The Ruin of Fomoria 12
year 7, late spring, 50 provinces; 2775 gold; 740 rp, 100 gems and 29 slaves
war lobsters in the province of kunal, 324 gold trapped behind
a fourth attempt scheduled next month; actually no defender left, the last one died of poison after chasing off my 48-strong army with his two buddies
Ur is busy exterminating Berytos
first skirmishes against Ulm, whose invasion armies had gained deep ground into Agarthan caverns until the cavemen got their act together and expelled them to the surface
two new Thrones: the Throne of Thorns (poison resistance) and the Throne of Nights (darkvision)
two thrones left, so I will try to leave Ulm alone and focus on Machaka and Ur which each hold one
my armies, backed with elemental royalty and swarms of wolves (thanks Conjuration 8, busy forging one artifact each month), can see the walls of Mababwe
at this stage, the issue of this game is no longer in doubt; the AI was not aggressive enough; plus, I am not sure the AI is good enough with blood-based nations; perhaps I should not have allowed Mictlan and Lanka in this game, or I should have given them greater power (Master level); on the other hand, these nations border Ulm which is really easy to handle for the computer
Once upon a motherboard... There was a slight hiccup and...
The Ruin of Fomoria 11
- THE COUNCIL IS NOW IN SESSION. I WILL BE YOUR PRESIDENT FOR THIS STRATEGIC MEETING.
- Yes, Sir President. What is on the menu, Sir?
- I HAVE ASSESSED THE BIG NATIONS OF THE WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO CRUSH THEM, AND FOR THAT WE NEED TO BE CLEVER AND THINK TWO-DIMENSIONALLY, USING SOMETHING CALLED SUBTLETY.
- Subtelty, Sir?
- MEANING, WE ARE ONLY GOING TO CRUSH THEM ONE OR TWO AT A TIME. BOY, READ THE LIST!
- Sir! "For your eye only... One. Fomoria, where the cold breaks stones and wine flows freely. Strengths: plagues, and getting invaded."
- US. SKIP THAT.
- "Two. Machaka, led by Aithon, diminished God of Birds and Parrots, Master of Discipline. Strengths: unbridled optimism and high scores on Scoville scale."
- AH, LAST YEAR'S BARBECUE. BULL'S NOT FIERCE ENOUGH TO BREAK OUR LINES AND WE HAVE YET TO MASS ENOUGH FIREPOWER TO MINIMIZE CASUALTIES WHEN HIGH COMMAND DECIDES WE PROCEED WITH THE INVASION. UNTIL THEN, TRENCH WARFARE. QUESTIONS? NEXT.
- "Three. Ur..."
- SKIP. NON-SWIMMING NEIGHBORS. SAME FOR BERYTOS. THEIR TURN WILL COME.
- Hmm. "Five. Lanka."
- WE COULD DO THEM. THEY HAVE STONE AND STICKS AND WE HAVE THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION. WAIT, SCRAP THAT. THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH ULM. LET'S NOT WEAKEN THEM MONKEY SATELLITE STATE. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MACHAKA AT OUR DOORSTEPS.
- Okay, skip faraway Ulm... Mictlan's dead. "Eight. Agartha." Uh, your list features them as "underground clowns and dirt-digging bandicoots". The last scout reports, if I may add, mention something about huge stockpiles of minerals - they are also rumored to have discovered "black gold", whatever that...
- OIL. OIL! LET'S DECLARE TO THEM! LET'S INVADE AND PLUNDER THEIR HERETIC CIVILIZATION! THINKING'S OVER, MEETING'S ADJOURNED, SEND THE FOMOTROOPERS!
Year 5. Late summer. 39 provinces, 2676 gold, 487 rp, 50 gems and 3 blood this month.
There are now three war theaters. On the Machaka front, nothing really happens. The largest hordes come from the northernest provinces. I have two armies there, each with a staff of storm. The AI keeps sending hordes of archers against my armies. You can guess how efficient that is.
These last few months, I have slowly begun to colonize the seas -obviously the game would have played differently had a sea nation been present or had Agartha been located at a more convenient place for them to expand underwater. I regret that the map is so unfit for sailing, at least when your capital is not on the island in the middle. Fomorian Kings are carriers and their main value, to me, is logistic. They carry armies and items. This ability to transport an army over long distances has been in other maps the cornerstone of my strategy: build strong forts that take time to break into, and you will always have enough time to bring back your heavy hitters for the showdown. Even if you don't, once you reach a certain amount of Fomorian Druids and Kings, they can hop into the fortress and help defend it with a zillion lightning bolts and undead. It's a matter of critical mass and piling on Air gems.
The big river marks a neat boundary for my southern expansion and I am content to let Lanka be while I focus on the Throne held by Agartha. Once it is done I will focus back on the Northern front.
