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Author Topic: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T6  (Read 23517 times)

Kashyyk

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #345 on: August 19, 2022, 01:51:01 am »

Wait, hang on.

The original Hussars design attempts to create 1) a new monster, and 2) a new enchanted weapon for them to use. Already that's kinda stretching it, but we've done monster creation before, are spending a wealth token and its Rare, so the penalties are mitigated somewhat.

This one you're all piling onto instead makes it Uncommon in exchange for being High-Effort. That'll cause both the monster creation and the enchanted weapon to be five times more difficult, in exchange for two or three times the effort involved.
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m1895

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #346 on: August 19, 2022, 03:43:04 am »

I refuse to acknowledge "we put the bottled sunlight in the spear" as an enchanted weapon
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #347 on: August 19, 2022, 04:33:13 am »

This one you're all piling onto instead makes it Uncommon in exchange for being High-Effort. That'll cause both the monster creation and the enchanted weapon to be five times more difficult, in exchange for two or three times the effort involved.
For reference, the difficulty-rarity relation is not a simple linear one. Some aspects of a design, like the underlying techniques involved, are barely effected; if you figure out how to put an ice enchantment on one sword, you don't need to relearn it from scratch for the next four. Even production quantity doesn't affect difficult linearly; efficiency of scale applies to some extent, so forging ten swords might only be five times harder than forging one sword (as it were, numbers for example only).
For that matter, difficulty itself doesn't exactly have a linear scale.

(Also, just to be clear, while you can aim for a certain rarity, you don't have to)

E: Cropped the quoted message to make it clearer what part I'm responding to.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2022, 05:47:26 am by NUKE9.13 »
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Quarque

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #348 on: August 19, 2022, 05:10:34 am »

Really excited to go for a high effort design and I don't think this one has anything that's super unreasonable for an uncommon unit.. big balls play for the win. :-)

Quote
(2) Hussars of Muu: Kashyyk, EuchreJack
(1) Longinus' Lance of Light: m1895
(1) Order of the Tidepool: EuchreJack
(0) Tidal Tridents:
(1) Order of the Spring Tide: Kashyyk
(0) Octodads:
(0) Flying Hussars of Muu[HE]:
(5) Hussars of Muu v3 [HE]: Iris, Failbird, m1895, TricMagic, Quarque
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Failbird105

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #349 on: August 19, 2022, 05:35:19 am »

Snip
For reference, the difficulty-rarity relation is not a simple linear one. Some aspects of a design, like the underlying techniques involved, are barely effected; if you figure out how to put an ice enchantment on one sword, you don't need to relearn it from scratch for the next four. Even production quantity doesn't affect difficult linearly; efficiency of scale applies to some extent, so forging ten swords might only be five times harder than forging one sword (as it were, numbers for example only).
For that matter, difficulty itself doesn't exactly have a linear scale.

(Also, just to be clear, while you can aim for a certain rarity, you don't have to)

To add to this Kashyyk, I'm thinking that while it wasn't really named or intended as such, the Bottled Sunlight most likely itself counts as an "enchanted item", so this is us essentially just putting the enchantment on something else. We don't need to re-learn how to imbue something with an Evil-burning Light of Good that burns itself out over time, because we've already made an even more advanced version of it in the past.
« Last Edit: August 19, 2022, 05:37:45 am by Failbird105 »
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TricMagic

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #350 on: August 19, 2022, 07:35:17 am »

That and the Forge aiding enchantment along with the coral being receptive to enchantment.
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EuchreJack

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #351 on: August 19, 2022, 11:51:29 am »

Quote
(1) Hussars of Muu: Kashyyk
(1) Longinus' Lance of Light: m1895
(0) Order of the Tidepool:
(0) Tidal Tridents:
(1) Order of the Spring Tide: Kashyyk
(0) Octodads:
(0) Flying Hussars of Muu[HE]:
(6) Hussars of Muu v3 [HE]: Iris, Failbird, m1895, TricMagic, Quarque, EuchreJack

Iris

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #352 on: August 20, 2022, 08:24:12 am »

Two versions of the same design for the next turn if all goes well.

