Lord Ash

I wrote this several months ago, but it was on another computer. I just got around to transferring it over. The story is not too long I think. Anyway, several units here.
Some could use a bit more work. This will probably be one of the last CAU I make, I have to focus my attention on Tactics|Rebirth. T|R is still a a ways away, the more I work on it, the more respect I have for SeeD in creating TAO all alone, and so many years ago. Still, I press on, knowing that SeeD can have made a dozen TAOs before I finish T|R. So, anyway, Here is a little story I wrote, an expansion for TAO if SeeD ever needed ideas (which he doesn't). I may create the Counterpart to it someday, but for now, just this. Enjoy.


An old Furgon with gray dread-locks tended to the wounds of his master, a heavily scarred Tyrant. Beaten again, he and his comrades had returned to their stall in the Arenas to rest and try a new formation. Blood soaked the floors, and old shields lay strewn about like leaves after a storm.
"Surely master, there is something we can do," he muttered in frustration. "I can hardly stand the idea of going back.."

"Quit your bellyaching!", roared the Tyrant, his nostrils spewing smoke. " I know we are being beaten, nearly every time we approach the Arena, some bunch of hot head Knights cuts me to ribbons, while a puny man runs about with his toy, plucking arrows into us. Not to mention the blasted cleric washing away all the wounds we can inflict. You think you know pain Furgon? One of their blasted mages knows a spell that drains my Power!"
Knowing the mood his lord was in the Furgon returned to his duties. First make sure his lord was okay, then help out with the others, lastly, harvest Shrubs for the evening meal. The Rider was okay, just putting a new haft on his spear where the old one had broken. He had gone to block a Knight, he had those wild eyes again, it seemed there was no way the Knight could hit him, he was so angry from a few arrows he had taken. Nonetheless, like some miracle, the Knights blade was true, and cleaved the Rider's spear in two, knocking him unconscious for the rest of battle.
The Furgon looked long at the Rider, almost all traces of Huu-maan gone from him. The bond with his mount had consumed him, even now they worked as one, the mount holding a bit of vine lashing in it's teeth while the rider finished up. The Furgon tried to use the spear once, but it was too tiny for his big clumsy paws, all they were really good for was digging holes for Shrubs.
The Berserker sat back under a blanket in the corner, his arm in a sling, he had thought to strike a sure hit on a Witch, but again somehow, the tables had turned and she deflected his blow with grace the Furgon rarely saw anymore. Astounded, the Berserker stood nearly frozen as she unleashed her dark fury on him. Poor Wisp was decimated by one of those blasted Lightning Wards. The Furgon nearly cried everytime he saw one, for the poor spirit trapped in the crystal all those years.
"Stupid Huumanz with their stupid Konstruktionz somebody outta..."

"I said enough!", bellowed the Tyrant shaking his wings,"Wake me when the Wisp is fit for travel. I have an idea, and I want him ready!" With that the Tyrant kicked off from the ground with a mighty push, and before the Furgon could draw breath to speak, had landed on a high ledge he favored for sleeping.

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The Wisp cowered in a hollow log, the storm beating on around him. Gusts of wind washed frigid rain against his nearly insubstantial pelt. He was numb to it, and was only glad to have found shelter from the White Fangs of the Storm. One strike, and he would wake at his master's side and have to start all over again. I had been three days of constant flight, and it would be another two before he reached the tall black mountains he was seeking. He pondered his old life, in the woods near the meadow. It was usually very peaceful there, not like the bogs in the deep wood. There were all sorts of nasty types in there, ones that hunted the like of him, but the bogs in the deep wood was where the sweetest berries grew, and they sure were good. If only he could remember how they tasted now.
The morning brought golden sunshine rebounding of a hundred thousand tiny mirrors, and sprays of rainbow through countless dewdrop prisms. The Song of Stormbreak filled the air as a hundreds of birds called out to loved ones that they had lived through the night, slight pauses quickly filled in marked those that hadn't. This of course was entirely wasted on the wisp as he could only see in shades of gray and sounds that weren't directly important to him were only static. He was meerly thankful that the storm had passed, had he been sent back to his master, surely he would have been furiously beaten. This unwelcome fate avoided, the Wisp set out on his quest once more.

