I kinda like the idea of % for after taking apart the golem, lavashaping is the best, but why settle for one magic when you can have them all.
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
edited January 2016
Turn 27
DecisionD 4/13£/&: Shardforge, attacking the mine wins the flip (going with everything but militia), lavashaping research wins the flip Bonuses: +6 Mana, +4 Fortune
[Adaptable] During a round, one positive trait of the target is cancelled
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana / round or lose all but one dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
[Hard to kill] If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed
[Sluggish] Only rolls dice every second round
[Battle Scholar] +1 study / round and +1 study on a natural 10
[Armoured N] Unit has N armour that are lost in place of dice
[Obscuring]: target rolls one fewer dice (cannot reduce dice rolled to fewer than one)
[Deadslayer]: Makes a difficulty 8 check each round. On success deals a dice of damage to a random bonemancy enemy unit
[Distracting]: All target rolls are made at -1
[Aftermath]: Each turn, make a one dice attack against a random enemy unit other than the current target
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
The Archive
Reflections on the twin shards and their ultimate connection to the artifact once known as The Weir
Lowers difficulty of drawing by 2
Increases output of drawing by +1/dice
Increases mana income by +1 / turn
Allows shard fusion/destruction
A detailed consideration of the entities which lurk below and how to effectively bind them into perpetual servitude
Allows Smoulderlings and Elephantites to be summoned
Of the interplay between bonemancy and lavashaping: Flaming skulls or smouldering corpses?
Grants [Wizard] units [deadslayer] ability
On the origin of Vulcanus by means of ethereal selection, and the sub splintering of the world crystal]/i]
Grants Cinders [Aftermath]
Allows construction of the Shardforge
Makes Vulcanus loyal
Diplomacy
The Drowned Lady: Caldeot, the town by the Drowned City Relations: Respectful and amiable Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn) Military: 13 dice at 6+ strength all with [Armoured 1/2]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn SUSPENDED DUE TO SIEGE
Sultan Ofan: New Thett, the merchant hub Relations: Besotted Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn) Military: 20 dice at 7+ strength
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn
Tzo'lin: The Undying Pious servant of The Bound Giant Relations: Hostile
Ingvar: The Instigator Mechano-Sage Relations: Unknown
Talen: The other one
Axiom: The Fistcaster Loyalist
Summary
War was coming and it was time to act. Or at the very least take advantage of the confusion. Cinders quickly laid out the magic necessary to create the superheated forge of the Shardforge within Glassalia while her troops assembled. Her militia would remain behind, the idea of bringing humans to Tzo'lin did not seem wise, but it was still an impressive lineup. The increasingly yellowed group of skeletons provided by Nephroditi what seemed like a lifetime ago, her own fierce Smoulderlings, the mysterious marble-headed and handed golem, Misty the rainbringer and Cinders herself. They started the long march south toward the mine.
Tzo'lin's avatar did not stand a chance.
What had once looked like a fairly standard abandoned mine was now a horror to behold. A broad path of gore led into the mine. Fragments of bone and sinew mixed in with that deep rainbow of blood. Strips of glistening crimson and bands of dried brown. The stench was overwhelming but Cinders had come this far. If Misty could have looked any more pale she would have, it was quite the feat of strength to not vomit. Instead she condensed the water from the air and used it to brush a clear way forward for herself. Cinders approved, and applied her own superior magic to the task. The ground flash-heated. The bloody filth cooked and then boiled, reduced to a blackened layer before her. It did not improve the foul smell.
Cinders moved inside, sterilising the way as she moved.
It was not long before she emerged in that great central chamber. It looked somewhat different. The rough rocky walls were hidden under a layer of pulsing flesh, and Tzo'lin's avatar was now just a torso atop a twelve-foot pyramid composed of compressed bodies. It was a grizzly sight made worse by how their eyes followed her as she strode towards her counterpart's representative.
When it spoke, all of the mouths moved but not quite as one giving the words a strange reverberation on top of the same sluggishness it had had during the first meeting
"Ciiiiiiiindereeeeeeeeeeelaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Theeeeeee tiiiiiiiiiiiime iiiiiiiiiiiis sooooooooooooooooooooooon."
Little by little she could see that Tzo'lin himself was moving more of his focus into the avatar,
"Haaaaave yooooooou broooought me offeeeeeerings foooooor the neeeeeew unity?"
Misty now walked into the chamber. The many faces of Tzo'lin looked on eagerly, but only for a moment as they saw her fair skin. His eyes all swivelled back toward Cinders,
"An appreeeeeentice from the common stock. There was a time when the Institute would have flayed you for that... How the worm has turned. But where is the flesh? I am so close."
A snap of her fingers and the cavern erupted into flames. Tzo'lin shrieked in agony. A few more steps forward and Cinders addressed the quivering lump of flesh in whisper,
"Flesh? I bring flame and offer ashes."
The Smoulderlings charged in at that moment, racing around the chamber, burning away the extremities of Tzo'lin's reach. Cinders took hold of the stone of the mine, she could feel the narrow channels through which the avatar was connected with the true Tzo'lin back in Drome. The flesh fully permeated the mine, but the central trunk wwas just below the mound of flesh before her. She forced the opening to close. In an instant the avatar was split from Tzo'lin. It screamed and lashed out with whips of braided ligament and spears of bone. It was too little too late.
In a few short minutes there was nothing recognisable left of the avatar and the porous network through the mine had been collapsed. It would take considerable effort for the servant of the Bound Giant to wend his way back here. Despite the anticlimactic nature of the battle, Misty had had a chance to prove her worth with something approaching real action and her power came in in leaps and bounds as a result.
[Combat only lasts a round -2 Mana, +1 study. No losses from Team Cinders.]
