Shortcuts:
Q or QS <dirn> - STEP
F or FACE <dirn> - FACE
M <dirn> or MARCH <dirn> - MARCH
CD - CLIMB DOWN and CU - CLIMB UP
AP <approach> - APPROACH <movement approach type>
SS <dirn> - SIEGETOWER SHIFT <direction>
ST <commands> - SIEGETOWER <commands>
CA or CA <legion> - immediate introduction of "cavalry" approach
MA or MA <legion> - commands the take-up of the "marching" approach
In order to sort out what's essential from the extra but non-essential subtleties/tactical uber-levels of warfare, the following file is a summary of commands you should know - what they do, when to use them, etc.
If you find the volume of information mid-battle daunting, type CONCENTRATE and you will reduce it to only pertinent info. If you wish to reduce it even further (at the expennse, it has to be said, of some atmosphere) type FVB or FIGHTVERYBRIEF and you will see things in an even more terse fashion.
--[I]-- GETTING INFORMATION
Syntax: LEGIONS GUILD or LEGIONS CITY.
Lists out all your guild or city's various legions, with their name, commander, whether training/barracked or in-play.
Syntax: LOCALE or LOCALE <dirn>.
This shows up your current location, or an adjacent location, divided up into nine localepoints. A localepoint is a 'part' of the location, labelled by the compass directions around a central point. Legions and most legion-related things exist in a localepoint (rather than just as location, like a player). Locale shows existence of fortifications, trenches, legions in their localepoint (how many individuals, what guild/city, which direction faced).
Syntax: BANNER or BANNER <dirn>.
This works like LOCALE and shows your current location or adjacent location divided up into the nine localepoints. It shows you legions in their localepoint but gives different info: number of legionnaires, legion type (regiment, brigade, etc), abbreviated guild/city, and in [] the legion's unique name).
Syntax: LEG INFO <legion>.
For those with access rights, this gives full information held on an individual legion: name, commander, hierarchy, weapons strength, armour strength, movement speed, movement approach (running, walking, climbing, cavalry, etc), its location and height above sea-level, what important things it's doing, what skills are being trained up, a list of its war-related equipment, a list of its cavalry mounts, the extent of its melee and active deployment percentages, which skills (if any) are actively deployed and to what extent, a battlefield status danger level number (higher the number=greater the danger) and finally a full list of its specialist-skills and the percentage potency.
Syntax: LEG ACT <legion>.
This is an abbreviated version of LEG INFO and just shows up the legion's name, commander, where it is, weapons/armour strength, movement speed and approach, melee/active deployment percentages, what skills are actively deployed and any very important things it's doing. It's a far more manageable list than the full LEG INFO.
Syntax: FORTS HERE
Main helpfile: HELP FORTS.
Shows up all the fortifications in the location, divided up by localepoints, showing their strength (in a numeric value), which direction the fortifications are set to face off against (and therefore block) and whether they're raised or lowered.
Syntax: HELP LEGION and HELP LOCALE
The helpfile LEGION contains comprehensive information about all the few dozen legion-related commands most of which are not listed here as they are not part of this essential summary. It's worth knowing them all when time permits. HELP LOCALE explains in greater detail the concept of locations and localepoints so you understand fully this key aspect of warfare and movement about the land.
--[II]-- EQUIPPING AND PREPARING
Syntax: LEG EQUIP <legion> <item> <number of the item to equip>.
Use this command to equip legions with important items of equipment, commodities, artifacts of war and steeds for cavalry mounts. Mostly straightforward and you should always include the number to equip - if you pick a number higher than what's available on the ground you will equip up to the maximum available. If you equip 'animals' commodity to a legion with "animalcare" and/or "cavalry" skills they will turn them into cavalry mounts, the number of mounts created per animal commodity depending on how high those two skills are.
Syntax: LEG UNEQUIP <legion> <item> <number to remove>.
This command allows you to take equipment away from legions over which you have sufficient command privileges. LEG INFO <legion>. gives you a list of what the legion is holding and has available for unequipping. The unequipped items are placed in the location before you.
--[III]-- SENDING COMMANDS TO LEGIONS
Syntax: MARSHALL <legion>.
Use this command to take charge of a legion. Taking charge means being taken to the central commandpost of the legion, where the soldiers surround you - protecting you from attack - and allowing you to pass command orders directly to the legion. Speed of marshalling depends on legion's "alacrity" and "deployment" skills.
Syntax: RELINQUISH.
When you decide you want to leave the legion's commandpost type this command and you will emerge back into the location (and back to being vulnerable to attack).
Syntax: COM ...commands...
