacturers unable

to conform to established practise.

[4.22] MOUNTED TROOP BASE DEPTH CHART

Type DBA DBMM 25 15 Fig

Elephant El El (S, O, I, X)

80 40 1m

Knights 3Kn Kn (S, O, F, I)

40 - 45 / *60

30 / *40

3

4Kn Kn (X) 40 - 45

30 4

6Kn Kn (S) + (I) DB

80 60 6

HCh Any Kn 80 40 1m

Cavalry Cv Cv (S, O, I) 40 - 45

30 3

6Cv Cv (S, O, I) DB

80 60 6

LCh Cv (S, O, I) 80 40 1m

Light Horse

LH LH (S, O, F, I)

40 - 45

30 2

LCm LH (I) 40 - 45

30 2

Scythed Chariots

SCh Exp 80 40 1m

Camelry Cm Cm (S, O) 40 - 45

30 3

Mounted Infantry

Mtd-X Mtd-X 60 or 80

40 or 60

3-4+ mod

*Macedonian companions and some Skythian.

[4.23] FOOT TROOP TYPE DEPTH CHART

Type DBA DBMM 25 15 Fig

Spears S - Sp Sp (S, O, I)

20 15 – 20

4

S - 8Sp 2 element of above

40 30 8

Pikes

S - 4Pk Pk (S, O, I, X)

20 - 30

15 - 20

4

F - 3Pk Pk (F) 30 20 3

Blades S - 4Bd Bd (S, O, I)

20 - 30

15 - 20

4**

F - 3Bd Bd (F, X) 30 20 3

F - 6Bd - 60 40 6

Auxilia S - 4Ax Ax (S) 30 20 3

F - 3Ax Ax (O, I) 30 20 3

Bows S - 4Bw, Cb, Lb

Bw (S, O, I)

30 20 4

F – 3Bw, Cb, Lb

Bw (S, O, I)

30 20 3

8Bw Bw (X) DB

60 40 8

Psiloi F - Ps Ps (S, O, I, X)

30 20 2

Warband S - 4Wb

Wb (S, O)

20 15 - 20

4

F - 3Wb

Wb (F) 30 20 3

Hordes S - 7Hd

Hd (O) 40 - 60

30 – 40

7-8

F – 5Hd

Hd (S, F) 40 - 60

30 - 40

5-6

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 7 6 March, 2013

**Dismounted men-at-arms can instead be based with 3 figures as when mounted.

[4.23] Other Troop Base Depth.

[4.23] OTHER TROOP BASE DEPTH CHART

Type DBA DBMM

25 15 Fig

Artillery Art Art (S, O, F, I)

80 40 1m

War Wagons

WWg WWg (S, O, I)

60 or 120

40 or 80

1m

General *** Bd (Lit or CWg)

Bge (S) 60 or 120

40 or 80

5-6

Sallying denizens or camp followers

30 20 2-4

*** being in a litter or command wagon

Type = Troop Type, BDA = DBA list code, DBMM =

DBMM list code, DB is double base, 25 = Base depth if figure scale is 25mm or larger. All values in mm, 15 = Base depth if figure scale is 15mm or smaller. All values in mm, S / F = Solid or Fast. Fig = Figures or

models per base. 1m is 1 model, otherwise represents number of figures.

[4.3] BASING YOUR FIGURES & MODELS

General Rule;

All figures are mounted on a base, the size of which

is defined in Case (4.0). There are some exceptions

and special cases, which are detailed below.

Cases;

[4.31] Where more than one basing option exists,

this originated because a DBA troop type represents more than one DBMM type or grade, but

now also differentiates troops of the same type but

that fought slightly differently, such as those classed as Fast or Solid and/or that used unusually

deep formations. It also helps distinguish troops of

different origins, which can be further distinguished by basing figures representing regular troops

evenly in a single level row, and irregulars by using

figures of differing type, pose and/or colour scheme placed more randomly.

[4.32] *Macedonian companions and some

Skythian nobles can be on a deeper base with the

centre figure further forward.

[4.33] **Dismounted men-at-arms can instead be

based with 3 figures as when mounted. Mounted Infantry are based as 3-4 figures plus a vehicle, led

mount or mounted figure.

[4.34] Double elements required by army lists are based in two rows. 6Kn can have a row of 2

followed by a row of 4, or 3 interleaved ranks of 1,

2 and 3, with the centre 2 of the back row being the lighter type. 6Cv and 6Bd have two rows of 3. 8Sp

have 2 ranks of 4. 8Bw have a row of 4 with pavise or shield plus spear followed by 4 with bow or

crossbow.

[4.35] A double element is 1 element of the army’s 12, but may count as 2 elements when lost. In

partial compensation, it fights in close combat

against most foot as if the rear element was

providing rear support.

[4.36] If your army is of individual 10mm or 6mm

figures, use twice as many figures and models as

specified above. Basing of 6mm or 2mm blocks is

complicated by them being cast with varying

frontages. They must be cut and combined to look

realistic, with irregulars and skirmishers often in small random groups. Use open formation blocks

for light horse or psiloi, loose for most knights,

cavalry, auxilia, bowmen or warband, and close for cataphracts, spears, pikes and most blades.

[4.37] Depict camp followers and city denizens that

sally outside their defences as armed civilians.

[4.38] The general's element must be recognisable

by his figure, standard or conventional white charger, or rarely by *** being in a litter or

command wagon.

[5.0] BATTLEFIELD & TERRAIN

General Rule;

The Playing Area is called the Battlefield. See Case

(2.2). Terrain feature may be present on the battlefield, See Case (5.3). This is placed on the

battlefield as per Deployment Rules, see Case (8.1)

Cases;

[5.1] BATTLEFIELD

General Rule;

The Playing Area, or Battlefield, size is defied in Case (2.2). The Battlefield is divided into 4

quarters, which will affect terrain placement. See

Case (5.7). The defender supplies the Battlefield.

Cases;

[5.11] Players must be able to provide a battlefield

in case they become the defender. As generalship is definable as the skill with which generals adapt

their troops’ movements to those of the enemy and

to the battlefield, varied and realistic terrain is essential for interesting battles. Since so little time

is needed to paint DBA armies and the playing area

is so small, players should invest time and ingenuity in making their terrain as visually

attractive as their troops.

[5.12] Unless a competition organiser provides pre-

set terrain, the battlefield is produced by the

defending player placing separate terrain features

on a flat board or cloth representing flat good going such as pasture, open fields, steppe grassland or

smooth desert.

[5.13] The defender bisects the battlefield twice at right angles to its edge to produce 4 equal quarters

and numbers these 1-4 clockwise from the left.

Battlefield Example

This shows the 4 quarters in a Battlefield. Note that

the defender/invader edges can be changed after

terrain has been placed, as per Case (8.12).

[5.2] CHOOSING AND PLACING FEATURES

General Rule;

The Battlefield Terrain location is determined by the defending army, as defined in the army lists.

Examples

Army 1 has a terrain of Forest and Army 2 has a terrain of Steppe. After determining which army is

the defender and which is the invader, See Case (8.1), Army 1 is determined to be the defender. As

a result the battle is determined to be fought in the

terrain type of Army 1, which is Forest. The defending players needs to select 1-2 woods and 2-

3 optional features (River, Marsh, Gentle Hills,

extra Woods, BUA.)

Cases;

[5.21] The types of feature that can be used depend

on those of the terrain in which the defending army historically normally fought at home.

[5.22] The defending player chooses and places 1-2

compulsory and 2-3 optional features from those permitted:

[5.23] TERRAIN REQUIREMENT CHART

If Terrain is;

Compulsory features are

Optional features are;

Arable 1 BUA or 2 Plough

River, Difficult Hills, Gentle Hills, Woods, extra Plough, Enclosures, Road, Waterway, Scrub, Boggy.

Forest 1-2 Woods River, Marsh, Gentle Hills, extra Woods, BUA.

Hilly 1-2 Difficult Hills

River, Woods, BUA, Road, extra Difficult Hills.

Steppe 1-2 Gentle Hills

River, Rocky, Scrub, 1 only Gully, BUA.

Dry 1-2 Rocky or Scrub

Dunes, Difficult Hills, Oasis, BUA.

Tropical 1-2 Woods River, Marsh, 1 only Gully, BUA, Enclosures, Road,

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 8 6 March, 2013

extra Woods.

Littoral 1 Waterway Either Difficult Hills or Marsh, either Woods or Dunes, BUA, Road, River.

[5.3] AREA TERRAIN FEATURES

General Rule;

Area Terrain Features occupies an area within each

Battlefield quarter. These include Hills, Wood,

Marsh, Gully, Dunes, Oasis, Rocky, Scrubby, Boggy, Enclosures, Gentle Hills, Difficult Hills,

Plough and BUA.

Cases;

[5.31] AREA TERRAIN FEATURES includes

those listed below as Bad, Rough or Good going

and also BUA. See Case (6.0)

[5.32] Each must fit into a rectangle of which the

length plus the width totals no more than 9 BW.

[5.33] Every feature must be at least 1 BW wide at its centre and only 1 feature can be less than 3 BW

wide at its centre.

[5.34] A Gully’s length must be at least 3 times its width.

[5.35] The length of other features must not exceed

twice their width.

[5.36] BUA and Plough can have straight edges;

otherwise all features must be a natural shape with curved edges.

[5.37] A city or fort can be combined with a larger

hill also permitted, as 1 feature.

[5.38] AREA TERRAIN SIZE CHART

Terrain Dimension Rule

All Length + Width must not exceed 9 BW.

Width must be 3 BW or more in the middle.

1 Terrain Width can be 1 BW, or more, in the middle. This is normally a Gully.

Gully Length must be at least 3 times its width.

Others Length must not be more than 2 times their width.

Special 1 Terrain Piece Allowed

Gully (3 to 8 x 1) or (6 to 7 x 2)

Other (1 to 2 x 1) or (2 to 4 x 2)

All Other Terrain Pieces

Gully Not Allowed

Others (3 to 6 x 3) or (4 to 5 x 4)

Terrain Examples

This Marsh is 7 Base Widths by 2 Base Widths.

This total 9 so is allowed. Because the middle is

less than 3 BW’s wide, this can be deployed only if

all other Area Terrain features are a minimum of 3

BW’s wide. If this was a gully, it would be

allowed.

This Woods is 4 Base Widths by 4 Base Widths. This total 8 so is allowed. The centre is more than 3

Base Widths wide, so it does not restrict the

deployment of an Area Terrain feature of under 3

Base Widths. This size is not allowed to a Gully.

An example of a Gully, its length is more than 3 times its width.

This Hill is 4 BW x 4 BW, it is valid. In this case the crest line is a small area at the top. Crest lines

affects close combat and line of sight. See Case

(15.1), (8.4) and (13.2).

[5.4] AREA TERRAIN EFFECTS

General Rule;

Terrain is either Bad going, Rough Going or Good going, which affect Movement (9.7), Combat

(15.1), Combat Results (15.2) and Pursuing (15.6).

Cases;

[5.41] Difficult (steep and/or rocky, thickly

scrubbed or wooded) Hills, Woods, Marsh and

Gully are BAD GOING, which slows the movement of, and is an adverse close combat

tactical factor for, some foot and all mounted and

may hinder shooting. See Case (9.7), (15.1), (15.2) & (15.6).

[5.42] Dunes and Oasis are bad going except to

camels (both Cm and LCm).

[5.43] Rocky, Scrubby or Boggy flat ground,

Enclosures (fields subdivided by stone walls,

hedges, ditches or in Asia by paddy bunds), are ROUGH GOING, which slows move distances as

if bad going, but is not a tactical factor and does not

affect shooting.

[5.44] Gentle Hills and playing surface other than

terrain features are GOOD GOING.

[5.45] Plough is GOOD going but changes to

ROUGH if the game’s 1st PIP score is 1, due to

heavy rain or crops.

[5.46] An element in more than 1 kind of going is

treated as in the worst.

[5.47] All hills slope up to a centre line crest and give a close combat advantage if part of an

element’s front edge is upslope of all of its

opponent.

[5.48] An element which is partly in Rough going

is treated for movement, close combat and

command distance as if entirely in Rough going, unless it’s partially in Bad going, in which case it’s

treated as being in Bad going for movement, close combat and command distance.

[5.49] AREA TERRAIN “GOING” CHART

Terrain Going Notes

Difficult Hills Bad Centre line crest

Woods Bad

Marsh Bad

Gully Bad

Dunes Bad Except Cm & LCm

Oasis Bad Except Cm & LCm

Rocky Rough

Scrubby Rough

Boggy Rough

Enclosures Rough

Hedges Rough

Ditches Rough

Paddy Bunds Rough Only in Asia

Gentle Hills Good Centre line crest

Clear Good

Plough Good / Rough

If Heavy Rain, 1st

PIP score is 1

Area Terrain Effects Examples

The arrows are pointing to this hills crest line. Crest

lines can block line of sight (8.4) & (13.2) and

troops above the crest line have an advantage against troops below in close combat. They are

uphill. (15.1)

[5.5] LINEAR TERRAIN FEATURES

General Rule;

LINEAR TERRAIN FEATURES include

Waterways, Rivers and Roads.

Cases;

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 9 6 March, 2013

[5.51] A Waterway represents the sea, a lake edge

or a river too wide and deep to be fordable and is

impassable. It extends 1-4 BW inwards from an

entire battlefield edge and half its length must

extend no more than 3 BW in from that edge.

[5.52] A Waterway can be bordered by a beach or flood plain extending up to 2 BW further, which is

good going.

[5.53] A River must run from 1 battlefield edge to a different battlefield edge or join a waterway. It

cannot be more than 1 BW across or longer than

1½ times the distance between its ends.

[5.54] A River can cross any feature except a Hill,

Dunes, Oasis or BUA. It cannot start or go within 4 BW of any battlefield edge except the 2 edges it

flows from and towards.

[5.57] Roads can be paved or be earth tracks (best depicted as pale brown) created by frequent civilian

traffic. They are depicted as less than a BW wide,

elements moving astride centred on them rather

than confined between the road edges. A road must

run from 1 battlefield edge towards the opposite

battlefield edge, bending only minimally if desired to avoid terrain features.

[5.58] A Road cannot begin or end at a waterway

edge, but crosses rivers by ford or bridge. It can end at a BUA on a waterway edge. It cannot cross a

BUA except from city gate to city gate. A 2nd road

must cross or join the 1st.

[5.59] LINEAR TERRAIN SIZE CHART

Terrain Dimension Rule

Waterway Extends 1-4 BW inwards from an entire battlefield edge and half its length must extend no more than 3 BW in from that edge

can be bordered by a beach or flood plain extending up to 2 BW further, which is good going.

River must run from 1 battlefield edge to a different battlefield edge or join a waterway.

cannot be more than 1 BW across or longer than 1½ times the distance between its ends

can cross any feature except a Hill, Dunes, Oasis or BUA

cannot start or go within 4 BW of any battlefield edge except the 2 edges it flows from and towards

Road must run from 1 battlefield edge towards the opposite battlefield edge, bending only minimally if desired to avoid terrain features

depicted as less than a BW wide.

Linear Terrain Examples

This waterway extends no more than 3 BW from

the battlefield edge for half its length and 4 BW

from the edge for the remaining half. The minimum and maximum allowed lines are shown in white. In

this case the waterway is its maximum size. No

beach or flood plain is included, but could be added for a further 2BW. See Case (5.51)

Both rivers are valid, being from one edge to

another, being no wider than 1 element and having a total length no greater than 1 ½ times its on-

battlefield length. See Case (5.53)

[5.6] LINEAR TERRAIN EFFECTS

General Rule;

A Waterway is impassable and allows for littorial

landings, See Case (9.6). Rivers can impede

movement and affect close combat. See Case

(10.1). Roads can assist in movement when

element travel along it in column. See Case (9.72).

Cases;

[5.61] A Waterway represents the sea, a lake edge

or a river too wide and deep to be fordable and is impassable. See Case (5.51)

[5.62] A River is neither good nor bad going, but

elements crossing it are often penalised in other ways.

[5.63] Its (River) nature is constant along its whole

length for the whole game and will not become known until the first attempt by either player to

cross it off-road. See Case (10.1)

[5.64] An element is defending the bank of a River

if it is entirely on land and its close combat

opponent at least partly in the water.

[5.65] A Road cannot begin or end at a waterway

edge, but crosses rivers by ford or bridge. See Case

(5.58)

[5.66] Movement along a road is in good going and

counts as straight ahead even when the road curves.

Combat on it is in the going it is passing through.

[5.67] Linear Terrain Chart

[5.67] LINEAR TERRAIN “GOING” CHART

Category Going Notes

Waterway Impassable Littorial Landing

River Special

Road Good In Column.

[5.7] CHOOSING AND PLACING FEATURES

General Rule;

The defending player chooses terrain from those

allowed and then deploys them using the Terrain

Placement table, exception; if a 6 is dices the invader places the terrain.

Cases;

[5.71] The defending player chooses features from those allowed and places them.

[5.72] Those chosen must include BAD or ROUGH

GOING or a River or Waterway, and cannot include more than 1 each of Waterway, River,

Oasis, Gully or BUA, or 2 roads, or 3 each of any

other feature type.

[5.73] Compulsory features must be placed first.

[5.74] Each feature is diced for. A score of 1 to 4

directs that it must be placed within that quarter. A score of 5 directs that the quarter is chosen by the

defender. A score of 6 directs that the quarter is

chosen by the invader.

[5.75] Area features other than Plough or Gentle

Hills must be placed entirely within that quarter.

[5.76] A lesser part of any Gentle Hill may, and all Plough and linear features must, extend into 1 only

adjacent quarter.

[5.77] A feature that cannot be placed is discarded. There must be a gap of at least 1 BW between area

features and between an area feature other than a

BUA and any battlefield edge.

