[LP CYOA] Epic

[Esquilax]

Not sure about that. Astarth may be bloodthirsty, but he's no fool. When your enemies have 8000 troops breathing down your neck your turn and face them. There will never be a better time or place to drive them off than now at the fort. At the very least he might send reinforcements.

I think it's an acceptable risk from his POV. He realizes that we don't see eye-to-eye very much: we allied with him to prevent the poisoning of Memphis and now we went to aid Tjaru to prevent the Babylonians from slaughtering their way across the Delta. Astarth sees this sort of honour and disobedience as a liability, and he's willing to let us burn at Tjaru taking out the vast majority of the Babylonians if it means he doesn't have to deal with a threat to his power down the road.

It's all about calculated risks. If we die killing off the Gieloth at Tjaru and a large chunk of the Babylonians, then that's great for Astaroth. Also, you're forgetting one important thing about Astarth:

He is a warmonger and would likely set his sights further afield regardless of whether Egypt is able to sustain more wars.

He doesn't think that way, man. As treave said, this is the sort of guy who would find sailing to America to fight the Gieloth there reasonable if we told him the extent of our ability to tap into their communications. He'll think, "Great, once that disobedient lieutenant dies fighting the Babylonian army, I'll march right into Babylon with my 9,000 men for a brutal counter-attack." You're projecting the way that you think onto this dude, and that's a fatal mistake.

If we die, he'll just think "Well, there's no reason I can't kill these Gieloth myself, can I?"

Assume that we are alone and that no help is coming. That's the best way. I am fully committed to B now because my rationale for A was based on an overly emotional decision, but fuck it, too late for that.

 

[a cut of domestic sheep prime]

What can I say. When you are right you are right, bro.

 

[Azira]

 

[treave]

A - 13
B - 6

You'll be getting a character sheet once the Theban issues are resolved. And of course, we've let Astarth know what's going on. Waiting for his reply wouldn't do any good, though.

***

Chapter 3.17: Fortress Tjaru

You could not let the Babylonians enter the Nile Delta proper. Not only would that mean bad news for the populace, Astarth also relied on the lush Delta's agricultural strength to supply his vast army. Given the number of mouths he has to feed, any interruptions while he is still on campaign would probably give a chance for the Thebans to turn things around.

"How many of them are there, Master Runi?" Akil sits opposite you, watching concernedly as you pore over a map of Tjaru and the surrounding region. "About eight thousand, if my information is correct. I'll need every advantage I can get." You roll up the map, and ask him to send out word to all the cities, telling them of the urgency of the matter. The travel to Tjaru would take a week; the soldiers should gather in less than two. You would have another week, maybe slightly more, to prepare for the arrival of the Babylonians.

***

The fortress was manned by a skeleton crew of about a hundred men. It was once a mighty place - you remembered Sargon being given a tough time at Tjaru, back in the day. Although you are the defender this time, that does not comfort you.

Though the fortress had been neglected, the men stationed there had done a good job of maintaining the mudbrick walls over the years. It was surrounded by a moat which was deep enough that you would have to swim rather than wade across it. Tjaru was built at a natural chokepoint. The north wall was bordered by the sea - no army could pass there. A particularly crocodile-infested tributary of the Nile ran past the south - even Gieloth would not enjoy the swim. To avoid the fortress, the Babylonians would have to move further down south, into the desert and off the roads - that would be extremely foolish, and if they did so you would no longer need to worry about the army. The desert would take them.

Speaking of crocodiles, the men of Tjaru have apparently started rearing them in the moat. Their beady eyes shone with brutish intelligence, and one almost took your leg in an amazing leap when you stood too close to the water.

You checked the number of men that you could field - there was more than you expected, surprisingly.

