[Sept.15 - Oct. 26] There is only war: A Warhammer Fantasy PvP experiment

[Balthazar]

Race: Bretonnian

Goddess: The Lady of the Lake and Giles de Breton

General: The Gaul (no other name known)

·         Are they spellcasters or not? Like all Bretonnian males he shows no aptitude for magic

·         Do they prefer to fight from a distance or up close and personal? To personally use any form of ranged weapon is dishonourable and against the Knightly code, although unlike other generals he isn't gripped by battle fever leading to him finding combat however he can. He is more than happy to sit back and direct if required.

·         What is their weapon of choice? A large morning star in one hand called The Morning Star of Chalon. A holy Bretonnian relic that is famed for sundering the weak magical blades of other races, a large enchanted riding shield that bears the Golden Boar rampant, a helm made of pure gromril whose enchantments synergise with the rest of his armour to produce a greater protective effect.

·         Are they frontline leaders or do they achieve tactical superiority by giving orders from a vantage point? He has no preference, he is concerned with winning, whether that means leading the charge and caving in skulls with his morning star or standing in the stirrups on a hill rise to better direct the firing of his artillery and archers. 

·         How do they feel about their race's religion? All knights love the Lady and would willingly lay down their life for her. He has supped from the holy grail and is utterly dedicated to protected the holy land of the Bretonni

[Balthazar]

Intro Part One

 

The slow sound of iron shod boots ringing dully against the stone flagons was enough to usher silence across the throne room.

 

Fawning fops, self-gratifying aristocrats and ladies mostly by name rather than bearing ceased their idle chatter and political machinations, turning their raised noses and scheming eyes towards the two large silver lined oak doors that led in to the throne room.

 

Despite the enormity of these thick reinforced doors the sound carried from the corridor outside and resonated within each and every heart of the gathered court, forcing them in to a rare moment of introspection where their souls and deeds where lain bare and found wanting.

 

Muscles straining, a huddle of brightly liveried servants pulled the colossal doors open, letting the cool air of the corridor outside flood in to the room and chill the occupants inside.

 

There he stood. Fully bedecked in huge slabs of dwarf forged black iron armour. His gigantic frame was clad Neck to toe in thick metal plates. Gromril Helm hanging from his belt left his distinctive facial features to stand out.

 

A face that was comprised of uncompromising angles and unforgiving strength. Framed like a great mountain lion by a mane of shaggy black hair, a big beard and long, unkempt hair.

 

A thick midnight blue cloak provided protection from the elements, hanging from his broad shoulders. Layers of furs at the top of the cloak added bulk to his already monstrous shoulders.

 

The man was a behemoth, those feeling particularly brave or stupid or drunk would sometimes quietly whisper lewd insinuations about the figure being the result of a union between human and giant.

 

It was against the law for any in the throne room to be armed, save for the King and his guards yet this figure unashamedly had a shield the size of a barn slung over one shoulder and a huge morning star that was all unforgiving spikes and malicious intent hung readily from his belt.

 

Despite being armed no one moved to bar his passage or relieve him of his weapons. No one would dare to be so foolish.

[Chris-Tien Jinn]

@ShadowLion - I'm going to count class and kata practice in minutes and do reps for punching and kicking drills - so it sounds like we're on the same page.  

[DarK_RaideR]

Stupid me. Hiked 4km yesterday, walked 3.2km today, only to discover that it won't earn me any troops. I just might have picked the wrong army xD

 

"We don't walk. We march, stomp and trample. Walking is for our slaves and fleeing enemies

 

Also, that picture above displays the Elite Chaos Dwarf guard, called "The Immortals". And yes, the entire race has a Messopotamian flavour. Maybe I should create a Spartan army and invite Teros for a duel

[Crusunik]

Stupid me. Hiked 4km yesterday, walked 3.2km today, only to discover that it won't earn me any troops. I just might have picked the wrong army xD

Yeah, I was thinking it was cool how I was going to get units for all the time consuming driving I do... Then I noticed norsca doesn't have any driving units. XD

Typed with some words possibly being replaced with "words I must have meant" without my knowledge.

[MaD MaLKaV]

I guess I should officialize my stuff here...  Let's see.

