Dice Exalted 3E - Tale of a Falling Empire OOC

[D. Rex]

I might actually have some ideas to help disrupt their supply lines. If we are willing to not station the warstrider at the city.

The warstrider we have could not be better suited for the task we have at hand unless we had the orichalcum hulk to act as a wall or the dark behemoth one to do massive damage.

Our jade centaur excels at hit and run tactics, and can move multiple range bands with absolute ease. Could leave over entire battleground. And be out of range before the enemy realize I kabobed twenty troops on my Lance.

I dont know what the terrain is like. But if we have low hills and plains, then the warstrider is in its element.

Furthermore, it has a unique evocation that I get when I attune to it. I will never suffer fatigue while using it, and using it revitalizes me as if I was sleeping in it. This means I could be in the warstrider indefinitely so long as I can eat and drink, and can exert myself fully without tiring. What this means is I can handle long outings so long as I don't get destroyed or damaged.

1. With a running charge, a could brutalized any supply convoy we can find. I dont have to defeat the guards, just destroy the supplies.

2. I can provide various hit and run operations on enemy flanks faster than battlegroups can change their formation. I can harry advances and create openings for Asuna to exploit.

3. At the speed I can operate, I can make pinpoint attacks on an sorcery we notice being cast, or any seige weapons they try to deploy.


I plan to dump all of my xp into getting evocations for this warstrider. And if we can last long enough, some of these evocations could be really useful to Asuna's strategies.

 

[Psychie]

This sounds awesome. We do have a chance here, a slim one, but we may be able to make a few legends of our own here.

 

[Random Word]

Has Asuna told Fel how much she loves him recently? She may even be willing to share her chocolate when she learns what Fel's Warstrider can do. Put some elite cavalry behind it (Marukani horse archers would be ideal) and you have a real challenge for even a Supernal War Solar if the terrain is relatively open (and the amount of intensive agriculture in the area suggests it is). Can't catch them on foot, can't spread out to forage while they're at large, can't maintain the siege if you can't forage. If we could somehow get you a magically concealed base to retreat to, like the sanctums of a few different Gods or something, that would be ideal.

Between that warstrider and the fact that Larissa is flying artillery we actually have an incredibly effective extremely mobile harrying force that will likely terrify the fuck out of them when it's first revealed.

The question then is how to maximize the shock value of the reveal. Perhaps disguise the Warstrider as Satori attempting to smuggle out a significant portion of her wealth overland by cover of darkness before the city is besieged. Let it be known it's escorted by only a hundred-odd cavalry and a few loyal Princes of the Earth. The Solar won't divert the bulk of their forces from their march on the city for that, but they might split off the Lunar and the beastmen for a juicy prize. Then surprise, the carriage is full of a little bit of treasure but also a manned warstrider, there's an angry sorceress hurling very sharp butterflies at your rear from the sky, and there were a thousand horse archers concealed over the hill. Have fun retreating through open plains - full of witnesses - against all of that.

 

[D. Rex]

Has Asuna told Fel how much she loves him recently? She may even be willing to share her chocolate when she learns what Fel's Warstrider can do. Put some elite cavalry behind it (Marukani horse archers would be ideal) and you have a real challenge for even a Supernal War Solar if the terrain is relatively open (and the amount of intensive agriculture in the area suggests it is). Can't catch them on foot, can't spread out to forage while they're at large, can't maintain the siege if you can't forage. If we could somehow get you a magically concealed base to retreat to, like the sanctums of a few different Gods or something, that would be ideal.

Between that warstrider and the fact that Larissa is flying artillery we actually have an incredibly effective extremely mobile harrying force that will likely terrify the fuck out of them when it's first revealed.

The question then is how to maximize the shock value of the reveal. Perhaps disguise the Warstrider as Satori attempting to smuggle out a significant portion of her wealth overland by cover of darkness before the city is besieged. Let it be known it's escorted by only a hundred-odd cavalry and a few loyal Princes of the Earth. The Solar won't divert the bulk of their forces from their march on the city for that, but they might split off the Lunar and the beastmen for a juicy prize. Then surprise, the carriage is full of a little bit of treasure but also a manned warstrider, there's an angry sorceress hurling very sharp butterflies at your rear from the sky, and there were a thousand horse archers concealed over the hill. Have fun retreating through open plains - full of witnesses - against all of that.

Lol no she has not. But to be fair, Fel doesn't know the capabilities of this warstrider yet. But he will be able to puzzle it out quickly once he sees it. Information that he would immediately relay to Asuna.


You may also be pleased to know that this warstrider also has ranged capabilities as its standard load out also includes a giant short bow.


The idea for trying to lure the lunar force is pretty could. Given they are 3k strong, if we can fight them separate from the main force, we can more easily reduce their numbers. If we can rout them, killing a couple battlegroups in the process, and chasing down another, that could spare us some serious hurt later. As well, the engagement could give the soldiers first hand experience of beastman brutality to spread amongst the civilians back in Kandara. Bring back a few heads of the monsterous ones for good measure.


