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The one under the exploded mountain in the far east? And are mining & forging something?
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On the shoulders of giants: a new multiple choices LP!
- Thread starter Curufinwe
- Start date
The one under the exploded mountain in the far east? And are mining & forging something?
AstralStorm
Educated
Darn, those email notifications sure fail hard.
While I was not looking, nobody arranged a tasteful "accident" for the fire wielder after a mock trial or forced him to try a real confrontation. And then some other silly people sent him up the volcano with even more perfect opportunities to get rid of him. I suspected though that he had his "followers" planted in the expedition making its small size an actual boon, canny bastard.
So the revolt there could've failed miserably with the wielder returning alone and everybody else being dead. Giving him the gem was like "WTF"?! As if the voters didn't read the LP. (with "secret followers" and "insane babbling". Including at the court, he only calmed down a tiny bit later to play his game.)
I've a strong suspicion some people mixed up the options too.
I think the last non-C choices were mostly flavor - the Wielder would've executed the leaders there and then anyway and placed his own supporters.
Have a nice death.
--
I'm getting a pretty strong DA:O Dwarf vibe with this new civilization. (Heck, they even had the forced "retirement"!)
Anyway, Let's Vote: C/B. (anything but A)
Actually, these three choices are pretty terrible; B offers some hope of escape or at least expansion. There's a danger we'd unleash even more of the evil and of course we'd probably be turning our backs (at least partly) to the onslaught. It might be though that acting early is the only way we'll be successful in getting out - far too many unknowns either way.
C... not exactly in a position for siege - while we're kind of self-sustainable in a very limited way, if there's too many monsters, they might be able to breach any kind of defense.
However, this wait could give us time to prepare a way to seal off the monster influx before we're trying to get out. We don't really know if there's infinity+1 monsters or not, so the assumption of the guy recommending it might well be wrong.
I'd consider doing B when things get too hot, e.g. the number of monsters does not decrease or we'll start having problems taking them out.
Option A could mean recon-by-force. However, previous scouts haven't returned...
I'd expect an option to pick the size of the expedition and general approach in this case. The commander sounded really unbalanced and far too eager to fight - that could prove disastrous, could give us a way out through the mayhem or by accident, or could just kill every civillian while the military wanders into the wrong passage.
While I was not looking, nobody arranged a tasteful "accident" for the fire wielder after a mock trial or forced him to try a real confrontation. And then some other silly people sent him up the volcano with even more perfect opportunities to get rid of him. I suspected though that he had his "followers" planted in the expedition making its small size an actual boon, canny bastard.
So the revolt there could've failed miserably with the wielder returning alone and everybody else being dead. Giving him the gem was like "WTF"?! As if the voters didn't read the LP. (with "secret followers" and "insane babbling". Including at the court, he only calmed down a tiny bit later to play his game.)
I've a strong suspicion some people mixed up the options too.
I think the last non-C choices were mostly flavor - the Wielder would've executed the leaders there and then anyway and placed his own supporters.
Have a nice death.
--
I'm getting a pretty strong DA:O Dwarf vibe with this new civilization. (Heck, they even had the forced "retirement"!)
Anyway, Let's Vote: C/B. (anything but A)
Actually, these three choices are pretty terrible; B offers some hope of escape or at least expansion. There's a danger we'd unleash even more of the evil and of course we'd probably be turning our backs (at least partly) to the onslaught. It might be though that acting early is the only way we'll be successful in getting out - far too many unknowns either way.
C... not exactly in a position for siege - while we're kind of self-sustainable in a very limited way, if there's too many monsters, they might be able to breach any kind of defense.
However, this wait could give us time to prepare a way to seal off the monster influx before we're trying to get out. We don't really know if there's infinity+1 monsters or not, so the assumption of the guy recommending it might well be wrong.
I'd consider doing B when things get too hot, e.g. the number of monsters does not decrease or we'll start having problems taking them out.
Option A could mean recon-by-force. However, previous scouts haven't returned...
