Ancients Rules

As a result of several requests I am posting my Ancients rules on the blog. These are very much a work in progress and as changes are made I will update them here. I stress that these were never meant to be for public release and only for my use until a ruleset that appealed was produced. They are a little rough around the edges! 

I have broken them down into 4 modules. This is the Classical module (500BC - 476AD) and in the most advanced state. As other modules are good enough to play they will be added. 

The core of the rules are based on the General de Brigade template and I recommend that if you do not already have them acquire a copy or its stable-mate Guns at Gettysburg. The notes I have included below are brief and although I have included more detail in the QRS, a good knowledge of GdB is required to fill in gaps. 

A significant change from GdB is the command and control system. Some of you may instantly recognise the Command Values which are drawn from the Black Powder/Hail Caesar/Warmaster family of rules. I am regularly experimenting with command and control mechanisms so this is one that could see significant change in the future.

I have used the style of Hail Caesar/WAB/War and Conquest for creating the army rosters. Fixed factors, such as weapons, armour and troop quality translate to various values for each unit which reduces the need to have this information contained in charts.

When compiling your army rosters (I have used War and Conquest army lists as guidance) calculate the relevant factors contained in the notes to provide the values for your units. e.g. Veteran Roman Legionaries classed as drilled, heavy armour, large shield, pilum (Heavy Throwing Weapon) & Sword will translate to:
Melee factor v mounted/foot: Infantry 2/2, hand weapon 2/2, veteran +1 giving a total of 5/5

Shooting factor for pilum (HTW): 2(1) the number in brackets being the armour penetration value. This numbered is deducted from any armour value of the target. I only allow this to be thrown once during a game so choosing when to use it is important.

Armour value: Heavy armour 2, Large Shield 2 giving a total of 4.

Examples of my rosters can be found in the Britannia campaign battles. 

Firstly the notes:

Army Rosters - I have included the basics for my EIR and Ancient British as guidance. The small square in the middle of each row is for number of figures in a unit with the space to the right for recording casualties:  

The labels I used in my last game (Trinovantes) are included here. You will notice I use the same style in all periods. i.e. black background with white font. Over they years I have experimented with different colours but found these to be the most inconspicuous on the tabletop. I would rather the figures stand out rather than the labels and the reverse is easily the case with 6mm figures.

The top row and a bit are the Legionary cohorts. The figures refer to melee v mounted/v foot/shooting/ armour value. They are made up using tables in Open Office Write and are 15mm in width matching the width of most bases.

QRS: