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

[Easy E]

Greetings,

You can now order Wars of the Republic on the Osprey site! 

https://ospreypublishing.com/store/osprey-games/osprey-wargames/wars-of-the-republic



Thanks to all of you who pre-order!  Let me know if you have questions.

[commissarmoody]

Cool, is it based on any existing game system's? Or is it, its own thing?

[has.been]

I'm interested, any more info?

[Easy E]

It is a modified version of Men of Bronze with tweaks based on feedback on the Men of Bronze book.  You can expect the big battles with small armies approach, scale and model agnostic, command resource mechanic, opposed dice pools, bidding for initiative, and no casualty removal again.   

A couple updates:
- Modified Supporting rules to greatly reduce unit shuffling.  No more moving units behind other units for support. 
- A melee phase so it is easier to see who is involved in a melee and add up the attack dice.
- Rules for creating armies with a left, center, and right wing for really big or multiplayer battles
- A change to the Morale system
- More formation types, special rules and unit types to fit the changing warfare of the period
- A lot of army lists and campaign rules in the book
- New historical battles

It is called Wars of the Republic but they can also be used to fight all sorts of wars in the Mediterranean basin from the period, including Kingdom of Rome, the Conquest of Italy, Punic Wars, Wars with the Successors, all the way the the Civil Wars. Plus, you will easily be able to do battles that do not even involve Romans of the period too.

[Arrigo]

Eric,

I am waiting with interest this new rules, but some general  comments on your approach to scale both in Men of Bronze and Heirs of the Empire. Basically it is nightmarish because you cannot get any relationship between an unit foot print and movement in the rules themselves. While there is an advantage in your approach (being completely removed from miniature scale), it requires a lot of experimentation to get movement distances and unit size reasonably right. While for experienced gamers like myself it is not a problem, for other could be. It would be extremely nice if you present suggested unit of distance for the main scales, and also suggested unit size. Also the base width can be quite unwieldy (it is a single element? A single man?  A single unit?) and open to interpretations.

just my two eurocents of course!

Best,
Arrigo

[Easy E]

Thanks for the feedback. I did drop the Base width from Wars of the Republic and replaced it with Measurement Unit.  That way it was more clear that 1 MU was just that.... a generic unit of measure that can be any amount the player wishes based on scale and table size.  Base Width as a term/measurement really just muddied the waters.   

Since the game is 8 turns, with engagement being possible around turn 4, the MU should be 6 MUs should get you 1/8th of the way across the table.  Therefore, if you have a 3 foot wide table that is 36 inches, then a single MU should be 3/4 of an inch.     

36/8= 4.5 inches.  4.5inches/6= .75.  That is 3/4 of an inch.  Using this calculation, a single MU on a 6 foot table is 1.5 inches.

MU= (width of table/8= X)/6 = 1 MU.  I think that is the right calculation.     

Does that help out Arrigo? 

Of course, per Page 5 on House Rules in my rulebooks you can change the MU to whatever you want your game to work with!

 

[mellis1644]

This one I have Marius mules vs. Gauls on DBX bases all ready so should be able to give it a go...

[SHARPE52]

Hi All,
Thanks for all clarifications and advices given
I am trying some test games using DBX bases in 15mm and so far I have used 1 BW = 1cm but I am not fully happy with it.
I find these rules very stimulating even if I have just to fully understand how deadly is the melee.
During my attempts I have noticed that very often both sided received many losses causing a wavering status on both sides or even worst rout for both.
I would be interested in reading your experience of the games played.
What I'd consider changing is the Special rules for warbands that IMHO should be allowed the Charge/countercharge special rules.
Marco

[giorgio]

Ciao everybody
 One of the main asset for Republican was the interchangeability between hastati and princeps. How is represented? Thanks in advance

[Easy E]

I have been getting a lot of questions about Wars of the Republic, and I am excited to see them all.  I put up a blog post on the Blood and Spectacles blog that I hope will answer most if not all of your questions. 



Here is a breakdown on my Blog about what I changed in the core rules between Men of Bronze and Wars of the republic. 

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/10/wargame-design-wars-of-republic-osprey.html

As many of you know, after writing Men of Bronze; Osprey commissioned me to write Wars of the Republic for the Osprey Wargaming Series.  That book is slated to be coming out in November and I hope you will pick up a copy.  If you liked Men of Bronze, I think you will like what you find in this book too.  However, there are also some pretty big differences. 

This has been a pretty popular period lately, so I imagine most of you have armies you can all ready use for this period. 

[Easy E]

For those of you who are in Northwest Wyoming, I wanted to put this on your radar:



For those of you in Northwest Wyoming, you maybe interested in the launch party event for the Wars of the Republic at Gestalt Studios @ The Polar Plant in Powell, Wyoming.

There we will have a chance to play the games hands-on, take a peak at some advanced copies, have some snacks, and talk about wargaming in Wyoming and beyond!  Good company awaits!

If you have questions, feel free to reach out to Eric@bloodandspectacles.com

[Alex Pyrrhus]

Eric:
Your support of “Men of Bronze” has been second to none.  The additional factions offered for free on your blog, especially Sicilian Greek and Carthaginian, have greatly expanded the appeal of those rules.  I purchased the compilation of those additional factions, “Hercules Abroad,” along with “Heirs of Empire” from the Wargame Vault in an effort to support your development of this interesting set of fast play rules.  I have also posted many rules questions about “Men of Bronze” over at your Blood and Spectacles blog, and you have answered them all.

Consequently, I am eagerly awaiting “Wars of the Republic.”  Will the Pike Phalanx differ from the Spear Phalanx? Will the Roman Princeps have different characteristics from the Hastati?  Most importantly, will the Successor Pezhetairoi defeat the Roman legionaries in a head on clash on level ground while having trouble against those foes on difficult or rough terrain?  Last but not least, will these rules have a digital version?

Thanks for all your gaming efforts,

Charles

[Easy E]

Thanks for the support! 

I believe the answer to your questions is YES!



The blog today is mostly about basing in Wars of the Republic.

I have been playing wargames for a long time.  Since 1984 or so?  One thing that always gets my goat is basing!  Nothing irritates me more than painting up a really nice group of models but not being able to use them in a given system drives me nuts!  I hate ripping off old bases and putting on new ones.  Even building modular bases and movement trays is a challenge for me. 

Therefore, when I started writing games for myself I was pre-occupied with basing and how to approach the topic.  One of my primary design goals is always to create something that is scale and model agnostic.  I want players to bring what they want to the table and then get to use it! Wars of the Republic is no different in this regard. 

As I approached Wars of the Republic I held this idea close to my heart.  I surveyed a variety of other ancient wargames to try and get the lay of the land.  I also reviewed the various model lines out there and took a look at what companies were creating as pre-made bases.  There were a lot of different base conventions and pre-made bases out there.  The question was how to make them all work inside the parameters of the game.

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2021/10/wars-of-republic-wargame-design-all.html

[Emir of Askaristan]

Excellent blog post. Looking forward to getting my mits on these.

[Easy E]

Tomorrow is the big day! 

The models are packed, the terrain is packed, the dice are packed, and I am nervous as all get out! 

If you are in the Cody/Powell Wyoming area, I will hopefully see you there!