Preamble/ Backstory/ bit of a waffle.
The following AAR is a quick write up of my first Impetus (2) solo run through. While I will attempt to share some of my thoughts on the rules throughout the report I would stress this is not intended to be a review of any kind. I don’t consider myself that well versed in what does or doesn’t make for good game mechanics and I definitely don’t rate myself when it comes to tabletop skills. Having never written a rule system myself I can only guess at the amount of hard worked that goes into producing these publications. So far be it for me to pass judgment after a quick read and a cup of tea, besides my hope is that this site is a positive place for war-gaming where I highlight aspects of the hobby I like rather than diss stuff I don’t.
Hobby wise, Sword and shield action is second only to black powder when it comes to my list of all time favorite war-gaming periods. Having said that I have struggled to find a rule system I really like for this period. I’ve tried the likes of DBM. DBMM. FoG and ADLG. Some of which weren’t to my taste while others I’m still considering. Although not perfect Basic Impetus (2) has been the pick of the bunch for me so far. Sadly Impetus is not currently a popular system here so any AAR I end up posting on the site will most likely be recording a solo game. ADGL and DBMM seem to be the predominant club and competition rule sets played here in New Zealand.
Armies & Deployment.
Played on the recommended six by four foot table this game pitted Rome’s finest against the might of Carthage in a 400 point game. Unfortunately as you will see in the photos I currently have no painted command or baggage stands. So various elements from my Imperial Roman army had to be drafted in to fill the command vacancies for both sides. The unpainted plywood bases at either end of the road represent each armies baggage camp.
Terrain set up was quick and simple. There is always one road which crosses the middle section of the table followed by up to three dice generated terrain pieces. These terrain dice rolls can be influenced to some degree with the purchase of exploration points when building your army list.
Army deployment is done by alternating commands which (once again) can be influenced with the use of strategic cards purchased when building your list. I’ve gone with the standard deployment, cavalry on the flanks and heavy infantry in the center.
Phase 1
The turn sequence for Impetus breaks down into command initiative rolls. Each player chooses and rolls to activate one of his commands on the field of battle. Once all elements in the command have moved the process is repeated until all commands have been activated.
The whole Carthaginian army move forwards as one. Scoring an early success on the right flank as the Iberian light cavalry drive off their Roman counter parts.
Carthaginian cavalry move forward on the left.
Phase 2
On the Roman left the light cavalry falls back to lick their wounds. Covering there retreat their wing commander moves forward with his medium cavalry and charges the Iberian’s catching them by surprise. Outnumbered and unable to counter javelin fire from the fast moving Numidian’s on the right the Romans decide to close as quickly as possible. Scattering the light cavalry the Romans crash into the Carthaginian cavalry stationed behind them. Although caught unprepared the Carthaginian’s bravely stand their ground and the melee carries over to the next turn.
Phase 3
The cavalry melee on the left flank continues unabated while on the right the Carthaginians redirect a unit of heavy infantry to try and stabilize their flank.
The rain of Pilums has little effect on the rampaging elephants as they crash into the Roman’s Center-left. Despite the support of the heavy spear-men and the impetus of the charge the elephants fail to breakthrough the Roman lines (bad dice, not nice).
The main battle lines come together on the center right
Phase 4
Carthaginian spear-men on the right drive off the medium cavalry and start to push back the Roman heavy infantry. The Gauls push forward to close with the Romans, but are delayed by their own skirmishers who have refused to give ground when charged by heavy infantry. All the while confusion grows around the embattled elephants as they fail once again to break Roman resolve.
Foot Note. The Lybian skirmishers should have been destroyed when contacted by the Roman heavy infantry in this phase. One of many mistakes I no doubt made in this first run through of the new rules.
Phase 5
Just as the Carthaginian cavalry finally bring their numbers to bear on the left their general is cut down demoralizing the surviving units of his command. On the opposite flank the Roman cavalry rally and run down the remaining spear-men while the infantry continue to grind it out in the center.
Phase 6
The Gauls finally meet the Romans in the middle however, despite a strong counter charge they are soundly beaten. To their left Spanish light infantry make their way out of the rough ground and advance towards the demoralized Carthaginian cavalry who are struggling to rally without their commander. On the edge of victory the Roman right desperately tries to hang on in the face of mounting missile fire.
Carthaginian morale collapses in the center
Final Phase
The Roman infantry continue to mop up in the center while the remainder of Carthaginian army is powerless to help. With the loss of the elephants the army breaks apart and the Roman victory is complete.
Note: I have broken the game down into phases rather than turns only to help show how some actions played out as opposed to now you see it, now you don’t, when something gets destroyed.
End Result & misinformed observations from a quick play through with a hot cup of tea.
While I have a copy of Impetus 1st addition I’ve not really played it much at all. So the comments I present here are mainly based of the differences between Basic Impetus 2 and Full Impetus 2.
- Maybe it was just a lucky trial run, but I found Impetus (2) flowed better than my previous games of Basic Impetus (2). Sometimes when playing Basic Impetus (mainly because of pursuits and melee restarts) I would completely lose track of who’s turn it was or what elements still had to move.
- Shooting seems way more effective with ranges push out. A minimum roll of one dice means skirmishers can now do more than simply stare each other down. Note I’ve only used javelin armed troops so far, but the likes of Numidian light cavalry seem much more deadly to me.
3. Movement seems a lot less restrictive than Basic Impetus.
4. Troops retain some of their Impetus charge bonus even after taking casualty’s.
There are no-doubt, some negatives to this or for that matter any other rule system, but I will leave such things for others to debate. At the end of the day I’ve enjoyed this new version of the rules and will be giving it another go.