It is good that you will make a golem, but don not rush it and juryrig it. It is better that you take your time and try to make it as best as possible. I will leave the details to you.

About the teleport gates. How many sparks you need to make a waypoint?
We really should set up a network of teleports to permanent tribe settlements with the capital as a hub.
Also, maybe you could devise a ritual spell to make teleport gates which costs less sparks? I am sure you will have time to make one.

>How easy would such things be for enemies to destroy or disrupt?
The human hero was a master golem-crafter. To put that level of skill into perspective, I've seen one of his creation pluck a dragon out of the air and rip it in half. I've seen another of his decimate an army of 10,000 men on it's own. I am not a master golem-crafter. I'm mediocre at best. But even mediocre golems can deal lots of damage made right. At the very least, an iron golem will decimate normal armies. Mages could probably rip it to shreds fairly quickly, so we'll have to occupy them some other way, like having them focus on the sudden lack of a head.

>How many sparks you need to make a waypoint?
What's a waypoint? Gates only go between two places. I mean, I could probably mess with it a little if you wanted some other form of gateway transportation thing, but for the moment, the spell only opens a gate between two locations. As for the cost of opening the gateway, base cost for the gate itself is 1000 sparks. Then you add shit like making the gate wider so more people can go through at once, which increases it by increments for those additions. Basically, base cost 1000+ whatever spark costs there are from increasing size or whatever else you add on.

>Also, maybe you could devise a ritual spell to make teleport gates which costs less sparks?
I would, if I knew how to construct rituals. I do not. I can't even modify the rituals we do have. I'd need time, materials and books to figure out how to do it, all of which are conveniently in Everfrost, which we are going to conquer. I'll have to start such research, along with all the other things I need to research, once I own the nation.

So it looks like gollems would be very effective against the militia.

-Once the invasion begins, what are the key elements of our assault forces?
--How will we deploy our warriors?
--How will we deploy our shamans?
--How will we deploy any intelligence assets (elven spies/assassins, our own spies/assassins, etc.)?
--What magical assets (items, enchantments, golems, etc.) are most essential to our success?
--What other improvements (equipment, tactics, intelligence, etc.) do we require to ensure victory?

-To achieve that, how are we going to invest our available resources until the invasion?
--Hated's personal time and ridiculous numbers of sparks
--Shamans' time and modest numbers of sparks
--Warriors' time and effort
--Crafters' time and effort
--Elven assistance with whatever we can get

-How will our force makeup above allow us to handle the various major obstacles to our conquest? (>>304320 for reference on these)
--The elite army under Marcus Ristock?
--The second army under Mathew Kovak?
--The extremely powerful mage-guards running each major city?
--The large numbers of militia who can be called up quickly? >Gollems
--The extremely well-defended capital?

-Will we attempt to take advantage of Everfrost's acknowledged problems in any fashion?
--The hatred of people outside the major cities for their current rulers?
--The ongoing conflict with the Islands of Seven Shadows?
--The apparent scarcity of reliable and competent military leadership?

The next question would be how to kill mages. Experience suggests a heavily enchanted kill team (or you) shadow step and kill them all.

We need to set up a chain of command. I think the rule of ten would work (it was good enough for genghis khan). The rule of ten is: a sergeant is responsible for (about) ten grunts and follows his lieutenant, a lieutenant is responsible for (about) ten sergeants and follows his commander, extra... it should be simple enough for the barbarians but complex enough for you (or what ever generals you hire) to do some fancy tactics.

Also we should figure out a plan to rule once we have conquered. I sugest we do something like the Romea did. In lieu of roads we can set up those gate ways mentioned earlier and we can probably give you a cheat sheet for the more tech oriented stuff (E.G. hygiene, crop rotation, and the scientific method)

Hmm...
How many casters does that catapult ritual take, and how long does it take to launch?

About how many sparks would it take to make a flying platform that can hold several people?

Is there any chance we could replicate that stealth ability the horses had? (The one that hides your magic from magical detection)

With Gateways, can you deactivate them without destroying them?

If we can't do the horse's stealth, it is feasible do following:
Use an invisibility spell
Use a magic concealing spell (which gives off its own spell signature but hides all other spells/sparks)
Create a cloud of interference that gives off an identical signature as the spark hiding spell, and importantly is not centered around the user (otherwise enemies could just aim at the center of the cloud.)

>At the very least, an iron golem will decimate normal armies. Mages could probably rip it to shreds fairly quickly, so we'll have to occupy them some other way, like having them focus on the sudden lack of a head.
It sounds to me like we'll want to have dedicated units of enchanted warriors accompanying any golems that we make, given mobility boosts and possibly stealth and defensive ones as well. Have them headhunt any mages who might be in position to threaten the golem, while the golem itself takes care of most other threats. A full squad per golem probably would be best; considering the amount of effort that crafting these things will take it would be foolish to leave them poorly supported. If there are any specific spells that might be useful for mage-hunting, we should look into them. I'd give at least a couple of the squad members the ability to see or sense sparks (for mage identification), and if there are any kind of counterspell magics that you know some of them could use those, too.

Really, there are a myriad of uses for dedicated mage-hunter squads. Going over potentially useful spells you know for them would be good.

>So it looks like gollems would be very effective against the militia.
I don't think so. Golems are single points of concentrated force which are sharply limited in the number that we can construct; the threat the the militia is in their vast numbers and the fact that they can be called up all over the place. Golems' position in our invasion will have to be in support of our more conventional army, helping to make up for our disadvantage in equipment by pounding apart the stronger enemy units.

If you can think of a reason that they'd be an adequate counter for the militia feel free to argue it, but I don't see it. The appropriate counter for the militia is demoralization which makes them unwilling to mobilize, some kind of supply disruption which makes it impossible to mobilize, or communications disruption which prevents them from realizing that they need to mobilize and doing so in a coordinated fashion. That would likely need to be carried out by a careful PR coup probably supported by elvish infiltrators and rumormongers, extensively enchanted raiders, or crazy magic implemented after we capture and interrogate someone who knows how their communication system works, respectively.

>Gateways
>Basically, base cost 1000+ whatever spark costs there are from increasing size or whatever else you add on.
That is low enough to be practical for relatively common use on your part during the invasion, I think. No one else could pull it off, but you certainly can. Moving large segments of our army hundreds of miles at a stroke could be a priceless advantage in strategic mobility. It could also, potentially, allow us to strike at the enemy's strong points and bastions of support- their major cities- without spending much time raiding through the lesser villages that hate their current rulers anyway, which could grant us a PR victory which could potentially, if we manage to somehow spin things correctly, even convince the people in the farming villages to defect to our side. As long as we look successful and don't get a rep for slaughtering them, it could work.

That could be supported by adopting the classic Mongol policy towards assault- before attacking, make sure the enemy knows you're there and you intend to win regardless, and offer them one chance to surrender. If they do, be a gracious victor; if they don't, brutally sack the town badly enough that the next place will think of surrender as a better option. But that working is dependent upon the rulers of the individual towns not being magically bound to the king even if that means getting all their people slaughtered; if they literally cannot surrender there's not a lot of point in the policy.

Anyway, the big concern with the gateways is that they're easy to disrupt as you said- how easy are we talking, can you harden them against that kind of thing with additional sparks, and what would be the negative effects of disruption? Just destroying the gateway, or is there a risk of, say, a giant explosion if the gate is poked in just the wrong way?

>We need to set up a chain of command. I think the rule of ten would work
That seems reasonable as a basic rule, although it doesn't really handle the more complex matters of force organization. Are enchanted types set as leaders, or in squads of their own? Shamans are presumably in squads of their own for ritual magic; are they kept back or deployed directly alongside warriors?

>Also we should figure out a plan to rule once we have conquered.
Honestly, I think this is getting ahead of ourselves. Planning the hows of our conquest and trying to make that as complete as possible is already a huge task that we've hardly started on.

>How many casters does that catapult ritual take, and how long does it take to launch?
Five casters, and 5-10 minutes to fire off a shot, depending on the relative skill of all the mages within the ritual and the complexity of whatever it is your launching.

