Game Report: A Mountain Hike

 71 BC, South of Noricum

Gauis Decimus Merula was tired, tired of the cold, tired of trudging around the wet, miserable, barely civilised frontier of the Roman world, but Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus had been clear in his orders: None of the rebel slaves from the Spartacan revolt could be allowed to escape. Half the legion was scouring the passes in small hunting parties, mopping up any likely looking fugitives. 

His group gone over a ten days since they last caught anyone, a solitary old man. He'd not provided any useful information before his death about other escapees. Now though, they'd sighted a party, a group of armed men, undoubtedly rebels. He had fought throughout the war in Spain for Magnus, surviving the worst of the brutal fighting against Surtorius and his forces, he would not fail his general now.


This game pitted was set at the very end of the Third Servile War, Spartacus' army has been destroyed and the last few survivors are trying to escape Roman territory, while the Romans try to hunt them down. Our scenario set a group of gladiators the task of fighting or evading their way through a Roman party to escape into Noricum. We used the Outremer: Faith and Blood ruleset, with both forces being built using the Crusader faction, with a 1500 Livre limit. Both sides ended up with 9 figures.

Romans:

Gaius Decimus Merula (Centurion)
Gnaeus Numiunus (Hastatii)
Gaius Numerius (Hastatii)
Marcus Albinus (Principii)
Marcus Cornelius (Principii)
Sextus Sequanius Carnifex (Triarii)
Arisotcles (Archer)
Titus Sabinus (Triarii)
Septimus Julius (Hastatii)

Gladiators:

Nemo (Dimachaerus Gladiator)
Leonidas (Murmillo Gladiator)
Borux (Thraex Gladiator)
Numenus (Gladiator recruit)
Tetriates (Gladiator champion)
Scarux (Murmillo Gladiator)
Bellua (Thraex Gladiator)
Icarus (Scissor Gladiator)
Castor (Hoplomachus Gladiator)

The pass where the gladiators and Romans will meet, an abandoned watchtower guarding the route towards Noricum.

The Game

The Romans were deployed along the table edge with the watchtower and road running along it, deployed in a skirmish line along the entire length of the edge, while the gladiators deployed with a strong central force and the two of their number with the loner trait, Tetriates and Borux out on the flanks. Both sides then began a general advance, with the Romans all making best speed to reach the enemy, while the gladiators began to drift to one side of the play area.

The Gladiators advance

The Roman skirmish line sweeps towards their quarry

Marcus Cornelius began to outpace his accompanying triarii, moving to confront Tetriates, while Arisotcles began to size up his possible targets, although he judged himself to be out of range. 

The forces brace themselves for imminent contact

The first combat of the game occurred when Tetriates pounced on Marcus Cornelius. While the first blow of his two handed axe was deflected off the Roman's shield, his second smashed through all of Marcus Cornelius' defences, instantly taking the Roman out of the fight.

Tetriates storms into the Romans

While there is no applause, the victory is just as satisfying as one in the arena.

The Romans were understandbly alarmed by this turn of events, and further disappointment when Arisotcles' first arrow fell short of its target. Meanwhile Castor, bouyed up by the success of his colleague attacked Septimus Julius. Unfortunately for the gladiator, Septimus was able to smash his shield into Castor's face, before following up with a thrust of the sword, sending Castor crashing to the ground, out of the fight.

Castor falls, struck twice.

Borux attemtped to avenge his fallen comrade, rushing in to strike the Roman's rear, but Septimus was able to fend off the attack, while Scarux failed to attack the Roman, now facing his attacker. Tetriates meanwhile charged Titus Sabinus, although the Roman was able to survive the first round of fighting, while Icarus squared off against Marcus Albinus, after having taking a wound from Arisotcles' second arrow of the game. Meanwhile Nemo used his impressive pace to break past the Roman hunting force.

Scrappy fighting breaks out across the pass, with casualties even between the two sides.

Fighting continued, with Gnaeus Numiunus being charged by Bellua, the brief clash of steel ending with Bellua falling.

Bellua falls to Roman blades

Clearly inspired by his victory, Numiunus charged into Leonidas who was facing off with Gaius Numerius, only to be cut down by the gladiator, cutting short the Roman's jubilation.

The gladiators extract swift vengeance for their fallen brother.

Elsewhere on the field, Icarus found himself on the wrong end of Marcus Albinus' sword, losing his second wound and falling. Aristotcles hit Scarax with two arrows, failing to cause any harm, but pushing the gladiator back. With Leonidas stuck in combat with a Roman soldier, and others threatening to close in, Nemo chose not to escape but came back to assault Numerius in the back, an assault the Roman barely survived. 

Nemo returns in an attempt to rescue his comrade in arms

Tetriates, far on the other side of the field, claimed his second victim, smashing through Sabinus' guard and cleaving into his flesh. 

Tetriates stands over his second victim, his axe slick with the blood of the fallen

Gaius Decimus Merula joined Septimus, and between them they managed to dispatch Borux, while Scarax failed his morale roll to charge into the Centurion's exposed back.

The Centurion demonstrates why he is in charge, dispatching his enemy in one savage blow.

Despite being surrounded, Numerius was able to dispatch Leonidas, before Nemo cut him down in turn.

Leonidas falls in battle, as befits one bearing his name

Nemo exacts a swift vengeance

Scarax finally managed to overcome whatever fear had held him back, storming into Septimus Julius and putting him down, while Numenus, rushing to aid his brothers in arms, was hit by an arrow and fell.

While Scarax cuts through one opponent, Numenus suffers the indignity of falling to an arrow

Merula decided that he could outrun Scarax, so charged towards Nemo, hoping to catch the gladiator before he escaped. Sextus Sequanius Carnifex meanwhile, not feeling like facing Tetriates' charge chose instead to charge the gladiator, not only inflicting a wound, but forcing the gladiator to flee from combat. 

The field is increasingly littered with the dead and dying

Tetriates and Nemo clearly sensed that the odds were firmly against them, and turned to flee, quickly outpacing the Romans burdened by their heavy armour. Meanwhile, Scarax, stuck in the centre of the Roman force and slowed by his equipment found himself under the eagle eye of Arisotcles, who did not miss his mark this time, felling the last gladiator in play.

Scarax falls, as Arisotcles racks up his second kill.

So in the final tally, the Romans had five men down (in the post battle roll up only one was permanently lost, two suffered permanent harm and the remaining two not only made full recoveries but actually gained positive traits), while seven gladiators had fallen, any still alive to be crucified. However, one of the escaped gladiators, Nemo, was actually Spartacus, having avoided death at the Battle of the Silarius River, so while the Romans achieved a points victory, the gladiators achieved a victory of sorts. 

The rules we used were Osprey's Outremer: Faith and Blood, which played very well and gave a very cinematic feel to the action. I have a horrible feeling a set of Crusader era figures suitable for the game will be added to the painting pile in the near future, and these rules will undoubtedly be back.

Spartacus looked back towards the valley, feeling a crushing sense of guilt quite the equal of the one he had felt after leading his forces to defeat in the battle only a few weeks previously. Yet more good men dead, yet more suffering marked against his soul. He contemplated finding Tetriates who he had seen struggling away from the battlefield nursing a wound, but banished the idea from his mind. Nemo he had become, and Nemo he would remain, a nobody, all the easier to pass as with no one who might ask uncomfortable questions. He turned his back to the Roman world and forged ahead into the mountains, and, he hoped, out of sight of history.