Turn of the Sidhe Tide (Tuatha AAR)

[Zurai]

After puttering around with the demo (aka playing it to death), I ordered the full Version of Dom2 Last week. It arrived Wednesday and I've been virtually unable to tear myself away from it since. I've been playing each of the races in turn in quick, easy games to get a feel for each of them and see which ones I like. My favorite from the demo was Jotunheim, and for several days I thought I wasn't going to find another that I enjoyed so much.

Then I found Man.

Long story short, I absolutely love both the race itself and the mythological theme (Celtic myth and Norse myth happen to be my two Favorites... coincidence, huh?). So, I decided to give a little back to the community and boost my enjoyment of my first "real" game as Man by creating an after action report on the game. It will be fully roleplay-ized, but I'll include the raw turn data and personal notes as well for those who are interested. I am somewhat of a newb at the game, so I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes, and it's quite possible I won't even win the game, but I'll fight it down to the bitter end if neccesary.

Anyway, here's the initial story and game creation. I'll post the first 4 turns after I get some sleep - writing the creation story pretty much sapped all my literary creativity for the night.


Long ago, before even the Old Gods, the Tuatha de Danaan flourished. They were a proud race, tall and beautiful to behold, skilled in the arts of healing, illusion, and music. Their halls were filled with light and splendor, their lands were bountiful and pleasant, and their spirits soared with the clouds.

Then came Men. Wielding arms and armor of cold steel, they usurped the lands and riches of the Tuatha and forced them into hiding. Congratulating themselves on their victory, Man harnessed their new lands to their own purposes. Their own magicians, after studying artefacts left behind by the Tuatha, discovered the ancient land of Avalon and used secrets found therin to forge an empire for themselves. The reign of Man was long and bloody, for the Tuathan magics combined with their own steel-clad warriors proved unstoppable. Only with the rise of the Old Gods, who granted powers to their followers to match those of Man, was their expansion checked.

The Tuatha de Danaan, despite having lost control of their lands, had not faded away. They hid - in ancient towers, the burial mounds of kings, in the boughs of the oldest trees in the oldest forests - and they watched. As time crept on and Man forgot about them, the Tuatha slowly, carefully emerged from their hiding places, contacting the magical creatures of the lands with whom they had been friends in the height of their power. When the Old Gods disappeared, they began to move more openly. Any Man who ventured into a Tuathan forest rarely came back out.

More than a century after the departure of the Old Gods, after consolidating their positions, the Tuatha finally acted. Their oldest and most trusted ally, Garsivaz the ancient Blue Dragon, worked with the Tuathan air mages to craft a spell that summoned a massive, terrible storm. For one entire year, rain fell on the lands of Man, ruining their crops and forcing them slowly back from the lowlands and up into the mountains of their realm. A year to the day after the magical storm began, Garsivaz appeared to the gathered survivors of Man and, with a carefully orchestrated display of his own immense control over water and the illusion abilities of several hidden Tuatha Lords, dispelled the storm and drove the flood waters back into the rivers and sea.

The people of Man hailed Garsivaz as the Turner of the Flood and worshipped him as a diety. They offered him their children (which he refused), their loyalty, and their riches (which he accepted quite readily). Garsivaz told his new followers news of which they were unaware - powerful creatures around the lands had begun to exert their power, claiming to be new Gods and demanding loyalty and obedience. It was one of them, he said, who had sent the terrible storm. Of course, since he defeated the storm so impressively, it was obvious to the people of Man that it was Garsivaz, not the evil Pretenders, who was the True God.

And so it began...


Pretender- Garsivaz, Turner of the Flood

Blue Dragon

Water 9

Turmoil 3
Productivity 2
Luck 1
Magic 1
Dominion 6

Fortified City

Map - Kingdom of Karan

AI Opponents: Pythium, Arcoscephale, Caelum, Marignon, Jotunheim, Mictlan, T'ien Ch'i
AI Difficulty: Normal

Strength of Independants: 3
Magic Site frequency: 60

Notes:

I wanted to use Blessed troops, as that's not something I've really messed with too much before, and the Last of the Tuatha theme has several good Sacred units. I picked Water 9 after careful consideration because it offered the most to me: +4 defense and an extra action every other turn for all my Sacred units. Considering that Tuatha has both very fast, cheap, and fairly damaging Sacred units in the Cu Sidhe and decently powerful Saced mages in the Sidhe/Tuatha Lords, those extra Action Points will get me a lot of bang for the buck.