>About how many sparks would it take to make a flying platform that can hold several people?
...You want a flying boat? Alright, first off, flight is very difficult in the best of cases, and is annoyingly difficult to use as an enchantment. Not saying it can't be done, just really hard. Next, where the hell am I supposed to get a boat? Third, what makes you think a flying boat is at all useful? It's a giant flying target for anyone with a ballista and half a brain.

>Is there any chance we could replicate that stealth ability the horses had?
I have no idea how they did that, and have no ways to do it myself. Your second idea, with the smoke and fog and stuff, that I can do. Simple fog spell, add some raw sparks to it to make it smell magical, and you have yourself magic disguise fog... I think. I'd have to test it first.

>With Gateways, can you deactivate them without destroying them?
Hypothetically, I think. I mean, you can shut it down completely without causing it to get destroyed, but you could certainly block it off from it's other side. Course, if you wanted to do that, you could just place a big rock in front of the entrance. No magic needed for that.

>hygiene, crop rotation, and the scientific method
Have the first, baths are created through the use of binding water spirits to bathing areas, then heating them using a bound fire spirit. Crop rotation... why the hell would you need to rotate crops? What possible good could that do? As for the last, what the hell is that and why should I care?

>Going over potentially useful spells you know for them would be good.
Um... there really isn't much that's good against human mages. They are the ones that have the most proficiency with warping reality as they see fit. Most things can be countered pretty easily. The best thing to do fighting them is catch them by surprise. So... invisibility, shadow-stepping, ethereal might be good, and illusion magic I can learn from Sticks I suppose, although we could just use her to hunt mages now that I think about it. Basically anything that will allow you to hit them without warning is best. That goes for most mages, now that I think about it.

>Anyway, the big concern with the gateways is that they're easy to disrupt as you said- how easy are we talking, can you harden them against that kind of thing with additional sparks, and what would be the negative effects of disruption? Just destroying the gateway, or is there a risk of, say, a giant explosion if the gate is poked in just the wrong way?
Eh, no real way to harden a gateway against getting disrupted. But if it's any consolation, you have to be at the spell focal point to do anything major. If all you do is hurl some disrupting spells at it the gates just deactivate and get destroyed. If you actually want a big flashy explosion, or worse, cause the gate to start pumping out ghosts, and demons and whatever else you happen to come across in the various dimensions, you actually need to mess with the spell holding the thing together, which is in a spell figure found in front of the gate. So, I guess I could safeguard that in some ways, stick magical traps on it and the like.

>>325343
Do ghosts and demons have any sparks inside. In which case, could you profit by deliberately destabilising a Gateway when you've finished using it and mopping up the creatures that come out?

>>325422
That would be plain stupid. Fighting demons isn't exactly a walk through town. First off, they don't have a body I can punch. Second, they have mastery over all three types of magic, or are at least good enough in all three to directly defeat well trained mages in combat. Third, I doubt that my own minions would be happy with me if I started setting demons on them. That hardly seems the kind of act that gets me liked by my underlings, and we are aiming for them to like me, right?

> what makes you think a flying boat is at all useful? It's a giant flying target for anyone with a ballista and half a brain.
That is what the cloud cloaking scheme is for. (Also, it would help to have a caster on the platform to deflect ballista bolts.)

(With the cloud cloaking scheme, can you see out of a cloud like that? If not, we will have to instead turn invisible than mask our presence with a cloud of transparent gas.)

Anyway, we don't need something the size of a ship. We would just need a platform large enough to hold seven people. (A pilot, 5 ritual mages, and a point defense mage) You could probably have it made out of iron plating.
How many sparks would that take?
(And how easy would it be for a mage to swat it down at catapult range if they do detect it?)

>>325722
hmmm, not a bad idea in essence, but making it flying means anything can shoot it. However a ground based platform with some sort of protective iron cage around the mages might be of use. if we could make it fast enough to keep them out of danger or give it some means of defending them. making our mages less squishy is always a good idea.

>How many sparks would that take?
Having a flying platform? Assuming you want that as an enchantment, and you want it to be controllable as to how high it goes, and you want to make it actually move in more directions than simply up and down, and you want it to be safe for human usage, and you want it to be usable on a battlefield, so it has to be protected against magical attack and death by well aimed ballista... a few thousand spark per. 1-2 thousand depending on how much protection you want. If you want simply flight, and damn whether it's safe to use, 3-4 hundred sparks.

>>325806
This is the cheaper idea. Simply having it hover above the ground is much easier, and you wouldn't have to make it go up and down. You'd still need to make something for propulsion, maybe strap a sail to it and have a mage blow wind into it... but anyway, it would cost less than an actual flying platform.

Even more questions:
To move a hovering platform, couldn't you make the force keeping the platform up be able to tilt so that it pushes the platform diagonally up and sideways? (Or have a second enchantment of the same type rotated sideways)

With rituals that charge up (like the catapult ritual), can you keep them charged before battle? (Ex, have your ritualists start charging 20 minutes before battle and hold the charge until enemies appear.)

What kind of things is a normal mage capable from at the range of the catapult-ritual? (Specifically, what could they do to smash one of the proposed ritual platforms?)

For comparison, approximately how many sparks would it take to make an explosion the size of the catapult ritual's from a single spell (and about how large of a radius is that anyway?)

Can you replicate the spell-amplifying enchantment on your helm (on a smaller scale, or course)? If not, is it because you do not know the enchantment, or because the effect is only possible in special cases like that artifact?

I wish we would stop with the damn questions already and just move on. There is a discussion thread for a reason.

This really hampers the flow of the quest I'll tell you.

>To move a hovering platform, couldn't you make the force keeping the platform up be able to tilt so that it pushes the platform diagonally up and sideways?
Why would you tilt the platform? People would fall off of it, wouldn't they? Well, whatever, I suppose you could try it. As for the second idea, I suppose that might work, if said spell to do it wouldn't make it keep moving in a direction. I've never tried making a toggle for this particular spell, so... although I suppose I could try.

>With rituals that charge up (like the catapult ritual), can you keep them charged before battle?
I believe so. I'll have the shamans try it out tomorrow. The book didn't talk about delaying it or anything. We'll figure something out.

>What kind of things is a normal mage capable from at the range of the catapult-ritual?
Um, kill one of the mages in the ritual? I can't really tell you what mages could possibly do, because they use soul magic. If you recall, a good mage using soul generally tells the rules imposed by reality to go fuck themselves. It's a little annoying, fighting human mages for that specific reason. So, instead of listing stuff out, it's easier just to expect them to pull random crap out of a hat and be surprised when they don't.

>For comparison, approximately how many sparks would it take to make an explosion the size of the catapult ritual's from a single spell (and about how large of a radius is that anyway?)
As always, everything depends on what things are put into the spell and how many sparks are contributed. Max, I think, would be about 150 foot radius. I can match that with about 750 sparks. Make it twice that for 1500 sparks. Hah! I still win. Childish of me, I know, but I don't give a damn.

>Can you replicate the spell-amplifying enchantment on your helm (on a smaller scale, or course)? If not, is it because you do not know the enchantment, or because the effect is only possible in special cases like that artifact?
You want me to replicate an artifact, which I might mention was made by a god, and which uses a bunch of runes on it I've never even seen before. Yeah, I'll replicate that, within the next four to five thousand years it takes me to learn how to speak the language of the gods.

>>326344
This one makes a good point, your questions now are getting tiresome. I'm going to start working on that golem now. You people do whatever it is you do whenever your not watching me constantly or something.

-------------------------

Hum dee dum. Let's see, this bit attaches to this bit... this bit attaches to this bit... no, wait, that one goes there, maybe? Gah, you'd think this would be easier if all you had to do was put the damn pieces together and fuse them in place. Let's try this again. This piece goes here, this piece goes here, this piece goes... what the hell is this thing?

"Chieftain... we have acquired what you asked for..."

"Hm? Oh, hello Falshis. How's the weather outside?"

"Cold, chieftain, as it always is this time of year. Now, the information you requested. Nina has been doing well, it seems, in managing your new encampment. Almost better than you would yourself, chieftain."

