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>>38222253
Current Date and Time: Early evening on February 13th, 1955PC
FR Points: 1

“An army of demons is converging on Harrowmont,” Karise says, the reason for her grimness made clear.

“We need to be making plans now, then,” Gnome says. “They’ll be here in two days at the most. They can only be after one thing.”

The Source. It seems you’ve been noticed and somebody who thinks they’re bigger and tougher than you wants to take your prize. The entire war room is still as everybody digests the news. Your brain is working faster than most, or is simply more panicked than most, and you react first.

“How many are their numbers? Who or what is leading them? Do we even have a chance against an army of demons?” you say, firing off questions rapid-fire.

Your voice seems to have triggered a deluge of chatter and panicked conversation. Captain Somme of the garrison is hurriedly questioning Illon, and the scout is giving unclear answers in return, clearly worried about the general lack of intel. Lynn, Mal and the foxes are speaking on top of each other, and their annoyed glances at each other make it clear that they’re not about to give way to one another. The room is rapidly descending into panic and chaos, with only the four elementals and Karise remaining silent and orderly, though they look around the room with frowns on their faces.

“Enough!” you bellow, and a hush falls over the room. “One at a time, and in the order of my questions. Karise? Gnome? Illon?”

Karise glances at Illon, who shakes his head. His face is ashen, something you’d missed earlier and mentally punish yourself over. This was something a little more unreal than the usual fare for your soldiers.

>continued

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>>38222266
“There’s perhaps twenty thousand of them, though I don’t have the details on what might make up the force. If they’re anything like the ogres back home, in Pharos I mean, then there will be a great deal of variation,” Karise says, the shuffling of her tails belying a nervousness you don’t usually see when she’s in a battle-ready mood.

“That’s the largest infernal force to walk on Gauron almost since the Great War,” Gnome says. “Are you sure of your numbers? It’s seems a big jump for the demons to go from nothing to the legion of a large demon prince so quickly.”

Karise confirms the numbers but you’re more interested in Gnome’s statement. You say, “I haven’t heard of infernal armies since Kushan’s time. What do you mean, Gnome?”

The room stares at Gnome as one, except Sylph. It seems you’re not alone in your surprise.

She shrugs, not looking too surprised herself at the reaction she garnered. “Mages tended not to be doing the fighting, so they tended to lump demonic invasions under the general threat of spirit beasts. The Mage Guard also like to sweep particularly large invasions under the rug, as knowing that demons can enter the world from virtually anywhere at anytime tends to unsettle people.”

“I’m more unsettled by the fact that knowledge was hidden away,” you say. “So, can we beat them? Or should we be calling on every scrap of help we can get?”

“If we can win, then we should do it ourselves,” Taira says, speaking up suddenly. “Really, you want to show you’re the greatest, Talon. So prove it to the world.”

“Indeed, we’ll establish The York Empire as the greatest force on the continent in one fell swoop,” says Phillias, clenching his fist in front of his face with a look of excited determination. “Destroy these foul demons and plant their prince’s skull atop our banner.”

>continued

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>>38222294
“That’s all well and good to say, but whether we can win depends on their force,” Sylph says. “The cost of victory may be so great as to make it foolish to try. Better we reach out to friends and use this to build alliances.”

You nod a few times as you hear the words around you, not bothering to silence the argument that ensues. At least now it’s an argument over something useful, rather than just panicked debate. Still, if you ask for help it’s not going to come soon. Both Sylvian and Raphael are busy with the shadowbeast assault on the Barrier, and Alyce had been summoning resources for that rather than helping you. It would be weeks before help could arrive that wasn’t your own army, though you might need it anyway. Alyce would obviously help, but you don’t know what the Guard or RSK would spare. The possibility of cementing an alliance against such threats could be useful, though missing the opportunity to make a name for your empire with a great victory would hurt. You…

>1. Don’t contact anybody for help, apart from trying to let Sylvian and Raphael know what’s happening.
>2. Ask Alyce and the League for aide. You’re allies and you have no doubt they’ll be worried about a demonic invasion.
>3. Spread your net wider, asking King Fenix for help. Every little bit will count, both militarily and diplomatically.
>4. Custom

The Harrowmont PDF attached will be very useful for the coming siege.

>>38222316
Im a bit torn on this but I think I'll go with
>1. Don’t contact anybody for help, apart from trying to let Sylvian and Raphael know what’s happening.

>>38222316
>>1. Don’t contact anybody for help, apart from trying to let Sylvian and Raphael know what’s happening.

I agree with Phillias.

>>38222316
>1

We easily have the largest force of active foxes outside of the Guard right now, and the demons fear them. Combined with the might of Vitria and Ren's city literally being a day away there isn't a doubt in my mind that we can repel them on our own.

I believe it our walls.

>>38222316
>>3. Spread your net wider, asking King Fenix for help. Every little bit will count, both militarily and diplomatically.

Lets see if we can build up ties here. If Alyce asks we can claim we know she was busy so it would be best to allow Fenix to lose men helping.

>>38222316
>1. Don’t contact anybody for help, apart from trying to let Sylvian and Raphael know what’s happening.

>>38222316
I'd vote but honestly I don't feel confident haven't been able to thoroughly go through the PDF and our forces

>>38222316
>1. Don’t contact anybody for help, apart from trying to let Sylvian and Raphael know what’s happening.

>>38222316
>2

>>38222316
Cant we ask our hell dragon friend? Though i do not know what she would ask for in return.

>>38222611
Busy murdering shadow beasts.

>>38222611
She is at the Barrier dealing with a larger threat.

>>38222611
>Both Sylvian and Raphael are busy with the shadowbeast assault on the Barrier

I doubt she can spare much. And if we ask the Guard in general we'll start tumbling down that dangerous path of pissing off Syl again.

>>38222671
>>38222677
>>38222678
Ah, my reading comprehension, derp. Thank you.

Fair point on the pissing off part.

I suppose we should get the word out about there being an invasion to friendly neighbors so they can mop up any renegades that split off once we kill them.

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Here have a terrible looking picture of Harrowmont's dimensions. Not included is the Imperial Academy, but the sheer size of certain areas holds some weight in decisions we'll likely make.

The secondary monk monistary can be ported in by tiara before the demons get here, and the main monistary is close to the canal and can probably be there in a week. Plus, pretty sure fighting demons is one of the reasons they exist.

>>38222824
Easiest part of the Crown Wall to hold will be the north. The Infernals will be wary of fighting fluffy tails and that's where many of them have their homes.

>>38222824
>outer wall is a little over 2 miles

Jesus christ. There is no way we're going to be able to effectively defend that.

>>38222938
I dont think that wall was designed to hold against large armies. The crown wall and terraces are much more defensible.

>>38222938
Against a normal foe the outer wall would be feesable as they would have to concentrate their attack.
In this instant, we are probably better off retracting to the crown wall and filling the internal space with as many nasty surprises as possible. Maybe get U to back up water in the mountainside ready to flood the lowest level when the first wave has just crossed. Even if it does not kill many, cutting the front line off from reinforcements for a few moments will hell cut them down.

>>38222907

Think you have that switched around, the foxes snapped up the Bastions outside of the Residential District, on the right, which is south. That's a still a large stretch of land to defend.

That said the north has the advantage of being on a much higher slope and thus it'll take longer to get there.

Unrelated, but I'm a fan of the image of the Crown Wall sweeping up the hill. It just makes a cool mental imagine.

>>38223042
These aren't regular humans though, they're demons. That might not even kill any. We need some top tier shit, like water elementals coming in and fucking them up while the place is flooded.

>>38223089
>Think you have that switched around
Yes, sorry. had them mixed up

>>38223042

So essentially we pull our old trick from the Second Siege? Allow a portion of their army through, then cut them in half. Only on a much larger scale.

We might have to sacrifice the bascule bridges for this, but a small price to pay.

>>38223097
Average demons aren't very powerful actually

>>38223097
Oh sure, but when faced with superior foes, anything to slow down the incoming numbers will be to our benefit.

>>38223133
Essentially, but it will probably be less effective. We can not guarantee that our knights can stand up to equal numbers in this case since we do not know the demons capability's. And they are confident to attack us in such small numbers.

>>38223175
Well even still, we're going to be peppering the ever living shit out of them with magic, AAs, Foxes, and the super anti siege device on the Crown Wall. We're going to be breaking them down a lot before our melee even touches them.

>>38223175
They are also immortal beings from another demension. Their intelligence might be out of date. How much can humans change in a year or two right?

>>38223143
Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they're still a fair step above humans.

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>>38222938
It's still a fraction of the size of Rome's walls, though. I brought up the defense problems in the initial design but the sheer size and strength of the walls means you basically need siege equipment to scale them. A 30m siege ladder is pretty unreliable.

>>38223175
>And they are confident to attack us in such small numbers.
20,000 isn't exactly small, especially for demons who are pretty strong (somewhere between HMKs and MMKs for the weakest demons). Most of your military is scattered across your empire, so you only have a small force here.

>>38223222
>>38223249

They probably have some scrying, and we have not kept up defenses against that. They will likely know about our archers.

As such, flooding the canal will be a good bet. Maybe rig the terraces as well? Frankly the more shit we lay down to slow them, the longer we get to throw more firepower on their heads.

We might have to ask ren to retire into the fortress with us or send the fox's into the mountain clans village for safety. (or both). I doubt they will sweep by the village and leave it untouched with such numbers.

>>38223284
20k is big yes, but i bet allot of that is cannon fodder. Which means there is a small core (compared to the army) of true threats to our standard military.

