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Message: <blockquote data-quote="s/LaSH" data-source="post: 744247" data-attributes="member: 6929">Ah yes, the atlatl. Amazingly simple for a device that nearly doubles your range and accuracy. I'm certain that the Cresians would have them, especially as they're the descendants of plains hunters. Heck, they might have used them during the Jongan or even Cave People conflicts.I was going to suggest that silver would be largely ceremonial amongst the Ta'jinn, actually, so go with that. It's pretty but not as practical as bronze, so only the high muckety-mucks would have silver in large quantities. It could take a while for a lycanthrope to get close to someone this important, though, so I give the discovery six months to a year because lycanthropes just aren't around that often. That's enough time for one military campaign, I reckon.Anyway! The conflict!Ta'jinn troops have begun to persecute the northern borders of Cresia, striking from Stempan bases. Superior ranged weapon technology means they can attack weaker fortifications and take them, but the bigger Cresian fortresses are seemingly impregnable (thanks to spells and tall walls) and the Cresian troops can escape into the wilds if given the chance.The Ta'jinn have learned that Cresians can move through rough terrain better than them, which is embarassing for nomads. They have begun to coordinate encircling attacks with griffin scouts, where they completely surround a smaller enemy force and try to eliminate them before they can escape. The Cresians, of course, use their shock troops (the deltanes) to punch a hole through the weakest part of the perimieter, usually human soldiers, and keep the rest of the jinn tied up with spells while the Cresians exfiltrate.The Ta'jinn have a slight edge at night, because more of their troops have darkvision (something around half, as opposed to 10% for the Cresians). Most of their attacks are therefore in the dark. The godsbloods on the griffins cannot see troops by night, but their griffins can (60-foot darkvision). In response to this, the Cresians have taken to hiding in thick forest so the griffins can't fly close enough, and responding to that, the Ta'jinn develop a sweep-march formation: a wing advances spread out in a line, with the edges forward of the center, and with advance riders out in front carrying signal torches; the entire formation wraps around smaller obstacles and theoretically eliminates them.One minor tactic used by the Ta'jinn is for a godsblood on a griffin to cast Light on a sling bullet and drop it to human troops below. Most can do this a couple of times for one nocturnal engagement.Meanwhile, the Cresians have discovered that their supply raids aren't doing the trick in the northeastern moors, although their military presence in the area has stopped one Ta'jinn attempt to drive a few wings into the heart of Cresia down the south-eastern bank of the Cresian River. It falls on them to do something more drastic to ensure their safety - their towns are falling, although knots of resistance remain in no-man's-land. Already, maybe 5% of their population has been evacuated or 'liberated' by the Ta'jinn.The priesthood wants to fortify the moors with a new forest and then a really big wall, thus stopping the Ta'jinn from reaching Stempa and thus Cresia. This, of course, is the 'peaceful' solution.The military, on the other hand, favours a more direct approach. They want to find a way to nullify the Ta'jinn support structure in Stempa itself, by destroying the Tarthusian alliance - whether its cohesion, or each city-state itself, one by one. The favoured sub-option is to try diplomacy (read: massive bribery) first, but a few of the toughest soldiers are already wondering how they can bring down an entire Stempan city... and finding answers.A couple of real hotheads want to find the Ta'jinn's home and lay waste to it. Unfortunately, nobody really knows where that might be...The Thelian Stempans, meanwhile, are trying to sting the Tarthusians in the side. The Tarthusians have the Ta'jinn caravan guards on their side, however, so the Thelians are being a little cautious - without their Cresian allies, they're overmatched and they know it. (But that might change...)Meanwhile, the Auselen are doing something... but what? And who will it benefit?</blockquote>

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