Most of the crucial equipment for waging war and military manoeuvres is made by the legions themselves deploying their special training plus "constructing" special-skills.
The speed, efficiency and how much of whatever is being made is finally produced - is determined by the "constructing" special skill and its deployment. This will tell you how much actual manpower is devoted to the construction task and LEGION INFO <legion> will show you the specific numbers.
Simple example of commands: COM <legion> DEPLOY CONSTRUCTING 80 and then COM <legion> CONSTRUCT <equipment item> to be made. If you had a 1000 strong legion, this would devote 50% to deployments and 80% of that 50% to constructing: 400 total set to the task. Commands detailed below.
Syntax: COM <legion> DEPLOY CONSTRUCTING <percentage>
To begin construction, you must first command your legion to deploy the skill. The 'constructing' skill takes priority here, with a larger deployment resulting in better construction but it should be noted that a secondary deployment of a relevant specialist skill (archers if constructing arrows, for instance), will be of benefit to the end result.
Construction cannot proceed if a location has raised fortifications present. It takes place in the localepoint that the legion is currently facing and the legion must be facing into the location and not directly facing an adjacent location. e.g. If legion is in north localepoint, construction cannot take place if the legion is facing north, it must be commanded to face either east, west, south, southeast or southwest. Construction of fortifications follows somewhat different rules, details of which can be found in HELP FORTS.
The singlemost important command in this section is the CONSTRUCT order, allowing legion commanders and/or dispatches to initiate the creation of new items - using deployed "constructing" special-skill alongside whichever secondary might be appropriate (depending on the item under construction).
Syntax: COM <legion> CONSTRUCT <item of field equipment>
Make sure you have deployed CONSTRUCTING and any other special skill to suit what is being made.
Construction takes place in a specific localepoint and the legion requires the entire localepoint without obstruction to carry it out. You should only issue the CONSTRUCT command when your legion is ready: Make sure it is FACING the right direction if that is appropriate (e..g. fortifications are being constructed) and most all ensure all the commodities needed are in the legion's inventory.
Use of RATIONS can speed up the construction process though slightly more commodities are used in the process - the legions working harder with less 'rest' time. The increased pace of rations will quickly wear off but the legion using rations will also produce a greater yield if their boosted productivity is high enough to count for 'one extra' of whatever is being made, i..e. less likely to make two siegetowers instead of one but where arrows or bombs are being made, increased output will be noticeable.
"CATAPULT" using wood, iron and rope commodities. The catapult is used for long range engagement or besieging. It uses primarily the projectiles and besieging skills (as appropriate) and requires a minimum distance for bombs to be launched (see HELP ENGAGE for specifics).
"MORTARS" using any - in this order - IRON, BLACKSTONE SHARDS, TIN, BRONZE and YARRIOL for commodities. The blackstone shards are most economical if you can find them. Mortar bombs are the ammunition used by catapults for "projectiles" and "besieging" with each catapult volley firing a single bomb capable of heavy damage and/or multiple casualties.
"BATTERINGRAM" using wood, yarriol and iron. It is used for "besieging" when the target of the battering is close enough to smash the ram against, i..e. adjacent localepoint. Distance "besieging" is done by catapults and mortar bombs. Battering rams tend to be used by intrepid legions braving the great danger of being so close to the target and are capable of doing more damage per round than mortar bombs without the cost of continuous need for new bombs to replace those used in battle or siege.
"ARROWS" using wood or a woodland locale with sufficient tree-branch wood available (i.e. to be trimmed off). Arrows are essential for use of archery in combat and are consumed at a rate of one per bow being employed.
"ARMOURY" using any metallic ore (IRON, YARRIOL, BRONZE by preference). Armour is used to reduce incoming damage taken by a legion when engaged in melee or struck by projectiles or arrows. Each piece of armour gives a little more protection and the higher the armoured percentage in LEGION INFO <legion> the better it will be shielded against attack. The "armour" skill determines how well armour is used and aids in its construction.
"WEAPONS" using metallic ore. Weapons are the basis of melee combat with potency determined by the 'weapons' specialist skill. Quality is determined both by the ore used (with yarriol stronger than iron for example) and by the skill employed during construction.
