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Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

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The End of the March to Karak Eight Peaks
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    • [*] You didn't spend all this effort getting into shape for nothing. Physically lift the bar up and out. You probably will manage to lift it, but you might not be able to drop it again quietly.

    None of the possible plans are ideal, and for a moment you're torn with indecision as you vacillate between them. In the end, simplicity and avoiding the negative effects of a miscast - not just the miscast itself, but also the morale effects of the downside of magic being so visibly demonstrated - win out. As the impossible-to-muffle din of hundreds of men grows closer, you take a deep breath, flex your hands, and then put your shoulder to the bar and lift for all your worth. And, as you've kept your skills in combat and thus your physical fitness honed to a razor edge for several years, that is quite a bit. The wood of the doors audibly groans as you lift the weight of the bar from them, but that was the easy part. Now you've got an incredibly heavy slab of wood digging into your shoulder, your arms burning as you do all you can to keep the weight from crushing you.

    [Strength 4: 3+ required. Rolling: 2]

    Perhaps you should have lifted it differently, perhaps it was simply too heavy to be moved around with any stealth. Either way, when you lift the bar off your shoulder, gravity proves the greater force and the best you're able to do is get yourself out of the way, and the bar falls unimpeded to the ground. A low, reverberating slam of wood on stone echoes through the mountains, and you swear, draw your sword and summon Ulgu as you kick the doors open and turn to the entrance into the mountain. The approaching force take the noise as a signal to break into the run, and far below reinforcements do the same, all semblance of stealth thrown to the wind.

    [Rapid casting: Learning, 89+20=109]

    Aethyric Armour is second nature to you now, as the thin strip of shadow cast by the gateway above you wraps itself around your limbs. But, knowing you're about to be swarmed, you don't even pause in the muttered syllables and gestures of spellcasting as you flow onto Dread Aspect, the first time you've used the spell outside of practice. A foolish mistake, one more suited to an apprentice than someone of your rank and experience, but you compensate quickly, altering the spell on the fly to account for the thrashing of Ulgu as it tries to tear itself free from your grasp and forcing your will upon it. You are a Magister of the Grey Order, and Ulgu can obey willingly or you will make it.

    When the first skittering ratman bursts through out of the doors and into the courtyard, he takes one look at you and shrieks in terror, and his attempts to turn back are foiled by the crush of bodies as more skaven pour out and they, in turn, are paralyzed with terror. A tendril of roiling shadow lashes out and wraps itself around the throat of one of the rats, and the terrified remainder bite and claw and screech against the flow of skaven boiling up from below, and sheer madness takes hold of the mass of bodies erupting from below. You stand in the gateway and watch as the ratmen tear each other apart in their attempts to scurry against the flow of bodies, as those that emerge from the madness below take one look at you and are struck with the same terror that has possessed the others. Your shadow lashes out from time to time as the rebellious magic entrapped within Dread Aspect seeks out a particularly terrified morsel, crushing the life from them. Eventually the press of maddened skaven outweighs those pressing from below, and the flood reverses, draining back into the doorway and leaving only those too maimed or dead to flee.

    Reinforcements arrive to find you delivering a final stab to the last of the merely maimed skaven, as terrified screams and the sounds of a roiling, chaotic melee sound from below. You ignore the misbehaving of your shadow as it caresses the corpses of the rats in favour of memorising the exact modifications you made to the spell in your attempts to prevent it from thrashing free of your control, but the men don't, keeping their distance and murmuring to each other. Only Maximilian approaches, and that with some hesitation, watching as your shadow stretches out to him, circling him and observing him carefully before returning to its expected position.

    More reinforcements flood in, and rumour flits through them faster than fear through the skaven. Ulthar and some of his Rangers are in the third wave, and they begin organizing for a foray into the depths of the keep, but he gives you a single, satisfied nod.

    [Arcane Mark acquired: Unnatural Shadow.]
    [Spell Mastered: Dread Aspect]

    ---

    The seed of terror you planted grew into a chaotic maelstrom of backstabbing and infighting, and the garrison of Und-Uzgar is purged with ease over the next few hours as the skaven focus entirely on fighting each other and not at all at fighting the dwarves who seep through. The tunnels the skaven used to ambush the previous greenskin garrison are filled in, and Kragg separates from the main column and strikes a single rune upon the lowest level of the keep proper to sound a warning at any seismic activity that would indicate a repeat. All that remains is the clearing away of three thousand years of greenskin filth - no small task, and one you're glad is not your responsibility.

