The Defense of Vaul - May, 1 VC

[KingOfCowards]

I defer to Bertram on the orders, but expect that our unit will brace for charge, allowing 15 vice 10 to engage when their center line is engaged. Deliah focuses on morale, her Charisma as her key asset. She will cast sleep on the first engaging unit with preference for one of lowest HD creatures to impact the maximum number of units. She engages in ranged attack, throwing knives at those coming to engage.

I believe all units should be out of charging range at this point, so centering his unit between the ballistae would be Bertram's first goal. Let me know if I am doing this right Bertram will order his unit to force march, pivot to the left for one hex of movement, move forward for another hex, and the pivot right for his third movement. That should put him two hexes in front of the healers, facing in his original direction.

[Zorroroaster]

Orrin stands at the front of his heavy infantry, looking out over the field. He tries to take stock of the opposing forces and what to expect from them. He turns and growls towards his charges.

"Hold firm, lads! Let's wait and see what they propose, and what are lords plan to do about it. We should protect the ballista behind us, and let them and our archers soften them up before we dive in. This is where it all comes down. We work together, and we survive. Look at the man to your left. Now look at the man to your right. These are your family now. Fight for them."

[Keehnelf]

I defer to Bertram on the orders, but expect that our unit will brace for charge, allowing 15 vice 10 to engage when their center line is engaged. Deliah focuses on morale, her Charisma as her key asset. She will cast sleep on the first engaging unit with preference for one of lowest HD creatures to impact the maximum number of units. She engages in ranged attack, throwing knives at those coming to engage.

I believe all units should be out of charging range at this point, so centering his unit between the ballistae would be Bertram's first goal. Let me know if I am doing this right Bertram will order his unit to force march, pivot to the left for one hex of movement, move forward for another hex, and the pivot right for his third movement. That should put him two hexes in front of the healers, facing in his original direction.

That's exactly right.

[Starbeard]

(I believe Odium is stationed with Orrin's infantry)

Odium the Contemptuous spits and nervously pats the chicken head dangling from a thin cord around his neck, a lucky fetish. "I've no idea why we're fighting out here like fools when we've a perfectly good wall newly built right behind us. Bah."

His squinting eyes gauge the distance between their forces, and he whispers to Orrin. "From our position I can just reach my sleep spells right up to the base of that hill. Those orcs directly before us ought to be just within range, I'd say. The trick, of course, will be in knowing how close to let them come before casting. Those wolf-riders there look like a juicy target, if they try riding up too close…"

He bundles his heavy robes around himself and waits.

[Spartakos]

(any questions--just post them here)

Questions:

1.) Can a cavalry unit charge uphill (I presume those terrain markers by the enemy indicate an uphill slope, right?
2.) Charges must be in a straight line...does that need to be from face-to-face on adjacent hexes, or can a unit charge in a line along vertices?

Not exactly a question, but I believe in your mass combat writeup, you listed medium range twice (when listing the to-hit numbers for attacks); one of those should probably be long range, neh?

[Starbeard]

More questions:

Are our PCs supposed to have an idea of the ranges & fire rates for the ballistae? I can't find them anywhere.

[Keehnelf]

(any questions--just post them here)

Questions:

1.) Can a cavalry unit charge uphill (I presume those terrain markers by the enemy indicate an uphill slope, right?
2.) Charges must be in a straight line...does that need to be from face-to-face on adjacent hexes, or can a unit charge in a line along vertices?

Not exactly a question, but I believe in your mass combat writeup, you listed medium range twice (when listing the to-hit numbers for attacks); one of those should probably be long range, neh?

1. Yes
2. No, have to follow the hexlines (sorry).

And yes, my error on the range indications.

[Keehnelf]

More questions:

Are our PCs supposed to have an idea of the ranges & fire rates for the ballistae? I can't find them anywhere.

The ballistae have a range of 8 and can either change facing or fire each round (they can fire in a forward arc based on current facing, so no need to adjust every round if a target is moving as long as it's in the same forward arc).

[Spartakos]

Galen's voice rings out in a clarion tone as he spurs his mount to a canter, leading his unit in a looping movement to the east. He eyes the battlefield, hoping to position his men for a good charge at the flank of their foe as they move to engage.

Forced March; move forward 2 hexes, then 1 hex to pivot to the east, then 3 more hexes. This should put them directly down from the unit of wolfriders.

[Keehnelf]

I'll be handling the Defense and its aftermath via a global update and closing this thread to consolidate things.