The Ascension Wars

[kingfc22]

Right now I'm at post 18 and Calis you are doing an awesome job of making me want this game. I can't wait to see how Screech does in his first battle. Back to reading.

[Calis]

hoopsguy- I'm going to put you in to replace Ygirod, a new commander we have right now garrisoning Fanligia in the South. I think I'm going to leave Screech as Screech I think...there's some untapped potential there.

kingfc22- Glad you're enjoying it, the game pretty much writes the dynasty itself, excellent game. Highly recommend it.

Turn #15

-Research in construction is complete.

-3 Brigands have been cut down in Lovendalon by hoopsguy and his troops.

The Hordes

The Hordes

We send thealmighty and Qwikshot into Bithyne to spread some much needed death! It’s been too quiet for too many months.

We move our newly summoned Dark Servant South, he’ll be able to give Nightworm a hand in a few turns. It’ll be nice to have two sets of eyes down there to keep an eye on the Arcos.

The Warlord

Coffee Warlord stocked up at Ermor and I’m moving him South, he’ll be in charge of Southern Watch for the next few months. I think I’ll be placing hoopsguy under his command soon with a 2nd army. The main Hordes should be down there in not too long as well.

Prophet

WSUCougar begins work on the 5th Temple to Gertbeef. I think I’ll continue having him build temples for now, as I’ve still got a number of Commanders who need troops, so he’ll have to wait a few. I don’t think you can have too many temples, so this will work. Also, I have a feeling our Prophet might be getting too big for his britches, so we'll keep him at bay for a few months.

Scouting

Nightworm reports back from yet another Arco province that has no defenses aside from an Officer and a few henchmen. The bad news is it looks like the Arco Empire stretches a lot further East than I originally anticipated. Still can’t see the end of it, I’m praying it doesn’t stretch across the map.

Research

I move research to focus on Enchantment, to nab us a level or two in that. I put just enough points into Conjuration to gain us a level next month. We’re going to stop with Construction for a while, as we don’t have the gems needed to make anything worth using.

-Ok, the naming thing is actually easy, starting to see the guys as their names, so we'll keep it like this for now.

[kingfc22]

I want to be Screech. Come on, I'll open a can of undead whoop ***


I'll just take whatever commander comes along next I guess

[sachmo71]

Calis,


I'll stay as the Dusk elder. I've always been the bookish type, until I get angry.

[Raven Hawk]

Hey, Calis! Good job on the write up. If there is room for me in either Manhate's or Arik's body, cast one of their souls asunder and channel me in.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD TONIGHT!

[MrBug708]

Woot, me too!

[fantastic flying froggies]

Originally Posted by Calis

Actually, this was an idea I was pondering. Wouldn't be too annoying to keep a list of commander name and their FOFC counterpart.

Some names would work combined also, e.g. Fonzie the Nightworm, fantastic flying froggies the Plaguetongue, etc...

I woulda loved being the Plaguetongue, but since you gave it away , I'll take any other commander... and you can call him tripleF or FFF to help you with the typing...

[Breeze]

I'd take a character when 1 becomes available.

[fantastic flying froggies]

I nominate Breeze to become Screech. After all, the 2 names sound alike...

[Honolulu Blue]

Thanks for posting this dynasty, Calis. Good work so far.

I first saw a glowing review of this game in Computer Games Magazine and was intrigued by it. I have a soft place in my heart for turn-based 4X strategy games, and this sounds like a fun one. I don't know if it's worth $50 or not, but I'll have to spend some time with the demo and watch for it once it hits the bargain bin.

How long does it take to play out a typical turn, and game?

[sachmo71]

Don't bet on a Shrapnel game dropping in price any time soon. Just a word from a frugal, if inpatient, fan of their games.

[Calis]

Alright, I should have time to replace my vastly inferior commander's with the FOFC contingent when I run home for lunch. Looks like we might be slightly over on commanders to people now, so there might be a short wait for a few folks.

Honolulu Blue- Yeah, what sachmo said is right, don't hold your breath on Shrapnel lowering their prices, it just doesn't happen.

