[quote=@Dead Cruiser] Here's something that would actually make sense. A local force, possibly a militia, positioned near the invaders' outpost attacks out of fear and impulse (far more realistic motivations than "honor and glory). Nothing really can be done, as the Imperial Legions aren't responsible for the local lord's private forces. Alternatively, this is the cover story for a probing attack, perhaps by an auxiliary legion. Dante wishes to gauge the invaders' strength, and will blame a vassal lord to wash his hands of the matter when negotiations arise. [/quote] How about we combine the two ideas? Dante took advantage of the fear in a local militia and maybe the troops of a few power hungry vassals who he thought were plotting against him (not too surprising given the age and his position) and used them as a probing force. He can then simply blame one of the lords who died in the attack for the entire plan saying that said lord had "gathered a following and committed insubordination in the hopes of gaining glory and honor". Of course, he'll tell something different to the lords and maybe even the militia. Does that sound reasonable? [quote=@Dead Cruiser] He may be powerful, but he is also humble. Attacking an unknown enemy is one of the worst strategic mistakes possible. Especially considering that [i]we don't even know if they're hostile.[/i] That's [i]super[/i] not how feudalism, militaries, tactics and basic logic work. As far as "tactical and strategic planning" goes, I'll remind you that The Art of War was written in 500 BC, which is the most basic strategy possible. [/quote] I would also like to point out that again, this is Deaus, not Earth, there is a possibly that the Art of War or some general equal to Sun Tzu never existed/wrote a book. Also with how I've planned for Deaus, NotEurope and NotAsia are seperated by a mass of ocean with no real land route. That said, maybe Dante could become the Sun Tzu of Deaus and one of his motivations for taking interest in the GHU forces is their tactics and planning and stuff and write a NotArt of War with all the info he gathered. [quote=@Dead Cruiser] He may be powerful, but he is also humble. Attacking an unknown enemy is one of the worst strategic mistakes possible. Especially considering that [i]we don't even know if they're hostile.[/i] Anyway, it would have been prudent to establish at least a secondary plotline to keep the fantasy characters occupied in the meantime. If you have two distinct groups of characters, only giving one of them anything to do doesn't really make sense. [/quote] I'm trying too come up with a plan, if any one has a good idea I'm welcomed to their suggestions ^^ EDIT: A reaaallllyyyy basic idea is that somehow all the fantasy character are involved in this battle some how although I'll admit its a really flimsy idea.