PreSLNES I: Masters of Ethereal

[Massive Attack]

Juukkeshi/ Massive Attack
Race: Dark Elf
Citadel: Haru Gom (translates as "White Fortress")
Government: Oligarchy

Mana (per turn/crystals): 50/100
Gold (per turn/coffers): 0/200
Castles:
Cities:
Towns:

Units:

Spoiler Warlock :

Dark Elven Warlocks
1 warlock
Veteran (8)
Short Swords (2)
Leather (2)
Skilled Magic (0)
12 gold to train; 6 gold, 10 mana to maintain

The warlocks of the dark woods are capable of powerful feats of magic that can cripple and curse their enemies. Beware when approaching a city of the Dark Elves.

Spoiler Undead Horde :

1000 Undead
Conscript 2
2 to train, 1 to maintain

The undead are reanimated corpses, theorized to be created by a sort of twisted necrotic enchantment. The undead have no self-thought, and given no direction will merely stay in place. They cannot process more than simple commands--the most common and effective is "eat" (although they do not need to eat). When told to "eat" something, the undead will attack full speed the targets with full force and energy. They can run and chase without getting tired. Most undead only use their hands, claws, or teeth, but if a corpse died clutching a weapon, it would continue to do so.

Spoiler Doppleganger :

1 Shapeshifter
Veteran (8)
Daggers (0)
Skilled Magic (0)
8 gold to train; 4 gold, 10 mana to maintain

The doppleganger is a uknown type of creature or race that is rarely ever seen in its true form. For most mortals, its existance has been reduced to some story (usually involving mirrors). Dopplegangers can take the form and mimic the actions of another sentient being, or even animals. Dopplegangers do not have any of the target's knowledge execpt what has been observed. The dopplegangers are trained in the art of assissinations, can use their skills to cause political chaos, sabotage, or other subterfuge.

Spoiler Blood Moon Champion :

1 Champion
Elite (16)
Swords (8)
Skilled Magic (0)
Plate (16)
Netheryl (40)
80 to train; 40 gold, 10 mana to maintain

The Blood Moon Champion is the personal warlord of the Necromancer Juukkeshi. The Blood Moon Champion wears the ultimate armor--Netheryl-based plate. At the same time the BMC has considerable magical power, mostly concentrated offensively. The BMC's martial skills concentrate on his heavy sword and he is a master at weilding it. The BMC's usual modus operandi is to challenge the most powerful warrior of the opposition to a duel, using some magic ability to push for acceptance. The stakes of the challenged are determined ahead of time (e.g. victory of two armies, control of a town, etc).

Forgot about the spell:

Spoiler Plague of the Dead :

Direct Attack (Settlement): 50
Range 100km: 30
Wondrous power: 200
Sustainable

Effects: Target settlement loses a number of population and gains a number of Undead Horde units (generally pop lost/1000). Each additional turn the spell is sustained, additional population is lost and additional units are created. Any Undead Horde units created this way attack other living beings and/or units in and around the settlement. The units are sustained by the spell until killed or the spell terminates.

Descriptions: Brains . . .

 

[Starlife]

That looks cool, Massive Attack. Nice to see another Dark Elf player, and one that will bring more of the undead into play.

I want to remind you, as I reminded thomas:
With such a powerful spell (yours is somewhere between a summon and a curse, by the way, which is fine), there is a very good chance the town will not lose all of its population, but only some of it. I tend to discourage absolute language, but you can use it in your description as long as you acknowledge that more often than not, it won't be the entire population of the town (complete destruction of a town would be a symbol of divinity... tormenting a town and what not... is a different story). In fact, it pretty much will never be the entire population of a town, or even half for that matter (if you raised its power, perhaps it would be closer, but still never completely turn the whole population).

Also, if you want an undead unit to last after the spell is cast, you should make it Sustainable (half mana cost to sustain per turn). If the spell is meant to be a one-time hit sort of thing, and one that will simply cause a bunch of confusion during that turn, than Sustainability is not necessary.

And, one more thing with that spell. Since your spell is technically not a summoning spell, those undead from that spell will not technically be movable, command-able units, but rather completely out of your control (summon spells are limited to the summoning of 1 summoned unit - and summoned units are completely based on mana power and do not have traits as normal units do). If you want to command, the spell would have to be limited to only summoning 1 unit, and it would have to be Sustainable.

However, I see real potential with your spell being less of a summoning one and more of a curse, perfect for armies moving through regions with a town in the way - cause some confusion in the town, a one-time hit sort of spell.

So, you have many options.

 

[Massive Attack]

The idea was to replace gold cost with mana cost for creating regular undead units (~20 mana per unit versus 2 gold, not exactly efficient). If it has to be pure magic or summoning, I will modify it to make more sense.

 

[Massive Attack]

Okay, I went with the curse version and made it sustainable. No control over "units" and they die when the spell ends or killed.

 

[LDiCesare]

I can't see erez's image in-thread either, although I had no problem with the map.

