Darkness Rising

[MarbitChow]

Your capital is Level 4 currently. Dis City is Level 3. You've capture 1 Farm so far.
You can see a layout of Dis City here: (click)
Your treasury is almost empty - 9K was used to upgrade Dis City to a level 3 a few turns ago; other than the gems that were found in the ruins, you've only got a few thousand shmuckers left.
Your cities and farm are producing enough to cover upkeep for all units currently, and you could probably double or triple your current armies and still afford upkeep; upkeep for most units is very cheap.

(The focus of this game is primarily on the battles and role-playing. In general, I won't be keeping track of details like treasury and upkeep except for flavor.)

[The Colonel]

Are there more farms or mines available for the grabbing?

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf will request from Yuri ( or Tod if he is still around) that he be assigned a squad of heavies and will set them to work clearing out the shallow pit traps, making them slightly deeper and making sure the lid mechanisms still work. He asks if there is anyone in the city capable of duplicating such a mechanism as he wants to build another 2 similar traps.

As he explains, "They used those traps far too early on us. Think on the havoc those skinny elves would have caused if they had waited till our heavies and warriors had crossed their line and our casters were almost on them. Either our forces would have had to turn back to engage them, costing us precious time, time we did not have under their archer fire or they would have slaughtered our casters. I will show them the error of their ways. Especially if Tod's new toy can reach our hidden forces." If Tod's bracer cannot do something like that we will have our hosts on the walls loudly shout "King Creperum" as the signal to disgorge.

To Bills request he shakes his head "It may be my charge to provide you your fodder but do not think it to my liking. I would prefer a quick clean death even for the least of my enemies, than your shambling parody of existence for them. I'll not lend a hand in their continuation."

He asks Brick if he would take some time out to find kindling and oil and lots of it. "I have a mind to herd their forces if we can. Our troops are not enough to cover the expanse in front of our city. At the very least we can spread it at the base of our walls to deny their ladders."

[The Colonel]

I have a similar Idea, hide corpses in the field and when their casters are in reach of them, I raise them to wreck HAVOC!

"why does nobody like uncroaked?"

[Werebiscuit]

I have a similar Idea, hide corpses in the field and when their casters are in reach of them, I raise them to wreck HAVOC!

"why does nobody like uncroaked?"

Rolf gives a grim mirthless chuckle. "Your idea is good, but how would it be if those bone cages were stuffed with burning wood. Would you still be able to give motion and direction to them? All you would need would be some kindling and oil. .... BRICK ! Have you found any yet ? I set you to the task hours ago !"

[The Colonel]

"I'm talking about VARIETY!Some of your bone cages, and some of my uncroaked mines" Bill replies, waving his arms around

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf's eyebrow lofts into a query " Uncroaked mines ? Tell me more... What I'm talking about are skeletons stuffed with and disguised as piles of kindlling scattered around the field. That's what I mean by bone cages. A flame arrow would easily put light to the combination if it were oiled enough. Would your minions suffer damage or would they be able to run down any treants should the elves bring them ? Think of fireships but fire skeletons instead. Think of the havoc it would create in their line." Rolf cast his eye around looking for Brick " Where has that lad got to ?" Shakes his head sadly " Now what of these uncroaked mines...How would they work ?"

[Lord of Monies]

Brick returns with arms full and piled high with twigs, sticks, and a full on branch or two held in his hands trailing behind him. He drops the pile by Rolf's feet, somehow still staying together instead of a crumpled mess. He packed it well.

"I'll be right back with the oil." Brick says, then leaves. A couple minutes later and he has his sword held out with a few small buckets hanging from it, their handles safely held between the serrated edge of the blade. "Will that do, you think?"

[Werebiscuit]

" Good Man...good man ! How are you at creating rather more untidy piles, do you think ? Ones that would disguise a skeleton in their midst ?
Could we paint their shins to look like twigs, do you think ? We'd need some brushes, ones for painting and others for coating the kindling with oil. Any chance you could rustle some up, Brick ? "

[The Colonel]

"Well, it's similar to your bone cages except less burney. Bury some corpses in the field around the city and when the enemy's caster is in front of one, I raise it and order it to attack the enemy caster, softening him up, or even killing him."

