Saturday, 8 February 2014

Additional Rules For Big Battle DBA

I found some good stuff on Fanaticus relating to big battle DBA. I have taken bits from various sources to come up with a complete set of additional rules which cover setup and army morale / victory conditions.

I have made some minor additions to handle loss of commanders but overall this information has already been playtested.

Please have a read before next week. I will print copies off so we all have a sheet......

Optional Rules For BBDBA

Deployment

Unlike the standard rules the deployment for larger battles follows this sequence.....

Roll to determine who is the attacking force using the standard rules from the book.

The defender will generate the terrain but there will be 1-3 compulsory pieces and 3-4 optional pieces of which there can be no more than 3 pieces of the same terrain type. The still cannot be more than 1 type of waterway, river, oasis or BUA. The defender places the terrain and then the invader chooses a long table edge as his deployment zone. The defender will take the opposite side of the table and deploy his camp within his deployment zone, the invader then does the same. Now the defender deploys his first command. The invader then places his first command and so on until all commands are deployed.

Note that players must nominate one command element as their C in C.

Once all commands are deployed the defender may exchange 0-2 elements  between any of his non allied commands.

Play begins with turn 1 with the attacker who will then roll a pip die for each command on table. Based on the results of the dice the player allocates the dice to each of his commands. He then makes march or tactical moves selecting which ever command he wishes to until all commands have been moved.

The normal sequence of play then continues as per the 2.2 rule book.


March Moves

Big-battle DBA can start with forces quite far from each other; in some scenarios reinforcements may enter far from the enemy. To accelerate play when enemies are entirely out of contact, use the following optional rule for March Moves.
A march move represents the movement of forces out of contact with the enemy. To be eligible for a March Move, forces must meet the following criteria:
  • Must begin and end their move at least 8" from the nearest enemy unit, and be at least 8" from any enemy unit throughout the move.
  • All troops moving together in a March Move must be organized in a one-element-wide column.
March moves allow a column out of contact with the enemy to move into engagement range much more quickly than normal, as follows:

  • A group using a March Move moves twice as far as normal for the speed of the slowest unit in that column. For example, a column of Blades (normally 200 pace move) using a March Move would move 400 paces.
  • The cost of a March Move is one pip. If desired, a group that has used a March Move may make one more March Move (at an additional cost of one pip). Two March Moves is the maximum on any given turn. Each March Move is subject to the usual restrictions listed above.
  • Elements that make a March Move may not make a tactical move (a non-March move) in the same turn. Bonus Road Movement from being a group containing a General's element on a road is considered tactical movement, and cannot be used by any elements that make a March Move on the turn they March Move.


Additional rules for army C in C

Each side will have nominated an command element as C in C. The C in C has these special rules which only apply to his element.

·         The Commander-in-Chief may allocate up to one-half of his movement pips per turn from his principal command to any element or group of a subordinate/allied command that is both within 12 inches of their commander and the commander-in-chief.

·         Once per game the C in C's element can add +1 to its combat score after all results have been calculated. This is in addition to the normal +1 bonus which is given to command elements in combat.

·         If an army loses its C in C the command which was under the C in C may not be demoralised and in such cases can only hold its current position and make a 360 degree turn on its axis as per the below ruling.

 

Demoralization Level (DL) for a Command

Each command has a Demoralization Level, set at 1/3 of its elements (ignoring camp followers, if any, and treating the General's element as a single element) and rounding off. For example, a command with 13 elements would have a DL of 4.33, round down to 4. A command with 14 elements would have a DL of 4.67, which rounds up to 5. If it loses 4 elements, it is not demoralized. If it loses 5 elements, it is demoralized.
The loss of a General counts as 2 elements lost towards demoralization. While a camp is occupied by the enemy it counts as two additional elements towards demoralization. The loss of a "camp follower" element, if any, counts as a single element towards demoralization. Once a command has lost its general it becomes leaderless  and therefore unable to make any further tactical moves. The only moves allowed are  to hold their current position and they are allowed turn on their axis 360 degrees so as to react to enemy units which may be attempting to flank them or contact them in the rear. This only applies if enemy elements are not already behind a flank or rear, in such case the leaderless command elements cannot react and could be contacted in the rear or flank. Providing the command is not demoralised the army C in C can use up to half its movement pips per turn to move any element or group from such a command providing it is within 12 inches of the C in C.
For a command to both loose it's general and be demoralised makes it very hard to command using the C in C as the +1 pip rule below applies. This simulates the breaking point of a command and it's willing to flee from the battle.

Effects of Demoralization on a Command

Demoralized troops suffer a -1 to all combat factors. The general's element of a demoralized command does not suffer this penalty.
Any element of a demoralized command will move towards the board edge in the fastest and safest way unless pips are spent on it. It takes +1 pip to move a demoralized unit or group into contact with enemy forces. 1 pip (per group) suffices to hold a group in contact with the enemy. Note that troops that are engaged in combat may not withdraw unless they are faster than their opponents. This is still true even if no pips are spent on the units in question.
Demoralized troops that suffer a recoil result in combat treat it as a flee result, regardless of their troop type.

Rout Level for a Command

Once a command has taken losses of at least 1/2 its elements (determined in the same way as for Demoralization Level) it is considered Routed. All elements of that command are removed from play at the end of that turn.

Victory Conditions

If a turn ends and all the commands of one army are Demoralized or Routed, that army is defeated.











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