Combat for 943Arstotzka makes a breakthrough in gem-based magical technology this year. Dubbed "Aethergems", these contraptions seemingly
generate magical energy from nothing. They're basically a few anti-magic gems, circuits, and wires strapped to a magegem, but the largest of the series can produce enough energy in ten minutes to power a PSF-C blast. The most frightening aspect is how they seemingly render mages obsolete; though they are still rather slow, Aethergems mean that mages aren't required for every little magical task. They spend the first of their revisions putting three A-level Aethergems on a variant of their HA1 cannon, which allows them to fire it once every ten minutes without mage intervention. By itself, this isn't particularly useful, but it does work as a proof-of-concept. For their second revision, they modify their Flare spell to work as an offensive spell. Requiring very little energy, it produces a bright white light that can temporarily blind anyone who didn't have their eyes closed at that particular second.
Moskurg likewise makes a breakthrough in their special brand of magical technology. Dubbed the "Skyskiff", this flying device is an Adamantium canoe with two War Pegasi attached to the sides. The armor is thick enough to prevent HAC-1 penetration at medium range, and is practically invulnerable to anything smaller caliber. The most important aspect of this development is their own development of "Scrolls" - their War Pegasi are made out of rolled Adamantium now, which is rather uncomfortable for carpet riders but vastly improves the ease of production. By keeping an open center to allow air to pass through, these Adamantium War Pegasi Scrolls experience a vast increase in speed. Despite the heavy Adamantium construction and the fact that the Skyskiff carries two passengers, it is by far faster than the previous carpet-based version. For their revision, they give their Firestorm concoction a bit of TLC and upgrade it to Explosive. Now their Firestorm shells and grenades should explode rather violently once the clay shell is broken, although for the moment that just means they can spread their fire further than before rather than using shrapnel to cause injuries. Many Moskurg soldiers complain about the new firestorm liquid, as it makes a terrible mixer for Arak.
Much the same as last year, Moskurg pushes further into the jungle.
Their tornadoes don't require line-of-sight to operate and is particularly effective around so much free debris, their lightning is effective against ground troops, and their Skyskiffs mean they don't have to worry as much about getting shot down.
Arstotzka has the advantage of heavy artillery on their side and they win most melee engagements, but their Protector is still rubbish on uneven ground.
Moskurgs new explosive artillery shells have the most effect here and do a better job of setting the jungle on fire, but Arstotzka has been doing that for decades. Arstotzkan artillery is still slightly better as they can field more of them (especially with the Mundane chipping in it's 1 round every 10 minutes) and their explosive shells actually send out lethal shrapnel when it hits, but both are matched for range. Moskurgs better accuracy helps make up the difference, and in the end their tornadoes, Skyskiffs, and lightning do enough damage they can drive Arstotzka from the jungle.
Arstotzka builds fortifications on the edge of the Taiga in anticipation of further Moskurg gains next year; the tall pine trees of their homeland will likely be just as lethal in high winds as the jungle wood to the south.
Moskurg gains a section of Jungle this year. If they hold it for a year, they may exploit it for the Jungle Wood.The battle is less clear-cut in the desert.
Both Arstotzka and Moskurg have deployed their heroes here as it is the most critical (and the most bloody) field of battle this year.
In the relatively flat dunes and rocky wastelands of the southern end of the continent, Arstotzkan artillery reigns supreme. Their Mundane doesn't do much by itself, but their Blind-Flare does its job as a close-range panic spell to give the user time to mount a defense. The last thing a surprising number of Moskurg soldiers see is a bright white light illuminating the sweaty face of an Apprentice, with his eyes squeezed shut. With less to burn Moskurgs artillery relies on precise hits and near-misses to splash fire onto enemy troops - the fumes do most of the work rather than the actual fire, but that hardly makes a difference to those engulfed. Incredibly enough, the Firestorm shells are like smaller-scale Arstotzkan Fireballs, but with more smoke and
slightly more range. This makes plenty of Arstotzkan wizards grumpy, and they waste no time in switching from artillery duty to fireball-flinging as soon as enemy troops are in range. Battles are easy enough to find from all the smoke, though constant rain and howling winds wither flames pretty quickly.
The Protector still suffers here, as its wheels still break easily and are susceptible to fire. It's biggest contribution to the battlefield is acting as a mobile bunker that can fire a few times before being burnt-out, as even if it COULD get closer than Long Range before getting shut down Moskurg's anti-magic would render the magical circuitry inert. It's a very promising piece of equipment, but until these flaws are addressed it will likely not be a major part of the battle in the south.
