>>167943
"Airborne units act as a precision hammer, decimating vulnerable back-area units and countering enemy flyers, the units are made up of minor nobles and wealthy, usually secondborn children, the same as cavalry. Cavalry are best used as either the tip of a spear on a charge or for flank attacks in protracted and defensive actions. Our military doctrine, as you know, revolves around the Phalanx, a group of roughly 100 men in platemail equiped with a spear, gladius and tower sheild. These units are made up of professional soldiers who live in the barracks and are equiped by the state. These units are supported by peasant bowmen, conscripts mostly who are self-equiped and are paid in coin after each battle, or months service depending on the commander. The flanks are usually guarded by light infantry, usually equiped with axes or swords and light armor. Regiments typically advance on the enemy as a whole, the archers holding the enemy in place while the forward unit positions itself so that the main Phalanx will be centered on the enemy and light infantry can close around the flanks to finish the job, or bypass them to reach enemy archers and other rear-guard units. I look forward to your report on the successful completion of your mission."
You snap a smart salute and leave the office, the cold biting at your unprepared eyes and ears as you walk outside, retrieving your sword and replacing it in its scabbard, you begin to make your way to the Military quarter of DragonsGate to meet with General Faerus to retrieve your command before departing. Shaking from excitement you open the list you have been given and glance over the units available to you.
>available units, you can select 5 from this list.
321'st Phalanx - fresh
324th Phalanx - fresh
376th Phalanx
265th Phalanx - reservist (re-activated last week)
292nd Phalanx - reservist (re-activated last year)
251st Axes (light infantry)250 men
379th Dwarven Auxiliary (axes, heavy infantry)150 dwarves
462nd Light Infantry (swords) - Fresh 250 men
350th Light Infantry (swords) - reservists 250 men(activated yesterday)

1250th bows 200 men
1251st bows 200 men
1258th bows 200 men
231st Crossbow auxiliary (Dwarven) - Fresh 175 dwarves
352nd Javelineers (Lacerta) - reservist (Brazier and crew attached) 200 lacerta

>>167652
what, we release the slaves to TAX them? did we at least got them jobs?

also seconding unit equip and status.

suggested is 2 phalanx in middle, 2 light infantry to protect flank and bowdudes in the back. that asides the scouts?

pick only the fresh dudes. reservists tend to be a bit sloppy on physicals

>>167975
they gained status as citizens, started getting paid for their work and integrated into society but pay one extra tax... kinda like the religion taxes in Crusade Jeruselem... go to prison or pay the extra tax. It's leftover anger really, they killed, raped, burned, sowed the fields with salt, and generally did things that make Genghis Khan, Atilla the Hun and Hitler look like nice guys... and kept it up over multiple generations. They were freed out of necessity and are now parts of regular society for the most part.
Most light infantry and auxiliary units are uniformly equipped, but the exact equipment varies from unit to unit.

>>167968
Damn, no cavalry wing. Well I guess we will have to do without.

Take the 321'st phalanx, 324'st phalanx, 251'st axes, 462'nd light infantry and then, hmmm, 231'st crossbow auxiliary.

>>167988
id advise agains the crossbowmen, they are fresh and apparently every other unit has mild experience.

also what do you think about heavy axes instead of common axe infantry?

>>167995
I thought the fresh meant they were just back from some rest and recovery?

If that's not the case then take 376th phalanx and 379th Dwarven auxiliary.

>>168002
>>167995
fresh means new, reservists means prior experience but have been out of it for at least 9 months, blank means they're being rotated to a different command for one reason or another.
The Heavy Axes have full Plate armor, 5 throwing axes, a War-axe and round shield. Light infantry usually have Chianmail or less, round-shields, and some form of the weapon they are noted for.

>>168002
324th Phalanx - fresh
376th Phalanx
379th Dwarven Auxiliary (axes, heavy infantry)150 dwarves
462nd Light Infantry (swords) - Fresh 250 men
1258th bows 200 men

that and the dorf scouts?

id rather fresh that reservists. we may be able to gain loyalty from these fresh units instead of reservists that havent had a battle in 9 months.

>>168199
OK, in that case.

Take the 371'st phalanx, 379'th Dwarven Auxiliary, 251'st axes, 462'nd light infantry and then 1250'th bows.

That should work out.

>>168238
this looks good but it feels that we picked one of each instead of trying to make a frontline.

im figuring that spear>sword>axe>spear is right?

>>168247
It's rarely that easy. I'm mostly after a good mix of veteren troops. We will see ho we can best use them in the field.

Marching order should be phalanx in the front, archers behind them, alongside with our supply wagons, with the axe dwarfs bringing up the rear. Light infantry move quite a bit out at the flanks in a loose formation to make sure we have time to properly set up in case of ambush.

You eventually make your way to the central building of the Military quarter in DragonsGate, where an aide directs you to whre you are to meet General Faerus. As you enter the room you notice several things, first the large table in the center, several maps are rolled up to one side, and a pile of small carved and painted markers to the other, currently a map of the Empire is rolled out, major cities denoted on it, along with several markers, which you can make no sense of. The only other men in the room are a large, wiry balding man with a full beard and mustache, who commands quite a presence, and several people a few years your junior at best, 25 at the most. A pair of large Lacerta stand to either side of the door, they are small for their kind, standing a 6'7" at the tallest with massively wide chests, they both wield large baradiches.
"Commander Cornex, I presume?" the old man asks, turning around from a side table and looking at you. "I presume you are here with your orders then?"

Tacticus!darIyNTbjA 2010/04/21(Wed)23:00 No. 168327 ID: 637d5e
File 127191602496.png - (65.16KB , 1494x1254 , Empire.png )

>>168288
forgot the map... doh.

>>168288
Tell him that you are indeed there with your orders. You are to take five companies and chase down some Lacerta rebels. Ask if he has any tips for fighting Lacerta in a mountainous region.

>>168474
"Ah excellent. Which Battalions will you be taking then? As far as fighting Lacerta in the mountains, they wont be able to stray to far from the heat of the Brazier, due to their cold-blooded nature. They are incredibly strong so you light infantry are lightly to take heavy losses if you dont use them carefully and... wait, how did you figure they were headed north without being told anyhow? Well they are, your scouts will meet you a few days north of the village of Garius, that's the red diamond on the map... your the arrow at DragonsGate of course. Now, would you like to collect your men yourself and meet your sergeants that way, or would you rather I send a runner, its two days to Garius on foot and I'm sure your eager to start with your first mission."

