When planing my first battles with the BoB a question came up concerning the optimal unit-size. If every player-knight has his own unit (with some followers) a triumph will be more likely than having an single unit with 4-5 PCs and some followers / footsoldiers. What would be the best tactic? Do you group your players in different units (particularly when they are young knights)?

When planing my first battles with the BoB a question came up concerning the optimal unit-size. [...] What would be the best tactic? Do you group your players in different units (particularly when they are young knights)?


For better drama, in-battle roleplaying (it is possible!), and ease of play, I always try to get all PC into the same unit. Never more than two. Also, I think that the system works best with four or five PCs in the same unit. They can help each other, and it quickly becomes tedious to roll for a bunch of NPC attacks each turn (see page 49, after the gray box).


If every player-knight has his own unit (with some followers) a triumph will be more likely than having an single unit with 4-5 PCs and some followers / footsoldiers.

I don't get your meaning. Triumph/Win/Loss/Crush is decided per unit, not collectively for all units with PC knight in. So more than one unit mean more than one unit result.

I have questions..

Am I correct in thinking that each units result applies to battle intensity, so if you put the pks in multiple units and then ran the battle you would then have more than one Triumphs/Crushes, which means that the battle would end much faster? or should I be taking the average of all player unit results (not individual knight win/loss) and applying that only once to effect battle intensity?

If you group knights together, only three count and if any other Pks go down other knights do not replace the fallen knights for the purpose of triumph/crush results, this is implied, in that 2 knights can not get a triumph result. Is this correct?

When planing my first battles with the BoB a question came up concerning the optimal unit-size. If every player-knight has his own unit (with some followers) a triumph will be more likely than having an single unit with 4-5 PCs and some followers / footsoldiers.

No
Only the results of player knights contribute to a Triumph/Crush
One per unit means you will never have a Triumph
or be crushed


What would be the best tactic? Do you group your players in different units (particularly when they are young knights)?

Four to five per unit is the best
in my own experience

Am I correct in thinking that each units result applies to battle intensity, so if you put the pks in multiple units and then ran the battle you would then have more than one Triumphs/Crushes, which means that the battle would end much faster? or should I be taking the average of all player unit results (not individual knight win/loss) and applying that only once to effect battle intensity?


You need at least 3 PKs in a unit for the system to work. However, expanding on your question, I don't know how you handle the effect of multiple units with more than 3 PKs. I guess both sets of results would indeed affect the BI. Therefore a battle could end quicker, but it could also last longer (as the unit results could cancel each other out).



If you group knights together, only three count..


This is not so. If you have ten PK knights in a unit then all ten count. You have to keep the number of active participants at 3 or more, with NPKs if necessary, to keep things working as they should. I tend to let my players have second chaarcters in the same unit, in the background to begin with, that can step up to the plate if and when necessary.