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>>38378187
Current Date and Time: Just after midnight on February 15th, 1955PC
FR Points: 1

The slap of metal on flesh marks the end of the bloody melee as you kick a sheep-headed demon off your sword. The body continues to bleed out on the wooden flooring, not disappearing into motes of magic like many others did. You wonder if this means it’s permanently dead instead of banished like Gnome said happened to most demons when they were killed in Gauron. You scrunch up your nose as you decide to ask somebody later – then you activate the gas-filtering enchantment in your helmet. The stench is horrid, as though the bodies of demons are already undergoing months of decay in seconds.

You take a deep breath, enjoying the now cool, fresh air within your helmet, and look around. Then wish you didn’t – having realised that most of the demons vanished upon death, the nightwalker knights had quickly changed tactics. They’d been hewing through the tough hides and overpowering the demons through brute force using their vampiric strength, so going ‘easier’ on them still let them win. The result wasn’t pretty, with many demons still alive and strengthening the nightwalkers as many sated their thirst on beasts that were literally made of magic. Felix is probably going to be able to benchpress the entire siege engine by the end of this, you think.

It’s not hard to ignore the feast of blood, at least on your part. The foxes seem more troubled, having found their services less useful than initially anticipated as the nightwalkers took this floor of the tower in a bloody melee with little difficulty. The looks of disgust and horror on their faces could be troublesome if left to brew.

>continued

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>>38378202
“Kirin, Abal, get your knights to the walls,” you shout over the din, both within the tower and without. “The locals are getting restless – keep them pacified.”

Decades of discipline and training bring the foxes back to their mission and you can see their game faces return as they split off into pairs and keep any roaming demons out. The lowest level of the tower was a good four storeys above the ground, with ladders up, but the demons were literally clawing their way up thirty metres of smoothed stone walls so you doubted they would be delayed much, which meant getting down to business.

“You look less troubled than I expected,” Aladria says as you approach her, knocking on the central support pillar of the tower. “So is the nine-tailed empress.”

“It’s just another part of war to block out,” you say blandly, looking up at where the thick pillar meets the wooden roof. “And Taira’s not an empress. Can you cut through this? Or is it time for Plan B?”

“Perhaps you should remind her of that,” Aladria mutters before returning to business. “I can cut through it given time – maybe fifteen minutes? Our fluffy empress said she’ll look at the huge spike. I’m no engineer but I doubt this thing can support itself with the pillar broken.”

>continued

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>>38378235
Before you can answer you feel Taira summon an immense amount of power, your skin erupting in goosebumps before you can focus your mind and protect yourself from her draw. The world appears to spin around Taira, like a spiral that captures the entire world in its midst, erupting from her tails. Then, like a shimmering mirage, the spike appears to melt from some ethereal, nearly colourless fire. Blue and purple gas seems to shift around the drill as whatever it is made of begins to break apart, falling into chunks or dripping off like liquid. It’s slow going but given she just turned around and gave you a little victory dance, it seems that she can probably move around and keep casting that.

Still, time is a concern. It might be faster to charge up the tower while melting the spike, then jump towers, rather than try to hold this floor while Aladria cuts it off. On the other hand, maybe you can do something special with this toppling tower once the spike between both towers is a pile of demonic essence on the ground. You…

>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.
>2. Charge up the tower while destroying the ‘spike’.
>3. Have Taira and Aladria work together to destroy the central support and leave the ‘spike’ for later.
>4. Custom

>>38378252
1

>>38378252
>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.

>>38378252
>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.

>>38378202
>The result wasn’t pretty, with many demons still alive and strengthening the nightwalkers as many sated their thirst on beasts that were literally made of magic. Felix is probably going to be able to benchpress the entire siege engine by the end of this, you think.

Right. Essence sucking soulless beings. Forgot about that.

>>38378252
>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.

>>38378252
>>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.

>>38378409
Wait, don't they still have souls? Just very corrupt and inhuman ones?

>>38378252
>1. Hold this floor of the tower, having Aladria cut through the central support while Taira melts the ‘spike’.
"We painted the walls red" to which Talon comments "They could be more red."

We can finally see Corrfax in battle, can't we.

>>38378252
>3. Have Taira and Aladria work together to destroy the central support and leave the ‘spike’ for later.

>>38378452
Their souls merged with their bodies or something. Almost nobody has any idea how soul stuff works in setting.

>>38378524
Ok. Fair enough I guess.

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1 wins handily. Writing.

>>38378503
He's currently guarding the Source Vault against shenanigans, but he could fly out and attack. He'd need to retreat back near the Source every so often, though.

>>38378503
That'd be nice. We've been neglecting him a bit, lately.

>>38378592

Yeah that sounds awesome. Flight of the Valkyries is a-go.

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>1.

Even with their helmets back on and no longer feeding, there’s a presence to the nightwalkers. You’re pretty sure that Felix is the only one who actually got stronger from feeding, but the nightwalkers are certainly doing a good job of making you think otherwise. Some of their eyes are glowing, which you hope is at least a little frightening to the demons. If anything is going to make them feel fear, it’s the monsters on your side.

“They’re not actually stronger, but demon blood is just very potent. If regular blood is like weak beer or thinned wine, and yours is like a perfectly aged and highly alcoholic wine, then a demon’s would be high proof spirit,” Aladria explains as she focuses on the support pillar, a steady wave of black cutting into the pillar. “They’re probably just feeling a little ‘pumped up’.”

All’s quiet on the front, even as you watch groups of demons mount the walls and begin battling the mage-knights deployed atop them. Much more of that and your forces will be pulling back - taking out this siege engine before that happens would be nice, but time will be tight.

“Well, it’s good that my blood is of sutiable quality for you,” you mutter in return, only paying a little bit of attention. “Felix, any movement?”

The vampire knight is looking rather relaxed, with his sword hung over his shoulder. He gestures towards the nightwalker officers in turn. You follow the reactions he gets, noting the exaggerated and highly disciplined responses he’s getting from the officers. It looks like the demons are still avoiding you when…

>continued

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>>38379012
“Movement, sirs!” shouts Captain Terril and the tower fills with the clatter of plated armour as the hundreds of knights suddenly shift back to alert.

A great roar comes from the far side of the tower, opposite where Taira is slowly melting the great spike, and there’s a great crash as a dozen goat-like demons with enormous scaly wings suddenly crashes into the line of nightwalker mage-knights, knocking many down and forcing an enormous melee. Huge lizard-like demons, covered in tattoos and runes, surge up the walls of the tower after them. The greater demons have made their move, trying to break you.

Then a great snap of lightning blasts from your right, screams and an explosion drawing your attention. More demons are surging down the external stairwells, lesser ones that you’ve already fought, but something has blown your defensive formation out of position.

“Damnation,” you curse. “Kirin, Abal, cover the far side with the goat-lizards. Felix, with me.”

[DC12/18 Talon/Felix Combo]

[DC14 Fox Knights]

Rolled 6, 14 = 20 (2d20)

>>38379035

Rolled 9, 12 = 21 (2d20)

>>38379035
Dicing and slicing!

Rolled 20, 11 = 31 (2d20)

>>38379035

Rolled 8, 20 = 28 (2d20)

>>38379035
Oh boy.

Rolled 4, 9 = 13 (2d20)

>>38379035

Rolled 16, 1 = 17 (2d20)

>>38379035

>>38379085
excellent, fighting dream team
>>38379086
sad that this came too late

>>38379052
>>38379085
Great Succes on working with Felix, narrow succes for the foxes.
Pretty good.

>>38379085
There we go!

>>38379086
Damn, sorry I rolled before you. Double 20s would have been fun.

>>38379052
>>38379079
>>38379085

>Talon/Felix 20
>Felix "I roll nothing but 20s" Tarn

Seriously has he ever not rolled one?

