[suntiger745]

I have a direct question for Suntiger that I believe we should get settled now before it creates any confusion. How many ballista did we get mounted on the ship?

I would have to say at least two (one for each side based on how they are shown mounted) and hopefully four (or six) to cover the ship's four quadrants (fore, aft, port, starboard). Having just one would be rather unreasonable considering their purpose as it would leave one side of the ship unprotected at all times.

There are indeed two ballistas mounted on the ship, one on each side.
There were plans to make more, including a larger one on the deck, but the ship left before that was completed.

There are actually four ballistas capable of being mounted on the ship, since you used ballistas already in the city and adjusted them to be mounted in the cradles on the ship rahter than build ballistas from scratch (in which case you wouldn't have had any. Finished ones anyway).
Instead the obstacles here were the cradles which, while simple, still takes some time to make. Only two were finished before the ship left again, so you have two ballistas in the cradles and two in reserve down in one of the cargo holds.

[Ash'arion]

I would complain that nobody seems to be paying attention to what I'm saying, but ST's post indicates that our airship doesn't have half the firepower I thought it did. We'll probably have to split our forces between the air and the ground, which is going to be a massive tactical/logistic pain in the ass.

[thealbinobutterfly]

Thanks for waiting! <3

So, timotheus and the other totolo had spent an hour last night specualting on events.

My opinion foresaw 3 scenarios for the group that I am with at the moment.

Scenario 1

in this scenario, we simply maintain a watch, then retreat back to the ship to tell the clan what is going on.

Scenario 2

in this scenario, we feel that time is of the essence/we have stumbled onto the first moments of an attack, but we are without arms or weapons. We split our group into two sections: the first will go down pretending to be merchants/send a feral with a warning, the other group will stay behind and observe the group from a safe recon distance and, if the attackers become mobile, we alert with as much flash and bang as we can with mana flares and whatever else we can drum up. Second and First group do not engage, as we are unarmored. If situation becomes hostile, we retreat and try to signal the clan.

Scenario 3

similar to scenario 2, except, we send a feral with a message and without wiaitng for attackers to become mobile, we light up their hiding spot from a safe distance. hell, if it's possible we make a giant mana-in-air sign that says "enemies lurkin here."

in all scenarioes i do not want my volunteers to engage the hidden attackers. i don't think it's wise of us, as we are unarmoured and unarmed.

[Durlyn Val'Sarghress]

Okay, so we have less firepower than we thought , which of course means taking out the enemy ballista is even more important now . Xenon brings up some good ideas as well, though as Goblin suggested in the warrior thread we may want to consider sneaking in and sabotaging the ballista so our ship can approach safely (drow & ferals working together). We may be able to incorporate Xenon's meeting plan as a distraction while another team goes for the ballista, unless ya guys feel we're not prepared for something like that and should just spy on/ascertain if the Mims are dangerous (which they likely are given they aimed to shoot at us lol).

[Ash'arion]

It's been stated a good handful of times that our scout teams would probably not survive trying to sabotage the ballista. Let's try to not get them all killed. Instead, once both teams return, we should dedicate a force of warriors with some mana specialists as back up led by that team to overtaking the ballista base (there are probably more there that we haven't seen). Meanwhile, the rest can help the Nals, including bringing Mina's war golems into action, if for no other reason than the chaos they would inflict on enemy forces. However, this second force should be prepared to leave at a moment's notice at a signal from the anti-ballista team. A small auxiliary force should remain to man the airship's ballistae, although I don't believe this requires warriors specifically. Once the enemy ballista(e) are down, we all race back to our airship and get it up into the air, and do as I said before about strafing runs against the remainder of the enemy invading force, focusing on heavy targets first and working our way down.

Any injured allies should be brought with us as we return to the airship to be treated at our onboard facilities. Any surrendering enemies should be left to the mercy of the Nals, or if taken, turned over to them after the battle has ended.

