Battle Phase
Core: Turn 1 BattleArcanisPlans are drawn up to march upon Arcanis. Surely there is light beyond the darkness, for who would wish to live a life devoid of the light? The challenge then is only in reaching it. Thus are the pikemen drawn up into formation to march blind but consistently forward until the light can once again be found. Some encounter obstacles in their path early; walls tough enough to resist what force can be brought against them and tall and smooth enough to rule out climbing past them. Some do not, instead discovering piles of rubble and enemy spears to defend them. Yet a spear cannot hope to hold off a pike for long and the enemy is soon pushed back far enough not to prove a major impediment.
It was pure chance that revealed a weakness in the Xi Shan fortification of Arcanis. Lady Shrivastava stood back from the darkness organising her archers, fearing that they might be called to fire blind in support of the pikes sent forth ahead of them. As pikemen clambered blindly over rubble dislodged a stone down the pile and the wall of darkness wobbled. The Lady sent a messenger immediately. It took some amount of time to find the stone of course, but once found it was a simple matter to carry it away from the city. A dome of darkness following it. With that dome removed the reality of the fortification became much more obvious. As it appears an enchanted stone is always to be found at the centre of the dome, it merely becomes a matter of identifying the placement of domes.
Unfortunately, much of the city still resides in darkness. As the domes are placed to overlap it is proving difficult to identify where one dome begins and another ends.
HillsUsing fire and steel, the Loji have recreated the weapons of our mutual enemy the Star nation. Already there are whispers in the ranks that we face defeat once again. We must unlock the secrets of magic quickly if we are to overcome this latest challenge. The pillars of flame are not inexhaustible, we estimate that an individual chanter is much more limited in their ability to deploy it than our Reinforcement of Cutting. Yet with only a few such chants their fire caused havoc against our pikes. It seems particularly effective against formations, once our enemies closed it was only used to target our Blademonks and even then inflicted injuries to their own side. If we had equipment that could contest such tight quarters fighting perhaps the battle would have been closer.
The Xi Shan have taken advantage of our disarray to steal away land in the hills. This has compounded our disadvantage and we must dislodge them before we can fully control our side of the hills once again. Here unlike at the city, we faced their clay pots filled with poison. Our alchemists do not recognise the recipe, but there is no denying they too know of the power of water. Those afflicted in battle become clumsy from the shivers and outside the battle they are struck by nightmares of some large toothed beast, dragging them beneath the water.
It is now Autumn, Turn 2
Discovery PhaseHaving held the forests in the east for a year the people of Iqua have begun to develop the land (+1 Land). The high passes to the west have been investigated for ore, but nothing accessible has been found, perhaps if we had greater control of the earth things would be different.
| Loji(0/4) [+2 Mana] |
| Foothills(0/4) | Fields(0/4) |
| Mountains(0/4) | Forested Hills(0/4) | Forest(0/4) |
| Arcanis(1/4) [+1 Ore] | | | Jungle(0/4) [+1 Mana] |
| High Passes(4/4) | Hills(3/4) | Forest(4/4) |
| Mountains(4/4) | Savannah(4/4) |
| Iqua(4/4) [+2 Mana] |
Resources: Land 3, Ore 1, Mana 2
Iqua: Land 1,Mana 2
Savannah: Land 1
Mountains: Ore 1
Forest: Land 1
High Passes:
Rune Skills are a measure of your nation’s understanding of the Runes. They are measured as Unskilled, Apprentice, Adept and Master. You cannot make use of Meanings or Elements until you have at least an Apprentice level understanding of them.
Meaning
Ward - Apprentice
Form - Adept - Mana Discount
Attack - Apprentice
Shape - Apprentice
Control - Apprentice
Terrestrial Element
Water - Mastery - Alchemy, Shadow
Wood - Apprentice
Air - Adept - Chanting
Fire - Apprentice
Earth - Apprentice (Path to Golems)
Celestial Element
Shadow - Apprentice
Discoveries are magical effects you have discovered that you can put to practical use inside Designs.
Alchemy
Ward(Wood), Form(Water), Attack(Air) - Swan’s Black Blood
A poison that attacks the blood of the victim making them more susceptible to bleeding as their blood does not clot properly.
(Water Mastery) This poison produces an excess of the Water Element.
Ward(Earth), Form(Water), Attack(Fire) - Black Dragon’s Lethargy
A poison that attacks the blood of the victim, devouring their vitality. Victims are fatigued for the months it takes to make a full recovery.
(Water Mastery) This poison produces an excess of the Water Element.
Shape(Earth), Form(Earth), Ward(Earth) - Earth Elemental’s Fortifying Elixir
This white elixir aligns the blood of the drinker with the element of Earth. A chanter who drinks this elixir, will find it easier to manipulate Earth mana when speaking. This should allow them to speak Earth aligned chants for longer before exhaustion becomes a problem.
