Soundtrack: A. Avkhimovich: The Sound Theory:
02. Something Random
The turn before last turn I recruited a triton priest in Moon Sea.
Last turn I ordered him to search for sites, and he immediately
demonstrates why you should always search underwater provinces with
holy magic (H1 is enough).
The land temples don't give water, but are still nice.
The army led by Eshu Saath and Vkt'Ebph has also arrived from R'lyeh.
They prepare themselves for landfall, and their target is the
unsuspecting province of Numecria. The map has Ermor there,
yet Ermor is not a power in the game. And never will be ~~ the
story at the end will explain.
Meanwhile the sages of Arcoscephale have noticed the strange
going-ons beneath the sea.
For once someone sends us a friendly message! Why do the little
mans hate us so?
As you may have noticed on the screen above, Auluudh's guys are
just chillin'. How come? If you look at the south-eastern corner,
you'll see a certain octopoid monstrosity attacking the province
next from them ~~ from the other side. He doesn't need any help
with that, so Auluudh might as well make himself useful in his
capacity as a mage.
Yöt-Webbogoth also spots Pangaea's pretender, a vile undead husk
of a man that clings to its miserable existance at any price. Seems
a strange fit for a nation that's centered on growth and nature
magic, but nature/death is a very potent combination for Pangaea.
It gives access to carrion centaurs/lords/ladies that can reanimate
manikins (corpses reanimated by plants, undead with a nifty fatigue-
causing attack) for free, and a lich needs a strong dominion to make
the most of his immortality. Pangaea with it's cheap temples and
blood-sacrifice capability an provide, and those are even better
with a high dominion from the pretender.
Looks like he took really high dom. This means that I'll have a
nice old time preaching his filthy dominion out of my underwater
provinces. I also wave a tentacled goodbye to any plans I had to
snatch Tir na n'Og for Greater R'lyeh. Well, any *immediate* plans.
It'd be nice to have, since the only non-water access is via the
province his lich dude is standing in. But it also is on the
opposite end of the world from my, and I want to avoid the
impression of being excessively greedy. For now. Who knows, maybe
something will come up?
Anyway, with Yöt-Webbogoth attacking the last independant underwater
province this turn, Phase I of my cunning plan for world conquest
will be complete next turn. Have an inspirational picture:
Phase II will be:
A lab, a temple and a kelp fortress in. Every. Province.
Well, every second province maybe. And I'm talking underwater
provinces; on land I don't get any national units at all, so I won't
be building all that many forts there.
The labs will allow me to port mages troops with water-based spells
in addition to the standard astral ones (teleport & gateway). As
spread out as my empire is, that'll be very important.
The temples, together with a fort, will allow me to recruit my
wimmen. The R'lyeh ladies are very... traditional, and never leave
the house. They do provide a constant stream of free polypal spawn
(basically the hoburg militia of the seas) and a less constant
trickle of upkeep-costing but holy gibodai (the classier type of
mindblaster fish).
They also can kickstart my dominion with H2 preaching. Hopefully
that will be enough to let the temples spread it to the fortless
provinces in between: If I get provinces under my dominion, good
things will happen. If not, there will be problems ~~ my PD ain't
that great. But at least I'll have the option to recruit a ton of
R'lyeh tradmark chaff in a neighbouring fort and retake a province
if necessary.
The sea shall be an impregnable fortress, an iron clamp around the
land, a necklace of horrible spawn-factories constantly pumping out
their vile, wriggling offspring in an ever-rising tide of ickyness.
Mage fish shall gambol from the labs, spontaneously twirling their
tentacles together in invincible communions of doom.
I will be pursue this plan with stunning efficiency and without giving
in to any distractions whatsoever.
Nothing can go wrong.
~~~
For fellow aficionados of Lovecraftianesquish, here as a little something inspired by The Doom That Came To Sarnath.
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MP3 |
OGG
The Doom That Came To Ermor ~~ Part I
There is in the land of Numecria an silent bay where no wind blows
and no wave dares to enter. Not long ago there stood by the shore the
mighty city of Ermor, but Ermor stands no more.
It is told that when the city of Ermor was just about to rise to
prominence, another city stood by that shore. This was the city of
Nume, and it was not a city of men.
