Like, here it was easy, we were commanding a unit. But it's easy to imagine a version of this setup where we just stay at the manor as our base of operations while an Artillery CO commands that. The problem there is that would add an extra thing for us to defend, and if we were fair an extra thing for the enemy to defend. Unless it worked like you could attach and detach yourself to certain units and locations?
But basically, it opens up a can of worms, and yet at the same time it is to be fair a can of worms that needs to be opened up, since the alternative of Durand becoming a ghost in the battle means we can't easily get narrative snippets from her POV during battle, and imagine if you'd never gotten to see Napoleon pacing and worrying during Waterloo (1970).
Future battles will have some kind of HQ represented on the map (also acting as a supply depot). Durand will be located there for these kinds of considerations, though the option to move around the lines inspiring troops might be a nice (and risky) addition.
For the dwarves, maybe they could take more time to reform after the rout, requiring an extra turn before they could rest?
So they are very tanky and will survive more damage than any other types but once they have broken it's harder to re-establish the full command and clear orders they require.
Or make it so that dwarves need to regenerate a certain amount of cohesion before being able to rejoin, unlike other units they can't quickly seitze the initiative and do something while still forming up
For the dwarves, maybe they could take more time to reform after the rout, requiring an extra turn before they could rest?
So they are very tanky and will survive more damage than any other types but once they have broken it's harder to re-establish the full command and clear orders they require
I can not describe how or why but this quest lights my pleasure centers up like nothing else I've ever read, it's just ~beautiful~ in a ~visual~ sense I adore this...now if it was about spaceships but eh Fantasty Revolution will do to.
MOVE Orders are now resolved at the same time as CHARGE Orders. This can mean that Moving Units may sometimes escape Charging Units. Charging Units will automatically pursue targets that Move away if they have Movement left, unless otherwise specified.
Intended effect: Charges are less optimal vs Firing. Cavalry is harder to catch with non-Cavalry. Various weird rules interactions fixed.
This means that infantry wont be able to catch cavalry by charging, but they will also get a new powerful arsenal with ready charge to punish cavalry instead.
ROUTING can now be applied at any point during the Round. If the Routed Unit has not yet resolved its Orders, those Orders are canceled. Units which were Moving or Charging when they were Routed, or that were going to Move or Charge later in the Round, will use any remaining Movement to run away.
Intended effect: Resolves a lot of silliness regarding Moves and Charges. Makes Ready Fire and Fire much more useful.
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?
Very powerful new order. Will this work like ready fire where we can only specify a range or can we target certain units?
When thinking about this i realised something: If we expect a charge from a hobgoblin unit then its better to ready a charge against them instead of bracing unless we need to hold the hex we are standing on. If the attack us while we are braced they will still get the full charge bonus while we counterattack normally. OTOH if we charge them back theyll have the same charge bonus but well also get our own charge bonus for the attack.
"The battle at Angilmont lasted some three hours. General Guizot arranged his 32,000 men between the Corvaux Wood on his right flank and the Sarne River at his left, on a field of battle largely consisting of open fields and pastures. General de la Tour faced him with the remaining strength of his "Grand Army of the King", which amounted to around 28,000 devoted but exhausted souls. Many of de la Tour's regiments were severely understrength from weeks of retreat and low on supplies. Some 6000 of these were militiamen from across the region, largely halflings. De la Tour fought with his back to the city of Angilmont, with the only potential escape route east towards Prentille blocked by the detached "Division Montilyet" sent by Guizot to do just that three days before.
Recognizing the danger, de la Tour took a gamble. He dispatched some 5,000 men, including two squadrons of veteran cavalry, to undertake a flanking maneuver into Saintonge, some 8 miles east of Angilmont. Their orders were to cut through the Corvaux Wood and fall upon Guizot's flank and rear once his lines were fully committed. This maneuver might have had disastrous consequences if not for wary Guizot's decision to post sentries as far to the east as Montrouveau. Advance warning of the flanking force thus allowed Guizot to rapidly move an improvised brigade under Durand to reinforce the village.
