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Message: <blockquote data-quote="F5" data-source="post: 702234" data-attributes="member: 4607">Wow.  A LOT of great stuff, here.  I'm away from the thread for a few days, and...wow.  Great stuff.Awakened cavalry...brilliant!  This makes sense for the animal-loving Cressians; they have been fighting alongside animals as long as they have existed as a people, and it makes sense that their Druidic war-priests would Awaken their companions when they have the power.  This would have a major impact on the effectiveness of mounted cavalry...the cavalry units are effective with or without a rider!  Imagine Cressian werewolves mounted on sentient Dire Stags.  The riders charge into formation, fighting from "horse"-back, then, once the enemy ranks are broken, they leap out of the saddle and tear into them.  Normally mounted cavalry can't dismount, since their horses would have bolted, or panicked, and generally been unable to cope with the battlefield without a rider.  Awakened cavalry could maintain tight formations with or without a rider (with the herd instincts of a deer, they'd probably be BETTER at holding a formation than their Cresian riders!).  Circle around to the enemy's flank, round up escapees, there are tons of tactical options open to them.  Add to this chariots carrying a Jongan mage and several bodyguards, and an elite Cressian force (even a small one) would be deadly.  They alrady have the tactics from their sea-chariots to fall back on, I don't think it would be a stretch for them to come up with land chariots.  And with Awakened mounts pulling them, you don't need a pilot (driver?  What do you call the guy that steers a chariot, anyway?  Charioteer?), so you can load them up entirely with combatants.An application of assimilated Jongan mind-magic that would be deadly in massed combat: the Fear spell.  Targeted at key points in the enemy line, a few mages could cause them to break ranks and run.  And, as has been said earlier, once morale is lost, the battle is over.  In the century following the Battle of Mists and Fire, there's no real threat to the Cresians and they would probably keep a fairly small army (still able to field thousands of troops, but probably less than their neigbors).  With tactics like these available, though, I think they could get away with smaller armies.I like Dr. Strangemonkey's four-guild arrangement for the Cressian government, and I think it would have some interesting results.    The Wanderer's Guild is what intrigues me the most.  As the people responsible for ommunication between outlying villages, they would probably take to mounted riders as well (since it allows them to move faster).  Maybe the "pony express" is made up of Awakened ponies, carrying messages from village to village?  This may be too much use of the Awaken spell, but it WOULD be tremendously useful to a people who rely on animals as much as the Cresians do.  The Wanderer's guild would also have strong naval presence, as explorers, and woud be most likely be the first-contact point with the Cresians' neigbors.  Lastly, the Wanderers would be most likely to develop long-range communication magic (maybe THEY unlock the secrets of scrying????)The Dog-mother's Warrior guild would be the home of the beastmen.  I see them going in one of two directions.  They MIGHT maintain their status as blessed holy warriors, and have a status like medeival knights.  A bizarre court of lycnathropic nobles might form.  Immediately after the Jongan Wars, the beastmen would be recognized as war heroes, and given lavish rewards.  They would have been reluctant to give them up, and as powerful as they are, and obviously having the blessing of the Dog Mother, they would have the clout to hold onto it throughout the years.  Now, in times of relative peace, maybe the general populus is getting resentful of their erstwhile protectors?The Scribe Guild, made up of predominantly assimilated-Jongans, might form an Academy, to teach new students the Arcane Magics of their ancestors, that their arts wouldn't be forgotten.  The Cresians would suport this, and gradually come to be the masters of both Arcane and Druidic magic.  A very powerful monopoly.Morgenstern, I could definitely see disaffected members of the Cressian population (maybe frustrated by the favored treatment of the Beastmen) joining up with dissadent, fugitive Jongan fire mages.  The deep caverns and tunnels of the Hill People (who have lingered there out of sight and biding their time for centuries) would make an ideal hiding place for them.  All three factions would be united in their hatred of the Cresian Shapechangers.  Maybe this is the group that, after centuries of aborted efforts and 11-th hour reconsiderations by both Cresian and Jongan, finally goes through with a Summoning, and makes contact with an Outer Plane.  They hate the Cresian shapechangers so much, what might the demons transform THEM into?</blockquote>

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