>
> And raids seem very chancy even if you have the
> advantage. Lots of time I
> manuver them into my trap or charge them while they
> sacrifice, have a
> substantial numerical advantage and blow their magic
> away. But they still
> rally and drive me from the field, and make off with
> my cows. Though in
> such cases they often take more casualties....
> Praise to Maran Gor!
>
After the first few years, with a balanced clan, I
find I can make the net raiding equation work in my
favor. The key ingredients are:
-build as much fortifications as you can, because
sometimes you will lose the battle, but with good
walls you won't lose so much plunder.
-get Elmal's "steadfast" blessing locked in place. It
seems to help a lot.
-the Elmal heroquest for "Have Elmal aid us when we
are raided" is VERY helpful. It seems to increase
your chance of victory and reduce the level of defeat.
Now, none of these help you when you are attacking, but if you get your defenses built up, then the counter-raids become more annoying than deadly. Of course, you will still have to spend a lot of time recruiting new thanes and farmers (although shield and woad will help here, too). If you intend to make a living out of raiding you will need all sorts of other military blessings and treasures too, of course.
As a balanced clan, I find I'm able to hit a nice situation where I have one nearby clan who dislikes me, but isn't feuding with me. They will raid me, and I'll bloody their nose badly, then I can counter-raid them immediately while they are weak, and reliably win and take good plunder. Repeat a couple of times and they'll come and offer around 20 cows to get you to leave them alone for a couple of years. I always take it, knowing that in 2 years time they'll still be mad enough to attack again and keep the whole cycle going�which in the process keeps my combat magic reasonably fresh *grin* Every two years it is normally worth a net gain of 50 � 60 (cows + goods). I imagine a more military tribe could support this sort of relationship with three of four neighbors. Possibly demanding annual tribute would be more lucrative, I don't know. Of course, if they are in tribe, you probably want to make extra nice to the rest of that tribe at the same time.
--Bryan
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