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Author Topic: Wands Race - [Moskurg] {COMPLETED}  (Read 183591 times)

Devastator

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1320 on: April 30, 2017, 11:15:18 pm »

Well with a buff spell and a revision, we could probably beat the crap out of them next turn with cav.
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evictedSaint

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1321 on: May 01, 2017, 12:37:35 am »

Combat for 929

Nightly raids still result in death for both sides, as no new technologies have been developed to assist in skirmishes.  Arstotzka does slightly better.

Combat has been much different since the advent of artillery that's reliable, plentiful, and accurate enough to be a crucial component of warfare.  The majority of casualties is no longer a result of arrow, axe, sword or lance.  Most of those who die never see the face of their attacker, only hearing instead the whistle of an artillery shell or hiss of a javelin.  Even the structure of forces has changed; infantry now hide behind their vulnerable artillery pieces, rushing forward only to meet a charge.  Archers are mostly useless, being out-ranged by the artillery and out-defended by both sides armor (although they are still modestly effective against Moskurgs at close range).  Their main use now is to shoot down incoming calvary charges, as the horses still gallop with their manes in the wind. 

Arstotzka begins nearly every engagement.  Their cannons strike from beyond our range, but the shells are few in number.  Despite the increased range they still hit more accurately than before; after being targeted, it's only a matter of time before a stray shell spikes through a ballista and destroys it.  Though the jungle is mostly dead aside from the largest of trees and the occasional oddly-sprouted plant, we have difficulty knowing when a barrage is about to happen until it happens.  Their lines are frequently clouded with mist, keeping us from viewing their actions.  At this extreme range their shells don't "skip" along the ground, instead hitting more perpendicular to the ground as they have further to fall.  As soon as shelling starts our siege engineers hurriedly wheel their weapons forward, marching through the artillery fire until they're in range.  At this point the rest of Arstotzka's cannons begin firing in full-force, covering the nearby area with craters.  Moskurg returns the favor, sending our new Firestorm Shells sailing towards the enemy lines. 

The first time they hit it's...devastating. 

With Lucky Strike we can't miss.  The first shell lands square on one of their cannons, instantly engulfing it and everyone nearby in flame.  Before it would take several shots with boulder or javelin to render a cannon inert, but now only a single hit will destroy it.  They manage to destroy several of our ballistas from extreme range; enough to make a significant difference and hamper our ability to return fire, but our accuracy is superior.  Once we start gaining the upper hand Arstotzka moves their infantry forward.  With fewer working ballistas we can't hit their infantry as hard as we would like to, but Firestorm still does the heavy lifting this fight.  Our Alnnar Almuqaddasa splashes on impact, alighting multiple Arstotzkans at once who then either cook inside their armor or suffocate from the fumes.  The battlefield is a hellish sight; dead vegetation, craters pock-marking the ground, and patches of flame illuminating the heavy steel armor of men charging through the rain.  Once joined in melee we push them back, but it's not as sound a routing as it'd been the past few years.  Our own men are ragged from the shelling, and no matter how many cannons we destroy there are always a few at extreme range chipping away at our forces.

When we assault them, it's just as bad for our troops.  They begin firing long before we're in range from behind a curtain of mist that is difficult to blow away.  Our ballistas go ahead first to soften them up, but they start off at a disadvantage and it shows.  Still, our superior accuracy and Firestorm pushes their lines back the tiniest amount with each assault, and our men continue to be pelted from extreme range as they march forward.

We make a small amount of ground; it's not much, but Arstotzka was on the backfoot last year and we press the advantage to secure a section of jungle.


Our Theatre Commander enjoys the anti-infantry capabilities the Firestorm affords him, but the fact that Arstotzka can out-range our men by some small degree is worrisome.  He asks if there's any way you can extend the range of the ballista to match? 

Moskurg gains a section of jungle.


