Pyrrhus in Italy (Dominion Style)

I was getting a little tired of the 36 battles so I decided to do something different with Dominion of the Spear (DotS). I previously ran a Pyrrhus in Italy campaign using MicroBattle. Let's see how he does with DotS.

Notes:

• I used the Epirus Pyrrhus and Tullian Roman lists as the basis for the armies but added allied spears to both for 14 point armies. Otherwise, Pyrrhus was a little thin.
• I used the Tullians because the Polybian list has elite legions. I'm not sure that quite applies to Rome yet.
• I used the terrain generation rules from the 3 x 3 Portable Wargame. I haven't totally figured out how terrain will affect the battles. For Heraclea, I rolled a river but I ignored it. Then I rolled no terrain for the second battle. So it was a moot point.

Heraclea

King Pyrrhus lands in Italy and advances to Heraclea to confront a Roman army threatening the Greek colonies.

Here are the initial dispositions.

• Rome (red) - armored legions on flanks with new recruits in center. Javelins (using LI counter but counts as Melee Infantry), cavalry, and Italian allied spears in reserve.
• Pyrrhus - From L to R, elephants, archers, and Pyrrhus with his elite cavalry. Phalanx and Greek allies in reserve

The new legionaries charge Pyrrhus's archers and wipe them out. Meanwhile, there is a brutal melee between Pyrrhus's elephants and one of the veteran legions. In the end, both are rendered hors de combat.

Pyrrhus leads his cavalry against the veteran legion (R). HIs charge breaks the legion, but his cavalry is blown. Meanwhile, the Greek allies hold off a charge by the Roman cavalry.

Pyrrhus sends his phalanx against the Roman recruits in the center. Pyrrhus is confident. But the recruits put up stiff resistance. They finally break, but the phalanx is spent.

Pyrrhus realizes that he cannot win the day. He calls retreat.

Note that I did not eliminate Pyrrhus even though his unit was destroyed. I'd like to think that he would at least stick around for the rest of the battle. The counter is just there for window dressing, however.

The Pyrrhic army withdraw back towards the Greek city-state of Tarentum.

Tarentum
The Romans pursue Pyrrhus back to Tarentum. Just outside the city, Pyrrhus makes a stand.

Same army compositions as Heraclea. I made a roll to see if either side lost points but both passed.

This time Pyrrhus puts his phalanx in the front. The battle starts off well when Pyrrhus leads his cavalry in a charge that rides over a legion. But his elephants fare poorly against the armored legion on the other flank.

Pyrrhus's archers fill in the gap left by the elephants. The legion blocks the archers' hail of arrows on its shields. Then the legion charges and routs the archers.

But the charge leaves the legion disordered. Pyrrhus's Greek allies pounce, and drive off the legion. On the right, their is a brutal cavalry scrum, knocking both sides out of the action.

Pyrrhus is wounded in the fray so he retires from the field.

I rolled to see what would happen to Pyrrhus. I rolled a 1, which I would normally interpret as death. But he's the star of the show. Instead, I decided he was gravely wounded and could not remain with the army. That's why you don't see his counter in the next picture.

His infantry holds out. But the Roman javelins (R) come up to the phalanx's flank and pepper it. This forces the phalanx to retire.

Pyrrhus's army retreats into Tarentum. The Tarentines, however, have little interest in sustaining a siege. Faced with the city elders' grumblings, Pyrrhus decides to leave the Greek colonists to their fate. He packs his army into his fleet and sails away.

Finis

Campaign Notes

I chose to repeat Pyrrhus's adventures in Italy, a campaign I originally completed using my MicroBattle rules. Using DotS, I was able to complete the campaign in one morning.

I had planned to play Pyrrhus's Sicily campaign using MicroBattle, but put that on hold after discovering DotS. Now I think I will run the Sicily campaign using DotS.

Spring Is Here and Other Musings

In my usual GADD (Gamer's Attention Deficit Disorder) fashion, I find myself searching out a change of pace. I put the Dominion of series to the side for now.

But there is a DoTS game report coming up this weekend. Stay tuned!

Fantasy Awakens

It's been a couple of months since I did anything fantasy related. Over the weekend, I completed another quest in Demonslayer. This has awakened my interest in fantasy, and now I'm looking at a solo RPG.

When last we left my solo RPG campaign, my hero Ser Killian finished the Dragon of Icespire Keep adventure. I did it using Micro Dungeon, my quick play dungeon crawl rules. 

What next for Ser Killian? I debated retiring him and experimenting with Micro Dungeon using low level characters. Recently, I came to a decision. I will continue his adventures with the Storm Lord's Wrath. These D&D adventures require a bit of modification for Micro Dungeon, but I prepped the first encounter. I should play it soon.

The Pitfalls of Blogging

I really enjoy blogging, writing the narratives of the games I play. But sometimes it can hold me back. When I do play something, I want to photograph it for posterity.

