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Mind-bogglingly popular game series that you follow from early on and cannot stop, waiting for new installment like a drooling addict.

Long-runner soap opera you're too invested into to just stop watching it.

A fun little comic strip in the daily newspaper that's been around forever.

3/6

Who said it's fun? I didn't for sure.

I'm just waiting here for it to die horribly already so it will stop showing on my Unread Posts list.

[Hotfire90]

A

[Weirdsound]

B
Why do you keep waiting to face them all at once? Who do you think you're going to impress for this 'political' victory?

I'm 90% sure Eldrican is waiting for us to 'invade' their ally, so they can invade us. I have a feeling their involvement, or lack thereof, decides this war.

Our army is at least 30k. We have a troop boosting artifact, a training edict, probably superior equipment (Damdaimian lands are mineral poor), probably superior fireblood weapons (we have a fireblood court), recently revamped and modernized forts, and a Martial Leader. We should be able to swat aside a force of equal or even somewhat greater size that is dumb enough to march into our lands and challenge our armies.

Eldrican has access to massive hordes of men (they tamed the Horse Steeps, a faction that took the combined might of us, them, and the Dwarves to defeat), and fireblood that is likely closer in power to our own (they are a Western State and fireblood is a Western invention). Without the Gubtans, I really don't like our odds if they open a Western front on us while we are fighting to the South, so we should absolutely not give them an excuse.

[mightymushroom]

I'm 90% sure Eldrican is waiting for us to 'invade' their ally, so they can invade us.

I simply don't believe your analysis of Eldrican motives.

You said the same when you thought it was only 4,000 troops and couldn't be a threat except as a feint. Now it's 30,000 troops lining up but I'm so glad to hear this ISN'T the promised Damdamian Crusade. It's still just Eldrican machinations to make us look bad.

We have a troop boosting artifact

They have religious fervor.

a training edict

Past Damdamian armies have had equal training thanks to the legacy of the former Empire. At least some of the banners reported are those of national armies.

probably superior equipment (Damdaimian lands are mineral poor), probably superior fireblood weapons (we have a fireblood court), recently revamped and modernized forts,

I'll grant these, although I note the probably in there (see military legacy of Empire, above).

and a Martial Leader.

It would hardly be the first time our opponents do as well. The more armies assemble, the more likely some of the commanders are equally competent.

We should be able to swat aside a force of equal or even somewhat greater size that is dumb enough to march into our lands and challenge our armies.

I think we should win defensively if the numbers don't swell any further, depending on the rolls. But I'd still expect better odds and more of our boys left alive when fighting two 15K armies than one of 30K (or more).

I'll sweeten the deal by stipulating that I have no desire at all to conquer and keep Rucus. Swat them down, bring everyone back home. Let's repurpose our diplomats and spies to spreading that message in southern lands and maybe some of the rulers down there will obliquely reward us for removing a troublesome fanatic element.

[Weirdsound]

I'm 90% sure Eldrican is waiting for us to 'invade' their ally, so they can invade us.

I simply don't believe your analysis of Eldrican motives.

You said the same when you thought it was only 4,000 troops and couldn't be a threat except as a feint. Now it's 30,000 troops lining up but I'm so glad to hear this ISN'T the promised Damdamian Crusade. It's still just Eldrican machinations to make us look bad.

Okay, I phrased that wrong. Eldrican isn't waiting to invade us. Rucus is waiting for an excuse to call Eldrican.

At this point it is a full crusade. No denying that. Eldrican does not like us and they have a formal alliance with Rucus/Lamentia. I don't think they are mobilizing though (we'd be getting intel about Eldrican mobilizing if they were mobilizing). I don't know why; Perhaps our rotten cousin wants his friends to do all the work, before swooping in to take the crown after the war. If we invade their ally, they might not have a choice but to get involved.

Look at it from the crusaders perspective; We have a massive, well trained army that is mostly defensive heavy infantry on the border. We have nasty border forts. A good chunk of that border is river, if I recall correctly. Unless they are stupid, they are not going to simply rush across the border. They need a scheme. Getting Eldrican involved is the most probable scheme.

