Dominion NES

[Seon]

Todays the day, me thinks

 

[Darksaber1]

Well, in North America.

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

Messa back!
I have some internet right now so update 0 can occur without anyone missing out right now.

 

[LDiCesare]

Update is coming.
I've already updated the geographical map and provinces map in the first thread and will update the rest within 16 hours.
merciary, I still need an email to send you your stats.

 

[LDiCesare]

Note: Players will be receiving detailed stats by e-mail. I still miss one e-mail address.

UPDATE ZERO
Fall of the Pantocrator
​

In the beginning, there was Chaos.

Out of Chaos rose worlds populated with multitudes of beings. Wars were fought, kings and emperors rose and fell and civilisations were built and crumbled as millenia passed.
Gods, dark and strange, were worshipped in pagan temples. Still there was Chaos. The gods fought among themselves, bringing even greater ruin to those who would serve them.
At last there was One, a Being of Great power and enlightenment, who rose above His immortal peers and cast them out of the Heavens into Oblivion. From Chaos came Order, and with Order came peace, and the creatures of the worlds flourished. The Age of Chaos had ended.
The One banned the vilest forms of magic from this world. Blood magic used to call upon demons was forbidden, and only a few cultists in far away lands dared dabble with these ungodly arts.
Magic was subject to the rule of the Clergy, and arcane knowledge restricted to His faithful followers.

From the great city of Ermor to the shores of Mictlan and Shinuyama, Order prevailed.


But the Wheel has turned once again.


From the sky a great meteor fell upon the Sacred Lands, and a terrible cataclysm followed, as water rose out of the depths, earth shook all over the world and clouds of darkness hid the sun for months.
When the first sunbeams managed to tear through the dark clouds, it was clear that the supreme God had suddenly disappeared.

Prayers are left unanswered and the smoke of offerings rises in vain to the heavens.
Now is the time for the beings of great power and ambition to try their strength.
The Throne of the Heavens stands empty and only the strongest can rise to supremacy over all.

Most people remember that fateful day when a brilliant star crossed the sky to fall upon the earth. The whole world shook, rocked and trembled. Enormous waves erupted out of the sea, destroying many harbours and drowning many ships. Black clouds piled up and hid the sun for months.
When light finally came back, the few surviving sailors reported that the coasts had receded somewhat. It looked like the sea level was lower than it used to be.
Well, to be precise, it was lower in most places of the world, except in the northeast of Ulm, south of the Jotun giants' lands. There was now a great sea where the Sacred Lands used to be.
The country of the One, the Pantocrator, the most holy place in existence, was sunk, destroyed forever by a strange star fallen from the skies.
Everywhere people despaired as the news reached them. Their prayers unanswered, priests and commoners looked for other gods to take care of them.

On the coasts of Pythium, arch-theurgs have sighted a wonderful bird who is rumoured to bring good fortune, and started worshipping this creature, who is rumoured to be mightier than it may appear at first sight.
In Ermor, the emperor Tiberius Drusus Nero Claudius was not long to react to the crisis. He ordered the theurgs to reinstate the old cult of the divine emperor, and the clergy quickly agreed to his wishes, removing the Pantocrator's statues and replacing them with statues of their ruler in the temples of the old city.
In Ulm, the sudden sinking of the neighbouring lands into the sea have terrified the population. Priest smiths swore they would find ways to protect their country from further catastrophes. The few Ulmish people who tried to build boats and fish in the newly formed sea haven't found any fish there. It looks like a sea devoid of life, and most inhabitants are avoiding those shores they deem cursed.
In T'ien Ch'i, the fall of the star didn't cause just the priests to lose faith. Many people thought it was the corruption of the Imperial Bureaucracy which had been chastised by Celestial Beings. Its divine protector gone, the corrupt emperor was an easy target for all the unhappy citizens. A swift and bloody civil war ensued. The old empire fell as three brothers fred its main province, Arshnoc. One of them, Sheran, now leads the country. His brothers, although playing a chief role in the civil war, have disappeared without any explanation, and Sheran has taken alone the burden of leading Arshnoc in these troubled times.
In the island of Shinuyama, bakemonos celebrated the fall of the One, whom they had always perceived as a tyrant. They are said to have appointed one of their kind as the new head of state and spiritual guide. This new leader has managed to salvage peace in his country despite the tensions between humans, bakemono and kappa who inhabit the land.
In Vanheim, the Vanir who were reverred as gods in the old times have risen again and imposed their rules on the human population. Humans haven't been long to forget the Pantocrator and are now building temples to a new god, a giant mightier than the Vanir themselves.
Past the southern sea, in the island of Lanka and the Jungles of Bandar Log, monkeys talk about a divine being called Hanman. If the primates' chatter is to be believed, Hanman would be a huge tree living in the jungle. Or he would be the jungle itself. Or a giant monkey living in the jungle. Or a giant serpent living in the jungle... It's a bit hard to understand what they say, because the monkeys of Lanka are not very clear and not many of them have communicated with other nations.
In the pyramidal temples of Mictlan, high priests say the fall of the One was foretold and that a new cycle is about to begin. Priests of the sky are studying the calendars in an effort to find out what the new era to come will bring to the world. They speak of obsidian and mantis, while the Nahualli who hid in the jungle in turkey shape are returning to the cities as the ban on magic is lifted.
In Abysia, lavamen talk about a sacred glyph of fire which led their people in the past. It was rumoured to have been imprisoned by the One when he took power over the world, but now there's noone left to bind him and abysians have overthrown the human priests of the One and replaced them by their own anathemants. In the depths of the smouldercone, abysian warlocks immediately profited from the disappearance of the One: They started experimenting with their brethren to create genetically superior creatures, half-demon half-abysians. These demonbreds are fanatically loyal to their ancestral god.
Little is known of what happened to the other countries. The Sidhe of Eriu remain in their island, and giants have still been seen in Jotunheim as well as in Ashdod. The priests of Marignon, most fanatical worshippers of the One, haven't been heard of and no news got out of that country after the catastrophe. The winged men of Caelum, the beastmen of Pangaea remain hidden in their mountains and forests, while the tribes of Machaka reverted into their ages-old animism.
The vast cities of C'tis on the banks of the Yellow River are now filled with diseases and men avoid the place, leaving it to its lizardmen inhabitants.

