Kyr the Outcast - Day 1 of Conquest

My meager outfit and I have struck shore and tomorrow will seek out suitable places in which to consolidate our bases of exploration. A navigable river, which heretofore shall be known as the River Kyr, will provide all the sustenance we need and permit exploration. My outfit has been instructed to approach any lifeforms with utmost caution; it is paramount that we expand the territory of the frosted races, albeit preferably through negotiation as opposed to outright slaughter. Be it known, however, that our weapons, rudimentary as they may be, are sharpened and not one of our troops will be afraid to use his when the time comes.

It is my hope that this journal, in which I pledge to record the daily events of our adventures to come, will constitute a faithful recreation of the conquest of the Golden Ring for the Frostling Races and, as such, will serve to improve the knowledge and propserity of our future generations.

TS 2 Enginerd

great opening post, KD!

Gin Sh'iara day 1

We embark on bold adventures today... we capture a nearby tower and pick up a nice ring inside.... the surrounding area is quite a site... snow is everywhere and lots of ice... this bodes well as our affinity to water will come in handy here.

Our pioneers scout the land and we find a suitable spot to build our first outpost.... the city has been erected and will soon grow into a mighty citadel.

We pick up a couple magic nodes and move towards a second spot for a nice outpost... we should be there by tomorrow.

Uh-oh.... a warning about water from a node we captured... wonder what that means

Yikes... we didn't realize the 6 wolves were guarding the area and not the resources we should be able to withstand their attack in the night... hopefully we'll only lose cannon fodder.

Let's see what else is in our bag of tricks.... I see... we can summon frogs and free ourselves from webs... at least one of those spells will help us in our explorations tomorrow.

Arghhhh.... it seems when we were banished to this land we set ourselves up for quite an adventure.... the diplomats were not happy as we will struggle through as an anarchist (but our true intentions are one of stability and growth). Too bad we'll have to deal with a bureaucracy too.... we will show the others how to run things efficiently.... and we will just have to make the most of our extra magica abilities to get through.

Tomorrow.... we hope to establish another outpost, capture a couple mines and see what else is out there

Ankrock Anblock - 1

"Curses! CURSES!" The cold wind blows like a sharp jagged knife across the frozen plain and I see my war-bands waver. They are cold and tired but their fear of me is greater. I need not say 'push on' or crack the whip. The need for those gestures have long past. Consequences. Life. Death!

My memories... forgotten, erased, lost. Sometimes a fleeting vision of a time long past. A shining tower on a hill, a golden haired beauty with twinkling eyes. But ever replaced by darkness and hunger. I'm driven by The Voice, and my instincts - to murder and cause pain. How did I get to this? Will the Golden Ring release me from the darkness. I obey The Voice.

We fall upon them in the first light. They are ill prepared. General Ironshod kills them all while the others watch and hoot, laugh and rape, burn and torture. Information? The Golden Ring? They know nothing. Their reward, a smoking ruin, suffering corpse.

Onward, ever onward, into this new, cold land. The Golden Ring is near. I feel it. I feel nothing else.

Quoted from alberon:

I will be on vacation from 7th June until 25th June.

It will be very unlikely, that I could play turns in this time. May I find time to play and an internet cafe, then don't expect any logs from me.

Sorry for that.

Nuts.... and I'll be on vacation next week (until the 28th).. guess my turn 2 will have to wait until then.

Thanks GM for letting us know about it.

Heh, and I'll be travelling between the 26th and 2nd, probably won't be able to play any turns during that time.

I noticed that the email address albaron gave me was "googlemail.com", which I think is suppossed to be 'gmail.com".

He may not have received the turn file.

Fubarno, could you try to resend to him with the 'gmail' address please?

***IMPORTANT***

there is a small movie file used in this map (from AoW2), which you can download from
HERE if you do not have AoW2. This file should be placed into the AoW:SM "movies" folder. It is not essential to do this, but you may experience a 15 second black screen where you can do nothing. The game is NOT locking up, and nothing bad is happening to your computer. The game is just trying to locate or play a file that isn't there. Everything is back to normal after 15 seconds or so.

This will be a more common problem for the 6p version.

I've played 5 games until at least turn 40. (on the 4p version - 1 game until turn 35 on the 6p version)

• in 4 of the games, at least 1 wizard (different each time) was eliminated by day 15 or so, almost always due to independants.
  
  
• in each game, wizards would take turns dominating the map, but none could hold domination for long
  
  
• there will be alot of turns where you do very little; if the turns keep moving, its no problem. Just keep in mind that it is an empire building game.
  
  
• there is alot of suspense in the turns. things really pick up around day 30. Most likely there will be some major conflicts around this time, and then another period of rebuilding armies.
  
  
• SCOUT! You are playing blind, and you have no wizard tower. While you should be safe on your first couple turns, all bets are off after day 3. Keep your wizard well protected.
  
  
• While I playtest very thouroughly, what I can not predict is what effects diplomacy will have. The map was designed keeping in mind the request 'players should roleplay the races like the races/alignment really would'. There are no 'artificial rules' I'm imposing though, so enjoy whatever chaos ensues!
  
