"it's a joke Aurelius, speak of it to no one."

Also, HELLS YEAH CQ

Yes, well, a man needs a hobby. What is on your mind Aurelius? Other than our new dark haired addition to the maniple, that is.

Amused Recitation: "Oh, but the ladyfolk go crazy for this sort of thing. I bet one of them will be storming up to my tent in no time."

We need to find a better place to store them than our tent. Laelith will look there first.

I suggest asking Degrian if he has any empty wagons we can store them in. Nobody is likely to mess with them other than Degrian himself, and if he knows they are in there he won't let them get ruined.

"Its not for me, Aurelius." you reply humoring him "Its a service for the lovely ladies of our maniple, I suspect I will have at least one at my tent before the night is done. Until then..."

Aurelius' smile deepens "I can keep quiet for that long." he replies.

"Now, on the topic of ladies..." you add, waiting for the mans response.

"I'm not taking advantage of Bella, and I dont think I could even if I thought it wise..." the blond hunter replies bemused.

>>13166157
This, so hard

"What are you doing?"
justinianseriousface.jpg
"speak of this to no one."

>>13166246
"Good. Though I did notice that she seems to have more patience with you than any of the other ladies."

>>13166246

Recitation: "Just be good to her is all I ask. I suspect you'll have a few extra scars if not."

>>13166246
Come to ask me to save you from her, then? Wink.

What is on your mind?

>>13166283
Yes, her toleration is interesting

>>13166334
Kind of makes me wonder if she's tolerating him for a reason and why I think we need to talk to her soonish. Simply to see how things are going between her and Lena, maybe about her dreams and to see what's up with her and Aurelius.

>>13166352
I agree. I don't want her thinking she needs to sleep around in our maniple to ensure that they will keep a place here.

>>13166369
That's what I'm worried about to be honest. I'm assuming they've been wandering from place to place for awhile and Belatrix seems to only worry for her sister. I'm wondering if she's had to give herself up so they both would have a place to stay at times and maybe that's one potential source of her dreams. Maybe they're just nightmares and she's very, very damaged goods.

"I'm glad to hear that, I would suggest you try to not push her faster than she wishes to go. And, I mean this as politely as possible" you add inviting him into your tent so you can hide your ill-gotten gains "but she seems much more tolerant of you than most other women, care to explain why?"

Aurelius lets out a sigh "Would that I knew. She said something about admiring the traits I hide, then changed the subject to how I should cut my hair" he replies, confused, and stroking his hair, which is nearly to the small of his back now "not even a kiss and she goes for my hair. To be truthful I am glad that I dont have a beard for her to go after."

"How about breakfast tomorrow, Aurelius? I feel as though we haven't talked as friends as much as we should have."

>>13166409
"She's right though, thats a nusence and disability in a battle, and i'll not have to axed because you're too busy pushing the bangs out of your eyes. Might have to order that cut You know..."

>>13166409
I think we should tell Aurelius WHY we want him to be considerate here. Mention their situation and the possibility we consider here:
>>13166393
then tell him to be sure and tread lightly.

>>13166460

Agreed.

you smirk "That might not be a terrible idea, though, hair that long could be a danger in battle."

Aurelius gets a betrayed look on his face "Youre taking her side?"

"I tend to take the side of logic." you deadpan "I cannot stress enough how important it is for you to tread lightly with Bellatrix, however. She and her sister spent nearly all their-"

Aurelius cuts you off "I know. She wont tell me much of what she had to do to keep herself and her sister alive, normally changes the subject when I ask about it, or stops a story early for a reason she wont give." he shakes his head "I try to take your advice and be gentlemanly and look where it landed me. How do I deal with this?" he asks, looking confused and worried "What if I approach it wrong and she guts me?"

>>13166559

Recitation: "The solution is fairly simple, really. Just try to keep your eyes from wandering too much and your tongue from swaggering too much with her and you'll be fine."

>>13166595

Addendum: "Just keep being a gentleman. You might actually become one on accident."

>>13166559
Continue being a gentleman. If the two of you truly have an interest then you have my blessings, so long as it doesn't interfere with your duty.

But before involving yourselves too intimately I do suggest asking her directly if she refuses to give you an answer any other way. She seems honest and simply concerned for her sister. If need be, tell her that I ordered you to ask her and you can't refuse an order... then her ire will lay with me rather than you.

>>13166428
Agreed, going for Aurelius bro end.

>>13166719
Just as long as we never take him to the bar as a wingman.

"Just keep trying to be a gentleman, you may be surprised by the end results. And, so long as you are both truly willing I will allow you to continue your relationship. Just be sure to make absolutely _sure_ of that before becoming... intimate. Consider it an order, and be direct if you must. I will tell you if that order is changed due to me learning something that could placate my... worries." is your response to Aurelius' predicament. A man must be able to handle himself in matters such as these, after all.

"I, I will try, and I will obey." Aurelius replies, thinking about something you cant quite place now.

"I think you should join me for breakfast on the morrow, I fear I do not know you as well as I should." you add as the man makes to leave your tent.

Aurelius perks up slightly "I will see you tomorrow then." he replies.

>well, what do you want to do now?
>if you got nothing tell me and I'll skip to when your letters start showing up.

Well im sure it is

>>13166816
walk around in Laelith's robes.

>>13166816
timeskip away

>A man must be able to handle himself in matters such as these, after all.
>thinking about something you cant quite place now.
We shouldn't just shut him down, we're glad to give him romance tips. Maybe we can do that at breakfast tomorrow. I just don't want it to be a case of "Belatrix goes for the pants of the manslut because she doesn't want to be thrown out."

>>13166854
No.

>>13166816
Should we check up on Degrian? Or work on our elementalism while we time skip? Part of me wonders if we should join in with Laelith and Lena's training as well at some point to make sure things are going well.

>>13166816

Suggestion: Since we have some time, we should tell our flailing water-elementalist that zen-like koan I mentioned a couple threads ago.

Recitation: "During a flood, still water will simply be overtaken by a raging river, but when two furious rivers meet, there is chaos."

Addendum: And then afterwards work on earthshaping.

>>13166816
We already dispatched the requests for reinforcement before marching, yes? If so, timeskip.

rolled 76 = 76

>>13166886
That will just confuse the man. Let him find his own path, we can't teach him shit about water.

>>13166875
I agree on elementalism practice. We need to start in on StoneSense now, since we will be advancing.

>>13166920
Yikes, test roll says I am not rolling tonight. Someone else take the elementalism roll.

rolled 75 = 75

>>13166920
Let's see what the options are before we pick what area to focus on. And talking to our cook might be a good idea, especially since we are going to have to cross a river soon. I wish he was good enough to help there but I doubt he will. Test roll time.

>>13166920

Statement: As it is, he is unable to advance. If we give him a thought to focus on, he may just get somewhere.

>>13166939
How do you know it won't just confuse him more? We can't teach him because we don't know it, much like how Laelith couldn't teach us earth despite being amazing at fire. Hell, water is likely our direct counter. If anything we will fuck him up.

rolled 57 = 57

elementalism rollan'

>>13166972

Rebuttal: He isn't moving forward. And if he doesn't move forward in this training, he'll only backslide. In this case, this runtime finds it more preferable to offer SOME form of advice rather than do nothing.

rolled 82 = 82

Test roll

rolled 79 = 79

Ugh. Is it going to be another night of poor rolls for us?

rolled 99 = 99

Initiating test roll procedure

rolled 83 = 83

>>13167060
Maybe.
Or i could roll a 5

>>13167039
>He isn't moving forward. And if he doesn't move forward in this training, he'll only backslide.
How do you know that? It isn't anywhere in the archives.

Secondly, we did just fine learning on our own. While we are Justinian Motherfucking Trentz, several of the others are doing just fine too. We usually don't go around training soldiers personally because we have shit to do. And once again, what makes you think we can do anything for him? We could actively HURT his training for all we know.

rolled 20 = 20

>>13167083
Sadly you did not. This does not bode well for us. /tg/ dice have adapted.

rolled 59 = 59

Statement: rolling for SOLID GOLD BIRD DROPPING OUT OF THE SKY

rolled 66 = 66

>>13167091
Fact: You weren't looking hard enough. It was mentioned how the chef's sausages have suffered because he was feeling down about his training. Right before we introduced Wulf to Lena.

rolled 38 = 38

Pax, hasn't asked us to roll yet for elementalism, vote for timeskip though, or perhaps, try on that mists glove. It would be nice to start seeing them. Makes us more aware of people who have arcana or the touch of a deity on them.

introverted:
Earth
Water

extroverted:
Fire
Air
Life

Is this correct pax?

>>13167164
Let's not use that glove... Last time we tried was bad and I don't think that'll let us see the mists nor do we really need to. I believe Pax said only certain people can naturally see the mists and we'd need to train awhile to be able to see them and I rather enhance our elementalism more.

While you wait for your letters to arrive you decide to practice your elementalism some. You head out to the training area where Wulf and Bellatrix are being pitted against each other by Collin. The female combatant is fast, and vicious, always on the attack, always moving, if it weren't for Wulfs tenacity you expect that he would have been beaten long ago. As it is, both are sweating as Collin shouts out "YER PARRIES ARE GETTIN' SLOPPY BOY!! BELLATRIX, WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT BEING SO DAMNED DIRECT!!" a group has gathered around the pair, mostly men cheering, and no doubt betting, for Wulf, while Aurelius and most of the women for Bellatrix.

Over in a quiet corner of the grounds Laelith is slowly teaching Lena both the written word and to wield her arcane powers. Though right now you can discern no progress.

>select a new skill:
>Fissures: Impact - a circle roughly 5' in diameter drops 2' directly down
>Stonesense: you can feel movements on the earths surface up to a mile away, can get a good idea of what it is and how many there are.
>Terrakenises: You can control up to 3 fist sized stones (figure 70mph or so for you current "pitch speed" if you go this route)

>>13167164
Taking a quick look through the mists might be a good idea, and also identifying those amongst the Uurlanth prisoners may have potential to be elementalists. We'll need to keep a close eye on those.

>>13167179

A thought: Have we introduced the elementalism gloves as training tools yet?

>>13167196

Yes we have.

>>13167185

I don't know about that Fissure's skill... Might be time to branch out.

Stonesense?

>>13167185
My immediate though is Impact but we do have around 2 weeks to work on our elementalism... Perhaps now is a good time to start branching out... What do you guys thinks? I'm still an fan of specializing for awesome powers in one area before spreading out honestly but I'll think on this a little more.

rolled 73 = 73

>>13167185
stonesense

>>13167149
You are reading your own interpretation into that. All I got out of it is that he is distracted by his training, seeing as he was practicing while making said sausages.

>>13167185

Statement: Voting for stonesense. We are about to head into enemy territory, afterall.

rolled 3 = 3

>>13167185
Stonesense.....I'm assuming it is passive, and it will alert us if anyone is approaching us directly or their kind of footfalls when we are sleeping possibly? It would be nice to have an anti-assassination tool. That and we are about to have to avoid patrols and what not soon on our next venture.

>>13167185
Is stonesense a skill we have to actively use or is it passive?

>>13167216
I'm not too sure about the skill myself as well but it COULD have uses. Especially if the enemy has a height advantage or something... That and if we want to get better fissure skills, we're going to have to take it eventually anyways.

Stonesense

>>13167185
Stonesense! And train with the glove on from now on, if we aren't already.

>>13167216
>>13167252
Gotta agree, we should probably wait for a better roll (IE better inspiration) before working on fissures again. Impact doesn't seem too useful.

>>13167185
I cast one vote for stonesense

>>13167283
I don't think the roll determines what powers we get though. The stonesense and terrakinesis abilities have been the same from what I can remember. I think our roll just determines if we can learn a new ability period. Which means we will have to grab Impact eventually to get better fissure powers. Assuming I'm right. Not that I'm saying we should get it now. Anyways, it seems majority wants stonesense so I doubt I'll be able to argue my way into fissures even if I wanted to.

Let's step up in the training circle and see if someone would like to spar with us. It's been too long since we worked on our melee skills.

