Angel Team: Revision Phase T5TURNTURNTURNThe refusal of the cherubs at the heart of the Liquid Light Elementals to dim their light under any circumstance has been a persistent thorn in Muu's side. Many solutions were considered, but with the failure to modify the cherubs themselves, it was decided to modify the Elementals as a whole.
Each Elemental is given a thick "shell" (generally resembling greatly those of certain marine animals, though they are as varied as the Elementals themselves) composed of coral and carved to give a snug, customized fit for every single Elemental. The inside of the shell is coated in nacre, which is the basis of the primary purpose of the shell - enchantments that will reflect spent light back into the Elemental, preventing them from burning their light too quickly even if the cherub insists on shining as hard as they can. The Elemental inside can see out, and can even extend their limbs for attacking and locomotion. This will allow the Liquid Light Elementals to march under their own power if they are wearing their shell, instead of having to be transported in stasis and only introduced to their Bottled Sunlight in battle (meaning that logistics are easier and ambushes are less of an issue).
The other effect of the shell, and the second purpose of its use, is that the exterior of the shell is quite durable and will protect the Liquid Light Elemental inside during combat.
Hermit Liquid Light Elementals: Normal: (2+2)=4: Below Average
Hey, wouldn't a clay pot be more-
*shot* (by a Magic Missile)While constructing a large coral 'shell' for Liquid Light Elementals is possible, it is not free. Making some wooden barrels is significantly easier than fusing large quantities of coral together, then polishing the inside. But the results are quite a sight. The exterior of rough coral is both beautiful in its swirls of vibrant colours, and practical in its defensive properties. The interior has been treated like the mirrors used to make Liquid Sunlight in the first place, which keeps the light mostly contained. Obviously light is still lost through the opening, with more lost the more of the elemental extends outside, but the savings are significant- enough for the new Hermit LLEs to be active for upwards of a week before depletion becomes a serious issue.
Aside from an increased cost of deployment, downsides include that the HLLEs are slower than the unshelled version on the battlefield, and slightly less flexible. However, they are considerably more resilient, and by being self-propelled and tireless, do not slow the army down as much as the awkward carts used before. The cherubs do still need to be transported separately for most of the month, but once scouts report enemy forces in the area, they can be deployed in ample time to fend off surprise attacks, participate in the main battle, and stick around to mop up after.
Hermit Liquid Light Elementals do not render regular LLEs entirely obsolete due to the increased cost, but in many situations their increased practicality and resilience makes up for the cost. Unit Size: ~8
Uncommon
Our Sea Servants are not warriors, instead being manual labourers pressed into service. They are very capable of wielding shovels and picks to move earth, axes and hammers to fell and work lumber, and are strong and tireless enough to carry them great distances.
Thus each Sea Servant will be tasked with carrying a shovel, pick, hammer or hatchet (readily supplied from our forge of cleansing) plus a bundle of bonewood stakes with which to build the defences for each camp. With some intelligent oversight and an hour of labour, the Sea Servants can surround the camp with a ditch and palisade, securing the entrance with a gate. Extra time allows them to gather more material to raise the palisade on a berm, back them with Watchtowers and reinforced Liquid Light lamps, and harden the gate against assault. Even with a short-notice engagement, the Sea Servants can drive their stakes into the ground to disrupt a charge.
Finally, the Sea Servants will bare the tools of their trade in battle, as apicks, shovels, hammers, and hatchets break earth, stone, and wood just as easily as flesh.
Optional Wealth Token: With additional funds, we can secure higher quality and quantity of materials. Instead of each Sea Servant having only one tool (and risking some labour going wasted if the tools don't match the task) enough spares of each type is produced to cover breakage and allow for a degree of flexibility. Further, the funds allows us to train skilled journeymen to produce them. In addition, the toolset is expanded to include saws and even make available a small ironworkers set within the unit (enough to repair a damaged tool/weapon or fashion iron nails, banding, etc). The stakes the Sea Servants carry are now created using a rarer hardwood and is thus much more durable against assault.
Ditches and Palisades (uses 1 Wealth Token): Easy: (4+3)+1=8: Unexpected Boon
With funding (and a modicum of advice from allies in the Bountiful Quarries), providing Sea Servants with metal tools and bonehardwood stakes proves easily doable. Though a handful per unit need to be held back to assist in the production of tools and processing of lumber into bonewood, the added functionality should easily make up for the modest decrease in numbers.
