Darkness Rising v2.0 - 'Tenebris Unleashed' Campaign

[MarbitChow]

Charlie Mission - Request for confirmation
Ok guys, I need final popping orders for Turn 14, and final confirmation from those who are heading off on the Charlie mission.
I'm going to assume that the Tenebris non-gobwin units being popped on Turn 14 won't be going on the mission.

Thomas the Tank (bob the 6th): Spearman {Level 1, 0 XP} [ 8 Combat / 6 Defense / 20 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Strike. Specials: Heavy, Military]
Blackbeard (WhirdCheese): Warrior {Level 1, 0 XP} [5 Combat / 11 Defense / 18 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Assault. Specials: Heavy, Military]
Sekan (ETheBoyce): Archer {Level 1, 0 XP} 2 AP Unspent...
Zed-Too (BLANDCorporatio): Warrior {Level 1, 4xp} [5 Combat / 8 Defense / 22 Hits. 8 {8} Move. Assault. Special: Military, Well-protected, Beefy, Skilled] (Lesser Boost:2)
Anex (Werebiscuit): Archer {Level 1, 4xp} [10 Combat / 3 Defense / 10 Hits / 8 {8} Move. Fire. Special: Military, Well-Armed, Skilled] (Lesser Boost:2)
??? (CroverusRaven): Unknown NPC

8 Gobwin Zed Spearmen

Optional:
Vinny & his golems (0beron) - Vinny, out of boredom, goes rogue and heads off on adventure...

If your name is listed above, reply "(Character Name) Reporting for Duty" and once everyone's responded, we'll get this under way.

[BLANDCorporatio]

For the record, so's Will {interested in hunting Dwagons; at least that appears to not require lengthy debates}.

On the topic of planning- no Rainbow Springs, please.

PS: Zed too reporting for duty. Damn duty.

[0beron]

Vinny, reporting for duty and remaining, for now, disgruntled in the presence of his verbose and bickering companions, awaiting orders to march for Logan's Run

[MarbitChow]

Vinny, reporting for duty and remaining, for now, disgruntled in the presence of his verbose and bickering companions, awaiting orders to march for Logan's Run

(The request for 'reporting for duty' is for those units who are going on the Charlie mission. My including you in the list was a malicious attempt by the GM to encourage your character to desert the Logan Run mission and go play with Charlie's squad.)

[0beron]

I figured, but aired on the side of caution to clarify :p It's sorely tempting....but I know you'd kill me so that'd be unfair to the side for me to act irresponsibly.

[MarbitChow]

I figured, but aired on the side of caution to clarify :p It's sorely tempting....but I know you'd kill me so that'd be unfair to the side for me to act irresponsibly.

If you don't have an alternate PC yet, you could still create one and go, then I could just kill that one off instead...

[0beron]

Nah, one PC is already more than enough involvement in this...

[ETheBoyce]

Sekan reporting for duty!

Also on the campaign mission front, with the current archery change we may want to completely change our deployment. Coil really would be able to siege down Logan's Run with just Cumulonimbus. I think Coil, Wanderus, a Healomancer, and Vinny should be the only humanoid units to attack Logan's Run. Coil on his mount enters the hex first and blasts any archers that are above level 1 or have leadership from Elevation 4, he then fries archers until they retreat from sight and then he blows a hole in the wall/gate, then the rest enter the hex to deal with any units hiding in the structures. This should result in level ups for the Bad Ass, Vinny, and Wanderus at least, probably for Coil and the Healamancer as well.

[Swodaems]

Tod here. Sorry I haven't been posting much. I've been watching the thread and keep wanting to chime in, but I'm a shy writer most of the time. I write something and when I click submit, there's a new post and I have to start over again. Eventually, I end up feeling less certain about posting in the first place and the post ends up not happening. (Fair warning, I have an anxiety disorder that triggers alot around indecision. Of course, it comes and goes as it pleases.)

I'm just going to talk about the assault on Logan's Run for most of this post. Hopefully we can nail down what will actually be required and have a better idea of what will be left over for other missions. Then, we can focus on splitting up the other troops for the escort, Charlie, or possible assault on another city. Anything left over can do random encounters.

Part of the problem we're having with planning for the Logan's Run mission is still a lack of information. We have a map of the hex's layout and a unit count, but there is still alot of unknown variables. Even at level 1, units have alot of ways to vary their stats. Knowing if the enemy archers are basic 7/3/10 archers or warded, well-armed, dance-fighting 10(+4)/3(+4)/10(+8) archers is (MarbitChow, you said that the picture was an image of the city made from all the information the imps have gathered. I take it that means that those archers were all they saw. Do I know if they got a glimpse inside the buildings? Does showing Wandereus the information from Logan's Run ring any bells in his head? Does he know of any policies that Breathairia has that might tell us more about those units? (Was he required to run the city at a profit?) Junetta gets asked some of the same questions and also gets asked if she has either recently traveled to Logan's Run or was going to in the near future.)