The mine hers, Cinders went back home. Elsewhere, Tzo'lin was very angry indeed.
[Sending Misty to do something gives her an extra dice]
[Tzo'lin will destroy his crystal and reawaken his god on turn 35]
There was news when Cinders returned. New Thett had launched its attack against Caldeot and now lay in siege. Cinders knew this both from the note that came from her spy and also from the envoy waiting for her in Glassalia. He was a member of The Order of the Drowned and had been dispatched by the Lady herself to ask for aid in breaking the siege and then joining the counter-attack upon New Thett.
While Cinders spoke with the Drowned Lady's representative, she noticed that her militia were now rather spectacular armed with miniature unintelligent versions of Vulcanus. It warmed the heart it did. Now was also a time that Cinders realised her spies could be put to good use. It wouldn't be all that hard for the spy in Caldeot to undermine the town's defenses and let New Thett's forces in. Equally, with the reduced military presence in New Thett it would not be hard to incite some very hard to contain civic unrest.
[Shardforge completed]
[New Thett start the siege of Caldeot. The traderoute is suspended. Only 5 dice of units are left defending New Thett]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number, a symbol and your vote bonus)
Peasant action:
A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources)
B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources) C: Build a ship (allows contact with Drome and whaling) (costs 100 resources) Scout the mainland [specify southwest, south, east]
E: Train Glaivekin (2 dice, 7+ strength with [swarmfighting] and [ranged(short)]), costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
F : Have the peasants work a double shift (produces 5+1d6 resources)
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants (Pay 2x resource cost in mana and 0 resources on build, or pay 5 mana on production to obtain +1d8 resources) [Make sure the peasant action chosen makes sense]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shards (difficulty 11: Success gains 3d8+3 mana, Failure is bad) 3: Construct a mana focus (costs 50 mana. Reduces drawing difficulty by 3 and adds +1d8 to drawing)
4: Accelerate the experiments (costs 3 mana to obtain +1d8 study) 5: Summon Smoulderlings (produces a [Smoulderling] unit, 4 dice, 6+ [Obscuring], costs 40 mana)
6: Summon an Elephantite (produces labour equivalent to 15 peasants, costs 30 mana and 1mana/turn) 7: Cast the spell of the statues (costs 100 mana) 8: Boil the lake to expose the drowned city (costs 100 mana)
9: Attack Caldeot/New Thett (choose one and specify units. If you're attacking Caldeot, specific which side you're fighting on)
10: Have your spy in Caldeot attempt to sabotage the town's defenses (difficulty 10)
11: Accept Mitel's proposal (+1 husband, provides a free ship)
12: Buy passage to Drome and find Tzo'lin (costs 20 silver, specify units)
13: Release the automaton and follow it to the tundra and Ingvar's reunion (specify units)
14: Muse quietly on your throne
Envoy selection:
£: Send the envoy home with assurances that the forces of Cinderella the lavashaper were on their way
$: Send the envoy home with the message that you will help if your demands are met (let me know your demands)
&: Send the envoy home with a refusal for aid
%: Feed the envoy to the Smoulderlings
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Marry the prince, demand Caldeot become our vassal for saving them, then conquer New Thett in the name of our husband.
E 11 $ (become vassal, regular taxes or troops) - Fortunes
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
I don't think New Thett would let us marry the prince should we side with Caldeot, instead we should attack and conquer New Thett while sending reassurances that we will come and break the siege.
E9(New Thett, everything but the squad we are training)$(Tribute)
I don't think New Thett would let us marry the prince should we side with Caldeot, instead we should attack and conquer New Thett while sending reassurances that we will come and break the siege.
I think that conquering New Thett would conveniently also break the siege.
We win over both cities with minimal destruction!
B9(New Thett, Leave glaivekin to hold city)$(Tribute)
Don't quote votes, makes counting harder for Mojo.
Yeah we Marry so we have a legitimate claim in New Thett, and THEN we attack them (preferably by breaking the siege to maximize Caldeot's gratitude, surely?)
It just feels like an overly complicated plan, so many things that can go wrong. Also, if we conquer the city we'll have hostages to bend his will with.
I don't think we should train another glaivekin. We only have 11 peasants left.
Marry Mitel this turn, then attack new thett next turn, imo, conquer saying basically "the sultan is a warmonger, it's time for his son to rule a new Era of peace" or something.
Who needs workers when you have glacial moving indescribable horrors for your workforce.
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
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AnialosCollies are love, Collies are life!Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered Userregular
E-11-$(fealty) +Fortune
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
Mitel the husband
It is not clear what he achieves
[Adaptable] During a round, one positive trait of the target is cancelled
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana / round or lose all but one dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
[Hard to kill] If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed
[Sluggish] Only rolls dice every second round
[Battle Scholar] +1 study / round and +1 study on a natural 10
[Armoured N] Unit has N armour that are lost in place of dice
[Obscuring]: target rolls one fewer dice (cannot reduce dice rolled to fewer than one)
[Deadslayer]: Makes a difficulty 8 check each round. On success deals a dice of damage to a random bonemancy enemy unit
[Distracting]: All target rolls are made at -1
[Aftermath]: Each turn, make a one dice attack against a random enemy unit other than the current target
Artifacts
Vulcanus
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
The Archive
Reflections on the twin shards and their ultimate connection to the artifact once known as The Weir
Lowers difficulty of drawing by 2
Increases output of drawing by +1/dice
Increases mana income by +1 / turn
Allows shard fusion/destruction
A detailed consideration of the entities which lurk below and how to effectively bind them into perpetual servitude
Allows Smoulderlings and Elephantites to be summoned
Of the interplay between bonemancy and lavashaping: Flaming skulls or smouldering corpses?
