Jotunheim:Utgard AAR

[Arryn]

The start of Turn #30 ...

overview (1280x1024)

Please note the location of provinces controlled by Atlantis, Man, Ulm, and Vanheim.

[ February 28, 2004, 21:29: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Gateway103]

Looking in the overview, it looks like you want to preach the Ashikaga Pretender (what was it again?) out of existence. An immensively fun and bloodless (pun not intended) way of slaying a potential SC/Battlemage, an aspect of Dom2 that I enjoy the most (of course if the table were turned... not as enjoyable...)

Perhaps you should detail how you plan to go about that, as well as perhaps providing a general how-to-preach-out-pretender guideline for newbies reading your AAR. I think not everyone knows you can, or exactly how, to preach out pretenders.

Anyway, great job on the AAR, keep up the good work ^_^

-Gateway103

[ February 27, 2004, 06:40: Message edited by: Gateway103 ]

[CharonJr]

Originally posted by Gateway103:
Looking in the overview, it looks like you want to preach the Ashikaga Pretender (what was it again?) out of existence. An immensively fun and bloodless (pun not intended) way of slaying a potential SC/Battlemage, an aspect of Dom2 that I enjoy the most (of course if the table were turned... not as enjoyable...)

Perhaps you should detail how you plan to go about that, as well as perhaps providing a general how-to-preach-out-pretender guideline for newbies reading your AAR. I think not everyone knows you can, or exactly how, to preach out pretenders.

Anyway, great job on the AAR, keep up the good work ^_^

-Gateway103

I have preached out a pretender in my current AAR, but came to the conclusion that unless you face a very large or very dangerous army inside the fortress that it is not worth the time you need to spend for gathering enough priests.

I think it took me close to 5 turns to preach the pretender out and then I still had to breach the walls anyway where I would have been able to take the fortress by force with fairly light loses in about 2 turns.

CharonJr

[Arryn]

I have 4 priests, including my prophet, now in Ashikaga, plus I have at least a +2 dominion strength advantage over them. It'll be a close call whether I can breach the citadel's 350-point walls before I preach the god out of existence. But the point of my priests in this siege is mainly to weaken (if not outright kill the enemy nataraja pretender) so that my inevitable storming comes off with fewer casualties. I'd be tickled if I can carry the fort without another battle, but it's not what I have planned for.

BTW, I'd like to once again thank Arralen for his fine suggestion that I give Sceptres of Authority to my priests. In the battle outside Ashikaga, my 3 priests with the sceptres fired volley after volley nonstop throughout the entire battle and did score a fair number of kills on the enemy. Making the sceptres was well worth the investment! I'll be making more of them as my fire gem income permits.

[ February 27, 2004, 07:36: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

Turn #30, Early Fall of Year 3
A spider's weave.

Part 1 of 2

I sense a powerful ripple in the magical weave of the world. The sudden concentration of nature magics from where the realm of Machaka is reputed to be loudly bespeaks of their having undertaken the ritual of the Mother Oak. I am untroubled by this event, since it does not affect my realm, nor does the ritual require particularly sophisticated arcane knowledge such that I should be concerned by what the Machakans might direct against me, should they be foolish enough to become belligerent towards me.

A vengeful witch attempts to curse my troops in Herghendorf for having destroyed her home and taken but a single nature gem from her. However, there is no one near for her to harm, while my overzealous priest Geiserik, whom I am sure is actually guilty of this act, is safely within my temple. I will punish him by leaving him there to continue preaching. Waste not a tool that is useful, I say.

My troops entering Ashikaga are met by 1 taisho daimyo, 2 hatamotos, 8 samurai horsemen, 51 samurai swordsmen, 14 samurai bowman, 12 ashigaru spearmen, and 3 yamabushi monks. Clodomir the Priest falls, impaled by an unlucky shaft from the first volley of the samurai. All of the samurai swordsmen and yamabushi, and two-thirds of the ashigaru are killed by the Jotuns and Vine ogres. Bove, having skirted the battle along the right flank, kills a hatamoto, and then the daimyo in lopsided single combats. Bove kills the Last hatamoto as the leading edge of my Jotuns plows into the bowmen. Now leaderless, the Ashikagans rout, but my troops manage to slay another bowman and a horseman before the remainder can finish fleeing the field. A total of 7 samurai horsemen, 13 samurai bowman, and 4 ashigaru spearmen survive to escape into the citadel. My siege begins, having lost only 1 Priest, 3 Jotun spearmen, and 1 Vine ogre. The priest Konrad picks up the Bag of Wine that Clodomir had been carrying.

