What I need to figure out is this: Regain additional Casualties after battles.
@Photomajig , I'm trying to figure out this part of the trait in the context of the stuff you've told me about Elven death.
Why is it additional casualties regained rather than, "Lol, we've not actually even killed any enemy Elves, though fortunately neither have any of our Elves died"?
Mm, I perhaps overemphasized the ease of resurrection. The kind of wounds inflicted in a battle - massive widespread trauma, gut shots, blown apart by artillery, hacked to pieces, bleeding out crippled on the field over a long time - are much more likely to induce final death in elves. A large portion of elves killed don't come back (or do, but the close call convinces them to desert while they're thought deceased).
Or if you're asking why they don't come back immediately - you regain Casualties because dead elves trickle back to life over the following days. They don't come back in an instant. Every Unit regains Casualties to represent wounded returning to the ranks as they heal.
Mm, I perhaps overemphasized the ease of resurrection. The kind of wounds inflicted in a battle - massive widespread trauma, gut shots, blown apart by artillery, hacked to pieces, bleeding out crippled on the field over a long time - are much more likely to induce final death in elves. A large portion of elves killed don't come back (or do, but the close call convinces them to desert while they're thought deceased).
Or if you're asking why they don't come back immediately - you regain Casualties because dead elves trickle back to life over the following days. They don't come back in an instant. Every Unit regains Casualties to represent wounded returning to the ranks as they heal.
...actually, that's another question. Where do the elves appear? If it's the same place they died or whatnot, it might almost be standard for the winning party to stake out a battlefield for a few days afterwards to pick up the 'strays' both on their side and the enemy side.
Or given that this is described as regenerative, it might be standard practice to take friendly elf corpses with you when retreating, and equally standard to burn any enemy bodies left on the field.
...actually, that's another question. Where do the elves appear? If it's the same place they died or whatnot, it might almost be standard for the winning party to stake out a battlefield for a few days afterwards to pick up the 'strays' both on their side and the enemy side.
It's the place where they died, though do note this is not necessarily geographic: an elf who dies on a ship's deck isn't going to resurrect in the middle of the ocean even if the ship has moved, but rather on that spot of the deck.
Elven commanders generally adhere to a gentlemen's agreement where both sides are allowed to retrieve the wounded and resurrected after the fighting is done. Where this is not possible, captured enemy elves are generally paroled or sent back to their side. Ransoms are not expected; money would make the whole matter crass and commercial. Sometimes gifts just happen to be exchanged during such handovers, though. It's all very honorable and proper.
Non-elven prisoners don't receive this treatment, but you are expected to keep them alive, fed and reasonably comfortable.
Or given that this is described as regenerative, it might be standard practice to take friendly elf corpses with you when retreating, and equally standard to burn any enemy bodies left on the field.
Taking friendly dead isn't that helpful due to the aforementioned dying spot-tied-resurrection. Burning or destroying elven bodies is also ineffective, because they're already dead; they need to die from the burning to prevent resurrection. That said, it's considered a war crime to purposefully induce final death (even though every other race dies a final death every time by default - the elves don't see anything odd about this).
The rules and customs of war are naturally elven-written. The Revolutionary forces still adhere to them, but especially Leveler generals might begin to adopt a 'all means justified' mentality as things escalate.
Forgot to time it, so I'm calling the vote and getting started on the update. I won't have a chance to update again until Wednesday at the earliest, unfortunately.
Scheduled vote count started by Photomajig on Dec 9, 2023 at 7:40 AM, finished with 50 posts and 9 votes.
[X] Plan: Prepare to Charge, With Care
-[X] 310th Hum: RESTING
-[X] 312th Hum: MOVE E
-[X] 41st Hob: MOVE NE
-[X] 81st Elv: ROUTING
-[X] 5th Hob. H.Art.: FIRE ON Elven Cav. 2
[X] Plan: Prepare to Charge, With Care
-[X] 310th Hum: RESTING
-[X] 312th Hum: MOVE E
-[X] 41st Hob: MOVE NE
-[X] 81st Elv: ROUTING
-[X] 5th Hob. H.Art.: FIRE ON Elven Cav. 2
Note: It seems that this plan was 312th E, NE + 41st Hob NE originally, but the 312th's NE step got dropped along the way from the plan? I assumed that was an accident, as it would have tried to cram both units into the same Hex. Only Routed Units can move into another Unit's Hex, and even then it's not ideal. If this was in fact intentional, let me know.
