Combat for 928Neither side develops anything related to skirmishes, so the raids are once again mostly even, leaning towards Arstotzka.
The jungles this year result in combat developing a fundamental shift in practice.
Once again Arstotzka approaches the edge of Moskurg's area of control, and once again our ballistas begin raining death with the same perfect accuracy as before - in greater numbers, even, thanks to our Engineering Workshops. Surprisingly, Arstotzka's commanders hold back, staying just out of range like the cowards they are. Their mages are not so lucky and are closer to the front lines, and our ballista bolts hit with deadly accuracy. A brief bit of thunder rings out, and suddenly that death is turned back on us.
Based on how last year went, we fully expected a desperate Arstotzkan counter-charge to stop our artillery from tearing them to shreds. Our men are standing in front, halberds at the ready, eager for Arstotzkan blood...only for high-speed rocks to come ripping through our lines. Our men die in droves in the first volley, and as the second, third, and fourth hit Arstotzka charges forward to take advantage of that confusion. Their men are still torn to shreds as they charge through the jungle, and their progress is made slow by the thick mud generated by the non-stop rain and lack of vegetation, but by the time they reach our lines the battle goes in their favor. Most of their casters die from long range, but with their long-range death raining down on us it doesn't matter they're not using fireballs this year. Our men do better without swaths of fire carving holes into our battle lines, but Arstotzka wins the first battle. In subsequent fights the battles are much more in our favor; we keep our men back until they see them charge,
then moving our troops forward to meet them. Their inferior accuracy means at long-range we can snipe them to death before they can return the favor, but the first battle was so devastating it's practically even. Their volleys rain down with much greater frequency than what we can return, even with our merely "expensive" artillery. Our only saving grace is our Lucky Strike, which gives us a way to remain comparable with the enemy. If we didn't have that ability, we would surely have lost every battle this year.
When we return the assault we find the same thing happening; our men are shot to death before they can get in appropriate range, and once ragged from artillery shelling they break and rout. We can still out-snipe our artillery, however, and through patience we are generally able to gain the advantage. It doesn't go well for us, and we don't lose a significant amount of ground. We do better than Arstotzka, though, and another battle like this and we will eventually push them back. Arstotzka is on the back foot.
Our Theatre Commander is in love with our new artillery. It is reliable and accurate enough to do well against Arstotzka, even if it takes longer to load each shot. He request even
longer range artillery to hold them at a distance. He questions how effective Gale-Stones would be against full-plate Arstotzkan infantry; our armor is effective against deflecting their shattering bomb arrows, so wouldn't the same principle apply? Fire would be a better choice, but he leaves the decision up to you. Something to counter their new artillery would be nice, but he only asks that you continue developing weapons to help him beat back those filthy Arstotzkans, as he's had enough of our men dying to their cursed fire.
Neither side gains a section of jungle. We surprise Arstotzka with an assault on the mountains.
Their men, having grown complacent with years of inactivity, do not expect the assault. Our ballistas send stones crash into their ramparts from down below, and with surprising success we find their arrows are less effective than before due to our new armor. Their new cannons do a decent job at slaughtering our men at long-range from castle parapets, but it's not enough. The cannons can't be angled down far enough to hit down-slope, and once in our men are in their blind-spot our artillery can shoot up at them. Their castles fall and for the first time in decades Arstotzka loses a section of mountain to Moskrug. They will not gain any further metallurgy bonuses until they retake the mountains.
The Theatre Commander points out that the same problem that affected Arstotzka could affect us as well. Our ballistas only fire up and forwards; now that we have a foothold in the mountains, we will need them to fire downward as well. He asks that you revise our ballistas to fire downward as well, as to avoid falling into the same trap as Arstotzka's cannons.
Moskurg gains a section of Mountain.The seas reach a stalemate.
Moskurg artillery is much more accurate, but Arstotzkan cannons do a better job of doing damage when they hit. The battle on the seas results in both sides at extreme ranges pelting one another until their ships sink. Moskurg does slightly better, as our accuracy allows us to hit us more reliably. They tank most of our hits due to their heavier ships, but we do reasonably well. If nothing changes, we will take the seas next year. Arstotzka is on the back foot.
The Theatre Commander asks for either longer-range projectiles or - more preferably - something that can kill their ships quicker. Fire projectiles would be nice, since they'd be especially effective at sea.
Neither side gains ground in the Western Sea.Revision Credit: Arstotzka has offered a more attractive mercenary force and won the revision credit. Their troops are gone for the time being, and should the battle go well overseas they will return next year.
