Combat for 936This year sees both sides break out new and powerful weapons. For Moskurg, it's their Wands of Thunderbolts, thin glass rods with cores of their new Adamantium metal. They're only good for a single charge, and it's wildly inaccurate, modestly powerful, and has a tendency to explode, but they're also cheap. Each wizard can afford to have at least one, but they're most effective in the hands of the carpet riders and almost all available wands go up with them. Each carpet bomber can afford to take several with him on his War Pegasi, and when Arstotzka's trained falcons fly up to intercept they discharge the captured lightning. Most of the time the wand arcs straight down and strikes the ground, shatters in their thick, gloved hand, or even rarely arcs off and strikes a nearby friendly mage, but on occasion the bolt will strike true and pass through a falcon or two. A mage can usually fire off one or two blasts before they're intercepted, and if they fail to stop the falcons before then they're often sent tumbling to the ground, but at least now they have some way of defending themselves. Moskurg still aren't uncontested in the skies, but they're far better off now than they were before. The lightningbolts also have a nice bonus of preferring to strike HA1 artillery, occasionally causing them to crack, get too hot to use, or go off prematurely. It's not enough to stifle their artillery advantage, though, because there's simply so many of them and their War Pegasi are still Very Expensive. Additionally, Moskurgs calvary archers now use bodkin arrows tipped with Adamantium, meaning their arrows can now once again penetrate at point-blank range. It's not ideal, but they're once again relevant. Moskurg holds a large skirmish advantage.
Arstotzka, meanwhile, has rolled out a cheaper version of their Tower of Frost, plunging the theatre into yet another level of cold. It snows year-round now, and it's not uncommon to see Moskurg soldiers freezing to death - it doesn't help that their Adamantium armor (as Adamantium is now Cheap) is fixed at a constant chill temperature and provides no protection. Furthermore, their Equalizer Anti-Magic artillery shells are now merely Very Expensive. That's fine, though, as they only need to litter Moskurg positions with a few shells before the effect becomes noticeable. Near-misses require Moskurg to relocate their artillery, as the shells themselves are buried too deep in the ground to be moved. This, combined with the fact that they have the range advantage, means they dominate in artillery combat.
All of Moskurgs weapons and armor is now made of cheap Adamantium, a summoned metal that's comparable to hardened steel and as light as leather of similar volume. It requires special smithing to be usable and can't be repaired in the field, but it's less brittle than Arstotzka's crystal. Thanks to Arstotzka's new Crystalworks from last year, all their crystal weaponry is now cheaper and permanent, though slightly more brittle. It doesn't fade in the area of effect of Moskurgs Anti-Magic any more, and holds a sharper edge than their Adamantium. It's a close matchup between the two materials, but the fact that all of Moskurgs soldiers are now wearing armor made of the divine metal means they have a slight infantry advantage, as the jungle (now once again dying) provides some small cover for advancements.
Ultimately, Arstotzka's ability to shell Moskurg positions from far away and render their ballistas inert has more effect. If Moskrug could field more carpet-bombers it would have been closer, but as it is they're pushed back a section in the jungle.
Arstotzka gains a section of jungle.The cheaper Towers of Frost means Arstotzka can all but eliminate Moskurgs temperature advantage. It's mild during the day, but at night the already cold desert grows freezing. Moskurg still runs rampant with their skirmishing advantage, but Arstotzka can hit from further away, and harder. Unfortunately, they're in Moskurg home territory now, and the waters around the desert are flooded with Moskurg ships hugging the coastline just daring them to come in range. Troops are regularly landed behind Arstotzkan lines in the dead of night, launching surprise ambushes supported by carpet-bombers. Moskurg manages to harass and raid them until they're ragged, and HA1 artillery firing missions are hampered by the lack of water. When it rains, it's a mixed blessing - the rain gives them the much needed water to fire their artillery, but with it comes summoned lightning bolts which strike left and right among their lines. The open terrain lends itself to Moskurg calvary archers, now once again relevant, and after much fussing and fighting Arstotzka is forced back to the mountain line - although just barely.
