And thus it stands empty.. of all things, the throne!
Not any kind of throne, oh no, mind me. The Throne of the Underworld. While it is empty, don`t even think of climbing on it, because it is empty for a specific reason. Wich could be recounted in timely fashion, for those Interested. Or we just go straight to buisness.All was going as amiably good - or worse, if you want so - as it always seems to do. There seems to be no real increase or decrease in the total power of the Underworld, footholds in the Mortal World are highly contested by the Upperworld, and the later does not seem to be winning either. Buisness as usual, one would say.
This changed when one the Fallen - Juhibilius, previous Archangel-Class - came onto the stage, to deliver his impeccable written report; "... which is why I would propose there should be fortifications added at "
Swoosh
With a single movement of him, the 5th-ranked Being of the Underworld went up in flames. And the real deal, mind me - This one will get a purging for sure. A big amount of eyepairs focused on the strongest at Court - and subsequently of the whole Underworld as well.
"What? I dreaded him talking any further. Not like he won`t come back soon - the first three rounds in the Purgatorium did not help, and I swear Ol`Shiny up there makes him more annoying each time. On Purpose!" What a dreadfully insightfull comment - There are only two beings able to identify a soul that has been reborn, but such a notion is quite new to a big part of the court. Well, not me, actually. I have known Juhibilius previous Incarnation - it was somehow obvious.
He shifts around in his throne, seemingly pondering whatever issue he is about to create. He really likes to find something to ease the boredom, and maybe even the quite unimpressive workload that he has. Within a few moment a toothy smile lights up his face - Not a good sign, as the Veteran Courtiers will know. Actually, there is never anything positive happening at court, unless you count one devouring the other as such a thing.
"The Court is too big again", he exclaims "Who is willing to listen to all you lowlifes spouting your crap? Not like there is much of a difference with you arround..."
"Zathras..." I snap to attention, as usual "You do the honours this time around. I will only see one third of them alive by the time I wake up. Make sure of it, and record it all!"
With a final snap of his fingers, all the soulpowers of the courtiers are set on a meagre, but even level. Obviously he will keep the rest for himself. Not like he would really need it, but he is not one to give out charity. He also hands me - Zathras, should that not be obvious by now - a binding contract, that enables him to confiscate all troops and riches from the courtiers. Taking the hard work of your subordinates by force - how unquestionable evil. He really is in one of his moods today.
And thus the 7th Courtly Battle of the Underworld has begunn. It will be my third one, and I will be the administrator yet again. A clearly favorable position, wich will leave almost no doubt to my survival. He is clearly showing favoritism here - not that anyone would mind, but some of the bootlickers ought to hurt right now. He leaves the Court for his private Quarters, and I am now to explain the Rules he set down for this round...
"Well then, fellow courtiers. I would think all have gathered that "He" wants to keep our numbers short, as to make the court-sessions more short-lived. You also might have beholden a decrease in your powers - with a few pityable young ones even having gained some."
A quick study of the hall shows that I have the attention of most. Even the veterans will want to know how it will be this time around, and thus I continue;
"The Rules are quite easy this time around; Everyone of us will be granted a foothold, 200 Soul, and the aquisition of troops and infrastructure is allowed. Binding Pacts are allowed, as would be alliances. Foul play, Betrayal, Subtlety and Brutality are very encouraged, as usual. We will only end as soon as "he" awakens, or there are only two courtiers left. There are also some rules to impede the stronges and leading ones, but those will only come into play later..."
After rattling down the - luckily this time around quite short and understandable - Set of Rules, the Courtiers are quick to disperse to their new domicils. "He" has only granted one week of impunity towards them afterall.
The 7th Courtly Battle of the Underworld
A Strategical Battle-Royale-Roulette
Link to the IC-ThreadWell then, here we go. The Game itself is actually somewhat simple; You have your Courtier, your Troops, Footholds and limited Actions per Turn. Your Courtier decides which troops are available to you, and wich kind of Actions and Skills you will be likely to put more focus on. Be it by raw combat, devestating spellery, crafty sabotage or sheer industrialism - try to come out on top. But be warned, because there is a joker in the deck; Spinning his Roulette he might reveal uncanny details, give out "quests" - or sometimes even take action on his own...