>>168492
a brazier was reported as stolem by them, this makes sense. i actualy looked to no avail for a city name ._.

explain map please? and the troops have no worries in gathering, apparently the scouts are at large and we need to diverge them to the mountains.

>>168492
Take the 371'st phalanx, 379'th Dwarven Auxiliary, 251'st axes, 462'nd light infantry and then 1250'th bows.

You want to meet the troops yourself. A good commander should have his troops trust, and a good start on earning that is meeting up with them personally.

>>168497
"very well, I'll have a runner assemble you men in the north parade ground." He takes a puch and hands it to you, it jingles rather nicely "Here's three months pay, this is likely to be a long mission so I was ordered to pay you in advance. Company Commanders usually use a good deal of their pay to hire on mercenaries to act as a battlefield bodyguard, seeing as most everything else is covered by the empire. However there aren't many unspoken for in the city, in a few months when the war becomes official however there should be quite a few."
The mountains are the Northspine peaks, the tallest one of them commonly known as DragonsSpire, and is generally the edge of civilization in the north.

>>168501
You can get some bodyguards from your soldiers.

Ask him about the supply situation and the infrastructure leading up to the mountains.

"You'll have three months worth of supplies, a blacksmith, doctors and any other specialists you may need. The military keeps Braziers closely guarded, if news of this reached the wrong circles of Lacerta... you would normally have a supply train but until this rebellion is quelled things will need to be kept quiet."

>>168546
Ok, ask for the quality of the roads you will be taking and the possibilites of forage or quartering along the way. Also ask for three times the normal amounts of arrows that a company of arhcers get.

>>168551
"The roads are in decent repair, forage will get scarce at the foothills of the Northspine, you will have plenty of arrows and bolts, any other questions... I have do a campaign to plan..."

>>168561
Well then I assume we can just quarter wherever we need too along the march.

Lets get going. Meet up with your troops.

Ensure that extra supplies are brought. i.e. spare weaponry and armour, tents and supplies for the blacksmith and cooks.

>>168561
Thank him for his patience and wish him well.

I recommend the 265th, 324th, 379th, 350th and 1250th, in that order for battle. If I remember correctly Phalanx have good shields and spears, good for breaking a charge.

>>168497
>>168612
conflict here... tiebreaker needed

>>168612
we wont be charged but ambushed. we are also attempting to reveal their hideout, that a surprise attack. >>168497 is what we will use eventho i agree with none of them.

>>168645
fair enough. You make your way to the north parade grounds where your company is waiting for you in formation. Furthest to the left stand the 251'st Axes, wearing studded leather armor, have wooden bucklers on their backs and what look to be steel war-axes on their belts, their Sargent at attention in front of them like all of your other sergeants. Next in line are the 376th phalanx, also in full uniform, their sergeant looking quite a bit more nervous than the others. The 379th Auxiliary's sergeant has a rather cross look to him; the 462nd Light Infantry are in chain-mail, with roundsheilds and short-blades. Their Sergeant has no shield, rather a combat pick on his opposite hip. The 1250th are all in simple cloth garments, with longbows and quivers on their backs and long-knives on their hips, all of them look rather resigned, most of all their sergeant. As you walk on to the grounds they all snap off a solute before returning to attention.
>what do?

>>168719
Inspect the lines. Check equipment and make sure everything is in order. Then walk out in front of them and return the salute, tell them to stand at ease.

Give them a short rundown of the mission. You're going to chase down some rebels, clean them out and restore the emperors peace to the lands they inhabit. After that dismiss the soldiers.

Then call in the officers and their seconds to a private meeting.

>>168911
As you walk the lines nothing seems out of order, most men remain at attention, a few improve their stances... and some of the older ones seemed rather shocked when they see you. All of their gear looks to be in good order, so you make your way to the front and give your men a run-down of the mission, your troops seem split between excited and confused judging by the sound of the low din they make as they file out to get their packs in order. You lead your sergeants to a room connected to the observation deck, their faces reading much the same emotions they did when you walked past them on the parade grounds, their seconds ranging from eager to an attempt to ape their immediate superiors. The sergeant of the 376'th phalanx steps forward almost as soon as the door closes, looking quite nervous "Sergeant Alrick Nexarius, 376'th Imperial... permission to speak my mind Captain?" he glances quite nervously at the armored dwarves as he finishes.

>>169190
we look young, isnt it?

"no you may not. this is a lame mission to begin with, last thing i need is to hear complains about my own eagerness."

if you sound rought, maybe even compassionless, the better.

>>169190
Tell him that the permission is granted. It's a good idea to listen to advice and opinions of your officers, you don't always have to act on it, but you should listen atleast and understand what they're worried about and what they think.

>>169190

'Speak, Sergeant. Is it to do with your company? Or the task at hand?'

>>169463
Seconded. This guy knows what he's talking about.

...Wait. What's our (The PC's) race?

>>169499
say age as well. it seems we are not that well liked by the experienced soldiers.

>>169505
We're a new officer fresh out of school, there to tell them what to do and how to do it. Of course they're not going to like us. It's a well known fact that new officers can't tell the difference between a hole in the ground and their own arse.

>>169481
"Its, just that there seems to be only one Phalanx in this Company, and I'm nervous as to how I am to fight..." before he can finish his thought the sergeant of the 379th auxiliary gruffly cuts him off.
"Great, I'm reassigned from the command of a senile old man to that of some idealistic kid, and I'm expected to fight alongside a stuck up imperial snob at that!"
A man in leather armor steps between the two armored men before they can get to grips with each other.
"Sergeant Cornelius Grex, 251'st Axes; I'm somewhat of an armchair tactician myself and am quite curious as to how you plan to diverge from standard tactics. I have several theories myself; but I have already spoken out of turn enough for today, apologies Captain"

>>169523
>>169505
>>169499
we're a 29 year old human

>>169609
The phalanx will hold the center. The dwarfs will make up the reserve and go in when and where they're needed. The light infantry will hold the flanks and together with the archers harass and drive the enemy into the phalanx. The light infantry then attack the flanks and the dwarfs are used are sent in at the oppurtune moment to break the enemy. It would work better with a cavalry wing, but since there was none to have we will have to do without. Atleast that's the general plan, of course no plan really survives contact with the enemy, but that is what we're going for.

