increasing number of men as he improves their
skill. He can prevent their men from fleeing after he
has gained their confidence. The main ability of a
military scientist is to anticipate and react to enemy
maneuvers quickly because of their knowledge of
tactics. It is difficult for a commander to remain in
communication with their sub-commanders during a
large battle. Traditionally, when an army exceeded
1500 men, the commander-in-chief would divide
their forces into a center, left, and right flank. Once
the fray begins in earnest, the din, dust clouds, and
general confusion effectively isolates the
commander from all but the troops immediately in
front of him. Magic, of course, can abate this
problem. However, any magic used to facilitate
communications will not aid the troops in the field.
Usually, the best tactic is to devote magic to the
combat proper except when a critical message must
be relayed. If this is the case, the outcome of the
battle depends largely on the efforts of the
individual sub-commanders. A military scientist must
he able to read and write in one language at Rank
6 if he wishes to advance beyond Rank 2.
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become disorganized in the midst of battle. Generally, disorganized troops will be left to
their own initiative, and the individual solder is unlikely to be able to coordinate with their
fellows left to their own devices.
fellows left to their own devices.
A military `scientist can form a personal guard. After drilling for (12 - Rank) months, or
being in combat for a like number of weeks, the military scientist forms a personal guard of
up to ([Willpower/2] + [Social Status/4] ) knights and (20 + [2 x Willpower] + [Social
Status/3] ) troops. These troops will be steadfastly loyal to him, so he gains (2 x Rank) %
above and beyond their normal success percentage when commanding only their personal
guard. A personal guard will follow all rational commands from its leader (i.e., the military
scientist) in all but stress situations. A military scientist can rally beings with whom he has
drilled or adventured to prevent them from fleeing battle. A military scientist must either
have shared one adventure with or drilled for (12 - Rank) weeks with any being who he will
attempt to rally. The military scientist may not attempt to rally a being who has fled for over
30 + [5 x Military Scientist's Rank] seconds. The military scientist must declare how many
beings he wishes to rally during one round. If he is on the Tactical Display, he must take a
Pass action. His success percentage is his ([Willpower] + [10 x Rank] - [Number of Beings])
%. If the GM's roll on percentile dice is less than or equal to the success percentage, the
beings cease to flee and will advance against the foe beginning next round (unless
seriously injured, in which case they will hold a position a safe distance away from the
nearest enemy being). If the roll is greater than the success percentage, the beings
continue to flee. The success percentage is decreased by 25% for each time a military
scientist fails to rally a being(s) during one battle. If more than one military scientist is
attempting to rally the same being, the highest success percentage of all is used, and the
Ranks of the remaining military scientist(s) is added to that percentage. A player must
choose before the GM rolls percentile dice whether he wishes his character to be affected
by a military scientist rally attempt.
A military scientist can sometimes perceive the tactics employed by his enemy before
they are put to use. When a military scientist attempts to use his Perceive Tactics ability,
his success percentage is his ([Perception] + [9 x Rank] )%. The GM rolls D100; if his roll is
equal to or less than the success percentage, he informs the player of the military scientist
character of the enemy's plan in general terms. If the roll is greater than the success
percentage but less than the success percentage plus (2 x Rank), the military scientist is
unsure of the enemy plan. If the roll is greater than or equal to the success percentage
plus (2 x Rank), the GM misleads the military scientist, with the information becoming
completely false as the roll approaches 100. The military scientist character must take
a Pass action to use his perceive tactics ability in combat.
A military scientist may add his Rank to the initiative die roll in combat. This addition to the
initiative die roll occurs only if the character is the Leader, not Stunned or otherwise
incapacitated, or engaged in Melee or Close combat. The player of a military scientist
character may use more time to plan his character's (and companions') actions when
engaged in combat on the Tactical Display. Normally, the games master will not allow the
players any time to plan their actions between or during pulses. However, the player of a
military scientist character can request a break period of (20 + [10 x Rank]) seconds
between each and every pulses. No more than one military scientist character may use
this ability per round. A military scientist can temporarily increase the Willpower value of
the beings he leads. A military scientist may increase the Willpower value of all beings that
he leads by one-half his Rank (rounded down) as long as he takes a Pass action every
second round. If the military scientist character is stunned or wounded during a round, his
followers lose the Willpower bonus until he can Pass unmolested again.
A military scientist must spend (50 + [50 x Rank] ) Silver Pennies per year to supply
himself with texts on strategy and tactics. If the military scientist fails to spend the above
sum, he operates as if he were one Rank less proficient. If he is at Rank 0, he loses his
perceive tactics ability.