Episode 13 – Stand and Deliver

The day of reckoning for the citizens of Davao is at hand. The Grik have arrived in force and the defenders must find a way to defeat the attack. Just as the scout feluccas warned, twenty-one Grik Indiamen, these larger than anything encountered before, say into Davao bay. The two forts will open fire as soon as the first ships come into range, but if the commanders can roll an AVERAGE Intelligence + Perception / Tactics roll, the defenders will wait until the Grik are at the optimum range before firing. If the cannon begin firing at long range, in addition to the penalty for range, the forts will not be able to create a cross fire. If the gunners wait, the cross fire adds a two-step bonus to skill to hit the ships.

Aboard the twenty-one first rate Hunters, there are 6,300 warriors and 1,050 crew with 350 warriors per ship and 50 crew that will stay with the ship. The Grik are surprised by effectiveness of the prey’s weapons, but do not stop their advance. How many times the forts will be able to fire will be based on how quickly the Grik reach the Davao waterfront. Unless the defenders specifically state they are concentrating their fire on the leading ships, the Grik will move very quickly and the forts will each get three Combat Rounds of fire, once each at Long, Medium, and Short range. If the fort commanders succeed in an AVERAGE Intelligence + Perception / Tactics roll, they realize that sinking the leading ships will cause a bottleneck for the following ships and will slow the advance long enough for the forts to six Combat Rounds of fire, with three rounds considered at Medium and three at Short range. As the time frame of a Combat Round is substantially longer than a Combat Turn’s three seconds, all cannon can be reloaded at the end of every Round.

Each fort has thirty cannon with fifteen facing out (northward) and fifteen facing inward (east or west). If fired at optimal range, all thirty cannon in each fort can fire at once gaining the full bonus for crossfire. If fired at long range, the guns do not gain the crossfire bonus and only the cannon on the north side can fire. Each cannon does d4W damage, but a successful AVERAGE Intelligence + Heavy Weapons test allows concentration of fire on a single target. Up to five cannon can fire on a single ship and for each weapon after the first, the damage roll is increased by one-step, thus if all five guns are combined, damage increases four steps to d12W. Whenever the cannon open fire, the Grik do not react to the weapons for the first Combat round, making the Target Number 3. On the Combat Round after the guns fire, the crowded approach to Davao, only allows the ships to use their innate defense of d4. Alternately, the Grik can use their full d4 + d8 defense, but the zigzagging will add two rounds to the time they are under the fort’s guns. If a ship sinks in the harbor, only d4 x 10% of the warriors will survive the flasher fish to reach the shore and will take d6 + 6 Combat Rounds to organize themselves to join the attack.

Based on how effective the forts have been, the surviving Grik warriors immediately attack as soon as they reach the shore. The Grik commander will send twenty percent of his force against each of the forts and the remaining sixty percent will attack the main Lemurian defense. The Davao shoreline has three sets of abatis obstacles that will delay and channel the Grik force allowing the fourteen guns of the Iron Brigade to fire on the attackers for two free Combat Rounds. The closely packed Grik are impossible to miss and the cannon will do d4% casualties to each unit they fire on during the first Combat Round and d8% in the second. Once the cannon have completed their fire, the Lermurian shield wall closes and the Mass Combat Rules are used.

As the bulk of the fighting will be abstracted, the exact role of the PCs will depend on where they are stationed. There are several vantage points from the taller buildings that overlook the battlefield that riflemen can use for precision marksmanship. Spotting the more ornately garbed officers, is a FORMIDABLE (15) Alertness + Perception / Sight roll. The officers will be taken by surprise by this unseen attack making them EASY targets for the first three Combat Rounds. After the third Round, the officers will surround themselves will a wall of expendable warriors making sniping no longer possible. Each Grik unit that loses their commander has their Morale Rating reduced by one level.

Any PC that fights on the line, mans one of the artillery pieces, or is in a fort, will be exposed to a Fate roll as modified by Danger level for each Combat Round.

Specific Encounters

“Hold the bloody line!”

PCs fighting with the Iron Brigade use their firearms to prevent a Grik breakthrough.

Order of Battle

Grik are considered Medium Irregular Infantry, consisting of irregular footmen armed with swords, spears, and bows. They are Experienced level troops organized along tribal lines and Experienced with their weapons. Their basic UR is 5 with a final UR of 9. Each of the twenty-one ships carries 350 warriors totaling UR 3,150 for an End Strength of 66,150.

Lemurians have several different types of troops. The Iron Brigade is a Green Regular Medium Infantry wearing reinforced leather with heavy shields and Experienced with their axes, scotas, spears, bows, and light artillery. The 770 man brigade has seven companies of 100 soldiers and two cannon with 5 men each. Basic UR 4, final UR 10 for infantry, 7 for artillerymen. Each company has UR 1,085

The 1,500 man Davao Guard is Experienced Regular Light Infantry wearing leather armor with light shields Experienced with spears, bows, and short swords. Each company has 100 soldiers. Basic UR is 3, final 8 with each company having UR 800.

The Militia consists of 1,500 Green Irregular Infantry unarmored except for a light shield and Experienced with javelins, bows, and short swords. Basic UR is 2, final 5. Each company has 100 soldiers and UR 500

Fort Sumter and Fort Ticonderoga are each defended by 150 Experienced Regular Light Infantry wearing leather armor with light shields Experienced with axes and scotas UR is 3, final 8 for UR 1,200. In addition to the 30 light artillery pieces each manned by five Experienced Regular Infantry, unarmored except for a light shield and Experienced with short swords Final UR 3, total UR 450 + 750 = 1,200

Lemurian End Strength 29,495