Guizot now pressed the enemy at Angilmont hard. Repeated hobgoblin charges broke the enemy's centre with heavy casualties within the hour, but direct fire from the royalist batteries devastated the hobgoblins as they sought to hold the ground. By the second hour, Guizot was forced to commit almost his entire reserve to strengthen the faltering attack.
The arrival of enemy cavalry on the Saintonge road could have spelled disaster in such circumstances. Durand's largely untested forces were able to repel the experienced royalist cavalry, however. Guizot's stubborn if unimaginative push was thus given the time it needed to bleed the enemy dry.
At the end of the third hour, de la Tour's forces were increasingly in a state of exhaustion and disarray. The writing was on the wall. With a mournful final look towards Saintonge - it is said - de la Tour signalled for surrender. The battle was over. The royalists were, for the moment, spent. Guizot's star was now rising. For her actions at Saintonge, Durand was commissioned Division-General as well, though it would take until the spring of the following year for her to receive a proper command..."
-From the Ravaille Compendium of Military History, Vol XI: the Arnése Revolution (ARY 111)
You miss out on the rest of the battle at Angilmont, but so it goes. Guizot breaks the royalist cause at the cost of enough hobgoblin blood to fill a reservoir. That has been the lot of your people for centuries, of course - first into the worst of the fighting to die heroic and senseless deaths, a tradition upheld and encouraged by generations of Arnése military leaders. Guizot is a pre-Revolutionary professional soldier in good and bad. You'll not be satisfied with that. The revolutionary age calls for a revolutionary kind of warfare.
After the dust has settled, you get your reward. At Guizot's recommendation, the Convention commissions you as General Raka Durand. There is a great deal of excitement in the hob press, a jubilant promotion ceremony, and then months of absolutely nothing happening as your pleas for active command fall on deaf ears. A general without an army is a tiresome thing to be.
The makeshift brigade you commanded at Saintonge is dissolved, but your newfound influence allows you to pull your 5th to garrison duty near you, where you can at least keep a close eye on it and manage its affairs. De Montelivet, Wyler, Kléber, Burrard - they all go their separate ways. De Montelivet is promoted to General in the winter thanks to some twist of political patronage. Not that you begrudge her that. She has a talent for command. You keep tabs on the others, in case you'll wish to poach them to your service at some distant time when there's fighting to be had again.
There are no more royalists to kill. The press speculates about war with the other Golden Realms and threats of invasion, but such grand developments fail to manifest. But that does not mean that the Revolution stays idle. Largely unseen by you, Dame Change rides into the vaunted halls of the National Convention, and the new year dawns in interesting times.
***
"The failure of the royalist uprisings in the Revolutionary Year One plunged King Clotaire VIII into deep depression. Confined to his estates in the traditional royal demesne of La Durance, the temporarily embarassed sovereign of the Arnése struggled to come to terms with the inability of loyal armed forces to rescue him from his gilded cage. With the Convention asserting its authority over the nation, the King was bound to concede and assent to constitutionalism.
For a while, things looked up. The King was greeted by enthusiastic crowds upon his return to the city and resumed presiding over the Convention, though now armed only with a weak suspensive right of veto over its legislation. But this brief honeymoon could not last. Frustrated by the limits on his power, provoked by Convention radicals to abuse his veto and damage his standing, and spurred on by royalist correspondence promising further aid, Clotaire abandoned the city once more in the early spring of the Year Two. He would settle in the grandeur of Montbreaux, the largest and most ancient royal chateau of the Maisons du Roi.
Yet Clotaire did not settle to idleness. Feverish correspondence with supporters at home and abroad began to flow out of the estate, smuggled past the guards of the Convention. In Verdiale, this eager plotting began to pay fruit. The thousands of émigrés who had fled Arné during the Revolution and in the aftermath of the previous summer answered the King's call. Financed by the crowns of Norn and Bruttia, these émigrés raised an army across the border only some 250 kilometres from Montbreaux. When this "Volunteer Army" crossed into Arné on the 1st of Garandiale, the surprised Convention could only muster a hastily raised and understrength new Fifth Army to contest its passage, commanded by General Raka Durand…"
-Excerpt from the Atlas of the Revolutionary Wars (ARY 164), section "The Volunteer Army"
La DuranceCampaign
Revolutionary Year 2, Spring
La patrie is in danger, and once more it is up to Raka Durand to save the day. She finally has her command - but what sort of force is the Fifth Army? Hastily raised, lacking in coordination and cohesion and unused to its commander, it nevertheless is hers.
