Homebrew system thread II, part 2

[Simon_Jester]

IC:

Larric nods and looks at Sir Alfred. This is theatrical, a bit- he's trying to demonstrate that the 'tinheads' aren't automatically on the same side of the deserters from the royal army. "That's not right, however you slice it- trying to use up the last of this place to keep themselves comfortable!"

Then he speaks more quietly to Sir Alfred, but hastily. "If this captain de Berrey and all his troops try to live off this place, they'll eat it all up and leave nothing behind for the future or the people who've roots here. Their captain might belong in this place, he's of the family, sure enough. But if you want the place to be in shape to hand off to the boy in fifteen years, I figure some of his men will have to go somewhere. That, or start working for themselves instead of living off others' produce. I don't know if we can make that happen without a fight though."

OOC:

ECR has a point. Panzer, do you think you could at least try to check the thread consistently in the mornings and get a post off? That gives us a faster reaction time- more cycles of I do and you do and then I do- to get things wrapped up.

Think OODA loops, if you've heard of those before. We want ours to be short, like 12 or 8 hours, not long like 24.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Rohal is Army. He's somewhere on the East Coast. Also, I think I actually will end up going much later than the 29th. I said I could be wrong about that. Typing this out very quickly since I have to meet with my recruiter in a few minutes.)

"I sympathize with your grievances. Since you appear to recognize me, you must already know my family takes noblesse oblige very seriously. I will attempt to get Captain de Berrey and his men to leave or live productively without further bloodshed. If I do not succeed with diplomacy, can I count on you to join me in driving him out?"

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Oh. Good, I think- how much confidence do you have in that?


They think about that amongst themselves for a bit, there is some muttering- not willing to give a clear cut answer straight away, suspecting a trap and trying to spot it; it's basically a good idea and they're basically in favour of it, but mistrust, mistrust. The sharper eared, this time, can pick up 'How do we get them to prove it?'
'Can you really trust someone who comes out with something like that after "damn you all"-?'
'They're not the worst of the bunch, and that arse over in the valley-'
'It will come to a fight, you know that.'
'You really think he'd be more trustworthy if he was angry?'
'What is that bloody great green thing? Not one of them, is it?'

In the end the spokesman comes back with 'You're only seeing your family from the inside- but that sounds fair enough, if you're willing to back your words with deeds. When?'

[Simon_Jester]

"For an act of peace, now's as good a time as any. For fighting, if peace fails? We'll need a plan. When's the best time to hit them so they don't get back up? What do you think?" He says that looking first at the spokesman, then at Sir Alfred.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Fairly so. I'm doing the psychological and physical exam at MEPS sometime next week. Don't know when yet. Then I think I enter the Delayed Entry thingermajigger. I don't know how long that lasts. My friend entering the Marines said his was around two months. I don't know how long mine would last.)

"A night attack may be best, though it still might be too illuminated for us to sneak effectively."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

The moons are- let me see, twenty-three day cycle, full eight days ago. Nineteen day cycle, full six days ago. Seventeen day cycle, full in four days' time. Nothing near peak brightness- a fairly safe time to be a werewolf actually. If they're not well disciplined- if they're slipping- you might get away with it.

With the utter lack of timekeeping and communications you have, though- Larric sending faint whispers down the wind might actually be the best you can manage- a night attack's going to be wild and random, and could go any way.

'Feeding time.' is the village headman, for that is what he appears to be, that's his idea. 'When they're all sitting down to their meat, and few paying proper watch and with luck some falling out among themselves.'

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Worked for Washington at Trenton. Ah, no offense to ECR and Kaelan.

IC:

"Sensible." Larric nods, inviting further discussion. "I'm wondering, though- I've spent most of the past week trying to coax a mule around. If we wave a big enough stick at them, a carrot just might get this solved without many people having to die. Worth one last try, at least? Is there anything that could be spared to some of those men, as a carrot?"

EDIT: If that doesn't get cut off entirely and angrily, Larric tries to steer the conversation- are there, for example, farms whose occupants were killed by the orcs of the Striking Phoenix, not by the deserters? It would be better to have a few outsiders settle abandoned homesteads than to have them stay abandoned.

Having the whole band settle here might be too overwhelming, and the temptation to revert to type too strong, but it would at least be something to consider.

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: 'Murrica. We will kill you in your sleep on Christmas. Nothing to say for the moment.)

[Kaelan]

Worked for Washington at Trenton. Ah, no offense to ECR and Kaelan.

OOC

Thats OK, we got it out our our system in 1814 at DC

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Let's try not to start an argument over this- but one of the most interesting things about the run up to the revolution is how both sides managed to misunderstand one another and blunder into it because they were speaking different dialects of the same political language.

