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Rising in the East (OOC)

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Mina said:
Hard with horses, but you could switch to dragoon blues/blacks and then soot up the breastplates. and helmet facings.
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Indeed, I can only make my horses so sneaky, for now, alchemy is working on my invisible super horse.

Edit horse pictured in spoiler.

Really?
What did you expect?
 
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Yay, preemptive omake time!


1st Expeditionary Encampment, Vodyanoy ruins, Earth

The 4th Horse-Grenadiers did not drill.

They did not fraternize with the fresh-faced infantrymen, nor the strange foreign artillerists. Their officers, bearded giants with dark eyes and gruff demeanors held their own counsel and kept their own mess where it seemed they spoke in a shorthand built up of shared and calcified experience. Even the enlisted men of the regiment hardly spoke to the younger men and women, especially those with coven in their unit. They seemed to exist in their own little bubble of time and space, removed from the reality around them, waiting, biding their time for something no one could quite figure out.

The one member who would be seen in the company of those outside the Old Bear was their commander. Her graying silver-blonde hair and scar-decked features never broke from a deep-set look of dismissive annoyance. Rumors trailed after her slightly stooped but still towering six-foot figure. She had throttled a rebelling cadet in the November Uprising using a musket as a garrote, literally bending the tube around his neck; her horse fed on her fallen enemies; she had died, but been brought back by secret Prussian techniques; in the heat of battle her men grew hair and fangs as their inner animal was released; witches had slain her family, which was why she hated them so. A thousand and one stories, just soldier's gossip to pass the time and take their minds off the eldritch structures and the bridge to another world.

And so they were an enigma. Even during the staff meeting in which the regiments of the expeditionary force were activated and the reserves put on notice, Polkovnik Pisarev was like a frozen stone in the middle of a farmer's field. Any watching her closely though could note the stiffening of her fingers in to fists and the flash of gold in her mouth as thin lips curled up in barely veiled disdain. She was the first out the door when the officers were dismissed and she practically deafened an aide de camp outside as she bellowed for her horse before spurring off to where her men waited, a dark curse against witches and simpletons snarled under her breath.

When the day finally arrived and the dozen regiments of His Imperial Majesty's Expeditionary force formed up to march forward in to the unknown there was a thirteen present. The 4th cantered up and stood at attention, brass and steel shining at a high polish, their whites so crisp and stark it seemed they were carved from marble. In the lead Maria grinned, the porcelain of her teeth and the gold of her canines glinting as brightly as the sabers of her men. "Know this, our hearts are with you, our souls are with you, and our prayers to the Almighty are with you." She stared at Luydmila as she spoke, her smiled vanishing as she stiffened to attention. "Boys! They go where we may not, but let us give them a gift. From the heart!"

There was a moment of silence before voices rose in song and a wall of sound rolled out from the serried ranks of cavalry, sending their comrades off in style.

 
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Witch Coven - Daughters of Kunersdorf - Lyudmila
  • Threadmarks
    • Name:
    Daughters of Kunersdorf

    Quality: Witches    ​

    The woman sitting around the tent fire and laughing to one story or another are being given a wide berth by the rest of the soldiers – whose relationship to them is torn between being in awe and moving away with no small amount of fear as the stories of their childhood and the warning of their grandmothers came back to them: never disrespect a witch, never talk to a witch first, never dare to question their actions – and many other advices. Or as it was once written:

    "What are witches? Citoyen and citoyenne!

    Since the days of the Mongols we Europeans have looked towards our largest eastern neighbor and wondered about the witches they used to bolster their armed forces – woman who were taken away by their families when they were barely children and made apprentices to old spinsters with the appearance of heavenly or hellishly seductresses. Their powers appear unnatural: to bend the elements to their whim in a way that not even modern science can imitate – or even explain. But does that matter on the battlefield? No! Their magic is used to burn our sons, brothers and husbands. Their crafts are creating trenches and covering our own with our men still inside and their lightning kills from the range of artillery and ignores any protection between it and its intended target.