Stalling also doesn't favor them. Crusaders, historically, are not the most well behaved people. I would not want a standing army of 30k foreign zealots hanging around my territory even if they were my allies. Also, if they take too long, we might get opportunities to try calling more allies or use our spies to fuck with them.

We have a troop boosting artifact

They have religious fervor.

a training edict

Past Damdamian armies have had equal training thanks to the legacy of the former Empire. At least some of the banners reported are those of national armies.

probably superior equipment (Damdaimian lands are mineral poor), probably superior fireblood weapons (we have a fireblood court), recently revamped and modernized forts,

I'll grant these, although I note the probably in there (see military legacy of Empire, above).

and a Martial Leader.

It would hardly be the first time our opponents do as well. The more armies assemble, the more likely some of the commanders are equally competent.

It would seem that you read up on the time Houlandin I attacked Rucus/Lamentia. In case you don't recall, WE LOST THAT WAR! I don't see how that goes better for us now that they have a bunch of foreigners helping them out.

The way I see it, it breaks down three ways:

Them attacking without Eldrican - favors us.
Them waiting - favors us
Us attacking without more factors in our favor - favors them, and probably drags Eldrican in to boot.

I'll sweeten the deal by stipulating that I have no desire at all to conquer and keep Rucus. Swat them down, bring everyone back home. Let's repurpose our diplomats and spies to spreading that message in southern lands and maybe some of the rulers down there will obliquely reward us for removing a troublesome fanatic element.

If we do invade and win, we need to give those lands to our Vassal Eval. Historically, they have a claim to Lamentia, and likely have a similar claim to the former duchies of Lamentia that Rucus has annexed. Praticailly it would create a nice buffer state between us and further Damdamian aggression.

[omada]

A

[Chevaleresse]

A

[mightymushroom]

I think this war goes better because, by your own estimate, we outnumber the forces currently in Rucus 2:1. This is why I'm impatient, so that WE can have the bonus to roll for two or more separate battles instead of taking on the entire fanatic horde at once. Also, I hope this time we can avoid getting into personal combat with a Martial enemy commander despite our having only one eye.

Waiting is in our favor so long as the 30K are all that are coming; if they start to seriously outnumber us then it's back to a toss of the die. I think you are giving these 'Crusaders' too much credit for sneakiness; they believe Damed is on their side, why do they need to resort to shenanigans? For that matter, why assume that Eldrican would only be involved via a diplomatic 'excuse' ploy rather than from being co-religionists and hating our guts and seeing us weakened?

I think we ought to bop the mini-horde in Rucus, which should be straightforward given our apparent numbers advantage if we hurry, then strategically withdraw and let our southern defenses stand off the remainder. We can then react as prudent if Eldrican does respond. We'll see how those Steppe Hordes fare when they're off the steppe. And, oh, WE WON THAT WAR.

There's no reason to think we wouldn't get another chance to call allies if a new player enters the scene.

[Taricus]

A

[ANGRY_DEMON_NOISES]

We have more than one eye tho now. Also, we have a sword artifact.

[helmacon]

B

[Weirdsound]

Waiting is in our favor so long as the 30K are all that are coming; if they start to seriously outnumber us then it's back to a toss of the die. I think you are giving these 'Crusaders' too much credit for sneakiness; they believe Damed is on their side, why do they need to resort to shenanigans? For that matter, why assume that Eldrican would only be involved via a diplomatic 'excuse' ploy rather than from being co-religionists and hating our guts and seeing us weakened?

I think we ought to bop the mini-horde in Rucus, which should be straightforward given our apparent numbers advantage if we hurry, then strategically withdraw and let our southern defenses stand off the remainder. We can then react as prudent if Eldrican does respond. We'll see how those Steppe Hordes fare when they're off the steppe. And, oh, WE WON THAT WAR.

I actually very much like the way you think here, but our army is traditionally based upon heavy infantry, which isn't the best comp for the sort of blitzkrieg you are suggesting. I'm not willing to bet our troops could move quick enough to pull that off.