I'd expect an option to pick the size of the expedition and general approach in this case. The commander sounded really unbalanced and far too eager to fight - that could prove disastrous, could give us a way out through the mayhem or by accident, or could just kill every civillian while the military wanders into the wrong passage.
Bloodshifter
Educated
A
13 A, 10 B, 1 C. Ok, military solution it is. Onwards.
Oh, before the update, a word. Voting an option 'because it's the most interesting' is legit, sure, but don't expect it to go well, generally. I think it's a good chunk of the reasons the Obsidian Embers arc ended up as it did. Just a warning. Choose, but choose thinking about it. Not just because it's cool.
The young king stood up in the council chamber, raising his hands in an appeasing gesture: "Heed my words, my prized and wise advisors. After hearing your opinions, I have come to a decision. We will undertake a grand military expedition, to rid our caves of the monstrous threat besieging them....."
(Taken from 'Life and Deeds of King Saras the First')
The king slammed his palm on the table again: "Just shut up, all of you! I can't hear myself thinking, damn it! - he sat again, smirking – the general has a point. We can't just sit here, hoping for the best – he glanced meaningfully at the high priest – those monsters aren't just going to 'go away'. Yet, the Sealed Corridors must be sealed for a reason. I'm not going to go against our only historic and sacred texts just because someone thinks it's a good idea. It's not."
He continued: "Now, general, you will receive your orders. You are to select five hundred of your best men. I will take command of the expedition myself. I want to find out what happened to my father Restil. Don't think I haven't heard the reports of screams in the tunnels the day he and his party left."
The council, suddenly in agreement, started protesting that the king could not risk his life in a fool's errand. The general and his second both volunteered, with the high priest trying to convince the youth to stay in the capital.
The king growled and slammed his palm for a third time on the table: "Enough! I gave you your orders, just go!"
The advisors bowed and filed out of the room, still whispering.
In the following days, the expedition was prepared. Five hundreds soldiers, armed and armored with the best forge-iron, gathered at the entrance of the eastern cave system. A single tunnel headed away from the fortifications.
Long pole-lanterns, containing glowing lichens, were given to the men in the front. The expedition carried with them a slab of stone covered with the map of the small part of the cave system that had been explored by scouts during the long years.
The tunnel headed east for close to a kilometre, then opened in a large cave, almost fifty meters long and just as wide. From there, several tunnels left, heading in all directions, that forked again and again, sometimes criss-crossing, sometimes ending abruptly.
Beyond that, nobody knew what to expect. The only sure thing was the labyrinthine nature of the cave system.
The men left in good order, pole-lanterns at the front, heavily armored men carrying great shields and axes just past them. Attacks were expected even before reaching the cavern.
Less than an hour of marching saw the small army reach the cave. And find out the answer the young king was seeking.
King Restil had left the main cave with close to an hundred men. Those who still were vigorous enough armed, fifty of them. The rest just carrying their clothes and some supplies. The scene that presented itself to the army was gruesome. Corpses lay everywhere, the stench of blood was overwhelming. Most of the corpses still wore their armor. Yet many were literally ripped open, pieces of their bodies scattered around the cave. A leg here, an arm there, an headless torso over there.
King Saras moved aside his bodyguard and came to the forefront, surveying the scenario with a frown. He ordered sentries to be posted at all cave entrances, with most of the main army gathered in the middle to respond to any threat. He and twenty men would search through the scattered corpses.
The young king immediately headed to his father's corpse, easily identified by the decorations on his armor. He had been torn to shreds, his head a ruin. The king knelt in front of the body, closing his eyes and murmuring 'Father.... why?'. He stayed still for a long time, then steeled himself and stood up. He turned to his retinue: "Start gathering the bodies. They deserve to be cremated with all honors. What they did was for our survival."
The bloody task lasted a few hours. The bodies were carried back to the main cave, where a great funereal pyre would be prepared in the next days.
