On Thread Etiquette:
I'm not going to weigh in on the logic of either side's arguments, but I will ask that everyone read over what they write and really consider if the words they used are polite and won't be inflammatory intentionally or not. You cant account for people's tolerances perfectly but at least try to say your piece without saying things that can be easily construed as overly dismissive of the other side of the argument, thank you.
Hmm, how's this for a combo? Master Rune of Passage+Rune of Speed+Rune of Speed. Might be good to put on Ymir. A Gronti like Ymir being genuinely Swift and agile would be insane. Especially if we, I Hope, go Bloodthirster size. It should also take care of the weight issue at that size.
Because Grimnir is unrelenting, superior, in battle. That requires boundless energy. Especially boundless energy to never ever stop hunting threats. War fighting also requires fortitude, so both Grimnir rune and the Grungni rune have it but I want to tie into the Fortitude specifically. So I reinforce it with Rune of Fortitude.
E: To put it in terms of what you said, his proactive defense requires fortitude and vitality. And like I said I want to filter out the idea of that unrelentingness and reinforce it with Rune of Fortitude.
Then would overflowing the Dowry and Banner be better? We would have one extra Adamant to work with so we could up the Banner too and do Armor next turn.
Hmm, the defence in depth part and the oh no reaction. The way I'm taking it is Fjolla was heading south and her convey was attacked. The defences prevented her death so she had a good showing rallying the defences.
I'm working on a complete set for The Warrior Gronti. Mostly as an exercise in setting up combos of rune combos, but also as a serious suggestion for one of these turns. Very specifically not using any ingredients we don't already have lots of or can't spare, and no Adamant included; all to make potentially actually doing this light on our resources.
This would be a "No overflow needed" project, as there are too many items being made at once for the distribution to be good, and the main point anyway is in trying to set up rune combos that combo with each other, not necessarily hit any particular quality tier.
-[ ] [Difficult] Write in, A Miner's Brother: Since returning from the campaign you've been reflecting on Grimnir and how he fought, twin axes flashing. Sometimes you found yourself looking at the Miner while these thoughts tumbled through your mind, and Pnow they've all fallen together. You could make it a Brother, a Warrior. A twelve-meter tall Gronti forged from steel polished to a wondrous shine with twin axes of Gromril, mighty and doughty to set before the Inner Gate of Kraka Drakk, whose king is descended from the Valiant One. [Cost: 1 action] If a rune you want requires special ingredients that you don't have access to I will alert you.
--[ ] Gronti: Choose: Master Rune of Awakening, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Armor: Choose: Rune of Preservation, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Striking
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Parrying
--[ ] Talisman: Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Rune of Spelleating, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Banner: Rune of Vigour, Rune of Speed, Rune of Healing
The 3 shared themes I was going for are Speed, Healing, and Rune-Guided Movement.
Am I dreaming, or would people actually go for this at some point?
I'm working on a complete set for The Warrior Gronti. Mostly as an exercise in setting up combos of rune combos, but also as a serious suggestion for one of these turns. Very specifically not using any ingredients we don't already have lots of or can't spare, and no Adamant included; all to make potentially actually doing this light on our resources.
This would be a "No overflow needed" project, as there are too many items being made at once for the distribution to be good, and the main point anyway is in trying to set up rune combos that combo with each other, not necessarily hit any particular quality tier.
-[ ] [Difficult] Write in, A Miner's Brother: Since returning from the campaign you've been reflecting on Grimnir and how he fought, twin axes flashing. Sometimes you found yourself looking at the Miner while these thoughts tumbled through your mind, and Pnow they've all fallen together. You could make it a Brother, a Warrior. A twelve-meter tall Gronti forged from steel polished to a wondrous shine with twin axes of Gromril, mighty and doughty to set before the Inner Gate of Kraka Drakk, whose king is descended from the Valiant One. [Cost: 1 action] If a rune you want requires special ingredients that you don't have access to I will alert you.
