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>>34325695
Current Date and Time: Mid-morning on November 16th, 1952PC

>You are Tarfinn for this thread. See #4 in this bin for char sheet: http://pastebin.com/whVL5VjQ

Leaning against the trunk of the tree as you balance on a branch, you scan your surroundings from up high. This is probably one of the more heavily forested areas of Illin, much of the rest of it being farmland. That’s what the map had said and your travel through the area yesterday had confirmed as much. The rocky terrain nearby was supposed to be a defensive line of outposts but, as with most of the province, they lacked defenders. Not that they looked very defensible – you didn’t see the point in a wooden palisade given you could literally just knock it over yourself, to say nothing of your master. Still, the lack of Farunese soldiers meant that the suspicions that Generals Fuurin and Arail had about them focusing in their largest fortresses was probably true.

You see Lieutenant Torphan flying back towards your camp, his armour shining in the sunlight. You wave to catch his attention and he suddenly veers towards you, accelerating hard.

“Lieutenant,” you call out as he approaches, pointing towards the small outpost up the rocky hill. “The outpost up there was abandoned?”

Stopping hard near you, a shocked expression on his face, Torphan replies, “Um, yes, Sir Tarfinn. Like all the others. What are you doing up here?”

“Scouting. I wanted to see the lay of the land myself,” you say. “Okay, job done. Let’s head down.”

“Want a lift-“ Torphan starts to say before you leap out of the top of the tree.

You hear a squawking sound above you as you fall. Strange, you don’t think you’ve heard any bird like that before? Before you can consider the topic any further, you crash to the ground. There’s the sudden clatter of a number of soldiers rising to attention and drawing weapons. Then it suddenly stops.

>continued

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>>34325706
“Damnation, Sir Finn, don’t do that!” says Sir Darren.

“Sir Tarfinn! Are you alright?” Torphan calls as he descends rapidly to your side.

“Of course,” you say, trying to hide your feelings of surprise at their surprise. Or you tried to. You really needed to work on the stoic thing. Your master had that down pat, after all.

You and Torphan give the rest of the team the information you’ve gathered. Caitlyn had given you a motley team to scout out the western front of Illin. You had Lt Torphan as both your flying knight and unit leader, underneath you of course. Sirs Darren, Morn and Perry were members of the Order of the Griffin, their breastplates emblazoned with a gold griffin. Farli, Triss and Rick were arcane archers. It gave a rather mottled viewpoint.

Not that you paid too much attention to them. You’d technically done your job already, as Torphan was arguing. The team should hole up in the abandoned outpost nearby and wait for the main force. At the same time, this was a vital chance to do something important. You know your master wouldn’t just sit around and twiddle his thumbs.

Plus, although nobody else had noticed, it made no sense to send a scouting team here. Karise had several foxes in Farun – why would they not be using them instead of a heavy scouting team like this? You were certain Lynn wanted you to do something.

Or you could do what Sir Darren argued to do, which was head east and try to scout out the main fortress and roads towards Farun itself. There might be some good intellience there.

You…

>1. Agree with Torphan and decide to hole up in the nearby outpost. You’ll make contact with Lynn and get her opinion first.
>2. Agree with Sir Darren and scout out the centre of the province more. Maybe you’ll be able to supply better intel?
>3. Try to make contact with one of Karise’s foxes. They’ll surely know more than you and can give you some targets of opportunity.
>4. Custom

>>34325725
>3. Try to make contact with one of Karise’s foxes. They’ll surely know more than you and can give you some targets of opportunity.

>>34325725
>>2. Agree with Sir Darren and scout out the centre of the province more. Maybe you’ll be able to supply better intel?

>>34325725
>3. Try to make contact with one of Karise’s foxes. They’ll surely know more than you and can give you some targets of opportunity.
Plus, given all the sexual advice Talon's apparently given Finn, he undoubtedly knows how to properly stroke some fluffy tails.

>>34325725
>3. Try to make contact with one of Karise’s foxes. They’ll surely know more than you and can give you some targets of opportunity.

>>34325725

First things first
>3. Find and consult a fox

Now, I'd just like to take a second to thank you OP for reworking the map so it doesn't crash my phone's puny browser. That makes my like better and given the day I've had I really, really appreciate that.

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Note: This Darren has no connection with the Taouran Darren of many, many threads ago.

Also, I got the date wrong. It’s mid-morning on December 15th.

>3.

“We should check with the other scouts in the area,” you say, interrupting Darren and Torphan’s argument. “We can then work out what we do next.”

“Other scouts? I am certain we are the only advance party, Sir Tarfinn,” Torphan says, frowning openly at you.

“We are, but there should be a number of mystic foxes in the area,” you say. “It might not be easy to make contact with them but once we do-“

A sudden thump of somebody hitting the ground behind you interrupts you. Once again, your compatriots draw their weapons and fall into a fighting stance. Once again, you find yourself wondering why these soldiers are so unaware of their surroundings and allies. Maybe this was why your master sighed all the time?

You turn around, saying, “I didn’t realise one of you was so close. We can head up to the outpost and work out what to do next.”

There’s a few long moment as everybody, including the white-tailed fox in front of you, stares at you. Then your soldiers slowly sheathe their weapons as the fox reaches out and ruffles your hair, a few stray bronze locks getting in your vision as she does so.

“You should be more careful, Sir Finn,” she says. “I could have been an enemy.”

“Are there really any enemy foxes in Farun?” you ask innocently.

“I… no, but… The point still remains. You shouldn’t make assumptions like that,” she says, frowning at you. “I am Mana – Karise said that I should keep an eye on you while you were skulking about Farun.”

You make some small talk with Mana as you head into the abandoned outpost. Holding another meeting in the courtyard, you grill Mana on her intelligence.

>continued

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>>34326281
“Firstly, Princess Annette is travelling back to the capital from Brissec. Command felt it was too dangerous to attack her, given she’s travelling in the centre of the province with a sizeable armed guard. A couple dozen mage-knights alongside her elite guard, plus the guards of any checkpoints she might be near,” Mana says.

“I’ve heard of Farun’s elite guard,” Darren says. “Rumour has it that they’re knights as capable as the Tallorn themselves.”

You give a broad smile at that. “Wow. I didn’t realise such a small country as Farun had elite soldiers as capable as one of the largest kingdoms in the world. That’s amazing.”

Mana giggles slightly at that as Darren looks a bit embarrassed. You’re not really certain why – you’d been genuine in your surprise. You shake it off and gesture Mana to continue. That felt really cool – your master gets to gesture like that all the time. You wonder if it makes him feel really powerful to be able to get people to talk with a wave of his hand.

>continued

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>>34326305
“Secondly, Archmagister Holland is in a nearby township with much of her mage tower. The Tower of Holly is the second-largest in the territory and has been agitating against the king and nobles for some time. King Henry left them alone because they were otherwise harmless but the military has been making moves on them since the outbreak of war a week ago. They’ve moved to the township of Millaw but the military is likely still after them. They could be valuable allies.

“Lastly, the Farunese soldiers have been moving supplies from their depots in the north and east of the province to Brissec, their largest fortress. It’s incredibly difficult to assault and presumably has many additional hidden exits, making it a good place to hole up. They’ve set up a strong system of checkpoints to protect their convoys but there’s undoubtedly some weak points.”

You nod. That leaves you with three obvious choices. The rest of your team doesn’t seem to have cottoned on yet that you actually intend on acting on one of these. Probably.

>Q&A for a brief time. Feel free to ask some questions about each opportunity before I call a vote.

What are Finn's order? Does he have permission to engage targets of opportunity or something?

