Combat for 942This year sees Moskurg spend their entire turn to refine their control over the storm even further with a new spell titled "Winds of Ruin". The spell essentially works by lending the intent of the casters to the storm itself, allowing the rain, snow, wind, tornados, and lightning to be focused and cast Beyond their Line of Sight. Most importantly, the spell allows the mages to focus on enemy shells flying through the air and attempt to blow them off course. This manages to blunt Arstotzka's artillery range by two levels...when the wizards casting can maintain focus long enough to use the spell to their advantage. Thankfully, unlike many of their first attempts at ambitious spells, Winds of Ruin doesn't kill their mages or drive them insane.
Arstotzka, on the other hand, doubles down on their crystal this year. Their first design is the "Protector", which is essentially a giant, lopsided crystal box on wagon wheels. Equipped with primitive transmission, guns with limited ammo, and a rather piss-poor mobility system, it's...kind of rubbish. The most important aspect of the design is the fact that it uses a new type of engine known as an "Internal Detonation Engine". With a smaller size and greater output than their earlier steam engine, it relies on a rather complicated circuit system and the magical input of a dedicated Apprentice. Just as important, the Protector opens the door to more advanced land-based vehicles, threatening to change the face of war once again. For their revision they upgrade their crystalworks to Crystalworks Mk2, which makes a bunch of their crystal stuff and circuitry cheaper.
The jungle sees Moskurg start to push further north.
The Winds of Ruin does its job...most of the time. Arstotzkan HA1 has its range reduced by two distance units; normally this would put Moskurgs more primitive ballistas in the lead, but Arstotzka's Crystalworks Mk2 managed to put their +ER shells to merely Cheap. Both Moskurg and Arstotzkan artillery is now at Extreme range, but the age of Moskurgs ballista systems is starting to show. Though their crews are more thoroughly trained, their shots rely heavily on wizards casting Lucky Shot to hit their targets. The wizards casting Winds of Ruin are lead by a single Leader who lends most of his will to the storm, but even he occasionally loses focus and Moskurgs own shots are blown off course. And when they DO hit, the shells have...disappointing effect, compared to the stupendous explosions of Arstotzkan shells. Though Arstotzka now has more HA1's, they can't field them to their full potential as they need three mages to a cannon and they have just as many cannons as mages. Nearly every available wizard is pulled to HA1 firing duty; ultimately, though they're firing at the same range, Arstotzka has more artillery cannons and they fire with a greater effect. On the bright side, the reduced range means Apprentices don't have to go on suicidal artillery-spotting sorties with flares any more.
The jungle doesn't really see the Protector being in use here, as the uneven ground and twisted/fallen trees are not conducive to the touchy wheels.
Arstotzkan HAC-1's are now Cheap, though they're strapped for wizards to man them full-time. Most of the time an HAC-1 is placed in each artillery nest, and when Moskurg carpet bombers fly over everyone stops what they're doing to shoot at them. Moskurg War Pegasi riders are now completely useless at carpet bombing, and with the short range on their Wands of Thunderbolts they must stand at afar and call down lightning from the storm. More powerful is their Airships, which with Arstotzka's blunted range can now once again safely stand at max range and chip and pick away at enemy lines with impunity. The decks are just large enough to carry a mage group to cast the complicated Winds of Ruin, which is then used to rampage tornados, lightning, and howling winds through enemy lines. Once again, the frequency of debris in the jungle makes the tornados very effective, and with mages continuously power them they don't lose power over time like a normal tornado.
Arstotzkan infantry still meets with Moskrugs from time-to-time, winning more often than not thanks to their improved armor, razor-sharp crystal axes, and gun-weilding commanders (who generally fire once before switching to their axes as the gun takes too long to reload).
Arstotzkan anti-mage hunters do a decent job at sniping unsuspecting commanders and mages, but with Moskurg off-loading more and more of their wizards to the air they're having less luck making a difference.