--[ ] Gronti: Choose: Master Rune of Awakening, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Armor: Choose: Rune of Preservation, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Striking
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Parrying
--[ ] Talisman: Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Rune of Spelleating, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Banner: Rune of Vigour, Rune of Speed, Rune of Healing
The 3 shared themes I was going for are Speed, Healing, and Rune-Guided Movement.
Am I dreaming, or would people actually go for this at some point?
I'm working on a complete set for The Warrior Gronti. Mostly as an exercise in setting up combos of rune combos, but also as a serious suggestion for one of these turns. Very specifically not using any ingredients we don't already have lots of or can't spare, and no Adamant included; all to make potentially actually doing this light on our resources.
This would be a "No overflow needed" project, as there are too many items being made at once for the distribution to be good, and the main point anyway is in trying to set up rune combos that combo with each other, not necessarily hit any particular quality tier.
-[ ] [Difficult] Write in, A Miner's Brother: Since returning from the campaign you've been reflecting on Grimnir and how he fought, twin axes flashing. Sometimes you found yourself looking at the Miner while these thoughts tumbled through your mind, and Pnow they've all fallen together. You could make it a Brother, a Warrior. A twelve-meter tall Gronti forged from steel polished to a wondrous shine with twin axes of Gromril, mighty and doughty to set before the Inner Gate of Kraka Drakk, whose king is descended from the Valiant One. [Cost: 1 action] If a rune you want requires special ingredients that you don't have access to I will alert you.
--[ ] Gronti: Choose: Master Rune of Awakening, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Armor: Choose: Rune of Preservation, Rune of Fortitude, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Striking
--[ ] Axe: Master Rune of Currents, Rune of Speed, Rune of Parrying
--[ ] Talisman: Rune of Spellbreaking, Rune of Rune of Spelleating, Rune of Healing
--[ ] Banner: Rune of Vigour, Rune of Speed, Rune of Healing
The 3 shared themes I was going for are Speed, Healing, and Rune-Guided Movement.
Am I dreaming, or would people actually go for this at some point?
I'd go for the general idea. 13 actions total. But, I'd say that Healing doesn't really mesh with a warrior/Grimnir-inspired one. I'm not sure that's how multi-combo combos work...
I'd go for the general idea. 13 actions total. But, I'd say that Healing doesn't really mesh with a warrior/Grimnir-inspired one. I'm not sure that's how multi-combo combos work...
Switch out the Rune of Healing on the Golem for Rune of Grimnir probably and it should be fine. It is a warrior golem afterall. The Talisman too for the Conduction combo.
I'd go for the general idea. 13 actions total. But, I'd say that Healing doesn't really mesh with a warrior/Grimnir-inspired one. I'm not sure that's how multi-combo combos work...
I'm super curious about whether we can get a Gronti to regenerate, and figure the best bet at finding out is to go for a healing themed combo of combos and see what happens. If it instead ends up with just a healing aura, or with a healing touch or something, then producing the world's heaviest combat medic is still a win in my book.
Edit:
Plus, it's been stated that it takes 3 runic combos to combo, and there are 6 items in this set.
I don't see why the same rune combo couldn't contribute to two combo of combos, but even if they can't share, there's room for 2 different ones going at once.
And if this fails spectacularly, well, it'll have been a valuable experiment.
I'm super curious about whether we can get a Gronti to regenerate, and figure the best bet at finding out is to go for a healing themed combo of combos and see what happens. If it instead ends up with just a healing aura, or with a healing touch or something, then producing the world's heaviest combat medic is still a win in my book.
Edit:
Plus, it's been stated that it takes 3 runic combos to combo, and there are 6 items in this set.
I don't see why the same rune combo couldn't contribute to two combo of combos, but even if they can't share, there's room for 2 different ones going at once.
And if this fails spectacularly, well, it'll have been a valuable experiment.
Based on what Soul said about items beyond three stacking it'd be more powerful of a single set bonus which is also good. Be interesting if it was two set bonuses though.
If you want a set bonus, I'm still confident that you need a proper metaphor to tie all the combos together.
