> Sure, they'll try - but really, the Orlanthi have never managed to
> raise such a great storm against the Empire before. So why now?
>
> And this is not an idiotic perspective for a Lunar commander to take -
> or at least a commander who doesn't have access to a rules book!
Doesn't require the rulebook. Any commander that takes that sort of attitude towards his enemy *deserves* to have his donkey handed to him.
It's not Heroquest, or Runequest, or any other set of rules, it's military preparedness. Just because [enemy] have never done [action] before is no reason to assume that they can't, or at least won't try. Your super weapon may be stopped by the most insignificant item - a slingstone in the hands of a shepherd boy, a stub speeder in the hands of a moisture farmer. As Neil pointed out, Storm powers are Orlanth Thunderer's idiom. You, as the Lunar Commander, aren't even going to try to counter them? Not a little? That's where Arrogance merges into Military Stupidity. When you have a known threat, even if it's a small threat, you counter it.
> This is a complaint that I have about a lot of Gloranthan armchair
> generals - they assume that both sides know the game mechanics and
> have cult writeups. The Lunars know a few things about fighting
Both sides do have a good idea about the "game mechanics", Just like any ancient general knew the "game mechanics" of our world - some just have a better grasp of them than others. And cult knowledge? They *should* have a good idea by now of what the Orlanthi are capable of, if not all the little cult secrets. They've been occupying the country for 20 years or so, and have had converts from Orlanthi cults join them, so gathering information about enemy potential in the magical realm shouldn't be too difficult.And before the invasion, they had the Sylilians, and Sairdites, and Tarshites and all the other Storm Barbarians in the southern provinces to glean information from.
>> But hey, I'm not your narrator, so if he wants to run the Lunar High
> Command
>> as a bunch of complete tactical idiots, then fine (okay, they were, but
>> Broyan shouldn't be *counting* on that).
>
> They aren't complete tactical idiots. Frankly, sending in the Crimson
> Bat is like using a nuclear weapon.
Using tacnukes against a few rebels isn't exactly the hallmark of a great general. Especially when they can go off in your hand (mixed metaphor alert...).
> The appearance of a Dragon at Boldhome was likely very disturbing and
> something that the Lunars are on guard for this time. But that Broyan
> is actually going to contest the Bat? Insane!
So was taking on the Carmanian Emperor with only a handful of rebels, or going down to hell to bring back Arkat. Shouldn't have worked, but it did.
All I'm saying is that a Power-on-Power attack is something the Lunars *should* expect, *especially* Storm Power, and something the Orlanthi should give a *lot* of thought to. And Broyan is an innovative thinker, or at least an practitioner of unexpected tactics - "He has won wars with words, battles with winds, and debates with swords". Thinking outside the box seems to be natural for him.
RR
He was born with the gift of laughter and the sense that the world was mad
R. Sabatini, Scaramouche
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