File: newWorldMap14.09.28.png (794 KB, 3101x1551)

794 KB PNG

>>35590278
Current Date and Time: Mid-morning on September 22nd, 1953PC

As your men stream into the fort, securing the keep and capturing the remaining enemy soldiers, you take a moment to rest. Taking a deep, shuddering breath as you practically collapse against a wall, you watch Undine titter over the others. It’s not long before she’s broken whatever curse was on Gnome.

“That bitch,” Gnome says, as she springs to her feet, looking around wildly. “I can’t believe that she used a cursed spear like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, you got sucker punched,” Vad says, trying not to wince as Undine pokes and prods at the gashes on his chest. “Now, what in the name of all that is good and holy was that?”

“Combat magisters,” you say lethargically. You’re surprised at how completely drained that fight has left you but you can’t show it too much. “Shropham has five of them. Had, sorry.”

Mal looks pretty chuffed at that and Sala sticks her chest out happily too. The two of them make for a neat pair. You’re damned lucky that they took out that summoner – he would have been a real pain later.

“Alyce had told me that Hallim and his friends were still on the frontlines but clearly somebody has been feeding her false information,” you continue.

“Hallim? I don’t know that name,” Gnome says, frowning as she tries to still out her shaking arms.

“The weird one I was fighting,” you answer. “He made a reputation for himself in the recent war but I’m not sure how old or experienced he is otherwise.”

“He wasn’t a candidate twenty years ago,” she says. “Which bothers me as he’s clearly quite used to my techniques. I would have thought Laryya to be a terrible teacher so he shouldn’t be so talented.”

“That’s the earth elemental you nearly killed?”

>continued

File: 002.jpg (494 KB, 980x572)

494 KB JPG

>>35590295
She makes an affirmative noise, which you almost miss as Vad yelps at Undine’s poking around his broken leg. “She’s about as old as Salamander but the opposite in behaviour. She dislikes combat and although I taught her how to use her fists she doesn’t like destroying with the same hands she builds with.”

“A fair sentiment. What are we going to do about that spear?” you ask her, shifting the topic to something more important.

“Nothing. I broke it,” she says, shrugging as she points at the glittering point of the spear lying to the side. You hadn’t noticed that in the melee. You do notice the way her hand quivers as she tries to keep it straight.

“What we are going to do is leave my dear sister behind to properly heal from its effects,” Undine snaps. “It’s going to be at least three days before the power drained by that cut is back.”

“I’m fine,” Gnome says, glowering at her baby sister.

“No, you’re not,” you say. “Even I can tell. You’re shaking like a leaf. Sit down.”

Your exhausted familiar practically collapses in a heap and you wait for Undine’s assessment on everybody. It’s rather positive – she believes she can heal everybody before nightfall and then Taira can teleport the group, sans Gnome, to meet up with Phillias and Parras in Sorsdain. The alternative is to leave Vad and Lynn injured and spend the afternoon and night trying to get Gnome back to full strength. The real problem is that it will leave Undine drained herself and she won’t be able to do any healing if you want her to work her magic in Sorsdain.

“I’ll be able to fight but healing the magical wounds that Vadoric and Caitlyn have is draining,” she says with a grimace. “If you want me to fight at Sorsdain, I’ll need to leave their wounds until after the battle.”

>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain.
>2. Juice up Gnome for Sorsdain.
>3. Custom

>>35590318
>>2. Juice up Gnome for Sorsdain.

We really need more healers.

>>35590318
>1

>>35590318
Can't the foxes heal? I'm fairly confident that at least 1 of Ren's clan can do it in a night, and porting the injured there and back shouldn't slow Tiara down at all.

>>35590318
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain.

I honestly thing our biggest issue is going to be the CM attacking where we aren't. They could rapidly wipe out thousands of men. Then just teleport off and then wait till we split up else where.

>>35590318
Custom
It isn't too late to revise the blitz into "slower conquest" where we take slightly more than 24 hours between each conquest.

>>35590454
Yea, although honestly we can do the same to them.
And in such a case we can probably drop on them via a teleport as well and hurt them bad.

>>35590473
We really can't do the same to them though. Because there is 4 of them+ Elementals.

So they can just hide out in the woods in fucking no where then drop in. They also have that really hard to notice spell.

>>35590517
>We really can't do the same to them though. Because there is 4 of them+ Elementals.
>So they can just hide out in the woods in fucking no where then drop in. They also have that really hard to notice spell.
I don't follow your logic.
Our hero party is about twice their number, and individually stronger too.
And our teleportation expert is better than theirs.

They are a huge threat, but we aren't incapable in this regard

>>35590517

Its a hero unit party. They have a significantly larger and more important role then sitting in the woods waiting. They also have the Guard to contend with. Their deployment was meant to stop the blitz before it got started and fend off a secondary front. And we beat them back and succeeded. Theyll need to reevaluate and likely go elsewhere presently.

>>35590318
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn

>>35590592
>Theyll need to reevaluate and likely go elsewhere presently.
From a tactical perspective, the ideal thing for us is if they fight the mage guard
From a gamist perspective of which I am deeply ashamed of, I want to kill them in honorable combat before the mage guard has a chance to, for extra XP.

>>35590592
Also probably worried that Ren and other top tier foxes are going to gank them the next time they show up. Sure, we can't deploy a unit of 6 and 7 tailed foxes to jump them the instant they show up, but they have no way of knowing that.

>>35590318
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain.
I love gnome, but taking out vad AND lynn AND undine just to have her with us is not tactically sound
Besides which, she only needs to rest while they need medical care.

File: 003.jpg (247 KB, 1215x883)

247 KB JPG

>>35590408
Tsucchi can probably heal them but the issue is time. It takes Taira a couple of hours to teleport each way and the healing might take a fair while (these are wounds that resist magical healing). It'd be down to a dice roll (with pretty good odds of success) as to whether you'd be delayed in making it to the frontlines.

>>35590454
"That teleport spell would be very expensive," Mal tells you. "The summoner burnt enough magical catalysts to supply your average mage tower for a decade so that he could support a thousand troops. That teleportation was also only probably good for a few miles - anything longer would take hours or days to prepare."

>>35590565
I'm thinking on the worst case where they use the upper armies to fight off the mage guard. Then use the CMs to teleport in and demolish our armies when given the chance.

The bigger issue I think we will have is lack of info. Same for who we are fighting since they need to know where we are too. The ideal way to fight against Talon right now is to damage his armies so much he has to retreat. Which is what I assume they will probably attempt.

>>35590679
>"That teleport spell would be very expensive," Mal tells you. "The summoner burnt enough magical catalysts to supply your average mage tower for a decade so that he could support a thousand troops. That teleportation was also only probably good for a few miles - anything longer would take hours or days to prepare."
Wait, that means they are only a few miles away? We could potentially catch up to them and finish them off then?

>>35590712
It would put us wildly off timeline.

>>35590689
>I'm thinking on the worst case where they use the upper armies to fight off the mage guard. Then use the CMs to teleport in and demolish our armies when given the chance.
No, don't repeat that part. I got it. I counter argued with saying that if they TRY, we teleport our heroes on top of them and kill them.
And you countered by saying we can't do it because there are 4 of them.

>>35590739
Yes it would, but given a choice between taking out 4 combat magisters who nearly killed several of our top tier units as well as killed 1000 of our soldiers in seconds just as collatoral damage while fighting us... and waiting a few days to finish the blitz. I will choose to take out the CMs.

Also, taking out the CMs sends much stronger a message than the blitz

>>35590318
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain.

File: 004.jpg (931 KB, 1000x3750)

931 KB JPG

>>35590712
If you had the slightest clue where they were, you could teleport on top of them with Taira. You don't and your troops sure as hell can't catch them or spot them.

>>35590793
>I counter argued with saying that if they TRY, we teleport our heroes on top of them and kill them.
You wouldn't really be able to react like that unless you're there. Taira's long-range teleport isn't instant and by the time she gets you there, the CMs would presumably be gone. With that said, they didn't often use teleportation tactics against the RSK - either because of cost or the risk that they'd teleport into a camp and get hammered by other powerful mages or warriors while surrounded.

Anyway, the custom options gave me some ideas for a revote.

NEW VOTE
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain and leave Gnome to regenerate on her own.
>2. Delay your second assault by a day to let everybody heal up naturally. This will leave your troops out in the open longer than you expected, including your army near the large force at Corthshire.
>3. Have Undine help Gnome while Taira teleports Vad and Lynn back to Harrowmont to get healed by Tsucchi. 65% chance of her making it back with them without delaying the second assault (if she doesn't the delay would likely be until the afternoon).

>>35590793
They CM's were also well prepared and in a situation they controlled. Them attacking us involves a lot more risks for them than when they defend. I think you're highly overestimating the ability they have in an offensive capability. If only needing a dozen CM's was all you need to conquer nations, no one would bother with troops at all.

>>35590793
>Also, taking out the CMs sends much stronger a message than the blitz

I'd strongly disagree. The blitz serves a higher purpose to build the legend of Talon as a general, taking 3 heavily guarded castles and taking out large swathes of professional soldiers will do far more damage to the overall morale, then taking out a group of combat magisters that are being kept under wraps, as our lack of information has shown

>>35590874
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain and leave Gnome to regenerate on her own.

>>35590874
>3

>>35590874
>1.

Tell Gnome to lay low and rest up for the big event.

>>35590874
Quick question/clarification. How important is Gnome for Sorsdain? Big towers and walls and to take down ?

File: 016.jpg (454 KB, 1920x1200)

454 KB JPG

>>35590938
It depends on what the enemy does. Your men are still approaching Levante but you'll have to commit to a healing option before you know for certain if they're going to withdraw to Gorlsford (a forced march would get them there overnight). At Levante she'd be useful for penetrating the fortifications, which are quite resilient. At Gorlsford, she could build temporary bridges or shields (you'd need to be a bit imaginative). Plus her general anti-magic capabilities.

