[Commercial] Wars of the Republic is up on the Osprey Site

[Easy E]

Thank you for all who attended!  It was great meeting you all, and I am sorry I could not spend as much time with each of you as I wanted. 

Thanks for the great game!  The Romans managed to come out on top on the big demo table.  It was close run thing.  Pictures soon.

[Easy E]

This battle was the main Demo table at the Wars of the Republic launch party at Gestalt Studios in Powell, Wyoming.  As such, there were a few different generals and my main role was as referee, host, and rules interpreter.  The launch party had a surprising amount of people show up looking to game, talk ancient history, talk wargaming, and talk about being an author.  Sadly, I did not get to spend as much time with everyone as I wanted to and I look forward to doing more wargaming events in the area! 

The Greeks of Pyrrhus of Epirus came to Italy to aid their fellow Greeks of Tarentum.  However, they faced a rising power in Rome.  The successor mercenary and opportunist, Pyrrhus; was looking for a way to make cash to keep bank rolling his efforts in Greece.  The situation in Italy seemed like a good way to do it!  However, the Romans proved to be stiffer opponents than Pyrrhus suspected.  After three costly victories, Pyrrhus left Italy and went to Sicily instead.  This gave control of Italy to the Romans. 

At the launch party, the main Demo table had a combined arms army of Greeks vs. Republican Romans.  Each side had about 3 generals controlling wings of the armies.  These players rotated in and out through out the battle, to give more people a chance at the game. We also had a secondary table of Etruscans and Romans, but I did not get to observe that battle much.   

Since I was hosting the event and referee, I do not have full pictures of the battle.  The following is a high-level recap.



Forces:

Greeks of Pyrrhus of Epirus

Center:
War Elephants
Silver Shields
Bronze Shields

Right:
Heavy Cavalry
Light Hoplites
Archers

Left:
White Shields
Peltasts
Light Cavalry

Republican Romans

Center:
Triarri x2
Hastati

Right:
Hastati
Principes
Velites

Left:
Hastati
Principes
Velites

Mission:

The game had no complications and was a simple pitched battle. 

Set-up:
The table had a dangerous river on the Roman right/Greek left with an impassable temple on the opposite shoreline.  A road slanted across the center of the board.  On the Roman left/Greek right there was a difficult field, and on the Greek side a Difficult forest.

The Greek line stretched across the board from left to right it was:
Peltasts, Light Cavalry, White Shields, Bronze Shields, Silver Shields, War Elephants, Heavy Cavalry, Light Hoplites, and Archers.  The Archers and Light hoplites were deployed in the woods. 

The Romans formed up in their typical checkerboard fashion.  Hastati were the front line, with off-set Principes on the edges, and off-set Triarri in the rear.  Each flank had a unit of Velites.  The Velites were near the river on the right, and approaching the field on the left. 



To read the full battle overview and see all the pictures you can go to the Blood and Spectacles Blog:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/11/battle-report-wars-of-republic-romans_01344413117.html     

[guitarheroandy]

Great looking table there!
I've ordered the rules and am hoping they'll inspire me to get some paint on my Victrix Romans and Samnites, which have sadly stalled...

[Easy E]

Thanks!  It pretty much all came from a Big Box retailer.  Wargaming can be affordable.

I wrote the rules as an excuse to buy loads of Victrix figures and get them painted.  It worked for me, so hopefully it will work for you too!   

[guitarheroandy]

Thanks!  It pretty much all came from a Big Box retailer.  Wargaming can be affordable.

I wrote the rules as an excuse to buy loads of Victrix figures and get them painted.  It worked for me, so hopefully it will work for you too! 

Rules arrived yesterday. Had a read today. They look really good!! Looking forward to giving them a bash.

[Easy E]

Glad to hear!  Let me know it you have any questions. 

I was excited to see Wars of the Republic in the top 5 on the Wargame Vault this morning!   

[Easy E]

Some reviews are starting to hit.....

Beast of War
https://www.beastsofwar.com/featured/wars-of-the-republic-first-impressions-osprey-games/

YouTube- PrasutagusTheOrwellWargamer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMxSV-Dfoaw

[Easy E]

A nice review on Amazon:

A simple and well written set of wargames covering the period of The Roman Republic. Well illustrated, easy to follow and adaptable to any size of figures and basing convention. I liked them and my only reservation is on how well they sell in market that has many rule sets covering this period.

In addition, thank you all for purchasing the Wars of the Republic Books and PDFs.  I am very excited to see that the book is still in the top 10 on the Wargame Vault a month after release.  Thank you so much!

