>>28967938
First for Palpatine the First of his name, the Knight that could plan.

>>28967938
>Monk

>>28967938
> Knight

>>28967938
KNIGHT!

>>28967938
>Monk

You are Talon, a knight of considerable strength and skill. Of course, once you are emperor you'll need a more imperious name. Palpatine the First comes to mind...

>Char Sheet

Name: Talon York
Class: Knight
Title: General
Magic Type: Sorcerous
Equipment: Greatsword and shield, plate armour

STATS

Strength [4]
Endurance [3]
Speed [3]
Intelligence [2]
Magic [2]
Resistance [3]
Charisma [3]

SKILLS

Leadership II – the ability to effectively command and inspire a small army.
Weaponry II – great proficiency in a large variety of weapons.
Battlefield Control I – increases all attributes by one when fighting in a battlefield of own creation.
Battlefield Basics I – proficiency in all general battlefield skills (dodging, blocking etc).
Sorcery (Instinctive) I – ability to use basic sorcery. This sorcery is instinctive rather than properly learnt. You don’t need a focus to cast and are better at ad hoc spells.

ABILITIES

Empower Self I – you use sorcery to increase your physical attributes by one point for one hour.
Ad Hoc Projection I – you may project raw magical energy up to melee distance of minor strength. This projected energy may be used as a barrier, to deflect magical attacks or to propel oneself a moderate distance at high speed. The ad hoc nature of this ability makes it versatile, if weak.
Barrier Break I – you can penetrate weak magic barriers, and damage stronger ones, by imbuing some magic into your blows. This also works well against physical barriers.

You note that the mage-knights who fought off the enemy attack are still lingering in the lower courtyard where you stand - their magical plate glimmers in the moonlight, causing them to stand out. Some men-at-arms are fetching wounded and finishing off enemies. Morale doesn’t seem to be completely shot, but given that these men have already seen their homeland destroyed the death of their queen must simply have seemed natural. Although the enemy attack has been beaten back, they know that the queen is dead and will strike again soon with reinforcements.

Currently, you control the area outside Harrowmont and are in the lower area of the outer courtyard of the fortress. The inner wall and keep, built into the cliff face, loom over you at the top of the rise – though the image is ruined by the state of disrepair the fortress is in. Both units of mage-knights are already in the courtyard, and you remember that your longbowmen are lingering just outside the wall, awaiting orders. The rest of your men are certainly too far away to be of much use should a skirmish break out now.

You give the orders to:

>1. Take an aggressive approach.

Have the flying knights screen as the regular knights seize the upper level. The longbows won’t be much use if you get into a fight right away but if you seize the upper level you will control the entire outer courtyard.

>2. Hold the lower level.

Standard formation is to have the mage-knights hold formation whilst the flying knights prevent any opposing knights from engaging using binding spells. Your longbows can also add their volleys.

>3. Be defensive. Hold the wall, not the courtyard.

If you have the flyers and longbowmen defend from the parapets, and the infantry defend the gatehouse you can hold off any attack with little difficulty. Reinforcements may be able to assist you. You won’t have any strong position in the courtyard, however.

>4. Write-in

>>28967938
>Mage
I want to be the fullmetal alchemist you fuckers.

>>28968134
> 3. Be defensive. Hold the wall, not the courtyard.

>>28968134
Harrowmont...Rings a bell, but I can't place it.

Aggressive approach, we never got anywhere in life by being timid.

>>28968134
>>3. Be defensive. Hold the wall, not the courtyard.
wait for it... waaaiiiit... COUNTER

>>28968273
Former adviser to the Dwarf King from Dragon Age, now a contestant for the crown.

>>28968108
>>28968134
>1 High ground
High ground is always best.

>>28967938
Also OP, you might wanna pick up a trip.

>>28968340
I agree

Picked up a trip.

>>28968238
>>28968273
>>28968292
>>28968324
So, aggressive or defensive?

>>28968319
Funny that I never made it to Orzammar in DAO.

>>28968273
Harrowmont is a character in dragon age that may be where you're remembering it from.

2. Hold the lower level

>>28968410
Aggressive

>>28968417
agressive

>>28968410
aggressive as balllllls

"Captains, take the high ground," you bellow orders to the mage-knight captains. You then gesture to a nearby man-at-arms, "Sergeant, give word to the men outside that we take the courtyard tonight. Marching orders."

The mage-knights don't waste any time. The knights with flying enchantments fire up into the air, preparing binding spells that glitter and flash around their arms. The infantry move silently despite the heaviness of their armour and move up the incline alongside you.

Suddenly, there is a flash and battle is joined. You see your flying knights criss-crossing through the air to avoid magical bolts from the enemy, responding in kind themselves. The enemy is on the platform but appear to have no defensive wards or structures. The knights alongside you let out a bellow, having not been noticed yet, and charge ahead at an inhuman speed. You see a large number of lightly armed enemy soldiers accompanied by a smaller number of enemy mage-knights.

You are going to help in this battle by...

>1. Joining the mage-knights in battle. You can use this as a chance to inspire your soldiers to greater strength or to intimidate the foe.

>2. Engage in battle with the mage-knights directly by yourself. If you can hold them off, your men can easily dispatch the other soldiers and aid you.

>3. Change tactics. Call your men back and try to hold the lower courtyard with reinforcements.

>4. Write-in

>>28968546
>2
Everyone knows Hero units are the most effective, and especially melee hero units. Let's get up in their faces and show why we're destined to be Emperor. Slice em to pieces!

>>28968546
>2. Engage in battle with the mage-knights directly by yourself. If you can hold them off, your men can easily dispatch the other soldiers and aid you.

>>28968546
>>2. Engage in battle with the mage-knights directly by yourself. If you can hold them off, your men can easily dispatch the other soldiers and aid you.

Time to show everyone why we are the boss.

>2.

The greater the risk the greater the reward. You decide that your men can make short work of the enemy light infantry and that keeping the enemy mage-knights busy is your best bet to pull off a victory here. Fortunately, the binding spells of the flyers have kept the enemy knights that little bit separate to the rest of their troops. Time to open that gap up a little more.

With a sword of power, you push off from the ground in a charging leap. This attack is an old favourite of yours and never fails to impress. Your first blow with your greatsword cuts cleanly through your foe's magical plate. This is obviously the machined stuff - even with your strength you'd find it hard to cut into quality magical armor.

Of course, with just one foe dead there's still no shortage of them around you and they probably all know who you are. Reputation can be a bitch sometimes.

>[DC 16 Combat Check]

>Rolls are d20 and the best of the first three posters. Target is equal to or greater than the posted DC. A 20 is an exceptional success, a 1 is a dramatic failure. 1s and 20s cancel out. Multiple 20s amplify the effects, multiples 1s do not. Failing a roll is not the end.

>>28968820
>With a sword of power
That should be 'burst of power' for those unsure. Hopefully correcting typos and mistakes is a sometimes thing.

Rolled 16

>>28968820

Rolled 7

>>28968820
Woo!

Rolled 8

>>28968820
I WILL BECOME THE EMPEROR

>>28968873
Nicely done Anon.

File: 1387493491567.jpg-(53 KB, 489x720, MurrayXmas.jpg)

53 KB JPG

Rolled 12

>>28968884
>>28968900

>mfw the rest of the team's combined rolls are less than mine

>>28968873
>Target met.

Being outnumbered is nothing new. Being outnumbered by a bunch of men with magical equipment worth the annual output of your average town is also nothing new. You're using a little more sorcery than you would have liked to this early in the night but you've never had to worry about exhausting your magical reserves like so many other warriors you’ve met. Darting back and forth, you keep the enemy knights from advancing whilst felling several of them. They seem a little unnerved seeing you in action – you know the feeling from your campaigning with the Seraphic nobles; those bastards were terrifyingly dangerous.

With a huge roar from behind, suddenly there are fleeing troops everywhere. The area lights up with magical fire and chains rip from the ground. The courtyard is yours and it’s just you and the fleeing foe. Unfortunately, the chase ends quickly. Although you keep no small number of the enemy back they haven’t been lax with setting up magical wards and barriers. They charge through the wood panelling boarding up holes in the inner wall like they were ghosts, but your men’s attempt to do the same finds them repelled from a powerful force. The wall itself almost certainly has a barrier against flyers, though there’s no telling how high it goes. Maybe your mages could do something about it…

Nevertheless, the courtyard is yours. Your men are dealing with the wounded and canvassing the upper area for anyone hiding in wait. You…

>1. Speak to the nearby captain.

>2. Leave the knights to their work and head back to camp to take stock.

>3. More closely investigate the wall and upper courtyard.

>4. Write-in

>>28969079
2

Rolled 17

>>28969079
>>3. More closely investigate the wall and upper courtyard.
>Get that dispel magic going

fckin barriers

>>28969079
1
Debrief and get a status report, award standout fighters to your personal guard.

>>28969079
I'd like to suggest a combo

>>28969142
Get this first, get a report of the battle, and award the exceptional.
>>28969118
This to begin the dispelling process. We'll need it for when reinforcments arrive.
>>28969095
And finally this to go back and rest when we're done.

Rolled 15

>>28969187
If OP is cool with this triple, I'm cool with it

>>28969079
3. Lets look for traps and shit

You signal to the mage-knight captain hovering just off the ground. He spots you and buzzes over, offering a quick salute.

“No real trouble, was it, General? It was impressive to see you hold off the Vitrian knights like that. I’d heard stories but that was something else.”

If you’re not mistaken, this young soldier is none other than Arail Malaine. He has a reputation for being a prodigy – the sort that typically winds up in a mage tower pretending he’s better than everyone else. If Darlesia had been in better times, he would have been relaxing in a manor at the very least.

“Any real problems in the battle, Captain? Anybody show some exceptional skills?”

“No real problems. Their knights may have been trouble, but mage-knights versus regulars? Not a chance. And, if you want exceptional you can look no further than Sir Lynn. She was as terrifying as ever. She’d be a Captain if she’d ever fought for Darlesia before.”

You blink, unsure why Malaine is refering to a ‘Sir’ as a ‘she’. “Have Lynn see me back in camp after that battle. I’m aiming to award the exceptional.”

Malaine gives you a nod with his usual strange smile and you dismiss him, moving to investigate the wall. Barriers are one of your specialities and you quickly realise that the barrier over the wooden panels is different to the barrier on the stone wall. The wall is old and the barrier has held these past forty years – still as strong as it ever was, you sense. The wood has been placed there recently – makeshift defences by the Vitrians and the barrier is just as new.

You sense Malaine standing nearby and turn to him.

“Probably best if you let Gareth and his mages bring down that barrier, sir. We knights aren’t that crash-hot at breaking imbued barriers. Of course, if you have any good tricks to take it down now, we can break through that wood with no problems and be on the foe. They’ll be prepared for us, though.”

>continued

>>28969529
You frown. Your barrier piercing technique wouldn’t work too well against something imbued into the wood itself. Still, you at least know what you’re up against, though there might be other options elsewhere in this huge fortress.

>1. Head back to camp.

>2. Attempt to dispel the barrier [DC 19 Sorcery]

>3. Write-in

Rolled 4

>>28969552
>>2. Attempt to dispel the barrier [DC 19 Sorcery]

Rolled 8

>>28969583

>>28969552
>>2. Attempt to dispel the barrier [DC 19 Sorcery]
Fuck it we're here now

>>28969529
>>28969552
Nah, let's not try to dispel it right now. I'd prefer us to just guide a real barrier breaker with the knowledge we have. Give them some tips, if that would give them any bonuses to the roll.

I say off to camp now

>>28969652
>>28969552

Rolled 19

>>28969583

>>28969671
>>28969652
I will take this as a sign.
Back to the camp!

>>28969583
>>28969626
Very quick thing, as it was unclear. If I post a DC next to a vote option it's there for informational purposes. The actual roll will take place after another post if that option wins the vote. I might use percantage chance in the future.

>>28969690
AW SHIT

>>28969690
>>28969700
I'll make an exception this one time. Percentage chance in the future to avoid confusion.

File: 1387496099747.jpg-(90 KB, 800x721, impossibru.jpg)

90 KB JPG

>>28969690
>>28969759

>mfw mah roll is railroading OP

>>28969801
That image left me confused and strangely aroused...

You focus some magical energy as you have a hundred times before. Malaine signals to nearby knights to form up, in case you succeed and need back-up. With a hard thrust, you launch into the wood with your greatsword and it splinters on your impact. You are through and you felt the barrier shatter completely as you pierced it. The passageway is dark – the other side must be covered in wood, too. Your success is short lived, though. Your instincts tell you that something bad is about to happen and you quickly channel energy to reinforce your body and armor.

“Sir, pull back – the wall barrier is triggering! They must have connected the two somehow.”

Swearing, you leap back outside of the hole in the wall. Being caught inside an active barrier would result in you becoming nothing more than compressed Talon. As you come back into the moonlight, you see runes lit up along the length of the inner wall and hear a loud crash and feel the escaping air from within the passageway as the barrier snaps into the open area and pushes out or destroys everything in there. This is almost certainly the work of the bastard who fried the queen – connecting that old barrier and the new one would have been very tricky work.
Malaine greets you. “That was bloody amazing, sir. If we’d triggered that ourselves, it would have killed one of us.”

“That wall makes it hard for us, though. Can’t get through that barrier now,” you reply.

He shrugs. “I wouldn’t underestimate Gareth, sir. He’s a magister for good reason. You've probably made his job easier now.”

Nodding, you dismiss him and head back to camp, receiving a few sharp salute from knights you pass by.

>>28969956
Fuck yeah, we are the god emperor.

Now let's get back to camp and kick our feet up

At camp, you quickly bump into Arms Master Cormann, who appears to have been waiting for you. He has what you think are the old maps of the fortress. You walk with him to the war tent, and he spreads it out and gives you his impression of the fortress and where you are currently at.

>I'm only posting these descriptions once. Future threads, if we're still taking Harrowmont, will have a pastepin. Status will be shorter in future.

Harrowmont is a large fortress built forty years ago during the heyday of Darlesia. It was initially built to maintain the eastern front of the nation, but the border expanded faster than expected and the castle was abandoned shortly before it was completely finished. A noble from Vitria decided to claim the fortress for himself with the near complete collapse of Darlesia and his excavation team have reportedly discovered a Source. Whether the noble knows exactly what he found is unknown, but whoever takes control of it will have the only functional Source in existence. The fortress itself is large, containing an outer wall, inner wall and a keep. It backs into a Cliffside, making it easily defensible once it is repaired.
AREAS

>[X] signifies the area is under your control
>[/] signifies the area is contested
>[] signifies the area is not under your control or contested

OUTSIDE THE WALLS [X] – this is immediate surroundings of the outer wall of the fortress, up to the cliffs. It is currently overgrown.
OUTER WALL [X] – this is the outer wall of the fortress, which stretches downhill into the fields before returning to the cliff side. It is currently highly damaged and provides no defensive bonus.
+ Outer courtyard, lower area [X] – the outer courtyard stretches between the two main gatehouses and is separated into lower and upper areas by some manmade platforms.
+ Outer courtyard, upper area [X] – the upper area consists consists of a mix of the space on top of the platforms and the natural incline.