>>35590901
You are vastly under estimating the power and prestige of a combat magister

>>35590793
Oh I see what you mean now. The big thing though is if I was them I would move to a place where it doesn't take as much time to move. wait till Talon and Co was already in battle. Then jump an army for 5-10 minutes before we can teleport off due to the information time lag. Before bailing.

Depends a lot on how much they are needed in the upper lines but I think they could do a lot of damage if they played smart and it's a lot harder to react to 2-4 people then an army.

So we need to keep an eye on where we are and our armies. Just so we don't get so lopsided that they might see a chance to take a lot of men out. If we got all of them together for a brawl we could win. But I'm mostly worried they'll do a rapid surprise attack against a force lacking hero units then just run before we can teleport in.

>>35590874
>With that said, they didn't often use teleportation tactics against the RSK - either because of cost or the risk that they'd teleport into a camp and get hammered by other powerful mages or warriors while surrounded.
Or in our case, the risk of running into 6+ tailed foxes and getting hammered. Sure, we don't have them, but considering that they certainly do know about Ren's fortress, and the fact that they learned about Tiara the hard way, they'll basically have to at least confirm Ren's location before they deepstrike us.

>>35591067
>Oh I see what you mean now. The big thing though is if I was them I would move to a place where it doesn't take as much time to move. wait till Talon and Co was already in battle. Then jump an army for 5-10 minutes before we can teleport off due to the information time lag. Before bailing.
Oh, that makes sense. I didn't understand you than.

of course both of us were making some wrong assumptions as per >>35590874

>>35590295
>Hallim
Mage Talon?

>>35591054

Talon has killed them before. He'll do it a hundred times over by the time he conquered Gauron. They'll be forgotten moments of history. A three day conquest of your enemies significantly sober stronger border, now that's something they write in history books. Prestige comes from different sources

>>35590897
Thing there is they don't need to conquer the empire. They just need to kill enough men that we have to retreat and they did take a 1000 men out with our hero units there and the army passing every check. So we should watch out for hit and runs. Because that could be dangerous.

>>35590874
>1. Heal Vad and Lynn for Sorsdain and leave Gnome to regenerate on her own.
.

>>35591184

To be fair, 1000 is a lot less then I expected to lose even with a normal assault

>>35590874
I am really fine with all 3 options here...
2 i guess, but teleport to the next group of troops now and camp out there while recovering.

>>35590874
>1

>>35591224
True. I mean I'm not saying in general they will. But we do need to watch out for it because a lot of damage was mitigated due to our hero units. So I think if they got a shot they would probably take it. Though it would be harder then it sounds given Talons info network.

>>35591224
that is 11% of our attacking force. its not a trivial loss.

File: 019.jpg (266 KB, 793x1200)

266 KB JPG

>1.

“I need you to rest up, Gnome,” you tell your familiar privately. “I want you available for defending against any counterattacks or for taking the capital. I need you against their mages.”

Gnome glowers at you, clearly aware that you’re knowingly choosing Vad and Lynn over her. Suspecting she knows better and is mostly after some attention you lean in and give her a kiss. She returns it hungrily before retreating to give you a glare.

“Don’t do anything too stupid while I’m not around,” she grinds out. “I’m not going to be there to save you if you put yourself out of position like that. That new technique of yours might have saved you now, but they’ll be expecting it next time.”

You frown at that but she cuts you off with another kiss before resting against your chest.

“Hallim should have demolished you using my techniques. Until I saw you fight, I thought that I would be able to better you,” she says, her voice slightly muffled. “Try not to leave me behind too far.”

It’s rather awkward to spend time with her for the rest of the day, especially with your troops demanding you attention, but you try to spare some time for her before you need to head to Sorsdain. It’s just after midday that you receive word from Parras about the Shropham force at Levante.

“They’re uprooted and are marching back to Gorlsford. There’s only a couple thousand soldiers there so we might be able to surprise them,” Undine explains.

It’s risky, you think. If you jump into Gorlsford to lay a trap with Undine then you might be able to make the ford unusable and really mess with their troops but you’ll be fighting off their army by yourselves until your troops fight their way in.

>Quick discussion on what to do about Sorsdain.

Basically, the options are to try to surprise them with a sneak attack using Undine or to join your main army and fight them to normal way. You guys might surprise me, though.

>>35591407
And combat is heavily skewed towards the defender given the setting.

It is small in the long run, people should not have gone into the blitz plan assuming we wouldn't be using a sizable portion of men

>>35591449
Personally I think we should go for the trap for now. We do have Taira to take potshots with. I would think we could do something like use a lot of oil to catch the ford on fire or something.

>>35591449
Well, they've already anticipated our use of Undine to sideline her, so I'm assuming they've taken precautions to blunt any kind of a sneak attack we could use her for. I'd say keep everyone with the main army and depending on the water table maybe use Undine to undermine their footing/fortifications.

>>35591449
>It’s risky, you think. If you jump into Gorlsford to lay a trap with Undine then you might be able to make the ford unusable and really mess with their troops but you’ll be fighting off their army by yourselves until your troops fight their way in.
This seems like a fine idea. How many if any of our troops from Orkeny could we feasibly take with us for this ambush with Taira's teleportation?

>>35591449
Sneak attack. Our plan is already risky, I dont see why not take it to 110%.

What if we went full Red Sea?

>>35591449
>It’s risky, you think. If you jump into Gorlsford to lay a trap with Undine then you might be able to make the ford unusable and really mess with their troops but you’ll be fighting off their army by yourselves until your troops fight their way in.
By ourselves would actually be our hero unit team, would it not?
Unless they have more combat magisters there, we could take out there entire group.

File: 021.jpg (265 KB, 1024x512)

265 KB JPG

>>35591626
About 500 if you want to take troops along.

>>35591571
The trap was more along the lines of using Undine's water control to ruin their day as the town is on a river.

>>35591736
Unless you're just going to level the entire town with magic, you're seriously overestimating your ability to fight thousands of soldiers in close quarters.

VOTE
>1. Teleport into Gorlsford with your retinue (sans Gnome) and use Undine to set a trap to disrupt the enemy.
>2. Same as 1 but take along 500 MMKs.
>3. Join your main army as they march on Gorlsford.
>4. Custom

>>35591835
>2. Same as 1 but take along 500 MMKs.

>>35591835
>2

>>35591835
>2. Same as 1 but take along 500 MMKs.

>>35591835
>2. Same as 1 but take along 500 MMKs.
I personally think the 150 HMK's (along with 350 MMK) would be better to take along, but w/e

>>35591835
2

>>35591922
HMKs may be too slow.

>>35591946
Point.

File: 022.jpg (362 KB, 899x950)

362 KB JPG

>>35591922
You can't really take two jumps and still lay the trap. You're using troops deployed in Orkney, not Sorsdain.

Anyway, this is clearly a 2.

>quick meta discussion

While I prepare the next sequence and post, I've got a question for some discussion.

I've been doing a lot of really long multi-part updates for action lately (3 or 4 post beasts). What are some opinions on that? Would people prefer shorter updates with more rolls and choices interspersed? Would people just prefer shorter updates in general.

Not a vote, I'm just interested in what people think.

>>35591835
Hey Boss, I think I can remember you saying something about not worrying about research micromanagement right now, but I was wondering if we finished that powerbow research in time to upgrade our fielded arcane archers in this conflict?

>>35592063
I don't mind either way. Long updates are great for setting up battles while shorter updates makes for what feels to be faster paced battles.

>>35592063
I think it really depends on what we are doing
Stop for a choice when something happens that warrants it.
Otherwise go for a long post

Generally I think you have done quite well in this department. Like when you stopped to ask if us if to execute voltaire

>>35591835
>Unless you're just going to level the entire town with magic, you're seriously overestimating your ability to fight thousands of soldiers in close quarters.
I forgot Gorlsford is a town.
So what you are saying is that we COULD do it, but it would involve leveling the town and killing all the civilians in at as collatoral damage as we use huge massive blasts of magic?

>>35592063
Generally you've done a pretty good job. Also, I was personally tempted to bring along some of the rangers for the ambush, but then I remembered that they don't actually have stats yet.

>>35592063
I enjoy the longer updates. Fills in the world bit more.

File: 025.jpg (248 KB, 685x1024)

248 KB JPG

Finally, before I forget (becaues I keep forgetting).

SKILL INCREASES

>Weaponry has increased to III. You now have exceptional profiency with a wide-range of weapons.
>Leadership had increased to III. You can now effectively lead a very large army.

>>35592092
You can assume it's done.

>>35592101
Where would you say the fight against Hallim sat? That was basically a few big updates with a bunch of rolls done for each one. Or the Finn fights back in the Labyrinth?

>>35592153
You've got Taira and Sala so in areas like this you could just lay waste to everything from inside the town.

>>35592202
Oh, they have stats. I just haven't added them to the calculator. I'm still faffing about with the Archery tab. They're not that big of an improvement - the biggest benefit is that they can hold their own in combat and have a bigger DQ at range.

>>35592092
what powerbow research?

also, how would the upgrade works? I thought older and outdated magitech gear is a thing in this setting.

>>35592245
>Where would you say the fight against Hallim sat? That was basically a few big updates with a bunch of rolls done for each one. Or the Finn fights back in the Labyrinth?

It honestly felt to me like a grand overview of a battle when it came to Hallim. There wasn't a lot of rolls so things felt a little more top down.

Finn felt really fast but that was more due to his fighting style of getting horribly maimed and the dice rolls.

>>35592245
Hallim fight felt just right.
its been a while but IIRC finn fight felt like it could have used slightly more breakpoints based on my recollection of the event.

>>35592245
The Hallim fight was a bit different, the power levels and the amount of people involved forced your hand into the long posts format. If it were Talon/Hallim exclusively with some Familiar action on the side, it would have been closer to the Finn fights.

