Myth: A New Age CYOA

[Absinthe]

Hm, actually, is it possible for us to promote in-fighting with our spells? You know, illusions and suggestions of being bombarded or otherwise attacked by their own allies, along with maybe a few compulsions so some of them actually do it. If possible, I'd like to expand the pandemonium in invading forces such that they will be killing themselves for us.

Do we know of any groups in invading forces that are likely to distrust one another?

 

[Fangshi]

Hm, actually, is it possible for us to promote in-fighting with our spells? You know, illusions and suggestions of being bombarded or otherwise attacked by their own allies, along with maybe a few compulsions so some of them actually do it. If possible, I'd like to expand the pandemonium in invading forces such that they will be killing themselves for us.

Yes it is possible to try and turn your enemies against each other or otherwise encourage chaos in their ranks through mental and/or illusion spells. The enemy can resist of course (the greater their willpower the harder they will be to trick) but there is nothing stopping you from trying as long as you meet the requirements of any spell you intend to cast (line of sight and all that).

Your options will all come down to how you choose to deploy your forces.

 

[archaen]

Lyssa should probably go with Berty then. Panic and confusion are part of her repertoire. Can we give her a ring with Mass Fear?

How about this plan? We give all the remaining cubes to Lyssa with a ring of mass fear to fend off the crows and send her and a sapper team back to mine the whole trail. Lyssa's job is to use illusions to hide the team from crows and scare them off with her ring if that fails. Have Berty take as many volunteers as he needs to get the job done without keeping them hidden burdensome for Lyssa. Neel can take the shot but he should have a backup in case he is felled.

We hit the other group hard and fast and try to break through as quickly as possible. Our goal is to split or bottle their ranks and give ourselves and the sapper party an escape route. Thais and Derryth take out any mages while the troops do what they know how to do. Once the mage is down they opportunity fire as needed. If we hear explosions we give them some time and then withdraw.

Call this either D or F. I vote for it.

 

[Fangshi]

Sure, I will add it as F.

Current Tally for the new page:

Grimgravy: F>B
Absinthe: F
Nevill: F
asxetos: A
archaen: F
Kz3r0: B
Jester: F

A)
B) 2 votes
C)
D)
E)
F) 5 votes

 

[Absinthe]

I would extend Lyssa's role beyond that a bit and have her add some illusionary bombs to distract people. For the most part, I want them to defer to Berty Lou.

 

[archaen]

I would extend Lyssa's role beyond that a bit and have her add some illusionary bombs to distract people. For the most part, I want them to defer to Berty Lou.

The whole point is for everyone but the ignition crew to be gone by the time anyone would be there to see a bomb. We just have to fool the crows long enough for them to finish.

 

[Absinthe]

Point taken. Voting F.

 

[archaen]

Grimgravy

asxetos.

Nevill

Jester

Kz3ro

I summon thee to at least look at the plan to see if any floppage may be had.

 

[Baltika9]

archaen, you can use the @[User Name] incantation for the Summon Codexer spell.

 

[archaen]

Nevill asxetos Grimgravy Jester Kz3r0 I summon thee using the dark magic taught to me by Baltika!

 

[Nevill]

The problems I see with the plan:

1) Without Energon Cubes we severely limit our own capabilities to affect the battlefield. Our plan is still to fell the leader of the smaller group quickly, and the spells to do so are likely to exhaust us.

This might be addressed if we give Lyssa 4 cubes and keep 2 per character. She already has 7 on her while we and Thais only have 4.

2) How does the 'ignition crew' escape? Note that the dwarven volunteers are very slow. The enemy might be unwilling to follow them into the minefield, but this isn't going to deter the mages. An archmage is not going to be stopped by a mine - they can do some truly ridiculous feats. Once the Watcher's Creature and the archmage (a Shade? what else could it be?) catch up to our rearguard, our people are likely to be doomed. We should give them some means of quick escape.

This might be addressed by getting rid of half of the gold and making the carriage available again. Or we might spare a chariot or two to pick them up. Or something.