>continued

>>28970030
+ Merchant area [] – separated from the courtyard by a short wall, there is an area of housing and structures that was clearly intended to be used by merchants. It has its own small gatehouse in the outer wall. It also connects to the noble manors on the other side of the inner wall.
+ Residential area, north [] – a tall stone wall with no battlements or rampart access separates the courtyard from the main residential area in the fortress. Fully half the outer area of the fortress is dedicated to this sprawling ruin of housing. The north side is closest to the courtyard. The only access to this area is from the courtyard.
+ Residential area, south [] – The south side stretches into the cliff side. The residential area has no access to outside the fortress, but the south side does have a small gatehouse that leads to the inner courtyard.
INNER WALL [] – this is the inner wall of the fortress, protecting an inner courtyard and the keep. The wall is also highly damaged, but the defenders have hastily erected wooden palisades around larger holes.
+ Inner courtyard [] – The inner courtyard surrounds the keep, which is itself built into the cliff side.
+ Noble manors [] – the fortress has a dedicated area for three small manors, all of which are in ruin.
KEEP [] – Harrowmont’s keep is a large, multi-level castle with many rooms and supply stores.
+ Lower floors – The lower floors include audience chambers, guard rooms and supply rooms for the most part. It is the working area of the keep.
+ Upper floors – the upper floors are where all the bedrooms and private hearing rooms are.
+ Underground – vaults and supply stores lie under the keep.

>Status end

With this information in mind you...

>1. Talk to Cormann more

>2. Seek out Archmagister Gareth

>3. Talk to Sir Lynn

>4. Custom

>>28970071
>>3. Talk to Sir Lynn
find out why she is "the shit", and why/if she is a she

>>28970114
Agreed.

>>28970071
3.
Also put someone in charge of repairing the outer walls as soon as possible. The faster we start it the faster it'll be done.

>>28970071
>>2. Seek out Archmagister Gareth

Attempt to figure out a way to use those barriers to our advantage. The way they closed up before looks like they created a vacuum, if we can reverse that, then there goes a big part of the problem. Also, would be good to learn how to use those barriers to our own effects if we can to help fortify our damaged defenses.

>>28970071
>herp, I forgot the military status

CURRENT ARMY

50 Darlesian Flying Mage Knights (Vet.)
50 Darlesian Mage Knights (Vet.)
100 Darlesian Longbowmen (Vet.)
500 Darlesian Men-At-Arms (Vet.)
10 Darlesian Battlemages (Reg.)
Satisfactory support and logistics corps

>>28970030
>>28970071
Some things
>Source
Explain

>Merchant, Residential areas
Won't need to take those, I think. Give the enemy too much time if we waste time there.

>Next target
Possibly the next layer of walls. We don't have siege equipment, so we'll need to hit them hard to break in.

>Decision
>3
We did promise her a 'promotion' or whatever.

>>28970169
Incidentally OP, after this thread, you may wanna work up a lore and pastebin page to tell us what a lot of these things are.
Some are obvious, like Longbowmen, but others aren't, like the difference between a Battlemage and a Mageknight.

Just a suggestion for future threads!

>>28970172
Rewarding loyalty and ability are the chief goals. It could be as simple as a length of cord around the shoulder to as elaborate as the foundations of the imperial guard.

>>28970172
>What is a Source
You only know a small amount about them. The main thing is that they're a huge font of magical energy. You also know they were all sealed up by the archangels 150 years ago for some reason. The other thing, and why you want this one is that controlling a Source means you get a Champion - a powerful hero or elemental being who had strong ties to the magical plane when they perished and can be summoned by the master of a Source.

>>28970192
I'm planning on throwing up a pastebin of materials when I run again tomorrow. Currently, I'm trying to sift through what the PC would and wouldn't know (as that was only determined today). I'll do an extended Q&A session after today and answer any biggies that don't get done during the session.

>Decision post coming shortly

>>28970192
We are probably a mageknight while a battlemage is probably more of a throw fire balls at people type of guy.

>3.

You tell Cormann to start preparing to take those walls and bid him farewell, heading to your tent. Outside is a man wearing traditional knightly maille - not the magical plate you would expect of the modern mage-knight. Probably a noble then and a member of a knightly order, and bloody good with sorcery if he doesn't need to rely on the enchantments of his armor to keep up with (and better) the mage-knights he's fighting alongside.

"You're Sir Lynn?"

"That's what they call me, General." His voice is oddly lilting and pompous - and quite obviously artificial, it sounds like it is coming from in front of him rather than from within the helmet. The fully enclosed helmet must have an enchantment on it to modify the voice of the wearer.

"Would you mind stepping inside and removing your helmet," you say as you step inside your tent.

He follows, removing his helmet with a clack and it is very apparent why Malaine called ‘Sir’ Lynn a she. She looks young, probably barely of majority, and has a fair smile. Looking more closely, her frame is very small once you take into account the armor. You try to ignore it.

“Captain Malaine said you did well out there. I’d like to reward you with the opportunity to be part of my personal guard. Right now it doesn’t mean much, but it’s something.”

Her smile doesn’t appear to change at all. “If that means I get to fight alongside you when you wade into battle against overwhelming numbers like you did earlier, it is a very big something.”

>1. “You enjoy battle?”
>2. “Why do they call you Sir Lynn?”
>3. “You don’t wear magical plate. Why?”
>4. Custom

>also, could you please quote the post you are voting for when voting

>>28970403
>1.

>>28970403
>>

>4. Custom
Have you created your plate yourself? It is not exactly standard issue.

>>28970403
>1. “You enjoy battle?”

Time to get a feel for some characters, and build our own.

>>28970247
Knight - generally refers to members of knightly orders (nobles). Can also be used to refer to powerful fighters who are less reliant on expensive magical equipment.

Mage-knight - rudimentary casters and soldiers who wear expensive but powerfully enchanted armor. Enchantments can include flying, strength increases, the ability to leap 100m in a single bound, wand-like spells built-in etc.

Battlemage - any mage who is talented at using sorcery in combat.

>>28970403
>>1. “You enjoy battle?”

>>28970471

>wants to build a character
>chooses first and shortest prewritten choice
>hurrdurr
>imma rolplayr

>>28970403
>>1. “You enjoy battle?”
>3. “You don’t wear magical plate. Why?”

>>28970604

Receive response, get a feel for that character.
Construct our own from the response given, build our own.

That conversation is prime fodder for delving into our character and his motivations beyond the Source. And his feelings towards battle.

Christ man calm down.

>>28970463
>1.

"You enjoy battle?"

"Hmm, that's one way to put it. I prefer to think of it as enjoying the thrill of a good fight. It's why I chose to fight with the mage-knights despite wearing regular armor. I'm a little disappointed that you chose to fight the enemy elites yourself and didn't really leave any for me."

Her smile is still unchanged. You half-expected a pout during that last sentence but nothing.

>>28970465
"Oh, this? It's dwarven-made actually. I grew up near Maern, near a dwarven trading post. The smith there used to joke that I was more like a dwarf than a human. He was the one who added that stupid voice enchantment, too."

>>28970628
"I don't need it though Cormann did offer me a set. I’m strong and fast enough without it, and using it would feel like cheating with all the enchantments. Besides, my armor is just as protective.”

>I might just let people ask any questions they like to speed this up and answer them in one go. I'll move on after the next set of questions.

>>28970669

>"Would you wager your own armor against mine own? Do you just see it as a shell to protect your from blows you missed? And not a way to emphasize and enhance your natural strengths in battle?"

>"I do not need vanity at my side in battle. I need a warrior."

See if we can't get that look off her face.

