Deep inside the jungles surrounding the port town, you'd found the Demonsbane Mountains, so called because they are made entirely of the mineral known as Demonsbane. Though not dangerous to the touch, if a demon's heart is pierced by Demonsbane, they will be immobilized and crippled, made vulnerable enough that the ritual will be able to properly kill them. By piercing a variety of other body parts, other things may be compelled. Pierce the palm of the right hand and a demon will be forced to follow you. Pierce the ear and a demon will be forced to tell you the truth. Pierce the wrists or the ankles with the same length of Demonsbane, and the demon will be unable to remove the Demonsbane until they grant the piercer whatever it is they desire or a century passes.

Naturally, everyone and their dog wants a supply of Demonsbane. One of the generals of the Rebel King Paymon held the Demonsbane Mountains, so you signed on to fight on the side of Ashtoreth, hoping (along with probably every other recruit from that continent) to nab some Demonsbane in the chaos of the battle. The sergeant of your squad called all seven of the demons under his command on their ulterior motives the very first day. And then set up a Compact between the eight of you to retrieve some for everyone, promising to make sure things went off without a hitch in exchange for a larger share of the loot.

Many, many demons fighting on the side of Paymon were preyed upon by gleeful soldiers of Ashtoreth with their new Demonsbane prizes. Demonsbane, normally priceless, was abundant enough that you had some to spare even after harvesting a spike large enough to cripple Gugurash. So you joined in the fun.

>What was the name of the sergeant?
>Did you betray the sergeant for more Demonsbane, or keep your end of the deal to secure an ally?
>What was the name of the demon you bound with Demonsbane? Choose two if you betrayed the sergeant.
>What was the deadly sin of the demon you bound?
>Where did you pierce the demon, and what did you demand?

>Previous threads,
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14979882/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14987008/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14992476/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15003212/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15013979/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15024994/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15037664/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15048506/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15071873/
>http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15093721/

Concerning the previous threads: I typically don't care how many votes my threads get in the archives (about half the threads I haven't even voted on myself until recently). Now, however, there are rumors of culling huge amounts of quest threads from the archive. Possibly deleting all of those with less than five votes (which would punch a few holes in our archive), or even all those with less than ten (which would destroy our archive completely). So please vote to help insure Koyani Quest against the devastation. I doubt we can really push the whole archive up to 10+, because this quest just isn't that popular, but we are demonstrably capable of getting threads up to 5+.

>>15114864
Sgt. Xayvius.
We did not betray him, because he already knew what we were up to, and it was more practical to not betray him at the time. As long as he lived, the others in the squad would focus their attentions on him, and not turn on us because it would expose them to retribution from the sergeant.
We bound a demon of Envy named Kiryasis, a platoon lieutenant in Paymon's service. We pierced him in the ear to learn the location of a supply depot and its layout, and then after successfully raiding it, pierced him in the right hand and turned him over to Command to be interrogated and executed, for the reward of capturing an enemy officer.

>>15114895
May I also suggest that you save the threads yourself once the session is over, just in case a hole gets punched in the archive of sup/tg/ goes down?

>>15114924
I see no problem with this.
Second

>>15114924
Sergeant Xayvius' Compact held for years while the battle raged across the mountains. Of course, there wasn't any time for harvesting the Demonsbane until the end, when the enemy was finally put to rout and total chaos consumed the range long enough for a few solid pounds of the stuff to be carved out of the mountainside by even the common soldiers. You're told that officers dug up piles of the stuff, and were frequently betrayed by their own greedy men, but your own lieutenant was apparently too cautious to try it himself.

Towards the end of the battle, you'd scrounged up enough Demonsbane to cripple Gugurash. Vual wanted to desert on the spot, Brun-Tersop wanted to stay and harvest more. You ultimately decided to gamble it when Kiryasis fell into your hands. He was not a high-ranking officer, but he knew the location of a vital supply depot. Captain Caltrip was able to use the information to push the enemy back by miles. He'd given you, Vual, and Brun-Tersop weapons and armor of the finest hellforged steel as reward, and also offered you a favor to cash in if you ever needed help from a military demon.

It wasn't more than a few months after that Paymon's forces were put to rout completely, driven off the mountain you'd been fighting over. In the chaos, you made off with the Demonsbane needed to cripple Gugurash and then, as was to be expected, deserted. Your unit would only be guarding the mountain anyway, the real fighting had moved further south.

>>15114936
Since the archive handily provides instructions, I'll be doing that later today or possibly tomorrow.

Now we've finished up the belated level 3 memories, we need to move right on to level 4. As a reminder, each stage of your life holds three memories, one general overview and two parts containing the details. If you choose to remember the Abyssal War again this level, that'll be the last of the Abyssal War memories.

>Choose to remember your childhood, adolescence, or the Abyssal War

>>15115326
Lets go adolescence this time

>>15115326
I'd like to finish up the Abyssal War. They'll have the most up-to-date memories and information regarding our allies, enemies, and who owes what to who.
Information that could prove to be useful as we switch from a battle-to-battle outlook to a more overarching strategic one.

It seems we're at an impasse. Roll 3d6 and recast your vote, highest roll wins.

Also, it seems I've left out the map of Artall again. Rectifying that now.

rolled 4, 6, 6 = 16

>>15115501
Abyssal War memories

>>15115374
>>15115411
>>15115501

I recast my vote for Adolecence and lets end with the War, just for the sake of getting the story moved on.
I prefer them all in equal amount.