Once the task was completed, the king gathered his officers, asking: "What did you notice? I saw three things of interest."
A young officer was the first to speak: "My king. There is not a single beast corpse. Several of the men that accompanied your honored father were veterans. It is unconceivable they were slaughtered to the last man without exacting a bloody toll. I think the beasts carried their dead away. To what purpose, I do not know."
The king nodded: "Very well. Anything more?"
Another officers spoke up: "There aren't enough bodies. Half of the expedition was made of miners, fishers and gatherers. They left unarmored and often unarmed. I can't see any unarmored body here. Although it is too horrible to contemplate, I think they were taken away. Alive or dead, I do not know."
The king nodded again: "Yes, exactly, that's the second thing. Anything else?"
A few seconds passed, then the king sighed: "Look at the weapons. All the weapons I can see on the ground are broken, probably during the fight. But there are not enough to account for the whole expedition. I think the beasts took them. Expect to face armed monstruosities during the expedition. We will need to plan this carefully. For now we will retreat to attend the cremation ceremony. I won't push blindly forwards in this labyrinth, knowing our foes are more intelligent than we first thought."
The army went back to the main cave. A great funereal pyre was prepared, with most of the nation attending. Tears were shed, but the main sentiment was fury against the beasts that had done the massacre.
The king gathered his military advisors to plan the coming campaign. The nation had at its disposal two thousand soldiers, all armed with close range weapons and heavily armored. The coming campaign would test the limits of the army...
Ok, this is going to be an open update, since there are too many variables. Write me up a plan on how you want to proceed with this. Keep in mind you're facing an enemy of unknown numbers, unknown location, hidden inside a veritable labyrinth. How many men will you send in? Scouting parties, a monolithic army? How will you explore the cave system? Will you build fortifications at key locations, once/if you find them? How many men will actually go on the offensive and how many will stay back manning the main fortifications/other fortifications?
Voting on. If you have questions ask away, I know this vote is somewhat vague. I'll answer to what I can (in case I forgot to mention something I'm taking as a given, since I know everything of what's going on)
Oh, before the update, a word. Voting an option 'because it's the most interesting' is legit, sure, but don't expect it to go well, generally. I think it's a good chunk of the reasons the Obsidian Embers arc ended up as it did. Just a warning. Choose, but choose thinking about it. Not just because it's cool.
The young king stood up in the council chamber, raising his hands in an appeasing gesture: "Heed my words, my prized and wise advisors. After hearing your opinions, I have come to a decision. We will undertake a grand military expedition, to rid our caves of the monstrous threat besieging them....."
(Taken from 'Life and Deeds of King Saras the First')
The king slammed his palm on the table again: "Just shut up, all of you! I can't hear myself thinking, damn it! - he sat again, smirking – the general has a point. We can't just sit here, hoping for the best – he glanced meaningfully at the high priest – those monsters aren't just going to 'go away'. Yet, the Sealed Corridors must be sealed for a reason. I'm not going to go against our only historic and sacred texts just because someone thinks it's a good idea. It's not."
He continued: "Now, general, you will receive your orders. You are to select five hundred of your best men. I will take command of the expedition myself. I want to find out what happened to my father Restil. Don't think I haven't heard the reports of screams in the tunnels the day he and his party left."
The council, suddenly in agreement, started protesting that the king could not risk his life in a fool's errand. The general and his second both volunteered, with the high priest trying to convince the youth to stay in the capital.
The king growled and slammed his palm for a third time on the table: "Enough! I gave you your orders, just go!"
The advisors bowed and filed out of the room, still whispering.
In the following days, the expedition was prepared. Five hundreds soldiers, armed and armored with the best forge-iron, gathered at the entrance of the eastern cave system. A single tunnel headed away from the fortifications.
Long pole-lanterns, containing glowing lichens, were given to the men in the front. The expedition carried with them a slab of stone covered with the map of the small part of the cave system that had been explored by scouts during the long years.
