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[chubby2man]

Reserved for two Kingdom designs/reinforcements:

Rangers, expert scouts and longbowmen; and the Slayers, monster hunters with greatswords. Further details coming.

[Glass]

C1. Forging a Stronger Nation and Greater Alloy.

Nobility? Peasantry? Class divisions? Nay, these are foolish structures of the Three, made to enforce an order among the people - a stagnant order, one that loses much, neglecting the lower classes while coddling the higher.
No more. Our reign is beginning, and we shall take the scraps the Three have left us to make a greater alloy. Their practice of separating the people by birth shall end.

Positions of authority shall no longer be granted by inheritance, but rather, proof of ability shall be the requisite standard. Examinations will be instituted, intended to test peoples' knowledge of such varied topics as the prices of goods and their transit, the mathematics of tax calculation and budgeting, the cycle of the harvest, the materials and time necessary for the forging of various equipment, the amount of resources groups of varying size might need for various durations of travel, and other such aspects of common life - things that any good administrator should know in order to most efficiently help run a nation. Alongside written exams, interpersonal tests would also be implemented, set up to identify those who are most adept at handling other people - itself an important skill for many government employees.

[I'm too tired to continue with the specifics right now, and too busy with finals prep to really fill it out in a reasonable timespan. MM, please consider turning this into something more voteable, even if not as your primary proposal.]

[Nirur Torir]

I am pleased this lives.
Can we create a mixed unit formation as one design? A pike and crossbow formation would be great here.
Do we have horses now, or would we have to use a shape design on them?

My first thought is to build a battle-mage academy for infrastructure, Artifice a pike/crossbow squares and scout cavalry, and Magic up a tier 2 one-way anti-arrow wall spell capable of covering a pike/crossbow square. Either shape the duke into a champion, or reserve him as a minor elite guard to avoid a repeat of the end of last turn.

If the answer to my questions are no, I think I'd switch to designing pike and crossbow units as separate Artifice actions, Shape a mount, and revise scout cavalry and either T2 mages or pike/crossbow square formation drills.

As an alternative potential strategy, we could focus our magic into breaking up the terrain, so it stops being an open field battle.

I want light cavalry this turn. It's generally accepted that most of the battle casualties from pre-gunpowder battles happened after a rout. On an open field battle, light cavalry will help with mopping up, and might be able to run down the exhausted and relatively slow enemy heavy cavalry, so we don't have to fight half of these enemies again next turn.

C1. Forging a Stronger Nation and Greater Alloy.

I think a meritocratic bureaucracy would take several turns to get working, and I'm not sure how well a meritocracy would work when we'll constantly be at war. We might have a hard time with either military officers being the ones taking the best spots, or splitting our best educated people between civil administration and the officer corps.

[chubby2man]

I am pleased this lives.
Can we create a mixed unit formation as one design? A pike and crossbow formation would be great here.
Do we have horses now, or would we have to use a shape design on them?

So the Pike and Crossbow would be two separate designs, but you could combine them in a formation with no cost (or a revision if you wanted the formation to be seamless/very well drilled).

You do have access to horses, though they are unused to the smell of orcs. For shaping would-be mounts, you can include riders as part of the intended design.

[Nirur Torir]

Here's a synergized spread. We need the magic academy to get enough T2-capable spellcasters to include Arrow Ward in our formations, giving us some well-rounded and difficult to remove mixed units. Pike & Shot formations with arrow protection spells would be great.
I am a little worried that T1 pikes won't have enough training to pull off a pike square, but even T2 should give us enough to counter-position against enemy cavalry, or have sturdy bulwarks in our lines, while T1 static pike lines would stop their knights from knighting us too badly.
I'm not certain on pure human pikeneers. Pure orc gives us the best discipline. Mixed might hurt discipline in the short term, since we don't have much experience with combined forces and have an influx of humans unused to fighting alongside orcs. I imagine pure humans having better discipline than mixed, but with potential morale problems, since we'd be relying heavily on freshly conquered people. More numbers from the new conquests, and the morale problems shouldn't be terrible, so long as our coin is good.
I have little real preference for crossbows over bows, but crossbows fit our artifice theme better. I know the auxilia shoot already, but I want better anti-armor archers than our auxilia, and archers disciplined enough to fight in a pike & shot formation.
I don't like that we'd only be able to get light cavalry this turn from revising auxilia, but I don't see a better alternative.
I'm not sold on this champion's gimmick, or if it's even allowed, but it fits, and I think an offensive/duelist class would be the most useful.