Will one of these new gods emerge as the new Pantocrator?
Are there other beings of great power hiding in remote parts of the world?

Spoiler :

 

[LDiCesare]

I'm still waiting for merciary's email address in order to send orders.
For the first update, check the stats I'll be sending you soon.
In general, I'd like to get orders in order to upload the update on sundays or mondays. This means getting orders on Friday or Saturday if possible, at latest on sunday.

 

[nutranurse]

Quick question: Are we allowed to spend our next turn income? I.E. if our starting gold is 100 and our income is 55, our usable budget for the turn becomes 155?

 

[LDiCesare]

Quick question: Are we allowed to spend our next turn income? I.E. if our starting gold is 100 and our income is 55, our usable budget for the turn becomes 155?

Yes. 10char

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

Does the number next to a province mean the strength of that province? Like is Seul(12) a very weak country that could be easily taken by a country with a 38 or 56 next to it?
And finding Magic sites, does that have to wait for a later tech?
Edit: How do we word tactical orders for our soldiers? Could you send an example of orders?

 

[LDiCesare]

Does the number next to a province mean the strength of that province? Like is Seul(12) a very weak country that could be easily taken by a country with a 38 or 56 next to it?

No.
Seul(12) means Seul is province number 12 on the province map.
Right now you have no idea what the strength of a province is. But then you have no armt either, only a pretender. You can pay 5 fold to get scouting information on neighboring provinces.

And finding Magic sites, does that have to wait for a later tech?

No, you can start that immediately. The better your mage, the higher the chance of success. There's a limited number of sites in each province, each of them requiring a given level in one path to be found. You can also create your own sites but that usually costs mana and that's in short supply for the moment.

Edit: How do we word tactical orders for our soldiers? Could you send an example of orders?

Well, just like you would in any NES I suppose. Keep in mind updates cover several years so potentially several battles. When you have researched some spells, things may become complex but in the meantime it can be quite simple. Here are a few examples:

Spoiler :

Suppose you're trying to invade a plains country where you expect to meet crappy infantry backed up with slingers, and bring 1 heavy infantry and 1 light cavalry unit
Army moves with the light cavalry fanned wide and scouting ahead and the heavy infantry following in tight formation. Camps are made every night and guarded in case of ambush.
When meeting with enemy troops, light cavalry assesses their strength. If they look like isolated scouts, the cavalry will try to slay them to prevent them from warning their chiefs. If it's a sizable army, some cavalry are sent around to make sure there's no other army/reinforcement. Another part stays near the enemy without engaging or harassing, just retreating from contact but staying close, just out of slings range. The remaining riders come to warn the heavy infantry which marches to meet the enemies.
Heavy infantry closes in. Light cavalry regroups and throws javelins at the enemy, checking if they can lure some into a charge in order to disorganize their troop placement. They will retreat to avoid slingers' fire and wait for heavy infantry to engage combat with enemy infantry. When they are engaged, light cavalry will try to flank the enemy and take out the slingers.
The same tactics will be used should several armies be met. It the odds look really bad (outnumbered 2+ to 1), armies will retreat. Light cavalry will harass the enemy trying to gain time for heavy infantry. If it appears flight is impossible, heavy infantry will look for a strong defensive position (hills, woods) to fight in. Light cavalry will only harass and flee, leaving heavy infantry if they cannot be saved.

