Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Jan 21, 2005 7:44:41	Well I've finally got my hands on the age of Mortals book, and boy I definately underestimated thje Minotaurs and their sizeable presence in Silvanesti. According to the book, there is around 7400 Minotaurs in Silvanesti (And about 10,000 slaves), but still that's a lot of Minotaurs, a sizeable army for any foe to face. The Minotaurs are using their slaves to transform Silvanesti into a place more befitting their homeland, destroying various sections of the city, and building new buildings in their place. It seems they've fortified themselves in the city, and it would be quite hard to disloge from their post. Ther probably is more than that in the minotaur army, as thats just the troops in the city, and likey there are reserves, as well as a sizeable home guard back on their islands. This could make things rather "Tough" for any force to really oppose the Minotaurs without a signifigant alliance. I think there is only like 20,000 Silvanesti elves, and and about 20,000 qualensti elves, and even then neither is a highly militaristic people, so of the 40,000 elves in the land. Calculating that the average raitio of Person to Solider (probably about 10% at most), you probably got at most 4000 elves who are combat trained (aka, actually have class levels that can fight). So unless the elves have a major recruiting drive, they are outnumbered 2-1 by a powerful militaristic race of Minotaurs. These guys have trained for war, its a part of their lives. Elves on the other hand are mainly forced into war as a defensive measure, they really weren't made for the fields of battle. Heck the Minotaurs can control a slave population that outnumbers them (Then again in anchent Rome, the same thing happened, so really its a moot point). Still, the Minotaurs are probably digging a hole too deep to get out of. They're going to war with the Ogres eventually, and while their race is not sizeable, they are united under the rule of the Titans, and likey would put up a good fight aginst the Minotaurs. Also if the Minotaurs invade Abasinia, they would likey find opposition, as the city states and nomad tribes might unite in a common defence, not to mention Solindria might send some aid. The main hope to defeat the Minotaurs lies with the elves... but the elves need a savior of some kind, someone to unite the people. Next they will need more troops, and more allies. Only when the Silvanesti and Qualenesti can become the One Elven People again, can they have a chance at defeating the minotaurs. In the end though I can't wait for the details on the next war (Or filling them in myself). My next point, how does one handle the rules for "Mass Combat" in D&D. How do you determine how well an army will fight in battle, the influnce of generals and leaders, battle strageties, and other various effects that could make or break the world? I myself bought a book (Not a Dragonlance but a Warcraft RPG book), that details the intricacies of mass combat. It deals a lot with how powerful units fight. Still I find the rules rather confusing to use. But this is Dragonlance, and Army Battles are no stranger to the world. How does one deal with Victory/Defeat when armies go to war. There are SO many factors that can effect a battle, and NO, outnumbering does not mean you win automatically, just means you have a better chance of winning.
#2 jonesy Jan 21, 2005 9:19:52	My next point, how does one handle the rules for "Mass Combat" in D&D. How do you determine how well an army will fight in battle, the influnce of generals and leaders, battle strageties, and other various effects that could make or break the world? While this only skirts the issue of actually running mass combat, you might still find it interesting: http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=107009
#3 zombiegleemax Jan 22, 2005 1:07:04	well, for one, the Minotaur's certainly would not be restricted to having soley Minotaur troops at their disposal. Because of the mariner abillities, the Miontaurs would have 'conscript' type troops available, albiet they probably won't be willing. Human, HobGoblin, and Goblin troops would probably flock to th eir banner, even though they would be viewed as soft and inferior by the Minotaur's. Boar Riders might be an option, chariots, stuff like that.