Monday, October 16, 2017

Building Line Fighting Skills

I'm on the road, and don't have any fancy graphics, sorry.

In the past, I've approached the topic of how a small group/realm/team/unit can fight in a line fighting environment.  My previous post about it was largely centered on the small unit being a discrete entity (like during unit battles, etc).  Instead of answering the question "how do you line fight?", I gave alternative strategies to use against organized groups.  Instead of giving strategies for a small group to work off of others on their team that are maintaining the line, I focused on how the small group could succeed on their own against another group.

After some discussion and a tiny bit of fighting out in the West, I realize that I've missed part of this topic in previous posts.  So, instead of talking about how a group succeeds without line fighting, lets look at how to work with an established line, and how to teach people line fighting skills that will help them integrate with a larger team.

Leveraging Existing Skills

Groups that don't get much line fighting in at practice tend to do a lot of skirmish fighting.  While skirmishing doesn't work well when fighting against a line heads up, the fighting style that comes with it naturally blends into flanking and harassment tactics. When working with a larger team, then, it seems natural that a skirmishing group would avoid being part of the main line, and work on flanks.

The only real change required is in the group's priority.  In a pure skirmish, the goal to is to win small chunks until you can mop up in force.  On the flank, your goal is just to deliver people to the back of the enemy line while preventing the enemy from doing the same.  It isn't a huge change in tactics overall, but it means that the team needs to be looking for the opportunity--if not actively pursuing it.

I mentioned harassment, which is probably one of the lesser used skills in Belegarth.  One fighter distracting a handful of enemies without engaging directly in combat or getting bogged down can create advantages else where. Just when the enemy decides to give up pursing a harassing fighter, the fighter can move up and take a swing or two and back off.  Using just enough aggression and throwing a few shots here and there, that one fighter can keep the enemy's attention.  This strategy doesn't work quite as well during a large line fight, but works quite well in a battle with many teams (unit, realm, etc).

Why Line Fight?

So, if so many places do lots of skirmish fighting, why line fight at all?

The basic building block of line fights is really the pair.  In a one on one fight, even a single hit to the arm can be decisive.  Working in a pair, though, buys time to recover from such a hit. If we were to consider support weapons in the mix, we also see that the pair can cover multiple ranges in a mutually beneficial way.  If a spear was entirely on their own, they would often be rushed, but with a partner, they can overlap their threat ranges and build a more robust defense.

What if we had a pair of pairs, each with a spear and a sword/board fighter?  They gain the benefit of overlapping ranges on the spears.  If one of the pairs is rushed, the other pair can provide support.  If the enemy fields a spear, the two spears can work together to kill it while their shields prevent them from being overran easily.  As we expand that along the line, we start to see that the whole line is really just small groups of 2-3 people working together and supporting other groups of 2-3 people next to them.

The only real weakness here then becomes the flanks/rear of the line, or any space between the smaller groups of fighters that an enemy could move through with impunity.  That's why the flanking and shock trooper tactics are so important on offense and defense.

Besides the sort of "safety in numbers" mentality to forming a good line, the other primary reason is for spatial control.  In the relative chaos of a skirmish, it is very difficult to control a space, such as an objective.  Forming a well spaced line prevents the enemy from getting behind it without a fight, making it easier to control the space and enemy access to it.  Games like capture the flag or monarch battles can be won and lost by how well a team controls the field.

Teaching Line Fighting

If the pair is the building block of line fighting, it seems natural to me that doing drills to practice as a pair is a great way to start teaching line fighting.  I'm particularly a fan of 2v1 drills for this purpose, I've most likely mentioned it previously.  The goal of the pair is to kill their opponent without being hit.  This forces the pair to work off of each other's strengths/weaknesses to kill a target.  Meanwhile, their opponent gets practice fighting multiple targets.

A different approach is to use a "stand and deliver" drill.  Two teams of people (equal numbers preferable) line up and face each other.  Especially with newer fighters, basic sword and shield is the preferred equipment.  Instead of a wide open field, the area is either marked slightly wider than the line or has a herald on each end to act as an edge of the world.  I have also seen this done with a line in the middle which the fighters couldn't cross instead.  The basic idea is that there is no backstabbing or flanking.  As opponents die, the fighters shift on their line to aid their allies.  When teaching using this drill, the emphasis is on teaching fighters that they are fighting the three fighters opposite them (the one in front, and one on each side of them).