 

[erez87]

I can't even see my picture

 

[Immaculate]

Can people wield a pike and a shield concurrently? In real-life no... but if we are allowing that, i am going to edit my hoplites to pikes instead of shields for more spear-points per area.

 

[Starlife]

Okay, I went with the curse version and made it sustainable. No control over "units" and they die when the spell ends or killed.

Sounds good. Will be a Diablo-esque nightmare for some towns.

The first time I couldn't see erez's image was because it was an image tag going to a website. I could see it for a bit, but now I can't again. weird.

 

[Starlife]

Can people wield a pike and a shield concurrently? In real-life no... but if we are allowing that, i am going to edit my hoplites to pikes instead of shields for more spear-points per area.

Good question. I'm going to say pikes require two hands. They are rather cheap in this, so I am thinking they require a sort of limit.

 

[Vertinari118]

It depends on the pike is the short answer. Using wikipedia as a quick source a pike is defined as:

"A Pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown .... the pike was an extremely long weapon, varying considerably in size, from 3 to 7.5 metres (10 to 25 feet) long."

A very short pike, or very long spear, of 3m in length could be wielded effectively with a shield in the other hand. Spears of around this length or shorter were the staple weapon of Greek hoplites. The Sarissa, the pike used by the Macedonians under Phillip II and Alexander, had to be wielded with two hands but a small shield, about 2ft across, could be suspended across the left side of body using straps. These were pikes between 4 and 7 meters in length. When pikes reemerged in the early Medieval period this tactic was lost and other tactics were adopted.

In short, a player could have a unit with pikes and shields but the player would have to accept the pikes would be shorter and therefore at a disadvantage against other pike units. It would also make difficult for less well-trained men to manoeuvre effectively on the battlefield.

Or we could classify shorter pikes, reminiscent of the sarissa, as spears.

Or we could say no Macedonian phalanxes are allowed.

 

[LDiCesare]

Yes, what Vertinari118 said. Pikes are such a broad range of weapons, basically meaning a longer spear, that the answer has to vary a lot, but longer shaft means smaller shield.

 

[Terrance888]

Wendell the “Tall”
Race: Halfling
Citadel: Marburg Fords (Name is Marburg Confederacy)
Government: Oligarchy of Chiefs under him that give advice. He mostly gives general governing orders to local rulers, but personal matters receive stringent attention
Spellbook:
Unity

Spoiler :

Enchant
0-100 KM
Small Burst
Finesse
Not Sustainable= Mana Cost= 330
This spell operates on the spirit level. Every indivisuall will suddenly feel his own spirit pressing against those indivisuals around them, slowly this wall will seem to weaken until their souls combine at a profound level while keeping their indivisuality. This is extremely unpredictable, depending on the strength of the people it is cast upon, but upon Hobbits it leads to great personal and interpersonal strength, and the ability to work together like limbs of a single, many-minded creature. A weaker and wider spell is used to enchant wardens. After the spell ends, it often takes weeks before the enchanted stopped talking in ‘We’s and lose secondary advantages, such as extremely noticeable of others. Most importantly is that fear does not seemed to be traveled through the links for Halflings yet, but it is unknown of the true effects on other races.

Mana (50/ 100):
Gold (0 / 200):
Units: List your unique units and how many you currently operate in full.

Halfling Adventurers

Spoiler :

5 adventurers
Veteran (8)
Leather (2)
Short Swords (2)
Netheryl (20)
32 gold to train, 16 to maintain

Halflings have long been known as a folk to be able to endure quite a bit. Adventurers are much the same way. Halflings have found a special attachment to the metal called Netheryl, and they have become adept at resisting the powers of magic.

Wardens

Spoiler :

25 Wardens
Elite (16)
Netheryl (20)
Skilled (20)
Shield and Sword (10)
66 gold to train/33 to maintain
20 Mana to train/10 to maintain
The Peace Keepers of the Halflings are normally their only standing ‘force’. They wield the best that a village can provide. These soldiers volunteer from the braves and usually tallest of Halfling breeds, yet are still tiny compared to other races soldiers. However, their Netheryl, which can turn the force of magic and the scraps of metal, and their magic is what they stand apart. Those who wish to be wardens wander at the new moon with the shaman, absorbing the simple ness of the earth and the peacefulness of the area and its own power. After then they are weaved with a week’s worth of power, bringing together this power and binding it within them. Thereafter they stand stoutly like a dwarf, and their call to defend their values diverts arrows from other Halflings, brings hope in their hearts, and a fight much greater than their size suggests. When empowered by unity, they combine their magic as one to reshape the battlefield.

Hedgehogs

Spoiler :

200 Halberdiers
Halbards (4)
Trained (4)
Chailmail (8)
16 gold to train/8 gold to maintain
The basic citizen of Marburg called up to defend the land. With basic training and halbards to make up for their stature, they form massive blocks. Their small size and craftsmanship of the weapons meant that there are many more edges of much sharper quality than in any other halbard-block in Ethereal. They are protected from frontal charges by up to 10 or more halbard heads ahead, and from arrows by faithful Wardens or Shamans. When empowered by Unity, they march as one like a giant tiny river of death.