Would it be possible to retconjure up a uncroaked suicide-faerie, created by Bill on turn 10? If it left as soon as it was created, it would have enough move that it could travel the 36 hexes between Dis City and Logan's run by the end of turn 12. (36 hexes is the max range of this gimmick with a faerie. If the uncroaked faerie survived the entry into Logan's Runon turn 12, I believe that it would still dust when at the start of turn 13, when it get hit for its 3rd helping of normal decay and its first of extended decay.) I'd forgotten that Imps couldn't see stats. An uncroaked Faerie, however, could be used by Bill to extend his senses in the same manner that let him see the stats on Armolad's force.

Barring information from Wandereus, a retconjured faerie, or another source, the next best way I have to determining those archers' stats is to guess what that picture would mean if I were in charge of Breathairia. If I were to make a doorless level 1 city like that in what I considered the back end of my kingdom, I would be stocking it with well armed, dance-fighting garrison archers. After I had enough archers to feel secure, I'd set the city to popping nothing but fliers, which don't need a door to exit the city. The lack of visible melee troops wouldn't be feigned, nothing would be hiding inside. Anything that gets past the wall and the archery would likely be too difficult to handle without going over budget and making the city unprofitable. (In fact, Logan's Run may be over budget already. Logan's run is level 1, so it only generates 200 schmuckers per turn. If those 24 archers are level 1 garrison archers, they cost a total of 48 UP to pop. 48*5=240 schmuckers per turn. Either Logan's Run is actually costing the elves money to keep, or we're actually looking at 1UP Garrison Zed archers.) Are garrison units worth as much exp as their mobile counterparts?

A common idea so far in the options I seen presented on how to take Logan's Run is that the attack is going to be planned around Bill and Vinny's abilites. Vinny brings his dolls and Bill is to bring a large number of lesser uncroaked or skeletons to the fight and lead them into battle. For this to work, we need to have a very accurate assessment of how useful this tactic will be. That means more questions for MarbitChow.

Am I correctly interpreting the picture when I say that Logan's run is a doorless, walled up, compound? Are there no ladders or any other way for the ground troops inside to come outside? Are there ladders on the interior?
I also asked this in the rules thread, but I really want to know how far the hex barrier is from the wall. (The possibilty of using Cupid and Comet to safely harass the archers will, affect any plan we make,)
You've said that restacking units will no longer happen freely each round. Does this apply to units that are created in mid battle? Would the
When Bill is horded with his uncroaked, they gain the miltary special. Can they use it to boost Bill despite his lack of the military special? (This same question will later apply to Vinny as well.)(Bill can fire twice.)
Bodyguard says that it prohibits the use of it alongside guard/interpose, but what about support/coordinate? Could a pair of skele archers with bodyguard be used to both protect and boost Bill?

Charlie Mission - Request for confirmation
Optional:
Vinny & his golems (0beron) - Vinny, out of boredom, goes rogue and heads off on adventure...

If your name is listed above, reply "(Character Name) Reporting for Duty" and once everyone's responded, we'll get this under way.

Is there only 1 unknown NPC available for this scenario?

[ETheBoyce]

Do we know if the Sprites are natural allies or Breatharian units? Because they may not be able to pop fliers in a level 1 City

[MarbitChow]

MarbitChow, you said that the picture was an image of the city made from all the information the imps have gathered. I take it that means that those archers were all they saw. Do I know if they got a glimpse inside the buildings? Does showing Wandereus the information from Logan's Run ring any bells in his head? Does he know of any policies that Breathairia has that might tell us more about those units? (Was he required to run the city at a profit?) Junetta gets asked some of the same questions and also gets asked if she has either recently traveled to Logan's Run or was going to in the near future.[/b])

Wandereus was required to run at a profit. They primarily relied upon archers to protect the city from the occasional random pop. He's almost certain most of the units will be garrison - if they're prepping for war, they'll have moved all mobile units to a staging area, if any were there.

Would it be possible to retconjure up a uncroaked suicide-faerie, created by Bill on turn 10? If it left as soon as it was created, it would have enough move that it could travel the 36 hexes between Dis City and Logan's run by the end of turn 12. (36 hexes is the max range of this gimmick with a faerie. If the uncroaked faerie survived the entry into Logan's Runon turn 12, I believe that it would still dust when at the start of turn 13, when it get hit for its 3rd helping of normal decay and its first of extended decay.) I'd forgotten that Imps couldn't see stats. An uncroaked Faerie, however, could be used by Bill to extend his senses in the same manner that let him see the stats on Armolad's force.

Sure, I'll allow it. You'll get the stats as soon as The Colonel confirms the order.

Are garrison units worth as much exp as their mobile counterparts?

Yes.

