TR
Design notes:
The above list draft is a close conversion of the Warrior Aztec list. http://www.nasamw.org/NWW7x85.pdf Most of the content is as close a conversion
as I have been able to manage. However I have made a few changes to avoid repetition and give each major troop type
it's own "character".
Like the earlier list authors I have decided that regular loose order is the best way to depict the combination of rapid
manuver with close order fighting while retaining the characteristic of being vunerable to mounted troops in the open.
I have chosen to class the majority of Aztec troops as "drilled" due to the fact that while they really did not have a standing army, they did indeed train their young men starting at a very young age in the military arts and had a highly organized military system. Moreoever on the battlefield Atecs are described as being directed by whistles and signals from drums and conch horns. Thus "drilled" seems to fit ythe bill.
I have decided that the Impact Foot/swordsman combination is the best representation of the one handed "macuahuitl" combined
with javelins or atlatl launched darts. This is mainly due to the description by Spanish authors of the initial Aztec charge as being extremly dangerous yet liable to fail if it did not sweep it's target away in the initial rush. The effect of the previously mentioned missle weapons would probably have been minimal when compared to their charge and thus could be considered to be included as part of the impact attack rolls. Likewise the combination of smallish shields and textile armour is enough for me to classify most non-skirmishers as "protected". Finally, the "heavy weapon" option for some of the better Aztec troops represents use of both the two handed version of the macuahuitl and the polearm-like tepoztopilli. I agree with the Warrior list author's conclusion that there is no justification to classify the latter as a spear due to both it's cut and thrust construction and the fact that it was an individual's weapon rather than being employed in massed formations as is implied by the "spear" catagory in FoG.
Due to there not being a provision for detatchments under FoG, I have chosen to leave out the "novice Warrior" troop type and thus assume that Novices make up the rear ranks of Warrior and Knight formations, much in the same manner that Sergeants are assumed to be comprising part of Medieval knight elements. I have chosen to arm the Otomi and other subject warriors with bows for two reasons.
First, this is the most commonly seen option under other game systems for these troops. But this was also done to help keep them
distinct from other troops in the list. Like anything else in this Second draft, I am open to discussion and may change this classification
in future versions.
I have not attempted to model the Meso-American Indian practice of "fighting to capture" in any way. I am of the opinion that most of the captives that were taken by Aztec warriors would have occured in the closing phase of an engagement rather than during the actual fighting. There is little reason to believe that the majority of the fighting was not aimed at killing and defeating an opponent rather than primarilly aimed at procuring sacrifice victims. More importantly in other era/armies in which capture of opponents was a strong motivator (such as was the case with knights in high medieval armies) there is no attempt by FoG to model such behavior. Thus it is considered in this case to be unneeded as well.
On a similar note, I have chosen not to attempt to model the assumed effect of stone weapons on metal armour. Like previous list writers I am willing to give the macuahuitl the benefit of the doubt in assuming that it wold perfom as an effective club even if it's obsidian edges were shattered. For the purist, the slight reduction of effectiness could be considered to be part of the PoA Given for more heavy armour. In any event, FoG attempts to model the p[erformance of armies by the way they interacted with their historical opponents, which for the most part would have been other Meso-American Indian groups.
Thanks for your consideration, and let me know what you think!
