Neo Xekinima - LA game of Mod nations (finished)

[Tuidjy]

During the course of the siege of Sangvinia's capital, one of our infantry
commanders was attacked by yet another vampiric assassin. What made this attack
different from the score of earlier failed attacks is that, after a well-placed
quarrel pierced the vampire's heart, the undead creature turned into a
manifestation of the Red Thirst, a terrifying undead abomination immune to most
forms of elemental attack, capable of enduring and regenerating a considerable
amount of damage and of slaying dozen in an instant. The victim, a veteran of
the dwarf wars, did not survive the attack.

The next month, a sizable portion of the besiegers were tasked to patrol the
camps, but no intruders was found, nor any additional attacks made. The
Priesthood believes that the cowardly creature has sneaked or flown past our
troops, and will look for victims elsewhere.

The abomination calls itself 'The Original Vampire' and dresses foppishly in red.
He appears like a run of the mill Sangvinian vampire, and some brave soul may
decide to end its misery. Do not attempt it! The creature is extremely powerful
and should not be engaged by mundane means. Neither armor, strength of mind or
unyielding courage are a protection against its deadly emanations. It can slay
armies by itself. If you notice it, retreat in good order, and contact the
nearest temple of the Lady Elena. Only one of the high priests of Lady Elena has
a reasonable chance of ending this threat.

---------

Addendum:

Good people everywhere, rejoice. In its immense arrogance, the abomination known
as the Original Vampire attacked a well prepared black priest. It was shredded
by a wind of magical blades, and as its death was witnessed by a grateful
population of Lady Elena's believers, its supposed immortality is for naught.

[LoloMo]

The night has settled over the Sanguinian nation. The immortal Sanguinians burst forth from their last bastion of defense and fled into the night, to nurse their wounds beyond the eyes of the world.

For the Sanguinian nobles, the sun has set, for the last time.

.
.
.
.


Well played Tuidjy! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Tuidjy]

Thank you. An impressive sally, and a Hell of a way to end the war.
I guess your Pretender came just in time for the last show :-)

[Sombre]

Facing as we are the ungodly wrath of the Ulmish invasion, we extend our hospitality to any noble of Sanguinia that can reach our borders. Here you might regroup and seek vengeance on your usurpers, provided you recognise the Great Hag and the Dark Master as your lords.

[lch]

I have removed the nations which were defeated or turned AI from the turn notification script. In case you drop out and don't want to receive the emails any longer, please send me a PM or just reply back to the notification email for that.

[Tuidjy]

Last month, troops belonging to the nation of Teutanion attacked Ulm without cause
or provocation. A motley army of minotaurs, footmen, and crossbowmen murdered
the lone sergeant who was coordinating the restoration efforts in one of the
provinces devastated by the Sanguinian vampires. In a separate incident, a
Fountain that is apparently worshiped by the Teutanians, teleported to another
province of ours, and sent one of our heroes to Tartarus. Then the cowardly
Pretender conjured itself away. The Priesthood is not unduly concerned - if
this is the extent of Teutanion's power, they are doomed. The Hero will be back,
and if the Fountain were to show up again, it may find it harder to flee in time.

In the light of these provocations, Ulm declares war on the nation of Teutanion.
They should enjoy the few months before our troops can reach them, because once
the veterans of the dwarf and vampire wars cross the desert, there will be no
place to hide.

[Tuidjy]

"Ulm!" And Earth itself empowers the white priests...

"Ulm!" And every piece of armor hardens...

"Ulm!" And every hammer or halberd is gripped with giant strength...

"Chaaarge!" And the blessing of Lady Elena restores the vigor and heals
the wounds of the advancing faithful...

And as "Elena!" echoes over the battlefield, bane lords, vampire lords,
devils, frost, storm, shadow and serpent fiends are cut down and trampled under
the unstoppable wall of steel.

...

This month, the armies of Ulm won two very important victories. Each of them
foretells the eventual fate of a doomed nation.

In the far north, after three very brave, and deliberately underequipped warriors
overwhelmed the goblins defense, the very gates of Hell seemed to open and spew
forth a horde of demons and undead. But those were met with fire and steel, and
the goblin cultists lost their only chance to deny us a beachhead from which to
attack their capital.

In the south, at the edge of the Great Desert, the Teutanion fountain attempted
to repeat its surprise attack on Ulm's peaceful construction team. But only a
fool is surprised twice. We warned them that their Pretender will not be able to
leave a second time, and leave it did not. Our heroes flew to it, and shocked
it into unconsciousness. The high priest it had slain will be back before the
fountain is. It better hurry, because it may soon have no capital to which to
return. The veterans of the dwarf and vampire wars are making their way through
the desert, and every step of theirs brings closer Teutanion's end.

[Nikolai]

So you have time for gloat, but no time to put files on a USB drive so we can see? And why no abomination for Teutanion, ran out of?