It is 929, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 3/4 Arstotzka, 1/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 3/4 Arstotzka, 1/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Western Sea: Disputed
Eastern Sea: Moskurger
Southern Sea: Moskurger
Sabre: Officer weapon. A single-edged blade that favours cavalry combat over infantry combat. Requires training to wield, one-handed. Expensive.
Spear: General infantry weapon. Essentially a dagger on a long stick. Very cheap, requires minimal training to use. Can be used double-handed, or single handed with a light shield. Cheap.
Halberd: An axe, a hook, and a spear all rolled into one. Does well against armor and in formation. Cheap
Buckler: General infantry equipment. A small iron shield, held in one hand. Only protects a small area, but can be wielded alongside a shield. Moderate cost, requires training to wield properly. Cheap.
Pavise Shield: A large, thick, high-quality shield to guard against arrows. Can be staked into the ground, or slung across the shoulders. Needs both hands to use while on the move. Very Expensive.
Padded Armour: General infantry armour. Very cheap, just layers of cloth, but doesn't protect against much. Well ventilated in hot conditions, though. Cheap.
Scale Mail: Officer armour. Scales of steel on a leather backing. Expensive, but lighter than chain mail. Expensive. Obsolete.
Elite Lamellar Armor: All-purpose armor. Worn over padded armor. Thin plates of steel sewn together with leather thongs, backed by more leather. High quality, decent protection against arrows and melee attacks. Cheap.
Recurve Bow: General infantry weapon. A light bow composed of laminated wood and horn, curved backwards to provide more force. Inexpensive enough to equip many troops with, with very reasonable medium range and power. Can be wielded by horse archers.
Bodkin Arrows: Arrows with needle points. Can reliably penetrate plate armor at point blank range. Can penetrate less reliably further away.
Arabian Horse: A light riding horse, from short-lived Iberian settlers in the past. Very fast and maneuverable, but not too strong. Expensive.
Horse Breeding Program: Mass amounts of horses available. Tend to do poorly in the desert, and aren't quite as high quality as the Arabian Horses. Cheap.
Lances: Essentially a heavily upgraded spear. Has a tendency to splinter after the first use. Cheap.
Sailing Ship: Wind-propelled wooden ship. Fast, requires minimal crew, cannot carry many passengers, but does carry at least one wizard - so long as they don't make puns. Very Expensive.
Ballista: Large siege weapon. Can fire javelins or stone shot great distances accurately. Reliable enough for consistent use. Can be mounted on ships. Wheeled. High-quality siege engineers.Expensive.
Wand of Heroism: Makes a squad fight beyond human levels. A National Effort.
Teletalk: Short-ranged psychic communication between mystics. Enough beacons can be produced to outfit an army. Expensive.
Staff of Tubikh Rrahim Albarq: Area-of-affect spell anchored to the caster. Prevents all magic from being cast within a short range. Spell contained within a staff of ivory, field of effect controllable. Produces a glow. Expensive.
Dispell Enchantments: Dispells enchantments on items, including standard crystal weapons. Expensive.
Detect Ambush: Reveals non-magical ambushes prepared by enemy troops or physical traps.
Lucky Strike: Magical guidance makes a squad shoot or strike true far more often than usual. Expensive.
Detect Thoughts: Read the mind of an enemy commander to determine their tactics ahead of time. Expensive.
Zen Inception: By putting enemy soldiers in a zen-like state, we can use their minds as a relay system to read minds further away. The spell is easy to disrupt, but simple to use.
Gust of Wind: Evokes physical force to create a heavy gust of wind, sufficient to disperse fog and most minor concealment, as well as disperse irritating swarms. Expensive.
Cyclone Shield: Protects the beneficent from most arrows and some blows with a sheath of wind. Expensive.
Storm Strike: Summons heavy rain and winds over the course of a day. Expensive.
Clear Weather: Negates inclement weather within the given area. Nests within Storm Strike for protection.
Hammer of Allah: Induce lightning from summoned storms. Strikes indiscriminately, so can't be used in "danger close" situations.
Spear of Allah: Call down an individual bolt of lightning to target enemy commanders. Difficult to control, has a tendency to hit the caster as often as not. Our mages refuse to use it.
Tubikh Rrahim: Area-of-affect spell centered around the caster. Prevents all magic from being cast within a short range. Cheap.
Dispell Enchantments: Dispells enchantments on items, including standard crystal weapons. Expensive.
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.
Author
Topic: Wands Race - [Moskurg] {COMPLETED} (Read 186757 times)