[Emir of Askaristan]

Got WotR as an Xmas present from my son, clever lad!

Really like the rules, looking forward to a game.....

 Now I'm off to spend my Xmas lead tokens on some republican romans !

[Easy E]

Thanks Emir!  This has made my Christmas!

[Easy E]

Here is a nice review the author sent along to me, and I wanted to share.....

https://www.talesfromawargameshed.com/blog/game-and-first-impressions-of-wars-of-the-republic

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

Hello, we played a couple of very quick games tonight at the ELMS club in Leeds using my Etruscans and Gauls.

I have a few questions;

1. Is the profile for militia hoplites (pg29) correct? It is different to the one in Men of Bronze (pg33) and were far superior to the Gallic infantry.

2. Irregular infantry were very fragile and even with heedless charge didn't make much of dent on a phalanx and with armour 1 died very quickly. Should we be using Drilled Infantry with heedless charge instead to represent the bulk of the infantry? Light Infantry with heedless charge don't offer any more staying power.

3. Move and Shoot (Pg 23). Does this allow you to shoot in the movement phase? We assumed it just means you can also shoot in the shoot phase, but I don't think the wording is clear.

4. End Phase/Morale (pg19). When testing for morale for a routed unit, as you draw line of sight from the leader, do you have 360 vision as with shooting? We found these tests particularly horrible with discipline 1 infantry (probably rightly so).

[Golgotha]

This is fantastic news - been looking forward to these having enjoyed Men of Bronze and for that matter many of your other rules. The support you are providing is I am sure also greatly appreciated and very helpful.

[Easy E]

1. Is the profile for militia hoplites (pg29) correct? It is different to the one in Men of Bronze (pg33) and were far superior to the Gallic infantry.

- Ahhhh, I will have to go back and check to be sure.  I do not have the book handy, so more to come on this front.

However, even Militia Phalanx in phalanx will easily deal with irregular infantry to the front.  To be effective, the Gallic infantry needs to break them up either with terrain, or a flank attack (hopefully forcing a Discipline check), or just a mobbing them with support forces.  Also, Gauls should have a range of Elite, Drilled, light, and irregular infantry in their force so the heavy hitters can lead, while the lighter units help out on the flanks/support.  The tactics of the Barbarians are a bit different than their more organized foes.   

2. Irregular infantry were very fragile and even with heedless charge didn't make much of dent on a phalanx and with armour 1 died very quickly. Should we be using Drilled Infantry with heedless charge instead to represent the bulk of the infantry? Light Infantry with heedless charge don't offer any more staying power.

Yes, irregular infantry is very fragile and not intended to be a front line combat unit.  They are the the guys that came along more interested in looting than fighting, or who were forced to come along to bulk out numbers.  They are even less motivated than skirmishers!  However, if used right they can be game winners as support units, flank units, bogging down an enemy unit for a turn or two, and units that can sneak across the board to an objective with no one really caring about them.   

For mainline troops, Drilled Infantry should be the main fighting power of any barbarian or less formalized force.  They should be the tip of the spear, with the irregular/light infantry acting as support/flank attack units.  This is much more effective.   

3. Move and Shoot (Pg 23). Does this allow you to shoot in the movement phase? We assumed it just means you can also shoot in the shoot phase, but I don't think the wording is clear.

Well, there really is no shooting phase.  Typically, you either choose to shoot OR move.  using the Commander's Gaze allows you to do both.  You can choose if you want to shoot first then move, or vice versa. 

4. End Phase/Morale (pg19). When testing for morale for a routed unit, as you draw line of sight from the leader, do you have 360 vision as with shooting? We found these tests particularly horrible with discipline 1 infantry (probably rightly so).

You did it right.  Really the only thing that blocks LOS is other units or terrain for these checks. 

I have seen folks house rule it so that it is only units to the front, but I prefer the 360 as it forces you to think about how you place your units a bit in deployment and beyond.  As you found, Discipline 1 units can be very fragile in such a situation.  Hence why the fighting core of a barbarian force should be Drilled Infantry. 

By the way, I have found that Etruscan elites can really clean house!  If you are fighting them, do not try to go head-to-head and expect to win.  You have to be cunning to neutralize them, and that doesn't typically mean killing them.   


I hope that helps out.  I love the pictures!  Great looking game!

[Dr. Kevin Moon III esq.]

Thanks, that's a big help.

We're planning to give it another run out next week. Possibly with late republican romans or a re-run of Etruscans Vs Gauls. So expect more pictures/questions 😂