>>13167341
Didn't we spar with Laelith awhile back? Although I kind of agree. Part of me wants to spar with Collin and improve our skills. That or our command. So many things I want to improve, so little time.

rolled 57 = 57

>>13167312
Keep also in mind, that if we branch out, we might be able to start learning new powers based on the things we know.

For example, stonesense passive might also allow us to increase the range of our abilities just because we are more aware in general or find weak points in the ground and what not. Oh god, I can imagine it now. Is that a force in the distance? Hmmm, *touches ground* we hear from a patrol that there was a huge hole right under their gate that their commander fell into as they were marching out......

>>13167356
How do you train command other than actually commanding? I would say that gets trained "naturally" in battle.

>>13167185
Terrakenises

>>13167356

We always seem to be shouting in the middle of battle to get our commands out.

It works for short distances but time and time again we've had our orders missed during clashes.

We need to develop a way of non-verbal signalling. Like a war fan to direct troops or kites/lanterns.

rolled 63 = 63

>>13167312
I say we go with fissures next time to get it out of the way to continue that line but stone sense is a very good option right now since we're about to go on the offensive but I to would like to know if stone sense has to be used actively or if its always on.

rolled 43 = 43

>>13167379
I would agree here with that statement.

Also, I vote we should start sparring with Collin. He seems like the one we would most improve against when fighting.

>>13167356
We did, but that was training her. We clearly had the advantage. I think we need someone more like Collin to train us.

>>13167379
I guess train was a bad word. Improve our command in some way like was mentioned here: >>13167386

rolled 98 = 98

>>13167386
I say we invest in a war horn and teach our commanders to recognize certain signals.

>>13167386
Why rely on shit like that? We can manipulate the ground itself. We can teach the commanders that X number of spikes popping up next to them means retreat, or some such.

rolled 2 = 2

>>13167418
We have Janos' War Horn that he used during the battle.

We may have to leave or send for our massive armory be sent home.

rolled 12 = 12

>>13167444
That would be much too draining, war horn seems more feasible.

Impact seems to do what fissures already does.

>>13167444
In the middle of combat, when using elementalism is known to be physically draining? Are you a fool, or simply ignorant?

>>13167454
The problem with horns is unless we make a long ass list of how many times we blow into it, we can't give specific orders to units. We need to find a way to give more specific orders to units without shouting it on the battlefield but I don't really think we can at this point...

>Impact is an immediate drop-off (like a giant angry foot stomped down)
>stonesense is a passive thing

You fall into a meditative stance, and focus on your powers. After what doesnt seem like too long, you begin to feel the feet on the ground around you, light steps in soft boots and shoes, heavy hard steps in boots of steel. The stables unique feel, its overwhelming at first, but before long you have acclimated to your new sense.

As you prepare to rise you hear a loud, rhythmic clanking clamor. You open your eyes to see Kyria and Degrian triumphantly pushing on a small cart, and before long stopping to shout out in exhilaration as it moves away from them at a steady pace. You move to congratulate them when a startled cry emits from the far end of the yard. You turn in time to see a radiant white bolt speeding towards you. Years of soldiering and a bit of luck give you the reflexes to dodge the bolt, which goes on to explode against the dirt berm separating the archery field from this one. At the same moment Lena lets out a terrified cry, her arm outstretched, white glove covering the hand. "That is not the effect you were trying for." Laelith admonishes the terrified girl, her voice carrying across the whole field, which has fallen silent suddenly. The silence is quickly broken by the sound of Wulf and Bellatrix rushing to Lenas side.

rolled 26 = 26

We have signal rings too guys. Signal rings for certain things, and war horn for others. We can make out a list easily.

>>13167476
I think impact is a more concentrated and localized fissues. It's a bigger drop too I think. I'm sure it could be useful in certain situations like weakening the foundations of walls or lowering terrain but I'm not super impressed with it based on how far we've come in fissures. We'll grab it later at some point to go beyond it though since fissures up to this point has only been extremely useful in our battles.

>>13167477
Fissures are somewhat draining, but spikes are not. We can put up enormous walls of spikes with little effort according to Pax. So I'm neither, sonny.

Accuracy would, of course, be a problem. We don't want to impale our guys. Maybe we can try to make it so we can craft messages into stone like the gods did that one time? A manipulation of fissures, perhaps?

rolled 11 = 11

>>13167454
Great, let's use it then. I can't believe we weren't already.

rolled 37 = 37

>>13167498
Ah shit. Did we warn her about that first? Damn, I don't have recollection of warning her specifically about it.

>>13167498
Well, time to get over there. Training with Collin afterward if we have time, I guess. This comes first, though.

rolled 91 = 91

>>13167528
Indeed

>>13167498
>"That is not the effect you were trying for." Laelith admonishes the terrified girl
Maybe we should sit in on these training sessions for a bit.

>>13167528
Indeed. Let's go check on Lena and reassure her she didn't just kill us with her magic. A drop in her confidence right now would not be good. At least she's making progress.

>>13167544
Might be worth doing. She did say we disturbed the mists and was able to tell we were there due to that. Maybe we can use that to help her training in some way? Even if it's just to try to help her learn to avoid/escape people if it ever happens.

rolled 18 = 18

>>13167498
Lets not tell her she almost shot us.

But rather go over and prise her for seeming to be learning quickly. Real magic before our very eyes.

>>13167562
>>13167544
I was meaning more Laelith seems to be a bit of a stern teacher, there.

>>13167444

Because instead of attacking the enemy, we are just giving orders. Besides we have to roll for elementalism too. We'll end up impaling our own troops. Imagine what that'll do for morale.

>>13167418

Thats a thought. We can probably loot that off Gaerick or something.

Communication tools:

Warhorn, Drums:
-Good: Signalling across large battlefields. Orders can be heard by all.
-Bad: Can only give orders that are predetermined before battle.

Lanterns/Kites:
-Good: Specific lanterns/kites can be used to signal to specific units. Orders can be more varied.
-Bad: Possibility of laterns/kites being targetted/cut or brought down.

War fan:
-Good: Being utilised by us, we can direct units with more finesse. Specific motions can be predetermined with specific orders.
-Good: Can be used in leading stealth assaults.
-Bad: Cannot be effectively used when we're in the thick of the action. We'll have to command from the rear.
-Bad: More orders possible but there is still a limit.

Runners:
-Good: Orders can be delivered in full, that our commanders fully understand and can execute.
-Bad: Takes time for orders to arrive.
-Bad: Not easy to pass orders when units are already engaged.


These are the forms of communications we can work on developing.

I'd recommend working on warhorn + war fan for now and then lanterns/kites if we have time.

Runners will be very useful once we move to commanding a legion but we'll have to establish a mounted HQ Unit for such a thing to be feasible.

rolled 38 = 38

Pax, question, like of the sort of info type. When we were learning about Mystics and Magic users, is it safe to assume that Mystics are similar or close to wizards and Magic users like sorcerers in the DnD sense?

>>13167565
We totally should tell her.

"Yeah, you almost killed me Lena. But don't worry, you'll get better with Laelith as your teacher. She managed to break my shield and wound me on our first encounter! With her dedicated training I'm sure I'll be a corpse in no time." Then wink at Laelith.

rolled 59 = 59

>>13167583
You are forgetting signal rings brah

>>13167587
I emailed Pax about that. His response:
>Its innate, but needs lots of work to become potent. All mystics get ugly, but once you are more or less average (by terms of the First Age standards) you can keep up a glamor to look like your old self pretty indefinitely (unless you die of course). The sanity is more of a social perspective drawback than anything, and with enough work a mystic could get people to think them still sane.

>>13167596
No. The girl is terrified at the moment and based on interacting with her, I don't think she'd take that kind of humour well.

>>13167583
Observer here, I'd like to say that kites sound awesome, and drums will have that Ominous sound if our enemy is hearing it.

Kites, I feel, are easier to decipher, though. (Hanging up there, clear signal. Perhaps a combo-cipher of drums and kites? Drum beats signal which kite string/ to look/ who it's for, kites contain full orders? I don't know much on this subject.)

>>13167583
>War fan:
You know, in the west and not GLORIOUS NIPPON they had the Flag Signal System. A specially trained cadre of people who knew all the signal orders and were attached to various units. You would just tell the signaler what you wanted and he would flash out the signals rapidly. Fast, efficient, effective. War fans? Not so much.

>>13167512
>Fissures are somewhat draining, but spikes are not. We can put up enormous walls of spikes with little effort according to Pax.
Really? Where in the archives is that? I've gone back through them, and I saw no mention of that bit of tactical information.

rolled 26 = 26

How about this, we use the horn for commands and colour-coded kites/signal rings to indicate who the orders are for.

>>13167629
Reprhase: Use drums to prompt and as a modifier for orders on the fans. Instead of being able to send out Order-set 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9 with just the fans, we can have drum signals that, among other things, "Centurions, look sharp;" or with a specific beat designated to each unit. (Still catching up on the system here. Centurion was probably the wrong rank.)

>>13167631
I don't think we have the time to train a signal corps before we begin our offensive. I think a combination of signal rings, Horns and runners are our best bet at the moment

>>13167673
Problem with drums is twofold: hearing them in combat and it's only one way communication, because they can't drum back to us while we are drumming orders because the sound will get all confused.

If we use a trained Flag Corps then we can have our commanders be able to inform us of changes in situation as well as issuing orders.

>>13167600

Ah. Foolish of me. Was thinking too hard on solutions used in ancient times.

Signal Rings:

Similar to the war drums/horns.

This arcana is more useful in directing orders to the entire army.


Pax: Need clarification, do the signal rings have differing colours or are they all the same?


If differing colours are available, a greater range of orders will be possible as well as being able to direct specific units just with the rings. Else it should be used for special forces/task force/General orders.

>>13167631

I was thinking more of Three Kingdoms style in ancient China but yes, the method of usage was very much the same as you described. I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with the communication system used by the western armies. Can you elaborate?

>>13167587
>more related than elementalists are to them, but not very much.

You head over to Lena as well, who is currently shaking noticeably. Wulf has his arm around her shoulders, while Bellatrix is trying to get the glove from her sisters clenched fist. "That was amazing Lena." Wulf compliments her, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes, you nearly killed our beneficiary, and I dont think I would be able to save us if you had." Bellatrix adds. "Now let me take this glove from your hand before you hurt someone." Wulf takes her hand in his before the sister he had been sparring with can pry the fingers apart herself.

"That was well done Lena." you compliment her as you reach the scene. "Might I inquire as to what you were trying to accomplish?" you ask genuinely curious.

"She was trying to learn to see other living beings more distinctly than shadows in the mists." Laelith answers for the girl "That is a technique recommended for beginners to be able to execute passively and constantly, before they learn anything else." she adds, a worried look on her face.

"I'm whole and hale." you defend the girl.

"I could do it for a moment, I saw everyone in the fields form clearly, even colors... it was so beautiful that I was distracted and, I just wanted to tell Lealith that I had it, that I did something right and- an then..." Lena explains, clearly mortified as she realizes what she did.

rolled 51 = 51

>>13167700
Agreed. Is it possible for us to make a flag unit, Pax?

rolled 74 = 74

>>13167704
Oh man, this is so cool! We cover one of our hands in these rings, each one colour-coded to a certain unit and just point where we want them to go, brilliant!

I vote for war-drums, as I imagine we could tie our earth based elementalism into it at some point.

I can just picture us tapping out something with our foot and having the entire army hearing/feeling the beat.

>>13167714
"It's alright Lena. If that's the first time you've seen the world, colours and all, I can understand why you might be distracted. You've done well to have already grasped that so quickly and based on what you just did, you seem to be a natural. Just try to be a little more careful next time, alright?"

>>13167704
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_semaphore
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_signals

An experienced signaler can crank out huge complex orders in a few seconds while still taking in all the other signals being given by other flagmen.

>>13167740
Not necessarily. We'll need to have the other units have rings as well so they can signal back at times. It'll have to be a combined signalling system we'll have to work on with time. I don't think it's something we should try to implement in this campaign just in case people still aren't used to it.

>>13167714

Initiating movie logic function.