Also! The warstrider is a quadreped! Meaning it would be easier for, as an example, a sorceress to ride on the back for greater safety and mobility. Or! Could see if an implosion bow can be mounted on its back for some extra ranged attacks while the warstrider is moving away.

If we are particularly savvy, we may be able to find a way to make one of the inplosiom bows into a one handed warstrider sized weapon, if which it could perform devastating actions even when out of range of its Lance.


I'm feeling much more confident at our chances with Asuna at the helm.

 

[Random Word]

This is epitomized by Satori, who I originally envisioned as being a cross between Cersei Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon in terms of temperament; she's an entitled and needlessly violent ruler who isn't exactly the sharpest switchklaive in the drawer, and she's wholly unsuited to handle a situation like the one she's in right now.

Cersei was quite competent to be fair, and fairly well suited to the situation we find ourselves in now. Tywin may never have bothered to teach her, but she learned a lot from him anyway. Joffrey was incompetent, but also a child. If Satori is much more Joffrey than Cersei that will indeed be tricky.

C.) Stepping away from both to do our own thing elsewhere, whether that be a new nation or joining the Seventh Legion

Lookshy doesn't have much of a moral leg to stand on in a faceoff against the Realm in my opinion. If they're less exploitative it's only due to lack of ability, not inclination. They rule a much smaller number of people to exploit. I don't think C is a real choice. If the Civil War erupts during the campaign then forming a breakaway empire becomes a possibility. I can't imagine Asuna and Xandra wouldn't report in to serve as quickly as possible, though, so that would derail things.

Satori will be turned into a tsundere Waifu fitting enough to have her own body pillow, we will rally the loyal dynasts and fight back against this attempt at usurping the realm, and the solars return will spark a new ideological revival and reformation of the immaculate philosophy, and Manato and Asuna will be crowned the new Empress and consort, with Larissa deposing Raksi as the great sorcerous force in the world. All the while our exploits will have us proclaimed as the next Dragons in that our lineage will be held above all.others!

What's Xandra, chopped liver?

 

[D. Rex]

Random Word
No, Fel is chopped liver. Xandra will no doubt be clad in silvery moon mad pelts, adding new trophies to her attire with every kill until her trophies well outnumber her scars, and she will be known as one of the most fearsome anathema hunters in the Realm.

 

[Rykon]

Lookshy doesn't have much of a moral leg to stand on in a faceoff against the Realm in my opinion. If they're less exploitative it's only due to lack of ability, not inclination. They rule a much smaller number of people to exploit. I don't think C is a real choice. If the Civil War erupts during the campaign then forming a breakaway empire becomes a possibility. I can't imagine Asuna and Xandra wouldn't report in to serve as quickly as possible, though, so that would derail things.

I had stated it in another post, but I agree it is an incredibly hard sell for these characters to go to Lookshy. The only real advantage is that it's an existing organization of Dragon-Blooded that is mostly unified in purpose. Which would save us an awful lot of time and effort at a significant cost of impact and authority. There's a lot in that post that is getting quite a bit ahead of ourselves I admit.

The civil war starting could be an interesting development. We have a Mnemon, Cathak, Ledaal, Sesus, and Cynis. That splits us in two teams if birth house loyalties are sustained. That is, unless we could negotiate a bridge. It is only 2 factions, and blessedly not five, after all. Even then the rift is comparatively minor and rooted in pride. That is all assuming the ST determines that it remains to be the case for this game.

Speaking of the house dynamics, if we want to jump into this fight I'm going to need to think about how to make the terms work in our favor. Bad news for Fel is that Manato is probably going to want Satori gone, by agreement or by force. Her upside is that she gets to keep living instead of being subjected to whatever decisive justice a Solar would bring down.

 

[D. Rex]

Oh well, sometimes you can't win unless you break a few egg, legs, hearts, and minds. Besides unless Manato does something, Satori will likely pound that 1 resolve Fel has until she turns him into a simp rather than a kind optimist.

That said, he isn't going to side with Satori over his kinship, even if it does mean needing to take a cold shower later. And if his circle isn't on board, then he will see the battle as all but lost.. When he offered to help, there wasn't a 15k celestial army at the gates. Fel may believe in his sacred duty, but he isn't so stupid or foolish as to throw his life away in a unwinnable fight, because he can't continue his duty if he is dead. And there is too little at stake to consider holding the line and fighting to the death.

 

[Rykon]

Happy Thanksgiving and merry Turkeyday everyone! I know not everyone may be in the states, but do enjoy the start of the holiday season all the same.

 

[Random Word]

This is painful. I really didn't want to be serving Satori any cold truths until she liked Asuna a lot more. It's probably a mistake to be trying this so early. Patience would almost certainly have been a better approach here, but I think Asuna really does feel sorry for Satori and believes she deserves a chance to understand what's happening here, even if she can't accept it. Asuna has been here before, and it hurts. We'll see how it goes.

 

[Random Word]

Rykon you should roll a Bargain action for that! If Satori doesn't resist my Instill you can leverage it, otherwise we don't know very much about her intimacies to figure out what you should leverage.