I have 7 Wall Shakers and more being forged. I can ferry them to and from sieges with Flying Boots or rituals. Next month I plan to attack the province with the Throne, from two fronts: an army through the deep pit, and another across the sea, the target province being two sea provinces away from the capital. Sailing!
- Yes, Sir President. What is on the menu, Sir?
- I HAVE ASSESSED THE BIG NATIONS OF THE WORLD. WE ARE GOING TO CRUSH THEM, AND FOR THAT WE NEED TO BE CLEVER AND THINK TWO-DIMENSIONALLY, USING SOMETHING CALLED SUBTLETY.
- Subtelty, Sir?
- MEANING, WE ARE ONLY GOING TO CRUSH THEM ONE OR TWO AT A TIME. BOY, READ THE LIST!
- Sir! "For your eye only... One. Fomoria, where the cold breaks stones and wine flows freely. Strengths: plagues, and getting invaded."
- US. SKIP THAT.
- "Two. Machaka, led by Aithon, diminished God of Birds and Parrots, Master of Discipline. Strengths: unbridled optimism and high scores on Scoville scale."
- AH, LAST YEAR'S BARBECUE. BULL'S NOT FIERCE ENOUGH TO BREAK OUR LINES AND WE HAVE YET TO MASS ENOUGH FIREPOWER TO MINIMIZE CASUALTIES WHEN HIGH COMMAND DECIDES WE PROCEED WITH THE INVASION. UNTIL THEN, TRENCH WARFARE. QUESTIONS? NEXT.
- "Three. Ur..."
- SKIP. NON-SWIMMING NEIGHBORS. SAME FOR BERYTOS. THEIR TURN WILL COME.
- Hmm. "Five. Lanka."
- WE COULD DO THEM. THEY HAVE STONE AND STICKS AND WE HAVE THE COGNITIVE REVOLUTION. WAIT, SCRAP THAT. THEY HAVE TO DEAL WITH ULM. LET'S NOT WEAKEN THEM MONKEY SATELLITE STATE. WE DON'T NEED ANOTHER MACHAKA AT OUR DOORSTEPS.
- Okay, skip faraway Ulm... Mictlan's dead. "Eight. Agartha." Uh, your list features them as "underground clowns and dirt-digging bandicoots". The last scout reports, if I may add, mention something about huge stockpiles of minerals - they are also rumored to have discovered "black gold", whatever that...
- OIL. OIL! LET'S DECLARE TO THEM! LET'S INVADE AND PLUNDER THEIR HERETIC CIVILIZATION! THINKING'S OVER, MEETING'S ADJOURNED, SEND THE FOMOTROOPERS!
Year 5. Late summer. 39 provinces, 2676 gold, 487 rp, 50 gems and 3 blood this month.
There are now three war theaters. On the Machaka front, nothing really happens. The largest hordes come from the northernest provinces. I have two armies there, each with a staff of storm. The AI keeps sending hordes of archers against my armies. You can guess how efficient that is.
These last few months, I have slowly begun to colonize the seas -obviously the game would have played differently had a sea nation been present or had Agartha been located at a more convenient place for them to expand underwater. I regret that the map is so unfit for sailing, at least when your capital is not on the island in the middle. Fomorian Kings are carriers and their main value, to me, is logistic. They carry armies and items. This ability to transport an army over long distances has been in other maps the cornerstone of my strategy: build strong forts that take time to break into, and you will always have enough time to bring back your heavy hitters for the showdown. Even if you don't, once you reach a certain amount of Fomorian Druids and Kings, they can hop into the fortress and help defend it with a zillion lightning bolts and undead. It's a matter of critical mass and piling on Air gems.
The big river marks a neat boundary for my southern expansion and I am content to let Lanka be while I focus on the Throne held by Agartha. Once it is done I will focus back on the Northern front.
I have 7 Wall Shakers and more being forged. I can ferry them to and from sieges with Flying Boots or rituals. Next month I plan to attack the province with the Throne, from two fronts: an army through the deep pit, and another across the sea, the target province being two sea provinces away from the capital. Sailing!
The Ruin of Fomoria 10
- Ei gh t em pir es.
The voice was raspy and slow and you had to stop humming and scratching yourself and keep your ear close to the darkness to grasp what it was saying.
- Angus does the reports. Who is this creep?
- Ladies and gentlecritters, Angus had a work accident that involved half a million Ulmish warriors and his sorry butt. This hazy, light-averse fellow does replace him as head of the Fomorian Intelligence Service.
I unfolded the large map.
- As you can see, our armies have conquered a not negligible part of the world, but seven other empires dispute the overlordship of Lord Lodhbh. We are fighting the hordes of Machaka for the time being. Provided Lanka and Agartha do not invite us in their ongoing war, we will keep pushing our exploration of the seas and, up North, we will in due time defeat the worshippers of Aithon. The Great White Bull got careless and we have banished him from this dimension for the time being.
