Armies of Ansalon? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Armies of Ansalon?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
draggah
Nov 04, 2004 12:37:04 Hi all! I’m thinking of starting a War of the Lance era campaign, and seeing as several of my players are also war gamers, I thought I’d stage a large battle or two using the D&D mini mass combat rules (with card cutout minis).

My question is this, how much of the Solamnic army is actually knights? Are their armies composed mainly of Sword and Crown knights? Alternatively, do Solamnic armies contain a few actual knights commanding units of un-knighted men at arms and commoner levies? Obviously the cavalry would be composed entirely of knights, but what about infantry units and archers? Any thoughts on siege engines and such things?

Also, any info on the composition of the various dragon armies would be appreciated. For example, what percentage of the troops are draconians, goblins, ogres, and humans?

Thanks for any info and/or comments and suggestions!

P.S.
I work at a large chain bookstore and I can’t seem to find the War of the Lance sourcebook in our system. (I’ve got the ISBN but it doesn’t come up). I’d rather but it from work due to my employee discount, so does anyone know why It might not show up in our system and who I could talk to about this?
#2
talinthas
Nov 04, 2004 13:09:29 in the war of the lance book, it says that there are 63 or so actual knights in the era. Then it goes on to describe the make up of the army.

According to Jamie, the wotl book was just released to the big book distributor and will funnel into stores in a few weeks. apparently there was an error somewhere.
#3
draggah
Nov 04, 2004 14:44:36 Thanks, that helps a lot. I suspected that there were few actual knights but not THAT few! I have several old DL books but I couldn't find that sort of info anywhere. Anyone have any ideas on what a typical divison would be composed of? How many mages would accompany an army?

Also, what sorts of units would compose a typical Qualinesti army. I ask now because I plan do draw up some cardboard minis well in advance of the the climatic final battle. (of my campaign, not the War of the Lance itself)

Thanks also for the book info, I'll be on the lookout for it in the next few weeks. I can hardly wait :D
#4
cam_banks
Nov 04, 2004 14:46:43 The War of the Lance sourcebook does answer all of these questions, actually.

Cheers,
Cam
#5
draggah
Nov 04, 2004 14:52:15 Neat. Now I REALLY can't wait for it!
#6
wolf72
Nov 04, 2004 16:32:56 you might want to use unofficial knights ... maybe LG nobles/fighters ...

iirc Derek Crownguard, the ranking Knight of the Rose, has no levels in Knight of Solomnia

Qualinesti troops: light cav, infantry, and archers ... btw all elven forces have some sort of bow (short for cav/infantry, archers get longbows)
#7
draggah
Nov 05, 2004 1:32:45 Hmm.... interesting about the knights. Although, I'm all for most NPC having NPC classes, even if they are politically powerful.

Thanks for the info on elven armies, they take an interesting approach, though I guess it pays to keep your distance when your race has a very low birth rate.
#8
zombiegleemax
Nov 06, 2004 13:13:28 If I recall correctly, from the Chronicles Trilogy, the elves did not take much of a combative role in the war itself. They offered the use of their griffions to ferry messages from one commander to another, but that was about it. This makes me think that they would be used to fighting a defensive war, thus bows would be most used. However, they would most likely use ambushing, as well as hit and run tactics, being unused to open field combat from centuries of solely defensive combat after the Cataclysm. As for the KoS, I would say actual knights commanding armies of conscripts who, for some reason or another, don't share the same hatred of the Knights that the rest of the continent does. As for the dragonarmies, I think that draconians would be used as frontline shocktroops, reinforced by waves of human mercenaries, and hobgoblins. Regular goblins would probably have only a guard position, or have a position as a servant to a Dragon Highlord.
#9
zombiegleemax
Nov 06, 2004 14:09:40 The KoS would most likely head up the different units, and also be in charge of overall command. Like in the WoS books you'd have some mercenary groups that would specialize in certain areas, like archers, polemen, fodder...I mean elite infantry. These units would be led by their mercenary commander but also have a KoS liaison officer as well. Most of the infantry would be warriors and commoners, both voluntary and conscript. Calvary and dragonriders would be almost exclusively KoS though. For exact numbers please consult the WotL.
#10
zombiegleemax
Nov 14, 2004 11:27:03
Hi all! I’m thinking of starting a War of the Lance era campaign, and seeing as several of my players are also war gamers, I thought I’d stage a large battle or two using the D&D mini mass combat rules (with card cutout minis).

