After our last Norman vs Norman punch up I was reading the book by John Julius Norwich about that other Norman conquest; the conquest of southern Italy in the 11th Century. Ross and I both had Norman armies, I have the core of a Lombard force, he has Byzantines and we both have Arabs that can easily be used as the emirates of Sicily at the time.
I came across a website dedicated to DBA campaigns and borrowed the map (with a few small changes) and realised that all these things had the making of a great little campaign. Rather than have every 'side' represented, our campaign was to focus on both regular players being Normans competing to conquer areas. They don't fight each other, but various opponents in an attempt to conquer 'the fastest with the mostest'. This way it can be run as a two player campaign, but able to accommodate other players who can pop in to play the Normans' opponents.
Below are the different opponents.
Purple: Byzantine Territories.
White: Lombard Duchy of Beneveto
Maroon: Lombard Duchy of Capua
Light Green: Zirid Emirate
Dark Green: Ahlgalabid Emirate
Dark Blue: Duchy of Spoleto
Yellow: Papal Lands ( Gaeta and Roma).
Both the Normans start at Salerno.
Each turn represents 3 years, so there is plenty of time to do things.
Each 'turn' has three action phases in which the Norman player chooses from these actions per phase.
An action can be:
a) move one province to Fight an encounter battle
b) move one province Fight an attacker/defender battle.
c) move one province Conduct a siege.
d) Rebuild forces to full strength.
e) Sail from one port to another
d) move three provinces without encounter
The Lombard and Sicilian territories all have three provinces.
When the Norman player decides to attack ( for example the Lombard Duchy of Capua) the first encounter is an encounter battle.
Therefore attacking the first enemy province is usually Step 1.
If the Norman player wins then he can move to the next province which will be Step 2.
If he wins that then he will lay siege to the third province ( sieges are determined by a die roll- very risky!!). In a three year period it is possible for a Norman player to completely 'absorb' a Lombard or Sicilian opponent ( as long as they have three winning streaks - encounter, attacker/defender and siege).
RULES:
The Rules are very simple and designed to allow some strategic decisions as well as tactical play on the table. I left out the idea of army rebuilding as each turn is covering such a long period that armies are 'up to full strength' when necessary. The points system reflects our homegrown set of rules.
The Rules are very simple and designed to allow some strategic decisions as well as tactical play on the table. I left out the idea of army rebuilding as each turn is covering such a long period that armies are 'up to full strength' when necessary. The points system reflects our homegrown set of rules.
The campaign starts in 1040 AD, with each turn covering 3 years.
Players can conduct up to three actions per turn.
An action can be:
a) move one province to Fight an encounter battle
b) move one province Fight an attacker/defender battle.
c) move one province Conduct a siege.
d) Rebuild forces to full strength.
e) Sail from one port to another
d) move three provinces without encounter.
Each turn one of Norman players may attack one of their neighbours, trying to expand his kingdom. Due to the intense rivalry between the Norman contenders, they cannot attack the same opponent ( except the Byzantines). If a Norman player loses three battles in a row- they are out of the game and the other player wins. This implies that the battlefield losses have resulted in such a significant loss of faith in the Norman Warlord that his followers abandon him.
How to conquer:
LOMBARD KINGDOMS of BENEVENTO and CAPUA
and
MUSLIM KINGDOMS OF SICILY ( ZIRIDS and AHLGALABIDS)
FIRST PROVINCE: Encounter battle- STEP 1
A battle will be fought with the Normans using a 550 point army, while the defender also fields a 550 point army. If the Norman is the winner, the region becomes part of the Norman state. If the defender wins, the Norman is forced to withdraw and must take one full ACTION to rebuild his forces. This implies that he is calling for aid from Normandy and raising taxes etc.
SECOND PROVINCE Attacker/Defender- STEP 2
If victorious, the Norman player may advance into the second territory of the Kingdom that he is invading. He advances into the enemy territory with an army of 500pts. A second battle is fought the defender will have only 450pts but the defenders gets to create the defending terrain ( up to five pieces of terrain). The Normans must attack and break the enemy defences. If the defender wins, the Norman is forced to withdraw and must take one full turn to rebuild his forces. If this occurs, the Norman may return the following turn with 550pts, but the DEFENDER will now also have 550pts AND the terrain benefit.
THIRD PROVINCE Siege. STEP 3
If the defending state has a third province, this must be taken by siege. (see below) This is to illustrate the fact that after two defeats in the field ( encounter battle and as a defender in attacker/defender) the last remnants have hidden themselves in the remaining city. The Norman player has a choice
1) attack immediately after Attacker/Defender battle. If this decision is made the modifiers reflect the losses in the previous battle. ( See choice 1 below)
2) wait a turn ( one year) to prepare for the siege- but this also gives the defender time to prepare for the siege. ( See choice 2 below)
KINGDOM OF SPOLETO
As this kingdom only has one province- the army is 550pts, and when defeated the kingdom falls. Its army is the defender and does not roll for terrain pieces. As defenders of the only province, they select up to four terrain pieces. As they are defenders, the Normans must attack and defeat the army.