I chose Blue Dragon because it's the only real option for getting to Water 9 as Man, simple as that. On the plus side, it makes a good early supercombatant with some careful planning. The name was randomly generated, since I couldn't think of a good Celtic dragon name.

For the scales, there wasn't much I could do. Last of the Tuatha forces Luck of at least 1 and Magic of at least 1, so in order to take any other scales at all I had to decrease my income. Since I already had luck +1, and since I'm not particularly bothered by most of the bad events, I chose to go with Turmoil 3 and increase Production by 2. I also raised Dominion to 6.

I picked Fortified City because Tuatha really needs resources to get their heavier units (Knights, sacred Daoine Sidhe) mass-produced in enough quantities to be worthwhile.

That left me with 1 point, so that was that.

I picked the AI opponents by rolling 7d6 and counting down from the top of the list, skipping Atlantis, Ermor, and R'lyeh since I dislike playing against them tremendously. I set the AI difficulty to Normal, which is one step up from what I usually play, but I'm good enough to easily beat the Easy AI now and I wanted a little more challenge - an AAR is no fun if I just cakewalk over everything.

Independant strength was set to 3 simply because I dislike slow initial expansion and because, while the computer doesn't handle high independants as well, I probably handle them worse.

Magic sites were set to 60 because I like lots of magic.

I actually wasn't going to write such a detailed initial story, but the "Turner of the Flood" random title caught my mind and I had to embellish a bit.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by Zurai:
After puttering around with the demo (aka playing it to death), I ordered the full Version of Dom2 Last week. It arrived Wednesday and I've been virtually unable to tear myself away from it since. I've been playing each of the races in turn in quick, easy games to get a feel for each of them and see which ones I like. My favorite from the demo was Jotunheim, and for several days I thought I wasn't going to find another that I enjoyed so much.

Then I found Man.

Damn!

There go my plans for a Man AAR (I was planning to start one after the next patch is released).

Since that's the nation I've played most extensively, I don't know what to do... (I also like the Tuatha theme...)

[Wauthan]

Good to see someone exploring the Man faction. You might go easier on the narrative writing tough since it might get a bit confusing (game technicalities lost in the translation so to speak). Not to mention you might run into one heck of a writers block after 40 turns.

With Turmoil 3 I'm sure it will be an extraordinary development.

PhilD: Please write your AAR as well if you feel inspired to do so. I'm sure you two will differ a lot in the strategy and tactics which will make it interesting to compare the differences.

[Gandalf Parker]

I like seeing the RPGers do AAR's. The narrative storyline Posts are enjoyable. Ive tried to do it but cant keep it up. I end up falling into game terminology and losing the story.

Some people would prefer the more factual technique posting but I think there are people who like writing that type of AAR also. So no one should feel like NOT posting an AAR. Especially if its done in a very different style. Go for it.

[Zurai]

PhilD: There's no reason you can't do another Man AAR. I play very quickly (finished a 130 turn game in 2 days), and most likely will be done with this game within a week or so. I'm sure no one else would mind, after all I *am* rather a newb and I'm sure our tactics and strategies will be much different.

Wauthan: I'm not planning to go into as much narrative detail in the turn reports as I did in the intro. I originally intended the intro to be much, much lighter, but that "Turner of the Floods" title really sparked my imagination and I had to run with it.

[Zurai]

Spring of Year 1 (turn 1):

Garsivaz ordered that his capital and the main temple to his worship be set up in the Dankwoods at the base of the mountain. His followers, initially reluctant to follow through on his orders because of their fear of the forests, quickly changed their minds after Garsivaz devoured two of them to set an example - He was a God to be feared as well as loved. When the people of Man arrived at the place Garsivaz sent them to, they found a hidden city of the Tuatha and Daoine Sidhe waiting for them. It was here that Garsivaz explained to them that they would be living side by side with the Sidhe, and after he ate another leader they again agreed.

Satisfied that his will would be done, Garsivaz called a council of the Tuatha and began to plan for their expansion. The former empire of Man was devestated and fractured by the flood and they would almost certainly have to overcome armed resistance to lay claim to their ancestral lands. The Dragon asked the Tuatha Council to pick one from their ranks to become his Prophet and Warleader among the men. Garsivaz then turned to the military leader of the Men, one "Alfred the Castellan", and ordered him to collect and enforce a heavy tax rate to support the building an army. He also ordered 100 strong Men, skilled in the use of the longbow, added to the small army. Scouts were sent out to the nearby provinces to determine what opposition, if any, the new Empire of Man would face.