Recitation: "That's alright, Lena. Why do we fall? It's so we can learn to pick ourselves back up. I'm certain this hiccup won't happen again. Suddenly being able to see after years and years of darkness must have been a shock."

>>13167714
"Don't worry Lena, I wasn't harmed and even if I was, it would have been a mistake. Perhaps you should train away from more crowded areas in the future in order to prevent any more accidents"

>>13167747
But can that be done from within a melee?
It's a good system, but I don't know if it fits with our command style, of leading from within the thick of hand-to-hand combat.

You know, A signaller corp means that not only do we have to guard them against betrayal/kidnapping/interrogation by the enemy, but if we fail, they're reading our battle orders too.

Plus if we the signaler attached to a unit bites it, they're mute, and possibly deaf, if the other soldiers can't read it.

Not against it, just making sure it's known. I don't suppose signal rockets or fireworks are accessible?

We need magical walkie-talkies. And we need them now.

>>13167747

Much of these relate to maritime warfare, will it be usable in a land war? Signallers can be killed and in a melee, they'll in alot of danger if they stand around and stare.

>>13167757

One thing about the rings is that we're likely to be the only maniple with them. If we can develop a good system with only the basics and not involving arcana, we can reengineer the entire empire's battlefield communication techniques, making the war easier as our forces can respond faster.

>>13167783
>Rockets

If we had access to blackpower we'll be rapidly abusing the hell out of it. You'll see our legionaries turn into musketeers.

>>13167782
We already shout to units across a battlefield. We can just have the signalers stand in back and take our shouts instead.

>>13167783
Well yeah, but that's a problem with literally every signal system. What if the person who knows it dies? Well shit!

As for defection, not much of a big deal. We were already clearly shouting out our orders before. And really, you have those worries with ANY code system at all, not just flags.

rolled 39 = 39

>>13167782
Who said we were the one playing with the flags? We'd give each of our units a flag signaller.

>Lod Araten
There's a cool name for ya, pax.

>>13167814
Still wondering if we should try to make that combined arms unit of legionnaires with pikes and have some repeater crossbows attached to the unit. Would be pretty devastating since the units facing them wouldn't be able to close in too easily. Especially if the front line is just our normal legionnaires holding the line with melee.

>>13167814
>Much of these relate to maritime warfare, will it be usable in a land war? Signallers can be killed and in a melee, they'll in alot of danger if they stand around and stare.

Also anyone else who was questioning the viability:
>http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/signal.html
A brief history of battlefield flag signaling. In short: Everyone used it because it was awesome.

>>13167817
>We already shout to units across a battlefield. We can just have the signalers stand in back and take our shouts instead.
Do you mean trailing behind our unit by 7 or 8 meters? The same would have to be done with all of our other units too.
I'm afraid of such signalers being easy targets for light infantry or enemy ranged assets.

>>13167854
No, just in the back of the formation.

>you can get a wide range of colors from the signal rings, and can fire off up to 5 flares a second.
>yea, it would be possible to train flag signalers if you wanna go that way.

"Dont worry about it Lena, you're learning to see the world in a wider sense. I was unharmed and even if I were it would have been an accident. Mistakes make excellent teachers, if you listen to them." you recite the words of wisdom back to the scared girl evenly.

"How well could you see?" Wulf asks excitedly

"Instead of gray smudges on a sea of white, I saw forms, actual colored forms. I could see Laeliths features, and even now you and the commander are as distinct as all the others were while I had the skill working." Lena answers before flexing her gloved fingers and whispering something in a tongue you cannot place nor understand. The glove shimmers for a brief moment before Lenas eyes bulge then nearly close. Shaking again she nearly falls over, but Wulf catches her.

"I think she's made enough progress for one day." Laelith rules "Though I would like to help her learn more reading once she has her energy back.

Bellatrix pulls Lena from Wulf "I'll taker her to my tent and feed her. She will be back when she wakes." the dark haired Kharynchek announces.

>so, what do you want to do now?

Invest in looking glasses and aides. they reflect light for attention and use signals to convey our orders.

This only needs to be done if we're far from the unit, such as cavalry in the field or reserves behind

>>13167880
I think maybe we should follow Bellatrix after a bit and talk to her. Seems like she keeps trying to isolate herself and Lena still. Then maybe Degrian to assign him a new project if they're sure the wagons work, then timeskip.

>>13167880
I think we've put off reading the dispatches long enough

rolled 31 = 31

I vote sparring with Collin if able.

>>13167880
Spar with Collin, invite Laelith along since she needs to work on it too. We can spar afterward as well, and perhaps use elementalism in that fight to see how far we have come.

>>13167840
>>13167834
My big concerns with using a signaler system is if the signaler is cut down in battle (because a majority of our battles are melees with ranged support) and because Justinian himself likes to be in the thick of it, making a signaler's life very dangerous.

I'm not saying we shouldn't use it, just that there are dangers to it that need to be taken into account.

rolled 39 = 39

>>13167854
If they die, they die. As long as they live they're still more effective than just shouting. Give it a chance.

Maybe try and learn more about the mystics, any relevant history, strategies they employ. They seem like a very big unknown. especially if they could attack via MIND POWERS. We need a way to counter that.

Do we still have our prisoners? Need to get maps for the invasion and possibly convert a few who know the way into guides.

>>13167916
Well, yeah. That's a common problem with ALL signaling systems, however. Just like the security problem. What if we get tied up in fighting and can't use our ring to signal? What if our drummer gets killed? And so on.

rolled 38 = 38

Spar with Collin, then read those damn dispatches.

>roll for your performance in the spar then. after that I guess I'll timeskip to when you get your replies

After we are done sparring we should check on Lena and Bellatrix.

rolled 89 = 89

>>13167957
Sparring!

>>13167840

From what I understand from the article, flag signals will be very useful from large distances, say legion to legion or maniple to maniple.

I'm still sceptical about using it at inter-unit level but we can give it a try.

>>13167880

All our unit commanders should be given one ring then. Based on colours and number fired, we can tell if they're breaking or need assistance.


So war horn/drums, flag signalling and signal rings.

We should perfect the first two and present it to our High Commander for possible dissemination to the rest of the legions.

rolled 11 = 11

>>13167962
Yikes, glad we had 3 30ish rolls before that.

>>13167974

Those don't count...

MEDIC

rolled 82 = 82

>>13167957
Time for some Sparring.
Then we should head back to our tent and get some water read in case we're set on fire.

rolled 28 = 28

>>13167957
I say we use our botch, just to save face.... doesn't seem we are gonna use it for anything today's thread anywho.

rolled 37 = 37

>>13167957
My roll doesn't count?
>>13167942

>>13167981
One of the specifically said it was for sparring. How does that not count?

>>13167924
Not just attack, but that Morwayne body-double actually knew that we were planning an attack, and prepared their forces accordingly.
That kind of telepathic intel is going to be very hard to fight against, especially if the enemy has more of them.
Fortunately, it seems that only the cult has mystics of any training, and they're concentrating on stealing away Stant's holdings, which are on the opposite side of the country we're going to be invading.

>>13167940
I was hoping that you could come up with methods and training that would allow us to minimize the danger to the signalers.

>>13168029
>I was hoping that you could come up with methods and training that would allow us to minimize the danger to the signalers.
Nah bro, I wish. Communications has always been a critical target in warfare.

rolled 86 = 86

>>13167974
Well, because its a non battle CQ, dont we get two botches?
I say we used one for 11.
Pax you'd better be reading these!

>>13168016
>>13168028

We've usually gone with the first post that quotes the post in which Pax asks for rolls.

>>13168029

It'll just be a similar system to protection of officers. Assign 2 to 3 men to guard the signal officer as he stands near the rear of the unit. Not too far away to be targeted by enemy artillery fire. We should also appoint 2 signal officers per unit.

You make your way over to Collin who is leaning against the small wagon Kyria and Degrian are finished working on for the night. "Care for a spar?" you ask bluntly, seeing no reason to dance around it.

"Aye lad, but I cant promise you'll like how it ends." he replies, drawing his bastard sword from the sheathe at his back. You follow suit, drawing your longsword from its sheathe.

>cont'd

Statement: Oh, this will end well

The two of you make your way to one of the rings traced out in the dirt, as you take one of the shields on the bench near the ring. The dwarf falls into a low stance, his blade held vertical, and parallel with his right shoulder-blade, as you drop back behind your shield. In a blur the dwarf rushes you, shouldering into the shield with his left side, and coming around with his blade from the right. You catch his blade on yours and are forced back another step. You slide the dwarves sword into one of the grooves in the edge of yours, and pull back. Collin stays with his blade, and takes the shield punch you had loaded in stride, allowing it to push him back out to a more comfortable distance for his longer blade. As you move in to push your advantage Collin shifts his stance, now with the blade angled from his left hip to right shoulder, his right foot forward and left back. No sooner than you notice the shift he unleashes a trio of stong blows from right, left and center, all vertical slashes, all barely stopped. With a pair of strong strikes to your right, he sends your blade arm well out of position. A swift thrust to your shield glances off the sheet of metal, and places it in an equally terrible position. The dwarf steps up and plants his foot in your chest, knocking you to the ground.

>cont'd

>>13168193
I concur

Before the swordmaster can declare victory, you roll to the side and spring up. Rushing the dwarf in the same motion you manage to force him to parry twice before he steps back, and with a flourish of his blade falls back into his initial stance. Again he rushes you, this time his blade windmilling off to his right side. You block with your blade, backstep, block again, sidestep, and then feel the blade knocked from your hand, Collins sword now spinning in the opposite direction. He stops the blade high, and slices in between your head and shoulder, connecting with the back of your shield and sending it from your hand. The dwarf sweeps his left leg beneath yours, sending you to the ground again. When your eyes open up a moment later Collins blade is in the dirt next to your neck "Ya did well laddy, better'n most I fight these days. You up for more?" he asks, hopeful.

"But of course." you reply, collecting yourself and your weapons.

>blade skill increased
>so, timeskip to the replies to your letters then?

Thought: Could we give the signallers pavaises? Those crossbowmen shields? It would give them at least some cover, and they shouldn't be fighting anyway. Maybe the backup signaler is detailed to making sure the current signaler is protected.

rolled 25 = 25

>>13168218
Bah, that's better than I could have asked for. Collin is freaking beast. Granted we aren't using elementalism either so not all of our combat abilities are usable.

Timeskip.

>>13168218

Statement: All said, not terrible. Indeed, timeskip.

>>13168218
Do eet.

One of these days we should have a real throw-down match with Collin, him bringing out his best moves and use using elementalism.

>>13168218

Do it.

>>13168221

As long as they're not far behind to be targetable should be sufficient.

The shields will weight them down and will only provide cover for one. How about their escorts?

rolled 33 = 33

>>13168237
I'd be okay with this, if all of our elementalism weren't so damn lethal. I guess the Impact Fissure will work out next time we increase our elementalism skill. I can see it now, we ready defensively for Collin, then he falls into a large hole that wasn't there before a second ago.

>>13168218
What about the request to purchase more horses or oxen, and giving out orders to construct more wagons, preferably water-tight?

We will need to create a bridge to cross the river we are to assault, and get our supplies across.
Also, we'll need carts to carry our loot in.
Finally, soldiers that ride to a battlefield are less tired than those that marched.

rolled 9 = 9

Time skip, also, how about our flags double as spears?

rolled 17 = 17

>>13168261
We already sent letters last thread I thought, also, I could have sworn we have a forest kinda behind us.....

>>13168221
>>13168242
Maybe 3 guards to a signaler, to create a rough triangular box to defend the signaler in the center?
Though if that's the case, regular scutum shields should be enough.

About noon the next day a messenger eagle arrives from the Second Praetorian, it would seem he got his own then. Shortly after that bird arrives, Aquila arrives, and the two immediately begin squabbling for your perch. It only gets more confused when a third arrives from Flumenos. Apparently word of your acquisition got around quickly. No doubt some trader from the Duchy is rich now that this trend is sweeping the Empire. After you set out an armor rack, allowing Aquila to scare the other birds from his perch you are finally able to read the messages.