Iltharonos and I are both former WarHammer:FANTASY enthustists. To be sure, Warhammer has a upfront, fast and simple method of utilizing troops into battles, and as such, it is not that much of a stretch to apply the Army Lists from that game to a DragonLance campaign.

My question is this, how much of the Solamnic army is actually knights? Are their armies composed mainly of Sword and Crown knights? Alternatively, do Solamnic armies contain a few actual knights commanding units of un-knighted men at arms and commoner levies? Obviously the cavalry would be composed entirely of knights, but what about infantry units and archers? Any thoughts on siege engines and such things?

how I have done it obviously is subject to all manners of interpretation, but....

1) In general, there are individual regiments for Crown, Sword, and Rose Knights. Obviously, as there are more Crown then there are Rose Knights, there are going to be disparity's. For example, Rose Knights are almost exclusively mounted troops, while a Crown Knight Regiment will have perhaps one battallion of troops on horse while the rest are on foot.

2) Squires- Squires would make up a good part (and most certainly your "elite" part) of foot troops that are on the ground. This would go on all levels of Knight Regiments. Obviously, Crown Knight Regiments might have entire battalions composed of Crown Knights on foot, while Sword's would have fewer foot units and more cavalry units, and so on with Rose Knights.

3) Men-At-Arm's. There would still be a sizable number of conventional "regular" troops that would supplement Knight Army's. These would probably be regular troops.

Note, however, that the Knights of Solamnia have no prohibition on utilizing archery (in contrast to real world Knightly Ordres, which frowned on Archery) and as such

As such, while you may have a regiment of Crown Knights, within that regiment, while the armor would probably be the same, there would also be within them, Knights armed with Halberd, with Great Swords, with Bows, etc.

4) Conscript/Irregular Troops- In times of Need, the Knights probably would grab anyone they had to, although local governments would have a say over this.

5) Gnomes- As a former WarHammer player (with Dwarves and Empire being my favorite army's), the precence of War Machines being adopted to DragonLance is something to me. As such, a well financed Knight Army would probably have in tow all manners of war machines operated by members of the GNome WarMachine Engineering Guild.

Also, any info on the composition of the various dragon armies would be appreciated. For example, what percentage of the troops are draconians, goblins, ogres, and humans?

1) Draconians are the most elite of the DragonArmy's. If we go by the math provided by Iltharious a few weeks ago, if we go on the number provided of about 20,000 Draconians, then you have to divy them up amongst the 5 DragonArmy's, and you probably want a "6th Force' dedicated to the Temple of Neraka and other places where they are not actually out on the march. As such, Draconians are rare, most elite troops in an army. Obviously, there are special units where they are out doing whatever they need to do (Gakhan comes to mind). Each DragonArmy has it's own dedicated Brigade of Draconians (mostly Baaz) with the other Draconian types applied as needed. Obviously, draconians like Auraks and Shivaks are rarer and will be in high positions of leadership

2) Goblins and Humans and HobGoblins are probably the more numerous parts of a DragonArmy. While there are probably some very well trained parts of these parts of the DragoNArmy's, there are also probably scavenger/marginal troops there that were impressed into service of the Dragon Army. Ogres would also be a form of shocktroopers, as would hte few minotaurs as well. If we go by the Silver Edition version, there were also Trolls and Hill Giants also in the service of the DragonArmys, as well as units like chariots and such.

Also, what sorts of units would compose a typical Qualinesti army. I ask now because I plan do draw up some cardboard minis well in advance of the the climatic final battle. (of my campaign, not the War of the Lance itself)