[thealbinobutterfly]

now we just have to wait for tommorow. i'm thinking of spending saturday night doing a speak your piece, anybody in?

i just really hope that, tommorow after the update, we don't panic and throw advices in.

if everybody does their own thing....

look. im hiding behind a bush, mmk? nooooo exactlyyyyy super hidden at the 'mo.


like dis:

[Timotheus]

I will again bring up my thoughts of a pure "Chutzpah Plan" for after Friday's report. Namely, warn the Nals, pass the information back to the ship command and prepare the ship and its complement for combat, but first just toss a message to the primary attacking force offering them a chance to surrender now under favorable terms and avoid being crushed by our surprise counterattack. (It's a nice day, no one really wants to muck it up with a lot of unnecessary hacking and slaying. Not to mention all that polishing and cleaning of weapons and armor.)

[Durlyn Val'Sarghress]

okay, sorry Ash. So unless something new is revealed/happens in the LA, we'll plan to return to base, share what we've learned, and prepare a strike force to take down the ballista (i keep forgetting we have frickin mechs now to back us up lol).

[goblin6]

okay, sorry Ash. So unless something new is revealed/happens in the LA, we'll plan to return to base, share what we've learned, and prepare a strike force to take down the ballista (i keep forgetting we have frickin mechs now to back us up lol).

Sorry to burst your bubble, but our golems aren't very reliable in battle, and we only put them through one practice test. We have two golems armed with automatic crossbows, but they jam pretty easily, especially when mobile. They're best suited to be stationary when firing to decrease the odds of jamming, but they'll be a vulnerable out in the open unless they have personnel support. I think they're more suited for defensive placement.

[Ash'arion]

Given the situation, I think it's safe enough to employ them offensively, if it's done right. They just can't be moving while they're shooting, like Siege Tanks in Siege Mode in Starcraft.

Here's a brief rundown of my plan:

Once the scouts return from their respective missions, we divide our combat forces into four groups:

Group 1: Nal Outpost Support Mission- This group will consist of a small contingent of Warriors escorting a slightly heavy and diverse team of Mana Specialists, focusing on those with first aid training and affinities that lend well to damage control, such as Fire, Water and Earth. They will be sent into the city proper and tasked with mitigating damage inflicted to personnel and property inflicted by the invaders. Their secondary task will be to try to facilitate civilian evacuation plans as dictated by Nal leaders.

Group 2: Ballista Fortress Invasion Mission- This group will be Warrior-heavy, with a handful of Scouts and Mana Specialists. They will decide on a rendezvous point near the enemy ballista base and split up into smaller squads then follow the Scouts along paths chosen to mitigate detection for as long as possible. Once they all meet up, they will strike into the base in force using blitzkrieg tactics: attack as quickly and as overwhelmingly as possible, having ranged fighters and Mana Specialists focus-fire on difficult targets where necessary. Their primary task will be complete disruption of the ballista base. Their secondary task, if it seems possible to do with minimum loss, is to attempt to commandeer the huge ballistae for our side's use. In either case, they will signal success or failure with mana flares as soon as they are able.

Group 3: Golem Strike Mission- This will be a relatively small group consisting of the two Golems, a Combat Engineer each to operate and maintain them, and a few Warriors and Mana Specialists for positional defense. This group will travel to the depression that the invading force is hidden in (they probably will have started moving by the time our guys get there) and split evenly so the Golems are positioned 4-5 lengths apart so they can intersect fire on enemy forces without risking damage to friendly forces. The Engineers' tasks here are to operate the Golems, keep them loaded as much as possible, and perform emergency repairs. The Warriors' and Mana Specialists' tasks will be to 'spot' targets (read: clusters of enemy infantry) for the Golems and to make sure nothing attacks their positions successfully. This group will begin a tactical retreat once Group 2 signals that they've completed their mission. If Group 2 succeeds, Group 3 will need to be ready to relocate. If they fail, Group 3 needs to be available to help defend the airship and cover their retreat.

