Reader, I Scout Supply Roads Before Spending Troops

I scout the supply road before I spend troops; a keep is not worth much if the approach is a narrow promise and the wagons cannot follow. I have learned to look first for the road’s exposed stretch, not the banners near the walls. Those are easy to see, and often the least useful part...

If you are choosing between a quick march and a careful scout, count the cost of the march twice: once in troops, once in the time needed to replace them. I would rather learn that a road is bad before I send men down it. The dead are poor at reporting back.

I hold a keep, so I know how tempting it is to treat walls as an answer. They are not. I would scout the route, check where supply can be cut, then commit only when the road looks sound; otherwise, the enemy gets to choose the price.