Punic Wars, Saturday July 9, 2006

My friend Charles and I got together to play Pax Romana on Saturday, July 9, 2006. I will try my best to write a session report, although my memory is not what is used to be, and it used to not be very good.

Previously, we had played Scenario I and enjoyed it enough to give Scenario II a try. We drew lots for sides, and I ended up playing Rome, and Charles Carthage. I requested to play without event chits; Charles objected, saying that he believed it would hurt his side. I argued that there were quite a few rules that weren’t covered by Scenario I, and it would simplify the learning process to play without the event chits. He conceded my point for this game.

List of abbreviations: I assume the reader is familiar with the Pax Romana rules. Ironically, the players were themselves not entirely familiar with the rules when we began, as the reader will see. However, if you have not read the rules, a list of abbreviations used will be helpful in understanding this session report.

MP – Movement Points.
BP – Battle Point, the measurement of a unit’s combat strength.
T – Talent, the currency in the game.
LG – Legion, the basic Roman combat unit, worth 4 BP and costing 2T per LG.
HI – Heavy Infantry, Carthage’s superior combat unit, worth 3 BP and costing 2T per HI.
LI – Light Infantry, Cathage's weak combat unit, worth 1 BP and costing 1T per HI.
Garrison – Garrison. Other units can break down into multiple Garrisons, which have no BP but can hold spaces.
GS – Galley Squadron. You can use naval transport without them, but a single unopposed [B]GS[/B] can block enemy naval transport.
GOP – Geographic Objective Points. Whoever has the most of these, and they primarily come from controlling provinces, gets 2 VP at the end of each turn.
CVP – Civilization Points. Whoever has the most of these gets 1 VP at the end of the turn. It also limits the number of LG or HI a player can field. You get them from cities and town.

Turn 1, Rome's first Activation: Rome attacks the Messana territory from Rhegium. First action, first ten minutes spent digging though the rulebook. There’s a strait. Can I attack as per land? Apparently not. So it has to be a naval attack? I guess so. So I spend four of my six MP to launch an amphibious assault on Messana. I have 2 shifts against the 3 BP Mamertines, but roll poorly and have to spend another 1 MP to attack again.

(Footnote: We did not at this time realize the amphibious attack rules require the attacker have enough MP to get back to a port if the attack fails, nor that it takes 2 MP to continue an amphibious attack. Which raises a question that the rules do not answer: how many MP do you need after a naval attack to move to a friendly port? 2 or 3? Later, we decided it was 2, but I’ve since reread the rules and I think it is 3.)

My plan had been to take Messana, turn a LG into a Garrison, and then use a minor move to turn the Garrison into a Town. But I ended up with no MP left over after the attack, so I couldn’t make any Garrisons. Had I been smart, I would have used my first minor move to turn a LG into a Garrison. (At the time, I believed that units could only be broken down into Garrisons on a major move.) Instead, I used my first minor move to try to move the Garrison in Croton to Messana. This only required 2 MP, because I could now use the strait between Rhegium and Messana. I rolled a 1 for movement. Bah! So I rolled to move the Garrison at Neapolis instead, and rolled enough MP for it to naval transit to Messana.

(Footnote: Another unanswered rules question. If you activate a stack of units for movement, roll for movement, and then decide not to move anywhere with that roll, can you try to move the same unit with another move that activation?)

Turn 1, Carthage’s first activation. Sensing weakness, Carthage moves the army from Lilybaeum to attack Rome in Messana. I choose the Pre-Battle Withdraw option, and use the strait to retreat back to Rhegium. Carthage uses its minor moves to transport 2 HI from Carthago to Lilybaeum.

Turn 1, Rome’s second activation. (Coincidentally, the activation draws were all alternating the first turn.) Rome spends 10T to build 5 LG in Rhegium.

Turn 1, Carthage’s second activation. Carthage shuffles some guys around or something. (Sorry. Bad memory access!)

Turn 1, Rome’s third activation. Back to Messana with a much larger force. Smash the Carthaginians there. Build the planned town.

Turn 1, Carthage’s third activation. Carthage spends some T to build units in Carthago.

