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Camp followers Cooks and Teamsters, Yes or No?

Yes!
- 9 (90%)
No!
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I really don't care!
- 1 (10%)

Total Members Voted: 10


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Author Topic: You Are a Mercenary Commander  (Read 27392 times)

PokemonRocks85

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #30 on: March 19, 2014, 11:28:04 am »

l l I have not read carefully, I may be mistaken. But has an issue of war or at least some sort of notice to the Lord or who-ever we are trying to get their castle. Can't we appear as passive or passive-aggressive. Permission to cross lands make sense or at least moving armies to different locations. Splitting the band to act as an decoy to pass the castle will ease the enemies hearts a bit and probably prove to place their morale higher then usual. But if it's the distraction we are looking for then I mean. It might work. Plus, This is the mediaevil times so to speak, So they might not be the brightest or even have the most highest technological research out there.
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WhitiusOpus

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #31 on: March 19, 2014, 12:04:16 pm »

True but unless the person commanding the defense is stupid he won't move his sentries and your main force will be seen long before it reches the walls and be cut to pieces climbing it.

It was mentioned in the briefing that there was a total of 30 defenders.
Naturally, not all of them will be in one spot, so let's break this down.

How many do you think will be actively guarding the back all, while also being able to effectively raise the alarm, while
A) their damn castle is on fire.
B) the enemy is plainly seen in front of the gates, so they might as well sally.
C) there is four different areas of the wall to guard.

And even if half were on the back wall, that's easily taken out by our experienced marksmen.
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Quote from: The Froggy Ninja
Young Masches: Fetch yonder blade!
Masches grabs his "sword." Navi gasps. Her aura flushes a pinkish hue and she flies out the window.

Parsely

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #32 on: March 19, 2014, 03:25:30 pm »

Attacking the "back" of the castle in relation to the main gate is no more advantageous than attacking any other side. Each side is going to get equal focus except for the front gate which will almost certainly have extra guards because its the most obvious weak point. And 30 men is plenty enough to hold a place as well fortified as a castle, but really it depends on how big it is.

EDIT: If the enemy shows up in front of the castle with nothing but crossbows then they'll just duck. They don't even need to return fire or fight back in any way to achieve their goal of keeping the castle under control. Either way it does nothing to get us inside. And firing randomly with such small quantities of flame isn't going to start anything resembling an appreciable blaze unless we get extremely lucky.

Basically we shouldn't be discussing strategy, betrayal or running away away until we actually figure out what we're up against.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2014, 03:33:08 pm by GUNINANRUNIN »
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Funk

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #33 on: March 19, 2014, 05:21:48 pm »

Ok lets dig in abit make them think that we plan on taking our time.

1, a ditch out of bow shot from the castle, filled with pointy sticks, basicy just to keep them in inside the castle.
2 a second ditch to guard the camp from attack.

Dug in, we should build some mantlet (big shields on wheels) and use them to force the defenders from the wall tops.
Use them to drag up lager mantlets and build lines of cover approaching the walls.

A small mangonel of two should be used to fire camp waste at them from the large mantlets.

Spoiler: Basicy a few of these. (click to show/hide)
A ram is next on the list, be sure to build a cover and mount the ram it's self on rollers for greater speed and a longer run up.

If the walls are short build some ladders, and have our men take practice runs at approaching the wall's only to stop at bow range, I want the defenders to never rest, they should be under consistent threat of attack.     
« Last Edit: March 19, 2014, 05:23:30 pm by Funk »
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Agree, plus that's about the LAST thing *I* want to see from this kind of game - author spending valuable development time on useless graphics.

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ShadowHammer

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #34 on: March 19, 2014, 05:27:22 pm »

As previously mentioned, lighting large wood things on fire with only fire arrows doesn't work. A good analogy of it that I heard was, "have you ever tried lighting a log on fire by dropping a burning stick on it?" -Will Treaty
We'd have to soak it in oil or something first, which isn't exactly easy.

-snip-
+1 to reconnaissance.
+1 to reconnaissance as well.

