Army of Liberty: a Fantasy Revolutionary Warfare Quest

[NSchwerte]

A unit stops moving if it routs, right? I could see an argument for still moving but bleeding troops as people fall away or fly into a panic or something, so just checking.

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They run away to percieved safety when routing. But routing only happens at the end of the turn. Both units that will likely rout this turn still have an action they can do before that.



Hmmm. Thinking as the enemy i would wheel everything back to rout the hussars and militia and retreat, with the artillery set up victory is pretty much impossible

 

[The Laurent]

They run away to percieved safety when routing. But routing only happens at the end of the turn. Both units that will likely rout this turn still have an action they can do before that

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Hmm, so it's not possible to do enough damage to stop Elven Cavalry 1 from getting off an attack even if they've taken enough to Rout? Move and attack, whatever. Hmm.

 

[Photomajig]

A unit stops moving if it routs, right? I could see an argument for still moving but bleeding troops as people fall away or fly into a panic or something, so just checking.

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I'm inclined to rule in the future that Units that were Moving or Charging when they got Routed and still have Movement left will use any remaining Movement to run away. In practice, only cavalry is likely to make much use of that. If the Unit was taking another kind of action when it got Routed, it doesn't go anywhere.

Since most of the time a Routed Unit is not moving away before their next turn, and since Firing and melee attacking are resolved before Moves, you will almost always have a chance to bleed a Routed enemy further with a follow-up attack.

EDIT: NSchwerte is correct for the current rules. Mid-Round Routing that can cancel that Unit's planned action is something I'm likely to revise in after the tutorial. It will make Ready Fire more useful as well, since a powerful volley could Rout cavalry charging at you and stop their Charge before it hits.

 

[The Laurent]

I think we should focus on the cavalry, as far as it goes, because they seem to be the elite units and I'm pretty sure the Hobgoblin militia if they dig in can at least hold out another round.

 

[Photomajig]

@Photomajig would the elven cavalry not have spotted our hidden hobs when charging the 301st?

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They never had line of sight! The hobs were covered by the Fortified manor and by the 310th.

 

[Nerdorama]

Oof. Unlucky. We got what we wanted and routed one of the militias, but Elf Cav 2 is a problem.

Good news is that Elf Cav 1 is not only in charge range of the 41st, but the 41st is still hidden, meaning that we should be able to attack them with double advantage. I don't care to do the exact math but that's a very likely rout in one attack given Hobgoblin Wounding bonuses and their commander trait.

Our Arty attacks Elf Cav 2 at a net -20 at this range, but it's probably still worth potshotting them to try and get their attention. The 81st's cohesion is hanging on by a thread, we may want to move them back somewhere to recover before doing anything else. And also give Hippolyta a commendation because she's the only reason they haven't already routed.

Here's a plan, still a bit tentantive. I'm also changing this to the "correct" format for plan votes because the board software is persnickety about that.

[] Orders: Cavalry Conservation Act
-[] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[] 81st Elv: MOVE TO Forest Tile E, SE of Fort Beaume
-[] 5th Hob. H.Art.:

Actually, QM, I have a question. Is Ready Fire only usable in a straight line or for artillery is it more like a cone?

 

[The Laurent]

Honestly, is there any way the 81st can lure the 2nd closer to the artillery? Like, withdraw in a way that gets the 2nd chasing them into better artillery range?

 

[NSchwerte]

I think we should focus on the cavalry, as far as it goes, because they seem to be the elite units and I'm pretty sure the Hobgoblin militia if they dig in can at least hold out another round.

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I think I agree yes. If we had control of the militia I would order it to fall back to the manor, they aren't in danger of being destroyed anymore after all.

The 81st's cohesion is hanging on by a thread, we may want to move them back somewhere to recover before doing anything else

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There's no way the 81st doesn't route unless the enemy is incompetent. They are in attack range of cav 2 and fire range of the human infantry. They are going to move back after routing anyway, so we can use the action to deal another big blow to the enemy instead

 

[Nerdorama]

There's no way the 81st doesn't route unless the enemy is incompetent. They are in attack range of cav 2 and fire range of the human infantry. They are going to move back after routing anyway, so we can use the action to deal another big blow to the enemy instead

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Mm, you do have a point, Moves resolve after both fire and charges. Which is too bad because I would love to have the 81st bait the cav closer.

EDIT: another possibility for the H. Art. is to have them ready fire east, since for Elf Cav 1 to do anything useful at all they're going to need to go at least one tile north and into our LOS. It might be overkill for a rout, but on the other hand, absolutely deleting their manpower is also useful. You can recover from routs. You can't recover from a cannonball removing your head.

 

[The Laurent]

Oof. Unlucky. We got what we wanted and routed one of the militias, but Elf Cav 2 is a problem.

Good news is that Elf Cav 1 is not only in charge range of the 41st, but the 41st is still hidden, meaning that we should be able to attack them with double advantage. I don't care to do the exact math but that's a very likely rout in one attack given Hobgoblin Wounding bonuses and their commander trait.

