Darkness Rising

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf could see his brother was under pressure...and curse that fool of a croakamancer for revealing himself as a Tenebris unit. Who knew what information Charlie held ? But there was no point in revealing any to him needlessly. Well, little option now but to provide the fool mancer with what protection he could muster.
He must provide his brother with other prtotection...but how ? How do you defend against Charlie in his own battlefield ? Especially when you do not know what his goals were with this, his mind spat at the distasteful word,..contract? How do you stop him scoring? He quickly murmured what few diversionary tactics he could think of, hoping the archons would not realize that they were not from the commander.
Trying to relive some pressure he also quickly gave orders to ensure the other mancers stayed hidden. Eternal Darkness but he wished the King would call Tod...ah but that was no use, Tod was already there and it was unlikely they would call Yuri. His brother was alone. No, not alone. Not in this worst of all battlefields.
They could use an imp to alert the King.. It would take time but... there was no other way was there? He quickly usurped command to order one aloft. His inner smile quickly faded. Fool of a unit,.. you've just commited the same idiocy as Bill. Darkness curse me for my impatience, another unit revealed to Charlie.
Wait ! Didn't Charlie sell thinkagrams ? They could hoist the weasling stabber on his own standard. Excellent ! Either he would sell them one or reveal his true intention of disadvantaging their side. He began to smile again.
But yet, What was Yuri doing ? He was making his own demands. Ha ! Sheer magnificence, that was what you do when you don't know which goals to defend. If you don't know that you can prevent losing, then you make sure you don't lose heavily. His pride soared for his brother... yet still there was the matter of the contract. At some point the battle would end and they would not know if they had won or lost.

[MarbitChow]

Buffy lifts an eyebrown at Yuri, and grins slyly. "This isn't your first contract, is it. You had me going with that act. Ok, let's get this thing knocked out."

This contract binds the units of Tenebris
currently in Dis City and the units of
Charlie in and around Dis City into a
three-turn unconditional alliance,
followed by five-turn non-aggression pact,
as well as a retroactive non-disclosure
agreement predated to the current turn.
Charlie agrees to reveal the location
of all units on his side that are within
three turns of an archon's movement of Dis
City. In the event of another side entering
the Dis City battlespace, neither Charlie
nor Tenebris is required to support the other,
but may take no hostile actions towards each other.

The alliance entitles Tenebris to any knowledge
of the surrounding area that has been personally
discovered by Buffy, Faith, or Rona while traversing
the area. Tenebris is not entitled to any knowledge
of other sides obtained through any other means.

Charlie agrees to refrain from initiating any
communication with any side that has engaged
in hostilities with Tenebris for 20 turns after the
non-aggression pact ends, and will not ally
with any such side for 40 turns.

In the event that a side incurs a penalty that it
cannot afford, the side shall forfeit all surviving
units currently within Dis City as well as the city
proper, which will be razed and applied towards the
owed amount.

Payment from Tenebris to Charlie : Zero (0) Shmuckers.
Payment from Charlie to Tenebris : Zero (0) Shmuckers.
Penalty To Tenebris for breach of alliance or non-aggression : One Hundred Thousand (100,000) Shmuckers.
Penalty To Charlie for breach of alliance or non-aggression : One Hundred Thousand (100,000) Shmuckers.
Penalty To Tenebris for disclosure : Zero (0) Shmuckers.
Penalty To Charlie for disclosure : Fifty Thousand (50,000) Shmuckers.

[ ACCEPT ] [ DECLINE ]

[0beron]

*OOC is really really really hoping we accept this fantastic deal and finally move on*

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf read over the latest version of the hideous contract, his mind scanning the battlefield trying to fathom which lines were the lawn traps, or hidden snares and could discern neither. Yet that was the essential nature of the hidden snare, it was not there...till it caught you.
He could see the ambush point where they might lay snares of their own but not where Charlie's traps might lay.
He considered alerting Yuri so they might lay their ambush and then realized, there was no need. To do so would be to reinforce as the enemy advanced into the ambush. It could give the game away if the enemy was wary. The ambush was there, should they need it...weak though it was. He preyed to his dark gods that it would be enough.

[Exate]

Buffy lifts an eyebrown at Yuri, and grins slyly. "This isn't your first contract, is it. You had me going with that act. Ok, let's get this thing knocked out."
...
[ ACCEPT ] [ DECLINE ][/list]

Yuri reads over the contract carefully, the units behind him waiting in stoic silence on the rooftop. Finally, unable to find anything wrong with it an uncertain of his ability to continue pressing for additional terms without seeming a fool, he looks at Buffy and grunts. "Is not what was asking, but only missing one important thing." His face breaks out into a large-toothed grin that could be interpreted as friendly or- by a more cynical mind- as eager to tear into the still-living flesh of an enemy unit and crack open their bones for the marrow. "Thousand-shmucker present important for lack of ick in future dealing."