>>35591835
>Same as 1 but take along 500 MMKs.

Just making sure people don't forget about making new units, those super heavy mage knights could be very useful for city-fighting.
And now I'm off to bed since it's 1 am here, don't get Talon and co killed guys.

>>35592401
Yes sir

File: 026.jpg (220 KB, 669x1024)

220 KB JPG

>>35592339
The Finn fight in that gauntlet had problems due to the fact the fight was stupidly long. I was trying to avoid it taking up the entire session by itself.

>2.

The trap in Gorlsford was a troublesome one, especially given the timing of the enemy’s march. The enemy force would reach the town shortly after dusk and your troops were perhaps an hour’s march behind them. That also meant that if you wanted to prevent them from fortifying and spreading out across the entire town, you would need to set off your trap as they entered the town and your troops would need to engage after their march. Their exhaustion wouldn’t be a huge factor, you think. The enemy would be in similar shape but considerably worse from your trap.

You had easily slipped inside the town with Undine’s invisibility spell. Taira’s teleportation would be too obvious to the mages in the town and you’re a little terrified to take up Aladria’s offer of teleportation.

“It’s not that different to hers,” Aladria whines once you’ve slipped inside an abandoned shop, pointing at Taira. “You trust her, why not yours.”

“Vampire teleportation doesn’t seem very safe to me,” Sala says, scowling.

>continued

File: 028.jpg (104 KB, 550x825)

104 KB JPG

>>35592686
You’d forgotten that Sala was an old vampire hunter in a way. For the most part, you hadn’t liked the way the shadow teleportation worked. It didn’t feel like Aladria was actually teleporting so much as she was dissolving in one spot and being rebuilt in another. It just felt wrong to you intrinsically. You weren’t exactly willing to risk something going wrong because you or one of the foxes couldn’t be ‘rebuilt’ properly by her. After all, you doubted your familiar usually teleported people stronger than herself or of such a radically different nature.

“So, night attack,” Lynn says with a lopsided smile. “The town seems abandoned. We could just burn it down.”

“Then it’s useless to us, too,” Undine says. “I don’t like the idea of intentionally destroying the entire town. We should just wait for them to try to cross the ford, then I can flood it and then disrupt any of their formations too close to the river.”

You nod at that. You had a large detachment of mage knights outside the town that you were preparing to have charge in when necessary. Whichever way you went, they’d be vital to keeping the pressure off your small group while Undine does her ritual casting.

>1. Just go all out and start destroying the town. You’ll need to reconstruct defences or retreat to Levante to hold the province against a counter attack.
>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.
>3. Hold out until the morning, avoiding the enemy, then launch your trap. The enemy will be disrupted but your troops will be properly rested.
>4. Custom

>>35592708
>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35592708
>>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35592708
>>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35592708
>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35592708
>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35592401
I still like the idea of developing a line of Magic Enhancing Armor better.

>>35592708
>>2. Launch the trap once the enemy is here as per Undine’s plan.

>>35593129
No reason not to do all the above. Talon plans on building a empire that lasts so there isn't much reason he wouldn't want both.

File: 031.jpg (488 KB, 1024x498)

488 KB JPG

I’m having some really terrible writer’s block today. Blargh.

>2.

You quickly devise a plan and set it into motion. You wave Finn and Lynn out as they double-back to where your mage-knights are waiting, under the cover of an invisibility spell. Then it’s a shortly hop to a mill with an open side towards the river and its waterwheel.

“This is perfect for my ritual,” Undine says, looking around.

The last rays of sunlight are vanishing rapidly and the water is like a liquid shadow below you. The entire town is constructed on a flat foundation built up from the river. That means the water is only a good metre or so away from ground level – easy enough for Undine to build a flood from given its fast flow. The waterwheel and mill provide good cover from the town itself, meaning your Champion isn’t out in the open.

An hour later, you can hear the Shropham column entering the town. Boots slapping against the ground repeatedly, shouts and laughter from the men and women as they enter what they believe to be safe territory. Undine is already preparing her ritual, Vad and Taira doing their best to try to hide her magic from the nearby mages. The second she activates that ritual, though, they’ll be on top of you. Luckily, most of them will be on the other side or caught in the trap.

The snap of Undine activating her ritual is almost audible, so powerful is the magic she’s using. She hasn’t had a good chance to use her magic like this before, you think. Not since she was given more power by Taira’s Place of Power. Tendrils of sorcery crawl through the water, filling the length of the river in this township. The mass of water is firmly under her control, ready to do her bidding.

>continued

File: 033.jpg (513 KB, 1280x904)

513 KB JPG

>>35593345
You can hear shouts from the reaches of the town as the foe’s mages realise what is happening. The column of soldiers in the ford are oblivious, the panicked shouts of their mages drowned out by their own chatter and the slapping of water against their feet. They don’t have long to remain that way, however.

There’s a strange moment when you think you feel Undine’s power recede suddenly. Then you realise that she’s just pulling it all out at once, along with the water. The water level noticeably recedes near you and you can see that the ford is practically dry. You see a soldier stop, looking down at the water rapidly running away from him. He looks upstream, to where the water should be flowing rapidly from the mountains in Corthshire. You follow his gaze and try not to let your jaw drop.

The river has practically been drained dry, the canalised stretch of river to support the township now turned to devastating ends. A mass of water is held at bay at one end of the town, reaching several stories high as Undine empties the entire river in preparation for a massive tidal wave. The flow of water from the mountains continues to build up in that mass, like a dam waiting to burst. You find yourself holding your breath against your will. Undine had better keep that water under control.

The night seems awfully still for one long second as the Shropham soldiers find themselves transfixed by the sight of the river having been magically stopped. Then the shouts and orders from the battlemages and officers penetrate the silence. The soldiers don’t react, unsure of what to do.

You catch a slightly satisfied smile on Undine’s face. Then the roar of the river returns and you see that mass of water crash down, being magically focused to remain in the channel itself. With a mass of water barrelling down on them, high enough to eclipse some of the buildings lining the river, the soldiers begin to scream and panic.

[DC12/19 River Devastation]

Rolled 14 (1d20)

>>35593368
>

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>35593368
DICE GODS.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>35593368

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>35593368

>>35593345
>>35593368

And we're all suddenly reminded of how much of a beast Undine is.

>>35593500
Undine is pretty awesome, yeah.

>>35593500
Yes. Yes we are. At some point after this we ought to let her know just how impressed we are and I think she's earned a hell of a massage if she wants it.

>>35593500
She's honestly pretty normal for this crew. Which is kind of insane.

File: 035.jpg (267 KB, 720x1100)

267 KB JPG

>Target met

Some of the soldiers lose their heads completely, running directly away from the surging tidal wave in the vain hope they can outrun it down the channel that same water just occupied. Others, not completely lost to their panic, launch themselves towards the safety of the riverbanks. Far too many of them don’t react until it’s far too late, though. Far too few, for your purposes. A few daring mages charge into the path of Undine’s fury, futilely using their magic to try to stop her. A few mere battlemages, though they may even be much vaunted magisters, cannot hope to compete with the talent and power of a pure water elemental when it comes to control of a river.

The screams and clattering about of the soldiers is drowned out in an instant, quite literally. The water sweeps aside hundreds of mage-knights and mages, the impact likely killing many instantly. This wasn’t some mere flash flood, where the water pulls them under. It wasn’t even a regular tidal wave, where the sheer volume of water brushes everything aside. This water was probably moving as fast as a horse could gallop and there was a lot of water.

Then the wave clears the ford, the water behind it gently lapping across the reinforced dirt bank behind it. The Shropham soldiers believe themselves to be clear and immediately redirect their efforts to finding the perpetrators. You don’t waste time on reacting to that, however.

Your Champion isn’t done yet.

>continued

File: 036.jpg (182 KB, 1000x682)

182 KB JPG

>>35593776
>>35593776
The wave regroups just past the ford, the water surging high into the air. Then it begins to spin and you’re pretty certain that not being in the ford doesn’t mean a man is safe. The whirling tornado of water surges back to the ford, steam surging from its sides as Undine superheats it, and you catch tendrils of water shattering the stone walls of buildings and turning wooden planks into splinters.

Nobody is going to cross that river until Undine lets them, you think. As shouts resound from this side of the river, you also realise that you still have work to do. Lynn and Finn are bringing the knights in from this side to help but you’ll need to keep Undine safe.

“Taira, Vad, keep her safe,” you order. “Everybody else, let’s wreak some havoc.”

Now you just need to decide who you’re going to get to back you up. You’ll cover one side and the other pair the other.

>1. Mal will back you up.
>2. Sala will back you up.
>3. Aladria will back you up.
>4. Custom

The choice is mostly for fluff reasons rather than strategy reasons.

Also, short break before next post as I eat lunch.

Also, my ISP is still terrible.

>>35593899
>1. Mal will back you up.

>>35593899
>1. Mal will back you up.

The broest of combos.

>>35593899
>>1. Mal will back you up.

>>35593899
>3. Aladria will back you up.

Technically Sala is Mals familliar and Aladria is one of ours....

>>35593899
>>3. Aladria will back you up.

Lets let Mal and Salamander play mage and warrior. We can be the warrior and Aladria can be the mage.

>>35593899
>The choice is mostly for fluff reasons
Dammit, I just spent the last who knows how long trying to figure out which would give us the best advantage in close and mode range combat while not detracting from our long range support (the group we're leaving with Undine).

Fuck it, I want to see how our new familiar fights.
>3. Aladria will back you up.

But I'd be pretty stoked so see Mal have our back again, for old times sake.

>>35593899
Oops, I didn't see
>The choice is mostly for fluff reasons rather than strategy reasons.

Switching this >>35593926
to
>3. Aladria will back you up.

>>35593899
Hey, just to confirm, but when you're talking about us getting hundreds of mage knight's, we're talking almost exclussively about their 1000 Medium Mage Knights, not their HMAA right?

