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Rock-Paper-Scissors
Posted by CDTXXX at the WarOnline.Net forums
(Without any spell verification! :))

The idea of this system is to base most melee troop types on one of 3 'types' - rock, paper or scissors.

When a 'better' type fights with a 'weaker' type, the weaker type suffers a penalty AND the better type gains a bonus.

Naturally, it is difficult to to remember which unit is which. However, with the 'medieval' class, there are some general 'rules' you cna use to find out which is which without using the manual:

If the unit uses a sword or some form of blade weapon, like Knights, it's usually 'Paper'.
If the unit uses a pole weapon such as a pike or spear, like the aptly-named Pikemen and Spearmen, it's reasonably safe to say it's 'Rock'.
Finally, if it rides a horse/is mounted, like Heavy Cavalry, it'll be a 'Scissors' unit.

First, this system is not omnipotent. If you have 10 spearmen, do not expect them to hold off 1,000 Heavy Cavalry :-)
Second, if your game includes 'Max Damage' (i.e. not a 'skirmish' game, you should bear in mind that damage far in excess of 1,000 will not occur. While the 'Max Damage' rule is only a ratio modifier, if you wish to get the full damage out of the unit, it will have to do less than 1,000 points (plus any bonus for troop level) before you can fully cash in on this little trick.
(Caution - this only applies if you're the one hitting the max damage limit. If the stack you attack is still much bigger than yours, your troops -WILL- die!)
Third, if you attack, say, scouts with spearmen, remember one thing. If 15 men die on each side, then the spearmen actually fared better - spearmen are cheaper, come in bigger numbers and are worth less in score.
Fourth, if you do plan to make use of this concept heavily, make sure you know what your opponent will use. It'd be a shame if you saw a spearmen stack go by and built lots of swordsmen/militia, only to find he actually has a large army of scouts and that was his only spearmen stack! :-)

Don't worry if some of this lecture doesn't make sense yet. It will be retained and you can look back at it later when some of the other items (like 'max damage') have been explained further.