Were it not for the 4 Bags of Wine my commanders carry, I am certain that almost two dozen of my Jotuns would already be starving in the seige camp. As it is, supplies are more than ample for all my valiant and strong Jotuns. I have adequate supply to support reinforcements of up to two dozen more giants. The importance of proper logistics for seigecraft cannot be overstated. It's the defenders that should be starving during a seige, if the attacker is competent.

I rearrange the troops in the seige camp so that only Vine ogres act as commander guardians, and I place all of the Jotuns under the command of my two non-preachers (Bove and Rod the Firbolg). This allows me to maximize the destruction of the walls, while at the same time I counter the enemy's faith ("preach down" his dominion).

The battle in The Promised Land between Jorgun and 3 indy commanders plus 46 assorted footmen & fanatics was assuredly one-sided, and thus not particularly interesting to recount. Suffice to say that my wyrm fed well this month. My avatar counts 12 more kills and 17 trophies from this battle (gaining a 4th star), and Bove received credit for 3 kills (all 3 samurai commanders) and 8 trophies at Ashikaga.

Elsewhere, Man recaptures the Rim Mountains from Atlantis. My scout Oedre must have been too busy escaping notice, since I received no report of the battle itself. Man has roughly three-score fanatics and spearmen in the province. Vanheim also retakes the province of Agenor from Man. They have some two-score light footmen, huskarls, and skin shifters in the province. It seems that as quickly as Man makes progress on one front they lose ground in the other. It amuses me immensely to watch these pretenders war upon each other, keeping them busy until such time as I deign to deal with them. It is also intriguing, as I ponder the situation, that these two provinces continue to change hands. It begs the question of what is so valuable within them that these nations are spending so much of their resources to control?

I am fortunate in that the wizard, Lekiro, whom I recuited at the Academy of High Magics in the Black Alps, possesses the skill in nature magics that I seek (1W & 2N).

My researchers achieve mastery of the first three levels of Evocation magics, and the first two levels of Thaumaturgy. I expect to achieve the next level in both schools by next month.

My realm has:

• ___7 Dominion max.
• __12 Temples
• __29 Provinces converted
• _900 Treasury.
• 1281 Income. (+115)
• _406 Upkeep. (+27)

• 20 Provinces controlled
• Jotunheim: Dom=7, PD=25, Unr=0
• Zenthra: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Eribon: Dom=3, PD=10, Unr=0
• Gwyrth: Dom=4, PD=10, Unr=0
• Iron Range: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Saetica: Dom=1, PD=10, Unr=0
• Black Alps: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ancyrna: Dom=2, PD=10, Unr=0
• The Promised Land: Dom=-1, PD=0, Unr=17
• Bel: Dom=2, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ashikaga: Dom=-3, PD=0, Unr=17 (under seige)
• Pythium: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Robber Home: Dom=-1, PD=20, Unr=0
• Hoburgdorf: Dom=2, PD=20, Unr=0
• Feral Woods: Dom=3, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ultima Typhia: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Well of All Waters: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Kepess: Dom=1, PD=15, Unr=0
• Melma: Dom=4, PD=20, Unr=0
• Herghendorf: Dom=0, PD=20, Unr=0

Gem income is:

• +_2 Fire (03)
• +_0 Air (--)
• +_6 Water (14)
• +_3 Earth (11)
• +14 Astral (40) (includes 8 Clams)
• +_2 Death (06)
• +_8 Nature (37)

Magical knowledge (stars denote schools being researched):

• 7-Conjuration
• 3-Alteration
• 3-Evocation*
• 6-Construction
• 5-Enchantment
• 2-Thaumaturgy*
• 0-Blood Magic
• 182 RPs (of 212 available at labs)

To be continued in Part 2 ...