    Similar clashes have occurred in both the rear and vanguard, as greenskin probes from both Black Crag and Eight Peaks are repulsed. By the close of the week, the Expedition has reached the fork in the road through Death Pass that leads to the Eastern Gate into Karak Eight Peaks. After two and a half months of marching the final approach is in sight, stretching over an enormous bridge festooned with greenskin banners and decorations. The Council of War gathers once more, and Belegar lays down a map of the mountains of Karak Eight Peaks.


    "We take, and hold, the Eastern Gate," he says. "That much is required if we are to keep supply lines to Barak Varr open. From there, we have several directions we can strike out in.

    "First, overland to the Citadel." He points to the massive structure dominating the lip of the central valley. "It's centrally located, dominates the central caldera, and is incredibly defensible. The downside is it places us far from the main parts of the hold, in Karag Lhune and Karag Zilfin.

    "The second possible approach, we take the King's Gates, on Karag Lhune. It is defensible from surface attacks, though it may be vulnerable to attacks from below. It will allow us to easily retake the Temple of Grungni and the Armoury, which should still be sealed and full of weaponry from the Good Old Days." You can hear the capital letters slotting into place. "It also allows easy access to the gyrocopter airport, allowing a fuller use of gyrocopters than the landing pads scattered throughout Eight Peaks.

    "Third, we stay close to the east gate, fortifying Kvinn-Wyr and the Sentinels. From there, we foray underground instead of overland through the Grand Avenue of the Underway. It means our supply lines are not stretched through hostile territory, and controlling the Underway means we could strike just about anywhere, but it means our foothold in the Karak will be tenuous indeed."

    Finally, he points to the far side of the Karak. "Fourth, we circle around the southern lip of the caldera and take what was once the main Entrance. While it would be difficult to defend, it would mean being able to unseal the great treasure vaults of Karak Eight Peaks, allowing us the funds to hire every mercenary this side of Cathay - assuming we survive long enough to get word out. It would also make it possible to seize and unseal the Western Gate, allowing another entrance to the Karak for friendly forces."

    Concentration marks the face of each member of the Council as they look down on the map of the Karak, consider the different approaches. Which approach will you argue in favour of?

    [ ] The Citadel.
    [ ] The King's Gates.
    [ ] Kvinn-Wyr and the Sentinels.
    [ ] The Entrance.

    - Points for or against each possible stronghold that are brought up in the thread may be brought up by Mathilde to strengthen her desired approach.
    - The 'canonical' choice was the Citadel, but the canonical Belegar's Expedition was much different to this one, and took place about twenty years later. Each option has benefits and detriments.
    - Please ignore the mention of Skarsnik on the map. He hasn't even hatched yet.
    - This choice will determine where the Expedition will be calling home, not just where the first attack will be.
     
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    • what the different between Mastered Spell and Non-Mastered Spell ?
     
    M / Dread Aspect: Makes you seem absolutely terrifying to all those who look upon you for one minute.
    Mastery - Roiling Shadows: Your shadow is empowered by the spell and thrashes about in a turbulent aura, lashing out at your enemies to wrap around arms and legs and throats,causing death, distraction and even more terror in all who must face you.
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    Well, a stroke of luck. Very nice.
     
    Z000 said:
    what the different between Mastered Spell and Non-Mastered Spell ?
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    Mastered Spells are optimized for you.

    In this case, Mathilde is god damn nightmare fuel when she's got her gameface on.

    Unnatural Shadow is annoying as an Arcane Mark, but it fits in with our legend at least.

    "So, you say she wiped out the entire Skaven force?"

    EDIT:

    Oooooh.

    The Mastery effect gives us a kill aura.
    WHFB Sheet said:
    Dread Aspect - Grants Terror, once per turn deals 1d3 hits at 1d6 strength to an enemy character or unit at close range
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    When Mathilde gets her gameface on, she basically does a random number of random Strength attacks on top of her normal ones to one 'Target'.

