No restores, Ridiculous AI, large map attempt on 0.913

I do enjoy

Can I get a screenshot for being a good lurker? please

Going on nicely. 

When do you plan to build new city? 

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Damn. That's what you get for too many refreshes while browsing from mobile. 

Sentinemodo, I do not plan on building any cities.  One of the house rules for this game is "No new cities, conquered cities get razed".

The 'flavor' justification is that the Slavers are paranoid magic users.  They do not trust anyone but themselves with any kind of power.  Stronghold has a three-tiered society - Nobles (magic users, slave owners), Guardians (warriors) and slaves (everyone else)

Nobles are degenerates that do nothing themselves and live off the labor of slaves whom they control through magic.  Boss Smiley is the first one in generations who was not content with vegetating in the city, and ventured outside.  New champions are also noblemen. I guess Smiley insisted that Barda is officially ennobled.

Guardians will be slaves who still have some spirit left and who may be trouble inside the city.  They are equipped for war and sent out to fight.  You will notice that they are not given bows or magical staffs, and that they are made vulnerable to magic.  The Nobles do this to make sure that the guardians do not turn on their masters.  In game terms, these will be the troops.  No pioneers, because the Nobles would not allow other cities to rise and challenge Stronghold's power.

Slaves are slaves.  Some are bred in Stronghold, others are prisoners of war.  The Slavers cannot attract people from the wilderness with Inns, Pubs, etc. 

Anyway... This is all made up after the fact.  Truely, I made the side by min-maxing, and the above is just rationalizing to fit the game attributes.

Read the rules yesterday. Somehow I forgot about one city challenge.

Isn't that one too many points spent on the leader??

The play-through (turns 1 through 40):

The starting position

Turn 1: Boss Smiley gets a great starting location on the second roll.  There's a river, a forest and an iron deposit nearby, and wild grain a few tiles out of the way.  No monsters in sight until he moves to the place I chose for settling, but once he does, I see a wolf lair and a bandit camp.  Slim pickings, but the trip also reveals an Air shard and twilight bees in the distance, which is nice.

I settle the city, set the research to Civics, drop the taxes down to none, and cast "Enchanted Hammers".  The first building will be the workshop, and the completion estimate is 8 turns.  By habit, I also start building the Iron mine, which I should not have done.

Turn 2: I cast "Stone skin" and "Regeneration",  Boss Smiley kills the wolves.

Turn 3: Smiley destroys the wolf lair.  No loot.  He heads towards the bandits, and notices Badra waiting to be recruited.

Turn 4: Smiley beats up the bandits, and sends them to Stronghold.  He gets "Potential I" for level 2.

Turn 5: Smiley loots some pork from the bandit camp, then finds a Dragon cloak in the carts of an abandoned caravan.  He notices some misplaced wares, and a dark crevace guarded by a rock spiderling.

Turn 6: Badra wants 220 Gildars to join, which I do not have. 

Boss Smiley loots the misplaced wares, and find a fire resistance potion.  It will come handy, because the move reveals an Ignys near an Earth shard and a patch of wild grain.  Unfortunately, there's also a stalker nearby, and Boss Smiley cannot handle it without more luck than I would count on.  I also notice a Water shard near the spiderling.  Next to the shard camps Arando's army, which is also very much out of Smiley's league.

Turn 7: Smiley kills the spiderling.  I cast an Arcane Monolith, start building a Water shrine.  There's iron ore in the Monolith range, but I'd rather save the Guildars for later.

Turn 8: The spider lair yields a leather cuirass.

Turn 9: Right on schedule, the workshop is completed.  I start building a lumber mill.  Smiley kills a darkling lurker, which takes him near the Ignis.

Turn 10: The Ignys heads toward Smiley.  The darkling camp yields a leather helmet.  I notice a group of Knights of Asok near a prestigious location.  I am not sure Smiley can take them on.  I hope they do not chase him.  

I also discover the lair of the Ignys and Csilla's camp.  Another Empire hero Smiley cannot hope to defeat.

Turn 11: The Ignys attacks, and thanks to the Dragon cloak, Smiley defeats him handily.  I'm saving the potion for the fight over the lair.  Smiley gets "Quick" for level 3.  I send Smiley toward the Earth shard.  An abandoned caravan and well guarded by a butcherman come into view. 

A good place to get some loot and experience

Turn 12: Smiley loots the caravan, but all he finds is some pork.  On the other hand, the move reveals a great many things.  Two stalkers with their lair, two bandit armies, a humble inn, a water shard, and an Empire hero that Smiley can probably beat.  I just hope that no sovereign gets there before mine.

Turn 13: One stalker and the bandits head Smiley's way.  Smiley kills the butcherman, and finds a sharp dagger in the well.

Turn 14: The stalker and the bandits charge, and lose.  Unfortunately, it seems slaves captured while Smiles is defending are lost, just like all other loot.  The experience is all there though, and Smiles chooses the path of the warrior on level 4.  Next Smiley heads to the inn, fashioning a stone mace from a decrepit statue he finds on the way.  Near the inn, he notices another Earth shard and a bloody clearing inhabited by an ogre.

Turn 15: The research on "Civics" is complete, the growth rate of Stronghold increases, and I switch research to "Agriculture".  Of course, "Knowledge" is the immediate target.  In the inn, Smiles is asked to clear some rats in return for a Doom club.  The rats are close by, and he clears them without trouble.

Turn 16:  The Water shrine at the Arcane Monolith is complete.  The Slavers' mana intake quadruples... from one.  Instead of heading straight to the inn, Smiles captures 5 brigands from their camp and sends them to the city. In their camp, he find a wolf shaped token.

Turn 17: Stronghold reaches level 2 - the newest recruits must be better builders than bandits.  Ever the blackguard, Boss Smiley chooses the gallows from the designs presented to him. 

Back at the inn, he declines the promised club, and takes 300 Gildar instead.  He then dispatches a nearby stalker, and uses the token to summon a wolf.  After renaming her "Labor Disputes", and attaching a pouch of gold to her neck, he commands her to find Badra.

Turn 18: The lumber mill is completed, way ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, Turim Mafaru claims that he is too good to be a Kingdom faction's champion, so Boss Smiley takes his spear, hands him a shovel, and sends him to  Stronghold. 

With such hiring practices, it's no wonder Stronghold is quickly running out of food.  Because of this, but also because there's an air shrine across the river, Stronghold begins the construction of river docks.

Turn 19: Labor proves to be a great runner and quickly reaches Badra.  Badra must approve of the pouch's contents, because she joins the Slavers' cause.  Immediately, the two ladies split up and start exploring. 

