- Pronouns
- They/Them
Best Dressed General, Revolutionary Year One, Gold Medalist?
Army of Liberty: a Fantasy Revolutionary Warfare Quest
- Thread starter Photomajig
- Start date
- Fantasy Historic
Best Dressed General, Revolutionary Year One, Gold Medalist?
- Pronouns
- They/Them
@Photomajig , what are the month names/etc, by the way?
- Pronouns
- She/They
Not when the Army of the Centre is busy slogging toward Antreville, I think. With half its troops gone and itS general captured, the West is a strategic non-entity until the Nornish government can fix it with reinforcements and a new CO.
Red Rationalist
Spinning in eternity
- Location
- Andro-Orlando Hair Saloon
- Pronouns
- They/Them
We captured about half of their army plus their upper command, so no. We really don't need to spend any more time here, the Army of the West has been quite decisively defeated. It would take a month or two to reforge the provincial army, time we won't give Norn.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Oh, I think I know why that happened. We captured only 3 Trained units, but we destroyed another two (the two Royal Artillery units.)
- Location
- Finland
There's no hard mechanical rule. I look at casualties, CO trait, the nature of the unit (elites, minority auxiliaries, religious fanatics, etc) and make the call sometimes.
Atriale
Somniale
Martiale
Quadiale
Verdiale
Garandiale
Beltiale (current)
Chordeale
Sacriale
Marachiale
Entriale
Lacriale
Corresponding to our months, pretty much. The names are mostly just me smashing together syllables.
Huh. Maybe I could count, after all. Neat.
DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
The hearth-month, deep winter, the time of not leaving the fire unless absolutely necessary
The sleep month, the end of winter, when everything starts coming out of hibernation
The martial month, the beginning of the seasons for war
The fourth month
The green month, when buds and blooms turn to fresh leaves
The month of grandeur, high summer, when every part of nature is at its strongest
??
The month of spines or the month of songs (depending on your historical beliefs), the end of summer, the beginning of harvest, the month that stiffens the spine and brings work songs to the fields
the holy month, the middle of harvest, the beginning of autumn, the time of the sacred bounty of the gods
The month of entrance, the end of fall, the time when all beasts and men enter their burrows
The month of tears, the beginning of deep winter, the time of death and mourning.
Last edited:
@Photomajig To clarify something for retreating rules, the 90th Elv moved East and tried to retreat but was prevented, so if a unit moves next to a unit while the unit is retreating off map, the retreat is prevented?
Dutch
Bored Spearman of the Wind
- Location
- CET
Hmmmm. In that case....
These are the enemy units that managed to retreat and things that stand out. All of them are composed of local Norns, not Emigrés.
Lie 1st Hum Hsr
Offensive Genius (19), regular, 40% losses. Coinflip leaning towards retreat in good order.
Gal 14th Half Jäg
Demoralizing (2), regular, 21% losses. In danger of dispersing.
Dau 86th Elv
Offensive Genius (19), trained, 18% losses. Retreat in good order.
Dau 93rd Elv
Rapid CO (17), trained, 12% losses. Retreat in good order.
Bil 15th Dwa
Unsteady CO (3), trained, 21% losses. In danger of dispersing.
Mrk Nym Rng
Feared CO (9), Professionals, 18% losses. Yeah. Not even a question. These guys are retreating in good order.
61st Elv Art
Careless CO (4) regulars, no casualties. Artillery tends to be more professionally minded troops. Mostly comes down to the CO being able to extract his cannons in chaos, could end up with them escaping but leaving behind their guns.
75th Elv Art
Offensive Genius CO (19) regulars, no casualties. The 75th should be able to retreat in good order.
Last edited:
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
1st Human Hussars might actually disperse going by this from their POV.
The Nornish artillery appears to have been from the main army rather than provincial, so the men at least should be fine.
Plus not just taking 40% losses, but taking them over the course of a single turn as a major shock. Plus, they're Trained, not Regular.
The Nornish artillery appears to have been from the main army rather than provincial, so the men at least should be fine.
Last edited:
Dutch
Bored Spearman of the Wind
- Location
- CET
Assuming this and the other predictions pan out, we'd have reduced the Army of the West from a Corps sized formation to a single Division (3 Inf regiments and divisional Art)
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
The indiscretion of the 13th has paid off so massively we can't say anything about it. I am worried that will cause overconfidence, and it would be very much in form for a lucky break for an aggressive regimental commander one battle to cause an unlucky gamble to annihilate the unit next time around.
As such, we probably shouldn't be pinning any essential moves or defensive lynchpins holding on the 13th if they turn out to be prone to perennial gambling.
As such, we probably shouldn't be pinning any essential moves or defensive lynchpins holding on the 13th if they turn out to be prone to perennial gambling.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Wait, what did the 13th do? They're not Mavericks? It's the 45th who are Mavericks.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Hmm, I've been thinking about how relatively easy it was to take capture so much of the army this battle, and have come up with some thoughts in case anyone is interested in reading my rambling.
One of the first factors behind it was that that the reserve to cover the retreat turned out to be woefully insufficient. The two cavalry units got one or two hits in on the frontmost troops and then got disintegrated by artillery fire and countercharges. To a degree that was luck of managing to rout both cavalry units in a single turn, which was statistically unlikely. But I think it still brings up the point that a larger screen is needed to successfully cover for such a retreat.
In particular, I think that to provide successful cover, what was needed wasn't just cavalry, but also some units of infantry. When the retreat sounded, there were a few intact units of infantry with full or near-full Cohesion. But they were also spread out rather than being able to form a second line behind which the routing units could escape the battle with. I think the implications of this are that future generals with more experience will make sure to keep a reserve of not just their cavalry, but also their infantry. With the commitment of said reserve infantry to the frontline being a gamble that could overwhelm the enemy, but if the attack is repulsed, then it makes it much more difficult to withdraw in good order.
Von Wachenheim committed most of his infantry in a series of wave assaults on us with just a handful of exceptions that were too strung out (and with the ground too muddy) to form a proper reserve to hold back the Arnese counterattack. Plus the chaotic conditions of the rout causing a lot of units to become Disorganized and thus further unable to form an effective screen for the retreat.
Another aspect I think is the quality of the troops involved. Most of the troops in this battle are Trained. Trained is the level just above Green, and a Trained unit can be formed from Green reserve troops after a March has been spent training them up. So the average Trained unit is just "can march and fire in something resembling good discipline." I think this is pretty important for the amount of captures we got, at least narratively. Most of the troops Von Wachenheim had were completely untested. Regular and up troops I imagine would be far better organized in terms of being able to manage an orderly withdrawal.
-----
On another sidenote, I kinda feel like the formation of Von Wachenheim's army was done about in a similar manner to ours. Like, you start with a mass of trained infantry from volunteer units (9 Trained Infantry, 2 Trained Cavalry, 1 Trained Artillery.) And then a bunch of higher quality units were added to pad the ranks (a unit of Professional-quality Nymph Infantry, 2 Halfling Jaegers, and 2 batteries of artillery from the Royal Army. Maybe the 2 units of Human Hussars were themselves a "veteran" add-on, since Norn doesn't have much cavalry to begin with and the Human Hussar regiments seem to have been the first of their kind.
It's pretty interesting. I kinda want to do an omake now about the forming of Von Wachenheim's army in the Negaverse.
One of the first factors behind it was that that the reserve to cover the retreat turned out to be woefully insufficient. The two cavalry units got one or two hits in on the frontmost troops and then got disintegrated by artillery fire and countercharges. To a degree that was luck of managing to rout both cavalry units in a single turn, which was statistically unlikely. But I think it still brings up the point that a larger screen is needed to successfully cover for such a retreat.
In particular, I think that to provide successful cover, what was needed wasn't just cavalry, but also some units of infantry. When the retreat sounded, there were a few intact units of infantry with full or near-full Cohesion. But they were also spread out rather than being able to form a second line behind which the routing units could escape the battle with. I think the implications of this are that future generals with more experience will make sure to keep a reserve of not just their cavalry, but also their infantry. With the commitment of said reserve infantry to the frontline being a gamble that could overwhelm the enemy, but if the attack is repulsed, then it makes it much more difficult to withdraw in good order.
Von Wachenheim committed most of his infantry in a series of wave assaults on us with just a handful of exceptions that were too strung out (and with the ground too muddy) to form a proper reserve to hold back the Arnese counterattack. Plus the chaotic conditions of the rout causing a lot of units to become Disorganized and thus further unable to form an effective screen for the retreat.
Another aspect I think is the quality of the troops involved. Most of the troops in this battle are Trained. Trained is the level just above Green, and a Trained unit can be formed from Green reserve troops after a March has been spent training them up. So the average Trained unit is just "can march and fire in something resembling good discipline." I think this is pretty important for the amount of captures we got, at least narratively. Most of the troops Von Wachenheim had were completely untested. Regular and up troops I imagine would be far better organized in terms of being able to manage an orderly withdrawal.