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
The Byzantine territories are a little different to conquer. Due to the fact that the Byzantines were able to continually reinforce their provinces, the Norman players must defeat three Byzantine armies in the field- (step one above three times !). Reggio and Brindisi MUST be taken by siege. If a Norman player advances on either of these two provinces, a siege occurs. CHOICE TWO is always used.
If Step One has not been completed, this implies that although these strongholds have been taken, there are still Byzantine armies in the field. Step Two is ignored for the Byzantine forces. Because of this, the Normans can attack the Byzantines together.
THE PAPAL LANDS.
The Normans CANNOT choose to attack these!
After THREE NORMAN VICTORIES in a row against any combination of the LOMBARD or BYZANTINE territories the NON-PLAYER enemies (Lombard) can attempt to activate Pope Leo IX and launch an attack to stop the Norman onslaught. This is done once THREE NORMAN Victories (on the Italian Mainland) have taken place (they can be any combination) AND one of the Lombard Kingdoms has fallen to one of the Norman players completely.
The papal forces will be 650pts points strong and move from province to province until they contact the nearest Norman player. If they will win, the Norman player that fights the Papal Army is out of the game- this represents that the Pope has galvanised support from all over Italy to neutralise the Norman threat. The other Norman player must then fight the Papal army. If the Norman player is defeated, then the Normans have failed: campaign over!!
If one of the Normans wins- they have captured the Pope and now have Papal endorsement!! If this occurs, the Norman player that beat the Papal forces can field 600 points for any step one round. Both Roma and Gaeta become controlled by that Norman player.
Pope Leo IX can be activated just once in the whole campaign. His army will march from Gaeta towards the NEAREST Norman force ( regardless of who the player is). The player will have to face the Papal army.
Die roll for Papal activation D20
1-17 No effect
18-20 Pope mobilizes an army in Gaeta.
+1 for each province captured by the Normans
-1 for each battlefield Loss by the Normans
SIEGES
The Normans must ‘besiege’ the target city.
The Norman army of 550pts must roll on the chart below.
MODIFIERS:
+1 for each previous siege.
+1 if the Norman attacker has SUCCESSFULLY completed a siege
+2 for Norman army over 500pts (only applicable for choice 1)
+1 if Norman army is 450-500pts (Only applicable for choice 1)
CHOICE 1:
1-2 Siege fails- army falls apart. No further action until next turn.
3 Siege fails loss of 200pts.
4 Siege Fails loss of 100 pts
5-6 Siege succeeds loss of 150pts
7-8 Siege succeeds losses of 50pts
9-10 Siege succeeds losses of 50pts
11-12 Siege a rapid success due to a fifth column – army at full strength as new recruits flock to your standard. You may attack a new opponent this year!
CHOICE 2:
+1 for each previous siege.
+1 if the Norman attacker has SUCCESSFULLY completed a siege
DIE ROLL EFFECT
1-2 Siege fails- army falls apart. No further action until next turn.
3-6 Siege fails. Loss of 150pts. Retreat.
7-8 Siege succeeds losses of 150pts
9-10 Siege succeeds losses of 50pts
11-12 Siege a rapid success due to a fifth column – army at full strength as new recruits flock to your standard.
The losses are significant if you wish to take another action.
NAVAL MOVEMENT
Armies can be moved by sea to attack provinces.
The sea routes are represented by the blue lines.
To travel by sea the players must roll on the chart below. (D12)
1) Horrendous storm- enormous loss. Return to port. 300 points loss. Will take TWO actions to recover
2) Horrendous storm- enormous loss. Return to port. 150 points loss. Will take ONE action to recover
3) Storms, fleet scattered, return to port. No losses. Try again next action!
4) Storms fleet scattered but eventually arrives at destination. 100 points lost.
5) Storms, fleet scattered but eventually arrives at destination. 50 points lost.
6-12) Clean sailing. No problems Army arrives safely.
Players cannot use the sea routes from the various ports unless the whole kingdom has been captured. For example, the port of Amalfi cannot be used to attack Sicily for example unless all the Kingdom of Capua has been conquered.
The same applies from the Byzantine ports. All the Byzantine provinces must be conquered before the port can be used for sea transport.
This looks like it might provide a good few interesting games John - do you intend to commit to playing right through to a conclusion, to the exclusion of playing other periods - or is this likely to be a "now and again" situation - which might mean the campaign will last quite a while?!
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