De Bellis Magistrorum Militum

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De Bellis Magistrorum Militum (DBMM)
Game data
author Phil Barker
publishing company Wargames Research Group
Publishing year 2007
Art Tabletop
Teammates 2
Duration 3 - 4 hours
Age k. A.

De Bellis Magistrorum Militum ( lat .: From the battles of the army masters ), DBMM for short , is a tabletop to re- enact historical battles.

game

A battle is re-enacted in about three hours using miniatures and dice. The author of the game is Phil Barker from England, who wrote other rules for other epochs and other game sizes. It is published by the Wargames Research Group (WRG). DBMM is a further development of De Bellis Multitudinis , DBM for short. In Germany, but also in Italy and England, there are several tournaments and other events at which DBMM is played regularly.

De Bellis Magistrorum Militum covers the period from 3000 BC. From around AD 1400 and ends for battles around AD 1515 when firearms became increasingly important. For the Renaissance era, there is a separate set of rules called De Bellis Renationis (DBR for short). DBMM is played on a table with a size of approximately 1.80 × 1.20 meters. Important decisions are rolled with normal six-sided game dice.

Figures and dimensions

The rules are written for figures of sizes 2 mm, 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm and 25 mm. All length and width information is given in paces (English for "steps"), which can be translated into centimeters and thus cover all figure scales with a set of rules. Distances are measured with the help of a tape measure, but cardboard templates can also be used for frequently used distances (80, 160, 200 and 320 steps) .

The figures are mounted on standardized floor plates, bases. These bases with their figures are also called elements and are the smallest groups that can be moved individually. You can see immediately from each element which troop it represents. A group of regular spearmen, as they were common among the ancient Greek city-states, for example, is represented by four spearman figures mounted in a row on a 40 × 15 mm base. Knights from the Middle Ages are represented by three knight figures on a 40 × 30 mm base. Each type of troop has its own characteristics for leadership, movement and combat.

regulate

DBMM includes a rule booklet and four booklets with army lists that describe the playable armies. Here you can find information about which and how many troops you can play. A brief historical classification is also presented. You choose an army from these notebooks and make a note of the troops you want to take with you. There is a point system so that armies of comparable strength can be generated (400 points is a typical army size that is played in tournaments). At this point in time, the command structure of the army is also determined: a player can stand with two to four generals who command the troops. The more generals a player has, the more individual movements he can make on the field. The smaller the generals' commands, the more sensitive they are. Important strategic options (so-called stratagems ) must also be defined in advance. Surprises such as ambushes or field fortifications that you want to use later are part of the army list. This type of structuring contributes to the tactical versatility of the game. When designing the battlefield, only pieces of terrain that occur in the defender's country may be placed. The invader has less influence on the terrain than the defender.

See also

Web links