This longer-range artillery is especially effective in the mountains.  Our castles are chipped to death from far away, requiring us to sally forth to meet them.  These sallies almost always end in defeat; we're ambushed or shredded by artillery fire.  Our advancement is likewise stymied; the enemy is expecting us now, so we don't have the element of surprise.  We cannot sit back and chip them to death as both sides have equal range and their cannons have a height advantage atop their walls.  Unlike last year, their cannons can also aim down, meaning we can't sit in their blindspot and fire at our leisure and must make dedicated assaults.  We make limited progress here, and lose a castle.  Moskurg is on the back foot.

Our Theatre Commander asks for longer-range ballista to prevent us from being shelled to death from extreme range.  Fire is great, but it doesn't burn stone walls and is of limited use here. 

Neither side gains ground in the Mountains.


Both sides exchange lethal blows on the Western Sea.  Arstotzka has few cannons that can out-range our ships, and cannon fire is especially effective when it hits.  The story changes when we manage to close the distance to long-range, however; our Firestorm shells hit with deadly effect.  A single hit causes a ship to burn up and continue to burn even as it sinks below the waves.  The fact that our faster ships let us determine the range of combat is our saving grace; we lose many ships from their long-range and accurate cannons, but our fire does more damage from closer range.  It's not a great deal of progress, but we manage to secure a bit more coastline since Arstotzka was on the back foot last year.  We now hold the majority of the coast, and will control it entirely if they gain another section.

Our Theatre Commander surprises us by asking for longer-range ballistas.

Moskurg gains ground in the Western Sea.


Expense Credit:  We spy a familiar sight this year; Ma Tuan-lin sails once more into our harbors.  He has picked up a bit of the Moskurg language since the last time we saw him and greets us with enthusiasm.  It appears he made quite a bit of money selling the Wands of Gust of Wind in his home country.  His ship isn't as heavily laden as before, but he explains that he came here straight away to try and buy more magic to share with the outside world.  He offers to buy another magical artifact from us, offering enough to give us one Expense Credit.  We could always sell him something, but if we choose not to we could always just seize his ship.  By how deeply it sits in the water, there might be enough treasure on board for an Expense Credit.  What do we do?



It is 930, the Design Phase.

Spoiler: State of Forenia, 930 (click to show/hide)

Spoiler: Moskurger Spells (click to show/hide)



Behavior Rules.  Please Read.
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 03:01:07 pm by evictedSaint »
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evictedSaint

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1322 on: May 01, 2017, 12:44:07 am »

I dunno if anyone's watched Saga of Tanya the Evil, but you guys are doing your damnedest to turn this game into that.

Devastator

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1323 on: May 01, 2017, 12:56:40 am »

Hey, don't blame me, I wanted flying pegasai, not a cratered hell-hole.  ;-)

Looks like progress continues, which is good... although my suggestions from last time are probably still relevant.

I'm thinking that it's similar to last turn, we could use Earth Staffs to move pieces of earth into fieldworks.  That would make their range advantage less important as we could move closer to their lines, and provide our troops with some cover from bouncing cannonballs, allowing us to get closer to the enemy before breaking cover.  It wouldn't help at sea, but it would certainly make fighting in the mountains easier.

Or we could go with precognition, and hope for the stark terror of having their cannonballs miss for no readily apparent reason helps us continue the gains on the march.  It might even let us break their armies properly, if we can get something to help with the skirmishing.

Also, we could try to buff cavalry to improve our skirmishes and help take second-line cannon or force a route phase.

In any case, we could either revise longer-ranged ballistae or do something else if it comes to us.  I do think we should use our design phases to try and change the shape of the battlefield again.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 01:15:31 am by Devastator »
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1324 on: May 01, 2017, 02:08:04 am »

Hmm. We could spend this turn improving our ballistae some more...