"Hm. That's good. Voices will be happy, I'm sure. You still keeping your clan separate, as instructed?"

"The Snaketongue are still camped a good five miles away from the city, and have made no attempts at making contact, as you have said."

"Good. You may go Falshis."

"As it pleases you, Chieftain."

really got to stop mentioning the voices, it makes you sound crazy. but if someone asks you about it, tell them its a spell that puts you in touch with spirit advisers or something.

>>326490
Agreed. It may also bring up some weakness Hated has in the future. Maybe we are a curse. Either way, no good reason to mention us at any time.

I'm supposed to care if they think I'm crazy? Screw their opinions, they don't matter. Besides, I don't think these barbarians care whether I'm nuts or not, as long as I bring them glory or whatever it is they crave most. Oh, welcome back, by the way. It's been about a month since you've disappeared, we're halfway through the raiding season, from what I can understand. I figured I'd let the barbarians do as they please, get their raiding done and all that. It's part of how they survive the winter, take a bunch of food from Everfrost.

Moving on, time to report the latest news. I've gathered a bunch more of the tribes. The Horsehoof came along a few days after you guys went silent, and the Wolffang came along as well. Over the next few weeks dozens of more tribes have come in, including the two big ones still left over. Bisonhorn arrived a week after you guys left, and they've used some of the iron we managed to dig up using that stone-molding staff technique someone mentioned way back when, and they've been working on constructing weapons. Thanks to them we've also gotten some contact with the dwarves. Bloody bastards are arguing with us constantly about payment for more metal and works, want lots of gold. Figured we knew about that gold deposit, so I sent some people over. Nina went along, I haven't heard much back from them other than the fact that they arrived and are starting to dig up some gold, oh, and that Nina some how managed to become the unofficial leader of said encampment. Snaketongue showed up about a few days ago, woke me up when I was asleep. Seems they don't like interacting with others much. Suits them fine, but it's really annoying for me, getting woke up at random times every night. Sucks like hell. Haven't done much more than send them running here and there, but hey, whatever works. What else...

Ah, we have huge amounts of growth in the number of people around here. I don't think we've finished tallying everyone yet. Not like many in the barbarians can count, you know. We're at least 3 times in size, maybe 4. Sure that'll make you happy. But from what I understand, this is pretty much it. We don't have many more tribes that haven't joined already.

Golem is... sorta coming along. It's been giving me some trouble, but whatever. I'll have it ready by the time we start our invasion. Anyway, I'm ready to take your advice now, whatever it may happen to be.

super. hmmm we have more guys than I thought. we might not be able to enchant the bulk of our forces even if we had the sparks. by the way how many shamans? oh and appearing crazy is bad idea, it creates an opening that an enemy could use to weaken the loyalty of your forces. granted you could quite easily explode anyone who tried this but if they are sneaky about it they could cause some major headaches before you tracked them down and made them go boom.

How many sparks do you have now?

[Also, you need to learn better to summarize and report. Also, make sure you incorporate the suggestions in the update, saying "I did what you asked me to do" without actually saying what was done us confuzing as hell. You must always take into consideration that sometimes one cant read all sugvestions (doesnt have time or just doesnt want to).
I am saying this because I am pretty lost on what to suggest now]

Spark Count: 24400

We have 350 shamans total, although that isn't the amount that currently here. Like I said, a bunch of the tribes are off raiding and such. Oh, yeah, and I get the crazy thing, no more mentioning voices, on and on. You guys love to lecture. Ah well, moving on. Since you guys are back, which is a good thing I assure you, I'm there's a few outstanding issues. Biggest one in my opinion is what we want to do with the Snaketongue. At the moment, they're just sitting out there. Now that I think about it, every tribe that's with me is just sitting around, training and not much else. A lot of you were talking about organizing them into giant clans or houses or something awhile back based on their outstanding skills within each tribe. There's also the matter of how much time I should spend on enchanting warriors, making golems(or golem) or whatever other activities you think needs doing.


((I apologize for not making clear which idea was used. I'll try to remember to do that for the next time. I do not apologize for the lack of a better summary/report. That is simply how Hated works. If he isn't interested in it, he isn't going to pay much attention to it, thus you lot are going to lack the information he would otherwise have. You want details, ask him about it and get him to go find out more.))

Well
there is not much known about Snaketongue, so we need to meet with their leader and talk to them. See what they can do.

About the Great Houses/Guilds: you need to call a meeting with the leaders of the tribes and organize it.
Nina seems to be doing pretty well with organizing and general peacetime duties. Which is good, since you suck at that. Perhaps she could help when establiahing the Houses.

Also, we need to plan the construction of the capital. I know that you are not a builder or an architect, but you need to make a team of the brightest minds and best builders, so that they can at least have some guidelines how and where to build. This will be just the first step, after we cinquer Everfrost and steal their tech/knowledge and specialists we can start making a truly magnificent city.

Have you enchanted more warriors?
This should also be touched in the meeting. Let the leaders decide what the best enchantments for their warriors will be but the shadowstep and nightvision should be standard for everybody since we are planning to make attack at darkest night.

Visit Snaketongue, call meeting, get Nina to help set up houses instead of tribes, start construction on a real city, get opinions on enchantments. All right, that's a good list for the day. First on said list is the Snaketongue. Falshis is the leader of that particular tribe, and he visits every single night. Bastard scared the hell out of me first time he did it. Now it's simply routine. Anyway, we'll pop over and visit him as soon as I get this piece in its place... right... there! All right, off we go.

A quick shadow jump or two and we find ourselves in the middle of a camp that smells very strongly of poisons. These guys shamans are pretty interesting, always trying to come up with new poisons to use and how much does what and on and on. They get just as old just as quickly as the normal shamans. Anyway, within minutes of my arrival Falshis is before me, dropping to one knee and bowing his head. "How might we serve you, my King?"

"Yeah. Tell me everything about your methods of fighting. As much as you can."

"As it pleases you. We prefer to... not be caught, as it were. I have heard of men among the city-dwellers, called assassins, who sneak through the night and kill their prey without being seen doing it. I suppose we resemble them, although our tactics are of more use in hunting entire tribes than a single man. But we can adapt, if that is your desire. Poisons, traps and ambushes are our tribes preferred methods, and even more so if those poisons and traps don't kill you right away. Why would we desire your instant death when you could lead us to greater prizes. I believe that is a brief summary of our strengths. Our weaknesses, of course, lie in more... direct... confrontation. Do you require anything else?"

Well, they'll be fun to use, now won't they. Poisons were never my thing though. Knew an immortal who loved them some millennium past. Killed himself by drinking one of the more deadly varieties by mistake. Anyway, got any specific questions or tasks you want me to relay to these ones? Besides that big meeting thing, since obviously Falshis will have to attend that.

I think we have our scouts. they also might be useful in raiding enemy supply lines as well as assassinating key targets. I think the tribes could very easily be organized into an effective army. hmmmm there god may be smarter than he looks.

>>328613
I think we need to have this guy get a fairly complete briefing about what we know about Everfrost's geography and their distribution of forces. Earlier we were looking at a fairly comprehensive way of analyzing their forces and our counters; the Snaketongue could potentially be a counter to one or both of their armies, at least in terms of reducing combat effectiveness, and if they've got the numbers and coordination could be a hard counter to any attempted muster of the Everfrost militia forces.

So pull up a map, cite the locations and numbers we know about for those troops, and ask how Falshis would need to deploy his forces to weaken, disrupt, and eliminate as much of the combat capabilities of those three target units as possible in support of the main invasion. We're looking at a deployment of most of his tribe in advance of most of our troops- sending them deep into enemy territory as raiders. Available for his tribe's use in this hypothetical are a limited number of magical gates which could immediately put his forces basically anywhere in Everfrost in large numbers, and a limited number of enchantments for his forces- but those can be customized as we have plenty of time. If he wants shadow steps, ethereality, throwing fireballs, speed, or something else, they're all on the table as long as he knows that we'll only have the time and sparks to enchant a few dozen of his guys, since we've got a lot of more standard warriors to enchant. He knows his tribe's capabilities quite well- what deployment and magical enhancements would aid them most in accomplishing this mission? What methods would he prefer to use? How far in advance of the invasion would he want to be deployed, and what information would he want us to call upon the existing elven infiltrators to provide?

