Re: Outside the gates?

From: donald_at_...
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2004 12:20:53 GMT


In message <20040318063038.15927.qmail_at_...> =?iso-8859-1?q?Jane=20Williams?= writes:
> --- donald_at_... wrote:

>> AFAICS there isn't anywhere a breech could be that's particularly
>> vunerable until Tarkalor's Gate has fallen so the main fighting
>> will be attempts to take or hold that gate.
>
>I thought we had the Bat create a breach somewhere?
>With the good narrative reason of giving the defenders
>something to defend? Leave all the walls intact, and
>they can just sit at the top of those cliffs and thumb
>their noses at the Lunars.

If the breach is easily accessible from an early stage there's no reason for Tatius's massive magical and troop build up. He would be able to mount an effective assault on the breach at the end of 1620. I envisage the key being Tarkalor's Gate. With that in Lunar hands the breach can be forced pretty easily but without that there's just no way of getting enough troops to the breach.

Tarkalor's Gate probably isn't that strong a defensive position because it doesn't need to be. Without a breech in the walls behind it attackers are on a narrow road between high walls and a steep drop.

From a narrative view we then have all the fun of attacking the gate itself with battering rams, catapults and great trolls with axes. Trying to get over the wall with scaling ladders and so on. All this with the knowledge that should a Lunar attack succeed there will be a delay before they can attack the city itself allowing the defenders time to counter-attack.

I'm not sure how much serious attacking goes on during the siege anyway. Jorkandros attacks early on and then tries to use the Bat. I don't think there are further assaults until after Tatius arrives and he seems to adopt a sledgehammer/nut policy concentrating on building up his strength and cutting off access rather than launching attacks. That's why I think Tarkalor's Gate falls to treachery rather than assault in late 1620 and Broyan has to retake it - that's the time he's got the warriors, particularly if the Lunars are slow to bring up sufficent troops.

-- 
Donald Oddy
http://www.grove.demon.co.uk/

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