>>38223284
True. We can recall the forces in Darlesia and Vitra stupid quick though. 2 days plus mustering for Darlesia (as per the initial canal thread) and Vitra might actually beat the demons to the fortress. We can also teleport in the monks or 500 men from Taour's garison.

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>1.

“I’m with Phill on this one,” you say, the room falling silent at your voice. “This is a chance to prove our might. Between the military and Ren’s foxes nearby we should be more than a match for the demons, particularly with the sheer size of this fortress.”

Karise and Tsucchi look at each other as the others nod, some excitedly and some grimly. It’s hard to miss the odd looks on the faces of those foxes, however.

“Did I misspeak?” you ask them.

“Not as such,” Tsucchi says slowly. “I’m just not sure Ren will be as willing as you hope he will be to help. The demons are as much a threat to his foxes as they are to Harrowmont, particularly as the canal connects to this fortress.”

Vad nods. “You’d be leaving your flanks unprotected in any case. I think that’s the biggest problem we’ll have.”

Phillias agrees as he and Gnome approach the map table in the centre. “If they’re demons, they may have capabilities we haven’t planned for. I’m not sure we can rely on the natural defences we have.”

“Demons don’t eat or sleep so that is a risk. I doubt they’ll risk trying to climb the bluffs, however,” Gnome says. “The main issue is that regular demons are powerful, Talon. Recent technological advances gives you an edge, but I’d still say they’re stronger than a mage-knight. They also don’t have internal organs, feel little pain and their natural armour is very strong. They can move extremely fast, too.”

The room falls silent at Gnome’s grim assessment of the sheer power of demons. You decide to focus away from that and instead on your military.

>Pic attached is the force at Harrowmont, including forces that can arrive within a day but excluding Ren’s and Vitria’s garrisons.

>continued

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>>38223495
“The elite forces we have are our greatest strength against them. I’d say that our DracoGriffs are a match even for the Knights of Basette now,” Sylph says, her hand hovering over one of the glowing images of your knights.

“I’m sorry, our what?” you ask, and Gnome gives Sylph a strange look.

“That’s what we call Phrace and Rayza’s knights, sir,” Illon explains, smiling a little. “Phrace is a Griffin Master and Rayza is a dragon. Hence, DracoGriff.”

“I’m not even going to comment on that,” you say. “So our elite knights are going to be vital in melee but our archers less useful. That’s the opposite of what I like in a siege.”

>Discussion.

If you have any ideas for bringing additional troops in, I’ll hear them. Vitria’s knights are already included, as are military that aren’t just cannon fodder (MAA and Archers). Without special plans, this is what you'll have for the opening days of the siege, which is what matters given how quickly sieges move in this setting.

>>38223522
Hmm, does holy magic exist in this setting? e.g. Friars, priests, random holy hobos etc. Anyone who can bless worth a damn, might be an idea to grab em while we can if its a viable option.

>>38223522

Darlesia is the only other choice for bringing in troops I imagine. Everything else is too far from the canal to muster. And Farun is still too banged up to muster, ship their forces to Vitria and then head up the canal.

Outside of that, we could teleport some people in, like the other anons suggested.

>>38223587
Closest thing there is are monks. Dont know if they would help us again so quickly after Shropham.

Maybe we could get Baelrus? He isnt necessarily tied to the monks and could be an asset.

What about vampires?

>>38223628
well the idea was to be a bastard and bless holy symbol rubber stamped rocks, put them on the terraces before the crown wall but higher than the flood line. Demons come, they might be slowed by the stones, if not hurt by touching them. Use the extra time to add more fire down on the mooks.

>>38223522
Tiara can teleport in 500 people in from any force in a four hex radius. What's the most valuable reinforcement?

>>38223673

Yo for real. Let's fucking outfit the fuckers that want to fight, and let them begin redeeming the name. Their speed and strength in the HMK suits would really help against the demons natural defenses.

>>38223673
Would be doable, and its an excellent way to recruit some into the army and as
>>38223723
redeem some of them.

Perhaps we should contact the League after all. We are outnumbered and outgunned and could really use a few more soldiers especially if we could get Alyce herself to come or some Combat Magisters.

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>>38223616
>Outside of that, we could teleport some people in, like the other anons suggested.
Yes, but teleport what in. You could only bring in 500 soldiers with the time you have and only across four province tiles.

>>38223587
>>38223703
No, not really. The closest analogues wouldn't be able to do what you're thinking of.

>>38223628
You don't know where Bael is and you wouldn't be able to teleport him to help you unless he's nearby.

>>38223673
What about them? You've probably only got a couple thousand young-ish nightwalkers if you've been letting them reproduce.

>>38223522
Do we have any Bombs? Like any at all?

Even one would do

>>38223753
~13k vs 20k is entirely doable in Harrowmont. The thing is a super fortress, they'll be fighting up the moment they step beyond the outer wall.

>>38223773
We can probably get Gnome and Sala to work together.

E.g. Super heated mud pockets that go up like a geyser when stepped on.

>>38223760
let us fetch 500 of our elves

>>38223760
Outfit them and let them fight.

>>38223800
Classical convention is that 3x as many men is required to take a fortified position. So the demons must have something up their sleeves, or be desperate.

>>38223805
Ask for volunteers. Press ganging the elves will probably go badly for us in the long run.

>>38223760
Could we gather more Noble Knights from nearby cities? Their usefulness was highlighted a lot.

>>38223805
This is a decent idea.

"Hey your new home is under attack."

>>38223805
>>38223889
Terrnaine is to far away to gather forces from.

>>38223760

I'd suggest a far mix of Noble Knights and Mages from Taour. If we have them available.

Also, let the vampires fight. We might as well finally let them join the military if we want to continue this mixing pot idea. Letting them fight for their homes alongside other residents? Come on, the positive press we could pull from that.

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>>38223858
>So the demons must have something up their sleeves, or be desperate.
Or be demons. Why do you think the Last Retreat is built the way it is, given it was constructed while the continent was ruled by Infernals.

>>38223805
Too far away. They're in Orkney.

>>38223820
I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.

>>38223873
You'd only get one city, which means you'd get 125 at the most plus the mages of the city.

>>38223760
Presumably either a bunch of monks or top heavies from taour

>>38223938
>I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.

I'll fucking take it.

>>38223858
>So the demons must have something up their sleeves, or be desperate.
I suspect they have some way to get past the first wall. maybe some one shoot magical attack or the like to break into the Lower Harrowmont. City fighting with an army consisting of 20k MMK and HMK does seems be in their favor

>>38223938
I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.
Taken, that should help a bit when the fighting begins in the streets.

>>38223938
>I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.

Felix get your ass ready to lead again.

Oh speaking of, which Generals do we have currently?

>>38223522
>“That’s what we call Phrace and Rayza’s knights, sir,” Illon explains, smiling a little. “Phrace is a Griffin Master and Rayza is a dragon. Hence, DracoGriff.”

Well I laughed at least.

>>38223920
I could imagine some sort of news broadcast trying to cover this
>Harrowmont under Siege!
>Soul Devouring Demons fight Soulless Abominations

>>38223938
>I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.
This

>>38223938
>I'm willing to allow 500 NHMK from Taour using teleportation.

>inb4 full moon

>>38223802
>>38223938

I was hoping we could infuse Astral into any explosives we can create

>>38223986
>maybe some one shoot magical attack or the like to break into the Lower Harrowmont.

Calling it now. They have a Balor that'll cleave right through the outer wall. Siege devices are for mortals.

>>38224159
Think we could stick some arcane archer enchantments on the siege engines?

They don't have vital organs, but i bet a Balista head that blows into shrapnel inside its target would still do wonders even if it misses.

>>38223938
Does Taira's spiritual fire effect the racial sorcery of the infernals?

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>>38224002
>Oh speaking of, which Generals do we have currently?
You, Phillias and Lynn.

>Adding 500 Green NHMK to the defensive army. Strategy discussion now.

“We shouldn’t surrender the initiative by retreating behind the walls. This isn’t going to be a regular siege,” Phillias is arguing, while others shake their heads. “If we rally the engineers and soldiers, we can erect an array of earthworks and fortifications outside the outer wall and defend it. Precision raids and strong assaults with our best men against their lines – keep them on their toes and take out their best men.”

“Or get slaughtered ourselves,” Gnome argues. “I’m all for erecting earthworks outside the outer wall to slow whatever siege devices they bring but engaging them outside the walls with anything less than an entire formation of heavy knights is foolhardy.”

“We have a formation of knights, though,” Lynn says, staking a position between both. “We can assemble almost seven thousand knights, four thousand if you exclude the old suits of mage-knight plate. Between our tactics, earthworks and ranged advantage from the walls, couldn’t we make the first move and hurt them before the real siege begins?”

The three continue arguing over whether to pull back to the outer wall, or possibly further. You push the debate further, instigating a violent discussion.

“I honestly wonder if we should surrender the outer wall entirely,” you say, eliciting a number of surprised looks. “Use the wall to unleash as much ranged firepower on them as they approach, before pulling back into the city proper. Then we use our ranged superiority on the Crown Wall, the terraces and the bottlenecks to force them into a cityfight. Or perhaps just retreat to the Crown Wall and bombard them.”

>cont

We should probably send out more scouts as well, we need information on the enemy. If they are heading straight for us and dissing Ren then we can pull the Foxes from there safely. Would also be nice to get a better general overview of them. Perhaps send out the FMKs to scout and harass them?

>>38224041
I'm sort of confused why they aren't already in the order of the griffin. I mean, wasn't the point of the order to be the absolute best of the best?

>>38222253
Yo, I just wanted to drop in and say that while I am incredibly behind, I still have the intention of eventually catching up and participating.
Hope y'all have fun till then.
I think where I was, MC just took some castle and fucked the half-dragon after doing some magic on the battlefield so his soldiers won't die.
Happy questing, ta ta!

