Imperium

Rome and its enemies

107 BC to 476 AD
 Imperium
Rome and its enemies
107 BC to 476 AD

Contents
Introduction 2 Jewish Revolt 69 to 73 AD 32

The Roman Empire 4 Sarmatian Tribes 250 BC to 370 AD 34

Late Republican Rome 107 to 27 BC 7 Parthia 238 BC to 225 AD 36

Early Imperial Rome 27 BC to 117 AD 10 Sassanid Persia 225 to 649 AD 38

Middle Imperial Rome 117 to 285 AD 14 Palmyra 250 to 273 AD 40

Late Imperial Rome 285 to 378 AD 18 Huns 370 to 454 AD 42

Foederate Roman 382 to 476 AD 22 Crusader Rule Ammendments 44

The Barbarians 105 BC to 476 AD 23 Thanks and Stuff 48

Spartacus’ Revolt 73 to 71 BC 30

Cover Artwork by Peter Dennis - Courtesy of Warlord Games

2 (c) Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved
 Introduction

T
he six hundred or so years of the existence of the Western Roman Empire is one
of the great wargaming periods. Even those with little or no knowledge of ancient
history will recognise the names of some of this era’s great generals: Caesar,
Pompey, Trajan, Hadrian, Arminius, Boudica and Attila to name but a few. Many will also
instantly recognise an early Imperial Roman legionary with his lightning-bolt embossed
shield, banded steel armour and short but deadly gladius. This speaks volumes about
both the importance of this era and it ongoing allure, more than 1,500 years later. Although
Rome’s decline and fall in the late fifth century seems catastrophic, a great deal survived
and can still be recognised in Western culture today.

This supplement consists of army lists that will allow you to recreate the battles of the Late
Republic and Imperial Roman period. Some of these armies are powerful and will win
battles with only mediocre general ship. Others are much less powerful, and will require
skill and guile for them to be victorious. Both have their merits, and both deserve equal
attention from the wargamer.

Each army has a list of available troop types, the points per stand for those troops as listed,
and usually a selection of optional upgrades. To get the cost of a unit simply multiply the
stand cost by the number of stands in the unit. The Notes and Restrictions for each army
will usually list restrictions such as limits on particular troop types or minimum numbers
of units that must be fielded. Each army also has a profile for a Leader to act as the
General for that army. Sometimes Special Leaders are available, to represent some of
the more extraordinary historical figures. These should only be used with your opponent’s
permission – or if he is using one himself. Alternatively, you may wish to randomly roll for
your Leader’s abilities as detailed on page 47 of the rulebook, at the cost of 100 points.

I hope that you find these lists are as much fun to play as they were to research and write.

Craig Woodfield

June 2009

Imperium (c) Crusader Publishing 2009

3
 The Roman Empire
107 BC to 476 AD
Timeline
107 BC - Gaius Marius elected consul for the
first time, begins reform of the Roman army.
105 BC - Germanic Cimbri and Teutones tribes
destroy a large Roman army.
102 BC - Marius defeats the Teutones, and then
the Cimbri the following year.
91 BC - Beginning of the Social War, a four year
long rebellion by Rome’s Italian allies.
88 BC - First of three wars Rome is to fight
against Mithridates the Great.
82 BC - Sulla wins civil war against Marius.
66 BC - Mithridates the Great dies.
73 BC - Spartacus’ revolt begins.
58 BC - Caesar begins his 9 year conquest of
Gaul, which includes two expeditions to Britain.
53 BC - Romans defeated by Parthians at
Carrhae.
4
49 BC - Beginning of four years of Civil War
between Caesar and Pompey.
44 BC - Caesar is assassinated, civil war soon
resumes.
31 BC - Octavian defeats Mark Antony at the
battle of Actium.
27 BC - Octavian assumes the title of Augustus.
19 BC - End of the Cantabrian Wars and the
final conquest of Hispania.
9 AD - Massacre of three Roman legions in
Teutoburg Forest.
14 AD - Augustus dies of natural causes,
Tiberius becomes Emperor.
16 AD - Germanicus defaets Arminius and his
German allies.
17 AD - Revolt in Numidia.
35 AD - Parthian invasion of Armenia.
43 AD - Roman invasion of Britain.
53 AD - War between Rome and Parthia over
control of Armenia.
61 AD - Boudica’s revolt in Britain.
66 AD - Jewish revolt begins.
69 AD - Year of Four Emperors and Batavian
revolt.
70 AD - Jerusalem falls after epic siege
98 AD - Jewish Bar Kochba revolt begins.
101 AD - First Dacian War.
105 AD - Second Dacian War
114 AD - Roman invasion of Parthia.
128 AD - Completion of Hadrian’s Wall in
Britain.
166 AD - Marcomannic wars begin with massive
German invasion of Roman territory.
194 AD - Civil war breaks out following the
death of Commodus.
197 AD - Septimius Severus defeats last of his
opponents becoming undisputed Emperor of
Rome.
218 AD - Romans and Parthians fight out a
bloody draw at Nisbis.
224 AD - Parthians overthrown by Sassanid
Persians.
235 AD - Beginning of the third century crisis.
251 AD - Emperor Decius is killed in battle
against the Goths at Abrittus.
260 AD - Emperor Valerian captured by
Sassanid Persians at Edessa.
267 AD - Goths and Sarmatians invade Roman
territory.
269 AD - Romans defeat Goths at Naissus.
272 AD - Romans defeat Palmyrans.
285 AD - Diocletian becomes Emperor and
implements the tetrarchy.
305 AD - Diocletian abdicates, sparking civil
war.
324 AD - Constantine the Great becomes
Emperor.
337 AD - Beginning of two decades of conflict
between Rome and Persia.
357 AD - Julian the Apostate defeats the
Alamanni at Strasbourg.
363 AD - Julian invades Persia but is defeated
and killed.
367 AD - Picts, Scotti and Saxons combine to
overrun much of Britain.
368 AD - Rome regains control of Britain.
385 AD - Withdrawal of troops from Britain
begins.
402 AD - Goths invade Italy and are defeated
by General Stilicho.
406 AD - The Rhine freezes and thousands of
Germans enter Gaul.
410 AD - Rome sacked by Visigoths.
451 AD - Aetius defeats Attila at Chalons.
455 AD - Rome sacked by Vandals.
476 AD - Odoacer forces Romulus Augustus to
abdicate and proclaims himself King of Italy.
5
 Second and third centuries AD: Middle Imperial
Rome, Middle German, Sassanid Persia,
Sarmatians, Palmyra.

Fourth century AD: Late Imperial Rome, Late

German, Sassanid Persia, Sarmatians, Pict.

Fifth century AD: Foederate Rome, Late German,

Sassanid Persia, Hun, Pict.

* The armies of Mithridates the Great of Pontus,

a formidable and persistent enemy of Rome in
the first century BC, can be fielded using the
Hellenistic Greek army list from The Macedonian
and Punic Wars but without any Hoplites.

** The armies of the Samnites and other Italian

states that fought against Rome in the first
Century BC can be represented by the Polybian
Roman list from The Macedonian and Punic
Wars.

Allied Contingents
Many of the army lists allow for allied contingents
which must follow all of the usual restrictions of
Historical Opponents their own parent army list. This means that the
points value or special notes may restrict the use
Historical wargaming is most enjoyable when of certain troops or force the inclusion of certain
pitting two historical opponents against each units.
other. To help players in this endeavour, the
following five groups provide a rough list of Each allied contingent must have a leader and
historical opponents. Some armies appear in may not be the special leader from that allied list.
more than one group, and the armies listed in
italics can be found in The Macedonian and Punic
Wars supplement. Don’t forget that Roman civil ALLIED Leader Rule
wars occurred in all periods – Roman vs Roman
is very historically accurate! Whenever an Allied leader attempts to use
his T&L Modifier or Morale Modifier on a
First century BC: Late Republican Rome, Early friendly unit not directly under his control,
German, British, Spartacus’ revolt, Parthia, roll a d6. On a roll of 1-3 the modifier does
Mithridatic*, Numidia, Gallic, Spanish, Samnites** not apply as the allied troops ignore him!
Note that the Leader can always apply his
First century AD: Early Imperial Rome, Early Melee Modifier.
German, British, Batavian Revolt, Dacia, Parthia,
Sarmatian, Jewish Revolt, Numidia, Spanish

