>>13105425
Well I suppose we should go talk to her since we've already talked to Lena.

Let's see what Belatrix has to say. Might also get the chance to ask her about her dreams.

>From ZeonQuest to CommanderQuest
>Gonna be a long nite

"Good morning, did you have a good rest?"

Hi there. Feeling better?

>>13105425
With dispatches under our arm, greet her and invite her into our tent..

"Hello Bellatrix, is there something I can help you with? Please, come in and sit."

>>13105438
"Bellatrix! I'm glad to see you. I've spoken with your sister about her decision earlier, no doubt you want to talk as well?"

>>13105425
"Ah, if it isnt one of my honored guests, How're you?"

"How was your sleep?" you ask the Kharynchek as you approach her, inviting her into your tent as you pass through its flap.

"Good enough. As my sister has accepted your offer, I intend to enter her service as her protector." she replies, almost too snappily.

>>13105504
"Very good, is there anything specific you would like to help you in this role?"

>>13105504
"Protector? As it stands, your sister will not go anywhere near combat at this point and she'll be safe from any harm. What exactly will she need protection from that you don't trust my soldiers to protect the both of you?"

>>13105504

"Excellent. With someone like you, I'll be assured of her safety at all times. Have you considered getting some more equipment, armour perhaps? Some of my mercenaries are getting outfitted and you might as well do so too."

Reply fast, swiftly, openly. Keep her off balance by our swift and trusting reply.

>>13105504
"You're entering 'her' service? I see. Good idea. She will need all the protection she can get once word about her gets out."

We should offer her training from some of our staff. It couldn't hurt to have a sword master or a legionary giving her a few tips.

>>13105540
I second this.
Should we bring up the possibility of having her tested for any magical or elemental abilities? She might have some talent for mysticism, but I think we should only off-handedly comment that we have all new employees and soldiers tested for possible hidden talents, to keep her from refusing too quickly.

>>13105565
>We should offer her training from some of our staff. It couldn't hurt to have a sword master or a legionary giving her a few tips.

Collin's our blademaster. (According to Pax he's been training for 450 years.) He can probably train her beside Wulf.

Besides that , if she exhibits a talent for a particular weapon we can recommend her to an appropriate trainer.

"Excellent, with her own sister working to keep her safe I can rest assured that no harm to Lena." you reply happily.

"I, well... why are you so trusting of me? I am an outsider to you... and that boy seems to have taken the job you just gave to me, how will you tell him that he has been replaced before being given a chance to prove his worth?" Bellatrix replies, warrily taking the seat you offer her.

>brb, brewing

>>13105605
Let's cut through the bullshit.

"Belatrix, why are you trying to make me disagree with you?"

>>13105605
"My ward Wulf? He's just showing Lena around the mess tent."

>>13105605

"Ah, so you were watching."

Smile in a slightly irritating fashion.

"I assigned Wulf to help guide Lena around our camp for the present while she gets used to it. Theres no reason why he shouldn't help you as well. Mores the merrier, is it not?"

>>13105605
"Who Wulf? Oh ho ho No, I was just asking him to help her around, He is in fact a, protege of mine, which much more duties then just protecting your sister.

As for my trusting you, you've given me nothing to not trust you for. Of course, I wish your sister to feel as at home and safe as she can be around here, as her gifts, have to potential to be well, very powerful. Your being around would make her feel more comfortable.

Course if you wish for additional training with a blade, I have one such person who can do well to train you, he only needs, a Day or two."

>>13105605
"Wulf was merely showing your sister around camp for the time, not assigned to protect your sister. He has other duties that will keep him busy at times. Why do I trust you? I can tell you're just worried about your sister and are only thinking of her interests. I assume you two have only had yourselves to rely on in the past and no one else you could trust. It may take time but you don't have to be an outsider amongst those you travel with anymore. How good are you with that blade?"

>>13105605
"Ah, you saw Wulf then? He has a great many duties aside from acting as any young man in his position might. I'm sure a full time protector would suit your sister's cause but do not be so quick to dismiss the help of others. Wulf's mind is keen and your sister could have worse for a friend."

Some random observation, CQ seems to have a large proportion of name/tripfag to anon ratio compared to other quests.

I wonder why. (Not that its a bad thing) Hmm....

>>13105712
Probably due to the obscene amount of arguing going on. It's helpful to know who you're arguing with.

>>13105712
For me, it just stuck from earlier threads where we'd be arguing over what units to take for our maniple. Just made it easier to clarify who was arguing what and I haven't bothered to stop since then.

>>13105712
Honestly I'm not sure.
As for myself, I use it to remind everyone of how we should act towards the gods.

>>13105712
It was agreed upon in the early threads to make the debates/arguments easier.

>>13105726
On that note, I was thinking on ways we might want to work towards reviving the 7th Praetorian position and I thought of one way that might be a useful means of beginning that work. Talking to Pax via e-mail, he mentioned that the old gods did have temples of worship in the Empire but they're abandoned/locked up now. First, I think we should start investigating these places and see if the old gods followers have started to return or not. Second, I'm wondering if we should start investing in owning those temples if it's even possible and try to start restoring them. It'd likely please the gods to have their places of worship not be a wreck and when we finally start to convince people the gods are back, we've got a basic foundation on why we could be the 7th Praetorian if we've restored the temples.

>Keeping track of arguments

Ah, true enough. We get into more than our far share of those.

>>13105777
First things first, we need to get Degarian to build automated assembly lines for some stuff so we can become rich. After we are rich as hell then we can start in on temple restoration.

Sooner if we get mad loot from this campaign.

>>13105777
Good thinking Maximus.

rolled 96 = 96

>>13105777
Ha! Brilliant, we do something like that and the gods themselves may go to the emperor to put forth our recommendation.

And of course, the fringe benifits arnt half bad either, healing friends, all seeing eyes, might not even cost that much to buy to old ground. Course, may have to root out some undesirables that use old temple grounds for nefarious acts, imagine our luck if Kyria's old loan sharks had their base in one of the temples? Two problems for the price of one.

Luck roll

>>13105794
While I see your point, the only reason I argue we at least start to do this sooner rather than later is because eventually other people will begin to notice the gods are returning. Someone else might get the same idea as us and then it might be a competition to see who can get more control of the temples than the other. Controlling the temples of gods would get us a lot of support from the followers of those gods once the word has spread they've returned. I'm not saying we should throw all our money into this but at least start scoping out the feasibility and maybe working on a temple or two soonish if it won't cripple our funds.

rolled 52 = 52

>>13105828
yeah no, i shouldn't roll tonight then.

>>13105777

Good idea. However financing temples requires alot of money. Theres awhole ton of legal shit we'll have to review to see what we can do. We'll also have a lack of attendees to the temples since many people gave up their worshipping. While its a great idea, we can't do it yet. Our finances are in no condition to support any temples by ourselves.

The only way I can see this working out is if we can somehow convince the authorities to help susidise running of these places of worship.

>>13105794
>automated assembly lines

That's a bit ambitious at this point in time don;t you think? We don't even have any investments yet and I doubt Degrian can build something like that without a significant amount of time and resources.

