Combat for 926While neither side developed any new defensive tools to help against skirmishes, this year saw Arstotzka develop a frightening new weapon. Arstotzkan soldiers shed their noisy armor to creep close in the night, targeting Moskurg mages. They fire only a single salvo before retreating, but when Moskurg mages scramble to use magic to defend themselves the spent arrows suddenly - and violently - explode. Being unarmored in the middle of the night means the resulting shrapnel leaves lacerations in everyone nearby. Several mages are blinded, and in the confusion the Arstotzkan raiders slip away. The shards are super-heated and cause minor fires where they land, all of which their men scramble to put out. This happens once more before their mages learn not to cast whenever these raiders attack, as the arrow explosives trigger on contact with magic. We've managed to incapacitate a few of their mages before the main combat, but they will likely learn not to cast during these engagements.
Both sides do massive damage during nightly raids, with Arstotzka coming out slightly ahead.
The melees have likewise increased in lethality. Before the combat even begins a two meter long spear falls out of the sky, impaling one of our commanders through his breastplate. As our men scramble for cover more fall from above, hitting with the same uncanny accuracy of Moskurg archers. We lose a significant number of mages and commanders before the battle even begins, but after a while the spears taper off and stop all together.
At medium range, however, the battle turns in our favor. Moskurg arrows are still utterly useless against Arstotzkan plate and gambeson, but our arrows and newer fireballs hit with devestating effect. It's as if every one of our mages was equipped with our original fireball spell, and each blast wipes out squads at a time. We have fewer mages here due to the earlier sniping, but they're still working to devestating effect. Their mages can't even cast to try and stop us as our Anti-Mage snipers are continuing to use their explosive arrows. They blast small holes in Moskurg barricades, and their mages are forced to stop casting and hunker down lest their cover be blown to shreds.
Things grow more even in pitched melee, however - Moskurg has rolled out a new halberd, one which is effective at punching through our plate armor. A single enemy soldier is obviously inferior to an Arstotzkan soldier, but their larger numbers
would turn the tide in their favor were it not for our remaining mages making use of flame walls to channel their troops into killing zones. This, combined with how they can only use their lightning half the year, means we come out on top. Considering how they were on the back foot last year, the cowardly Moskurgs are ultimately forced to retreat and we claim the last section of jungle from the enemy.
Our Theatre Commander is worried. The spears that killed our mages and commanders are a significant problem, even if we can make up for it with overwhelming firepower. The dense undergrowth has died enough that Moskurg could start marching in formation next year if they wanted to. The fireballs are nice, but he worries about diversifying our weapons. What if Moskurg develops something that could counter our fireballs? He points out that if the antimagic bomb arrows were cheaper, our entire archer force could use them. Also, why do they need to require magic to activate? Why not give them a timer instead?
Arstotzka gains the jungle. If they hold it next year, they may exploit it for resources.Our fireballs prove to be less effective on the sea. Moskurg stays at a distance, hitting our ships with rocks cast from a surprising distance away. We chase them, but our fireballs don't have the same range.
We lose a few ships before Moskurg retreats, but it's not quite enough to force us to give up a section of coastline. Another year like this and we'll be forced to give up ground.
The Theatre Commander is frustrated with our inability to catch Moskurg. Either get the steam engine working or make the fireballs longer ranged - it's been so long since he's sunk a Moskurg ship.
Neither side makes coastal gains in the Western Sea.Expense Credit: As it turns out, T’ung-K’ao has a knack for magic, but he's no Myark. Try as he might, he fails to get the Wand of Fireballs to work, much to his frustration. He likewise passes over the steam engine, completely uninterested in its mundane nature. He does seem interested in the crate of Crystal Axes, picking one up and giving it an experimental swing. He accidentally hacks a chunk out of the railing of his ship and his eyes gleam with child-like wonder. He manages to convey that he is interested in purchasing the crate, unless there's something more fantastic you'd like to show him.
Sell the Crystal Axes, or something else?It is 927, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka
Western Jungle: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 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.
Anti-Magic Bomb Arrows: Arrows that explode on contact with magic into red-hot, razor-sharp crystal shards.
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. Obsolete.
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. Devestating against massed troops. 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 375645 times)