- When Mababwe will be ours, we will face the armies of Enkidu warriors of the great city of Ur, and the soldiers of the vile empire of Berytos. How will we defeat those? The question remains open. We have an advantage, though.
On this cue, the Mictlanese ambassador stepped into the front. He was a silent, strong type man, impressive to behold, what will all those feathers and bones and strange weapons.
- Our friends from faraway Mictlan have agreed to an everlasting alliance!
A fat finger punched the map where Ur was rumored to stand.
- THIS IS THE EMPIRE-CRUSHING PINCER TECHNIQUE! THIS TWO THOUSAND YEAR OLD STRATEGIC MOVE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS OF THE COBORLEACH FAMILY!
While we were all nodding our approval, something shadowy entered the Council chamber and began to share news from the East.
- THIS IS A TEMPORARY SETBACK. I KNOW WHERE TO FIND A POTENT FIVE THOUSAND YEAR OLD KINGDOM-KILLING WEAPON.
The rest I learned through indirect sources. The king went across the sea and searched the forest of Obocte until he stumbled on the legendary Silver Sarcophagus. He knocked before opening the age-old tomb and that might have been a mistake, for inside laid in wait a foul entity, Wormfood the Divine Mummy. The glorious heir to the Coborleach family is said to have survived only thanks to some ancient technique called the Invulnerable Flight-Controlled Exit Move.
Fall of Year 4 - 32 provinces, 1899 gold, 556 rp, 37 gems, 21 slaves
So I got the first of probably many 'You killed our God' messages. Aithon had little magic (A2N2E1) and did not buff himself a lot before jumping into the fray.
Mictlan dying of low dominion is bad news. I wonder how it happened.
Ouch, the Silver Sarcophagus event started right after discovery and the Divine Mummy was equipped with an Eye Shield. The King lost his one eye -but that is no big deal thanks to the wound-repairing Gift of Health.
The voice was raspy and slow and you had to stop humming and scratching yourself and keep your ear close to the darkness to grasp what it was saying.
- Angus does the reports. Who is this creep?
- Ladies and gentlecritters, Angus had a work accident that involved half a million Ulmish warriors and his sorry butt. This hazy, light-averse fellow does replace him as head of the Fomorian Intelligence Service.
I unfolded the large map.
- As you can see, our armies have conquered a not negligible part of the world, but seven other empires dispute the overlordship of Lord Lodhbh. We are fighting the hordes of Machaka for the time being. Provided Lanka and Agartha do not invite us in their ongoing war, we will keep pushing our exploration of the seas and, up North, we will in due time defeat the worshippers of Aithon. The Great White Bull got careless and we have banished him from this dimension for the time being.
- When Mababwe will be ours, we will face the armies of Enkidu warriors of the great city of Ur, and the soldiers of the vile empire of Berytos. How will we defeat those? The question remains open. We have an advantage, though.
On this cue, the Mictlanese ambassador stepped into the front. He was a silent, strong type man, impressive to behold, what will all those feathers and bones and strange weapons.
- Our friends from faraway Mictlan have agreed to an everlasting alliance!
A fat finger punched the map where Ur was rumored to stand.
- THIS IS THE EMPIRE-CRUSHING PINCER TECHNIQUE! THIS TWO THOUSAND YEAR OLD STRATEGIC MOVE HAS BEEN PASSED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS OF THE COBORLEACH FAMILY!
While we were all nodding our approval, something shadowy entered the Council chamber and began to share news from the East.
- THIS IS A TEMPORARY SETBACK. I KNOW WHERE TO FIND A POTENT FIVE THOUSAND YEAR OLD KINGDOM-KILLING WEAPON.
The rest I learned through indirect sources. The king went across the sea and searched the forest of Obocte until he stumbled on the legendary Silver Sarcophagus. He knocked before opening the age-old tomb and that might have been a mistake, for inside laid in wait a foul entity, Wormfood the Divine Mummy. The glorious heir to the Coborleach family is said to have survived only thanks to some ancient technique called the Invulnerable Flight-Controlled Exit Move.
Fall of Year 4 - 32 provinces, 1899 gold, 556 rp, 37 gems, 21 slaves
So I got the first of probably many 'You killed our God' messages. Aithon had little magic (A2N2E1) and did not buff himself a lot before jumping into the fray.
Mictlan dying of low dominion is bad news. I wonder how it happened.
Ouch, the Silver Sarcophagus event started right after discovery and the Divine Mummy was equipped with an Eye Shield. The King lost his one eye -but that is no big deal thanks to the wound-repairing Gift of Health.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)