>>38379147
Felix must be a command to cheat/win. Soon we will be throwing him at the Shadow Beasts.

>>38379085
Just going to say that Felix has literally rolled 20 every time he is heavily part of it.

>>38379147
What do you expect, a very strong knight turned by a very strong Vampire is going to be special. The dice recognized it.

>>38379171

didn't Felix roll a 20 on becoming a vamp as well?

>>38379147
During the battle of Raupe?

>>38379188
I can't wait for his inevitable showdown with Talon.

Do note the dice is also Talon.

>>38379194

Basically since he got Aladria's OP ability.

Though he was good even wehn he was just a normal guy, way way back when in our early goings I think he rolled a 20 on taking Vale.

>>38379242
He rolled two 20's on taking the Vale.

>>38379052
>>38379079
>>38379085

>Talon & Felix STRONK off
>Foxes cleaning up shop

Truly the best way to start.

>>38379147
Felix needs to back us up against the Prince.

>>38379383
Actually, if Felix absorbs the Prince does he also gain his gifts?

>>38379450
Nope. He also has to Nom his way up the food chain, I'm not sure he CAN absorb a demon prince as he is now.

>>38379383

I think the Binary Blades would fuck with his regen. I had that thought as well during the week.

>>38379495
>>38379510
A pity, I was hoping to have Felix come out of this with a few hundred Infernal superpowers.

>>38379495
Well, then. This is now his buffet.
A pity his strength fades, though.

>>38379532
Look on the bright side, we're probably going to murder someone and take their bow.

>>38379510
Interesting note on the binary blades:
What happens if we shove the magic absorber through its owner and then cut off his limbs?

>>38379570

Putting forth the idea right now that when we defeat the Prince, we take the Binary Blades, melt them down, and reforge a sword and bow for Talon with the same properties. I don't know how, get the Dwarves and Mal on it.

>>38379570
Heh, think of the loot our Knights will end up with.
Who do we give the Binary Blades to?

>>38379633
Finn. He duel wields.

>>38379651
They're a bit too big for Finn, we'd need to give each to a different person.

>>38379605
>>38379633
Considering their size, if we do manage to permanently kill the guy and gain the blades, we could probably arm an entire division of knights with their own magic absorbance blades from the things.

>>38379677
Gifts are weird though, I wouldn't be surprised if taking them apart caused them to lose their powers.

>>38379744
Considering they can affect astral energy, we have to try, because imagine using them on the shadow beasts?

Better yet if we manage to make them into bows that shoot absorbent arrows, but that might be a little above our ability without dedicated gift research.

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> Talon/Felix Combo: Exceptional Success; 6, 9, 20

A long time ago you fought alongside Lynn, when diving down towards Undine’s Place of Power. It had been an odd situation where somebody who emulated your combat style fought alongside you, but there was a marked difference between the two of you. Lynn had the strength, speed and raw talent necessary. What she lacked was the experience.

Felix didn’t. The tower was a cacophony of screams and destruction. Steel hewing through flesh, the death cries of demons, the cheers and jeers of your men as they swarmed in behind and alongside you and our battle partner. It wasn’t synchronised warfare, but there was definitely a connection – the two of you could read each other and cover any problems. The demonic onslaught was quickly crushed, their beachhead shattered.

Which was a good thing, as something much more powerful had just emerged. You could feel that foreign power within it, a cold feeling running through your body. Devilry, that instinctive sense of wrongness permeated your body just as it had when that dwarf had tried to trick you. Now, just as then, you wouldn’t be bested by some soulless trickster. This bastard was going down.

He looked like a man, dressed in fine clothes and with a sharp face. He seemed to appear from nowhere, as if he had had enough of watching you tear apart the demons and foil his plans. He raised himself into a guard stance, his rapier pointed forward in front of his chest. Recalling Gnome’s mention about devils having difficult Gifts, you suspect there’s a trick here. You know there’s a trick – only a fool would fight you like this.

>continued

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>>38379863
The sound of a body hitting the floor pushes you into action, Felix’s casual discard of a demonic body after feeding signalling the time when he can back you up. Your mind watches the world calmly even as your body almost teleports across the gap between the two of you. Your sword jets forward, shield covering your chest and keeping his sword from responding appropriately. If he directs his strength to deflect your sword he’ll still receive a face-full of metal shield. Then you feel the flow of the world seem to shift, as though everything is warping and going wrong.

He’s everywhere at once, as if his body has ceased to exist in just one place or time. You don’t quite follow what your brain is trying to tell you and instead entrust your body to its directions. To the flow of the battle that you read. Your arms glide effortlessly, following the flows of your body and that of the magic around it. He blurs again, slightly differently, and the flow shifts. Something is colliding between the two of you in an instant.

Then that instant is over and his body has shifted completely, changing stance as he rushes into the gap between your sword-arm and shield, his body completely shifted to avoid your blow. You’re moving backwards, however. His rapier strikes your armour, runes flaring to receive it and you feel like you’ve been struck by a hammer. The tower booms with the sound of your fall as the devil’s blow knocks you down, striking first despite all odds and reality itself, but fails to do any true damage.

Then Felix slams into him and the battle is over before it even begins, the devil having reacted in shock to your avoidance of his attack and Felix’s enhanced movement giving him plenty of time to plant his face right in the devil’s neck.

>continued

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>>38379892
>Fox Knights: Target met; 14, 12, 11

You right yourself as the nightwalkers reclaim this side of the tower and Felix finishes his feast. You doubt he’s getting all the power he can from the devil, but it should be a good leap. Turning around to where battle continues you see and feel the Pride knights finishing up on their side. You’ve never seen a fox’s fluffy tail literally cut something in half, but Vad did once turn your hand into a pincushion. Whatever weakness a fox knight might have, their tails aren’t one of them as one of them literally uses one of them as a hardened blade to scythe through a demon that flanked him as he punched a hole in another.

Demons have poured down from the other stairs and up the walls but your nightwalkers are fending them off almost effortlessly. Whatever casualties you’re taking aren’t high, or permanent, as the regeneration of the nightwalkers keeps them in the game.

Massive creaking signals the beginning of the failure of the tower and Aladria looks up.

“Timber?” she says, only a small amount of the pillar yet to be eaten away. “A good shock should do it.”

Taira’s not done with the spike yet, but you doubt it’ll be of much use as it is. The engine has stopped moving. You’re done here. You think.

>1. Leave. Drop this tower on the other one and go. Siege engine permanently disabled but the demons onboard will mostly survive.
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.
>3. Finish melting the spike, just in case, then drop the tower.
>4. Cusotm

>>38379918
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.

Being able to take out the devil in a timely manner gives us enough time to cleanse.

>>38379918
>1. Leave. Drop this tower on the other one and go. Siege engine permanently disabled but the demons onboard will mostly survive.
This is not the best opportunity for an extended melee.

>>38379918
>>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.

That was a great scene there, I'm giddy with excitement.

>>38379918
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.
We should act while the NWs are still on a blood high.

>>38379918
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.
Killing the Devil should buy us some time.
>4. Custom
Loot the corpse, I want that rapier.

>>38379918
Check the wall, if retreat is happening then
>1
If it still holds then
>2

And yeah, take that rapier

>>38379918
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.
Also, loot the bodies.

>>38379918
>2. Finish the job. Cleanse the other tower while dropping this one on the horde below.
Can we empower our sword with astral energy the same way we do with our astral arrows? Or do we do this already?

>>38379918
Fuck you demon horde and fuck you other demon horde and especially fuck you reality bending demon. Damn that was some ass kicking.

Things are going better than expected and hopefully staying wont attract every single demon into charging us. However >>38380005
Supporting. Wont do to be left behind while they swarm the wall.

>>38380030
>Can we empower our sword with astral energy the same way we do with our astral arrows? Or do we do this already?

It's pretty much a constant anymore.

