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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 3527601" data-attributes="member: 4937">V is a different case from the other soldiers.&nbsp; As far as I can tell, she was not given military authority over anyone but the 13 soldiers that she mass buffed.&nbsp; Since I presume that they are dead at this point, she is absolved of any duty to be on the line.&nbsp; No one is depending on her, and she's done her part.&nbsp; Her duty is discharged.&nbsp; Where I fault the soldiers that ran, is that it is a failure of discipline.&nbsp; No one gave the order to run.&nbsp; Sure, the CO is dead, and probably many of the other officers, but you can't tell me that the entire chain of command in a lawful society has disentigrated.&nbsp; Some one is in charge or should be, and that someone should make the judgment as to whether they should stand and fight here or retreat in an orderly fashion back to the keep or some other defensible position.&nbsp; It isn't up to an ordinary soldier to make that call, and in ancient warfare in particular, the vast majority of casualties are generated in the rout phase of the battle when one sides displine breaks.&nbsp; By running, they are dooming those that stay and in all probability themselves.&nbsp; Moreover, by routing, they are putting the other end of the line at risk of being entrapped and destroyed as well.&nbsp; It's not choosing between living and dying, its choosing between dying and someone else (or everyone else) dying.Now, V can't be faulted, but if V was a Hero&nbsp; then when no one took charge, V should have taken charge.&nbsp; If I'd been on that wall, I would have been looking for somewhere else more useful to die as well, but either we all go or we all stay.&nbsp; I think V reasonably would have been percieved as having Authority, and could have (and should have) given the order to retreat to somewhere that made more sense, either toward the other end of the wall to provide cover for the retreat of the other flank (ideally, much of the force of the charge would have blown right by them), or back to the keep to begin a second line of defence.&nbsp; But, V is V, and has terrible people skills, both communicating with and understanding people.&nbsp; So, that didn't happen and alot of people died needlessly.&nbsp; Things would have likely gone very differently if Roy or even Elan(!) was stationed here.But once again, where are the sub-commanders?&nbsp; Why didn't someone take charge?&nbsp; Right now, the hobgoblins are showing alot more discipline and honor than the inhabitants of Azure City.&nbsp; Thier morale isn't faltering.&nbsp; Thier chain of command didn't crumble.&nbsp; They aren't saying, &quot;Heh, I'm not going to die for anyone else.&nbsp; I'm getting out of here.&quot;&nbsp; Once again, the Azure City folks look pretty incompotent.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 3527601, member: 4937"] V is a different case from the other soldiers. As far as I can tell, she was not given military authority over anyone but the 13 soldiers that she mass buffed. Since I presume that they are dead at this point, she is absolved of any duty to be on the line. No one is depending on her, and she's done her part. Her duty is discharged. Where I fault the soldiers that ran, is that it is a failure of discipline. No one gave the order to run. Sure, the CO is dead, and probably many of the other officers, but you can't tell me that the entire chain of command in a lawful society has disentigrated. Some one is in charge or should be, and that someone should make the judgment as to whether they should stand and fight here or retreat in an orderly fashion back to the keep or some other defensible position. It isn't up to an ordinary soldier to make that call, and in ancient warfare in particular, the vast majority of casualties are generated in the rout phase of the battle when one sides displine breaks. By running, they are dooming those that stay and in all probability themselves. Moreover, by routing, they are putting the other end of the line at risk of being entrapped and destroyed as well. It's not choosing between living and dying, its choosing between dying and someone else (or everyone else) dying. Now, V can't be faulted, but if V was a Hero then when no one took charge, V should have taken charge. If I'd been on that wall, I would have been looking for somewhere else more useful to die as well, but either we all go or we all stay. I think V reasonably would have been percieved as having Authority, and could have (and should have) given the order to retreat to somewhere that made more sense, either toward the other end of the wall to provide cover for the retreat of the other flank (ideally, much of the force of the charge would have blown right by them), or back to the keep to begin a second line of defence. But, V is V, and has terrible people skills, both communicating with and understanding people. So, that didn't happen and alot of people died needlessly. Things would have likely gone very differently if Roy or even Elan(!) was stationed here. But once again, where are the sub-commanders? Why didn't someone take charge? Right now, the hobgoblins are showing alot more discipline and honor than the inhabitants of Azure City. Thier morale isn't faltering. Thier chain of command didn't crumble. They aren't saying, "Heh, I'm not going to die for anyone else. I'm getting out of here." Once again, the Azure City folks look pretty incompotent. [/QUOTE]

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