Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Tack]

3am... Must... type.. something.

It is a strange thing how great and terrible the power of a single generation is upon a society. Humans have long memories- humanity on the other hand forgets quickly. Few and fewer are the original veterans who stormed the barricades in violent revolt. More common are those who sat by and clapped quietly on the sidelines, seeing the tiny change in their fortunes as a reasonable price to pay for all of the blood on their shoes. However, as the elderly become venerable, the only thing more insistent than their hawking and grumbling is the wilful ignorance of those younger. War, a wearying and grief-stricken affair, becomes almost rote. Paperwork filed for the rights of workers and transfer of funds, now mostly used for the appropriation of massed humanity, and the development of more and more weapons to continue the fight.
The new regime is discovered to be just as bloodthirsty as the last, but more driven, and with the mandate to remove all opposition to the party with eager suddenness. Eyes which thirty years ago might have burned bright with fever turn dull, as tongues which may have stood upon corners and spat fury and incitement grow heavy. When a cultural identity of soft clay fresh from a political upheaval is then moulded only by hate, propaganda and three decades of war, that which would be regarded as a sham soon becomes terrifying reality. Children in militant classes recite the Wrethain Oaths of Bureauracracy, now moulded to show party support from those too young to understand the implications. The Glorious Revolution and the 'Burning Week' now a butchered and gnarled story of vilification for the regime before, whilst the aged and weary speak softly amongst themselves about the children they miss, and a time when they would have even had the freedom to gather in sedition.

The war machine does not grow sodden and rusty despite being matted with blood and powder, but grows ever hungrier. The fist of bureaucracy, given cruel opportunity and terrible purpose, tightens ever more around a society now too indoctrinated to know the horror of their toil. Information is now class-A illegal goods, and those in possession find themselves inflicted horrible punishment as a crowd claps and cheers, dressed in coats and hats echoing the stylish design of the heroes who die in droves on distant spires.

[NUKE9.13]

Hmm. I had imagined that the revolution happened quite some time before the war, not in living memory.

[Tack]

Oh. Now that I think about it I think it might have been half a century.

[NUKE9.13]

I mean, you're painting a pretty godsdamned dystopian view of Wreth there. I don't think Wreth is or should be a utopia, but literally forcing teenagers to get pregnant is, uh, not something that I like to imagine happens in Wreth.
There's also the thing about party loyalty... what party? There is only the Bureaucracy. Politics don't come into play.

[Tack]

Forced? Nah, more like the baby boomers. We’ve got an exact number on the amount of soldiers lost, but I don’t really know the population of a spire so I kind of just went full USSC with it.
But also that’s mostly why I’ve left that part out. Too dark.

Also re: party- there’s currently one group of people who are informing all of our military, civil and intellectual decisions, and they’re operating with complete freedom and no oversight.
You tell me.

[NUKE9.13]

Also re: party- there’s currently one group of people who are informing all of our military, civil and intellectual decisions, and they’re operating with complete freedom and no oversight.
You tell me.

...what?
Do you mean us? That's breaking the fourth wall. In-universe, the designers are just as constrained by the bureaucracy as everyone else.
If you don't mean us, then your vision of the bureaucracy is wildly different from mine. Because the whole point is that nobody has complete freedom, that nobody operates without oversight.

[Tack]

I do mean us. I wouldn’t call it fourth wall-breaking so much as I don’t see a screen and a UI between us and our decisions. We submit a design, the engineers bring results to us. Clearly we have some variety of avatarship in the game. Kasgyre chose to make themselves the R&D team- I make the assumption that we’re the communist oligarchs.

[NUKE9.13]

Well, needless to say, that's not how I see things. I imagine that our decisions are abstract things; in-universe, the decisions are made by multiple people and ratified before happening.

Also, Wreth isn't communist. I'm pretty sure about that. The existence of a wealth upper class has been mentioned before.

[Tack]

*smirk* Communists don't have a wealthy upper class?

