EXPLANATIONS OF RULES

Since I originally wrote these house rules, DBM V3 has come out. There are a number of subtle changes, all are good though many don't go far enough. The best by far is the rule affecting S, I and F troops. See later.

PIP's - These are allocated and used as per DBM, except that the actual Table of PIP costs is replaced with mine above. This is a simplified table, similar to DBM but with a few subtle differences.

COMBAT FACTORS - Again similar to DBM though not identical, for example, cavalry don't get +1 from 2nd line of cavalry. Shoot figure is if shot at, not if shooting. I.e. about the same as DBM.

Bow are basically factor 3 V mounted, and 2 V foot whether hand to hand or shooting. I reduced the mounted factor from 4 to 3 because of the effect of attrition. It would otherwise make Bow troops too strong.

CLOSE COMBAT - similar to DBM, though only one shooter can aid, check the rough terrain, PLUS attrition. This is a big factor and will be explained later.

MOVEMENT - Very similar to DBM but remember the distances are squares of 40mm for 15mm figures (60mm for 25mm figures). Bit that might confuse people is group wheels. Because of the limitation of squares, only wheels in multiples of 90 degrees are allowed. (To compensate for this groups are allowed to "Sidestep" whilst moving forwards, which is not allowed in DBM). The number of squares a unit can move is the maximum width of group that may be wheeled 90 degrees. e.g. A group of light horse 5 elements wide could be wheeled 90 degrees, whilst a group of only 3 auxillia could be wheeled. If a larger group than this needs to be wheeled, it needs to be done as separate wheels, this will produce breaks in the line, but in reality the ancients could not wheel 20,000 in a single line!

COMBAT RESULTS - Very simply in DBM most troops recoiled if opponent scored higher and were killed if opponent scored double. My house rules tend to be roughly the same, except most troops who recoil or flee also suffer ATTRITION.

ATTRITION - This represents accumulating dead and wounded, increased fatigue, and the morale effects of losing the fight. Any unit that suffers attrition fights for the remainder of the game with a factor of -1. (This recovers if playing a campaign game). No unit can ever suffer more than one attrition. Basically this means that tactics like multi line Republican Romans against Macedonians actually works. In DBM the Romans tend to get massacred, then the Phalangites pile into the 2nd line and do the same again, even robots would have to stop for an oil break! My modification tends to take the sting out of some units, but more importantly it urges the general to keep reserves. (NB I happen to be a big fan of the Macedonians and have a huge Macedonian army, I just don't think DBM reflects reality adequately enough)

INTERPENETRATION - One of my pet hates is the DBM interpenetration rules, they are totally inconsistent and unreasonable (They appear to have been based around the battle of Agincourt only!) You will notice that in my table considerably more interpenetration can be carried out, enabling multiple line fighting.

SHOOTING - The big difference here is that Psiloi and some mounted troops can actually shoot. Bowmen fire with the same factors as DBM, Psiloi fire with a factor of 2. Cav(S) fire with a factor of 3 which makes them very dangerous, but in compensation they do not count as (S) anymore, just Cv(O).

ALTERNATIVE RULE - An alternative is to reduce their Cav(S) firepower to only 2 or not allow them to fire at all, in either case they retain the (S) factor.

WINNING THE GAME - A subtle change to standard DBM. Instead of commands collapsing at 1/3rd element losses, it's 1/3rd points losses. Which means you have to be more careful about the valuable elements, but you can be fairly reckless with those rubbish levy. Don't count points for Scythed Chariots.

IN SUMMARY

Let me know what you think, I'm interested to here of anyone who tries these ideas out, and comes up with improvements or problems with them.

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