Editor's note: Those who are interested in Support Casting should consider attending the support caster discussion group at University of Highbridge for discussions on this and similar topics.
This will be written primarily from the viewpoint of a support caster, and for support casters. The general rules will be applicable to everyone, and a better understanding of the roles that the rest of your team have will help your own fighting immensely.
The Shield Wall
How to set up
A shield wall, usually consisting of enough tower shields (or “door shields” as they’re sometimes called) to cover the limited front, should have the shields interlocking (see fig. 1). This means that the shields overlap in a repeating pattern. This is done for uniformity and strength, and also to protect their caster from a shot that might otherwise sneak through the gaps. Those shields will be hit with pike shots, trying to knock them out of line, or get a gap big enough to throw some shots into. There should be one, or at most two support casters set up with the shield wall, tucked in among them and in front of the pike line. A caster with an available mystic forge is ideal, and will likely be necessary in the case of a protracted battle. If a second caster is available, and the resources plentiful, they should wait to cast their forge until the line has moved. Both casters should also have a fair number of available castings of Combat Raise Dead.
What to do as a caster
Shield Wall Caster: You have one of the most intense jobs available to a support caster. Plant your foot in your mystic forge and get ready to stretch. Your primary responsibility is the shield wall. If a single point of armor gets taken off one of your shield fighters, you should already be there with two hands and a repair item verbal. DO NOT wait until they have had a second point of armor stripped before you start casting. Heal limbs where needed, and when possible you can repair the armor of the pike line, who will be standing right on top of you. It is worth stating again though, your first priority is maintaining perfect armor on the shield wall. If one of them falls, your team stands a good chance of losing then and there.
Set up your forge only once the shield wall has established their primary position. Communicate with your generals to make sure you know where they plan to establish. The last thing you want is to cast your forge and then have the shield wall advance 5 paces and be out of reach.
When you finish your Repair Item verbal, make sure the fighter knows. Your verbals should be able to be clearly understood in any situation, but make sure the fighters you are supporting can hear you finish the verbal. Shout “All Good” to them, or tap the armor that was repaired twice when you finish. Anything to make sure they know as soon as their armor is repaired. If they don’t know you cast it, it doesn’t matter and it’s a wasted spell. It could also mean life or death for them if they are under pressure.
You’re going to be stepped on. You’re going to get hit with some elbows, or some pike handles. Make sure you’re in a position where those will be minimized, keep your head down, but know that it’s going to happen.
What to do to help your caster
Keep those shields locked and tight. The most annoying thing for a shield wall support caster is to be going along nicely and get killed by a stray shot that slipped through the shields. Call your armor loudly, make sure they know when they need to be taking care of you. Don’t wait until you lose two point of armor to get their attention! They’re sitting on a mystic forge, there’s no reason to risk it. Don’t pop your head up over the shields, or around the sides. If you go down, the caster has to spend time and resources getting you back up, during which another part of the shield wall can come under heavy attack. Shield wall commander, make sure to include the shield wall caster in the discussions of wall tactics, especially in regards to the commands to advance or retreat. Their mystic forge is stationary, and if your line isn’t going to be, they need to know that.
The Pike Line
How to set up
Setting up the pike line is often an exercise in restraint. You want enough pikes up there to be constantly firing and putting pressure on the opposing line, however you also need to give them room to swing. Overcrowding the pike line is easy to do, because likely all your fighters want to participate. The key here is that they will get their chance, on a rotation. Support casters should be set up behind the pike line. They must have Heal Limb, and it doesn’t hurt if they have a few combat raises left, as long as they use them judiciously. They do not need blacksmithing. Fighters from the pike line who have damaged armor should be rotated to the backfield, not repaired on the spot. Roughly one caster to every 2-3 pikemen is plenty, and don’t overcrowd this either. The fighters will need room to rotate in and out, and overcrowding the area with casters is not helpful. Behind the casters should be the second rotation of pikemen. Ideally each of them will know who they are “subbing in” for ahead of time, so two pikemen don’t try to squeeze into one slot.