Ultimately, the fact that Moskurg's tornados are extra effective in the jungle and their air-forces tend to stand off and attack from a distance (meaning their untouchable) means they can whittle away at Arstotzkan forces all year long. The battle is close, and in a fair fight Arstotzka wins every time, but Moskurg manages to scrape out a narrow victory in the jungle.
Moskurg gains a section of Jungle this year.The battle for the Desert is close.
The desert sands are not kind to the protector here either, though it sees some...limited success. On the rockier ground it does better, but the contraption is so heavy that the wheels tend to sink into the softer sand. The effect here is modest, but it does see some work as acting as a stationary pillbox at times. The cooling system must work overtime to keep the engine (and cabin) at a reasonable temperature, and even then things get...uncomfortable. The fact that the hull is made out of crystal with no obvious openings means its virtually invulnerable against Moskurg artillery, although concentrated firing is enough to engulf the vehicle in flames. This means the wheels break down and the occupants must flee to avoid suffocation - the fact that they're merely Expensive means they can be used in surprising numbers and that makes it difficult to shut them down...on firmer terrain.
Tornadoes can be cast from beyond Moskurgs line of sight, along with their lightning and winds. It takes its toll on Arstotzkan forces, though as long as they can continue pushing forward Moskurg must cede ground. Again, without much debris like tree branches the tornadoes are less effective unless they pass directly over the heavily armored troops - calvary is virtually untouchable, aside from lightning strikes.
As a matter of fact, Moskurgs naval superiority has a greater effect than their tornados here. Landing behind Arstotzkan lines does a decent job of throwing their lines in disarray, but Arstotzka still has superior infantry and armor-piercing guns so the surprise landings don't do as much as they could.
Relatively flat ground means Arstotzkan artillery still has the advantage, despite Winds of Ruin blunting range. Their troops are still better for the occasional brief melee, and no longer requiring water means their guns only fall silent when on the move. The fact that they can put an HAC-1 nearly everywhere means carpet bombers are a non-issue, though the Very Expensive Airships are once again untouchable at max range.
Moskurgs main saving grace is the fact that both Hayat and al-Mutriqahave taken to the desert, flying about and laying waste with their Wands of Thunderbolt and Wand of Heroism, respectively. They manage to just barely fight Arstotzka to a standstill, and for a long time it seems like the two sides are at a stalemate.
Coinflip = Arstotzka.The tide of battle changes when Hayat, brave and reckless as always, flies too low on a strafing run against an Arstotzka artillery nest. A lucky Magehunter manages to get an anti-magic bomb arrow fired off in her direction, scoring a direct hit. The Queens Will shreds to pieces beneath her, and she herself takes a frightening amount of shrapnel. She plummets to the ground, and were it not for al-Mutriqascooping her off the sands and flying her out of the danger Moskurg may very well have lost their Heir. The tide of battle shifts dramatically after that, with Moskurg reluctantly giving up a section of ground. Arstotzkan soldiers wearily take another section of Moskurg sands.
Arstotzka gains another section of Desert. Moskurgs Apprentice is Wounded.The plains is definitely where the Protector does its best, though its "best" is still lackluster.
The flat ground means it can move around unencumbered (unless it hits a pothole, which stands a decent chance of wrecking a wheel and stranding the vehicle). The thick crystal makes it virtually invulnerable against Moskurg ballista bolts, and the HAC-1 on the roof keeps War Pegasi riders from getting close enough to smother the thing in fire grenades. Only firestorm ballista shells stand a decent chance at defeating the device, by burning up the wheels and smoking out the occupants. Even then, unless the gunners are killed, the ruined machine can act as a limited pillbox with what small ammo supply the gunner has. Moskurg tactics generally involve waiting for a wheel to break or get shot off, and then rushing the giant crystal box and swarming the occupants.
The limited amount of occupants means it isn't as effective as a "no-mans land"-crossing device as hoped, but the ingenious men on the field have found a way to artificially increase the number of men it can carry. By putting the rear metal ramp on upside down so the hinge is on
top and propping it open, it can act as a sort of mobile shield for a squad following close behind. This limits the speed slightly, and if the Protector breaks down everyone is stuck out in the field with no cover moving forward, but it does help.
