AAR: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13

[cleveland]

Chapter 3: The Annexation of Puerto Rico

Turn file: Turn3.zip

Our conquest of Divine Ocean was successful! Oceania has doubled in size! It's a great province too, 13,000 population.

Though it was a much closer battle then I would have liked.


The Ichtyid defenders proved a worthy adversary, many of our brave Oceanian Tritons fell. At the critical moment, when victory or defeat hung in the balance, Captain Haon Door made the heroic decision to charge recklessly into the fray, slaying 3 and sending the survivors into full retreat!


He will get some sort of medal for this, to go along with his now Heroic Agility. Though in reality, it'll probably just be a gussied-up clamshell.

Sade the Siren failed to lure anyone to their deaths. Frankly I'm not surprised, she'd packed on a few lbs during the reign of our old Pantokrator. I order her to fly 2 provinces South, in hopes the workout will get her in swimsuit condition by mid-summer (I'm really hoping for a Lizard Indy province there, I frankly don't need standard human recruits).

The newly minted Prophet of Oceania, Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau, collects his retinue of 10 Ichtycentaurs and sets off to the northwest to join Haon Door on an assault of the Triton held Sea of Carassos. Haon Door is ordered to retreat at the battle's onset, hopefully he has the good sense to come back to the capital...though I doubt it, given his celebrity back in Divine Ocean (the ladies refer to him as The Liberator, while winking meaningfully).


I commission a new Mermage and another column of 10 Ichtycentaurs. He'll be scaring up fortresses for us in no time. I also recruit a Ichtyid Commander who make great generic commanders, as they're amphibious and slow (and therefore don't surge forward into combat too quickly, unlike that moron Haon Door). I'll probably recruit 1 every turn for the next while.

Nothing too interesting fromt he Score Graphs. Atlantis is plodding forward as expected. Brittonia has jumped from 1 to 3 provinces, with a Sir Suidbert in the HoF. Joining him is the apparent combat pretender from Ogres.

Glug the Ancient Kraken is steadily racking up kills. Still no idea who my neighbors are. And of course the now-visible province to the west of Divine Ocean is swarming with 50 defenders.

[Fantomen]

Regarding Sade the siren, I wonder if it is really her weight so much as her name that scares the men away.

[sansanjuan]

When you get a siren like that just rename her Rosanne Barr and put her on the front lines...
-ssj

[cleveland]

Chapter 4: Who ordered the squid?

Turn files: Turn4.zip

Well, Haon Door did indeed come back to the capital, but those ingrates in Divine Ocean seem to have taken offense to it and organized an insurgency of Brigands in some godforsaken ruin. So much for that high income province, a few extra inchtycentaurs next turn would have really helped against these unnaturally tough indies.

Speaking of which, the North Pole Deeps is now visible guarded by - you guessed it - Sea Trolls & Krakens! At least I'll get some practice this turn, as I'm sending our hero Haon Door against the Troll/Kraken infested Cerulean Sea. This is a risky move, as these indies are always supported by Hydromancers and as a rule of thumb I never engage artillery without artillery. But Haon Door is a seasoned veteran, and with some "attack rear" scripting, I'm gambling my ichtycentaurs will be able to take out that Hydromancer before he water-strikes me off the field.


This at-risk decision is made for the sake of expansion speed, as I'm currently tied for last-place in the province count, despite our Prophet's most recent success in the Sea of Carassos. It was a cakewalk, and many of his retinue have picked up their first star of experience. Those troops will be tasked with taking the Sea of Woe this turn, where estimates of defender numbers have fallen to 40.