[0beron]

After studying the library for any golem or item designs, I rejoin the rest of the group and perk up at the general discussion of traps.
"Well that sounds interesting, maybe I can try my hand at that!"
Also, I notice that our newly acquired gems are enough to score us a level 5 Capital....

[MarbitChow]

The Royal Guards are Level 3 Warriors w/ Heavy, Guard, Interpose, and Bodyguard : [ 5 Combat / 8 Defense / 70 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Attack. ]

Dis City (Level 3)
Towers: 13 (of 18) Energy, No spells stored.

Turn 4, Conclusion:
Coil stores 1 Energy in the towers.
Uncroaked were created this turn, so no maintenance is required.
Triage, w/ 13 Juice, casts Ward on Tod and Junetta, and applies 3 Juice towards a Renew Potion. (3 of 16 Juice)
Vinny already create a cloak at the start of this turn, while on the road.
Bill lends Vinny his Stewart’s Rod for use in subsequent turns.

Library results: The Predictamancer was an elf named Zoltarus Loquacious. The Elven side is formally referred to as the Breatheairians, after their capital city of Breatheairia, but most just refer to them as 'Elves'. They are ruled by the King In Green. The side that you wiped out was known as Farkistan. Most of the combat texts involve conflict between Farkistan and Breatheairia.

A quick scan of one of the books reveals that Jetstone is listed as an ally through many of the engagements. Once Farkistan was reduced to a single city, this city does not appear to be in any major conflicts, so modern information is scarce.

The 'lawn traps' were unfortunately not recreated when the City was upgraded. Doing so would have required the services of a Dirtamancer.

Brick gathers branches and twigs, but 'oil' is not commonly known of outside of Dirtamancy, so there is none available.

Turn 5: Beginning
Dis City (Level 3)
Towers: 18 (of 18) Energy, Partial Ickypron (7 of 37 Juice), 2 spell slots empty

At the start of the turn, the branches and twigs depop along with the rest of the garbage. (OOC: Using the environment against attackers is predominantly the domain of Dirtamancy, which you do not have access to currently. I'll be actively subverting attempts to introduce warfare 'enhancements' outside of that which is currently defined in the rules. Your characters aren't from Earth, and don't have access to the long line of Earth warfare history that you as players do.)

Coil stores 5 Energy in the towers, fully charging them, and has 7 Juice remaining this turn. He applies 7 Juice towards storing an Ickypron in one of the spell slots.
Bill spends 24 Juice negating Normal Decay for 6 uncroaked.

Triage casts 7 Ward spells this turn, warding himself, T. Coil, Yuri, Rolf, Cupid, William, and Bill.
Vinny can create 2 additional cloaks this turn.

Junetta, Wandereus, Tod and Coil ride the Balrug to Tenebris. Tod attempts to engage Junetta in conversation, but Wandereus nudges her when she appears to be about to say something, and she remains silent for the duration of the trip. The crown remains concealed safely in Tod's purse.

When they arrive, they are greeted by an honor guard of two stacks of garrison zed archers and two stacks of garrison zed spearmen. Junetta and Wandereus are taken to the Dungeon, and Tod and Coil are lead to the Throne room, where a feast has been set. The King demands that weighty discussions wait until after the meal, and requests a detailed account of the capture of Dis City and exploration of the Ruins. There is much laughter at the various exploits, especially at the images of a horde of marbit uncroaked swarming the Bone Dagron.

Once the meal is completed, the King, Tod and Coil retire to the study, to consume some Tenebrian dark red wine and discuss the future of the side.

[0beron]

I also reviewed the library to see if any Dollamancy Plans were on record (presumably things above my present abilities, but still good knowledge for the future).

From the way Marbit worded his response, I take it that the Staff only increases Juice if you have it at start of turn, so that Magic Cloak I made yesterday wasn't actually made. So today, I will Craft the Magic and Attack cloaks as requested.

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf grimaces in dismay as the stacks of twigs depop. "Blast it, we need some way to bring flame to their gumps, should they bring them.
Nevermind, I'll have a look in the library about the eleven battles to determine the type of tactics and warriors they are prone to using to see if we can determine how they were bested in the past, or how they might plan to best us. There must be some way to get our units beyond their lines and amongst their archers.

