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Author Topic: Wands Race - [Moskurg] {COMPLETED}  (Read 183609 times)

Iituem

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Wands Race - [Moskurg] {COMPLETED}
« on: March 18, 2017, 08:43:37 am »

Wands Race is now, thanks to evictedSaint, complete!

Forenia remains at war, as it has since time immemorial.  Six months ago, in the hotly disputed mountains of Forenia, an old ruin was discovered belonging to some pre-Forenian people.  Contained within, amongst incidental treasure and corpses, were two wands and two spellbooks.  Unfortunately, those bastard Arstotzkans raided the camp at the last moment and you were only able to get away with half of the loot.  Nevertheless, the discovery has revolutionised war; magic is real, and your nation has been able to train a handful of wizards based off the spellbook and wand you recovered.  The only problem now is trying to figure out more spells and ways to make use of your magic to get one over on those bastard Arstotzkans!

Torches light the streets and rain falls constantly from the sky. You are meeting around a table strewn with parchment and quills, in a longhouse under watch by the local King's guard. After a period of extended argument discussion, the old team of wizards has been murdered in their sleep dismissed, and you have been chosen to replace them.

You are the glorious people of Moskurg.  Your people excel in the hot open desert which you call your home, and your armies consist primarily of large, massed cheap infantry armed with spears and poorly armoured, led by scale-mail armoured cavaliers who excel at cavalry combat and mobility in battle.  About a third of your forces are archers, equipped with short-ranged self bows whose numbers allow them to assist infantry in main battle and whose mobility serve them well in ambush situations.  Your cavalry are lightly armoured and geared towards hit and run strategies, providing support for your archers in pre-battle skirmishes.  Your sailships are fast and fleet, able to manoevre around foes and hold captured coastline well, but they can only carry limited infantry to support a battle on land.

To play for this glorious side, post here.  You can only play for either Arstotzka or Moskurg, so choose wisely.  Out of respect for the other team, stay out of their thread.  Post banter and such in the core thread.

To begin with, players should vote on which wand and spellbook their side has.  You can only have one of each, so choose wisely.


To play, during the Design Phase either post a design for a new item or spell, or quote someone else's design and add a +1.  You can only design or support one design, so if you change your mind go back and strike out your earlier post to make my life easier when totting up votes.

Spoiler: State of Forenia, 910 (click to show/hide)


For my own use and anyone else who wants to use it, I'm going to post an index here so we can go back and see what happened easier. I'll try to keep this updated as the game goes on.

Starting Post
Battle 910
Battle 911
Battle 912
Battle 913
Battle 914 <- Doesn't exist/Is Labeled as 915
Battle 915 <- Actually 914
Battle 916
Battle 917
Battle 917 <- No date in the battle report, and then it says we are entering the 917 Design Phase. Probably the Math Error of 914 catching up to the dates and causing accidental time travel.
Battle 918
Battle 919
Battle 920 <- The first battle I voted in!
Battle 921
Battle 922
Battle 923
Battle 924
Battle 925
Battle 926
Battle 927
Battle 928
Battle 929
Battle 930
Battle 931
« Last Edit: September 25, 2017, 06:41:33 am by Iituem »
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S34N1C

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2017, 09:39:35 am »

I think we should go with either the Illusion or Transmutation spell books. As for the wand,  I would say the wand of Heroism.
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Glory to United Forenia!

evictedSaint

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #2 on: March 18, 2017, 11:13:41 am »

Clearly we should go with the Wand of Heroism and the Spellbook of Necromancy.

Our men are brave, and the enemy is cowardly.  How could we lose such a war?

Nirur Torir

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2017, 11:51:31 am »

I vote Divination spellbook and the Wand of Fireballs Wand of Dispel Magic.

Divination is always wonderful at a strategic level. Unless they choose illusion, we gain a large tactical advantage in nearly every battle. It even comes with Lucky Strike as a direct buff for our shortbows.
Fireballs will be pretty helpful if they go for expensive troops early, and fun even if they don't.

Transmutation & Heroism is an interesting combo for making an elite squad very elite, but we have swarms now and would need to focus on that focus on quality for several turns.

Evocation & Flight would be interesting. Find the enemy easily > Flaming Sphere to their camp during nighttime.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2017, 03:41:11 pm by Nirur Torir »
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Kashyyk

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2017, 12:11:01 pm »

Engineer Wizard Kashyyk, returning to duty!

I'm inclined to got for Transmutation and Wand of Long-Sight. We'll have a set of elite infantry and the wand will let it's user see any ambushes being set up and listen in on the enemy general's orders.
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Nirur Torir

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2017, 03:11:32 pm »

Thinking about it, that dispel wand is pretty tempting.

Not for the wand itself, but if we can reverse-engineer it, we'll be in a great place in a magic war.

