Module:The Siege of Jerusalem

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Avalon Hill's game of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD

From BGG ...

It is 70 A.D. Dawn breaks on the combined might of four Legions arrayed on the heights of Mount Scopus, starting their methodical advance across the valley to the ancient walled city of Jerusalem. Siege lines have been secured tight about the city. There is no hope of escape. The besieged must persist behind their stout walls or perish before a vengeful Rome. Five grueling years of campaigning in Judea is now culminating in the Siege of Jerusalem.

But the fortified city defies even the might of Rome. The thick walls atop the steep slopes literally bristle with natural and manmade fortifications. It will take all of Rome's considerable engineering skills to winch their war machines into position for an assault up the slopes to the city. Only here in the north plain can the city's walls be taken by escalade. The rhythmic approach of the Legions is muted by the rumble of the siege engines as an assortment of towers, rams, and artillery precede the maniples. The distant walls seethe with the frenzied activity of an alerted populace as the antagonists draw near. This majestic view is abruptly halted by the blare of trumpets which soon gives way to the cacophony of the clash of arms and screams of the dying.

Morning turns to dusk before the walls are breached and the weary legions exact their vengeance. The sky turns bright again, aglow in the reflection of a thousand fires as the northern outskirts burn. But what price victory? Another day such as this will break the Roman Army and only one of the city's ten walled sections has fallen this day. They will have to find another way. Shafts must be dug to undermine the walls or earthen ramps built with which to scale them. It will be a long campaign.

This is The Siege of Jerusalem...An epic battle simulation with all the trappings and majesty of a Cecil B. DeMille film spectacular. Facing the greatest army of antiquity, the Judeans must rely on the stoutness of their walls to halt the unbeatable Roman legions and therein lies the fascination: the immovable object vs the unstoppable force. As Eliezar Ben Yair, leader of the Zealots, you must conduct a skilled defense of the city's ever shrinking perimeter - exacting from the Romans a price so terrible that they will be forced to lift their siege - or break out to continue your struggle for freedom at Massada. As Titus, commander of the Roman army, you must decide when, where and how to renew the assault - gauging your troop needs against the progress of your siege works and the press of time caused by outside threats. More than just conducting tactical combat, the Roman must formulate an overall strategic plan for the conduct of the siege.

Vastly revised from its 1st & 2nd edition printing from Historical Perspectives in the 70's, Siege of Jerusalem now boasts two-sided counters, a continuous combat system, a strategic interphase for conducting the entire siege, and the morale / panic rules so important in portraying ancient warfare. An Introductory Scenario depicting the abortive assault of Gallus with the XII Legion three years previous allows players to learn how to handle a legion in a single day's play while training for eventual participation in the conduct of the epic siege.

See BGG for more information.