Turns so far go pretty quick for me, maybe 10 minutes per turn, but I'm sure that's going to slow down quite a bit as I get further into the game. It of course takes longer if you watch the battles, which I'm doing so far. One annoying thing from the battles, it really plays out as a board game. So one side moves and then the other does, the annoying thing is that when your ranged units fire it takes way longer than it should for the projectiles to land. No one else can move when the arrows are in flight either, so it can really drag the battle out. Minor complaint though.

I'm not sure how long to expect a game to run to, from what I've heard things start wrapping up near the 80-100 turn mark, but that all depends. There are some pretty frigging powerful high level spells, so when people start hitting those levels, things get ugly quick.

I'm not exactly sure on the time thing though, as this is my first game. Just going off of what I've heard people say.

[Calis]

-What the heck, had some extra time at lunch so I thought I’d throw up a quick recap of the Battle of Bithyne, no time to do the full turn, I’ll work on that tonight.

The Battle of Bithyne

As our Armies hit the field of Bithyne, we scoff at the meager forces opposing us. Present are some Knights, a few Militiamen, and a couple of Longbowmen. This should be pretty easy.

thealmighty’s Legionnaires hold strong against the Knight’s charge. Qwikshot sends his small force of 3 Longdead Horsemen around the flank to get rid of those pesky Lonbows. Unfortunately I missed this guy Pippin, the Commander of the forces here just happens to be a Priest. I notice this after he tosses out a few banishment spells and thealmighty’s troops begin disappearing.

These Knights are insane. They are tearing through our ranks of soldiers. Finally Qwikshot has had enough and enters the fray himself. He begins to turn the tides, slaying two of the mounted Knights almost immediately. Things are still looking up in the air though. Our vast superiority in numbers is completely wiped out now. Luckily Qwikshot’s enter into the melee and the effect of his Longdead Horsemen in their back ranks causes the army to route. Unfortunately 2 of Qwik’s 3 Longdead Horsemen perished in the daring assault.


Recap

All in all we lost 51 soldiers to 24 killed, not our best day. Luckily most of the troops we lost are easily replaced. Not exactly the show of Undead might that I was hoping for, but we'll take it.

[Fonzie]

I'm certainly interested in becoming a commander in Gertbeef's legions of the undead. I would be honored to spread The Adversary's principled messages of love and death.

[Honolulu Blue]

Calis: Thanks for the answers. I'll try not to interrupt any more. Carry on.

[sachmo71]

I played the demo last night. Ugh, I'm hooked.

[Breeze]

Sreeeeeech. I can handle that.

[Blade6119]

Finally caught up, and damn that is awsome...if i can get whatever commander is closest to battle(not a spy please)...i want to be a kick-ass front-line killing machine!

[Qwikshot]

How does this game take to deliver by regular mail? Anyone anyone I live in PA, and I think it's shipped from North Carolina?

[WSUCougar]

And the multitudes will flock to the Dominion Wars. Ever shall they produce their gold & silver in $50 increments, thus enriching the coffers of Holy Shrapnel. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Thus spake WSUCougar the Prophet.

[StormcloudCreations]

I've bought from them before. They now ship via USPS Priority Mail, and it only takes a few days usually. They're pretty good about shipping on time.

[sachmo71]

Hey Derek, how is Colesium selling? What is on tap for the future?

[StormcloudCreations]

Hey there sachmo (the same one from the Shrapnel boards?),

Coliseum is doing pretty decently as far as I can tell, probably one of my better early launches sales wise. A new 1.5 patch is being released in a few days, and that will help too hopefully. And (hopefully; crossing fingers) better mag/site reviews will get more people on board.

The future; not too sure as of yet. I got badly out of shape working on Coliseum (lots of late nights, etc) and gained a bit of weight and some minor lower back pain, so first priority will be: get back in shape. Then i'm not too sure really. It really depends on how sales of Coliseum go.

Maybe retool one of my older works and spice it up a bit with the money from Coliseum. Maybe Nanotech with more features and improved graphics? Maybe something new? I have about 25 different game outlines of mine sitting in my drawer, so hopefully Coliseum will do well enough to continue with this "career".

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

And the multitudes will flock to the Dominion Wars. Ever shall they produce their gold & silver in $50 increments, thus enriching the coffers of Holy Shrapnel. So let it be written, so let it be done.