>>15115551
That works, too.

In the aftermath of the battle, you'd met Baron Talin, down on his luck, surrounded by enemies, and quite possibly soon to be crucified or imprisoned or worse, stripped of his title. In his possession he held a scroll detailing the ritual to kill demons, but it was kept safely locked away in a scroll case, and even Talin himself had never read it. It's written in the Thirteenth Daemonic Script, which is one of those languages that causes all but the most powerful of demons to go mad, sometimes immediately followed by their head literally exploding.

Thus you, Vual, and Brun-Tersop headed next to Stygia, the Wastelands of Hell. A vast desert with no useful resources, no ritual components, no trace of life but for savage beasts that mindlessly rip to pieces everything they can find, days so blisteringly hot it can make immortal demons thirsty and nights so frigid that it can make them wish for the heat again. It has one use and one use only, and that is as a prison. The entirety of its vast surface is dotted with crucifixes, where demons who have wronged a particularly powerful or just particularly persistent enemy are left to suffer until someone sees reason to release them. But the demon you've come looking for is not so easily discovered.

Surrounded by hundreds of miles of desert on all sides are the great Tombs of the Tormented, vast temples, towers, pyramids, fortresses, and cathedrals, guarded by bound constructs and beneath which lie demons reviled enough to be locked away forever, but too important to be slain. Beneath one of these monumental prisons is the old liege of Asmodeus, who was cast down and imprisoned here three thousand years ago, for the old king's knowledge was vast and the other kings, Mephisto and Bael, would have turned on Asmodeus if he had killed him outright.

One of the many myriad secrets he knows is the construction of a pair of spectacles that will allow anyone, even mortals, to read the Thirteen Daemonic Scripts without being instantly driven mad or killed.

>What was the name of the old king?
>What did he demand in exchange for the spectacles?
>Did you speak with any other demons while there? If so, who, and why?

>>15115757
King Asag, who demanded that Malpraxis construct for him a device of unknown function before he would reveal the secrets of the spectacles.
We spoke with some other demons, acquiring the locations of hidden caches of resources and secrets in exchange for the temporary relief from pain of their imprisonment.

I can't come up with anything better so lets do >>15115846

>>15115846
Other demons: Tirgarax, former Baron and Demon of Wrath. Exchanged a binding vow to take vengeance upon his betrayer, Count Urshtay of Lust, for a cache of valuables.
Moshivray, former Marquis and Demon of Envy, exchanged shade and water for secrets of Duke Namashka that would result in the Duke's demotion if they were made public.

>>15115846
During your journeys through the desert, you'd ignored the millions upon millions of lesser demons that dotted the dunes. What use were they of you, after all? You did, however, make a pair of side trips into two small crypts, used to hold nobles. Typically, these nobles have greatly offended someone more powerful than they, or else lost out to a rival, however killing them outright would remove their own vassals from the chain of command leading up to their superior. Thus, in order to avoid the wrath of their lords, these demons are imprisoned. Tiagrax gave you a cache of gems containing the souls of pure mortals, until now untouched by any great suffering. Moshivray told you of how Duke Namashka conspired against King Mephisto when then-Duke Paymon overthrew then-King Bael. King Mephisto had taken Paymon's side, something he's no doubt most embarrassed over now, and Namashka supported Bael. Ashtoreth might favor Namashka more, until she forgets twenty minutes later, but Mephisto would be very much put-out.

You constructed some strange device for once-King Asag, hopefully nothing that will come back to haunt you someday. You were almost certainly party to a plan for vengeance against King Asmodeus, your own liege, but you can hardly be implicated in that when this plan likely won't come to fruition for another thousand years or more, if it comes off at all.

The important bit is, you've got the spectacles. Baron Talin refused to part with the scroll itself, however, until you'd done him some favor.

>What favor did Talin demand?

>In the aftermath of the battle, you'd met Baron Talin, down on his luck, surrounded by enemies, and quite possibly soon to be crucified or imprisoned or worse, stripped of his title. In his possession he held a scroll detailing the ritual to kill demons, but it was kept safely locked away in a scroll case, and even Talin himself had never read it.

What favour?
He owned us a favour for saving him at that time.

>>15116757
Talin was in a bad position, but you hadn't yet done anything to actually help him.

[ah man, I'd love to participate but it way too fucking late. Bumping for bumping sake.
Also, you might insert your own backstory, seems there is a acute lack of creativity among players (I sure have no fucking idea what to make his backstory)]

>>15117316
It went better when delivered in small doses, but the possibility of leveling up very quickly just by time-skipping ahead makes that difficult. I'm considering ways to try and make this work better.

>>15116246
Talin demanded that Malapraxis and Vual first secure his position by eliminating a key demon noble, Baron Osumphatio, a powerful demon of Pride who was leading the attacks against Talin.
It was a quick and dirty assassination, but using the last of Talin's depleted resources and his knowledge of Osumphatio acquired over centuries, we killed the Baron and stabilized Talin's position so that he could begin his recovery.