    So what are witches? Or rather: how did they become the firmly ingrained part of the Russian Empire they are now? In the dark Ages of our unlighted past the minions of the man in Rome had a grip on the knowledge of the normal people of Europe and huge witch hunts killed innocent and magic using witches alike as they swept over the continent, purging the bloodlines that might otherwise have given us something to match the Russian covens. But this didn't happen in Russia – the Orthodox Church was firmly set in the traditions of the Roman Empire, who had used witches as priests and oracles of their army and whose mindset when it came to dealing with them had survived in the Eastern Roman Empire and later moved north to the court of the Tsar. Russia welcomed the witches especially as they had little to not central authorities in the past and unlike priests witches were wandering the countryside helping and protecting peasants in return for shelter and food to have their time free to pursue their craft. This time of wandering witches changed when the Mongols invaded Russia and Moscow started to rise in important against the republic of Novgorod. The importance of the witches in warfare became more and more apparent as the blinded Grand Prince of Moscow used the disintegration of the golden Horde to get a truly independent rule – and had to contest with the rest of his family for the right to rule. Historians see this as the moment that the "Russian" way of integrating witches into their ruling structures began and the covens stopped to wander from one settlement to the other in search of new apprentices and shelter. Vasily II promised multiple covens a permanent place at his court and their own headquarters in different parts of his realm and with his forces bolstered by the element wielding witches he was able to fend off his relatives and the tartars that were eyeing his territory.

    The following autocrats also did their best to get the covens to support their rule – while at the same time trying to hold them out of politics as much as possible after multiple witches had tried to intervene in one palace "revolution" or another. With the formation of the Russian Tsardom as Third Rome the structures were finalized after byzantine ideal – Elder Witches becoming either a fixture on the Tsars ruling Council or they were at least given access to the Tsar for emergencies no matter the hour. Since these days the Tsardom is holding its protecting and sheltering hand over the witch covens – while they help the Tsar in return with military and civilian projects, following the personal bound to the monarch and often appearing as independent actors in conflicts and processes that are able to talk to all parties and even facilitate meetings between revolting peasants and the Tsar himself.

    Be beware Citoyen – these witches are enjoying an elevated position while at the same time being held as little dangerous as possible. Their loyalty to their coven and the Tsar is nearly impossible to break and their flames are hot enough to burn you to crisps with a gesture of their hands."

    Counts as Cavalry when it comes to movement
    Magic Affinity

    Values

    Morale 2d6 +4
    Combat Rating: 12 per Witch    ​

    Strength: 200 woman organized in ten circles.​


    Origin: Russia – Imperial & United

    "How do you become a witch?

    To become a witch, means to have the spirit of the Vodyanoy running through your blood – to be able to sense and manipulate the magic in the world through concentration, discipline and yearlong studies.

    To be a witch means not using your powers solely for yourself or your family, but to be ready to follow the call of the Tsar or your coven. It means to be watch those around you die while you life, it means to be Death on the battlefield and the helping hand in the country side.

    To be witches means to be sisters – you are all trained by your elders and you are all equal before their eyes – no matter if you were noblewoman or peasant girl."

    No negative Trait from working with soldiers of a 100 Nations.

    Bonus when being used to accompany diplomatic missions    ​

    Type – Warlike Witch Coven

    Many witches – even today- spend their days wandering through the whole Empire and beyond, learning, observing and helping from time to time like beings of folklore that can be either mischievous or benign. These witches here – not so much. Led by Lyudmila they are campaigning every time the Empire goes to war – or if the coven decides that it needs to intervene at one point or another to stop rebels, bandits and other riff-raff that threatens peace and stability. They are well versed in warfare and they seem to feel right at home on the battlefield.

    Boni to Scouting and Reconnaissance
    Twice per Day they can use their powers to create trenches big enough for a whole Regiment to take cover in them on any hex bordering to their own.
    Every turns either a flame attack of combat Rating 3000 + Throw Bonus 6 up to Medium Range or a lightning strike combat Rating 1000 + Throw Bonus 3 + Anti-Armour -2 up to long range.    ​

    Attachments:
    Alchemist – Field Apothecary ​
     
  • Threadmarks
    • That group sounds like someone my 'Far Reaches' would be very happy to co-operate... After all, they neither fear witches, nor love them... well, most of them... Instead they have a very healthy respect of them and their power... After all, some of them (all of them really) are only alive because some of the more independent witches helped their villages during the harshest winters...