>>34326334
How many additional men could we get into the area if we wanted to go after the princess? Honestly, this sounds like something Taira would be useful for, even if only logistically. Since I presume we can't call her up, other fluffy tails will have to do.

>>34326334

How far out from Milaw is the military? How large is that force?

How many mages are in Milaw? Is Milaw easy enough to fortify against attackers?

Has the Princess taken any guests since she's begun to travel home?

I ask this because if Finn plays up the defection angle with a few of Talon's men behind him, he can get in, fool her, take her captive, and force the envoy to surrender, while taking the Princess as a hostage.

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>>34326407
Finn was basically told to scout out the western edge of Illin. He's done that and wasn't really given any additional orders by Caitlyn, who sent him off on the mission.

>>34326470
>How many additional men could we get into the area if we wanted to go after the princess?
You might not be able to get any. This isn't exactly authorised activity, though you could try to get extra soldiers. Mana says there's another fox in the area.

>>34326495
>How far out from Milaw is the military? How large is that force?
Mana doesn't know. She's been following you for a day and a half and her companion has been focused more on the princess and Brissec.

>How many mages are in Milaw?
About fifty or so, but only a dozen are really combat-capable.

>Is Milaw easy enough to fortify against attackers?
It's a pretty ordinary market town. No walls but it is packed in tight. The markets are on a rocky hilltop next to the town so that carts and such from the nearby villages can go directly there.

>Has the Princess taken any guests since she's begun to travel home?
No. If anything she's lost some of the knights who accompanied her to Brissec. It's hard to tell whether any important knights were exchanged, however.

>>34326334
I feel the mages would be best. They would make for some valuable allies.

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VOTE
>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.
>2. Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military.
>3. Try to disrupt the convoys of supplies to Brissec, limiting their ability to hold out in the province.
>4. Custom

>>34326815
>>2. Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military.

Boss needs mages. If we get him mages, we make him a happy boss.

>>34326715
I'm in favor of reporting in. The mages can be dealt with by sending them a sending, and having them move to our lines. As for the fortress, meh. According to intel, Furrin has an extra 725 more arcane archers than they have archers, and 200 meters of additional range. Those walls won't help much

>>34326815
>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.
remember talons motto "Go Big or Go Home!"

>>34326815
>2. Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military.

I didn't know what else to ask really. Sorry man.

>>34326815
>>3. Try to disrupt the convoys of supplies to Brissec, limiting their ability to hold out in the province.
Logistics is the most important thing.

>>34326815
>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.

>>34326815
>>2. Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military

>>34326815
>>2. Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military.

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>>34326836
>Brissec, Castle - A keep built into a hillside. Rumoured to have been built by dwarves as most of it is underground. Also has hidden exits into the countryside that enable troops garrisoned in it to move freely.

Brissec isn't an easy castle to capture by any means. Especially because it's basically a gigantic keep rather than a normal castle with a courtyard and everything.

>>34326815
1

>>34326815
>>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.

>>34326815
>2

>>34326815
>[2]

>>34326815
>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.

>>34326815
>1. Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette.
Let the awkward grow

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CONTENTIOUS VOTE

OPTION ONE
Try to ambush and kidnap Princess Annette. This could give you some strong leverage over the royal family - it wouldn't end the war immediately but could cause massive disarray if King Henry is paralysed.

OPTION TWO
Try to recruit the mages and protect them from any assault by Farun's military. More mages for Sir Talon is always useful. They won't be a huge help directly to war effort otherwise, though.


Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to this post and the number you are voting for. No other text, no greentexting the number. All informal votes will be discarded. Voting window will be five minutes after the first vote.

>>34327036
1

>>34327036
2

>>34327036
1

>>34327036
1

>>34327036
2

>>34327036
1

>>34327036
2

>>34327036
2

>>34327036
2

>>34327148
late
>>34327118
guess we have a tie

>>34327036
1

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2 wins. >>34327148 was within 5 minutes of the first vote.

Post in a little bit.

>>34327036
2

>>34327161
If the cutoff is a tie, and there's only one vote after the cutoff...wouldn't you just count the next vote immediately after the cutoff to break the tie? Obviously it's up to Aspirational, but that seems pretty reasonable to me.

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>>34327148
Based anon. Choosing assets over ass-ets.

>>34327240
Its like you don't even want to see Finn spill spagetti everywhere.

>>34327212
Hope we get another chance at her. Seriously bummed.

>>34327240
My reasoning was that if you're going to do something 'bonus' on your mission that you haven't explicitly been ordered to do, it had better be something justifiable rather than something risky.
Preserving the lives of valuable assets is justifiable. Taking a well guarded hostage is risky.

>>34327269
Nothing from boot-peninsula has a place in war. Nothing.

>>34327295
Especially if you screw up and fail it hard. With the former it's just "Well, at least you tried."
With the latter it's "THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?!"

>>34327315
Rome?

>>34327325
That sort of risk aversness doesn't seem very Finn.

>>34327289
One can hope anon, one can hope

>>34327369
Honestly for me Finn seems pretty risk averse. Not in the sense of combat but in the sense he tends to think ahead and avoid risks where he feels he needs.

>>34327369
Did you forget about our training duel with Lynn and him already?

>>34327419
Not really, he doesn't really seem to even consider risk like a normal person.

>>34327419
I don't think he understood the concept of risk untill Talon talked some sense into him.
Even then now..

>>34327485
Physical risk to self, sure. But when he's thinking about what he needs to do to impress Talon? He probably OVERTHINKS the risks.

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>2.

You nod, making up your mind. “We’ll head to Millaw to help Archmagister Holland. I’ve heard Sir Talon grumbling about the lack of mages before – he’ll be extremely happy if we can win over a mage tower in the war.”

Torphan interjects, “Hold on, Sir Tarfinn. That’s not in our orders. We should make contact with HQ and let them decide what we do next.”

“I reckon Sir Finn has the right idea,” Darren says to a round of agreement from his fellow knights. “I mean, jeez, it’s obvious command already had all the intel they needed in this area. We were sent here to act on that, not just twiddle our thumbs.”

“If that’s true then why not just contact them,” Torphan retorts. “Sir Tarfinn, we really shouldn’t act out on our own.”

You shrug. “If we wait for the generals to convene and make a decision we might lose time we need. War and battle is about action, not inaction.”

“Besides, it’s not like anybody will get in trouble if it goes wrong,” Triss says. “Finn’s untouchable because he’s the Imperator’s squire. We’ll be fine because nobody is going to be surprised that we followed the orders of the Imperator’s squire.”

“I think the real concern is whether you have the forces to pull it off,” Mana says, frowning at you. “You only have yourself and seven soldiers.”

“We have you and your comrade, right?’ you ask hopefully.

Mana sighs. “I suppose. We’re not supposed to fight but I’m not about to let you just wade into such danger.”

“Hold on, you’re not supposed to fight? What are you doing here, then?” Darren asks.

Mana shifts her body slightly, taking up a slightly defensive chance. She seems to think this is a threatening topic. You’re just confused so you think about some other things. More important things.

>continued

>>34327503
Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, and hope we get another shot at the princess.

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>>34327572
“The deal between my clan and the empire is that we provide intelligence services but are exempt from military service,” Mana says slowly and cautiously.

“So we slug it out on the battlefield like good citizens while you relax in your villages and just wander out to keep an eye on things? That doesn’t seem very fair,” Darren accuses.

The air is tense as Mana and the other soldiers have a stare-down. You don’t quite understand what Darren’s getting at – haven’t most of Karise’s foxes been out here for ages? Isn’t it really risky to be out here?