>>15117871
Very well. Just one more of these before we're done for the level. For reference, a list of your current allies and enemies in Hell:

Allies:
Vual (greed), a member of your Compact
Baron Talin (greed), a member of your Compact
Marquis Leraje (greed), a powerful noble who sent you to spy on his rival in exchange for the blood of the Bloodwood Willow
Vishnares (lust), an old comrade who worked for Marquis Leraje
Hirsau (sloth), you helped secure his position as right hand man in a vital port during the Abyssal War
Sergeant Xayvius (pride), an old NCO from the Abyssal War who parted with you on good terms
Captain Caltrip (wrath), we captured an enemy lieutenant for him, allowing him to push the enemy to rout in the Demonsbane Mountains
Tiagrax (wrath), a former baron who gave you a cache of valuable souls in exchange for vengeance against Count Urshtay
Moshivray (envy), gave you some real good dirt on Duke Namashka

Enemies:
Shax (greed), a servant of Paymon who tried to have you and Foras imprisoned, but was found out and executed
Foras (pride), an old rival who tried to have you imprisoned for centuries
Marquis Kimaris (pride), Marquis Leraje's rival, executed for treason in the service of Paymon
Count Urshtay (lust), Tiagrax's betrayer, whom you are now magically bound to slay, and who does not appreciate your being so
Duke Namashka (pride), someone who you've got some real good dirt on, and who would prefer you be dead or discredited before you get a mind to reveal it
Baron Osumphatio (pride), a demon whose powerbase you tore apart in support of Baron Talin

Having given him some vital breathing room by tearing his enemies' powerbase to shreds, Talin handed over the scroll to you. With the blood of the Bloodwood Willow, a spike of pure Demonsbane, the Scroll of Demonslaying, and the Spectacles of the Thirteen Scripts, you were now finally capable of killing a demon. Of killing ANY demon, even Duke Gugurash.

Now, you just had to find him. Before he fled to make a final stand with the Rebel King Paymon at Thorn Ridge, you had found him at the site of another battle.

>Where was this battle?
>Why were you unable to kill Gugurash there?

>>15118135
Battle of Dispropriam Pass, a vital area which would allow Ashtoreth's forces to flank Paymon's remaining forces at Thorn Ridge.
We were unable to kill Gugurash there, because he had been leading the rebel forces from behind the lines, and had fled when it became apparent that the rebel line could not hold.

>>15118203
At Dispropriam Pass, you'd avoided most of the fighting, trying to find a way to slip yourself, Vual, and Brun-Tersop behind enemy lines to get at Gugurash. When it became clear your efforts were in vain, you instead decided to try and cut off his retreat by joining a flanking attack on Gugurash's camp. A demon named Shiva was leading the attack, and was nearly killed by the an enemy commander named Anvares until you had intervened. Well, more accurately, until Brun-Tersop had intervened and then you and Vual had swooped in to take credit for your dim-witted comrade's battle fury.

They say war is Hell on Earth. They don't have a saying to describe how nasty war gets in Hell. Thorn Ridge was not so named because of the occasional bramble. A huge forest of gigantic and ever-changing thorns tore through demons on both sides, striking with enough force to kill lesser demons, and rend the greater ones to pieces such that it would be decades before they were healed. Paymon fell that day to Bael, the demon he'd dethroned for the title of king and imprisoned in Stygia. Apparently Stygia had been a fairly major theater of the war, Paymon attempting to free King Asag who would side against Asmodeus, while Ashtoreth's forces attempted to free Bael, who would want his revenge on Paymon. Stygia is one of those places where the exact location of things is subject to change. You hadn't even noticed the armies the entire time you were there.

Regardless, Paymon was struck down by Bael and Gugurash fled to a hidden keep. In the aftermath, you'd found Ranaves, an old friend, such that demons can be friends. Having deserted Gugurash's forces, she now offered to take you to his citadel, and Baron Talin showed up again to force his way into your Compact soon afterwards. The rest is history.

>>15118478
Okay, what's the situation with the other hidden Koyani redoubts in the region? Were our patrols able to find them?
Also, how goes the re-development of Veridia-Yellow?
And has Veridia itself been sending any patrols out?

Finally, is our Imp familiar still alive? Our minions are dead, I remember that much.

Even though attacking the greater city would be quite stupid right now, how about we launch some terror missions with our minions? Nothing too intense, just a few murders in the night, poisoning of wells, random fires, etc.

With our pressure from the outside, and chaos on the inside, a later sacking of the city would be relatively simple.

>>15119254
I was actually considering the binding of an Imp specialized in Stealth to a bird or rat, to see what conditions are like inside Veridia and to try to spoil any of their food stockpiles.

>>15119254
Out of curiousity, would that increase our Torment, since it is done in our name?

>>15119254
We should put a bounty on the capture of live prisoners, especially Kef. We need more fodder for our Torment Engines.
Female prisoners to bear more children, to feed the insatiable appetite of our Engines.

Did you internet connection die again, Katsi?

>>>>15118661

No, your patrols have not yet located the hidden fortresses for Veridia-V or Veridia-G. Apparently they aren't sending out any scouts like Veridia-Y and Veridia-R were, because they haven't made themselves known, either.

>>15118661

The realm management game is measured in weeks, not days, so there's only one been one roll made for Veridia-Y's redevelopment. The Sahuiru tribe near Veridia-Y has been making trouble, apparently having laid claim to some of the abandoned farmland since the Kef came through. They occasionally come kidnap villagers and demand ransoms, which the distraught families spend some time scraping together. Destroying the tribe will be costly in terms of troops, but they will inhibit your economy so long as they're still raiding Veridia-Y. A more diplomatic option might not fit your idiom, but it's also probably the more pragmatic choice right now. Veridia-Y has, in addition to its abundant fields, a small forest nearby. Squeezing more out of a single resource costs more and more as the resource's score gets higher and higher, so diversifying the industries is typically a good idea.

