Formation
Each squad fights in a 2×3 grid: two ranks — Front and Back — across three files — Left, Center, Right. Where a soldier stands is as much a part of your doctrine as anything on their writ.
| Left | Center | Right | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front rank | Fighter | Knight | Fighter |
| Back rank | Hunter | Cleric | Wizard |
A classic line: armor forward, arrows and staves behind.
Front-rank protection
The front rank shields the back. Melee attacks cannot reach the back rank while any front-rank soldier still stands. A sword must break the line before it can touch your archer.
Some attacks don't care. Skills marked ignores row protection — arrows like Sniper Shot, spells like Hex Bolt, thrown things like Venom Dart — slip past the line and strike anywhere. So the shield is real, but it is not absolute: a healthy front rank stops swords, not arrows.
When the last front-rank soldier falls, the line is broken, and everything can reach everyone. Plan for that moment — it is when most battles are decided.
What formation means for your writ
- Guard the soft. Menders and mages live in the back rank. A Cleric in the front rank is a Cleric the enemy's swords may reach first.
- Sweep where they crowd. Conditions like Full Row and Row Holds 2 Or More let a rule fire only when the enemy is conveniently bunched.
- Hunt the back line. A rule pairing a line-slipping skill with Back Row is the classic sniper's writ: ignore the shield, delete the healer.
- Read their line like yours. The enemy's front rank protects their back rank by the same law. Your melee soldiers will hit the front until it breaks, no matter what you write — so write with that in mind.
The full list of formation conditions is in the condition reference.