Take note that there is still room for changes, wich can be made should they be desired. Else, I am open for questions and ideas.
There are four classes to choose from;The Demons: The basic soul of hell, that was tortured untill it gave in. Their Strength makes them a good choice against the Fallen. They are Experts in Battle.
The Beasts: A soul of hell, tortured untill any resemblance to it`s original Form was lost. Their Agility makes them a good choice against Demons. They are Experts of Subterfuge.
The Fallen: Once a soldier of the Upperworld, it has abandoned its homestead. Since the Upperworld is picky, not a rare sight. Their Magick make them great against Beasts. They are Experts on Spells.
The Undead: A soul of hell that was granted a new body to do its biding. They are quite sturdy, but need some maintenance every now and then - Their Troops have 1/3 chance of costing 1 Soul each round. They are Experts on Building.
Units;Troops: As described - You can either produce them at a Barrack, or buy them on the "Open Market". They cost 10 Soul to train, or 15 to hire.
Imps: They will flock to the stronger Courtiers as a boon, or will be an expense on the lesser ones. Needed as Workers. They can be hired for 5 Soul each.
Agents: A rare breed of beast, needed for Subterfuge. They can be hired for 50 Soul each.
For my Sanity, Per "his" decree, one will only be able to control troops of ones Courtiers race, at least for the Duration of the 7th Courtly Battle.
Footholds;
Every foothold is able to house 4 kind of buildings, and gives an income of 40 Soul per round. New Footholds might be aquired from other courtiers, or the currently neutral regions of the Underworld. Do note that they might not be leaderless, as opportunistic beings are sure to take advantage of the currently weak court.
Buildings;
Barracks: Allow you to train up to 5 Troops per Level and Round. You will also be granted a free Troop per Level and Round.
Cost - 80 Soul
Torture Pits: Will give you 20 Soul per Level and Round. Needs 5 Imps per Level to function.
Cost - 60 Soul
Smithy: Will give you 10 Soul and 5% Defence Bonus to Foothold per Level and - Soul - per Round. Needs 3 Imps per Level to function. Can be tasked with creating Armour or Weapons for you - Results will vary greatly.
Cost - 85 Soul
Chantery: Will give you one random Soul-Essence per Round and Level. Allows you to spend 5 Soul to define the Type that will be gained. 4 Imps per Level. Can be tasked with creating magickal Equipment for you - Results will vary greatly.
Cost - 70 Soul
Battlements: Will give you 10% Defence Bonus to Foothold per Level. Needs 2 Imps on Maintenance each Level.
Cost - 80 Soul
Keep: Will give you 5% Defence Bonus to Foothold per Level and 10 Soul per connected Foothold aquired. Unique Building.
Cost - 175 Soul
Defiled Shrine: Allows advanced Spellery, Chance of Associated Skills costing less
Cost - 120 Soul
Hellevator: Allows advanced Military Jobs, Chance of Associated Skills costing less
Cost - 120 Soul
Soul-Quarry: Allows for advanced Construction, Chance of Associated Skills costing less
Cost - 120 Soul
Underground Kennels: Allows for advanced Subterfuge, Chance of Associated Skills costing less
Cost - 120 Soul
Courtiers;
The Player Characters, obviously bound to be one of the four races. They have the following attributes;
Strength: Allows the Courtier to hit harder. Associated Action - Battle.
Agility: Allows the Courtier to Evade and score Critical Hits. Associated Action - Subterfuge
Magick: Allows the Courtier more powerfull Spellery. Associated Action - Spellery
Endurance: Allows the Courtier to take more hits. Associated Action - Build
You start with 10 freely allotable Attribute-Points - to a maximum of 5 - and one random Skill from your Races' prefered Field. The Number of actions that you can peform per round, is bound to the attributes of your courtier - On every tenth Attribute-Level, one gains an additional associated action. Obviously you start with one Action-Point in each field, plus the obligatory personal Action. Should your Courtier die in Battle, he will loose one random attribute per AP.
Items;
One should not disregard the boon that a well-sharpened weapon, sound armour or good foci might provide. Every Courtier is limited in his capability to wield such equipment, as multiple layers of armour not only make one a fool, but also a coward. The allowed slots are as follows.
