Alright. That worked out more or less to plan (we rolled really badly on our attacks...average on 20d6+5 is 75 and we rolled 58-65 on all attacks, but Contested-Movement picked up the slack with some very good rolls), and once we were down to two dwarves, we could've handled them pretty readily even if the combat hadn't ended.
For the upcoming turn...I honestly have no idea. We're mainly buying time here, which says maybe attack them, but they do auto-counter attacks, which is a tad worrisome...ranged attacks with Kindle Spinner maybe? This is a new group so they may not have a bat.
We do, I think, want to stay out of melee as much as possible, given our allies intended tactics, though how viable that is remains to be seen.
For the upcoming turn...I honestly have no idea. We're mainly buying time here, which says maybe attack them, but they do auto-counter attacks, which is a tad worrisome...ranged attacks with Kindle Spinner maybe? This is a new group so they may not have a bat.
Use folding to push out a bunch of high-dice KS?
Combined with mire-ward if it has enough range to disturb their formation movement?
if they are close enough to be in formation they are probably also close enough to get AOE damage from KS.
And being slowed would both, hinder their moving into melee range but also their "change formation to not be sitting ducks for the KS".
Or maybe use Sparkbomb instead of KS.
We could do a 6 fold Sparkbomb for 15+2+3+4+5+6+7=42 Orth (or maybe smaller batches if we feel they are too close) with a fuckton of dice and rain those on where they are and where they could try to evade. Halla the living artillery piece.
To reiterate, Folded Attacks make us incapable of using any Trick Defense when we are using them and dwarves auto-counterattack any attack against them with higher dice pools than we can defend against without Tricks. If we use folded attacks, we get hit once for every attack we make with no way to avoid that. They are not a viable option in this fight even a little.
To reiterate, Folded Attacks make us incapable of using any Trick Defense when we are using them and dwarves auto-counterattack any attack against them with higher dice pools than we can defend against without Tricks. If we use folded attacks, we get hit once for every attack we make with no way to avoid that. They are not a viable option in this fight even a little.
ECW to jump to one of the friendly groups, stand behind them and then fire a (granted, smaller than 6 fold) volley at the Lurkalings.
They want to counter attack? They have to run into our friendly group who defends us.
Halla is not alone in this fight. We don't have to pretend she is.
[X] Plan Disrupting Their Advance
-[X] 20d6 Attack (20d6 tricks)
-[X] 5d6 Defense (5d6 tricks)
-[X] 45d6 Intercept (45d6 Tricks)
-[X] If we aren't already in among them, use Ember-Wing Cloak to join one of the groups of friendly dwarves (-6 Orthstirr)
-[X] In response to any advances made by the Lurkaling forces, use up to three 21d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Inertia-Arresting Throws enhanced with 5 Orthstirr each (-11 Orthstirr each) to halt some of them and mess up their formations as much as possible, disrupting the attacks. Leave only two of these out at once simultaneously if that's relevant.
-[X] If any dwarves are stuck in an IAT attack use one 25d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner attack enhanced with 6 Orthstirr (-8 Orthstirr) to fry the first group thus captured and then two 6d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner Attacks enhanced with 4 Orthstirr each (-6 Orthstirr each) against any subsequently captured groups.
-[X] In response to any melee attack against us use Contested Movement (-3 Orthstirr each) making any counterattacks with Lightning-Enhanced Firebomb-Strikes (-3 Orthstirr each) and if that fails or we are targeted with a ranged attack use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr each), and if something gets through that (or it is unavailable for some reason) use one 20d6+9 Reinforcedx15 Sway defense (-17 Orthstirr).
-[X] Tactics – Rejoin the dwarven lines and primarily try and serve as a disruptor, breaking up formations and keeping the enemy from advancing in synch with each other, while taking opportunistic shots at any we manage to trap in IATs with Kindle Spinner.
So, this is my tentative plan based on the idea of disrupting advances with IAT, plus some opportunistic attacks while they're trapped...I wasn't sure whether to go the full dice on those or just the minimum (since they should, in theory, have no defense...I don't entirely trust that theory in this instance), so I split the difference and did one big attack and two relatively minimal ones.
ECW to jump to one of the friendly groups, stand behind them and then fire a (granted, smaller than 6 fold) volley at the Lurkalings.
They want to counter attack? They have to run into our friendly group who defends us.
