Completed [LP] Bleed for your Kingdom, officer! Codex plays Guns of Infinity

[Lithium Flower]

Okay, so if anyone is interested in how the potential outcomes of that battle work...

Spoiler

There are five potential casualties:
-Hartigan
-Marcus
-Lewes
-Lady Welles
-Sergeant and Marion (counting them as one casualty/character death for convenience.)

So basically, at various points in the battle you are given the option to deploy a Squadron to aid somebody. If you don't send aid, that person then dies. Because you deployed both of your squadrons early on, you were able to save Marcus and Hartigan. But this meant that in the end you had to choose between saving either Welles or Lewes.

However, if you had 50 Intellect and had managed to secure the barges at Mhillanovil, you would have been able to take a third approach: suggest that Cunaris use the heavy guns to support either the 5th of Foot or the Experimentals. Whoever you choose to offer artillery support will automatically survive, and you are then sent to aid the one who didn't offer cannon support. Unfortunately, this wasn't an option, so it means the unit you didn't personally arrive to save was butchered.

So, you rode to aid the 5th of Foot. Previously, I thought the mere act of doing so was enough to save Welles. However, your unit stats were so low that she died anyway (I genuinely didn't know this was possible.)

As for Marion and your Sergeant, they die automatically if you only brought your own Squadron with you (if either Caius or Garret had still been with you, then neither Marion nor Hernandes would have died. This of course requires the sacrifice of either Marcus or Hartigan.)

As I understand it, the most amount of characters that can die here is 4, and the lowest amount is 1. You lost 3. So it's not the darkest possible outcome, but it's still pretty grim.

Also if your reputation had been higher you would have received twice as much money.

Spoiler

So the only thing that change depending on our choices is who dies, there's no bigger impact on the battle itself? I'm a little disappointed. Still thank you for taking the time to write this.

Spoiler

Giving the player an opportunity to change the outcome of the battle or war drastically kind of goes against the kind of war drama the infinity series is, though. The whole point is that the macro-level stuff is generally out of your hands.

That being said, there is an entire endgame arc that requires player's presence in lieu of this final battle that you have missed. That one has fewer outcomes with further reaching implications.

 

[Kipeci]

So, this is the end? Can you say now where we went wrong in developing the martial prowess of our men?

 

[Lithium Flower]

So, this is the end? Can you say now where we went wrong in developing the martial prowess of our men?

Nah, that's not the end.

The end is the next few choices + 6 months that it takes me to write up that explanation I promised you.

Incidentally, three years after that is when the next Torment on the Shards update drops.

:^)

 

[Lithium Flower]

I mean, roughly speaking and bearing in mind I forgot some of the smaller situations, you guys went full discipline min-maxing at the start (picking Hernandez as opposed to BROnzerel) and the proceeded to sabotage said stat with questionable choices. Here are some major points I remember:

-Skimping out on replacing carbines. You could have bought them all high quality replacements (I don't think you were able to afford the enchanted uber variants but I am pretty sure you were able to get the next best thing), since it is established that the army hasn't been giving you top quality supplies and that its only a matter of time before more carbines are found to be defective. You decided to replace "the most decrepit-looking weapons" and as a result missed out on the chance to trade wealth for a bunch of unit stats.

-Choosing no punishment when one of your dudes allegedly stabbed a peasant or whatever. Regardless of the whole "how can we trust the word of an enemy citizen whose language we don't even speak," you have had to understand that this sends a very clear message to the rest of your dudes, specifically that they can get accused of straight up murdering civilians and you won't give a shit. Such a message is certainly not conducive to good discipline.

-Trying to throw your weight around to get better lodgings in the winter. Granted this wasn't really your fault as your high starting reputation did carry you pretty far in the first game, but again this turned out to be a wasted opportunity to just purchase lodgings to improve your unit.

Basically, Alaric is an example of a man who got pretty far initially due to favoritism while being a pretty good soldier and a horrendous officer. Always choosing the simplest and brutal approach with an overall mediocre track record, punctuated by the occasional high (mostly kicking a lot of ass in personal combat) and a whole lot of lows. You weren't decorated once for your efforts, and eventually even people closest to you - Cunaris, the man that picked you to be his protege of sorts - realized that you were a essentially a liability that could be trusted to do the bare minimum at best and grew to resent you. Here you are, having survived the turning point of this war that left pretty much every officer you had a cordial relationship with dead, and you haven't learned anything. Once a dumbfuck idealist with a fuckhuge sword, always a dumbfuck idealist with a fuckhuge sword.