The rules concerning realm management are subject to change, but currently you've gained 2d6-3 resources (2d6 natural roll, -3 from Sahuiru kidnapping). You rolled a nine. Three of your six resources were spent on tapping the Abundant Farmlands natural resource and increasing it by 1, so now your resource roll is 2d6-2. Doing the same to the Forest would increase it by the same amount (but the forest has a lower cap). You can also spend resources to placate the Sahuiru. Once per week, you can skip paying the resources on a single natural or racial resource upgrade (or Stability upgrade, if Veridia-Y's Stability wasn't currently maxed out) by doing it yourself, in this case fending off Sahuiru from the fields, forests, or going into their own rivers and lakes to teach them a lesson (Torturous Painful Death 101).

>>15118661

Veridia sent some patrols out initially to try and guard supply caravans, but your scouts have reported it to raiding parties of Koyani Soldiers, who are able to destroy the caravans and their escorts, typically with no casualties, which is good, because none of the Recruits are trained enough to replace them, though a few particularly talented among them have been upgraded to Koyani Grunts with Combat(2).

Your Imp Familiar is indeed the alive.

>>15119319
If it's a demon doing it, no, because they take most of the Torment for themselves and you wouldn't be generating a whole lot anyway (you take a 10% tax from them, just like Ashtoreth takes a 10% tax from you). If you do it with mortals, though, you'll get the whole thing, which should be worth a few Torment even after the level 3 decrease.

>>15120623
No, but the replies were so sporadic that I forgot to check up for a while. I'm back now, and will be checking every 5-10 minutes as usual.

>>15120795
Well then, time for some chaos. We should launch periodic raids on the outer walls, setting fire to the wood portions, opening breaches, killing any guards that present themselves, then falling back into the woods. Maybe keep a force behind this one to help deal with any persuit.

Also, suicide/terror missions from our imps. Diseased rats spreading illness in their crops, poisoning wells, murders, fires. Though we aren't getting much torment, the sense of continuous dread should work wonders on the city.

Finally, I'm up for offering the Sahuiru a chance to join us as mercenaries. If they refuse, then capture one of their little raiding parties and make a very public demonstration out of them.

>>15120963
I don't know if we have the resources to fight a two-front fight, against both Veridia and the Sahuiru.
Any hostilities against the Sahuiru should be done AFTER we secure the release of the hostages.
The big problem is that they're aquatic, and we're not. Something to consider.
I think we should placate them for now.

>>15121035
Fair enough. I just really dislike the idea of kowtowing to them. Would you mind the offer of the mercenary positions to them, though?

>>15121075
Mercenary offers are fine.

I think that, through our memories, we've painted Malpraxis as a very pragmatic demon of Wrath. He will be loyal to you so long as to do so is useful to him.
And right now, giving in to some of the Sahuiru's demands is cheaper and easier than to go and wipe them out.
Rest assured, they and their children, and their children's children, will be used as fodder for the Torment Engines; factories will be dedicated to birthing more of their descendants to be made into a power source for us. But that is in the future when our forces are strong and the Kef put under the yoke of our rule.

Apologies for the delay. I'm trying to figure out how exactly to represent the effects of your terror tactics on the population.

>>15120963
Your raids on the walls do not go well. The soldiers at Veridia quickly adapt to them, increasing sentries and placing a heavier guard on the workers. Though you are able to slow down construction, you lose several Koyani Recruits and even a few Soldiers in the process.

Meanwhile, your newly summoned familiar, bound to the spirit of a rat, is able to sneak in to the city and start fires, spoil food, and gnaw the occasional person's jugular out in the dead of night. You are forced to replace him at one point, however. Veridia is increasingly panicked and demoralized.

Your efforts to placate the Sahuiru have been mostly effective. Several of the Sahuiru have offered to work as mercenaries and call off their raids, but they will not fight against other Sahuiru. They demand that you leave the territory surrounding the bodies of water they inhabit alone, however, which limits your option for expansion. You have constructed a Sahuiru Outpost near the lake, technically controlled by them but de facto controlled by you, where one of the Koyani serves as a sort of ambassador to them. The Sahuiru Raiders (-3) have been upgraded to Territorial Sahuiru (-2) at a cost of three resources.

Towards the end of the week, Marvell brings you a warning from Baron Talin, sent to him in a dream (though he, of course, knows nothing of who Talin is and your prior history). Talin warns you that the four paladins at Talmadan(3) are marching on Pallum(4) and Rydis(5). The siege on Pallum and Rydis will last a month and then the four paladins will march on Veridia. If you do not distract the paladins before their siege is completed and they bring their full force to bear against you, you will certainly be defeated.

At least, that's the message Talin sent. Of course, those are actually rough estimates dressed up as prophecies in order to impress the mortals.

It is now September 14th, the end of the second week of September. Roll 2d6-2 for the resource income of the third week.

>>15121502
I want to launch an attempt to take the city itself, but I think we can't afford it yet. We need to be more aggressive, though.

