Darkness Rising

[The Colonel]

But, fair enough. I WAIT FOR UNCROAK AND BONE WARLORD

[MarbitChow]

William downs the 2nd gump with a single shot; assisted by Tod's leadership, the kill is practically guaranteed. (William gains 8xp. William GAINS A LEVEL! Tod gains 1XP.) Wandereus estimates the odds of being able to harm any more Tenebrisian units, let alone save the day, and concludes that the fight is hopeless. The uncroaked that keep popping on the wall will clearly start threatening Junetta shortly; he is amazed she has remained unharmed this long. The elves surrender. Wandereus pleads only that Junetta be spared. His men look surly, but the shackles that appeared on their wrists when the surrender was declared leave them few options, other than glaring. With the gates opened, an additional stack comprising of equal numbers of warriors and spearmen are revealed. All elven prisoners are herded into the central courtyard.

Triage heals the wounded, bring him to 16.1 XP. Triage GAINS A LEVEL!

Tod receives a Thinkagram from King Creperum...

"I'm going to make this quick, since Charlie's rates are ridiculous. Tell the team they all did a great job. As soon as the next turn starts, I'll upgrade this dung heap to a level 3 city; I'll leave it up to you to determine what you want to start popping. I'm sending a Balrug to transport Wandereus and Junetta to the capital. It will be easier to turn them if I can use each as both carrot and stick for the other. Execute the rest. Here's how I want you to allocate execution duty..." Tod receives additional instructions, and issues the orders.

Yuri executes 3 spearmen for 9 xp. Yuri GAINS A LEVEL!
Rolf executes 4 warriors for 12 xp. Rolf GAINS A LEVEL! Rolf GAINS ANOTHER LEVEL!
T. Coil executes 1 spearman and 1 level 2 archer for 8 xp. T. Coil GAINS A LEVEL!
Cupid executes 3 archers for 9 xp. Cupid GAINS A LEVEL!

(Note that execution results in automatic death. Leadership bonus is not factored in, and leadership XP is not gained in the process.)

(No images for this update.)

Player Stats
Tod (Swodaems): Spearman {Lvl 3, 20xp, 2 AP Banked} [ 8 Combat / 7 Defense / 20 Hits. Strike. Special: Leadership]
T. Coil (ETheBoyce): Caster {Lvl 3, 15xp, 1 AP Banked, +1Com/Def Banked} [ 6 Combat / 3 Defense / 12 Hits. Fire. Special: Shockamancy (Hiya, Hoboken). 24 Juice.] Scroll: Revitalize x3. Scroll: Renew x2
Yuri (Exate): Warrior {Lvl 3, 17xp, 2 AP Banked, +2Com/Def Banked} [ 10 Combat / 11 Defense / 32 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy.]
Rolf (Werebiscuit): Warrior {Lvl 3, 15xp, 2 AP Banked, +2Com/Def Banked} [ 10 Combat / 11 Defense / 32 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy.]
Cupid (HerbieRai): Flier {Lvl 3, 16xp, 1 AP Banked, +1Com/Def Banked} [ 6 Combat / 6 Defense / 16 Hits. Fire. Special: Fly]
William Showend Tell (BLANDCorporatio): Archer {Lvl 3, 15xp, 2 AP Banked, +1Com/Def Banked} [ 13 Combat / 5 Defense / 18 Hits. Fire. Special: Well-Armed]
Triage (WaterMonkey314): Caster {Lvl 3, 16.1xp, 1 AP Banked, +1Com/Def Banked} [ 6 Combat / 3 Defense / 12 Hits. Fire. Special: Healamancy (Revitalize, Renew). 24Juice.] Scroll: Hoboken
Bill (The Colonel): Caster {Lvl 3, 15xp, 1 AP Banked, +1Com/Def Banked} [ 6 Combat / 3 Defense / 12 Hits. Fire. Special: Croakamancy (Reanimator, Bone Puppeteer ). 24 Juice.] Scroll: Bone Puppeteer. Scroll: Lucky Streak

Darkness Units at the end of the combat :

Spoiler: show

Sk-1 Skeleton Archer [ 7 Combat / 3 Defense / 16 Hits. Fire. Special: x2 Def vs. Fire; Calcium Enriched]
Sk-2 Skeleton Spearman [ 7 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Fire. Special: x2 Def vs. Fire; Well-armed]
Sk-3 Skeleton Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Fire. Special: x2 Def vs. Fire; Calcium Enriched; Mighty Blow]

Ram : 4d6 Damage to structures only; ignores Defense; Units wielding Ram can only move 5 squares per turn instead of 8.
RAM-1 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-2 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-3 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-4 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-5 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-6 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-7 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]
RAM-8 Warrior lvl 2 [ 9 Combat / 11 Defense / 36 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy, Beefy]

