Combat for 930The jungle sees Moskurg once again gain the advantage.
First and foremost was the executive decision to use their new fire artillery shells as impromptu-grenades [2d6 = [3, 4] =
3]. Moskurg calvary ride into Arstotzkan camps in the dead of night, flinging clay pots filled to the brim with their flammable liquid. Every calvaryman carries at least one; as they charge through our camps they fling them into tents and fortifications. The splash is limited in range, and again limited by their throwing distance, but when every man has one it has a devastating effect. Our camps burn in the night and smoke chokes the air after every raid. Truly they are honorless cowards; what sort of low snake would resort to fire to win a war? Our own attacks are still successful, doing well against Moskurg soldiers shivering in the cold, but their new fire tactics are terribly effective. Without needing a mage to cast the fire their troops are a frightening force to reckon with. Both sides slaughter each other bloody, but Moskurg does more damage.
This year saw our Tower of Frost being torn down. Our men are sad to see it go as the ivory sides were long a symbol of Arstotzkan pride, but the new Minor Towers are just as good, if not better. By spreading the spell throughout several different towers Moskurg must tear them all down to completely negate our frost ability. They dot the line dividing the jungle and our men rally around them, crowding the battlements with cannons and archers and padding the ground with wooden fortifications and stakes. We watch from above as Moskurg artillery rolls into range of the HC1-E's mounted on our towers and laugh. If our knowledge of their equipment is correct, they must march a long way through our cannon fire before they can even hope to touch us. Indeed we begin shelling them from far away, even scoring a few solid hits that cause their ballistas to burst into flames. It appears their fire shells are delicate and will go up easily, and it fills our hearts with joy to see Moskurg soldiers burning to death again.
But then they stop, just inside the range of our Elite Cannons. Boulders, javelins, and clay pots filled with flames fall soon after, hitting us from Extreme Range. We watch as the cold air
whooshes past their ballistas before firing, carrying their ammunition aloft until it ultimately crashes among our troops. Our first tower crumbles under sustained fire and the chill in the air is noticeably lessened. Our Theatre Commander orders a charge to drive them back before we lose more of our bastions, but our HC1's must wheel closer to be in range and our HC1-E's aren't as plentiful as their ballistas. The charge through the dying jungle is met with a slaughter, and Moskurg's al-Mutriqa leads a counter-charge that sends our men into a route. Along the border the same scene plays out; our stationary towers are brought down from long range, our artillery can't match them, and we are ultimately repelled time and time again.
We are pushed back and our battle lines are reassembled further north.
Our Theatre Commander asks for better artillery. Longer ranges, better accuracy, and more of them. Surely we have the knowledge to craft something like that, right? If not, then we need some other way to change the nature of battle as soundly as Moskurg has when they introduced their ballistas. We are holding onto the barest rim of the jungle, and that is a very tenuous grasp.
Moskurg gains a section of jungle. The mountains...the mountains are different. With our Minor Towers of Frost the high peaks - already a cold, inhospitable place - drop to an even colder temperature. To our men it must feel like the tangia back home, but to Moskurg troops it must be a frozen hellscape. They sustain multiple casualties as their men struggle to maintain warmth in their cold, stolen castles, but with such poor soil there's hardly any wood for them to burn. They resort to burning their fire ammunition to stay warm as it will remain lit for a long, long time, but the noxious fumes make them sick and a few even die. It's preferable to freezing to death, but they don't have to worry about either. Our cannons roll up and blast their castles apart with ease. Their garrisons are ragged from the cold temperatures and guards favor their warm bunkhouses over their posts. Even with their longer ranged artillery, our men easily steamroll through and mop up what filth still clung to the castle walls. With Myark leading the charge, there's no contest and they are once again forced off the mountaintops and down into the sands far below.
Our Theatre Commander proudly reports he's pushed the Moskurgs out of the mountains once more. He's taken pains to ensure his troops will not once again fall into the trap of complacency that lost us the section of mountaintop before.
Arstotzka gains ground in the Mountains. If they hold it for a year they will gain the resource bonus.In the western seas we are met with a source of frustration. Our new Fog-O-War, initially designed to match Moskurg speed and out-range their artillery, now simply matches them in both areas. Our heavier ship construction means we can survive more mundane hits, be it rock or javelin, but their fire is nearly impossible to put out. Our men have resorted to hacking off parts of the ship that catch on fire and dumping them overboard, even if it results in a leak. It's the better alternative than burning up. Our cannons are equally effective; the small, dense, shaped cannon shot punches holes through the light, delicate Moskurg ships. Every hit results in a sunk ship, but that's only coming from our limited steam ships. They carry their weight, bringing down many with them, but once they're gone Moskurg has the advantage. It doesn't help that nearly any damage to the steamship inevitably results in it sinking; it sits so low in the water that once it starts to flood it's nearly impossible to stop. Still, they prove their worth today and manage to keep Moskurg from gaining ground, even with their new extreme-range ballistas mounted on every ship. It was an expensive stalemate and we will likely lose ground unless something changes next year.
