Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

Autumn: Decline the Southern kingdoms

From late summer to autumn, the two Southern nations of Bandar Log and Abysia, exhausted by constant warfare, have stopped fighting with each other: they now have to defend their lands against their three more powerful neighbors.

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Overview of the Southern kingdoms in late summer. Their relative weakness attracts more and more attention from their more powerful neighbors (arrows)


Ermorian and Pythian pressures on Bandar Log

The Agarthan progress on Abysia does not benefit Bandar Log, now engaged against two more powerful nations: Pythium in the East and Ermor in the West.

Ermorian strategists clearly see in the weakness of Bandar Log an opportunity for expansion. This opportunity could have been neglected for other potential ventures, if Bandar Log had not forced Ermor’s hand by lunching a new attack on Fort Batimor. Stabilization of the Pangean front lets Ermor engage with Bandar Log with full forces.

The Bandari army besieging Fort Batimor is easily defeated in two steps: assassins murder the only two commanders, letting veterans from the Pangean front, led by the Grand Thaumaturge Redemptio, rout the Tiger Riders in early autumn. The army moves on to liberate the neighboring province of Morn Woods against the small force of Tiger Riders occupying it.

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The small force of Tiger riders responsible for the attack on Fort Batimor and the new war with Ermor bravely charges the Ermorian army, in vain. They get encircled, rout but get almost all slaughtered

In Mid-autumn, now that Ermorian field armies are mobilized in this area, with no immediate threat elsewhere, field Thaumaturges decide to push their advantage forward.

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Situation on the Bandari front by mid-autumn. The Ermorian legion does not seek contact with Bandari armies and targets poorly defended provinces, while Bandar Log has to engage Pythian armies in the East

In the East, Pythium resists Bandari counter-offensives and consolidates her position with a new fort in the bandari sphere of influence. Bandar Log seems to have deployed important resources to this front, to no avail.

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Bandari field army defending Western provinces against Pythium, as observed in late summer

Pythian tactics, as observed by Ermorian spies, seem to revolve around combining heavy infantry with magic communions throwing thunder strikes.

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Pythian army observed in late fall

By late fall, pushed back by Ermor and Pythium, Bandar Log only controls a few provinces around her capital. No major engagement still took place between Ermorian and Bandari armies.

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Bandari kingdom by late fall. Ermor intends to continue progression in provinces the furthest away from the Bandari capital, on the former Abysian/Bandari frontline, expecting Bandar Log to concentrate her forces against Pythium who seem to target more directly the Bandari heartland.


Agartha’s conquest of Abysia

In late summer, a scarce intelligence report speaks of Agarthan ownership over a province considered to be Abysian. In Early autumn, more detailed intelligence confirms a large-scale invasion of Abysia by Agartha.

Agartha is a nation of strange cave-dwellers with a strong connection to Earth Magic.

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The Agarthan invasion army as observed in early autumn.

The Agarthan main weapon is veteran Ancient One soldiers receiving a double Fire (attack skill) – water (defense skill) bless. Mages grant them additional enchantments increasing their strengths and re-enforcing their armors.

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The army observed has many human mages known as Golem Crafters, but the real leaders of the Agarthan armies are the Oracles of the Ancients.

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Abysia seems totally overwhelmed by this unexpected onslaught. Agartha progresses very quickly, reaching the Abysian capital before the end of Fall.

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Progress of the Agarthan invasion by late autumn (black-colored area shows provinces conquered throughout autumn)

At this point, Ermorian strategists, busy with Bandar Log, begin to think that they have to anticipate Abysia’s fall to Agartha soon. They hesitate between invading Abysia neighboring provinces and refrain from intervention so that Abysia can defend herself against Agartha. In any case, it looks like Ermor will soon share a very long border with a powerful Agartha.


Ermor’s new weapons

The new weapons designed after the lesson of Werk Enum start to get fielded by Ermor. A small number of Behemoths, of Wights and Banes with magical weapons should provide additional shock power in the confined areas of breaches, during fort storms.

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Ermor plans to use these new shock troops for a possible storming of Bangar Log’s capital.

Additionally, the recent discovery of the Crystal Academy in one of the Ermorian province, on the border with Agartha, opens up new perspectives in combining Earth Magic with Astral magic.

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Crystal Mages allow the addition of a new, unexpected weapon: War Minotaurs. They identify the mythical Labyrinth just East of Ermor, a very powerful site allowing the recruitment of the savage half beasts. Ermorian strategists esteem that their main strength is to be unexpected in an Ermorian army: Ermor's enemies will prepare counters against Undead Hordes but probably not against large berserk beasts.

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Finally, the Ermorian Grand Thaumaturges have started to enchant simple wooden statues into telestic animates. The statues have limited unholy powers and can re-animate large numbers of skeleton foot soldiers.

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Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

A few comments related to the Pan/Ermor war.

Revelers are probably my favorite Pangaean unit. They have some issues defensively with poor protection, no shield, and lowered defense when they go berserk but they make up for that by packing quite a punch. They are size two units with two attacks per round so they can dish out 6 attacks per square. And as Numahr mentioned, that kick attacked isn't fixed damage but tied to strength. So when their strength is buffed or they go berserk that second attack also gets better (unlike the typical cavalry hoof attack). This is of course a nice feature of Pan's centaurs as well.

The recently fought battle was very important to Pan as losing that fort would have given Ermor access to the Pangaean heartland. I had a decision to make as I had 50 centaur longbows hidden in a neighboring province. Do I break siege and have the longbows join in the fight or do I try to defend the fort with what I've got and sneak the longbows in for use next turn?

While the longbows would have been an enormous help I didn't want to risk being flanked so I decided to take advantage of the castle walls and wait in the fort. And of course if Ermor had decided to just send in a scout to see what was inside then I would have had the combined forces available next turn (and the longbows wouldn't have been in his scouting report).

There had also been one other development that downgraded this fight from crucial to very important. I had found enchantresses and my first or second one had been an F2. I could research flaming arrows in two turns so I felt that even if I lost the fort everything wouldn't be lost.

I also want to mention one other thing here. This was of course a no diplomacy game but that doesn't mean you can't read signals and it doesn't mean you are forced to fight every war to the death. In this case Ermor and Pan basically reset things and stopped fighting, deciding they didn't want to be stuck in a similar situation to Bandar/Abysia.

Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

Just a word to say that the AAR is not dead a tall, as I have 80% of the material ready. But with the birth of my first child this week, I had less time these days for D3, and this time was focused on staying on top of things in the only one game I participate to, as a "survival ration" of D3. Very soon I'll come back to the AAR as well.

Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

Numahr, thanks for doing this AAR! I've been quite enjoying your write-up. Of course you'll be putting things on the back burner for a while (RL naturally comes first), but hopefully not for too long as I have been eagerly awaiting the next update.

And congratulations on the new addition to your family! :)

Hopefully you haven't named your child anything too thematic. Necro-Caesar, or Wormgut or something might not go over too well with your wife. :D

Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

Congratulations on the birth of your child! :)

Re: The Seven Year War of Ascencion, AAR from Celebrities from Ermor's POV
 

nice AAR. quite complete and brief at the same time. One of the best ive read.