[lch]

Tuidjy said:
Ulm! Ulm! ULM!


That reminds me of the WH40k: Dark Crusade game... "Orcs, Orcs, Orcs, Orcs, ..." http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Valandil]

Necrons.

[Tuidjy]

>>>> Tuidjy said: Ulm! Ulm! ULM!

>> That reminds me of the WH40k: Dark Crusade game... "Orcs, Orcs, Orcs, Orcs, ..."

Which is exactly the effect I was going for :-) Although I play the Imperial
Guard, and Nikolai is the Ork player... And in case anyone cares, in Fantasy I
have both a Dark Elves and a Bretonian army.

By the way, I expanded the "Ulm! Ulm! ULM!" post. Sorry, long day at work
yesterday. I am probably holding the game, too.

[Nikolai]

What's up with the quiet? Everyone is fighting, everyone cannot be losing! Who is winning should boast a bit.

Oh, and it is Orks, not Orcs.

[Tuidjy]

As the worship of Lady Elena spreads across the world, news can take a long time
to reach all corners of the Empire of Ulm. The Priesthood understands that even
good people can be disturbed by vague rumors and enemy propaganda, and will from
now on release a bulletin to bring the Truth to everyone.

The wars against the child murderers of the North and the amoral knights of the
South are still raging. There are casualties amongst the followers of Lady
Elena, but our enemies pay with scores of dead for each one of ours. Two of
our white priests have fallen to magic duels, but we are happy to report that
their challengers did not outlive them by much. Other casualties among our
warriors are few and far between, and penitents quickly replenish our armies.
Unfortunately, our scouts have fared significantly worse. We have lost many of
them, and may have to completely suspend our covert operations. Not to worry,
it is much easier to count the enemy after they have stopped moving.

For those interested in the details, here is a brief recapitulation of the
skirmishes in the last two months.

Let us first turn our attention to the North. A spy of ours was ambushed by a
horde of vampires - no less than four lords and scores of newly created vampires.
To prevent these abominations from flying over the elven lands and into Ulm, a
Star Hero of ours secured a goblin province at their western border. The latest
reports indicate that, rather than face that single warrior, scores of goblin
sorcerers and hags are fleeing east.

Ulm still holds its beachhead next to the Vaetti capital. After witnessing the
repeated failures of the goblin attempts to retake the province, and after
cheering last month's defeat of a rampaging nercomancer, the grateful population
has seen the light of Lady Elena, and is assisting with the preparations for an
assault of the capital. Given that the cowardly goblins all seek cover behind
the city walls, Ulm may allow them to gather before shutting them in.

As for the South, the veterans from the dwarf and vampire wars have finally
crossed the desert. They have been joined by the cavalry regiment that
liberated the Mediterranean islands from the cat demons' yoke. As of last
month, they are advancing into Teutanion's territory, dispersing ragtag armies
composed of minotaurs and peasants. The only enemies of note were a detachment
of heavy foot knights led by their prophet, but these also were brushed off with
no effort to speak of. The false prophet ran rather than face the might of Ulm.
The only casualty is forging equipment while recovering from a chest wound, but
we hope he will soon return to active duty.

At this time, one castle is being besieged and another one may be under siege
as early as next month. It seems that the loss of the fountain they worship has
unmanned the whole nation. Their only initiative so far has been to grab the
last province of their former Jomon ally, just as they grabbed provinces from
the vampires we defeated.

We would like to conclude by reassuring all followers of the Light that the
peaceful transfer of power in Rome is proceeding according to plan. As agreed
more than an year ago, Sylvania will take charge of all lands in Italy. We wish
our elven friends success with the rehabilitation of the demons' victims.

[zepath]

I've just finished skimming the last ten pages or so of this AAR and just wanted to mention how amusing the reactions to the death of Kharam Dzu's crusty captain was. It happened just as I'd have hoped. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Also, to all participants and especially the mod-balancers: thank you for showing so much attention to these mods. A lot of care went into them and it's great to see them played and enjoyed.

Zepath

[Tuidjy]

Ever since their unprovoked attack, the knights of Teutanion have suffered one
disastrous defeat after another. In their desperation, they have abandoned
all pretense of chivalry and morality. Last month, they used their rudimentary
knowledge of astral magic to drive a number of peaceful peasants insane, and
to force them to rebel against Ulm's authority.

The province will of course be liberated again; it will be the third time. But
the human losses are already unforgivable. Many people died in the process.
Others were driven insane. Even the leaders of the rebellion went mad with the
strain that forced them to turn on the nation that had saved them from the
bloodthirsty vampires and threated them with concern and respect.

But the rebels' madness pales compared to that of Teutanion's false God. That
despicable idol has shown utter lack of concern for the lives and happiness of
mortals, no matter whether they serve it or not. Throwing hundreds of knights
into maelstroems of battle magic, making serfs attack heavily armoured, veteran
heavy cavalry, ordering sages to engage in Mage Duels that will leave them
exhausted before the charge of our Templars... and now using inhumanly cruel
astral magic against a highly developed astral nation.