-----
On another sidenote, I kinda feel like the formation of Von Wachenheim's army was done about in a similar manner to ours. Like, you start with a mass of trained infantry from volunteer units (9 Trained Infantry, 2 Trained Cavalry, 1 Trained Artillery.) And then a bunch of higher quality units were added to pad the ranks (a unit of Professional-quality Nymph Infantry, 2 Halfling Jaegers, and 2 batteries of artillery from the Royal Army. Maybe the 2 units of Human Hussars were themselves a "veteran" add-on, since Norn doesn't have much cavalry to begin with and the Human Hussar regiments seem to have been the first of their kind.
It's pretty interesting. I kinda want to do an omake now about the forming of Von Wachenheim's army in the Negaverse.
Red Rationalist
Spinning in eternity
- Location
- Andro-Orlando Hair Saloon
- Pronouns
- They/Them
I think that's an accurate, but also only a piece of the puzzle. Part of the reason that his army was so bloodied, and ours fairly clean is that a decent part of our army just never saw combat. Much of our army was in cover, with the 72nd being undamaged until the charge came. By comparison, Wachenheim waited way to long to draw his units back, allowing the 5th to get a number of hits in. The battle went on for 7 turns after the charge failed, largely due to the forward ambush of the halflings. Plus a overreaction against the 45th around Turn 11, which put the Hussars in danger. His retreat was just generally way to slow and late, since he hoped we would charge before his artillery started the retreat, leading to a overall stalemate from his defense breaking our charge.
Yeah, his attacks were pretty timid, all things considered. He needed to commit a lot more units around turn 6-7 and push from multiple angles, rather than charge across a single road. If you ask me, the initial charge against the village should have used the cavalry for hit and run attacks, they wouldn't have consistently suffered from flanking fire around their corners. O
Sure, but you also go to war with the troops you have. As a provincial border commander of a nation busy with another war, you don't get experienced troops to draw on from the establishment. Especially not against disorganized rabble that isn't lead by elves any more.
I agree broadly, though the hussars were noted to be locals by our intelligence. Human hussars are a good pick (humans are just generally good), but their trained status suggests a lack of veterancy.
Last edited:
Dutch
Bored Spearman of the Wind
- Location
- CET
IIRC a succesful Napoleonic rearguard hinges on three main elements.
1. A solid infantry reserve. You want these guys holding back your oppenent from the bulk of your retreating troops. These are the mainstay of buying you time.
2. An active cavalry reserve. These guys are not here to primarily engage the enemy, but to threat a charge and force slower movement or even the formation of squares. Everything to slow down the enemy.
3. Local artillery support. A moving column is a massive target for solid bouncing roundshot. A pursuing infantry regiment can be battered to pieces if not careful in its advance.
Other then that timing is crucial. Ideally you want your enemy tired and incapable or pursuit. Or if he's not, then unaware of your withdrawal.
In other words. You need a solid fresh reserve capable of supporting eachother and generate threat to any pursuing force. Wachenheim didn't really have any of these.
1. A solid infantry reserve. You want these guys holding back your oppenent from the bulk of your retreating troops. These are the mainstay of buying you time.
2. An active cavalry reserve. These guys are not here to primarily engage the enemy, but to threat a charge and force slower movement or even the formation of squares. Everything to slow down the enemy.
3. Local artillery support. A moving column is a massive target for solid bouncing roundshot. A pursuing infantry regiment can be battered to pieces if not careful in its advance.
Other then that timing is crucial. Ideally you want your enemy tired and incapable or pursuit. Or if he's not, then unaware of your withdrawal.
In other words. You need a solid fresh reserve capable of supporting eachother and generate threat to any pursuing force. Wachenheim didn't really have any of these.
Last edited:
- Pronouns
- They/Them
That might be a way, tbh, to extend the length before battles grow too big and we have to start fighting PARTS of battles.
In other words, make the armies bigger but have both sides with considerable reserves that they can either bring in to try to ensure a victory or to defend against defeat, therefore having bigger numbers but not having to maneuver them all the time.
- Pronouns
- She/They
Agreed. I will say in general we've lacked a reserve on our side before this battle (which bit us in the ass at Mauvais) but that was mainly due to a lack of numbers relative to the frontage our opponent could maintain. Hopefully now that the V is a little more established we can continue to maintain multiple lines rather than relying on JUST seizing the offensive initiative and never letting go.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Yeah, though note I was partially imagining off-screen reserves, to allow conservation of having to engage with a ton of units at all times. Which could then be brought on-screen, obviously, as a decision/etc? But of course committing your reserves does mean that if you lose you have less ability to actually prevent your army from being winnowed on the retreat...
Huh? I didn't mean to suggest this. Moving off-map can totally be part of your standard Move action, if you have enough Movement left and nothing is blocking you. The Unit doesn't need to stop at the edge of the map and only retreat next Round. So a cavalry Unit with 9 Movement could start several Hexes away and dash out in one Round. You could keep them from doing so by having your cavalry directly behind them for the whole time, as they'd reach the edge of the map while adjacent and thus block them.
Routed Units do not Disorganize each other. As said, this would leave them stuck in place forever.
So one of our units that is adjecent to the fleeing unit prevents them from fleeing, our unit doesnt need to be adjacent to the border itself? Yes
The charging Unit would not get an attack in if it couldn't reach the retreating Unit in time. So if the enemy Unit is adjacent at the start of the movement phase, they will immediately move off-map with their Movement. Unless your attacking Unit is already adjacent, they're not going to reach them in time. Yeah, its arbitrary, but game mechanics sometimes have to take precedence. Also keep in mind that Units cannot retreat off-map if they have a hostile non-Routed Unit adjacent, so you can prevent them from leaving if you get there before them.
Humm. Rules as written, the Unit cannot act on its next turn. So I would say they cannot Move and are stuck in a panicked standstill.
It takes 1 Movement. To move off map boundary
If an infantry unit is halfway into a hex and then a cavalry unit tries to enter it with more movement, will the infantry unit that already expended some effort or the faster cavalry win the contest? and if the infantry loses, what happens to it?
Humm. In the last case, I'd compare the total expended Movement of the two Units to see who gets in the Hex. The loser's Movement is not wasted, they just transition to an Attack and may still take the Hex if they Rout the winner.
So let's say that Infantry Unit X has spent a total of 6 Movement across this Round and the previous one to get into a Hex from an adjacent one (3 + 3). Cavalry Unit Y rides in, using 5 Movement to enter the Hex from the adjacent Hex. It starts moving from a few more Hexes to get there, let's say 2 Movement spent. Its now used 7 Mov out of its total of 9 Movement, leaving it with 2 "spare". For seeing who gets to enter the Hex, their value is 5 (Mov expended for moving into the Hex) + 2 (spare remaining Movement, additionally spent to try and beat out the other Unit) = 7. As the Infantry Unit's expended only 6 Movement, the Cavalry takes it. But if the Cavalry had come from a bit further away and had no spare Movement left, the infantry would take it (6 vs 5).
What would happen if we told a cavalry unit to charge away, but a neighbouring infantry unit is told to attack them in melee.This would not cancel the charge. It would not even count as melee engagement, as in practice that is applied to Units that have been in melee combat with an adjacent enemy on the previous Round.
Having a friendly Routing Unit in your non-Routed Unit fucks the non-Routed Unit up. The 14th Half Jäg is Routed and has thus fucked up the other, non-Routed Unit that is also in that Hex. The 14th Half Jäg will continue its Rout and Move on next Round, but the other Unit will lose its turn next Round and only recover for the Round after that. If both Units got Disorganized, they'd be stuck forever!
proposal: charging through a unit could potentially slow down their ability to Rest or stop at that location or something like that? Or it could disrupt the Rest process? Not sure. That's definitely fair, yeah. I'll have it stop an Unit from Resting.
Yeah, by preventing them from moving towards safety. If they cannot Move closer to friendly lines during their turn, they are likely to surrender.
Yeah, I see why the delayed rapid movement causes issues. If firing conflicts that much with the turn orders, could I switch them to "Rapid Move E, THEN Ready Fire [Medium Range, E]"? As I understand it, ready fire can be resolved during any point part of the movement turn. This is a bit funny rules-wise, but technically it works. I'll go with that!
No, it requires an attack to hit. It's a battlefield - soldiers have no choice but to get used to resting even when guns are firing their way. As long as its falling way off target, it's bearable. That said, even just 1 Hit is enough for interruption. Not totally sure what you mean by threatening range. Units generally only Rest behind friendly lines, so Units will never Rest adjacent to enemies anyway. If an enemy slips past and comes adjacent, the Rest is not interrupted, as the resting and the moving are happening more or less simultaneously in-universe and the Resters.
Ah. If the Ready Fire and Ready Charge are triggered simultaneously, they are also resolved simultaneously. The Charge will be carried out if the Routing enemy can be reached. It doesn't matter, rules-wise, that the enemy is now Routing. It moved into the triggering Hex, it is getting Charged. From the perspective of the cavalry commander, the enemy is not yet Routed or even hit when they start moving for the Charge, and they do not have access to the exact numbers of Cohesion and whatnot that you supreme commanders do, so they'll damn well finish it.