And what would they build? So far we have automatic crossbows and ballistas, but we'd have to get a contract with the government to produce them for the legions first, though.

rolled 72 = 72

>>13105836
Good idea. Test roll time. Although I prefer to base it on three rolls rather than just 1 roll now.

rolled 10 = 10

Since everyone's test rolling...

rolled 11 = 11

>>13105854
Well then below a 20-30

rolled 62 = 62

>>13105847
Oh I'm well aware it'd be expensive but with the gods pretty much dead to the empire, this is likely the best time to at least try getting ownership of the temples, even if we don't fully repair them yet. It'll only go up in price, assuming my thoughts on owning the land is even possible, as time goes on and rumours of the gods returning spreads. We'd be conceited if we assumed we're going to be the only ones noticing the gods are returning.

>>13105794

I'm not sure if he can do this.

From what I gather, he marks new inventions by sketching out how the new machine will work. He doesn't really have the skills to do detailed construction plans and drawings.

We might be able to get him to accept some disciples. Some who have had training to do plans. Then we might be able to go somewhere.

>>13105872

Well then I guess we could do a limited revival of worshipping. One temple for each god in the pantheon?

Did Pax elaborate why the temples were shuttered? I'm assuming lack of attendees but the authorities might just not have wanted to waste manpower overseeing them.

If we get a chance to speak with the Praetorians, we should try to convince them to help subsidise a few temples, perhaps one for each god. Saves the cost of running many temples at once. We'll then have Janos help oversee these temples, that donations are used for offerings and maintenance of the places of worship, in addition to what duties we give him.

So....are we going to get Bellatrix tested for mysticism? Have Wulf assigned to help the girls find and get what they need around camp, or do people think that he'll volunteer for that himself?

rolled 16 = 16

>>13105928
Mostly because as the gods disappeared and arcane/divine gifts followed in disappearing, people didn't bother to believe anymore. Especially as fake seers and all that crap started to appear. Believing in the old religion is basically saying the same as believing in Santa or the boogey man is how Pax described it. So this has to be done quietly and we can't for any funded assistance from anyone who doesn't believe in the gods. This has to be done on our own for now until we can actually convince people the gods are back and we don't have any solid means of doing so yet. Maybe if we get some kind of divine gift in the future, it'd be more likely but we'll need to either really please a god or devote ourselves to one to get one soon I imagine.

>>13105928
Churchwork was VERY profitable in the olden days. I say don't use the state funds for it, that way we can claim all the profits for ourselves. The gods won't care since we are the ones funding their temples and building new ones, after all.

>>13105950
Perhaps later when she's more trusting of us.

>>13105950
Let Wulf do it on his own or not. We can't hold his hand all the time and she might not appreciate it at this point since she still doesn't seem to trust us. In regards to mysticism, I think we need to figure out what her dreams are first before just assuming she can do it. Hence why we need to get her to trust us more and then we inquire about them. If she is going to be able to learn mysticism, I think it's related to her dreams so that'd be the best indicator on if it's possible in my mind.

>>13105959

I'm unsure how we're going to do this quietly. Worship was a big thing in the previous age. Those temples must be big and placed in prime spots in the capital. Reopening them is going to be a big affair.

>>13105965

I'd put forward that money raised from any donations we get should be put in a separate account. Accepting money raised this way can cause problems with the gods and they may see us as their servant.

We'll still however, have to involve the authorities about getting permission to reopen the temples and oversee them.

>>13106008
I think he's suggesting that we just buy them now, and when there's more signs of the gods to the regular folk, we begin the reopening process.

>>13106008
We research into the old Emperors and see if any of them were obviously devoted to the gods and if they did anything important. It may be a thing of the past but surely restoring those temples in honour of them wouldn't raise every eyebrow in the city. If those Emperor's fought off our current foes in the past, it might be even a better time to do so once we win this campaign. And I didn't mean restore and open them to worship just yet. Just more along the lines of owning them and slowly restoring them. They can be opened when we've actually got support for the old gods in the Empire.

>damned innacurate-assed hydrometer

"Oh, Wulf? my ward was simply showing Lena where the mess tent is. I wanted to be sure she is as comfortable as possible, considering the possible scope of her powers." you reply, and watch in ammusement as Bellatrix' features shift from curiosity to protectiveness in the blink of an eye. "If you wish, I have several members of my retinue who would be more than willing to help train you with that blade. It would take no more than a few days, and you will have until the day after the morrow before you start. And I do want every member of my retinue as safe as can be, though we are on the front line." you add, your ammusment now much more genuine.

"Then why is it he followed Lena to our tent, and showed her the rest of the camp then?" your smile deepens at her reply, Bellatrix furrows her brow, before responding to your question "I might be willing to train, but why the delay?"

>also, is it just me, or is posting spotty as hell?

>>13106035
>>13106026

Ah. That makes much more sense.

>>13106039

>Spotty as hell

"That, would be youth."

Somehow the old man approach doesn't work too well, doh ho ho.

>>13106039
"I imagine Wulf merely wished to show her around the rest of camp so she's more familiar with it now that she's apart of my retinue and to get to know her better. He did it out of friendliness, not some assigned duty. The delay is due to the fact the most experienced swordsman in my retinue is injured at the moment but within a few days, he will be up and about and be ready to move around again."

Yeah, posting is messed up for me as well. Takes forever.

>>13106107
Seconding this.

>Yeah, posting has been unreliable all day.

>>13106039
>Not just you

"He's likely just being a good host, he learned from me. As for the delay, I plan to be having an officer's meeting shortly, which you're are free to join with your sister. It's important to have all of the retinue there, and so that I can introduce the two of you."

>>13106039
>
"Then why is it he followed Lena to our tent, and showed her the rest of the camp then?" your smile deepens at her reply, Bellatrix furrows her brow, before responding to your question "I might be willing to train, but why the delay?"

He is a young man, and Lena a pretty young woman. Surely the implications are not lost on you. Though, I do ask you to refrain from violence or threats. Protectiveness only goes so far, surely you don't intend to chase off all her suitors with sticks until she is an old maid?

>>13106039
It's cool that we're being all disarming and friendly here, letting her do what she wants... but before this conversation is over, we need to make something clear. This is our army. She can use the dodge of working for her sister if she wants, but authority still carries; as long as her sister is working for us, she is working for us as well. As commander we are owed a certain level of respect, and we are not as demanding about that as some we will have it.

She is not an outsider anymore. She's part of the legion. That means she gets respect, training, pay, protection, and brotherhood with the rest of our troops; it also means that she is expected to comport herself in a professional and loyal manner. If any of those- what she gets or what she gives- are not adequate, as commander we WILL see them corrected.

This is not a lot to ask, but we must have it. No maverick types that lip off to us and keep to their own priorities allowed in our army.

>>13106233
I agree with you on all points.
As Legion commanders go, we're very permissive with our subordinates, but because we're so free in allowing our units independence, we expect some certain core requirements to be inviolate.

>>13106233
I agree, it's well put

...

Are you guys not able to post?

Because it's awful quiet in here.

>>13106349
I still seem able to post. I don't know about the others.

>>13106358

Posting was down on most boards for bout 1/2 an hr.

Seems to be working fine.

Well only about a minute ago i've been able to post again?

>>13106349
I was just unable to post for about twenty minutes. Fine now, though.

"He was simply showing her around out of kindness, it would not do for a member of my retinue to not know where things are in the camp. As to the delay, Collin was wounded in the last battle." you reply, moving to open your dispatches, without breaking eye contact. "Also, I will have a meeting of my command staff later tonight in the central tent, since you are part of that group now, please join us."

Bellatrix relaxes noticeably, seemingly accepting your logic, though Wulf will no doubt have an... interesting time of it. "What will you be discussing with your staff?" she asks.