6
 Late Republican Rome
107 to 27 BC
I
n 107 BC the Consul Gaius Marius began a
series of reforms that would turn the Roman
army into a truly professional organisation
and the most effective army in the ancient world.
The old Polybian system of Hastati, Principes
and Triarii formed into maniples of various sizes
was abandoned.
The fundamental unit of the new legion was the
century, which consisted of 80 legionaries led by
a centurion. Six centuries formed a cohort (with
the exception of the first cohort, which had 10
centuries), which was the main tactical unit of the
Legion. Ten cohorts formed a legion, making the
full strength of a legion 5,120 legionaries. Each
legion had its own artillery support, particularly
light bolt shooters called Scorpio. All legionaries
were now uniformly equipped with a large,
semi-cylindrical shield, chain mail armour, a
short sword known as the gladius and several
heavy throwing javelins or pila. Perhaps most
importantly, the requirement for a legionary to
own property was dropped and he was now
equipped, fed and paid by the Roman state.
New legions were raised and put in the field very
rapidly in this era, so it was not uncommon for
them to perform poorly in battle. On the other
hand, legions such as the 10th Gemina, raised
by Caesar and his personal favourite, were
hardened by decades of continual conflict and
rarely experienced defeat.
However, there was no formal structure for the
raising and deployment of auxiliary troops at
this time despite their importance to the Roman
army. In particular the Romans were dependent
on Numidians, Gauls, Illyrians and Germans
amongst others to provide them with skilled
cavalry.
During the late Republican period a series of
brilliant and ruthless generals led Rome’s new
armies on a seemingly endless string of military
victories and additions to Rome’s territory.
Marius himself crushed a Numidian insurgency
and defeated two huge German armies. He also
fought against Rome’s Italian allies in the Social
War. Marius ultimately fell out with his deputy,
7
 Sulla, but this was one war that he lost. Sulla
defeated Mithridates the Great and became
Dictator of Rome, but then retired to live his
last few years in decadence. He was followed
by yet another great general in Pompey, who
conquered further provinces in the east and
cleared the Mediterranean of pirates. Finally
there was Caesar, who conquered Gaul, led the
first expeditions to Britain and brought Egypt into
the empire.
However, conflict between Caesar and Pompey
resulted in yet another destructive civil war.
Although the Caesar won the war, he lost the
peace, and was assassinated on the eve of a
planned invasion of Parthia in 44 BC. Another
period of civil war followed as Caesar’s supporters
turned on his assassins. Finally it was Caesar’s
adopted heir, Octavianus, who was the last man
standing and the undisputed ruler of Rome.
Building and playing a Late
Republican Roman Army
A Late Republican Roman army is built around
legionaries, one of the most potent troop types in
the game, but there are some shortcomings. The
nature of an army based on legionaries means
that you will almost always be outnumbered,
so care must be taken that you are not out
manoeuvred and out flanked. Legionaries are
also obviously infantry, and so cavalry armies
such as the Parthians will have a major mobility
advantage. In such situations you must be able to
support your legionaries with lighter troops such
as skirmishers and archers. Cavalry will help as
well, but your cavalry will usually be outclassed
by many other lists, so again, caution is required.
But if and when you can bring your units of
legionaries to bear on the enemy, chances are
that victory is within your grasp.
8
Restrictions and Leaders
(1) At least 50% of points must be spent on
Legionaries (Veteran, Regular or Green)
(2) No more than one unit of Veteran Legionaries
may be chosen.
(3) No more than one unit of Light Cavalry per
1000 points in army.
(4) No more than one unit of Barbarians per 1000
points in the army.
(5) No more than one Scorpio per unit of
Legionaries.
(6) No more than one elephant per 1500 points
in the army.
A Standard Roman Leader may be fielded for
100 points. He has the following statistics.
T&L Modifier: +2
Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +1
Alternatively, the Special Leader Gaius Julius
Caesar may be fielded for 175 points.
T&L Modifier: +3
Morale Modifier: +3
Melee Modifier: +1
If Gaius Julius Caesar is fielded, one unit of
Veteran Legionaries may be upgraded to Elite
(+20 points and +1 Att) to represent the 10th
Legion.
 Late Republican Rome
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Veteran Legionaries (1) (2) Seasoned Good - 3 2 9 4 Medium 97

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Drilled

Upgrades To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), To Veteran (+20 pts, Wnds to 4), T&L to 10 (+2 pts)

Regular Legionaries (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 8 4 Medium 80

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Drilled

Upgrades To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), CS to good (+5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts), To Seasoned (+10 pts)

Green Legionaries (1) Trained Avg - 3 2 6 4 Medium 61

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Regular (+10 points), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), If Regular may be Drilled (+5 pts)

Auxiliary Infantry Regular Avg - 3 2 6 4 Light 62

Hand weapons
Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), May be Light Troops (no points cost)

Auxiliary Archers Trained Poor Avg 3 2 5 4 None 53

Hand weapons, Bows, Light Troops

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), To Light Armour (+5 pts)

Skirmishers Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 4 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained(+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Short Bow (+5 pts)

Light Cavalry (3) Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 10 Light 46/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Horse Bow (+5 pts), Parthian Shot (+5 pts)

Barbarian Infantry (4) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 55

Hand Weapons, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts), if Regular Armour to Medium (+5 pts)

Barbarian Cavalry (4) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 8 None 59

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Regular (+10pts), to Seasoned (+20 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Seasoned CS may be Good (+5 pts)

Scorpio (5) Regular Poor Avg 3 2 7 4 Light 94

Bolt Thrower
Upgrades T&L to 8 (+2 pts)

Elephant (6) Regular Good - 5 3 3 6 Light 161

Hand Weapons, Elephant

Upgrades T&L to 4 (+2 pts)

9
 Early Imperial Rome
27 BC to 117 AD
I
n 27 BC Octavianus became Augustus,
the first emperor of Rome in everything but
name. Augustus was left with scores of
under strength legions spread across the entire
empire. He gradually reduced these to 28 full
strength legions, re-numbering and re-naming
many in the process, and then re-assigned them
to new postings. The ad-hoc system of non-
citizen auxiliary detachments was replaced by
a formal structure where auxiliary infantry and
cavalry were recruited, trained and equipped
by the state and deployed around the empire.
There were probably roughly equal numbers of
auxiliaries and legionaries in the Roman army
during this period.
Augustus was also responsible for the formation
of the Praetorian Guard, though the tradition
of veteran legionaries forming the special
bodyguard of Roman generals dated back
centuries. No special rules have been applied
to Praetorian Guard in this supplement, as there
is little evidence that it was any more effective
in battle than the regular legions, and some
evidence to indicate that it was actually less
effective.
During the Early Imperial period the boundaries
of the empire continued to expand, with north
western Spain, southern Britain, Syria and Dacia
all becoming Roman provinces. The one notable
failure was the attempt to expand north of the
Rhine, where in 9 AD three entire legions were
annihilated in the Teutoburg Forest by a coalition
of German tribes. The empire was mostly stable,
though a major civil war erupted in 69 AD, known
as the Year of Four Emperors. The empire briefly
reached its greatest extent under the Emperor
Trajan in 117 AD after his successful invasion
of Parthia, stretching from the Irish Sea to the
Persian Gulf.
10
The famous banded armour, or lorica segmenta,
was adopted by the legionaries during this
period, and the large legionary shield became
rectangular. Although the use of war elephants
ended after the Punic Wars, one Roman
historian claims that the emperor Claudius was
accompanied by elephants when he joined the
Roman invasion of Britain in 43 AD. During the
civil war of 69 AD, the gladiatorial schools in
Italy were emptied to provide additional troops,
with mixed results. On the desert borders of the
empire, camel-mounted troops acted as scouts
and skirmishers for local garrisons.
Building and playing an Early
Imperial Roman Army
The legions were at the height of their powers in
the first century AD, and so legionaries will be an
important part of your army. As they are one of
the most potent troop types in the game, this will
make your army quite forgiving as well, but you
still must be careful that are not lulled into a false
sense of your own superiority, as Varus was just
prior to entering the Teutoburg Forest. However,
don’t forget auxiliaries were an important part of
the Roman army during this period and will play
a very useful role in yours. They are cheaper and
more versatile than legionaries, and can protect
the flanks of your army whilst the legionaries get
stuck in. As with the Late Republican Roman
army, your cavalry will often be out classed by
the enemy, but is still important.
Camel Rules
A cavalry unit that is not ‘used to camels’ will
become shaken immediately upon contact
with a camel mounted unit. Camels Cost 5
points in addition to the 10 for mounted.
ARMIES OF ROME

11
 Early Imperial Rome
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Veteran Legionaries (1) (2) Veteran Good - 4 2 9 4 Medium 117

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Drilled

Upgrades To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 10 (+2 pts)

Regular Legionaries (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 8 4 Medium 80

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Drilled

Upgrades To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), CS to good (+5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts), to Seasoned (+10 pts)

Lanciarii (3) Regular Avg Avg 2 1 8 4 Light 71/2

Skirmishers, Hand weapons, Javelins

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), To Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts)

Auxiliary Infantry (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 6 4 Light 62

Hand weapons
Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), To Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), May be Light Troops (no points cost)

Auxiliary Cavalry Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Light 76

Mounted, Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), To Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L increased to 7 (+2 pts)

Auxiliary Archers Trained Poor Avg 3 2 5 4 None 53

Hand weapons, Bows, Light Troops

Upgrades To Regular (+10pts), T&L increased to 6 (+2 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts)

Skirmishers Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 4 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L increased to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Short Bow (+5 pts)

Light Cavalry (4) Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 10 Light 46/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10pts), T&L increased to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Horse Bow (+5 pts),
May have Parthian Shot (+5 pts)

Barbarian Infantry (5) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 55

Hand Weapons, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), if Regular Armour to Medium (+5 pts)

Barbarian Cavalry (5) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 8 None 59

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Seasoned (+20 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Seasoned CS to Good (+5 pts)

12
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Scorpio (6) Regular Poor Avg 3 2 7 4 Light 94

Bolt Thrower
Upgrades T&L to 8 (+2 pts)

Gladiators (7) Regular Good - 3 2 6 4 Light 67

Hand Weapons
Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Elephant (7) Regular Good - 5 3 3 6 Light 161

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Elephant

Upgrades T&L to 4 (+2 pts)

Dromedarii (7) Trained Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 55/2

Mounted, Camels, Javelin, Skirmisher

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts) , to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Regular BS to Average (+5 pts)

Restrictions and Leaders

A Standard Roman Leader may be fielded for
(1) At least 50% of points must be spent on
100 points. He has the following statistics.
Legionaries and/or Auxiliary Infantry

(2) Only 1 Veteran Legionary unit per army. T&L Modifier: +2

Morale Modifier: +1
(3) Only 1 unit of Lanciarii per army. Melee Modifier: +1

(4) Only 1 unit of Light Cavalry per 1500 points Alternatively, the Special Roman Leader
in the army. Germanicus may be fielded for 125 points.
(5) Only 1 unit of Barbarians per 1500 points in T&L Modifier: +1
the army. Morale Modifier: +2
(6) Only 1 Scorpio per unit of Legionaries in the Melee Modifier: +2
army.
If Germanicus is fielded, one unit of Veteran
(7) Only 1 unit of Gladiators OR Elephant OR Legionaries may be upgraded to Elite (+20 points
Dromedarii per army. and +1 Att) to represent the 14th Legion