Moskurgs Skyskiff does a much better job here than the Protector. The original carpet-and-saddle riders are obsoleted by the well-protected body of the craft with its two Adamantium Pegasus Scrolls providing surprising forward thrust. It can only be flown so fast before visibility becomes impossible for the driver, but that's enough to throw off the aim of soldiers on the ground. Even if the rare shot DOES hit, beyond Medium Range an HAC-1 is unlikely to do more than dent the underside. With one mage steering, the other is free to pick-and-choose his targets, dropping the highly explosive Firestorm grenades on enemy emplacements and striking out with their cheap wands of thunderbolt. Unless they get caught in a banking maneuver that exposes the top part of the canoe, they're virtually unkillable.
Again, as it was last year, Moskurg ships are able to land troops behind Arstotzkan lines and field Skyskiff sorties deep in their backfield, but the effect is mostly nullified by Arstotzka's Wand of True Light.
Myark and al-Mutriqa fight it out this year on the battlefield, facing one another for the first time in nearly a decade.
A lucky anti-magic bomb arrow explodes in front of a Skyskiff that strayed too low. The pilot in front catches a face full of crystalline shards and is killed instantly, and as the skiff goes careening towards the ground a figure with a brilliant rainbow colored cape and gleaming Adamantium Scale Armor (custom made) jumps free. The skiff crashes into an HA1 emplacement and the supply cashe of Thunderbolt wands and Firestorm grenades detonates. The resulting explosion is enough to quiet the raging storm overhead, but only for a moment. Soon enough lightning is striking about with reckless abandon once more, and a nearby strike illuminates the falling figure. It's al-Mutriqa, and as the ground forces watch a gust of wind catches him and slows his fall. He rolls when he hits the ground, sending up a spray of wet sand everywhere.
Atop a nearby dune another figure stands tall, fireballs blasting from his palms in rapid succession. He doesn't particularly need to aim; the swarming mass of troops with glowing armor is impossible to miss. Moskurg soldiers die in droves as their temperature-nullifying armor fails to keep the fire from spreading to their unarmored sections. The figure atop the dune is a fierce-some sight - every bit the viking his ancestors were, a gleaming crystal axe and rusted longsword hangs from his belt. Patches of crystal armor adorn his shins and shoulders, but for the most part he is dressed in oiled furs to keep the cool of the nearby Frost Towers from sapping his body heat. A pair of curled ram horns jut from his helmet, his own personal touch to strike fear in his enemies hearts. He stands unafraid from lightning, knowing that not even Moskurgs False God would dare strike him down in such an inglorious fashion.
For a moment the battle around them calms and the two lock eyes.
Though they are both forces to be reckoned with on the battlefield, the decades of war has not been kind to them. Wrinkles crawl across brows and mouths, and gray hairs salt their heads. Countless scars line their bodies, testament to how impossible they are to kill. Still, as they had the first day they met, they each let loose a furious battlecry and charge.
Mace against axe they pound at one another, still as fast as ever. Magic works its way into the fight every now and then - a blastball to send sand into al-Mutriqa's eyes, a gust of wind to unsettle Myark mid-strike, a sudden burst of crystal missing by an inch, a blast of lightning, mist, rain, flare - the two battle as they have for decades.
The battle ebbs as minutes go by, until most of Moskurgs assault has been crushed and it's only the stragglers being mopped up by what little of Arstotzka's defensive force remains. A particularly nasty blow from al-Mutriqa causes Myark to twist to catch it on his axe, and a sickening crunch pauses the fight. Myark's face twists, and his axe falls from his hand. Though he blocked the blow, the angle placed too much force on his wrist and now it hangs limply, at an odd angle. al-Mutriqa, himself covered in a cuts and burns and bruises, pauses to consider his old enemy. Without prompt or ceremony, he turns and walks back towards Moskurgs lines, content with his victory over the old foe. Myark, teeth clenched in pain and rage, stands. He leaves his axe in the wet sand and trods, wearily, towards the Arstotzkan field hospital to the north. With the doctors busy with casualties from the most recent battle, it would be a solid four hours before he could get someone to splint his arm.
With Moskurg forces tied up fighting in the desert, they are unable to push north to fight in the Plains. No battle occurs there this year.
Arstotzka has retained control of the Plains for a year. They may exploit it for resources.Moskurgs Skyskiffs are fast enough to catch Arstotzkan Steam Powered Boats. Being nearly impossible to shoot down with HAC-1's, they easily dominate the air and suppress Arstotzka's navy this year. Many Arstotzkan sailors die this year of asphyxiation, as Moskurgs only way of getting to soldiers hiding behind crystal barriers is to smoke them out with their pungent fire.