[5.78] BUA’s placed like other area features,

except that all of a City or Fort must be within

6BW of each of 2 battlefield edges and can be on a hill. See Case (6.12)

[5.79] Terrain Placement Table

[5.79] TERRAIN PLACEMENT TABLE

Die Placement

1 - 4 the feature must be placed within that quarter, as indicated by the die.

5 the quarter is chosen by the defender

6 quarter is chosen by the invader

Terrain Placement Example;

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 10 6 March, 2013

The defending player has selected terrain from the

Woods grouping. He has selected 2 woods as his

mandatory and a woods, river, marsh and gentle hill from his optional terrain feature list. The results

of the die rolls resulted in the terrain being

deployed as this example.

[5.8] TERRAIN EFFECTS SUMMARY

General Rule;

Terrain can affect tactical movement, adjustment moves, confirming moves, combat, recoils, flee and

pursuit.

Cases;

[5.81] Distant Shooting effects are detailed in case

(13.6)

[5.82] Close Combat Effects are detailed in case

(1.5)

[5.83] Command Distance effects are detailed in Case (8.5)

[5.84] Tactical Movement effects are detailed in

Case (9.7), Case (10.1), and Case (10.5)

[6.0] BUA

General Rule;

A built-up area (a.k.a. BUA) is a terrain piece that

represents a fortified urban area, such as a walled city.

All BUA types are considered an Area Terrain

Feature and follows all the normal dimension rules, See Case (5.3)

Cases;

[6.1] BUA DEPLOYMENT

[6.11] If a BUA (Built-Up Area) is chosen, it must

be a City, Fort, Hamlet or Edifice.

[6.12] These are placed like other area features,

except that all of a City or Fort must be within

6BW of each of 2 battlefield edges and can be on a

hill.

[6.2] CITY

[6.21] CITY has defensive walls, high economic and prestige value and a large population of

denizens who will defend it if it has no garrison.

[6.22] It must be modelled with 1 or 2 gates, through which all elements entering or leaving

must pass unless enemy assaulting it.

[6.23] It can be passed through along a road by a single friendly group or element even if garrisoned;

these using 1 PIP (see P.8) per element to get from

just outside the 1st gate to having the last moving just outside the far gate.

[6.24] Denizens of a City are armed civilians

initially loyal to the defender. If a garrison vacates the denizens continue to defend the City. If it is

destroyed, they do not. When a garrison or

denizens are destroyed in close combat, any 1 of the assaulting enemy elements occupies the City

and remains inside it sacking it until its player has a

PIP score of 5 or 6. It can then garrison the City or vacate it. Prior to that, it does not get the garrison

tactical factor and cannot shoot or be shot at.

[6.25] Denizens sometimes sallied out to assist a relieving army, so this is allowed if the City does

not contain a troop element and there are both

enemy and friendly troop elements within 2 BW of the City. They cannot themselves go more than 3

BW from it. Their fighting value in the open is

minimal; and the City is undefended in their absence. If the denizens of a City sally out or are

destroyed and it is left unoccupied by the enemy or

vacated, either side can move into or through it without combat.

[6.26] If denizens defending inside a City are destroyed by artillery, the City surrenders and is

not sacked. An appropriate enemy element

immediately becomes a garrison on moving into it. If it is not occupied by the enemy or it is vacated; a

puppet administration has been put in power and its

denizens will defend the City for the enemy. Denizens of a surrendered City cannot sally, as the

puppet administration is fully occupied holding

down a doubtful populace.

[6.27] If a City surrendered or was captured earlier

in a campaign and there is no enemy troop garrison

or this has been destroyed by shooting, the player that originally owned the City can pay 5 PIPS at the

start of any of his side’s bounds for its denizens to

revolt against and overthrow the puppet administration, resume their original loyalty and

defend the City (treachery by an internal faction

was the most common reason for a city’s fall).

Examples

This shows a typical maximum sized city, its 6 BW

long by 3 BW wide.

While it’s possible to have a city with a width less

than 3 BW, this is normally reserved for other

specific terrain features so a narrow city will not be

allowed. The other typical option is 5 BW by 4

BW; other cities will be smaller, such as 4 BW by 4

BW.

This city has two gates, from which roads can

connect to.

[6.3] FORT

[6.31] FORT (or castle) has permanent defences

and a gate and must start the game garrisoned by a

foot element.

[6.32] It (FORT) has no economic value or

denizens.

[6.33] It (FORT) is left undefended if its garrison vacates it or is destroyed; and can then be occupied

and garrisoned by any troop element.

[6.4] HAMLET

[6.41] HAMLET (or Township) - either a small

inhabited area of scattered or grouped houses

among small enclosed fields, or a larger village or town with denser housing, but no perimeter

defences except fences to keep out animals.

[6.42] It has insignificant economic or defensive value and its inhabitants fled when troops

approached.

[6.43] It functions only as rough going.

[6.5] EDIFACE

[6.51] EDIFICE - an isolated large building, such

as an Amerindian or other pyramid, a pharos, a

monastery, a temple or ruins.

[6.52] It has no economic value, denizens or

defensive value.

[6.53] It is treated only as bad going, except when it is used as a CAMP.

[6.6] BUA GARRISON

[6.61] A City can and a Fort must be garrisoned by A 1 (non-allied) foot element, placed near its centre

but representing defenders manning its perimeter,

or if a City B in the absence or loss of such a garrison, defended by denizens not represented by

an element.

[6.62] If the garrison is Artillery, its shooting effect is reduced because the artillery is distributed

around the perimeter.

[6.63] Any single troop element [except of Elephants, Scythed Chariots or War Wagons] can

occupy an undefended City and then garrison it.

[6.64] A garrison or other occupying element can vacate its BUA voluntarily by a tactical move, but

does not pursue defeated attackers.

[6.65] Occupiers of a BUA beside any but a paltry river count as defending the bank against enemy

elements assaulting it and still partly in that river.

[6.66] Occupiers of a city or fort cannot count as uphill of attackers or assaulters as fighting in bad

going, since a hill it is on counts as part of its

defences.

[6.67] A city on a hill must incorporate an extra

road (not counting as a separate terrain feature)

from each gate to the nearest hill edge.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 11 6 March, 2013

[7.0] CAMP

General Rule;

Every army must have a camp unless the army is

the defender and places a BUA and/or the army has

more than one war wagon element.

Cases;

[7.1] CAMP DEPLOYMENT

[7.11] The camp is the logistical element of the

army. It is optional if the army has a City or more than 2 War Wagons, compulsory if it does not.

[7.12] It must be in good going (except Plough) on

the rear edge of its side’s deployment area or on a waterway or beach, and should have only

temporary structures, except that an EDIFICE so positioned can be declared and act as a camp.

[7.13] A camp must be at least 1 BW long and fit

into a rectangle the length plus width of which totals no more than 4 BW.

[7.14] Unless based on an edifice, it is depicted by

an outer perimeter consisting of a simple earthwork and/or palisade, laagered wagons, a brush boma, a

group of medieval tents with interlaced guy ropes,

yurts with tethered ponies, kneeling camels or anything else appropriate to the army.

[7.15] It can be hollow with an interior space that

can be occupied by a single removable defending troop or camp follower element or permanently

occupied by fixed camp followers with tents, fires

and similar.

Camp Examples

This shows a large camp, 2 BW by 2 BW on the left, and a more typical small camp, 1 BW by 1 BW

on the right.

[7.2] CAMP GARRISON

[7.21] Your camp can be occupied either A by 1

only non-allied troop element [except Elephants or

Scythed chariots], which can vacate it or be replaced by another such element, or B by camp

followers (represented either by a Camp Follower

element that can move out of it but without being able to return, or by un-based or fixed figures that

cannot move out of it), but not both. If neither has

been provided, it has been left undefended.

[7.22] There are rare historical examples of camp

followers voluntarily leaving the camp to

potentially fight in the open but more realistically as a decoy or false reinforcement. This is therefore

permitted to a few specific armies, but will be of

minimal combat value and leaves the camp undefended.

[8.0] FIGHTING THE BATTLE

General Rule;

Before you can start playing, you need to Select

Armies, Roll For Invader, Set Up Terrain, Roll For Board Orientation, Place Camps & Deploy Armies

Cases;

[8.1] DEPLOYMENT

[8.11] Each side dices and adds the aggression

factor of its army list to the score. The side with the

lower total is the defender. It chooses and places terrain allowed to its army to create the battlefield.

[8.12] The high scorer is the invader. If the

defender has used a road, the invader’s base edge must be one of the edges the road joins. If not, the

invader can choose any edge as his base edge

except that opposite a waterway.

[8.13] The defender’s base edge is that opposite the

invader’s.

[8.14] Both sides now place their camps, the defender first.

[8.15] The defender now deploys its troop

elements, then the invader deploys its elements.

[8.16] 1 element of foot may be deployed as the

garrison of a friendly city or fort. All other troops

must deploy at least 3 BW from the battlefield centre line and from any enemy city or fort.

[8.17] Cavalry, Light Horse, Auxilia or Psiloi must

deploy at least 2 BW away from battlefield side edges and others at least 4 BW away.

[8.18] If a waterway has been placed, either side

can reserve 2-3 elements whose army’s home terrain is LITTORAL and which do not include

Elephants, War Wagons or Artillery; then place

them in its 1st bound as a single group with at least 1 element touching the waterway. See Case (9.61)

Deployment Examples

This diagram shows the basic deployment zones of

each side. For 15mm, troops may not be deployed

outside a box 120mm from the centre line, 80mm

from each flank if cavalry, light horse or psiloi and

160mm if other troops. Exception see Case (8.16).

[8.2] SEQUENCE OF PLAY

General Rule;

The Game is played in bounds, i.e., player turns.

Alternate Player turns can be considered to constitute a Game Turn. The 1st Player Turn of the

1st Game Turn, and subsequent Game-Turns, is

executed by the invading player, See Case (8.1). The 2nd player-Turn of the 1st game-Turn, and

subsequent game-Turns, is executed by the

defending player, See case (8.1).

During each Bound (Player-Turn), the phasing

players follows the Sequence of Play defined in this

Case. This can be summarised as PIP Phase, Tactical Movement Phase, Distance Shooting

Phase and Close Combat Phase. See Case (8.3),

Case (9.0), (13.1) and (13.2)

Commentary;

A Bound and Player-Turn are identical. Both terms

are freely used through-out these rules. A Game-Turn is a pair of Player-Turns, or Bounds. This

term is identical to “A Pair of Bounds”.

Cases;

[8.21] The defender takes first bound, then the two

sides alternate bounds.

[8.22] During each player's bound:

(1) The player dices for Player Initiative Points

(PIPs) [each representing a share of the general’s

attention and ability to communicate]. See case (8.3)

(2) The player uses these PIPs to make tactical

moves. See Case (9.0)

(3) Any Artillery, War Wagons or Bows elements

of both sides that are eligible to do so, must shoot once each (in case of dispute in the order the

moving player decides) and make or inflict

outcome moves. See case (13.1)

(4) Any elements of both sides whose front edges

are in suitable contact with enemy fight in close

combat in the order the moving player decides and make or inflict outcome moves. See Case (13.2)

[8.23] SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Phase Sub Phase

Description

Defenders Player Turn

PIP Phase Player dices for PIPs. See Case (8.3)

Tactical Movement Phase

Operational Movement Sub-Phase

The Phasing player can activate 1 element or group in column for 0 PIPs. See Case (8.41) & (8.48)

Tactical Movement Sub-Phase

The Phasing player can expend PIPs to activate any other elements or groups to conduct movement or to move to enemy contact. See Case (8.4)

Distance Shooting

Both Players conducts distant shooting. See Case

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 12 6 March, 2013

Phase (13.0)

Close Combat Phase

Both Players conducts close combat. See Case (14.0)

Invaders Player Turn (Repeat Above)

[8.24] During each Movement Sub-Phase, if a player is moving elements or groups into contact

with an enemy, follow the Moving into Contact

with Enemy Sequence of Play. See Case (11.21)

[8.3] PLAYER INITIATIVE POINT DICING

General Rule;

During the PIP Phase, the phasing player spins a dice. The result is the number of PIP, Player

Initiative Points available for the Phasing player

during its player-turn.

PIPs are required for a unit to move. Each player is

allowed 1 free move if the element(s) is travelling

by road. See Case (8.41) For other element(s) you need to expend 1 or more PIPs. See Case (8.4)

Commentary;

Player Initiative Point (PIP) and Command Points (CP) are identical. Both terms are freely used

through-out these rules.

Cases;

[8.31] The side starts its bound by dicing. The

score is the number of Player Initiative Points (PIPs) that can be used for tactical moves this

bound.

[8.32] Any unused PIPs are lost, not kept for future bounds.

[8.4] PLAYER INITIATIVE POINT & MOVEMENT

General Rule;

A player can move units in a column on road with

no expenditure of PIP’s. See Case (8.41) In other

cases troops can only conduct Tactical Movement with the expenditure of PIP’s. In most cases 1 PIP

is expended to activate 1 element or 1 group. This

can be increased by 2 in some circumstances. See Case (8.48)

Procedure;

At the beginning of each phasing tactical movement Phase the phasing player can activate a

single element or single group in column to

conduct an operational move. See Case (8.41)

All other element and/or group require the

expenditure of PIPs to conduct Tactical Movement.

Cases;

[8.41] The first move each bound of each single

element or column uses 0 PIPs if it is the full

distance possible, it is entirely by road and it does not reverse direction. See Case (9.5)

[8.42] Each other tactical move uses up 1 PIP. See

Case (8.18)

[8.43] Except in the side’s 1st bound, a move that

uses a PIP uses up an extra PIP for each of the 2

cases following that apply:

(a) If the element or group to be moved includes

any Scythed Chariots, Elephants, Hordes, War

Wagons, Artillery, denizens or camp followers, or

is an element currently garrisoning a city, fort or

camp.

(b) If its general’s element has been lost or is

entirely in a BUA, camp, Wood, Oasis, Marsh or

Gully; or if the element or group to be moved starts

more than command distance from its general.

Command distance is 20 BW if entirely Light

Horse. Otherwise, it is 8 BW, except that this is reduced to 4 BW if entirely either beyond the crest

of a Hill, beyond a BUA or a camp, on or beyond a

Difficult Hill, or in or beyond a Wood, Oasis or Dunes.

[8.44] A group move by road, or across bad (not

rough) going must be in or into a column unless entirely by Psiloi. See Case (9.51)

[8.45] A Littorial landing costs 1 PIP, as per Case (8.18). As this occurring in the first player turn, no

modifiers are applied.

[8.46] Line of sight to a General is Blocked if the General is entirely in a BUA, camp, Wood, Oasis,

Marsh or Gully.

[8.47] Line of Sight to a General is blocked if

entirely either beyond the crest of a Hill, beyond a

BUA or a camp, on or beyond a Difficult Hill, or in

or beyond a Wood, Oasis or Dunes.

[8.48] An Operational Move, as described in case

(8.41), requires the element or group in column to

expend its entire movement allowance, while retaining valid group column formation. A

Columns movement allowance is the movement

allowance of the slowest element. See Case (9.7), Case (9.31) and case (9.32).

[8.49] PIP COSTS TABLE

PIP Case

0 The first tactical move of each bound by a single element or by a column the leading element of which moves the full distance possible and entirely by road without reversing direction.

1 Normal Tactical Move

+1 If the element or group to be moved includes any Scythed Chariots, Elephants, Hordes, War Wagons, Artillery, denizens or camp followers, or is an element currently garrisoning a city, fort or camp.

+1 If its general’s element has been lost or is entirely in a BUA, camp, Wood, Oasis, Marsh or Gully;

or if the element or group to be moved starts more than command distance from its general.

Command distance is 20 BW if entirely Light Horse. Otherwise, it is 8 BW, except that this is reduced to 4 BW if entirely either beyond the crest of a Hill, beyond a BUA or a camp, on or beyond a Difficult Hill, or in or beyond a Wood, Oasis or Dunes.

Line-of-Sight Examples

The General in Element A has a clear line of sight

to element B and F and the group made up of

element F & E. It can activate those elements or

group if within 8 BW. It does not have a clear line

of sight to Element C, D or E. To activate those

elements the General in Element 1 needs to be within 4 BW.

In this case the General has no line of sight to any

element as it’s in a wood.

[8.5] COMMAND DISTANCE & TERRAIN

General Rule;

Terrain can affect the PIP cost to active an element

or group for tactical Movement, by affecting the

distance an element or Group can be from a General to avoid the +1 PIP cost to be activated.

Cases;

[8.51] Except in the side’s 1st bound, a move that uses a PIP uses up an extra PIP if its general’s

element is entirely in a BUA, camp, Wood, Oasis,

Marsh or Gully. See Case (8.42)

[8.52] Except in the side’s 1st bound, a move that

uses a PIP uses up an extra PIP if the element or

group to be moved starts more than command distance from its general. Command distance is 20

BW if entirely Light Horse. Otherwise, it is 8 BW,

except that this is reduced to 4 BW if entirely either beyond the crest of a Hill, beyond a BUA or a

camp, on or beyond a Difficult Hill, or in or beyond

a Wood, Oasis or Dunes. See Case (8.42)

[8.53] An element is within its generals Command

distance if a line drawn between the closest point

on the elements base to the closest point on a Generals Base does not exceed the Command

Distance as stated in Case (8.42).

[8.54] A Group is within its Generals Command distance if a line drawn between the closest point

on the Generals Elements Base, to the closest point

of any elements base in the Group, does not exceed the Command Distance as stated in Case (8.42).

[8.53] COMMAND DISTANCE CHART

Maximum Distance

Situation

none If generals element is in BUA, camp, Wood, Oasis, Marsh or Gully.

4 BW (160mm)

If not light horse and with no Line of Sight to its general.

Entirely either beyond the crest of a Hill, beyond a BUA or a camp, on or beyond a Difficult Hill, or in or beyond a Wood, Oasis or Dunes.

8 BW (240mm)

If not light horse and with a line of sight to its general.

20 BW (800mm)

If entirely Light Horse in all cases.