Tornados and lightning do their job, though tornados do a poorer job here than in the jungle. Artillery is still in Arstotzka's favor. No one has naval advantage. Airships still pick and chip at enemy lines, thoughbeing Very Expensive limits how much they can do.
Bjorn and Myark fight on the plains this year. Bjorn is frustrated with the rather mundane job of working artillery, eagerly jumping on a nearby HAC-1 for a sudden air-raid. He succeeds in scoring two confirmed kills this year, though Myark worked himself ragged protecting the blood-thirsty young heir. His bravery on the battlefield will go a long way towards convincing others in the noble court of his legitimacy as heir to the kingdom.
Arstotzka manages to gain ground. It's not by a huge degree, but the battle does go solidly in their favor.
Arstotzka moves up another section and gains full control of Plains. If they hold it for a year, they may exploit it for resources. Bjorn fights unscathed.The Winds of Ruin manages to make the Airships relevant on the seas, working full-force to sink every crystalclad ship they can find. For each ship they sink, two more pop up. The crystalclad beign Cheap means they can afford to keep pressing forward, despite their losses. The frequency of the ships means not every crystalclad can field more than one apprentice, but they don't need to. There's simply too many for the Airships to kill, and the Sirocco is virtually obsoleted at this point and not terribly relevant to the theatre. Despite their loses, Arstotzka continues sailing further south - though those loses aren't terribly pronounced, as Moskurg has a hard time penetrating the crystal shells at all.
Arstotzka gains a section of shoreline in both the Eastern and Western Seas.Event!!!A trader sails into your harbor this year on a very familiar boat...although instead of the familiar Chinese merchant you're used to, it's someone new. He says his name is Yuan Kang, and he demands that you sell your magical secrets to him. He refuses to say what happened to the former merchant, although you note that none of the crew seems to be the men who've visited you in the years past. His grasp on your language is faltering and broken, but he seems to be interested in magical weapons, and is willing to pay you an
Expense Credit for three. This newcomer and his...mysterious nature makes many of the nobles nervous, and some suggest simply seizing his ship. He's likely a pirate after all, and probably stole the merchants ship. You technically wouldn't be stealing if you stole a stolen ship...right?
It is 943, the Design Phase.Northern Taiga: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Central Mountains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Western Jungle: [color=red1/4 Arstotzka[/color], 3/4 Moskurg
Eastern Plains: 4/4 Arstotzka, 0/4 Moskurg
Southern Desert: 2/4 Arstotzka, 2/4 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
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. Obsolete.
Combat Armor: Crystal battle armor. Features a clear visor with no easy way for arrows to penetrate. Lightning rod allows user to survive a single blast of lightning. Cheap.
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. Obsolete.
Steam Engine: A highly expensive and enormously heavy steam engine. Uses a steam turbine to generate power. Uses PSF's and a steam recycler with enchanted gold etchings to manage heat. Cheap.
Internal Detonation Engine: An experimental new engine that uses two cylinders and timed PSF-C guided by a complicated circuit and cooling system. A little bit smaller than the Steam Engine, but with a higher output. Expensive.
SPB "Fog-O-War": Boat using two steam engines for power. Slightly faster than Moskurg ships. Tends to sink after the first hit. Expensive. Obsolete.
AS-SPB2-Crystalclad: Boat using a crystal hull, two steam engines, and three HC1-E's. More resilient, higher firepower, and just as fast as the Fog-O-War. Deck tends to be slippery. Equipped with a single HAC-1 for point-defense. Can be out-fitted with HA1's. Cheap.
Protector: The worlds first APC/tank. Rolls around on wooden wagon wheels, powered by an IDE, made mostly out of crystal. Equipped with an HAC-1 and HC1-E. Can carry a few soldiers. Expensive
Wand of True Light: Seeds doubt in enemy minds. Theatre-wide effect. Moral penalty. National Effort.
