Gerald Gan
Philippines
Quezon City
NCR
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I just want to get a better understanding of the game, and I have a few things I'd like clarified if possible, because some areas don't make much sense to me.
- First, being able to amass VERY large armies by stacking various generals/consuls/proconsuls together. Are we doing this right? Can you really amass a huge army (like 40+ points [not number of units] worth of units) by combining leaders? This doesn't make much sense because I don't think they moved around with such huge armies way back then.
- Also, when travelling by sea, are there no restrictions other than the brown/blue ports? Can you ship huge armies via sea too? If so, then something doesn't feel right about that either.
- And, when Asia Minor is activated, where do all the new Pontic units go? Do they take political markers w/ them? Is there nothing Rome can do to stop the bleeding in Asia Minor?
- Also, the map feels kinda constricted with the tight bottleneck smack dab in the middle. Was this design intentional? If so, what's the reason behind this?
- And what's the use of sieging major cities, when one can just flip over minor cities/tribes and still take control of the province? It doesn't seem to benefit an army either.
- And, at the start of turn 2, the Roman player draws 2 new consuls and retains one of his former consuls as a Proconsul correct? So he need not pay crisis/anarchy points for doing so?
- Also, if possible, are there any tips anyone can give to make the gameplay more enjoyable? Any advice for either side?
I'm sorry if I sounded snotty or critical, because I'm not. I love the theme of the game, and despite an average feeling after the first game (using scenario 2), I am NOT giving up on this game. I just need some help to see the diamond in the rough. I'm relatively new to wargaming, so I might just be missing something (though the friend I played with, a grognard thru and thru also found some things "off").
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Neil Randall
Canada
Unspecified
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Quote: First, being able to amass VERY large armies by stacking various generals/consuls/proconsuls together. Are we doing this right? Can you really amass a huge army (like 40+ points [not number of units] worth of units) by combining leaders? This doesn't make much sense because I don't think they moved around with such huge armies way back then.
You are doing this right. 40+ points is high but not unheard of in the game. Be sure to pay attention to the winter attrition rules, though.
Quote: Also, when travelling by sea, are there no restrictions other than the brown/blue ports? Can you ship huge armies via sea too? If so, then something doesn't feel right about that either.
No restrictions. Keep in mind that these are yearly turns - in reality the process would be longer than a single huge army moving at one time. But yes, we did consider a size restriction, but we found that, the vast majority of the time, other game strategic issues limited naval movement. And remember that only the Republicans can use naval movement easily, and it costs a 4-CP card that they often need elsewhere.
Quote: And, when Asia Minor is activated, where do all the new Pontic units go?
In Pontus. Any and all spaces.
Quote: Do they take political markers w/ them?
Pontus becomes instantly controlled by the Sertorian player - each space in Pontus gets a Sertorian PC marker.
Quote: Is there nothing Rome can do to stop the bleeding in Asia Minor?
Sure - defeat the Pontic forces. If not, then be sure to defend in good places. But yes, it's tough - it was designed to be.
Quote: Also, the map feels kinda constricted with the tight bottleneck smack dab in the middle. Was this design intentional?
Assuming you mean Asia Minor, then yes.
Quote: If so, what's the reason behind this?
I'll have to leave that answer to the designer.
Quote: And what's the use of sieging major cities, when one can just flip over minor cities/tribes and still take control of the province? It doesn't seem to benefit an army either.
If you hold a major city, it's easier to hold onto the province. This was a conscious design decision, not to force the control of major cities to control a province.
Quote: And, at the start of turn 2, the Roman player draws 2 new consuls and retains one of his former consuls as a Proconsul correct? So he need not pay crisis/anarchy points for doing so?
He pays 2 crisis points to retain a proconsul.
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Gerald Gan
Philippines
Quezon City
NCR
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He has to pay 2 Anarchy point for having a Consul demoted to a Proconsul as early as the 2nd round? So does that mean if the Roman player wants to avoid anarchy points hits, he has to discard ALL his leaders, draw 2 new Consuls and 1 (or 2) Proconsuls at the start of each phase?
How does one beat a VERY large army then? Why won't both sides just amass all their troops and have one big battle? And, if starting at Scenario 2, since the Sertorians are so close to Italy, how can they be stopped when they amass everyone (adding reinforcement troops) and just send them towards Rome? The Sertorians have the distinct reinforcement advantage, plus they outnumber Roman troops at the start of Scenario 2 as it is.
