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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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Sinsystems said:
Actually on that note, Wood Elf armies have access to dark magic don't they? I seem to recall that being a thing, so what are the odds that she has a subordinate with the casting ability?
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8th Edition gave them Dark Magic and made it a vital part of their lore that Asrai run a Highweaver/Darkweaver pair. Darkweavers have huge firepower and Highweavers control the battlefield and buff allies while also draining the Dhar from the battlefield so the environment isn't permanently scarred. Highweavers are also charged with killing a Darkweaver if they jump off the deep end, which can happen.

It's mostly an Asrai thing that the Elves do. Forest Spirits cast from Ghyran and might have access to unique Forest spells, but some Spirits have shown an affinity for other lores. Notable examples being Drycha with Ulgu, Coeddil and Durthu with Ghur, and Coeddil with Dhar. They tend to be outliers because the standard spirit only has Ghyran available to them on the tabletop.
 
Codex said:
Adanhu was permakilled, but that happened because he sucked up all the evil juice from Ariel and he couldn't handle it. I guess Drycha could die, but depending on Boney's interpretation she could also be revived. Drycha died during the End Times after realising how she contributed to the world's destruction and felt regret, and she was revived in Age of Sigmar as Drycha Hamadreth, which has a metal as fuck design:
But I believe she was revived because Alarielle had a fragment of her left when the world ended. If you obliterate every part of her she probably can't come back, just like Durthu couldn't come back in Age of Sigmar.
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I'm looking at this and all i can think of is "someone really, really wanted to draw tits on this tree", because that's some strategically placed wood potrusions.

Codex said:
This is what she looks like now:
Not as threatening because she isn't piloting a mecha made of beehives.
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Sure she might not have the "oh god the bees" factor going on, but i kinda prefer this picture for vengeful tree spirit.
 
Valmond said:
I'm looking at this and all i can think of is "someone really, really wanted to draw tits on this tree", because that's some strategically placed wood potrusions.
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Reason I don't mind is that men are given the same treatment. Fyreslayers are practically naked:
Side profiles of Fyreslayers have to be very strategic so it doesn't show... certain things.
 
Hmm, Nekharan+Kislev bloodline makes me think of the "Boyar is a vampire" theory. Maybe related to Katarin.
Codex said:
Reason I don't mind is that men are given the same treatment. Fyreslayers are practically naked:
Side profiles of Fyreslayers have to be very strategic so it doesn't show... certain things.
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Well, modesty hair is pretty common for mystical female spirits. I'm a little sad this isn't modesty beard for the burly muscly man.
 
Alliterate said:
I mean, I really really hope we don't. Arcane Marks will tend to accumulate with time, random ones at that, and we're running out of 'relatively benign or better' options. I'm in no hurry to shorten that list. We've also shown no inclination to tame the marks we've acquired, for that matter.
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Yeah, the longer we can avoid the reverse-amnesia mark, the better. The rest are bearable, but this is one of the worst of all wind marks.
 
Huh, we keep finding enemies that the Asrai lost track of.

I kind of want to go to Athel Loren and be smug at them.
 
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Battle of the Shirokij, Part 1
  • Threadmarks
    • [*] [GREY] Scouting the forest with the krugs
    [*] [GOLD] Patrolling the path with the city rotas
    [*] [ICE] Guarding the forest rotas as they expand and fortify the path

    Tally

    The decision is fairly straightforward: the Tzar has a distrust of magical women and the Ice Witches aren't especially mobile (except for Ljiljana, but her transformation into what she calls a 'Morozvolich' is likely to spook the horses of the Ungols), so it makes the most sense for them to work with the forest rotas - and with Boris, which Nadezhda seems nervously enthusiastic about. You want to leave at least one Wizard with the main body of the force and close to leadership, and if the Tzar has a problem with magic-using women, then he should find Johann refreshingly masculine - plus Johann would have trouble being an effective scout, and honestly his blindness is far from the biggest issue. More prominent than that is how very visible he fundamentally is. From the soul up he has been shaped by his desire to be seen, and everything he is rejects the entire concept of stealth.