As for Smiley, after dispatching the banished ogre, he creates another ancient monolith that allows the exploitation of two shards and a patch of wild grain.  Unfortunately, the monolith reveals a nearby squad of Asok knights.  Rather than risk losing the mana investment, Smiley trades his dagger for Mafaru's spear, and goes knight hunting.  On the way, he notices an Air elemental's sanctum.

Turn 20: Smiley notices that his mana is so low he could not even cast "Haste" against the knights, so he takes the long way towards them.  While doing so, he spots a life shard, some wild game, a troll and another Empire hero.  Where are Kingdom heroes when you have 300 Gildars burning a hole in your purse?

If not for some old, old pork... this fight could have ended quite badly

Turn 21: The knights actually head away from Boss Smiley, so he attacks the air elemental instead.  The battle does not go as well as earlier ones.  Smiley uses up the mana he was saving for the knights casting "Haste", and still, after a few blows are exchanged, both combatants are near death.  Fortunately, Smiley has pork in his backpack, and somehow manages to gulp it down while dodging the elemental's pike.  This makes all
the difference, and Smiley is the one to walk away. 

Smiley gets "Crushing Blow" for level 5.  Clearly he learns more than that, because he decides that the knights should probably be left alone for now.

Meanwhile, Labor Disputes discovers a whole menagerie of monsters much too close to Stronghold: wolves, bandits, water shrills, and even a Fire elemental's army.  Badra turns around and heads back to Labor.  The plan is for the two to team up and dispatch at least the wolves and bandits, if not the shrills.

Turn 22,23: Boss Smiley leaves the knights be, and heads for the troll.  Badra and Labor join up, kill some wolves, and head toward the bandits' lair.

Turn 24: Research moves to "Agriculture". 

Smiley kills the troll, and retrieves a shield of the Wind from his campfire. 

Stronghold stops growing for lack of food.  After a brief consideration I decide to spend 102 Gildars on rushing the docks.  The next construction project is the sage, because I really need to research "Agriculture" as soon as possible.

Turn 25: An Air shard is brought into Stronghold's sphere of influence, and I start constructing a shrine. 

Smiley continues exploring, discovering a widow lair and yet another high level Empire hero. 

Badra and Labor come upon a bandit camp and persuade its five inhabitants to join Stronghold's workforce.  During the negotiations, Labor is badly injured, but I decide to save the mana for another monolith.  Badra gets "Potential II" for level 2.  The girls can take a break from fighting, as long as they stay there to keep the scum away from Stronghold. 

Turn 26: Smiley finds a Darking cloak in the widow lair.  He notices iron and crystal deposits in the vincinity.  

Before the girls can loot the camp they just cleared, a bandit and his dog move in.  Labor is still hurt, but she can hang back as the bandit is no archer.  Once he's sent to Stronghold, the girls finally loot the camp and find another token of the Wolf.  Labor Disputes gets a friend - Conflict Management. 

Keeping with the canine theme, there's a wild warg pack nearby.

Turn 27: I create another monolith near a Life shard.  There are wild wargs and some game nearby, but the Slavers do not know how to exploit those yet. 

Boss Smiley keeps walking northwest, discovering a cave bear and a lair of water shrills. 

The girls loot an equipment cache, and find an enchanted chain coif.  Unfortunately, Badra's not skilled enough to figure how to put it on.

Turn 28: Stronghold runs out of food, again.  Fortunately, a sage moves in one turn early, so agriculture is only an year and a half away. 

Badra's wolfpack retrieves a leather helmet from a darkling camp. 

Smiley destroys a lair of water shrills surprisingly easily, which gives Badra enough courage to head towards a water shrills' lair herself.

Turn 29: Boss Smiley finds a pair of Longstrider boots in the water shrills' camp he cleared last turn.  Awesome. I wonder whether Badra will be as lucky.

Turn 30: Smiley kills an ogre, and discovers a Water shard near a prestigious location.  I create a monolith that surveys both without exploring the surrounding area.  The gamble may not pay off, as two spider lairs turn out to be in the monolith range.

Badra and her wolves

Turn 31: Stronghold finishes building a tower of dominion, and starts working on a set of gallows.

One of the spiders disrupts the construction of the water shrine.  10 Gildars wasted, but it would have been worse if the black widow had gone for the monolith.  As it is, Smiley slaughters her, and restarts the shrine construction. 

Badra loots a champion spear from an equipment cache, then attacks the water shrills.  Labor and Conflict distinguish themselves.  Quick runners with deadly bites are nothing to sneer at.  Barda get "Potential III" for level 3.

Turn 32: Boss Smiley kills the last spider threatening the new monolith. Now he can loot the spider dens at his leisure.

Badra finds a pair of leather vambraces in the water shrills' lair.  Except for the Fire elemental and his army, this region has been pacified, so the girls head to the North which is still largely unexplored.

Aggressive use of an Arcane Monolith

Turn 33: Smiley finds a venomous short sword in one of the spider lairs.  Before he turns around to loot the other lair, he notices an iron mine.  Not one that he ordered built.  One displaying the colors of the Empire of Resoln.  

War is only a matter of time, and Boss Smiley is a realist.  He forgets about looting, and heads straight toward Resoln.  On his way there, he notices a Pariden outpost.

Perfect.  A slightly weaker potential ally and an evenly matched enemy.  I immediately sign a non-aggression pact with the Kingdom, and don't even bother contacting the Empire.  I create an Arcane Monolith, pushing the border back, and laying claim to the mine that brought Smiley this way.  

I take a minute to study the Empire of Resoln.  Oracle Ceresa is an unstable manipulator who rules 154 wraiths and two cities.  They have secured an Earth shard and a source of metal.  They do not look particularly impressive, so I fully intend to attack as soon as I stockpile mana for combat and food for future slaves.

Turn 34: A troll demolishes the iron mine at the border of the three nations.  Smiley demolishes the troll and gets "Air Disciple" for level 6. In the troll lair, he finds a band of the berserker, but chooses not to equip it. While looting the lair, he notices the Resoln village of Blackstead, population 39.

Meanwhile, research on "Agriculture" has finished, and Stronghold resumes growing.  Hopefully, the slaves will never work hungry again.  I switch the research to "Mining", with an eye on "Craftsmanship".

The Asok knights that Smiley saw earlier are back.  They are moving dangerously close to one of my shrines.  I hope that they will leave on their own, and allow Badra's wolf-pack to keep exploring. 