Launch a heavy assault, with us at the head. Maybe alter our shape to seem more demonic and horrifying? Anyway, have our Sahuiru mercenaries strike at the same time through any waterways or sewers that exist in the city to cause more confusion and draw away forces. Also have our imps cause some mischief in another area to draw their guards. Our main goal is to capitalize on the panic in the city, so burning houses, gruesome slaughter, etc. Throw some fireballs, then as we withdraw, leave the message that the city will surrender or face much, much worse. Maybe through a prisoner with his eyes gouged out, just for that extra little bit of pizaz?

If any of you object to this idea, though, be sure to say so.

rolled 2, 6 + 2 = 10

>>15121628
...And that's embarrassing.

Health: 28/28
Torment: 23/100

>>15121633
You have six resources to spend. Veridia-Y has Abundant Farmland lvl1(+1), Forests lvl0(+0), and Sahuiru lvl1(-2). Upgrading one of these areas requires two plus the level you'll be upgrading to. For example, upgrading Forests to lvl1 would require three resources. Upgrading Farmland to lvl2 would require four.

The only racial resource you have available right now is Sahuiru, so you cannot recruit new Koyani units, but you can recruit Sahuiru units at a cost of 4 Resources each.

>>15121770
We only have 6 resources then, correct? If so, then spending 4 on some Sahuiru would be our best investment. We need skilled soldiers right now, we can worry about building the rest of our resources when we have taken the city.

>>15121828
Then your current units are:
Koyani Recruits
Sahuiru Mercenaries

You have two resources remaining.

>>15121907
Can we put resources to future projects or store them? Or do we have enough to level up the Sahuiru?

>>15121923
Training up units takes time and, usually, the Iron resource which none of the villages in Veridia have (which was coincidental, the resources being determined by die rolls). Regardless, you can store resources, yes.

>>15121975
Then store it, I suppose. None of the current projects can be levelled up, correct?

>>15121985
Yes, that is correct. I was mostly just mentioning it for reference.

Hm. It's getting late and activity seems to have dropped off. I'll still be around for about half an hour more, but thread is archived here: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/15114855/

Remember that votes will makes us less likely to be deleted. Tomorrow at 14:00, the thrilling conclusion to our ongoing battle with Veridia.

Getting off soon, one more bump if anyone wants to take an action before beginning the assault on Veridia tomorrow at 14:00.

Ah crap. I go to bed and then this happens.

I take it that all of our Torment had gone into levelling up: Before we launch the attack, we need to transmute all of the armor and weapons we have to give our side the best chance of winning.

Apologies for my lateness. I'm here now.

>>15126026

Transmuting all of your soldiers' equipment would cost something like 150 Torment. You have quite a few soldiers.

>>15126457
Is that for Soldiers, Grunts, AND Recruits, or just Soldiers?

Can you please provide an estimate of how much it would cost to outfit Soldiers with Transmuted Plate, Swords and Maces, and Shields, Grunts with Transmuted Chainmail and Glaives, and Recruits stick with Glaives and Composite Bows.

>>15126457
also, what's our actual torment and ~income ?

Concerning the Paladins, we may need to stage some obviously demonic raids on the villages near 3, as well as making some trouble near 2. That might slow down the Paladins, or make them split their forces so that they can be taken apart piecemeal.

>>15126585

Soldiers would cost 10, Grunts would cost 10, Recruits would cost 100, Sahuiru would cost another 30. Your current Torment is 23/100 and you have a weekly income of 2d6+7. That will plummet once you hit level 5.

>>15126738
I think we should spend the Torment on the Soldiers and Grunts, considering that they're greater investments than the Recruits.
Also, fuck the Sahuiru mercs; we're using them only as an amphibious attack force to attack from the safety of the river flowing through Veridia.

Can we have an updated Inventory?
I know we have Transmuted Chainmail, Transmuted Shield, Transmuted Axe.
I requested at our last level up for a Transmuted Mace (for use against Heavy Kef) and a set of Transmuted Plate (for when we go into a pitched battle). Do we have these two additional items?

>>15126785
I second the protecting of our most valuable assets. We need to use them like the French Old Guard. Sparingly, and applied just at the right time. Let the recruits take the casualties.

>>15126858
Well, for now, yes. Though ideally, I want to continue using the Torment we gain to outfit our army so that even the Recruits have Transmuted Leather Armor and Transmuted Glaives.
We need to keep in mind that the Kef outnumber the Koyani, and that losses need to be mitigated when we can.

>>15126785
i agree too

>>15126785
Yes, you have both of those items. And your Combat's high enough to actually use the plate now.

Transmuting the Soldiers and Grunts will leave you at 3/100 Torment.

>>15127102
Excellent. Only problem here is our Torment is uncomfortably low. Anybody have any suggestions for a quick bump before we engage in glorious slaughter? I would say play up the transmutation of the armor for the grunts and soldiers, create jealousy and a sense of shame in the recruits that were found unworthy.

Also, maybe a public execution of some 'traitors'?

>>15127165
anything is fine to increase our torment once we have those weapons, i think we shouldn't engage in Veridia's battle with less than ~20 torment

>>15127165
Oh, an idea for the executions. We can use the discovery of 'traitors' to explain how our raids on the wall didn't go so well. We trump this up, raising morale by making them think it was only betrayal that made them lose friends, as well as creating fury and horror at the 'traitors'. Sound good? Kill somebody worthless, maybe one of the villagers.