Free Infrastrucutre: Magic Academy
Our mages are limited in numbers, and are little more than hedge mages with patchwork educations. We need to invest in a training academy to remedy this. As teaching dark magic can be dangerous, it might be wisest to build it in the nearby town of Hemlock Bastion Arnhold's Fall. Naturally, the academy will focus on training battle-mages, and teach military discipline to its students.

Artifice: Pikewall (T1)
We'll be fighting cavalry, and pikes are the answer. To ensure maximum pikes, both humans and orcs will be recruited for Pikewall formations. They will be given pikes, helmets, simpler mail, and a short sword for when battlefield conditions don't allow pike use. Their training will primarily focus on a static pike wall formation, where they stand in a line a few deep and point their pikes at the enemy. They will be drilled to stand firm against charging enemies while being shot at. They will only receive light swordsmanship training, enough to keep them from stabbing themselves.

Artifice: Pikeneers (T2)
The Deeping Guard are effective, but are too few to hold the line in a major battle. Pikeneers will recruit from humans, our loyalists mixed into forces recruited from our newly conquered lands. They will be given pikes, lightweight yet full armor, and short swords. While Pikeneers will be trained to form a pike wall and resist a charge, they will also be heavily drilled to maneuver in close formations. A square of Pikeneers will be expected to be able to fluidly move in any direction with pikes extended, and rapidly redeploy their pikes in any direction, or all sides at once. They will also receive slightly more sword training than Pikewalls, enough to out-duel militia or beat out-numbered footmen.

Artifice: Crossbows (T1)
We need a dedicated ranged unit to compliment our melee line. Heavy crossbows are an effective solution to Iserria's heavy armor. Lightly armored, these mixed racial formations will need to be trained in accuracy and formation movement drills.

Magic:
Arrow Ward (T2)
We need a one-way barrier that a mage can project in front of a formation of troops, to protect it from arrows while allowing those inside to fire back. After a brainstorming session, it was determined that we unfortunately can't easily solve this problem with fire or darkfire. Instead, a tall, arc-shaped zone will alter the velocity of physical objects in it, pushing them away from the caster. Enemy arrows will be slowed until they are practically harmless, and our own will receive a minor speed boost.
At this power, larger objects, like a charging horseman or giant rocks, will only see negligible impact. Arrows from the sides won't be slowed, but might have their aim thrown off, if the mage casts the arc wide enough to catch them.

Shape: Duke of Despair (Champion, Duke of Arnhold bonus)
We shall imbue the duke with darkness. The light imbued him after he was determined to sacrifice himself to save his daughter. ("A burning determination to slay a hated foe, at any cost? We can use this.") After we corrupt him, he will be filled with the =need= to destroy a specific foe, chosen once per battle, but not to the point he becomes a single-minded berserker. He will be more effective against the chosen target, but less so against others.
His shape will be corrupted. He will look almost human, but wrong. His powerful arms will be too long, his fingers ending in viscious poisoned claws. His visage will be a mockery of its former self, with horns and large jaws able to bite through metal. His size will be slightly increased, until he can barely fit into his corrupted runic armor. His flesh will be reforged to be more durable, and he will be given a slow regeneration factor -- Even should he fall in battle, so long as we can reclaim his body, he will eventually recover and return to fight the light once more.
He will be an offensive/duelist spec, filling a much-needed gap in our arsenal.