Rosanne, er, I mean Sade the Siren has reached Morn Woods and has made an unfortunate discovery: our southern neighbor is Atlantis. That sucks, R'lyeh is going to be quite tough when-and-if I finally meet him on the field. My only hope is to swiftly dispatch Atlantis, but his 32-kill Ancient Kraken (I assume) won't make it easy. The known world (note Agartha to the West):


I will consequently need to rethink my original research strategy...already. The Ancient Kraken is fearsome indeed, with 4 armor-piercing attacks, an AOE poison attack, 50% poison immunity, 50% cold immunity, fear, and probably Dom10=Awe+2. Not to mention a mountain of HPs in that Dom10 dominion. I'll need to hit him early, before good items or buffs can become available. I really can't expect to outright kill him with damage, not underwater. An artist's rendition:


I have a few options:
1) I can try to fatigue him to death with cold. Namely Numbness (Alt-2) or Ice Pebble Staffs (Const-2). This will be difficult, as he has base 50% cold resistance, and his troops can forge Frost Rings that he can wear. Viability - low.
2) I can try to fatigue him to death with Sleep (Thau-2). This unappreciated spell makes any SC completely useless, ramming his fatigue beyond 100, making most hits critical. It does, however, require a failed MR roll, and he'll have base 18mr. However, if I start recruiting Captricons now, I should have a few N4 casters at game time, which will give a +1 penetration bonus...basically a 10% chance of success per cast. However, he can wear a Amulet of Antimagic and be MR buffed by his troops, so this wouldn't work past the early game. Viability - moderate.
3) I can have him hold still. I'm of course talking about that unsung hero Tangle Vines (Conj-1), which all vets know can be devastating vs. SCs when wielded properly. This spell is AOE-1 (read: no chance to avoid) and costs the target his action for the next turn...but not before lowering his defense to zero (or is it cut in half?). Basically, it makes him a sitting duck for 1 round. With a half-dozen casters spamming it each round, it'll turn even the biggest, meanest guy around into a impotent, doomed statue. At N1, all my mages can cast it, preferably right after casting Eagle Eyes. And the AI will tend to target the big guys. As a bonus, diverting to Conj doesn't really change my original research strat too much, just changed the order a bit. Viability - high.

So my new research strategy is to hit Conj-1, then Alt-1, and hope to meet the Ancient Kraken unaccompanied in a single decisive battle. I'll also need to spit out a few Horns of Valor to counter his fear aura and Awe. Probably slap them on some Trident Lords, commanders of the useless Trident Knights.

[Noob-hint: Be flexible! Whatever paltry success I've had in MP can be solely attributed to being adaptable. Like Carl says, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy," so never hesitate to overhaul a long term strategy when when faced with new intelligence.]

One other interesting thing is Morn Woods has a Wolf Tribe. I like this, Wolf Tribe Shamen are remarkably more cost efficient researchers than my national troops. Really. Plus they get a 10% chance at D1, nice to get the Death gems flowing early. Lastly, Wolf Tribe Warriors pack quite a punch in a small package, with size 2 and 2 attacks...especially underwater where there are no arrows, only a big stinking squid in need of some dicing. Sade, take 'em down

[cleveland]

Chapter 5: Death of a Heroman

Turn files: Turn5.zip

A terrible day! Our hero Haon Door, brave champion of Oceania, has fallen. I knew sending just 10 ichtycentaurs against a sea troll province was a bad idea, but I got too greedy. The approach was successful, as 2 ichtycentaurs did in fact make it to the hydromancer commander, but the execution failed, as his 2 sea troll body guards were able to keep him from being slain:


Under a withering barrage of water strikes, we took heavy casualties. As last time, Haon Door held back until he could wait no more, and charged confidently into the fray:


But Haon was grievously wounded in the tail, suffering an aqua-limp. With 60% of his troops killed, Haon realized the situation was hopeless and sounded the general retreat, ordering the survivors to save themselves. Haon tried to escape, but the sea trolls quickly ran him down:
[Image censored. - Oceania Dept of Defense]

So my attempt at an early 2nd expansion party failed. Adding insult to injury is the fact that a Death Match has been announced, where Haon Door surely would have been crowned champion. We shall send his understudy, Gorenigrai the Ichtyid Lord, in his stead. Gorenigrai is a vibrant 23 year old with absolutely no combat experience. We, who are about to watch you die, salute you.

