>though the arm isnt shrugged off either.
I am impressed at Aurelius being able to keep his arm there, or perhaps I should be disappointed at Bellatrix's taste in men.

>>13130768

I'll ask just so we don't get bitten in the ass when it is overlooked.

Can our support staff be reasonably expected to keep the prisoners in line or do we estimate a need for additional troops (or are we leaving one of the merc cav units to hold the fort for now?)

rolled 31 = 31

>>13130814
Nah man, even the less than capable womanizing types gotta get a girl too. Keep in mind, she's a young'n.

I'm tempted to step in and play the fatherly role here with Aurelius and keep a stern eye on 'em. Maybe even scare him a bit.

We should try and curb Jayne's hostility. We say that we trust him and that if she trusts us that should be enough for now until Janos is given a chance to prove himself.

>>13130768
Might want to take Jayne and Janos aside. Or at least Jayne aside. She seems mighty pissed. We can in theory deal with Aurelius and Bellatrix later while this seems like it needs immediate attention.

>>13130768

Call out to Jayne and ask her to stop.

Reassure her we know his reasons and we trust him to stand by his word.

rolled 30 = 30

>>13130870
I figured she would know of all people as to WHY he would defect. Being there at lunch with Kaitlyn n Janos n us.

Back onto more important matters:

I think we should intervene between Janos and Jayne.
Have Jayne back off, that wanting to know the motivations and history of someone with whom you will fight alongside is reasonable, but so is wanting to keep matters private and to oneself.

I don't think we need to do anything with Aurelius and Bellatrix, beyond telling her to not kill him; whatever his personal shortcomings, he's still an excellent soldier.

>>13130768
We need to stop this, and in a manner which is delicate enough that we don't appear to be stopping it. One would think that Jayne, who knows we spent a great deal of time and effort turning Janos, would have more delicacy and sense than to immediately turn to him and question his decision to give in. Yes, one can never trust a traitor, but what the fuck is she doing saying things that might alienate him? Does she WANT him to turn twice?

>>13130881
>>13130898
>>13130924

Agreed. We need to make it clear that Janos is risking enough with this as it is. There's no need to make it harder on him, or make him think twice.

You make your way over to Janos and Jayne "Now, Jayne, there is no need to be so hostile. I though you of all people would realize why Janos defected." you interject, leading them both out of the tent.

"For an Uurlanthi noble there is always a way around the laws, and each other. There are other forces at work in this mans plans, Justinian." Jayne replies, looking at you with eyes that beg for belief. "With our new assignment this could be a massive boon to both your career and my house's standing, and I will not stand for something as petty as too much trusting a fresh turncloak."

"And I would rather my newest allies think me mad." Janos replies "I would not risk what I have nor what has been offered me to the perceptions of others. especially when the madness would not be mine, even if you believed me." his voice staying even, and calmer now that he no longer needs to worry about receiving a swift blow to his skull.

There was discussion in the last thread in which the opinion was expressed that we have done poorly in this campaign. I'd just like to post my tally of all of the forces Lord Stant has put up against us so far:


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

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

Based on Finian's recon mission, the enemy now amounts to:
>-52 Valkyrie Knights
>-109 cavalry (med/heavy)
>-322 archers (longbow/elven)
>-504 melee infantry (mostly medium/heavy)

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

>>13131021
>My newwest allies *NOT* think me mad

>>13131021
"Why is this any different than the past Jayne? When Laelith joined us, you didn't threaten her questioning why she decided to help us and that threatened our campaign in the north just as much as this if she were lying. You trusted my actions then but what have I done since then to no longer deserve your trust? Do you really think I would risk someone sabotaging our campaign that easily and just accepting his help without good cause?"

>>13131130
Seconding.

Why is it quiet all of a sudden?

>>13131146
No clue. Posting seems to be working so unless people aren't sure what to say, I have no idea why this suddenly got abandoned.

>>13131159

I feel sleep overtaking me. It is a bad pain.

>>13131052
Hmmm... let's pretend to be making another camp/fort somewhere else to force them to move out, then we either let it "fall" while we counterattack or use all the gathered materials to burn everything down.

We could even get the valkiries this way, since, zero visibility takes them out from open battle

>>13131146
Sorry, I was doing the laundry.

>>13131130
I don't know if we should be so combative, but I fail to see a better alternative.

She's just being protective of us. She sees this as a way to help both her house and our prestige, leading eventually to marriage. It's only natural that she would try as hard as she can to make it work.

Let's propose the following: Jayne guards Janos. It will allow him to walk around camp freely if he appears to be constantly under guard and it will allow Jayne to determine if he is telling the truth for herself. Win/Win.

>>13131180
The same trick won't work twice on the tactical son. They can't afford to go on an offensive attack with the dark still on. Most likely they'll hunker down until the sun is up and that'll give them full advantage of their valks and elven archers again. As painful as it'll be, we kind of have to hit them now in the dark.

>>13131180
Consensus was that we can't avoid a pitched battle any longer, and we're preparing for that while we have the advantage of the Festival of the Black Sun and the NVG paste.

As it is, I doubt they'd fall for the same ploy twice.

>>13131130
That's a little harsh, in my opinion, but it's very true that if Jayne had concerns her proper course should have been to bring them to us, NOT to confront the person she's worried about with them.

Sure, he might betray us. But what's he going to do? He's still being kept under guard and treated as a prisoner. This attack, at least, should go off well regardless of his actions, and he won't be with us on the follow-up campaign unless I've misinterpreted something.

>>13131196
I dunno, she might give him a hard time in that arrangement.

I'd be more comfortable with Sansa or someone who isn't quite as...intense around him.

>>13131180
I don't think we have enough time for such a plan; there are only 2 days left in the Black Festival, and once sunlight returns, so does Stant's aerial cavalry.

We need to hit them with everything we have, moving our siege weapons and archers silently into range before launching a devastating alpha strike.

My only concern is if the enemy has already gotten on the move as well, since their current encampment no longer offers them defensive advantages, and they may be expecting just this sort of attack.

>>13131221
>>13131194
I agree it's a little harsh but I'm not sure what else to say to make it lighter. If you guys have suggestions, go for it.

>>13131196
That might work to make it a little less harsh.

"How is this any different from when I turned Laelith in the north?" you question Jayne, accepting Janos reason for holding off on his other motives for now "Is my judgment less worthy of trust than it was then?"

Jayne returns her face from the pleading look she was giving you "Laelith had nothing left but us, you severed her every bond save the one you offered her almost beyond a hope in a dream of repair. Forgive my rudeness, but all this man must do to be redeemed in his fathers eyes, thus allowing him to keep his beloved, is offer you up to his father or brothers. Now that he has near total knowledge of our plans and disposition I would be a fool to not pursue any possibility of deceit." Jayne replies calmly, though she still seems intent of hearing Janos other reasons for desertion, it would seem your words had most of the desired effect on her.

An idea strikes you as you walk with the pair "Jayne, if it would help ease your nerves, I will turn guard of Janos over to you. Though I must insist that he be allowed freedom of the camp, and that you supervise him at those times he takes that offer."

"I... I would rather not be seen about camp until the prisoners have been taken, lest they betray the fact that I still live once you ransom them back to house Stant." Janos interjects, though it seems he wants to assuage Jaynes nerves as well.

>>13131227
Not only that, but having an obviously Legion escort would be better than having a merc (even if she is from a noble house) do it.

And we'll need Janos to write that letter to his father saying he's taking full responsibility for the slave tactic.
Should we have the prisoners told of Janos Stant's sacrifice?

>>13131256

Are we ransoming them back? I thought we were just going to get them transferred for now.

>>13131280
I think he means when the war is over.

>>13131261
>Should we have the prisoners told of Janos Stant's sacrifice?

Doesn't sound like it would be standard procedure in such a situation.

Which reminds me: Should we have him sent off to DragonsReach as soon as the relief force arrives, or keep him hidden at our camp?

