1 player AAR - Machaka

[Tom_Scudder]

Turn 7

The Battle of Norrslatt: Once again, the infantry takes it on the chin. This time, thanks to the prophet encouraging them, they stand and get slaughtered by the enemy cavalry, instead of routing immediately. The good news is, first, that I won, and second, that my Black Hunters came out of the fight unscathed. The (other) bad news is that the reason they came out unscathed was because they interpreted my "hold and attack" order as "stand there and watch the infantry get slaughtered", and only got into the attack after the infantry were basically all dead. I suppose I'll have to place them closer to the infantry next time.

Elsewhere: Kimya, unable to find the entrance to the steam tunnels, comes across an old battlefield instead, giving Machaka the death gem income to go with its death-obsessed sorcerers (and sorceresses, yes, Nayla). Kimya goes off to search the newly conquered province. Pythium proclaims that Faglius (no, really!) the Emerald Lord will be their prophet. The prophet Faglius. And Vatteskog University welcomes Manvale, Full Lecturer in Hydromancy, to the fold.

Mashuhuri, my new Bane Spider, heads off to Midkrona after first consulting with the spirit of his predecessor. Shujaa heads out to ask the Sorceress Satina for her phone number. And the much-diminished army continues on to the north, to take on an unscouted coastal province with some 40-odd heavy cavalry and heavy infantry. And, cheeseball that I am, I'm going to hold off and copy my savegame so I can come back if Cirin dies in this fight.

(And then I went and hosted before I reset my research priorities. Oops.)

I recruited another sage, a Black Hunter, and four more Hoplites.

Provinces 3, Income c. 370, upkeep less.
Research 26 (Construction 19, Evocation 7)
Gems: F 7 (+1) E 5 (+2) D 1 (+1) N 9 (+2)

Turn 8

The Battle of Nordhamn:

As it turns out, instead of 40 troops, there were only 20, so Cirin and his spiders were able to rout the cavalry (after killing half of them) before the infantry had gotten halfway across the field. Much chompage and stompage ensued.

Research in Construction is completed. It occurs to me that I can probably make Manikins. I wonder if I should.

Wow, Satina the Sorceress was totally out of Shujaa's class. F 2 E 4 S 3 D 3 N 3, wearing a robe she sewed herself that gives plus 1 in all sorcery spheres, as well as a poison ring and a lucky charm. She was hanging out with one of her sorceress girlfriends (F1 E1 S2 N1), her pet fall bear, a huge hulking crusher, and about forty Earth Gnomes (25 hp, regenerate). Oh, and a bunch of Hoburg Guards hanging around out back, pointing and laughing as Shujaa beat a hasty retreat.

In the meantime, Vatteskog U is pleased to welcome the eminent son of an eminent father, Ta'ar Bal Jr., to its faculty. He will head our new Center for Pyromantic Studies, the first such center to be located in a forest environment.

Mashuhuri the Bane Spider sets out to have a heart-to-heart (or possibly dagger-to-heart) discussion with the surviving commander in Midkrona, while Shujaa prepares to walk in and reap the benefits of this diplomacy (or possibly get slaughtered, if I miscounted and there's one commander left.) He looks forward to seeing a battle that he doesn't have to flee from headlong.

There's a bit of unrest in Nordhamn, so I bump the tax rate down to 80. I recruit a new sage, a new sorceress, a Black Hunter, and a few more hoplites. Kimya has arrived in Norrslatt and prepares to search. Cirin searches Nordhamn for sources of fire, while Most Holy takes the army south. Cirin will fly in to join in a combined invasion of Gulvidda with fresh troops from the main city next turn.

