Constructing 24 element armies for DBA and DBA-RRR

DBA-RRR Banner v2

Our recent game of DBA-RRR with 24 elements a side, shared between two players was great fun. But it did exhaust my supply of figures, as I’d collected enough for 12 point armies using all options. It also resulted in both army looked pretty much identical. Lots of shot, men-at-arms, and light horse. With as few pike as possible. I think more games with 24 point armies are quite likely in the future, but I’d like the army lists some real choices in what troops appear on table. So how should I arrange my 24 point army lists?

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2019 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

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So here we are. 2019. My inner megalomaniac is as crazy as ever. I’ve talked about my recent successes in 2018 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian. Now it is time for the overly ambitious, world conquering even, list of what I’d like to get done this year.

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Welsh versus Picts 2 – An Arthurian HOTT Battle Report

Arthurian HOTT 799 The Morrigan appears in front of the Pictish host

Chris Harrod and I had another game of Arthurian HOTT. This featured Chris’s Chris’s Picts on sabots to provide Big Bases. I fielded my Welsh (Cymry) with Arthurian and Reconquista Christian Elements for Big Base HOTT. I went for my traditional historical Welsh option where the religion is implicit. Chris put a Goddess on table (the Morrigan).

Summary: The Morrigan was scary and my Welsh had to dance around a bit, but it turned out god was on our side and Arthur’s host took the day.

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The Battle of Kadesh in David Rohl’s New Chronology

Battle of Kadesh - Phaoroh attacking

The Battle of Kadesh is the first battle in history for which we have detailed accounts of what happened. It features two of the middle eastern heavy weights – Egypt and Hatti – battling it out for supremacy. It also features bit players that would subsequently stand out on the world stage – tribes that would constitute the Sea Peoples fought on both sides at Kadesh. And, if you follow the New Chronology proposed by David Rohl, Pharaoh was rescued by Elite Israelites from Solomon’s Kingdom.

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Welsh versus Saxons – An Arthurian HOTT Battle Report

Arthurian HOTT 671 Welsh mounted go in again

Jamie fancied a bit of Dark Age gaming. So I dragged out my Welsh (Cymry) for Britannia 600 AD and more Fall of Rome figures to make a Saxon army for Jamie.

Hordes of the Things (HOTT) is fast becoming my go to rules for the Dark Ages so this was going to be a bit of Big Base HOTT. Or, more precisely, Arthurian HOTT.

Summary: Grindy dark age affair with lots of flavour. Bad going made the battle bitsy. Arthur took the day.

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2018 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

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My inner megalomaniac is back. This post is a follow on from my 2017 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian. The previous post was a retrospective of the last 23 months, which means pointing out my successes. This post is the (overly ambitious) list of what I’d like to get done in the coming year. It is the more embarrassing part. The confession. Bear in mind these are more or less active projects.

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2017 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

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I have noticed that my The Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian of 2015 was literally a confession, describing my overly inflated ambitions and incomplete projects. But the 2016 edition was more a reflection on my progress against those goals. It has been a 23 months since the 2016 edition and it is time to revisit. But I’m going to split the reflection aspect from the confessions bit. So this is my reflection on the 23 months from the beginning of 2016 to the end of 2017.

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Welsh versus Picts – An Arthurian HOTT Battle Report

01 King Arthur advances on right

I recently transferred my Dark Age figures for Hordes of the Things (HOTT) to Big Bases. Magicians, beasts, clerics, hordes, that kind of thing, making Big Base HOTT. This included my Strathclyde Welsh (Northern Cymry) for Britannia 600 AD.

To celebrate the big basing, Chris Harrod and I had a game of Arthurian HOTT. Chris brought along his Picts and we used sabots to give him big bases.

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448 AD Roman versus Visigoth – A One Hour Wargames Battle Report

448AD-07 Charge

Chris Harrod came over and we played two games of our Fall of Hispania Campaign. The first battle occurred in 448 AD, 2 game years after the last battle. Chris rolled Roman and I got Visigoth.

I had intended to use Basic Impetus, and even revised the army lists to do this, but we ended up using the Dark Age variant of Neil Thomas’s One Hour Wargames instead. Both armies had six units and we used first Pitched Battle scenario. And we played on a 2’x2′ table as per using my big bases with One Hour Wargames.

The summary is: Grindy rules that are very predictable. Might be accurate but not much fun. Chris won.

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Using Big Bases for DBA

BBDBA Celtiberian Scutarii

Big Base DBA (also known as Big Base De Bellis Antiquitatis or BBDBA) allows fast games with a small number of playing pieces and lots of figures. Big Base DBA requires few modifications from the standard DBA rules.

Inspired by Philip Sabin’s Analysis of Ancient Warfare in Lost Battles I’ve drifted further away from normal DBA than you need to, but I’ll explain why as I go along. Mostly it affects basing.

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Steven’s Rules 1971 – Wargaming Rules for a Seven Year Old

Steven's Rules

Last year my (then) seven year old daughter asked me to explain wargaming to her. This made me recall “Steven’s Rules” – a set of wargaming rules that my father published in Slingshot back in 1971. This is a very simple set of rules that a seven year old boy (me) could play with his Airfix plastic Ancient Britons and Romans. If you’ve got a seven year old boy around the house you might find these useful.

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2016 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

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It has been a year since my Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian so definitely time for the 2016 update. I figured that, by sharing what I’m working on (far too much) and where I was up to with it (not far enough), I’d feel bad enough about my lack of progress to limit my work in progress and get some projects finished. Well, it worked, but only partly. I still worked on seven projects this year and finished none.

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