1625-1700, English Civil War, Glorious Revolution, all that jazz- mainland UK went through a phase of serious political ideology driven violence, and it was remarkably destructive. The long term settlement could be sound- bit as "Down With Idealism!" Price was too high.
Most of the high ideals were let fall away, as the older generation died out and the younger generations knew not to go there, and by the middle of the next century the politics of ideas were played at very low volume indeed and the overwhelming majority of what was going on was simply the practise of politics, you scratch my back I'll scratch yours, power, the spoils system. Deeply corrupt, deeply cynical, and for the most part actually seeing those as positive things. Safety from fanaticism.

When the Americans came along and started talking like people from the previous century, using the language of the Levellers and the Covenanters, the Presbyterian- Parliamentarian faction and the Fifth Monarchy men- which many of their ancestors had actually been- there were accounts that suggest they were met with general disbelief. Nobody took them seriously.
They had been insulated from the mainstream for all that time; top level political wrangling had basically stood still, and they really were a century out of date- and at many possible turning points and in many ways, the British establishment reacted as if they thought the Americans really had been keeping up and were just putting on an act.
Thought it was just political theatre to get out of paying their debts, that no serious person talked and thought in that ridiculously overwrought way any more.

Thus, miscommunication, blunders, violence. NB; the American Revolution was started with ideas and notions from the traditions of the British radical left...


Anyway, there are a few comments about carrots, I'll give them carrots, sharpened and right up their- but once sense starts getting talked again- 'Nobody farms on their own. Someone with no-one else is usually called a vagabond, a tramp, and for good reason- there're too many jobs to do, nobody can be ploughman and cattleman and thatcher and slater and gardener and turner and waller and fuller and miller and weaver all in one.
There are places, lots of places, where the land's there but the community's gone; aren't enough people left to make a go of it, specially not if they're looking over the graves of their kin- a broken heart slows you down, so it do- so they come to places what still can.
Soldiers what don't know how to do many of those things, even if they came from the land in the first place and there're some o' them who do remember pieces here and there, the body of them's going to do what they know which is sit on and feed off someone who does. Try it if you think you can run faster than them when they decide to take a hostage, but they won't want to learn, I bet.'

[Simon_Jester]

Let's try not to start an argument over this- but one of the most interesting things about the run up to the revolution is how both sides managed to misunderstand one another and blunder into it because they were speaking different dialects of the same political language.

Wouldn't be surprised. My original "no offense" comment was more a joke than anything else- and noting to Panzer a good example of a very successful 'attack them while they're feasting' battle plan. One he'd probably already know well, as it is in the American history books and knowing his type and age bracket.

Soldiers what don't know how to do many of those things, even if they came from the land in the first place and there're some o' them who do remember pieces here and there, the body of them's going to do what they know which is sit on and feed off someone who does. Try it if you think you can run faster than them when they decide to take a hostage, but they won't want to learn, I bet.'

Larric sighs, a passage in an old book bubbling through his head. "If they won't take honest work here, and they won't go somewhere else, I suppose they'll have to take their farmland six feet at a time. But- the offer. You're right, they'd have to disband to be handled at all, and I doubt any soldiery would do it without a fight. Worth at least planning out a parley, though. One that doesn't end in a kidnapping, thank you, I've had enough knives at my throat for this week. What would we offer them..." he looks thoughtful.

"Sir Alfred, are there enough holes in your family's service to hire a few of those men? Do you think Baron de Verett might be looking for a few more men at arms? If part of the band can peaceably spread out looking for jobs, letting a smaller knot of them settle around their captain might not be such a disaster. Especially not if they don't all stay in the same village."

[If asked to clarify, basically he's proposing that they could be encouraged to disperse, with the promise of Sir Alfred's help finding jobs for any who don't want to settle here, and with the settlers being dispersed widely enough that they couldn't easily communicate without the locals spotting it and squashing their attempt to turn back into bandits.]

[Panzersharkcat]

(OOC: Yeah, I'm pretty familiar with Trenton, hence the "kill you in your sleep on Christmas" thing. Still, if the colonel in charge of the Hessians had bothered getting a translator for that note the farmer sent instead of pocketing it and going back to his card game, Washington would have been screwed.)

"We have openings to take on some of them. We lost many good men when the 20th rolled through and we could do with filling the gaps left by their passing. I can send a messenger to the Baron asking if he is in need of more men. I have a feeling he will."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

Someone in the crowd is going to start yelling about this; 'Good men? They are beaten, they flee in panic, they abandon their duty and refuse to go back, come here and kill any who oppose them, take our homes, hold swords at our childrens' throats to make us work for them, steal, rape, murder, and you think they can ever again be good men?'