Provinces 4, income 398, Upkeep 95
Research 33 (33 Construction - Con 2 next turn! I'm headed for Con 4 because I need supplies if I'm going to lead much of an army into the mountains to the west of me).
Gems: F 8 (+1) E 7 (+2) D 2 (+1) N 11 (+2)

[Tom_Scudder]

Turn 9

Shujaa arrives in Midkrona to find a succession struggle in progress, as all of the commanders have mysteriously turned up dead. He rapidly takes command, and converts the province to the service of Cirin. It turns out that one source of the town's discontent was that it has its own library, and resents the fact that Vatteskog University (which has just opened a Faculty of Earth Science) has drawn away all the top scholars. Shujaa promises to talk to Dean Ta'ar Bal about opening a branch as soon as possible, but is somewhat distracted to see a purple banner up over the horizon.

The ancient empire of Pythium yet lives! He had thought it only a story from old books. He rapidly organizes a provincial militia (defense 10), announces a one week tax holiday, and heads back to the capital to report.

In the meantime, Mjima the Eye of the Lord is taken off of his tax-collecting duties to bring the fresh troops from the capital (2 Black Hunters and 9 Hoplites) west, to join the rest of the army in an assault on Gulvidda. With him leaving, taxes are reduced back to normal.

Cirin, meanwhile, has been unable to find the source of the fire emanations he SWORE he could feel in Nordhamn somewhere. So he shifts to dragon form and flies off to Gulvidda, hoping a bit of destruction will make him feel better. Kimya, fresh from having found a Stone Circle (1 N/turn, can recruit Druid), heads north "just in case" his boss missed something.

Mashuhuri heads south to scout ("JUST to scout") the empire of Pythium. In addition to the legion, two new independent territories are visible. One to the east looks temptingly vulnerable: 30 Vaetti and wolf riders. But taking it might represent an unsupportable extension of the Cirinist empire's borders.

Recruits: an independent scout in Midkronia, a sage, a Black Hunter, a witch doctor.
Provinces 5
Income 408 - Upkeep 114
Research: 45, all in construction (54 for level 3)
Gems: F 9 (+1) E 9 (+2) D 3 (+1) N 14 (+3).

End turn. Host.

Turn 10

The battle for Gulvidda goes reasonably well - 1 hoplite and 1 precious Black Hunter lost to defeat an army of 60 or more. In retrospect, I should have positioned the two squads of Hunters next to each other, as the small group of 2 fresh from town found themselves surrounded out ahead of the infantry. They inflicted serious damage on the enemy infantry, but one of them didn't make it out.

Gulvidda is home to the Cedar Pillars - 2 N, 1 A, 30 Enchant bonus. NU may look into opening an experimental lab here. The army, now that it is organized and united once more, faces a choice of directions: north, to a group of 40 (unscouted) militia, archers and heavy foot, south, to the force of knights and longbows, or west into the mountains, where a tribe of wild Amazons has been training Griffin riders. The griffins look interesting, but I want to complete my conquest of the northern plains first. I think the current army could probably beat the knights, but it would be better to have a few extra Hunters and infantry (and maybe even, god forbid, some extra archers). So north it is.

Mjima the Tax Man of the Lord was going to go to Midkronia and help them organize their tax collection, but it turns out that Shujaa has gone a bit simple in the head and will not be capable of leading the reinforcements from town for the battle in Solhov (against the knights) in two turns. So Shujaa is sent west to make first contact with whoever lives north of the amazons. (Scouting flying creatures by the attack-and-retreat method is not highly recommended. It would be a way to get rid of a more-or-less useless commander, but I've grown attached to the little guy.)

Pythium has conquered the vaetti I mentioned last turn, but still only border one of my provinces. Scouts report that they must have come in from the east or south, as there is nothing but independents to the west of them.

Kimya is searching Nordhamn for magic sites. Various scouts are doing their scouty things. Researchers are researching. All is well and at peace, except where they're at war.

Recruits: a sage, a scout, a hunter, five more hoplites.