Waiting is in our favor so long as the 30K are all that are coming; if they start to seriously outnumber us then it's back to a toss of the die. I think you are giving these 'Crusaders' too much credit for sneakiness; they believe Damed is on their side, why do they need to resort to shenanigans? For that matter, why assume that Eldrican would only be involved via a diplomatic 'excuse' ploy rather than from being co-religionists and hating our guts and seeing us weakened?

If they don't want shenanigans, they are more than welcome to grind themselves down on our defenses. What I've been trying to articulate this whole time is that I'm fairly confident that this war favors the side on defense. Especially if the side on defense is a wall of pikes and guns.

[mightymushroom]

We have more than one eye tho now. Also, we have a sword artifact.

Ah, my turn to have phrased things poorly. Fighting while one-eyed was a contributing factor in the earlier loss that, for the reasons you point out, I think we can avoid this time.

If they don't want shenanigans, they are more than welcome to grind themselves down on our defenses. What I've been trying to articulate this whole time is that I'm fairly confident that this war favors the side on defense. Especially if the side on defense is a wall of pikes and guns.

My concern is on par with your speculation that Eldrican may be waiting to swoop in and take the crown. We will be ground down, too, if we fight in even numbers; we will have to fight open battles, there are too many of them to let them have run of the countryside. I think moving quickly against an inferior foe (and our training regimen darn well better include infantry marches; we're already mobilized to the border, right?) is our best move to preserve our fighting forces for the next enemy.

[ZBridges]

A

[Weirdsound]

If they don't want shenanigans, they are more than welcome to grind themselves down on our defenses. What I've been trying to articulate this whole time is that I'm fairly confident that this war favors the side on defense. Especially if the side on defense is a wall of pikes and guns.

My concern is on par with your speculation that Eldrican may be waiting to swoop in and take the crown. We will be ground down, too, if we fight in even numbers; we will have to fight open battles, there are too many of them to let them have run of the countryside. I think moving quickly against an inferior foe (and our training regimen darn well better include infantry marches; we're already mobilized to the border, right?) is our best move to preserve our fighting forces for the next enemy.

That is the problem. Honestly, our position is not as strong as the 11 army suggests it is. We are like Poland in WWII, if Nazi's and Soviets genuinely liked each other.

If we try to rush in and can't pull your stunt off fast enough, Eldrican joins the war and we are fucked.

If we wait, and Eldrican decides to join the war during or just after we fight the Damdamins, we are also fucked.

Honestly, unless we get stupidly lucky with our war rolls, we will likely have to-

A: Call another ally (likely the dwarves, which will be expensive)
B: Use our CHA to give the Damdamians a favorable peace deal (We convert, pay some money, use the conviently gathered crusaders to win the civil war that will come from betraying our state religion) (Might be difficult, seeing as the crusade seem to be aimed at destroying our family)
C: Use our CHA bonus to offer our wicked cousin the crown (He is a blood relitive, so giving him the throne shouldn't end the game. It would suck to lose our CHA/MART/WIS character though)

[mightymushroom]

I don't think we need to be quite so afraid of Eldrican as all that. The steppe nomads were, at most, mildy fearsome when we fought them, but that was generations ago. Today Eldrican is a country of about the same size as us; our history suggests they are cash poor for paying wages; and our Fireblood Court is keeping us even or better in technology. If they have the might and the will to overpower us they could have done so when we were told they were planning imminent invasion, or when we refused to let Feir rebury his father. In truth, they haven't challenged us even when we were riven by civil war. Are they dangerous? Probably. Are they game-threatening? That has not yet been shown.

You agreed that my plan sounds good for paring down the Damdamian Crusade. Don't let fear of past threats that never materialized prevent us from taking the tactically and strategically sound course against the foe of today. I should have thought of this point sooner: what better way to take the shine off the Crusade and convince stragglers that it isn't blessed by Damed after all, than to punch down the leading fighters while there are still in their own lands? Let them start looting us and it will only encourage the whole of the south to follow.

If we try to rush in and can't pull your stunt off fast enough,

"There is no try."

Our soldiers are trained and drilled. They are already at the border of the target. We will do this.