PDA

View Full Version : More Agile Light Horse


El' Jocko
09-26-2011, 05:23 PM
I've always believed that light horse are underpowered in DBA. And the discussion of horse archers got me thinking about ways to make light horse more effective. Rather than finding a way to allow light horse to shoot, most of my thinking centered around making them more maneuverable, and I came up with this idea. If I was introducing a bill into Congress, I would name it "The Making Mongols Count Act of 2011".

Groups entirely of Light Horse may make a group move for one PIP using the following procedure:

1. The elements must start in a single element deep line or a single element wide column.

2. The elements must finish the move in single element deep line or a single element wide column (they may start as a line and finish as a column, and vice-versa).

3. To get from the starting position to the finishing position, each element may move as if making a single element move. They must observe all the normal restrictions on movement distance, ZOC, etc.


Perhaps this would make light horse too maneuverable and be unbalancing. But it doesn't make them any more powerful when they fight, it just means they get to where they want to go more easily, and without being a massive PIP drain.

- Jack

Si2
09-26-2011, 06:18 PM
What's different?

They can already make a move from line to column for one pip...

Is it the deployment from column to line for one pip that you want?
Si2

Tony Aguilar
09-26-2011, 06:26 PM
I commented to others at Hurricon this past weekend that they should be able to move backwards as well as forwards as a group for one pip.

Rich Gause
09-26-2011, 08:55 PM
What's different?

They can already make a move from line to column for one pip...

Is it the deployment from column to line for one pip that you want?
Si2

I think that is what he is saying, but only if the individual bases have the move to end up in the ending positions.

El' Jocko
09-26-2011, 11:54 PM
What's different?

They can already make a move from line to column for one pip...

Is it the deployment from column to line for one pip that you want?
Si2

Not just that. The rule that I described would allow the light horse to reorient their line however they want. So they could start facing North and end facing East, for example. They could pull straight back. Or they could switch from column to line as you described. I think that a rule allowing light horse this kind of maneuverability would make armies like the Mongols much more interesting.

- Jack

ferrency
09-27-2011, 01:21 AM
I commented to others at Hurricon this past weekend that they should be able to move backwards as well as forwards as a group for one pip.

Or, LH elements in a group may each rotate 180 degrees before making a group move. They can do it when fleeing, why not when doing a false retreat?

The problem I have seen with some changes to LH is that they make LH into killer elements when you have 1-4 of them, without making them significantly better in a monotype army.

Alan

snowcat
09-27-2011, 06:26 AM
The problem I have seen with some changes to LH is that they make LH into killer elements when you have 1-4 of them, without making them significantly better in a monotype army.

Alan

Excellent distinction.:up

pozanias
09-27-2011, 08:27 AM
Or, LH elements in a group may each rotate 180 degrees before making a group move. They can do it when fleeing, why not when doing a false retreat?

The problem I have seen with some changes to LH is that they make LH into killer elements when you have 1-4 of them, without making them significantly better in a monotype army.

Alan

Terrain and board size are probably the two biggest impediments to a 5+ LH army.

As for Jack's suggestion, I think it would allow LH to act in a more historically accurate way (and would be SUPER FUN), but I also think it would unbalance things too much in their favor.