The good pastor and his faithful nieces

Horde of the Day

Today we have a useful addition to any field army from pretty much any period from 50 AD through to the present.

A diligently attentive priest, and some prayerful followers.

Based as a HoTT cleric element (40x30mm base), this general purpose unit can double up as a Napoleonic camp element, an objective marker for various games,. or even as a spare casualty / morale marker for games that make use of such figures.

As a cleric element for HoTT, these bases are quite powerful - they have a pretty decent combat factor against both foot and mounted, so they can hold their own in the line amongst true fighting units.

More importantly - the addition of a Cleric element on the field significantly reduces the effect of ranged attacks from Magicians and other Sorcerers on the field.

Bit of a 2 edged sword though - they will also negatively impact your own Magic Users if they end up deployed too close together.

The HOTT Tactical Manual

Clerics

Summary
Foot troops. Cost 3AP. Move 400p on road, 200p in good going, 200p in bad going. Combat factors are +4 vs foot or Stronghold, +4 vs mounted.
If they lose a close combat to Knights in good going or to Warband they are destroyed. Otherwise they recoil.
If they are doubled in combat they are destroyed.
They disrupt the use of magic within 600p.

Luke Ueda-Sarson writes:
I like 'em. (I vote for them as general of choice). Nothing brasses me off more than enemy wizards - I dunnae like them, and clerics keep them honest, ie ineffectual! Their very unexcitingness appeals to me - I'm not into the more fantastic HOTT apparitions. The fact that they are essentially Sp elements means I can use tham AS spears, albeit ones that give me protection against 'magic' (which my armies don't believe in much anyway).

Armies I like tend not have many 4 AP troops in them anyway, so the inclusion of a 3 AP types isn't 'robbing' me of another 4 AP option.

Alan Saunders writes:
If the enemy has a magician I like to hold my cleric behind the main battle line. As long as the enemy can't get at him, he affects bespelling. Hiding him behind the line stops them getting at him. Keep him close to Heroes who need protecting from hostile spells. If the enemy does not have a magician, then the cleric is just an expensive spear element, and should be used in the main line. Remember that his loss is more harmful to you than the loss of a spear element, however (3AP compared to 2AP).

Jason Wallace writes:
Clerics are most useful with a group of elements that is easily picked apart by spells. Warbands, hordes, beasts, shooters, flyers and even knights could use a cleric. For effective tactical movement, however, clerics should be placed in line with foot troops.

At a cost of 3AP, the cleric may be too expensive to risk in combat, yet also too expensive not to use as a combat unit. The compromise seems to be supporting the cleric with the troops it protects.

Paul Grace writes:
One of the biggest problems with clerics is the cost of 3AP which often requires a horde or a lurker just to 'balance the books'.
Return to the HoTT Tactical Manual