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[Kashyyk]

Just gonna throw another idea out whilst I think of it.

The elemental planes are well known for their inhospitable environments and inhabitants, but in certain places the veil between planes thins and one can pull a portion of the planes together.

The Oceanic Archons are the results of one such union. For an untold amount of time they have existed beneath the waves,  doing whatever sentient clouds of sea water do. Dredged up from the depths, they hold an amorphous shape until bound into enchanted plate armour, which gives them a roughly humanoid shape that "stands" head and shoulders above the average cultist.

The armour is enchanted for durability and to aid the archon in holding its form. Important as the Archon itself is mostly immune to mundane weaponry (and weaker to magical assaults), but once bereft of its armour, it will tend to lose all interest in the current fight and flow towards the nearest body of water. The Archons are naturally equipped with a large trident to be used as a polearm.

[Failbird105]

Subtle Worms of Muu: (2) TricMagic, Failbird
Goats of Golgotha: (2) TricMagic, Failbird
Gadflies: (1) Kashyyk
Weight of the Hivemind: (1) Kashyyk

Frankly, I just like the worms more in concept, meanwhile the Goats are our first step into bigger, more Monstrous units.

That being said, I could absolutely be convinced to vote for a Normal difficulty combat thing, such as the Trappers or Coral

[m1895]

Subtle Worms of Muu: (3) TricMagic, m1895, Failbird
Goats of Golgotha: (2) TricMagic, Failbird
Gadflies: (2) Kashyyk, m1895
Weight of the Hivemind: (1) Kashyyk

[TricMagic]

K, so I'll bring out a  couple of arguments against doing the Gadfly this turn. First, it's Rare with a unit size of 1. It's very much in line to get ganked, either by corruption, or just straight murder by the demon side. This mostly matters because it's something that can have a very big impact if done right. Doing it when Influence gets a bit harder each step up is playing our card early.

 Next turn is probably a better timing for it, as right now we don't have anything to gank, so with hope they won't immediately go that route. (Small as it is, but MoP is rather vocal and thinks murder is boring. They were more of a corruption type of guy last game, and while that might change, I don't think their first step before we even meet will be murder.) Doing it at Influence 1 should easily boost us to INF 2 in places, and get us the foot in the door in other areas that didn't go up the first phase. Main weakness of the Gadfly is they kinda have to be seen, so once we use it, we can probably expect counters in some form.

Of note, we can just skip INF 1 and go straight to INF 2.(Nuke answered that in discord.) Difficult, but doable. So there is definite argument for Gadflies(inspires others to do good) and worms. (makes you feel good doing good, and bad when you're not.) So yeah.


Think I've already made an argument for Goats in discord. But it's mostly that they do well in Rolling Hills, the Windcarved Mesa(For defense), and Deserted Urbs.(if we push that far.)
Of interest, last game Demons kinda kept the Jungle as their safe haven. Goat Cav's mostly only have the advantage of being able to eat anything in their wastelands. Along with being good cav for the Steppe and other such situations. (And mutation experience, for what that helps.) It's having a strong start in combat, and potentially moving 2 to get a Wealth Token, or the potential to go straight to INF 2 and be one away from a faction bonus with a pretty strong start in the areas.

That, and we do still have revisions. And Goat Cav+ Sea Servants and the better gear from the Forge of Cleansing does give us a good combat start. An we have revisions to increase that, and the Ymis Ward.


Hmm..

The Scent of Good
It's well known that mutations come from an excess of Good or Evil energy. It just happens. So, what if the worms, once planted and fed, producing those happy content feelings, also used the good it gains to subtly mutate those infected. It adds a pheromone to the Infected, a gentle scent unique to each that the infected has also been mutated to notice. A better sense of smell, the brain being rewired to find that scent comforting. The more Good someone is, the greater the pheromones released by an individual. Now not only does Good feel good, but the scent of others reinforces it, leading them to gather with like-minded Infected and foster Community service between them, creating their own social group that could transcend social strata. Naturally our own cultists also have this scent they give off, but regularly being in the presence of Muu's Goodness marks them as some of the truly great to the other Infected.

