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Post by jmccann on Jul 7, 2015 2:33:50 GMT -5
Public game events will go here (private ones should be sent by PM to me).
The first game event will be a parley if any of the players wish to parley. Since it is a free kriegspiel, if a player wished to they could attack the individuals who are parleying, but it would be very dishonorable and would anger the gods or God.
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Post by jmccann on Jul 8, 2015 13:53:34 GMT -5
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Post by sully on Jul 8, 2015 13:55:11 GMT -5
Hermes has no interest in parlay.
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Post by tetramorph on Jul 8, 2015 14:09:58 GMT -5
jmccann, sully, todd: Wulfstan sends the following missive to Hermes: Most Noble Hermes, greetings in the name of the King of Heaven: We are not bucolic in nature and we wish only for peace. Submit now to baptism and share with us in the blessings that will flow when the Holy Grove has been converted to a church of Law. Repent now, and own the sway of heaven together with us as your allies. Praying only for your continued prosperity and benediction, The faithful Archbishop ++ Wulfstan
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todd
Prospector
Posts: 75 
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Post by todd on Jul 8, 2015 14:15:27 GMT -5
Eadweard says nothing but stands, in support, by the archbishop as he speaks.
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Post by sully on Jul 8, 2015 14:19:51 GMT -5
Hermes sends this reply:
Law is a false construct, as much a tyranny of the mind as Chaos. There is only the Balance.
Your King kills innocent men, disrupts the tranquility of the Balance, and disrespects Nature itself.
We will never submit. Leave now and do not return, or face the wrath of the Grove's protectors.
Hermes, servant of Halgagraf
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Post by tetramorph on Jul 8, 2015 14:29:02 GMT -5
OOC: sully, nice reply! IC: Alas, the Archbishop fears the Great Priest leaves us with no other recourse but arms. To arms, then! OOC: sully, todd and I are working out our plans and we should be able to launch things with you and jmccann soon, we hope. |
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Post by jmccann on Jul 11, 2015 14:41:49 GMT -5
OK, the preliminary scouting period is wrapped up. Both sides have their final reports. Due to being the attacker and the static formation of the Grove defenders at the moment, the forces of the Archbishop and Prince have the initiative. I am going to place the head of the column immediately out of range of effective archery fire, so if the Archbishop's forces move closer toward the Grove they will be exposed to potential Opportunity Fire from within the Grove.
So the next step is for the Archbishop and Prince to make their move order. Keep in mind that command control is not perfect, and the fussier your commands are, the less likely they are to work. For instance, "8 of the Medium Cavalry on the right flank will approach some landmark from the northwest at a gallop. 10 Armored Infantry will march behind them." is a good level of detail.
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Post by jmccann on Jul 15, 2015 4:08:19 GMT -5
I have executed the move of the Archbishop and Prince. I want to move things along now because max. archery range is 24", and the movement rate of armored foot is 4". Doing 6 turns of back and forth will take a lot of time, so I want to speed things up by getting possibly several turns from each of you, where you assume the enemy keeps doing what they are doing. That way, our next moves will be when one of you does something, or when the column arrives at the Grove.
I also want to point out that light troops, either infantry or horse, will do better within the Grove than without. KN and MC will not be able to charge and will be at a major disadvantage, while LH and the AR on either side will be least affected by being within the Grove.
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Post by jmccann on Aug 5, 2015 0:56:37 GMT -5
I want to make a couple of quick points about the situation that I wish I had included in the initial briefing.
1. Neither side wants to see a lot of damage to the wood of the grove. The Druid wants to preserve the wood in its growing state. The Archbishop would like to use the wood to build one or more churches. So using spells very destructive to trees within the grove will not be in character for either side.
2. Weather report: The summer day started hot and dry, and the sun is still out. But there are heavy storm clouds to the west and south, which could possibly blow in w/in an hour or two.
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Post by jmccann on Sept 2, 2015 0:45:13 GMT -5
Turn 1 is complete! The game is back on! I don't want to clutter up the PBP forum w/ meta chatter so I will post something on my blog in a week or so. I hope we can establish a rhythm by then and be making steady progress on the scenario. I have sent PMs to all players with private information.
A strange cacophony and the sound of breaking limbs and branches is heard from within the grove. It sounds almost like trumpets, but it is not musical.
