Note: Orders Orders format.
Please use e-mail only to submit your orders. Please indicate your orders with the [Civ Name] Final Orders [Turn Number] format.
Note: Orders Due Orders for reconnaissance scouting missions are due Thursday, March 6th. General orders are due Sunday, March 9th.
Note: Recon Orders Your recon orders should only be used to outline reconnaissance missions. If you want to attack with your recon units or otherwise use them for non-recon type missions, please just include it in your regular orders.
Also- now that you have had a chance to use them a few times, do you think the recon unit buff is too strong? Is having free recon too powerful a tool? If not, is it balanced? Some of you have been able to make very excellent use of your scouts and I want to know what you think of the reconnaissance missions.
Note: Rule Change: the workforce and the improvement Previously I had decreed that an improvement left without a workforce for a prolonged period of time (2-3 turns) would begin to degrade and need maintenance. This is no longer the case. You can leave an improvement without anyone working it for as long as you want and it wont degrade (you just wont get any benefit from it).
UPDATE Eight: Years 276-300: Kappa Mawah Struck by Tali, Grigori Uncover Ancient Ruins of Patria, Hallowed Hunted, Orcs
Kappa hit by Hurricane
In the 298th year of rebirth Tali strikes the Kappa with her full fury and vengeance. Great winds and waves come screaming in from the Sodden Sky Seas and strike directly at Kappa Mawah. Upon reaching the great Edsun Hand mountains the winds scream through high mountain passes and bring unexpectedly warm wet weather to the Ir-O-Kee but by then the winds have dissipated and the damage to their camps is very minimal.
The damage to the Kappa capital however, is immense. Winds knock over long-lived jungle and rainforest trees. Mud homes are crushed by flying vegetation and felled trees. Others are swept away by the winds themselves. Waves travel up river tributaries bringing swelling and washing away homes and fish traps. Deaths number in the 1000s.
Some Kappa, being a religious people, wonder what they have done to invoke Talis anger and many wonder at what sort of sacrifice might be appropriate to appease her anger. Kappa begin catching wild birds and treating them like honoured guests, serving them honey and the best fish before uttering prayers over them and releasing them.
Kappa Mawah loses 1 Kappa fishing trap. Two hamlets are degraded to cottages. Population is reduced by 1. Kappa national stability is reduced by 1.
The Ruins of Earlier Civilizations Hide Many Surprises (part 3: the exploration)
Were old and grey but finally we get to live out our lifes dream- lets get see whats beyond the door
Grigori Explorer Dayan Whitecane seconds prior to springing a poison needle trap
In the 276th year of rebirth the Grigori governors orders their elite unit of commandoes, the Fists of Balance to escort a pair of explorers and acheologists into the ancient ruins, thought to be those of Patria. They also ensure the trip is properly supplied with dry rations, torches, rope, etc.
In the beginning there is little evidence of any inhabitants to the ruins beyond the occasional small clawed footprint but as the exploration follows subterranean tunnels and ancient forgotten thoroughfares and courtyards all buried under tons of rock and earth, it quickly becomes apparent that the ruins are indeed inhabited and that the inhabitants have little love for surface-dwellers. Traps are sprung; poison needles, deadfall traps, closing doors, rooms with roofs that suddenly collapse- all claim a few casualties, including one of the explorers but the fists of balance are aptly suited to avoid traps. Their martial arts training and quick reflexes help prevent too many fatalities while their finely tuned senses help detect many traps before they are sprung. As the expedition heads deeper and deeper into the old ruins there is evidence of ancient temples, many dedicated to Ceridwen and Oghma and fine treasures begin to turn up- silver chalices, gold-embroidered tapestries, ancient armour and weapons. Many are made of iron and badly rusted but 6 suits of chainmail are made of a very light whitish-silver material, harder than bronze and lighter than wood and remain whole and unrusted. This is when the lizard-like humanoids that speak in high-pitched dog-like barks begin their attack. They use blow-darts to fire poison needles and their initial volleys prove quite fatal to a significant number of the fists of balance but the little creatures then make the mistake of engaging the grigori martial artists directly and this proves disastrous for them. They are ultimately routed and sent scurrying back into the darkness. After that they make occasional hit and run tactics, again with the poison darts but they no longer attempt to engage the fists of balance.
