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[WyrdByrd]

Kill them all
Good plan Ardent! I think it would be better to kill them instead, raise warrior zombies. I don’t think many will surrender. But we could get several thrall from asking for surrender (though we might not want to remind them of their eternal souls).

   True, we could obtain more fighting forces that way.  However, their value is not just as soldiers, but as symbols.  A saga in which the brave troops of the Spears of Cavana die to a man against the forces of evil is, for the Empire, the ideal loss.  Those fighters submitting to the very monsters they swore to destroy,  killing and dying in its name? That strikes a blow not just at  Canord, but across the nation.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

Also, I think I should explain something. The reason I made such a big deal about the Spears, when the battle was a total curbstomp (so far) is that there were very few outcomes were it did not become obvious that something was going on in Canord. And next time it might be a thousand men, or half a Legion going to investigate.

[Ardent Debater]

Kill them all
Good plan Ardent! I think it would be better to kill them instead, raise warrior zombies. I don’t think many will surrender. But we could get several thrall from asking for surrender (though we might not want to remind them of their eternal souls).

   True, we could obtain more fighting forces that way.  However, their value is not just as soldiers, but as symbols.  A saga in which the brave troops of the Spears of Cavana die to a man against the forces of evil is, for the Empire, the ideal loss.  Those fighters submitting to the very monsters they swore to destroy,  killing and dying in its name? That strikes a blow not just at  Canord, but across the nation.

I see your points and I agree, but I feel we should ask them to surrender because it doesn't cost us anything to do so, and trained soldiers are more effective than an equivalent number of undead.

Also, I think I should explain something. The reason I made such a big deal about the Spears, when the battle was a total curbstomp (so far) is that there were very few outcomes were it did not become obvious that something was going on in Canord. And next time it might be a thousand men, or half a Legion going to investigate.

Half a Legion? The cat's out of the bag, but in another three or four months of non-stop corruption, necromancy, and conscription, our forces will have grown tremendously.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

I would like to finish the battle tonight. Would "Offer them one chance to surrender, kill and reanimate anyone who does not" work as a consensus?

[Ardent Debater]

I would like to finish the battle tonight. Would "Offer them one chance to surrender, kill and reanimate anyone who does not" work as a consensus?

Absolutely.

[Kashyyk]

Sounds good to me.

I wonder what freshly murdered warrior will give us. Long dead warrior produced Wisp Wretches after all.

[Ardent Debater]

Sounds good to me.

I wonder what freshly murdered warrior will give us. Long dead warrior produced Wisp Wretches after all.

I'm a bit curious as to whether consuming a priest's soul confers a greater benefit than an ordinary human's.

[King Zultan]

I would like to finish the battle tonight. Would "Offer them one chance to surrender, kill and reanimate anyone who does not" work as a consensus?

Absolutely.

+1

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

As the pause stretches out, some of the Spears begin to cast a glance at the thorn wall, perhaps wondering if they can somehow burn their way through. Before they can do more than consider it, you stride over and speak. ”You are standing in defiance of my will. Kneel, or you will be knelt. And those who are knelt will truly know suffering.” You promise, your voice booming, making the air itself tremble as though in sheer terror of your wrath.

A few of the knights glance at the horses, who lie dead, their bellies slit open by dead rising from their graves at their commands. The soldiers retreat away a little from the grasping thorn wall. The priests try to pray, but the sheer malice they can sense in you still the words in their throats. A few begin to walk towards you – twelve of the archers, three of the soldiers, five of the knights, and a pair of priests. The others do not look at them with hatred. They understand. They don’t accept and they don’t forgive, but they know how hard it is to understand a demon’s wrath. They know the consequences of resistance.

The fools know nothing. As soon as your new followers have gained a bit of distance, you send a blast of dark energy into them, turning the pure, undiluted essence of evil into the vilest weapon you can make. Time seems to slow down as the bolt streaks from the tip of Desecrator, ripping at the air itself, making a horrid scream as it speeds forth, seemingly slicing through reality itself. The soldiers who remain, so proud and so brave, lift their shields, forming an interlocking barrier as the priests begin to chant a prayer of defiance and heroism…and your beam strikes. Shields vaporize, simply melting away, along with some of the limbs holding it. Where twenty men stood, now there is only scorched ground. Several more lie dead, their flesh mutated and malformed by exposure to such terrible force. Others are simply wounded and dazed.

Once more, there is a pause. Then the soldiers begin to charge, howling with rage. They slice through the zombies, charging directly towards you. But before they can reach you, the weeping sores intercept them, the fluid dripping from their flesh rotting away the armor, their teeth and nails making the flesh of their foes rot and die. Two more of the weeping sores die, but this seals that fate of the Spears as the resulting explosion makes all but one instantly drop dead. One young knight remains, clutching his sword, but he falls unconscious, his mind and body overwhelmed by the horrors he has witnessed.

