Light Spear

By Mark Davies

> Rules Variants > Resources > Fanaticus

I've never been too happy with the way 3Sp works in DBA, but as I've generally used them as Pre-Feudal Scots or Picts, it's not been so glaring. This is because both of those armies are "arable" so can take low hills to sit their spear on. The North Welsh III/19c), however, are 'hilly" and can only have steep hills, which are hopeless for 3/4 of their army. To address this, I am proposing a new category called Light Spear = Sp(L) (representing what is currently classified as 3Sp).

It is basically Spear with two differences: it engages in close combat at -1 vs. foot and suffers no BGo penalty.  Apart from the two following exceptions, all rules references to Spear includes Light Spear (Light Spear moves as Spear, gets rear support as Spear and has the same Combat Outcomes as Spear.

  1. Combat Factors: as Pikes (Knights, Pikes, Light Spear or War Wagons).
  2. Tactical Factors: -2: If any but Auxilia, Light Spear, Bow, Warband or Psiloi and in close combat in, … bad going …
The effects of this are that Sp(L) can make use of BGo, making them able to face cavalry in both GGo and BGo. The downgrading against foot has a number of repercussions: they can no longer face Sp in the open on equal terms, but they can meet them at superior odds in BGo; they meet Bd in BGo at equal odds, but they would be fairly nervous against Wb. Otherwise Bw and Ps are more of a threat (and I think that's quite reasonable with Bw).

Fanatici Feedback

See Fanaticus Forum discussion thread.
 

> Top of Page > Rules Variants > Resources > Fanaticus

Last Updated: 24 August 2005

Questions, comments, suggestions welcome.
Send them to Chris Brantley at IamFanaticus@gmail.com.