Roll a dice to see who gets the first choice. Each player selects one town in turn. Repeat this until all towns have been selected. If possible, towns selected should be adjacent to one of your previous selections.
Simply arrange a battle with any of your neighbours. If you arrange it, you get to attack! Choose one of your neighbour's towns as the target of your attack. Your opponent then chooses one of your towns adjacent to the town you are attacking (or anywhere else if none are adjacent).
The two towns chosen are at stake in the battle.
Deploy all your resources to outwit the enemy before the battle. Both players count the number of towns that they or their allies hold that are adjacent to either of the disputed towns and roll this number of D6. Count the number of sixes rolled. Whichever player rolled the most sixes may roll once on the strategy table.
| Strategy Table | ||
| Roll | Strategy | Effect |
| 1 | Flank March | You may choose the flank march scenario. |
| 2 | Hidden Ambush Force | Pick one unit in your army. Before deployment write down where it is on a piece of paper. It must be out of sight from anywhere in your enemy's deployment zone. The unit is deployed at the start of your first turn. |
| 3 | Scouts | Your opponent must set up first before you deploy your army. |
| 4 | Rapid Deployment | Your whole army may make a free march move after both sides have deployed. |
| 5 | Good Planning | If the scenario uses a random roll to determine who moves first, you may choose instead. |
| 6 | Brilliant Generalship | Choose which strategy you will use. The battle is over when one or the other side is down to 25% figure strength. If the winner wins by at least 250 points (not counting table quarters), they get both towns. |
Once any strategies have been selected, determine the form of the battle. Pick an option from the following tactics.
| March * | Attempt to force an early battle or catch a retreating enemy. |
| Attack * | Attempt a frontal attack on the enemy. |
| Counter-march * | Attempt to out-manoeuvre the enemy. |
| Defend * | Prepare a secure position against the enemy. |
| Regroup * | Bring up additional troops. |
Each player chooses one option and the results are compared with the following table. If there is no battle, both player choose another option (which must be different from their last choice) until a battle results.
Blue\Red March Counter-march Attack Defend Regroup March Both sides engage from the march. Meeting battle Red anticipates blue's route. Red ambushes blue. Red's aggression catches blue unawares. Red surprises blue. Red's position is too strong. No battle. Blue blocks red's line of retreat. Red attempts to break through blue.
Counter-march Blue anticipates red's route. Blue ambushes red. Both sides march all day seeking advantage. No battle. Blue withdraws ahead of red's attack. No battle. Blue's march forces red out of their position. Blue turns red's flank. Red breaks clean away. Red reinforces.
Attack Blue's aggression catches red unawares. Blue surprises red. Red withdraws ahead of blue's attack. No battle. Both sides prepare for battle. Open battle. Red's preparations pay off. Blue attacks red's defences. Blue attacks red's rearguard. Red makes a last stand.
Defend Blue's position is too strong. No battle. Red's march forces blue out of their
position. Red turn's blue's flank. Blue's
preparations pay off. Red attacks blue's defences. Both sides send out patrols. Skirmish
battle. Red breaks clean away. Red reinforces.
Regroup Red blocks blue's line of retreat. Blue attempts to break through red. Blue breaks clean away. Blue reinforces. Red attacks blue's rearguard. Blue makes a last stand. Blue breaks clean away. Blue reinforces. Both sides wait for more troops. Both reinforce.
Results |
|
| No battle * | The cautious or defensive approach prevents a battle. Choose again. |
| Open battle * | Standard face-to-face battle (see open battle scenario). |
| Meeting battle * | Position units anywhere (see meeting battle scenario). |
| Skirmish battle * | All troops count as skirmishers. No formations allowed! (see skirmish scenario). |
| A ambushes B * | A catches B's larger force on the march (see ambush scenario). |
| A surprises B * | First to finish deployment can advance before the game (see surprise battle scenario). |
| A attempts to break through B * | B tries to block A (see break-through scenario). |
| A attacks B's defences | Open battle, but B gets to place 24 inches of walls before deployment. |
| A turns B's flank * | A attacks from the front and the flank (see flank march scenario). |
| A makes a last stand * | Outnumbered, A must hold (see last stand scenario). |
| A reinforces * | A gets another draft of troops (see below). |
| Both reinforce * | Both sides get another draft of troops (see below). |
Your base points value for battles is 1000 points.
If you regroup successfully, you get another draft of reinforcements allowing you a free
roll on the strategy table (above).