Grants [Wizard] units [deadslayer] ability
On the origin of Vulcanus by means of ethereal selection, and the sub splintering of the world crystal]/i]
Grants Cinders [Aftermath]
Allows construction of the Shardforge
Makes Vulcanus loyal
Diplomacy
The Drowned Lady: Caldeot, the town by the Drowned City Relations: Offended Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn) Military: 13 dice at 6+ strength all with [Armoured 1/2]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn SUSPENDED DUE TO SIEGE
Sultan Ofan: New Thett, the merchant hub Relations: Family Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn) Military: 20 dice at 7+ strength [15 currently besieging Caldeot]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn
Tzo'lin: The Undying Pious servant of The Bound Giant Relations: Hostile
Ingvar: The Instigator Mechano-Sage Relations: Unknown
Talen: The other one
Axiom: The Fistcaster Loyalist
Summary
The envoy did a remarkable job of masking his emotion as Cinders laid out her demands for Caldeot to swear fealty to her. The knight left shortly after on his journey to infiltrate his home, he promised that he'd carry word to his mistress and return if she accepted terms. To be entirely honest, Cinders was somewhat concerned about whether the messenger would make it through the siege lines at all.
Still, this was not a day to dwell on such things. Instead, today was a day to accept a marriage proposal and harden Cinders' relationship with New Thett. And more importantly, acquire a brand new vessel to allow Glassalia to take to the high seas. Not that it would probably help relations with Caldeot if word got out. Down below, a further squad of Glaivekin were being trained. Vulcanus himself had decided to attend this event, acting as a flying target for the warriors hurling their own enchanted bladed discs.
The sun had set when a response from New Thett arrived. The Thetti fleet was approaching, led by an ornate galleon. Judging from the decoration, this was Cinders' reward for taking Sultan Ofan's son of his hands. Lanterns of all colours bedecked each of the ships. As they started to form up around the tower, Cinders started work in raising a pier from the depths of the ocean. The seabed quaked at her command and a thin bridge of land rose out of the steaming waters. She strode along it as it pulled itself together, on a course directly for the lead galleon. With every step it rose further, only settling when it equalled the height of the ships.
Her betrothed met her on the deck. As did the Sultan. The Sultan was ecstatic. He spoke of their combined future. And how glad he was that Cinderella had chosen to align herself with New Thett in this unfortunate but necessary war. Even Mitel looked a little more engaged with events that he had been on their first and only other meeting. Attendance to the ceremony was fairly limited. The Sultan, a few of his other children, and some nameless heads of various ancestral tribes.
Thetti festivities were nothing if not extensive. By the time that the fireworks were exploding above the sea and the two were officially joined, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Finally Cinders was able to remove herself from the Thetti delegation and return to her tower. With her new spouse. She would have to get used to having a commoner walking the halls of her tower. Or maybe she could just keep him out of the way in the dungeon.
[Tzo'lin will destroy his crystal and reawaken his god on turn 35]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number and your vote bonus)
Peasant action:
A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources)
B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources)
C: Scout the world [specify direction] Go whaling (difficulty 5 to avoid losing 1d6 peasants, produces 5+1d6 silver pieces)
E: Train Glaivekin (2 dice, 7+ strength with [swarmfighting] and [ranged(short)]), costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
F: Have the peasants work a double shift (produces 5+1d6 resources)
G: Send an envoy to Drome
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants (Pay 2x resource cost in mana and 0 resources on build, or pay 5 mana on production to obtain +1d8 resources) [Make sure the peasant action chosen makes sense]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shards (difficulty 11: Success gains 3d8+3 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Construct a mana focus (costs 50 mana. Reduces drawing difficulty by 3 and adds +1d8 to drawing)
4: Accelerate the experiments (costs 3 mana to obtain +1d8 study)
5: Summon Smoulderlings (produces a [Smoulderling] unit, 4 dice, 6+ [Obscuring], costs 40 mana)
6: Summon an Elephantite (produces labour equivalent to 15 peasants, costs 30 mana and 1mana/turn) 7: Cast the spell of the statues (costs 100 mana) 8: Boil the lake to expose the drowned city (costs 100 mana)
9: Attack Caldeot/New Thett (choose one and specify units. If you're attacking Caldeot, specific which side you're fighting on)
10: Have your spy in Caldeot attempt to sabotage the town's defenses (difficulty 10)
11: Release the automaton and follow it to the tundra and Ingvar's reunion (specify units)
12: Travel to Drome incognito to find and end Tzo'lin (specific units)
13: Travel to Drome personally to establish diplomatic relations (specify units to take with you)
14: Muse quietly on your throne
Mojo_Jojo on
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Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
No update tomorrow or Tuesday as I'm travelling with work.
And similarly the week after I'm off on travels from Sunday to Wednesdayish (although maybe I'll be able to get some wifi somewhere and sort something out)
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AnialosCollies are love, Collies are life!Shadowbrook ColliesRegistered Userregular
G4
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
G 9[New Thett - Smoulderlings, Glaivekin[1], Runed Golem, Misty] +Fortune
I'd rather not drop below 20 workforce.
If we fight New Thett it will be 2 stages, attacking the city and breaking the siege. I'm tempted to begin this turn by attacking the city, that would cut off the siege force and we could pin them against the walls of Caldeot next turn. For now I'm going with another Smoulderling unit since we'll probably need to leave an occupation force in the city.
edit: The quicker we settle things with the neighbors to more time we have to prepare for Drome, so I'm voting to start things off now.
Alternatively, I could get behind a G9(New Thett) vote, but I wanted to get my vote for G in, because helllllll no should we create another glaivekin and go down to 1 peasant.
We have to attack New Thett to do that, which is what I said.