You had 1000 professional soldiers from the Nile Delta. Of these, 200 were from Heliopolis, and had served as your personal retinue for the past three years. They were led by Netzi, the former militia leader and now captain of your personal guard. He has impressed you with his quick thinking in the past three years. They were highly disciplined, trained by you personally, and equipped with the best weapons and armor Egypt had to offer. Another 300 were from Avaris, Bubastis and Pelusium. These consisted of the bravest and strongest warriors in the Delta, and answered to a Kharun of Avaris, a young, untested but valiant fighter. Though they lacked the sheer discipline of the Heliopolitans, their skill in battle more than made up for it. The remaining 500 soldiers came from all over the Delta, with varying amounts of battle skill and experience, and then there were the 100 soldiers stationed in Tjaru, led by a crochety, experienced old soldier called Menos. The soldiers of Tjaru seem earnest and well-motivated, but have not been blooded in any combat.

Together with the soldiers you brought, you had gathered a thousand more volunteers. When the call went out, many militia-men and civilians took up arms and joined your ranks. There were 300 militia in this lot, lightly equipped and armed, and 700 Egyptians from all walks of life. There were beggars, farmers, craftsmen, traders, and even a few fallen nobles in the lot. Unfortunately, you did not have the armory to outfit them all, and neither did Tjaru. Most were armed with nothing more than sickles, shovels and axes.

The fortress of Tjaru itself provided more men. Though your arrival signalled the fleeing of most of the population, roughly 500 men stayed behind, forming an impromptu militia. The man speaking for the militia was Thero, a local guild leader. They were all as untrained as the civilians that had followed you all the way out here, but at least they brought their own equipment.

There was still a week before you expect the Babylonians to arrive. Preparations must be made. There were many things to do, but a few matters in particular caught your attention...

***

Organizing the mish-mash of men you had was a nightmare. There were too many loyal but unskilled arms, too little experienced men. You appreciated the extra bodies though. You would have to delegate some control to adjutants in order to manage this force. This had to be done early, so that the men recognize the chain of command.

A. Netzi would take on the duties of organizing the militia; something he has done before with the Heliopolitans, besides his command of your personal guard. Kharun would be given watch over the professional soldiers - as a soldier of Avaris, he has the training and mentality to do well despite his youth. He might not be able to carry out your orders to a tee, however.

B. You need Netzi to act as your right hand man here due to his experience in working under you. He will oversee the professional soldiers. Menos is an old and experienced soldier - he should know enough to be able to whip the militia of the Delta and Tjaru into a cohesive unit.

***

Then, there was the matter of the civilians. Some of them were infirm and elderly; you wonder why they even bothered to show up at Tjaru. You were grateful to them for answering your call, but...

A. You prepare the civilians for battle. All were Egyptian, all would fight! Of course, they would not be on the front-lines, but you will have them train intensively with the militia for the coming week. Hopefully something of their training would stick.

B. The civilians would just get in the way if you thought of them as a fighting force. There were a few physicians in the rabble - you have them instruct the crowd in the means of wrapping up wounds, comforting the wounded, and generally how not to panic when someone is bleeding all over them. You get some of your personal guard to give pointers and some light training to them about combat so that they can at least try to defend themselves.

C. You send the civilians away - you don't think they can do much good here and you do not want them to throw their lives away.

***

Not all of the civilians were useless - some were craftsmen and builders. These men you had a definite use for, but you only had time for one engineering project...

A. There was a breach in the northern wall, right above a particularly steep, rocky face towards the sea. It is unlikely that the enemy would gain entry from here, but if there are Gieloth along, they might find a way. You get the hole fixed up so that you would not have to worry about dispatching sorely needed manpower to guard it.

B. You have had some ideas on the way to Tjaru regarding terrible new inventions designed to launch boulders and assorted heavy objects at long distances. There is plenty of ammunition for you to use in Tjaru, and there could be more... creative uses, if need be. You get the men to start building these machines of war on Tjaru's walls according to your specifications.