“Mana, you’ve been here for years, right? When’s the last time you were home?” you ask suddenly, curious as to how long she’s been here for.

Everybody turns to you in surprise. Mana says, “I’m two years into my five year deployment here. If Farun is conquered I’ll get a few months off to move into the new village in the empire but I haven’t actually been back to my village up north for seven years otherwise. I probably won’t settle in for a few decades, I guess. I missed my chance to marry up and avoid deployment.”

“Seven years!” Darren blurts out. “You’ve been out in the field for seven years?”

Mana nods and the situation defuses almost immediately. As you consider how crazy it must be to not have a real home for seven years straight, Mana gives you a kiss on the forehead as thanks for something. You blush a bit and move back to the main topic.

>1. Make contact with HQ (Fuurin, Lynn and Arail) to ask for additional aid in protecting the mages.
>2. Avoid HQ and just head out to protect the mages now.
>3. Make contact with Talon to ask him for additional aid in protection the mages.
>4. Custom

>>34327438
Not that kind of risk. I mean more he tends to hang back and think about what he is doing. Like in the Melee instead of going straight to the guy mocking him he went to rile the crowd by taking 2 people down at once.

I see him as kind of a more moderate Talon in that front. He takes risks but he tends to go for what he thinks least risky unless he feels he has to take the risks. Not due to physical harm but what happens if something goes wrong. He feels more like someone who chips you apart then Talons "Go big or go home" Style.

>>34327602
>4 just call it in and hope they send more men to meet up with us

>>34327602
>>1. Make contact with HQ (Fuurin, Lynn and Arail) to ask for additional aid in protecting the mages.

>>34327602
>>1. Make contact with HQ (Fuurin, Lynn and Arail) to ask for additional aid in protecting the mages.

>>34327602
>4. Custom
Inform HQ that we are going to protect those mages, and that if they can spare the additional men we'd appreciate it.

>>34327602
>3. Make contact with Talon to ask him for additional aid in protection the mages.

>>34327602
>>2. Avoid HQ and just head out to protect the mages now.

>>34327602
>1. Make contact with HQ (Fuurin, Lynn and Arail) to ask for additional aid in protecting the mages.

>>34327602

If we can make contact while on the move, do so. If not, we can call it in once we get there....

Finn's gonna be a monster in a few years, he's getting wenches interested in him by doing absolutely nothing but being his naturaly good natured self.
I can already see the damp panties he'll leave in his wakes once he masters this talent

>>34327762
In a few years their shall be two harems in Harrowmont Talon's and Finn's

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>1.

You give the orders to start marching east to Millaw. It feels good to give orders – especially because with Torphan in disagreement with you it’s the first time it feels like you’re the one actually giving the orders rather than him. A sending is sent off to Mana’s partner to let her know Mana is helping you but her partner needs to keep an eye on Annette for now. Another sending is sent to Command to let them know what you’re doing and that you’ll need reinforcements to get the mages out of the territory. You didn’t really want to have to potentially argue about this – Lord Talon had said that the best way to do things people might disagree over is to ask forgiveness instead of permission. Or better yet, make them reluctant to make you ask forgiveness by being really impressive.

You get a message back from Lynn in short order, however. She might be able to get you some reinforcements but they’ll be a while. You’re heading into northern Illin, after all. Given there’s no disapprovement in the message you’re satisfied you’re doing what’s expected of you. You’ll secure a tower of mages for Lord Talon and everything will be great.

>continued

>>34327810
Nope there will only be one finn's

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>>34328135
It’s early evening before you’re close enough to Millaw to be able to contact Archmagister Holland. Your earlier sendings had failed, as you’d been told to expect them to. Farun appears to be blocking hostile sendings in their territory, presumably using their control of the sending towers. Apparently outgoing messages were easier than incoming ones as sending towers tended to intercept incoming ones. Or something. You didn’t know much about sendings and what little Undine had told you had been unclear.

To make matters worse, Torphan’s scouting uncovers the fact that there appears to be a small force of Farunese soldiers nearby, trying to remain hidden by not lighting any fires. It’s not exactly a good time to make a quick escape but you might need to try that. Before you contact Holland you should probably have a decent idea of your plan – you might not have a chance to change it once you get in and start trying to convince her. Do you try to convince her to leave with you and escape immediately or work with you to hold Millaw for the night? Or something else entirely?

>short discussion about this

>>34328173
How large is this small force?

Depending on its size, the best way to secure the mages might be through a quick raid on the enemy to spoil their plans.

sidenote:
are we officially at war?

>>34328173
how many men do they have and what is the make up of the force

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>>34328224
>How large is this small force?
Torphan's guess is that there's somewhat more than 100. It's hard to tell exactly how many and how many mage-knights at the distance he's remaining at (he's not the only one with vision amplification in his helmet).

>are we officially at war?
Yes, as mentioned in >>34326334
>since the outbreak of war a week ago

>>34328173
>>34328224

Second this, I think our plans would depend on the exact size and estimated capability of this small force.

ETA on the additional forces?

Because with the height advantage in Millaw, and some Mage support(blocking off streets, the few dozen battle capable) we could pretty easily hold off 100 men or so until day light assuming that is when the back up forces will be coming.

>>34328381
Agreed

>>34328325
>>34328381

We 7 Samurai now? I can go for that

>>34328325
100 blokes and we've got 7.
That throws a spoiling attack out as an option. We can go full defensive and probably hold out, possibly with some losses.

Another option is play up our force size. Make a bunch of camp fires, have us and the archers making sure their scouts can't uncover our plans. By doing this we might be able to scare them away.

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>>34328381
As mentioned, you're basically two days march into the far north of the territory (having gone the long way round the western border to avoid their core). Only FMKs could reach you quickly and that would still mean they're not arriving until midday the next day at the very earliest (and assuming they left shortly after Lynn told you she'd try to arrange troops). Those travelling by foot would be midday the day after tomorrow. Forced march over a longer time in the day could get them to you by tomorrow evening but you doubt any commander would risk exhausting their troops in enemy territory when they know they're going to have to fight immediately after the march.

Also note that your sendings out are being blocked now. You're simply too far into their territory.

What's the Tower of Holly known for specifically? General tower or do they have a specialty?

>>34328520

I think we should do a small raid on their camp and try to throw them into disarray before we make it to the town.

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>>34328443
>100 blokes and we've got 7.
Nine. Finn, Torphan (FMK), Mana (4-tailed Mystic Fox), Darren and his 2 noble knights, 3 arcane archers.

>>34328550
Generalist tower. They basically attract agitators against the royalist rule of the province.

>>34328580
So there might be mages in those 100 blokes for we all know, correct? I'm not against doing a quick attack on them and trying to pick off few targets before quickly falling back.

>>34328580
Well at least it'll be easy to convince them we're on the same side.

Hrm I'm not too sure...

Perhaps a distance raid from a different direction then Millaw? Buy us some time to get in there and send them into disarray for a moment.

But after that not sure. The lack of forces is a killer, as well as not really wanting to turn a town into a bloody battlefield. Not the best impression to leave the general public.

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VOTE
>1. Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray.
>2. Head into town with the intention of getting Archmagister Holland to assist you in holding the town for the night.
>3. Try to convince Archmagister Holland to evacuate her mages from the town and head west before the enemy knows what's happening.
>4. Custom

>>34328717
>>3. Try to convince Archmagister Holland to evacuate her mages from the town and head west before the enemy knows what's happening.

>>34328717
>2. Head into town with the intention of getting Archmagister Holland to assist you in holding the town for the night.