The Archbishop and Prince move next. Please get your move orders to me. Then the Druid will get me opp fire, followed by the Druid's move, opposing opp fire, and then the combat phase.
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Post by tetramorph on Sept 2, 2015 13:11:17 GMT -5
Elephants? Hmm.
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Post by jmccann on Sept 9, 2015 1:07:01 GMT -5
The forces of the Prince and Archbishop form their battle line. Heavy infantry form a shield wall, protecing archers, and light horse are on the wings with heavier horse following. The wagon trails behind.
Long range volleys of arrows begin to fly from the nearest part of the grove. The distance is great enough that few arrows find their mark, but 1 KN figure is killed by the missile fire.
The next move I need to get is the Druid's move order.
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Post by jmccann on Sept 9, 2015 10:51:27 GMT -5
I have received the druid's instructions. I will process another move this evening.
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Post by jmccann on Sept 10, 2015 0:14:04 GMT -5
No motion can be seen within the Grove. From the position of the
invading armies, one can just make out light infantry and horse, but
cannot get a sense of how many there are.
Regarding possible opportunity fire from the AR under Archbishop
Wulfstan's command, due to the combination of range and the defenders
being at the visible edge of the Grove terrain (the figures are
permitted to fire at half strength because they did not move more than
half their movement allowance this move), there is no probability in
the game of any successful result. That can change as soon as either:
1. firing unit at 12" range or less
2. defending forces emerge from the cover of the Grove
but for now archery fire can have no effect.
----------------------------------------------------------------
That ends turn 2. I need to get the orders of the Prince and Archbishop
for turn 3 next.
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Post by jmccann on Oct 4, 2015 1:19:10 GMT -5
OK, I have finished the Prince and Archbishop's move. The formation marches on as before. At the end of the move the entire formation is still at long archery range from the grove so that any attempt to fire is futile against units with cover. By the end of next turn however, the formation will begin to be in normal range so that they will have a chance to inflict casualties.
I have sent a PM to the Druid and will make the next update after I get his move.
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Post by sully on Oct 4, 2015 7:34:22 GMT -5
Move updated!
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Post by jmccann on Oct 4, 2015 15:45:26 GMT -5
The formation of the Prince and Archbishop continues on despite the long-range archery fire. A few arrows do find their marks, and a small number of the LH on the left flank are removed from play.
That wraps up turn 3.
Next I need the Prince and Archishop's move for turn 4.
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Post by jmccann on Oct 7, 2015 1:48:53 GMT -5
Here is a photo showing the approach of the forces of Mundbeorg to the Grove.  The yellow tape measure represents the wagon (I have a civil war munitions wagon that I need to build for this). The 12" ruler in the foreground shows that much of the grove is within normal archery range of the Mundbeorg archers. |
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Post by jmccann on Oct 8, 2015 0:22:59 GMT -5
Hey, looks like we have a rhythm to the game now. I am glad to see it because the game had been stuck for a while.
The opportunity fire from the grove took 2 more casualties. 2 of the AI in the front line were removed from play.
For the next step, turn 4 combat phase, I already have the Druid's combat order. I need to get the combat order from the Mundbeorg players and I will be able to wrap up turn 4.
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Post by jmccann on Oct 20, 2015 0:01:22 GMT -5
Thanks everyone for responding.
The ground under foot of the horses drawing the Archbishop's wagon begins to turn to mud. The foot soldiers and cavalry are far enough away to escape becoming mired except for 1 of the HI in the front rank, but the heavy draft horses and wagon are quite stuck. The horses may have a chance to escape on their own, but the heavy wagon keeps sinking further into the mud.
I think the first (apparent) use of magic and the immobilization of the wagon counts as a big deal, so I'll pause now for 2 days. In the new scheme I will pause 1 day for phases where not much happens. Wednesday night I will run the next step from current orders if I don't hear from tetra or makofan.
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Post by sully on Oct 20, 2015 8:46:50 GMT -5
Turn back now, Mundbeorgians! It only gets worse from here!
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Post by makofan on Oct 20, 2015 9:29:20 GMT -5
Hey Archbishop, it's your job to handle. My men keep pressing forward
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Post by jmccann on Oct 21, 2015 23:36:31 GMT -5
The Prince's forces continue their slow approach to the grove. The Archbishop's archers unload something from the wagon, struggling in the muck. The archery opportunity fire of the defenders of the Grove is directed toward the wagon and the unloading archers. One of the Archbishop's archer figures is eliminated by this archery fire.
