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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 908714" data-attributes="member: 1645">Endur also made some interesting points:The particular passages from Sun Tzu you quote don't necessarily fit all dwarves.Most Dwarves are Lawful Good. Given the dwarves' various restrictions, both on movement and alignment, I don't think they would have the same military maxims as Sun Tzu.Sun Tzu's maxims were intended to win wars, and occassionally battles, by deceiving the enemy as to your intentions and where your force was. Attacking the enemies' weak points with your strength.I'm not sure that a Dwarven commander would do that. As a Dwarven commander, I would want the enemy's strongest forces to attack my strongest forces. The result would be a climatic battle where the Dwarves should triumph.What I do not want, is for the enemy to screen my strong forces and attack elsewhere with his strong forces.So, how do you become a successful dwarven commander? You identify where the enemy is likely to attack and put your strongest force there ahead of time.While it is theoretically possible for a dwarven force to go on the offensive, you generally want to avoid that unless attacking a strategic objective. The problem with offensives in general is that because of the dwarven army's slow movement and general lack of cavalry, you can't force the battle, and it becomes like an invasion of Russia, where you want battle and the Russians retreat. So, when playing the dwarves, you almost have to resign yourself to playing the strategic defensive. Later, in response to my point on dwarf weaponry, he said:Don't forget the crossbow. 3e rules aside, every dwarf should carry a crossbow just in case the enemy avoids melee.The Battleaxe was originally used (according to the history channel) as an effective weapon against Cavalry. The length of the haft gave it sufficient reach to strike a cavalry rider.</blockquote>

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