Quote from: The Siren Enchantress
There are many things that lurk in the deep, far from where humans can see. One of them is a humanoid race known as the Sirens. The result of an Angel that was later deposed, they fled underwater to protect against the crusades against them. With their three pairs of iridescent wings (that look suspiciously like a ballgown when folded) and sparkling fish's tail peaking out, they have a striking (and ethereally beautiful) appearance abovewater. The Sirens have long been known for their captivating voices.

One particular Siren, whose name has been lost to the Cult of Muu, washed up on the shores of Tendril Village - half dead, a wreck. While she was unable to communicate with Muu's cultists at first, the Twisting Heaven saw a potential use for her and instructed her cultists to give her care.

Over time, a story emerged: The Siren that would later be known as the Enchantress was the daughter of a minor noble of her Siren kingdom. Her upbringing had given her a very good understanding of the intricacies of high-society intrigue, yet she never had any chances to practice them in the strictly regimented and class-conscious society of the Sirens. She had a keen interest in the human world, yet it was verboten to interact with them in the ways she ached to do so. She snuck off on her own, trying to grab a glimpse of the world above, yet she was the victim of a run of bad luck: storms, hostile wildlife, and finally a pair of fishermen who kept her as a curiosity and later a slave.

She eventually escaped, yet she was badly wounded; she drifted unconscious until she found herself in the arms of Muu.

When the Siren was nursed back to health, she had a burning desire to get revenge on the fishermen who wronged her. Muu and her cultists listened patiently and explained that the fishermen were likely acting on Evil impulses. The Enchantress, being in a very fragile emotional state at the time, hung on their every word.

Muu was looking for a Champion to give her influence among the human kingdoms, and the Siren was a natural. She received training in the ways of human communication, amplifying her natural Siren's abilities to incredible heights. She proved very capable of bending people to her will and seemed to derive a vindictive enjoyment from it. Perhaps her most powerful ability was her Voice - capable of bending even the most strong-willed to her way of thinking. Her wings are also razor-sharp, yet she prefers to use them only in self-defence.

She is capable of dominating targets through her voice; while this can be used to stun whole groups of Evil, the Siren much prefers using it to further her manipulations. The more targets she dominates at once, however, the shorter it lasts. The effect, when used on a small number of targets (say,  the head of the the table of a banquet) is long-lived enough to turn her victims into her informants.

Quote from: The Siren of the West
The Siren comes from high birth indeed. She is even related to the distant Emperor of the Western Protectorate!

...well, they're seventh cousins once removed. She's the great-niece of the Emperor's fifth cousin once removed. Generations ago, her ancestors moved to the Protectorate in order to be closer to the lands they ruled. The Siren was born close enough to the throne to be nobility, far away enough to be just another face in the crowd of nobility in the Western Protectorate. Interchangeable with everyone else of her status.

This never suited the Siren. Discontent with the rot of complacency that tore the Western Protectorate from the inside out, bored to death of the endless banquets where nothing of consequence was ever decided, she wanted to make a name for herself. From a young age, she had set herself out as sharp and zealous in her goals. She managed to bend a small number of Western nobles to her will - until the war broke out.

Unfortunately for her, the section of the Vast Steppe she resided in found itself under the jackboot of the forces of Nar-Carok. She refuses to speak of what she did or experienced during that time, yet it had a great influence on her. She grew extremely adept at manipulation and became something of a seeker for intrigue. It also instilled in her a burning desire to use her talents against the Demon that had invaded what after so many generations had become her homeland. Muu, in her infinite benevolence, saw fit to induct the Siren into her service.

This brings us to the changes that the Siren has undergone. She now sports three pairs of wings - these fold against her legs when not in use, creating the effect of a sparkling gown. She also has a pearly fish tail that peaks out from the 'gown'. Those that threaten her will quickly find the wings to be razor-sharp, yet the Siren refuses to use them except in self-defence. She has a minor shapeshifting ability that allows her to show and hide her unnatural features on command, as well as change features to avoid recognization if this becomes necessary.

