OOC VIII

[thirdkingdom]

I'm working on my turn now. Is Phil back, or am I running Vanco as well?

Sure. I'll probably get a post up in the next two or three hours. If Phil pops in before then we can change as needed.

[Wyzard]

Severi Silvertongue, Elf

Severi drives his troops forward with barbaric yawps, and urges them to slay all that they see.

All of Severi's units move one unit south. All of them that are now within range fire on the goblins in 71.59. That's an attack by 1 unit of 0-level, 1 unit of townsfolk, 2 units of elves. I guess if the goblins advanced towards me, another unit of townsfolk might be able to fire? I'm not sure how that works.

Wyzard, you're missing attacks by two 0-level units. I'm seeing one unit in hex 71.58 that can do melee, and one unit in 71.57 that can do ranged.

I think you maybe mis-counted how far south my column of townsfolk is.

I'm using this map: download/file.php?id=3275

None of them should be as far south as 71.58.

Take that map. Move everything one hex south. No melee contact. Lots of people within arrow-shot. I guess that might change if the goblins move north.

[Atlictoatl]

I'm keen to get the two units of dwarves into melee - its what they want against goblinoids so I'll happily head forward given the chance.

Your command unit is 16, which can get within two hexes (74.57). Your other unit can charge to 75.56 and engage the enemy unit in 75.59 this round.

Ok, I'll go with that then.

This map is not yet finished. So far, it only shows Severi's troop movement (red arrows are ranged fire). Severi's movement is incorrect. Regardless, per this map, Thurgan can either:

a) move #16 to 73.58 to attack with +1 against enemy command next round, and move #15 to 75.58 and attack goblins at 75.59 in this round, or
b) move #16 to 73.58 and #15 to 74.59 to attack with both at +1 next round with enemy command, and trust that Tev and Vanco can take out goblins at 75.59




I'd advise that we refrain from using the word "charge" unless we're specifically talking about:

Units can charge and move three units. In the subsequent round, they accept a -2 penalty to their attack roll, but if they hit they do an additional 1uhp. The unit must be able to move three squares (four, for mounted units).

This description is unclear. Is a charge moving three hexes and attacking with normal "to hit", doing an additional 1uhp damage, but the following round they're at -2 to attacks? Or is it saying (as I first interpreted) that the attack is delayed a round and will be at -2 to hit, but has extra damage?

[Atlictoatl]

Take that map. Move everything one hex south. No melee contact. Lots of people within arrow-shot. I guess that might change if the goblins move north.

Ok, got it. I had your guys in that position last turn, and they should be able to shoot more this turn, but perhaps I am off in my grid coordinates.

Round 1
All units advance two hexes south.

Round 2
The townsfolk advance two more hexes South. They now occupy hexes 71.57, 56, and 55.

By my understanding, your 0-levels should now be in 71.58, 71.57, and 71.56 if they advance S in Round 3, because they previously moved 4 hexes S.


~*~

OK, I'm now out of time for working on my turn. I really think we need regular map updates, because it doesn't seem like we have any idea where each other's units are. I thought I was supplying that, but apparently my maps were wrong.

I'll update my turn when I next get an opening, which will be after 8pm Pacific.

[thirdkingdom]

The idea is that the charging unit is off-balance the following round, and suffers a -2 penalty to their next attack rolls. So it's a good way to wipe out lower strength units quickly, but a gamble against more powerful units.

[thirdkingdom]

I have updated the map to show the current locations of everyone who has declared actions this round, and will upload it as soon as I can.

[Atlictoatl]

I'll just post something and not worry about other people, so TK can move us along. I don't have time to do Vanco's turn, unfortunately.

[Koren n'Rhys]

I will once again be AWOL tonight through Wed night, so I suppose you'll need to puppet my actions. Hopefully this is the last week this will be the case.

If need be, I suppose my 0-level unit can close to melee, but I'd have the townsfolk stay back in missile range. Quint would rather NOT use a sleep on the Fishstealers if it can be avoided. I definitely feel we'll need to save all the magic for the tougher Warg riders.

[Atlictoatl]

OK, my post is up, and I also did Vanco's turn.

Wyzard, I suspect your map is off from your stated turns, which needn't be an issue unless you want to fire more arrows in Round 3. I could be entirely mistaken, though; I wouldn't put it past me.

Ok, I'll be back later tonight after my presentation.

[phil285]

I'm working on my turn now. Is Phil back, or am I running Vanco as well?

Please continue running him for tonight. I hope to be back properly involved tomorrow (Tuesday) evening UK time.

