====== 12. TACTICAL HINTS AND TERRAIN GENERATION ====== ====== TACTICAL HINTS ====== ===== TERRAIN ===== The ease with which units can hide in or behind woods makes them great places from which to launch surprise attacks or ambush the enemy. Remember, concealed units are kept off the table until they are spotted or the commander decides to reveal them and horrify his opponent. When planning the placement or movement of your troops always consider the lie of the land first— to ensure you avoid embarrassing mistakes and your troops can manoeuvre easily. If your advance is going to be blocked by a river or marsh — make sure you get at least one Freeze Fresh Water spell and perhaps a Solidify spell as well, for your magic-user. If one flank is blocked by woods, consider an Activate Trees Spell. If the enemy is going to have the advantage of buildings, consider a Polterage Spell. ===== EQUIPPING UNITS ===== Troops armed with spears, pikes or halberds need to be equipped with a second weapon as they are vulnerable to Warp and Splinter spells — or your Magic-user needs a Preserve Wood spell ready to hand at all times. Do not waste armour on missile troops or pikemen — the faster they can move the better. ===== UNIT SIZE ===== Large units reduce the negative effects of morale and increase firepower for troops armed with missile weapons. But they are hard to manoeuvre and are prime targets for magical attacks. It is always wise to field a balanced army. Try to have some large units which can be charged in to pin the enemy, and then a number of smaller, better equipped units that can hang back and attack enemy units in the flank, that have been pinned by your larger units — or protect the larger unit's flanks from similar attacks by your opponent. ===== PLACING TROOPS ===== Never place troops or monsters that are subject to order tests in the way of troops who are in brigade or direct control. If the troops or monster fails to move, it could hold up your entire army! Try to ensure any cavalry you have, either have a clear front so they can make unimpeded charges, or are held well back in reserve, ready to plug any gaps or exploit a sudden break in the enemy line. Screen important units like pike blocks with other units so the enemy cannot concentrate their missile fire against them. If you are allowed to use open order make sure you deploy your missile troops in this formation as it does not harm their effectiveness, it allows them to move faster and evade the enemy, and it reduces the effect of any enemy counter fire against them. Do not always stick 'C' class troops in the front ranks. One tactic is to hold them back where they can help to boost the morale of the front line troops and can be used to attack the enemy in the flank after the B class troops have pinned them down in combat. Do not be afraid to use magic at the beginning of the battle. It can be a good idea to cast Illusion: Cloak on a unit before placement. That unit can then sit in the middle of a field and be invisible to the enemy, tempting him to attack because he believes that part of your line is weak. Then as the enemy advances, you can suddenly reveal the unit and charge home! ===== BRIGADES ===== Try to place your brigades on the table so they run across in a line rather than the units being clumped together in a block. Such an arrangement allows you to leave significant gaps between the front and second lines, so you can ensure your units will not be disordered if they are pushed back and the rear units have room to manoeuvre. FIRING If you wish to use your missile troops effectively you should ensure they are moved across the battlefield in line formations that have no more ranks than the number listed in the Ranks for Firing table - otherwise you will be wasting valuable fire power. If you can place troops in open order, where ever possible try to put all missile troops onto the table in such formations. If you can spot important characters on the enemy side, try to pick them off with missile fire. If you succeed in killing an important brigade commander, your enemy's plans can quickly be reduced to a shambles. COMBAT Try to ensure your troops are in line before they go into battle. Fighting in column is a recipe for disaster — especially for cavalry. Do not just charge your whole front line into the enemy. Try to manoeuvre some of your troops into a position where you can charge the enemy in the flank or rear. Such attacks can be devastating. When fighting a pike, spear