Could we do a conditional charge, where a unit moves and does a charge attack at a adjecent hex if there is a unit in that hex?
No. It's either Charge or Move, so you can Charge a specific enemy Unit or a specific Hex you suspect to be occupied, but you cannot change the end target of that Charge mid-turn.
So a cavalry unit has its Ready Charge triggered and Charges, but immediately enters hostile Ready Fire range and gets Routed? They'll Rout and run away instead of continuing the Charge, yeah.
They didn't have enough Supplies for the whole Rest, so they only got half of the effect. Hobs consume 2 Supplies per Rest and they had only 1 left.
if we ready fire, it doesnt trigger and a search action reveals hidden enemies later, will they still shoot or is it too late?
Ready Fire is intended to trigger off an enemy's movement rules as written, but things like this should probably count as well (an enemy "entering" the set range by being spotted). So I'll say yes, sure.
Is it possible for a unit to use the supply action to fill their munition/ supply from a neighbour rather than to their neighbour? We have so far only used to opposite interaction, but my reading of the rule seems to imply the opposite is also possible. Yes, that is perfectly valid.
how would you handle a rapid unit moving and blocking the line of fire against a unit behind them? The firing order just being cancelled seems off to me. Maybe the rapid unit could take a firing attack if they move in the way of another unit, since they are basically jumping in front of enemy guns? Yes. The order would not be cancelled. The Firing would hit the Rapid Unit moving into the way instead, yeah.
You can delay the free move to a later point, so yes, I guess?
But for future reference I think it makes sense that Ready Fire/Charge triggers on enemies being revealed within its set distance too. I'll edit the order's definition with that in mind.
They do, yes. You can Charge a Hex you suspect to be occupied. Do note that the enemy will get Ambush Advantage on any Ready Fire or Brace counterattack. That's a Plains Hex, apologies for the confusing placement of the terrain there.
A) Nymphs are in Forest. They Fire at an enemy from that Forest. They have Advantage.
B) Nymphs are in Forest. An enemy Charges them. The enemy does not have Disadvantage, but the Nymphs will have Advantage on their counter-attack if Braced.
C) Enemy is in Forest. Nymphs Charge them. This counts as fighting in the defender's Hex, so they have Advantage.
D) Enemy is on Plains and Nymphs are in an adjacent Forest. Nymphs Attack the enemy in melee. This counts as fighting in the defender's Hex of Plains, so the Nymphs do not have Advantage.
What happens if 2 friendly units try to move trough the same tile during one turn? If one simply waits for the other to leave the tile before executing their move, could I specify who gets to cross the tile first? Sure, you can.
does moving onto a road from a non-road hex only consume 1 movment too
Yes. This was ruled so in the last battle.
Below is Before Combat System Revisions 1.1
What was thereba -3 on the CO event roll? The reduction in army drill is very unfortunate, but we did at least get a free dismissal for a pretty bad CO out of ut
The CO's Trait can give a modifier to the roll. Unsteady has a hefty minus, as the troops don't love a leader they can't count on. Incompetent is the worst, Brilliant the best - effectively this means that COs with bad Traits can't get the best possible results and COs with good Traits will never get the worst possible results like this.
Mind you, as only one CO Event is rolled per March and which CO it affects is random, even bad COs have a fairly low chance of causing outcomes like this.
To clarify, the following rules are now in effect:
-During a retreat, Routed enemy Units will surrender if they end the Round with an enemy Unit in the same Hex and no non-Routed friendly Units adjacent
-Units can be told to simply Capture an enemy Unit; this is effectively a Charge Order that has the Unit attempting to end up on top of the target
will they follow the white line until they encounter obstructions or will they try to escape the best way possible walking somewhere else if they consider it better.
The white line is just for general direction of escape. You can give orders in the vein of "MOVE so you block X Unit" in this case if you like, since there are lots of options. The enemy will need to move 1 Hex away off the edge when they get there.
If two Units try to get to the same Hex, the one with higher Movement wins. If there's no difference, it's a coin flip. In this regard, it's just as normal.
I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean as in, your Unit A is adjacent to enemy Unit B, but instead of Attacking, they Charge 2 Hexes away from B and then back? That would currently be a valid action, yes.
Re: can HQs fight back? No, but I'll rule that the Terrain they're on does reduce how much of the Supplies/Munitions get destroyed at one time.
You can't control where Routed Units move, but you can certainly move a cohesive Unit into the space of one that is currently Routed. The Routed Unit will try to get away by the shortest route, so unless it gets stuck for some reason, it should leave the Hex anyway to make room for the cohesive one.
Ready Fire can't be set against an enemy Unit, only a direction.
In such a case they would not have the Movement to reroute, so they would Charge the 45th instead.
do we have to handhold exact positioning for uncertain events? As in, if our intent is that the 108th charge the enemy cavalary and then head northwards, will they just unheedingly run straight up hills and through woods if we don't tell them not to? Or can we assume they'll take the most expedient path? They'll take the fastest path unless otherwise specified. You can tell them to take the most covered route, or most distant route from enemy arty, or whatever. I'll default to most expedient if there's no instructions to the contrary.
Cavalry Shock does only apply to non-cavalry enemies. The description of it was misleading in the last battle, I rephrased it at some point but probably forgot to mention it.
A Charge on the HQ would destroy a bunch of Supplies and Munitions and prevent resupplying from it for the rest of the battle. Irrelevant if you're expecting a quick victory, potentially very relevant in a drawn out contest.
You only know when enemy are Routed, otherwise their Cohesion is a mystery. Of course since you know their max Cohesion in this battle, I suppose it's easy enough to track what it should be.
Yes, that works fine. And as for your earlier question on if Bracing negates both Charge Advantages that Lancers get - yes, it does.
Becoming Hidden requires line of sight to break.
If the 200th charges an enemy cav and they charge back, they cavalry will get into the hex between them because they are faster, right?. And woud their charge treat the 200th as being in a forest then? Yes, the cavalry would take the Hex in this case, and yes, they would be Charging into their Woods Hex.
So while I do see an issue and am going to let Ready Charge be set in a wider cone
can the enemy tell that our Halflings have Canard Rifles from this far away?
They cannot, it only gets revealed when they engage in combat.
if we move the 108st nw, ne, nw it will be briefly seen during its movement. Will the enemy know about seeing that movement? and they will rehide either way right It will not be revealed unless an enemy Unit has LoS on its destination Hex. But the enemy will get a "we saw some kind of cavalry movement in this area" warning, which you'll also get in similar circumstances. I'm still playing around a bit with how this works, but that's it for now.
Oh yes. Though killing the enemy commander would be considered extremely rude. This is civilized warfare, sir. HQs generally do not fight back, but you also can't just steal/destroy their whole stockpile in one Round either. Capturing their general is also not guaranteed even if you raid the HQ. Raka/the general can also attach to a different Unit if wished, but this brings its own risks if that Unit gets attacked.
Elite Traits are just special traits Units will get if they reach Elite XP Rank. These can be a variety of things - a Trait allowing you to Fire-then-Charge as an Order, or allowing you to be Braced while you Move, or cross certain terrains without penalty, fight better with no friendlies adjacent, and so forth. I have definitely not made a full list of them yet, since there's no Elites this early in the Quest.
related to that, will special equipment replace normal equipment? so if we equip a unit with rifles do we get muskets back? will influence decay or can we stockpile it?
Yes, it will be replaced, so you'll get back the old equipment.
Influence generally stockpiles, but dramatic changes in the Convention like elections, coups and factional splits can wipe out all or part of your Influence when they happen. The next elections are set for the autumn of this year (it's now spring). The next coup is... Why would there be a coup? Everyone is united in fraternal revolutionary spirit and will be forevermore.
Certainly. Poor Morale will risk events that have to do with mutiny, malingering, poor relations between soldiers, etc. Poor Drill risks events like supply spoilage, waste of munitions, slowdowns on the march and other symptoms of weak discipline and order.
Are the casualties that may be incurred deaths or just people not being able to keep up? And how will they be distributed among the units?
They follow the same rules as battle Casualties, so some will be deaths and some will return post-battle. They'll be distributed across all Units, weighting infantry to take most of it. As a note, attrition from disease and accidents is the biggest killer in war in this period, but having constant Casualties from attrition was unfun bookkeeping, so it only hits in more difficult circumstances like forced marches, outbreaks of disease or crossings of difficult terrain.
There's no weighting. Great units can be brought down by bad COs or vice versa. There may be chances to retrain COs to better Traits, though. Traditionally, all Arnése officers were elven. It's a big deal for the Revolutionary military for each unit to be of one race and led by officers of that race. Promises of this kind of representation were what won a big part of the military rank-and-file over to the Revolution. That means that you'd face a lot of resistance to putting a CO in an unit not of their Kin. Their cohesion and effectiveness would almost certainly suffer. Doesn't mean that this cannot change, but right now it's politically and culturally such a charged topic that it would take a lot of work to accomplish.