[Wyzard]

If I need to puppet somebody, just tell me who, and put my name on it. I should be at my machine most of the evening.

[thirdkingdom]

Tev's map.png (11.96 KiB) Viewed 623 times

Atlicoatl, I think you might have missed the post OOC where I mentioned that I'm putting an updated map in the "Siege of Threshold" thread for every round, showing the final positions of that round. So, you can view the troop positions at the end of Round Two here: viewtopic.php?p=133440#p133440

I understand it might be easier for you to map out your moves using your own map, but it's extremely difficult for me to follow. I just bring this up because you've posted movements for Tev's troops that don't jibe with the master map, and I would prefer it if we all on the same page. Note that the map in this post shows the final positions at the end of Round Three for everyone in this location except for Tev.

I know this has turned out to be more confusing for everyone than I had hoped, so just bear with me and if you don't mind, please base your troop positions off the maps that I'm posting. Thanks!

[Atlictoatl]

Oh, rats. I'm sorry for complicating things. I saw your intent to post the maps, but didn't see them. I guess I wasn't thinking they'd be in the spoilers, or didn't notice the spoilers or something, but I never saw them.

My positioning and actions were based on an exchange in the OOC thread, and the resulting map I crafted. Unfortunately, those changes didn't make it onto the official map (understandably; the changes weren't really made in the IC thread, just my commands), so my positioning has been off this entire encounter. My archery in Round 2 would not have been possible under your map, only under mine.

I suspect that three of Severi's troops were not moved as commanded on the Round 2 map. On the map, his townsfolk held the same position as Round 1, despite Severi's movement orders for them.

I don't think it's appropriate to retcon, and I'll just make do with my troops as they currently stand on your map. My new turn orders are forthcoming.

Is it possible to make your Siege of Threshold images a bit larger? Maybe a N image and a S image? I'm having difficulty reading them.

[Atlictoatl]

OK, I've updated my post in the IC thread. It's a little disappointing, because my careful positioning for the last couple of rounds are for naught, but I'll live and will move forward.

I'm unsure what to do about the enemy squads that shouldn't have been under attack by my forces because I didn't have range if my troops were boxed in Rounds 1 and 2 as reflected on the official map. By Round 3, I'll have only had one unit that could fire.

Despite this confusion and my kvetching, I do think this mini-game is fun and I hope we do more of it. I'm certain we'll get better at the mechanics of it as we do it a few times.

Also, my apologies if I've had an alarmist or cranky tone recently. Work is very challenging right now.

[phil285]

Properly back, now, I think.
(Fill in random muttering about router firmware here.... And work. Oh yes.)
Catching up on IC and the map.

[thirdkingdom]

I'm trying to find a happy medium here for pbp wargaming, so we'll be going through some edits here and there. I'd like you guys to have some actual choices to make without getting too bogged down in details such as facing, conditions, etc. I know that I would like to refine the melee rules, and introduce some rules for flanking. I'm going to try and get this stuff written up and posted by tomorrow afternoon.

[Wyzard]

Ugh. Reinforcements. Let's try and kill the warg patrols and the troll. We might need to call it a day after that. Start burning spells if you have them to burn.

[thirdkingdom]

So. Troll. You guys have two options here: you can fight it in "units" as part of mass combat or you can challenge it. You can use from 1-3 PCs to challenge it in traditional combat. If you guys win, all enemy troops within visible range will have to make an immediate morale check. If there is one PC involved, I'm going to give the morale checks a +2 penalty. If two are involved, it will be made as normal. If three are involved, the checks will gain a -2 bonus.

You guys should also know that a) I will be giving out XP for everything you guys are doing now, and if things go well there will also be intangibles. Like, y'all should think about the direction you want to go and what you might want as a reward from the Baron.

[Wyzard]

I think our odds of success are actually greater in a 3:1 or 2:1 challenge than they are fighting it in mass combat. We actually did bring flaming oil, so if everyone takes the oil from their unit along to fight, we could probably win it.

The best HP totals are Tev, Thurgan, and Vanco. Do you guys feel up for it? I personally wouldn't tolerate the extra risk of going 2:1 to force a more dangerous morale check, but it's not my character sheet on the line.

[Atlictoatl]

I'm up for it. 3:1 feels better to me than 2:1. Even if we don't drive off the enemy with a morale check, we'll have beaten the troll and can then use the river to further break the siege.

Thanks for the bigger maps in the Siege thread, TK. That helps! Still can't believe I missed them earlier. Boneheaded of me.