Garsivaz settled himself into his newly-built abode and began studying the magic of the Tuatha. Though their specialties were in illusion and nature magics, they surely knew something he could use. Garsivaz vaguely remembered stories of a Tuatha hero who could cast spells that enchanced his already considerable speed and decided to see if he could discover the secrets of this Quickness spell.


Started in Dankwoods, at the very southwest corner next to the volcano.

Recruited Sidhe Lord (to become my Prophet, so I can use Fanatacism), 10x Longbowman.
Sent Adelard the Forester (my starting scout) to EarthBlood Peak to the Northeast of my starting position.
Set Adelard's combat orders to Retreat and set him to the very back of the combat grid.
Raised taxes in my capital to 120% to get some extra gold income and set Alfred the Castellan with 10x Axeman, 5x Spearman, 5x Longbowman to Patrol the capital to quell the unrest that will be created.
Set Garsivaz to research Alteration.

Income: 183
Production in Dankwoods: 96
Treasury: 0
Gem Income: 3A 2N
1 province in dominion, 1 conquered

End turn.

Late Spring of Year 1 (turn 2):

While patrolling the Dankwoods, Alfred's men discovered a Cache of a dozen magical Nature gems. Pleased with their find and eyeing his scouting reports, Garsivaz gave the men a day's leave then told them to relax the taxation and prepare themselves for an attack on the province of Stone Grave Mountains to the northwest of Dankwoods. His scouts said the province was mostly devoid of armed resistance, and the mountains were the site of many quarries and mines in the ancient days. The extra resources would be vital to rebuilding the Empire.

The Tuatha elected to send Aethelbad, a Lord of the Daoine Sidhe, to Garsivaz as their choice for their representative to him. Garsivaz immediately declared Aethelbad his Prophet and told his followers that they were to obey Aethelbad's will in all things, for the Prophet of God spoke the Word of God. As his first official act, Aethelbad called for two score of sturdy Daoine Sidhe warriors to serve as his honor guard and the core of his new elite army.

Found 12 nature gems via random event.
Patrolling troops killed 4 brigands (unrest 0).

Surrounding provinces contain:
Stone Grave Mountains - 9 troops, mostly Militia, NW of capital
Iscepne - 30 troops, mostly Militia and Light Cavalry, SW of capital
Recenna - 50 troops, mostly Heavy Infantry and Heavy Cavalry, SE of capital
EarthBlood Peak - 30 troops, mostly Archers and Light Infantry, NE of capital
Gol Phalas - 10 troops, mostly Militia and Light Infantry, NE of capital

Aethelbad the Sidhe Lord becomes my Prophet.
Adelard the Forester sent to Gol Phalas, east of EarthBlood Peak.
Taxes lowered to 100%.
Alfred the Castellan with 10x Axeman, 5x Spearman, 15x Longbowman sent to the Stone Grave Mountains.
Orders set as: 5x Spearman set to very front and center with orders to Hold and Attack, 15 Longbowman set to center with orders to Fire Closest, 10x Axeman set to the very back center with orders to Hold and Attack, Alfred set to the very back center with orders to Stay Behind Troops.
Recruited 4x Daoine Sidhe.

Income: 152
Production in Dankwoods: 96
Treasury: 8
Gem Income: 3A 2N
4 provinces in dominion, 1 conquered

End turn.

Notes:

As we'll see next turn, setting the Spearmen to Hold and Attack was a mistake. They should have been set to Guard Commander. I *really* wish there was a simple "Hold ground" order where they wouldn't attack until attacked in melee.

Early Summer of Year 1 (turn 3):

As spring passed into summer, Alfred the Castellan marched into the Stone Grave Mountains. Arrayed against him were 50 lightly armed militia and just over a score of heavier infantry lead by a priest. Presumably the priest had been starting a cult of his own, but that was irrelevant. They opposed the will of God and would have to be removed.

The battle started with a hail of arrows as the enemy infantry advanced towards his screen of spearmen. Sevenscore longbows sang again and again as the cultists stumbled on bravely. Bravely, but ineffectively - by the time they reached his troops, their numbers were cut in half and their morale was razor thin. A final flight of arrows broke their morale and they routed to the man, although unfortunately the quarters were so tight that many of his own spearmen were hit by the arrows. Alfred made a mental note to adjust his tactics to try and avoid so much friendly fire in the future.