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So yeah, that was a causality bending gift to 'always strike first'. Talon's Flow Animation screwed with it a bit.

>>38380005
>Check the wall, if retreat is happening then
Retreat isn't happening yet. The demon assault is stalling a bit it seems.

>>38380030
You already do that. That's why it glows.

>>38379918
Changing vote from >>38379993 to >>38380005
Harrowmont's safety takes priority.

>>38380067
>So yeah, that was a causality bending gift to 'always strike first'. Talon's Flow Animation screwed with it a bit.

Huh. That's pretty cool. Too bad Felix didn't give a fuck.

>>38380091
We should joke to Felix that in future we should just throw him face first at something.

>>38380067
Then >2 please.

>>38380091
Felix' unique metabolism is capable of draining fucks and converting them into 20s.

>>38379918
>>38380067
can we rig the engine to blow? if so
>4 Rig it to blow then drop it, and loot rapier

So does 2 not include taking the drill out as well? I assume it doesn't because Taira needs to be with us to teleport, but we have Aladria and her shadow step if things get hairy.

>>38380332
2 does say "Finish the job" So yes, I'd assume it does.

I knew those damn nightwalkers would be impressive. Jesus this is just green troops too. Imagine what elites lead by Felix would be capable of?

>>38380387
Horrible and terrible things. NHMKs are fucking scary.

>>38380387
Invading Arcadia.

>>38380387
It makes me regret not picking them up earlier. We should get our researchers on figuring out a way they perform at this level during the daylight.

I also like the respect they show for Felix, maybe this will get him back in the mood to lead again. Also, fucking Vampire Knight Order when?

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>2.

“Drop it on those below. We’re going across to the side,” you tell Aladria, ignoring the look she gives you.

A series of curses from behind you has you on-guard, but it’s just Felix cursing at the rainbow motes of magic that signal an infernal being banished. The devil, along with his rapier, have vanished despite his attempt to drain it. Felix curses the result, his eyes glowing red from his recent feeding. Clicking your tongue, you write off the sword. It would have been a nice addition to your collection.

With another huge swirl of energy, giving you a feeling of seasickness from being too close, Taira topples the tower and immediately teleports you on top of the other one. The battlefield seems to stop as the tower falls down onto the demonic horde below, all of whom have been stalling their rush to the walls, probably in anticipation of the siege engine resuming its charge. The boom of the collapse, metal and wood exploding everywhere as countless demons are crushed, signals a shift in the battlefield.

So too does the whirling melee atop the other tower as the demons atop it are torn asunder by your troops in a furious and bloody melee. Tougher than those below, these were probably those that might leap across to the walls. Unprepared, they still go down and you find yourselves averting your gaze from the bloody orgy once more. Not something to dwell on, or let the foxes dwell on.

“The demons are pulling back. They’ll probably swarm you. Be quick,” says Undine via a sending and you look out over the battlefield.

Masses of demons are surging right towards you. Maybe they know you’re here. Maybe they’re just angry at the failure of their assault. Either way, you’ll need to make this quick and get the hell out before Hell itself greets you.

[DC12/17 Clear the Tower]

Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>38380512

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>38380512


>>38380484
I think it would be best to have integrated orders, not segregated ones.

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>38380512

>>38380484
Probably when we get all the necessity sorted and establish a kind of 'Vampire contract' that keeps them from dominating everyone and getting into power unfairly.

Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>38380512

>>38380523
>>38380527
>>38380534
Why.

>>38380523
>>38380527
>>38380534
Fuck
>>38380544
FUUUUUCK

>>38380544

fuuuuuuu

>>38380523
>>38380527
>>38380534
...
>>38380544
COME ON MAN.

>>38380523
>>38380527
>>38380534
We got an astral point to spend or do we just feck off now?

>>38380544
Can we spend a FR point to count this instead of the third roll?
Do we even have any FR points?

>>38380527
Those are a nightmare to stat though.
>>38380566
Not my fault, Captacha was a bitch. Also, I voted 1, for the record.

>>38380575
We need to save that for the big guy.
>>38380586
We have one.

>>38380586

We have an FR point. I don't want to burn it right now. We still have the Prince to fight.

>>38380527

I mostly lobby for it so we can have a "Vampire Noble Knight" stat block, just a mass of slightly weaker Felix's. And it would be easier to throw Day/Nightwalkers together.

The Imperial Order kind of takes care of our integrated order in my opinion.

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>>38380523
>>38380527
>>38380534
Decision time. You can try to push on and cause more casualties as the demons swarm you, which will mean a higher difficulty roll and high chance of casualties if you fail. Or you can cut your losses and pull back.

TACTICS VOTE
>1. Push on and try to kill as many demons as possible before you must pull out.
>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.
>3. Custom

Note that there'll be a short break as I get lunch and you guys decide on any changes to the strategy before the second storm of demons.

>>38380606
Point taken, but I would at least consider it.
We have four hero units and two of our most elite formations in serious danger of being swarmed by Demons.
Plus, assuming that there's a Devil for each tower then the other one might make things tricky for us.

>>38380686
>>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.

>>38380686
>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.
Relying on good dice rolls instead of good tactics isn't gonna end well.

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>>38380686
>Note that there'll be a short break as I get lunch and you guys decide on any changes to the strategy before the second storm of demons.

Sorry, this break is after the next update. I'll summarise the situation so you guys can discuss.

>>38380686
>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.

Time to bug out. This was an operation of risk as was, lose the advantage and it can go south really fast. We did a good amount of damage regardless.

>>38380686
>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.

>>38380686
>>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.

>>38380686
>>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.
We've already fulfilled primary objective. Time to bait the demons into initiating stage two of the siege. Undine get that trap ready!

>>38380679
There is literally a R&D project called "Vampire Knights" guess what happens if we pick it?

>>38380686
>2

All things considered things went well. From the first wave to the strike team, best not take further unnecessary risk. That said, damn it if the strike team wasn't fun as hell, great way to splice in combat in the early goings for Talon.

>>38380686
>2. Pull out

>>38380855

Right, after our Battlemage/Spellblade programs. Completely forgot about that. Hope this display rouses some interest in that.

>>38380686
>1. Go big or go home.

If that's how they perform as NHMKs, imagine them as NLMKs. They'd be the ultimate of Glass Cannons™. Damn, I want Felix to command any Nightwalkers that wish to join our military, and personally lead a retinue of elite NLMKs.

Any good names?

>>38380855
On a vaguely related note, we need to get Felix a suit of Basette armour.
Can you say 'Rape Train'?

>>38380971

It's a shame we don't have a lot of LMK, the template got shunted to the side for our own research.

That said I'm still pumped for the potential of the Juggernaut Knights, imagine Nightwalkers under the hood of those monsters.

>>38380686
>2. Pull out as things go south in the cleansing operation.
Lets not get swarmed here.

Are the night walkers still green? How much combat do they have to see to become experienced?

>>38380988

I assumed he looted that black suit from the guy he absolutely wrecked in the Guard. I remember it being mentioned that we at least took it, I'd imagine it would take to reenchantment.

>>38380971
Something suitably edgy for vamps.
Dusk Breakers
Dawn Defilers
Blood Takers

>>38380955
Forgot about that too. Can't wait for post timeskip, we're going to have so many new toys to play with.

>>38380955
Worth mentioning that we probably won't have mixed NW and DW units, mainly becuase the best nightwalkers will be elite NHMK units, due to there not being much point to equipping people with no personal sorcery with custom gear to compliment their specific brand of magic.

>>38380971
Eh, HMKs are strictly better than LMKs at this kind of combat, LMKs are only really good on the open field where they can charge, peel off and outmaneuver.

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>Target not met & 2

Your cleansing operation hits a wall almost immediately, with another floor full of heavily armed and armoured demons. Unlike the first group, this lot know you’re coming and you’re hitting a defended position. Your vampire and fox knights hit like a catapult but it’s slow going and you rapidly find yourself with sendings from Undine urging you to pull out.