The tunnel headed east for close to a kilometre, then opened in a large cave, almost fifty meters long and just as wide. From there, several tunnels left, heading in all directions, that forked again and again, sometimes criss-crossing, sometimes ending abruptly.
Beyond that, nobody knew what to expect. The only sure thing was the labyrinthine nature of the cave system.
The men left in good order, pole-lanterns at the front, heavily armored men carrying great shields and axes just past them. Attacks were expected even before reaching the cavern.
Less than an hour of marching saw the small army reach the cave. And find out the answer the young king was seeking.
King Restil had left the main cave with close to an hundred men. Those who still were vigorous enough armed, fifty of them. The rest just carrying their clothes and some supplies. The scene that presented itself to the army was gruesome. Corpses lay everywhere, the stench of blood was overwhelming. Most of the corpses still wore their armor. Yet many were literally ripped open, pieces of their bodies scattered around the cave. A leg here, an arm there, an headless torso over there.
King Saras moved aside his bodyguard and came to the forefront, surveying the scenario with a frown. He ordered sentries to be posted at all cave entrances, with most of the main army gathered in the middle to respond to any threat. He and twenty men would search through the scattered corpses.
The young king immediately headed to his father's corpse, easily identified by the decorations on his armor. He had been torn to shreds, his head a ruin. The king knelt in front of the body, closing his eyes and murmuring 'Father.... why?'. He stayed still for a long time, then steeled himself and stood up. He turned to his retinue: "Start gathering the bodies. They deserve to be cremated with all honors. What they did was for our survival."
The bloody task lasted a few hours. The bodies were carried back to the main cave, where a great funereal pyre would be prepared in the next days.
Once the task was completed, the king gathered his officers, asking: "What did you notice? I saw three things of interest."
A young officer was the first to speak: "My king. There is not a single beast corpse. Several of the men that accompanied your honored father were veterans. It is unconceivable they were slaughtered to the last man without exacting a bloody toll. I think the beasts carried their dead away. To what purpose, I do not know."
The king nodded: "Very well. Anything more?"
Another officers spoke up: "There aren't enough bodies. Half of the expedition was made of miners, fishers and gatherers. They left unarmored and often unarmed. I can't see any unarmored body here. Although it is too horrible to contemplate, I think they were taken away. Alive or dead, I do not know."
The king nodded again: "Yes, exactly, that's the second thing. Anything else?"
A few seconds passed, then the king sighed: "Look at the weapons. All the weapons I can see on the ground are broken, probably during the fight. But there are not enough to account for the whole expedition. I think the beasts took them. Expect to face armed monstruosities during the expedition. We will need to plan this carefully. For now we will retreat to attend the cremation ceremony. I won't push blindly forwards in this labyrinth, knowing our foes are more intelligent than we first thought."
The army went back to the main cave. A great funereal pyre was prepared, with most of the nation attending. Tears were shed, but the main sentiment was fury against the beasts that had done the massacre.
The king gathered his military advisors to plan the coming campaign. The nation had at its disposal two thousand soldiers, all armed with close range weapons and heavily armored. The coming campaign would test the limits of the army...
Ok, this is going to be an open update, since there are too many variables. Write me up a plan on how you want to proceed with this. Keep in mind you're facing an enemy of unknown numbers, unknown location, hidden inside a veritable labyrinth. How many men will you send in? Scouting parties, a monolithic army? How will you explore the cave system? Will you build fortifications at key locations, once/if you find them? How many men will actually go on the offensive and how many will stay back manning the main fortifications/other fortifications?
Voting on. If you have questions ask away, I know this vote is somewhat vague. I'll answer to what I can (in case I forgot to mention something I'm taking as a given, since I know everything of what's going on)
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
Curufinwe, there are still armored corpses about, yes? I just want to clarify in case I've misunderstood: the corpses that remain are armored, but the weapons that they carried are gone. This leads me to believe that the deformed bodies of these creatures are incapable of fitting into the armor, but they can swing a sword just fine.