I guess that's a story.

 

[Reinhardt]

3. No sympathy for deserters and cowards.

 

[Lithium Flower]

It was only when you spoke up in favour of clemency that you learned you were not alone in the opinion. Cunaris, perhaps harbouring some affection for his disgraced subordinate, proved himself easy to convince to your side of the argument.

The third member of the tribunal, the man from Grenadier Square, was resistant at first, but once faced with the opposition of a Duke of the Unified Kingdom, his objections faltered. The decision for clemency had been a unanimous one.

Ultimately, the decision was made to have Keane cashiered; his commission revoked without recompense, his sword broken, his decorations and commendations ordered destroyed. His reputation in tatters, he returned to Tierra aboard the first ship of the spring, with nothing to show for a life of soldiering but an all-encompassing, permanent disgrace.

Even so, it had been clemency; for the crime of deserting one's men before the enemy should have, by all means, brought harsher punishment. You had, in the end, done him a mercy.

Not that you have any doubt Keane himself would think otherwise.

-

That summer found you back at the head of your men as the King's Army faced a new Antari force, what would turn out to be the final great effort of what remained of the League Congress's war faction.

The new army was a shadow of the last Antari host to march south. It had none of the disciplined line infantry which Khorobirit alone had raised and equipped, its artillery was non-existent, its Hussars were newly raised and ill-mounted, and it possessed only the most meagre complement of light cavalry.

Had it come to open battle, the contest between this last gasp and the veteran and victory-flushed regiments of the King's Army could have only concluded one way.

It had not.

Instead, the Duke of Havenport had ordered your dragoons north, into the path of the enemy host. Through the hottest days of the year, you had ranged before the path of the approaching enemy force as it made its ponderous way south, burning crops, poisoning wells, burning bridges, and watching from afar as the Antari lost more and more men to disease, desertion, and starvation with every passing day.

It was a coward's way of making war, but it was also an effective one, and you knew well enough that the King's Army had long since sacrificed the old ways of battle upon the altar of expediency.

Within six weeks, what was left of the League Congress's last great army was retreating back north, a straggling mob of wretched fugitives with hollow bellies and sunken eyes, defeated without firing a single shot in anger.

The Antari sent their first peace envoys the following month. They continued coming the year that followed, even as the King's Army continued to advance northwards. You were camped not two hundred kilometres from the walls of Octobirit itself when the news finally came: a treaty had been signed, and for the first time in a dozen years, there was to be peace between Tierra and Antar.

-

As the days once again grew shorter and colder, you and your dragoons slowly made your way back to Kharangia. You had a great deal of time to yourself to think then, to consider the years which you had spent at war and your rise through the ranks of the King's Army.

There was, of course, opportunity to rise yet further still.

For more than half a decade, you remained at the rank of captain. You had long since amassed the seniority needed to be eligible for a promotion to major.

However, with the war at an end, there would be no guarantee that your promotion would prove of any real worth; what difference did that single step up in rank mean for the soldier of an army at peace, an army which might find itself without great need of you anyway? Was that difference enough to be worth spending the 800 crown you would need to attain it?

1) I thought I would be more impressive returning home a major than a captain.
2) I bought the promotion; it would be a great help should Tierra find itself at war in future.
3) I decided that there were better ways to spend my money.

Personal Information

As of the Autumn of the 613th year of the Old Imperial Era.

Sir Alaric d'al Ortiga
Age: 25
Rank: Captain

Wealth: 1754
Income: 15

Soldiering: 75%
Charisma: 43%
Intellect: 5%
Reputation: 24%
Health: 65%

Idealism: 69%; Cynicism: 31%
Ruthlessness: 36%; Mercy: 64%

You are a Knight of the Red, having the right to wear bane-hardened armour and wield a bane-runed sword.

You have no decorations as of yet.

Unit Information

Sixth Squadron, Royal Dragoons
Senior NCO: Staff-sergeant Campos

Discipline: 39%
Morale: 44%
Loyalty: 46%
Strength: 57%

 

[Kipeci]

3

Those bankers are going to take everything we own if we don’t pay that interest, right?