Our Theatre Commander understands the use of the Fog-O-War. Arstotzkan ships are sturdy by design, and the fact that we can tank hits when they can't is a big boon to our side. If we had an entire fleet of them, the battle would have been over just as quickly as it started. He points out that the Fog-O-War is sturdier, but the fact that they tend to eventually sink after a single hit is a big issue. A ship designed entirely around the steam engine would be far more efficient, and would let us field more cannons aboard her decks too. Their fire is still an issue; perhaps crystal armor could help keep the wood and tar beneath from burning up...?
Neither side gains ground in the Western Sea.We surprise Moskurg with an assault on the plains.
Our cannons get the drop on their emplacements; after years of quiet the sudden assault leaves their troops scrambling. Our HC1-E's manage to get the drop on their ballistas from behind smoke screens, and within minutes they're mostly all destroyed. Our HC-1's roll up during the barrage to get into range, supporting our heavy calvary as they sweep across the open fields and gain massive ground. Moskurg struggles to mount a counter attack, but their men have grown fat and complacent after so long that their lines are laughable and their artillery support is nonexistent. Our heavy horsemen sweep them from the field, easily closing the distance without enemy artillery to stall them or coherent archer fire to repel them. Our constant shelling from behind thick fog leaves them disorganized, and despite their best efforts we push them back immediately, claiming the wreckage of their border forts.
The battle for the rest of the year is bitter. Their calvary immediately takes up the firebombing doctrine, dropping fire grenades in our camps and being a general nuisance. It's too late for them to make much of a difference, however; our Towers are up and the plains plunge into tagia-like temperatures. Much like the mountains their men freeze to death often and their fighting prowess is hampered. They still have better range than the majority of our artillery, but our initial route was so thorough they have a hard time coming back. We push Moskurg back a section.
Our boats are just as lucky along the east coast; in the west they'd been expecting us, but here in the east we are able to catch them at port. With nowhere to run we are able to get in close and unleash the fury of the cannons on our ships. Their harbor burns and we claim a section of coastline.
Our Theatre Commander points out that the battle was fairly even here. Had Moskurg had a more competent fighting force, they might have fought us to a stalemate. Their Extreme-Range artillery is a problem, as is their incredibly lucky accuracy. He does mention that our calvary did very well here; if they were lighter or faster, we might be able to rush their artillery next year before they can move their lines in to defend them. He also points out that we might wish to take care to guard against that, as Moskurg could just as easily do it to us with their far lighter calvary.
Arstotzka gains ground in the Plains and the Eastern Sea. Moskurg no longer has the resource bonus.Moskurg has done the unthinkable. They've invaded our homelands.
Their grenadier horsemen continue using their despicable tactics of firebombing and attack our infrastructure. They ride into a nearby village and burn it to the ground, fleeing before we can mount a counter attack to stop the raid. Many civilians are slaughtered, and with no one to attend the crops in the nearby fields our troops will suffer for it. Luckily it doesn't seem like a full-blown assault; they don't bring in their artillery or their infantry.
Their ships sail up the coast, catching our ships by surprise at harbor and sinking many. The harbor closest to the eastern sea is completely razed and Moskurg claims it like the filthy cowards they are. We might have been able to fight them to a stalemate had we expected the attack, but we are caught by surprise and lose a section of coastline. Without complete control of the seas we will be unable to use our fleet to deploy behind enemy lines or bombard offshore, if they invade.
Our Theatre Commander stresses the critical nature of this loss. If we wish to keep our homeland secure, we will need to regain the seas. Simply not controlling them entirely is a huge problem, let alone if the unthinkable happens and Moskurg gains complete control.
Moskurg gains ground in the Northern Sea.Expense Credit: After some debate (and a careful analysis about the benefits of just seizing his ship) we decide to make amends with T’ung-K’ao. After all, we did endanger his livelihood when we sold him a crate of disappearing axes. To make things up to him we offer a more thorough instruction in the arts of magic. This includes a brief stay at the Academy for some formal magical instruction. We teach him the secrets of Dogwood wands, and his seething fury gives way to childlike wonder as he grows plants with little more than a carved twig. We give him enough dogwood seeds so that he may start his own orchard when he goes back to his homeland, and we train him in how to summon and maintain crystal weaponry. He struggles with this as his magical prowess isn't as potent as one of our full-time wizards, but he can manage a few odd shapes here and there. By the time he and his men are ready to leave we also send along Roboson, our best and brightest designer. We tell him that the Mathemagicians will suffer without his keen knowledge and insight, but that we understand he must go to maintain relations. We reluctantly decline his offer to stay and gently push him on the boat and tell him to write us a postcard. We also send along another crate of crystal axes, only this time we also send along an apprentice to help maintain them. By the time T’ung-K’ao sails out of our harbor he's smiling once more, our earlier scandal seemingly forgotten. Our relationship with the trader has been repaired.