This will be your foremost instrument in the conflicts to come. Wield it well.
The inexperienced bulk of the Army is strengthened by a core of veterans. Who are they?
Choose 3.
[] 117th Hobgoblin Fusiliers. A new unit born from the consolidation of three veteran but understrength regiments from the region of Haute-Garand, the 117th are some of the toughest sons and daughters of Hobb you've ever known. They bring a powerful core of shock infantry to your forces. Professional Infantry. CO: Buko Favre, ???.
[] 19th and 28th Halfling Pathfinders. Halfling skirmishers from the marshes and woodlands of La Ravaille, the 19th and 28th are reckoned to be fine marksmen and light infantry, if lacking in real combat experience. The patronage of a halfling member of the Convention has somehow won them specialist Canard rifles, which have an effective firing range well beyond the Cabot musket. Trained Infantry. 19th CO: Sophie Tasse, ??? & Georges Villiers, ???. Armed with Canard Rifles (Wounding +0, 200m/300m/500m).
[] 10th Dwarven Guards. Heavy dwarven infantry drawn mostly from the coastal towns of the Vaussais province. They showed their quality in the hard fighting in the port of Coutras in the last year against despite being under fire by royalist warships for three consecutive hours. They'll hold their ground come hell or dragonfire. Professional Infantry. CO: Hématite Blanc, ???.
[] 1st Dwarven Cuirassiers. An squadron of heavy cavalry raised only a month ago, the first of a new kind of unit. They combine innate dwarven toughness with a steel cuirass that protects both horse and rider. While they are by necessity slower than hussars or other light cavalry, they're a terrifying force on the battlefield and sure to destroy any enemy cavalry that they draw into battle. Trained Cavalry. CO: Malachite Brun, ???. Equipped with Cavalry Cuirass (Wounding Threshold +1, -3 Movement (6)).
[] 108th Elven Hussars. You saw the value of elven light cavalry at Saintonge. The 108th are a pre-Revolutionary unit that flipped almost completely for the Convention, refusing to charge a popular demonstration on the streets of Loutharc. They're a strange bunch of warrior-philosophers, students of the Collège des Immortels who volunteered for the War of the Grand Alliance and came out of it radicalized and republican. Professional Cavalry. CO: Philippe-Grimoald de Guerchy, ???.
[] 13th Hobgoblin Lancers. The lance is the ultimate weapon of shock and awe. A cavalry squadron armed with lances is devastating and terrifying to face - and when the riders are hobgoblins on enormous warhorses, the effect is magnified tenfold. Lancers have traditionally been elves in Arné, but the Convention has established a great many lancer squadrons utilizing hobgoblins as riders - at long last. Trained Cavalry. CO: Karo Bonnaire, ???. Armed with Lances (Wounding +1, additional Charge Advantage, -1 Concealment, -2 Movement (7)).
[] 6th Human Siege Artillery. The heaviest guns in the Nation's arsenal are the mighty 16-pounder Oriflamme siege cannons. They're slow and have an onerous supply weight, but they can reduce entire city blocks to rubble given enough time. The 6th Human is a new formation with newly manufactured guns, but you can surely put it to good use. Trained Artillery. CO: Pierre Marvain, ???. Armed with Oriflamme Siege Cannons (Wounding +3, 100m/800m/1600m, consumes additional Munitions when Firing, reduces certain Hexes to special Ruins Terrain on sufficient Hits).
Your officers from Saintonge have scattered to the winds. De Montelivet is a fellow general now, but the others are still of lesser rank. You could perhaps coax some of them back into your service by pulling some strings...
