Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[m1895]

Muu to Raider's Roost: (2) TricMagic, m1895

[EuchreJack]

Muu to Raider's Roost: (3) TricMagic, m1895, EuchreJack

[Kashyyk]

I disagree with this argument.

Our Worms are explicitly called out as being excellent at starting a base of operations, and having a broad spread across the lower classes. The higher Influence levels do not equal massive direct control of the commonfolk, so we will not be prevented from deploying deploying our Worms if the Demons do amazingly at their neighbour influence nodes. Having our Angel at a far node will be a temporary patch on the distance from our 5/5 home node.

Conversely, a combat deployment will cover for any potential lacking in our forces. We are very vulnerable to a heavy/shock troop desihnfrom the Demons, which Muu can counteract. If we can deny a Qealth Token to the Demons, or flip a minor win into a Wealth Token of our own, then all the better. These are tangible, immediate benefits, as opposed to a slight advance on an already disadvantaged node.

Muu to Raider's Roost: (3) TricMagic, m1895, EuchreJack
Muu to Rolling Hills: (1) Kashyyk

[TricMagic]

A fair argument.I do point out 1 flaw in it, in which we did not actually go heavy in combat, we went heavy in INF. Adding Muu to the equation would insure we won in that lane, unless we face their demon. Howver, pushing for 2 is, I believe, more difficult without an overwhelming advantage. At the moment we have a forward troop and decent gear, plus some defense against either magic or arrows.

Getting the in on their side can help in the middle, which should have no trouble spreading. Alternatively, we can send Muu to the center to advance our agenda and hope for 2, but I believe getting a foot in the door is more valuable, if more difficult.

[Kashyyk]

Not going heavy in the Combat designs is an even better reason to deploy Muu there. Now that Combat is more than just a tug-of-war, we can't afford to let the Dmeons make too many fast gains early game, as they can reinvest the Wealth Tokens into keeping up the pressure or taking back Influence.

We do not need to immediately push for 2 INF, let alone in the far nodes, where they already have an advantage. If you really want to put up an Influence wall, claiming one of the Capitals is a better choice. Our Servants are a chaff unit, backed by another well armed chaff unit. Any kind of moderately common heavy troop will paste them and send us reeling. We need Muu to counter that.

I doubt we will be able to raise a Node from 0 to 2 INF, when not only is it two nodes away from our nearest point of Influence, but you are proposing we raise it above that. We will also be contending with a stronger local Demonic presence. This is a waste of Muu's action, especially compared to denying/securing ownership of a Wealth Token, which has immediate value to make our next designs easier and thus secure INF 2 in multiple nodes at once.

[TricMagic]

Design Proposal: The Air of Goodness
One particular issue with the Worms is thus, how does one expand the Community beyond the initial infection? The answer is to modify the Worms themselves to produce an airborne pathogen. Spreading much like the common cold, these viruses enter the body and lay dormant. As acts of Good are done, they grow, using that energy to mutate the cells, and eventually produce a new Infected. Our cultists can then give the new initiate the original worm egg, and the process continues. However these pathogens, while spreading on their own, only including the feeling of good that such acts cause, they do not punish bad or evil behavior, and the body will kill them off in two to three days if they are not fed. Likewise, they are completely incapable of infecting evil, as they burn it off almost immediately. However, this should allow it to spread among family and friends, as the Community's actions bring more into the fold naturally.

[Failbird105]

Muu to Raider's Roost: (3) TricMagic, m1895, EuchreJack
Muu to Rolling Hills: (2) Kashyyk, Failbird

Honestly, I agree with all of that sentiment.

[Madman198237]

Muu to Raider's Roost: (4) TricMagic, m1895, EuchreJack, Madman
Muu to Rolling Hills: (2) Kashyyk, Failbird

We are here to have fun and this might potentially be hilarious.

[EuchreJack]

Eh, we'll get around to Combat Lanes next turn...

[NUKE9.13]

Angel Team: Battle Phase T1
TURNTURNTURN
(BR is in the core thread)


It is now the Design Phase. You have two designs.

Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)

Muu: The benevolent leader of your faction, a being of immense power. There is very little she cannot do. Needless to say, she is Unique


Mundane Units:
Cultist Spears: Reasonably equipped with an iron dagger, a bone-wood-amalgam shield, and bone-wood-shaft iron-tipped spear, though still lacking training. These are not elite warriors- they'd usually lose a one-on-one fight with a real soldier-, but they're cheap and plentiful. Like regular cultists, their dedication makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Unit Size: ~50 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 designed for hunting, not piercing armour, but they're better than nothing. Like regular cultists, their dedication makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Unit Size: ~25 Common

Acolytes: Cultists who have begun their exploration of the magical arts, studying under their angelic patron. 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. Unit Size: ~25 Uncommon

Cultist Missionaries: Cultists with a modicum of charisma and subtlety, sent forth as emissaries of their eldritch master. Unarmed and untrained, they serve no role in combat. Unit Size: ~10 Common

Summoned/Mutated Units:
Sea Servants: Deceased cultists, returned to unlife by the grace of Muu. Their mind and soul bound to a hivemind, their body strengthened and transformed into a more tentacle-y (and clumsy) version. More vulnerable to damage than humans, but heedless of pain and danger. Used both as labourers and warriors. They are more effective in the presence of Muu, as she can control the hivemind directly. Unit Size: ~100 Common


Spells/Rituals:
Magic Missile: Known by many names, the simple technique of blasting your opponent with raw Mana/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

Ymis Ward: A simple magic barrier that can reduce the impact of attacks both mundane and mystical- or be tuned to focus on one over the other. However, the physical and arcane versions cannot be used in the vicinity of each other. Won't last long, but can be useful in a pinch. 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, but it keeps the cult growing. Common

Worms of Muu: Parasitic/symbiotic worms that produce a worsening malaise unless the host engages in Good-producing acts. Worm will starve if deprived of Good for a week. Encourages good behaviour in a community, and causes the affected to be drawn together by exuded pheromones, forming strong bonds between Good-aligned individuals, who will easily trust angelic operatives while being extremely hard to lure into Evil. Uncommon

Gadflies: Individuals willing to die for a cause, trained in rhetoric and infused with emotion-amplifying hexes that trigger on death. They deliberately seek to be executed for standing up against evil, using the spectacle as an opportunity to give an impassioned speech that is amplified by their death. Even if they are killed before giving their speech, the hexes will still cause a significant swelling of sympathy for the Gadfly and their cause, even amongst the embittered. Unit Size: 1 Rare


Infrastructure:
Forge of Cleansing: A magically-enhanced forge, where specially blessed water is used to make materials malleable (instead of using heat). This allows for greater use of metals, as well as the use of more exotic materials such as bone. Infrastructure

Spoiler: Tokens (click to show/hide)

2 Wealth Tokens (of which 1 loaned)

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

THPENOS (Influence)
Bountiful Quarries: 2/5 | 1/5
Gridlocked Polis: 1/5 | 1/5
Restless Satrapy: 1/5 | 3/5

CHEGITHA (Combat)
Sheltered Fjords: 8/8 | 0/8
Rolling Hills: 0/8 | 8/8
Deserted Urbs: 0/8 | 8/8

XYRANIA (Influence)
Pirate Haven: 2/5 | 0/5
Schism'd Capital: 1/5 | 1/5
Raiders' Roost: 1/5 | 2/5

WESTERN PROTECTORATE (Combat)
Windcarved Mesas: 8/8 | 0/8
Vast Steppe: 2/8 | 6/8
Pestilent Marshes: 0/8 | 8/8

[TricMagic]

Waterbenders and the Lunar Gate(Wealth Token)

A magical effort which allows one to summon and direct waters, to either freeze(condense) or melt(expand). Muu has taken to training physically inclined acolytes in the art of waterbending, a fluid style that excels in trapping and redirecting force, and has a spiritual component which allows them to move the waters themselves, forming tendrils, walls, and waves in a fluid dance. Of course, while it may be possible to teach them to truely be one with the waters, Muu has commissioned ice from the polar reaches, silver, and a meteorite for a project to help this. Using this, she has personally enchanted with the Forge of Cleansing into the Lunar Gate, that which allows the summoning of good-infused water to be brought to the battlefield for use. Acolytes are expected to meditate under it's waters to help connect with the element.
The Lunar Gate itself is a strange, mysterious thing, using memories long forgotten. Muu seems to have gone into a trance when creating it. The training of Waterbenders seems to lock their own chakra, forcing all their magical energy to form water. This mostly means their wards take shape from the water they bend, and their missiles watery.(Though this does not have any mechanical benefit at the moment.) It's assumed they will be unable to ever use spells that are not common, unless they are of the element they are linked to. (At the moment this isn't actually a problem.)