13
 Middle Imperial Rome
117 to 285 AD

T
he Emperor Hadrian came to the throne in In 235 AD, the last of Severan emperors,
117 AD and brought to a halt the expansion Alexander, was murdered and this began a
of the empire. To help define the boundaries period of instability that has become known as
of the empire, provide military protection and the third century crisis. More than 20 emperors
to control commerce, Hadrian ordered the would come and go in the next half century, the
construction of a series of fortifications, the most empire would suffer multiple invasions by land
famous of which being the 117 km long wall that and sea and parts of the empire would break
bears his name in Northern Britain. Hadrian away to form separate kingdoms. Finally in 285
also abandoned Trajan’s Persian conquests as AD, Diocletian won the latest civil war and began
indefensible. implementing reforms to re-invent the Roman
Empire.
To man these defences required large numbers
of troops, and it was obviously cheaper to use
auxiliaries than legionaries. Thus in this period
auxiliary troops started to become more important
to the defence of the empire than the legions.
It was also becoming rarer for full legions to
commit to the field, instead vexillations of one or
more cohorts were dispatched to wherever they
might be required, sometimes for many years.
Cavalry started to become more prominent in
the army as well, with heavily armoured eastern-
style cavalry appearing in Roman armies for the
first time. The lorica segmenta armour worn by
legionaries gradually goes out of usage in this
period, to be replaced by scale and chain mail.
The legionary shield also flattens and becomes Building and playing a Middle
oval, and by the third century the gladius has
been replaced by the longer spatha. Legionaries
Imperial Roman Army
began to look more like auxilia towards the end
This army is not as potent as its predecessors,
of this period as the distinctions between the two
but still has many strengths. You still have
begins to blur.
access to legionaries, just not as many, and
you are obliged to field auxiliary infantry (which
The relative peace of the first half of the second
isn’t necessarily a bad thing). This is somewhat
century was shattered in 161 AD with the
compensated for by more variety in your cavalry
beginning of the decade long Marcomannic
options, including eastern-style heavy cavalry
Wars. Tens of thousands of German and
that the Romans called cataphractii. This is still
Sarmatian warriors crossed into Roman territory
an infantry army, however, and will use similar
in a number of separate waves. The Parthians
tactics to its predecssors.
also renewed hostilities with Rome, and to cap
it off a massive pandemic, probably small pox,
killed many thousands of Roman citizens.

14
The Barbarians

15
 Middle Imperial Rome
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Regular Legionaries (1) Seasoned Avg - 3 2 8 4 Medium 90

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Drilled

Upgrades To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), CS to good (+5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts)

Lanciarii (2) Regular Avg Avg 2 1 8 4 Light 71/2

Skirmishers, Hand weapons, Javelins

Upgrades To Medium Armour (+5 pts), to Seasoned (+10 pts), if Seasoned T&L to 9 (+2 pts)

Auxiliary Infantry (3) Regular Avg - 3 2 6 4 Light 62

Hand weapons
Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), May be Light Troops (no points cost)

Auxiliary Cavalry Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Light 76

Mounted, Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Auxiliary Archers Trained Poor Avg 3 2 5 4 None 53

Hand weapons, Bows, Light Troops

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts)

Skirmishers Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 4 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Short Bow (+5 pts)

Light Cavalry (4) Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 10 Light 46/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Horse Bow (+5 pts), Parthian Shot (+5 pts)

Cataphractii (5) Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Heavy 97

Mounted, Shock, Kontos

Upgrades May have bow (+8 pts), to Extra Heavy Armour (+5 pts), to Seasoned (+10 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Barbarian Infantry (6) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 55

Hand Weapons, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), if Regular Armour to Medium (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Barbarian Cavalry (6) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 8 None 59

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Seasoned (+20 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Seasoned T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

16
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Scorpio (7) Regular Poor Avg 3 2 7 4 Light 94

Bolt Thrower
Upgrades T&L to 8 (+2 pts)

Dromedarii (8) Trained Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 55/2

Mounted, Camels, Javelin, Skirmisher

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), if Regular BS to Average (+5 pts)

Restrictions and Leaders

(1) No more than 30% of points may be spent on (8) No more than one unit per army.
Legionaries.
A Standard Roman Leader may be fielded for
(2) No more than one unit per army. 100 points. He has the following statistics.

(3) At least one unit must be fielded. T&L Modifier: +2

Morale Modifier: +1
(4) No more than one unit of Light Cavalry per Melee Modifier: +1
1000 points in the army.

(5) Only one unit of Cataphractii per army.

(6) Only one unit per 1000 points in the army.

(7) No more than one Scorpio per Legionary unit

in the army.

17
 Late Imperial Rome
285 to 378 AD
L
ate in the third century AD the Empire rallied
and recovered, mostly due to a handful of
very competent emperors. The first of these
was Diocletian, who established the tetrarchy, a
system of a senior and junior emperor in each
half of the empire. Around this time, reforms to
the army meant that the old distinction between
legions and auxiliaries became obsolete, whilst
cavalry became even more important. The
soldiers of the empire were now divided into
limitanei, troops stationed on the borders of the
empire, and comitatenses, mobile field armies
stationed deeper within Roman territory. Artillery
was now formed into separate units known as
Ballistarii, and rarely if ever used in battle.
It is usually generalized that the limitanei were of
significantly lower quality than the comitatenses,
but this was not necessarily always true. Roman
infantry were now uniformly armed with the
spatha, or long sword, and protected by a large,
flat oval shield and a helmet. Body armour was
much less common and probably only worn by
the best troops.
18
With the abdication of Diocletian in 305 AD
another long period of civil war and anarchy
followed. However, the following year one of
Rome’s greatest ever emperors began his
long and glittering military career, and by 324
AD he would be the sole ruler of the empire.
Constantine, later called the Great, campaigned
against the Picts in Britain and the Franks in
Germany, before beginning a long and bloody
war against the other contenders for the imperial
throne. After becoming emperor, Constantine
rebuilt Byzantium, renaming it Constantinople,
and adopted Christianity as the empire’s religion.
He campaigned successfully against the Goths,
winning back Roman territory lost in the previous
century. On his death in 337, Constantine was
planning an invasion of Persia.
The empire once again reverted to multiple
rulers with all the problems this caused. In 357
the Western Emperor Julian (later known as
the Apostate because of his pagan beliefs and
suppression of Christianity) won a major victory
against the Alamanni at Strasbourg. He too
became sole emperor when his co-emperor
died, and then led a disastrous invasion of Persia
during which he was killed, possibly by one of his
own soldiers.
Julian was followed by Valentinian, one of the
last great Western Emperors. For a dozen years
Valentinian held the western empire together,
winning many victories against the Germans,
whilst his less competent brother Valens ruled the
east. Three years after Valentinian’s death in 378
AD Valens led a Roman army to a catastrophic
defeat by the Goths at Adrianople. Poorly planned,
poorly executed and possibly even completely
unnecessary, the Battle of Adrianople resulted in
the death of tens of thousands of Roman troops
at a time when Rome could not afford to lose
them. Valens was also killed, and the writing was
on the wall for the western empire.
ENEMIES OF ROME

19
 Late Imperial Rome
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Guard Infantry (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 7 4 Medium 78

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Shieldwall

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 8 (+2 pts), May be Drilled (+5 pts), CS to good (+5 pts)

Infantry (4) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 59

Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons, Shieldwall

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Medium Armour (+ 5 pts), T&L increased to 6 (+2 pts), May be Light Troops (no points cost)

Guard Cavalry (2) Seasoned Avg - 3 2 7 8 Medium 98

Mounted, Shock, Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Veteran (+20 pts & + 1 Wnd), To Heavy Armour (+5 pts), T&L to 8 (+2 pts), Drilled (+5 pts), CS to good (+5 pts)

Cavalry Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Light 76

Mounted, Hand weapons, Thrown melee weapons

Upgrades To Medium Armour (+ 5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Cataphractii (3) Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Heavy 97

Mounted, Shock, Kontos

Upgrades May have Bow (+8 pts), Armour to Extra Heavy (+5 pts), to Seasoned (+10 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Archers (4) Trained Poor Avg 3 2 5 4 None 53

Hand weapons, Bows, Light Troops

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), To Light Armour (+5 pts).
May from Mixed Formation with Guard Infantry or Infantry.

Skirmishers Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 4 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L increased to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Short Bow (+5 pts)

Light Cavalry (5) Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 10 Light 46/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Bow (+8 pts), Parthian Shot (+5 pts)

Dromedarii (6) Trained Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 55/2

Mounted, Camels, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), If Regular BS to Average (+5 pts)

20
Restrictions and Leaders Building and playing a Late
(Special) Up to 20% of points may be spent on
Imperial Roman Army
units from the Later German army list.
Despite its reputation, the Late Roman army is
still a very powerful one with a wide range of
(1) Only one unit of Guard Infantry per army.
useful unit types available to it. The infantry is still
very serviceable, but has become defensive with
(2) Only one unit of Guard Cavalry per army.
the addition of the shieldwall ability. It is now the
cavalry that provides Rome with its shock troops,
(3) Only one unit of Cataphractii per army.
and the battle will be won or lost depending
on how you use them. Additional options are
(4) The number of archer stands in the army may
available by adding units from the Late German
not be more than the number of Infantry stands
army list, representing Rome’s barbarian allies
in the army.
and subjects. Unlike earlier Roman armies, there
is no fixed template for this army, but combining
(5) No more than one unit of Light Cavalry per
infantry, cavalry and missile troops will provide
1000 points in the army.
you with the variety to deal with most of your
opponents.
(6) No more than one unit of Dromedarii per
army.

A Standard Roman Leader may be fielded for

100 points. He has the following statistics.