Slapdashing stuff based on mechanical synergy alone is why the royal armor doesnt have any combos most likely. Anyone can see an obvious way in which defense rune stacking works together.
But this is magic, so ignoring the metaphysical aspect when Snorri is going on vision quests when putting together his best work is pretty clearly self-sabotage.
To put it another way:
If you're taking magic literally, then you're missing the point of it from the start.
[X] Plan: The Gift Giver
-[X] Helter Smelter: [Cost: 3 actions, 1 Voidstone] Productivity Like No Other will proc. +1 Bar of Adamant every Turn instead of every other Turn. (Will count the turn it was done on) Overflow will only add progress to the next smelter and cost another Voidstone. 2 Actions
-[X] [Difficult] Dowry Pt. 2: [Cost: 3 actions] Due in 2 Turns. 1 Action
-[X] [Difficult] A Higher Standard Pt. 1: [Cost: 1 action] If a rune you want requires special ingredients that you don't have access to I will alert you. 1 action
--[X] Master Rune of Grungni, Rune of Valaya, Rune of Spellbreaking
-[X] [Simple] The Underway: [Cost: variable normal and apprentice actions] Productivity Like No Other will proc. 2 Progress per action, 1 progress per apprentice action. 21 out of 30 Progress. 7 progress a turn regardless of input. 1 action
[X] Write in: They have not killed or harmed any dwarves, and they saved the life of my apprentice. They need more time and testing, but what has been revealed so far shows they have enough reliability to not bungle using my craft too much. They hunt trolls and other dark things, which is a mark of good sense.
You take a second to collect your thoughts, stroking your beard before finally replying to the Prince,
"They have made common cause with us. Slain our foes, saved our kin more than once, traded honourably and acted diplomatically in every encounter thus far. More personally, they came to my aid once before, and more recently saved my fool apprentice from his own stupidity. Could it be self-interest? Aye, I cannot discard the possibility, but it need not stay so. After all, I would not call one a friend after a few good deeds and shared drinks, but it's as good a start as any. Time will tell, but I believe they have put their best foot forward, I would find it dishonourable to not meet them in kind. "
Prince Snorri digests your words quietly, whatever he may think of them you cannot say.
You aren't sure how much it swayed him compared to the literal heart he received, but who can say for sure?
…
With that business out of the way, you go and hole yourself up in your workshop once more. Taking a year or three to fabricate a second Smelter out of more Pure Gromril. You remember entire months with nothing but a tankard of ale and your Will pushing you through the carving process for the Runes. The process itself is just as taxing as last time, forcing you to spend a year on the mend before you're certain Moira won't kill you for doing anything.
Oh but is it worth it.
A fresh bar of Adamant glimmers in front of your eyes. The new Master Rune has been spent utterly, while the first one shows signs of useability by the decade's end according to your math.
You spend your recovering year doing less strenuous activities, getting some work done on the dowry for Princess Orra and devising a terrifying combination of Runes for a banner you've been entertaining the idea of making.
It's on one such day that the quiet of your workshop is broken by the sound of a warning horn, the note deep and loud.
Impending assault.
It takes you only a minute to put on your armour and run out of your workshop towards the hold.
…
The scene that greets you is one of controlled chaos. Dwarf thanes bellowing orders as contingents of their clansmen gather and form up into their regiments. The artillery on the walls slowly coming to readiness as dwarfs load ammunition and engineers sight their targets. Priests and priestesses of all the Ancestors are present. Grimnir's followers are rallying the defenders, Grungni's do final inspections on the walls and defences, while Valaya and Gazul's adherents prepare gurneys and brews for the wounded and worse that will surely arise from the coming battle.
"What in the Underearth got through the rangers lad?" you bark at a young runner who you had flagged down, your mind already whirring with possibilities.
"Daemons Rhunrikki! Don't know much else besides that Lord!" the beardling shouts, staring at you in awe.
"Bah! Get on then lad, we have-"
-The horn plays again, three distinct sounds.
Enemy visible, prepare.
"Nowhere near enough time," you mutter, leaving the befuddled young dwarf as you ran towards the wall, clambering up the steps as Dwarfs bustled about around you, making way at your approach.