Warriors of Muu
Like the Gadfly, there are any number of individuals willing to give their life for our cause. So why not train some of our warriors in the ways of inspiration and defamation, seeking to weaken the resolve of the damned who face us. Even those evil can repent in our Mercy. These warriors will have a similar magic cast on them, serving as the frontline who charges in, burning away their very lifeforce. The very limit of humans broken down to make them inspiring warriors. They will undoubtedly die, but they shall become our Sea Servants after they are recovered, and their death will serve to weaken the morale of evil and inspire our allies.
(Like the Gadfly though, they are Rare. Too many of our forces burning so quickly would proved detrimental to our plans.)


The latter is effectively not caring and removing the limits humans have so their body doesn't break down. If you don't care about your muscles shredding, bones breaking, heart giving out, lungs dying. If even having 50 arrows in your chest doesn't stop you. An inspiration of heroism that will tear into enemy lines before dying and the effect going off.

Subtle Worms of Muu: (3) TricMagic, m1895, Failbird
Goats of Golgotha: (1) Failbird
Gadflies: (3) Kashyyk, m1895 TricMagic
Weight of the Hivemind: (1) Kashyyk

[Failbird105]

Subtle Worms of Muu: (3) TricMagic, m1895, Failbird
Goats of Golgotha: (0)
Gadflies: (4) Kashyyk, m1895 TricMagic, Failbird
Weight of the Hivemind: (1) Kashyyk

Honestly, those two revisions are basically perfect. That's settled it. Last turn we went hard on combat, this turn we go roughly as hard on influence.

[NUKE9.13]

Angel Team: Design Phase T1
TURNTURNTURN

Design Proposal:
Worms of Muu- subtle version
Muu knows that in order to grow and spread her Heaven throughout the world, she must first spread the word and love of her cult. To that end, she has chosen to take a subtle but direct approach. A small worm, so small its eggs aren't even visible. The worms eggs hatch in the body after being ingested, and from there the worm will take root, burrowing into the body.

From here, they simply live. As the host goes about their lives, little will change. The worm will get hungry, and mess with the Hosts mind, they'll start to feel subtly worse. Like they woke up just a little off today. The effect will grow gradually, until the worm simply starves. Unless, the host does a sufficient act of Good. Small acts of charity, holding open doors for others, taking care of their environment, etc. You see, the worm feeds on Good, and when the host is good, the worm, no longer hungry, stops messing with the hosts body, instead producing subtle positive feelings.

The hosts start to feel better the more Good they do. Pushing them to be more charitable, more helpful, and more friendly towards others. It is from there that the cultists of Muu, who were previously subtly seeding these eggs in water supplies and food donations, reach out to them and ask if they want to be part of a Greater Good, thus bringing them into the fold.

The worms do of course have weaknesses. As we've already mentioned they can starve if not fed for over a week, but more noticeably is that those who are already infused with the touch of Evil, or bathed in its power regularly, will rapidly purge such worms from their body before they can fill more than slightly ill.

Worms of Muu- subtle version: Normal: (2+4)=6: Above Average
Nobody claims that humans are inherently Good. It takes effort for them to overcome their flawed natures and embrace a just cause. You're just lending a hand tentacle.

A human lucky enough to become a host to a Worm of Muu will find themselves not only mentally rewarded for acts of kindness, but will have opportunities to do so highlighted. Failure to follow up on these opportunities results in a worsening feeling of malaise, culminating in the symptoms of a serious disease after a week of callous behaviour, after which the symptoms slowly lessen (the Worm having died). Despite the significant effect, hosts are unlikely to be conscious of them, as the Worm also induces a mild case of amnesia- causing the host to 'consciously' forget what made their symptoms lessen, even as their subconscious remembers.
Individuals who are strongly affected by a Worm of Muu make for easy converts, and even those who are not brought into the cult will still help to spread a general atmosphere of Good that will weaken demonic efforts to convert people.
Evil-aligned people will be largely unaffected.

