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Let's Play: Cataphrak's Dragoon Saga

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Rogue Attican said:
You have to pick a sergeant before you get a horse to be able to choose Sergeant Sideburns. Otherwise, Cazarosta snaps Lanzerel up.
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Huh I didn't know that. I vaguely remember various playthroughs with the other Sargents. None of them are bad they just have different priorities when it comes to troop selection.

I remember going with the ruffians and turning the 'criminal scum' into a disciplined and loyal fighting force. It was hard. But it was fun too.
 
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Sabres 3.05
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    • [X] Decide that none of these men will do. Lanzerel is still unassigned. Might I request him instead?
    Aside from the power of his sideburns, Lanzerel also grants you a well-rounded unit and sound advice. Had your Soldiering and Charisma been higher, Alaric would've picked up on Hernandes and Fenton's bad qualities.
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    The clerk is surprised at your question but nowhere near as startled as Lanzerel himself.

    "All due respect, sir. I'm too new. I don't know the men, and I don't know the kit—"

    You overrule his objections. Convinced by your insistence, Lanzerel finally gives in and accepts his new place in your unit. As soon as you dismiss him, he heads out, promising to return with the best men he can find. Two hours later, with the sun nearing its apex, Lanzerel returns, four men in tow. All of them look big and healthy: indeed, each seems to be a hardened professional, good at his job, and ready for a long slog, if necessary.

    "I hope these will do, sir."

    You assure him that they will, indeed, do quite well. You instruct your new unit to assemble at the ruins of Noringia's landward gate at 8:00 the next morning, giving you plenty of time to finish your business in the town. You and Lanzerel make your way to the pastures outside Noringia's ruined town walls as the sun begins its long descent from its apex. The establishment of Noringia as the main port-of-arrival for the King's army has made it a feeding ground for those willing to make a profit out of the war. Accepting this as a fact of campaigning, the quartermasters of the Royal Army have set up their offices outside the walls. The grasslands outside the walls are now covered with orderly rows of tents and pavillions.

    The quartermaster's office is a large circular pavilion of dull, grey cloth. You barely have time to enter before the man at the desk sees the spurs on your boots and directs you to the stablemaster's tent on the other side of the assembled tent city.

    It takes you half an hour to make your way to the correct tent. The stablemaster's pavilion is a small half-open canvas structure hosting a series of manned desks and very little else. Behind the tent stands a large corral made from rough-hewn logs.

    The horses wandering upon the churned-up turf of the corral are hardly prize specimens. They are almost all mares, considered more tractable and better behaved, but smaller and with less raw power. Most of the horses available look sickly and malnourished: their eyes are sunken, their coats dull, and you can see the ribs sticking out from the bodies of the worst afflicted. Clearly, the long sea voyage and the makeshift conditions under which they are being housed have not done the poor animals any favours.

    Lanzerel does mention an alternative though: several horse merchants, both foreign and local, have set up shop in the tent market. The scarcity of tolerable mounts for the King's Army has driven horse prices up, and these merchants have clearly come to profit. Regardless of their motives, these private sellers do offer superior horseflesh… for a price.

    "Just be careful, sir," he advises. "A big charger may look impressive on the field, but stallions are nasty-tempered and stubborn cusses. Find yourself a mare or a gelding if you want something easier to ride."

    You:
    [] Requisition a horse from the official stables.
    [] Buy a horse from a merchant with my own funds.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Sabres 3.06
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    • [X] Buy a horse from a merchant with my own funds.
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    Coming to the decision that a few extra crowns will be of little use if you are caught with an inadequate horse in combat, you decide to spend a little bit extra to acquire a more impressive and capable mount.

    Many of the horse merchants have already closed up shop, having sold their stock of mounts for the day. After two hours of searching and haggling, you and Lanzerel examine your options, as meagre as they are:

    A grey mare named "Faith," a stolid, timid-looking animal with a few white spots on her neck. Although small-ish and hardly impressive, she seems reliable and healthy. Her owner is willing to part with her for 20 crowns.

    The only other horse you find for sale is expensive beyond the pale, but clearly, the finest horse in the entire camp, a gigantic black stallion named "Thunderer," a mount suited for a Knight of the Red or a general. Stallions are notoriously hotheaded and difficult to control, but you have no doubt that you will cut a dashing figure perched atop such a magnificent animal. He commands the downright-exorbitant price of 100 crowns.