Sometimes I just want to roll dice, but I don't want to spend time recording the results. When this happens, I usually do nothing. It would be nice to have a game that does not require a lot of record-keeping.

In the Spring an Old Man's Fancy Lightly Turns to

Baseball! At least here in the States.

Back in 2022 I devised a fairly simple baseball dice game. I planned to play out a full league schedule. Naturally, GADD struck and I abandoned the campaign after a few games.

This struck me as an answer to my blogging dilemma. With quick play baseball, I don't have to write full reports for every game and I don't have to photograph. Instead, I could just keep the box scores and then post periodic league updates.

There are some drawbacks to this approach, however.

• I lack the discipline to maintain a long campaign.
• I need to investigate ways to streamline the game. If I recall, my biggest issue was prepping the scoresheets. Can I make this process easier?

So now I am pondering a return to baseball. Stay tuned!

Zo Long, Zorrak.

Sir Roderick has defeated another demon lord.

It's been 2 months since Roderick's last victory. Over that time, I've mostly played Dominion of the Spear, but I decided to try a little adventuring using Demonslayer.

Here is the map of Roderick's wanderings. He started at the star and ended at the shield.

Here is his diary of encounters.

When he found the Demon's Mark, he was able to use his clues to summon his next enemy, Zorrak the World Eater.

The two combatants circle each other, looking for an opening. Roderick dodges under the demon lord's claws. Using his knowledge learned from a wizard, our hero knows exactly where to strike. His magic sword bites deep. Zorrak howls in rage.

The demon slashes with his claws. Roderick does not move and the claws rend deep into his flesh. But Roderick is within reach of Zorrak's weak spot and he does not want to give up his advantage. He stabs again, deep into Zorrak's vitals. The demon howls and claws madly. Roderick takes another brutal wound but he holds his ground. With a mighty slash, Roderick splits open the demon's belly. Black ichor spills over the warrior.

Zorrak collapses and his body disintegrates.

Roderick is victorious! Only one demon lord left!

Cold War Dominion Style

My Cold War Gone Hot campaign has gone cold. Meanwhile, I've spent most of my gaming energy on the Dominion of (Do) series of games. Do makes it very easy to pull out and play a game in a short time. Because of that, I found that I would reach for my Do box set rather than set up a Cold War game when I had some free time.

This has got me thinking - it would be nice to have a Do version for modern games.

Why I Like Dominion

I really like the Do series (Dominion of the Spear, Dominion of Pike and Shot) because it really fits my preferred style for solo gaming:

• Fast play - 5-10 minutes for a battle
• Small board - my battles have been on 4 by 6 inch "mat"
• Each base = 1 unit - no bothering with multiple figures or bases per unit
• Quick combat resolution - a single die roll determines results

Applying Dominion Principles to the Modern Era

Can I do Dominion for the modern age? I see opportunities but also issues.

• Coupled with DoPS's rally rule, I think the 1 hit = a kill rule can work. Although I may do like the Portable Wargame and roll to see if the unit retreats or is destroyed.
• Having left, center, and right sections can work. It works for Memoir '44 after all.
• Due to the ranges of modern weapons, engagement ranges are much longer than ancients or pike & shot. Therefore, I think the battlefield needs some depth. Perhaps make it 3 deep (long range, medium range, and short range).
• Also, modern armies rely far more on cover. Therefore, I will need to introduce terrain.

Test Game

I decided to run a quick test, making up rules on the spot.

Florida 1985. An invading Cuban column (brown) advances through the Everglades up US27. American partisans prepare to ambush them.

The Cubans catch wind of the attack, sending heavy infantry and IFVs to deal with the ambushers. A unit of American partisans flees the field.

Followed by another unit. But the Americans use anti-tank missiles to destroy an IFV platoon.

But the other IFV platoon flanks and scatters more American partisans.

The rest break retreat from the field.

Game Notes and Thoughts

• The result did not go my way, but it was a fun and quick (about 10 minutes) game.
• The rules I used are not strict translations of Do to the modern era. They are more inspired-by. In the end, the game was more like the 3 x 3 Portable Wargame.
• I started the armies 3 spaces away, which I declared as long range. I actually rolled to see if the Americans could sneak up closer, but they failed.
• I used a number of mechanisms from MicroBattle.
• Each turn I rolled to see how many units a side could activate.
• I used the hit resolution system.
• I made a few changes, however.
• Units were destroyed with 1 hit.
• But, units could roll to retreat instead of rout. Interestingly, in this scenario, all units failed the retreat roll.
• I also allowed 2 units per square. It worked fine.
• I technically, did not have a reserve but it worked fine without one.

Modern Age Box Set

Last year, I consolidated all my gaming from period-specific boxes to a couple joint boxes - one with counters and the other with boards, terrain, dice, etc.

Now I find myself thinking of reversing that. I created a dedicated DotS box, which I also used for DoPS. How about a modern box? I still haven't decided; stay tuned.

Modern Terrain

I also need terrain that is more appropriate for modern warfare, especially urban environments. Another little project!