    For that reason, you find yourself among the krugs: the mostly Ungol nomadic communities of Kislev's oblasts. They do not maintain a distinct force that is sent off to battle as needed, as instead they go to war in almost their entirety, leaving only their oldest and youngest behind to watch over their herds. This far south the krugs speak a dialect of Gospodarinyi with only light influences from the Ungol tongue, so you're able to use your smattering of the language to find an ataman who knows fairly good Reikspiel, probably because of smuggling. There would be a fair bit of profit to be made in taking goods overland between the upper Talabec and Kislev City, and no exciseman would have a chance of successfully intercepting a krug on their own oblast. Though you haven't made as much of an impression as Johann, your proven ability to summon an inexhaustible horse from thin air means you have no need to prove yourself, and no objection is made as you attach yourself to the scouts that will be penetrating deepest into the forest.

    ---

    [Fey scouting Kislev's forces outside forest: 14.]
    [Scouting inside forest, Fey vs Krugs: 5 vs 55.]

    In a shadowed copse, a spirit of spite and malice thinks and plots. It is far from the forests it knows, so it knows not what to expect of these manlings that are to be its prey. Are they Elf-puppets who have their weakest forces on foot and their elites on horseback and encased in metal? Or are they Dwarf-puppets who fight mostly on foot with the steel and gunpowder of their masters?

    Information from scouting flows in, and only compounds the confusion as it tries to make sense of it all. The Household was finally responding to the torment of their southern neighbour, and they creep down the riverside path with axe and bow, tearing at the trees as they go. The axe is to be expected of those that dare harvest the forest, but the bow suggests these are Elf-puppets. But the scouts say that the few horses they ride are bare. So perhaps these are Dwarf-puppets? But the scouts see no sign of Dwarf-weapons, nor any sniff of the unnatural powders that fuel them. Doubt rises, but is brushed aside by impatience. Of course these manlings are ill-equipped, they are the Glade Guard of a single House. Does it matter whether they are particularly weak Elf-puppets or particularly weak Dwarf-puppets? They will feed the forest all the same.

    Finally the last piece of the puzzle falls into place as the one who must be the local Highborn is identified by the armoured troops that surround it. The whiff of alien magic about its spear confirms it: this could only be the augured target of the hunt, the bearer of two intermingled royal bloodlines: one of the northern snow, one of the southern sands. A grin forms as forces begin to rally. Though the trees of this strange place are too deadened by the local magics to call for vengeance, they will still have it, and then one more tool of deliverance will be at hand.

    ---

    Most Wizards would have overlooked the first signs of trouble, but most Wizards had not spent months in the heart of Laurelorn. When the first of the tiny nature-spirits began to hover through the branches, you pointed out the soft glow and told the ataman that it was a spy for the enemy. She does not hesitate, and a few murmured orders has the entire band draw bow and arrow from the holster and quiver on opposite hips, and a moment later a sheaf of arrows are sent whistling through the air to rattle through the boughs nearest to the spite. You cautiously advance and inspect the site, and from the bloom of scattered energies you're sure the spirit was at least injured by an arrow, if not entirely decorporealized. Messengers are sent off to warn the other scouts of what to look for as you consider the matter. If the enemy had used any kind of more traditional scouts, you'd be tempted to try to sneak up on one and incapacitate them for interrogation. But spites? Laurelorn only trusted spites because they were bound by the magics of the Grey Lords. The only beings that would trust the scouting of an untamed spite would be other forest spirits.

    Word reaches you throughout the day of a number of similar encounters, both from the krugs and from the Kreml Guard. All of them end similarly: with the spirit watchers being chased off by the expert aim of Ungol warriors. You wonder if that would dissuade the enemy, but you suppose by Asrai standards their aim would be rather mediocre. In any case, you're not just preventing proper scouting but also bleeding the enemy of scouts they can't replace, as Loren Arhain is no friend to Athel Loren.