>>28970669
She's clearly very good though I take it we'd kick her ass enchantments or no enchantments? If so, we should probably say "I wonder if you'll still feel its cheating after you spar with me for the first time, I of course won't use any enchantments either." Then once we kick her ass we can inform her that as a member of our personal guard she gets to use inferior equipment when she can beat us with said equipment.

>>28970767
"Would you wager your own armor against mine own? Do you just see it as a shell to protect your from blows you missed? And not a way to emphasize and enhance your natural strengths in battle?

"I do not need vanity at my side in battle. I need a warrior. If you'll still feel its cheating after you spar with me for the first time then I'll let you keep wearing it. Of course, I won't use any enchantments either - I wear standard plate because I can afford to but can you?"

She blinks, surprised but takes you up on your sparring offer. Her smile still hasn't changed. You wonder if she's empty-headed or just has a good poker face.

[DC 14 Sparring]

Rolled 5

>>28970893

Rolled 10

>>28970893
Aw crap. Please don't be humiliated.

Rolled 3

>>28970893
I wanted some answers to the previous questions too...but I suppose a sparring match would be fine.

>>28970903
>>28970921
>>28970934

Best Emperor ever.

Rolled 17

>>28970943
It's a shame we don't have fate points.
Saving face right now is REALLY important.

>>28970903
>>28970921
>>28970934
Fuck sake guys. I leave for a few minutes to watch some yakuza 4 and you talk shit about our best subordinates armour and have us loose a fight.

>>28970893

>DC 14

That seems a little high, unless we are rusty using normal plate.

>Target not met.

You grunt as her sword clashes against your shield, your arm going numb. She then sweeps back around and nearly takes your sword-hand off, but you deflect it with experience. This girl... you wonder if she's a fan of yours. Her fighting style is so similar to yours it's uncanny. You're both using greatswords and shields, you're both wearing unenchanted armor and you're both fighting with nothing but raw strength and skill. She's stronger and faster than you - almost inhumanly so, but you can't sense any active sorcery and so have refrained from using any of your own. You've held on so far with skill and experience but too many more of her hammer blows and you'll have difficulty swinging a leaf, let alone a greatsword.

She comes in hard with a shield-bash. When you took this last time she nearly knocked you flat on your arse. You…

>1. Shield-to-shield. Take her own with all your belligerence.
>2. Barrier-break against her shield with your sword pommel. You won’t kill her, but it should shatter her momentum and leave her very open.
>3. Dodge her and try to make use of an opening.
>4. Custom

>>28971036
SHE IS OUR STRONGEST SUBORDINATE YOU DUMBASS!

Rolled 8

>>28971044
She's using our style and is more fit then us. Interesting. We know our own weaknesses best. If she's fast, dodging may not help, and stronger, the shield won't work...

Did we agree to no magic? If not, then 2 is the best choice. I don't want to be a little bitch.

>>28971044
>3
Dodge catch her off guard

>>28971044
>1. Shield-to-shield. Take her own with all your belligerence.

Get in her face style. She seems to draw strength from the stoic attitude, we should try to break her. Obviously we caught her a little off guard with the spar challenge. See how far we can take it. An Emperor should be as good with his words as his sword.

>>28971044
>>2. Barrier-break against her shield with your sword pommel. You won’t kill her, but it should shatter her momentum and leave her very open.
This will leave her super open.

>>28971104
>>28971044
Wait shit go for 2

>>28971114
She is stronger than us you numpty. That wont end in our favour.

>>28971044
1

>>28971154
Yeah, it seems like the woman's weakness is the lack of magic aptitude. Not that she needs it, but we're a MageKnight for a reason.

Let's show her why she should bow before her emperor
>2

>>28971154

I know she is. Using unconventional means to win a battle/spar is just fun.

>>28971204
Going shield to shield with someone stronger than you is only unconventional if you think being stupid is unconventional.

>2.

You agreed to no enchantments on your armor but not to no sorcery. She might be strong, but if she doesn’t have the magical ability to stop you from taking her down with magic, she needs that enchanted armor. You pull back your sword across your chest and when she closes hammer you your sword pommel into her shield, unless energy to counteract her momentum whilst positioning your feet to quickly take advantage of an opening. That’s the beauty of sorcery – magical power can substitute for strength.

[DC 12 Barrier-break Takedown]

>>28971245
>Get in her face style. She seems to draw strength from the stoic attitude, we should try to break her. Obviously we caught her a little off guard with the spar challenge. See how far we can take it. An Emperor should be as good with his words as his sword

That is the unconventional means. You need to calm down man, it's just a game, insulting people over choices and opinions is lame.

Rolled 1

>>28971262
Let's do it

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>>28971275
OR NOT

Fuck

Rolled 20

>>28971262
I DIDN'T COME THIS FAR TO NOT BE EMPEROR

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>>28971275

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>>28971297
Thank you for saving me anon.
Thank you ;~;

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>>28971297
I cant handle the emotions.

>>28971275
>>28971297
So uh.
What happens now?
S-Should someone roll again? I'm scared.

>>28971363
Someone has to do it. I would do it but I forgot how.

>>28971363
One more dice roll. If it's a 1, you still dramatic fail. If it's a 20 you get exceptional success. Anything else and it's a success.

Rolled 1

>>28971381
dice pls

Rolled 16

>>28971381
EMPEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOR

Rolled 10

>>28971396

>>28971396

I don't even know how to respond to this occurring.

>>28971396
YOU FUCKING FAGGOT, YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE ROLLED AT ALL
I BET YOU'RE THAT FAGGOT WHO ROLLED THE 1 FROM BEFORE, HOLY FUCK
STEP AWAY FROM THE DICE AND NEVER ROLL AGAIN

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>>28971396
Man I wish I didnt already post disappointed Ornstein.

>>28971396
I'm sad now.

This is what happens when you decide to cheat in a spar /tg/. Just had to loophole it and use Sorcery.

>>28971480
That is what we were doing. Using sorcery.

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>>28971396

Son......

Your pommel strikes her shield and you feel the magical energy fire into it. Then suddenly there is a strange surge from the shield and the energy blasts back into you. Her shield rams your arm into your chest and you feel like you got hit by a castle wall moving at high speed. So much for her not having magical ability – she just countered your spell and enhanced her own strength simultaneously. Or maybe her enhancement spell counteracted your spell by itself. You don’t know enough about sorcery to tell the difference. The time between getting struck and having your ass hit the ground seems awfully long, but eventually you crash back, groaning.

“Ah, I went at it a bit too hard. I’m sorry, sir.” Her voice is her normal girlish one, so she must have taken off her helmet again. You wonder how long it’s been.

“Grrmph,” you manage to utter as you get feeling back in your body and sit back up. She’s standing just in front of you, looking a bit sheepish. Her smile has changed at least a little bit – she looks like a child who’s been caught stealing candy and doesn’t know what the punishment will be.

>1. “How the hell did you do that?”
>2. “Don’t look so sorry. Overconfidence can get the better of any one, including myself.”
>3. Stand up and say nothing.
>4. Custom

>>28971480
We didn't cheat. It wasn't magic it just had the same name as our magic.

No, this is what happens when we decide to spar against our best subordinate FOR NO GODDAMN REASON!

>>28971530
never mind it looks like we did cheat.

>>28971529
>3. Stand up and say nothing.
Due to a certain Anon's rolling, this is disappointing.

>>28971529
"ha ha ha that was great" slap her on the back

>>28971529
>2
Humble is the way to take the throne. We can be an ass later. Also compliment her ability and admit that we saw what we wanted to: Her ability is exceptional, and not to be taken lightly.

>>28971529
>“Don’t look so sorry. Overconfidence can get the better of any one, including myself.”