Our Arty attacks Elf Cav 2 at a net -20 at this range, but it's probably still worth potshotting them to try and get their attention. The 81st's cohesion is hanging on by a thread, we may want to move them back somewhere to recover before doing anything else. And also give Hippolyta a commendation because she's the only reason they haven't already routed.

Here's a plan, still a bit tentantive. I'm also changing this to the "correct" format for plan votes because the board software is persnickety about that.

[] Orders: Cavalry Conservation Act
-[] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[] 81st Elv: MOVE TO Forest Tile E, SE of Fort Beaume
-[] 5th Hob. H.Art.:

Actually, QM, I have a question. Is Ready Fire only usable in a straight line or for artillery is it more like a cone?

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Also why is the 312th Bracing, do you think it likely that they're going to wheel around and attack them next?

Mm, you do have a point, Moves resolve after both fire and charges. Which is too bad because I would love to have the 81st bait the cav closer.

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Honestly that feels like a... and this isn't the word for it, "Tactical technology" or whatever? Or a Trait? That allows you to resolve Moves first and is about feigned retreats to draw the enemy in? Or has your troops trained in these things and therefore able to just do them?

 

[Photomajig]

Actually, QM, I have a question. Is Ready Fire only usable in a straight line or for artillery is it more like a cone?

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Hmm. So like Ready Fire S, SW & SE? I could see that making sense for artillery. I'm going to say yes, sure!

fire range of the human infantry.

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Hum Inf 1 can't fire through another Unit (only Artillery can fire "over" Units), so the Cav is safe from them right now in their current spot.

Honestly that feels like a... and this isn't the word for it, "Tactical technology" or whatever? Or a Trait? That allows you to resolve Moves first and is about feigned retreats to draw the enemy in? Or has your troops trained in these things and therefore able to just do them?

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Hmm. Interesting . *scribbles down notes*

 

[The Laurent]

Mm, you do have a point, Moves resolve after both fire and charges. Which is too bad because I would love to have the 81st bait the cav closer.

EDIT: another possibility for the H. Art. is to have them ready fire east, since for Elf Cav 1 to do anything useful at all they're going to need to go at least one tile north and into our LOS. It might be overkill for a rout, but on the other hand, absolutely deleting their manpower is also useful. You can recover from routs. You can't recover from a cannonball removing your head.

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So why is the 310st bracing as opposed to also doing Ready Fire (if we're having the H. Art go after Elf Cav 1) or charging (if we're trying to stack on the shit and force them to retreat south to basically be out of the fight.)

 

[Nerdorama]

Also why is the 312th Bracing, do you think it likely that they're going to wheel around and attack them next?

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If I was commanding Elf Cav 1, I'd have them try to whittle down all our infantry in hit and runs, yes. That seems to be what they're going for, charging our field guys and then retreating around the corner out of range of our guns.

Let's try this:

[] Orders: Cavalry Delenda Est
-[] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[] 81st Elv: ATTACK Elv Cav 2
-[] 5th Hob. H.Art.: READY FIRE E, NE, N, 600m

Thoughts?

So why is the 310st bracing as opposed to also doing Ready Fire (if we're having the H. Art go after Elf Cav 1) or charging (if we're trying to stack on the shit and force them to retreat south to basically be out of the fight.)

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With human infantry armed with beginner-tier muskets and sabers, they'll do the same amount of damage either braced or ready firing, and bracing also removes the Advantage for charging against them. Ready Fire will have an advantage if the GM changes the rules to make units rout mid-charge, but only if we're confident that the Ready Fire will make them rout.

 

[The Laurent]

If I was commanding Elf Cav 1, I'd have them try to whittle down all our infantry in hit and runs, yes. That seems to be what they're going for, charging our field guys and then retreating around the corner out of range of our guns.

Let's try this:

[] Orders: Cavalry Delenda Est
-[] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[] 81st Elv: ATTACK Elv Cav 2
-[] 5th Hob. H.Art.: READY FIRE E, NE, N, 600m

Thoughts?

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I guess I'm again questioning the validity of a 'Ready Fire' order for 312th? Because if so we could hit them hard when we already know they're going to be Routing, in order to just delete them as a unit.

Or, hmm. It's one of those weird situations where mechanics are confusing me, because even though they submitted their plans, surely events change those plans such that in the face of a Routing charge they'd be more likely to go away rather than come around in range of the enemy again to attack the 312th? But that might not mechanically be the case.

 

[NSchwerte]

AnyDice

AnyDice is an advanced dice probability calculator, available online. It is created with roleplaying games in mind.

anydice.com

This is the cohesion damage from the hob charge and they have already lost 4 cohesion from the 301st counterattack.

I'll be honest, I don't expect routing units to matter in this combat. The shooting will be over before they can recover and we can shoot them down if they stay to rest.

 

[Nerdorama]

I guess I'm again questioning the validity of a 'Ready Fire' order for 312th? Because if so we could hit them hard when we already know they're going to be Routing, in order to just delete them as a unit.