Since he knows what his tribe can and can't do quite well, hopefully he'll be able to give you a workable plan which we can then modify in response to our own thought and available resources. Specialists can usually be relied upon to handle the details of their own specialty fairly well.

Obviously there's some overlap between this and the matters to be discussed at the later meeting, but an individual look at what the Snaketongue need can't hurt- they're likely to be rather essential to your invasion force.

Ask them what kind of enchantments they will prwfer.

>>328876
Wait, perhaps we should leave this to the meeting where we give the task to every chief to come up with a package of enchantments for their warriors.

>Default shadow-step and night vision enchantment
Does anybody actually agree with this? I have been talking about this since we have gotten the tribe but do not know what others think of it.

> Knew an immortal who loved them some millennium past. Killed himself by drinking one of the more deadly varieties by mistake.
This sounds ..... ominous. A poison potent enough to kill an immortal? An immortal who specializes in poisons nonetheless?


Anyway.
Tell him that they could make excellent assassins, special operatives and spies. Ask him if their tribe is anyway inclined towards more .... diplomatic skills? It would be great to have envoy/assassin/spy mixture.

>Falshis is the leader of that particular tribe, and he visits every single night.
Why would he need to meet you so often? What did you talk about?

Anyway, we don't really have anything else to do here right now. Tell him you just wanted to visit the tribe and see it with your eyes.
Then walk around and observe the happenings in the camp and go back.
Oh, and you might want to tell him about the meeting we are planning.

>There's also the matter of how much time I should spend on enchanting warriors, making golems(or golem)
Well, we need all of our warriors enchanted if we want to curb-stomp our enemies.
The golem needs to be in tip-top condition. I want you to make a single golem as best as possible. Use the best materials you can get and spend more time making sure it is a powerful as you could possibly make it.
Not only will you get a great addition to your army, but you will have experience in golem-crafting for any future endeavors of similar kind.

Also, if you haven't already, order your shamans to practice and refine those siege rituals. Conjure a piece of wall for the battle ram.
Actually, you might want to experiment and use that helmet for what you have asked it to do. I mean, making yourself a focus to channel more powerful spells. Channel the catapult spell and train for a while till you are comfortable with it.


>Spark Count: 24400
Hey, Hated... you must admit that being patient with all these people is paying off.
I mean, it was not long ago when we were ecstatic to break 100 spark threshold. Noe you can get tens of thousands in relatively short time. And that is not even from all the shamans.

>>329021
>Does anybody actually agree with this? I have been talking about this since we have gotten the tribe but do not know what others think of it.
Actually no, I don't agree with it. Hated doesn't have enough personal time to dispense thousands of night-vision and shadow-step enchantments. Not if we're going to invade next year, anyway. It takes what, half an hour to apply a single enchantment? Assume he spends an interminably boring eight hours a day enchanting people, that's still only sixteen enchantments per day, which is only a few hundred enchantments total by the time we need to attack. Now, we have have our more powerful shamans apply lesser enchantments to people, but they won't be anywhere near as good as Hated's.

Because of this enchantments need to be doled out carefully, where they'll do the most good. Every one that we apply has the opportunity cost of not being able to apply another one somewhere else. We can only afford to enchant the most elite people, and even then we should have a specific application for the enchantments in mind whenever possible.

Honestly, because of these limitations telling the chiefs to come up with enchantments for their warriors at all strikes me as a bad plan- because we're not going to be able to follow through on it. We simply don't have enough time. If we delay the invasion another 3-5 years we can have a massive super-enchanted army, but with a single winter in which to make preparations that's simply impractical.

>Tell him that they could make excellent assassins, special operatives and spies. Ask him if their tribe is anyway inclined towards more .... diplomatic skills? It would be great to have envoy/assassin/spy mixture.
The Snaketongue would make shitty spies. A good spy can blend in with people, infiltrate target societies, get others to share information with them freely- the Snaketongue can do none of this. They can function as assassins, commandos, and scouts, but not as spies and certainly not as diplomats unless they've got skillsets they have yet to show us. That's not to say that they can't do anything as far as espionage or diplomacy goes, but they'll be as much at a disadvantage as any other barbarian.

>This sounds ..... ominous. A poison potent enough to kill an immortal? An immortal who specializes in poisons nonetheless?
I think it is less sinister and more a sign of how immortals tend to get careless after a while.

I second having groups of shamans practice the siege rituals (the catapult one in particular), and you should also make a test version of one of those hovering platforms, so the shamans can maneuver (or be maneuvered, at least) at the same time as casting.

About building a city, if you haven't already done so you should find some people to receive stone shaping enchantments or staffs and get training on actual masonry from the dwarfs. (That is a large part of why we hired them.) We should also be sure to acquire the knowledge of making catapults from the dwarfs if we don't have those, as we can't rely just on shamans for catapulting.

>>328852
I basically just relay information to Falshis, pulling out a map, the whole deal, and after I'm finished he stays quiet for nearly 10 minutes, just considering everything I've said. Then he opens his mouth, pauses again, and finally speaks.

"I would suggest this... shadow-stepping, was it? I've heard you use it often. I would suggest that as a standard among all of the Snaketongue, and leave the rest to us. We have never relied heavily on enchantment, such things are sometimes... unreliable. We have other means of accomplishing the tasks set before us, and if we do require some sort of magic, you will be informed. For the matter of disrupting the enemy in any and all forms, I would suggest acting like there is a separate force in the north. Have the Snaketongue, accompanied by a few other tribes for use as warriors, and let us harass the enemy, raze towns, poison water supplies, burn fields and cause problems. This should draw attention away from the main horde that you'll lead in through the south. A month of time should be enough to cause enough problems to make the southern end vulnerable. As for information from the elves, it isn't required. We barbarians, even the Snaketongue, prefer more spontaneous attacks. Information from beforehand is unnecessary."

>Why would he need to meet you so often? What did you talk about?
He just brings reports mostly. Falshis mostly just talks about what's going on among the tribes. I've been focusing on my golem mostly, so he's been keeping an eye on the tribes for me. Mostly just stuff about who's been trying to kill who, who doesn't like who, who's been trying to get who's daughter. Most of it is stuff I haven't been paying attention to honestly, although Falshis keeps trying to get me involved and interested. Fat chance for that, politics, even barbarian politics, is so dull and uninteresting.

>About building a city, if you haven't already done so you should find some people to receive stone shaping enchantments or staffs and get training on actual masonry from the dwarfs. (That is a large part of why we hired them.)
But we haven't hired the dwarves as of yet. We need gold for that, and at the moment, Nina and her lot is getting it. So I think I'll hold off on actually building something till we figure out how to build worth building. I'd hate to go through all that trouble for no reason at all.

I'll have the shamans get to work on practicing, not that they haven't already. The shamans actually seem to take a great amount of joy in firing off the siege rituals at targets they set up. Tongues has been joining in on the rituals now that I think about it. He hasn't gotten any stronger, though not for lack of trying. I think he's still hung up on the whole 'I can bend space and time to my will' thing.

>>329267
> I would suggest that as a standard among all of the Snaketongue, and leave the rest to us. We have never relied heavily on enchantment, such things are sometimes... unreliable.

"If you think it would be the best. But perhaps a trigger-based night vision enchantment on the eyes? I feel like your men will find themselves working in dark places very often."

Hmmm...

I just had a though. What about communication rings/earrings/necklaces/tiaras/etc? Could we make those. I am sure they will help greatly when coordinating the troops and will be great for Snaketongue spy-assassins as being able to communicate freely is a must for spec-ops.

>We barbarians, even the Snaketongue, prefer more spontaneous attacks. Information from beforehand is unnecessary.
"While I agree on that, and in fact I personally prefer it that way, some claim that having vital intel before any operation is crucial in determining the victor. And having up-to-date information can always play a great role when making.
But if you can manage with raiding without any information, do as you see fit. Just make sure that the casualties on our side are kept to bare minimum.

Anyway, I will give you the task to make the raiding squad before we start the invasion. I think I will give you the permission to choose the warriors from other tribes on your own."

Then tell him about the meeting we are planning. Give him very brief summary of what we are going to discuss.

>He just brings reports mostly. Falshis mostly just talks about what's going on among the tribes. I've been focusing on my golem mostly, so he's been keeping an eye on the tribes for me. Mostly just stuff about who's been trying to kill who, who doesn't like who, who's been trying to get who's daughter. Most of it is stuff I haven't been paying attention to honestly, although Falshis keeps trying to get me involved and interested. Fat chance for that, politics, even barbarian politics, is so dull and uninteresting.
What? This is great!
While it might be boring, you should at least try to keep whatever he says in mind. Also it is good that he is doing that on his own, having a master spy network bringing you reports is very good.

>we need gold for that, and at the moment, Nina and her lot is getting it.
Hmm...
You did make sure that they have sufficient protection, right? I mean, it is a gold mine after all.
Tell Flashis to send one or two of the best of his operatives so that they keep the eye out on the Nina and her team and make sure no nasty things attack them unwarned. Make those communication jewelry I talked before and give it to them, also enchant them with shadow-step and whatever else they might desire.

>>329267
>I would suggest this... shadow-stepping, was it? I've heard you use it often. I would suggest that as a standard among all of the Snaketongue, and leave the rest to us.
Standard amongst all of them? Aren't they a major tribe with thousands of warriors? Making that standard would require years and rob us of the ability to enchant others in that timeframe- that's time we don't have. I could have sworn that we told him he would be limited to having a few dozen of his men enchanted since we have a lot of other people to enchant as well- he's anticipating drawing way more resources than we have available. Hated, correct me if I'm wrong on that.

>harass the enemy, raze towns, poison water supplies, burn fields and cause problems
Classic and highly entertaining, but that wasn't the objective that we gave him. We said to target the combat capabilities of their three units. While poisoning wells and harassing them could certainly accomplish that, razing towns, burning fields, and generally acting as raiders would only draw attention, not actually eliminate the enemy units that we told him to eliminate. Also, we want to be king here when this is over and that means that we'd be burning our own fields and razing our own towns, not to mention squandering a golden opportunity to turn the agricultural towns who hate the royal family to our side.

Perhaps we need to be more clear here: The Snaketongue's objective is not to distract the enemy forces, it is to eliminate or weaken the enemy forces as a unit capable of resisting our invasion. That could be by assassinating commanders and mages, ambushing them, cutting off their supplies, slaughtering their horses, killing their messengers to eliminate communication, or poisoning their food and water. If they're only distracted it just means that we'll have to fight them later rather than sooner. Now, slaughtering the occasional village to draw the armies into a position where we can ambush them is certainly reasonable, but it's a means to help damage the armies proper more effectively- drawing attention is not an end in itself.

>As for information from the elves, it isn't required. We barbarians, even the Snaketongue, prefer more spontaneous attacks. Information from beforehand is unnecessary
And that's just dumb. More information is always required- you need to know where the enemy is strong and where they are weak to ensure that you can avoid facing them in the former spots and can strike in the latter. In particular, we're looking at sending his whole tribe deep into enemy territory- no way in hell should we be dropping him in blind.

I suspect that this guy is thinking of this whole invasion in terms of large-scale raiding rather than a concerted national-scale attempt at conquest. The strategic objective here is to take and hold, not pillage and burn; that means killing those who would be willing to stand against us or forcing them to surrender and making everyone else kneel and acknowledge us as their boss.

I'd like a couple other people to review my reaction to this if possible, but my initial assessment is that the Snaketongue guy is totally off base.

>Falshis mostly just talks about what's going on among the tribes. I've been focusing on my golem mostly, so he's been keeping an eye on the tribes for me. Mostly just stuff about who's been trying to kill who, who doesn't like who, who's been trying to get who's daughter.
I can see why that's boring... but at the same time, internal intelligence can be priceless when manipulating the morale and desires of your population, and attempting to detect dissent. But... Hated will probably never be good at this. Eventually we'll hopefully be able to delegate analyzing and acting on this sort of thing to Nina, but she hasn't really developed the kind of authority and savvy needed to handle it all yet. For now, Hated, please try to at least listen with half an ear so that you'll have a better idea of how your forces' leaders are likely to act. You'll generally want to put people who dislike each other on opposite ends of your army and people who like each other next to each other, come invasion time.

>>329489
>communication rings/earrings/necklaces/tiaras/etc
Maintaining communications with detached forces is essential. Good call. We'll need a double handful of these.

>>329963
Enchanting lots of guys would take lots of sparks, but we could cut down on time by teaching a few shamans to enchant and then having those teach more shamans to enchant.

>>329965
They already know how to enchant or they wouldn't have been able to put enchantments on their guys before we came- they just don't have the requisite spark capacity. Enchanting someone requires 30 sparks at once to get started, does it not? My understanding was that virtually no shamans are that strong- meaning we've got only a handful of shamans who can do enchanting. And each of those shamans only regenerates their sparks once every couple hours, so there's no way they'll be enchanting more than five or six people a day each. Certainly nowhere near enough to start casually enchanting entire tribes.

If this is inaccurate I would appreciate the heads-up, as it has extremely significant effects on our potential war preparations. Although I really doubt that it's wrong, because if the barbarians had any significant number of shamans who could enchant people they'd have had tons of enchantments on their guys before we showed up so that they could gain edges over the other tribes with superior enchanted warriors.

>Standard amongst all of them? Aren't they a major tribe with thousands of warriors?
Them being a major tribe does not mean they have thousands of warriors. The Wolffang do, somewhere in the range of five thousand I think. Bisonhorn have one thousand. Horsehoof have another two thousand. Bearclaw have one thousand and the Snaketongue have themselves another thousand. Anyone else... oh yeah, the Hawkeye, another two thousand. The rest of the numbers are made up of the dozens of lesser, unimportant tribes. The ones that have names but which nobody cares to remember.

>The Snaketongue's objective is not to distract the enemy forces, it is to eliminate or weaken the enemy forces as a unit capable of resisting our invasion.
How would you suggest the Snaketongue accomplish this? They aren't assassins. They don't have the ability to blend perfectly into crowds or sneak into secure castles. You seem to think them some sort of... I don't know what. But whatever it is, they probably aren't. They're just barbarians that happened to be better and ambushes. Think of them like skirmishers instead. What he plans does help by the way. One army is distracted already by that other human nation. Another force distracting the other one, the incompetent one, would basically give us an open door into Everfrost. Although you still make good points. Burning fields and poisoning wells probably won't endear us any to the local people. I'll have him restrict it to raiding and pillaging only. That should keep the people from hating us too much. And on your whole information is needed stick, barbarians seem to have been doing it fine without information for thousands of years. Hell, I've done it fine for thousands of years. And while your right, we are attempting to control, not just pillage, what Falshis will be doing is essentially raiding. I'm willing to let him do his thing, since you know, barbarians kinda do this sorta of thing for most of their lives.

>What about communication rings/earrings/necklaces/tiaras/etc? Could we make those.
We could, and I'll get on it as soon as possible. Maybe I can find some things to enchant when the raids get back. Or trade for them from the dwarves. Will probably have to get them from the dwarves... how many are we gonna need, exactly? A dozen? Two dozen?

>>329970
This is completely correct. Humans don't get strong enough in magic to generally have the power to enchant. Out of maybe a hundred mages, ten might be strong enough to actually enchant anything. Almost all elves can enchant, they just don't usually, and orc mages do nothing but enchant.

"Keep your attacks to pillaging and raiding. I want to rule the damn place, not raze it to the ground completely. Although that would be pretty entertaining. Anyway, there's a meeting later, I expect you to be there. I'm calling all the tribe chieftains together to start planning how everything going to work. Think over what tribe members you want to take along with you on your little attack, and you can report it to me then and argue it out with the others. Understood?"

"Always, my king."

I head out to my next task, setting up this meeting of the chieftains. The task is fairly simple actually, all that's required is heading back to the main city sight and telling some of my men to round up the chieftains and get them to the town square. That should do for a meeting place. I head there myself, mostly because I can't get anything else done in the time it takes for people to actually arrive. Within ten minutes of my arrival, everyone necessary has been gathered.

"Alright then. Let's get this little meeting started. As everyone may or may not know, when spring comes next year, we'll be having a war. A war with Everfrost." That sends a ripple of conversation through the small crowd of chieftains, mostly the lesser ones that I've never really spoken with directly. The major chieftains don't have anything to say at all, simply focusing on me. "That brings us to the reason for this little meeting..."

Alright, what is the exact reason for this little meeting. I know I'm supposed to ask about desired enchantments, but is there anything else I should bring up, ask about or say to these people?

[Gah! Where is everybody? It feels like I am the only one to post here, and I've been busy lately and couldn't post much]

Anyway.
The meeting.
Meetings like these are great to find out potential problems and suggestions that your underlings have so you could spend some time getting reports from each and every ex-chief. See how they like things and perhaps ask for some suggestions. But make it known that you wont tolerate any heated arguments and they should make their cases short.

As for other stuff.

Tell them that you are planning to build a city here and need the best builders, the most bright and smart people (even young ones) called which you will make into a team so that we can start the baseline construction and planning. After we conquer Everfrost, we will have tons of more knowlesdge and specialists to continue our glorious Capital (And it really should be something truly grandiose).

Also talk about the idea to categorize each tribe into a Great House or Great Guilds where each house will specialize in their field. While you hold the last say in any and all matters, this will give them a bit of power and at least make them feel important.
Tell them that you are not planning to do this right away but thought it would be good to let them know beforehand (we need for Nina to come back)

Talk to them about the matter of war. Ask for their input if they have any, ask if they are preparing the warriors.
Ask the chief who was from the blacksmith tribe how the production of weapons going and how the mining operation is (we are at the site where iron is, right?)

The tell them about the enchantments and ask them to come up with a standard for each of their tribe (or warrior class)

Around but largely lacking in enthusiasm.

>>330083
>How would you suggest the Snaketongue accomplish this? They aren't assassins. They don't have the ability to blend perfectly into crowds or sneak into secure castles.
I believe I already made several viable suggestions for how they could accomplish it, and with enchantment they can accomplish both of your cited tasks relatively simply. Also, didn't their chief specifically tell you that his tribe would be willing to adapt to acting as assassins if that was your desire?

What I wanted them to do was relentlessly strike at the enemy armies in a myriad of ways- attacking leadership, supplies, communications, the fringes, and whatever else they can reach- to the point that they cease to be a combat-viable unit. More men die from disease, starvation, and exposure in most wars than in battle, and those are things that can cause even the best army to slowly disintegrate. Willingness and ability to exploit and exacerbate that fact is the mark of a capable raiding force when operating behind enemy lines in coordination with a larger army.

>how many are we gonna need, exactly? A dozen? Two dozen?
I would go with at least twenty. Better to have and not need than to need and not have, after all, and proper communication is critical to effectively coordinating a large invasion force.

>anything else I should bring up, ask about or say to these people?
Bring up the fact that you're looking to conquer Everfrost for good and not just burn and raid it, since that doesn't seem to have been made clear.

This might be a good opportunity to lay out a basic plan for the organization of your armies. You're obviously not going to be able to lead everyone personally, and there are enough cities in Everfrost that leading around one giant horde and conquering them one after another would take a long time and be kind of impractical. So you'll need more armies than there are of you- meaning that those armies will need commanders for when you're not present. You might be able to use those posts as a lure for the chiefs by saying that you plan for command in your absence to be given to those who are of most use in planning out the invasion to come- in designing enchantments, allocating resources and tribes, choosing invasion routes, coming up with methods for rapidly conquering resisting cities or overcoming enemy armies, and ensuring that once conquered the cities and towns stay conquered and loyal. Set them a task with a reward, and they'll likely throw themselves at completing it. It's important to establish that we'll reward competence.

>>331715
>you could spend some time getting reports from each and every ex-chief
There are quite a few of them. That would take a really long time and I doubt they've got anything terribly interesting and new to say.

>Also talk about the idea to categorize each tribe into a Great House or Great Guilds where each house will specialize in their field.
I know that this idea has been thrown around for a while, but... what exactly is the point, aside from shaking up the existing barbarian power structure? We don't have a huge number of disparate fields for them to specialize in, and their current units of organization are quite functional. What's more, specialist units tend to need to work together constantly- meaning that after all the effort of breaking everyone into guilds we'd just need to shove them back together again. Unless we have a complete, cohesive societal plan- and preferably one worked out alongside someone who understands how barbarians think and is good with logistics so that we'll be able to account for the legions of problems that will pop up- we should not be attempting to completely rewire the social dynamics that the barbarians have lived with all their lives. It'll either accomplish little as the barbarians don't really understand or use the new system much, or cause too much chaos and disorganization in the short term unless we have capable administrators who understand what's going on helping to make it happen.

>The tell them about the enchantments and ask them to come up with a standard for each of their tribe (or warrior class)
And differentiating them by tribe like this will likely make reorganization later that much harder, since many warriors' very bodies will reflect and emphasize their origins.

Soooo... scratch talking about enchantments for now, the barbarians can kill people pretty well without them, and scratch the reorganization thing for now, simply because we don't have the time or knowledge to get it done to any worthwhile result. We'll focus on any problems between clans and possible ideas for the coming war. Let's see then...

"Alright, first order of business. Anyone have any complaints about another tribe?"

Almost instantly, the Wolffang chief steps forward. "I have a complaint. Why do we require the service of those heretics from the Horseho-"

"Not even going to let you finish that question, because it's stupid. They have horses. Horses run fast. Fast horses mean killing things that need to be killed fast. End of response. Anyone that has a legitamate complaint?"

Over the next hour I deal with some tribal issues, ending old rivalries, settling grudges, that sort of nonsense. After that's done, at least for now, I turn to the next thing.

"Alright, now that everyone's not hating each other, least for the moment, I'll get to the important bit. Now that you all know what's going to happen in spring, I have some other things we need to go over. Namely, who's going to lead the other armies." That seems to catch everyone by surprise. I think they thought we'd just go as a gigantic horde. Which isn't a really bad idea, if your going for the whole strike fear into the enemies heart's, instead of just conquering the lot of them. "We'll have at least three armies total, and while I'll be leading one of them, the one headed for the capital, the other two need to be lead as well, and both will focus on capturing the major cities. Now, I already know how one is going to get picked for leading an army. Your going to get picked based on merit. You prove you can lead, your leading. You don't, you don't. I don't care if your a major tribe, a lesser tribe, or some random wanderer who decided to drop in. More to the point, the ones who can prove to me that they will actually accomplish my goal, to conquer and not pillage, will be leading. If you can win battles, capture cities, sway those conquered to our side, then your more likely to get picked over someone who simply charges and hopes for the best. So then, let's hear it. Your idea on how we're going to pull this invasion off." I spread the map out on a nearby table, which has been marked to show army locations and other such things, then back off to let the chieftains examine them. All take turns, some muttering to themselves, others staring at it blankly, but none come over to present anything until the Wolffang Chieftain has taken his turn and strides up. His name was Curmas I think.

"We'll need four armies, not three. One will have to stay behind and defend our land from the encroachments of others, specifically the Goblins to the south. As for how the other armies are to function. Your own would obviously have you, there's no need for me to offer input. But I've heard that some other human nation has been attacking the eastern side of Everfrost. Is this true?"

"Yes, although I'm curious about how you came across that little bit of information."

"Rumors. It pays to listen to such things sometimes. I would suggest then that one of the two armies head along the east, taking cities as it goes until it encounters this other nation. More than likely fighting two groups at once will be difficult, so perhaps seeking peace would be more desirable. The easiest way to do that, in my opinion, is to make yourself the enemy of the enemy."

"Attack the army that's defending that region, you mean. The one that the Islands of Seven Shadows has been having trouble with."