>>35593899
>3. Aladria will back you up.

>>35594141
You got a bit of a mix, but mostly MMK, yes. They were likely sending them across first to ensure they'd be in the best positions.

>>35594057
>But I'd be pretty stoked so see Mal have our back again, for old times sake.
I was actually more interested in the fact that Aladria and Sala would have had to fight alongside each other. Could have made for some easy comedy. Ah, well.

This is a pretty clear 3. Writing now.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>35594141
>HMAA
what is an HMAA?

>>35594476
Heavy Man At Arms.

>>35594476

Heavy Men-at-Arms.

Mostly consists of outdated MMK armor.

>>35594476
Heavy men at arms.

>>35594496
>Mostly consists of outdated MMK armor.
I see
I move we call them OMMK instead
O = obsolete or old or outdated

alternatively, numbers
MMK0 is first gen old stuff. MMK1 is current gen tech
MMK2 can be next gen tech

File: 037.jpg (289 KB, 1200x502)

289 KB JPG

>3.

“Mal, Sala,” you begin to order, “you take the right. Aladria and I will take the left.”

Mal nods. “I’ll see if I can’t keep their mages busy while Sala turns them to cinders. I take it you want less collateral damage?”

“If possible,” you say. “Especially the buildings close to the river. We need to be able to defend this place. If there’s homes for the old residents after the war, even better.”

You split with your friend, ignoring the faces that Aladria and Sala make at each other as they split up. Sala had a characteristic dislike of vampires and Aladria’s general knack for sniping at others certainly didn’t endear her.

“How do the two of those get along?” she says as you saunter out into the street to meet the enemies coming towards you. Their mages had easily pinpointed Undine. You can’t use that amount of magic without giving yourself away – not unless you spent a few decades perfecting spells to hide yourself.

“Just fine, really. They’re both pretty prideful and their talents mesh well,” you say, standing in the middle of the street and eying the mass of mage-knights charging towards you. This might get a bit hairy. You were wary of using your bow given the amount of damage it would do to the surrounding buildings – and the fact there were far too many vantage points for mages and archers.

“Their battlefield talents might, but their other talents don’t,” Aladria says scathingly. “I’m pretty sure she’d have torn him apart if she weren’t getting her relief from you.”

You sigh. Fixing the relationship between your vampire familiar and Mal’s familiar was going to take more work than felt necessary. It wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t seem to actively want to dislike each other. Maybe if you locked them in a room together…

>continued

>>35594476
325 HMAA are equal to 100 MMK in a straight up brawl.

File: 039.jpg (194 KB, 1280x640)

194 KB JPG

>>35594571
You banished your idle thoughts as the mage-knight column came to a clattering stop about twenty metres away from you. Their sergeant bellowed orders, trying to get them to move as he caught up from where he was pushing them from behind. Then he, too, falls silent and takes up a defensive stance. There must be a hundred mage-knights, all balled up in a defensive shield wall, right in front of you. The all-enclosing helmets of the Magi League mage-knight armour template kept their expressions secret but you were certain they were slack with surprise.

And fear. Lots of fear, you guessed from the way they were shakily holding their weapons and shields aloft.

You saw a company of archers taking up firing positions in a few of the buildings nearby, along with a few mages around an officer. You had a feeling this officer hadn’t fought on the frontlines – the League had stopped putting the big blue plumes on the helmets of their officers once they learnt that just made them targets for the magically guided ballistae that the RSK so loved.

“All forces, charge!” the commander bellows from the balcony of an apartment building.

Unsurprisingly, the knights didn’t do much. Even the archers stood still, arrows hanging limply in their hands.

“I think they recognise you,” Aladria says. “Try to leave a few for me.”

“There’ll be plenty for you,” you growl. There’s no way you could keep a hundred mage-knights from getting past.

You…

>1. Taunt them. There’s hundreds of them and only two of you. What a bunch of wimps!
>2. Try to scare them all away. You might as well have surprised a herd of deer – maybe they’ll flee just as easily.
>3. Hold your ground silently and wait for their move.
>4. Custom

>>35594580
Goddamn, that bad? Sometimes I forget how stupidly powerful high PSN can be.

>>35594571
>“Their battlefield talents might, but their other talents don’t,” Aladria says scathingly. “I’m pretty sure she’d have torn him apart if she weren’t getting her relief from you.”
heh
Lucky mal that he can delegate this task to talon

>>35594613
>2. Try to scare them all away. You might as well have surprised a herd of deer – maybe they’ll flee just as easily.

>>35594613
>2. Try to scare them all away. You might as well have surprised a herd of deer – maybe they’ll flee just as easily.

>>35594613
>4. Custom

Give them one chance to lay down their arms and surrender. Any that do so will be spared. The ones that don't will be given no quarter.

File: 041.jpg (456 KB, 900x569)

456 KB JPG

>>35594613
I hate when I accidentally swap tenses. I did it way too many times in that update. I'll try to catch myself before I do it again.

>>35594613
>Try to scare them all away. You might as well have surprised a herd of deer – maybe they’ll flee just as easily.

>>35594680
I figure that's included with scaring them.

>>35594571
>Maybe if you locked them in a room together…
Sounds like a bad idea
maybe they need some team building activities to bond over wink wink

File: 051.jpg (148 KB, 708x965)

148 KB JPG

2 seems to be the obvious winner.

If people have any ideas for what they want to include in the intimidation, start thinking of them now. I'll be doing a short-ish post in a bit with the DC then the actual write-up of the attempt.

>>35594613
>Goddamn, that bad? Sometimes I forget how stupidly powerful high PSN can be.
They get a lot more effective when you start mixing things. 325 HMAA vs 100 MMK is a coinflip. 325 HMAA + 100 MMK vs 200 MMK is a 60% probability of success.

>>35594571
>Maybe if you locked them in a room together…

Only if Felix and Talon get to hangout outside the door look through the peephole.

>>35594680
I like this.
Especially if we get a rep for this.
You surrender, you live. And even get the chance to enlist with talon

>>35594804
Obviously a listing off of who we are and our various accomplishments, such as slaying that dragon with the crystal in it in that cave system.

>>35594858

That's definitely something we've been doing since the beginning. And the way Talon conquers, which is more focused on preserving resources and infrastructure as opposed to slash and burn, I'd believe that reputation is already occurring.

>>35594804
>Soldiers of shropam
>I am Talon York.
pause
>As we speak 50 thousand magekillers from the mage guard are coming to level your home and kill your families.
>Your leaders have failed you, they have abetted the vicious and cruel regime of the taour that treated people like cattle, keeping them in pens as a food source and using them as sacrifices in magic rituals to save money compared to buying catalysts. They have abandoned the magi league because even the most permissive magocracy would not allow them to engage their cruel and inhumane research
>They are so drunk on their power that they think they would crush both the guard and me. Despite being horrible outnumbered and outmatched.
>Soldiers, do not die for profit of your so called leaders. There is a better way.
>I created the york empire because I thought I could do better, because I was sick of having brothers in arms die for the cruel, vicious, and murderous ambitions of an out of touch elite.
>Defect now and join my army. Or lay down your arms and surrender, and you shall live to return to your families. And be part of something great
>I am not going to burn your home to the ground, I am saving it from the madmen within and without, the insane wizards at the top of your city and the so called mage guard.

>>35594613
>Goddamn, that bad? Sometimes I forget how stupidly powerful high PSN can be.
50 NHMKs can take 925 HMAA with an even probability of success.

>>35594995
>NHMK
N?

File: 058.jpg (903 KB, 1024x766)

903 KB JPG

>>35594995
That I can believe. They're supposed to be stupidly strong. That's why you guys did well to blow them all up with Sala in Raupe.

>2.

This scene is becoming almost farcical, you think. Surely they realised that an entire company of mage knights was difficult, even for you?

At least this gave you a chance to end it without even a fight. You step forward, raising your sword and shield into the air as you prepare to capitalise on the fear of these poor bastards. They flinch backwards as you move, apparently afraid that you’ll hit them from twenty metres away.

Then again, if they believed you to be some mage lord, maybe that wasn’t such a farfetched fear.

“What are you waiting for?” the commander bellows. “He’s just one man. Kill him! Shoot him full of arrows! Put your sword through his helmet! Imperator or not, he dies like any other!”

The battlefield falls silent as the soldiers await for your rebuttal, your arms wide open and waiting for them to try something.

[DC12/17 Intimidation]

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>35595034

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>35595016
Nightwalker Heavy Mage Knights.
>>35595034

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>35595034

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>35595034

>>35595064
So. Fucking. Close.

>>35595034
>“What are you waiting for?” the commander bellows. “He’s just one man. Kill him! Shoot him full of arrows! Put your sword through his helmet! Imperator or not, he dies like any other!”
I think perhaps you've been misinformed.

>>35595060
Spooky

>>35595064
But not 2spooky.

>>35595034
adria can teleport, right?
can she telefrag that yelling bafoon?

>>35595034
"I imagine that is what your combat magisters thought when they tried to kill me last knight. And yet I am here, and they are not."

>>35595034
I really wanted this to be a crit success.

>>35595136
How much would this lower the DC by?

>>35595136

I desire this.

File: 060.jpg (61 KB, 491x799)

61 KB JPG

>>35595136
>>35595173
It might have the opposite effect. If Aladria appears monstrous then they might think you're evil. Of course, it might work brilliantly and they all run off.

>>35595250
Then could we bite the bullet and let her teleport Talon? The men already apparently think Talon can strike them from meters awhile, might as well make it look true.

>>35595250
Yea, I think it might break the mood too much and bring them back to reality so to speak
The comicalness of him just yelling at us and nobody moving...

Heck the best thing might just be to silently glare as he yells himself hoarse. If we are really lucky he will shoot us ourselves and we can suitably humble him in return

>>35595298
Hell no. talon's instincts were right before. This is not something we should do.