Garsivaz received the news of victory and his new scouting reports at the same time. Weighing the choices, the Dragon sent Alfred and his men onwards to the lands of Dun Vale. Scouts reported a small undead cult there, and if there was one thing Garsivaz hated above all others it was the abomination of undeath. Things that one ate should have the decency to stay eaten. Seeing how effective the Longbows were proving to be, he ordered another six score of them levied in addition to another half score of Daoine Sidhe to complete Aethelbad's honor guard.

Scouts also reported that the newly deposed cult in the Stone Grave Mountains had been based around an ancient gold mine of incredible value. Extremely pleased with this find, Garsivaz ordered that the mine be put into full scale production as soon as possible, and set a slightly lower tax rate to entice workers to move away from their homes in the capital.


Completed research of Alteration 1.
Battle in Stone Grave Mountains:
My forces: 1x Castellan, 5x Spearman, 15x Longbowman, 10x Axeman
Enemy forces: 1x Priest, 3x Commander, 5x Militia, 3x Heavy Infantry
Victory, lost 4x Spearman entirely to friendly fire from the Longbowmen. Longbowmen picked off most of their troops as they advanced and broke their morale.
Alfred enters into the Hall of Fame with 0 kills 6 experience and gains the Heroic Endurance ability.

Surrounding Provinces contain:
Dun Vale - 10 troops, LI Longdead Horse, NW Stone Grave Mountains
Betane - 30 troops, LI HI Xbow, N Stone Grave Mountains

Unrest of 8 in Stone Grave, 0 in Dankwoods.
Stone Grave Mountains contains a Great Gold Mine (+50 gold).
Aethelbad the Prophet set to research Alteration.
Adelard the Forester sent NW to Mountains of Madness.
Alfred the Castellan sent to attack Dun Vale. Spearman orders changed to Guard Commander, the rest are unchanged.
Tax lowered to 90% in Stone Grave Mountains.
Recruited 1x Daoine Sidhe, 12x Longbowman.

Income: 197
Production in Dankwoods: 122
Treasury: 4
Gem Income: 3A 2N
6 provinces in dominion, 2 conquered

End turn.

Notes:

Finding that Great Gold Mine is a huge stroke of luck. The extra 50 gold (minus 10 from the turmoil) will be a very helpful boost in the early stages of the game.

Summer of Year 1 (turn 4):

Under the heat of the summer sun, Alfred the Castellan and his weary forces engaged the necromancer of the Dun Vale. Knowing from his scouts that he was up against undead, Alfred had ordered the tips of all the longbowmen's arrows dipped in holy water just before the fight, and his foresight proved most worthwhile. The long dead horsemen crumbled to dust as the storm of arrows washed over their charge and only three of the original twenty five survived to reach his spearmen. Unfortunately, three unliving knights were more than a match for ten living but rather frightened spearmen. Another volley of arrows from the longbowmen destroyed the remaining undead as the axemen marched forward to engage the living infantry of the necromancer.

Here, too, the necromancer appeared outmatched, for his light infantry and newly reanimated undead seemed unable to inflict any serious damage upon the ranks of axemen. A full score were lost, but they were lost to his own arrows, not to the spears of the enemy. Seeing so many of their number cut down, and being tired and hungry from their long march, the Axemen broke ranks and started to retreat despite Alfred's orders. To make matters worse, his longbowmen were out of arrows and faced the necromancer and his remaining score of troops with nothing but their knives. Fortunately, the longbowmen themselves had had the bright idea to dip their knives in the same holy water they bathed their arrows in, and made very short work of the remaining forces.

Pleased again with news of his army's success, Garsivaz ordered Alfred to return home, picking up his wayward axemen on the way back. The Dragon was displeased that the humans had run away, but he couldn't really blame them when so many had died to their own side's weapons and so decided not to eat any of them as an example. Besides, the steady stream of fattened calves the Men had been sending him had kept him rather satiated.

Still, his troops had suffered noticeable attrition in the campaign of the early summer and would need replenishing. Garsivaz decided to levy up twoscore and a half longspears and another score of longbows. In addition, Aethelbad sent a call in the old Sidhe ways, attempting to lure some of the great black Cu Sidhe hounds to serve him. Garsivaz approved of the plan - the hounds were larger than wolves, fast, and incredibly fierce. In addition, Aethelbad told him that the Daoine had close ties to the hounds and would be able to enchant them in battle to become even quicker!