The Sea Servants take to their new roles like a Sea Servant to water, with trials showing that they can set up a well-fortified camp at a high speed, with minimal oversight required. With just a little advanced notice, they can quickly dig trenches, set up stakes, or make other changes to modify a battlefield in your favour. Obviously the impact of such defensive measures is limited on the attack, but their iron tools make them deadlier there as well.
Whose idea was it to have Sea Servants practice their trench-digging on the sea floor? It was an objectively stupid idea. However, it was also a fortuitous idea. Because whilst digging through the silt, the Sea Servant unearthed a shipwreck.
Shipwrecks happen. Nothing weird about that. This one happened to have been transporting a well-sealed chest, which (unlike the rest of the cargo) was in fairly good condition. The weird thing- the thing that leaves you reeling in confusion- is the letter inside the chest. It is written in code, which you have been unable to crack, but there's one word you recognise. And that word... is Muu.
The ship sank decades ago, at the very least.
You are less than a year old.
If you were a mortal, it could be a coincidence. Mortals share names.
Angels do not. The angelic glyphs that form your name are yours and yours alone.
...anyway. In addition to the baffling letter, the chest contains dozens of pieces of amber, each one inscribed with an angelic glyph. You're not entirely sure what the purpose of these stones was, but you can feel the residue of a spell in them, which is coherent enough that you could gain some insight into how it worked with a little effort.
((You gain 1 Amber Token. This can be used to make the development of a new spell easier. It's not as potent as a Tome Token, and cannot be used to improve casters or the like- only a spell.))Entrencher Sea Servants will provide your forces with increased camp security, offering better rest and a fallback option if open battle goes poorly. They can also alter battlefields, and are slightly better combatants. They are slightly less numerous than default Sea Servants. Unit Size: ~85
Common
It is now the Strategy Phase. Decide where to send Muu, the Good Doctor, and the Siren of the West.
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
Champions:
The Good Doctor: Venturing forth with her trusty sword Moonlight (and an unnamed parrying dagger), with traces of Truesilver flowing through her veins, the Good Doctor strikes with surgical precision at enemy weak spots, absorbing their vitality (she's definitely not a vampire). Her sword is especially potent versus non-human foes. Unique
The Siren of the West: Once a distant relative of the Silver Emperor, living in luxury in a court in the Vast Steppe, she was driven from her home by demonic forces, and now seeks revenge under Muu's guidance. Augmented with a supernaturally enchanting voice, as well as modest shapeshifting abilities (necessary to hide the fish-like tail and wing-like fins that form a 'dress' around her legs), and provided with the funds needed to act as a respectable socialite, she is well-placed to infiltrate noble circles and hypnotise people into joining the Good cause. 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 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 (and a limited number of individual bodies) directly. Unit Size: ~100 Common
Entrencher Sea Servants: Sea Servants provided with metal tools and bonehardwood stakes that can be used to fortify a camp, or prepare a battlefield. These tools double as weapons (more effective than the clubs or bare hand/tentacles used by regular Sea Servants). Unit Size: ~85 Common
Five-pointed Star Witches: Purple-skinned cultists mutated with the regenerative power of starfish, and infused with the power of the deep sea. Working in groups of five, they share power and knowledge to become greater than the sum of their parts, with the drawback that losing one member will weaken the remainder disproportionally. They can cast Uncommon spells individually, and can cooperate to cast Five-point spells with far greater impact. Unit Size: 5 Uncommon
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 OBSOLETE
Hussars of Muu: Humanoid Cuttlefishkin, riding Drakegulls into battle. Armed with a brace of Spears of Light- javelins infused with Bottled Sunlight, that unleash their charge on impact. Also reasonably well equipped with a leather vest, coral-covered shield (very pretty), and iron sabre. Unit Size: ~20 Uncommon
Liquid Light Elementals: A self-propelled mass of Liquid Sunlight, bigger and stronger than a human. A Cherub forms the core of the Elemental, and only by destroying said core will it fall for good. Unfortunately, the Cherubs burn with righteousness, and refuse to dim their light, meaning they must be transported in stasis, and introduced to large barrels of Liquid Sunlight prior to battle. Unit Size: ~15 Uncommon
Hermit Liquid Light Elementals: An LLE encased in a shell of coral. The tough exterior provides increased resilience, whilst the reflective interior increases endurance. Slightly slower in combat, but more practical in terms of strategic mobility. Unit Size: ~8 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. Opposite frequencies can be layered (with a small gap). 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
Gadfly Funeral Expenses: By spending a (relatively) small amount of money to organise funerals for Gadflies (who specify it to be their desired funeral in their will), a large gathering is assembled where angelic missionaries can mingle with a receptive audience. The Gadfly's spirit lingers during the funeral, either instilling or reinforcing the effect of their death on attendees.