Halla is not alone in this fight. We don't have to pretend she is.
I don't think we need EWC to rejoin the dwarves, but we definitely can join them, yeah. I'm not sure their mentality actually allows us to rely on them for defensing us, though. Not because they don't want to, but because their idea of defending others relies on perfect synchronicity, which we don't have with them. We could launch a volley, and if people prefer I could write a plan for that, but I think, as a time-buying move, disrupting their advance is more meaningful.
We have no Tricks for our Shoot as of yet, so the ballista is not a good call as of yet. The boulders would be a fine idea (well, one of them anyway), except we've been asked very nicely OOC by the QM to not overuse them.
Concious, full effect defense? Wouldn't expect it either.
Someone trying to attack us has to get through the group we are behind first? Sounds plausible to me.
We could launch a volley, and if people prefer I could write a plan for that, but I think, as a time-buying move, disrupting their advance is more meaningful.
"trap in Timestop, then blow up with KS" and "turn where they are and where they have to go into dwarf-shredding explosions with Sparkbomb" are both ways to disrupt their advance, aren't they?
@Imperial Fister
When folding sparkbombs we spawn the projectiles one after an other, but don't have to wait for them to arrive to not be stuck in the folding anymore, right?
Hm... they are between a door and a rolling builder...
We are part of the door.
They will charge or at least advance towards us, because they have no choice.
Questions are, do they use ranged attacks, and will they target the defenders or just the machines in the tower?
Becuase if that grease is as dangerous as Toki said.... its not fun when the machine is destroyed.
Hm.... the IAT on the leading dwarves is a good idea, it will break the formation and perhaps trip some of them as well.
and yeah, spamming KS is a good idea, but the towers are also ranged attackers....so probably best to try peppering the sides with KS so the towers can fire into the densest groups.
We have no Tricks for our Shoot as of yet, so the ballista is not a good call as of yet. The boulders would be a fine idea (well, one of them anyway), except we've been asked very nicely OOC by the QM to not overuse them.
Edit: Oh, right. We probably want more dice in defense or the Lurkaling attack will get us if mmore than one dwarf reaches us. Keep in mind, they are formation fighters, so they will swarm us.
I got the impression we had plenty of time to rejoin the dwarves (or were even among them already), but I'm perfectly happy to add using EWC to get back among the dwarves to the current plan if people prefer.
Concious, full effect defense? Wouldn't expect it either.
Someone trying to attack us has to get through the group we are behind first? Sounds plausible to me.
"trap in Timestop, then blow up with KS" and "turn where they are and where they have to go into dwarf-shredding explosions with Sparkbomb" are both ways to disrupt their advance, aren't they?
Edit: Oh, right. We probably want more dice in defense or the Lurkaling attack will get us if mmore than one dwarf reaches us. Keep in mind, they are formation fighters, so they will swarm us.
We can do multiple Halting Vortexes simultaneously if the Contested Movements fail (three at a time, if we don't have IAT out, which we likely won't if people have gotten into melee with us). The one rolled defense is an 'Oh shit' button if things go really wrong...based on what we've seen we probably don't even need the one (but better safe than sorry, hence its inclusion).
If we're going to join the lines put less dice into intercept. If we're going to be flytting in and out of combat to engage, disengage and re-engage that should probably be specified.
Cause if we're disrupting them we need to not get bogged down in any single engagement.
And if we are gonna focus on the front of formations or middle or back should also be specified.
If we're going to join the lines put less dice into intercept. If we're going to be flytting in and out of combat to engage, disengage and re-engage that should probably be specified.
Cause if we're disrupting them we need to not get bogged down in any single engagement.
Well, the Intercepts are the IAT usages, which are usable at range. The idea is that we sit as part of one of the dwarven groups, and toss our IATs as necessary when the Lurkalings advance. No flitting in and out or movement required.
I got the impression we had plenty of time to rejoin the dwarves (or were even among them already), but I'm perfectly happy to add using EWC to get back among the dwarves to the current plan if people prefer.
Yeah, but the time they take to get to us is a resource, isn't it?
If they would counter attack with a melee attack but are too far away, that would stop them from countering with a melee attack, wouldn't it?
Yeah, that is why i used that to summarize the current plan when pointing out that both plans (current and suggested alternative) are about disrupting their advance.
Yeah, but the time they take to get to us is a resource, isn't it?