Unfortunately, Worms of Muu cannot breed independently. Fortunately, they can easily be produced in large batches by you in Tendril Village, and shipped out in innocuous containers. Worm production is insufficient to target entire nations at once, so cultists will focus on individual towns or districts. While cultists have to be a little careful to avoid questions re:pouring strange bags of powder into wells and such, distribution in targeted areas should not prove overly challenging, and by moving operations around regularly, excessive suspicion can be avoided.

Worms of Muu will aid recruitment (and to a lesser degree hinder demonic recruitment). Uncommon

Gadflies
It's a classic story, the plucky hero calls out the powers that be on their corruption. The powers try them on falsified charges, and our hero gives an impassioned speech to the court, their rhetoric is flawless, their logic is sound, their head rolls off the chopping block. The callous may be troubled while trying to sleep for a couple nights, the sympathetic may be motivated to do some small thing, but in the end the world turns as it ever has.
What if it didn't though? What if that martyr's death was the catalyst for a spell that could bring even the most cold-hearted to repentance? The Gadfly is the fruit of this dream. Take someone who has been wronged by their society and is willing to die to set it right, train them heavily in rhetoric on the specific issue they were wronged in, and slowly weave the magic into them bit by bit. By the end you'll have a master rhetorician on a single issue, no matter as they're one use anyway, who is willing to start trouble with the authorities until they're brought to capital punishment, whether that is being burned at the stake for heresy or being forced to drink poison for "damaging public morals." When they do meet their end, aside from the rhetoric, they must be stoically defiant unto death. This image of them will be burned into the mind of all who gaze upon their execution by the spell. This image will haunt the callous for as long as they continue their evil ways, and will inspire the sympathetic to fully commit to their cause.

Gadflies: Normal: (1+3)=4: Below Average
Martyrdom is a powerful force. Someone who goes to their deaths willingly to prove a point, who has prepared for the inevitable for some time, presents both a potent symbol and a considerable source of energy.

Gadflies are prepared both mentally and magically for their fate. Their mental training consists of a prepared speech, instilled determination, and a bit of theatrics. Their magical preparation involves infusing their body and soul with simple emotion-amplifying hexes- set to trigger on death, channeling the power of martyrdom. Combined, this gives the Gadfly's final speech great weight to those who bear witness, hopefully causing considerable inspiration slash guilt- in turn driving people to serve the Good cause or reject the Evil one, respectively. Unfortunately, this is not always successful, as the speech may not resonate with all witnesses- the most heartless and disinterested won't care, while others may simply not be convinced by the Gadfly's plight.

Finding a suitable candidate (with the situation, motivation, and charisma) takes time and effort, as does training and enhexing them. Fortunately, their sacrifice would lose value if repeated too often anyway, so the low numbers are not a significant drawback. They are somewhat vulnerable to being assassinated or executed out of the public eye- while the hexes will still trigger, the effect will be reduced without the preceding speech, and fewer people would be affected regardless.

Gadflies have the potential to strongly affect large crowds (once). They are Rare, unit size 1.


It is now the Revision Phase. You have two revisions. Reminder that from next turn onwards, you will only receive one revision, though you can split a revision into two Emergency Fixes (see Design & Revision Phases spoiler in core thread).

Speaking of Emergency Fixes, I would also like to mention that if a revision is only attempting to fix bugs, then it will never backfire. It can still fail if you get a 2 or lower, but even a Buggy Mess will result in some improvement. This is intended to allow for Emergency Fixes to be a viable means of patching up the most critical bugs in a design, while retaining the likelihood of imperfect things being deployed.
If a revision is attempting to fix bugs and add features, it will be treated as a normal revision (ie, a Buggy Mess probably won't fix the bug, or will replace the old bug with a different one)(even in this case, a revision can't make a thing objectively worse- you won't forget how to make the original version if it is better). Creative bugfixes are fine- I also would rather not see "Just Fix Problem" as revisions. If you are unsure whether a creative bugfix crosses the line into new feature, ask me.