When you're at the commandpost you can pass orders directly to your legion. To do this type COM followed by the comand-order (same as you would place on a dispatch). Legion movespeed and "familiarity" skill determines how quickly the order is processed. Examples of orders would be COM DEPLOY MELEE 10 to set 10% of your legion looking for melee, or COM STEP NE to tell your legion to quickstep to the northeast of its localepoint. There are dozens of possible commands, the most important of which are documented below.
Syntax: DISPATCH GIVE <dispatch> <legion>.
When you've written up a dispatch with goals, commandorders (like those you'd give using the COM command) or missions you will want to get the dispatch to the appropriate legion. Use DISPATCH GIVE to hand a dispatch over if you're in the same location as the legion.
Syntax: DISPATCH RUNNER <dispatch> <legion>.
You may wish to give a dispatch of orders/goals/missions to a legion on the battlefield while you yourself are not close-by. One way of doing this is to use a runner - and send the dispatch via the runner. THe runner will quickly make his/her way across the land to the legion to deliver the dispatches for immediate action. It IS possible to track and attack the runner (if he can be caught). The runner is taken from your own legion, or a loyal legion nearby, and his speed/strength is derived from the legion's "pathways" and "scouting" skills primarily, with a bit of "alacrity" and "familiarity" and "leadership" for good measure. If legion's "pathways" and "scouting" total over 100 you will never lose runners by exhaustion/natural attrition.
Syntax: DISPATCH PIGEON <dispatch> <legion>.
Faster and more safe than a ground-based runner is this method of sending message-bearing pigeons winging their way to your target legion. You'll need a trained carrier pigeon to send-off and, after issuing the command, the trained bird will fly across the land as quickly as possible to reach the legion and serve up the dispatch orders. Pigeons can be caught, of course, but it's far more difficult to do so than a runner or yourself crossing hostile territory with precious orders in your hands.
Syntax: HELP DISPATCHES.
This is the main helpfile detailing dispatches, which are the main mode of communication with a legion - the way you'd communicate orders, goals and missions to legions (the other method is via the commandpost). It is a long helpfile and very comprehensive - and though long-term you'll want to understand dispatches (they're pivotal for complex city/guild automated defences etc) there's no need to use dispatches initially. You can do everything you need on the battlefield via the commandpost.
--[IV]-- MOVING AROUND
Syntax: APPROACH <movement approach>.
This is very important. There are many movement approaches your legion can take up. Its default is marching/walking pace, and this is quite slow. It can be changed to 'running' to speed up its movement and actions, to 'cavalry' if it has enough mounts equipped (much faster and stronger in battle), to 'climbing' if it needs to deal with high or low ground, 'trench-climbing' if dealing with trench entry and exit, and 'levitating' if the legion has the "levitating" specialist-skill and wishes to raise itself up above the ground-level of its localepoint.
Syntax: STEP <direction>.
Moving around within a location is most quickly done via this order. The direction you specify is the direction the legion moves from its current localepoint. Thus if it's standing at the centre localepoint, quickstepping northeast will move to the northeast localepoint. If it's standing at the southwest localepoint, quickstepping north will move to the western locale point. Movement can be blocked by fortifications, by trenches, by obstacles too high or too deep to pass, and is affected by movement approach as described above.
Syntax: MOVE <direction>.
Moving around a location but, more usefully, moving between locations is done via this order. You must be in the localepoint adjacent to the location's exit to make the move and not find the destination location filled with obstacles or too high/low for easy passage. Movement speed depends on the approach (cavalry and running legions move fastest, climbing and levitating legions move most slowly).
Syntax: FACE <direction>.
A great number of a legion's actions, both in battle and when deployed about construction or other activities, are affected by the direction the legionnaires are facing. Use this command to adjust the direction they are facing. Speed of this adjustment depends on size of legion and the "formations" and "deployment" specialist-skills.
Syntax: FORMATION <direction>.
There are many formations a legion can assemble itself into, each with advantages and disadvantages. Primarily they are used in battle and which formation is better depends on the formation(s) of your opponents, the size of your legion relative to your enemies, the number of your opponents and their spread around the locale, etc. Battlefield experience will be required to learn best formations for each of the hundreds of permeatations. Formation change speed is detemined by legion size, move approach, and the "formations" and "deployment" specialist-skills.
Syntax: HELP MARCHING.
This is the comprehensive helpfile detailing all aspects of marching and movement for legions, including what's listed above, and many more abilities (like digging trenches, tunneling, starting/ending a levitation, etc).
--[V]-- ATTACKING
Syntax: DEPLOY MELEE <percentage>.