Counter charge is a new charge reaction that may only be taken by cavalry units that are charged to their front by enemy cavalry. The unit counts as charging for the purposes of using its weapons (i.e. it gets +1S if it has thrusting spears, etc). Cavalry with a move of less than 6" may not counter charge. Note that the unit does not move, and that it does not count as charging for the purposes of deciding who strikes first. Also note that cavalry may not counter charge infantry (just try not to let them get close enough to charge in the first place!).
Skirmishers and Rank Bonuses
Formed units do not lose their rank bonus if a unit of five or more models that is in skirmish formation charges them. This applies to cavalry in skirmish formation, but not to chariots.
Rank Bonuses and Difficult Terrain
Units may only count their rank bonus in close combat if both they and their opponent are in clear, open terrain, and neither is behind an obstacle. For the purposes of this rule, hills and fords count as clear terrain and do not negate a unit's rank bonus.
Troops that are in skirmish formation can be used to screen friendly units that are within 2" of the skirmishers. A single unit of skirmishers can screen any number of friendly units, just as long as all the screened units have a model within 2" of a model from the skirmish formation. A unit that is screened by a unit in skirmish formation counts as being in soft cover if it is shot at by a unit that draws a line of sight through the skirmish screen.
If a unit being screened declares a charge, then the skirmish screen may flee out of the way. The screening unit makes its move in the Declare Charges segment of the movement phase rather than the Compulsory Move segment, before the chargers are moved or charge reactions are made. They are therefore allowed to attempt to rally in the ensuing Rally Fleeing Troops segment of the movement phase. This aside they are treated in the same manner as any other fleeing unit.
All the way through the development of WAB one of the things we experimented with the most during playtesting was stuff addressing the old 'frontage vs. depth' question. In the end, the answer we found the most elegant and playable was simply to allow models to fight if diagonal corners touch. In effect this means that a wider unit will get an extra model or two into the fight, and more if it can fight in more than one rank.
The only place where the question of if a model can fight 'diagonally' has ever been addressed in is the Warhammer Fantasy rules, where a diagram that shows that models can't fight diagonally (or at least there was in the 4th edition). We did have a different diagram in WAB that showed that models could fight diagonally, but in the interests of consistency, this was dropped from the final book.
Whatever, I'd recommend players allow models to fight diagonally, as it makes the issue of width vs. depth much more interesting, and actually is literally what the rules say you can do (you must touch to fight, and a model does touch on the diagonal).
All this said, it does seem to have been rare for a unit to fight in a formation that was deeper than it was wide. One way of addressing this would be to say that units that adopt a formation that has more ranks than files is treated as a march column. As march columns don't get a rank bonus, this would save such deep formations for battle-field manoeuvring rather than fighting, as seems to have been the case, and would keep a lid on some of the more ahistorical formations that players use. A unit of twenty models could therefore deploy 5 files wide and 4 ranks deep if it wanted a rank bonus, but not vice versa.
Reforming in Combat
A unit that is fighting to the flank or rear may reform at the end of the combat phase, as long as it does not break, and is not engaged on another facing. Reforming takes place before the opponent laps round, if they are allowed to do so. If the option to reform is taken (it does not have to be), then the unit must reform so that it is facing the unit engaging it. In addition, the centre of the reformed unit must be placed in base contact with the centre of the enemy unit. Note that a reformed unit still loses its rank bonus for the duration of the combat if an enemy unit of five or more models charged it.
Falling Back in Good Order (by Jervis Johnson)
Sometimes units will be forced to fall back in good order. Units can fall back in good order under the following circumstances:
The fall back move is made in the same way as when a unit flees, with the following exceptions:
1. Units falling back in good order don't cause friends within 12" to take a Panic test.
2. Units falling back in good order rally automatically at the end of the move and may immediately reform.
3. Units falling back in good order may be pursued, but if caught they're not wiped out, instead the pursuing units count as having charged in the next combat phase.
4. Units that fell back in good order are not allowed to declare a charge in their next turn. Apart from this, however, they may move and shoot normally.
Sometimes the circumstances that effect a unit will make it more confident than would normally be the case, while at other times units, or even the whole army, can decide that things are going against them, which will make them edgy and prone to panic. To represent this there is a chance for a unit to be either confident or edgy. It is possible for a unit to be both confident and edgy at the same time, in which case both sets of special rules will apply! Sometimes the situation a unit is in will change over the course of a turn or a phase, so that a unit that starts confident ends up edgy. In the case of a dispute it is always the player whose turn is in progress that decides what order things happen during his turn (i.e. what order to take break tests, fight close combats, move units, etc.).