Spoiler :

Suppose you've got a lot of stealthy light infantry moving through neutral territory
Army moves as stealthily as possible through province Whatsitnamed. They will travel in small groups and use woods as much as they can, avoiding main roads, with two scouting squads looking for safe/hidden paths in advance. The general gives each squad an objective and meeting point (town, hamlet, whatever) for a given period (1 week usually) where the squad leaders regroup and are given orders for the next period according to the scouts' reports. If met by soldiers, groups are ordered to scatter and flee, hopefully some individuals may be caught but most of them will be able to reach the next rendezvous.
There isn't really much tactical orders here since fight is not expected and the army is very homogeneous anyway.

Spoiler :

Some later-game orders: You have 1 wizard-priest unit with some mid-level earth spells, 1 heavy infantry, 1 sacred light cavalry and 1 light infantry (archer) unit.
A few light cavalries scout ahead of the army, but most of them stay near the main corps, guarding the flank. Heavy infantry walks first, followed by mages, and archers close the march.
When an enemy is spotted, you could give alternate orders if you know what to expect heavy infantry deploys and charges while archers shoot arrows from behind. Light cavalries stay near the wizard-priests who bless them. Once blessed, the cavalry will try to move round the opponent on both sides, trying to attack their rear or counter any flankers of their own. Wizard-priests cast blade wind spells at enemies with weak armors, or try to destroy enemies' armors.

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

Thanks, those will help a lot.
Can you search multiple times for a magical site in the same province?

 

[Seon]

How much is it to colonize another province?

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

You don't colonize, you conquer them. They all have military's and can defend themselves. You first should scout them.

 

[LDiCesare]

Yes, the land is populated everywhere and people may not be happy to see you. Better to scout and send troops. Alternately, you can send priests to convert the pagans. Once you have established your faith there, you may try to annex them peacefully but it's not very likely to succeed, depending on the local government, if any, and would cost variable amount. War is a surer way to expand.

 

[Kyzarc Fotjage]

Can NPC nations invade?
How are priests in combat?
Do we PM you communications with the NPC's, or just put those into orders?
I really should shut up sometime.

 

[T_F]

When are orders due?

 

[T_F]

Also, I probably missed the post this was covered in, but what do troops cost?

 

[nutranurse]

Orders are due on Fri/Sat, and troop cost is in the eighth post.

 

[Seon]

ITs in OP XCLXCL

 

[Seon]

Spoiler :

It has always been known that there was something in the forests near the coasts. Some old men said that it was a giant snake that ate people who came too close, others said that it was a fantastic bird that appeared every hundred years, a few said that it was a wizard that never became old.

The Church of the Pancrator declared that such tales were heresy, and attempted to stamp it out whenever they could. But still, every once in a while, young fisherman that went near the forests would see it. And they would come back with even bigger tales than the ones that went before.

The Church even sent their own priests to kill whatever it was that lurked near the city and the forest. They always came back empty handed. Whatever it was, it was clever, and the tales of how the thing escaped the hunters were added to the already increasing myth.

Then the cataclysm. The Church suddenly collapsed, and dark cloud covered the sky for months. The seas receded back, and our therugs were left without any god to worship. The government which was based upon religion quickly fell apart.

I was one of the people who immediately packed and left for other lands. There was nothing keeping me here anymore. Then, I decided to visit the forests that I played in when I was children one last time. I didn’t think I would come back.

Then I saw it, it was a bird, as some had said. It was perched on top of a branch in a tree. It stared at me and I stared at it. After a long time, it began showing me things. He showed me my childhood, and hosts of other past events that happened. When I awoke from that dreamy state, one that stared at me was not a bird, but rather, a man. He did not say anything, but I knelt in front of him and worshipped him.

When I brought him to the city, the archtherugs were too quick to fall to their knees and worship him. Immediately, the government began to reorganize themselves around him. Celes, although he would always smile at everyone, sometimes had calculative serpentine eyes when he played chess with another one of his advisor. And it scares me sometimes.

I think my stories suck but what the Heck