Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VIII

The AI now has one more unit than my Romans

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6, meaning the return of fog, which cuts archery range to two hexes.

A second unit of Dacian archers reaches the foot of the hill on its east side.

My leading cavalry advance diagonally right a hex, and charge-attack the swordsmen on the hill, needing 6+. I roll 6, which eliminates the swordsmen as they have no retreat hexes available. My cavalry are out of command range, and so have to occupy the vacated hex. My other cavalry also advance diagonally right, and charge-attack the forward archers, needing 6+. A -1 modifier for being on higher ground is cancelled by a +1 for attacking from rocky ground, but there is also a -1 thanks to my newly arrived forward cavalry. I roll 9, eliminating the Dacian unit.

My Praetorians in the centre of the hill advance diagonally left, into trees and nearer the swordsmen approaching from the north. The other Praetorians on the hill advance straight ahead, which leaves room for my commander to advance two hexes diagonally right, bringing all Roman troops into command range. This lets my Praetorians in the river advance onto dry land.

Both surviving units of Dacian swordsmen stay where they are.

My legion advances onto the hill.

The rearward falxmen advance diagonally to their right.

My spearmen advance a hex.

The remaining unit of Dacian warriors stands still.

For the first time, the high ground is free of Dacians

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VII: Attack Phase

None of the Dacian bow units is in position to shoot

My rearward cavalry attack the warriors at the foot of the hill, needing 6+, but with  three -1 modifiers: one for being on higher ground, the other two for having units of friends also engaged with the warriors. I roll 8, eliminating the Dacian unit. My cavalry do not enter the vacated hex.

Just one unit of Dacian swordsmen remains on the hill, although another approaches

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VII

This turn begins with the Romans receiving reinforcements worth at least five points

The first die is a 3. meaning another unit of Praetorians, and since they cost five points, that is my lot. I place the unit on the second hex up on the extreme right, but I cannot pretend to be happy. I would much rather have had cavalry, or a less-expensive unit that would have allowed me to roll for a second one.

The start-of-turn-event die is a 2, but that only applies to falxmen waiting in ambush in trees.

The forward Dacina archers have a target in range and line-of-sight, so do not move, and another unit of archers joins them on the hill.

My forward cavalry immediately make contact with this newly ascended unit, and delivers a charge-attack, needing 6+. I roll 11, eliminating the archers. My other horsemen similarly charge-attack the forward archers, rolling 10, and so another Dacian unit is destroyed.

My newly arrived Praetorians roll 6, 5, 2, which, on consulting the compass, lets them advance diagonally left into the river.

The Praetorians nearest the forward warriors advance into the rocky ground on the hill next to them. The remaining Praetorians advance diagonally right.

The swordsmen on the Dacian left remain where they are, but the unit on the right advances to the foot of the hill.

My legion advances diagonally right to contact the forward warriors.

The falxmen stay in reserve.

My spearmen ascend the hill, and my commander moves into nearby rocky ground, from where he can support three foot units.

Finally, the recently arrived Dacian warriors stay where they are.

Another unit of warriors looks certain to be eliminated

Hill Of Watchfires - Halfway Verdict

The hill is nearly all-Roman

To win I have to end turn XII with no Dacian units on the hill, and that looks eminently possible - indeed, it looks likely.

If I were to lose a cavalry unit, I would be a little less confident, especially if I were obliged to bring my commander into the thick of the action.

Nevertheless, the fact that I have been able to take advantage of the Dacians' neglecting their right wing has paid huge dividends, not least because units are particularly vulnerable to attacks from flank or rear, as their avenues of retreat are restricted.

However, the battle is far from over, and I am still outnumbered in terms of numbers of units, and my men will be more vulnerable to bow fire if they have to line the edge of the hill to stop Dacians sneaking on.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VI: Attack Phase

The warriors in the rocky ground on the hill look doomed ... but first the Dacian archers on the hill get to shoot at my nearby cavalry

Despite fog, the cavalry are within the archers' range (wo hexes in such conditions). The bowmen need 9+, but roll 4.

My cavalry then attack the warriors in the rocky ground, needing 6+, but with two -1 modifiers, thanks to friendly engaged units. I roll 10, easily eliminating the Dacian unit. I do not allow the cavalry to occupy the vacated hex.

As long as I keep my two units of cavalry, I fancy my chances of maintaining control

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn VI

I would hope my infantry can see off the two advanced units of warriors, leaving the cavalry to continue pushing east

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6, meaning the fog of last turn continues.

The archers nearest my cavalry move diagonally away. The only other archers to move are the newly arrived unit, which advances diagonally right.

One of my units of cavalry is out of command range, so I roll three dice, getting 6, 2, 1, but I have no interest in moving in those directions on the compass, so I leave the unit where it is. My other cavalry move diagonally back to the right, and charge-attack the warriors on the hill, needing 6+. However, I roll 5.

The rightward Praetorians ascend the hill, making contact with the same unit of warriors. The other Praetorians advance diagonally right.

The rearward Dacian swordsmen advance into nearby trees.