Ultimately the fists adapt to their skirmishing attacks, using thick tapestries as shields to absorb the blowgun darts and counter-attacking whenever able. The final showdown involves a lizard-humanoid leader, taller than the rest and armed with a spear- too long for the creature- that trails a magical glowing cloud of silvery sparks and his handax-wielding bodyguards. The conflict ends with the death of the creatures leader and heavy casualties to the fists but the fists ultimately overcome. The cost is very great and most other units would have fled when attrition reached that high; in the end there is less then 10% of their number remaining.
When the expedition returns to the surface they have learnt much about ancient Patria and found many treasures.
The remaining explorer already speaks of searching for further ruins, convinced that Patrian cities once dotted the plains where the Grigori now make their home.
Grigori fists of balance are wounded and require 22 gold to retrain to full strength. They may not move until at least 10 gold is spent on recovering their numbers.
Grigori find 12 gold worth of treasure.
Grigori gain 20rp to be spent wherever they like.
Grigori gain magical sparkly spear whose function remains unknown.
Hallowed Hunted
Perhaps they had been naïve to think that the Sidar would not hunt for them if they took up residence in the southern edges of the Hallows forest. Perhaps they thought that the Sidar would be busy with their northern brethren that fled to the Luchuirp. Perhaps they thought that the thick forests and its many critters would prevent the Sidar scouts from finding them.
Many of the Hallowed did not flee to the Luchuirp, preferring instead to try and make a life for themselves along the coastline of the Hallows forest and this is where the Sidar scouts found their villages. Not long afterwards the Sidar military commanders gave the order: Locate and engage the trespassers; teach them what we think of their violation of our territory.
Using scouts to guide the way and to help avoid any traps, the Sidar military was able to locate the southern villages without too much difficulty. The militias were not all at full strength however. One had lost nearly half their number during the Luchuirp charge on their lines and no new recruiting had occurred to refill their numbers. A second unit was also slightly undermanned, the result of Hallowed forest traps and skirmishing with fleeing Hallowed. These two units brought up the rear while the untested and fully manned first unit led the way, guided by the scouts. Commander Greyhand was in command of the untested unit and upon seeing the first village he ordered an all-out charge. The effect was not nearly as decisive as he might have hoped. Two militia units ran into the village fighting the villagers wherever they could find them while the under-strength militia unit and the scouts stayed in reserve. Bogged down in the village streets and in hand to hand and house to house fighting with enraged villagers desperate to save their families from these legendary butchers, commander Greyhand and his company did not notice the approach of the Hallowed peasant militia. A charge at the unorganized flank of Greyhands unit led to the commanders death and the complete rout of the two militia units. Only the rallying call and quick thinking of the scout units division commander was able to prevent an all out disaster.
The militia units, now undermanned, retreated back into the forests under the command of scout-commander Sivius Whisperer. Commander Whisperer was not the most senior man but he had a plan and the others listened.
The next day, as dawn broke, two units of militia again approached the village, but this time more cautiously, awaiting the arrival of the enemy militia. As the enemy militia took up position opposite these two units, Whisperer sent his scouts into the sea. They had been ordered to prepare packages of reeds and weeds to float before them as they swam and walked down the coastline, only their noses and weapons held above the water. The third militia unit, the most gravely injured unit which had fought the Luchuirp earlier, was again kept in reserve.
The battle began with a slow charge by the Sidars primary units of militia. The enemy, however, was defending its family and its formation was protected by the edges of the village.
Now came the dangerous part. Commander Whisperer had organized the two militia units with strong flanks but a weak centre. His plan was for a partial rout. If this occurred the enemy militia would push through the Sidar centre and be caught between the two flanks where it could be charged by both the scouts in the rear and the reserve militia. If it went badly, the small rout in the centre could signal all along the line and the entire line could run. It was the moment of truth. The centre began to buckle, as planned, and finally fled before the massed might of the Hallowed militia. Unfortunately the Sidar left flank also began to ripple and panic and finally it too routed. The reserve militia charged, as it had been ordered to do, reinforcing the center even as the Sidar right encircled the enemys left flank. Commander Whispered had his scouts rush from the water and instead of attacking the rear, engaged the enemys open right flank (closest to the sea and where the Sidar militia had run). The scouts attack rallied the running Sidar, who turned to re-engage the Hallowed militia and the enemy was completely surrounded and surprised by the sudden appearance of the wet scouts and the reserve militia. The ruse had worked and the entire enemy formation was slain to a man.
Soon afterwards the towns inhabitants were killed as well.