Am I correctly interpreting the picture when I say that Logan's run is a doorless, walled up, compound? Are there no ladders or any other way for the ground troops inside to come outside? Are there ladders on the interior?

It's not doorless. Nemo was championing attacking a section of wall that did not include the gate, figuring it would not be as well-defended, so I didn't bother to include the gate in the image.

I also asked this in the rules thread, but I really want to know how far the hex barrier is from the wall.

More than 100 squares, well out of RLOS. That will be standard for all combats from this point on. I'm eliminating the Hex Barrier as a standard component of combat except for special circumstances.

You've said that restacking units will no longer happen freely each round. Does this apply to units that are created in mid battle?

Units that Bill uncroaks can immediately join his horde when they're created - they'll get the 'free stack at the start of combat', since combat starts for them when they are made. Same for any Dolls that Vinny makes on the fly later on.

When Bill is horded with his uncroaked, they gain the miltary special. Can they use it to boost Bill despite his lack of the military special? (This same question will later apply to Vinny as well.)(Bill can fire twice.)

Yes, although see the discussion in the rules thread about changes to support/coordinate for Fire attacks.

Bodyguard says that it prohibits the use of it alongside guard/interpose, but what about support/coordinate? Could a pair of skele archers with bodyguard be used to both protect and boost Bill?

In the 2.0 rules, lesser uncroaked and skeletons no longer get to choose how their AP is spent.

Reanimator - Animate a single Croaked humanoid unit (friend or foe) as a Minor Uncroaked (treat as Warrior with Beefy and Uncroaked special). (4 Juice)
[Requires Reanimator] Bone Puppeteer (1 AP) - Create a Skeleton (treat as Warrior w/ Beefy and Well-Protected. Unit also gains the Skeletal special) from a single Croaked humanoid unit (friend or foe). Croaked units with the Spearman build can be uncroaked as Spearmen (Beefy, Well-Protected, Skeletal), and Croaked units with the Archer or Flier build can be uncroaked as Archers (Beefy, Skeletal). (8 Juice)

You would have to pop Tenebris archers w/ bodyguard, croak and Uncroak them in order to use such a combo.

Is there only 1 unknown NPC available for this scenario?

Only one was planned. Most player are creating secondary PCs in order to participate, and the NPC is guaranteed to be a one-shot. It will likely not be seen again, but if it is, it won't be controlled by a player at that time. Once the scenario begins, I'll probably open up some of the other NPCs to being player-controlled if people want to join in.

Do we know if the Sprites are natural allies or Breatharian units? Because they may not be able to pop fliers in a level 1 City

Sprites are Breathearian units. They're a variation on the Fliers that Tenebris can pop.

[MarbitChow]

Charlie's Mission Thread Begins
Charlie's Mission players: Thread begins here.
If you have not already confirmed in this thread, head on over there and report for duty.

[ETheBoyce]

But...but Sprites are objectively better than Dark Fliers as they have equal stats and Objay Dart qqqqqqqqqqq

[MarbitChow]

But...but Sprites are objectively better than Dark Fliers as they have equal stats and Objay Dart qqqqqqqqqqq

In order to address this horrible inequality, I've given Objay Darts to all Elven Archers as well.

[ETheBoyce]

But not to Elven Spearman or Warriors, oh the injustice!

[MarbitChow]

But not to Elven Spearman or Warriors, oh the injustice!

Done. I've also boosted Objay Dart to deal 10 Hits/ level of the target. Bwahahahaha! (Man... working late sucks...)

[ETheBoyce]

Oh but then we can wear cloaks to negate the shot!

[bob the 6th]

what are the obje darts?

[MarbitChow]

what are the obje darts?

Objey Darts are a special ability of Elven Faeries. Their fire attack, if it hits at all, will always do 1 Hit that ignores defense.

[Nnelg]

Even if we assume they only have units they've popped since Turn 1, you are still wrong because they have Natural Allies which means they could have popped between 360 and 432 UP worth of units.

If they have, why hasn't said army marched on our doorstep already?

I'm not opposed to ending turn within striking distance of a city, I'm opposed to your "attack Rainbow Springs except not really" plan of suicide.

Well then, let's just attack.

Logan's Run will only require a fraction of our forces. We can move on Rainbow Springs with the intent to take it, just with a backup plan in case it turns out to be too strong for us to take easily.

A common idea so far in the options I seen presented on how to take Logan's Run is that the attack is going to be planned around Bill and Vinny's abilites. Vinny brings his dolls and Bill is to bring a large number of lesser uncroaked or skeletons to the fight and lead them into battle. For this to work, we need to have a very accurate assessment of how useful this tactic will be. That means more questions for MarbitChow.

Actually, I think the only reason we were focusing on those two is because they don't soak Exp.

The plan for actually taking the city, the last time I checked, was to use covered rams to move up without having to suffer fire from the enemy. Nemo would help too with Baffle, if need be.