That seems to be the gist. As a note, the Baggage entry mentions that the train is usually guarded by Inexpensive troops.
The "Heroic Manuever" event from page 108:
It feels like the rules allow for interested players and storyguides to exercise some creativity and play with the system a good deal. There's a sense of openness to the system that invites tinkering and playing about to get the results you want, though the vanilla rules are quite serviceable, it seems. I also get a feel that there are some unanswered questions lurking there, but my sleep-deprived mind cannot process exactly what provokes that response, so take it with a grain of salt until I review the section more closely.
You're correct. It isn't that it's necessarily the hardest target, but it's the last resort for the desperate. Sure, it might be a soft target but it's a cowardly act. Trying to win the day by slaughtering the women and children? Okay, but taking that option gives the storyguide something to hang some arbitrary future trouble on. You might win the battle, but your reputation is stained. And the acts of cowardice and murder might bring Infernal interest.
And imagine playing it. You have to attack the baggage. That means sending your noble heroic player character, who you have built throughout the saga, to kill defenceless civilians as a means of winning the battle. Palatable?
Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of the final book yet so I can't comment on specifics.
But thats not part of the battle, wether its "nice", "palatable" or future trouble...
You get a higher modifier the harder the sort of enemy you face, except that baggage train is one step above "Badass NPC warriors, supernatural foes"...
Maybe that's because you need to go through the badasses to get to the baggage? (And perhaps they'll fight all the harder to protect the non-combatants?),
Yeah the thought ocurred to me, but it would be the "Maneuver" type that would be harder then, the "Run the gauntlet" one or similar, and you may be able to get to the baggage train without encountering the "army troops" itself at all...
And sometimes you might get a serious fight for it, but some people at the time didnt even leave troops beyond a few guards against thieves with the train.
The intention is to build temptation into the battle. War makes monsters of us all, right?
There's no need for puzzlement. There's no claim that the baggage train are in any way more difficult to fight than knights or a supernatural threat. None at all. That's not what that nuance is about. It's about presenting an easy option. And then asking whether you or your characters can live with it.
Please tell me they fixed it from the screwy pyramid thing used in covenants that makes candles cheap when you have nothing else and exorbitantly expensive when you have a couple other things.
Not in the slightest, but i dont have the full rules.
It LOOKs like if it was supposed to be an easy option it would rank among "+0 levies" instead of higher than knights...
I have a question about Lords of Men (which is at it's way to me now from Amazon). Are there any new rules for characters, like Virtues and Flaws (if so, which ones?).
My book won't be here for a couple days. (Fingers crossed for Tuesday.) However, I think I see where people are getting confused. Without clarity as to exactly where (every spot, not just one) and how (in each case) these modifiers are applied, it's hard to know what the modifiers mean. I'm guessing it will make a lot more sense once we get to read through it.
The only thing I know for sure: this looks like a far far more interesting mechanic for warfare than I was even hoping to see. Some real brilliance and artistry has been brought into the mechanics. Even if a few numbers end up being a little odd, I'll still think it's marvelous. How many writers would have come up with something along those lines, something that makes the actions of the heroes and storytelling the focus of the battle? I'm lacking the smiley holding the mug of ale to say cheers. I'll just have to use another.
I'm torn between purchasing this along with Sundered Eagle when it comes out, or waiting for the pdf. Either way, it is a long wait.
I have to say Atlas' poilcy regarding PDFs (which are released when the first printings are out of their warehouses) is disappointing. I'm tired of lugging physical books around.
I'm currently re-reading Heroes of Battle, which is the D&D third edition mass-battle book and takes the same approach - which I'd say officially makes it the standard. (Of course, how well they oulled it off is something I can't begin to judge without seeing the rules.) The real bravery here is allowing players to determine the encounters, a very Indie-esque move that is definitely interesting.
The first time that I saw something of the type was in legend of the five rings first edition (I think it was 1998). My hope is that the authors have learned from and perhaps even improved upon what is out there already.
I probably shouldn't post since I haven't read the book yet...but...this sounds like Pendragon more than it does medieval Europe. What about my non-heroic player characters?
I was thinking more in terms of the bastards than the wallflowers. In terms of what sounded like a penalty for cowardly acts. But since I haven't read the book I might be off base.
I'm reminded of WEG Star Wars 2nd ed. (1992), it had a two-page spread on running big battles in scenes and encounters for the heroes and letting them affect the outcome of the larger battle. Very informal, and useful. More action-cinematic than the common ars game, perhaps, but still.
I'm currently re-reading