Final Cut

The Autarch style guide is like a spell. It has to be memorized, and once a document is written, the style guide vanishes from the mind, and can only be replaced with further study. Moreover, the written form of the style guide is personal to each writer, and although the effects of the style guide are the same, its presentation varies widely depending on the grammatical traditions the writer was trained in, the astrological sign the writer was born under, and other arcane factors.

This has hampered our use of freelancers, obviously.

I don’t have the software to edit PDFs.

This is more or less what I expected from your “style guide.”
:wink:
No worries. I’ll just have to keep memorising it every day off one of your scrolls - er, documents.

Oh, and the markup just uses the standard Acrobat markup tools. You don’t need to be able to edit the underlying .pdf file, as far as I know. I’ll look into it a bit more and see what info I can provide you with, but for now I’ll just keep working as I am.

That would explain my issues - I’m a divine caster :smiley:

Boboblah, thanks for the exceptional proofreading. Except where noted, I simply agreed with the edit. Below I made some notes on where I did not.

Pg. 8 under Inspirations it reads, “…is in the role of commanders and heroes…” but neither of the two highlighted terms are bolded, even though this is the first time they are used. This directly contradicts the defined use of bolding from the very next section (Terminology)

APM: Inspirations precedes terminology and we are therefore not using the rules for bolding that begin once we begin to introduce formal terminology. In other words, commanders and heroes is being used colloquially here.

Pg. 8 under Terminology, the 6th paragraph reads, “In a campaign game, usually the PCs will be controlling one army and the Judge will be controlling the other…” and is slightly awkward, consider, “In a campaign game, the PCs will be controlling one army and the Judge will usually be controlling the other…”

APM: I kept the original language; your re-write does not allow for the possibility that the PCs may be controlling opposing armies in a PvP campaign.

Pg. 10, the 1st paragraph reads, “It includes only what’s necessary to fight a straightforward…” with the highlighted contraction; is this due to space/justification? It is otherwise nearly unique in the two books.

APM: I just thought it was cleaner and more readable.

Pg. 10 under Sides, Armies, Divisions, and Units, the 3rd paragraph reads, “…assortment of unit counters, scaled for use with 2” hexes (see below), is included…" and is a tricky sentence. While technically correct, with the singular verb form “is” referring to the “assortment,” the rest of the sentence refers to the “counters.” Notional agreement with “counters” would use the plural form of the verb “are,” which is probably what I would use here, as “scaled for use” is not referring to the “assortment.”

APM: Meh. “scaled for use” is a dependent clause which modifies counters, but the verb applies to assortment.

Pg. 12 under Units reads, “Since each 2” hex represents 60’ of ground, the unit counters are 2" wide and 1.16" deep." There is no clear reason or relationship to the previous explanation for the 1.16" dimension of the counters. Is this the correct size of the counters? EDIT: some awkward math later and this appears to be the length of a side on a 2" hex…maybe I’m not so bright, but I can see a lot of readers being puzzled by this.

APM: The preceding paragraph states that each unit is assumed to be approximately 60’ and 36’ deep or 60’ wide and 32’ deep. Since 2" = 60’, therefore 1" = 30’, and 1.16" = 34’, which is mid-way between 32’ and 36’. That this is also the length of a side on a 2" hex is just part of emergent beauty of what I have wrought. :slight_smile:

Pg. 26 under Pursuit, the Pursuing Unit table lists Pursuit Throw values for various unit types; is there any circumstance under which Loose or Other Foot will make Pursuit Throws at the values listed on the table? It seems that under all circumstances under which they will be able to pursue, they will also receive the +4 to the Throw for all the defeated army’s Mounted and Flyer units being eliminated.

APM: They will, but I think it is nevertheless better to leave the chart as is so that people can see the relative value.

The example that follows also appears to be incorrect, as Army A should be receiving the above +4 to its Pursuit Throws (as Army A gets to choose which units of Army B to eliminate due to all of Army B’s Mounted, and presumably Flyer, units were routed or destroyed)…

APM: The example states that he rolls a modified 6, 9, 12, and 16, e.g. the +4 has already been added in.

Pg. 44 under Cloudkill, it is stated that on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6, the cloud moves 1 hex. Who decides where it moves?

APM: It moves directly away from the caster.

Pg. 51 Petrifying Touch: do attacks such as this, Energy Drain, etc. inflict 1 uhp/target UHD additional damage per attack, per attack sequence, or per UHP initially inflicted?

APM: If the unit deals at least one uhp of damage from any of its attacks, the special effect is triggered. It’s exactly the same as bonus damage from a spear in a charge.

