#Chapter 10 — Squads (分隊)

Contents

The dazzling protagonist of the battlefield is you, but what actually holds the line is the squad of nameless soldiers. Five ashigaru raising their spears lifts the Domination of a zone; four bowmen standing in the Rear Zone keep the enemy from advancing rashly. They do not judge for themselves. They move at a single word of your command.

This chapter holds only what you need to lead and work a single squad. Large-scale pitched battles running many squads, the full roster of each faction's elite squads, and the detailed no-command tables are in the core rulebook (co-06). Here you learn how to command one squad with your Energy and to hold that squad so it does not waver.

---

#1. What Is a Squad

A squad is a body of soldiers bound by the same grade (Minion or Veteran) + the same weapon. There are usually 3–6 members, and the several bodies are managed by a single stat block. A squad does not act on its own — it moves only by a Squad Order. Merely being placed in a zone grants a Domination bonus.

What must be distinguished from a squad is the individual unit. A shikigami, a puppet, or an Elite-grade lieutenant is 1 person (or 1 body) = 1 block, and is not the target of Squad Orders, Overall Command, or Squad Tactics. These do not carry a Cohesion value; they are managed by Wounds and Energy, and move by a sorcerer's control action or their own maneuver system. Every rule in this chapter is about squads.

Source: co-06-00 §Distinguishing individual units from squad units · co-06-06 §Squad composition

---

#2. Cohesion — Why the Squad Stands

Soldiers are not machines. When a comrade falls, when a yoma roars, when the commander is out of sight, the heart collapses. Cohesion is the numeric measure of the will that lets a squad stand on the battlefield — it is the squad's morale and its durability.

• Base Cohesion: 3. A Veteran squad has 4.
• When Cohesion reaches 0, the squad Routs (breaks and flees) (§5).

#Cohesion Loss

"Member loss" and "area strike" are not subtracted per attack — they are settled in a batch at the lull. "Lead incapacitated" and "Core Zone entry/exit" are narrative moments and so are reflected immediately.

#Cohesion Recovery

Source: co-06-06 §Cohesion

---

#3. Squad Orders — They Move on Your Energy

A seasoned general's command is short. "Advance." "Fire." "Hold." The squad moves at that one word. The command is paid from your own Energy — the squad has no Energy.

Base cost: 2 Energy. If your Wisdom is +2 or higher, it is 1 Energy. No exceptions.

For a squad-commanding build, Wisdom +2 or higher is recommended. If you give two or three orders in one round, the difference of 1 Energy is large.

#Kinds of Order

"Added cost = Base" means there is no Energy beyond the Squad Order cost (2 Energy, with the Wisdom discount applied).

#Volley Fire / Attack Check

2d10 ≥ target's Defense (no modifier — the squad's mass firepower). The effect changes with the strength of the to-hit roll's result. There is no separate secondary die; the to-hit roll decides everything in 1 roll.

On failure: a miss. If you fired toward the Core Zone, a friendly-fire check applies.

Source: co-06-06 §Squad Orders

---

#4. Tactic Tags — Squads Have Techniques Too

A squad's actions are not only "Advance" and "Fire." Elite spearmen block a breakthrough with the Three-Tier Spear Wall, warrior-monks shave a yoma's Defense with the Exorcism Sutra, and genin cut off sight with a Smoke Screen. This distinctive combat ability is called a Tactic. A Tactic follows the same structure as a personal maneuver but triggers at the squad level, and is activated by your Squad Order.

[Tactic:Kata], [Tactic:Stance], and [Tactic:Aptitude] share the same structure as a personal specialty's [Kata], [Stance], and [Aptitude]; only the target being a squad differs.

#Tactic Activation Cost

Tactic activation cost = Squad Order cost + the Tactic's own added cost

The Squad Order cost is 2 Energy (1 Energy at Wisdom +2 or higher), and the Tactic's added cost is written per Tactic as Base (no add), +1 Energy, or +2 Energy.

Example — a scholar with Wisdom +2 orders "Three-Tier Spear Wall" to a spearman squad:

Squad Order = 1 Energy (Wisdom +2 discount) · Three-Tier Spear Wall added cost = Base → 1 Energy total.

#Tactic Slots by Grade

The number of Tactics a squad can hold is set by its grade.

Source: co-03-07 §2.5 Squad tactic notation · co-06-06 §Squad tactics

---

#5. Squad States — Active, Routed, Destroyed

A squad moves among three states. Because each state has a different return path and recovery cost, do not treat them interchangeably.

#Rout (崩壞) — Cohesion 0 = Breaking and Fleeing

The squad members have come apart and are in flight or hiding. Their combat power is gone, but most are alive. It triggers when Cohesion reaches 0 (unless prevented by the Pure Land Monk's "Amida's Shield" or the like).

• The squad is removed from the current zone and its Domination contribution becomes 0. It withdraws to the abstract "off-field" space and cannot receive orders during combat.
• Return mid-combat (rescue): each lull you may make a 2d10 + Presence (美) ≥ 13 check. On success the squad returns at Cohesion 1 and is redeployed to a zone adjacent to you. Even on failure it does not convert to Destroyed, and you retry on the next lull.
• Post-combat: if 1 or more Wounds remain, it auto-recovers to Cohesion 1. Members, equipment, and experience are preserved, and it can deploy as is to the next battle.