>I blame the moot sticky over on /b/ for the postings bitchieness, haha

>>13106358
I'm here, but I'm not caught up and have exactly no idea what the hell has happened since about twenty threads ago.

>>13106353
Incidentally, I was wondering about the Legion.

How's the mix of male and female soldiers in units, Pax? I mean, we know about our captains, but would this picture be not out of the ordinary? (Well, except for the retarded chest armor and the fact that she appears to be breaking formation.)

>>13106379
Plans for the future, obviously.

See >>13106233 at this point. Speaking of, Bellatrix does NOT get to both be in our retinue and claiming to not be in our retinue. If she's not working for us directly she can sit her ass outside the staff meeting tent and like it. That's for officers, not officers and their lackies/bodyguards.

>>13106379
"Go over intel one of my captains should be returning with tonight and how to make the best use of the rest of the week. Once the sun returns, the enemy will retain their advantage with their archers and air cavalry, and we need to find a way to deal with them before then if possible."

I really want to ask her about her dreams now but you guys think we should wait a little longer until she's got used to actually having a safe place to stay and gets to know us a little better?

>>13106379
"Just regular stuff, just a meet and greet after the mission."

Her questioning is rather odd... I may want to have her tailed for a bit by a Shade. I just have a feeling.

>>13106379
I think, before the meeting we need go over this with her now: >>13106233
"We will be discussing our current disposition of forces and preparations that will need to be made as the Uurlanth force we are facing will likely attempt to force an engagement soon.
"I wish to strike at him before the Black Festival is over, and hopefully force him to retire from the field.
"Also, I will need to introduce you and your sister to the other members of my retinue, and them to you."

>>13106379
"I feel that we will not be able to avoid a pitched battle with the enemy any longer. As it is, I would like to make use of all our advantages and attack them soon. I have sent one of my captains out with a group to scout the enemy base. After he has returned with whatever intelligence he gathered we will be planning our next moves."

Or is this revealing too much?

>>13106398

I think I hate you, and you should feel bad

>>13106418
You think she might have cut a deal with Stant and Uurlanth?

>>13106461
Not with her sister with us. Not after what Stant did to all those people and not when we can actually help her sister out. Unless she's that stupid, there's no way that'll happen.

>>13106461

I honestly can't really see it happening.

Why would you want to work for someone who just enslaved your entire tribe and marched you at spearpoint to your deaths?

Even if we consider prisoners, we just freed them so any hostage ploy is gone. Furthermore they're their only family, no one else who cares for them and whom they care for.

>>13106461
There's a potential of it.

Everything Is A Trap In One Way Or Another.

We should have guards ready at the tent in the case Janos actually recognizes her, well, then we cant let her or her sister leave.

A tail shouldnt be a problem to handle, as our shades, in their black cloaks and sneaky ways could be very effective.

>>13106454

>>13106497
I'm seconding this opinion.

It just doesn't seem likely that she'd be with the Uurlanthians.

>>13106497
and remember, those nomads were not Their people, a different tribe altogether, as they said. they lost their home, a while ago

>>13106503
If we do have a Shade tail her, it's likely that she may be able to spot him. If she confronts us about it, tell her that we needed to see how well she could detect ambushes and tails. Stant has already sent an assassin after us; it's possible he will do so again and she should be prepared.

>>13106503
They couldn't plan the fact Lena and her sister would arrive in our camp and that we wouldn't butcher the slaves though. He wouldn't know Lena can use magic and that we knew about it and would recruit her. The guy's a tactician but that's way too much. I think we should trust her. She comes from a people who see others as outsiders and if we're going to break that, we have to trust her.

"Our plans for the future of the campaingn, sharing new intelligence, the usual. Now, Bellatrix with my accepting your position as Lena's protector on the battlefield, you are being hired into the Degnarian Legion. I allow those under my command a great deal of leeway, and do my best to be friendly with them. However, I am still their superior officer, and expect and give respect as is appropriate. You are no longer an outsider once you accept this job, your sister seems to have already accepted this, and you will have to as well, or you will be reprimanded as necessary. Do you understand this?" you reply, sensing something, odd, about the young woman in front of you.

"Yes, I understand. As long as Lena is safe... I will be at the meeting." Bellatrix replies, seeming to think back on the conversation she just had, and realizing the edge she was walking along. She rubs her eyes and takes her leave of you. You look at the dispatches you recieved. It would appear you have a letter from the Second Praetorian, as well as an update from Commander Renkus, and the usual updates from your peers. but what to open first?

>yea, there are some women in the Legion, but not a whole lot. They tend away from heavy infantry roles as a group, with a few exceptions

>>13106585
Updates from Renkus, our peers and then the second Praetorian.

>>13106585
Mail from the highest-ranking person first, and work our way down.

>>13106524

Fair enough, their home was destroyed.

However if we turn the chessboard around, the idea of slipping spies through the slaves marching on our doorstep is not sound:

Firstly, the slaves were intended to soak up firepower and die. Putting in spies and hoping for them to survive does not make much sense if you didn't expect them to survive the battle.

If you wanted to do so, you would have to integrate large a significant number of 'turned' slaves to have a decent chance of this working and it doesn't rule out the slave column breaking and fleeing. There are much simpler ways to infli our camp.

>>13106585
I think we should read
>Commander
>Peers
>Praetorian

>>13106539
I think, at least some caution is necessary.

Remember that she girls were unharmed in the chaos, ot even whipped once. like as it the handlers were told Not To.

>>13106585
>yea, there are some women in the Legion, but not a whole lot. They tend away from heavy infantry roles as a group, with a few exceptions

Ah, glad you cleared that up.

>>13106633
I agree. It couldn't hurt to have a shade watching over her just to be sure.

>>13106633
They weren't harmed but they were covered in blood and were fighting. At least Belatrix was defending Lena in that battle. In fact, Belatrix was pretty shaken from the battle if I remember correctly. Honestly, I think it's a little overboard and just might hurt her trust in us if she thinks we don't trust her and have to have her tailed.

>>13106436
In the last battle we burned their food stocks. I think an attack on their fort (after a few days) would be a good way to capitalize on their lack of stores (hungry solders fight badly) .

In reagard to the battle itself. I think an night raid with the nvg paste (and no torches) would give us total surprise and time to take out much of the command structure.

But all of this can be figured out at the command meeting

>>13106595
Seconding this order.

You open High Commander Renkus' letter first. The siege at StoneFort has been broken, though there is still frequent fighting. Renkus also saw fit to pass on to you that the hammer fell on the northern front, which is still holding, barely.

From your peers, both Nomz and Pontius have signalled for reinforcements, and are intermittently fighting with their foes mercenary reinforcements. Commander Nomz also reports that he was only replenished to about 60%, as he was unnable to secure replacement units for the Berserkers he condensed together, and is fighting with only 4 Degnarian units still, and as such would appreciate any aid available. Commander Pontius reports that all of his mercenary units have quit the campaign due to losses and exhaustion, preferring a black spot on their record to more fighting.

