vonHavsvik:
Stratos sent me to Diallia, which had apparently long been under a curse. The curse was never explained to me.Mithras:
The temple guardians of Diallia betrayed the Goddess during the War of Purification. After subjecting its inhabitants to her wrath, the Goddess proclaimed that no one could set foot there until a thousand generations had passed.
We arrive to Diallia. The trees are still dead despite this place having been abandoned ages ago. Something is not right about this place.
Sara Bella:
I am Sara Bella. Stratos sent me to guide you. He would tell you this himself, but the gods cannot appear here nor can they see what happens here. There are also ghosts about. Very unusual. I've taken the liberty of identifying the most frequently haunted locations. I wish to speak to these ghosts. Keep me safe.Zyzyx:
Don't tell her I told you this, but Sara Bella really is the smartest Brainiac around. Stratos even refers to her as his protégé.Zyzyx:
Brainiacs think they are the smartest creatures around. Always prattling on about knocking people down with only the "Power of their minds". Oh please. Well, their minds may be powerful, but the fact is their bodies are quite frail.
One the left side you can see a brainiac, basically a big pile of brains with wings strapped on to it. Next to it are two frostwolves.
Zyzyx:
Frostwolves are the fastest creatures around normally and they can give themselves a boost to sprint even faster for a time. They're not all that tough, however, so to use them effectively you'll want to find ways to take advantage of their speed.
Zyzyx:
The mysterious Sylphs can go invisible at will. They can't attack while invisible, but that's still a good way to sneak them in for an attack or away from a losing battle. Deadly accurate with their bows, they are best against flyers or using hit-and-run tactics.
Zyzyx then instructs us to build a manalith and summon some Manahoars. Manaliths are built/cast on manawells (the stump that gushes blue lights in the picture). Manawells provide mana to everyone, while manaliths provide mana only to you and your forces. Mana sources only provide mana for those fairly close to them so you will need to summon manahoars. They channel mana directly to you enabling you to cast spells far from manaliths.
With our brave bunch, we set forth towards first of the many haunted locations. Notice the four manahoars behind me.
On the way over we came across some scythes, floating heads with sharp blades swirling around their heads. They were dispatched quickly.
The red figures over the bodies of our slain enemies are souls. Souls are the currency in Sacrifice. To summon a creature you need 1-5 souls, depending on its strength. Blue souls (dropped by your own forces) can be collected by walking to them, but red souls need to be processed.
Notice the guy with the huge syringe over the body of that scythe, that's a Sac Doctor I summoned to convert a single red soul. He uses his syringe to pump the soul out of the creature, brings it to my altar, performs a gruesome, bloody ritual and voilà! I have one more soul in my piggybank I can use to summon creatures. A single Sac Doc converts a single creature's soul(s), be that 1 or 5.
We reach the first village. I summon a manalith over the well while Sara Bella interrogates the ghostly inhabitants.
vonHavsvik:
Can you understand what they are saying?Sara Bella:
Oh yes, but it's dreadfully self involved.
On the way to the second location, we come across some more scythes, this time accompanied by a few fallen (ranged troops).
I make another Manalith while Sara Bella does her thing. Notice a sac doc in the upper right corner going to my altar with a soul in tow. Killing the doc now would actually release the creature, effectively resurrecting it.
On the way to the third location, yet another group of enemies comes at us only to be slaughtered.
I notice a number of locusts (air unit) over the last objective...
... So I summon some sylphs and order them to the front.
The combat in Sacrifice is roughly a rock-paper-scissors affair where Melee>Ranged>Air. There are some fluctuations to it, but that's the core mechanic here.
My Sylphs engage with deadly accurate arrow fire.
Brainiacs join the fray. The short blue lines are my Sylphs' arrows.
I chime in with a little elemental magic. The fairly numerous locusts fall before our superior firepower.
Sara Bella interrogates the final batch of ghosts who are huddled up around an ancient temple.
Sara Bella:
I understand now. It is the lack of faith. The Gods have been absent from Diallia for so long it is hardly a part of their world any more. There is no faith here. Not in the spirits of the dead, not in the grass, not in the trees. Nowhere.vonHavsvik:
For a moment, I could sense it. There was a profound emptiness - a feeling that the earth might fall away and it would not matter. It was a thing I had known in my own world and sought to fill with the study of alchemy and conjuration. And then the spell was broken.Sara Bella:
Let us make our report to Stratos.
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Topic: Let's Play Sacrifice! - Of Dragons, Cows and Deicide (Complete) (Read 20036 times)