A) If so, my preliminary plan would be to strip the armor off the dead soldiers and place their bodies deeper within the cave near a trap.* They don't carry off armored bodies, but an unarmored one is useful to them for some reason. I wonder why. We'll send a scouting party comprised of about 10-20 brave motherfuckers deeper within the caves and booby-trap the area near the bodies by digging out a deep pit underneath. Maybe a punji stake - something harmful enough to wound them so they can't get away, but not to kill them. These things are almost certainly nocturnal, so sneaking up on them would be too difficult, I think.
When the Morlocks send a scavenging party to pick off the corpses, our scouts who set the traps will arrive to capture and restrain the scouting party.
If they are intelligent creatures, perhaps interrogation or torture will reveal the layout of the caves to us, as well as some sensitive information. These guys are almost certainly the lowest rung of their society, but it's a start. Either way, I want to take a few of them alive so we have an idea of who they are/what we're up against. We've never even talked to one of them.
No fortifications as of yet beyond the site of the massacre, we have no clue how many of these things there are, we could be hunkering down into a particularly nasty area in the caverns. The majority of our expedition will fortify at the current location, except for the guys setting the trap.
* Stripping the corpses of their armor is doubly useful because our expedition can always use good armor. If any armor is chipped or broken in an attack, having spares will be really useful.
I am sure that a few people will make different suggestions and revisions to improve upon this, but I wanted to throw out an idea to get the ball rolling first.
A) If so, my preliminary plan would be to strip the armor off the dead soldiers and place their bodies deeper within the cave near a trap.* They don't carry off armored bodies, but an unarmored one is useful to them for some reason. I wonder why. We'll send a scouting party comprised of about 10-20 brave motherfuckers deeper within the caves and booby-trap the area near the bodies by digging out a deep pit underneath. Maybe a punji stake - something harmful enough to wound them so they can't get away, but not to kill them. These things are almost certainly nocturnal, so sneaking up on them would be too difficult, I think.
When the Morlocks send a scavenging party to pick off the corpses, our scouts who set the traps will arrive to capture and restrain the scouting party.
If they are intelligent creatures, perhaps interrogation or torture will reveal the layout of the caves to us, as well as some sensitive information. These guys are almost certainly the lowest rung of their society, but it's a start. Either way, I want to take a few of them alive so we have an idea of who they are/what we're up against. We've never even talked to one of them.
No fortifications as of yet beyond the site of the massacre, we have no clue how many of these things there are, we could be hunkering down into a particularly nasty area in the caverns. The majority of our expedition will fortify at the current location, except for the guys setting the trap.
* Stripping the corpses of their armor is doubly useful because our expedition can always use good armor. If any armor is chipped or broken in an attack, having spares will be really useful.
I am sure that a few people will make different suggestions and revisions to improve upon this, but I wanted to throw out an idea to get the ball rolling first.
Yes, there are only armored bodies, all people who wore no armor either were carried away or their corpses were taken away. And no weapons, except those who are broken.
Regarding the availability of armored bodies, in theory they were burned on a fire, but you should be able to scrounge up a few bodies in a few weeks time due to normal death rate in your nation, so that shouldn't be a problem.
I so not agree much you with, Esquilax. The problem is that we do not know if what you propose is correct. You say that these people carry off the unarmored body. But they might have simply captured anyone who was not unarmored. While possible, I really do not think they take away unarmored bodied. In my opinion it's much more likely than they subdued anyone who was not a soldier and brought them away, to work as slaves or to be sacrificed in some cannibal ceremony or anything else. The soldiers instead were deemed dangerous and killed (and abandoned here). The fact that they carried away their own bodies (I don't even want to consider the possibility that our weapons do not work on them) can simply be because they bury their dead, much more likely than the fact they have a use for dead bodies.
