The Mine :
-The Duke will hire outside experts to organize the Mine. Initially, it will be operated by cultists (also as labor) This should limit explicit resistance, as the Duke doesn't need to go on a big recruiting rampage to provide the initial staffing. He can just take the usual criminals. This phase of operation will last untill we corrupt the mining engineers. This is expected to happen quite fast, with all of the engineers we can't convince after a short period getting an unfortunate accident. Once we have our skilled engineers, we will unleash our black Imps to increase production.
Then, we can largely remove our cultists from the mines, only keeping them as overseers. This allows us to utilize far more of our Cult's power. After all, Imps keep the mine's production at the expected level, meaning that no one will suspect that the Cultists aren't doing what they're supposed to be doing. Conversion rates will also be boosted, as people see that the cultists are treated far better than them.
The War : To be honest, I see no reason for a war. It will only be a distraction as we need to look for the angel.
Double Misha's allowance, with the message that results should occur in the near future.
Dealing with a wizard
Have our duke covertly contact an assasins guild of sorts (surely one exists), to murder the annoying wizard in Oegoerda. We're also a bit lacking in high offense stealth units, so that can fill in the gap
The Rat Catcher
We need to spread our cult. Gather the giant rat packs, and send them to a variety of nearby villages. The rats will harrass the villagers, destroying harvests, eating small children. After a short period of distress, our cultist will arrive, and use a magic flute and the word of [I forgot the demon's name] to gather the rat and drown them in a local river. (Rats, of course, can swim, so we can reuse the trick a few times).
+
The last party of Fellshore
1) Wait till the magical education of Mischa's group ends and call those cultists(and their smallish undead army) back to the village. Same applies to all Fellshore villagers. They should see the end of the village
2) Order cultists to get few good men and women to be sacrificed during the incoming feast
3) Run a little tournament with 9 nails as participants. They should fight to the death till only one will remain. This one will receive a new set of weapon and armor enchanted by you and will be the first to be raised to the finger status
4) Launch a feast with a special addition to menu: Raw flesh of the fallen nails and sacrifices mixed with raw flesh of Fellshore livestock. Be sure to give some share to our tentacled servants and eat some yourself.
5) During the feast cultists should burn the village they once loved as a landmark of the final abandonment of the old life and becoming true followers of the New Way
6) You, Mischa, Kate and her students should do a joint ritual to raise souls(and\or skeletons) of cultists fallen in the tournament as powerful undead guardians. This guys should be strong enough to create some problems even to mighty beings
7) Expansion of the labyrinth should be halted till we come back here to build a proper fortress. Black imps should link the lake and the labyrinth creating even deadlier place. Our undead army should stay in the water hidden till they will be needed (hopefully they will not rot too much...)
New cult power distribution
2 recruiting in Nuulyd. Focus on the mayor and remaining rich townsfolk
6 training cultists (combat)
2 training cultists (magic)
8 power - Copper mine part of the plan
2 power - Rat part of the plan
This halts further recruitment in Brulyb because it is a crawling pace anyways and if we want to make it full dark fortress we should do it ourselves. It also reduces power spent on recruiting people in Nuulyd because we need only the mayor anyways. It is the last turn when we enjoy benefits of the labyrinth and starting from the next one we will have to reduce power spent for more secrecy
The echoes of the bell ringing have not yet died down before the first Nail falls, stabbed in the back by his friend, who had agreed to help him in the fight. The second falls soon after, his opening strike being expertly parried, giving his would-be victim the chance to push him backwards, whereupon another Nail smashed his head in with a mace. Cultists cheer as the body hits the floor, as some more enterprising individuals make bets as to who will win.
One Nail stands out; the one who stabbed his friend in the back proves to be an expert fighter, taking on three opponents at once, dancing away from their strikes before lunging in with his sword. Eventually one of his attackers falls back to chase less troublesome targets, giving him the opportunity he needs to knock a spear aside and stab his sword through its owner's throat before they can recover. The other three Nails engage in a three way brawl, swords and daggers dancing through the air. Eventually one stumbles, and the other two run him through in an instant.
The combatants collectively take a few steps back to catch their breath, eyeing up the others, looking for signs of weakness. Eventually they leap back into the fray, and the blood flies again. A female Nail takes a knee to the stomach, followed by a mace to the top of the head, though not before having delivered a crippling blow to her killer's leg; he soon succumbs under the weight of his sustained injuries, hobbling away from the fight, only to be cut down by the backstabber.
Now there are three, circling each other. Two have sustained minor cuts and bruises, the backstabber is as yet untouched. Then a swordswoman launches into the other two in a frenzy, swinging her sword with reckless abandon, disarming the surprised backstabber before getting her weapon stuck in the other's neck, her attempt to behead him rendered unsuccessful by her small sword.
