DBA Polybian Roman and Later Macedonian

 

The matchup between the Polybian Roman Army and the Later Macedonian Army is one of the classic “legion versus phalanx” games in DBA. It is usually slightly favorable to the Romans, but only if they can break up the Macedonian line.

Romans are typically:

• 2 x Cv (one Cv as general)
• 6 x 4Bd
• 2 x 4Sp
• 2 x 2Ps

Macedonians are usually:

• 1 x Cv (general)
• 1 x LH
• 6 x 4Pk
• 2 x 4Ax
• 1 x optional 3Ax / 4Wb / 2Ps
• 1 x 2Ps

The Roman army has no choices, while the Macedonian army has a few optional elements.

The key is that Roman blades are one of the few troop types that can reliably beat pikes. A 4Bd fighting a 4Pk in good going is +5 vs +3, so the Romans usually win straight-up fights if they can engage one-on-one. However, pikes support deeply, so a solid Macedonian line can still become very hard to crack if the Romans attack frontally across the entire front.

De Bellis Magistrorum Militum (DBMM)

DBMM unit types are more detailed than in Triumph! or L'Art de la Guerre. The game engine uses a mix of core troop classes + quality grades + special traits, which creates a very highly detailed system used for troop types, troop quality, and organizational structure.

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1. Core DBMM troop types

Infantry

• Blades (Bd)
  Close-combat infantry (Romans, elite foot)
• Spears (Sp)
  Defensive infantry (hoplites, shield walls)
• Pikes (Pk)
  Deep formations (Macedonian phalanx)
• Warband (Wb)
  Fierce tribal infantry (Gauls, Germans)
• Auxilia (Ax)
  Flexible medium infantry (good in rough terrain)
• Bows (Bw)
  Archers
• Crossbowmen (Cb)
  Armor-piercing missile infantry
• Psiloi (Ps)
  Skirmishers / very light infantry

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Cavalry & mounted

• Knights (Kn)
  Shock cavalry (heavily armored)
• Cavalry (Cv)
  Standard mounted troops
• Light Horse (LH)
  Fast, evasive cavalry (often missile-armed)
• Camelry (Cm)
  Anti-horse troops in some matchups

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Special / exotic

• Elephants (El)
  Powerful but risky shock units
• Scythed Chariots (SCh)
  Shock disruptors
• Heavy Chariots (play as Knights)
• Light Chariots (play as Cavalry)
• Hordes (Hd)
  Poor-quality masses
• Artillery (Art)
  Engines like bolt-shooters, cannons (later periods)

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2. The part that makes DBMM different:

Every unit type is modified by a quality grade, which has major gameplay impact:

• S = Superior
• O = Ordinary
• I = Inferior

 Example:

• Bd(S) = elite Roman legionaries
• Bd(O) = standard heavy infantry
• Bd(I) = poorly trained infantry

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3. Additional modifiers (this is where it gets nasty)

DBMM stacks further traits onto units:

Combat / behavior traits

• Fast (F) vs Solid (S)
  • Fast = more mobile, fragile
  • Solid = slower, more resilient
• Impetuous (e.g., Wb(F))
  Must charge aggressively
• Shieldwall / Pike depth effects

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Equipment distinctions

• Bow vs Crossbow
• Close combat emphasis
• Mounted vs dismounted flexibility

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Example unit breakdown

A single DBMM unit might look like:

• Kn(F)S   Fast Superior Knights
• Sp(O)     Ordinary Spears
• Ax(S)      Superior Auxilia
• LH(F)     Fast Light Horse

Each part changes how it behaves:

• Type = role
• Fast/Solid = movement & resilience
• Quality = combat effectiveness

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How it compares (quick context)

System	Unit definition style
DBMM	Type + quality + speed + traits (high level of detail)
ADLG	Type + a few modifiers
Triumph!	Fixed types, no modifiers

DBMM is the most detailed of the three!.....

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Conceptual grouping (simplified)

If you want a mental shortcut:

• Bd / Kn → aggressive "natural born killers" :oP
• Sp / Pk → defensive line holders :o)
• Ax / Ps / LH → terrain & mobility specialists
• Bw / Cb / Art → ranged pressure
• El / SCh → shock & disruption
• Hd → expendable "wimps" en mass

Shout out to Tony and Henry! hope this DBMM breakdown helps! .... 

Here is a link to YouTube Getting Started/How to Play DBMM 

Cheers!

15mm Xyston Miniatures Light Infantry

My so called or flexible "Light Division" of mercenary Successors contingent - 2 units of Hellenistic Thracians with 2 units of Cretan Archers and 1 Greek Slingers. I use these units for Impetvs and Command Colors Ancients & for DBA DBMM

Below tables, is how I see these specific units translated between playing ancient wargaming rules sets... :o)

Unit Role & Conversion Table

Unit	Impetvs	Commands & Colors: Ancients	DBA / DBMM
Thracians	FL (Light Infantry) or W (Warband)	Auxiliary (A) or Warrior (W)	4Ax (Auxilia) or 3Ax
Cretan Archers	S (Skirmishers) or T (Archers)	Bowmen (B)	Ps (Psiloi) or Bw (Bow)
Greek Slingers	S (Skirmishers)	Slingers (S)	Ps (Psiloi)

Impetvs

Thracians are often classified as FL (Light Infantry) because of their mobility in difficult terrain.

