Osprey Games have been talking about another element of their upcoming mass battle game, Oathmark: Battles of The Lost Age. This time around they are delving into how Activations work during a battle and the command and control options available to you.

During your games of Oathmark, a lot of the focus in battle comes down to the activation of particular units. When you want to do something with a regiment you'll have to roll a dice to see if they activate in the way that you want. In the example they shared, Elves have a very low activation statistic of three meaning that it is very easy to get them to do what you want (you roll two dice and must equal or beat this statistic). Orcs on the other side of the coin have an activation statistic of six and therefore it is much harder to get them into an orderly activation.

It should be noted that even if you don't match or beat your activation statistic, you will still get to move the unit but the options available to it are much more limited as they squabble or stumble in their attempts to fight. Units locked in hand-to-hand combat also don't get to activate that turn so you really have to choose wisely.

This is where the tactical nuance comes in. Do you activate that unit of Orc warriors so that they can charge into battle and earn their bonuses for such an assault? Or, do you activate the archers on your flanks to try and weaken your enemy before they charge into your front line?

Things then get even more interesting when you add characters into the mix. Anyone with the Command special ability can offer an extra dice to units nearby so they are more likely to activate. Plus, leader figures within your army can also make multiple units activate at the same time, allowing you to fire with archers and charge with your warriors before the enemy has managed to react. So, the prime placement of your heroes is just as important as the make-up of your battleline.

This seems to certainly add an element of ebb and flow into the way battles are fought in Oathmark and manages to counter that time spent drumming your fingers on the table as your enemy goes through activating all of their units!

Are you tempted to dive into Oathmark even more now?