Forenia, 915Harsh weather persists in the southern mountains, and hard fighting at the foothills remains confined to the border. No major losses are reported, but neither are any territorial gains. Moskurgers fail to take back any ground at the deadly
Krozkan Pass beneath the castle promised to their now-Queen, but neither can the Arstotzkans push past the last line of border forts to reach the desert. The Moskurgers seemed inspired, partially by their commitment to chivalry and honour, and partly by the presence of none other than the Sun Hammer himself, al-Mutriqa, who leads the defence.
The jungles see a slow push backwards for Arstotzka. As before, neither side conclusively wins most skirmishes, but Moskurg manages to pull through in a few crucial battles and takes a vital fort on the way to the last major Arstotzkan encampment. Further victory may well lead to Moskurger control over the jungle.
Fighting hasn't changed much here in the jungle, but we have noticed a key difference. The Moskurger wizards and some of their knights are now seemingly surrounded by a sort of shield composed of fast-moving air that deflects arrows and blows. The shield only seems limited to two targets at most, and up close it is less useful, but it is stopping our snipers from taking out their wizards at a distance and might pose problems if we ever try to assassinate their leaderhsip. The good news is, they still can't get close enough to read our thoughts without getting into range for our arrows to overcome those shields of theirs by sheer number. Myark remains present, keeping the enemy at bay.
Additionally, many of our troops were captured in the siege of our fort. We were readying to ransom them back when they were returned to us, relieved of weapons and armour, having already been cared for by Moskurger healers. Ready, once re-equipped, to go straight back into the field.
In the plains, the Moskurg advantage is pressed home with heavy reinforcement. Arstotzkan light troops are now essentially unable to compete in plains skirmishes, being eliminated with cold efficiency by horse archers and hidden Moskurger shortbowmen. Groups of stragglers are wiped out by teams of a dozen squads, converging from seemingly random positions on isolated enemies. Nowhere is this more deadly or apparent than in massed battle, where Moskurger light infantry move in terrifyingly co-ordinated formations, whilst archers and horse archers encircle, trap and flank with inhuman ability. Moskurg wins every major engagement, pressing back against Arstotzkan troops until they reach the border forts, then taking those as well.
Moskurg holds the plains. If they can hold them for another turn, they will achieve control.This proved to be a disaster, much of which we attribute to the Moskurger battle co-ordination. They seem to be able to coordinate troop movements far faster and more efficiently than drums and runners should be able to manage. We've seen this sort of co-ordination before, but only during skirmishes, a few squads at a time. We put it down to concealed messengers or visual signals before, but on this scale there must be some sort of magical assistance. Some of the Moskurg success may be put down to luck, however.
We lost a lot of troops. Between Moskurger prisoner management and ransoms for the less salubrious captors, we were able to repatriate a full army's worth of soldiers, but we lost twice that. Probably for the best that we have so much extra resupply.
At sea, the future remains muddy and uncertain. In the eastern sea, Moskurger forces take back the portion of coast that the Arstotzkans took last year, sinking a number of haboured ships in the process.
We lost about five armies' worth of troops and ships this year, two of which we got back due to ransoms and chivalry. With our reinforcements, this is neither a net gain or loss for us. The King replenishes the forces lost.
Decision Time: Arstotzka has adopted
Pragmatism,
Moskurg has adopted
Chivalry.
Revision Credit: A cultured scholar, Jibril Saadiya, has come to the isle of Forenia, having heard rumours of magic. He claims to be a mystic and alchemist, and whilst you have doubts about that he certainly seems sharp and would be a welcome addition to your design team. He appears to be a Saracen and consequently enjoys culture, entertainment and erudition. The nation that is the most cultured, entertaining or erudite will attract this scholar and his keen mind.
It is 915, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka
Western Jungle: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 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.
Plate Mail: General infantry and officer armour. So well designed it costs surprisingly little to make. Mis-design makes it a metal statue prison. 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. 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.
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.
Summon Swarm: Conjures a swarm of stinging wasps to harrass 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. Currently useless in their intended role due to fragile cross-section. Expensive.
Webs: Conjures a sticky web, immobilising an entire squad and preventing them from moving. 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.
Fireball: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. Damaging side effects harm morale. A National Effort.
Turn 1 was a bust for them?
I must say, I hadn't noticed. They appeared to be doing quite well then actually, while we got absolutely nothing despite rolling only half as much 1's.
They had a major bug to one of their enchantments which caused their mages to go mad and die, took them two turns to fix, imposed morale penalties the whole time that cancelled out the benefits they were getting.
Author
Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 393438 times)