Edit: If that is of any consolation, the gold might distract the enemy and slow them down if their discipline is not all that great (if they are alive, they have a use for the gold). If they are forced to ignore it by the mages, this might affect their morale, too.

3) Not to be 'that guy', but wasn't it mentioned that the spells that require maintainance can not be placed on the ring?

3) Spells that require maintenance would not work. Or rather they would and then they would instantly end.

I know that 'GM giveth and GM taketh away', but still. This needs to be clarified. Lyssa does not know 'Mass Fear', so maybe she can 'cast' it from the ring, and then maintain it, even though she does not know the theory behind it?

We probably are better off if we stick to illusions. The crows aren't that intelligent.

If you address those (especially the 2nd), I can consider the plan. It is tempting, but I'd rather not leave our crew behind if something goes wrong.

 

[Fangshi]

This might be addressed if we give Lyssa 4 cubes and keep 2 per character. She already has 7 on her while we and Thais only have 4.

That can certainly be arranged if you lot wish.

This might be addressed by getting rid of half of the gold and making the carriage available again. Or we might spare a chariot of two to pick them up. Or something.

Unloading the carriage at this point will use up some time, you have about twenty minutes, you would likely lose five to clear enough space to make a difference.

You can certainly leave chariots behind should you wish. You will need to leave a chariot per person since they only comfortably hold two each and you do not really want anyone falling off I imagine. If you don't care about the extra risk you could put three people to a chariot though. Alternatively you could leave the chariots without skilled drivers which would let you get two to a chariot though it would mean less skilled hands driving them.

I know that 'GM giveth and GM taketh away', but still. This needs to be clarified. Lyssa does not know 'Mass Fear', so maybe she can 'cast' it from the ring, and then maintain it, even though she does not know the theory behind it?

My understanding is that the ring would be used to throw them into a state of confusion at a key moment.

What would happen is that the ring would activate and hit your enemies with a fear spell which would then immediately terminate. If the spell hit then you would fill them with a single instant of supreme and absolute terror, a sort of magical 'jump scare'. It would not be too useful if you are trying to scare them away but if you did it at the right moment it could be quite useful.

If you want prolonged terror than Lyssa has an illusion for that though it might not work on whatever mages are headed your way.

 

[Kz3r0]

I think that is better not waste time and spare our energon cubes in case of direct confrontation.

 

[Nevill]

How many volunteers Berty would need?

How skilled do you need to be to drive a chariot? We don't plan to use those that aren't driven by the Royal Escort to fight, only to escape. Additionally, does Lyssa need to know how to drive, or maybe her animal skills may allow her to command the horses effectively anyway?

Essentially, what does having 'less skilled' drivers means for us?

Is the risk of falling out all that high if we don't have them go at top speed? I mean, we've loaded the grenadiers on them when we started the hunt, and no one fell out.

Ideally, I want a chariot for Berty and Lyssa, and one extra chariot per three volunteers. The reasoning is that dwarves are smaller and easier to fit, so two humans and three dwarves per chariot sounds about alright.

Also, I don't want to risk named characters. :D

Kz3r0, we are trying to buy time, not to waste it. A direct confrontation with an archmage would be lethal regardless of how many cubes we have.

 

[Grimgravy]

I like the looks of F, but I agree with Nevill. We need a decent escape plan for the demolition team. I'll assume we're working on that and the cube distribution and flop to F>B.
I'm cool with leaving some chariots for their escape. We're bound to have casualties breaking through anyway, so we'll have chariot space available before we're done anyway.
I'm not down for giving all the Cubes to Lyssa. We should keep some for our own conflict.

 

[Fangshi]

How many volunteers Berty would need?

Well the more grenadiers the quicker he can go so he would like them all but he is willing to settle for six. Currently his team would look like this: Berty, Lyssa, six grenadiers and both your archers to set off the trap.

How skilled you need to be to drive a chariot! We don't plan to use those that aren't driven by the Royal Escort to fight, only to escape.