Because if we defeat his brothers here it might be a bit tricky to keep his whereabouts secret if we capture his brothers (and hopefully his father).

>>13131280
>well, Its kind of assumed that prisoners get ransomed home once the war is over.

>>13131256
Rather than give him free reign, why not let Jayne take care of guarding him whenever he is let out about. I assumed we were keeping Janos under lock until this campaign with Stant was done or until the prisoners were gone. Also, we should find out if he has decided if we should fake his death or if he'll take the blame for using the slaves for his family or not.

>>13131304
I had assumed we keep him with us for the campaign. He probably has an idea on who's controlling what in their lands and we need to find out from him how likely it would be on Lord Stant telling the other lords if his sons have been captured or not. If not, we might be able to use him to fool some of our later opponents with false intelligence from the Stant's after our next victory.

>>13131304

We can keep him here first.

If we capture the brothers, we can easily send an outrider to the camp to make sure that Janos is hidden.

Else we can go the other route and let them 'meet one last time' before we send Janos to the capital.

>>13131308
>Also, we should find out if he has decided if we should fake his death or if he'll take the blame for using the slaves for his family or not.

Agreed. Our plans for the immediate future will really depend on which option we go for to cover up his defection.

>>13131318
Actually, once we start going on the offensive in Uurlanth lands, we need to get some census data or something similar, to let us know where the prime pickings are.
We need to take a few pages out of pic related's handbook.

>>13131360
I was just thinking, if we take out both Stant brothers tonight, we can in theory fake a letter from them to the fort telling them they captured intel from our empire saying there would be an assault in three weeks and that force would be marching past them. Way north of the position so they should prepare an ambush. It'd make the attacking forces that are going to hit the fort have an easier job taking it down if a chunk of them are further up north waiting in an ambush that will never go off. Assuming the idea is feasible at least.

you sigh "Jayne, perhaps then you should speak with Janos and Kaitlyn more frequently, get to know them as I have. While I do believe you that we should be informed of Janos' other reasons for taking a crimson cloak, for now I simply cannot overlook the great help he will provide us during the coming campaign." Jaynes shoulders fall slightly, but she smiles as she takes her leave, leaving you with Janos "Now then, friend, have you decided on how you wish to go about finalizing your severing of ties with Uurlanth?"

Janos doesnt turn his head from the small wooden structure you are headed for as he replies "I will write a letter for the Stants telling them how the youngest of their number decided to give his life to save them from execution as war criminals. I would rather not deal with vengeful House Stant assassins accosting us and betraying the fact that I yet live to our foes. Bloodhunters are a most unpleasant foe to deal with." he replies as he enters his room, where Kaitlyn is reclining in the couples cot, half-asleep. "I shall have the letter prepared by the time you return. And I will tell you all of my reasons for betraying my family before too long." he adds as you close the door behind him.

>anything else you want to do before you get on the march?

>>13131476

Which units are we bringing?

We leaving a garrison?

Might want to leave our depleted merc here.

>>13131495
>you tell me...

I don't think we need a garrison or if we do, it'll be thread bare. They don't have the forces to take us on and with our scouts and NV paste, we should be able to tell if they're coming. I don't believe Finian said they were making move to march and with their lack of torches, it would be pretty suicidal to fight. Janos said they would likely want a pitched battle and a siege isn't that.

In terms of other things... Don't think there's anything unless people want to talk to NPCs or check up on Bellatrix on how she's dealing with Aurelius.

>>13131501

How many men do we estimate would be required to keep the prisoners in check?

>>13131535

We did make that promise with the mercs. If we leave them both here we'll have our garrison, freeing up our other infantry units.

>>13131538
50 or so. (hint, your merc cav iss to beat to hell to fight really, so you may as well leave them)

>>13131548
While this is true, when we rout the enemy I kind of want them there to hunt down the elves. We don't even need to use them in battle, we keep them in reserve to hunt down fleeing units. Specifically the elves.

>>13131501
I'm for taking everyone with us, including all of the siege weaponry, and leaving behind the light elven infantry mercs as garrison and keeping watch over the prisoners.

This battle will likely require a hammerblow of heavy infantry, and we can use the merc cavalry as patrols to eliminate outlying Uurlanth patrols in the darkness while we sneak our artillery and archers into range of their encampments.

Also, I think we should have the Rapid Riders ride ahead of our main force to confirm that the enemy is still within their encampment. The RapidRiders are our fastest units, and we need to know that the enemy is still where we think they are.

Let's find Jayne, give her a big hug/kiss, and tell her thanks for watching out for us. Say we know that she is worried and that we understand her fears... and that we are no fool.

She was only trying to help, we should let her know that we appreciated it.

Geh. I guess we did tell the riders we'd not use them in battle. Maybe we should leave them behind, as much as I'd love to keep them around for chasing units down. I really want to wipe out those elves but I suppose a few well placed volleys could do the same job.

Tactical runtime engaged.

Greeting: Hello, meatbags.

Statement: we should leave behind the mercs and a few of our crossbows. Everyone else is going to the fight.

>>13131556
So, the Esperitus Raiders, and maybe part of the Impetus Marauders?

I'd like to keep the Rapid Riders as scouts because of their speed, but if people think we should leave both cavalry merc units behind, then I suppose we could have some of our Shades take that role instead.

rolled 44 = 44

Back from dinner clean-up.

I say we take everyone but the Raiders. Have them be our "garrison." Also, we should probably have the riders do as suggested with the forward scouting and then sitting in reserve for us to signal them to run down the elves. Hell, do we have enough, "upkeep" staff to stay behind as a garrison, Pax?

>>13131664
not quite, but now that you mention it, a the raiders, combined with your elementalists in training could do it

>>13131677

Then we just leave them. We need everyone else we can muster for this mission.

>>13131677
Wait, before we do that, the gate HAS been repaired right? Assuming there's no easy entry, those men alone should be able to hold it with what the enemy has. Which is nothing that can actually breach the walls.

I second keeping the Raiders in the fort as a garrison force, with some legionaries as well.

How many ballistas do we have currently? I say we ought to have at least one still at the fort to discourage any incursions by those elven archers who keep bothering us every so often. They make make a bolder move if they see us go out to march in force and leave only a small garrison force.

I'd say we need AT LEAST 80 soldiers at the fort to make sure it's safe.

>>13131706
80 is a lot though

>>13131727
50 is the minimum needed to keep the prisoners under control.

With those elven SpecOps guys skulking about I'd like a bit of insurance.

>>13131706
> you have 6 heavy repeaters.
>so the sonsensus is to just leave the Raiders and take everyone else then?

>>13131737
You make a good point. I guess we should leave behind one of the ballistae and crew, the Espiritus Raiders, and other miscellaneous soldiers for a garrison of 80.
It'll hurt us in our assault, but I don't want to risk Stant taking our fort.

>>13131840
I can back that up. No point potentially throwing the entire campaign away and with the darkness and their lack of torches, we should be able to get a nice salvo or two into their ranks before they really react. Unless they smartened up with the scouts.

Query: Pax, a question about our elementalism, and a possible theatrical use thereof. How draining would it be to make small quakes every time Justinian takes a step, while in battle? This runtime asks because it believes we should make efforts to start a dread rumor amongst our foes, perhaps that when Commander Trentz walks, the earth shakes with the weight of all the foes he has and ever will slay.

>>13131840
That reminds me: Pax, have we had shields built into our ballistas to protect the crew? That is a must.

>>13131874
>you could keep it up for a few seconds before you pass out at this point (a quake large enough to effect the whole field every step... during a battle)
>yes you did

>>13131937

Clarification: Not ones that big. More like a 40-50 foot radius.

>>13131972
Wouldn't that just... screw up whatever unit of our own troops we're accompanying?

>>13131991
Yeah, I think so. The whole earthquake idea isn't that good either. It might work if they all believed in the old gods but we don't know about that and I rather use our abilities to fight rather than potentially scaring some of their units.