"Yes. It would make us seem more friendly to aid the island people. Perhaps letting them keep the cities they might have taken as well. This will likely make it clear to them that you don't seek hostility." The man steps back finally, wandering off towards the map again. Another comes to take his place instantly.

"Greetings, my king. I am Kaldoth, of the Geckohide. I have a question for you." I simply stare at him, waiting for his question. "Yes... um... what does the blacked out area represent?"

"No ones sure. All anyone knows is that people go in, they don't come back out. We avoid it, no matter what."

"Understood, my king... Then, I'd like to suggest ignoring the west completely. There's only one city that way, and the elves, if they are our allies, should be able to take that city on their own. It would allow warriors to be used in other areas."

"I'll consider it."

"Thank you, my king." This one bows and leaves. By this point, everyone basically gotten into groups and are arguing out possible methods of attack. I listen in, and find that there are three main camps.

-The first is to stick to the traditional charge it till it dies that the barbarians tend to be known for. They modified the idea slightly though, leaving groups of warriors behind in major cities to maintain a presence and keep the populace under control. Power are way through, basically.

-Second group prefers a more hit and run type thing. Harass the hell out of the two armies till they're reduced to nothing, then wipe up the remainder. Then it's simply a matter of taking each city one by one at our leisure. That's the idea anyway.

-The last group prefers a straight shot all the way to the capital, ignoring everything else. Once that's taken, we turn back around and start conquering everything in reverse, the idea being that even if we fail to hold all the land we take, we'll end up back in our lands instead of trapped in theirs, letting us prepare for another attempt the next year.

i like the second idea. we have a size disadvantage so a straight fight would probably not end well for us.

The second Idea seems good if we don't piss off the peasants.

Second idea is good.
The plans that both of the chieftains laid out are also good.

But dont neglect the enchantments, the are great force multipliers, esoecially if we aim for night raids with nigtvision and shadowstep (among other myriad enchantments)

Also I think this is a good momwnt to give a small speech (using your tongue enchantmwnt and all), making sure that they understand that this is a conquer war and not burn and pillage. We will make those lands ours, their riches ours and their people ours, so we need to make sure to instill the idea that those things belong to us before we attack (you are unlikely to burn down the house you deem your own unlike the enemy's. Also tell that it is the task of these chieftains to pass the idea further.

And if the barbarians show the dissatisfaction the way we are radically reforminh the way they fight war, remind them that this is not a raid to neighbourhood tribe to steal their horses, who have similat warriors, culture and history. We are goinh against a big nation with much more advanced technology and better stalrategy and tactics, if we are to defeat them with minimal losses (whixh is important, we need to make casualties low) we need ti adapt

Second way it is then. A bit conservative and dull, but at least we won't get pummeled into submission. Although that leaves the cities to do what they want for awhile, not something I'm pleased about. They could muster their guards and hit us from behind or something. Something to think about anyway. I drag attention back to me and start up on some random speech the basically stresses the focus on conquering, not burning and destroying, and by the end I'm fairly certain they get it. I pause a moment, then grab the Curmas and that other guy, and have them come up, as well as a few others I think would make good leaders. We'll have to test them somehow, maybe some war games or something. Anyway, they seem the most inclined to thinking about something other than simply attack, so we'll have to get this over with. Anyway, we should see about dividing up these warriors into armies. I think it'll help them to know who's going to lead them from the beginning, let them get used to taking orders and all that. Someone said... what was it... organize them into groups of ten? Well, we can handle smaller scale later. We have boatloads of them to divide up large scale.

Let see... we have three armies needed, from what's been suggested so far. One to go east and aid the Islands against the decent army, one to shoot up the center and take out the incompetent bastard's army and hopefully him, and one to remain behind and guard my lands.

Oh yeah, someone also asked about the Bisonhorn's progress. They generally have just been repairing weapons and armor we already had, although I think they started melting down anything they couldn't fix and have been using that to begin production of better stuff for those... less fortunate... individuals. Anyway, most of the recent iron that's been dragged up I've taken for use on the golem. I've even got one of the smiths making me a big blade for it's arm. Figured just smashing things in the face wouldn't be enough. Figured I'd enchant the blade separately as well.

Anyway, we have, if one thinks about it, about 16,000 warriors for use. Um... let's see, if I do a bit of math... 10,000 of that are melee fighters of various kinds, 4,000 are archers and such, the remaining 2,000 are cavalry, completely made up of the Horsehoof. While most can ride horses, they can't exactly fight effectively on them. Something about the "horse's curse" or whatever it was. I've already checked and there never was a curse, just useless superstition. Anyway, the question I present to you, and to the tribesman I gathered with me, is to divide up the warriors into three groups. We'll see how that goes for now, and once we have our three groups we can try some war games over the next few months.

>>336060
Hmm... 3 armies, huh?

One army should be led by you. You will go against the competent army.
Wasn't Flashis (the snaketongue chieftain) going to lead another army, or he wasn't taken into consideration in your latests update? Anyway, if he was, then he is the one who will take the army to the East, right?
Then stays the question who will lead the 3rd army.
And don't forget that we will have to keep an army to defend our lands..... Hmm, we should properly make defensive structures of all kinds just in case.... Do you know of any spells that could help in that department? Or enchantments (like enchanting a city wall or something) .... And, ah, what happened to the idea of making interlocked portals? .... And the idea to have some "specialists" (or just the most skilled people in engineering and construction which we have at the moment) to design the rudimentary Capital plans?

To tell you the truth, I, personally, don't really know how to determine who will be the most efficient commander. I can only think of the trials that you had to go through when you were getting that artifact of yours.
Perhaps you could devise something similar? If you have trouble, you could ask the Elves for help, they seem more "intellectual" types than barbarians.
Speaking of elves, how are they doing? How is Sticks? Did you talk to her lately? You shouldn't ignore her (even if you don't like her).
How are the shamen doing for that matter? And their leader? Is he still antagonizing against you or has he come to terms with your undeniable power?
Tongues? How is his magical progress?

Also, did you go through my previous idea to make couple of communication rings (like 3 for now), give them to snaketongue chieftain and tell him to send a pair of his best men to watch over the Nina's group and report if something happens (also, protect them from ambushes, screen for enemy scouts)

How is Iron mining going?

The competent army. The one to the east. The one NOT defending the capital, or in anyway anywhere near said capital. Yeah, fuck that. I'm leading the one going up the central parts of Everfrost, so that I can be there to take the head of the king myself. Screw all that other bullshit, someone else can handle it.

As for Falshis, he was leading a strike force to harass the hell out of said armies. I suppose the only one we really need to harass though is the one to the east. There are a few who could lead some armies(four, actually, who might actually be worth the time to have them practice leading anything) and Falshis isn't one of them. There are only three armies. Originally there were four total, but we ditched the one heading west, because there's only one major city that way and no armies, so we can leave that to our elvish allies to sack. One army will be heading east and then north along the coast, to both strike at the competent army, lead by General Marcus Ristock, and make contact with the kingdom that seems to be battling it out with said competent army, preferably in a friendly manner so we don't immediately have to go to war. The second army is going to march its way straight up the center, taking towns and smashing its way through the less than competent army lead by the Crown Prince, who I'm happily planning on stringing up on a pole for dear old dad to see. The third army will be staying behind to ward off attacks from other groups, namely the goblin tribes to the south-west and the orcs to the east.

To sum up the four possible leaders we have for the two other armies:
>Curmas, ex-chieftain of the Wolffang. He's got the most experience in leading something larger than the usual tribe amount. From what I've seen, both now and from things I've heard about him, he tends to be conservative and cautions, relatively speaking. He's still one to charge right in if things look favorable for him.

>Urthan, ex-chieftain of the Bearclaw. Probably the most trustworthy person I have. He's been loads of help, and is the least likely to defy or reinterpret orders. He's also has no experience commanding anything larger than 1000 men.

Kaldoth, Geckohide ex-chieftain. Don't really no much about this one. He's from one of the lesser tribes, and from what I have gathered, the tribe as a whole tended to keep to itself. Probably not a lot of experience leading anyone, but tends to have good ideas if you give him some time to think. He was the leader of the whole "hit and run over and over again" on the armies idea we decided to use.