>>34328717
>>3. Try to convince Archmagister Holland to evacuate her mages from the town and head west before the enemy knows what's happening.

>>34328717
>1. Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray.
We're only outnumbered ~10-1, with the element of surprise we decimate them before retreating back to the town.

>>34328717
>1. Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray.

>>34328717
>3. Try to convince Archmagister Holland to evacuate her mages from the town and head west before the enemy knows what's happening.

>>34328717
>>1. Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray.

>>34328717
>>1. Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray.

>>34328717
>>34328840

Shit, I'm actually conflicted between 1 and 3, but I guess I'll stay with my original vote.

So if we do go on the raid, it'll be us and the archers dropping two, maybe three men each before fleeing, with the mage knights in reserve to protect us if needed.
My reasoning is thus: They have 100 men. If we take out 12 men we have decimated them. That'll make them think twice before moving, hopefully.

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CONTENTIOUS VOTE

OPTION ONE
Quickly raid the Farunese encampment with the intention to suss out their strength and cause general disarray. This may weaken their ability to assault or pursue you during the knight, either through casualties or general caution.

OPTION TWO
Try to convince Archmagister Holland to evacuate her mages from the town and head west before the enemy knows what's happening. If they catch on to what you're doing then you'll be fighting a running battle throughout the night as you retreat. You'll be able to rendevous with (potential) reinforcements much sooner, though.


Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to this post and the number you are voting for. No other text, no greentexting the number. All informal votes will be discarded. Voting window will be five minutes after the first vote.

>>34328973
2

>>34328973
1

>>34328973
1

>>34328973
1

>>34328973
1

>>34328973
2

>>34328973
Yeah, it did seem a little samefaggy to me, but it seems like it was for real.

>>34328520
What about Ariel's troops, where we sent in before them?

>>34328973
2

>>34328969

I just went by what Patton said. When in doubt, attack.

>>34328973
1

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1 wins.

>>34329055
>What about Ariel's troops, where we sent in before them?
Arail, you mean. And yes, you were. Arail is preparing raids across Arrine and southern Illin but you were a scouting party intended to assess Farun's readiness for Fuurin's assault on Teret (or at least, that's how Lynn explained it).

>>34329112
Patton also threw away his men at a fortress in Metz(?) for that reason.

But normally, yeah, he'd be right. You need to keep the initiative. Make the enemy react to you so you can overwhelm him. He will be unable to resist.

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>1.

Crazy headlong assaults against an enemy who outnumbers you seems like a very Talon-like thing to do. Which means it’s a good idea, though you think you might concentrate more on disrupting the Farunese soldiers than trying to kill them all. Your subordinates were obviously relieved when you explained that facet of the attack.

Wow, you actually had subordinates now. You’d have to tell Rayza about this when you got back.

Mana finds your team a good position to launch your assault from and still be able to peel away without obviously heading to the township itself. You really liked the idea of trying to trick the enemy into thinking that there was a TYE assault force in the middle of their kingdom. You just needed to live up to that bluster.

You…

>1. Lead the charge yourself. You can survive the worst they throw at you, after all.
>2. Hang back and help the archers pick off the enemy and cause some damage to the encampment.
>3. Head into melee but let the noble knights lead the charge.
>4. Custom

>>34329296
>2. Hang back and help the archers pick off the enemy and cause some damage to the encampment.

>>34329296
>1. Lead the charge yourself. You can survive the worst they throw at you, after all.

>>34329296
Gotta be 1 or 2. (This isn't a vote)

>>34329296
>>1. Lead the charge yourself. You can survive the worst they throw at you, after all.

Spear-head!

>>34329296
>1. Lead the charge yourself. You can survive the worst they throw at you, after all.

If we're going full balls to the wall crazy decisions, might as well go full throttle.

>>34329296
>>1. Lead the charge yourself. You can survive the worst they throw at you, after all.

>>34329296
>>2. Hang back and help the archers pick off the enemy and cause some damage to the encampment.

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>1.

You’re going to lead this charge. You came up with the plan, you’ll bear it out with all the pain and suffering.

You feel giddy with excitement at the prospect of leading such a charge, though. You might only have a handful of men and the enemy force is hardly an army but it’s still a big moment for you. You’ll be leading your first charge as a commander and you’ll be doing it under the banner of the great griffin. Metaphorically, at least. You don’t think it would be a good idea to have somebody waving a banner when they could be carrying a weapon.

You scan the area from your wooded glade. The enemy camp was typically situated around fifty metres from any areas that blocked line of sight but they’d slipped up and come quite close to the woods here. With empowerment you could easily clear the open ground in a few seconds, letting you cause some heavy damage right at the start while the rest of your team caught up or started causing extra damage.

There were two watchmen nearby. You would charge them, take them out, then move into the encampment and take out stumbling soldiers in short order. It’s still early in the evening so most of them are still about, if lightly equipped – no hope of going undetected, then.

You grin. Might as well make this a big scene. Make them fear the griffin.

You hold your scimitar aloft, drawing some strange looks from your comrades. Power floods into your limbs and your body as you amplify the volume of your voice and shout,

“For the Griffin in the East! For the immortality of The York Empire!”

As you leap forwards, your magically strengthened legs carrying you across the clearing in a few short instants, shouts and panic rises in the camp. The dozing watchers grab at their weapons, looking around wildly as your voice echoes amongst the trees and tents. The projection of it made it hard to determine its source and you’re on the soldiers before they know what’s happening.

[DC11 Finn Combat]

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>34329644

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>34329644

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>34329644

>>34329654
Forgot a 0 there, anon.

>>34329660
>>34329672
>>34329676

Finn pls.

>>34329660
>>34329672
>>34329676

This is going to be an amazing night anons.

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>>34329660
>>34329672
>>34329676

DC of 11 for a 3d20 system and we fail. Finn pls

>>34329660
>>34329672
>>34329676

Well... At least he had a pretty cool battlecry.

>>34329780
I'd honestly consider "I'll kill you and rape your corpse." better. But Finn to innocent yet.

Reminder Anons! Learn from Talon's mistake at Olmm or whatnot. We withdraw after this round, no matter what happens, even if we see a good opportunity.

>>34329865

It's the first round. We have a couple of failed rolls until we need to bail.

>>34329865

Nah, it would depend on what happens. Gotta read the updates first.

>>34329884
>>34329909

>Men cry over their friend’s bodies. Others trudge back to the medical centre with the screams of the wounded in their ears. You lost almost a hundred men tonight, with more waiting on healer’s beds, and although the fort is secure, you are not sure it was a fair price. Many suits of magical plate are damaged beyond repair, the enchanted weapons of the Taour knights shredding them into uselessness. Your healers were unable to reach many of the men due to the length of the melee – the stubbornness of your foe must not be underestimated for they did not care for their own losses let alone yours.

This ring a bell? We used that exact same line of reasoning and ended up with almost half of our guys dead.

>>34329921

Talon made a tactical mistake during an overextended melee with a general. Him taking multiple rolls put him in that position, as he could have left at any time, the option was always presented, he simply didn't. It's the first round.

>>34329921

This round was killing the two watchmen, we haven't even entered the damn encampment yet.

We are not instantly withdrawing after killing the two watchmen. Like I said, we need to read the updates first and get a grasp of the situation.

>>34329921
>Ignoring the causes of it then using it as an example to why we should auto withdraw without doing any damage.

>>34329921
This is terrible logic. The situations are entirely different and not particularly comparable.

It's like TKQ and people comparing every non-passive decision as the second coming of Chang'an.