Changes will be made later if it's needed to fit into new circumstances. Their thoughts on the subject would be appreciated. As would any thoughts on fighting lacerta in the northern mountains.

>>169609
sweet ass kissing mercyful judas, its worse that what i figured.

we ARE holding a single phalanx unit because our target is a organized bandit army. i do not expect them to fight fair or in a common, single front. dont worry, im sure their species will like the irony of paying a subhuman tax to be subdued.

dont really mention the light infantry unit. they are there to bait the lizards or to peform chases since the lizards apparently are at favor against said units. i do agree we would do better with a cavalry unit instead.

we are to peform a meeting where we will discuss the experience and hability of these units. hopefullly we will have alcohol so if you can hold the name calling and throat jumping till the end i will be satisfied.

>>169626
>>169614
"Not what I came up with, but thats why your the Captain I guess" Grex Replies
The Dwarf backs down somewhat "You must think I'm some kind of stereotype an yer tryin ta get on my good side... alcohol my left arsecheek"
The Srgeant of the 1251st steps forward "Stow it dwarf, the captains tryin ta show that he's not some kind of monster before he orders us into a meant-grinder; I've seen this dance before. Cicero Malthas, Captain" he introduces himself.
Finaly, the last Sergeant in the room steps up, a few years younger than you and with a fair complexion, he hardly looks like a soldier "Sergeant Garus Omnias, 462'nd Light; may I inquire as to what manner of rebels we'll be fighting?"

>>170722
Tell them that you're going to conduct a campaign against Lacerta rebels in the northern mountains. There is also a chance that they might have dwarven allies, because franky you can't see any other reason why they would go to an area where they would be at a disadvantage while their enemies can function just fine.

So do they have any suggestions for fighting either lacerta in the mountains, dwarfs in the mountains or possibly both teaming up? Make sure you're asking to see what they think, not because you don't already have plans for it.

>>170797
this but dont mention dwarfs at any point.

>>170797
"We'll be fighting Lacertan rebels. They stole a Brazier of Eternal Flame and went north. We have a unit of dwarven scouts in the field tracking them right now. I am curious as to what experience you men have fighting Lacerta, and any advice you may have."
Garus pales and walks back to the table he and his second had been standing near.
"So this is your first purge campaign then Garus?" he asks the other light infantry sergeant "They like to hit hard and fast, moreso when its hot. their sneaky bastards, but I dont know how that'll serve them in the northern country. They dont have much in the way of long ranged weaponry - javelins are about as far out as they strike. I'd expect attacks from above in canyoned areas, or sudden charges from areas we cant see them."
The dwarf perks up at mention of Lacerta, even more when he hears their headed north "The lizards are stong bastards, dont hit infirmity until a year or two before age takes them, live damn near as long as elves, and just keep gettin' bigger and stronger the whole time. I've fought some that had weapons made'a granite an unrefined meteorite. The biguns'll fuck up men in heavy armor same as the lot of'em can wreak havok on light infantry... for the all of our sake I'd try to keep anyone in less than chianmail from receiving a charge, or it'll be down to a handful of lads in heavy armor mighty quick... I'm sergeant Thain Aurius by the way."
The old archer looks pensively about before adding "If they have a Brazier... well, theres a rumor that theres some contraption in one of the old Dragon cities that can move the Flame to a pendant or a gem... leftover from when the dragons were waging their war on humanity, one that the-" before he can finish his thought he is cut off by Alrick "There is no such device remaining, the Emperors where quite thorough in their endeavors to ensure that the beasts could never rise up, and that tight controll would be maintained over them until they had been fully normalized into proper society!!! You know that as well as myself and every child in the EMpire. Thats why we tax them, segregate them, keep their freedom as controlled as possible and ease them into the way a proper society works." Thain glares dangerously at the Legionaire
"Do you believe every line your precious emperor feeds you? That all of my kind are filthy treacherous child snatchers? That we'd sell our own mothers if the price was right?!!? You know as well as I do that the ONLY reason the Tax exists is to placate the damned nobles and governors who lost their slaves! The Lacerta arent dumb beasts, and they know that those laws are outdated as sin... cant hardly blame the bastards for pullin a runner..."
Garus puts his hand to his face and shakes his head, not leaving his corner "And next you'll tell me you lot beleive that magic really IS returning to the world and that the gods are waking up too. The sooner we put this rebellion down the sooner we can get sent south to fight the real war that we ALL know is coming. Whatever youve got planned out Captain, I'm sure it'll work, however I have a batallion to finish preparing so I must beg my leave. I'll see you tonight and when we depart... I'm assuming tomorrow morning?" he lets the question hang as he waits by the door.
>skip to tomorrow morning to depart or act out the informal meet'n'greet with your sergeants?

>>170958
I think the meet and greet should be able to be done without our control.

Lets skip to the departure. Tiberius should share the common soldiers experience though, no extra luxury for him, he eats what they eat, sleep like they sleep and march like they march unless something else becomes necessary.

Some critique to help you improve. Your updates would be alot easier to read with better paragraphing.

no, dont skip it. we got so much info from this! the more friends we make the merrierer =3

>Garus pales and walks back to the table he and his second had been standing near
i knew it. just reassure him that his only use will be to chase the bastards and protect us. we should also discuss his battalion habilities with him. can we get them big shields, like the roman type?

>emperor, taxes, war
gentlemen, the emperor surely weights on the big picture, but i am not a politician or a noblesmen to discuss how proper it is to tax a recently free slave that can barely pay for the regular taxes, let alone for the food that his family consumes.

we are here because these lacerta choosed to become killers instead of beggars or workers. we will do this meaningless job and we will continue with this supression campain until this mess is done.

>magic, god, gem, dragons
wheres the help button?

