> From: "Bryan Thexton" <bethexton_at_...>
>Hmmm, I had the impression from somewhere that, like some of the
>culturally similar earth peoples, the orlanthi used skirmishing with
>ranged weapons (and no doubt boosted with movement and wind magic) as
>a big part of their combat. In essence that they didn't go in for
>set piece battles, but rather for something more like a running
>skirmish, with hand to hand combat being more the exception than the
>rule. But I could be very incorrect, and I don't even recall where I
>got this impression from. Certainly the key words don't support this
>view, as it gives almost nobody othere than hunters ranged combat
>skills.
Yes, but skirmishing and missile fire is largely to keep foes at bay etc.
The main battle (if it occurs) is nearly always a charge and hand-to-hand.
In KoDP if both sides skirmish the battle breaks off.
A cattle raid is much more likely to involve skirmishing type fighting.
I suspect many of their fights are in the mostly skirmish category, but
serious fighting (feuds, traditional enemies) always involves a big
punch-up in the middle (where most of the casualties occur). This is
probably followed by further skirmishing as the fighters scatter after the
force of the initial clash and so on.
Thom