I hope Tod does not neglect to bring us some aid from Tenebris when he returns. "

[MarbitChow]

Player Character Summary

Vinny : I count 5 cloaks (2 for you, 1 for Brick, 1 for Tod, 1 for Coil). You can have crafted 6 cloaks by the end of this turn (4 on the road, 2 this turn). Did I miss one? If not, let me know what the last one is, and who it goes to.
Tod: Your thinkagram only requires a unique identifier. Having the name is best, but if you can describe someone uniquely ("The Chief Caster of Side X" or "The Commander of the forces in hex Y"), that will also work. You can only target 1 person, however, and each use consumes a charge, obviously.

As an aside, now that you have a Dollamancer among the group, new rainments can be crafted, so if you want to alter your character's appearance, let me know. A couple of characters have already received make-overs (Cupid being the most recent), so now's the time to speak up if you want a new look.

Here are the revised player characters:

Spoiler: show

Rolf (Werebiscuit): Warrior {Lvl 4, 53xp}
[ 21 Combat / 16(+2) Defense / 32 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Attack, Rage.]
Special: Heavy, Well-Armed, Mighty Blow, Block, Interpose, Co-ordinate
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Potion of Healing Ward
Armor of Eckrich : Defense +2. Mighty Blow, Interpose, and Coordinate penalties are halved

William Showend Tell (BLANDCorporatio): Archer {Lvl 4, 53xp}
[ 32(+2) Combat / 9 Defense / 22 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Fire, Quick-Shot.]
Special: Well Armed, Well protected, Heavy
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Hazardous Bow of the Duke : Combat +2
Potion: Renew (Heal 16 Hits)

Cupid (HerbieRai): Flier {Lvl 4, 54xp}
[ 20 Combat / 13(+2) Defense / 20 Hits / 12 {18} Move. Fire, Quick-Shot.]
Special: Fly, Heavy
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Ring of Defense +2
Potion: Renew (Heal 16 Hits)

Yuri (Exate): Warrior {Lvl 4, 54xp}
[ 14(+2) Combat / 18 Defense / 35 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Attack, Rage.]
Special: Heavy, Leadership
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Ring of Combat +2
Potion of Healing Ward

T. Coil (ETheBoyce): Caster {Lvl 4, 55xp}
[ 10(+3) Combat / 1 Defense / 22 Hits / 8 {8} Move. 32 Juice ]
Special: Shockamancy (Hiya, Hoboken, TooGeeWonCee, Ickypron)
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Staff of Locockus : Combat +2
Cloak : Negate Strike/Attack
Ring: +1 Combat
Potion: Renew (Heal 16 Hits)
Potion: Restore Juice (Restore 20) x2
Scroll: Revitalize
Scroll: Renew

Bill (The Colonel): Caster {Lvl 4, 56xp}
[ 5 Combat / 3 Defense / 16 Hits / 8 {8} Move. 47(+8) Juice. Fire, Quick-shot.]
Special: Croakamancy (Reanimator, Bone Puppeteer, Uncroak, Pall Raiser, Bone Warlord)
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Scroll: Revitalize
Scroll: Renew
Scroll: Lucky Streak
Scroll: Regenerate
Potion: Restore Juice (Restore 20) x2

Tod (Swodaems): Spearman {Lvl 4, 58xp}
2 AP Banked.
[ 9 Combat / 9 Defense / 24 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Strike, Lunge.]
Specials: Leadership, Improved Leadership
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Ring: +1 Defense
Cloak : Negate Hiya/Hoboken
Talkie Bracer : Thinkagram 2x/day; +1 Effective Level for Leadership purposes
(ARTIFACT) Crown of Darkness
Potion: Renew (Heal 16 Hits)
Gem: 25000 Shmuckers
Gem: 5000 Shmuckers
Gem: 2000 Shmuckers

Triage (WaterMonkey314): Caster {Lvl 4, 56xp}
[ 6 Combat / 4 Defense / 22 Hits. 8 {8} Move. 35 Juice. Fire, Quick-shot.]
Special: Healomancy (Revitalize; Renew; Minor Ward; Ward)
Effects: (Ward-16)
Equipment:

Staff of Er : Allows caster to cast a 2nd Healmancy spell in the same turn. Casting cost of the 2nd spell is doubled.
Potion: Restore Juice (Restore 20)