At least we were fortunate enough to receive a lucky event: 3 Astral gems were found on a starry night...at a depth of 3,000 feet. Logistics aside, these will come in handy against my quadra-tenticled foe, as once they're alchemized to a Death gem my Old Man can use it to Spirit Curse ol' Glug. A Curse will go a long way toward making and keeping him ineffective, even after he gets recalled from the dead (Curses stick forever).

Sade unfortunately failed again at the simple task of convincing a key enemy leader to swim out into the ocean to his death. Hmmmm, fortunately Valentines Day is right around the corner, so hopefully we can get a discount on a new - ahem - wardrobe for her.

At least our Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau was successful, capturing the Sea of Woe without a single casualty. His next task is to capture the North Pole Deeps, which like the Creulean Sea is crawling with Sea Trolls. It'll be a nice warm-up for his subsequent wheel south to exact vengeance upon the Hydromancer of the Cruelean Sea:


With the failure of Haon Door, our newest Mermage (W3N1) has no lands to hunt for Kelp Fortresses, so he's directed to finally begin the great research endeavors of Oceania. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the original research plan will be delayed until Conj-1 and Alt-1 are completed.

Cash is starting to get tight, as my army draws a lot of pay and I'm now behind on my provinces. I can only afford another Ichtyid Lord, a Mermage, and a half-dozen Ichtycentaurs.

On the intel front, Shinuyama is now visible south of Agartha. Tien Chi, Vanheim, and R'lyeh all failed to capture a single province last turn, a sign that the choice indys are starting to dry up (not that I had many). Brettonia now has a second non-prophet non-god in the HoF, so they can be expected to be a thug nation; but they've just declared a NAP-3 with R'lyeh (all diplomatic arrangements are made public, per the game's house rule) so it's safe to assume he's located far to the south.

[cleveland]

Turn 6: Valentine's Day Massacre

Turn files: Turn6.zip

Before we get to the massacre, I'd like to report some fantastic news: an Academy Underneath has been found in the Sea of Carassos! This chestnut of a magic site not only gives a free Kelp Fortress, but also allows the recruitment of Hydromancers! Hydromancers, the race responsible for the death of Haon Door, are potent water mages (W3) and DO NOT loose water magic on land.


Hot damn, land water magic is now a reality. This make Evocation a viable detour before I make landfall, which will give me Falling Frost, THE mainline water combat spell.


Even if I don't change the research plan, they'll give me Quagmire, which combined with Foul Vapors and Claymen will be nasty synergy.

But with that said, I'm not going to build a lab in that province quite yet. For one, the money is better spent on ichtycentaurs at the moment, as I have some catching up to do on the indy snatching front. But more importantly, I need scouts. Unlike land provinces, the seas lack any sort of indy scout, so if you want the intel you'll need to recruit from a fortress. And I REALLY want intel. The only way I'm going to have a shot at winning is if I can anticipate what I'm up against. [Noobs, this isn't unique to my situation; you ALWAYS want as many scouts as you can possibly get regardless of the nation. Make it a priority!]

Now on to the massacre part. It's with a heavy heart I report that Gorenigrai the Ichtyid Lord did not survive to be crowned Champion of the Arena. Though he did make it to the finals, albeit because R'lyeh was the only other nation that had the guts to send a competitor. [Noobs: always send someone!]

It was a close battle too. Gorenigrai squared off against a W1E1S1 Slave Mage that cast Personal Luck & Twist Fate before Gorenigrai could close to engage. In an extended exchange (read: tremendously long & boring), his opponent drew first blood, weakening Gorenigrai with a -4 Str affliction. Gorenigrai struck back, but the blow was negated by the Twist Luck. Then Gorenigrai landed a second blow, dealing 6 damage to his opponent - interestingly, had he not had the -4 Str, he'd have dealt 10 damage and killed the Slave Mage outright. But the Slave Mage counterpunched, landing a fatal blow and sending Gorenigrai back to the depths in a bodybag.