*OOC is really really really hoping we accept this fantastic deal and finally move on*

((I am sorry about the delay here. I'll add in a couple branch replies here to speed things up.))

If the Archon reinstates the payment to Tenebris:
Yuri gives a booming laugh and hits the [ ACCEPT ] button, uncertain if he's doing the right thing but damned if he's going to let his uncertainty show. As the contract vanishes, he gestures with a hand that Buffy should land. "Come, small flying ally woman. We eat now, and speak of your relaxed things."

If she does not:
The heavy warlord's grin twists into a scowl without actually concealing his teeth. "None of terms is costing Charlie. Is rude to taunt friends with gifts not for handing over."
If she still does not, or only gives a partial gift:
With a snort, Yuri punches the [ ACCEPT ] button anyway. "Fine. Not forgetting your tricky dealings, small woman. Now what is wanting, with alliance done?"


((As a final note, in case you all hadn't caught on by now, Yuri is an evil faux-Russian cannibal ogre, and all his lines should be said in a terrible faux-Russian accent. Fortunately for the side he's not quite as stupid as he looks and sounds, because going by that alone he seems very, very stupid. But he was just popped talking that way.))

[MarbitChow]

Dis City - Day 5, End of the turn
Tod:

Tod and the King speak to Junetta about whether the elves would ransom her, and if so, how much she would be worth. She states that the elves are probably already heading here to crush this side from existence, so she doubts that any ransom would be offered.

Tod hands over the gems to the King, who immediately places the 25,000 gem into the treasury and upgrades the Capital to a Level 5 city, while placing the crown upon his head.

Tenebris unlocks new units!

Spoiler: show

Beastiary

Spoiler: show

Naughty Kitty : [9 Combat / 12 Defense / 40 Hits / Attack. 10 {12} Move. Special : Beast, Mount. 8 UP (3)]
Balrug : [0 Combat / 1 Defense / 4 Hits. 8 {40} Move. Special : Flight, Transport(4). 32 UP (4) (Capital Only)]
Dark Archon : [12 Combat / 12 Defense / 16 Hits. 12 {16} Move. 8 Juice. Special : Spell Sense, Flight, Heavy, {1 Random : Foolamancy(Projection), Leadership(1), Dance Fighting, Foolamancy(Crypsis), Thinkamancy(Thinkagram), Dollamancy(Craft Lesser Golem)}. Gains an additional ability from random pool each level. 64 UP (5) (Capital Only)]

Heck Pup : [6 Combat / 6 Defense / 16 Hits / Attack. 14 {12} Move. Special : Pyrohalitosis, Agile, Beast. 8 UP (3)]
Bad Ass : [ 16 Combat / 18 Defense / 30 Hits. 14 {24} Move. Strike. Special : Flight, Beast, Mount. 32 UP (4) ]
Less Bone Dagron : [15 Combat / 10 Defense / 100 Hits / Strike. Special: Skeletal; Burninate; Does not decay] 80 UP (5) (Capital Only)]

Pyrohalitosis : Targets enemy units as if using Strike/Lunge. Unit does Combat + d6. Ignores Defense.

T. Coil:

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.

Coil enters Wandereus' cell, where the elf is chained to the wall. He explains, in graphic detail, all of the 'experiments' he's going to run on Junetta if the elves refuse to join. Wandereus clenches his teeth and struggles with the chains as each new details is revealed. Wandereus spits at Coil, and says that, as a caster, she'll be ransomed and safe from Coil. Coil reminds the elf that, while casters might be ransomed, other units rarely are, and that they've probably already popped his replacement. The elf's only real chance to stay with Junetta, no matter what happens, is to turn and convince her to do the same. The elf shouts a vehement denial, but Coil thinks he can see doubt in the elf's eyes.

Coil heads to Junetta's cell, but Tod and the King are already there, discussing ransom, and so he wanders off to find other entertainment.

Dis City - Day 6, Charlie's Turn

"Thousand-shmucker present important for lack of ick in future dealing."

The Archon shrugs. "A thousand shumuckers it is." The Payment section to Tenebris changes.