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
edited January 2016
Considering our relations with Caldeot are now 'offended' I'm not sure they are going to buy the whole swear fealty thing. Maybe if we use the spy to sabotage their defences New Thett will attack (and win?), and will be sufficiently weakened to enable us to take over.
Mind you if we took New Thett proper maybe the besieging army would follow our banner. Seems unlikely, but they are mostly mercenaries right? Who knows what they would do.
There has to be some masterstroke that leaves us in control of both cities dagnabit. Maybe we shouldn't take over in New Thett until we have some idea of how the cards are going to fall with Caldeot, is what I'm saying.
Lets build that mana focus, 4d8 extra mana per turn? Are you kidding me?
Void Slayer on
He's a shy overambitious dog-catcher on the wrong side of the law. She's an orphaned psychic mercenary with the power to bend men's minds. They fight crime!
Come back from the weekend and everyone hates us! Clearly we need a new minister of foreign relations.
This is as close to down time as I think we are going to get, so I say let's get that mana focus built now.
I can't recall, why is the sultan so hell bent to attack Caldeot again?
I'm not so sure I think attacking New Thett is going to end well for us. I have no reason to believe that the 15 armies at Caldeot are going to suddenly follow us and if Caldeot destroys them, then we have a weakened New Thett and a Caldeot that is unlikely to join us. Best guess is we break the siege (by attacking New Thett) and they thank us, but they aren't going to suddenly swear fealty to use and all armies are weakened in the process (including ours).
Well, if we take Thett that 15 stack army is gonna find itself in hostile territory, without any incoming supplies and a really angry army behind a wall they are sieging. Then they can either journey back to Thett and siege that, or try to assault Caldeot. Neither is a good choice on a empty stomach. Besides, most of the army was mercenary was it not? They are just going to abandon when they stop getting paid.
Besides, most of the army was mercenary was it not? They are just going to abandon when they stop getting paid.
I had forgotten about that. It may be they just drop their arms and walk away. Or that they show up on our front door demanding payment from the new leadership.
I agree with annexing Thett. Mercenaries don't have honor, we take out a 5 dice stack and have the blood right to rule (with our puppet husband) they will fall in line. HOWEVER, I'd prefer not to remove that siege until we get a real pledge of fealty. Otherwise we are overplaying the hand and have a well fortified neighbor that doesn't want to work with us, after we have a major war of succession.
G 9[New Thett - Smoulderlings, Glaivekin[1], Runed Golem, Misty] +Fortune
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jakobaggerLO THY DREAD EMPIRE CHAOS IS RESTOREDRegistered Userregular
I have no idea what to vote. The thing someone said about the possible reason Selin and Nephroditi are engineering the war has me worried though - the idea that they want to get raw materials for a huge army of skeletons and ghosts to do x (probably rule the world). Which is evil and unnatural, clearly ethical thing is a world ruled by bizarre, alien lava monstrosities.
So I guess I'm inclined to think we should try and end the war early, though possibly that could just be by acting decisively against one or both sides like we're planning.
Well, if we take Thett that 15 stack army is gonna find itself in hostile territory, without any incoming supplies and a really angry army behind a wall they are sieging. Then they can either journey back to Thett and siege that, or try to assault Caldeot. Neither is a good choice on a empty stomach. Besides, most of the army was mercenary was it not? They are just going to abandon when they stop getting paid.
Or they can attack the Obsidian tower. Which will be defenceless because all our troops will be in New Thett.
Well, if we take Thett that 15 stack army is gonna find itself in hostile territory, without any incoming supplies and a really angry army behind a wall they are sieging. Then they can either journey back to Thett and siege that, or try to assault Caldeot. Neither is a good choice on a empty stomach. Besides, most of the army was mercenary was it not? They are just going to abandon when they stop getting paid.
Or they can attack the Obsidian tower. Which will be defenceless because all our troops will be in New Thett.
The tower with molten lava pouring out all sides, hidden in a veil of noxious volcanic ash?
Well, if we take Thett that 15 stack army is gonna find itself in hostile territory, without any incoming supplies and a really angry army behind a wall they are sieging. Then they can either journey back to Thett and siege that, or try to assault Caldeot. Neither is a good choice on a empty stomach. Besides, most of the army was mercenary was it not? They are just going to abandon when they stop getting paid.
Or they can attack the Obsidian tower. Which will be defenceless because all our troops will be in New Thett.
The tower with molten lava pouring out all sides, hidden in a veil of noxious volcanic ash?