Vinny Starcall (0beron) : Caster {Lvl 1, 0xp}
[ 3 Combat / 1 Defense / 4 Hits. 8 {8} Move. 8 Juice. Fire.]
Special: Dollamancer (Craft Cloak)
Effects: none
Equipment:

Stewart’s Rod : Max Juice +8.
Cloak : Negate Fire (worn)
Cloak : Negate Hiya/Hoboken
Cloak : Negate Strike/Attack

Brick Wall (Lord of Monies) : Warrior {Lvl 1, 0xp}
[ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. 8 {8} Move. Attack.]
Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard, Beefy
Effects: none
Equipment:

Cloak : Negate Attack/Strike

Let me know if you see any errors.

[0beron]

Vinny : I count 5 cloaks (2 for you, 1 for Brick, 1 for Tod, 1 for Coil). You can have crafted 6 cloaks by the end of this turn (4 on the road, 2 this turn). Did I miss one? If not, let me know what the last one is, and who it goes to.

Well the +8 Juice staff was handed over to me LAST turn, so if it works immediately then I could have created an extra cloak last turn, bringing my total to 7 overall. But if I have to be holding it at start of turn, then I would only have 6 cloaks by the end of this turn.
My Inventory:

• Magic and Fire (mine)
• Attack (Brick)
• 2x Attack (don't know who has them)
• 1 Magic (don't know who has it)

If I have a total of 7 though, I will again craft the first one requested of me.

[MarbitChow]

Well the +8 Juice staff was handed over to me LAST turn, so if it works immediately then I could have created an extra cloak last turn

The staff must be equipped during the start of the turn (or while drinking a potion), when Juice is replenished, in order for it to be effective. It raises your effective maximum Juice, but doesn't grant you any immediately.

You've crafted the following : Magic and Fire (Vinny), Attack (Brick), 2x Attack (Coil, unclaimed), 1 Magic (Tod)
It looks like you've got 1 Negate Strike/Attack cloak crafted and unclaimed. I'll add it to your inventory for now.

[Swodaems]

A slight amendment: after Warding the group returning to our capital, I begin Warding all the PCs in Dis City, and then split my juice expenditure, 1/2 to warding regular units (start with heavies, then move down) and 1/2 to crafting healing potions.

Might I suggest that the 3 lvl 2 NPC leadership units take priority over the heavies? They have less health and def, and their loss would cause a significant drop in the stats of our surviving forces.

The Royal Guards are Level 3 Warriors w/ Heavy, Guard, Interpose, and Bodyguard : [ 5 Combat / 8 Defense / 70 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Attack. ]

If we get to keep them, those guards will be nice units to keep around our casters.

Library results: The Predictamancer was an elf named Zoltarus Loquacious. The Elven side is formally referred to as the Breatheairians, after their capital city of Breatheairia, but most just refer to them as 'Elves'. They are ruled by the King In Green. The side that you wiped out was known as Farkistan. Most of the combat texts involve conflict between Farkistan and Breatheairia.

A quick scan of one of the books reveals that Jetstone is listed as an ally through many of the engagements. Once Farkistan was reduced to a single city, this city does not appear to be in any major conflicts, so modern information is scarce.

Did T. Coil know anything about Zoltarus? Was there any additional information about why the elves didn't finish off Farkistan? (Did the Jetstone/Breathairia alliance fall apart? Did Farkistan somehow make it too expensive for the elves to continue the campaign?)

Junetta, Wandereus, Tod and Coil ride the Balrug to Tenebris. Tod attempts to engage Junetta in conversation, but Wandereus nudges her when she appears to be about to say something, and she remains silent for the duration of the trip. The crown remains concealed safely in Tod's purse.

Did I learn anything from reading the predictamancer's book along the way?

When they arrive, they are greeted by an honor guard of two stacks of garrison zed archers and two stacks of garrison zed spearmen. Junetta and Wandereus are taken to the Dungeon, and Tod and Coil are lead to the Throne room, where a feast has been set. The King demands that weighty discussions wait until after the meal, and requests a detailed account of the capture of Dis City and exploration of the Ruins. There is much laughter at the various exploits, especially at the images of a horde of marbit uncroaked swarming the Bone Dagron.