C. The plains in front of Tjaru are ripe for trap-laying. You have numerous deadly pitfalls constructed beyond the moat and carefully concealed. In addition to that, you order the preparation of fire-traps which will light up and hopefully funnel the Babylonians right where you want them, if not outright burn them.

(Choices here counted separately)

 

[Tigranes]

I'm assuming we sent someone to Astarth explaining what we are doing?

 

[Baltika9]

I'm assuming we sent someone to Astarth explaining what we are doing?

Yes, yes we did.

 

[Esquilax]

For the first two choices, it's crucial that we do whatever will provide the largest possible boost to morale for our men. I think that A is the way to go: Netzi has trained militiamen before, he knows how to train and lead individuals into battle who know only the basics. The militiamen will also feel more at ease knowing that the leader of our personal guard will be instructing them. Kharun, while young and wild, seems like a brave individual who will fire our men up and give them the motivation they need to fight. Menos is a "crotchety" old man, I don't think he has what it takes to inspire the militia, who are scared shitless as is. The men need leaders that they can look up to.

The second choice is B for me. If our men know that they will be cared for if they are wounded, it will put their minds at ease a bit during the coming battle. Medics are great for morale. I dislike A because they'll get torn to shreds/rout and it will take valuable time away from teaching the rest of our people that have some basic equipment and training down already.

I think that the last choice is the most difficult. The way I see it, this battle will all come down to taking out the Gieloth, that's all that matters here. If it was just a matter of dealing with 8,000 men this would be a walk in the park. Therefore, we can't let them take advantage of any structural weaknesses. I realize it's not as flashy as catapults and fields full of traps, but I think it's the right choice.

BBC

 

[Smashing Axe]

BBB
If not B for the last choice, then A

 

[Tigranes]

I too think AB is smart, but the final one really seems to be up for grabs. The thing is, A puts us entirely on the defensive; we're then relying on the walls and conventional arms to hold off 4 times our number and Gieloth. (Would they really b e a walk in the park, even for Ean, without the Gieloth? The odds themselves are pretty bad.)

 

[Baltika9]

Brosquilax is right. ABA. I really have nothing to add to his arguments.
Edit: BBA.

 

[Azira]

I'd just like to point out one of the ... creative uses of a catapult. It could quite easily become a manapult, launching a frothing Ean wielding his trusty Sekhenun right into the thick of battle.

Note though, that I consider this an immensely stupid idea, but the image flashed into my mind and I felt a need to share.

As is, my vote is similar to Esquilax'. [EDIT] Clever reasoning on Smashing Axe's part made me flop the first part of the votes, but seems that Esquilax similarly flopped so I'm still just a lousy copy-cat.
[EDIT] Flopped again. I love the good arguments being made here.

BBC

 

[Smashing Axe]

I dislike the first A, you don't give command of elite troops to untried, inexperienced leaders. Yes Netzi might make the militia into a better fighting force, but I suspect Kharun is prone to foolhardy bravery and may take stupid risks. Menos sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders but may not be the most inspirational sort. It won't matter, we shouldn't expect the militia to be brave warriors, nor for them to transform into them within a week. What we need is reliable leadership amongst our elite troops who will make or break our defense. They're key, they're the elite warriors, they are the heart and soul of the force. If they perish, if they aren't utilised to their fullest potential, then the whole army breaks down.

 

[Zero Credibility]

B - tough choice really. A would give a slightly better trained militia, but at the cost at slightly less effective professionals (at least that's how I read it). But the professionals are our most precious asset and having somebody in command who knows us is very important - especially if we will be facing Gieloth sorcery. Netzi worked with us for three years hunting Gieloth and knows some of their tricks we might be facing in battle.

A - there is just too few of us to turn them away. A will give them the most chance of making it alive through this, as skill in bandaging will not help them much against enemy swords.