Thus spake WSUCougar the Prophet.

Amen, Praise WSU, Praise Shrapnel.

[sachmo71]

Originally Posted by StormcloudCreations

Hey there sachmo (the same one from the Shrapnel boards?),

Coliseum is doing pretty decently as far as I can tell, probably one of my better early launches sales wise. A new 1.5 patch is being released in a few days, and that will help too hopefully. And (hopefully; crossing fingers) better mag/site reviews will get more people on board.

The future; not too sure as of yet. I got badly out of shape working on Coliseum (lots of late nights, etc) and gained a bit of weight and some minor lower back pain, so first priority will be: get back in shape. Then i'm not too sure really. It really depends on how sales of Coliseum go.

Maybe retool one of my older works and spice it up a bit with the money from Coliseum. Maybe Nanotech with more features and improved graphics? Maybe something new? I have about 25 different game outlines of mine sitting in my drawer, so hopefully Coliseum will do well enough to continue with this "career".

Yes, we are one in the same. I may check out Coliseum...sounds right up my alley. An upgrade to Nanotech would be cool, for sure.

[Calis]

Honulu Blue- Don't sweat it. Feel free to ask any questions you have, I don't mind.

Qwikshot- Not sure how long it takes, I was impatient and went for the express shipping. I just HAD to have it after playing the demo.

-Looks like Dominions 2 just received a 6.7 from Gamespot..tis sad, but unfortunately most of what they say is true. This game ain't for the casual gamer, and there are things that could definitely be done better. Little confused as to how the reviewer thinks moving armies is micromanagement..but hey, it's Gamespot. Review can be found HERE

Enough of my babbling though, lets get to the action!

Turn #16

First things first, some bad news; I’m going to go ahead and put a cap on the FOFC folks replacing Generals at what I’ve already done. Never fear though! The rest of you will be getting your chance to be a part of the glory that is the rebirth of the Ermorian Empire soon enough. Right now I do have extra commanders not named, but they will be used solely as troop mules to give to our other commanders. As the War front increases in size though, and we gain control of more provinces, we’ll need more frontline leaders. I expect people to get added in quickly. I’ve decided to go ahead and leave the scouts as is, and any more researchers we build up will stay as is also. This just makes things a bit easier for me, and will make things a little more exciting for the folks in it.

Ok, lets get down to business.

The Hordes Regroup, and Move Out Again

As we had left off our Hordes had just conquered the province of Bithyne at quite some cost to our forces. We’ve no time to waste though. The Ermor must march on!

So here’s the plan. Qwikshot we’ll take command over the Western Front for now. thealmighty will put his troops under Qwik’s command and head back to Ermor to restock. He will then more than likely be sent to the South. Qwikshot is going to be in a tough spot here, we expect about 30 defenders, mostly light infantry and milita. Qwik will only have 42 units under his command though. This is a major gamble, but one I think is worth taking. Basically I’m just pushing my luck with my best commanders, I’m hoping Qwik can tear through these guys.

The Southern Front

Coffee Warlord will be assigned his first task as Commander of the Southern Front. He is to marshal his forces with hoopsguy and strike at the province of Gol Ryepe on the River Gert as we’ll call it. You don’t think Gertbeef has a complex do you? This is the same river that runs through The Sinks and Dust Fens, and is a very wealthy province. The reason for conquering this one is pretty simple, we seem to kill provinces bordering us as well as those we control. The downside to this is that dead people don’t make much money. So we need to nab this high profit provinces as soon as we can, and milk everything we can out of them before the population dies off. So we need Coffee Warlord to strike quickly.

Eye to Arco

Nightworm reports back on yet another empty Arco province. Where the heck are they? I tell him to keep searching East, and I move Zrakhnadar(Our new Black Servant) whose name will never be typed out again further South to help in the scouting.

Our Prophet

WSUCougar is sent into the newly captured Bithyne to begin work on yet another Temple, you see a pattern forming here? I love me some Temples. We’re going to have to summon a new Priest soon to take over Temple building duties so we can use Cougar in a more productive way. Actually, lets do that now. I set sachmo71 to the task of summoning an Arch-Bishop buddy for WSUCougar. We’ll give the guy a break, he’s been busting his..uhh, spine preaching the word.

