Angel Team: Design Phase T2TURNTURNTURNThe age old association of "Good equals Light", has a basis in fact. The forces of Good have always been at their strongest under the midday Sun, whilst the Servants of Evil skulk in the Darkness. It is only now that the connection has been made so explicit.
Within each glass bottle is a yellow-white liquid, that emits light like a torch when disturbed. This Light is soothing to Good-aligned individuals, as it is indeed true Sunlight, captured using a silvered mirror array, infused with Good and stored in the liquid. These effects are muted however, until the bottle is opened.
On contact with air the liquid Light shines even brighter, imitating daylight in the local area. All that the Light touches feel the warm embrace of Good, great for our cultists who can enjoy the morale benefits, whislt the Servants of Evil cower away from the Holy Light.
If the liquid is to touch an individual, they will receive an extra strong dose of this Good energy, quickly healing wounds (and potentially gaining minor mutations). The effects are more devastating on our undead opposition however. To facilitate this, each bottle comes with a sturdy string, that can be used to attach the bottle to a pole or backpack for ease of carrying, or it can be loosened and hurled for extra range.
The process of trapping and stabilising the Sunlight requires a complex arrangement of Mirrors and that need to be regularly adjusted to maintain the right levels of focus and brightness in our stormy weather. Additional funding will allow for back up mirrors, more complex machinery to control them, and will free up extra cultists to attend the apparatus.
Bottled Sunlight: Normal: (3+3)=6: Above Average
When your rival styles himself the Death of Suns, and consorts with beasts that skulk in the dark, perhaps the sun really is your ally.
Bottling sunlight is not as difficult as it sounds- especially not when using the right gear. While Tendril Village itself is a... sub-optimal place for harvesting it, there are other islands which receive more (that is, any) sunlight that you have access to, so production is secured.
There are many ways of using the end product. A sealed bottle has some utility as a light source, though it is not really any better than torches. Opening the bottle to the air magnifies the effect considerably, all-but turning night into day in the immediate surroundings, though the effects do not last incredibly long- the liquid sunlight boils away within five minutes. A canny cultist made a device to split the difference; a diffuser that mimics a very bright lantern in intensity, reducing the rate of consumption such that one bottle lasts about an hour. This will allow a number to be used to light camps, without burning through supplies too quickly.
Direct application of liquid light heals your cultists, but also produces mild pain- the intensity of Good corrodes their mortal flesh slightly, though it heals it at the same time. A dash on a small cut will heal it up quickly and without a mess, but treating bigger injuries will frequently leave behind scales, rubbery blue flesh, or even small wriggly tentacles. Severe, life-threatening injuries cannot always be treated using Bottled Sunlight, and even when they can be, they leave the patient severely deformed in mind and body.
For those not attuned to Good like your cultists, the healing effect is either minor or non-existent (while mutations may still occur). For those attuned to Evil, the pain of contact is much worse, leaving burn-like injuries where the liquid made contact (though no mutations take place). For beings who are reliant on Evil to function, the effects are likely to be destructive- the bones of Nar-Carok's skeletal minions will dissolve into ash on contact, and Nar-Carok himself would definitely not enjoy the experience.
As for the most complex part of the project... after extensive R&D, you managed to tie a string to the bottle. Good job. It allows the bottle to be hurled a little further, though not Magic Missile range.
Bottled Sunlight will improve camp security, provide battlefield healing of a sort, and serve as a more effective weapon against Evil beings than a spear. It is
Uncommon equipment, meaning approximately 1/5th of your forces have access to them.
Decrepit manuscripts suggest that birds and lizards are the nativised descendents of mutations on the same ancient species. How accurate that is waits to be seen, but considering how vicious some sea gulls can be...
The drakegull is a heavily mutated sea gull, large enough for a man to ride. It is now too big to fly, and is required to balance on its webbed, clawed feet and the tips of its wings for terrestrial locomotion. It can still glide however, be it from cliffs, walls or any other high places we can reach. Being mutated from excessive Good-energy, few candidates survive the procedure and their new forms can be a little off-putting. The beak now splits in three places, with serrated edges and a prehensile tentacle tongue. Mismatched eyes adorn the head, and in places across the body it's feathers feathers either fused into scales or become small writhing tentacles. The tips of the wings and the webbed feet now have wicked talons to help it move quickly over broken terrain. Despite all this a Drakegull is calm unless agitated, and will bond with its rider, sharing an inseperable understanding.
It's four limbs give it an impressive turn of speed, allowing it to quickly outsprint a running man, and its sharp beak and claws will make quick work of any cultists it can catch. More importantly, it is able to maintain a quick pace over leagues of travel. This allows us to deploy patrols of mounted cultists as scouts and skirmishers, although the light weight compared to a similarly sized horse means it doesn't have as much power on the charge, making them much better served as light Cavalry mounts.
Only a small subset of wild Sea Gulls are viable for the mutation process, as one iof any nunber of factors regarding size, temperament, genetic stability, etc can disqualify a specimen. With additional funding, we can rear our own Sea Gulls, and breed them for the required traits, ensuring the specially bred Gulls are more receptive to the heavy mutation they must endure, allowing us to focus on the results over the survivability of the procedure.
Drakegulls (Majorly Monstrous): Hard: (3+2)-1=4: Below Average
Mine.
Take a gull, fill it with Good, watch it swell and warp into a fearsome monstrosity. While the methodology leans more on brute force than intricacy, the use of carefully bred gulls allows for a reasonable success rate. The end result is bigger than a horse, though not as heavy or sturdy. Though it is by no means slow, it will be outpaced by a fast horse, though most horses can't glide as well as a Drakegull.