Pg. 53 under Armor Class: what about metal fortifications (e.g. Barad-dur)? Even if it’s just an AC and SHP modification (e.g. +1 AC and x2 SHP) and a cost multiplier (e.g. x10, or whatever)

APM: Too late to include at this point. Sorry!

Pg. 55 under Entering Strongholds, 2nd last paragraph reads, “They must first destroy or retreat (p. 23) the enemy unit(s).” When did retreat become a transitive verb? This is obviously intentional, as it’s used multiple times in this chapter, but it’s odd. Is it a space/layout issue? How about, “They must first destroy the enemy unit(s) or force them to retreat (p. 23).”

APM: It’s definitely an intentional usage. “Retreat the enemy” and “retreat the defender” is frequently used in wargames jargon, see e.g. http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/printable.asp?m=3477778
http://willisnyc.tripod.com/civilwargeneralsiistrategyguide/id7.html
http://forum.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php?t=20971&p=293687
http://forums.gamesquad.com/showthread.php?4156-How-to-crush-the-german-defence-in-GiO
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.games.board/i62tR5Kq_Uc

Pg. 58 under Hoist states that a unit unequips and loses its hoist if it ever retreats. What about if it makes a melee attack (I have no real idea what a hoist looks like; google was no help, so an illustration would be illuminating)?

APM: A unit needs to be able to make a melee attack for hoists to be useful. Otherwise you can’t use them to take a wall.

Pg. 58 under Moveable Galleries it reads, “A unit unequips and loses its galleries if it ever makes a melee attack, becomes threatened, or retreats.” Why do moveable galleries unequip when the so-equipped unit is threatened, but other siege equipment does not?

APM: It’s a mistake. Thank you for noticing!

Pg. 58 under Siege Hook it states that only units on the top story of an exterior fortified structure may be targeted; what about units occupying a story that has been breached?

APM: My thought was that the hook wouldn’t work if there was a ceiling overhead and rubble everywhere, at least not very effectively.

Pg. 59 why is there a Siege Tower Size characteristic, when all siege towers are one hex in size?

APM: I guess just to make it really clear.

Pg. 62 the 1st example reads, “Medium Counterweight Trebuchet with a missile attack throw of 9+…” out of curiosity, why does the Trebuchet have an attack throw of 9+ (presumably crew), and is it worth mentioning it in the example?

Per D@W: Campaigns, counterweight trebuchets are more precise (+2 to attack throws) than other artillery. Therefore a standard 0-level human’s attack throw of 11+ becomes 9+.

Pg. 64 under Battalion Scale it states sizes for man-sized cavalry and infantry; what about Huge, Gigantic and Colossal creatures/units?

Pg. 64 under Brigade Scale it states sizes for man-sized cavalry and infantry; what about Huge, Gigantic and Colossal creatures/units?

The text reads “Battalion scale units are four times the size of company-size units. Thus,…” and “Brigade-scale units are sixteen times the size of company-size units. Thus,…” The man-sized cavalry and infantry are just examples of the math. The original draft had additional examples but it felt like I was beating the reader over the head with a math-stick.

Pg. 67 under Wall of Fire, the Wall does not appear to do any damage at Brigade scale; is this correct?

That’s correct. In order to fill up even one hex at brigade scale, the wall is assumed to be 360’ long and only 3.5’. At that height, it’s so low that it can be jumped without harm. If one made the wall shorter, then the units could simply maneuver around it, achieving the same result.

Pg. 69 under Platoon Scale no numbers are given for what constitutes a unit of Huge or Gigantic creatures at Platoon Scale; why not? See Battalion and Brigade scale notes, above.

See notes above.

Pg. 71 under Fireball it states that a unit may never lose more than half its uhp to the spell. Why? Fireball is more than capable of killing 30 infantry…

Area of effect. The fireball can never hit more than half the unit. Each hex is 30’, giving it an area of approximately 775 square feet. Each unit has 30 men, so each man is taking up about 25 square feet. A fireball targets a 20’ diameter area, or 314 square feet, or about 12 men. Or, put another way, it can’t hit more than 40% of the hex.

Pg. 71 under Insect Plague it states that the swarm cannot move through walls of fire. Shouldn’t walls of ice be included (as they also cause damage)? This would be true for the entries under Standard (Company) and Epic Scales, as well.

In the ACKS rules, swarms are affected by smoke and fire. My sense is that fire drives off or kills cockroaches but ice doesn’t.