>>170966
>>170977
tiebreaker needed.
>wheres the help button?
burried in the history blurb you guys asked for... sorry. There is magic, but most of the "mortal races" (humans, elves, dwarves, felixsian, lacerta and orks) lost almost all contact with it when the "immortals" (dragons, titans, greater elementals) were killed (they were assholes anyways). At the same time, all contact with the gods was lost, there were two pantheons one good one evil... and thats about all that is remembered; when they stopped doing divine intervention, mortals forgot all about them except for that they once existed, and made the bastards that tried to enslave/wipe us out. The dragons were what fucked with the Lacerta, took them from their natural forms and made them what they are now, as well as fucking with the Empire.

the gem thing is a rumor that one of the magical thingies that made Lacerta viable warriors in cold climates and was smaller than a Brazier still exists. thats the abridged version, until I can sit down and start seriously fluffing out this realm... said fluff will eventually go in a discussion thread.

>>171003
Eh, go to the meeting I guess.

Say btw, how big is our supply of material and tools for the blacksmiths and fletchers? Would they be able to say produce atleast 4 or more javelins for every light infantry soldier we have?

>>171006
we cant really make lightinfantry against lacerta. they are really there because they can either outrun them or be a bait, but we are not mentioning the last part.

we need them with light blades and big shields, maybe even nets. if lacerta sodier runs, we will use them to pick a fight.

>>171017
Well javelins are great for harrassment by light infantry. It's how the Greek hypapists fought, light armor, decently big shields, javelins and swords. Their task was mainly to flank the enemy phalanx and start harrasing them with javelins.

Worked pretty well. Javelin harassment should work against the Lacerta as well, atleast if we adopt a more fluid skirmish line approach for our light infantry.

>>171031
the greek did not fought giant lizard men. the roman empire fought viking with was pretty close.

----- later that night -----
You and you sergeants are seated at a table in the back room of one of the more popular eateries in the military district. Since its fairly late its pretty hot, comfortable for the Lacerta that staff the restaurant during the late shift. Knowing this, most of your men are dressed lightly, thin and short-sleeved shirts. There is a private bar at the back of the room, well stocked, the bottles all have some sort of contraption at the tip, presumably to count how many drinks are poured so you can be charged. A female Lacerta walks in, passes out a pile of menus and says that she'll be back in 10 minutes to take your orders.

"Are you payin captain?" Thain asks "The hag took everything but me command and the cloths on my back in the divorce so this place is a bit ritsy fer me."

"Sucks to be you" Garus replies, scratching at his clearly new officers tattoo, just the head from your tatoo; superimposed over a sword tattoo, must be in command of the unit he signed up to join judging by the 462 in place of the hilt. He tosses the dwarf a sack of coins
"This should cover your food... but dont think you dont owe me."
The dwarf catches the sack

"You, three land lords, and one extremely vindictive she-dwarf, according to her at least. get in line laddy!" he smiles, getting up to pour himself a drink, dwarven vodka, from the look of the bottle.
> what do?

>>171241
Tiberius, if you are anything like most agressive, capable young promotions, you have, as a matter of course through your training, and those you knew, been forced to find out what your alcohol tolerances are.

So, IF you are a light-middleweight, DO NOT DRINK. Now is as good of time as ever to establish a precedent of a sober, competent leader....

...But if you can really hold your liquor, it would be more impressive to drink substantial amounts without succumbing to observable intoxication, ESPECIALLY since many of your men are older than you, and harder drinkers are usually afforded a greater 'social age' in most cultures, and that could help insure they respect you.

Plus it would be awesome.

Beyond that, keep an eye on your men, and only step in in their antics if it looks like they are going to start some trouble with:

-a non-military individual
-chances of real harm/property damage, the likes which could retard our progress.

As a young promotion, you HAVE to have acquired either enough raw charisma or social networking skills that you know how to socialize, so get to knowing your sergeants better.

>>171133
The Romans also used Velites, which were pretty much the same thing as Hypapists but with smaller shields, a rain of javelins can screw over a charge pretty good as well.

Their task would mainly be harass the Lacerta alongside with the archers and pull them away from their braziers and pull them towards the heavy infantry.

>>171333
That pretty well sums up what you should do.

mental note, check if thain is worthy of a promotion. its possible a enemy spy may attempt to buy him thru his debt.

well garus seems to have gotten over the whole "we are going to the meatgrinder" anyway. he did heard the part he is only to fight the wounded and the runaways, right?

we should smalltalk, but not about work or politics. could be a good thing to discuss barbies, stores and clothing weapons, brothels and armors.

right now, im thinking we really should have not brought light infantry. the lacerta are javelin users, the light infantry cant really fight them with it. im dubious that we can re-arm them as it is, since tacticus didnt even mentioned it. a javelin would imply more trainning, a shield is at least something they already know how to use.

you could get javelins, but the men would be fairly terrible with them due to inexperience. The only real promotion you have available right now is to the position of your second, which is a pretty long term commitment, as you cant just switch those out like companies in your force.

You select something from the menu, then get up and head over to the bar.
"Vodka Thain? I had you figured for a whiskey man after that bit of life story you gave us." you say offhandedly, as you pour yourself a glass of Felixsian rum, ice would be nice but from the ammount of sweat on the ale tankard, taking too much would warm the brew past the point of good taste.

The dwarf laughs and responds "Sometimes I am laddy, but not when I'm tryin' ta make a decent second impression on me new commander."

Cornelius walks up next to you and motions for the bottle before you can set it down. "SO what do you plan to do with that big fat promotion bonus you got stuck with when you picked up this unit?"

you mull the thought over in your head "I was thinking about getting a new set of armor... know of any good smiths in the area?"

"Me?" Cornelius responds "I heard of a guy just east of the Sergeants Barracks for the 3rd Legion, not sure if he has any ready-made suits however."

"Nonsense!!!" Thain exclaims "We're headed up towards NorthHaven, plenty of solid Dwarven smiths in that city, get you a better suit at a better price." Garus opens his mouth to say something, but the room is silenced by the sound of a loud slap followed by a crashing thump, all the men in the room turn to see Alrick on the floor with a growing red mark on his cheek, a slender woman, black hair tied back in a bun, the lighter vestiges of a Cavalry officers riding gear hugging her becoming features, her face contorted in anger

"YOU ACTUALLY THINK I WOULDNT HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT YOU AND LYRA???" she screams Alrick stammers, but before he can form any words she continues "She's my YOUNGER SISTER you pig! And to think, I was actually going to move in with you!! Dont let me EVER catch you near my fathers house again, OR Lyra... or by Shintjas blackened cunt I will slit your worthless throat." she continuies to storm out, something about his crap being sent to his house carrying down the hallway, muffled by the sound of the waitress returning and Alrick propping his chair back up.