 * About The Siege of Jerusalem - AH (1989) Version 2.2 module by clanmacrae9:
 * Addresses known errors listed in version 2.1. This version is complete and playable
 * General tidying of displays
 * Redesigned/Cleaned up instructional comments for the Interphase Board
 * Added Pre Assault Sequence of Planning window in charts
 * Added Pre-Assault Weeks window to add weeks and VPs to total on Victory Points display
 * Added fort artwork to JJ36. Stairway location subject to player interpretation
 * Changed movement trails to optional
 * Added counter controls for Yafo Gate and Fortress Triangle areas to Control Map
 * Add piece counter to dead permanent dead pools.
 * Added automatic send to command to send permanent dead units back to Replacement Randomizer Dead Pile (RRDP)
 * Added missing gates to inner Temple walls
 * Adjusted size of API Turn 16 turn counter
 * About The Siege of Jerusalem - AH (1989) Version 2.1 module by clanmacrae9:
 * Important: This version has been released with known errors. I needed to post it so the Vassal team could help me correct the errors. I intended to post instructional videos first, but the errors forced me to post the module first so they will have access to it.Basically, Vassal is preventing me from removing or changing some of the at start images I had used temporarily. This will be most apparent in the in-game instructions that appear at each step on the interphase board. They are not correct with the current build. This will not create any problems in usage for you, instead they may confuse you, so feel free to read them for an idea of what you might need to do on any step but understand they have to be corrected. Sorry for the inconvenience.
 * To have the best success in playing with the module until the instructional videos are produced, follow these basic guidelines and concepts to comprehend what is going on.
 * First, the game is automated with its main mechanic being the turn counter. The easiest way to advance the turn is to select Shift Right arrow button. You will see the turns advance in the display above the map
 * Next, to kill a unit, right click to send it to the appropriate dead pile (Units go to different dead piles based on type and processing requirement)
 * Next you must scroll SLOWLY (Going too fast WILL lock up the module) through the turns until you get to the interphase which is where most of the automation exists. This is only a problem during playing around with the module. Normal game play will not test the speed of your computer.
 * To conduct a simple test of the units replacement function (Interphase step 9) of the module do the following in order.
 * 1. Put some Judean units(at least 25 various units should be enough to demonstrate) units on the map
 * 2. Right click to send all to Dead Pile.
 * 3. Slowly (about one advance per second) advance the turn counter until the turn display reads Assault Period 1, turn 10 Judean phase. (Too fast will cause module top lock up)
 * 4. On the menu buttons select the Control Map button. Right click on any 2 or 3 of the Judean flags and convert to Roman control. This determines percentage of replacements.
 * 5. Bring up the Interphase Board. Notice your dead Judean units are located in the Replacement Random Draw Pile (RRDP)
 * 6. Advance slowly while the interphase step indicator advances towards interphase step 9. Stop at 9.
 * 7. Note in box number 9 (Blue area) on the Interphase Board there will be two numbers. The lower numbers how many Judean dead units you killed. The upper number indicates the percentage of units you will receive back.
 * 8. Right click on the RRDP stack and shuffle.
 * 9. Right click on the RRDP stack and select "Draw multiple cards" option and enter the Replacement Number (located just left of the RRDP), then Enter.
 * 10. Left click the RRDP stack and move the randomly selected units to the Replacement Stack following the big white arrow.
 * 11. Advance the turn control (Shift Right Arrow) a few times to send the non selected units to the scenario board permanent dead/reserve stack and the randomly selected replacement units to the board (location EE70).
 * Version 2.1 is highly automated. Instruction videos are pending (awaiting youtube upload time currently). Feel free to play around with until then but many of the features will be elusive without instruction. Furthermore the built in instructions that appear on the Interphase Board do not match the current build exactly so they can confuse at this point.
 * About The Siege of Jerusalem - AH (1989) Version 2.0 module by clanmacrae9:
 * About the numbering convention for this module. The 2.0 naming convention is admittedly anachronistic. This module uses the previous modules on this page as a base module to build on. That said, because it is more or less non-compatible, I felt it necessary to break with the 1.0 series and identify this module as an entirely new module. I hope this minimizes confusion.
 * The Siege of Jerusalem - AH (1989) version 2.0 includes the following characteristics:
 * Map:
 * Updated hex grid that faithfully reproduces the off-kilter hex Avalon Hill naming convention
 * Mouseover zoom for the Terrain Key on the map
 * Mouseover includes piece names, hex location and Attack Factors if applied for missile fire.
 * Gates Overlay – Toggle on-off map overlay that reproduces the Gates map from the back of the rulebook. This overlay also includes the replacement rates for each area
 * Inventories:
 * The first inventory displays pieces currently located on the main map, organized by weapon/personnel type (e.g. artillery, infantry, cavalry…)
 * The second inventory displays pieces remaining on, or returned to one of the off-board scenario boards. This inventory organizes by scenario name.
 * Menu:
 * Menu buttons are larger and contain item specific artwork
 * 1d6 button contains animated dice roll to accompany the text results in the chat window
 * A variable dice button has been added to aid players in the reinforcement phase.
 * Game Pieces:
 * Clone capability added to pieces in which it seemed logical
 * Turn Counter added: Aids in tracking game turn phases. Also, the game turn counters on the scenario sheets adjust accordingly as the turn counter is incremented.


 * About the Siege of Jerusalem module by MartenJan:
 * See attachments included with the module.


 * About the Siege of Jerusalem module by jimpyle:


 * Version 1.01 corrects the flip side of the Roman Towers, Armored Towers and Rams. 9/25/09
 * Version 1.02 REALLY fixes the flip side problem. 9/30/09

Players

 * j.w.wade@comcast.net@rockydadog
 * sfcq@bellsouth.net@stevecq
 * john_b@att.net@CaptPhoenix
 * gowtek@hotmail.com@Marius
 * dan.davies@accesscomm.ca@abithel
 * mobrooks@med.umich.edu@MoBrooks
 * esparver73@gmail.com@esparver73
 * dodgydan@web.de@daxelos
 * bdegroot@gmail.com@bdgza
 * fjt_us@yahoo.com@jeb123
 * et00asw@gmail.com@ETPxPa1adin