Either drill can be used to help develop skills for dealing with or supporting support weapons.  A pair with a spear in a 2v1 drill, for example, both trains the pair to work together and teaches their opponent how to defend against the spear/sword&board combo.  In a stand and deliver drill, both teams learn a valuable lesson on watching their flanks (or the friend's flank) for incoming spear stabs, while support weapons get a taste of fighting each other across a line fight.

Bridge Battles

If you aren't familiar with bridge battles: picture a bridge spanning a river.  Anyone that falls off the bridge or the banks of the river is dead.  It's the most basic of choke point battles to set up.

Okay, first off, bridge battles can be dangerous without going over safety with fighters.  Even then, higher density of fighters mixing with polearms will eventually cause accidents.  However, bridge battles are a way to force line fighting.  The narrow space prevents any flanking and causes even a small practice to be a line fight of one form or another.

If a realm is newer to line fighting or bridge battles, it's probably best to ease into it with limited weapons.  Glaives and other reds can be particularly dangerous even with a good bit of experience because it doesn't take much divergence in a swing to end up unintentionally hitting a different target in the head.  Starting out, I'd recommend sticking to just sword/board and emphasizing swing safety heavily.  Depending on the practice space and fighters, limiting shield bashing and kicking may be useful early on as well.

Safety disclaimers out of the way, consider what is required to win a bridge battle without any support weapons.  Fighters have to work together and maintain a fairly straight line.  If anyone gets too far ahead of their neighbor, the enemy might be able to pick them off without repercussions.  In order to gain any advantage, the fighters have to work together to draw out enemy swings so they can be countered or to block for a teammate while they swing at an opening.  Because the lines are so densely packed on a bridge, fighters get experience being attacked from several opponents and learn to block angles they may not have otherwise.

Changing the width of the bridge or adding additional bridges of various sizes can change the intensity of the fighting.  Foot bridges that are only wide enough for one or two people can add a bit of fun and strategy.  Wide bridges can help lessen the intensity if safety might be a concern.

The whole idea of doing the occasional bridge battle at practice is to get fighters a taste of line fighting that they wouldn't otherwise get.

Misc Thoughts

  • It is hard to teach "head on a swivel," but it might be one of the most important skills to have.  Scanning the area for threats lets you and your team get a better chance of surviving.
  • Line fighting requires matching the enemy threat.  If a great fighter moves off to the flank, your team needs to have someone (or a group) move to challenge that fighter.  The line spacing has to adjust to match large threats (like a mass of armored up fighters that look antsy to charge).

  • Supporting your Support.  A spear isn't much good if it gets overran.
  • As always, communicate.  And listen.  Alert your team to problems and do your best to respond if others need help.

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

The 2 v 3 Scenario

It's been a while, I know.  Such is life.  I just haven't been fighting enough to have things to rant and complain about lately.

A friend of mine asked a good question about how to win in a 2 vs 3 scenario as the pair.  He left it rather open ended, but I thought it was a pretty solid basis for a blog post.

I've talked about fighting while outnumbered a few times before, but what makes a 2 vs 3 interesting is that it is still a small enough fight that you won't have as many vision gaps or confusion on the larger team to work with.  Since my friend left it a bit open, lets look at a few different cases.

The Base Scenario

Lets consider for a bit the most basic encounter like this we might see.  All of the fighters are equipped with a large round shield, and a moderate length sword and no armor.  The skill level of all fighters shall be considered roughly equal.  Heck, lets even say they are all right-handed fighters (dirty lefties always trying to mess up examples).

From the pair's perspective, what are their options?

1) Keep it a line fight: stick together and try to whittle down the other team.
2) Divide and Conquer: split up and hope the larger team is slow to react or their third hesitates.
3) Pin and Split: have one fighter try to draw two of the other team into a 2 v 1 fight, so the other can get a 1 v 1.
4) ? Suicidal rush ?: most strategies I can think of are one of the above to one degree or another.



