Yesterday's battle, Macedonians in India

[FierceKitty]

Alexander - your humble narrator. Poros - my wife.

The battlefield was largely chosen by the Indians (bogey table effect). Both armies were slow in starting off, having got bad omens. On round two, both kings elected to draw a sword and remark pointedly to the priests "Zeus/Shiva really intends us to win, doesn't he, your reverence?"; Zeus duly sent good omens, but a pious Hindu murdered Poros for his blasphemy. Good start for the away team!

Figures - mainly Pendraken and Newline, with a few Magister Militum.

[FierceKitty]

I held back the Hetairoi and Alexander, having had painful elephant encounters before, but used the woods on the left; here my Thracian and Greek peltasts secure what was a critical position.

[FierceKitty]

Thus, when the chariots rolled forward, my Thracians opened ranks and killed a few with javelins, and they stopped just short of the Greeks; on the next invaders' move, the carts were swamped. It helps that good omens boost melee effect on first contact.

[FierceKitty]

Not everything was going as I had hoped; Kautilya, now the Indian C-in-C, held and fought off a two-pronged attack by the Macedonian lights. The plan was sound, but the dice weren't. Maybe Zeus wasn't quite happy about my threatening his priest at the start. The lights on the flank were caught by an elephant unit before they regrouped.

[FierceKitty]

The hoplite mercenaries were doubtless aware that they were out of date, and got mired in an indecisive push against the Indians' own mercenary foot, who are a cut above the rest. Not shewn in the pictures, two units of phalangites broke under heavy archery. I should have locked shields to improve defenses, though that may not have been enough. The thureophoroi also broke when the victorious elephants turned their flank.

[FierceKitty]

Fortunately for me, the Maiden Guard may look sexy but really can't stop a pike phalanx, and my Thessalians did what cavalry do best against the flank of another unit. Indian morale crumbled, after bravely passing several morale tests. The Macedonians themselves were battered enough to have had to test army morale a few times, but the dice favoured us at the crisis.

Moral: atheism works in dealing with the Olympians, but is dangerous with the Hindu pantheon.

[FierceKitty]

P.S. Wife's remark (she's a Buddhist): "I'm not an atheist, I just don't believe in gods." I'm still trying to decode that.

[Codsticker]

P.S. Wife's remark (she's a Buddhist): "I'm not an atheist, I just don't believe in gods." I'm still trying to decode that.

Yeah, that's a tough think...