Once the meal is completed, the King, Tod and Coil retire to the study, to consume some Tenebrian dark red wine and discuss the future of the side.

(I take a small sip of wine and then set the glass back down.) "I thank you for meeting with us like this. It feels good to be back in Tenebris." (I pull the Crown of Darkness out of my purse and hand it to the King.) "This is the artifact I told you about earlier. As you can feel, it allows you to make a limited number of thinkagrams per day and allows us to pop new unit types in lvl 3, 4, and 5 cities." (After a brief pause.) "Is there any specific issue that you wanted to address with us at this meeting? I was planning to discuss plans for the amount of money that we found and to talk briefly about our current intel on the elves, but your concerns do take priority."

[MarbitChow]

Did T. Coil know anything about Zoltarus? Was there any additional information about why the elves didn't finish off Farkistan? (Did the Jetstone/Breathairia alliance fall apart? Did Farkistan somehow make it too expensive for the elves to continue the campaign?)

Coil says that the name rings a bell, but as he didn't really get along with the other Elven casters, he didn't pay any attention to caster history while he was at court, and he was transferred to the "ass-end" of the kingdom within a few turns of being popped. It's commonly believed that the elves spared Farkistan out of mercy; the real reasons, if different, are known only to King in Green and his advisors. The Jetstone / Breathearian alliance is still in effect.

Did I learn anything from reading the predictamancer's book along the way?

The book appears to be entirely trivial ramblings about day-to-day occurrences that Zoltarus encountered. There's something disquieting about the book, however, that you can't quite put your finger on. You'd expect a caster's diary to contain some weighty musings on the nature of the world, or concern about predictions that he can't avoid, but there is nothing of the sort in here. Weird.

(I pull the Crown of Darkness out of my purse and hand it to the King.) "This is the artifact I told you about earlier. As you can feel, it allows you to make a limited number of thinkagrams per day and allows us to pop new unit types in lvl 3, 4, and 5 cities." (After a brief pause.) "Is there any specific issue that you wanted to address with us at this meeting? I was planning to discuss plans for the amount of money that we found and to talk briefly about our current intel on the elves, but your concerns do take priority."

The King accepts the crown and immediately puts it on. The crown begins to glow, and he appears lost in thought. "Fascinating..." His eyes focus back upon you. "But yes, there is definitely something I wished to discuss. Prior to your excursion into the ruins, our treasury was down its the last 2,000 shmuckers. For several turns, I've been struggling with an action that, while warranted, would exhaust our reserves. As this is no longer an issue, I hereby formally promote you to Chief Warlord." A faint "cha-ching" echoes through the room as the treasury is reduced by 2,000 shmuckers, and Tod gains the special "Chief Warlord", which grants a Warlord bonus equal to half his effective level to all units on his side in the same hex. (The bonus is rounded down, but the +1 level from the bracer is included in this calculation.)

The King continues, "Now, Mr. Coil, if you would excuse us, my Chief Warlord and I have matters that we must discuss." The weight of an order is behind the request, and Coil rises, bows, and exits the room.

With Coil gone, the King resumes "My first inclination is to build Tenebris up to Level 5, and use the increased production to start sending units to Dis in order to reinforce the city. I'd like to hear your thoughts on the matter."

[ETheBoyce]

Having been summoned to be summarily dismissed T. Coil finds himself at loose ends. Perhaps he should peruse the Tenebresian library looking for new techniques or information...or he could go taunt his former comrades! Now previously Tod had denied him access to "convince" them of anything and T. Coil was given the understanding it was out of fear of possible repercussions from the King, since T. Coil and the prisoners are both currently in the same city as the king any such concerns are no longer valid. As such T. Coil will attempt to jump start the turning process in the ways only a Shockamancer can.

While it is quite obvious that Wanderus loves Junetta , Junetta's affections seem less forthright at least to T. Coil. As such he will initially adopt two different lines of reasoning for convincing the captives to join. For Junetta it will be a play on her disdain for the side, she thinks Tenebris's violent nature is abhorrent, but there is only one way she will ever be able to obtain the influence to convince them of that; by turning and joining. For Wanderus the reason is simpler: join or Junetta suffers...or join to protect Junetta should she join first.