[ February 27, 2004, 22:46: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

Turn #30, Early Fall of Year 3
A spider's weave.

Part 2 of 2

I recruit another 6 Jotun spearmen in Pythium, 2 Jotun spearmen plus 3 Jotun huskarls in Jotunheim, and Commanders in the Iron Range and Ultima Typhia. I recruit a "red" Wizard in the Black Alps. (I'm hoping for another 2E caster.) I raise 20 provincial defenders in The Promised Land. I also recruit (7) more scouts in The Promised Land, Ancyrna, Hoburgdorf, Jotunheim, Gwyrth, Eribon, and Pythium. These preparations drain the treasury of 895 coins.

I lower the taxes in The Promised Land to zero to quell the unrest caused by the battle.

The Enchantress Pladina forges Earth Boots, at a cost of 10 earth gems. The Skratti Tunne forges another Clam of Pearls, and I allot 10 water gems for the task. The Norna Rimdriva forges a Ring of Sorcery, which will consume all 40 astral pearls in the treasury.

It was a mistake to forge the Lightless Lantern Last turn. I should have forged another Sceptre of Authority instead, but I simply forgot about them until I was reminded by watching the Ashikaga battle replay. Sigh.

Ualgo, with a 11 Jotuns in tow, moves from Hoburgdorf to the seige camp at Ashikaga. Tahmar with a half-dozen fresh Jotun recruits, heads out from Pythium to Hoburgdorf.

I'm not going to go into detail on where each of my new scouts is going, or where each of my priests is preaching, as the quantity of them that I have continues to grow, and it's probably boring for you to read and it's certainly very tedious for me to write up. It should be obvious where the scouts are going from the second turn map at the bottom of this post. The location and effects of the priests can be seen from the changing candles each turn. Priests will preach down enemy dom, and preach up mine, until they max out. Then I send them on to someplace else where they can be useful.

Jorgun, my wyrm, moves from The Promised Land to Barra where I expect some two-score heavy footmen and fanatics.

Turn #30 plotted movement (1280x1024)

[ February 28, 2004, 21:29: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

The start of Turn #31 ...

overview (1280x1024)

Please note the location of provinces controlled by Atlantis, Man, Pangaea (lower right map corner), Ulm, and Vanheim.

[ February 28, 2004, 21:28: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

Turn #31, Fall of Year 3
Setting sun.

Part 1 of 2

This month, no travellers bring word from afar of events in distant lands.

The battle in Barra between Jorgun and 3 indy commanders plus 32 assorted heavy footmen and fanatics was quite lopsided, and not worthy of being recounted in detail. Once again, the wyrm fed well. My avatar counts 11 more kills and 13 trophies from this battle.

Oedre reports from the Rim Mountains than an independent force of 8 knights and 6 fanatics kills Man's lone monk defender, taking over control of the province. Man's pretender, a sentient rock monolith, is getting desperate. The 70-odd troops within their fortress are just slingers and fanatics, too weak to repel any attack that might breach their walls. Man's ill-fortune is fortuitous for me, and alters my plans. As there is now an independent province directly adjacent to Man's capital, and with Man so weak, the time is at hand to strike at them before Vanheim or Atlantis can do so first.

The final piece of good tidings this month is word from my prophet that my army has breached the walls of Ashikaga!

I am, again, fortunate in that the wizard, Pagobar, whom I recuited at the Academy of High Magics in the Black Alps, possesses the skill in that I seek, this time in earth magics (2E & 1B).

My researchers achieve mastery of the fourth level of Evocation magics and the third level of Thaumaturgy. The fifth level of Evocation is expected by next month. With the forging of Earth Boots for my earth mages, one of them will be able to craft a Dwarven Hammer once a sufficient supply of gems can be stockpiled. Other useful earth items that I intend to craft in the future include a Gate Cleaver and Stymphalian Wings.