    [] Buy Faith. (-20 Wealth)
    [] Buy Thunderer. (-100 Wealth)
    [] It's not worth the money. I requisition an army horse.
     
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    • [X] Buy Faith. (-20 Wealth)

    Weren't we advised to be careful of Stallions? With our Soldiering we might not have it up for us to do something more. Is Faith at least better than the Army Issue?
     
    SeptimusMagisto said:
    Worst case scenario, the game lets you change your mind, so it's at least worth looking.
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    Well, not precisely.
    If you backtrack after deciding to buy a horse from merchant, the horse you get from requisition will have worse skill than you would have if you just requisite the horse normally. It's don't exactly have much mechanical effect since the horseskill check tend to already be higher than what even normal requisite horse has, but there is one check in the next chapter where you would fail if you use the late requisite horse while normal requisite horse would have pass.

    [X] Buy Faith. (-20 Wealth)

    Thunderer is cool, and if I remember correctly, is good even in int build, although I am not certain. But I think faith make more sense with the context of what our character actually know.
     
    Sabres 3.07
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    • [X] Buy Faith. (-20 Wealth)
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    You make up your mind about buying the mare, figuring that her humble reliability and easy manner to be well worth the cost. You go up to the merchant to purchase your new horse. Haggling ensues, but it's largely perfunctory. The seller refuses to budge from the advertised price of 20 crowns.

    The purchase completed, you stop by the army stablemasters' tent to pick up a set of saddlery before leading your new horse to the officers' stables. You barely have enough time to catch a quick supper at the Officers' Club yourself before the sun goes down. Returning to your comfortable room for the last time, you write off a few letters to your family and go over your equipment and possessions, ensuring that all is in readiness.

    After a full night's sleep, you dress, wash, and assemble your kit, leaving out the door half an hour after sunrise. It is the work of a few minutes to saddle, feed and prepare provisions for Faith and set off.

    You hear Sergeant Lanzerel long before you see him. As you draw closer, the sounds of his dissatisfaction only grow louder. By the time you arrive, the bellowing sound of his voice has stopped, leaving only the veteran himself, along with four terrified Dragoons, each with newly-dulled metal fittings and long canvas covers over the shiny barrels of their carbines.

    Thus finally assembled, the six of you ride out the gate in single file, along the Old Imperial Highway.

    Glory — or infamy — awaits.
     
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    • Sabres 4.01
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    • Chapter IV
    Wherein the cavalry officer serves under a KNIGHT OF THE RED and faces a BANELORD of ANTAR.    ​

    The Kharan River Crossing outpost turns out to be a barely fortified and very rudimentary camp some ten kilometres from the actual bridge across the river itself. Hidden in the forests of southern Antar, the outpost serves to prevent the Antari from moving troops or supplies down the Old Imperial Highway.

    To that purpose, the King's Army has garrisoned the outpost with some of its best: a half company of the elite Grenadier Guards Regiment. Your small unit of Dragoons has been assigned to accompany them as messengers, scouts, and if necessary, a cavalry reserve.

    Thus, your duties are simple: patrol the area around the outpost, keep eyes on the bridge over the River Kharan, and maintain contact with other nearby outposts and high command.

    For six months, you have discharged these monotonous duties, leading your men through endless patrols through the seemingly-boundless forests of Southern Antar. You have spent countless days riding single-file down narrow dirt trails and game tracks rain or shine, through sickness and health.

    Of course, you have not been idle over this long stretch. You have had plenty of time in between patrols and courier missions to see to the condition of the men under your command. You have used that time profitably to:
    [] Drill my men relentlessly.
    [] Gain the loyalty of my men.
    [] Inspire my men by example.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Sabres 4.02
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    • [X] Drill my men relentlessly.
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    You have spent most of those six months running your men through drill after drill after drill. Their marksmanship and steadiness under stress have improved significantly, and you would have few qualms in proclaiming their horsemanship some of the best in the regiment.

    However, your attempts to get your men to embrace their training regimen fall flat. They remain utterly bored with the constant drills and exercises. You are unable to make your enthusiasm catch on. Morale has begun to suffer.

    Discipline: 40%
    Morale: 25%
    Loyalty: 30%
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    As summer turns to autumn, the weather begins to take a turn for the worse. The sky is overrun with dark clouds which disgorge an overwhelming amount of rain. The paths which you ride upon, formerly firm, turn into a morass of knee-deep mud under the weeping sky.