Cicero leans back in his chair and whistles, Thain pours another glass, and heads back to his seat, sliding the second glass over to the Legionaire now perched on his seat again, and looking rather sheepish.

>>171520
Cavalry officers outfit? Now that is rather interesting. Ask Alrick who she was.

>>171434
also we are unlikely to have a open engagement with the lacerta, they are ambushers. how about the shield and nets? its likely we will need to make traps as well. ah, ropes case we manage to catch too many prisioners.

>>171520
buy her a drink, look unsuspiciously amused.

consider current equip versus upgrades if it ever comes handy, after all, with a light infantry unit protecting the commander, we will look very vulnerable in the battlefield.

>>171533
Heavy infantry would be even less useful in such instances. If you want to know what can happen to an army of heavy infantry that grows lax in scouting then check out what happened to the roman legions at Teutoburg forest.

With our light infantry we can scout, we can cover our archers while they perform skirmisher tasks and we can use them to guard our flanks as well as harass the flanks of the enemy.

If we're going to give them big shields then we should give them pilum as well and pretty much just turn them into Hastati. Pilums are rather easy to throw, will break up a charge and mess up shield lines pretty good.

>>171536
i keep getting the feeling we cant take account the racial type here.

>we can scout,
dwarven scouts. they are even used to the mountain range, wich is where they were scouting before.

>we can cover our archers while they perform skirmisher tasks
with units that are tender to the enemy? does it really work?

>and we can use them to guard our flanks
tender unit. favored enemy.

>as well as harass the flanks of the enemy
this may actualy work as a bait. since they have better mobility it should also serve to hunt them.

is it too late to take out he light infantry and put something else? another phalanx unit sounds fine now. we can cover the flanks with the heavy axe dorfs, leaving a light axe dorfs to peform skirmishes with the bowmen.

oh poop, the axe dorfs are also light infantry.

>>171550
>axedorfs are in full plate dude

You glance out the open door after ordering your food "I wouldnt mind buying her a drink..."

Alrick whimpers, then replies "Thats almost exactly how my relationship with her started captain... dont do it. The bitch is crazy, when shes happy shes unbearable, when shes sad she's a recluse, and when shes pissed, she means it. Her sister is just as crazy... if you replace all her emotions with some shade of horny" he chuckles "but if you saw her you wouldnt be able to blame me." this draws a decent chuckle from everyone.
Cicero simply scoffs "fukkin nobles"

-----

Most of the way through the meal you bring up a few more important matters
"We'll be headed out fairly early tomorrow so make sure your men dont have too good of a last night here in the capitol. Cornelius, Garus I'm going to see about getting your units better shields... kite shields for Garus' men, and their round shields will be moved to your men Cornelius, and I'll see about some throwing axes for them as well."

>anything else you wanna do here in town, or do you wanna skip ahead to the rendezvous with your scouts now?

>>171550
Well the point when skrimishing is to not get caught, which is easier when you have mobility. We want to draw the enemy away from their braziers, make sure that they can't move back to them, harass them and keep them working so they expend their energy and once they're starting to feel cold and lethargic we move in for the kill.

>>171659
Well you should see if you can't meet up with Alricks girl. After all you should apologise for the behaviour of one of the men under your command. Despite the fact that he wasn't under your command when it happened.

Oh yeah, and during the march the phalanx soldiers should train alot with their swords. And Tibereus should as far as it's possible and pratical share his soldiers conditions.

And during the march requisition some extra supplies from larger farmholdings and villages. Also always build a fortified camp for the night if you're camping out in the field. You're going to be doing that every night in the mountains so it would be good to get into the habit right away.

>>171687
im not really sure we get to skirmish, considering their ambush tactics. we may be able to lure them, but mostly that would weaken the light infantry too much.

i liked the supplies/fortified camp idea. im not sure about trainning the phallanx while we march. i dont want them to get to the battle exausted, let alone if we get ambushed mid-way.

id ask more about the cavalry crazy cowgirl, but it looks like the night ended.

so our chances of getting a calvalry unit still exists...

----- The next morning -----
It took some prying, but I got the location of Alricks ex's families manor out of him. *knock knock* A young woman comes to the door after a while, a bit shorter and paler than the one from last night, a mane of curley brown hair tumbles down to her shoulders; she's clearly just woken up judging by the... robe she's wearing. It only goes down to above her knees, a single sash is all that is protecting her modesty, and... damn Alrick wasn't kidding. Eying you up and down she says
"And what bring a big, strong, soldier like you here this early?" she says in a sultry... is that a whetsone I hear spinning in the back room?

"I, er... had a brief matter I need to discuss with your older sister..." Lyra pouts at this

"The fat one, or the military bitch that spoils all my fun?" she asks matter of factly... looks like she's the baby sister

"The uhh... military one" you reply.

"Come in and wait then, shes probably in the armory down a level so..." as you cross the theshold Lyra turns to the staircase off to the right and screams "KYRA!!! YOUVE GOT A VISITOR!!!" then proceeds to sprawl out on a couch in the sun, deftly crossing her legs and picking up a book, ignoring you for whatever shes reading at this point. The sound of the whetstone seems to have died down...
>how do you guys wanna approach this?

>>171813
Go in there and tell her that you would like to apologise for the behaviour of a man under your command. You expect them to hold themselves to a bit higher standards (even if that would be a futile endeavor you should lie like a bastard here).

Then see if she is willing to engage in a bit of smalltalk before leading her to the subject of military and specifically cavalry.

>>171816
this, but change smalltalk to businesstalk. lets try to recruit her before gettin into her medieval panties.

Kyra walks up from the basement, a sheath fitted training top and the breeches from her cavalry uniform, she has a VERY sharp looking dagger strapped to one hip, and has a mean looking mace slung over her opposite shoulder. She is must have been sweating pretty heavily fairly recently judging by the look on her face and dicoloration of her cloths.