Or Glassalia, the city made out of literally glass houses
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wiltingI had fun once and it was awfulRegistered Userregular
Posts
I'd say the turn after, otherwise things can end up a bit messy
Decision D 4/13 £/&: Shardforge, attacking the mine wins the flip (going with everything but militia), lavashaping research wins the flip
Bonuses: +6 Mana, +4 Fortune
Things
Fortune: 29/50 [+1/turn]
Growth: 3/10 [+3/turn]
Peasants: 11 (effectively 26)
Population: 16
Shelter: 25
Food: 25
Resources: 36 [+7*/turn]
Silver Pieces: 69 [+2*/turn] [Trade route with Caldeot suspended]
Study: 3/50 Lavashaping [+2/turn]
*+1d4+1 to lowest total
The Obsidian Tower
Fused shards: Foreseen, Loyalist
+11 mana / turn, +1 resource, / turn, +1 growth / turn, +1 study / turn, +1 fortune / turn
[Ashvent] - Prevents scrying in the region
[Scholar's Hall] - Allows research, +1 study/turn
Glassalia
[Fertile Farm] = +25 food
[Glass houses] = +25 shelter
[Lumber yard] = +1 resource / 10 peasants / turn)
[Tavern] = +1 growth / turn
[Mercantile Guild] +1d4-1 / turn to lowest of silver pieces or resources
[Shardforge] = + 1 resource / turn
[Mine] = +2 resources / turn, +1 silver / turn
[Scouting] = Difficulty 15 check when exploring to uncover additional bonuses
New Thett
Spy = -1 silver pieces / turn, +1 to mercantile guild
Caldeot
Spy = -1 silver pieces / turn, +1 to mercantile guild
Individuals & Armies
Combat: 5 dice, 4+ strength [Lucky] [Battle Scholar] [Wizard] [Ranged(short)] [Deadslayer] [Aftermath]
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
Skeleton Warriors
Combat: 2 dice, 8+ strength, [Hard to kill]
Smoulderlings
Combat: 4 dice, 6+ strength, [Obscuring]
Glaivekin [5 Peasants]
Combat: 2 dice, 7+ strength, [Swarmfighting] [Ranged(shorted)]
Runed golem
Combat: 5 dice, 7+ strength, [Armoured 2]
Misty, The Ivory Apprentice Rainbringer
Combat: 3 dice, 6+ strength [Distracting] [Wizard] [Deadslayer]
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
More Smoulderlings [protecting trade caravans]
Ingvar's Machine [Imprisoned]
Combat: 3 dice, 5+ strength, [sluggish]
Elephantite x1
-1 mana/turn
15 peasants of labour
[Adaptable] During a round, one positive trait of the target is cancelled
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana / round or lose all but one dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
[Hard to kill] If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed
[Sluggish] Only rolls dice every second round
[Battle Scholar] +1 study / round and +1 study on a natural 10
[Armoured N] Unit has N armour that are lost in place of dice
[Obscuring]: target rolls one fewer dice (cannot reduce dice rolled to fewer than one)
[Deadslayer]: Makes a difficulty 8 check each round. On success deals a dice of damage to a random bonemancy enemy unit
[Distracting]: All target rolls are made at -1
[Aftermath]: Each turn, make a one dice attack against a random enemy unit other than the current target
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
The Archive
Lowers difficulty of drawing by 2
Increases output of drawing by +1/dice
Increases mana income by +1 / turn
Allows shard fusion/destruction
A detailed consideration of the entities which lurk below and how to effectively bind them into perpetual servitude
Allows Smoulderlings and Elephantites to be summoned
Of the interplay between bonemancy and lavashaping: Flaming skulls or smouldering corpses?
Grants [Wizard] units [deadslayer] ability
On the origin of Vulcanus by means of ethereal selection, and the sub splintering of the world crystal]/i]
Grants Cinders [Aftermath]
Allows construction of the Shardforge
Makes Vulcanus loyal
Diplomacy
Relations: Respectful and amiable
Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn)
Military: 13 dice at 6+ strength all with [Armoured 1/2]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn SUSPENDED DUE TO SIEGE
Sultan Ofan: New Thett, the merchant hub
Relations: Besotted
Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn)
Military: 20 dice at 7+ strength
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn
Nephroditi: The Bonemancer Wanderer
Relations: Business-like
Trade route: +2 silver pieces, +1 growth & +1 resource/ turn
Selin:The Silver-tongued Spirit-Weaver
Relations: Friendly
Tzo'lin: The Undying Pious servant of The Bound Giant
Relations: Hostile
Ingvar: The Instigator Mechano-Sage
Relations: Unknown
Talen: The other one
Axiom: The Fistcaster Loyalist
Summary
War was coming and it was time to act. Or at the very least take advantage of the confusion. Cinders quickly laid out the magic necessary to create the superheated forge of the Shardforge within Glassalia while her troops assembled. Her militia would remain behind, the idea of bringing humans to Tzo'lin did not seem wise, but it was still an impressive lineup. The increasingly yellowed group of skeletons provided by Nephroditi what seemed like a lifetime ago, her own fierce Smoulderlings, the mysterious marble-headed and handed golem, Misty the rainbringer and Cinders herself. They started the long march south toward the mine.
Tzo'lin's avatar did not stand a chance.
What had once looked like a fairly standard abandoned mine was now a horror to behold. A broad path of gore led into the mine. Fragments of bone and sinew mixed in with that deep rainbow of blood. Strips of glistening crimson and bands of dried brown. The stench was overwhelming but Cinders had come this far. If Misty could have looked any more pale she would have, it was quite the feat of strength to not vomit. Instead she condensed the water from the air and used it to brush a clear way forward for herself. Cinders approved, and applied her own superior magic to the task. The ground flash-heated. The bloody filth cooked and then boiled, reduced to a blackened layer before her. It did not improve the foul smell.
Cinders moved inside, sterilising the way as she moved.
It was not long before she emerged in that great central chamber. It looked somewhat different. The rough rocky walls were hidden under a layer of pulsing flesh, and Tzo'lin's avatar was now just a torso atop a twelve-foot pyramid composed of compressed bodies. It was a grizzly sight made worse by how their eyes followed her as she strode towards her counterpart's representative.
When it spoke, all of the mouths moved but not quite as one giving the words a strange reverberation on top of the same sluggishness it had had during the first meeting
"Ciiiiiiiindereeeeeeeeeeelaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Theeeeeee tiiiiiiiiiiiime iiiiiiiiiiiis sooooooooooooooooooooooon."
Little by little she could see that Tzo'lin himself was moving more of his focus into the avatar,
"Haaaaave yooooooou broooought me offeeeeeerings foooooor the neeeeeew unity?"
Misty now walked into the chamber. The many faces of Tzo'lin looked on eagerly, but only for a moment as they saw her fair skin. His eyes all swivelled back toward Cinders,
"An appreeeeeentice from the common stock. There was a time when the Institute would have flayed you for that... How the worm has turned. But where is the flesh? I am so close."