Corals of Community: Mutant coral, harvested from the waters around Tendril Village, sold as a decoration for aquariums (targeted at the wealthy). Being around the Community Coral will instil a desire to do Good and find a community, as well as rendering the customer susceptible to angelic suggestions. Uncommon
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
1 Wealth Tokens
1 Amber Token
THPENOS (Influence)Bountiful Quarries:
3/5 |
2/5Gridlocked Polis:
3/5 |
3/5Restless Satrapy:
2/5 |
2/5CHEGITHA (Combat)Sheltered Fjords:
8/8 |
0/8Rolling Hills:
1/8 |
7/8Deserted Urbs:
0/8 |
8/8XYRANIA (Influence)Pirate Haven:
3/5 |
3/5Schism'd Capital:
2/5 |
3/5Raiders' Roost:
2/5 |
3/5WESTERN PROTECTORATE (Combat)Windcarved Mesas:
8/8 |
0/8Vast Steppe:
8/8 |
0/8Pestilent Marshes:
0/8 |
8/8Reminder: This spoiler provides a brief summary of the factions in each Influence province- their goals, wants, and bonuses. When considering these elements, bear the following in mind:
Goal: To reach 5/5 control, your supported faction must dominate the province, and you must dominate your supported faction (either converting or replacing their leadership). The other faction does not need to be eliminated, but they must not be able to operate freely. You do not technically have to help your faction achieve their goal, as you could also just crush their opposing faction and elevate their position without pursuing their goals, but their control of the province will seem more credible if their goals are being advanced.
Want: A faction's wants are not absolute- they are guidelines as to what will most please (and aid) a faction, but more generic infiltration actions can still be effective.
Bonus: A faction will only provide a mechanical bonus if you have 3+/5 influence in the province. Any action where a faction's bonus is applicable will be easier, with the difficulty reduction depending on the level of Influence you have. At 3/5, it is roughly +0.25; at 4/5, +0.5; at 5/5, +1. If you aren't certain whether a faction's bonus is applicable to a proposal, you can always ask me.
Bountiful Quarries:
Angels sided with the Communalists.
Goal: Communal ownership of the mines and quarries.
Want: Unite the workers, protect the revolution from reactionaries.
Bonus: Mass Production
Demons sided with the Meritocrats.
Goal: Reform the administration for greater efficiency.
Want: Uncover corruption, ensure their members are promoted.
Bonus: Efficient Management
Gridlocked Capital:
Angels sided with the Centrists.
Goal: Build a broad political coalition.
Want: Persuade politicians to join the coalition.
Bonus: Negotiation
Demons sided with the Extremists.
Goal: One-party state.
Want: Rile up voters, suppress rival voters.
Bonus: Intimidation
Restless Satrapy:
Angels sided with the Assimilators.
Goal: Assimilate the Satrapy into Thpenos.
Want: Educate locals on Thpenian culture, prevent conflict.
Bonus: Conversion
Demons sided with the Federalists.
Goal: Provide the Satrapy with local autonomy.
Want: Sabotage the government, rile up locals.
Bonus: Harmony (of distinct elements)
---
Pirate Haven:
Angels sided with the Privateers.
Goal: Regulating pirates, so they act as state-sanctioned privateers.
Want: Persuade pirates and magistrates to work together, organise/facilitate backroom deals.
Bonus: Stealth
Demons sided with the Blockaders.
Goal: Build up Xyranian navy, defeat the pirates at sea.
Want: Military tech (especially naval), discourage locals from pirate sympathies.
Bonus: Discipline
Schism'd Capital:
Not determined yet.
Raiders' Roost:
Angels sided with the Reliquars.
Goal: Stockpile and safeguard relics.
Want: Find relics, protect Reliquar vaults.
Bonus: Security
Demons sided with the Archaeologists.
Goal: Acquire and study relics.
Want: Find relics, unlock their secrets.
Bonus: Finding Things
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Topic: Angel Team - Chiaroscuro 2 | Design Phase T6 (Read 20751 times)