If you want a legion to initiate an attack you will need to set up its melee percentage. This tells the legion how many of its numbers to devote solely to fighting. Such things as frontline size, numbers involved in each melee - these are determined by formation and direction facing as well as how many men are available. All forms of violent interlegion attack require some of the legion declared for 'melee' even if it is archery or projectile attacks. Strength in battle uses "meleefight" and "meleeweapons" skills primarily and these do not have to be specifically deployed. Cavalry legions fight with greater strength and speed. Legions with weapons are more effective than those without. Legions with armour are harder to damage than those without.
Syntax: RANGES.
Shows you the ranges needed for the various types of legion engagement attacks.
Syntax: DEPLOY BOMBS <percentage>.
When a legion is too far for hand-to-hand melee - greater than ten yards away and less than sixty yards - they will be able to launch mortar bombs using catapults. It is a relatively expensive attack. These can be launched at their opponent legions or as part of a siege effort (see below). Damage done depends on the legion's "bombs" skill, its "hawkeyes" accuracy, the number of bombs flying, the numbers deployed and the size/formation/armouring of the target legion/defences. Mortar bombs are not always destroyed on impact and it is worth fetching unexploded bombs from the battlefield if possible to save time/money making new ones. It is important your legion faces its target to ensure accuracy of bombing.
Syntax: DEPLOY ARCHERS <percentage>.
With greater distance and easier/cheaper use than mortar bombs (which are expensive) you may deploy some of your legion as archers. This requires the legion to have composite bows and enough arrows to shoot at the target, using the "archers" and "hawkeyes" skills to work out damage/accuracy. Range for archery is from fifteen to two hundred yards. New arrows can be fletched from forest locations, in the Greenwood, or from the wood commodity (see below under making things). It is crucial your legion faces its target to ensure accurate strike.
Syntax: ENGAGE <target type>/<legion name>.
When you've set up your legion's melee/active deployment spread, and deployed the skills you wish to use (if any) in battle, you may choose to ENGAGE your target. You can ENGAGE by targetting a specific enemy legion, by naming it, or ENGAGE all legions of a certain type (city or guild). Your legion will automatically engage the most dangerous proximate foe unless otherwise commanded; this generally being whichever is closest.
Syntax: RETRACT <target>/ALL.
If you wish to tell your legion to stop fighting a specific legion, or to stop fighting altogether, you use the RETRACT command. Legions tend to fight back in self-defence so sometimes retracting is not enough to guarantee pacifism - you may want to ensure your opponent also retracts since an incoming strike will make a passive legion engage to strike back.
Syntax: SIGHT DISTANCE <from legion> <to legion>.
If you have high enough Perception skill you will be able to sight distances between legions, providing the two legions are within a certain number of yards of one another. Sighting works up to a few hundred yards and is useful when determining melee, projectiles or archers as the best mode of attack.
--[VI]-- DEFENDING
Syntax: DEPLOY BUILDFORTS <percentage>.
Fortifications are the most straightforward and comprehensive means of defending a location, positions behind that location, or legions sheltered by the forts. Fortifications are built by legions using their "buildforts" specialist skill in active deployment, and are built in the direction the legion is facing. The speed and extent of fortification building completed each 'round' by the legion depends on its "buildforts" and general movespeed.
Syntax: DEPLOY FORTS <percentage>.
When you have forfifications in a location you may move your legion into the same localepoint and deploy a percentage of your legionnaires about the activity of manning the fortifications. The pace and effectiveness of this action depends on the legion's "forts" specialist-skill and the size of the fortifications. The fortifications must be sufficiently large to take on the numbers allocated. If a legion is completely within a fort, manning it entirely, it will be greatly protected against attack. Moreover, if the forts are attacked (or laid under siege) they will fight back with a MUCH improved strike power - causing more of the besiegers to be slain in the task. If you wish a legion manning a fortification to cease to do so, deploy its forts percentage to zero and the legionnaires will remove themselves from the forts.
Syntax: FORTS RAISE/LOWER.
Fortifications can have two main states - raised or lowered. Lowered fortifications are blockages for enemy legions passing by but will not strike in anger. Raised fortifications block all bar their homesoil legions and will strike enemies (or any who lay siege to them) in an attempt to slay the enemies/besiegers. When manned they will strike harder. Fortifications can only be raised when manned by sufficient friendly legion numbers, and likewise require manning to be lowered.
Syntax: HELP DEPLOY.
There is a fairly lengthy list of specialist skills that benefit from being actively deployed and this list is documented in the comprehensive helpfile HELP DEPLOY. Some deployments require special equipment, some require special circumstances or minimum legion sizes, all require the appropriate specialist-skill to have been actively deployed.