[NUKE9.13]

More event stuff:

Wreth has always had an artistic side. Surprising, isn't it? Stuffy bureaucrats surely don't care about unquantifiable art? But it is for exactly that reason that art flourished following the revolution; being unquantifiable, art went (mostly) unregulated, providing a means of expression for those who didn't quite fit in with the bureaucracy. Poetry, sculpture, and mosaics were all popular in the years leading up to the war. A sufficient number of people were enamoured with the resultant artwork that far from trying to supress it, the bureaucracy encouraged it, granting notable artists PPPs (Proxy Paperwork Permits, allowing for duplicate and triplicate copies of forms to be filled out by a proxy from the Department of Proxies) to give them more time to pursue their craft. Though, of course, there was a distinction drawn between art and utility; official documents remained formal and unadorned, and as the war neared, weaponry was produced in practical, efficient forms.
Like most things, the war changed art. Yet, in an odd twist of fate, it has not reduced its influence. If anything, its influence has grown. For as the rigid structure of the bureaucracy was battered by the winds of war, the artistic world, bottled up in high pressure in its little corner, seeped into the cracks. As the resources dedicated to the war effort grew, it became possible for art lovers to direct a portion of their budget to artists, who were hired as 'Morale Improving Adornment Consultants'. The once spartan weaponry started to grow ostentatious; see the Eastern Cave Dragun and its- admittedly beautiful, but entirely redundant- bronze decorations, or the painted prows of the Windriders- unofficial additions by vain captains-, or the uniforms of the Marines (for whom stealth is a wasted effort, given the difficulty of hiding a PLACE).
Likewise, as infrastructure springs up to support the war, the new buildings provide an excellent location for upcoming artists to showcase their skills. 'Human Emotional Efficiency' expenditures rose as budgetmen dedicated their time to military pursuits, with less time to go over the costs of other projects. As a result, newly built offices are filled with statuary, every floor a mosaic.
It is ironic that Kasgyrites bemoan their own flamboyant spire becoming grey and utilitarian, whilst the grey and utilitarian Wreth grows flamboyant.

Let us not fool ourselves; Wreth is not a classless utopia. Though the bureaucracy treats everyone the same, status and wealth still determine one's position in society.
Whilst noble titles were rendered void after the fall of the tyrants, the upper class retained most of their property and connections. They could still afford the best education, earning themselves the best positions in the bureaucracy, as department heads and first-class bureaucrats. Their capacity to abuse this power was greatly restricted, however, which long chafed those amongst them who remembered the old days. They celebrated the advent of war, sending favoured children to serve as officers, to earn the glory and respect they considered their birthright. Attitudes changed when said children failed to return from the front, and whilst they continued to support the war, their attentions pivoted to Wreth's modernising industry. Handing military command to the middle class, they instead secured their positions as captains of industry, buying up land in newly reclaimed spires, sending children to the Khipha University, magnifying their wealth with the profits of war.
The middle class flourished in Wreth, for obvious reasons. Educated men and women were in high demand in the bureaucracy, and their newly secured rights and equality enabled them to grow their businesses without the upper class seizing their property on flimsy pretexts once it became too valuable. Initially hesitant to support the war for fear it would disrupt their security, their fears proved well founded, and they regarded the erosion of bureaucratic ideals with dismay. Some amongst them found oppportunities for advancement in the military, becoming officers, earning themselves wealth and status- creating a new military class who may one day pose a threat to the bureaucracy.
The lower classes... sort of benefited from the transition to bureaucracy? The need for literacy meant that basic schooling was provided to all free of cost, raising the education level of the poorest citizens by leaps and bounds. However, this has not necessarily brought them wealth or happiness. They still work hard for little pay, except now they also need to spend much of their time filling out paperwork. At least the abuses they once suffered under the Tyrants have been (mostly) eliminated, a fact of which they are frequently reminded. The general reaction to the war was one of patriotic fervor, and an eagerness to join the military and teach the evil spiders a lesson. Casualties have been low enough relative to the total population that said fervor has remained steady. The growing and modernising industry has benefited them to a degree, although the upper classes who own said industry have been doing their very best to ensure their employees work just as hard for equal pay, even as they produce more goods than before.