The last two recover their weapons, the backstabber rolling over to his sword and picking it off the ground, the swordswoman yanking her blade free of her comrade's spinal cord. The backstabber is the first to strike, lunging forwards in attempt to finish things quickly. But the woman slides out of the way, then makes a strike of her own which almost catches the unbalanced backstabber. He manages to duck beneath her blade just in time, and jumps back, pulling out his dagger. The woman eyes it suspiciously as he waves it back and forth, then jumps aside as he throws it- right into the backstabber's blade. She manages to parry just in time, then punches him in the face. Blood gushes from his nose as they lock swords, struggling for dominance. For several minutes their duel continues, neither managing to gain the upper hand. On and on they fight, as the lifeless eyes of their comrades look on. Eventually, after almost half an hour of constant fighting, the backstabber slips slightly, giving her the chance to make an overarm strike that he does not manage to parry. He drops his sword as her blade cuts deep into his arm, and quickly jumps backwards. The woman kicks his sword away, and advances on her unarmed foe. Backed into a corner, he realises his time is up, and kneels down to beg for his life. Keeping one eye on the man, she looks in your direction and tilts her head quizzically. Before you can give your response, the man takes advantage of the momentary distraction to leap forwards- but the woman is too fast; she sticks a leg out, tripping him up, and then brings her sword down with two hands, with such force that her blade makes it all the way through the man's neck.
The exhausted crowd realise that the fight is over, and cheer the blood-soaked warrior as she holds up the head of her opponent, which still wears a surprised look.
A cultist plays a fiddle as Fellshore burns. Cultists dance around the burning buildings, drinking heavily. Others partake of the feast, savouring the flavour of human flesh, blood running down their chins. The bones are picked clean, then taken to the centre of the village, where they are deposited in a magic circle. You enjoy dining upon the head of the runner-up, whilst the Klrntvs
* nibble on a corpse each.
With the light of the fires as illumination, Mischa begins her ritual. Her acolytes stand around the magic circle, whilst you watch from a throne of rubble. She chants a series of magical phrases, which her underlings repeat. Evil energy starts to congregate around her, which she directs into the circle. As she does so, the howling voices of the recently deceased begin to make themselves heard, and soon eight spectres manifest within the circle. The acolytes continue to chant whilst this is going on, drawing in plenty of Evil for Mischa to use in the second stage of the ritual. Sticking her tongue out in concentration, she gestures at the piles of bones. After a few minutes of this, the bones begin to shake back and forth, then rearrange themselves, locking together and rising up, forming eight new skeletal warriors. Now commences the hardest part of the ritual, to which you lend a modicum of your own power. Using the binding magic she has been researching, Mischa draws the spectres into the skeletons, joining them together into a single entity.
With their souls returned to their bodies, the former Nails may be considered immortal, in a sense. With the unfortunate caveat that as they are not capable of maintaining their own bindings (unlike a Lich), they must constantly absorb evil to prevent their soul from being ejected from their long-dead body. They have become Wights, undead creatures that relentlessly pursue death and destruction in order to survive.
Come the morning, Fellshore is naught but a smoking ruin. Bleary-eyed cultists emerge from the labyrinth, each carrying a few personal belongings in bags slung across their shoulders, but otherwise leaving their old lives behind completely.
You receive a report from the Duke; work at the mine is progressing smoothly under the oversight of expert miners, who seem pleased at their rehiring.
The shady people he hired to eliminate the wizard in Oegorda have returned empty-handed; they say that not only could they not find a wizard, no one in the town has heard of a wizard living there. They even investigated several reclusive scholars, but they could not find anyone using any sort of magic.
The rats were already a plague on the land, but now they become much worse, focusing their efforts on a handful of villages. Crops are consumed, buildings gnawed, and lone villagers attacked. After a few days they are at their wit's end, which is exactly when a trio of cultists show up offering to solve the problem. The villagers regard them suspiciously, expecting that they will charge an arm and a leg for the service, but become far more welcoming when they are told it will be free.
The rats duly come out when the piper starts playing, and follow him down to a nearby river or lake, which they hop into, eliciting cheers from the villagers. None of them bother to investigate the water, as they are distracted by the other cultists telling them of how these miraculous acts are thanks to Nokluvgn and the New Way. The villagers praise your name, and several are enticed into joining the New Way, partially due to the rat thing, but mainly due to the promises of free food.
The Mayor, true to her word, joins the New Way at another feast, and another. She still seems reluctant to discuss theology, but she is far more willing to engage in debauchery, and it can only be a matter of time before she cracks.
Almost all of the remaining rich townsfolk are those who have previously rejected offers to join the New Way in their celebrations, or who seemed offended by the merest hint of heresy. Nevertheless, your cultists try again, inviting them to join the mayor at one of their events, where they are plied with wines spiked with hallucinogenic herbs, then led to the basement, where a vagrant has been tied up, ready to be sacrificed. Ultraviolet imps hang in the rafters, bathing the room in an eerie glow. Almost totally unaware of what is going on, the drugged-out giggling richfolk join hands with your cultists in a circle around the slab that holds the victim. They join in with the chanting (poorly) as a hooded cultist brings forth a dagger and stabs the man's eyes out. As he screams uselessly into his gag, the richfolk experience the ecstasy that you return to the sacrificers, feeling the darkness in their heart grow larger and larger as it is exposed to the Evil in which they are unwittingly participating.
