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| The campaign board - notice the ships, gold and food around the table! |
All 4 Empire Cards were placed face down and the players threw 3d6 with the highest score choosing first and the lowest having no choice but the last card. As Ian was running late I rolled and chose for him.
Russ was highest and chose the Selucids, Mark got Carthage, Ian got Macedonia and John got Rome.
They were then given their notebooks containing details of the army they controlled and the territories they owned.
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| Ho Chi Minh considers how to mess up his attack of Mauretania |
Each then drew a Territory card, then rolled on the table for the event for each territory. This had positive effects immediately as Russ got 2 stands of free volunteers to bolster his army and Carthage had the Gods smile upon them with a bumper crop of Food and Gold.
The rolls for Ports also produced happy results for most with extra goodies coming the way of all players. We initially wasted time by me counting out all the gold and food for each player - then them counting it all back to me straight afterwards. We changed this the next turn so each player worked out what their cities and territories produced, the 'costs' in food and gold for cities and troops - then either paid me the difference or received the difference from me. This was much quicker and easier and we'll use this system from now on.
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| The first battle underway - Ian defends Mauretania with two giant Coke cans. |
Mark and John both had copies of the rules with them (John had them downloaded onto his Kindle!) which also helped move things along.
Treaties were rapidly engaged into - Macedonia immediately getting into a Treaty with the Selucids and Rome and Egypt (me) also entered into one with Carthage.
Then began the Trade cycle. This was a bit hit and miss for the players. Ian lost half his fleet to storms (after fighting off hordes of pirates). Russ had a great trip and didn't lose a ship, unlike John who lost 75% of his! Mark also had a successful trading run but the Egyptians also lost two ships. With the increase in the cost of ships and the need to have troops on board to keep the pirates away, this has made trade much riskier. However, with Food becoming the key resource (especially with no Food being produced in winter) then it may force players to risk ships to build up stocks while they can.
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| More Coke cans brought in for defence and attack |
A couple of spying missions were also undertaken....
The Empires then had the opportunity to begin expansion by invading other territories. This really threw up a number of interesting results. Russ had spied on Cappadocia and so knew what to expect when he invaded and managed to win the territory after a hard fought battle (with John running the Cappadocian army).
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| The beauty of DBA for campaigns - simultaneous battles side by side so results can be achieved quicker - then back to the campaign table for more empire building. Note John thinks he can beat Russ with his eyes shut. |
Ian's Macedonia invaded Illyria and won with probably the shortest true battle of the night as the Illyrian general was cut down by the Macedonian cavalry almost immediately - thereby the battle was instantly won.
The speed was rivalled by Egypt's foray into Sinai. Taking a full 12 stand army in, it outnumbered the defenders by 2:1 and the campaign rules stated that the smaller army would run away BUT 2 stands would appear on the troop roster of a neighbouring territory. We diced and found that Petra had gained the extra bases - making it one of the most formidable territories on the map.
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| Ian tries a fast one by having his light horse hang off the side of the battlefield |
But it wasn't all good news for the players. Mark's foray into Mauretania with his Carthaginians was bloodily repulsed and he lost not only 4 bases but also his pride. This also saw the combat between Ian's frantic hand-rubbing and Mark's goatee stroking. The hands won, hands down!
John had also had a foray (with his second army) into Venetia - which Mark decided to defend. It was a desperately tight affair which saw both sides reach the 25% mark in the same bound. So we did a countback based on points value and they still drew. So the decider was % of the army lost, which John won by around 4%! So he at least had a positive on the Territory front by the narrowest of margins.
So lessons learned quite quickly were a) do your reconnaissance and b) go in with as many troops as you can.
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| Selucids - food rich but cash poor. |
Then came Summer. Rome got a great 'double bubble' event roll which gave John a great crop of Gold and Food. He was spotted counting his ill-gotten gains like Scrooge - putting his gold coins in neat piles and chuckling to himself.
The events threw up Unrest in Damascus and Alexandria - luckily both me and Russ had armies already in these territories to quell the rebels - otherwise we'd have had a tough time financially. Ian was lucky in another sense as he'd just moved his army out of Macedonia when the card was drawn and a Desertion roll was made (meaning his army strength could have reduced by up to 4 bases!).
Trade was again brutal - Mark losing 3 ships (including one he'd tried to protect by sacrifices to the gods) and Ian lost 2. All mine were safe in and out for a tidy 40 Food profit. But Russ - without the benefit of Auxilia guarding his ships - lost all 4 ships. That's the equivalent of 120 gold! Ouchy!
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| Russ takes the loss of his entire fleet quite well, considering |
The players then nominated their next targets before we called it a night. Macedonia aim to take on the might of Vindebona. The Selucids are taking on both Sinope (good luck with that!) and the dusty desert of Arabia. Rome has moved on Ravenna to secure its borders and Carthage has to have another crack at Mauretania.
Initial Thoughts
The campaign rules seem to work well. The players all got a couple of battles each in during the night and all got hold of the rules fairly well. Trade has become tougher and the need to protect from pirates means a steady stream of Auxilia is required by all Empires. But if the dice are with you, it can make the difference between expansion and contraction.
Food has already become the key consideration of all players. All went for food producing territories and that's what is required. No food means cities and armies die out - opening the Empire up to attack by other Empires.
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| Mayhem as the Selucids try to take Cappadocia |
I like the idea that everyone has to fight across the map rather than waltzing wherever they want to. To get to grips with another Empire, you have to do a lot of scrapping to get there - but by choosing your enemies wisely you can chart an easier route if you use your Spies well (such as encouraging the opponents bases to desert before you invade or having a good idea about what you're facing before you get stuck in). But it reflects a reality - that empires had to be carved out and won through hard fighting.
No-one has yet used ships to attack the islands or to cross the seas - yet. The pay-off is that the first to garner a large, strong fleet can pick up and hold territories that are difficult for others to take off them. I expect that the players will see the benefit of this and convert their gold surpluses into ships - which will then be burned by opposing Spies! The temptation may also be that as Empires move their armies about, they leave the home front exposed - and an Empire with a big fleet can attack anywhere they choose!
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| Campaign map at the close. Note that Macedonia and the Selucids are wandering far from home...if only I had a fleet of ships. |
The rule that means an easy walkover (like Egypt in Sinai) means a tougher next opponent also seems to be a winner and could create some real tough nuggets on the campaign map.
Time is the problem. There is no way we'll get a full 20 years out of the campaign in the next month but - as John suggested - we can always come back to it as a later date. A sign, I hope, that the players enjoyed the experience and are happy to continue with it.
But as a start, it seems to have gone well.