First Age | Manual | 21.6 Direct action goals for legions in the field.

21.6 Direct action goals for legions in the field.

The easiest way to cause a legion to attempt the action required to achieve its goal is to become its commander and COMMAND it to act. Almost as straightforward is the dispatches method whereby a dispatches scroll is gotten (by hand, runner or carrier pigeon) to the legion, its contents being a single unequivacol order to act, regardless of circumstances, and pursue the stated goal. Beyond these methods are the more complex routes whereby a legion can be given a variety of possible actions/commands. This is generally achieved via chained dispatches, distributed by individuals, by pigeons or by runners/scouts.

ONE: Direct Commands

Legion actions detailed below have been divided up, for convenience, into more intuitive sections. Each action is given a syntax with three dots before the command being documented. The three dots are where you would either place the word COMMAND assuming you are at a legion command-post and want to send the order for immediately attention, e.g. COMMAND MARCH NORTH. This is the quickest and most reactive/flexible method of legion control; especially effective in the hurly burly of the battlefield. See HELP COMMANDER for further details on the command-post position and how you would marshall yourself into the role of directly controlling a legion. You can also pass commands to legions while not at the command-post, by typing COMMAND followed by the legion name, then ... the specific action syntax, e.g. COMMAND MYLEGION1 MARCH NORTH.

TWO: Dispatches

Alternatively, you can control multiple legions (and, moreover, exert this control whether or not you are present in the land at any given moment) by using dispatches. HELP DISPATCHES contains all you need to know on the intricacies of penning advance commands. Use DISPATCH SCRIBE <dispatch number> followed by your actions/commands whose syntaxes are described in the various helpfiles in HELP SECTION 21: HELP FORMATION, HELP TERRAIN, HELP DEPLOY, HELP EQUIPMENT, etc. You can include up to six separate command/action orders per dispatch and you can chain dispatches together to create even longer lists of orders.

Dispatches are given over to legions by individuals - though this can be a risky business, entering the battlefield personally; or by carrier pigeons; or by using runners and scouts (either derived from legions themselves or trained separately). See HELP DISPATCHES for info on the use of pigeons and HELP SCOUTING for details on the runners/scouts.

THREE: Summary of Help Files

The actions or command-orders are all imminent actions and they can be divided into seven distinctive types: FORMATION, TERRAIN, DEPLOYMENT, EQUIPMENT, SCOUTING, PROACTION, and BATTLEFIELD. Key to all seven aspects, however, are factors such as legion size, its specialist training (the skills it possesses, as documented in HELP TRAINING and HELP SPECIALIST), morale, recent experiences, battlefield situation and how its legionnaires are deployed.

FORMATION is covered in HELP FORMATION and relates to shifting position of a legion, amending formation and stance within a locale, adjusting its direction facing, ascending, descending, circumventing obstacles, and/or moving location to location.

TERRAIN is detailed in HELP TERRAIN and covers those actions/command-orders causing a legion to attempt to make an impact on the locale, such as digging trenches, burrowing tunnels, or building up fortifications.

DEPLOYMENT is documented in HELP DEPLOYMENT and deals with the usage of a legion's various active specialist skills, deploying them to perform such actions as fortification manning, use of catapults, minehunting and minefield laying, etc.

EQUIPMENT can be found in HELP EQUIPMENT and this helpfile covers the creation of equipment, battlefield or otherwise, armouring, repairs to constructions/equipment, grooming and foraging.

BATTLEFIELD is the core set of actions/command-orders relating to interplay of legions in a violent/specialised manner - it is documented in HELP BATTLEFIELD and explains engagement on the battlefield, deployment of specialist-skills in appropriate circumstances, basis non-mission criteria for such, etc. See also HELP BESIEGING for specifics on laying siege, the core of the battlefield endeavour.

SCOUTING is the last but by no means least facet of the actions system and is related in HELP SCOUTING. This aspect deals with gathering and relaying information, insight into one's enemy positions and skills, events happening in the land, and subterfuge passing bogus orders to one's foes on or off the battlefield.

See also HELP LEGIONS and HELP DISPATCHES - peruse these in detail and learn them by heart since the commands described within are the foundation of everything you will do in warfare; the basis of all your marshalling of legions to carry out the disparate endeavour required to achieve your city, your guild or your personal military goals.