"What is it?" she asks, glaring at her baby sister... theirs clearly something going on here. She looks at you and startles and snaps off a hasty salute; her fist making a wet slapping sound as she hits her sweaty, bare shoulder before raising the same fist out at a 45 degree angle and holding it until you nod in acknowledgment (your in the uniform that goes under your armor since your leaving shortly after this).
"To what do I owe the pleasure this morning, Captain..." she trails off, not knowing your name

"Tibereus Cornex" you reply "And I'm here to apologize for one of my mens prior transgressions, even though he wasnt under my command at the time I do intend to hold all of my men to a higher standard than that both on and off the field"

Before her older sister can respond Lyra quips "Oh theres NOTHING that man does that wants for apologizing" Kyras face flushes, then something seems to click in her mind; she walks over to her sister and pulls a slightly less... noble, book out from behind the one she was reading and throws it across the room.

"At this rate you'll kill the damn Uursan rather than preforming any useful medical aid, which would mean they need replacing, which would come out of our poor, old fathers money and ultimately YOUR precious inheritance!" she turns to you "Sorry about that captain, its just that father recently gave command of the house unit to me and a good deal of the veterinary staff left when they heard that some young woman was in command now; convinced that I would cause the death of the unit at the first engagement due to my womanly ineptitude." what you said to her seemingly clicks in her mind, and she actually laughs "You must really be new to the three legion if your actually APOLOGIZING for the behavior of Alrick 'the lusting sergeant' Nexarius; no, the fault is mine for believing his lies, and for interrupting your meeting - of course" she glances at the stairs, clearly eager to get back to her training

"Do you always train so hard then?" you ask her, trying to nonchalantly move the subject... and doing a decent job of it.

Kyra scoffs "Well, there hasn't been any serious fighting since I assumed command of the House Unit three years ago, and I was hardly an experience fighter when that happened anyways, so I train myself as much as possible to keep up, and my unit almost as much, to prevent any degradation of skills."

you nod in approval " Excellent dedication, I suspect I will be doing much of the same as you when I return from this assignment"

Kyra perks up at something you said there "What sort of assignment were you given?" she asks

>give me a d100 roll for persuasion, low is good.

rolled 96 = 96

---

mention the need of a cavalry anyway. and the promisse that she wont need to join tables with her former boyfriend.

>>172001
my luck. sometimes it hates me.

>>172002
well, I didnt plan to go off of just one roll, so if the next roll is about half of the number I have in mind you may still get a success (yea, I'm using averages so supporting rolls are possible)

rolled 84 = 84

---

I ROLL

rolled 27 = 27

---

>>172011
DAMMIT

Tacticus!darIyNTbjA 2010/04/29(Thu)23:18 No. 172023 ID: 637d5e
File 127260832074.png - (29.13KB , 926x835 , marching proposed.png )

>>172012
>>172011
>>172001
1 fate point spent on re-roll (Bobs second roll) (I GM DH so thats how I think of it) 1 left for the thread.

"WE'll be fighting a Lacertan rebellion in the north, and yes they have what they'd need to make it an actual fight" you reply, trying to not be too specific but give her an idea of what you'll be doing.

"I'm not sure if you know how house cavalry works, so I'll explain it to you." she replies suddenly helpful "A noble house commands, raises and funds the unit, a member of the house commands all of that houses units and offers their services to different Batallions that they feel would be a good match or need the aid. The batallions captain of course can deny the services of the house Company if they wish. Since my house isnt exactly the most wealthy of them, we can only afford to support one Batallion of Uursan riders, which as I said I am the commander of. Now, judging by the rumors I've heard of you; you were never told of this situation nor have you been offered any aid by one of the larger houses. As I said, my command is generally not approved of in most military circles, I beleive this could be a mutually beneficial situation for us. So, I am formaly offering you, Captain Tibereus Cornex, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Regiment, 3rd legion; the aid of the House Deshais 1st and only Uursan Riders Company."

Momentarily stunned by you good fortune you simply reply "We planned on departing in 3 hours"

Kyras face falls, then almost instantly hardens "And my unit can be ready to move in 2... provided you can send a runner to your commanding general to get payroll and records updated."

realized just how close you had come to losing this oportunity you quickly reply "Of course" you quickly walk outside and catch a messenger boy (their a common sight in the capitol, and you had the good fortune to catch one that wasnt busy), you write out a letter detaling what just happened, roll it up, seal the parchment and send the boy on his way and walk back inside. "How can I help you finish your preparations on this... truncated timescale you have?"

You Spend the next two hours helping Kyra prepare her unit, including explaining to her sister serveral times why she CANT "go along with all the big strong military men".

about half an hour before you had planned on leaving you ride into the mustering area you had designated outside of town at the front of the Deshai Uursan riders to find your men waiting in a guessed marching order... no doubt Cornelius' work. When Alrick spots the woman riding beside you, he stares daggers at you from a face that reads betrayal, but everything else is in good order.
>marching orders (you dont need to be EXACTLY on with your schedule but it'd look bad to break it by too much)
pic is what your sergeants came up with... I'll have numbers and icons for the tactical screens

>>172023
Send out the light infantry further on the flanks and split up the archers to walk on both sides of the supply train and do the same with the cavalry. Then lets get going.

assuming we are going up, this is not so bad.

the bowmen should be on the rear of the supplies. the light infantry would not resist a ambush so they should be right behind the phalanx unit and in front of the supplies. move the cavalry to the now unprotected right.

if he complains, tell him that he did a good job, but we managed to grab some spare cavalry and thus had to acomodate it anyway.

say to alrick that we desperately needed a cheap cavalry just like she was desperately needing a job. i am so very hard trying to not make it sound like a cheap whore

for everything else, we should pretty much prevent alrick and kira from fucking/kill each other before the battle. im also convinced the sergeants will dislike her a lot, so we should try to keep it even headed. at least in front of her.

It took a bit, but the re-organization went smoothly. Thain looked somewhat releived, as did Alrick (once you smoothed over his betrayed feeling), aparently neither of them was looking forward to what you had planned.

>tiebreaker needed for formation, and its gonna matter a hell of alot after this social encounter so...

A few solid days march north and you reach your rendezvous point outside the village of Garius. A Dwarven woman, tall for a Dwarf, stands, flanked by 5 of her scouts. You make your way towards her, your sergeants falling in behind you. The Dwarves all seem to be in leather armor that has been dyed to shades of light gray and white, and their winter cloaks are white instead of the usual imperial crimson, all of them have big marksmans crossbows on their backs and short-swords on their hips.