I leave my legionaries where they are, as I do not want them in contact with two units of warriors, as legionaries are warriors' preferred target.

The falxmen do not move.

My spearmen leave the wood and enter rocky ground at the foot of the hill, and I advance my commander diagonally right to be able to support the spearmen and the Praetorians.

Both unengaged units of Dacian warriors remain where they are.

The warriors in the rocky ground on the hill look doomed

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn V: Attack Phase

The archers in the middle of the hill are the only Dacians able to attack this half-turn, and the odds are against them 

There is nothing to separate their two possible targets, but a random die throw selects the unit on the north edge of the hill. Archers require 9+ against cavalry, but there is a +1 modifier for being bowmen attacking from an adjacent hex. The dice total 6.

I choose to counterattack with my rearward cavalry, needing 6+, but with a -1 modifier thanks to having friendly horsemen on hand, and I roll 8, which is enough to rout the archers. My cavalry occupy the archers' vacated hex.

Just three Dacian units remain on the hill, but many more are in the offing

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn V

This turn begins with the AI receiving reinforcements worth at least seven points

They are diced for in the usual way, the first die landing as a 5, meaning a unit of warriors costing two points. The next die is a 3, which means swordsmen costing three points, and then a 1, archers, that cost three points, taking the total past the minimum of seven.

Further dice are rolled to see where the units appear on the battlefield, and the result is they all arrive in the extreme northeast corner.

The AI now has 15 units, more than twice as many as my seven

The start-of-turn-event die is a 6 - sudden fog, reducing all bow ranges to two hexes.

The Dacian archers are first to activate, but only the unit immediately north of the hill moves, and in a direction away from the Roman cavalry.

My rearward cavalry move to contact the warriors near them, and charge-attack, needing 6+. The dice total 8, meaning the warriors have to retreat three hexes, but they cannot move into the trees, as that hex is next to the horsemen, and archers block their only other possible retreat-hex, so the unit is destroyed, and my cavalry occupy the vacated hex.

My other cavalry climb onto the hill and charge-attack the archers in the centre, needing 6+. However, there is a +1 modifier for attacking out of rocky ground. It is cancelled out by a -1 modifier for having friends in contact with the enemy unit, but that makes no difference as I roll only 5.

Both units of Praetorians advance diagonally right, taking one unit onto the hill.

The newly arrived swordsmen advance into nearby trees, but the other two units of swordsmen stay where they are.

I move my commander to behind the forward Praetorians, putting him in command range of the legion, which advances a hex.

Both units of falxmen stay still, as do my spearmen.

Last to activate are the Dacian warriors. The unit on the hill rolls a 6, allowing it to hurl javelins two hexes (this is the first time this rule has come into play in my playthroughs). There are four Roman units at the required range, but the warriors' preferred target is legionaries, requiring 7+. Modifiers for being on higher ground and for attacking from rocky ground cancel out, but are irrelevant as the AI rolls a pair of 1s. The nearby unit of warriors advances diagonally right to get alongside their comrades, and the newly arrived warriors advance straight ahead.

My cavalry are doing a decent job of sweeping the hill from the west, and my infantry are poised to join them

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn IV: Attack Phase

There are no melees to calculate, but archers can shoot!

Actually, only two units of the Dacian bowmen have enemy within their three-hex range, and the rearward of those two units cannot attack as it retreated this turn.

However, the archers in the centre of the hill can shoot at my cavalry that are also on the hill, needing 9+, and the dice total exactly 9, forcing my unit to retreat two hexes, its only allowed route taking it diagonally left.

The AI receives at least seven points' worth of reinforcements at the start of the next turn

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn IV

Both sides have lost a unit, but it had better not become a battle of attrition, because if it does, I will be doomed

The start-of-turn-event die is a 1, which allows Dacian archers to perform a surprise attack, but none have a suitable target as only my cavalry are in range, and line-of-sight to them is obstructed by trees.

However, it is the Dacian archers, with an initiative number of 2, that get to activate first, but none move.

I advance my commander onto the hill at its western extremity, so he can keep the Roman cavalry in command range. I then send the leading cavalry unit to charge-attack the swordsmen lurking just off the hill. They need 7+ to score a hit, and I roll 8, which forces the Dacian unit to retreat to the very edge of the battlefield. My other cavalry advance two hexes diagonally right and charge-attack the archers at the north end of the hill, needing 6+. I roll exactly 6, forcing the archers to retreat two hexes, taking them off the hill.

Both units of Praetorian Guards advance diagonally right.

The Dacian swordsmen cannot activate as they have already retreated this turn, so I now roll three dice to see where my out-of-command legion can move. The dice land 5, 2, 1, and so, using the compass, I can advance the legionaries straight ahead.

The rearward falxmen advance a hex, and I leave my spearmen to hold their ground in the wood.

Finally, two of the warrior units, seeing that the main action is likely to take place at the west end of the hill, start moving in that direction.

The Dacian left is still very strong, but can the AI successfully coordinate tribesmen against Rome's professional troops?