or polearm unit, flank attacks to destroy their rank and weapon reach bonuses can be invaluable. It can be worth while charging missile troops because once they are pinned in combat they are unable to fire their missile weapons. Always look ahead when planning a move. If a unit advancing in line will need to change formation to pass through a narrow gap ahead, make sure it changes formation early rather than late. For a unit ordered to change formation when it is within charge range of an enemy unit, runs the risk of sustaining heavy casualties and perhaps even being routed. CAVALRY Try to use your cavalry to outflank your enemy or act as a mobile reserve. Where ever possible, avoid charging wolf riders or light cavalry into the front of enemy infantry. Do not be afraid to arm light cavalry with missile weapons. They can then be used to harrass the enemy. If your cavalry cannot ride through woods always remember they can still dismount and walk their mounts through. ===== ARCANE MAGIC ===== It is worth bearing in mind that Arcane Magic can be a two-edged sword. Spells can go wrong and the result can be terminal for the character casting it and/or cause havoc across a wide area. Therefore it is always better to choose a large number of simple, easy to use spells and only a few powerful ones. Wizards armed only with mega-busting spells will have fewer spells to cast during a game and each time they cast a spell will be in grave danger of failing. This is because the more powerful a spell is, the more expensive it is in terms of spell points and the harder it is to use. Always remember you can lose a battle if a spell goes dramatically wrong and affects a large part of your army instead of the enemy's. Try to use spells sparingly. If you squander spells at the beginning of a battle you risk running out of any magical ability before the battle is over or won. If a wizard runs out of spells half-way through a battle he is not a particularly strong character and will be in great danger of being killed. Because spells can be dangerous, it is also worth remembering that when choosing an army on a points basis it is probably better to pick two Minor Magic-users rather than one Master. That way if a spell goes wrong and its caster is killed, you will not have lost your entire magic capability in one fell swoop. When Magic-users are attempting to cast spells, try to keep them away from your own troops. If anything goes wrong with the spell this will provide your troops some protection. As you are allowed to choose from the spell list afresh before each new battle, grants your Magic- users a tremendous degree of flexibility. Study the battlefield carefully to see which spells may prove the most useful and which ones will be useless. After all why would you need to breathe under water if there is no water on the battlefield to hide in or cross? You should also study the mix of your opponent's forces. What spells will be most effective against them? For instance, Warp and Splinter can be devastating against pikemen, Downpour is useful against large concentrations of missile troops, while Polterage, Ignite or Minor Earthquake can be useful for flushing troops out of buildings. Finally try to consider what spells your opponent might try to cast, so you can select some relevant (and possibly essential) counter spells. ===== DIVINE MAGIC ===== Priests are better at doing some things than Magic- users. If any healing is to be done the Light Divine Spells are best. If you want to create clouds of Darkness (or banish them) Divine spells come out on top again. The Divine spells for summoning and banishing skeletons are also superior. ====== TERRAIN GENERATION ====== The following system may be used to randomly generate battlefield terrain. First divide the play area into six areas as follows: {{ :terrain.jpg?400 |}} There is a sixty percent chance a terrain feature will exist in each area marked 1 — 6. The player setting up on the northern edge will place any scenery in areas 1, 3 and 5. The player setting up on the southern edge, will place the scenery in areas 2, 4 and 6. The scenery may be placed anywhere within the area, except villages which must be placed in the centre of the area. The size of the scenery is at the discretion of the player placing it. Roll one D100 for each area in turn, and if you score 60% or less a terrain feature will be present. Then roll one D100 for each area that has a terrain feature, to discover what it will be, comparing the