From: Roderick Robertson (ROBERTSON@delphi.intel.com)
Date: Tue 02 Aug 1994 - 20:14:00 EEST
Brian Forester writes:
> I doubt the level of coordination could be very much
>higher than "Hit the guy that is in front of you." This
>level of coordination would still clear the field as
>effectively as grapshot does. I just wanted to be sure that
>you weren't implying that a 100 man unit could target an
>enemy unit of 100 strong on a one for one basis (barring
>the use of magic to ensure this kind of coordination).
> A unit using such powerful magic would also
>have to be highly trained in close order drills to
>effectively use the magic. It seems that this would
>be the main limiting factor to the effective use
>of such units in battle.
Remember that a "Magical" unit *will* have magical means to coordinate spellcasting. Plenty of Detect and Mindlink-type spells, as well as (possibly) allied spirits in birds or discorporate spirits, etc. This can provide an officer with better intelligence and better command control than our current electronic means. Yes, such a unit would be rare, but I'm sure that there are a few in the Lunar colleges, and maybe even in Argrath's makeshift units.
Add in some spell/ability to target spells through one person, and you've got the equivalent of off-board artillery, able to reach the entire battlefield and eliminate whole units. Sort of a miniature version of the Cratermakers or Cragspider's Pillar.
Off course, the POW expediture of these units is pretty severe, at 3 points each casting. Nastier things would be to cast Berserk (or just fanaticism) at a unit being held behind the line in reserve...
Even with "Hit the guy in front of you" orders, a rolling barrage of Sunspears/Thunderbolts could work much like a Carracol (sp?). after casting your sunspear, you move back in the ranks and the person behind you comes forward to cast *his* spell, moving back in the ranks to let the third rank through... Or you could use ripple volleys, casting you spell one SR after the man on your left. Or volley by company... Yes, they take discipline, but so do massed archey volleys, or using pikes.
Regular units (Sun Domers, Orlanthi warbands, Tarshite auxilaries, Lunar phalanxes, etc) probably don't rely on magic to directly affect their opponents, instead they use Spirit magic to enhance their own abilities (Weapon magics like bladesharp, Body magics like strength, etc). Countermagic will keep "small" spells off the unit (slow, dullblade, demoralise, etc), unless the caster puts a lot of MP behind the spell. My own view of Glorantha does not have every soldier holding a MP-storage crystal, so they're relying on their personal MP to fuel the spells. There may be a number of units that do give every man some storage capacity, but they are probably the elites (Imperial Guards, some Humakti regiments, (do the sun Domers give them to the Templars?), etc).
In the wargame scenarios that I have run, I usually give only one or two leaders things like Sunspear or Sever Spirit. I have not yet tried a "magical unit" (but I've got the figures for a Lunar one, just need to paint them...). Of course, my games are for 1-1 scale.
Roderick
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