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>>38224346
“Our ranged superiority won’t count for as much if we pull back so fast, particularly as most of our power is in the foxes and mages,” Undine says. “If we pull back to the canal I can prepare some nasty surprises for their shock troops as they try to break us, however.”

“Or other traps,” Sala says. “Demons aren’t as immune to fire as legends would have you believe, though, uh, some are.” The fire elemental laughs a bit. “If we fight them in the plains then we can lay all sorts of nasty traps.”

“I can also do a great deal of damage to them, though I imagine they won’t appreciate my intervention,” Taira says, sounding more serious than usual despite her lazy smile. “Would they have anything that could threaten me, Gnome?”

“They’ll have all sorts of tricks to try to stop you, I imagine. Or otherwise this will be over before it starts,” Gnome says. “I can’t say I’m a fan of surrendering the outer wall and letting the demons lay waste to so much of the city.”

>Discussion on how to defend the city

This is probably going to be lengthy, as I want you guys to work with me to develop a comprehensive defensive strategy. It can be modified on the fly as the demons make their own moves, but obviously the initial positioning of your troops and the time you spend setting up traps and defences isn’t retrospective.

>>38224357
Many are in the Order, but like how Moss is still a commander they're not counted as part of the Noble Knights (because they serve elsewhere in the military). It's sort of like the difference between honourary positions and people that serve the Order full-time.

>>38224389
You've got like 50 threads to read, as you're only on like thread 12 or 13. Have fun!

>>38224425
>You've got like 50 threads to read
Y-yeah, that's kind of why I've been putting it off, to be honest...

I'm all for creating an elaborate mess of maze like trenches, traps out the ever living ass, and bombarding them constantly.

What I'm not sure on is burning fresh heavy troops on what is essentially going to be an early sortie, with significantly less ability to retreat then they would on the inside. We could lose some seriously valuable assets doing that.

>>38224425
The problem comes with holding the outer wall essentially. When you get down to it, the enchantments are few, our forces will be spread and the foe with have the luxury of choosing were to attack. Should they break through and surround the wall forces before they can retreat the entire affair will turn into a bloody massacre.

Skirmish them in the fields outside of the fortress, light and fast, pull back to the wall and hold for a short time until they start bringing in proper siege, pull back in a fighting retreat when they start to batter down the walls, using the terraces choke points and our knights to bottle neck their forces as we back up the terraces and bombard from the crown wall.
It should also give Undine enough time to throw some nasty shit their way via the canal.

Its during this we have to skirt between our uses of elites to balance any problems. Because if we tire out here, we will not be ready for the big push on the crown wall.

Once we get pushed back we can enter the crown wall and wait for the inevitable big attack. It will probably come at one of the gate houses spear headed by the elite units while probing attacks go on elsewhere.

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Here's a full map of Harrowmont. Detailed information is in the PDF at >>38222316 and dimensions are at >>38222824

>>38224481
The quest isn't going to get shorter any time soon.

I like the idea of harassment outside the city but no hard attacks or engagements. Frustration and disruption tactics. Once they hit the outer walls begin a fighting retreat to the terraces and the Wall district. Use the Wall district to engage with our HMK's and rain death from above with or Fluffly Bombadiers and mages.

>>38224425
I am entirely against leading a force outside of the walls with all the advantages being against us. However we should fuck up the ground infront of Harrowmont as much as possible except for the area that we have in range from our soldiers. So they wont use holes and dirt hills as cover that is.

Once they are at the walls and the siege starts properly we just bombard them and try to hold until just before they are over the walls. Then we can fall back to just over the canal where Undine can do her water magic while we charge the enemy forces on our side of the canal. If we are a bit lucky then we can destroy the cut off force while their main force is unable to cross. Then we either fall back properly to the Crown wall or begin skirmishing in the streets with massive amounts of ambushes.

>>38224567
There's only so much even Gnome can do it 2 days anon.

>>38224425
We should take advantage of the time they take to reach us via Arcane archers. Maybe get some stronger enchantments via our other mages.

>>38224682

We have IECs back home, Gnome, Bartom, La, dwarven engineers, etc.

There's a lot we can do.

With our archers we should mass fire at predetermined points. We need to channel the enemy through certain positions in order to cause the most effect. Individually, the archers won't do much, but have hundreds aiming at a relatively small area and we can waste whatever is in it.

>>38224828
The ramparts behind the canal are perfect for this as they limit mobility for the majority of the enemy forces moving up them. The choke points are in front of each other so archers can just keep on firing down into them even when we have withdrawn to the one above.

I think no matter what well have to accept the fact that the outer wall is going to fall. So having contingency in place to move from it to the terraces and beyond is critical.

Outside of turning the plains into a mess, the canal is our greatest early game asset. It both covers our retreat, allows a significant amount of time to readjust and reposition, and Undine to do what she does best i.e. bending physics over the table and creating a torrent of death.

I'm pretty against any attacks outside the walls, they will be too fresh to effectively do so with our limited intel. If it were a human army sure, or hell if the forces we'd need to dedicate to it were more expandable, but they frankly are not.

If anything we should plan to cut the army in half with the canal trap, and city fight them with our elites and superior firepower in the Canal District. It relies more on surprise tactics yes and we don't know how quickly we'll be able to mop them up or how quickly the rest of the army will get past the canal trap. But it allows for a far easier retreat then we would be in for outside the Outer Wall.

A thing Talon could do rather than sit on the front lines is create a giant sun laser in his domain, use his control over everything inside his range to collect all the sunlight entering the area and redirecting it as a beam. I don't think even the toughest demons would like that much.

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I'm getting a bit of disagreement over whether to skirmish outsid ethe walls or not. Opposition is strong for the plan to engage them heavily outside the walls and only one person really wants to even attempt to hold the outer wall. The other debate is over where to retreat to after the outer wall is taken.

>>38224567
Earthworks, traps etc are going to be of limited use if you're not engaging them to hold or funnel them. The demons will move too fast or you'll have to spread your traps too thinly.

>>38224598
So you're up for light skirmishing and bombardment at the oute rwall before retreating outright to the Crown Wall? Not interested in holding the terraces?

>>38224652
No outside force, no attempt to hold the outer wall but instead pull back to the Canal/Terraces for defense?

>>38224682
You can do a lot, actually.

>>38224920
Depends on if it would keep going without the magic behind it. If he could then we could build a giant freaking mirror up top and direct it.

>>38224947
We need to skirmish them outside. I suggest we attempt to hold the outer wall. However, we need to be ready to move back quickly if it gets compromised. It will be a fighting retreat aided by pre-registered firing points for concentrations of archers.

Another area of concern is civilians. Will the demons massacre them, and if so what should we do about it?

>>38224598
here

>>38224947
First we pull back to the first choke points beyond the canal. Undine uses her magic and when it starts to fade we enact a fighting retreat up the terraces, use the choke points to funnel and engage the foe as we move. As we move higher we get the archers to fire into the bottle neck of the previous one we just left. The focus fire should take down the tougher demons. Eventually after burning through stanima or when forced back, retreat into and hold the crown wall.

The crown wall should be manned by the siege engines while this is all ongoing, firing down when we clear the first terrace. Archers retreating into the wall who are excess or getting in the way of the terrace choke point defenses would move up onto the bastions to rain down hell to allow the ground forces to get inside said crown wall.

>>38224947
>Earthworks, traps etc are going to be of limited use if you're not engaging them to hold or funnel them.

I was of the impression that the earthworks and traps were mostly in place to force them into divided movements and to delay their movement of siege devices, all while we bombard the ever living shit out of them.

>>38224973
I don't see why it wouldn't, the energy is natural, all Talon would be doing is focusing and redirecting it.

It would be fairly imprecise, but that's fine while they're outside the walls.

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>>38224618
wait if the infernals can just pop up from a mountain range whats to stop them from doing it underneath the fortress? i can see the damned creatures coming in through the hot springs right next to the source.

we should ask gnome to fortify the under keep, and see if she can sense any movement in the earth underneath the keep.

as for conventional siege warfare rain hell from the outer wall until the beasts are at the wall, then fall back to the 2nd wall while udine covers us with the canal trap.

Can we erect walls/platforms for our archers on the terraces? Each one could act as a fair fallback position supplemented by traps on the terrace itself. Then we fall back, they run through more traps, and repeat until the crown wall with our real defensive stand.

They'll be funneled into the main roads to gain access to each tier of terrace, unless their siege engines can cross the canal. If they attempt to build more, we can harass them while they are constructed.

>>38225101
>tfw infernals tunneling under us
I TOLD YOU GUYS

>>38225101
>tunnelbro has betrayed us to the infernals

I knew he could never be trusted.

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>>38225101
>>38225137
>>38225137
My fucking sides

Abandoning the outer walls without much of a fight will help to serve on great thing. It will hopefully make the enemy to bold as they will likely think us to weak to fight us head on when the first thing they see of our forces will be them retreating. Because of that they will hopefully rush blindly to the canal where shit is going down.

>>38224947
My only support for having forces outside of the walls is scouting them out before they arrive. But yeah any serious defense at the outer wall will not likely end well. Retreating and reforming at the canal and then do a fighting retreat to the Crown walls after we've punished them with the water sounds most reasonable to me.

>>38225101
Oh god....

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>>38225093
They'll do that somewhat, but again, limited usefulness compared to if you have actual troops defending them. The demons can just go straight through or over earthworks or traps if there's nobody to tie them up.