    After a month and a half of this muddy hell, you step out of your cramped quarters one early morning to find the ground frozen solid. The trees around the outpost are covered with a thin sheen of frost and a bitter northerly wind sends stabs of cold through your thick woollen tunic.

    Before you can go back inside to find your greatcoat, a Grenadier ensign, shivering beneath a large, fur-lined cloak, approaches to inform you that the outpost commander wishes to see you and the other officers in his office.

    The commander of your outpost and several other satellite camps is a Wulframite nobleman of the oldest pedigree: Lord Captain Sir Enrique d'al Hunter, 12th Viscount of Wolfswood. A Knight-Captain of the Order of Saint Jerome as well as an officer in the Grenadier Guards, he is a banecaster of the ninth calibre, a powerful force on the battlefield with his knightly bane-hardened plate and enchanted longsword.

    Lord Captain Hunter is the epitome of the Grenadier Guards officer: dashing, handsome and reckless to the point of foolishness. His disposition is perhaps well suited for an elite and highly prestigious regiment of heavy infantry, but in his current position commanding a section of a vast and porous defensive front, his aggressive talent is wasted.

    Despite his reckless streak, Captain Hunter (as he prefers to be called, eschewing all noble affectations and titles on duty) seems a relatively competent leader. The Captain greets you warmly as the ensign ushers you into his office and you take your place among the other officers.

    "Ah! Castleton!" He steps forward to shake your hand, as is his habit, even when among his own subordinates. "Very good, glad you could make it. Damned cold won't be making your life much easier, will it?"

    You make small talk with the Captain and the other officers for another few minutes as one or two late stragglers file in. When Captain Hunter is finally satisfied that all of his officers are present, he clears his throat. "Gather around, gentlemen."

    Captain Hunter produces a large map and unrolls it over the top of his desk. As you and your fellow officers crowd around, you can see quite clearly that it is a somewhat rough chart of the immediate area. "I know many of you have been hit with a bit of ennui over the last few days, so this should come as good news: we're about to do a bit of scrapping."

    Captain Hunter explains the situation: The night before, one of the advanced listening posts had spotted a large group of Antari, heading south along the road towards the bridge, perhaps two hundred or so in all. With them are apparently a series of large carts loaded with crates.

    "As you well know, gentlemen, winter will soon be upon us. It is likely that some Lord of the Congress is attempting a final push against our forces further to the east. I would think it very likely that this force is a supply caravan, loaded down with food or winter supplies for what ever army might be gathering out there. Thus, it is imperative that we stop this force."

    It is clear that the Captain is set on battle. A few worried murmurs rattle about in the crowded room. To stop such a force would require immediate action without adequate preparation or reinforcement from the other outposts under the Captain's command, against a force that outnumbers the entire Tierran garrison four to one.

    Captain Hunter outlines his plan: He intends to ambush them as they cross the bridge. Sending the cavalry element of the garrison (that is to say, you) ahead to scout the area and prepare the ground first, the Captain himself will lead most of the rest of the garrison behind you, setting up an ambush on the far side of the river.

    When the Antari column arrives and begins its way across the narrow wooden bridge, Hunter's Grenadiers will attack the flanks and rear of the column. At the same time, you and your Dragoons are to occupy the fortified tollhouse on the Tierran side of the river, acting as a blocking force to prevent the Antari from escaping the ambush and continuing down the Imperial Highway.

    While the Captain rarely asks for his subordinates' opinions on their orders, you can't help but feel that the Captain's plan is:
    [] Utter foolishness. This reckless act will get us all killed.
    [] Too reckless. The rewards are great but the risk would be enormous.
    [] Risky, but necessary.
    [] A chance for a glorious victory.
     
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    • [X] Too reckless. The rewards are great but the risk would be enormous.
    [X] Risky, but necessary.

    One of these, but I'm also worried that I'm doing too much splitting the difference.
     
    At our Soldiering Thunderer definitely would have hurt us, but it's overall worth it.

    There is also an exploit where you can get a regimental horse, name it "none" and at a later stage the game will think you messed up badly enough to kill your horse and give you the opportunity to buy another stallion of the same caliber, avoiding health loss or reputation gain.

    But none of it matters a huge amount. Not until you get the opportunity to put him out to stud, which we won't because we're not from Cunaris.
     
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