Regarding a plan, I'm tired and I have to sleep so I'll think about it tomorrow, but to me one thing is clear. These "beasts" (which are not underground barbarians) are dangerous, cunning and probably organized. And they come in great numbers, and move quickly. Hesitating will not gain us anything here. We have four main possibilities, with a lot of variations that can be added of course
a) go back, fortify the city, explore the forbidden tunnels
b) go forward, advancing quickly in a compact formation. We are at a disadvantage with numbers, we have to move together and move fast in order to avoid them pinning us down
c) advance slowly using many scouts, but fortifying heavily while we advance. They can come anytime, we must be ready
d) Try to spring a trap. Use live bait, example is ten-twenty gatherers or workers or anything else. Have a strike force in range, and hit hard with the element of surprise the next batch of savages.
Regarding a plan, I'm tired and I have to sleep so I'll think about it tomorrow, but to me one thing is clear. These "beasts" (which are not underground barbarians) are dangerous, cunning and probably organized. And they come in great numbers, and move quickly. Hesitating will not gain us anything here. We have four main possibilities, with a lot of variations that can be added of course
a) go back, fortify the city, explore the forbidden tunnels
b) go forward, advancing quickly in a compact formation. We are at a disadvantage with numbers, we have to move together and move fast in order to avoid them pinning us down
c) advance slowly using many scouts, but fortifying heavily while we advance. They can come anytime, we must be ready
d) Try to spring a trap. Use live bait, example is ten-twenty gatherers or workers or anything else. Have a strike force in range, and hit hard with the element of surprise the next batch of savages.
I'm all for pushing forward with the full might of our army - it sounds like these things will keep coming back until they are completely and utterly annihilated.
At the same time, we can probably expand our borders and survey the local area for resources; the scouts have never returned in the past, but we've the full brunt of the army this time as backup.
At the same time, we can probably expand our borders and survey the local area for resources; the scouts have never returned in the past, but we've the full brunt of the army this time as backup.
Quetzacoatl
Liturgist
Do we have the technological means to collapse the tunnels that the Morlocks originate from?
TOME
Cuckmaster General
- Joined
- May 25, 2012
- Messages
- 1,820
Build movable fortifications, fortify most of the passages while exploring slowly the remaining passages. We need to map out the surrounding tunnels if we hope to achieve anything here. Might as well try the live bait trap while building.
Edit: Basically this is Vernydar's 3.
Edit: Basically this is Vernydar's 3.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2011
- Messages
- 2,835
C - Advance slowly, fortifying our position as we go. Seal up any caves we are not actively exploring
Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
The problem with your plan, Esquilax, is that I find it very unlikely that they were interested in the corpses of the unarmoured; isn't it much more plausible that they somehow ambushed and defeated the armoured, then captured any who would not fight? Thus a trap of corpses, I doubt, holds much interest.
Uh.. in other words, yeah. As Vernydar says.
Advance slowly while fortifying is a sound idea, unless the caves start getting far too complicated. If there are only 3-4 offshoots, etc., we can jump from chokepoint to chokepoint and slowly squeeze out their lebensraum, but if this is a sprawling cave system they will just hide then hit us from the behind. And certainly, this is a 'veritable labyrinth'.
I'm wondering if we have any means like smoke, fire arrows, or whatever that can be used to 'disable' entire passages or at least to check their safety prior to entry; for me ambush is the primary risk here. A reasonable but not too big expedition of the best soldiers is probably sensible, with quickly deployable spikes or whatnot (although... what's the cave floor like, for planting spikes?), but I'm struggling to think of a really good option. We just don't know enough yet.
Uh.. in other words, yeah. As Vernydar says.
Advance slowly while fortifying is a sound idea, unless the caves start getting far too complicated. If there are only 3-4 offshoots, etc., we can jump from chokepoint to chokepoint and slowly squeeze out their lebensraum, but if this is a sprawling cave system they will just hide then hit us from the behind. And certainly, this is a 'veritable labyrinth'.
