The Stand at Marrow Fields
Battlefield: a scorching desert plain at noon · 8 Oct 2026 · Unranked
Battle Mages
12 battle mages in robes who hurl fireballs and lightning bolts and can raise brief magical shields, but tire quickly and wear no armour.
Crusader Knights
150 heavily armoured knights in full plate on barded warhorses with lances and longswords, supported by 300 crossbowmen behind large pavise shields.
ROUND 1 OF 3
Crusader Knights loose a crossbow volley from behind the pavises. Across a scorching desert plain at noon, Battle Mages chant in unison as the air hums with power.
ROUND 2 OF 3
Crusader Knights thunder into Battle Mages with a full lance charge, smashing the line apart. Battle Mages lose concentration as Crusader Knights closes in.
ROUND 3 OF 3
Crusader Knights hack through Battle Mages with longswords from the saddle. Battle Mages run out of strength, the last mage collapsing.
» One last couched lance and Battle Mages crumples.
THE WAR ORACLE'S VERDICT
A genuinely close fight. Crusader Knights brings crushing lance charge, while Battle Mages answers with fireballs and lightning. Terrain and nerve on a scorching desert plain at noon could swing it either way.
- Crushing lance charge
- Tire quickly
- The battlefield: a scorching desert plain at noon
MVP: The grand master
Crusader Knights holds a scorching desert plain at noon, bloodied but victorious. Battle Mages is finished as a fighting force.