Note: Battle reports are now the same for both sides - save for some very select details, if needed. It's simply too much effort to make the reports unique for each side.
Combat for 933The Taiga sees Moskurg lose ground.
Moskurg continues their campaign of firebombing Arstotzkan camps at night from high in the sky. Unlike before, Arstotzkans now have a method of defending themselves. Once a raid begins, Arstotzkan apprentices fire off multiple flares, lighting up the sky and clearly illuminating the Moskurg raiders. Moskurg has developed a new variant of their carpet; nicknamed the "War Pegasus", it can now float safely outside of arrow range. This makes Arstotzka's anti-magic bomb arrows ineffective at bringing down the invaders, but Arsotzka has also developed a new anti-carpet weapon. Trained falcons, equipped with small anti-magic gems to keep them safe from magical influence, quickly soar upwards on the updrafts caused by the numerous fires and attack the carpet-riding wizards. They are far faster than their new carpets, and the anti-magic gems sap magic from the carpets enchantments. It's not enough to make them fall out of the air, but it does make it difficult to flee once attacked. Moskurg wizards start carrying sabres and bows to combat the new falcons, but the inability to cast Lucky Strike on themselves and the blinding light from the flares makes it difficult to slash at the ball of feathers and talons scratching their face. The freezing temperatures in the Taiga once again sees the poorly-equipped Moskurgs freezing on guard duty, making Arstotzkan raids more effective. Over all, both sides do the same amount of damage and neither has a Raiding Advantage.
Moskurgs forces in the Taiga also suffers from being cut to two-thirds of their original size as a portion of the army goes off after the meteor - this, combined with Arstotzka's natural cold advantage, longer-range artillery, and anti-carpet falcons sees them pushed back to the jungle. al-Mutriqa, sadly, was not enough to hold the line.
Arstotzka regains full control of the Taiga. In the Mountains, Arstotzka has their garrison cut down to half their size as they go off to chase down the fallen meteor.
Moskurg makes quick work of the diminished garrison size - it's a tough, uphill slog, but they manage to regain a foothold in the mountains. The cold, longer-ranged artillery, and falcons cause lots of casualties, but Moskurg simply has more men to throw at the castle walls. Their ballistas hit with uncanny accuracy and their carpet troops - though now fewer in size - are more nimble. Ballistas hammer the walls and fire rains down from above, and Moskurg pushes into the sparsely-defended territory.
Moskurg gains ground in the Mountains. Arstotzka loses their Metal Ore bonus.The plains are close.
Much like the Taiga, raids see neither side gaining an overt advantage, although Moskurg does slightly more damage, giving them a Minor Raiding Advantage.
Arstotzka has longer-range artillery, despite having a limited number of them. They've also developed a rudimentary method of zeroing their area of effect; apprentices move into line of sight of Moskurg forces, observe where the artillery shells land, and use colored flares to communicate with the artillery operators further back. They're on the flat ground, and at long range, so their spotting isn't always effective, but Moskurg soon learns that "Green Flare" means they need to move out of the area. Unfortunately, being in range of Moskurg artillery and shooting off big, obvious flares means the apprentices are often killed as ballistas home in on them instantly. War Pegasi are still doing a decent job of hitting artillery in strike missions, and being outside of anti-magic bomb range means they don't have to deal with flak. However, they rarely do much more than knock out a few long-range HA1 artillery cannons before the falcons take flight and attack. In the day they do a better job of hacking the birds away, but a falcon attack is usually enough to drive them away. Their Teletalk wands aren't very useful for communicating at long-range, so War Pegasus squads are often on their own during raids. Additionally, Arstotzka's new primitive manner of large-scale coordination gives them a better method of coordinating attacks and barrages, albeit in a limited manner. They are without some of their heavy-calvery this year in the plains, so quick dashes across no-mans land is met with more failed attacks than normal. Overall, a bunch of people die and neither side gains a clear advantage.
Neither side gains ground in the plains.Having worked out a logistics error, all of Arstotzka's ships are now steam ships loaded up with their HC1-E cannons. They're faster than Moskurgs ships, and though their cannons aren't as accurate they can match Moskurg for range and are just as devastating as their firebombs. Moskurg has taken to putting a War Pegasi on each ship, and once engaged with the enemy the mage stays long enough to enchant the ballista with a single Lucky Strike before taking to the air. Their firebombs are still effective against their ships, and now that they're faster they can often catch them. However, Arstotzkan falcons bring down the flying wizards often enough that the battles are a wash. The fact that the carpet can't stay aloft very long before needing re-enchanting means they can't do strike missions at beyond line of sight ranges, although they can spot Arsotzkan ships before Arstotzka can locate them. The flares are useful in coordinating large fleets of ships, better than Moskurgs short-range teletalk wands even. They do give away Arstotzka's position when they use them, though, so it's limited to combat situations. Overall, neither side has a clear advantage and a lot of people die.
Neither side gains ground in the Eastern or Western Seas. Revision Credit!!!Moskurg sends a third of their Taiga invasion force.
Arstotzka sends half their Mountain force, Myark, and a quarter of their Plains Calvary.
It's not even a close fight; Arstotzka outnumbers Moskurg quite soundly, and Myark helps secure their victory. They come back at the end of the year with a nugget of
Meteoric Ore, retrieved from the Red Meteor. They may perform one extra Design this year that uses the
Meteoric Ore to create a National Effort artifact. This Design will
not contribute to their understanding of magic, and any attempt to recreate what they make with this design will require its own Design and be subject to its own roll.
It is 934, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Central Mountains: 3/4 Arstotzka, 1/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Arstotzka
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 expensive and enormously heavy steam engine. Uses a steam turbine to generate power. Uses PSF's and a steam recycler with enchanted gold etchings to manage heat. Very Expensive.
SPB "Fog-O-War": Boat using two steam engines for power. Slightly faster than Moskurg ships. Tends to sink after the first hit. 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. Utilizes enchanted gold etching for barrel cooling. Advanced barrel manufacturing makes them cheaper. Expensive.
Equalizer: Anti-magic shell. Dispells all magic around it. Difficult to produce and fire, dangerous to use. National Effort.
HC2: A failed attempt to upgrade the HC1 with auto-cooling barrel and ambitious steam recycler. Explodes or breaks after every shot. Very Expensive. Obsolete.
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.
Flare: A small, harmless fireball. Comes in many different colors. 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 386901 times)