Greetings! The other day, it occurred to me that we mercenaries might be called upon, occasionally, to defend a castle or a fortress. It would, of course, be a great honor to be invited to defend our sacred fortress of Monte Castello!
In such a case, infantry troops--especially crossbowmen--would comprise most of the troops. In a smaller castle, there probably would not be much maneuvering room for cavalry or winged mounts.
Would we be able to hire artillery crews from the Empire or the Dwarf Kingdom, probably as a Rare Choice?
I thought that if the castle had a central Keep, with four corner towers, we could construct small bridges or catwalks from the Keep to each of the four towers or the parapet walls connecting them. Then, I could position myself at the Keep and rush to wherever I seemed to be needed the most, without getting tied up along the parapet or being delayed going up and down crowded stairs.
What do you think?
I just read on May 2, 2010, what someone2040 had written on April 14, 2010:
Each cannon takes up a “Rare slot, so we can only get 1 when the army is less than 2,000 points, 2 when it is 2,000-2,999 points, etc. And they do not let us DOWs get the benefit of an Engineer. (The authorities probably thought we would be too unbeatable!) For less than 4,000 points, we’d only get 3 “Rare” slots.
Presuming access to more funds, I would like to suggest the following contingency-lists for a mercenary garrison:
[Note: For 3,000-3,999 points, can have 2 Lords and 4 Heroes (6 Characters), up to 5 Special Units, up to 3 Rare Units, and 4 or more Core Units.]
LORDS (2 available):
Michael Cardo, Mercenary General: 180 points.
Full plate armor, Shield, Brace of pistols, Sword of Power and Talisman of Protection.
Arkan, Wizard Lord, Level 4: 310 points. Place by the Main Gate, with Dwarf Warriors there.
Lore of Fire. 4 magic spells (Burning Head, Fiery Blast, Conflagration of Doom and Wall of Fire) and 4 dispel scrolls.
Note: Wizard (a Character) cannot join another unit with a Character (e.g., the Paymaster)—WH, p. 72.
HEROES (4-6 available):
Paymaster, Ulrich Basinger: 75 points. Place in Keep, with Leopold’s Leopard Company.
Heavy armor, brace of pistols, hand weapon, and shield.
Marton, Battle Wizard, Level 2: 135 points. Place with Duellists, on wall near Golgfag and his Ogres.
Lore of Life, 2 magic spells (Mistress of the Marsh and Gift of Life), 1 dispel scroll and Wizard’s Staff.
Sorvan, Battle Wizard, Level 2: 135 points. Place in one of the towers by the Main Gate.
Lore of Heavens, 2 magic spells (Forked Lightning and Second Sign of Amul), 1 dispel scroll and Wizard’s Staff.
SPECIAL UNITS (5 available):
Long Drong Slayer and 9 Pirates: 195 points. Place at Main Gate.
Lots of pistols. Unbreakable. Includes Standard Bearer and a Drummer. Dwarfs hate Orcs and Goblins!
Golgfag and 3 Ogres: 285 points. Place on wall opposite the Main Gate.
Heavy armor and two hand weapons. Cause fear. Includes Skaff, the Standard Bearer, and a Horn Blower.
20 Dwarf Warriors, 14 points each: 280 points. Place 10 near Long Drong at the Main Gate, and 10 on the wall opposite the Besiegers.
Upgraded to heavy armor, shield and crossbow, with hand weapon. Dwarfs hate Orcs and Goblins!
RARE UNITS (3 available):
2 Helstorm Rocket Batteries, with 3-crew, each: 230 points.
One would be placed in each tower.
1 Helblaster Volley Guns, with 3-crew, each: 125 points.
One at the Main Gate, and one on the opposite wall.
CORE UNITS:
16 Duellists, with pistol and throwing knives: 176 points.
4 on each side, to protect the Paymaster and his Bodyguard.
16 Duellists, with pistol and throwing knives: 176 points.
4 on each tower, to protect the artillery crews.
20 Duellists: 200 points. Place on walls: 10 near Golgfag and his Ogres, 5 to each of the two towers by the Main Gate (10 total).
Swords. Skirmishers. Upgraded to Buckler (shield) and Throwing Knives.
Leopold and 16 Leopards (Paymaster Bodyguard): 250 points. Place in the Keep, to protect the Paymaster.
Light armor and pikes. Leopold has heavy armor, a Handgun and a Pistol. Includes Standard Bearer and a Musician.
Maximilian and 19 Marksmen of Miragliano: 290 points. Place in the tower without the artillery.
Light armor, crossbow and hand weapon. Includes Standard Bearer and a Musician.
Luca Braganza and 19 Besiegers: 315 points. Place them on the wall opposite the Marksmen.
Heavy armor, pavise, crossbow and hand weapon. Luca does not have a pavise. Includes Standard Bearer and a Musician. The pavise provides an armor save of 3 + in close-combat and from missile attacks.
Total (I think): 3,407 points.
Option A:
10 Tilean Crossbowmen and 10 Light Cavalry with shields and spears: 220 points. (Core units.) I would place them in the castle’s interior (I call it the Quadrant), to defend against any tunnelers or flyers. They should be at 90 degree angles to each other (along the inside walls), so the crossbowmen don’t shoot our cavalrymen!
Total: 3,627 points.
Option B:
Pirazzo and his Lost Legion: 160 points. (Core unit.) I would add 10 extra Pikemen, at 10 points, each: 260 points. They would guard inside the Main Gate, on the ground floor.
Total: 3,887 points.
Possibles:
[Special Unit: Lumpin Croop and 5 Fighting Cocks (Halfling Archers): 90 points.
Includes Ned(dley) Hamfist, the Standard Bearer and a Horn Blower. Skirmishers. Hand weapon and bow. Maximum of 20, 7 pts. for each extra.]
[Special Unit: Richter Kreugar with 9 Cursed Company skeletons: 305 points.
Light armor, shield and hand weapon. Kreugar has heavy armor, shield, Dark Gem of the Cursed and "his unholy sword, Blight." They have the Killing Blow with their weapons. Immune to Psychology, Unbreakable, and cause fear.]