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[Tack]

Routine Testing: (1) Tack
Levy:
Personal Visits: (1) Tack
Save one:

For now, may as well bring up the box.
I don't have a very large amount of faith in us getting that dice, and basically we still need to fix a bundle of endemic issues with our society.

[Madman198237]

I'd try this:
Phalangites
A new unit, using 20-foot pikes instead of spears. They are given a new form of wicker or cloth armor, easily removed in case of acid damage, and a simple bronze-faced wooden shield. This allows for them to work in a phalanx-a rectangle of men, where the first four ranks level their pikes, and the remainder keep theirs raised at angles, to block some incoming projectiles. Their smallish shields are strapped to the left arm only, and thus do not interfere with movement while handling the two-handed pike.

It'll probably function better than the levy on account of a slight additional cost for cloth/wicker armor and bronze-faced shields, but they'll perform a lot better than the Levy, which is---and this is not an insult, it's just accurate and fun to say---a bunch of spearmen with a large side of extra terrible.

[Tack]

Again, phalangites will be cutting into our spearman budget.
Our issue isn't the hundred spearman, it's the Thousand slaves.

[Madman198237]

They would actually be their own budget item, at least for a time. I'd actually include a second revision/budget change, I just had to run before writing it down.

Slaves to Soldiers
Slaves are a traditional unit in warfare, however slaves that flee are useless in battle. Accordingly, we put all the slaves through the Phalangite program. Volunteers are given their freedom in exchange for four years' service as a phalangite. Those who do not volunteer reduce the costs required to outfit them by producing the weapons and armor for all our Phalangites.

[Tack]

Iituem, could we hammer out Marian reforms in a single design?

The simple truth is, every bit of ground needing recapturing is another bit of land requiring colonization, and every refugee is another soldier.

[Iituem]

Iituem, could we hammer out Marian reforms in a single design?

The simple truth is, every bit of ground needing recapturing is another bit of land requiring colonization, and every refugee is another soldier.

Full on Marian Reforms?  Because those were pretty extensive.  You could get something like your Phalangites or Pike Levies out in a design, maybe.

[Terenos]

A question:
Say next turn we devise a new spell. Do we then have to train apprentices with that spell(thus making seperate apprentice units)? If there are apprentices without all their spell slots used, can they be (quickly) taught the new spell?

[Iituem]

Apprentices will automatically learn any new Lesser spell to fill their empty spell slot.  If you end up with more spells available than spell slots, you can use a (probably free) Strategy action to swap them out.  Splitting your apprentices into multiple castes to have different spell repertoires each would probably be a Revision, though  (for instance, Alpha Apprentices casting Daze, Magic Weapons and Magic Missile, while Beta Apprentices cast Daze, Burning Hands and Shield).

[Nirur Torir]

Routine Testing: (2) Tack, Nirur
Levy:
Personal Visits: (2) Tack, Nirur
Save one:

I now expect 5.23% budget to get us 3x apprentices, or 13.23% to get us 3x mages. Spending 5% on a mage might be worth it - He will probably go to front 1, and we'll get to see what the web spell does. Of course, that's if we want to ignore our magic advisor.

[stabbymcstabstab]

Routine Testing: (2) Tack, Nirur, Stabby
Levy:
Personal Visits: (2) Tack, Nirur, Stabby
Save one:

I now expect 5.23% budget to get us 3x apprentices, or 13.23% to get us 3x mages. Spending 5% on a mage might be worth it - He will probably go to front 1, and we'll get to see what the web spell does. Of course, that's if we want to ignore our magic advisor.

I would rather have the apprentices, a Single mage probably won't to much overall.

[Nirur Torir]

We can easily get 3x ballistas and 3x apprentices and either 1x mage or another 3x apprentices. The mage would help if we're trying to fight for front 1.

[Jilladilla]

Routine Testing: (3) Tack, Nirur, Stabby
Levy: (1) Jilladilla
Personal Visits: (4) Tack, Nirur, Stabby, Jilladilla
Save one:

We'll need to actually bulk up our forces on the first front to get that die, or at least make the Hive work for it.
I will be advocating for and increased apprentice budget, maybe even cutting out some of our spearmen funding for it. But we need to give our slaves some teeth, the Hive's numbers are growing faster than we can kill them after all...

(EDIT: Added links)

[Iituem]

Revision: Personal Visits  [Bugs: 1+2]

We forced our unit commanders to review their troops before being fit to go into battle, even subjecting them to 'final exams' to ensure their readiness.  While most unit commaners mostly don't care about this, after the first few die to the incompetence of their own men the rest start to get the message and carry their wrath backwards to the training camps.  Bribes become less welcome, difficulties start arising for the trainers and pretty soon they are being held to at least a basic degree of competency - or else the commanders start taking things personally.  Alarmingly personally.

Corruption hasn't been completely eradicated, but its ugly head has been driven solidly into the sand through sheer, repetitive effort.  At least by the standards of the commanders in the field - it will do for now.


It is now the Strategy Phase.  You have 1 die remaining.

[Jilladilla]

....Iituem? No one voted to save a die, I think we were all working off the assumption that the top 2 votes would be used.

[Iituem]

Ah, you're burning both dice this phase?  Give me a minute and I'll work on the next one, then.