A snap of her fingers and the cavern erupted into flames. Tzo'lin shrieked in agony. A few more steps forward and Cinders addressed the quivering lump of flesh in whisper,
"Flesh? I bring flame and offer ashes."
The Smoulderlings charged in at that moment, racing around the chamber, burning away the extremities of Tzo'lin's reach. Cinders took hold of the stone of the mine, she could feel the narrow channels through which the avatar was connected with the true Tzo'lin back in Drome. The flesh fully permeated the mine, but the central trunk wwas just below the mound of flesh before her. She forced the opening to close. In an instant the avatar was split from Tzo'lin. It screamed and lashed out with whips of braided ligament and spears of bone. It was too little too late.
In a few short minutes there was nothing recognisable left of the avatar and the porous network through the mine had been collapsed. It would take considerable effort for the servant of the Bound Giant to wend his way back here. Despite the anticlimactic nature of the battle, Misty had had a chance to prove her worth with something approaching real action and her power came in in leaps and bounds as a result.
[Combat only lasts a round -2 Mana, +1 study. No losses from Team Cinders.]
The mine hers, Cinders went back home. Elsewhere, Tzo'lin was very angry indeed.
[Sending Misty to do something gives her an extra dice]
[Tzo'lin will destroy his crystal and reawaken his god on turn 35]
There was news when Cinders returned. New Thett had launched its attack against Caldeot and now lay in siege. Cinders knew this both from the note that came from her spy and also from the envoy waiting for her in Glassalia. He was a member of The Order of the Drowned and had been dispatched by the Lady herself to ask for aid in breaking the siege and then joining the counter-attack upon New Thett.
While Cinders spoke with the Drowned Lady's representative, she noticed that her militia were now rather spectacular armed with miniature unintelligent versions of Vulcanus. It warmed the heart it did. Now was also a time that Cinders realised her spies could be put to good use. It wouldn't be all that hard for the spy in Caldeot to undermine the town's defenses and let New Thett's forces in. Equally, with the reduced military presence in New Thett it would not be hard to incite some very hard to contain civic unrest.
[Shardforge completed]
[New Thett start the siege of Caldeot. The traderoute is suspended. Only 5 dice of units are left defending New Thett]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number, a symbol and your vote bonus)
Peasant action:
A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources)
B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources)
C: Build a ship (allows contact with Drome and whaling) (costs 100 resources)
E: Train Glaivekin (2 dice, 7+ strength with [swarmfighting] and [ranged(short)]), costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
F : Have the peasants work a double shift (produces 5+1d6 resources)
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants (Pay 2x resource cost in mana and 0 resources on build, or pay 5 mana on production to obtain +1d8 resources) [Make sure the peasant action chosen makes sense]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shards (difficulty 11: Success gains 3d8+3 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Construct a mana focus (costs 50 mana. Reduces drawing difficulty by 3 and adds +1d8 to drawing)
4: Accelerate the experiments (costs 3 mana to obtain +1d8 study)
5: Summon Smoulderlings (produces a [Smoulderling] unit, 4 dice, 6+ [Obscuring], costs 40 mana)
6: Summon an Elephantite (produces labour equivalent to 15 peasants, costs 30 mana and 1mana/turn)
7: Cast the spell of the statues (costs 100 mana)
8: Boil the lake to expose the drowned city (costs 100 mana)
9: Attack Caldeot/New Thett (choose one and specify units. If you're attacking Caldeot, specific which side you're fighting on)
10: Have your spy in Caldeot attempt to sabotage the town's defenses (difficulty 10)
11: Accept Mitel's proposal (+1 husband, provides a free ship)
12: Buy passage to Drome and find Tzo'lin (costs 20 silver, specify units)
13: Release the automaton and follow it to the tundra and Ingvar's reunion (specify units)
14: Muse quietly on your throne
Envoy selection:
£: Send the envoy home with assurances that the forces of Cinderella the lavashaper were on their way
$: Send the envoy home with the message that you will help if your demands are met (let me know your demands)
&: Send the envoy home with a refusal for aid
%: Feed the envoy to the Smoulderlings
E 11 $ (become vassal, regular taxes or troops) - Fortunes
Train Glaivekin, accept proposal, send envoy back with offer to help with demand of fealty.
E 11 $(demand fealty) Fortune
E9(New Thett, everything but the squad we are training)$(Tribute)
I think that conquering New Thett would conveniently also break the siege.
We win over both cities with minimal destruction!
B9(New Thett, Leave glaivekin to hold city)$(Tribute)
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Switch: SW-5185-4991-5118
PSN: AbEntropy
Don't quote votes, makes counting harder for Mojo.
Yeah we Marry so we have a legitimate claim in New Thett, and THEN we attack them (preferably by breaking the siege to maximize Caldeot's gratitude, surely?)
I think Wilting plays Crusader Kings...
edit by Peasant/Troops mainly looking for growth or the ability to purchase/train armored units in/from Caldeot, not to strip them of their defenses.
I don't think we should train another glaivekin. We only have 11 peasants left.
Marry Mitel this turn, then attack new thett next turn, imo, conquer saying basically "the sultan is a warmonger, it's time for his son to rule a new Era of peace" or something.
Hope they don't know what "hypocrisy" means.
You might want to bold/red your vote.
I'm the vote police now apparently.