Next time we dont talk shit about peoples armour ok?
Especially if its normal armour but they are good enough to fight with magical people.

>>28971529
>2
And>>28971568
Let's be good humored. We're not superman you know.

>>28971529
I wanted to test you out myself. Good Show Captain. I want you to hand pick a dozen infantry in the coming days to serve underneath you in the Crimson Guard.

>>28971529

>4. Custom

Combo 1 and 2 I'd say. If anything this can be turned into something good. She seems like a student of ours, but she uses something we don't, and won with it. We can add that to our own abilities if we learn. Plus humility in the face of defeat, even minor, is a good trait among leaders.

>>28971529
>1

C'mon guys, we should at least find out how she's so good. Guess we arent the baddest thing around yet, but we should loot her knowledge.

>1 mixed with 2

You stand up, trying to ignore your aching joints. That spar was a little more full-on than you expected.

“Don’t look so sorry,” you say to her. “Overconfidence can get the better of any one, including myself. I have a question though – how exactly did you do that?”

She looks a little confused at your humbleness as she answers. A bit more facial expression from her now. “Er, well, I just channelled all of my strength into my shield when I sensed you using sorcery.”

“Empowerment? That didn’t feel like normal empowerment to me.”

“I don’t really know how to explain it. Using magic is just natural to me. My old teacher said that I shouldn’t use it too often as if it’s too hard to explain how I’m doing people might assume negative things.”

>one more lot of questions/responses, guys. I’ll also answer the other two from way back earlier in this.

>>28971708

>"Nothing to be assumed here. We will speak of it at length in the coming days I'm sure. For now, my army has no reason to assume SIR Lynn defeated me in a spar, am I correct?"

Don't really need that getting out. We were good humored about the defeat but the rest of our army need not know.

>>28971708
"Interesting. I suppose I can understand not wanting to talk about it much-people are superstitious, most certainly, but you need not fear your superior officer." Assure her.
"Regardless, that was an excellent fight. I look forward to the next time we spar, and I win." jesting a bit, but she'd be a good training buddy.

Sounds like to me she's a sorcerer, as opposed to a wizard, if you wanna think of it technically.

Any other questions...uh...
>Your technique is familiar. Really familiar. Where did you learn it?
>I am happy to hear you accepted my offer, with this. You certainly deserve to stay by my side.
Um...I think that's all.

>>28971774
Hey man if we were stupid enough to start this fight then we will damn well suffer the consequences if we loose. And fuck pulling any underhanded shit.

>"Interesting. I suppose I can understand not wanting to talk about it much-people are superstitious, most certainly, but you need not fear your superior officer."

She looks a little reassured at that. Not as much as you thought she might be. Honestly, it seems strange. Maern is in the Royal Seraphi Kingdom so she should have no fear of superstition given how commonplace magic is. You wonder exactly what assumptions people might have made...

>"Regardless, that was an excellent fight. I look forward to the next time we spar, and I win."

That damned smile is back on her face again, though now it looks a tad mischievous. It's obvious she's looking forward to more fighting.

>"Your technique is familiar. Really familiar. Where did you learn it?"

"Oh, well I just picked it up. I was a little inspired by a knight who came through when I was little - he used the same equipment and yet he fought alongside the Seraphs. It still seems a little amazing."

>"Why do they call you Sir Lynn?"

Her smile definitely changed then. She's obviously annoyed. "Apparently Cormann mistook me for a man because I joined up outside Darlesia in my full armor. And I even introduced myself as Caitlyn. It's stuck since then, though I'm certain the knights are teasing me."

>"I am happy to hear you accepted my offer, with this. You certainly deserve to stay by my side."

She gives you a smile and a nod, making it clear she’s looking forward to fighting alongside you. You dismiss her. Now you…

>1. Go see Archmagister Gareth
>2. Go talk to Cormann
>3. Start making battle plans
>4. Custom

>>28972021
>1. Go see Archmagister Gareth

With this, >>28970153 intent.

Also. Bring her along, why the hell not.

>>28972021
>1

Also >>28972060
Nah she's got things to do I figure

>>28972080

Just figured she might be able to lend a word about barriers, since she seems to be able to use them to some degree. But yeah that makes sense too.

>1.

You head to the mage encampment to find Gareth and one of the adepts there directs you to the top of the outer wall. You trek up there, having to use some sorcery to leap up top as there’s no physical access otherwise. You find Gareth up there, in his black robe with his staff across his knees – he’s sitting in mid-air, rocking back and forth with his hand on his chin as though he were on a rocking chair. He spots you and gives you a short nod, still deep in thought. You step up next to him and wait for a moment wondering if he has something to say.

You are not disappointed. “One of the knights told me what happened when you tried to penetrate the inner wall. I am surprised. I didn’t think Vitria had any mages with enough knowledge of barriers to accomplish something like that. Perhaps one of my brethren defected… But that doesn’t concern you, does it.”

“Perhaps in the future. Right now I need to know how to get through that barrier. Malaine seemed certain you could get through.”

He sighs. “That man has all too much faith in me. I taught him when he was younger – he’s more talented than I, but times being what they are they whisked him off to be a mage-knight. With the handful of mages I have, perhaps we could breach it – it would be hard though and it would be closer to maintaining a tunnel through that hole. We’d be effectively incapacitated whilst doing so and wouldn’t be able to follow through.”

You click your tongue. If you couldn’t dispel it then there was no going through. The inner gatehouse almost certainly would have a weaker barrier but would also be trapped in case of a breach.

>Questions?

>>28972357
>If you couldn’t dispel it then there was no going through.

This is rather poorly worded. Intent is that if the mages can't get you throguh the tunnel (they fail their roll) then you can't go through that hole as you are now (unless you think of something else).

>>28972357
Ask him is there anything we can do to help: Barriers are a manner of expertise for us, and we have a lot of experience dealing with them. With our powers unite, surely we could shatter the barrier more effectively then that. If it is really so strong, though, then perhaps there's another way...

Ask him how wide the barrier is. How high and low it is. Maybe we can go around, or better yet, underground using saps (Roman style, but with magic)

>>28972357
>>28972398

>"An issue indeed. It is noted that the barrier is strong, but is it necessarily the work of a strong mage? Perhaps he cut corners elsewhere to make the illusion of an impregnable barrier. Would it be possible to find such things? We could create a diversion in another district while you look it over if it would help as well."

>>28972456
"Underground? Not a chance, I'm afraid. There's a magical barrier laid under the entire fortress that stretches about at least a hundred metres in all directions. The wall barriers go above fifty metres above the wall. Perhaps if we had a dedicated team of mages who specialise in this we could break through, but Darlesia built this castle with some of the best magisters of the time."

"As for working together - it is possible that may make creating the tunnel easier. I do not see dispelling the wall barrier as possible whilst the wall in still as intact as it is. Perhaps if you can find a spot where the wall has actually collapsed rather than merely holey - one of the smaller gatehouses in the other districts may have failed."

>>28972541
"I can vouch for the mages who built this fortress, general. I learnt under many of them. They were greater than I. One of them that are still around are now in Archmage Alyce of Lyss' inner circle, I hear. The only real weakness is that the wall itself is not as sturdy as it should have been. They built it cheap and fast with the intention of maintaining it with magic - then they abandoned it. Where it has collapsed, the barrier should be breakable."

>>28972637
>Any more questions? Or shall we move onto making battleplans?

>>28972637
I see we have a reason to conquer the rest of the city now. Very well, we'll check them out...we need some scouts to check for this though.

I think that's all the questions I got.

You call a war meeting. Cormann, Gareth and your two mage-knight captains are present. Caitlyn stands at the entrance, her helmet on – she appears to be taking the personal guard thing seriously.