I move all the researching back to Conjuration and call it a month.


Recap

So we've got two battles coming up next turn, one of which could get pretty nasty and another which should hopefully go smoothly. We're basically just setting up one last land grab before we clash with the Arcos. We've got another Priest on the way to alleviate some of WSUCougar's workload, and we're sending thealmighty back to reload his Horde.

[Coffee Warlord]

KILL EVERYTHING!

Death! Decay! Smite Good! Support Evil!

[Calis]

Turn #17

-Plaguetongue has cast Summon Arch-Bishop and none other than kingfc22 answers the call.

The Battle of Pania

Qwikshot leads his men as they charge across the Gertbeefian Mountains. They shrug off the weak attack by the defending archers and answer with a volley of javelins that down several militia defenders. Qwikshot hits the defenders at full stride and begins cutting a swath through them. This boy can fight! The defending army was soon routed, and the Undead Hordes were once again victorious.

We lost 7 men to the Defender’s 28. Very nice work, Qwikshot is making a run for taking overall control of the Hordes from thealmighty.

The Battle of Gol Ryepe

Coffee Warlord would get his chance to prove his worth next. Lets hope I wasn’t wrong in placing control of the Southern Armies in his bony hands.

There was quite a bit larger force than the one we faced in Pania. There was a number of Heavy Infantry supported by Crossbowmen and a bunch of light infantry. Those crossbows hurt by the way! They got two volleys off before our armies clashed and took down a number of our soldiers. We managed to get our Ghouls and Soulless on their right flank so we had the majority of their force semi-encircled. We’re losing a lot of soldiers, but they’re losing their fair share also, this looks like another win, but a costly one. Coffee Warlord and hoopsguy both hang back in the rear of their armies, content to just point their men in the right direction, and not enter the fray themselves…this time. We manage to finish off the Heavy Infantry, and their Light brethren make a break for it. We hit the Crossbowmen and unfortunately our Velites start opening up with Javelins again, and..you guessed it, decimating our infantry. You think they would learn.

We lost 39 troops to the enemies 38. Ugly. Tell your guys to take it easy with the Javelins Coffee!

Western Front

We restock thealmighty up with our best troops and send him off to Sleepy Wolds. He’ll begin planning the next move of our Western Army. Qwikshot will stamp out any rebels he can find in Pania

Southern Front

Coffee Warlord and hoopsguy will begin hunting down the remaining rebels on Gol Ryepe.

Priests

WSUCougar will begin construction on a Temple in Bithyne, this will more than likely be the last he makes. Next month we’ll begin roaming him around our provinces picking up whatever army he can. He’ll be heading south within the next 6 months with hopefully a very large and powerful force.

kingfc22 is our new Arch-Bishop and will be moved to take over Cougar’s Temple building duties. After that we shall send him probably to the West Front to help out Qwikshot, it all depends on how things pan out in the next few months.

I move sachmo71 back to researching, as we want to keep pumping up that magic. We want the uber summons!

Scouting

Nightworm reports in that he finally found some form of Arco defenders. 5 milita, this is by far the largest amount of troops we’ve seen of Arco. I’m not sure what Arco is doing, but I’m guessing they aren’t massing for an attack to the North. That’s going to be quite the mistake on their part me thinks.

I continue moving Zrak down there, he is almost ready to start helping out Nightworm with the scouting duties on Arco.

Research

sachmo71 and his underlings are still a ways away from gaining a level in conjuration so they continue chugging along. We should hit level 4 in it within 3 months. Which will give us a couple of cool spells I think.

[kingfc22]

Well, I'm going to be gone until Sunday and I will go preaching the word of Gertbeef. I see many triumphs in the near future for our fearless leader.

[Qwikshot]

Came in the mail today, gonna have some fun this weekend!!!

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

Came in the mail today, gonna have some fun this weekend!!!

...as long as you don't neglect your duties as a Pioneer in the Combat Mission dynasty!