>>38225101
>wait if the infernals can just pop up from a mountain range whats to stop them from doing it underneath the fortress?
There's a reason they appeared in the Marnn range and it's not because they tunneled their way up from Hell or anything silly.

>>38225104
>Can we erect walls/platforms for our archers on the terraces?
They already exist for the ramps between the terraces but you could start fortifying buildings in the terraces themselves, too.

>>38225098
The energy migh tbe natural (though I wonder at the ability to collect enough energy to maintain a goddamn laser capable of destroying demons or steel) but is the force directing it and keep the energy from dissipating across the huge amount of space it's supposed to cover?

>>38224947
I'm for skirmishing outside the walls and taking as heavy a toll on them as possible before abandoning any fortifications.

I'm not really invested in the minutia of the battle plan though so I haven't been keeping up with the conversation at the moment. My reasoning is simply "Kill them all before they do any significant damage. Failing that Kill them all before they do any significant lasting damage to our city and people etc" with "Keep our own casualties low". Since that all goes without saying really I'll leave the in depth discussion for the guys who prefer it.

>>38225257
I say we fortify the buildings on the terraces a little. If nothing else putting wooden stakes at the foot of each should help deter climbers and slow them down.

>>38225101
>Meanwhile in the Demon Warcamp, an exasperated Demon Aspirational sits upon his council
>I'M TELLING YOU THEY'LL NEVER SEE IT COMING. THEY DOUBTED ME, THEY ALL DOUBTED ME.

My god what have we done.

>>38225257
Once it's aimed it shouldn't dissipate all that much I would think. So long as the target isn't like outside of harrowmont.

If we need to really focus we could try and drain real energy form living beings in small amounts to power more sunlight. Though that depends on if we can do that and if things created using the domain could work with natural energy.

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I'm going to do a series of votes, that way people can change their votes as each idea gets chosen.

SKIRMISHING OUTSIDE THE WALLS
>1. Heavy fighting as suggested by Phillias. Try to deal as much damage to their heavies while maintaining the initiative.
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.
>3. No skirmishing outside the walls, just erect earthworks and some traps to slow them down a bit.

>>38225257
light has a relatively low spread even in an atmosphere, if we've set it up to all go in the same direction, most of it should still be going in that direction once it gets to its target, there'd be some energy bleed but the beam should still be quite powerful.

That being said, I don't know the limits Talon has in his domain, if directing that much energy would strain him, then it should be shelved.

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.
Getting bogged down will kill us. We do lightning strikes and don't over commit.

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

It makes me nervous, but I have complete faith in the retreat to the first terrace and Undine fucking shit up plan.

>>38225421
>>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

>>38225421
>>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

>>38225421
>2. Light skirmishing, mostly to deal damage and slow them down before they commit their full force.

>this gloriously active thread

Ah war, I've missed you so. Time to murder some infernals.

>>38225421
>1. Heavy fighting as suggested by Phillias. Try to deal as much damage to their heavies while maintaining the initiative.

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Okay, 2 won that without a fight.

DEFENDING THE OUTER WALL
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.
>2. Token defense of the outer wall, only holding it until the enemy reaches the wall before pulling back.
>3. No defense of the outer wall. Simply pull back, perhaps rigging some traps or a few ambushes.
>4. Custom

>>38225618
>>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225618
>>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225618
>2. Token defense of the outer wall, only holding it until the enemy reaches the wall before pulling back.

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.
We may as well

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225618
>2. Token defense of the outer wall, only holding it until the enemy reaches the wall before pulling back.

>>38225618
>>2. Token defense of the outer wall, only holding it until the enemy reaches the wall before pulling back.

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225257
looked it up, it takes ~1 hectare for a solar farm to produce one megawatt at 15% efficiency in the tropics, and about twice that space for a farm in northern europe, industrial cutting lasers on the other hand run 100 - 3000 watts, so 0.3 megawatts at the high end.

I don't know how much space we control, and I doubt we'd have a laser anywhere near that focused, but we could probably double or triple that efficiency and get a beam powerful enough to put some hurt on something.

Obviously QMs fiat and all though.

When this is over, we really need to magically reinforce our walls and improve the outer wall. Since we have our city inside of it and all.

>>38225618
>1.

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

>>38225618
>1. Heavy defense of the outer wall, holding it until it's breached/about to be breached and you need to pull back.

I would like to raise the concern of civilian casualties. These demons have slaughtered the towns on the way here, if they get in the residential areas it could get really bad. Could we perhaps pull the population back elsewhere? Send them to Vitria? Get them in the Academy?

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>>38225705

Yeah about that.

Still miffed they decided to attack before my glorious moat of ridiculousness was constructed.

>>38225796
The moat would make Harrowmont nearly invulnerable.

>>38225796
Yeah, when we are done, i will back those plans. It at least makes defending the outer wall viable, the simple thing we have now is a potential death trap due to its breach-ability.

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I'm surprised at how strong the support is for heavy defense of the oute rwall, given it wasn't too popular earlier.

>>38225700
Honestly, it sounds like a bit of a stretch. I'm all for huge magical weapons out of the keep's mage tower and Academy but the sun one doesn't make sense to me. I don't see industrial cutting lasers operating at a distance of 1.3 miles on that wattage.

>>38225786
Yeah, evacuation was going to be a later point. I figured I'd establish how people plan to defend the fortress before discussing it.

>>38225796
The demons would ahve sent a much bigger army if they'd had to defeat that. A much bigger army.

>>38225796
Whoa...
>As achitecture gone too far?

>>38225796
>Dat moat
Holy shit what the fuck?

So if we wanted to expand the fortress for a bigger population wouldn't the moat get in the way?

>>38225838
>Honestly, it sounds like a bit of a stretch. I'm all for huge magical weapons out of the keep's mage tower and Academy but the sun one doesn't make sense to me. I don't see industrial cutting lasers operating at a distance of 1.3 miles on that wattage

Honestly for me I was thinking more when they break inside. It gets much more effective if they get closer to us.

>>38225855

For the most part I'm banking on further construction projects involving digging into the cliff facings and stuff akin to the Imperial Academy.

I constructed the moat proposal because I knew how difficult it is to protect the Outer Wall as is. Sacrificing the plains for a defensive line that is pretty much untouchable with Undine behind the walls.

>>38225838
So assuming it isn't razed in the distant future, how synonymous is Harrowmont with "Don't fuck with" in the later timeline this is all a precursor of?

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>>38225855
Not if you build inside the cliffs! Or on top of them!

Or just, you know, have a huge massive sprawl outside of it. Or something else crazy that somebody comes up with.

CANAL DISTRICT VOTE
>1. Heavily defend the canal and its bridges, relying on Undine and your knights as heavily as possible while your siege engines on the Crown Wall bombard them.
>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.
>3. Don't hold the canal at all, just trigger Undine's trap as the enemy crosses it and retreat.
>4. Custom

>>38225855
Gnome would be pissed as fuck, she'd had to tear down everything, build residential area/garrison/merchant and maybe an inner field to grow crops THEN rebuild a bigger moat and shit.

I cannot imagine how hard her girl boner would be, I only know that Talon would end up with a broken pelvis

>>38225936
>>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

>>38225936
>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

>>38225855
Well at that point we would have two options:
1) Make a ring wall like what minas tirith had around pelanor fields. But in this case we could probably connect it up to the mountain on the opposite side of the province.
Inside this wall we have towns and hamlets as normal that people travel into the city from, basically suburbs.

2) We contract the Dwarves to build expansions into the mountain sides on each level, with plenty of room between the different levels expansions.
Gives us plenty of room to build up and down considering we have allot of cliff height to work with before even considering going deep.

>>38225936
1

>>38225936
>>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

I'm not going to lie. I can't wait to see Undine's trap. On her home turf? Powered up pretty significantly? Lord almighty.

>>38225936
>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

>>38225936
>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.
Not worth it risking a drawn out fight in Lower Harrowmont just yet. We can still wear them down at the Crown Wall before we fight them properly.

>>38225936
>>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

>>38225980

Not to spoiler future proposals, but the ring wall is something I'm considering pretty significantly. Knowing I can make super pillars that house thousands like Shropham has influenced that.

On the same token, Aspirational has wanted to build into the cliff facings forever. It was literally one of the first things we spoke of. I'd wager if I hadn't taken up making these maps and proposals, we'd have half of Harrowmont buried in the cliffs already.

>>38226094
The ring wall would primarily be a delaying measure. The troops numbers to defend such an expansive wall coverage would starve the keep out in record time. Having the small hamlets and towns inside being small fortified bastions on pillars like miniature shrophams would be a brilliant idea, since they would probably be mostly ignored instead of razed like normal. Not to mention the effort to get at any supply's inside would be vastly disproportional to the effort required.

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>2.

Okay, so the plan so far is for light skirmishing outside the walls to weaken and slow the enemy, coupled with a heavy and dedicated defense of the outer wall until it's breached or hopeless. Then everybody pulls back to the canal or further for a token defense that is intended to lure the demons into Undine's trap for maximum damage.

TERRACE CITYFIGHTING
>1. Force the demons into block by bloody block fighting, with your knights defending every checkpoint and staging ambushes in now-fortified terraces as the demons push upwards. Ranged forces on the Crown Wall can provide heavy support and prevent them from bringing up their siege engines and heavies for support.
>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.
>3. Just retreat through the terraces to the Crown Wall, relying on traps to slow them down while you bombard them as they advance.
>4. Custom

I still maintain the opinion that if you build a city on top of another city than the supporting pillars deserve to be blown up and destroyed

>>38226321
>>1. Force the demons into block by bloody block fighting, with your knights defending every checkpoint and staging ambushes in now-fortified terraces as the demons push upwards. Ranged forces on the Crown Wall can provide heavy support and prevent them from bringing up their siege engines and heavies for support.

