Tullus lands in north Africa (campaign 29)

Tullus lands on the beach of Mauretania Tingitana and claims the province unopposed. With this province rich in income and olive oil comes the chance to enlist the dreaded Numidian light cavalry. Now with Tullus's beach head secure, the rest of Africa lies open for the taking.

Game map and abit about the rules

Here is the game map after two turns each, which in game terms is equal to about six months. Tullus has split his army and fortified the border with gaul, whereas Secundus has kept his entire army together and invaded Lower Germany. Although Tullus's area may look more impressive, it brings in the same Denarii as Secundus's.
A province is worth 100 denarii, with 100 denarii for a city, 50 denarii for a town and 20 denarii for a small town each per turn.
After the income for a turn has been calculated there is the 'table of the Gods' to roll on. 'The table of the Gods' is a table with 1oo events both good and bad that may effect the turns income e.g troops mutiny over pay loose 285Denarii.
After this the player may choose a province to invade. For this he rolls on a table which is effected by factors depending on the situation. If the roll is successful the province comes over, if not he can either leave it or attack it. If he takes the province by force he rolls to see just how much damage was caused in the assault, again certain factors add or subtract before the result is reached.
The rules are alittle more complex than this of course, with resources that can be bought and that increase a provinces output each turn, but this is just to give you a rough idea of how the game works. After three normal 'campaign' turns the fourth is an off season turn. With Winter setting in, there is another D100 table to roll on and all provinces output is halved. The off season table can be quite harsh and it is a time of mostly spending out large amounts for repair etc.
Where there is a legionary base, new armies can be raised by spending your Denarii/points to buy the new armies. A field army is about 2000pts in Warhammer terms but can be split to make smaller units of 1000pts (vexillation). 1000pts worth of troops is the smallest unit that can be fielded on the map. And a player cannot use an army until it has reached at least the 1000pt mark.
Ports work by subtracting Denarii/points from the expense of sea travel. A section of sea costs 200 Denarii to cross, for every port owned a hundred Denarii is subtracted from the total cost. So with two ports, small crossings will basically be free due to the amount of ships available to the player.
I don't want to bore you so i'll leave it at that, just sit back and enjoy the cartoons if nothing else, and if anyone is interested I will try my best to answer any questions. These are still early days and the rules are still being added to and changed, but they appear to be working quite well and i'm pleased with them. Lastly, when big battles do arise they will be decided on the game board using the figures you may recognize from the Blog.

Lower Germany (campaign 28)

A tired Secundus receives the Legate of the XXI Rapax for talks.......and a small bribe or two.

A red dawn (campaign 27)

After the mutiny, Secundus was not in the mood for knock backs, so when the province of Lower Germany refused to receive him he ordered a full scale attack. This was a risky thing to do for the province housed the XXI Rapax Legion and it could of gone very badly for Secundus. However with all these new Emperors running around the XXI were unwilling to commit to one side or the other and so stayed out of the action. This meant that Secundus was able to take the border defences with minimal losses. He now owned a province with a legion to recruit from, although that would take time and money to buy their loyalty.

Mutiny in camp (campaign 26)

With the lack of spoils and the bad wheather it wasn't long before the mood of the men turned ugly. When the troop's pay was stopped to save for the campaign, rioting broke out in two of the three camps. And Secundus's treasury was drained to keep the men in order, Secundus was livid, but helpless to refuse. A general is not a general without an army to command.

Tullus digs in (campaign 25)

May, saw the construction of miles of earthworks and defences along Hispania's border with Gaul, as Tullus dug in to protect his provinces from invasion. Tullus's trust in Lucius Silius Famia had been well founded and the new Legate was showing his worth.

Tullus down in Baetica still was having run of good luck. After a failed assassination attempt on his life, he strode on to cross the Mediterranean and take Mauretania Tingitana, with not a drop of Roman blood being spilt. And in July, he started the construction of a port on the coast of Baetica. The Gods were indeed in his favour.......for now at least.

Secundus takes Belgica (campaign 24)

With the the bad wheather dampening everyones spirits, morale was lifted by the province of Belgica, who flocked to the Secundus cause gladly (with a small bribe to sweeten the deal). Belgica had been unhappy for some time and they jumped at a chance to change their fortunes. However, the currupt governor, Titus Vedius back in Britannia had diverted alot of the army's pay into his own estate and properties, this was a minor setback for Secundus and one that saw the Governor on the end of a sword by the months end. With the Britannia free of her armies, he wouldn't be the only one who saw their chance to make it rich quick. Secundus didn't know it at the time but Vedius actions were to have grave repercussions two months later.

Tullus strikes south (campaign 23)

With Secundus now marching through Gaul, Tullus Holdrianus Hispanus decided to make his own bid for the power. In the march of 200 AD Tullus split his army into two Vexillations, taking one of them south into Baetica, which offered no resistance and welcomed the new Emperor with opened gates. It was in this month however that his progress was slowed slightly by bad supply lines and Tullus stayed in Baetica for another two months improving roads and supply routes.

The other half of his army was now given over to an old comrade of Tullus's, Legate Lucius Silius Famia. Stationed in Tarraconensis, Famia was to watch the border and organize troops in the area. Hispania had turned from a back water province to one of frantic activity in the space of three months. Tullus was on the move.