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Arcade Rabbit posted:Is the previous LP available anywhere? I don;t have archives, and the actual lparchive doesn't have anything under "warlock" The thread for the previous LP hasn't dropped into the archives yet. Here ya go: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3555662
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Aug 5, 2014 11:56
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...Never mind. Anyway, excited to see this LP on its' feet! Looking forward to vengeance visited upon Miralbus the Doofy Hat.
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Aug 5, 2014 12:31
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Nice of you to contrast how stupid goblins are to well trained Svarts.
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Aug 5, 2014 16:52
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Perhaps the Svarts consider Honorable Warriors old fashioned compared to some of the units they have later in the tree and from temples?  Also, I actually found the Planestrider faction pretty nice. It starts out a bit generic with the Grey Striders rogue equivalent (although forest walk and a small self heal ain't bad) but their archers are very fast, their proper melee unit is basically a direct upgrade to the Undead's skeleton unit - a bit of armor for melee resistance and even more missile resistance, and more damage. The upgraded Sergeants of Planes have three times the gold upkeep (ugh) of Skeleton Veterans, but are better armored and most importantly, have a stunning ability, which is just really nice. Also they have voice acting. I think I got real spoiled playing monsters, though, I kept getting my archers wrecked when goblin archers with 25 melee resistance might have survived to heal up. Careless of me. I'm not sure what to make of Incorporeals though. Start out as elemental-melee fighters with high speed and mobility thanks to walking on water and upgrade into...generic 3-speed spellcasters that just happen to be able to walk on water. Temporary flight would have been more useful on a melee unit but at 3 speed I'll take any way to shortcut over bad terrain. I suppose magic ranged damage had to show up somewhere for them since their healers just beat things with clubs. Their baseline healer has nice abilities and is sturdy thanks to thick hide and high hp, but I kinda ended up missing having a ranged source of spirit damage. Witch Doctors are melee, although they can be upgraded with life damage to at least clobber undead. And they have a really nice temple upgrade with personal regeneration, an aura that increases healing received, two different shapes of aoe heal and an increase to their personal healing received. Also they wear little nurse caps and those white hospital masks and use 'sterile metal clubs'. Also, their upgraded naval vessel can summon Grey Striders which is a bit gimmicky but if you're bombarding a coastal city or a monster, being able to summon a ground unit to take a town or loot a monster den is moderately useful. I guess. If you're playing Sandbox and not Exile mode anyway. Psykmoe fucked around with this message at 18:30 on Aug 5, 2014 |
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Aug 5, 2014 18:01
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Huh. I was expecting you to have a "home base" plane and a big slugfest on what it led to, but this is an actual multi-tier planar setup! Is there only one gate out of your starting plane?
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Aug 6, 2014 00:35
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Psykmoe posted:Perhaps the Svarts consider Honorable Warriors old fashioned compared to some of the units they have later in the tree and from temples? As we will see in time the Svarts can do things with robotics and jet propulsion that would look out of place in the modern world, by their standards hitting people with sharp bits of metal is positively ancient. e: Also to round out JcDent's description of the Svarts; their thing is as he noted being utterly indestructible (Svart units are the toughest in the game) and also Rune Magic. In practice Rune Magic means that almost all their dudes get some kind of magical spell in their upgraded form which provides a short term buff of some sort. Svart units are basically walking tanks that will gently caress your poo poo up if you get into range and thanks to the tech they employ 'into range' is a surprisingly large area. Neruz fucked around with this message at 15:01 on Aug 6, 2014 |
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Aug 6, 2014 14:53
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Is that an undead city there? You could use set up undead cities on your desert and dead tiles. Not Enough Dwarf Fortress Jokes. 
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Aug 6, 2014 15:35
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Tactical Fighter formations of crows, I see. Not bad.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:23
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A dead land is a great find. All those glowing green tiles are +50% mana generation. One interesting feature of dead shards is that the forest tiles appear to just be normal ashy nothing special terrain, but if you build a building on one the forest is cleared and it becomes a +50% mana generation dead land tile. Very nice! Man that stupid neutral city is too close and blocking the ideal settling spot between those two resources.
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Aug 8, 2014 06:44
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Mzbundifund posted:Man that stupid neutral city is too close and blocking the ideal settling spot between those two resources. Not necessarily a problem. I don't know if it was in the original, but in this game if you raze a city it turns into a settler of the same race.
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Aug 8, 2014 09:19
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Heh. Bingo feed.
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Aug 8, 2014 09:50
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kvx687 posted:Not necessarily a problem. I don't know if it was in the original, but in this game if you raze a city it turns into a settler of the same race. Not always, I have no clue what decides if a razed city becomes a settler or not but sometimes you raze a city and don't get a settler out of the deal. The Svarts also don't benefit as much as most of the other races from having multiple cities of different races; Svarts need Food and Gold, both in huge quantities and Svart cities are also the best at making both Food and Gold (Humans are better at pure gold and Monsters are better at pure food) so you usually don't want to use non-Svart cities if you can help it. In a real game given the huge amounts of +mana terrain JcDent is rolling around in I would suggest switching to primarily Undead cities by capping that neutral one and starting again from there, but Svarts so gently caress that.
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Aug 8, 2014 11:09
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Neruz posted:Not always, I have no clue what decides if a razed city becomes a settler or not but sometimes you raze a city and don't get a settler out of the deal. You do, but only if it's a stage 2 (5+ pop) city IIRC.