Elements not within command radius require +1

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 13 6 March, 2013

additional PIP to be activated for movement.

[9.0] TACTICAL MOVES

General Rule;

Units which are activated using PIPS can conduct a

Tactical move. See Case (8.4). Tactical Movement

includes movement into contact with an enemy, there is no separate charge moves. Elements may

only make one Tactical Move per player-turn, with

some exceptions listed in Case (9.8). There are four types of Tactical Moves, Single Element Move,

Group Move, Column Move and Littoral Landing.

Cases;

[9.1] OVERVIEW

[9.11] A tactical move is a voluntary move that

normally uses up PIPs and happens before shooting and close combat.

[9.12] It can be by a single element or a group of

elements, but cannot include any element currently in close combat.

[9.13] It must not be confused with outcome moves

(recoils, flees and pursuits), which are compulsory, do not use up PIPs and usually follow distant

shooting or close combat.

[9.14] A legal tactical move cannot be taken back once the element has been placed unless the initial

position was marked and the opponent consents.

Such a marker must be removed before starting to move another element.

[9.2] SINGLE ELEMENT MOVES

General Rule;

When moving a single element you only move 1

element up to the limit of its movement allowance,

wheeling and manoeuvring around the battlefield freely to achieve its final location. To avoid any

terrain movement penalties you must move around

any terrain which would affect movement allowance, otherwise your movement allowance is

modified for moving through the terrain. When

tracking a complex move, ensure no corner of the

element ever exceeds its movement allowance.

Cases;

[9.21] A tactical move by a single element can be in any direction, even diagonal or oblique, can pass

through any gap it can fit through and can end

facing in any direction.

[9.22] An element that uses its move to dismount is

exchanged (with its front edge in the same place)

for the foot type, then moves in later bounds as that foot.

[9.23] It cannot dismount in an enemy Threat Zone

(TZ).

Tactical Movement Example;

Spear Element A has made a simple forward Tactical Move. Spear Element B has made an

oblique forward Tactical Move. In both cases the

corner which moved the furthest cannot exceed the elements movement allowance, which is 2 BW.

(80mm if using 15mm)

Fast Blade Element A has moved around the wood, avoiding it. This was to avoid any movement

penalties caused by the wood. Element A would

have moved through woods if it made a single move to its final position, this would have reduced

its movement allowance. Spear Element B has not avoided the wood; this has reduced its movement

allowance to 1 BW.

[9.3] GROUP ELIGIBILITY

General Rule;

Elements can be combined into groups and moved

together, for the PIP (Command Point) cost of

moving 1 element. Only elements which are both in a contact at a corner and along an edge are eligible

to move as a group.

Cases;

[9.31] A group is a contiguous set of elements all

facing in the same direction with each in both edge

and corner-to-corner contact with another; or leading, or following another element in, a

wheeling column.

[9.32] A column is a group only 1 element wide.

Group Eligibility Examples;

All these elements can form a group. In each case

an element has an edge in contact and at least one

corner in contact. Note the light Cavalry only have one corner in contact with the Pike element to its

left; this is valid because at least one corner is

adjacent.

In this example no elements are eligible to form

any groups. There are no edges and corners adjacent. The cavalry elements and the Pike

element on the left have no corners adjacent to any

other elements corner. The light cavalry element E has a corner adjacent to the Pike element C, but no

adjacent edge. Pike element C and E are facing in

opposite directions and the Archer Element F has a gap.

[9.4] GROUP MOVEMENT

General Rule;

Elements can form groups and move together. This

allows a player to move a larger number of

elements for a given number of PIPs, than moving each element individually.

Moves available to groups are restricted. No

element of a group may exceed its movement allowance. The elements must begin and end in

valid group contact. No element in the group may

change position relative to any other element in the group. The group can move directly forward,

wheel, or perform some combination of these,

including multiple wheels. The group may move up to one-half base width directly left or right to line

up opposite an enemy element, but only if the

enemy element is within one base width of at least one element in the group. No element of the group

may start in bad going or enter bad going at any

point in the move.

Cases;

[9.41] To move as a group, each element must

move parallel to or follow the first to move, move the same distance or wheel through the same angles

with the group’s entire front edge pivoting around a

front corner.

[9.42] No other changes in frontage, direction or

facing can be made except to slide sideways to line

up when in an enemy Threat Zone (TZ).

[9.43] Groups are temporary: if the whole of a

group cannot move, some of its elements will

probably be able to move as a smaller group or as separate single elements.

[9.44] Conversely, a group or single element can

move to join other elements and make its next move as a group including these.

[9.45] Allied elements can only make a group move

with elements of their contingent.

[9.46] A group move can include reducing frontage

to form such a column for this or any other

purpose. The leading element moves forward, then others successively join behind it, moving as if by

single element moves. See Case (9.52)

[9.47] No element can end with its front edge

further to its original rear. See Case (9.53)

[9.48] Elements that do not join the tail of the column that bound are no longer part of the same

group. See Case (9.54)

Group Move Examples

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 14 6 March, 2013

This shows a simple group wheel. The element

arrangement after the wheel is identical to the

starting element arrangement. The Pike element C moved its maximum allowance. The Light Cavalry

element D has a greater movement allowance and

was able to conduct this wheel without exceeding its movement allowance. If the 4th element was a

pike, this wheel would not have been allowed as

the end pike element would have exceeded its

movement. In this case a reduced wheel can be

conducted.

This shows how a group can contract its frontage to avoid bad going. The group has woods to its right.

To avoid moving through the wood the Pike element C and the Light horse element D formed

up behind the first element which is not required to

contract frontage, Pike element B. The two pike elements to the left are unaffected and move

forward normally. The movement allowance of the

contracting elements must not be exceeded in this move, as measured from corner to corner.

Elements A, B, C & D are part of a valid group, however Element A is in contact with an enemy

element. In this case only the elements which are

not part of the close combat can move as a group. The phasing player is leaving Element A & B in

place and is moving Element C & D. The phasing

player could include Element B as part of the group, but has decided to keep it in place to assist

in the close combat.

[9.5] COLUMN MOVEMENT

General Rule;

A Column Move is a special type of Group Move.

It follows all the normal Group Movement rules as

per Case (9.4).

To take advantage of the 0 PIP (Command Point)

movement, as per Case (8.41), elements must start

its movement eligible for column movement and

can conduct column movement for its entire

Tactical Movement Phase along a road.

To move across Bad Going or across a non-paltry river as a group, elements must conduct column

movement for the entire period they are in bad

going. See case (9.45) and Case (9.7)

Elements can form a column during its Tactical

movement phase as per Case (9.47).

Cases;

[9.51] A group move by road, or across bad (not

rough) going must be in or into a column unless entirely by Psiloi.

[9.52] A group move can include reducing frontage

to form such a column for this or any other purpose. The leading element moves forward, then

others successively join behind it, moving as if by

single element moves. See Case (9.46)

[9.53] No element can end with its front edge

further to its original rear. See Case (9.47)

[9.54] Elements that do not join the tail of the column that bound are no longer part of the same

group. See Case (9.48)

[9.55] Once in the column, each element follows the leading element and wheels in succession at the

same places through the same angles.

[9.56] A group is a contiguous set of elements all facing in the same direction with each in both edge

and corner-to-corner contact with another; or

leading, or following another element in, a wheeling column. See Case (9.31)

Column Movement Examples

The three Cavalry elements form a group. While

moving it wheels and contracts its frontage. Element A moves forward, wheels and then

continues its move. Element B follows up behind

and finally Element C follows up at the rear. All element movement is within their movement

allowance.

Once a column is formed the group can conduct column movement, enjoying all the benefits. As

this group did not start in column it cannot be

activated for movement at a cost of 1 PIP. It can only move as a group in bad going from the

moment the column was formed, not before. If it

started in Bad going it would need to conduct individual element movement to form a column,

resulting in 3 or more PIPs being used.

In this example a column move and wheel has

resulted in a kink in the column. It is permissible to

end a column move with a kink. See Case (9.31). This must be clearly indicated so that element can

be moves as part of the group the following Player-

Turn. To avoid this the last element can we swung

around, as per element H, to ensure it remains in

the column for the next phasing player turn. A kink

is only allowed when the group is a column.

[9.6] LITTORAL LANDINGS

General Rule;

A Liitoral Landing is a special forma of movement allowed to certain armies. See Case (8.18).

Procedure;

A player who has reserved elements for a littoral landing may, in his first turn, place any or all of the

reserved elements onto the battlefield. The

elements must be placed in group contact, See Case (9.3). If only one element is placed, that element

must be in contact with an edge of the waterway. If

more than one element is placed, at least one of

those elements must be in contact with the edge of

the waterway.

The player may choose not to place any or all of the reserved elements in his first turn, in which case the

elements may not be used at all during the game.

The elements that are not placed on the board do not count as destroyed.

Placing a littorial landing costs one PIP. As this

movement is occurring in the first player turn, no modifiers are applied.

Cases;

[9.61] If a waterway has been placed, either side can reserve 2-3 elements whose army’s home

terrain is LITTORAL and which do not include

Elephants, War Wagons or Artillery; then place them in its 1st bound as a single group with at least

1 element touching the waterway. See Case (8.18)

Littoral Landing Examples

Three elements of blades have made a Littoral

Landing. All elements must be deployed as part of

a group and at least 2 elements must touch the waterway.

[9.7] TACTICAL MOVE DISTANCES

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 15 6 March, 2013

General Rule;

Each type of element has a maximum movement

distance in good going, bad going, and while

making a road move. An element is considered to

be making a road move if the entire move is along a

road. An element is considered to be making a bad going move if it is not a road move and at any point

during the move any part of the element enters bad

going. Otherwise, it is considered a good going move. See Case (5.5).

Procedure;

Distance is measured using the element’s corner that moves the farthest.

Cases;

[9.71] The maximum distance between the starting

point of the furthest moving front corner of any

element and that corner’s final position or between either of these and any intermediate position is:

4 BW If Light Horse, Cavalry or Scythed Chariots

and only in good going.

3 BW If Knights, Elephants, Camelry or mounted

infantry and only in good going, or if “Fast” foot in

any going.

2 BW If “Solid” Auxilia or “Solid” Warband in any

going, or any foot other than “Fast” foot and only

in good going

1 BW If any troops other than “Fast” foot, Auxilia

or Warband and in bad or rough going for any part

of the move (except that Artillery and War Wagons cannot deploy or move at all off-road in bad going).

1 BW If the front edge of any single element or

group is in a non-paltry river for part of the move.

[9.72] All movement by an element or group that is

entirely along a road is treated as in good going.

[9.73] Movement Allowance Table (Original)

Move Case

4 BW

160mm

If Light Horse, Cavalry or Scythed Chariots and only in good going.

3 BW

100mm

If Knights, Elephants, Camelry or mounted infantry and only in good going, or if “Fast” foot in any going.

2 BW

80mm

If “Solid” Auxilia or “Solid” Warband in any going, or any foot other than “Fast” foot and only in good going

1 BW

40mm

If any troops other than “Fast” foot, Auxilia or Warband and in bad or rough going for any part of the move (except that Artillery and War Wagons cannot deploy or move at all off-road in bad going).

If the front edge of any single element or group is in a non-paltry river for part of the move.

[9.74] MOVEMENT ALLOWANCE

Element Type Good Going

Bad Going

Light Horse (LH), Camel Riders (LCm), Cavalry (Cv), Light Chariots (LCh), Scythed Chariots (SCh)

4 BW (160mm)

1 BW (40mm)

Elephants (El), Knights (Kn), Heavy Chariots (HCh), Camelry (Cm), Mounted Infantry (Mtd)

3 BW (120mm)

1 BW (40mm)

Fast Pike (3Pk), Fast 3 BW 3 BW

Blade (3Bd), Fast Auxilia (3Ax), Fast Bow (3Bw), Fast Psiloi (Ps), Fast Warband (3Wb), Fast Hordes (5Hd)

(120 mm) (120 mm)

Solid Auxilia (4Ax), Solid Warband (4Wb)

2 BW (80mm)

2 BW (80mm)

Solid Spear (Sp), Solid Pike (4Pk), Solid Blade (4Bd), Solid Bow (4Bw), (Lb), (Cb), Solid Horde (7Hd), Litter (Lit)

2 BW (80mm)

1 BW (40mm)

Artillery (Art), War Wagon (WWg)

2 BW (80mm)

None

Camp Follower None None

If the front edge of any single element or group is in a non-paltry river for part of the move.

1 BW (40mm)

Value in mm are for 15mm

[9.8] SECOND OR SUBSEQUENT TACTICAL MOVES DURING THE SAME BOUND

General Rule;

Elements and/or groups may only make a single

tactical move each phasing player turn, except as noted in this Case Section. Eligible elements may

make second and subsequent tactical moves as

either single elements or as part of a group or column. Eligible elements may even make second

or subsequent tactical moves after a littoral landing.

Each second or subsequent move costs PIPs (Command Points) as per case (8.4).

Cases;

[9.81] Elements or groups that have already moved this bound can make a 2nd or subsequent tactical

move, but only if this does not start or go within 1

BW of enemy unless while moving along a road and is entirely by:

(a) Light Horse or mounted foot and making a 2nd or 3rd move.

(b) Psiloi making a 2nd move if either in their

side’s 1st bound of the game, or if every element starts entirely in good going but ends at least

partially in bad going.

(c) Troops moving along a road if making a 2nd or subsequent move.

[9.82] 2nd

& SUBSEQUENT MOVE ALLOWED

Type Move Conditions

Psiloi +1 Psiloi making a 2nd move if either in their side’s 1st bound of the game, or if

every element starts entirely in good going but ends at least partially in

bad going. (cannot start or go within 1 BW of enemy)

Light Horse, Light Camelry, Mounted Foot

+2 Light Horse or mounted foot and making a 2nd or 3rd move. (cannot start or go within 1 BW of enemy)

All U Troops moving along a road if making a 2nd or

subsequent move.

+1 = 1 Additional Tactical Move, +2 = 2 Additional

Tactical Move

[9.9] DISMOUNTING

General Rule;

Some elements are allowed to dismount. This

represents replacing the mounted troop element with a Foot element. This represents soldiers

getting off their mount and fighting on foot.

All elements which can dismount started the game as mounted troops.

An element can dismount as part of a normal

tactical move, including a single element move, a group move, a column move, or a littoral landing.

Any number of elements may dismount as part of a

move.

Dismounted consists of replacing the mounted

elements with their foot type and perform the rest

of the move normally.

Once an element has dismounted, it may not

change back to its mounted type during the game.

Cases;

[9.91] A few army lists permit some of their

mounted elements to “dismount” i.e. be exchanged

for a related foot element during the game by using a complete single element tactical move to

dismount, but cannot remount. See Case (3.14)

[9.92] More armies have mounted elements that can be deployed either mounted or dismounted at

the start of a game. See Case (3.15)

[9.93] A very few have mounted infantry (prefixed by “Mtd”). These are on larger bases with their

mounts and fight as their foot type, but can move

more than once during a bound. See Case (3.16)

[9.94] An element that uses its move to dismount is

exchanged (with its front edge in the same place)

for the foot type, then moves in later bounds as that foot. See Case (9.22)

[9.95] It cannot dismount in an enemy Threat Zone

(TZ). See Case (9.23)

Dismounting Example

This is an example of 2 elements dismounting

during a phasing player turn and then during the

next phasing player turn moving forward. In Fig (9.9a) Elements A and B are Knights who spend a

Tactical Movement Phase dismounting. In Fig

(9.9b) the dismounted knights, along with a Cavalry Element, moves towards the enemy Bow.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 16 6 March, 2013

[10.0] MOVEMENT RESTRICTIONS

[10.1] CROSSING A RIVER

General Rule;

When an element crosses a River for the first time

the River Type must be determined. See Case

(10.15)

When crossing a River unopposed, elements must

move in a straight line until it clears the River. It

cannot wheel while crossing.

When crossing a River opposed, the element can

wheel to line up with the end element.

Cases;

[10.11] Troops that enter a river must continue

crossing at the same angle to its course as they enter, or divert by the minimum necessary to line

up in close combat with an enemy element.

[10.12] The first element to try to cross a river off-road during the game must dice for its state, which

then applies along its entire length for both sides

for the whole game.

[10.13] A score of 1 or 2 indicates that the river is

paltry, too shallow and easy banked to aid defence

and can be passed through as if good going, 3 or 4

that it slows crossing and its banks aid defence, 5

or 6 that it slows crossing, its banks aid defence

and that only single elements or elements in or forming column can cross it during the game, wider

groups stopping at the near bank.

[10.14] A River is neither good nor bad going, but elements crossing it are often penalised in other

ways. Its nature is constant along its whole length

for the whole game and will not become known until the first attempt by either player to cross it

off-road. See Case (5.63)

[10.15] An element is defending the bank of a River if it is entirely on land and its close combat

opponent at least partly in the water. See Case

(5.64)

[10.16] A Road cannot begin or end at a waterway

edge, but crosses rivers by ford or bridge. See Case

(5.65)

[10.17] Movement along a road is in good going

and counts as straight ahead even when the road

curves. Combat on it is in the going it is passing through. See Case (5.66)

[10.18] A group move by road, or across bad (not

rough) going must be in or into a column unless entirely by Psiloi. See Case (9.51)

[10.19] Fleeing elements cannot avoid a river,

entering which destroys it unless the river is paltry. See Case (15.55)

[10.14] River Type Table

[10.14] RIVER TYPE TABLE

Die Result

1, 2 Paltry - too shallow and easy banked to

aid defence and can be passed through as if good going.

3, 4 Ordinary - slows crossing and its banks aid defence.

5, 6 Difficult - Slows crossing, its banks aid defence and that only single elements or elements in or forming column can cross it during the game, wider groups stopping at the near bank

Crossing a River Examples

As soon as Blade Element A enters the river, it

must move straight forward with no wheeling or sideward movement, once it fully exited it can

wheel. See Case (10.11)

In this case the Blade element A is permitted to

adjust itself to line up with the enemy element B

defending the river bank.

