[Edi]

[quote=Edi;793645]So, during game setup, which you could already see here, I chose an Enormous map (72x50 squares), Interregnum society and allied play. I did NOT include Common Cause or Clustered Start, since the story here requires that each player survive on his own even if they work toward (at least somewhat) common goals.

I set all AI at Knight level (4/10) to provide some challenge and to increase their chances of surviving the early game.



So these are the classes and teams.


Next, we shall take a look at the Player Overview screen provided by F2 once game has started:



This lists the player names and controller (human or AI), but nothing else so as to not give away too much. Of course, in this instance we know what classes each of them are, but in a random game, we would not. The names can give some clues, though.

*****

Greetings! I am Barras, a Necromancer lately of some renown.


I seem to have had the strangest dream that I was myself, or almost myself, but knew things I do not and that I was somewhere else very much like this place. I was facing my old ally and lover, my old enemy Bellania in a bid for power, but that cannot be, for she is dead, killed in the fires of the Fall that consumed the Empire. It is curious thing how the mind can sometimes play tricks on you when you sleep...

It is time to begin my bid for immortality. I had managed to squirrel away enough gold and other resources to hire a workers to construct a citadel when the time is ripe. Built out of black granite, it offers a commanding view over the countryside.

(The Dark Citadel has the Vision attribute, which allows the player to see 2 squares in all directions instead of the standard 1 square, but only if there are troops in the square.)



My citadel is in the trackless wilderness, with nothing for company except the trees and the wind. Forest as far as the eye can see, with a scattering of mountains. My only other holdings are the gallows and a farm that produces food to feed my human troops. There's a little surplus to sell, but that income doesn't stretch far.

I'd be much more g´lad for a village in teh vicinity, because in settlements of that size there are always enough altercations and mayhem going on that one can reliably expect at least one person to be hanged for murder each month. And the left hands of hanged murders can be turned into Hands of Glory, which is precisely what I need for my rituals.

Fortunately the gallows serves as the common execution site for miles around and provides me with more hands of glory. Of course, since the place is under my control, and there aren't any settlements anywhere close, any rabble that strays into my territory without invitation is liable to be hanged for murder. They are ALL guilty of it anyway, or would be, sooner or later, so this makes things expedient. And if a person has been hung for murder, their hands can be used since the requirements of the netherworld spirits are fulfilled.

Now, I should start making plans for finding and gathering more resources, but as usual, several problems present themselves. As if I didn't have enough already!

- There is a herd of deer running loose near my citadel, no doubt tempted by the crops and fields of the farm. I think it is time to roast some venison soon, or we'll be fresh out of bread as soon as we turn our backs.

- The lookout at the top of the citadel reported that to the south there is a great forest that stands much taller than the trees anywhere within sight of my walls. I've heard of these places, though never seen them. Holy places to Druids, they are the breeding grounds for herds of deer and moose, ferocious wolf packs, great bears and sounders of boar. I fear I must be vigilant, lest my farm be overrun by vermin, my gallows chopped to bits by boars and bears sharpening their tusks and claws and my citadel infested with snakes and other vermin. *sigh*

The only other feature of interest is far to the north, a round blue expanse rising past the tops of the trees that wither in its shadow. A humongous mushroom, as tall as the greatest trees. No doubt dangerous, as most unusual things in the wild are in these unsettled times. I shall make a note of going far around it.


I sent my apprentice to animate all the dead that could be brought to service from the graveyard next to the gallows.



Fortunately, he seems to have gotten the hang of it. Six longdead and three soulless should be enough to let him keep the situation at home under control while I explore the vicinity. Childerik can deal with emergencies in a pinch, though he must do it without the soulless. Those are needed to guard the gallows.


He could try to reanimate some more undead, as there are still a few in the ground, but it's not worth even the effort of thinking about it.

Oh, to introduce you to Childerik a little better:



He is rather a weakling and knows little, but he can weaken the enemy in battle and scare away the more easily frightened creatures. As long as he has some troops to prevent enemies from getting into close contact with him, he should do adequately. As you can see, the encounter with the souls of the dead has left him slightly shaken, but that is an occupational hazard in this business. There are ways to deal with it, but that must be in the future.


Now, to deal with that annoying herd of vermin that threatens the breadbasket. I might incur losses, because the deer bucks can be surprisngly aggressive in defending their does. Fortunately I have just the thing to deal with them. As you can see earlier, I have memorized Terror, Bane Fire and Drain Life.

I did not memorize Fear, because it only affects a single target whereas Terror will hit an entire squad of enemies. Drain Life is useful for healing myself and augmenting my health if anyone manages to wound me and then there is Bane Fire:



The star icon indicates that Banefire does magical damage. It is almost guaranteed to kill any man it hits and even many much hardier creatures. Armor is no protection either and if the target should survive, it is likely to rot to death in the space of minutes.


I managed to drive off the vermin, but no before one stag gored one of my spearmen through the liver and killed him. Another one destroyed one of the longdead, but fortunately it was the weakest one. I managed to cast Life Drain on one of the deer and now feel much better than before. Can't get any better than this, though, which is rather a shame.




Childerik scared one away and if it hasn't collapsed from exhaustion yet, it's still running until it does.