A few questions that came up last night:

If the unit commander Fumbles, the result is Stand vs. Charge. If the scenario says the Saxon army is all afoot, do you just ignore mounted troops when determining who's charging you?

On a Withdraw, it looks like the Gamemaster's supposed to roll for three units and then choose ONE of those to face the PK's, right?

When withdrawing, can you use your lance if it wasn't shattered in the subsequent round? I mean, you sill have it to hand...but I don't know how effective that weapon is without the benefit of a charge. So, would you switch weapons? Does this require a squire roll? If so, is there a multi-action penalty for doing so? Given the extended duration a round I wouldn't think so, but...

On the Squire Retreat Results table on pg 51, a Failure describes Squires being killed or suffering a Major Wound—but we don't typically have stats for squires do we? Are we supposed to invent them on the spot?

Is Unit Cohesion considered Normal (0 modifier) unless the last Maneuver Result specifies otherwise?

Can a PK use Love (Family) and (Spouse) to get extra passions in these extended battles—like when things get really desperate? Hey, it always worked for Spider-man, so I ruled "yes"! However, in an early post on these here boards, Greg suggested I award my knight a new Passion for having suffered a Major Wound at the hands of a particular troop type (e.g. add +d6 to my Hate (Saxons) passion for a new Hate (Howling Saxons) passion). Should I do this every time the PK is sorely wounded by a particular troop type, monster, or individual? If so, I could see Pks mounting up Passions pretty quick and having a goodly supply for a battle of just about any length! Is that the way Passions are supposed to work? Seems awfully generous to me...

Thanks,


T.

A few questions that came up last night:

If the unit commander Fumbles, the result is Stand vs. Charge. If the scenario says the Saxon army is all afoot, do you just ignore mounted troops when determining who's charging you?


If the army you're facing is all on foot then I would modify the army list so that no mounted troops are present. That way no re-rolls will be necessary.



On a Withdraw, it looks like the Gamemaster's supposed to roll for three units and then choose ONE of those to face the PK's, right?


Yes.



When withdrawing, can you use your lance if it wasn't shattered in the subsequent round? I mean, you sill have it to hand...but I don't know how effective that weapon is without the benefit of a charge. So, would you switch weapons? Does this require a squire roll? If so, is there a multi-action penalty for doing so? Given the extended duration a round I wouldn't think so, but...


Yes use the lance as a spear.



On the Squire Retreat Results table on pg 51, a Failure describes Squires being killed or suffering a Major Wound—but we don't typically have stats for squires do we? Are we supposed to invent them on the spot?


I just assume the squire to be out of action with a major wound. At the end of the battle he either lives on dies depending on the outcome of a Chirurgery roll.



Is Unit Cohesion considered Normal (0 modifier) unless the last Maneuver Result specifies otherwise?


Yes.



Can a PK use Love (Family) and (Spouse) to get extra passions in these extended battles—like when things get really desperate? Hey, it always worked for Spider-man, so I ruled "yes"! However, in an early post on these here boards, Greg suggested I award my knight a new Passion for having suffered a Major Wound at the hands of a particular troop type (e.g. add +d6 to my Hate (Saxons) passion for a new Hate (Howling Saxons) passion). Should I do this every time the PK is sorely wounded by a particular troop type, monster, or individual? If so, I could see Pks mounting up Passions pretty quick and having a goodly supply for a battle of just about any length! Is that the way Passions are supposed to work? Seems awfully generous to me...


I would decide depending on the situation. Personally I wouldn't allow a Love Family or Spouse passion roll unless those people were directly involved, eg your brother just got hacked down or your wife was captured (this could potentially happen if the enemy made it to your camp, and the GM wanted to play it that way).

Thanks, Sir Pram!

One more: Does Excalibur have any effect on these large scale battles? This is Arthur's first fight with the Sword of Victory, yet there's no mention of any bonus for the blade. Or is is factored into the +5 for Arthur's "superior troop quality" bonus?


Thanks,


T.

You could give a bonus similar to that. I let knights use their Loyalty (king) when Arthur pulls the sword - no matter where he is on the battlefield - to make the bonus more player focused.

Thanks, Sir Pram!

One more: Does Excalibur have any effect on these large scale battles? This is Arthur's first fight with the Sword of Victory, yet there's no mention of any bonus for the blade. Or is is factored into the +5 for Arthur's "superior troop quality" bonus?


Thanks,


T.


The GPC specifically states that when Arthur draws Excalibur in first battle against King Lot, all unit leaders are Inspired (+10) for the whole battle from that point onwards.


Sorry can't remember year or page.

The GPC specifically states that when Arthur draws Excalibur in first battle against King Lot, all unit leaders are Inspired (+10) for the whole battle from that point onwards.

Holy crap! Let's see...yep—page 131, Battle of Carlion, 510 AD. Any reason we shouldn't accord this same bonus to Uther at Lindsey? I mean there's been this big build-up about Excalibur for the past few years but in the first actual battle that Uther actually wields the sword it's a non-event. On a related note, at Carlion it takes Arthur 6 ROUNDS before he draws Excalibur. Is there a reason he wouldn't pull that puppy out on the First Charge?


Thanks,


T.

Any reason we shouldn't accord this same bonus to Uther at Lindsey?


I mean there's been this big build-up about Excalibur for the past few years but in the first actual battle that Uther actually wields the sword it's a non-event. On a related note, at Carlion it takes Arthur 6 ROUNDS before he draws Excalibur. Is there a reason he wouldn't pull that puppy out on the First Charge?
[/quote]
Good point
I have imagined that there is some terrible consequence to using the sword that is not overtly stated in the literature
Hence the reluctance to use it

I have imagined that there is some terrible consequence to using the sword that is not overtly stated in the literature
Hence the reluctance to use it


My first thought was that it would be a game mechanical effect, like costing trait points to use. That's no good though, because it's an invisible effect, it needs to be something the PKs can see happening, otherwise what's the point?

Then I remembered the Raven Banner in KoDP. In that case, if the banner is borne into battle your side is guaranteed victory, but the bearer of the banner is guaranteed to die.

Another thought is that later on Arthur disinterrs the head of Bran the Blessed because he wants it known that he defends Britain by his own strength, and isn't effectively hiding behind the the prophecy. Perhaps he feels this way due to bad experiences with relying on or using magical artefacts, i.e. Excalibur. Perhaps he finds the price too high.

Maybe it's best to just hint at there being a 'terrible price' and leave it at that.

Simon Hibbs