Print

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

[andrea]

A near year has arrived. Begin Design phase

[Happerry]

So given we're winning at long range again, what we really need to do this turn is counter the enemy staff weapons and then we should be able to start really pushing the enemy back. As such, I'm going to bring this design up again.

Aegis of Zeus
In one of the battles we have fought with the foul children of Thebes, a lightning bolt struck, the very face of Zeus's disfavor of our foes. And when that bolt struck, the men reported that it caused the projectiles of the strange fire-staves our enemy uses to bend in mid flight! Obviously, some stolen secret of Zeus (thus why he dislikes them probably) is at work here, which is why it can be effected by Zeus's power. Now it is well known that, when forged in certain manners, orichalcum can be caused to release sparks.

As such, in order to claim the Protection of Zeus, we shall refine these recipes until we successfully craft orichalcum infused with the freely granted power of the Sky-God, and then use this new orichalcum to design shields for our high guards. Shields able to trump the enemy's power with power of their own!

Aegis of Zeus (1): Happerry

[Madman198237]

We could attempt to do Orichalcum that, after it is forged and cools down, has a very high specific heat. That would mean the enemy would have to shoot every man a lot before the armor would heat up to dangerous levels (and it would allow our men to ditch the armor after it is heated but before it kills them).

[dgr11897]

Steam tank. Orichalcum armor amphibious assault vehicle. Something that can get our troops where they need to be and take out their sky temples.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

The Blessing of Ares: In an ancient temple long buried, a secret hides. A method of treating orichalcum turns it into a powder. Mixed with certain herbs, it creates a potent drug which enhances the strength and endurance of those who ingest it.

The Wrath of Ares: Experimentation with the formula at the behest of Achizno has yielded strange fruit. The drug turned flammable, and the smoke drives those who inhale it into a maddening fury where they cannot tell friend from foe. And it even effects the great stone giants of the Egyptians...

[NUKE9.13]

Koneio Armour: Remember Statheros? Died two years ago after tragically consuming twelve bushels of hemlock? His only piece of property, an Orichalcum barrel, was confiscated by the state. Anyway, totally unrelated to that, we've been working on developing heat-absorbing Orichalcum.
This miraculous material can absorb large quantities of heat, without actually becoming hot. (How does this work? Who knows. I mean, maybe Statheros did, but we can't ask him now, can we?) Armour made of it should prove resilient against Egypt's accursed 'sun staves', giving our soldiers a chance to survive getting into melee range. Should the cost of this armour be too high to equip all our forces with it, we can instead have formations of troops march towards the enemy, with the front rank(s) wearing Koneio Armour (and holding Koneio Aspides), shielding those behind them from (the worst of the) sun staff barrage. Or something like that; obviously we leave the exact details of deployment to our capable generals.

So, this is what we were working on before we got into improving our mines. It is a counter, but I think even if it is only somewhat effective, it should still give us a considerable advantage, as Egypt has been entirely ignoring melee combat. And if we can't pull it off, then we might as well accept that this is going to become magical WWI.

E: Once we have the heat-absorbing alloy, we can revise birb armour to give our cavalry more staying power. I think this is the way to go.

Koneio Armour: (1) NUKE9.13

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Koneio Armour: (2) NUKE9.13, Urist

[Happerry]

Dudes, come on. I know not all of you agree with my vote, but please don't delete it.

Aegis of Zeus (1): Happerry
Koneio Armour: (2) NUKE9.13, Urist

[NUKE9.13]

Whoops, sorry. Totally missed that :/

[NUKE9.13]

So, I've actually changed my mind after re-reading old turns. Seems our armour can already tank one or two staff shots- this can obviously be improved, but it's not quite as bad as I thought.
Rather, the utter defeat of our birbary is of greater concern to me. They have great potential, they just need more work:

Breeding Improved Rideable Birds: So, Aetokos are great, there's no denying that. But it is possible that they could be better. As it stands, they are somewhat cowardly, and lacking in tactical finesse. Our efforts thus far have been stymied by our reliance on essentially wild birds- trained from birth, yes, but not trained from before birth. But now, several years of intense selective breeding have paid off, and a new generation of warbirds is ready to take to the field.
The new generation is stronger, faster, and bigger than wild Aetokos. Through a combination of breeding and improved training regimes, their cowardice has been all but eliminated. Said training has also improved their coordination, letting them pull off more complex manoeuvres (Such as luring Egyptian chariots into a charge, then having the formation split to either side and turn back to encircle the less agile chariots, or making quick & unpredictable turns when moving within range of artillery).
Equipment has also been improved. Orichalcum scale armour and a 'helmet' provide protection against enemy attacks, increasing the number of sun-staf-shots required to take them down- just one extra hit represents a lot of ground covered against the slow-to-reload staves. Metal claw-coverings, carefully made so as not to impede movement, make the bird even deadlier. Further increasing damage output, riders' spears and bows have been tweaked & rebalanced to make them easier to wield from birdback.

