Ask Warwick
Questions have been arranged by Index. Please click the link and Warwick will answer your question!
Can I play if I show up without an army?
Answer: Yes, unaligned fighters will be able to join armies before court. Unaligned fighters may also be "bought" by Warlords once they have begun winning points throughout the 2 days of battle. So if you show up hours or even a day late you can still join an army. And you'll be fresh so expect to be used as a meat-shield.
Do Warlords HAVE to pre-register their Army?
Answer: No, they do not - BUT - since there are only 16 (SIXTEEN) Warlord slots available, and we have verbal confirmation for 10 Warlords, if you DON'T pre-register it will be "first-come-first-serve" starting Friday night until all 16 slots are filled. In this case an early knight will definitely help me sleep more soundly.
How do points work?
Answer: Well the first type of points are those that the Warlord uses to field his Army. Each person has a value, and each discipline (heavy, rapier, archery, etc) has a maximum number of points associated with it. Once the Warlord has figured this out he doesn't really need to worry about it any more (hey pre-register your army and just do the math). Once the fighting starts the Warlords will win additional points that can be used to gain advantage in battles - things like fielding extra bodies, regeneration, selecting who you challenge or the terrain you fight on.
I heard Island 22 flooded in the past. Should I bring a lifejacket?
Answer: Only if you plan to take a dip in the Fraser - it's dangerously quick. After the flood 10 years ago some serious dikes were build between the river and the park. It hasn't flooded since.
What is this Processional all about? Do I have to be there?
Answer: The Processional at TOA is going to be like an Invocation of the Lists. The Warlords will process into Court with their entire army, including all Armoured, Rapier, A&S, Archery and Service people. And yes it IS important to be there because armour inspection is going to happen BEFORE the Processional. Everyone will be Processing in full kit.
Psychological Warfare? A&S Devisors? Seriously, what's that all about?
Answer: After the Processional the WAR will be kicked off by the Arts and Science combatants (Devisors) from each army. They will demonstrate "terror" on the war field directly on the watching armies, court and spectators. Personally I'm hoping for at least one band of naked, woad covered Celts rushing madly about screaming warcries.
What is a Counting Coup scenario?
Answer: Counting Coup is a term from the North American Plains Indians referring to great acts of daring in the face of the enemy that could be recorded in various ways, including striking blows or simply touching the enemy and getting away unharmed. Our Counting Coup scenario will revolve around armbands that each warrior will wear.
Points will be won for reporting to the lists with armbands. How you get them there is up to you. You could snatch it off the arm of an opponent or take it from their hacked and bleeding bodies. All the Armoured units will be on the field at once, scattered across our vast warfield, hidden down forest paths, ravines, meadows. I think it will be the best part of the day and we'll probably run it more than once. 1 point for every armband, 10 points for last unit standing.
I've never marshaled before, but I want to help. What can I do?
Answer: Come see me Friday night if you can. I'll be in our camp (which will also be Autocrat Point or whatever we're calling it now) accepting Warlord Registrations and Marshal Volunteers. Friday night is best since we are starting very early Saturday morning and I would like to know how many bodies I can put on the field as marshals asap. We will have some masks for protection, but if you have one or safety glasses please bring them. As a side note if you come find me *very* late Friday night chances are I may be into my cups and our conversation may be a bit strange. Also - Marshalling will earn Service points for Warlords. We will need lots of Marshals for the Counting Coup scenario so get your Rapier fighters in their masks and on the field as marshals and earn some points before a blow is struck.
Can I register an army without it being published on the ToA website?
Answer: I've had this question posed to me several times now, and so to encourage Warlords to register their army all I'm asking they do is give me the name of the Warlord and I'm counting that as Registered and in one of the 16 slots. As of this writing there were 10 Warlords Registered, leaving 6 slots open. I'll be publishing the names of the Warlords early next week after I get confirmation from a couple other prospective Warlords.
How do I win?
Answer: Easy - be the last Warlord on the field, having absorbed all others by defeating them in Battle. There are two types of battles - Points Battles and Challenge Battles. Points Battles earn you points, that you use to purchase things like Regen and Fielding additional fighters (See last weeks "Ask Warwick"). Challenge Battles are where Armies merge. Win a Challenge, and you double your forces - lose and you join the army of the winning Warlord. Roughly, it will go like this:
- Act 1 - Points battle
- Act 2 Challenge Battles
- Act 3 Points Battle
- Act 4 Challenge Battles.