Anyhow, thanks for the write-up. I can’t help but wonder how it would have gone if we’d had a less soldiering-based build. I think that contributed to trying to solve all the problems with brute force because that was what we were good at. There again, maybe we’d have gotten stabbed more often for it if Alaric wasn’t a one-man wonder on the battlefield.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

3.

 

[Grimgravy]

3 - pay the family debt

 

[LordTryhard]

Anyhow, thanks for the write-up. I can’t help but wonder how it would have gone if we’d had a less soldiering-based build. I think that contributed to trying to solve all the problems with brute force because that was what we were good at. There again, maybe we’d have gotten stabbed more often for it if Alaric wasn’t a one-man wonder on the battlefield.

Your build was pretty bad, but your decisions played a key role as well.

For fun, I decided to do a playthrough making the exact decisions that led to Alaric's personal stats (Soldiering, Intellect, and Charisma), while making different decisions to try to maximize the amount of wealth, reputation, decorations, and unit stats.
---

Spoiler

Here were his stats at the end of Sabres:

Sir Alaric d'al Ortiga

Age: 19
Rank: Captain
Wealth: 590
Income: 30
Soldiering: 74%
Charisma: 40%
Intellect: 0%
Reputation: 82%
Health: 75%
Idealism: 59%
Mercy: 93%

Unit Stats:
Discipline: 60%
Morale: 80%
Loyalty: 68%

Decorations:
-Gryphon of Rendower
-Meritous Service Order
---
Here were his stats at the end of Guns:

Sir Alaric d'al Ortiga

Age: 25
Rank: Lieutenant-colonel
Wealth: 2343
Income: 30
Soldiering: 75%
Charisma: 43%
Intellect: 5%
Reputation: 76% (started at 45)
Health: 50%
Idealism: 50%
Mercy: 73%

Unit Stats:
Discipline: 54%
Morale: 62%
Loyalty: 68%
Strength: 49%

Decorations:
-Gryphon of Rendower (with bar, which means I won it a second time)
-Meritous Service Order

Notes:
-Went on the Forlon Hope (Pissed off Cazarosta in doing so.)
-Didn't request replacements
-Cunaris asked me to take Renard as my squire
-Lewes and Lanzeral were the only deaths in the final battle.
-Didn't invest in Garing's rifle design.
-Sent half my income home.

---
Here is what I would personally say your mistakes were:
-Not picking Lanzeral as your Sergeant.
-Being unnecessarily rude or hostile to certain characters, missing out on opportunities to befriend, romance, or mentor them. For example, Renard is the son and heir to the Duke of Cunaris, one of the most powerful people in the country. Then there is Welles: she is a Countess, who inherited her father's title, which means that whoever marries her becomes an Earl and inherits her family's lands.
-Not giving more autonomy to your Officers and Sergeants (there are hidden stats that track this sort of thing, and it can be helpful in certain situations.)
-The way you handled your men in general - Lithium Flower already addressed the specifics.

The games do seem to favour High Intellect, Decent Charisma characters (though the author has hinted that might change in the future.) But even if you do have bad stats, you can still have a decent game if you make the right decisions.

 

[Kipeci]

80% morale? No lower than 60% on the others? Was Lanzeral and buying the firewood really enough to make that big of a difference?? Or do you have stat increases for more glorious victories and the like?

 

[Lithium Flower]

80% morale? No lower than 60% on the others? Was Lanzeral and buying the firewood really enough to make that big of a difference?? Or do you have stat increases for more glorious victories and the like?

Outcomes really snowball in this game. Pick a decision that raises your personal/unit stats and suddenly you have access to more opportunities later down the line. You missed out on a ton of content and therefore extra opportunities to improve your stats because of this.

Also, strictly speaking Lanzerel is not an objectively superior choice, but he is the best choice for most builds. He gives you a balanced initial stat distribution and will never refuse orders AFAIK - however he does lead to some occasional reputation decreases later down the line as the guy is basically an infantryman in a dragoon's uniform.

There is at least one instance where Hernandez blatantly refuses an order.

 

[Lithium Flower]

By the time you reached Kharangia, you had resolved yourself with some substantial certainty that a major's commission was not an extravagance that you could afford.

And that was exactly what a promotion was: an extravagance. With the war over, there was little point in committing yet more of your precious funds to the army. In the peacetime army, higher rank only meant more obligations, more responsibilities, without the increased chance for loot or other reward such an elevation would have brought in war.