(Also note that the 2 designs 1 revision format is somewhat experimental, and I may revert to 2-2 if it doesn't work out the way I hope)

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, improving recruitment rates and to a lesser extent harming demonic recruitment. 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. Will not affect all witnesses equally. 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)

1 Wealth Token

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

THPENOS (Influence)
Bountiful Quarries: 1/5 | 0/5
Gridlocked Polis: 0/5 | 0/5
Restless Satrapy: 0/5 | 1/5

CHEGITHA (Combat)
Sheltered Fjords: 8/8 | 0/8
Rolling Hills: 4/8 | 4/8
Deserted Urbs: 0/8 | 8/8

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

WESTERN PROTECTORATE (Combat)
Windcarved Mesas: 8/8 | 0/8
Vast Steppe: 4/8 | 4/8
Pestilent Marshes: 0/8 | 8/8

[TricMagic]

Not ideal..

The Scent of Good
It's well known that mutations come from an excess of Good or Evil energy. It just happens. So, what if the worms, once planted and fed, producing those happy content feelings, also used the good it gains to subtly mutate those infected. It adds a pheromone to the Infected, a gentle scent unique to each that the infected has also been mutated to notice. A better sense of smell, the brain being rewired to find that scent comforting. The more Good someone is, the greater the pheromones released by an individual. Now not only does Good feel good, but the scent of others reinforces it, leading them to gather with like-minded Infected and foster Community service between them, creating their own social group that could transcend social strata. Naturally our own cultists also have this scent they give off, but regularly being in the presence of Muu's Goodness marks them as some of the truly great to the other Infected.

Mayflies
Like the Gadfly, there are any number of individuals willing to give their life for our cause. So why not train some of our warriors in the ways of inspiration and defamation, seeking to weaken the resolve of the damned who face us. Even those evil can repent in our Mercy. These warriors will have a similar magic cast on them, serving as the frontline who charges in, burning away their very lifeforce. The very limit of humans broken down to make them inspiring warriors. They will undoubtedly die, but they shall become our Sea Servants after they are recovered, and their death will serve to weaken the morale of evil and inspire our allies.
(Like the Gadfly though, they are Rare. Too many of our forces burning so quickly would proved detrimental to our plans.)

Like Eggs in the Soul
The Gadflies, at the moment, have some slight issues in their effectiveness. One solution to this is to make use of soul magic to amplify the natural good in peoples hearts, allowing them to affect those who see them die more strongly. This egg of sorts will niggle at a person's consciousness, and eventually move them to act. It will have no 'apparent' effect in evil, uncaring beings, smothering the egg of Good before it can hatch. In cases where they are killed out of sight, the prepared spiritual eggs within the Gadfliy will jump to the nearest souls instead, which can overwhelm an evil heart with sadness, melancholy, regret, and eventually suicide.

[Kashyyk]

Everyone carries Good and Evil in themselves, but those who carry Worms long-term tend to be suffused with Good. When a worm is thus presented with a source of ambient Evil, it naturally rebels against the harmful energies, causing the host to feel suspicion and disgust. Thus not only will they be rewarded for doing Good things, they are punished for allowing Evil to occur in their presence. In most cases, this will just cause people to avoid Demonic efforts, but the more righteous individuals may seek to remove the source of Evil itself.

Worms produce a recognisable form of Good energy, like a specific chord. When gathered together, one who can detect these energies will see a chorus of Good energy within the crowd, and suspiciously empty spots where inhospitable hosts stand. Using an enchanted crystal eyepiece, a trusted acolyte can perceive this energy, allowing us to focus our spread f the Worms and identify stubborn nests of Evil.

If we get a deep enough penetration of a settlement, literally the only people not carrying a Worm will be Demonic agents and their sympathisers. At minimum, they should be avoided, but ideally, eradicated.