“Taira, that’s enough,” you shout over the din of battle, pulling out momentarily. “This thing is out of action. Let’s leave.”

You’re not exactly happy with the result, though. This tower is still mostly standing, save for Taira’s spiritual fire burning its way down the central support. You simply didn’t have the time to cut it down. At least with the demons retreating they’d likely abandon their positions here – it would be insanity for them to remain in range of all your siege weapons and defensive line. Then again, they were demons.

Things look up as you teleport out and convene a strategy meeting in a warehouse by the canal. The demons have pulled back to beyond the torchlight, to do what you don’t know.

“They don’t need to rest or eat,” Gnome explains. “They’ve tired your men out and will probably hit within hours. Most likely they’re just changing their strategy after you disabled their siege engine and took out one of their devils.”

“One of?” you ask.

“I can’t imagine a devil with that sort of Gift also being capable of summoning that siege engine by himself. There’s more out there,” she answers.

>continued

>>38381143

That's probably true. But I imagine it something like how Phrace is a Griffon Knight that leads a unit of HMK. So some Daywalker Knights might lead elite NHMK units. More narrative then crunch in the end.

>>38381110
Order of Blood, for the type of vampiric sorcery the Daywalkers favor.

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>>38381205
The bad news is that the walls took a battering. The northern gatehouse got hammered by a pack of five metre tall bull demons that rammed the gate and nearly blew it open. Only the timing of their retreat kept it intact. The walls themselves hardly slowed the demons, as they effortlessly climbed the walls - boiling oil and rocks had little effect on them, stretch out across the walls as they were. Once they get up top, the archers pull back and the mage-knights fight it out, weakening your ranged capability and letting more demons get up. Not to mention that you’ve expended all your traps and the demons have destroyed all the earthworks and fortifications outside the walls. And they haven’t used their fliers yet.

You’re not sure whether to continue holding the outer wall as per your strategy.

>Discussion time while I grab some lunch

Current plan is to hold the outer wall until breached, then basically skirmish your way back through the trap-filled canal and terraces and fight them at the outer wall. The demons probably lost a couple thousand at most, though it’s hard to determine their losses when their bodies vanish like they do.

So yeah, strategy time. Somebody talked earlier about using Corrfax, too.

>>38381227
Blood Guard for the Knights
Tenebrous Order for the Mages

>>38381234
What are our casualties like?

I think the outer wall is too battered and bruised to be held effectively anymore. We might want to take this chance to figure out a way to booby trap the thing. Can barriers be overloaded to explode? I don't know.

This would be a good chance to give them a healthy wave of summons with some Corrfax action. Let them think they took the wall then unleash a flood of summons to rebuke them.

>>38381234
Let's switch from a heavy defense to a wall to a heavier defense in the terraces. Our archers are in good positions to fire at these positions from safety.

>>38381234
Time to draw them into the city at the next attack. Undines trap will kill a lot of them at the canal which should hopefully even things out for us further.

>>38381234
Hmm, holding the wall seems a little pointless when they can just climb up, but I'm not sure how we can pull our guys back without getting slaughtered.

>>38381234
Could Gnome rig the entire Wall of collapse on the demons when they next advance?
How many of the Demons split off to hold Ren? Estimated ETA of the Darlesian Garrison to Ren's fortress

>>38381064
We never went and investigated that armor. Probably should do that sometime soon.

>>38381417
It was canceled because it wouldn't give out more than vague hints. Plus, lines 38 to 43 are probably malantine anyway.

Okay, so now holding the wall is pointless. We'll need to hold somewhere farther in. Perhaps at the canal to lure more of them into our trap. Perhaps in the terraces to let our archers accomplish more.

>>38381324
>>38381393

>suggestions to blow up the wall

Guise pls not my beautiful wall. I mean I guess we're going to be (re)building a new one anyway with the next expansion but... Damn.

We call Corrfax in when shit hits the fan on Wave 2. Focus more ranged, but prepare to retreat at a moment's notice, since the wall's at critical levels of HP. Once they break in it's gonna be a massive melee, it's better to just outright block/barricade alternate routes/pathways to critical locations than spreading our forces too thin trying to defend everywhere at once. Plus, it also creates chokepoints they have to funnel through.

Since the wall's going down anyway, can't we rig some neat stuff to go down with it?

>>38381497
Just wondering, how much would it cost to put spikes or blades at the base and top of the walls to dissuade climbing?

>>38381557
You know the planned new walls are more Fortress Wall tier and have a good slant to them. That said, yes giant metal spikes sound like a good idea.

>>38381234
I say we demo the wall as was suggested so we can put up a defense at the canal. If the demons get a height advantage from the wall that could be nasty.

So with the canal defense we have natural chokepoints on the bridges, assuming Undine can keep em from going through the water. Then when it's time to leave we have ready-made 8m walls just from the terrace height differences that we can hold at, along with the gatehouses on the terraces themselves. I want Corrfax to be involved somewhere along the line, but I'm not sure where it'd be best.

The canal/terrace defense will be rough without the siege engines from the wall keeping the demons at bay, and their fliers must be showing soon too.

>>38381497
we'll need to rebuild this one anyway, got kinda trashed.

We should probably have a good portion of our anti-siege trained on the sky. Those fliers are going to be the death of us if they disrupt the terrace/Crown Wall defenses.

>>38381628
>I want Corrfax to be involved somewhere along the line, but I'm not sure where it'd be best.
Leading the charge of the griffons in the sky? We've apparently been stacking a bunch up in the source, so that's going to be fun.

>>38381628
We could have Corrfax ready with the aerial defense when their Fliers show up. Be a good way to use our summon swarm we have waiting in the wings, and our Elite Fliers can filter in as well.

>>38381757
Ah someone beat me to it. I support this idea all together.

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Seems to be a fair bit of support for abandoning the wall (presumably after using it to rain hell on the enemy as they advance) and instead staging a strong defence in the canal district and/or terraces. Is that right?

>blowing the wall
A little hard to do. Collapsing 2 miles of massive stone walls is a big job. You could maybe rig parts of it, but that might make it easier for them to get inside. Collapsing the gatehouses is probably smart.

>casualties
Relatively light. Mostly among the MMKs who held the wall.

>Estimated ETA of the Darlesian Garrison to Ren's fortress
Ren's fortress is north of Harrowmont. The Darlesian Garrison would arrive at your position first.

>>38381902
>Relatively light. Mostly among the MMKs who held the wall.
What about our strike force that went after the siege engine?

>>38381902
>Ren's fortress is north of Harrowmont. The Darlesian Garrison would arrive at your position first.
Okay, then ETA to us?

>>38381902
>Seems to be a fair bit of support for abandoning the wall (presumably after using it to rain hell on the enemy as they advance) and instead staging a strong defence in the canal district and/or terraces. Is that right?

Sounds about right to me. So basically the same plan only stronger mounted defense in the canal district on the retreat.

>You could maybe rig parts of it, but that might make it easier for them to get inside

Right now we want that right? It would look like a desperate gambit on our end, fueling more to charge through and get caught in Undine's trap. Key locations would be the best plan though.

Personally I believe the terraces might be the superiior place to defend in force. We can get better supporting fire from the Crown Wall.

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STRATEGY VOTE
>1. Keep the current plan. Hold the Outer Wall until breached before skirmishing back through the Canal and Terraces.
>2. Move your defense back to the Canal and Terraces, supplementing the traps and ambushes with solid blocks of knights and fortifications.
>3. Abandon Lower Harrowmont. Retreat from the outer wall when under threat and then skirmish back through the canal and terraces, avoiding pitched battle.
>4. Custom

BLOWING THE WALL
Only applicable if you choose not to hold it.
>1. Collapse the gatehouses to slow their entry, leaving the rest of the wall intact.
>2. Rig parts of the walls that the demons focused on earlier to collapse when they climb them.
>3. Leave the walls and gatehouses intact.
>4. Custom

>>38382189
>2. Move your defense back to the Canal and Terraces, supplementing the traps and ambushes with solid blocks of knights and fortifications.
>2. Rig parts of the walls that the demons focused on earlier to collapse when they climb them.