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Everything in my plan is going to be hitting Elf Cav 1 "simultaneously" during the Charge phase anyway: the Hobs charge them, they charge the 312th, they provoke artillery Ready Fire unless Elf Cav 2 does it first somehow, the 312th gets the Brace counterattack.

The only thing that'd change this is a rules change to make routing break a charge which, while sensible, isn't there yet.

 

[The Laurent]

I'm not necessarily seriously suggesting this, but wouldn't a Disengage back towards the West by the 81st lead to the enemy having to get one tick closer to us?

• Disengage: Unit moves 1 space away from an enemy Unit and is considered Braced until the start of their next turn.

If we're Braced, wouldn't that mean we can still get the 81st Cav counterattack and they can't Charge us meaningfully?

And in order to reach us, then, they'd have to move within the 600m range of our guns. So reducing the range band by 1.

 

[NSchwerte]

I'm not necessarily seriously suggesting this, but wouldn't a Disengage back towards the West by the 81st lead to the enemy having to get one tick closer to us?

• Disengage: Unit moves 1 space away from an enemy Unit and is considered Braced until the start of their next turn.

If we're Braced, wouldn't that mean we can still get the 81st Cav counterattack and they can't Charge us meaningfully?

And in order to reach us, then, they'd have to move within the 600m range of our guns. So reducing the range band by 1.

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If this works it would be brilliant.

81st disengages, cav 2 likely follows to attack, they attack and rout the 81st, we hit them with a counterattack by the 81st and a mid range attack by our artillery this turn

Cohesion damage distribution from that manoeuvre: AnyDice

@Photomajig does disengage happen before attacks?

Can we ready fire and specify units that should be shot at?

 

[Nerdorama]

If we're Braced, wouldn't that mean we can still get the 81st Cav counterattack and they can't Charge us meaningfully?

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Good call, I forgot disengage was a thing.

[X] Orders: Cavalry Delenda Est, Bait Version
-[X] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[X] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[X] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[X] 81st Elv: DISENGAGE W
-[X] 5th Hob. H.Art.: READY FIRE E, NE, N, 600m

Two flaws in this are that Elf Cav 2 is probably going to be in cover if they pursue the 81st, and that it's probably a coinflip which cavalry provokes the artillery fire unless Elf Cav 1 tries to do something clever like move through the woods to avoid giving us LOS on them. However, I'm willing to take either result of just pasting Cav 1 or getting a strong hit on Cav 2 as they pursue the 81st, since we're going to bayonet Cav 1 pretty hard regardless (and a midrange attack into village cover is still better than a long range attack by 10%).

I like this enough to be finalized I think.

 

[MrRageQuit]

@photons does disengage happen before attacks?

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Not according to the listed order of things. Bracing and Fire are things that come first, then Charge/Attacks. Everything else is third.

 

[The Laurent]

Not according to the listed order of things. Bracing and Fire are things that come first, then Charge/Attacks. Everything else is third.

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...but that doesn't make much sense? Like it seems like it'd make disengage pretty useless if you only brace after everyone's gotten attacks off?

By pretty useless I mean mechanically entirely worthless because enemy attacks would already hit you and half the point is that it's a move that Braces you.

 

[NSchwerte]

[X] Orders: Cavalry Delenda Est, Bait Version
-[X] 310th Hum: ROUTING
-[X] 312th Hum: BRACE
-[X] 41st Hob: CHARGE Elv Cav 1
-[X] 81st Elv: DISENGAGE W
-[X] 5th Hob. H.Art.: READY FIRE E, NE, N, 600m

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I agree with this plan with the only change being to specify that the h art should shoot cav 2 if that is something we can specify

Yeah, if disengage happens after the attack then it's literally a 1 space move

 

[The Laurent]

Honestly I think if I was doing it I'd count it as a Bracing Move or whatnot in the turn order, and then I'd buff Brace slightly by giving a bonus if you're bracing in some sort of fortified area that makes attacking you harder, which would explain why, besides basic field position, you would Brace instead of Disengaging... because you're on good ground and want to bunker up.

Or I dunno?

But it makes no sense that an action whose entire point is Bracing doesn't get to Brace because all of the attacks happen before it does.

@photons does disengage happen before attacks?

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Incidentally, you tagged the wrong person.

 

[Nerdorama]

Not according to the listed order of things. Bracing and Fire are things that come first, then Charge/Attacks. Everything else is third.

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Disengage is a move that Braces you so I feel like it should be in the same stage as Bracing, otherwise it's a rules oversight

I agree with this plan with the only change being to specify that the h art should shoot cav 2 if that is something we can specify

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It's not, but the QM already amended the rules for Ready Fire once when I asked, so up to them.

 

[MrRageQuit]

Disengage is a move that Braces you so I feel like it should be in the same stage as Bracing, otherwise it's a rules oversight

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Well, that's why I'm bringing it up, to make sure it's clarified.