C - Pitfalls will make enemy chariots useless and funnelling them with fire will limit the advantage their greater numbers give them. B is tempting as we can use it to try to take out any Gieloths we spot in range, but I just don't think that we have enough time to make effective siege weapons and train the men to use them safely. A is of secondary concern right now as it doesn't sound like they can get through there in large numbers - just post enough guards to make sure nobody is using trickery to sneak in.

 

[treave]

The Gieloth priest is attempting a dangerous ritual! Quick, you must stop him by using the catapult!
A. Toss stone!
B. Toss crocodile!
C. Toss Ean!

 

[Smashing Axe]

A - there is just too few of us to turn them away. A will give them the most chance of making it alive through this, as skill in bandaging will not help them much against enemy swords.

The way I read it they're more of a hindrance than anything else. They'll slow down the rest. When you know the man beside you is an senile elderly cripple, you're not going to be relying on his shield-arm to protect you from arrows. B gives them something useful to do that's within their capabilities, without them getting in the way of the defense. They'll only be a hindrance in that role if we are besieged for a protracted period of time and food supply becomes an issue.

C - Pitfalls will make enemy chariots useless and funnelling them with fire will limit the advantage their greater numbers give them. B is tempting as we can use it to try to take out any Gieloths we spot in range, but I just don't think that we have enough time to make effective siege weapons and train the men to use them safely. A is of secondary concern right now as it doesn't sound like they can get through there in large numbers - just post enough guards to make sure nobody is using trickery to sneak in.

Chariots aren't that much of a threat to us behind our walls, they're excellent against infantry on the field, not siege warfare. I'm hesitant about leaving a hole in our walls since we don't know the full extent of the Gieloth's capabilities and they may be able to use animated corpses to march underwater and attack us from surprise at that position, concealed by their light manipulation. Or shadow creatures. Or some other devilry. I just don't think flashy will win the day.

Also, I can't help but be reminded of the siege from Army of Darkness as I read the last choice.

 

[Tigranes]

Having put more thought into it, yeah, it is more complicated. B is tempting, but it probably isn't accurate enough, even with Ean's abilities, to hit individual Gieloth head-on, so it's simply useful to demoralise and take out some grunts. In fact, Zero Credibility's options seem pretty good too.

BBA for now, which would be the most 'conservative' option - retain our trusty Netzi dude, use civilians for civilian purposes, plug the wall.

 

[Arpad]

BAC

 

[Azira]

Flopped due to Smashing Axes arguments.

 

[Esquilax]

Chariots aren't that much of a threat to us behind our walls, they're excellent against infantry on the field, not siege warfare. I'm hesitant about leaving a hole in our walls since we don't know the full extent of the Gieloth's capabilities and they may be able to use animated corpses to march underwater and attack us from surprise at that position, concealed by their light manipulation. Or shadow creatures. Or some other devilry. I just don't think flashy will win the day.

Yeah, but remember that they can't do anything underwater - the river's infested with crocodiles! That makes C far more attractive if we can push our enemies into the river. Hell, we might be able to cross it safely afterwards since the crocs won't be hungry anymore. You've convinced me regarding 1A), at least with this particular plan. We can't let an untested guy take charge of our elites. Morale will be boosted by the presence of physicians regardless.

Having put more thought into it, yeah, it is more complicated. B is tempting, but it probably isn't accurate enough, even with Ean's abilities, to hit individual Gieloth head-on, so it's simply useful to demoralise and take out some grunts. In fact, Zero Credibility's options seem pretty good too.

BBA for now, which would be the most 'conservative' option - retain our trusty Netzi dude, use civilians for civilian purposes, plug the wall.

The way I see it, there is both a 'conservative' and a 'bold' way that we could play this that would lead to success. I disagree with Zero Credibility's BA option because I feel that they don't really mesh well together. A bunch of civilians being taught to fight will be terrified, so they're going to need a leader that can inspire them and make them have some hope of coming back alive - crotchety old dude isn't that guy. So if you want everyone to fight, I think the only reasonable option would be AA.