>>38382189
>2
>2

>>38382189
>>2. Move your defense back to the Canal and Terraces, supplementing the traps and ambushes with solid blocks of knights and fortifications.

>2. Rig parts of the walls that the demons focused on earlier to collapse when they climb them

>>38382189
3
>2

Suddenly very quiet in here. Guess everyone agrees with the direction?

>>38382189
>1. Keep the current plan. Hold the Outer Wall until breached before skirmishing back through the Canal and Terraces.
Stick to the plan.
>1. Collapse the gatehouses to slow their entry, leaving the rest of the wall intact.
I don't think collapsing the wall would deal much damage to them.

>>38382189
>2
>1+2

I sorta wonder what the rest of the world is thinking right now.

>>38382189
>2. Move your defense back to the Canal and Terraces, supplementing the traps and ambushes with solid blocks of knights and fortifications.
>1. Collapse the gatehouses to slow their entry, leaving the rest of the wall intact.

>>38382599
A collective, "Yeah fuck that noise."

Either that or everyone else thinks it's the end times, perfectly timed Shadowbeast push and Infernal incursion? Christ, this world has seen some shit.

Oh! I almost forgot. Based on worst case numbers, last thread we destroyed at around one quarter of their forces.

Note, this is calling "hundreds" as 200 and "thousands" as 2000.

>>38382599
Its my headcanon that when Talon told Merce about the massive demon army, she thought he was screwing with her again and hung up on him.

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2 & 2 win. Writing. I'm really sluggish today - finding it hard to focus. Not sure if this will be a full thread but I'll still try. I want to wrap up the siege by the end of next thread.

>>38382599
Has a single Fortress in the setting seen this much bullshit in such a short time? Outside of the Last Retreat of course. Imagine being a simple hardworking man with a family in Harrowmont right now.

>>38382796
Time to break out the liquor?

>>38382817
Meanwhile, in Aspiring Peasant Quest
>Last month some dragon was flying overhead, now there is a demon army, what the fuck QM!?
>told you we should have moved to ahm
>How does Emperor Talon get so many bitches?

>>38383022
>rolled a 1 on harvest
>can we use our Farmer Point?

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>>38382935
I have to drive later. I might have a few drinks before then, though. Just need to watch the amount.

>>38383022
I was actually thinking of doing a one-shot of the life of a peasant aspiring to be something greater in Harrowmont post-siege.

>>38383100
Peasant manages to become a Knight? Rich merchant? Is he a hairy wizard!?

>>38383068
>You mean our Fuck Droughts point? We're saving that for the buildup to the festival.

>>38383100
>>38383142
Sounds like a way to get a new hero character!

>>38383100
I'd play the hell out of that.

>inb4 everyone wants to become a vampire

>>38383181
>not wanting to be a fluffy tails

Pleb

>>38383211
>Not wanting to be a Dragon
Maximum kek

>>38383181
>>38383211
Become monster hunting monk. could be a fun way to learn about how monks operate.

>>38383211
>implying the thing we'll be aspiring too isn't lord of a fluffy harem

>>38383248

So we become a Witcher? Sold, let's do it.

>>38383252
>>38383246
Fuckin' love you guys, never change.

>>38383142
Templar, best knight coming through.

>>38382817
>Be carpenter/mason/whatever in Harrowmont, life is hard
>Darlesian army fights next door, destroys much
>Get job from victorious general to rebuild, work hard, be satisfied with result
>General tears down everything to build huge fortress
>Work hard helping, be satisfied with result
>Demons tear down everything, that blood is so hard to get out
>Rage so hard that one-shot APQ happens:
>>38383100
Looking Forward to it

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>2 & 2

It’s the waiting that’s the worst part in war, so perhaps the demons were doing you a favour by not making you wait too long. More realistically, you’re having difficulty managing the stamina of your men – your Griffin and Vitrian knights are still fresh, particularly given their experience, but many of your archers are beginning to flag. The first storm lasted too long and achieved too little damage, in your opinion. Belrauth’s strategy had a secondary element of attrition and you wondered if he’ll pull back once he’s into the terraces or if he’ll simply hole up in them and continually assault you.

You suppose you’ll find out, as the demonic horde moves up from the darkness. They’re in thick formations, with heavy shields at the front. You expect that they’ll start their charge once in range of your bows. Explosions of dirt and gore ripple across their front lines as the massive siege ballistae find their targets – but if their comrades untimely ends trouble them it’s not shown in the slow methodical advance of the demons. It’s disconcerting and you worry about the morale of your men, particularly once you move into block-by-block fighting.

The world breaks out into thunder as they charge once more, breaking into blazingly fast sprints to cross then chasm. The wind whistles death as thousands of arrows greet them on the other side, alongside the clanking and loud snaps of the ballistae and mangonels. Once again you greet their charge with an amazing display of superior firepower.

Once again they shrug it off, rocks as big as your fist bouncing off their thick hides and their clawed hands ripping ballista bolts out of their chests. You’re certain they’re taking some damage, however. You see occasional bursts of light amongst them, drowned out by the sea of charging flesh and metal, and recall that the demons in the tower had often gone down simply from being hurt enough.

>cont

>>38383100

Requesting that if you do this the PC is in a committed loving relationship already.

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>>38383485
Roars begin to reach your ears with clarity as they close on the walls and you signal the retreat. Lifts, stairs, ladders, teleportation – you move your men off the walls and across the canal as quickly as humanly and mechanically possible. As you walk down the road towards one of the seven bridges across the canal, preparing to join Undine at her post, you hear the sound of tonnes upon tonnes of stone collapsing in on themselves. Screams and roars pierce the implosion of the nearby gatehouse, preventing the demons who had been trying to breach the gate from easy ingress even once the walls were taken. At the same time, easy egress is also removed.

Not that egress existed with twenty thousand demons between anybody inside the fortress and freedom.

Lynn is lined up with her Griffin Knights at the bridge, staying on the far side. Those boats from earlier continue to float in the too-still water, having not been touched at all. Well, that will change shortly. You can fell Undine’s magic in the water beneath you as you quickly cross the bridge. As the demons begin to mass atop the walls, your archers and ballistae still firing on them from the terraces and Crown Wall, you eye the bridge control room nearby. You’re not sure whether to raise the bridges and force the demons to try to brute force their way across the canal or to leave the bridges as a small safe-haven in order to funnel their forces. Not that they’ll be completely safe, if Undine’s power is anything like what you expect it to be.

You…

>1. Raise the bridges, forcing the demons to find some way across the canal. Note that it’s only 3m deep and 15m across but will be controlled entirely by Undine.
>2. Leave the bridges down, likely funnelling the demons to try to seize them even as they get pummelled by magic.
>3. Custom

>>38383523
>1. Raise the bridges, forcing the demons to find some way across the canal. Note that it’s only 3m deep and 15m across but will be controlled entirely by Undine.

Alright back to being nervous.

>>38383523
>>1. Raise the bridges, forcing the demons to find some way across the canal. Note that it’s only 3m deep and 15m across but will be controlled entirely by Undine.
We need to rest our men.

>>38383523
>2. Leave the bridges down, likely funnelling the demons to try to seize them even as they get pummelled by magic.

>>38383523
>2. Leave the bridges down, likely funnelling the demons to try to seize them even as they get pummelled by magic.

>>38383523
Can we, uh, destroy the bridges while the demons are crossing them?