"Sergeant Halla Ironbuckle, 465th Dwarven Scouts" she introduces herself "The rebels seem to be headed towards DragonsSpire, but my latest reports show they will hit the mountains a few leagues east of that point"

"Excellent" you reply she glowers, and you notice Thain seems to be observing her... rather closely, looking a bit more closely (and less obviously) yourself, she's probably quite attractive underneath the shape-hiding bundles of cold-weather gear she's in.

"The other 54 Dwarves in my unit are currently ahead of us tracking the rebles, I'll stay with the unit to help follow them" She replies

"Very good Sergeant" you finish, turning to the rest of your men "YOU HERAD THE WOMAN, MOVE OUT AND FOLLOW HER!" you bellow before falling into step with Thain "I'd be careful if I were you friend, she could put out your eye from 500 yards and was none too happy about your eyballing her."

Thain chuckles "I suppose your right laddy" then he walks ahead and starts shouting at his men to get them moving. You notice Cicero looking wistfully off to the west, until Garus walks up and says something to him; which seems to snap him out of it.

>what area of the unit do you want to march with, now that your officially on the tail of your mission?

>>172165
The purpose of putting the light infantry further out on the flanks would be to make sure that in the case of an ambush they will have a chance to discover it first. Letting our heavy infantry form up to cover our supplies and archers while the archers provide supporting fire.

The cavalry would also be at the sides to enable them to quickly render assistance to any engagements the light infantry get into.

>>172172
Switch a bit between marching with the phalanx and the dwarfs.

Make sure that you have a fortified camp each night. Ask the scout sergeant if there are any active volcanoes in the mountains.

>>172173
dont we have some dwarven scouts with us?

what about the same formation that i described but the soldiers scrambled ahead for scouting? we may need to consider that if we are using them as a probing stick their morale will drop quickly.

we are on a horse, right? get off it and go on the phalanx up front.

>>172179
the phalanx would suck defending the side or the rear. better to leave them in the front even to force the sides of the march to be targeted.

>>172199
hurr ignore the last part. id suggest walking with the phallanx, since we would stand out in the dwarfs and cant actualy do the cavalry.

>>172199
We only have 5 scouts right now though. And if we march with the light infantry close in then an ambush is alot more likely to be able to do serious damage. Since then they get cut through our formation and kill our light infantry, archers and destroy our supplies before we can react properly to it. And since the cavalry wouldn't really get enough room to properly set up a charge either it's quite likely we would lose them as well.

Hopefully our light infantry won't take heavy losses if we are attacked. In case of attack they should pretty much just disengage and fall back while the cavalry moves to assist them and the archers provide covering fire while the heavy infantry sets up.

Tacticus!darIyNTbjA 2010/04/30(Fri)16:22 No. 172217 ID: 637d5e
File 127266972744.png - (28.42KB , 926x835 , marching final.png )

So light infantry on the flanks in loose formation, with orders to disengage if any enemies are spotted, then cav then archers, with the Phalanx in front and dorf auxiliary in back? cav countercharges as light infantry disengage and archer fire if a flank is ambushed, then heavy infantry form a line to repel?

or do you guys want something else?

>>172217
jeebus, this is a wide caravan.

im not going to discuss this. it has so many units on the side it actualy justifies a frontal attack.

>>172217
Yeah that is good. Although the light infantry should be a bit further out of the flanks. Say about 200 meters. That should give us enough warning and it's still close enough for some quick reinforecments if it becomes necessary.

The first few days go uneventfully, as the direction of your guery narrows more of the scouts join the caravan. By the end of the second week of tracking theres about 40 of the 60 scouts back with the unit. They take the job that your light infantry had been preforming, and you re-arrange the caravan accordingly. As the sun sets on the last day of the second week, you find yourself at the edge of camp, now that the temporary pallisades your men had crafted for camp at night you find yourself watching a battle unfold against the sunlight; a wild Uursan and two polar bears are fightin, presumably over a cub the latter had tried to eat. The Uursan is a good half foot larger than the male polar bear in all respects, its black fur contrasting against the white snow and crimson sunset. Suddenly Kyra is next to you.

"Its a beautiful specimen" she says, looking at the uursan, the beast bellows as one of the polar bears slashes at its side "This fight will probably ruin it. Its a shame how many young specimens like this go unfound and untaimed... I'd kill to have one like that for my mount, to tame it, break it... befriend it." she looks wistful as the two smaller bears chase the massive limping beast away from their cub.

"I'll keep an eye out for another one like that for you, maybe even catch it" you reply, the evening calm is disturbed by another great roar, no doubt the Uursan running afoul of some other predator.

Kyra chuckles "If you could actually catch one of those beasts and come away alive and unharmed, I truly would be impressed."

"I'll keep that in mind" you reply "I have first watch tomorrow though, so I'd better go to sleep early. Goodnight Kyra." you say before walking towards you tent, she remains behind to watch the sunset.

>give me a D7 roll

rolled 1 = 1

---

>>172284
ROLL PROVIDED

>>172330
I sure do hope we still want to roll low....

Tacticus!darIyNTbjA 2010/04/30(Fri)20:10 No. 172342 ID: 637d5e
File 127268340449.png - (20.30KB , 926x835 , Ambush.png )

"AMBUSH!!!!" is what you wake up to. It cant be much later than midnight. Alrick was on watch, and it seems he sent a few men through the camp to wake up the rest of the force. You poke your head out of your tent, and see the norther and western enterences to your camp are being assailed. You had the whole force on watch roatation, 1/8 of each unit taking a shift with a roatating leader, either you or one of the sergeants. your platemail is on its rack, but that will take time to put on.
>the yellow ringed ovals are supply wagons, the other ovals are craftsman wagons/mobile shops. you are at the red-rimmed diamond, and the active men on watch are the boxes. The rest of the camp is stirring as well. (the roll was to see who was on watch) What do?

>>172342
start shouting orders like your wife was havin babies, get a set of sword+shield unless you do 2 handed swords and look alive. they will target you when they realize you are pulling orders, hide behind any unit with shields by then.

alrick is axe dorfs? tel him to peform choke points in the entrances with his men and whoever woke up, the cavalry is to leave thru the non-used gates and storm their flanks. the light infantry is to keep watch in the unattacked gates and scout as much as its possible.