While disheartening, it was very interesting to learn that R'lyeh is pursuing an Alteration strategy. This is good news, as I'm sunk once he gets Soul Slay and Mind Hunt, neither of which are part of in the Alteration path. The only logical explanation is that he's going for a teleporting-Starspawns-of-doom approach, where he'll be kitting kit out his mages with a few cheap items and buffs for an Apocalypse Now type mobility campaign. Very interesting.

On the seduction front, Sade finally found love. And drowned him. Happy Valentine's Day. Wolf Tribes usually have 1 Shaman and 1 Barbarian commander, so she'll need to kill one more before I can take the province.

Our beloved Prophet successfully captured the North Pole Deeps, losing 4 ichtycentaurs to the trolls but convincing me he can take the remaining 5 trolls of Cruelean Sea without reinforcement. Interestingly, I noticed from last turn that the Hydromancer defending Creulean Sea has a Piercer equipped. This crossbow is usable underwater and deals 12 points of armor-negating damage [Noobs: This doesn't seem like much, but AN is really devastating. Since the expected value of a DRN is 3, this thing will do approximately 15 points of damage each time it hits, whatever it hits, without a defense roll.] This thing will come in handy vs. Glug if I can snag it, especially when wielded by someone with Eagle Eyes, so I'm sending a Mermage to join the attack in hopes of picking it up.

The 13-strong force of ichtycentaurs waiting in my capital is being sent to capture the Sea of Mermaids, which is guarded by 50 truly ugly mermaids. Risky again, but I need to make up for lost time, so I'm willing to take the chance.


From the score charts, Atlantis also acquired a 2nd fort this turn. Additionally he now has the largest army, though that chart is based on total size, so I'm guessing he's spamming size-5 War Lobsters. Those things can be tough as they're tramplers, but as such Tangle Vines should work pretty well against them. Of note, between the Academy Underneath & a Caves in the Deep located in the North Pole, I now have the highest gem income.

[cleveland]

Chapter 7: Slow News Day

Turn files: Turn7.zip

The good news shall be reported first. Our Prophet has finally exacted revenge upon the Hydromancer of the Cerulean Sea. And he took the Hydromancer's piercer as his prize (the crossbow...what a filthy mind you have). A nice pickup, as mentioned in the previous Chapter.


Now the bad news. Our forces suffered defeat in the shifting tides of the Sea of Mermaids. It was my own fault, as I hurried the turn and stupidly placed my ichtycentaurs at the far right with Attack Closest orders. This had them charge just shy of the ichtyid front, allowing the smurfs to draw first blood. Since they wield nets, my centaurs were sitting ducks, and quickly cut down before they could land their high damage charge bonus. 7/13 killed, and yet another failed attempt at a 2nd expansion party.

In diplomatic news, Nekehara (aka Tomb Kings, the excellent mod nation by llamabeast) has captured the land province east of my capital. This is very interesting because Nekehara is an undead nation, and as such can readily enter the water. He's frankly the only land nation in Tophats that can realistically threaten a water invasion before lategame. It has been my intention to secure a Non-Aggression Pact with him since before Turn 1.


Fortunately, I didn't even have to make the first move. He immediately send a diplomatic overture requesting friendship. Normally I'd insist he first leave the territory immediately surrounding my capital, but water provinces get no benefits from land neighbors, and frankly it's not worth possibly instigating a fight over. Besides, I couldn't hold it even if I tried, much better to have a friend look after it. So I offer a Non-Aggression Pact with a 3-turn warning clause (NAP-3), and he accepts. Per the house rules, no breaking NAPs, so I'm definitely secure for a while.

Sade again failed to lure the tribesmen. I'm starting to think there's something wrong with her. Will follow up with Department of Health & Humanoid Services to see if she's got some sort of genetic defect. Like a piercer or something

Sending the Prophet against a tough indy: 60 Tritons, Guards, & Troopers (estimates had been as high as 80). I'm reinforcing with the newest batch of ichtycentaurs, so still following my monotonous climb up the province chart, 1 province per turn.