The girls dispatch a bear cub, and Badra chooses the path of the Assassin at level 4.

Turn 35: Queen Procipinee has not been keeping her territories clear of monsters and enemy heroes.  Boss Smiley kills an Ingys and a bear, then confiscates Klavarra's dagger and sends her to toil in Stronghold.

Badra picks some healing herbs near the bear den, and continues to explore to the North.  She notices a Fire elemental's army guarding yet another Caldera.

I cast "Inspiration" on Stronghold, something I should have done as soon as I started my first shrine, but somehow forgot about until now.

Turn 36: Boss Smiley continues to act neighborly and kills a cave bear on Pariden territory.  The lair itself is on Resoln lands.  Nevertheless, Smiley heads that way.

Badra finds a golden belt amongst some monster bones.

Turn 37: Out of the blue, I receive a message from Lena the Young, leader of Capitar.  No one likes being the one scouted, but at least, they appear weaker than the Slavers.  I sign an non-aggression pact with them, and trade some magical research.  Unfortunately, I see no indication that Boss Smiley's diplomatic skills have gotten us a better deal.

As he loots another  band of the berserker from the cave bear den, he spots a refugee camp inside Resoln territory and heads that way.

Some people use breadcrumbs to mark their path. Boss Smiley prefers mana shrines.

Turn 38: Boss Smiley loots a weathered shield from yet another bear den, and kills yet another troll.  While doing so, he spots the Capitar scouts that brought Lena's message.   They appear to have come from beyond Resoln, which means there may not be anyone to Stronghold's North.  

The bad news is, Pariden is sending pioneers into my lands. 
The good news is, I have the mana to create an Arcane monolith where I see arable soil.  
The bad news is, this only reveals more arable land further east.
The good news is, all these monoliths have pushed Resoln's influence back, and I get another Earth shrine.  My mana income is nearing the point where I will be able to create monoliths faster than Pariden can bring pioneers in.
The bad news is, I remember that Boss Smiley made his way around some scary monsters, but not where exactly the lairs were.  I fear my monoliths may end up releasing something I cannot deal with.

Turn 39: Oracle Ceresa finally gets fed up with Boss Smiley wandering her lands, and asks him to leave.  He complies, only to immediately turn around to speak with the refugees.  They ask him to kill some bandits.

Stronghold finishes building the gallows.  To celebrate, I raise taxes.  Appropriately enough, there aren't many complaints.

Badra finds another pair of vambraces, then takes down a banished ogre.  She discovers the camp of Timok the Blade, but decides that he's too tough to take on right now.  Maybe on the way back.

Turn 40: A wandering wolf army approaches one of my monoliths.  The Pariden pioneers unerringly swerve toward another patch of arable land as soon as I cover the closest one with monoliths.  Two more Pariden pioneers, escorted by a champion, head into my lands.  Well, time to build a wall of monoliths that friends cannot cross.  As for enemies... Stronghold needs labor!

Boss Smiley enslaves the bandits he was sent to kill.  While doing so, he spots Resoln's capital - Hagudst.  Looks like a good time for a blitzkrieg.

Badra butchers a butcherman.

Note to readers: I'm changing the format of the play-through.  Instead of editing the first post, I will place updates at the end of the thread.  Those will be of two kinds: "State of the Stronghold" which gives an overview of what is going on, and a turn by turn play-through that will, I hope, have a few more interesting snapshots.  Please let me know how you like the new format.

Well that's a bug then.  I you are meant to start with 6 attribute points, it should definitely not be 7 or 8.

I installed the game on my laptop, and I can now see the point counter.  The bug is that you get to choose a profession even if the counter is at zero.

I have not had a chance to use "Silver Tongue" yet, the diplomacy bonus is bugged, and can always give the 20 influence away.  Anyway, I'm still enjoying the game.

But if you guys think the play-though is worthless because Boss Smiley is haxored, I'm not going to post... well I'm not going to post about him

Definitely go on , they game has still enough bugs, that it is not possible to avoid them all.

Btw. You might post a picture on how Smiley looks right now.

State of the Stronghold (Turn 41)

The World as we know it

On turn 41, the Slavers have mostly explored the immediate surroundings of Stronghold, and have cleared the weakest lairs. They have encountered two Kingdoms with which they have signed non-aggression pacts, and one Empire whose influence they have been pushing back in preparation for a war of aggression.

A monolith wall has been built across Blackstead pass, with the intent to prevent further Kingdom pioneers from crossing into Slavers' lands.

Boss Smiley plans to carry the war against Resoln on its own.

Barda's army plans to explore the northern approaches to Stronghold, and will later sweep the lairs that Smiley couldn't handle early on.

At the very least, one unit of Kingdom pioneers is somewhere inside our lands.  Arcane monoliths will be deployed to prevent them from settling a city.  A Kingdom outpost would only be seen as a minor problem.

An ignys and a wolf pack are loose and threaten our resources. The unit of archers currently with Smiley will be detached, and will attempt to deal with them.

Boss Smiley is training as a front line fighter.  For now he operates alone, but in the future he will have support. He has not had the time, or rather the mana, to cast all available enchantments.  Stone Skin and Regeneration have carried him thus far. 

He plans to carry the war against Resoln all by himself, which may be perfectly possible if he manages to avoid their sovereign.  With his Longstride boots and the Slavers' master scouting, he certainly has a chance.

Badra is training as an assassin.  She has invested a lot into potential, as assassins can benefit a lot from extra levels. She has no enchantments so far, but has been supported by two wolves who are very good at staying far from trouble, only to rush in and deliver a deadly bite at the critical moment.

In the immediate future, her wolf-pack will be exploring and securing the Slavers' homelands.  Her equipment is lacking, but if she discovers something that would threaten her, she can receive a significant boost from enchantments.

In conclusion, the State of Stronghold in the Spring of 169AD is PROMISING

Play-through (Turn 41 through 49)Donya's pioneers starring at the Great Wall of Crystal

Turn 41: The wolves leave my lands, but an Ignys comes in view.  The Pariden pioneers have also managed to wander out of sight.  I hope the wolves eat them.  In any case, no more will be coming.  The Monolith wall across Blackstead pass is complete.  I will miss all that mana.

Boss Smiley enslaves a few more bandits on his way back to the refugee camp.  Once there, he is joined by a group of archers.  They will only slow him down, so he sends them to the rear, where they can try protecting our mana income. 

I get my first glimpse of the Resoln capital.  It has a population of 120 and the badly beaten up Poena in residence. She has lost an eye, and unlikely to be a problem.