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Aug 8, 2014 11:11
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Well, hey, guys, you know I only powerplay if it happens by accident! It just might happen that I'll cover every piece of land with fortress cities and shrines to Krypta or something! Chapter 3: The Land of The Dead and Leaderless   “This is Lichtower, reading you loud and clear” “Rodger that, Lichtower. Ground targets spotted, incoming report” "Monster-eating spiders enjoy a well-deserved reputation as the most dangerous insects of Ardania. Even city walls are no match for their ravenous appetite. In pursuit of prey, these spiders are able to devour entire buildings and everything inside them. -- And not just buildings! There have been cases of these spiders even catching and eating young dragons -- often by tempting them from their lairs with juicy young kittens. Fortunately, spiders themselves are allergic to kittens." From the collected works of His Majesty's Advisor “’Cat-nappers’, tower, we have ‘cat-nappers’!” "The skeletal remains that are used to create these warriors must possess large, sturdy bones and strong ligaments, for not only will they have to hold swords and shields, but must also use them to attack and defend themselves. Armor is less important, for Skeleton Warriors are able to fight even without a skull -- And if they fall to pieces, it is easier to simply raise new ones." - From "Necrarium Tomeus" by Necromaster Barbaross the Deceased. “Also, a possible sighting of ‘green bones’!” "Grey Shadows are perhaps the most legendary soldiers of the Planestriders, both among the inhabitants of the planes, and among the exiles of Ardania. Grey Shadows have a reputation as fast, fearless and noble warriors, ruthless to enemies and fair to their Allies." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) “Rodger that, Razor-1, marking neutrals”… “Lichtower, Lichtower, picking up hostiles near objective Alexiri incoming report. Spotted ‘double rogues’, repeat, ‘double rogues’ "Before getting acquainted with the martial arts of the Ardanians, the Incorporeal never fought in melee. They preferred to deal with enemies at a distance, or retreat if they were losing a battle. The art of swordsmanship became a real discovery for the Incorporeal. They were so excited by the idea that they developed special magic that allowed them to pick up material objects, and started to teach the young ones to wield sword and staff." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) “Razor-2 says he pinged some ‘kicker clouds’, have to verify that” "When the rear guard of the Great King's army was scattered across dozens of worlds, the soldiers who met the Incorporeal did not have proper healers with them, only an old and senile Goblin Shaman. Unified command of Planestriders had to hastily look for new healers. As an experiment, they offered the Shaman to teach Minotaurs the subtleties of herb eating. The result exceeded expectations. Although Minotaurs could not fully understand the 'I heal what I eat' principle and relied more on their gnarled clubs in the diagnosis, the experiment was recognised as successful. Since then, very few Planestriders become sick because very few want to be treated." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) “Support element ‘chiro’ spotted. End report. Continuing sweep”  “King Lich, I bring reports… reports that might be of great interest to you”The lich was lost in thought and the Svart’s entrance startled him a little. Surprising, considering the amount of metal armor that most Honorable Warriors insisted on wearing.  “Huh? And what would that be?” “After you opened the portal, we received a stream of refugees… Mostly the ones that were following our trail and got stuck there when it closed. Some are those that were following these refugees. It is a certain trail of misery. Anyway, these people carry rumours” “What rumours?” “Well, none can say for sure where they heard about it, but it appears that your United One… well, he’s spreading his influence the Shards. To be more precise, using four lieutenants to look for other great mages” “This likely proves my theory that there is a way back to Ardania… and a way to kill him” “Really? Why?” “There must be a reason why the United One is sending his lackeys to catch me instead of coming here personally. And those are likely some of mages he managed to convert to his cause, who, as my war with Dremer taught me, need some sort of... anchor to teleport forces in locations unvisited by their troops” “Great mages… I saw the power and splendor of the counsel when I fought the Dremer. I doubt that being slaves of United One made them any more dangerous”. “We didn’t have great mages and we survived the Dremer. What made your mages call the themselves great?” “Hubris, probably. They did wield great magical power, either through inheritance of learning. But that doesn’t mean they were good at war or good at being rulers. For all their power, they were still with petty, mortal origins”  “We named it after Svarlof’s mother, who was very homely and launched us on a quest to escape her terrible visage” “Not that there’s anything wrong with certain petty pleasures”  “Lichtower, Lichtower, this is Talon-1” “Reading you loud and clear, Talon-1” “Reporting enemy concentrations, Lichtower” "These creatures are distant relatives of giant forest spiders. In the wild they grow only to the size of a young wolf, but in the cozy warmth of a garbage heap one can discover far larger species, often disguised as the remnants of last night's feast at the local mead hall. Like their wild cousins, spider predators are very poisonous, so be very careful not to take out the garbage unarmed. From the collected works of His Majesty's Advisor “Reading a high concentration of ‘trash-traps’. Possible hostile hole” "Skeletons who survive their first few battles can be given heavier armor and better weapons. However, it is wise to check their bones for small cracks. If they are detected, then be warned that the Veteran Skeleton will likely fall to pieces within a day, two at most." From "Necrarium Tomeus" by Necromaster Barbaross the Deceased “’Double vets’ sighted, repeat, ‘double vets sighted’” “Rodger that, Talon-1. Orders are to continue sweep south. Keep distance from Objective Alexiri” “I read that, command. Sweeping south”.  “Couple more flights like that and I’ll get that sweet Fancy Scouting Bauble” "Cut the chatter, Talon-3” “Talon-1, reading multiple hostiles. ‘Trash traps’ and… uuh… ‘green bones’, I think” “Negative on ‘green bones’, Talon-4. Those are simple skeletons, reporting name ‘boned’. Watch the color of the crests” “Lichtower, this is Talon-1. Spotted ‘trash traps’ and ‘boned’. We are bingo feed and RTB” “Rodger that, Talon-1” Honorable Warriors were arrayed to march upon a nest of flying vipers. Trouble was that the vipers remained afloat, spitting flaming balls of acid at the soldiers. Svarts, all combat veterans, knew how to deal with such a situation: their shields were big and strong enough to withstand many an attack. Still, it was an impasse. And there, unnoticed by anyone, a purple streak of light flashed in the sky before turning rapidly and dropping on the swarm of viper. Bulbous eyes boiled and bursts, tender wing dried, wizened and tore away mid flight and boiling acid turned into bile in their throats. The snakes fell from the sky, many dying on impact, survivors left to thrash around in blind pain and fury.  “I guess… I guess this solves that problem. Charge!”And charge they did, trampling writhing snakes under their stubby armored boots. Emerging between the nests, they slashed with axes and torches, burning anything they couldn’t smash. The last of serpents were gone from Burnout. “See, this kind of magic also sets ‘great mages’ apart from normal mages. We can make mockery of any kind of distance, and we can usually cast spells more often, as long as we have ample mana” “And unlike most normal mages, we can allow ourselves to study beneficial spells, not only fireballs. Tell me, Rurik, what hedge wizard…”  “…could turn barren desert into a fertile plain?” “This one thing I would have never expected out of a lich” “Doing the unexpected is one way to victory” On a hill strewn with bolt-filled scarab carcasses, one prospector found something blueish and shiny.  “Right, lads, this smells of magic. Send it back to the Lich” The glyph was of great curiosity to King Lich VI, and that is why he immediately retreated to his tower for further study. He had only rumors and tales to go by, but with the help of a well indexed library, he managed to pull through. Glyphs were magical crystalized ‘pieces’ of magic that came will pretty stable effects. Crushing one while running a spell through one’s mind would alter the formula, in both good and bad ways, as a certain trade off. Depending on the complexity of the spell, it could bear modifications from one or more glyphs. However, spells weren’t that flexible, and eventually new glyphs would overtake the place of the old ones in the formula. As for the old ones… well, their physical form destroyed and their component part cast out from the spell, they likely returned to the weave of magic.  And while King Lich was pondering glyphs, Svarts were finishing the last buildings of the Honorable Warriors Guild. Bricks were hoisted into place, furnace automatons received last oils, and stills underwent last inspections. In one of the finished halls, an old Svart was pacing in front of a square of new recruits.  “Finally crawled out of your holes, maggots? Going to take the Lich’s gold and fight under the skull banner? That’s fine by me, but you sorry lot will not find this easy! You might have escaped Stone King and the Rune Witch, but you won't escape ME! By Dauros, you will earn your gold and you will never bring shame to the name of Honorable Warriors!” And their numbers would very needed, as Alexiri Witch Doctors crossed over to Burnout! “Alert Lichgrad! Everybody to the defense!” Quickly, the minotaur witches were surrounded by Svarts, peppered with bolts and blasted with shadow bolt. However, Honorable warriors were having a hard time catching up to the beasts…   As such, Witch Doctors still managed to tear into the Prospectors, who barely managed to run away while dragging their wounded. Still, this gave enough time for Honorable Warriors to catch up, organize in the hills near Lichgrad, and overrun the invaders. “You dogs barely avoided having to your job this time, but if I know my maniacal mages, a counter invasion will soon follow, and I’ll make sure you’ll be on the spearhead!” And sure enough, King Lich VI was planning for war. But before that, he did try out the glyph-enhanced spell on Uglin, turning it a little less ugly.  “Words cannot express how terrified I am when such a simple spell can change mountain ranges so much” "Lichtower, this is Razor-1. We are sweeping the area, no hostiles yet. We strafed an enemy hole and recovered magical material, over” “Rodger that, Razor-1. Sweep by Objective Alexiri, verify the defense standing” “Lichtower, Lichtower, Alexiri fly-by complete, area seems clear, Objective defended by a company-strength element of ‘double rogues’ “Copy that, Razor-1, notifying command” And so “Operation Alexiri” began, one of the many that would have to bring King Lich VI back to Ardania and the United One to his knees. “Forward, you dogs, to victory!”
JcDent fucked around with this message at 17:18 on Aug 8, 2014 |
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Aug 8, 2014 17:16
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Hah. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but there's something about your writing style that I just absolutely love, this LP is already promising to be just as entertaining as the last one.
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Aug 8, 2014 18:14
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It's the little things like the crow helmets that make your LPs wonderful
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Aug 8, 2014 18:25
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Eopia posted:Hah. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but there's something about your writing style that I just absolutely love, this LP is already promising to be just as entertaining as the last one. This LP is already better than the superb first LP. I admit, at first I did not understand the "Litch" gimmick in the other LP  The shards having different climates is a nice touch. So I guess they also have different unique resources as well?
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Aug 8, 2014 20:05
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I am looking forward to how you will overcome the soul-crushing grind that is the endgame. Godspeed, man.
