Combat for 923The jungle is plunged into freezing temperatures this year.
Plants begin to wither and die as freezing rains douse the undergrowth in the summer and snow thinly blankets the land in the winter for the first time in thousands of years. The inclement weather falls mostly on our own troops due to the cursed Moskurg weather control, but our men are delighted to see the snow after years of being deployed in the hot, humid jungle. A snowball fight breaks out on the first snowfall of the year, but the commanders quickly put a stop to that. It wouldn't do to be fooling about with snow when Moskurg attacks, after all. Despite this stance, a snowman appears outside of the officers tents and remains there for as long as the snow lasts. The freezing rains receive a less-enthusiastic welcome than the snow - especially considering it rains on our half of the jungle exclusively year-round. Still, the Moskurgs who are even less acclimated to the cold than we are will find it an unpleasant surprise during their assault.
Our skirmishes find more success during the winter than they do in the summer. Despite it being nice and dry in Moskurg territory, their soldiers huddle together and curse the cold that seeps across the border into their encampments. We take advantage of this lapse in attention to launch a few surprise attacks, gaining some success. Our men tend to shed their plate armor for these attacks for extra stealth, creeping close in the freezing dark before lighting them up with fireballs and brutal swings from their axes. Moskurg returns the favor in kind - their light calvary charges into our encampments in the dead of night, leaping through our crystal caltrops without stumbling. They seem to have given up lulling our men to sleep in favor of flat-out surprise attacks. It's infuriating as we can't figure out exactly how they've surpassed our caltrops. Perhaps the spellwork they've weaved last year to dispell our crystal weapons has somehow become more mobile? The end result is that both sides do terrific damage to one another.
In main combat we've begun noticing a few of their wizards wielding long, ivory staffs in select areas. These locations seem to be where our crystal weapons vanish into thin air; our calvary troops have abandoned their crystal lances entirely, and officers carry a broadsword as back up with their crystal axes. With this change their crystal-dispelling magic isn't as effective - it is nice to note, however, the wizards wielding the ivory staffs make lovely targets for our anti-mage troopers. They're shot dead wherever they appear. Additionally, our broadswords are extra effective against their unarmored troops when used. Some of our men still prefer axe and shield in the dense undergrowth (which is growing less dense as the Tower of Frost does its work) but we're dealing tremendous damage.
Moskurg offensives occur almost entirely during the summer, when the clouds cooperate and allow lightning to be called down from above. They've taken on a new tactic for their assaults as well. The mages wielding staffs do their best to get in range of our wizards, and when they do our mages see fireballs fizzle out on their fingertips. This is only a temporary problem, however - the ivory staffs are very noticeable, and the users are very vulnerable to arrows. That, coupled with the ease at which broadswords cleave through unarmored troops, sends Moskurg soldiers fleeing soon after each attack. A cheer goes up from our men as we force Moskurg back and take a section of the jungle from them. The tower is disassembled and rebuilt closer to the front lines, emboldening our troops. It's about time we caught a break!
Myark and al-Mutriqa meet once again on the battlefield.
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al-Mutriqa is injured and will require a year to recover.
The Theatre Commander is pleased with our progress. He commends the increased supply of broadswords and is already thinking of ways to use the Tower of Frost, which up until this point had seemed useless. Perhaps you could design a giant fireball that blasts down on Moskurg troops? Or better yet, attach wheels to the base and let us wheel the frightening, massive tower into their battlelines like a giant mobile castle.
Arstotzka gains ground in the jungle.With no new advancements to be used on the seas, neither side makes advancements here.
The Theatre Commander once again complains of the how difficult it is to catch those cowardly Moskurgs - surely if we could match their speed, we would win with our superior firepower.
Neither side makes coastal gains in the Western Sea.Revision Credit!!! Reports from the field are especially poor this year. We know that Myark and al-Mutriqa met in the chaos of the jungle, and that al-Mutriqa was wounded and escaped, but the details of the conflict are unclear. Our commanders are frustrated with the lack of information, especially since Myark seems unwilling to discuss the encounter. Please interview witnesses on the battlefield and compile a report of exactly what occurred. Whichever side has the most well-documented version of the incident - regardless of how conflicting the reports are - will gain a revision credit for the next year.
It is 924, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka
Western Jungle: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Arstotzkan
Western Sea: Disputed
Eastern Sea: Moskurger
Southern Sea: Moskurger
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.
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.
Chain Mail: Officer armour. Expensive, due to the steel required. Very effective against most weapons. Expensive.
Plate Mail: General infantry and officer armour. So well designed it costs surprisingly little to make. Normal cost.
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.
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort.
Tower of Forever Frost: An astoundingly expensive tower that has to be assembled in place and requires the skill of a master wizard to operate, as well as countless other skilled wizards. 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. A National Effort.
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. Very Expensive.
Magic Lance: Conjures a set of lances for a cavalry squad. Thick enough not to break on use, and lasts long enough to be useful in combat. Expensive.
Magic Axe: Conjures a set of long axes for officers. Weapon is anchored to a small gem in the handle, allowing it to exist longer than 24 hours.
Anti-Wizard Guard: Guard thanes against mind-readers and other threats by shooting them. Also partially negate spell support of other units.
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.
Streamlined Fireball: Hurls small balls of fire that explode on impact, not as devastating as full fireballs but much easier to cast. 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. Normal Cost.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 376942 times)