Unit Statistics in the Battlesystem

[Osprey]

OK, working on the assumption that the BRCS unit stats will remain as they are unless otherwise noted...I had a few ideas for tweaking and improving them. For the most part, I think they work pretty well. But here are a few suggested changes to basic unit stats:

Irregulars: +1 Move, +2 Defense vs. missile
Cavalry: +2 melee vs. infantry, archers, and irregulars (if they aren't pikemen, they're vulnerable)

For easy reference, here are the current BRCS base unit stats:
Infantry: Base unit ratings: +2 melee, no missile, 2 hits, move 1, +2 morale save, +0.5 GB muster cost.
Special: Infantry units gain a +2 melee attack bonus against irregulars and pikes.

Pikemen:Base unit ratings: +2 melee, no missile, 2 hits, move 1, +2 morale save, +0.5 GB muster cost.
Special: Hits inflicted by Pike units do damage during the "charge" phase of tactical battle during the first round of an engagement. This attack inflicts double damage against charging units. Pike units gain a +2 attack bonus against mounted units.

Archers: Base unit ratings: +0 melee, +2 missile, 2 hits, move 1, +2 morale, +0.5 GB muster cost.
Special: Archer units gain a +2 bonus to missile attacks against mounted units.

Irregulars: Base unit ratings: +2 melee, +0 missile, 2 hits, move 1, +0 morale save, +0.5 GB muster cost.
Special: Irregular units can be drafted/conscripted. Such units have a training rating of Green unless otherwise noted.

Cavalry: Base unit ratings: +2 melee, +0 missile, 2 hits, move 3, +2 morale save, +2.5 GB muster cost.
Special: Cavalry units gain a +2 attack bonus when charging. A charge is allowed only in the initial round of engagement and only if the cavalry unit has at least one move unused.

Artillerists: Base unit ratings: -2 melee, +4 missile, 2 hits, move 1, +2 morale save, +3 GB muster cost.
Special: Artillerist have a two area missile range in tactical combat and ignore any terrain/fortifications AC bonuses to their target. Artillerists provide a +4 to Warcraft checks made to allow foot units to enter fortified areas under siege/storm.


Irregulars look awfully unattractive with their vulnerability to infantry AND poor morale - yet they have the same muster cost. A weak missile attack is a poor balancer.
Peasant levies as green iregulars with no armor works fine...they should be inferior in every aspect. But trained irregulars, which would be units like skirmishers and terrain fighters, should be worth the GB paid for them. Give them greater mobility and some added resistance to enemy missile fire, and they look much more balanced as a unit type.

Cavalry should have a standing advantage against non-spearmen foot units...there's great emphasis on the charge, but a general ignorance of the great advantage afforded by a man fighting from horseback against one on the ground - essentially, the horseman has a 'higher ground' advantage, plus the trampling/kicking attacks of the warhorse he's riding.

I revamped artillery almost entirely in my battlesystem, but the basic idea for them remain unchanged: long range, ignore fortification/terrain defenses, and a potent aid in supporting assaults. I reduced their effectiveness in aiming, especially vs. moving targets, so that they can't be used as a unit of super-archers (as they were in the warcard system).

Those are my ideas.

Anyone else have some adjustments they'd like to see to basic unit statistics/abilities?

Osprey

[Osprey]

Here's another change I'd suggest:

Medium and Heavy foot units should have the same base speed, since the only difference between med/hvy armor or encumbrance is sprinting speed, not walking or hustling speed - which has little effect at the company level.

Cavalry, however, should have 3 different speeds because of the different types of warhorses and barding encumbrance:
Light Cavalry: light warhorse, no barding (light load) - 60' speed
Medium Cavalry: heavy warhorse, light/no barding (light load) - 50' speed
Heavy Cavalry: heavy warhorse, medium/heavy barding (med/hvy load) - 35' speed

[ConjurerDragon]

Osprey schrieb:



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> Osprey wrote:

>...

>Cavalry, however, should have 3 different speeds because of the different types of warhorses and barding encumbrance:

>Light Cavalry: light warhorse, no barding (light load) - 60` speed

>

Why no barding? It could be light barding as well, as only medium and

heavy barding reduces cavalry speed. So e.g. Khinasi Light Cavalry could

use "Chain Shirt Barding" for horses and still ride 60 ft on light

Warhorses.



>Medium Cavalry: heavy warhorse, light/no barding (light load) - 50` speed

>Heavy Cavalry: heavy warhorse, medium/heavy barding (med/hvy load) - 35` speed

>

And of course light warhorses with medium/heavy barding 40 ft ;-)

bye

Michael

[Osprey]

Why no barding? It could be light barding as well, as only medium and
heavy barding reduces cavalry speed. So e.g. Khinasi Light Cavalry could
use "Chain Shirt Barding" for horses and still ride 60 ft on light
Warhorses.

A while back I did some totaling of the weight of barding, rider, and gear for a light warhorse with light barding - and it works out to be a medium load.

Light load for a light warhorse is up to 230 pounds, medium 231-460.

Anuirean Light Cavalry:
Figure a thin-medium human rider weighs about 160 pounds (light cavalrymen probably aren't the big guys in the army).
The horseman is wearing light armor - say a chain shirt (25#), and carries a longsword, dagger, buckler, and light crossbow w/20 bolts (16#). Plus saddlebags with water and rations (15#), tack (1#), and a military saddle (40#).

That's 97 pounds on the rider's 160 = 257 pounds; already a medium load.

If we shave down the rider to 150 pounds (only smaller humans are recruited to be light cavalry), make the saddle a riding saddle (30 lbs.), and swap the saddlebag (8 lbs.) for a small food sack, then we can just barely get a light load at 229 pounds.

So any barding at all is guaranteed to make for a medium load, weighing in at 20-50 lbs.

A medium load will drop a light warhorse's speed to 40' instead of 60' - a severe loss of mobility for light cavalry.

A heavy warhorse, at 50' speed, can carry up to 300 lbs. as a light load. A 170 lb. rider plus scale mail or breastplate (30#), weapons (lance, longsword, dagger, light shield, light crossbow - 27#), and the light gear/saddle (38#) weighs in at 265 lbs. - leaving just enough encumbrance free for the horse to wear padded or leather barding only.

Heavy cavalry would carry a medium-heavy load (35&#39 depending on barding type - I thought breastplate barding was a good default for Anuirean knights, though banded mail also works very well for a bit more money.

That's the math behind the figures presented.