Enchanted Ballista: What sort of mage is content with a mundane weapon? Who can ignore our soldiers's cries for longer ranges and better angles of fire? The time has come to combine the humble ballista with a few minor modifications and enchantments. First, the weapon shall be mounted on lockable swivels, that allow it to be quickly aimed in 360° horizontally, and between -45° and 70° vertically (or something), then be locked in place so that the weapon does not wobble as it fires. Second, an enchantment will be placed on the weapon, that confers upon ammunition a blessing of the winds, extending its range. Third, at a lower priority, the need for mages to constantly cast Lucky Strike will be reduced through the use of a divination rangefinder, a magical lens that allows the user to see exactly where a shot will land.
Another priority when developing these simple changes is cost- our mages will work closely with the siege engineers in their workshops, ensuring that any changes can be easily integrated into production lines.

Or we could, as Devastator says, try to reduce the effect of their cannons through precognition.

Detect Bombardment: A divination spell that predicts where and when artillery fire will hit. The impact of such heavy ordinance causes a ripple in the magical fabric of the universe, which spreads out across every dimension- even backwards in time- and can, with practice, be detected.

Or... we could take this chance to branch out into a new field, as suggested some time ago.

Theoretical Summoning: The Arstotzkans are capable of summoning living creatures into existence, in the form of their fire-wasp swarms. If even Arstotzkans can manage it, it must be a trivial matter. We shall study the holy texts once more, looking for the slightest hint as to how we might accomplish this feat, as that we might apply it to other projects.

Projects such as (not to be done this turn)

Creature of the Storm:  We know the storm. We control the storm. We feel the power contained within. And now is time to unleash that power, in the form of a Lesser Storm Elemental. The same height as a man, but made up of swirling black clouds, they are immune to mortal blades and projectiles, which pass harmlessly through them, whilst delivering savage blows with all the force of a tornado in return.
These shock troopers could charge forth through a hail of cannonballs and arrows unharmed, before crashing into enemy lines, breaking them open before the bulk of our force arrives to mop up. They could only be summoned during stormy weather (though the temperature would not matter; Tropical Storm Elementals and Blizzard Elementals are rather similar)



Gonna leave these suggestions open to discussion before making a vote.
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Egan_BW

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1325 on: May 01, 2017, 02:11:43 am »

Enhanced ballistas! More range, more traversal, probably something else if we can get away with it!
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Kashyyk

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1326 on: May 01, 2017, 02:31:42 am »

I think we should develop repeater crossbows and earthworks,  then turn this into a magical www.

Or Enhanced Ballista, that works too :P
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Devastator

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1327 on: May 01, 2017, 02:59:32 am »

Nuke, there seems to be one issue with summoning a non-material elemental.  If it is unaffected by physical objects, how is it solid enough to deliver blows?

Also, maybe teletalk wands for the trader this time around.  He wasn't interested last time, but they really do work and we can demonstrate that.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2017, 03:01:51 am by Devastator »
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1328 on: May 01, 2017, 03:15:50 am »

Nuke, there seems to be one issue with summoning a non-material elemental.  If it is unaffected by physical objects, how is it solid enough to deliver blows?
You ever been blown over by a gust of wind? Okay. You ever tried punching the wind back?
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Devastator

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1329 on: May 01, 2017, 03:32:51 am »

You ever been blown over by a gust of wind?
..No, actually.  I've had to lean into it pretty heavily before, but never actually blown over.
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Detoxicated

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1330 on: May 01, 2017, 04:03:25 am »

Enchanted lamellar - the lamellar has helped us to gain an edge in the past years, and due to their cheapness we have outfitted the entire army with it. Time to enchant the lamellars with winds of haste. People who wear such enchanted lamellar are faster in everything they do, as the wind enchanting eases your movement
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Taricus

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1331 on: May 01, 2017, 04:58:39 am »

Quote
Enchanted Ballista (3): Taricus, Kashyyk, Egan_BW
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Happerry

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1332 on: May 01, 2017, 05:18:03 am »

I'm going to make a case for trying to create a Mirage Cloak spell this turn. The two big issues with the enemy cannons are their newly good accuracy, and the fact that they outrange us. Both of these can be countered if they can't see where to shoot, as they have been demonstrating on us this turn with their Mist spells. If we make a Mirage spell to render our forces invisible, or at least highly indistinct, at long to medium ranges, we'll be able to prevent them from being able to target anything more then a general area, which means they can't focus fire on our siege weapons any more. As well, we might be able to make longer ranged enchanted ammo with a Revision anyway, which might not be as good as the suggested Enchanted Ballista but would still let us equal their extreme range.

