Extra Combat Dice for better Quality Troops?

Was this really necessary or just pointless tinkering?  Quality I thought related to a unit's organisational skills, not its grit in combat.

This is why I am always trepidous when I hear that a ruleset is going to be revised.

Actually, I like the change a lot. One die extra doesn't sound like much but added with the flank supports it means that VBU4 T or FL units meleeing against C class troops can get 6 to 7 dice in a melee. That means they stand a much better chance of hitting and potentially winning combats against impetuous FL and CP. In the past they just got wiped out. Now they have a small but reasonable chance to win.

Impetus has been revised consistently over the past 5+ years that I have been playing it. Most of the changes introduced were ones that I didn't originally like but I have slowly come to appreciate most of them.

The last 4 games I used that rule and I was quite satisfied. Fist, when playing with flank support, there is a need to give expensive troop an melee advantage too, since they get outnumbered by cheaper troops. I think the combination works and you need to consider both bonuses in one thought.
The games speed up a little bit with these extra dice and usually this works for both sides. So that is also appreciated.

Gaius Cassius wrote:Actually, I like the change a lot. One die extra doesn't sound like much but added with the flank supports it means that VBU4 T or FL units meleeing against C class troops can get 6 to 7 dice in a melee. That means they stand a much better chance of hitting and potentially winning combats against impetuous FL and CP. In the past they just got wiped out. Now they have a small but reasonable chance to win.

Impetus has been revised consistently over the past 5+ years that I have been playing it. Most of the changes introduced were ones that I didn't originally like but I have slowly come to appreciate most of them.

But I don't think Missile troops or skirmishers should be defeating melee troops. They didn't in real life. Under the previous rules they still had a chance to damage or disorder the opposing unit, but to actually defeat it is a stretch.

Tankred wrote:
The games speed up a little bit with these extra dice and usually this works for both sides. So that is also appreciated.

I've always thought this modern trend for "speeding up melees" is overrated, tbh.

I like a mechanism that reflects the push, shove, ebb and flow of ancient battles.

Eques wrote: But I don't think Missile troops or skirmishers should be defeating melee troops.  They didn't in real life.  Under the previous rules they still had a chance to damage or disorder the opposing unit, but to actually defeat it is a stretch.

Depends on what you are imagining occurring in melee. I don't always think that melee means units come into direct contact with the enemy. In the case of melee troops fighting missile troops a win for the latter might represent the ability of the missile troops to put up a large enough volume of fire to keep the melee troops from closing. That is how I imagine a unit of Peltasts defeating an warband in combat. When infantry melees against CL I am not imagining that the CL are ever necessarily contacted in real life. Should a CL take a hit in the game it could represent part of the unit deciding simply to ride away under pressure for good.