21.6 Dispatches for order-scripts: goals, missions, etc.

Dispatches are orders written by the military leaders of a city or a guild and dispatched into the custody of a legion or designated group of legions detailing actions/responses to be undertaken in the event of specific circumstances and/or criteria being met. Thus complex and tactically strong defences can be mounted against an aggressor led by active, belligerent individuals entirely by dint of well-written defensive dispatches (assuming, of course, a touch of military genius on the part of their author). See HELP GOALS and HELP MISSIONS for the list of actual actions/broader targets available, for adding into dispatches and thus passing onto your legions/fieldworkers. Use HELP SPECIALIST followed by any of the specialists-skills for detailed rundowns on each specific skill, its real-world applications, commands, interskill associations, et al.

Syntax: DISPATCHES.
Shows you all dispatches in play about the land written and/or put into action by you personally.

Syntax: DISPATCHES <legion>.
Reviews all active dispatches under the banner of the specified legion. The legion must be one over which you have a modicum of authority but the dispatches may have originated from any source.

Syntax: DISPATCH NEW.
In possession (or in sight) of papyrus and some form of wood (whether commodified or a fallen branch) this command allows you to quickly have a blank dispatches sheet made up and presented to you; ready for inscription.

Syntax: DISPATCH ERASE <dispatch>.
Erases all orders, timings and circumstance/event catalysts from a dispatch sheet allowing it to be freshly inscribed as if newly created.

Syntax: DISPATCH READ <dispatch>.
Reads over a specific dispatch scroll, listing out the orders it contains and any circumstance/event criteria for their exectutions alongside associated timings.

Syntax: DISPATCH GIVE <dispatch> <target legion> [EXECUTE].
If you are standing before the target legion you will be able to give them, in an instant, the dispatch scroll and thus have the immediately acquainted with its contents, thus readied to act on your commands. There is no faster, more certain method of delivery. If you append EXECUTE to the end of this command then you will give over the dispatches with the express instruction that they are to be read through and acted upon promptly.

Syntax: DISPATCH RUNNER ANY/<CCC to run> <dispatch>/ALL <target legion>.
You can send dispatches out to legions using runners - wily children, young men enlisted but without legions, or young folk of sympathetic loyalty (over whom you have authority) as yet unenlisted - who will take the dispatch from you and make their way as quickly as possible to the target legion. Specifying ALL for <dispsatch> will hand over all your suitable dispatches to the runner; the greater the load, the more risky the operation (albeit only marginally when dispatch numbers remain relatively low). Upon reaching their destination they will hand over the dispatch into the safe custody of the legion. Beware, however: the further away your legion the longer the runner will take to reach them, no matter how well he/she knows the lay of the land. Obstacles you might expect to prevent an infantryman or cavalryman will also risk thwarting a runner.

Syntax: DISPATCH PIGEON ANY/<pigeonpotency>%/<pigeon> <dispatch> <to legion>.
Quicker than runners but in some ways less reliable, and certainly less intelligent if spotted/caught, the carrier pigeon can be used to carry dispatches to legions in all four corners of the land. It has advantages over runners insofar as the pigeon moves faster, is more difficult to blockade from reaching its destination and, if lost, is less a tragedy than sacrificing a runner; a human youth. Pigeons may be trained to move at great pace about pretaught routes - see HELP PIGEONS for information on pigeon fancying; a Farming ability many opt to pursue, often for personal rather than military satisfaction. Pigeons, it should be borne in mind, can be spotted, tracked and shot down/slain too (an arrow, a firebolt, even a bird of prey can make light work of a pigeon) - thereby preventing your dispatches from reaching their destination.

Syntax: DISPATCH WITHDRAW <dispatch> <target legion>.
This command allows you to withdraw the specified dispatch from the order repertoire of a specific legion. You must be in the same location as those flying the banner of the target legion to withdraw the dispatch immediately, else you will need to resort to sending a runner or carrier pigeon armed with a dispatch containing an order nullifying a previous dispatch!

Syntax: DISPATCH SCRIBE <dispatch> GOAL/MISSION <goal or mission order>.
To inscribe an order on a dispatch sheet you use this command. The syntax and parameters of an order will vary according to the goal or mission being assigned - check your helpfiles (HELP GOALS, HELP MISSION) and the subsection at the end of this command list to learn more (particularly about criteria and timings). The newly inscribed order will be given a number - dispatch sheets can hold a handful of orders, the maximum being dependent on the complexity of each individual command. Example might be DISPATCH SCRIBE DISPATCH1234 GOAL MARCH NORTHEAST.

Syntax: DISPATCH WIPE <dispatch> <order number>
Allows you to remove a single order from a dispatch sheet without interfering with anything else written on the scroll.

Syntax: DISPATCH PRIORITY <dispatch> <order number>
Dispatch scrolls have a default priority order that begins with the first order written and ends with the latest. Using this command will bring the specified order up to the top of the priority list; thus a couple of iterations of this command will allow you to sort your commands in any sequence you desire.

Syntax: DISPATCH TIMING <order number> <timing type> <time value>.
You are able to include a variety of timings with a dispatch to inform the bearers when to proceed with carryng out the order. Needless to say unpredicted events could hamper a legion's ability to obey the timings to the second but they will always endeavour to proceed with the order as close as possible to the time specified. See the table below for timing types and values.

Syntax: DISPATCH CRITERIA <order number> <criteria type> [<settings>].
The most complex aspect of dispatches is the attempt to predict when and under what circumstances a set of orders ought to be carried out; particularly on an ever-changing battlefield or against a cunning, quick-thinking foe. Nothing is as effective as the personal touch in legion leadership but, so saying, orders from above can also be extremely effective and this command sets up the criteria for the execution of a specific order. Below is a table with criteria types and their expected settings.

TIMING TYPES AND SETTINGS:
"commence" - determines a precise time to begin an order execution.
"end" - attempts to determine a time by which an order should be completed/ceased.
"length" - defines the length of time a legion may spend executing an order.
"total" - gives a total amount of time during which the order is a valid part of the dispatch.
"pace" - declares the pace the legion either executes or seeks circumstances to execute an order.

CRITERIA TYPES AND SETTINGS:
"always" - states the order is ALWAYS to be carried out.
"dominating" - states the order to be carried out when the legion is deemed in a dominant position.
"losing" - states the order to be executed only when the legion thinks itself in a losing situation.
"inrout" - defines orders that are to be obeyed when the legion is undeniably in route, i.e. approaching total defeat.
"altruistic" - pegs an order to only be carried out if doing so would be an act of altruism.
"location" - defines where the order is to be carried out, at home, neutral ground, battlefields, foreign soil, certain foreign locations, etc.
"opposition" - lists the opposition against which the legion must be facing before the order is executed.
"support" - defines the support the legion must have nearby before it carries out the order.