I see that there are special rules for Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, but not for Hannibal. Surely he deserves parity?

I guess the reason is that Hannibal's greatness was at a strategic level rather than any tactical influence on the battlefield?

Hi Martin,
never thought about it... but it really sounds interesting.
Let's start thinking about it.
Which are your suggestions?
It could be added as "optional variant rule".

I'm no expert on Hannibal but I know he outmanouvred the Romans and brought them to battle at a place of his choosing. He also understood the character and weaknesses of his opponents and exploited them.

How to show this in C&C: Ancients? Perhaps some battles can be linked through Para Bellum with advantages given to the Carthaginians or penalties for the Romans? In a scenario how about representing Hannibal's excellent intelligence (both as a general and through superior scouting by his Numidian cavalry) and require the Roman player to show Hannibal one or two cards from his hand at the start of the game?

Any other thoughts?

I think by the time the Carthaginians invaded Italy, Hannibal was indead commanding in a more overall fashion rather than from the front, and this reflected, especially in the early battles, with a clear command card advantage and usually moving 1st. 6-4 cards is common in the early battles and even 6-2 at the start of Lake Trasimeme. I think this approach is a better simulation of these battles.

However, in his early battles in Spain, both before and after he was the supreme commander, he was renowned by his men for his bravery in combat, even being wounded in the assault on Saguntum. So I would suggest that he be given the same rule as for Caesar and Alexander III in any battles that involve him in Spain.

The Admiral wrote:
I think by the time the Carthaginians invaded Italy, Hannibal was indead commanding in a more overall fashion rather than from the front, and this reflected, especially in the early battles, with a clear command card advantage and usually moving 1st. 6-4 cards is common in the early battles and even 6-2 at the start of Lake Trasimeme. I think this approach is a better simulation of these battles.

However, in his early battles in Spain, both before and after he was the supreme commander, he was renowned by his men for his bravery in combat, even being wounded in the assault on Saguntum. So I would suggest that he be given the same rule as for Caesar and Alexander III in any battles that involve him in Spain.

Once again the C&C system has the flexibility to introduce a period feel. I agree with The Admiral and like his simple suggestion / solution.

Another suggestion for Hannibal is what I call the Hannibal factor. He is assigned a factor from say 0-3 for a particular battle. So for example in his early crushing victories against hapless Romans such as Trebbia, Trasimene and Cannae he would get a factor of 3. This allows him on 3 seperate occasions to discard and re-draw a card if he does not like the card just drawn.

For Battles where he is fighting more competent generals such as Scipio (not Africanus) or Marcellus the factor would be 1 or 2, and for Zama against an equal i.e Scipio Africanus it would be 0.