SEEING AN ENEMY UNIT ROUT now grants +1 Cohesion to adjacent Units. Intended effect: See how they run! (What are adecent units for this? Adjecent to the routing unit, adjecent to the rout causing unit?) Adjacent to the Routing Unit.
READY CHARGE is now an Order. Like Ready Fire, this allows Units to prepare to Charge if an enemy Unit comes within a set distance. (Will this work like ready fire where we can only specify a range or can we target certain units?) It works like Ready Fire; no specifying certain units.
Will actions of the same type still happen at the same time? So if two units charge at each other both will get the damage even if one of them routs during the exchange? They will still happen at the same time, so both would inflict their attack even if one Routs afterwards.
Generally, though, enemy armies will only surrender if they're strategically in a bad spot or morale is low. These are things largely decided outside the battle itself.
Below is stuff said before Combat System Revisions 1.0
Question, how does partial spotting work? As in, if you charge a cavalry into an area and then charge it out. You "lose" line of sight, but do you have little, "Last known location" pins or whatnot? Like a radar ping, but with elven cavalry?
I'll try to start including this, though with big battles it may get a bit tiresome - generally I check spotting at the end of the round only to simplify things.
Line of sight is unlimited. Any Unit can see across the map if possible. You can see everything not covered by another Unit or a Terrain that blocks LoS. Maps are rarely just one big plain with no blockers, of course. But! Units have a base Spotting and a base Concealment. If an Unit has higher Concealment than its observers have Spotting, it remains Hidden. I draw your attention to the fact that Halfling Units have a base Concealment of 5, while non-Elven Units only have a base Spotting of 3. The little fuckers get lost in the underbrush without even putting in any effort for it. Add to this the fact that most Terrain types boost Concealment... You will always spot adjacent Units, do note, so you can't be totally blind to foes. Attacking also breaks Hidden, however high your Concealment is, and Units that you have already Spotted cannot become Hidden unless they break line of sight to their observers first.
I guess a relevant question for Photo is whether you can use Rapid while Engaged?
You can use it to move while Engaged, yes.
Units have moved into Hexes that an allied Unit moves away from on that same Round, which is valid.
Rules question on Rapid, Photo: if we order a melee attack against the enemy, but they use their free move to move non-adjacent, does that negate the action or can we convert it into a charge? Either would make sense rules-wise but the former would make Rapid the best trait in the game by an order of magnitude, so I thought I'd ask.
You can convert it into a Charge. I would say Firing would also "follow" them in such a case. Still neat if you have a chance to Rapid away out of line of sight or into better defensive terrain, or such, but it won't let you entirely ninja away. Unless they have no Movement left to follow you or choose not to, naturally.
What does the yellow arrow between the human infantry and the friendly militia mean?
They're currently in an active melee; just a way of showing that on the map.
Question, cohesion can't go into the negative, can it? Are there any bonuses/gains from doing especially heinous cohesion damage, or is it, "If you're doing that much cohesion damage, you're also doing a bunch of casualties, and that's the bonus?"
It cannot. The joy of hearing the lamentations of your foes is your reward from overkilling cohesion-wise.
Cohesion is made up of three things.
One is the Morale of your army as a whole, representing mood, faith in the cause and devotion to you. The second is Drill, representing military discipline, depth of practice and training, and so forth. What the human trait does is double the Morale stat when calculating their Cohesion, so for them Morale is currently essentially 6. The last factor is XP Rank of the Unit. Every level after Trained grants an additional +1 to Cohesion.
Your army's Morale is currently 3 and Drill is 2, for a total base Cohesion of 5. For the humans, the Morale is essentially 6. In the future, you'll be able to affect these in various ways as general of your own force. Running down Routed Units typically keeps them Routed and may force them to surrender if they can't escape you. No bonus other than that.
The default Wound Threshold is 3. To determine Casualties, as many d10s are rolled as there are Hits from the attack. Any roll above 3 is a Casualty with the default Threshold, meaning that most Hits (70%) result in Casualties, but there's a large element of luck involved. With a Wound Threshold of 2 (Halflings in melee), any roll above 2 means a Casualty (80% chance), while Dwarves have a base Wound Threshold of 4 (60% chance). If you're fragile, your best bet is not to get hit in the first place.
Units cannot move through Units in normal circumstances.
Can units steal supplies or ammo from a surrendering or routing enemy unit
From a surrendered or destroyed one, yes. From a routing one, no. Later battles may have supply depots and camps to pillage as well.
Question: Is there any kind of penalty, movement or otherwise, for units moving adjacent to enemies. Because if not, our artillery could be very exposed to cavalry attack.
No such penalty. You can order an Unit to Brace if expecting a cavalry charge, or tell them to Ready Fire in a certain direction you expect cavalry to come from. That said, your artillery is currently in a Fortified hex (-20 melee Attack, which is doubled for cavalry). They're not entirely safe, but it's still not ideal for the riders.
Attack penalties and movement costs affect the Units attacking or moving into the Hex. Concealment and Spotting bonuses affect the unit in the Hex.
Edit: One other thing. Does Horse Artillery require a Set Up action like other Artillery?
It does. There may be options to train your horse artillery to set up more quickly (as well-drilled crews could do in real life) to negate the need for this action.
Routed Units do not Disorganize each other. As said, this would leave them stuck in place forever.
So one of our units that is adjecent to the fleeing unit prevents them from fleeing, our unit doesnt need to be adjacent to the border itself? Yes
The charging Unit would not get an attack in if it couldn't reach the retreating Unit in time. So if the enemy Unit is adjacent at the start of the movement phase, they will immediately move off-map with their Movement. Unless your attacking Unit is already adjacent, they're not going to reach them in time. Yeah, its arbitrary, but game mechanics sometimes have to take precedence. Also keep in mind that Units cannot retreat off-map if they have a hostile non-Routed Unit adjacent, so you can prevent them from leaving if you get there before them.
Humm. Rules as written, the Unit cannot act on its next turn. So I would say they cannot Move and are stuck in a panicked standstill.
It takes 1 Movement. To move off map boundary
If an infantry unit is halfway into a hex and then a cavalry unit tries to enter it with more movement, will the infantry unit that already expended some effort or the faster cavalry win the contest? and if the infantry loses, what happens to it?
Humm. In the last case, I'd compare the total expended Movement of the two Units to see who gets in the Hex. The loser's Movement is not wasted, they just transition to an Attack and may still take the Hex if they Rout the winner.
So let's say that Infantry Unit X has spent a total of 6 Movement across this Round and the previous one to get into a Hex from an adjacent one (3 + 3). Cavalry Unit Y rides in, using 5 Movement to enter the Hex from the adjacent Hex. It starts moving from a few more Hexes to get there, let's say 2 Movement spent. Its now used 7 Mov out of its total of 9 Movement, leaving it with 2 "spare". For seeing who gets to enter the Hex, their value is 5 (Mov expended for moving into the Hex) + 2 (spare remaining Movement, additionally spent to try and beat out the other Unit) = 7. As the Infantry Unit's expended only 6 Movement, the Cavalry takes it. But if the Cavalry had come from a bit further away and had no spare Movement left, the infantry would take it (6 vs 5).
What would happen if we told a cavalry unit to charge away, but a neighbouring infantry unit is told to attack them in melee.This would not cancel the charge. It would not even count as melee engagement, as in practice that is applied to Units that have been in melee combat with an adjacent enemy on the previous Round.
Having a friendly Routing Unit in your non-Routed Unit fucks the non-Routed Unit up. The 14th Half Jäg is Routed and has thus fucked up the other, non-Routed Unit that is also in that Hex. The 14th Half Jäg will continue its Rout and Move on next Round, but the other Unit will lose its turn next Round and only recover for the Round after that. If both Units got Disorganized, they'd be stuck forever!
proposal: charging through a unit could potentially slow down their ability to Rest or stop at that location or something like that? Or it could disrupt the Rest process? Not sure. That's definitely fair, yeah. I'll have it stop an Unit from Resting.
Yeah, by preventing them from moving towards safety. If they cannot Move closer to friendly lines during their turn, they are likely to surrender.
Yeah, I see why the delayed rapid movement causes issues. If firing conflicts that much with the turn orders, could I switch them to "Rapid Move E, THEN Ready Fire [Medium Range, E]"? As I understand it, ready fire can be resolved during any point part of the movement turn. This is a bit funny rules-wise, but technically it works. I'll go with that!
No, it requires an attack to hit. It's a battlefield - soldiers have no choice but to get used to resting even when guns are firing their way. As long as its falling way off target, it's bearable. That said, even just 1 Hit is enough for interruption. Not totally sure what you mean by threatening range. Units generally only Rest behind friendly lines, so Units will never Rest adjacent to enemies anyway. If an enemy slips past and comes adjacent, the Rest is not interrupted, as the resting and the moving are happening more or less simultaneously in-universe and the Resters.