Aegis of Zeus (1): Happerry
Koneio Armour: (1) Urist
BIRB: (1) NUKE9.13

[dgr11897]

Aegis of Zeus (1): Happerry
Koneio Armour: (1) Urist
BIRB: (2) NUKE9.13, dgr

[Man of Paper]

Aegis of Zeus (1): Happerry
Koneio Armour: (1) Urist
BIRB: (3) NUKE9.13, dgr, MoP

[andrea]

(Hard)(4,2)-1=5  Average
The best, strongest, most well behaved and largest Aetokos weren’t actually sent to war. Rather, they were kept for breeding, and it is now giving fruit with the second generation of Aetokos reaching the age to serve as mounts. While it is no revolution, performance is generally improved. Much more noticeable is the rest of the programme: knowing the realities of the battlefield, the tactics and dangers needed, the weaknesses and strengths of aetokos, now you can actually train them to behave as effectively and orderly as human soldiers. Well, almost. You practice with fake explosions to simulate the battlefield and dampen their fear reactions, you teach them discipline, and you practice mounted tactics.

Of course, training and conditioning is helped by a bird-adapted version of equipment, including more suitable bows and spears and most importantly a bird sized version of armour, which you can only afford thanks to the increased output of mines. Here dawns the age of heavy Birbvalry.
Armoured Aetokos [4 wood, 2 ore, 2 orichalcum][Expensive]

Spoiler:  Atlanteans equipment (click to show/hide)

Oricalchum tipped spear – A pole of hardwood with a strong orichalcum tip , this weapon shines in formation fights and keeps enemies at a distance. It can pierce most things rather easily, and the tip is barbed to produce more grievous wounds. [1 wood, 1 ore, 1 Orichalcum] [Cheap]

Bone composite bow – Made of bone and wood, it can propel arrows at fairly large distance and have good piercing capabilities. However, it takes a long time to manufacture, due to the need to join together layers of different materials [complex][2 wood, 1 ore] [Expensive]

Aesystrofi’s bow – An orichalcum bow, it is slimmer and lighter than the composite bow while being easier to manufacture, but it requires fancier materials. It is longer ranged than its mundane counterpart [1 wood, 2 ore, 2 orichalcum][Cheap]

Polianthion – A weapon capable of propelling a large bolt against enemies at range, using springs of orichalcum and a system of winches  to load, store and release the energy. It can shoot powerfully at similar ranges to the Egyptian cannon, or even farther at the cost of accuracy [2 wood, 2 ore, 2 orichalcum][Cheap]

High guard armour – A full set of armour and shield made entirely of orichalcum. It makes the user impervious to most common weapons. It is light and durable, thanks to the extraordinary properties of orichalcum, and it is treated to glow brightly with Atlantean glory. [2 ore 2 Orichalcum] [Cheap]

Protection of the bigger fish a fairly well crafted set of scale armour, it covers torso, legs and arms. While somewhat inferior to high guard armour, it still offers good protection against both slashing and piercing, especially from the front, which uses orichalcum scales. It comes with a wooden shield with a metal rim. [2 Wood 2 Ore 1 Orichalcum] [Cheap]

Penteconter – a slim ship made of thick wood, with an orichalcum plated ram in the front. It can house several warriors on the deck, while below deck the crew mans the oars, allowing short term burst of speed. Main propulsion system is a large square sail. Provides 1 TC [2 wood, 2 ore, 2 Orichalcum][Cheap]
-Polianthion Penteconter – a version of the base ship equipped with a pair of deck mounted polianthion, it can engage at range [2 wood, 3 ore, 3 orichalcum][ Expensive]

Aetokos - A very large flightless bird, it is the mount of choice of your army. Very fast and well trained if not particularly robust, it allows your soldiers to move on the battlefield at great speeds and perform great charges. It can be deadly in a fight, and with armour it can charge through shots that would otherwise cripple it. Thanks to good saddles, your soldiers are comfortable while riding and perform better. [4 wood] [Expensive]
-Armoured: [4 wood, 2 ore, 2 Orichalcum][Expensive]

Mule caravan – many mules, in a line, delivering good carried in their saddle bags. The mule is perfectly adapted to uneven terrain that would make carts less easy to use. And you don’t have to embark a cart on ships. Provides 1 TC [1 wood] [Cheap]

Begin Revision

[NUKE9.13]

Steropean Bolthead: So, remember when we accidentally created lightning whilst experimenting with spring Orichalcum? Well, we've found a use for it. Turns out that Egypt's alien technology doesn't like lightning. We don't know why, exactly, and whilst philosophers are very interested in the myriad of theories explaining it, all we really care about are results. Which are thus: applying lightning to Egyptian technology will, depending on the intensity, cause it to weaken, behave erratically, or fail outright. Small amounts of lightning can't really cause more than very minor interference, but we've developed a specialised head for the bolts fired by Polianthion- a hollow piece made of spark-Orichalcum that shatters on impact, releasing a burst of lightning. The non-solid nature of the projectiles mean they do less regular damage, but their ability to stop Egyptian machines in their tracks is a worthwhile tradeoff in some situations.

Well, I can't think of anything that needs revising. I'm not totally happy with the above suggestion, but barring any other suggestions, I'm going to vote for it.

Steropean Bolthead: (1) NUKE9.13

[Happerry]

Steropean Bolthead: (2) NUKE9.13, Happerry