Badra finds some healing mushrooms near the well the butcherman used to guard, then kills some wolves.  She's getting really good at this.

An Ancient Monolith worth its mana

Turn 42: The damn Ignys seems intent on destroying one of my food sources.

Ceresa whines about how close Boss Smiley is to her city, but stops short of threatening him.  Ever the gentleman, he creates an arcane Monolith so that he is actually standing on Slavers' territory.  It's quite the monolith.  Once superfluous cities have been razed, it will control a gold mine, an iron mine, a clay pit, a horse stable, and a warg kennel.  Of course, this won't happen any time soon - not because the cities are likely to last, but because the research still needs to be done.

As for Badra?  You guessed it, she kills some more wolves.

Fortunately, Shimsher isn't likely to go on a rampage because of the outpost.

Turn 43: A mob of mites comes into sight, while the wandering Ignys burns down a farm.  Remember when I said that Stronghold's slaves would never go hungry again... well, I was mistaken.

The Pariden pioneers built an outpost on the east side of the Great Wall. I do not see any claimed resources, but there must be some. I'm more worried about the possiblity of them having released a monster I cannot handle from its lair.

Well, with all of this I almost forgot to declare war on Resoln.  I contact Queen Procipinee, and hint that Boss Smiley feels like going on a rampage.  She graciously offers some insight into Magic and Civilization, and tops that with a few Gildars.  We declare war.

Boss Smiley is so happy, he delivers a speech extolling the statecraft of Queen Procipinee. Why? He mumbles something about him not being worthy of the Diplomat profession.  (20 influence gifted to Pariden)

He then rounds up three units of settlers, and sends them to Stronghold. Unfortunately, Donya, who was escorting the settlers, not only manages to escape, but also lands "Wither" on Smiley.  She doesn't run that far.  Boss Smiley locates her in Blackstead, in the company of Karnitus.  Smiley heads after her.

Stronghold's newest worker, the former Empire champion Sulova won't be needing his battleaxe anymore, so Badra takes it for herself.  It's much better than her old wood chopping axe, but even with it, she does not want to go anywhere near the Hoarder spider that she discovers to the North. Instead, she will swing West around the mountain, and try to protect our mana income from wandering nasties.

Badra thinks that this is close enough.

Turn 44: The Ignys slithers toward a shrine while the mites approach a monolith. The mana shrine will be much cheaper to rebuild, even considering the lost mana income, so I cast "Tremor" at the mites.  I may need to do that a few more times before my archers can reach them.

The wolves leave Badra and rush ahead towards the Ignys.  Badra goes back to exploring, but the North seems too be too much for her.  A Feel dragon, a Hoarder spider, and something which looks like the edge of a wilderness area.  The wolves have spotted a banished ogre, and she heads its way.

Boss Smiley takes Blackstead without much trouble. The two champions escape, while the rest of the defenders are sent to Stronghold, only a few minutes ahead the rest of their neighbors and an unit of pioneers that Smile catches outside the city.  The population of Stronghold increases by a total of 16, which does nothing for the starvation problem. I rush the watermill, after which we end up with extra food, but only for 6 more people. The construction of a granary begins at once.  For good measure, I start rebuilding the farm the Ignys burned down.

Will the archers be able to handle this crowd?

Turn 45: Right on schedule, the Ignys destroys one of my water shirines.  Another mite unit appears to keep the "Tremored" one company.  To top it all off, I see a Resoln champion near the mites. It's one of the Empire heroes that Smiley did not have time to enslave.  Who got close enough to hire him!?  I'm starting to worry that the archers I sent may be unable to handle everyone in that spot.

On his way to Resoln's capital, Boss Smiley finally loots the primitive campsite whose guardian he slew ages ago.  He finds another shield of the Wind.  Too bad Badra is so far away.  She could really use the equipment Smiley is carrying.  He continues toward the capital and notices that the gold deposit is sitting idle.  I guess I should have built a mine when I researched "Mining".  Speaking of things that I failed to pay attention to, in his last fights, Smiley wasn't regenerating.  At some point I must have equiped the band of the berserker, and it was canceling "Regeneration".  The problem is, even with the band, he should still be regenerating, because I have a Life shrine.  So I dispell and recast.  Lets hope he starts healing.

The wolves are running towards the Ignys, but even at their speed, it will take a while.  On the way, they scout a Crag Spawn army, as well as the Empire hero Bibiyana with her per assassin demon.  

Boss Smiley under the walls of Hagudst

Turn 46: The Ignys heads back towards the farm I'm rebuilding. I cast "Tremor" on it; by the time it recovers the wolves will be upon it.  I just love how fast they run.

I notice that I am not getting my income from my air shrine. Stronghold has grown all the way next to it, and for some reason the shrine will not work until it's walled in. I start rebuilding the water shrine destroyed by the Ignys.  

I cast "Stone Skin" on the archers. They have three fights ahead of them and they will need it. Make that four fights. They spotted the pioneer unit that must have hired the champion, Endis Steelhand. This means there is a way around the Great Wall. A worry for a later day. For now, the archers attack and annihilate one of the mobs. Mites don't even make good slaves.

Boss Smiley destroys a Resoln outpost, and gets his first good view of Hagudst, capital of Resoln. The population is 120, and there's an Earth shrine and a wild grain patch nearby.  Three champions and an unit of spearmen are inside, supposedly stiffening its defenses. It's time for Smiley to gets his buffs, but with all the recent "Tremors", my mana supply is pathetic.  After I cast "Evade" and "Courage", it actually goes down to zero. I must remember to cast "Nature's Cloak" when I'm about to fight the Oracle.

Badra cleaves a banished ogre with one critical hit from her new axe, and gets "Dodge I" for level 5. She finally figures which hole of her Glyph chain coif her head goes into.

Party Crusher

Turn 47: Endis Steelhand destroys the monolith near the archers.  I did not think he could make it, but I had forgotten the Oracle could cast "Tireless March" on him.  More Resoln pioneers and scouts show up from the North.  The arable land nearby must be irresistible.  

The archers destroy the second group of mites, and attack Endis. He is fast but unarmoured.  He takes two salvos, scratches one of the archers, and dies. Unfortunately, there are still quite a few Resoln troops in the area.

Near the capital, the Resoln hero Mazi Sula tries to run past Boss Smiley, but is intercepted.  Mazi opens with Slow and Haste, and Smiley uses Haste himself. It's a waste, as Mazi barely manages to do any damage before escaping.
 