[m1895]

Gadfly Hex Genericization [EF]
The hexes used on Gadflies are well made yes, but they tend to be too specific to properly affect people out of the narrow band of uh, normal duties, they have. By modifying the hexes for general usage, any sufficiently shocking or tragic death should be deeply affecting to onlookers, and, well, public assassinations are still fairly shocking, even with the state of things. People so affected require a different tack to deal with than those who witnessed the execution of a Gadfly, but it's within our ability to handle.

Empathy Hexes [EF]
How does one draw a tear to the eye of a man with a heart hardened as stone? Simple, you unharden it.
By weaving a second layer of "empathy-amplifying" hexes, they act as a ploughshare, breaking up the hardened earth and leaving fertile ground in its wake. While the empathy-amplification is quite temporary, ask any hardened soul of what they lost before they had turned into the embittered soul before you; you'll see the hardening doesn't remove scars, it preserves them.Yeah so here's some emergency fixes in case we wanna stress test that system.

[TricMagic]

The Scent of Good: (1) TricMagiv
[EF] Gadfly Hex Genericization + Empathy Hexes: (1) TricMagic

[m1895]

The Scent of Good: (2) TricMagiv, m1895
[EF] Gadfly Hex Genericization + Empathy Hexes: (2) TricMagic, m1895

[Failbird105]

The Scent of Good: (3) TricMagiv, m1895, Failbird
[EF] Gadfly Hex Genericization + Empathy Hexes: (3) TricMagic, m1895, Failbird

[Kashyyk]

Sure, why not. Our stuff went well enough imo, so there's nothing obviously in need of fixing.

The Scent of Good: (4) TricMagiv, m1895, Failbird, Kashyyk
[EF] Gadfly Hex Genericization + Empathy Hexes: (4) TricMagic, m1895, Failbird, Kashyyk

[NUKE9.13]

Angel Team: Revision Phase T1
TURNTURNTURN

The Scent of Good
It's well known that mutations come from an excess of Good or Evil energy. It just happens. So, what if the worms, once planted and fed, producing those happy content feelings, also used the good it gains to subtly mutate those infected. It adds a pheromone to the Infected, a gentle scent unique to each that the infected has also been mutated to notice. A better sense of smell, the brain being rewired to find that scent comforting. The more Good someone is, the greater the pheromones released by an individual. Now not only does Good feel good, but the scent of others reinforces it, leading them to gather with like-minded Infected and foster Community service between them, creating their own social group that could transcend social strata. Naturally our own cultists also have this scent they give off, but regularly being in the presence of Muu's Goodness marks them as some of the truly great to the other Infected.

The Scent of Good: Easy: (4+2)+1=7: Superior Craftsmanship
You believe that Good cannot exist alone; Good is kindness, sharing, helping. Only through community can true Goodness be expressed.

The Scent of Good has turned out very effective. Affected individuals can detect each other at considerable distances, and are strongly drawn to come together and build a community. Though they are not conscious of why, they have no complaints, and will gladly cooperate with each other and your cultists. While it is still possible for there to be people with irrevocable differences which the effect cannot overcome, in many cases even rivals will make up and become friends under the influence of the Scent. Especially strong-willed and/or influential people may be less affected, though not unaffected.
These strongly-bonded communities can easily be coopted into your cult, providing an excellent source of recruits as well as a support network for other infiltration efforts. It will also be extremely hard for demonic influence to infiltrate them, as anyone who starts to stray will quickly be pulled back to the Good path by their close friends.

The Scent of Good will enable your influence to grow extremely rapidly in the early stages, while providing a solid foundation for more complex efforts.

Gadfly Hex Genericization [EF]
The hexes used on Gadflies are well made yes, but they tend to be too specific to properly affect people out of the narrow band of uh, normal duties, they have. By modifying the hexes for general usage, any sufficiently shocking or tragic death should be deeply affecting to onlookers, and, well, public assassinations are still fairly shocking, even with the state of things. People so affected require a different tack to deal with than those who witnessed the execution of a Gadfly, but it's within our ability to handle.