  
• There is alot of randomness to increase replayability and unpredictability. Depending on how the 'dice land', you may find yourself very powerful early on, or under considerable duress.
  
  
• If you play smart, you can overcome your limited and quickly dwindling resources WITHOUT having to disband troops. In fact, if you do disband troops, you may find that you get 'stuck' without enough troops to help you claim resources. Or worse, you may find your enemies are really close, and you won't be able to fend them off.
  
  
• Its a SMALL map. That means its very dangerous. Play cautious, or gamble big - that's up to you, BUT, if you do gamble, be prepared to go down in flames. On the other hand, a well-timed gamble when another wizard has their guard down could pay off HUGE.
  
  
• I'm confident enough in the map's balance that I can recommend it for wizard ladder games. If all players agree right away about making it a ladder game, go ahead and register them.
  
  
  
• lastly, there is a GAME bug I found which pops up semi-often on this map due to unique scripting. It may cause too many units to occupy the same hex, and when it does, you will not be able to move anyone. IT IS NOT A GAME BREAKER, and is an easy fix. Simply save your game, exit out, and reload where you left off. The units will still occupy the same same hex, but you will be able to move them now. It does not cause a restart.
  

Glim Glendon, Day 1

What a nice litte mountain range. I like it. So let's see what is underground and we hope it will also very nice.

Captured the first mines.

TS

Good luck for the game for everyone. The email address 'googlemail dot com' is correct. For some reason the german google mail accounts have this strange domain.

Kyr the Outcast - Day 2 of Conquest

I have taken it upon myself to split our outfit into two exploration parties. I myself am accompanying the first and today we founded the outpost of Kyr's Keep in a clearing surrounded by mountains that will afford protection and allow growth at the same time. We will now set ourselves to the task of acquiring resources.

Our second party has struck out west and is led by my trusted wolfrider; his reports are favorable, though a friendly forest dweller they met has spoken of hostile natives on the horizon. This same dweller will guide the party in the coming days, though wolfrider has upon his shoulders the weight of all decisions to be made regarding the exploration. I am confident that he will not lead his men into a trap.

My men are characterized by the great energy they derive from our frozen surroundings. Such crisp air is good for the blood and sharpens the mind. Each day will surely bring adventure and great returns on the efforts we invest.

TS 2 Enginerd

PS: Restart from playing on vacation. I only got one restart but had THREE (3!) boat crashes, so a word to the wise regarding boats on this map

EDIT: Yahoo is not sending mail at the moment for some reason, I'll try a bit later.

[This message has been edited by King David (edited 07-07-2008 @ 01:23 PM).]

Well... the area guards did not attack in the night... I guess they couldn't reach me (but they will tonight )

Money is severly lacking.... we spot a mine but can't reach it until tomorrow.... hopefully we can capture two of them in the next couple days or our armies will be quite upset at not getting paid.

Ankrock Anblock - 2

Yesterdays victories fostered overconfidence in my orc war-bands. They thought they had the measure of these frostling weaklings, but the ambush the frostlings set has seen many of my warriors to the orc war-hall in the sky before their time.

Complicating matters is the dwarven citadel across the low and steep range of mountains.

Obstacles in my path towards the ring that draws me in.

Glim Glendon, Day 2

We have a look underground and can see very promising things.

On the surface we are trying to get more income.

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 3 of Conquest

We have suffered our first loss on this expedition. A foot soldier was caught on the snout of a beast and the air was punched from his lungs. He never recovered. His Wake was shortly interrupted by a spontaneous celebration over two unique items found hidden in the brush of which that creature's den had been constructed.

Wolfrider's outfit was spotted today on a barren hill across the Kyr. They appeared to be waving frantically. It seemed they had caught a polar bear and didn't know what to do with it, yet they also kept pointing downhill toward the west. I will be expecting a formal report from that front in the morning.

TS 2 Enginerd

We spot a nice polar bear.... wonder if he'll run away or run at us.... we think we are prepared

And... if all goes according to plan we'll be out of money in the morning

*bump* Fubarno might need a resend?

Yes, if I'm up, I haven't recieved the turn. Please resend.

Turn resent

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 4 of Conquest

Great beasts fill the woods and skies and we have born witness to the death they are capable of bringing upon mortals. Our expedition will proceed with augmented caution in the coming days and though we have no new conquests or discoveries of consequence to report aside from those to which I have thus made reference, neither shall I regard our advancements with regret, for I believe that the frozen tundra may extend for a great distance and therefore our population shall have reason to rejoice in the discovery of new lands upon which to expand its homesteads.
TS 2 Enginerd

EDIT: Restart due to slow game - last turn was played on vacation over 2 weeks ago!

Also - Albaron, please don't rename the turn! It can get very confusing, especially when you call it something completely unrelated to the game (ej, "t6"). Thanks

[This message has been edited by King David (edited 08-05-2008 @ 09:06 PM).]

I haven't renamed the game.

It came with 'beta game 5.ahm' and left with this name. I never rename turns. I always accept what the game suggests.