T&L Modifier: +2
Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +1

21
 Foederate Roman
382 to 476 AD
T Building and playing a
he Western Empire never really recovered
from the disaster at Adrianople. In 382 AD
the new eastern Emperor Theodosius was
forced to legitimize Visigoth occupation of Roman
territory, the first of many such capitulations. In
394 AD at the Battle of Frigidus, and Eastern
Roman Army under the command of Theodosius
fought a Western Roman army commanded by
the Frankish Warlord Arbogast, who has installed
a puppet emperor in Rome. Though Theodosius
won and restored some order to the Empire, it
was hardly the sort of thing Rome needed.
The Roman General Stilicho, a Vandal by birth,
had some minor successes in shoring up the
western empire at the beginning of the fifth
century, but a massive migration across the
Rhine in 406 AD finally ended any semblance of
stability. In 451 AD the Roman General Aetius
provided a rare and brief respite from this decline
when he managed to weld together a Romano-
German alliance and defeat the army of Attila. But
Aetius was murdered shortly afterwards and the
decline continued. By this time most of what was
previously Roman territory in Western Europe
was under the control of regional warlords, and
the writing was well and truly on the wall.
Continual warfare and instability during this
period contributed to the ongoing decline of the
Roman military. Roman armies of this period
usually had more barbarian troops than Roman
ones, so much so that the distinction between
the two was effectively destroyed.
22
Foederate Roman Army
The Foederate Roman army is basically a
German army with Roman command, except
that occasionally the Germans will ignore their
commander! The combination of the two can still
make for a powerful army, however, and it was
such an alliance that stopped Attila and possibly
saved western civilisation. The same comments
that apply to the Late Roman army apply to
this one – a balanced combination of unit types
should provide you with the options to deal with
most of your opponents.
Restrictions and Leaders
The Foederate Roman Army uses the Late
Imperial Roman army with the following
restrictions:
(Special) At least 50% of points must be spent on
units from the Late German army list.
A Standard Roman Leader may be fielded for
100 points. He has the following statistics.
T&L Modifier: +2
Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +1
Foederate Leader Rule
Whenever a Roman leader attempts to
use his T&L Modifier or Morale Modifier on
a German unit, roll a d6. On a roll of 1-3 the
modifier does not apply as the non-Roman
troops ignore him! Note that the Leader
can always apply his Melee Modifier.
 The Barbarians
105 BC to 476 AD

T
he Romans, taking their cue from the
Greeks, referred to the diverse and
numerous tribal nations of Western Europe
as barbarians. This term apparently springs from
an inability to understand the language of these
tribes, which was equated to sounding like “bar-
bar”. As their language could not be understood,
such people were obviously uncivilized and
inferior. This is of course completely untrue,
as these people had diverse and rich cultures
and long, proud histories. What they did not
have was a written language, and as a result
the only accounts that remain of them are from
the somewhat biased viewpoints of Greek and
Roman historians.
On the battlefield, barbarian units were defined
by personal allegiances, whilst the whole army
was usually held together by the personality of
its commander. Barbarian units were unwieldy
and prone to ill-disciplined acts but were also
capable of devastating assaults.
Barbarian armies may use the standard leader
below of their special leaders.
Standard Barbarian Leader (100 points)
T&L Modifier: 0
Morale Modifier: +2
Melee Modifier: +2

Despite their diversity in language, religion

and culture, the barbarian nations
shared a number of common
factors when it came to
warfare. Personal bravery
was highly valued,
and cowardice
despised.

British
Gaius Julius Caesar initiated the first
Roman expedition to Britain in 55 BC. He
returned the next year for a more extended
campaign, but still withdrew back to Gaul for the
winter. It would then be almost a century before

23
 the Romans returned to Britain, but this time they
came to stay. By the command of the Emperor
Claudius, 4 legions and an equal number of
auxiliary troops landed in Britain in early 43 AD
and began the conquest of the island.
(c) Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved
The king of the Catuvellauni tribe, Caratacus,
led the initial resistance to the Roman invasion.
An apparently wily and resourceful general, he
nonetheless he failed to stop the Roman advance,
suffering defeats at Medway River, on the Thames
and then outside of his capital, Camulodunum
(Colchester). However, Caratacus remained at
large and continued to lead the resistance for
another seven years, and in the end it was only
treachery that led to his capture.
The most famous British warlord is undoubtedly
Boudica, who in 61 AD was the figurehead of a
massive uprising that resulted in the sacking of
three Roman towns and the defeat of a number
of Roman forces. Eventually her huge army was
defeated and massacred at the Battle of Watling
Street.
The British were unique amongst European
tribal nations in that they continued to use the
chariot in warfare well into the first century AD.
Caesar was so impressed that he wrote about
the skill of the charioteers in some detail. As the
nobility were mounted in chariots, the British
had no heavy cavalry. It is thought that the use
of bows in Britain was rare, though slings were
very common.
24
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 40% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Only one unit of Tribal Warriors may be upgraded
to Veteran.
Only Veteran Tribal Warriors may have Medium
Armour.
Skirmishers may not be equipped with Bows.
Noble Cavalry may not be selected.
Skirmish Cavalry may not be equipped with
Bows.
The Special British Leader Boudica may be
chosen at a cost of 125 points. Boudica has the
following skills:
T&L Modifier: +1
Morale Modifier: +3
Melee Modifier: +1
DaciaN
Dacia was a rich and populous confederation
of tribes roughly equivalent to modern day
Romania. Late in the first century AD, the Dacians
successfully challenged Roman dominance in
the region and won a number of victories against
Roman armies, forcing the Roman Emperor
Domitian into signing a humiliating peace treaty.
Unfortunately for Dacia, the ascension of the
emperor Trajan saw a massive Roman invasion
of Dacia in 101 AD, resulting in the defeat and
occupation of the country. However, after only
a few years the Dacians revolted, triggering a
second and even larger Roman invasion in 105
AD. This time the Dacia was all but destroyed as
a nation, with capital Sarmizegetusa raised and
the province re-settled.
The Dacians were famous for their use of the falx,
a long two-handed blade that was quite capable
of cutting through shields and armour. They also
made use of Roman artillery and their armies
were supported by Sarmatian mercenaries.
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 30% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Only one unit of Tribal Warriors may be upgraded wooden shield for protection. German cavalry
to Veteran.
Only Veteran Tribal Warriors may have Medium personal bodyguards.
Armour.
Tribal Warriors and Levy Warriors may be
equipped with Heavy Weapons (falx) at a cost
cost of +10 points.
Skirmish Cavalry may not be equipped with
Bows.
Chariots or Warhounds & Packmaster may not
be chosen.
For each 1000 points in the army you may
choose one of the folowing units :- Sarmatian
Heavy Cavalry from the Sarmatian Army List,
Horse Archers from the Sarmatian Army List or
Scorpio from the Early Imperial Rome Army List.
Early German
The German tribes that lived north of the Rhine
and Danube Rivers included the Marcomanni,
Tencteri, Cherusci and Chatti. These fierce
warrior nations were perhaps Rome’s greatest
enemies, and for much of the Imperial period the
majority of Rome’s armies were concentrated
on this frontier. Under Augustus Rome began
settling north of the Rhine, but this policy ended
in 9 AD when the German Warlord Arminius
engineered a massive ambush in the Teutoburg
Forest that saw the annihilation of three entire
legions. Arminius was eventually defeated
and his coalition collapsed, but the Germans
remained a constant threat to the empire.
Armour was particularly rare in early German
armies, with most warriors only carrying a
had a fearsome reputation and German warriors
were used by a number of Roman Emperors as
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 40% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Only one unit of Tribal Warriors may be upgraded
to Veteran.
Tribal Warriors and Noble Cavalry may not
upgrade to Medium Armour.
Skirmish Cavalry may not be equipped with
Bows.
Chariots or Warhounds & Packmaster may not
be chosen.
Up to 20% of the Army Points may be spent
on units from the Early Imperial Roman list to
represent Roman troops assisting an allied tribe.
However, this option cannot be used against a
Roman opponent.
The Special German Leader Arminius may be
used at a cost of 125 points. Arminius has the
following skills:
T&L Modifier: +2
Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +2
25
 Batavian revolt
The Batavians were a Germanic tribe that lived at
the mouth of the Rhine River. During the Roman
civil war of 69 AD, the Batavian leader Civilis, an
ex-Roman auxiliary commander, led a revolt that
briefly saw most of Gaul fall under his control.
Many Roman auxiliary units joined this rebellion,
and several small Roman forces were defeated
or forced to retreat. With the conclusion of the
civil war, the new Roman Emperor Vespasian
dispatched a large army to the area that crushed
the rebellion.
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 25% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Only one unit of Tribal Warriors may be upgraded
to Veteran.
Tribal Warriors may not upgrade to Medium
Armour.
No more than two units of Tribal Warriors may be
Skirmish Cavalry may not be equipped with
upgraded to Veteran.
Bows.
Chariots or Warhounds & Packmaster may not
be chosen.
For each 1000 points in the army you may choose
one of the following units:- Auxiliary Infantry from
the Early Imperial Rome Army List, Auxiliary
Cavalry from the Early Imperial Rome Army List
or Scorpio from the Early Imperial Rome Army
List.
26
Middle German
By the middle of the second century, the German
tribes had learnt much from their constant
exposure to Rome, resulting in better armed
and organized German armies. Archaeological
finds show an increase in the amount of metal
goods found in German graves, including
armour and weapons such as throwing axes.
The Marcomannic Wars of 166 to 175 AD saw a
widespread invasion of Roman territory by tribes
such as the Marcomanni, Lombards, Ubii, and
Quadi, as well as the Sarmatian Iazyges tribe.
Late in the second century we first hear of the
Gothic tribe living north of the Danube, and in
251 AD at Abrittus the Goths became the first
people to defeat and kill a Roman Emperor in
the field. Throughout this period large German
armies regularly raided Roman territory.
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 30% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Veteran Tribal Warriors may be equipped with
Thrown Melee Weapons for + 4 points.
Chariots or Warhounds & Packmaster may not
be chosen.
For each 1000 points in the army you may
choose one of the folowing units :- Sarmatian
Heavy Cavalry from the Sarmatian Army List or
Horse Archers from the Sarmatian Army List.
 Late German
In the third and fourth centuries, new and even
more powerful German tribes and coalitions
begin to appear in the historical records. The
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Saxons, Lombards,
Vandals, Franks and Burgundians would all
play a role in the demise of the Western Roman
Empire. By this stage, German armies were
almost as well equipped and motivated as
Roman armies, and often better led. However,
they were still notoriously bad at siege warfare.
In 378 AD an army of Visigoths and Ostrogoths
inflicted one of Rome’s greatest ever defeats at
Adrianople. As may as 40,000 Roman troops
were killed, the Emperor Valens amongst them.
On New Years Eve in 406 AD there was a massive
German migration across the frozen Rhine and
the paltry Roman defences swept aside. Rome
was sacked by Vandals in 410 AD and again in
455 AD by Visigoths.
In 476 AD the German Odoacer became the first
non-Roman ruler of Italy, effectively ending the
Roman Empire in the west.
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 30% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
Tribal Warriors and Levy Warriors may be
equipped with Thrown Melee Weapons for + 4
points.
Tribal Warriors may replace Shock with
Shieldwall.
Noble Cavalry may upgrade Armour to Heavy
(+5 points) and gain Shock (+5 points).
Chariots and Warhounds & Packmaster may not
be chosen.
For each 1000 points in the army you may
choose one of the folowing units :- Sarmatian
Heavy Cavalry from the Sarmatian Army List or
Horse Archers from the Sarmatian Army List.
Picts
The Picts were a mysterious race that lived
north of Hadrian’s Wall in Britain. We first hear
of their presence in the late third century, and
throughout the later part of the Roman Empire
in the west they were fierce enemies of the
Romans in Britain. In 367 AD, in conjunction
with Saxons from mainland Europe and Scotti
from Ireland, they overran northern and western
Britain, destroying many Roman garrisons and
towns. It would be more than a year before
Roman reinforcements from Europe were able
to regain full control of the province.
Very little is known about the Picts, but they
have left some records of their society in the
carvings found all over Scotland. Horses were
very important to the Picts, so it is thought that
many of their warriors were mounted. They also
had a great love of hunting game with a primitive
form of crossbow (though it was unlikely to have
been more powerful than contemporary bows).
Armour was probably rare. The term Pict is
thought to mean “painted”, due to their habit of
tattooing their bodies.
Restrictions and Leaders
At least 25% of points must be spent on Tribal
Warriors or Levy Warriors.
No more than 25% of points may be spent on
Noble Cavalry or Skirmish Cavalry.
Skirmish Cavalry may not be upgraded to bow.
Only one unit of Tribal Warriors may be upgraded
to Veteran.
Only one unit of Noble Cavalry may be upgraded
to Veteran.
Tribal Warriors and Noble Cavalry may not
upgrade to Medium Armour.
Up to 20% of the Army Points may be spent
on units from the Late German list to represent
Saxon allies from mainland Europe.
27
(c) Copyright Warlord Games Ltd. 2009. All rights reserved