2 Weapons: Obviously a bigger weapon might fill up two slots, and this slot also includes shields, staffs and foci
One Set of Armour: They do not come with inter-changeable parts, sorry to say.
One Magical Ornament: Never try to mix magic that is coursing through you. It ends badly, trust me on that. Oh, right - Rings, Amulets and Stuff belong here.
One special Item: A phiole with healing properties, some spellery woven unto a scroll and similiar obviously will make an appearance, provided not everyone is too much of a miser to invest into such.
Aquiring Items;
You can produce much in the way of armaments and armours on your own, provided you have the buildings and soul to do so. Else they can be aquired on the market, obviously for quite some coin soul.
Actions in short..;
You are only allowed limited Actions each round. One of each at the start, to be exact.
Battle Actions: Send your Troops against a Rival, a neutral Foothold - or unto the Mortal World to gain Souls.
Subterfuge Actions: Send your Agents out to scout and sabotage - or keep them on the lookout instead.
Spell Action: Spellery Galore. Yep. Check the specific Spoiler for more.
Build Action: Build a new Building, or upgrade an existing one.
Courtier Action: In some matters, only your personal attention will do. Time-consuming, so you will always be limited to one of these per round.
... and in Detail:
Battle Actions:
Defend Foothold (Default Action, can be strengthend with Action Point) - Connected Footholds may be defended by the same troops, minus Malus on Initiative
Attack Foothold
Allied Attack - Optional Betrayal (Bonus Initiative against "Allied Troops"), Optional lookout for Betrayal ( Lesser Initiative against Foothold )
Raid the Surface World - Gain Soul from selling captured souls - Advanced
Battle on the Surface World - Payment from the Underworld's Demenesque, based on Performance - Advanced
Subterfuge Actions:
Station Counterspys (Default Action, can be strengthend with Action Point)
Scout Foothold - Gain Information on said Foothold, possible Boni to Troop-Attacks there
Sabotage Foothold - Sabotage Buildings or Troops in Foothold - Advanced
Sabotage Courtier - Steal Soul or Items from a fellow Courtier - Advanced
Spell Action:
Replenish Magick (Default Action, can be strengthend with Action Point)
Cast LVL x Spell - Level of Spell is equivalent with needed Action Points - LVL 3 Spells and higher are Advanced
Build Action:
Build Building - Obviously needs empty Space in a Foothold
Upgrade Building - Level Upgraded to is equivalent with needed Action Points
Work for the Underworld's Demenesque - "He" has an unfinishable Monument under Construction - Advanced
Construct Fortifications on the Surface World - Possible Danger pays additional - Advanced
Courtier Actions:
Obviously planing is not all you can do - you are a Courtier of the Underworld for reasons. Still, you are limited to one personal action per turn.
Partake in Attack - Might not always be the best idea, as it leaves you away from your Footholds and can get you killed or wounded.
Rally to your Cause - You might gain Troops, Imps, or even Agents. Largely depends on your Overall Skills and Standing.
Research Magick - Just as it says, you will study and research magic for new Spells to unleash.
Oversee Construction - Will give a Discount on the overseen Construction, and reduce Upgrades by 1 Build-Action
Form Binding Pact - Needs only to be performed by the Initiator. Obviously allows for a Binding Pact to be signed.
Lick your Wounds - There is a place and time for everything. And this "everything" sometimes includes being a lazy bum as to not strain yourself. Fancy that.
Skills
They are aquired by Sacrificing Action-Points, and can turn your game around. This is also the Reason why they cost 3 AP to purchase, and the gained Skill will be rolled out. Upgrading one costs an additional AP each Level. But because you all are reasonable fellows, one gets a starting-skill from his race's prefered point of operations. To make matters worse, a limit of 5 Skills exists - at least untill you have upgraded all of your skills to max-level, wich is set at 4. There also exist 2 Racial Skills each, wich other races won't ever recieve - they are labeled as such.
Strength Skills
-Slaughterer of Angels - Gives you additional efficiency, should you or your Troops fight against The Fallen or Angels. Does not include Courtiers of that Race.
-Carrying the Wounded - Not a standard-tactic of the underworld at all, this has the capability of gaining a few survivors back for your army after battle.