Holy Water of Muu
Despite the name, it's more a spell Muu knows that acts very weirdly. Cold blue flames burning with intensity, that don't go out on water. If anything, water causes it to spread! Teaching it to our accoyles is rather difficult since a water that burns like fire is odd, but the end result is that our acolytes can now toss forth balls of liquid flame. Other than the obvious of burning those struck, it will also splash and spread, sticking to stuff as the fires spread to other targets. And on water it spreads very very well.

[m1895]

Muu's Mercy
Muu understands that some of you, lacking perspective, may perceive these actions as excessive. In her infinite care, She has provided an explanation for you:
Demons.
Are.
Not.
People.
She hopes that this explanation has helped you come to an understanding.
Muu's Mercy is derived from the Sea Servant ritual, though where that spell is a heaven of sorts, this is a purgatory. To get around the whole "requiring the soul to volunteer" thing, we've devised a method to shatter demonically tainted souls (for the spell can only detect and effect tainted souls) and bind them into various bodyparts. The weakened soul shards are then ripe for ignition, powering the rest of the transformation and the excess energy helping convert others, like kindling in a bonfire.
Now for our mortal initiates, this is a ritual yes, but for Muu, do to the nature of the spell being an extension of her to an extent, it is an at-will aura around her. A demonic soldier falls and just as quickly his left hand grows radula and leaps away to grind at his comrade's jugular, his right shin bone grows crab legs and sharp claws, and his head grows "wings" and a proboscis to drain the fiends of blood.
These... things are of course short-lived, lasting a few days at most, but that complete expendability has a charm of its own. Why not throw the swarm straight at the demon's fort? It's not like we're losing anything, and maybe they'll force them back from the outer defenses, if not scour the fort entirely.
(A happily little side effect is the burning away of the soul leaves behind purified bone, though we probably won't be able to exploit that outright.)

Reposting this

[Kashyyk]

Okay, let's start with the good stuff.
- The Worms were regularly called out for slowing Demonic recruitment
- The Gadflies and Worms netted us +1 INF everywhere, whilst the Demons didn't progress everywhere
- The Sea Servants successfully tarpitted the demonic army
- We had a better showing magically. Better wards (expected) more acolytes (somehow??)
- We have noticeably better foot soldiers, thanks to gear

Now for the bad.
- The Demons got to 3 INF thanks to avatar interference and magic
- Their chaff unit (Rats) beats our chaff unit (Sea Servants)
- They have a heavy Infantry unit that beats our cultists and is just crying out for a gear upgrade to ruin our day
- Explodo Skeletons that trash morale and cohesion
- Skirmish hero makes his front a nightmare pre-battle
- Muu's deployment did nothing
- We got driven back the maximum amount in the Rolling Hills
- The Demons earned 2 Wealth Tokens
- The DM himself thinks we need a loan to cover our losses

We seem to be doing okay for now in the INF lanes, although we will need something to entice the higher ranks at a later point. For now we need combat designs. The options I see are:
- Something big and scary to rout the Rats quickly. Big monsters, Explosives, supernaturally scary masks?
- Heavy Cav that can blitz through the enemy skelebobs that are definitely going to armoured up this turn
- Skirmishers to deal our own pre-combat kills and get some scouting done
- something to mitigate the murder vampire. Night vision, bottled sunlight, Holy water, garlic, a big pile of spilt rice?
- Our own heavy Infantry unit to stalemate theirs

I have ideas for these, and some have been suggested. Would appreciate your input on things too

[TricMagic]

Sea Bone Charms
The sailors of Mayfolk hold a great deal of superstitions regarding symbols carved in bone, with the most coveted being made of whalebone.
Of course any wizard or scholar can tell you this is just superstition. That the charms cannot protect you from storm and shipwreck, and yet, when Muu looks upon them she gets a strange feeling of deja vu, like a half-remembered dream. Working with local scrimshanders and her initiates, Muu was able reconstruct the half-dreamed script, at least on some small level, giving us this meagre boon.
Using the knowledge gained from the Ymis charm's development, these charms are truly capable of a great many things. They can protect against magic, weather, and force. However, they can only protect against a single type. Charms for the weather protect against rain, drowning, and trauma. (Being based on the normal Novice frequency) Charms focused against force do so very well, useful for warriors and those in dangerous workplace environments. And for those of Magic, well.. They are extremely useful for preventing outside manipulation, which many politicians, priests, and nobles would appreciate. (In addition to being quite the look.)
Of course... While we have much bone, and the forge can help mold it. What we don't have is enough workers. Using some of our wealth, we can setup an arrangement with nearby villages for more workers and most importantly, all the bone we need to see this treasure spread far and wide.