No, you would invest your money into more fruitful avenues. There was no point in advancement within the army of a kingdom at peace.

-

That had been a month ago.

Now, you wait on the stone of Kharangia's docks as the autumn wind tugs against your greatcoat, waiting for your belongings to be loaded aboard the ship that will take you to Aetoria to take up your father's title before the assembled Cortes, the ship that will take you back to the homeland which you have not seen for so many years.

Of all those whom you fought beside in your years in Antar, few remain. The bulk of your command took ship for Fernandescourt two weeks ago. Cunaris had gone with them. Havenport sailed a week after that, departing with the King and his entourage, Lord Cassius among them. You remained behind only to make final arrangements for your men as they departed. Of the tens of thousands of King's soldiers who had once trod the soil of Antar underneath their boots, you are almost the last to remain.

Almost.

Only two more ships remain to depart Antar bearing officers of the Royal Dragoons. One is yours, set to embark for Aetoria. Even now, its crew haul Thunderer over the bulwarks and onto the deck, the beast's torso swaddled in a vast cradle of Takaran cotton in order to protect its belly from the abrasion of the crane ropes.

The other ship is bound for Leoniscourt. Cazarosta had offered you the most perfunctory of farewells when he passed you on his way to his own vessel not half an hour ago, a single, polite nod, only barely on the near side of civility. He boarded went below deck not long after that. You are not sure if you shall ever see him again.

-

It is the approach of three figures on horseback that pull you out of your thoughts. All three are unmistakeably women, and all three sit sedately side-saddle, the iron-shod hooves of their ponies beating a steady rhythm against the cobbles as they make their way towards you.

Two of the women are maids. Their drab and uniform outfits make that almost plain. The third is anything but, clad in a sleek riding habit of deep blue, her dark curls bound back by a bonnet of whitest silk, her cherry lips made wicked by an impish smile.

"Good day, Sir Alaric," Lady Katarina says by way of greeting as she slips herself free from her saddle, her smile replaced with a look of careful, polite neutrality. "I trust that you are well?"

You reply with a blank, guileless look of your own. "I am," you reply blandly, more out of propriety than any real sense of friendliness. "And you, madam?"

Lady Katarina waves at the dock, or rather, the other ship on the dock. "I am to take ship to my family's seat. Certain matters demand my attention there."

Your eyes narrow. "You must be mistaken my lady. That ship is bound for Leoniscourt."

The intelligence operative nods, her features blank. "I am not mistaken, sir. I know where that ship is bound."

Suddenly, it all makes sense; Leoniscourt is a barren rock, fit only as harbour and fortress. The only noble house which makes its seat there is the one which has ruled it for centuries. "Why, you are—"

"Lady Katarina d'al Cazarosta," she replies, offering you a deep and mocking curtsey, "at your service."

1) "Why did you not tell me?"
2) "Why, of course, I expected this!"
3) "I must confess that I do not enjoy being lied to."

 

[baud]

2

Let's appear to be more clever than we are!

 

[ERYFKRAD]

3

 

[Grimgravy]

2 sure, why not?

 

[Kipeci]

2

I'm wondering how she'll respond to our brilliant deduction.

 

[LordTryhard]

80% morale? No lower than 60% on the others?

So those were my stats in Sabres, and I would just like to clarify that it is much easier to increase stats in Sabres than it is in Guns.

Basically, with Sabres, the game just does flat increases. The code says +15%, so you get +15. However, this led to a slight glitch; some people were able to get their stats higher than 100%.

So in Guns, the author changed to a different system, called Fairmath (spoiler: it isn't fair.) To prevent stats from reaching higher than 100%, it creates diminishing returns: the higher a stat is, the lower effect an increase will have on it. Alternatively, the lower a stat is, the higher effect. Let's use the reputation stat as an example. A choice that my increase your reputation by 20 when your reputation is low may only increase it by about four or five percent if your reputation is already high.

This is one reason why my Guns units stats a bit lower than my Sabres stats. Another reason is that Charisma is a lot more important for managing your unit in Guns than it was in Sabres, and you can miss out on some massive boosts if it isn't high enough.

In Guns, if you can keep all of your unit stats above 50, you're in decent shape. If they're all above 60, you're doing exceptionally good. And if they're all above 70, you're in the best shape you can possibly be.