Case 1 isn't bad, but if the skill level is equal, it isn't going to be good either.  By keeping it a line fight, all advantage rests with the larger team.  The pair has to fight on the defensive, and the larger team is usually going to be free to send one fighter off to attack from an angle.  One thing to keep in mind though, is that by using better positioning (similar to a 1v2 fight), the pair can mitigate most of the offense of one of the triplets.  By shifting to the right a bit, the triplet on their left flank can't swing as easily at the pair.  In order to win the line fight, the pair has to move together really well to sort of approximate the same approach a single fighter would when outnumbered--changing directions when one of the triplets is out of position, without splitting up enough to get overran individually.


Think of how this might look with a 2 v 3 fight.  The goal of the pair is to get the triplets into this "Really Not Good" position that the two blues are in here.  They want the triplets to be in each others way and out of swinging range as much as possible.


Case 2 has some potential.  Start the fight off as a line fight, then split quickly in opposite directions.  The person in the middle of the three person team has to decide which direction to go in a hurry.  By going in opposite directions, each of the triplets end up having to show their backs to one of the pair.  When the third person chooses a direction, if the pair member doubles back from the opposite side, it could be a chance to kill one or two outright.

Case 3 isn't much different, but it is a more intentional attempt by the pair to choose which direction the third person goes.  One member throws swings and feints at two of the enemy while his partner shifts away a bit to draw the 1v1 fight.  The drawback here, compared to case 2, is that it doesn't force any confusion in the larger team.  There isn't as likely to be a moment where the 1v1 fighter can get free to backstab the two people his partner is fighting.

So it would seem that for our little base scenario, a divide and conquer approach might be the way to go.  It gives the pair a little more control over the fight and puts the triplets on the defensive for a second.  There is also a chance that sticking closer together can work, but it really depends on how well the two of them can move and act together to contain the triplets.

Support Weapon Scenarios

Now that we've looked at a simple scenario, lets see how support weapons might shift things.  Swapping one of our triplets to a polearm doesn't really change things too much.  The pair still is better off trying to divide and conquer if they can because facing a polearm head on isn't favorable for them at all in a line fight or as a pin for a pin/split.

However, if we give one of the pair a support weapon, things get a little more interesting.  If the two tried any strategy that required them to split up, the support weapon might be easily overran.  So, in this particular case, the pair should try to stick together and do their best to keep it a line fight.  By leveraging the extra reach of a polearm, the pair has a much larger advantage in the range game if they can keep the triplets from splitting up too much.  It actually reminds me of one of my favorite stories.

What if both sides had a polearm?  The triplet's polearm negates the range advantage the pair might have had.  If they try to split up, the pair's support is still in danger of being overran; OR the pair's sword & board fighter ends up taking on a polearm and friend while the third triplet fends off his support.  Even though the situation isn't favorable, it's still probably best for them to stick together and line fight as best they can.

What if all three of the triplets have a polearm?  Both of the pair?  Okay, I'm not actually going to go through every combination here.  I think we can kind of see the pattern already.  The real choice for the pair is all about how well they would survive individually if they would split up.

Skill/Armor Disparity

How might our little scenario change if we swap around some fighters and add in a more skilled fighter or one that is fully tanked out in armor?

As our support weapon example indicates, if we give advantages to the pair that can help them win a line fight, they might be better off sticking together.  Put a top-tier fighter in full armor on the pair, and they might as well stay close to each other.  However, a pin/split might also work, as the more skilled fighter will have an easier time both drawing the extra fighter and surviving/winning the 2v1; OR have a much higher chance of beating the single fighter if his buddy can pin two in place for a second.

General Thoughts

  • As always when outnumbered, mobility is key.  The pair must keep moving, always attempting to get one of the triplets out of position. "Keeping it a line fight" probably requires the pair to back up, at the very least, but more likely requires them to strafe back and forth.
  • Typical line fighting teamwork techniques are important to keep in mind.  Feinting towards the middle fighter might move their defenses over so your partner can take a swing at them.  Faking for a swing might draw out a counter that allows your partner to snipe an arm.
  • By getting even a single leg hit, the pair can turn the fight into a 2v2.
  • Teams of fighters fight differently than individuals.  The larger group may not swing as often per person as the smaller group.  When outnumbering, they often look for counter swing opportunities .  Feints may be particularly effective at drawing them out.
  • Targets of Opportunity: if the triplets mess up, punish them for it.  Regardless of the plan, killing one outright because they have a poor guard or turned incorrectly might happen.  Be on the lookout.
  • Communicate!  Even simple words like "split" or "shift right" can help a ton.