Let's see....Though the City-States are universally concerned by Brochard's aggression, they remain divided over what to do about it.
+10 to a roll of your choice!My Aim Be True
The order has been given, the army is to form a defensive line while the Ballistae fire their enormous arrows in the Aqullian army before us.
You are Marcus Greybill, one of the main operators of the Ballistae siege weapons in the service of King Garrick Golden-Feather, and you are about to take the first shots in a battle between two armies that will decide the fate of all griffons.
"This is it." you thought to yourself. "There is no question that this battle will go down in history and whoever wins this battle will dictate how the rest of the war will go on. I cannot fail here, not now of all times."
You and your fellow operators make ready with your assigned Ballistae, ready to fire on your superior's order. You have trained for this, the constant drills and target practices from back home made sure that you and your comrades operate the siege weapon like a well-oiled machine. Maintenance was also drilled into their head to make sure that the Ballistae is working as intended and not breakdown where it mattered the most.
"Like right now for instance" with that thought, you took a quick inspection of your siege weapon. A maintenance inspection was made earlier before the battle but a quick inspection doesn't hurt. For what you can see the ropes are strong, the frame is solid, despite the constant use it had with the drills, it looks like it can go on to fire a couple of hundred arrows before it breaks down.
Soon, the giant arrows are locked in and after a quick look over the enemy army, one target became very obvious for the ballistae to aim at, the Siege Onagers. They were siege weapons that the Griffonian Army used to have but the constant drills made two things very clear between the two siege weapons. For one, the Ballistae out-ranges the onagers. Right now, the onagers are positioned and aimed to fire at Wingbard's capital. If they want them to fire back, those onagers have to be moved to aim towards this position and move forward to get in range before they can start firing. All the while, they would be at the mercy of ballistae fire.
The other thing is that between the two siege weapons, the Ballistae is very accurate. You and your fellow operators marveled on how on point the Ballistae can be during target practice. Its not too much of a surprise though, the Ballistae is essentially an oversize crossbow and thus, can be aimed like one. With the onager's size, they make for the perfect targets for your ballistae to shoot. You are going to turn them to scrap long before they could even fire back.
"I'll make sure of it too" you thought. If you and your team manage to take out the onagers out first, the Aquilians will lose their artillery option and will be force to charge in the prepared defensive line of the Groffonian army. Even if you somehow miss the first shot, you can fire several more before the enemy can fire back and any shots missed would only make the subsequent shots more accurate as they will be used as reference to make any necessary adjustments in aiming the siege weapon.
"Not unless they fancy just sitting back and letting themselves be peppered with Ballistae shots" you thought, "but that would be too easy now would it?" Your thoughts are suddenly cut short when your superior shouted the commands.
"READY!"
"This is it" you remembered your training, the constant drills and target practice.
"AIM!"
You look at the ballistae and the target, making sure that the siege weapon is aimed at the onagers, wanting make sure that you get it right in the first time.
"FIRE!"
"My aim be true" you whispered, as the Ballistae siege weapons fire and thus, the first shots of the battle was made.
@Questor Here is my omake for the battle that is to come. Hope that it can help, we are going to need it for this historic fight.
+10 to a roll of your choice!Let's see....
Feathersian aruguments
"This is insanity. This is madness!"
"No, this is politics."
The sardonic reply to a councilor's opinion over Aquileia's actions drew more than it's fair share of dirty looks. In response Lord Othello Redwing simply smirked and popped another bite of Ossetra into his beak. Lady Carmanor (currently the unlucky griffin chosen to oversee the council*) tried to will her impending headache away (again). Othello may be a clever griffin with a true talent for turning a profit; but like his ancestor, had a large beak with a nasty wit.
Oddly enough Federico actually looked intrigued at the comment (compared to the slighted Silverplume that was puffing up in indignation). "Oh and what brings you to that conclusion lad? Previously you've been advocating that we fatten our coffers by playing the two nations off each other."
"And it would have worked so long as neither felt that he could win against the other in a war. We'd feed both sides so they stay equal preventing either from getting enough leverage that they can win decisively. Too bad for us Garrick's a merchant and not a warrior like the last king. With him not 'playing the game' the way he's supposed to, Brochard's panicking. That blowhard wants all griffins bending the knee to him one way or another; and with Griffonia ramping up, that updraft he was banking on was vanishing. All this is simply his plan B."
Apheliotes (one of the nobles pushing for neutrality) quirked an eyebrow. "So you're advocating that we stay the course, continue trades to both sides?"
An incredulous stare was his response. "Did you drinking Discord's moonrock juice as a fledge? Nine hells no! My gramps laid out in very painful detail about the mess he saw happen when somebody sold weapons and goods to both sides of a war. Sure you can make a lot of profit in the short run, but sooner or later both sides realize you're playing them both for chumps and come looking for your head. You pick one or the other. "
"Besides." he continued, waving a claw at the stack of papers outlining what various spies and merchants had gathered from Aquileia. "Brochard's broke. He's been bleeding gold to grab as many mercs, wannabes and bandits as he can to pad out the army. Even if he doesn't pay them what he promised and grabs all the money he can from raiding Wingbardy and Griffonia, his vaults are going to be emptier than a troll's skull. No profit in going to him. Just an axe resting on your neck with a polite request that you turn over your everything to him. For the good of all griffin-kind of course."
This of course set off another shouting/argument session as practically every single Griffin in the room began yelling out their own opinions. Carmanor's stone gavel going almost unheard over the din. All talk came to sudden halt as the chamber doors burst open with a dust-covered and panting courier stumbled into the room.
"My-my lords. -wheeze- Urgent news from Griffonia. K-King Golden-Feather has mobilized his entire army! He marches to relieve the siege on Wingbard!"
There was a stunned silence that echoed throughout the room that was broken as Federico let out massive guffaw. "Hah, that's my son-in-law, a Griff after my own heart! A pity he didn't think to invite me to the party as well."
*While the Feathersian nobility tries to keep things civil, a human observing a typical council session would liken the overseer's job very similar to herding a multitude of cats who all want to go in different directions.
AN: Yes, my cracky brain made Othello Redwing the descendant of a griffin-version of a rather well-known character (let's just say long-range teleports could and did happen during Discord's time). Among other things, he's inherited his gramp's coloring and love of a particular food.
If I remember right we have a total of 60 so far unless these last two wanna throw there's in. @beingme @jwolfe_beta wanna throw your bonuses in.Could we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Could we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Could we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Here are all bonus being applied to the battle and their preferenceCould we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Yeah I remembered, just didn't know where to put it. @Questor can I out my +10 the Ballista rolls?
And I'd like to put my +10 on the Lion knight when they have to do the rapid response.
Give this to any roll that needs it in the battle. Also what would I need to change to get my omake canon?
Lowest roll for myself.And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Put them to where they are needed the most, especially if they are needed to turn any potentially bad rolls around.Could we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
Could we have a tally of everyone's Omake bonuses and whether they'd like them to be used in the battle? And whether they have any preferences as to which bonuses should go to which rolls?
I've said that twice for no availIt may be a good idea to put up a section dedicated to tracking all the omake bonuses and whether or not they've been used since this quest gets so many of them.
Year 0 or 1, I think. Wasn't there a celebration on tht we got coronated?@Questor In what year AD (after discord) were we crowned?
If anyone else wants to answer that for me it would help with some ideas I have.
I'll put one of those together after this update clears them out.It may be a good idea to put up a section dedicated to tracking all the omake bonuses and whether or not they've been used since this quest gets so many of them.