A 'bold' strategy would involve AAC. Kill off a good chunk of the attacking forces with traps and demoralize them, allowing a brash young commander like Kharun to charge in and fight at his best without dooming our best troops. Meanwhile, our civilians can guard the unplugged hole on the North side and the militiamen can provide aid to the rest of our elites. What do you guys think?

 

[Smashing Axe]

Chariots aren't that much of a threat to us behind our walls, they're excellent against infantry on the field, not siege warfare. I'm hesitant about leaving a hole in our walls since we don't know the full extent of the Gieloth's capabilities and they may be able to use animated corpses to march underwater and attack us from surprise at that position, concealed by their light manipulation. Or shadow creatures. Or some other devilry. I just don't think flashy will win the day.

Yeah, but remember that they can't do anything underwater - the river's infested with crocodiles! That makes C far more attractive if we can push our enemies into the river. Hell, we might be able to cross it safely afterwards since the crocs won't be hungry anymore. You've convinced me regarding 1A). We can't let an untested guy take charge of our elites. Morale will be boosted by the presence of physicians regardless.

Having put more thought into it, yeah, it is more complicated. B is tempting, but it probably isn't accurate enough, even with Ean's abilities, to hit individual Gieloth head-on, so it's simply useful to demoralise and take out some grunts. In fact, Zero Credibility's options seem pretty good too.

BBA for now, which would be the most 'conservative' option - retain our trusty Netzi dude, use civilians for civilian purposes, plug the wall.

The way I see it, there is both a 'conservative' and a 'bold' way that we could play this that would lead to success. I disagree with Zero Credibility's BA option because I feel that they don't really mesh well together. A bunch of civilians being taught to fight will be terrified, so they're going to need a leader that can inspire them and make them have some hope of coming back alive - crotchety old dude isn't that guy. So if you want everyone to fight, I think the only reasonable option would be AA.

A 'bold' strategy would involve AAC. Kill off a good chunk of the attacking forces with traps and demoralize them, allowing a brash young commander like Kharun to charge in and fight at his best without dooming our best troops. Meanwhile, our civilians can guard the unplugged hole on the North side and the militiamen can provide aid to the rest of our elites. In fact, that sounds like a pretty sweet plan, IMO. What do you guys think?

As I read it to the north lies the coast, and to the south lies the river, I could be wrong in this interpretation though. I like your bold combination, but I'm going to stick with conservative for now. Bold feels more apropos when besieging, not when besieged.

 

[Azira]

We're in a fort. We've got 1100 trained men, 300 milita and 1200 civilians (500 of these have some equipment, the rest have impromptu weapons). We're facing a battlehardened group guesstimated at 8000 strong, supposedly supported by Gieloth, numbers unknown.
We're not going to sally forth unless we absolutely have to. That'd be idiocy. The enemy needs to go past us, one way or the other. Staying behind the walls and raining death on the attackers is the smartest option by far.

If we'd had 2-3 times more trained men, I might have considered your tactic. We don't. No need to make a pointless suicide here. The traps seem foolhardy to me. Either we plug the hole in the wall so we can concentrate our forces, or we build a huge-ass catapult and rain stones crocs on the enemy. That's the way I see it.
I also imagine that Ean will be sneaking out while the fort is under siege, using his shapechanging powers to demoralize the enemy, hopefully killing Gieloth this way. That is, if the enemy decides to actually lay some sort of siege. They need to pass us. The fertile lands are on our side of the river and fort, while they have desert and possibly some sort of baggage train to keep them supplied. Supplies only last so far in this way however, so we're better set to wait this out. No reason to waste our defenders on a valiant sally unless it clearly looks to be able to get us the victory.

Ean is immortal, but he doesn't need to be foolhardy just because he can't seem to die permanently.

 

[Esquilax]

Azira: Makes sense, since we're being besieged let's sit tight. The only concern I have with BBA is that we'll need to feed all those people, that will be a concern as this thing draws on. Maybe we can send away civilians to bring back supplies if this thing lasts for a long time, though the question is whether they'd bother coming back. Then again, no plan is perfect.