Now Donya, Poena, Karnius and Mazi are all in Hagudst... and Smiley has enough move to crash the party and enough mana to open with Haste.  He defeats the gathered champions, which is not too hard, given they are all barely standing, but only manages to capture the spearmen.  Clearly, Resoln has another city.  Boss Smiley takes a road North from Hagudst, stopping only to destroy a monument and enslave some spearmen.  Somewhere along the way, he reaches level 7 and becomes an Air Mage.

The wolf-pack is still rushing towards the Ignys when they spot a second one.  I have no mana left for "Tremor", so it will be free to roam until the pack catches it.

Badra is simply too slow to catch up with the wolves, so she continues to map the North, spotting some twilight bees, some iron ore, and an Earth shard.

I'd surrender too.

Turn 48: The wolves catch up with one of the Ignys, tear it apart, and start tracking the second.

The Panca archers enslave yet another unit of pioneers. Boring work, but Stronghold needs labor.

Badra interrupts her important task of mapping the Northern reaches for a second in order to dispatch a Crag Spawn. She finds it necessary to use Haste, which lowers our already pitiful mana supply.

As he destroys yet another Resoln outpost, Boss Smiley meets a Gilden scout. Their Kingdom appears weaker than ours, so they are happy to sign a non-aggression pact and a trade treaty. Smiley follows the road which takes him to a Resoln scout, whom he enslaves, an iron mine, which he demolishes, and a Kraxis pioneer at whom he sneers. It will have to suffice for now... Soon enough we'll be checking which Kingdom will pay the most for an attack on Emperor Karavox.

Aren't roads a wonderful thing? This one takes Smiley to yet another Resoln scout, and practically to the gates of Geddens, humble home to 19 Wraiths.  Oracle Ceresa is in residence, and to my surprise is in as bad a shape as the rest of Resoln's heroes.  I wonder who beat her up. Could it be the Forest Drake scratching itself on the fence surrounding Geddens?  

So... Ceresa is recuperating, together with all of her champions, in a city sandwiched between a Forest Drake and Boss Smiley himself.  Let us see whether she will consider surrendering.

Yes, she will. Her spirit is broken and she is so scarred that she barely has 12 hit points. Still, she is a skilled merchant, an attuned death disciple and will bring prestige to the Slavers.  I just wish I could take her away from the forest drake's lair.

Smiley fights better in the monolith's glow

Turn 49: Stronghold finishes building a granary, and start building a study. I raze Hagudst, and the population of Stronghold increase enough for a level 3 city. 

Once this is done I realize that I have freed some prime arable land for the pioneers from Kraxis to settle.  Ah, well.  It's not as if those cities are likely to become more than a source of slaves for Stronghold. 

Badra continues exploring and the archers scout their surrounding without finding anything interesting.

The wolves run into an unexpected problem. They catch up with the Ignys, try to attack him, but  instead move in a different direction. They must have been bit by a bug.   

Boss Smiley feels responsible for Ceresa's safety, now that she has joined the Slavers. He cuts down a cave bear, but the real problem is the forest drake.  It has a cutting attack more or less equal to Smiley's armour, and a defense more or less equal to Smiley's attack.  The ability to counter attack, "Haste", "Regeneration" and the healing pork should already be a match for the drake's much higher health, but I put a thumb on the scales and create a monolith nearby so that Boss Smiley gets the 25% homeland bonus, which translates in a 7-8 advantage in both offense and defense. 

Smiley casts "Haste" and avoids combat for two turns in order to heal the injuries from the cave bear fight. He attacks the drake only when there's nowhere to run.  Smiley gets three times as many swings, and dodges quite a few times.  He doesn't even have to use a healing item.  A counter attack ends the fight with about 30 hit points to spare.

Well, now that Hagudst is Hag-dust, and Ceresa is safe while she convalesces, the war with Resoln has been wrapped up.  Boss Smiley starts writing his "State of the Stronghold" address.

State of the Stronghold (turn 50)

On turn 50, the Slavers have just defeated the Empire of Resoln, and are preparing for war with the Empire of Kraxis. Before attacking, we will explore and pacify our homelands as much as possible, as well as scout their territory.  As for their pioneers, we plan to use the threat of war to keep them away, and monoliths to deny them lands to settle.

We have signed non-aggression pacts with the Kingdoms of Pariden, Gilden, and Capitar.  They are influenced by our military superiority and Kingdom alliegance, and consider us close friends.  Our planned conquests of Empire nations will probably lead to a cooling-down in foreign relations, but an actual war between us and any Kingdom is unlikely.

There are still unclaimed resources, up to and including mana shards in our own backyard.  Securing them is our foremost priority.


Boss Smiley is well equipped, and his offense and defense are probably the match for anything the Empires can field at this time.  Unfortunately, he is still unable to take on all the threats found in our homelands, such as the Fell dragon, although that may change by the time he's done destroying the other lairs.  

In any case, in the immediate future he will focus on pacifying the country's interior. He will use the experience to either improve his fighting skills by following the way of the warrior, or his mobility by learning more Air Magic.


Ceresa's spirit has been broken, and her body has been scarred in combat. As a result, her health is extremely low, and if she engages in further combat she is likely to suffer even worse injuries.  Nevertheless, her value to the Slavers cannot be overstated.  Her prestige improves Stronghold's growth, her attunment to magical energies brings us additional mana, and her merchant skills fill our coffers.  Even more importantly, she is a Disciple of Death magic, an area in which our Kingdom origins have left us ignorant.  And finally, she is under a "Tireless March" enchantment that will help anyone partnered with her move faster.

As a consequence, while Ceresa needs to be protected as well as possible, she cannot be kept out of combat.  Her continued development is much too important.  Thus as soon as she recovers, she will join Boss Smiley in pacifying our homelands, and use the experience to further develiop her mage skills.

Badra's innate Air magic ability allows her to use "Haste" in combat.  This makes her both an effective solo fighter and a valuable support caster.  Unfortunately, her equipment is rather poor.  She can benefit from some of the items carried by Smiley and Ceresa.  Thus, while pacifying the homelands, she should attempt to trade with them and improve her equipment.

Her development path is very similar to Boss Smiley's - to improve mobility through Air magic, and to improve combat skills by following her path - the Assassin's, in her case.

In conclusion, the State of Stronghold in the Spring of 169AD is SECURE

Play-through (turns 50 - 59)

Yes, it's prime real estate.  No, you won't be settling there.

Turn 50: The Slavers invent a new type of slave holding facility, but in order to improve the faction's prestige and influence call it an almshouse. At some point, Stronghold may even build it.

