Aratari Battle Report By MT Graymael Incidental Padding Roving Reporter
Dagorhir Aratari held a battle on Saturday, March 24. It rained that morning, which probably accounted for the lighter-than-normal turnout (about 90 participants).
We fought at Lane Manor Park, a charming site which includes many tall trees scattered across the battlefield, providing both tactical obstacles and enough shade to keep the fighting cool even in summer months.
Units included Ikko Taizen, DragonHood, Gwynedd, Rome, Indomar, Gestiguiste, Guard, Thalindor, DragonClaw, Taurendor, and the Usual Crowd of Miscellaneous Mercs.
Perhaps because of the smaller-than-usual number of fighters, this battle proved to be a VERY mobile one - lots of running around the field, maneuvering for position or trying to avoid getting trapped by flankers. I suspect if more people had braved the threatening-looking morning weather (it didn't rain the whole time we fought), armies would have filled the field from one side to the other, resulting in a lot less flanking/running. I don't know about everyone else, but both Shade and I complained by mid-day that our legs were sore -- and we're both runners!
In addition to the standard battle scenarios like Unit Battles and Two-Team No-Rez fights, we did a brutal half-hour "Legendary Shield" battle in which none of the three teams scored until AFTER the Heralds called, "Thirty minutes is up! No more Resurrections!" We also fought two or three "Weapons Class" battles. The Archers won the first Weapon Class battle, guaranteeing themselves a severe spanking from the Round Shield Team the second time around. The Archers ended up pinned against the "edge of the world" [parking lot] right next to my van. We briefly considered jumping into my car and driving off, but I dropped my keys and a Roman beat the snot out of me when I bent over to retrieve them.
The last few dozen fighters who still "had some" ended the day with a grueling series of Gestiguiste-versus battles.
Good, hard, clean fighting: in the words of Hadrian, "A good time was had by all."