We could probably also learn useful equipment enchantments from wands of heroism, invisibility, flight, or long sight.
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evictedSaint

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2017, 03:15:17 pm »

Wars are won by the men and women fighting on the front lines.

The Wand of Heroism to give them the courage to face such a herculean task of fighting for their country, and The Spellbook of Necromancy to encourage the enemy to flee like the cowards they are.  How could we lose any battle where the enemy routes the second the melee starts?

NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #7 on: March 18, 2017, 03:31:41 pm »

Yeah, alright. Let's show those vikings whats what.

Anyway. Our strength is in numbers; we employ large amounts of cheap infantry, not a small core of elites. We should look for effects that bolster an entire army in a small way, rather than trying to make our expendable troops better.

I'm inclined to go with the Divination Spellbook, for the tactical benefit it provides (one way for the enemy to beat our superior numbers is through ambush) and the bonus to our archers.
And the Wand of Dispel Magic, because counterspells are always useful, whereas any other magic is situational.
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Long Live United Forenia!

Iituem

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #8 on: March 18, 2017, 03:51:20 pm »

We have a three way split between transmutation, divination and necromancy, with a clear win for the wand of heroism.  Looking for a tie breaker on the spellbook.
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Let's Play Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura! - The adventures of Jack Hunt, gentleman rogue.

No slaughtering every man, woman and child we see just to teleport to the moon.

Kashyyk

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #9 on: March 18, 2017, 03:54:59 pm »

I'll switch my vote from Transmutation to Divination.
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crazyabe

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #10 on: March 18, 2017, 04:02:10 pm »

PTW.
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evictedSaint

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #11 on: March 18, 2017, 04:10:44 pm »

Necromancy is still my vote.  Inspire fear in the enemy and it gives our mass of troops an edge.

Iituem

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Re: Wands Race 910 [Moskurg]
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2017, 05:29:32 pm »

Forenia, 910

In the mountains, Arstotzka has proved to be highly effective, winning nearly all of the skirmishes in the passes and even successfully taking hold of a Moskurger castle.  Moskurg meanwhile has failed to gain any ground at all, as their troops have been sapped in skirmishes before this can even come to pass.  Although Arstotzkan gains are not significant enough to shift the balance of power, continued victories may gain them real ground in the mountains.

The King and his knights put this defeat down to the terrain, for the most part; enemy infantry and ambush tactics are brutally effective and Moskurg massed infantry tactics are less effective, further aided by the Arstotzkan magic which summons clouds of smoke to conceal their men against brave Moskurger archers, and swarms of biting, stinging insects that sap the morale of brave Moskurg soldiers.


In the jungle, Moskurg is mostly able to win in skirmishes against Arstotzka, particularly on the defensive where their apprentices were able to detect ambushes laid in place and encircle them with troops.  In the jungles, Moskurger archers are aided by magic to hit two out of three times, twice as often as before!  Whilst Moskurg and Arstotzka both traded land, with Arstotzka capturing several forts and Moskurg seizing an Arstotzkan gem mine, Moskurg has come out with a slight advantage despite their lack of territorial gains, having slaughtered many fleeing Arstotzkans with their fast sabre-armed cavalry.

Moskurg has sent its one master wizard to the jungle, where their wand of heroism is able to inspire the troops to keep fighting despite the unpleasantly hot conditions.  An elite squad of cavalry with the wizard at their head have conducted several daring raids, inspiring the other troops to fight harder.


Moskurg has had an excellent showing in the plains, where their cavalry focus has come to the fore.  Without terrain to aid the Arstotzkans' ambush tactics, Moskurgers were able to win most skirmishes and bring their massive formation-based armies to bear.  At the same time, the Arstotzkans fielded a very visible wizard in a well-protected contingent on the battlefield; huge balls of fire hurtled over the field when battle was joined, roasting dozens of spearmen at a time.  Moskurgers still seized a major fishing town and butchered the entire local garrison, resulting in further losses for the Arstotzkans as the Moskurgers prove that they can follow up on a victory with great effect.  Moskurg has not yet gained enough territory to be significant, but they are en-route to a significant gain in land on the plains next year.

The King and his knights put this victory down a reasonable amount to the terrain; scattered groups of enemy infantry might work well in the mountains, but they are easy prey for fast, mobile formation forces and cavalry support.  Despite the glorious victories told of, many of the skirmishes have been close and although ambushes are partly held off by simple detection spells and the archers are certainly aided by lucky strikes, the stinging biting wasps the Arstotzkans summon are proving deleterious to morale, although there are not nearly enough of them to affect a full battle.  One of the key advantages magically has been the ability to read enemy thoughts.  This ability is limited to close range, so it can only be reliably applied in skirmishes, and if the Arstotzkans ever give their thanes decent bodyguards they might be able to kill off our wizards before they can carry back their mind scans.  For the mean time however, our 'mystics', as they call themselves, can completely nullify any officer bonuses during skirmishes.

