Biblical Update - Movement

MY rules are very much based on Neil Thomas's biblical ones in Ancient & Medieval Wargaming, but the movement section has considerable input from Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame.

At the start of each turn, dice to see who has the initiative, higher score moving first. If the army has a great general, add one to the roll; if the army has a poor general, subtract one.

The higher score moves first, ie the winner does not have a choice in the matter, and the winning player picks a unit of his army to start with, and it moves, shoots, tests morale, etc, before a second unit does likewise, and so on.

Open-order cavalry and light chariots can move 24cm; close-order cavalry, heavy chariots and camelry, 20cm; open-order infantry and auxiliary infantry, 12cm; close-order infantry, 8cm.

Turning is free to open-order infantry, light chariots and camelry, but other troops that deviate more than 30° from straight-ahead lose half their allowance.

When a unit tries to use at least three-quarters of its allowance, roll a die: 6, add 25% to the distance covered; 1, subtract 25% from the distance covered.

For example, a unit of close-order cavalry wants to turn to its flank and advance 8cm. Close-order cavalry have a normal movement allowance of 20cm, but since the unit turned more than 30°, its allowance is reduced to 10cm, and since 8cm is more than three-quarters of 10cm, a die is rolled. It lands as a 1, meaning the unit, perhaps because of an unexpected obstacle or confusion about the order, only covers 6cm.

This rule should not be enforced when the result would be ridiculous, eg a unit sent to defend a wall or line a river bank should not be made to move across the wall or into the river as the result of a 6 being rolled.

Assyrian close-order cavalry