Provinces: 6
Income: 486, Upkeep 125
Research: 55 - 9 from Construction 3 (already have Evo 1 and Ench 1)
Gems: F 10 (+1) A 1 (+1) E 11 (+2) D 4 (+1) N 19 (+5)

My nature income is getting to the point that setting up a druid temple and starting Vine Ogre mass production seems like a good idea. Or I could just make Manikins (which it turns out take Con 3, not 1 like I thought.)

So far, a pretty good start, but I am nervous about not running into any other computer players yet. Though I guess that's also a good sign, in a sense.

(NEXT: An unforeseen setback forces me to commit fan fiction.)

[shovah]

great aar, keep it up

[Tom_Scudder]

The army's outriders dragged in a man - pale-skinned and wearing black steel chainmail and a tabard bearing the sign of a white moon on a blue field. He turned even paler on seeing the dragon in its full majesty, but his voice was steady enough: "Are you the one that calls himself Cirin, Lord of Torture and Vileness?"

"Penitential Torture. And who might you be, presumptious one? I am marching towards conquest, and though I am also Prince of Patience, I do not have a lot of time."

"My mistress sends me with a message: Lydia, the Vampire Queen, Persecutor and Destroyer of Youth and Queen of Ulm, demands you cease this mocking pretense to divinity immediately. Fail to surrender immediately and subjugate yourself to her, and she will know the taste of dragon's blood!"

"Oh, very well rehearsed. A Vampire Queen. Then you would say that she is a mistress of life and death?"

"Of course! And of the deepest mysteries of existence!"

"And then that the barriers between life and death pose no obstacle for her?"

"Well, no..." The envoy seemed to notice once more that he stood before a twelve-ton carnivore.

"Then she will be able to read my response when your ashes blow past her palace!"

Later:

"Are you truly the Prince of Patience, lord?"

"Among Dragon-kind, the extent of my patience with the smaller folk is legendary."

That was the morning. The afternoon saw the defenders of Gula Kusten turn out, prepared for a fight. The lines were drawn up at the back of the battlefield so the great Dragon could try some new magic before he leapt into the fray. The fire darts worked marvelously, burning two of the lightly-armored units alive and wounding several others. And the leaping into the fray worked beautifully as well. The day saw not a single casualty.

And then the evening. The troops prepared their camp, and the outriders had rounded up some of the village notables to pledge themselves to the cause, when a voice cried out:

"Defenders of Gula Kusten, come forth! We claim this land in the name of Ulm and of Lydia!"

"That is the second time I have heard that name spoken today. I would not be sorry never to hear it again."

Cirin took to the air, surveying the field, then landed behind his army's hastily-arrayed lines.

"Would you like to wait for the rest of your troop to arrive?" he called to the 7 men who faced him. Two were mounted, and five on foot - one an obvious noncombatant, unarmed and unarmored and carrying the tools of a siege engineer.

One of the mounted men spoke: "It is 7 men of Ulm facing a score of the trash of Machaka. I would say the odds favor us."

"Enough talk. I am Cirin, the Everburning One, and I will see your bones piled before me."

The battle plan was drawn up to oppose a large, lightly-armored force, but improvisational genius was not one of Cirin's many virtues. Still, how badly could things go? His spells flew wide of the targets, but he made short work of the engineer and his two bodyguards, and looked around for other prey. Where was that knight with the big mouth, anyway?

And then the lance punctured his lung.

He flailed around miserably - one of his claws took the man's eye - but the Ulmish warrior followed up with a well-placed mace blow that fractured the dragon's skull.

Roderik pulled the lance free and looked to the rest of the field, where his men had despite his boast been overwhelmed. This could have been a disaster, but this one blow told for all. Bearing his still-dripping lance, he wheeled and rode for home.

And so the vampire queen's boast was fulfilled on the same day it was delivered.