Ah. If the Ready Fire and Ready Charge are triggered simultaneously, they are also resolved simultaneously. The Charge will be carried out if the Routing enemy can be reached. It doesn't matter, rules-wise, that the enemy is now Routing. It moved into the triggering Hex, it is getting Charged. From the perspective of the cavalry commander, the enemy is not yet Routed or even hit when they start moving for the Charge, and they do not have access to the exact numbers of Cohesion and whatnot that you supreme commanders do, so they'll damn well finish it.
Could we do a conditional charge, where a unit moves and does a charge attack at a adjecent hex if there is a unit in that hex?
No. It's either Charge or Move, so you can Charge a specific enemy Unit or a specific Hex you suspect to be occupied, but you cannot change the end target of that Charge mid-turn.
So a cavalry unit has its Ready Charge triggered and Charges, but immediately enters hostile Ready Fire range and gets Routed? They'll Rout and run away instead of continuing the Charge, yeah.
They didn't have enough Supplies for the whole Rest, so they only got half of the effect. Hobs consume 2 Supplies per Rest and they had only 1 left.
if we ready fire, it doesnt trigger and a search action reveals hidden enemies later, will they still shoot or is it too late?
Ready Fire is intended to trigger off an enemy's movement rules as written, but things like this should probably count as well (an enemy "entering" the set range by being spotted). So I'll say yes, sure.
Is it possible for a unit to use the supply action to fill their munition/ supply from a neighbour rather than to their neighbour? We have so far only used to opposite interaction, but my reading of the rule seems to imply the opposite is also possible. Yes, that is perfectly valid.
how would you handle a rapid unit moving and blocking the line of fire against a unit behind them? The firing order just being cancelled seems off to me. Maybe the rapid unit could take a firing attack if they move in the way of another unit, since they are basically jumping in front of enemy guns? Yes. The order would not be cancelled. The Firing would hit the Rapid Unit moving into the way instead, yeah.
You can delay the free move to a later point, so yes, I guess?
But for future reference I think it makes sense that Ready Fire/Charge triggers on enemies being revealed within its set distance too. I'll edit the order's definition with that in mind.
They do, yes. You can Charge a Hex you suspect to be occupied. Do note that the enemy will get Ambush Advantage on any Ready Fire or Brace counterattack. That's a Plains Hex, apologies for the confusing placement of the terrain there.
A) Nymphs are in Forest. They Fire at an enemy from that Forest. They have Advantage.
B) Nymphs are in Forest. An enemy Charges them. The enemy does not have Disadvantage, but the Nymphs will have Advantage on their counter-attack if Braced.
C) Enemy is in Forest. Nymphs Charge them. This counts as fighting in the defender's Hex, so they have Advantage.
D) Enemy is on Plains and Nymphs are in an adjacent Forest. Nymphs Attack the enemy in melee. This counts as fighting in the defender's Hex of Plains, so the Nymphs do not have Advantage.
What happens if 2 friendly units try to move trough the same tile during one turn? If one simply waits for the other to leave the tile before executing their move, could I specify who gets to cross the tile first? Sure, you can.
does moving onto a road from a non-road hex only consume 1 movment too
Yes. This was ruled so in the last battle.
Below is Before Combat System Revisions 1.1
What was thereba -3 on the CO event roll? The reduction in army drill is very unfortunate, but we did at least get a free dismissal for a pretty bad CO out of ut
The CO's Trait can give a modifier to the roll. Unsteady has a hefty minus, as the troops don't love a leader they can't count on. Incompetent is the worst, Brilliant the best - effectively this means that COs with bad Traits can't get the best possible results and COs with good Traits will never get the worst possible results like this.
Mind you, as only one CO Event is rolled per March and which CO it affects is random, even bad COs have a fairly low chance of causing outcomes like this.
To clarify, the following rules are now in effect:
-During a retreat, Routed enemy Units will surrender if they end the Round with an enemy Unit in the same Hex and no non-Routed friendly Units adjacent
-Units can be told to simply Capture an enemy Unit; this is effectively a Charge Order that has the Unit attempting to end up on top of the target
will they follow the white line until they encounter obstructions or will they try to escape the best way possible walking somewhere else if they consider it better.
The white line is just for general direction of escape. You can give orders in the vein of "MOVE so you block X Unit" in this case if you like, since there are lots of options. The enemy will need to move 1 Hex away off the edge when they get there.
If two Units try to get to the same Hex, the one with higher Movement wins. If there's no difference, it's a coin flip. In this regard, it's just as normal.
I'm not sure I understand the question. Do you mean as in, your Unit A is adjacent to enemy Unit B, but instead of Attacking, they Charge 2 Hexes away from B and then back? That would currently be a valid action, yes.
Re: can HQs fight back? No, but I'll rule that the Terrain they're on does reduce how much of the Supplies/Munitions get destroyed at one time.
You can't control where Routed Units move, but you can certainly move a cohesive Unit into the space of one that is currently Routed. The Routed Unit will try to get away by the shortest route, so unless it gets stuck for some reason, it should leave the Hex anyway to make room for the cohesive one.
Ready Fire can't be set against an enemy Unit, only a direction.
In such a case they would not have the Movement to reroute, so they would Charge the 45th instead.
do we have to handhold exact positioning for uncertain events? As in, if our intent is that the 108th charge the enemy cavalary and then head northwards, will they just unheedingly run straight up hills and through woods if we don't tell them not to? Or can we assume they'll take the most expedient path? They'll take the fastest path unless otherwise specified. You can tell them to take the most covered route, or most distant route from enemy arty, or whatever. I'll default to most expedient if there's no instructions to the contrary.
Cavalry Shock does only apply to non-cavalry enemies. The description of it was misleading in the last battle, I rephrased it at some point but probably forgot to mention it.
A Charge on the HQ would destroy a bunch of Supplies and Munitions and prevent resupplying from it for the rest of the battle. Irrelevant if you're expecting a quick victory, potentially very relevant in a drawn out contest.
You only know when enemy are Routed, otherwise their Cohesion is a mystery. Of course since you know their max Cohesion in this battle, I suppose it's easy enough to track what it should be.
Yes, that works fine. And as for your earlier question on if Bracing negates both Charge Advantages that Lancers get - yes, it does.
Becoming Hidden requires line of sight to break.
If the 200th charges an enemy cav and they charge back, they cavalry will get into the hex between them because they are faster, right?. And woud their charge treat the 200th as being in a forest then? Yes, the cavalry would take the Hex in this case, and yes, they would be Charging into their Woods Hex.
So while I do see an issue and am going to let Ready Charge be set in a wider cone
can the enemy tell that our Halflings have Canard Rifles from this far away?
They cannot, it only gets revealed when they engage in combat.
if we move the 108st nw, ne, nw it will be briefly seen during its movement. Will the enemy know about seeing that movement? and they will rehide either way right It will not be revealed unless an enemy Unit has LoS on its destination Hex. But the enemy will get a "we saw some kind of cavalry movement in this area" warning, which you'll also get in similar circumstances. I'm still playing around a bit with how this works, but that's it for now.
Oh yes. Though killing the enemy commander would be considered extremely rude. This is civilized warfare, sir. HQs generally do not fight back, but you also can't just steal/destroy their whole stockpile in one Round either. Capturing their general is also not guaranteed even if you raid the HQ. Raka/the general can also attach to a different Unit if wished, but this brings its own risks if that Unit gets attacked.
Elite Traits are just special traits Units will get if they reach Elite XP Rank. These can be a variety of things - a Trait allowing you to Fire-then-Charge as an Order, or allowing you to be Braced while you Move, or cross certain terrains without penalty, fight better with no friendlies adjacent, and so forth. I have definitely not made a full list of them yet, since there's no Elites this early in the Quest.
related to that, will special equipment replace normal equipment? so if we equip a unit with rifles do we get muskets back? will influence decay or can we stockpile it?
Yes, it will be replaced, so you'll get back the old equipment.
Influence generally stockpiles, but dramatic changes in the Convention like elections, coups and factional splits can wipe out all or part of your Influence when they happen. The next elections are set for the autumn of this year (it's now spring). The next coup is... Why would there be a coup? Everyone is united in fraternal revolutionary spirit and will be forevermore.
Certainly. Poor Morale will risk events that have to do with mutiny, malingering, poor relations between soldiers, etc. Poor Drill risks events like supply spoilage, waste of munitions, slowdowns on the march and other symptoms of weak discipline and order.
Are the casualties that may be incurred deaths or just people not being able to keep up? And how will they be distributed among the units?
They follow the same rules as battle Casualties, so some will be deaths and some will return post-battle. They'll be distributed across all Units, weighting infantry to take most of it. As a note, attrition from disease and accidents is the biggest killer in war in this period, but having constant Casualties from attrition was unfun bookkeeping, so it only hits in more difficult circumstances like forced marches, outbreaks of disease or crossings of difficult terrain.
