No set of wargaming rules ever hit the streets perfect as no amount of playtesting can ever really match the collected intellect of the wargames community.  Vis Bellica is no different.

Below you will find the "official" amendments to the rules.  These amendments should be adopted by all Vis Bellica players.

  • Amendment 1:  Evading Light Troops
  • Amendment 2:  Penalties for Receiving at the Halt
  • Amendment 3:  Dismounting Knights
  • Amendment 4:  Disorder from elephants and camels
  • Amendment 5:  Scouting Strengths

Amendment 1:  Evading Light Troops

7.4.1 Charged Bases (c) Evading

The player declares that his base will evade, and then turns the base directly away from the enemy and makes one full move away from the charging base.   

If an evading base reaches the edge of the table during its evade move, then it halts at the edge of the table.

Check for disorder if an evading base interpenetrates another friendly base.  

All bases end their evade move in disorder and facing away from the enemy.

Any troops that are revealed by the disappearance of evading troops and are within the maximum charge distance of the charging base become charged themselves, and may react as any other charged base.

Special Rules for Skirmish Order Light Troops

Skirmish order light infantry or cavalry may interpenetrate other friendly troops whilst evading with no penalty to either the evading or other troops.

Skirmish order light infantry/cavalry and light chariots that begin their evade move in good order may end their evade move in good order facing either towards or away from the enemy.

Skirmish order light infantry/cavalry and light chariots who evade when charged may fire at any bases charging them before evading.  The range is taken as the distance between the evading base and it's target before either side moves, and the evading troops count as moving (-5 penalty) when shooting.  If they do not choose to shoot now, they may fire under Moving Fires as normal provided, of course, that they have chosen to face towards the enemy at the end of their evade move.

Amendment 2:  Penalties for "Receiving at the Halt"

Page 36/37:  Charged Bases

a) Receiving at a Halt

If the charged base receives at the halt, an immediate melee occurs, but with the defending base fighting at the following additional modifiers:

  • Cavalry, Chariots and Elephants x½
  • Infantry receiving other Infantry   x½
  • Ready Pikemen* receiving mounted troops x2
  • All Others x1

*Ready Pikemen are defined as CO Infantry in good order with good morale armed with PI.

Amendment 3:  Dismounting Knights

Many knights from the medieval period would habitually fight dismounted.

Where historically accurate, those bases defined as KN may therefore deploy from Leader Bases dismounted as EHI foot in the same order as the original horse, but are not then allowed to mount for the rest of the battle.

Open Order KN thus become Open Order EHI not the usual Skirmish Order EHI.

Knights dismounting during the course of a battle are penalised as usual.

Amendment 4:  Disorder from Elephants & Camels

Amendment 4a

During charges, all bases of mounted troops with horses not used to elephants or camels are disordered immediately they get within 9" of an elephant or camel-mounted base rather than at the end of the following movement sub-phase.

Amendment 4b

All bases of mounted troops with horses not used to elephants must immediately take a morale check when they first get within 9" of an elephant base.  The mounted base counts as disordered by the elephants for this check.

Note

Mounted troops are all cavalry, chariot and mounted infantry bases.  A base is deemed familiar with camels or elephants if the army list from which the base comes contains camels or elephants in its Core or Special troops.

Amendment 5:  Scouting

Scouting strength (see p24) should now be calculated on the basis of weight not order, as follows:

  • Light Cavalry:  4
  • Medium Cavalry:  2
  • ExtraHeavy or Heavy Cavalry:  1
  • Light Chariots:  2
  • Heavy Chariots:  1
  • Skirmish Order Light Infantry:  1

Bases of mixed weight scout at their lightest weight e.g. M/LC scout as Light Cavalry.