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Author Topic: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio  (Read 20795 times)

evictedSaint

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Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« on: December 25, 2018, 09:33:41 pm »

Looking for the Main Thread?
Wands Race 2: Kingdom of Abbraccio Thread


Spoiler: Signature Ribbon (click to show/hide)

Deep in the Abbraccio military headquarters, a clerk walks down the hall in one of the dustier wings of the building.  He stops outside the door to an old conference room, to which a paper sign with the words "208th Mage Support Alpha Company HQ" has been hastily tacked on.  He pushes his way past the stiff door and the hinges squawk with protest.  Inside is cramped and jam-packed with people, all of whom seem to be arguing over one thing or another.  Type writers clack in the background, and the smoke of a dozen cheap cigars lays a hazy fog over the room.  In the back of the room Captain Campoli, commander of the 208th Abbraccio Mage Support Alpha Company, is frantically flipping through a stack of papers while jammed up next to the coffeemaker.  An aid is quickly braiding the Captains hair for him, but the braid is sloppy and loose hairs hang free. 

Your Support Alpha Company is small, underfunded, and understaffed.  It was only after the
”Society for the Preservation and Education of Learned and enLightened Sorcerers” (a Mage society focused on the broadening the use of magic) pointed out that Kolubaria was creating an experimental military Support Company of magic-users did the Abbraccio government cave and form one of their own.  Formed mostly of people from that exact same guild, the 208th Abbraccio Mage Support Alpha Company now enjoys the benefit of being paid to research magic instead of relying on rapidly diminishing membership dues.  In a world where magic has fallen to the wayside, things are finally looking up for magic users!

The clerk settles down in an available chair, feeds a sheet of paper into a nearby type writer, and gets to work.


Welcome to Abbraccio!  You've joined the most illustrious of the nation’s bordering the Adriatic Sea; although we've only stood for a mere 55 years (hardly any time at all by European standards) we've developed into a force to be reckoned with.  Soon we will destroy the vile Kolubarian barbarians to the east - did you know their commanding officers are all farm animals?  Deplorable barbarians, each and every one of them.  Here you will help design spells and equipment to build the fledgling company into the most powerful military force this side of Europe!  Bring the might of magic to bear on our enemies, and crush them!

Abbraccio est fortis!



Join the Discord!



You are a member of Abbraccio. 
The capitol is Venice, located in the heavily fortified Venetian Lagoon on the coast. 
The country was created as part of the resolution of the Franco-Austrian War of 1859 and are allied with France
You are on Uneasy Terms with Italy, who put pressure on your country to Assimilate.
Your citizenry consists largely of people of Italian descent.
Your country is Noble and Militaristic, with a healthy respect for Tradition.
Your Army relies heavily on Artillery.
Your Navy is more powerful than Kolubaria's. 
The fleet is mostly Destroyers, with one Armored Cruiser sailing.
Your soldiers are shaved Bald upon joining, but weave Braids once their hair has grown long enough.
Your uniforms generally consist of Brown, Blue, and Trench Coats
Your citizens are Objectively Superior to the citizens of Kolubaria.

Spoiler: Key People (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Relations (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Equipment (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Projects (click to show/hide)
Spoiler: Load Outs (click to show/hide)



Before we start, we will have four turns to draft designs, work revisions, and create load outs.

Additionally, your Mage Units are currently named "Mage Unit 1-3".  In order to improve morale, it would be a good idea to give them cooler call-signs. 

Lastly, you'll need to pick which bonus you want your side to start with.  Pick carefully, as you can't change it later!

Quote from: Starting Bonus
Unpaid Interns: Accelerating and rushing progress on a design results in a +1 bonus to your rolls, but there will be a separate 1d6 roll with a 1/6 chance to add a Minor Bug for each.

Noble Mages: Due to benefactors with an interest in magic, your Budget will be 5% higher than normal.

Connections: Requesting equipment from the Army, Navy, and civilian sector is a bit easier.

Design Review: Rushed projects will incur Minor Bugs on a 5, rather than a Major Bug.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2019, 09:06:47 pm by evictedSaint »
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crazyabe

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2018, 10:25:18 pm »

PTW.
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Doubloon-Seven

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2018, 11:13:07 pm »

All must begin with a votebox.


Quote from: Avantibox
Design


Starting Bonus
Unpaid Interns ():
Noble Mages ():
Connections ():
Design Review (1): D7


Unit Naming Changes
Doubloon Callsigns (1): D7

Note: Chiefwaffles has come up with some neat ideas about bending light for spotting and eventually stealth invisibility.
« Last Edit: December 25, 2018, 11:28:47 pm by Doubloon-Seven »
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Avanti!

NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2018, 11:40:22 pm »

Quote from: Avantibox
Design


Starting Bonus
Unpaid Interns (1): NUKE9.13
Noble Mages (1): D7
Connections ():
Design Review ():


Unit Naming Changes
Doubloon Callsigns (2): D7, NUKE9.13

I'm working on a light-bending sorcery proposal.
« Last Edit: December 25, 2018, 11:43:36 pm by NUKE9.13 »
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Rockeater

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2018, 02:46:59 am »

Hi
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Damnit people, this is why I said to keep the truce. Because now everyone's ganging up on the cats.
Also, don't forget to contact your local Eldritch Being(s), so that they can help with our mission to destroy the universe.

The Ensorceler

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #5 on: December 26, 2018, 03:46:46 am »

Design: Stivali da Maratona
A pair of leather boots worked with enchanter's patterns, Marathon Boots reduce the wearer's inertia when near the ground (the same mechanism that readies a Rabbit's Foot to nudge someone) and activated with a click of the heels. This means that mana is expended primarily in short bursts during a stride or jump, allowing the wearer to safely use their own muscle power to land at great speeds without injury and leap faster and further than a trained athlete with less effort. The automatic nature of the enchantment makes use quite safe so long as you land feet first and don't run yourself dry of mana.

Properly used, a mage can travel at blisteringly fast pace even under significant load, or leap vertically over obstacles or onto tall structures.

Innovations: Toggleable Enchantment, Inertia Reduction

Quote from: Avantibox
Design
Stivali da Maratona (1): The Ensorceler


Starting Bonus
Unpaid Interns (1): NUKE9.13
Noble Mages (1): D7
Connections ():
Design Review (1): The Ensorceler


Unit Naming Changes
Doubloon Callsigns (2): D7, NUKE9.13
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Chiefwaffles

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #6 on: December 26, 2018, 05:46:02 am »

Magical Equipment: Bracer Wands

Constructed of steel, this piece of equipment takes the form of a pair of metal bracers that are equipped on each arm of a magical user. The majority of an individual bracer goes on the underside of the arm, with a metal band about 4m thick going around the entire arm (this band shall be manufactured in different sizes separately from the rest of the bracer, allowing for easy fitting on different persons).
Underneath the arm, the metal extends forward across the arm, towards the hand. This part is heavily engraved to allow the channeling and direction of magic.

The weight of these bracers should be noticeable, albeit not notably hampering in agility. A noticeable weight will allow our mages to easily focus on them and be aware of them while spellcasting, enhancing their abilities.

Bracer Wands should allow for quality spellcasting and -- importantly -- allow for our wizards to have both hands free while casting most spells without another dedicated direction piece.



(This is mostly NUKE's design from Discord done in my flavor 'cause I'm impatient, mostly)
Sorcery: Galilei Lensing

This spell projects magic in an arc away from the user in the direction they're looking. Light ("photons" as called by our scientists) originating from object’s within or near the arc’s end point is drawn in the direction of this arc, and follows it instead of the regular straight pattern that light follows. (As this only affects light moving in a direction parallel to the arc, only the user can notice the effect created by this spell)

The effect: light appears to bend in an arc. Allowing the user to view over the horizon or any other obstacles. It has a long range -- 20km, though the range-induced extra mana costs is offset by the very narrow nature  of the arc and the mildness of the light bending.
Ideally, the curvature would be adjustable to allow for seeing over other obstacles closer to the user. A shorter arc requires more severe bending of light but is shorter range, meaning a roughly equivalent mana cost.

The spell is channeled through a pair of engraved binoculars. These binoculars help the user focus largely on their sight, the direction of the arc, and just light in general. Casters are taught to understand that light normally moves in a straight line, and its direction can be changed (usually with a lens, but in this case, magic) in order to create the effect desired by this spell.


Quote from: Avantibox
Design
Stivali da Maratona (1): The Ensorceler
Galilei Lensing (1): Chiefwaffles
Bracer Wands (0):


Starting Bonus
Unpaid Interns (1): NUKE9.13
Noble Mages (1): D7
Connections ():
Design Review (1): The Ensorceler


Unit Naming Changes
Doubloon Callsigns (2): D7, NUKE9.13
« Last Edit: December 26, 2018, 07:03:28 pm by Chiefwaffles »
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Quote from: RAM
You should really look to the wilderness for your stealth ideas, it has been doing it much longer than you have after all. Take squids for example, that ink trick works pretty well, and in water too! So you just sneak into the dam upsteam, dump several megatons of distressed squid into it, then break the dam. Boom, you suddenly have enough water-proof stealth for a whole city!

NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #7 on: December 26, 2018, 10:57:49 am »

So, the binoculars proposal needs a minor tweak to prevent this:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
from making them (almost) useless.
Adding a line about the spell only affecting light near the end of the arc should be enough.
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Roboson

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #8 on: December 26, 2018, 12:38:00 pm »

Design proposal

Automated Reaiming Combat Sight (ARCS)
This small Enchanted device is composed of metal, either copper or iron, and is affixed to the barrel of a weapon. Using the calculation mathemagics based off the known prinicples of the Lucky Foot, this small device assists the mage with aiming firearms. During a brief period of calibration, the ARCS system calculates the unique trajectory of the weapon it is attached to and stores that information. After which, the ARCS then uses that information to slightly correct the aim of the weapon so that the bullet flies true and steady towards the target.