Gadfly Hex Genericization [EF]: Easy Normal: (2+4+2)=4: Below Average
[Fix] By reconfiguring the hexes used to bolster sympathy regardless of circumstance, Gadflies are now more likely to affect people even outside of dramatic executions. While it still requires people to witness the death to be affected, this should mean that so long as Gadflies stick to public spaces (and violently resist attempts to take them away), they should always have a noticeable effect.

Empathy Hexes [EF]
How does one draw a tear to the eye of a man with a heart hardened as stone? Simple, you unharden it.
By weaving a second layer of "empathy-amplifying" hexes, they act as a ploughshare, breaking up the hardened earth and leaving fertile ground in its wake. While the empathy-amplification is quite temporary, ask any hardened soul of what they lost before they had turned into the embittered soul before you; you'll see the hardening doesn't remove scars, it preserves them.

Empathy Hexes [EF]: Trivial Easy: (4+1+2)+1=4: Below Average
[Fix] No human is born heartless, and no amount of callousness can destroy their innocent past. The secondary layer of hexes temporarily restores a measure of this childhood innocence to viewers of a Gadfly's death, just long enough for them to be shaken to the core by the primary hexes.


While our forces were plotting a route between abandoned hilltop villages, scouts spotted another armed group doing the same thing- the army of Nar-Carok. No doubt their own scouts have spotted us as well- battle is inevitable. Whether it be in the valleys or on the hills, we cannot advance without defeating our rivals in battle, lest our supply lines be severed.
A similar story occurred in the Vast Steppe. Even in that boundless plain, we spotted Nar-Carok's forces, as it seems we both sought out the corridor unpatrolled by the Viceroy's horsemen. A battle in the open field will take place in the near future.

Our missionaries have continued their infiltration of Thpenos and Xyrania, crossing the length of both kingdoms in search of converts. Demonic agents are undoubtedly engaged in the same activity- here too, conflict of some sort is bound to occur.

There is no turning back now. The only question is- where will you, beloved Muu, grace with your benevolent presence?


It is now the Strategy Phase. The only decision to be made this phase is where Muu herself will go (the choices are the two Combat lanes and six Influence provinces). 

Spoiler: Strategy Primer (click to show/hide)

So, there isn't much for you to do in the Strategy Phase at the moment, but just so you know what's going on:

One decision you definitely have to make every turn is where to send your Avatar (that is, the Angel/Demon). You can choose to send them to either of the two combat lanes, in which case they will fight on the front lines, or one of the two influence lanes, in which case they will generally disguise themselves as a human and act as a missionary/spy/counterspy/whatever (but more effectively than regular cultists). Of note, the influence lanes have no front line, so your Avatar can be sent to any of the six influence provinces.
Any Champions (slash other Unique things) should also be deployed, in a similar fashion (although not all Champions will be equally effective in both lane types).
 

COMBAT
Combat lanes will see direct confrontation between your armies and the other team's. At the start of the game, your armies are small, but it is still not feasible to sneak an entire army past the front line; you'd get encircled and destroyed easily. So gradually pushing your opponent back is the goal. As mentioned in the rules, combat outcomes are determined by me, and depending on the margin of victory, the front line may move up to 4 sections per turn.


INFLUENCE
The Influence lanes are where your cult operates in the shadows, seeking to slowly convert/subvert the influence-lane kingdoms to your cause. In other words, don't march in and announce your presence to all and sundry; that's a great way to get arrested, along with your associates. Your influence in each province is measured on a 5-point scale. However, going from 1 to 2 does not mean going from 20% converted to 40% converted. Rather, the scale can be thought of as working something like this (actual situations may vary):