Do you pull strings to get your old officers assigned to the Fifth? (Current Influence: 150)
[] (-25 Influence) Joséphine Wyler, CO of Human Infantry. Joséphine's career has not advanced since Saintonge. She has a reputation as a Butcher, exacting a heavy toll on the enemy as well as her own men in battle. [] (-25 Influence) Alho Kléber, CO of Hobgoblin Infantry. Kléber has fallen prey to the same lack of prospects as you. His 41st has been demobilized, leaving him without a command despite his considerable Offensive Genius. [] (-25 Influence) Henri Burrard, CO of Human Infantry. Henri Burrard seems to have come into considerable wealth as of late, thanks to a Lucky surprise inheritance. He's taken up a desk job in General Guizot's staff, but seems eager to return to the field.
***
Fifth Army
Morale
Drill
Supplies
Munitions
Influence
Current
7 (la patrie is in danger!)
2 (can barely march in formation)
60
110
150
Projected
?
?
Full list of your current Units will come after these votes. Influence is a general category for political connections, personal wealth, favors and other means to get things done. It can be spent on acquiring equipment, trained recruits, retiring or moving around COs, acquiring intel and various special actions you can undertake before battle. We'll cover these options further later.
Do note that you retain the 5th Hobgoblin Horse Artillery in your Army already.
My only suggestion here is that it will be much easier to visualize this on the map if you specify that it's a cone defined by two hex directions, i.e. E NE, NE NW, W SW, etc. This basically defines the cone at 120 degrees and avoids edge cases like specifying "E, NE, N" and you end up covering a row of half-tiles due north.
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?
[] (-25 Influence) Alho Kléber, CO of Hobgoblin Infantry. Kléber has fallen prey to the same lack of prospects as you. His 41st has been demobilized, leaving him without a command despite his considerable Offensive Genius.
I definitely want him, all the rest I think we can pass on for now, since we might have further uses later. Question, what unit does someone we recruit wind up in charge of, @Photomajig ? Since obviously all the elite units have a CO already.
[] 117th Hobgoblin Fusiliers. A new unit born from the consolidation of three veteran but understrength regiments from the region of Haute-Garand, the 117th are some of the toughest sons and daughters of Hobb you've ever known. They bring a powerful core of shock infantry to your forces. Professional Infantry. CO: Buko Favre, ???.
[] 19th and 28th Halfling Pathfinders. Halfling skirmishers from the marshes and woodlands of La Ravaille, the 19th and 28th are reckoned to be fine marksmen and light infantry, if lacking in real combat experience. The patronage of a halfling member of the Convention has somehow won them specialist Canard rifles, which have an effective firing range well beyond the Cabot musket. Trained Infantry. 19th CO: Sophie Tasse, ??? & Georges Villiers, ???. Armed with Canard Rifles (Wounding +0, 200m/300m/500m).
[] 108th Elven Hussars. You saw the value of elven light cavalry at Saintonge. The 108th are a pre-Revolutionary unit that flipped almost completely for the Convention, refusing to charge a popular demonstration on the streets of Loutharc. They're a strange bunch of warrior-philosophers, students of the Collège des Immortels who volunteered for the War of the Grand Alliance and came out of it radicalized and republican. Professional Cavalry. CO: Philippe-Grimoald de Guerchy, ???.
[] 13th Hobgoblin Lancers. The lance is the ultimate weapon of shock and awe. A cavalry squadron armed with lances is devastating and terrifying to face - and when the riders are hobgoblins on enormous warhorses, the effect is magnified tenfold. Lancers have traditionally been elves in Arné, but the Convention has established a great many lancer squadrons utilizing hobgoblins as riders - at long last. Trained Cavalry. CO: Karo Bonnaire, ???. Armed with Lances (Wounding +1, additional Charge Advantage, -1 Concealment, -2 Movement (7)).
[] 6th Human Siege Artillery. The heaviest guns in the Nation's arsenal are the mighty 16-pounder Oriflamme siege cannons. They're slow and have an onerous supply weight, but they can reduce entire city blocks to rubble given enough time. The 6th Human is a new formation with newly manufactured guns, but you can surely put it to good use. Trained Artillery. CO: Pierre Marvain, ???. Armed with Oriflamme Siege Cannons (Wounding +3, 100m/800m/1600m, consumes additional Munitions when Firing, reduces certain Hexes to special Ruins Terrain on sufficient Hits).