Turn 1, Rome’s fourth activation. The forces in Messana now move to attack Lilybaeum, leaving a Garrison in Panormus to secure the northern coastline of Sicily. Carthage withdraws before combat, and rolls enough MP to retreat via sea back to Carthago. I attack the town, capture it, then spend a minor move rebuilding the wall there.

Turn 1, Carthage’s fourth activation. Carthage attempts to capture Lusitania province of Hispania by attacking the tribal marker in Emerita Augusta, but it is a warlike 7 BP tribe, and Carthage is rebuffed.

Turn 1, Victory Phase: Rome has gone up 2 CVP and 1 GOP. Carthage has gone down 1 CVP and 1 GOP. But Carthage still has more GOP than Rome, so it scores 2 VP to Rome’s 1.

Turn 2, Manpower Phase: Carthage gets rid of a bunch of GS. Rome builds a bunch of troops in, surprise, Rome, as well as 2 LG in Albintimilium and 1 LG in Taurinorum. Hmm, wonder what those are for? Carthage bulks up its forces in Hispania. Rome builds no GS this turn; so far, neither player has quite realized the value of GS. Rome gets two crappy 1-4 leaders, and Carthage’s draws aren’t that much better.

Turn 2, Rome’s first activation: Rome's major move breaks down a LG in Arretium into three Garrisons, then moves those Garrisons with the leader from Rome into the Danube, spreading the Garrisons into each territory except the tribally-controlled Coricum for control of the province. The leader ends up back on the coast to keep him mobile. Both minor activations fail to produce enough MP to move the Legions in Albintimilium or Taurinorum into Gaul.

Turn 2, Carthage’s first activation: Carthage smashes the tribal remnant in Emerita Augusta for control of Lusitania province, and then continues on to attack the tribe in Brigantium, and fails.

Turn 2, Rome’s second activation: I move the remaining LG in Arretium to Rome. Both minors get to move into Gaul this time.

Turn 2, Carthage’s second activation: Carthage attacks Brigantium again, and succeeds, claiming Gallaecia province.

Turn 2, Carthage’s third activation: Carthage’s troops in Hispania move through Gallaecia, claiming the silver mines in Bergidum, attacking and smashing the tribe in Toletum.

Turn 2, Rome’s third activation: I failed to roll enough MP to move the LG in Rome via naval transport to support my troops in Gaul, my leader being stuck on the Danube coast.

Turn 2, Rome’s fourth activation: Rolled enough MP to move my troops from Rome to Emporiae in Hispania via naval transport, spending one MP to pick up the LG in Albintimilium along the way and dropping it in Narbo. Used a minor move to move the 1-4 leader on the Danube coast via naval transport all the way around the boot of Italy to support them.

Turn 2, Carthage’s fourth activation: The situation is now that Carthage's main force in Hispania is two territories away from my LG in Emporiae, with the tribal marker in Ilerda between us. If Carthage wishes to control Tarraconensis province for turn 3 income, he has the choice of running around the big 10-territory province dropping Garrisons along the way, or attacking and destroying both the tribe in Ilerda and my forces camped on the beaches of Emporiae. Unfortunately, Carthage rolls minimum MP on the forces in Hispania; he doesn't have enough MP to do the former, and just manages to sack the last tribe in Hispania, but doesn’t have enough left over MP to attack my forces.

Turn 2, Victory Phase: Rome is up 1 GOP, Carthage is up 2 GOP. Carthage gets 2 more VP for 4 total, Rome gets 1 more for 2 total. Both players realize that Rome now has two ways to victory: sack the city of Carthago or kick Carthage out of Hispania. Which one will I do?

Turn 3, Manpower Phase: As Rome, I build 3 GS in Rome to make sure I can attack the city of Carthage, as well as 2 LG there. I also build 2 Cavalry thanks to my new buddies in Gaul. Carthage builds 5 HI in Carthage, but then I point out that he can’t build above his CVP limit, so he exchanges them for 2 Cavalry and 6 LI units. Surprisingly, Carthage builds nothing to support Hispania, making my course of action clear.

Turn 3, Rome’s first activation: I was dumb. I placed my leader in Emporiae, instead of in Albintimilium with my new Cavalry units. Therefore, I have to activate the Cavalry without a leader. I activate that stack, roll 4 mp, move into Emporiae to pick up my troops and leader there, and slam into Carthage in Ilerda. Once again, I have 3 shifts in my favor, but roll a 3. Fortunately, my opponent rolls a 1. Without any MP left over to press the attack, I must regroup back in Emporiae after inflicting heavy losses on Carthage.