This ends the movement portion of the turn. I now have to go read up on a few points from OD&D and will make another post about the combat phase after getting some necessary input.
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Post by jmccann on Oct 24, 2015 2:31:17 GMT -5
It is another eventful combat phase. After recovering from the shock of the mud spell, most of the Prince's forces and the Archbishop's light horse pressed on at heavy infantry speed. The archers stayed behind and tried to recover some of the load of the mired wagon. Before long there was an odd, ever increasing buzzing sound. Flying insects of some sort began to gather in vast numbers around the wagon. Most of the forces of the Prince were unaffected except for the mired Armored Infantry figure. The archers near the wagon were affected by the insects. Per M&M p. 33 and 34, creatures under three HD are driven off in rout. The AI figure being mired cannot rout but is not effective for combat in addition to being stuck. Three of the archers are able to rout slowly through the muck due to being light.. Not all the archers were affected however. Those who were with Wulfstan nearest the cargo being unloaded were not affected. Here is a photo of the situation, as seen from above the grove:  The red yarn approximately indicates the boundary of the Insect Plague. Following the Combat Phase is the Morale Phase. The three archers failed their morale check (MC) and are removed from play. The AI nearest the Archbishop passed his morale check. He is near enough to that leader to get a positive die roll modifier on the MC. |
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Post by jmccann on Oct 26, 2015 23:58:22 GMT -5
The heavy forces of the Prince and a few LH of the Archbishop are finally in position to enter the grove. Here is a photo:  There will be a big pause now as I wait for the Druid's response. |
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Post by jmccann on Nov 3, 2015 4:19:57 GMT -5
Princes's and Archbishop's cavalry form a line and slowly approach the grove. On the other side of the grove, the archery fire leaves the archers struggling with the load from the wagon in the muck to concentrate on the stationary infantry. 3 figures are removed. Suddenly the great trumpeting and crashing in the grove were heard again. Out of the grove came a Woods Mammoth, a little smaller than our Asian Elephant. It crashes forward and the Druid's Light Horse accompany the pachyderm on either flank. The Light Horse of Archbishop Wulfstan bolt away from the great beast as it approaches, leaving a gap in the line between 2 formations of 6 Medium Cavalry each. The Mammoth surges forward into the gap while the LH are forced to stop. This photo shows the situation:  I will need input next from the Prince and Archbishop. I will try to get input from both sides for the next couple of turns because the game is not on autopilot any more. |
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Post by jmccann on Nov 6, 2015 3:39:42 GMT -5
There is not a lot of room for the LH to attack the elephant but there is room for one element to get right in front of the pachyderm. We'll see how that goes, and how the elephant reacts to being attacked. On the other side of the grove, not pictured, the archers of the Druid continue to take a toll (rolling higher than average I think) and 2 more of the AI of the Prince are removed.  I will have a separate message to the Druid with some questions after I think about this tomorrow. |
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Post by jmccann on Nov 11, 2015 4:53:49 GMT -5
During the Druid's movement phase the elephant surged ahead, forcing back the Prince's LH. In the face-off between the Prince's Medium Cavalry and the Druid's LH, half of the LH are forced back. There is enough room between the MC and the grove for the LH to move without penalty but if the MC were a little nearer the woods, the LH would not be able to recoil. Those units would be subject to breakage in that case. In other parts of the battle, the Druid's archers who were firing on the mired archers have shifted toward the southwest to fire at the Prince's MC. Their fire was ineffective. To the northwest, where the Archbishop's archers have improvised an improved position with lumber from the wagon, a steady hail of archery has resulted in first blood being drawn from the Druid's forces as one of the archer figures moving to the southwest is eliminated. For the first turn in some time, no figures are removed from the Prince's and Archbishop's forces. The situation to the south of the grove is confusing. Here is a picture of the situation around the grove:  Next I will need to get input from the Prince and Archbishop. |
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Post by jmccann on Nov 19, 2015 1:52:58 GMT -5
 Here is the situation after the Prince's forces move, just a little bit of minor formation changing. The LH will harass the pugnacious pachyderm from a safe distance. I have a new mechanism in mind for the elephant this turn. I'll get PMs to all players with some notes and questions in the next couple of days. I'd like to get another turn in over the weekend if possible. |
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