There's no weighting. Great units can be brought down by bad COs or vice versa. There may be chances to retrain COs to better Traits, though. Traditionally, all Arnése officers were elven. It's a big deal for the Revolutionary military for each unit to be of one race and led by officers of that race. Promises of this kind of representation were what won a big part of the military rank-and-file over to the Revolution. That means that you'd face a lot of resistance to putting a CO in an unit not of their Kin. Their cohesion and effectiveness would almost certainly suffer. Doesn't mean that this cannot change, but right now it's politically and culturally such a charged topic that it would take a lot of work to accomplish.
SEEING AN ENEMY UNIT ROUT now grants +1 Cohesion to adjacent Units. Intended effect: See how they run! (What are adecent units for this? Adjecent to the routing unit, adjecent to the rout causing unit?) Adjacent to the Routing Unit.
READY CHARGE is now an Order. Like Ready Fire, this allows Units to prepare to Charge if an enemy Unit comes within a set distance. (Will this work like ready fire where we can only specify a range or can we target certain units?) It works like Ready Fire; no specifying certain units.
Will actions of the same type still happen at the same time? So if two units charge at each other both will get the damage even if one of them routs during the exchange? They will still happen at the same time, so both would inflict their attack even if one Routs afterwards.
Generally, though, enemy armies will only surrender if they're strategically in a bad spot or morale is low. These are things largely decided outside the battle itself.
Below is stuff said before Combat System Revisions 1.0
Question, how does partial spotting work? As in, if you charge a cavalry into an area and then charge it out. You "lose" line of sight, but do you have little, "Last known location" pins or whatnot? Like a radar ping, but with elven cavalry?
I'll try to start including this, though with big battles it may get a bit tiresome - generally I check spotting at the end of the round only to simplify things.
Line of sight is unlimited. Any Unit can see across the map if possible. You can see everything not covered by another Unit or a Terrain that blocks LoS. Maps are rarely just one big plain with no blockers, of course. But! Units have a base Spotting and a base Concealment. If an Unit has higher Concealment than its observers have Spotting, it remains Hidden. I draw your attention to the fact that Halfling Units have a base Concealment of 5, while non-Elven Units only have a base Spotting of 3. The little fuckers get lost in the underbrush without even putting in any effort for it. Add to this the fact that most Terrain types boost Concealment... You will always spot adjacent Units, do note, so you can't be totally blind to foes. Attacking also breaks Hidden, however high your Concealment is, and Units that you have already Spotted cannot become Hidden unless they break line of sight to their observers first.
I guess a relevant question for Photo is whether you can use Rapid while Engaged?
You can use it to move while Engaged, yes.
Units have moved into Hexes that an allied Unit moves away from on that same Round, which is valid.
Rules question on Rapid, Photo: if we order a melee attack against the enemy, but they use their free move to move non-adjacent, does that negate the action or can we convert it into a charge? Either would make sense rules-wise but the former would make Rapid the best trait in the game by an order of magnitude, so I thought I'd ask.
You can convert it into a Charge. I would say Firing would also "follow" them in such a case. Still neat if you have a chance to Rapid away out of line of sight or into better defensive terrain, or such, but it won't let you entirely ninja away. Unless they have no Movement left to follow you or choose not to, naturally.
What does the yellow arrow between the human infantry and the friendly militia mean?
They're currently in an active melee; just a way of showing that on the map.
Question, cohesion can't go into the negative, can it? Are there any bonuses/gains from doing especially heinous cohesion damage, or is it, "If you're doing that much cohesion damage, you're also doing a bunch of casualties, and that's the bonus?"
It cannot. The joy of hearing the lamentations of your foes is your reward from overkilling cohesion-wise.
Cohesion is made up of three things.
One is the Morale of your army as a whole, representing mood, faith in the cause and devotion to you. The second is Drill, representing military discipline, depth of practice and training, and so forth. What the human trait does is double the Morale stat when calculating their Cohesion, so for them Morale is currently essentially 6. The last factor is XP Rank of the Unit. Every level after Trained grants an additional +1 to Cohesion.
Your army's Morale is currently 3 and Drill is 2, for a total base Cohesion of 5. For the humans, the Morale is essentially 6. In the future, you'll be able to affect these in various ways as general of your own force. Running down Routed Units typically keeps them Routed and may force them to surrender if they can't escape you. No bonus other than that.
The default Wound Threshold is 3. To determine Casualties, as many d10s are rolled as there are Hits from the attack. Any roll above 3 is a Casualty with the default Threshold, meaning that most Hits (70%) result in Casualties, but there's a large element of luck involved. With a Wound Threshold of 2 (Halflings in melee), any roll above 2 means a Casualty (80% chance), while Dwarves have a base Wound Threshold of 4 (60% chance). If you're fragile, your best bet is not to get hit in the first place.
Units cannot move through Units in normal circumstances.
Can units steal supplies or ammo from a surrendering or routing enemy unit
From a surrendered or destroyed one, yes. From a routing one, no. Later battles may have supply depots and camps to pillage as well.
Question: Is there any kind of penalty, movement or otherwise, for units moving adjacent to enemies. Because if not, our artillery could be very exposed to cavalry attack.
No such penalty. You can order an Unit to Brace if expecting a cavalry charge, or tell them to Ready Fire in a certain direction you expect cavalry to come from. That said, your artillery is currently in a Fortified hex (-20 melee Attack, which is doubled for cavalry). They're not entirely safe, but it's still not ideal for the riders.
Attack penalties and movement costs affect the Units attacking or moving into the Hex. Concealment and Spotting bonuses affect the unit in the Hex.
Edit: One other thing. Does Horse Artillery require a Set Up action like other Artillery?
It does. There may be options to train your horse artillery to set up more quickly (as well-drilled crews could do in real life) to negate the need for this action.
- Location
- New Mexico, USA
- Pronouns
- He/They
Did I get whose commander disobeyed orders wrong? My mistake. Point stands for whichever unit it is.
Brutet: Aftermath
- Location
- Finland
The battle is won. Over the rest of the day, you work to pick up the pieces and bring the Fifth Army back to order. You could not accuse them of discipline, but they've fought like wolves today, so who could fault them? Your soldiers disperse over the field to loot and indulge themselves in drink, sleep or each other. You have resurrection pickets established and organize reliable men to retrieve wounded, take stock of the enemy supply train and bring the prisoners to camp, but the rest is largely out of your hands.
The enemy runs, a thousand tiny streams that join into a floodwave of desperately running stragglers. Only a handful of the enemy regiments appear to have withdrawn in decent order.
You send out light cavalry to harry and track the retreating swarm. The utter disorganization of the enemy makes it difficult to follow everyone, but their destination is obvious. The remains of the Army of the West scramble back across the Vaud in tatters and run for the perceived safety of Daurstein. In spite of the vaunted Nornish discipline, hundreds of them disperse and desert from their units to head for whatever place they call home. You don't retain a clear picture of exactly what's left of the Army when it reforms - you'd have to keep your scouts at it a while longer for that.
Brutet is a decisive victory. You'd like to be a fly on the wall of the Convention when word of it reaches them. Your star is rising. Even the Constitutionalists will not be able to deny you the glory you've earned today.
+100 Influence gained from Victory.
+55 Influence from enemy Units forced to surrender (+40 from 8 Trained, +15 from 1 Regular)
Success comes with a price, and that is figuring out what to do with 6000 Nornish prisoners of war and a dozen high-ranked officers, including General von Wachenheim himself. You suppose they're Martelnac's problem now. Shepherding them to Antreville and deeper into the country might be prudent, but it might also slow down the Fifth. No, they'll be snug and safe in Martelnac for now; the officers you can bring along, perhaps.
The enemy's given you a bounty in munitions and supplies. You appreciate the generous gift. The weather took its toll on your powder during the battle. The only downside is that the men's rations will include greasy Nornish sausage and fermented cabbage for Hobb knows how long. The last thing you need is everyone's bowels running all the way to Antreville.
The halfling jägers' Falke Rifles are an interesting catch. While found less accurate at range by your Pathfinders, they pack quite the punch.
206 Munitions captured from enemy.
128 Supplies captured from enemy.
x1 Field Artillery, x1 Falke Rifle and x7 Erlkönig Musket captured from enemy.
The troops are properly bloodied now. Victory tastes sweet. Even the heavy losses in some units cannot rob the troops of their good cheer. Trophies from captured or killed Nornishmen adorn the skin of almost every soldier you see. The enemy, on the other hand, has been dealt a blow that would kill the spirit of even the hardiest warrior.
All Units receive +2 XP.
V. Army Morale increased by +12 (+2 from Victory, +9 from Surrendered enemy Units), Morale cap reached (10).
Army of the West Morale decreased by -13 (-2 from Defeat, -9 from Surrendered Units, -1 from 1 CO Killed), Morale cap reached (0).
The butcher's bill comes due, of course. Too many are dead, taken apart by musketfire, bayonet and artillery, their bodies drowned in the mud and trampled by soldiers' feet. While your reserves allow you to fill most of the gaps in the formations, there are not enough replacements for your halfling units to return to full strength.
