[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
(TFT) TFT Cavalry part 1
I've been away awhile. Thanks for taking "Cavalry Charges" and running with
it. yukyuk.
My original question was:
I found that mass cavalry attacks become not what you expect when 10 lancers
charge a line of 25 halberders/swordsmen. You would expect some horsemen to
make it through the line by sheer momentum, but they end up all getting
engaged, 2 swordsmen to the horse. Do you have the same type experiences?
Thorn replies on 17 June:
Maybe TFT misses something here, but are you using all the rules?
The charging lancers get their lance attacks during movement, which will
drop _some_ of the first rank. Then the horses can
'push' whoever's in front of them, which will knock _some_ of them down.
Then the horses, if they moved 8hxs or more, cannot be engaged by less than
two figures. So some of the last horses to move have clear, or 'not
sufficiently engaging' paths through the line.
Was I using all the rules? Well....no. I have a tendency to forget that a
fighter can push a defender, so that is where some of my problem lay.
THANKS FOR REMINDING ME OF BEING ABLE TO PUSH A VICTIM. In fact, this was
just the thing I needed to read the whole matter with fresh eyes.
I'm going to list some things I think are relevant to the discussions that
have already taken place on Cavalry Charges. I'm going to break this up
into several e-mails.
First topic: Horses used in combat.
ITL page 59 says the following:
"Riding Horse. ST 22-24, DX 12, IQ 5, MA 24, 1+1 damage. A "good" horse
of some breeding - taller and better-looking than a nag.
"Light Horse. ST 20-22, DX 13, IQ 5, MA 30, 1 die damage. A "mustang" or
"pony" type beast - not large, but nimble.
"Draft Horse. ST 26-38, DX 2, IQ 5, MA 22, Kicks for 1+3 damage. A
Clydesdale or Percheron type farm or cart horse, powerful and massive.
"Warhorse. ST 24-36, DX 13, IQ 6, MA 24, Kicks for 2+1 damage. [bite 1+1]
Almost as big as a draft horse, bred for intellegence and dexterity - the
most valuable of horses.
I left out Nags from the above list as I doubt that we would want them in
the military. I would guess that a majority of the horses available are
Riding Horses, even for combat. I would guess that scouts or steppe nomads
would have Light Horses. I would guess that some of the heavy cavalry would
have Draft Horses. I would venture that only Knights or officers of heavy
cavalry would have Warhorses.
I am assuming that a horse can also do damage by trampling. Does anyone the
formula for that? Trampling is listed in AM page 26.
ITL Page 59 WARHORSES
"The great warhorse of the chivalry is so different from an ordinary
riding beast that it is almost a different species. It varies from a common
horse in these things:
"First, it was an exceptional specimen to start with: at least ST 24, DX
13, and IQ 6. A slower beast or weaker best would be ineffective; a
stupider one couldn't absorb the training.
"Second, it is _vicious_. A fully trained warhorse will suffer only the
presence of its master, his squire, and one or two favored trainers or
grooms. Anyone else will be attacked unless one of these people is nearby.
Even while being ridden, a warhorse may bite a passer-by without provocation
(doing 1+1 damage). Therefore, many cities require warhorses to wear iron
muzzles while passing through the streets.
"All warhorses are stallions. An unsupervised warhorse will attack any
horse-type animal except a mare...
"Third, a warhorse is a deadly fighter. An ordinary riding besat may
defend itself if attacked by an animal - or, sometimes, even by a man. Any
trained riding animal of IQ 6 or 7 will kick at someone attacking its
master, unless it panics. Basically, though, an ordinary riding-beast is
only a mount; its offensive ability is not to be relied on.
"Not so a warhorse. In battle, it will fight murderously. It will _not_
panic. Each turn, it will kick (2+1 damage), bite (1+1), or do both at
-4DX. It may kick into any front or rear hex, but not to the side. A
warhorse fights just as well with its mster beside it as astride it. It
will attck foes (especially other warhorses) on its own, but will not try to
aid friends except its master or trainer. It will come to its master when
summoned. Should he fall on the field, the warhorse will stand over him,
letting no one approach who it does not know well. It will defend him to
death."
Then it goes onto training. And the cost & maintenance of a warhorse IS
expensive.
A warhorse is almost another Player Character. It HAS a personality, it can
communicate (well, it will come when called), and it will attack and defend.
Like a knight, something like this should be protected with armor.
AM Page 31 ARMOR FOR RIDING BEASTS
"Horse-armor, or "barding" is available in types equivalent to all the
different kinds of human armor. Each sort of barding gives the same
protection as its human equivalent, but subtracts 1 less from the DX of the
horse. For instance, chainmail barding stops 3 hits from any attack on the
horse, but only takes 2 hits from DX."
The above adjustments for DX (above) may already be including the data about
armor wieght and carrying capability of horses quoted below. Can we use the
above, or are they not accurate?
AM Page 30 MOVEMENT & WEIGHT CARRIED
"A rider and mount move as one unit. The rider's counter is placed on top
of the animal's; the animal moves, and the rider rides. The distance the
animal can move is governed by its MA. An animal's basic MA is adjusted for
the wight it is carrying; although a good riding horse (for instance) has a
listed MA of 30, he will not go nearly that fast when carrying a rider.
"A riding (or pack) animal's MA is affected by the wight it carries as
follows:
"Weight (in kg) up to creatures ST - MA reduced by 2.
"Weight (in kg) up to 2 times ST - MA -4.
"..."
It then goes on to say that a load heavier than 5xST will kill or make the
horse balk. Normal travel pace for a horse is MA 3 or MA 4.
ITL Page 35 ARMOR WEIGHT & COST
"The armor wights given in the table below are for a "normal-sized"
one-hex figure - i.e., a man, elf, dwarf... For other types of figures,
modify armor wight as follows:
"...2-hex figures (horses, centaurs, etc.): The weight of the armor is
250% of the amount given in the table.
"...The protection granted by armor, and its effects on MA and DX, are
governed by its type (plate, chain, etc.) and are not affected by the size
of the figure wearing it. Except that very strong figures wear their armor
more easily. See ADVANTAGES OF GREAT ST."
ITL Page 8 ADVANTAGES OF GREAT STRENGTH
"When a character's ST reaches high enough levels, amazing feats are
possible. Examples: [I'll skip to ST 24]
"At ST 24, chainmail does not slow your movement or reduce your DX - nor
does a tower shield. In heavier armor your MA is 8. Half-plate gives you
DX-3; plate gives you DX-4.
"At ST 26, half-plate does not affect your MA, and your DX is only -2.
"At ST 28, your MA is not affected by ANY armor. Plate gives you DX-2;
half-plate gives you DX-1."
I would say that a Centaur would have problems of DX for armor on its upper
body, but Barding for its horse half should be like horses. This seems to
be the data covering horses, horse attacks, and armor.
Next discussion will be on Cavalry Movement.
Hail Melee
John Paul
________________________________________________________________________
Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com
=====
Post to the entire list by writing to tft@brainiac.com.
Unsubscribe by mailing to majordomo@brainiac.com with the message body
"unsubscribe tft"