Edit: Pikewall(T1) and Pikeneers(T2) split off into two discrete unit types. The T1 variant is mixed human/orc for maximum quantity, and isn't trained well enough to maneuver. The T2 variant is pure human, slightly better armored, and is well-drilled enough to maneuver in square formations able to deploy pikes in any, or all, directions.
I prefer the Pikeneers, which will be more versatile for future battles, and not tie up too much manpower with people who can only stand in line on an open field.

[Madman198237]

Artifice: Legio II Shieldbearers (unit, tier 2)

To fight in the fields, we need a force designed around formation fighting and defense against cavalry or other heavy enemy forces. The Shieldbearers are the answer, a force of medium infantry capable of holding a line of battle for as long as necessary. Similar to the Deeping Guard in their armor, their mail is a bit lighter and their shields are larger kite shields. Their helms are the same, though, to provide great protection to the one thing you can always stab when a soldier is hiding behind a shield. They wear a single steel gauntlet and bracer on their weapon hands to protect them, with no armor on their shield arms (since you can't really be stabbed in your shield arm since it's, y'know, holding a shield). This saves some weight, combined with their lighter mail on their torso it gives them serious advantages in combat endurance. Furthermore the Orcs pulled from the Rabble for this unit must pass a grueling endurance test, hours of combat and marching in the full sun, all to further the goal of producing a line unit that can fight, or march, all day and night without tiring. Humans can also join the unit if they pass the same tests, obviously they might not be as plentiful at the moment but that's OK. For weaponry they bear a roughly 8-foot spear with a warhammer as a backup weapon. Yes we like hammers, no we will not reconsider, yes we will hammer a dent into your skull with them if you question us about it. The only new or special thing about their training is a course on combat engineering. They are trained to build a fortified encampment for the army, every single night. Their greater endurance means they can march further during the thereby lessened hours of the day they spend marching, and then build a camp at the end, while units such as the Archers prepare (and possibly catch) food while the Deeping Guard provides the sentries for the night watch.

Their armor is burnished black mail over a steel-grey gambeson. A dark green surcoat bears the symbol of a hammer with a golden head and steel-grey shaft with golden flames burning up the handle. The shield is green and bears the symbol of the Legions which hangs to the right of the Dark Lord's own, an inverted hammer in grey and gold again, topped with a helm reminiscent of the Dark Lord's crown; steel-grey with a black gem in the middle. Their full helms also recall the Dark Lord's crown, but more practical and less ornate, as befits a line unit.

[Nirur Torir]

GM questions: We have some sort of abstracted unit training budget, some way you determine how many units we have on a mission.
If we have a specialized unit design that's utterly ineffective for a mission, like static pike infantry in an elven forest turn or dragon riders in a dwarven cave turn, will our training focus on something else, while the pikemen and dragon riders are elsewhere, guarding other borders? That is, will we have an army of 5000, with 1000 useless and unarmed pikemen, or will the training be converted into 6000 of other unit types?

Similarly, if we have an especially effective unit type for the mission, like if we have dragon riders before assaulting floating islands, or catapults for a castle assault, would our army have more of those units trained for that mission?

[chubby2man]

GM questions: We have some sort of abstracted unit training budget, some way you determine how many units we have on a mission.
If we have a specialized unit design that's utterly ineffective for a mission, like static pike infantry in an elven forest turn or dragon riders in a dwarven cave turn, will our training focus on something else, while the pikemen and dragon riders are elsewhere, guarding other borders? That is, will we have an army of 5000, with 1000 useless and unarmed pikemen, or will the training be converted into 6000 of other unit types?

Similarly, if we have an especially effective unit type for the mission, like if we have dragon riders before assaulting floating islands, or catapults for a castle assault, would our army have more of those units trained for that mission?

Good question! Short answer is generally no, you won’t be converting units into other units (outside of designs and revisions anyways). At a certain point in the game you will unlock different theatres of war where you can send differently compositioned armies.