The Qualinesti, imho, would not be TOO different then the Silvanesti when it comes down to it. Again, I "borrowed" units from the High Elf army list of Warhammer in order to construct "my" DragonLance army's. Obviously, you would need some version of a "heavy cavalry force". There would be even more Medium and Light Cavalry forces. Archers would be paramount. There would be the House Protectorate Gaurd and some sort of elite foot unit for th Qualinesti. Also, War Wizards would be a key part of a Silvanesti and Qualinesti Army. If set prior to the Cataclysm, so would War Priests.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 draggah Nov 04, 2004 12:37:04	Hi all! I’m thinking of starting a War of the Lance era campaign, and seeing as several of my players are also war gamers, I thought I’d stage a large battle or two using the D&D mini mass combat rules (with card cutout minis). My question is this, how much of the Solamnic army is actually knights? Are their armies composed mainly of Sword and Crown knights? Alternatively, do Solamnic armies contain a few actual knights commanding units of un-knighted men at arms and commoner levies? Obviously the cavalry would be composed entirely of knights, but what about infantry units and archers? Any thoughts on siege engines and such things? Also, any info on the composition of the various dragon armies would be appreciated. For example, what percentage of the troops are draconians, goblins, ogres, and humans? Thanks for any info and/or comments and suggestions! P.S. I work at a large chain bookstore and I can’t seem to find the War of the Lance sourcebook in our system. (I’ve got the ISBN but it doesn’t come up). I’d rather but it from work due to my employee discount, so does anyone know why It might not show up in our system and who I could talk to about this?
#2 talinthas Nov 04, 2004 13:09:29	in the war of the lance book, it says that there are 63 or so actual knights in the era. Then it goes on to describe the make up of the army. According to Jamie, the wotl book was just released to the big book distributor and will funnel into stores in a few weeks. apparently there was an error somewhere.
#3 draggah Nov 04, 2004 14:44:36	Thanks, that helps a lot. I suspected that there were few actual knights but not THAT few! I have several old DL books but I couldn't find that sort of info anywhere. Anyone have any ideas on what a typical divison would be composed of? How many mages would accompany an army? Also, what sorts of units would compose a typical Qualinesti army. I ask now because I plan do draw up some cardboard minis well in advance of the the climatic final battle. (of my campaign, not the War of the Lance itself) Thanks also for the book info, I'll be on the lookout for it in the next few weeks. I can hardly wait :D
#4 cam_banks Nov 04, 2004 14:46:43	The War of the Lance sourcebook does answer all of these questions, actually. Cheers, Cam
#5 draggah Nov 04, 2004 14:52:15	Neat. Now I REALLY can't wait for it!
#6 wolf72 Nov 04, 2004 16:32:56	you might want to use unofficial knights ... maybe LG nobles/fighters ... iirc Derek Crownguard, the ranking Knight of the Rose, has no levels in Knight of Solomnia Qualinesti troops: light cav, infantry, and archers ... btw all elven forces have some sort of bow (short for cav/infantry, archers get longbows)
#7 draggah Nov 05, 2004 1:32:45	Hmm.... interesting about the knights. Although, I'm all for most NPC having NPC classes, even if they are politically powerful. Thanks for the info on elven armies, they take an interesting approach, though I guess it pays to keep your distance when your race has a very low birth rate.
#8 zombiegleemax Nov 06, 2004 13:13:28	If I recall correctly, from the Chronicles Trilogy, the elves did not take much of a combative role in the war itself. They offered the use of their griffions to ferry messages from one commander to another, but that was about it. This makes me think that they would be used to fighting a defensive war, thus bows would be most used. However, they would most likely use ambushing, as well as hit and run tactics, being unused to open field combat from centuries of solely defensive combat after the Cataclysm. As for the KoS, I would say actual knights commanding armies of conscripts who, for some reason or another, don't share the same hatred of the Knights that the rest of the continent does. As for the dragonarmies, I think that draconians would be used as frontline shocktroops, reinforced by waves of human mercenaries, and hobgoblins. Regular goblins would probably have only a guard position, or have a position as a servant to a Dragon Highlord.
#9 zombiegleemax Nov 06, 2004 14:09:40	The KoS would most likely head up the different units, and also be in charge of overall command. Like in the WoS books you'd have some mercenary groups that would specialize in certain areas, like archers, polemen, fodder...I mean elite infantry. These units would be led by their mercenary commander but also have a KoS liaison officer as well. Most of the infantry would be warriors and commoners, both voluntary and conscript. Calvary and dragonriders would be almost exclusively KoS though. For exact numbers please consult the WotL.