By the way, given my extensive prophetic workload of late (temple here, temple there...the king is obsessed!), I'd enjoy a 3-day/2-night Gertbeefian Mountains getaway package before I gather this monstrous army and go out stomping the unenlightened heathen.

[SplitPersonality1]

Just found this dynasty. Keep up the good work. If you still need a name, feel free to use mine.

[bamcgee]

good stuff. Now I'm going to have to try it out, dammit.

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

...as long as you don't neglect your duties as a Pioneer in the Combat Mission dynasty!

By the way, given my extensive phrophetic workload of late (temple here, temple there...the king is obsessed!), I'd enjoy a 3-day/2-night Gertbeefian Mountains getaway package before I gather this monstrous army and go out stomping the unenlightened heathen.

Wouldn't think of it, that would be the next game I save up for.
Still it's been a blur playing, I have to read up more on Dominions...just a lot of stuff packed in there.

[AStott]

Just spotted this dynasty. Nice job! I also picked up this game about a week ago, and have definitely been having fun with it. Check out the developer's web site for some additional user created and official maps and mods.

Interestingly enough, you just happened to pick the easiest race to win with in single player mode.The computer isn't very good about doing the things necessary to properly combat Ermor (build up heavily on priests and such), and as a result, you can probably look forward to doing quite well on your first game.

I've been experimenting with Ulm, Man, and C'tis. Lots of fun. I love the variety in this game. I was hesitant about the $50 price tag, but I saw essentially zero negative feedback on the message boards, it appears that the developers are good about patches, and everyone seems to indicate that the game is worth the price. I've already put a good number of hours into it.

Go Calis Go!

[sachmo71]

Bump for additions.

BTW...for all my Dominions II bretheren, here is a nifty little PDF created by someone that summarizes all of the empires in the game.

http://members.cox.net/nelsons/Domin...erence_RC1.pdf

[Calis]

sachmo71- hmm, I'll have to check out that file. If we do a PBEM game, I'll have to try another race, and I've yet to even begin looking at the other choices. Thanks for the bumpage also, made it easy to track down.

Alright, I know I know..I’ve been slacking. I’ve been busy the last few days, not to mention that when I’m not busy I’m reading The Book of the New Sun series by Gene Wolfe, which I might add is outstanding. I can’t believe I missed these books for so long, but I digress.

Where the hell was I.

Turn #18

-Patrolling Troops in Pania have killed 18 brigans, and the troops in Gol Ryepe disposed of 13 of their own to make both provinces safe for our hordes of Undead.

Quick reminder not to take a 5 day break from playing this game, I’ve been staring dumbfounded at my PC for about 15 minutes now trying to recollect what it was I was doing. Oh well, lets just start messing with stuff shall we?

Prophets

I put kingfc22 to work on building a Temple in Pania. He’s now in full control of the Eldregate Brothers Construction Company.

WSUCougar spent the beginning of the month relaxing in the lush accommodations of our Resort & Spa in the heart of the Gertbeefian Mountain Range. His time off wouldn’t last long though, as I had need of him. I send him on his way back to Ermor, where he’ll begin rousting up a host of his very own to lead into battle.

The Western Front

Qwikshot is holding steady in Pania, mustering a bit more strength before he continues his trek. Qwik will be marching to the South when he moves again, so we’ll actually be having a two-pronged Southern assault, a pincer effect basically.

The Adversary Stirs

Gertbeef grows restless in Ermor and has decided he will himself lead an assault on the Southern Independent provinces. He gathers a number of troops and heads to Sleepy Wolds, with plans of marching South next month.

The Southern Front

Coffee Warlord and hoopsguy both will stand strong in Gol Ryepe, they’ll more than likely be moving out next turn as well. Interesting tidbit, the next province that Coffee Warlord and the Southern Armies conquer will put us into direct contact with the Northern portion of Arco’s territory.

The Scouts

Zrak has now entered Arco territory and will begin moving West to see how far it extends in that direction. I continue pushing Nightworm to the East and he still has yet to spot much in the way of defenses.

Research

sachmo71 and his underlings continue studying the arts of Conjuration, and will hopefully attain another level in just a few more months. It ain’t glorious work, but our commanders sure appreciate it!

