The Defense of Vaul - May, 1 VC

[Keehnelf]

Tamer pin looks Odium over. "I'd have put you in with the core infantry but we already had a volunteer for that duty earlier this morning." He jabs a thumb over one shoulder toward Deliah, making her way through the hardened ranks of the unit she'll accompany. "You'll be safer attached to a unit rather than going on your own, and more effective too. You might slow down an advancing unit with your magic, but if you can get off a spell while the target's already engaged that will make a huge difference to swinging some of these fights our way." He points toward another infantry unit forming up nearby: "that'll be your station." He indicates Orrin's unit of grim-faced mercenaries.

[Starbeard]

Odium bleats an incomprehensible response and waddles his way over to Orrin's light infantry, clearly unhappy about the way this day is turning out. As he passes the troops, he waves paternally at Deliah, calling out, 'They have it in for me, but at least my post is better than being given to the heavy infantry. Such a pity you shan't live, I grow more accustomed to our charming little talks!'

He approaches Orrin and doesn't bother to introduce himself. 'I am with you for better or worse, unless of course flight seems prudent. I have precisely two sleep spells, so direct them wisely, but be warned that I will use them myself if I need to save my own skin.'

[Zorroroaster]

Orrin Lighthammer stalks slowly towards the staging area, his eyes sizing up the troops under his command. He paused as Odium approaches and nods his assent at the mage's suggestion.

He finds a spot where the ground has a subtle rise to it and comes to a halt at the top of it, one hand resting on the pommel of his sword. His voice is scratchy and coarse from disuse, but grows louder as he warms to the task of marshalling his unit.

"Lads! Some of you know me, some don't. In a very short time that's not going to matter for shit, because we're all going to be up to our arses in death and destruction. That suits me just fine, and by the looks of you it suits you just as well!"

He pauses, considering his words. "When I heard I was leading a crew of mercs, I smiled to myself. I'm smiling now, though you can't tell from this ugly mug of mine. Listen. You know why you fight, and that's all I need. We don't fight for king and country. We don't fight for the weak and downtrodden. We fight because we're fucking good at it! We kill because each of us knows it needs doing, and we're the ones to do fucking do it, when nobody else can."

"I got a lot of these scars you see at the hands of those vicious bastards out there, so I plan to get my own back, and more. We will bring death and pain to all those who oppose us today. Let's get it done."

[Spartakos]

Rhodri wanders to where the troops are staging around midday, and looks for the biggest concentration of men with bows. He judges the groups leader to be a muscular dwarf who looks somewhat familiar, so he addresses him.

"I'm Rhodri, and I reckon I could be of some use. I'd be better than nothing, at least. Provided you have a spare bow, that is, which I expect you don't."

He casts his gaze around as he speaks, looking for Bertram or anyone who looks to have a wizardly bent.

[Zhym]

Sergeant Ulf Stronghammer walks about the archery target range, the midday sun gleaming off the plates of his armor. As he walks among his men offering pointers and encouragement—a note about breathing here, a tip about adjusting for the wind there, and a pat on the back, a willing ear, and a kind word everywhere—he realizes that his armor will be tested soon enough. As his pa told him, no matter how impressive a new suit of armor may look, a blacksmith's work is proven in battle.

He's helping one man drill at long range when Rhodri approaches him.

"Ulf Stronghammer," Ulf replies by way of introduction. "We don't have extra bows, but the store might still have one for sale." He digs into a pouch and hands Rhodri 30 gold coins. "Get yourself a bow with this. You can repay me after our victory. Welcome to the fight."

30 gp deducted.

Does Ulf also need to spot Rhodri the cost of a quiver and arrows, or are we assuming that we're fully supplied with arrows for the battle?

[Keehnelf]

You've got plenty of arrows to spare.

[KingOfCowards]

May 10, 1 VC

Bertram spends the day with his heavy infantry unit, making last minute preparations for battle. Over the past week he had made a reputation of being a firm but fair leader. The men were trained hard, and Bertram had never shirked from his duties. He was not much for kind words nor praise, only rarely giving nods of approval and more often swift correction if a drill was not being performed to his standard.

But as sunset draws near, he addresses his men, likely for the last time for many of these soldiers.
"I've often heard it asked why we are being attacked. What does the enemy want? I can tell you why, they have no other choice. They see Vaul, and they see something that can never have. We have grown stronger day by day, while they only get weaker. They fear us. They have no place in this new world, and they are only hoping to delay the inevitable. They know that the heroes of Vaul will one day tame their savage lands, and they lash out at what they cannot understand. We fight for a civilized world, and yet they are only battling against their own obscurity. So, I say we show them. We show them that Vaul will not fall today. Vaul. Will. Not. Fall. Ever!"

[Spartakos]

Rhodri will see if he can obtain a bow with Ulf's loan money; if so, he will return and make ready to join the archers.

[Keehnelf]

He is able to do so.

