(IR) 2nd ooc-thread of the 5th IR (open)

[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

Creamsteak, I didn`t get any email from you!

 

[Creamsteak]

Sent

 

[Serpenteye]

You with your Overmind Avatar

And Serpenteye... you posess Fiend Folio?

Ethergaunts, from fiend folio. Around page 65 orso.

No, I don't. If you plan on using them in a major capacity would you mind posting their stats?

One more little thing: how exactly does one go about fortifying a territory? I'd assume that the Pomarj is already lightly fortified, given its history, and that my mountain regions gain the benefits of heavy fortification, given their physical structure (D&D mountains are just riddled with premade bunkers and trenches); if so, that'll probably subtract a bit from my starting offensive PL (which is okay with me), and if not, I'll need to build them.

Some areas start out with fortifications, but most of them are already pretty obsolete. Since we start out in the era of cannons and most castles and fortresses in the setting are medieval in style their value is fairly low.
Building new fortifications would require time and money, PLs and a turn in game terms, but the cost would probably depend on the number of points you'd want to protect. An entire territory (except when due to terrain) is quite expensive to fortify, but in most cases it shouldn't be necessary to do so.
It comes down to the way combat works, and though it is mostly generalized it's a bit more to it than simply rolling a die province by province. I realise this doesnät explain much, but I think I'll have to try it out in practice before I commit to a rule about it.

Zelda and I are not sure how we claimed those Oerth lands (we don't remember doing it!)(them viking like people)... I don't feel like they fit in with our group, so, unless zelda disagrees, we remove any claim on anything on Oerth, minus those ports in major citys.

Feel free to give us more pop or pl to compinsate us for this loss though =))

Serpenteye-sama ! Can I have two hero-deities too ?

The power-inflation never ends...
You have Iuz, and a few other Epic PLs. Hero-diety is just a title, it doesn't confer any direct bonuses to a faction, unlike Demi-God.

Ok, working a little on the map, outlined in the gross features of greater Oerth (the mountains because other than that there aren't any really) and I've worked my way down from the Amedio peninsula and to Nippon. I was going to start working on Hepmonaland, but how many factions are in there? And where? I know this sounds a bit whining, but those claims are sort of spread out in the post - anyone with an interest in the IR area able to just rattle them off so I can draw in your continent? Otherwise I'm just going to use http://www.canonfire.com/htmlnew/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=116 as my source...

Edit: Just for giggles and because I have to go soonish here's the map in progress. If anyone off the normal map has any special requests that I might be able to make on this thing I think now would be the time to start chiming in with suggestions. I might not work anymore on the map today, but hopefully it will be done by late tomorrow. Also, here's another drow sketch.

You didn't have to make the territories outside the Flannaes quite that small, it's going to be tough to keep track on them all. The smallest territories outside the Flannaes should be about the size of the largest territories in the Flannaes, like the areas you've divided the Vesve Forest into. (With the exception of specific important locations like Edena's cities, and other tiny areas that could be used to show the locations of other major cities and such). I should have told you this before, before you put so much work into it. Sorry .
It looks beautiful, but all those territories simply represent too much information and having them all in the game would make it far too complicated.

Travelers to the Ethereal Plane report vast fields of nothingness, roiling fog cloaking a barren landscape. Sometimes, however, they come upon fantastic stone pyramids or cyclopean menhirs topped with flashing magical flames, relics of an ancient race. Knowledgeable scholars refer to the fearsome creators of these structures as ethergaunts, after their emaciated, delicate frames. An advanced culture that abandoned the Material Plane more then 10,000 years ago, the ethergaunts are finally comming back, with a vengeance.