 

Race: Vampire (Necrarch)

God: I'm not yet, but working on becoming one

General: Malachi

·         Are they spellcasters or not? Definitely

·         Do they prefer to fight from a distance or up close and personal? Towards the back in a zombie bunker directing his troops and raising his enemy corpses is his preferred location, but he is capable of Towards the back in a zombie bunker directing his troops and raising his enemy corpses is his preferred location, but he is capable of dirtying his hands with personal combat if it is absolutely necessary.irtying his hands with personal combat if it is absolutely necessary.

·         What is their weapon of choice? Rune covered spell book in the left hand, and a magic staff in the right topped with the skull of what must have once been a daemon or other monster of chaos judging by it's strange anatomy; the staff often wildly gesticulating as he infuses his incantations with necromantic might.  A strange curved sacrificial dagger hangs mostly unused from an easily accessible holster on his back to serve as a last resort.  Indeed, he would rather gut a mortal with his long talon-like fingers that possess an inhuman strength or infuse his hand with the magic to turn his opponent to dust than be forced to draw it. 

·         Are they frontline leaders or do they achieve tactical superiority by giving orders from a vantage point? Tactical superiority.  If he can rain down spells on the battlefield with drawing a weapon.  After the initial thinning of the front lines, he is happy to make his way forward and bolster his undead armies through his necromantic might if he feels it will make the difference, but still prefers to not engage directly if possible and is more than happy to personally exit the battle field if it is obvious his troops have no hope after the initial foray.  After all, it's easy enough to find other corpses to raise and should he personally fall the immaterial forces sustaining his undead hordes follow so any troops in his service are lost along with him aside from other necromancers, vampires, and non-undead conscripts that are not animated by his dark will.  (Of course, if he acquires other necromancers or vampires with wizard levels, they can take over the job in a pinch, but I don't see a way to enlist those).

·         How do they feel about their race's religion? Religion?  Nonsense.  He does hope that the coming of the great Necromancer Nagash is nigh, and that upon his return he will bring with him lost secrets of necromancy.  (unless it End Times and he is risen, then I do what I can to support the Arch-Necromancer; unless the old one presents some unexpected weakness that might make a treacherous acquisition of his ancient artifacts a reality)

 

Motivation: The new battlefield near his lair disturbs this old vampire's research.  Although age and devotion to his warped and twisted research has somewhat lessened his bloodlust, he isn't opposed to a bit of a snack.  More importantly, toying with the remains of the nearby peasants has grown somewhat tiresome.  Given the diversity of warriors that seem to be entering skirmishes in the field of war, he is looking forward to access to fresh parts of races and clans that he hasn't seen in at least a century, and the new blood might be just the infusion he and his dark experiments need.

 

I may provide something more intro-ish later, but have to do a bit of work for now.  That seems to get my general off to a start.  

 

On a side note, it's rather funny that I picked a race that doesn't benefit much from yoga.  You would think the undead would be sorely in need of such flexibility practice (and I had the same question as the Shadowcat, since I normally measure yogic practice more in time than reps...  It would feel a little cheap to measure each chest exercise in an active flow session, but I might feel slightly cheated to get the same credit for the slow flow movements that involve holding positions for quite some time).  Maybe necromancers find that twisting themselves into pretzels makes them understand how zombie joints bend backwards??  Lol, beats me.  Some normal bodyweight exercises wouldn't be bad for me, but I'm not sure I should push my knee to much with squats.  I'll start counting something though, b/c my general definitely ain't the type to just jump out there Bruce Lee style and start calling out enemies one at a time.  

 

As another weird related side question, what's a reasonable conversion between plank and other bodyweight or upper body style exercises?  3 mins of planking seems to outweigh 3 pushups by a huge amount in the grand scheme of things (much like 3 mins of martial arts is a log more than 3punches on the bag, etc)...

[MaD MaLKaV]

That dwarf is sooooo covered in armor.  Where in the world does one bite?  Do I need to invest in a four foot long lobster cracker???

 

He would make a pretty cool looking reanimated Grave Guard to protect me during my slumber though, so there is that...  I should try to collect one reanimated guard of each race that I sample.  Except the servants of Khorne, because they smell worse than they look even when alive; I don't want to imagine hanging out in a crypt with them rotting.