>that done, I will attempt to herd cats again.
just leave the raiders, or something extra? I do want to start this battle before next session...

Statement: It was a thought. This runtime had been watching Batman Begins and was thinking of theatrical uses for our elementalism to elicit fear with our enemies.

>>13132028
Yeah, leave the radiers, a baillistae and some assorted other troops to have around 80 troops garrison. Thought we decided that above.

>>13132028
Statement: This runtime votes for leaving behind a total of 80 troops, including the raiders and whomever else is in the majority running with the other voters to be left behind.

rolled 16 = 16

We should also probably get Blackbird and Co. to march with us as well. All the extra troops will help.

>>13132028
The Raiders, a ballista and crew, and assorted others, pulled from the two infantry merc outfits as necessary, to leave a garrison of 80 soldiers.

After a few minutes you have the Espiritus Raiders standing down and preparing a watch. You pull 15 men from Finians scouts and Cornelius' units, and another 20 from the Cornwal mercenaries. The early portion of the march goes slow, as you allow Gaius and Uurist to have their units practice their newest formation. by the end of two hours worth of slow marching, the Warlords are able to empty from the tetsudo in a matter of seconds, and the unit combined barely moves any slower than it normally would. Confident that they are ready you instruct them to go to normal marching. about halfway through the march Sansa walks up to you on Spite, jostling past Scaly and Fluffy to get next to you. "So, what is the plan, Justinian?" she asks, curious as to what you settled on past assaulting the enemy camp.

>>13131306
On this, of POWs getting ransomed back, Didnt you say some Prisoners of war turned up as gladiators, indentured servants, and test prisoners for those fights we had in the beginning?

>>13132183
"Assuming we can get close enough without being spotted, their lack of torches will let us get in rather close. I was thinking of having our scouts, rangers and hunters harass them and move position so their archers cannot fire back as accurately. Either the enemy will have to sit there and take it or they'll march out of the safety of their torches and that's when we'll strike or pick them off. If they spot us before we reach them, I imagine we'll have to sit in for a pitched battle."

rolled 30 = 30

>>13132183
"Simple, winning. The boys have come up with a combined unit formation to allow for a normal speed but safer advancement on the enemy. Hopefully, it will pay off."

Pax, I understand the principles behind us being able to use different formations and modify our maniple units. How is it looked upon by the Empire to modify the vanilla of their troops?

>>13132183
(Wasn't she already in the staff meeting?)

"No more messing about. This time we take them on directly. Gaius and Uurist will be having their units' mobile formations close in on the enemy archers to take them out as quickly as possible. We keep everyone under the protection of our ranged units and the ballistas. Besides that it all depends on how the Stants deploy their forces this time."

>>13132183

Statement: I proposed a plan several threads ago regarding who goes where, at least as far as our elementalists goes.

Justinian: hunting the mounted guard
Leilith: hunting the flootslogger guard
Wulf: hunting valkyrie riders

Query:Any other ideas?

>>13132221
>that or ransom. some men are worth money, some arent.

>>13132226
Oh right, I forgot about the scouts and the rangers being deployed to harass them.

>>13132226
Seconding this.
To elaborate, we silently move the siege weapons and archers into range while light infantry skirmishers and Hunters eliminate enemy patrols.

I think we should place the mercs and Cornelius between the siege weapons/archers and the enemy encampment, while Uurist and Gaius stay out of sight until the enemy elven archers are spotted attempting to form up for volley fire. That's when they rush the elven archers and smash them while our conventional forces keep the enemy's infantry stalled so that our artillery/archers can volley fire into their ranks. They'll never know what hit'em.

>>13132226
With luck, we'll catch them completely off guard, their walls are gone, in an open field that we have mapped out, and the torch light doesnt spread that far. We could encircle them and charge in, or hit them from their weakest, or strongest side to gain the advantage of ground or numbers.
I shall take great pleasure in crushing the Stant sons."

>>13132265
Oh, right, the Rangers.

Then the siege weapons should remain silent until their elven archers are beginning to form up, then pound them with artillery so that they're off-balance as Uurist and Gaius crash into them. As soon as they're taken care of, the heavy repeaters and ballistae can then switch target to enemy infantry formations while our heavy infantry keeps them stalled with a shield wall.

>>13132344
I'd say we would probably only be able to spare having one or two of the ballistas firing on their formations IF they've already got their Valkyries airborne. We'll need the AA fire.

Here's hoping they won't be able to do much in this light (or lack thereof).

>>13132384
They can't deploy their valkyries, though.
They can't judge their altitude in complete darkness and it would be suicide for them to launch during this week.

Pax, can the valkyries be launched at all?

>>13132244
>which you ended by slamming your fist onto the table and ordering that you are going to attack and crush them before the week ends, then sending everyone off to get their troops ready... after asking about more long game plans.

You offer her your hand, which she accepts. After helping her into your saddle you out your other hand back to your reins, trapping her between spites head, your body, and your arms. "A well supported frontal asault. You will work with Aurelius' unit and Laelith to deal with any enemy patrols, once that is done the balistae will begin to fire into the enemy units. The chaos should allow Gaius and Uurist to execut their plan to deal with the elven archers, alongside the rest of our infantry, which will smash the enemy infantry. By then Wulf will lead a detachment of men to take out the Valkerie knights, while I will lead Jayne and her cavalry to deal with Morwayne Stants bodyguard" you explain your plan plainly.

"A complex plan." Sansa replies, leaning into you "I should have expected nothing less of you. But what will you have me doing after the scouts have been taken care of? And why did you allow Collin to loin the march? His recovery thus far has been incredible, but to fight now could be the death of him..."

>>13132444
Wait, how long have we given him to recover?

And who said to bring him long with us?

rolled 10 = 10

>>13132480
he got divine'd healins, he will be fine, maybe not up to his old self, but he can still make a fine mist of any fighter on the field most likely.

>>13132480
>god gift means he'll be back at 100% before the battle

>>13132444

Recitation: "Simply put, it is because I have faith in him. The rest of my command staff, as well, mind you."

>>13132491
Oh good. And here I though we didn't give it enough time for that boon to do all it could.

>>13132444
I'm assuming Collin will be up and running by the time we reach there but if not, I don't think we should let him into battle. I also think it's time we start to clue in some of our closer retinue about the gods at this point, since it might make Janos' life easier.

"Harass whatever units you can with the hunters and lend support as you see fit. With the darkness as your cover, you'll have free reign to keep those elves distracted or hit those valkyrie's in the air. If possible, perhaps you can help get Laelith get close enough to take our their torches but don't take any unnecessary risks. In regards to Collin... Have you heard what's happened with Kyria's arm? Let's just say something similar will occur with Collin by the time we reach battle."

>>13132250

Perhaps Lealith and Wulf could each grab 5 scouts/rangers to accompany them (so 10 men off the line). The two groups use the darkness to shield themselves from enemy archers picking them off and move to where their elementalist skills are needed.

Wulf: moves to where enemy heavy infantry are located and unleashes leaping a bolt of lightning, then he and his group withdraw behind the line, either repeating the process or moving to the next target depending on the enemy's reaction.

Lealith: much the same as Wulf, but she aims to either extinguish an enemy unit's torches while they're in melee with our units (denies enemy archers the light they need for accuracy) or she uses the enemy torches to immolate the bearers, spreading fire and hopefully panic through their ranks. Her objective is to disrupt enemy formations, which should allow our forces in combat either an advantage or allow them to break the enemy unit more easily.

the 5 men assigned to each elementalist are to protect them from arrow fire with shields, keep the enemy at bay to allow them to concentrate, and if necessary, hold the enemy back while the elementalist flees to a safer location.

>>13132532
While it would be effective, I'd feel better if we had properly outfitted the two of them with armor before sending them in to frontline combat like that.
Increase the guard detail to 7 men each, and I'll feel better about it.

>>13132511
I agree. Sansa already knows about our elementalism, and that we've started training other elementalists. She should be able to accept the return of the gods.