Sea-Bone Charms will be sold in three configurations, decorative necklaces meant for magical protection, a sturdy bracer for physical protection, and a whalebone charm for the mixed protection. Our Wealth has been used to increase production, allowing more to be sold/gifted in INF lanes, and in combat lanes allowing us to outfit a good number of warriors with physical protection. These charms crack as they are used before shattering softly into dust and fragments, but their numbers should ensure widespread distribution.
Most of the enchantment work is pretty much the same, just differing frequencies in one part of the enchantment. How hard a charm is used determines how long it lasts. Magic ones last a long while until they need to protect from magic. Physical ones drain quite quickly when defending from blows. While the Mixed version offers constant low-level protection from the elements and world, not being suitable for combat. It should be noted that like the Ymis Ward they are based on, a person can not make use of multiple charms on their person, as their conflicting frequencies cause an explosive burst. Thankfully this only occurs if multiple link to a person, and charms of the same type seem to do fine together.(Though offer no tangible benefits due to both draining to do exactly the same thing. It doesn't stack)

[Madman198237]

Pretty much spot-on, Kashyyk.

Anyway here's a quick solution to the problem of rats.

Incendiary Wave
Fire is a great weapon against things with fur, and our enemy's greatest asset...is rats. How fitting. So we're going to purge them in holy fire, destroy them with the cleansing flame, etc. etc., you know the drill. Well, not a drill, more of a torch. Same difference. Anyway, this spell creates a low-intensity but fairly large and more or less rectangular "wave" of flame in the direction the caster is pointing, lasting for a few seconds and travelling slowly away from the caster. The flame is not very strong and unlikely to, say, set fire to hardwood except with repeat castings at the same target, but it is perfectly capable of setting fire to, say, fur, and will cause skin burns and the like, at least to anything with skin. The only interesting bit of the flame is that it is subtly touched with Muu's power, and the Good thus released in the fire is unpleasant for anything Evil to feel.

Now I don't know how difficult these things would be, but we can try. I think they'll be great if we can make them work.

The Shipwrecked
Beneath the oceans lie many wrecks, most still with members of their crew trapped inside. Not alive inside, no, very much dead...but still trapped. Sometimes souls just don't manage to leave quickly enough, before the Ocean claims them. And sometimes, something might just convince these souls to do something about their predicament...

The Shipwrecked are monstrous abominations of bone and wood, built out of the fused souls and rearranged pieces of a shipwreck. They're not natural, instead parts of the formerly trapped (and willing) souls are consumed as they and their ships are fused together by our magic so that the souls can escape their watery graves. These no-longer-trapped souls are of course grateful enough to fight for us, and the fact that Muu reshaped their souls and now literally owns them body and soul definitely helps. We have only very few, deployed in sparing handfuls here and there.

As a twelve-foot-tall irregular abomination of old bone, waterlogged wood, and seafloor detritus, the Shipwrecked are definitely tough combatants in a melee, and their every move is devastatingly strong with a reach appropriate to their size. You haven't lived until you've seen a foot-thick solid oak timber soak up a hit from a flaming ballista bolt without being destroyed, using its arm as a mace tipped with a bronze ship's bell the size of a soldier's head. Their ponderous movements and incredible toughness leave them as the heaviest of heavy infantry.

They are very similar to the Sea Servants in their nature, that being a fused set of souls made to animate a body, but they are not tied into any sort of hivemind and can't be given complex orders. Save with Muu herself present there is little that can be done to direct them save to point them at a concentration of Evil and let the inevitable happen. Shipwrecked lack most normal senses and while they can vaguely perceive simple spoken orders they cannot feel pain or detect contact (such as an enemy swinging a weapon into them), cannot smell, barely hear, and can't speak. They cannot even technically see, since they have no eyes, but instead generally perceive Good (as something to avoid stepping on) and Evil (as something to intentionally step on). Shipwrecked navigate regular terrain without issue, uncannily knowing where natural obstacles like walls, trees, rocks, and so on are, but are much more challenged by, say, lines of mortals or groups of animals without clear Good/Evil allegiance, which they will not perceive at all, and thus might inadvertently crush.