>cont'd

rolled 12 = 12

Commander, peers, then Praetorian

You open the letter from the Second Praetorian.
"Commander Trentz, first I would like to congratulate you on your success, as Lord Stant has been the end of three maniples thus far, and you seem to be on even footing with the man. However, I must ask you to conclude your affairs with him shortly. As of this writing you are in the best condition of all the maniples on the southern front, which means I will require you to move forward of the legions to lay the groundwork for Uurlanths punishments. Three weeks from your receiving this missive you are to begin advancing towards Uurlanth. Your mission is to bypass the enemy fort, which we will be upon within a week of your arrival. You will force a fording of the Greyrun River and begin weakening enemy positions along said river. You are free to raid as necessary to keep your force fed, and pad your coffer. You need not worry about being cut off from support, as a full third of the assault force will fall upon the enemy defenses before the Greyrun, and your advance deployment should mean several lesser crossings are not prepared. I have instructed the commander of the Flumenos garrison to give you as much support as necessary before you set out, and to take down your name for the Empires newest fort. Ave Degnar."

>The caravan to take your prisoners will arrive in two weeks, so you dont need to worry about that.

rolled 91 = 91

>>13106969
When he says that our name is to be taken down from the new fort, does he mean that the fort will be named after us or that it's just a formal way of saying we will no longer be supported by the fort anymore.

>>13106969

Campaign map please Pax. Which fort are we looking at?

>>13106969
Ah hell. Three weeks and we have to advance eh? Looks like we best crush his sons before he returns with what I assume are reinforcements.

I want to help out Nomz but that might have to wait until we see our intel from Finian. Unless we just send him some of our repeater ballistae and Laelith or something. Actually, I think we should send a letter out to the guy and see what trouble he's having exactly or if he just thinks he needs more troops for help.

>>13107029
>he's saying you need to name it before you leave it for your next mission

>>13106969
>mfw Fort Trentz

Perhaps we should send aid to Nomz, i like him.
Give him our catapult? Some of our siege weapons? we might not be able to use them much on our move.

FORT SKYWATCH

>>13107055
I think we should send him our siege weaponry once we finish using them against Stant's forces. We're supposed to be an advance raiding and assault force; they'll slow us down and we have the engineering capacity to build more on-site if we end up needing more.

That said, we need to crush Stant soon; at minimum it must be within 3 weeks.

rolled 41 = 41

>>13107042
We need not even worry about them anymore besides defending.

rolled 93 = 93

>>13107042
We need not even worry about them anymore besides defending.

We could name it after one of our fair command staff ladies or if not directly after one of them perhaps a name that references one.

>>13107091
We have to begin our march in 3 weeks. I'd say we have 2 weeks at most to finish them off so we can prepare. We need to send out a letter to Nomz and get more info on his situation and send some letters to Flumenos to send some more merc units or new troops to fill up ours I think. It'll take time for them to arrive so we should send it soon.

I want to name the fort after something to show we kicked Stant's ass but I can't think of anything.

>>13107108
The second Praetorian told us to finish up with Stant soon and we can't just leave his troops lying around. We have to crush them. I think we're going to have to commit to a full attack on their fort within the week and hold up until we can resupply our troops with fresh men from Flumenos.

Tactical Routine online

>>13107055

Agreement: The siege engine will not be as useful on the march. If we are to use it at all, it should be as our final assault on the Brothers' current position, then sent as aid, along with any wounded who would not be ready to march alongside us in time.

Addendum: The ballistae stay with us, though. Six feet of steel-tipped lumber traveling at blistering speeds is not something to be discounted.

>>13107091
I think we should adapt our heavy repeaters to be mounted on our giant bear cavalry and use them WHILE raiding. But that's just me.

>>13106969
Whelp, looks like it's time to move out. I kind of want to help out the other maniple that's in trouble, but we've got to use every last scrap of our forces to crush Lord Stant's men so that our path forward is clear.

>>13107108
The Second Praetorian's orders seem pretty clear; we have 3 weeks to finish off Stant's remaining forces.
Do you have a different interpretation of his orders?

>>13107139

Fort Skywatch!

our crowning achievment in this campaign was when we shot down over half of his valkyries in one battle

or Chapel Thunderhead

>>13107139
If we want to reference the last battle we could make it something reflecting our elementalism. Fort Bulwark, or fort Fissure.

>>13107117

We can decide what to name it afterwards.

For now, there are several things we need to do first:
1) Contact Flumenos Garrison for a full report on units currently stationed there.

Since we only have 3 weeks, moving up to the front requires 2. We need the units we choose to be marching for our position now.

2) Contact Normz regarding his situation. We need to know what aid he might need.

3) Degrain needs to step up work on those self-propelled carts of his. We're going to need them.

Maybe we should name the fort to reflect us saving the slaves. Fort Liberty or something along those lines. Might make the nomads more likely to come to it/the area for trading and crap since it's a reminder of the commander who liberated them. Or Stant's banner did have a birds talon on it... Eagle's Bane?

rolled 11 = 11

Oops, passed over that small sentence. Hmmm, we gonna have to figure something out. We have like what, 3 days left of Black Week?

>>13107139

Statement: Along this line of thought, I vote for calling this fort "Stant's Folly"

rolled 90 = 90

>>13107220
As an Americafag, I find that deliciously ironic and cool.

>>13107203
We definitely need to find out how Degrian's progress is going. Having those carts would allow us to march a lot more rapidly if our supply caravan is faster. And putting our ballista on top of wheels would be damn useful for battle. I agree with the rest of what you said as well.

>>13107178
Fort Skywatch!
A ladies name is more well suited to a massive galley ship.
I agree on an all out assault, predated by a number of ranged attacks during the nights and Especially during the night week we still have. and some our balistea and catapult should go to Nomz, we already gave assistance to our old rival.

But we should be careful with our cavalry, and try to take mercenary troops alive, as they might hire on with the riders and other merc groups. Imagine their face as well when they see Colin, the man they saw take on over a dozen of the fighter's sons elite troops and himself, Alone, Back to fighting shape.

rolled 9 = 9

How about, Eagle's Liberty?
Also, I've noticed something, we have yet to send out a letter for reinforcements......have we?

>>13107333
We have not. We were trying to hold back until we heard the other units have done it for political reasons so we look a lot better. Now that we have orders telling us to advance and the fact the other maniples have done that, we can safely call for reinforcements.

rolled 70 = 70

>>13107354
Righto, lets go ahead write multiple letters, confirm and thank the Praetorian for his compliment, write to Nomz we will be sending aid at the end of two weeks so expect it in about 3 or 4 weeks as well as a request for reinforcements. Also, compliment our old rival in his "hammerfall" in the North. I assume when you say the hammer fell that he fought off his defending noble?

>>13107395

No, he's referring to a different front. All three of us are on the southern front. And when he said "the hammer fell", he meant the enemy launched an offensive in the north.

>>13107395
I believe the hammerfall means that's where the thrust of their offensive went. So they're under heavy attack. And we best hear what Nomz situation is before we send aid since we might send things he doesn't need or won't help much. Things like what kind of terrain he's dealing with, what enemy forces and fun like that.

>>13107395

Um, the Hammer falling means that the King himself has decided that the Northern front is the weak point of the line and has decided to commit his legions there. It's not a good thing and Pontius is not involved.

Let's name it after the son who tried to attack it and butchered his own army doing so. I forget his name. X's Folly, where X is his name.

>>13107395
>I assume when you say the hammer fell that he fought off his defending noble?
Ah, I don't believe so. I think the 'hammer' is referring to the strong Uurlanth attack that was expected to hit the weakest portion of our lines.
If the Uurlanth Hammer really fell on Nomz, then he will desperately need our reinforcements until the counter-offensive is well underway.