Building and playing a Sarmatian Cavalry, capable of smashing most

enemy formations, whilst Batavians can choose
Barbarian Army Roman units to bolster their army. The Late
German army is not surprisingly the most flexible
The core of a Barbarian army is Tribal Warriors, and powerful of the Barbarian armies, allowing
and lots of them. These fierce warriors are good you to custom build one of the many nations
infantry and hit hard on the charge. However, that helped bring Rome to its knees such as the
their combination of low T&L and Impetuous Ostrogoths, Vandals or Saxons.
means that they will not always do what you
want them to do, or be where you want them to Barbarian armies are colourful, characterful and
be. So you must have a simple and robust battle fun to play and collect. They can also be very
plan. Attempt to do too much manoeuvring and effective armies when played within their in-built
you will soon come unstuck. Making your units limitations.
wide also increases your chance of contacting
an enemy unit. Levy Warriors do not look as if
they are worth fielding, but at only two thirds
the cost of Tribal warriors you get a lot more
stands for your points. Historically, many early
barbarian armies had large numbers of relatively
low quality warriors, which is as good a reason
as any to field them.

Barbarian cavalry is also very solid and provides

you with some fast units, though it suffers from
poor manoeuvrability. Missile support is provided
by skirmishers, but don’t expect them to make
much of an impact on anything other than enemy
skirmishers.

Most of the Barbarian sub-lists have one or more

signature units, and all cases these are definitely
worth taking. British Chariots are effective
skirmishers but hit surprisingly hard. Dacians as
well as Middle Germans may select very nasty

28
 The Barbarians
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Tribal Warriors Regular Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 65

Hand Weapons, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Veteran (+30 pts wounds to 4), Combat skill to Good if Veteran (+5 pts)
May have T&L 6 (+2 pts), may have Medium Armour (+5 pts).

Levy Warriors Levy Avg - 3 2 4 4 Light 43

Hand Weapons, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades To Trained, (+10 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts)

Skirmishers Dregs Poor Poor 2 1 2 6 None 14/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Levy (+10 pts), to Trained (+20 pts), T&L to 3 (+2 pts), T&L to 4 (+4 pts),
May replace javelins with sling (+5 pts) or with bow (+8 pts)

Noble Cavalry Regular Avg - 3 2 6 8 Light 72

Hand Weapons, Mounted

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Veteran (+30 pts wounds to 4), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), or T&L 8 (+ 4 pts),
Armour to Medium (+5 pts), Combat skill to Good if Seaoned or Veteran (+5 pts)

Skirmish Cavalry Levy Poor Poor 2 1 4 10 None 38/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Mounted, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), Combat skill to average (+5 pts),
May replace javelins with horse bow (+5 pts), or with Bow (+8 pts), BS to average (+5 pts).

Chariots Regular Avg Avg 2 1 5 10 Light 80/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Light Chariot, Parthian Shot, Skirmishers

Upgrades Armour to Medium (+5 pts), to Seasoned (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), If Seasoned CS to Good (+5 pts)

Warhounds and Packmaster Trained Avg - 2 1 2 6 None 44/2

Hand Weapons, Skirmishers, Shock, Impetuous

Upgrades None

29
 Spartacus’ revolt
73 to 71 BC

S
partacus was a gladiator, possibly of Spartacus’ army was solely an infantry one, and
Thracian descent, who gained everlasting only a minority would have been trained warriors.
fame when he led a major revolt against The rest were a ragged collection of slaves,
Rome. Trained as a Roman auxiliary soldier, refugees and criminals. Spartacus’ early victories
Spartacus committed an unknown offence against the Romans would have at least given
serious enough for him access to a reasonable amount of weapons
him to be sold into and armour, and he would also have had the
slavery to fight and time to implement some rudimentary weapons
die in the arena. training. But the majority of his army would have
In 73 BC he and been an ill-disciplined and poorly trained rabble.
a number of other
gladiators and
slaves escaped
from their training Building and playing
camp and took
up residence
Spartacus’ Army
on the slopes of
Given the low quality of most of the troops, this
Mount Vesuvius
is a difficult army to play well. However, it does
in southern Italy.
have some good points, and you will have to be
Here they were
able to get the most out of these if you are to
joined by more and more escaped slaves and
defeat a Roman
began to plunder the local area, taking whatever
army. Gladiators
they wanted and gaining even more recruits.
are obviously good
Soon slaves and outlaws from all over Italy were
troops, and whilst
flocking to join Spartacus’ army.
their numbers will
be limited they are
All of Rome’s armies at this time were committed in
quite capable of
overseas wars. A number of hastily raised Roman
standing toe-to-toe
forces were defeated outright by Spartacus,
with legionaries.
who was apparently no mean strategist. For
You will also have
more than a year Spartacus’ ramshackle army
the advantage of
had the run of southern Italy. However, things
numbers, allowing
started to go wrong when the slave army began
you to potentially
to fragment and a plan to relocate to Sicily failed.
bring multiple units
Meanwhile, Marcus Crassus had become consul
to bear on each
and set about raising, training and equipping a
of your enemies.
substantial army to deal with Spartacus. After
Finally, Spartacus is a potent leader, able to turn
weeks of manoeuvring Spartacus’ army was
a combat in your favour or bolster your line. Play
finally cornered by the Romans and defeated,
to these strengths and you may be able to repeat
though the Gladiator General’s body was never
Spartacus’ success.
found.

30
 Spartacus’ revolt
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Gladiators (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 60

Hand weapons

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), to Veteran (+30 pts, +1 wnd), if Seasoned or Veteran CS to Good (+5 pts),
Armour to Medium (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), if Veteran T&L to 7 (+4 pts)

Armed Ex-slaves (2) (3) Dregs Poor - 3 2 3 4 None 16

Hand weapons
Upgrades To Levy (+10 pts), to Trained (+20 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), if Trained CS to Average (+5 pts)

Mob (4) Dregs Poor - 3 2 2 4 None 14

Hand Weapons
Upgrades T&L to 3 (+2 pts)

Skirmishers (4) (5) Dregs Poor Poor 2 1 3 4 None 16/2

Skirmishers, Javelins
Upgrades To Levy (+10 pts), Exchange Javelins for Slings (+5 pts) or Bows (+8 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), if Levy BS to Avg (+5 pts)

Restrictions and Leaders

(1) At least one unit must be chosen and no more (4) You may not have more stands of skirmishers
than one unit of Gladiators may be upgraded to than you have of Mob.
Veteran.
(5) No more than one unit of Skirmishers may be
(2) There must be at least one unit of Armed ex- equipped with bows.
slaves for every other unit in the army.
The only leader option is Spartacus himself, who
(3) No more than one unit of Armed Ex-slaves costs 125 points and has the following statistics:
may be upgraded to Trained.
T&L Modifier: 0
Morale Modifier: +2
Melee Modifier: +3

31
 Jewish Revolt
66 to 73 AD

T
he Jewish people fought a number of command of the experienced general Vespasian
wars against occupying Roman forces, was assembled. Judea was systematically re-
the most famous of which was the Great conquered and pacified, with Jerusalem falling
Revolt that began in 66 AD. A number of acts after an epic 8 month siege. The final act of the
of greed and intolerance on the part of the revolt was the siege and capture of the fortress
Romans in that year sparked a riot in Jerusalem of Masada in 73 AD, in which almost all of the
that quickly flared into a full blown rebellion. The defenders committed suicide rather than be
province of Judea was quite lightly garrisoned, captured.
and the Romans that were there were quickly
killed or forced to withdraw to the coast. A There is almost no information available about
Roman relief force soon marched back into the Jewish forces that fought against the Romans
Judea and laid siege to Jerusalem, but then it in this war. It is likely that the majority were
inexplicably withdrew. The retreating Romans brave and committed, but poorly equipped and
were ambushed in the Beth Horon valley and inexperienced. Aside from the ambush in Beth
badly mauled, with supplies, artillery and evenHoron, Jewish forces appear to have been totally
the sacred Aquila of a legion captured by the outclassed by the Romans in open battle. This
victorious Jewish fighters. was exacerbated by the periodic and vicious in-
fighting between various Jewish factions, who
A more measured response was then put together apparently hated each other almost as much as
by the Romans, and a massive army under the they hated the Romans.