It might also give us back an advantage to the skirmishing again, which would be also useful.

Quote
Enchanted Ballista (3): Taricus, Kashyyk, Egan_BW
Mirage Cloak (1): Happerry
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1333 on: May 01, 2017, 05:38:50 am »

You ever been blown over by a gust of wind?
..No, actually.  I've had to lean into it pretty heavily before, but never actually blown over.
Me neither, to be honest. But I understand that sufficiently high wind speeds can cause significant damage. Hence why I describe the elemental hitting with the force of a tornado.
Also, you know, it's magic. We don't have to worry about the mechanics that much.

I'm going to make a case for trying to create a Mirage Cloak spell this turn. The two big issues with the enemy cannons are their newly good accuracy, and the fact that they outrange us. Both of these can be countered if they can't see where to shoot, as they have been demonstrating on us this turn with their Mist spells. If we make a Mirage spell to render our forces invisible, or at least highly indistinct, at long to medium ranges, we'll be able to prevent them from being able to target anything more then a general area, which means they can't focus fire on our siege weapons any more. As well, we might be able to make longer ranged enchanted ammo with a Revision anyway, which might not be as good as the suggested Enchanted Ballista but would still let us equal their extreme range.

It might also give us back an advantage to the skirmishing again, which would be also useful.
Hmm. I don't get the impression that their cannons are that accurate.

It is true that a revision would likely be enough to extend the range on our ammunition. Which is why I'm not 100% on board with the Enchanted Ballista myself. Though having the ability to aim more flexibly would be nice.

What about the mountains? A mirage can't hide a castle. Are we content to lose the mountains again?

The most convincing argument is the thing about skirmishing. I was actually thinking about that- what if we don't try to beat them in mass combat, but start leaning back towards a skirmish-heavy strategy? If we take out their cannons prior to the battle starting, we don't have to worry about them.

A problem is that Illusion magic would be a new school for us. Which does not rule it out entirely, but it does mean we'd want to start small. Perhaps a mirage that can cloak a single squad, rather than our entire army.


Enchanted lamellar - the lamellar has helped us to gain an edge in the past years, and due to their cheapness we have outfitted the entire army with it. Time to enchant the lamellars with winds of haste. People who wear such enchanted lamellar are faster in everything they do, as the wind enchanting eases your movement
This is actually worth considering, I think. Making our skirmishers faster and more agile could give them a leg up over the opposition.
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Happerry

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Re: Wands Race - [Moskurg]
« Reply #1334 on: May 01, 2017, 05:49:22 am »

Hmm. I don't get the impression that their cannons are that accurate.
To quote the battlepost...

Quote
Despite the increased range they still hit more accurately than before; after being targeted, it's only a matter of time before a stray shell spikes through a ballista and destroys it.
It's no lucky strike, but they're accurate enough to focus fire on our siege weapons from extreme range. While I fully agree that letting them have the range advantage isn't something we want to do in the long term, in the short term I feel there's more advantage to hitting them sideways instead of simply continuing on the race for better siege weapons.

What about the mountains? A mirage can't hide a castle. Are we content to lose the mountains again?
I'd prefer not to loose the mountains, but honestly I'm not sure if we won't lose them anyway even with the enchanted ballista. Cannons are better at knocking down walls, and if they can both shoot at each other, I suspect victory goes to the one better at knocking down walls. After all, it's not like the other side will care much if we set the outsides of their castles on fire...

The Mirage Cloak will also probably help us finish taking the seas, too. The longer they take to notice our ships coming to attack them, the easier time we have getting into range to set them on fire and if our Revision for long ranged ammo works... Well, between the ships that are hard to see and therefor target which also set the enemy on fire, and the ships that aren't hard to see and don't set the enemy on fire I know who's going to win that one.
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