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Aug 9, 2014 03:14
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wiegieman posted:I am looking forward to how you will overcome the soul-crushing grind that is the endgame. Godspeed, man. Svart units pretty rapidly become unkillable bulwarks, especially with the new Support mechanic (ranged units with Support will add their attack to adjacent melee units attacks when those melee units either attack an enemy or are attacked by an enemy) so the endgame grind is slow but fairly easy with them.
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Aug 9, 2014 11:25
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Care to cover new terrain tiles? I don't think I saw that one northeast of Uglin in the first game.
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Aug 9, 2014 15:01
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Haha, so is that last line in the update a hint at what their units will eventually become?
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Aug 9, 2014 17:23
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Arglebargle III posted:Care to cover new terrain tiles? I don't think I saw that one northeast of Uglin in the first game. That's a Land of Life, Living Plains I think judging by how it looks. I think they were in Warlock but rarer due to not appearing naturally in Arkania. They give +50% to food and heal living units for 4 hp while damaging undead units for 2 hp.
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Aug 9, 2014 17:53
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Neruz posted:That's a Land of Life, Living Plains I think judging by how it looks. I think they were in Warlock but rarer due to not appearing naturally in Arkania. They give +50% to food and heal living units for 4 hp while damaging undead units for 2 hp. They are tbe opposite of Lands of Death. they are GREAT for food production. Since they give +50% food, vs Fertile plains' +20%
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Aug 10, 2014 03:26
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I suppose it does take a Great Mage to be a Lich, channel life energy, and not explode yourself.
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Aug 10, 2014 04:33
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I expect to avoid endgame grind the same way I avoided it last time – via demonic wreckingball Chapter 4: The Citadel of the Wandering  Arrows from the distant walls of Alexiri arced in the sky before raining down upon the marching Svarts. Honorable Warriors raised their shields in defense, but still there were some casualties. Veremoud plucked out an arrow that had found a soft spot in his armor and broke it over his knee before throwing it away. He then fished a healing rune (burns to cauterize the wound, heals tissue damage, aids with hangovers) out of his bag and pressed it hard onto the wound. “How does it feel to bleed for your new Dead King? Carry on, you dogs, you haven't earned your keep yet!” First prospectors crossed over the bridge and huddled tightly in their coats. The shard was dead, dead, dead, with gray ground stretching in every direction and ghastly grey lights dancing wherever land gave way to whatever it is that Shards floated in. A Veteran prospector saw it prudent to rally his men before marching forward “Don't worry, lads, we have already crossed this way once, and now we're back for vengeance, and with the backing of a powerful wizard!” “We will get through this like we got through this one our way to burn out. If nothing else, we Svarts endure!”  "Planestriders are a most unusual race cocktail which could only happen in these worlds. Humans, monsters and the undead of Ardania from those who once joined the last crusade of the Great King, plus the Incorporeal, aborigines of Lunar worlds, magical ethereal creatures... As often is the case, this alliance was concluded in the face of a universal threat when Dremers began to devour worlds. But when they suddenly disappeared, it turned out that Planestriders get along well with each other, and the alliance was sealed forever. The most recognisable warriors of this alliance are those who call themselves Grey Striders. Grey Striders are the vanguard of the army of Planestriders. They tirelessly travel between worlds and are not afraid of horrible monsters, hardships and privations of marches, or even impossible weather conditions. Just like a cat that knows it can crawl anywhere its head fits, Planestriders know they can live where Striders have passed." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) “Company, halt!”Grey Striders. The Death That Comes At Night, some Svarts called them. The vanguard of Planestriders everywhere, they stalked the exiled caravan all the way through the dead lands. Always watching from an ashen hill or a dead forest in the horizon. Ever out of reach. Except when they struck at night, to stab and slash with their daggers. Honorable Warriors would drive them off, probably even killing one or two in the process, but more Svarts, usually sentries and those not trained in the art of war, would be found dead. If Veremoud thought he had an axe to grind against his new liege, Grey Striders were the ones he wanted to chop up with said axe.   “Back for more, curs? Didn't get the message the last time?” “Message of an idiot falls on deaf ears. We did kill a few of you even as a band of sorry wretches. Now, it's going to be different”The Strider motioned to the armored teal skull that sneered from the black banners of the Svarts. “Ah, yes, your dead master. He finally gave you a flag, did he? I don't know how that will make a difference from the last time. I know there are no skeletons to support you this time. Time to die, wart!” “For the Stone King or the Dead King, Svarts, chaaarge!”So did the two companies clash. It didn't take long for a horrible tactical mistake to become apparent. Grey Striders were fast, armed and armored light, nible and really good in a forest. Unfortunately, they were fighting on a plain, head to head, against naturally sturdy Svarts, all clad well made armor and maneuvering in a well drilled close formation. It was a massacre. Loudoun managed to escape by hiding under the corpses of his comrades, sneaking away at night to join the defense of Alexiri.  Svarts were jubilant at having crushed their oppressors so decisively, thus paying back for old grudges (even though they weren't that prone to hold grudges). And then, even better news reached their ears: a pumpkin farm was built, which meant one thing – pumpkinshine for everyone. Thus, in high spirits over the future prospect of strong spirits, they marched on Alexiri.  King Lich, who only ever used pumpkinshine to polish his armor (he claimed it helped him maintain his attachment to the world, without which he might slip into lich madness of “all life must end”), was happy over other things. He had quite easily re-learned the spell which made weapons unnaturally cold. “Would you claim it as cold as the touch of death?” “What? No, no. It's just freezing cold, much like the heart of your wife” “That was uncalled for, m'lord. True, but uncalled for” Alexiri was undersiege. The city had been attacked before, something like that was inevitable in shard full of the dead and spiders. But never before had it experienced an assault by a real military force. Veremoud's troops forded the unnamed river (skeleton fish were a little disturbing, but harmless if you didn't carry undead bread) and set themselves up on the west, right on the the former Strider camp. Rurik and his soldiers made camp to the east, after having chased away the 'striders working a smithy. Normally, attacking a city over a river would be disasterous, but, to King Lich's surprise, Svarts had not difficulty with it, employing small metal boats with 'enjinns' to carry them over. They were ready for the siege.   