Even with the casualties you have taken, you find your army stronger than before. And now some “holy warriors” are yours as well. People will certainly notice what has happened here - four hundred highly trained, armed, and motivated warriors do not simply vanish – but there may be some way to mitigate or prevent it. You have quite a few fresh corpses to worth with now too.
And you find you have gained a new trait. To face a demon and its army is a terrible thing, but now those who face you will know they cannot win. Their fear will sap their strength and weaken their will, making it easier for them to die or kneel.

Full status

 Current Status

Name: Klx-Dryklfx

Time: 5.75 months

Physical Might: 69+6 (+5 slaughter, - 8 energy blast)

Mental Might: ] 66+6 (+6 slaughter, -8 energy blast )

Followers

13 Boneys, 24 thralls, 200 hundred Spear-Thralls, 103 Sword-Thralls, and 114 Archer-Thrall, 8 seducers, 69 peasants, 2 guards, 10 Hunters, 1 High Seducer, 14 Doom-Seekers, 2 Doom-Seers, 12 archers, 2 priests, 5 knights, 3 soldiers

Servants

17 wisp wights, 8 armored brutes, 2 special armored brutes, 317 zombies, 67 skeletons, 50 wisp wretches, 82 weeping sores, 18 specters

Cults

The Broken
  Members: 13 Boneys, 200 hundred Spear-Thralls, 103 Sword-Thralls, and 114 Archer-Thrall, 15 Doom-Seekers, 2 Doom-Seers
  Resources: 47(-15 traps,- 20 armor for brutes +5/week demonic crops, +5/week iron mines )
  Power: 22 (5 spent worshipping you, 4 spent on training, 8 spent on construction, 2 spent forging 5 spent gathering resources)
The Ceaseless Consumption
Members: 8 seducers and 24 thralls, and 37 peasants split among 8 locations, 1 high seducer, 32 peasants, and 2 soldiers
Resources: 0
Power: 10 (3 spent worshipping you, 1 spent recruiting, 3 spent gathering and spreading information)
Fortresses
Canord
   Strong walls (45), Deep moat (25), Thorn Wall (25), Weak wards(15), Traps(15) Demonic crops, plentiful mines, Strong aura of domination
Champions
Kreth Woemaker
   Physical might: 12
   Mental might: 12
   Other: Magic Cloak

Duthrax Soul-Render, First of the Thrall-Herds
  Physical might: 5 + 1
  Mental might: 3 + 1
  Other: Duelist, skilled commander, Herald
Lurrothel, Weaver of Nightmares
  Physical might: 1
  Mental might: 6
  Other: Necromancer, skilled at wards and dream magic

[Ardent Debater]

Excellent. This is my plan for the next month:

- Integrate the three Soldiers and twelve Archers into our Thrall horde. The Knights are to be dubbed Knight-Thalls and serve as Duthrax Soul-Render's personal bodyguard. The two Priests are to be our first Dark Priests, blessed with 1 Mental point of pure charisma and mind-bending, with little to no emphasis on seduction. They will then be tasked with traveling to the two towns nearest to Avar, and spreading corruption in conjunction with the Seducers already there. There will be a hierarchy of Priests beneath us, ranging from Dark Priests to Dread Priests and Hell Priests.
- We will then focus the entirety of our efforts into converting the soldiery and aristocracy of Avar, and the month before last's promise to promote competent Seducers still stands. Lurrothel, Weaver of Nightmares is to receive 1 Mental point of raw intellect for her exemplary performance. Then, Lurrothel, Weaver of Nightmares, the Doom-Seers and Doom-Seekers are to focus their efforts on learning to mutate flesh and if necessary, Kreth Woemaker will help educate them, but he is to receive instructions that the Necromancers are NOT to be executed for incompetence, merely made to writhe in agony for a day or so if he deems their failings sufficient.
- Duthrax Soul-Render is tasked with conquering the villages near Avar, and dragging the peasantry back to Canord in chains. Those who refuse to submit before the Aura of Domination are to be gruesomely executed in a sacrificial ritual, and those who submit are to be searched for magical talent. If they possess any whatsoever, they are to go into the Doom-Seers and Doom-Seekers as appropriate, and if they lack the gift, they are to go into the Soldier-Thrall horde.
- Kreth Woemaker and the Artisans are to deepen the moat, strengthen the wards, and set additional traps, using the hordes of undead as a source of manual labor. If they manage to pleasantly surprise us, we'll give them an hour or so of Evil-induced ecstasy.
- Before we do ANYTHING ELSE, we are to celebrate our victory with an Evil ritual, wherein we consume the soul of the most pathetic, least competent Thrall among our forces, to serve as an example to the others and let the newly converted know exactly who they serve.

