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In Progress Let's See the World Die. Dominions 4.

Grimwulf

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I know I promised regular updates, but as the game progresses, it's hard to keep the pace. It takes more time to make them posts.

So don't hold it against me if I won't update the progress for several days or so. I'm afraid to think what's gonna be in midgame.

For those who don't play Dominions too much, this is yer average late midgame (my random MA Marignon session):

web.jpg

Takes several hours to make a turn. It took me an hour to just merge this shit together in image editor, heh.

I'm totally devoted, tho.
 

SerratedBiz

Arcane
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
4,143
I thought that naming Crispy would be enough contribution to this war effort, but as more and more time passes I too wish to have my likeness inscribed into the face of those who face death.

So hit me up with some kind of soon-to-be-demented trash or summin'. :troll:
 

Grimwulf

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I thought that naming Crispy would be enough contribution to this war effort, but as more and more time passes I too wish to have my likeness inscribed into the face of those who face death.

So hit me up with some kind of soon-to-be-demented trash or summin'. :troll:

You are now officially enlisted.
:hero:

Edit: Made a full list of recruitment - it's in op-post, right after table of contents. There you can see how soon is your turn to enter the game.

Those who are hired already can see their current status.
 
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Grimwulf

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I guess I’ll have to split most turns in two parts from now on. I think that updates shouldn’t be too long (60+ images), so nobody gets bored, plus I can post more regularly this way. But if you want giant-ass posts once in a week instead – let me know.

Meanwhile in Thunder Falls.

DGdDBp4.jpg

Believe in Grimwulf. You’ve gotta have Faith.


TURN 26

LATE SPRING IN THE YEAR 3 OF THE ASCENSION WARS

PART 1

What’s all the ruckus? Seems like Caelum’s army is outside my walls again. Let’s take a glimpse.

jMuVee5.jpg

Well, holy fuck. Looks like Amrav is really pissed off by that last defeat. I've got preparations to make – upcoming battle is nothing like the previous one. Shit just got serious.

But first, let me read other messages real quick.

0AfgBSP.jpg

Butthurt message was delivered.

IyxoNVT.jpg

Hehehe.

Construction 4 is finished! Now I can forge good stuff.

Crispy is now “Prepared to Die Edition”.

Penda didn’t find any A3 sites in Thunder Falls, which isn’t surprising – the province was searched by Headless already. But then

sCHceZp.jpg

That’s how you search for dem magic sites! Can’t fucking believe there is 5 of them in Helgate. The province brings me almost as much gems as the capital (5 gems in total). Not much use for nature and astral gems atm, but I’ve got a few ideas for nearest future. Luck increase from totem collection affects only Helgate, unfortunately.

Moving on. Brutus wasn’t able to stop Kvase the Vanadrott for another turn, but at least he had a glimpse on reinforcement band, that’s coming after Vanheim’s main army.

9zB6NQf.jpg

Reinforcements are all green and inexperienced, but they are also in perfect shape. Led by two commanders-Vanherses.

IXt4ddB.jpg

Even this small band will be very challenging for Codex Troll’s army.

4vNK4yW.jpg

Sigh. Meanwhile, Kvase the Vanadrott claimed Misty Hollow. I didn’ have any defenders there (just PD 1).

ZPDXmvo.jpg

I’m almost tempted to return Penda to the capital and spam some Seeking Arrows, while there is still time. On the other hand, I don’t have much air gems. If everything goes bad, I’ll return the whole Ulm front to the capital to hold defence.

Speaking of Ulm front. They attacked both Midvale and Thunder Falls, just as I expected. Midvale was attacked by forces of Anvilwood.

5UjdzlL.jpg

This looks somewhat like Tallo’s original warband.

0vOM8rf.jpg

The leader is Malo, son of Tallo (yes, I have terminal state of larping, now shuddup).

hf49SFC.jpg

Malo’s warband is mostly maidens, some mildly experienced, others freshly hired. There also a bunch of old and useless wolves.

e1qB3Xp.jpg

Just you wait, mortals. Soon you will all be affected by BoT. Your pets are suffering already.

Time to get pwnd.

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Long story short, we managed to kill a bunch of wolves.

eOJ3gDq.jpg

Then got anal-raped ourselves.

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PD leader-Vanherse fought to the end.

gY94lxQ.jpg

But it’s not like he had a chance.

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And so, Midvale was lost. AGAIN.