[bassman123]

Im a little worried too, i drive 32km every day of the week and it says chariots are worth 5km, i feel like 6 chariots a day is too much O.o

[DarK_RaideR]

I never said conversion was fair or easy. If you noticed, I've used each unit's Army Point Value as a guideline for the reps/minutes required. I trust that the rules for core/special/rare will carry us through to not seeing any extremely unmatched fights. Either way, patching is to be expected as we notice errors and imbalances

 

Im a little worried too, i drive 32km every day of the week and it says chariots are worth 5km, i feel like 6 chariots a day is too much O.o

Albion chariots actually cost 50km, so you'd earn roughly one every two days. 5km is for Cardio machines, like treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals

 

 

Vampire Units are up, as are spells. Since all Vampire generals are required by definition to be Level 1 Spellcasters, I'll try to under-power their initial abilities to maintain the illusion of fairness and balance

 

Vampire

• Death Knight: The general may personally lead one Cavalry squad, granting it a +1 bonus to Attack or Defense, chosen during deployment
• Necromancer: All Infantry units in the general's army gain a +1 bonus to Defense
• Beastlord: The general may deploy two squads on each flank instead of the normal one, as long as both are Warbeasts and/or Flying Infantry squads

 

As an extra bonus, thought I'd make a little breakdown of today's workout as guidelines

7min. of Jump Rope: That would earn me 7 points to recruit units that specifically require Jump Rope or Any Cardio

4 sets of 20" Hollow Position: 4*20=80 points for units that require Abs or Ground exercise

4 sets of 20" Supermans: As in Hollow Position

4 sets of 24 Russian Twists: Since it involves two sides, I'm counting it as half the reps, so 4*12=48 points for Ground or Abs exercise

5 sets of 8 Kettlebell Single-arm Shoulder Press: Again, 8 on each hand, so 8*5=40 points for any unit requiring Shoulder exercise, Arms exercise or Upper Body Exercise

5 sets of 10 Overhead Lunges: 5*10=50. Lunges/Leg exercise points, certainly. The weight is for added difficulty, but since I had to hold it overhead, not just hold it or let it hang somewhere on my body I suppose it would give me these points as Shoulder/Arms/Upper Body points too, if needed

5 sets of 8 Knee to Elbow lifts: 5*5=40 points, either for Hanging (but not Arms/Upper Body) exercises or Abs (but not Legs) exercises.

 

Hope this helps. As you can see, an exercise can give you points of more than one type, so save them up and find the right mix when it's time to recruit!

[cn3wton]

For my units it says 19 reps of jump rope for 1 unit. Should I switch it to a minute or stick with reps?

[DarK_RaideR]

For my units it says 19 reps of jump rope for 1 unit. Should I switch it to a minute or stick with reps?

Whatever's a challenge to you. If you've never jumped rope before, 19 jumps should be enough of a challenge. If you're familiar with it, go for 19 minutes or 19 Doubleunders. Experts should try 19 minutes of doubleunders. Whatever makes you feel like you've worked hard to recruit that unit. My slave greenskins are weak cannon fodder, so 3-6 reps for each is exactly what they're worth (in my Chaos Dwarf's eyes). Hellstriders of Slaanesh are a Special Unit with decent stats, so you should sweat a bit to get one. Obviously the Jump Rope is meant to simulate their fast striding as well as hint at the whips their riders use.

 

Continuing with my workout analysis, as I create my personal tracking spreadsheet, I cross-reference with what's required for my army's units

- No Jump Rope involved, so those 7 points go for cardio

- No units recruited through ground exercises either, so 80+80+48=208 points towards abs (slaaaaaaves!)

- I can recruit units both by cahsing in shoulder exercises (Deathshrieker Rocket Launcher) and upper body stuff, so 40 points towards either, probably to be spent last depending on my whims and needs

- Chaos Dwarfs don't require any hanging, so the last 40 points also go in the Abs bucket (m0ar slaves!)

[bassman123]

Albion chariots actually cost 50km, so you'd earn roughly one every two days. 5km is for Cardio machines, like treadmills, stationary bikes and ellipticals

 

Ahh i see, i keep misreading sorry :L awesome

[cn3wton]

I have a jump rope. But i absolutely suck with it. That being said on a good day I could probably do 20 jumps in a row...