    You're just starting to wonder where that thought came from when the horns begin to blow. You and the krug turn, and the Ungols quickly fall behind as the Shadowsteed easily outstrips the cautious trot of horses who need to be careful of their footing. As the trees thin out and eventually give way entirely to a field of felled trunks, you catch sight of the enemy immediately: a disorderly mob of vaguely humanoid beings of thorns and twisted wood, glowing with lilac energies, entangled in a melee with the Kislevite woodsmen. From what you can see their numbers are about even, and axe seems to bite into wood just as easily and often as talons do into flesh. Neither side shows any sign of being dissuaded, one as outraged by the felling of trees as the other is by enemies on their soil. In amongst them is Milica, a sword of ice in one hand and a swarm of frozen shards being fired from the other. By the river a knot of resistance has formed with the Kreml Guard split in half, one hacking at any of the Dryads that get near with their own axes and the other firing volley after volley into the river, which has been frozen solid with still more of the Dryads encased within, making easy targets. As you take in the battlefield with experienced eyes, you spot several problems.

    In the river, one much larger being has torn itself loose of the ice and advances at a slow but unstoppable pace towards the Tsarevich: an entire ambulatory tree, perhaps thirty feet tall or more, with a rainbow of glowing spites warring with its lilac inner glow. Ljiljana stands among the Kreml Guard staring it down, and the energies of winter are beginning to grow within her.

    You catch a glimpse of Boris himself among the Kreml Guard, and to your surprise he's not in the thick of battle, instead staring upward with spear in hand and a look of concentration on his face. You follow his gaze and see why: overhead is the hovering form of a Manticore, Chaos' mockery of the noble Griffon. It seems to be returning Boris' gaze, and seems about to swoop. Nadezhda is by his side, but her attention is on keeping the river in winter's grip, and may be unable to help.

    On the path, a trio of the Dryads have not charged with their fellows, and Ghyran flows through them as they attempt to bend the forest to their will. When the scouts begin to return those three could prove easy prey for them, but to those without Windsight, they might seem a much lesser priority than the Dryads currently engaged - and if left unopposed, they could turn the tide of battle. Milica is closest to them, but is currently engaged with the Dryads in melee.

    And above the din of battle and the whirling of magics and emotions, there are two undertones that are equally easy and impossible to ignore: the faint but growing sound of approaching horns from the rest of the Kislevite forces, and the dissonant note in the native energies of the forest. There is a wisp of Ulgu here that is very much not of the namesake of the forest, and the forest is resisting all attempts of it to blend in to its shadows, giving you tiny glimpses of it out of the corner of your soul. Somewhere out there, the source of today's violence is watching.

    There is only one of you, and there are several places where you might make all the difference. Where will you lend your assistance?



    [ ] Treeman
    Face down the approaching Treeman with Ljiljana.
    [ ] Manticore
    Engage the swooping Manticore with Boris.
    [ ] Spellcasters
    Disrupt the trio of Dryad spellcasters before they can force the local trees to aid them.
    [ ] Leader
    Seek and engage the hidden watcher.
    [ ] Reinforcements
    Leave the battle to reach the approaching reinforcements, and use Rite of Way to speed their vanguard.
    [ ] Other (write in)



    - There will be a two hour moratorium.
    - If you wish, the exact way that Mathilde engages a particular enemy can be written in. By default Mathilde will use my best judgement, but the creativity of the thread has worked wonders in the past.
    - Part of this update was originally posted here.
     
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    • @Boney Thank you for the update. It's excellent and extraordinarily exciting. You've done a great job setting up a climactic battle with a number of large choices and keeping all the characters occupied with reasonable and interesting threats to provide us with a difficult vote. I love it.

    The update also holds a ton of intriguing tidbits that I'll dissect. Might take an hour or two.
     
    [ ] Treeman
    Face down the approaching Treeman with Ljiljana.

    Ice granny got this, I'd say.

    [ ] Manticore
    Engage the swooping Manticore with Boris.

    Boris is a decent fighter, but a Manticore is dangerous...

    [ ] Spellcasters
    Disrupt the trio of Dryad spellcasters before they can force the local trees to aid them.

    Killing the Spellcasters is very often a good choice.

    [ ] Leader
    Seek and engage the hidden watcher.

    Attempting a decapitation strike anyone?

    [ ] Reinforcements
    Leave the battle to reach the approaching reinforcements, and use Rite of Way to speed their vanguard.

    There is a fight right here. They'll get here when they get here, let's make sure there is something here for them to get to.

    Manticore, Spellcasters and Leader all look tempting to me, if for different reasons.
     
    Fun as it would be to 1 v 1 Drycha I do no think it would we wise, she has not revealed herself so we would be pitting our own will and skill with Ulgu against a being older than all the realms of men. We are a really good mage killer though so the other Dryads are I think something we can handle to let the Ice mages have a freer hand.
     
    Flasking the treeman could be an option and with treemens vulnerability to fire might let us quickly take out a heavy asset and move on whilst freeing up the guard and a potent spellcaster.
     
    Boney said:
    [ ] Leader
    Seek and engage the hidden watcher.
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    personally, this is my first choice, we have plenty of competent heroes on the field to be trusted to hold their own and reinforcements on the way if it isn't enough. But hunting down and engaging a hidden enemy that could shift the tide unseen is something we are best suited for. Even if we just hold her down it should be all we really need to win here.
     
    LightLan said:
    [ ] Spellcasters
    Disrupt the trio of Dryad spellcasters before they can force the local trees to aid them.

    Killing the Spellcasters is very often a good choice.
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    I'd say we should do that. If the very trees around them began to attack the Kislevites while they're locked in combat, it will be a massacre and a blow to morale.

    LightLan said:
    [ ] Leader
    Seek and engage the hidden watcher.

    Attempting a decapitation strike anyone?
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    If it's Drycha, I don't fancy our chances. She's a spellcaster of our own Wind, and much older than us. She also probably very good in close quarters. Even in-character, we know it's a powerful caster.
     
    Boney said:
    In any case, you're not just preventing proper scouting but also bleeding the enemy of scouts they can't replace, as Loren Arhain is no friend to Athel Loren.

    You're just starting to wonder where that thought came from when the horns begin to blow
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    I wonder if Ranald is starting to get jealous of all these hunter gods Mathilde is channeling.
     
    I would think either taking the spellcasters, or aiming to decapitate Drycha. We can probably match her in combat, if not magic, and are basically the only person likely to be able to find her. I also really don't like the idea of letting such a dangerous unit basically have free will to interfere however she would like. Also, this:
    Boney said:
    In any case, you're not just preventing proper scouting but also bleeding the enemy of scouts they can't replace, as Loren Arhain is no friend to Athel Loren.

    You're just starting to wonder where that thought came from when the horns begin to blow.
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    Combined with this:
    Boney said:
    And above the din of battle and the whirling of magics and emotions, there are two undertones that are equally easy and impossible to ignore: the faint but growing sound of approaching horns from the rest of the Kislevite forces, and the dissonant note in the native energies of the forest. There is a wisp of Ulgu here that is very much not of the namesake of the forest, and the forest is resisting all attempts of it to blend in to its shadows, giving you tiny glimpses of it out of the corner of your soul. Somewhere out there, the source of today's violence is watching.
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    Makes me think we might have some extra advantages. There are forces actively resisting Drycha here, so Mathilde wouldn't necessarily be alone against her.

    Also, if we're hunting Drycha, that keeps her from hunting us. Because we would make a pretty good target ourselves.
     
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