Commander Whisperer led a second attack on another village and this one also presented a peasant militia for defence but Whisperer was able to divide the enemy by driving a wedge into its formation and defeat that one also. This village surrendered.
Despite their success, attrition was beginning to take its toll and Commander Whispered ordered a general retreat, prisoners in tow, so as to recuperate and reinforce his wounded units.
Sidar militia unit requires 10 gold to recuperate to full strength. A second Sidar milita units requires 15 gold to recuperate to full strength (this includes losses inflicted in earlier battles with Hallowed and with traps). A third Sidar militia requires 20 gold to recuperate to full strength (this includes losses inflicted by the Luchuirp charge).
Sidar pillage 10 gold from Hallowed villages.
Sidar gain 10rp to use towards military technology.
Sidar take 400 Hallowed prisoners.
For the Horde!
Though not many Amurite or Bannor citizens left their homeland to follow the charismatic speaker Jelhid the Inspired into the wildlands, some did. As the years passed however, many returned to their homelands, quietly slinking their way back into their old lives, trying best as they could to avoid upsetting the constabulary and drawing attention to themselves.
Not too many asked why they had a change of heart but ultimately, their story was told. With the passing of time, some began to talk of what they had seen when they had followed the priest of Bhall. They spoke of a great gathering of goblins from the Sabel hills in Bannor lands, the few surviving gnolls from the shores of Night Loon lake near the ruins of the ancient gnoll village and orcs from the Crying hills near the Hippus. Others, apparently of even stranger races, are still trickling in as they answer the call to organize and congregate.
These diverse people had rallied around a powerful orcish warlord named General Grak on the shores of the Cleft lake. General Grak was said to be undefeated in both personal and battlefield combat and his skill and courage at the head of his elite unit of charioteers are renown throughout the humanoid races. The priest Jelhid the Inspired had publicly backed the warlord and provided religious support to his dreams of unification and conquest while at the same time filling General Grak and his followers with ideas of rage, violence and revenge. Around the beastmens camp, talk is of revenge upon the Bannor for their butchering of the goblin tribes, of revenge upon the Hippus for their attacks on the gnolls and revenge upon the Amurites, and to a lesser extent the Bannor, for their persecution of the worship of Bhall.
What will this talk amount to?
The Hippus Challenge
Hippus scouts perform a reconnaissance mission into the Crying hills to determine what force the orcs sighted there (last turn) consist of and what their aims are. They are the first to witness the gathering of bestial clans around General Grak.
Immediately the Hippus lords send word that embarrasses be sent and that the scouts keep continued watch over the gathering.
The scouts trail the orcs to a great gathering near the Cleft Lake and help the Hippus embarrasses find their way there. The embarrasses however, are killed and their corpses feasted upon; the surviving wild gnolls taking great care to ensure they are amongst those who get priority at the feasting fires.
Hippus scouts trail the gathering and are able to move about at will easily enough during the day hours but during the night, the woods and hills belong the goblin scouting bands arrived from the Sabel Hills. The Hippus camps, despite the scouts best attempts at concealment are found and set upon by these goblins from Sabel hills. The Hippus are able to beat back the goblins attack with minimal loss, the attack being little more then a probe of the humans weapons but now their position was now in jeopardy and they had to flee before the mass of Graks army descended upon them.
Meanwhile the Hippus army, led by the Blades of Camulos had marched westward and set up camp at the site of the ancient gnoll camp (on the north-western shores of Night Loon Lake and up-river of the orc encampment).
In the North, Hippus scouts attempted to flee back to the main Hippus army but were overtaken while trying to march through the night only four days after fleeing the orc camp. Goblin and gnolls scouts were able to take up positions in the woods west of the scouts path and ambush them, trapping them between their numbers and the great river connecting Night Loon and Cleft lakes. Initially the battle was undecided but as dawn approached the Hippus scouts were forced eastwards towards the river and the flatter lands there. This is when great orcish chieftan Grak himself appeared at the head of a column of orcish charioteers. Their initial charge scattered the disorganised Hippus (and slew a few goblins as well) and they quickly rode down and speared the fleeing Hippus. The only ones that survived were scouts able to swim. Again there was a great feast. Survivors say that even Bhalls priest, Jelhid the Inspired, partook of Hippus flesh.
The surviving scouts rendezvoused with the remainder of the Hippus army and were debriefed just as orcish and goblin militia began to assemble around the Hippus camp. These orcs and goblins were apparently unprepared for the size of the Hippus army and decided not to attack the fortified position. Instead they took up siege positions and began the long wait that would starve the defenders out.