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Codex Troll should deal with that Malo character as soon as he fends off whoever attacked Thunder Falls. Who was it, by the way?

Oh, fffuck.

pQInJje.jpg

Agiwulf is back, gentlemen. This time accompanied by Warrior Smith.

tAy4VJx.jpg

The strange thing is his warband. It is actually… small?

bBHCe5P.jpg

I guess he didn’t expect us to stay in Thunder Falls this month. Let’s see how it goes.

IRdRA5i.jpg

Agiwulf and Riso do their buff thing.

7B5q3WS.jpg

Archers shoot zombies. One of the latter loses a head, but still walks. Btw, can’t remember if there is a “Head Lost” affliction in Dominions 4 (maybe it’s commander-only?), but there sure was one in Dominions 3.

Wv8V3kM.jpg

This battle was a bit experimental, too. I needed to refresh my memory on Raise Dead spell mechanics.

Last turn there were 26 unburied corpses in the province. Hangadrotts were scripted to cast Raise Dead for two turns each. Being D3 casters, they are able to summon 12 zombies each cast. Questions:

1. Does Raise Dead spell work only if there are unburried corpses availiable?

2. If so, then we shall resurrect 24 zombies after first turn. There will be 2 left. Will Penda/Headless summon those two upon next spell casting, or will it be the usual 12?

Answers incoming!

XQXSrTb.jpg

Yes and yes. The amount of unburried corpses in the province

IR0IrIL.jpg

is EXACTLY how many are available for Raise Dead spell at the start of combat. More can be summoned after somebody dies during battle itself. This game would be so much easier to play without sclerosis.

Agiwulf shoots anti-zombie nuke.

KwqWobH.jpg

His companion Riso throws Flying Shards that miss. Agiwulf’s archers are more lucky.

JXdzXvL.jpg

Some of their wolves tear a couple of zombies apart. No matter. That’s why we summoned them in the first place.

Penda casts his favorite Terror spell upon hostile infantry.

afI4YH3.jpg

Headless and Krummi bombard the same squad with another Terror and Frighten.

Troll smites dat wolf.

SnziC3o.jpg

Zombies try to kill some of them too, but fail to land a single hit, while Helhird moves forward.

Agiwulf casts another Banishment, but misses.

DDdAcsE.jpg

Banishment is one of the few divine spells that actually demands high precision. Agiwulf has Heroic Precision ability, but even that doesn’t guarantee a precise hit.

Riso casts Flying Shards and hits several zombies.

bSwhLN8.jpg

Archers fire at our zombies, making lots of connects. We still have enough of them. Wolves escape.

Terrorizin’!

Hnd5QJ2.jpg

Agiwulf’s infantry now have 0-3 morale, and only seveal units from the sides have 8. It shouldn't bee too hard to make them rout from now on.

pWpjlr3.jpg

We'll see if that Smite will do the trick. And now, the moment you I have been waiting for! Krummi vs Agiwulf, round 2!

eHrGS9e.jpg

Now that’s much, much better than before! Thanks to the Ring of the Warrior, Krummi managed to deliver a couple painful ones. Agiwulf’s still gud with that sword, so the hits were delivered upon his arm. Nohing major, but at least he’s weakened. And has only 27 hp. Holy Avenger buff usually targets random hostile units, and this time it targeted one of huskarls, who managed to resist. Holy Avenger isn’t very effective vs Vanir, because it may hit an illusion too. Mini-spoiler: HA didn't hit shit during this battle, so I won't comment on it.

Ragnar charged into enemy infantry this time, chopping a leg clean off, and delivering another painful one, right in the torso.

fAh1k4p.jpg

Helhird is coming.

1PIokdV.jpg

Krummi parried Agiwulf’s attack with her spear, but then Riso made a bitch move, casting Desiccation. Krummi resisted, tho.

LTducXx.jpg

Ulm infantry didn’t run yet. Gotta admit that these guys’ balls are shining bronze.

FqdRZDl.jpg

None of them managed to land a hit. Ragnar dodged/repelled with sword/blocked with shield/deceived with illusions. One Vanir, surrounded by dozen of men.

Some of them went for zombies and left flank Helhirdings, though. They should have run.

XUDQ391.jpg

Krummi lands another couple of hits, not too damaging though.

838hJD2.jpg

Agiwulf has one well-protected arm. No new afflictions, 21 hp left.