Adult ethergaunts stand 8 feet tall and resemble extraordinarily thin humanoids. An ethergaunt’s long, thin arms reach to mid-calf; each hand has three agile fingers and a thumb. An inhuman face caps a short neck that protrudes from the center of the creature’s chest, giving the thergaunt a somewhat stooped appearance. Because few creatures gaze upon an ethergaunt’s face without taking severe damage to their psyches, the creatures have develloped bisected masks and exosceletons that serve to give them a somewhat humanlike appearance. Dozens of colorful, prehensile tendrils emerge from behind the mask like a mane of thick, fleshy hair. The faceplate resembles a featureless porcelain visage, and the mask’s color reveals the ethergaunt’s role in the creatures’ pragmatic society. Red ethergaunts serve the race as scientists and explorers. White ethergaunts manage the reds’ affairs and form the primairy government of the race. The dreaded black ethergaunts control the entire society of ethergaunts; fewer then one hundred blacks are thought to exists. Other colors and roles may exist.

Ethergaunts have a great disdain for the creatures that have inhabited “their world” since their ancient departure. They have progressed technologically and philisophically to a point where they consider most inhabitants of the Material Plane no more relevant then insects. While they see themselves as beyond good and evil in the classic sense, they are not pleased at the current infestation of their old home, and have set upon the most devastatin extermination in history.

Ethergaunts communicate with each other by wriggling their head tendrils, which transmits a psychic “soundprint” identifiable as language to other ethergaunts within normal hearing range. They occasionally communicate with members of Material Plane races by revealing their true faces to one of the creature’s cohorts and using that dominated ally as a psychic puppet-envoy. In such communications, the ethergaunts refer to themselves as the Khen-zai. Ethergaunts communicate with each other using their own language, Khen-zai, which cannot be learned by those who lack their unique anatomy. Most know a smattering of other languages---usually tongues plucked from the minds of enslaved envoys. Comman additional languages include Common, Draconic, Dwarven, and Elven.

Ethergaunt society

Ethergaunt society serves the dual goals of philisophical progress and self-preservation. The Khen-zai define progress as the culling of emotion in order to approach perfect rationality. They define self-reservation as the removal of any threat to their carefully developed objective philosophy. The inhabitants of the Material Plane threaten both philosophy and preservation, and hence must be destroyed.

Rigidly stratified through an immutable caste system, an ethergaunt’s role in society is largely defined by the actions (or lack thereof) of its predecessors. The Khen-zai long ago eliminated irrational ambition by ensuring that no ethergaunt can ever achieve a greater status. Once during its lifetime, however, an ethergaunt can produce a young Khen-zai through asexual reproduction. The child’s caste, hence the color it will bear upon its faceplate for its entire life, is decided before it is born by a cadre of black ethergaunts who weigh the achievements of the child’s ancestors before assigning the child’s caste.

Ethergaunts gather in small communities known as enclaves, usually situated around a large central pyramid that serves as a center of learning for the entire comminity. The largest such settlements boast as many as ten black ethergaunts, fifty white ethergaunts and as many as five hundred reds.

Ethergaunt items

Ethergaunts have developed a number of technological marvels. Because the race shuns art or pleasure, most such devices facilitate one of two activities: genocide or the eradication of religious devotion. Though the features of these objects resemble those of magic items, the objects are in fact technological and are not affected by spells such as antimagic field. Only ethergaunts have the knowledge and skill to build or maintain these devices.

Example weapons:
Etherblade: Resembling a short glaive topped with a hollow barrel, this favored weapon of the ethergaunts can fire a ray of force as a ranged touch attack for 1d6 points of damage. The etherblade ray has an increment of 40 feet. The weapon can fire 50 times before it is exhausted. It cannot be recharged.

An etherblade can be used as a two-handed weapon in melee combat to deal 1d10 points of slashing damage. A fully charges etherblade has a marker price of 800 gp.

Doubt Bomb: This ceramic sphere contains a chemical mixture intented to overstimulate the “doubt centers” in the brain. The bomb can be thrown as a grenadelike weapon. A thrown bomb shatters on impact, creating a cloud of poisonous gas in a 10-foot spread (initial and secondairy damage 1d6 Wisdom, Fort DC 15 negates). Ethergaunts are immune to the effects of doubt bombs.

A doubt bomb has a market price of 500 gp.


