Angel Team: Design Phase T1TURNTURNTURNMilitary Workshops
The bulk of our army is underequipped and undertrained. But while they lack proper drilling in military matters, that does not mean they are without skills; many cultists had lives before they joined the cause of Good, and we can put that to good work. The Military Workshops are a collection of smelters, smithies, leatherworkers, and other craftsmen drawn from the ranks of the faithful. They are supplied by ores mined or purchased from nearby areas and they work hard to provide a source of better equipment for the army, increasing the quality of our basic troops and the quantity of better armed and armored troops that we can deploy. In the immediate future this takes the form of giving our basic troops some basic armor in the form of gambesons and iron caps, but it should assist in the future as well.
Military Workshops: Normal: (4+2)=6: Above Average
Expanding your production infrastructure proves a fairly simple operation. Craftsmen of every stripe can be found amongst your cultists, and together- as greed and mistrust are no concern- they can achieve great works. The requisite mines, smelters, forges and workshops are set up one after the other, and soon the sound of industry echoes through the desert, while cultists in other regions do their part to support your efforts as well.
The makeshift spears, rusty daggers, and brittle shields are replaced with sturdy spears, shiny daggers, and solid shields- nothing exceptional, but nothing to sneer at either. These are augmented with well-made gambesons (quilted wool jackets, stuffed with scraps of cloth or hair, providing a cheap method of staying alive a little longer) and padded iron caps, which drastically decrease the lethality of a blow to the head. Your archers are provided with slightly more powerful bows as well. Though this equipment does not quite bring your cultists up to the level of the various human kingdom's armies, it certainly elevates them above a rag-tag militia- which in itself boosts morale, as they feel more like real soldiers.
Your craftsmen do note that it would probably not be feasible to equip all your cultists with equipment better than what they are now being given, at least not without further expanding your industrial capacity (which, lacking in significant resources, would be a serious challenge).
The improved equipment is made available to all Cultist units, although your Acolytes choose to forgo the helmet- citing increased difficulty concentrating while wearing it. It does not modify their rarity.
Design: Bright Shadows
Darkness rests in all corners of the world. Darkness, Evil, suffering. We could never hope to end these things if we remain unaware of their presence. The Bright Shadows are our answer to this, rooting out things hidden to our eyes so they may be brought to light and combated against. Invisible to the naked eye, these blessed ghosts watch and listen for valuable information to pass on to our cultists. That can be an individual crying out to the heavens, looking for purpose, or knowledge of a shameful deed that the perpetrators would prefer left secret. They listen to it all, and pass the useful bits on.
Bright Shadows are made from the souls of exceptional worshipers, who have volunteered their souls to serve under Heliels guidance even past their death. The Bright Shadows do not move quickly, only walking pace, but they cannot be seen through the visible light spectrum. Their bodies are wholly incorporeal, they cannot physically interact with the world even if they wanted to, only able to do as much as speak, and generally limiting their interaction to loyal members of the cult. However, they are exceptional at finding things, with great hearing, and a sort of sixth sense, that lets them detect notable concentrations of evil, either where malicious deeds are being done, or where the Demons servants and creations hide.
This allows them to easily find things such as criminals in hiding, corrupt officials, Demonic cult activity, and people in need of aid. Similarly, it could potentially be used in the war effort, preemptively locating ambushes, and detecting movements of demonic forces. Though, they are not exceptionally effective due to their slow speed. Still, unexciting their job may be, they will likely prove a critical role in our operations going forward.
Bright Shadows: Normal: (4+4)=8: Unexpected Boon
As an Angel, you are definitionally an expert at sculpting Good into whatever form your heart desires. However, perhaps due to the influence of your distant rival, perhaps due to a lack of strength, you're having trouble actually creating 'templates' for yourself to follow in these creations. It's like you have the
capacity to be the supreme sculptress of Good, but need to work up to it. Fortunately, your recent efforts to empower the souls of fallen cultists (and other paragons of virtue whose spirit yet lingers on this plane) seem to have cleared a major block in your mind, as it were, and you feel like you could succeed at more ambitious summoning/mutating efforts now- to a much greater degree than had you 'merely' created the Bright Shadows without clearing this block.
Anyway, moving on to the results of your efforts.
The first Bright Shadows have been empowered, and are now ready to serve the Good cause with a zeal and determination even greater than they had in life. Incorporeal and invisible (to most people), they are the perfect spy, capable of going unseen in human settlements, passing through walls with only a modicum of effort*, seeing and hearing all. Or, well, most. It is possible for a wizard to create a ward that keeps incorporeal beings (and other magical phenomena) at bay, and doing so is one of the most common tasks asked of a court wizard- mostly to prevent attacks or spying efforts by other wizards, but they work just as well at keeping out Bright Shadows. Apart from that, though, perfect surveillance. Even more so thanks to their enhanced senses, including their (literally) supernatural ability to hone in on evil activity, or anything else they choose, really- lost your keys? Bright Shadow can find 'em for you, no problem.
Bright Shadows can communicate thanks to an innate ability to magically recreate the effects of speaking (a rather common ability amongst incorporeal beings). A similar ability allows them to perform very minor physical actions- turning pages or blowing out candles, sort of thing. Being incorporeal, they are of course immune to physical attacks, although magically charged weapons may be able to damage them, and magical attacks will quickly overwhelm their defences, forcefully sending the soul afterlife-wards.