#10 zombiegleemax Nov 14, 2004 11:27:03	Hi all! I’m thinking of starting a War of the Lance era campaign, and seeing as several of my players are also war gamers, I thought I’d stage a large battle or two using the D&D mini mass combat rules (with card cutout minis). Iltharonos and I are both former WarHammer:FANTASY enthustists. To be sure, Warhammer has a upfront, fast and simple method of utilizing troops into battles, and as such, it is not that much of a stretch to apply the Army Lists from that game to a DragonLance campaign. My question is this, how much of the Solamnic army is actually knights? Are their armies composed mainly of Sword and Crown knights? Alternatively, do Solamnic armies contain a few actual knights commanding units of un-knighted men at arms and commoner levies? Obviously the cavalry would be composed entirely of knights, but what about infantry units and archers? Any thoughts on siege engines and such things? how I have done it obviously is subject to all manners of interpretation, but.... 1) In general, there are individual regiments for Crown, Sword, and Rose Knights. Obviously, as there are more Crown then there are Rose Knights, there are going to be disparity's. For example, Rose Knights are almost exclusively mounted troops, while a Crown Knight Regiment will have perhaps one battallion of troops on horse while the rest are on foot. 2) Squires- Squires would make up a good part (and most certainly your "elite" part) of foot troops that are on the ground. This would go on all levels of Knight Regiments. Obviously, Crown Knight Regiments might have entire battalions composed of Crown Knights on foot, while Sword's would have fewer foot units and more cavalry units, and so on with Rose Knights. 3) Men-At-Arm's. There would still be a sizable number of conventional "regular" troops that would supplement Knight Army's. These would probably be regular troops. Note, however, that the Knights of Solamnia have no prohibition on utilizing archery (in contrast to real world Knightly Ordres, which frowned on Archery) and as such As such, while you may have a regiment of Crown Knights, within that regiment, while the armor would probably be the same, there would also be within them, Knights armed with Halberd, with Great Swords, with Bows, etc. 4) Conscript/Irregular Troops- In times of Need, the Knights probably would grab anyone they had to, although local governments would have a say over this. 5) Gnomes- As a former WarHammer player (with Dwarves and Empire being my favorite army's), the precence of War Machines being adopted to DragonLance is something to me. As such, a well financed Knight Army would probably have in tow all manners of war machines operated by members of the GNome WarMachine Engineering Guild. Also, any info on the composition of the various dragon armies would be appreciated. For example, what percentage of the troops are draconians, goblins, ogres, and humans? 1) Draconians are the most elite of the DragonArmy's. If we go by the math provided by Iltharious a few weeks ago, if we go on the number provided of about 20,000 Draconians, then you have to divy them up amongst the 5 DragonArmy's, and you probably want a "6th Force' dedicated to the Temple of Neraka and other places where they are not actually out on the march. As such, Draconians are rare, most elite troops in an army. Obviously, there are special units where they are out doing whatever they need to do (Gakhan comes to mind). Each DragonArmy has it's own dedicated Brigade of Draconians (mostly Baaz) with the other Draconian types applied as needed. Obviously, draconians like Auraks and Shivaks are rarer and will be in high positions of leadership 2) Goblins and Humans and HobGoblins are probably the more numerous parts of a DragonArmy. While there are probably some very well trained parts of these parts of the DragoNArmy's, there are also probably scavenger/marginal troops there that were impressed into service of the Dragon Army. Ogres would also be a form of shocktroopers, as would hte few minotaurs as well. If we go by the Silver Edition version, there were also Trolls and Hill Giants also in the service of the DragonArmys, as well as units like chariots and such. Also, what sorts of units would compose a typical Qualinesti army. I ask now because I plan do draw up some cardboard minis well in advance of the the climatic final battle. (of my campaign, not the War of the Lance itself) The Qualinesti, imho, would not be TOO different then the Silvanesti when it comes down to it. Again, I "borrowed" units from the High Elf army list of Warhammer in order to construct "my" DragonLance army's. Obviously, you would need some version of a "heavy cavalry force". There would be even more Medium and Light Cavalry forces. Archers would be paramount. There would be the House Protectorate Gaurd and some sort of elite foot unit for th Qualinesti. Also, War Wizards would be a key part of a Silvanesti and Qualinesti Army. If set prior to the Cataclysm, so would War Priests.