These are the five I'm tempted by, but... unsure, really.
Hey, do we know anything about what sort of military force the emigres would have, and what sort of terrain we're going to be fighting on, @Photomajig ?
I definitely want him, all the rest I think we can pass on for now, since we might have further uses later. Question, what unit does someone we recruit wind up in charge of, @Photomajig ? Since obviously all the elite units have a CO already.
Hey, do we know anything about what sort of military force the emigres would have, and what sort of terrain we're going to be fighting on, @Photomajig ?
Your intel is limited, but you can expect the emigres to have strong cavalry as their trump card. There are also rumors that units from the Kingdom of Norn are on their way to join the Volunteer Army - which would mean professional infantry and artillery, if it's not just hearsay.
The terrain between you and the Volunteer Army is largely flat plains with scattered hills. The land is more forested in the Maisons du Roi. The river Vaud forms a formidable natural defensive barrier directly behind you currently. It's impossible to say exactly where any battles will take place, however.
You have 1 Unit of Hobgoblin Infantry, 2 Units of Human Infantry, 2 Units of Elven Infantry, 1 Unit of Halfling Infantry, 2 Units of Elven Artillery and 1 Unit of Elven Cavalry. Plus the 5th Hob Horse Artillery, of course.
I seem to have left slight spoilers in (the crossed swords at Vaud, the Mauvais Plain and the Via Peregrina). Ignore that for now. Whoops.
Your intel is limited, but you can expect the emigres to have strong cavalry as their trump card. There are also rumors that units from the Kingdom of Norn are on their way to join the Volunteer Army - which would mean professional infantry and artillery, if it's not just hearsay.
The terrain between you and the Volunteer Army is largely flat plains with scattered hills. The land is more forested in the Maisons du Roi. The river Vaud forms a formidable natural defensive barrier directly behind you currently. It's impossible to say exactly where any battles will take place, however.
You have 1 Unit of Hobgoblin Infantry, 2 Units of Human Infantry, 2 Units of Elven Infantry, 1 Unit of Halfling Infantry, 2 Units of Elven Artillery and 1 Unit of Elven Cavalry. Plus the 5th Hob Horse Artillery, of course.
I seem to have left slight spoilers in (the crossed swords at Vaud, the Mauvais Plain and the Via Peregrina). Ignore that for now. Whoops.
Unfortunately not - none of the poachable COs are artillery officers anyway. You can retrain COs to a new branch of the Army, but not at the moment. The new CO of the 5th will be up to the dice.
Unfortunately not - none of the poachable COs are artillery officers anyway. You can retrain COs to a new branch of the Army, but not at the moment. The new CO of the 5th will be up to the dice.
Okay, I will say that we're definitely lacking in cavalry. Natively, unless we pick a unit, we'll have just one Elven Cavalry, and presumably a Trained one at best. Artillery might or might not be sufficient... as for infantry, the thing we're lacking is specialization and backbone, which is why I'm tempted by the Rifle troops.
[] Plan: Cavalry Calling, Balanced
-[] 19th and 28th Halfling Pathfinders. Halfling skirmishers from the marshes and woodlands of La Ravaille, the 19th and 28th are reckoned to be fine marksmen and light infantry, if lacking in real combat experience. The patronage of a halfling member of the Convention has somehow won them specialist Canard rifles, which have an effective firing range well beyond the Cabot musket. Trained Infantry. 19th CO: Sophie Tasse, ??? & Georges Villiers, ???. Armed with Canard Rifles (Wounding +0, 200m/300m/500m). -[] 108th Elven Hussars. You saw the value of elven light cavalry at Saintonge. The 108th are a pre-Revolutionary unit that flipped almost completely for the Convention, refusing to charge a popular demonstration on the streets of Loutharc. They're a strange bunch of warrior-philosophers, students of the Collège des Immortels who volunteered for the War of the Grand Alliance and came out of it radicalized and republican. Professional Cavalry. CO: Philippe-Grimoald de Guerchy, ???. -[] 13th Hobgoblin Lancers. The lance is the ultimate weapon of shock and awe. A cavalry squadron armed with lances is devastating and terrifying to face - and when the riders are hobgoblins on enormous warhorses, the effect is magnified tenfold. Lancers have traditionally been elves in Arné, but the Convention has established a great many lancer squadrons utilizing hobgoblins as riders - at long last. Trained Cavalry. CO: Karo Bonnaire, ???. Armed with Lances (Wounding +1, additional Charge Advantage, -1 Concealment, -2 Movement (7)). -[] (-25 Influence) Alho Kléber, CO of Hobgoblin Infantry. Kléber has fallen prey to the same lack of prospects as you. His 41st has been demobilized, leaving him without a command despite his considerable Offensive Genius.