I am willing to just take our lower success here. it probably means we would have severely demoralized them and that when they attack, we break them and they surrender much earlier

File: 066.jpg (111 KB, 970x547)

111 KB JPG

>Target met

“Well, what are you waiting for?” you say, not bothering to raise your voice beyond what is necessary for it to carry over the screams from across the river and the sounds of battle nearby. “I am but a man. You have sharp, well-crafted weapons. You have your endless talents as elite soldiers. Why don’t you just kill me?”

Your voice practically oozes amusement and the soldiers certainly don’t sound reassured by your supposed vulnerability.

“After all, it’s not like the best battle mages of your city failed to kill me yesterday in Orkney,” you shout, rapidly raising your voice as you point your sword west. You then lay your sword across your shoulder and let your shield hang loosely. “Now choose. Either lay down your weapons and live another day. Or try to slay a mere Imperator who built an entire empire in the space of a few months.”

There’s a moment where you think you’ve gotten through to them. Where the sergeant on the ground is about to give in and drop his sword.

Then a magical bolt bounces off the side of your head. You look up irritably and see the commander pointing a mage-knight sword at you.

“We are the mighty warriors of the ancient magical capital of Shropham!” he screechs. “We shall never surrender to a curator of monsters such as yourself.”

A few archers and mages hesitantly fire at you after his speech, their attacks bouncing off you armour. Yet, despite the obvious futility of it, it emboldens the rest and their attack begins. The mage-knights shout at the top of the lungs before erupting into a reckless charge at you, firing magical bolts randomly.

You sigh, raising one arm towards the commander. You’d only learnt how to do this recently but figure this is as good a time as any to show it off. A pulse of power runs through your arm and, as you pull your fingers in a crushing motion, his head decorates the walls around him. You’d had enough of that bastard’s screeching.

[DC12/18 Combat]

>>35595298
The issue is that she doesn't actually do a proper teleport.
instead of moving us from point A to point B. she disassembles us and then reassembles us.
The problem is that her power doesn't reliably work on someone much more powerful than her, like talon. For example, when she tried to thrall us
The first issue is that she won't be able to disassemble talon unless he lets her, and then she probably won't be able to reassemble him...

However, in retrospect we might be able to use our own power to help the process. After all, she is drawing her power from talon and we are linked via familiar bond. It is still a rather risky proposition

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>35595568

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>35595568
Crap.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>35595568

Rolled 15 (1d20)

>>35595568
For luck.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>35595568
this would be emberassing to fail

>>35595064
>>35595619
I keep on rolling great. but too late (only because the damn captcha is made of fail)

>>35595609
Whew, nice save

>>35595609
Phew. Nice rolling.

>>35595568
>“We are the mighty warriors of the ancient magical capital of Shropham!” he screechs. “We shall never surrender to a curator of monsters such as yourself.”
Oh that is absolutely rich in irony all things considered

>>35595568
>“We shall never surrender to a curator of monsters such as yourself.”

Huh that's a new one.

>A pulse of power runs through your arm and, as you pull your fingers in a crushing motion, his head decorates the walls around him

HUH. THAT'S NEW.

File: 067.jpg (239 KB, 1020x613)

239 KB JPG

>>35595686
>Huh that's a new one.
There's a hint there.

>HUH. THAT'S NEW.
I've been really lazy and haven't updated the char sheet for ages, so Astral Projection is still listed as I rather than II. Basically, your range got bumped slightly from knife-fight range to relatively short distances on top of being able to give it some actual substance.

>Weaponry has increased to III
We got this.

what exactly blocked off our flashback? godknight mindfuckery, blow to the head, our first fluffy overdose?

>>35595795
>There's a hint there.

Referring to the Mystic Foxes?

>>35595795
Huh, are we going to start using Getsuga?
>>35595686
>Huh that's a new one.
Backlash from our "we don't give a fuck what you are, only that you work for us" policy.

>>35595869
Probably the vampires.

>>35595869
Or vamps.
Or dragons, even, forgot what we were doing with those.

>>35595869
Foxes, vampires, dragons, elementals, a high profile elf squire, I mean really. Talon does not discriminate.

>>35595920
Or care.

>>35595920
The York Imperium, the refuge of the downtrodden and discriminated. I sense a PR opportunity.

>>35595938
"Can you bang it?"
"...yes."
"Draw up the papers welcoming it to the empire"

>>35595869

IIRC Shophram was the League problem child that fucked up the League/Foxes agreement. So that might be the most accurate.

>>35595979
pretty much

>>35596050
Huh. Forgot about that, thanks anon.

>>35595965
Pretty fucking golden one too

TYE enacting a virtual vampire genocide for their crimes as a race, but one of em becomes a high profile familiar on the merits of her abilities alone, with additional plans to integrate survivors

Fox race besieged on all sides by every major power, yet given new homes, and new backing

Dragons in hiding, dragons keeping their identity secret now openly revealed as the leader(s) of a new knightly sect/elite guard/headhunter squad for TYE

Shit, even the elf, basically a nobody from the warrior/slave caste is the squire and left hand of the imperator

Talon truly gives no fucks about who or what you are, as long as he can use you somehow

If aspie wasnt as good at writing, this would seriously be some shonen manga tier power of friendship bullshit

File: 068.jpg (223 KB, 1023x976)

223 KB JPG

>Lower target met

Swinging your greatsword in a wide arc, you don’t wait for the mage-knights to attack first. Power hums through your sword as the magical resistance in your armour crackles and arcs at the magical blasts rattling off it. A few of the mage-knights try to come to a sudden stop, only to be knocked forwards by their compatriots behind them, while the rest obliviously charge into your reach.

The results aren’t pretty and the first line of Shropham’s mage-knights clatter on the cobblestone road beneath your feet, even as you prepare for a backhanded swing from your sword. The next group wise up awfully fast once they see the dissembled armour of their comrades around them. It’s almost like water parting around a rock in a stream, except the rock doesn’t have to stay in one place. You remind them of that fact and why it’s generally a bad idea to not engage the warrior you’re ostensibly charging.

You take one long step forward as you finish your second swing, cleaving through another group of knights. One darts in right after you finish your swing, thinking to catch you with your guard down. As his war hammer comes down to meet your helmet, you snap you’re the upper edge of your shield into the elbow joint of his armour where it is greeted with a crack. As he goes down you sweep aside with your legs and lay into the soldiers behind him.

The ranged fusillade hasn’t let up and it’s taking its toll on the knights near you, as the arrows and magical blasts bounce off your armour and the astral barriers around your armour’s joints and instead just savage the mage-knights. You hear a number of screams from behind you and spin to check on Aladria.

>continued

File: 072.jpg (451 KB, 2000x1250)

451 KB JPG

>>35596191
There’s not much you want to look at, as the vampire appears to have just shredded the knights that got past you with some sort of claw-like attack. You catch a glimpse of it as one last knight charges her with a scream. His lungs give out in an instant, deflated viciously by a lazy catlike bat of her hand. You barely catch a flicker of darkness in the flickering torchlight nearby, your helmet’s magical vision not spotting it otherwise, and see an enormous inky black claw scythe straight through the knight and his armour. That claw wouldn’t look out of place on a tiger the size of a house, you think.

The enemy rapidly withdraws, but not for long. You take a few minutes of rest before more soldiers, wearing ancient mage-knight armour or regular plate, come charging up. The close-quarters environment is limiting their archer’s capabilities, preventing them from bringing a huge mass of them to bear on you. Your biggest risk right now is one of those old mage-knights getting a lucky blow in on you. That, or they sneak through and get a surprise attack on the foxes or Undine. Taira might be safe but a dozen soldiers could potentially wound Vad or slip past and get Undine.

>1. Keep defending where you are.
>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your men.
>3. Pull back and focus on defending Undine. You won’t do much extra damage to the soldiers on this side of the river but Undine will be safe.
>4. Custom

>>35596211
>>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your men.

>>35596211
>1. Keep defending where you are.

>>35596190
>If aspie wasnt as good at writing, this would seriously be some shonen manga tier power of friendship bullshit

But that's my jam!

>>35596211
>1. Keep defending where you are.

>>35596211
>1. Keep defending where you are.

>>35596211
>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your men.

>>35596211
>>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your men.

>>35596211
>>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your men.

Taira can take it, should she might leave fewer survivors.

>>35596211
>>2. Push forward and be more aggressive, relying on Taira and Vad to keep Undine safe against anybody who gets past. This will end the battle sooner if successful, saving more lives of your m

>>35596211
>1. Keep defending where you are.
Uh, do we know where the FMK are? They have 200 of them, and I'd imagine they'd be able to bypass the river eventually.

>>35596692

Might not be here. Advanced movements would suggest they're sending in heavier units to dig in and prepare.

File: 073.jpg (160 KB, 800x1228)

160 KB JPG

>2.

It doesn’t take you and Aladria long to push forwards to link up with Lynn and your knights. The enemy’s tend to break and spill around you, though you find it difficult to deal large amounts of damage to them when there’s so many of them. Mostly you’re cutting down a handful of them between hunkering down behind your shield and armour before they scuttle away like beetles and you repeat the whole thing. Aladria has mostly been mopping up the few that try trickier things or try to sneak past, lurking in the shadows and lashing out as necessary.

It seems that Mal and Sala had the same idea, as you catch the sight of flaming wings buzzing about nearby. Your knights, meanwhile, have cooped up a mass of them in the north market square. With Sala about, it should be easy to force them to surrender or burn them all to cinders.

Then your world is shaken by a huge blast from the river. You quickly ascend to the top of a nearby watchtower as you see a massive cloud of dust rising from the river near where Undine is. Did their mages fire off a powerful spell?

A sending brings you back to reality, with Undine letting you know she’s alright. If she’s using sendings that means she’s broken her ritual. It should be enough. You can already spot the banners of your men approaching the town.