You will take every bloody stone by force of fucking will you inhuman bastard.

>>38226321
>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.

>>38225137
Tunnel bro was a demon all along.

>>38226321
>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.

>>38226321
>>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.
Still don't want to commit our forces into full on fighting if possible.

>>38225936
>2. Just hold the canal long enough for Undine to catch as many of the enemy in her trap before retreating further.

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>>38226323
That's why Shropham was built sot hat the upper platform would survive. I imagine that the city would eventually install some form of flying magic in the platofmr so that when an enemy finally does destroy the pillars the platform can then glide towards the enemy army and crush it for its impertinence.

Honestly, I think I'm going to have that part of the original plans for hilarity. Laryya's way of spitting in Garynth's face, even thoguh the magicla enchantment didn't work out.

>>38226321
>1. Force the demons into block by bloody block fighting, with your knights defending every checkpoint and staging ambushes in now-fortified terraces as the demons push upwards. Ranged forces on the Crown Wall can provide heavy support and prevent them from bringing up their siege engines and heavies for support.

>>38226321
>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.
This is the last place to weaken them before the final showdown. If they come this far (they will almost certainly will), then preserve strength and possibly heal wounded hero units and get ready for the heavy battle ahead because there will not be another chance to have any breather at all.

>>38226321
2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.

>>38226321
>>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.
I suggest this for a short time, in order to get the enemies out of position. They should eventually string out. This will leave them vulnerable for the occasional
>1. Force the demons into block by bloody block fighting, with your knights defending every checkpoint and staging ambushes in now-fortified terraces as the demons push upwards. Ranged forces on the Crown Wall can provide heavy support and prevent them from bringing up their siege engines and heavies for support.
We should be able to cause heavier casualties this way. Perhaps even some fast local counterattacks.

The point is to hit them hard when they are weak. Eventually they'll wise up and take things much more slowly, and when that happens I suggest we just return to >2.

>>38226321
>>2. Ambushes and traps in the terraces. Hold the checkpoints as necessary, but retreat as the enemy pushes against them. Basically force the enemy to commit to an assault against each one only for your forces to retreat instead.

>>38226200
>The troops numbers to defend such an expansive wall coverage would starve the keep out in record time.
Isn't that why we're rushing pattern research?
After all, you can't starve an enemy that doesn't eat.

I don't understand. We hold the advantage in this section of fighting. Why are so many people wanting to retreat and keep our heavies out of it? This is the best time to bloody them significantly.

>>38226468
true, but then you have to find a way to magically power all that, which is still going to be manpower intensive. At best it will give us a token defense for the rim wall while the interior evacuates to the relative safety of the fortified positions and harrowmount itself.

>>38226468
Pattern research is honestly in general best research for a lot of other reasons. Not only does it help with our evil overlord army it also lets us build Orcs that don't' need to eat which could help with the walls.

>>38226506
Patterns generate their own magic energy.

>>38226427
Didn't you say that Talon could make doors that open to other parts of the castle? Could we use this to either retreat or open doors behind/to the side of the enemy for quick skrims?

>>38226506
Patterns are magic perpetual motion engines.
They have no logistical issues whatsoever.

If/when we get patterns, the 'giant wall connecting impassable terrain' idea becomes utterly deadly.

>>38226550

That only applies to the Keep proper.

>>38226547
>>38226602

ah right, then the next bottle neck becomes the production. Well. That is going to upset allot of warfare in the future...

Its certainly going to make anti magic enchants and process's a bigger requirement.

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Looks like 2. Guess that means that the heaviest defence will be at the two walls, with traps and earthworks set-up in such a way to maximise the ability to defend them while skirmishing and ambushing elsewhere.

Covering evacuation plans next, then some intel on the enemy demon prince and some discussion with engineers.

>>38226550
Only within the keep itself. His domain only covers the white box in the top-right of >>38224618

>>38226628
Yeah the key thing is that they are designed to be mass produced. So you can just like spam the hell out of them and leave them in one place until you have an army of 10,000 strong.

Well at least the sally ports will get some action.

Elf/Vampire counter strike fucking when.

>>38226679
So, Orcs, Valkyries or Animated Armour?

>>38226679
we will have to figure out a defensive measure against them at some point in the future then.
Otherwise this is going to turn very dynasty warriors-ish.

>>38225796
Wait... Isn't the moat on the wrong side of the wall?

>>38226762
>Implying our enemies will know how to into patterns
Pattern production is literally Kushan-tier.

>>38226794
Dude... wat.

>>38226744
All the above.

Personally I've always wanted something like Valkyries are the anti-magic units that are sent to murder and kill mages and other dangers.

Orcs are basically the foot soldiers that can survive anywhere.

Then there is the Balrogs and other just crazy shit in the background that we should only release when it's war time and time to put the fear of Talon in the bastards.

At least that's my early conception.

>>38226826
I think he means usually a moat is in front of the castle walls, not behind it.

>>38226807
I imagine as soon as they roll out, massive bursts of research into it will occur as everyone scrambles not to be left behind. Not to mention if spys manage to get in to nick secrets. Pharos would be a prime suspect for spy attempts.

>>38226871
Tell you what, ide love for architect anon to design a Venice like city. Maybe when we get into the proper navel game.

>>38226871

I don't understand. The moat is.

>>38226921

I might be thinking about it when we visit the islands.

>>38226957
I think that anon mistook the 'fence' for the actual fortified wall.

>>38226977
Well I am mostly confused about... Most everything in the expansion update truth be told.

>>38226977

Ohhhh. That's the rough end of the plains line. I see what we're saying now. That is a very unlabeled map afterall.

>>38226992
Then ask Anon. I'd be happy to explain. It is a pretty unlabeled map, and we've yet to actually get to it in a numbers thread.

Should probably wait until post thread though.

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>Evacuation plans

“I’m not sure of the wisdom of retreating to the walls so readily, but perhaps it is the best plan against such a superior foe,” Phillias says after you explain your plan.

The room has split into two groups, the first made up of the military minds that are covering the defense of the fortress and the other considering other issues such as supplies and civilians.

“If I’ve heard you right, Talon, we’re effectively surrendering Lower Harrowmont once they breach the outer wall?” Sarah asks you, her face still pale from earlier and she’s nervously wringing her hands.

You nod and Sarah frowns and says, “We’ll need to start evacuating most of the city now. If we’re bringing in troops and supplies from Vitria then those barges will need priority, that means we’ll need to start sending them south, towards Darlesia.”

“Not everybody will be willing to go or able to pack up within two days,” Sylph says. “It’ll be hard with the military preparations but we’ll need to clear space for them in the fortress itself.”

Something clicks in your head. “Well, why don’t I just expand the keep? Triple its size and provide food and other supplies for evacuees that can’t or won’t leave the city.”

There’s a long and rather awkward period as everybody stares at you as though you’ve grown a second head. Then, finally, Undine nods.

“Your Dominion. That’s a rather benign use of it, though you haven’t started making good use of it so far. It would greatly simplify the evacuation and can be explained away as recent expansion,” Undine says with a smile.

>continued

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>>38227072
“It’s hard to wrap my head around that sort of thing,” Vad says, running a hand through his hair.

“You should save your focus for defensive measures in case the demons get into the keep,” Taira says. “Have all the civilians get out of the city or else take refuge in the Residential District. That way you can focus on protecting the Source and those who really need to be in the keep.”

You see Mal bite his lip as he catches what Taira is talking about. It was common knowledge that you were still getting used to your Dominion power, and it might be hard to rapidly expand the keep and provide a high level of defense for those who can’t be taken from the keep such as the children. On the other hand, it might still be smarter to have Tsucchi and some foxes take them to Vitria, if you can convince them to leave. Vad’s face makes it clear that he doesn’t expect his kids to do anything except endlessly whine about leaving.

>1. Your plan. Expand the keep and place excess civilians inside of it.
>2. Taira’s plan. Let excess civilians take shelter in Upper Harrowmont and fortify the keep using your Dominion. This may hamper military defense in the Residential District.
>3. Custom

>>38227092
>>1. Your plan. Expand the keep and place excess civilians inside of it.

I have no idea why no one thought of this.

>>38227092
>>1. Your plan. Expand the keep and place excess civilians inside of it.

>>38227092
>1. Your plan. Expand the keep and place excess civilians inside of it.

>>38227092
>2. Taira’s plan. Let excess civilians take shelter in Upper Harrowmont and fortify the keep using your Dominion. This may hamper military defense in the Residential District.
Should get them out of here so we don't need to worry about protecting them should the Crown wall be breached.

>>38227092
>1. Your plan. Expand the keep and place excess civilians inside of it

>>38227092
>>2. Taira’s plan. Let excess civilians take shelter in Upper Harrowmont and fortify the keep using your Dominion. This may hamper military defense in the Residential District.

So wait, I have a question, you said that the demons don't feel pain or have internal organs. So what's it gonna take to kill them; massive body damage, specific areas to damage (body or head), or do we just have to keep swinging til their dead.

My big worry is if we cut a limb off of one of these guys or stag one in the chest is he going to slow down or go full berserk on us and not really give a fuck.

>>38227092
>2. Taira’s plan. Let excess civilians take shelter in Upper Harrowmont and fortify the keep using your Dominion. This may hamper military defense in the Residential District.

>>38227092
>2. Taira’s plan. Let excess civilians take shelter in Upper Harrowmont and fortify the keep using your Dominion. This may hamper military defense in the Residential District.

