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The Third Servile War was fought between Rome and Slaves led by the escaped gladiator, Spartacus. This is a variant that allows players to contest the Campaign between Spartacus and Rome, starting with the battle at Mt. Vesuvius .
In order to ensure balance and a close-fought campaign a handicap is offered to each side dependent upon their respective starting hand of Command Cards. Wherever one player has less than the other they should fight the battle as pre-determined but, at the end, the difference in starting hands will be added as a handicap to determine the campaign score. This is done to ensure both sides remain competitive throughout the war without unduly influencing the actual result of each battle.
For example, in the battle at Mt. Vesuvius, where the Slaves start with 6 cards and Rome with 4, the Roman player will 2 bonus banner points once the battle has been concluded. Importantly this will not alter the result of the battle itself, and the winner on the day remains the victor, yet it may result in the loser taking greater strategic benefit from a defeat than their opponent does in victory. Banner results, including handicaps, should be tallied up after each battle, concluding with Silarus, with the higher score determining the ultimate winner.
This campaign has been playtested by Sam and myself, with each of us playing both sides. The final scores of these campaigns resulted in a 38-32 win for the Slaves the first time, and a 36-36 draw the second time. The full session reports and individual battle results can be found at the following links:
Servile War - Round 1
Servile War - Round 2
Perhaps the most interesting element to this campaign is the possibility of winning outright without ever winning a single game, particularly in the case of the Romans. This will offer an interesting additional element to the game as it is important not just to win battles but to win them comfortably, in order to create and maximise a buffer. In turn, it is ensures that a single catastrophic defeat can overturn successive close-fought victories in determining campaign footing - as is the case in actual warfare.
I hope you find this enjoyable.
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