- Pronouns
- He/Him
Oh, I love it when a plan comes together. The Dark Lands project is paying off handsomely.
From a Dead World (Skaven Quest)
- Thread starter Xantalos
- Start date
- Fantasy
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Yeah, it would've done so passively if you hadn't invested anything in it, but you're getting returns far quicker since you put the infrastructure there.
Well, the Dark Lands has effectively become the USA's main place/base of operations, and they've grown quite a bit with their very own (shared) settlement in the Gates of War. Under-Empire as a whole, nothing really from the boot camps alone.
But yeah, taking the Dark Lands as a whole was a pretty astute move on your guys' part. Holding it will be your main challenge there what with what's coming
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Also, isn't that the "Gates of War" now?
Hora hora. Though, considering Nagash is likely coming, not exactly unexpected.
Anyways, about how large is the USA right now, and what are other good things we could do to increase the power of each Authority?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Bring it on, yes-yes. If he comes in person, we'll just up the ante. You're going down for good this time dear old friend.
Beyond that, glad to know the plan from...how many months has it been?-is going well.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Whoops, must've missed that one.
Can't say for actual bodies of course, but relatively it's ... I'd say a little smaller than Mors is, somewhere around there. A lot bigger than the elite force it started out as, that's for sure.
For increasing Authority, basically actions that increase either the amount of raw resources available to the Under-Empire, ways to more efficiently utilize resources on a large scale, methods to get your stuff at higher quality while still retaining the insane quantity you need. Large quantities of specialist stuff will also do it - for instance, the Glass Bowl in the Dark Lands is due to ratchet you guys up like a goddamn rocket once it actualizes into warpstone. Also stuff that increases your ability to make war on a broad scale - somehow getting better gear for basic clanrats would do a lot, but also be really damn difficult due to the sheer amount of material needed. Stuff like that, that lets you better leverage the sheer number of bodies you have.
I know you play in WOTK, so think of it a little like this. If Chaos/[REDACTED] can roughly be compared to the Beast - in the sense of how they work, not necessarily power or scale-wise, and Ulthuan is comparable to the pre-fall Eldar in a sense, you're vaguely analogous to Krork in that because the skaven have so many damn skaven, upgrades that affect the baseline units are gonna have a big impact just because of the sheer scale they end up being applied on. Of course, they're correspondingly tricky to actually implement.
Spectrum
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*stares longingly at my pipe dream idea to get a musket on every USA clan rat and switch to Napoleonic tactics*
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Oh, every USA clanrat? That's way more doable. I thought your goal was to get every clanrat from every clan (or at least most of them) a musket, which is orders of magnitude larger in scope than just the USA.
Spectrum
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No, that's just crazy.
Plus, there's training and a paradigm shift with have every clan rat be shooters and spearmen of last resort now as well as needing to fight in formation more than just swarming. My argument previously was that USA was the best suited to that, which would also further differentiate their forces.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
Hey, this is new in collaborative technology. Though obviously it's been around for a while.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Still, it's possible to try something like that if you were inclined to, especially with the Officer's Academy having an actual curriculum you can build on now. Right now the USA fight like ... well, not to sound overly simplistic, but like competent skaven. They use their grunts as their primary forces, with their vets supporting or hitting hard targets as needed, and basically press forward like a big bashing bashy army thing, aiming to use their grunts (who are still around as good as the stormvermin of a regular clan) to let the enemy get stuck in, and since they don't have as severe morale issues as other skaven do, then apply numbers advantage to annihilate the opposing force. Their special weapons teams generally target important stuff or act as artillery or whatever should they need it. Of course, that's just their generic tactics, they can also do ... y'know, quick strikes, envelopments, etc etc, when under the command of anyone better than just the generic commander NPC. They act like a relatively competent horde army, is what I'm saying. If you wanted to try to develop mass gunfire tactics, it could be done.No, that's just crazy.
Oh, I found that on the Warhammer wiki bestiary while I was looking at various monster specimens Moulder could theoretically research. It's basically a Pestilens-flavored version of the Great Rat, which is also now in Moulder's tech tab.
Kairos123
Insomniac Extraordinaire
Yeah, if were going to try to equip every clan rat, we'll probably start giving out daggers first. Or cast off metal that can be used as metal. That way they can at least do something as they charge and die in their thousands. Their current advantage over the other factions' chaff is massive numbers, but leveraging it with something small would give them an upper hand.
Even if it isn't as fun.
Yeah, it came when Xantalos was going through the lexicanum and added all the beasties to Moulder.
Edit:
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Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Speaking of which, I should explain how you can make new Moulder things. Basically as you research new creature types you unlock their attributes to add to the template thing at the top of their tab, and also maybe bigger buffs which can be applied across everything should you choose. When you decide to make a new creature, you basically describe what you wanna make, and if you want to add a specific creature's thing in there then just make sure it's been researched first. Mixing features of too many creatures at once might end up with the specimen being overly complex, though.
Chimeraguard
We do deserve to exist.
By the way, does the Very Heavy Traiding Ring in Tilea, combined with the Moderate Infiltration present give us more information on what's happening there and what Hero Units are fighting there as well?
Hmm. I have an idea for a special line breaker unit that would mix Troll and Dragon Ogre traits. High-regeneration combined with high strength and lightning manipulation/regeneration would be great for smashing through fortified positions.
Or Troll and Taurus. The regenerative nature of the Troll combining with the inner fire and intelligence attributes of the Great Taurus to make a regenerating assault unit that spreads flames everywhere and is immune to the typical Troll weakness. "Pyre-Trolls"
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Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
It will, yeah. The infiltration you have there anyway will do that, but the trading ring will give you some info you wouldn't have gotten otherwise, mainly pertaining to its underworld - and also info about its adjacent regions, which is useful.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
It does seem to be becoming a selling point, eh?
Though the USA isn't comprised of loyal skaven, per se. Their training regimen is harsh enough that it basically gives them institutionalized PTSD at the thought of betraying their commanding officer, which is why Krasskik and Skrazz took Sleek to get help rather than leaving him to die despite the fact that he took a page out of Pai Mei's training guide. Outside of combat though, they'll happily advantage themselves over their compatriots as much as they can get away with. What really unites them is ... basically proto-patriotism. They, unlike pretty much any other skaven in the Under-Empire, actually believe in the overarching ideal of the Under-Empire, and have something resembling pride to serve as its army. Other skaven have their loyalties to themselves first, themselves second, themselves third, and fuck those guys from other clans fourth. USA skaven are mostly the same, but they see themselves as part of the Under-Empire, something bigger than themselves which includes all skaven. So they seek to benefit themselves and the under-empire in the same measure.
Of course this is mostly implanted by drilling so vicious it's basically regimented torture, but it works so who cares, right?
Though the USA isn't comprised of loyal skaven, per se. Their training regimen is harsh enough that it basically gives them institutionalized PTSD at the thought of betraying their commanding officer, which is why Krasskik and Skrazz took Sleek to get help rather than leaving him to die despite the fact that he took a page out of Pai Mei's training guide. Outside of combat though, they'll happily advantage themselves over their compatriots as much as they can get away with. What really unites them is ... basically proto-patriotism. They, unlike pretty much any other skaven in the Under-Empire, actually believe in the overarching ideal of the Under-Empire, and have something resembling pride to serve as its army. Other skaven have their loyalties to themselves first, themselves second, themselves third, and fuck those guys from other clans fourth. USA skaven are mostly the same, but they see themselves as part of the Under-Empire, something bigger than themselves which includes all skaven. So they seek to benefit themselves and the under-empire in the same measure.
Of course this is mostly implanted by drilling so vicious it's basically regimented torture, but it works so who cares, right?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It helps, in my opinion, that Sleek is actually pretty damn inspiring (when you can't afford to let Skaven instincts guide you and thus take it head on without falling back on considering how to backstab him).
Perhaps we ought to expand upon that? Perhaps we should build the Skaven equivalent of this:
If we want them to be more effective, this would be a great way to provide incentives.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
Huh. Truth be told I kinda thought someone was gonna bring up Nazis way earlier than this
That said, establishing something like that would require ... time more than anything. The USA's a very young organization, and it doesn't have much of a record of stunning battles and glorious victories and the weight of tradition and etcetera that makes heavily patriotic fervor possible.
But it is possible to do - consider that a skaven grows from infancy to adulthood in just four years, and attains a reasonable amount of salience by around age 2 or so, which then develops over the following two years. Memory, at least, starts around then, which means by the end of this turn there'll be a whole generation of skaven - this doesn't mean as much as it does to other species since they breed so damn much, but it is a milestone - who don't remember a time when there wasn't an Underlord in command of their race, when the Horned Rat's command was not to rise up and take the world from all who walk upon it. And that fraction will only increase given time.
That said, establishing something like that would require ... time more than anything. The USA's a very young organization, and it doesn't have much of a record of stunning battles and glorious victories and the weight of tradition and etcetera that makes heavily patriotic fervor possible.
But it is possible to do - consider that a skaven grows from infancy to adulthood in just four years, and attains a reasonable amount of salience by around age 2 or so, which then develops over the following two years. Memory, at least, starts around then, which means by the end of this turn there'll be a whole generation of skaven - this doesn't mean as much as it does to other species since they breed so damn much, but it is a milestone - who don't remember a time when there wasn't an Underlord in command of their race, when the Horned Rat's command was not to rise up and take the world from all who walk upon it. And that fraction will only increase given time.
Xantalos
Turtle-Speed Writing
True. Regardless, nazi imagery won't be on display anyhow, so it's a moot point.
Spectrum
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There are other practical concerns beyond that, such as keeping other clans (read: Mors) happy enough with their place that they don't revolt because they feel they're being pushed aside.
Oh come on, the Skaven are probably worse than the Nazis, and we're having a blast playing as the furry little bastards.