His warband is doing much worse, being slaughtered by Ragnar and Helhird.

q42PV7w.jpg

The leader himself didn’t attempt to attack Krummi this turn, but rather performed another Banishment.

URMvjy1.jpg

Still, Ulm does not rout yet. Completely surrounded, the warriors pull off one more attempt of breaking through.

p3zLLKG.jpg

Killing a bunch of zombies, and missing Helhirdings terribly.

Archers don’t run as well. They fire and miss.

Penda and Headless Horseman regain consciousness and perform another double Terror.

wa44t37.jpg

Helhird slaughters them one by one, while the duel between Krummi and Agiwulf rages on.

She finally pokes his eyes.

Sch8Ihx.jpg

It’s a fucking miracle he’s still alive. 5 hp left + 5 Undying.

Ragnar’s performance is awesome too.

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A lot of Ulm warriors die on tips of Helhird spears. Some of Helhirdings went for warrior maidens.

q9fIBHI.jpg

Blinded Agiwulf makes another assault on Krummi, just to be repelled by her spear.

qCw0cwx.jpg

Some maidens try to hit Helhirdings in melee, some fire arrows – they all miss. Riso is too exhausted to do anything.

Ulm infantry routs. Most of them have Helhird standing on their path, so they try to chop their way through. To no avail.

N7I2qj2.jpg

Krummi has still to deliver the finishing blow. She is rather exhausted by now (78 fatigue).

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Slaughter.

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Blind Agiwulf casts Smite. Probably doesn’t care about his target anymore. Helhirding resists.

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And that was the last moment of Agiwulf, the Prophet of Kantena.

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We quickly finished off the routing enemies, along with fainted Riso. The only survivors of this warband are two wounded maidens and an old wolf.

hGbPIvZ.jpg

Let them be. Someone must tell the story of Agiwulf, his war against Helheim, and how it ended up for him. Every skald, bard and troubadour will sing epic songs about this day.

Ulm doesn’t have a prophet now, while we’ve got ours right on the border. Kantena’s dominion is going to feel it. If only we could destroy a temple or two. Oh, well.

Next message?

Wcen9eL.jpg

Today is the big day. Our oldest human has finally reached old age threshold. One of Codex Troll’s serf warriors, that has been with Troll from turn 1 (initial army), is 50 years old now.

qO6yS26.jpg

Beautiful. It won’t be long before mass dying starts. It will help greatly with our war efforts on Ulm and Caelum fronts.

What is this fucking NOISE?

j8723Rt.jpg

Give me a break, Amrav. What did you throw at me this time?

e7K09Y0.jpg
 

Lizzurd

Cipher
Joined
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Messages
566
Grimwulf, maybe you will add me to this LP? Take my name if you will recruit someone cold blooded, like lizards or lamias. I have no idea what cold blooded creatures could do in such cold dominion, but just in case.
 

Grimwulf

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I wonder if I shall sleep all through this battle too.

No.

But you wish you would. :troll:

Grimwulf, maybe you will add me to this LP? Take my name if you will recruit someone cold blooded, like lizards or lamias. I have no idea what cold blooded creatures could do in such cold dominion, but just in case.

Sure! I've got no idea how you imagine it, though. Cold dominion isn't that much of a problem, compared to BoT. I could recruit you as neutral lizzurd shaman, or maybe even go crazy and summon a draconian - but they will both die after a dozen of turns.

There is a lamia queen, which I am inclined to summon at some point. Having D2 path, she could at least cast Twiceborn. That may take a while, but hey - you can be the first trannie of this LP! Added you to the list.

Anyway, who wants to be a lizzurd, when you can join glorious Helhird? Ride magnificent dark fay horses and terrify all humans across the world!

 
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PocketMine

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Land of lóve
Serpent in the Staglands Codex USB, 2014 Shadorwun: Hong Kong Divinity: Original Sin 2 BattleTech
[lurk mode = off]

if you need more van scouts add me as one.

meantime i will be in misty hollow watching Vanheim disguised as Vanheim unit.
image-537148-thumbsmall-idet.jpg


[lurk mode = on]
 

Grimwulf

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if you need more van scouts add me as one.

Sure thing! Your avatar, though. It gets harder every time. But since Vanir are masters of illusions, they can appear anything they like (well, almost). People see them as headless horsemen, or pigeon-headed killers. Or... raptors?

Don't worry. You won't look worse than this
web.png
 

Grimwulf

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Helheim will make you fabulous! Andhaira was an ugly little svartalf before enlisting in our glorious army.

f7UKMA2.png

Look at him now!

