Twinswords
First Post
Why not the druid spell epedemic. 9th level masters of the wild. use a couple of dominated subject walking around the camps. and then simply assinate the clerics. Use blinding fever and you will have a blind army in no time.
Numion said:About the logistics: Wouldn't vallorean clerics be able to Create Food and Water? Support would be very hard if done, as someone said, with 1500 wagons.
Very expensive solution could be either bags of holding, or the teleportation rings.
From the SRD:
Create Food and Water
Conjuration (Creation)
Level: Clr 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 10 minutes
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect: Food and water to sustain three humans or one horse/level for 1 day
Duration: 24 hours (see text)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No
The food that this spell creates is simple fare of the character's choice—highly nourishing, if rather bland. The food decays and becomes inedible within 24 hours, although it can be kept fresh for another 24 hours by casting a purify food and water spell on it. The water created by this spell is just like clean rain water. The water doesn’t go bad as the food does.
From the SRD:
Purify Food and Drink
Universal
Level: Clr 0, Drd 0
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 10 ft.
Target: 1 cu. ft./level of contaminated food and water
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Will negates (object)
Spell Resistance: Yes (object)
This spell makes spoiled, rotten, poisonous, or otherwise contaminated food and water pure and suitable for eating and drinking. This spell does not prevent subsequent natural decay or spoilage. Unholy water and similar food and drink of significance is spoiled by purify food and drink, but the spell has no effect on creatures of any type nor upon magic potions.
Note: Water weighs about 8 pounds per gallon. One cubic foot of water contains roughly 8 gallons and weighs about 60 pounds.
While I basically agree, I don't know how to tackle the topic of logistics in SHARK's world. I know from past posts that his legions rely on magic packs of endless MREs (rations). How do you deal with that? And his warrior priests can systematically create food and water.Amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics.
Aside from the issue of whether magically supplied troops need mundane supply lines or not, we're under orders to hold this strongpoint while our allies mass in the North and Northeast.I abandon my fortress, fall back before the advancing Vallorean army, scorching the earth as I go. My supply lines get shorter and shorter, his get longer and longer. I send werewolves and high-level parties to destroy his supplies and kill his mules and bullocks. Eventually his supply fails. I wait for his troops to get hungry, and then counter-attack.
Interesting point. Considering just how much time and money goes into producing magic items, a few magical commando raids with a few castings of Mordenkainen's Disjunction should cripple the Vallorean war effort. Have the Valloreans faced this before? If not, maybe they're not ready for it.If is important to prevent enemy spellcasters from taking advantage of the months leading up to the assault to stock up on scrolls, potions, magical weapons, and wondrous items.
Restoration's 4th level. Used to fighting Vampire hordes, the oh-so-magical Valloreans might very well be cranking out Wands of Restoration. (At 21,000 gp a pop though, how many can they reasonably have?)The enemy will be depending heavily on clerics to deal with diseases, level drains, and so forth. But he can't have many who can cast restoration, resurrection, and the like.
True, but aren't these high-level clerics (a) hard to kill, and (b) within the protective confines of forts magically warded against evil, teleporting assassins?A program of assassinations against high-level clerics should cut down drastically on the enemy's ability to cast Resurrection, Restoration, Remove Curse, &c..
It shouldn't be far-fetched to assume that armies would routinely deploy invisible, hasted Rogues. Or Rangers. And so on. Flying columns of cavalry, assault wizards, as well as even normal horses routinely augmented with magic horseshoes or haste, and so on. Magic communications would vastly change the dynamics of military operations. The side who had better command and control over their forces would have the advantage over the side who didn't.
Battlefield healing and medical evacuation would be far superior. Even if say, there isn't enough clerics to instantly heal everyone. So what? You may very well have hasted, multi-legged medical golems that can load and carry wounded soldiers to field hospitals where surgeons can begin work on them. While riding inside this thing, healing gas would be emitted into the chamber to keep the dying character stable. These battlefield hospitals could greatly enhance the disease resistance, poison resistance, and wound recovery of normal soldiers without the direct actions of powerful clerics. These centers could do so with magical equipment and the presence of trained physicians, surgeons, and healers. Think of how these developments alone could change the way and consequences of warfare. Again, though, these kinds of developments would most likely come along with urbanized, wealthy, sophisticated societies. Less organized realms would not have the power, resources, organization, or coordination to have such refinements. Imagine these differences being in stark contrast to a confederation of Orc tribes waging war against a powerful, sophisticated human kingdom.
A related gambit, one that works in D&D despite most magic, is to provide deserters and POWs with false intelligence before they march to the enemy. If the unsophisticated POWs see frost giants marching around, that's what they'll report to the Vallorean Inquisition. They don't know those giants were illusions.If any enemy troops surrender they ought to be disarmed, given a meal, lectured on how wicked they are to invade their neighbours' country, held overnight, and then released unharmed to eat enemy supplies and to spread the news that their comrades need not fight to the death, fate worse than death, etc.