***
There are strange lulls in battle at times - moments in which the firing stops and a thousand souls fall quiet at once. For a moment, you feel as if you're on the cusp of one - but then the enemy infantry in the village opens up with their guns and rakes the back ranks of your fleeing militia. Well, if they wish to have it that way...
"Continue firing," you say, and the cannons erupt once more. Explosions ripple through the fleeing elven cavalry - mostly trailing behind this time as the horses pick up their pace, but enough land square in their midst and exact a heavy toll once more. In a minute, the last of the elven riders is beyond your range and the guns grow quiet.
You turn your spyglass to the fields before the village, where the 312th and the 41st are forming up splendidly. The horns of the 41st are still blaring in eager bursts. They've tasted blood, now. They'll be looking to have more.
"Very well, Kléber," you whisper to yourself, calling for the signal flag. "Let us see if we can end this."
You have the advantage - but a careless advance will bleed the men needlessly. One may dance with all the grace of an elven duchess up until the very final notes, but should they bungle the finish there, that's all anyone will remember of them. You measure the field, and make your choice.
***
His ears are ringing. Harsh blackpowder smoke burns at his nostrils. The birds are all gone, leaving the wind to moan mournfully at the absence of their song. Somehow, that puts a black cloud on Gael's heart. There's a deep, harmonious beauty to this orchard with its red-glowing apples and orderly rows of trees. It should not be stained as it is with the black filth of war.
"Alright, lads," Gael the cobbler says, patting Old Paol on the shoulder. The grey-haired shepherd's hands are shaking around his ramrod, trying and failing to push it into the barrel. "That'll be it. There they go like rabbits. Big ol' rabbits they are, those hobs. Let 'em run. Save your lead. We've more of the King's fightin' to see to today."
This seems to settle the lads down. They're a motley bunch, mostly too old and too young and never seen a real scrap before today, but they're good, solid boys. His boys. The gods know why they wanted him as their chief, but he'd reckoned he had to do it if he had any chance of bringing a few more back home alive and well. And now he's got a thousand from towns all around the region answering to him. They've all gone mad, he'd said to his wife leaving home. No more mad than I was when I chose to marry you, Rozenn had said. The memory tugs at the corners of his lips, but the comfort is shortlived.
He sighs and chews on the end of his pipe. The battle's not going well. He'd convinced the lads the cavalry was only running so they could strike again in some devilish ploy that'd unman the enemy in one bold stroke. It seems less and less likely by the minute, though. Those big guns of the rebels are sowing some real murder out there on the plain.
He squints at the woods across the field. Wheat's coming in well, from what he can see. Shame the families here at Saintonge all either went up and joined the rebels, or ran away into the woods days ago. A whole lot of soldiers' feet trampling all over the field's not going to do wonders for the harvest, that's for sure. And that's what's coming. He can see the rebel infantry forming up, some four, five hundred paces away.
Gael feels a knot in his stomach. It's a bad time to be a king's man. He only hopes that the rebel hobs haven't taken to eating their captives, like the marquis talked about. If they have... Well, his Rozenn will have the twenty sou packed under the floorboards and the pigs Guillaime owes them. That'll have to be enough.
***
COMBAT SUMMARY: Hum Inf 1 Fires on Hob Mil 1!
>Hits: 77-20=57; 40 Casualties Half Mil 3 Fires on Hob Mil 1!
>Hits: 3, 98-20-20=58; 34 Casualties 5th Hob H. Art Fires on Elv Cav 2!
>Hits: 57+30-20-20=47; 41 Casualties
312th Hum Moves E, NE
41st Hob Moves NE
81st Elv Moves W, W, W, W, W, SE, SW, SE
Elv Cav 2 Moves E, E, E, SE, ??? (lost line of sight)
Hob Mil 1 Moves W, W, W
310th Hum Rests
Hob Mil 1 lost -7 Cohesion from Casualties.
Elv Cav 2 lost -4 Cohesion from Casualties.
5th Hob H. Art gained +1 XP.
BATTLE OF SAINTONGE, ROUND 4 +Primary Objective: Hold the enemy off the Corvaux Wood road. +Secondary Objective: Relieve the Saintonge Militia.