    A unit block counts as a valid target.
     
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    EVA-Saiyajin said:
    Well, Grom was a goblin who ate trollmeat that wasn't quite well-done or whatever. Trolls are infamous for their regenerative qualities, and it fucked up his digestive system. It was basically a battle between orkoid digestion and troll meat spawning autonomously.

    Grom's gut won, he was a fatass rivaling larger Orcs in size and had regenerative capabilities. He mustered a Waaagh that ran up the World's Edge Mountains and those ranges on the south of the Empire, wrecking dwarf face. The dwarves called for assistance from the Empire. This was about fifty years ago.

    The Emperor at the time was Dieter IV. He was lavish, degenerate, corrupt, and spoiled.

    He refused to send aid and moved his court to a different city, Altdorf, halfway across the Empire.

    The dwarves shut themselves in their holds and said the Empire could deal with Grom on their own.

    Dieter IV however also was extremely negligent in preparing for Greenskins onslaught out of arrogance and more focus on his decadent desires and projects. Much of the Empire got fucked badly save for the major cities, and even they got savaged in several places.

    It looked like the Empire was going to die, up until Grom, for various reasons, fucked off west to invade Ulthuan. He did a lot of damage despite the major losses from infighting and Greenskin ships, and may or may not still be alive.

    Dieter would later go on to give an entire province, the Westerlands, independence in exchange for a vast fortune to fund his ongoing and planned projects and greed. He was later removed from his position and replaced by his much more competent and patriotic nephew.

    Grom the Paunch

    Dieter IV
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    ...Wow. :facepalm: Dieter is like, the product of CK2 inbreeding gone horribly wrong.

    [X] The King's Gates.
     
    BoneyM said:
    When the first skittering ratman bursts through out of the doors and into the courtyard, he takes one look at you and shrieks in terror, and his attempts to turn back are foiled by the crush of bodies as more skaven pour out and they, in turn, are paralyzed with terror. A tendril of roiling shadow lashes out and wraps itself around the throat of one of the rats, and the terrified remainder bite and claw and screech against the flow of skaven boiling up from below, and sheer madness takes hold of the mass of bodies erupting from below. You stand in the gateway and watch as the ratmen tear each other apart in their attempts to scurry against the flow of bodies, as those that emerge from the madness below take one look at you and are struck with the same terror that has possessed the others. Your shadow lashes out from time to time as the rebellious magic entrapped within Dread Aspect seeks out a particularly terrified morsel, crushing the life from them. Eventually the press of maddened skaven outweighs those pressing from below, and the flood reverses, draining back into the doorway and leaving only those too maimed or dead to flee.
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    This is so fucking metal.
     
    I suspect that there are people who will be wondering if the Grey College slipped in a ringer battle mage to unofficially support the dwarves by the time this news gets picked up by the authorities back in Altdorf.

    Basically solo-img a fortress is generally battle magic scale bullshit.
     
    Alratan said:
    I suspect that there are people who will be wondering if the Grey College slipped in a ringer battle mage to unofficially support the dwarves by the time this news gets picked up by the authorities back in Altdorf.

    Basically solo-img a fortress is generally battle magic scale bullshit.
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    Nah, it's pretty well known that Mathilde just got her Magister's title.

    She's just a ludicrously talented prodigy who has a knack for getting stuck in.
     
    Alratan said:
    I suspect that there are people who will be wondering if the Grey College slipped in a ringer battle mage to unofficially support the dwarves by the time this news gets picked up by the authorities back in Altdorf.

    Basically solo-img a fortress is generally battle magic scale bullshit.
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    Skaven tend to be uniquely receptive to attacks on morale: I imagine some +Ld or rat ogre or three would make things trickier.
     
    Dieter IV was also the Elector Count of Stirland before the ill-fated Haupt-Anderssens, and was responsible for the Flensburg problem that Anton ended up solving.

