CoE3 AAR: A Chronicle of the Interregnum

[Edi]

No, it's not mostly about chasing indies around, but when you play large maps, it is going to be a part of the game.

The reasons why making this AAR has been rather frustrating are:
1) An absolutely hideous start location
2) Consequent lack of resources
3) Consequent lack of troops to garrison important things
4) Three prolific monster lairs in close proximity to important locations
- Ancient Forest
- Brigand Lair
- Haunted Capitol, which actually counts as 4 monster lairs because each square spawns things

5) Distance from home fortress to many places
6) Dismal luck in terms of hands of glory generators (this is actually changing, which the next installment will touch on)


So yes, this one has been uphill all the way. If you have bad luck, you will be spending a lot of time fighting independents, but it's not as bad as it was in CoE2. And believe it or not, the independent spawn rate has been significantly reduced from what it was when the beta started. I don't think anybody would mind if it was reduced another 10% or 20%.

Just compare the start I had for the restarted AAR and the one I had for the first one. If I had had that start for the restarted too, the game would look very different right now. As it is, this AAR should see lichdom attained in another 20 to 30 turns (plus possible travel on top of that).

[Edi]

I should also add something which is not apparent from my previous post: This AAR game is now progressing somewhere around turn 80 or so, well over six years into the game. Most of this time I have had a rather tenuous control over the monster lairs, especially the brigand lair, which proved so troublesome.

The ancient forest near my starting citadel has been notably quiescent for monster lair and the occasional stack that has emerged from there has generally either wandered off or been slain before it had a chance to do much damage.

Going into completely unexplored areas where there are ancient forests, brigand lairs etc. after such a long time, one would be far more likely to run into multiple armies of independents and one would expect a fairly intensive stretch of combat until the area was cleared.

The easiest way to prevent big problems with independents is to act aggressively against monster lairs and flag them, then leave a sufficient garrison that it can't be casually swept away. In case of ancient forests, if you can't flag them, either acquire a pyromancer or a fire breathing monster and burn them down. Enchanters can also turn them into golems, which will likewise destroy it.

[Thilock_Dominus]

No more updates?
Now I have followed this AAR everyday, I really hope you continue it

[Edi]

Today, in fact. I had a very busy end of the week and most of my CoE3 related doings had to focus on the manual and map editor guide. Yesterday I had work and other things to do after that. Today and tomorrow I can concentrate on this.

[Edi]

It is once more late summer and the winds of autumn will soon blow the leaves from the trees.

I spent a considerable part of my treasury in midsummer to hire a tribe of goblins, because I simply need enough bodies to hold the walls of my citadel and they came cheap.






Hrimner and his goblin spearmen aren't much, but put them behind walls and they'll be able to survive quite well at least in the opening stages of a battle. This frees up Manvale to to take the more experienced spearmen and swordsmen and clear the countryside, so some housekeeping and perhaps even explore a bit.

He was just about ready to set out when an old friend of his by the name of Sethan showed up. Given the caliber of person in question, I hired him though the treasury now only stands at about a hundred gold coins.





Sethan has an interesting sword, enchanted and sharper and better balanced than a regular broadsword. Upon closer examination it explains rather handily why Manvale has always called Sethan a lucky bastard when the subject came up in a conversation.

[Edi]

Elsewhere things look grim. It seems Pantariste's apprentice Andromedeia managed to repel the barbarian invasion or the enemy simply bypassed her, but I am afraid she will no longer be so lucky.






The Tower of the Androphags has fallen and the young apprentice has only a secondary tower to fall back on. For one of her skills, she has managed to amass a surprisingly formidable force, but her enemy is approaching with a troop of creatures not native to Elysium. Summonings of some sort, most certainly.





I fear that my ally may soon be no more.


*****

Elsewhere, Cernetu has been busy in the northeast. After reanimating the dead from the battlefield he discovered, he used them to conquer a mine from a bunch of dwarves. He has continued to take over a nearby hamlet, but going east, he seems to have run into another ambush. The northeast seems to be a vey wild and untamed area and I must have Manvale and Sethan search for a more direct route so that Cernetu can be more easily reinforced.






Myself and Gunthamund, we have explored the southern areas close to the village and battlefield. Gunthamund is slowed down by the soulless he gathered at the battlefield, but he must have protection if he is not to share Childerik's fate. He has discovered a library of magical learning, but it is heavily guarded by a detachment of mercenary soldiers.

I discovered a watchtower, which allowed me to gain a better idea of my surroundings. Now that I have finally managed to amss sufficient hands of glory, the tower is also the perfect spot for my Ritual of Mastery, because it provides a defensive position.





The preparations for the ritual were elaborate. Nearly twice as many hands of glory as for the summoning that brought me Cernetu. In this, the tower itself was an invaluable help. Instead of a flat pattern on the ground, it was possible to place the hands of glory in a spiraling funnel that would better focus the power of the ritual on myself.

Once the arduous checking and rechecking had been completed, I waited for the dead hours of another moonless night, with only the stars shining down from a cloudless sky. I began the chants I had learned through long study and knew by heart. One by one the candles held by the hands of glory were lit and the power began to build. I climbed the tower, touching flame to each wick in turn and when I reached the top, I stood at the apex of a funnel that would channel the power through me.