>well, FLumenos, Praetorian or Nomz?

>>13168274
I was fighting to be able to have our entire maniple be mobile on wagons, but there was another poster fighting against it as too costly.

As for the forest behind us; we still need to put out the order to have wood harvested and wagons made.

And after the dispatches and we send out responses, we should check on how well the automated wagon works.

Check Lena and Bella right after sparring!
Then say that Collin almost kills us many a times, so Lena shouldn't hafta worry for that once.

>>13168251
It doesn't all need to be lethal. If he swings around behind us or knocks us down we can bring up a wall. If he is slashing at us from the left we can pop up a spike to deflect his blade while we attack with ours. Shield-bash him backwards into a fissure we open, causing him to fall over. All kinds of non-lethal but very powerful uses.

We could even try to do mini-earthquakes under just him, to throw off his footing. Or thrust up "spikes" that are mere 1 inch high rounded bumps to do the same thing. That would critically hamper his footwork and we can keep ours steady because we control the bumps.

>>13168301
Praetorian, Nomz, Flumenos.

>>13168301
How about all? Starting from high command, going down to cohort command, and finally Nornz and his maniple command.

>>13168301

Praetorian, Flumenos, Nomz

>>13168301
Praetorian, Nomz than Flumenos.

>>13168301

2nd, Nomz, Flumenos

Statement: Glad to see speed of delivery is becoming important to the other commanders. This should aid war efforts tremendously.

rolled 35 = 35

>>13168301
Flumenos first, it will be interesting to read this.
Praetorian second, respect where it is due.
Then Nomz.

rolled 11 = 11

Well, Praetorian wins for first, throw up between Nomz and Flumenos though.

>>13168301
Well, open those letters. No matter the priority.

rolled 94 = 94

Flumenos first, praetorian second.

>>13168350
nomz second

Why does it even matter what order we open the letters in when we will open them all anyway?!

>>13168410

squabbling is essential to every quest on /tg/, be they little matters or major ones

rolled 63 = 63

>>13168410
Also just in case Pax decides to interrupt us.

Praetorian first.

You open the letter from the Second Praetorian first
"Commander Trentz, first I must congratulate you on your victory. It came earlier than most had expected. If you continue on like this you will find yourself promoted before long. I must apologize, as the portion of your letter following your victory report was destroyed either in transit or by one of my aids. I had several of them thinning down the letters that I see myself, when one came to me with yours, ripped across the center, just after your victory report. If the matter was important feel free to bring it up with me upon your victorious return to DragonsReach." the letter reads, sealed and signed.

The letter from Flumenos informs you that they will be able to send enough garrison soldiers to fully replenish your Degnarian units. It also has 5 mercanary units willing to march for 5000 Dragoons (paid on arrival in your camp) and a share of loot.

Stephons' Rivermen 200
Mail, circleshields, cutlasses and shortspears
+++
--

Bintius Outriders 50
horseback, chainmail, spears, heaters and mauls
++

Clarish Ghosts 100 (Elves)
leather, javelins, shortblades, composite bows
+++
-

Destrisha Fellblades 150 (Lacerta)
leathers, greatswords
+++
--

Kemnios Swifriders 75 (dwarves)
Throwing axes, splintmail, lances, battle axes, kite shields
+++
-

Commander Nomz reports that he needs two units to fill the gap left by his wiped out berserkers, or a way to break an enemy flank quickly. Any force multipliers or large infantry would be appreciated.

Guys, a thought on this upcoming river crossing.

If we can secure the river bank almost anywhere for a couple hours, we can literally make a crossing with our fissures abilities. All we'll need to do is open up a large trench in the middle of the river- make it run very deep and very narrow. Laelith can cook the mud left behind so that it's easy to cross, and after that bridging it should be a snap- easily something that we'll be able to accomplish in minutes with man-portable supplies.

>>13168535
Well, looks like someone in the Second Praetorian's group knows about Khalless and the shenanigans we're currently fighting.

I almost don't even want to start the mercenary debate that will start in a bit...

Did Nomz mention anything in his letter on what he's facing or what the terrain is like?

>>13168535
>the swiftriders are on horseback, and yes, more wagons/oxen can be provided for 7500 Dragoons (8 extra wagons and teams)

>>13168535

What did we include in that letter we sent to the Praetorian?

Is the 5000 dragoons for all the units or each? God damn extortionist.

I wonder how long it'll take for Nomz to finish fighting. We should send the mercs.

>>13168570
>open terrain, lots of medium infantry with some ranged support, all mercenary

>>13168583
I believe it was the info of what we found out from Khalless' letters and how there's the cult working on things from behind the scenes.

>>13168535
questions: how much cash do we have on us? would the mercs be willing to accept some of the horses/equipment we've captured in lieu of coin? I think we should take all of them except for the cavalry and send two units to nomz

>>13168583
>each, and you can choose which ones you take in your reply message.
>remember this is to deploy NOW and without talking with the guy who's hiring them. The mercs are going in blind and want some reassurance.

>>13168535
Sigh. Apparently they have infiltrated the Second's office.

Send a message to all the commanders in our cohort asking them to deliver the second half of the message to him, as well as sending it again ourselves. He will KNOW something is wrong if 6 reports come in with half of them cut out.

>>13168535

how many dragoons do we have with us Pax?

also, we should just send Nornz two of the heavy repeaters

Pax, mind if I ask for our new inventory after the last battle?

Also with possible cash we'll get from liquidation as well as our current Dragoon reserves.

>>13168605
>1750 in requisition and 35250 in personal funds left

>>13168535
>portion of your letter following your victory report was destroyed either in transit or by one of my aids
FUUU!!
That means that the Empire may already be infiltrated by agents of the cult. We'll need to tread carefully when we return to the capital.

>Clarish Ghosts 100 (Elves)
Are they some kind of specops unit?
We should seriously consider something like that, because we'll be deep in enemy territory for a while before the main offensive reaches us.

>more wagons/oxen can be provided for 7500 Dragoons (8 extra wagons and teams)
How much money do we have now (and will we be given more requisition funds), and is that enough wagons to be able to mount up our entire maniple?

>>13168634
How much do we have in loot and likely prisoner ransoms thus far?

rolled 78 = 78

>>13168535
I say we take the rivermen or the outriders.

Rivermen for them having huge numbers, outriders for the fact we're hurting for non-uursan cavalry (?)

rolled 39 = 39

>>13168535
FUCKING CULTISTS!
Damn, we need to send something in code then. Something easily able to translate for him. Perhaps a letter reminiscing about the old days and when he was training us. It will be out of the blue and to the naked eye we will just be talking to our father-like figure as a son would.

Hmmmm, we should go ahead and dismiss our people to send the siege weapons and what not?

One more merc unit would not be amiss, I vote for the elves. It's a painful hit to our cash, but hopefully we will be okay. I would prefer not getting them if everyone thinks we can swing it, though. Those prices are just highway robbery.

Wagons are too expensive.

>>13168619

Agreed. Suggest we use doubletalk in the letters to indicate interference within the first half of the message. Include something odd about each letter to indicate looking more closely, like a pair of deliberate ink blots at the top of each page.

>>13168644
yea, there was 10000 in a small pouch on the eagles leg. Since this is still the same campaign you wont get a fresh set of requisition, but you did get a bonus for a job well done, it would seem.

>and yea, the Ghosts are a stealth/ambusher unit

>>13168673
Degrian did get the new wagon working so that might speed their movement up. In regards to Nomz, I think we should send him our rangers, merc elves and either Gaius or Cornelius. Rangers can help with the repeaters and make fortifications if they're defending, merc elves are just numbers and Gaius will be useful in general. Should be able to top up our Degrian units anyways with the reinforcements.

In regards to the mercs... I say the Riverman, outriders and elves. Expensive but we generally are hurting for infantry I find, we need more cavalry for battle and those elves have composite bows. That should be useful if we're defending/assaulting a river. I just hope I'm not over estimating how much loot we can plunder.

>>13168673
Jesus fuck dude, again, he's not our father figure. He was a good friend of said figure.

That said, we should most assuredly send some coded thing that only we know about. Like "Don't worry about the second half of the message, I'm sure it was nothing. Remember back when X when I thought there was something wrong but it turned out to be nothing? Hah hah!"

Of course, time X should be a time when we suspected something and we were not only right, but it was a trap or subterfuge or something.

Anything to suggest to him that he might have an information leak.

I think that we should consider sending someone to hand deliver the message to the 2nd praetorian and him alone, perhaps one of our velociprey riders?

>>13168699

WUNDERBAR

I'd say we send notice that this mission will be for pillaging of the enemy countryside, emphasis on the opportunity for loots and riches.

Units I'd like to suggest getting would be the rivermen, clarish ghost and the outriders.

i can consent to hiring all of the infantry and the swiftriders, remember that this campaign is going to involve massive amounts of pillaging so we should be able to recoup our losses as we go on

has blackbird come back yet?

>>13168687
>Wagons are too expensive.
I will relent on the purchase of more wagon teams if, and only if, we agree that the capture of horses, beasts of labor, and wagons will be a priority of our pillaging in Uurlanth.
I will not give up on turning our maniple into a dragoon force.

rolled 55 = 55

>>13168699
I'd say go ahead for the elves, and then use some personal funds for the remainder of the wagons.

>>13168708
I say only take two merc units. We got +10k req funds, so let's use all of those but not dip into personals. I say get the Outriders and Rivermen.

Forget the wagons. something isnt allowing me to post my longer post. some parts of my comment isnt allow to be posts, i have no idea.

I say take the Elves with their bows, and the swift riders, as they'll really help with their added cav.
I'm wondering about the Lacerta, as we've never used them before.

We should send a great many of our seige to him, maybe the ranger as suggested to help with fortifications and repeaters.

>>13168741
We still need topography of the area beyond where we are stationed. If the terrain is crap or the only places we can cross the river are bad for wagons (Besides any heavily defended ones by the enemy) the wagons will only hinder us. Which reminds me, after our celebration we should send the hunters out for a week or two to monitor the enemy fort from a distance. See what intel we can get in terms of troop numbers/types to give the second Praetorian and get an idea on their patrols and topography so we can see if there are any areas in the terrain that would hide us better.

I'm considering the elves, rivermen, and cavalry. Getting more of any of those would be good...

We could send a reply letter offering them less money to work for us, take it or leave it, and bearing in mind that we are the only commander to have thoroughly trounced our opponent in this area. Maybe some of them would be willing to work for 3000.


On Nomz: I think we should send him all of our existing siege units, along with Wulf, a heavy infantry unit, and a ranged unit. That should be enough to make quite a difference. He can keep the heavy weaponry; we'll build more during our three weeks of downtime, and spec these for heavy travel since we're expecting to go raiding.

rolled 70 = 70

>>13168726
Could have sworn that Pax.....oops, checked last thread.
Well talking ABOUT our father figure then? Perhaps using our fathers name as the key word for the code we use?

>>13168708
>I just hope I'm not over estimating how much loot we can plunder.
You know, we really need to know this.

Before we finalize on which merc units to get, let's grab Janos and go over a map of Uurlanth with him, and where we plan to attack.
He can give us an idea of how wealthy that area is, and how much we can expect to plunder.
If it's poor, then we'll need to cut back spending.
If it's rich, then we can splurge a little.

Hire the rivermen and the dwarven cavalry.

The guy we send to hand-deliver the message should be given a horse and be a legion soldier, not a merc. Tell him this message is critical and MUST be hand delivered to the Second and only the Second.

Actually, let's send a small group of like 5 of them on horses.

>>13168535
>>13168570
Suspicions, they are forming. Note that.

Regarding Nomz, force multiplier. Send in any extra artillery we have.
From Flu, we take the usual recruits. Do we want the mercs, though? We haven't time to bargain them down ourselves and make our own acquaintaces with them. Can we just keep our current Mercs and upgrade them with loot?

>>13168780
No no no, we should pick up the elves with the composite bows, the rivermen are not needed as we already have light infantry/medium aplenty, and our losses, at least for our Manple forces will be refilled like Pax had said before in previous threads.