The principals behind this enchantment are rather simple. Each gun has minute variations which change the aim ever so slightly. All but the steadiest of snipers have a small shake in their hand or body as they fire. The ARCS system, by calibrating with a few test shots, takes into account not only the limitations of the weapon, but also the user. This allows it to reference these deviations from an accurate shot and rectify them so the bullet always hits directly in the center of the sights. It is recommended that this enchantment be recalibrated daily, so that the aim correction does not decay as weapon condition change or mage aim improves. Doing so allows the ARCS to have the most recent information to work with, and also allows for guns to be interchanged.

It works on a two step process:
Step one: Fire several calibration shots in the morning before going to the battlefield. The ARCS system takes notes of deviations from an accurate shot and uses this information to calculate what a true shot looks like for this weapon. This formula is called the devation correction formula, and it generates, what should be referred to as, the aim coefficient.
Second step: After establishing the basis for an accurate shot, the ARKS then uses that information to steady the aim of the user slightly so that their aim lines up closer with the pre-established aim coefficient.
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helmacon

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #9 on: December 26, 2018, 12:58:17 pm »

I would be willing to vote for ARCS. We could use the revisions to scale them up for use with artillery or the like.
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #10 on: December 26, 2018, 01:39:27 pm »

I like ARCS. I do think that the binoculars have more potential, though- manipulating optics can be applied to many areas. That said, automagical calculation has some pretty great potential as well.

A problem with ARCS is that we don't really have a high-quality rifle to pair it with, and I'd rather not spend effort on designing civilian tech if we can avoid it. Conversely, the army has excellent artillery, so they would probably be pretty happy to get our assistance in artillery spotting.
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The Ensorceler

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #11 on: December 26, 2018, 02:16:50 pm »

ARCS question. Nudging to increase linearity between eye -> rear sight -> front sight whenever the three are close to lined up would steady a gun and make it easier to aim, but I don't see how it could work if you shot from the hip unless it read your binocular vision angle extremely precisely as a rangefinder. Is it fine if it only works when you aim properly, and provides 0% aim assist? It still seems good to me, but if it's supposed to do more a bit of clarification'd be nice.
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Talion

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #12 on: December 26, 2018, 02:20:31 pm »

I would be willing to vote for ARCS. We could use the revisions to scale them up for use with artillery or the like.
The similarities between the rules for this race and that of the Air Force races are not superficial. There is some utility in having a mage group equipped with artillery certainly, but it is likely to further annoy the army as we encroach on their territory. In terms of most bang for our limited mage team buck, the path of least resistance is going to be forming an Air Force.

An Air Force is not the only possibility. We could explore teleportation or accessing a demiplane for safe transit behind enemy lines. We could try creating land swimmers to sail ships on the land or better submarines beneath it. We could use earth magic empowered engineers for rapid fortification construction to make the enemy bleed for every advance. We could even pursue magical tanks. For all our options we want to be gaining capabilities our existing mundane forces do not have, rather than optimising what is already there. One super accurate artillery battery has its uses, but if three or four less accurate batteries will do then it is not worth our time.
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NUKE9.13

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #13 on: December 26, 2018, 02:30:33 pm »

I'm not suggesting we employ our own artillery units, but rather that we assist the army. A path I see us going down initially is making super-scouts; agile, camouflaged, vision-enhanced mages that provide regular army units with top-notch intel (This could evolve into spec ops mages, taking out high-value targets and suchlike). Intel is an extremely valuable commodity, and magic offers a way to gather it that far surpasses what conventional means are capable of in this time period.
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Roboson

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Re: Wands Race 2: The Great War - Abbraccio
« Reply #14 on: December 26, 2018, 02:33:01 pm »

Having a low quality verses high quality rifle shouldn't matter too much with the ARKS. It would probably have to work harder to make a crappy gun shoot straight, but that's part of the appeal at this point: making our not fantastic guns, better. The binoculars are much more civilian oriented than the ARKS.

One way or another we're going to use these guns for the first few turns, I think we'd probably live longer if they shot right. And even after that, it could easily be put on whatever we're shooting later, including artillery.

The binoculars don't really seem to provide a whole lot for the complexity required. We'd have to invent a new kind of optics magic, figure out how to put it on an enchantment, and then hope that we can just curve light hundreds of meters from our mages when our strongest spell burns our fingers and probably can't light a cigar. And for what? Being able to see over the next hill. That's probably around 10 dice for not a lot of pay off. Especially if were going to go into aviation at some point, since that would make the entire thing obsolete. Meanwhile, having improved aim is always going to be extremely relevant.
« Last Edit: December 26, 2018, 02:43:04 pm by Roboson »
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