There was concern that Bright Shadows would be slow, and perhaps they might've been, but your brilliance knows no bounds, with the result that they can keep up with a running man with speed to spare. This makes them quite suitable for scouting, to which end several will accompany all military expeditions. A new infiltration technique has been established to cover their spying activities as well, creatively named "Spy".
Bright Shadows will serve in both influence and combat lanes, as spies and scouts respectively. Due to the need for souls to empower (while cultists may offer their souls willingly, not all are capable of lingering on the mortal plane), they are
Uncommon.
*Interestingly, the average wall is possessed of a very weak magical counterpart, which forms naturally. While nowhere near the strength of even the most basic of magical wards, it is enough to make passing through a wall a little bit harder for an incorporeal being than, say, passing through a door or window.
It is now the Revision Phase. You have two revisions.
Heliel: The benevolent leader of your faction, a being of immense power. There is very little they cannot do. Needless to say, they are Unique. Their Power is currently 20.
Mundane Units:
Armed Cultists: Equipped with fairly respectable equipment- a well-made gambeson, padded iron cap, sturdy spear, shiny dagger, and a solid shield-, combined with rudimentary training, mean that while these are not elite warriors, they would stand a chance against a real soldier. More importantly, they're cheap and plentiful. Like regular cultists, their dedication (and communal singing) makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Common
Cultist Archers: Cultists who have some experience with a bow are valuable assets in combat, harassing the enemy from a distance. They aren't sharpshooters, and their bows are not high-draw war-bows, but they're a good bit better than nothing. Also provided with gambeson and iron cap. Like regular cultists, their dedication (and communal singing) makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Uncommon
Acolytes: Cultists who have begun their exploration of the magical arts, studying under the Angel. They can cast any Common spells (unless noted otherwise). Their physical strength leaves something to be desired, but their mental fortitude is even greater than regular cultists. Wear a gambeson, but forgo iron cap. There are not many Acolytes in a unit. Uncommon
Cultist Officers: Featuring a whole two tiers of military hierarchy, the sergeants and captains impart a modicum of organisation upon their fellow cultists. While not massively better than self-organised troops, it's still noticeable. They are distributed amongst all cultist units (eg Armed Cultists, Cultist Archers, Acolytes).
Summoned/Mutated Units:
Bright Shadows: Souls of fallen cultists (or other Good people), empowered with Good such that they may continue to serve in death as they did in life. Invisible and incorporeal, with an uncanny ability to find whatever they are looking for, they make for excellent spies and capable scouts. Immune to physical attack, but not magical. Not useful in actual combat. Uncommon
Spells/Rituals:
Magic Missile: Known by many names, the simple technique of blasting your opponent with raw Magic/Good/Evil is a tried and true method of making things go away. Efficacy increases with caster's mental might, and decreases with the target's. Common
Heliel's Love: A very efficient basic healing spell. A slight touch and channelling of angelic love initiates a self-sustaining healing process that can heal up to moderately serious injuries and diseases fairly rapidly. The magic has lingering effects even after healing is complete, leaving the subject healthier and more resilient for a few hours afterwards. Heliel casts this magic automatically on all in her vicinity (unless specifically choosing not to). Common
Mass Heliel's Love: A markedly less efficient variant of Heliel's Love, that affects all targets in a small area (~15 at a time). The healing effect is reduced, to the point where even stabilising moderately serious injuries is a gamble- sometimes doing enough for the patient to survive until more personalised healing can be applied, other times only giving the appearance thereof. It cannot be cast as often as Heliel's Love, but is still Common
Infiltration Techniques:
Proselytise: Cultists go forth and spread the Good word, finding those sympathetic to their cause and slowly winning them over. Not the fastest way of gaining converts, as baseline cultists are not expert missionaries, but it keeps the cult growing. Common
Travelling Medics: Acolytes accompany proselytising missions, curing the sick and injured in order to win over the local population. Uncommon
Spy: Agents of Heliel travel the land, seeking secrets, while going unnoticed themselves. Does not directly increase influence, but aids in most other infiltration endeavours. Currently only Bright Shadows are suitable for this role. Common
Infrastructure:
Basic Training Camps: Rudimentary facilities, where cultists learn the basics of combat and warfare. Singing is integrated into the training programme, serving to boost morale.
Basic Officer Training: A stumbling, amateurish step towards proper military organisation, the officers trained thus are still better than leaders chosen in the moment.
Military Workshops: A series of mines, smelters, forges and workshops that provide the forces of Good with arms and armour.
DARRIN (Combat)Dry Plains:
4/4 |
0/4Mountain Passes:
2/4 |
2/4Rice Terraces:
0/4 |
4/4LESIMOR (Influence)Fortified Frontier:
1/5 |
?/5Lawless Capital:
0/5 |
?/5Scholarly Towers:
0/5 |
?/5XA-NAM (Combat)River Delta:
4/4 |
0/4River Crossings:
2/4 |
2/4Light Jungle:
0/4 |
4/4DOLGOTH (Influence)Trade City:
1/5 |
?/5Ostentatious Capital:
0/5 |
?/5Wartorn Wastes:
0/5 |
?/5
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Topic: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro Arms Race: Strategy Phase 10 (Read 32368 times)