It takes you a moment to find and reach the dwarf in command, a lad of some three hundred winters in Gromril armour and some colour still in his beard, but his explanation is grim.
Daemons, beastmen and who knows what else. Somehow a group got through the defensive cordon, either by killing the rangers or through magic, while the King and Prince were out on campaign. As for the Griffons, the few present speak of their King having gone out on a grand hunt with much of the flock days before. Their swiftest has gone to fetch both Otrek and the King of the Skies, but none can say for certain when either will return. Until then you're meant to hold back the encroaching army with the Karak's less numerous, but not weak, garrison.
It reeks of the kind of scheming you'd expect from the get of the Changer.
From your position atop the wall, you catch sight of the horde coming into the valley. A mass of fell beasts and daemons march towards Kraka Drakk. As you suspected, the screamers and horrors of the Changer are numerous. Braying beastmen of all types make up a good amount of the army, alongside their netherborn allies. Their speed is impressive, no doubt empowered by dark magic. They are numerous, enough to cover a good amount of the valley in clouds of dust as they marched to besiege the Karak.
And they. Are. Trapped.
You break out into a grin.
(Roll, Artillery and traps vs Tzeentchies: 40 +15[Artillery on all sides] +15[Unawares] =70 vs 18 +10[Manipulative Mind] +10[Daemonic Strength] =38)
The mountains on either side of the daemonic horde begin spitting death down on their foes. Burning bolts and boulders the size of a dwarf falling on the unsuspecting army, killing scores of beastmen and daemons even as their sorcerers attempt to cast magic to defend themselves. It does them no good, rocks crushing casters to paste and shafts of burning wood goring their monstrous support. The barrage kills many of them, bringing utter ruin to a good amount of the mortal and eldritch segments of the army in equal measure.
A great cheer goes up among the dwarfs along the wall, the caws of Griffons joining them.
The enemy is bloodied, badly, but still active. Even now, the telltale sight of portals being torn open and beginning to spawn yet more daemon filth, just out of range from you and your Runes, tells you it won't be so easily done.
(Roll, Artillery vs Tzeentchies 2: 39 +15[Artillery on all sides] =54 vs 9 +5[Mauled Mind] +10[Daemonic Strength] =24)
The artillery fires again, and yet more daemons die.
Stones fall on netherborn just as they leave the Realms of Chaos, crushing them with their bodies still only partway manifested. Yet more of the enemy casters are turned into a haze of gore by well crafted Dwarfen engineering. You aren't sure how much more perfect this entire scenario could go frankly.
(Roll, Returning allies: 92 +50[???] =142)
(Roll, King of the Skies vs Mauled Tzeentchies: inconsequential)
Then, the sound of a thunderclap booms across the valley. The clouds part and a streak of screaming fury falls to the earth, destroying a large part of the remaining daemons in a shower of lightning and death. From the smoke and dust, the imposing form of the King of the Skies stands proudly, pristine and unblemished. Those few surviving stragglers not killed by the explosion have only seconds to stare death in the eye before they are bombarded in a torrent of lightning and feathers as the King's party comes thundering down around him. All the while, the titanic Griffon simply stands like a sentinel, uncaring and untouched by the savagery going on around him.
It takes only a few minutes for the enemy army to be destroyed completely.
A bit anticlimactic, but you'd take it over a costly and bloody siege.
Your hand is filled by a mug, and shrugging, you take a deep drink from it.
Nothing quite like the sight of one's work doing its job flawlessly to accompany a fine tankard of ale.
Defence. In. Depth.
…
The days after see Otrek and the Throng return, having run themselves ragged in the hopes of reaching the hold before things grew terrible. They would be greeted by the sight of the Karak, untouched, and the field of gore still in the middle of being cleaned up while the air around the peak swarmed with patrolling Griffons flying under the cover of a massive storm.
You and the Elder Council greet the king as he trundles into the room still in his armour, the faintest beginnings of bags under his eyes noticeable to many.