Boss Smiley finds a turtle charm in the forest drake's lair. The charm provides defense and a significant boost to health, and thus would be great for Ceresa to wear. But first, Boss Smiley needs to stare down a group of pioneers trying to use the road to get to some arable land. They will be forced to either stop or go through the forest.

Badra discovers the Pits of Namtur - an area designed by a mad torturer, riddled with traps and treasure.  She wisely decided to come back later, and not by herself.

The archers exterminate another mobs of mites.  It is still unclear where they are coming from.

Once again, the wolves make their way to the Ignys, and once again they are unable to attack it. This is getting ridiculous.

Who rules beyond that Death Demon's lair?

Turn 51: I create a monolith in front of the pioneers that Smiley forced into the forest.  This denies them the last free mana shard.  There is still plenty of places to settle, but who cares?  More Kraxis cities, more workers for Stronghold. 

Thinking of resources, I go through the Slavers' lands, and start building improvements on the available resources. Whether because I missed them, or because I did not have the money earlier, there are quite a few of those.

Smiley finds a band of Might in a lair he cleared earlier.  On the way there, he notices a crystal crag, guarded by three Ophidians.

While looking for the mites base, the archers locate another nation's border, but are too far to tell whether the colors are Gilden's or Kraxis's.  It's very important to know, but there is a Death Demon army in the way, and the archers will have to take the long way around.

The wolves give up on the unassailable Ignys, and start exploring. Badra walks the border of the Pit of Namtur, but stays on the safe side.

Smiley had an easier time with the Forest drake.

Turn 52: Lord Markin lets us know that Gilder has discovered the secrets of Mining. Are we supposed to be impressed?  The Kraxis pioneers that have been herded by Smiley and his monoliths give up and settle in a location that controls no resources.  No worries, by the time this city starts pushing our influence back, the denizens will be packing for their trip to Stronghold.

Smiley raids the Ophidian lair.  The battle is actually harder than the one against the drake. The deadly bites are a problem even with his armor, but eventually the Ophidians are dead, and Smiley advances to Air Master. Among the ashes he finds a ring of Embers.

The archers spot another group of mites as they go around the demon's lair. It's still unclear who lives beyond it, but it's where the mites are coming from.

Turn 53: A bandit and its dog destroy an iron mine on our border with Pariden. Smiley heads that way, and meets an Altar explorer.  They are weaker than us, so we sign a non-aggression pact. 

The wolves track down the Ignys again. While doing so, they rediscover the knights of Asok. It would be nice to take them down, but without the mana for two "Stone skins" the wolves would be taking too much of a risk.

Badra fashions a stone mace from an ancient statue, and continues exploring.

The archers destroy their next mob of mites, and discover their lair. It's still not clear in whose territory it is.

Guess whom I will trust with an non-aggression pact?

Turn 54: Lord Markin of Gilden boasts of building the Merchantcross Bazzar. Even more worrisome is a message from Umber. Why worrisome? Because it's the country beyond the Death Demon's lair.

I do not want to fight a war sandwiched between two Empires.  Borun the Unyielding, leader of Umber has developed a reputation as a civilized builder, while Emperor Kraxis is militaristic and aggressive.  Thus I sign a non-aggression treaty with Umber, hoping that I will have dealt with Krasis by the time it expires.

The ink on the pact isn't even dry when I tell Kraxis to get the Hell out of Slavers' lands or face war. He makes threatening noises, but withdraws.

Ceresa is back on her feet. She rushed to catch up with Smiley. Despite his longstrider boots, she is faster.

On his way to punish the bandit, Smiley passes the former site of Hagudst, and erect a monolith to secure an Earth node and a wild grain patch.

There's still enough mana to cast "Stone skin" on both Labor Disputes and Conflict Management.  This should be enough for them to take on the knights.

Well, this was unexpected. Remember the Ignys whom the wolves tried to attack multiple times? When I asked them to attack the knights, the wolves took on the Ignys instead.  I can't say that I mind getting rid of the Ignys, but there are too many bugs around those wolves, and I am not talking about fleas.

In any case, the wolves are far from the knights now, and have found the lair from which all these Ignys have been pouring.  I think that if I wait for the Earth shrine to be complete, my "Nature Cloak" will be effective enough to allow the wolves to take on the three Ignys guarding the lair.

Badra finds a Glyph leather cap on an ancient battlefield.

It seems Umber has a non-aggression pact with the demons.

Turn 55: Ceresa catches up with Smiley, and they trade equipment. Smiley receives a Tear of Cyndrum, which lets him absorb the lifeforce of those he kills and a pair of leather greaves.

Ceresa already owns a great spellcaster's staff, but right now her health is terrible, and she is better off with with a shield. So she equips a sharp dagger, a weathered shield, a darkling cloak and a ring of Embers. She also receives the Turtle charm, but is not skilled enough to comprehend its workings.  

The archers kill the defenders of the mites' lair, but it takes a champion to to destroy it. Hey, I did not know that! I guess there is no point in sending the wolves against the Ignys... On the other hand, leaving the archers near the lair makes perfect sense. Not only will they intercept mites, but they will keep an eye out for assassin demons released by the Death demon.  

Badra finds a sand golem token hanging from an ancient statue. She does not need the golem right now, so she stores the token and continues North, to destroy the mites' lair, and maybe even kill an assassin demon or two.

An ambitious project that is likely to end as a waste of effort

Turn 56: Stronghold finishes building the study at the same time "Construction" is researched.  I know that trying for the Great Mill is risky, but it's so tempting.  After all, it's very unlikely that any city has the productivity of Stronghold.  As work on the Great Mill begins, I create a monolith that surveys another Earth shard.  I must remember to recast "Enchanted Hammers" when a shrine is built.  I also drop the tax rate.  One less season to completion is well worth the 90 Gildars that will go uncollected.

Smiley and Ceresa catch up with the bandit, and send him to Stronghold.  They also locate the camp from which he came.  Once they get there, Stronghold will receive a few more workers.

The wolves resume their patrol of the homelands, the archers build a camp with a good view of the mites' lair, and Badra pressed North.

Stronghold needs slaves!

Turn 57: The consensus amongst the nations of the world is that Kraxis has surpassed us in power.  The consensus is wrong, but such ideas are dangerous.  If we appear weak, we may be attacked.  Time to see who will pay the most for an attack on Emperor Karavox.  Altar does not want to make an offer.  Gilden offers 109, Parisen and Capitar are willing to go up to 145. Procipinee is less polite about it, so we take her money.  We may not done enough scouting, but we need slaves.