>>13107233
>two days, actually

You write up a brief letter to the commander of the garrison at Flumenos requesting a list of what he is able to replenish and mercenary units on hand. You write another letter to Commander Nomz requesting additional information on his situation. That done you rise and make your way to your command tent.

The entirety of your staff is waiting for you, Finian near the table, parchment in hand. Lena is standing near Laelith, watching her torch, Wulf is standing near her, also watching the torch, but with jealousy, not the wonder that is apparent on Lenas face. Slightly behind the pair Bellatrix is standing, looking glum, despite Aurelius' best efforts, her attention frequently going to Lena before the gold-haired hunter can get it back. Gaius and Uurist are both discussing the map set out on the table, while Kyria, Jayne and Sansa are all standing opposite the old soldiers, quietly talking amongst themselves. It must have taken longer to go through your dispatches than you had anticipated.

>so, numbers first, or tell your staff whats up?
>Janos is waiting your word to enter
>campaign map update is on the way, need to fuse some images for it to be accurate

>>13107430
Not on Nornz. It fell in the north, meaning the northern front. We are on the southern front. Remember when Pax told us the strategic layout, and that they would assault where they felt the defensive line was the weakest? Apparently our cohort was way tougher than the guys in the north, so they went through the north to avoid fighting us.

>>13107446
Tell them what's up first and then get the numbers.

>>13107446

We might as well introduce Janos. He'll be part of the inner circle from now on. Any insight we can get will be extremely important from now on.

Then a situation update for our staff.

What numbers do you mean?

>>13107446

Statement: tell the commanders what's what, then go over numbers. This should have everyone on the same page.

>>13107446
Call everyone to attention. First, their reports for us. Get all available information.

Once that's done, drop our news; first, that Janos has finally agreed to turn; second, that this is a very good thing because we have orders to finish off Lord Stant and be ready for other major campaigns within the next three weeks.

>>13107446
Inform the staff that we have a guest and new members of the retinue, we bring in Janos and introduce the sisters . Then with everyone assembled we should break the news that we've been the most successful maniple and will lead the assault into Uurlanth territory. Outline our objectives. Then ask Janos for any information he could help us with. Finally, ask for commentary.

>>13107446
Get Finian's report first, then introduce the sisters and Janos, then outline our new orders and objectives.

>>13107450
>Remember when Pax told us the strategic layout, and that they would assault where they felt the defensive line was the weakest
Yes, I recall that, but I remember that the southern front was where the attack was going to come, and it was only a question of which maniple would get hit.

and maybe it'd be best to just Yell at Aurelius to keep his Johnson in his pants during meetings.

>>13107568
We really need to interact with the guy more. The majority of our interactions with him are yelling at him. I'm sure we can make him smarten up if we actually talked to him more/meddled in his life like we have with so many others.

>>13107533
Wrong, they were probing the southern front to see if it was weaker than the northern front. Thanks to our efforts (as well as some minor contributions by other commanders, heh) the southern front was the less appealing option.

>>13107616
Maybe, but his personality and character leave something to be desired. I don't particularly want to get to know him better. He has systematically alienated himself from everything with a vagina. Cordial, respectful, commanderlike, and everything, but friends? That's going a bit far.

>>13107533
>that was an assessment based on how well the Edgewater Lords had been doing. The fact that you stopped them dead changed that reasoning.

You clear your throat, and all of your command staff snaps to attention, Degrian jumping up from the stool he had been sitting on. "First, I would like to introduce all of you to the newest members of my retinue, Lena..."

"Bhestryov, and this is my sister Bellatrix. I am a mage, in training, and Bellatrix will be my bodyguard." the slight girl finishes for you, though her voice is barely enough to fill the tent.

"and Janos, who has abandoned his surname." you finish, at that Janos enters the tent, pulling his hood down. There is a series of confused mumbles "He will be managing my assets in DragonsReach after this campaign, during which he will be our source of intelligence on the mannerisms of whatever Lords we are facing. It is of vital importance that the fact that he is alive, and in my service not leave this tent until I say otherwise." You take your seat and motion for the others to follow suit. "We have been selected to act as the strike-forces vanguard." you announce once everyone is settled into their seats "We are to leave in three weeks for the coasts of the Greyrun and over to the other side. Which means we need to finish Stant within one, two at the most. To that matter, Finian, what count did you make of our foes forces?"

>cont'd

>>13107760
A captain isolated from the rest of our command staff isn't going to be useful. If we don't work on trying to make him fit in better, we might as well sub his unit out for a new one in my mind. We might as well at least try. As far as I can remember, Finian and Aurelius get a long a bit at least but we should try to work on it a little more. Maybe I'm worrying too much about it but I think it's a potential problem.

The dwarf slides a sheet of parchment onto the table, its writing large enough for all to see.

Valkyrie Knights 52

Men at Arms 59
Chainmail morningstars, heater shield

Levied swordsmen 157

Armored Sergants 143/200

Elven Bowmen 138

Elven Bowmen 122

Longbowmen 62/200

Mercenaries 78/200
Longswords, chainmail, kite shields

Mercenaries 64/150 (dwarves)
warhammers, full plate

Noble Bodyguard 50/50
Warhorses, platemail, lances

Noble bodyguard 62/75
assortment of gear.

"We were as accurate as possible, but there is a chance our count is off slightly" Finian adds bluntly

>campaign map for the forward push, red circle is the fort you need to bypass

>>13107804
What was the state of their camp? Laelith mentioned one of the walls was lit on fire but did it totally go down, leaving one side wide open?

>>13107804
>Noble bodyguard 62/75
Jesus christ on a stick, that means 50 heavy dwarven infantry dead only took out 5 of them? Collin said he took out 8 on his own. What are these dudes, Kryptonians?

>>13107804
WTF happened to the fight in the camp? What died there other than like a quarter of our troops? The only losses there are from our distraction battle.

>>13107854
>gah, mistyped that when I recorded the unit, supposed to be a 5 not a 6

>>13107804
Quickly summarized:
-52 Valkyrie Knights
-109 cavalry (med/heavy)
-322 archers (longbow/elven)
-504 melee infantry (mostly medium/heavy)

That is a huge number of troops. Can we have our remaining force list brought up for comparison?

>>13107878
That still doesn't make me feel much better. Somehow they are each able to 2-for-1 some of the heaviest and most experienced infantry in the empire. (bear in mind dwarves probably average at a couple hundred years old and have a LOT of time to train)

>>13107876
>sergents lost some 50 guys, longbows another 20ish, the 50 elves that werent at your fight took losses, the men at arms lost some 30 guys.


196th Legionary
Gaius Rex
135/200
(5 with Blackbird)
good

454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
150/200
good

98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
100/150
(10 with blackbird)
average

99th Hunters
Aurelius Caspius
55/75
(10 with Blackbird)
good

50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
85/100
(5 with Blackbird)
good

65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
70/75
good

House Garlian Uursan Cavalry
Lady Jayne Garlian
50/75
good

Esperitus Raiders
Kurt Dorias
Horse, spear, surecoat over mail, javelins
30/60
poor

-Impetus Marauders (Elf)
Aeristus Beztia
Chainmail, twin combat axes
150/200
Average

-Cornwal Mercenaries
Buckmoore Kystris
Chainmail, spear and shield
130/175
Average

Kyrtosh RapidRiders (elf)
Bastius Glenth
Velociprey, chianmail, shortbows, longblades
20/50

>>13107854

Assessment: That only means we need to send something extra their way. Suggest sending Justinian and Leilith in two seperate units to hunt them both down. Justinian with the bear cav to hunt down mounted guard, Leilith with whatever unit we chose fit for the occasion to hunt down footslogger guard.