roll to the following table. If the terrain feature has an asterix after it you should consult the notes that appear after the table. ^ Die Roll ^ Northern ^ Northern Temperate ^ Median ^ Southern Temperate ^ Southern ^ | 1-10 | Broken | Broken | Broken | Broken | Broken | | 11-20 | Broken | Scrub | Scrub | Scrub | Scrub | | 21-30 | Bog | Bog | Fen | Fen | Fen | | 31-40 | Fen | Fen | Fen | Fen | Swamp | | 41-50 | Wood | Wood | Wood | Wood | Wood | | 51-60 | Wood | Wood | Scrub | Wood | Jungle | | 61-70 | Hill1 | Hill1 | Hill1 | Hill1 | Hill1 | | 71-80 | Steep Hill2 | Steep Hill2 | Steep Hill2 | Steep Hill2 | Steep Hill2 | | 81-90 | Village3 | Village3 | Village3 | Village3 | Village3 | | 91-100 | Field4 | Field4 | Field4 | Field4 | Field4 | ===== (1) HILL ===== If a hill is rolled the player controlling the area must roll one D6 to see if the hill has a secondary feature: - Hill is bare - Hill is strewn with rocks and counts as rough ground - Hill is covered with scrub - Hill is also a wood - Hill has a rune stone on it - Hill also counts as broken ground in Northern / Hill is bare in Median / Hill is covered in scrub in temperate / Hill is also jungle in Southern. ===== (2) STEEP HILL ===== If a steep hill is rolled the player controlling the area must roll one D6 to see if it has a secondary feature: - The hill also counts as rough ground - The hill also counts as a wood - The hill is bare - The hill is covered with scrub - The hill also counts as rough ground - The hill is covered with scrub ===== (3) VILLAGE ===== If a village is rolled it must be placed in the centre of the area. It will stand on a road running from A — H, B — G or C — F, whichever is relevant. A D6 must then be rolled and on a roll of 5 or 6, the village will stand on a crossroads, with the second road running from I — E or J — D, whichever is relevant. If two villages or more are rolled for, they will automatically be connected by roads to each other, and then one will have a road going north off the play area, while another must have a road going south off the play area. If a road encounters a wood, scrub or rough ground it will travel straight across it. If it encounters a wall, hedge or fence it will pass through and create a gap. If it encounters bog. fen, swamp, jungle, hills or steep hills it will go round them. Roll one D6. On 1 — 3 it skirts round to the left, on 4 — 6 it skirts round to the right. After skirting the terrain feature, the road will return to its original course. ===== (4) FIELD ===== If a field is rolled for the player must roll one D6 to see how it is enclosed: - The field is open - It is enclosed by a fence - It is enclosed by a hedge - It is enclosed by a wall - It is enclosed by a fence - It is enclosed by a wall If the field is enclosed, and no road passes through it, roll one D4 to determine on which side there is an opening, unless a village is on the table, in which case the opening will face the village. - Opening is on North side - Opening is on East side - Opening is on South side - Opening is on West side ===== RIVERS ===== Roll one D100 and if you score 25% or under a river runs across the play area. If there is a river roll one D100 again to determine its course: ^ Die Roll ^ Course ^ Die Roll ^ Course ^ | 1-2 | A — J | 50-51 | H — I | | 3-5 | A — I | 52-54 | H — J | | 6-8 | A — G | 55-57 | H — E | | 9-11 | A — F | 58-60 | H — D | | 12-14 | A — E | 61-63 | G — I | | 15-17 | A — D | 64-66 | G — J | | 18-20 | B — J | 67-69 | G — D | | 21-23 | B — D | 70-72 | G — E | | 24-26 | B — I | 73-74 | F — E | | 27-29 | B — E | 75-77 | F — D | | 30-32 | B — H | 78-80 | F — J | | 33-35 | C — J | 81-83 | F — I | | 36-38 | C — I | 84-86 | J — E | | 39-40 | C — D | 87-89 | I — D | | 41-43 | C — E | 90-93 | J — D | | 44-46 | C — G | 94-96 | B — F | | 47-49 | C — H | 97-100 | I — E | If the course of the river crosses an area of broken ground, wood, scrub, swamp, fen, bog, or jungle, the river will continue straight through it. If the course of the river crosses a hill, steep hill, village or field, it will skirt the obstacle. Roll one D6. On 1 — 3 it skirts round to the left, on 4 — 6 it skirts round to the right. After skirting the terrain feature, the river will return to its original course. If a river crosses a road roll one D6. On a roll of 1 - 4 there is a bridge there, on a 5 — 6 there is a ford there. The players must agree at least one ford, away from any roads, along the length of the river. The ford should be at least 28 cms in length.