DW-1 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-2 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-3 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-4 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-5 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-6 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-7 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]
DW-8 Dark Warrior [ 5 Combat / 5 Defense / 22 Hits. Attack. Special: Mighty Blow, Guard, Beefy]

DS-1 Dark Spearman (1xp) [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-2 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-3 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-4 Dark Spearman (1xp) [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-5 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-6 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-7 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]
DS-8 Dark Spearman [ 5 Combat / 4 Defense / 12 Hits. Strike. Special: Guard, Interpose, Bodyguard]

DF-8 Dark Flier [ 4 Combat / 4 Defense / 8 Hits. Fire. Special: Fly]

BS 1 - Brickabat Swarm [ 0 Combat / 1 Defense / 8 Hits. No attack. Special: Screen - Brickabat Swarm can negate a single Fire attack against any adjacent target, at the cost of 1 Hit. Cannot be targeted by Fire, Strike, or non-AoE Spells.]
BS 2 - Brickabat Swarm [ 0 Combat / 1 Defense / 8 Hits. No attack. Special: Screen - Brickabat Swarm can negate a single Fire attack against any adjacent target, at the cost of 1 Hit. Cannot be targeted by Fire, Strike, or non-AoE Spells.]
BS 3 - Brickabat Swarm [ 0 Combat / 1 Defense / 8 Hits. No attack. Special: Screen - Brickabat Swarm can negate a single Fire attack against any adjacent target, at the cost of 1 Hit. Cannot be targeted by Fire, Strike, or non-AoE Spells.]

Everyone should now be Level 3. Please confirm your stats and let me know how you want to allocate your leveling bonuses. I'll post the updated map, as well as rules for popping new units each turn this evening.

[WaterMonkey314]

How many corpses does Bill have?

Also, I'll take Minor Ward now; I'd like to bank the +1C/D and think over that for a bit.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Jolly splendid! I do find it strange that they've surrendered, seeing the mass of hidden units, but even with those, the inevitable would have been merely delayed.

In my case, it's simple. Increase combat again. I'll keep the second AP as well for now.

[HerbieRai]

I don't have any of the bonuses added in from level 2, so I'd like to have 8 combat/ 6 defense/ 16 hits. Fire. Special: Fly 2 AP banked.

I don't see the restriction that fliers cannot be heavy. That was taken out, right?

[MarbitChow]

Yes, flier restrictions on Heavy and the Beefy line were removed.

[ETheBoyce]

T. Coil gains 1 Combat, T. Coil learns TooGeeWonCee

[The Colonel]

I boost defense, And I think I should learn The uncroaked healing thing this level. Next level, BONE WARLORD!

[MarbitChow]

How many corpses does Bill have?

More than he could possibly use; we'll call it an even 20. He can make 3 / turn, but they decay each turn as well; if he starts cranking them out too early, they might decay significantly before the counter-attack occurs. He'll also be able to position a number of them on the battlefield, in case he wants to pop them up at specific locations.

[The Colonel]

So when is the estimated arrival of the counteratack?

[ETheBoyce]

If possible I will begin the turning process in the turns before the Balrug arrives, using harsher methods than the King where applicable.

[MarbitChow]

So when is the estimated arrival of the counteratack?

You currently have no idea, but at least a few turns away is a reasonable guess, since it took your siege units more than 6 turns to travel from your capital to here.

[MarbitChow]

If possible I will begin the turning process in the turns before the Balrug arrives, using harsher methods than the King where applicable.

You'll need to clear it with Tod, since you currently have no means to communicate directly to your King.
Also, do you want Triage to play 'good caster' to your 'bad caster' (and also be on-hand in case you get too enthusiastic)?

[Exate]

Please confirm your stats and let me know how you want to allocate your leveling bonuses.

Yuri's stats after leveling should be:
Yuri (Exate): Warrior {Lvl 3, 17xp, 2 AP Banked} [ 11 Combat / 12 Defense / 32 Hits. Attack. Special: Heavy.]

I may choose to allocate those AP or keep holding them after seeing the rules for popping new units.

He can make 3 / turn

That's only if he insists on making skeletons. If we know that we'll have a couple turns' warning before the attack comes, it would likely be significantly more effective to crank out 6 Minor Uncroaked each turn and get a proper swarm going.

Also, I'm pretty sure we have 33 corpses: 4 scouts, 4 warriors, 4 spearmen, 14 archers, and 7 fliers. I suppose you could declare any number of those so damaged as to be unusable, if you feel compelled to do so, though.

You'll need to clear it with Tod, since you currently have no means to communicate directly to your King.

