Combat Tactics (draft)

Document maintainer: Bas Weerdmeester

Editor note: This domain is under development.

This domain is designed to give leaders and commanders a way to better manoeuvre their warriors in battle. It is essential for a commander that his or her troops can execute the orders given to them. A leader is therefore not only trained in coming up with good orders, but empowers the troops to follow these orders through the strength of their own will. Every army, police force, or other combat unit of any size is structured in a strict hierarchy. Strategies are devised at the top, and then propagated down to the leaders who are each given a job to do, down to the commander who stands with his warriors on the battlefield, urging them on to victory.

Every leader has a team to command. A leader is responsible for briefing a team on the tactics that will be employed during battle, so that the team can work effectively. Leadership skills use orders to give bonuses to all members of a team. For instance, if a leader uses his retreat skill to order the team to retreat, all members of that team can temporally ignore effects of wounds that prevent them from retreating. This bonus only works for members of a team that was briefed about the order.

Briefing

Briefing the team for whom you are responsible is an essential part of your job. All leadership skills require a character to brief his team before the team members can take advantage of the bonuses these skills provide. During briefings you must inform your team on battle tactics you intend to employ. If you have any skills that can give bonuses when you give specific orders, you must inform all the members of your team about this, so that they can take advantage of your leader skills. It is advisable to have a briefing with your team at least once a day, if only to let them know you are on top of things.

Team

Leaders each have their own team to work with. The size of the team a leader can command depends on a leader's skills. As a leader, you are in direct command of all the members of your team. Your character is not a member of the team you command. In character you might look at it different, but you do not get bonuses from your own skills, neither do you count towards the member limit of the team you can command. Leading a team however, does not restrict you from being a member in another team.

Team leaders can be members of a different team. You are in direct command of your team, and someone else is in direct command of you. In this scenario, the leader of your team will be indirectly in command of your team, since he commands you, and you command them. This creates a hierarchy, like a card house with the a lone commander at the top and individual troops at the bottom. Because of this hierarchy, you can not be in command of someone who is in direct or indirect command of you, since this would create circle constructions.

Characters can not be members of more then one team. This means that you are the only person who can use leadership skills to give bonuses to your team. Members of your team may take orders from others during your absence, but they do not get bonuses from those orders. Of course characters might want to switch sides or join a different team. If someone joins your team, you must first brief them about your standing orders. Characters can not switch teams in the middle of a battle. Characters must at least have (been able to) take a short rest since the last battle they or you as a leader were in before they can be part of your team.

You as a player are responsible to make sure the members of your team understand this. When briefing your team, take some time to explain how this works. These are out of character rules, so you should make sure the players who are in your team understand this.

If you are put in charge of a team that is larger then your leadership skills permit, you can select which members of your team can have the bonuses from your leadership skills. You must inform the players of this during the briefing.

Authority

Authority is essential for a commander. Your team can only function effectively as long as they are willing to follow your orders. It is essential for the entire team that the commander can rely on his troops to follow orders. Without that, the cohesion of the team quickly fails and the leader becomes just another person shouting his opinion.

If you have basic battlefield command skills, and your orders are disobeyed by anyone who is supposed to be under your command, you will be drained of willpower. This is described like this on the skill card: "If your order is disobeyed, you lose one willpower. You can lose no more then three willpower this way in one day." To avoid confusion, some extra explanation is warranted.

This rule applies to anyone who your character believes is supposed to follow his or her orders. This always includes the team you command, and it includes the teams commanded by the people who you command. But it also includes anyone who in your character's opinion is obligated to follow your orders. For instance all soldiers in an army are obligated to follow orders. And so if a general sees anyone in a soldier uniform, this rule is applicable to them.

Orders can be objected to. If there is a sound reason not to obey the order, to which you as a leader agree, then the order is nullified, which does not count as disobeyed. This might happen as new information becomes available to you, such as that the order might conflict with some other purpose or activity of greater importance of which you were not yet aware when you gave the order. It is up to your own judgement as a player to determine who your character would believe is under his authority, and when an order has not been obeyed.

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TODO note: It would be seriously cool if these orders would fit seamlessly into other settings as well. Some do, some don't. I think the potential is there, so it's worth a try.

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