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>Target not met

As you plant your feet into the soft dirt and grass beneath you, your scimitar snaps forward. It cuts cleanly through all resistance, neatly separating the soldier’s left forearm from his body. His strangled cry of shock and pain is cut off by your backhanded cut taking off the top of his head as you spin towards the other soldier. You’re on him in a second, the body of the previous soldier still collapsing, and narrowly dodge his spear jab. You ram your scimitar through his chest, likely bisecting his heart through his sternum, before snapping your blade out through the side and turning to the camp itself. As the rest of your team plays catch-up you’ll need to deal with any nasty surprises.

And what a nasty surprise there is. Four fully armoured mage-knights burst from their tent, one fastening his helmet as he does so. You gulp. Your scimitar isn’t going to cut through these foes so easily. They bellow as they spot you, pointing their blades at you and blasting magical bolts in your direction.

You roll to the side, narrowly evading them with your poor footing. You’re then forced to quickly duck another blast as one of them held back his shot. Still, you’re unharmed. Now you can-

You suddenly see dirt as a hammer blow smashes into your head from behind. You hear some distant shouts but before you can react another blow hammers into the back of your armour. If you weren’t wearing this new suit of armour you suspect you’d be insensate right now. Instead you’re just going to have to get up and turn your foe into a pile of limbs. You just hope he’s not too much trouble – those other mage-knights will ruin your day soon enough.

[DC11/17 Finn Combat]

[DC13/18 Archers]

[DC12 Mana Combat]

[DC15 Knights Combat]

Roll 4d20 each, please. Note that the DC of the ‘Knights Combat’ roll will lower depending on the success of the Finn and Mana rolls.

Rolled 6, 14, 7, 14 = 41 (4d20)

>>34330020

>>34330020

Rolled 7, 2, 5, 10 = 24 (4d20)

>>34330020

Rolled 7, 10, 8, 3 = 28 (4d20)

>>34330020

Rolled 20, 20, 17, 16 = 73 (4d20)

>>34330020
Bugger.

THese dice. I honestly don't know what to say.

>>34330042

You've got to be fucking kidding me.

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Rolled 7, 8, 4, 17 = 36 (4d20)

>>34330042
FUCK ME! FUCK ME RIGHT IN THE SALTY ARSE!

>>34330062
should have gone for the princess

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>>34330032
>>34330036
>>34330040

Cool, only our archers are barely competent.

>>34330042

See left

>>34330042
Ya'know mate, you typing in "bugger" was probably the only thing that made those rolls not count?

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>>34330042

I've legitimately never known such intense anger at fictional dice in my life.

>>34330032
>>34330033
>>34330036

Wonderful night tonight.

>>34330124

With our dice luck, we would have gotten a Nat 1 and Finn would have shot the princess in the face with an arrow

>>34330042

So we all agree that because it was a 4d20 that we should take the first 4 responses? Yes? Yes. Good.

>>34330134

He would have gotten a different result with a different time stamp probably.

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>>34330042

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Because it's more fun this way (and this is a relatively light session), I'm going to offer you guys one Finn Point for the session. I basically used this when Finn got hammered in the tournament by anti-regen axe dude.

The Finn Point either lets you get a Nat 20 on a single roll or invalidate one post of rolls. Finn Points regenerate every time you play as him.

If you spend the Finn Point now, you can use >>34330042 in place of the other rolls (invalidating one of the other posts). Otherwise you can keep it for later in the session.

>>34330239

FUCKING DO IT.

>>34330239
As the roller of >>34330042 , I say fucking do it.

>>34330239

DO IT

>>34330239
Sure

>>34330239
We have to do this. Jesus the rolls we have are so shit it can't get much worse.

>>34330239
Do it

>>34330239

That post is just way too good to give up. We'll blow it later down the line, but damn it two 20s? Come on. Do it.

>>34330278
Way to jinx it you jerk.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>34330278
right

Rolled 3, 18, 6, 1, 19, 15, 1, 1, 10, 18 = 92 (10d20)

>>34330278
Rollan' for Empirical testing which may or may not disprove your hypothesis if it is assumed that the null hypothesis is continuation of mediocre luck!

>>34330385

All those 1s. All those 18-19s.

I don't know what to feel.

>>34330385

Hahaha

Rolled 4, 13, 8, 12, 4, 3, 14, 11, 9, 1 = 79 (10d20)

>>34330385
Let me try

>>34330278
>>34330385

You've clearly doomed us all.

>>34330385
>>34330425

YOU FOOLS YOU TEMPT THE DICEGODS SO.

>>34330425
>>34330385
Not a single 20. Not one.

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>>34330403
Well, now that we have experimental material, we can average out the sample to a mean of 9.2, which is quite mediocre and bodes ill for future endeavors. If we look at the median, we have an even more so abyssmal result of 8. Lastly, the non-representative but flashy Mode score of 1 means that we can expect the rest of the night to go as well as a youth camp supervisor's in Crystal Lake with his girlfriend.

Rolled 2, 12, 16, 4, 5, 7, 15, 16, 13, 9 = 99 (10d20)

>>34330510
I vote we abort ASAP and get Talon here.

>>34330510
Thank you, statsanon.

Rolled 20, 2, 19, 7, 6, 8, 7, 13, 2, 13 = 97 (10d20)

>>34330425
>>34330385
>>34330527
Holy shit not one broke 100. Not ONE 20

Abort Abort

Why are we all rolling. Can we stop rolling please. It's scaring me.

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>>34330556
No anon. You can not deny the rolls. Let them drown you in a wave of single-digit mediocrity. It is inevitable.

>>34330547
>>34330527
>>34330425
>>34330385
4 1d20s. 1 20. Not a single one broke 100

>>34330556
REVEL IN THE FEAR

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Rolled 10, 8, 8, 19, 20, 16, 4, 13, 4, 11 = 113 (10d20)

>>34330604

>>34330604
Relax. I'm still here, and I'm charging up my double d20 dealing dice for when it matters.

>>34330626
>>34330604

There, broke the 100 benchmark for you, anon.

>>34330626
>>34330668
Great. That makes me feel a LOT safer.

>>34330668
Don't worry, the dice still want Finn to suffer.

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>Everybody fails except the archers

As you roll to the side, a maul the size of your head smashing into the ground where you just lay, you have a feeling that everything is about to go wildly wrong. You’ll get smashed about the head by that huge maul after misjudging your opponent. Mana will get winged by the enemy archers. Your knights will be on the backfoot without any assistance against the enemy knights. It will be a horrendous start to the raid and almost certainly force you to retreat, bloodied and beaten.

Yeah, no. That’s not going to happen. Your name is Tarfinn and you’re the squire of Imperator Talon York. If you’re going to be a mighty conqueror and general like him you can’t let yourself fail here.

>Finn Point spent for the session

>Finn Combat: Exceptional Success

You roll backwards in order to rise to your feet, dodging the swipe from the maul-knight as he pulls his weapon free from the ground. You take a deep breath, your chest having repaired itself from the impact damage it took earlier. A couple of magical bolts bounce off your armour ineffectually, a vain attempt to cover the movement of two of the knights towards your back. You spot Mana running towards you, her tails weaving an odd pattern, and decide that you’ll let her push on after you do the heavy lifting.

That’s the duty of a man, after all.

Your immediate foe surges forwards suddenly, surprising you with his speed. If you’d moved too quickly then he might have taken you by surprise, hammering you with his… hammer. Instead you neatly duck to the side and pump heat into your sword until it’s blazing hot. Sala had been showing you her technique – instead of creating flames, you combine magic and heat to make the blade searing hot. You couldn't make yours as hot as hers but you certainly could make it hot enough that a bit of extra magic pressure would do the trick.

