Darkness Rising

[MarbitChow]

A Gift From The Archons

Yuri's negotiating acumen appears to have impressed Buffy, and as a show of good faith, she had the following image thinkagram'd to him. It's a bit hazy, and he can't see the stats from a static image, but she thought it would be helpful.

[The Colonel]

bugger, we do need Tod's leadership. Junetta's healing also would come in handy.

NINE FULL STACKS!? AND A WARLORD!? We need to start popping an army.
2 Stacks of fliers
2 stacks of Spearmen
2 stacks of Swordmen
1 stack of an Archeon equivalent
2 stacks of Archers
1 Stack of Gumps
1 Warlord, probably high level.

We have, 46/8 = Six stacks tops. INCLUDING my uncroaked which will not be in top form after this. We need a trump card.

[WaterMonkey314]

bugger, we do need Tod's leadership. Junetta's healing also would come in handy.

NINE FULL STACKS!? AND A WARLORD!? We need to start popping an army.
2 Stacks of fliers
2 stacks of Spearmen
2 stacks of Swordmen
1 stack of an Archeon equivalent
2 stacks of Archers
1 Stack of Gumps
1 Warlord, probably high level.

We have, 46/8 = Six stacks tops. INCLUDING my uncroaked which will not be in top form after this. We need a trump card.

Are those numbers ours or theirs? They seem to have two Archon-class stacks...

[The Colonel]

The top is theirs, the bottom is ours

[ETheBoyce]

Well, I'm something of a trump card, in the sense that Shockamancy can target riders instead of mounts so it's possible we can just play chess the Teneresian way. Also we have a number of caster who have never been to the MK, I would suggest we send our Healamancer and Dollamancer to MK to see if there's anything worth getting/finding new information on the Elven casters. Bill, being a Croakamancer, would not be very welcome I feel. That said I think our first priority in the fight is going to need to be the fliers, get them out of the way and we rain arrows down on their ground units with relative impunity given that we get something like +8 Defence from being on the walls and behind the crenelations.

I would like to propose that if we do send casters into the MK we purchase 2 scrolls of CitrusParty, this will allow us to defend our Gate from their siege gumps quite well unless they are immune to stun, which I don't think the other gumps were?

[Werebiscuit]

We have, 46/8 = Six stacks tops. INCLUDING my uncroaked which will not be in top form after this. We need a trump card.

We have only the leadership for 5 stacks (possibly 6 if Wandreus turns & appears) and we have 4 turns to pop a stack (so we're talking about 2UP or less per unit) plus as I've pointed out we need a vanilla warrior and a bodyguard to round out our stacks. Even on mounts Tenebris is 3 turns away so we can't count on them for much. We could have 2 balrug trips but one of those will be Tod & Tesla. ( Tenebris contribution is likely to be Wandreus, Junetta, 3 naughty kitties and 3 archers plus 4 other undecided units - tops)

Rolf meanwhile, as much as entertaining Faith has been trying to pump her (for information, you sickos, get your minds out of the gutter ), not just on what she knows of the elves but on the lay of the land around Dis to all sides. He determines to later get some imps to check out what information he can glean, to make sure the information she gives is verified. He will start off with casual questions , as per his attempt to determine how far the archons had come, but will get more direct if she is evasive, reminding Faith, if necessary, that they ARE allies and that current battlespace information could be crucial to the coming battle, including whether the elves might try a direct attack or try to manoeuvre round Dis to gain an advantage or even try to siege.
Depending on his results he may return to trying to get as much information on the archons themselves as possible, using more casual questioning such as "Are there many more like you at home ?" If challenged on this he wilI explain that he only has eyes for Faith but has noticed the looks she gets from other warriors and would like to see if she has many sisters that could divert that attention. He will take her up to the battlements pointing out distant mountain ranges and features and going on about their beauty and asking her casually of the beauty of her homeland.

[The Colonel]

Boyce, your job is to target leadership, luckily, there seems to be only one leader.

[Werebiscuit]

Boyce, your job is to target leadership, luckily, there seems to be only one leader.

OOC With 9 possible stacks there is going to be more than one leader, looks like one warlord but SHE will NOT be the only leader.

And what is that female white stack ? Do they have a full stack of healomancers ? We might have trouble getting Bill some undead... /OOC

[The Colonel]

I'm guessing archeon equivalent. But off the warlord and morale may drop.

[Werebiscuit]

I'm guessing archeon equivalent. But off the warlord and morale may drop.

OOC Watermonkey thought the fliers were the archon equivalents. Judging by the fact that they have no weapons visible, I'm tending to agree with him.
A stack of healomancers would slow down our usual, kill then raise, steamroller so that'd be an effective tactic against us the the elves (a healomancer type race) WOULD use

AND by my counting there's 10 STACKS !/OOC

[ETheBoyce]

Technically 11, given it's hardcapped at 8 and the Leader and his mount are both units <_<

[Lord of Monies]

A whole stack of healomancers feels like a bit much for any side to have. Remember, also, that not all units who attack have weapons. Think of the Transylvitians. They fly and hold no weapons, just go in with punches and kicks. Not to discount their flyers as I agree that will be the first problem to worry about, but as for that stack of glowing elves, I have my doubts that they're healomancers. Dance-fighting, maybe? It could be an outfit to give them that option. At which point they're only really a worry if they manage to break through the outer wall, I guess.