"What. Happened," the King asks.
"Some of the Changer's ilk broke past the perimeter, slipped through the rangers using magic. Attacked the hold, mauled by artillery, stragglers were wiped out when the Griffon King and his flock came back from his own campaign and slaughtered them all," Moira reports, handing the King a tankard of ale.
Everyone in the room nods.
"Bah," the King mutters before drinking deeply.
…
While the worst that came from that attack was a few bruised egos on the part of the rangers and some ammunition for the artillery, the significance of the threat that was posed by the daemons' ability to break through the ranger cordon was a sobering thought. Until now, Otrek and many of the northern lords had believed that the main host of daemons, their most proficient spellcasters included, were still too far away to raise the usual countermeasures. They had believed, in their hubris, that they had a bit more time.
It is a grim reminder and blow to their pride, that the forces of the Great Enemy are anything but predictable.
It puts a stop to most long-range campaigning, and the northern holds instead focus their efforts solely on completing the Underway with short excursions to keep the immediate area around their Karaks clear. With the pawns of the Changer up and about, sallying forth away from the hold would be the height of foolishness for any Dwarfen Throng save maybe the Valiant's. Best to follow in the footsteps of the ancestors and bunker up behind the walls of the Karak and the stone of the mountains once they were safely connected to each other through the Underway.
You personally spent a year or two working to create more Banners and equipment, enough to hand out to some of the minor holds, to help push the pace of completion forwards just enough to have the timetable changed to have everything done by the decade's end.
That doesn't mean it's all you or the Throng do of course. While campaigns far afield have stopped, Otrek makes it his mission to turn the area surrounding Kraka Drakk into a deathtrap for any that escape the patrolling Throng. Relying more and more on the Griffons to maintain strategic awareness of the situation when even the Rangers can no longer brave the snows.
It is a sign of good things when looking at the cooperation between your two peoples, coming to rely more and more on each other as they have. The dwarfs on the Griffons' ability to reach where they no longer can, and they on you for providing strongholds and hardpoints to fall back on when even they are forced back by the ever-growing number of harpies and daemonic fliers that prowl the skies.
Contingencies are made, in the worst-case scenario, for the Griffons' eggs and fledgelings to be held in Kraka Drakk until the threat has passed.
But not all the developments are as kind.
From the surface, a trickle of refugees come from the farthest reaches of the North, only now reaching more hospitable climes. They bring tales of woe and desperate escape. The fate of some of the northernmost holds, those you had lost contact with in the months after the failed siege of Kraka Drakk, was revealed to all. The holds had seemingly fallen, their leaders choosing to hold last stands and buy time for their kin to escape into the Underway, or for those without a connection, braving the cold in hopes of reaching safety. For a lucky few, they are seen and escorted by the Griffons who, unlike your people, are not as limited in terms of mobility. You try not to think about the refugees who aren't found, asking Gazul to safeguard them.
It, sadly, does not stop there.
Contact with a few more minor holds is lost over the intervening years, the parts of the Underway that were planned to connect to them never finishing. Not because you didn't complete your part, but because they never managed to finish theirs. It is with a heavy heart that many of the lords agree not to open the paths until the troubles are over. Swearing oaths and Grudges in equal measure to see the dead given rest and vengeance carried out.
They dare not open the way to what may lie on the other side.
Your people are bruised, but you stand unbowed. It is on the last day of the last year of the decade, 82 years after the completion of the Pillars of Valaya, that a package and accompanying letter from Karaz A Karak reach your hold.
The parchment is beautiful, bordered with gold and written in what could only be the blood of Grungni Himself.
Let it be written and recorded now and for all time,
That We, Grungni and Valaya of Karaz A Karak, as advised by our heir Snorri Grungnisson, hereby recognize the claims and rights of the folk of the King of the Skies as agreed upon by His negotiations with Otrek, King of Kraka Drakk. Let His gift be recognized and accepted for all that it entails, and let it be known to Him and His children that we recognize them as a people, different from us, but no less deserving of good intent and honourable treatment. We offer the King of the Skies this gift, as fair recompense for the expense offered to Us, and as a sign of good faith that future negotiations be done fairly by both parties and with Our blessing.