>>13132562
the idea is that they never actually enter combat unless forced. They would skirt the edges/backsides of friendly units, strike with their elementalism, and withdraw.

basically elementalist skirmishers with a small bodyguard taking advantage of the night to shield them from enemy ranged fire.

>>13132593
As I said, increase the bodyguard detail to 7 men each, and I'll agree to it.

I gotta go afk now, but I'll monitor this thread on my phone.

Make sure to have the men keep alert during the battle guys/

>>13132627

I've got no problem with each grabbing 7.

Would like some input from more than just one person on the idea, though

>>13132723
As long as they stay out of direct combat, are moving to avoid archer fire and are damn careful about fighting. I honestly don't want to risk our retinue members like that so much but if I disagree, it'd be 2v1 so there's no point on that.

Okay, to put our plan in one place for easy analysis and acceptance:

We silently move our heavy repeaters and ballistae into range of the enemy encampment while our Hunters and Rangers eliminate enemy patrols.

Once our artillery, archers, and heavy infantry are in position, Sansa and Kyria, with the Hunters and Rangers, will do shoot and scoot to harass the enemy.

If they only send out large scout patrols, then we'll encircle them and annihilate them.
Once they start forming up battle lines, our artillery, heavy repeaters, and archers will range in on the elven archers to keep them off-balance long enough for Uurist and Gaius to smash them.
Our other infantry units will form a shield wall and keep the enemy forces in one place, so that our own ranged units can pour fire into the enemy from the darkness.

Wulf is to lead a contingent to kill the valkyries while they're still on the ground and prevent them from launching.

Justinian and Coll, with a squad of heavy infantry will find the nobles and attack them.

Now, should Laelith and Wulf, after they're done with their immediate objectives, form back up with Justinian for his attack on the nobles' bodyguard elite?
Remember, these guys were able to actually beat Coll to standstill (granted it took 4 of them at once, but they've still got like 50 left).

"I have it on good word that he will be fully recovered by the time the battle is joined." you reply. Sansa shrugs, and at that starts to doze off... not that you can really blame her for the ploy, she will be busy on the morrow.

The rest of the march goes quietly, both Wulf and Laelith accepting the small force to guard them in their assignments. Sansa and Aurelius make short work of the scouts, while you set your men up around the enemy camp. It would seem Morwayne has his soldiers sleeping in shifts under the starry sky, while holding rough positions. Once the assault starts the men will most likely be up and prepared to fight in relatively short order, as for the most part the only garb they have left is their armor.

>how do you want to deploy?

>>13132761

change that to justinian and jaynes cav wing attacking the noble bodyguad and you've got it right

The alternative for Laelith and Wulf is to have them with a bodyguard detail and have them move to trouble spots in the battle, lending their elementalist abilities.

A third alternative is to wait for the battle to be well in hand enough that Laelith and Wulf's presence won't be needed on the main battle line, and then join up with them to take on the nobles' bodyguards. They're likely to be heavily armored, so Wulf's lightning would come in really handy.

>>13132774

Tactical Appraisal: Justinian needs to be in a position to wreck shop on the mounted guard. We single-handedly murdered the last mounted group sent to deal with us, so it seems only natural.

>>13132774
Interesting... The valks aren't there. I am troubled by this. Are they in the air Pax or no sight of em?

For sure we need to deploy so our main lines are in range with our siege weapons and get our rangers, scouts and hunters in range to fire off a salvo. I imagine we might get off two before they have to move so we make sure there's one massive salvo that goes off concentrated on their archers. Elven ones specifically. Time to think how we should deploy...

Please tell me we've hauled our catapult out here too? That thing was awesome and we already know it can be deployed on the field. Since we brought our other siege engines I assume we have it too.

>>13132774
Have all of our artillery ranged on the northern elven archer group, and all of our heavy repeaters on the southern elven archer group.
Will it be possible to have Uurist and Gaius move their units around to the other side, so that they have an uninterrupted charge straight into the rears of the elven archers and the longbowmen?

Our heavy infantry should be on the southern side to counteract the enemy's heavy infantry, and our lighter infantry positioned to the north to do the same.

Our elven merc Marauders should charge in behind Gaius and Uurist, I think.
The Warlords and Legionnaires will be the heavy fist to smash into the archers, and the Marauders can follow up to clean up, while Gaius and Uurist now have to worry about the enemy noble guard and men-at-arms.

>>13132828
>no sight, but they arent airborne either

>>13132774

we should focus arty fire on the mercs and men at arms so that uurist and gaius can execute their plan to take care of the elven archers

justinian and jaynes wing should charge the mounted noble and his guards

the levy swordsmen will probably rout if we charge them or focus fire on them so they shouldnt be a problem

>>13132774
With their lines as it is, we can't rely on Gaius' and Uurist's formation at this point. I say we let the warlords hold the center and give them their re-match with the noble infantry. Cornelius and Gaius will also hold the center on their flanks. Have the elven infantry mercs we have in reserves to assist whoever needs it with a flank. Cornwall mercs on the south to deal with the noble cavalry, while we have the siege engines behind our main lines. Rangers, scouts and hunters should be further up initially so our siege engines and them can all let off a massive volley at once, with the siege weapons focused on the flank with the levy swords and the archers and crossbows on the elven archers. At that point, they should fall back and harass from the dark but close enough that they can still act as AA from the valks. The raptors are used exclusively for hunting down units that run from the field of battle, especially the archers.

Disagreements/agreements? Am I forgetting any units?

>>13132875
Since we have the time (we're the ones dictating when this engagement begins) and if there's no terrain preventing it, should we have Uurist and Gaius attack the archers from their undefended rear?
Or do you expect it to be trapped all to Hell and back?

>>13132875

Wulf should be somewhere opposite the enemy heavy mercs. That way his lightning will be near enemy units that are armored and likely to have it jump through multiple men. (Noble body guard before they mix with our heavy infantry, heavy mercs, and armored sergeants)

Lealith might be better suited to torching the lighter infantry on the opposite (top?) flank.

i like your deployment :D

>>13132899
I wouldn't expect it to be trapped as hell but I wasn't sure if that'd be possible and if our lines could afford it. Our front line will be pretty small if we did that. Plus, I'm not sure how much I like the idea of them sitting in the middle of their lines in the torch light. Unless we do a mass charge when they do that, they're going to get ripped apart by mass numbers and they can't engage both elven archer units without leaving their flanks wide open. I think it might be too messy. Better to use the darkness in my mind.

Tactical Appraisal: Perhaps they are hoping we would attempt a back attack? Look closely. The archers look like bait in the middle of a waiting pair of jaws to me.

Conclusion: attack the archers with our own archers and war machines. And, again, have Justinian in a position to use his fissures on the mounted guard unit.

>>13132875

have justinian and jayne's wing supporting the cornwall mercs and you've got a deal

Dragon Quest hasn't been up lately, so I've taken to reading Commander Quest in the archives.

I SHALL JOIN YOU ALL NEXT WEEK IN GLORIOUS WAIFU GETTAN, BATTLEFIELD COMMANDAN, AND ELEMENTALAN

Just wanted to give Pax a heads up that I think this is fantastic thusfar.

rolled 73 = 73

>>13132936
Right. Jayne. I'll consent to that. I think the flank with the levy swords will fall quick enough so our cavalry should be there to respond to their cavalry and I don't mind us being there. I was torn between us being there for the cavalry or to deal with the noble infantry to be honest. Also, test roll.

rolled 48 = 48

>>13132957
Hmmm. This is an alarming sign. Mayhaps I shall not roll tonight unless there aren't enough people.

>>13132918
Though im a little sad that 'once the assault start they'll be combat prepared in moments' and not falling over their britches to have their armor put on, Especially those in full plate, if the assault starts They do not have the time to put on full plate.

Our little firebug though, would be better suited to cooking the men in heavy armor, they are already walking on heavy feet, but when the entire suit is lik an oven, men might pass right out from heat stroke.

>>13132925
Alright, I accept your argument.

