Look for advantages for our side to use in battle. Look for someone who can light my 1 unit of shortbowmen's arrows aflame for the battle.
[3] Unfortunately, there aren't many advantages to be had. There is a small hill where you could try and take position for a height advantage, but only your own cavalry would have a chance of beating the Preston cavalry in a race to take it (separating it from the rest of the army). Similarly the sparse woodland clumps into some fairly dense copses and you could try and take up a defensive position in them for an extra advantage, but this would seriously cut down your maneuverability when it comes to the fight itself, negating cavalry bonuses (assuming they were used in that part of the battle). In either case, you would need to beat the enemy to the position or they would gain the advantage instead.
All your shortbow archers are trained in lighting their arrows on fire, though beyond the added morale impact this isn't as effective as it would be in besieging a camp or town. The enemy will likely try such tricks of their own.
Send soliders to scout Northern Eelspine and The southern parts of the Kingdom.
[4] Your soldiers perform a solid scout throughout northern Eelspine. Beyond noticing a change in the local grazing grounds of goats, there appear to be no indications of an attack on this front by any of the neighbouring nations.
[6] Although the scouts determine no incursions in southern Eelspine, they meet up with the remaining royal regiments and discover indications of betrayal within the regiments. It becomes apparent that there are still spies infiltrating much of the royal administration, though the spies uncovered mostly joined toward the start of the year when the recruitment for the war with Preston began. Worse still, you notice discrepancies between the reports your own spies and scouts give you; you now strongly suspect that your own intelligencers have been infiltrated.
Kain's scouts and spies have been infiltrated by the enemy. Until the infiltration is purged, they will suffer a -1 to checks due to misinformation.Get a small band of archers and your poison, head out to follow Preston forces, wait until night and head throughout their camp, poisoning the nobility.
[3] The king is unwilling to spare many men, so you only get the absolute minimum of three additional archers to provide support. Fortunately, they are quite skilled stalkers and scouts, so will not slow you down.
[2+1] Finding the location of Preston's advance guard proves extremely difficult and would have been impossible, but for a lucky tip-off. Whilst requesting the archers from the king, your husband Lord Drummel mentions hearing a merchant friend from Sheepy Hollow once talk about a recessed area of valley in northern Miring, some distance from the normal trade routes. The merchant had once used it to take refuge in a storm when taken off course and had observed that anyone camped within the hollow would actually be quite invisible from any observer not stood at the very lip of the valley. Even with Markan's rough direction, it still takes most of your skill and a fair portion of luck to find the place where, as you feared, a camp of soldiers is already in waiting.
[2] Sadly, the camp is relatively small now - an advance post rather than the full army who might still wait beyond the border. You still take the opportunity to sow what discord you can. [3] The camp is lightly fortified with a wooden palisade surrounding it and guards posted at the entrance, but otherwise just a series of tents. The soldiers appear to be mostly light infantry, but the presence of a relatively large number of horses suggests this is a scouting division.
How will you approach infiltrating the camp, and will you be aiming to poison the leadership directly or attempt to poison the water supplies (or something else entirely)?Put my head together with the Engineer -IN PRIVATE-. 2 points of discussion
His thoughts on fast things that could be constructed to give us (the defenders) an edge in combat outside the city/castle walls. For the purposes of our discussion, always, we are outside the castle. (This is mostly just to get a baseline of what an engineer unit can do.)
How loyal he is to the forces of Preston. Try to phrase this like it doesn't matter, but I still want to know. Drop hints that I might need the services of an engineer.
((I assume we can disband engineer required units to get the engineer back, Otherwise I mean, I cant maintain this engineer unit. Which I want. I'm building a loyal cadre. Ssh.))
The engineer explains that with enough equipment and the funding to compulsory-purchase materials (around 2 Ducats) he could put together and operate some siege weapons; though these would be best used defending the castle, where their full ability to defend against a siege would come into play. With a lot of money for the equipment and resources needed for the crash course, he could train a second engineering crew (3 Ducats) in a few weeks, though if they had the luxury of time it would be cheaper. They could set up and maintain some mechanical traps in the castle or beyond to give a temporary advantage in a fight (+1 to a single fight, offensive or defensive) at the cost of 1 Ducat, though the whole crew would remain tied up in maintaining the traps in top condition until they were discharged.
[3] The engineer is not at all loyal to the forces of Preston, which is fortunate given the circumstances. He is somewhat loyal to Miring being a citizen, albeit not a patriot. He does have his workshop and family within the city however and is acutely aware that betraying the king would have repercussions in that area.
[I'll rule in favour here; disbanding an engineer-requiring unit (KIA doesn't count) will return the engineer, but no other resources. I am also editing the rules for siege weapons so they get their bonus both attacking and defending walled fortifications.]((Starting a "study" meaning It will take a year of time, however I'm available to do any roleplaying during this time as long as I can stay around my studies))
Study the bodies mechanical workings, and how they can be duplicated.
((In order to complete a study I need 50 study points, which I can earn or lose do to dice rolls that happen while everything else it going on. and only while I am able to study.))
Request a male and female test subject (alive, with no plans to kill), between 16-25.
((Chances of people thinking I want prostitutes 99%))
OOC: That sounds pretty balanced, I'm cool with this system. Canon, and when complete you'll get a +1 to associated rolls. I'll apply it to training of other kinds too, such as duelling. Only one research/training project per year, mind.
[5] You have plenty enough access to animals from the local abbatoir and kitchens, to say nothing of occasional dead pets and the like. With these alone, you are able to make great progress and quickly fill a sketchbook with beautifully detailed sketches of the physical form, ligaments and musculature and skeletal structure. You are getting a firm grasp on the basic mechanical principles that underlie the body, principles that bleed through into your work on the ballista.
Physiology Study: 30/100 points[4] You receive a pair of suitable subjects, although there was some initial confusion regarding the assumption you were after a pair of prostitutes. You explain what you are actually intending and they seem fine with it, provided you are willing to pay them the 'usual' rate for their time. [Occasional prostitute hire is within your assumed living expenses budget, so there is no special Ducat cost for this.]
Author
Topic: You are King! (Spring 315a) (Read 188627 times)