You ever seen someone try to drive a team of horses at top speed with absolutely no experience? Along a winding mountain path no less?

I am not saying it can not work but it does increase the risk somewhat.

Additionally, does Lyssa need to know how to drive, or her animal skills may allow her to command the horses effectively anyway?

She would do better than the untrained dwarves but it would also be a new experience for her. The horses will likely be on edge given the mages chasing them and the explosions from the satchel charges though she might be able to calm them.

Is the risk of falling out all that high if we don't have them go at top speed? I mean, we've loaded the grenadiers on them when we started the hunt, and no one fell out.

The slower they go the safer it is but you have no say in how quickly they will try to go unless you go with them and enforce it yourself. With a pair of powerful mages after them they will go as quickly as they need to.

Ideally, I want a chariot for Berty and Lyssa, and one extra chariot per three volunteers. The reasoning is that dwarves are smaller, so two humans and three dwarves per chariot sounds alright.

Certainly doable, yes. It won't be without its risks but it is not doomed to failure or anything.

 

[Nevill]

Okay, so I will agree to F on the following conditions:

1) We don't give away all of our Energon Cubes to Lyssa.
2) We leave our team 5 chariots with 4 drivers to make their escape. Is my math right, Fangshi? One for Berty and Lyssa, and four for 12 dwarves, including the drivers. No one gets left behind.

With luck, we will turn the situation around and trap them right as they are trying to trap us. The Watcher was always a lousy tactician.

I imagine that archaen, as the man behind the initial idea, would have to agree to these modifications (or make his own), first, before my vote will count towards the plan. I do not want to introduce another option when the differences are rather minor and can be easily settled.

 

[archaen]

Okay, so I will agree to F on the following conditions:

1) We don't give away all of our Energon Cubes to Lyssa.
2) We leave our team 5 chariots with 4 drivers to make their escape. Is my math right, Fangshi? One for Berty and Lyssa, and four for 12 dwarves, including the drivers. No one gets left behind.

With luck, we will turn the situation around and trap them right as they are trying to trap us. The Watcher was always a lousy tactician.

I imagine that archaen, as the man behind the initial idea, would have to agree to these modifications (or make his own), first, before my vote will count towards the plan. I do not want to introduce another option when the differences are rather minor and can be easily settled.

Those mods are fine. I'm at work for the next 12 hours but I'll try to come by and check. If the consensus comes up with another plan on the ring I'll go along.

 

[archaen]

I like the mass assault spell more than the mass fear spell. If used against the crows it could knock a ton of them out of the sky or if used against the enemy troops trying to trap us could let our soldiers cut them down for an escape. Same save, same mastery, instantaneous effect instead of concentration.

 

[Nevill]

Sadly, it is not an instantaneous effect. Or is it? The assault spell requires us to work the subject's mind before we attempt anything. I am not sure how the mass version works. I am also not sure if the instant shock would be enough to drop their lot out of the sky. Somehow I feel that you need more than that for the birds to forget how to fly.

 

[archaen]

I thought it basically dazed you like a flashbang. A murder of crows slamming into each other and not flapping their wings could be bad for their health if they don't recover before hitting the ground. If it is a concentration spell then the fear one is better. I seem to remember Derryth laying out a guy in the bar and the effect lasted after she cast.

 

[Fangshi]

I thought it basically dazed you like a flashbang. A murder of crows slamming into each other and not flapping their wings could be bad for their health if they don't recover before hitting the ground. If it is a concentration spell then the fear one is better. I seem to remember Derryth laying out a guy in the bar and the effect lasted after she cast.

Normally Derryth and Thaïs tailor their mental spells to the minds they are attacking. If you loaded Mass Assault into the ring you would not have time to modify the content of the spell before it unraveled. Most minds could resist such an unfocused assault without too much difficulty but it might make them hesitate a little. If you just want to surprise someone then Mass Fear would work better as it is easier to create a memory that is universally terrifying than to create an assualt spell that would work against all opponents.

