Brettonian Lance Formation Rule Idea

[Skopey]

Questing knights on foot should be possible. Why not. They have given up a lot for their quest why not the horse as an ultimate sign that they are searching for the ladies blessing. "A knight on fo.Ot?!" Plus whos to say the questing knights quest hasn't been a long and dangerous one that they have had their humble steed killed, stolen,sacrificed or dare i say it..... consumed! to help propel his quest. Or hedge knights who have dishonoured their lord and are fighting on foot as a sign of pennance, similar to slayers shaving their beards? Anyway as usual im going way off topic. But how about as it is at the moment with a unit cap of 15 for Kinghts errant/kotr that instead of just the front 6 and the knights on the edge its just changed to "ALL" knights in the unit can attack on the charge. This will represent the knights being in lance, chargeing as a line and then reforming as they hit the target unit/monster/warmachine etc. Baring in mind i agree with others that i'm sure the unit cap is gonna dissapear with the next book. Roll on 2020 and 10th edition XD

[Lantern]

Im curious as to how many people requesting a change to the lance formation are Bretonnian gamers and how many are other gamers who simply dislike the formation as it stands. I personally feel the lance formation is exactly where it should be, giving extra ranks and extra damage enough to perhaps offset the steadfast rule enough for a cavalry based army. At the moment, the main hassle my Bretonnians have is with the ever present Horde units, mainly due to Bretonnian knights having a slightly outdated limit to thier unit sizes (although I should point out that a unit of twenty Bretonnians in a lance formation would in fact be too deep to actually fit in a standard 12 inch deployment zone, so perhaps theres method in that). Beyond that, I find the lance works well enough so long as you use the combined arms approach and do your best to navigate them to enemy flanks whilst your peasants attack the front.

[Skopey]

The twelve inch deployment thing is why some like me have asked for the ability to use, if wanted, a larger unit, in a wider, lance formation. without losing the benefit of the lance rule. Especially if they do ditch the unit cap. Painted my knights look better (Imo) in a traditional block of cavalry rather than the thin column of the lance. Yeah theres nothing stopping me from doing that, but i like to mix my armies aesthetic with the game play. Its more the unit cap for me rather than the lance formation itself. I want my knights to look good and hopefully, play good. The option of having a wide unit of 6x4 or 5x5 would be nice so that we dont have to rely on peasants anchoring an enemy unit to get the flank charges off. Not that we have to now mind. But i agree with what your saying that the lance is actually ok. Its not like we cant win with it as it is. Just we have to be careful. If we're not careful about using it we will get punished for it which is fair enough.That applies to all armies. But having the option to field a big block of knights 7x4, as an example, hit an enemy unit in the front and then a couple of smaller 3x3 or 3x4 units flanking, would be an awesome alternative to a chaff unit of Men@arms. Id be ok with being able to do that without the lance affecting the big block. but for the unit Caps.

[Lord Solar Plexus]

Well, lantern, I for one am not a Bret player although I'm not ruling out the possibility to start just such a career should a new AB hit the shelves in this life. I still feel that despite its obvious visual difference, a deep and narrow formation of knights makes as much sense as say, conga-lines possibly being harder to shift than hordes, or knights with no weapons, or the introduction of a Breton Peasant Trade Union rule because, dare I say it, it would jar with my sense of realism.

If that irks you, remember that I am just one anonymous voice amongst hundreds. I don't make new rules, I tend not to write to Nottingham, and they would not care much even if I did. This thread is pretty much just an academic exercise to pass the time.

[Lantern]

Thank you, i just wanted some context for the opinions. If someon has been on the receiving end of a lance and has grown to dislike the formation, that could colour some opinions.

[Juicy21]

Is it just me playing the rules wrong. Cause i really thought in a lance formation only our knights can get those extra attacks not there horses. So only the front 3 horses can attack in the lance formation.

Any one can enlight me on this?

[laribold]

The lance rules on pp.40-41 specifically state that 'knight models' in the flanks of the lance formation get to attack.

To me the 'knight model' is comprised of the chap on horseback AND the horse itself. It is clearly making a distinction between the model (as a whole) and the knight (i.e. just the chap) and so both knights and horses on the flanks get to attack.