When the wicks burned down and lit the hands themselves, all one hundred and fifty of them at the same time, the spirits that had been gathering rushed in to consume smoke of the burnt offering and whispered the secrets of power to my ears, the price extracted in return for their feast.

It was hours later that the hands had burnt to ash, the swirl of Netherworld spirits gone with it. I closed my eyes and called forth the new knowledge given to me. No mere Necromancer anymore, but a master of my craft!

I spoke the words the spirits had branded on my mind and felt the tingle of my flesh, then drew my knife and stabbed it through my hand, yet all that I accomplished was a dull thwack, the point unable to pierce the skin. Another incantation sent a rime of frost running across the beams and planks of the wooden tower, spreading far and wide and giving off a chill as if of death itself. Great tools indeed, but no gift these, but a purchase paid in full...







Now, it is time to begin the next step on my journey. The knowledge of a necromancer gives the tools to turn oneself into a blooddrinking immortal being, a vampire, a mighty warrior in addition to the necromantic powers. However, there are other, superior options for the kind of master necromancer I have become. To become a lich, to leave behind the fetters of mortality and realize the full power of the necromantic arts, that goal is now within my reach! It will be a long and arduous process, more so than this trial has been, but it is a step that not only asks to be taken, but MUST be taken!





The cost, though, it almost beggars belief...

[Jack_Trowell]

I see that you can still do a ritual of mastery while already a master necromancer. What does it do at this level ? Give you another spell ? Or is it that there are still other upgrade options above master necromancer that the lich ?

[Edi]

Lets you learn new spells. You get something random, could be level 1, could be level 3.

[Thilock_Dominus]

What's the benefit of becoming a vampire instead of a Lich?

[Edi]

From the journal of Cernetu, Death Knight and Second in Command to Grand Necromancer Barras:

It has been a year since the ascension of Master Barras to the title of Grand Necromancer. Since that time, things have become...confused is the word I would use. There have been setbacks, but also gains.

In the Master's absence, I have been forced to take command to prevent things from devolving to a disaster. With the help of Sethan and Manvale I have consolidated our position and can now begin to restore order.

Our situation currently stands thusly:




The eastern expedition ended in failure. It seems there is a considerable unexplored landmass even beyond the easternmost limits of my journey, and though none of our enemies seem to have a presence in that direction, the land is not uninhabited. The forces of lesser undead I reanimated at the old battlefield have been annihilated by the

The red markers on this map indicate holdings that were once in our possession. The greatest loss is the port town to the north, which was overrun by trolls and their goblin followers I saw briefly two years ago. The place could be used to trade for hands of glory from merchants who had access to them in other markets.

The other places were in our possession but briefly, for there were not enough troops to garrison them properly. The blue markers indicate desirable resources or other strongpoints discovered by Manvale and Sethan. The area has a wealth of possibilities, but venturing east is simply not possible without a large, well armed force that can absorb losses. There are very large bands of goblins, groups of giant ants and less numerous greater bakemono roaming those territories. It is doubly important because the port and villages together would increase our harvest of hands by more than half.





Here in the north, around the citadel and the port of the Void cultists, everything is more or less in hand. The first order of business, second to none, is to hire a pyromancer, a mage versed in the art of fire magic. When we can contract the services of such a one, the older forests here shall burn until there are nothing but stumps and ash left.

In the south, the situation is fluid. The Forest of Cutthroats and its northern environs are under control and have been for years now. We have no real intelligence on what lies south of it, given that the explorations of my master and his apprentice focused on the southeast.






The southeastern front has been quiet, but more of the jungle-born interlopers of the Hungry God have been spotted, led by yet another sort of priest we have not seen before. Gunthamund is retreating as fast as the pace of his shambling soulless followers permits. Any threat from the priest himself is at least a year, probably two years in coming, by which time the current situation should be more than resolved.

As for my master, based on our spiritual bond, I can surmise that he is traveling northwest, but no word has been heard from him since his elevation. He has been completely unreachable for months at a time, the mindlink erratic and garbled. These chaotic spells have become more frequent, possible indications that his transactions with the Netherworld have left him unsettled. I do know that one of the clearer images I got from our contact was of the temple on the outskirts of the Capitol.

Probably he aims to achieve immortality there.

We have also had new reinforcements who have been working for us for some time now. I hired an assassin called Qesban several months ago. A southern name, but already he has proven himself useful, which is all that I or the master care about. There is another apprentice offering his services, and I am going to accept. Someone is required to reanimate the dead littering the eastern reaches. We shall see how this Karl works out. After that, there will be no hiring until the treasure has at least three hundred gold coins or equivalent in it.






We have an excess of iron, so in the interim some catapults will be bought instead. Hopefully the master will return soon, because if and when things go as planned, we will be unstoppable.

In the meanwhile, I will be heading back out and directly into combat. I had a little conversation with Sethan, which ended with him giving me the use of his sword. Even with the blade, he can't survive against numerous enemies, being as fragile as he is, like most mortals. The blade will be of better service in my hands. He was loath to give it up, but when offered the choice of loot when we find other things and the choice of settling our disagreement in a duel, he chose the first option. Wise of him.