Nevertheless, the nation of Ulm will stay true to its principles, and conduct its
wars in a civilized and honorable manner. We shall not sacrifice children,
decimate our own citizens with insane taxes, lobotomize peasants, or throw our
soldiers to certain death for perceived military gains.

We had hoped that the knights would see that the demonic and vampiric hordes
summoned by Vaettiheim threaten to engulf the whole world, and would cease their
ineffective attacks on Ulm. But after the latest atrocity committed by Sophia,
our diplomats have been instructed to ignore any overtures from Teutanion.

The followers of Sophia have been declared an abomination upon Lady Elena.

[Tuidjy]

In the last three months, the forces of Ulm have been mostly on the defensive,
pacifying and securing the lands gained in the Summer campaign, and repulsing
the attacks of Vaettiheim and Teutanion. We would like to reassure all good
people that the war is progressing well, and the might of Ulm is growing despite
the continued assaults of the forces of Darkness.

In Scandinavia, Vaettiheim tried once again to dislodge Ulm from the beachhead
next to its capital. In their desperation, the goblins attacked with an army
that barely outnumbered ours. It goes without saying, the slaughter was
one-sided. For the six Ulm soldiers that lost their lives, Vaettiheim paid with
about a hundred shade beasts, scores of vampires, and hundreds of wolves and
dispossessed spirits. This victory allowed our men to complete the construction
of the castle east of the goblin's capital. Using it as a base, our men will
bring Lady Elena's justice to those who would murder children in their bid for power.

In the south of France, Teutanion assembled a vast host for the invasion of
Corsica. It included at least sixty of their best knights with their retainers,
and hundreds of infantrymen. Its magical support was provided by half a dozen
mages who led a dozen ice drakes and eight magical constructs known as crushers.
But before the invasion force could board the ships that were to take it to the
islands, it was intercepted by one of our white priests, and a few Ulmish angels.
We are sorry to report that the priest and one of the angels did not survive the
battle, but neither did three quarters of their enemies. We believe that
Teutanion's plans for the invasion of Corsica will have to be shelved for a while.

In Africa, Teutanion lost the library from which sages were being recruited. The
false idol Sophia was in the castle, but rather than face the might of Ulm, it
chose to teleport back to its capital, taking all defenders with it. Cowardice
seems to be the explanation for most of Sophia's actions. Teleporting away from
battles, breaking down the minds of defenseless peasants... contrast this with
Lady Elena who commanded, Herself, the defense of the Scandinavian beachhead.

Even with Lady Elena fighting in far lands, the news from Ulm's heartland is
mostly good. The Home Army has successfully repelled dozens of incursions,
and the corpses of hundreds of barbarians and Vaettiheim dire wolves litter
Ulm's Eastern border. Somewhat more worrying, the bodies of about thirty glade
riders were found after one of the skirmishes. We are sure that there is a good
reason for those elves' attempt to sneak across our border. Still, we would be
happier if no further elven troops are discovered by our patrols.

[Nikolai]

Just like reading Pravda. Can't wait for defeats, I wanna know the internal enemies of Ulm :-) I bet on Acolytes, those intelligentzia!

Hey, New Ulm IS Russia! The map is reversed for East and West. So can we hear from the Free World that's fighting Russian menace?

[Sombre]

I went AI a couple of turns ago. That's why he's been fighting armies of chaff. I was sick of being stuck in the same place for 30 or so turns, then having no chance at beating the invading force. As far as I'm concerned, he won the game a while back :]

[Tuidjy]

Good people of the world! Isn't it time to set our differences aside, and all
unite under the Aegis of Lady Elena? Look at the lands under Ulm's control!
They are peaceful and secure, thriving and prosperous. The population is healthy,
the soldiers strong, and the scholars wise. Our heroes are the only ones
talked about and our banner flies in the four corners of the world. Ancient
artifacts are being rediscovered by our smiths every day, and few spells are
out of our mages' reach.

Why shed more blood? Allow Lady Elena in your hearts and enjoy a new era of prosperity!

[Morkilus]

With Sombre done and Teutanian seemingly beat down, I'm ready to concede as well. I don't know if I can call it a minor victory or not... but no way can I deal with SC's and I'm at least 10 turns away from my own. Ulm's graphs are staggering.

[Reverend Zombie]

Teutanion challenges Ulm to trial by combat of armies to be held in a mutually-agreeable province at such time as allows for both parties to arrive at the destination with the armies of their choice.

Should the snivelling minions of Lady Elena defeat the best and boldest of Teutanion in fair and open combat, then and only then shall we concede defeat.

Should the army of Teutanion win this battle, we shall fight this war to the end!!!

