The (Unofficial) Great Battles of History
The Sword of Rome
A module for SPQR, covering the battles of Marcus Claudius Marcellus before and during the 2nd Punic War. These battles were published in C3i #8.
The included battles are:
Balance: 75% RomanAttraction: The good news: the Roman cavalry outnumbers the Celts 2-1. The bad news: the Celtic infantry outnumbers the Roman infantry by 10-1. Who can best take advantage of their strength?
Roman Advantages: Infantry MA, number of cavalry, leadership
Celtic Advantages: Higher army withdrawal level, cavalry TQ
The scenario has a short prelude, as Marcellus may challenge Britomartus to personal combat. If Britomartus refuses, his RP level drops from 40 to 29. Assuming I'm figuring the personal combat ratings correctly (see the Clarifications, below) then I figure the odds are:
Both sides can expect non-negative results more often than not (which means it's worth trying personal combat), but neither side can really afford to have their leader killed (which means its not worth trying personal combat). Without Marcellus, the Romans will be unable to use line commands, which makes the situation difficult given their fewer units and mediocre initiative ratings. The Celts don't have to care about line commands because they can't use them anyway (see the Line Command Eligibility table), but that makes each initiative point that much more valuable. If reduced to just Magalus and Ducarius, the Celts will have a crippling inability to command their army.
Even with Britomartus, the Celts have problems getting their army moving, as they've got 13 initiative points to move 20+ units. Given Marcellus's ability to trump any enemy leader, the Celts can count on only one activation each, meaning a third of their army is just going to sit around on any given turn.
To make the Celtic job even harder, their infantry advantage is largely useless, since the Roman velites can OW before the Celtic infantry. So if Britomartus survived personal combat, he's better off on a flank (where he might do some good) than making futile attempts to engage the enemy center.
Because of the inefficacy of the Celtic infantry, and the insignificant numbers of the Roman infantry, cavalry is, even more so than usual, the decisive arm.
The Celtic lancers's 7 TQ is often a lifesaver, as the Romans need to get some lucky dierolls to rout them in a single flank attack, and if the attack fails then the engaged cavalry are vulnerable themselves to flank attacks by enemy infantry.
However, the Roman advantage in numbers and leadership will eventually tell. Marcellus should join one of the cavalry flanks (I prefer the left flank, since it has more units) to guarantee line commands for the Praefectus Equitum and to get as many orders phases for those units as Momentum dierolls will allow.
The biggest Celtic advantage is their higher rout level (assuming that Britomartus doesn't shirk his duty). A slightly unfavorable exchange of routs can still win the game. But it's hard to wipe out five enemy cavalry with only four cavalry units of your own, especially given the Roman leadership advantage.
Definitely an uphill battle for the Celts.
Clarifications: