The year goes by quietly in the mountaintops. Boredom reigns supreme in these airy peaks, as for once Moskurg doesn't send their men up the rocky slopes. The only activity is the quiet shuffle of Arstotzkan battle divisions preparing their assault on the golden sands far below. The tower of Forever Frost is built, preparing to sap the heat from the surrounding area for the imminent invasion
No battles occur in the mountains.Likewise, the plains finally go a year without bloodshed. Moskurg forts dot the border that separate the plains from the tangia, but for once no arrows rain down from their parapets. The skies remain clear, and all storms that blow across the land are completely natural in nature.
No battles occur in the plains.The relative quiet is made up for in the jungle. Both sides engage in viscous skirmishes, assaulting one another in the dark and rain. Our heavy calvary is now plentiful enough for frequent use. They aren't as agile as Moskurg horses, but when they hit they do so with devastating effect. Their effect isn't as pronounced in the jungle as they would be in the plains, but they do make a significant difference. We have a single successful skirmish, but Moskurg seems to have more luck at home as they are in the heat. Our sleeping guards issue hasn't been resolved, but during one skirmish the alarm is actually raised by our Theatre Commander as his Anti-Magic charm glows red-hot on the chain hanging from his neck. The Moskurg ambusers are ran off, and the Commander is treated for second degree burns on his chest. Commanders stop wearing the expensive diamonds and instead hang them from the pommels of their swords, where they're less likely to burn the living shit out of themselves. None of them seem happy about the dangerous devices, but they begrudgingly admit the warning was appreciated. One even comments, "At least the damn things don't fucking explode." Truly, our magical prowess is to be feared.
Speaking of magical prowess, Moskurg hasn't shown any new developments this year. Either their newest creation is subtle enough to escape notice, or they failed entirely to produce something. Battles in the jungle have become more even as a result of the shifting power, and despite the viscous fighting that results in no clear winner there is some hopeful talk among our soldiers that perhaps we'll be able to hold on to what remains of the territory.
Neither side gains ground in the jungle.The desert is likewise a bit of a wash. With the bulk of our forces split between the jungle and the desert assault, we simply don't have the strength to take the sands. Moskurg seems surprised that we would strike at their home turf, and their skirmishes uniformly fail. We have some mixed success with our skirmishes, but ultimately we just don't know the land as well as they do. Our heavy calvary isn't as helpful as it could be, considering they're raised in the cold north. If it weren't for the tower of Forever Frost, all our men would cook in their steel suits - even then, walking is difficult on the shifting sands. Moskurg wins two battles, but we pull back before we can lose too many men.
Moskurg repels Arstotzka from the desert.The Gods seem to be against us on the seas - we pull the bulk of our fleet to the Western Sea, and though we win two of the major assaults we fail to inflict lasting damage. Moskurg wins only a single battle, sinking one of our ships with a desperate ramming attack, resulting in the only loss in that area. The ocean seems more akin to a forest with how much wood we've put on the waves, but the dirty Moskurgs are simply too agile to nail down and flee before we can get close enough to board. Their weather keeps the battle field even, despite our mass of ships.
Neither side makes coastal gains in the jungle. Moskurg cements control of the Eastern Sea.Our biggest problem seems to be both our difficulty gain prisoners during a route and our tendency to trade troops back when we do. It's impossible to gain ground when their ranks swell back to full strength after each and every fruitless battle. Returning troops wouldn't be such a big deal if we could get more of them during each route, but at the moment both sides are fighting at full capacity - and have been for the past few years.
It is 921, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka
Western Jungle: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Arstotzkan
Western Sea: Disputed
Eastern Sea: Moskurger
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.
Plate Mail: General infantry and officer armour. So well designed it costs surprisingly little to make. Normal cost.
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. Normal Cost.
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.
Tower of Forever Frost: An astoundingly expensive tower that has to be assembled in place and requires the skill of a master wizard to operate, as well as countless other skilled wizards. Creates a very powerful cold evocation and then channels it directly into the air, consistently lowering temperatures within a radius of about fifty miles. A National Effort.
Anti-Magic Charm: A magically enchanted diamond. Grows really, really, really fucking hot in the presence of magic. Very Expensive.
Anti-Wizard Guard: Guard thanes against mind-readers and other threats by shooting them. Also partially negate spell support of other units.
Conjuration Spellbook
Obscuring Mist: Cloaks a squad in a fog cloud, hiding their numbers and equipment, and making them harder to hit at range.
Variant (Channeled Fog): A denser form of Obscuring mist, continuously generated.
Summon Swarm: Conjures a swarm of stinging wasps to harass foes. Expensive.
Variant (Fire Wasps): Conjures stinging wasps that can start small fires. Expensive.
Magic Lance: Conjures a set of lances for a cavalry squad. Thick enough not to break on use, and lasts long enough to be useful in combat. Expensive.
Magic Axe: Conjures a set of long axes for officers. Weapon is anchored to a small gem in the handle, allowing it to exist longer than 24 hours.
Webs: Conjures a sticky web, immobilizing an entire squad and preventing them from moving. Very Expensive.
Fireball: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. Damaging side effects harm morale. Very Expensive.
Minor Fireball: Hurls small balls of fire that explode on impact, not as devastating as full fireballs but much easier to cast. Expensive.
Firewall: Creates static walls of fire. Long casting time, concentration sustain. Very Expensive.
Crystal Caltrops: Jagged crystals designed to lay in the grass and catch enemy troops unaware. Good for defense. Normal Cost.
Author
Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 393602 times)