>continued (1/4)

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>>34330869
Thrusting forwards with your scimitar, it finds no resistance from the knight’s enchanted helm. His movements stop almost instantly as you disintegrate his head, the sheer amount of heat in your sword being caught within his helmet and head. It’s probably a good thing nobody can see what’s inside that helmet. You snap your sword back out and catch one of the charging mage-knight’s weapons with the edge of your scimitar.

His sword literally parts around yours, the weak, machined enchantment on it unable to sustain it against the heat and magical power of your blade. You’d been able to cause damage to powerful metal golems – the weak magic and metal of these mage-knights was no match so long as they couldn’t actually strike you. You barely catch the gasp of surprise from the knight as the top-half of his sword falls harmlessly to the ground, the edges it was separated on glowing red-hot and glittering with particles of magic as the enchantment breaks.

As his partner hesitates, frightened by what just happened, you act. You wrap your limbs around the disarmed knight, channeling your strength through him. His arm snaps neatly, allowing you to drop your elbow on his knee and breaking his leg at the same time, his armour warping slightly and digging into his flesh. He screams as he hits the ground, useless in combat now. That saves you the trouble of having to finish him, at least.

Attempting to flee, his partner is instead cut down. His arms strikes the ground next to his still living comrade moments before his lifeless body does, a hole gouged in the back of it from your sword. You take a deep breath, your body pushed to the edge.

>continued (2/4)

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>>34330885
>Mana Combat: Exceptional success

Then Mana comes to a quick stop next to you, her magic suddenly unleashing itself. A weak shield dispels the magical bolts from the remaining two knights, desperately trying to fend you off so that reinforcements can arrive. More shouting is coming from the camp and you spot another dozen soldiers coming your way, more lightly armed than these mage knights. If you can deal with this pair then you’ll have some easy pickings.

Mana seems to read your mind and somehow manages to cast another spell alongside her shield. Vad had mentioned that foxes could cast different spells with each tail. Perhaps she’d used one for her shield and the other three for an offensive spell?

Nevertheless, the armour of the knights crumples under Mana’s offensive, crushing the heads and limbs of the knights mercilessly as they scream in pain, blood pouring out of the joints of their armour.

>Knights Combat: Target met

Charging past you, Darren, Torphan and the other two knights don’t waste a second on the dead and dying. Instead they crash into the much more lightly armed and armoured men-at-arms joining the melee. Numbers mean little against enchanted armour of their quality – these weren’t mere mage-knights. Darren and his two knights were noble knights of the Order of the Griffin – even if you had easily crushed Darren in the grand melee he was still a much more dangerous fighter than any of the enemy soldiers. The enemy men-at-arms still desperately try to hold the line as more soldiers come up behind them, including several mage-knights.

>continued (3/4)

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>>34330913
>Archers: Lower target met

The damage to the encampment is being done, though. Fire blazes around you as your archer support lights the tents with flaming arrows. The enemy soldiers will be busy for hours putting out the flames for fear of them spreading and causing a terrible wild fire that might distract them in the midst of war. Sadly, you doubt that they’ve found the time to pick off enemy soldiers as you’ve been tying them up quite neatly.

With all the damage being done you get the feeling it might be time to pull back. Pushing your luck any further might pay off but the risks are immense given how small your unit is.

>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.
>2. Hold this position and kill as many as possible until you begin to be overwhelmed.
>3. Push on, trying to force the enemy to flee instead.
>4. Custom

>>34330929
>>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

You done good, Finn

>>34330929
>>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

>>34330929
>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

That was maximum hype. Low level Finn party is fun as fuck now.

>>34330929
>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

>>34330020
>>34330032
>>34330929
I think you messed up Archers and Mana. The Archers got a nat 20

>>34330929
>4

stay behind to wreak havoc for as long as possible while our men pull back.

>>34330978
wrong one, it was this roll
>>34330042

>>34330978
>>34330929
Aw balls, I think he did. Whatever, everything worked out fine.

>>34330929
>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

>>34330978

Oh yeah he did. Well I'm okay with it, Mana getting to show off in front of our guys was probably a good thing.

>>34331007
Nope, if it was correctly done, it would have been a high knight success and Exceptional Archers rather than Exceptional Knights and low archers.

>>34331042
gah wrong one again. But our archers! Our ARCANE Archers! We need to tell the world our innovation is good!

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>>34330978
Huh, you're right. Oh well, I'm certainly not rewriting what happened. The actual results wouldn't be too different in the end. I'll just be sure to reflect a few extra casualties that the archers would have caused.

Overall you killed about 25 peeps. Injured a bunch more with the fire, too.

>>34331076
Meh. But what is the opinion of arcane archers in the world again?

>>34331076
That'll keep them from attacking for sure. If not, they'd be idiots.

>>34331076

BLOOD FOR THE GRIFFIN GOD

>>34331076

That should make our retreat or defense of the mages easier.

They must be totally demoralized since they lost some of their best equipped troops as well.

>>34330978
I'm pretty sure Mana has the ability to jack someone else's roll once per thread. Why she chose the archers' instead of the knights' before Finn spent his FP, I'll never know.

>>34330929
>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

>>34331096
They're supposedly a military secret, though that's unlikely to last for much longer.

>>34330929
>1. Pull back as planned and head to the town.

>>34331096

I assume a mixture of confusion and fear. The fuck is Talon feeding those Archers?

>>34331189
I'm guessing this.

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>1.

You hesitate for a moment before calling out any orders. You hear screams from both the men caught up in the flames and the wounded and fallen around you. The knight with the broken limbs next to you screams for a few moments before his helmet suddenly crumples, Mana putting him out of his misery with a hard blast of magic. She looks incredibly tense, her ears and tails standing on end as she looks around sharply and erratically. The night glows brightly from the flames around you, your armour shrugging off the heat as your knights hold the front effortlessly, the enemy’s blades bouncing off their armour harmlessly. An explosion rings out behind them, throwing several of the enemy reinforcements around. Torphan hovers in the air behind Darren, his gauntlet glowing from the recent discharge.

Your knights. Your archers. Your fox, even, though that sounds slightly different in your head. These soldiers are your responsibility. Even though your instincts say to stick it out and do more damage, the rational part of your mind screams to pull back while they’re uninjured.

“Pull back,” you shout, waving your scimitar in the air.

>continued

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Darren turns back for a moment and gives you a nod. He then bellows and slams his shield into the ground, a shield roaring up from it. It severs a man’s limb as it is erected through his body and he goes down screaming. You men pay no heed and immediately begin to double-back, Torphan throwing another explosive blast as the barrier quickly dissipates. Pursuit isn’t exactly on the foe’s mind after this display. You retreat with your knights, firing a few arrows as you dart back across the clearing behind them. Mana is right next to you, her eyes wide and her ears and tails alert.

Then you and your men are away, taking a roundabout route to Millaw to confuse pursuers. You call a brief moment of rest – mostly for the benefit of your men, who look exhausted. Most them fall to the ground, removing helmets and breastplates as they take a breather. You’re about to do what you think Talon would do and make some small-talk when you’re suddenly hugged from behind.

“Gods, Finn,” Mana breathes into your ear as she hugs you tight. “How do you do that all the time? It’s so… chaotic and frightening.”

>What do you say to Mana? This can just be a general idea of a response rather than exact dialogue, of course.