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Parsely

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #35 on: March 19, 2014, 07:00:14 pm »

We definitely do not have the time to build anything from scratch, since it hasn't been mentioned that we or the count brought any prefab stuff. And besides I doubt any of us has the necessary training to fire one of those things straight (with regard to mangonels and trebuchets). We also don't have the manpower to build any of an appreciable size in the first place, unless we have prefabs, which still takes a long time and a lot of people to build and operate. Its just not a good investment with the amount of time we have.

Rams could do well since those are fairly simple to make, but they're quite risky and if we only need to fail once to lose a lot of men. And until we know what the gate is like we've no way of planning for that.

Large and complicated equipment is not our friend right now. I think our best bet is ladders, or some kind of grapple and line method (after all we do have crossbows) but ladders are better for scaling under fire since we can carry disposable shields on the way up. Climbing a rope you're much more vulnerable.


All we need to do is take the curtain wall.
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Funk

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #36 on: March 19, 2014, 07:26:04 pm »

It will take us maybe half a day to build the mantlets, we need only cart wheels and a few wood planks.

Still until we get a better view of what type of castle this is, i'm not sure what we should do.

If the walls are wood then ladders are a good idea, if there stone then there properly taller than our ladders.
Is there a moat or a ditch?
whats the approach to the gates like? is one side just a sheer cliff?
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Agree, plus that's about the LAST thing *I* want to see from this kind of game - author spending valuable development time on useless graphics.

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Death to the false emperor a warhammer40k SG

Parsely

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #37 on: March 19, 2014, 09:39:43 pm »

We just need to wait for the update now.
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bsnott

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #38 on: March 19, 2014, 10:22:18 pm »

I'm here. What's up.
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Beneviento

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #39 on: March 20, 2014, 01:44:47 am »

After the meeting, you see Sir Duncan, the priest whose name you don't yet know, and a good number of other men walking to one edge of the camp, where it seems a makeshift altar has been set up. He gives you a polite nod as you move to walk with him. "I don't like it, but you seem a clever sort, and the Count never did say that you had to attack at midday. You could try some kind of surprise in the night, or some other trick. The lord in there doesn't seem like the clever sort, running off with a vastly more powerful man's wife without even a plan. You'll trick him easy enough I think. You'd best get to building siege equipment though, just in case push comes to shove."

After Sir Duncan finishes, the priest turns to speak to you. "Do not doubt, sir." he says. "For the lord of that castle has sinned, and God punishes sinners. Do you know the story of Ciriod, my son? The story says that Ciriod and his army were before the walls of Mulger, and the Lord said to him to march 'round the walls seven times a day for seven days, blowing on horns and singing. And Ciriod did so, and when they had marched around the walls the seventh time the seventh day, the walls were toppled by the hand of the Lord. With God's help, the same may happen here." Sir Duncan seems to think the priest has said something massively clever, and starts to speak, excitement in his eyes. "The man's right! Remember how I said the man in there wasn't a sharp one? Well, if we march around outside each day he'll no doubt think that we're demonstrating our power and mean to parley. If he thinks that, he'll not think we mean to attack, and it'll be a surprise when it comes, even more so if it's a surprise attack!" You agree to think about this plan.

You look more closely at Jeg after speaking with Sir Duncan. It conforms to the shape of the hill it sits upon, and has three walls, each one about 15 feet tall, in the shape of a triangle. Towers rise from the places where the walls meet, being each about 15 feet taller than the walls. One wall is nearly about one-and-one-half times as long as the others, and it is in the middle of this wall that the main gate sits.  In the middle of the triangle is the lord's house. It seems this castle was not intended to stand up to siege, and is rather a way to escape raiders from the coast about 10 miles away. It is surrounded by a dry ditch, but no moat. There are wells inside the walls, but no canal runs in or out, and you are puzzled at how this would even be possible as the castle is at the top of a hill. The river runs at the base of the hill. The gate is a simple set of wooden doors, not even reinforced with iron, and they are old and dry, making burning them an option if you are determined to do so. However, the walls are in good condition, and you doubt you could do anything more than scratch them.

You order the construction of siege equipment such as pavises, mantlets, and ladders, and work goes well so you will rather easily have as may of these as you need by the time of the attack, as long as the numbers are not ridiculous.