>>15127165
Did we capture any Kef or Gerdo prisoners from the supply caravans we intercepted?
Could we use them? Public humiliation and execution, perhaps?

>>15127240
Definately do that in front of the walls if we have any. Maybe toss the heads over just to get that good medival feel going. Maybe impale them on stakes like Vlad?

>>15127262
>impale on stakes
Make sure they're still alive, then. We want them to suffer long, and loudly.

>>15127240
Your economy is tight enough as it is. You don't have the spare resources to feed prisoners.

>>15127860
Then I suppose the fake traitors is the only way to scrape up a few Torment. A shame, really.

>>15127887
Any ideas as to what exactly you'll do with them?

>>15127896
The impaling idea sounds good. Nothing quite like a painful death stretched out over a day or two to incite fear, Torment, and unwavering loyalty.

I would want to capture a few Kef with our aquatic mercenaries, but I don't want to give away our surprise before the assault.

>>15127992
Alright. To get 20 Torment, you'll need to impale ten Koyani (or Kef, if you had any). You'll also need to wait two days for them to expire, but that's less than a week, so it doesn't particularly matter.

>>15128066
Would the plan to favor the grunts and soldiers very publically gain us any torment? If not, then I suppose draw our fake traitors from some of the villagers and one or two recruits.

And does the torment from the hidden fortress come in a lump sum or spread out over the week? If we could get even a few torment from the two days that we wait, that would mean we could spare a few Koyani.

>>15128211
Lump sum. Calculating how much is generated per day would defeat the purpose of a weekly roll.

>>15128241
Fair enough. Draw forth our unfortunates, then. Try and aim for the infirm, the weak, and those that people already don't like/trust. The fewer able-bodied that have to die for this, the better.

>>15128316

Every population has them. A vast collection of weak, bitter old people who spend their days complaining about everyone else's inability or unwillingness to cater to their every whim, and speaking at great length about how much better everything was when they were young. Apparently it's never occurred to them that it might be because they were young at the time. Regardless, though all of them have family members with an inexplicable affection for them, the population in general is unsurprised to learn they're traitorous (or at least, they can easily rationalize it), and more happy to see them go than most of them are willing to admit.

Health: 28/28
Torment: 20/100

>>15128439
Excellent. Let the assault begin in earnest, then.

Once night falls, have our imps try and cause as much damage/ruckus as humanely possible as far from our point of attack as possible to draw away the guards.
Then have the mercs come up from the river and wreak havok, then we drive in, us at the head. Drive through the weakened wall, then have some of the recruits do horrible things to the population to spread fear and set fire to buildings. We should be focused on fighting.

>>15128527

Your Imps slip in and set about lighting fires in unfortunate places (like the food stores), while the Sahuiru, grey, rubbery-skinned humanoids with black eyes, fins on their forearms, and webbed feet, emerge from the river to attack the Kef and Gerdo stationed in the outskirts of the town. The Sahuiru have brought with them their Cheref, a sort of loyal attack dog, except not at all canine. They're lizards with particularly long front legs, fish-like scales, fins on the forearm and thigh, and gills, in a variety of colors, but mostly green and blue, and occasionally yellow or even red.

With weapons made of bone and the smooth rocks found underwater, sometimes made less smooth when hacked into an arrowhead by Sahuiru craftsmen, they attack the Kef, who organize a rapid response and drive them back into the river, where the waters run red with the blood of the fallen. Fighting half in water and half on land, both sides are quickly decimated, until reinforcements arrive from the markets deeper inside the city, putting the Sahuiru to rout, but giving your familiars more space to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile, you lead the charge against the mostly complete walls of Veridia, really just small artificial hills with wooden stakes thrust out of them. You meet a total of four Heavy Kef in battle, but they're hardly able to hurt you at all through your incredible armor, and your own mace breaks them within just a few blows. Molio is able to carve through several of them himself.

Taking minimal losses, mostly to your Recruits and Grunts, you've seized the walls.

Health: 27/28
Torment: 20/100

rolled 3 = 3

>>15128739

Stage a defence of the walls while you hurl fireballs into the town, blowing things up which look flamable.

Staying on the walls gives us easiest opportunity for retreat, or do people want to try and take the town?

Also, send a few groups of soldiers out to kidnap Kef civilians, get recruits to escort them back to camp. Doesn't matter if they starve, that's more torment for us. Offer rewards (we'll find something) to the group who brings back the most prisoners.

>>15128833
Exactly how much Torment did you plan to spend on the assault?

>>15129104
I am against wasting our Torment like that. I would rather keep the Torment ready for use if we meet concentrated resistance; we're going to take this town, not burn it to the ground.

Also, send out the word that civilians are to be taken prisoner, not killed, though raping and looting is fine. There will be a bounty of Transmuted arms and extra rations for Kef soldiers taken prisoner, however.

>>15129662
I have to agree. At least not yet. Right now, the battle goes surprisingly well. Let's leave a small force at this portion to hold the wall, and drive into the town. Capturing civilians and destroying/capturing what remains of the military is key.

We drive in as far as we can, and if we take the town, awesome. If not, we torture the civilians, leave their remains in front of the wall, and make them beg for mercy

Going to sleep soon, but throwing my vote for: not wasting Torment by flinging fireballs into buildings we want to keep, and moving into the city and assaulting the castle, using the secret shaft we found to outflank the Kef defenders.