Addendum: As we personally can attest to, scorching hot metal is not fun to fight in. The guards who take the brunt of Leilith's attacks won't feel much like fighting when their skin is peeling off with their armor.

>>13107963
What's Janos' opinion on what his brothers would do at this point? He knows their personalities best and that might give us some insight. Also, no intel on what the state of their base looks like?

So for comparison, they have:
-52 Valkyrie Knights
-109 cavalry (med/heavy)
-322 archers (longbow/elven)
-504 melee infantry (mostly medium/heavy)

>>13107963
And we have:
-20 Velociprey cavalry (light)
-50 Uursan cavalry (heavy)
-30 cavalry (light)
-210 archers (mostly crossbows)
-665 melee infantry (mostly medium)


If I have interpreted everything correctly.

This'll be tricky.

>>13107804
This is frankly ridiculous. We took huge losses from the fight in the camp and they took virtually nothing. I'd expect that if we had used, say, light infantry against their knights but the dwarves were the heaviest and most powerful warriors we had... and they got butchered for virtually no losses on the enemy side.

There's no way we can take a force this size in two days, and it's just laughable to think we could when they can scythe through our heavy infantry like a scythe through wheat. This just seems so arbitrary and demoralizing.

Good plan that allows us to rout the enemy force?
>FUCKING FLYING KNIGHTS, lolololol. They rape all your morale for the whole army despite it being fine a second ago, and they almost all get away.

Alright, fine. Here's our plan to deal with the knights and run down the broken enemy force.
>The infantry outruns your cavalry. It's magic, I ain't gotta explain shit.

Grrrr, fine. Complicated plan to free some slaves. We do pretty awesome.
>Actually, you got raped hard offscreen. Yeah, your assigned commander was incompetent and your heavy infantry got super owned for almost no enemy losses. Oh, and now you have a deadline of two days!

God damn it, I give up. I enjoy a challenge, but it seems like we just keep getting dicked over in the name of keeping the fight interesting or something.

>>13108005
oh yea, derp. its burnt to hell, being far removed from any large source of water means most of it went up.

>>13108031
Don't forget that we made new contracts with the merc cavalry, that they won't be engaging in straight-up fights anymore. Jayne's bear cavalry will still fight, but given that they're our only combat cavalry now, we'll need to use them sparingly and maximize their effectiveness.

Did he do as we ask and set many traps on their leave that we'll have a map of? As we'll want to send men to attack these two days of night we have left.
Did he managed to get a good look of the interior and morale?

>>13108031

actually a little over half of our infantry are heavy so in a straight fight against the enemy foot, we would win

unfortuneatly, the main problem still stands, the problem of the elvish archers

we need a way to neutralize their threat and the rest of the pieces should fall into place

>>13108048
That's very useful to know. They will have very little cover then, which means if we go torchless, we can stay outside the range of their torches and use our ranged units to harass the hell out of them from multiple directions. They'll either have to hunker in the range of their torches and take it or move out into the darkness and try to find out, which would let us to outnumber it and take it out.

And yeah, our cavalry is down to Jayne only at this point so we can't really rely on the other units right now. Hmmm. Based on what Finian saw, were the enemy doing anything to counteract our ability to fight in the dark or have they not caught on I wonder?

>>13108048

Pax, are the elvish archers equipped with longbows, or composite bows?

>>13108126
I think it's composite, and dont the longbow men have no longbows?
They left their arms and retreated last time.

>>13108114
If we could somehow move our archers and siege engines into range with a complete light blackout, we might be able to get the surprise on them.

I wish we had Blackbird back; we need skirmishers and specops to eliminate any scout patrols that Stant might have set up so we can get our forces into position without being detected.
We'll also need to do this now. We have 2 days left, and we must attack before Stant can use his aerial cavalry again.

>>13107878
Would we be able to get a general stat sheet for say, something like regular soldiers, good soldiers, old experienced soldiers, their elite bodyguard guys, and the skills and stats of our retinue?

Also, something that tells us how our stats scale would be nice (like what 4 for our swordsmanship would compare to a 3 or a 5, or how many regular soldiers we'd be able to take on)

>>13108176
Good point. Ask Degrian how work is going on his new carts as well as what Finian saw in terms of the enemy on if they had deployed more torches/put torches further out from their camp or were sending out patrols.

"Janos, what do you expect your brothers to do at this point?" you ask the ex-noble.

"Gaerick will want an open fight, and I suspect that Morwayne will oblige him. The camp is useless, so their chances of surviving an assault are slim. They need you crippled and soon, with all of Morwaynes trump cards played he will be fairly straightforward in his plan. Expect the Knights to not strike as a formation anymore, they will most likely disperse and circle, targeting any isolated soldiers or groups away from the cover of your ranged units. The rest of his line will be built around the elven archers, and both of my brothers will take the field." Janos replies "However, I doubt the levies and sergants will be willing to stay afield for long, expect them to the flanks, and waiting to take the charge."

Gauis speaks up "Commander, these static formations we've been using are no good against these elves. A loose, fast moving group will take much lower losses, Uurist and I have been working through such a formation with the goal of reaching the archers."

"We were plannin on goin through the light infantry, but me boys want to take those damned nobles without a buncha scared noncombatants and their families trying to free them in the way. Put us against the fuckers again and I promise we'll come out on top." Uurist adds, his eyes showing grim determination.

>>13107804
>The dwarf slides a sheet of parchment onto the table, its writing large enough for all to see.

>Enemy troops: Prepare Your Anus

FTFY

>>13108233
"Kryia, Aurelius."

"How fast can the two of you ready your units for some night harassments?"

>>13108233

Recitation: "Now that's the kind of talk I like to hear. Let's show these men that it takes more than a plan and numbers to win: it takes fighting spirit, which has always been our greatest asset."

>>13108233
>Roman commander claiming that legionaries will take less losses against archers by dispersing and removing the protection of their wall of fuckhuge shields
I... see. Well, perhaps in alternate universe fantasy Rome that is indeed so. Hardly intuitive, though; one would think that against highly skilled archers, a loose formation would only make your forces more vulnerable to being picked off. It's not as though they're depending upon volley fire to do their damage.

Whatever, though.

If we take Janos' information as accurate, then the knights are going to be dispersing and circling... in the dark, where they can hardly see shit. That's just asking to get picked off piecemeal by our ranged units; if they do that they're effectively eliminating themselves as a problem.

Actually, as long as we're in the dark here, I see precious little reason to engage their forces at all if we can avoid it. We pull our forces up with no torches at all, tight formations, and start blasting them with arrows in the dark. What are they going to do about it? They'll have to charge and hope their torches get us, since they'll hardly be able to hit us with arrows, but it's a long and deadly road moving forward in the dark; we'll priority target any fast units, of course.

When we finally do engage, we'll have had a couple units split off and flank their force to get behind them and start slaughtering the archers- because they won't be able to effectively protect them, or form any sort of line anchoring them, if we're forcing their troops to come to us. It should wrap them up neatly.

Their birdmen can't see shit, so they're not a problem either. And if they do come down to hit us in the torches, then we see them with our nightvision and blast the shit out of them.

