Art De La Guerre

Ramses II

P67 third bullet states that the defender places the compulsory terrain element on his side of the table.

Is he required to place this element entirely inside one of the three sectors? (seems that no such restriction is on place)
Is he required to dice for the positioning of the terrain element? (This seems to be required but needs to be interpreted.)

RAW, it seems that the player takes the compulsory element and dices for it, treating his side of the table as a single sector, so a 1-4 puts the element on the edges of his side of the table, a 5-6 puts it floating 2U from the edge. Is this summary correct?

AlanCutner · Post� le: Mer Oct 07, 2015 8:16 pm Sujet du message:

The FAQ states this bullet point is incorrect. The compulsory item is placed by the defender in the normal way, ie. dice for which of the six sectors it is to be positioned in.

Ramses II · Post� le: Mer Oct 07, 2015 9:26 pm Sujet du message:

Thanks for pointing that out.

Ramses II · Post� le: Jeu Oct 08, 2015 2:48 pm Sujet du message:

Out of curiosity, could somebody explain why this was changed.

Hazelbark · Magister Militum Inscrit le: 12 Nov 2014 Messages: 1537

Based on the designer notes at the back of the 3rd edition. This was a change from the 2nd edition that snuck through the translation process.

But that is a wild guess by myself.

Ramses II · Post� le: Ven Oct 09, 2015 10:01 am Sujet du message:

Ok, thanks. This does seem to be an older change since the latest changes in the FAQ sheet are highlighted.

The main reason for querying this change is that to the uninitiated (me), it seems eminently sensible and historical that one or other general has picked the particular battlefield based on some key feature, a decision that this process no longer seems to represent.

So, a wild suggestion here, would it be more appropriate for the winner of the strategy role to place the compulsory terrain element first, using the entire table as the "sector" but dicing as usual to establish whether it is placed on a table edge or "floating" (possibly 4UD?) in from the edge. Afterwards, the players choose and dice for the other terrain pieces as normal.

This process would allow the 'better general' a little more control over placing the compulsory element, and placing it astride two or more sectors would also allow greater influence on the subsequent placement of terrain, and hence on the battlefield itself.

Hazelbark · Magister Militum Inscrit le: 12 Nov 2014 Messages: 1537

I think currently it is a good balance. I worry about letting players shape the battlefield too much.

You have the argument of the defender choosing where to oppose the invader on their path.