4g6gdW2.png

Healthy, fat, and happy. Want to be fabulized too? Then join our ranks today!


TURN 26

LATE SPRING IN THE YEAR 3 OF THE ASCENSION WARS

PART 2

Caelum is about to storm my gem factory Helgate. This is gonna be messy. Thankfully, the world is turn-based, so I’ve got time to think of something. Your world is not turn-based? Then your world has no God!

The first thing I’ll do after this War, is make everything even more turn-based. Free turns for everybody! Gorgeous!

Back to business. Vanheim must be stopped!

XMR9Ytp.jpg

Everett and Lysandus attack Misty Hollow and distract Kvase, while Brutus goes for Weeping Falls to do something about Vanheim's reinforcements. Btw, we have our man there, working under Glamour. Spying on Vanheim’s troops, which are under Glamour too. And probably spying on him. Vanir triple espionage action!

Codex Troll warband: a bunch of lucky bastards or fucking unstoppable force? Discuss!

Since Headless entered Hall of Fame after last battle (with Heroic Strength ability), every commander in this Warband is a HoF hero now, level 2-3 each, in perfect condition. All Vanir units (Helhirdings and huskarls) of this band are level 3 and also in perfect shape. But I dammit, there are just 22 of them in total + 5 good for nothing humans. Anything can go wrong any moment now.

The strategic layout looks like this:

bNPqCx5.jpg

Malo’s warband in Midvale is not very threatening – Codex Troll dealt with harder shit before. Forces in Lower Ulmwood are rather pathetic as well – mostly wolves and maidens-archers. But if these two bands unite, we’ll be crushed by sheer numbers. Besides, we can’t see what kind of power is stationed in Anvilwood. Ulm might have turned the whole Marverni front towards us (that would explain numerous Marverni victories over them).

So it really looks like a trap from my tower. On the other hand, I want to keep the pressure. If I stop pwning Ulm now, they will have a chance to fully recover. Look at that army graph.

JBrIBUL.jpg

Ulm is falling from mid-tier to shit-tier. Krummi slayed Agiwulf. We fight what I suppose to be their main forces here in the north, while Marverni pushes them from south-west. Marverni didn’t restore their army yet, but at least they are hiring two merc bands.

I161XzI.jpg

Dante’s Stingers (30 experienced shiled+spear human infantry) and Terminus, the Master Assassin (acts alone, but recently gained some exp, judging by HoF – so he actually assassinates someone from time to time). Bah, who am I kidding? Can’t rely on Marverni.

Hmm. Maybe I should use Troll and his vets to support my conquest of Caelum? I mean, the fuck am I fighting for here? I won’t be able to siege Anvilwood Fortress in the nearest future. And only miracle can help me beat Vanheim. Our cavalry (all commanders and Helhirdings) can reach the capital in a single turn from here.

The more I think of it – the more tempted I am to do so. Caelum capital alone is worth ALL these territories I currently possess.

FUCK them! FUCK Ulm!

I need my vets by my side. I won’t send them into obvious trap. So be it!

ImOBZvZ.jpg

Here is what we’ll do: Troll, Ragnar, Penda, Headless, and 10 Helhirdings will go to the capital, so they can reach Helgate from there (right after Caelum assault, that we shall hopefully withstand). Meanwhile, Krummi takes 7 huskarls and 4 serfs and leads them to Dead Snows province. There she will meet up with Gordon Cageman and pass the infantry under his command. Iinfantry moves slower than cavalry, so it will take a while to cross the mountain range with them. Being able to fly, Krummi can reach Helgate in one turn from Dead Snows – on par with our cavalry. While Gordon will cross the mountains with infantry in slow-ass fashion. Did ya get it? No? I will learn normal English, one of these days.

Neutral human-archer, our "provoker vet", is left behind. Because he moves even slower than serfs and huskarls, and will only slow us down. Thanks for yer service, and so long! Good luck with Ulm.

Next few turns are going to be very, very tough. We shall lose a lot of provinces simultaneously while not conquering new ones – that’s gonna hit our income A LOT. But have no doubts – it WILL be worth it in the long run. Caelum capital is going to bring us more gold than all these provinces combined, more gems, and they have a Throne on that mountain too. The only provinces that really matter is our capital and Helgate – we won't let anyone take them.

On to Helheim!