And I forgot a rule question. Can a lower ranked leader detach (proconsul) detach himself from a higher ranked leader, bringing all the troops with him, leaving the higher ranked leader by its lonesome?
Also, am I right in assuming that it takes a movement point to flip a PC marker? Meaning, the Sertorians walk from point A to point B for one movement point, convert the PC marker for another one, and then move to point C for another movement points, and so on.... Or do we need to wait until Surrender Phase?
Thank you for being so helpful so far and answering my queries. Again, I'm sorry if I sound too critical, but I wanna love this game, and am trying my best to understand it better. 
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Neil Randall
Canada
Unspecified
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Raiyfe wrote: He has to pay 2 Anarchy point for having a Consul demoted to a Proconsul as early as the 2nd round?
Assuming you mean the second Turn, yes.
Quote: So does that mean if the Roman player wants to avoid anarchy points hits, he has to discard ALL his leaders, draw 2 new Consuls and 1 (or 2) Proconsuls at the start of each phase?
Again, assuming you mean Turn instead of phase, the answer is yes. It's expensive in crisis points to retain proconsuls.
Quote: How does one beat a VERY large army then? Why won't both sides just amass all their troops and have one big battle?
If you're the Republic, you try to ensure that your opponent doesn't build a big army - you attack the Sertorians (I'm thinking of the campaign scenario) while they're building. If you're the Sertorians, you keep sending forces around so that the Republicans can't build a big army - crisis points can be a huge problem if there are too many legions. And for both powers, be sure you have a good leader stacked with a strike force to attack where the enemy isn't.
Quote: And, if starting at Scenario 2, since the Sertorians are so close to Italy, how can they be stopped when they amass everyone (adding reinforcement troops) and just send them towards Rome?
The Republican player can't let them do that - he has to attack.
But in all cases, remember that winter attrition can do that job better than a battle can.
Quote: The Sertorians have the distinct reinforcement advantage, plus they outnumber Roman troops at the start of Scenario 2 as it is.
Correct. The Republican player simply has to find a way to counter that. You have to keep maneuvering and fighting to prevent huge army buildups. But if there's one there, attack it. If the odds are even close, anything can happen (that's intentional - ancient battles with relatively close odds were a crapshoot).
Quote: And I forgot a rule question. Can a lower ranked leader detach (proconsul) detach himself from a higher ranked leader, bringing all the troops with him, leaving the higher ranked leader by its lonesome?
Yes - actually, I believe so (I don't have the rules with me).
Quote: Also, am I right in assuming that it takes a movement point to flip a PC marker? Meaning, the Sertorians walk from point A to point B for one movement point, convert the PC marker for another one, and then move to point C for another movement points, and so on.... Or do we need to wait until Surrender Phase?
The latter. You can't flip PC markers during movement. You can remove them (using raids for the Sertorians and pacification for the Republicans), but you can't convert them to your own. You have two main methods: (1) remove the PC markers and then play a CP card next time to place your own PC markers there; (2) place a unit on the space and it converts to your control in the Surrender phase.
Quote: Thank you for being so helpful so far and answering my queries. Again, I'm sorry if I sound too critical, but I wanna love this game, and am trying my best to understand it better.
My pleasure.
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Gilbert Collins
Canada
Ottawa
Ontario
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In Scenario III, the Campaign Game, there is some confusion as to the leaders in the set up.
Because the counter mix uses middle names, last names or short forms I can't find the counters that are represented by leaders:
C. Scribonius Curio
M. Terentius Varro Luculus
What is the exact name on the counter that I use for these two leaders. The spare leaders I have in the counter mix do not match these leaders in any way.
I can't figure out why this has not come up before.
Any help appreciated.
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The Counter for these 2 are C.S Curio and M. Lucullus, i think.
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Neil Randall
Canada
Unspecified
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Correct.
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John Firer
United States
Glendale
Wisconsin
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Raiyfe wrote: - Also, the map feels kinda constricted with the tight bottleneck smack dab in the middle. Was this design intentional? If so, what's the reason behind this?
Yes, Asia Minor is very mountainous and there are restricted ingress and egress into various regions of the area. Point to Point games do well with this.
Hope this helps,
JBF
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Posted Sat Jan 16, 2010 5:16 pm