>>13108233
Great, we're now forced into a meatgrinder with clearly inferior forces in every single area, almost no cavalry support, and numerical parity. How, exactly, does the Second expect us to force our way through? Maybe he could come down here and share his plan. We've done damn well to bring Stant's forces down from vast qualitative superiority and 3-to-1 numeric superiority thus far, but god damn man. Even Justinian Trentz has limits.

>>13108233
"How will fighting in the looser formation effect the mens ability in combat? Especially in the case of our Legionaries? Finian, did it look like they were preparing to move out or just waiting?"

I think at this point, we should just march on them and take em in a pitched battle. They have no food and supplies and by the time we reach them, I imagine their crappiest troops will be damn hungry while they use whatever they can forage for their better troops. It's going to be bloody but if we can take them out now, our front will be quiet for a few weeks since I don't think Lord Stant will be back with anything significant within a week.

Testing...

>Even Justinian Trentz has limits.
Blasphemy!

>>13108233
Hmm...we'll need to make sure any of those mobile units we have are covered by our ranged weapons.

I'm not sure how practical it would be to split up our ranged units to detachments attached to the the melee formations...

How many ballistas do we have? I'm thinking we'll likely need them on the field to provide AA cover. For that matter, how many more can we make and how difficult will it be for us to deploy them on the field?

>>13108300
Yes, but these are elven archers who are so precise they can fire at the gaps in shield formations (according to that one story Gaius told us about a couple dozen threads back).

As he mentioned the best way to deal with them is to close in fast and beat them in melee.

Nodding that they have been heard you move on "Degrian, what is the status on the platform system I asked you to work on?"

"Nearly finish, a few days and have working model" the diminutive engineer replies

"Aurelius, Janos, I will need both of your opinions on this, will it be possible for a group of hunters to ambush the elves for their next harassment foray?" you ask.

"If they dont see us we can hit them hard enough to get the whole group." the blond hunter replies proudly.

"According to what you told me they have been bringing their longbows on these runs, and I am assuming their composite bows went up with the rest of their camp. If the hunters are properly hidden they should be able to get into combat before the large bows can be brought to bear on them... but how will you get them there? with all that dead ground you wont be able to rush them in light armor, and black stands out to drastically against the grasses of the plains." Janos replies, genuinely curious.

"Now I have a few more things I need to know. Finian, how many torches would you say are set up around the enemy camp? Kyria, Aurelius again, how long do you think it would take for the two of you to get a nighttime harassment force under way?"

"Barely enough to see by, commander. I would guess most of them went up in the fire Laelith started." Finian replies, throwing a loose salute in the elfs direction as he does so.

Kyria and Aurelius look at each other "We could be on our way within hours of this meetings end." Kyria replies.

>>13108300
>a big formation moves slower, and gets shot more. No matter how skilled the archer a moving target is a hell of a lot harder to hit (hence the repeating crossbows for flying shit). Also, you havent been in on these guys planning for this, but I will tell you that its more comples than 'dispers and charge'

>>13108300
Gotta second this. I thought Gaius was supposed to be the smart commander. The shield wall formations were built to counter ranged fire. That's what they are best at.

What herb is he smoking suggesting we split into a loose formation? Gaius = traitor trying to make us lose?

>>13108341
That's so retarded it makes my brain hurt. If they can find a tiny gap in a huge shield wall imagine what they will do to a loose formation without it! The target area is suddenly fucking huge compared to that little slit! And you're still in heavy armor, so you aren't moving much faster.

It's like employing the My-Balls-To-Your-Fist style of combat.

>>13108300

Speaking of those knights and the new skirmish-like tactics they'll likely employ...

Pax, can we get confirmation on if those knights can charge their eagles at night? Having experience flying small aircraft, i'd imagine their usual charge would be nearly suicidal unless they or their mounts have -UNNATURAL- night vision (although the descriptions you've given about the black week suggest even this would be limited) (or if they are actually owls).

> victory Choisc

> CAPTCHA WILLS IT!

>>13108343
"We have a means of seeing in the dark without torches. Dangerous with long-term use but very useful during this week. Aurelius, you don't think the use of the paste will allow you to get in close enough after they've attempted to shoot a volley at our camp? Do you think camouflaged trenches would be enough to keep your men hidden and get close enough to ambush them?"

Degrian might be done in time for a real attack but we can't rely on it then, eh? I think it might be worthwhile to hit the next elven longbow raid with out hunters and then move out. Have our ranged units harassing them as we move into position and then from there, decide if we just go for a pitched battle or try battle from multiple fronts.

>>13108392
Do eagles have good night vision?

I know they have telescopic vision, but the only nocturnal predatory that I know of use hearing (owls) to spot prey.

>>13108392
>youve been watching the skys all week, and there has been no sign of the valkeries. They barely got off the ground in time to not get burninated, some didnt.
>you have to slow down to maintain a shieldwall properly, making it a big easy target. In the tortoise formation you slow to a crawl, becoming a big target. against that kind of accuracy you would get attritioned DAMN bad by the time you reach the elfs

>>13108349
The shield wall was build to counter personnel changes not necessarily ranged fire. I mean you can turtle up and all v. ranged stuff but the shield wall really shines in a melee conflict by controlling the lines of battle an only allowing people through to be murdered behind the lines.

>>13108343
>>a big formation moves slower, and gets shot more. No matter how skilled the archer a moving target is a hell of a lot harder to hit (hence the repeating crossbows for flying shit).

what is this i don't even

You are still moving when in a shield wall and have the benefit of 95% of your body being behind metal and wood. Like the other guy said, you won't move much faster out of the formation anyway if you still want to be a combat effective unit. This tactic was made for countering archer fire. That's what it's FOR. And it did the job very well. Loose formations only work well when you don't have a big shield to hide behind and heavy armor to weigh you down. That's why skirmishers used loose formations to avoid missile fire, but legionaries used the testudo.

I'm going to bed. I love your quest Pax, but sometimes these tactical statements (like this and with the cavalry running down ~50 men at most from a completely broken infantry force) make my brain hurt.

Bear cavalry to mount rangers with repeaters. They go straight for elven bowmen as all our elementalists make a concerted effort to foil their accuracy?

Can we do this in the last day/hours of Black Week?

>>13108455
>with a particualarly rousing 'up'an'at'em boys speech you could be marching in time to hit them before the black week is over

>>13108300
seconded

>>13108455
and this

I also think that we should form a elementling unit, to formalise and hopefully improve the recruitment process.

>>13108451
I'm more tired than I thought.

Shield wall and testudo are different formations, using them interchangeably like that is unforgivable of me.

Like
>>13108435
said, the shield wall was for hand to hand combat. It's the testudo that was for countering ranged fire.

>>13108465

Rebuttal: Thus far, our elementalists have been more useful spread out. This unit sees no reason to put them all together to form a big sign that says "shoot here."

Addendum: This runtime, however, is positive about your other agreed upon proposals.

>>13108465
Most of our elementalists are command staff or support staff it looks like. I don't think we have a viable "unit" for elementalism yet.

Furthermore It might be better to assign elementalists, should they become more numerous, on a squad level. Such that each squad has the support they may need depending on what they specialize in.

>>13108492

i think he men as an outfit and less as an actual combat unit

Regardless of the inaccuracies and counter-intuitive logic behind the plan, we should still get the entire camp ready to go now.

Have the Rapid Riders and the Esperitus Riders scouting all around our force as it moves out, to pick off any of Stant's patrols and in case he's gotten the same idea and is marching towards us.