<-- edit: typo

[This message has been edited by Albaron (edited 08-06-2008 @ 03:39 AM).]

weird, apologies for jumping to conclusions. I should have rechecked my mail as your attachment is indeed the standard "beta game 5" name. However, when I went to load the turn, I found it under "t6" after trying to open the beta game 5 turn and discovering it was an old one. Since I have never had a game called "t6", I just assumed it had been renamed and that I had downloaded it without noticing. Actually, this leaves me with a mystery to solve

Still just about out of money... met a neighbor (we're at war automatically). Trying to figure out what I'll be attacked by in the night.

Glim Glendon, Day 4

We have opened the entrance to another cave. Let's see what there will be.

We will need more reinforcements on the surface because we need more income...

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 5 of Conquest

I have ordered all parties to proceed with caution as all manner of sightings have been reported. I also hope to be able to corroborate a report received from an advance scout and should have more information with which to fill my journal tomorrow. I ended the day after performing a couple of blessings and hiking back to Kyr's Keep to ready my men for the days to come.
TS 2 Enginerd

Hmmmm... no money... wandering around watching what is out there... killing polar bears... lots of fun.

A frostling was spotted on my doorstep, a frostling swordsman. I sent a axe orc and a spear orc and the frostling killed them both. Kyr should be thrilled.

Glim Glendon, Day 5

This is a mysterious place. Underground we met an engineer, who blathers on about something like a lighthouse?! We haven't understood what he was talking about exactly, but what makes us really annoyed is, he won't let us pass through!!!

Damn engineer, we wasn't even able to teach him a lesson, because he managed somehow to keep us away from his territory. We had to leave him alone until he finished his work.

Upstairs we start to form a party, which will increase our income in the future.

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 6 of Conquest

Our explorations continue to produce interesting findings which are themselves continuously offset by the toll taken on our troops by harsh conditions and unpredictable temperaments. I received a full report this morning from our northernmost scout. This fellow had been part of an advance party that had arrived months before my own outfit began its exploration and was presumed lost as no word was ever heard from him. He surprised Wolfrider's outfit a week ago and offered to lead them northward to a place where savages could be found. En route, Wolfrider was subjected to all manner of delays and it was decided that the scout would advance alone to stake out the savages. He came upon a village of this tribe, to which he has given the name "Orc" on account of the beast-like grunts they use to communicate with each other. He was set upon by two members of the tribe, who he observed dipping their spears and swords in poison before attacking, but after freezing the tip of his own sword in the snow he easily cut the savages down. I can attest to the amount of blood shed, as it is all over the birchbark report I received.

Upon attempting to secure the Orc village, Scout discovered that its inhabitants planned to cook him for dinner and he was forced to flee back south in search of Wolfrider's party. He was met not by Wolfrider but by a priest who told him a horrifying story of the night's events. The outfit had been set upon by an enormous flying creature, a dragon I believe it was called, and Wolfrider had been killed along with an archer before the dragon was felled. Sensing its opportunity to escape, the polar bear which Wolfrider had been attempting to tame, lit out from the scene of battle and got away. It was found this morning and though not all the details have been made known to me, most of our remaining gold was used in the process of securing the bears services for at least one more day.

Our coffers are empty and I am forced to change plans and commence panning for gold in the River Kyr, a venture in whose profitability I do not hold much faith.

I had hoped to report the founding of Kyr's Krossing with more fanfare, but I can not muster much excitement from the way things are going for us.
TS 2 Enginerd

Ankrock Anblock

I will set things to rights. First off, no more grog rations for my orcs. Drunken grunts are worthless in the shield wall as shown by their recent defeat by Kyr's lone scout. Secondly, I must retake my village. Thirdly, I hope to not encounter any dragons.

Glim Glendon, Day 6

Just marching and it will last another day.

Some units would like to join our forces, but we will have a negative income then.

Not good.

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 6 of Conquest

I have never been one to covet wealth yet I find myself envious of those who have found it. My men have not been paid their wages and I sleep with one eye open for fear of mutiny. I have had to let half of my outfit go and will probably watch the other half disappear before the dawn. My spirits are at their lowest and I can only hope that an encounter today with the explorer Gin Sh'iara will bring mutual rewards.

TS 2 Enginerd

Gin Sh'iara

Little to report... friendly talks with neighbor.... income positive (finally)

My sober grunts move to take back what's mine.

Glim Glendon, Day 7

Income still low. But we found an interesting inn.

Very tasty ale there!!! There will be always some gold for some beer.

TS

Kyr the Outcast - Day 7 of Conquest

Hard times have befallen my expedition and most of my men have deserted the cause. The savage Orc tribes have too strong a foothold in the north and we will lose settlements to them in the next days. With no gold and no way to pay what few men stand with me, I have been forced to scrounge as an animal for temporary sustenance. Morale is terrible and I fear that my expedition will come to be known for the magnitude of its failure. The only positive note to report is the meeting of a fellow explorer, Gin Sh'iara, who has shown himself to be and amiable and collaborative fellow.

TS 2 Enginerd

darn... we spot a tree hulk wandering around out there... that could get tricky as he may attack us in the night.... along with that polar bear....

We'll wait and see what happens.

My orcish village is recaptured and we also capture a new settlement of frostlings that foolishly built upon my frigid shore.

ts