Heroes Of Battle SUCKS!!! (IMHO)

[Pants]

158 actually. It is a bit thin to be a hardback.

Thank you.
Only took 2 pages to answer my question.

But yeah, 29 bucks is a bit steep for a 158 page book.

 

[IronWolf]

But yeah, 29 bucks is a bit steep for a 158 page book.

But if you get 30% off..... Not so bad.

 

[bolen]

I got mine for $25 and I think it is worth the money. It is not a mass combat game but it never said it was. I think it is one of the beter books that I have bought this year IMHO

 

[MerricB]

I'm getting more and more impressed with HoB.

I find it one of the most readable books from WotC - the opening chapters maintain my attention with their style, something that I didn't get from several earlier products.

The "time lapse" method of drawing the battle is something that hadn't occured to me. It is simple, and it lends itself very well to then determining encounters for the PCs - and the flowchart method of mapping the encounters is also very useful.

The philosophy of D&D is also present in the book - D&D isn't about 10th level fighters killing lots of commoners, and it guides the DM to making things interesting.

Cry Havoc, OTOH, isn't even worth it for the abstract army combat system. It looks fine... until you work out the commander system. Yes, having one born general of a small force is worse than having a lot of very poor commanders when it comes to making strategic and tactical decisions...

Cheers!

 

[Romnipotent]

I got mine for $25 and I think it is worth the money. It is not a mass combat game but it never said it was. I think it is one of the beter books that I have bought this year IMHO

thats what I mean by a humble opinion. its not vulgar or explanative, Bolen wins my award for correctly placing humbleness.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Originally Posted by mmadsen
Dispersed infantry gets run down by cavalry. Or overwhelmed by massed infantry.

Exactly.

First, I didn't say dispersed - I said "dispersed and hiding".

You can't ride him down if you can't find him. (Cav also does not work very well against a dug in foe either. See "Whoever saw a dead cavalrymen?" et al from the American Civil War.)

So no - your cavalry and your massed infantry is NOT going to overwhelm a dispersed and hidden enemy. The problem is that your dispersed and hidden enemy is going to be ineffective at projecting any power on the battlefield unless:

1 - they have a capability which includes an accurate ranged weapon; and,
2- they have a capability which includes a portable weapon capable of dealing multiple deaths at range against concentrated foes ; and
3 - you have a means to control these dispersed troops effectively.

When you have those three things, you have the basis for modern squad tactics.

A fireball, a crossbow and a magical means of communication gives you those three things. With them - your massed infantry and massed horse is going to be so many corpses on the battlefield in the long run. When you concentrate to project your power - you are going to be outmaneuevered and hammered. When you bunch up - they hit you hard; When you advance they melt away, hitting back more effectively at your dense troops then your troops can hit at their disperesed and concealed forces.

Because a fireball changes everything.

The reason why that happens in a fantasy battle is the same reason we don't use massed formations now in modern warfare.

How much magic is involved on the battlefield? That's the question.