>>34331096
I'm sure some people scoff at the flagrant bucking of tradition, others are going "shit, why did I never think of that?", and the vast majority are wondering if they'll actually be any more effective than the regular dime a dozen militia style archers and are waiting to see.

>>34331361
>Finn getting foxes wet

He truly is our squire.

>>34331361
"It's just...what I'm good at."

>>34331361
"I"m used to it."

By this point Finn is pretty used to horrible injuries so he wouldn't see much frighting about it.

>>34331361

"It's kind of... All I know, I guess? I sought out Lord Talon because I wanted to learn and know more afterall..."

>>34331361
Training, and experience. It gets easier, though I'm not certain its a good thing.

>>34331361
>What do you say to Mana? This can just be a general idea of a response rather than exact dialogue, of course.

It's nothing more than Lord Talon would expect of me.

>>34331361
"Being hard to kill helps. Being faster than most in combat helps more. Other than that...well, this is my life. I guess I'm just used to it by now."

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VOTE
>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.
>2. Say that it's what Lord Talon would expect of you. Surely Mana understands that?
>3. You don't really know any better. Isn't this relatively normal?
>4. Custom

>>34331595
>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.

>>34331595
>>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.

>>34331595
3

>>34331595
>2. Say that it's what Lord Talon would expect of you. Surely Mana understands that?

Talon has given us everything. We will not disappoint him.

>>34331595
>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.
maybe throw in a line about how exciting she can be

>>34331595
>1

>>34331595
>3.

>4. Gently scratch behind fluffy ears

>>34331595
4. Mention that Finn was literally bred for war.

>>34331595
>>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.

>>34331595
>1. Say that you're used to it. You don't really understand what Mana's getting at.
>2. Say that it's what Lord Talon would expect of you. Surely Mana understands that?
He went over this in his internal monologue too; Finn's well-equipped for fighting, and he was entrusted with the well-being of the soldiers who are standing with him.

It's a matter of using your resources as best you can. Sure, it'd be safer for him to stand back and delegate, but that's not the kind of leadership Finn's come to respect.

>>34331656
Wait, wasn't Finn leading a company of mercenaries or something when Talon scouted him? Yes Finn should be grateful and feel a sense of loyalty because Talon is opening a world of options - training, contacts, equipment - that would have taken Finn decades at least to amass. Heck, we're even working on the whole death by tattoo parasitism thing, but let's not go overboard and say "Talon has given Finn 'everything'" when he clearly hasn't.

>>34331816
I believe he was a subordinate in that company.

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>>34331816
>Wait, wasn't Finn leading a company of mercenaries or something when Talon scouted him?
No, Finn was a member of a group of mercs led by your current Grandmaster/Commandant on your Ranger Order. This is literally his first command.

>>34331816
He wasn't leading them, but he was one of their more prominent and talented members.

>>34331861
God damn, that's a beautiful picture.

>>34331861
Got it. Thanks boss.

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>1. With a touch of 2 and 4 (scratch fluffy ears)

You’re not really sure what to say here. Mana’s hugging makes you feel very comfortable though, even if she’s not wrapping her tails around you like you’ve seen Taira do to Lord Talon. Still, you feel like you need to say something of import.

“I, um, guess I’m kind of used to it?” you say without much confidence. You really need to work on the stoic thing.

“How do you get used to it?” Mana says. “Why? It’s so… alien.”

You frown inwardly. Then you resist the urge to cheer because you managed to supress your emotions. That would defeat the point of supressing your emotions, after all. Mana had seemed so competent in the battle. She’d killed those knights so easily, shattering their armour and bodies so quickly in the thick of combat with the air full of screams and pain.

Oh…

“It’s what I do,” you say, reaching up with one hand to rub Mana’s fluffy ears. You think Lord Talon would do this. “Lord Talon and Commandant Hartman expected it of me. I’ve just… gotten used to it. Haven’t you, Mana?”

You can barely see Mana’s expression from the corner of your eyes and it looks… content. At least she’s not frightened like she was earlier. At least, you think she was frightened. You remember some first-timers in Hartman’s company being really terrified after a battle. It was strange for Mana to be leaning on you, though. Did you really seem that dependable? It warmed your heart in a strange way to think that. You finger runs through the fluff and hair behind Mana’s ear – you’d wished to do this with Tsucchi and Taira but had the impression Talon wouldn’t appreciate it. Doing it now you understood why. A part of you didn’t want anybody else to ever do this to Mana.

>continued

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You quash those feelings as you stand with Mana hugging you for several minutes as the rest of the team rests nearby but out of sight. Eventually she pulls away and you move onto the small talk you had intended earlier. Most of the rest of the team are used to battle – if not a battle that small and dangerous.

“An amazing raid, Sir Finn,” Darren says with a broad grin. “They’ll think twice before troubling us tonight. Gives us plenty of time to dig in or pull out with the archmagister.”

Speaking of which, you need to press on. You gather everybody up, Torphan letting you take the lead in command without complaint. You truly felt like a commander now.

>Finn has gained Leadership O. You now have the ability to effectively command and inspire a small party.

A few sendings to and from Archmagister Holland meant that you felt safe entering the town of Millaw. Stepping in at the front of the unit, openly wearing the griffin as your emblem, you make your way to the town hall where Holland awaits. She looks slightly older than Alyce – perhaps a woman in her early forties? A couple of mages, and a knight, stand near her. She rises and gives you a shallow curtsy as her companions give deeper bows or curtsies.

>continued

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>>34332219
“I must admit, I hadn’t expected actual assistance from The York Empire,” Holland says, giving you a weary yet relieved smile. “I’d believed all of my endings had been intercepted and that we were destined to do a last stand in opposition to such desperate oppression.”

You hesitate before answering. Lord Talon had been quibbling about his stance on a royal line recently, mostly on account of his intending to live forever. Affirming her stance might make things awkward. You…

>1. Admit that you’re here on your own prerogative but want to help her as she’s an enemy of Farun.
>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.
>3. Lie and say that Imperator Talon wanted to help her. This might win over her loyalty so long as it’s not rejected in the end.
>4. Custom

Also, FYI, I don't know how long this thread will run for. There's probably not going to be too much more to this part of the Finn section so I may or may not elect to run longer and go for the princess as well.

>>34332260
>>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.

>>34332260
>1. Admit that you’re here on your own prerogative but want to help her as she’s an enemy of Farun.

>>34332260
>>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.

>>34332260
>1. Admit that you’re here on your own prerogative but want to help her as she’s an enemy of Farun.

>>34332260
>>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.

>>34332260
>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.

>>34332260
>2. Say as little as possible on the topic and just concentrate on how to get her and her mages out of here.

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Alright, so that's for 2 then.

The other vote I should ahve called at the same time.

VOTE
>1. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.
>2. Encourage Archmagister Holland to leave immediately. It's moving towards late evening so this will be rather hard, in terms of being persuasion and actual travel. Your team is exhausted.
>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.
>4. Custom

>>34332391
>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

Finn learned how to be a Defender from the best.

>>34332391
>>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

>>34332391
>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.

>>34332391
>>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

>>34332391
>1. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.

>>34332391
>>1. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.

>>34332260
>1. We're on our own prerogative with command's implicit blessing (Lynn knows what we're up to).

>>34332391
>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

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>>34332442
Is this 1 or 3?

>>34332473
1

>>34332391
Dang I wanted to throw in "Something something Imperator gotta get all the allies, something something more mages welcome."

>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

I suppose, though maybe we can figure out a good escape plan if needed?

>>34332391
>1. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.

>>34332391
>1. Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning.

>>34332391
>3. Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive.

I'm fine with either, both imply at least a night of holding out.