>>13168764
>We still need topography of the area beyond where we are stationed
Alright.

Pax, do we have a topographical map of the area in question?
Will our wagons be slowed down in that area of the valley, the river, and the area of Uurlanth we'll be raiding?

>>13168769
I agree to sending Nornz our siege engines and Wulf, but I don't want to send our units. We've already requested reinforcement, and we are about to advance. They will take losses and we won't be able to replenish them. We can't afford that. Helping other commanders is awesome and all, but we NEED those men far more than he does.

>>13168789
I just don't want to go into enemy territory with only our maniples and depleted mercenary units. We can't reinforce Jayne so we definitely need more combat cavalry. I also want more infantry just because at times I feel like having another unit or two would of been damn useful for flanks or covering our flanks. And I want the elves simply because it'd be our turn to have elven archers of doom.

rolled 26 = 26

Get the elves and cavalry

rolled 60 = 60

I'd rather take the Elves guys than anyone else. 100 strong and are good for ranged support or flanking. These we will need for the types of things we will be doing. Raiding, pillaging, hit and runs, and harassing supply caravans I assume.

>>13168780
I can get behind this, I only suggested velociprey riders because of speed. Should we send a captain or is that overkill?

Whats our current plan on getting Janos back to the capital?

We must not forget that he will require seed money in order to fund his business.

I'd propose that he be given most of our spoils to transport back and be sold or melted down.

Depending on how much we can get, I'd also suggest that he be allowed to take 5-10k dragoons as well.


Before we make a decision, we need to speak with our merc commanders. I daresay that some will want to stay. Cornwall Mercs can still function and I'd like to keep them if we can.

Suggesting we take only the elves. True long-range units, with precision firing, in comparison to our Repeaters Rangers and Artilleries.

>>13168802
We have two weeks until we leave. We just ask the garrison to send more troops than we have currently lost and hope they send enough extra to top up the losses we take. Our troops will be back within two weeks and helping out to hold the line will only make us look better. At least that's how I see it.

>>13168807
Yes, but man we can't just invest personally in every campaign like this. If the empire doesn't give us the crap we need we just have to do the best we can with what we have sometimes.

Two merc units, one cavalry and the elves is my vote.

>>13168830
Remember that requesting multiple times will tarnish our name.

>>13168832
I dont think we'll need that many, as the merc units are overpriced as is. ghosts and swiftriders will be fine, and we'll be filling our own army troops shortly.

>>13168823
That's overkill for sure. Just get about 5 trusted empire soldiers on horseback.

>>13168826
I think we should keep Janos with us for now. We still kind of have to explain to the Empire he's working for us now and him wandering back to the capital will make it hard for him to openly work for us since he's not Degrian. Plus he'll have knowledge on the area we're raiding and his intel will be key. He might even have intel on the fort we have to bypass and ways to trick the fort commander.

>>13168832
The only reason I'm willing to invest so much is because we're raiding villages and crap. Unless I'm assuming too much, we're going to fatten our coffers doing that and the better we do in raiding, the better we'll look in the empire and potentially get more req funds in the future like we did after last campaign. And we'll need it since I doubt Jayne will be able to accompany us after this campaign and we'll need to make new links to other noble houses.

>>13168844
/signed

Remember these mercs are overcharging bigtime.

rolled 66 = 66

So on the list of things:

Elves and Calvary: Best units for our options. Cavalry to replace our mercenary cavalry units that are gone now. Elven units to increase our capabilities when it comes to harassing, scouting, and to make up for our lack of our artillery being sent away in terms of killing power.

Either send notes in code to throw off the cultists or whoever that are intercepting them to make them think we don't care that much about them making them more confident, or perhaps send an actual group of Legion soldiers to personally deliver the letter without it being intercepted. My only fear about the soldiers are if they are killed en route or before they can get to the Praetorian.

>>13168854
These villages are going to be peasantry, though. We aren't going to be busting bank vaults.

I don't care what troops we take but I am against spending our personal money yet again on this.

I think that at the very least we should hire the ghosts and the riverment

>>13168826

-Impetus Marauders (Elf)
Aeristus Beztia
Chainmail, twin combat axes
145/200
Excellent

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

These unit will most likely want to continue. We need to speak to their commanders asap. Cornwall Mercs can recruit from our captured mercs and replenish their numbers but the elves can't.

With this, I'd put forward taking the Ghosts and one of the cavalry units as well as the wagons IF we are not likely to build enough of the self-propelled variant.

We should schedule a meeting with him and get an idea of how many he will be able to construct with the help of the our resting soldiers.

At minimum, I think we're mostly agreed to hire on the Elven Ghosts and the Dwarven Swiftriders. They'll give us much needed combat cavalry, and a specops unit of elven archers.

What about the Rapid Riders and the Raiders, our currently employed cavalry mercs? Are they staying on, but purely as a recon and messenger role, with no combat? Or will we need to renegotiate their contracts?

>>13168841
Perhaps. Perhaps send our old mercenary units to help him out then? That way our maniple units and best units are still going to be at strength and then those units can leave the campaign after they help Nomz since I assume they'd get pretty ripped. I figure helping out Nomz gets us support from another Commander in Degrian and that can never be bad.

>>13168872
Mostly peasants maybe but there will liekly be the few rich merchants or those in charge in the town that we can make a profit off of. But it's a fair point.

>>13168898
Yup, dont dont forget, the more mercs we hire, the larger cut they'll all want. So, the elves and swiftriders are a good choice

rolled 21 = 21

>>13168878
The good thing about those two merc units, is that we won't have to pay for them to continue. This is still considered one campaign. Remember how the cavalry and velociprey cavalry mercenary commanders were scared to tell us because it would have been a reasonable point to give them a black mark on their record because the campaign wasn't finished.

Also, I've been thinking what Justinian looks like. Any other portraits out there? I'm going to be attaching all the ones I can see him being from now on.

Eh fine. I can get behind just getting the elven archers and the outriders. If people don't want more that badly I will go along with it.

Unsure you make your way to Janos room. Upon entry you see that both him and Kaitlyn are trying masked helms on, and laughing rather loudly. At first you dont understand, until you notice that Janos' mask bears a womans face, and Kaitlyns a mans. "Its crushing my face!" the noble exclaims between guffaws, as Kaitlyn tries desperately to get her too-large helmet to stay in one place. When he notices your entrance he yanks the helm from his face. "How can I help you, Justinian?" he asks, grinning like a fool.

"Well, I need some help with this map of Uurlanth. Specifically, which areas are rishest, and what is the terrain like along the south coast of the Greyrun?" you ask.

He looks at the map as you lay it out. "Dyrons ford is a hard place. The keep is build into the cliff cut by the river, and the bridge crossing there goes through the keep, every crossing within 15 miles up and downriver has a guard tower on the Uurlanth side of it, and a few are smaller versions of the keep, with wooden bridges. The crossings are easiest north of Lost Conflux, but the land is poor. Everything from the bend in the Greyrun north of Lost Conflux down to the coast is lowland hills, with a reasonable smattereing of forests and swamplands. The keep at Lost Conflux is wooden, but all the settlements from there to Dyrons Ford is relatively rich, though the crossings are bad, small bridges and a swifter, wider river to contend with. The lands around Rivers Edge ar incredibly rich, but you would need to go past Dyrons Ford, which I would not recommend. Do you plan to strike deeper, or will the river lowlands suffice?" Janos informs you, looking willing to help if you ask for more information.

>>13168872
>I don't care what troops we take but I am against spending our personal money yet again on this.
Look, if you're right about encounters being scaled to the forces we bring, then the same should be true of the rewards we get.
Or are you arguing that only the difficulty will change, and not the rewards?

>>13168918
Don't forget, he's picked up at least one facial scar of his own.

rolled 96 = 96

I say we take the cavalry and the Ghosts as those are the two types we could really use.

>>13168878
Oh, true. This is the end of the contracted duties, right? We contracted them only to held this line, if I remember that part right.

>>13168969
"It all depends on how easy it'll be to cross the river without notice or without being engaged. Do you have any idea on what kind of garrison would be stationed in those areas?"

>>13168971
I'm not that guy. I was for taking the mercs back in the capital but we've spent enough and these guys are ripping us off with 5000 plus loot recruitment prices.

>>13169004

We contracted them for the campaign. They're still obliged to follow us.

>>13168969

The last units strengths at the forts, including Dysons Ford.

>>13169015
I'll agree that these mercs ARE ripping us off, and we're not getting a fair price so we should be more conservative about hiring them.
But we really do need more combat cavalry, and since we're going into long-held, traditionally Uurlanth territory now, we're going to need spec ops.
I view the hiring of the Swiftriders and the Ghosts as expensive, but necessary.

As for the wagons and their teams, Maximus DID point out that the topography getting into Uurlanth may be bad, so I'll back down on purchasing the wagons and horses now, as long as we make a point of trying to capture them as part of our pillaging in Uurlanth.

>>13168969
Looks like we should force a crossing at Lost Conflux and then strike southward, looting as we go. With luck we will be able to tear down through the wealthy lands and get a few good raids into the super-rich areas before retreating back to the fort at Conflux.

>>13168971
Because we have to share loot to our Superiors, that's why.

Also, I'm partial to little to no looting actually. If we are to work together on a later enemy, I'd prefer Uurlanth commons to see Jus as a good guy to have, both in terms militarily and as a leader.

And there is the chance of planting Janos on the Stants' House as heir if Rulf turns out to be a cultist and we need to put him down.

>>13169049
>Also, I'm partial to little to no looting actually.
Jesus, our army would fucking mutiny. Are you suicidal?

>>13169047
Sounds like a good plan, I'll support this.

>>13168969
Ask Janos what the defenses of those keeps are like, from the Uurlanth side.
They likely don't expect an attack from their proverbial back, and may be more vulnerable.

My idea is to force a crossing a northern point of the river, north of Lost Conflux, making a semi-permanent bridge to be used by the main offensive force of the Legion following behind us.

We raid a little in the lowlands, then turn south to richer pastures, raiding all the way.

>>13169047

my thoughts as well

so are we all agreed that we'll hire the elves and the dwarven cav? the rivermen would be a nice addition

also, can we get a concensus on what we're sending to Nornz? the heavy repeaters should do well enough

>>13168969
>Dyrons Ford
>Built into a Cliff
>Whats our power again?

>MFFW we collapse the keep

Gentlemen, our path is clear. We're going to burn that keep down.

>>13169075
He'll need more than just heavy repeaters though. He's down two full units you'd normally expect. He will need either more support in other ways or we'll have to send units to back him up. Kind of why I suggested the rangers so they could help fortify his area. I think we should send some infantry myself to help him out.

>>13169047
Yeah, I was thinking that too. Depends where it's easier to cross but I think we should definitely try to take that wooden fort for ourselves.

>>13169075
Heavy Repeaters, and maybe the mangonel?
Also, what about the Rangers, for additional ranged firepower, and Cornelius, for the heavy infantry to protect the siege weaponry and Rangers.

>>13169075
Elves and dwarves sound good. I say no to the infantry.

Repeaters to Nornz and Wulf too. His chain lightning displays should be horrific and really destroy morale. Send the magonel too with that chainshot. It really annihilated the morale of those troops last time and the mercs will break a lot easier.

Make sure we get it all back, though. We are going to be laying siege before long and will need those engines.

>>13169079
We don't have that ability to do it yet. Not to destroy the keep. We're not good enough at fissures sadly. Otherwise it would of been awesome to wipe it all out but that would of cost us a bit of loot.

>>13168969
"The deeper the better. If we can draw any substantial force after ourselves, the main army to follow will have an easier time of it."

We should be able to simply make a crossing with our elementalism and engineers rather than taking one that already exists, which should make passing the river a near-trivial affair.

Then we go as deep as possible, as fast as possible, seeking and sacking the richest locations along our route.

>>13169079
OH SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT THIS.

GO FOR THE GOLD.

We will riddle the cliff with fissures over a period of days then cause an earthquake. The entire cliff will collapse and we will have free passage and the richest plunder!