[Keehnelf]

May 10, 1 VC - 7:10pm

The day passes with painful slowness as the two small forces make their preparations. The ballistae are manned and loaded, guarded closely by the assembled infantry to prevent any unexpected trouble. The sergeants and Tamerlin stride up and down in front of their troops, exhorting them or cajoling them, as their personalities dictate. Finally, as the sun begins to slip toward the horizon in the west and the low orange and black glow to the north begins to take charge of illuminating the field, the enemy force rumbles into view with a low and chaotic murmur, the goblinoids of the enemy force uneasy and impatient for the bloodletting that is to come.

Over the low hill to the northeast, a row of large shapes appear--ogres, hauling a pair of large wagons piled high with boulders a man would be unable to wrap his arms around.

Tamerlin, riding at top speed across the ranks of the assembled defenders, calls out to the sergeants: "Stop the ogres! They're the only real threat to the walls! If they can approach within range to throw at the walls, we're done! Defend the ballistae!"

He rides back to his unit and the signalman at the head of the column gives the appropriate flag-signals to communicate this warning to the entire force. (Each turn, the signalman in the command group will be able to send two signals: each will be of the "Unit X perform Y action Z target/direction". You can elect to follow these requests or not for your unit)

The forces are arrayed according to the map below (the ugly things that could be interpreted as hills--are hills!):

Defense of Vaul Initial.jpg (177.98 KiB) Viewed 675 times

The forces are marked as follows:

Defenders-
1-Cavalry (Blavern, 21 heavy cavalry)
2-Infantry (Garen, 30 light infantry)
3-Command Group (Tamerlin, 19 heavy cavalry)
4-Infantry Core (Bertram, Deliah, 30 heavy infantry, 10 dwarf infantry)
5-Infantry (Orrin, 30 light infantry)
6-Light Cavalry (Galen, 16 cavalry)
7-Crossbowmen (Remus, 16 archers)
8-Duke's Guard (Duke, 10 guard, 20 Hvy infantry)
9-Shortbow unit (Ulf, Rhodri, 20 archers)
10-Ballista (3 crew)
11-Ballista (3 crew)

Attackers-
1-Orc wolf-riders (12)
2-Orc wolf-riders (12)
3-Orc Heavy Infantry (20)
4-Orc Heavy Infantry (20)
5-Hoboblin infantry (24)
6-Hoboblin infantry (24)
7-Hoboblin infantry (24)
8-Gnoll archers (16)
9-Gnoll archers (16)
10-Mounted Command Unit (6 champions)
11-Wagon One (2 ogres)
12-Wagon Two (2 ogres)


If you are participating in the battle, go ahead and post your planned actions for the first round using the guidelines laid out earlier in the thread--once I have everyone's orders in, I will adjudicate the results and post a new map and we will start again! (any questions--just post them here)

[Keehnelf]

Also: the walls of the city are on the south side and the brown thing is the big earthworks and wooden extra wall that have been set up to restrict access to the gates.

[Zhym]

What's the scale of the map?

[Keehnelf]

The hexes are approximately 30 feet on a side, only for use in determining spell ranges--everything else should be governed by the movement speed/ranges given earlier.

[Zorroroaster]

Just checking in ...I'm here and will post as soon as I brush up on the rules! Nice to see you back in action!

[KingOfCowards]

Are the ballistae assumed to be immobile?

[Keehnelf]

Yes, they can swivel with the crew they have but not roll. They could potentially be moved but not without more people.

[Marullus]

Deliah is up early, out among the infantrymen. She is well prepared for the day, freshly washed, her hair tied up in leather cords, a black leather overdress over her skirts. She moves among the slowly-waking men, talking to them earnestly, listening with a hand on each man's upper arm as she offers encouragement. She picks a simple short sword from the armory, adding it to a hip-slung baldric.

Deliah stands with Bertram and the burly men and dwarves of the center-line as dusk falls and the foes appear. She calls out to them individually, bolstering their courage by reminding them of what they each protect. "Stand and hold, good men! They shall never reach your gardens, Faldrir. Baldred's children shall wake on the morrow to hear of your valiant feats this night! You stand and they are safe -- you are the true wall of Vaul!" She continues on, encouraging each based on their conversation, strengthening the resolve of each man as they hold the line against approach.

When a unit closes to engage with them, she releases her sleep magics, doing her best to whittle the incoming force before her own side becomes attrited.

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.

[Zhym]

The hexes are approximately 30 feet on a side, only for use in determining spell ranges--everything else should be governed by the movement speed/ranges given earlier.

Oh, right. Time to relearn the rules of this battle.

Do we have any idea what the range of those rock-hurlers is?

[Keehnelf]

You don't, but you're fairly sure it can't be more than ten hexes at the very longest.

[Zhym]

Lacking any other orders yet, Ulf instructs his archers to remain behind the infantry to the front, moving forward no more than two hexes. Their job, for the moment anyway, is to protect the infantry (and thus the ballistae) from anything that charges forward while the crossbows and ballistae focus on the ogres and rock launchers.