The forces in the outskirts of town, already weakened by the Sahuiru, are quickly routed, and your own troops move in to the markets. Your force begins to break off as you reach the populated area of the town, squads going every which way to capture civilians. The routed enemy flees to the square in front of the keep, which has been barricaded with the assorted abandoned furniture from the uninhabited parts of town long before you'd arrived.

Hails of arrows and a wall of glaives combined with the superior height and cover afforded by the barricades and the keep not far behind it decimate your initial assaults. You step back to regroup your men, who've scattered to capture the civilians still living in the town. There aren't many, it appears as though most of them were evacuated into the keep when you attacked.

After regrouping your men, you redirect your best archers to the tops of nearby buildings to pick off the barricade defenders, and then launch a fireball at one of the barricades, leading the charge through it. A pair of Elite Kef leap down from the burning remains of the barricade while your men spill into it. Landing deftly on the ground on either side of you, they attack immediately. You draw your axe to fight the pair of them, but the clumsy nature inherent to an axe, even a transmuted one, puts the two Elite Kef at a significant advantage. They're unable to penetrate your thick armor, but you can barely hit them. After several minutes of chasing the flightly little blighters, you finally manage to kill one, when the Paladin announces his presence by launching a ball of holy fire at Molio, who leaps out of the way. The Paladin looks for all things like a normal Heavy Kef whom Molio had been fighting with, and coming out the worse for it by the look of things.

Your troops battle Kef and Gerdo all around you. One Elite Kef is still attacking you, and the Paladin is attacking Molio.

Health: 27/28
Torment: 17/100

>What do you do next?

>>15132244
Freeze the elite Kef to the ground, slaughter him, then go after the paladin. We have no time to waste.

When we finish with the bouncy Kef, begin our attack on the paladin with a bolt of lightning. That should get his attention, maybe even do some damage. Draw mace, then get stuck in.

You freeze the Elite Kef to the ground, ice snaking up his legs and then out to his arms, holding them in place while you step towards him and put a sword through his throat. You turn your attention to the Paladin, but too late. His and Molio's swords have locked together, and the Paladin swings his blade free, knocks Molio's feet out from under him, and drives his sword straight through Molio's chest.

You fire a bolt of lightning at the Paladin, who raises a hand up to reflect it off into the night sky. He then turns to face you, his sword held forward. "Come, demon," he says, "I shall slay you now and again the next day, and again the day after, and yet again the day after that, until there are no more Koyani bodies left to hold you." At the Paladin's feet, Molio's body shakes and he stares at the gaping wound in his chest, then at the Paladin, and makes an effort to rise to his feet, but collapses just from the effort of pushing his body off the ground with his elbows. He isn't quite dead, but he will be very soon.

Health: 27/28
Torment: 12/100

>>15132426
Draw the mace and step forward. This insult cannot be abided. Aim for crippling blows on the limbs. If we can get one early, we might be able to save Molio.

How long does it take to heal someone? Much too long in this scenario, I imagine.

>>15132570
If you use Torment to transmute their wounds closed, it only takes a few seconds, but you cannot do it in combat.

The Paladin's glows with holy power as he swings it deftly beneath your mace and, cleaving straight through your armor, leaves a searing wound in your chest. You raise your mace up and feint to his right, but he sees through it and parries your blow to the left, driving his sword into your shoulder. He must be using magic to strike so hard, which means he won't be able to keep it up for long, but you're already badly injured and Molio slips closer to death with every passing second!

Health: 14/28
Torment: 12/100

>>15132770
Spend a point or two of torment to speed up our movement. Use it to launch a flurry of attacks with the mace to keep that bastard firmly on the defensive until his power wears out, or hopefully land a good hit to keep him down long enough to heal ourselves and our companion.

If we can't use the Torment for that, simply dodge and move away from his blows until he starts to slow down.

>>15132805
This is possible, in that it's basically just buffing your Combat score. However, since Paladins are very adept combatants to begin with and he's using a faster weapon on top of that, you'd have to spend three Torment per round just to be even with the Paladin. Also, the Paladin is just spending his Adulation (i.e. good guy Torment) on his damage rolls, so if he doesn't make any damage rolls, he won't be spending any (unless he spends them on something else).

Bugger. Above was from me.

>>15132856
Ah, okay. Are any imps or daemons able to be summoned? We could trap him fighting those for long enough to heal ourself and Molio.

>>15132868
No, you don't have any spare Control, but this battle isn't happening in a vacuum. Your army is fighting his in the square, and things are going much better for your forces than they are for you, by the way.

>>15132925
Then we need to do something subtle with our powers. Could we create a cloud of smoke with our control over fire? Alternatively, could we create a mist with the ice? Or, even better, a bright flash of light to blind and disorient him.

That could give us a few seconds to heal Molio, get some of our guys to help us, or possibly sneak in a blow while he is confused.

>>15132968
Conjuration is not limited to a certain list of elements. You can literally conjure anything you can think of (with a Conjuration of 5, you can literally conjure up worked metal weapons from nothing). Light without a source would be Illusions, however.

You plan on spending Torment on smoke or mist, then?

>>15133000
Yes, enough to at least fill the area we are in for a few seconds. Just enough to get some healing done and possibly get behind the paladin.

>>15133022
Or could we possibly conjure something in his armor?

