Forenia, 910In the mountains, Arstotzka has proved to be highly effective, winning nearly all of the skirmishes in the passes and even successfully taking hold of a Moskurger castle. Moskurg meanwhile has failed to gain any ground at all, as their troops have been sapped in skirmishes before this can even come to pass. Although Arstotzkan gains are not significant enough to shift the balance of power, continued victories may gain them real ground in the mountains.
The King and his thanes put this victory down in large part to the terrain; infantry, ambush tactics and small flexible groups of soldiers all do well in the mountains, and Arstotzkans are famously inured to cold weather, whereas the Moskurgers continue to freeze their toes off whilst fighting. In addition, apprentice wizards are able to put up clouds of smoke to confuse the short-ranged Moskurger archers in the passes, and frequent attacks with summoned ice wasps sap the morale of combatants trapped in the snow.
Unfortunately, even with the new web spell paralysing escaping foes, Moskurgers are still able to escape during a rout, thanks to their long-standing cavalry traditions.
In the jungle, Moskurg is mostly able to win in skirmishes against Arstotzka, particularly on the defensive where their apprentices were able to detect ambushes laid in place and encircle them with troops. In the jungles, Moskurger archers are aided by magic to hit two out of three times, twice as often as before! Whilst Moskurg and Arstotzka both traded land, with Arstotzka capturing several forts and Moskurg seizing an Arstotzkan gem mine, Moskurg has come out with a slight advantage despite their lack of territorial gains, having slaughtered many fleeing Arstotzkans with their fast sabre-armed cavalry.
During the fighting, loyal Arstotzkan warriors tell of a worrying sight; a pack of demon riders led by a robed figure who slaughter all in their path. To hear it told, no arrow can strike them and no sword has ever felled a single one of these cavaliers. They supposedly led the strike on our former gem mine.
Moskurg has had an excellent showing in the plains, where their cavalry focus has come to the fore. Without terrain to aid the Arstotzkans' ambush tactics, Moskurgers were able to win most skirmishes and bring their massive formation-based armies to bear. At the same time, the Arstotzkans fielded a very visible wizard in a well-protected contingent on the battlefield; huge balls of fire hurtled over the field when battle was joined, roasting dozens of spearmen at a time. Moskurgers still seized a major fishing town and butchered the entire local garrison, resulting in further losses for the Arstotzkans as the Moskurgers prove that they can follow up on a victory with great effect. Moskurg has not yet gained enough territory to be significant, but they are en-route to a significant gain in land on the plains next year.
The King and his thanes put this failure down in large part due to the terrain; cavalry, mobility and formation tactics all work extremely well on the plains. Ambush tactics are nullified by open terrain and Moskurger wizards scrying for nearby traps and pitfalls, although even these advantages are not enough to explain the severity of losses. Several thanes have spoken of seeing robed Moskurger wizards studying them from quite close distance before some of their most disastrous failures. Better bodyguards for your officers may help kill off these wizards before they can keep doing whatever it is they are up to.
Additionally, the King has deployed Arstotzka's finest wizard to the front here in the plains, where their efforts are single-handedly holding Moskurg back from claiming vital Arstotzkan territories, to hear them tell it. Whether or not that is true, they are a vital asset during the main battle and especially on the attack, whether in the deciding battle or roasting targets of opportunity during a skirmisher advance.
At sea, luck has favoured the Moskurger forces on the eastern coast, where they have been able to defeat several longships at sea and capture several crucial harbours, including one filled with Arstotzkan ships under repair from earlier battles - they naturally torched the lot. This represents a significant gain for Moskurg in the battle for naval supremacy in the east, although both sides agree this to be mostly down to luck.
With the losses suffered thus far across the board, the King has opted to reinforce the fighting in the jungle and plains; the Arstotzkan navy is now fighting at reduced capacity.
It is 911, the Design Phase.Propaganda Contest: The team that provides the most inspiring (or entertaining) description of their nation's master wizard and his/her cohorts will gain a
Revision Credit.
Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Arstotzkan
Western Sea: Disputed
Eastern Sea: Disputed
Southern Sea: Moskurger
Mundane Equipment
Broadsword: Officer weapon. An iron age classic. A double-edged blade designed for speed, flexibility and force. Requires training to wield, can be used one or two handed. Expensive.
War Axe: General infantry weapon. Can be used as a tool in a pinch, this is a single-handed weapon that does well against heavily armoured foes. Can be used with minimal training.
Wooden Shield: General infantry equipment. Couples well with an axe, cheap, easy to replace. Works best in heavy melee. Can be used with minimal training. Cheap.
Hide Armour: General infantry armour. Cheap, thanks to the plentiful sheep in the taiga. Turns aside weak blows. Cheap.
Chain Mail: Officer armour. Expensive, due to the steel required. Very effective against most weapons. Expensive.
Longbow: General infantry weapon. Difficult to find wood and requires a lot of training, but long ranged and powerful. Expensive.
Shire Horse: A heavy riding horse. Survives and rides well in cold weather. Powerful charge. Expensive.
Longship: Oar-rowed wooden ship. Slow, but sturdy, and can carry large numbers of landing troops. Very Expensive.
Magical Equipment
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort.
Conjuration Spellbook
Obscuring Mist: Cloaks a squad in a fog cloud, hiding their numbers and equipment, and making them harder to hit at range.
Summon Swarm: Conjures a swarm of stinging wasps to harrass foes. Expensive.
Webs: Conjures a sticky web, immobilising an entire squad and preventing them from moving. Very Expensive.
Author
Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 392606 times)