However, they were not ready for Immaterial fighters. Surging through the gates, they tore into Veremoud's company. Blueish shades in intricate leather armor, they were hard to hit and attacked with ferocity and magic. It was a crushing defeat. Svarts barely managed to retreat, dragging their wounded – including Veremioud – with them as they went.  But no matter how dangerous the Immaterial warriors were, they were inexperienced in the field of battle.They had barely started tending to their own dead and wounded (forgetting to retreat back into the city) when an intense barrage of bolts beset them. And under such cover, vegenful Svarts with Rurik at their head took their flank after crossing the river. “For the Exiled King and our people! Charge!”Before the day was done, the only ones left in the field were Svarts, and only tatters of empty leather armor fluttered in the wind...  But the troubles of Veremoud's company weren't over. Suffering from curse laid by the magic warriors, Svarts had to tend to their wounded while magical flames slowly roast them from inside. Soon enough, the only thing left of the company would be a camp full of slumped suits of armor filled with burnt husks. However, Svarts had the support of King Lich, and King Lich still had a healing spell etched in his mind. It wasn't the most powerful one, but it had to be enough. Thus King went into the tower where he would remain for the rest of the siege, tirelessly and continiously casting spells of healing, helping wounded warriors rise to their feet even as they were about to collapse from injury. This was of great help when spiders attacked the caravan ferrying the wounded. With help of the prospectors, Honorable Warriors beat them back, but it was obvious that someone else would have to take care of arachnids. And the healing continued. Svarts only had to endure the continuous searing pain in their. But Svarts, like they say, endure.  Where there's a smith, there's a way.Where there's a smith, there's a way. Where there's a smith...  More fire! We just wanna to go to war todayBut the Lord of the Skull says: "nay, nay, nay!" We're gonna smith all day, all day, all day! Where there's a smith there's a way! Where there's a smith, there's a way!Heave-ho, heave-ho, The lads in the shards are gonna fight We're gonna smith all day and night and more For we are Volundr's men of war. More steel! Where there's a smith, there's a way!We just wanna go to war today...  A most wondrous thing appeared out of the shimmering portal. A long caravan of sprocket donkeys laden with the finest armors straight out of forges of Lichgrad. These were used to replace old and broken pieces, as well as reinforce the paltry protections that Prospectors had. The sprocket donkeys turned back, their bags and chests filled with bent and broken steel that would be melted down and used to forge new weapons and armor.  As Veremoud's men nursed their wounds and waited for reinforcements in a strangely passive spider next (filled with tasty spider eggs seasoned with irony), Rurik turned back to continue the siege of Alexiri. Meanwhile, a batch of fresh recruits appeared and were already tasked with hunting down a pack of skeleton archers that were harrasing the siege camps. Prospectors couldn't deal with them themselves since shooting arrows at what amounted to a walking cage was counter-productive (some argued that bolts would get stuck in ribcages and actually make the skeletons sturdier).  King Lich had to take a break. All the healing was having a detrimental effect on his mind: thoughts about peace and coexistance were getting annyoingly persistent and he had to do something about it. Luckily, researching a spell that increased protection in brawls was just the thing he needed.  The new recruits were having a good time. Skeletons crumpled easily under the blows of their axes and the crypt that was churning them out wasn't that hard to destroy either. Among the ruins they also found the Crossbow of 500 seas, which bore the teethmarks of goblin shaman, suggesting that the artefact had something to do with Grum-gog. They didn't want to linger on the land for too long since it sapped the strength of the living. And the continuous ghastly whispering offering to tell them various secrets of the universe was starting to grate.  Instead, they repositioned to the hills, where they planned to descend on the last company of wandering skeletons.  Dauheimur (Fotress Dauheimur) was established as the first planned fortress city in King Lich's domain. It was to stand guard over the entry to Burnout, guarding supply lines and anyone traveling to and fro. Everything that the city produced went to fortifying the walls and stockpiling weapons, and intelligent Svart planning meant it was fully self sufficient, asking nothing of Lichgrad and giving back only security. Among the facilities in the fortress was healer who treated any exiles wanting to join the people on Burnout as well as quarantine cells. The only problem was that there was no way to establish undead fish-fishing.    And while Dauheimur was built, Veremoud's men destroyed the magic smithy where they built their new camp. Following their example, Rurik's men tore down the Strider camp, piling the tents and poles into huge pires. Before setting them alight, they threw the armor of the magic warriors on top. Such fires burned all night bringing despair to the defenders of Alexiri. “These Svarts will pay for their impudence, I swear this as first ranger” But he didn't. The siege was long and hard, but it came to an end. With catapults of dead wood and bones flinging flaming chunks of spider nests, the walls eventually started to crumble. And try as they might, the striders stood very little chance of holding breaches against sturdy and determined Svarts.  In the end, it was Rurik's company that broke into the city, burning and pillaging along their way of advance. A switf blow of the axe separated the strider castelan's head from his body and the city was declared taken. “M'lord, Rurik said you might want to see this”.King Lich and a procession of Svarts led by some Planestriders (who seemed to bear marks of imprisonment) desecnded into the vaults under the castle. And there it was. A room full of shelves, each filled with row upon row of skulls. Armored skulls with glowing eyes. “Speak” “...” “Sergeant of the assault vanguard? “...” “That...explains why you can talk. I think. What happened here?” “...” “First ranger?” “...” “I see. Rurik?” “Yes?” “Get the men to collect the skulls. Carefully. These striders will help you. Transport them to Lichgrad. And then...” “...burn the city to the ground”
JcDent fucked around with this message at 09:26 on Aug 10, 2014 |
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Aug 10, 2014 08:10
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This bugged me for some time, is that from the Warcraft 2 manual? Nice that our Svarts got revenge on Alexiri. Do we now settle the undead plain with proper Svartalfar cities?