The raid on the bandit camp yields five pair of hands toward the construction of the Great Mill. Boss Smiley sends them to Stronghold with an order to prepare for the arrival of Kraxis prisoners.

By the time they cross the river, those woods will be teeming with wolves

Turn 58: This is really not the time, but Boss Smiley agrees to escort a noblewoman to her house.  His reasoning?  She offers a bow that will allow Caresa to participate in combat without endangering herself too much.

The archers abandon their watch over the mites' lair, leaving them for Badra, and head West, to watch for Kraxis troops.

As for the wolves, they notice a group of Capitar pioneers trying to settle east of Stronghold, and rush south to ward them off.

Slipping...

Turn 59: I notice that we are slipping in the rankings and create a monolith that surveys a water shrine and a prestigious location.  When we start exploiting them, we will get some recognition.  There are other resources that we could develop, but I am trying to keep enough mana for a "Cloud Walk", in case an emergency pops up.

Smiley and Ceresa escort the noblewoman to her home without any trouble. Trouble would have actually been welcome, Stronghold can always use more workers.

Badra exterminates a wolfpack and discovers a water shard south of the border with Umber. More worrying is her discovery of the hero Irwan who seems to have been recently hired by Gilden. Our borders are more porous than I would like. For example, there are Parisen pioneers following the Capitar ones.  No worries, a single wolfpack should be able to scare any number of pioneers.

The real problem is that at least three Kraxis armies appear from the West. It seems the war has become a hot one. It seems that it is time for another "State of the Stronghold" speech.

Very cool AAR, this is the sort of thing I like.

Yep, me also, don't even think of abandoning this gameplay for some 0.914

Thanks for the kind comments... I'm happy that someone else is enjoying this.

But I have to admit, I am tempted to upgrade to Beta 0.914.  I would in a second if I save games were compatible.  Does anyone know? 

I also welcome comments about the format/depth/focus of the reports. I am conflicted about how much I should try to stay in character, for example... in the beginning I was not even thinking about that.

State of the Stronghold (Turn 60)

On turn 60, Stronghold's lands are being invaded from two sides.  

From the Northwest come numerous Kraxis troops.  There is little cause for alarm, though.  We are mostly facing pioneers escorted by poorly trained spearmen.  Our archers may be able to fight them back all by themselves.  But that will not be necessary.  Boss Smiley and Oracle Ceresa are moving to intercept as well.

From the South, various Kingdom pioneers are trying to go around Stronghold in order to establish settlements near the the Pits of Namtur.  Politically, this situation is harder to deal with, because we have officially allowed them passage through our lands.  Nevertheless, our wolf-pack is rushing southward, with the intention of occupying the woods between Stronghold and the ocean.  We doubt the pioneers will care to enter woods full of predators.  In the longer term, we will expand Stronghold's walls all the way to ocean.  This task should already have been completed.  The lazy slaves responsible for the delay are being punished.

There have been rumors that the recent years of peace have been wasted.  That is not the case.  In the period in question, our mana income has more than doubled, our homelands have been mostly pacified, and we have gotten a better understanding of who or what surrounds us.

Nevertheless, because of the multiple simultaneous incursions, local crises and disruptions can be expected.

Our three heroes are still following their chosen paths.

Boss Smiley is a well armored, magic-using, front line fighter that can quickly reach any emergency in Slavers' territory with his "Cloud Walk".  His combat prowess is expected to be the deciding factor in the present war.

Oracle Ceresa is a versatile caster, who, because of her broken spirit, will from now on mostly focus on summons, buffs and direct damage spells. In fights that do not require mana expenditure, she uses a bow.

Badra is a promising light fighter who mostly operates solo, and who can increase her effectiveness with her innate Air Magic.  Her power will be significantly increased once she receives better equipment and all the available buffs, but so far, she has been doing just fine without.

In conclusion, the State of Stronghold in the Winter of 173AD is THREATENED.

Play-through (Turns 60 - 69)

Who needs armor when one's got hit points?

Turn 60: Boss Smiley has a choice to make.  He can use "Cloud Walk" to get to the action and lay waste to the troops threatening our western monolith. Or the 80 mana points can be used for two monoliths surveying three shrines which will bring 9 mana per turn.  Smiley is a risk taker.  Two monolith rise - one near Badra at the edge of the Pits and one in the Southwest corner of the known lands.

Once we order the construction of the shrines, we catch a glimpse of Lena the Young, leader of Capitar, and a large army of Fire creatures led by an elemental.  It seems that a make or break moment has come for Barda.  The Fire elemental army cannot be allowed to raid our rear.  I believe Badra has a good chance against the army, but first we'll have to see how much mana will be available to buff her next turn.

As for Boss Smiley and Ceresa, they head toward the nearest Kraxis city.  It will be a while 'till they get there, but I doubt the whole Empire has anything that can scare them.

The archers move to intercept the wave of Kraxis troops coming from the Northwest.  It is not as hopeless as it sounds, because the parties are mostly pioneers, sometimes escorted by a single unit of spearmen.

A hopeless fight? Badra doesn't think so.

Turn 61: The Fire elemental's army demolishes the Water shrine next to its lair.  Annoying, even if expected. I cast "Stone Skin", "Regeneration", and "Nature's Cloak" on Badra, and she opens the fight with "Haste".  It's not even close.  Her speed allows her to pick the weaklings off before she engages the elemental, and for each of his swings she gets two strikes and 6hps back.  Quite the practice, still, so she gets "Strength", and is nearly at level 7. 

On one hand, her enchantments' upkeep equals the income from the shrine she's protecting.  On the other hand, she feels as if she can solo all nasties in our backyard, and apart from the Feel dragon, she's probably right.

Everyone else is rushing toward their previous objectives.  Maybe they should have been better positioned.

These woods are teeming with wolves, ladies. Go home.

Turn 62: Boss Smiley and Ceresa reach the first Kraxis city, Kerstey.  It's tiny, only 17 inhabitants.  By the time it's gone, Stronghold has 11 extra workers: 3 militiamen, 5 citizens, and 3 pioneers that were standing nearby.

During the fight, I noticed Ceresa's "Shadow Warg" spell, so I have her summon one of the beasts.  Boss Smiley may not need assistance knocking out slaves, but he still could use help in finding their cities.

Badra finds a Winter's spear in the fire elemental's lair.  Not a bad weapon, but she likes her axe.

The wolves make it to the forests by Stronghold in time.  There's no way for the pioneers to get past.

The archers certainly have all their ducks lined up.