The next morning, the richfolk awake in unfamiliar beds, the evening before a vague blur in their minds. All they can remember is the incredible pleasure, and the name Nokluvgn. Even so, a few refuse to join the New Way. Though their memories are hazy, some cultists think they should not be allowed to leave. They try to imagine what you would do, and come to the conclusion that you would
-Let them go. They remember nothing, and it would be noticed if they went missing.
-Kidnap them, and expose them to ever greater evils until they convert.
-Chain them up in the dungeon to be sacrificed at the next feast.
The next week looks to be fairly uneventful. Perhaps it would be a good time to raze a village or two, or otherwise just
-Do something Evil.
You may want to think of a name for your magically trained cultists. If you don't, I will just call them acolytes.
BTW, Mischa wants those captives ASAP. The mine has not been staffed with enough criminals to fulfil her quota yet, and besides, people would notice if they went missing. Converting the mining engineers will take a week or two.
Name: Nokluvgn
Age: 8.25 months
Physical might: 50 (+3 p/w: province-wide suffering)(-2: aiding wight-creation)
Mental might: 46 (+3 p/w: province-wide suffering)(-2: aiding wight-creation)
Followers:252 (165 cultists, 8 cultists (armed), 7 magically trained cultists, 20 Nails (armed), 1 Finger (heavily armed), 40 mercenaries (armed), 6 Wordbearers, 7 knights (heavily armed), 1 Duke)
Slaves: 12 (4 priests, 1 high priest, 7 guards (armed))
Servants: 68 (8 Brutewolves, 3 Smokewraiths, 15 spectres, 4 giant-rat-packs, 10 black imps, 4 ultraviolet imps, 8 skeletons, 4 Hollow Remnants, 3 fungal druids, 6 zombies, 3 Klrntvs, 8 Wights)
Cults:
The New Way: Low organization. 202 members (115 cultists, 8 cultists (armed), 7 magically trained cultists, 20 Nails (armed), 1 Finger (heavily armed), 40 mercenaries (armed), 6 Wordbearers, 5 knights (heavily armed), 1 Duke)
Slaves: 12 (4 priests, 1 high priest, 7 guards (armed))
Power level: 27 (16 used)
Of which: 2 spent recruiting in Nuulyd (sneaky-like), 6 spent training cultists (30/32), 2 spent training cultists (magic, 10/10), 4 spent setting up the mines, 2 spent pied-pipering.
Secrecy estimate: Fine-ish. Without the secrecy bonus from Fellshore's labyrinth, activities are harder to keep secret. Raising the organisation of the cult can increase secrecy (though it decreases power as more effort is spent on the organisation)
Resources: 908 (+40 p/week: Duke's income)(-3: arming Finger)
Locations: Nuulyd: Merchant & town council & jail connections. Mayor slowly coming around.
Castle Brylib: Court connections+.
Oegorda: Nokluvgn may have been detected here. No wizards to be found.
Fözdoch Province (misc): No special features.
Other:
Champions:
Mischa Alwiz: The Duke's 'loyal' companion, now corrupted by the allure of evil.
Physical Might: 1
Mental Might: 7
Knowledge: Magic, adequate Necromancy.
Possessions: Grey imp (knowledge of human & demonic magic, disguised as a crow)
Other: She finally manages to find the right alloy to contain soul-binding magics. She finishes construction of the vessel, and now awaits the promised 100 captives to be sacrificed to it (and a piece of your essence).
Malkus Rom: The captain of the mercenaries in the Duke's employ, he proved an especially eager convert, requiring only the most minor of rewards before pledging his loyalty to you.
Physical Might: 9 (+2: Devil-horse)
Mental Might: 2
Knowledge: Competent Tactics.
Possessions: Devil-horse (A huge black horse with demonic strength and intellect; +2 physical strength, greatly increased mobility)
Other: Really wouldn't mind something to do, you know?
"Kate": A female Wordbearer, trained in combat and magic and provided with arms and armour, now the vessel for your demonic offspring.
Physical Might: 6
Mental Might: 5
Knowledge: Adequate Mesmerism, basic Magic.
Other: 1.75/9(?) months pregnant. Can now cast some basic spells quite easily. Mischa reluctantly continues to train her in more advanced magic, and demonstrates the difference between using Evil and regular magical energy.
Demon-Brutewolf offspring: 0.5/2.5(?) months to birth
Physical Might: ?
Mental Might: ?
Other:
Fortresses:
Fellshore: Was a small fishing village nestled between a small lake and a forest (with mountains not so far in the distance), it has now been razed. It is undermined with many tunnels and chambers forming a twisted maze, lit with smoky torches, where the shadows form strange shapes in the corner of your eyes.
Smallish labyrinth (10, increases secrecy)(being upgraded to Medium Labyrinth 56/200), Crude wall (construction halted. Defence value of 5. 32/100)
Hidden altar: A suitable place to sacrifice to you and praise your dark name. Recently upgraded to a nicer version. Mostly a cosmetic upgrade, though.
Author
Topic: Demonhood 2 -Number of giant minions lost: between 0 and 3- (Read 143813 times)