Re: 127 - The Taming of the Fey

[celebaglar]

I'm experimenting with a different recruitment tactic in this one, so we'll see how it goes. The starting position was OK, but I've never quite mastered optimal recruitment in this area.

[celebaglar]

Actually, I think you'll end up with between 2/3 and 3/4 of the lords again. I blew it early on (I could have recruited Marakith on day 2 if I had gone that way) and then again later when Thrall went the wrong way and lost about 3 hours as a result, time which may have prevented you getting Marakith.

As it is, I think I'm stuffed. Unlike the last game, I don't even have a strategic position to defend.

I think this will be more like our first game than our second...

Oh well.

[celebaglar]

Your good luck consisted in my heading for the wrong citadel after starting just outside north-western Thrall. Had I headed for Marakith, it would have been an entirely different story.

As for the rest, I've needed considerable luck, but not everything went my way. Your geezer should have been dead before ever trying to beat up Blood. OTOH, I needed fairies to get Gloom and for Farflame to get invigorated enough to take on the geezer at Lothoril. Had you known where those fairies were, you would have had both extreme NW citadels and wouldn't be far off that 3/4 advantage, seeing how you have all the NE, most of the SE and half of the NW too.

Dawn? Well, I'm glad the wimp did at least one useful thing in his miserable life. He went for Athoril. Too late. He turned to Dregrim. Gone. Southwest to Trorn. Missed out again. Headed home after a useless journey, only to find himself too tired to cross the mountains from the southeast to get into his citadel. So it was a gamble hoping he would go unnoticed outside, but alas it was not to be.

I can't say I've been hugely unlucky in this game, but nevertheless I've played a stinker so far.

[celebaglar]

You certainly did that, but I knew you would get a free shot. Unfortunately, taking casualties was an inevitable trade-off for trapping Doomy and his bunch at Korkith.

I knew you would work out that I was crossing the mountains, but I hoped that it would induce you to think you had worked out my trump card, and this time it worked. Also, crossing the mountains was the only way to get close enough to Korkith to help with the shut-in. Fortunately I had been conservative in the "marching around" so that my troops didn't get any more exhausted than they had to. A day or two at Gorgrath did wonders too.

Now to see what damage I can do and take it from there. Shame everyone's so knackered.

[celebaglar]

Da-mn. Let you escape! Serves me right for getting thingyy.

Edit: Bah! Whoever wrote the obcenity filters for ProBoards is a complete cretin with no understanding of the English language whatsoever.

So, we can't say "a.s.s.u.m.e" or "a.s.s.a.s.s.i.n" or "c.o.c.k.y" or "c.o.c.k.s.u.r.e".

Whoever you are, go to the back of the class and put the dunce cap on!

[celebaglar]

Well, you will have salvaged two or three good sized armies from the fiasco, and the sad thing for me is that you inflicted as many casualties as you took. On top of that, my chasing you has drained whatever was left of my armies energy, so now I'm struggling. I think you'd win an all out war between my armies vs yours. You have the Marakith posse on the way, and Tuhr somewhere closer to me than I'd like, I'll wager. My fey contingent has been massacred - they turned out to be really poor fighters in this one - and I've lost at least two other armies in the process. You outnumber me by between 2 and 4 full armies if my calculations are correct, which is arguable the way it's been all the way through after you caught Dawn with his skirt down (My men are so scattered I need to take stock again).

The fact is that I should have employed the blockers even after we engaged at Korkith, and you'd have been lucky to get one full army out alive. Oh well, chalk that one up to experience.

Xuratoth did considerable damage as it happens. I hope Farflame and Mad Max prove as effective when their time comes.

Shame you didn't fall for the ambush at Thrall, but then that was too much to hope for.

[sparrowhawk]

Celebaglar said:

Da-mn. Let you escape! Serves me right for getting thingyy.

Edit: Bah! Whoever wrote the obcenity filters for ProBoards is a complete cretin with no understanding of the English language whatsoever.

So, we can't say "a.s.s.u.m.e" or "a.s.s.a.s.s.i.n" or "c.o.c.k.y" or "c.o.c.k.s.u.r.e".

Whoever you are, go to the back of the class and put the dunce cap on!

The next version of the Proboards software will allow filtering by whole words rather than parts of words, which should alleviate the problem. I've no idea when it is being released though.

[celebaglar]

Natmus said:

That particular turn I remembered to let them search first and imagine my surprise when I had Celebaglar placed in the forest of Thrall, where my Natmus force was passing through. As Guidiance placed Cele-B and one other lord there, I decided you were there in force, and decided to move off in the other direction. I don't know exactly where you were or with how much, but I suppose it was those 10 armies I saw later. 10 against my 6 would not have been nice ....

It was those 10. I left Evasta and Valethor at Shimeril because they were too tired for a forest jaunt, and they also kept the illusion that there was a force at the citadel unless checked too close. My 10 were on the edge of the forest though, which is why I was able to abort after being spotted without too much loss of energy. Had you gone in any westerly direction nasty things would have happened to you.

Sorry for the delay. I will complete my next turn tonight, once I've decided where to do my General Custer impression.

[celebaglar]

Natmus said:

What's that? A sneaker or a stalker? I shall find out soon enough.

Wha... where?!?

Dammit man, I asked you not to wake me up like that.


Anyway, ask yourself this: with most of your people bunched together and me with two dragons, do I need stalkers? I wonder what you've seen...

So, are you rested enough to come after me now?

[celebaglar]

Natmus said:

So, a sneaker trying to get up to Korkith, or a stalker looking for easy prey?

Neither. What you saw was the pathetic remnant of Corleth's army which you massacred at the lake (they had been UE and didn't get the WoL until the last search, much good as that was). They had to escape into the mountains, but could not get away south because you had armies wandering around northeastern Blood trying to reach Gorgrath, so he had to sit in the mountains for a while. I doubt either of us need worry about him.

No.

Well, that's a shame, because I am.

[celebaglar]

I guess that makes up for Corleth somewhat. The spy was a bonus. You're right though, it took two days of hard riding to catch up with them.

Tell me, was it the sight of armies on the plains that made you forget to pick up the last batch from Kor before you set off?

You must have known I'd have to do something about Doom Square. Sitting at Korkith while you used your citadel advantage to fill up your armies was never going to be an option.

[celebaglar]

Regarding Kor, you are right of course. I miscalculated, somehow getting one day ahead of myself.

As for whether Doom Square is worth it, I see it as a contributing factor. Certainly it's better to have it in my hands rather than yours. ;D

What it actually does is even out the distribution of citadels, which will affect tactics. If you have a big citadel lead then you can sit and wait until your armies are all at full strength, as you'd know every day would give you a better chance. With Doom Square in my hands you can't do that any more, and your move to eastern Valethor suggests you know that.

One way or another I doubt this game will be too drawn out.

[celebaglar]

I know where to find you indeed, but let's face it, if you want me to fight you in your citadel in the middle of a fey forest you're going to have to wait until I'm ready, and that doesn't mean throwing a roughly equal force at you.

The only way we'll get a fight any time soon would be out in the open. Otherwise, I'm quite happy to play cat and mus for as long as it takes to build the numbers to come after you with at least some chance of success. If that takes ages, don't blame me, blame J-Y.

[celebaglar]

I dunno. Maybe. It's an option I would consider in your position. It offers benefits and one or two risks.

It might stop you getting bored though.

[celebaglar]

I realise that, but I have to balance it against the fact that I'd have to dig you out of your own citadel rather than fighting you on neutral ground.

Still, I'll give it some thought, since time is probably more on my side than yours.