Decision E 11 $(fealty): Glaivekin, wedding bells and demanding fealty from Caldeot
Bonuses: +3 Mana, +5 Fortune
Things
Fortune: 35/50 [+1/turn]
Growth: 6/10 [+3/turn]
Peasants: 6 (effectively 21)
Population: 16
Shelter: 25
Food: 25
Resources: 41 [+7*/turn]
Silver Pieces: 71 [+2*/turn] [Trade route with Caldeot suspended]
Study: 5/50 Lavashaping [+2/turn]
Husbands: 1
*+1d4+1 to lowest total
The Obsidian Tower
Fused shards: Foreseen, Loyalist
+11 mana / turn, +1 resource, / turn, +1 growth / turn, +1 study / turn, +1 fortune / turn
[Ashvent] - Prevents scrying in the region
[Scholar's Hall] - Allows research, +1 study/turn
Glassalia
[Fertile Farm] = +25 food
[Glass houses] = +25 shelter
[Lumber yard] = +1 resource / 10 peasants / turn)
[Tavern] = +1 growth / turn
[Mercantile Guild] +1d4-1 / turn to lowest of silver pieces or resources
[Shardforge] = + 1 resource / turn
[Mine] = +2 resources / turn, +1 silver / turn
[Scouting] = Difficulty 15 check when exploring to uncover additional bonuses
[Galleon] = Allows whaling and sea movement
New Thett
Spy = -1 silver pieces / turn, +1 to mercantile guild
Caldeot
Spy = -1 silver pieces / turn, +1 to mercantile guild
Individuals & Armies
Combat: 5 dice, 4+ strength [Lucky] [Battle Scholar] [Wizard] [Ranged(short)] [Deadslayer] [Aftermath]
Equipment: Vulcanus
Vote bonuses: +1 Mana or +1 Fortune per vote
Skeleton Warriors
Combat: 2 dice, 8+ strength, [Hard to kill]
Smoulderlings
Combat: 4 dice, 6+ strength, [Obscuring]
Glaivekin [5 Peasants]
Combat: 2 dice, 7+ strength, [Swarmfighting] [Ranged(shorted)]
Glaivekin [5 Peasants]
Combat: 2 dice, 7+ strength, [Swarmfighting] [Ranged(shorted)]
Runed golem
Combat: 5 dice, 7+ strength, [Armoured 2]
Misty, The Ivory Apprentice Rainbringer
Combat: 3 dice, 6+ strength [Distracting] [Wizard] [Deadslayer]
Sanders, The Magma Wyrm [adds +25 to fortune threshold. Improves fortunes]
More Smoulderlings [protecting trade caravans]
Ingvar's Machine [Imprisoned]
Combat: 3 dice, 5+ strength, [sluggish]
Elephantite x1
-1 mana/turn
15 peasants of labour
Mitel the husband
It is not clear what he achieves
[Adaptable] During a round, one positive trait of the target is cancelled
[Lucky] One reroll per round
[Ranged(short)] Make one attack without retaliation before melee
[Wizard] Must spend 1 mana / round or lose all but one dice
[Swarmfighting] +1 on rolls when targeting an enemy targeted by another ally
[Hard to kill] If beaten in combat make a difficulty 8 check. On success the unit is not destroyed
[Sluggish] Only rolls dice every second round
[Battle Scholar] +1 study / round and +1 study on a natural 10
[Armoured N] Unit has N armour that are lost in place of dice
[Obscuring]: target rolls one fewer dice (cannot reduce dice rolled to fewer than one)
[Deadslayer]: Makes a difficulty 8 check each round. On success deals a dice of damage to a random bonemancy enemy unit
[Distracting]: All target rolls are made at -1
[Aftermath]: Each turn, make a one dice attack against a random enemy unit other than the current target
Artifacts
Grants Ranged(short) to the bearer
Intelligent(?)
The Archive
Lowers difficulty of drawing by 2
Increases output of drawing by +1/dice
Increases mana income by +1 / turn
Allows shard fusion/destruction
A detailed consideration of the entities which lurk below and how to effectively bind them into perpetual servitude
Allows Smoulderlings and Elephantites to be summoned
Of the interplay between bonemancy and lavashaping: Flaming skulls or smouldering corpses?
Grants [Wizard] units [deadslayer] ability
On the origin of Vulcanus by means of ethereal selection, and the sub splintering of the world crystal]/i]
Grants Cinders [Aftermath]
Allows construction of the Shardforge
Makes Vulcanus loyal
Diplomacy
Relations: Offended
Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn)
Military: 13 dice at 6+ strength all with [Armoured 1/2]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn SUSPENDED DUE TO SIEGE
Sultan Ofan: New Thett, the merchant hub
Relations: Family
Spy in place: Undetected (-1 silver piece / turn)
Military: 20 dice at 7+ strength [15 currently besieging Caldeot]
Trade route: +1 silver pieces / turn
Nephroditi: The Bonemancer Wanderer
Relations: Business-like
Trade route: +2 silver pieces, +1 growth & +1 resource/ turn
Selin:The Silver-tongued Spirit-Weaver
Relations: Friendly
Tzo'lin: The Undying Pious servant of The Bound Giant
Relations: Hostile
Ingvar: The Instigator Mechano-Sage
Relations: Unknown
Talen: The other one
Axiom: The Fistcaster Loyalist
Summary
The envoy did a remarkable job of masking his emotion as Cinders laid out her demands for Caldeot to swear fealty to her. The knight left shortly after on his journey to infiltrate his home, he promised that he'd carry word to his mistress and return if she accepted terms. To be entirely honest, Cinders was somewhat concerned about whether the messenger would make it through the siege lines at all.
Still, this was not a day to dwell on such things. Instead, today was a day to accept a marriage proposal and harden Cinders' relationship with New Thett. And more importantly, acquire a brand new vessel to allow Glassalia to take to the high seas. Not that it would probably help relations with Caldeot if word got out. Down below, a further squad of Glaivekin were being trained. Vulcanus himself had decided to attend this event, acting as a flying target for the warriors hurling their own enchanted bladed discs.