[10.2] INTERPENETRATING FRIENDLY TROOPS

General Rule;

Elements conducting Tactical Movement may pass

through friendly elements if Psiloi or if moving

through Psiloi, if moving through it front to rear, or read to front, and if there is sufficient space to end

the move.

Elements may recoil through friendly elements in certain circumstances, as defined in this Case

Section.

Cases;

[10.21] If making a tactical move, or fleeing,

mounted troops can always pass through Psiloi and

Psiloi pass through any friends, but in both cases only if there is sufficient clear space beyond and

enough move to occupy it, and either A it starts at

least partly directly in front and ends the move lined-up behind or B starts directly behind and ends

the move lined-up in front.

[10.22] Recoilers can pass through friends facing in exactly the same direction to a clear space

immediately behind the first element met, but only if either A mounted troops recoiling into any

friends except Pikes, Hordes or Elephants, B

Blades recoiling into Blades or Spears, C Pikes or Bows recoiling into Blades, or D Psiloi recoiling

into any friends except Psiloi.

[10.23] If the recoiling element is not Elephants,

friends facing in the same direction are

interpenetrated if allowed. If not so allowed they

are pushed back far enough to make room for the

recoil unless they are Elephants or War-Wagons.

See Case (15.49)

[10.24] A recoiling or pushed back element whose

rear edge or rear corner meets friends it cannot pass

through or push back, ends its move there. See Case (15.57)

Interpenetrating Examples

Pisoli Element A conducts a Tactical Move through

Blade Elements B and C. The Pisoli was moving from the rear to the front of the Blades, had

sufficient Movement Allowance and there was

room for it to deploy beyond the Blades. If it was moving through the side of an element, exiting the

other side, it would not be allowed.

Cavalry Element D conducts a Tactical Move through the Psiloi Element E. Its moving rear to

front has the movement allowance and there is

room for it to end its move.

Due to close combat all three elements facing

enemy bows must recoil. Fig (10.2b) shows the

elements before the recoil. In Fig (10.2c) we see the

result of the recoil. Cavalry Element A can recoil through Blade Element B, however Cavalry

Element C and cannot recoil through the friendly

Pike Element D. In this case that element pushed back the Blade to its rear. See Case (15.47). Blade

Element E can recoil through Blade element F.

[10.3] CUTTING CORNERS

General Rule;

An element can move through any friendly element

if it is “cutting the corner”. If you were to draw a

line between the starting and ending positions of each corner of the moving element and only one of

those lines goes through a friendly element, then the move is allowed. Unlike interpenetration, this

kind of move is open to all element types.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 17 6 March, 2013

This move type is common when an element moves

from the rear of a friendly element to its flank.

Cases;

[10.31] A tactical move by a single element can be

in any direction, even diagonal or oblique, can pass

through any gap it can fit through and can end facing in any direction. See Case (9.21)

[10.31] Examples of Cutting Corners

Cavalry Element B is moving from a position

directly behind Cavalry Element A to its flank. The

two while lines represents the course of movement of each front corner, as you can see only 1 line

crosses through the cavalry element to its front,

thus its allowed. If Cavalry Element B was off-set to the left by any distance, both lines would pass

through the cavalry element to its front and thus the

movement would not be permitted.

[10.4] THREAT ZONE (TZ)

General Rule;

Elements have a Threat Zone, which restricts the movement of enemy elements. An elements zone of

control extends 1 BW, or 40mm if using 15mm, in

from of it.

An enemy zone of control can be blocked by

another friendly element.

An Element which moves into an enemy zone of

control has its movement restricted. It can either

move directly towards, away, into contact or aligns

itself with the enemy element.

Procedure; Starting a Tactical Move within

Enemy Elements TZ (ZOC).

An element which starts a tactical move within an enemy TZ (ZOC) is restricted in how it may move.

(a) It may retire by moving directly to its rear, no

change of direction is allowed and no facing changes are allowed.

(b) It may advance to front contact with any one of

the enemy elements which is projecting a TZ (ZOC) into the moving element.

(c) It may move to square itself with any one of the

enemy elements which is projecting a TZ (ZOC)

into the moving element.. During this move at no

point in the move may the front corners of the

element move further away from the corresponding front corners of the enemy element. At no point in

the move may the front corners of the element

move away from an imaginary line extending directly out of the corresponding front corners of

the enemy element. At no point in the move may

the angle between the front edge of the element and the front edge of the enemy element increase.

The controlling enemy elements are those enemy

elements who’s TZ (ZOC) the element started in. They do not include enemy elements who’s TZ

(ZOC) may have been entered during the move. An

element starting within the TZ (ZOC) of two or more enemy elements has a choice of which

element to contact or square itself to.

Procedure; Entering an Enemies Element’s TZ

(ZOC) during a Tactical Move.

An element that does not start its tactical move

within the TZ (ZOC) of an enemy element, but that

enters the TZ (ZOC) of an enemy element while

moving is also restricted in how it may move.

The element may move normally until it first

touches the TZ (ZOC) of an enemy element. Once it touches the TZ (ZOC);

(a) It may advance to front contact with any one of

the enemy elements which is projecting a TZ (ZOC) into the moving element.

(b) It may move to square itself with any one of the

enemy elements which is projecting a TZ (ZOC) into the moving element.. During this move at no

point in the move may the front corners of the element move further away from the corresponding

front corners of the enemy element. At no point in

the move may the front corners of the element move away from an imaginary line extending

directly out of the corresponding front corners of

the enemy element. At no point in the move may

the angle between the front edge of the element and

the front edge of the enemy element increase.

The controlling enemy elements are those enemy elements who’s TZ (ZOC) the element first enters.

They do not include enemy elements who’s TZ

(ZOC) may be entered subsequently. An element entering the TZ (ZOC) of two or more enemy

elements simultaneously has a choice of which

element to contact or square itself with.

Commentary;

Threat Zones (TZ) and Zones of Control (ZOC) are

identical in these rules and both terms are used freely throughtout these rules..

Cases;

[10.41] The area 1 BW deep in front of an element not in close combat or the area within 1 BW of any

point of a camp, city or fort containing enemy is its

Threat Zone (TZ).

[10.42] An element or group at the far edge of, in

or entering an enemy TZ (ZOC) can move only:

(a) to contact the front edge of or only towards such a TZ-ing element (or contact that camp, city or

fort), or

(b) directly to its own rear, or

(c) as an outcome move after combat.

[10.43] Zones of Control Examples

Cavalry Element A Zone of Control (Threat Zone)

is shown. Its 1 BW paces deep and 1 BW wide, its base with. Next it is the TZ (ZOC) of 2 pike

elements B & C are shown. Each element has its

own zone of control forming a continuous zone 1 BW deep by 2 BW wide.

Blade Element A is in the enemy Zone of Control

of the Cataphract Element C. It is not in the Zone

of control of enemy Cataphract element B or (D).

Blade Element B is blocking the enemy zone of

control, resulting in Pike Element A and C not being in an enemy Zone of Control, even though

both would be in the enemy zone of control if it

was not blocked.

Blade Element A is in the enemy TZ (ZOC) of the

enemy cataphract Element D. Blade Element A is blocking the enemy TZ (ZOC), resulting in Blade

Element B and C not being in an enemy TZ (ZOC), even though both would be in the enemy

TZ (ZOC) if it was not blocked.

The Blade Element A finds itself in an enemy TZ

(ZOC). It have three choices, it can retire as per the

movement on the right.

Blade Element A could advance to contact, as per the left elements, or it may square off as per the

elements on the right. All are valid moves if an

element starts the tactical movement phase in an enemy TZ (ZOC). If an element moves into an

enemy TZ (ZOC) it cannot retire, otherwise can

advance to contact or square off.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 18 6 March, 2013

[10.5] TERRAIN EFFECTS ON MOVEMENT

General Rule;

Terrain effects movement in some cases. Bad Going will reduce an element movement allowance

in some cases.

Cases;

[10.51] Bad Terrain will reduce the movement

allowance of all troop types, except Fast Pike, Fast

Blade, Fast Auxilia, Fast Bow, Fast Psiloi, Fast Warband, Fast Hordes, Solid Auxilia, and Solid

Warband. See Case (9.7)

[10.52] Bad Terrain is impassable to Artillery and

War wagon, unless moving in column through on a

road. See Case (9.71)

[10.53] Psiloi making a 2nd move if either in their

side’s 1st bound of the game, or if every element

starts entirely in good going but ends at least

partially in bad going. See Case (9.81)

[10.54] River affect movement of elements

attempting to cross, See Case (10.1)

[11.0] MOVING INTO CONTACT WITH ENEMY

General Rule;

In order to engage in Combat opposing elements

must move into contact with each other. This is

called “Moving into Contact with Enemy”.

Procedure;

The phasing player utilises tactical movement to

move a friendly element into contact with enemy elements.

As much as possible the movement allowance of

each element must be utilised to ensure the contact is valid. If still not valid an adjustment and

conforming move can be conducted by either

player to ensure a valid contact, depending on the

circumstance.

Once complete the phasing player moves another element, repeating this process, unless all eligible

elements have moved. Element in groups move

together, element by element, until the entire Group has moved..

Once the phasing player has completed its tactical

movement phase the opposing player conducts ‘conforming” movement, if required, as per case

(11.3).

Cases;

[11.1] MOVING INTO CONTACT WITH ENEMY SEQUENCE OF PLAY

[11.21] MOVING INTO CONTACT WITH ENEMY SEQUENCE OF PLAY

Sub-Phase Result

Phasing Player selects an element, or a group, which will conduct a move into contact with enemy, following the sub-phases below. Once complete additional elements or groups can be selected, repeating these sub-phases.

Move into Contact Sub-Phase

Element moves during the tactical Movement phase until it’s in Valid Initial Contact.

Group moves during the tactical Movement Phase until at least 1 element is in Valid Contact.

Adjustment Sub-Phase

Element conducts an adjustment move of up to ½ BW sideward in order to make a valid final contact. If unable to the contact cannot occur.

Enemy Element contacted by a Group conducts an adjustment move of up ½ BW sideward in order to ensure it’s in a valid final contact with the element, which is part of a group, in initial contact.

Conform Sub-Phase

Group, which has an element in valid contact with an enemy element, which is a part of an enemy group, conforms to the enemy group.

At the end of the enemies Movement Phase, the non-phasing player selects an element which has been contacted in the flank or rear and conducts the following sub-phase. Once completed another eligible element can be selected, repeating this sub-phase.

Turing to face a flank and/or rear sub-phase

Non-phasing element contacted in the rear or flank, and with no enemies in contact with its front, can conduct a turn to face a flank and/or rear move. See case (11.35) and case (11.2)

[11.2] CONTACT

General Rule;

Elements can only contact enemy elements if it

makes a valid initial contact. This consists of the front edge making parallel contact with any enemy

edge, as long as an adjustment sideward move does

not exceed ½ BW. It must conduct normal tactical movement without exceeding its movement

allowance in order to achieve valid initial contact.

Once contacted elements can made an adjustment move, which is a sideward move of no more than ½

BW. See Case (12.2)

Groups which wish to make a valid contact must have at least one element make a valid initial

contact at the end of the group’s movement. An

element can make initial corner contact, or an element may end the move in corner contact, but

one element must be in valid initial contact at the

ends of the groups movement.

Once groups have completed their tactical

movement, if at least 1 element is in contact with

an enemy element, an adjustment and/or conform move is conducted to ensure all elements in the

group end the move in valid contact. See Case (12.2)

The key rule is Case (11.21), players cannot use

unusual and tricky element positioning to avoid an

enemy contact.

Commentary;

Elements may move into contact with an enemy

element or an enemy occupied camp or BUA if at least one of the following applies. Exception See

Case (11.5):

(i) The moving element ends its move in front, flank, or rear contact with an enemy element or

enemy occupied camp.

(ii) The moving element ends the tactical movement phase eligible to provide an overlap in

close combat.

Unless the contacted element is forced to conform

See Case (11.3), the moving element or group of

elements must manoeuvre to reach a legal contact position.

A group may move up to one-half base width

directly left or right to line up opposite an enemy element, See Case (11.35). This makes it easier for

groups to make contact correctly.

Contacting a war wagon or litter is a special case. See Case (11.5) and Case (12.2)

Cases;

[11.21] The general principle is that troops that would contact in real life do so in the game and that

moving a front edge into contact with enemy must

result in combat.

[11.22] At the end of the bound’s movement phase

the contacting element or at least one element of a

contacting group must be lined-up with the enemy element; in A both front edge and front corner-to-

front corner contact, B full front edge to rear edge

contact, or C front edge to side edge contact with

front corners in contact, or D with no enemy in

contact to its front, but in overlap. See Case (11.3)

[11.23] One party moves the minimum distance to so conform.

[11.24] A group moving into contact with enemy

must have at least 1 element in valid contact with an enemy element, or elements at the end of its

Tactical Move. See Case (11.23) “a single

contacting element or at least one element of a contacting group”.

[11.25] An element can end the “Moving into

Contact Move” with the entire front edge in contact with an enemy front edge with both front corners in

contact with the enemy front corners. See Case

(11.23) (“one element of a contacting group must be lined-up with the enemy element; in A both

front edge and front corner-to-front corner

contact”)

[11.26] An element can end the “Moving into

Contact Move” with the entire front edge in contact

with an enemy rear edge with both front corners in contact with the enemy rear corners. See Case

(11.23) (“one element of a contacting group must

be lined-up with the enemy element; in B full front edge to rear edge contact.”)

[11.27] An element can end the “Moving into

Contact Move” with its full front edge in contact with the entire enemies flank edge. The flank edge,

running from the enemy’s front edge to its rear edge must be contacted. See Case (11.23). “one

element of a contacting group must be lined-up

with the enemy element; in C front edge to side edge contact with front corners in contact,”.

Elements with a depth greater than 100 paces

(40mm) are the only exception, see Case (11.5)

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 19 6 March, 2013

[11.28] An element can end the “Moving into

Contact Move” overlapping an enemy element. See

Case (11.23) and Case (14.2). (“one element of a

contacting group must be lined-up with the enemy

element; D with no enemy in contact to its front,

but in overlap. “) In order to do so the enemy element must have a friendly element in normal

contact.

[11.29] Moving into Contact with Enemy Chart

Case Allowed

At the end of the bound’s movement phase the contacting element or at least one element of a contacting group must be lined-up with the enemy element; in ;

(a) both front edge and front corner-to-front corner contact

(b) full front edge to rear edge contact.

(c) front edge to side edge contact with front corners in contact

(d) with no enemy in contact to its front, but in overlap.

Moving into Contact with Enemy Examples

This shows the 4 edges and 4 corners of an

element. In this diagram the element is facing north, aligned with the text and numbers.

Examples of Front Contact

“one element of a contacting group must be lined-up with the enemy element; in A both front edge

and front corner-to-front corner contact” means the

front edge of the element must be touching the edge of an enemy element, and each front corner are

touching the enemy corners. See Case (11.25)

Both of these Moves and enemy Front edge

Contacts are Valid : In both cases the moving

element used its normal tactical movement to contact the enemy element to its front, aligning

both edge and corners. If the moving element

lacked the movement allowance to move into contact, it could move closer and complete its move

to contact the enemy during its next phasing player

turn. If it cannot move into contact with both edge and corners touching, it cannot complete the move

to contact. See Case (11.22)

Both of these moves and enemy front edge contacts

are not valid. In both cases the contact does not

follow the rules of Contact. See Case (11.22). As

the edges are aligned, some free sideward

movement is allowed, which would make this a

valid contact. See case (11.35)

Example of Rear Contact

“one element of a contacting group must be lined-

up with the enemy element; in B full front edge to rear edge contact.”) means the element’s front edge

must fully contact the enemies flank edge, defined

from the enemy’s front edge to its rear edge.

These moves and enemy rear contacts are valid :

Blade Element A was behind the enemy Pike Element B. It has moved into contacted with the

Blade unit, this is a Rear Contact. Blade Element C

has done the same with the enemy Pike Element D. This is also a Rear Contract. See Case (11.26)

Both of these moves and enemy rear edge contacts are not valid. In both cases the contact does not

follow the rules of Contact, See Case (11.22). As

the edges are aligned, some free sideward movement is allowed, which would make this a

valid contact. See case (11.35)

Example of Flank Contact

Both of these Moves and enemy flank edge

Contacts are Valid. In both cases the moving

element has covered the entire enemy flank (from

its front edge to its rear edge) with its front edge.

Both of these Moves and enemy flank edge

Contacts are not Valid. The enemy flank is not

fully covered by either of the friendly elements.

Either the moving elements move sideward to

ensure a valid contact, or if they lack movement

allowance they need to move closer to complete their move to enemy contact their next phasing

player turn. As the edges are aligned, some free

sideward movement is allowed, which would make this a valid contact. See case (11.35)

Examples of Overlap & Corner Contact

If element B was moving as part of a group, or if it

was moving as an individual element this is a valid

overlap, thus the move to enemy contact is valid.

This is a valid move to contact enemy move,

however no combat can result in this case. See Case (14.21).

Neither of these moves is allowed for a single

element. The element must have sufficient movement allowance to move and wheel until it

can contact the entire edge, with corners touching.

If it is unable to this will be due to a lack of movement allowance, in which case it can

complete its move to contact the following phasing

player turn. See Case (11.21)

Examples of Group Contact

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 20 6 March, 2013

To make legal contact the Group consisting of 3

Blade elements must first wheel so it’s aligned with

the enemy elements and then moves into forward

contact. If the Blade Element A lacked the

movement allowance to reach the enemy, it must be

either left behind or the group, as a whole, cannot contact the enemy. It can set itself up for a contact

in the following phasing player turn. Some

sideward movement is allowed, see Case (11.3)

The group of 3 Blade elements advance into

contact with the enemy Pike element D and E. In

the case of enemy Pike E the corner of an element in the group is contacting the enemy edge. This is

permitted in a group because 2 elements have

conducted a valid contact with enemy Pike element D. For the remaining 2 elements, this situation

results in a “Conforming to a Group” move where

the enemy Pike element at an angle confirms to the attacking group. See Case (11.3).