Her uncanny skill at bending people to her will has been augmented by powerful magics. Now the Siren is both metaphorically and literally irresistible. She manifests a powerful attractiveness and magnetism on men and women both and is not above using her skills to enthrall targets. In addition to the social skills her upbringing has imparted on her, the Siren has a supernatural grasp on the motivations of others, and she is very quickly capable of grasping the social mores of whatever group she finds herself in. She is capable of dominating targets through her voice; while this can be used to stun whole groups of Evil, the Siren much prefers using it to further her manipulations. The more targets she dominates at once, however, the shorter it lasts. The effect, when used on a small number of targets (say,  the head of the the table of a banquet) is long-lived enough to turn her victims into her informants.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2022, 03:59:35 pm by Iris »
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Quarque

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #353 on: August 20, 2022, 09:39:10 am »

The story of Jeriah

Quote
Jeriah is a horse trader from the Schism'd capital. He is to travel through the vast steppe with a large number of the finest horses Xyrania has to offer. Jeriah hates the vast steppe. But his customer is none other than the Viceroy of the Silver palace. You do not disappoint the Viceroy. And the pay is good.
After two weeks of travel his caravan meets up with a band of ruffians - theyīre too pathetic to be called an army. Men armed with primitive spears and bows, their faces painted in strange patterns, as if they are following some sort of cult that Jeriah has never seen before in all of his years in the Schismīd capital.
When Jeriah meets them up close, he shudders when he finds out that some of them arenīt human, but some weird zombie/jellyfish crossover. When the apparent cult leader approaches, Jeriah is relieved to find out they do not demand his money. All they want to know is where they can find some "demon army".
"How am I supposed to know?" answers Jeriah irritably. "I don't know what a demon looks like and don't want to learn, either."
The leader solemny nods. "Onwards to the south!" he yells, and the mob starts moving north.
Jeriah stares at them as they disappear in the distance. For some reason they remind him of that idiot who claimed that gods do not care how they are worshipped. Of course the guy was promptly executed.
One week later Jeriah runs into another band of ruffians. They look somewhat similar to the ones he met earlier, but this time they turn out to have actual zombies. And a lot of smelly hairy folks that Jeriah manages to keep a good distance from.
Again, he is approached by some sort of cult leader. This one informs if Jeriah has seen an "angel army".
"Oh, let me guess," says Jeriah. "Are you talking about an army that looks a bit like yours, but with more tentacles?"
"Yes"
With an innocent smile Jeriah says: "You're in luck, I met them a couple of days ago. I'm pretty sure they went in that direction, to the south."
What Jeriah didn't know was that the angel army had been going around in a circle in the meantime and his direction would actually lead the demon army to meet up with the angels.
« Last Edit: August 20, 2022, 10:01:33 am by Quarque »
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TricMagic

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #354 on: August 21, 2022, 05:50:40 pm »

The Catzafish
An idle work of an afternoon, Muu decided to emulate one of the feline pets that dot the world. After all, there is no reason to live if you can't have fun and watch some cats play around.
For whatever reason, she decided to use a giant catfish she found in a pond, and then thought to give it fur and paws by imbuing it with power of the electrical variety. And so the cat died, and lived, and died, and so the fish lived, and died, and lived. Until whether it was alive or dead was in question. It's scaly fur bristles with pleasant static, it's dead eyes shine like a lighthouse upon others, and it's size is. Well, it's the size of a housecat. Nowadays it sits around letting people pet it and feed it fish. Muu's quite pleased, even if she does have to take a smaller form to pet it herself. The mischief it occasionally gets up to is cute. In a paradoxid type of way.
Well, it's mostly morale since it's a cute cat. But it does have some use. It's pleasant static draws small creatures to it, while it's eyes are capable of dazing it's prey. It doesn't actually have claws, just sending a high-volt current through it's paws to kill, stun and paralyze things, whichever it feels like doing. And it's whiskers allow it unheard of ability to sense things around it. It absolutely hates getting wet though, and is a cat. Water and rain short-circuits it. Another thing is, it doesn't actually die, er, live. One or the other. While as easy to kill as a housecat, it comes back. Look away, the body is gone, and the cat is playing with something else. Only way to stop it for a while is to put it's body in a box, and it will come out in Tendril Village again, given Muu has a bunch of boxes for it to sit in for cute cat things. Occasionally it goes in one and comes out another.