#Destruction (潰滅) — No Return to the Field

Most of the squad members are dead or incapacitated and the squad is physically annihilated. It triggers by one of the following: (i) the squad's Wounds reach 0, or (ii) a Heavenly Mandate table, a karma table, a masterwork, a secret art, and the like directly declares "squad Destruction."

• The squad is fully removed from the field, and thereafter no return within the same battle is possible by any means. Other squads of the same faction take Cohesion -1 as a morale blow.
• Post-combat reformation costs gold and season time. Before reformation you cannot deploy that squad, and 1 of your squad slots stands empty in the meantime.

If a named lieutenant (Elite grade) is caught in the Destruction, that NPC is a permanent loss and becomes a narrative milestone.

Source: co-06-06 §Squad state system · §Rout · §Destruction

---

#6. Squads and the Energy Economy

Squad command runs on top of your Energy pool. Keep a few things in mind together.

• Orders are paid from your Energy. Each order costs 2 Energy (1 Energy at Wisdom +2 or higher). Layer a Tactic on and the Tactic's added cost is added too.
• Your Energy is shared between the squads and your own combat. Swinging your own blade also takes Energy. If you spend two Squad Orders (2–4 Energy) in one round, that much less Energy is left for your own offense and defense. The balance between the command build and the combat build is precisely this allotment of Energy.
• The order target is squads only. A shikigami, a puppet, or an Elite-grade lieutenant does not move by a Squad Order (individual unit). Nor can it be a recipient of a "squad/lead-targeted" support such as a scholar's Energy transfer.
• If you are incapacitated, all squads immediately take Cohesion -1 and fall into a no-command state. The detailed behavior of a squad that has lost its commander follows the GM material.

Source: co-06-06 §Squad Orders · §Cohesion · co-06-00 §Core rules for individual units

---

#7. Squad Type Comparison Table

Generic squads that belong to no faction are the troops you can most easily hire and work. They are bought with gold, conscripted in a village, or gathered from the back alleys. All the values below are as in the CO source.

Tactic summary

• Mercenary Band — [Tactic:Kata] Mercenary's Blow (added cost Base): 2d10 ≥ Defense. Remove 1–3 Minions (apply the hit-strength table) / Veteran+ Cohesion -1 or 1 Wound. A standard attack. · [Tactic:Aptitude] Faithful to Gold: pay gold 1 each lull for Cohesion +1 (max 4); -1 if unpaid.
• Militia — [Tactic:Kata] Bamboo-Spear Charge (added cost Base): 2d10-2 ≥ Defense. Remove 1–2 Minions (apply the hit-strength table, but up to 2 at most) / Veteran+ 1 Wound. Weak but cheap. · [Tactic:Aptitude] Homeland Guard: Cohesion +2 in your own domain zone, Cohesion -1 elsewhere.
• Bandit Band — [Tactic:Kata] Ambush Plunder (added cost Base, limit of 1 per round): triggers only while infiltrating. Remove 1–3 enemy Minions (apply the hit-strength table) + gain gold 1, and drop infiltration. · [Tactic:Aptitude] Instinct to Flee: auto-flees on reaching Cohesion 0 (Rout), but auto-returns at the lull (1).

On promotion to Veteran grade: a Minion squad may become a Veteran by surviving 5 battles + GM judgment. This grants Wounds +1, Defense +1, and Tactic slot +1 (add 1 Kata or Stance), and the headcount drops through eliteization (e.g., 5 Minions → 3 Veterans). The base Cohesion also rises from 3 to 4. Promotion is not achieved merely by filling a number of battles — it must carry narrative conviction.

Source: co-06-06 §Generic squads (Mercenary Band · Militia · Bandit Band) · §Squad promotion

---

#Summary

• Squad = a bundle of 3–6 with the same grade (Minion/Veteran) + the same weapon. It has no action of its own and moves only by a Squad Order, and its mere placement grants Domination. A shikigami, a puppet, or an Elite-grade lieutenant is an individual unit, so squad rules do not apply.
• Cohesion base 3 (Veteran 4). 0 = Rout (breaking and fleeing). Wounds 0 = Destruction (no return within the battle). Rescue a Rout with a lull 2d10 + Presence ≥ 13; reform a Destruction with gold + season.
• Squad Order = your Energy 2 (1 at Wisdom +2 or higher). Both orders and Tactics come out of your Energy, shared with your own combat.
• Volley Fire decides even its strength with a single 2d10 ≥ Defense roll (total 13/17, Critical Hit, Heavenly Mandate).
• Tactic = [Tactic:Kata/Stance/Aptitude]. Activation cost = Squad Order cost + the Tactic's added cost. Slots are set by grade (Minion 1 Kata, Veteran +1, Elite +1).
• 3 generic squads: Mercenary Band (Defense 12 · Cohesion 2 · gold 8), Militia (Defense 10 · Cohesion 3 · gold 3), Bandit Band (Defense 11 · Cohesion 2 · gold 5).