[11.3] CONFORMING & ADJUSTMENTS

General Rule;

After an element has made contact with an enemy

element adjustment may be immediately conducted

to ensure a valid contact. See Case (11.35)

After a group has made contact with an enemy with

at least 1 element, it can conduct an adjustment move and/or conform movement to ensure valid

contact. In some circumstances the opposing player

can conduct adjust and conform movement. See Case (11.32) and case (11.33).

At the end of the phasing players movement phase

elements contacted by enemy elements can conduct a confirm move, if required, to ensure

valid front-to-front contact. See Case (11.35).

Procedure;

Normally an element may not move into contact

with an enemy element unless it meets the criteria

described above. However, the contact criteria are waived under the following conditions:

(i) The element making non-standard contact is

moving as part of a group move.

(ii) One or more elements of the moving group

make normal contact with an enemy element as

described above.

(iii) There is a gap between the enemy elements of

less than one base width.

This exception deters a player from spacing his elements in an odd way simply to make contact

difficult.

When groups are involved in a Move to Contact

there will normally be a Conforming to a group

move conducted by the non-phasing elements.

An element of light horse, light camelry, or psiloi

contacted by an enemy element must conform to

that element if all of the following apply:

The enemy element is moving as part of a group or

column move, or is part of a littoral landing which

has two or more elements.

The contacted element is not in group contact with

one or more friendly elements.

There is sufficient clear space for the contacted element to conform.

If any part of a psiloi element is in bad going, then it doesn’t conform.

To conform, the element immediately turns to face

the contacting element, ending in front contact. If two or more elements make contact at the same

time, the contacted element chooses the element to

face.

The elements in the moving group, column, or

littoral landing may ignore the ZOC of an element

that must conform to them. This is because the conforming element ends the move in front contact

with one of the moving elements, satisfying the

ZOC requirements.

Cases;

[11.31] A single element contacting a single

element conforms to it.

[11.32] A single element or group contacting a

group conforms to that group.

[11.33] A single element contacted by a group conforms to that group unless itself entirely in bad

or rough going in which case the group conforms.

[11.34] If conforming by contactors is prevented by part-element spacing between enemy or physically

blocked by other enemy or a terrain feature;

contacted elements must conform or fight as if in full contact and overlapped.

[11.35] Contacting elements conform immediately.

Contacted elements automatically conform at contact, except that turning to face a flank or rear

contact, See Case (12.2) is at the end of the

contactor’s movement phase.

[11.35] Extra sliding sideways movement of less

than 1 BW that is the minimum necessary for a

contacting group or single element now in front edge contact with an enemy front edge, but that did

not have enough move to line up with this, is free.

Adjustment Examples

Blade Element A expends its entire movement

allowance to contact the enemy Pike Element. After its move is completed and before any other

movement, it immediately conforms to the enemy

Pike element by executing an adjustment move sideward, up to a maximum of ½ BW. See Case

(11.31) and case (11.35)

The group, consisting of 3 blade elements, moves into contact with an enemy group, consisting of 2

pike and 1 Cavalry element. The moving group

conforms to the target group, as per case (11.32)

The 3 Blade elements form a group which moves

into contact with the three enemy Pike elements.

Blade element A and B aligns with the enemy Pike elements D and E. Blade element C moves into

contact with the enemy Pike element F. See Fig

(11.3d). After the phasing player has completed the Move to Contact, the non-phasing player conducts

and Adjustment Move, with the result shown in Fig

(11.3f).

In this example 3 Blade elements make individual moves to contact. Because the enemy Pike element

E is off-set it does not make valid contact. In this

case the enemy must make an adjustment move to line up with its attacker. See Case (11.33).

[11.4] FLANK & REAR CONTACT

General Rule;

Front Contact. An element is in front contact with

an enemy element if the elements are in mutual

front edge to front edge and front corner to front corner contact. An element is in front contact with

an enemy occupied camp or BUA if its front edge

is in contact with the edge of the camp or BUA.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 21 6 March, 2013

Contacting a war wagon or litter is a special case.

See Case (11.5) and Case (12.2)

Flank Contact. An element is in flank contact with

an enemy element if its front edge is in contact with

the enemy element's side edge AND the elements

are in mutual left-to-left or right-to-right front corner contact. An element cannot be in flank

contact with a camp or BUA.

Rear Contact. An element is in rear contact with an enemy element if its front edge is in contact with

the enemy element's rear edge AND the elements

are in front corner-to-rear corner contact. An element cannot be in rear contact with a camp or

BUA.

Cases;

[11.41] An element can move into edge contact

with an enemy flank edge only if it starts entirely on the opposite side of a line prolonging that edge

or if partly on the opposite sides of lines prolonging

both flank and rear edges.

[11.42] It can move into contact with an enemy rear

edge only if it starts entirely on the far side of a line

prolonging that edge..

[11.43] All other contacts are considered to be front

edge contacts.

[11.44] Element Front, Flanks and Rear..

This shows the 4 edges and 4 corners and the flank edge lines and rear edge lines of an element. In this

diagram the element is facing north, aligned with

the text and numbers.

Flank Contact Example

“An element can move into edge contact with an

enemy flank edge only if it starts entirely on the opposite side of a line prolonging that edge or if

partly on the opposite sides of lines prolonging

both flank and rear edges.” This means the attacking element must be entirely left of the left

flank line, or right of the right flank line to be able to contact the enemy flank. If the element is

partially in the rear zone, it can still contact the

enemy flank. If any part of the element is in the front zone, no flank contact is possible.

These two moves to flank contact are valid. The

element did not start in the front zone and can as a result contact the enemy in the flank, if it has

sufficient movement allowance.

These moves are also valid

In this example none of the 3 Blade elements could

contact an enemy flank. Blade Element A and B

both started in or partially in the enemy Pikes element D’s front zone. Blade element C started

partially in the front zone of enemy Pike element E.

If the enemy Pike element E did not exists, Blade element C could attempt to contact the enemy Pike

element D in the flank, but that option is not

available here.

Rear Contact Examples

“It can move into contact with an enemy rear edge

only if it starts entirely on the far side of a line prolonging that edge”. This means the element

must be entirely in the rear zone, including the rear

left and right flank zones, to contact the enemy element in the rear.

These are both valid contact with enemy rear

moves.

Blade Element A can contact the enemy Pike element C in the rear, because it started fully

behind the enemy rear’s edge (Left/Rear, Rear,

Right/Rear Zone). Blade element B is unable to contact the enemy Blade element because it was

not entirely behind the enemy elements rear edge

(Left/Rear, Rear, Right/Rear Zone), but it can contact that element in the flank.

[11.5] SPECIAL CONTACT CASES

General Rule;

Artillery, war wagon, and litter elements may not

move into contact with an enemy element or enemy

occupied camp or BUA. This restriction includes

all contact, including corner-to-corner. Therefore

these element types may not move into an overlap

position.

Cases;

[11.51] Artillery or War Wagons cannot move into

any contact with enemy, except that a WWg mobile tower can contact an enemy held city, fort or camp.

[11.52] Other elements except Scythed Chariots

can contact a city, fort or camp with their front edge.

[11.53] A War Wagon counts the edge first contacted that bound as its front edge, so does not

turn to face. A 2nd element contacting that edge is

treated as if overlapping the nearest flank Combat to both front and to flank and/or rear. See Case

(12.2)

[11.54] Flanks of elements deeper than 100 paces (40mm) can be contacted in the flank if the entire

enemy front edge is in contact with its flank edge.

This applies to War Wagons and Generals in litter.

[11.55] Elements based in double depth, such as

Knights (6Kn) and Cavalry (6Cv) are counted as 2

elements for the purposes of the flank contact rule.

[11.56] A double fights in close combat against

most foot as if the rear element was providing rear

support. See Case (4.35)

[12.0] MOVEMENT IN CLOSE COMBAT

General Rule;

Elements in Contact, either in contact across an

edge or as an overlapping element, have a limited

number of movement options available. These are covered in this Section.

Cases;

[12.1] BREAKING-OFF FROM CLOSE COMBAT

General Rule

Breaking off from close combat is not allowed.

Cases;

[11.31] An element still in close combat against an

enemy front edge can move away only by recoil or flee outcome moves.

[12.2] TURNING TO FACE A FLANK OR REAR CONTACT

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 22 6 March, 2013

[12.21] At the end of the movement phase,

elements not in mutual front edge contact with an

enemy element but contacted to flank or rear by an

enemy front edge turn to face the first enemy

element to so contact, other existing legal contacts

being adjusted by moving the elements forward, back or the minimum sideways to maintain them.

[12.22] If an element so contacts the flanks of 2

enemy elements, both these turn to face it, the 2nd moving to behind the 1st.

[12.23] On the rare occasions that a 3rd element is

contacted, it moves straight back to make room for the others to turn.

Examples of Turning to face a flank

The Blade Element was contacted in the flank

during the previous non-phasing player turn. At the

end of that non-phasing movement phase the Blade element can turn to face the enemy element. If

more than one enemy element was in contact with

the rear or flanks, turn to face the first enemy element which contacted it. If the element is in

mutual front contact, no turning to face the flank or

rear is allowed.

[13.0] DISTANT SHOOTING

General Rule;

Combat represents Distant Shooting and Close

Combat. Combat resolution follows the same

procedure for both distant shooting and close combat.

Cases;

[13.1] DISTANT SHOOTING ELIGIBILITY

General Rule;

In DBA, distant shooting represents the long range

shooting of massed bowmen, war wagons, and artillery. All short range shooting is included

implicitly in close combat.

Procedure;

Distant shooting is limited to bow, war wagon, and

artillery elements:

- Bow and war wagon elements shoot in both their

own turn and their opponent's turn. See Case (8.22)

- Normally, artillery elements only shoot in their

own turn and only if they did not make a tactical

move. See Case (13.23) and Case (13.24)

- However, if artillery are shot at in their opponents turn, they may also shoot (return fire). (Check)

The phasing player chooses the order in which

shooting takes place, selecting from the eligible elements that have not yet shot. Each combat is

resolved and all resulting outcome moves

completed before moving to the next combat.

If an element is eligible to shoot at the beginning of

the distant shooting phase but becomes ineligible before it takes its turn, then the element does not

shoot in that turn. Conversely, if an element is not

eligible to shoot at the beginning of the distant shooting phase but becomes eligible as a result of

other shooting, then that element may be selected to

shoot.

An element may not shoot more than once in a

turn.

An element may not be shot at more than once in a turn. However, up to three shooters may combine

their shooting against an element, the extra shooters

aiding the main shooter.

If two or more elements are shooting at the same

target, the shooter closest to the target must be

selected as the main shooter. As the main shooter, that element’s combat factor will be used to resolve

the combat.

Elements that are eligible to shoot must do so during the distant shooting phase (an element

cannot decline to shoot). Elements that are eligible

to shoot at one another must do so.

An element is eligible to shoot if all of the

following apply:

• At least part of the target edge is in the arc of fire of the shooting element.

• The distance from any part of the shooting edge to

any part of the target edge is less than or equal to the maximum range for the shooting element.

• The path from the shooting edge to the target edge

is not blocked.

• Neither the shooting element nor the target

element is in front, flank, or rear contact with an

enemy element.

• Neither the shooting element nor the target

element is in a position to provide an overlap

against an enemy element.

• The target element is not in position to provide

rear support to a friendly element.

Cases;

[13.11] Only Bows, Artillery and War Wagons can

shoot. Maximum range is 5 BW if Artillery and 3

BW if Bows or War Wagons.

[13.12] Measure range between the closest points

of the shooting edge and the target edge.

[13.13] The Shooting Edge is either A the front edge of a Bows or Artillery element, or B any 1

BW portion of the perimeter of a city, fort or camp

or of any edge of War Wagons.

[13.14] The Target Edge is either A all of, or any

single ½ BW portion of, an element edge or B any ½ BW portion of the perimeter of a city, fort or

camp.

[13.15] It must be entirely within 1 BW of directly

in front of part of the shooting edge.

[13.16] Artillery can shoot only A in their own

bound if they did not move, or B to shoot back at

enemy artillery shooting at them. See Case (13.24).

Bows can shoot in both their own bound and the enemy bound as long as they did not move more

than 1 BW. See case (13.25).

[13.17] DISTANT SHOOTING RANGE CHART

Type Range (BW)

Range (15mm)

Bow 3 BW 120 mm

War Wagon 3 BW 120 mm

Artillery 5 BW 200 mm

[13.18] Shooting Edge Definition Chart

Edge Definition

Shooting Edge

(a) the front edge of a Bows or Artillery element

(b) any 1 BW portion of the perimeter of a city, fort or camp or of any edge of War Wagons

Target Edge

(a) all of, or any single ½ BW portion of, an element edge

(b) any ½ BW portion of the perimeter of a city, fort or camp.

[13.19] To conduct distant shooting the target must

be within the arch of fire of the shooter. For bow

and artillery elements, the arc of fire is a

rectangular area extending from the front edge of the element forward and extending out 1 base width

to either side. For bow or artillery elements

occupying a camp or BUA, the arc of fire is a full 360° circle around the camp or BUA. See Case

(13.13) and case (13.15)

Distant Shooting & Target Edge Examples

Bow element A and C entire front edge is available

to shoot, as a result it’s a valid shooting edge. Bow element B only has half its front edge exposed,

which could mean it’s not a valid shooting edge. In

summary you cannot arranging your missile elements in such a manner to achieve an

unreasonably high density. (Need to Verify)

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 23 6 March, 2013

All three enemy elements present a valid target

edge. If enemy element C obscured more than 50%

of element (B), then element (2) would not present

a valid target edge. You cannot arrange your

elements to provide an unreasonable level of

protection against enemy missile fire.

The full arc of fire of this bow element is displayed.

It can conduct distance shooting against any enemy element, or part of an element, in the zone indicated

above. A BUA or Camp has an arc of fire which is

a full 360° circle.

[13.2] DISTANT SHOOTING RESTRICTIONS

General Rule;

Distant shooting is not permitted if a line of fire is blocked or if target is in close combat.

Cases;

[13.21] Shooting is blocked if uncrossed lines joining the ends of the shooting and target edges

have part of any element between them.

[13.22] Shooting is not possible if either shooters or target are in close combat or providing rear

support, but is possible to or from elements that are

overlapping and not in close combat.

[13.23] Targets exposed by outcome moves can be

shot at.

[13.24] Artillery can shoot only A in their own

bound if they did not move, or B to shoot back at

enemy artillery shooting at them.

[13.25] Bows and War Wagons that move more

than 1 BW cannot shoot.

[13.26] A hill’s crest, a city or fort, or a ½ BW depth of difficult hills, woods, oasis, dunes, hamlet

or edifice blocks shooting from and at an element

base edge entirely beyond it.

[13.27] An element that is at least partly in a river

or a marsh cannot shoot.

[13.28] An element entirely in a gully cannot shoot or be shot at.

[13.29] The path is also blocked if any of the

following situations exist:

(i) The target element is entirely in a woods or

oasis terrain piece.

(ii) The shooting element is entirely in a woods or oasis terrain piece.

(iii) The entire width of the shooting path is

blocked by the crest of a gentle or steep hill.

(iv) The entire width of the shooting path is

blocked by a woods or oasis.

Distant Shooting Restrictions Examples

Bow element A can conduct distant shooting against enemy Element C. Bow element B can

conduct distant shooting against enemy element D,

because there is a valid target edge, of ½ BW or larger, available to be shot at with no obstructions.

This is confirmed by drawing a line from each

shooting corner to the points on the target edge which measure ½ BW, or more. The lines cannot

be crossed.

The enemy Pike elements in close combat and its

rear supporting element cannot be a valid distant

shooting target. The Pike element overlapping the Blade element is a valid target. Bow element A and

B can conduct distant shooting against it, but Bow

element C does not have a target edge of ½ BW or more and cannot. Bow element D also has no

distant shooting target.

Bow element A has a gap which is ½ BW wide,

this is wide enough for it to conduct distant

shooting against enemy element E. Bow element B only has a gap of ¼ BW, this is not wide enough

and that Bow element cannot conduct distant

shooting.

In this case no bow elements can shoot, as the line

of fire is blocked by more than ½ BW of woods.

The Bow element A line of fire to the enemy Bow

element C is blocked by the crest. Bow element B

is not blocked and can shoot enemy Bow element C and it can shoot back.

[13.3] DISTANT SHOOTING TARGET

General Rule;

Bows and War Wagons must shoot at the highest

priority target available. Shooting Priority is A

Targets in their TZ (ZOC). B Targets shooting at them. C Any eligible target.

Cases;

[13.31] Bows and WWg must shoot at a target in

their TZ (ZOC). If there is none, they must shoot

at a target that is shooting at them. If neither, they can choose any eligible target.

[13.32] Artillery always chooses its target and can

shoot through or over enemy Psiloi.

Distant Shooting Target Examples

Bow element A must target the enemy Pike

element D because it’s in its TZ (ZOC). This is the case even if the enemy Bow element B was

shooting at your bow element. If the enemy Blade

element was not in its TZ (ZOC), the target would need to be the enemy Bow element, because it was

shooting at you. If it was not shooting then the

owning player can select any of the three elements as a valid target.

[13.4] SHOOTING SUPPORT

General Rule

If 2 or 3 elements are shooting at the same target,

instead of conducting distant shooting separately all

three elements can combine their firepower. In this case only 1 element is shooting, the other two are

providing a die roll modifier. This is called

shooting Support.

Cases;

[13.41] A 2nd or 3rd element shooting at the same

target aids the shooting of the nearest shooter by providing it with a tactical factor instead of being

resolved separately.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 24 6 March, 2013

[13.42] Any more elements shooting at that target

this bound have no effect.