I think we're agreed that as quickly and quietly as we can, we set up our siege engines and archers to rain down on the enemy encampment, especially on the elven archers.

Also, I thought that Stant's elven archers weren't doing their regular morning harassment raids since they can't see in the dark.

If you want to get on the march now, give me a roll for effective circadian cycle interruption so you can get your men moving.

>>13108492
First I am not saying that our elementlings should go to battle together.

What I am saying is to form an unit to take care of our elemantalist needs (E.G. treaning and recruiting) without Justin having to micromanaging everything.

We sort of have this already but the blacksmith is still a blacksmith and the chief is still a chief, I think we would be better served if we make a place they can foces on their mage craft.

rolled 41 = 41

>>13108554

INITIATING COMMISAR ROLL

>>13108554

Here goes nothing...

rolled 6 = 6

>>13108579

whoops!

rolled 12 = 12

>>13108593

Statement: Even with /tg/ shitting bricks at the moment, this runtime is too fast on the draw.

rolled 31 = 31

>>13108636

Querry: Use the free botch for this thread and delay so that combat is next thread?

You look at the numbers, consider your own forces, the enemy situation, new orders... it isnt foing to get any better than this. "We march tonight. The Stant brothers havent made any moves on us all week. They are tired, unsupplied, and demoralized. Thier two greatest assets are all but nullified, we are going to finish this before the week is out, and in three weeks march on Uurlanth rested and at full strength. Raise the maniple and break camp, by sunrise we shall stand victorious." you announce. You command staff takes your cue, and they all stand, salute and the captains begin to rouse their battalions.

>we seem to be winding down so I'm gonna call it.
>someone archive please
>I'll bee back sunday at 9:30 10ishpm server time.
>setting question/comments/sugestios/rants/whatever the fuckit is you may want to say to me but didnt get to during the thread? e-mail me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

>>13108651
See you then, Pax.

>>13108651
Part of the problem is the inability to post.
Also, can the heavy repeaters be mounted on carts so that they can be easily moved? Same with our other siege engines, so that they can become mobile artillery?

>>13108651
Thread archived. See you Sunday Pax.

rolled 9 = 9

Statement: Let's put this thing to a final vote: This fort's name.

So far, we've heard:

Stant's Folly
Ft Liberty
Ft Skywatch
Ft Bulwark
Chapel Thunderhead
Eagle's Bane (maybe simply Ft Eaglebane?)

Amused Statement: OH! If we ever get the chance to meet Lord Stant, face-to-face, we must be wearing our luxurious new valk-feather pimpin cloak and tell him how generous he is for sending us such a fine accoutrement.

>>13108694
I vote for Eagle's Bane.

>>13108714

Considering the next time we see him we'll probably be little more than a severed head on a pike, that sort of talk is rather premature. And delusional.

>>13108515
> Also, I thought that Stant's elven archers weren't doing their regular morning harassment raids since they can't see in the dark.

They can see just fine in the dark now that they have night vision paste of their own.

Or more likely they already had it to begin with. That would (somewhat) explain why they were able to completely rout our assault force even when our troops had the night vision paste.

We're fucked. It's a no win scenario.
If we go with the idiotic "spread our guys out" plan we'll get raped by archers and cavalry because that's what happens to heavy infantry when they spread out.
If we go against it, Pax will get angry that we pointed out his mistake and make us lose anyway, like he did for the last three battles.

>>13109998
Pessimist.

War always fucks somebody. From the start, we already had the deck stacked against us, especially in numbers. Thus we utilize our aces (elementalists + NV paste) to their best uses.

So far, we are losing people. But of course! It is a battle! If one side hardly loses any soldiers in combat, it is called a massacre instead!

Our captains currently agree, we are winning. Presently. The future is everybody's guess, but if you chose to be pessimistic, might as well clean your neck and lie down for the executioner's axe!

I would like to point out about the losses we took to their archers, their infantry engaging us had torches. Those torches illuminated not only the enemy infantry, but ours too.

If we have Laelith actively hunting down and quenching torches, they can't see jack shit, and our infantry would route them something awful. Imagine a black shadow, with glowing eyes rushing you like mad, and suddenly your light goes out, leaving nothing but the eyes for illumination. You are then stabbed, and your comrades break and run in the face of an enemy they can't adequately fight.

To really use the NVG paste, we have to get rid of ALL lights, not just the ones used by us. Then, I can't see anything but a rout in action for them. They can't see, everything in the dark is stabbing them, and the enemy is raping you with giant bears. If we take down enough of the noble bodyguard, we should be able to use the rapidriders to capture one or both of the brothers. Remember, no lights means we win.

Of course, this is only if they haven't managed to acquire the night vision paste themselves, but how the hell would they make it? Even with samples, the have no idea what goes in what order to get the effect, so they might burn out the eyes of whoever puts it on. Unless Stant knows of the stuff, he should be utterly helpless when there are no lights.

>>13109947
>They can see just fine in the dark now that they have night vision paste of their own.
No, they don't. The stuff on our dead's eyes had already degraded to the point of uselessness by the end of the battle, meaning that none of it was salvaged.

As for the effectiveness of Stant's elven archers, that's because our first defensive line had torches lit, because we wanted to draw the enemy out so that the rescue operation could succeed. The amount of time that it took for the two battle lines to engage gave the archers enough time to range in our positions, allowing them to continue firing into our position even after we doused our torches. Their effectiveness dropped to negligible levels once we moved to our next defensive line without any lights, preventing them from accurately ranging in their volley fire.

>>13113278
What he said. Seriously, if they know we are in an area, they are free to rain arrows on us if we stay in the same point.

Also, you have to remember their infantry were carrying torches for illumination as well. Between the loss of supplies, if we take out the rest of their torches with Laelith, then they can't see AT ALL, or will be severely reduced. At the least we would be better able to maneuver around them, at best it would be an utter rout for them when dealing with giant bears rampaging around through their front lines. Hit hard, fast, and with the advantage of being able to see when your opponent cannot. Recipe for victory.

>>13109947
we have torches on the walls of the fort, it illuminated the soldiers there just fine. Also, if they had night vision paste we wouldnt have whooped them so hard. Even if they know of the paste now, they have to figure out how to make it. Its not like they have a magic item that says:

Step 1: locate herb A
Step 2: boil herb A,
Step 3: mix herb A and B in a 1:4 ratio, etc

Just to add to the conversation, I'd like put up my tally of ALL of the units that Lord Stant and his sons had put up against us:


Elf Skirmishers (100): (100)
2x Armored Sergants “pikemen” (200): 400
2x Knights (Valkeries, horses) (50): 100
Levied Halberdiers (300): 300
Levied Swordsmen (300): 300
2x Elf bowmen (150): 300
Longbowmen (200): 200
Mounted men at arms (150): 150
Footslogging men at arms (heavy armor, shields and maces) (150): 150
5 mercenary units:
-3x (200): 600
- 2x (150): 300
4x Mangonels
Kharynchek slaves (1000): 1000

To sum it up:
Melee Infantry: 3,150
Ranged Infantry: 500
Cavalry: 250
Siege Engines: 4

And now their forces amount to:
>>13107916
>-52 Valkyrie Knights
>-109 cavalry (med/heavy)
>-322 archers (longbow/elven)
>-504 melee infantry (mostly medium/heavy)

So...yeah. Based on the numbers, I think there's a good case to remain optimistic about this campaign.