On the one hand they shouldn't even be getting into the keep but, I feel like if they do and they will most likely then it will be pretty key to have Talon's mind free. Also gives us the ability if we really need to, let like say their leader into the keep so that we can get an edge against it.

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>1.

You don’t plan to let the Keep come under great threat, so you’ll put all the civilians that can’t evacuate inside it. You don’t want to risk heavy losses should the Crown Wall be breached. With that, the meeting breaks apart after delegation of tasks. You need more intel and a better idea of what’s available to you in defense before you can do more than overall strategy.

By the time you work your way to the top of the gatehouse that connects the inner and outer courtyards the city is already awake, with the sun only just peeking over the bluffs behind you. The military of the fortress is busy moving supplies and equipment and you see wagons and barges leaving Lower Harrowmont as word gets around. The lower half of the Outer Courtyard is a veritable traffic jam as civilians line up to leave the city, with the bastion clearways and Merchant District gatehouse being the only way your men are moving around.

“There you are. I’ve been looking for you,” Gnome says as she approaches from the stairwell. “Illon has some interesting news on the enemy.”

“Do we know what is leading them?” you ask, not turning away from the city. Something twists inside you to see your city like this and you’re not looking forward to standing here and looking over a charred and ruined city.

“A demon prince by the name of Belrauth,” she says. “We’ve met, briefly. He’s a mage-killer, but is just as capable against astral power. Four arms, huge mane of obsidian, skin harder than steel, big as a house.”

>continued

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>>38227693
“Is that normal?”

“He’s a little on the small side for a demon prince. His power is in his Gift,” Gnome explains

“Gift?” you ask, not recognising the way she’s using the term.

“Infernals have natural attributes that make them strong, such as hard skin or fire-breathing abilities. Then they have innate sorcery, though this is largely limited to devils. Finally, they have Gifts, which are magical abilities that are typically merged with their being but can also be items,” Gnome says, leaning against the battlements in front of the two of you. “Belrauth has both, and having two Gifts means he’s less of a one-trick pony than some demons. The first is a Gift of Greater Replacement, which is a form of regeneration unique to infernals – they don’t regenerate so much as they outright replace what was lost, avoiding the usual methods of countering regeneration and healing magic.

“The second are the Binary Swords. These twin swords have two states, one that absorbs magical energy and the other that expels it. They’re connected to each other, so one sword can absorb energy and the other can then expel it.”

You click your tongue, seeing why he’s a mage-killer. “I take it this works on astral power?”

>continued

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>>38227726
“Unless you’re doing something to outright stop him, then yes. Shooting him with an astral arrow will just let him shoot it right back,” she says, giving you a sideways glance. “Belrauth has a large elite guard but this isn’t his legion. He wasn’t noteworthy enough to have more than a thousand demons just fifty years ago when Taren fought him. I can’t see him having gathered twenty thousand since then. Somebody else has lent him this army – expect tricks. Devilry, most likely.”

Wonderful. The scene falls silent, save for the constant noise of the evacuating city. Children screaming; people shouting as they’re slowed down or forced to evacuate; soldiers clattering about with crates, barrels and heavy equipment. Gnome brushes some hair behind her air, still staring at you. You …

>1. Ask her whether or not she thinks you can actually win. This will make you sound unconfident, but Gnome might appreciate you confiding in her a little bit.
>2. Stay silent, waiting for her to act first. You don’t know quite what to say to her in this sort of situation.
>3. Tell her that you’re confident that you’ll win. If you can’t crush a mere borrowed army of demons, how can you possibly rule the world?
>4. Custom

Belrauth is a gimmick boss whose gimmicks you already know! I’ll be interested to see what plans people come up with. And yes, the name of his swords is lame. So sue me.

>>38227761
>1+4
Ask what she thinks our chances are.

>>38227761
Might be a good idea to ask how Taren won vs him.

>>38227761
>>3. Tell her that you’re confident that you’ll win. If you can’t crush a mere borrowed army of demons, how can you possibly rule the world?

We gonna beat his ass and take his swords.

>>38227761
>>2. Stay silent, waiting for her to act first. You don’t know quite what to say to her in this sort of situation.

>>38227761
>>1. Ask her whether or not she thinks you can actually win. This will make you sound unconfident, but Gnome might appreciate you confiding in her a little bit.

Sometimes Talon is mortal.

>>38227761
>3. Tell her that you’re confident that you’ll win. If you can’t crush a mere borrowed army of demons, how can you possibly rule the world?
>>38227832
also this

>>38227761
...what would happen if he tried to absorb something with explosive antimagic in it? Like, Talon takes a hollow arrow filled with the stuff, throws a lightshow around it, then shoots it at the prick, who then tries to absorb concentrated antimagic.

>>38227761
So astral X's work on anything else as long as he isn't near?

>>38227761
>3. Tell her that you’re confident that you’ll win. If you can’t crush a mere borrowed army of demons, how can you possibly rule the world?
>>38227832
Plus this one

Okay planning time. He can absorb and redirect magic and can replace what was lost. We cannot tear him apart piece by piece. We cannot blast him apart all at once.

My solution is this: In a fight with him, we establish that he wants to absorb and recast our attacks. Eventually, we'll hit him with something that he won't like. Perhaps antimagic something. Perhaps something that unmakes him when he casts it. Either way, we want it to destroy him instantly. We can't win a battle of attrition against him.

>>38227761
>4. Does he have any noteworthy rivals?

>Four arms, huge mane of obsidian, skin harder than steel, big as a house

And I thought Talon leading an army lowered morale.

>>38227916
Honestly for me I would just cut his arms off or dearm him. The weapons need to be in his hands to use.

Another idea would be to make the fight in a crowded location. So he would hit himself with anything he sends back.

>>38227833
First we'll break his back

Then his swords

>>38227761
"I don't want to see this city burn."
Also +1 for this >>38227832

>>38227949
>The first is a Gift of Greater Replacement, which is a form of regeneration unique to infernals – they don’t regenerate so much as they outright replace what was lost, avoiding the usual methods of countering regeneration and healing magic.

Let me know how that works out for you.

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Seems to be 3 plus that one custom.

>>38227883
He absorbs magic with magic, so obviously the antimagic just explodes like it does when it normally comes into contact with magic.

>>38227887
So long as he and nothing else that can counter them is nearby.

>>38227916
Lob boulders at him, other demons, wreckage, anything. If its mundane and shot really fast, its gonna hurt. So long as the boulder is not a magically made thing he should have problems.

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>>38227967
>So long as he and nothing else that can counter them is nearby.
>nothing else

Wait. There's more?

>>38227949
somehow I'm guessing that a demon with four arms, I'm going to assume are all armed, is going to cleave through a crowd like crazy

>>38227974
>Lob boulders at him, other demons, wreckage, anything
I wonder how much lobbing power do we have in the dominion. Can we just pickup and toss a 50 ton rocks at people. or can we toss an arrow at 10x the speed of sound

>>38227967
>He absorbs magic with magic, so obviously the antimagic just explodes like it does when it normally comes into contact with magic.
the real question is, where can we get antimagic.

Wonder if we will need to group up and attack him with several of our elites all at once and keep doing damage to him to counter his healing like we did against that one vampire. Or does he just heal forever?

>>38227726
>The first is a Gift of Greater Replacement, which is a form of regeneration unique to infernals – they don’t regenerate so much as they outright replace what was lost, avoiding the usual methods of countering regeneration and healing magic.
Just to be clear, this still uses up a finite resource, yes? They can't infinitely replace, they just aren't affected by a "suppress regen" weapon enchantments (like that axe that RSK knight used in the tourney)

>>38228142
I'm kinda in agreement with this. I mean I feel like the only 'good' way to approach this guy is to fight with skill and strength in close quarters without relying on magic or astral power; i mean we also have power over our dominion so I'm thinking we're on a more equal ground then it seems.

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>3. Plus custom about how Belrauth was defeated.

“How did Taren defeat him if he’s a mage-killer?” you ask, thinking that you’ll get an edge.

“He didn’t. I did,” Gnome answers simply. “At the peak of my power Belrauth is nothing. I just hit him fast and hard enough that he was banished, unable to maintain his physical form. Powerful magical blows still take time to regenerate so if I kept hitting him without pause he just went down. Absorbing magic doesn’t protect against flow manipulation, though he prevented me from playing havoc with his regeneration.”

“Well, do you think anybody else could do the same thing?” you ask.

“Taira is weak against him, for obvious reasons. As are most foxes. Undine is out for the same reason. Sala is talented enough to keep up in melee but lacks the ability to put him down fast enough, like me. Rayza is out, as she relies on magic. Same with Finn – plus I don’t want to see what happens when a Binary Sword hits him while he’s using his tattoos,” Gnome says, frowning darkly at the thought. “Vampires might have the same problem, though dragons should be fine. I think that just leaves you and Lynn – though I don’t think Caitlyn is capable enough in melee to keep up with him.”

Your mouth runs dry momentarily as Gnome ticks off every member of your retinue as unable to stop Belrauth. You’re not sure you appreciate having to fight a foe that is typically only defeatable by somebody overwhelmingly stronger than him, like how Gnome won their last fight. Still, you summon what confidence you can.

>continued

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>>38228268
“We’ll win,” you say, your voice quiet but still confident. “I’ve come too far to lose to a demon that can’t even muster his own army. If I can’t win here, I could hardly have dreamt of being The Emperor, no?”

Gnome gives you an odd look, before smiling in a sad way. She leans in and catches your lips in a kiss, her hands pushing against your chest. She pulls away and rests her head against your chest and mumbles, “I’ll be stronger in the future. To help you more.”