Unaware that the ford was now open, the Shropham soldiers surrender in short order as your army bears down on them and your banner flies from the north side of town. There was some small fighting on the outskirts and against the mage cadre but if they didn’t think they could hold Levante against this force then they certainly weren’t going to hold Gorlsford without the ford’s natural defences.

Looking over what had been an apartment building on the south side of the river, you give Taira a look. She looks a little bashful about her handiwork but is rather unrepentant.

>continued

File: 074.jpg (112 KB, 610x900)

112 KB JPG

>>35596933
“You said to keep her safe, so I did,” she says. “I didn’t have time to pick targets so I just swept the whole area.”

You sigh, looking at the hundreds of ruined suits of flying mage-knight armour littered among the rubble of the apartment building. Clearly the builders of that apartment building hadn’t reckoned for a massive blast of force. At least the dive bomb attack had failed and Undine was safe. You would just need to have Gnome or some mages clear out the rubble in the riverbed and repair the channel. Undine’s sudden loss of control from the blast had also caused a lot of damage to the town, the mass of water surging out of control and creating a second ford out of rubble and dirt.

Still, the town was yours and largely defensible. Some barrier work would fix up the rest. This town needed a bridge, anyway. You’re ahead of schedule but bad news comes from Karise via sending device.

The force at Corthshire is sortieing towards yours in the late afternoon. Apparently the Mage Guard split off a small force and sent it into the province and they’re not willing to wait around and get cut off from the capital. Your army can probably match them in the field but it might be better to let them engage with the Mage Guard and take Gravecral once they vacate it.

>Shropham is making a move. What will you do?

>>35596191
>Power hums through your sword as the magical resistance in your armour crackles and arcs at the magical blasts rattling off it
I wonder if by using an armor with magical resistance we are hampering the growth of our innate magical resistance

>>35596949
Right. Okay, how many suits of MMK and HMAA gear did we salvage in this attack, roughly. Because I'm thinking we grabbed enough that we can pull the same trick again. Tiara 'ports us and 500 of our best men to Corthshire, then we meet them dug in on terrain of our chosing.

>>35596949
If they're moving for us, I suggest we meet them head on. We need to maintain the tempo.

>>35596949
Teleport heroes to that force ASAP
Have that force start retreating from the sortie, but not fully, relocate to a nearby high ground and do their best to fortify it before being attacked.
Once we break that sortie we can proceed to the final fort. Perhaps it will last long enough to get reinforcements from this force

>>35596949

Teleport, fortify, and wait for an opportunity to strike while they are engaged.

>>35596949

Go for the prize, Gravecral is a death trap and we're outnumbered up there, despite bringing better gunned. Begin some movements to draw the sortie elsewhere, hopefully near enough the Guard forces they engage and move on Gravecral immediately.

>>35597121
take the noble knights, HMK and 50 of the LMK? Our odds are pretty good. And by pretty good I mean "They're totally fucked."

File: 079.jpg (437 KB, 1280x720)

437 KB JPG

Note that Taira can't teleport more than a small party because it's been too soon since she last teleported (literally hours).

>>35597164
Your army in Sorsdain is days away from Gravecral. You also need your forces in Sorsdain to take Sorruy, as the Orkney forces aren't enough by themselves.

>>35597121
I'm not sure why salvaging matters (and I haven't been donig it for a while due to way I've been rolling surrendering militaries into your army after a conquest).

>>35597243
>Begin some movements to draw the sortie elsewhere, hopefully near enough the Guard forces they engage and move on Gravecral immediately.
The Guard aren't moving on Gravecral, they're just trying to cut that army off as they flank the capital. If you try to draw the Shropham army away, they'll just ignore you and go for the Guard.

>>35597349

Sorry, I'm retarded but I'm a little confused.

>The force at Corthshire is sortieing towards yours in the late afternoon. Apparently the Mage Guard split off a small force and sent it into the province and they’re not willing to wait around and get cut off from the capital.

>Your army can probably match them in the field but it might be better to let them engage with the Mage Guard and take Gravecral once they vacate it

So they are attacking us, but we have the option of letting them engage with the Mage Guard first?

If so, could we teleport and then attack them while they attack the Mage Guard? Is that remotely feasible?

>>35597349
>I'm not sure why salvaging matters (and I haven't been donig it for a while due to way I've been rolling surrendering militaries into your army after a conquest).
It usually doesn't at this point. On the other hand, 1000+ HMAA surrendered with their gear intact. Swapping 1000 or 2000 MAA for HMAA would matter for this army.

File: 081.jpg (105 KB, 950x547)

105 KB JPG

>>35597473
>So they are attacking us, but we have the option of letting them engage with the Mage Guard first?
The timing of events means it's likely that they're sortieing to engage the Mage Guard and trying to take out your force on the way, as you're pretty close to Gravecral right now. If you get out of their way by marching away then they'll just go for the Guard.

This unfortunately means that it'll be hard to catch them as they'll likely be doing a forced march to hit the Guard before they fortify in the north-west of the province.

VOTE
>1. Teleport to assist your army and engage the Shropham army as they sortie.
>2. Leave your army to fight Shropham's near Gravecral and instead focus on leading an army tomorrow to take Sorruy.
>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.
>4. Custom

>>35597611
>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.
I'm somewhat worried at this one. This isn't keeping up the tempo.

>>35597349
>You also need your forces in Sorsdain to take Sorruy
I thought the blitz was to take orkney, sorsdain, and cortshire and then hold. no taking sorruy (yet)

>>35597611
>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.

Obtaining Gravecral is critical and Talon's talents lie in defense. It isn't the climatic end of the blitz, but it'll save a lot of lives.

>>35597611
>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.
Focus on taking Sorruy

File: 083.jpg (734 KB, 1600x1600)

734 KB JPG

>>35597691
The blitz involved taking Sorruy from both sides of the bridge while you took Corthshire.

>>35597611
Do we know how big a force it is?

File: 086.jpg (271 KB, 1024x576)

271 KB JPG

>>35597717
Probably most of the 15k they have stationed there.

>>35597611
>>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.

>>35597746
in that case

>>35597611
>3. Pull your army back and let Shropham engage the Mage Guard. You'll miss your chance to take out Shropham's army but will easily take Gravecral.
I am noticing the land is not passable without fliers between it and termina. meaning that they really can only be attacking the mage guard.
let them kill each other

So I was doing a bit of thinking on the whole no cavalry business when I realized that horses provided another capability that isn't provided by spells(for the most part). Strategic mobility. If you can get an entire force mounted, even if it's only to move around, you increase the area your army threatens, as well as being able to surprise forces by arriving far ahead of when they thought we should arrive.

>>35597847
Wrong. Strategically horses aren't much faster than foot. They are both limited by supply train.

In retrospect, it occurs to me that rather than engaging the mage guard they might instead retreat to the capital, reinforcing it with additional 15k troops, making it harder for us to take it
It might be better to take them out now.

>>35597847
there are special spells used by the support corp of each army that do this specific thing better than horses.

>>35597899
Of course, but for short sprints it can work. Look at the "flying" corps that Peter the Great used on occasion.

File: 088.jpg (1022 KB, 1197x904)

1022 KB JPG

>3.

It feels a little like a copout but you don’t see much need to waste your troops on fighting Shropham’s military when you can let them whittle down their numbers fighting the Mage Guard. Plus, your spies might be able to report on the capabilities of the Mage Guard in the battle. You have Taira teleport Lynn in to assist Rayza with directing the army as they pull back from Gravecral to give the veteran force free reign over the province. Once you know how much of an army is left in that fortress, you can teleport over there to lead the assault tomorrow and seal the blitz.

In the meantime, you want to talk to a certain Archmage about her poor intelligence.

“Alyce isn’t here,” Merce tells you the second she receives your call over the sending device. “She’s currently doing some very long sessions with the League’s greats over why it’s okay for you to be invading Shropham.”

“I’m surprised that’s turned into a big issue,” you say.

“It’s not so much ‘big’ as ‘time-consuming’,” she says, before pausing and, judging from the noises, sipping at a drink. “Mages, particularly old ones who like to feel important, love to argue and debate with their equals and betters. Alyce might become like that given another half-century, but thankfully she only indulges in it as much as is strictly necessary.”

“Not a fan?”

>continued

>>35597990
Humans actually out walk nearly all animals in nature.

>>35598237
Like I said, for sprints. I'm well aware of humanity's status as the top marathoners on the planet.

File: 094.jpg (833 KB, 2560x1600)

833 KB JPG

>>35598236
“I left my people for similar reasons. Old, confident powers tend to act like this and it leads to their downfall. It’s why the dwarves are so much better off than the elves – they kept their politics fresh. The League has far too many old towers at its head and they kill off the innovation something so large needs to stay relevant,” she says.

The Aefir sounds like she’s in a rather wistful mood. You suspect she probably spent much of the day listening to the drivel coming out of the grand magisters of the towers before leaving early. That sort of physical inactivity leads to an overactive mind in your experience. It’s why locking up a prince tends to end poorly – they end up with far too much time to use that educated mind of theirs towards troublesome ends.

“I had an interesting encounter with Shropham yesterday,” you say. “I got to engage in a one-on-one duel with Hallim and Synnatheus.”

Merce’s polite disinterest rapidly turns into a stream of curses. “Well, at least I know that not all of our remaining officers can be trusted. Or that somebody is interfering with our communications. How did you fare? You’re not too bloodied and bruised, I hope? You have a war to win, still.”

>How do you respond?

>>35598258
>"I lost my legs."

>>35598258
>"I lost my legs."
He has the right idea

File: 095.jpg (1.91 MB, 2560x1600)

1.91 MB JPG

>>35598299
>>35598330
I'm not sure I get this. Are you just screwing with her or did something just fly over my head?

>>35598258
"Well, their summoner is dead, and gnome punched that pure elemental of theirs into a river."

>>35598380
screwing with her

>>35598380
Just screwing, I assume.
I'm throwing my vote into that as well, btw.