>>38383523
>>1. Raise the bridges, forcing the demons to find some way across the canal. Note that it’s only 3m deep and 15m across but will be controlled entirely by Undine.

>>38383523
>>2. Leave the bridges down, likely funnelling the demons to try to seize them even as they get pummelled by magic.

>>38383523
>1

>>38383523
If the archers are the tired soldiers, would raising the bridge or failing to do so have any impact in terms of helping with their exhaustion?

>>38383523
>1. Raise the bridges, forcing the demons to find some way across the canal. Note that it’s only 3m deep and 15m across but will be controlled entirely by Undine.

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Looks like 1. Writing.

>>38383885
The archers would probably be used more if you raised the bridges, unless you put them on hold while the demons try to wade across or find some other way to get at you.

>>38383885
Look on the bright side, if they were normal archers instead of AA's they'd have already run out of steam.

>>38383960
If that's it I'm changing my vote>>38383598
to >2

>>38383960
Can we hang out with the Daerfir?

This seems like a good thread to jump into this quest since it seems to be very combat and tactically focus. So can anyone give a quick run down of the demons we are fighting?

>>38384135
Skim the last thread, it contains the bulk of the tactical talk and what knowledge we do have of the these demons.

Lorebin has about the rest of our knowledge on the subject.

>>38384194

OK thanks.

>>38384135
They are a bunch of demons who are invading from hell. They want our magical source thing, which is a geographic location that you can bind to a person and do cool things with. We are fighting them with humans in magical power armor, Elves with magical tatoos that grant them great power while cutting their life in half, vampires in power armor, wizards and fluffy tails. All at an over-sized fortress that makes Helms deep look like a minor border fort.

>>38384225
>All at an over-sized fortress that makes Helms deep look like a minor border fort.

The beauty of this statement is I'm not even close to done yet. Once I get out of this rut with the Keep I'll be working on some new ideas for the Fortress.

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>1.

Unwilling to face the demons up-front when you don’t need to, you have the bridges raised. The clanking of the mechanisms involved, and the whine of the bridges as they rise, fills the air as you observe the demons on the walls. They continue to mass up there, ignoring the fire that’s being peppered upon them. You put a stop to that, as your archers aren’t doing much by firing up at such an angle. Giving them a chance to rest, you inform Moss to be ready to rotate his archers with yours if the demons appear to be making headway.

Not that anything is happening. Minutes turn to almost an hour as the demons mass and your men rest. So much for the second storm. They must be aware of the danger of that canal. Which means they must be preparing a countermeasure.

The sun is peeking over the cliffs behind you, and it’s only thanks to it that you readily spot the army of fliers coming towards the Outer Wall. They’re focused on your position and a good hundred metres above the wall. There must be almost two thousand of them, you think. Two thousand massive flying demons, with teams of powerful greater demons within their numbers.

Kyria’s vanished somewhere, so you use your nearby Griffin knights to better coordinate your response. You need to start drawing in the heavy knights that can be here quickly if you’re going to hope to fend off this assault. With so many of them, you’re wary of engaging them aerially but they seem far slower than your flyers. Perhaps that might be the best option. You…

>1. Prepare a difficult defense against the flyers homing in on Undine. If her concentration breaks the canal will be crossed easily.
>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.
>3. Keep your knights in position in case the canal is crossed but try to rally and focus all available firepower on the demons.
>4. Custom

>>38384279
Based, so very Based.

>>38384286
>>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.
+summons

>>38384286
>>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.
Dragon + griffon swarm

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>38384286
>>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.

>>38384286
>>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.

>>38384286
>2. Sortie your flyers along with Corrfax. Try to break up the flying formation and do as much damage as possible while you reposition your archers and knights.
Time for dragons

>>38384813
wat

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>2.

The demonic flyers might not be fast, but they’re ignoring barriers in their way. You won’t have the time to mount a proper defense if you don’t engage them, so you put Illon to work. Combined with Karise blinking into the keep to bring Corrfax out you should have an assault force.

And Mal’s bloody griffin, for that matter. Magical power swirls around the battle tower erected in place of a siege ballista, signalling a mass summon of no small complexity. Luckily they’d started on it a while back, preparing the long-lasting griffins to support the troops in defense. Now there would be a dozen or more of those huge elemental griffins supporting Corrfax and three hundred veteran flying mage-knights. Against two thousand demons.

You didn’t like these odds.

“Illon, prepare to sortie. Don’t take any stupid risks,” you let him know via sending.

Being Illon, the reply is something along the lines of whether you’re cancelling the plan. Smartarse.

It’s a majestic sight to see your knights, their armour gleaming in the morning sun behind them, fly towards the foe with a pack of griffins around them. Plus the gigantic metal chimera that looks like it’s glowing with evil power. The demons fan out, preparing to receive their charge, brandishing their weapons and roaring loudly enough for you to clearly hear then hundreds of metres away. There’s several moments of anticipation, where your heart feels like it’s going to explode from its chest.

Then, right before the moment of truth one of your knights coughs next to you and says, “Captain Rayza is asking whether she can ‘go save the idiots’.”

>continued

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>>38385076
You stare at the knight for a second before you hear the shouts of surprise and wonder. Your heart sinks as you look back towards where you think you’ll see something you shouldn’t. Five little dragons, each about as big as a draft horse, are now soaring out from the terraces towards the demons. You hesitate about giving an answer, unwilling to risk Rayza because Kyria had a few secret friends who decided to be stupid.

At least Corrfax and the griffins were keeping things together, joining the FMKs in avoiding direct conflict and raking the waiting demons with fire. Literal fire in most cases, with Corrfax letting out an enormous jet of white flame and the griffins smaller blasts alongside arcs of lightning. Explosions ripple amongst the demonic mass as the FMKs loose their spells and dive away, keeping their swords sheathed. Without any ability to respond, the demons jeer and boo before suddenly swooping towards you, trying to cut at the flyers as they can.

And flying right at the descending mass are five small dragons.

“Goddammit,” you say. You…

>1. Keep Rayza in position, hoping the little dragons fare okay.
>2. Let Rayza help.
>3. Send all the flying help you can – Rayza, Lynn, Sylph, Sala. The works.
>4. Custom

>>38385108
>>2. Let Rayza help.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

number 2

>>38385108
>2. Let Rayza help.

>>38385108
>2. Let Rayza help.
Fucking morons.

>>38385108
>>2. Let Rayza help.

>>38385108
>>2. Let Rayza help.
+Sylph for quick teleporting retreat

>>38385108
>2. Let Rayza help.
Get the dragons and back out of the fight.

>>38385108
>2. Let Rayza help.
Also, Have our fluffy tailed empress give them covering fire.

>>38385200
Oh yes this.
I doubt the flyers have the same anti-fox protections as the guys on the ground.

>>38385193
Good idea. Last thing we want is this flight of the valkyries dropping out of the sky.

These are dragons even if young. They might not do too badly as long as we keep them with covering fire.

>>38385108
>>2. Let Rayza help.

I fell behind and can only recognize half of these names.

>>38385108
>>38385275

Changing vote to include one or both of these:

>>38385200
>>38385193

I vote for >>3835200's idea

I have faith that Rayza's abilities will be able to turn this into something less then a disaster. Like the DracoGriffs, only bigger.

>>38385333
Think you are missing a 8 there somewhere

>>38385333
You seem new. In order to quote somone, you can click on their post number.

See the "No. 38385333" on your post? In order to respond to you, I clicked on the numbers. It automatically makes it go
>>38385333
Very useful.

>>38385395
thanks didn't know that

>>38385470
Also, don't post with a name.
It's not so bad in quest threads, but people get annoyed if you do that all the time.

>>38385521
Ah okay

So the Daywalker Knight program.

How are we going to set it up? Sort of like a eugenics program? Find a handful of lines that would be best suited for the job? Perhaps the program should be more all encompassing? So we can get all of the most useful lines in fields where they would be best suited.