Before you can say anything about that you’re interrupted by a commotion down below. Looking down, Gnome breaking out of your grip, you see a small pack of foxes with tails of various colours in the upper level of the outer courtyard arguing with Kyria. The foxes are dressed in rune-encrusted plate, similar to what Caitlyn wears now, but with their tails waving about freely. Your squire was likely just peeking on you, but now appears to be arguing with them – they probably want to talk with you, judging by the way the six-tailed black fox looks at you from beneath his horned helmet. You…

>1. Leap down to greet them and sort out the trouble.
>2. Invite them up here to talk it out.
>3. Ignore them, instead pursuing more time with Gnome for now.
>4. Custom

>>38228030
There may be. Belrauth was clearly chosen as your opponent for a reason, so his army may have other counters for your strengths. Dealing with the unexpected is why you have a relatively large plan from the get-go.

>>38227966
Even if he can regen losing an arm would suck if Talon could get close and keep him away from his weapons.

>>38228298
>>2. Invite them up here to talk it out.

>>38228298
>1. Leap down to greet them and sort out the trouble.

"I need a vacation."

>>38228298
>1. Leap down to greet them and sort out the trouble.

Also, I see two ways to effectively deal with balareth

1. those who face him in melee focus on disarming him. And knocking the sword as far away from him as possible. With someone fast on the sidelines to snatch up the sword and run with it to keep it out of the battle.
Once disarmed, he can then be bombarded by taira and the other heavy long range magic hitters with impunity

2. Carefully coordinated magic blasts from multiple directions. Sure, he will absorb some of them, but with 6 attacks coming from all directions he 4 will hit even if 2 are absorbed.

>>38228298
>2. Invite them up here to talk it out.

>>38228298
>>1. Leap down to greet them and sort out the trouble.

>>38228298
It's simple, we, Gnome, Salamander and Catelynn take him on together while everyone else deal with Elite guards

>2. Invite them up here to talk it out.
Boon of being emperor is that people come to you instead of you coming to them.

>>38228413
>disarming him
at the wrist that is.

Also, how much can talon boost his own physical stats inside the dominion?

>>38228298
She forgot one member of our retinue though, Ersa.

>>38228469
>Same with Esra – plus I don’t want to see what happens when a Binary Sword hits her while she's using her tattoos

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Rolled 2 (1d2)

Tie-breaker roll.

>>38228469
Your retinue is too damn large now - I missed a few others too. Unfortunately, Esraveel falls into the same trap as Finn. Daerfir Champions basically sustain themselves with magic - god knows what happens when a magic-absorbing sword goes into their gut.

Retinue:
Talon
Maloric, mage
Undine, water elemental
Salamander, fire elemental
Gnome, earth elemental
Sylph, wind elemental
Caitlyn, feldragon knight
Rayza (kinda), royal dragon spellblade
Vadoric, five-tailed fox knight
Taira, nine-tailed fox belite
Tarfinn, Daerfir Champion
Aladria, daywalker
Felix, daywalker knight
Esraveel, Daerfir Champion
Laryya, earth elemental

Anyone else I forget?

>>38228600
Tsucchi

>>38228600
Our aide the prepubescent dragon grill

>>38228600

Could we fight the Demon Prince with Caitlyn and Rayza supporting us? Or would that make things harder for us?
He may have four arms, by he only has 2 unique swords...

>>38228600
>Taira, nine-tailed fox belite

Taira is a small plane?

>>38228600
Sarah, though she fell behind in power quite quickly. Also, Albanon is so hilariously screwed when it finally gets kicked out of the League, I'm sorta wondering how you're going to make that even mildly interesting.

>>38228785
It isnt being ejected from the league. Alyce's political rivals thought it could set precedent that would allow the same to happen to them.

>>38228785
Probably more demons.
>>38228826
Supposedly it will happen eventually though.

>>38228785
>Sarah, though she fell behind in power quite quickly
she never had the power to begin with. just a whole lot of talent..
speaking of, we should encourage her to spend more time on her magical education, in particular pursuing eternal youth

>>38228600
I've honestly always felt that talons retinue is the core.

Maloric, Undine, Salamander, Aladria, Caitlyn.

Felix and them feel kind of like a secondary retinue that goes around the core that is constantly with talon.

>>38228907
I agree. However we will need new administrators and I'm reluctant to offer the position to Fluffy tails.

>>38228944
>Forgot Gnome.

Hahaha.

>>38228907
I for one can't wait for MILF Sarah.

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>>38228647
Not really a fighter.

>>38228664
Kyria, young dragon knight.

She's pubescent, but rather young for a dragon. Old enough to show interest in Talon, even if it is more of a crush than something more serious like Lynn.

>>38228785
It'll probably get conquered in a paragraph. I suspect it'll be more interesting under your thumb.

>>38228779
Yes. Clearly. I didn't make a typo and instead mean 'elite'.

>2.

You wave them up here, ignoring the exaggerated harrumph of Kyria. Only the two six-tailed foxes come up with your aide, however. One has black tails and the other tails of burgundy. The both give you a deep bow as they enter your presence and you take the opportunity to look more closely at their armour. It’s of Gauron make, unlike what Fuurin wear, and is of the same type of armour that you use. Armour that lets empowerment users still gain benefits from magical enchantment.

“I am Abal, the leader of the Pride knights that guard our clan’s presence here,” the black-tailed fox says.

“Kirin,” says the other.

“We’ve heard the news. It is the pride of the Pride clan to face our opponent’s on their terms, so that when we best them there can be no argument as to why. We will stand with you and your men to defend this fortress and the future of both the empire and the alliance,” Abal says, giving you a serious look. “Simply tell us where we are needed.”

That’s a very good question. Right now you weren’t sure where you wanted the knights. You weren’t even sure what they were good at.

“I’ll be frank,” you say, crossing your arms and ignoring the way that Kyria has crept right up next to you, on the opposite side of Gnome. “I don’t really know what separates you from the rest of the foxes. You wear armour but how do you fight? Like Vadoric?”

The two foxes chuckle, though Kirin does so with a wince afterwards. He looks back at you, slightly bashful.

>cont

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>>38228984
“Not like that,” Kirin says in a clipped but slightly embarrassed tone. A man of few words.

“Ol’ Six-Tail Vad is an enforcer, not a knight. We stand on the front-lines to fight monster to support those bombarding them from afar. Enforcers rip us apart like we’re made of papier-mâché and hitting them with feathers, and without armour,” Abal says. “We use similar techniques – martial arts, elemental techniques to project fire or protect our tails, but we focus on destroying monsters up close without letting them hurt us or other foxes.”

“You talk like Vad could tear you all apart,” Gnome says, frowning.

He shrugs, not answering the question. At this point, you suspect both of them are waiting for more orders. For now, you direct them to the frontlines but let them know they’ll likely get drawn into earthworks and preparation. Once they’re gone, you turn to Kyria.

“Assemble the military side of the cabinet in the afternoon. We need to start splitting up the elite forces,” you explain.

>Some discussion on how to deploy the elites, particularly in the skirmishing stages.

I’ll post a list of the elite units in a second.

>>38228966
hopefully if there is a few years of peace soon we can get down to business making babies.

>>38228984
>She's pubescent, but rather young for a dragon.
you meant she's NOT pubescent. right?

>>37917841
>>37917877

I went back and had a gander at the dominion stuff. Dominion creation is linked to Talon's perception, which is currently at a pretty radical "4." Can we make a large body of water for Undine to manipulate? Like, something hidden underground by Gnome and could be whipped out as a massive fuck you sucker punch?

>>38229046
I figure she's a teen or tween.

>>38229111
in dragon years, which probably makes her older than talon

>>38229046
ok, stupid me. pubescent means post puberty
i was thinking of prepubescent which is before puberty, doh

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>>38229046
Doesn't pubescent just mean in puberty? Because that's effectively what she is in dragon terms. I was trying to say that's she still rather innocent and young despite maturing. She's also in her twenties as a dragon IIRC, so she's not exactly 'young' in conventional terms and has a young adult human figure as a result.

>Elite units:
500 Veteran Light Mage Knights, the Gendarme Personal Guard
285 Veteran Flying Mage Knights, Nate/Illon’s Bombardment Scouts
100 Elite Heavy Mage Knights, Rayza and Phrace’s ‘DracoGriffs’
150 Regular Noble Knights, Lynn’s Griffin Knights
200 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s Order of Black Stone
225 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s Order of the Golden Bear
250 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s remaining knights
25 Veteran Mystic Fox Knights, Pride’s clan knights
200 Veteran Daerfir, offered as Talon’s Royal Guard
150 Veteran Rangers, Hartmann’s Order of the Silver Arrow
100 Green Rangers, Vitria’s Order of the Red Hawk.

>>38229003
...wait, I thought Vad had 5 tails. Did he get another one early?

>>38229154
So what I'm after here is some discussion about where to deploy the various elite units. They're going to be really important in the battle, particularly in the skirmishing stages, as they'll be superior to most demons in conflict.

>>38229156
A six-tail fox basically said that Vad was capable of tearing him apart. 'Six-tail' is a nickname, to make light of the fact that Vad is very talented. I think Taira's brought it up before.

>>38229154
The fox knights will be useful yet they are also really small so they need to be used strategically.

>>38229156
>..wait, I thought Vad had 5 tails. Did he get another one early?
tail count is not an absolute indication of strength. Vlad is far more effective in combat than his tail count would indicate

>>38229154
>>38229046
Pubescent -
Adjective
>relating to or denoting a person at or approaching the age of puberty.

Noun
>a person at or approaching the age of puberty.

It depends on the context.