Turn 63: I get a message that my non-aggression with Umber has expired. Wait, wasn't it supposed to last about 12 years?  I check the diplomacy records and learn that Borun is now insane and hostile.  I guess we can expect a two front war, after all.

Boss Smiley sends the warg ahead on the North road. It runs past a dark tower, two humble inns, an earth elemental lair and a clay quarry. The quarry is claimed by Goyarh Hedigah, which suggests we're on the right track.  

Smiley and Ceresa follow, but take the time to explore.  In the dark tower, they find a cloak of the Night that Smiley equip.  Ceresa gets his Dragon cloak.
 
Excited with her new found power, Badra heads towards an Earth elemental's lair. On the way she spots a Umber pioneer.

The archers ambush two Kraxis parties, and send 9 slaves to Stronghold.

Who does this meddling kid thinks he is? The hero of the story?

Turn 64: Lord Relias of Altar kills the defenders of a mites' nest, then visits one of the humble inns and apparently solves all their problems, whatever they were.  Boss Smiley grumbles about young upstarts meddling where they are not needed.

Smiley and Ceresa destroy a Kraxis outpost, and erect a monolith to control the nearby quary. Then they visits the other inn where they hear of an alchemy spell written on the wall of some ancient ruins.

The archers continue to comb the woods for Kraxis pioneers, and convert them into Stronghold workers.

The warg continues on the road North, rounding up pioneers and sending them to Stronghold, until he gets within sight of Goyarh Hedigah, population 187.  Time to find the last Kraxis city.

Badra successfully tricks henchmen into interfering with the big hitter

Turn 65: Smiley and Ceresa reach the old ruins, and kill a group of air shrills guarding the ruins. Suddenly, some insolent fool attempts to extort 100 Gildars for the privilege of transcribing the spell.  Boss Smiley is so shocked that he makes him leave instead of enslaving him.  The spell is meant to create 100 Gildar out of 100 mana.  I doubt we will be using it.

Badra and her golem attack the Earth elemental's army.  It's not an easy fight, and the golem is destroyed.  But Badra uses her superior initiative to trick the elemental's henchmen into blocking their master's path.  She still has to use her healing mushroom, but emerges victorious, and becomes an Air Disciple.  In the lair, she finds a pair of Naja skin gauntlets.  Now she has three helmets, three sets of gauntlets, and still no other armor.

The archers finally round up all the Kraxis pioneers and spearmen.  They would love to continue with the Altar explorers, but instead just block their way into Slavers' lands.  No matter.  Between the slave influx and the new clay quary, the completion estimate for the Great Mill is 15 seasons.  It was 29 when we started, 9 seasons ago.  Not bad, but still no guarantee we'll be the ones finishing first.

Nice city. We'll take it. Please pack the citizens to go.

Turn 66: The warg keeps looking for the last Kraxis city.  Instead it finds a Tarth scout coming from the Northwest.  We sign a non-aggression pact, of course.

Boss Smiley and Oracle Ceresa head for the Kraxis capital, but the roads are choked with Kingdom scouts and progress is slow.  Well, the city is not going anywhere.

The wolf-pack and the archers are still busy standing in place and looking fierce.

Badra roams the homelands, looking for things to beat up.  At this rate, she will surpass Boss Smiley.  This reminds me to cast the remaining buffs on him.  We have the mana, and his enchantments require no maintenance.

The battle of Goyarh Hedigah

Turn 67: Stronghold grows to level 4.  Boss Smiley approves the plans for an apothecary, because with a single city, we will need research badly.

The warg finds the last Kraxis city, Claredsden, population 88.  There are three shard shrines in its immediate vicinity.  

No need to delay the assault on the capital.  I cast "Regeneration" on Ceresa, and we attack. The victory elevates Ceresa to Fire Disciple.  After Goyarh Hedigah is razed, the total slave bounty is 18 defenders, 51 citizens and 3 pioneers who were nearby.  Smiley and Ceresa head to Claredsden.

Emperor Karavox, before the capitulation

Turn 68: The warg is attacked and killed by an unit of spearmen escorting some pioneers.  Much more interestingly, Emperor Karavox himself makes an appearance, rushing to save his remaining city.  Smiley and Ceresa could go back and fight him, but they choose to press on and assault Claredsden.  In addition to eighteen defenders, our heroes bag the six responsible for killing Ceresa's warg.  

At the former site of Goyarh Hedigah, we erect a monolith surveying a water shard, a gold deposit, and a wild grain patch.

Seems like a good time to see whether the enemy has any will to fight.  They do not.  The Kraxis Empire surrenders, and Karavox joins the Slavers' cause.

His first act in service of the Slavers is to cast "Burning Blade" on Badra's axe.  She then proceeds to chop Uza Terraki's mire skaths to pieces, confiscate his burning axe, and send him to work on the Great Mill.  

Next Badra notices a Slag standing between an Earth shard and an iron deposit.  She is not crazy enough to attack, but notes that an Umber pioneer is headed that way, and is very likely to irritate the Slag by building an outpost.  Lets hope that does not happen.

A sleeping Slag, unclaimed resources, and zealous pioneers.  Worried yet?

Turn 69: The research on "Craftsmanship" completes.  The next topic is "Administration".

We raze Claredsden, and erect in its place a monolith surveying three shard shrines and an iron mine.  Boss Smiley and Oracle Ceresa head due East, toward the Empire of Umber, which is very likely to be our next enemy.  On their way they destroy a group of silk skaths.

Badra avoids disturbing the Slag, and continues her task of pacifying the homelands.

Karavox finds a pair of throwing knives in a mites' lair.  When he looks around, he notices an unit of Yithril pioneers.  All of a sudden things are not as simple as they appeared a few moments ago.

Boss Smiley thinks it's time for another "State of the Stronghold" speech.

The depth of the story is excellent, and I throughoutly enjoy you staying in character.

I refresh the page continously

Yeah, great job, now get back to it! 

Edit: man, I feel like I just got to watch the first half of a movie then the power went out.

yep, felt the same, or rather break for advertisment

watching you play - how much mana you generate? In my games, I always have rpoblem with gold or with mana, usually both, and you seem to be casting 40 mana monoliths left and right

Somewhat to my surprise, this is genuinely interesting.  Thanks for sharing!  

I am learning a number of things (that I might take VERY long to learn on my own, or perhaps never learn), partly because I do not play on the challenging level.  

One question: perhaps I missed this in the "small type" (pre-conditions), but why do you not sell any of the plundered/captured weapons, armor, and assorted loot ?  Is Money (Gildar) not an issue, or some other reason ?

Again, Nice job !