Ok, I've changed gears a wee bit now. It's got to the point now where I'm not going to explain every single move I make with guys, as I've got quite a number of commanders and mini-movement going on. I'm just going to stick with the details on what our FOFC'ers are doing, and overall important news.

[Peregrine]

Neat dynasty Calis! I like this style of game, and though I can't get it anytime soon, since I'm already swamped with games, I'll keep track of your dynasty!

[General Tacticus]

Very nice ! I've just come from the Dom2 forum, where somebody posted a link to this AAR

Good job on your battles by the way, as far as I can tell you're doing well with your orders. Keep sending your undead cavalry on attack rear, priests can really ruin your day ! And don't ever scoff at knights, those guys are trouble !
By the way, the "Sabbath Slave" spell these Bloodhenge druid were casting allow them to pool their power under one who cast "Sabbath Master". The Masters gets enhanced powers, and the Slave take the fatigue for any spell he casts... Not terribly useful for independants (they don't know any of the really good spells), but watch out for the other nations... Arco can do something similar.

As for Vanheim, they probably don't know where you are, but they either decided that you were weak, or just plain didn't like you. After all, nobody likes Ermor

I have an AAR of my own going on, feel free to read it there :


just a warning, the forum list post from newest to oldest, so go to the end of the last page to start reading. I am playing a blood oriented nation, and having fun with it

[Peregrine]

Welcome to FOFC General! All kinds of interesting dynasties end up on our boards here. I'm well aware of the Shrapnel boards and their aggravating reverse order thing from my days reading the SEIV boards. Will check out your AAR.

[sachmo71]

Bump?

[WSUCougar]

WSUCougar spent the beginning of the month relaxing in the lush accommodations of our Resort & Spa in the heart of the Gertbeefian Mountain Range. His time off wouldn’t last long though, as I had need of him. I send him on his way back to Ermor, where he’ll begin rousting up a host of his very own to lead into battle.

Heh. I like rousting. I'm a good rouster. Plus I am refreshed. LLLLLLLLLOOK OUT!

[Calis]

Sorry guys, I'll get back to updating this soon.

Spent this weekend hooked on Diablo 2.

Definitely be some updates this week sometime though.

[Raven Hawk]

Bump?

[fantastic flying froggies]

DOA.

[Calis]

Sorry guys. I haven't actually touched Dom2 for a couple weeks.

I've been pondering firing up a new dynasty since the latest patch release though, but that would involve starting over, because they added in the ability to change commander's name. Would make it a little easier for me, and I could get folks involved more easily.

We'll see though, right now I'm hesitant to start a new one though, because of time(and interest) constraints. I'm afraid it would flounder pretty quickly.

The good news is I got over my Diablo 2 addiction. The bad news is I've become hooked on Championship Manager again, and have been pondering doing a dynasty with that.

I think I just need to come to the realization I don't have the attention spans for dynasties.

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by Calis

I think I just need to come to the realization I don't have the attention spans for dynasties.

Except as a participant, particularly as an infantry platoon commander, right?

I understand the dilemma. Cool game, though.

[Calis]

Any interest in another shot at this?

Been kinda getting an itch to fire up this game again, and seeing as how the semester is almost up, and I'm unemployed I think I'll have some free time.

Had fun doing this the first go round though, and know there's been some patches since then.

Got an itch to get my war on, was thinking either this, maybe one of the Squad Battle Games, or Korsun Pocket.

[thealmighty]

Originally posted by Quickshot
Quiet you, I was first in line...FIRST but it's okay wherever I'm placed, because I broke down and ordered the game...so I'll be sing "Please Mr. Postman" for the next few days. It'll be nice to have to keep me occupied since the Eagles are done.

What a difference a season makes.



And I, for one, am ready for an encore.

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by Calis

Any interest in another shot at this?

Been kinda getting an itch to fire up this game again, and seeing as how the semester is almost up, and I'm unemployed I think I'll have some free time.

Had fun doing this the first go round though, and know there's been some patches since then.

Got an itch to get my war on, was thinking either this, maybe one of the Squad Battle Games, or Korsun Pocket.

Your Supreme Battle Lord Coffee Warlord demands more troops.