Keep in mind there aren't separate pools of recruits for each tier, making another tier 2 unit won’t subtract any units from your Deeping Guard, for example. Your army can only grow in size (unless you lose territory).

[Nirur Torir]

The more I think about it, the more tempted I am by T1 pikemen over T2. It would be great if the synergy plan works, but there are too many moving parts that all have to go right in the same turn, with no room left in the revision section to fix any problems. The rest of my submissions still work pretty well together without pike squares or reserving revision actions, but we might have trouble getting enough casters to protect the entire line from arrows.

[m1895]

Legionary Auxiliary Billsoldier
While our elite melee troops are impeccable, the rabble are decidedly peccable, so we've created a second type of auxillia to bridge the gap and hold the line.
The Bill, like many polearms, has a thousand different forms, but the standard we've decided on has few accoutrements, a forest bill that cleaves flesh and bone, with a hook on the back edge and a sturdy spike, strong enough to pierce mail if need be. armed thus the soldier is a remarkable generalist in a melee. Able to fend off a cavalry charge, fight infantry, and probably deal with whatever miscellaneous unit the enemy fields. For armor the basic trooper has light mail and a black steel half-helm, as well as a kite shield with a guige, allowing them to hold the shield in front of them when being harried by archers and strap the shield to their back when they need to use the bill.

[Madman198237]

I'm sorry for how long this is.

Wait, no I'm not, because this is the Dark Side and evil is acceptable here!

Free Infrastructure: The Citadel Reforged
We tore the citadel holding us prisoner to pieces to escape, and it's no longer in as much of a livable shape as it could be. The populace is likewise not the most fond of us for understandable reasons. We are going to fix these in one swoop, by rebuilding the citadel. There are many, many, many Orcs with free time on their hands, a monstrously capable demolition machine, and an Avatar of a literal deity of crafting all camped out in this citadel at the moment, and it's time to put them to use. We are going to rebuild every destroyed (or otherwise in poor condition, even if it wasn't our fault) building and renovate the citadel and walls to be even better. The houses that are rebuilt will be rebuilt better, and all will be given first to the people who lived in them previously. If all occupants are dead, then we can use the land or building for other purposes or sell them off or whatever is necessary, but our first goal is public relations.

The new outer wall will be further from the citadel, to give the city more space, and hung above its reflective grey granite surface will of course be the banners of the Legions and Dark Lord with such friendly background colors as green, and blue, and white. The wall itself is taller, with nine towers instead of six, no longer connected together or directly connected to the citadel, to save on space behind the walls. The towers are of course covered in weapons and the gatehouse is a massive bastion with multiple gates and murder holes and machicolations for days. The main citadel is likewise made more dangerous to attack, but given a nice casing of white stone.

Inside the city, the streets are cleaned up, a sewage system is installed (the Dark Lord has had a lot of time to design his new fortress, given that he's been chained up underneath it dreaming about its conquest for a couple millennia), and there are gardens and trees placed amongst the enlarged city.

While we're rebuilding the city, we will rebuild the society. Positions under the Dark Lord's rule will be handed out based on merit, open to any (non-treasonous) citizen who wishes to do the job. No retributions will be had for the resistance to the Dark Lord's resurgence, and no retributions will be made to any newly conquered peoples for their prior resistance to the new management. Obviously once people are under our rule resistance will be dealt with, but not ridiculously harshly. Treason will not be counted as much of a crime as murder, for example, and orcs and humans will be equal under the laws. Orcs, humans, and anything else with near human-level intelligence that we produce, that is.

Maybe it's too much, but I felt like it. Now for something for the future.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Artifice: Forgemaster of the Ancient Deeps
The insignia of the Dark Lord's forces is well known. A hammer, a crown, a flame, sometimes there's a gem, sometimes there's gold. Easy to remember and a lot of the people bearing it are not that threatening. Nobody is scared of the Rabble unless they're badly outnumbered, for instance.