[Tuidjy]

Considering the outcome of the last dozen confrontations, we can only assume that
by "fair and open" "combat of armies", you mean that only living, human troops and
holy magic will be allowed.

This places us at quite the disadvantage, as nearly all of our priests are
proficient in some other magic discipline, but we will, of course, accept. Our
faith will see us through any difficulties.

We suggest that the trial by combat is held in Fera'an, which is currently under
our control and your dominion. Four turns will give you the time to bring armies
from all your castles. We will not interfere with your maneuvers north of the
agreed battleground. We will continue our campaign south of it. We expect that
you will not use resources from the north to interfere south of Fera'an.

Whether items will be allowed is up to you. If you would rather have the defensive
in exchange of the dominion, let us know, and our priests will bring the light of
Lady Elena to Fera'an.

Please let us know what you think of these terms, and suggest your own if you
do not find them to your liking.

[Morkilus]

How exciting! If only I could get some scouts there without them being mushed by overzealous crossbowmen.

[llamabeast]

Sounds like a job for Astral Window.

Wish this game was on my server, then I could spy on it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
Considering the outcome of the last dozen confrontations, we can only assume that
by "fair and open" "combat of armies", you mean that only living, human troops and
holy magic will be allowed.

This places us at quite the disadvantage, as nearly all of our priests are
proficient in some other magic discipline, but we will, of course, accept. Our
faith will see us through any difficulties.





By "fair and open" we meant that we would meet with the armies of our choosing at the appointed place without interference with one another's transit.

"Combat of armies" specifies only that this contest is not between individual combatants.

We contemplate no restriction on troops or leaders either party may send to the battle.


We suggest that the trial by combat is held in Fera'an, which is currently under
our control and your dominion.



I must consult with the Royal Cartographer before agreeing to this location.


Four turns will give you the time to bring armies
from all your castles.



This amount of time is agreeable.


We will not interfere with your maneuvers north of the
agreed battleground. We will continue our campaign south of it. We expect that
you will not use resources from the north to interfere south of Fera'an.



Again, I must first consult with my Cartographer to understand the implications of this restriction.


Whether items will be allowed is up to you.



Allowed, of course.


If you would rather have the defensive
in exchange of the dominion, let us know, and our priests will bring the light of
Lady Elena to Fera'an.



We think it more fitting that Ulm, in keeping with its character as heretofore demosnstrated against its various neighbors, be the aggressor in this battle, and are willing to concede dominion in exchange for territorial possession of the ultimate location of battle.

[Tuidjy]

> We think it more fitting that Ulm, in keeping with its character as heretofore
> demosnstrated against its various neighbors, be the aggressor in this battle

Base insults. In our recollection, this particular war started with two
treacherous, unannounced attacks on our provinces. We remember it quite well,
because you actually managed to inflict losses that did not pale compared to
yours, something you never managed to repeat. We also remember that we had
refrained from moving the victors from the vampire wars towards your border,
because we did not want to make you nervous.

The only reason for us to accept this challenge is that we wanted to minimize the
loss of life. Your loss of life, mostly, given that we are losing about one man
for every twenty of yours. You expect us to allow your wizards to reach the
battlefield without interference, research Master Enslave, setup a nice communion
with the cowards that fled Algiers, and then what? Walk into a storm of battle
magic, like lambs to the slaughter? Based on last year's events, that's your job.

Ulm's men are not a resource to be scandered. If magic is to be allowed, we
will not concede the first turn, nor will we let you maneuver unopposed. Here is
our offer, and it is not subject to discussion.

The chosen battlefield will be a province that is currently yours and currently
borders any land province of ours. It will be your responsibility to remove all
mobile troops, and ours to assure that it becomes independent before the battle.
Everything but conquering the province before the day of the challenge will be
allowed. That includes attempting to convert the population, and interfering
with movement. On the day of the challenge, both sides will attack the
province through any means available. The one winning the magical battle will
have the advantage of being the defender in the melee that will surely follow.

The only alternatives to the above that we will consider is our original proposal
or a test of arms between two champions - human and living, with their
traditional equipment, and without any but holy magic.

Or of course, we can continue to grind you to dust as we have been doing so far.

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
The chosen battlefield will be a province that is currently yours and currently
borders any land province of ours. It will be your responsibility to remove all
mobile troops, and ours to assure that it becomes independent before the battle.
Everything but conquering the province before the day of the challenge will be
allowed. That includes attempting to convert the population, and interfering
with movement. On the day of the challenge, both sides will attack the
province through any means available. The one winning the magical battle will
have the advantage of being the defender in the melee that will surely follow.