Moskurg control of the desert.In the plains, Arstotzka pushes further south. Plentiful water, open fields of fire, static trenches, and the lack of Moskurgs naval advantage means their artillery is king here. Moskurg can skirmish them to death at night, but during the day the bombardments just don't stop. Taiga-levels of cold freeze men to death and prevent thunderstorms from being conjured to strike at the enemy, and Moskurg must pull back a section.
Arstotzka has secured a section of the plains.The oceans see a new weapon steaming out to compete with Moskurgs Sirocco. An entirely crystal ship, replete with three HC1-E's, two steam engines, and a plentiful fleet. Their new "Crystalclad" ship is merely Expensive, cheaper than wooden ships and just as fast as the Fog-O-War. Firestorm shells have little effect on the hard crystal, and with three cannons aboard they can out-shoot Moskurgs out-dated ballista. The Adamantium hull is resistant to HC1-E's shells, but a sustained barrage by the more plentiful ship will crack the wooden hull underneath and send the ships to the bottom of the ocean. Moskurg sailors are forced to flee when confronted with the enemy Crystalclads, and send up their War Pegasi with their new Wands of Thunderbolt to deal with the crystalline ships. The Wand of Thunderbolts proves to be effective here, happily striking the exposed steam engines and often causing critical explosions that shatter the crystal hulls. The on-board apprentices can rarely patch the cracks in time, and more often than not the ship goes down. Carpet riders can't fight for long, though, as they're required to land and replenish their enchantments or fall into the sea. This, combined with their lack of numbers and the overwhelming number of Arstotzkan ships means Moskurg must pull back a section of coastline in both the East and Western Seas.
Arstotzka gains ground in the Eastern and Western Seas. Research Credit!!!The leader of your country demands a new emblem to represent the country, in face of the new era of combat the continent has entered. The old, plain, solid-colored blue/red emblem is no longer fit for a country with such a glorious command of magic, and he asks that you design a new emblem to reflect the supreme nature of the side. Whichever side produces the more noble emblem will inspire their researchers, gaining a Research Credit. A Research Credit allows two dice to be rolled each the Effectiveness, Cost, and Bug aspects of a design, with the higher die roll chosen for the trait.
It is 937, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 1/4 Arstotzka, 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Sea: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Eastern Sea: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Southern Sea: 0/4 Arstotzka, 4/4 Moskurg
Sabre: Officer weapon. A single-edged Adamantium blade that favours cavalry combat over infantry combat. Requires training to wield, one-handed. Expensive.
Spear: General infantry weapon. Essentially an Adamantium 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 Adamantium 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 Adamantium 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 Adamantium 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. Now with Adamantium tips!
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. Obsolete.
Sirocco: Ships made from lightweight and hardy junglewood and clad in glowing Adamanitium armor. Much more resilient and faster than Arstotzka's ships as of 935.
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.
Firestorm ammo: Pots filled with Alnnar Almuqaddasa - "Holy Fire". Bursts into sticky flame on impact. Incredibly lethal, incredibly dangerous. Nearly impossible to extinguish. Normal Cost.
Wand of Heroism: Makes a squad fight beyond human levels. A National Effort.
Adamantium: Divine metal summoned from the aether. Comes in workable copper-soft and forge-able steel-hard ingots. Cheap.
Teletalk: Short-ranged psychic communication between mystics. Enough beacons can be produced to outfit an army. Expensive.
Wand of Thunderbolts: Glass wand, painted with zinc and copper. Adamantium core. Good for a single modestly-powerful blast of inaccurate lightning, has a tendency to explode into glass shrapnel. Cheap.
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.
Pegasus: Charmingly named, enchanted carpets. Levitate, can be pushed around with Gust of Wind. Limited height, duration, speed. Typically rolled up and equipped with a saddle. Has pretty tassels. Expensive.
War Pegasus:[/b] A faster, higher, tamed version of the Pegasus. Requires each carpet to be broken-in before it can be used in the field, but now has its own form of locomotion. Very 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.
Divine Desert Winds: Sends warm desert air north. Does not reach the taiga. Warms the area by one "level". Very 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 186646 times)