Regal procession range?

[Story]

I've seen Regal Procession suggested for naval combat (fill the enemy deck with horses), but it looks to me like this isn't practical due to the 25+5/2 ft range. Is there something I missed? Or is this spell not all it's cracked up to be?

[Palanan]

It would depend on the ships involved, but the spell's close range would ordinarily mean they'd be fighting yardarm-to-yardarm, which would be a factor if the enemy vessel has snipers in the fighting tops on the lookout for spellcasters. A squad of archers with Plunging Shot could cause real problems for a spellcaster on the open deck.

Also, unless your opponent's ship is very small, the spell wouldn't have much effect other than causing a few horses to take up some deck space. Neither Mount nor Regal Procession says anything about the horses fighting, and a horse's body weight will be negligible on anything larger than a schooner.

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[ArcturusV]

Well, it could be used to fence in troops on a deck, crowd them so they can't move and board you. So I suppose it could have that sort of use. Slows them down for however long it takes them to kill any horses in their way. Combined with some AoE Doom that could be critical.

[Palanan]

Well, maybe; but for a third-level spell for naval combat, I'd go with Great Thunderclap, which can be cast from a longer distance and directly affects the enemy sailors--stunning, deafening, knocking them prone--rather than just putting a pretty horse in their way. Matter of taste, I suppose.

:smalltongue:

[ArcturusV]

Probably. Depends. If you can stack the horses thick enough they can be BFC and effectively buy you X rounds where X is the number of horses deep the barrier is. Plus horse clogged ship deck probably counts as difficult terrain. Whereas knocking them down only buys you one turn.

Eh. Regal Procession isn't my thing. Never really used it. Just trying to think of options. :smallbiggrin:

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by ArcturusV
If you can stack the horses thick enough they can be BFC and effectively buy you X rounds where X is the number of horses deep the barrier is.

Just looking at the sorcerer side of it...to even have access to the spell means a sixth-level sorcerer, which means six horses. A ship's deck is a busy place--shrouds and stays, ship's boats and spare yards, a capstan and all the clutter around the masts--so a few horses appearing could certainly clog up the sailors for a moment or two.

On the other hand, if the ship is prepared for a fight, you still have archers in the maintops, which are generally thirty feet up at least--which means probably forty feet or more on the diagonal from the spellcaster on the deck, plus the distance of open water between the two ships. Unless the spellcaster is right on the gunwales, dramatically clinging to a shroud over the racing water, he won't be able to affect the archers in the maintops or the men on the yards themselves, which means the caster is vulnerable to the slings and arrows of outrageous seamen. If I were a sorcerer, being out in the open while obviously casting a spell wouldn't be my first choice of location.

Dropping a couple horses on the deck might have some effect, for a moment or two, but if a player tried that on me I'd just have some of the sailors climb up on the horses and fight from there.

:smallamused: