Turn 10 - War With Fomoria For Real This Time
Defensive magic, introduction to being attacked by Fomoria.
WELL then.
Fomoria has decided to attack the nascent Empire of Ur, thereby ensuring their rapid elimination from the game. Stupid moves like this are why no-one's ever heard of a Fomorian before (while 'Spike Jonze' remains a household name to this very day).
We'll check out the other battles before dealing with the Fomorians and their dastardly invasion.
Spike hassles some indies as is his wont, opening with casts of Air Shield and Mirror Image that the very winds themselves may serve to protect his divine personage.
He gets hit by some arrows and it turns off Mirror Image :(
Incensed Spike turns to Mistform, a freshly researched Alteration spell very popular amongst army-destroyers like our Pretender.
This is the last of the basic defensive spells I wanted for Spike, and together with Mirror Image, Air Shield and his innate Awe he should now be proof against anything but the most powerful of enemy magicks!
A Barbarian Chieftain smacks the mistform right back off him. Poor show, Air magic.
Fortunately Spike Jonze is still a giant bird monster and he shreds the barbarian and kills everyone else with fireballs and we win.
Dubros, in the east, is our big Enkidu force stamping on some Horse Tribe Cavalry. It's a bit warmer out here than where Spike was fighting, so no snow. The influence of a rival dominion, perhaps? I think Hinnom likes it hot...
Bit disconcerting for a horseman to have these guys coming in at eye level, I imagine. They spear a Chosen then leg it.
Finally, a more successful investigation of a Throne province. It's very similar to the last one, except with barbarians instead of basic humans.
They even have a fire wizard!
Doomed. I'm not gonna talk about what Thrones are yet because we'll be sending Spike off to eat Fomorians instead of attacking them, but suffice it to say here that a) Thrones are important and b) we will be aiming to capture them. Not immediately, however, as there is the more pressing matter of THOSE BASTARD FOMORIANS to attend to:
The force is mostly comprised of Fir Bolg Warriors armed with a mix of spears, javelins, axes and slings.
They are essentially slightly good humans: unusually tough and skilled (their Defence in particular is on a par with many elites), if poorly equipped (they wear bronze cuirasses but their Protection is the same as that of our Enkidu Warriors, who go into battle protected only by fur togas & their inherent manliness). Tir na n'Og gets Fir Bolg too, and my book on Celtic mythology has this to say about them:
"They play no great part in Irish mythical history, and a certain character of servility and inferiority appears to attach to them throughout."
Fir Bolgs! They're accompanied here by a handful of real Fomorians, in the form of three sacred Unmarked and their Prophet Donnabhan:
Bigger and tougher than the roughest toughest Enkidu, they are also well-armed, well-armoured, and masterful in battle. Even worse, these Unmarked are Sacred, and so capable of receiving a bless!
The malign intelligence controlling Fomoria lacks the magical power to make them really scary - this is something like Fire 6 Nature 4, no big deal - but they still overwhelm my paltry province defence with ease, capturing Jabbernia.
Why they are so obsessed with this province, I do not know - they have indies left on their other border, who they could crush without any diplomatic repercussions. Vengeance for Dante's Stingers, perhaps?
Let's remind them how that battle went. Also pictured above is a fresh force of Chosen moving out from the capital, under Rob Brydon's command, to prevent the Fomorians from crossing into the heartlands of Ur. He gets around, Rob Brydon. Busy guy.
Adapa the Wisdom Fish accompanies the army, to dole out blessings and perform important work in the community. We make no such concessions to defence in the empire's eastern reaches, however, preferring instead to smash up some more indies.
Fomoria hasn't reached that border yet, but Hinnom is starting to reveal their presence; meanwhile, in the south-east, a new challenger approaches...
Next time: will Spike's new spells be enough to drive off the Fomorian invaders? Will Hinnom begin to threaten out north-eastern border? And what of the nation flying that hideous green-and-turquoise banner? All the answers - or maybe none! - next time!
No comments:
Post a Comment