Long ago the world of Relt was inhabited by a race of ingenious dwarves. At some point in the distant past, the entirety of dwarven civilization was destroyed in a terrible cataclysm. Little was left of their once power nation and the magics they possessed. In time, an unknown amount of time later, humans arrived on the world of Relt.
Last year, 512 years after humans first spread across the world, a terrible earthquake shook the land and mountains sprung forth across the world, propelled upwards by forces unknown. Within them, powerful artifacts of magic and mechanism were discovered and the world entered a new age.
In this brave new world, many nations came to acquire these relics and very quickly the balance of power began to shift. Some nations saw a business opportunity, and turned to trade. Some nations became stalwart allies, brought together by these insecure times.Yet it was two nations who stood apart from the rest. They began a war, premised on ancient and uncompromising hate, the details of which are long forgotten, but still felt to this day.
You are a member of your nation's magic and technology research division, set with the task of providing your nation with new weapons and magic to help them gain control of the massive dungeon beneath Relt. Yet your responsibility does not end there. The war effort is expensive beyond belief, and due to a clerical error, your team is entirely responsible for the economy of your nation. Not only must you win this war, you must find a way to fund it. The Nations:Aernor is the southernmost nation of Relt. It is a hot dry nation mostly composed of endless grasslands, deserts, and rocky badlands. There is plenty of arable land, a decent amount of natural resources, but few forests. The Aer army is large, but is poorly trained and managed. It's mostly made up of roving bands of nomads who are more used to hunting than actual combat. Its national animal is the dragalo. Glory to Aernor!
Aernor Soldier: Once one of the nomadic people of the plains, now a soldier trust into battle. Years of hardship have hardened their bodies, but they are still unfamiliar to war. 10E.
War sickle: A curved sickle, previously used in the fields. 10E
War spear: A long spear once used to hunt dragalo. Now it hunts the accursed Norkians! 20E.
Atlatl: A small device used to launch darts over long distances. Deadly, but requires a lot of training. 20E.
Padded armor: Cloth armor made out of layers of dragalo wool and reinforced with leather. Not incredibly durable, but keeps the elements at bay. 10E.
Hide shield: A shield made out of leather. 10E.
Dragalo: A large animal that has the upper body of a buffalo and the lower body of a dragon. Native to the southern half of Relt. Its large curved horns are typically used to headbutt other dragalo, but are equally as capable of ramming Boreans. Breathes fire. 50E.
Ring mail: Officer armor. A set of interlocking metal rings in the shape of a long shirt. 40E.
Broadsword: Officer weapon. A large straight sword. 50E.
Summoning Circle: A powerful dwarven artifact capable of summoning powerful creatures.
Magic Word Theory: A basic introduction into creating magic through the use of dwarven words of power. Allows for quick and fluid casting, albeit inconsistent and difficult to control.
Alchemical Bombs: Rather volatile liquids in a two chambered glass container. When the container is shattered and the two chemicals mix, they rapidly combust.
Taxes (+500E): Money collected by the government to fund the military.
Wheat Fields (+500E): Wheat is the primary export of Aernor, the golden grains are sought after the world across.
Nork is the northernmost nation on the world of Relt. It is a cold wet nation mostly composed of forests, tundra, and swamps. There are plenty of trees, a decent amount of natural resources, but little arable land. The Norkian army is small, but it is highly trained and well managed. A few decades ago there was a small civil war in Nork when the nation of Vuncio tried to claim independent sovereignty. Nork was victorious, and while the tensions have (mostly) resided, the army has retained a strict training regiment. Its national animal is the brog. Victory for Nork!
Nork Soldier: Well trained and experienced, these soldiers know battle and how to win it. 20E.
Woodcutting axe: A small axe previously used to split wood in preparation for harsh Nork winters. Equally good at splitting skulls. 10E.
Crossbow: A small wooden crossbow. Very steady and easy to use, but takes a long time to reload. 10E.
Fur Armor: Armor made from the furs and hides of various animals. 10E.
Wooden shield: A shield made of wood. Pretty straightforward. 10E.
Brog: A giant frog with a little bit of bear mixed in. It is larger than a bear and hairy like a bear, and has large tusks, but all in the shape of a wide mouthed frog. Its long tongue has been the death of many who wander too deeply into Borean swamps. 50E
Plate Armor: Officer armor. A series of metal plates designed to cover the chest and neck. Great armor. 50E
Broadsword: Officer weapon. A large straight sword. 50E.
Summoning Circle: A powerful dwarven artifact capable of summoning powerful creatures.
Magic Circuit Theory: A basic introduction into creating magic spells through the use of magic circuits. Allows for fairly rigid spell structure, but time consuming to create and difficult to move.
Alchemical Balms: Minor healing balms that can speed recovery of most physical wounds or be sold to foreign nations for profit.
Taxes (+500E): Money collected by the government to fund the military.
Lumber Mills (+500E): Timber is the primary export of Nork. The fine pine wood is widely popular among carpenters the world over.
Foreign Nations
Aernor and Nork are not alone in this wide and dangerous world. Other nations have discovered similar relics, though seemingly less powerful. These nations not only have resources and technology of their own, but represent potential markets players may sell trade goods.
How to play
Once you have chosen a side, there will be a turn 0. During this turn you will decide what dwarven technology you discovered in your dungeon entrance, as well as what monsters you start with.
In either nation's thread, you may suggest what to do each turn, and vote in favor other suggestions. Please stick to one nation, nobody likes a turncoat! Turns occur in two phases:
-In the Design Phase, you may suggest a new product (EG a brand new summoned monster). I will roll some dice, and depending how ambitious your new project is, I will assign an Expense (E) to it, and possibly introduce Bugs. If you want, you can simply revise an old project instead of making a new one, converting your design phase into a revision phase.