It is 931, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Disputed
Western Sea: Disputed
Eastern Sea: Disputed
Southern Sea: Moskurger
Broadsword: 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. Removable pommel for throwing.Cheap.
War Axe: 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. Cheap.
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. Obsolete.
Gambeson: A leather armoring doublet designed to go with plate armor. Helps protect against arrows.
Chain Mail: Officer armour. Expensive, due to the steel required. Very effective against most weapons. Expensive. Obsolete.
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. Cheap.
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.
Steam Engine: A highly inefficient, dangerous, expensive, and enormously heavy steam engine. Uses a steam turbine to generate power. Currently Experimental. Very Expensive.
HC1: AKA the "Extreme-Range Hybrid Cannon". Arstotzka's first cannon. Uses a fireball and steam to propel a fist-sized iron ball Long-Range. Inaccurate, but can be loaded quickly. Has a tendency to crack. Expensive.
HC1-E: The Elite version of the HC1. Fires at Extreme-Range. Uses rifling, ballistics, and an overall better and more consistent design. More expensive to produce, deployment is limited. Very Expensive.
HC2: A failed attempt to upgrade the HC1 with auto-cooling barrel and ambitious steam recycler. Explodes or breaks after every shot.
Arzotskan Academy for Adequate Apprenticeship: Basic magic training for apprentices. Allows them to be more useful on the offensive. Very prestigious. Actively recruits new apprentices.Expensive.
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort. Obsolete.
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. Can induce snow in the jungle during the winter, freezing rain in the summer. A National Effort.
Anti-Magic Charm: A magically enchanted quartz crystal. Hums loudly in the presence of magic, and prevents magic from being conjured inside the very limited range. Expensive.
Anti-Magic Bomb Arrows: Arrows that explode on contact with magic into red-hot, razor-sharp crystal shards.
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. Expensive.
Dogwood Wand: Wand that allows the user to accelerate the growth of a single plant to a limited degree. Wands are cheap to make, but don't last very long. Cheap.
Anti-Mages: Mage hunters equipped with longbows, anti-magic charms, anti-magic arrows, and the best armor we can give them. Excel at sniping enemy mages.
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.
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. Obsolete.
Minor Fireball: Smaller version of fireball. Doesn't cause collateral damage, but doesn't explode on impact. Expensive. Obsolete.
Streamlined Fireball: Hurls small balls of fire that explode on impact. Devastating against massed troops. Cheap.
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.
As inspired by the "Behavior Rule" attached to Sensei's new Arms Race thread, I've decided to adapt them to Wand Race. Most of these are blatantly copied from his thread, and I expect them to be followed. After running this game for a few weeks now and following the last Arms Race, I'm aware that they're prone to attracting bad attitudes. Keeping the game smooth, on schedule, and argument free is probably a greater concern of mine than whatever you are arguing about: I expect you to be mature and adopt the same attitude.
1. Don't be salty! If at any time you find yourself having an urge to mouth off at another player, step away from the keyboard, go outside, and take a breath. Seriously. Players who repeatedly get angry or passive aggressive will be asked to leave. If you have an issue with the way the game is being run, DO NOT expect a tantrum to get you what you want.
2. Keep in mind that I am not a historian, so there will sometimes be mistakes and inaccuracies. Even in the best of circumstances, minor inconsistencies are a common occurrence. If some piece of equipment is imbalanced/unrealistic, I might consider changing it if you bring it up once -AND ONLY ONCE- and politely state your argument. However, I will err on the side of consistency with my own game, I do not like to go back and change things. Sometimes it is more important to simply keep the game running smoothly than other concerns.
3. Do not accuse me of being biased. Do not accuse me of being biased. I put a lot of effort into being objective and fair and being accused otherwise is pretty fucking irritating. On multiple occasions this has nearly derailed the game and made me want to abandon it all together. I have absolutely no more patience for this, and if you do it YOU WILL BE BANNED.
4. Do not spy on the other team's private thread. Trust me, playing fair is more fun for everyone! If you suffer from a lack of self-control and cannot stop yourself from spying, keep it to yourself. Do not use it to metagame. And do not post what you saw in the central thread. This has happened multiple times now, and if you do it you will be banned with no warning.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 392793 times)