>>38229154
>25 Veteran Mystic Fox Knights, Pride’s clan knights
>200 Veteran Daerfir, offered as Talon’s Royal Guard
>150 Veteran Rangers, Hartmann’s Order of the Silver Arrow
>100 Green Rangers, Vitria’s Order of the Red Hawk.
>285 Veteran Flying Mage Knights, Nate/Illon’s Bombardment Scouts
>500 Veteran Light Mage Knights, the Gendarme Personal Guard

Send these to raid/scout/skirmish? The rest wait by the walls?

>>38229205
>'Six-tail' is a nickname
no it isn't. they literally had six tails. its just that more tails =! wins the fight.

>>38229154
150 Veteran Rangers, Hartmann’s Order of the Silver Arrow
200 Veteran Daerfir, offered as Talon’s Royal Guard
500 Veteran Light Mage Knights, the Gendarme Personal Guard
Skirmishers

>>38229328
kek

>>38229265
Pull some of the Rangers from that. Put them on the outer or crown wall

>>38229154
My initial thoughts are the Rangers and FMK serve as scouts, finding weakpoints in the enemy formation, and luring demons into ambushes. The Melee types will be the hitting power in these ambushes, gutting isolated forces of demons, then retreating to the wall.
I think there are two important questions:
1. How much of the HMK remains in the DracoGriffs? Like, you said they're a match for Bassette, so are they really still running around in slow HMK armor or are they much faster on their feet at this point?
2. I thought we had a Dragon Knight unit? You said so on twitter anyway

>>38229154

500 Veteran Light Mage Knights, the Gendarme Personal Guard
100 Elite Heavy Mage Knights, Rayza and Phrace’s ‘DracoGriffs’
200 Veteran Daerfir, offered as Talon’s Royal Guard
25 Veteran Mystic Fox Knights, Pride’s clan knights


Likely all good for the initial skirmishes. Quick and fast, get in get out.

150 Regular Noble Knights, Lynn’s Griffin Knights
200 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s Order of Black Stone
225 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s Order of the Golden Bear
250 Veteran Noble Knights, Vitria’s remaining knights

The ones holding the line during our retreat to the first terrace.

150 Veteran Rangers, Hartmann’s Order of the Silver Arrow
100 Green Rangers, Vitria’s Order of the Red Hawk.

Coordinating most of the terrace and Crown Wall movements and support.

Everyone else support in whatever sector is necessary. Though I am wary about the Flyers seeing use, we don't know what they are going to bring.

>>38229003
>Some discussion on how to deploy the elites, particularly in the skirmishing stages.
what do you mean by that?

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>>38229328
>no it isn't. they literally had six tails.
Go reread the text. Vad has five tails, they called him 'six-tail' as a nickname because he's as good in a fight as a six-tail. It's pretty simple.

>>38229338
And put the rest up on the walls or out of the fray for now, I take it?

>>38229420
>Like, you said they're a match for Bassette, so are they really still running around in slow HMK armor or are they much faster on their feet at this point?
As Elites, they hit harder, move faster and are less vulnerable to shock and exhaustion. So yeah, outweighs a lot of the HMK disadvantages.

>2. I thought we had a Dragon Knight unit? You said so on twitter anyway
I said they'd come up in the siege. Just not yet. All you have right now is Kyria.

>>38229457
What you're seeing other people do in their posts right now, suggest where to place and how to use the elite units posted at >>38229154

>>38229484
>And put the rest up on the walls or out of the fray for now, I take it?
Yes. Had to step away for a moment and couldnt finish my thoughts. Simply posted what I could.

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So the LMKs, fluffy knights and Daerfir will be deployed as skirmishers. The FMKs will be able to as well, depending on what the enemy does.

Debate seems to come down to how to use the rangers and heavier knights.

HMK AND NOBLE KNIGHT DEPLOYMENT
>1. Fighting at every step. They'll skirmish, hold the walls, canal and terraces as necessary. Will tire at the rate of all of those battles.
>2. Holds the walls, canal and terraces but no skirmishing.
>3. Used to cover the retreat through the canal and terraces. Will be fresh when the enemy breaks through the outer wall and starts invading Lower Harrowmont.
>4. Custom

RANGER DEPLOYMENT, INITIAL
>1. Skirmishing. On the ground supporting the skirmishers with free movement.
>2. Holding the outer wall. Won't be as flexible or have as much of an advantage in moving around but will have a great range of fire.
>3. Not deployed in the initial fighting. Will be fresh for the next wave of fighting.

RANGER DEPLOYMENT, TERRACES
>1. Deployed to defend Lower Harrowmont alongside the knights.
>2. Pull back to the Crown Wall to coordinate the retreat back to the wall through the terraces.
>3. Custom

>>38229768
>>3. Used to cover the retreat through the canal and terraces. Will be fresh when the enemy breaks through the outer wall and starts invading Lower Harrowmont.

>2. Holding the outer wall. Won't be as flexible or have as much of an advantage in moving around but will have a great range of fire.

>2. Pull back to the Crown Wall to coordinate the retreat back to the wall through the terraces.

>>38229768
>2. Holds the walls, canal and terraces but no skirmishing.

1. Skirmishing. On the ground supporting the skirmishers with free movement.

1. Deployed to defend Lower Harrowmont alongside the knights.

>>38229768
I think the biggest issue is that talon, in character, doesn't quite know what to expect. I think we should perform early "probing skirmishes" whose goal is not to destroy many enemies, but to gauge the effectiveness of our troops vs theirs.

>>38229768
>2
>1 They were designed explicitly as elite skirmishers, this is their job.
>1
Also, Talon should deploy with the elves, we owe them that at least. After all, they got invaded by demons months after reaching the promised land.

>>38229768
>3. Used to cover the retreat through the canal and terraces. Will be fresh when the enemy breaks through the outer wall and starts invading Lower Harrowmont.

>2. Holding the outer wall. Won't be as flexible or have as much of an advantage in moving around but will have a great range of fire.

>2. Pull back to the Crown Wall to coordinate the retreat back to the wall through the terraces.

>>38229768
>>38229878
Changing middle option to >1

>>38229768
>2

>1

>1

>>38229768
>3. Used to cover the retreat through the canal and terraces. Will be fresh when the enemy breaks through the outer wall and starts invading Lower Harrowmont.
>1. Skirmishing. On the ground supporting the skirmishers with free movement.
>2. Pull back to the Crown Wall to coordinate the retreat back to the wall through the terraces.

>>38229768
>3
>2
>2

>>38229768
>3. Used to cover the retreat through the canal and terraces. Will be fresh when the enemy breaks through the outer wall and starts invading Lower Harrowmont.
>1. Skirmishing. On the ground supporting the skirmishers with free movement.
>2. Pull back to the Crown Wall to coordinate the retreat back to the wall through the terraces.

>>38229484
>As Elites, they hit harder, move faster and are less vulnerable to shock and exhaustion. So yeah, outweighs a lot of the HMK disadvantages.
Not to mention, a bunch are in the order of the griffon and have custom armor anyway.

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>3 & 1 & 2

Okay, last vote before I do the first siege scene. I was going to do an engineer bit but I want to get the siege started.

CROWN WALL SIEGE ENGINES
This vote is for what devices get mounted on the extra large mountings built onto the tips of the crown wall. These can fire over the outer wall.

Also note that the enemy does have fliers, though you're not certain of their numbers as they only have a few in the air at any one time (to harass your scouts).

>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.
>2. Repeater ballista. A normal ballista with a mechanical reloading device that enables rapid and accurate fire, typically in bursts. Still good against heavy enemies but not so much against magical barriers. Good against tough flyers.
>3. Anti-siege trebuchets that can fling heavy boulders (for very large siege devices or powerful magical barriers, but less effective against moving enemies) or large quantities of stone shot (effective against masses of enemies, but individually weak).
>4. Custom

I may do a split between them, but I'm nots ure how to effectively do it. If there's interest I may do it along the lines of the vote split.

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Oh, and there's also the Custom of a mage battle-tower if you want lots of magical firepower in one spot on the Crown Wall. I'll only allow one of those if there's interest.

>>38230182
These choices man..
>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.

>>38230182
>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.

>>38230182
If only we had razor/barbed wire............. HMMMMMMMMM

>>38230182
>>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.

>>38230182
>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.

>>38230182
>>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.
I feel like this covers the capability gap we most lack. There is still the troubles caused by super heavy siege engines, but hopefully we can manage.

>>38230182
Hang on, how big are these mountings?

>>38230182
1

>>38230243
I would like one, yes.

>>38230243
Put it on the second north part of the crown wall.

>>38230182
>1. Anti-siege ballista. Useful for punching through magical barriers, heavy enemies (such as huge demons) and siege weapons.
>2. Repeater ballista. A normal ballista with a mechanical reloading device that enables rapid and accurate fire, typically in bursts. Still good against heavy enemies but not so much against magical barriers. Good against tough flyers.

Alternating deployment. Should allow for only small areas not covered by the Anti-Siege Ballistas or the Repeaters...

>>38230182
>1 x3
>2 x2
>Custom Mage Tower of Death x 1

>>38230262
The Dorfs could probably actually make that for us, though it would be of minimal use unless enchanted.

>>38230182
>Repeater ballista. A normal ballista with a mechanical reloading device that enables rapid and accurate fire, typically in bursts. Still good against heavy enemies but not so much against magical barriers. Good against tough flyers.
Can those be placed behind the mounting, thus not using up said slots, and such that they cannot fire downwards (ground is in the way), effectively turning them into AA only?

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>>38230298
about 20m diameter I think, so about 314m^2. At least, thats how big they look on the map.

>>38230396
It's more that the mountings are stupidly huge, like these devices. They're custom-built and take like a day to move and fit.

>>38230420
did you link the right image?