A witch cursed 2 of Alfred's units in a random event.
Enemy dominion visible in the ocean northeast of Gol Phalas.
Battle in Dun Vale:
My forces: 1x Castellan, 1x Spearman, 15x Longbowman, 10x Axeman
Enemy forces: 1x D2 Necromancer, 1x Commander, 1x Militia, 6x Light Infantry, 5x Longdead Horseman
Victory, lost 1x Spearman, 2x Axeman. Longbows destroyed the Longdeads easily, but not before they killed the poor Spearman. The Axeman destroyed the Soulless the Necromancer was summoning, but broke when a couple arrows from my Longbowmen went astray and killed 2 Axemen. The Longbowmen finished off the remainder of the enemies with their melee weapons, being out of ammo, and took no losses.
Alfred gains +5 experience.

Surrounding Provinces contain:
Jebero - 20 troops, Mil LC, N of Dun Vale
Mountains of Madness - 20 troops, Mil HC, NW of Gol Phalas

Unrest of 3 in Stone Grave, 0 in Dankwoods, 14 in Dun Vale.
Reduced taxes in Dun Vale to 80%.
Alfred the Castellan sent to Stone Grave Mountains to retrieve his lost Axemen.
Adelard the Forester sent NW to Mark.
Recruited 5x Longspear, 6x Cu Sidhe, 2x Longbow.

Income: 200
Production in Dankwoods: 123
Treasury: 0
Gem Income: 3A 2N
10 provinces in dominion, 3 conquered

End turn.

[ February 14, 2004, 17:22: Message edited by: Zurai ]

[Zurai]

Apologies for the delay, I've been busier than I expected. Anyway, here's the next two turns:


Late summer of year 1 (turn 5):

As Summer began to turn to Autumn and the world became washed in golden brown, Garsivaz discovered the secrets of second tier Alteration magic, and with them the much-desired Quickness spell. Even the news that some of the Necromancer's cronies had set up as brigands and highwaymen in Dun Vale, greatly increasing unrest there, couldn't dampen his pleasure at his newfound powers. Still, they would have to be dealt with, and Garsivaz ordered taxes reduced and bounties set on the brigands. He wouldn't get any money out of the province for a season or so, but the brigands would disappear soon enough.

Eager to stretch his wings and bring the fight to his enemies for the first time in months, Garsivaz ordered his seneschal Eglath to start gathering any Bards, Sages, and Loremasters he could find to research the old ways of magic, and sent out recruitment orders for the next several months to gather more longspears, longbowmen, and a few tower guards. Then he gathered Aethelbad, fifty Longspears, fifty Daoine Sidhe, sevenscore Longbowmen, and six great Cu Sidhe hounds, and began the march southwest to the "independant" province of Iscepne. They would learn the price of defiance.

Early fall of year 1 (turn 6):

Garsivaz and his army met the forces of Iscepne on the first day of fall. The outcome was never in question. Although the enemy numbered almost two hundred lightly armed infantry and over a score of cavalry, they were no match for the discipline of the Sidhe and the raw might of an angry Dragon.

The enemy heavy cavalry charged across the field, arrows unable to pierce their armor, but met the set spears of Aethelbad's Longspears and Daoine Sidhe. Unable to reach the infantry, and taking grievous wounds from the long spears, the cavalry turned to run. It was then that Garsivaz, masquerading as an old frost mage, revealed his true form and launched himself into the air, landing in a tornado of wings, claws, and teeth amidst the light cavalry. The Cu Sidhe savaged the front of the cavalry formation as Garsivaz devoured the rear. The enemy militia wisely decided not even to try to fight, running away and throwing down their arms. One of the Cu Sidhe darted in front of Garsivaz just as he unleashed his frozen breath at the fleeing foes and died instantly, crystallized and shattered - the only casualty Man took in the battle.

Following the battle, Garsivaz secured the remainder of the province - an easy task given that most villagers are only too happy to give a large, menacing Dragon whatever he wants - then turned his army to the east to begin the march on the rich farmlands of Recenna.

In the capital, the first of the Bardic researchers, Beornwulf, began unravelling the secrets of Conjuration magics. Alfred gathered the most recent recruits and added them to his army then set out northwest into the mountains to secure EarthBlood Peak, an area rumored to contain much ancient magic.