>>35598258
>>35598299
"I'm half the man I used to be"

>>35598258
"We only managed to kill one of the five Magisters they deployed. Kind of a disappointment, honestly."

>>35598258
>I am fine. Mal killed one of their combat magisters, the one who does summons, and the other 4 ran away.

>>35598423
If I had water in my mouth i would have done a spit take.
as it is, I just choked on some beef jerky

>>35598258
"Not as well as I expect of my self and my subordinates."

File: 114.jpg (215 KB, 1680x1050)

215 KB JPG

>messing with her

“I lost my legs,” you say, trying to sound as serious as possible.

There’s a very long pause before she replies,” No, I don’t think that happened. I would have heard about it if you did.”

“I hid it very well.”

“By never losing them, I presume. Ahm has the best prosthetics in the world, so Undine would have already contacted me if you’d actually taken an injury that badly,” she says.

“Not if I had her keep it a secret,” you counter.

“If you think you could get her to do that, you don’t know her as well as you think you do,” Merce snipes back, not missing an opportunity to snipe at you over Undine. To say she was sour over the water elemental choosing you over her was an understatement.

“So I didn’t lose my legs,” you finish lamely. “Mal took out the summoner and Gnome knocked their earth elemental into a river but we came out pretty fine overall.”

“Impressive,” Merce says, her tone clearly indicating grudging respect. “I bet Gnome enjoyed that. She always found La’s condescension annoying.”

“Condescension?” you ask.

“Laryya makes it very clear that she believes Gnome is the inferior pure earth elemental because of her combat focus. A true pure earth elemental should be all about their engineering excellence and sublime understanding of the true arts. In her mind, at least,” Merce finishes, her voice rising to a pompous overtone when she summarises La’s outlook.

>continued

>>35598699
was it mal or sala that killed the summon guy?

File: 116.jpg (319 KB, 1920x1200)

319 KB JPG

>>35598795
“You don’t sound all that impressed by her,” you say.

“I believe that La is an excellent engineer but her pompousness is frustrating. She’s too much of a one-trick pony. I don’t see the point of having centuries of experience and talent if you’re just going to dedicate it to barely increasing a single talent. Especially when she compares herself to an elemental that does everything she does, but better, and then some.”

“You almost sound like you’re complimenting Gnome,” you say, reminding her of her supposed rivalry with your familiar.

“I’m saying I don’t like La. How did you handle Hallim, anyway?” she asks, rapidly changing the topic.

>1. Be truthful.
>2. Be boastful.
>3. Be modest.
>4. Be flirty.
>5. Custom

I’ll tie a few of the other answers into the next post.

>>35598825
>2. Be boastful.

>>35598825
>1. Be truthful.

>>35598825
>1. Be truthful.

>>35598825
>>2. Be boastful.

Always Be Boasting

>>35598825
>2

>>35598825
1 and 4

>>35598825

>1. Be truthful.

followed by

>3. Be modest.

>>35598825
>flirty
"Of all of the familiars I could've been spending some quality time with, Synnatheus was not at the top of my list."

>>35599095
haha, I like you anon

>>35598825
>1.

File: 122.jpg (1.72 MB, 1900x1150)

1.72 MB JPG

>2.

“Up until the point where I had to protect Gnome I was doing an excellent job of ruining their day,” you boast, grinning to yourself.

“You? Protect Gnome?” Merce said. You could probably deny the existence of magic with the sheer amount of disbelief in her voice.

“Laryya stabbed her with some spear right before she got her ribs smashed. She’s still out of action,” you admit.

“Really? Did it glow a sickly green?” she asks, her voice sharp.

“Yes. I take it you know what it is?”

“More proof that Shropham has been breaking League covenants. They created that spear a few years ago – an experimental enchantment by their best enchanter. It’s made to sap the magic from mages and magical beings. We banned its development and ordered it destroyed due to how easily it could be abused,” she explains.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Abused to do what?” you ask. “That seems like a useful weapon to have in a war. Especially because it sounds useful against enchantments, too.”

“Alyce felt it to be too broad. The monks also opposed it quite viciously, which is a rarity,” Merce says. “I have a hunch there’s more to it and that spear is the result of Shropham’s mages experimenting with something they shouldn’t have been involving their tower with.”

>continued

File: 123.jpg (315 KB, 758x1000)

315 KB JPG

>>35599296
You think a bit to yourself before Merce speaks again, “I’m surprised you could keep up with Hallim at all. I would have thought he’s far too good for you to possibly handle.”

“He was surprised, too. Compared me to a God,” you say, frowning as you say it. It was an odd comparison.

“Really? An odd comparison to make for somebody from the west,” she says. “I might have to tap him for hints for if I need to deal with you.”

“You’re assuming you can deal with me. Hallim is one of the best.”

“I’m better. And if you think you can handle me, Talon, I’m here and I’m open. You could always pay a visit tonight,” Merce says, her voice teasing. “Then I can make it clear that I’m the one who is better on top.”

You pause, seeing the perfect response to this. You…

>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.
>2. Make a serious response to Merce.
>3. Brush it off and move on.
>4. Custom

>>35599319
>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.

>>35599319
>>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.

>>35599319
>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.

>>35599319
>1
She is clearly starting it. It's not even us.

>>35599319
>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.

This is the future she choose.

>>35599319
1. How could we chose anything else?

>>35599319
>>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.

>>35599319
>>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.
>>2. Make a serious response to Merce.
"I can assure you Merce, when and if that day comes I'll be the one on top. That's a promise."

>>35599296
>1. Make a flirty response to Merce’s teasing.
"It'd be poor form for an Emperor to interrupt one conquest for another, you know."

>>35599402
Well, she did obliquely admit to liking us in an earlier thread.

Okay let's see I think we've only got
Royalty
Helldragon
Elf
Vampire
Left then we can say we've done it all

>>35599482
>Royalty

I think Finn's taking that category for us.

>>35599319

>2/ Make a flirty response to Merce's teasing.

>>35599482
Demons and devils, oh, and archangels as well. Also, we probably did do royalty at some point. I think our new aid is actually from or original country.

>>35599526
>>35599541
Im talking about full fledged queens plus Finn is nowhere on our level he needs to git gud

>>35599482
Those are only the known races, and you're missing Angels, Archangels, Infernals and artificial patterns, as well as probably more I can't remember.

>>35599589
Eh, I'd take Sarah over "Royalty" if the title's the only distinguishing feature.

File: 128.jpg (109 KB, 1000x700)

109 KB JPG

>1.

“I’d be happy to see you on top of me tonight,” you say flatly. “Your bed or mine?”

There’s a long pause, just like there was the last time you did this, then Merce says, without the slightest hint of regret, “I guess I did walk into that one. On a serious note, how do you think you’re handling Shropham? If you need any help, the offer I made you back when you were warring with Taour is still open.”

You frown as you try to recall what that offer was. She’d offered to aid you then in exchange for an unspecified favour or an important secret. Back then it had been her attempt to get something over you. Now it felt more like she was testing you.

You just didn’t know for sure which answer would pass the test. Did she want you to deny her help and thereby prove yourself to be good enough to take Shropham yourself? Or did she want you to ask her for help in exchange for a favour, showing that you trusted her? Or maybe you were supposed to tell her something she wanted to hear to convince her to help you?

Damnable woman. It would be easier if she were more open like Gnome. Gnome had made it very clear what she wanted. You…

>1. Refuse her offer.
>2. Ask for her help in exchange for an unspecified favour.
>3. Ask for her help in exchange for important information.
>4. Custom

>>35599687
>>1. Refuse her offer.

Nah

>>35599687
>>3. Ask for her help in exchange for important information.

>>35599687
>>1. Refuse her offer.

>>35599687
Refuse, we're gonna get things done ourselves. Just, try and find out whether there are any more horrible surprises lined up for us-five combat magisters are a match for an ancient heldragon, I'm seriously surprised we're not paste right now

>>35599687
>1. Refuse her offer.
"No thank you. You are Alyce's familiar, any action by you would cause no end of difficulties with the League. Should you desire to assist me, having a combat magister or two, or a unit of spellblades "defect" to the tower of Harrowmont for a few months would be a better idea politically. Alternatively, you could have a knightly order take issue with the various accusations I've laid a Shroopham's doorstep and assist me militarily."

>>35599296
>The monks also opposed it quite viciously, which is a rarity,” Merce says. “I have a hunch there’s more to it and that spear is the result of Shropham’s mages experimenting with something they shouldn’t have been involving their tower with.
This bit makes me think it could be connected somehow to the super top-secret heavily warded section of the monastery that we ended up visiting. Maybe something worth discussing with people who might be in the know once we have the chance.

File: 129.jpg (251 KB, 1100x710)

251 KB JPG

>1.

“No, I don’t think I’ll need you,” you say slowly after much thought. “There’d be far too much in the way of political consequences if you help me. Plus, I’m doing fine so far.”

“Mmhmm,” comes the answer after a pause and a number of muffled slurps as she sips at her drink. “So long as your stubbornness doesn’t fail you – and us, that’s fine. Don’t expect too much help from us in this environment. Alyce is quite firmly focused on evicting Albanon from the League and won’t want to risk anything working against her.”

Then why did you just offer to do just that, you think but don’t ask. Instead you get a few details on the combat magisters from her and end the sending and turn in for the night.

Morning brings with it news of the conflict between the Mage Guard and Shropham. It seems the small force the Mage Guard sent south had been light on experience and was routed in short order by the veteran heavy force of the defenders. Although the Guard lost a few thousand men in the battle, you’re quite certain they achieved their aim – the Guard successfully lured the Shropham force into the open and essentially lost them a safe mustering point. Once you took Gravecral and Sorruy, that would leave Shropham wide open, with your military on one side and the Mage Guard besieging Sirrashire on the other.

