Join Company: Order No. 755
"Nice Hobbits! We will come with them." (II)
In MEPBM, there are some orders that are extremely frustrating to issue: not because of what they do, but because its the only way to do it. Join Company is a prime example of this type of order. Simply put, if a character wants to join a company, this is the only order that will allow that to take place. There is no "Move and Join Company". There is no spell list "Company Ways". There are no artifacts or special encounters (known, anyways) that will add a character to acompany.
This is frustrating in many cases because the turn sequence requires the character to be at the site of the company before the movement phase. This is an important difference from characters joining an army. In that case, the character and the army simply have to end their movement phases in the same location. Not so, with companies.
With a company, the character wishing to join must have been at the same site as the company for the entire turn. Then, prior to joining, the company must either 1) be commanded by a character of the same nation, or 2) be commanded by a character of a nation that shares friendly relations with the joiner's nation. A company cannot be formed by nations that do not share friendly relations. In the latter case, interestingly enough, the friendly relations are checked only at the moment of joining. Both nations could reduce their relations after the company is joined.
Another interesting note about this order is that a character with an army could join the company. While this is no help to the army commander (who could never join with out transfering command, which takes place AFTER company formation), it is a good way to confound enemy agents suspected of scouting the army. Have the backup commander join the company and move that way. After all, companies can't be scouted except by a successful scout for characters.
Probably the most important thing to note is the decision to join a company in the first place. There are really only two reasons to join: order economy and turn efficiency. Order economy occurs because none of the joining members of a company need to issue move orders. Turn efficiency occurs because a company can cohesively accomplish what a single character cannot. For example: imagine a company led by commander/agent, composed of emissary/agents. Overall, then, this turn is vital to successful play. However, it is a frustrating order because it is the only way to accomplish its goal.
Return to Firebrand's Order Analysis
Text Copyright 1998 by Jeffery A. Dobberpuhl. All game mechanics and terms are Copyright 1993 by Tolkien Enterprises, as produced, designed and distributed by Game Systems, Inc.