Speaking of provinces, R'lyeh hasn't captured any new ones recently, but his army size has been steadily declining. I wonder if he's at war with Glug...?

[cleveland]

Chapter 8: Vine Ripened

Turn files: Turn8.zip

So to open, I got a lucky event, but it was a crappy Festival Held In My Honor. Big deal. Where's the damn gold!?! I blew quite a few design points for the luck-3 scales which is usually good for some cash by now. These steroid charged indies aren't helping my troop count either.

But at least there's one less. The Prophet has captured the Tritron Trooper prov NE of the capital. Very good. He was supported by a Mermage, get searching my friend.

Ooooo, a successful lure! That's 2, which in my experience is the limit for Wolf Tribes. I don't have a separate commander to take the province, so I'm sending Sade in herself. With some conservative orders, just in case.


Conjuration-1 will be complete next turn, giving me Tangle Vines. Excess research is being plowed into Alteration to get Eagle Eyes open.

While Tangle Vines isn't a game changer, especially against massed troops, it's better than nothing, so I'm sending a Mermage in with my 11-strong Ichtycentaur squadron back into the Sea of Mermaids.

Recruitment remains boring, a Mermage & max Ichtycentaurs in Oceania, and a Scout from the Sea of Carassos.

At least the indy expansion phase is nearly over, so we can get this party started. Prophet's tasked with taking the last province of the North Seas. Of course it won't be easy (duh), guarded by troopers and shark knights. This expansion really hasn't gone to plan, I'd originally hoped to be invading my first neighbor by now...

[cleveland]

Chapter 9: The Best Laid Plans

Turn files: Turn9.zip

3 attacks, 3 victories. Gotta love breaking a losing streak:


During the bloody Second Assault Of The Sea of Mermaids, our supporting mermage routed, and was literally scared right out of the water. Dragging himself onto the shores of the newly conquered Morn Woods, he's been greeted with orders to search the Woods for Enchantresses.

The veterans of the Sea of Mermaids crew are ordered to head west, where they'll meet up with reinforcements to attack Tenvir. Tenvir is a land province guarded by heavy infantry, which shouldn't give our boys too much trouble. Upon successful capture, they will continue west to take on the nasty 60 ichtyid Sea of Nuptia.

Now that Prophet is finished capturing the north seas, it's time to begin mobilizing for a move against Atlantis. Where he's located, heading west means I'll be able to launch the attack in 4 turns, east means 5 turns. This may ultimately prove to be a mistake, but I'm going to take the longer eastern route. This is so he'll be in a position to capture the Sea of Nuptia if my attack on that province this turn fails; this will prevent Shinuyama (who can recruit amphibious kappas) from taking that province and cutting off 1 of my 2 approaches to Atlantis. Also, at this point, I'm so behind schedule that a turn 12 attack isn't really much different from a turn 13 attack. I wouldn't be so flippant if the indies had cooperated, wherein a turn 6 vs turn 7 attack would be substantially different. Further, the eastern route will let me build up a larger invasion force. Here's a map of The Plan:

Yellow: Turn 9
Orange: Turn 10
Green: Turn 11
Blue: Turn 12
Red: Turn 13

And what's this, Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau has risen to the Hall of Fame! We shall arrange a hero's welcome for him back at the capital, and setup a big effigy of Glug for him to practice smiting with his now Heroic Precision

Sade the Siren, good work. Rinse and repeat with the heavy cav province of Ostmark.

Recruitment: mermage, max ichtycentaurs, a scout, and another ichtyid lord.

From the score graphs, Tien Chi and Vanheim each seem to be getting gobbled up (see above). Also, Atlantis's army size shot way up this turn, probably from more war lobsters...my guess is they're pretty effective against R'lyeh.

[paarfi]

Thanks for putting the time and effort into this, Cleveland. It's interesting, informative, and a fun read. And based on the view count for this thread, I'm not the only one who thinks so. Keep 'em coming.