Cat! Just a fun time writing meme. Behold the Cute.
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Failbird105

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #355 on: August 22, 2022, 12:02:26 pm »

Quote from: Surgical Report
10:10:6- Preparations begin. Tools are sharpened and steralized.
I sharpen my scalpel. It cannot be sharpened, it is the sharpest it can ever be. It must be sharper.
10:15:20- Patient is prepared. Operation begins
I stop. I have located the infection. I lift my scalpel, I lift my lancet. I proceed.
10:15:24- The first incision is made. Left forearm.
My scalpel cuts into infected tissue upon the arm. It is not the heart of the infection. I must expunge the infection at its heart.
10:15:30- Locating the source of infection begins
I leave the cadavers as the infection retreats. I must follow the path of the infection to its heart.
10:16:31- 4 samples of infected tissue are extracted.
I find four instances of infected tissue. Incisions are made. Trachea. Cut. Upper spinal column. Cut. Left and Right shoulders. Cut. Aortic arch. Cut.
10:16:42- Blood sample extracted. Operation ends.
I draw a blood sample. I return to preventing further casualty. The infection still remains.
The patient has not been cured.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2022, 12:14:33 pm by Failbird105 »
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TricMagic

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #356 on: August 22, 2022, 06:40:56 pm »

Sol Crystals Revision
One interesting interaction occurs upon boiling Forgewater. As it is boiled away it fuses with air to form crystals. Fragile as they may be, they dazzle in the sun. The process occurs due to magical energy being stripped ad releasing it's ability to meld and forge.
.. Liquid Sunlight also burns away, and is rather hot during it's creation. By mixing it directly into Forgewater and enclosing it, the forgewater fuses with the evaporating light, trapping it within. The result is a crystal that shines with inner light, able to store large amounts of sunlight and be recharged outside. These can be fed to liquid light elementals to recharge them, allowing for 24-hour operation, as well as a measure to keep them alive long enough develop their minds, small as they are at 'birth'. Once a Sol Crystal is drained, it can be ejected and recharged. So we should see an increase in smarts from the older ones, like the benefit of low power so you can hunt evil more effectively when battle time comes. Or just drawing on the Sol Crystals for an overcharge explosion at the cost of most of their mass before they slink away to fight another day.
Sol Crystals don't have any healing properties, though they can act as reservoirs for things that use the energy stored in liquid sunlight. They are also fragile, so combat can cause them to break somewhat easily. This doesn't actually destroy their innate traits, but there will be a release of energy that shatters them into shards with far less storage capacity. Larger is better, but also easier to target. Liquid Light Elementals have 1 to 3 depending on their mental ability, with 3 showcasing one that is rather old and developed.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2022, 06:45:54 pm by TricMagic »
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T4
« Reply #357 on: August 23, 2022, 11:36:52 am »

Angel Team: Design Phase T4
TURNTURNTURN
Quote from:  Hussars of Muu v3
The Hussars of Muu were once cuttlefish that have been twisted into humanoid form, and are designed to serve as light cavalry - replacing humans in this role. They retain many of the abilities they once had - specifically, they are able to use their suckers to latch onto their mounts, and they can emit clouds of obscuring ink to cover their charge (literally clouds - they emit ink as a black fog, and no, Muu isn't sure how she managed to get that to work above-water either): the better to ambush and flank with. The Hussars are designed as mounted cavalry capable of using the new Spears of Light (see further below). After their mutation (which has imparted an instinctive set of combat skills), they have been given intensive training on mounts and the use of the Spears. With their drakegulls and Spears of Light, they can close on high-value targets and easily deal great damage to powerful Evil units.

The Spears of Light themselves are made of bonewood amalgam that has been introduced to grown coral in the Forge of Cleansing with the attempt to create a polearm that is strong, yet flexible, and able to take enchantment well. They have a single spearhead and a metal shank composed of iron that is of roughly pyramidal shape (greatly resembling a Roman pilum), and they have been weighted to allow them to pierce modest armour from sheer momentum when thrown or used in a charge. Additionally, some Bottled Sunlight has been used in creating them to allow them to have greatly increased lethality against Evil-aligned beings. This has the side-effect of making the Spear shine brightly, hence the name. It is hoped that each Spear of Light will be able to be produced in sufficient quantities to arm each Hussar with half a dozen. Each use of the Spear of Light consumes some of the Bottled Sunlight used in its manufacture; while it is not projected to run out in a battle it will periodically have to be sent back to be reforged if not used. When thrown or on the end of a charge, the stress of impact will cause the Spear to release all of its stores at once, creating an intensive effect that is very damaging in a cone in front of the Spear and essentially burns out the Spear (making them single-use).