NfqpaYq.jpg

Gordon moves to Dead Snows, as I mentioned already.

Selvaria puts that rod to gud use, and makes us some corpse constructs.

Andhaira uses incredible alchemy skillz to produce one more death gem (2 nature gems and 1 astral gem from Helgate were just perfectly enough for this). He can forge a Skull Staff now.

c71yRwG.jpg

Grunker and Ulminati research for one more turn.

I should be able to go offensive with grand reinforcemens like this. Besides, Codex Troll is VERY effective at sneaky preaching, making domkill victory over Caelum even easier. Yes, this plan should work like magic. Ulm front my ass.

And finally, Helgate. Fucking Helgate.

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I may be acting like a smart-ass at times, but this time I’ll be frank with you: I have no fucking idea how this ends. More so, I can’t say for sure if we have better defence now than before. No death gems for royal skalds to cast Raise Dead. And not much corpses left unburried anyway.

This time we don’t break the siege. Instead, we shall wait for them inside the walls, and do some research while at it. Of course, they might abandon the siege in that case. Fall back, or even go straight for my capital. In first case I don’t care at all. In second case – even better. They won’t have a retreat path, and I’ll be able to genocide these muthas.

Black candle in the Valley of 1000 Deaths really bothers me. It’s not healthy. It’s fucking impossible, in fact. I have a Pretender on the border + temple + much stronger dominion + blood sacrifice from last turn. Yet from one white candle it changed into one BLACK candle?

I know that Airya Seraphines from last siege are not present in their current forces, no need to stress it out. They were both old and afflicted, they are most probably dead already. But even if they are alive and do preaching in the Valley, that couldn’t be enough for turning dominion. Either there is a SHITTON of Caelum priests in the Valley of 1000 Deaths, OR… Amrav himself. If Pretender of Caelum joins the upcoming storming of Helgate (he can do it, because TRS rules allow him to), shit will turn into… shit. I don’t even know what type of Pretender is he.

Sigh. At least we’ve got a shitload of food&alcohol now, thanks to newly-built supply storage. Grumpy’s happy as fuck. Here, have some mead, you poor hairy beast.

Right. We shall get down and dirty with tactics during War Council meeting. As for orders: everybody researches, Van Scouts defend, Grimgravy forges Storm Spool for Selvaria.

I know what you lizzurds think. “Grimwulf, you retard, let Grimgravy research and order forging to any Skald newfag”. Grimgravy has only 5 RP more than skald, but the hammer will stay with it’s owner during the battle. I believe that Grimgravy will put it to better use than random skald.

LundB grabs one of his own rings. I put on the fabulous lightning resist ring on myself. Owl Quills are distributed among the most experienced ones. Bows of Accuracy stay with Van Scouts. Crispy steals one earth gem from my treasury. I believe that’s it.

Hiring. I need to save some gold, coz financial crisis awaits. That’s why I only hire a Van Scout in Helheim (PocketMine) and PD 1 in Chillmoor (totally forgot about it last turn). PocketMine will join Everett, Roark, Brutus and Lysandus in their constant struggle of slowing down Vanheim and Ulm. For now.

That leaves me with 140 gold pounds. I know I can hire 2 more Helhirdings. I know it’s a perfect time to do it. But no, I won’t.

Let’s see some analytics, then.

87V6Rlk.jpg

C’tis lost two provinces last month. One of them to Arcoscephale, the other one (most probably) to random event. C’tis has Misfortune 3 scale, just like Helheim.

We were gangbanged by Ulm-Vanheim-Caelum alliance, and lost 3 provinces last month. The butthurt is unbearable.

The income graph looks interesting this month.

fLqjdE7.jpg

I am 93,44% sure that C’tis lost the capital province to neutral attack. Ouch. Looking at the army graph again.

PqbNOmI.jpg

C’tis used to be number one. Not anymore. Sauromatia took the lead.

Traditional National Overview almost fits in one screen again.

fd8wPIW.jpg

And that’s that. Now I will listen to them voices in my head royal advisors, and plan the upcoming battle. Whatever they come up with, I can’t promise that everybody will survive. If any one of you wanna leave Helgate while there is still time, I can understand.

LundB (probably doesn't follow this LP anyways), Grimgravy, Valescere, ArtB, you still have time to sneak out of the fort and return to the capital. There you can unite with Troll’s Warband and help him reclaim Helgate if we end up losing it. And I stress it out again: this MIGHT be the end for all of us who stay. You give it a good thought, guys – it’s your personal call. I won’t host the turn for a day or two.