• Thracians: Can be fielded as "Thracian Peltasts." They usually have a high "V" (Movement) value but low "D" (Discipline).
• Cretans/Slingers: These are almost always S (Skirmishers). In Basic Impetvs, they act as screens to soften the enemy before your Thracians charge.
• Tactical Tip: Use the Cretans' range to force the enemy to close in, then counter-charge with Thracians who gain bonuses in "broken" terrain.

Commands & Colors: Ancients (CCA)

Successor scenarios in CCA frequently feature these units as high-utility light troops.

• Thracians: Best represented as Auxilia (Green circle) for their ability to move and still battle effectively, or Warriors if you want to emphasize their fierce charge with the rhomphaia.
• Cretan Archers: These are Bowmen (B). They typically have a range of 3 hexes and are vital for checking enemy Light Cavalry.
• Greek Slingers: Standard Slingers (S). While they lack the range of the Cretans, they are efficient "hit-and-run" units.

DBA & DBMM

In the DBA 3.0 "Successor" lists (like II/16 or II/18), these units fill the mandatory light infantry slots.

• Thracians: Classified as 4Ax (Auxilia). They are "fast" foot that ignore movement penalties in bad going (woods/hills)
• Cretans & Slingers: Both are classed as Ps (Psiloi). In DBA, Psiloi are essential for supporting your Phalanx or seizing difficult terrain.
• DBMM Specifics: In DBMM, Thracians might be Irr Ax (S) (Superior Auxilia) to reflect their deadly weaponry, while Cretans are often Irr Ps (O) (Ordinary Psiloi) or Bw (O) if grouped

My miniatures are mounted on 40mm x 20mm stands. This is the standard for DBA and DBMM. For Impetvs, you can simply place two or three of these stands on a larger movement tray (120mm frontage for 28mm or 80mm for 15mm) to match that wargaming rules "Large Unit block" appearance.......... :o) 

Movement Trays

Movement trays have been around since..umm...guessing.. during the 1990s? There a dozens of wargaming bloggers use movement trays. DeanM WAB Corner , Christopher Bunker Hill , Cyrus Bucellarii and Rob Hawkins hobby blog are all influential...well to me anyway :o)

Movement trays are a game-changer for large-scale wargaming, drastically cutting down the time spent pushing individual models and keeping your ranks crisp. They are especially useful for "horde" armies or "rank and flank" systems like Warhammer and maybe DBMM?I use DBA-DBMM elements with my movement trays for Command Colors Ancients and Impetvs army units. Also I think, is one of the best ways to maximize your collection of miniatures without the nightmare of rebasing figures! :o)

Movement trays for De Bellis Multitudinis (DBMM) are a practical way to manage large groups of elements, especially during the early stages of a battle when moving in coherent lines or columns is more PIP-efficient. The DBMM system is element-based, not figure-based, battle groups are always chaning frontages during games so it may be impossible to have and difficult swapping different frontages trays just to move your grouped elements.

Impetvs 15mm frontages are 80mm one can use DBA/DBMM army elements to form up Impetvs battle groups depending on unit type i.e. Pikes I would use as a typical full strength Macedonian Pike block 2 by 4 (total 8 elements) The elements are removed during Command colors ancients and Impetvs games as casualties.

Left to Right of picture

80mm x 30mm, 80mm x 40mm, 80mm x 45mm, 80mm x 60mm

Pikes 2 Ranks Museum Miniatures "Z"Sculpts

Pikes 3 Ranks

Pikes 4 Ranks

Republican Romans 2 ranks Old Glory Miniatures

Republican Romans 3 ranks

Skirmishers 2 Ranks Xyston Miniatures

Auxiliary Light Infantry 2 Ranks

Bowmen 2 Ranks Essex Miniatures Goths

Warband 2 Ranks

Warband 3 Ranks

Warband 4 Ranks

15mm Xyston Miniatures Successors Cavalry

I had so many Macedonian Prodromoi  (light Horse) Xyston packs (about 11 packs) So...I removed the swords to most of the sword armed figures and added lances/wire instead, and painted/mounted the figures as medium "Mercenary" Successor Cavalry which I needed... also painted 3 packs of Persian Xystophoroi and 2 packs of Paionian Light Cavalry.

1st Successor Cavalry ANC20080

2nd Successor Cavalry

non-conversion figures :o)

Persian Xystophoroi ANC20125

Paionian Light Cavalry ANC20079