The sun had set when a response from New Thett arrived. The Thetti fleet was approaching, led by an ornate galleon. Judging from the decoration, this was Cinders' reward for taking Sultan Ofan's son of his hands. Lanterns of all colours bedecked each of the ships. As they started to form up around the tower, Cinders started work in raising a pier from the depths of the ocean. The seabed quaked at her command and a thin bridge of land rose out of the steaming waters. She strode along it as it pulled itself together, on a course directly for the lead galleon. With every step it rose further, only settling when it equalled the height of the ships.
Her betrothed met her on the deck. As did the Sultan. The Sultan was ecstatic. He spoke of their combined future. And how glad he was that Cinderella had chosen to align herself with New Thett in this unfortunate but necessary war. Even Mitel looked a little more engaged with events that he had been on their first and only other meeting. Attendance to the ceremony was fairly limited. The Sultan, a few of his other children, and some nameless heads of various ancestral tribes.
Thetti festivities were nothing if not extensive. By the time that the fireworks were exploding above the sea and the two were officially joined, the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Finally Cinders was able to remove herself from the Thetti delegation and return to her tower. With her new spouse. She would have to get used to having a commoner walking the halls of her tower. Or maybe she could just keep him out of the way in the dungeon.
[Tzo'lin will destroy his crystal and reawaken his god on turn 35]
Decision Time
(A letter, a number and your vote bonus)
Peasant action:
A: Build houses (shelter for 25 peasants) (costs 15 resources)
B: Build a farm (+20 food) (Costs 15 resources)
C: Scout the world [specify direction]
E: Train Glaivekin (2 dice, 7+ strength with [swarmfighting] and [ranged(short)]), costs 5 resources and 5 peasants)
F: Have the peasants work a double shift (produces 5+1d6 resources)
G: Send an envoy to Drome
Cinders action:
1: Help the peasants (Pay 2x resource cost in mana and 0 resources on build, or pay 5 mana on production to obtain +1d8 resources) [Make sure the peasant action chosen makes sense]
2: Try to draw more mana from the crystal shards (difficulty 11: Success gains 3d8+3 mana, Failure is bad)
3: Construct a mana focus (costs 50 mana. Reduces drawing difficulty by 3 and adds +1d8 to drawing)
4: Accelerate the experiments (costs 3 mana to obtain +1d8 study)
5: Summon Smoulderlings (produces a [Smoulderling] unit, 4 dice, 6+ [Obscuring], costs 40 mana)
6: Summon an Elephantite (produces labour equivalent to 15 peasants, costs 30 mana and 1mana/turn)
7: Cast the spell of the statues (costs 100 mana)
8: Boil the lake to expose the drowned city (costs 100 mana)
9: Attack Caldeot/New Thett (choose one and specify units. If you're attacking Caldeot, specific which side you're fighting on)
10: Have your spy in Caldeot attempt to sabotage the town's defenses (difficulty 10)
11: Release the automaton and follow it to the tundra and Ingvar's reunion (specify units)
12: Travel to Drome incognito to find and end Tzo'lin (specific units)
13: Travel to Drome personally to establish diplomatic relations (specify units to take with you)
14: Muse quietly on your throne
And similarly the week after I'm off on travels from Sunday to Wednesdayish (although maybe I'll be able to get some wifi somewhere and sort something out)
E 5
Then attack ...somebody
I'd rather not drop below 20 workforce.
If we fight New Thett it will be 2 stages, attacking the city and breaking the siege. I'm tempted to begin this turn by attacking the city, that would cut off the siege force and we could pin them against the walls of Caldeot next turn. For now I'm going with another Smoulderling unit since we'll probably need to leave an occupation force in the city.
edit: The quicker we settle things with the neighbors to more time we have to prepare for Drome, so I'm voting to start things off now.
Alternatively, I could get behind a G9(New Thett) vote, but I wanted to get my vote for G in, because helllllll no should we create another glaivekin and go down to 1 peasant.
So what happened with our plan to marry the boy and kill the sultan?
Mind you if we took New Thett proper maybe the besieging army would follow our banner. Seems unlikely, but they are mostly mercenaries right? Who knows what they would do.
There has to be some masterstroke that leaves us in control of both cities dagnabit. Maybe we shouldn't take over in New Thett until we have some idea of how the cards are going to fall with Caldeot, is what I'm saying.
Lets build that mana focus, 4d8 extra mana per turn? Are you kidding me?
Come back from the weekend and everyone hates us! Clearly we need a new minister of foreign relations.
This is as close to down time as I think we are going to get, so I say let's get that mana focus built now.
I can't recall, why is the sultan so hell bent to attack Caldeot again?
I'm not so sure I think attacking New Thett is going to end well for us. I have no reason to believe that the 15 armies at Caldeot are going to suddenly follow us and if Caldeot destroys them, then we have a weakened New Thett and a Caldeot that is unlikely to join us. Best guess is we break the siege (by attacking New Thett) and they thank us, but they aren't going to suddenly swear fealty to use and all armies are weakened in the process (including ours).
I had forgotten about that. It may be they just drop their arms and walk away. Or that they show up on our front door demanding payment from the new leadership.
I agree with annexing Thett. Mercenaries don't have honor, we take out a 5 dice stack and have the blood right to rule (with our puppet husband) they will fall in line. HOWEVER, I'd prefer not to remove that siege until we get a real pledge of fealty. Otherwise we are overplaying the hand and have a well fortified neighbor that doesn't want to work with us, after we have a major war of succession.
So I guess I'm inclined to think we should try and end the war early, though possibly that could just be by acting decisively against one or both sides like we're planning.
Or they can attack the Obsidian tower. Which will be defenceless because all our troops will be in New Thett.
The tower with molten lava pouring out all sides, hidden in a veil of noxious volcanic ash?
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Or Glassalia, the city made out of literally glass houses