Notes of importance about Ethergaunts:

-The weakest of the race, namely the reds, are CR 9, cast spells as a level 9 wizard and have at least 23 intelligence and are immune to 2nd level arcane spells and lower. These are the dumbest and weakest of their race. These are the ethergaunt grunts and they are brighter then the brightest human mage.
-Population seems stagnant due to that each member of the race can only procreate one time which produces a single sibling.
-White ethergaunts are CR 13 and cast spells as a level 13 wizard, have 27 int and are immune to arcane spells of 4th level and lower.
-Black ethergaunts are CR 17 and cast spells as a level 17 wizard, have 31 int and are immune to arcane spells of 6th level and lower.
-All ethergaunts can dominate monster 3 times a day.
-Seeing an ethergaunts real face (which it can show as a free action by opening its faceplates) drains 1d4 points of intelligence, wisdom and charisma.
-Every single member of this race can Teleport.
-Every single member of this race can cast mass destruction spells as fireball, but even worse, spells like firebrand.


This makes the whole race more intelligent then the most intelligent of 99% of all other races that exist by far. Not even noting that this is the race without a single classlevel applied to them....

An incredibly cool race, kudos to whoever created them, and to you Forsaken One.

Do you relinquish your claim on the Red Kingdom? It, being populated by lesser races, doesn't quite seem to fit in with the Ethergaunts.

I have some comments:

*Ethergaunt technology doesn't really seem that advanced to me at first glance. Alien, yes. Powerful, no. The Etherblade is no big deal, neither is the Doubt Bomb. It's certainly not comparable to the power of an 18th century cannon, so *shrug*.
If those weapons represent the general power-level of Ethergaunt technology I'll give you a starting score of 4 in the technological arms race.

*All Ethergaunts would indeed be Elite or Epic in power, and you would get more Elite PLs and Epic PLs than any other faction. Obviously, this makes you very, very dangerous.

*To balance your PLs, and to reflect the very low number of Ethergaunts in existance your population would be tiny and your IC negligible. It will be possible for you to increase your population with conquest of course, but it will be hard for you to maintain control over a large empire since you have no Regular PLs and your Elite and Epic PLs do not represent a large number of people. Exterminating all of the lower life forms might actually be your best option, unless you manage to intimidate some worthy NPC faction to ally with you..
You would only be in control of one enclave of Ethergaunts, and your population wouldn't exceed 500 individuals.

*Due to what was written above it will be very difficult for you to increase your power, in absolute terms not relative ones. You will have enough PLs to research 10th level magic quickly, but you won't be strong enough to actually cast any 10th level spells... I'll see how it works out when I assign PLs, but going that route would in all likelyhood do you more harm than good.

*Your stated objective would, if executed openly without the political support of other factions, make you a target of a lot (if not all) other factions. All factions have Elite and Epic PLs, and put together they vastly outnumber you. Their hordes of Regulars could also pose a major threat. Your armies could put up one hell of a fight, though, and against a minor coalition of only a few other factions you would have a decent chance of winning if you played as well as I know you can, but it will not be easy.

*In summary, you're a major threat on turn one but as the game progresses your relative position is likely to steadily worsen. It would seem you have little to gain from attaining your goals, in terms of power.
(Just an analysis, of course, you will be able to affect the outcome. In fact, I know you will.)

All things considered, I think it's a damn cool faction you've chosen to play and your claim is granted.

Hmm.

Here's what I see happening if he takes the Ethergaunts:
First, as soon as he shows his face, all major forces of the Oerth will band together against this dormant threat that has risen it's head. For a moment, at least, peace will reign among the native Oerthians.
The Ethergaunts, lacking significant industrial potential, will be, eventually, defeated by attrition, even their significant PL advantage drowned out by a terrified world.
Finally, they will be defeated, and The Forsaken One will have to bring in a new faction.

None of these are bad things, from the sounds of it. Forsaken One did say he likes to play dangerous underdogs, and that sure sounds like what these guys are! Plus, it would give the game a riotous good start, and after this violent inter-plane war, we'll all be a bit too tired to immediately launch in to killing each other again. This will give us a much needed building phase in which to explore the technology we have not only received from the Outer Travelers who imported it to this sphere, but see what we can learn from the strange powers of the Ethergaunts.

Good analysis. That seems a very likely outcome.

Whilst I was researching, er, stuff, I came across this link, regarding the Notable Personages of Oerth:

http://www.peldor.com/world/people/

Quite a lot of epic/elite PL there! Not that I recommend everyone starts with all of these, far from it - indeed, earning the loyalty of existing Epic PL should be almost as arduous a process as creating new Epic PL, for men and women (and, er, other) of such stature are of strong independence and not easily bound or cajoled to service to larger powers.

There's quite a lot more Epic/Elite PLs around, , this wouldn't be an IR if the highest level NPC in the game was 25th level.
(And no, there's no need to claim these people as individuals. No need at all. Many of them are already included in one faction or another.)

Actually, what I see happening is that having normal armies and a static faction, I get rolled over. Since none of the other western territories are being played, they get rolled over too. I might be allowed to keep holdings in the Elven lands, but Lynn is essentially powerless against Elite armies. I might as well write it off as an irrelevant addition to my holdings. Unless Ishtarland and Erypt have enormously significant Epic PL holdings, they're assimilated as well. Since there's only Elite PL in his holdings, and that's where the balancing act of "how many Elite to Epic PL would make up all the vastness of everyone else's kingdoms" he'll have a leg up on Epic spell research. If he's got a significant bonus to technology his Max IC will be stupidly high compared to everyone else thanks to the multiplier. Frankly I'm already considering just handing him my faction, or at the least giving up my faction- screw this, let Serpenteye play the factions that have to deal with this crap. I could claim a deserted island off of Polaria. Ice Station Selkie or something, where my peaceful but industrious people could raise rats trade with passing ships every few years for luxuries like hot water and grog. Or to put it another way, this looks fundamentally unfun to me and I don't want to have anything to do with it.

Relax James, it's not nearly that bad.

You have Elite and Epic PLs too, though not as many as Forsaken One obviously, and so do the significant NPC factions (all the big Empires in the West). You have a Demigod, one of the most powerful individuals in the game and an equal (or near-equal) to Forsaken Ones character. And Forsaken Ones advantage in technology is only worth a piddling 200 PPts, a level you can easily exceed in a single turn if you want to.
And, and this is a major point that should not be overlooked. And Forsaken One starts the game with only 500 individuals or so, whereas your population exceeds 13 millions. It takes time for 500 individuals to exterminate a population of that size, even if they are very powerful individuals. For Forsaken One time is his worst enemy.
He can hurt you, he can spread fear, death and chaos troughout your Empire, but he can not simply exterminate you in one turn. No way, not unless you let him. The losses he would inflict on you can be regained but the losses he would suffer would be much harder to replace.

Relax. Trust me.

You know, I"m not sure the Elite v. Normal advantage is really that overwhelming.

It's not. The major advantage of Elites is their strategic and tactical mobility, their ability to strike almost anywhere at any time. In a set-piece fight they are actually quite vulnerable.

I'm not freaking out, I'm reacting. I was thinking about gnomes and Polaria even before I got a late edition of borg added to my neighbors, this is just crystalizing things. I could have all of Polaria and no neighbors at all, very little chance of routine visitors, and not have to worry about guaranteed first turn violence. Since this is my first IR and my first PbP game ever, that just sounds more reasonable than thinking about being the "First to be assimilated" or even worrying about the player who might want to play that sort of faction anywhere near me.