>>34332514

I like the thought of Finn running around finding things he thinks Talon needs or wants, "Boss man needs mages, imma get me some mages. Yeah."

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CONTENTIOUS VOTE

OPTION 1
Encourage Archmagister Holland to flee with you in the morning. This will expedite your ability to rendevous with (probably) reinforcements but will be more risky if the enemy's morale recovers.

OPTION 2
Encourage Archmagister Holland to help you hold out against attackers until (probably) reinforcements arrive. The enemy is unlikely to attack during the night after your raid but they'll be able to quickly establish that there is no TYE army nearby, meaning they'll attack in strength in the morning. Reinforcements may or may not arrive during the day.

Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to this post and the number you are voting for. No other text, no greentexting the number. All informal votes will be discarded. Voting window will be five minutes after the first vote.

>>34332614
1

Personally I would rather not risk too much damage for the mages. If we hold out we should get a good escape route.

>>34332614
1

>>34332614
2

>>34332614
2

>>34332614
2

>>34332614
2

>>34332614
1

The mages, along with ourselves, brings our combat party up to ~20, leaving us only outnumbered ~4:1, which we can easily leverage on the defensive, especially since half of our forces would be mages.

So will Finn Party become a semi-regular thing? Having a side party for Finn to wreck havoc with and level up alongside him sounds like a lot of fun gotta get dem elite units mang

>>34332614
1

>>34332614
1

>>34332614
1

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>>34332718
Five seconds too late.

Vote goes to 2.

>>34332680
But it risks casualties. Mages are incredibly valuable, Knights of our Order are also valuable, same for Mana.

Option 1 said that it will be on the riskier side if enemy morale recovers, but I doubt it would recover considering our raid's great success.

I hope defense works out because that's what won, but I'm slightly pessimistic.

>>34332614
>2

>>34332759

We're talking about the squire of the Talon York, the guy who spent almost an entire thread early on devising the most effective way to destroy a small Vitrian siege force. I think the numbers were about the same proportions as well. If Finn has learned anything, it's how to defend your position and stroke the fuck out of some fluffy tails

>>34332846
I don't doubt that Finn will be effective at defending the position.

The question is why we are defending the position. Millaw itself is a meaningless objective, the Mages are the true prizes. I worry that even a successful defense will put the mages in more dangerous than retreating while enemy morale is low.

>>34332888
*mage

>>34332888

Show of force more then like. If the smallest of forces is able to tear through your companies like that what the hell are you going to do when the heavy hitters and real armies come rolling up?

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>2.

You explain the current situation, with some help from Mana and Torphan. Coming to a conclusion of a strong defence, Holland agrees.

“Many townspeople have already fled,” she explains. “This town could be the perfect deathtrap, especially with the terrain advantage of the market. If we flee then we risk being intercepted in the open by patrols.”

Night comes and passes. You spent the night cuddled up with Mana, who is clearly more spooked by her first real battle than you’d expected. It was so fluffy…

Meeting with Holland, her chief enforcer Sir Gwail and your own team, you consider the situation.

“It seems the enemy’s morale is still quite low, Sir Tarfinn,” Torphan explains. “With that said, they appear to have been reinforced. There’s definitely more of them there than I expected there to be. In fact, I’d say there’s more there than before we attacked them.

You frown but Mana speaks first, “Most likely they’ve been reinforced by the nearby checkpoints.”

“Checkpoints? For what?” you ask.

“Farun reinforced the outposts and keeps on the shortest path to Brissec. Most likely these soldiers called on the troops in these checkpoints,” Mana explains. “If we break them here then there’ll be a gaping hole in the path between Farun and Brissec. We can exploit that.”

>continued

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>>34333027
You nod and consider the situation. Torphan expected that you an enemy assault within an hour or two. Between your work overnight and the time you had now you should be able to muster a strong defence. The enemy troops were all ground-based, it seemed. Mostly men-at-arms but with a solid core of mage knights. Your team would be supplemented by a dozen green battle-mages and Sir Gwail, a noble knight of some capability.

You had…

>1. Focused on trapping and setting up ambushes in the town itself. These will be more effective against the mage-knight core but might not reduce their numbers too much given your limited ability to pull these off before they’re assaulting the market.
>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.
>3. Split between the two. You would have one good trap and ambush against their mage-knights and a solid core to repel their men-at-arms. If the ambush fails, your defences will be much weaker despite the enemy’s superior numbers, however.
>4. Custom

>>34333045
>>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

>>34333045
>>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

>>34333045
>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

Would trying to rally the townsfolk do us any good? Pull the whole, "These are people who are suppose to be protecting you, but they attack your village and draw you into bloody conflict instead!" shtick?

>>34333045
How is their ranged capability? Because it seems to me that they're light. And we can pound them all 500 meters of our range.

>>34333081
>And we can pound them all 500 meters of our range.

That sounded far dirtier than it should have.

>>34333079
They'd be less than useless and their casualties, of which there would doubtless be many, would be a PR nightmare.

>>34333045
>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

>>34333045
>>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

>>34333113

I'd argue it would be more of a PR nightmare for the opposition to be cutting down their own peasantry, but I see your point.

>>34333079
Probably a better idea to convince the Tower's noncombatants to try to summon a few Combat familiars. The ritual only takes an hour IIRC.

>>34332846
Finn shouldn't become a clone of him in military matters though. Otherwise there isn't much point to playing him.

>>34333192

Oh I like that actually. Assuming any of them have the capacity for it. Would at least help supplement a bit.

>>34333192
THe odds are stacked pretty high against any of them being competent summoners though...

>>34333192

Yup, I like this.

>>34333045
>>2. Focused on strong defences around the rocky hills around the market. This would provide a powerful and solid defensive core to repel the enemy’s superior numbers but would be heavily reliant on you and your team to repel the enemy mage-knight charges.

>>34333192
Remember that summoning is a "little" underappreciated and used.

>>34333203

Well Finn's combat style is vastly different then Talon's, though they both take a fierce beating, so they have their differences. I would assume Finn would pick up at least one of Talon's tendencies, while developing another of his own, like the quick strike he just pulled off.

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THis is pretty clearly a 2.

>>34333079
>Would trying to rally the townsfolk do us any good?
Most of them have fled. The rest are probably cowering in fear.

>>34333081
The problem is that they're gonig to come right at you. You really need to be concentrating on how to defend yourself from their charges.

>>34333192
No real competent summoners in the lot.

>>34333301

Well... Damn, nothing really to give us an extra edge there.

Fly the banner at least damn it. I don't know.

>>34333391

Warm up your dice, anon.

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>2.

A night could accomplish a lot. A raid, construction of walls, warding of said walls… it wasn’t perfect however. The wards required constant reinforcement, which tied up most of the non-combatant mages. You looked around the platforms along the walls to where each mage was inscribing rituals for battle and determining distances. Twelve vaguely competent battle-mages behind warded walls and with barriers to protect against arrows would be more than enough to hold off a bunch of lightly equipped foes.

The real problem were the mage-knights advancing at the fore of the enemy force. There were perhaps twenty of them in total. You had five knights plus yourself and Mana to counter them. Not the best elite force – you just had to hope their low morale carried through to battle. If you could break the mage-knights then they would crumble. Otherwise it would become a desperate battle with time – you’d received a sending from Captain Illon saying that they were two hours out.

It was 10am and the enemy force was in plain view. You stood on one of the platforms, Mana behind you with her tails fluttering about nervously. You lowered your raised arm to signal the mages to unleash their onslaught.

[DC16 Mage Onslaught]