[13.43] If a shooter whose target does not shoot

back is shot at by a third party, this is resolved first,

then it shoots using the same dice score.

Distant Shooting Support Examples

Three elements of English longbow (classed as

Bows Bw) shoot at a Scotish schiltron (classed as Pike, Pk).

Bows element B shoots at Pike element D, assisted

by Bows element A and C. Both dice.

Bows element B scores 2 and adds +2 for its

combat factor against foot.

Pike element D scores 5 and adds +3 for its combat factor. It receives no support from Pike element E,

and must deduct -1 for each of the two elements

supporting its opponent.

Bows element B has scored less than its opponent,

so does not destroy it or force it to recoil, but

escapes penalty itself because it is not shot back at. Had the scores been reversed, pike element D

would have been destroyed. Pike element E would

not be destroyed with it, since it does not count as supporting against shooting.

[13.5] SHOOTING ON A REAR EDGE

General Rule;

Shooting at an element’s rear edge has a special

effect, if that element is recoiling. An element shot

exclusively on its rear edge which then suffers a recoil result, turns to face the rear before recoiling

An element is eligible to shoot exclusively on a rear

edge if the shooting edge is entirely behind an imaginary line running along the rear edge of the

target element.

If the main shooting element is being aided by one or more additional shooting elements, then all

shooting elements must be eligible to shoot exclusively on the rear edge. If they’re not all

eligible, then it’s just a regular shot.

Cases;

[13.51] An element with a recoil outcome to

shooting entirely from behind a line extending its

rear edge turns to face its rear before recoiling. See Case (15.5)

Shooting on a Rear Edge Examples

Bow Element C is shooting on the rear edge of Pike

Element A. Pike Element A has to recoil, which

means it turns to face its rear and makes a recoil move, ending in position A2.

[13.6] DISTANT SHOOTING & TERRAIN

General Rule;

Terrain features can affect distant shooting combat

by providing factors, which will modify a player’s

combat die roll. Elements defending a City, Fort, or Camp receive combat factors which provide a

benefit when a target of distant shooting.

Cases;

[13.61] +4 If defending a city or fort; and either in

close combat or being shot at. See Case (15.15)

[13.62] +2 If camp followers or other foot

occupying their own camp; and either in close

combat or being shot at. See Case (15.15)

[13.63] DISTANT SHOOTING TERRAIN EFFECTS CHART

Terrain Mod Notes

City or Fort

+4 If defending a city or fort; and being shot at. See Case (15.15)

Camp +2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp and being shot at. See Case (15.15)

[14.0] CLOSE COMBAT

General Rule;

In DBA, close combat represents all of the fighting

that occurred at close quarters. Skirmishers

throwing or firing missiles at close range; horse

archers galloping up, firing, and riding back; foot

troops throwing their pila or francisca as a prelude

to their charge; and of course, hand-to-hand combat itself.

Cases;

[14.1] CLOSE COMBAT ELIGIBILITY

General Rule;

Close Combat consists of two opposing elements in front-to-front contact engaged in combat.

Irrespective of the edge contacted, after the

required adjustments and conforming moves, the element will start the Combat phase in front-to-

front contact.

Other elements, either overlapping or in contact

with an enemy’s rear and/or flank edge, do not

conduct a close combat but can support a friendly

element in front-to-front contact with the enemy. These elements, while not initiating close combat,

are involved in the close combat.

Procedure;

All pairs of elements in mutual front contact at the

beginning of the close combat phase participate in

close combat during that phase The active player chooses the order in which combat takes place.

Each combat is resolved and all resulting outcome

moves completed before moving to the next combat.

If an element that is eligible for combat at the

beginning of the close combat phase is destroyed as a result of another combat before it participates in

close combat, then that element does not participate

in close combat in that turn.

If a pair of elements are not in mutual front contact

at the beginning of the close combat phase, but

become so during the phase (due to an outcome move), they do not participate in close combat

during that turn.

Cases;

[14.11] In addition to hand-to-hand fighting, close

combat includes all use of missiles by mounted

troops or foot skirmishers or during a charge or melee.

[14.12] It (Close Combat) occurs when an element

moves into, or remains in, both front edge and front corner-to-corner contact with an enemy element or

at least partial front edge contact with a city, fort or

camp.

[14.13] War Wagons count the edge first contacted

that bound as its front edge, so do not turn to face.

A 2nd element contacting that edge is treated as if overlapping the nearest flank. It ceases to be treated

as the front edge when the contact ceases.

[14.14] When an element is in close combat both to front and to flank or rear or in close combat to its

front and overlapped, only it and the enemy

element in front fight each other.

[14.15] Others only provide Tactical Factors.

Close Combat Eligibility Examples

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 25 6 March, 2013

This shows two elements which are in valid contact

for close combat.

Combat to front and to Flank, and/or Rear

Examples

Element B and C cannot engage in close combat

but can provide support to Element A and C.

Element A, C, D & E are all in contact with the enemy Element B. All four elements are part of the

close combat, however the 3 elements in rear and

flank do not execute close combat, instead they support and provide tactical factors to the friendly

element A in the front. In this case a maximum of

+3.

This example is identical to the previous example. All 4 elements are involved in the close combat,

Element A conducting the close combat, with

support factors from Element C, D, & E.

[14.2] COMBAT WHEN OVERLAPPED OR OVERLAPPING.

General Rule;

If elements overlap an enemy element, which is in close combat to its front, they can provide a close

combat factor benefit to the close combat.

Overlap represents an element fighting an enemy flank and/or rear edge, while that enemy is engaged

in combat to its front. The elements can physically

be overlapping the element, or can be in valid front to flank edge contact, in each case the combat

effect is identical.

In summary, unusual movement to achieve flank attacks have no additional value compared with a

simple overlap. Only a contact against an enemy

rear edge, which is in combat to its front, has an additional benefit.

Procedure;

An element cannot overlap a camp or BUA. A camp or BUA cannot overlap an element.

An element may receive at most one -1 for overlap or flank contact on the left, one -1 for overlap or

flank contact on the right, and one -1 for rear

contact.

Cases;

[14.21] An element not in frontal close combat but

in mutual right-to-right or left-to-left front or rear

corner contact with any enemy element except

Psiloi overlaps it; even when the enemy element is

exposed by its frontal opponent having recoiled,

fled or been destroyed that bound.

[14.22] Any enemies in any mutual flank edge

contact overlap each other whether in close combat

or not.

[14.23] An element can overlap 2 enemy elements

on opposite flanks.

[14.24] An element that did not move this bound and has its nearest front corner less than 1 BW

from a battlefield edge counts as overlapped on that corner.

[14.25] Only 1 overlap or flank contact is counted

per flank.

[14.26] For each enemy element either overlapping

or in front edge and front corner-to-front corner

contact with flank or in full front edge contact with rear, or for each 2nd or 3rd enemy element aiding

opposing element’s shooting, or for each of up to 2

additional enemy elements also still assaulting a city, fort or camp. See Case (15.15)

Combat when Overlapped or Overlapping

Example

This example shows an enemy pike element

overlapped on each of its flanks. In this case the

attacking Blade element B receives modifiers for 2 overlaps. In this case a +2. See Case (14.1)

Examples.

[14.3] MUTUAL SIDE EDGE CONTACT

General Rule;

Spear and Sold Bow elements can gain a combat

benefit if there is a friendly solid Spear or Blade element in mutual side edge contact.

Cases;

[14.31] An element of Spears or “Solid” Bows adds +1 when in frontal close combat in good going

against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in

mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact with a friendly element: of A Spears or “Solid”

Blades if the supported element is Spears, or B of

“Solid” Blades if the supported element is Bows. “Fast” elements neither give nor receive flank

support. See Case (15.14)

[14.32] Elements in mutual side edge contact can provide both an overlap and a mutual side edge

contact close combat modifier.

[14.4] CLOSE COMBAT AGAINST A CITY, FORT OR CAMP

General Rule;

An element in front contact with an enemy

occupied camp is eligible to participate in close combat. If the element defending the camp is

destroyed, the attacking element immediately

occupies the camp. An element providing rear support to the attacking element does not move in

this case.

Cases;

[14.41] Troops assaulting or defending these (City,

Fort or Camp) use their combat factor against foot

and do not count overlaps or flank or rear support.

[14.42] A city, fort or camp can be in contact with

the front edges of up to 3 assaulting elements.

[14.43] The defender fights each assaulting element separately in succession, in each combat counting

others still in contact as a tactical factor.

[14.44] Combats cease when the defender is destroyed or all assaulting elements have fought.

[14.45] Elephants can assault a city or fort only at a

gate.

Examples;

This city is in contact with 4 elements, but only 3 are counted. There is a single defender which

engages in combat with any 3 attackers, one at a

time. The defender is assumed to be spread around the entire perimeter so it’s in contact with all 3

eligible attacking enemy elements.

[14.5] CLOSE COMBAT & TERRAIN

General Rule;

Terrain features can affect combat by providing

factors, which will modify a player’s combat die

roll. Elements defending a City, Fort, Camp, Bad

Going or if Up Hill receives combat factors which

provide a benefit in any close combat.

In some cases a close combat modifier is only

allowed if an element is in good going.

Cases;

[14.51] +4 If defending a city or fort; and either in

close combat or being shot at. See Case (15.15)

[14.52] +2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp; and either in close

combat or being shot at. See Case (15.15)

[14.53] +1 If in close combat; and either uphill or defending any but a paltry river’s bank off-road.

See Case (15.15)

[14.54] -2 If any troops but Auxilia, Bows,

Warband or Psiloi and in close combat in bad (not

rough) going. See Case (15.15)

[14.55] Pikes add +3 and Warband +1 when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than

Psiloi, or Pikes +1 when in frontal close combat

against Knights, Elephants or Scythed Chariots; if in either case they have another friendly element of

the same type lined-up directly behind facing the

same direction, and both are in good going. See Case (15.13)

[14.56] Double elements (6Kn, 6Cv, 8Sp, 6Bd,

8Bw) not in a city, fort or camp add +1 when in frontal close combat against enemy foot and the

double element is entirely in good going. See Case

(15.13)

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 26 6 March, 2013

[14.57] An element of Spears or “Solid” Bows adds

+1 when in frontal close combat in good going

against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in

mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact

with a friendly element: of A Spears or “Solid”

Blades if the supported element is Spears, or B of “Solid” Blades if the supported element is Bows.

“Fast” elements neither give nor receive flank

support. See Case (15.14)

[14.58] CLOSE COMBAT TERRAIN EFFECTS CHART

Terrain Mod Notes

City or Fort

+4 If defending a city or fort and in close combat. See Case (15.15)

Camp +2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp and in close combat. See Case (15.15)

Uphill +1 If in close combat and uphill. See Case (15.15)

River +1 If in close combat and defending any but a paltry river’s bank off-road. See Case (15.15)

Bad Going -2 If any troops but Auxilia, Bows, Warband or Psiloi and in close combat in bad (not rough) going. See Case (15.15)

- Pike and Warband cannot gain +3 for rear support. See Case (15.13)

- Double elements cannot gain +1 for rear support. See Case (15.13)

- Spears or Solid Bow cannot gain +1 if for mutual flank edge. See Case (15.14)

[14.6] CLOSE COMBAT REAR & FLANK SUPPORT

General Rule;

In some cases friendly elements directly behind an

element in close combat can provide support in the

form of Rear Support factors. (Combat Die roll modifiers.)

In some cases friendly elements can provide flank

support in the form of Flank Support factors. (Combat Die Roll Modifiers.)

Procedure;

Pike and warband can obtain rear support if they have an element of the same type directly behind

and facing the same direction as the supported

element in in Good Going.

In all cases, the subtype and depths of the elements

are not important, as long as the elements are of the

appropriate type. For example, a 5Wb may support a 3Wb and vice-versa.

If an element is destroyed and it received rear

support from an element directly to its rear, the supporting element is also destroyed. There is one

exception: A supporting element of pike is not

destroyed.

An element that can provide rear support must

provide rear support.

Spear and in some cases Steady Bow can obtain

flank support, if a friendly Spear or Blade element

is aligned on its flank, facing the same direction as

the supported element and in Good Going.

Cases;

[14.61] Pikes add +3 and Warband +1 when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than

Psiloi, or Pikes +1 when in frontal close combat

against Knights, Elephants or Scythed Chariots; if in either case they have another friendly element of

the same type lined-up directly behind facing the

same direction, and both are in good going. See Case (15.13)

[14.62] Double elements (6Kn, 6Cv, 8Sp, 6Bd, 8Bw) not in a city, fort or camp add +1 when in

frontal close combat against enemy foot and the

double element is entirely in good going. See Case (15.13).

[14.63] An element of Spears or “Solid” Bows adds

+1 when in frontal close combat in good going

against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in

mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact

with a friendly element: of A Spears or “Solid” Blades if the supported element is Spears, or B of

“Solid” Blades if the supported element is Bows.

“Fast” elements neither give nor receive flank support. See Case (15.14)

Rear support Examples;

In both these examples the elements in close

combat receive support, and a tactical factor, from

the elements to their rear.

Flank Support Examples

In these three examples the element in combat with

the enemy Pike element received +1 flank Support. In these examples you also receive a +1 for

overlap. The friendly element on the flank could be

in close combat as well, in which case both friendly spear elements can provide flank support for each

other, but they do not provide a +1 overlap modifier. If there was an element on each flank,

you still only receive a maximum of +1 for flank

support.

[15.0] COMBAT RESULTS

General Rule;

Combat resolution follows the same procedure for

both distant shooting and close combat.

Procedure;

Each player spins a die for their respective element

involved in close combat or distant shooting.

The result is added to the Elements Combat factor.

This aggregate result is modified by the Combat

factors to arrive at a final modified combat value for each of the two opposing elements.

The results are compared and this result compared with the Combat Outcome table, which will detail

the result of the combat. The element type will

affect the result.

The results are immediately executed, after which

the process is repeated for any other combats.

When all combats are completed the current combat phase has ended.

Cases;

[15.1] RESOLVING SHOOTING OR CLOSE COMBAT

General Rule;

Combat resolution follows the same procedure for

both distant shooting and close combat.

Procedure;

Close Combat : Each player spins a dice for their

respective element in front-to-front edge contact, adding the result to their respective Combat factor.

See case (15.12). Modify the die roll using the

Combat Factor Table. See Case (15.16) and case (15.17). The two results are compared to provide a

combat outcome. See case (15.2).

Other elements providing rear support and/or enemy flank/rear contact, and/or overlap, will

provide tactical factors for the combat die roll as

per the Combat Factor tables.

Distant Shooting : Each player spins a dice for their

shooting and target element, adding the result to

their respective Combat Factor. See case (15.12). Modify the die roll using the Combat Factor Table.

See Case (15.16) and case (15.17). The two results

are compared to provide a combat outcome. See case (15.2).

Other elements providing distant shooting support

will provide tactical factors for the combat die roll as per the Combat Factor tables.

Cases;

[15.11] Whether in contact, shooting or only shot at, each player dices for their element, and adds its

combat factor below and any rear support, flank

support and tactical factors to the score:

[15.12] COMBAT FACTOR TABLE

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 27 6 March, 2013

Situation Foot Mntd

Elephants +5 +4

Blades in close combat +5 +3

Spears, Blades if shot at, or Artillery unless in a city or fort.

+4 +4

Knights, Scythed Chariots, Pikes or War-Wagons.

+3 +4

Cavalry, Camelry or Auxilia +3 +3

Warband or Hordes +3 +2

Bows +2 +4

Light Horse or Psiloi. Artillery in a city or fort

+2 +2

Camp followers or city denizens

+0 +0

Ft = If against foot. Mntd = If against mounted.

[15.13] Rear support factors:

Pikes add +3 and Warband +1 when in frontal close

combat against enemy foot other than Psiloi, or

Pikes +1 when in frontal close combat against Knights, Elephants or Scythed Chariots; if in either

case they have another friendly element of the same

type lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going.

Double elements (6Kn, 6Cv, 8Sp, 6Bd, 8Bw) not in

a city, fort or camp add +1 when in frontal close combat against enemy foot and the double element

is entirely in good going.

[15.14] Flank support factors:

An element of Spears or “Solid” Bows adds +1

when in frontal close combat in good going against

enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in mutual side

edge and mutual front corner contact with a

friendly element: of A Spears or “Solid” Blades if

the supported element is Spears, or B of “Solid” Blades if the supported element is Bows. “Fast”

elements neither give nor receive flank support.

[15.15] Tactical Factors:

Add to or subtract from scores for each of the

following tactical factors that applies:

+4 If defending a city or fort; and either in close

combat or being shot at.

+2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp; and either in close combat or being shot

at.

+1 If the general's element; and either in close combat or being shot at.

+1 If in close combat; and either uphill or

defending any but a paltry river’s bank off-road.

-1 For each enemy element either overlapping or in

front edge and front corner-to-front corner contact

with flank or in full front edge contact with rear, or for each 2nd or 3rd enemy element aiding opposing

element’s shooting, or for each of up to 2 additional

enemy elements also still assaulting a city, fort or camp.

-2 If any troops but Auxilia, Bows, Warband or

Psiloi and in close combat in bad (not rough) going.

[15.16] Special Combat Factors Table (Original)

Mod Situation

Rear Support Factors (Pikes & Warband)

+3 Pikes when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than Psiloi if

they have another friendly Pike element lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going.

+1 Warband when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than Psiloi if they have another friendly Warband element lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going.

+1 Pikes +1 when in frontal close combat against Knights, Elephants or Scythed Chariots; if they have another friendly Pike element lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going

+1 Double elements (6Kn, 6Cv, 8Sp, 6Bd, 8Bw) not in a city, fort or camp when in frontal close combat against enemy foot and the double element is entirely in good going.

Flank Support Factors (Spears & S Bows)

+1 An element of Spears or “Solid” Bows when in frontal close combat in good going against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact with a friendly element: of A Spears or “Solid” Blades if the supported element is Spears, or B of “Solid” Blades if the supported element is Bows. “Fast” elements neither give nor receive flank support.