The Hippus, however, had been fired up with the call of battle, the glory of blood and the teachings of Camuloss followers and they knew that they outnumbered the besiegers.
At midday on one of the brightest and sunniest days of the summer the Hippus army charged out of the camp in a semi-organised line and quickly engulfed the humanoids who, in the bright light, and outnumbered, were at a decisive disadvantage. The battle lasted less then 30 minutes before the entire humanoid line routed. Those that survived fled back to their northern gathering and their general. Next time Grak would not underestimate the Hippus and their fury.
Hippus warriors looted the humanoid forward camp but were unable to take any prisoners.
Hippus scouts are undermanned and require 13 gold to return to full strength. Hippus Blades of Camulos are undermanned and require 2 gold to bring to full strength. Two units of peasant militia are are undermanned and require 2 gold to bring to full strength.
Hippus gain 10rp towards military technology.
Hippus gain 5 gold from looting the enemys command and supply tents.
Corrupted Mana
General Caswa and his Shield Of Kylorin had only just finished accepting the surrender of Yagus and the defeated nobles militia (little more than bandits) when suddenly the air around them was filled with a thick acrid smoke that reeked of rotten eggs and sulphur pits. Had the Bannor been present they would have recognised the scent of Hell immediately.
The clouds were not empty however. They were full of cackling, clawed and winged demons called stirge
The creatures dove and swooped at both armies, attacking indiscriminately, their aerial attacks difficult to counter for both sides who were used to fighting men and not flying demons. Many a man was hewed with claw and talon as cackling cries and a chaotic frenzy of wings filled the air around them. Many fell, never to rise again, their livers and hearts feasted upon even as battle raged all around them.
The Shield of Kylorin fought back as best as they could while many of the bandits fled (often to be overcome and slain). Amurite cudgels flailed about and many of the stirges were brought low. Flashes of minor magics stung, burnt, bruised and froze the demons and more stirges fell but even as these were unsummoned in puffs of foul-smelling brown and yellow smoke others appeared with a loud clap and more of the hell-smoke.
It was commander Caswa himself who witnessed the caster summoning the creatures. It was an imp, the very same yellow and red little bat-like humanoid creature that had escaped from Hell-Boys body at his execution.
Caswa made a decision; he ordered a controlled retreat. There was no point in fighting replenishing magical summons. He would need a plan; he would need to strike at the imps themselves. And the Magus would need to be informed. If the imps had corrupted this intersection of magic energy what had they done to others? How far did their influence extend?
Amurites Shield of Kylorin are undermanned and require 5 gold to retrain to full strength
A Cold Winter
The winter of 291 is the coldest the Sheim can remember in their ~300 year history. Throughout the long winter nights, in the woods around the longhouses can be heard loud thunder-like cracking explosions that snap the sleeping to startled wakefulness as the sap inside the trees freezes and the trees themselves explode from the cold.
The children play a game where their spit on the ground only to hear a bouncing sound as the spittle freezes before it reaches the ground.
While humans are able to prepare for long winters (the Sheim after all, are quite used to long cold winters), caribou, hare, and their predators cannot prepare as well. The cold and the thick blanket of snow makes finding food difficult and it is not long before hungry almost-skeletal wolves and the occasional snow leopard begin to hang about the fringes of Galveholm and Bair Lacuna. Foragers, trappers and huntsmen begin disappearing into the wilds and not returning and soon the Sheim population is abuzz with fear over the starving predators of the woods.
Over the course of the winter of 291 almost 30 people go missing, often leaving only a bloody trail leading into the woods.
Luckily the following winters return to their normal (albeit very cold) temperatures and the animals are not forced to prey on people any longer.
Sheim lose 1 stability
A Monument Impresses
The northern fishermen and sailors have begun to trade with the Sheim in earnest. They are the
Eekin. Many come to Bair Lacuna to trade their fish or simply to pass some time between long days of monotonous and numbingly cold fishing expeditions. Others, who have come to harvest the Sheim timber need tools to work it and pass through Bair Lacuna to buy tools or food, or again, simply to meet and socialize.
Many find the towns dominating monument to Os-Gabella and her daughters incredibly impressive, being larger and more
permanent than anything they have seen previously.
The Eekin, who possess no such cultural achievements are awed and some (although not many) decide to stay amongst the Sheim, working as fishermen or labourers wherever they can find jobs.
