Combat Math Applied

[Bill Hupp]

From another thread, I thought it might be interesting to discuss the doubling to kill game mechanic. From some articles from the legacy systems on line game is the excerpt below by By Jason Ehlers. There are interesting implications at the lower end of the factors (1,2) and higher end too (4,5).

There are lots of ways that this discussion could go from a game strategy to a game tactics basis. I'd prefer to start with game strategy to help new comers with the set up and early game decisions.

When neither side makes a match up mistake in the setup or there is no obvious miss match, what's a Triumph! commander to do? Well charging into combat with the whole line at least moves the game along and having the choice of combat sequence is a definite advantage.

So in the case of two dark age lines crashing into each other (like Saxon and Viking), do you
1) put your General at +6 in the front line flanked by both huscarles at +5 against the other sides General and Huscarles or
2) put the General in the middle to anchor the line and have the Huscarles hit the flank or
3) spread the huscarles out in the line to anchor the rest of the line and maybe create some overlaps?

Generals seem more important in dark age Triumph! battles seem more important than in other armies. Rather than worry too much about the game strategy, my rule of thumb is to try to make it look historiically accurate and see how it turns out. So Generals of Dark Age armies are often in the front rank in the center anchoring the line for me, but in reading about Hastings, the genearls were just behind the front line.

So what does the combat math suggest about how to use your general in Triumph!? Particularly in the set up and in the first combats? (Historicon was an aberation for me, I only got my general killed once. In an Omaha tournament I got my general kileed 3 out of 4 games.)


Bill



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Doubling

An important factor in the {'legacy'} gaming is the occurance of "doubling" the foe's roll during the combat rounds.

The important thing to know is that elements with higher final modifiers are tough to double, but elements with low final modifiers can be doubled by even the weakest elements.

Here is a short table which demonstrates this phenomena. Down the left is the final modifer of the "defending" element, and next to it, the lowest possible final modifier of an "attacking" element that can possibly double the "defending" element.


Lowest Mod.
DEF. that can double
---- ----------------
+1 (-2)
+2 (+0)
+3 (+2)
+4 (+4)
+5 (+6)
+6 (+8)
Several interesting phenomena are shown by this chart:

Elements with +5 or greater can only be doubled by elements with a higher modifer.

Elements with a +4 modifier can be doubled by elements with +4 or better modifiers.

Elements with +3 modifier are at risk of being doubled even by +2 elements.

Elements with +2 modifier can be doubled by elements with modifiers as low as +/-0!

[Kontos]

A good insight for newer players, Bill. It demonstrates the decisions that have to be made in Triumph! to be consistent and competitive. Just remember the general's best friend, 6-1, and it happens more often than you'd like sometimes.

[Rod]

I think it also represents we on the table the fragile nature of the lower quality and lighter troops... or troops that find themselves in a bad situation. In other words if you have a troop type like rabble in combat, even with other rabble things will fall apart faster for one side or the other much quicker typically than two lines of heavy infantry which will tend to push and shove for sometime before one side breaks. Assuming nobodies flank gets wrapped...