“We’ve taken the outer courtyard and now need to penetrate the inner wall. Gareth tells me it’s pretty solid and getting through the hole I made is harder than we expect. The merchant area or residential area both have small gatehouses that aren’t as strongly built or enchanted – if they’ve collapsed or weakened we’ll have a better shot at getting through.”

Arail speaks up, “I’ve done a quick flyover sir. The merchant area doesn’t seem to provide as much cover as the residential area, so I’m reasonably certain there are no enemies hiding there. I can’t say the same for the residential ruins. No idea about booby-traps.”

Now it’s Cormann’s turn. “The merchant area hooks up to the noble areas away from the keep – less likely to be enemies watching that gate closely – they don’t have many men so they’ll be keeping an eye on the inner courtyard where the residential area leads. The noble area will almost certainly be trapped, though.”

>1. Go through the inner wall directly – straight from the courtyard through either the gate or the hole you made earlier.
>2. Go through the merchant area.
>3. Go through the residential area.
>4. Custom (e.g. split your forces)

>>28972910
>2
I say we'll take the merchant area. Seems less defended area, and take it cautiously. Since we're sieging we have the advantage of time. Look for a weakness in this damned wall.

>>28972910
>>2.

>>28972910
>Go through the merchant area.
>>28972968
Seconding this guy.

>>28972910

4

Give a little bit of a split force. Make a large contingent of the forces appear to be making a bid at the hole we made.

Take a smaller force to the merchant gate, perhaps allow Sir Lynn the chance to prove herself.

>>28973066
I think she might have proved herself when she handed us our ass.

>2.

“We’ll go through the merchant area. Although we didn’t find anyone there, we can’t be too certain. Let’s do this cautiously.’

A round of nods. You split your forces like:

>1. Cautious sweep. Infantry mage-knights cover the merchant area. Rest of army holds the courtyard. Should be able to complete a sweep by dawn, assuming no conflict.
>2. Strong sweep. Both units of mage-knights cover the merchant area.
>3. No sweep. Take your mage-knights to the gate, ignore the rest of the area.
>4. Full occupation. All forces into the merchant area.
>5. Custom

>>28973103
Oh, and all other sweeps than the first will complete about an hour out from dawn.

>>28973103
>1
Obviously, it's trapped. Moving our entire army through there is a terrible move.

>>28973103
>1

Going to say it's probably trapped. Should take the cautious route. Too bad it isn't a more important area to take. Or maybe it is. An overhead map layout would be helpful.

>>28973103
>Cautious sweep. Infantry mage-knights cover the merchant area. Rest of army holds the courtyard. Should be able to complete a sweep by dawn, assuming no conflict.
Careful army is the best army.

>>28973103

Are we working to a time frame here, or can we afford to take our time?

If we have no time limits, then Cautious Sweep of all areas we can get to.

If time is against us, then have the bulk of the army appear to be preparing a way to breech the courtyard while we spearhead a strike-force to assault the merchant gatehouse.

>>28973188
I can whip up something horrible in MS Paint. I've been avoiding maps because I'm bad at them, but I'll probably need to use them more as the game goes on. Might as well start now.

>>28973217
Use the shape tool.
It is your friend.

>>28973215
>time
Darlesia found out about the Source eight days ago. It took about six days to march to Harrowmont. Vitria is two days march from Harrowmont (which is why this place seems to be heavily reinforced). You've been here since about 6pm last night. It's currently about 12:30am. Dawn is around 4:30am. If there are reinforcements coming, they'll take at least two days.

>>28973217

Don't worry about it so much right now. We won't need it presently. Take your time with it and post it next session.

>>28973273

So, we've got about 30 hours before reinforcements... I assume that those reinforcements are theirs....

So, We can afford a Cautious sweep towards the merchant gatehouse. From there we break into the noble area, sweep though, open the way for our forces from behind the barrier, then we can begin the final assault on the Keep...

>1.

You send in your infantry mage-knights. Arail splits his men between scanning the courtyard and playing spotter for them. Captain Glynn asked for Caitlyn to assist – apparently she’s got a sixth-sense for trouble in their opinion. You were suspicious but had her assist him. It turned out to be a good call – there weren’t many traps – just some minor tripwires and the like, but when Lynn and a handful of knights got near the gatehouse, which is apparently in ruins, the damn thing apparently tried to electrify them. Lynn had apparently warned them to activate their defensive enchantments so they got off with little more than some discomfort. Malaine appeared to be right though, and there weren’t any foes in hiding.

You’ve come up to the gatehouse now, with Gareth and his mages in tow. The trap apparently wasn’t that loud so you don’t believe the enemy is alerted. A bit of a flyover and some sensory magic confirmed Cormann’s suspicion that they weren’t watching the noble area – though the barrier appears to still be active above the ruined gatehouse.

>1. Have Gareth and his mages investigate the ruined gatehouse.
>2. Investigate it yourself.
>3. Have Arail and his men fly over the wall, land, and check out the other side.
>4. Custom

>>28973445
There may be a slight delay before the next post as I'm getting some bookcases delivered.

>>28973445
>Have Gareth and his mages investigate the ruined gatehouse

>>28973445
Hm...our mage said he needed the ruined gatehouse to break the barrier, right? Let's check it out ourselves with of course our bodyguard in tow. If it looks clear, bring him in and see if the barrier can be broke here.

>>28973445

>1

might I also suggest that while his group are investigating the barriers, we send another group to clear the residential area and set up a defense encase the Keeps occupants decide to attempt to breach our siege line and scarper with the source. The last thing we need is our prize escaping during our siege...

>>28973445
>1 & 2

Going with Gareth to investigate sounds like a good idea.

>>28973552
>scarper with the source
The source isn't mobile, judging from the legends. It's a giant font of mana attached to the land.

How big of a force do you want to use to clear the residential area and how many do you want to leave elsewhere?

Your army:
50 Darlesian Flying Mage Knights (Vet.)
50 Darlesian Mage Knights (Vet.)
100 Darlesian Longbowmen (Vet.)
500 Darlesian Men-At-Arms (Vet.)
10 Darlesian Battlemages (Reg.)
Satisfactory support and logistics corps

>>28973445
>1

But really we should go with as well. If it is breakable, we managed to break up a strong sectioned, perhaps with the mages augmenting our own power we could plow through and allow our forces to swarm.

>>28973615
none. I'd rather we protect the courtyard

>>28973615

It looks like we'll have about 3 other stops before we get to where we need to be. I say leave a 1/8 of our forces behind, mostly ranged, as they have the best chance to hold the higher ground. Keep the bulk with us and leave 1/8s behind at important stops.

>Still waiting on those damned bookcases
>1.

You decide to let Gareth and his mages investigate the gatehouse, whilst keeping an eye on things yourself. Just from the magical energy on the wall, you’re pretty certain that Gareth was right and that the collapse of the gatehouse has weakened the barrier over this part of the wall. The mages wander around the wall, careful not to touch the barrier, and cast a variety of spells and talk amongst themselves for half an hour. In the meantime, you relay orders to the men-at-arms in the courtyard to start setting up defences. Your logistics corp has a few structural mages who erect some barriers and defences, so you should be good should the Vitrians launch an assault.

Finally, Gareth comes back to you. He seems confident. “Good news and bad news. The bad news is that it is not as weak as I’d hoped – the stone is still here, even if it’s in ruins, so it’s still anchoring the barrier. The good news is that we should be able to get through regardless. It’s really just a matter of whether it’s quiet or not. I guarantee I can get you through in, oh, about half an hour. Twice that if we try to be silent – but if that fails we can just blow through it anyway.