The Hussars of Muu are reasonably armed with an iron sabre as a sidearm for close combat along with their Spears as well as protected by a simple-in-design yet well-crafted leather and coral vest (carefully cut to allow them the flexibility their cuttlefish nature gives) as well as a teardrop bonewood-backed coral shield designed to protect them from gullback. Their Spears of Light, when not in use, are strapped to the gull; and there is also a "cup" in the saddle to allow a Spear to be used like a lance.

We intend to use some of our extra Wealth to aid in allowing their numbers to equal our numbers of Gulls, both by allowing the capturing or breeding of greater numbers of cuttlefish and by funding the production of extra Bottled Sunlight to create enough spears for each. In addition, we are using a High-Effort Action. This should be sufficient to allow Hussars to replace human cultists riding Drakegulls on a one-to-one basis.
Hussars of Muu v3 (High Effort)(Uses 1 Wealth token): Very Hard Hard: (1+2+2+4)-1=5: Average
You don't understand why some of your cultists think the Hussars look creepy. They're cuttlefish! That's practically cuddlefish!! How could they possibly be anything but the cutest things ever???

With time, resources, and determination, all things are possible. In specific, this project was possible. It can be broken down into several components:
-Cuttlefishkin: though a challenging mutation, the fact that these are only intended to serve as Hussars meant you didn't need to worry about how to produce them in large numbers. Their ink-cloud spewing ability, though only usable once per battle, is able to obscure a modest but respectable area- large enough for three or four Drakegulls to hide in. Using it on the charge is... problematic, since any cloud emitted would naturally be behind the charging Hussars... but it is still a useful ability- it can cover withdrawals (after which a second charge would benefit from the screen), confuse foes in melee, or be used to shield allies following behind from view.
-Spears of Light: a fairly straightforward piece of equipment, with the coral-bonewood amalgam working out quite well. Absorbs Liquid Sunlight as desired, unleashes the energy into enemies as desired.
-Other equipment: the coral-covered vest and shield, iron sabre, and other bits and pieces. The only issue here was the vest- coral just isn't flexible. Rather than spend significant amounts of effort trying to figure out how to combine coral and leather and end up with a usable product, you opted to scrap the idea and go with regular leather for the vest. The shield wasn't a problem- and the swirls of colour in the smooth coral surface are quite pretty. Likewise, an iron sabre for a unit of this quantity wasn't a challenge- it's not the best sword in the world, but it's good enough.
-Training in throwing javelins from horsegullback, improved mount control and combat skills, while not costing more time/resources than regular Drakegull units: here is where the instinctive combat skills imparted on the Cuttlefishkin are crucial. While humans could've been trained to do the same job, the Cuttlefishkin pick things up much faster. With extra funds set aside for their improved equipment, the target cost was just barely met, allowing Hussars to essentially render Drakegulls obsolete. 

Hussars of Muu have great potential as skirmish cavalry, outclassing Drakegulls significantly. They are well equipped, well trained, and not too expensive to deploy. Unit Size: ~20 Uncommon




It is now the Revision Phase. You have one revision (which may be split into two Emergency Fixes).



Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Tokens (click to show/hide)

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Failbird105

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Revision Phase T4
« Reply #358 on: August 23, 2022, 01:19:18 pm »

Quote
Solar Sentinels- LLE Revision
The Liquid Light Elementals present so much potential, yet that potential is held back by the behavior, or rather misbehavior, of the Cherubs themselves. Many have proposed complex solutions to the issue, from introducing a secondary personality to putting enchanted equipment on them to allow them to be controlled. But there is a far simpler solution that could very well prove far more effective. These Cherubs are beings summoned and formed directly by Muu herself, and thus, unlike natural creatures, are not so rigid in nature.

The process of this change is in essence an alteration to the creation of the Cherubs itself. Taking what worked, and then putting more effort into the parts that didn't. Their minds are improved, focusing on both a greater intelligence for combat, and a greater sense of discipline such that they will obey when given instructions such as to dim their light and conserve their mass.

With this, the Liquid Light Elementals should prove to be a far more effective fighting force, having dramatically reduced logistical issues and possibly even being able to survive long enough on their own to act as guards against vampire attacks for our camps.
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Quarque

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Re: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Revision Phase T4
« Reply #359 on: August 23, 2022, 01:29:53 pm »

do we need a votebox?

I'm lazy and on mobile, so I'll just say +1 to the LLE fix.
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