Falshis could lead an army as well, but... he wouldn't be able to do his early raiding then. Too much hassle having to organize both and be prepared to lead come spring. I'll leave it up to you lot to decide where you'd prefer he go. He'd probably use a lot of ambush tactics if he did end up leading an army. Maybe a good choice for the defensive army getting left behind.

>Hmm, we should properly make defensive structures of all kinds just in case.... Do you know of any spells that could help in that department? Or enchantments (like enchanting a city wall or something) .... And, ah, what happened to the idea of making interlocked portals? .... And the idea to have some "specialists" (or just the most skilled people in engineering and construction which we have at the moment) to design the rudimentary Capital plans?
The portals are a marvelous idea, but I don't think I want to open them quite yet, as I believe the idea was to use them to quickly get from one place in Everfrost to another. I suppose I could just open one between the gold-mine and here, if we really wanted to. As for enchantments to aid in defense, I could make the walls extremely sturdy, if we wanted to gold or silver plate the entire wall. Simple rock doesn't hold enchantments well. As for defensive structures, or even beginning the plans for the capital, as I've said, barbarians aren't exactly known for building shit. Even the Bisonhorn still use tents and such. So unless you suddenly have a way to grant them knowledge of stone working, I don't think we'll get very far with the whole "building structures" thing.

>Speaking of elves, how are they doing? How is Sticks? Did you talk to her lately? You shouldn't ignore her (even if you don't like her).
They come and go. They usually bring food and wood along with them, and sometimes some more reports. Which reminds me, since we're on the subject, they think they've located all of the possible descendants of the human hero. They can't be certain, since they can't make it into the capital to search there, but I can do that once we make it inside. Sticks I've talked to whenever she came wandering over half-drunk, which she spends half her time doing, and she's generally completely useless. She does, however, maintain a good amount of contact with Nina, who seems to have taken a liking for the elf ever since Sticks stuck her in that dress and showed her off to me.

>How are the shamen doing for that matter? And their leader? Is he still antagonizing against you or has he come to terms with your undeniable power?
Annoying head shaman man keeps to himself. I don't think he'd openly defy me anymore, although he still doesn't like me. Sucks for him. All the other shamans(minus the few that follow whats his name) are always helpful, and all of them can usually be found practicing those rituals or doing whatever shamans normally do in their spare time.

>Tongues? How is his magical progress?
Tongues is still working on the words I told him awhile back. Not surprising he doesn't really get it, but that's the point. Once he can figure out what they mean, he'll probably start amassing large amounts of sparks and start growing a bit more rapidly. Until then, he remains utterly useless as he tries to get that rock he carries around with him to move. I personally find it utterly hilarious to watch him glare at a rock for five hours straight. He's determined at least, I'll give him that much. He went with Nina, who still despises him but will put up with him for my sake. I think Tongues wanted to go to see if he might learn faster by practicing on a lump of gold. Might actually work, gold reacts to magic better after all.

The communication rings I haven't gotten around to making, you suggested them two hours ago, give me some time. Besides, I was thinking of using mirrors instead, the reflective surface will make it a little easier to focus the magic. Simple to simply tell the reflections to appear on another mirror when triggered and such. Will have to work on how to target specific mirrors though... and how to tell someone a person is trying to contact them... Iron mining is also going well, I have a bunch of the children doing it. They love it, since I keyed the mining-staves to activate when you tap them against the ground and say a specific chant. The children think it's a game, and they sing the chant whenever they tap the ground with the staff. I don't see the point of the singing, but whatever makes them happy. It was Nina's idea, actually, to make it into a game and have the children do it. Something about never having idle hands about the camp.

>I'm leading the one going up the central parts of Everfrost, so that I can be there to take the head of the king myself. Screw all that other bullshit, someone else can handle it.

Alright, not gonna argue with that.

>As for Falshis, he was leading a strike force to harass the hell out of said armies.
Strike force. Not army. Alright, got that.
>Falshis could lead an army as well, but... he wouldn't be able to do his early raiding then. Too much hassle having to organize both and be prepared to lead come spring. I'll leave it up to you lot to decide where you'd prefer he go
Yeah, no need for him to lead armies. Let him do his harassing raids.

So that leaves 3 leaders for 2 armies. To tell you the truth I do not know what kind of tests we should make them go through to determine which ones are the best. So, I dunno, ask someone for advice: the Elves, Sticks or whatever. Someone ought to get a good idea.

Urthan and Curmas seem to be good choices for defending the homestead.
Kaldoth is good for leading an army because of his "smarts". The battle against an army of another country is not going to be the same as petty raids. Others will stick with what they know but this one seems to be able to adapt for the situation at hand.
The problem is that he needs training to lead massive army and making decisions faster. He would DEFINITELY make use of mental enchantment. But before granting him that, he needs to train in leadership and tactics so ask the Elves to help with that and/or set up some lessons.

>The portals are a marvelous idea, but I don't think I want to open them quite yet, as I believe the idea was to use them to quickly get from one place in Everfrost to another.
Alright, we will keep this postponed till later.
>I suppose I could just open one between the gold-mine and here, if we really wanted to.
Unless we really have to, I do not see the need for it.

>As for defensive structures,
Not even basics? Like moats, spike traps ... or at least a wooden wall with towers?

>Sticks I've talked to whenever she came wandering over half-drunk, which she spends half her time doing, and she's generally completely useless.
HAHA
She is a bow user. Compare her with our bow-using clan (forgot their name) and see if she can teach them anything.
Ask her why she is slacking so much and what she wants to do in future.
>She does, however, maintain a good amount of contact with Nina, who seems to have taken a liking for the elf ever since Sticks stuck her in that dress and showed her off to me.
I guess that is good.

>Annoying head shaman man keeps to himself. I don't think he'd openly defy me anymore, although he still doesn't like me. Sucks for him.
Hehe.

>All the other shamans(minus the few that follow whats his name) are always helpful, and all of them can usually be found practicing those rituals or doing whatever shamans normally do in their spare time.
That is good. You should join them once in a while and try out the "focus" enchantment of your helmet. See how the siege rituals will do then.

>Besides, I was thinking of using mirrors instead, the reflective surface will make it a little easier to focus the magic.
This is a good idea .... if you are thinking of conversing at your leisure where there is no danger of being found out by the enemies. What I was suggesting was more "spy"-like tool.
Imagine a team of rogues/spies/assassins on a mission, wouldn't it be great if they could telepathically communicate with each other though the rings? If not telepathically, at least by whispering. When using a clumsy mirror they would need to spend more time finding better location for communicating.

>It was Nina's idea, actually, to make it into a game and have the children do it. Something about never having idle hands about the camp.
It seems Nina is doing pretty well with being a "Civil" ruler. Which is good because we suck at that.


Anyway, I am not sure what to suggest right now. We haven't yet broached the subject of Guilds/Houses but I guess it can wait. Maybe we should talk about it with Nina first.
Finalize the meeting. Come up with some way to chose the appropriate leader for the armies and then set them up learning leadership and tactics so that they are comfortable leading large armies.
The armies could make a great use of communication rings/mirrors too. The leader would have easier time relaying his orders to officers tasked with leading smaller groups of men. No need to shout or come up with some-kind of sign language.
Don't forget to ask your elf "allies" for help when choosing the leaders, teaching and training them.

So yeah, making those rings will help us great deal.

Also, we could do with a little time-skip till something interesting happens.

Hey
did you drop this quest? :(

((No, sorry, not dropping it. Just had to get the pieces of my life in order, as well as think up what exactly is going to change in the rather large time skip occurring. I apologize again to anyone waiting on me/this. I have, in fact, returned to subject the lot of you that care to my storytelling, which hopefully isn't too bad, and perhaps might even get around to fighting something that can provide a reasonable challenge to Hated and his massively overpowered body.))

Oh, thats great.
Make sure to notify when you are going to start again.

As to overpowered fights.... I suggest you read Golem Quest here in tgchan. It is the definition of extremely challenging and hugely ovepowered fights. Also, I am sure you will pick up some storytelling tricks from it too.