3 human Casualties recovered to Reserve. 6 elven Casualties recovered to Reserve. 3 hobgoblin Casualties recovered to Reserve. 1 halfling Casualty recovered to Reserve.
251st Hob recovers 21 Casualties. 251st Hob improves to Regular from XP (0/10, Regular). 251st Hob takes on 38 Trained Replacements (-1 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss). 251st Hob degrades to Trained (4/5, Trained).
200th Hob recovers 6 Casualties. 200th Hob improves to Professional from XP (1/20, Professional). 200th Hob takes on 15 Trained Replacements (-1 XP).
72nd Hum recovers 27 Casualties. 72nd Hum improves to Professional from XP (7/10, Professional). 72nd Hum takes on 40 Regular Replacements (-4 XP, halved to -2 XP).
148th Hum recovers 114 Casualties. 148th Hum improves to Professional from XP (6/10, Professional). 148th Hum takes on 81 Regular Replacements (-7 XP to Regular, then 0 XP loss) and 89 Trained Replacements (-5 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss). 148th Hum degrades to Trained (2/3, Trained).
42nd Elv improves to Regular from XP (0/20, Regular).
45th Elv recovers 105 Casualties. 45th Elv improves to Regular from XP (2/20, Regular). 45th Elv takes on 49 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss).
16th Half recovers 62 Casualties. 16th Half takes on 79 Trained Replacements (-6 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss).
19th Half Pfd recovers 73 Casualties. 19th Half Pfd takes on 77 Trained Replacements (-7 XP).
28th Half Pfd recovers 33 Casualties. 28th Half Pfd takes on 48 Trained Replacements (-4 XP) and 2 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss).
84th Elv Art improves to Regular from XP (8/20, Regular).
31st Elv Art improves to Regular from XP (10/20, Regular).
10th Hum Art improves to Experienced from XP (1/20, Experienced).
55th Elv Hsr recovers 214 Casualties. 55th Elv Hsr improves to Regular from XP (4/20, Regular). 55th Elv Hsr takes on 98 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss) and 8 Trained Replacements (0 XP loss).
108th Elv Hsr recovers 50 Casualties. 108th Elv Hsr takes on 28 Regular Replacements (-2 XP).
13th Hob Lan recovers 85 Casualties. 13th Hob Lan improves to Professional from XP (2/20, Professional). 13th Hob Lan takes on 113 Trained Replacements (-11 XP loss). 13th Hob Lan degrades to Regular (1/10, Regular).
Fifth Army
Supplies are expended every March equal to the amount of Units under your command (double for Hobgoblin Units). Each 1000 of Reserve Manpower counts as an additional Unit.
Reserve Manpower: (47 halflings needed for Replacements)
-Elven: 198 Trained
-Human: 415 Trained
-Hobgoblin: 29 Trained
-Halflings: 0
Casualties: (no bonus to casualty recovery)
-Humans: 0
-Elves: 0
-Hobgoblins: 0
-Halflings: 0
Our Units
*Affected by Casualties
Bayonets, Sabres: Wounding +0
Lances: Wounding +1, Concealment -1, Movement -2, additional Charge Advantage
Cabot Musket: Wounding +0, Range 100m/200m/400m
Field Artillery: Wounding 3, Range 200m/700m/1400m
Canard Rifle: Wounding +0, Range 200m/300m/500m
Horse Artillery: Wounding +2, Movement +4, Range 200m/600m/1200m
Cutting this here, it's messy enough as it is. More to come!
The enemy runs, a thousand tiny streams that join into a floodwave of desperately running stragglers. Only a handful of the enemy regiments appear to have withdrawn in decent order.
You send out light cavalry to harry and track the retreating swarm. The utter disorganization of the enemy makes it difficult to follow everyone, but their destination is obvious. The remains of the Army of the West scramble back across the Vaud in tatters and run for the perceived safety of Daurstein. In spite of the vaunted Nornish discipline, hundreds of them disperse and desert from their units to head for whatever place they call home. You don't retain a clear picture of exactly what's left of the Army when it reforms - you'd have to keep your scouts at it a while longer for that.
Brutet is a decisive victory. You'd like to be a fly on the wall of the Convention when word of it reaches them. Your star is rising. Even the Constitutionalists will not be able to deny you the glory you've earned today.
+100 Influence gained from Victory.
+55 Influence from enemy Units forced to surrender (+40 from 8 Trained, +15 from 1 Regular)
***
Success comes with a price, and that is figuring out what to do with 6000 Nornish prisoners of war and a dozen high-ranked officers, including General von Wachenheim himself. You suppose they're Martelnac's problem now. Shepherding them to Antreville and deeper into the country might be prudent, but it might also slow down the Fifth. No, they'll be snug and safe in Martelnac for now; the officers you can bring along, perhaps.
The enemy's given you a bounty in munitions and supplies. You appreciate the generous gift. The weather took its toll on your powder during the battle. The only downside is that the men's rations will include greasy Nornish sausage and fermented cabbage for Hobb knows how long. The last thing you need is everyone's bowels running all the way to Antreville.
The halfling jägers' Falke Rifles are an interesting catch. While found less accurate at range by your Pathfinders, they pack quite the punch.
206 Munitions captured from enemy.
128 Supplies captured from enemy.
x1 Field Artillery, x1 Falke Rifle and x7 Erlkönig Musket captured from enemy.
***
The troops are properly bloodied now. Victory tastes sweet. Even the heavy losses in some units cannot rob the troops of their good cheer. Trophies from captured or killed Nornishmen adorn the skin of almost every soldier you see. The enemy, on the other hand, has been dealt a blow that would kill the spirit of even the hardiest warrior.
All Units receive +2 XP.
V. Army Morale increased by +12 (+2 from Victory, +9 from Surrendered enemy Units), Morale cap reached (10).
Army of the West Morale decreased by -13 (-2 from Defeat, -9 from Surrendered Units, -1 from 1 CO Killed), Morale cap reached (0).
***
The butcher's bill comes due, of course. Too many are dead, taken apart by musketfire, bayonet and artillery, their bodies drowned in the mud and trampled by soldiers' feet. While your reserves allow you to fill most of the gaps in the formations, there are not enough replacements for your halfling units to return to full strength.
3 human Casualties recovered to Reserve. 6 elven Casualties recovered to Reserve. 3 hobgoblin Casualties recovered to Reserve. 1 halfling Casualty recovered to Reserve.
251st Hob recovers 21 Casualties. 251st Hob improves to Regular from XP (0/10, Regular). 251st Hob takes on 38 Trained Replacements (-1 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss). 251st Hob degrades to Trained (4/5, Trained).
200th Hob recovers 6 Casualties. 200th Hob improves to Professional from XP (1/20, Professional). 200th Hob takes on 15 Trained Replacements (-1 XP).
72nd Hum recovers 27 Casualties. 72nd Hum improves to Professional from XP (7/10, Professional). 72nd Hum takes on 40 Regular Replacements (-4 XP, halved to -2 XP).
148th Hum recovers 114 Casualties. 148th Hum improves to Professional from XP (6/10, Professional). 148th Hum takes on 81 Regular Replacements (-7 XP to Regular, then 0 XP loss) and 89 Trained Replacements (-5 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss). 148th Hum degrades to Trained (2/3, Trained).
42nd Elv improves to Regular from XP (0/20, Regular).
45th Elv recovers 105 Casualties. 45th Elv improves to Regular from XP (2/20, Regular). 45th Elv takes on 49 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss).
16th Half recovers 62 Casualties. 16th Half takes on 79 Trained Replacements (-6 XP to Trained, then 0 XP loss).
19th Half Pfd recovers 73 Casualties. 19th Half Pfd takes on 77 Trained Replacements (-7 XP).
28th Half Pfd recovers 33 Casualties. 28th Half Pfd takes on 48 Trained Replacements (-4 XP) and 2 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss).
84th Elv Art improves to Regular from XP (8/20, Regular).
31st Elv Art improves to Regular from XP (10/20, Regular).
10th Hum Art improves to Experienced from XP (1/20, Experienced).
55th Elv Hsr recovers 214 Casualties. 55th Elv Hsr improves to Regular from XP (4/20, Regular). 55th Elv Hsr takes on 98 Regular Replacements (0 XP loss) and 8 Trained Replacements (0 XP loss).
108th Elv Hsr recovers 50 Casualties. 108th Elv Hsr takes on 28 Regular Replacements (-2 XP).
13th Hob Lan recovers 85 Casualties. 13th Hob Lan improves to Professional from XP (2/20, Professional). 13th Hob Lan takes on 113 Trained Replacements (-11 XP loss). 13th Hob Lan degrades to Regular (1/10, Regular).
