DUX BELLORUM - A NEW STAGE FOR MY ROMANO-BRITISH AND IRISH RAIDERS TO PERFORM ON!

After painting up my Romano-British and Irish Raiders to use with Dux Britanniarum two years ago, they have been through quite an array of projects ever since. Once I had fallen in love with Clash of Spears, with games set in Sicily in the First Punic War, I thought that I could re-purpose my Dark Age figures and use them with "Clash". This was one of the few ideas I've had which worked really well, but I was always a bit uncertain about the way I had classified the troops within the "Clash" system.

Recently, I'd been thinking about using a truly fit for purpose system for what is, after all, one of my favourite historical periods. I initially found "Song of Arthur and Merlin", which has been updated and given a more "historical" feel. I liked some of what was included in the rules but decided that they were just a bit too small scale for what I wanted, being really designed for a dozen figures or so per side. I'd looked at Daniel Mersey's Dux Bellorum a few years ago but put it to one side because I couldn't see how the basing system would work with my individually based figures... cavalry seemed the most difficult to reconcile, being on 25mm pill bases and three of them had to fit on a base with 60mm frontage!

When I read the rules again a few weeks ago, I spotted a bit I'd missed first time around about fielding troops in "rough clumps"! My individually based figures could certainly move around in "rough clumps", but it would mean spending a lot of time shifting them around the battlefield. It was at this point that I almost put Dux Bellorum back on the shelf, until I came across some of the laser cut bases for sale on the Charlie Foxtrot Models web site. Charlie Foxtrot have movement trays which come in all sorts of odd configurations, but the more I looked at them, the more I thought they would fit perfectly (almost!) with the basing requirements of Dux Bellorum. They have 60mm frontage trays with four slots in two rows... ideal for the four figure Shieldwall types... they have three slot triangular trays with 60mm sides... ideal for three figure Warrior types... they have double slot trays with 60mm frontage... ideal for Skirmisher types and, they have some three slot cavalry trays which are wider than 60mm! O.K., so they don't quite fit with the rest, but we are all consenting adults, and you don't throw the baby out with the bath water, do you?

Charlie Foxtrot always get your goodies to you in double quick time and so here I am with a box full of Romano-British and a box full of Irish Raiders all based up and ready for action with Dux Bellorum. There's not a lot of stuff around on the Internet about Dux Bellorum, so I assume there aren't too many players out there but I'm ready to set up the dining room table for some learning games throughout December and really looking forward to it.

A Group of Two Units of Romano-British Noble Shieldwall.

Irish Raider Mounted Companions with their Leader.

Irish Raider Ordinary Foot Warriors - the Charlie Foxtrot Movement Trays give these guys that multiple wedge look which suits their irregular charge into contact.

Romano-British Ordinary Shieldwall. These Movement Trays have a more regular look, ideal for stolid groups of Shieldwall Spearmen.

Irish Raider Javelin armed Skirmishers. Skirmisher Units can't be Grouped, so must scurry around the battlefield independently, doing what Skirmishers do best... hit and run!

Irish Raider Noble Warriors - mixed in with the Ordinary Warriors, these guys can have a positive influence on the outcome of Bravery Tests.

Romano-British Bows... three figures to a Unit, so I've put them on the same Movement Tray I used for the Warrior infantry.