>continued

File: 130.jpg (225 KB, 1280x657)

225 KB JPG

>>35600201
If the mages wanted to have even the slightest chance of preventing widespread destruction in their capital they would have to make some daring manoeuvres. You would have to stay on your toes, particular with their combat magisters around.

To further cement your thoughts on the Mage Guard strategy, your aide let you know that a trio of riders had come in overnight on behalf of the Mage Guard.

“You really shouldn’t have so much coffee so early in the morning,” you tell your aide.

“I haven’t had any coffee,” she answers with a frowning, balancing on the balls of her feet.

“Then have some un-coffee. You’re far too bouncy for just after dawn,” you grumble as you make yourself presentable. You’d been told that one of them was claiming to be an inquisitor so you couldn’t just blow them off.

What attitude do you take towards the Guard?

>1. Belligerent
>2. Polite
>3. Friendly
>4. Custom

>>35600220
>2. Polite

>>35600220
>2. Polite

>>35600220
>2. Polite

>>35600220
>2. Polite but firm

>>35600220
2 + 3

>>35600220
>2. Polite

Unless that inquisitor is that old "friend" of ours, in which case all we're doing is damage control and trying to make sure he doesn't hit too hard on our new secretary.

>>35600220

>2. Polite

>>35600220
Hey, random question: How many combat magisters does Albanon have? And we do have confirmation on their locations?

>>35600220
>4
>Firm

Hey asp, When are we getting an updated char sheep for Talon? I just took a look and the last sheet was from a while ago.

>>35600333
I'm convinced he's running the world's greatest ruse

>>35600618
I'm convinced he's Blackwater.

File: 131.jpg (62 KB, 840x640)

62 KB JPG

>>35600611
When I stop being lazy, I guess.

>>35600499
Albanon has none, aside from the ones that might be managing individual tower security. The League has lost a lot of CMs in the war and probably only has a few dozen left overall.

>>35600634

Funny that you'd say that, Blackwater.

I'm on to your little game

>>35600634
But Anon... Talon is Blackwater

>>35600710
Wait, he can't be Blackwater, I thought that I was Blackwater...

>>35600734

That's what Blackwater wants you to think

File: 132.jpg (181 KB, 640x800)

181 KB JPG

>2.

“Inquisitor Morrn,” the Mage Guard emissary says, giving your hand a firm shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Imperator, particularly under these circumstances.”

“Usually I hear the opposite,” you say as you size him up.

Morrn was a steely looking character, you decided. A slightly balding older man with a jaw squarer than your average cube. He’d left his guards outside, which was an interesting decision.

“Hah, well, I’m of the optimistic part of the population,” he replies with a small smile. “I see your assault on these heretics as a great boon. If they were just fighting one of us, then they would have the raw power to prevail. But against both, they simply do not have the capability in either manpower or talent.”

“You’re here to propose we work together,” you say, sussing out his offer.

“To a degree. Warden General Irlin wants to topple the heretic mages of Shropham, a great magical city turned into a hive of sin and corruption, and send a message to both the mages of the world and those who shirk their duties within the Mage Guard,” Morrn says and you don’t miss his use of ‘Warden General’ over ‘Witch-Hunter General’.

Having a good poker face was vital for this sort of thing, you realise. Morrn was in full preacher mode, and it was obvious which of his talents made him an inquisitor. Either your casus belli had convinced the Wardens that you were just like them or they’d sent somebody so outrageously over the top that they would be able to judge your stance simply from how you reacted to him.

As for the offer, “That sounds about what I’d expected from General Irlin. I’m not sure where I come into that, however.”

>continued

File: 138.jpg (471 KB, 1920x1200)

471 KB JPG

>>35600745
“It’s simple, Imperator. While we push into the capital and grind their recalcitrant towers to dust and make an example of those mages who disrespect the laws of the world, you ensure that the western territories do not run back to their mother’s bosom for protection,” Morrn says with what you can only describe as a pious grin. Or maybe he’s just crazy. You’re not one for religion, so you don’t really know. “Then, once our mission is complete and our message broadcast to the world, you can ensure that the re-education of the people of Shropham is an upstanding one.”

“You don’t want the city?”

“It would be difficult for us to control it. A third party, however,” he says, spreading his hands out with a look of fake innocence.

Well, now, this was an interesting offer. Let the Guard trash Shropham and slaughter their military while you seize the entire region. The city would take decades to recover but you’d still have the land and troops. Of course, working the Guard here would anger Alyce. Then the Guard would be angered once they learn you’re working with Alyce. You would also be helping the faction that Sylvian opposed.

You’re not sure if you’re supportive of the Wardens – you suspect that their positive opinion of you was either manufactured or grossly misinformed by your old conman friend. Or maybe they thought that a human like you atop mages and non-humans was superior to the alternative?

>Discussion time.

>>35600799

Accuse the "Inquisitor" of being Blackwater and lop his head off.

But seriously, I don't see this as a good deal. Hurting both of our allies and the brain drain from the city is enough for me to say no. Plus I don't trust the Mage Guard.

>>35600799
Can't really see any benefit to really out weigh the hurt of our standing with our allies. I'm going to go with kindly refusing their offer.

>>35600799
What is their stance on collateral damage. Even though we already know it, it would be best to voice this concern to give a reason why we didn't accept this offer.
Which I'm leaning towards. I do not think it would be wise to let them take the city. Perhaps we can strike a deal, in which if we take the city, we will deliver those responsible(only the higher ups to use as a scapegoat) to the Mage Guard so they can "make an example" of them.

>>35600842
I agree. Breaking promises and such now would send ripples of mistrust to all and undermine us later.
Not to mention it sounds like this would end up in brutal slaughter and torture.

We could give him the information that some of the mages are studying and utilizing banned/forbidden magic.

>>35600799

I guess my question is how we proceed from here. I think most players won't agree to hand the city over to the Mage Guard, so how can we get our hands on the city?

We can't really attack the Mage Guard forces in the city so is it going to be a race to capture the city first? Maybe we can present Shropham remnants with a stark choice between TYE and the Magi Guard.

>>35600929
>Maybe we can present Shropham remnants with a stark choice between TYE and the Magi Guard.
That's what I was thinking as well. We also can't afford to piss off the Mage Guard too much, and they want blood. We will end up having to deliver some mages to them.

>>35600929
>>35600972

Maybe it's possible to persuade some of their commanders to direct their attention against the Magi Guard?

Kinda like the situation with the Germans at the end of World War 2 where they fought to surrender to Western allies instead of the Soviet Union.

File: 141.jpg (513 KB, 1600x703)

513 KB JPG

Anyway, no real support here for their proposal (as I kind of expected). Offering some of the higher mages as scapegoats is a possible alternative (even if it won't satisfy them) but you also need to remember that any sops to the Wardens will strengthen them within the Mage Guard.

>>35600886
>What is their stance on collateral damage.
It's unlikely Morrn will be that honest. Even if they were just taking the mage towers, a protracted siege of them would cause a lot of damage to the buildings on the upper platform. Karise's spies report that part of their message is to remind supporters of magocracies that they're not free from punishment.

>>35600911
That is a terrible, terrible idea for reasons Gnome had probably tell you. When the Wardens (pre-Mage Guard) fought the mages in the Golden Age they did things that would make even Shropham recoil in horror. Then again, so did the mages. The creation of the Magi Line mountains killed a lot of people.

>>35600799
"An interesting offer. However, I see some... tactical issues with it. As I'm sure you are aware, despite Shroopham's blatant defiance of league authority, Albanon has provided arms and materail to Shroopham's efforts against the both of us. What you may not be aware of however, is that Archmage Alyce is currently attempting to have Albanon kicked from the league over their actions. I personally fear that the message you intend to send to the Mage's will cause her to reconsider kicking Albanon out of the league. Thus, I think a more subtle approach is needed, in order to ensure that we manage to rid Albanon, as well as Shroopham of mage domination."

Basically, the grind away the outer armies, then fall back and let us deal with the final siege in a more restrained manner. We jointly try and execute the more egregious mages, lulling the Magi League into a false sense of security. Once we take Albanon a few years down the line, our combined firepower will be equal to the Magi League. Then we can... reconsider our stance.
Obviously, we won't actually betray Alyce, but let them think that.

File: 142.jpg (666 KB, 1700x1050)

666 KB JPG

GUARD OFFER VOTE
>1. Outright rejection.
>2. Offer to give them the mage leaders (and other scapegoats) once you take the city as a sop.
>3. Try to win them over as a supposed ally. Note that this will still strengthen the Wardens, will limit an open alliance with Alyce and may still anger them.
>4. Custom

>>35600799

Should we discuss this with alyce to know her side/opinion?? also it would be much better for force shropham to surrender to us, I think.

>>35601110
>2. Offer to give them the mage leaders (and other scapegoats) once you take the city as a sop.
I don't believe outright rejection is a good idea, nor do I believe the alliance will work.

>>35601110
>2. Offer to give them the mage leaders (and other scapegoats) once you take the city as a sop.

File: 145.jpg (575 KB, 1024x600)

575 KB JPG

>>35601141
Alyce was pretty clear that letting the Mage Guard sack Shropham was a betrayal of your agreement. She's working wiht you to prevent exactly that. It's doubtful she'd be as opposed to sending off some fo the mages you dislike - the main problem with that is you're buying longer peace from the Mage Guard in exchange for a stronger Mage Guard (assuming you've got Sylvian on your side).

>>35601110
>>2. Offer to give them the mage leaders (and other scapegoats) once you take the city as a sop.

>>35601110
2, but ask if they think they could draw out shrophams military into a fair fight. All the guard want is to wipe out mages, so let them have the military while we take the city relatively bloodlessly

>>35600799
Personally I think Talon should say it would be better if work off on their own. In the end they both want the same thing that being Shropham damaged. So just tell them while he won't work with them directly he is willing to let them destroy as much as they want so long as it's not territory he controls. Because he wants to oust corrupt mages himself.

That should buy us time. So long as we move fast enough to hit the capital.