-Skilled Defenders - Your Troops gain an edge in defensive maneuvers
-Tactical Sieger - Your Troops gain an edge against defensive maneuvers
-Empowering Presence - Your Troops gain quite an edge, provided you fight alongside them
-Artificer - Your smithy's work is quite impressive. Well, or at least has a greater tendency to.
-Warmonger - Your reputation instills some awe in the denizens of the Underworld. Your Troops cost less to recruit. Racial Skill.
-Headhunter - You gain a slight edge when fighting other courtiers.
-Slaughterer - You gain a good bonus when fighting against troops. Racial Skill.
-Unbreakable Will - Should you fall in battle, you will regain consciousness and some health.
Agility Skills
-Slaughterer of Demons - Gives you additional efficiency, should you or your Troops fight against Demons. Does not include Courtiers of that Race.
-Seventh Sense - You have a greater chance of thwarting spies in your territories.
-Networking - Your Agents have a greater chance of succeeding against other Courtiers.
-Innovative Planning - Your Agents have a greater chance of succeeding at scouting and sabotage.
-Fleddering - Your Troops bring some Soul back from the battlefield. Racial Skill.
-Gorging - You heal yourself by feeding on the fallen of the battlefield, and have a slight chance to strengthen through this. All obviously provided that you win. Racial Skill.
-Intimidating Glare - Your Presence on the battlefield causes distress, lowering the initiative of your enemies.
-Explosives - This handy investment allows your Agents to do quite some damage when sabotaging structures. 5 Soul Cost on "use".
-Mastermind - Being known in the right circles enables you to gain agents far easier - and cheaper, should you buy them.
-Dirty Trickster - In a courtial battle, you have far greater Initiative at the start of combat, and will score higher criticals.
Magick Skills
-Slaughterer of Beasts - Gives you additional efficiency, should you or your Troops fight against Beasts. Does not include Courtiers of that Race.
-Spellmaster - Your Spells gain an additional boost to efficiency, based on your magick.
-Seasoned Ritualist - Your Spells have a chance of costing half their cost, rounded up.
-Counterspells - You have a chance of blocking a Spell directed at you, or your current location - Battlefield or Foothold.
-Spellslinger - Your Spells gain quite a boost to their Initiative on the Battlefield.
-Multi-Casting - You are able to cast 1 additional spell at the same time per Level. Spells need to recieve at least 1 AP buildup each round.
-Winged Warriors - You and your Troops have an additional chance at evading attacks. Racial Skill.
-Heightened Affinity - Your Prowess in harnessing magick also empowers your troops on the Battlefield. Racial Skill.
-Enchanter - The Chantery has a better chance to produce equipment of greater quality.
-Devourer of Souls - You are able to devour soul to gain additional Magic Action Points, or once a turn for an additonal permanent point in Magick.
Endurance Skills
-Stitcher of Bodies - Gives you a Chance at fixing Undead Soldiers without paying upkeep. Racial Skill.
-Automatication - Your workshops produce more efficiently, netting you a boost in income.
-Planned Constructions - The defensive Bonus of Keep and Wall gain an increase, based on their Level.
-Second Chance - Your troops have a - quite slim - chance to just stand back up after being struck down. Racial Skill.
-Torturemaster - You have a chance of gaining troops straight from your Torture Pits.
-Burglar-Safety - Your Buildings have a lesser chance of being the target of successful sabotage.
-Soulstealer - You have a chance of gaining new troops from a won battlefield.
-Enduring - Your Courtier has a low chance of taking no damage from an attack.
-Professionals - You have a chance of gaining an additional Build-AP at the beginning of a Turn
-Revival - Your Courtier recieves a lesser Malus from dying.
Spells
Ah, what would this game be without magick? Well, somewhat more simple or boring, I wager. The Level of the magic also doubles as the needed AP to perform it. Spells can be cast over multiple rounds, and multi-casting incurs a penality of 2 AP per additional Spell.
Level 1
-Enchanted Weaponary - Allows you to boost the strenght of a specific Detachment of your Troops for one Round.
-Firestorm - Unleash death unto enemy troops - Only Useable if Courtier participates in Battle.
-Alchemagic - Allows you to change a single Soul-Essence to your liking.
-Desperate Measures - Allows you to immediatly gain Troops, equal to half of your Magick - for your standard price.
