>> 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.
Well, we are talking about a Dara Happan commander here (Jorkandros Blinder). Probably well in the category of "at this distance, they couldn't hit a barn gate" arrogance...
> 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.
Sure. So, what calming powers over storm can you field?
Molanni? Doesn't take much imagination to beat. Every farmer potentially can go on the related quest.
Solar magic? Do I need to spell the elemental succession to you? Storm beats Fire, and Earth nags Storm.
Lunar magic? Wait, we have the Bat, and it will eat the enemy magic. Whichever it is.
Ok, now let's prepare to divide up the spoils.
>> 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
> 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.
Great. So they know everything about taming the Sky Bear and infiltrating Earth ceremonies.
This is not a case of Cloud Call vs. Clearsky rune spells.
>> 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...).
Using the fuel bomb to smoke out a nest of resistance is accepted military doctrine, right?
>> 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.
Sure. So, if you cannot counter the storm, make sure it won't harm you.
> 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.
Broyan has faced Lunars only during the recent raids against southern Sartar - a totally different scale of warfare. Otherwise, he is very much a non-entity, as far as Dara Happan field commanders are concerned.
Fact is that Lunar magicians will swear that no storm nor thunderbolt nor can stop the Bat. (Neither could Sunspears, or similar effects.) The Bat is a magic-stopper.
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