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>2 plus fluffy covering fire

If you give Kyria and her draconic friend’s some credit, their charge does look suitably majestic for your empire. Five dragons barrelling towards the demons, their wings beating heavily and methodically as they close the distance. Spells coalesce in their claws, before being hurled towards the demons and blowing holes in their torsos. Fire bursts from their throats, incinerating yet more. But a couple dozen dead demons is nothing compared to the hundreds about to swarm them.

Then all sound seems to stop, the world ceasing to exist for a moment as you lose the feel even of the cool morning air on your skin. A momentous surge of magic so great you wonder if Sala is preparing a charge comes into existence in just an instant. A massive form hovers above a nearby bridge, a mass of prismatic magical energy clutched between her massive claws, each large enough to crush you handily. Sylvian had been as large as Harrowmont’s keep and Kyria was small enough for you to easily ride her like a horse so you had figured there’d be some middle ground. You just assumed that Rayza was below it – instead she’s large enough to fill much of the great hall, her shimmering blue scales resplendent in the sunlight.

Her power summoned, she shows you the true majesty of dragons. She rears back suddenly, her tail lashing out as she does and whipping through a building on the other side of the canal. Making a sweeping motion with one claw across the demons far away from her, she unleashes the true power of a royal blue dragon. Her colour supposedly made her greater at magic and being a royal dragon supposedly enhanced it even further. You now understood what Sylvian meant by that and wondered how dragons have ever been threatened.

>continued

>>38385648
Its a eugenics program. Daywalker sorcery tends to be short ranged, so its honestly best in a melee. Most of the other useful abilities are to weird or situational to build a coherent unit around.

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>>38385717
A wall of flame stretches across the air between the little dragons and the demons, surging towards the flying mass of infernals. Then it’s gone, leaving nothing left of more than a hundred demons but ash and a shimmering haze in the air. The remaining demons fan out, once more, trying to avoid clustering up and being swept aside like that. They don’t slow their advance, even as many more get knocked out of the air by blasts of force.

With a massive beat of her wings, strong enough to cause ripples in the water even where you are despite Undine’s control, Rayza soars through the air towards the little dragons. She all but slams into them, trying to keep them from getting butchered by the mass of demons nearby.

You know that Sylph is going to try to get them out of there, but you’re worried about Rayza now. You’re not sure Sylph can teleport her while she’s in that form. Unslinging your bow, you take aim to help Taira and your fliers salvage this whole operation.

[DC14/19 Astral Arrow]

[DC11/19 Fliers]

Roll 2d20 each please.

Rolled 17, 8 = 25 (2d20)

>>38385743

Rolled 13, 17 = 30 (2d20)

>>38385743
Here we go!

Rolled 17, 8 = 25 (2d20)

>>38385743

Rolled 10, 6 = 16 (2d20)

>>38385743

Rolled 20, 17, 3, 15 = 55 (4d20)

>>38385743
We need more dice

>all those 17s

Damn it. So close, yet so far.

>>38385804
If only. Those / DCs meant different degrees of success. The seperate one was a different roll. Only two dice.

Rolled 16, 15, 20, 6 = 57 (4d20)

>>38385849
Shit, I forgot.

>>38385804
>>38385869

Anon. Stop. You're killing me right now.

>>38385869
My heart.

>>38385719

That's unfair, we faced plenty of Daywalkers that focused more on Shadow then Blood. They make more then adequate mage/support units as well.

That's not to mention the handful of other variations that we heard about, but never got the chance to face.

>>38385942
>They make more then adequate mage/support units as well.
Yes, but battlemages have more range and utility than most shadow based vampires. Vampiric magic is usually very short ranged, and thus lends its self best to either knight style combat, or powerful unique ability users.

>>38385942
Honestly, we'd probably be best off just offering them a place to explore their unique abilities in safety as well as a sounding board to let them bounce ideas off.

>>38386019
>Yes, but battlemages have more range and utility than most shadow based vampires.

I don't know if that's entirely true. That one Shadow focused DW created Godknight analogues and they were pretty damn powerful on their own and that was just the one vampire. Granted we aren't going to have a unit of those guys, but there's potential. They have a different sort of utility then BMs.

>>38385942
>>38386034
Most daywalker abilities aren't actually that useful in a war. Taour only used a grand total of 4 daywalkers against us in the entire war. Nobody else was willing or able to fight.

>>38386079
Depends a lot on how powerful he would have been if he stayed a human.

>>38386138
>Most daywalker abilities aren't actually that useful in a war.
Most Mages aren't very useful in a war, or at all.
And yet, we have battlemages.

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>Astral Arrow: Lower target met; 17, 13, 17

As you focus yourself, your fears are realised. Sylph is able to easily remove the little dragons from the battle but the enormous form of Rayza remains flying in the air above you, her back turned to the demons to protect five little dragons who aren’t there anymore. That just means it’s down to you and your men to protect her while she puts herself back into position.

As the demons swarm over her back, cutting and hammering at her scales, you spy the perfect target. A small pack of flying goatmen soar towards her, each carrying massive spiked hammers. They’d shrugged off a barrage from your FMKs and with Corrfax and your griffins focused elsewhere you were the only chance of taking them out. You would prefer to hit them with a larger pack of demons but didn’t want to risk them getting close to Rayza.

Just like before, though, the explosion doesn’t take out all of them. Many scatter, missing limbs or now possessing deeply scarred bodies but are still flying somehow. You heart sinks as you realise these greater demons likely have the ability to fly without wings, making it difficult to easily down them. Still, you nock another arrow and keep your focus on them.

>continued

>>38386138
>Depends a lot on how powerful he would have been if he stayed a human.

Well that's the point of the eugenics program right? Facilitate the development of a strong unit from selective "breeding" from the current pool of candidates with the proper volunteers.

If we have the ability to have DWBM why wouldn't we take it?

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>>38386223
>Fliers: Lower target met; 8, 17, 8

Corrfax saves you the trouble, however, as he suddenly whirls into the mass of demons converging on Rayza. As she flexes her massive draconic form, your faux pattern seems to cut through the demons like he’s a gigantic blade. Wreathed in fire and his legs stretched out either side and transformed into enormous blades, he rolls as he flies and chops and incinerates demons as he passes. It’s too little, too late, even as the FMKs and griffins continue their own bombardment. Many of the demons are surging past Rayza, still descending on you and your knights. You’ve bought time, but not enough you feel.

Then the world explodes again, as Rayza flicks her tail around and stretches her body out to its fullest extent. Her body suddenly seems to shimmer with magical energy as another magnificent spell erupts from her mind and obliterates the demons closest to her. Tail sweeping through the air, wildly sweeping up random demons, Rayza beats her wings and soars away, back to her post. The remaining demons rapidly go to ground, wary of their losses and her conducting a strafing run. Maybe half of them made it to ground on this side of the canal, meaning only a thousand demons are able to face you. You nod at Lynn as she readies her Griffin Knights on one side and the Daerfir fan out on the other, preparing to counter charge the scattered demons. You join…

>1. Neither. Keep close watch over Undine in case of trouble.
>2. Lynn and the Griffin Knights.
>3. Esra and the Daerfir.
>4. Custom

Note that this won’t affect the results of the battles, it’s mostly for fluff.

>>38386245
>>2. Lynn and the Griffin Knights.

>>38386245
>>3. Esra and the Daerfir.
I'd like to see them in action.

>>38386245
>3. Esra and the Daerfir.

Fuck yeah elf time.

>>38386245
>3. Esra and the Daerfir.

>>38386245
>1. Neither. Keep close watch over Undine in case of trouble.

>>38386196
Most mages are vital for the ecconomy, and of tower level mages, roughly a quarter are in our military in some capacity (the numbers like 26 %)

>>38386245
>>1. Neither. Keep close watch over Undine in case of trouble.