The 81st is also considered Hidden, just an oversight on the map.
Lost sight of Elv Cav 2!
The full list of Orders is:
Move: Unit is told to move up to its Movement speed.
Fire: Unit is told to attack an enemy Unit in range with ranged weaponry. This expends 1 Munitions.
Ready Fire: Unit is told to prepare a volley in a set direction if an enemy Unit Moves into it at a specified range on their turn. Several preferred ranges or a range of ranges can also be specified ("Ready Fire SE if enemy Unit Moves there at 100 to 1000m").
Charge: Unit is told to move and attack a non-adjacent enemy Unit within its movement range in melee. Unit has to move at least 1 space towards the enemy as part of this action. The attack has Charge Advantage unless the target Unit has Braced.
Attack: Unit is told to attack an adjacent enemy Unit in melee.
Brace: Unit is told to prepare to receive an enemy charge. Charging Units do not benefit from Charge Advantage against this Unit and the Unit makes an immediate melee Attack on the first enemy to enter into melee with it. An Unit cannot Brace if it is already engaged in a melee.
Rest: Unit rests for a little while in place. Unit recovers 2 Cohesion and expends 1 Supplies.
Hide: Unit attempts to enter concealment in their space. Their Concealment is doubled until they Move or attack.
Search: Unit attempts to discover hidden enemies. Their Spottingis doubled until the start of their next turn.
Disengage: Unit moves 1 space away from an enemy Unit and is considered Braced until the start of their next turn.
Supply: Unit resupplies from a stockpile or exchanges Supplies or Munitions with a friendly adjacent Unit.
Orders
Vote by plan, please! Do not be afraid to make mistakes; this is a tutorial and the start of your career.
310th Human Regiment of Foot:
[]
312th Human Regiment of Foot:
[]
41st Hobgoblin Fusiliers Regiment:
[]
81st Elven Hussars Regiment:
[-] REST.
5thHobgoblin Horse Artillery Battery:
[]
[] Send orders to the Hobgoblin Militia. Write-in. You cannot control their exact Orders, but they will follow your direction.
***
Our Units
Unit
XP
Str.
Coh.
Att.
Mun.
Spl.
Con.
Spt.
Mov.
Equipment
Traits
CO
310th Hum.
1/3, Trained
915/1000
2/8
+0
10/10
4/5
3
3
3
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Human
Henri Burrard
Lucky
312th Hum.
0/3, Trained
1000/1000
8/8
+0
10/10
5/5
3
3
3
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Human
Joséphine Wyler
Unknown Trait
41st Hob.
1/10, Regular
1000/1000
7/6
+10
10/10
5/5
3
3
3
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Hobgoblin
Alho Kléber
Offensive Genius
81st Elv. Hsr.
2/10, Trained*
371/500
0/7*
+10*"
5/5
3
5
9
Sabres
Elven
Cavalry
Hippolyta de Montelivet
Brilliant
5th Hob. H.Art.
2/40, Experienced
50/50
9/8
+30
8/10
5/5
3
3
5
Horse Artillery
Hobgoblin
Artillery
*Affected by Brilliant.
"Affected by Casualties. Bayonets, Sabres: Wounding +0 Cabot Musket: Wounding +0, Range 100m/200m/400m Horse Artillery: Wounding +2, Movement +4, Range 200m/600m/1200m
Known Enemy Units
Unit
XP
Str.
Coh.
Att.
Mun.
Spl.
Con.
Spt.
Mov.
Equipment
Traits
CO
Elven Cav 1?
Professional
377
0
+10*
?
3
5
9
Sabres
Elven
Cavalry
Unsteady
Elven Cav 2?
Professional
320
0
+10*
?
3
5
9
Sabres
Elven
Cavalry
Distracted
Halfling Mil 1?
Green
925
0
-20
?
?
5
3
3
Antique Flintlock
Halfling
Incompetent
Halfling Mil 2?
?
1000?
?
?
?
?
5?
3?
3?
?
Halfling
?
Halfling Mil 3?
Green
1000?
?
-20
?
?
5?
3?
3?
Antique Flintlock
Halfling
Offensive Genius
Hum Inf 1?
Trained
945
?
+10
?
?
3?
3?
3?