I'm wondering if we have any means like smoke, fire arrows, or whatever that can be used to 'disable' entire passages or at least to check their safety prior to entry; for me ambush is the primary risk here. A reasonable but not too big expedition of the best soldiers is probably sensible, with quickly deployable spikes or whatnot (although... what's the cave floor like, for planting spikes?), but I'm struggling to think of a really good option. We just don't know enough yet.
Clotstein
Augur
Vernydar's C
It's pretty much what i had in mind. Only problem is that if these tunnels ramify too much, the army may spread too thin to garrison all these fortified frontiers. But whatever, i'm guessing we can always make the main entrance to the Morlock tunnels cave in and flee for the forbidden tunnels (and a possible surface access/gem of earthen POWAH!).
Curufinwe: Exactly what is our ranged weapon tech, if any? do they even make sense with the light level given by the glowing mushrooms/lichen or is it generally too dark? (if we do have them and it is generally too dark, i suggest placing several illumination lines behind the fortifications)
It's pretty much what i had in mind. Only problem is that if these tunnels ramify too much, the army may spread too thin to garrison all these fortified frontiers. But whatever, i'm guessing we can always make the main entrance to the Morlock tunnels cave in and flee for the forbidden tunnels (and a possible surface access/gem of earthen POWAH!).
Curufinwe: Exactly what is our ranged weapon tech, if any? do they even make sense with the light level given by the glowing mushrooms/lichen or is it generally too dark? (if we do have them and it is generally too dark, i suggest placing several illumination lines behind the fortifications)
Ranged weapons? Uh, some throwing knives probably, that's it. No wood down here and no reason to develop archery or javeling-throwing (all the fighting has ever been close quarters in the tunnels). Your mushrooms are used for leather-like fibers and the lichens double as textiles, but no real wood. Your weapons are 100% metal. Also keep in mind it's been an year or so since the beasts started showing up. Previously the veterans were pretty much policemen. Say thanks to your sacred texts speaking of ancient evils and crap like that for even having an army in the first place.
Regarding Esquilax's suggestion, I was half asleep when I answered yesterday evening so I didn't for some reason notice the pit-digging suggestion: that won't work. Solid rock tunnels, anybody'd hear you digging the trap from a long distance away.
Smoking them out is also somewhat risky, you don't really know these tunnels so lighting a fire to smoke people out might backfire and smoke the smokers.
Saying these two things because NPCs would immediately tell them.
Regarding Esquilax's suggestion, I was half asleep when I answered yesterday evening so I didn't for some reason notice the pit-digging suggestion: that won't work. Solid rock tunnels, anybody'd hear you digging the trap from a long distance away.
Smoking them out is also somewhat risky, you don't really know these tunnels so lighting a fire to smoke people out might backfire and smoke the smokers.
Saying these two things because NPCs would immediately tell them.
Bit of both. In the area you know, it's more of the first type, although there are a few straight tunnels with no ramifications. Keep in mind the area you know (the map on the slab of stone) is not THAT large though. Scouts going too deep never came back, in years past, so your knowledge is very limited, actually.
Tunnels, they come in all sizes, but most are between 1 and 3 metres wide for 2 to 3 tall, pretty much.
Very well, so let's sum up. No ranged weapons, no possible simple traps (digging pits in solid rock is not a quick work), many tunnels, no knowledge at all of the area ahead of us. No, fortifying is not an option, too many possible exits, and our only real way to fortify is.. uh.. building walls.
Let me amend my original options and write them more in details
1) If we want to go back, we still can. Fall back to the city. Fortify heavily using metal slabs covered with spikes secured to the floor. Leave only enough space for one savage to pass at a time for every entrance. And explore the sealed corridors. I do not suggest this though. We're here, we voted to be here, let's move on.
