Remove ads

Mercenary Mage Quest: Asur Dogs of War in Warhammer Fantasy

Reader mode
Yes, the Swordmasters are trained to fight while under the effects of Eyes of the Pack.

Yes, you can put Eyes of the Pack and Flaming Sword on someone without creating Dhar.

No, Eyes of the Pack doesn't grant them a flat combat buff, it helps them in specific situations.
 
Blackout said:
Yes, the Swordmasters are trained to fight while under the effects of Eyes of the Pack.

Yes, you can put Eyes of the Pack and Flaming Sword on someone without creating Dhar.

No, Eyes of the Pack doesn't grant them a flat combat buff, it helps them in specific situations.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is great and all...

But we need to cast Eyes of the Pack on Fanriel as well, otherwise we won't get to see anything. :V
 
Last edited:
Sertorius said:
This is great and all...

But we need to cast Eyes of the Pack on Fanriel as well, otherwise we won't get to see anything. :V
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
...which the plan doesn't explicitly specify. Welp! Sorry, @KreenWarrior, we may need to make another minor adjustment!

(After which, the question becomes whether a) we feel that bringing all of the Swordmasters into the spell would distract Fanriel and b) whether, conversely we think that enemies apparently bursting from the shadows is indicative of some sort of supernatural stealth that Eyes of the Pack on all of the Swordmasters might be useful to counter.)
 
Last edited:
K von Carstein said:
Well, now I'll changing my vote. I don't want to lock Fanriel on one Wind.

[X] Plan : Let's keep things simple for now
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If we cast Eyes of the Pack on our Swordmasters I don't think we have to include Fanriel herself.

Sertorius said:
This is great and all...

But we need to cast Eyes of the Pack on Fanriel as well, otherwise we won't get to see anything. :V
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

If the point of the spell is more to enhance the sword masters and less to see what is going on on the left flank we may not need to include her in the people the spell is cast on.

Blackout said:
Yes, the Swordmasters are trained to fight while under the effects of Eyes of the Pack.

Yes, you can put Eyes of the Pack and Flaming Sword on someone without creating Dhar.

No, Eyes of the Pack doesn't grant them a flat combat buff, it helps them in specific situations.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Boss does Fanriel have to be a part of the group effected by Eyes of the Pack for her to be able to cast the spell on the Swordmasters.
 
I really think we should just keep things simple and not try to stretch ourselves or just limit ourselves to the Amber Wind. Lightfangs with Flaming Sword of Rhuin should be enough to help the Seagulls deal with whatever is there.
 
It's kind of the point that we don't know what's there.

We can drop it, if needed, the instant we find out, but I suspect actually knowing what the fuck is going on in our flanks is pretty important, especially when they're allegedly collapsing (not a thing flanks are supposed to do! Famously a bad thing to happen to flanks, actually.)
 
[X] Plan : Head on a Swivel
[X] Plan Send the Fireclaws

I'm still not wildly enthused about sending the Lightfangs, but if we do (and votes indicate we are) Eyes of the Pack seems correct.
 
Remove ads
Vote closed
  • Voting
    • Scheduled vote count started by Blackout on Feb 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM, finished with 73 posts and 23 votes.
    • [X] Plan : Head on a Swivel
      -[X] Commit the Lightfangs to the left flank.
      --[X] Have Vahanuir cast Flaming Sword of Rhuin on the Lightfangs.
      --[X] Cast Eyes of the Pack on the Swordmasters and Fanriel before they depart.
      -[X] Remain at the center in overall command.
      [X] Plan : Let's keep things simple for now
      -[X] Commit the Lightfangs to the left flank.
      --[X] Have Vahanuir cast Flaming Sword of Rhuin on the Lightfangs.
      -[X] Remain at the center in overall command.
      [X] Plan Send the Fireclaws
      -[X] Commit the Fireclaws to the left flank.
      -[X] Remain at the center in overall command.
      [X] Plan : Head on a Swivel
      -[X] Commit the Lightfangs to the left flank.
      --[X] Have Vahanuir cast Flaming Sword of Rhuin on the Lightfangs.
      --[X] Cast Eyes of the Pack on one of the Lightfangs before they depart. If we believe there is a risk of Dhar, we will exclude that Lightfang from the Flaming Sword of Rhuin
      -[X] Remain at the center in overall command.
      [X] Plan: Wheel of Death
      -[X] Order the Fireclaws to attempt to salvage the left flank if possible. Focus on maintaining combat effectiveness, return to the center if the left is lost.
      -[X] Lead the Lightfangs to link up with the Ogres.
      -[X] Signal the closest equivalent to: we're going to be overrun if you don't come back Aramil
      -[X] Send a runner to Willem to head towards the center and shorten our lines if he can do it without collapsing the rear
      -[X] Send runner to Holsgart that we will be doing a flank attack with the Ogres.
    Click to expand...
     
  • Voting
    • Apologies for the slow schedule, I've been busy with other things. I'll try to get more work on the next update.