 

[D. Rex]

I figure Fel should probably keep his mouth shut during this bit of negotiations. Lol, besides, I don't know what he would ask for.

 

[Random Word]

A body pillow?

 

[Rykon]

Lol nice.

I'm between various family gatherings at the moment and having to fight auto correct more than I'd like. When I'm home I'll see just how many rolls that needs to end up being.

There's an argument to loosen tax policy a lot, make way for another regent, make trade concessions to other territories, and then haggle with us to help follow through.

Naturally the income will be split across the party. All of us will be earning our share in sweat and blood. So don't feel like you have to ask for something special. I figure we can get most of what the whole party wants either directly or indirectly going down this path but I may be overlooking something.

 

[jaydude]

Lol nice.

I'm between various family gatherings at the moment and having to fight auto correct more than I'd like. When I'm home I'll see just how many rolls that needs to end up being.

There's an argument to loosen tax policy a lot, make way for another regent, make trade concessions to other territories, and then haggle with us to help follow through.

Naturally the income will be split across the party. All of us will be earning our share in sweat and blood. So don't feel like you have to ask for something special. I figure we can get most of what the whole party wants either directly or indirectly going down this path but I may be overlooking something.

Heh. Thanks for the explanation. In truth, I'm not the most experienced when it comes to business negotiations, and I don't really want to drag them out and risk slowing the game down, so I'm largely skimming and assuming that at the very least, it'll be mutually beneficial for all parties. Plus, I'm assuming that Satori isn't in much of a position to refuse.

Also, just a heads up everyone, but the proper way to refer to the king is King Boroma. The family is a Realm cadet house; the first name, Hasuri, is the family name, as it is for the Great Houses. I didn't have anyone mention this IC because it didn't seem like a good time for Boroma to try and correct anyone.

 

[D. Rex]

A body pillow?

Hmmm. I could. But is she waifu worthy yet? Not yet, I dont believe.

 

[Random Word]

Wow. I was not expecting that. I thought for sure she was going to explode and kick us all out. Not even asserting Resolve - now I'm just worried she's going to fold under pressure and either curl up in a ball or have a panic attack at some point. Asuna needs to make a mental sticky note to check up on her mental health later.

 

[Rykon]

Heh. Thanks for the explanation. In truth, I'm not the most experienced when it comes to business negotiations, so I'm largely skimming and assuming that at the very least, it'll be mutually beneficial for all parties. Plus, I'm assuming that Satori isn't in much of a position to refuse.

Also, just a heads up everyone, but the proper way to refer to the king is King Boroma. The family is a Realm cadet house; the first name, Hasuri, is the family name, as it is for the Great Houses. I didn't have anyone mention this IC because it didn't seem like a good time for Boroma to try and correct anyone.

Ah, I had a lot of accounting and finance classes back in the day. So I get more invested than I probably should in such things in play.

In my experience working for government and corporations, decision makers don't like relaxing on the reigns of control or suffering now to profit even more later. Yet it is ironically what gets them the desired results more often than not. It is very realistic that Javald would hate the suggestions.

 

[D. Rex]

Well given the situation they are in, I doubt there is very little they would NOT do.




jaydude
Given that Fel is essentially a Savant from Ledaal, would he be aware of what Ledaal Savant they are referong to?

 

[D. Rex]

Wow. I was not expecting that. I thought for sure she was going to explode and kick us all out. Not even asserting Resolve - now I'm just worried she's going to fold under pressure and either curl up in a ball or have a panic attack at some point. Asuna needs to make a mental sticky note to check up on her mental health later.

That could be a good opportunity to reform her. The mental weakness giving you and Manato to change her outlook on a few things. As dark as she may be seeing things right now, any ray of light could be quite influential if applied correctly.

 

[jaydude]

Wow. I was not expecting that. I thought for sure she was going to explode and kick us all out. Not even asserting Resolve - now I'm just worried she's going to fold under pressure and either curl up in a ball or have a panic attack at some point. Asuna needs to make a mental sticky note to check up on her mental health later.

She's got some pretty nasty Defining Intimacies that reference her entitled nature, but nothing that she could have used in this particular scenario. And even if she did, and I take her Earth Aspect nature into account as well, writing her as a stubborn idiot only makes so much sense, seeing as she's aware of how great a threat she's facing, and she was smart enough to be a top student at the Spiral Academy and score a Satrap position at a young age during the time of the Scarlet Empress.

 

[jaydude]

Given that Fel is essentially a Savant from Ledaal, would he be aware of what Ledaal Savant they are referong to?

He could well be. I'll try and provide some details later.

 

[jaydude]

Ah, I had a lot of accounting and finance classes back in the day. So I get more invested than I probably should in such things in play.

I think I'm starting to see why you created characters such as Aredin and Manato.

 

[jaydude]

Heads up everyone: I'm going to be stepping away from computers and the like for several hours now, seeing as it's nighttime where I am, and I want to try and get a good amount of sleep tonight. See you all tomorrow!

 

[Psychie]

Have a good night!