>>13169097

It's built into the cliff. We just need to dig at the bottom and gravity will do the rest.

>>13169038
"How heavilly guarded are the cities and coasts?" you ask, making note of what Janos has told you thus far.

"Well, as Dyrons Ford is held by Lord Peter Dyron the Fourth, the Dyrons are a military family to say the least, and have been pressuring the King to allow them to hold more than the 30000 professional solders the law currently limits them to. They will be mostly veterans against the plains raiders that live east of Kharynchek lands. The towers will have a permanent garrison of about 100 men, the smaller versions of the keep at the Ford will have two to three hundred. As for Lost Conflux, I cant for the life of me remember the Lords name, but I know they arent the most militant, 1500 men at best, and I doubt they will have any mercenaries ready-hired. Their stretch of coast will be patrolled by outriders most likely, if you encounter them you would be able to expect a reactionary force within a day or two to start tracking us."

>>13169104
Doubt we'll be able to get close enough to do that if it's built right into the cliff though. Plus, a keep like that is likely to be heavily defended. I don't think they'll sit in their keep if we appeared outside it.

>>13169109
>30000 men
Either Pax just made a typo or we are sure as hell not fighting them.

>>13168969

Pax, how many heavy repeaters and mangonels can we build in three weeks?

im assuming that degrian can reverse-engineer the uurlanthian design with what he did with the improved mangonel

>>13169058
. . . Is this true? Would they, if their commander asks them so?
I mean no looting of the common populace; armies, military, and political structures are okay targets.

>>13169113

Thats the beauty of it. We don't have to camp our army there.

We just need to get up close with Blackbird's chosen.

>>13169109
>30000

wtf man.

>>13169120
Two weeks. We have to march and be there by the third week.

>>13169113
You're right. We'd need some sort of... automatic armored car to get us there safely or something.

Wait a second...

>>13169109
Our orders are to bypass the forts, not combat them. We should be ignoring all the fortifications and going after villages and cities. What's the richest target within a few days' march, assuming that we cross the river without significant conflict?

>>13169121
Stop being white knight, loot in war is 75% of the reason ancient soldiers fought at all.

rolled 8 = 8

>>13169109
>30000
You best be shitting me........

>>13169134
We have to bypass the fort on our side of the river, cross it and weaken positions along the river to make it easier for the main force to march IIRC. So we will have to start hitting the forts on their side of the river and take crossings.

>>13169131
Don't think it's feasible. We can barely make earthen walls and you guys think we can collapse the cliff in a decent amount of time? Khalless was a master compared to us and the most we saw he could do was breach a portion of the wall in that one city.

>>13169134
Even if we ignore the forts, we cannot ignore the forces that they can deploy from those forts.

We'll need to know if those 30,000 veterans are all within that one area, or if it's their entire House, and they're spread out across the entire southern riverside.

>>13169121
We are looting. They are a massive enemy and tried to invade us. That's just the way it goes. Maybe if they didn't start a war they wouldn't get their gold taken by us.

>>13169141
Perhaps I am. No contesting on that part. Well, just my opinion, at any rate. Seems like no other is partial to it.

Elven archers for my vote, but how about the Riders and the Marauders? Are their contracts make sure they remain with us? Or is this considered the end of the current campaign?

And 30000?

>>13169121
I'll agree to being kinder to the civilian population. I imagine looting them too harsh would be bad if we want our main goddess to like us since part of her thing is defending those too weak to defend themselves and all. It would be bad if we took all their belongings and let them starved.

rolled 66 = 66

I kind of agree with bypassing the small villages and going straight for large cities then looting the TREASURIES and BANKS of the cities. We are trying to slightly white-knightly, not full blown white-knight. War is war, we understand that. Lessening casualties is however, a sign of a benevolent and kind leader. You never know, perhaps the citizenry of the area we target don't like the nobles and what not because of they way they are treated. Pax DID state that we should think of them as just a feudal medieval Europe in terms of government. Needless to say, citizens did not like being citizens, considering they were serfs, not citizens.

>>13169109
Right. Does Janos know how many troops are in the fort we have to bypass and what they're like? Might be good intel to give to the second Praetorian before they attack.

>>13169178
>>13169166
"The Uurlanthi people must be made to know the folly of attacking the Empire. Their leaders must be made to witness the horror that is war, and their populace shown the determination of the Imperial Legions to protect the citizens of the Empire against all foes."

>>13169178
Maybe SHE can come down and fund her temples then? We need money. We aren't going to be pillaging their livestock or crops, and that's what they will need to live.

>>13169118
>thats Uurlanthi military structure, the king holds 50K, each of the major lords around 30K, and each minor lord around 2k (all plus mercs). Degnar has enough Legions to keep it all balanced out, and the higher quality of the basic troops on Degnars side makes up for the (slight) numerical disparity
>yea, you would loose the mercs for sure, and alot of your men would be very unhappy. The Uurlanth/Degnar rivalry/hatred is damn near bred into men after 5000 odd years of animosity.
>>13169120
>you could get up to 12 repeaters and 4 mangonels _total_

You realize just how many men you will be dealing with, and it must show on your face. "The men at Dyrons for are very spread out. 5000 at their southern fort at least, though I would expect more considering that there is a war on. And I would say at least 15 towers to the north and south of the keep. Plus city guards are part of that count. I would expect no more actual soldiers than you have. The rest will be levies, and break quickly in an open battle, especially on their ground, where they will need to worry about defending their homes. For all the Nobles talk of equality, they show precious little compassion for the peasantry." Janos informs you "And I know of more than a few mercenary bands that would leave Uurlanth all together if the chance arrose"

>>13169199
William Tecumseh Sherman didn't have to deal with gods and getting their favour nor trying to become the 7th Praetorian. I see no good reason to earn her disfavour by ruining the lives of random, innocent people. Especially when she's the one who's like us most so far.

rolled 32 = 32

>>13169199
>>13169191
Little did Tecumsah know that his onslaught would bring on the bias of the masses for decades to come since his massacre of the civilian populace. The leaders yes, but not the citizens who have no say in this. Granted back then, the citizens DID have a say in the rebellions, here and now though, the serfs have no say in the extension of the Uurlanthian lands.

>>13169203
Actually, we are. Armies eat very well in enemy lands. But I don't care, it's standard for war. Nobody is going to think it excessive because looting and stripping the land is status quo.

>>13169199

i agree with sherman-anon

we will teach them the price of attacking the empire and shedding degnarian blood

>>13169203
Actually, we will need to take their livestock and crops, since our soldiers need to eat while on the march.
We can leave behind just enough that they can survive the winter, and have standing orders that crops still growing are not to be harmed.
But anything else that can be used as war material, is to either be confiscated and used by our maniple, or destroyed, to prevent them from going to assist the Uurlanth war effort.

>>13169156
>>13169157
We will weaken those forts by drawing thousands of troops out of position as they desperately try to stop us from seizing their richest assets and burning their greatest cities to the ground. Assaulting even the least of the river forts with our limited troops would be foolish.

Certainly, we'll kill those armies in the field if we can catch them there when we're at the advantage, but if we can avoid it we should. As I remember our orders, we're not supposed to make a hole for the main force to follow through, just get in there and fuck shit up.

I'll go look in the archive for the specific wording, though.

>>13169209
>yea, you would loose the mercs for sure, and alot of your men would be very unhappy. The Uurlanth/Degnar rivalry/hatred is damn near bred into men after 5000 odd years of animosity.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE OUR LOOTING GREEN LIGHT.

>>13169223
>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.

>>13169209

well, send our current siege weapons to nornz along with wulfe and then get to building

so the plan is to force a crossing north of lost conflux, then strike south pillaging and kicking ass along the way

>>13169221

Frankly, I'd say scorched earth policy.

We give them ample warning to get out, then we burn everything to the ground.

Our brother legions will be advancing on this area soon so it makes no difference. They will not be returning anytime soon.

>>13169210
We won't kill them, but we do need to forage/plunder to keep our maniple fed, and prevent resources from being funneled to Uurlanthi forces.

We can make sure that enough food is left behind for the famers to not starve, but if it's a choice between keeping our maniple well-fed and the local Uurlanth forces under-supplied versus the considerations of the Uurlanthi peasantry, our maniple is going to win out.

>>13169247
At least send the rangers with them. A few heavy repeaters and Wulf will not turn the tide for him without more support. I honestly think we need to send more than just that. Hell, Nomz might not even use our men to fight directly in battle. If our forces are just there to hold his rear position/defend parts of the battlefield, he can commit the rest of his forces which he normally might not be able to.

>>13169244
Excellent. Sounds like we force a crossing at Lost Conflux. Annihilate that force and we will have free reign to pillage a rich area.

And annihilate it we can, because their commanders are not very militant and we are a TACTICAL GENIUS.

>>13169209
Here's an idea.

Take away their Mercenaries.
A disguised group could make their way to a small town or fort where these mercs ply their skills, Hire them, and bring them to us.
But Us, i mean an ambush point with readied archers and traps, infantry prepped on their side to encircle and Crush them utterly. We get some more weapons to our lush armory and take our cash back. Not the 'nicest' strategy, but these are foreign mercenaries, likely to be hired on against us.

rolled 32 = 32

>>13169227
Pax, how feasible would it be to avoid the small villages and what not looting to ONLY loot the large cities and towns.

Also, how long would it take to make more and working versions of the wagon that our lizard friend made? And how many? I suggest we go ask, because it might be better to make more of those, cross north while using those wagons to taking turns of people who get to ride in them so we can keep the men relatively fresh on the march and travel greater distances. Therefore taking the long route, but not having it take nearly as long to do.

>>13169244
Hmm. Damn. That is much less convenient.

Well, I suppose that our job will simply be to tear down as many forts as possible, then. We won't be able to really get our loot on if we're tied up taking on fortified positions.

>>13169263

Actually, we should send more of our troops.

More of them means Nomz will kill them all faster, giving them more time to rest.

Since our Legion troops will be replenished, we should send them out along with Blackbird Solutions. He did say he'll need force multipliers.

>>13169260
I completely agree. I just meant let's not go crazy and just say "Screw you civilians we want everything regardless of our and your situation".

>>13169268
I was thinking that and then thought maybe we should try to cross more north of that fort. Janos said it'd be easier. If we can sneak attack the fort at night, Laelith can pull another fire attack like she did against Stant. They likely will be able to save portions of the fort since it's close to the river but we could decimate it pretty hard and leave a large hole in their defence in the area if we pull it off.

>>13169217
Right, then I am totally white knight, considering Pompei is Jus' evil side. :D

>yea, you would loose the mercs for sure, and alot of your men would be very unhappy. The Uurlanth/Degnar rivalry/hatred is damn near bred into men after 5000 odd years of animosity.
That is regarding general uncontrolled looting, or just battlefield looting?

I am okay with battlefield looting, or enemy supply looting, not raid, rape, plunder, arson, massacre, or those warcrimes against the civilian populace.

>>13169268
Actually that entire area around Lost Conflux is poor.
We'd need to go farther south, near where the heavily defended and garrisoned forts are located for prime pickings.

>>13169292

We draw the line at harming the civilian populace.

No raping, no unnecessary killing. All those who disobey will be executed. No exceptions.

rolled 22 = 22

Waiting for Pax to answer the ability of us to cross north of Lost Conflux then go south behind the lines with the use of the max automated wagons producable.

>>13169292

with plenty of other voices in between

okay, so heavy repeaters, wulfe, rangers and the maurauders and cornwall mercs

>>13169311
Of course we don't want to unnecessarily kill the civilians! We want them to become refugees, to flee to the defense of their forts and cities, eating up their stores of food and generally spreading chaos.

>>13169311
>>13169291
Well, those assertations calm my inner WK, I guess.

Gotta go now, though. Keep Jus alive, and get the glory.

>>13169326

Send Blackbird's team too. He'll love it and he'll wreck havoc.

rolled 31 = 31

>>13169329
This way of thinking works. Also, if we can get BEHIND enemy lines, and start weakening it there, the forts at the riverbank will have to send or pull back men to try to fight us off. This way, we are still in turn weakening the fort positions along the river like we are told to do.