Sheim gain 10 rp towards small water craft and 15 rp towards shore-based fishing. The population of Bair Lacuna increases by 1.
The Blessing of the Forests
No elf can remember there ever being a sizeable population of such large and healthy deer on the White Mist Isle previously. But suddenly there was and it was quite impossible to deny that even if there had never been such creatures there before, there was now.
These deer, which appear like north American white-tailed deer but stand at least 18 inches taller, on average do not fear the elves of White Mist Elves and soon hunters and foragers manage to kill a few, bringing the meat back to their families to feed them.
Some elves council that the deer population should be allowed to grow unhindered and that a ban should be placed upon their hunting until their population has grown and stabilized. Others suggest that immediate growth is of prime importance and that their numbers be culled so as to feed the people with their meat.
White Mist Elves gain 10 food. This will continue next turn unless a ban is placed upon the culling of the mysterious deer. If such a ban is enacted there is a chance that a new deer resource develops.
Grumblings of Dissent amongst the Als
At first it began with only a few select reports detailing failed slave revolts but soon the reports began to detail dissent amongst the land-owners and quarry masters.
Slaves had seen their fellows released (or heard of it at least) and clamoured for similar freedoms. Slave-owners were afraid that their leaders would order full-scale slave releases resulting in massive economic losses for them. Dissent grew.
The affair comes to a head in 281 when an entire sandstone quarry is taken over by slaves who barricade themselves inside with several freeman and slave-owner hostages. Ultimately the affair ends in a debacle as the local constabulary storms the quarry and both slaves and hostages are slaughtered.
These effects are directly due to a reduced stability, the result of adopting slavery, the massive drought that led to the dark clouds and the escape of several thousand slaves in past generations and finally the most recent crop failures. Some advisors are asking their leadership to develop cultural improvements to regain the peoples trust or at least obedience. Others ask their leadership to take a hard-line military approach.
Als lose 10 gold.
When Things get Tough, the Tough get Drinking
Not all of the Al see the development of slave revolts, crop failures and general dissent as a time to worry and despair. One enterprising Als noble family, who has long developed a sort of low-quality moon-shine in their back garden for private consumption has been exploring the development of more refined brewing and distillation techniques and they believe that, with the proper funding, the could develop a much larger-scale brewery that could provide a high-quality wheat and hops-based fermented beverage (they call it beer) to the entire nation.
The only thing they need is a little money.
Als have an opportunity to buy a brewery for 20 gold. Opportunity lasts exactly 1 turn (act now or lose your chance).
Killmorph and Bannor Religious Forums
Informally at first, and later more formally as local village and district governors realize the appeal, the forum of faiths continue throughout the Bannor nation. People use the meetings as an excuse to gather and gossip, to trade and mostly to watch silver-tongued rhetoricians and dialecticians as they battle for religious dominance with weapons of barbed words and carefully thought arguments.
For a long time these forums are dominated by the Sabelethists, a coalition of ancestor worshippers and followers of Junil. There are also pure ancestor worshippers, supporters of Lugus and even, occasionally the pagan or follower of Bhall.
In the summer of 277 however, a new and well-organized faction begins to appear at the forums. They are the followers of the Runes of Killmorph. The followers claim to have been exploring the deep tunnels under the north-western mountains where the goblins once lived and to have uncovered deep dwarven tunnels and massive cathedral-like excavations of immense size and unspeakable beauty. These tunnels and subterranean buildings are inlaid with dwarven runes which scholars have been able to translate. The result is a description of a loving, family-oriented goddess of earth who rewards those who work honestly for their living and who have strong bonds within their clan, their nation and most of all, their family. She also values material wealth fairly earned. The new tenants and the obvious age and wisdom of the ancients are immediately appealing to many of the forum-goers and the Runes of Killmorph grows quickly in popularity.
The effect is not nearly as divisive as some might fear. The Runes council obedience to ones lord and an honest days work. Workers are motivated and more obedient and the Runes themselves mesh nicely with the current dominant religions of Sabelism and Lugus-worship.
Bannor gain 2 food, 4 gold and receive a free domestic commerce workforce in Sabel Upon Gate
New Map
Map remains unchanged.
New Technologies
No new techs
here's the tech tree none the less:
Please note that hunting is 55rp not 50 as indicated but otherwise i think its all good.
New Units
Magical Sparkly Spear- function unknown, stats unknown