I don't think he does. It's easy in a case like this to convince himself that something he wants to do (turn them personally) is in line with his Duty to the side, and asking permission every time you want to do your Duty is just silly. In any case, as Tod is just some random warlord he doesn't actually outrank the casters unless our Ruler has explicitly ordered them to follow his orders and/or clear their activities with him, which I don't recall seeing in any of the IC blurbs. Thus, if Tod (or anyone else) wants to stop him it'll be up to them to take the initiative and do so- as well as to figure out how heavy-handed they'd be willing to get about it.

In short: Character development!

[MarbitChow]

Also, I'm pretty sure we have 33 corpses: 4 scouts, 4 warriors, 4 spearmen, 14 archers, and 7 fliers. I suppose you could declare any number of those so damaged as to be unusable, if you feel compelled to do so, though.

Several of those were already turned into skeletons. 2, I believe, have already been dusted, and 3 are currently animated. So, we'll go with 28 as the final answer.

...In short: Character development!

All of these arguments are completely accurate. I'll simply clarify my previous statement by declaring that Tod has the key to the dungeons in which they are being kept.

[Exate]

Several of those were already turned into skeletons. 2, I believe, have already been dusted, and 3 are currently animated. So, we'll go with 28 as the final answer.

Ah, forgot about that. good call.

All of these arguments are completely accurate. I'll simply clarify my previous statement by declaring that Tod has the key to the dungeons in which they are being kept.

T. Coil has another key. He calls it Shockamancy, and it fits almost any lock.

[MarbitChow]

T. Coil has another key. He calls it Shockamancy, and it fits almost any lock.

My assumptions:
Elves are kept in separate cells.
Cells are locked and a guard is posted.
The guard does not have the key.
Doors are [10 Def, 20 Hit, 1/2 damage from Shockamancy, rounded down].
Guard will run for Tod if the door is attacked.
Guard will counter-attack if the guard is attacked.
Guard is one of the heavy ram-wielders.

Swodaems, if he chooses, can modify all of the above assumptions freely, adding or removing conditions.
Other players may also attempt to modify them, but success is not automatic for them.

[Swodaems]

T. Coil has another key. He calls it Shockamancy, and it fits almost any lock.

My assumptions:
Elves are kept in separate cells.
Cells are locked and a guard is posted.
The guard does not have the key.
Doors are [10 Def, 20 Hit, 1/2 damage from Shockamancy, rounded down].
Guard will run for Tod if the door is attacked.
Guard will counter-attack if the guard is attacked.
Guard is one of the heavy ram-wielders.

Swodaems, if he chooses, can modify all of the above assumptions freely, adding or removing conditions.
Other players may also attempt to modify them, but success is not automatic for them.

There will at least 4 guards. (Too many for even a lvl 8 shockamancer to stun in a single round using basic fire attacks.) Guards will be positioned such that they can see each other, but are not in an area small enough to hit with a single spell. There will also be guards near my person at all times, and orders for a buddy system to be in effect for the night for all units. We have already seen some concealed enemies earlier today. It would not do for us to be surprised by some hidden elven scout with lockpicks. Try to get people to trust you, but never trust an enemy's honor.

Any requests about the prisoners from T. Coil will be denied as politely as possible. The stated reason for the denial will be sem-valid security concerns, (Wandereus and Junetta could do some serious damage to a small group in close quarters.) I will attempt, (thru body language, conversational timing, and not-too-careful avoidance of the subject,) to give him the impression that I'm really denying him because I'm just a bit too spineless to consent to an act that our ruler may punish us for later. The real reasons for denying him are: A. I don't fully trust T. Coil with them. He apparently has a prior association with this side's commanders. He may just want to croak these valuable prisoners, but he may also try to help them escape. There's a difference between croaking your former side's infantry in the heat of combat and calmly shipping people you actually know off to be turned. B. I prefer to screw with people mentally instead of physically. Inviting them to join in our victory feast and making subtle remarks is more my style. Figuring out how to work the phrase "We're not monsters." into our conversation while they're surrounded by our heavies and being waited on by uncroaked will be exceptionally gratifying to me.

(Also, Wandereus had a +1 Combat Weapon on him. What happened to it? I know it had an 'attack only' tag on it, but I was wondering if I could fashion the blade into a halbred or use it as a side arm.)

[MarbitChow]

(Also, Wandereus had a +1 Combat Weapon on him. What happened to it? I know it had an 'attack only' tag on it, but I was wondering if I could fashion the blade into a halbred or use it as a side arm.)

Magic items cannot be refashioned. The weapon is being sent back with Wandereus, so that he can continue to use it after he's been turned.

[WaterMonkey314]

To Tod:

Permission to speak with the captured Healomancer and see if she has any insights that could help me? I'm willing to have you come along if you want (or maybe we should have a nice big banquet with lots of fancy schmoozing - and Bill's skeletons as the waiters).