Pg. 73 under Monstrous Units it states that these units include fewer creatures at Platoon Scale, but nowhere have we seen how many that would be.

Don’t get saucy with me, Bearnaise. p. 69: “Platoon scale units are ¼ the size of company-size units.”

Pg. 103, Azar el-Zardez’s Strategic Ability should be +4. He has 14 Wis (+1), 9 Int (-0), and Military Strategy 3!

Pg. 105 - Hellhounds description - is breath weapon damage really supposed to be quadrupled at battalion scale? The battalion damage multiplier is only x2… Same question applies to stormstalker breath weapons.

It actually looks like I may have erred on both of the custom armies and multiplied HP by x4 instead of x2. Could someone else eyeball it and let me know if that seems to be the case? My brain is a bit Dwimmerfried right now.

On p 105 and thereabouts, it actually looks like I may have erred on both of the custom armies and multiplied HP by x4 instead of x2. Could someone else eyeball it and let me know if that seems to be the case? My brain is a bit Dwimmerfried right now.

Alex said: Except where noted, I simply agreed with the edit.
Well, I mean, you’re wrong, obviously, but let’s see…

Alex said: The text reads “Battalion scale units are four times the size of company-size units. Thus,…” and “Brigade-scale units are sixteen times the size of company-size units. Thus,…” The man-sized cavalry and infantry are just examples of the math. The original draft had additional examples but it felt like I was beating the reader over the head with a math-stick.
It’s not even the examples. It’s the fact that they’re missing from the tables, too, particularly at Platoon Scale. How many Gigantic creatures in a Unit?

Anyway, I’m otherwise kidding; your responses make perfect sense (mostly). Oh, and I’ll beg to differ about my page 8 re-write somehow not allowing for PvP!

As for the rest of the edits, I’m into Chapter 8 now, so I’ll post more soon.

Sorry for the long delay. Been mostly consumed by work lately, with only light online posting. This has also meant I’ve had very little time to work on this. I’ve become totally bogged down in Chapter 8, which, while appearing to have far less in terms of grammatical and typographical errors, is very heavy on formulae and page references that are time-consuming to check. Below are the notes for what I’ve managed. I’ll keep struggling as time permits, but I’m guessing release timing means there’s little point now…

Chapter 7: Rosters

Pg. 76 on the Demi-Human Units table under Elven Units, on the row for 60 Light Cavalry, the word Cavalry is bolded and followed by an incomplete page reference (p. XX). Why?

Chapter 8: Conversion

Pg. 81 under Building Standard Units on the Table for deriving unit characteristics the formula for Unit Number of Attacks reads: (No. of creatures) x (no. of attacks) + cleave factor x (average damage / (size factor x 4.5) This doesn’t match the later restatement under Number Of Attacks on pg. 82

Pg. 82 under Size Factor it reads, “The size factor simulates the need for smaller creatures have to form up in greater mass…” but should read, “The size factor simulates the need for smaller creatures to form up in greater mass…” (extra word)

Pg. 83 under Cavalry Unit Movement And Formation it reads, “…on the Cavalry Unit Movement Rate and Formations, below.” This should read, “…on the Cavalry Unit Movement Rate and Formations table, below.” (missing word)

Pg. 84 under Building Cavalry Units the 2nd example reads, “A cavalry unit of 60 normal men on medium warhorses has (60 x 0.75 / 15) 6 uhp.” This should read, “A cavalry unit of 60 normal men on medium warhorses has (2 x 60 x 0.75 / 15) 6 uhp.” (incorrect formula)

Pg. 86 under Building Behemoth Cavalry Units it reads, “…the number of man-sized riders shown on the table below.” This should read, “…the number of man-sized riders shown on the table above.” (wrong location for table)

Pg. 86 under Behemoth Cavalry Unit Movement etc. it reads, “Behemoths of animal intelligence that can be trained as guard or hunters (e.g. dire wolves)…” which is an odd example, as dire wolves aren’t behemoths (yes, I get that they can be trained as guards or hunters). Admittedly, on a quick glance, I couldn’t come up with a creature that fit both criteria (i.e. guard/hunter and behemoth). Maybe a roc?

Pg. 90 under Chariot Unit AC it reads, “…medium chariots increase the charioteers’ AC +1…” but should read, “…medium chariots increase the charioteers’ AC by +1…” (missing preposition)

I’ve submitted these changes. It’s locked down now. Thanks!

Sorry I couldn’t get more done. I hate it when real life gets in the way of the important stuff like RPGs.

This is the daily tragedy of my life.

But thank you regardless–your proofing was invaluable.