--[VII]-- TRAINING
Syntax: LEGION TRAIN <legion> <skill>.
Use this command when a legion is safely in barracks to start it training up a specialist-skill. Your legion will need to be able, by dint of its guild/city origins, to learn the specified skill but assuming it can it will commence training immediately. It takes longer to gain each percentage of skill potency the higher you get.
Syntax: LEGION TRAIN <legion> OFF.
If you want to quickly bring your legion out of barracks, to cease all its training in one fell swoop, use this command.
Syntax: LEGION PROGRESS <legion>.
This command lists out all the skills currently being trained by a legion and the extent of its progress towards gaining the next percentage in each. You will gain only a rough idea, not precise to the second, of its state of progress but this is usually enough to check it is learning properly and know when not to cease its training (like when it's close to advancing a percent).
Syntax: LEGION PROGRESS <legion> <skill>.
In the case of ongoing training you may wish to see how far your legion has gotten in its progress towards the next percentage gain - use this command to check up on your legion, specifying the skill you wish to investigate. This command has the added bonus of giving you, in many cases, a further information file (sometimes quite low-level instructions) about the specialist-skill, its purpose and usage.
Syntax: LEGION TEACH <legion> <skill>.
You are able to use your own lessons to teach legions in specialist skills. The legion must already be training in the desigated skill and you will expend between five and fifteen lessons (depend on how high the legion has reached in the skill) to push it to advance a percent almost immediately.
Syntax: LEGION FINISH <legion> <skill>.
This command tells a legion to cease training a specific specialist-skill.
Syntax: LEGION POTENTIAL <legion>.
To check up on the highest possible skillset attainable by the specified legion - which will depend, for the most part, on its guild/city loyalty - use this command. It will give you an idea how far you'll be able to take the legion in all the specialist skills.
Syntax: HELP CORE.
To gain a list of ALL trained-skills available to legions, divided up into categories with short explanations and a preceding deeper explanation of training, skills, etc then this is your helpfile. It is useful to see the full spread of specialist skills divided up since you can see which are the core skills (which are used almost every time a legion acts) and the more esoteric skills (which are used when actively deployed, or when certain commands are issued, etc).
--[VIII]-- MAKING THINGS
Syntax: DEPLOY CONSTRUCTING <percentage>.
Deploy a portion or all of your legion's manpower to the "constructing" trained skill, and then your legion will designate some of its numbers to carry out any construction tasks outstanding, or any new construction tasks ordered.
Syntax: CONSTRUCT <item>.
This command tells your legion to begin the construction of the specified item. Most require commodities or special equipment to complete - some require a great deal - and the speed/extent of the construction depends on a combination of "constructing" and any other trained skills associated with what's being constructed (like if the legion is making arrows, the "archers" skill comes into play).
Syntax: HELP EQUIPMENT.
This comprehensive helpfile gives you a list of all equipment a legion is able to construct along with the commodities required, details about the purpose and usage of the equipment. It also has more complex syntax for the CONSTRUCT command.
--[IX]-- PERMANENT DESTRUCTION
Syntax: BESIEGE <direction>/<target>.
Laying siege is performed using the catapult and mortar bomb if done from distance (not in the same location), or the battering ram if done from within the same location as the target. Targets can be defences like fortifications or barricades, or static features like siegetowers, or specifying a compass direction lays siege to the entirety of the location. You cannot move onto plundering or razing until all fortifications/static defences are destroyed - after which you will be able to move freely to penetrate more deeply for further siege of guildhouses, commodity stores, city buildings, homes, etc. A completed siege results in the destruction of ALL defences, leaving the target vulnerable for plunder and razing.
Syntax: PLUNDER <target>.
After the target has been fully sieged and assuming it has been left undefended (no forts, no legions defiant) it can be plundered. This involves the theft of everything possible from the target location/set of locations, transferring them from the defenceless post-siege target into the inventory of the plundering legion.
Syntax: RAZE <direction>.
Once a target has been fully sieged and plundered to the point of being entirely strippd of all its valuable resources/possessions you may decide to take the final, fateful step: the razing. This is irreversible and incredibly destructive. It is done to adjacent defenceless, empty locations of appropriate type (like constructions, houses, commodity stors, etc) and results in their complete and permanent destruction. It is not a command to be undertaken lightly.
--[X]-- APPROACH TO THE FULL HELP SYSTEM (HELP 22/ HELP WARFARE)
The full help system is found in section 21, for the most part, or HELP WARFARE gives you a table of contents. The recommended approach is to make a log of every page in its entirety, print it all out, and make yourself a nice little reference manual. Easiest way to keep information to hand, to make notes as you gain battlefield experience, etc.