I suggest having Justinian and Jayne support the Cornwall mercs if they're going up against the noble's cavalry. Dual pikes and earth elementalism to destroy their horses.

Also, I suggest keeping our units far back, and having our artillery, heavy repeaters, archers and crossbows fire into their heavy mercs and nobles, and their elven archers.
Force them to come to us in order to engage; that will give our heavy repeaters time to fill them full of bolts while they close to engagement range, and it gives us more chances to eliminate any torches they have.

rolled 65 = 65

>>13132952
If you read the archives quick enough, you can likely join us during the week. Always nice to see more people in this quest to have more thoughts and strategies.

>>13132774
Why present them with a single force to deploy against? We have enough reliable subcommanders that sending a force- particularly a cavalry and/or ranged force- completely around behind them is well within our capabilities. If they try to put their heavy troops between us and the archers, then hit them from an angle where their heavies are not.

Basically, the image there needs to have black empty space on all sides of the enemy force.

Terrible imagery attached.

rolled 75 = 75

And a test roll

rolled 60 = 60

>>13132984
Let's just be sure we have some units loaded to act as AA. Make sure after the first salvo, our units have staggered fire so someone will be available to take out any incoming valks.

rolled 94 = 94

engaging test roll

rolled 48 = 48

>>13132993
Because they're not stupid. To leave their flank open like that? There must be a reason and I rather not leave that up to chance. I don't think it's a coincidence we can't see their valk units. I just hope they don't start lighting fires across the terrain... Maybe we should scout it out, with the reason they don't have many torches is because they used it to litter the terrain with a way to make light. Laelith might need to run around to put out fires now if that is the case.

rolled 93 = 93

>>13132957
>>13132986
>>13132995
>>13132999
>>13133016

Observation: Well, this is off to a wonderful start.

rolled 93 = 93

>>13132993
...

I Like It.
Their lights go out, only vague shapes lit up from men far away from them slashing out at them.

The archers are hard pressed to find targets, only sending out guess shots, As bears and arrows Tear into their rear!

rolled 77 = 77

test rollin'

rolled 10 = 10

>>13133021
>they used it to litter the terrain with a way to make light
...could they have built a number of criss-crossing trenches filled with pitch and anything that will burn, to light up the entire battlefield?
I mean, that would also allow their soldiers to fight with both hands, instead of using one to carry a torch.

We should really have some of our Shades check the battlefield for something like that.

>>13133039

well that was promising........

rolled 27 = 27

Statement: what happened to that bullshit about /tg/'s dice wanting to roll low?

rolled 91 = 91

>>13133021
Because each battle has been frontal, them moving to hit us or us moving to hit them.

Maybe, Creed son thinks us That stupid.

rolled 22 = 22

>>13133051
They only want to roll low on d20s. d100s are all high.

rolled 77 = 77

>>13133056
Three bad rolls, 70s, 90sx2

rolled 8 = 8

>>13133056
Since we have the time, why don't we spend the resources to find out?

Scout out the battlefield, both in front of us and behind the enemy's archers to see if there are traps there or not.

>>13133021
It might be a trap, sure. But by the same token, wouldn't we be incredibly foolish not to prepare for the opportunity that it isn't? If we don't send anyone around, we can increase our battle line's forces by a modest margin. The potential gain of a successful flanking force is far, far greater.

And if we can successfully provoke them into charging forward into our formation, seeking to destroy the archers and siege engines which should be pummeling them, then what forces will they have left to somehow spring a trap? The bulk of their men will be way out of position for it. And if something does somehow go wrong, we can easily fade back into the darkness.

>>13133049
If they have done this and do light them up, which I doubt they have because that would require massive supplies of oil/pitch which would have burned in our supply raid, we might be able to just pull back and wait for it to burn out before attacking again.

rolled 7 = 7

>>13133081
I'm assuming the longer we take, the quicker they notice the scouts are gone and that something is up. I suggest we hit hard and fast while we have the advantage. And we've frustrated the guy enough that I don't think he's going to think we're just stupid. But if everyone wants the flank attack, I can't argue against the majority.

As your troops silently move into place you dispatch some of your shades to check the enemies rear. By the time your forces are in place the shades have returned. They report a field of traps, along with more than a few small crystal obelisks they could not identify nor discern a purpose too. You look behind you, and wave your signal. As one your entire maniple applies a fresh layer of the paste. The effect is terrifying as hundreds of sets of eyes glow to life in midair, one set alone and off to the north, something tells you that is Sansa acting on a hunch. All you have to do now is give the order...

>>13133106
FFFFF- We should of asked Janos what kind of arcana they had. Think we should wait for Sansa to get back first?

>>13133106
>along with more than a few small crystal obelisks they could not identify nor discern a purpose too
Ah, good.
Aren't you all glad we took the effort to find out the real situation, rather than working only on assumptions?

At best, that would have been detection arcana.
At worst, magical sentry turrets.

I think we're all agreed: we fire arty into the enemy archers and some into the noble guards (because they're the heaviest and most likely to give us problems), and force them to come to us, while we deploy a shield wall that will stop the enemy advance and allow us to get firing solutions on them.

>>13133137
I actually thought we should focus some siege fire on their right flank to make it collapse nice and early. That way our infantry can move in and flank their lines/hit the archers.

>>13133106
I am not entirely clear on which commander is which here. Can you provide a map key?

Anyway, unless someone has a better idea open up the battle with all ranged units focus firing on their elite troops, both mounted and foot. Being a total badass doesn't save you from a crossbow bolt to the face or a giant rock squishing you, so that's our best bet for slaughtering them all, and of course our forces will be much more effective at breaking the lesser troops' morale in melee.

>>13133148
While that has merit, we can't ignore the elven archers.
We should still hit them as early as we can, to begin attriting their numbers quickly.

So half on the elven archers, and the other half on the levied swordsmen?

>>13133152
>Light Gray starburst: Sansa
>Orange six-pointer: Laelith
>White six-pointer: Wulf
>5 pointed star: Collin
>Dark gray starburst: you
>Gaerick is in the block, and Morwayne is in the wedge

>>13133167
Screw it, you're right. Focus it all on the elven archers. Let's hit them nice and hard while their morale is low and they have no idea a battle has started.

>>13133192
I agree, so much for an attack from the rear

damnit.

>>13133167

Statement: ALL on the archers. The less of them around the better, as they're good enough to shoot into back rows of units in melee.

>>13133167
>>13133192
I am not certain if the elven archers or the noble elites are the greater threat in this situation, and strongly suspect that if we don't take out the nobles now we'll regret it when they start utterly tearing apart our lines. But the elves have proven inexplicably masterful at archery in the dark, so maybe they're a better target. There are just less nobles so I think they'd be a lot easier to take out early on.

But eh, whatever. Both groups need to die.

>>13133106
We've been said to have taken out scouts and watchers. Have their deaths been accounted for?

>>13133216
>>13133209
>>13133192
Then it's agreed. Alpha strike on the elven archers.
They showed us what elves can do with arrows; let's show them what Legionnaires can do with siege engines.

>>13133218
The archers can hit us from a distance even with blind firing. The nobles WILL be a pain aye but we'll have a round or two to pepper them with fire as well. Furthermore, they're going to get closer and thus make our firing even more accurate. I see your point but I think it's best to cripple their range now since we might not get to them anytime soon and might have to use our range to adapt to other battlefield problems.

I still wonder if we should wait until Sansa does what she wants to do... Makes me think if it might be related to a way to light the field of battle.

>>13133249
>I still wonder if we should wait until Sansa does what she wants to do
Have a velociprey rider get to her and ask what's up?
It should only take a minute or two, and I think we can afford it.

Launch the initial magonel volleys into the super-warriors in the middle there. We want to kill as many of them as possible before they get a chance to hack apart our forces.

>>13133262
If possible. Might as well start trusting the instincts of our officers and she thinks something might be up I imagine.

