Day of Battle Fifth Edition

What is new in Day of Battle Fifth Edition?

ZONES

Day of Battle Fifth Edition is now played on a squared table top. No rulers needed. The size of the square (zone) should be a little larger that the standard unit size of the players army. I base my 28mm units on bases 120mm wide and 30mm to 80mm deep depending on the troop type being represented. I use a 6″ x 6″ zone.

HOW TO COMMAND YOUR UNITS

Play is done one Battle Line (Battle) at a time. When all the Battles on a side have finished play then either goes to the other side or returns to the start of the game turn.

Each side has their own card deck, made up of a full 54 deck of playing cards plus the jokers.

To activate a unit the player draws a playing card and places it at the rear of the unit. The card values are as follows.

The Ace – 1 fail.
Numbered 2-10 – actual value of the card.
Face – 10.
Joker – actual value needed.

Units can be activated up to three times per turn. Each activation card must be greater than the last played on it.

The first activation must be a “2” or greater”

Upon a failure the Battle’s turn is over.

MOVEMENT

Movement rates are quite low. Foot move one zone, mounted move two zones, Warlords and Leaders move 3 zones. Units that end their move far enough away from enemy unit can move one more zone using a force march move.

COMBAT

Combat can be shooting or melee and is always performed by the attacker first.

In order to melee an enemy the attacker needs enough movement to enter the defenders zone.

After the attacker goes, the defender makes his saving throw’s. If the defender is still on the table it may respond and attack back in their current state after taking damage.

Units fight at full capacity until they are down to their last hit point.

Pikes take 6 hits.
Men-At-arms take 4 hits.
Knights and Sergeants take 3 hits.
Skirmishers take 2 hits.

Combat, be it shooting or melee is such that a unit rolls it’s Combat Value in six sided dice (D6). The hit number is always a 1-3. For example knights have a Combat Value of 4 while Men-at-Arms and most Archers have a Combat Value of 3. That would be 4D6 for the knights and 3D6 for the Men-At-Arms or Archers.

If hit the target unit attempts to save. The number of save rolls on D6 equal’s it’s Combat Value with. Knights with a Combat Value of four would get four saving dice. Each successful save roll removes one hit from the defending unit.

Save numbers are one less than the Combat Value of the unit. In our example Knights get four Combat and Save Dice. When rolling for hits they need a 1-3. When rolling for saves they need 1-3 as well. An Archer Unit would get three Combat and Save Dice. They would hit on a 1-3 but save on a 1-2.

BATTLE LINE MORALE

Battle Line Morale is checked whenever a non-Skirmish until has taken all of it’s hits and is lost.

Each Battle Line has a value and when the Moral check is made the commander rolls 1D6 for each unit still on the table. The total must be equal to or greater than the Battle Lines Morale Value.

To determine a Battle Line Morale Value add up the following for each unit in the Battle Line at the start of the game.

Elite-1, Veteran-2, Average-3, Poor-4.

The game mechanisms in DOB5 are designed to give a game that has the feeling of the period, not just the battle. Like most published games of the past and present, DOB5 can be played as standalone game where players setup a game, have a great time and then pack up and move on. To gamer’s just starting out in the hobby this is great, but it isn’t too long before they yearn for a campaign. In a campaign game you can truly prove who you are and how good you can be. Ah, but campaigns can be a black hole.

The Player as a Character

Day of Battle Fifth Edition attempts to satisfy the desire to play in a campaign but does it in an easy and enjoyable way. As mentioned earlier, you are a general referred to as a Warlord. Borrowing from our role-play cousins, your Warlord has a number of skills and attributes that make him who he is on the battlefield. During the actual battle you acquire honor points whenever you perform actions appropriate to your Warlord. At the end of the battle, win or lose, you total up your honor points and turn them into skill points. As these accumulate, you spend them on your Warlords skills and attributes to make him better and more powerful. Gain enough skill points and you have a chance to climb the social ladder and become a higher-ranking noble.

A Solo and Multiplayer Game

Each battle you play with DOB5 is based on the social rank of your Warlord. The higher the social rank, the bigger and better the army your Warlord summons. In a campaign, the better your army, the better your chances of winning. This campaign system is unique in that it doesn’t require a map, an umpire, or even other players. The fog of war in the game system is so good that you can play a game against yourself and not know which side will win, and if both survive then both will win. You would truly have to cheat to trick the game. Mind you, it is always more enjoyable playing with other gamers. I run a campaign with six different Warlords that I have created and play them randomly against each other. When first time gamer friends come over to play, I have them play one of my Warlords. Such games are fast. Games between new Warlords are over in an hour or so, which allows for multiple games in one sitting.

Army Creation & Feudalism

The army creation mechanism is based on a loose interpretation of the history of times but designed to be fast, fun and unpredictable. A Warlord and army can be created on paper with a deck of playing cards and a handful of six sided dice in 10 minutes. There is little math involved and unlike most point system games, you have very little control over your army. The size of your army is based on the social rank and household of your Warlord. The units that arrive at the “summons” are based loosely on the Domain (army) you are playing and of course a little bit of luck.

You draw playing cards to determine how many army points you have which then determine the number of units that arrive and then roll dice to determine what troop type they are. You can promote the morale, armor and training of some of your units with the number of promotions available based on your social rank. With this unknown in mind, retainer units must be chosen wisely — and then go hire some mercenaries!

In summary for a new look wargaming the medieval era try DOB5. It will give you an experience you have never had before.

I have got a working prototype of the basic rules in pdf form. If you would like a copy please reach out to me through the contact form on my website.