>two votes this time

>Vote One
>1. Have Gareth try the silent approach
>2. Have Gareth just blast through it
>3. Have Arail and his men fly over, land and have a look on the other side.
>4. Custom

>Vote Two
>1. Start having some men take the residential area
>2. Bring all but 200 of your men to the merchant area in anticipation of a breakthrough
>3. Use only your mage-knights to break through to the noble area on the other side of the wall
>4. Custom

>>28973783
Also, for future reference, the walls are about 30m high and 10m thick. Magic lets you build 'em big.

>>28973783
>4. Custom

Quick scout but don't send them the entire way over the wall, if we're lucky they are in plain sight. If not then we might as well blast the wall followed by a volley of magic and arrows anyway.

>1. Start having some men take the residential area

Occupation is key to keeping this place under hold and managing it if we have a sneak attack elsewhere.

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>>28973783
Also, a pretty crappy map to give a sense of perspective. The boxes are gatehouses.

>>28973783
>1
>3

I assume when we break through, the rest of the barrier goes down?
Flanking bonus

>>28973959
It'll only take down part of the barrier (about 50m each side of the gatehouse). Plus, over time the barrier will rebuild itself so long as it's active. It'll retake about 1m every hour.

>>28973916
YOu direct Arail and his men to fly up high enough to confirm if there's any men. Light is beginning to peek over the cliff face, but you think they should still be obscured. After a short flight they come back down.

"Can't see anybody there, sir. Looks like there's quite a few defensive structures over at the inner courtyard."

"If you could see them, could they see you?" you ask.

"Too hard to tell. Depends how actively they're searching."

>1. Silent approach to breaching the barrier
>2. Loud approach the breaching the barrier
>3. Custom

>>28974201
>1

>>28974201
>1. Silent approach to breaching the barrier

On the moment it opens, send in a volley of dispel spells to prevent further magic barriers and then arrows to kill anything that might pop up before we swarm that shit.

You direct Gareth to take the silent approach. No need to warn the enemy, especially if they’re all over at the inner courtyard. A bit of extra time will let you bring your men into position. Whilst they make their preparations – which unfortunately involves all of the mages, you bring over some longbowmen and men-at-arms to support the mage-knights. You figure the defensive structures should hold up well enough with the four hundred men still in the courtyard.

Towards the end of the hour, as sunlight begins to illuminate the area, Gareth comes over to you.

“Whether this succeeds or not, that barrier will go down. It’s just a matter of if it’s silent. I was going to try to do it silently first, then loud but it can’t work like that. We’re about to proceed. Probably best to ready your men, general.”

You nod and give the orders to the men as the mages finalise their ritual circle. There is a bit of glow and then…

[DC 18 Battlemage Dispel Attempt]

Rolled 13

>>28974609

Rolled 11

>>28974609

DICE, BE MY GUIDE.

Rolled 1

>>28974609

These are some pretty high DC's for stuff, QM. Think of DC 21 as a Failure condition, with each point below that being 5% chance to win.

Also, Bonuses to rolls?

Rolled 11

>>28974609

>>28974730
>These are some pretty high DC's for stuff, QM. Think of DC 21 as a Failure condition, with each point below that being 5% chance to win.

Actually, with best of three, it's a lot of easier than that. Probability of success on DC18 is about 36% (binomial probability is fun). Mind you, this one is high because you still succeed despite this. Even the dramatic failure you just rolled won't stop that. Still, if I might have a closer look at some of them.

Also, bonuses are done on QM side. These aren't ad-hoc DCs - I've got some mechanics to work it out.

>next post soon

The circle lights up, the mages stop chanting and you feel the sorcery snap over the barrier and the barrier gives.

And then all hell breaks loose.

Gareth said he’d break through no matter what – you just didn’t think he was being so dramatic. When you get your hearing back and the dust clears, they didn’t just destroy the barrier over the gatehouse, they destroyed the ruined gatehouse. There is clear pathway where there was once rubble. It doesn’t appear that the stone was flung anywhere – most likely the barrier collapsed in on itself and simply pulverised the stone. God, you hope that the stone-dust you just breathed in isn’t going to give you some form of poisoning. There is no way that the enemy doesn’t know that you’re charging in here. Might as well go in full force.

Your knights have the same idea, as they don’t hesitate at all and charge in through the gap. At least the gatehouse being completely cleared makes it easier for you to charge through rather than having to climb the rubble. Gareth and his mages move off to the side, clearly a bit shaken by the explosive impact of what was meant to be a silent spell. No time to look after him, you charge through with your knights, who are already forming up on the other side. You can only hope the explosive dispel also took out any traps over here, as the mass of enemies charging you won’t give you any time to stop them. Your longbowmen and men-at-arms are charging through to form up behind. Only a short time before impact.

You give the orders to…

>1. Have the flying knights try to delay any enemy mage-knights from engaging whilst your infantry engage the rest defensively and your longbows pick away at the stragglers.
>2. Counter-charge them! Attempt to seize the advantage over what is probably a desperate enemy.
>3. Be sneaky - have yourself and Lynn break their charge with your strength, whilst your flying knights attack from the rear and your infantry flank them.
>4. Custom

>>28974970
2
Crush them now before they can gather.

>>28974970
>2
Force is our advantage right now, having superior forces.

>>28974970
1. break in defensively. Lead from the front of the pack, and slaughter all who stand in out way. Have our longbowmen send arrows over the walls to delay troops from assembling on their side. Have our mage knights wing up over the wall and zap their ranged capabilities.

However, for all intents and purposes?
>"INTO THE BREACH, MEN! GIVE NO QUARTER!"

>>28975090
You're already on the other side of the breach. The enemy was massed a fair distance away outside the keep so you had time to move through.

>>28975090
nah, lets not murder everyone. If they surrender we don't have to lose people killing them.

>2.

“They are desperate, men! If we break them here, the inner courtyard will be ours. Charge!” you bellow.

You hear Arail barking out orders to his men to switch from binding spells to explosive spells and Glynn and Caitlyn are charging forward with the mage-knights. The silent charge of the knights is an odd contrast to the loud bellows the men-at-arms are letting out as they charge forward. The regular troops move at a much slower pace than the magically enhanced heavies, but from the sound of them you’d think they were at the front of the battlefield. Your longbowmen can maybe squeeze out a volley before your men engage, so they won’t be of too much use this battle.

Fortunately, you were right that the enemy was desperate – they haven’t even taken the time to form up into proper ranks. The knights and regular soldiers are interspersed with each other and the suddenness of your counter charge appears to have caught them off-guard. Even so, they desperately attempt to form a defensive formation, as ridiculous as it looks to see grim-looking plated soldiers next to men in simple brigandine trying to form a cohesive line. The downside of your counter-charge is that it still leaves them close to the keep and you’re rather certain that no small number of them are probably barricading themselves in there. They only need to hold out for reinforcements, though you have no doubt you’ll have the keep long before then.

>continued

>>28975361
You and your men clash with a sudden roar of fury, the silent mage-knights letting out magically enhanced yells at the last second. Their line breaks momentarily with many of the regular Vitrians attempting to fall back, only to find themselves with grim-faced mage-knights keeping them in place. What might have been a full retreat turns into a vicious brawl and you find yourself in battle against what you believe to be the enemy mage-knight captain. His armour glows with runes – this is the real deal. This set of armour could buy you a decent home in a major city – the sort of thing rich merchants aim to buy their entire lives.

“I will have your head, General Talon!”

His halberd snaps against your shield – an easy blow to block, and you quickly enter a vicious fight. The other soldiers steer clear – whether they are afraid of the two of you, are spectating or your men are keeping the others clear you don’t know. You have a strong foe here. You cannot lose.