"SONS OF DEGNAR, INTO THE ARCHERS!!!!!!!" you bellow, signaling your attacks begin. After the first volley your ranges battalions start searching for chinks in the heavy infantries armor while your artillery battery continues to volley into the elves. You hear one man bellow for a charge, and the other scream in frustration.

>last free round of orders, make'em count

>>13133296
As they try to engage with us, though, we could have the heavy repeaters switch targets from the elven archers to the noble guards in the center.

I think we should take the archers out first, in order to deny them ranged attack capability.
Remember, if the infantry have torches, the enemy archers can still get an idea of where we are and volley fire into our positions. It'll be inaccurate, but still enough to be a problem.

Drop magonel shot into those super-nobleguards in the middle. We must take out as many as possible before they close.

>>13133341
Focus staggered fire on the noble infantry and split the ranged fire on the archers and the noble guard. Assuming the noble cavalry will meet us next turn, have some stone spikes erupt to meet their charge like a spear wall.

rolled 76 = 76

>>13133366
I second this.
Command the Cornwal to prepare pikes and to receive a cavalry charge.
Justinian and Jayne should let the noble cavalry get entangled with the mercs, then rush them from the south.

Rolling for elementalism spikes.

>>13133366
Not spikes, that would disrupt us too. Open a bunch of fissures to break horse legs under them. A row of 5 fissures will halt that charge super easy and the bears won't have much of a problem with them.

>>13133357
Mogonol chain shot, spinning kinetic destruction.

We need to continue fire on the archers though, keep it 50/50

Elemental Shock Fire. lightneing blasts out, fissures open up (maybe a small on on one of these cystrals to see what happened, closest one to the advancing troops) and Fire snaps up light all over, or flares it up like they were holding a molotov that popped

>>13133341

Marauders need to move up so that Lealith isn't taking an 80 man charge in the face. Lealith should also MOVE BACK to meet them unless she is about to throw out enough fire to stop those 80 men DEAD in their tracks.

>>13133402
We know fissures as especially effective.
Its early on so we can exert a bit, to lets try messing them up all over.

>>13133400
>Roll 10 and 8 when testing
>Roll 76 when it actually counts
Damn you /tg/ dice! FUCK YOU!!!

>>13133341
Have Laelith pull back and then ride south, extinguishing any flames all down the line. It is VITAL that the nobles, at minimum, not be able to see shit when fighting us. As we've discussed this plan previously, it should take a simple shout of something like "Laelith! Now!" to put this plan into action.

Ideally, the flames would go out just as they hit melee- when it's far too late for them to pull back.

rolled 46 = 46

>>13133366

Agreed.

HEAVEN OR HELL
DUEL 1
LET'S ROCK

>>13133427
>my players faces when 3 z-95s shoot them all down due to the amount of 20s I rolled.

>>13133428
Agreed. We need them in darkness.

>>13133411
Right. Lightning into their heavy units would be useful too and Laelith can do her thin although she needs more protection from a charge.

>>13133438
Z-95 Headhunters?
Were your players piloting X-Wings? Because that would have been...frustrating.

>>13133137
Oh god, whats the best way to fuck up guys with night vision? Flashbangs. Those are magical flashbangs. What the HELL do we do to counter that!?

>>13133573


...close our eyes beforehand?

>>13133506
Worse/better. Two upgunned tramp freighters pretty much designed for merc work and a heavily customized z-95 vs 3 stock headhunters. In the end, the customized headhunter was blown out of the sky and one of the freighters plowed a good bit of earth without landing gear.

>Laelith just rolled a 13 (on my CQ d10) for her elementalism...

As the medium mercenaries approach, Laelith calmly levels her torch and issues forth a great plume of flame, immolating many of the charging soldiers, and adding an almost painful ammount of light to the area around her. The Impetus Marauders begin moving forward, though they stop short of the lighted area. Sansa runs out into the brighter area, as a small circle of additional light makes the area around her as daylight. You aid draws her daggers, and beats one fist against her breast in defiance, facing north, arms outstreched in a challenge.

You want to look up to see what is headed her way, but Spite impacting a warhorse drags your attention away from her. You try to catch the back portion of the wedge in a fissure, but they are all but past where you had intended for the split to appear, and distracted, it doesnt even open up in the correct direction.

In the center of the field, a blast of lightning illuminates the heavy mercenaries as their charge breaks against the shieldwall of the 196th legionary. Just north of them Collin and Uurist are leading the warlords against Gaericks retinue. Collin staying one step ahead of Gaerick, the pairs lethal dance being left several feet in any direction as a scene of bloody slaughter plays out around them, arrows and bolts spraying back and forth over their heads.

>roll for what you want to do.

>>13133573

Statement: I find it more likely that they're some kind of flare arcana to neutralize the dark. Either way, we've already started putting dents in their firing range.

rolled 62 = 62

>>13133595

earth spike the men at arms

rollin' for elementalism

rolled 44 = 44

>>13133595
Combat!

rolled 5 = 5

>>13133595

Initiating roll for SPIKES into mounted guard.

rolled 42 = 42

Have the 50th ready to prepare AA fire near Sansa... That's the only thing I can think of heading her way. Have the archers concentrate on their archers for now although keep their fire staggered for general AA fire, although have the 65th hit the armoured seargents. Siege weapons help them out. Laelith out of the light although ideally I'd like Sansa out of there since she's going to get shot. Cornwall move forward and see if some of them can help deal with the cavalry. Wulf should hit the armoured seargeants as well with lightning. Command.

rolled 68 = 68

>>13133595
Command Roll.
I think we should have the Cornwal mercs smash the mounted noble guard between their southern flank and the uursan cavalry.
The horses will then deal with bears on one side, and pikes on the other.

>>13133651
When I meant the 50th prepare for AA fire, I meant some of them. The rest can pepper the incoming mercs near Laelith.

>>13133595
The 2 groups between Colin's troop should be able to crush their merc opponents and push pass to Attack The Archers.

>>13133595
God dammit, our bitches are going to get themselves shot, making themselves the best available targets on the field like that. Laelith, at least, needs to pull back... but it's not like we can shout orders to her from the other end of the field.

We need to 454th and 195th to charge, slaughter their opponents, and envelop/destroy the nobles. They massively outnumber those arrayed against them, so it should happen relatively quickly.

And we need the Garlian cavalry to get tied up with the noble cavalry ASAP. On a charge, horses are nasty; in a melee, bears will utterly rape them.

>>13133595
And we didnt fire the Siege Weapons.
Fire Them!

What the hell are our ladies dooooooooooing. You don't light a battlefield when darkness is to your advantage!

Get those siege weapons shooting at the swordsmen.

>>13133744
I Dont Know! We called for an order for her to extinguish torches as men advanced, but i guess Pax decided a 50 man kill and revealing the Daylight Stones mattered.

But i have like no clue on Sansa calling out some sort of personal challenge...

Statement: This runtime has a feeling this is going to suck.

>>13133764
If she's not a pincushion in the next fifteen seconds of fighting, I'll be shocked and it'll be a plot point.

>>13133802
FIRE SHIELD
So hot it burns away arrows that fly her way

>your ladies are outrolling you tonight... (1, 1, 3 for Sansa...)
As the fire dies down a farmiliar shriek fills your ears, and your heart with terror. Sansa rolls to meet the knight, twisting herself in midair to avoid his lance and landing her knife in the side of the giant eagles neck. Using her blade as an anchor the lithe soldier whips her body around, planting her feet solidly in the armored mans head, the disparity in momentum sending the mail-clad knight flying into the bird and rider to his right, and as Sansa launches herself from the fying beast and into the next, the live trio crashes to the ground before the Impetus Marauders. As Laelith pulls the flame back to her torch Sansa lands on the last Valkerie Knight in the group. Her weight is unexpected to the pair however, and with a sickening crunch (you would assume) the bird skids to the ground as Sansa puts her blade through the riders neck. AS the remaining medium mercenaries close on Laelith she draws her sickle and begins to cut through the hungry, demoralized soldiers. When it would seem that they will pin your greatest elementalist down, and slay her with their numbers, a raven-haired missile smashes into the three accosting the blond elf. Together the pair quickly whittles the remnants of the mercenaries down to what you would imagine a fair fight.