>>13169276
>aside from food the smaller villages arent good for much, so that would be doable.

>and all you really need to do to have the keeping the river defenses weakened part of your mission is light up the towers/collapse the cliff forts, which have a mere 100-300 men manning them

>>13169311
exactly. as long as your men get to take shiny objects they'll be happy enough

>yes, it is feasible to crank out enough wagons to cross north of Lost Conflux and strike south. The land between Lost Conflux and Dyrons Ford is rich, and the north chunk of it is in Lost Conflux's controll, the crazy-rich area is at the rivers mouth, but you'd need to get through two major lords to get there (doable but not easy)

>so you wanted the Ghosts and Swiftriders then?

>>13169311
Certainly none of that. We want the civilians to become penniless refugees and thereby increase the economic and social burden of our opponents.

As for rape, well, after we take all the food I daresay our soldiers will have a very easy time persuading the ladies without resorting to violence.

I think we should avoid scorched earth policies, they breed too much hatred. Now Im not saying that we shouldn't loot, Im all for looting, I just think that when it comes to foodstuffs we should only take what we need and we should only do that when our stores of food begin to run low

>>13169292
I disagree.
I am for the destruction of buildings, regardless of civilian or military ownership, which can be used for the war effort.
This means destruction of smithies, tanneries, barns, warehouses, textile mills, and any other building which could be used to produce war material.

All material stored within said buildings will be confiscated and appropriated for Imperial use. If they cannot, then they will be destroyed.

Standing crops, however, will not be harmed. Nor will seed stocks. However, all other supplies of foodstuffs and any other materials useful to the continued operations of our maniple, will be taken.

rolled 99 = 99

>>13168969
Might I ask our location on this map Pax, it's not that clear to me, sorry for the herpderp

>>13169352
Getting through two major lords is doable? Unless Janos has some awesome intel on their lands or we play a game of cat and mouse across their lands, I don't see how that's doable. Lord Stant wasn't the major lord of the Edgewater lords IIRC and he gave us enough trouble with all the advantages we had.

I'll go for the ghosts and swiftriders I guess since everyone else seems to want swiftriders over outriders.

>>13169371

We're at the bottom left.

The green is the forest we're guarding.

>>13169366

I can get behind this.

>>13169352
Ghosts and cavalry. Whichever unit of cavalry, doesn't matter, as long as they have mounts, armor, and weapons.

>>13169365
>they breed too much hatred
There's already 5000 years of intense hatred between the two nations.
>>13169209
>The Uurlanth/Degnar rivalry/hatred is damn near bred into men after 5000 odd years of animosity.

It's obviously not at Rome-Carthage levels (since they're both still alive), but it looks to be pretty damn close.

We're not going to win any friends here, and trying will only get us a knife in our back and a sword at our throat.

>>13169360

this anon has the right of it

uurlanth already hates the empire so a little more hatred cant hurt

rolled 53 = 53

>>13169352
I would preference the Outriders as they are cavalry or did you have a typo and not put horseback on the Swiftriders?

So basically we want to flank the big bad base?

My only concern is, how do the bases communicate? If there are only so many bridges, and each one has an enemy base on their side of the river, that means we have to take out at least one to get through.
That being the case, this fort will eventually hear about it and start to guard their rear.

So my question is, how do the bases communicate to each other, and on what kind of scale are they distanced? Days ride between each of them or so?

>captcha: knisced war

Captcha thinks we're too nice about war?

Regardless, before we make a solid plan on our invasion we should likely have a staff meeting. Perhaps our vet's or other captains will have some opinions in this or will have some advice they can offer. We still need to scope out the fort we have to bypass anyways to try to find a way to do it without us being noticed and so we can pass off intel to our incoming forces.

>>13169377

"In order to maximise confusion, strike where two commands merge."

The lords will be more concerned with protecting their own holdings and will probably not want to send men to defend those of another lord's.

We make it look like we're crossing their border of control while pillaging. Conflux will not stand in our way as he wants us out.

If we keep bouncing in between their areas of control, we might be able to rape that area before they finally get their shit together.

>>13169377
>and the Edgewater Lords are notorious harassess. The guys at the southern tip of the Greyrun are fatass merchant lords. They dont have flying cavalry, or lots of fighting elves at their beck and call. they have trading cogs and elves that make excellent sculptures and silks/textiles and the like. Harsh lands make hard men, lush lands make soft men. Lord Dyron is beatable if you propperly cut off his supply/support base. Not all his levies come from the city built near his keep, most are peasants from the surrounding countryside, family men who will desert to protect said family from the roaming raiding Degnarian army that just showed up.

>>13169401
Janos indicated that there is a point in the river to the north of Lost Conflux that we can cross without a standing Uurlanth garrison waiting for us.

Though I do agree with wanting to know how the defenses communicate with each other; if it's a matter of heliographs or signal fires, and we figure out their code, then we could send all-clears even as we loot their armories and burn the rest of the fort to the ground.

>>13169411
Or they might not have that command problem and decide to both hit us at the same time. Maybe Janos will have some information on their personalities that will lend weight to your arguement but I rather not risk getting attacked from two sides by two major lords. If we were fighting tribals or an equivalent, maybe we should pull a Caesar and take on a superior force when surrounded but these guys are pretty tough and we won't have a week long eclipse to let us beat a huge force compared to us. We'll be deep in their territory and we cannot afford a bad battle.

>>13169400
Swiftriders were mentioned specifically as a mounted merc outfit.

>>13169388
well there's ancestral hatred where the villager goes "those fuckers killed my grandfather" and then there's immediate hatred where the villager says "those fuckers burned my crops and raped my wife and daughter, I'm gonna go grab a farming implement and try to kill as many of them as possible". also, we are planning on bringing the villages we conquer under the control of the empire right? If so, we don't want to sow the seeds of the next rebellion do we?

>>13169426
Not trying to be one of those posters saying "Oh god we have no chance, we can never win" but I don't see how cutting off Lord Dyron is even possible. They have the river to help keep them supplied and just the sheer amount of men will prevent us from sitting around the area to keep them cut off from land supplies. And if they're so militant, I'm going to imagine they'll have some kick ass men/units amongst them. Especially since a lot of them are veterans.

>>13169448
No. We are punishing them.

>>13169448
My understanding is that we're planning to conquer the area between our two nations, not any part of Uurlanth itself.

>>13169426
Dammit, I want to raid the southlands so much now. Delicious plunder, it would be wonderful.

Still, taking out a half-dozen border forts is probably as good as we'll get.

>>13169448
>we are planning on bringing the villages we conquer under the control of the empire right?
No we're not. This is a punishment campaign, pure and simple.

>>13169448

No we're not.

The objective of the strikes is to weaken the uurlanthian economy and infrastructure such that they will not be able to consider attacking us again for awhile.

>>13169448
>also, we are planning on bringing the villages we conquer under the control of the empire right?

No. We will be raiding Uurlanth territory, and that PROBABLY won't be conquered. And if it is, they will be stationing huge garrisons there anyway and rebellion won't be an issue.

>>13169457
We could have a couple lightning fast raids in the south with Blackbird and the Ghosts; they go in, grab anything not nailed down and torch the rest, then get out.
Their fortress garrisons will have to deplete themselves to increase patrols, even though our units are no longer in the area.

>>13169448
>no, the goal here is to cow Uurlanth, as this is the second time they have attacked Degnar in your lifetime, fourth time during the current Emperors/Praetorian cadres lifetimes. This is a "bitch you finally pushed us too far" war.

"Janos, do you know how the towers and forts communicate with each other?" you ask, hoping he has visited with the Lords in that area enough to know.

"Most of the towers have signal fires, though a few have arcane signalers, like the forts cut into the cliff. Of course, these can be read and destroyed, so they have a small reserve stable of messenger riders for anything more complex than an attack warning." Janos replies, sitting on one of the stools in the room "I'm going to have to repeat this all at the staff meeting, arent I?"

"Yes, yes you will." you reply, smirking.

>>13169489
Depends if Dyron has air cavalry or not. Hell any cavalry really. Looting like that will slow them down, so if they're chased by any fast units they'll be screwed.

rolled 49 = 49

>>13169426
So List as it is:

Cross between Dyron and Lost Conflux causing confusion between the command structure to give us more leeway/time in getting further into the Uurlanth territory.

Cross above Lost Conflux while avoiding 2 lords apparently. No garrison to fight us where we cross, and we can make our way behind enemy lines unnoticed and move south towards Dyron to the rich parts of this area and start looting/pillaging.

Either way, it depends on the intel Janos gives us.

>>13169483
Oh, I misunderstood. In that case let the raping and pillaging commence!

>>13169457

Mmm, the thing is we're looking at it from the Empire's point of view.

All legions are equal and will be supplied.

This, is not true for the uurlanthians.

Lord Dyron's land surrounds the keep, not from upstream. If we burn his food supplies, he'll have to beg, buy or borrow from other lords to keep his forces fed. Even then, they'll try to fuck him over. Their politics are like that.

This time of confusion will allow us to rapidly move through his area and destroy as much of his supplies and support base as we can.

If we burn the villages, the levied men will desert and probably a large number of the full military as well since their families are in danger.

Without support, their armies will crumble.

>>13169498

Recitation: "Simply put, I want your kinsmen to severely regret starting another war with us. I won't unnecessarily slay commoners, that's just not in my blood. But I will make sure this becomes a very costly war for those holding the reigns."

>>13169526
I'm aware his lands aren't upstream but I'm not going to put it past the guy that he can get supplies from the guys in the south along the river. A) For him to sustain an army that size, he will likely have a nice store of food and money. He'll likely have mercs on top of the numbers Janos mentioned. B) Any leftover money he has could be used to purchase more food from the lords in the south. C) Some of the lords may try to fuck him but if the Uurlanth are confident in their victory or one of them are smart, they'll do Dynor a favour and give him the food easily. This way one of the more militant lords on the west owes them a huge favour for letting his army not starve and his lands not get taken as badly.

Without more intel or a solid plan, I don't see how taking Dynor is possible. That river really screws us in choking it off.

rolled 69 = 69

>>13169526
We can do this by evacuating the villagers, telling them to take their valuables, burning the houses and villages to the ground after looting, then moving on. No need to kill or rape anyone >>13169518 ,>>13169465 ,>>13169463 , though, killing may and probably will happen. Fact of the matter is, Dyron though being the military man he is, will be easy to passively get rid of by doing this strategy. We then can just move directly south into the delicious plunder area.

Pax, we need to ask Janos about the two options I stated above.

>>13169526
>If we burn the villages, the levied men will desert and probably a large number of the full military as well since their families are in danger.
I think the key here is to do enough damage so that the soldiers will desert, but once that happens back off on the burninating, so that the argument of "What is one man going to do to defend his family against an entire maniple" won't come up, and we maintain the illusion that going back to their families will keep them safe.

>>13169545
>Without more intel or a solid plan, I don't see how taking Dynor is possible. That river really screws us in choking it off.
Seize an area of the river a ways north of the fort. Hold it long enough to raise large spikes just under the surface using elementalism. Then sSeize an area of the river a ways south south of the fort. Again, spikes.

Resupply by water then ceases to be a problem.

>>13169554
>telling them to take their valuables
Uh, I think you are misunderstanding something here. They don't take their valuables. We do.

>>13169545

Also, the main strike force will be behind us in a week. Their main force will be occupied and pinned down, trying to hold the line.

We only have to survive a week, then we can, crush, burn and pillage as much as Dyron's support base and supplies as we can to shorten the fighting at the front.

rolled 70 = 70

>>13169554
Also, in addition to this, if you think that he will send out a force that is actually sizable enough to deal with us, we will be doing our Empire's objective. Because the Legions on the offense will move on his fort while it is undermanned and we can just outrun his men with superior tactics, morale, and tech.

Also, I've been wondering, we are wearing a red cape/cloak right Pax?

>>13169572
Hmm. Possible.