We have ballistae, right? Oh is that at the capitol? If here, then I think that should focus on the big siege-looking things while archery and shockamancy works to take down the fliers. We also need to find out what other kinds of services the archons can do for us while they're here. Any boosts to the city, knowledge of enemy stats if they have it, strategies they might have to offer. They are allies for 3 turns. We need them hard at work in all the time we have.

[Swodaems]

Alright, assuming that we've got correct information on the advance's timing, then I have a popping order in mind for our capital city. (As I currently understand it, the elves are arriving after our turn on Turn 9.) This sequence nets us 5 mounts and 4 def ignoring units before the battle.
turn 6: 3 naughty kitties pop and get 12/32 of the way to Dis with what ever riders they have. Any 8 move units without mounts the King is willing to send our way have to leave now as well if they wish to make it before the battle. Wandereus, Junetta, T. Coil, and I balrug to Dis. (Or if we were to start walking, we would make it.)
turn 7: Assuming I am unable to get Rihanna to agree to boost production again, (Which I will try. This advantage is too useful not to.) 2 naughty kitties pop and get 12/32 of the way to Dis with what ever riders they have. The group of 3 is 24/32 of the way there. The Balrug goes back. (need to keep Charlie from following it)
turn 8: 2 heck pups pop, but they do not move from Tenebris this turn. The group of 3 naughty kitties arrives at Dis. The group of 2 is 24/32 of the way there.
turn 9: 2 more heck pups pop. They and the two from turn 8 balrug to Dis. (MarbitChow, please tell me if heck pups can't ride the Balrug. You've only said mounts can't, nothing about agile or beast type units.) The group of 2 naughty kitties arrives at Dis. The elves arrive after we end turn.

[Werebiscuit]

OOC Ok Thats a reasonable popping sequence for Tenebris but what about Dis ?
I've already identified that we need 1 warrior and 1 bodyguard to round out stacks and we probably need 2 heavies to operate the catapults. You however wanted imps, Swodaems. Can you let us know why ?

The Balrug goes back. (need to keep Charlie from following it)

It does not need to travel all the way to Dis, if you are contacting an imp to get us into a situation where the archons cannot overhear, it can drop you at the same co-ordinates or even further out. That way we can keeep the balrug ( as I understand it a unique Tenebrisian unit) form their sight.
/OOC

[ETheBoyce]

I say MOAR ARCHERS, seriously, the more hits we can throw down on them with limited retaliation the better

[MarbitChow]

Note: The following image contains adult themes. Viewer discretion is advised. (This satirical image is not canon.)

The Return of Tod And Tesla

Spoiler: show

MarbitChow, please tell me if heck pups can't ride the Balrug. You've only said mounts can't, nothing about agile or beast type units.

Heck pups CAN ride the Balrug. Only units designated as mounts cannot.

[ETheBoyce]

And by not canon you mean COMPLETELY 100% CANON

[Swodaems]

Ok Thats a reasonable popping sequence for Tenebris but what about Dis ?

I've got multiple ideas in mind for Dis. We could go either for creating a large amount of units or units that are meant to fill distinct roles in our army. If we go the massive amount of units route, we could have Dis pop up to 8 warriors or spearmen a turn. Thanks to our limited time and UP, creating units meant to fill a role means evaluating the worth of each role as compared to each other. (I would like to create 2 backup dancers. A warrior and a spearman with the dancefighting special, but no other spare ap. Could I custom pop them like that, or would I need to pop them as basic or basic garrison units?) I'd prefer to create units with roles instead of cannon fodder, but we could go either way.

You however wanted imps, Swodaems. Can you let us know why ?

Before the archons gave us the information about the elven attack, I wanted them simply to expand our net for information purposes. Now I want them in the hopes that they can confirm the Archons' statements about the timing of the attack on turn 6. (MarbitChow, exactly how far does the current net extend? Could our units see how much move the archons had left before ending turn? )

The Balrug goes back. (need to keep Charlie from following it)

It does not need to travel all the way to Dis, if you are contacting an imp to get us into a situation where the archons cannot overhear, it can drop you at the same co-ordinates or even further out. That way we can keeep the balrug ( as I understand it a unique Tenebrisian unit) form their sight.

It has 40 move. The W,J,T,T group ony has 8. Tenebris and Dis are 32 hexes away from each other. On Turn 6, the balrug can use 24 move to drop us 8 hexes away from Dis and then return to either 8 hexes away from Tenebris or group with the 3 naughty kitties 12 hexes from the capital if we don't want it to spend the night alone. (Can also place naughty kitties 8 hexes from Tenebris and still have them make it to Dis on Turn 8.) (I would advocate an exactly choreographed movement strategy to get another trip or two out of the balrug, but any 8 or higher move units the King is willing to send us can already reach Dis in time if they leave from Tenebris now.)

[0beron]

I think if we're going to go the "mass produce units" path, then we should focus on Archers instead. They can pick off the key targets such as leadership, heal/Archon, and siege. Then they can attack the non-siege with little reprisal.

[ETheBoyce]

Our arrows should blot out the sun! The only light they should see is my lightning striking them dead!