I sent a piece about more spears, but I haven't seen. Instead of reposting, I change the tune, as most in it has already been said.
People claim for more magic in the battlefield. But how many times are used the Crater Makers in KoS? Two or three? It is true that any big battle will have magical "special effects", and that will be the more remembered fact. But the grunts still have to fight and die.
Expecting earth shattering magic in every combat is like seeing tactical nukes in a modern day battle, or chemical attacks, or even laser guided bombs. Some people can use them, and will do in an all-out war, and some can be used if the target is worth it. But in your usual low intensity war, noone will do it.
Also you have to visualize the effects in the battle. If someone uses a powerful darkness spirit, nomads will run away, while the Templars, even if terrified, will hold the spear tighter and close their eyes, keeping rank, because that is what Yelmalio is about, and if 800 Templars are there, Yelmalio is as well.
And they will glow softly in the darkness.
Magic in battle will be of two kinds, intrinsec and invoked.
Intrinsec magic would be the steadfastness brought by Yelmalio on the Templars, or the windwalkers flying, or the battle rage of the Storm Bullers. Usually it will be some usual magic effect, magnified by the presence of a lot of people and the effect of the communal wyter. It is part of the character of the regiment. If the Templars (our discussion subject) are known as enduring, and seeing the Nomad Gods counter (to allow back compatibility), I would say once they are formed in place, nothing (almost) can force them out. As long as the formation is kept, missiles are shrugged, fear is ignored, and no charge can dent them. Even the dead keep their place, as long as the living do.
I suspect the Yelmalions have mustered all the templars only three or four times, in big nomad battles to oust a nation out of Prax, and Moonbroth.
And they shine in the dark, making them a good target, true, but also allowing them to dispel all the dark that gets close to them.
In lesser numbers, they don't have this ability. Instead they use their wide training (one and two handed spear, javelins and bows) to work as peltasts. If you can walk all day with 60 pounds of armour in the Praxian sun, you can walk all day and all night with linen armour, shield, long lance and javelins. The file leaders (almost all acolytes, according to SC) will guide the rest of the file while using catseye.
The nomads, if still at night in the county, will be lost in a maze of ditches, flooded fields, and hedges, so even if they don't camp, will move slowly. And fighting someone with a lantern spell in the shield must be hard at night, while he sees you ok.
The orlanthi are less martial, so to have a wyter in battle they have to switch to war clan status. The effects will vary with each clan, and may be varied with the appropiate quest. Wyters will be personalized, so the Yelmalions have Yelmalio himself watching over them, while the Varmandi now may have Old Varmand, and Granite Phalanx has, well, Granite Phalanx.
The invoked effects are the flash and bang of warfare. Unlike the Dragon Pass wargame, I think most effects are used in battle (as is the use registered in KoS), and not ten kilometers away. You can either summon something to attack the enemy (ancestors, ghosts, disease spirits, hellions, wraiths... up to dead heroes and demigods), or to call some effect from your god/goddess. Many of them need long recovery times, and can counter one another.
This is outside most campaigns scope. But where players come in is that if you know what the other side can call up, you can counter it, as the Lunars did at Moonbroth. If you know they will call the ancestors of all the Brolians, you can look for a first age Brolian hero all of them will obey. Superheroes do that often. There is not much you can do against a super Suspear, but you can make the day overcast.
If everyone does their work, it will fall on the surviving "normal" troops to win the battle, using their physical and spiritual resources.
Take care,
Jose
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