[15.17] Standard Tactical Factor Table

(Original)

Add to or subtract from scores for each of the

following tactical factors that applies:

Mod Situation

+4 If defending a city or fort; and either in close combat or being shot at.

+2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp; and either in close combat or being shot at

+1 If the general's element; and either in close combat or being shot at.

+1 If in close combat; and either uphill or defending any but a paltry river’s bank off-road.

-1 For each enemy element either overlapping or in front edge and front corner-to-front corner contact with flank or in full front edge contact with rear, or for each 2nd or 3rd enemy element aiding opposing element’s shooting, or for each of up to 2 additional enemy elements also still assaulting a city, fort or camp.

-2 If any troops but Auxilia, Bows, Warband or Psiloi and in close combat in bad (not rough) going.

[15.18] CLOSE COMBAT TACTICAL FACTOR TABLE

Mod Situation

Rear Support Factors (Pikes & Warband)

+3 Pikes (3Pk, 4Pk) when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than Psiloi if they have another friendly Pike element lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going.

+1 Warband (3Wb, 4Wb) when in frontal close combat against enemy foot other than Psiloi if they have another friendly Warband element lined-up directly behind

facing the same direction, and both are in good going.

+1 Pikes (3Pk, 4Pk) when in frontal close

combat against Knights, Elephants or Scythed Chariots; if they have another friendly Pike element lined-up directly behind facing the same direction, and both are in good going

+1 Double elements (6Kn, 6Cv, 8Sp, 6Bd, 8Bw) not in a city, fort or camp when in

frontal close combat against enemy foot and the double element is entirely in good going.

Flank Support Factors (Spears & Bows)

+1 Spears (4Sp, 8Sp) when in frontal close combat in good going against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact with a friendly element of Spears or “Solid” Blade. “Fast” elements neither give nor receive flank support.

+1 An element of “Solid” Bows (4Bw) when

in frontal close combat in good going against enemy foot if at least 1 flank edge is in mutual side edge and mutual front corner contact with a friendly element of “Solid” Blade.

Standard Tactical Factor Table

+4 If defending a city or fort in close combat

+2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp in close combat

+1 If the general's element in close combat

+1 If in close combat; and either uphill or defending any but a paltry river’s bank off-road.

-1 For each enemy element either overlapping or in front edge and front corner-to-front corner contact with flank or in full front edge contact with rear, or for each of up to 2 additional enemy elements also still assaulting a city, fort or camp.

-2 If any troops but Auxilia, Bows, Warband or Psiloi and in close combat in bad (not rough) going.

[15.19] DISTANT SHOOTING TACTICAL FACTOR TABLE

Mod Situation

+4 If defending a city or fort being shot at.

+2 If camp followers or other foot occupying their own camp being shot at

+1 If the general's element being shot at.

-1 For each 2nd or 3rd enemy element aiding opposing element’s shooting.

[15.2] COMBAT OUTCOME

General Rule;

Combat outcome is determined by comparing the

difference between Final modified combat Values of each side’s element. The player with the highest

value suffers no effect, the other side may suffer a

combat effects. If equal, both players may suffer a combat result.

Elements conducting distant shooting, but not

themselves being the target of enemy distant shooting, never suffer a combat result.

Cases;

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 28 6 March, 2013

[15.21] An element whose total is equal to or less

than that of its opponent may need to make an

immediate outcome move, which depends on its

own type and that of the opponent in close combat

with its front edge or shooting at it.

[15.22] Elements shooting without being shot at disregard an unfavourable outcome.

[15.23] Elements in close combat against an enemy

element’s flank or rear recoil if a friendly element in combat with its front recoils, flees or is

destroyed.

[15.24] If its total is equal to that of its opponent

[15.24] COMBAT RESULTS TABLE (1-1)

Mod Situation

If its total is equal to that of its opponent

All If attacking or defending a city,

fort or camp no effect. If neither see below.

Scythed Chariots

Destroyed.

Knights or Camelry

Destroyed in close combat by Blades or Bows if these are Lb or Cb, recoiled in close combat by other “Solid” foot. 4Kn recoiled in close combat by 3Kn. Otherwise no effect.

Other mounted

Recoiled by “Solid” foot in close combat, otherwise no effect.

Fast foot Recoiled by “Solid” foot in close combat with it or shooting at it, otherwise no effect.

Solid foot No effect.

No effect if attacking or defending a city, fort or

camp. If not:

Scythed Chariots. Destroyed.

Knights or Camelry. Destroyed in close combat by Blades or Bows if these are Lb or Cb, recoiled in

close combat by other “Solid” foot. 4Kn recoiled in

close combat by 3Kn. Otherwise no effect.

Other mounted. Recoiled by “Solid” foot in close

combat, otherwise no effect.

Fast foot. Recoiled by “Solid” foot in close combat with it or shooting at it, otherwise no effect.

Solid foot. No effect.

[15.25] If its total is less than that of its opponent

but more than half

[15.25] COMBAT RESULTS TABLE (1.5-1)

Mod Situation

If its total is less than that of its opponent but more than half.

All Destroyed if defenders of a city, fort or camp or denizens or camp followers that have sallied, or if not War Wagons and enemy are in front edge combat with flank or rear. Recoil if in close combat against defenders of a city, fort or camp. If neither see below.

Elephants Destroyed by Psiloi, Auxilia, Light Horse or by Artillery shooting. If not, recoil.

Scythed Chariots

Flee if shot at unless at least partly on their rear edge. If not,

destroyed.

Knights Destroyed by Elephants, Scythed Chariots, Camelry or Light Horse. If not, recoil.

Camelry Destroyed by Scythed Chariots or if themselves in bad going. Flee from Elephants, If not, recoil.

Cavalry Flee from Scythed Chariots, or if in bad going. If not, recoil.

Light Horse Flee from Scythed Chariots, from Artillery shooting, or if in bad going. If not, recoil.

Spears, Pikes or Blades

Destroyed by Knights or Scythed Chariots if in good going or by Warband. If not, recoil.

Auxilia Destroyed by Knights if in good going. If not, recoil.

Bows Destroyed by any mounted. If not, recoil.

Psiloi Destroyed by Knights, Cavalry or Camelry in going which to the opponent is good. If not, recoil.

Warband Destroyed by Knights or Scythed Chariots if in good going. If not, recoil.

Hordes Destroyed by Knights or Elephants in good going, or by Warband. Recoil if shot at. If neither, no effect.

Artillery Destroyed.

War Wagons Destroyed by Artillery shooting or by Elephants. If not, no effect.

Destroyed if defenders of a city, fort or camp or

denizens or camp followers that have sallied, or if not War Wagons and enemy are in front edge

combat with flank or rear. Recoil if in close combat

against defenders of a city, fort or camp. If neither:

Elephants. Destroyed by Psiloi, Auxilia, Light

Horse or by Artillery shooting. If not, recoil.

Scythed Chariots. Flee if shot at unless at least partly on their rear edge. If not, destroyed.

Knights. Destroyed by Elephants, Scythed

Chariots, Camelry or Light Horse. If not, recoil.

Camelry. Destroyed by Scythed Chariots or if

themselves in bad going. Flee from Elephants, If

not, recoil.

Cavalry. Flee from Scythed Chariots, or if in bad

going. If not, recoil.

Light Horse. Flee from Scythed Chariots, from Artillery shooting, or if in bad going. If not, recoil.

Spears, Pikes or Blades. Destroyed by Knights or

Scythed Chariots if in good going or by Warband. If not, recoil.

Auxilia. Destroyed by Knights if in good going. If

not, recoil.

Bows. Destroyed by any mounted. If not, recoil.

Psiloi. Destroyed by Knights, Cavalry or Camelry

in going which to the opponent is good. If not, recoil.

Warband. Destroyed by Knights or Scythed

Chariots if in good going. If not, recoil.

Hordes. Destroyed by Knights or Elephants in good

going, or by Warband. Recoil if shot at. If neither,

no effect.

War Wagons. Destroyed by Artillery shooting or

by Elephants. If not, no effect.

Artillery. Destroyed.

[15.26] If its total is half or less than half that of

its opponent:

[15.26] COMBAT RESULTS TABLE (2-1)

Mod Situation

If its total is half or less than half that of its opponent

All Destroyed if defenders of a city, fort or camp. If not see below;

Cavalry Flee from Pikes, Spears or Hordes if in good going, or Artillery in close combat. If not, destroyed.

Light Horse Destroyed by any mounted, Artillery shooting, Bows or Psiloi, or if in bad going. If not, flee.

Psiloi Destroyed by Knights, Cavalry, Camelry or Light Horse if in going these count as good or if in close combat against Auxilia, Bows or Psiloi. Recoil from Elephants or Scythed Chariots. If not, flee.

All others Destroyed.

Destroyed if defenders of a city, fort or camp. If

not:

Cavalry. Flee from Pikes, Spears or Hordes if in good going, or Artillery in close combat. If not,

destroyed.

Light Horse. Destroyed by any mounted, Artillery

shooting, Bows or Psiloi, or if in bad going. If not,

flee.

Psiloi. Destroyed by Knights, Cavalry, Camelry or

Light Horse if in going these count as good or if in

close combat against Auxilia, Bows or Psiloi. Recoil from Elephants or Scythed Chariots. If not,

flee.

All others. Destroyed.

Close Combat Example

A line of four element so if Roman legionaries

(classed as Blades, Bd) are moved into contact with four elements, two deep, of Macedonian pikemen

(classed as Pikes, Pk). Each element must be lined

up exactly with its opponent with no part-elements overlaps. Blade Element C includes the Roman

general.

Since it is the Roman player’s turn, he can choose

which of his two elements in contact fight first. He

decides Blades Element C will fight first. Blade elements A and D will not fight, but can count as

overlaps. Both sides dice. Blade Element C scores

4, add its combat factor against foot of +5 and a further +1 for the general. Pike Element G scores 4,

adds its combat factor against foot of +3 and a

further +3 because its supported to its rear by Pike Element D. However, it must deduce -1 for being

overlapped by Blade Element H.

Pike Element G has scored less than Blade Element C, but more than half as many, so immediately

recoils its own base depth, pushing back Pike

Element H.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 29 6 March, 2013

Blades Element B and Pike element E now dice. Blade element B scores 6 and adds its combat

factor of +5. Pike element E scores 1, adds its

combat factor of +3 and a further +3 for support by pike element F, but must deduct -2, since it is now

overlapped by both Blade element A and Blade

element C. Pike element E’s score is half or less than its opponent, so it is destroyed. Pike element F

is also destroyed.

It is now the Macedonian player’s bound, and he

can move pike element G and H back into contact

if he wishes to, and if he does not first use up his move die score with other moves.

[15.3] DESTROYED ELEMENTS

General Rule;

A destroyed element is removed, when 4 elements

have been lost the game ends. See Case (16.1)

Cases;

[15.31] A destroyed element is removed. This

represents an unacceptable number of its men being

killed, disabled or made prisoner and the remaining survivors dispersing and quitting the battlefield

individually, wagons and artillery having been

smashed and abandoned by crews, elephant’s dead, fleeing in panic or captured, or denizens defending

a city abandoning the walls.

[15.32] An element destroyed by an equal result was brought to a disorganised halt in a critically

dangerous position.

[15.4] RECOILING

General Rule;

Recoiling elements are moved back, facing the

enemy, with no other effect. Exception, See Case (15.5)

Cases;

[15.41] This represents troops falling back a short distance under enemy pressure while continuing to

maintain formation and fight. A recoiling element

moves straight back without turning:

[15.42] A foot element always moves its own base

depth or ½ BW if this is less than its base depth.

[15.43] A mounted element can choose to either to move 1 BW or to move its own base depth if this is

less than 1 BW.

[15.44] If the recoiling element is Elephants, all friends or enemy met that are not in a BUA or

camp is destroyed. Elephants recoiling from close

combat against the defenders of a city or fort are destroyed. If 2 elephants meet, both are destroyed.

Surviving elephants finish their recoil.

[15.45] If the recoiling element is not Elephants,

friends facing in the same direction are

interpenetrated if allowed. If not so allowed they

are pushed back far enough to make room for the

recoil unless they are Elephants or War-Wagons.

[15.46] An element with a recoil outcome to shooting at least partially on its rear edge, turns to

face its rear before recoiling.

[15.47] A recoiling or pushed back element whose rear edge or rear corner meets terrain it cannot

enter, a battlefield edge, friends it cannot pass

through or push back, enemy or a city, fort or camp ends its move there.

[15.48] A recoiling or pushed back element that is already in such contact with any of these or that

starts with enemy in front edge contact with its

flank, rear or rear corner cannot recoil and is destroyed instead.

[15.49] RECOILING EFFECTS

Meeting which Recoil Effect

If Elephants

Recoiling into all friends or enemy met that are not in a BUA or camp.

Troops met Destroyed

Recoiling from close combat against the defenders of a city or fort

Recoilers Destroyed

Recoiling into elephants. Both Destroyed

If not Elephants

friends facing in the same direction. If allowed to interpenetrate. (unless they are Elephants or War-Wagons)

interpenetrate

friends facing in the same direction. If not allowed to interpenetrate. (unless they are Elephants or War-Wagons)

Troops met are pushed back far enough to make room for the recoil

All Other Recoilers

Rear edge Meeting terrain it cannot enter, a battlefield edge, friends it cannot pass through or push back, enemy or a city, fort or camp

Recoilers end move.

Rear edge in contact with terrain it cannot enter, a battlefield edge, friends it cannot pass through or push back, enemy or a city, fort or camp.

Recoilers Destroyed

Starts with enemy in front edge contact with its flank, rear or rear corner.

Recoilers Destroyed

[15.5] FLEEING

General Rule;

Fleeing elements move their maximum movement

allowance away from the enemy and then expend

an entire tactical move to reform.

Cases;

[15.51] This represents a panic individual rush to

the rear, ending as a confused mass until reformed by making a tactical move.

[15.52] A fleeing element turns 180 degrees in

place; and then moves straight forward without turning its full tactical move distance for the going

it starts in, plus 1 BW.

[15.53] It stops if its front edge (or front corner

only) contacts enemy that it does not destroy,

friends it cannot pass through, a city, fort or camp,

a waterway, or (unless it is Psiloi or Light Horse),

any bad going it is not already at least partly in

except marsh.

[15.54] It is destroyed if it starts with an enemy

front edge in contact with its flank, or if after

turning it cannot move at all, or if it enters any river.

[15.55] If any part of it crosses any battlefield edge,

it is removed as lost.

[15.56] If a friendly or enemy element prevents

further movement by fleeing Elephants or Scythed Chariots, both elements are destroyed.

[15.57] FLEEING EFFECTS

Situation Effect

If its front edge (or front corner only) contacts enemy that it does not destroy

Stops.

If its front edge (or front corner only) contacts friends it cannot pass through

Stops

If its front edge (or front corner only) contacts a city, fort or camp, a waterway

Stops

Unless it is Psiloi or Light Horse, If its front edge (or front corner only) contacts any bad going it is not already at least partly in except marsh.

Stops

If it starts with an enemy front edge in contact with its flank, or if after turning it cannot move at all,

Destroyed

If it enters any river. Destroyed

If a friendly or enemy element prevents further movement by fleeing Elephants or Scythed Chariots.

Both elements are destroyed.

If any part of it crosses any battlefield edge.

Removed as lost.

[15.6] PURSUING

General Rule;

Elements can pursue retiring or fleeing enemy

elements, with the objective of continuing the close

combat until those elements are eliminated.

Procedure;

An element is in a city, fort or camp does not

pursue.

Cases;

[15.61] This represents following up a retiring

close combat opponent or panicked survivors of a destroyed element with the intention of continuing

to kill them.

[15.62] Unless it is in a city, fort or camp, or would cross a battlefield edge, or is in or a pursuit move

would enter bad going other than Marsh or Gully,

an element whose close combat opponents recoil, flee or are destroyed (and all elements in column

behind a pursuing element of any of these) must

immediately pursue, but only if:

(a) Any element that destroys the defenders of a

city, fort or camp in close combat. It immediately

moves into that feature.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 30 6 March, 2013

(b) An element of Knights (other than 4Kn),

Scythed Chariots, Elephants or Hordes pursues 1

BW straight ahead.

(c) An element that is of Pikes, Blades (but not Lit

or CWg) or Warband and that fought against foot

(other than Psiloi) pursues ½ BW straight ahead.

[15.63] If a pursuing element’s front edge contacts

enemy or its front corner contacts an enemy front

edge, it or they line up immediately as if contact was by a tactical move, but the resulting combat is

resolved next bound.

[15.64] PURSUIT EFFECTS

Mod Situation

All - If in a city, fort or camp, or would cross a battlefield edge, or is in or a pursuit move would enter bad going other than Marsh or Gully

Does not Pursue.

3Kn, Hch, 6Kn, SCh, El, 7Hd or 5Hd.

Pursues 1 BW straight ahead.

Pikes, Blades (excluding Lit and CWg) or Warband - If fought against foot (other than Psiloi)

Pursues ½ BW straight ahead

All - If have destroyed the defenders of a city, fort or camp in close combat.

It immediately moves into that feature.

Other Cases Does not pursue.

[15.7] LOST ELEMENTS

General Rule;

When 4 elements have been lost the game ends. See Case (16.1)

Cases;

[15.71] An element has been lost if it has been destroyed, or has recoiled, fled or been pushed back

across a battlefield edge.

[15.72] Those that crossed a battlefield edge and destroyed camp followers or denizens are only lost

for this battle and will reappear in the next turn of a campaign.

[16.0] WINNING AND LOSING THE BATTLE

[16.1] ENDING THE GAME

[16.11] The first side that at the end of any bound

has lost 4 elements not including Scythed Chariots, Hordes, camp followers or denizens loses the battle

if it has also lost more such elements than the

enemy has lost.

