NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ciaran" data-source="post: 700980" data-attributes="member: 756">I vote that we leave psionics out of the Fantasy Arms Race; they aren't in the core rules, we have enough to talk about that is in the core rules, and I personally don't care for them.  But I'll leave that up to RangerWickett to decide.We should probably discern what effects the Jongan war has had on Cresian society and government.  At the very least, the beastmen probably hold a higher position than before.  There’s also the question of whether other gods are worshipped in Cresia, given that they’ve conquered and absorbed populations that worshipped other deities.  I’d say that we’ll see a pantheon developing, with the other gods being named the children of the Dog-Mother and Field-Father.Ajanders is correct that the Cresians would probably reduce their standing army after a long peace, though the beastmen are likely to remain in force, and may well have had an impact on the leadership of Cresia.  I expect that the   They would also be unlikely to have a broad range of new military breakthroughs; they haven't had much in the way of war since the Jongan conflict, and for the most part, they are both traditionalist and peaceful in nature.  What new advances they've picked up have probably come from other cultures that they've absorbed over the years, and from what they've seen used by other cultures.  Given their range, I expect that the Cresians are a major trading power of the late Bronze / early Iron Age.  I'd include the following tricks in the Cresian bag:1) Cavalry.  The Cresian affinity for animals makes this the most favored military development, though they are unlikely to develop the technologies required for heavy cavalry (stirrups and so forth).  Given their druidic talents, even if the Cresians don't come up with this themselves, once they see cavalry used by another culture, they can easily develop a gentling regimen based on animal friendship and the like.2) Chariots.  While they aren't all that advantageous in and of themselves, chariots may prove to make excellent traveling platforms for Cresian spellcasters.  Of course, this requires the development of the wheel, which may be a bit beyond them at the moment...3) Unit formations and co-ordination.  They will have picked up a few tricks from the Jongans in this regard, which will serve them in good stead when dealing with technologically superior opponents.4) Shipboard rams.  After having whales and the like knock holes in enemy ships, it won’t be long before a bright Cresian (probably of Jongan ancestry) sticks a metal whale-head on a ship’s prow and takes a shot at ramming an enemy vessel.Now, here are some things that other nations may have, and that they Cresians probably don't have yet:1) Bows.  Archery is going to have a major impact on the early fantasy battlefield, one that shouldn't be underestimated.  With little armor available as yet, arrowstorms can slaughter troops relatively easily under the right conditions; and the Cresians' beastmen and animal allies have no real defense at all.2) Shield walls.  The Jongans used a primitive version of this, but they never got the opportunity to develop it properly, and the Cresians never thought to develop it themselves.  Given the threat of archery, though, they'd better catch on quickly...3) Phalanxes.  From the Greek phalanx to the Swiss hedgehog, arrays of polearms have proven to be incredibly effective against less organized opposition.  The Cresian troops have at least a modicum of discipline (picked up from the Jongans), but that may not be enough to get through a phalanx; and horses are shy of rows of spearpoints, being wiser in this respect than their riders.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />And some magical developments that other nations are likely to use:1) Illusions.  Even the simplest of illusions can have a drastic effect on the battlefield.  Even a silent image can be used to disguise a spiked pit or to conceal an ambuscade; either tactic can eliminate a dozen or more opponents with a single spell, while change self or invisibility allows a spy or assassin to penetrate Cresian lines with ease.  The illusionist culture really doesn’t need anything else to hold its own against the Cresians.2) Scrying.  Once spells like detect thoughts, clairvoyance and scry come along, no secret is safe from the enemy; and as military forces have reached the point of clear chains of command, all you have to do is insinuate a scrying sensor into the enemy general’s tent in order to lay bare the strategy of the entire enemy force.3) Clerical battlefield magics.  Clerics have a number of low-level spells that are broadly useful in combat.  The most notable are bless and bane, which can affect large numbers of troops and have a strong effect on morale.  Obscuring mist and darkness can alter a battlefield, while spells like divine favor, shield of faith and magic weapon allow a warrior priest to smite enemies of the faith as well as any warrior.  I expect that, at some point, an expansionistic theocracy will arise that will make good use of these low-level clerical magics on the battlefield.4) Created monsters.  Unlike Zephyrus, I don't see the Cresians as the sort of folk to create hybrids like centaurs; that would be too much a violation of the existing natural order.  But another, less scrupulous culture might use magic to create new species to serve their needs.  Minotaurs in particular would make good servants: they're strong, they're enduring, and they eat grass!  And for combat, they might develop warrior-creatures with lots of natural armor (lizardfolk?), which would have a strong impact on the battlefield in an era where the shield is the best armor that's generally available.Any thoughts?- Eric(Edit: added reference to created monsters.)</blockquote>

Verification