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Aug 10, 2014 08:22
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I take it Planestriders can't exploit a dead plane any more effectively than Svarts? Isn't there a penalty to other-race resource collection anyway?
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Aug 10, 2014 11:04
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JcDent posted:Armored skulls with glowing eyes. Because that sounds really hilarious. "Thick Skull" indeed
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Aug 10, 2014 11:49
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Arglebargle III posted:I take it Planestriders can't exploit a dead plane any more effectively than Svarts? No penalties, Planestriders are pretty good at generating Mana so dead plains are okay for them. You can even start as a citiless dragon if you want to.
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Aug 11, 2014 04:29
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Cities of a different race than your capital take a -20% penalty to all resource income, yeah. It's still worth it to use cities of races that excel in a specific resource production (monsters:food, humans:gold, undead:mana, elves:research) if you can get them with some good relevant resources nearby. The bigger problem with non-starting race cities is the penalty they take to city growth, though you can offset that with a growth spell, which you can research pretty easily if you aim for it.
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Aug 11, 2014 04:49
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Mzbundifund posted:Cities of a different race than your capital take a -20% penalty to all resource income, yeah. It's still worth it to use cities of races that excel in a specific resource production (monsters:food, humans:gold, undead:mana, elves:research) if you can get them with some good relevant resources nearby. The bigger problem with non-starting race cities is the penalty they take to city growth, though you can offset that with a growth spell, which you can research pretty easily if you aim for it. Oh really? Huh never noticed the resource penalty, only the growth one. Wellp
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Aug 11, 2014 04:53
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Presumably King Lich is going to slowly convert the shard to something more habitable, as long as nothing better is found. Warlock is quite good about letting you do that.
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Aug 11, 2014 06:25
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Yeah if you're willing to put the time in you can eventually make any shard whatever you like. I think the only thing you can't change is void hexes.
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Aug 11, 2014 06:55
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Neruz posted:Oh really? Huh never noticed the resource penalty, only the growth one. Wellp It's not really noticeable, since it's factored in at the same time as the resource multiplier buildings, instead of afterwards. By the time your city has +200% resource production in income multiplier buildings, you aren't going to notice much if it's only +180%.
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Aug 11, 2014 07:40
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Does that "turn to grassy plain" spell work on dead terrain, or do you need something more powerful?
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Aug 13, 2014 02:03
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Glazius posted:Does that "turn to grassy plain" spell work on dead terrain, or do you need something more powerful? Depends if dead terrain is just like lands of death from warlock 1, in which case yes, or dremer-destroyed, in which case probably not.
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Aug 13, 2014 04:18
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Yeah the Fertile Lands spell works on death terrain, just make sure not to override those juicy +50% mana tiles!