Ward(Wood), Form(Air), Attack(Air) - Fizzle (Froth)
Caused by mixing the first Rune with the second.
Alchemy Secrets
Records - The use of alchemy to record a chant for later speaking.
Chants
Ward(Wood), Form(Air), Attack(Shadow) - Reinforcement of Cutting
This chant grants a target enhanced ability to cut for the duration of a battle. This supernatural sharpness can render a punch capable of stabbing holes in an enemy. Wielding an already sharp blade such an individual could cleave through armour.
Attack(Wood), Control(Fire), Form(Shadow) - Reinforcement of Fear
This chant inflicts a target with fear. This supernatural fear will cause the target to run from danger or otherwise cower in fright. As the fear is only inflicted on a single target, we suspect that this chant would be very exhausting to use on the battlefield.
Chanting Secrets
Elemental Distillation - The use of chanting to enhance the alchemy process by using the correct set of words.
Lady Adiva Shrivastava (d3), Experience: 5
Daughter of the Noble house of Shrivastava, an upstart family by the standards of those who claim to descend from the time of the first Goddess War. Adiva has earned her place in the officer core with skilled leadership as an archer, setting an inspiring example for those who follow her.
Elite Units
Blademonks: An order of chanters dedicated to calm contemplation of the Reinforcement of Cutting chant and its use in battle through the use of their blades. They have mastered the use of their chant to cut only what they wish cut.
Mundane Equipment
Sabre: A single-edged blade that favours cavalry combat over infantry combat. Requires training to wield, one-handed.
Expensive (Land 2, Ore 2)
Spear: Essentially a dagger on a long stick. Very cheap, requires minimal training to use. Can be used double-handed, or single handed with a shield.
Cheap (Land 1, Ore 1)
Pike: A longer spear, the butt has a bronze spike for embedding in the ground when defending against a cavalry charge. The pike is best wielded two-handed without a shield. This design is well balanced with a leaf-shaped blade of iron.
Cheap (Land 1, Ore 1)
Wooden Shield: Couples well with a spear, cheap, easy to replace. Works best in heavy melee. Can be used with minimal training.
Cheap (Land 1)
Hands-Free Hardened Shield: A smaller shield with a metal spike in the centre. It has a strap that allows the shield to be hung around the neck and handled a little with the shoulder. This allows it to be used by soldiers whose hands are otherwise occupied with two-handed weapons.
Cheap (Land 1, Ore 1)
Padded Armour: Very cheap, just layers of cloth, but doesn't protect against much. Well ventilated in hot conditions.
Cheap (Land 1)
Chainmail: Interlinked riveted iron hoops. Very effective against most weapons.
Expensive (Land 2, Ore 2)
Songbow: A medium bow with draw strength greater than our normal composite bows. They are not practical to use while riding a mount.
Cheap (Land 2)
War Horn: A musical instrument made from a ram’s horn used to communicate over a distance. Used to deliver orders and sound the alarm in the event of an attack.
Cheap (Land 1)
Saddle + Bridle: Equipment for riding beasts of burden. Unfortunately, with the lack of horses on the island, this has limited utility.
Cheap (Land 2)
Magical Equipment
Symphony Quiver: These quivers contain a variety of arrows each envenomed with a poison known to the Iqua.
Swan’s Song Arrows: Wounds inflicted take longer to heal.
Dragon’s Song Arrows: Victims are sapped of energy, running short on stamina.
Very Expensive (Land 1, Mana 5)
Swan Pike: A pike with a poisonous blade. The venom is a milder version of the Swan’s Black Blood used by the Swan’s Song Arrow. Notably the blade flexes a little, allowing it to cause wounds even when the blade is blocked.
Cheap (Land 1, Ore 1, Mana 2)
Dragon Pike: A pike with a poisonous blade. The venom is a milder version of the Black Dragon’s Lethargy used by the Dragon’s Song Arrow. Notably the blade flexes a little, allowing it to cause wounds even when the blade is blocked.
Cheap (Land 1, Ore 1, Mana 2)
Moonlight Sabre: Compared to the traditional sabre, this one has a longer blade and a hand and a half grip allowing it to be wielded one or two handed. It is made of iron that has been dipped in Earth Elemental’s Fortifying Elixir. This has turned the metal white and hardened it comparably to steel.
Expensive (Land 2, Ore 2, Mana 2)
Chanter’s Sanctuary: A retreat that is the center of learning for the Blademonks, a place of calm contemplation away from the normal concerns of everyday life. Here the Blademonks focus on the twin mastery of blade and cutting chant. An act hindered only by their lack of worthy blades and the fearsome cutting power of their chant.
National Expense - Infrastructure
Author
Topic: Rune Race: Iqua Thread (Read 16871 times)