    And Jackson would be too busy learning as much as he can about how their culture is different, and what they remember of how Russia has changed over the years to fear them. Well, that and his family on both sides has a tradition of magical strength. Or at least the more recent parts of the family tree.
     
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    My regiment has no problems with witches either. I mean, they owe their lives to the accompanying earth witches who made trenches for them.

    They've seen the witches of other regiments at work, and have respect for their talents.
     
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    Vilyuysk, Russia, Earth

    The fortress that was being erected to protect the ruins near Vilyuysk was not yet in a condition to accommodate the military forces that had been drawn to the area. The twelve regiments of the Corps Gideon, with the exception of the General's own forces, had thus been required to encamp themselves nearby. The 42nd, used to operating in this part of the countryside, had quickly set up near a copse of trees and after erecting their tents began the thankless task of creating basic field defenses and gathering firewood. They would have much rather have simply just thrown their tents together and began to rest, after all they hadn't received any actual orders to do any more than make camp, but not pulling their weight and digging in would have been unwise. 2nd Company, 3rd Battalion had decided to be unwise, and now they were paying for it.

    "Ah vy, seni, moi seni,
    Seni novye moi,
    Seni novye, klenovye,
    Reshotchatye.    "

    "YOU CALL THAT SINGING? NO WONDER YOU ALL HAVE NEVER FELT THE TOUCH OF A WOMAN! I WANT YOU SERENADING WHILE YOU MARCH!"

    The scream of the Regimental Sergeant Major was easily heard over the sound of the two hundred and fifty soldiers that were on their twentieth circuit of the improvised parade ground. The two hundred and fifty men had decided that their mediocre attempts at encampment had been good enough, and the non-commissioned officers in that group had also decided that an at best half assed job was good enough. When the RSM had seen what they had done, he had begun his punishment by ordering the men to march with full packs and weapons in a circuit of the parade ground.

    When brevet Colonel Leo Milian had arrived, and the RSM informed him of what the men had done, he had simply nodded to his chief NCO to carry on. Now he sat on a folding chair watching the men going about their march, and listening to their attempted singing as once again the RSM tried to get the soldiers from around the country to sing the traditional Russian folksong.

    "Kak i mne po vam, po senichkam,
    Ne hazhivati,
    Mne mila druga za ruchen'ku
    Ne vazhivati.    "

    The soldiers were coming to the end of their parade, towards where Leo sat, and as they got closer the RSM turned to look at him.

    "Take them around again RSM Makarovich."

    "Yes Colonel. ONCE MORE AROUND YOU LAZY SWINE. WHICH ONE OF YOU COMPLAINED?! SALMELA?! YOU LAZY FINNISH PIECE OF SHIT, I WANT YOU ON QUICK MARCH NOW!"

    The unlucky Finnish soldier quickly started to step at twice the speed of his comrades, and the entire company had to strain to not totally lose step at this complication. Leo managed to keep the smile he felt from breaking out on his, the old Russian Regimental Sergeant Major was a harsh crafty bastard, and testing the company in front of Leo like that was almost cruel. When Leo had arrived at the 42nd, there hadn't been a single company that hadn't fallen for the old NCO trick, each and every one of them had without fail managed to lose their rhythm when something unexpected was hurled at them, now they were only strained by it, which frankly suited Leo perfectly. The 42nd was a light infantry force, they wouldn't be fighting at the front lines, they wouldn't be marching in glorious columns, but they still needed to know how to move as one unit, to react as one unit, to be one unit. They had been anything but that when he had started drilling them a year ago, simply a collection of men that had been sent to the furthest reaches of the empire to avoid being trouble.

