Author Topic: Unusual troops stratagem questions  (Read 1289 times)

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Barritus

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Unusual troops stratagem questions
« on: March 21, 2014, 02:24:57 PM »
The rule includes what appears to me to be a clumsy statement:
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If specified by their army list, the army can include regular units of (or irregular) scythed chariots or such improvisations as fake elephants, paper lions, both wheeled towers and soldiers on baggage camels, Roman anti-cataphract clubmen, flaming pigs...etc etc

"regular units of (or irregular) scythed chariots"?

What's the significance of placing "or irregular" in brackets? Is it to differentiate between regular scythed chariots being in units and irregular scythed chariots not being in units? If so, what's the significance of units? If not, why not just say "scythed chariots" and not mention regular and irregular versions thereof?

Second question: the rule lists Roman anti-cataphract clubmen as being eligible for the Unusual Weapons stratagem, "if specified by their list". While both lists' notes mention the clubmen, neither list's notes provides the required specification. Should that be listed as an erratum?

Orcoteuthis

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Re: Unusual troops stratagem questions
« Reply #1 on: March 21, 2014, 08:35:08 PM »
The rule includes what appears to me to be a clumsy statement:
Quote
If specified by their army list, the army can include regular units of (or irregular) scythed chariots or such improvisations as fake elephants, paper lions, both wheeled towers and soldiers on baggage camels, Roman anti-cataphract clubmen, flaming pigs...etc etc

"regular units of (or irregular) scythed chariots"?

What's the significance of placing "or irregular" in brackets? Is it to differentiate between regular scythed chariots being in units and irregular scythed chariots not being in units? If so, what's the significance of units? If not, why not just say "scythed chariots" and not mention regular and irregular versions thereof?
I imagine it's just historical colour - regular scythed chariots would come in formal units, irregular ones not. As to why it's mentioned at all, my guess would be to remind us that scythed chariots can be either regular or irregular (while all other expendables are always irregular).

Quote
Second question: the rule lists Roman anti-cataphract clubmen as being eligible for the Unusual Weapons stratagem, "if specified by their list". While both lists' notes mention the clubmen, neither list's notes provides the required specification. Should that be listed as an erratum?
I think "if specified by their list" just means the troops have to be present in the list in the first place. Roman anti-cataphract clubmen can always be used with the stratagem, iff you have any.

Note that the troop type definition for Expendables say that all Expendables can be used with the stratagem. So Spanish flaming ox-wagons can count as Unusual despite not being listed in the stratagem.

LawrenceG1

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Re: Unusual troops stratagem questions
« Reply #2 on: March 21, 2014, 11:56:46 PM »
YEs, the "if specified by the list" refers to the troops types. It's intended (apparently unsuccessfully)  to make it clear that using the "Unusual Troops" stratagem does not enable everybody to access those troop types. It simply enables someone who already has those troops to deploy them at a later stage.

Lawrence Greaves