0: No influence- almost no members in the province; maybe a handful of converts, but certainly not enough to yield any material rewards. Also makes more complex infiltration actions trickier.
1: Marginal influence- a reasonable number of peasants or other lower-class people have been converted. Provides a support network that makes it possible to perform more complex infiltrations, but not much in the way of rewards.
2: Minor influence- somewhat more important people (minor merchants, government clerks, maybe a few soldiers, etc) have been converted, or your cultists have managed to get themselves appointed to such positions. Allows for a small amount of resources and specialists to be sourced from the province, and opens the doors for intricate intrigue interactions.
3: Moderate influence- your tendrils spread steadily through the upper classes, bringing people who can exercise real power into the cult (wealthy merchants, town mayors, military officers, etc), or seeing cultists promoted. This enables your cult to siphon substantial resources and manpower from the province, and can use political power to aid the cause. The first side to reach this level will be given a choice of which local Faction to support.
4: Major influence- the real big fish (merchant princes, members of the nobility, senior officers, etc) fall under your sway. At this point, it is obvious that something is up, but it's hard for anyone to do anything about it. Your cult can drain the province dry (if need be), and can exert major control over political decisions.
5: Domination- the ruler(s) of the province (whoever that may be) are members of your cult (one way or another). You can operate openly, for none would dare defy you. The main reward here is that if all three provinces in a lane reach this level, you can absorb the entire kingdom, placing you at the head of both the kingdom's armies and your own, effectively winning the game (as the combined might will easily crush the other team's armies).
Moving up the scale becomes progressively harder as you go, as the more important someone is, the less likely they are to join the cult. Not to mention, the other team can interfere in your efforts, while the mortals' own politicking can throw a wrench into things.

Note that unlike control in the combat lanes, you and your enemy can have more than 5 influence combined (though only one side can reach 5/5). You do not need to root out every last one of your rival's agents to control a province. Of course, the stronger your rival is in the province, the more they will be able to interfere with your own infiltration efforts.

Gaining influence can be achieved in many ways. Converting people is crucial, as the cult needs manpower and infrastructure to support its efforts; in a way, one might consider missionaries to be 'influence footsoldiers', in that they are not the most exciting, but nothing else can function without them. Infiltrating the government or other important institutions will also greatly help the cause, as control over such institutions is almost required to control the province. Spying will not directly increase influence, much as scouting will not directly win battles, but an army without scouts is gonna have a bad time. And obviously defensive efforts- counterspies, inquisitors, suchlike and so forth will prevent the other team from advancing their cause too quickly. This is not an exhaustive list- feel free to get creative. I will tell you if you try to do something totally infeasible.

It is difficult for your cult to operate in isolation, so increasing influence above that of the adjacent provinces is harder. For this purpose, your home base may be considered to be at 5/5 influence. 

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)

1 Wealth Token

Spoiler: Map (click to show/hide)

THPENOS (Influence)
Bountiful Quarries: 1/5 | 0/5
Gridlocked Polis: 0/5 | 0/5
Restless Satrapy: 0/5 | 1/5

CHEGITHA (Combat)
Sheltered Fjords: 8/8 | 0/8
Rolling Hills: 4/8 | 4/8
Deserted Urbs: 0/8 | 8/8

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

WESTERN PROTECTORATE (Combat)
Windcarved Mesas: 8/8 | 0/8
Vast Steppe: 4/8 | 4/8
Pestilent Marshes: 0/8 | 8/8

[TricMagic]

Muu to Raider's Roost: (1) TricMagic

The argument is rather simple. The worms, as they are now, have trouble spreading in areas with high demonic presence, but greatly improve early efforts. By having Muu personally see to their spread, and a strategic use of the Gadfly, we can get a foot in the door on the demons side, allowing us to pressure the Capital. Ideally, we'd also do a design next turn to make the spread of worms airborne. Along with the usual benefits of hindering demonic actions. The Roost also serves as a source of manpower, which if we can take control of might just allow us to hire auxiliaries to our forces while denying the demons full access to them.

Of course, the biggest thing is the worms offer an early game advantage while suffering in demonic areas. The center will likely progress fine, while a personal touch will let us ensure the back is in Good shape. That and it being funny of course, just starting right in the demon's frontyard.