Turn 3, Carthage’s first activation: Carthage activates the stack in Ilerda, breaks all the remaining HI into Garrisons, and spreads them liberally throughout upper Hispania. He uses a minor move to move the GS away from Melita, attempting to block a port along the Hispania coast, but rolls a naval disaster between Hippo Regius and Iol Caesarea, and fails to roll continuity.

Turn 3, Rome’s second activation: I have a choice now. With Melita no longer blocked by a GS, I could make a great big sea move, moving all my forces from Hispania via sea back to Rome, picking up the LG there, continuing down to Lilybaeum and the forces there, then with a little luck moving through Melita to land at Thapsus, and from there make a land attack on Carthage. The shifts would be in my favor. However, I opt for the more conservative course of action of simply moving my forces in Hispania along the coast there, leaving Garrisons in my wake.

Turn 3, Carthage’s second activation: Carthage withdraws its forces from Sardinia to defend Carthage, sure that I am now poised to attack with the land route through Thapsus open.

Turn 3, Carthage’s third activation: Carthage has nothing to do, so he skips this activation to preserve 1 T to be used to pay for siege engineers.

Turn 3, Rome’s third activation: I am fearing that if Carthage gets the last activation, he will move a huge army back up through Hispania and cancel my gains there. Therefore, I activate Rome and move 2 GS and 2 LG to support the troops in Hispania, leaving 1 GS and 2 LG defending Rome. These troops help me take Baetica province.

Turn 3, Carthage’s fourth activation: Carthage decides his only chance at victory is to attack Rome in one last desperate battle. He’s collected a large army in Carthago, and he attacks. He fails continuity at Messana, and is forced to amphibious assault there. That ends up being a wash for both sides; I loose the wall and a LG and he looses some LI. But now he comes up with a new plan: if he can take and hold West Sicily, he can win the game, or at least force a tie. However, he decides to press his attack on Rome. He rolls a 2 on the Naval Disaster chart at the Deep Sea NTP between Lilybaeum and Rome. With only 1 GS supporting his action, he rolls a 6 on the naval combat against my GS defending Rome, sinking it. Lucky for him! Had he failed the last roll, he would have lost his entire army to a watery grave.

The Siege of Rome begins. He has enough MP to attack twice and still retreat back somewhere. On the first roll, I have a net 1 combat shift. Carthage pays for siege expertise, and smashes down the walls of Rome! Now Carthage’s odds have improved, but with no combat shifts in the favor of either player, there is literally no chance of my being defeated at Rome. Despite the fact that he rolls a 6, leaving only a single LG defending Rome, Carthage is repelled and his forces are forced to land at Neapolis. If only he had had another activation remaining, he might have been able to take Rome!

(Footnote: Carthage had 11 MP to use this activation. We were playing that naval movement after amphibious combat only cost 2 MP, so these numbers work out: 4MP to amphibious attack Messana, 2 to sail again from there, 1 to attack Rome, 2 to press the attack on Rome, and 2 to land at Neapolis. If we had been playing as I now understand the rules, with a naval regroup costing 3 MP, he would only have been able to attack Rome once. Amphibious attacks are murder in this game!)

Turn 3, Rome’s fourth activation: I roll poorly for MP, but that's enough to kick Carthage out of Lusitania, securing the game for Rome.

Turn 3, Victory Phase: Rome has gained 3 GOP (5 net gain for the game), and Carthage has lost 2 GOP (down a net 1 for the game). This is just sufficient to put Rome’s GOP above Carthage’s, giving all three VP for the turn to Rome. The game ends with a squeaker Roman victory, 5 VP to 4.

Summary: I really enjoyed this scenario. I think Charles liked it too, but I think he feels that he would have won if the event chits had been in play, because the threat of Greek intervention would have forced Rome to keep more of its forces centralized. Therefore, next time we play, we’ll play with the event chits, keeping the same sides. We both have a firmer grasp of the rules now, and I’m sure both of us now see strategies that we didn’t see the first play through.