So signed and sealed by blood and gift,
The package the letter comes with is a torque. Masterfully wrought in Adamant and decorated in sapphire, shaped so that each side ends in the tip of a great wing. Each and every feather engraved so finely and organically, that they appeared to have actually been grown and then cast in the silvery sheen of Adamant. The runes that adorn its surface glow with incredible energy, the purpose for two of them is beyond you, but one bears a similarity to the Rune of Translation you used.
(Roll Epiphany: 89 +40[Runelord] +10[Student of the Odd] -25[Work Beyond Your Station] =114)
Something in your mind clicks. Ideas and notions coalescing into something concrete.
It gives you ideas.
…
Far beyond the sight of mortal eyes, the great host of the enemy marches ever southwards. Among the congregation of monsters, creatures of all shape and size, are monstrous reptilians. Their quadrupedal bodies bear their hulking torsos, covered in metal empowered by means beyond mortal ability, their power strengthened by the eternal storm that now covers the land.
Their lord marches at the head of them all, scion of the first, eldest of those sired by the First of their race.
He is bade to listen, and he accepts the commandment of his gods.
Wipe clean the north, sunder it all to ash, and in exchange, you may feast on the heart of the Skyspawn and know slumber no longer. Do as we bid Suneater and be rewarded, but fail and know you will suffer well past the end of this world.
2/3
…
- Adamant Smelter #2 made. +1 Adamant Bar a decade
- +1 Progress to Dowry Pt. 2, New Totals: [Cost: 3 -1 =2 Actions]
- A Higher Standard Pt. 1 Complete, Pt. 2 Unlocked
- New Rune Combo Unlocked! Combo, Ancestral Aegis:[Master Rune of Grungni, Rune of Valaya, Rune of Spellbreaking] [Magic cast at the formation bearing this banner will be diffused, broken down and used to power a swirling field of Runic energy and wind that can withstand even the most ruinous of blows from sources mundane and magical, and burns the daemonic.] Valaya and Grungni, hearth and armour maker, protectors of Dwarfkind, gird us now and bring your fury upon the foe!
- Epiphany! The sight of such majestic Runecraft, wrought by the Ancestors themselves, inspires you. 1d3+ 2 =4 Progress to Diction Direction, New Totals: [Cost: 6 -4 =2 Actions]
- Underway of the North completed.
- The Griffons of the Far North have been recognized as a distinct political entity by the Ancestors.
…
AN: Wow, this was...delayed. Shorter too, sorry for that, the ending of the "siege" sorta threw everything out of whack for both you and me. Sorry about that everyone, I hope the parts I did have was worth the wait at least. Now, to pre-empt any potential complaints about the Underway, know that the counter was for YOUR section. Basically you were in charge of the main branch that all the minor holds would connect to. This means they still have to connect to it on their end, many of whom did, but not all of them. Also, King of the Skies not even once. You may ask what happened to his heart, but we'll never know. Well you won't probably, but I do. So, thanks for reading despite the delays and don't forget to C&C. :^)
EDIT: I forgot to mention, in the detailed Runesheet kaboom and I have added a prospective Item list, for write-in requests ya'll come up with and want recorded for the future as a point of reference. Format is in the excel.
Grimnir's followers are rallying the defenders, Grungni's do final inspections on the walls and defences, while Valaya and Morr's adherents prepare gurneys and brews for the wounded and worse that will surely arise from the coming battle.
The scene that greets you is one of controlled chaos. Dwarf thanes bellowing orders as contingents of their clansmen gather and form up into their regiments. The artillery on the walls slowly coming to readiness as dwarfs load ammunition and engineers sight their targets. Priests and priestesses of all the Ancestors are present. Grimnir's followers are rallying the defenders, Grungni's do final inspections on the walls and defences, while Valaya and Morr's adherents prepare gurneys and brews for the wounded and worse that will surely arise from the coming battle.