If they would counter attack with a melee attack but are too far away, that would stop them from countering with a melee attack, wouldn't it?
Yeah, that is why i used that to summarize the current plan when pointing out that both plans (current and suggested alternative) are about disrupting their advance.
Fair enough. I just think the stopping them with IAT will actually do more to disrupt their coordination than the fire will, which is why I prefer this version.
We can do multiple Halting Vortexes simultaneously if the Contested Movements fail (three at a time, if we don't have IAT out, which we likely won't if people have gotten into melee with us). The one rolled defense is an 'Oh shit' button if things go really wrong...based on what we've seen we probably don't even need the one (but better safe than sorry, hence its inclusion).
...one with holding Sage seeker, two with hands off.... how do we put up three HV? it needs a hand, no?
and if we really want to relly on CM, Mire Ward gives it a nice synergy.
@Imperial Fister
When folding sparkbombs we spawn the projectiles one after an other, but don't have to wait for them to arrive to not be stuck in the folding anymore, right?
Scheduled vote count started by Imperial Fister on Jun 24, 2023 at 4:36 PM, finished with 23 posts and 4 votes.
[X] Plan Disrupting Their Advance
-[X] 20d6 Attack (20d6 tricks)
-[X] 5d6 Defense (5d6 tricks)
-[X] 45d6 Intercept (45d6 Tricks)
-[X] If we aren't already in among them, use Ember-Wing Cloak to join one of the groups of friendly dwarves (-6 Orthstirr)
-[X] In response to any advances made by the Lurkaling forces, use up to three 21d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Inertia-Arresting Throws enhanced with 5 Orthstirr each (-11 Orthstirr each) to halt some of them and mess up their formations as much as possible, disrupting the attacks. Leave only two of these out at once simultaneously if that's relevant.
-[X] If any dwarves are stuck in an IAT attack use one 25d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner attack enhanced with 6 Orthstirr (-8 Orthstirr) to fry the first group thus captured and then two 6d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner Attacks enhanced with 4 Orthstirr each (-6 Orthstirr each) against any subsequently captured groups.
-[X] In response to any melee attack against us use Contested Movement (-3 Orthstirr each) making any counterattacks with Lightning-Enhanced Firebomb-Strikes (-3 Orthstirr each) and if that fails or we are targeted with a ranged attack use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr each), and if something gets through that (or it is unavailable for some reason) use one 20d6+9 Reinforcedx15 Sway defense (-17 Orthstirr).
-[X] Tactics – Rejoin the dwarven lines and primarily try and serve as a disruptor, breaking up formations and keeping the enemy from advancing in synch with each other, while taking opportunistic shots at any we manage to trap in IATs with Kindle Spinner.
[X] Plan Disrupting Their Advance
-[X] 20d6 Attack (20d6 tricks)
-[X] 5d6 Defense (5d6 tricks)
-[X] 45d6 Intercept (45d6 Tricks)
-[X] If we aren't already in among them, use Ember-Wing Cloak to join one of the groups of friendly dwarves (-6 Orthstirr)
-[X] In response to any advances made by the Lurkaling forces, use up to three 21d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Inertia-Arresting Throws enhanced with 5 Orthstirr each (-11 Orthstirr each) to halt some of them and mess up their formations as much as possible, disrupting the attacks. Leave only two of these out at once simultaneously if that's relevant.
-[X] If any dwarves are stuck in an IAT attack use one 25d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner attack enhanced with 6 Orthstirr (-8 Orthstirr) to fry the first group thus captured and then two 6d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Kindle Spinner Attacks enhanced with 4 Orthstirr each (-6 Orthstirr each) against any subsequently captured groups.
-[X] In response to any melee attack against us use Contested Movement (-3 Orthstirr each) making any counterattacks with Lightning-Enhanced Firebomb-Strikes (-3 Orthstirr each) and if that fails or we are targeted with a ranged attack use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr each), and if something gets through that (or it is unavailable for some reason) use one 20d6+9 Reinforcedx15 Sway defense (-17 Orthstirr).
-[X] Tactics – Rejoin the dwarven lines and primarily try and serve as a disruptor, breaking up formations and keeping the enemy from advancing in synch with each other, while taking opportunistic shots at any we manage to trap in IATs with Kindle Spinner.
0~0~0
The heavy staccato of forty footsteps joins the relentless beating of your heart's drum as the Lurkalings draw closer. Your breath quickens and your grip on Sagaseeker tightens as a wordless battle cry springs from the lips of the oncoming horde.
You lock eyes with a Lurkaling and Sagaseeker hums its approval. He raises his pickaxe and you ready your atgeir, a smile spreading across your face. (How Effective are the Weapons? 99)
A loud wheeze rips across the battlefield as the tower-mounted weapons activate. With one dwarf squeezing the leather bladder, another lights a torch and sticks it onto a slot on the nozzle. A sudden flow of dark liquid sprays out the tip as the torch sets it alight.
In an instant, a dozen-and-a-half dwarves die as the liquid fire sprays across the bodies. The pained screams of dying, flailing dwarves echo across the battlefield as the Lurkaling backlines skid to a horrified halt.
They don't have long to watch their brothers burn as Teams Andesite and Gabbro come up from the rear. Heavily armored Ducklings cut down comparatively naked Lurkalings as the combined mass of thirty-eight dwarves crash against enemy backs.
The Ducklings scythe through the once-roaring horde as they leave the Lurkalings with two choices. They can either meet their deaths on the end of Duckling blades or they can be barbequed with their brothers.
Most are cut down and some burn, but they die all the same.
Toki laughs and slaps you on the shoulder. "Hah! Would you look at that!" He shouts with glee as he waves a hand at the charge-turned-carrion field. "Looks like Lurkalings make good tinder!"
You offer a shallow nod, slowly realizing that Sagaseeker had fallen from your grip. The smile had fallen into an open-mouth gasp as the onset of horror stokes a sickness in your stomach.
This... this isn't combat. This isn't war, not what it should be.
This is a slaughter, nothing more and nothing less.
No Norseman would think this good, yet the dwarves laugh and jeer at the piles of burning bodies as the stench of burning flesh fills the chamber.
"Halla, are you okay?" Toki frowns, completely oblivious to the thoughts racing through your mind.
"I... I'm fine."
No, no you're not.
Toki shrugs and turns back to the impromptu festivities, seemingly taking your words at face value.
After this is said and done, you're not sure you want to do mercenary work for dwarves again. It's just not right, how dwarves fight. There is no honor here, no drengskapr at all.
"I'm gonna go loot my kills..." You trial off as you receive no answer, the dwarves completely engrossed with the deaths of their enemies. Some even start to salivate and rub at their stomachs as they lick their lips — their gaze locked to the feast before their eyes.
...You're gonna be sick. (Hugr (Composure): 6x2, 5x1, 4x2, 2x2, 1x5) 1 Success
Fortunately, you manage to keep it in. Your thoughts aren't nearly collected enough to neatly explain yourself to the dwarves, should you have thrown up.
After looting the corpses, you find yourself staring at the small pile of loot you acquired. The major prize are two mostly intact suits of dwarven light armor, which likely total somewhere around two-hundred and forty ounces of Forged Iron, all things considered. There's also around sixty coins of various shapes and sizes, none of which mean anything to you. You'll be able to exchange them for silver with the Headsman, that much you do know.
But, there's also a hammer and chisel, the hammer and chisel that the dwarf was intending to use on you. You have no idea what it would have done to you and neither does Blackhand, but you pocket it anyways as it's probably useful somehow.
The battle isn't over, not quite. There's still the higher levels to deal with, the ones that Teams Dolomite, Lignite, and Shale were assigned to. For all you know, they could already have accomplished their goals or maybe they were killed trying?
Regardless, you're not sure that you can stomach being around the Ducklings as they 'sample the local delicacies'.
What do you wish to do?
[ ] Stomach it out anyways (A very hard Composure check, one that can't be solved with calm charges)
[ ] Go to one of the other teams
-[ ] Dolomite, in the barracks
-[ ] Lignite, in the foreman's suite, where Oinn is
-[ ] Shale, in the warehouses
[ ] You've had enough of dwarves, it's time to call it quits
-You'll suffer a slight reputation loss with the Ducklings, but will still receive your rewards
(60 Dwarven Coins)
(240oz of Forged Iron)
(1 Dwarven Hammer and Chisel)
0~0~0
AN: Well, that didn't play out the way I expected it to.
No moratorium. I might be able to do another update, depending on how I'm feeling and the option chosen.
I'll update the character sheet at the end of this section.