Moskurg gains a section of shoreline in both the Eastern and Western Seas.Other News:Both nations decide to seize the Traders assets this year. His sudden appearance and reluctance to speak is suspicious enough, as well as the familiar boat from the trader from years past. Neither side has any trouble capturing him and his crew, and they've been put in both sides respective dungeons. Interrogation will prove what his intentions were soon enough. His ship was, as he said, full up enough with various treasures to give both sides an
Expense Credit this year.
Hayat has recovered from her injuries from the previous year. Once very beautiful, her face is now a mess of scarred tissue. She wears the scars proudly as a badge of honor, as none may now say she was too cowardly to fight for her nation. Her ruined Queen's Will is replaced with an Adamantium Pegasus Scroll, courtesy of Moskurgs Design Team. She seems quite pleased with it, as it's by far faster than the old cloth variant from years past. She names it the "Malicious Intent". The name unsettles those in the court, but none denies it is a fitting name. With her wounds healed, Hayat may now work with Moskurgs Design Team to provide a
Research Credit.In accordance with Arstotzkans Scholarship, all non-drafted apprentices who serve for at least two years after being educated at Arstotzkas Academy for Adequate Apprenticeship are free to retire from active duty. Though the number of apprentices who either survive that long or choose to retire rather than attain a Wizard-level ranking is quite small, enough have trickled back into society over the past few years to be noticeable. Most are crippled in some way, but those who still have hands prove to be quite capable farmers with Dogwood Wands. It took quite a while to see the return on investment, but the increase in crop harvest is enough to earn Arstotzka an additional
Expense Credit this year.
In brighter news, two members of the Arstotzkan design team decide to get married this year! Formerly bitter rivals, Watcher the Ram and Chief Waffles put aside their differences to confess their undying love towards one another. (Order: [6/5] -> [5]) Their wedding proves to be so lavish and ornate and their love so pure that the King has agreed to give the design team a minor increase in funding this year (+1 to Expense Roll this Design Phase).
!!DESIGN CREDIT!!A strange man has arrived on the eastern shores of Forenia. He claims to be a "magician" - true enough, he has managed many surprising feats of magic that our wizards cannot replicate. He seems to draw from many schools of magic at once, in fact. He is able to Conjure and Disaparate living creatures from the confines of his headwear, namely a rabbit (our mages confirm that yes, it is a real, living rabbit). He is able to read the minds of our most formidable mages and discern which slip of paper from an entire stack they had chosen, then magically conjure that paper to the top. At one point he even chopped a living woman in twain with little more than a saw and a pair of boxes, but without harming her or spilling a drop of blood! To make the feat even more incredible, he healed her injuries to the point where it was impossible to tell she was ever injured at all.
He refers to himself simply as "The Saint".
Our design team agree that such a powerful Legendary Wizard would surely benefit our side, if we can attract him thusly. Hostile action is absolutely out of the question - there is little doubt that such a powerful wizard would be able to squash our entire kingdom with ease, if he so chose. Whichever side can offer the most attractive proposal will gain his magical knowledge and a second design that turn through a
Design Credit.It is 944, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: [color=red0/4 Arstotzka[/color], 4/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Sea: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Sea: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Southern Sea: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 Moskurg
Broadsword: An iron age classic. A double-edged blade designed for speed, flexibility and force. Requires training to wield, can be used one or two handed. Removable pommel for throwing.Cheap.
War Axe: Can be used as a tool in a pinch, this is a single-handed weapon that does well against heavily armoured foes. Can be used with minimal training. Cheap.
Wooden Shield: General infantry equipment. Couples well with an axe, cheap, easy to replace. Works best in heavy melee. Can be used with minimal training. Cheap.
Hide Armour: General infantry armour. Cheap, thanks to the plentiful sheep in the taiga. Turns aside weak blows. Cheap. Obsolete.
Gambeson: A leather armoring doublet designed to go with plate armor. Helps protect against arrows.
Chain Mail: Officer armour. Expensive, due to the steel required. Very effective against most weapons. Expensive. Obsolete.
Plate Mail: General infantry and officer armour. So well designed it costs surprisingly little to make. Normal cost. Obsolete.
Combat Armor: Crystal battle armor. Features a clear visor with no easy way for arrows to penetrate. Lightning rod allows user to survive a single blast of lightning. Cheap.
Longbow: General infantry weapon. Difficult to find wood and requires a lot of training, but long ranged and powerful. Cheap.