South of that melee Cornelius smashes through the men at arms, and falls on the flank of Gaericks bodyguard, as you hear Collin bellow out a taunt to the nobleman. The fight between the dwarfs and nobles continues, and as Uurist promised, without interfering circumstances the warlords are holding their own, bloodily. The storm of bolts and arrows continues above the melee in the center of the line, the occasional chained stones smashing through the deadly storm.

>cont'd

As Gaius breaks the heavy mercenaries and adds his own units weight to the fight against the noble guards Wulf runs ahead, blade drawn, with white-hot spears of thunder chasing the fleeing mercenaries. GAthering your own focus you implae nearly every man in the front ranks of the charging armored sergants, even as the bulk of the noble lancemen smashes into the Uursan Cavalry you ride with. Unable to spot Morwayne, you begin to mercilessly cut into the bodyguards, searching for your mark, and feeding your beasts.

>roll for what you want to do.

rolled 55 = 55

>>13133836
combat again

rolled 6 = 6

>>13133832

spike the men at arms again

rolling for it

>>13133836
Damnit. Jayne's cav is taking losses. Have the cornwall mercs splt and help us out with the noble cavalry. Marauders move forward to help out Sansa and Laelith but then push into the sword levies. Siege weapons into the elves some more and have our archers focus on the armoured sergeants and elven unit near them. If Wulf can afford it, lightning those armoured sergeants and Laelith can torch those sword levies if they get too close. Command.

rolled 14 = 14

>>13133873
Gah. Let's try that again for command.

rolled 77 = 77

>>13133873

Agreement: THIS

making command roll

rolled 89 = 89

>>13133881

Relieved Statement: Good thing you posted faster.

>>13133891
I concur. Damnit, I forgot to suggest it earlier but we should of had the Cornwall mercs prepared to meet the noble cavalry's charge. Jayne shouldn't of been sitting there and she should of been charging.

>>13133861
Since that went so well why not hit the Foot Nobles with it as well!

The 50th, 99th, and 65th are still taking casualties, so those damned elven archers are still getting lucky hits in even with blindfire.

I'm now more glad than ever that we had our artillery concentrate on the elves; can you imagine what kind of damage they could be wreaking on our forces if they weren't being kept off-balance by our siege weaponry?

Laelith is now the female version of this guy

As the noble guard in the center continue to slog on, you hear Collin cry out in victory, then dismay, as you see the guard contract around where he stands, defending their fallen charge with their bodies and blades. To the north The Marauders begin to carve their bloody path through the levied swordsmen, aided by spurts of fire from Laelith and arrows from Sansa.

Down to the south, past the still raging storm of wood and steel in the sky, the Cornwal mercenaries drop their spears for their charge. Your timing is impecable, as soon as the sergants climb over the blood-drenched earthen s[ikes, reform their lines and get back to their charge you again obliterate their front ranks with spikes, but a mere second before they would have began to run your mercenaries through. Spite rears up, tearing a warhorses neck out as he does so. Through the gore of your mount shredding the rider, you spot Morwayne. You swiftly impale a knight attempting to down you, and spur Spite towards the noble tactician.

>make your rolls

rolled 50 = 50

>>13133982
Combat once more.

rolled 6 = 6

>>13133982

combat roll

rolled 81 = 81

>>13133982
Armoured sergeants look broken if I'm reading that correctly. Have them wheel and hit the noble cavalry from behind. We must take both sons alive. Marauders, Sansa and Laelith keep up their fire on the levies while the archers and artillery all focus on the elves now. Command.

>>13134004
Eek. Maybe it's time for our botch? Should of know that 14 was going to be my only good roll that would count...

>>13134000
>>13133997

maybe pax will be merciful and take mine

HOPEFULLY

>>13134008

Agreement: Definitely use our botch here.

Observation: wow, the longbows got raped.

rolled 67 = 67

>>13134004
I bet this roll will be good too, just to spite me.

rolled 65 = 65

Well, we're near the end of this battle, so I guess we should use the botch while it'll be meaningful.

>>13134092
>>13134034
Bloody hell... What a terrible botch. Our worst yet I think.

rolled 17 = 17

>>13133982
Elementalism as combat boost seems in order here- ensure that we can catch Morwayne rather than allowing him to get away. Spikes around him, ground split open under him, something like that. Also devastate his bodyguard if we can. We should use every trick we can to reduce House Garlian losses here, after all.

AS you see the crimson rays of sunrise beginning to crest above the eastern sky, Gaericks bodyguard is finally overtaken, and your soldiers rush ahead to take the elven archers before they begin to flee. As the armored sergeants begin to run themselves, the Cornwal mercenaries fall in behind the remnants of Morwaynes bodyguard even as you begin to smash your way through the last remnants of the group. To the north the story is much the same, as the Marauders continue to slaughter the levied swordsmen.

>very last rolls of the battle.

Jesus I'm glad we are getting reinforced after this battle.

>>13134104
Use our combat botch.
We will Capture Morwayne, and hopefully, We can push back the noble bodyguard on the other side, and with jaynes help, Try to see if Gaerick is alive, and if so, ensure he doesnt die.

I'm not saying show them to Janos, but the Ransom, Lord Stant will surely pay.

rolled 34 = 34

>>13134142
Raptors should start preparing to take the long path to hunt down retreating troops so they avoid the trapped field. Otherwise ranged units keep hitting the archers, guys in the north keep pounding the levies and we keep smoking the nobles and take Morwayne alive. Command for the hell of it.

rolled 8 = 8

>>13134142
Bitchslap Morwayne in personal combat.

rolled 39 = 39

>>13134155
Well, there we go.

>>13134153
Actually, have our rangers focus solely on hitting any valk that might be flying around in the air. Let's kill as many as we can since it seems like they didn't want to play in this battle.

>>13134147
Indeed. Part of the reason why I don't mind a pitched fight. I just hope we can refill our ranks rather than replace the entire unit since I rather keep our captains.

>>13134155
Sweet. After our last sessions where we've had rounds with only low die rolls or multiple 1's, this battle was a let down in comparison. At least our girls did well in the north. I think Sansa earned herself a reward after what she did on her own to those valks and Laelith almost butchering those mercs on her own with that huge flame explosion.

>>13134180
They aren't below 50% and we had worse losses in the north, but we kept our captains then. I think we are fine.

>>13134180
I agree, we should find some way to reward both Sansa and Laelith.

>>13134163
Rangers? Hell, sic our ballistae, Wulf, Laelith on them too if we can. Fucking skyknights, hate them so much.

You barrel through the last few guards to Morwayne. As you hear the sound of men breaking to the north and east, Spite slams the horse to the ground with a sweep of his mighty paw. As you leap from Spites back, and pin Morwayne to the ground with your spear, the ululating cry of velociprey on the hunt tells you that there will be no enemies that survive this day. "Yield." you command "And I may show you mercy for your crimes."

The figure at your feet begins to cackle "You think youve won, but its only just begun." he laughs as his features shift, as if a cloud is being lifted from your mind, the aristocratic features encased in pale blue armor fade to an ugly visage, and purple robes. The face shifts from Morwaynes to that of a stranger, with a crimson hammer tattooed to his lesioned forehead. A loud crack emits from his mouth, as the robed stranger bites down on his own teeth, shattering something. His pale face turns purple, then quickly shifts through every color you have ever seen, and a few you thought not possible.

Perplexed and infuriated you make your way over to where Collin struck down Gaerick. The wound Collin did it with is clearly not related to the knife in the nobles chest, a fine blade, with hammer of blood raised over and obsidian anvil enameled to the base of the blade, you find as you pull it from the nobles chest. You finger the note at the base of the blade, and a corpse cut to ribbons by the blades of the dead nobles bodyguard crouched over Gaericks dead form, a maniacal grin frozen to his quickly stiffening face face.

