"Impetus and L'art de la Guerre - Does depth really matter?" Topic

I love the look of the large Impetus bases and want to base so that I can use Impetus and LADG.

LADG uses 40mm wide bases and Impetus 80mm. An easy solution is to use 2 x 40mm wide bases for Impetus.

What I don't like about LADG basing is the shallow depth of the cavalry/chariot/elephant bases. The cavalry ranks look far too regimented and the chariots/elephants overhang.

I think using 50mm depth for these units would be a solution allowing figures to be arranged in a more dynamic style. Can anyone see any real game changing issues?

Depths for other units would be nearly identical:

20mm Skirmishers/Lights Infantry
30mm FP/Heavy and Medium Infantry
40mm FL/Medium and Light Medium Infantry

Depth matters little if at all in either game so long as both sides follow the same constraints. Within each game, base width should be uniform for both sides.

ADLG is fairly easygoing on the depth issue and within a club having everything bar light infantry on 40mm x 40mm bases would be a nice idea too.

Heroic 15's fit better 8 to base and cavaly have a bit more room for positioning on bases of that dimension. As regards large elephants and oversize chariot cabs and chariot horses – well the manufacturers have had enough time.

From the couple of Impetus games I've played, I don't see any minor fluctuations of base depth being an issue. Any fast moving light horse/infantry unit will clear your flank whether your base depth is an extra 5 or 10 mm deeper with relative ease once a hole has opened up (or your plan wasn't as good as you thought it was).

in Impetus (or Basic Impetus 2) depth can count only in 2-3 situations.
1) Interpenetration (counts less in BI2)
2) Flank/rear attack. Well in extreme cases it can make a difference. But pretty rare at the end.
3) Side support (just if you play Advanced Impetus)

Honestly if you don't play at competition (or with a very competitive friend) nothing really important.

Deep bases make little difference in most games. If you are collecting both sides, you can do what you like and use house rules to paper over the consequences. Personally I like deep bases, especially for cavalry. These are 60mm x 90mm, four bases a unit, with 18 figures (4, 5, 5, 4) for heavy cavalry, 12 figures (4 x 3) for lighter stuff.

The depth allows for units to look deeper (two ranks) when they are actually only 1.5 ranks deep. This was a Harran 1104 game, where the Seljuk army is 100% mounted.

Thanks very much for the confirmation Gents.

Deeper bases it is.

Olicana, awesome toys and table set up as always. The staggered basing to give a more massed/ranked look is exactly what I want to achieve with cavalry and also make 'v' formations for cavalry wedges.

Lovely armies Olicana!

Regarding wedges, I would only add these, which are an homage to the WAB wedges.

Also, when basing lights, one can throw out the rulebook; I like to have light cavalry riders circling, which is a reference to a very old WRG rule set (5th? earlier?).

Hi Simon, when I say a wedge it's really just to give a general impression and be a visual aid for the impact bonus. In LADG it is mainly the Macedonian and Successor cavalry that have this bonus so it looks right I think.

Just 6 x figures divided between 2 x 40 x 50 bases (80 frontage and 50 depth).

It's tricky to split a 6 man wedge across two even-sized bases; the join is just in the wrong place! Unless you can make it a single double-width base, that is.

just to add to the conversation. I base my miniatures so with a little shuffling they can be used in many rules systems such as MeG, Impetus, Swordpoint etc.

Anglo Danes- 6 x 40mm x40mm- Use three bases (wide) for Impetus:

Early Byzantines- 6 40mm wide by 60mm deep- Use three bases (wide) for Impetus:

My Just Add Water Miniature Painting Blog:
justaddwater-bedford.blogspot.com