Empire Campaign

I’ve been pondering for a while running another campaign and after much consideration I have finally managed to get one underway. I decided the campaign would be heavily based on “Empire” the board game by Phil Sabin. Empire starts in 350 BC and has twenty turns, with each representing a decade. This period of course starts with Alexander the Great and progresses to the end of the Third Punic War.

A friend and I recently played Empire as a board game. It was apparent that it would benefit from more players and had potential to provide the strategic backdrop for some miniature games. The board game considers only four player states and largely glosses over the Wars of Alexander’s Successor States. My own version starts with six player states, four of whom are Macedonian Successors. To accommodate this change I have pushed the start date forward to around 319 BC which now aligns with the death of Antipater, the trigger for the Second War of the Diadochi. While there are a number of rules in the standard Empire game that will ensure that the player states will develop along generally historical lines I have added a few additional changes, and for a time added two provinces though since removed. In addition I included some simple modifications that will allow the battles to be fought on the table using DBA. The following map shows the general area of the campaign.

The initial six player states are as follows:

Macedonia: Ruled by the regent Antipater, Macedonia has been fractured by his death. His son Cassander has been passed over after Antipater who has defined his new regent as Polypecheron. Cassander having fled Macedonia has established himself in Greece, which is treated as independent. In nearby Thracia Lysimichus has effectively chosen an independent path also.

Antigonid: Antigonus Monophthalmus, Satrap of Phyrigia and veteran of Alexander’s campaigns, has secured much of Asia, Syria and Pontus. His capital in Antioch is relatively vulnerable to attack from both east and west but he takes some comfort in the disunity that exists in Macedonian Europe. His old enemy Eumenes has escaped and gathered a large army in Mesopotamia.

Seleucids: Eumenes has secured Mesopotamia, while Selecus has fled. The eastern portion of Alexander’s empire stretches through Persia, Parthia and eventually to Bactria. The rich provinces of India lay further east but are no longer effectively controlled and are treated as independent. The great wastes of Scythia are to the north of Parthia and Bactria and remain a vast wasteland and could prove difficult to control. While Eumenes builds his army Selecus awaits a time that he can return to Babylon and establish his dominance.

Ptolemaic Aegytptus: Ptolemy has ensconced himself in the rich province of Aegyptus. Here he can only be attacked via the routes through Syria. He himself has yet to fully enforce his rule over the area as the small province of Cyrenaica is still regarded as independent.

Carthage: The city of Carthage has established its influence over Africa and, to a greater or lesser extent, Numidia and much of coastal Iberia. Beyond Iberia lays Gallia. To the northeast of Carthage sits the island of Sicily where Cart gage has campaigned before in support of allied and controlled cities.

Rome: A relatively small state in Italia. Rome has yet to impose its will on the surrounding peoples of Italia. If they do this they are likely to be a very determined people. Having secured Italia it is more than likely to look south towards Magna Graecia, while keeping an eye on the unstable Gauls to the north.

There are a number of independent provinces. Some are geographically large, such as Scythia while others have great resources, such as India. Others, though small, represent small kingdoms such as Thracia, under control of Lysimachus, and Graecia under Cassandros. Magna Graecia and Sicily remain a patchwork of cities, many of whom are Greek but could easily fall to Rome, Carthage or Macedonia. West of Aegyptus is Cyrenaica who remains independent as does Armenia, north east of Asia. The Celts are divided into three general areas are all independent of each other. North of Italia the Gauls of Cisalpina are always ready for war and occasionally have struck into Italy. There is a constant risk of this occurring again. However, perhaps the greatest risk is above Greece and Macedonia. Here sit the Galatian territories. Rumours from the borders indicate growing migrational pressures among these tribes.

Our campaign is now underway and a short history of the campaign will be added to this site which will document developments as it develops.