[Glorantha] Lunar Colleges of Magic

Donald R. Oddy wrote:

Mikko Rintasaari

>> The Comet Seers are one of those writeups that left me very frustrated and
>> asking "but what is it that these people actually do on the battlefield??"

> I'm beginning to think describing the Lunar Field Colleges as military
> units is a bit misleading. They don't appear to be units of magicans
> who are organised to all do specific things like reconiasance, artillery
> support or whatever. What they are is a group of specialists who are
> trained to work together, thus providing a more powerful effect than
> they would individually.

Allow we to provide a different take. The history of real world warfare teaches us that new technology applied to war does not necessarily effect the overall strategic or even tactical situation in a revolutionary way. Instead it introduces a new option that conforms to the standard techniques of warfare.

So, when deciding on what a unit brings to the table, it is best to try and categorise it in terms of its strategic significance and its tactical use.

For instance aeroplanes introduced new possibilities into war, but strategically their usage is based on their function. For instance, they offer manoeuvrability beyond the enemy line, (utilised as reconnaissance instead of cavalry; or raiding troops to disrupt supplies, communication or disrupting infrastructure by bombing like cavalry or sea raiders). I could go on, or analyse tactics also, but aircraft are not the issue.

So we have a new innovation on the battlefield, a Lunar Field College. What does it offer? Well the book provides some answers, they assist the   army in battle, they rarely confront the enemy, they are vulnerable to a charge, consequently they are protected by archers (who are also vulnerable to a charge especially when assigned static roles), they use all forms of magic for flexibility, they tend to stay in large formations, they act together to perform large scale magic. (Interestingly they are well articulated by a chain of command right down to squad size, but this does not appear to be utilised [yet].)

They are also bookish and good at organising things.

So they play to their strengths, and mainly act as "assistance". What does that mean? My suggestions:

1. They aid with logistics. The Lunar Army is organised, but I doubt that they have a 20th century style staff to organise its needs, so magic would serve as an aid for combat readiness. With invigoration, marching and morale magics, repair and construction spells. Also, the college probably provides the logistic staff available to the army.
2. They aid with defensive tactics Dealing with the battlefield's magical entities, (landscape spirits etc.) providing defensive spells against missiles, maintaining effectiveness through mass healing and logistic spells (see 1). Maintaining a watch over the magical forces at play on the battlefield and readying appropriate defences for themselves and the army. (If in doubt reflection is always an option.) Oh, and they might provide a lot of offensive and defensive magic for their supporting archers through sheer pragmatism.
3. They aid with offensive raiding strategies Acting in concert with the infantry, by dealing with, dominating or destroying enemy landscape entities. Disrupting enemy worship of such entities and identifying and deactivating enemy places or worship or sites of power. Helping to identify routes and defending against ambush and the counter offensive with defensive tactics (see 2).
4. They aid with persisting offensive strategies Aiding provincial overseers or commanders by using their logistical (see 1) and persuasive abilities and magics to maintain order and peace in occupied territories.
5. They aid in offensive turning strategies Providing movement and surveillance magics and identifying safe routes to the enemy rear or flank. Identifying weakness in the enemy lines. Once the manoeuvre is complete they will probably go back to providing defensive support to these newly positioned troops.
6. They reluctantly engage in offensive tactics Sure they don't want to expose themselves to the enemy by either manoeuvring close or casting offensive magics that could backfire. But try convincing the field commander that he shouldn't use their offensive options. Its a big temptation, and in the real world many commanders have misused their available units so why should Glorantha be any different. So when commanded they no doubt act as artillery (or even more risky, light infantry) bombarding the enemy with destructive or disruptive magics. Due to the danger they probably seek magical weaknesses first and when possible negotiate over their targets. Worse still, they may be asked to take the offensive against magical units!
7. They aid in defensive withdrawal With the aid of the infantry they disrupt transport routes, destroying infrastructure and leaving behind magical opposition in the form of entities or traps (and we think land-mines are bad).

We know that the Orlanthi organise magical units of their own, which makes offensive use of magicians even more risky, and evens up the battlefield defensively. But, earlier on, I can imagine the Orlanthi devising variously effective defences against many of the above strategies and tactics, making warfare in Dragon Pass a very interesting prospect indeed.

Jamie
Orlanth-Umathi Received on Wed 15 Nov 2006 - 13:38:21 EET