The first is a balanced plan.
[] Plan: Cavalry Calling, Anti-Cav Cav
-[] 19th and 28th Halfling Pathfinders. Halfling skirmishers from the marshes and woodlands of La Ravaille, the 19th and 28th are reckoned to be fine marksmen and light infantry, if lacking in real combat experience. The patronage of a halfling member of the Convention has somehow won them specialist Canard rifles, which have an effective firing range well beyond the Cabot musket. Trained Infantry. 19th CO: Sophie Tasse, ??? & Georges Villiers, ???. Armed with Canard Rifles (Wounding +0, 200m/300m/500m). [] 1st Dwarven Cuirassiers. An squadron of heavy cavalry raised only a month ago, the first of a new kind of unit. They combine innate dwarven toughness with a steel cuirass that protects both horse and rider. While they are by necessity slower than hussars or other light cavalry, they're a terrifying force on the battlefield and sure to destroy any enemy cavalry that they draw into battle. Trained Cavalry. CO: Malachite Brun, ???. Equipped with Cavalry Cuirass (Wounding Threshold +1, -3 Movement (6)). -[] 13th Hobgoblin Lancers. The lance is the ultimate weapon of shock and awe. A cavalry squadron armed with lances is devastating and terrifying to face - and when the riders are hobgoblins on enormous warhorses, the effect is magnified tenfold. Lancers have traditionally been elves in Arné, but the Convention has established a great many lancer squadrons utilizing hobgoblins as riders - at long last. Trained Cavalry. CO: Karo Bonnaire, ???. Armed with Lances (Wounding +1, additional Charge Advantage, -1 Concealment, -2 Movement (7)). -[] (-25 Influence) Alho Kléber, CO of Hobgoblin Infantry. Kléber has fallen prey to the same lack of prospects as you. His 41st has been demobilized, leaving him without a command despite his considerable Offensive Genius.
The second one focuses a little more on our cavalry as a bit thick blunt object to slam into the enemy cavalry. Both judge that the Halfling Pathfinders are a really interesting choice.
Okay, I will say that we're definitely lacking in cavalry. Natively, unless we pick a unit, we'll have just one Elven Cavalry, and presumably a Trained one at best. Artillery might or might not be sufficient... as for infantry, the thing we're lacking is specialization and backbone, which is why I'm tempted by the Rifle troops.
Agreed on Cavalry. I'm not sure if the 16 pounders are the best for this campaign, given the cavalry heavy enemy, and that as of right now, they have strategic initiative. Given that's our sole artillery option, I guess we'll have to make do with what we got. I'm not sure at the moment about the Halfling Pathfinders. I suppose they might work if we can fit them on hills or forested terrain and rake the enemy from the sides, but we already have 2 Halfling Infantry that can do that.
Agreed on Cavalry. I'm not sure if the 16 pounders are the best for this campaign, given the cavalry heavy enemy, and that as of right now, they have strategic initiative. Given that's our sole artillery option, I guess we'll have to make do with what we got. I'm not sure at the moment about the Halfling Pathfinders. I suppose they might work if we can fit them on hills or forested terrain and rake the enemy from the sides, but we already have 2 Halfling Infantry that can do that.
They can't do it as well, and the Halfling Infantry we'd be getting seem to be specialized towards that role. The greater distance they can fire should help them be a little bit safer than 'regular' Halfling Infantry is.
It feels like a semi-unique tool, similar in that way to the way that Hobgoblins' traits work well with Lancers.