Shire Horse: A heavy riding horse. Survives and rides well in cold weather. Powerful charge. Normal Cost.
Longship: Oar-rowed wooden ship. Slow, but sturdy, and can carry large numbers of landing troops. Very Expensive. Obsolete.
Steam Engine: A highly expensive and enormously heavy steam engine. Uses a steam turbine to generate power. Uses PSF's and a steam recycler with enchanted nickel etchings to manage heat. Cheap.
Internal Detonation Engine: An experimental new engine that uses two cylinders and timed PSF-C guided by a complicated circuit and cooling system. A little bit smaller than the Steam Engine, but with a higher output. Expensive.
SPB "Fog-O-War": Boat using two steam engines for power. Slightly faster than Moskurg ships. Tends to sink after the first hit. Expensive. Obsolete.
AS-SPB2-Crystalclad: Boat using a crystal hull, two steam engines, and three HC1-E's. More resilient, higher firepower, and just as fast as the Fog-O-War. Deck tends to be slippery. Equipped with a single HAC-1 for point-defense. Can be out-fitted with HA1's. Cheap.
Protector: The worlds first APC/tank. Rolls around on wooden wagon wheels, powered by an IDE, made mostly out of crystal. Equipped with an HAC-1 and HC1-E. Can carry a few soldiers. Expensive
Wand of True Light: Seeds doubt in enemy minds. Theatre-wide effect. Moral penalty. National Effort.
AS-STV-1 "Restless": Steam train. Crystal structure. Can carry troops and supplies to the front line. Little power, but can pick up to the speed of a horse in gallop. Very Expensive.
Magegems: Magical batteries. Comes in A, AA, and AAA forms. The AAA battery should be able to power a couple flares. An AA battery should be able to power a SPSF-C all by itself, and an A battery should be able to power a regular PSF-C. Three A batteries can power a single PSF in all its glory. Made of a special crystal-glass with nickel banding. Does not lose charge. Cheap-Very Expensive.
Aethergems: Essentially a circuitry, anti-magegem, and wire setup that attaches to a magegem. Replenishes a magegem automatically at 10 minutes for A gems, 5 minutes for AA gems, and 1 minute for A gems. Cheap.
HA1: Arstotzkan heavy artillery. Fires at beyond line-of-sight range. Requires three apprentices to operate, plus loading crew. Uses nickel circuitry to cool the cannon. Breech-loaded. Made mostly of crystal. Cheap.
Blastshells+R: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides extended (albeit less accurate) range, out to BLOS+1. Cheap.
Blastshells+E: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides explosive capabilities to the shell upon landing thanks to a fragile limiting AAA gem in the tip. Cheap.
Blastshells+R/E: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides both extended range and explosive capabilities, albeit less accurately. Expensive.
HA1-b "Mundane": A variant of the HA1 for mundane use. Features 3 A-level Aethergems that can be slotted in and out and specialized firechamber to produce PSF-C's on command. 1 round per 10 minutes. Very Expensive.
HC1: AKA the "Extreme-Range Hybrid Cannon". Arstotzka's first cannon. Uses a fireball to propel a fist-sized iron ball Long-Range. Inaccurate, but can be loaded quickly. Has a tendency to crack. Cheap. Obsolete.
HC1-E: The Elite version of the HC1. Fires at Extreme-Range. Uses rifling, ballistics, and an overall better and more consistent design. Utilizes enchanted nickel etching for barrel cooling. Made mostly of crystal. Breech-loaded.Cheap.
Equalizer: Anti-magic shell. Dispells all magic around it. Difficult to produce and fire, dangerous to use. Expensive.
HC2: A failed attempt to upgrade the HC1 with auto-cooling barrel and ambitious steam recycler. Explodes or breaks after every shot. Very Expensive. Obsolete.
AS-HAC-1: An all-crystal small-caliber cannon. Swivel-mounted. Breech-loaded. Aimed through horse-hair crosshairs. Relatively short reload time. Uses a "bolt action" for loading. Circuit-cooled. Cheap.
AS-R1 Hybrid Rifle: A cannon you can hold! Made out of crystal, circuit-cooled, breech-loaded, bolt-action. A single AA-level Magegem allow non-magic users to use it, provided they replace it with each shot. Uses just the fireblast for propulsion rather than steam. Reaches Extreme Range, but inaccurate past Medium Range. Expensive.
Arzotskan Academy for Adequate Apprenticeship: Basic magic training for apprentices. Allows them to be more useful on the offensive. Very prestigious. Actively recruits new apprentices.Expensive.