>>15133029
No, you can't begin the conjuration of something that close to another living being. Things like conjuring ice to cover someone is fine, because it starts on the ground or as mist in the air or in some other way as something that can be got out of the way of. If you could conjure anything anywhere you liked, the Paladin would've introduced himself by conjuring slivers of ice in your heart.

>>15133053
It was a long shot anyway. Smoke it is!

>>15133065
You conjure up a cloud of smoke to blind the Paladin and then hurry to Molio's side, pulling off a gauntlet in order to make the skin contact necessary to transmute matter. You place the tip of a single finger on Molio's forehead and then, feeling out the gaps in his body, transmute them whole, his flesh growing together once more.

Behind you, the Paladin summons up a ball of light into his hands, and a gust of wind going out in all directions to blow the smoke away. He steps towards as you as you turn to confront him and swings his sword in your direction. Still off-balance from rising to your feet, he catches you in the shoulder, cutting deep into you. He steps forward to attack again, but behind him Molio rises to his feet, joining the battle once more!

The Paladin ducks under your mace, parries Molio's blade, and then twirls back towards you, slicing through your arm with his burning, holy steel in the process. The Paladin turns back to Molio to parry his next blow, and you attack at the same time, knocking the Paladin in the shoulder with your mace, denting the armor and forcing a grunt of pain from the Paladin as he staggers to the side.

Health: 5/28
Torment: 8/100

>>15133065
yeah, if we could use this time to heal both us and molio, we would be at an advantage.

>>15133207
Time to finish this. Put a burst of three Torment into a powerful/quick strike to either his head or sword arm, whichever is a better target.

If the blow misses, fall back and let Molio deal with him long enough to heal ourself.

>>15133225
quite dangerous, if he hits us, i don't think we have large chance to survive it.
what about casting a spell on him (fire or lightning ?)
then falling back and healing ourselves while molio draw his attention ?

rolled 5 = 5

We need to heal soon or we die.

Time until our soldiers win the battle and we can swamp him?

He probably won't fall for smoke twice, maybe use a wave of force to knock him back (not a ball, something that can't be dodged) and use that time to heal the most serious wounds on us.

rolled 1 = 1

>>15133252
>>15133240

Seems like we had similar ideas.

>>15133225
Worth noting, if the Paladin hits you this round, there is a 50% chance the blow will kill you.

>>15133252
Well, since we are quite close to him, we could always transmute his armor. That should confuse the hell out of him, and not be able to be rectified as quickly as our smoke screen.

>>15133291
Transmute the armor joints solid, to clarify.

rolled 2 = 2

>>15133295

If this works, it's an amazing idea.

>>15133300
after transmuttingthe joints, quickly heal, i don't think it will last for long, but it will buy us a few seconds if we manage to do it.

Transmuting the Paladin's armor will require that you touch it, meaning you will still be risking death. Is this acceptable?

>>15133364
trying to back off would be too dangerous imo, i think we have more chance to touch his armor before he swings his sword at us also, could we boost our speed to get faster to his armor, so the chances of getting hit are lower ?

rolled 5 = 5

>>15133364

Rush him as quickly as possible then.

>>15133364
I'm going to say no, then. Let's back up and throw a bolt of lightning, then heal.

>>15133369
Yes, you can spend up to 5 Torment to give a 1:1 bonus to die rolls. In this case, you'd be spending it on the Combat roll. If this is the route you're going, roll 2d6+8 (Combat skill of 3 plus 5 Torment, reduce the bonus as necessary for smaller amounts of Torment, and keep in mind the Paladin has a Combat skill of 5).

rolled 5, 1 + 2 = 8

>>15133416

3 torment sounds like enough, if we use too much we can't afford to transmute and then heal.

rolled 6, 6 + 6 = 18

>>15133436

Oops, did +2 rather than +6.

rolled 3, 2 + 5 = 10

>>15133437
Well, I don't even need to roll against that. Epic boxcars.

When the Paladin turns to parry Molio's blow, you grab at one of his pauldrons and transmute the joints of his armor together, and then back away to heal yourself. It's only a second later that the Paladin has transmuted his armor back, but it gives you enough to get away and heal. Now you've backed away, the Paladin begins focusing on Molio again, and once again Molio is outmatched, taking a light wound on his leg. The two continue fighting, while the battle rages around you.

rolled 1 = 1

>>15133482

If he's not looking at us, hit him with a fireball in the face with all the torment we have.

If he is, just go back to trying to smack him with the mace, we're bound to hit him eventually.

>>15133507
The Paladin turns to fight Molio, jabbing him in the shoulder. You gather a bolt of fire into your hands and shoot it at the Paladin, who turns and, expecting to parry your mace, is taken by surprised and incinerated in his armor by the fire. Your forces have completely slaughtered the defenders, and are now taking cover from the archers from within the keep itself. By the look of things, there aren't many defenders in there, and the loss of their leader has surely demoralized them. But they are hidden behind two feet of stone, and your forces have been thoroughly depleted.

Also, this is where I get off for the night. It's much too late already. I may or may not be able to run Koyani Quest tomorrow (or rather, later today, bugger I've been up all night), but if I can't, Friday at 14:00 we'll continue.

>>15133632
Thanks for running it so long, OP.

As for what we do next, I'm thinking storming the castle would be stupid. Step forward and yell in our most intimidating and daemonic voice that if they surrendered, they would be spared. If they refuse, begin torturing their people in sight of the castle and start throwing fireballs to drive home the point.