What to do as a caster
Pike-line casters have two primary goals. They need to heal limbs, and they need to make sure the pike line is rotating correctly. You are in charge of the rotation, and you need to enforce it. Pikemen should not be dying on the line. If you see someone take armor two chest, they need to be turning (so their still-full back armor is protecting them), and leaving the pike line to go into the backfield and use the Forge. Sometimes the fighters will have tunnel vision, it’s really easy for them to think that they can get in “just one more” shot, and that it will make the difference. This is how they end up dead. Move them back, get their replacement into place, and make sure the line continues running smoothly. If a pikeman does die on the line, pick them up immediately and pass them back. Get their replacement into place, and let the backfield deal with the dead pikeman. Heal limbs where they’re needed, and keep an eye out for your Shield Wall Caster going down. If they do, get a combat raise in on them quickly, so they can keep the shield wall up.
What to do to help your caster
Listen to your casters! We know you like to fight and you want to keep swinging that pike, but rotate out, get your armor fixed, take a breather, and get a drink of water. We know you feel like you can personally make the difference between victory and defeat with a single well-placed pike shot, but if you get that tunnel-vision, the other team will pick you apart, and you’ll be off the line for even longer while you’re getting healed. Don’t crowd the bridge. Leave room for people to rotate in and out. Call your armor and limbs loudly!
The Back Line
How to set up
The backfield should contain ideally two circle casters, one with Circle of Healing and one with a Mystic Forge. (For best results these casters should also have Circle of Protection and surround their CoH/MF with it.) Other casters, and fighters who only use skirmishing weapons, can be useful as body ferries, archers, replacement support casters for the pike line, water-holders, or any number of other things. It is hugely important that there are a steady stream of people to ferry corpses to the Circle of Healing, and to drag opponents into the water should the opportunity arise. Really, anyone can carry bodies, and it’s one of the most important roles in a protracted fight like this. If you can’t think of something to do in order to be useful, ferry bodies. You’ll be awesome, and your whole team will be better for it.
If you have extra shields or shieldmen, you can use them to incoming fire from opposing archers. The closer they are to the enemy archers, the more angles they can block off, but the faster they will need to react (if mobile). Consider this carefully when choosing where to set up.
What to do as a caster
If you’re a circle caster, make sure you stay hydrated. You’re pretty much going to be chanting your verbals non-stop during the heavy parts of the battle, so keep your throat well-watered. You’ve probably got the best view of the battle overall, so take a strategic look at the field. If there’s a general directing from the back, let them know your observations. Watch for enemy archers as they line up their shots. The arrows will be coming from fairly far away, so as long as you see them coming, you should be able to dodge or block them. DO NOT block them into a circle of healing by mistake. That leads to very unhappy healers. And fighters. And… a dead team.
What to do to help your caster
Bring them what they need. Corpses to the circle of healing, broken armor to the Forge, water, etc. The circle casters should never have to leave their circles to go get something themselves. They’re doing a thankless job that many of you might find extremely boring, but is ensuring that you have a chance at winning, so make sure to show them that you support them and aren’t taking them for granted.
Additional Information
Triage
What happens when you’re the only caster between both the shield wall and the pike line? Who is most important for you to focus on? I’d say the number one thing is to make sure your shield wall stays fully armored. It doesn’t matter if a pikeman loses an arm, or even dies on the line. If you lose your shieldmen, your line can be broken quickly. Who should you use your combat raises on, and who should be sent to the circles in the back? Well first off, as stated before, shieldmen are important to the integrity of your line, so spend that combat, get their armor repaired, get them back fighting on the line. (One tip, if you have the time, is to make sure you spend a Repair Item on their kill locations before you raise them. Three hits are better than one.) On the pike line, most fighters can be sent to the back, rather than combat raising them, but if you’re in the middle of a push, or one of your most experienced pikemen go down, it can be worth a lot to spend that raise. Keep an eye out for who is calling the shots on the pike line. If they go down, the line could become disorganized. Prioritize fighters who have armor on all their kill locations, rather than ones who are unarmored. Prioritize anyone on the shield wall who has fallen. Prioritize your Shield Wall healer, or other casters who are in essential positions. It’s easy to forget your caster buddies when thinking about who to heal, but having more healers up is a force multiplier!
Communication
This is perhaps the most important skill for anyone on the battlefield to have. Learn how to talk to your fighters so that they’ll listen. Talk to your fellow casters before the battle, make sure you know what resources your fellow support casters have. Communicate during the battle with your fellow casters, let them know when you’re running low on a resource. If you don’t communicate with each other, you might raise your team’s best healer, only to find out that they’re completely out of spells.