32
 Jewish Revolt
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Zealots (1) Regular Avg - 3 2 6 4 Light 67

Hand weapons, Fanatic

Upgrades T&L to 7 (+2 pts), Armour to Medium (+5 pts)

Militia Trained Avg - 3 2 4 4 Light 48

Hand weapons
Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Medium (+5 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts)

Volunteers (2) Levy Poor Poor 3 2 4 4 None 28

Hand Weapons, Light Troops

Upgrades Armour to Light (+5 pts), may be equipped with Bows (+8 pts)

Skirmishers (3) Dregs Poor Poor 2 1 3 6 None 16/2

Skirmishers, Javelins
Upgrades To Levy (+10 pts), Exchange Javelins for Slings (+5 pts) or Bows (+8 pts), BS to Average (+5 pts)

Building and playing a Jewish Restrictions and Leaders

Revolt Army (1) No more than 30% of Total points may be
spent on Zealots.
This is another difficult army to play, and the
reality is that it will always struggle to defeat a
(2) Only every second unit of Volunteers may be
Roman opponent. However, if you have taken on
equipped with Bows.
the challenge to play a Jewish army, all is not
lost as it does have some strengths. The most
(3) No more than half the skirmish stands may
powerful unit in the army is obviously the Zealots
be equipped with bows.
who have the Fanatic ability. You must maximise
the number of units of these troops in your army,
A Jewish Leader costs 100 points has the
and ensure that they face your opponent’s best
following characteristics:
troops. If your zealots can pin the enemy for long
enough, you may be able to engineer a flank
T&L Modifier: +1
charge or at least deal with rest of the enemy
Morale Modifier: +3
army. The Jewish army has no cavalry, so you
Melee Modifier: 0
must be wary of enemy cavalry units. Finally, use
your General to bolster morale and remember
that he is useless in combat!

33
 Sarmatian tribes
250 BC to 370 AD
T
he warlike Sarmatians were descendants
of the Sycthians, and included the
Roxolani, Iazyges, and Alan tribes.
Sarmatian armies were mostly cavalry
affairs, and if they were forced to fight on
foot the results were usually catastrophic, as
happened in 60 AD when the III Gallica Legion
surprised and massacred a Sarmatian force at
camp. Foot troops were most likely supplied
by subject nations and are of poor quality.
There were two elements to a Sarmatian army.
The first was the horse archers, who used classic
steppe tactics to harass enemy formations with
bow fire, but rarely stood and fought. Unusually
for horse archers they were sometimes armoured
in chain or scale mail. The other component to a
Sarmatian army was heavily armoured warriors
wielding a kontos and often riding barded steeds.
Though they also carried bows, they preferred to
charge the enemy, and were probably more like
medieval knights than eastern cataphracts.
34
The Sarmatians fought for the Dacians and
Goths against Rome, as well as regularly raiding
Roman territory on their own. They also fought for
and against the Parthian and later the Sassanid
Persians. At the end of the Marcomannic Wars,
the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius accepted
the service of 5,000 Sarmatian warriors as part
of a peace agreement, most of which were sent
to Britain as auxiliary troops.
Some of the Sarmatian tribes were defeated and
made vassals by the Hun whilst others appear to
have migrated into captured Roman territory with
German tribes such as the Vandals. Eventually
references to the Sarmatians as a separate
people ends.
 Sarmatian tribes
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Noble Heavy Cavalry (1) Seasoned Avg Poor 3 2 6 8 Medium 110

Shock, Mounted, Kontos, Bow, Impetuous

Upgrades To Veteran (+20 pts, +1 Wnd), CS to Good (+ 5 pts), Armour to Heavy (+5 pts, Move to 7), T&L to 7 (+2 pts),
BS to average (+5 pts)

Heavy Cavalry (2) Trained Avg Poor 3 2 5 8 Medium 88

Shock, Mounted, Kontos, Bow, Impetuous

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Heavy (+5 pts, Move to 7), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Horse Archers (2) (3) Trained Poor Avg 2 1 5 8 None 68/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Bow, Skirmishers, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), BS to Good (+ 5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Foot Archers (4) Levy Poor Poor 3 2 5 4 None 38

Hand Weapons, Bow

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), BS to Average (+ 5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Peasant Levy (4) Dregs Poor Poor 3 2 3 4 None 16

Hand Weapons
Upgrades To Levy (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts)

Building and playing a Restrictions and Leaders

Sarmatian Army
There’s nothing too complicated to a Sarmatian
army – horse archers and armoured lancers. It
is vital that your heavy cavalry gets to charge
the enemy and as early in the game as possible.
Throwing caution to the wind to some extent may
actually pay off with this army. It is also very in
character, as the Sarmatians were considered
by the Romans to be almost completely lacking
in self control. Of course, committing your entire
army to a headlong charge might be a little
excessive, so perhaps keeping some sort of
reserve is worth considering. However, if you sit
back and wait for your opponent then you will
definitely be surrendering one of your strengths.
So get stuck in, it’s the Sarmatian thing to do!
(1) No more than one unit of Noble Heavy Cavalry
per army.
(2) At least 50% of the army points must be spent
on Heavy Cavalry and Horse Archers.
(3) No more than half of the Horse Archers units
may upgrade their BS to good.
(5) No more than 20% of the army points may be
spent on Archers and Peasant Levy
Up to 20% of Army Points may be spent on units
from the Middle German or Late German Lists.
A Sarmatian Leader costs 100 points has the
following characteristics:
T&L Modifier: 0
Morale Modifier: +2
Melee Modifier: +2

35
 Parthia
238 BC to 225 AD
P
arthia was a satrapy (or province) under
the Achaemenid Persians and later the
Seleucids in north-eastern Iran. Around
about 238 BC under the leadership of warrior
called Arsaces Parthia became independent,
and over several decades extended its dominion
over much of the region. This eventually brought
it into conflict with Rome in the first century
BC, which at that time was also expanding its
borders. Parthia and Rome were the only true
empires west of China, and thus natural rivals.
In 53 BC the Roman general Crassus led an
invading army of 35,000 men into the Syrian
desert in an ill-fated expedition to subjugate
Parthia. A Parthian army consisting of around
9,000 horse archers and 1,000 cataphracts all
but completely destroyed the legions, with only
a few hundred men escaping. Mark Antony
narrowly avoided a similar fate in 37 BC, but still
36
lost almost a quarter of his 100,000 strong army.
Subsequently, Roman Emperors such as Trajan,
Verus and Septimius Severus all successfully
invaded Parthia and captured Ctesiphon, the
Parthian capital. But none of them were able to
hold this territory and the Parthians seemed able
to quickly recover each time.
Like the Sarmatians, the Parthian army was an
all cavalry one, with swarms of horse archers and
smaller numbers of heavily armoured lancers.
However, the Parthians used very different
tactics and were content to wear down the enemy
with bow fire before engaging. Cataphracts also
advanced at a canter rather than a charge, using
their momentum to roll over enemy troops. It
was all but impossible for an infantry army to
defeat such a force, as the Romans found out on
numerous occasions.
 Parthia
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Noble Cataphracts (1) Seasoned Avg - 3 2 8 7 Heavy 111

Shock, Mounted, Kontos

Upgrades To Veteran (+20 pts, +1 Wnd), CS to Good (+ 5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts), Armour to Extra Heavy (+5 pts move to 6)

Cataphracts (2) Trained Avg - 3 2 6 7 Heavy 87

Shock, Mounted, Kontos

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Seasoned (+20 pts), Armour to Extra Heavy (+5 pts, Move to 6), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Horse Archers (3) Trained Poor Avg 2 1 4 8 None 66/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Bow, Skirmishers, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), BS to Good (+ 5 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts)

Camelry (4) Levy Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 45/2

Mounted, Camels, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts) Armour to Light (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), if Regular BS to average (+5 pts)

Camelphracts (5) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 9 Heavy 85

Camels, Mounted, Kontos

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Building and playing a Restrictions and Leaders

Parthian Army
The Parthian army is yet another one of those
simple armies to build, and at first glance appears
very similar to the Sarmatians. However, the
Parthian army can afford to wait until the enemy
has been damaged and demoralised by missile
fire before sending in the heavy hitters, and
in fact this is how it behaved historically. The
cataphracts should be held in reserve for as
long as possible whilst the horse archers do their
work, or used to destroy any enemy units foolish
enough to try and catch your archers. Your horse
archers need to be aggressive, taking the fight to
the enemy and making full use of their Parthian
Shot ability to maximise the effectiveness of their
archery.
(1) No more than one unit of Noble Cataphracts
per army.
(2) At least one unit of Cataphracts per army.
(3) You must have at least as many Horse Archer
stands in the army as there are Cataphract and
Noble Cataphract stands.
(4) No more than one unit of Camelry per army.
(5) No more than one unit of Camelphracts per
army.
Up to 20% of Army Points may be spent on units
from the Sarmation army list.
A Parthian Leader costs 100 points has the
following characteristics:

T&L Modifier: +1
Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +2

37
 Sassanid Persia
225 to 649 AD

I
n 225 AD the Sassanid Persians overthrew They were supported by the ubiquitous light
the Parthians and took control of their empire. horse archers that had defined eastern armies
Almost immediately the first Sassanid King for half a millennia. Sassanid Persian armies
Ardashir began to expand his domain’s boundary were also much more likely to field large numbers
which inevitably brought him into conflict with of infantry than their Parthian predecessors,
Rome. This policy was continued by his son, though the quality of these troops has often been
Shapur, who expanded his domain’s boundaries questioned. Their conquests in the east also
to the northeast and the west, taking control gave the Sassanids access to fearsome Indian
of the region around Carrhae. In 250 AD full war elephants.
scale war with Rome resumed, and ten years
after that the Sassanids inflicted one of Rome’s
most humiliating defeats, capturing the Emperor
Building and playing a
Valerian and carrying him away. Reports vary on Sassanid Persian Army
Valerian’s ultimate fate. One account has him
being used as a foot stool for Shapur! The Sassanids are a powerful and versatile
army, and fun to collect and paint as well. The
core of the army is the Clibinarii, and these are
most likely to win (or lose) a game for you. With
their combination of heavy armour, excellent
morale and powerful melee and ranged attacks,
there is not much that these guys aren’t good at.
However, with all elite troops, they are expensive
and will be few in number. So you want to ensure
that they are given the opportunity to break
your enemy and not get sidetracked chasing
skirmishers or other low value troops. Try and
Rome and Persia remained at peace for a use their bow fire, as well as that of your skirmish
century after this, until the invasion of the Roman cavalry and infantry, to soften up enemy troops
Emperor Julian. Although he captured the city of before you charge. Sassanid Persian infantry
Ctesiphon, the fourth Roman General to do so is not great quality but can be used to anchor
in 250 years, Julian was unable to counter the a flank or as a reserve. Finally, war elephants
Persian army’s mobility and the Romans were will strike fear into the hearts of most opponents,
slowly worn down. When Julian himself was but just be sure that they are used carefully so
killed, the Romans were forced into a humiliating that they don’t cause more damage to your army
retreat. The Sassanids clashed regularly with than to the enemies!
armies of Byzantium over the next few centuries,
until the Sassanid Empire was defeated and
absorbed by invading Muslim Arabs.