    Leo shared their fate, his military career almost over as quickly as it began because of the connections of a corrupt officer. But when he had arrived, he had determined that he would not fallback onto the lazy complacency his men had. His men may never cover themselves in glory, but he'd be long dead in the ground before he'd let them be anything less than the fighting men that Russia required them to be. This had all been before they had been ordered to their current billet, to be part of the Corps Gideon, to prepare for the crazy undertaking that was before them. The magical lights he had seen, the way that even the head of his regiments witches had flinched back from it, the goal that they had all been given. It was nothing short of insanity.

    So of course the 42nd was being sent.
     
    And with this the IC Thread is up and a small introduction ready to usher you into the first round...of having no idea where you are, where everything else is and what you are supposed to do~ Have fun!
     
    We should probably discuss a plan IC before someone goes running off with there regiment stupidly.
     
    I would suggest the Light Infantry & Calvary go and scout ahead while the Arty and Line infantry stay behind and fortify their position more.
     
    Eeeeps at all the hugs!
    As GM you shall all fear me not hug me!

    I. To shall not hug posts that are the first step on your way to....to.... [pause to think up something that won't give away whats going to happen to them...stuff like that]

    ​
     
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    Tell us a bit about the situation. are we in a battle (certainly sounded like it)? prior to a battle and setting up our troops? Overhead-view and walking around?
    If we are in a battle, where are the enemies coming from? How many, either way, regiments can we stack on a single hexagon?
     
    You are not in a battle don't worry - your people simply mostly all fainted upon the transition from one world to another and the field was full of fallen soldiers - who were snoring off their first inter-world travel. You are currently putting up your base, your troops are getting some sleep and your supplies are getting stocked, while you are coming together to peruse the scouts reports and muse about what you are going to do next.

    You can put all Regiments on a single hexagon if you want - what you can see is the campaign map for all intends and purposes - or rather the small part your scouts have explored so far. Battlemaps are something I don't really have to do as we are striving to keep things simple and smooth~
     
    Simpli said:
    Eeeeps at all the hugs!
    As GM you shall all fear me not hug me!

    I. To shall not hug posts that are the first step on your way to....to.... [pause to think up something that won't give away whats going to happen to them...stuff like that]

    ​
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    I started the hugs and now I shall HUG ALL OF YOUR POST FEAR ME!!!!!!!!!

    MUHAHAHAHAHAHA I AM A HUG MONSTER!
     
    Two questions then.

    Question one.

    @Simpli What do the marks on the map hexs mean or are we supposed to figure that out ourselves?

    Question two.

    @Gideon020 What are your orders? I mean we are an army you are in command of, even if you take a hands-off approach, you are still playing the commanding officer.
     
    So the nearest dry land is about three tiles west and three tiles south and they are in clusters. I think that those of us in the first wave should try and make it to the closet normal tile south of the current position Fortify that tile and build a bridge back to The starting point.
     
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    Also @Simpli how do us reinforcements Regiments get sent in. Is it just if a Regiment gets wiped out or is there a certain amount of in game time having to pass before more Regiments go through or is it just if a certain goal is reached.
     
    CommanderBlade said:
    So the nearest dry land is about three tiles west and three tiles south and they are in clusters. I think that those of us in the first wave should try and make it to the closet normal tile south of the current position Fortify that tile and build a bridge back to The starting point.
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    My plan was to scout out the southern area first as well. If nothing else some firm dry ground will give somewhere for the artillery to set up properly without risk of sinking...

    However considering I'm not sure if we are aloud to operate on our own initiative or wait for Gideon to tell us to go do the thing, I am not posting in the IC chat just yet.
     
    CommanderBlade said:
    Is it just if a Regiment gets wiped out or is there a certain amount of in game time having to pass before more Regiments go through or is it just if a certain goal is reached.
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    I thought about mixing it a bit but....lets just say there will be only one portal per region....and a region is huge. New Regiments get sent in as soon as one players bites the grass and they will "appear" at the staging point and then have to be marched towards the front once more, so loosing Regiments won't give you instant reinforcement, but might force you to pull back fighting while hoping that the reinforcement will arrive in time....or to hunker down and be besieged.
     
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