Crystalworks Mk2: A workshop that produces crystal items cheaply, permanently, and with a mild brittle factor. Crystals can repair microfractures, eliminating the need for maintenance. Larger facility allows Expensive.
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort. Obsolete.
Minor Towers of Forever Frost: Small, complicated towers that have to be assembled in place and requires the skill of several wizards to operate. Creates a very powerful cold evocation and then channels it directly into the air, consistently lowering temperatures within a radius of about fifty miles. Can induce snow in the jungle during the winter, freezing rain in the summer. Now made with pre-inscribed marble blocks.Expensive.
Anti-Magic Charm: A magically enchanted quartz crystal. Hums loudly in the presence of magic, and prevents magic from being conjured inside the very limited range. Expensive.
Anti-Magic Bomb Arrows: Arrows that explode on contact with magic into red-hot, razor-sharp crystal shards.
Magic Lance: Conjures a set of lances for a cavalry squad. Thick enough not to break on use. Cheap.
Magic Axe: Conjures a set of long axes for officers. Cheap.
Dogwood Wand: Wand that allows the user to accelerate the growth of a patch of plants to an area and height equal to their own height. Wands are cheap to make, but don't last very long. Cheap.
Anti-Mages: Mage hunters equipped with R1's, anti-magic charms, anti-magic arrows, falcons, and the best armor we can give them. Excel at sniping enemy mages.
Obscuring Mist: Cloaks a squad in a fog cloud, hiding their numbers and equipment, and making them harder to hit at range.
Variant (Channeled Fog): A denser form of Obscuring mist, continuously generated.
Summon Swarm: Conjures a swarm of stinging wasps to harass foes. Expensive.
Variant (Fire Wasps): Conjures stinging wasps that can start small fires. Expensive.
Webs: Conjures a sticky web, immobilizing an entire squad and preventing them from moving. Very Expensive.
Fireball: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. Damaging side effects harm morale. Very Expensive. Obsolete.
Minor Fireball: Smaller version of fireball. Doesn't cause collateral damage, but doesn't explode on impact. Expensive. Obsolete.
Powerful Streamlined Fireball: Hurls small balls of fire that explode on impact. Devastating against massed troops. Cheap.
Small Powerful Streamlined Fireball: Smaller fireballs, for firing cannons and guns without water. Cheap.
Flare: A small, harmless fireball. Comes in many different colors. Cheap.
Blind-Flare: Very bright variant used to blind enemies. Cheap.
Blastball: Referred to with a "-C" appending, allows a regular fireball to exert mainly expansive force. Good for explosions, but not terribly lethal on its own. Cheap.
Firewall: Creates static walls of fire. Long casting time, concentration sustain. Very Expensive.
Crystal Caltrops: Jagged crystals designed to lay in the grass and catch enemy troops unaware. Good for defense. Cheap.
As inspired by the "Behavior Rule" attached to Sensei's new Arms Race thread, I've decided to adapt them to Wand Race. Most of these are blatantly copied from his thread, and I expect them to be followed. After running this game for a few weeks now and following the last Arms Race, I'm aware that they're prone to attracting bad attitudes. Keeping the game smooth, on schedule, and argument free is probably a greater concern of mine than whatever you are arguing about: I expect you to be mature and adopt the same attitude.
1. Don't be salty! If at any time you find yourself having an urge to mouth off at another player, step away from the keyboard, go outside, and take a breath. Seriously. Players who repeatedly get angry or passive aggressive will be asked to leave. If you have an issue with the way the game is being run, DO NOT expect a tantrum to get you what you want.
2. Keep in mind that I am not a historian, so there will sometimes be mistakes and inaccuracies. Even in the best of circumstances, minor inconsistencies are a common occurrence. If some piece of equipment is imbalanced/unrealistic, I might consider changing it if you bring it up once -AND ONLY ONCE- and politely state your argument. However, I will err on the side of consistency with my own game, I do not like to go back and change things. Sometimes it is more important to simply keep the game running smoothly than other concerns.
3. Do not accuse me of being biased. Do not accuse me of being biased. I put a lot of effort into being objective and fair and being accused otherwise is pretty fucking irritating. On multiple occasions this has nearly derailed the game and made me want to abandon it all together. I have absolutely no more patience for this, and if you do it YOU WILL BE BANNED.
4. Do not spy on the other team's private thread. Trust me, playing fair is more fun for everyone! If you suffer from a lack of self-control and cannot stop yourself from spying, keep it to yourself. Do not use it to metagame. And do not post what you saw in the central thread. This has happened multiple times now, and if you do it you will be banned with no warning.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 375550 times)