Combat for 929Nightly 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.
Our forces begin nearly every engagement. Our cannons strike from beyond their range, but the limited amount of HC1-E's mean 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 an enemy ballista and destroys it. Though the jungle is mostly dead aside from the largest of trees and the occasional oddly-sprouted patch of plants, we have found a way to hide when a barrage is about to happen. Our front lines are frequently clouded with mist, keeping them from viewing our actions. We keep a few spotters ahead of the mist who shout back to our cannons. At this extreme range our shells don't "skip" along the ground, instead hitting more perpendicular to the ground as they have further to fall. Considering we are aiming to snipe artillery pieces, this is fine. As soon as shelling starts Moskurg siege engineers hurriedly wheel their weapons forward, marching through our artillery fire until they're in range. At this point the rest of our cannons begin firing in full-force, covering the nearby area with craters. Moskurg returns the favor, sending death sailing towards our lines.
The first time they hit us it's...devastating.
With their uncanny accuracy they can't miss. The first shell lands square on one of our cannons, instantly engulfing it and everyone nearby in flame. Our men don't even have time to scream. It's like a fireball, but worse - not even heavy rain will put out the flames on the ground. Before it would take several shots with boulder or javelin to render a cannon inert, but now only a single hit will destroy it. We still manage to destroy several of their ballistas from extreme range; enough to make a significant difference and hamper their ability to return fire, but our accuracy is inferior. Once the enemy starts gaining the upper hand we are forced to move our infantry forward. With fewer working ballistas we can't hit our infantry as hard as they could, but their fires still do the heavy lifting this fight. They're not as large as our PSF's, but they burn for so much longer. It splashes on impact, alighting multiple men 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 it doesn't take long before we are pushed back, but it's not as sound a routing as it'd been the past few years. Their own men are likewise ragged from the shelling, and no matter how many cannons they destroy they can't reach the HC1-E's in our back lines, meaning we can chip away.
When they return the assault, it's just as bad for our troops. We begin firing long before they're in range from behind a curtain of mist that is difficult to blow away. Their ballistas go ahead first to try and soften us up, but they start off at a disadvantage and it shows. Still, their superior accuracy and terrifying new fire pushes our lines back the tiniest amount with each assault, even as their men continue to be pelted from extreme range as they march forward.
They make a small amount of ground; it's not much, but we were on the backfoot last year and they manage to press the advantage to secure a section of jungle.
Our Theatre Commander asks for longer-range artillery. The HC1-E's are fantastic, and if we had more of them we could have fought them to a stalemate. Hell, maybe even push them back a bit! Anti-infantry shells are also needed, especially at longer range. If we DO get something that can fire from beyond Extreme Range, we will need some way to spot the enemy - that's not crucial for the moment, but it's something to consider in the future.
Moskurg gains a section of jungle. Our longer-range artillery is especially effective in the mountains. Their castles are chipped to death from far away, requiring them to sally forth to meet us. These sallies almost always end in defeat; we ambush them or shredded them with artillery fire before they can get in range. Their advancement is likewise stymied; we are expecting them now, so they don't have the element of surprise. They cannot sit back and chip us to death as both sides have equal range and our cannons have a height advantage atop our walls. The fact that our new depression angle gives us greater flexibility helps us repel attackers, something the Theatre Commander is thankful for. They make limited progress here, and lose a castle. Moskurg is on the back foot.
Our Theatre Commander asks for more longer-range cannons to secure our advantage. He once again points out that they had a bonus last time since we were caught unawares; perhaps an assault on the plains would be something to consider? Surely they won't be expecting us there.
Neither side gains ground in the Mountains.Both sides exchange lethal blows on the Western Sea. We have cannons that can out-range their ships, and cannon fire is especially effective when it hits. The story changes when they manage to close the distance to long-range, however; their fire 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 their faster ships let them determine the range of combat is their saving grace; they lose many ships from their long-range and accurate cannons, but their fire does more damage from closer range. We backslide a bit further - we don't give up a lot of ground, but they manage to secure a bit more coastline since we were on the back foot last year. They now hold the majority of the coast, and will control it entirely if they gain another section.
Our new Theatre Commander is a seasoned veteran. Their fire is a problem - since Arstotzka has experience with fire, could you perhaps develop a spell to put it out? Faster ships would let us determine the range of combat, making better use of our limited HC1-E's. Oh, and he also requests more of them, too.
Moskurg gains ground in the Western Sea.Expense Credit: We spy a familiar sight this year; T’ung-K’ao sails once more into our harbors. Our thanes go down to greet him at the docks; once his ship is moored and he is disembarked he flings a handful of cheap gemstones in our faces. He's picked up a bit of Arstotzkan since he last visited, and through broken tongue he explains his seething anger. He returned all the way to his homeland by the time he checked the crate, only instead of finding his razor-sharp magical crystal axes he instead finds a nearly-empty box and cheap gems rolling around inside. He makes quite a scene, screaming at our men in broken Arstotzkan. He demands that we repay him. Either we give him an actual magical item to make up for the one we sold him two years ago, or simply return the money he spent (which would mean no revision this year). Our nobles aren't particularly thrilled about either idea; one points out that his ship
is sitting low in the water. If we seize his ship, we may find enough treasure aboard to afford an Expense Credit. What do we do?
It is 930, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka
Central Mountains: 3/4 Arstotzka, 1/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 4/4 Moskurg
Northern Sea: Arstotzka
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.
HC1: AKA the "Extreme-Range Hybrid Cannon". Arstotzka's first cannon. Uses a fireball and steam to propel a fist-sized iron ball Long-Range. Inaccurate, but can be loaded quickly. Has a tendency to crack. Expensive.
HC1-E: The Elite version of the HC1. Fires at Extreme-Range. Uses rifling, ballistics, and an overall better and more consistent design. More expensive to produce, deployment is limited. Very Expensive.
HC2: A failed attempt to upgrade the HC1 with auto-cooling barrel and ambitious steam recycler. Explodes or breaks after every shot.
Arzotskan Academy for Adequate Apprenticeship: Basic magic training for apprentices. Allows them to be more useful on the offensive. Very prestigious. Actively recruits new apprentices.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.
Dogwood Wand: Wand that allows the user to accelerate the growth of a single plant to a limited degree. Wands are cheap to make, but don't last very long. Cheap.
Anti-Mages: Mage hunters equipped with longbows, anti-magic charms, anti-magic arrows, 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. Devastating 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.
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.
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Topic: Wands Race - [Arstotzka] {COMPLETED} (Read 377038 times)