[WyrdByrd]

We’re in a prime position at the moment:  military superiority, a destabilized region, and  a national-level insurrection.  Under these circumstances, we should strike while the iron is hot, and cripple Avar irreparably. Regardless of what we end up deciding on, here's my plan to do so:
-  Appoint the  new Archers and Soldiers  as High Thralls of our veteran and zealous squads.  Their very presence will force the fresh arrivals to submit to  our corruptive practices, if initially for the sake of survival only, and require them to eventually surpass them  in order to command the squads. In short: Lead or Die. Of the Thralls composing the squads,  convince them that such an honor will lead to boons later down the road.  Our personal assignation of such a task  should reinforce that point.
- As for the Knights, use them as the basis  for our Godslayer unit/ bodyguards. Wrought  them each a set of warded armor, both as protection against the divine, and to ensure their loyalty. Assign them to Duthrax post-haste.
- Ensure that  the squads containing our new recruits are sent out on the  subjugation missions, and place them within the vanguard.  As they have not yet earned the  right to our  own  arms and armor, they would still be clad in their Spears regalia, visible for all to see.
-  Take the sights, sounds, and memories of the carnage committed by our fallen heroes woven into an elaborate, corruptive  nightmare, and distribute it across the  Avar region, and to the rebels. The scene should be one to shake the core of any devout citizen: the Spears  of Cavana ravaging villages, their priests chanting dirges even as soldiers burn children alive, knights riding down peasants, Imperial symbols and holy sigils barely visible under the blood of the innocent.   Have Lurrothel handle the transmissions to the rebels, supplementing our power for the Avar region if necessary.
-  In the inevitability of news reaching Avar,  allow the following to be "revealed", with the help of our Seducer groups if necessary: "The Spears blame Avar for their lack of support against the raiders, and the losses that followed the battle. In grief and anger, they have declared the entire region damned, and  are tearing a path towards the city that  they believe is the cause, purging all in their path. They are coming to deliver the vengeance promised.". Have our cultists within the town watch be on guard of any that  would reveal the truth, or seek to  succor aid from  the outside. If they detect any, have them disposed of surreptitiously, be it  by their hands or the Hunters.  Assign  a few Hunters to the most trafficked areas of the city, and have them passively scan the thoughts of the populace.  Earmark those who still have  faith, be it in the Empire  or the Spears.
-  With this news revealed, have the Seducer cults within the  city  push for action. The maddened Spears may be  a greater threat than the bandits ever were, and they were supposed to be the Empire's solution to our woes! Who knows what horrors they may unleash if we petition them for aid?! In times like this, we must be our own protectors.  Each cult should begin organizing  efforts to "solve the problem": Food distribution amongst its members, the addition of a "neighborhood watch",  reconstruction of dilapidated buildings (with locations facilitating our worship), etc..  Through these avenues, we can add safety in addition to comfort as advantages of the cult. Though their methods may overlap, have each Seducer cult begin their efforts independent of one another, and ensure the organizations are similar, but separate. 
-Through our corruptive influence, the Seducers' teachings, and the presence of the Worms,   shift the focus of the groups from ensuring the safety of the city to ensuring the safety of "their people". It is at this time that the  Seducers should have enough influence to  sway the groups to servitude. If any vulnerable faithful still remain in the city,  dispose of them via the Hunters  or a justifiable conflict with one of the cults. Though development can still occur, limit it to maintaining  what is already a part of the cult's property, or expanding their dominions.
- Once the towns have been subsumed, send a host led by  Duthrax and our fallen Spears, who should by now be fully integrated into our forces,  against Avar. Ease their entry into the city  if available, be it through the actions of cultists or Hunters alike. Their targets should be the remaining faithful (1st priority), and any unaffiliated groups. However, buildings and people marked with the sign of the Seducers shall be spared. Of the cults themselves, the  most established half of them shall remain in the city, "protecting" their territory.  If an ignorant or disobedient Thrall attempts to harm them, they have  full permission to deal with the situation, however they see fit.  The  remainder of the cults shall focus on evacuating their members and  a few nearby citizens, and leave Avar as refugees.  As the Seducers travel with the band, have them disseminate the group amongst the hamlets, towns,  and holdfasts of the area, spreading  corruption along the way.
Thoughts?