[Tom_Scudder]

Wow, after that, what else is there to say? Very quickly: I think I should be able to squish Ulm - I'm pretty sure I have a bigger industrial base and now I have a foothold right next to his home territory. Swap my money out of making researchers and into breeding spiders, and I should be able to start sieging his castle in two turns or so. Losing the dragon hurts, and I only have 6 priest-power right now - I'll also be recruiting voices of the lord (who also might come in handy if Ulm has other undead or demons about, and who I probably needed to start recruiting at some point), which are 3 strength priests, but if I recruit nothing but votl's and put them to calling immediately, my calling will go (4 + 7 + 12 + 15 + <15= 5 turns to get Cirin back) Most Holy is currently sitting on a priest-recruitable province if he builds a temple there - that would go (0 + 7 + 14 + 19 = 40 precisely in 4 turns, plus it leaves me with a temple where I would have to build one eventually anyway. But it also leaves me with 2 semi-useless independent priests, and sucks out more money during the middle of a war effort. Still, 4 turns is better than 5 turns. The other thing I haven't mentioned is that I've also found Pythium's home city, and it's only one space removed from my southeasternmost province (Midkrona, for those keeping score at home).

As part of the war effort, I have three mages in my capital raise undead - my witch doctor and sorcerer cast "construct Manikin" (thereby spending 20 of my 24 nature gems), and a sorceress casts reanimation, using all 5 of my death gems. I also alchemize 6 fire and 11 earth gems to be able to pay for a temple, and recruit a voice of the lord, 2 black hunters, one more scout in the province bordering pythium, and 1 independent archer in the province bordering Ulm. I ship 4 nature gems to Pythium as a sign of peace, friendship, and brotherhood, and really really hope (1) they're playing serpent cult and so feel inclined to trust a fellow-lizard and (2) they don't realize quite yet that Cirin is dead.

I run my province defense in my new province to 9, which is all I can afford without (even more) alchemy. I also move my Black sorcerer, Kimya, over from where he's just found an Earth Blood Seepage (+2 Earth), so he can bolster the defenses and search at the same time. Mjima starts walking my infantry from the capital over - strat move 1, it'll take them 2 turns. I also send Tefle (my other new sorceress) up to the front with four archers and two more Hunters, and order poor simple Shujaa back to the capital so he can ferry reinforcements up later.

If Ulm comes at me next turn, I will have a province defense of 9, along with 7 hunters, 9 archers, 1 level 4 priest, and 2 mages: a 2-path and a 1-path fire and death mage with only evo 1/ench 1 to work with. That probably won't survive if they hit me with all 60 units (assuming they really have 60 units) I see in their home castle. If Pythium decides that now is the time to take advantage of my obvious weakness, I'm really hosed.

We'll see!

Take-home lesson: Wear a safety helmet! I didn't quite realize that dragons only have 18 protection, which is nice, but not exactly invulnerable, even to normal troops. Spending 5 research points and 5 earth gems to give him a nice black steel helmet would have put his protection above 20, which is where I like it. So kids, remember, don't send your dragon out to play unless he's got his helmet.

Also, the Random Number Generator can be cruel. That one lance hit was 45 points of damage in one hit! Now, Cirin was kind of fatigued from spell-casting, so he might have had his armor ignored, but that's still a mighty big hit for a 16 damage no-strength-added armor-piercer.

Right, that was a bit disorganized. I think I'll leave it as it is, since it's a pretty good reflection of my thought processes.

Provinces: 7
Income: 522 Upkeep 140
Research: 47 (54 to Construction 4, also Evo 1 and Enchantment 1)
Gems: F 5 (+1) A 2 (+1) E 4 (+4) D 0 (+1) N 0 (+5). The cupboard, she is bare.

I was going to check the graphs again to see how the world was shaping up, but I like the suspense.

[shovah]

very unlucky with that lance but better luck next time eh?

[Tom_Scudder]

The luck did indeed improve. I didn't keep track of when and whether Roderik the Black Lord got his comeuppance, unfortunately. He probably got et by a spider during the big fight after Turn 14.