Agreed. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/evil.gif

[Nikolai]

Oh, boy! I wanna front seat! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif

And someone is suckered. Teutanion will go before Ulm, even with indy province. Lower nation number

[Tuidjy]

> And someone is suckered. Teutanion will go before Ulm,

Quiet, grasshopper! Nation numbers cannot be bargained for :-) I have better
teleport capabilities, and his fountain can move only by teleporting. If I
can make it use up its gems in the magic phase, I'm fine. Even if it does not
use them up and somehow manages to beat my teleporters, it will still have to use
the same script for the main battle.

And he is not suckered, either. He knows that I have the upper hand anyway, and
this is about going down in stylish flames. That, and firing off as many
"snivelling minions", "aggressors", "treacherous, unannounced attacks" as possible.

[llamabeast]

I don't think nation number makes any difference to move order. In fact, I'm almost certain it doesn't.

In this case, since both players will be teleporting stuff in to grab the province before the battle, the order of teleporting depends on the order in which rituals are cast, which is explicitly stated to be random in the manual. And then whoever wins the battle of the teleporting armies will get to be the defender in the main battle.

[Nikolai]

Yeah, you're right. I just tested. I guess Petar is right too about "going down in stylish flames".

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
The chosen battlefield will be a province that is currently yours and currently
borders any land province of ours.



Sophia finds the province of Andalus pleasing for our field of battle.

[Tuidjy]

> > The chosen battlefield will be a province that is currently yours and
> > currently borders any land province of ours.
>
> Sophia finds the province of Andalus pleasing for our field of battle.

It appear that the knights of the crown stuck in Andalus due to the timely
death of their commander get to live. We meant to wipe them out this month
with a teleport attack, but we did promise you that you could withdraw your
mobile units from the designated battleground. Unfortunately, our mercy will
have to expend to Werhard, your lone survivor from the debacle in Fera'an.
The coward managed to flee last month, and instead of being mind hunted like
a dog, he will have to wait until the day of the challenge.

We will not attack anyone in Andalus, but we would like to demolish that temple
as soon as possible. Please send someone to lead the knights out, as soon as
possible. By the way, when will we hold the test of arms? Six months seems
appropriate, giving you the time to nominate a new prophet, and letting us
bring back the armies that by then will have taken over the goblin's capital.
We do not want them feeling left out. After all, that army includes soldiers who
have been fighting for Ulm since the first month of the Aufklarung. It seems
appropriate that after storming four capitals they get to end the wars.

[Tuidjy]

The time of Lady Elena's ascension draws near! More and more of our world's
inhabitants accepts her in their hearts, and her dominions spread is unstoppable.
Every event last season, be it military, diplomatic or theological, is fortelling
Ulm's eventual triumph.

The good elves of Sylvania have remained staunch allies, and will enjoy the
benefits of Lady Elena fair and benevolent rule. The goblins of Vaettiheim have
their capital under siege, and while they will surely try to recover their lands,
we don't expect them to do any better than they did against our beachhead. The
knights of Teutanion have lost two more castles, more than half of their magic
gem income, their prophet, hundreds of magical creatures, and all lands in Africa.

In their desperation they have offered to capitulate once they lose a battle on a
prearranged battle ground. The battleground is just south of Gibraltar, but the
date of our victory still remains to be set. We hope that everything will be
settled before harvest time.

[Sombre]

By the way, if you have any more feedback on balance to give, any of you involved in this game, remember to let me know in IRC or the mod forum.

[Morkilus]

When is the final battle going to happen? I have windows open in a bunch of areas around Bizarro-Morocco now.

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
> > The chosen battlefield will be a province that is currently yours and
> > currently borders any land province of ours.
>
> Sophia finds the province of Andalus pleasing for our field of battle.

By the way, when will we hold the test of arms? Six months seems
appropriate, giving you the time to nominate a new prophet, and letting us
bring back the armies that by then will have taken over the goblin's capital.
We do not want them feeling left out. After all, that army includes soldiers who
have been fighting for Ulm since the first month of the Aufklarung. It seems
appropriate that after storming four capitals they get to end the wars.



Six months from the date of this missive would be acceptable to us. It seems the Royal Post misplaced this message initially, and I believe there has been a one or two month delay since you posted it and this reply.

What turn does this work out to in your reckoning?

[Tuidjy]

The harvest starts in the early fall, and we would like to be done with the horrors
of war by then. Here is what we suggest:

Our troops will take over Andalus in the late spring, and withdraw from it in the
early days of summer. In the middle of the summer, we will relinquish our control
of the province. As soon as the province is neutral, we will give the order to
attack in two waves. The winners from the magical battle will allow their allies
to set up defenses before the opposing army shows up.

Thus, the final battle should take place in the last days of the summer of year VI
of the Aufklarung, or in the sixty fifth month of the Ascension Wars.

---

We are not sure what restrictions on interference would be fair. The only thing
on which we would insist is that, apart from the actions described above, the
battleground province is left alone. It has a very strong Teutanion dominion, and
it is extremely unlikely that we can affect that from without. But teaching the
population the error of their ways would delay the battle, so we will accept the
disadvantage, no matter how crucial magic resistance may be for the victory.