[Tack]

So i’m doing a one month social media thing and sadly this forum has fell on the wrong side of the line.
So I guess i’ll see you guys in two fortnights.

[Draignean]

Burned Mountain

The portion of the fleet sent to Burned Mountain logs no enemy activity, not on the spire or in the aerosphere around it. The only event of note is a sudden windchange which forced the Vicious Quill's night crew to take emergency maneuvers in order to avoid being in the path of the Burned Mountain's ash plume. Thankfully, the vessel's superior maneuverability allowed to to move well out of the way before any harm was done.


Spire Kasgyre

The report from the Crystalclear is largely nonexistent. The Captain gives a gung-ho acknowledgment of his orders, rushes to attack Spire Kasgyre, and doesn't survive long enough to send anything back. The Black Ink's report on the situation is more illuminating. The Crystalclear entered the Aerosphere running hot and shroud's out, preparing to attack the Spire with every available weapon. Spire Kasgyre, however, spotted the intruder coming and fired at what appeared to be roughly 150% the expected range of an LAC. This opening salvo consisted entirely of the short pulse beams noted earlier, consisted of more than a dozen individual lances, and eliminated the Crystalclear in the opening salvo.

The Captain of the Black Ink reiterates that point, underlining the section about the new weapons destroying the Windrider in a single burst of firepower. However, the Black Ink logs the new expected range of the enemy weapon and moves back in order to compensate.

The move substantially extends, but does not save, the life of the Black Ink's captain. The reports from the Black Ink are, sadly, incomplete. The captain's detailed reports cut out about two-thirds of the way through the year, and no other word is received from her. Though the circumstances are unknown, command assumes that she was lost with all hands.

The captain's reports prior to that point, however, are invaluable. Kasgyre appears to have been rushing an infrastructure project on considerable scale, reconstructing and improving their existing dockyards as well as adding numerous new and larger piers and construction gantries. In addition to the new docks, the captain spotted several dedicated sections of reinforced structure, armed with multiple new cannon mounts. These likely would have remained hidden, except for the fact that they opened fire during the Crystalclear's ill fated attack run.

The Kasgyrite fleet is also ID'd as it returns, apparently from their home spires. Currently, it appears to consist of a pair of their Vipers as well as a half dozen skiffs. However, they appear to have modified the designs with a mistcolored camo-paint on their tops, and lighter cloud color across the bottom.

The captain's final entries note that she also spotted the larger vessel sighted earlier around Verdant Vista, although it appeared to have been given the same mist-colored camouflage paint.

More detailed information, however, was lost with the good captain. The circumstances of her final battle are unknown, but she's posthumously awarded the triple quill for stalwart devotion to completing her assigned paperwork in the face of mortal peril.


Blackstone

The additional Skiffs from the Three Captains are an unnecessary reinforcement at this point. The demi-spire's guns have been silenced and the ships are primarily additional patrol boats to watch for Kasgyrites trying to run additional reinforcements into the Spire on the sly.

Nothing comes of their search efforts, however, and no retaliatory fleet shows up either. The air around Blackstone is quiet, waiting.

The Imafuku arrives on schedule, disgorging reinforcements and fresh White Powder for the marines to snort use for their rifles.

Inside the Spire

Inside Blackstone, however, the air is less quiet.

The ground captain is damn glad for the reinforcements, and gladder still for the promise of more. The rifles of Squads M and L are failing, with rot getting into the barrels and corrosion getting worse. They're pressed through to the end of the year, but discarded after that as scrap. Worse still, the Wrethan's appear to have gotten their militia out of its shambles. Instead of unruly mobs dispersed easily with rifle fire and the occasional cannon blast, they now have rough ranks and all carry improvised (though still utterly crude) weaponry. 