Consider this my formal petition for a change:

Polaria
Proper Name: The Empire of Polaria
Ruler: Emperor Perguine MLXI, Master of the Uttercold and the Land of Sunlight/Sunset (depending upon the time of year)
Government: Loosely ruled bureaucracy with a hereditary monarchy whose powers are largely ceremonial.
Capital: Friesland
Major Towns: Friesland (pop 600)
Provinces: Over 4,000 distinct provinces with separate sheriffs, hereditary nobility, Presidents, and many other different governmental units. They each have separate laws and customs as well, but all swear fealty to the Emperor and pay taxes.
Resources: Fish, fish oil, reindeer, ivory, rare lichens, toys
Coinage: Dependent upon which province one is in, much bartering for goods takes place, and some foreign coins are used as well.
Population: Unknown (Gnomes, Halflings, Selkies, Kobolds, some dwarfs and goblins, and a small community of miserable loxo and giff)
Languages: Dependent upon which province one is in, including experimental languages involving flash cards and pantomine.
Alignments: All
Religions: Each emperor is worshipped as a god-king, other than that various minor cults of foreign deities.
Allies: Various intelligent whales, ice elementals, lost seafarers
Enemies: Modrons really hate Polaria
Overview: The islands of Polaria have eternally been covered in Oerth's largest and most pronounced ice cap. On the surface the glaciers of Polaria cover all but the topmost portions of the islands, which provide the few surface towns and grazing land for enormous herds of reindeer, walruses, and penguins. Few travellers come to Polaria, thanks to the thick fog banks that come off from the warm waters of the Sea of Storms coming into contact with the frigid waters pouring forth from deep icemounts underneath the cap.

Still a few hardy souls eek out a meager existence in the area. Separated by vast distances, isolatingly low populations, dangerous crevasses, and a general sense of wanting to be left alone, it's almost surprising that the Polarians have any sort of coherent government at all. So there wouldn't be, and to most outsiders there isn't, except for the happy circumstance of the Great Race.

The Great Race is the most important event that happens in most Polarian's life, where every province sends in their most stalwart and perfect example of their way of life to compete in a race across Polaria (and occasionally across the Outer Planes, weather permitting) to compete for who will be the next Emperor Perguine. Usually the Emperor goes to reside in Friesland, home of the Polarian Tax Adjusters, in luxury for as long as he can stand it - and then announces a new Great Race. On rare occasions an Emperor has called a Great Race and competed in it himself. Such is the case with the current Emperor, who is not only Perguine MLXI, but was also Perguine MLX and Perguine MLIX.

Perguine MLXI commands a rabble of an army, consisting of whatever forces he can coerce from each of the separate provinces. The Polarian navy is quite proficient, consisting of many intelligent beasts of the oceans that find it convenient to call Polaria home and consider the tax cut for providing their services more than an equal trade.

No, you're definately freaking out.

That's a nice NPC faction, though. I think I'll make it official.

You're not really serious about changing factions, are you? Your current faction isn't weaker than Forsaken Ones, just very different. He can't walk all over the map, overrunning all opposition without any effort, and time is clearly working against him.
He's not the new Borg (if the ethergunts could "assimilate" conquered population they would face additional severe restrictions). He's more like the various Star Trek protagonists, outnumbered but hard to kill and always in the right place at the right time.
(I'm not a fan of the ST shows...)

I beleve that, once you get beyond a level of military strength, population is irrelavent, as you will just steam-roll right over all of the IR, or enough of it to get a high IC. I mean, the way TFO described his faction, our epics and elets would be fighting at a -2 or so becuse of the anti magic properties, and his would be fighting at a +6 or so due to extreame technology. According to the rules as I understand them, he could win any fight at the start of the game with one Epic PL. He could just send one to each of us!

Also, aren't all the planes cut off?

No and Yes.

All planes are cut off, except for the parts of the Ethereal and the Astral planes which are coterminous with (covering the same space as) the Crystal Sphere of Oerth. Forsaken Ones Ethergaunts had the good fortune of being in that very small and completely sealed off region of the Ethereal Plane.

That idea is far older than FOs faction, and it's a necessity since I wanted Teleport and other spells that use the Astral or Ethereal in the game.

To Serpenteye - and to everyone else

The original calculation for IC was population x IC level plus 5, divided by 200,000.
So, 1,000,000 people would translate to 1,000,000 x (1+5) = 6,000,000. Divided by 200,000, would equal 30.

Then Serpenteye doubled all ICs.

So now, the equation is population x IC level plus 5, divided by 100,000.

So ...

I went and recalculated EACH AND EVERY IC value in the roster (a process that, even with a computer calculator) took 2 hours. And I readded up each and every power's PL, including all additions and modifications from Serpenteye up to this post.

My apologies for my previous, misleading post, on IC values. I was simply working on the template, and not paying attention to numbers. I took what I was given, and didn't look further. To my utter horror, I discovered - starting with Paxus - that practically every calculation in the roster was off.
So, I went and corrected them all, according to the latest equation set down in the rules ( (population x (IC level + 5)) / 200,000) by Serpenteye, and are now laying them out for you to see.

Here is what I came up with: here are the current IC values:

TOTAL IC OF AIRWHALES' POWER SO FAR: 364 IC
TOTAL IC OF ANABSTERCORIANS' POWER SO FAR: 113.3 IC
TOTAL IC OF BUGBEARS' POWER SO FAR: 428.7 IC
TOTAL IC OF CREAMSTEAKS' POWER SO FAR: 257.5 IC
TOTAL IC OF DEMON ATHIESTS' POWER SO FAR: Unknown
TOTAL IC OF DEVILISHS' POWER SO FAR: 397.2 IC
TOTAL IC OF EDENA OF NEITHS' POWER: 368.4 IC
TOTAL IC OF ELUVANS' POWER SO FAR: 702.9 IC
TOTAL IC OF FORSAKEN ONES' POWER SO FAR: 342 IC
TOTAL IC OF GUILT PUPPYS' POWER SO FAR: 460.1 IC
TOTAL IC OF JAMES HEARDS' POWER SO FAR: 735 IC
TOTAL IC OF KNIGHT OTUS' POWER SO FAR: 776.9 IC
TOTAL IC OF MELKORS' POWER SO FAR: 351.8 IC
TOTAL IC OF NAC MAC FEEGLES' POWER SO FAR: 343.4 IC
TOTAL IC OF PAXUS ASCLEPIUS' POWER SO FAR: 591.8 IC
TOTAL IC OF RIKANDURS' POWER SO FAR: 361.8 IC
TOTAL IC OF THOMAS' POWER SO FAR: 244.2 IC
TOTAL IC OF VENUS' POWER SO FAR: 798 IC
TOTAL IC OF WILLIAMS' POWER SO FAR: 755.3 IC
TOTAL IC OF XAELS' POWER SO FAR: 411.1 IC
TOTAL IC OF AIRWHALES' POWER SO FAR: 364 IC

Again, I apologize for my mistake. It isn't that I'm an idiot at math. It was a simple oversight. An oversight that has made a mess. So I spent the hours required to clean it up, as well as I could.

- - -

To everyone

I am very disheartened that James is so disheartened, and that Forsaken One seems disheartened too.
Jame's enthusiasm for the game was strong, and that enthusiasm showed. Now he seems dispirited and dejected. And he deserves better.
And Forsaken One also seems dispirited and down. His enthusiasm has always showed, and he's put in some effort. He deserves some fun.
Could you'all please give these two some support?
We want to have a fun game. That's all. And what fun will it be if James and Forsaken One leave us?

Edena_of_Neith
Gamemaster of the 3rd IR
Doing his best to help with the 5th IR

You say that every calculation in the roster was off... but I never intended them to be "on". The equation on maximum IC is exactly that, an equation for the maximum possible IC in a territory and a faction. I based the numbers I gave you on that equation, but I subtracted a varying fraction from the IC value of each territory. My intent was to show that the territories were not yet maximized, to allow the players to improve their industrial capacity without having to invest in the technological arms race on turn 1.
It would seem I have caused you to misunderstand me, . All I wanted was a simple doubling of the IC in each and every territory and that new claims were taken into account, sorry.

-
I am disheartened that you are disheartened.

We will work this out. I'll be damned in anyone leaves this game before it has even begun because of a percieved imbalance.

Forsaken One, James Heard, everyone. Trust me, give me some credit. Every single faction will have validity, a chance to win, a chance to make a difference. But a game isn't fun unless it's challenging, that's what games are about; overcoming adversity. That is doubly true in an IR. So, tell me how you feel, and your reasons for those feelings, and I'll work it out. This is not the end of the world.

 

[Creamsteak]

If I read you right, TFO is going to have an IC of 0, but a very powerful force? Sounds somewhat fair.

 

[Serpenteye]

A very critical question to me. This sounds like the diadem, the (often ignored in the face of greater threats) swarm, and in the IRR the Mantis clans plans all over again. It also seems like a power grab of sorts.

It seems that way to me too, but I don't see that as a major problem. Everything you want to do with your factions you have to run by me and I'm not allowing everything.
It's hard to keep the balance between being too restrictive and too generous as a DM, but any "kill the world in a hundred days"-scenarios simply won't happen in the beginning and middle of the game. An alliance can, theoretically (and it's a long-shot), defeat another alliance and establish a permanent peace in that time... but I just don't see that happening.

Personally, this sounds a bit too much like "I'm taking my toys and going home." Or (more accurately even) in this case, "I'll play antarctica" during a game of axis and allies.

James has a reason to be concerned, but I think he's been jumping to far too dramatic conclusions far too quickly. There's no need for recriminations.

Though I wil propably double my Duergar and Kua-Toa populations to 600 000 and 800 000.

Yesterday I would have granted that request without blinking, now I'm not so sure. Maybe I have been too generous with the claims...

I wouldn't be leaving, just taking over the equally interesting but farther away from psychotics power of Polaria. I don't want to not play. I want to be far enough removed from what I truly do see as problem faction as possible, even recognizing that in a real sense the Elite and Epic PL rules of the game make certain that having a low unattractive starting population figure are the only way of protecting yourself from a concerted early attack from any faction with an overwhelming amount of Elite and Epic superiority. Lynn is absolutely a weakness rather than a benefit and I had my doubts from the beginning, Polaria seems like a good trade. Who better than the game master to manage every single neighboring force committed to fighting what promises to be a meteor shower faction of the 5th IR? I'm just saying I have neither the inclination nor the time, and if I'm actually forced into that sort of position then yes, then I'll bow out of the game.

I meant very seriously my ideas about a slow and steady sort of game in the first thread, it sounds absolutely thunderously unfun to immediately be locked into combat with superior forces with no position of compromise suddenly at this late date in the preparations for the game. It's easier and simpler to just create a faction that plays more like I desire than to sugget that someone else who has so obviously had a long string of efforts to come upon just the right and correct sort of faction for his play style. For me creating a new faction is no effort at all, so I do it gladly.

Barring access to the Polarians as I've presented I'll probably claim the Old Faith. An amorphous faction of druids and old school bards with no real territory at all seems defensible and not particularly tasty too. I'll probably sit out most major conflicts in the IR in the interest of neutrality and writing songs and smoking rare mushrooms though. I think the Polarians are funny, but the Deadheads of Oerth might be fun too.

If you really want to play Polaria I'll let you. Claim granted Population 10'000, IC 0,4. [Sblock]Something might or might not be buried under the ice-cap...[/Sblock]
I'm encouraging you to stay with your old faction, but it's your choice. I think you will have more fun with a faction that is actually powerful enough to affect the rest of the world, though, and your power of Miranda definately is.


I'm afraid I didn't consider your point about a slow and steady game enough, so here's an analysis. The IR games have always been about rapid progress and drastic action, a nail-biting sit-up-and-read-all-night-until-your-eyes-explode-just-so-you-can-keep-up-with-the-action -kind of experience.
I have said that this game would progress at a slower pace, that my posting wouldn't be as rapid as Edena's was in the 3rd IR, but I may have overlooked the pacing of the actual progress of the game...

The most powerful players have an IC of about 700. If they spent 700 ppts a turn on getting 10th level magic (assuming they had and sacrificed 5 Epic PLs) it would take them four turns to get 10th level magic and they wouldn't have enough Epic PLs to cast 10th level spells until turn 7. This is a considerably slower pace than in the 3rd IR, and the race for High magic is probably the best gauge of an IRs pace.