Confident Units
Units are confident if any of the following circumstances apply:
a) They are at full strength and no unit in the army has been broken in close combat other than skirmishers. OR
b) They have secure flanks and rear support (ooo-er missus!). See below for a definition of these. OR
c) The army general is with the unit. OR
d) They won a round of combat this player turn.
IMPORTANT: Units in skirmish formation can never be confident. A confident unit will fall back in good order as described in AoA if it fails a panic test. Note that confident units that break suffer the normal penalties.
Flanks & Rear Support: I'm not going to write legalistic definitions of these, as it'll just encourage some players to get round the letter of the rules as opposed to their spirit. So, a flank is secure if it is covered by friendly units or terrain in such a way that the enemy can't possibly get at it. Rear support means that if an enemy should charge the unit in flank or rear, there is another friendly unit in a position that it could charge that enemy in its' next turn.
Edgy Units
If any of the following circumstances apply then a unit is deemed edgy.
a) The unit has suffered 50% or more casualties. OR
b) The unit is more than 12" from any other friendly units (friendly units that are fleeing don't count!). OR
c) The army general has been killed (this doesn't apply until the turn after he has been killed). OR
d) There is an enemy unit (other than skirmishers) in a position from which it could declare a flank or rear charge on the unit. OR
e) The army has lost 50% or more of its starting number of models An edgy unit takes all Ld tests on 3D6 instead of 2D6.
A Note for Absent Minded Players like Me
These rules are quite easy to forget, especially in the heat of battle. It's therefore up to you to remember which of your units are confident, and its up to you to spot which enemy units are edgy. If you forget to do this at the time you can't backtrack when you spot the mistake later - it's assumed that the troops weren't quite as confident or edgy as one might have thought!
Elephants were generally only effective against enemy troops that were not used to them. With familiarity came, if not contempt, then at least an ability to deal with the large creatures in a business like manner.
Effects of Elephants
The effect of elephants depends on the familiarity the troops facing them have with elephants.
Never met 'em
If an army has never met elephants, units in the army suffer the effects described in the WAB rulebook. In addition, units are edgy if within 12" (or charge range if this is further) of an elephant (friend or foe). Units may not fall back in good order when fighting against elephants.
As soon as a unit in the army has beaten an elephant in combat, the elephants disturb the army less. From this point on, cavalry suffer fear of elephants. They may still not charge them, but if charged may choose to 'hold' if you wish.
Previously fought against elephants
If the army has previously fought against elephants, the elephants unnerve units in the army slightly less. Cavalry may choose to hold when charged by elephants. Units are still subject to the normal rules in the WAB book. Units are edgy within 12" of elephants and may not fall back in good order when fighting against elephants.
As soon as a unit in the army has survived a round of combat with an elephant (i.e. is still unbroken at the end), the army becomes a little more confident. From then on cavalry fear elephants and infantry units may fall back in good order when fighting against elephants.
Know elephants
If an army knows elephants, it uses the appropriate rules as noted in the WAB book. Cavalry may choose to hold against elephant charges, and infantry units may fall back in good order. Units are edgy within 12" of elephants.
As soon as a unit in the army has survived a round of combat with elephants, infantry are no longer edgy.
Expert handlers
If an army is expert with elephants, units in the army use the 'used to' rules in the WAB book. Cavalry may choose any charge reaction against enemy elephants and infantry are NOT edgy (cavalry are edgy within 12"). Expert units are also immune to these effects when caused by friendly elephants.
Determining Experience with Elephants
Use this method to determine how experienced your army is with elephants.
Army Break Point
Instead of fighting a battle for a specified number of turns, fight the battle until one side has been broken. An army is broken when it has a quarter or less of its starting number of models left alive at the end of any player's turn.
Models with more than one wound, chariots or elephants and their crew, and characters riding horses or other mounts all count as a single model for this purpose. Models that are fleeing are counted as being 'alive' until they have left the table.
The game ends once one or both sides have broken. Work out who would have won the battle using the victory conditions for the scenario being played. If you broke your opponent and won the scenario being played, you have won a decisive and clear-cut victory that will be studied by military historians throughout the ages. Any other result means that revisionist historians will attempt to prove that either you or your opponent was the real winner of the battle.