Abysia CB 5.0 AAR

[RedRover]

TURN 71-80
All the action is on the East continent this period.

On the northeast/east bridge front, by hitting the C’tis with two Lesser Horrors a turn, I hold them off and kill lots of them. I need more Fire sites. If I can put up the Eternal Pyre global spell to get a Fire gem surplus, I can eventually cast Purgatory (Thaum 7) to keep the undead hordes under control. Most of the C’tis armies are Ghouls; without them his military would be insignificant, I think.

The timely arrival of the mercenary Arco phalanx (Agyraspides) allows me to siege and take the coastal fort before C’tis can get there. It turns out to be the old Arco capital; lots of Astral gems, and all for me! The irony makes me chuckle--in later histories (which I will write), we will be the liberators!

I take the whole small local area bounded by rivers, then start pushing south and east. I have my eye on another abandoned fort southeast of "Fort Arco" and inland (province #87). Also, my deep-ranging scouts detect that Ulm has crossed onto the eastern continent and is moving north. Cue the *Darth Vader theme*, Ulm is on the march!

A second timely arrival, God’s Enforcers, allows me to besiege and take the inland fort! Hah! It has a laboratory and Azure Wizards—I finally get a Water site searcher! Incidentally, I have built a force of Shamblers, equipped a Salamander priest with a Ring of Water Breathing, cleared the waters around the magic site island, and built an underwater Temple there (a full 50 turns after I took the island magic site!). If I can send Lesser Horrors to a C’tis coastal province and rout the army there, the Shamblers can pop out and raze another C’tis Temple or two.

Turn 78, the C’tis Pretender pulls off a vertical envelopment of my main army on that front, materializing behind it with 120 Ghouls. Holy crud!

I hit him with four Lesser Horrors and try to break through to friendly lines. Without waiting, he moved north, destroying my local troops there, so the trapped army didn’t catch him, but he didn't annihilate my most important army, either.

Of note: The commander of my Devils had picked up a Lycanthropos Amulet turns earlier, which I ignored (bad idea). He changed and charged berserk in this battle, dying immediately. This stranded my big Devil unit (by "big" I mean 14-15) next to 1,020 hostile troops (three provinces full of Ghouls). Worse, the commander had been carrying a Cauldron of Endless Broth, so the rest of my army, now one province north, starved next turn! My main force followed the enemy Pretender, while the leaderless Devils basically fought a round and retreated when they were attacked the next turn.

In the center of the east continent, the two mercenary phalanxes from the coast circle the mountain block north of the big desert in opposite directions. I may not be able to hold this ground, but grinding up the C’tis temples in this area is my main goal, anyway. Best case, I will clean him out west of the river line near his capital and meet Ulm coming up the continent. I am now working toward a number of goals: Eternal Pyre/Purgatory/Second Sun, the Faerie Court/Couatl, binding Arch Devils, Mind Slay (for the Manticore, once I fix him).

My gold income on turn 81 is 1,014 gold, gems: 10F/3A/3W/7E/9S/8D/6N, and I'm pulling an average of 30-40 Blood Slaves.

My earlier panic has subsided. I'm feeling like things are starting to come under control, though there is much to do. Finally some breaks are going my way.

[Scores? Maybe later...]