This will leave us with 4 armies by the end of the day Saturday. Sunday we will have: Act 5 Points Battle, Act 6 Challenge Battle, leaving us with 2 great Armies led by 2 great Warlords. Act 7 will be a push battle of field, bridge, fortified high ground, bridge, field. Whichever Warlord pushes the other to their home Field and defeats them wins the day and is Warlord of Lions Gate.
Also note that while the armoured forces are fighting, earning points and merging, the other disciplines are also fighting and earning points for their Armoured Warlord. You may not have the strongest Armoured Force to start, but if you have a well rounded army of Rapier, Target, A&S and Service combatants, you could very well take the day.
What types of A&S presentations will the Devisors be presenting Warwick?
Answer: Well, it could be anything - An impassioned speech from a single Herald or Bard, to a choreographed martial display of dozens of warriors. Flags and pennants, Bagpipes, Drums, clashing weapons, chanting, Siege Weapon Displays, Acts of Terrible Violence (tm), Yodelling - the sky's the limit really. The theme is Psychological Warfare - Terror on the Battlefield. You are limited only by your Imagination (and the safety of yourself and the spectators :) )
How do the Service Points work Warwick?
Answer: Every hour of service will be worth points. Different types of service will be worth different amounts of points. Gate and Marshalling and Water-bearing leap to mind right away. The members of the Autocrat team will give chits for service which can then be taken to lists and applied to the Warlord of your choice to give them points they can use immediately in their battles. Come to Autocrat point or Lists or Gate and we will put you to work and you can decide where the earned points go!
What do we do if we're building an army and missing a component, such as archery or A&S?
Answer: Well you'll be at a bit of a disadvantage then won't you? Since all the different components will be earning points for their Warlords, any Warlord short one or two will have less points to work with. Of course points will only go so far - a serious ass-kicking on the warfield can happen irrespective of points. Having the points just makes it less likely it's your ass getting kicked. We will have a time and place (10 pm Autocrat Point, Friday Night) for all unattached warriors/artisans to meet with Armies In Need. I'll make sure this information is available at gate.
Is each army allowed to have more than one Psychological Warfare entry?
Answer: You will have a maximum of three minutes to make your presentation. Your presentation may contain multiple aspects. For instance, if you were considering whether you should march in with your enemies heads on stakes or firing a volley of whistling arrows to frighten your enemy, then put the decision behind you. As long as you can fit both items in the three minutes, you can do both. And, yes, there will be an empty field nearby to loose those whisting arrows or whatever else you may unleash that might be unsafe to do in a crowded court.
How does the elimination and merging of armies work?
Answer: The heavies are the main force. Target, A&S and Rapier are secondary. They will continue to generate points thru the day Saturday for their warlord. If their warlord has been absorbed they are accruing points for the warlord who absorbed their warlord. But the heavies will go through two rounds of accruing points before a merge round occurs. In this time
Target, A&S and Rapier will have plenty of opportunities to earn points for their Warlord.
Target and Rapier will snowball too but they will snowball INDEPENDANT of the heavies. What that means is you don't merge with 'rapier force N' because your warlord and 'warlord N' merged. You don't care about that. You are generating points for your warlord. You merge with rapier forces you defeat (or have defeated you). If you defeat and merge a rapier force into your own army they work for u and the points you generate go to YOUR warlord only.
YOUR warlord may be in charge of his own forces, or he may have been defeated and working for someone else, which means your points go to that warlord.
I don't have an army and I don't want to be on the sidelines. What do I do?
Answer: First thing you should know is that at 10pm on the day the site opens (Friday) there will usually be a meet and greet where anyone looking for an army and all warlords looking for bodies should meet to fill their ranks. There will be another chance to find an Army etc., at the ARMOUR INSPECTION at 9:00am Saturday. And, as soon as Warlords start earning POINTS they can start adding extra bodies to their armies so even if you don't have an army, after the first Scenario there will be Warlords with POINTS to spend.
And of course you can also post on the local Lions Gate and Northern Lists. The Wolf Pack is actively recruiting if that helps.
Me like battle
Answer: An excellent question! Yes, I know there's a lot of stuff about points and merging and Devisors and a whole bunch of other stuff besides. Let your Warlord worry about that stuff. Just hit the guy across from you and you'll feel better right away, I promise.
Your A&S rules are mucking with my awesome!
Answer: We don't want to limit anyone, really. Bring out your awesome. Just don't kill anyone or cause permanent psychological damage to any smalls and all should be good. Hell if you're worried that your presentation is SO FEARSOME that it might cause heart failure or ruin some young lives before they begin just let the spectators know the weak of heart or the very young may need to be protected from the awesomeness to come.
Question: What do I do if I don't have an army?
Answer: Come to the meet and greet Friday night at Steward's Point. You will find your army there I promise.