I'll have to see how I fair. Going to go find the rope now.

[DarK_RaideR]

"They have spotted us!" Zarthan remarked as he scouted the Ork camp with his binoculars. He could see an Ork pointing towards their direction as it was saying something to its leader. That was one of the convenient things about Orks, you could always tell who the leader is, because it's simply the biggest, baddest and toughest around them. The one leading this horde had a large scar to testify for his battle prowess.

 

"How can that be?" his heard his lieutenant behind him. "I thought the Greenskins were dumber than a rock". Zarthan didn't lower his binoculars. "Of course they are" he said with a crooked smile. "But make no mistake, they can smell a coming battle better than a bloodhound. It's in their nature, they are made for fighting. And manual tasks. That's why we have them working in the Pits"

 

He let the binoculars hang on their black chain and rest on his chest armor as he cracked his fingers. "Looks like it'll be a frontal assault after all. Let's hope those snail-sucking Bretonnian fops will arrive soon enough so we can catch the Greenskins in the middle and crush them". He turned around to inspect his forces. A rowdy bunch they were, but he would whip them into shape and forge a solid fighting force. Most of them were Hobgoblins, traitorous mercenaries from tribes of the Steppe. It would be much better if they could have brought their riding wolves along, but still they could be of some use as middlemen to bully the rest of Zarthan's forces around. The rest were Goblins, but not the usual squeaking crew. They were fighters from the mountain clefts of Gash Kadrak, to the east of the Chaos Dwarf capital of Zharr Naggrund, calling themselves 'Sneaky Gitz'. They were knife-wielding lunatics that surpassed even the Hobgoblins in betrayal, but they could be of use, especially given their aptitude with poison. "It's a good start" he said to his lieutenant. But by the burning beard of Hashut, we will need many more if we're going to win this"

 

 

Used 240 abs points to get 40 Hobgoblin Warriors and 20 Sneaky Gits. Your move

 

 

I have a jump rope. But i absolutely suck with it. That being said on a good day I could probably do 20 jumps in a row...

I'll have to see how I fair. Going to go find the rope now.

Go for single jumps then. And remember, the points are based on your total result, not how many you can do in a row

[cn3wton]

I just did the jump rope. I will go for 1 minute aa a point. It's more of a coordination thing than anything. And I feel it's fairer.

I just made up my own spreadsheet to track units. I can put in what troops I want and it will tell me what I need to do to get them. Will polish it tonight when I get on the computer.

I am only using my phone now because I wanted to start exercising and tracking today. And while making the spreadsheet I realized that the chaos Spawn have no stats. Just wanted you to know.

Needless to say my troops are filling up pretty quickly. *insert villain laugh here*

[Xena]

Ab exercises count for nothing in my world. I'm going to assume it's because badass elven maidens/generals must have rock-hard abs as a precondition     I'll consider it an ante to this game!

 

For everyone asking about planking...it could count as a yoga position (I know a minute is kind of a lot...I'm just saying). I'm also figuring that VERY slow yoga (yin style, holding poses for 3 minutes or more) could count as meditation with some effort (clearing the mind or using some other meditation technique, i.e., not just stretching while watching tv). I figured the very slow meditative yoga would count as yoga OR meditation, not both...let me know if anyone objects.

 

I tend to lift relatively high reps with lighter weights (e.g., 3 sets of 10...close to the max that I could safely do for the complete 3 sets). For the game, I'll be sure to lift at least what I have been lifting recently, increasing where appropriate. But if we have any powerlifters, I could imagine adding in some correction factor down the line.

[cn3wton]

I agree, people who are lifting heavy are at somewhat of a disadvantage, but I don't think we have too many people around right now that are in that situation.

[lishvicious]

Well I don't know that that I would call my lifting heavy.

 

Are we going to post what troops we gain through exercise throughout the week - or at the end of the week?

[Xena]

I think you can do either...post as you go to scare the enemy or mount a surprise attack.

 

Once I get a little more organized, I'll work on the trash talking.