>>38386245
>1. Neither. Keep close watch over Undine in case of trouble.

>>38386245
>>3. Esra and the Daerfir.

>>38386245
>>1. Neither. Keep close watch over Undine in case of trouble.

List of shit the average soldier has seen today:
>horde of infernals beyond nightmares
>mobile fortress siege engine
>5 small dragons and one giant dragon
>probably more

There's some old timer Captain from Vitria or Darlesia and they are the very definition of getting too old for this shit.

>>38386468
But at least the dental coverage is great

It's never Lynn, is it? She'd become sidelined so hard along with Sarah for the elementals and fluffy tails.

>>38386526
Well, I voted for her.

>>38386526
Lynn is busy being a commander commanding the commanded.

>>38386526
It's fine anon, she'll charge Belrauth with us and Felix.

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I'm going to cast a tie-breaking vote and choose Undine, simply because I do want to focus on the central cast more than I have been recently. I'll probably tuck Lynn into it, too.

>>38386526
The problem with involving Sarah is that she can't easily be involved in the combat side. Lynn... I don't know why her popularity has waned so much. I really need to focus more on her in order to push the dragon plot more.

>>38386468
I picture most of the regular soldiers basically falling in line behind the knights, who already cut through the vampires and the mages and simply give no shits about the next notch under the empire's belt at this point.

>>38386644
Shit has just kept happening and Lynn just has not appeared nearly as much as the other girls when you write random encounters and scenes.

Considering Talon might get down to having a few sprogs if we get a break at some point in the near future, should be interesting to see lynn.

Not to mention this whole dragon fest we currently have going on it might be a good idea to at least put aside an area for them to all train safely and effectively.

>>38386644
>The problem with involving Sarah is that she can't easily be involved in the combat side.
Yeah, she needs to level grind somehow.

>>38386698
>Considering Talon might get down to having a few sprogs if we get a break at some point in the near future
God I hope not, the cast is bloated enough as-is.

>>38386644

Honestly for me, she just isn't that interesting. I don't know why. I've enjoyed her sections where she was the focus like the tournament arc and the little scene where she was training with the Griffon Knights, but any time it's one on one I'm sort of at a loss to what to do with her anymore.

>>38386722
Easily remedied by giving her a pot helmet and a shovel. Tell her to start swinging for heads.

>>38386749
Eh, kids can take a bit of a back seat while plot happens. Besides, its not like talon will have much to do with them until they turn around 5 or 6.

>>38386644

I'm way more interested in the Elemental Sister's sub plot. We still don't know how Undine died.

>>38386818
I think they're getting overplayed honestly.

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>>38386749
>cast is too bloated

>>38386863
>central cast is overplayed

This is part of the reason I seem to oscillate between focusing on new characters and the old ones. Sometimes it feels like I've spent too much time on certain ones and need something new. Then it feels like I'm not spending any time with the real main characters.

>1. Plus Lynn

You’re too worried about an ambush or stray flier to charge off and leave Undine unguarded. It’s a good thing you were, because as much as you might have added to fending off the hundreds of demons on this side of the canal there were quite a few rather troublesome looking ones looking to cause trouble on the other side. Particularly large and mean looking ones, including one you recognise from the second floor of the siege tower where you’d gotten caught and his guard.

The demons don’t need to breathe, so they can simply go straight through the canal. The problem is that Undine can still demolish them anyway. As hundreds of heavily armoured demons charge into the canal you feel Undine ready her work of art. She’s far more powerful than before, with the entire canal at her fingers. There’s no great surge of water to each side. No great tidal wave. That would leave far too much time for the demons to cross. Perhaps that’s what they were hoping for – a chance to charge across with their biggest and best while she prepares her trap. If they’d seen her work at Gorlsford they might be expecting it.

>continued

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>>38387079
Which is fortunate for you, because that meant they were sitting ducks when Undine simply carved out enormous bowls of water within the canal. The demons vanished from view instantly behind walls of water rising far above the lip of the canal. The roar of rapidly moving water, white foam building within, marks the beginning of enormous whirlpools. These aren’t regular whirlpools, however, but enormous twisters of superheated rapids surging about in the air. The bowls rapidly condense, capturing the demons inside and slamming them into the other side of the canal and the open air. As the twisters quickly recede, the water seems to hit the few demons that survived the twisters like a ton of bricks, the rushes of water knocking them down. Some find themselves blown apart as whatever method they’re using to stay on the ground simply causes the rest of their body to be taken apart by the walls of water.

The entire stretch of the canal is a massive wall of destruction, demons being flung towards the other side and blown to bits. It’s not perfect, however. Through speed, strength or just sheer magical resistance you find the same demon commander from earlier before you, his guard surrounding him. He stands before you in the warped armour of a God-Knight, painted black and clearly modified to fit his bulk as he stands almost four metres tall and is twice as wide as the armour’s former wearer. Deep-set eyes of glowing orange stare at you from within his bald, grey head as he crossed his arms and nods towards you. His four elite guard converge on you as he watches, each carrying what appear to be dwarven runic warhammers, the heads of the hammer as big as your head.

Guess that means you’ll have a nice gift for the dwarven ambassador after the siege. Plus a nice suit of armour to hang up in the great hall.

[DC14/17 Elite Guard]

Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>38387104

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>38387104

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>38387104

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>38387104

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>38387104

>>38387122
>>38387132
>>38387157
Reroll time?

>>38387122
>>38387132
>>38387157

Well it had to happen eventually. This is going to hurt.

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Okay, just so you guys know this is going to break Undine's concentration from the failure. Means the canal won't be trapped until she's able to get herself back into the ritual, which will take a bit. Unless you guys pull back before that.

>>38387181
At least it wasn't a crit fail.

>>38387203
Right, FR.
This is too fucking vital.

>>38387203

Fuck. That's terrible. I think we need to use the FR point.

>>38387203
reroll!

>>38387203
I guess we need to reroll. Fuck, I wish we could have saved it.

>>38387203
I'll vote for the fr

>>38387203
No reroll, we will need it versus the boss.

>>38387242
>>38387252
No re-rolls FR gives us a perfect result.

>>38387284
Well, it's been so long that I've forgotten. When was the last time, Blackwater?

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FR POINT VOTE
You have 1 FR point.

OPTION ONE
Use your last FR point to get an exceptional success for >>38387104

OPTION TWO
Don't use an FR point. This means Undine's concentration will be broken until she can resume the ritual (10-15 minutes) and the canal won't be trapped.

Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to my post declaring the vote 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.

>>38387304
You used one in Shropham when charging the central keep. I was freaking out for a second because I knew you'd gained an extra FR point after Taour.

>>38387104
>what appear to be dwarven runic warhammers

That just made me remember what happen to Fingon during Nírnaeth Arnœdiad and those rolls make me worry even more.

>>38387304
Shropham.

No FR point please. We have one left and this failure isnt that bad.

>>38387370
>2
No FR yet

>>38387370
2

>>38387370
>OPTION ONE

>>38387390
You should probably read that post again

>>38387370
1

>>38387370
2

>>38387370
1

>>38387370
>OPTION ONE

>>38387370
1

>>38387370
1

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>>38387390
>>38387392
>>38387408
Wrong format. Informal.

This >>38387391 is the right format.

>>38387370
2

>>38387392
>>38387408
You niggas serious?

>>38387370
1

>>38387370
1

>>38387370
2

>>38387386
>>38387390
>>38387392
>>38387408

Guys.

>Rules for voting are to make a post with a link to my post declaring the vote and the number you are voting for. No other text, no greentexting the number. All informal votes will be discarded.

>>38387370
2

>>38387370
1

>>38387452
That first one was posted before aspirs post loaded for me

>>38387452
>>38387428
damnit. Already fixed, but still.