My realm has:

• ___7 Dominion max.
• __12 Temples
• __31 Provinces converted
• _808 Treasury.
• 1348 Income. (+67)
• _452 Upkeep. (+46)

• 21 Provinces controlled
• Jotunheim: Dom=7, PD=25, Unr=0
• Zenthra: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Eribon: Dom=3, PD=10, Unr=0
• Gwyrth: Dom=5, PD=10, Unr=0
• Iron Range: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Saetica: Dom=1, PD=10, Unr=0
• Black Alps: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ancyrna: Dom=2, PD=10, Unr=0
• The Promised Land: Dom=-1, PD=20, Unr=0
• Bel: Dom=3, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ashikaga: Dom=-3, PD=0, Unr=19 (under seige)
• Pythium: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Barra: Dom=-1, PD=0, Unr=20
• Robber Home: Dom=0, PD=20, Unr=0
• Hoburgdorf: Dom=4, PD=20, Unr=0
• Feral Woods: Dom=3, PD=10, Unr=0
• Ultima Typhia: Dom=6, PD=10, Unr=0
• Well of All Waters: Dom=7, PD=10, Unr=0
• Kepess: Dom=1, PD=15, Unr=0
• Melma: Dom=4, PD=20, Unr=0
• Herghendorf: Dom=2, PD=20, Unr=0

Gem income is:

• +_2 Fire (05)
• +_0 Air (--)
• +_6 Water (10)
• +_3 Earth (04)
• +15 Astral (14) (includes 9 Clams)
• +_2 Death (08)
• +_8 Nature (45)

Magical knowledge (stars denote schools being researched):

• 7-Conjuration
• 3-Alteration
• 4-Evocation*
• 6-Construction
• 5-Enchantment
• 3-Thaumaturgy*
• 0-Blood Magic
• 181 RPs (of 229 available at labs)

To be continued in Part 2 ...

[Arryn]

Turn #31, Fall of Year 3
Setting sun.

Part 2 of 2

I recruit another 5 Jotun spearmen and a Scout in Pythium, and another Scout in Eribon. I raise 20 provincial defenders in Barra. Temples are to be built in Kepess and in The Promised Land. These preparations drain the treasury of 800 coins.

Having elminated the unrest in The Promised Land, I raise taxes there back to normal, while lowering the taxes in Barra to zero to quell the unrest caused by this most recent battle.

The Skratti Tunne forges another Clam of Pearls, at a cost of 10 water gems. The Norna Skade casts the global ritual Gift of Health, for which I allot 41 nature gems. Two of my Seithkona forge Spell Focuses, expending 10 of my astral pearls. And one of my Enchantresses forges a Sceptre of Authority, which consumes all 5 fire gems in the treasury.

Ualgo moves to The Promised Land on his way westwards to build a castle in one of my western border provinces with Man/Vanheim.

Tahmar with a dozen fresh Jotun recruits, heads out from Pythium to Hoburgdorf. (Due to a misclick after I did the screenshot Last turn, he failed to move. He's doing so now. Not a significant error, as it turns out, since the seige of Ashikaga is over.)

Grymis, Bove, Rod, 3 priests, 65 Jotun spearmen, 9 Vine ogres (as bodyguards), 4 Jotun huskarls (as bodyguards), and 3 Jotun axemen (as bodyguards) all storm the Ashikagan citadel. The sun is, permanently, setting on the Ashikagan Shogunate this month.

Jorgun, my wyrm, moves into the much-disputed Rim Mountains, where he'll feast nicely upon the double-handful of indy knights and fanatics waiting for him.

Turn #31 plotted movement (1280x1024)
Please note the location of a R'leyh province at the far right center of the map. Thin blue lines are moving scouts, thick ones are troops and/or priests.

[ February 28, 2004, 21:28: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

The start of Turn #32 ...

overview (1280x1024)

Please note the location of provinces controlled by Atlantis, Man, Pangaea, Ulm, and Vanheim. R'leyh is out of view to the northeast.

[ February 28, 2004, 21:27: Message edited by: Arryn ]