If the Archon reinstates the payment to Tenebris:
Yuri gives a booming laugh and hits the [ ACCEPT ] button, uncertain if he's doing the right thing but damned if he's going to let his uncertainty show. As the contract vanishes, he gestures with a hand that Buffy should land. "Come, small flying ally woman. We eat now, and speak of your relaxed things."

Tenebris gains 1000 shmuckers!
(Tod and the King become immediately aware of the details of the contract, the alliance with Charlie, and the fact that there are 3 archons in Dis City.)

Buffy, Faith, and Rona set down. Buffy takes Yuri's arm, and Faith clings to Rolf. Buffy says, "Now that we're friends, why don't you introduce us to the shockamancer who charged up these towers, the healamancer who warded you so well, and the dollamancer who made such fine cloaks? We've got plenty of time. It will be four turns before the elves get here."

[MarbitChow]

Also, a quick note : I've updated the Reference page to show the interior and exterior views of Dis City. I'll get the current units in there tomorrow morning.

[The Colonel]

four...turns? crap. Ah well, my guys will have regressed by then. THOSE DUDES ARE AT THE FRONT! Also, ETH, threaten the guy with uncroaking, he has natural leadership, that would be... useful.

[0beron]

*OOC is really really really hoping we accept this fantastic deal and finally move on*

((I am sorry about the delay here. I'll add in a couple branch replies here to speed things up.))

Not a problem, you did an excellent job negotiating and I wouldn't have been quick to accept any of the earlier contracts either

"..and the dollamancer who made such fine cloaks?"

Overhearing this, Vinny inhales sharply. *just because she knows I made cloaks for them doesn't mean she knows I'm in the city* he thinks to himself. So he remains camouflaged among the Infantry, awaiting further orders...but in his black little heart he knows the Archons will be looking for him now and probably spot him when they look this way.

[Werebiscuit]

Rolf gently, but irresistibly, removes himself from Faith 's clutch and looks to Yuri for guidance.
Meanwhile his mind raced.
Those units of Charlie were certainly sharp-eyed, with even nimbler brains but he wondered whether it would be sensible to try a bluff to disguise their forces. He could easily correct the blonde's gambit that the cloaks were made by a Tenebrisian mancer, since they had just come from a ruins hex. Slowly he scanned for how many of such cloaks were in sight. One... it might Just work, assuming he could get to Brick and Vinny before they were sighted, but would that be revealing more to Side Charlie or casting their own fog. Decisions, decisions... well, has was glad the decision would not be his to take.
He gave Bill a hard stare, clamping his lips tight and prayed that the Croakamancer had caught the fact that he had not been mentioned.
His shoulders slumped in realization that Bill may be annoyed by the oversight and then quickly straightened and sent an even more fervent prayer that Bill would know what to do about it.

[MarbitChow]

He gave Bill a hard stare, clamping his lips tight and prayed that the Croakamancer had caught the fact that he had not been mentioned.

(OOC : You realize than any unit with Leadership can just see his stats, right? He's standing right there. )

[Werebiscuit]

He gave Bill a hard stare, clamping his lips tight and prayed that the Croakamancer had caught the fact that he had not been mentioned.

(OOC : You realize than any unit with Leadership can just see his stats, right? He's standing right there. )

OOC That I wasn't sure of, since they didn't mention him. It isn't impossible that they'd ignored him while searching for the hidden details... sometimes the best way of hiding something is to make it too obvious but the same probably goes for Vinny and he's out in the open too, Blast it! /OOC

[0beron]

the same probably goes for Vinny and he's out in the open too, Blast it!

OCC Yeah...I have been out of LOS, and was counting on the fact that I'd look like just another Infantry unless they bother to actually LOOK AT ME. But now that they're actually searching for a Dollamancer, they'll probably spot me.

[Werebiscuit]

OCC Yeah...I have been out of LOS, and was counting on the fact that I'd look like just another Infantry .

OOC Except for that cloak which is shining magically...identifying itself

unless they bother to actually LOOK AT ME..

That fact that they said "cloaks" means that they've no doubt spotted Will's and yours.. I know Rolf said "one" but that was only because Bland hasn't posted a location for Will and I didn't know if Rolf could see either of you from his position

But now that they're actually searching for a Dollamancer, they'll probably spot me.

I'd lay good money you've already been spotted due to the magical nature of the cloak. /OOC

[0beron]

OCC ooooooh...yeah I forgot about wearing that *facepalm*

[MarbitChow]

Rona watches as Buffy and Faith start chatting up the warriors. She turns to Bill. "So, you do the uncroaked thing. That's cool. Can you make them do anything neat?" She smiles.