Or do you have stat increases for more glorious victories and the like?

There are many ways to increase your unit stats.
-Winning glorious victories, or coming out of engagements with low casualty rates (so they have more faith in your leadership.)
-Performing impressive feats of valour in front of your men (the Forlorn Hope provides the most opportunities to do this.)
-Finding ways to reward your men (for example, in Sabres I found a runegun, which is basically an enchanted musket that shoots lasers. Rather than keep it for myself (which would have given me +15 Soldiering), I gave it to my best marksman, causing Discipline and Morale to increase by 10 each.)
-Giving impressive speeches (requires charisma, naturally.)
-Looking after your men's well-being (ideally at your own expense.)
-Putting your life and/or reputation on the line for them (for instance, participating in Blaylock's duel but having enough intellect to avoid being caught.)
-Taking time to perform actions like eating with your men, riding with them, praising them, etc (boosts loyalty and sometimes morale by small amounts.)
-Being strict enough with punishments and training to increase discipline, but not so harsh that it makes them feel miserable or hate you.

Remember what Reyes had to say on the matter:

"In all earnestness though, sir," he continues, this time directing his words to you alone. "I do have advice: never lose sight of your men. Keep your graces about you when you are with them, knock a few heads about when needed, that will remind them that you are their officer. Yet if they see that you are willing to drink with them, they will be more easily convinced that you are willing to die for them."

buying the firewood really enough to make that big of a difference?

I didn't need to buy any firewood. My reputation was so high that all I needed to do was ask for some.

---

So Lithium, a question: After this is over are you going to start a second playthrough to show them the Disgraced path?

 

[Lithium Flower]

Oh yeah, sitting out the Forlorn Hope was a massive wasted opportunity as well. Shame it happened at least in part over a misreading of the text, too.

So Lithium, a question: After this is over are you going to start a second playthrough to show them the Disgraced path?

I kind of want to encourage people to buy the game to access the other content. If anything, might hold a dumb contest and give away a bundle of Paul Wang's games later in the month if I have some spare cash. I might consider the disgraced playthrough if people show interest, though, since it will still be a while until Book 3 is out, so if you guys want to see it let me know.

Would have to be with a different character, temperamentally and conceptually. If you guys larp a braindead muscleman again I might actually kill myself.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

If you guys larp a braindead muscleman again I might actually kill myself.

Challenge accepted.

 

[LordTryhard]

Would have to be with a different character, temperamentally and conceptually. If you guys larp a braindead muscleman again I might actually kill myself.

Well, there are two Disgraced Premades, and I don't think either of them have particularly high Soldiering.

I'd also be willing to take the time to make some custom Disgraced characters that you guys could choose, to get a bit more variety. (The only options among the Premades are either a braindead charismatic muscleman, or a weakling with high intellect and charisma.) I consider myself quite adept at creating good characters that don't conform to the standard 51/60/69 Aetorian min/maxer build.

All I'd have to do is make a new email, do a couple playthroughs of Sabres, and then PM that email to you so you can enter it into your game and download them.

 

[Reinhardt]

2

Let's appear to be more clever than we are!

Speak for yourself!

 

[Reinhardt]

Would have to be with a different character, temperamentally and conceptually. If you guys larp a braindead muscleman again I might actually kill myself.

Don't ask impossible from the codex.

 

[Lithium Flower]

Would have to be with a different character, temperamentally and conceptually. If you guys larp a braindead muscleman again I might actually kill myself.

Well, there are two Disgraced Premades, and I don't think either of them have particularly high Soldiering.

I'd also be willing to take the time to make some custom Disgraced characters that you guys could choose, to get a bit more variety. (The only options among the Premades are either a braindead charismatic muscleman, or a weakling with high intellect and charisma.) I consider myself quite adept at creating good characters that don't conform to the standard 51/60/69 Aetorian min/maxer build.

All I'd have to do is make a new email, do a couple playthroughs of Sabres, and then PM that email to you so you can enter it into your game and download them.

If we really are going to do this I'd go with the weakling /w smarts and charms, but thanks for the offer.

 

[Major_Blackhart]

3. We have no interest in playing this woman's game. Let her enjoy herself with all the guile and fops she can. They are false men, and she will dig her own grave with them.