I will stay in any case, but won’t hold it against anyone who leaves. Not every Vanir ought to have a death wish.

Just a reminder: I will NOT give the same name to different commanders. That means, if someone dies during the War – this person stays dead til the end of LP. But hey. He can still post comments in the thread from Helhalla.

Time to plan our arses out! Welcome to the War Council!

Take yer seats, gentlemen. Let us begin with analyzing our enemy.

The army of Caelum is led by 14 commanders this time.

3 of them are standard human commanders with exp. level 1, just like our Gordon Cageman. Not worth mentioning.

8 are Sastars – standard Caelum commanders. Most of them are exp. level 1, but otherwise not worth mentioning.

The supreme commander of this army appears to be the only spellcaster, Gaya the Airya Seraph.

qyq3j4O.jpg

Our archers should be able to take him down with a single arrow at some point.

There are also two Mairya Ahu’s. One is nothing special, but the other one…

GowWBsO.jpg

Is actually a very well-equipped thug.

JzaUGvS.jpg

[Grumwulf]

Actually, this looks almost like anti-thug design I was planning to do with Vanherses. Thunder Bow benefits from strength, and it’s damn gud when you combine it with Eye of Aiming and Girdle of Might. Vanherses are able to cast Aim, increasing their precision even further (just have to make sure to place them far enough from other squads, so they will buff themselves and not random allies). Thus, a level zero Vanherse with such equipment will have

Strength 17 (12 base + 2 from Blessing + 3 from Girdle of Might)

Precision 25 (13 base + 2 from Blessing – 2 from eye loss + 8 from Eye of Aiming + 5 from Aim spell) + 3 from Thunder Bow = 28 in total

Range 30 (Thunder Bow default) +20% missile range from Blessing = 36 range in total.

Here, I simulated this in test-session.

kQeajY0.jpg

Cheap and effective, just as any thug/anti-thug should be. Usually, you can only see larger creatures being used as thugs (standard human size is 2, while cavalry is 3, giants are 4, and so on up to 6). So, if you order such an archer to “Fire Largest and Keep Distance” right after casting Aim, he’ll most likely shoot the most dangerous muthas on the battlefield. If they are not resistant to lightning, this baby will deliver major pain upon them. After gaining a few levels, these guys will have 30+ precisions combined with 36 range, which is pretty much guaranteed hits.

This particular design isn’t that much awesome against Caelum or Vanheim, but will come in handy against other nations.

Enlist as Vanherse and exchange your boring old eye for a fabulous new one, shining-blue like a sky!*

*Surgery will be performed by Crispy. May hurt a little bit.

[/Grimwulf]

Caelum’s units. At least 1/4 of them are different types of archers, that can be neutralized by human decoys. For some turns.

Mammoths are starving and suffering lots of afflictions, nothing like our Grumpy.

Pretty much most of their army is barely standing on their feet. Iceclads are still the best. Several 40+ year guys were seen among their ranks, but nobody crossed the threshold yet. Except for old-ass commander, of course.

So. What are we going to do about them, without corpses, death gems and even lesser numbers than before? To answer that, we must first take a look at current research screen.

I0ndMbQ.jpg

Now, in TSR research comes before any kind of battles. So we shall have access to Evo2 and Alt1 spells during this fight, although we cannot hard-script them yet. Let’s hope AI will be gud enough to cast what we want.

We’ll discuss the tactics in a moment. A very short explanation on research:

- Evo2 for Lightning Bolts, as we decided during previous War Council meeting. And something else (details below).

- Alt1 for two nice A1 and D1 self-buffs.

MTnXhLJ.jpg

That will do well for our Vanherses and Helkarls. Not exactly anti-Caelum, but still.

- Afterwards, focus all research horsepower on Construction, until we reach Construction 6. There are several reasons for that, along with several key artifacts in Construction 6 that will give us a massive advantage. But the main reason is this: our ONLY chance to retrieve research positions after we conquer Caelum is mass-production of Skull Mentors and Lightless Lanterns.

Xnm1Lcg.jpg

After we’ll get access to these artifacts (still need to roll a F1D2E2 svartalf to forge those lanterns), we should be able to rush so-much needed Thauma6 and Conj8 schools really fast. And make a couple more detours, while at it. Maybe we shall speak of research again, but let us focus on the siege right now.