[16.2] CALCULTING ELEMENTS LOST

[16.21] The first double element lost counts as 2

elements lost. A general lost during the battle

counts as 1 extra element lost.

[16.22] A camp that has been sacked by enemy

counts as 1 element lost.

[16.23] A City occupied by enemy during the battle and still under enemy control counts as 2 elements

lost if it was used without a camp or 1 if used with

a camp.

[16.24] Scythed Chariots do not count towards the

lost total because while expensive to provide their

loss is expected and discounted.

[16.25] Hordes do not count because other troops

do not regard them as equals or of much importance.

[16.26] Camp followers and denizens do not count

because they are self-replacing (there are usually plenty of hopeful new prospective inhabitants for a

once prosperous city and of hungry peasants

willing to adopt soldiers who will feed them).

[17.0] EXTENDED OR MULTIPLE GAMES

[17.1] MULTI-GAME TOURNAMENTS

Tournaments consist of several rounds of games, each usually played to a time limit, commonly of

60 minutes.

Army composition and allies must be declared by the start of the first game and cannot be changed

between games.

Organisers of established tournaments usually have their own tried and tested scoring systems. If you

are designing your own system, it needs to ensure

that a single massive victory does not outweigh a more consistent string of successes, that wins are

always more valuable than draws/unfinished games

and players are not encouraged to get ahead in a game by a small margin then stall. A Swiss chess

competition format enables players potentially

travelling long distances to play in every round.

Anachronistic pairings should be minimised by

organisers giving priority to pairings between those armies with equal cumulative scores whose army

lists specify each other as historical enemies. This

principle can be taken further by each player bringing a historically opposed pair of armies and

dicing for which player’s pair is used, the other

player then choosing which he commands; but at the cost of reducing variety. If it is important to

eliminate draws (as in knock-out competitions) and

neither side has achieved victory when the time limit is reached, one possible solution available to

the organiser is to eliminate both players.

[17.2] BIG BATTLE D.B.A

General Rule;

This is a variant enabling a single player on each

side to use a larger army divided into commands

and a larger playing area, but without the increased

historical detail of DBMM. This differs from the

standard version only as described below.

Each army consists of 36 elements. If it is from a single list, multiply the number of elements of each

type allowed by the army list by 3. Each of the 3

generals controls a command of at least 6 elements chosen from those available.

The army can instead include allied commands of

the same year from lists with a different number or with the same number but a different letter, which

are always full 12-element independent armies from those lists.

Allied elements can only be in an allied command.

If there is only 1 allied command, the remainder of the army is then restricted to its list multiplied by 2

instead of 3. If there are 2 allied commands, they

must be from different lists and the remaining

command is also a normal 12-element army from

its own list. One non-allied general must be

designated as Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C). The C-in-C and all ally-generals must be of a troop type

specified by their list as general.

Other generals can be any element of their list except Lit, CWg, Hordes, Scythed Chariots or

Artillery, but cannot ride an elephant unless the C-

in-C rides an elephant. The width of the battlefield is doubled, but the depth remains the same. The

number of compulsory features is changed to 1-3

and the number of optional features is changed to 2-4. There still cannot be more than 1 each of

Waterway, River, Oasis, Gully or BUA; or more

than 2 Roads, or more than 3 features of the same type.

An allied command must be provided with its own

camp; otherwise the whole army has 1 normal-size

camp unless it has a City and chooses to use this

instead. A camp can only be defended by an

element of its own command or camp followers.

The defender places terrain as in standard DBA,

except that a Waterway cannot be placed on a long

side. The invader chooses a long side as his base edge, the defender takes that opposite.

Either the defender deploys all commands, then the

invader deploys all his (the quickest method; and note that the defender has first move); or the

defender deploys 1 or more commands, then each

in turn places a command. Each element not in a city, fort or camp must be deployed within 8 BW of

its command’s general. A littoral landing must be

by a full command provided by an army whose own home topography is LITTORAL; and all that

command’s elements must deploy within 1 BW of

the Water Way.

One PIP dice is needed for each command. All a

side’s dice must be the same colour except that an

allied command’s dice must be a different colour and is always used for that command. The player

must write down after terrain has been placed and

base edges chosen which non-allied command will always be given the highest scoring dice, which the

next highest scoring dice, and which the lowest scoring dice. He discloses this when he first dices

for PIPs. Plough is rough if 1st bound PIPs total

less than 8. A command’s PIPs cease to be diced for when all its elements have been lost or left the

battlefield.

Once in each game, the C-in-C’s element can add +1 to its combat score after this has been

calculated.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 31 6 March, 2013

An element is lost if it is destroyed or crosses a

battlefield edge, but not if only demoralised. The

first double element lost by each command counts

as 2 elements lost, and the loss of its general as an

extra element lost. An allied command whose camp

is destroyed counts this as extra losses only to that command. Any other camp destroyed or city

currently controlled by the enemy counts as extra

losses to each non-allied command.

A command that at the start of any of its bounds

whose lost elements other than Scythed Chariots,

Hordes, camp followers or denizens total a third of its original troop elements or that has lost half of all

its original troop elements is permanently demoralised. During the remainder of the game it

cannot make tactical moves, but it can use PIPs to

turn and hold in place individual elements or to hold in place groups. Other elements not in close

combat immediately flee directly towards the

nearest point on the army’s base edge, but making an initial turn if necessary. This is repeated at the

start of each subsequent friendly bound, each

element not held that bound or in close combat fleeing whether or not it fled before.

Elements not in a city, fort or camp suffer a -2

tactical factor in close combat.

An army whose cumulative total of lost elements at

the end of any bound other than Scythed Chariots,

camp followers or denizens is at least half its original troop elements or whose C-in-C’s

command is demoralised; and that has also lost

more such elements in that bound than the enemy has lost the battle.

[17.3] GIANT D.B.A

Giant DBA is an extension of Big Battle DBA for

games with several players on each side and/or re-fighting large historical battles. It differs only as

described below.

A separate player controls each general (or more

than 1 general). Each side’s C-in-C must specify

either that all generals dice independently for PIPs, or specify the order in which PIP dice are to be

allocated among them according to their scores.

Army size is increased to 12 elements x number of generals. The width of the battlefield is increased to

3 times that of standard DBA and the depth can

optionally be increased by up to half. The number of compulsory features becomes 1-4 and the

number of optional features becomes 3-6, not more

than 4 of which can be the same type.

[17.4] HISTORICAL REFIGHTS

As Big DBA or Giant DBA, except that the armies

and terrain are based on those of a large historical

battle.

The battlefield area must be scaled to the size of the

area historically fought over. Terrain features are

not chosen by the usual selection rules, but are chosen and placed by agreement to duplicate the

terrain of the real battle.

Research the number of commands and troops actually used, then calculate the number of

elements to be used according to the following

ratios, representing the number that would occupy the same space as an element at the ground scale

used. An element of mounted or foot warriors represents 500-600 foot other than horde, 1,000+

horde, or 250-300 horse or camel riders. Other

elements each represent up to 25 elephants or 50 chariots, war wagons or artillery pieces.

[17.5] CAMPAIGNS

Campaigns are considered by many to be the

highest form of war gaming. At the very top end,

they can have a very large number of postal or

internet players moderated by an umpire through

general and personalised news reports, (usually

supported by a news sheet such as the “Shadizar Herald”, “News of the Known World” or “Grape

Vine” containing a potent mix of truth,

exaggeration, rumour and player propaganda) to which each player responds with written orders;

and include diplomacy, politics and economics

which sometimes overwhelm the military aspects. Such campaigns place a great load on the umpire

and the really good ones may continue for many years.

At the bottom end, they can be simple affairs at

club level to provide an excuse for a series of battles at the same meeting in which each is

partially dependent on the results of those before

and so are not always between armies of identical strength.

This section is mainly included for potential

organisers of such. The first requirement is a stylised map, ideally depicting an area historically

involved. Each player controls a nation of several

sub-territories. Movement is between provinces or (my preference) between nodes (usually major

cities) of a transport network.

Hex maps should never be used, because in real life there are few places from which it is possible to

move a significant military force in 6 directions.

You can nearly always move in 2 directions (forward or back), often in 3.

A network node from which an army can move in

more than 3 directions is strategically important. Moves differed in difficulty. In real life, a move

across mountains was the most difficult. Opposed

movement across a major river was less so, because of the problem in blocking all crossing points.

Some terrain affected some armies more than

others. For example, desert would not greatly affect an army from a Dry area, but would be very

difficult for an Arable area army.

Movement by sea was impossible in Winter; and risky in Spring and Autumn unless moving along a

coast line. Moving an army took far more time than

today and battles rarely followed in close succession. Even a month may be too short for a

playing period, and I use a full 3 month season.

In a one-day club campaign, a modified PIP system is ideal. Each player dices at the start of each

season and can move any combination of armies

and stages (of varying PIP cost) up to his total of PIPs. With several players, it is necessary to decide

the order in which they move. I recommend that

using a modified PIP system, with each player

dicing at the start of each campaign year. The

player with the highest PIP in the first season of

each year moves first, then play continues clockwise for the rest of the year. To avoid fence

sitting, we recommend that a player scoring 6 must

either invade a neighbour or attack another player occupying the same territory.

A player that loses a battle immediately retires 1 move if it can. A drawn battle counts as a win to

the defender, since he loses no territory.

At the end of a campaign year, armies go into winter quarters and start recruiting. Ideally, this

should only partly replace losses and be tied to how

much territory the defender has left or how many move stages the invader is from home.

[18.0] ARMY LISTS

The armies listed represent typical or especially

important (rather than all possible) historical armies

of the nation covered.

Each list provides sufficient flexibility to allow for

some historic variation or differences of

interpretation, but not to allow armies to be tailored for specific opponents. Such foreign mercenaries or

subject races as were habitually used are included,

but allied troops serving under their own generals are usually not, since provision is made for them as

allied contingents in standard DBA or as a

complete allied command in Big Battle DBA. The lists are a simplified version of the four list books

of DBMM and have the same numbers and titles.

As well as defining the troops available to the army, each list also defines its home terrain,

aggression factor, historical enemies and possible

allies; and (a feature not in DBMM lists) suggests especially good books for research or inspiration.

TROOP DEFINITIONS

Each troop entry has the number of elements of that

sort that can be used, the name, and the type code as defined on page 5.

A single slash between 2 codes or prefix numbers

directs that either can be used by all (not some of)

those elements. Psiloi and foot that are listed as 3,5

or 6 to a base are classed as “Fast”, others as “Solid”. A double slash between 2 codes means

that the mounted element can be exchanged for the

dismounted element during the game.

HOME TERRAIN

This is usually that of the army’s heartland, but

sometimes that of a border area where the entry of

invaders will be opposed.

AGGRESSION FACTOR

This is a number from 0 to 4, based on how likely

the army was historically to fight at home or to invade another nation.

Opposing armies each add their aggression factor to

the score of a dice, then compare totals to decide which army fights in home terrain.

HISTORICAL ENEMIES

This lists all the other armies it sometimes fought

against. This enables competition organisers to pair historical opponents in an initial round or if

accumulated scores are equal. Since a DBA army

needs less than 50 figures, we hope that players will produce armies in opposing pairs or sets rather

than mostly fight unhistorical opponents.

ALLIED CONTINGENTS

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 32 6 March, 2013

An army is allowed ally contingents from another

listed army specified at the bottom of its own army

list. The allies listed include only armies that

fought on the same side in a historical battle and

usually only if the allied army is of substantially

different troop types or has a completely separate command structure.

The advantage of using an allied contingent apart

from it being necessary to represent an important historical battle is that it may provide specialist

troops not otherwise available. The compensating

disadvantage is that its elements cannot be moved as a group with elements of the main army or of

another allied contingent so will probably be a serious PIP drain.

A single allied contingent consists of exactly 3

elements from its own army list. In the rare instances when more than 1 allied army provided

allied contingents at the same battle, two allied

contingents from different armies are allowed, each of exactly 2 elements.

An allied contingent must include the general’s

element of its army (which does not function as a general) and at least 1 element from the entry with

the largest number of elements. If the army has 2

troop types with that number allowed, the player chooses which to use. Any 3rd element is the

player’s choice of those elements remaining

unused.

Allied elements are exchanged for the same number

of elements from the main army’s list, which

cannot include its general.

SOURCES

The sources mentioned at the foot of the list notes

are those that have in the past inspired the choice of

an army or provide extra information on its composition or history. Original sources are usually

very useful if allowance is made for bad translation or not being exactly contemporary. Eyewitness

accounts are best.

The Osprey series are often useful, but are sometimes now very outdated since they are never

revised, while the authors sometimes have pet

theories they wish to foist on you, and the illustrators neglect the humdrum parts of the army

and often invent uniform colours.

Modern academic works also have to be used with caution, since no academic got promoted by saying

his predecessor was right (unless of course he is

their faculty head) and they rarely credit non-academic authors. However, one good new insight

is often worth buying a book for. Historical novels

can also be useful. The authors can bring an era to life and are often knowledgeable.

For example, Alfred Duggan fought in Norway,

rode horses cross-country, was widely travelled in the near east, studied Crusader castles and taught

history and classics before he wrote his first novel

“Knight with Armour” (the story of a putupon rookie knight on the 1st Crusade); and Harry

Sidebottom, the author of the “Ballista” series

(based on 3rd century Roman wars with the Sassanids) lectures in classical history at the

University of Oxford.

Two especially useful publications for geographical

relationships and the history of the rise and fall of

states are “The New Penguin Atlas of Ancient

History” and “The New Penguin Atlas of Medieval

History” by Colin McEvedy and David Woodroffe.

Another is “The Geographic Background of Greek & Roman History” by M. Cary. Googled websites

such as Wikipedia are often useful for dates,

persons and geography. Lastly, “Slingshot”, the journal of the Society of Ancients, often includes

articles on obscure armies; and past issues are

available to Society members on disc from www.soa.org.uk.

[19.0] RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Since its publication, DBA has been joined by other rule sets using very similar mechanisms, such

as for fantasy battles HOTT “Hordes of the

Things”, for larger ancient armies DBM “De Bellis Multitudinis” (since replaced by DBMM “De Bellis

Magistorum Militum”), and for the Renaissance

period “De Bellis Renationis”.

These are being followed imminently by HFG

“Horse, Foot and Guns” which has been tested

online for several years and enables the very largest 18th, 19th and early 20th century battles to be

played in a normal evening. Also related to the DB

rules, under test for several years and hopefully to be published in due course, are an ancient skirmish

set DBV “De Bellis Velitum”, a modern naval set

“Subs & Sams”, a modern infantry set for counterinsurgency warfare “Sharp End”, 3 more

period specific and lower scale derivatives of HFG,

revised versions of our old WRG armour rules, and a higher level combined arms “Arrows & Goose

Eggs”.

Sue’s “Start Ancient Wargaming” is an illustrated hardback guide for beginners, including the DBA

3.0 rules with sample games, the expanded 3.0

army lists, and hints and tips on painting and terrain

making.

[20.0] CONTACT ADDRESSES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

QUERIES AND SUGGESTIONS

If you have queries or suggestions, you are

welcome to email Phil at phil@wrg.me.uk or pc.barker@blueyonder.co.uk. There are also 2

DBA internet fan groups which will also welcome

your input and provide help. These are:

www.fanaticus.org

http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/DBA/

OTHER W.R.G PUBLICATIONS

www.wargamesresearchgroup.net is the website of

WRG Ltd and has details of WRG publications.

www.wrg.me.uk is Sue’s website and has links to

all related web sites.

THE SOCIETY OF ANCIENTS

THE SOCIETY OF ANCIENTS is a long

established worldwide society for all interested in ancient and medieval warfare.

Its bi-monthly journal SLINGSHOT balances

research of a very high standard with more specifically wargaming content.

Contact: www.soa.org.uk

WARGAMES DEVELOPMENTS

WARGAMES DEVELOPMENTS is an

association of war-games innovators centring

around an annual “try it on the dog” conference, not to be missed. Contact:

www.wargamedevelopments.org

HISTORY OF WARGAMES PROJECT

John Curry’s “The History of War-games” project

reprints an increasing number of normally

inaccessible early war-games rules and books, including (with permission) several out-of-print

WRG titles, including Tony Bath’s seminal

“Setting up a War-games Campaign” and later this year earlier versions of DBA.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We owe special thanks to the stalwarts, spread over 3 continents, of our DBA revising committee and

their local helpers. In alphabetical order, they are

Attilio Andreazza, Bob Beattie, Ray Briggs, John Brown, Joe Collins, Pete Duckworth, Peter Feinler,

John Garvey, John Gillson, Paul Glover, Lawrence

Greaves, Chris Hanley, Andreas Johansson, David Lawrence, Bill MacGillivray, Keith McNelly,

Doug Melville, Paul Melville, John Mumby, Keith

Parkes, Doug Rockwell, Jo Russell, Scott Russell, Terry Shockey, Brian Sowman, Martyn Simpson,

Ian Tanner, Tom Thomas, Adrian Webb, and far

from least, Norman Whapshott. Andreas Johansson, Peter Feinler and Bill MacGillivray

have also contributed greatly to DBA list revision

with extensive comments on all four sections of army lists. Comments have also been received from

many other members of the DBA Yahoo group. It

should also be mentioned that the new lists owe a great deal to the DBMM army list books, which

themselves are the work of hundreds of often very

erudite contributors.

Rev 3.Beta 28th of December 2011 (DBA v3bNov11) REFORMATED RULES v1, PAGE 33 6 March, 2013

[20.9] LINKS

DBA 1.0

http://www.wrg.me.uk/WRG.net/History/OLDWR

G/DBA001.pdf

ARMY LISTS Section One

ARMY LISTS Section Two

http://www.wrg.me.uk/SuesWebPages/LISTS%202

.pdf

Tactical Movement in DBA 2.0 –Jan 2002

http://www.fanaticus.org/DBA/guides/DBAmove2.

pdf

The Unofficial Guide to DBA – Feb 2006

http://www.wadbag.com/DBAGuide/default.asp