> Definitely agree with you on the Sun Dome Templars.
> And it could well be that the Macedonian style developed only in the first age in Dara Happa, either during the various First Council period wars or later, and popularised by the Daysenarus cult.
The Stonewall Phalanxes predate the Dawn Age and are relics of the Anaxial dynasty AFAIK.
> The other great strength of the Daysenarus cult (or at least, the Sun Domers) is that, despite the fame of the armoured phalanx formation, they have several different styles of warrior that probably train together - they've always been known for cavalry and missile use as well
I don't see much evidence for that. True, Sun County in Prax was told to provide cavalry as part of its enfeoffment but that's quite different from being known for cavalry. They would have been obliged to put down bandits too but they are not exactly known for doing so.
>
>> What [Urvarinus] invented was
>> a disciplined formation - the Sunstand - against the Ram People.
> Absolutely - but the same source says two handed spears and javelins were their equipment, which doesn't make a lot of sense really. If you aren't in a phalanx (and the sun stand really isn't a phalanx at all), the long spear really isn't that great a weapon (too easy to get inside its reach), so setting it against cavalry seems one of the few good justifications for it.
The Sunstand is not a phalanx. What's being described is the _first_ military formation (which in earth terms would be neolithic/bronze age). That it was effective against the Ram People is primarily because the Ram People have the same equipment as the enemy had (ie no swords and no shields).
> Are distinguishing between two handed spears and sarissa here? Because I'm not sure that is a real distinction.
Again what's being described is not a classical battle. Nobody had shields then so they would have wielded their spears with both hands.
> If sarissa came after Urvairainus, I'd put it forward to historical times.
The Storm Age lasted for ten thousand years - there's plenty of time for someone to invent more advanced forms of warfare. Daxdarius invents the hoplites which are significantly more advanced than the Sunstand formation and he's living in the same age.
As a rule of the thumb, the technology or rather the style of the people fighting now is pretty much the same as in the Dawn Age and the Storm Age. There are innovations and changes, such as stirrups and the demise of chariots.
> Though I think a more plausible answer is probably that the Macedonian style still uses a number of 'hypaspist' toops, armed in hoplite style with 1 handed spears, to guard the vulnerable flanks of the sarissa phalanx, so armies that field sarissa troops would also have a smaller number of 1H spear trained hoplites. Whether in Glorantha they are separate units, or separate parts of the same unit, is another question.
Maintaining Hypaspists is far too complicated for a bumpkin county. It's easier to use Praxians or Zebra Tribe to guard the flanks in Prax.
>
>> The hoplites would have to
>> resort to swords or pointed wooden sticks which reduces their
>> effectiveness as hoplites a good deal.
> Of course, the hoplites all had swords, and presumably when hoplites were used for other forms of combat besides set piece battles, the sword would often be the primary weapon. Ekdromoi style fighting, for example, where hoplites would leave formation for purposes such as attacking skirmish troops.
In Prax, the enemy is practically all cavalry and the ground is mostly flat. Leaving the formation to fight with a sword or long knife isn't going to be very effective.
> Hoplites in formation isn't always an effective tactic, especially against skirmish troops (and Glorantha probably has some skirmish troops that are more effective than any terrestrial equivalent, like the Thunder Delta Slingers, so an effective counter to them would be essential).
Rather than speculate about superduper skirmish troopers, a much simpler question would be - what does the Commander do with his Sun Dome Phalanx while the other side has the Impala tribe?
The best answer is that he does nothing with the Phalanx but sends other cavalry (Sables etc) to drive away the Impalas. The Phalanxes are only good for standing up to the charges of the High Llamas and perhaps Bison.
The Sun Domers are simply incapable of going to war by themselves or even defending their own territory by themselves. They have survived solely by being willing to fight a given nomad tribe and relying on that nomad tribe to help out when their own turf gets threatened.
--Peter Metcalfe
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