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If your eyes didn’t bleed out yet, let us discuss this clusterfuck.

This battle is a perfect example of situation when it’s better not to hard-script anything.

1. King Grimwulf casts self-defensive buffs for two turns,

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then spams Terror. He could cast aoe buffs like Crispy, or summon undead, but we can’t afford to lose him, along with BoT effect. Better not take any risks.

2. Crispy buffs our circle, then raises zombies. Hopefully dies in the process. Earth gem in his inventory should allow him not to faint before turn 3, and therefore summon 10 zombies before Caelum infantry charges.

3. Vanjarls cast Air Shiled and Protection from Lightning, but starting from turn 3 they become wild card. Being surrounded by Caelum infantry, Vanjarls will most likely cast Shock Wave.

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On one hand, it’s going to friendly fire a lot, most likely killing everything without lightning resistance (royal skalds, hirdmen, huskarls, serfs, Crispy, Van Scouts, Grumpy). It may even kill resistant Vanir, including skalds and Vanjarls themselves. Hel, this spell might pretty much kill Grimwulf too. On the other hand, Shock Wave will deliver M-M-MASSIVE damage upon Caelum. Absolutely devastating. Without Shock Wave, we shall most likely lose due to lack of offensive capabilities.

4. Van Scouts shoot rearmost. Enemy commanders must die!

5. Royal skalds summon a single skeleton at the start of combat, then cast spell chosen by AI (hopefully, Skeletal Body), then spam Frightens / Fight in melee.

6. Regular skalds protect themselves from missiles and lightning, then cast AI-chosen spells (most likely Charge Body, Shocking Grasp or Steal Breath).

7. 5 Hirdmen and 7 good serfs protect Grimwulf at all times.

8. 14 Huskarls wait and attack (1 of huskarls acts in separate squad, because he’s got battle fright and might spoil morale check of his comrades).

9. 3 wounded/old serfs are provoking Caelum archers.

10. Grumpy waits for it, then goes for it.

11. Shooting towers shoot. They are not very damaging (not on this type of fortification), but every scratch on enemy's hide may cause morale failure.

If we hold our ground and win the battle, Caelum forces won’t retreat to the Valley of 1000 Deaths, like they did last time. Because we defend the fort right now, we don’t attempt to break the siege. But this is exactly the plan: make them starve for another month in this harsh mountain province of Helgate, with only 2000 population and next-to-none supplies.

If everything goes exceptionally well, we should be able to finish them off with reinforcements from the capital - Codex Troll’s warband will be there by then. If we lose, he will attempt to reclaim the fort immediately.

And that covers the plan.

This time everybody is free to decide whether they stay or not. Remember, though: sometimes, a quick and glorious death is better than long and uneventful life.

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Grimwulf

Arcane
Patron
Vatnik
Joined
Oct 1, 2014
Messages
4,045
Location
Kodex Kommunistic Kastle
I'm not picky. Whatever comes up first, I'm happy to volounteer my name. :salute:

If my Misfortune scale won't go crazy next turn ("your crops have turned into purple tentacles! population - 10 000; gold - 600"), then I'll make a Svartalf out of ye. A few turns of suffering, then Twiceborn ritual, horrible and painful death, and you'll be a Wight Mage before you know it.

Please gib me name to any monstruous/undead commander bro, I wanna eat some birds and conan wannabes (´・ω・`)

You are now on the list. Congratulations! you've made the right choice.

:troll:
 

Got bored and left

Guest
I'm staying. I'm not gonna pass up a chance to snipe some commanders and have myself a glorious death, no way in Hel.

Just to be sure: There is no running from a battle like that, right? If we lose, everyone dies by default?
 

Azira

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Nov 3, 2004
Messages
8,519
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Codex 2012
As long as he still has some priests alive to call the pretender god back, it's not game over.
Might as well be in this case though, as it means the loss of almost all his military.
 

Got bored and left

Guest
Yeah, I know Pretenders aren't that easy to eliminate, I was asking about everyone else, whether it's even possible for troops and commanders to retreat from a battle like this, where you're trapped in a fort. But I guess the answer is pretty obvious, we win or we die! Gotta love dem all or nothing scenarios.
 

Grimgravy

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Sep 12, 2013
Messages
3,469
Codex 2016 - The Age of Grimoire
I'm inclined to stay an fight. Better to fight (maybe die) at our god's side than with the troll.
 

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