"BOWS" using wood, rope and metal. The legion's composite bow is the default weapon of choice for archery engagements and each legionnaire deployed to the 'archers' skill must be possessing of such a bow in order to use this skill in combat.
"SCAFFOLD" requires metal, wood and rope. The scaffold is a portable framework used in digging, trenching and tunnel work. It is essential in all three of these operations to ensure legionnaire safety while navigating the under-deeps. It can also be used to grapple oil-cauldrons in place.
"CAVALRY" using animals and straw. Legions suitably skilled are able to turn the basic animals commodity into "cavalry" trained for future battlefields. The cavalry mounts can be used by any legion trained in "cavalry" skill to great effect, particularly in melee. Mounted legions attack stronger and defend with greater effectiveness. See HELP CAVALRY and the paragraph on cavalry for further info on using mounted legions.
"SIEGETOWER" using wood, metals and rope. The siege-tower is one of the simplest of battlefield housings, capable of being fashioned and moved around the land in an encumbering but nonetheless practical fashion. Lugging around siege-towers hinders a legion's movement speed but, once set in place, can be used to house legions below a certain size - offering protection, access to enemies with an inherent armouring, respite from melee on the ground, etc. It is one of the most complex and time consuming of constructions. See the SIEGETOWER command in HELP SIEGETOWER for detailed usage info.
"FORTIFICATIONS" using iron, and secondary rope and marble. See HELP FORTS for detailed info on various aspects of fortification building, lowering, raising, manning, etc. These are the mainstay of frontline city defence and should be part of all military commander's repertoire.
"LANDMINES" and "WATERMINES" require various metal commodities, essence, balsa, oil and flint. Mines are laid in a location and are used to disrupt the passage of enemy legions through the mined area. All legions not loyal to the mine-laying legion (i.e, Parrians on Thakrian-laid mines) are vulnerable to the potentially deadly explosion. At most thirteen mines can be laid within a single localepoint and the centre is always safe from detonations.
"OILCAULDRON" requiring iron, wood and rope, and then oil to keep it full. The oil-cauldron is a large cauldron connected to a framework mechanism wrought in such a way as to allow easy tipping and tilting of the container, enabling its operator to send cascades of - in this case - burning oil crashing down with a modicum of accuracy. It is used ideally from siegetowers or highpoints against nearby besiegers sufficiently lowly placed or accessible from the tower. See HELP OIL for detailed usage info.
"BARRICADE" requires clay, metal and wood. The barricade is like a mobile fortification. It is used for reinforcing items like siegetowers and the like, and also for building walls/obstacles/high points within locations - at specific locale points - allowing higher ground positions to be taken, location ceilings to be reached (allowing upward tunneling) - and more besides.
"LADDERS" requiring wood. The ladder is a simple item - fifteen feet high or long, depending on its use - allowing legionnaires to make their way up greater heights than would normally be possible, or to access the tops of walls or siegetowers where otherwise they might be at a gross disadvantage on the battlefield.
"TRANSPORT" requires a great deal of wood, metal and rope. The transport is a vehicle capable of transporting heavy weights (like a well-equipped modest sized legion) across small bodies of freshwater. A legion must have at least fifty individuals to carry out a transport construction, and each transport is capable of carrying up to fifty over deepwater. The transports are held in the inventory of the legion whenever used and this is automatic.
To remove the newly constructed equipment from a legion or add equipment to a legion, use the following commands.
Syntax: LEGION EQUIP <legion> <equipment>.
Bestows an item of equipment on the specified legion, looking on the ground only - to save confusion with items you may have in your inventory. If you wish to equip with an item you are holding, drop it first then LEGION EQUIP. It is impossible to LEGION EQUIP a legion if some or all of their ranks are occupied about the "forts" active deployment.
NOTE: legions will remain equipped while in the field, and will retain spoils of war for return to the homeland but when home (in barracks, in training, interior locations not on foreign soil) they will attempt to store non-military equilibrium in the location.
Syntax: LEGION UNEQUIP <legion> <equipment> [<number to take>].
Removes an item of equipment from the specified legion. There are many situations where relieving a legion of its equipment is the best course of action: while they are in barracks and others in the field have greater need, for instance, or, more ambivalently, when one legion is deemed to be on the verge of utter defeat and risks losing valuable artifacts that might make the difference between another group's survival or route.