A Drakegull will bond with a cultist, allowing them to ride the beasts into battle. The rider's use of a spear is somewhat redundant given the natural weapons of the Drakegull, but a riderless Drakegull is liable to wander off looking for food, so they certainly serve a purpose.
One minor issue with the Drakegull is its appetite. Maintaining their heavily mutated form takes many calories, which results in two drawbacks: firstly, it slows their progress over long distances, as they must either carry packs of food (weighing them down) or spend considerable periods foraging; secondly, it means that a Drakegull will sometimes stop to feast on a slain enemy, rather than continue to attack.
Drakegulls provide a unique light-cavalry option, with increased mobility in areas with vertical manoeuvring. They are
Uncommon, unit size ~20.
It is now the Revision Phase. You have ONE revision, that may be split into two Emergency Fixes.
Muu: The benevolent leader of your faction, a being of immense power. There is very little she cannot do. Needless to say, she is Unique
Mundane Units:
Cultist Spears: Reasonably equipped with an iron dagger, a bone-wood-amalgam shield, and bone-wood-shaft iron-tipped spear, though still lacking training. These are not elite warriors- they'd usually lose a one-on-one fight with a real soldier-, but they're cheap and plentiful. Like regular cultists, their dedication makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Unit Size: ~50 Common
Cultist Archers: Cultists who have some experience with a bow are valuable assets in combat, harassing the enemy from a distance. They aren't sharpshooters, and their bows are designed for hunting, not piercing armour, but they're better than nothing. Like regular cultists, their dedication makes them more resilient mentally than civilians. Unit Size: ~25 Common
Acolytes: Cultists who have begun their exploration of the magical arts, studying under their angelic patron. They can cast any Common spells (unless noted otherwise). Their physical strength leaves something to be desired, but their mental fortitude is even greater than regular cultists. Unit Size: ~25 Uncommon
Cultist Missionaries: Cultists with a modicum of charisma and subtlety, sent forth as emissaries of their eldritch master. Unarmed and untrained, they serve no role in combat. Unit Size: ~10 Common
Summoned/Mutated Units:
Sea Servants: Deceased cultists, returned to unlife by the grace of Muu. Their mind and soul bound to a hivemind, their body strengthened and transformed into a more tentacle-y (and clumsy) version. More vulnerable to damage than humans, but heedless of pain and danger. Used both as labourers and warriors. They are more effective in the presence of Muu, as she can control the hivemind directly. Unit Size: ~100 Common
Drakegulls: Sea gulls, on a much bigger scale. Three-piece beak, extra eyes, sporadic tentacles, claws on both feet and wingtips. Ridable by cultists, who direct the beasts in battle. Very hungry- will sometimes stop mid-battle to snack on a corpse. Too heavy to fly, though they can glide. Unit Size: ~20 Uncommon
Spells/Rituals:
Magic Missile: Known by many names, the simple technique of blasting your opponent with raw Mana/Good/Evil is a tried and true method of making things go away. Efficacy increases with caster's mental might, and decreases with the target's. Common
Ymis Ward: A simple magic barrier that can reduce the impact of attacks both mundane and mystical- or be tuned to focus on one over the other. However, the physical and arcane versions cannot be used in the vicinity of each other. Won't last long, but can be useful in a pinch. Common
Magical Equipment:
Bottled Sunlight: Sunlight, infused with Good, in liquid form. Can serve as a light source (either extremely bright but short-lived, or quite bright but lasting an hour), applied directly as first-aid (with risk of mutation), or thrown at enemy troops where the concentrated Good will burn Evil beings. Uncommon
Infiltration Techniques:
Proselytise: Cultists go forth and spread the Good word, finding those sympathetic to their cause and slowly winning them over. Not the fastest way of gaining converts, but it keeps the cult growing. Common
Worms of Muu: Parasitic/symbiotic worms that produce a worsening malaise unless the host engages in Good-producing acts. Worm will starve if deprived of Good for a week. Encourages good behaviour in a community, and causes the affected to be drawn together by exuded pheromones, forming strong bonds between Good-aligned individuals, who will easily trust angelic operatives while being extremely hard to lure into Evil. Uncommon
Gadflies: Individuals willing to die for a cause, trained in rhetoric and infused with emotion-amplifying hexes that trigger on death. They deliberately seek to be executed for standing up against evil, using the spectacle as an opportunity to give an impassioned speech that is amplified by their death. Even if they are killed before giving their speech, the hexes will still cause a significant swelling of sympathy for the Gadfly and their cause, even amongst the embittered. Unit Size: 1 Rare
Infrastructure:
Forge of Cleansing: A magically-enhanced forge, where specially blessed water is used to make materials malleable (instead of using heat). This allows for greater use of metals, as well as the use of more exotic materials such as bone. Infrastructure
0 Wealth Tokens (of which 1 loaned)
THPENOS (Influence)Bountiful Quarries:
2/5 |
1/5Gridlocked Polis:
1/5 |
1/5Restless Satrapy:
1/5 |
3/5CHEGITHA (Combat)Sheltered Fjords:
8/8 |
0/8Rolling Hills:
0/8 |
8/8Deserted Urbs:
0/8 |
8/8XYRANIA (Influence)Pirate Haven:
2/5 |
0/5Schism'd Capital:
1/5 |
1/5Raiders' Roost:
1/5 |
2/5WESTERN PROTECTORATE (Combat)Windcarved Mesas:
8/8 |
0/8Vast Steppe:
2/8 |
6/8Pestilent Marshes:
0/8 |
8/8
Author
Topic: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T6 (Read 20566 times)