Chapter 10: Coming of the Capricorns
Turn files:
Turn10.zip
Finally some gold! Some merchant "donated" 250g to the "temple." Right, I'm sure it was out of the goodness of his heart, and has nothing to do with the upcoming vote to remove tuna from the endangered delectables list. Whatever, sorry fishies, but daddy needs a new octopus squisher.
My new found wealth is going to be invested in an unorthodox scheme that might just give me the upper hand against Glug. I'm using it to buy a Capricorn and a whole pile of ichtysatyrs. And not the good ichtysatyrs either, I'm stocking up on the crappy ones.
Why? Because these guys are stealthy, as is their Capricorn commander. The thought is to send this stealthy raiding force behind enemy lines just prior to the main attack, and have them strike the Atlantis capital (which is only separated from my boarder by 1 province, see the map below).
Unfortunately these ichtysatyrs are really bad, with a base 8 morale, which makes it 7 in enemy territory. Which translates to really bad with Glug's fear aura.
To boost this, I'm going to give their Capricorn a Horn of Valor, which should mitigate the morale issues somewhat. How the horn works underwater is beyond me, but my skilled mermage blacksmiths assure me it's possible, so I commission the item. Combined with Eagle Eyes, Tangle Vines, and the element of surprise, it just might be enough to take out his Capital PD at the same time as the Prophet conquers Boat Eater. Should be fun.
A word on sneaking. I'll be buying over 60 ichtycentaurs. Capricorns have +10 stealth, which means the group will be at around -10 destealth strength (formula is in your manual). This will be bad if he has any significant amount of PD in Boat Eater, but from my scout that just reached Broken Ocean, it seems Atlantis does the classic 1PD in his provs. This fact is driving the decision to pursue this risky endeavor...again, stock up on scouts!
The Plan is progressing according to schedule, with the land province of Tenvir captured at the cost of 1 casualty. Nuptia is next, and the last indy I'll be attacking before my move on Atlantis. The newest scouting report puts the defenders of Nuptia at 40, so not so bad. They'll still have Tangle Vine support, and the Prophet will be on hand to press the attack next turn, if needed.
Interesting international intrigues from the message boards: Bretonia is crushing Tien Chi, and Shinuyama is at war with Vanheim. Of note, Vanheim has killed the Shinuyaman god (based on his gloating) and prophet (based on the Hall of Fame). All this info gives me enough to build a rough idea of the layout of nation starts:
NORTH: Nekehara - Agartha - Oceania
CENTRAL: Arcoscephale - Vanheim - Shinuyama - Atlantis
SOUTH: Brettonia - Tien Chi - Ogres - R'lyeh
Here's the updated Plan, keeping the same colors:
