I'm actually kinda hoping this goes badly now.
Not so badly that we die or anything of course,
But bad enough to pop the hubris bubble before we get so bigheaded that the thread decides to go infiltrate Nagashizarr or piss off the Slann or something.
And that i've never (Seriously) advocated doing incredibly stupid shit once we get there.
You can talk and barter with the tomb kings, but the moment someone would advocate for stealing their shit, I'd come down on them like the wrath of god.
I think the problem is, fundementally, that once we buy stuff, we feel we should use it to the full extent of its capabilities. Like with our sword, or assasination/scouting package. It goes along with hoarding.
Hence hubris. As soon as we can, it becomes less about if we should and more when we should.
So getting something like a dreadnaught that *could* take on a tomb king or isolated slann makes it about 10 million times more likely that we will do such things.
I really don't think you can ride that tiger. So I vote and advocate for stuff that is doing things now, not stuff that keeps us escalating.
Bang for your buck. You can get two contingents of superior quality units for about the same price as one inferior contingent unit that performs largely the same niche, but worse. An army needs a variety of roles filled, and there's only so many resources to go towards filling those roles. Even if you can get all three, whether you should get all three is something to be considered.
I'm not sold either way yet, lack of enough information. But it would be helpful in swaying my opinion if you could elaborate on what unique qualities the Brettonian cavalry bring to the table.
Ok, so all narrative desires aside, I want as much elite heavy cavalry as I can get for one specific scenario that I view as overwhelmingly likely:
A breakout from strategic encirclement.
Like, I see things going like this- we sneak the expedition up to the Karak pretty smoothly. Once there we either find survivors or not, find treasure or not, but either way I think it is going to get loud and be sticky. It's going to be hard to pry our dear leader out, harder if there are survivors, and that means more likely than not we waaaaaay overstay or welcome and give our enemies time to concentrate.
So there we will be, forted up inside a besieged Karak, needing to break through the armies around us and run South.
I think arsanil is a solid play, but he's going to be making passes to thin numbers, and cleaning the air.
I want lances. I want Taal's knights to rip apart the monsterous champions, the winter wolves to savage the ranged threats and flankers, and I want Brettonians with full plate and lances to smash a path open for the wagons, who will serve as our ranged platforms.
But only small elite cavalry units, because they do need to be the best endurance we can get in that role. After all, this is going to be a long, running battle as we retreat.
So it's the endgame I'm looking at and trying to prep for with the additional cavalry over assasination actions, or possibly even runepriests.
Also, I'm open to suggestions for semi-date ideas for the upcoming votes for our four winning candidates:
The Ice Dragon of Karag Zilfin
Elector Countess Roswita van Hal
Baron Anton Kiesinger II
Chief Bombardier Oswald Oswaldson
I think going to talk to the Ice dragon looking for information and advice about Deathfang would be fascinating. Make the subject of conversation dragons, to stoke his pride, but other dragons, to stoke envy. They are both old enough to know one another, I bet, let's see if there are any embarassing stories we can goad him into telling us.
Roswita I just want to see laugh more.
Anton... His jade wizard aunt. I think we apologize to him for reading those letters, and see how he deals with us having trespassed a bit. Plus, clear the air of secrets.
Oswaldson I'm sorry I'm not into.
I feel like the scandal of "we used to work for her dad" will be eclipsed by the scandal of "we are a wizard and she is an elector-count" and "we are both ladies."
(Also, I didn't come around to Roswita except until after she revealed herself to be a nerd. Abelhelm has nothing to do with it, she has her own great points.
@Glau made a great post about what it would look like from her POV:
God, autocorrect was wicked in that post, I'm glad the meaning came across as well as it did...
And I will stand by everything I intended to write there. Roswita could be both enormously sweet, AND battle-buddies. She's got the simultaneous 'competent badass elector countess' and the 'adorable sweet exasperated nerd' sides, and it is great.
Only catch is the... Wait for it.... Divided Loyalties it would cause for both of us.