Spoiler: Cedric Stoneye (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: March 20, 2014, 01:52:44 am by Beneviento »
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WhitiusOpus

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #40 on: March 20, 2014, 09:29:53 am »

Quote
The gate is a simple set of wooden doors, not even reinforced with iron, and they are old and dry, making burning them an option if you are determined to do so. However, the walls are in good condition, and you doubt you could do anything more than scratch them.

I told you, burning them is a viable option.

I'll restate my previous proposal. Have 20-30 of our men, in pairs, using the mantles as cover, approach to within arrow distance of the main gate. Use fire bolts to attempt to burn down the gate. even if it doesn't work- we can still have 10-15 men approach the other 2 sides, using ladders and ropes to climb onto the walls. They can have 5 at the base covering their climb, so that we won't have to deal with falling hot oil or enemy archers.

As previously mentioned, lighting large wood things on fire with only fire arrows doesn't work. A good analogy of it that I heard was, "have you ever tried lighting a log on fire by dropping a burning stick on it?" -Will Treaty
We'd have to soak it in oil or something first, which isn't exactly easy.

-snip-
+1 to reconnaissance.
+1 to reconnaissance as well.


Referencing a fiction novel isn't the best idea :P
Also, did he mention dozens or hundreds of burning sticks? It's not like we're only going to shoot one bolt.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2014, 09:43:51 am by WhitiusOpus »
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Quote from: The Froggy Ninja
Young Masches: Fetch yonder blade!
Masches grabs his "sword." Navi gasps. Her aura flushes a pinkish hue and she flies out the window.

PewdsRocks

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #41 on: March 20, 2014, 09:33:41 am »

-1.

Why bother with that at all? He has 30 largely untrained and poorly equipped men.

Just wait till dark then approach 1 side, snipe his sentries and climb the walls. Spread out to take out the other sentries then kill the rest while they sleep. May as well try stealth before we launch a direct attack.
We could also march around for a day or two so he thinks we're going to want to talk as suggested before a night attack so he's completely off guard.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2014, 09:40:11 am by PewdsRocks »
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WhitiusOpus

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #42 on: March 20, 2014, 09:45:48 am »

-1.

Why bother with that at all? He has 30 largely untrained and poorly equipped men.

Just wait till dark then approach 1 side, snipe his sentries and climb the walls. Spread out to take out the other sentries then kill the rest while they sleep. May as well try stealth before we launch a direct attack.
We could also march around for a day or two so he thinks we're going to want to talk as suggested before a night attack so he's completely off guard.

But what if we miss one of the sentries? Or one falls of the wall in armor, causing a ruckus? You must have missed the point that our employer wants us to attack in the middle of daylight.

I'm not trying to shoot down all other options, I'm just looking for the one with the best success chance.
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Quote from: The Froggy Ninja
Young Masches: Fetch yonder blade!
Masches grabs his "sword." Navi gasps. Her aura flushes a pinkish hue and she flies out the window.

PewdsRocks

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #43 on: March 20, 2014, 09:51:18 am »

Thats why I like my way, if we make a sound or are unable to hit a sentry we just call it off then try your way instead during the day. My way is less likely to get any of us killed if it goes wrong.

The man we just met with just said we don't have to attack in the day, we can attack at night. Why not try stealth first then if we're unable to make it work your plan is still perfectly viable.
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Before you start a war, you better know what your fighting for.
If loves a fight, then I shall die, with my heart on a trigger.

I'm an angel with a shotgun, Fight until the wars won. I'd throw away my faith, just to keep you safe.

WhitiusOpus

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Re: You Are a Mercenary Commander
« Reply #44 on: March 20, 2014, 09:56:55 am »

Thats why I like my way, if we make a sound or are unable to hit a sentry we just call it off then try your way instead during the day. My way is less likely to get any of us killed if it goes wrong.

The man we just met with just said we don't have to attack in the day, we can attack at night. Why not try stealth first then if we're unable to make it work your plan is still perfectly viable.

Ok, that sounds good. Try a night attack first, and if the alarm is raised before we gain the walls, we can call it off, and try my attack plan the next day.


Everyone good with this?
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Quote from: The Froggy Ninja
Young Masches: Fetch yonder blade!
Masches grabs his "sword." Navi gasps. Her aura flushes a pinkish hue and she flies out the window.
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