>well, what post battle stats do you want first? Or do you want to try to figure out what just happened to you?

>>13134261
Tell the men to gather the wounded and hunt down the survivors. Let's figure out what the hell just happened since it looks like those two nobles just died and now we have to deal with Lord Stant's hate. No ransom for us... Sigh.

>>13134261

my brain was not prepared for the amount of what the fuck brought against it

examine gaericks killer and read that note

>>13134261
Annoying, those bastards just lost us an enormous amount of ransom money.

Ah well. Shit happens. Make sure we have Laelith look at the corpses.

>>13134283
Actually, I wonder if Morwayne might still be alive since the person who we thought was Morwayne changed... Ugh. So confused although I wonder if this is why Janos switched sides. Maybe he knows more about this than we realize.

Statement: Morwayne had a double. Should have known. We need to double back to camp. I've got a bad feeling about this.

>>13134261
They... what, had one of those mentalist types? Mystics, or whatever they're called? Dammit. Really wanted to catch the other brothers.

>hammer of blood raised over and obsidian anvil
>a crimson hammer tattooed to his lesioned forehead
Okay, someone remind me: Is this a god, a secret organization, something else?

>>13134283
We should still be able to loot the fallen for a fair bit of money/weaponry. That's something. But it's quite true, we're not nearly as well off as I expected to be.

On the other hand, we sounded trounced our enemies without taking appalling losses, which I think is a first for this game, so whatever.

>>13134316
Might have just been arcana.

We really need to start working on Mysticism ourselves. We will be on this campaign a while, let's do it in the downtime while we are getting reinforced. Do that plan where we take our girls out to a secluded spot and have Jayne support our vitals while we try to read the other's minds.

>>13134316
Seems to be a cult of some kind... None of the gods symbols seem to match and we did see them with Khalless. Might be related to him and his letters which Finian is working on.

You turn the note over "Bastards do not inherit, only the bold and faithful thrive." it reads. The killer, clearly a member of Gaericks guard looks like any elevated tourney knight, aged beyond his hears, well armored... aside from the look of insanity on his face you would expect him to be a physician as well, judging by the tools laid out near him.

Sighing you signal for Laelith to meet you at the corpse that replaced Morwayne. "Mystic" she announces as she looks him over, before pulling a small jewel-banded rod from his pocket. You pry the mouth open to see fragments of crystal filling it, and one tooth missing. "Their craft eventually forced them to use glamors lest they be driven out as diseased madmen." she explains.

>>13134326

"we take our girls out to a secluded spot and have Jayne support our vitals while we try to read the other's minds"

sounds kinky

>>13134345

sounds like Morwayne engineered this entire fucking battle to kill his older brother, who is apparently one of lord stants bastard children

Morwayne just asked Justinian Motherfucking Trentz to tango

>>13134345
"Does that mean someone was pretending to be Morwayne or do all mystics end up looking like that?"

>"Their craft eventually forced them to use glamors lest they be driven out as diseased madmen."
Maybe we should NOT become a mystic. Or make anyone else in our service become one, with that kind of price tag.

Anyway, let's loot the bodies and camp, gather up our forces, and head back to our fort. Look over our own losses. See if we can find out from Janos what those crystal things are.

Send a couple scouts back to our fort immediately to make sure all is well there, by the way. We fought a lot of enemies here, but with this kind of trickery going on I'd like to check.

>>13134374
Don't forget to grab those things in the trapped field that we had no idea what they were. Might be useful in the future to have. Guess we best do our best to preserve Gaericks body and give it back to Lord Stant, not that I think it'll matter. I think he's going to be sending assassins after us for awhile since I don't see him buying our story.

>>13134345
Did we just get the door on being a mystic slammed in our face too? Damn it.

See what Laelith knows about them. Back in our tent. Alone. As we reward her for her wonderful service in this battle. Aw yeah.

You collect the crystals laid about the field as your men finish bringing in captives. The ride back to your camp is brisk and raucous. You men are celebrating, and with good reason... Sansa is doing a fine job of encouraging them, though with her performance today you can scarce hold it against her. You arrive at your fort, unharmed, as the sun sets on its first day in a week, chased by the crescent moon as it sinks below the winter horizon.

As Sansa approaches you with her usual post battle parchment she actually doesnt look depressed, surprisingly. "We did well, didnt we?" she quips, plopping down next to you in the command ten as she hands you the sheet.

-196th Legionary
Gaius Rex
130/200
(5 with Blackbird)
Excellent
-454th Legionary
Cornelius Hoursch
140/200
Excellent
-98th Warlords
Uurist Titius
85/150
(10 with blackbird)
Excellent
-99th Hunters
Aurelius Caspius
50/75
(10 with Blackbird)
Excellent
-50th Dwarven Scouts
Finian Gaurush
75/100
(5 with Blackbird)
Excellent
-65th Dwarven Rangers
Kyria Esfelda
65/75
Excellent
-House Garlian Uursan Cavalry
Lady Jayne Garlian
45/75
Excellent
-Impetus Marauders (Elf)
Aeristus Beztia
Chainmail, twin combat axes
145/200
Excellent
-Cornwal Mercenaries
Buckmoore Kystris
Chainmail, spear and shield
130/175
Excellent
--Off the Combat Roster:
-Kyrtosh RapidRiders (elf)
Bastius Glenth
20/50
average
-Esperitus Raiders
Kurt Dorias
30/60
average
--CAPTIVES:
5 Uurlanth skirmishers
45 Uurlanth Longbowmen
80 Uurlanth Men at Arms
60 Uurlanth Armored Sergants
45 Uurlanthi Elf Archers
10 Uurlanth Noble Bodyguards
90 Uurlanth Levies

>>13134345
What was the rod she just took from his pocket?

>>13134449
Now is time for a kiss and loving scolding not to do that kind of shit again, you crazywoman.

>>13134449
"Indeed, we swept the majority of them from the field. You did quite well. I saw your little stunt up there in the north as well. The caravan might not of worked but I think that's earned you something."

And I'm collapsing. See you guys next session. Archiving thread now.

Recitation: "Veni, vidi, vici. An excellent brawl, though I feel it left more questions than I needed."

Statement: We need to report these recurring markings to command. This is not an option.

>>13134475
Definitely. I had hoped to wait until we had more of Khalless' letters translated but since we're staying on campaign, we should report what we've found out about him and how we're seeing the symbol again again. Amongst people opposing us again.

Thread archived.

>feel free to carry on, but I'm gonna sleep now...
>someone archive please
>I'll be back monday at 9pm server time
>if you have any setting/other random question just e-mail me at: paxcomquest@yahoo.com

Make sure we check up with our elf waifu too.

>>13134506
And steal her robes like we planned.

I agree with Pompeius' analysis; it does appear that Morwayne used this entire battle as nothing but a very complicated assassination plot in order to eliminate his older brother and competition for his father's holdings.
An alternative interpretation, though less likely, is that whatever this organization is (red hammer and black anvil), they assassinated Morwayne and replaced him with a double, and they're aiming to get one of their agents to inherit Stant's position.

Either way, we should inform our superiors of our success, and of this organization's presence.
Also, now that we have 3 weeks of resting that we can do, we can get those reinforcements, and have our mercs replenish their numbers if they want to sign up for our raiding campaign into Uurlanth territory.

Also, with our victory, I think we can afford to send Nomz much needed support.
I suggest sending 4 of our heavy repeaters and our improved ballista, the 454th with Cornelius, the 50th with Finian, and the 65th with Kyria.
If we load the siege engines onto wagons and we have some captured horses to pull them, as well as putting our soldiers on wagons as well, they could move a lot faster than if they marched normally.
Also, with this many experienced and ranged forces, if Nomz can get his enemy to settle into a static battle line, then our Scouts, Rangers, and artillery could lash the enemy while being protected by Cornelius' heavy infantry.