Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[GreatWyrmGold]

What do you think the chance is that...97% of the town is noncombatants?

High. Too much is happening elsewhere for the garrison here to be credible.

...I wasn't serious...

I believe the palisade faces land, not the beach, which is exposed. You don't wall off the sea when you're a naval power that worships the gods of battle and sailing. For example, the Greeks attacking Troy launched hundreds of ships across the Agean Sea, and had a palisade around their camp and fleet. When Hector broke in, they fought amid the tents and ships both. As for fire, I doubt they've had time to create stone buildings, wide brick roads, or lead-plate roofing. Probably wood planks and thatch roofing. Tinder.

Reasonable and obvious, repsectively.

And remember, we have no other way to meaningfully contribute to this war. Retreat means nothing to the Duke and his coming battle, but causing a disturbance here might shave a couple thousand off the forces marching to face him in order to better guard this place in future. We act here, or we cower. Like Joral's husband.

What the heck, you only live once. Attack!

We can't go guerilla this deep in their territory, scuttling around underfoot of such massive forces.

The conclusion is good but the logic poor. We lack the cover, supplies, and time to make guerrilla warfare plausible here. Although the kind of attack we're doing is sort of a component of guerrillas...

That kiss idea is clever. As long as we explain it to Marna as soon as we can (wouldn't do to have gossip of infidelity reaching the wife), why not?

[10ebbor10]

I believe the palisade faces land, not the beach, which is exposed. You don't wall off the sea when you're a naval power that worships the gods of battle and sailing. For example, the Greeks attacking Troy launched hundreds of ships across the Agean Sea, and had a palisade around their camp and fleet. When Hector broke in, they fought amid the tents and ships both. As for fire, I doubt they've had time to create stone buildings, wide brick roads, or lead-plate roofing. Probably wood planks and thatch roofing. Tinder.

Reasonable and obvious, repsectively.

The GM confirmed that the palisade surrounds the entire town. Also, newlyness of the town reduces firehazard, as they haven't yet developed the continues mass of buildings common to so many cities, which made them so flammable.

Also, I doubt they'd have put that much effort in palisades and towers if they aren't able to defend them.

[GreatWyrmGold]

I believe the palisade faces land, not the beach, which is exposed. You don't wall off the sea when you're a naval power that worships the gods of battle and sailing. For example, the Greeks attacking Troy launched hundreds of ships across the Agean Sea, and had a palisade around their camp and fleet. When Hector broke in, they fought amid the tents and ships both. As for fire, I doubt they've had time to create stone buildings, wide brick roads, or lead-plate roofing. Probably wood planks and thatch roofing. Tinder.

Reasonable and obvious, repsectively.

The GM confirmed that the palisade surrounds the entire town.

I said reasonable, not true.

Also, newlyness of the town reduces firehazard, as they haven't yet developed the continues mass of buildings common to so many cities, which made them so flammable.

I believe that being made of wood still renders it a bit flammable. Fire would spread slower, definitely, but it would spread.

[10ebbor10]

Fire seldomly spreads over an open mud road.

Unless it's a really big one, of course.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Luckily, once the supports of a building burn enough, flaming rubble will cross the gap.

[Gervassen]

Turning back without striking as firm a blow as possible is simply not viable as a matter of morale. We're here, and a certain inertia--a flood tide in the affairs of men, if you will--demands that we try our luck. We cannot catch up to the Duke. This is the only way we have a chance to make a difference now.

We knew there would be a large village. We knew there would be a few fisherman, a few patrol boats, a few crude towers. Nothing is new or unexpected. Palisades are not stone walls with parapets to hold archers. We have to keep archers off the crude towers, that's all. And when in our battles with these people have they skilfully used bows? Never. They favor axes, melee and thrown.

...I wasn't serious...

Should have been, since that ratio sounds good for most medieval towns. How many guards do we have in Curbiston? Torchester? We're bringing most our fighting men to the front, and they will too, especially since they did the exact same thing elsewhere, and Gorgal views us as weak. We knew this settlement would have thousands in it. That was the point. It was also the point that there is no reason known to Gorgal that he should guard it well. The sea raiders don't view the coast as a frontline in this war, and suddenly a bunch of enemies are storming out of it with flaming arrows in the air will break them.

How else can we make a difference? Slink back to Curbiston and await our conquerors?

Also, newlyness of the town reduces firehazard, as they haven't yet developed the continues mass of buildings common to so many cities, which made them so flammable.

Economy of movement guarantees that people will build close to the shoreline where they work and receive supplies. If the town is crowded with thousands of huts, the most crowded areas will already be near the shoreline on the most convenient parcels farthest from the landward areas where they expect attack. I think the housing near the harbour gate will be dense enough to get a very merry bonfire roaring.

But actually, since we don't want to necessarily burn the whole town, just cause panic, I wouldn't be sad if we burnt only parts of the town. The key with the fires is that it will restrict movement and ability for all of them to assemble, and pre-occupy the inhabitants by its own urgency of being put out, as well. Not necessarily that it will burn everything.

[GreatWyrmGold]

This isn't a random town, if I understand it correctly. I thought it was a staging point for the invading army. Besides, families seem like something most soldiers would wait to take until it wasn't a warzone...

[Gervassen]

But we know that this time they did come with families. They chose to take that risk, as we already found out earlier. And we also know that they aren't leaving large garrisons, and that was before the Duke was even known to be marching toward the capital. Now they have even less reason to be keeping men from joining the great pitched battle that is brewing far from this settlement.


We give it a firm push, and if necessary, we retreat. But the good firm aggressive push comes before the plans of retreat. There's a whole harbour of ships ready for us to comandeer in an escape, so we need not treat our own ships with kid gloves. Use them as forts, punch arrow loops, use them as turtles, as rams, etc.

[GreatWyrmGold]

Still, 97% seems a bit...high. What kind of people leaves their...wait.

Why are these people being stupid in a way that violates my sense of common sense and why am I complaining about it?

[Gervassen]

We kinda did the same thing at our places, so... yeah... Anyway, gotta sign off. Good luck, Sam Stone! 

[GreatWyrmGold]

Difference being, we weren't bringing the families into a warzone; we were leaving them well behind our own lines. If the enemy armies reach them, chances are we're either too dead to care or too imprisoned to find out.

[3man75]

I'm going with gervs idea we need to have our own doolittle raid if ee have any chance of beating them.

[10ebbor10]

Why don't we go with the original plan, which involved disrupting supplies between the town and their army?

[GreatWyrmGold]

If we destroy the town, mission accomplished, permanently.

That said...why aren't we doing that again?

[Maldevious]

There seemed to be general consensus for the beach assault on their settlement, so that is what Count Stone did.