2) Avoid being pinned down. Move quickly in a tight formation. Use some scouts for every tunnel ahead of us, but only do a quick scouting. If there's a long tunnel, send scouts ahead and advance immediately, if there are many options, stop a few minutes while scouts take a look and then choose quickly Avoid staying still too long except when sleeping and eating. Scout patrols should be four people. One ahead, then one after 10 meters, then 2 after 20 meters. If we lose the forward scouts the others should realize and be able to disengage to come back and tell us of enemies. As for camping when we are forced to in order to sleep, choose a chamber with two entry points in opposing direction. Use heavy guards shift at every entry, and scouts beyond. Fortify the entry with metal slabs as said above. Surely we can lug around ten or so metal slabs. When we camp, secure them o the floor with heavy rocks os that entry points are only one person wide. If we are attacked by numerous people, this give us some advantage.
But this choice is too risky as well I think. We are moving with little scouting, we could arrive in a dead end. I prefer the one below
3) Move more slowly, scout more extensively before moving on. I'm not saying to stop an hour at every ramification, but do stop more and scout ahead more before moving. We are slower, but we avoid dead ends, places that are not defensible, and in general springing possible traps. Camping, scouting, sleeping as the point above.
4) We could still try to spring a trap but I am against this now. We can't quickly or easily fortify, it's too dangerous in my opinion. Plus we have no idea how many barbarians are in each wave. better try to capture some in the inevitable battles ahead.
My vote is
3
Let me amend my original options and write them more in details
1) If we want to go back, we still can. Fall back to the city. Fortify heavily using metal slabs covered with spikes secured to the floor. Leave only enough space for one savage to pass at a time for every entrance. And explore the sealed corridors. I do not suggest this though. We're here, we voted to be here, let's move on.
2) Avoid being pinned down. Move quickly in a tight formation. Use some scouts for every tunnel ahead of us, but only do a quick scouting. If there's a long tunnel, send scouts ahead and advance immediately, if there are many options, stop a few minutes while scouts take a look and then choose quickly Avoid staying still too long except when sleeping and eating. Scout patrols should be four people. One ahead, then one after 10 meters, then 2 after 20 meters. If we lose the forward scouts the others should realize and be able to disengage to come back and tell us of enemies. As for camping when we are forced to in order to sleep, choose a chamber with two entry points in opposing direction. Use heavy guards shift at every entry, and scouts beyond. Fortify the entry with metal slabs as said above. Surely we can lug around ten or so metal slabs. When we camp, secure them o the floor with heavy rocks os that entry points are only one person wide. If we are attacked by numerous people, this give us some advantage.
But this choice is too risky as well I think. We are moving with little scouting, we could arrive in a dead end. I prefer the one below
3) Move more slowly, scout more extensively before moving on. I'm not saying to stop an hour at every ramification, but do stop more and scout ahead more before moving. We are slower, but we avoid dead ends, places that are not defensible, and in general springing possible traps. Camping, scouting, sleeping as the point above.
4) We could still try to spring a trap but I am against this now. We can't quickly or easily fortify, it's too dangerous in my opinion. Plus we have no idea how many barbarians are in each wave. better try to capture some in the inevitable battles ahead.
My vote is
3
Monty
Arcane
Not sure how we would smoke anything out given we have no wood. Are we trying to light lumps of coal with a flint? Hmmm.
Rushing into enemy territory in the dark still seems crazy to me, hence my preference for the 'forbidden tunnels' earlier. But as Vernydar says we've voted to move down this path now so out of his options above think I'll also go with
3
Rushing into enemy territory in the dark still seems crazy to me, hence my preference for the 'forbidden tunnels' earlier. But as Vernydar says we've voted to move down this path now so out of his options above think I'll also go with
3
You know for some reason this behavior conjures up Image of Ant colony or termite one. First many weapons were broken, maybe against chitinous armor, then the way the soldiers were killed, maybe mandibles. Now how IF we hypothetically were facing a Ant/BUG colony, what would be the best way to counter it.
Fire and smoke is a MUST I think, yes there is a danger, but I say we use it at place where we know the enemy will come using scouts with water socked rags on their faces, who retreat from the fire/smoke zone when their work is done.
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