Some factions will have more Epic PLs than others, true. But those factions will also have a slower rate of growth and noone will be able to jump directly into being able to cast 10th level spells by burning all their Elite and Epic PLs in the first two turns. That's not what makes the Forsaken One, and Devilish, and Edena, and Creamsteak, and Melkor, and Nac Mac, and Rikandur so dangerous.

Epic and Elite PLs are valuable and the faction that uses them recklessly will have to consider the consequences, this in itself will contribute to slowing down the pace of the game, I hope. And if not, then you will soon kill off each-others Elites and Epics and have to go back to fighting each others with Regulars and Militia. Rebuilding your elite forces will be hard if you're fighting a war and there is much else to spend your resources on if you're at peace.

Forsaken One's situation is unique, though. He truly has no choice but to attack, and keep attacking until either he or you are all dead. Since he has no easy way of increasing the PLs he starts out with and the rest of you do, time is working against him.
That, however, is mostly his own problem. For the rest of you it gives a sence of added urgency and excitement to the first turn, a pleasant start to the game. After that, things will probably slow down a bit for a while.

 

[Serpenteye]

If I read you right, TFO is going to have an IC of 0, but a very powerful force? Sounds somewhat fair.

I thought so. Somewhat like a very extreme version of your own faction.

 

[James Heard]

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[James Heard]

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[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

A request: Does anyone have those Ravenloft 3rd edition books where advancements for elder Vampires is described?

Serpenteye, can Vampires that live in various environments adapt diffrent animal forms? I can see Sahuagin Vampires transforming into sharks, and those from Underdark into lizards ans spiders. Do you allow the 6th level spell from Lords of Darkness that allows Vampires to temporary ignore sunlight? My PC however is cursed by Pelor, so it won`t help him. Poor Gallador( he looks like Alucard from Hellsing, by the way, maybe without the hat.)

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

Some areas start out with fortifications, but most of them are already pretty obsolete. Since we start out in the era of cannons and most castles and fortresses in the setting are medieval in style their value is fairly low.
Building new fortifications would require time and money, PLs and a turn in game terms, but the cost would probably depend on the number of points you'd want to protect. An entire territory (except when due to terrain) is quite expensive to fortify, but in most cases it shouldn't be necessary to do so.
It comes down to the way combat works, and though it is mostly generalized it's a bit more to it than simply rolling a die province by province. I realise this doesnät explain much, but I think I'll have to try it out in practice before I commit to a rule about it.

Yes, I will wait and see what will happen in the Turn 1. On shedule: [SECRET], [SECRET], [SECRET] and royal negotiations. Chmm, where will I find time for some fun ? Like skinning people alive ...

The power-inflation never ends...
You have Iuz, and a few other Epic PLs. Hero-diety is just a title, it doesn't confer any direct bonuses to a faction, unlike Demi-God.

Did this that I have Iuz's faction must mean that I'm as bad as him ?

I simply want to customize things here and there, so Hero-Deity don't make nothing in the big scale ... I know that ! Do You think that Iuz would allow anyone to shine more ? And to ... make things more spicy for eventual assasination attempts.

Relax. Trust me.

Why I felt this brownie in ice boots, marching down my spine ?
I was saying such things to my players ...

From the other side, Ethergaunts are fully capable in destroying the "insects". And I would consider their enclave Heavily Fortified. And yes, their technology isn't that impressive.

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So ... Forsake One.

Ethergaunt Enclave:
PC: Council of 10 Black Ethergaunts.
Powers: 10 Black Ethergaunts, 50 White Ethergaunts, 500 Red Ethegaunts.

Traits: Advanced Technology- 4 level, Alien. Other traits ? I have no idea.

Ethergaunt Enclave: Population 500, IC= 0,045.

You really like dangerous life, Forsaken One. And Your Ethergaunts slighted Iuz.
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Melkor, I think that You might like Prestige Class for Vampires, from the "Book of Vile Darkness". How do You like term ... Lifedrinker ?