'There is such a thing as having your fun,' the vintenar- senior archer- says, 'but that sounds like they went a shade too far- if it's all true.'

[Simon_Jester]

Larric looks bleak- he's been burned out too. But then he looks toward the fellow who yelled.

"I didn't say anything about them being good men. I don't recall him-" tilting his head toward Sir Alfred- "saying it either, just complaining about the hole in his family's army where too many of the good men are missing. If promising to convince a baron ten leagues off to hire them makes these deserters go away without trying to kill anybody, it might be worth it. If you can't stomach it, I'll look to you for a helping hand when they're after our necks."

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

There is some argument among themselves, agian, then the village headman says 'I don't think I'd reckon much of the Baron for agreeing to take them, but if it makes them go away without more blood, go to it. Reckon you'll probably need that helping hand, though.'

It's about two in the afternoon, you've got about four hours of daylight to work with, they'll probably eat and get drunk once the sun goes down anyway now that I think of it- daylight's too precious to waste. Hah, two birds with one stone. Not long after dark though. Between those from the village who are fit and angry enough to back you up, and your own men, you might have enough bodies to pull it off- combination of reason and a little pressure.

[Fiji_Fury]

Dale nods, along with Larric's idea.

"Those men know fighting. They either will fight soon or need that energy guided. Since you seek to restore order Sir Alfred, you must do the guiding. Any deserter who won't serve their calling and defend the people, well, the thread of their life can be cut."

"One challenge however: if you wish to parley with them and plan a night attack in case diplomacy fails... there is neither much time nor good timing if the parley fails. The best hope might be to occupy them while your force moves into position to attack on your signal. Whatever the plan, it will be a little dodgy if the deserters won't follow your command."

[Simon_Jester]

Larric's not a tactician, but he's fairly clever:

"Send a good strong party up to talk as the sun gets low, with the rest of the men coming up a mile or so behind- maybe less- through the twilight. The light won't be good enough to see a body of troops from far off, but if the talkers get attacked, they only have to hang on for a little while."

There may be obvious flaws with that idea- never a Tactics roll handy when you need one...

[Panzersharkcat]

"We'll need a way to signal if we do get attacked. A horn, perhaps, if there's one around."

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

[If Larric was a different wizard, he might say something fatuous like "like this?" after throwing an electric spark at a nearby rock/tree/whatever hard enough to cause a perceptible thunderclap. I decided after a minute's thought that he doesn't work that way.]

[Fiji_Fury]

"You've mentioned a rune you placed on Sir Alfred's hammer before a duel. It was... explosive. Something like that could be valuable. If it comes to drawing weapons and striking with them, that act itself would signal an attack. It shoud be loud enough to carry as a signal."

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

Convenient.

IC:

Larric winces. "I hope they've got the dent out of that wall before I get back, that was just embarrassing... what do you think?" He looks at Sir Alfred.

[Kaelan]

Dirt does have a couple of small drums if communcation is required......

On a side note, would you want dirt with the strong talking party, or in the night attack given that his sight is better than most?

[Eleventh Century Remnant]

What, if anything, are you doing in the meantime? If Rohal covered the distance in a good time, didn't have to detour round mobs of heavily armed lunatics or anything, and Lisanna decided to come straight away, she could probably actually be there by now. Hope no-one else came too.

They'll have sentries, who probably aren't very brilliant but likely are good enough to spot mistakes on your part, and there are the locals they're sitting on- any infiltration being done, any sneaking and snooping, before the main event? Psychological warfare like Dirt playing his drums at them?

(That reminds me- Andrea said she'd arrange it for Alfred, hire a stonemason and get it done, and he could owe her. She got quite a bargain, apparently. Possible she may even have made a profit.)

About twenty of the villagers with the most suitable hitting things as backup, by the way.

[Simon_Jester]

OOC:

So... twenty of Alfred's men-at-arms, plus twenty villagers- how many archers in that mix? I may try and work out some kind of arrangement for lighting. Does that give the count properly?

Panzer, how many of those, and which party members, do you want in the covering party, and which ones do you want in the trailing group? Or are we even going to bother with a trailing group, as opposed to just forming up our little platoon-sized 'army' and marching the whole thing over to have a pointed discussion with the deserters? Do you have any exotic ideas or suggestions about what to do with our resources?

[Panzersharkcat]

"That is an excellent idea. Can you provide a demonstration as to what it would sound like?" He assigns them up. Most of the group he came with, including Dirt, will be the negotiating party. Dirt there playing drums for psychological warfare reasons. He'll leave four men at arms with the villagers for leadership purposes, mostly to make sure they come if called. He doesn't actually say that, of course. Archers in the rear of the negotiating party.

(OOC: Did we officially say Fallard left?)