Granted, they're still mostly unruly mobs, and the ground captain notes that he's never actually seen more these 'militia' on the field than he has actual Kasgyrite marines. Squads B and M take the worst hits as the navigators, detecting traps and ambushes often at the cost of their lives. Still, their actions save the lives of many more men, and make the advance much more painless than it would otherwise be. Their rifles, while well suited to combating silk armored individuals or punching through the wooden shields the Kasgyrites used, are inadequate weapons for dealing with close quarters combat and the scouts, when discovered, frequently find themselves outgunned by the Kasgyrite pistols and pressed back by the numbers of their pick and spear wielding militia.

However, the scouts also report that a significant portion of the kasgyrites, more than half, are armed with nothing more than the slings they use to throw grenades and the same improvised weapons the militia uses. The slings they employ to throw chunks of cavern rock, still sometimes with deadly effect, but it's still rather heartening to see how poorly armed they are. However, they do appear to be increasing in number. Either the Kasgyrites are slipping the blockade, or something very strange is going on here.

The Anti-flankers have their work cut out for them, sending hails of bolts and the occasional aetheric cannon shot into the particularly perturbing shadows. With the scouts already calling safe paths, it's a much less lethal path than presented last time.

Kills: Approximately a squad of Kasgyrites. Several squads worth of militia.
Losses: Squad SOA, 25% of Squad M

Wreth has Gained Ground at Blackstone


Verdant Vista

Though far removed from the war, the Verdant Vista is grateful to be thought of and defended by the first generation of Meteor class skiffs.


The Haze Maze

The Haze Maze is the new staging ground of the War, and the Marge and the Shibboleth both make a run to the home Spire and return laden with marines.


Spire Wreth

The WOSV End of the Road is produced, along with two fresh new squads of marine infantry.


Event Outcome: Loss.


It is now the beginning the year 382 AR.

Spire Wreth's Production Stands At,
13(+1)/y Crystal, 37/70 Banked
19(+8)/y Ore, 29/135 banked
19(+2)/y Wood, 59/105 banked
10(+6)/y Silk, 47/80 banked

It is now the design and project maintenance phase. You have 5 dice to spend.

Spoiler: Projects (click to show/hide)

E.S.P: 6/20 | 2 Ore, 2 Crystal | Rushed 0 Times | 2O, 2C
Aether Forge 14/27 | - | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested
Stormprince-Class Destroyer: 6/20 | 3 Crystal +3 ore + 5 wood + 10 from any COW | Rushed 0 Times | Nothing Invested

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

The Calm: The calm is a region of the aerosphere with almost no wind beyond fleeting turbulence, and absolutely no aetheric currents. It's frigidly cold, and filled with fine red 'snow' that barely moves. Traversing it with a conventional vessel is impossible due to the lack of energy to fuel the lift and trim crystals.
The Everstorm: As the name suggests, the everstorm is a region of the aerosphere dominated by an enormous and eternal thunderstorm. It's a chaotic region of raging winds and surging aetheric energy that manifests in terrible bursts of prismatic flame. No conventional vessel could hope to survive the nightmarish storm conditions.

Wreth Territory

Haze-Maze
Marine Presence: K 0/8 |  W 1/8
--->Marines
---> Squad G (No Equip)
Territory: 0/4 | 4/4
Resources: 1C, 3O, 1W, 2S
Conditions: Deadly Gas Pockets, significant vertical shafts and steep tunnels.

