Two different methods of combat are available. The first is when you have a hero running the show. Once he dies, or if you had an army on its own in the first place, you must follow different rules, or pay the price.

THE HERO

The hero is a nasty piece of work. It is he (Or she) that rallies the troops when they are about to break and it is he who keeps the formations tight. It doesn't come cheap however. A hero costs 5000gp to attract into your army, the price of his contract so to speak. This fee includes finding a natural born leader who can be trained, and then training him. You will only ever find one per country you own, per turn. After they have been instilled they will still cost you 600gp a month to maintain.

CONTROLLING A BATTLE WITH YOUR HERO(ES)

Tell a story...let me know what you want to do with strategic contingencies. The simulator actually runs the battle with your units moving around over contoured land...it takes into account height, morale, training, strength, whether the unit is defending, moving or attacking, forests, valleys and mountains wether missile weapons firing at range..etc..and many things...use them to your ability. Units marching across a wooded ravine towards you are going to be moving slow and be in your missile range for a long time...

AN EXAMPLE OF A HEROES REPORT
(Taken straight from one of the previous players' turn reports...so dont ask me if the strategy is good, or moan at me if the spelling isn't... I just removed the old clan names and the letters before the units to hide the fate of the guilty.)

FIRST STRIKE

This is important regarding missile troops, not melee. With missile troops the simulator fires one sides first. What this means is that if two units of 1000 archers each attack each other, then the first to fire causes, say, 200 deaths, then the second unit is effectively only attacking with 800 archers...big difference...it is all regarding who is quicker on the trigger.
The Defender always gets first strike. If, however, two units are attacking each other, and the battle takes place on the border, then the fresher unit will fire first.( Fresher depending on previous movements or those who moved through a mountainous area..etc)

LEAVE FIELD [LEAVE {Location} {No}]

Leave field if the facing army seems bigger than the scheduled number. This is useful when entering an unspied area. However please note that a small army can easily beat a larger one. Again something to calculate later.

CONTROLLING A BATTLE WITHOUT A HERO

The following commands must be given if you want to control an army without a hero...or if you expect your hero to be targeted by your enemy. Some of them can be used...or written about for the heroes commands if you wish.

POSITION [POSITION {unit} {position}
ATTACK TYPE [ATTACK {location}{type}]

There are three basic positions with three levels. The L R and C positions could be as much as 20minutes apart (2 rounds) for even light cavalry...so dont be afraid of using JUST LEFT....or WITHIN RANGE etc...
The positions are: LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER, FORWARD, BACK, MIDDLE

Back is in the last area of the field. Middle is 2 or 3 'squares' in whilst forward is 5 or 6 squares in.
(squares being movement areas on a 50 x 50 square field)

So if you wanted chariots on the left flank and the rest on the right you could say
POSITION GCH1 left REST back right
or:
POSITION MOUNTED forward right REST back left etc...
try and keep the instructions simple...generals can take matters into their own hands if they think you are being sensitive.
NOTE: If nothing is given it is assumed middle centre. So if you just say left then it is middle left..etc.

Once positioned you can then ask your generals to attack in a specific formation. The formations are:

Attack centre
Left flank attack (with or without right flank)
Right flank attack (with or without left flank)
Double envelopment

eg:
ATTACK {location} Right, no left
ATTACK {location} Right, with left

Note that you are running this knowledge from a chair and generals may change as the battle proceeds, normally by converging on the foe. So with position and tactics you can effectively make sure the correct troops attack first. When you call in another flank, it means that that flank will attempt to circle around backwards and join you, effectively reinforcing a flank after an initial clash. Beware of keeping troops apart too long.

Finally you can order your whole army to defend where they stand. DEFEND.

SPECIAL ORDERS [SPEC {Unit} Instruction]

From your influence you can order one specific unit to perform a special task. Such as...destroy enemy archers...etc...The unit will attempt a straight forge to accomplish this aim.

RETREAT / WITHDRAWL            [RETREAT {%}]

                                  [WITHDRAWL {%}]

When an army loses a certain % of its troops it may be wise to retreat. This is not always easy, nor certain. Retreating units fight a strategic retreat and come under no penalties. Additionally a withdrawal is used when
the percentage losses of the two sides is a certain percentage. Eg:
A withdrawal % is set at 20%. The Dwarves attacking the ogres lose 80% casualties after a close start but with the ogre catapults arriving for a rapid pummelling. By this time the ogres have lost 59%..the Dwarves retreat.

A large force may not care for heavy losses against a small unit and if both lose 5000 men the smaller force appears too have lost a larger % so a retreat % works better here. A withdrawal works better in fighting on to a winning situation at all cost, both sides losing evenly heavily.

There are problems with both commands. An armies cavalry may have been snared by a ravine and arrive late. By this time the infantry are decimated. The force may retreat. However if they had held on the cavalry may turn the tide. etc...

Fantasy Gaming: Strategic or Role
Last Updated February 27, 1998
Web Page by Mike Jones
([email protected])
URL= http://
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"Why, a four-year-old child could understand this. Someone get me a four-year-old child. Groucho Marx