But there is a sign that does inspire fear. One born by very few, one with greater meaning. A steel hammer, suspended in golden flames, beneath the terrifying sight of a golden crown with a single black gem... rent in two. The ones who carry the rent crown are those who even Heroes fear. Bearers of the Sundered Crown, the chosen of the Dark Lord, his most loyal servants, his terrifying weapons, his Champions. Before the sight of the sundered crown will stand few foes, and they are right to fear. Behind them, the Legions and loyal forces are inspired to fight harder, and the Rabble driven onwards through fear of these representatives of the Dark Lord.


The oldest of those who bear this emblem is the Forgemaster of the Ancient Deeps, a mere mortal orc, or so he appears. But if he is, then he must be so powerful that Death itself fears to try and take him. The Forgemaster is an orc after the Dark Lord's own heart, a craftsman and smith as well as a fierce fighter and mage. There is no spell that he cannot cast, no device he cannot make, and no enemy he will not defeat. His armor is scored so deep with runes that none save himself and the Dark Lord remember, magics so old Fate itself might be altered in their presence. The battered insignia upon his chest is the original insignia of the Dark Lord, former not of steel and iron and gold but of adamant and mithril, and the crown was forged whole in the days of the Dark Lord's stronger, brighter past. But the crown is rent still, sundered by the blow that finally brought down the Dark Lord's most loyal and capable lieutenant. Underneath the rent crown, however, the Forgemaster lives. Perhaps Death was yet too afraid of the old orc, or the enchantments laid upon his cuirass too strong, or the magic he wove too powerful. At last the news of the Dark Lord's return has spread far enough to find him, however, and the right hand of the Dark Lord has returned to take his place.

Upon his wrinkled brow sits a mithril helm, sculpted with the wings of an eagle and a hammer and stars upon the brow, the emblems of an orcish clan long forgotten. Upon his age-darkened chest rests a mithril cuirass unbreakable by mortal means, and his arms and legs are encased in mithril plate of such clever construction as to leave no gaps for even the sharpest of knives to find. Before his enchanted weapons, the hammer and sword, the axe and mace, no defense has ever resisted. Upon the shining shield are carved the only words that can yet be read, a challenge, a truth. A promise.
"The Forge Burns"

Shaping: Terrible Claws (beast cavalry) (better name always welcome)
To fill out our cavalry roster we have turned to the more...organic creations. Flesh is very different from metal, but the Dark Lord can work with both. Functioning as a sort of terrifying light and medium cavalry, the Terrible Claws are highly intelligent beasts, capable of following commands and accepting orcs as riders. They stand on two legs, have thick skin and tough hair that serves to protect them, and can run as fast as a horse. Their snouts contain a whole lot of very dangerous teeth, and their eyes face forwards with excellent vision and depth perception. Hearing is average for a predator, which means 'terrifyingly good' by most civilized peoples' standards. Their most notable features, however, are their claws. Their feet each carry a single enormous claw that is strong enough to be used in a swordfight, while their hands and arms are reinforced with bony plates, further reinforced with steel when they are in our army, and terribly sharp claws, again augmented with steel in our service. Their thin tails serve to balance them when they run.

If you hadn't already guessed, they eat mostly meat. But they're not really a natural animal, and some of the magic woven into them allows them to go without food for extended periods of time, so that they don't, y'know, devour entire populations of domestic animals and wildlife whenever an army moves around. This does not hurt their ability to fight (because magic) but also does not improve their temperament (because hunger). They will obey commands, particularly those given by spellcasters/the Dark Lord himself as they are, again, slightly magical. Usually a cultist, Orcish spellcaster, or officer will ride one of the beasts in a detachment to give them orders and report back on reconnaissance (we weren't willing to make these things close enough to sentient to give accurate recon reports, they're terrifying enough as is), though most of the beasts do not have riders as riders slow them down and make their terrifying leaps less impressive. They do reproduce naturally, but the magic that allows them to not eat and forces them to obey commands prevents them from, say, escaping, and overrunning the world with supernaturally good killing machines.

