"First Game of Dux Bellorum" Topic

I played my first game last night. It was a quick solo game just to run through the mechanics and get a first impression of how the game feels. My armies were both 32 points, an Irish force composed entirely of foot with a tough core of noble warriors and some ordinary warriors and skirmishers with javelins. My Pictish force had several mounted units including 2 noble riders, the companion unit and an ordinary rider as well as several ordinary warriors and some foot skirmishers with javelins. The game played really quickly (despite my lack of understanding of many of the rules still) and gave an interesting game that had a fair amount of ebb and flow. There were a lot of situations where both sides had to make difficult decisions with their LP and this part of the game is really a cool mechanic. The Irish ultimately proved too difficult for the Picts to handle and at the end of the day the Irish held the field, but were bloodied. I played the game after only 1 full read through and as I played I wrote down a series of questions that came up. After the game, I re-read the rules and found the answers clearly stated to 7 of the 8 questions that I had, so I think that the rules are clearly written and easy to grasp.

Allen

… both sides had to make difficult decisions with their LP and this part of the game is really a cool mechanic.

What is an LP (other than a no longer produced vinyl disk that was played on a turntable)?

What makes it a neat mechanic?

Thanks!

JJ

Leadership point. Other than the name I got nothing.

So, what was question 8?

LPs are used to modify die rolls for a unit. You can drop up to three on a unit or group. This is done before movement begins so you have to "guess" where the hot spots are going to be for combat.

LPs can be used to modify a leadership test (the roll that allows a unit to move), to absorb damage that an enemy inflicts on you, or to allow a unit to roll extra dice.

The trickiest part of the rules for me was getting my head wrapped around the move sequence. Once a realized that groups must be of one type, the move sequence became pretty clear.

Applying LPs before movement instead of as they are needed sounds a very interesting twist. I like games that give me more tactical decision points. It makes me pay attention to what is happening and try to have more of a plan than "Move minis, roll dice"

How many Irish units did you have and what were they?

Come to that, how about listing both armies? I've got to wait until late august to get my hands on a copy :(

Thanks in anticipation.

Tarleton, my armies were as follows:

Picts

1 x Mounted Companion (includes commander) 5 pts
2 x Noble Riders 5 pts each*
1 x Ordinary Rider 3 pts each
4 x Ordinary Warbands 3 pts each
2 x Foot Skirmishers 1 pt each

Total 32 pts (I mistakenly gave Picts 2 Noble Riders when they were only allowed 1)

Irish

1 x Foot Companion (includes commander) 5 pts
3 x Noble Warriors 5 pts each
3 x Ordinary Warriors 3 pts each
3 x Foot Skirmishers 1 pt each

Total of 32 points

Who asked this Joker, you can also use them to interrupt an enemy movement phase and preempt his move getting a unit out of charge range or to charge before they can charge you, stealing the bonus for combat.

Dave, question #8 was "do you use net hits or gross hits to decide who was pushed back in a melee where neither routs?". The answer is net hits that are placed against the unit's cohesion number.

Thanks – Allen

Thanks very much old chap.

It helps me get an idea of the army make-up. Even with the bits and pieces on Dan Merseys site theres a few questions. I'll just wait until I get my copy in August.

you can also use them to interrupt an enemy movement phase and preempt his move getting a unit out of charge range or to charge before they can charge you, stealing the bonus for combat.

I knew I was forgetting something!

Thanks for the report…BTW.