[The Colonel]

Bill replies "HEY! You're the first person this day who doesn't dislike Uncroaked!" He continues "Well, I got them to dance once, still trying to recreate that though."

[Exate]

Buffy, Faith, and Rona set down. Buffy takes Yuri's arm, and Faith clings to Rolf. Buffy says, "Now that we're friends, why don't you introduce us to the shockamancer who charged up these towers, the healamancer who warded you so well, and the dollamancer who made such fine cloaks? We've got plenty of time. It will be four turns before the elves get here."

Yuri had expected the Archons to tear every scrap of information they could out of his side during the alliance, but it was surprising how blatant they were about it. Titans, but he hated chatterboxing. This was going to be turn after turn of battles with an enemy he couldn't croak, he could feel it looming before him as surely as the walls of an opposing city.

With the thought of the turns to come as a battle, still-fresh Warlord instincts started coming into play. What had to be sacrificed, what could be protected for multiple turns from a nosy ally? Hiding the units inside Dis City and their equipment would be impractical at best; those secrets were Fated to be lost at this point, like screening units defending against a charge. But specific capabilities beyond the obvious, units elsewhere, and past actions- particularly the successful foray into the ruins and the resulting spoils? Those were not yet lost, if they could be protected properly. But the Archons would be strong opponents, fast and deadly, seeking out points of weakness- units with loose tongues- and tearing them apart with pretty smiles and assurances of friendship, leaving secrets exposed and destroyed. Who did he have to counter?

Himself. Yuri didn't think he could really match an Archon in this, but he was already on the field and engaging- withdrawing would be impossible now. In fact, he needed to engage right now, before the Archon got suspicious of his thinking instead of replying. Acting on first instinct to keep the situation under control- and perhaps other instincts as well- Yuri moves the arm that Buffy has taken to slide a hand around her waist and pull her closer, turning to the stairs and moving so that she is swept along with him as he replies with another booming chuckle. "Is fond of important units, yes? I call meeting, for sharing of information on elves."

As he moves, Rolf's actions catch Yuri's eye. His brother heavy was disengaging from one of the Archons, clearly concerned. But if he was worried, then he was exactly the sort of unit that Yuri needed to engage them. The massive warlord quirks an eyebrow at Rolf and comments in a joking tone, "Rolf, negotiations done. Is breaking stack and enjoying time accompanying pretty girl, yes?" Though his tone does not change, he slams the force of an order behind three of his words. Faith's choice to stick herself to Rolf gave Yuri a perfect excuse to assign a unit with a sense of caution as her minder to stop her from running around loose and hopefully asking awkward questions, and while the other heavy might be no more comfortable with his Duty than Yuri, few were the units who got any choice in such things. He'd cope.

That left one Archon unaccounted for, and... already talking with Bill. Bill, who had interrupted negotiations by boldly striding out and trying to take charge. That would be a problem. Who could he send to reinforce that hex? A quick glance over the roof yielded... some newbie warlords he didn't know well, a number of infantry who had yet to distinguish themselves as notably special or sensible, and William. Did he trust any of those units with this? Perhaps William, but... agh, he didn't know. He'd try to remove Bill from the situation and hope another idea presented itself soon. As he reaches the top of the stairs he pauses and calls to the croakamancer, "Bill, is finding Triage and Vinny for talking with flying women, yes?" Ordering a caster around wasn't something Yuri could do, but hopefully Bill wouldn't prove stubborn... or bring the Archon with him and chatterbox with her the whole time. Titans, that could have been a mistake.

[MarbitChow]

(OOC : I'd like feedback on the new units as well, if you have time. I don't want to add units that you're never going to use, so I tried to make them well-balanced, especially mounts in comparison to heavy. Both mount types that you can pop can level.)

[Exate]

The new mounts make me wonder how a Heavy without Flight can get their hands on it... and on a higher overland move rate. I've been envying the Archons their ridiculously flashy stats since the moment they showed up.

I like the look of those Heck Pups. With units with the Heavy special now commonly flinging around Defense values that make basic level one infantry all but irrelevant (these days Yuri is all but impossible for such mooks to scratch, and he's far from the only unit in that category) a unit that can ignore Defense and is relatively easy to pop will have a definite niche in our army.

The Bad Asses really look like they'll live up to their name. That's a hell of a mount. Actually, the Crown of Darkness units in general seem to me like they're a bit better than the ones that we can pop natively.

If you could add all poppable units to the Campaign Reference thread, that would be appreciated.