    Shard said:
    I know, there's a list of them somewhere... right?
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    There is, from the tabletop RPG:

    Excised of the mechanical minutiae:

    Flicker: Light seems uncomfortable in your presence. Candles flicker, lantens dim and fires burn low when you are around.
    Trickster: You cloak yourself in deception and misdirection, making you untrustworthy to others.
    Mantle of Mist: Mist, fog, smoke and other vapours seem drawn to your side. This adds a bonus to Intimidate Tests made in fog banks and other suitable conditions, but does mean you tend to reek of smoke all the time.
    Aspect of Ulgu: Your frame lightens and tightens whilst your hair colour changes to grey.
    Forgettable: People can't seem to remember your face. Characters who've met you must succeed on an Intelligence Test to recall who you are.
    Disturbing Eyes: Your eyes become grey and swirl with unnatural darkness. You gain a bonus to Intimidate Tests.
    Insubstantial: Your body becomes slightly insubstantial. You gain a bonus to Concealment Tests, but you take a penalty to your Toughness characteristic.
    Unnatural shadow: Your shadow does not behave itself - moving often of it's own accord. The shifting wrongness of your shadow puts folk ill at ease, imposing a penalty to Fellowship Tests made when interacting with non-magic users. Worse, superstitious peasants will need convincing that you are not a Daemon.
    Shrouded: Your body draws shadows towards it. You gain a bonus to Concealment Tests.
    Mark of Ulgu: The rune of Ulgu appears somewhere on your body. You gain a bonus to Channelling checks when casting spells from the Lore of Shadow.
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    I reserve the right to alter or invent as appropriate, though.
     
    Shard said:
    What are the Arcane Marks, again?
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    Permanent changes that reflect our deepening use of and bond with Ulgu. Experienced Wizards tend to accumulate more and more. Most of the Shadow ones are quite unnerving.

    Aside from that, you go girl! Mathilde basically wiped out a Skaven stronghold solo. She truely is terrifying. Thaggoraki-bane.

    I say we should look into recruiting our Shadow so we can send it off as a spy (and assassin, apparantly). Pretty stealthy thing, and it'd be less distracting than having it flitting around all the time, scaring the common folk.
     
    Yeah, we keep pulling things like this off and we'll probably qualify as a Lord-level character before long.

    But yeah, that was absolutely the best spell to crit on for this campaign. There's a lot of low Ld figures in these god damn mountains, and the ability to not only attack them there, but also give us more attacks is a godsend.

    Mastered Aspect can potentially give us three more full strength attacks if the RNG is kind.
     
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    I'm tentatively favoring the King's Gates.

    Why?

    Well...

    The second possible approach, we take the King's Gates, on Karag Lhune. It is defensible from surface attacks, though it may be vulnerable to attacks from below. It will allow us to easily retake the Temple of Grungni and the Armoury, which should still be sealed and full of weaponry from the Good Old Days." You can hear the capital letters slotting into place. "It also allows easy access to the gyrocopter airport, allowing a fuller use of gyrocopters than the landing pads scattered throughout Eight Peaks.
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    A defensible beachhhead is most definitely important, and the nebulousness of the vulnerability to subterranean assaults aside, the dwarves are the single greatest at reading and using the earth. If anyone can handle such a vulnerability, it's them.

    Moreover, from what I've gotten a feeling of, this expedition isn't universally agreed to be going to work by the rest of the Karaz Ankor. If we can score some solid victories relatively quickly, we can potentially secure more aid and reinforcements from elsewhere when it seems we've got a real chance at this. Moreover, a victory that improved the ability of our forces is a lovely bonus, and the recovery of lost religious icons and runic items would do wonders for dwarves morale.

    It could also allow for a more gradual acclimation of the human and halfling sections of the expedition to underground warfare with a starting surface location that bleeds into easy starting subterranean conflict.

    Finally, the aerial advantage is huge, and rather uncommon among the geeenskins and Skaven in general. It opens up new avenues and vastly improved reconnaissance capability-not to mention carrying good news to the Karaz Ankor and potentially getting reinforcements and resources sent down faster than if news were carried by horse, foot, or rumor.
     
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    Hmm, take the Gate's to maximise the effect of the dwarves with fat loot and luring friendly reinforcements while we're still mostly unexpected the assorted gribblies are getting in order.

    Then the Citadel so the vast majority of enemy incursions will hit our best defensive area, followed by the Sentinels to strike where we please? Not sure who the Entrance would ever be useful for.
     
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