***
Fifth Army
| Morale | Drill | Munitions | Supplies | Influence | |
| Current | 10 (illusion of invincibility) | 4 (amateurish but passable) | 241 | 184 | 285 |
| Projected |
Reserve Manpower: (47 halflings needed for Replacements)
-Elven: 198 Trained
-Human: 415 Trained
-Hobgoblin: 29 Trained
-Halflings: 0
Casualties: (no bonus to casualty recovery)
-Humans: 0
-Elves: 0
-Hobgoblins: 0
-Halflings: 0
Our Units
|
| Str. | Coh. |
|
|
|
| Spt. |
| Equipment | Traits | CO | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 251st Hob. | 4/5, Trained | 1000/1000 | 14/14 | +0 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Hobgoblin | Veka Bonheur Incompetent | |||||||
| 10th Hum Art. | 1/20, Experienced | 50/50 | 27/27 | +30 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | Field Artillery | Human | David Granger Offensive Genius | |||||||
| 200th Hob. | 0/20, Professional | 1000/1000 | 16/16 | +20 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Hobgoblin | Alho Kléber Offensive Genius | |||||||
| 72nd Hum. | 5/10, Professional | 1000/1000 | 26/26 | +20 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Human | Gereon Oberlin Teacher | |||||||
| 148th Hum. | 2/3, Trained | 1000/1000 | 24/24 | +0 | 10/10 | 4/5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Human | Liberté Chastain Inspiring | |||||||
| 42nd Elv. | 0/20, Regular | 1000/1000 | 15/15 | +10 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Elven | M. de Montmorency Unsteady | |||||||
| 45th Elv. | 2/20, Regular | 1000/1000 | 15/15 | +10 | 10/10 | 4/5 | 3 | 5 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Elven | Jean de Sangeaux Maverick | |||||||
| 16th Half. | 4/5, Trained | 980/1000 | 14/14 | +0 | 10/10 | 3/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Cabot Musket Bayonets | Halfling | Maïwen Firmin Butcher | |||||||
| 19th Half. Pfd. | 2/10, Regular | 982/1000 | 15/15 | +10 | 10/10 | 3/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Canard Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Sophie Tasse Rapid | |||||||
| 28th Half. Pfd. | 3/10, Regular | 991/1000 | 15/15 | +10 | 10/10 | 4/5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | Canard Rifle Bayonets | Halfling | Georges Villiers Unsteady | |||||||
| 55th Elv. Hsr. | 4/20, Regular | 500/500 | 15/15 | +10 | - | 2/5 | 3 | 5 | 9 | Sabres | Elven | Berenice de Toucy Defensive Genius | |||||||
| 108th Elv. Hsr. | 10/40, Professional | 500/500 | 16/16 | +20 | - | 2/5 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Sabres | Elven | Augustin de Goyon Loud | |||||||
| 13th Hob. Lan. | 1/10, Regular | 500/500 | 15/15 | +10 | - | 0/5 | 2 | 3 | 7 | Lances | Hobgoblin | Karo Bonnaire Optimist | |||||||
| 84th Elv. Art. | 8/20, Regular | 50/50 | 15/15 | +10 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 3 | 7 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven | Jules de Maistre Watchful | |||||||
| 31st Elv. Art. | 10/20, Regular | 50/50 | 15/15 | +10 | 12/12 | 7/7 | 3 | 5 | 1 | Field Artillery | Elven | Marie de Lamartine Logistician | |||||||
| 5th Hob. H. Art. | 24/40, Experienced | 50/50 | 17/17 | +30 | 8/8 | 3/3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Horse Artillery | Hobgoblin | Arka Faucher Careless | |||||||
| HQ | - | - | - | - | 241 | 184 | - | - | 1 |
Bayonets, Sabres: Wounding +0
Lances: Wounding +1, Concealment -1, Movement -2, additional Charge Advantage
Cabot Musket: Wounding +0, Range 100m/200m/400m
Field Artillery: Wounding 3, Range 200m/700m/1400m
Canard Rifle: Wounding +0, Range 200m/300m/500m
Horse Artillery: Wounding +2, Movement +4, Range 200m/600m/1200m
***
Cutting this here, it's messy enough as it is. More to come!
Last edited:
Red Rationalist
Spinning in eternity
- Location
- Andro-Orlando Hair Saloon
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Also, shamelessly reposting my own thoughts for the post-mortem of the battle:
My own thoughts on lessons to be learned from the current battle:
My own thoughts on lessons to be learned from the current battle:
- We need more horse artillery. Mobile firepower is the key for actual manevoure, especially with harsh terrain. If we ever get the influence, I would strongly suggest retraining the 10th into horse artillery, they would be an absolute monster against enemies. Twice the mobile firepower could have enabled a meaningful offensive here. We ned a good balance between statically defending artillery and mobile firepower, but this is something other armies have yet to adopt as well.
- Cavalry needs to be conserved far more than we have, with coordinated charges being a requirement for the sake of overcoming enemy artillery fire. Less skirmishes and more concentration of cavalry attacks. Any cavalry charge should be made in such a way that the target is unclear, in order to reduce enemy effectiveness in preparing the line for our charge. Under the muddy conditions, we should probably not have used them until very late in the battle. Also, ready charges are a very good option if you don't want to ram into prepared positions.
- Consider options that are bad for winning the battle and if they could be dangerous. As BoredStudent1414 reminded us, nothing is as dangerous as an amateur. Sometimes the enemy doesn't know what they are doing, and assuming a clear strategic enemy vision for victory can make us blind to counterplay options. If you get your arm broken by somebody flailing ineffectually, you still have a broken arm after the battle.
- Mud makes for miserable offensive conditions that strongly favour defensive play. Future battles in this campaign will much more be about controlling the battlespace and key roads than the actual offensive of one side, as the threat of fire superiority can very effectively deter manoeuvre.
- Successful offensive and defensive relies more on deep infantry formations rather than long ones, especially in hard terrain. We should consider greater concentration, keeping most of our units in reserve and branch out into a line if the need arises, rather than expecting the entire line to charge from the outset. Long line combat isn't actually desirable if a break-trough doesn't get results.
- Woods and Hills are a very effective protection against inexperienced enemy artillery fire. Also, enemies will be more willing to traverse difficult terrain than anticipated. Maybe we should have considered putting our cavalry into the forests, since that would have kept them mobile and mostly immune to enemy fire. Expect skirmisher to pop up in unexpected places.
- Opponents expect a charge from us, Nornish doctrine is explicitly built around countering a unsupported charge of infantry. Not charging causes profound confusion, especially with our actual performance at Brutet overshadowed by the myth, as there won't be a clear enemy report what even happened for some time. An arnése hob who doesn't charge is immensly surprising.
- (Important lesson: Don't be racist kids, it makes you worse at strategy games.)
- A assault formation should have eleven meatshields at the front, hobs behind them, with high cohesion units at the flanks. Defensive operations should use elves as a meatshield, relying on defensive in depth.
- We should consider a move and ambush strategy for our horse artillery, especially in conjunction with assaults. If there is a way to take a more forward position, moving our artillery around gives us double the damage, concentrated in a single turn. Overall, damage concentration matters more than average attrition.
- Halflings survive a few mid-artillery hits from being in the open (~5 hits in total), but they can't do that forever. Be mindful of keeping an exit rout open for them. Don't skirmish to far forward and stay inside enemy artillery range for to long.
- A minor addition to a previous point, but our infantry shouldn't just be concentrated, we should organize them into narrower 2-4 squares rather than broad lines, placed to move along multiple axis of combat. If we had a assault formations in the centre or south, willing to flank and push, we would have more options for counterplay.
- A need to risk and push more once the enemy is tired. Combat doesn't end when one side finally sees the unfeasibility of attrition, it ends when both sides agree it ends. We need to plan ways to tempt an opponent into a decisive battle, rather than waiting for them to politely offer it. Or alternatively, keep enough reserve for a charge so we are seeing some kind of decision. Forsaking the initiative for defensive advantage only works when the opponent wants to attack and stops working once both sides stay where they are.
- Think more about positioning and less about damage. A routed unit is all well and good, but they can recover if the battle doesn't end. Some kind of assault column for the southern tip would have ended the affair way sooner, when the damage was still more in our favour.
- (Sacrifice more goats to the dice before a turn starts, luck is fickle.)
- Cavalry can be very useful in keeping forward units pinned via ready charge, or inflict heavy casualties against overextended units. Reserve them for isolated units or blocking manevoure, they are monsters against infantry on the go.
Last edited:
Dutch
Bored Spearman of the Wind
- Location
- CET
If I had to do some army designing for a standard template for our use?
Main Army
12 infantry regiments (3 infantry divisions)
3 foot artillery (1 per infantry division)
4 horse regiments (1 division)
1 horse artillery (1 per horse division)
Reserve
4 guard infantry regiments (1 infantry division)
2 horse regiments (1 horse brigade)
2 foot artillery (corps level artillery)
Edit: Ooh. Update!
Main Army
12 infantry regiments (3 infantry divisions)
3 foot artillery (1 per infantry division)
4 horse regiments (1 division)
1 horse artillery (1 per horse division)
Reserve
4 guard infantry regiments (1 infantry division)
2 horse regiments (1 horse brigade)
2 foot artillery (corps level artillery)
Edit: Ooh. Update!