[llamabeast]

What's happening? When's the big battle?

[lch]

According to the status page, next turn. But it seems like the turn is going to host soon with no orders at all... I'm going to reset the timer now.

[Tuidjy]

Actually, both I and Zombie submitted our orders in time. But the battle has
been postponed because some lazy knights lost their squires in a fire storm, and
could not get ready in time. For more detail, await the Summer issue of "Veritas"

Please make it host. The battle will be NEXT turn. That is unless some knights
fail to wake up or something :-)

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:

Please make it host. The battle will be NEXT turn.



Indeed? Your PM said "early spring." If you meant early fall, I need to change my orders!!!

(I actually prefer sooner than later, but assumed you wanted some extra time to research an uber spell of some sort...)

[Tuidjy]

Damn, you're right. I did write "early spring", but I meant "early fall". I did
say "Do you need to delay one turn?". I very much want to be done with this game.
I was ready for last turn, and there is nothing I need to research. I am not
even forging anything much.

Lets have the battle as early as you can. If we can make it one turn later than
originally agreed, I'll be happy.

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
Lets have the battle as early as you can. If we can make it one turn later than
originally agreed, I'll be happy.



I'll change my orders this turn, unless it's already hosted. If you haven't uploaded your orders yet, you could hold off till after I change mine, but then will that give you enough time to load yours after I change mine (about 10 p.m. tonight Eastern U.S.)

We could ask the host to extend the timer to avoid any chance of you running out of time to load your orders.

Or simplest will simply be to have battle in (mid-)Fall, rather than Early Fall.

[Reverend Zombie]

I have changed my orders so we can have battle this turn.

[Tuidjy]

Lets make sure we are very clear on what is going on. The turn for which we
have both submitted orders is the turn on which we were originally scheduled
to fight. As far as I am aware, a solid chunk of your army is not in position
to participate. You still want me to change my orders to an 'all-out attack',
and we will have the fight without the troops that were in your capital?

I did agree to let you have an additional turn so you can bring them in. I
still have no objection to that. Just let me know. Should I attack now?

-------

I will not be able to take my turn before 11pm Pacific, anyway. If there are no
further posts by then, I will change my orders to attack.

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
Lets make sure we are very clear on what is going on. The turn for which we
have both submitted orders is the turn on which we were originally scheduled
to fight. As far as I am aware, a solid chunk of your army is not in position
to participate. You still want me to change my orders to an 'all-out attack',
and we will have the fight without the troops that were in your capital?

I did agree to let you have an additional turn so you can bring them in. I
still have no objection to that. Just let me know. Should I attack now?

-------

I will not be able to take my turn before 11pm Pacific, anyway. If there are no
further posts by then, I will change my orders to attack.



Hrm...this should be interesting. My orders were for all-out attack, with the troops on their way from the capital not participating.

[Tuidjy]

> Hrm...this should be interesting.

I, on the other hand, hope the army battle will not be interesting. In the perfect
world, it would be one salvo from my mages and crossbowmen, one charge
from my cavalry and one route from the enemy army. Simple and tidy ;-)

I can hope, can't I?

[Reverend Zombie]

Tuidjy said:
> Hrm...this should be interesting.

I, on the other hand, hope the army battle will not be interesting. In the perfect
world, it would be one salvo from my mages and crossbowmen, one charge
from my cavalry and one route from the enemy army. Simple and tidy ;-)

I can hope, can't I?



Indeed.

I was referring more to whether we are both heading to battle at the same time, or whether my troops are jumping the gun.

[Nikolai]

Reading between lines, here's a old Commie who does not trust that his army wins the magic battle. Please, make the battle report written in 'Pravda' (Veritas/Truth), not OOC! Too much OCC lately. I want the Priesthood brand of 'no spin'.

[Jazzepi]

I want a movie capture.

Jazzepi

[Sombre]

I want a sandwich.

[Reverend Zombie]

We have seen the light of Lady Elena.

[Morkilus]

Kinda disappointing. Lots of cavalry!

[Tuidjy]

Disappointing? Apart from the fact that my charge struck home only on the second
turn, everything went very smoothly, in my opinion. The only casualties were
from old age (damn bane crossbow).

There was a lot of cavalry, because the commanding officer was a cavalry nut.
Let see whether Veritas can get an interview...

----------

In case anyone cares... I attached a snapshot of Ulm's army to this post, and
a 'picture' of Count Corsica to the post below. If the game is well and truly
over, I could post the password (it's a one shot) and Ich could leave the
game with host disabled for a while, if anyone is curious enough to look at it.

[Tuidjy]

And here, for our loyal readers is an interview with Vihar, Count Corsica, one of
the participants in the final battle with Teutanion.

Veritas: Can you tell our readers about yourself and your career?