Now that I think about it though, I think we're jumping the gun in some ways. Our main mission is to make the crossing easier for the main force. Within a week of us arriving there, the main force is going to assault the fort we bypassed meaning we likely have a week or two on our own time before others arrive. Unless we're damn unlucky. Maybe we should focus on taking out as many river crossing as we can and then worry about hitting their nice juicy cities when the main force has begun to arrive?

>>13169572
Oh man, that will DESTROY shipping in the river. I love it!

>>13169587

Answer: we damn well better be! we had that crimson-dyed valkyrie feather pimp cape ordered ten threads ago!

rolled 25 = 25

>>13169577
I'm talking valuables they can carry on their person. Uurlanth currency probably isn't on their mind. They are probably gonna want to take their work implements, tools, and a little bit of food to survive.

>>13169554
>telling them to take their valuables
No, they can only take what they can carry. Large families with children and babies will be allowed to their wagon, if they have one, but it will be searched for war materials that will need to be confiscated.
They will undoubtedly try to sneak valuables out, but the question will be if they do that, or take food and clothing, which will likely be more important, with them.

>>13169590

Exclamation: Mother of twelve bastards, you're right! We could totally fuck up their shipping route for years by simply laying a shitton of spikes in the river! We need to do this as we cross.

>>13169599
>Uurlanth currency probably isn't on their mind.
Okay, if you were fleeing for your life would you take:
a. Food
b. a Plow
c. Money to buy food or plows later and all the valuable heirlooms you could carry

Well?

rolled 93 = 93

>>13169604
You have the right of it, I implied what you stated, just didn't think I'd need to further explain it. My bad.

Justinian in full plate with helmet?

>>13169589
>Maybe we should focus on taking out as many river crossing as we can and then worry about hitting their nice juicy cities when the main force has begun to arrive?
True; that will force the enemy lords to either attempt to stop the invading main force while they still have the advantage of being in a defensive position, or move their forces out and attempt to stop us, which will leave them in the open when the main force arrives.

You take a seat near Janos "So, would we be better off crossing between Lost Conflux and Dyrons Ford and relying on politics to keep the Lords from acting effectively, or would it be wiser to cross at the bend in the Greyrun and attack with surprise on our side?"

Janos looks at the map, and starts palming different regions off, shifting his fingers so that they cover a specific group each time. You raise an eyebrow at him "Childhood trick, to remember which lords are subservient to which." he explains sheepishly "There will be no confusion, Lost Conflux is a keep indebted to Dyrons Ford. Though the Lord is within his rights to place his personal holdings above those of his master. I would suggest crossing north, actually, now that you have me thinking of the riverlands, the Lord at Lost Conflux only has two, perhaps three professional battalions, the rest are levies. I would suggest razing the whole region as a solid start." he suggest helpfully, his face now clearly telegraphing his internal search for more information.

rolled 87 = 87

>>13169619
Even then, the currency isn't all that much to us. We just don't want them taking war materials or anything that could benefit the CURRENT situation in the Uurlanth lands. I don't mind them having stuff that would aid in reconstruction though.

>>13169554
IMO, best one so far. Just replace the rapier with a short spear.

Hmm. I just realized, now that we're the invader, we get the chance to parley with them. I wonder, do you guys think the fat nobles in the far south would be willing to pay us to leave rather than have to try to deal with an invasion force on their door? They're going to lose money either way but if they can stop us from looting like hell, they're not losing as much in the long run.

>>13169628
That sounds good. We can raid to the south too into that wealthier area once we cross, and stage pronged assaults from BOTH sides of the river on the forts overlooking crossings. I'm sad we can't raid into the richest lands of all, but maybe we can send some cavalry do do that after the main force moves into the area and ties up the garrison forces.

>>13169572
Now that I think on it, if we spend a day or two doing this, reinforcing the spikes so that they are very difficult to break, this could disrupt their shipping and trade, also fulfilling our objective of impacting the Uurlanth economy by denying them the usage of a primary trade route.

I also support this plan and implementing it wherever and whenever feasible.

rolled 7 = 7

>>13169628
"I hope your previous knowledge of the region can get us past those two lords without notice then, because that is where we will most likely be crossing then. Can you do it?"

After this, we need to talk to Degrian to get to devoting ALL his time on those wagons to get us enough. He will get all the physical labor he needs to get the wood needed through us. Also, timeskip to meeting after?

>>13169649

Statement: Effing. Brilliant.

>>13169628
Isn't the north the poorer area?

That's not our objective. If we want to hurt Uurlanth we need to hit the wealthy parts. So looting and hurting them coincide. I suggest we draw out the troops at Conflux and break them. The main force will then have a major crossing point and we will have tons of loot.

>>13169666

If we get that far.

For now we raze the north, kill anything they send out to kill us, secure as many crossings as we can, fuck up their river transportation system before we turn south to burn and pillage.

>>13169654
>but maybe we can send some cavalry do do that after the main force moves into the area and ties up the garrison forces.
Well, we did hire on another combat cavalry unit, as well as an elven spec ops unit.
We have Blackbird as well, for 3 raiding parties.

If we also make sure to capture and use horses and wagons while we're raiding so as to not slow the raiders down with loot, then this could work.

Especially if we provide the Ghosts with NV paste. Can you imagine what elven archers with NV paste could do to a military formation at night?

>>13169649
Our orders were to destroy as much of their holdings as possible. Not have them bribe us to go away.

>>13169681
Our objective is to make the crossing easier. The main objective of the counterattack is to cripple their economy. Our main goal at this point isn't loot but to help our armies get across the river. If we're not too beat up, I'm sure we can take part in the looting aspects that will take place after but I think the plan of starting in the north of that wooden fort, razaing homes and taking the wooden fort is solid. From there we can start hitting the river forts and either move deeper in land when their armies start to come after us or try to take them in an open battle and keep hitting the river forts.

rolled 76 = 76

>>13169666
devil get
>>13169649
I like the way you think.
>>13169661
We can probably do this ourselves without having the maniple travel with us. That way our maniple is still on the move. That is, depending on how confident Janos is on his ability to be our maniple's guide.

>>13169692
>Can you imagine what elven archers with NV paste could do to a military formation at night?
Dear god the thought, it's so beautiful.

>>13169693
Let me repost our orders.
>>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.
We are not supposed to cause as much damage as we can to their economy unless it helps us weaken the river holdings. Our goal is to make the crossing easier. Everyone elses job is to loot all the juicy targets sadly. That's why we need to preserve our maniple as best we can so they at least let us take part in the looting phase of the countryside when they cross. I'm hoping at least.

rolled 28 = 28

>>13169681
Pax stated, that with the wagons, we could go north, then cut south very quickly. We would just have to avoid the two nobles, however, now that I think about it. I think he meant going South we would have to avoid the two nobles, which will be easier than we think. We are BEHIND enemy lines, with a guide that knows the exact way. Also, we could travel at night without a problem with the NV Paste. I wonder what effect they would have on our horses...........

>>13169722

I don't think we can bring Janos along.

The moment someone sees him, hes a dead man.

>>13169666
Seconded

>>13169737
He got himself a nice new helmet to hide who he is. Plus he's not going into combat. As long as he's not seen it won't hurt and he has intel that could be damn useful during our campaign. Like the mercenary companies he knows that would be willing to leave Uurlanth employ. Plus, he might not be safe in the Empire until we are able to go back and vouch for him.

But how do the bases communicate?

If they use the river, that's just another reason to take it out.

rolled 44 = 44

>>13169722
We kind of have to. We can't send him back yet because we haven't arranged the fake trial nor do we want him sitting in our HQ primed to be assassinated......

>>13169737
If possible, I would like to have him brought along; military operations deep in enemy territory require local guides to be successful.
I wish we had someone good at intel ops so that we could find some disaffected peasant to bribe that could act as our local guide.

>>13169700
>The keep at Lost Conflux is wooden, but all the settlements from there to Dyrons Ford is relatively rich

Conflux is the wooden keep. We should totally take it and then sweep down into the rich areas for plunder, razing, and general havoc. We can take all the crossings as we sweep downward.

>>13169748

We'll have to speak with him about it first though. I don't think he'll be very keen. What we can do, is let him recruit his retinue from his guards and have him order one of them who is familiar with the area to follow us in.

>>13169751
See >>13169498
It's already been explained.

>>13169737
>he had a masked helm made for him already. he aims to prove his loyalty it would seem.
>So the Ghosts and Swiftriders, or did you want the outriders?
>We're nearing 400 posts, and I'm tired so I'm gonna call it for tonight, someone archive please.
>I'll be back Friday at 9pm server time
>If you have any setting/didnt fit in the thread questions just e-mail me at paxcomquest@yahoo.com

>>13169761
Yeah, I meant Lost Conflux. We cross north of it where it's undefended for the most part and aim to take it out and nearby crossings that are defended. That'll leave a nice hole in that part of the river for the rest of our forces. Then we move south and hit as many crossings as we can before Dynrons forces come to hit us since the forts will get a warning off that they're being attacked.

>>13169767
Yes, swiftriders. They are 75 instead of 50, a much better investment seeing as they are virtually the same durability.

rolled 51 = 51

>>13169767
Ghosts and swiftriders

rolled 19 = 19

>>13169778
Maximus has the gist of the plan laid out. However, we can either choose to be stealthy TILL we get into the area between Conflux and Dyron (the rich area), or we can just pillage and plunder the entire time.

Oh right - did we get a consensus on how we're going to help out Nomz?

I'm good for the ghosts and swiftriders.

>>13169793
I'm tempted to say we should stay stealthy and take out Lost Conflux while they have no clue we're here. It would be harder in some ways but the surprise factor will be huge if we can pull it off.

Thread archived.

rolled 92 = 92

>>13169808
Send all our siege, Wulf and our ranger repeaters to help him out is what I believe we had a consensus on, maybe more I think some wanted to send more.

>>13169824
Yes, I wanted to send Cornelius as heavy infantry to help shield the siege engines and rangers. Forming a shield wall, he could stop an enemy charge so that the rangers could tear the enemy apart.

>>13169793
I would say be open about it. Janos said that if they knew we were there the Conflux lord would dispatch his force to fight us. That means we won't have to deal with all those soldiers when they are behind walls, and we all know how well attacking a fort filled with soldiers worked for Morwayne.

If we can butcher him on the field the fort will fall easily.

>>13169848
I'll say no to this. Nornz didn't ask for line infantry, he asked for something to hit hard like his berzerkers did. Wulf, the siege engines, and our repeater rangers are exactly that. We don't need to send line infantry because he already has plenty of that.

>>13169863
Wrong.
>Commander Nomz reports that he needs two units to fill the gap left by his wiped out berserkers, or a way to break an enemy flank quickly. Any force multipliers or large infantry would be appreciated.
Any large infantry would be appreciated and that tends to be line infantry.

>>13169848

He also asked for force multipliers. I'd recommend sending Blackbird's force out as well.

rolled 31 = 31

>>13169873
>>13169872
I myself would feel happier to send Cornelius with the direct letter to Nomz stating he is purely for guarding the rangers and siege weapons. Further use, such as a force to ACTIVELY engage is kind of off limits. I have enough faith in the siege engines and repeaters for us to say that to him.

>>13169931
Why not just tell Nomz we have been selected as the vanguard and that we need to preserve our forces as much as possible? I'm sure he won't put them into battle unless he drastically needs to at that point since he does seem to like us and we have helped him out before with his tactics.

rolled 84 = 84

>>13169958
Either way, the combination of our letters directions work.

Also, we still have yet to write the letter in code to the Praetorian as well as have the staff meeting.

>>13169994
Not sure if the letter in code will work since I don't even know if he would know any code we know. Staff meeting will occur. Let's wait until our celebration with the men first before we hold it. We have a little under two weeks still until we have to march. Best use these 2 days until Friday to think up of ideas guys although I think we did a decent job tonight of thinking up a general plan. I'm sure new info will come up that will cause things to change as the campaign goes on.

>>13169872
>fill the gap left by his wiped out berserkers
The berserkers were not line infantry, though. Remember? He was using them as hard hitting flankers, much like our cavalry. His force gap was that he lacked that punch.

>>13169778
Just to be clear. This is our plan of attack