The Sassanid Persian army was built around

the clibinarii, elite, heavily armed and armoured
horse archers. These brightly attired warriors
were drawn from the noble houses of Persia and
often carried the kontos or the feared jurz mace.

38
 Sassanid Persia
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Royal Clibinarii (1) (2) Seasoned Avg Avg 3 2 8 8 Heavy 119

Mounted, Kontos, Bow

Upgrades To Veteran (+20 pts, +1 Wnd), BS to Good (+ 5 pts), CS to Good (+5 pts), T&L to 9 (+2 pts), May be Shock (+5 pts)

Clibinarii (1) Regular Avg Avg 3 2 5 7 Heavy 103

Mounted, Kontos, Bow

Upgrades To Seasoned (+10 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), T&L to 7 (+4 pts)

Skirmish Cavalry Trained Poor Avg 2 1 4 8 None 58/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), May exchange Javelins for Bow (+8 pts)

Camelry (4) Levy Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 45/2

Camels, Mounted, Javelin, Skirmisher

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Regular BS to average (+5 pts)

Spearmen (3) Levy Poor - 3 2 4 4 Light 33

Hand Weapons, May form Mixed Formation with Archers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), To Regular (+20 pts), to T&L 5 (+2 pts), if Regular to Medium Armour (+5 pts)

Archers (3) Levy Poor Poor 3 2 4 4 None 36

Hand Weapons, Bow, May form Mixed Formation with Spearmen

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), To T&L 5 (+2 pts), if Trained BS to Avg (+5 pts)

Skirmishers (3) Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 6 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Bow (+8 pts)

Elephant (5) Regular Good - 5 3 3 6 Light 161

Hand Weapons, Elephant

Upgrades T&L to 4 (+2 pts)

Restrictions and Leaders

(1) No more than 50% of total points may be (5) No ore than one Elephant per 1000 points in
spent on Royal Clibinarii and/or Clibinarii. the army.

(2) No more than one unit of Royal Clibinarii per Up to 20% of Army Points may be spent on units
army. from the Sarmatian army list.

(3) No more than 50% of total points may be A Sassanid Persian Leader costs 100 points has
spent on infantry (Spearmen, Archers and the following characteristics:
Skirmishers).
T&L Modifier: +1
(4) No more than one unit of Camelry per army. Morale Modifier: +1
Melee Modifier: +2
39
 Palmyra
250 to 273 AD

P
almyra, or Tadmor, was a city-state in Palmyran army fielded large numbers of Parthian
the central Syrian desert that grew rich style cataphracts supported by the light horse
on the lucrative spice and silk trade that archers and infantry archers for which Syria was
passed through its territory. Palmyra became famous. It is also likely that Palmrya had its own
part of the Roman Empire sometime in the first Roman-style heavy infantry supported by ranks
century AD and remained relatively obscure of archers.
until the chaotic middle
years of the third century.
In 260 AD the Sassanid
Persians defeated a large
Roman army and captured
the Roman emperor
Valerian. However, King
Odenathus of Palmyra
grabbed the opportunity
to attack the withdrawing
Persians, defeating them
and capturing considerable
amount of plunder, allegedly
including the Sassanid
kings’ harem! Palmyra
suddenly became vitally
important to Rome, as the remaining Emperor
Gallienus was busy in the west with barbarian
Building and playing a
incursions. With Roman support, Palmyra quickly Palmyran Army
came to dominate the region. When Odenathus
was assassinated in 267 his wife Zenobia took his
Palmyra is an excellent combined arms force,
place on behalf of their young son. Zenobia had with good quality cavalry and infantry to choose
plans for something grander than just Rome’s from as well as a mix of melee and missile
eastern watchdog, and before long invaded and orientated troops. However, with so many quality
occupied Egypt, effectively declaring war on options you may make the mistake of building
Rome. At this point Palmyra controlled Syria, an army that is good at everything but excels
Palestine, Egypt and Armenia. In 270 AD the at nothing. Once you have selected your two
Emperor Aurelian came to power and marched compulsory choices of archers and cataphracts,
on Palmyra in 272, defeating its armies in two try and decide whether you want to build a
pitched battles. Zenobia was captured and the defensive army, with the cataphracts kept as a
brief Palmyran Empire came to an end. hard-hitting reserve, or an offensive army with
the archers used to provide suppressing fire. A
Although it was part of the Roman empire, defensive army will have lots more archers and
Palmyra was first and foremost an Arab city and perhaps some City Guard. An offensive army will
as such had more in common with the Parthians have more Cataphracts and perhaps some Arab
and Sassanid Persians than Rome. The Tribesmen as well.

40
 Palmyra
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

City Militia (5) Trained Avg - 3 2 5 4 Light 50

Hand weapons, May be Mixed Formation with Archers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Medium Armour (+5 pts), T&L increased to 6 (+2 pts)

Archers (1) Trained Poor Avg 3 2 5 4 None 53

Hand weapons, Bows, Light Troops, May be Mixed Formation with City Militia
Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), T&L increased to 6 (+2 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts)

Skirmishers Levy Poor Avg 2 1 3 6 None 31/2

Hand Weapons, Javelins, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Trained (+10 pts), T&L increased to 4 (+2 pts), May replace Javelins with Bow (+8 pts)

Arab Tribesmen (2) Trained Avg - 3 2 4 4 Light 48

Hand Weapons, Impetuous

Upgrades T&L to 5 (+2 pts), to Regular (+10 pts)

Cataphracts (1)(3)(6) Trained Avg - 3 2 6 7 Heavy 87

Shock, Mounted, Kontos

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), To Veteran (+30 pts, Wnds to 4), Armour to Extra Heavy (+5 pts, Move to 6), T&L to 7 (+2 pts)

Horse Archers (1)(3) Trained Poor Avg 2 1 4 8 None 66/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Bow, Skirmishers, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), BS to Good (+ 5 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts)

Camelry (4) Trained Poor Poor 2 1 5 10 None 55/2

Mounted, Camels, Javelin, Skirmisher

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), to Light Armour (+5 pts), if Regular BS to average (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts)

Restrictions and Leaders

(Special) Upto 20% of the army points may be (4) No more than one unit per army.
chosen from Regular Legionaries, Auxilliary
Archers or Auxilliary Infantry from the Middle (5) No more than one unit per 1500 points.
Imperial Rome list.
(6) Only one unit of Cataphracts per army may
(1) At least 50% of the army points must be spent be raised to Veteran.
on Archers, Horse Archers or Cataphracts.
A Palmyran Leader costs 100 points has the
(2) No more than half of the Arab Tribesmen units following characteristics:
may be Regular.
T&L Modifier: +1
(3) You may not have more units of Cataphracts Morale Modifier: +2
than you have of horse archers. Melee Modifier: +1

41
 The Huns
370 to 454 AD
I
n the late fourth century AD a new and
implacable enemy appeared for the first
time in Europe. The Huns swept all before
them, defeating and subjugating Gothic and
Sarmatian tribes, and eventually threatening the
very existence of Rome. The origin of the Huns
is contentious, but it could be that they were
originally from the Mongolian steppes. Why
they began such a long migration and how long
it took is speculations, but their impact was felt
in Europe long before they actually arrived. The
western migration of so many of the Germanic
tribes that came into conflict with Rome in the
fourth and fifth centuries was in all likelihood
at least partly due to the Huns pushing these
people before them.
 The Huns military success was a result of three
factors: the powerful composite bow, expertise in
the use of this weapon, and superb horsemanship.
Enemies of the Huns found themselves engulfed
in a veritable deluge of armour piercing arrows
by an enemy who usually could only be brought
to close quarters on his own terms.
Under leadership of Attila, the Huns became
even more successful, carving out an empire
centred on the plains of Hungary. From this base,
the Huns regularly raided German and Roman
territory.
42
Early in 451 AD Attila led his army into Gaul,
sacking a number of cities and threatening many
more. Sometime in late June the Huns and their
Gepid and Ostrogoth subjects were intercepted
by a large Romano-Germanic force that had
been assembled by the Roman General Flavius
Aetius. The Huns certainly did not suffer a major
defeat, but they were forced from the field and
then from Gaul. Although Attila invaded Italy
the following year, again capturing and sacking
a number of cities, the Huns were once again
forced to withdraw. Not long after this Attila died
and the Hun kingdom disintegrated without his
leadership.
Steppe Bow Rule
The Huns carry a Steppe Bow, which in
game terms has the equivalent ranges
of a normal bow but gains a +1 to hit at
close range or medium range as would a
longbow. Cost 10 points.
 The Huns
Troop type (Notes) Morale CS BS WND ATT T&L Move Armour Points

Hun Nobles (1) (2) Seasoned Avg Good 3 2 7 8 Light 109

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Steppe Bow, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Veteran (+20 pts and +1 Wnd), Armour to Medium (+5 pts), T&L to 8 (+2 pts)

Hun Horse Archers (2) (3) Trained Avg Avg 3 2 6 8 None 82

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Steppe Bow, Parthian Shot, Feigned Flight

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), BS to Good (+5 pts), T&L to 7 (+2 pts), Armour to light (+5 pts)

Light Hun Horse Archers (2) Trained Avg Avg 2 1 5 8 None 75/2

Hand Weapons, Mounted, Steppe Bow, Parthian Shot, Skirmishers

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), BS to Good (+5 pts), T&L to 6 (+2 pts), Armour to light (+5 pts)

Horse Archers Trained Poor Avg 2 1 4 8 None 66/2

Mounted, Hand Weapons, Bow, Skirmishers, Parthian Shot

Upgrades To Regular (+10 pts), Armour to Light (+5 pts), BS to Good (+ 5 pts), T&L to 5 (+2 pts)