The beings that walked the streets of Nume were fish-like in shape,
and it was said they had come from beneath the waves, long ago on a
night when the moon leered gibbous and the North Star winked evily
upon the mist-shrouded sea.
The things of Nume were no friends to the proud tritons or the mermen
or even others of their kind, for it was said they had sworn fealty
to the City of the Deep Seas, the name of which the wise do not speak.
The things of Nume also were no friend to man, for men did not think
that beings of such aspect should walk the world above. Moreover, they
did not like the brooding sculptures of Nume, and the squat and heavy
palaces of dark gray stone the things of Nume built. Strange and
repellent were the rites and customs of the city, and the men of
Numecria, and fair Saeborea, and distant Ograthon spat on the ground
when they spoke the name of Nume.
Yet despite the hatred of man, and the people of the sea, Nume
prospered, for her traders sailed farther then all others, to Komoroo
and even mist-shrouded, accursed Fomoria, and they brought furs from
the forests of Maverni, whose priests disdained writing, and strange
mechanisms from golden Arcoscephale on the slopes of Mount Cephalos.
Thus it was that the men of Ermor, who had raised their city to the
foremost of the many towns in the hills of Numecria looked upon Nume
and felt envy, and even hate. Still, they feared Nume's strange powers
and allies, and did not dare to strike.
Instead they sent their broad-shielded armies marching into the hills,
and made all other towns of Numecria send them tribute, and swear
fealty to mighty Ermor.
It was not enough.
So the augurs of Ermor sent to the Oracle at Cephalos, above golden
Arcoscephale, and the oracle told them this:
"If Ermor defeats Nume, Ermor shall never be defeated by man nor
woman."
And the augurs of Ermor rejoiced to hear this, but prophecy was
notoriously fickle, and apt to turn on those who trusted it to
quickly.
So the augurs of Ermor sent to the tribes of Maverni, and sent again
when the first delegation came to a bad end. And the second delegation
brought gifts before the druids, and returned with the following
counsel:
"If Ermor conquers Nume, the conquest of the world shall begin at
Ermor."
Finally the augurs of Ermor sent to the Sauromancers of C'tis, for
they were neither man nor women and the augurs were a cautious lot.
On the way there the delegation was stopped by the Fiery Ones of
Abysia, and taken before the Smouldercone for judgement, for they had
trespassed on the Abysians' land. But the delegation's leader spoke
passionately of friendship and alliance, and the Anointed of Rhuax
let them go, in return for the promise of a share in Ermor's great
destiny.
So the men of Ermor came to swamp-girded C'tis, most ancient of all
cities above the sea. There they saw lizard serpent-dancers whirling
and twisting in their holy trance, and splendid lizard princes ride
in gilded chariots, and the sauromancers conjure the spirits of the
dead with the smoke of certain herbs.
It was difficult for warm-blooded men to gain an audience with the
lizard sorcerors, but the delegation's leader persisted, and spoke
with great eloquence of Ermors splendour and riches, and the wisdom
of its augurs.
And the lizard-kings were swayed, and granted the men of Ermor leave
to speak with the Sauromancers, who than performed many strange and
unsettling rites. At last the Sauromancers spoke with a fell spirit,
imprisoned under the Root of the Earth, and asked about the fate of
mighty Ermor.
"If Ermor destroys Nume, Ermor shall learn the secrets of life and
death."
This the spirit spoke, and laughed so mightily that the earth shook
and a great temple to one of the many snake-godlets of C'tis fell
down.
The men of Ermor were divided what to make of this, but they were
agreed that the time had come for them to return. But the swamps of
C'tis are full of unhealthy airs for those not of lizard-kind, and
all of them fell ill not long after they had embarked on their
journey.
One by one they died, and only a single man returned at last to mighty
Ermor, ranting and raving. Still, it was enough for the augurs with
their magic to sift sense from feverish frenzy. And the augurs of
Ermor greatly wished to divine the secrets of life and death, which
they reckoned to be the greatest among the secrets that still eluded
them. For the augurs of Ermor were arrogant, and reckoned themselves
wise beyond all other men, and believed that there was little they did
not know, and that of even smaller consequence, save for the secrets
of life and death.
~~~ to be continued ~~~
Re: Multi-Player After Action Report (Now Discussing Turns 4-7)
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