Of particular concern is the very flashy Arstotzkan wizard aiding the battles here on the plains.  Although our fine Moskurger cavalry are able to outpace the enemy regardless, and we have so many expendable troops that the roasting of several hundred in a battle is not such a big problem, their wizard is still very dangerous, especially when attacking Moskurger forts and settlements, which they feel free to burn with impunity.  They have been known to blow up whole skirmishing parties as well, although the damage is slightly mitigated in skirmishes due to their nature.


At sea, luck has favoured the Moskurger forces on the eastern coast, where they have been able to defeat several longships at sea and capture several crucial harbours, including one filled with Arstotzkan ships under repair from earlier battles - they naturally torched the lot.  This represents a significant gain for Moskurg in the battle for naval supremacy in the east, although both sides agree this to be mostly down to luck.

Having avoided losses this year, the King has elected to send additional soldiers to the Mountains and the Plains.


It is 911, the Design Phase.

Propaganda Contest:  The team that provides the most inspiring (or entertaining) description of their nation's master wizard and his/her cohorts will gain a Revision Credit.

Spoiler: State of Forenia, 911 (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Moskurger Equipment (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Moskurger Spells (click to show/hide)
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Let's Play Arcanum: Of Steamworks & Magic Obscura! - The adventures of Jack Hunt, gentleman rogue.

No slaughtering every man, woman and child we see just to teleport to the moon.

Nirur Torir

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Re: Wands Race - 911 Design Phase [Moskurg]
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2017, 06:28:58 pm »

My ideas:

Teletalk spell - It should be easy enough to research and cheap to cast (detect thoughts variant specifically between two mages), and greatly help with unit coordination and recon.

Better wizard training - More wizards per squad means more ambush negation and death-by-arrows. We might even be able to improve screening methods with detect thoughts.

Longer ranged Detect Thoughts - It won't be easy, and might bump it's difficulty, but would help greatly during the main battle phases.

Research Wand of Heroism - Probably hard.

Research Anti-magic - Always useful, and messes with their fog. Very hard, judging by the wand of dispel.

Research Wind Magic - Counters fog and bugs. I'd really rather get more magic practice instead of jumping right in on trying to invent new schools.


The boring option: Light armor. We should be able to get a breastplate for cheap. This is probably better with a revision.



Edit: Let's try for making Detect Thoughts long ranged. I don't think a revise action is enough at our current skill level, and it's our most obvious path for offensive magic. Mind Blast and Confusion would be handy.

The Black Phantasms.
Moskurger's most elite warriors, clad in the most masterfully smithed armor the land has ever known, and further enhanced by powerful ancient magics. Each is easily the worth of ten of their peers, or a hundred Arstotzkans, and would not flee before a thousand. Even before learning magic, none have outwitted their leader. Now that he is a master wizard, able to read the mind of any man* he knows about, and sense any Arstotzkan on the battlefield?
Let them come.

For Moskurger, Glorious Battle!
*The Ministry of Truth has not actually found any evidence that Arstotzkans have minds.
« Last Edit: March 18, 2017, 08:29:24 pm by Nirur Torir »
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race - 911 Design Phase [Moskurg]
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2017, 02:45:13 am »

Really, Asstozka? Wand of Fireballs? Way to be original. What're you going to research next, magic missile?
Guys let's research magic missile.

Actually no.

Longer ranged Detect Thoughts - It won't be easy, and might bump it's difficulty, but would help greatly during the main battle phases.
I feel like we could actually do this (sort of) with a revision? Like, not make it work at super long range, but even slightly longer range (5-10 meters, or something) would be enough to keep wizards out of harm's way whilst they read minds.

I'd actually like to develop something like

Detect Magic - Our enemy is using magic to ambush us in the mountains. Detect Ambush does not work on magical ambushes. We can solve this issue with a fairly simple cantrip designed to detect magic within a given area. If we're lucky, it might even be able to pinpoint the location and/or nature of the magic, but even if it can't, our troops can still march around the area with the magical ambush in it.

I also like the idea of
Teletalk spell - It should be easy enough to research and cheap to cast (detect thoughts variant specifically between two mages), and greatly help with unit coordination and recon.
This would fall into the category of battlefield-wide army bonuses, giving us a major boost to tactical flexibility at comparatively little cost. It should be a fairly simple matter to develop as a modification of Detect Thoughts.

In fact, now that I think about it, I'd prefer to develop Teletalk (+1 to Teletalk), as our enemy's magic is actually pretty overt- you don't need a spell to tell you that a giant fireball is magical. If we aren't winning in the mountains at the moment, well, winning in 2/3 arenas ain't bad.
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