[Ardent Debater]

We’re in a prime position at the moment:  military superiority, a destabilized region, and  a national-level insurrection.  Under these circumstances, we should strike while the iron is hot, and cripple Avar irreparably. Regardless of what we end up deciding on, here's my plan to do so:
-  Appoint the  new Archers and Soldiers  as High Thralls of our veteran and zealous squads.  Their very presence will force the fresh arrivals to submit to  our corruptive practices, if initially for the sake of survival only, and require them to eventually surpass them  in order to command the squads. In short: Lead or Die. Of the Thralls composing the squads,  convince them that such an honor will lead to boons later down the road.  Our personal assignation of such a task  should reinforce that point.
- As for the Knights, use them as the basis  for our Godslayer unit/ bodyguards. Wrought  them each a set of warded armor, both as protection against the divine, and to ensure their loyalty. Assign them to Duthrax post-haste.
- Ensure that  the squads containing our new recruits are sent out on the  subjugation missions, and place them within the vanguard.  As they have not yet earned the  right to our  own  arms and armor, they would still be clad in their Spears regalia, visible for all to see.
-  Take the sights, sounds, and memories of the carnage committed by our fallen heroes woven into an elaborate, corruptive  nightmare, and distribute it across the  Avar region, and to the rebels. The scene should be one to shake the core of any devout citizen: the Spears  of Cavana ravaging villages, their priests chanting dirges even as soldiers burn children alive, knights riding down peasants, Imperial symbols and holy sigils barely visible under the blood of the innocent.   Have Lurrothel handle the transmissions to the rebels, supplementing our power for the Avar region if necessary.
-  In the inevitability of news reaching Avar,  allow the following to be "revealed", with the help of our Seducer groups if necessary: "The Spears blame Avar for their lack of support against the raiders, and the losses that followed the battle. In grief and anger, they have declared the entire region damned, and  are tearing a path towards the city that  they believe is the cause, purging all in their path. They are coming to deliver the vengeance promised.". Have our cultists within the town watch be on guard of any that  would reveal the truth, or seek to  succor aid from  the outside. If they detect any, have them disposed of surreptitiously, be it  by their hands or the Hunters.  Assign  a few Hunters to the most trafficked areas of the city, and have them passively scan the thoughts of the populace.  Earmark those who still have  faith, be it in the Empire  or the Spears.
-  With this news revealed, have the Seducer cults within the  city  push for action. The maddened Spears may be  a greater threat than the bandits ever were, and they were supposed to be the Empire's solution to our woes! Who knows what horrors they may unleash if we petition them for aid?! In times like this, we must be our own protectors.  Each cult should begin organizing  efforts to "solve the problem": Food distribution amongst its members, the addition of a "neighborhood watch",  reconstruction of dilapidated buildings (with locations facilitating our worship), etc..  Through these avenues, we can add safety in addition to comfort as advantages of the cult. Though their methods may overlap, have each Seducer cult begin their efforts independent of one another, and ensure the organizations are similar, but separate. 
-Through our corruptive influence, the Seducers' teachings, and the presence of the Worms,   shift the focus of the groups from ensuring the safety of the city to ensuring the safety of "their people". It is at this time that the  Seducers should have enough influence to  sway the groups to servitude. If any vulnerable faithful still remain in the city,  dispose of them via the Hunters  or a justifiable conflict with one of the cults. Though development can still occur, limit it to maintaining  what is already a part of the cult's property, or expanding their dominions.
- Once the towns have been subsumed, send a host led by  Duthrax and our fallen Spears, who should by now be fully integrated into our forces,  against Avar. Ease their entry into the city  if available, be it through the actions of cultists or Hunters alike. Their targets should be the remaining faithful (1st priority), and any unaffiliated groups. However, buildings and people marked with the sign of the Seducers shall be spared. Of the cults themselves, the  most established half of them shall remain in the city, "protecting" their territory.  If an ignorant or disobedient Thrall attempts to harm them, they have  full permission to deal with the situation, however they see fit.  The  remainder of the cults shall focus on evacuating their members and  a few nearby citizens, and leave Avar as refugees.  As the Seducers travel with the band, have them disseminate the group amongst the hamlets, towns,  and holdfasts of the area, spreading  corruption along the way.
Thoughts?

+1 This is an excellent plan, disregard mine.

[Urist Mc Dwarf]

I will update once there is a bit more support/discussion, but as a note:

There was a variation of the brute made before the battle. Please come up with a name for them.

[WyrdByrd]

  Given their design, purpose, and means of execution, Crushers  seems as good as any for a proposal.

  Thanks, Ardent! I think we  should keep Kreth busy, though.  Idle hands aren't typically a good thing when it comes to demons.

[chubby2man]

~snip~

+1 This is an excellent plan, disregard mine.

+1