Count Corsica: I'm a Black Templar. I was ordained in the Spring of Year III of
the Aufklarung, and my first posting was in the Ural, where we fought to dislodge
barbarian invaders. Once the provinces were brought back under Ulmish control,
the task force under my command headed south and stormed the rebel castle in
Crete, but did not manage to reach Constantinople in time to participate in the
battle that decided the Vampire Wars. That battle took a terrible toll on our
heavy horse, and the Prophet had to lead the liberated peasantry to the Light of
Lady Elena, so I ended up as the highest ranking cavalry commander and led the
incursion into northern Sanguinia. Soon after the fall of Diarbekir, Ulm declared
war on Jomon, and I was ordered to organize and command the Eastern Front. The
heavy horse detachment under my personal command blitzed through the isles of
Cyprus, Sicilia, Sardinia, and Corsica. As our involvement in the Jomon Wars
came to an end, the Lady Elena granted me the title of Count and the island of
Corsica. I fortified the island, and converted the grateful population. When
Teutanion attacked us, it was my duty to organize a northern front against
Sophia's worshipers. I led the assaults against two of Teutanion's castles, and
was chosen to scout the final battleground. When Lady Elena took personal
command of our forces, I was once again placed in charge of our mounted troops,
which were instrumental in yesterday's victory.

V: Could you describe the battle?

C: Thanks to the victory of our teleporting mages...

V: Excuse the interuption, but can you tell us more about the magic phase battle?

C: Yes, I can. I was honored to speak with the White Priest in charge of the assault...

V: I was led to believe that the initial strike was composed solely of undead...

C: Let me make a few things clear. First, if you interrupt me again, your next
assignment will involve interviewing Vaetti trolls about their assimilation into
Ulm culture. Second, our previously dead brethren are an integral part of our
armed forces, and you will treat them with the respect they deserve. Third, yes,
the teleporting squad consisted of two Storm Heroes and the mummy of a White
Priest. Now, will you shut up and hear about the battle or not?

V: Yes, Sir, Your Highness, Sir!

C: Our mage squad was relatively small, and its landing was facilitated by a
werewolf who had been lurking in the area for months. Thus, we managed to force
the enemy to attack us on the terrain of our choosing. Teutanion's detachment
consisted of the fountain they worship, an empowered air mage carrying a Banner
of the North Star, and a flight of Black Hawks. The hawks were distracted by our
scout's trained wolves, and our men had the chance to protect themselves with a
number of spells. The enemy air mage had little power against lightning immune
Storm Heroes, and our extremely high magic resistance foiled all of the false
idol's mind control spells. We cut our way through hawks and air elementals,
and eventually destroyed the fountain, remaining in control of the battlefield.

C: ... Well?

V: I did not want to interrupt, Your Highness.

C: Hmm... Tell you what, son, I'll just write down the questions you're supposed to ask. ... Here.

V: Your Highness, was it not risky to send an astral mage in the initial strike?

C: It is true that a few of our White Priests have fallen in Magic Duels. As a
matter of fact, the White Priest in question is one of them. He was previously
killed by Sophia itself, in the very first Teutanion attacks on Ulm. But he
realized the importance of religious leadership in this battle, and was ready to
sacrifice his life, once again, in service of the Light. Furthermore, while he
had grown in skill since their last encounter, Sophia had been diminished. A
Magic Duel would have been much too risky for Sophia, especially considering that
it would have expected to face numerous astral mages in the following battle,
including Lady Elena herself, who is of course infinitely more powerful. Thus,
we were confident that the risk was justified. We were proven right.

V: Your Highness, would you describe the army that Ulm fielded in the final battle?

C: The army's composition was typical for an Ulm task force, with two exceptions.
First, the army was more numerous than any we had fielded before - maybe twice
as large as the force that captured the capital of Vaettiheim. The priestly
complement was scaled respectively - more than a dozen White priests and scores
of Black priests, many of them exceptionally gifted in their chosen fields.
Second, there were magic users that had never before taken the field with us.
There were Wraith Lords, Adepts of the Golden Order, newly converted tribal
shamans, etc... And of course, the army was led by Lady Elena herself which by
itself guaranteed our victory.

Our order of battle was also quite typical. A nigh invulnerable front line of
Reborn Guardians, two wings of heavy horse - one of Black Templars and one of
commoner heavy cavalry, and behind them hundred and hundreds of crossbowmen.
Our evokers were mixed with the vanguard, our priests backed the crossbowmen,
while the support mages formed the rearguard, surrounded by bodyguards and archers.

V: Your Highness, would you recount the battle for our readers?

Certainly, although there is not much to tell. Our priests granted our men the
divine blessing of Lady Elena, and our support mages protected the army from
magic and arrows. A Wolf Tribe shaman strove to keep our fighters fresh during
the battle, some of our White Priests strengthened our already excellent armour,
and an Adept of the Golden Order set our arrows and bolts aflame.