And they said experimenting with the laws of nature was irresponsible. Look how responsible we actually are! We're doing great!

Artifice: Legio III Arrowguard (unit, tier 2)
As we further improve our forces we have drawn the best of the archers from the lower ranks into a disciplined unit of ranged troops capable of outshooting most forces. Wielding longbows of the finest quality and wearing light mail and open-faced helms, they can lay down a withering hail of arrows and cut straight through most armor short of good-quality plate with their armor-piercing arrows. These orcs are tested for good eyesight and strength of arms to draw their heavy bows, and as is now our standard humans can join the Legion units (or any other unit, for that matter) if they can pass the tests and perform according to expectations within them. They are armed with a hammer and shield in addition to their bows, of course. They are trained to operate both in close ranks for set-piece battles and in open order in a skirmishing role, with all emphasis placed on accuracy and lethality with the bow. The reconnaissance duties are left to the Auxiliaries and cavalry.

Their armor is burnished black mail over a blue gambeson. A blue surcoat bears the symbol of a hammer with a golden head and steel-grey shaft with golden flames burning up the handle. The shield is blue and bears the symbol of the Legions which hangs to the right of the Dark Lord's own, an inverted hammer in grey and gold again, topped with a helm reminiscent of the Dark Lord's crown; steel-grey with a black gem in the middle. Their full helms also recall the Dark Lord's crown, but more practical and less ornate, as befits a line unit.

It's late at night so I won't be adding every design to the votebox, just add them as you vote for them.

Free Infrastructure:
The Citadel Reforged: (1) Madman

Shaping:
Terrible Claws: (1) Madman

Artifice:
Legio II Shieldbearers (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Legio III Arrowguard (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman

Magic:
Arrow Ward (T2): (1) Madman

[Nirur Torir]

Without a magic academy and maybe a mage revision, Arrow Ward isn't going to have a strategic impact on the battle.

B. With A Light Touch: (1) Nirur

Free Infrastructure:
The Citadel Reforged: (1) Madman
Magic Academy: (1) Nirur

Shaping:
Terrible Claws: (1) Madman
Duke of Despair: (1) Nirur

Artifice:
Legio II Shieldbearers (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Legio III Arrowguard (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Pikewall (unit, tier 1): (1) Nirur
Crossbows (unit, tier 1): (1) Nirur

Magic:
Arrow Ward (T2): (2) Madman, Nirur

[chubby2man]

Let’s aim for votes to be finished up by the end of tomorrow or Wednesday. We can extend this if we need more time.

Of course there is more time to add more designs if you want!

[King Zultan]

B. With A Light Touch: (1) Nirur

Free Infrastructure:
The Citadel Reforged: (2) Madman, King Zultan
Magic Academy: (1) Nirur

Shaping:
Terrible Claws: (1) Madman
Duke of Despair: (2) Nirur, King Zultan

Artifice:
Legio II Shieldbearers (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Legio III Arrowguard (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Pikewall (unit, tier 1): (2) Nirur, King Zultan
Crossbows (unit, tier 1): (2) Nirur, King Zultan

Magic:
Arrow Ward (T2): (2) Madman, Nirur

[/quote]

[Rockeater]

B. With A Light Touch: (2) Nirur, Rockeater

Free Infrastructure:
The Citadel Reforged: (2) Madman, King Zultan
Magic Academy: (2) Nirur, Rockeater

Shaping:
Terrible Claws: (2) Madman, Rockeater
Duke of Despair: (2) Nirur, King Zultan

Artifice:
Legio II Shieldbearers (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Legio III Arrowguard (unit, tier 2): (1) Madman
Pikewall (unit, tier 1): (3) Nirur, King Zultan, Rockeater
Crossbows (unit, tier 1): (3) Nirur, King Zultan, Rockeater

Magic:
Arrow Ward (T2): (3) Madman, Nirur, Rockeater