Miner's Folly
Marine Presence: K 0/18 |  W 1/18
--->Marines
---> Squad G (No Equip)
Territory: 0/4 | 4/4
Resources: 1C, 6O, 0W, 1S
Conditions: Toxic Stone, Massive Caverns, pitch-black

The Verdant Vista
Marine Presence: K 0/18 |  W 0/18
Territory: 0/4 | 4/4
Resources: 1C, 0O, 8W, 2S
Conditions: Mostly earth and soil, Unstable pocket caves


The Belt

Three Captains
Marine Presence: K ?/20 |  W 12/20
--->Marines
---> Support Squad G:  Silk Vest (Officer) | Pincushion (2/4) | PLACE x 2 | Envenomed Bolts [50%
---> Squad SOE: - [75%] | PLACE x2 |  Pincushion 2/4
Territory: 0/4 | 4/4
Resources: 1C, 6O, 2W, 6S
Conditions: Kinetoluminescent Ores, Heavily Infested

Wrackspire
Marine Presence: K ?/12 |  W 0/12
Territory: ?/4 | 1/4
Resources: 3C, 4O, 4W, 2S
Conditions: Unstable Aetheric Phenomena, Broken Spire

Burned Mountain
Marine Presence: K ?/24 |  W 0/24
Territory: ?/4 | 0/4
Resources: 1C, 10O, 1W, 0S
Conditions: Inexplicably Molten Core, Hundreds of narrow tunnels and small galleries.

The Unfinished
Marine Presence: K 0/0 |  W 0/0

Territory: ?/4 | ?/4
Resources: 0C, 0O, 0W, 0S
Conditions: Destroyed.

Kasgyrite Territory
Blackstone
Marine Presence: K ?/14 |  W 8/14
Territory: 1/4 | 3/4
---> Squad A: Rifles (4/4) | ECD
---> Squad B: Rifles (4/4)
---> Squad C: Rifles 2/4 | Pincushions 2/4 | Envenomed Bolts | ECD
---> M: - [75%]
---> L: | 1x MOVE PLACE
---> Defense Squad D:  Silk Vest (Officer) | Suppressor (2/4) | Gauntlets (2/4) | BLOCK | PLACE x1 | Envenomed Bolts
---> Defense Squad E:  Silk Vest (Officer) | Pincushion (2/4) | Gauntlets (2/4) | BLOCK | PLACE x1
Resources: 1C, 5O, 2W, 0S
Conditions: Rocky, large caverns, very dark

Spoiler: Ships (click to show/hide)

WOSV End of the Road - Windrider Class
Loadout
10 IS EMERALD Light Aether Cannons [4 unit Broadsides, 2 chase guns]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Select Lift Crystals
16 IS Trim Crystals
8 reams of webbing
Armored Skin 
2 Units of Copper Armor
Location: Spire Wreth
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Chimera - Windrider Class
Loadout
8 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons+ (Flanged Heatsinks, Itshana Select) [4 unit Broadsides]
1 Dragun Cannon+ (Sapshot) [Specialized Dragun Bow Mount]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
12 Itshana Select Trim Crystals
4 Itshana Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
8 reams of webbing
Armored Skin 
2 Unit of Armor
Location: Blackstone
Status: All papers are in order.

Comets - Skyskiff Class (x8)
Loadout
2 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons (Flanged Heat Sinks)
1 Very Small Select Core Crystal
1 Very Small Select Lift Crystal
4 Select Trim Crystals
2 reams of webbing
Location:  Blackstone
Status: All papers are in order.

Comets - Skyskiff Class (x1)
Loadout
2 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons (Flanged Heat Sinks)
1 Very Small Select Core Crystal
1 Very Small Select Lift Crystal
4 Select Trim Crystals
2 reams of webbing
Location: The Unfinished
Status: All papers are in order.

Meteors - Skyskiff Class (x3)
Loadout
2 IS EMERALD Light Aether Cannons
1 Very Small IIS Core Crystal
1 Very Small Select Lift Crystal
4 Select Trim Crystals
2 reams of webbing
Location: Verdant Vista
Status: All papers are in order.

