Romans

Hi, Does anyone have any sigestions on how to put Roman (and other armies of

about the same time) into Stargrunt? Or any sigestions on how to simulate
battles of that era?
-Stephen

> Stephen wrote:

The FMA Fantasy rules for Star Grunt here: Neath Southern Skies
                http://users.mcmedia.com.au/~denian/
could be helpful in your quest, bold centurion!

> Does anyone have any sigestions on how to put Roman (and other armies

Well, it shouldn't be too hard as long as you're not mixing SF and historical
elements on the field.

Take a cue from FMA skirmish, where a change of scale and/or technology
just redefined the values (for example, in FMA skirmish, an individual's
weapon has a firepower die while in SG2, they often contribute to the squad
firepower die).

To that end, reorganize the charts for an ancient context. If the best armour
is full plate and shield, make that D12 armour. If the toughest thing to kill
is an elephant or chariot, make it D12x2 (vehicular). If the
fastest, deadliest fire is by well-trained longbow archers, make them FP
3,
Impact D12. If crossbows are to be included, perhaps they are FP1, but impact
D12 or D12* and the longbow goes down to Impact D10. Perhaps slings are close
range only, for example.

You may wish to introduce new shifts in CC and instead of rolling for each
individual close combat, you may wish to roll one die for each unit and apply
the difference as casualties (a la Piquet).

The command and control may need to be tweaked. The leader has no radio to
communicate with, so you may need runners which will introduce delays to the
communication.

I think some diligence and imagination could give a very fun game.

Excerpts from mail: 16-Nov-99 Romans by DracSpy@aol.com
> Does anyone have any sigestions on how to put Roman (and other armies

Why?

I mean, I like SGII; but it's designed for a very different kind of warfare
than the Romans engaged in. SGII has
-a much smaller # of troops
-"instantaneous command" due to radios etc.
-squads operating independantly rather than thousands of men in a
battleline
-effective long-range weapons
-single ranks for close combat
-really deadly close combat that's over very quickly
-no real cavalry

...and so forth. Briefly, the major differences are scale, C2, and fire vs.
close combat.

I think you're better off using a set of rules designed for the period. I like
DBA (De Bellis Antiquitatis), produced by WRG, but there are plenty of other
options (Armati, Archon, DBM, WRG 7th, etc.)

In a message dated 11/16/99 5:12:17 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> tmcarth@fox.nstn.ca writes:

> Well, it shouldn't be too hard as long as you're not mixing SF and

Darn, I was hoping to have a Roman vs Kra'Vak game:)

> Take a cue from FMA skirmish, where a change of scale and/or

Seems resonable.

> To that end, reorganize the charts for an ancient context. If the
If the
> fastest, deadliest fire is by well-trained longbow archers, make them

Makes sence, do you know were to find a good referance for that info?

> You may wish to introduce new shifts in CC and instead of rolling for

Quicker when units units of 120 troops.

> The command and control may need to be tweaked. The leader has no

That would make leading from the front very importand.

> I think some diligence and imagination could give a very fun game.

I like to think I have both, right now what I seem to be missing is the data
on the units, got any ideas as to were I could find that data?
-Stephen

In a message dated 11/16/99 1:34:55 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> Al.Bri@xtra.co.nz writes:

> The FMA Fantasy rules for Star Grunt here:

Thasnk you, I'll look into them.
-Stephen

If you're going to assign values to units, armour and weapons for the ancient
period, I'd either do some research or look at relative values from another
game for the period. The best way to combine these two is to go to a gamer who
plays that era.

In a message dated 11/16/99 12:30:19 AM Central Standard Time,
> DracSpy@aol.com writes:

<< Hi,
Does anyone have any sigestions on how to put Roman (and other armies of about
the same time) into Stargrunt? Or any sigestions on how to simulate battles of
that era?
 -Stephen
> [quoted text omitted]

Armati is a good system.

In a message dated 11/16/99 9:38:49 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> tmcarth@fox.nstn.ca writes:

> If you're going to assign values to units, armour and weapons for the

Okay, thanks, now I just have find a Centurion or Legatus or a good research
book.
-Stephen

In a message dated 11/16/99 11:53:45 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> Popeyesays@aol.com writes:

> Armati is a good system.

Thanks, I'll check in to it.
-Stephen

In a message dated 11/16/99 2:53:45 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> Popeyesays@aol.com writes:

> In a message dated 11/16/99 12:30:19 AM Central Standard Time,
Personally, I'd go with DBM. For a more Stargrunt scale combat (1to1) how
'bout using AH's old Gladiator game? Or one of the RPG combat systems (HERO or
Rune Quest or GURPS).

Or...

Roman Legionaire:  Armor d4, +2 for close combat (all that HTH training
and Pilum), late troopers could have darts (close range only, FP 1, Pen
d6--limited shots)

dismounted Cataphractarii would have Armor d6 and higher morale, +1 for
close combat (lose the benefit of the Pilum but still have lots of HTH
training)...

Sagittarii would have bows...

Assuming that you had a high-tech force going up against scatterred
local
low-tech opposition.

Just a thought or two, anyway.

Rob

> Personally, I'd go with DBM.

or DBA, which is simpler.

> For a more Stargrunt scale combat (1to1) how

The Hero System is great for role playing but is a tad complex (and not
epecially realistic) for straight combat simulation. I hhaven't tried
Runequest or GURPS. I believe you can download GURPS Lite from the site for
Steve Jackson Games (www.sjgames.com? I don't recall)