>>172342
The light infantry is to act as a reserve, send up one third of the resting heavy infantry to one of the attacked gates and one third to the other. The remaining heavy infantry and light infantry form a reserve.

Give the cavalry orders not to attack immediatly on the forces attacking the other gates, let the enemy get well and truly engaged first before they attack.

Order the heavy infantry now backed up with reinforcments at the two attacked gates to pull back into a halfcircle formation while ordering the archers to stay at the supplies and keep up a rain of arrows at the entrance of both gates.

When the enemy has been sucked in the cavalry attacks and the reserve goes in with a counterattack from the camp side. Half the light infantry stays at the supplies with the archers though.

Tibereus should stay with the reserve and stay visible.

>>172432
we should keep the light infantry skirmished inside the fortress, looking for spies and infiltrators. also tey suck against the lacerta.

well i kinda disagree on keeping the cavalry on defense, we have a phalanx unit for that. how about using the phalanx unit to defend the 2 remaining gates and peforming hit and run attacks with the cavalry trhu those unused gates?

>>172467
That was pretty much the plan. Once we have suckered the enemy in a bit deeper and they're well and truly engaged our cavalry hits them with a charge. At around the same time we hit them from the inside with a charge from our reserve and start pushing them back.

Hopefully they break and run at this point, the cavalry and some of the light infantry gives chase for a bit to make sure they won't try it again any time soon.

If they don't break at the cavalry charge then the cavalry will have to pull back and reform for new charges until they do break.

Suggestion 2010/05/03(Mon)11:24 No. 173198 ID: 637d5e
File 127291109348.png - (63.44KB , 926x835 , Ambush2.png )

> this is the tactics screen, the dots are unit morale, top to bottom compared to the row to the right. below the dot is the mental condition of the unit (near as you can tell), followed by losses taken. You are the gray filled diamond, your sergeants are marked by the stars.
>picture accurate at the moment of impact on the Lacertan charge

Grabbing your longblade and battered old tower shield and throwing on a cloak you burst out of your tent and begin shouting orders. within the few minutes it takes for your force to wake up and follow your orders the lacerta hit the gates. (Alrick must have had scouts positioned outside the camp to get so much of an advance warning). However, the Phalanx aren't properly set when the attack hits your lines, the din drowning out Alricks shouted admonishments and incentives to form up properly in the north and Thains mindless shouting about lacerta and what should be shoved up their posteriors at the west gate; the dwarf somehow having managed to get his full plate on before getting to the line. Since he is the second man in the roatation it must be close to the end of Alricks guard shift. Out of the corner of your eye you see Kyras unit heading out, Kyra at the lead had the time to get the leather chaps that go under her riding plate, and a cloak over her shirt, her hair hitting her shoulders and quite messy from sleep. Behind you a gruff voice shouts

"Form by threes, at angle!! I want a continuos volley into both gates! AND I WANT DISCIPLINE! you know the ranges and I know the lizards dont use bows, so if I find even one arrow wound in one of our men its coming out of ALL of your useless hides!!!" he draws his longbow and looses a shot "COMMENCE!!!"

You can see Garus and Cornelius working to get their men settled into a proper formation between the heavy infantry reserves and the archers.

due to the division of their unit the phalanxs are about as loose as they can possibly be to accommodate a full three ranks of depth as well as your reserve orders. Halla is making her way over to you to ask for her orders presumably. Something big shakes the wall between the two gates.

>>173198
gah, forgot to add my name

>>173198
Send out the remaining phalanx soldiers to bolster the lines and give them time to set up properly. Keep the nonengaged dwarfs in reserve.

Ask Halla to send out two people to check out what's hitting the wall. As well as post scouts forward of the two gates that hasn't been hit to give advance warning if lacerta forces approach them.

Tell Garus and Cornelius to ready their men if something manages to breach the wall before Hallas scouts can report back. Assure them that we will win this and the Lacerta will be hurt alot more than they could ever imagine. Then wait for the scouts report.

Tacticus!darIyNTbjA 2010/05/05(Wed)10:41 No. 173801 ID: 637d5e
File 127308128277.png - (63.11KB , 926x835 , Ambush3.png )

You shout out to the reserve Phalanx to move up and support, and the remaining dwarves to move up to their counterparts now vacant backstop position.

"Garus, Cornelius, have your men form a line between the reserve elements of the 379th in case something breaks down that wall!" as the sergeants from up to your sides you add quitly to them "Dont worry we'll hurt these bastards far worse than they hurt us tonight" Halla sidles up next to you, crossbow at the ready, her men must be in place then.

"I have a feeling that if something does break down that wall you'll need the extra help" You nod in acknowledgment, but any words you may have formed are drown out by several very loud things happening at once, the first being Kyras unit scything through the enemies northern group, the second a flurry of head-sized rocks blasting through the wall in front of you.

When the dust and snow settle you see four massive Lacerta, all of them armored and armed with greatswords of massive proportions, followed by a smaller robed lacerta, in its right hand an obsidian blade, its left raised and clenched in a fist, with several large rocks orbiting it. Before you can say anything something whizzes past your head and one of the bodyguards falls dead, one of Hallas bolts through its eye.

>Remember casualties aren't necessarily fatalities.
>What do?

>>173801
Time for several orders to go out at once. Order the northern reserve to support the dwarfs on the flanks at the northern gate. Cut off the Lacerta already inside there and then move up the phalanx to completly block off that gate. The dwarfs then move to assist against the mage and the huge ones.

Order the archers that were shooting at the northern gate to target the new threat in the form of the hole and put some arrows into the huge bastards and the robed guy. Order Halla as well to try to take down the guy with the robe.

The dwarfs that were standing in reserve for the western gate are to move up to the flanks to cut off the breach and if the oppurtunity presents itself, cut down the huge bastards with some axeblows to the knees.

Order the buglers to blow the note for another cavalry charge. Hopefully Kyra will get it and push onwards behind the new threat.

And now comes the very dangerous and risky part. Move up alongside with the light infantry and try to get the attention of the huge bastards and the mages. Axemen throw their axes, swordsmen don't throw their javelins since they don't have them, they just fan out a bit in a semicircle. The goal here is to draw out the 4 huge bastards from the others and then take them down like a pack of wild dogs take down a large prey.

Ok, that should hopefully do it.