[DC 12 Extended Combat Check]

Rolled 12

>>28975382

Take his head from his shoulders!

>>28975450
well done soldier, well done.

Rolled 14

>>28975382
We got this

Rolled 4

>>28975382

So random question but are we a Mage knight? Cause if not that would be cool. Also where do you see this going OP? Did you foresee us being like the Emprah from 40k or more akin to the dark lord from Overlord?

>>28975678
I would love to become god emperor.

>>28975678
>are we a Mage knight
Not really. Mage-knights are, in D&D terms, like fighters with lots of fancy magic item built into their armor. Wands in the gauntlets, flying enchantments, move silently etc. They might know a bit of magic themselves, but not too much.

You on the other hand are more similar to a mythic warrior with some reality-fuckery powers. Barrier-breaking, empowering self etc.

>where do you see this going
That will be interesting. You can go either way. Once you take Harrowmont (early next thread, I'm hoping) your options open up a lot and you can start setting the scene for what you want your empire to be like.

For all the expense, love and care that went into that set of armor it’s still no match for the prowess of a real knight. With that said, it’s definitely holding up better than the flimsy junk the other mage-knights are wearing. With magic powering through your arms, exploit another opening and make a hard thrust at your opponent’s chest-plate. One of his runes fires off as a barrier, trying to blunt your blow, but it dims as quickly as it enflamed. Your blow strikes with enough force to put your opponent on the back step and you follow up with a sharp blow with the top of your shield. He blocks with his arm, but loses another defensive rune as a result. It’s all over bar the shouting now, and you ready yourself for what you see as the final exchange of blows.

And then some jackass hits you in the shoulder with a magic blast and you stop to quickly deflect the charging mage-knight, before hurling him at your real foe. He hasn’t been idle though, and charges at you, the last two runes on his armor flaring brightly as he dodges his comrade’s body. He’s making a rather desperate charge with his halberd. You…

>1. Block his attack with your shield. If this works, he’ll be as good as dead.
>2. Attempt to dodge and counter. He’s been nimble enough so far to recover, but without any runes left he should fall easily.
>3. Bullrush him in return, in hopes of taking him down and avoiding his halberd charge at the same time.
>4. Custom

>>28975817
>I'll be finishing up the thread after this combat and doing a Q&A session for however long people stick around after.

>Next thread tomorrow at 5pm server time (or this one if it's still around for whatever reason)

>>28975817
>2. Attempt to dodge and counter. He’s been nimble enough so far to recover, but without any runes left he should fall easily.

>>28975817
>3. Bullrush him in return, in hopes of taking him down and avoiding his halberd charge at the same time.

>>28975817
>2
We broke his defensive runes, so now his ass is grass

Rolled 11

>>28975817
2.

Halberds are clumsy as fuck, especially on charges.

>2.

Charging with a halberd probably wasn’t the wisest of ideas. You’re pretty sure you can take him, but there’s no need to take risks. You already did that today and got your arse handed to you by somebody you could probably take normally. You dodge.

[DC 10 Dodge]

Rolled 12

>>28976024

Dodge, and stab that fucker in the neck.

Rolled 6

>>28976024

Rolled 13

>>28976024

Rolled 46

>>28976024
Take that fucker to the grave and put his head on a pike for all to see!

>Target met

You dodge, but he’s not as clumsy as you thought he would be on that charge and you don’t think you’ll have time for a proper swing. One of those runes must have been burnt to give him an escape route if he failed. Even so, you manage to manage to hammer your pommel into his side and he grunts as he loses his footing and goes down. You move for the coup de grace…

“Fall back. Into the keep, men! Fall-“

You slam your sword through his visor but it’s too late – his magically enhanced voice reaches the whole courtyard and everybody starts charging towards the keep. Including your men. The courtyard, and all of Harrowmont bar the keep, are yours but that is of little consequence. You need the Source that lay under your very feet right now. Do you…

>1. Join your men in rushing the keep. They’ll either have to bar the doors early or let you in. It will almost certainly result in a frenetic melee either way.
>2. Pull your men back and plan a siege of the keep.
>3. Use some sorcery to leap at the doors of the keep. You’ll be between a rock and a hard place, but if you’re successful you can guarantee entrance to the keep.

This is the last post of the day. Whatever you choose will be where I pick up tomorrow. Next thread will be at 5pm server time (EST IIRC). I’ll still be in the thread for a couple of hours to do some Q&A and will post some basic setting info in a little bit after I do some shopping.

>>28976245
Oh, and write-in is still an option. You've got quite a few possibilities of what you could do now, really, beyond my suggestions.

>>28976245
>3
We're a hero unit, lets fucking act like it, right?
At least that's the impression I got.

Also
>QM stuff
Work on that pastebin and lorebin. Also maybe a twitter to keep people updated for changes. Delays happen.

Rolled 17

>>28976245
>Join your men in rushing the keep. They’ll either have to bar the doors early or let you in. It will almost certainly result in a frenetic melee either way.

Join the frey, fight amongst your men and spill blod for the blood go-- oops... wrong setting

TO THE SOURCE!!!

>>28976260
could we bring some friends to that rock and hard place?

Rolled 17

>>28976024

Dodge and counterattack.

>>28976245
3 sounds rad as fuck.

>>28976361
You could try. You could maybe grab Lynn if you spot her or get Arail to fly over.

>>28976309
>Work on that pastebin and lorebin. Also maybe a twitter to keep people updated for changes.
Got it.

>>28976820
Twitter is below for anyone still watching the thread:
https://twitter.com/AspirationalQM

Lorebin is also below, but is currently being populated:
http://pastebin.com/x8F1UeZu

>>28977429

Cool.

Great first outing, btw. I love that you're coming to the table prepared and with some hard figures here.

>>28977429
Looks good to me. Make sure to post the thread to your twitter when you actually start.

I take it we have to wait till next thread to see the result of the vote huh?

>>28977589
Thanks. I've been working on this idea for a little while. This thread worked out a bit better than I expected it to.

>>28977604
Ayep. We'll be jumping right into the thick of things. I'm hoping we can conquer the keep early session and move onto conquering the immediate region.

>>28977939
Here's hoping for phat lootz then. And maybe character level ups (if that's a thing)?
Also maybe get closer with Lynn. She's kinda our main bro now.

>>28978015
>main bro
You haven't met your main bro yet. The big thing next session, assuming we conquer the keep, is that you get to choose who your Champion is (six options) and meet them. I'm hoping any of the six will be good fun for the players.

>>28978045
Oh, really? then I guess Lynn'll just be a bodyguard then?

>>28978067
Lynn's the only PC-level character you've met so far, so I wouldn't say that. Most people in the world, including Arail and Gareth, simply can't go head to head with larger-than-life heroes like you.

Ultimately, Lynn's level of involvement in the story is up to you guys and the story might change a lot as a result of that. She has her secrets - I won't say more than that.

>>28978137
I like her.
She should totally be our Empress.
Sorta kidding. Do like her though, want to learn more about her.

File: 1387524215277.png-(549 KB, 603x553, 1382195742011.png)

549 KB PNG

>>28978177
She's the first female we've met broseph, we should find other, superior options. She (from what I've read so far) does not have enough presence to be EMPRESS of our glorious Empire.

>pic related

>>28976245

I'd say go for 3. If we can stop them from closing the doors, then we can hold them open for our forces... not to mention that we can use charging foes and force them into their allies moving from the other direction...

saging for dying thread

Rolled 10

>>28976245
>>3. Use some sorcery to leap at the doors of the keep. You’ll be between a rock and a hard place, but if you’re successful you can guarantee entrance to the keep.
good thread op.

>>28981911
>>28981913
I guess i wasn't the only one late to the party.