Combat for 925Neither side develops anything that could help during skirmishes, and continue to do heavy damage to one another in nightly raids. The leather gambeson is nice, but aside from those on guard duty the average soldier doesn't wear full-plate at night and the doublet isn't enough to deflect close-range needle arrows all on its own.
The main fighting in the jungle has begun to stall. Our earlier strategy of sniping their mages is still valid, but its become harder and harder to do. Their mages hide behind tall wooden shields staked into the ground; on occasion we send an arrow through the gap and take them down, but they're simply too cowardly to kill easily any more. In a similar effort to stay alive, their commanders have donned higher-quality suits of lamellar armor, painted brightly and protecting the wearer the way a suit of armor should. Our men begrudgingly admit that while it's not as protective as full plate, it's...well, it's decent armor. It can't deflect an arrow at close range like a good Arstotzkan breastplate, but it's more flexible than our armor. In a melee, one of their squad commanders could beat one of ours in a one on one fight slightly more than half the time. That rarely occurs as their brightly painted armor makes them prime targets for our archers and Moskurg soldiers don't have the balls to fight alone, but it is unsettling. Thankfully, the average Moskurg soldier is still clad in their crappy, rusted lamellar that falls apart at the slightest scratch. They're much easier to kill. Annoyingly, their mages have donned these higher-quality lamellar armor as well, making them slightly more resilient to being shot in the chest. They also carry their big, thick shields into combat and hide behind them while casting. On the offensive they'll get close with their ivory staffs and prevent our mages from smiting attacking Moskurgs with fireballs. A single Moskurg mage can stop several mages from casting at once, preventing us from wiping the floor with their troops. We still win in these melees despite their larger numbers due to our higher quality soldiers, but the margin of victory isn't as much as it was before.
Our gambesons do their job. Before their needle arrows could cause injuries that could incapacitate a soldier, but now they're utterly useless. The only time their archers cause injury is when they find their way into the eyeslits of a helmet, something that happens far more often than it should.
A disturbing development is occurring in the jungle, however - the undergrowth has become less dense over these past few years. This is likely due to the unseasonable snow, fire, lightning, and constant, constant, constant rain. Moskurg soldiers are used to fighting in formation, and in massive numbers. Our soldiers are more adept at fighting man-to-man, in squad tactics. While it hasn't cleared enough yet to make a difference, the dying vegetation has been a concern. Clearer ground would give Moskurg men an advantage in combat. If we can push them out of the jungle then it wont matter, but if fighting stalls indefinitely once more then it could be a problem. Judging by the rate at which the vegetation is dying, it'd be maybe another two years before it's clear enough to make a difference.
Order: Fog Training ([1, 5] = 1)We issue an order to include fog-training to our soldiers to allow Channeled Fog to be more useful. Due to a miscommunication, our commanders receive the order "Frog" Training. Our men, while confused, trust in the people who have given them fabulous new weapons and begin a thorough regimen of frog-work. Due to the many toxic species of frogs who live in the jungle we end up losing several squads of soldiers. It shakes the men's faith in the design team and their moral goes down for this year.
Order: Magical Equipment Recovery Program ([2, 6] = 2)We issue an order to recover Moskurg equipment in battle, offering the reward of monetary compensation for magical items. We are immediately flooded with a couple hundred men claiming to have found Moskurg wands and charms after the first battle. It takes a considerable amount of time to sift through all the results - wand-shaped twigs, colorful rocks, homemade charms, a severed thumb - but eventually we do find one item that is, in fact, magical in nature. Well...three items, technically. Some of our men managed to recover one of Moskurgs ivory staffs, but in order to increase the amount of reward money they could claim they divided the staff between the three of them. It's certainly very pretty, made of carefully engraved ivory, but there's not much to learn from it once broken. The men are paid their reward and we discontinue the reward program.
Now that their mages aren't dying before they can even cast the fighting has become more even. We're still in the lead though, and if nothing changes we can push them out of the jungle next year, but the balance of power is starting to shift against us.
The Theatre Commander asks that you stop fooling about with hot air and design something to help secure the jungle. If we could get our crystal weapons back then we could slaughter them all tomorrow. If we could use our mages more effectively on the defensive we could route them more soundly. Their anti-magic is a problem, and if we don't stop it we may soon find ourselves in the same position Moskrug did last year - without useful mages.
Neither side gains ground in the jungle.With no new advancements to be used on the seas, neither side makes advancements here.
The Theatre Commander contemplates the advancements you've made with the steam engine, but he's still not convinced. The fire makes him nervous, and the weight makes the ship sit alarmingly deep in the water. Even a minor breach in the hull might be enough to send a boat to the bottom of the ocean. He does begrudgingly admit that perhaps it could carry its weight - eventually. After a lot of work, anyways. He also notes that the sailors have taken up the leather Gambesons happily, as they help deflect rare long-range Moskurg arrow and keep the wearer warm in inclimate weather.
Neither side makes coastal gains in the Western Sea.Expense Credit!!! The tales of magic being cast as easily as breathing has traveled, apparently. We spy a foreign vessel sailing into our harbor claiming to be a trader. The captain is a fellow by the name of "T’ung-K’ao"...we think. He doesn't speak our language, but it's clear he's here to trade. His ship sits heavy in the water with all manner of gold and silver, and his men are clad in strange clothes. He seems particularly interested in magical artifacts, the flashier the better. After some pantomiming and crude drawings, we figure out he's willing to pay for a supply he can bring back to the outside world.
Our men are suspicious of the outsiders, and many of the wizards aren't keen on sharing our hard-earned magical prowess with others. It could be a trap, but he seems honest enough. Should we trade with him? If so, what should we trade? If we do trade, we should make enough to earn an expense credit. Of course, we could always just seize his ship - judging by how deeply it sits in the water, there should be enough treasure on board for possibly two expense credits...
It is 926, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka
Western Jungle: 3/4 Arstotzka, 1/4 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. Cheap.
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. Obsolete.
Gambeson: A leather armoring doublet designed to go with plate armor. Helps protect against arrows.
Chain Mail: Officer armour. Expensive, due to the steel required. Very effective against most weapons. Expensive. Obsolete.
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.
Steam Engine: A highly inefficient, dangerous, expensive, and enormously heavy steam engine. Uses a steam turbine to generate power. Currently Experimental. Very Expensive.
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort. Obsolete.
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. 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. Expensive.
Anti-Mages: Mage hunters equipped with longbows, anti-magic charms, and the best armor we can give them. Excel at sniping enemy mages.
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.
Minor Fireball: Smaller version of fireball. Doesn't cause collateral damage, but doesn't explode on impact. Expensive. Obsolete.
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 377080 times)