Cabot Musket
Bayonets
Human
Rapid
*Affected by Casualties. Antique Flintlock: Wounding -1, Range 100m/200m/300m
do regiments block the space they start the turn on for the entire turn or can other units cross that turn when that regiment leaves it?
when making plan, everyone should keep in mind that there is an additional halfling militia that routed 2 turns ago and could join the battle again this turn!
310th Human Regiment of Foot:
[] Move E E - Forests give enough concealment so not even elves can see them and they will be able to ambush elv cav 1 if it reforms and hopefully show us the situation of it
312th Human Regiment of Foot:
[] Charge East East NorthEast against Human Infantry
41st Hobgoblin Fusiliers Regiment:
[] Charge North East East East against Halfling Militia 3
81st Elven Hussars Regiment:
[-] REST.
5thHobgoblin Horse Artillery Battery:
[] Shoot Half Mil 3
My first plan idea. The Enemy human infantry gets charged by our infantry and have already been dealt 4 Cohesion Damage, the enemy halfling infantry gets charged by our hobs and shot by the artillery. This will also leave our infantry in the cover of village hexes both
The artillery should definitly be shooting at the halflings. They may have defense against ranged attacks but the humans are 700 meters away and the extra -30 means a very low chance to deal meaningful damage.
Green units have -2 cohesion. How many points of Drill and Morale do we think these militias have? If they are equivalent to us the militias have 3 cohesion but i would assume that they are less drilled/motivated?
These are the chances for a halfling rout at different cohesion levels when they just get targeted by the artillery
I agree with the principle of the plan so far, but I think part of the Charge movement has to take the unit "into" the enemy tile, which means our boys have to charge due East instead of the catty-corner maneuver to get into cover, unfortunately.
I also support resting the 310th one more turn. They can move next turn and have twice as much Coh. They and the 81st are conveniently already hidden and blocking any possible sneak attacks from Elf Cav 1, so let's let them stay on break a bit longer.
Charging would pretty much shatter the enemy resistance, probably routing both visible enemy Divisions this turn. But I am a little bit scared that the enemy is braced and would be able to inflict additional damage on our troops in defeat.
We could approach it the opposite way and plink away at the enemy in long range combat waiting for the big guns to bombard them and earn us the victory.
From their POV it's clear that they expect us to be charging next turn after all
...I am not actually all that worried about the Halfling Militia badly blooding the well-trained elite Hobgoblin Infantry. Like at the end of the day we'll have to in fact... use our units? This is a war. We have an enemy unit (the Hafs) that is weak against melee, we have a Hobgoblin unit that is GOOD against melee charging...
[] 310th Human Regiment of Foot: [REST]
[] 312th Human Regiment of Foot: NE, E
[] 41st Hobgoblin Fusiliers Regiment: Charge Halfling Militia 3
[] 5thHobgoblin Horse Artillery Battery: Fire on Halfling Militia 3
Here's a thought. It puts 312th in a decent position to either plink away or charge, gets rid of Halfling Militia 3, and puts the Hobgoblins in a good position to work together with the 312th to deal with the Humans.
...I am not actually all that worried about the Halfling Militia badly blooding the well-trained elite Hobgoblin Infantry. Like at the end of the day we'll have to in fact... use our units? This is a war. We have an enemy unit (the Hafs) that is weak against melee, we have a Hobgoblin unit that is GOOD against melee charging...
Here's a thought. It puts 312th in a decent position to either plink away or charge, gets rid of Halfling Militia 3, and puts the Hobgoblins in a good position to work together with the 312th to deal with the Humans.
I think that if we commit, we want to commit fully and charge both the hobs and the humans in.
The hobs are a bit better but these differences don't mean that humans can't melee and the enemy human unit already lost some members and cohesion.
And I think I agree. Doing fancy manoeuvres with taking advantage of our better rifles or waiting for the artillery to do all the work won't be great, especially when the cavalry can form up and cause even more damage
I think that if we commit, we want to commit fully and charge both the hobs and the humans in.
The hobs are a bit better but these differences don't mean that humans can't melee and the enemy human unit already lost some members and cohesion.
And I think I agree. Doing fancy manoeuvres with taking advantage of our better rifles or waiting for the artillery to do all the work won't be great, especially when the cavalry can form up and cause even more damage