Building and playing a Hun Restrictions and Leaders

Army (1) No more than one unit of Hun Nobles may be
upgraded to Veteran.
This is a simple army to build – lots of Hun
Archers! German allies will provide you with
(2) At least 50% of points must be spent on Hun
some solid infantry options, but the main strength
Nobles, Hun Horse archers or Light Hun Horse
of the army is the archers, who can disrupt and
Archers.
damage enemy units before charging in for the
kill. The trick is knowing when to do this, and
(3) There must be at least one unit of Hun Horse
being able to keep your distance in the meantime.
Archers for every other unit in the army.
Hun Archers are only lightly armoured, and even
Hun Nobles only have medium armour, so they
(Special) Up to 30% of points may be spent on
cannot take too much punishment. They are also
units from the Late German list.
expensive points-wise. But if used correctly you
will be able to sweep your enemies before you,
The Huns may use the following standard Leader
just as Attila did over 1,500 years ago.
for 100 points:

T&L Modifier: 0
Morale Modifier: +2
Melee Modifier: +2

Alternatively, the Huns may use the Special Hun

Leader Attila for 150 points:

T&L Modifier: 0
Morale Modifier: +3
Melee Modifier: +3

43
 Crusader Rules
Ammendments

These are official rule changes, clarifications and Should you want to work out the points for a pre
additions. There is always an upto date errata designed leader simple add all of his bonuses for
sheet on the Crusader Publishing Web site morale, Combat and T&L and then multiply by 25
which also has more information and answers to get his actual points cost.
frequently asked questions. 12th July 2009
Phalanx To count as being in phalanx (page 51)
Visibility in woods Any stand within 2” of the a unit must be in at least 2 ranks, not in a march
edge of light woods may see out and be seen column (page 4) and so – by default – must have
by those outside. Visibility inside light woods is at least 5 stands in the unit.
4” For heavy woods it is 1” from the edge and
2” inside. Phalanx formation bonus (+2) is lost if the unit
is inside any type of rough ground, woods or is
Charge reactions A unit may only choose a straddling an obstacle or stream. Units will still
single charge reaction from those available get any applicable bonuses for their weapons.
to them – either evade, counter charge or fire
defensively.

Training and Leadership tests T&L tests are

made using 2D6

Missile fire procedure Roll D10 for each attack

and modify the die roll – the final modified result
will determine if you hit.

Movement table. Where the table refers to ‘#%

shaken if charged’ should read ‘#% chance for a
charging unit to become shaken’
Light troops Only infantry may be given the
Skirmish movement Skirmishers may combine Light troops (page 51) ability – never cavalry or
a forward and backward movement in the same chariots (or elephants!)
turn. This is an exception to the sidestep and
retire rule on page 9 Light units do not get any melee results bonus for
outnumbering enemy (+1) or for having deeper
Army Break Points An elephant or war wagon ranks than the enemy (+1)
is now worth ½ an army point, skirmish unit 1
army point and formed unit 2 army points. The Light Troops ability does not cost any points
as its good and bad effects cancel out.
Leaders These cost 100 points and their abilities
are rolled for randomly from the table on page 47. Light troops may wheel and move obliquely at
An army should generally only have one leader their full speed rather than being forced to do so
unless there is a big battle, an obvious ‘split’ to at half speed like other formed troops.
the army or as part of a pre-generated scenario.

44
Cannons and Bolt Throwers No armour
penalties apply to shots from cannon or bolt
thrower – please amend fast play sheet and all
references to this. Ignore the targets armour
when firing with these weapons.
Hand to hand combat modifiers table Change
‘attackers skill’ to ‘Your skill’ and Defenders skill
to ‘opponents skill’. Table is still used exactly
the same way – just change the descriptions to
avoid confusion.
Morale Change the first reason of when to
take morale tests to ‘When a unit has lost 25%
casualties in stands – taken immediately but not
at all if it is in melee at the time’.
Melee and Morale The morale tests are factored
into the charge test (if required) and the melee
results. Neither side takes morale tests in a
melee – the only way the unit can rout is through
losing the melee. Either unit can be wiped out or
dispersed if down to only 25% or less of starting
number of stands. (Page 20)
Impetuous ability This does not cost any points
and is only given to units as part of the army list
- may not be chosen and must be taken if listed.
Oblique Movement With oblique movement
your unit keeps the same facing as previously
but can drift to one side at the same time as
moving forwards.  no interpenetration of units allowed.
The maximum drift is 45 degrees either side of
straight ahead (the same as the units firing and/
or charge arc)  See B1 and B2 in the example on
page 10. The unit will be affected by terrain as
usual but any movement will cost double unless
skirmishers or light troops.
Wheeling Movement The unit will wheel as
normal but the actual distance wheeled will
cost double the normal movement. With both
wheeling and oblique it is just the actual distance
covered that costs
extra movement. So
if a unit with 8” move
performed a 3” wheel on
the tabletop this would
use 6” of its movement
allowance and leave it
2” more to move with.
Interpenetration This
is not allowed except
where it is actually
stated in the rules. As
such, Skirmishers can
interpenetrate and be
interpenetrated by other
units - either formed or
skirmish but they cannot
be charged through
or fired through (Page
45). Though if you have a unit of skirmishers in
front of a formed unit there is nothing to stop you
activating the skirmishers first, retiring through the
formed unit and then leaving the formed troops
a valid line of sight to charge. Also - skirmishers
keep this free interpenetration ability even if they
are routing or routed through (page 43)
Drilled troops can only interpenetrate other
drilled troops (or skirmishers obviously) and
suffer no penalties for this (Page 50) (this allows
the Republican Roman Principes/Hastati/Triari
to relieve each other - but only if both units are
drilled)
A routing formed unit may be forced to
interpenetrate another formed unit during its rout
and will cause a T&L test on that unit if it does
so - except if the unit interpenetrated is drilled.
(page 43). Other than these instances there is
45
 Forced Back into enemy units If a unit is forced
back into an enemy and cannot carry out all of its
forceback result then it suffers the next higher Camel Rules
defeat on the victory table and is moved back Any cavalry unit that is not ‘used to camels’
as far as it can be so that no units are touching.  will become shaken immediately upon
The unit that won  the combat carries out its contact with a camel mounted unit. Camel
breakthrough as far as it can without contacting ability costs 5 points.
the previously defeated enemy.

New special ability – Schiltron This ability is

only available to formed infantry units with spears
or long spears and the formation must be at least
2 ranks deep.
Instead of moving the unit can take a T&L test to
change formation to schiltron. Once in schiltron
If it moves in any way the formation will be lost.
While target is in schiltron any unit attacking it will
not get the +2 in flank or rear modifier though all
other effects and modifiers remain the same as
before – ie – the unit will become shaken if hit by
formed troops, does not get to counter charge,
will not get the benefit of pikes or spears etc.
ALLIED Leader Rule
Whenever an Allied leader attempts to use
his T&L Modifier or Morale Modifier on a
friendly unit not directly under his control,
roll a d6. On a roll of 1-3 the modifier does
not apply as the allied troops ignore him!
Note that the Leader can always apply his
Melee Modifier.

Defensive fire modifiers The firing unit is being
charged modifiers have changed depending on
the morale class of the troops being charged
with poorer class troops suffering more than
experienced.
Regular or better firing unit being charged -1
Trained or worse firing unit being charged -2
Steppe Bow Rule
The Huns carry a Steppe Bow, which in
game terms has the equivalent ranges
of a normal bow but gains a +1 to hit at
close range or medium range as would a
longbow. Cost 10 points.

Revised Missile Range Table

Weapon Close Range Medium Range Long Range
Bow/Light Xbow/Steppe Bow 5” 10” 20”
Hvy Crossbow 6” 12” 24”
Late Handgun 5” 10” 20”
Early Handgun 4” 8” 16”
Sling 4” 8” 16”
Staff Sling 5” 10” 20”
Short/horse bow 4” 8” 16”
Longbow 5” 10” 20”
Javelins/Darts 4” NA NA
Light Cannon/ Bolt Thrower 8” 16” 30”
Heavy Cannon 10” 20” 40”

46
47
48
 The Roman Empire
120 AD

49
 Thanks and Stuff
Crusader Miniatures
Crusader USA for customers in the US and Canada,
Crusader UK for everywhere in the world outside of the
US.
Crusader USA - www.crusaderminiaturesusa.com
Crusader UK - www.crusaderminiatures.com
Crusader Yahoo Group. http://games.groups.yahoo.com/
group/crusaderminis/
References and further reading
The Complete Roman Army by Adrian Goldsworthy is the
best introduction to the Roman army around.
Barbarians! by Terry Jones & Alan Ereira is an entertaining
account of the history of the barbarian tribes.
50
Warfare in the Classical World by John Warry gives an
excellent over view of the classical period.
Credits
Map on page 49 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/3.0/ Author Andrei Nacu
Front Cover by Peter Dennis, courtesy of Warlord Games
Thanks
Wargames Illustrated www.wargamesillustrated.net
Darren & Andy at Gripping www.grippingbeast.com
Henry at Battlegames www.battlegames.co.uk
Nick at North Star www.northstarfigures.com
John & Paul at Warlord Games www.warlordgames.co.uk
Javier Gomez ‘El Mercenario’
Wargames Soldiers & Strategy
Nathan at lonelygamers.blogspot.com
51
Imperial Rome and its Enemies 107BC to 476AD
Imperium is the second supplement for the Crusader wargames rules covering the
armies and enemies of Imperial Rome. You will need a copy of the rules to gain
the most from this supplement but there is enough information (and some very nice
photographs) to make this a worthwhile book in its own right.

There are 13 lists enclosed, each with its own background information, army guide-
lines, allies, special rules and points values.

Late Republican Rome 107 to 27 BC

Early Imperial Rome 27 BC to 117 AD
Middle Imperial Rome 117 to 285 AD
Late Imperial Rome 285 to 378 AD
Foederate Roman 382 to 476 AD
The Barbarians 105 BC to 476 AD
Spartacus’ Revolt 73 to 71 BC
Jewish Revolt 69 to 73 AD
Sarmatian Tribes 250 BC to 370 AD
Parthia 238 BC to 225 AD
Sassanid Persia 225 to 649 AD
Palmyra 250 to 273 AD
Huns 370 to 454 AD

www.crusaderpublishing.com