An Ancient Mini Campaign - Part 2

After completing the campaign map, I quickly set it up and rolled the dice. I rolled a one, so the Carthaginian advance one square towards the city of Mariposa. Once a Carthaginian token reaches or passed through a city or town, the campaign transitions to the tabletop for a battle.

The campaign map as a game board. All the tokens are setup at the start and on the tables (all identified with red circles)

A 1 is rolled and the Carthaginian token moves one square to the city of Mariposa. I also moved the Roman token on their Battle Readiness table up 1 rung. This happens with each roll of the dice (see the rules in the previous post)

Looking at the map, I searched through the One-Hour Wargaming scenarios for a suitable option. Scenario 14 - Static Defence - appeared to be fitting. The objective has the defending Roman forces attempting to hold and occupy both the town and strategic hill nearby. Instead of using woods in the central area, as indicated in the scenario, I chose a terrain feature of fields and orchards, which will be treated as difficult terrain where light troops would have their melee hits reduced by half. The Carthaginian force would enter from the south.

The Romans deployed and waiting for the invading Carthaginians to arrive.

The orders of battle…

Rome:

• 5 Heavy Infantry
• 2 Light Infantry
• 1 Cavalry
• 1 Catapult

Carthage:

• 3 Heavy Infantry
• 2 Gaul War-bands
• 2 Light Infantry
• 2 Cavalry

I will be using One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules for this game with modifications for the war-bands and catapults.

The start of the game - more on that in the next post.

The game report will be in the next post, but for now I will leave you with the campaign narrative so far. It has been created by first listing out roughly what is happening and the commander names, then using the ChatGPT online AI tool, where I asked it to create a narrative in less than 100 words based on my brief notes, one for the Roman commander and another block for the Carthaginian commander. I did then have to do a little bit of tailoring to what it created. Anyway, here is the campaign narrative from the different sides.

Campaign Narrative - Turn 1

Mago Thalassar, a seasoned Carthaginian commander, set his sights on landing near the city of Cassiopeia but encountered treacherous coastlines. Sailing further along Luminaria’s coast, he steered his fleet towards Mariposa, where the shores offered safe haven for his fleet and army. To assess Mariposa's defences, Mago dispatched his trusted companion Hanno Magid and a select force. With determination and a keen eye, Hanno ventured forth, probing the city's fortifications.

News of a looming invasion reached the ears of Marcus Aemilius Tullius, a resolute Roman commander. With urgency, he swiftly assembled his troops stationed in the city of Mariposa, renowned for its sprawling fields and bountiful harvests. Though Mariposa lacked imposing city walls, Marcus tasked his soldiers with fortification improvements, determined to bolster their defenses. Meanwhile, he strategically positioned the remaining forces atop a neighboring hill, granting them a commanding view over the city of Mariposa. With diligence and strategic foresight, Marcus prepared his troops for the imminent threat, ready to protect the cherished agricultural hub from any encroaching enemy.