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pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:09 am
by archita
I noticed that pikemen and similar heavy infantry not obtain disrupted or fragmented status when they climb or stay on slopes :?

Re: pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:23 am
by rbodleyscott
archita wrote:I noticed that pikemen and similar heavy infantry not obtain disrupted or fragmented status when they climb or stay on slopes :?
They do if the slopes are "Difficult" - there is a terrain overlay that make a slope difficult. If the hill is not so marked but the the height differential is >75, the uphill troops get +100 POA which is substantial.

It would not be realistic to make most slopes completely unassailable by pikes, which they would be if the pikes were disordered as well as the enemy being at +100 POA advantage.

Re: pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 10:47 am
by nikgaukroger
I note the OP talks of Disrupted and Fragmented and not Disorder - the latter being, of course, terrain dependant whilst the others are morale dependant. Perhaps they have missed the difference? (Unless I am relying too much on FoG:R rules and not what happens in P&S ...)

Re: pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:03 am
by rbodleyscott
nikgaukroger wrote:I note the OP talks of Disrupted and Fragmented and not Disorder - the latter being, of course, terrain dependant whilst the others are morale dependant. Perhaps they have missed the difference? (Unless I am relying too much on FoG:R rules and not what happens in P&S ...)
I had not noticed that. Yes terrain Disorder and Severe Disorder are different from Disruption and Fragmentation. The latter two imply deterioriation of Morale as well as Order, and do not recover automatically once the cause is gone.

Re: pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 11:40 am
by archita
I tought on distrupted status because distrupted and fragmented status get many vulnerable pikemen units against attacks especially against hills garrisoned by enemy units, a way to incourage other tactics against hills,pikemens must operate in clear terrain more possible and players must try to accept main clash in open terrain, fights on hills must be a secondary pat of battle.

Re: pikemen cohesion

Posted: Fri Oct 24, 2014 12:01 pm
by rbodleyscott
archita wrote:I tought on distrupted status because distrupted and fragmented status get many vulnerable pikemen units against attacks especially against hills garrisoned by enemy units, a way to incourage other tactics against hills,pikemens must operate in clear terrain more possible and players must try to accept main clash in open terrain, fights on hills must be a secondary pat of battle.
Attacking up a hill against equivalent troops is not a good plan in the rules are they currently stand, disorder is not required to make it so.

Most historical battles involved sloping ground over much of the battlefield, this is still "Open Terrain". Difficult slopes are distinguished in rules. Not all slopes are difficult. They convey combat advantage but are not deadly to pikes.

At the battle of Stratton (and no doubt others) pikemen attacked uphill and won.