-Once you've seen the results of your efforts, we move to the Revision Phase- you can try to reduce the expense, remove bugs, or add features to a design.
-Lastly there is the combat phase. Each team will submit their Resource Expenditure plan. Then the fighting happens! I'll provide a description of who has the advantage on which fronts, and roll some dice. It is during this phase that players will also be able to contact foreign nations. Then the next year will start, and we will move to a new Design phase.
Sometimes, you might earn a Design Credit or a Revision Credit, which will allow you one extra design or revision action in one turn. These will mostly be rewards for completing objectives or various challenges.
Expense: Each unit, piece of equipment, and design is going to have an expense value. This value will be subtracted from your total resources. Your total resources are going to be determined by your nationalized industry.
The expense (E) of equipment is determined when you design it. The more new features, or the more ambitious, the more likely it is to be expensive. You can attempt to reduce the expense when revising equipment- this might introduce bugs, or it might permanently reduce the expense of that technology.
Each turn, the victorious side has a chance to cause the other side to retreat. This will allow you start your forces further along in the next dungeon by claiming the various Teleportation Gates throughout the dungeon. Each turn the dungeon itself changes. When one team gains full control of the dungeon, they will be able to launch an assault on the enemy territory. If they succeed there, they may assault the enemy capital. Succeeding there, they win the game.
Starting TechnologiesEach country starts with one boss monster and one set of minions. Each player gets one vote for each of these. Note: Both summoning circles can summon anything you design, this is just what they were set to when you found them (and thus what you start with).
Summoning Circles
Goblin Summoning Circle
Goblin Fighters: Small, quick, and ruthless goblins. Not the smartest, or the strongest, but there are a lot of them and they are mean. 10E.
Goblin Archers: These cruel fellows use poison arrows to make sure they get the job done. 25E.
Goblin Pyromaniacs: Goblins + fire magic = death. These goblins can hurl fire at the enemies from afar. 40E.
Ocean Summoning Circle
Flying Leeches: A swarm of leeches with wings. 10E.
Wolf Shark: Sharks with the legs of a wolf. Incredibly ferocious. 40E.
Whale Warrior: Ten foot tall whale-like human in armor. Incredibly strong. 30E.
Undead Summoning Circle
D(r)ead Knight: Undead cannon-fodder, they're slow and weak, but incredibly durable. 15E.
Ghoul: These gaunt pale humanoids can heal themselves on the corpses of enemies (and allies). 30E.
Shadow: Semi-transparent wisps of smoke in human form. Can turn into a cloud of smoke at will. Almost invisible in the dark. 20E.
Slime Summoning Circle:
Slime knight: Small humanoid riding on a teardrop shaped slime. Surprisingly dangerous. 10E.
Flying slime: Jellyfish like slime with wings. Its tentacles have a powerful sting. 25E.
Wizard Slime: These slimes shoot balls of slime at the enemy. It hurts more than you think, and it slows down enemies. 50E.
Plant Summoning Circle
Mushroom man: Squat humanoid mushrooms. They continue fighting until they're chopped to bits. 10E.
Man Eater: Large venus flytraps which walk on four stem-like legs. Can also spew acid. 40E.
Hanging Trent: A giant humanoid made of trees. Dozens of enemy corpses dangle from its branches. 30E.
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Beast Summoning Circle
Giant bats: A swarm of bats each the size of a housecat. 10E.
Sasquatch: Powerful humanoids accustomed to cold climates. 20E.
Unicorn: Magical armor piercing horn, unnatural speed and stamina, and highly intelligent.40E.
Enchanted Summoning Circle
Mechanical spider: Mechanical spiders the size of small dogs. 10E.
Sentient Sword: Magical floating weapons that fights on its own. 25E.
Flying carpet: Magical carpets capable of flying continuously inside of the dungeon. Very expensive. 30E.
Holy Summoning Circle
Defenders of the faith: Angels with bows that shoot holy arrows at mid-range. 15 E.
Battle Priests: Healers who go among the troops and heal them during combat. 25E.
Paladin: Heavily armored holy knights. 35E.
Boss Monsters
Each boss monster costs 100E.
Dragon: A large firebreathing dragon.
Golem: A giant golem made out of rock and steel.
Ice wyrm: A relative to the true dragon, used to cold, breathes an icy breath.
King slime: A giant slime (with a crown) capable of devouring squads at a time.
Master Mimic: A monster which can transform its shape to look like other objects, people or monsters, gaining an echo of their abilities.
Three Headed Troll: A giant troll with three heads. Very strong and tough.
Kraken: A floating giant squid. It has many many small tentacles capable of holding weapons, and two larger tentacles for smashing enemies.
Spiderqueen: A giant black and green spider capable of biting fully armored men in half and shooting webs over whole squads.
Ancient mummy: A resurrected ancient pharaoh. It can curse enemies, causing them great fear and panic.
Forest guardian: A magical centaur with moose antlers. It can summon thorny vines to impede and injure the enemy.
Giant hamster: A hamster the size of a large semi-truck. Its keen senses allow it to locate enemies at a distance and avoid traps.
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Fell Lord: A large demon. It glows with black and green fire. Its presence intimidates enemy troops and bolsters your own.
Pack of robot hyenas: Ancient dwarven constructs shaped like hyenas, they're made of dwarven steel, have a powerful bite, and shoot beams from their eyes.
: Much of the discussion will happen on the discord sever. The speed and level of communication which discord provide far exceeds Bay12. As of now, I intend to have the two teams do the phases there, and have the combat results posted here in this thread. The discord server can be found here:
https://discord.gg/4k8Y6gf
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Topic: Dungeon Race 3 Core Thread (Read 1285 times)