Halfling Hurlers

Spoiler :

100 Slingers/Skirmishers
Trained (4)
Slings + Shaped Ammo (Shortbow for 4?)
Dagger (0)
Leather (2)
You tell me
For the swifter of furry feet and sharper of eye are the Hurlers. Instead of halbards to make up for their size, they use knowledge of trajectory of stone instead. For up to medium range even, their thrown stones are aimed well and do conarable damage to shortbows, although it takes longer for them to bring up this strength. For longer distances they use slings, some learning how to shoot it and aim it like a sniper right at a target, while others simply throw it in a general area towards the enemy. Their affinity with the thrown stone and the slung pellet gives them a great advantage in mobilizing a rapid defense and annoyance factor.

Good?

 

[Starlife]

Yes, what Vertinari118 said. Pikes are such a broad range of weapons, basically meaning a longer spear, that the answer has to vary a lot, but longer shaft means smaller shield.

This is as good of a reasoning as I could say, too. If you want a pike and a shield, you'll have to realize that the pike isn't as heavy of a weapon with a shield as it would be if the soldier was carrying only a pike.

 

[Starlife]

Looks great, Terrance. Slings can indeed be shortbows. That is fine in terms of price.

 

[Starlife]

Immaculate: Veil, Wizard of the Dark Elves
Seon: Envoy Lucius, Wizard of Inavi (High Men)
Sonereal: John Faraday, Wizard of Spiral (Barbarians)
Omega124: Ismordar, Wizard of the Burning Tower (Orcs)
LDiCesare: Gwydion, Wizard of Gwynedd (Barbarians)
Northen Wolf: Unknown, Wizard of Hatred (Goblins)
Vertinari118: Elatair, Wizard of Lan'elatair (High Elves)
erez87: Camrol Steedi, Wizard of Stabila (Beastmen)
thomas.berubeg: Lord Arthurdin, Wizard of Hadhodrond (Dwarves)
Massive Attack: Juukkeshi, Wizard of Haru Gom (Dark Elves)
Terrance888: Wendell the “Tall”, Wizard of Marburg Fords (Halflings)

Need a Citadel name from Immaculate.

A good bunch. No Gnoll player, but that's okay. They're kind of an odd bunch.

 

[Milarqui]

@Terrance: what's "indivisuality"?

 

[Terrance888]

My spell check got whacko after my brother made "Allow X into dictonary' and that is how I pronounce it, so I must have missed it. Indivisual? Individual? Huh, never noticed the d. I sometimes say it Induhvisual.

 

[Vertinari118]

Individual is the correct spelling. He means individuality.

 

[Starlife]

I am thinking about posting the map (without mana centers or NPC settlements) sometime in the next few hours, or perhaps tomorrow evening.

Claims will be done on a first-come, first-serve basis.

We still have room for 4 more players (any race is fine).

Spoiler :

O r d e r s​

Spoiler :

1. PM them to me.

2. In your PM title to me, please begin with: "SLNES I Orders, Turn #"

3. Please attach your entire Wizard profile except your background in each set of orders. Remember to include unit/spell costs and maintenance prices. Make sure this profile is updated every turn with new: income, mana, settlements, unit #s, and so on. Make sure the # of units in your army is always updated, otherwise I'll be using old data to process orders.

4. I prefer orders to be well-organized.

For organization, I prefer clear differences between Magic, Military / Warfare, Spending / Infrastructure / Settlements, Foreign Relations / Diplomacy / Trade, Culture, Exploration, and so on. You can organize it however you want or call these categories by other names. The point is, organized orders flow well and will make it clear what exactly you want done.

Orders in bullet form or list form are definitely okay, but I prefer a little more detail than just, "I want to trade with X." Explain how much money you are putting into everything and why.

5. Concise orders are best. I don't want you to go into detail about something in orders that you could easily write a story about. You should of course provide justification for your actions and story-fluff in orders, but attaching massive stories to me via PM is probably not the best way to do things.

6. Clearly indicate where you are moving units, what you are spending gold/mana on, and when you are researching a new spell. Don't take me for a wild goose chase in looking for what your kingdom is actually doing. And please at the end of orders (or somewhere) tell me how much mana you generated, how much you spent, how much you saved (converted into mana crystals), and how much gold you received, how much you spent, and so on.

7. Make the deadline or at least send me a message saying you will be turning your orders in late. It is common courtesy to myself and your fellow players.

8. Remember that any new units or spells need to be proposed to me and subsequently approved before they can be used in-game.

9. If going to war, please try to make orders clear. The more detail, the better, but don't tell me what every single soldier is doing.

10. Please tell me any names that might be relevant. Names of generals, important people in your kingdom, and so on only if you are doing something with them.

Orders can be as specific or as vague as you want them to be, keeping in mind the above guidelines. Orders in the initial stages of the game shouldn't take you too long. Later on, you'll be used to them. Try to make the deadlines. It is better to get them in and have them be rushed and low quality than to not get them in at all.

 

[arya126]

Wait! Give me time to make a nation! Just read the front page, and I am creating a nation now.