    As mentioned, High Elf Player's Guide is out for WFRP 4th edition, and it's... surprisingly good?
    • It says that Aenarion threw himself to the fires of the Shrine of Asuryan in Lothern, when the Shrine of Asuryan is on the Isle of the Flame in the Inner Sea.
    • I do appreciate the admittance that Caledor II was enraged by Dwarf reprisals on innocent elves when he did the beardshaving, even if Snorri and Kor Vanaeth are not directly mentioned.
    • It sidesteps the issue of "Alarielle defended Finubar from his detractors for being away from Ulthuan for too long despite not being the Everqueen yet" by just saying that the Everqueen did it, without addressing them by name.
    • Interesting to note that Saphery is apparently considered the breadbasket of Ulthuan, due to them using all manner of magic to enhance the harvest, up to and including using what are called Uleishi, which seem to be some sort of magical golems/homunculi/creatures that they use as extra labour.
    • I am pleased to see the writers had a similar idea as I did, with the Cult of Hoeth providing free public education to all elves, though they put the age of maturity at 20 and social adulthood at 50.
    • The book's conceptualization of how elven nobility works seems broadly in line with what I've used, which is nice.
    • I'm not happy about the idea of the Council of Mages in Saphery being some sort of overarching organization that controls all Asur Mages, it feels like it's trying to pidgeonhole all Mages into being Sapherian rather than each kingdom having its own traditions.
    • According to the book only the Smith-Priests of Vaul know the secrets of forging Ithilmar. Seems impractical, so I'll not be doing that.
    • The book does give the answer for what Ithilmar costs: take the equivalent item, and then double its price seven times.
    • FINALLY, explicit acknowledgement that Starwood still exists on Ulthuan and that it was only the big ones used to make Dragonships that went extinct. I have been fighting that misconception for years.
    • Apparently Asarnil is tired of being exiled and is petitioning Finubar to give him a pardon, which is causing trouble for the Prince who was awarded his lands. This is funny to me.
    • Oh what's this? Yenlui? A concept of balance, trying to make sure not to fall into any extreme, interesting, let's see where they take it- oh no it's literally just the Force. You get Light points for doing good and Dark points for doing bad. For fuck's sake.
    • I mean the concept of the Yenlui is fine, I just don't like how the book treats it mechanically.
    • I... don't like what the book does with the Blood of Aenarion. Basically, you get to pick either Magical or Martial Prodigy, and receive various thematic bonuses. This is extremely uninspired: you just become Tyrion Lite or Bargain Basement Teclis. The Blood should be exceptional, but it shouldn't be so narrowly defined.
    • The book differentiates between the Lothern Sea Guard and Sea Guard as a generic unit type. While I have not done so in practice there is no difference except for the name: there are Asur marines beyond just the Lothern Sea Guard, they're just not called Sea Guard.
    • Sword-Dancing is... fine, it's the exact same concept as the Sword Arts with simpler names themed around "Path of X". Might recycle some of them for my own use. I do find funny that one of them is literally "Nothing Personnel Kid".
    • Apparently the Asur practice whaling but with Sea Dragons, Krakens and Megalodons, with elaborate hunting tactics and methods. I... like this. This is good. Why did I not think of this myself I need to get that into the quest post-haste.
    • The book says that magic was split into the Eight Winds by Caledor's ritual with the Vortex. We will not be doing that.
    • Isha being central to the usage of High Magic makes no sense and will not be used either.
    • The book does introduce "Spells using less than eight Winds but more than one", but rather than being Lores of their own these are just individual spells. Not sure how to feel about that.
    • Elves do not suffer Arcane Marks! I was right!
    • They made Mathlann a Cadai and Ladrielle a Cytharai? What? Well, at least that's an easy detail to ignore.
    • It details Lores of Vaul, Mathlann and Hoeth with several pages of spells. These are honestly very cool and I will be using them if they become relevant.
    • I really enjoyed the descriptions of Ulthuan's foreign policy and the intrigue it conducts abroad. They align very well with my own thoughts and I might integrate some of the details directly.
    • Apparently Imrik and Tyrion are the frontrunners for Finubar's successor, which yeah, checks out.
    Overall I quite liked it more than I thought I would. There were some parts I found silly or unnecessary, but it was significantly better than the Dwarf Player's Guide and much better than I expected. It expands on and adds detail to a lot of aspects of Asur life and culture that I didn't even think of. Honestly this was exactly the kind of book I was starving for when I started writing this Quest, and even with my extensive quest-canon well-established I think I'll be using this book a great deal.
     
    Last edited:
    Blackout said:
    • Apparently Asarnil is tired of being exiled and is petitioning Finubar to give him a pardon, which is causing trouble for the Prince who was awarded his lands. This is funny to me.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Classic medieval politics.
    Blackout said:
    • Apparently the Asur practice whaling but with Sea Dragons, Krakens and Megalodons. I... like this. This is good. Why did I not think of this myself I need to get that into the quest post-haste.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Considering the latter two are usually more associated with The Bad Gods and is also stuff the Dark Elves drag in for their beast tamers, that does make alot of sense. Sure, there's probably sustainable hunting practices, clean kills, no waste of the body, and all that jazz, but there's something to be said for Fantasy Ocean Hunter.
     
    Always Late said:
    Considering the latter two are usually more associated with The Bad Gods and is also stuff the Dark Elves drag in for their beast tamers, that does make alot of sense. Sure, there's probably sustainable hunting practices, clean kills, no waste of the body, and all that jazz, but there's something to be said for Fantasy Ocean Hunter.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Also Sea Dragons are corrupted and mutated Black Dragons that became too heavy to fly or even support their own weight so they became sea monsters. Fuck, the grizzled Caledorian harpoonist monster hunter practically writes itself!

    I'm genuinely angry I didn't think of it myself because of course it makes sense and it's some of the coolest shit ever. This instantly became some of my favorite WHF lore.
     
    Last edited:
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top