Now that being said if you are targeting the crows you could probably cause some damage since they are just birds, clever birds mind you but birds all the same. They will not really have mental defences exactly so even hitting them for a second might be enough.

Just be aware that these mental spells will be less powerful and their effects will expire quicker than they would if cast by an actual mentalist.

Derryth has used the spell to absolutely pummel a few people (usually when she is annoyed and overreacts, girl has a temper ) but you will not be able to get results like that from the ring. She had to maintain those spells for at least a few minutes and the 'stunned' effect her attacks caused (which did last for some time) where more the result of completely exhausting the minds of her victims than anything else.

Is my math right, Fangshi? One for Berty and Lyssa, and four for 12 dwarves, including the drivers. No one gets left behind.

The numbers are right but you only have six dwarves (the two archers are humans) not eight. I don't know if that changes how you want to set it up or not.

If you want a few more hours to work out the details I have no problem with that. I won't have time to actually start on the update for at least eight hours so I will leave the vote open till then with an update to follow within six to eight hours after the vote closes.

 

[Nevill]

Alright, so assuming we want to catch some (or all) of the army pursuing us, how is that going to work?

Will Berty withdraw when the enemy enters line-of-sight, leaving Neel to detonate the satchel charges? Does Neel know where the tunnels (the ones that Rand suggested we should take) are and how to navigate them? Is it easier for him to follow the tunnels, or will he prefer to escape on a chariot with everyone? For that matter, where will he hide so that the chariot could reach him in time?

Also, why are there 2 humans? What would the second one do? Or will they detonate different traps simultaneously?

I guess we can spare 1 more chariot if it helps us not to lose the best tracker this side of the Cloudspine. 1 chariot will hardly make a difference.

Make it 6 chariots and 5 drivers, then.

 

[Grimgravy]

Yeah, I'd think Neel is worth a chariot.

 

[Fangshi]

Alright, so assuming we want to catch some (or all) of the army pursuing us, how is that going to work?

Will Berty withdraw when the enemy enters line-of-sight, leaving Neel to detonate the satchel charges? Does Neel know where the tunnels (the ones that Rand suggested we should take) are and how to navigate them? Is it easier for him to follow the tunnels, or will he prefer to escape on a chariot with everyone? For that matter, where will he hide so that the chariot could reach him in time?

After you set up most of your group will flee via chariot. Hopefully the mages will push through after them, then Neel hidden behind a sort of makeshift blind will set off the trap when he thinks he can do maximum damage. If it works he should be able to take out a few of them at least and slow them down.

Neel knows about the tunnels but he does not know where they all go, he might be able to make it through them if he had to and he will make for them if he can not make it to the chariot. The chariot would be easier for him though.

The chariot will have to hide around a bend in the road further on to prevent the enemy from spotting it easily. He will have to run for it but he knows the risks.

Also, why are there 2 humans? What would the second one do? Or will they detonate different traps simultaneously?

Because it is part of the plan as presented to me:

Neel can take the shot but he should have a backup in case he is felled.

The other archer is the secondary shooter. If something goes wrong he will take the shot. Otherwise he will either help to detonate the charges or he will go get the chariot while Neel works. It will all depend on what they decide to do.

I guess we can spare 1 more chariot if it helps us not to lose the best tracker this side of the Cloudspine. 1 chariot will hardly make a difference.

Six chariots then?

So the teams will look like this:

Assualt Team:
1. Derryth
2. Thaïs
3. Myora
4. Biliku
5. Uttu
6. 14 Veteran Grenadiers (Dwarven)
7. 8 Veteran Sell-swords (Human)
8. 5 Veteran Warriors (Maul)
9. 35 Royal Guards
10. 14 Light Chariots
11. 1 Carriage loaded with gold and diamonds

Ambush Team:
1. Berty
2. Lyssa
3. Neel
4. 1 Veteran Archer (Human)
5. 6 Veteran Grenadiers (Dwarven)
6. 5 Royal Guards to act as drivers for the dwarves
7. 6 Light Chariots

And you will give Lyssa your ring loaded with Mass Fear.