Aqueducts
[Structure]
Building up the Aqueducts to carry water from the springs and oases around which life bloomed and deliver it to far fields has always been the backbone of Alikai civilization. More than blades and muscle, water is true power in the desert, and the Aqueducts are the veins through which true power flows. Covered against the harsh sun and sheltered from the corrupting sand, the Aqueducts are marvels of construction that grow with each passing year to carry water to new and larger fields. Their care and maintenance is common, but dignified profession- involving craftsmen of all professions and a substantial manual labor force. The growing complexity of the system, including the great draws that carry water up from the hidden springs so that it can flow to all who need it, is a burden- but the ability to manufacture an oasis is worth any headaches.
Special Deployment: In the absence of a condition described by a bug, this increases your Mortal supply count by 1.
[Standard Difficulty, 1d8: 7]
[Crippling Bug, Complicated]
While the network of Aqueducts have produced wonders, it would seem that even they have reached their limits. While the network of destinations only grows, the network of springs from which the water flows grows slowly - to speak nothing of the springs that grow dry. Our existing method of pulling water up to the heights needed for it to flow, beast powered pulleys laden with buckets, is no longer sufficient. We simply cannot pump additional water through the aqueduct fast enough for it to reach new destinations at a rate sufficient to make a difference. While we have made much land fertile, we struggle to add more.
(While this bug exists, the Aqueduct does not produce additional supply)
[Moderate Bug, Fascinating]
A curious problem, long known by the cleaners of the Aqueducts, is of a curious sort of lichen that often blooms without warning from the water touched stone of the aqueduct. Vibrantly colorful in the desert, it seems to appear from thumbnail sized spore pods inadvertently pulled up from the depths of the springs by the bucket system. A worker will report a clean inspection of their section of the aqueduct, and the next day it will be all but choked by a ten meter stretch of this strange and fibrous lichen. Workers are under orders to clear the growths as quickly as possible, as the colorful lichens taint the waters with a toxin that can result the deaths of many hundreds of not caught quickly.
(Every round, there is a 5% chance that the Aqueduct supply will produce -1 supply instead of any other value.)
People of the Luna
[Ubiquitous]
While the fabled ‘Mad King’ of Alikai is long gone, and whatever desert empire he made for himself all those years ago has faded, the transformations he spread among his people remain. While once the transformations might have been considered part of Sacred Lunacy, they have, by some unknown mechanic, become genetic. Every individual born to the desert bloodline has some aberrancy, a mark of an animal. While some marks run in families, others crop at random with little regard to lineage. Scales and fur, slit pupils and venomous fangs, tufted years and clawed footpaws- all manifest from time to time in those from Alikai. While individual transformations may grant an individual enhanced or degraded abilities, the effect is amortized across the population so that the average of their physical and sensory abilities comes out to only slightly higher than an unmutated population. While this transformation might have originated with Lunacy, it does not count against the transformation limit of Sacred Lunacy, and in fact allows individuals to be more susceptible to transformations in line with their own mutations.
[Trivial Difficulty d4, 2]
[Minor Bug, Intractable]
As a result of their ancient transformation, certain… chemical sensitivities remain within the people of Alikai. Stories tell of days when silver would burn the flesh, but those days are long gone, replaced now by allergic reactions to certain compounds and catalysts. Under normal circumstances this isn’t an issue, but for those who deal in the advanced chemical arts, this weakness can be infuriating and debilitating. (When rolling bugs for projects involving juxtematics, a 1 now causes you to re-roll instead of getting a lucky break)
Anirite Akibara
[Ubiquitous]
[1 Mortals, 2 Mineral]
The Akibara of the Anirite tribes have long been the blood and sinew of Alikai armies. Tenacious, trained in group tactics, well defended by scale armor backed by quilted armor and a sturdy shield, and devastatingly armed with a heavy axe and war darts for harassment, the Akibara have long been the leading edge in a conquering force. If there is a criticism of them, it is that their combination of quilted armor and scale is quite hot in desert conditions, and requires good supply lines and connection to the aqueduct network in order to advance. Likewise, they’ve historically had mild difficulties against highly mobile desert raiders- but their ability to simply advance through harassing forces and strike at hard targets cannot be denied.
[Minor Difficulty, d6: 3]
[Minor Bug, Complicated]
The load of an Akibara is quite heavy for a desert fighter. The axe, the quilted armor, the scale armor and metal helm, the shield, the supply of darts, and basic field supplies all combine to weigh down the Akibara. Weight has been trimmed where possible, but Akibara still have to be trained from a very young age to be careful with their exertions. In their homeland, this is necessary, but in cooler lands it manifests as many soldiers holding back. (Outside Alikai, the Akibara will be slower in battle than infantry of a similar weight class)
[Minor Bug, Piggyback with above]
As part of the effort to reduce the load of an Akibara, the number of darts carried is often considerably limited. In the context of an extended battle, particularly with a more mobile enemy force, this translates to a reduced skirmishing ability. (Akibara ranged attacks aren’t quite as good as they could be)
It is the 1st Design, Revision, and Research Phase
Your troops, whatever you have, will begin advancing on all available fronts. Regardless of the hazards involved, they will probably succeed in advancing, but there will still updates in core about their progress as both feedback to you and information for you enemy.
Think of it as advanced scouting data.
Your resources have been (or will shortly be) added to the OP of this thread.
Author
Topic: Alikai Team Thread - FR20 [~5 players] (Read 15024 times)