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? 

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn III: Attack Phase

If my spearmen, or the legion, for that matter, can eliminate the Dacians' only cavalry unit, that would be a big momentum swing in favour of the Romans

However, it is the Dacian cavalry, with their initiative number of 4, who get to attack first (the Dacian archers on the hill cannot shoot at my cavalry as their line-of-sight is blocked by trees). The horsemen's preferred target is legionaries, and they need 7+, but with a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. The dice total 9, forcing my men to retreat two hexes to the edge of the battlefield.

Now it is my spearmen's turn. They need 6+ against cavalry, and I roll 7. This routs the cavalry as two of their possible retreat squares are occupied by Dacian warriors, including, ironically, a unit that just moved up to support them, and the third possible square is adjacent to a Roman unit (my spearmen), which is not allowed.

We now have an interesting imbalance in that the Romans have no firepower, and the Dacians no cavalry

Indeed, if you include warriors as missile men (they can on occasion hurl javelins two hexes), eight of the 12 surviving Dacian units have ranged firepower, while three of the seven surviving Roman units are mounted.

Hill Of Watchfires - Turn III

Situation after two turns

The start-of-turn-event die is a 1, allowing all Dacian archers to launch a surprise attack at a range of three hexes, but none has enemy in range and line-of-sight.

I no longer have any archers, so the movement phase begins with the five units of Dacian archers, but none makes a significant move, except, perhaps, for the forward archers near the centre of the hill, who fall back diagonally to their right.

My leading cavalry are out of command range, but I roll 6, 2, 1, which, after consulting the compass, allows me to move the unit onto the hill. I then roll 6, 5, 4, but choose to keep the unit where it is. The other cavalry are in command range, so I advance them diagonally right two hexes.

The Dacian cavalry advance diagonally to their left one hex, contacting my legion, which it charge-attacks, needing 7+, but with a +1 modifier for attacking from rocky ground. The dice total 4.

I advance my commander two hexes so he is in command range (three hexes) of all the Romans, except for the legion.

My two units of Praetorians advance, so two units are beside each other.

Both units of Dacian swordsmen stand still.

My legion is engaged, which means the falxmen are next to activate, but neither unit moves.

My spearmen advance diagonally right to contact the Dacian cavalry.

The furthest-left Dacian warriors stay where they are, being joined by the warriors nearest them, while the warriors on the Dacian left enter the trees beside the river.

The Romans no longer have any missile troops, but the AI has hardly made good use of its archers, so the point may be moot