"What games would represent Romano-British warfare well?" Topic

I'm familiar with the Dux's (Bellorum and Brittaniarum), but would other games, like Hail Caesar or Field of Glory work well?

Let me know

Thanks
Austin

If you own both sets, make sure you keep them side by side as it is important to make sure you have your Dux in a row before playing.

Apart from that cheap attempt at humour, I confess I don't have much to add other than suggesting a look at Age of Arthur/Warhammer Historical if you can find it. I own all three but Dux Brit is the only one I actually play.

Hahaha…Dux in a row says Some Chicken. Very funny!

BTW, I still use Glutter of Ravens on occasion, but I think these have been supplanted by one of the above. If you can find a copy, I would say that they are worth picking up.

DBA 3.0.

'Glutter…' was Daniel Mersey's first published game back in 1998. It's superseded by Dux Bellorum, which achieves the same effects more elegantly.

Most rules will work well, if your willing to add your own touch to give the right feel. In fact, DO SO! No need to be soo dependent on a single rules system to dictate how well it covers a period. If you like the mechanics… go for it.

That said, I play DBA and ADG more often than anything to meet my needs. However, I REALLY like the two Dux sets you mentioned. Hmmm… another you might look at is Impetvs. They have a lot of feel and flavor to them (for battle in general).

Clash of Empires is good as well. Again though, most of these other sets aren't period specific, so what I said about making your own adjustments applies.

Good luck.

Kurtus

I really like WAB's supplement on this for the character it brings to the games. They are large scale battles where the heroes really make a difference. If you are going for a hollywood feel at all it does this well.

It really depends on what your own view of warfare at hat time was in actuality. A few heavies with a gang of thugs trying to throw their weight around then Dux Brit or Saga would be fine if you believe that there were actual huge armies (maybe even a few hundred strong) than a more army based set would work. As we don't know that much for certain about warfare in the British isles than your ideas are as valid as anyone's. I would go for Bux Bellorum or the Warhammer supplement- grafted onto a better set of rules though as I am not a fan of warhammer itself.
DBA in any guise will give a good game although careful manoeuvres and disciplined lines of troops isn't really how I imagine it would have been like- although that is probably true for many ancient battles.

Comitatus is specifically designed for the late and post Roman period – more for full battles rather than skirmishes
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Simon

I wouldn't go past Six Bellorum myself. As you already have it, your quest is at an end :)

Six Brit. has some great character though…

I like both Dux rules, but Comitatus is a nice elegant system for larger battles.

I'm a great fan of Dux Brittaniarum but that is partly because without a doubt it's the most successful set of rules ever introduced at our club.
Last year we finished an 80 week multi-player campaign, and more recently we started on a second one with 24 players participating.
Many of the players are very actively involved which is always a good sign.

Always been a great fan of Glutter of Ravens and really like his successor Dux Bellorum. We played this several times too but the majority of our players obviously preferred Dux Brit.

To be honest some of the Dux Bellorum games ended in a slogging match with one player constantly attacking and another unendingly adding to his defence. Could be that we interpreted the rules wrongly but frankly I don't think so.

Comitatus seems like a very fine rule set as well. The cover drawing alone is almost worth the asking price.
But I feel less suited for 28mm figures – which is what 95% of our gamers use- because of the intended size. If I ever succumb to the lure of those splendid Splintered Light 15mm Late Romans I might have another look at it.

Comitatus for battles.
Dux Brit for raids.
Pig Wars for skirmishes.

Of the sets mentioned, I've only played Comitatus, which is a great game. I have played it both in 28mm and 15mm and it works equally well in either scale.

I also use my own "To the Strongest!" rules for this period. there are Romano British, Saxon and Pictish lists my the free "Late Antiquity" booklet at:

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