 

[newcomer]

BBA, though I would like to point out that plugging the hole will also plug our "fuck it" option

 

[Zero Credibility]

A - there is just too few of us to turn them away. A will give them the most chance of making it alive through this, as skill in bandaging will not help them much against enemy swords.

The way I read it they're more of a hindrance than anything else. They'll slow down the rest. When you know the man beside you is an senile elderly cripple, you're not going to be relying on his shield-arm to protect you from arrows. B gives them something useful to do that's within their capabilities, without them getting in the way of the defense. They'll only be a hindrance in that role if we are besieged for a protracted period of time and food supply becomes an issue.

If food is the main issue then C is the correct choice - send them away. Civilians won't eat any less bandaging then fighting. But I don't think it will come to that - they can't afford to wait for our army to return. And I don't think that A means to put civilians on the walls to repel the attackers. Have them assist the real defenders and man locations that are not directly threatened (like that hole in the wall). And if push comes to shove and the enemy breaches the walls, A will at least give them a fighting chance. B won't even that.

C - Pitfalls will make enemy chariots useless and funnelling them with fire will limit the advantage their greater numbers give them. B is tempting as we can use it to try to take out any Gieloths we spot in range, but I just don't think that we have enough time to make effective siege weapons and train the men to use them safely. A is of secondary concern right now as it doesn't sound like they can get through there in large numbers - just post enough guards to make sure nobody is using trickery to sneak in.

Chariots aren't that much of a threat to us behind our walls, they're excellent against infantry on the field, not siege warfare. I'm hesitant about leaving a hole in our walls since we don't know the full extent of the Gieloth's capabilities and they may be able to use animated corpses to march underwater and attack us from surprise at that position, concealed by their light manipulation. Or shadow creatures. Or some other devilry. I just don't think flashy will win the day.

Also, I can't help but be reminded of the siege from Army of Darkness as I read the last choice.

Chariots aren't a threat to the walls, true. But pits will still break up enemy formations and slow down their advance, giving time for our archers to do their work. Fire traps could be used to limit their attack on just the part of the wall, negating their material advantage. The open ground in front of the fortress has been described as ideal for this - so let's use it.

Now, I grant you that with the unknown factor that are Gieloth powers a hole in the walls seams like a bad idea. But do they even know about it? The hole is facing the sea and cannot be seen from their direction of advance. And even if they do, there is still the matter of a steep cliff to climb before getting to the hole. Even the militia would be able to defend such a position just by throwing rocks at the climbers long enough for us to deal with the attack. Let's concentrate on the main threat that we know is there - the army that will assault our front walls - and not on the unknown potential threat. We'll deal with that when (and if) it comes to that.

 

[Smashing Axe]

If they do besiege us, that will hopefully give us more opportunity to do what Azira suggested and play havoc with their command. After-all, we speak the language, we are the ancestor of their modern military tactics and techniques, for all intents and purposes we are them. We should be able to infiltrate and assassinate without much hindrance. It's probably the way to go. Swiftly take out one or two Gieloth, and meet the rest when they attempt to scale the battlements.

Edit: My concern with the steep cliff is that they have powers of light manipulation. It's possible for them to be concealed, especially at night, as they climb the cliff and form a position to invade from within. Also if they're besieging us, they're certainly going to scout all the walls for weak points.

In regards to adding the cripples to our fighting force, I imagine that will work as well as mixing auxiliaries with our main unit did in the last major battle we fought. Logistics and support is where the physically weak belong, and its a vital function for any army. Keep in mind that we may be besieged for an extended period of time, the enemy is likely to make several attempts at scaling the walls, and each time they do there will be wounded and blooded men, who if properly tended to, may come back into play during the siege. It's not just for morale, and it's not just so we have less blood on our hands when the battle's fought and won.