[cn3wton]

Dreghar watched as his feeble opponents prepared for the coming battle. The she-demon whispered in his ear, "I have a surprise for you dear, look there." Her figure appeared before him, pointing to the tree line to his right. A group of dwarves burst from the trees, looking to the outpost for refuge. The demon waved her arm and a darkness appeared behind them. From the darkness mounted figures rode, beasts straight out of a nightmare. The figures atop them appeared mostly human, however their right arms below the elbow transformed into long lances. 

 

It did not last long. The dwarves, seeing what was coming for them ran with all they had, but the steeds where faster. They rode them down. Inflicting wounds that would cause lasting pain. Some where impaled and lifted into the air with awesome strength. The twisted men and women riding the steed relished in the slaughter. Laughter could be heard.

 

Dreghar smiled, true followers of Slaanesh where always welcome additions. He would have to give something to the demon to return the favor, but he would enjoy that favor as well.

 

He turned to his camp. It was located on the edge of the coming battlefield. The trees surrounding it where slowly being transformed by chaos. Twisting into grotesque shapes, some carved into humanoid forms by those in the camp.

 

Men and women who had heard the demoness's call flocked to this point for the pleasures that only Slaanesh could provide. In-fighting quickly broke out among them. Dreghar did little to quell this however. Instead those who had proven themselves where made members of his personal guard. 

 

The demon preferred those around Dreghar to hold little sway. Using the powers of her master she twisted those closest to Dreghar into beings known as the forsaken. Dreghar did not mind, he had no need for companions, all he needed was warriors who would die for him. It also helped remind Dreghar of what she truly was, and why she had never revealed her true name to him.

 

Along the outskirts of the camp chaos hounds hunted. At times even taking unwary residents of the camp. It was impossible to tell their numbers, but it grew by day.

 

"Its a good start" 

[cn3wton]

Just updated my spreadsheet so it ensures that I am within the guidelines for percentage of core/special/rare troops.

 

It calculates my total APV when I add units. If I go over the allowed APV I can tell by looking in the columns. 

 

For instance if I go over on my special unit APV allowance, the number under APV needed will be a positive number. That means I need more total APV to be able to add another special unit to my army.

 

On top of that I can add in units I want, and it will tell me how many of what exercise I need to do to get them (by showing a number of reps needed).

[ShadowLion]

@cn3wton That spreadsheet sounds too awesome. Now I want to make one, too. There just aren't enough hours in the day... Off to do more programming class homework.

D_R - That brings up another question I had. How do spellcasters raise their levels? I don't see ways to count meditation, reading, study, etc...or does it tie to battles won or something else?

[DarK_RaideR]

Ab exercises count for nothing in my world

D_R - That brings up another question I had. How do spellcasters raise their levels? I don't see ways to count meditation, reading, study, etc...or does it tie to battles won or something else?

By picking up abilities down the road that further raise his spellcaster level. Not sure yet if that will happen in time for everyone or only for those who have won enough battles

 

Considering what Xena said and the rate at which I notice myself and cn3wton recruiting troops, I did a little math and want to ask everybody a question:

 

The original idea is 6 simultaneous rounds of combat. First round is marching to get closer, so only spellcasters would be able to do something. Round two is spellcasting again, plus the ranged units shooting. If cavalry is on the same flank of both armies, their galloping allows them to go at it in melee as well. Rounds 3 to 6 would be a free-for-all. Now, melee would be simultaneous as well, attack and counterattack, so considering an average soldier of 3 in attack and defense, we get 1-6 casualties per round, so melee infantry squads would sustain roughly 6-24 casualties per battle. More for being shot at, less for potentially fleeing. At best, this should be enough to destroy a basic squad of 20 troops. See where I'm getting at? Survivors, plus new recruits at these rates, this can turn into monster armies really quick.

 

Do you think it's ok? Should I increase attack/damage to two dice? Increase battle duration? Or maybe take turns during the 6 rounds, effectively doubling the potential casualties?

[lishvicious]

Answers to these questions I know not. 

[Crusunik]

I agree, people who are lifting heavy are at somewhat of a disadvantage, but I don't think we have too many people around right now that are in that situation.

I'm lifting weights that are heavy for me. I initially wondered if warmup sets counted, but then I saw what kinds of points other people would be getting and even including warmup sets is less... >.>;

It would probably actually be easier if heavy for me was heavier because there would be more warmup sets. XD

Typed with some words possibly being replaced with "words I must have meant" without my knowledge.