Group 4: Aerial Combat Mission- This group will be made up of everybody not on the first 3 missions. The primary foci here will be preparing more in-depth emergency medical treatment for anybody who is brought back to the airship in need of it, prioritizing our own personnel first, then Nals, then POWs. The 'Home Base' Engineers will have the task of mounting the other two ballistae we have prepared, and conducting more in-depth repairs on the Golems should they be required. Warriors remaining here (looking at you, DA) will have the mission of manning existing airship ballistae, helping to set up the other two, and generally defending the airship and any friendly forces moving toward it. This part doesn't really require specific instructions beyond that. Everybody just do what they do best.

[Durlyn Val'Sarghress]

Your plan sounds rather detailed Ash (meaning good, though it will be hard to condense all that into the usual simple options for EA & LA), and normally I wouldn't hesitate to bust some heads in the name of our Queen and clan, but Anjhali makes some good points in the LA about us just flying away and cutting our losses. The base doesn't have anything we desperately need, so we don't need to risk the lives of soldiers and scouts to acquire it. Also, we don't know for certain as to whether the base has been taken by Mimians or if this is a Nal'sarkoth trap meant to steal our ship...I don't want to think the Nals would do that to us, but its still a possibility (they did swipe that Chelian territory out from under our noses that one time long ago because we hesitated, & the Svarts were pissed with us as a result), and if we fly away now we can still find out later from our allies as to whether or not that base really has fallen into enemy hands, and we can offer our aid in retaking it later.

Its implied the Mims may have taken it, but Anjhali herself seems skeptical, so while this may not be the most exciting of decisions, we can still walk away from this without risking lives and resources, or the ship.

I only bring this up because I feel like we should consider every possibility before committing to an action we can't turn back from, and which has un-forseen consequences. What say you all? Again, I'm cool with battle (being a warrior and all), I just don't want to throw our forces into this without thinking things through completely first, hope that makes sense.

[Ash'arion]

I feel we should wait for a response from the Nals. The battle plan I posted is for only in the event that: a) all unknown forces are hostile, and b) the Nals really want our help in this.

[Jonarus_Drakus]

Rather than waste space 'doubling up' I'll just give a link to my intents for this turn: viewtopic.php?f=74&t=14467&start=165#p758628

I'm quiet sure I'll get more involved in detail as I get back into the 'swing' of things. But that'll have to wait another couple of days at least...

~JD

[thealbinobutterfly]

Heyoh!

Thanks & Sorry for the mixup on friday. Super awesome to have the advices reset, thank you.

So, with this second chance, i'm waiting for the feral people to get in touch with me. I know leonis/mirtis is away until sunday, i'm hoping his 2IC will contact.

I would like to see people i'm with split up, and warn the nals, while retreating back and updating Anjhali.

I knwo Anjhali wants us to cut and run, that is probably a super good idea, but i totally get the impression that if we don't help out by at least warnign them when we had the chance, it'll bite us in the ass later.

however, i am not familiary with what defenses and armor we have currently to even make us viable for a tussle with some unkown folks. I worry about us making new enemies, like such times with the Dvaraka. We do not need to bring undue attention to our clan.

what're your guys' thoughts?

[goblin6]

Although I'm not on your team Xenon, I implore that we stay ad help the Nals, in your case, make contact with the Nals and alert them of the threat. Once you make contact and fill them in on details, head back the ship so we can muster our forces and plan an attack. I got to say this now, no matter what, we'll make enemies whether we want too or not. The enemy of our friend is our enemy, even if we didn't lift a finger against them, they'll attack us regardless based solely on the fact that we're aloes with the Nals or whoever. This is how drows operate and we all know how bloodthirsty and paranoid drows can be. Anjhi demonstrated that today, I'm kinda disappointed Anjhi would make such accusation without concrete proof, but I'm getting side-tracked here.

And don't worry Xenon, give us some credit. We're not helpless like in the old days, now we have sharp teeth to back up our barks. Eventually, we're going to attract unwanted attention, and we can't always back out and run away from danger. We must face these challenges head on, or at least stab it in the back after sleeping with it's wife.