-Breakdown - Allows you to regain the full price when razing a building.
-Scry Foothold - Will Reveal one random information about targeted Foothold - Troops, Buildings or Owner.
Level 2
-Strengthen - Allows you to improve the strength of a specific Fortification for three Rounds.
-Channel Energy - Allows you to trade those 2 Magical Action Points into 1 of your choosing - useable the same round.
-Greater Enchantment - Allows you to upgrade one of your Items.
-Cover Tracks - Battle and Subterfuge have a chance of being tracked to the wrong Courtier.
-Perception - Allows you to boost the initiative of a specific Detachment of your Troops for one Round.
Level 3
-Quell of Souls - Allows you to magically torture souls, relieving them of their might to take. As in, getting you free Soul.
-Reveal Sabotage - Allows you to scry just who sabotaged you. Must be done on the turn after said Sabotage.
-Fortuna - A specified non-battle action of yours gains a good boost.
-Boon of Blood - Your Troops will be greatly enchanted. Only useable if Courtier participates in Battle.
Level 4
-Curse - Allows you to slighten the efforts of a fellow Courtier and his Troops for one Round.
-Comet - Dont ask how those end up here, just know that they sow death and destruction in an enemy foothold.
-Charm of Protection - Gives your Courtier a magical shield in battle.
How it ends;A player looses if he has no Footholds left, and his Courtier winds up dead. A Courtier without Foothold will regenerate at half the normal speed. The Game itself will end when "He" wakes up, or there are only 2 Courtiers left.
The Map;Wich I have yet to draw, will feature the different districts of the Underworld, numbered for my convience. It will also be covered in "The Fog of War", wich will ease things for the first few rounds.
The Open Market;Guess who invented Capitalism in the first place? Be that as it may, the Underworld sports surely the vastest array of goods and services to be bought. You will obviously limit your Interest to those that will come in handy for this Contest. We need to stay sfw here, as you should know.
Allows you to buy troops - Obviously at a higher rate than if you would recruit and train them yourself.
Allows you to buy items - Some of those eventually might come in quite handy, given the right circumstances.
Binding Pacts;Devils are no strangers to these - To avoid easy "Alliances", those are out. Else they can be anything percieveably possible within game and rp mechanics. Their dissolvement takes time - as in, oh jolly, 1 Round.
Note that every other player-interaction is not binding! You can break an un-bound alliance on the fly, with no repercussions involved. Also note that the other Courtier needs to agree to the pact - on the "normal" PM to me. Everything else is just RP. The same goes for any kind of trade, or whatever agreements you (may not want to) come up with.
How else would we get to the juicy fun of betrayal? I beg of you.
The Caretaker / GM-Charakter;Should you have skipped over the RP-OP, there is a fellow named "Zathras" who is to oversee the whole affair, as "He" wants a record of it for his personal entertainment. He will also play an active role in this matter, and give out "Quests", and roll a Roulette to spice things up. The Roulette will feature some random activities that he will get up to, wich range from "Reveal x from Player y to all", to even he himself making a move on someone.
At the Beginning you will recieve 1 Foothold and 200 Soul - after that you are on your own.
Zathras
Undead Courtier
Strength: 2
Agility: 1
Magick: 3
Endurance: 4
Bio: (Optional, but always a nice touch)
Zathras is one of the elder members of the court, having already survived multiple courtly battles himself. Since those only pop up every few millenial decade or so, it shows that he knows how to lick "his" boots very well. Then again, all courtiers that live longer than a few hundred years do, and time is obviously percieved different by them than mortals would. He is actually in charge of "The Pyramid" - "He" has decided that he wants a building that will pierce through the mortal world, straight into the upperworld. In the last thirty millenia, half of the fundament has already been constructed - it stands to reason that the completion might take till the final purgatory, a fact that everyone has been too scared to bring up until now.
Be that as it may - Seemingly enjoying his un-life to some degree, Zathras is normally not found amongst the schemers in court. Him having quite a secure position before the start of the 7th Courtly Battle just might have to do something with that circumstance.
Feel free to post your Sheet in here, as it will become the OOC-Thread anyways.
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Topic: OOC-Thread - The 7th Courtly Battle of the Underworld (Read 3019 times)