Comets - Skyskiff Class (x2)
Loadout
2 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons (Flanged Heat Sinks)
1 Very Small Select Core Crystal
1 Very Small Select Lift Crystal
4 Select Trim Crystals
2 reams of webbing
Location: Burned Mountain
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Longlast - Windrider Class
Loadout
8 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons+ (Flanged Heatsinks, Itshana Select) [4 unit Broadsides]
1 Dragun Cannon+ (Sapshot) [Specialized Dragun Bow Mount]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
12 Itshana Select Trim Crystals
4 Itshana Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
8 reams of webbing
Armored Skin 
2 Unit of Armor
Location:  Blackstone
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Payoff - Windrider Class
Loadout
8 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons+ (Flanged Heatsinks, Itshana Select) [4 unit Broadsides]
1 Dragun Cannon+ (Sapshot) [Specialized Dragun Bow Mount]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
12 Itshana Select Trim Crystals
4 Itshana Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
8 reams of webbing
Armored Skin 
2 Unit of Armor
Location:  Blackstone
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Deadline - Windrider Class
Loadout
8 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons+ (Flanged Heatsinks, Itshana Select) [4 unit Broadsides]
1 Dragun Cannon+ (Sapshot) [Specialized Dragun Bow Mount]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
12 Itshana Select Trim Crystals
4 Itshana Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
8 reams of webbin
Armored Skin 
2 Unit of Armor
Location:  Burned Mountain
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Vicious Quill - Windrider Class
Loadout
8 SUCKERPUNCH Light Aether Cannons+ (Flanged Heatsinks, Itshana Select) [4 unit Broadsides]
1 Dragun Cannon+ (Sapshot) [Specialized Dragun Bow Mount]
1 Medium Ikusasa Core Crystal
2 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
12 Itshana Select Trim Crystals
4 Itshana Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
8 reams of webbing
Armored Skin 
2 Unit of Armor
Location:   Burned Mountain
Status: All papers are in order.

WOSV Marge - Transport Barge
Loadout
1 Small Core Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
1 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
2 Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
1 reams of webbing
Carrying: 4/6
Squad F: Rifles 4/4 | Cutlasses 4/4
Squad H: Rifles 4/4 | Cutlasses 4/4
Location: Haze Maze
Status:  All papers are in order.

WOSV Shibboleth - Transport Barge
Loadout
1 Small Core Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement + Ikusasa)
1 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
2 Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
1 reams of webbing
Carrying: 4/6
Squad I: Rifles 4/4 | Cutlasses 4/4
Squad J:  Suppressors 4/4 | Envenomed Bolts 4/4 | Cutlasses 4/4
Location: Haze Maze
Status:  All papers are in order.

WOSV Ledger - Transport Barge
Loadout
1 Small Core Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement+ Ikusasa)
1 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
2 Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
1 reams of webbing
Carrying: 0/6
Location: Spire Wreth
Status:  All papers are in order.

WOSV Imafuku - Transport Barge
Loadout
1 Small Core Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement+ Ikusasa)
1 Small Basic Lift Crystal+ (Itshana Refinement)
2 Trim Crystals+ (Itshana Refinement)
1 reams of webbing
Carrying: 0/6
Location: Blackstone
Status:  All papers are in order.

Spoiler: Infantry (click to show/hide)

Marines 11

Spoiler: Misc. Goods (click to show/hide)

1x Prototype ESP Transmitter
3x Prototype ESP Receiver

Current Technology

[johiah]

So what's next on our agenda? Finish existing projects?

1 die to ESP: (1) Johiah
3 die to Stormprince: (1) Johiah

I dunno if we want to put one in aetherforge or save for a revision, but this seems decent.

[NUKE9.13]

1 die to ESP: (1) Johiah
3 die to Stormprince: (1) Johiah

Spend 4 dice: (1) Johiah
Spend 0 dice: (1) NUKE9.13

[milo christiansen]

1 die to ESP: (1) Johiah
3 die to Stormprince: (1) Johiah

Spend 4 dice: (1) Johiah
Spend 0 dice: (2) NUKE9.13, Milo

Let us get a PL started first. That way we can make better plans.