AS-STV-1 "Restless": Steam train. Crystal structure. Can carry troops and supplies to the front line. Little power, but can pick up to the speed of a horse in gallop. Very Expensive.
Magegems: Magical batteries. Comes in A, AA, and AAA forms. The AAA battery should be able to power a couple flares. An AA battery should be able to power a SPSF-C all by itself, and an A battery should be able to power a regular PSF-C. Three A batteries can power a single PSF in all its glory. Made of a special crystal-glass with nickel banding. Does not lose charge. Cheap-Very Expensive.
HA1: Arstotzkan heavy artillery. Fires at beyond line-of-sight range. Requires three apprentices to operate, plus loading crew. Uses nickel circuitry to cool the cannon. Breech-loaded. Made mostly of crystal. Cheap.
Blastshells+R: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides extended (albeit less accurate) range, out to BLOS+1. Cheap.
Blastshells+E: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides explosive capabilities to the shell upon landing thanks to a fragile limiting AAA gem in the tip. Cheap.
Blastshells+R/E: A hollow shell, in which a circuit-gem core can be inserted into before firing. Provides both extended range and explosive capabilities, albeit less accurately. Expensive.
HC1: AKA the "Extreme-Range Hybrid Cannon". Arstotzka's first cannon. Uses a fireball to propel a fist-sized iron ball Long-Range. Inaccurate, but can be loaded quickly. Has a tendency to crack. Cheap. Obsolete.
HC1-E: The Elite version of the HC1. Fires at Extreme-Range. Uses rifling, ballistics, and an overall better and more consistent design. Utilizes enchanted nickel etching for barrel cooling. Made mostly of crystal. Breech-loaded.Cheap.
Equalizer: Anti-magic shell. Dispells all magic around it. Difficult to produce and fire, dangerous to use. Expensive.
HC2: A failed attempt to upgrade the HC1 with auto-cooling barrel and ambitious steam recycler. Explodes or breaks after every shot. Very Expensive. Obsolete.
AS-HAC-1: An all-crystal small-caliber cannon. Swivel-mounted. Breech-loaded. Aimed through horse-hair crosshairs. Relatively short reload time. Uses a "bolt action" for loading. Circuit-cooled. Cheap.
AS-R1 Hybrid Rifle: A cannon you can hold! Made out of crystal, circuit-cooled, breech-loaded, bolt-action. A single AA-level Magegem allow non-magic users to use it, provided they replace it with each shot. Uses just the fireblast for propulsion rather than steam. Reaches Extreme Range, but inaccurate past Medium Range. Expensive.
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.
Crystalworks Mk2: A workshop that produces crystal items cheaply, permanently, and with a mild brittle factor. Crystals can repair microfractures, eliminating the need for maintenance. Larger facility allows Expensive.
Wand of Fireballs: Hurls fireballs at a distance, able to destroy whole squads at a time. A National Effort. Obsolete.
Minor Towers of Forever Frost: Small, complicated towers that have to be assembled in place and requires the skill of several wizards to operate. 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. Now made with pre-inscribed marble blocks.Expensive.
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. Cheap.
Magic Axe: Conjures a set of long axes for officers. Cheap.
Dogwood Wand: Wand that allows the user to accelerate the growth of a patch of plants to an area and height equal to their own height. Wands are cheap to make, but don't last very long. Cheap.
Anti-Mages: Mage hunters equipped with R1's, anti-magic charms, anti-magic arrows, falcons, 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.
Powerful Streamlined Fireball: Hurls small balls of fire that explode on impact. Devastating against massed troops. Cheap.
Small Powerful Streamlined Fireball: Smaller fireballs, for firing cannons and guns without water. Cheap.
Flare: A small, harmless fireball. Comes in many different colors. Cheap.
Blastball: Referred to with a "-C" appending, allows a regular fireball to exert mainly expansive force. Good for explosions, but not terribly lethal on its own. 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. Cheap.
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 377871 times)