As soon as the enemy came in range, our evokers let loose with everything they
had - scores of meteors, a flame storm, blasts of shadow and nether darts,
eruptions of astral fire, and even some stellar cascades. The first salvo of
our crossbows was so effective that the initial charge of our cavalry failed to
reach any living enemies.

The enemy was stunned, and seemed at a loss. Only the surviving knights of the
crown retained composure and countercharged our left wing. But although our men
were commoner heavy cavalry, they were led by highly experienced veterans from my
conquest of the Mediterranean islands. The Teutanion charge was stopped cold,
and the knights were soon overwhelmed. The Black Templars of the right wing
also broke through the enemy lines, while our evokers devastated the crossbowmen
in the enemy rearguard. Teutanion's forces routed, and it was all over.

V: What were the casualties from the two battles?

C: In the first battle, we lost only four wolves. We had no casualties during
the actual second battle, but three of our knights aged and passed away before
they could make it back to their tents. They had been hit by shards from bane
crossbow bolt, and had no chance. Still, I want to make it very clear that they
fought to the end, and rode the enemy off the field before succumbing.

As for the enemy casualties, all I will say is that they were significant. Their
Pretender is destroyed, and their leaders have capitulated. We must look forward
to peace and cooperation, and take no pleasure in the death of those who, had
they lived, would have accepted Lady Elena.

V: Will there be any action taken against the wielder of the Bane crossbow?

C: Absolutely not. The amnesty is full, and we will do our best to prevent any
further organized warfare in our world.

V: Do you think that the Teutanion troops from the capital would have made
a difference?

C: No. They would have been subject to a barrage of flames en route to the
field, and they would not have shifted the balance of power - we outnumbered
Teutanion more than four to one. Odds of two to one may have greatly increased
the casualties, but would not have changed the outcome. I am glad further loss
of life was avoided.

V: What are your plans for the future, Your Highness?

C: I will return to my castle in Corsica, in time for the harvest. The White
priests in the army will do their best to transport all soldiers back to their
homelands. Ulm has been fighting since the Civil War, it is time we enjoyed the
fruits of peace.

C: ... Well? This is it. Write something to wrap this up, no one is teleporting
me, and I have quite the ride ahead of me.

V: Your Highness, do you know what will happen to the sacrificial virgins that
have been presenting themselves in the capitals of Sangvinia and Jomon?

C: Not really. They have been hanging in the labs, cleaning and what not. All
I know is that being a White Acolyte became quite popular once they started
showing up. I think the problem will resolve itself, if you know what I mean.

V: Thank you Lord Vihar, Count Corsica. Have a pleasant ride!

[Reverend Zombie]

GG, Tuidjy!

[llamabeast]

Agreed on the movie capture.

Sounds like a great game guys, and thanks for all the RP posts Tuidjy, they made great reading!

[lch]

Tuidjy said:
If the game is well and truly
over, I could post the password (it's a one shot) and Ich could leave the
game with host disabled for a while, if anyone is curious enough to look at it.


Timer is off now. In case you are still interested in the game backups, I can make them available. Be aware, though, that having backups for every turn is not too helpful to track back what happened in a game. If you want to have a look at the different factions for one single turn, you just hit the end turn button, but it you want to view the development then you it's quite a chore even if you have the turns in different folders for each one. Makes it very hard to track what's happened. Just a warning, I experienced it.

[Nikolai]

Is backup available to all? Or just to players in game?

And the Count of Corsica is buffed, right? Else that's one overpowered, no, uberpowered dude. Magic resistance 17?!

[lch]

Unless somebody objects, I can make the game files available to all and provide the master password.

That Count might have received hero and prophet boni.

[Reverend Zombie]

lch said:
Unless somebody objects,



No objections here, but apologies in advance for anyone who feels their time wasted after seeing Teutanion's poor showing. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/redface.gif

[Tuidjy]

> And the Count of Corsica is buffed, right? Else that's one overpowered, no, uberpowered dude.

Yes, he is way buffed :-) He is enjoying the effects of Gift of Health in
dominion 8, an S4E4N4 blessing, anti-magic, arrow fend, relief, legions of
steel, will of the fates, and probably a few that I am forgetting.

If you want a REAL tough dude, try the prophet, who was hitting vampires for 100+.

[lch]

Second try, this time for the right game:

Alright, since Tuidjy said he wanted to create an AAR, I have created a shell script to prepare my backed up savegame files for release. Then I deleted some more unneeded files, but left the logs and scores files inside, and put it into a big RAR file. You can download it here:

http://valhalla.techno-mage.com/NeoXekinima.rar

The master password is "sombregame".

[Tuidjy]

Thank you, Ich!

I will try to set a Dominions III install that can view the files, and I will
start releasing the ARR, year by year.

[lch]

Great! Why did it take me half a year to release these files? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif