CuttleFish2.0
Friendly neighborhood cuttlefish
- Location
- Seattle, Washington.
From the Hidden City (Warhammer Lizardmen Temple-City Quest)
- Thread starter CuttleFish2.0
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- USA
@Simon_Jester would you consider moving a dice off of widespread roosts and over to alignment to the sea so that has a chance of finishing this turn (and thus giving us another temple type structure online and a bit more geo power)
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Geomantic energy reinvigorating the lizardmen is something designed into them from the start. Wide-scale use of magic effects to increase soil fertility or speed up the growth of beasts... nah, haven't seen anything like that.
Tentatively, in that I'm open to persuastion, but...
The problem is that with only three dice (two of them from Gif'a-gahb), the odds of success are only about 50%; you need to roll a 20 or higher three times. And I don't expect the extra dot of geomantic power from that single temple structure to be all that significant on the immediately following turn.
I am, again, open to persuasion, but that's my perspective at the moment.
- Location
- United Kingdom
I mean, I was under the impression that neither of these options would deal with the orcs in a lasting manner. Both aim to slow them down just with differing methods, so I'd prefer the latter due to the reduced number of dice we'd need and the bonus (presumably more narrative than explicitly DC-related) that Loqtli would bring.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
It depends on how lasting you mean by "lasting." Lizardmen live for millenia; on those timescales nothing we can realistically do now will eliminate orc threats from the south forever.
The question is whether we get more benefit from mobile battle and causing confusion among them, or from a larger but more static pitched battle that gives us the opportunity to just straight-up kill a lot of them.
- Location
- USA
I am fairly sure our geomantic web power is more of a background trait that influences what we can do and how many success and the DC needed for various actions so it is hard to say that X pushes us to the next discount. However roosts will not finish this turn or next turn and we will have to make the DC 20 rolls on the sea temple at some point so may as well take the chance this turn so that we can tick off another project as completed. 3 dice invested over 2 turns still has a total pass chance of about 50% so when we do it is irrelevant short of the DC dropping.
Though if you are open to it swapping awanbuildit with gif and adding a slann dice means the sea temple finishes this turn (slann floor and build it with the auto successes) while gif can proceed to finish the temple due to dc 0.
Last edited:
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
Actually, putting Awanbil'tat on the action should give us auto-successes, so I was planning to have him finish the job once Gif'a-gahb has taken care of the slann dice requirement. But I can only allocate one hero unit per turn so I can't double-stack them, and this turn I wanted to finish the temple rubble clearance.
Eh. I was planning, as noted, on a compromise between your strategy and mine. I'm also planning on the assumption that Gif'a-gahb won't necessarily succeed on both dice rolls.
The idea of using Awanabil'tat AND the fourth-generation slann this turn interests me, but the slann has a lot of other projects they could usefully work on.
- Location
- USA
64% chance to pass on both of Gifs rolls so we are more likely to end up with only one needed. With makes build it a waste since he gives 2 auto and we have other temple projects he can work on
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
We're starting to run out of those, though. I strongly suspect that at this rate we'll get to a point where there are no more temple projects to do, so I'm prepared to take my chances with using Awanabil'tat less than optimally efficiently NEXT turn.
- Location
- USA
We have 10 dice needed in the other two temple projects we have not started, 6 and 4 which means we have a lot of work for build it to do.
Kairos123
Insomniac Extraordinaire
The biggest drawback is our limited dice pool. I'd like to have something like that, but it'd be more relevant to make the garden, or focus on having plants that attack our enemies. Even those two things we'll have trouble fitting into plans with our need for food and trade good (let alone the various fires that need to be put out.
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that our limited dice pool is a major game balance mechanic, so it's going to be hard to beat. It does seem as though making labor more efficient improves the dice pool sometimes, or does the functional equivalent of making projects cost fewer successes and/or have lower DC's. So better agriculture would be nice... I just think we're a ways out from significantly improving on it.
We have a lot of dice for that, but I'm not so hungry to finish them all (not least because I have no idea what he'll do after that) that I'm going to get upset if he's used at suboptimal efficiency on a single specific turn. Or, hell, we could throw a different Stewardship hero at the harbor temple anyway.
- Location
- USA
Throwing a different hero means we may as well move a dice off of roost to the sea temple for a chance to finish this turn though. And we do not have a lot of dice to spend on the temple building due to all our other commitments (like we really need to work on the orcs next turn)
- Location
- Mid-Atlantic
I think we're more likely to get a benefit from accelerating our air reconnaissance network coming back on line by one turn at some future date (the effect of two dice on Roosts) than from getting a chance to have the harbor temple come online next turn.
Roosts probably won't complete in time to help with the current orc crisis, but it'll probably be relevant for future conflicts where we're dealing with the beastmen or with the next round of orcs (because orcs don't stay down forever).
CuttleFish2.0
Friendly neighborhood cuttlefish
- Location
- Seattle, Washington.
Right, vote is closed. Plan Double the Geomancy wins.
Turn 6 Results
CuttleFish2.0
Friendly neighborhood cuttlefish
- Location
- Seattle, Washington.
[X] Plan Double The Geomancy
[] Widespread Roosts (DC 0, 12 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (2 dice + Poh'paloq)
[] Fleet Expansion (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (0 dice + Xehtzaihl)
[] Clearing Rubble- Temple of Xokha (DC 0, 3 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (1 die + Awanabil'tat)
[] Alignment to the Sea (DC: 20. Successes Needed: 3. Limit: 6) (0 dice + Gif'a-gahb)
[] Tower Repairs (DC 15, 4 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (2 dice + Xilotl)
[] Wall Repairs (DC 10, 4 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (3 dice + Tzakani)
[] Beast Pen Repairs (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 3) (0 dice + Tehe'Tenq)
[] Egg Hunt (DC 20, 1 Success Needed, Limit 3) (1 die)
[] Raising a Clutch (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (1 die + Ittetuhlot)
[] Spelunking (DC 0, 3 Successes Needed, Limit ?) (0 dice + Khaxilitli)
[] Diving In (DC 30, 1 Success Needed, Limit 4) (0 dice + Huatza'botl)
[] Tracking (DC: 25. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 4. ) (3 dice + Loqtli)
[] Furthering a Relationship: (1 die)
-[] Warn the humans that in this generation or perhaps the next, orcs will likely come out of the south. They are very fierce and very numerous. Humans would be wise to either escape to more distant lands when this happens, or to seek shelter with the lizardmen in Zlatlan, which is that way.
[] Reaching Out to More (0 dice + Zille'mi = 2 dice)
-[] Spread a similar warning among these humans, once contact is established.
[] Write-In Intrigue: Continue Monitoring The Orcs (1 die + Hua'ximni = 1 die)
[] Exorcism: (DC: 40. Successes Needed: 2) 3 fifth-generation slann dice.
[] Study Disc of Yuxa: (DC: 50. Successes Needed: 1) 2 fifth-generation slann die.
[] Study Leviathan-Bone Harpoon (DC: 20. Successes Needed: 2) 1 fourth-generation slann die.
[] (Mal)Functional: (DC: 50. Successes Needed: 10) 2 fifth-generation slann dice
[] Getting to Know your Attendants: 1 personal die
[] Write-In Personal Project: Create a highly lethal anti-orc poison, suitable for use against warbosses: 1 personal die
[] Widespread Roosts (DC 0, 12 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (2 dice + Poh'paloq)
[] Fleet Expansion (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (0 dice + Xehtzaihl)
[] Clearing Rubble- Temple of Xokha (DC 0, 3 Successes Needed, Limit 6) (1 die + Awanabil'tat)
[] Alignment to the Sea (DC: 20. Successes Needed: 3. Limit: 6) (0 dice + Gif'a-gahb)
[] Tower Repairs (DC 15, 4 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (2 dice + Xilotl)
[] Wall Repairs (DC 10, 4 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (3 dice + Tzakani)
[] Beast Pen Repairs (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 3) (0 dice + Tehe'Tenq)
[] Egg Hunt (DC 20, 1 Success Needed, Limit 3) (1 die)
[] Raising a Clutch (DC 0, 2 Successes Needed, Limit 8) (1 die + Ittetuhlot)
[] Spelunking (DC 0, 3 Successes Needed, Limit ?) (0 dice + Khaxilitli)
[] Diving In (DC 30, 1 Success Needed, Limit 4) (0 dice + Huatza'botl)
[] Tracking (DC: 25. Successes Needed: 2. Limit: 4. ) (3 dice + Loqtli)
[] Furthering a Relationship: (1 die)
-[] Warn the humans that in this generation or perhaps the next, orcs will likely come out of the south. They are very fierce and very numerous. Humans would be wise to either escape to more distant lands when this happens, or to seek shelter with the lizardmen in Zlatlan, which is that way.
[] Reaching Out to More (0 dice + Zille'mi = 2 dice)
-[] Spread a similar warning among these humans, once contact is established.
[] Write-In Intrigue: Continue Monitoring The Orcs (1 die + Hua'ximni = 1 die)
[] Exorcism: (DC: 40. Successes Needed: 2) 3 fifth-generation slann dice.
[] Study Disc of Yuxa: (DC: 50. Successes Needed: 1) 2 fifth-generation slann die.
[] Study Leviathan-Bone Harpoon (DC: 20. Successes Needed: 2) 1 fourth-generation slann die.
[] (Mal)Functional: (DC: 50. Successes Needed: 10) 2 fifth-generation slann dice
[] Getting to Know your Attendants: 1 personal die
[] Write-In Personal Project: Create a highly lethal anti-orc poison, suitable for use against warbosses: 1 personal die
Turn 6 Results
Tower Repairs: 2 dice, Xilotl
5, 42, Auto, Auto
3 Successes!
Total: 3
3 Successes!
Total: 3
Stone stretched high, glinting polished bronze shimmered from the faces of the towers with glyphs of sacred power. Pulleys hauled greatbows up to their mountings all along the southern wall of Zlatlan even as the last of the towers were erected on the northeastern corner of the city, and on a select few housing were built for Solar Engines. Though none were installed.
Watches began to rotate through the towers as schedules adjusted and took into account the restored infrastructure. Many towers yet remained without armaments and some ever lacked the full extent of enchantments and wardings, but such works could easily be finished in but a short time.
Action Incomplete - 1 Success Remains.
Wall Repairs: 3 dice, Tzakani
5, 79, 26, 3
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
Compared to the work ongoing to rebuild the towers, that which Tzakani was charged with in finalizing the repairs of the walls themselves was hardly even worth mentioning. Though it stretched across the same geographic space it was in many ways much smaller in scale; superficial cracks, broken sections of crenulation, ancient stains of unclean blood long since purified of any metaphysical taint, and more such things. None of it enough, even in aggregate, to significantly weaken the integrity of the walls themselves.
And yet still it was ultimately an unacceptable weakness. Though most foes would find it well beyond their power and ability to leverage the forces of the true enemy could be subtle and patient when it suited them.
Such things could not be let stand, not forever. Thus the scribe led the efforts, corralling artisan-priests, kroxigor work crews, and even a few lesser priests in undertaking the work to address all the myriad little injuries which yet persisted from the Great Catastrophe in the walls. A little over half the work still remained, but it was a start.
Action Incomplete - 2 Successes Remains
Fleet Expansion: Xehtzaihl
Auto, Auto
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
At last the bones of the expanded frigate fleet laid down in the decades prior could see the finishing touches put to them. With a few short years of work the lone pair of frigates turned into six times that number as Xehtzaihl intricately organized the skinks and kroxigor work crews to complete the final steps of their construction.
Masts went up, decks were laid in, thick ropes strung, and greatbows affixed to their mountings. And as each vessels was completed a section of the drydocks was flooded with the waters of the bay and the ship was floated out to join the growing fleet.
Of course not all could immediately be sailed out into open waters as properly acclimated crews were in short supply. Though by spreading seasoned crews amongst the newer the matter was calculated to resolve itself rapidly as the greater number of ships facilitated training large numbers of crews. For the time being only eight of the ships sailed beyond the bay to begin the longer range patrolling the newly upscale frigate fleet allowed.
The others were taken out just far enough that they could be steered back in to be moored safely at harbor, freeing up the drydock for yet more construction, though as of yet none was immediately planned. First the plans for the next class of ships had to be finalized.
Action Completed. Fleet expanded, sea patrols reach further - better spread of institutional knowledge.
Getting to Know your Attendants: 1 personal dice
62
1 Success!
Total: 1
2 Skink Attendant Rolls
1-6 Scribe 7-10 Artisan-Priest
5, 9
1 Success!
Total: 1
2 Skink Attendant Rolls
1-6 Scribe 7-10 Artisan-Priest
5, 9
Wik'keer'mal looked out over Zlatlan with no small amount of pride. Much had been accomplished since those wretched days after the fall of Chupayotl into the sea, the city bustled anew with activity and industry. Even perhaps soon to be beset by orcish hordes he felt optimistic about the chances of repelling even such a Waaagh as the great number of greenskins to the south could disgorge.
Perhaps it would even be a good opportunity to really test out the capabilities of his new focus. It had seen such little real testing since he made it, throwing back the clumsy attempts of an orc shaman or dozen ought to do for a-
Sound from back within his chamber caught his attention. Ah well that was enough meandering for the time being, that did sound like Cuaqli returning from the deep archives with the requested maps.
"My Lord, as you requested."
Centuries out of date though they were, until such time as new surveys could be undertaken they would serve purpose well enough.
"Good," then, with a thought, "Mai'xon. Deliver these to Zille'mi, they ought to prove of help on their mission."
With a deep bow the skink took the heavy plates of bronze. He would have to find an appropriate task for them to undertake sometime in the next few years now that he had a better understanding of their strengths. Perhaps aiding Poh'paloq in constructing the roosts? Or starting construction on the bunkers?
Ah, such things could wait a bit. Events were afoot.
Action Completed.
Cuaqli
Type: Scribe
When Assigned:
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
Mai'xon
Type: Artisan Priest
Specialization: Architect
When Assigned:
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions Involving Construction
Type: Scribe
When Assigned:
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
Mai'xon
Type: Artisan Priest
Specialization: Architect
When Assigned:
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions
- +1 Dice to Stewardship Actions Involving Construction
Furthering a Relationship: 1 dice
3
0 Successes!
Total: 0
0 Successes!
Total: 0
Though their official duties did not allow them to take personal charge of the effort to warn /Khusa and Dhon's tribe of the threat of greenskin incursion, Zille'mi had been charge by Lord Wik'keer'mal with carrying similar warnings far and wide to the other human tribes, it was still acceptable and even necessary that they introduce the contingent of skink chiefs which would be delivering the news. Otherwise any number of disasters might occur. Humans, having little in the way of notions of abstracted institutions or formalized treaties, conducted all their 'diplomacy' on a personal basis. Relying on such nebulous notions as trust and honor.
Granted beyond a wide conceptual founding, neither Zille'mi nor the Lizardmen as a whole had ever had much call to practice diplomacy until recently. It did not bear contemplating to speak of negotiating with daemons. And most other inhabitants of the world either better served the plans of the Old Ones as part of their designs or refused such entreaties as were laid before them.
Or were too far gone down fruitless paths of evolution or spiritual degradation to fit within the Great Plan.
Exactly once in the entire history of the Lizardmen had any of the intelligent species of the world been deemed worth extended negotiations, and the dragons had ultimately had to be shown the error of their intransigence through force. The fruits of that had yet to be seen completely, but at the very least the survival of the elves was a welcome sign.
Unfortunately such tactics were not to be repeated on humans. The Old ones had fit them to the Great Plan and meddling further would risk possibly disastrous deviations from said. So things must be done slowly, on human terms.
Which meant personally. And that meant introductions from Zille'mi to the tribe, which as /Khusa and Dhon had indicated had moved on from its former location. Patrols had reported some of their movements, enough at least that in conjunction with old maps dug out of the deeper archives a reasonably narrow search area had been established.
Three candidate valleys up in the hills had been identified.
Each matched the rough description given years prior to the priest. Searching them out would only require a detour of a couple of months. With the timetable they had established at the outset that would not pose any serious hindrance to the mission set before Zille'mi by Lord Wik'keer'mal.
All three of the valleys were located upriver, closer to the headwaters of the Southern Red River; two in fact fed into the river while the third had seemingly once but changing environmental conditions had dried its river bed.
Following sparse trails and signs the party, larger than any of those the priest had previously travelled with to meet with the humans, first reached the third non-riverine valley and set about exploring the paths into it. Though there were some signs of passage, they appeared mostly to be of wild animals or perhaps lone humans rather than any major migration and indeed when the valley was briefly explored no signs of habitation were found. It would have made a poor refuge as the ground was rocky and the tree cover sparse with little in the way of evident animal population to support a major tribe.
The expedition moved on. Within hours of approaching the second site there were heartening signs; snapped branches, trampled grass, worn dirt patches and disturbed bushes.
In fact the sign of disturbance only grew greater the higher they got into the foothills of the mountains and the closer they approached to the valley proper. At one point a stone smeared with dried blood was spotted. Zille'mi urged the party on faster after that.
Two more days of climbing brought them close to the nearest of the valley entrances. A narrow channel between sheer rock faces where the river ran deep, forcing passage to either side to avoid being tripped up by uneven ground in the fast moving waters. For a skink it was not so difficult, but humans with their wider carriage would necessarily be forced to walk single file and with all their luggage.
More signs of violence.
Bloody handprints smeared along one wall.
Drops of blood scattered across the rocky ground.
Zille'mi grew concerned.
And when they emerged from the pass into the valley proper the signs of battle were immediately evident. Dirt stained heavily with blood lay all about and the grass had been heavily trampled. Following the trail of destruction into the heavier tree cover they found it did not end; trees had been knocked over, boulders pulled free of the earth, and wooden spears caked in gore were embedded deep in the soil.
Of whatever encampment had been established all that remained were several scattered fire pits, a few freshly dug pits, the charred remains of support pillars and more blood stains upon the ground.
Two weeks the party remained, exploring the valley for any sign of survivors but none showed themselves. Only more evidence of fighting. And yet, no bodies. Whoever had won had policed the corpses of foe and ally alike before they left.
As the group descended once again to report the misfortune, Zille'mi felt…
Disappointment. That was the proper term for the sinking feeling that wound about their gut, tugging on their thoughts. Disappointment that such a potentially useful resource had had its future cut short after only two decades of cultivation and that it would never aid the Great Plan.
The priest put the feeling from their mind, forced the coiling darkness away, and returned their focus to their official duties.
Action ...
Tracking: 3 dice, Loqtli
50, 84, 95, Auto
4 Successes!
Total: 4
4 Successes!
Total: 4
Several hundred mixed skinks and saurus were given over to the command of Loqtli for the purpose of tracking the twisted creatures. Though of no great threat to the Lizardmen, tending to avoid rather than fight any concentration, that was no reason to simply ignore them in the eyes of the slann. Not while they persisted in the domain of Zlatlan and had such seeming ties to the enemy.
Using reports from regular patrols to guide their movements the detachment was split in small parties and dispersed to the depths of the jungle. Using all the knowledge of the Lizardmen these small bands then crept through the undergrowth, seeking out isolated pockets of the mutated warmbloods and following them as they moved about.
Most seemed to exist in small groups, no more than a handful and did little more than hunt and eat and sleep and attempt to procreate. Even by the standards of humans these beastmen had precious little in the way of proper organization; they crafted no tools, ate meat and other foods raw, slept in loose piles wherever there was space, and barely seemed to speak at all. If they spoke any language it was a distorted and debased form of human tongues.
Very occasionally, usually when the false moon reached its most baleful, a number of these small bands would gather together at night and work themselves into a roaring, snorting, braying rage. In the days following they would then tear through the surrounding jungle in search of any isolated pockets of humans and fall upon them with terribly savagery.
And then once their depraved appetites were sated they would disperse back into depths of the jungle.
Often in entirely different bands than they had been in before the event.
Furthering a Relationship Interrupt!
Rolled 52
Rolled 52
What little magic they seemed to wield of their own was primitive and bestial, more instinctive than any conscious attenuation of the Winds. Mostly it served to allow them to slip into a strange sort of transient demi-plane, almost but not quite dipping into the raw realms of chaos, just enough to craft strange primeval pathways that allowed them to circumvent observation on several occasions. Though their use of these was inconsistent and sometimes seemed to take them further away from whatever target they had chosen.
Once while following a group attempting to open one of these pathways, evidently after having been evaded by their quarry frequently enough to push the band into even greater heights of rage, Loqtli decided that a test of the mettle of these creatures was needed to round out their report. Few better opportunities would be had to see how they responded.
So, they, along with ten saurus and two dozen skinks, charged at the rear of the ravening horde with a ripping snarl. The force of the impact utterly shattered the thin web of morale which held the band together even though only a small handful died in those first moments the beastmen immediately began to flee.
Potentially problematic, if they fled at the first shock it would be very difficult to deliver true defeat unless the whole of a given horde was surrounded at once. Should the creatures prove capable of being a threat they would not be one quickly dealt with in a single battle and that would be a further strain on the limited resources of the city.
There were potentially solutions to that, but the Scar-Veteran did not know that any would appeal to Lord Wik'keer'mal given the current condition of things. It might be that the beastmen would simply have to be accepted as a long term–
Oh, one of the humans was trying to say something. Loqtli did not know their language beyond a handful of words and even those were difficult for their mouth to pronounce easily. Waiting patiently for… her to finish, truly the saurus did not quite understand how the humans told the difference between themselves sometimes, they then said one of the few words they knew.
"Peace."
Then, deeming the exchange fairly concluded they led their force back into the depths of the jungle.
Action Completed. Human tribe saved?
Reaching Out to More: Zille'mi
91, 76
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
With the fate of /Khusa and Dhon still weighing on them Zille'mi resolved to conclude with their duties in spite of the disappointment. Unfortunately the priest did not have the same latitude to establish initial contact as they had had in the first attempt, not if they were to try and establish some basic contact with the many tribes of humans spread about the Southern Red River.
Starting with those tribes nearest to /Khusa and Dhon's the priest carefully chose a number of open locations frequented by groups of humans for what appeared to be a combination of religious and sanitary purposes. They then very visibly but distantly made their presence known, imitating their ablutions, and observing without explicitly approaching. It took only minutes each time for the priest to be noticed.
When sufficient attention seemed focused on Zille'mi, they returned it and called out in greeting.
"Hail!"
Uncertainly the humans would usually repeat the gesture. From there how long it took for them to be comfortable with the priests' presence varied, in one case taking only a few days while in another it was roughly a month before the humans even returned to the spot much less allowed the skink to approach.
Still, eventually all of them did become comfortable in close proximity and thought it was a far cry from being able to conduct diplomacy in any real sense; Zille'mi was able to deliver their warnings of the possibility of greenskin incursions in due time. And after the first few, news began to travel ahead of them enough that contact with the last few tribes went exceptionally smoothly. Though with the last it was perhaps owing more to the fact that a familiar face appeared.
They had just finished their usual method of greeting the humans during their washing once enough eyes were on them when a surprised voice emerged from amidst the crowd.
"Zille'mi?"
/Khusa pushed past the bodies of the other humans and dashed forward some steps before stopping. The priest stared in startled amazement, they had imagined the human and her entire tribe dead by now, to find her here… it… it filled them with something strange and unfamiliar a light feeling that bubble in their chest.
Action Completed. Tribes contacted, further options available. /Khusa and Dhon's tribe have survived.
Beast Pen Repairs: Tehe'Tenq
37, 75
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
With the greater bulk of beasts now out of the pens, the stegadon and bastiladon to their pastures and a significant percentage of the Cold Ones and Horned ones on active patrols, work proceeded rapidly on the last bits of repairs. Grounds were refurbished, old and failing wooden fencing replaced with sturdier stone construction, accessways damaged in the Catastrophe restored. Some light work was also done on the terradon percheries, though most had been restored as part of the efforts to refurbish the temples.
By the time the decade was out every which could be had been brought up to standards. Though by no means as impactful as the work to reestablish the pastures, the repair of the pens was still a step in the right direction. Once the areas beyond the city were better ordered proper ranges could be worked on.
Even though the carnivorous beasts were much more amenable to enclosure within the city itself it was still a significant effort to keep their populations stable over the years. Repaired pens eased that difficulty somewhat, but until they were allowed a more natural environment the populations of Cold Ones, Horned Ones, and carnosaurs would remain low.
Action Completed. Populations begin to grow; very, very, very slowly.
Egg Hunt: 1 dice
87
1 Success!
Total: 1
1 Success!
Total: 1
Teams were sent south again, carefully avoiding crossing paths with any of the now frequent greenskin bands migrating steadily northward, to the edges of the southern plains where the first nuum eggs had been recovered. Some signs were found of greenskins in the area, but they were sparse. Few of the creatures in the immediate area were anything that the brutes would find it worthy to challenge; few elephants came this far north, the predatory cats were smaller, and the nuum themselves were not particularly dangerous.
It took a little longer to find sufficient numbers of eggs to make the journey worth the effort. Eventually though the parties sent south returned to Zlatlan laden with over a hundred more eggs, and some other much more delicate cargo, enough to ensure success and provide a boost to the productivity straight off.
Action Completed.
Raising a Clutch: 1 dice, Ittetuhlot
100, 64
2 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success! +1 Success from Egg Hunt
Total: 4
2 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success! +1 Success from Egg Hunt
Total: 4
Some three hundred eggs were removed from the vaults in which they had been stored, the long disused nesting grounds were refurbished and the same process of rearing which had been employed in the last century was used. Within a bare few years nearly all of the eggs had hatched and subsequently matured into juveniles. From these those most tractable and calm in the presence of skinks were selected, approximately a forth of the population, and allowed to breed.
Most simply displayed a willingness to tolerate skinks in the vicinity, so long as they did not approach too close, but a few did demonstrate a curious nature. Careful record was kept of these and where possible curious males and females were mated to one another and their eggs marked with a special pigment.
Of the rest, all were culled.
Skink handlers made frequent visits to the nests even during daylight hours when the nuum were most active, gradually acclimatizing the creatures to their presence such that by the time the eggs themselves hatched some few could walk right up to the edge and peer in without arousing much reaction beyond a glance. Only some. Most still had to observe from a fair distance or otherwise arouse the ire of the parents.
Quite quickly, as the newborns rapidly gained proper locomotive skills, the newly hatched nuum range out of the nests and began to prove the fruits of the efforts. Even those offspring of the most acceptably reticent nuum were a great deal more curious and sought to investigate the nearby skinks with relative frequency. Over the next few years as they grew into juveniles many kept some of that curiosity and tolerance for close proximity. It was only slightly over half that had to be fed narcotics in order to be transported to their designated nesting sites in time.
None of the second or third generation was culled as their continued breeding, under careful monitoring, was needed to rapidly grow the number of the birds in the skinks' care. By no means was the process finished. Several more generations of selected breeding remained until the creatures could be deemed suitably domesticated, but that at least could occur at a more sedate pace. Without the greater volume of interference necessitated at the beginning.
Action Completed. Large initial boost to stocks of feathers and leather, small rate of production. Will grow over the next several turns.
Widespread Roosts: 2 dice, Poh'paloq
71, 64, 23, 99
4 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success
Total: 5
4 Successes! 1 Natural Critical! +1 Success
Total: 5
Poh'paloq took charge of the terradon patrols with ease, under the assumption that there was no better way to survey the former sites of the scattered roosting sites than from the air itself. Of course many such sites were far from Zlatlan, beyond the easy range of the beasts, but once the nearer sites were restored those could be more easily surveyed. And while all of the nearby sites were well assessed, some of those closest to the temple-city even had work started on them, those more distant locations remain uninspected.
Approximately half the work still remains to be done.
Action Incomplete.
Clearing Rubble (Temple of Xokha): 1 dice, Awanabil'tat
89, Auto, Auto
3 Successes!
Total: 3
3 Successes!
Total: 3
Awanabil'tat returned to the work of repair the temples of the Old Ones, focusing still on the structure dedicated to Xokha. Many of the lower chambers and halls had been cleared but the upper reaches and lowest vaults of the temple complex remained in poor condition; places full of vital records, sacred devices, and the specialized meditation chambers which directed and molded the energy of the Geomantic Web into its proper forms. These rooms still had to be set into good order before the temple could be considered undamaged and the proper flow restored.
Errant masonry flowed out and new glyph covered bricks funneled in. Plaster went up. Charms were hung in auspicious configurations once again and the statuary of the temple repainted to display the beauty of the Old Ones domain.
Lizardmen from the lowliest skinsk to the slann looking down from their personal meditation chambers were gladdened when once again the calls of praise echoed out from the heights of the temple mount. Another thread of energy joined the chorus of Zlatlan's city-glyph in the sub-dimension of the Web.
Something within the vaults awakened and cried out to the priests venerating Xokha.
Action Completed. Temple of Xokha - Clinometer of Xokha Activates! Once per turn on a single Stewardship action, reduce the DC of the action by half for 2 dice. At the end of the turn roll a d10 and on a 2 or lower the device is spent and must charge for a turn.
Alignment to the Sea: Gif'a-gahb
34, 34
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
Two inner shafts were dug out and the lower pools excavated. Each wall has had the appropriate sacred glyphs and other mystical architectural elements installed in order to shape and funnel the energy of the Geomantic Web appropriately. Much of the work on the channels leading out to the open water has also been completed.
It remains for the sea gates to be installed, proper defensive positions carved out, and the actual breaches opened so that the channels and pools fill with water. Lifts must also be installed so that heavier supplies and forces can be moved from the upper temple into the lower and vice versa.
Action Incomplete - 1 Success Remains
Spelunking: Khaxilitli
89
1 Success!
Total: 1
What's down there?
64
1 Success!
Total: 1
What's down there?
64
Progress exploring the network of caves beneath Zlatlan was slow going. Though obviously important to the security of the city, there were many other such issues before the inhabitants, some much more urgent than simply the existence of potential exploitable vulnerabilities. Like actual existing faults in the defenses of the city. Or blatant threats poised to undo all the hard won progress made in the last few centuries.
Recovered treasures of the Old Ones to understand and make use of.
Further repairs to be made.
Opportunities to exploit which could easily slip away if not properly nurtured. Dozens, hundreds, of nearly equally vital matters to attend to. It was no surprise that something had to be left to moulder for a time.
But at the moment that was not the caves beneath the city, for Khaxilitli led a small force down into its depths through the same entrance which Zille'mi had used in previous years.
What they discovered was not nearly so exciting as the petrified dragons eggs, but much more immediately useful. Glittering cave walls shimmering under torchlight in dim yellows, dark silverys, blues, purples, greens, and many more colors besides forming a roughly circular formation three times as large as the largest temples of the city and extended down as well.
Rich veins of copper bearing ore simply sitting there.
More even than gold, bronze was the most common metal used by the Lizardmen for its malleability and how well it took enchantment.
The deposit found was more than enough to supply the city for… centuries to come. If not easily millenia. So long as tin was readily available as well. For the time being there was no urgent need to extract the metal as existing stores of bronze plates well exceeded the projected consumption of Zlatlan for at least the next century and a half.
At least so long as population growth remained steady at current levels, significant increases in either spawnings or war beast numbers would strain that. With the discovery at least one half of that potential shortfall was addressed.
Action Incomplete - 2 Successes Remain
Study Disc of Yuxa: 2 5th Gen Slann dice.
78, 94
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
Once again the Disc was hauled forth from the vaults it was temporarily housed in to the temple of Tepok and settled into the focus of the Inference Engine; crackling energy spread across the device once again spun into action. Arcing power split the air.
Vibrations shook the stone platforms as a steady hum from the basalt pillars at the edges of the main chamber built steadily. Those same slann which had studied the artifact sat in deep contemplation as the Engines slowly fed to them the intricate dancing threads of knowledge spun out from the Disc — the two constructs of the Old Ones speaking to one another in ways more subtle than even the slann could comprehend — until all at once the disparate pieces clicked into place.
Uncertainty transformed into surety. Previously unseen vista opened themselves and an invisible star shone down.
Crafted not by the hand of Yuxa himself, but at his explicit and detailed direction the Disc had been built by slann of the First Spawning in the days when great sheets of ice still encased most of the world. During the founding of Itza. In fact, the first end to which it had been turned was the raising and shoring up of that city; appropriate to the Old One whose name it bore, the Disc was intended to facilitate the working of great magics.
Particularly in conjunction with the Geomantic Web, harnessing that deep well of power and turning it towards more precise ends. Magic cast while seated atop the Disc, so long as one knew the correct methods and keys, was increased in power and efficiency such that a skink priest could begin to mimic a slann of the Fifth Spawning in pure power.
Though of course their innate mastery of the Winds would still be lesser.
Alas, many of its greater functions and the limits of its functions were unavailable. Without that vast glut of energy from the Web or, as had been the case when Itza was founded, flowing from the Polar Gates, it could not perform to such heights. Still, in defense of the city itself it would make a potent tool and weapon.
Action Completed. Gain Equipment: Disc of Yuxa.
Effects: Caster Focus/Mount. Greatly enhances casting speed, power, and focus of a single individual while they are stood/seated atop it. Can operate indefinitely within Zlatlan, more limited outside of it. Skink priest characters equipped with the Disc of Yuxa have all their dice count as slann dice. Slann count as being one generation higher than their normal generation.
Enhancements: Through careful rearrangement of internal components one of the following paths of enhancement can be unlocked.
Supreme Lordship of the Heavens - Imparts even greater effects upon the user and also extends operation time outside of Geomantic Web significantly. Completely immobilizes the user and elevates them high into the air.
Alignment of the Sacred Choir - At the expense of some efficacy of the effects themselves upon individuals, spreads the effects to any two other casters within direct communication of the primary caster.
Study Leviathan-Bone Harpoon: 1 4th Gen Slann dice.
82
1 Success!
Total: 1
1 Success!
Total: 1
After the disc of Yuxa was take away to be once against stored away safely in its vault as opportunities for its usage were contemplated, the Leviathan-Bone Harpoon took its place within the machinery of the Arcane Inference engine and a lone slann of the Fourth Spawning took the place of the pair.
Though clearly of Old Ones origin, the harpoon was of uncertain provenance. Its manner of discovery might have been considered suggestive if it had not been found in the hands of a daemon, how long the vile thing might have possessed the artifact was uncertain as was when they had gained it. Or how. In battle? Through theft?
Such details of the weapon's creation could not be left unknown. Even if the matter was not entirely urgent. Knowledge drip fed itself into their mind, fragments of a holistic understanding which hovered on the edge of revelation.
– waveform collapse– -rostatic impulse through– user indicates greater than normal–
Reality reasserted itself and revelation receded into the abyssal depths of uncertainty.
Action Incomplete.
Diving In: Huatza-Botl
Auto, Auto
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
Huatza-Botl dove through the water with an ease even most skinks could not match. Clear sun warmed waters quickly gave way to cooler depths as natural light receded away to be replaced by the sparse intrusion of shining glyph lamps along the wall.
The frantic report by the foreskink had been… incoherent was the best description. Likely a combination of nerves, the saurus' smaller cousins were flighty even at the best of times, and poor visibility. Their crews should have been finishing installing the last of the final ring of glyph lamps at the transition to the aquifer proper, but instead the Oldblood was swimming down with a pair of kroxigor to investigate reports of a 'portal' and 'unnatural lifeless creatures.'
Finally they saw where the glyph lamps stopped and the dark edge of the waters of the aquifer beyond truly began. There was no portal and certainly no great beast threatening. Only a ring of darker water where light did not yet reach.
It was a shame that the saurus could not install the lights themself, but alas such gifts as were needed had not been given to them and so the artisan-priests must return below to–-
That… was not simply a transition of lighter to dark. As they neared and the relative angle between Huatza-Botl and the glyph lamps changed, the wan light reflected differently. There appeared a pale, cloudy layer of some unfamiliar substance in the thin plane separating the aquifer from the water above.
Like a portal.
And there, at the edges of the rough circle formed by the surrounding rock creeped strange ghostly shapes of deathly white flesh and… armor? Curious darting things which crept to the very edge of the supposed portal but dare not cross it.
Something slithered by in the water, a undulated muscle of blanched green flesh from which the other creatures flinched rapidly away.
Huatza-Botl kept going, right up to the edge of the strange formation and was certain, upon close inspection, that it was not some strange new magic but rather a physical phenomenon which they did not understand. Dipping one hand into and then through the thin layer they were shocked with both the sudden shift in temperature, the water below was shockingly warm, and with the gentle current which pulled their hand to the left.
Action Completed. Aquifer reached, strange differentiation between water bodies. Underground current? Further Research available to enable deeper exploration.
Exorcism: 3 5th Gen Slann dice.
26, 37, 58
1 Success!
Total: 1
1 Success!
Total: 1
Careful study of the manner of taint the armor is afflicted with has revealed that rather than being possessed by some minor daemon of pestilence or disease, some other manner of spirit has been twisted and trapped within. What manner or sort cannot be known for certain until it is safely extracted from the armor whence it can be disposed of either by destruction, or capture.
Action Incomplete.
(Mal)Functional: 2 5th Gen Slann dice
85, 65
2 Successes!
Total: 2
2 Successes!
Total: 2
Physically the pools are unblemished. So too are they mystically undamaged.
The glyphs carved into their walls and floors are wholly intact, the surrounding architecture properly aligned to feed the needed energy into them. And indeed regular pulses of energy traveled from the nexus of the temples down into them and the sacred waters glow as if in preparation for a spawning and yet when the gentle light fades nothing emerges from the waters. Energy goes in and naught comes out.
Examination of those spawned from the pools, five saurus and a single kroxigor, revealing little of interest. All of them are unremarkable examples of their types, without malformation or particular blessings upon them.
It took more than two years for another spawning event to precipitate. This time especially close attention was paid to the path of the energy, the two slann in observance straining to peer past the brilliance of the gathering energy under their mystical sight to discern the precise point of failure in the spellwork of the spawning pool. But they could not make it out.
What was perceived though was that at the height of the coalescence, rather than remaining within the confines of the pool the gathered energy slipped down through the floor of the pool towards something below it.
Action Incomplete. Energy for the pools is going… down?
Create a highly lethal anti-orc poison, suitable for use against warbosses: 1 personal dice
17
1 Success!
Total: 1
1 Success!
Total: 1
Before the Great Catastrophe it was unheard of to need any particularly potent poison. After all the preferred method of eliminating a particularly dangerous foe was with masses application of magical bombardment or via direct physical confrontation by saurus or kroxigor — and in a few notable instances even skink — champions. But the endless legions of those days are no longer at the beck and call of the slann of even Lustria, much less Zlatlan. And with so much vital work to be done, there is no guarantee of sufficient available magical power to target a single orc over the distances involved.
No matter how dangerous they might prove to be in the future. Were the communication loop shortened, or the orcs attention sufficiently concentrated to be able to reliably determine any of their precise locations it might be different. But then again then the problem would already be on the metaphorical doorstep.
Most of the poisons, toxins, and venoms available to the skinks tend slow reaction or weaken muscles. Only killing in conjunction with injury and exhaustion.
Reliable tools for turning the tides of battles, wearing down opposing forces over long marches, and slowing fleeing enemies but not tools for assasination. Even the most dangerous of them tend to induce wasting sicknesses rather than rapidly lethal conditions, and against the sort of fortitude and resilience that warbosses tended to display those sorts of afflictions are simply insufficient.
Wik'keer'mal was thus forced to meditate on the deepest of his memories in search of some recollection or errant instance of some animal or plant or environment suitably deadly to serve his purposes. Many came up, all unfortunately confined to the environs of Lustria which were for obvious not easily accessed. Possibly avenues for future development.
The only potential avenue which presented itself within easy reach was a particular species of spider he had encountered in the first few years of his tenure in Zlatlan, long before the Great Catastrophe, while conducting surveys of the plant life. While exploring the southern plains of the continent a trio of skinks had suddenly expired after investigating a complex of abandoned burrows. The culprit, once found, was a small brown spider found to be nesting in said burrows.
Even though three skinks had died the toxicity of the venom was not so great, once the arachnid was known of many more encounters and instances of bites were reported. Due to some unfortunate malformations in their livers the three skinks, all of the same spawning, were less able to properly process the venom. In fact the whole spawning had died out within three centuries of similar causes.
Luckily those parties heading south to capture more nuum eggs for the domestication process were able to divert some attention in order to search out a number of specimens for Lord Wik'keer'mal's purposes. No deaths or injuries resulted.
Once the specimens were delivered into the slann's — well, in truth his attendants — waiting hands they were installed in glass enclosures and then began the process of milking the creatures of their venom and testing what sorts of concentrations might be needed to kill an orc warboss.
Somewhere upwards of three times the dosage involved in a single bite was enough to kill a nuum. Nine times was enough for an orc, while four did it for a goblin. Extrapolating from such data was chancy, but without an easily available test subject there was no other choice; if the pattern held it would be somewhere between fourteen and nineteen times the normal dosage to kill an orc warboss. That was of course, using only the creature as it existed in nature.
A number of potential avenues for enhancing the deadliness of the venom presented themselves, though they would all require further development.
Action Completed. Brown Burrow Spider Venom available. Actions to further enhance unlocked.
On the seventy-first day of the eleven thousandth four-hundredth and nineteenth year since the founding of Itza a bright green sail was sighted at the mouth of the bay, escorted by a pair of the newly constructed frigates. Though not a common sight, the appearance of an elven ship was no longer any great cause for commotion as several of the ships had visited port over the last few years.
With stocks of nuum feathers newly restored at least this time there would be actual opportunity to trade.
But that was not to be, for this ship had come seeking not riches or exotic goods for the markets of Ulthuan but instead bore an emissary from those shores on a personal mission to Zlatlan. When the ship, with its vibrant sail and curling, almost grown shape, finally docked the first to step from it was not a simple guard but an elven maiden garbed in fine armor and bearing a bow brimming with magical power. The world shimmered into lively and vivacious colors at her passage.
When her message was delivered to the attendant skink at the dockside, many things began to happen in rapid succession; messengers flew back to Zlatlan and an honor guard of saurus warriors, stegadon, and kroxigor was called up. A long wait followed as the rest of the elven delegation alighted from the vessel. But at last it departed for the city.
As soon as it arrived it was immediately ushered deeper in, towards the main temple complex. In short order the visitor was shown to a chamber, alone, and instructed to wait.
Wait they did. Though not for long. Lord Wik'keer'mal did not wish to delay this particular meeting any.
"Greetings, Slann Mage-Lord Wik'keer'mal of Zlatlan, I bear glad tidings from my Lady her Illustrious Serenity Everqueen Yvraine of Avelorn."
Continue Monitoring the Orcs: 1 dice, Hua'ximni
20
1 Success!
Total: 1
1 Success!
Total: 1
In a perhaps predictable turn of events Dak, the sole goblin candidate for eventual warboss, has been eliminated. Early on in the decade he disappeared for a period of several days for unexplained reasons with some number of his more skilled lieutenants. When the whole party reappeared it was down more than half its number and Dak himself was severely injured, and moreover missing his favored weapon 'sharp toof.' From what little the chameleon skink watching his tribe was able to gather the disappearance was part of a scheme of the goblin's to steal some 'shiny bitz' from one of the nearby orc tribes, named 'Da Rock Eataz.'
An endeavor which clearly went badly.
That was not the end of his misfortune though. Evidently the tribe targeted for the theft felt such an action, despite its failure, deserved retribution and fell upon the entire tribe not a few days later. It was by the account of the skink, a slaughter. Dak and all his lieutenants were killed as was most of the rest of the tribe; with only a few surviving to be absorbed into Da Rock Eataz.
He was not the only one of the potential warbosses to suffer a loss, though his was significantly more severe than Munta da Hunta's own at the hands of Orbag and Wurkazz. The alliance is assuredly temporary, but while it persists there is likely little which can realistically challenge the two of them. Of course, so long as it continues neither can claim the title of Warboss either and lead a Waaagh on Zlatlan. In all likelihood the partnership will dissolve in short order.
Of course Munta has by no means been eliminated, and despite the losses the orc has suffered — several tribes have broken away, though they have not as of yet joined up with any of the other prospective warbosses — he remains a significant threat to keep watch on.
With most attention focused elsewhere, Gobbreaka has predictably managed to grow his own forces somewhat by picking up small periphery tribes of orcs and goblins. In particular he has been leaning on his friendship with Dorzug, claiming special knowledge of the shaman's plans and intentions though as of yet there is not evidence of any truth to such claims, and snapping up the most superstitious tribes. Ones with names like Gork's Boyz and 'da Ones wot Mork Chose.'
Dak and the Meany Stabbaz completely eliminated. Munta suffers defeat at the combined hands of Orbag and Wurkazz. Retreats. Gobbreaka grows slightly.
Note: Boy, this update really fought with me. Next turn will probably be a bit delayed. Comments and criticisms as always welcome.
- Location
- USA
That Disc of Yuxa! Just wow, so either we can get one of our 2 dice skink to count as a slann (important since some actions need at least 1 slann dice assigned) or we can boost the generation of a slann mechanically so they are rolling with a higher floor.
Also Mai'xon, yeah I can see a lot of use for him and getting that 2nd dice.
The pools draining magic down is concerning and we need to follow up on that next turn! Also another temple down.
@CuttleFish2.0 Temple of Xokha does it take 2 dice to activate or would it reduce the DC for the action for two of the dice rolls (so a DC 40 project we assign 5 dice and activate the temple, 3 dice against DC 20 or does it give 3 dice against DC 40 and 2 against DC 20?)
Also Mai'xon, yeah I can see a lot of use for him and getting that 2nd dice.
The pools draining magic down is concerning and we need to follow up on that next turn! Also another temple down.
@CuttleFish2.0 Temple of Xokha does it take 2 dice to activate or would it reduce the DC for the action for two of the dice rolls (so a DC 40 project we assign 5 dice and activate the temple, 3 dice against DC 20 or does it give 3 dice against DC 40 and 2 against DC 20?)
CuttleFish2.0
Friendly neighborhood cuttlefish
- Location
- Seattle, Washington.
In your example you would roll 3 dice against DC 40 and 2 against DC 20.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Temple is a little useless for what it does for now, but it will probably give major dividends come the construction of the Garden.
- Location
- USA
We can still get some use out of it on the DC 30/40 actions, it can probably drop the dice we need to assign to those projects by 1.
- Location
- The Netherlands
but they survived tho? our beastmen hunting inadvertantly saved them so they are fine. well except the ones we didn't knowBummer about the humans thoughthen again this is the dangers with dealing with such a lived race.
I do find that our diplomat getting into his work is good and even if this tribe is a flop he's got vital experience.
- Location
- Poland
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Ah, so more of a smaller improvement, rather than a powerful buff on megaprojects.