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Aug 13, 2014 05:24
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Alavaria posted:Did they leave the helmets on the skulls, or do these guys have armor plates attached to their skulls. Trick question: it's both I also invite everyone to read deeply into the plot quest text here, because it's going to get even more shittastic as time goes. Chapter 5: Stiff Resistance  “Lichtower, is Talon-1. Provinding recon for the eastern advance“ “Roger that, Talon-1. You see anything?” "I feel that zombies are a disgrace to the idea of pure death. In point of fact, zombies are nothing more than rotting corpses, and, as you know, putrification implies life. However, most warlords disregard this analysis, for the simple reason that zombies are useful. Like all undead creatures, they do not know pain or fear. Plus, zombies benefit from the rotting remains of flesh and muscle, making them stronger than the average skeleton." - From "Necrarium Tomeus" by Necromaster Barbaross the Deceased. “We have seen a company-sized element of ‘zeds’, Lichtower” “Copy that, notifying the troops” A group of Planeswalkers look on to the ruins of Alexiri. Their once proud city was now but piles of smoking brick and wood, torn apart with cold fury only available to the dead and the Svart.  “What are we to do now?” “Our lord decided that your actions would save you, but you still bear great sin. “ “You will build a city, but life will not be easy. Such is the payment what was done here”Planestriders, defeated and dejected, took one last glance at the ruin that used to be their home, and strode on.  Did the spell steel the skin against arrows or did it turn winds against it? King Lich VI could not say, but he was certain of one thing: it was going to be invaluable in further assaults against cities.  Near Dauheimur, the “Graverobbers” and the new recruits were facing off against a band of “veteran” skeletons. The undead were well reinforced with armor and other materials and felt no fear of pain or fleshwound, and thus made a formidable enemy. The new soldiers were fresh and unblooded, but the position favored the Svarts heavily. This looked like this was going to turn into a grind.  Shield shimmered in the sky and exploded into sparks of magic that descended on Rurik’s men. Immediately, they started to feel it’s effects. The shield felt lighter (which took some time getting used to) and more maneuverable. While sparring, it seemed to almost jump to clock the hit. And armor rearranged, ever so subtly, making it more comfortable to wear and the actions more smooth, and fluid. In the upcoming fights against the undead, they’d need all the edge they can get.  “Are you certain that this is wise?” “These people need to learn and to atone for their mistakes. It’s the perfect place for them to live and think about what they have done” “The edge might drive some of them to jump” “Let them. A good man would use it to dispose of outhouse output”.  Zombies – reporting name ‘zeds’ – were horrible enemies. Slow, stinking, as immune to pain as skeletons, but more horrifying for all the decaying flesh. The only way to defeat them was to stand in line and alternate hacking at the enemy in front of you and at the arms grabbing your shield. Still, they were beaten, severely disturbing the river with zombies.  “All right, lads, stay sharp and watch the enemy. Skeletons aren’t exactly intelligent and they aren’t likely to surprise you with new tricks, but you still have to be careful” “I have no clue how magic makes them walk and fight, but we can watch and learn, and so defeat them later on” “A very basic thing is learning to distinguish the rattle of their bones from trees creaking at night. Saved our camp from attack once”  “What kind of machine is this?” “Census tabulation immobilaton” “Immobilaton?” “Like an automaton, but immobile. We use it to count taxes. It is a very precise machine that works wonderfully. Unfortunatelly, it requires very precise input, too” “So I thought we should restart it before your realm expands too much or, Krolm forbid, we run into elven women” “What about elven women?”Rurik looked at King Lich, but it seemed like he was looking through the monarch, like a man who had seen too much and could never forget it. “Loopholes, sire. Oh, the loopholes…” “Nothing but dead around here” “Fitting for a dead world, isn't it?” “Still depressing, Talon-2” Rurik’s men were again in the thick of it. They had barely recovered their axes from the dead (previously undead), when they came under attack. This time, it was spiders. Giant horrible spiders, jumping on Svarts, scattering the lines, spraying web around. The only reason why more were spared from being dragged away was that Svarts, with their armor, were very heavy… and the spiders were never adept at cooperation.  A gust of air blew all the windows in Lichgrad Tower open and scattered small items from shelves and tables. King Lich had barely managed to gather his wits before a booming voice repeated the process.  “Lich! You have displeased our master and so you shall die! I can’t wrap my heads around the fact that your survived His fury the first time, but I will destroy you… Or rather, I will have someone destroy you. Hunting you vermin mages is tiresome, it almost have me headaches”.   “Lord, we are extremely concerned about these dragons” “Extremely, astoundingly so” “Normal dragons are problem, but these have two heads. Two! Do you know what it means?” “It means that they can eat TWO Svarts at a time! TWO!” “Yeah! They need two bites to swallow a human! Disgusting, I know, and terrifying for other human audiences… but they only need gulp for a Svart! That’s not funny!” “Exactly! So if the lord destroyed the dragons before they ate any of our friends… “…or us…” “…could eas Svarlof’s mother, that would be the day…” “…then we’d be ready to contribute generously to your cavernous vaults!” “I shall do everything in my power so that my non-goblin subjects would not be eaten” “Weird guys, this lot” "In the last three years there have appeared eight Grand Stubborn Masters and one acting Grand Stubborn Master in the Order of the Stubborn Knights. This has happened because the chapter of the Order decided to change the rules so that it would not be necessary for the knights to clean the hoofs of their battle donkeys before battles (a rule that had been causing great difficulty during wars). However, according to the traditions of the Order, the Grand Stubborn Master laid his veto on the changes. After discussion, the chapter decided to choose a new Grand Stubborn Master (from the members who support the change), but at first the old Grand Stubborn Master stubbornly refused to return the seals, and then the new one vetoed the changes in the rules, again "in support of established tradition". After assigning in vein seven more Grand Stubborn Masters, the chapter changed the tactics, and proclaimed that henceforth the Order would have one acting - Grand Master. And this has worked well enough, as acting Grand Stubborn Master performs the duties of the head of the Order, but enjoys greater freedom in the enforcement of its traditions. After closing this question the acting Grand Stubborn Master sent all Grand Stubborn Masters on a quest to earn money for the needs of the Order." (From "The Overall Description of Everything" by Master Alfus Bumblegate) “…and that is why you are ready to face the dragon? For money?”  “Money for my order. Frankly, I kind of like the mercenary life, it leads to many more fights, and I found out that I like that more than I like obscure old traditions” “So why stay in the order?” “Obscure old traditions. The others are fine. Protect the weak, guard the innocent, avenge a lady’s honor, that sort of thing. Leads to many fights, too” “You seem to be a man who loves to fight” “I prefer to say that I am in love with my trade” “Silver Silks? I don’t know if I like this name. It goes against our traditions…” “But it is in tune with why we build the city here: to extract silver and maybe work silk out of the spiders” “Also, being ruled by undead kings from another plane is as non-traditional as it gets, so shut your yamhole” “Lichtower, Lichtower, come it”“…” “Lichtower, Lichtower, do you read me?” “...zor-1, I read you. We have contested airspace, comchannels are full of interference” “Copy, anything we can do?” “Negative, Razor-1, Undead Actual is on that. What do you report?” “Lichtower, we have reached the south end of the plane. Multiple ground hostiles, nothing of note to report”. “Belay that, Lichtower. We see… we see some red on red action. Possible neutral city nearby” “Copy that, Razor-1” Ufvaldr stood motionless as he tracked his target. A bit further down the hill was his target: the giant blue spider who was dragging the carcass of a wild domesticated pig. The arachnid was in Svart’s sights, by he wasn’t sure about his shot. Slowly, he picked up a small rock off the ground and arced it at some stones nearby. Spider dropped his prey and turned towards the new sound. “Got you”By the time sprocket arm reached to rearm the crossbow, the spider was already thrashing on the ground with a bolt planted firmly between the eyes.  "This creature is a mere shadow of the powerful ancient dragon Vendral, but even so, this shadow is more than capable of causing the sort of mayhem that would bring a smile to Vendral's terrible face." - From "The Overall Description of Everything" by Master Alfus Bumblegate “Never understood what made them qualify as “Shadows” of Vendral, but probably that’s just another quirk of the living and the dragon, I guess” “Who’s Vendral?” “Ah… An old tale from Ardania. Nothing to worry about”.  "Warriors can be found absolutely everywhere in Ardania, except in those dangerous places where they dare not tread. These heroes are highly valued by their countrymen, and instill fear in the hearts of their enemies. The members of this close-knit brotherhood of noble warriors have proven their valiance in countless battles with all sorts of monsters. It should be mentioned, however, that not everyone is fond by their time-honored tradition of liberating villages of the apparent threats of chickens, pigs and cows." (From "The Overall Description of Everything" by Master Albus Bumblegate" “LICHTOWER, LICHTOWER, this is Razor-1! ‘Potheads’ spotted! I repeat, ‘Potheads’ spotted! It’s…” “Krel” “King Lich... Which was it now?” “The Sixth. “The Sixth. The only skeleton to worship Krolm” “And you’re the only human mage that I’ve seen so far to have survived the Dremer… and the United One” “Yes, it was a close call. I thank for the Dremer. It’s a shame what that bastard did to you” “Even more so since the others were such pushovers. Let’s say we strike a truce? Easier to reach Ardania without getting in each other’s way.” “That is fine by me”.  The advance into the western portion of the shard was going slowly but surely. The new guys were holding their own up north while Veremoud’s men swooped in (as much as Svarts swoop in) from the south. Only Rurik’s men were left to nurse their wounds before rejoining the assault.  “Tell me, sir knight, how do you fight dragons if they’re up in the sky all the time?” “Well, they have to swoop in for the attack see. Huge gouts of soulflame aren’t that easy to control, so they have to do it up close. That’s when you hold your shield high and either ride your donkey fast to make a jump or just make him stand on hind legs and hope your lance can reach the dragon’s belly”. “That is… englightening” “I take it m’lord hasn’t seen cavalry in Ardania?” “No, werewolves don’t ride and goblins misunderstand “mounting” more often than not and then you have a yard full of gonkeys”. “This place is so bleak and the ground wants to kill me dead. This is the worst” That was, of course, not true. The worst thing happened when a fresh batch of Prospectors exited their hall in Lichgrad only to burned to crisp by the rampaging Shadows.   To lesten the impact of morale (and to preserve the strategic alcohol reserves which were drinking due to Silver Silk’s alcohol problem), King Lich used his powers to transform the surroundings of the city into a pleasant grassy meadow. There were even live fishes in the river now. “This is a long way from terrorizing villagers with their own dead” “Halfdan, over there!”Prospectors were supporting the advance of Honorable Warrios and Halfdan already came to be known in his company as a superior marksman. Quick to react, he aimed his crossbow at a distant skeleton and pulled the trigger. The bolt took the undead soldier’s head off.  The last Shadow was fleeing the city, with ser Hugue in pursuit. “Come back here, you cowardly fly lizard!” The lizard did not manage to get very far. It is not likely that one could outrun a shadowbolt.  The dead form of the dragon fell from the sky and landed with a thud. Ser Hugue went in to poke it with his lance before cutting the heads off (can’t be too careful) and returning to his post in Lichgrad.  The satisfaction of surviving the attack from one of United One’s lieutenants was almost palpable. The bag of gold on the doorstep was much more physical.  But the going was still tough, especially on the Western Undead Front…  “We found this map while tearing down Alexiri. The strider managed to destroy most of the details, but we saved most of it”.…and Howling Sorrows wouldn’t be the last shard to fall before the might of King Lich VI
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Aug 13, 2014 13:11
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"Gonkeys"  So 16 further shards to conquer until we reach Ardania? And what's Ainadra? I wonder what the other henchmen of the United One will do. Let's just hope that our neighboring Great Mage is more sensible than the constantly backstabbing idiots on Ardania.
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Aug 13, 2014 13:27
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Another nice update as always. Can't wait for more!
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Aug 13, 2014 17:10
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