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A fire burned in the center casting shadows on long faces, it's dances unheeded by the gathered, their silence broken by it's occasional mutterings. The circle of stones had stood in this place since before any creature bothered to take notice. It sat in a small flat pass between three peaks high in the mountains, three paths leading to three lands. Gathered were the Great Chiefs, or their markers, as in the case of the poor, weary, now sleeping Wisp. This is if you call the dreamless, half-trancelike state of rest the wisp was in sleep.
"If what he says is true I want no part of it. I have enough trouble as it is, I don't need to go running off into some war with Huu-maanz. Whether there are rules or not," stated a raccoon-like creature, roughly four feet tall. Near it's waist hung a bag, a dirty pancho about it's shoulders.
"We appreciate your concern, but if one of the council is calling, we must all go. We all agreed, and the Dragons have aided beasts againsts Huu-maanz plenty," cawed what was perhaps the largest eagle in creation. He continued, "There is simply no excuse for abandoning our pledge because it doesn't suit us."
Many muttering could be heard about the fire, but it was generally in agreement. By the time the next morning had broken, even the skeptical were brought to concession. The Beast would rally their kin, and begin an OnSlaught against the Arenas, in honor of the treaty they shared with the Dragons. Too long had Beast feared man, it was time to restore balance.


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Humans

in response to the influx of beasts in the arenas, the humans have recruited a couple of new units.

BeastMaster (single gold unit, max of one)

dressed in leather pants and a tank-top like tunic, he wields a whip. He attacks up to 2 tiles away, but hitting the first thing in line. He has spent much time among the beasts, and has learned not only how to communicate with them, but also to exploit their strengths, and weaknesses.

HP: 45
AR: 8
BL: 45%

MV: 3
RG: 2
RC: 1

PW: 16 (x2 vs. Beasts)

Specials:

BeastMastery:
all beasts within 3 tiles gain +2 Power

Entagle:
{focus} unit can't move or block until BeastMaster is hit and focus is broken. They may still attack.



WoodsMan
The woodsman spent much time in the forests, and has learned much about animals and how they move about. Other than being tough as nails, he can set snares to trap foes.

HP: 45
AR: 12
BL: 65%

MV: 3
RG: 1
RC: 1

PW: 21

Specials:

Set Snares:
Toss a snare into an adjacent space. This lasts until triggered. When a unit walks over this tile, it takes 21 damage, and suffers Stun, as if attacked by a berzerker. In other words, it gains +1 RC. This will end its turn immediately. Snares are visible, and easily avoidable, but careful positioning will force a player across tht tile. Woodsman may only set 3 snares per game.





Beasts

Lunar Wolves [.5]
Wolves count as half a unit, you get two for the price of one. You get 2 at gold, and two more at double gold. They are rare drops. You could actually have 20 of them, but it would be hard to do, and a bit extreme to say the least. Wolves are not strong, and diew easily, but in really great numbers, are a force all their own.

HP: 18
AR: 0
BL: 75% (dodge)

MV: 4
RG: 1
RC: 1

PW: 10

Specials:
Howl:All wolves not in RC Howl also. All wolves gain +1 PW for each wolf in Howl. All wolves who Howl, gain 1 RC, does not stack, lasts a number of rounds equal to the wolves who howled, if another wolf howls, this resets all bonuses.

This may seem tricky, take this example of a double gold with 4 wolves.
Wolf Howls, all 4 howl together. they all gain +4 power, and they all get +1 RC, except the one who howled who has two, one for acting, and one for the howl itself. The +4 power last four rounds. the first they are all in recovery, so 3 of them could attack at 14 PW before it wears off. nothing big, but when you get several wolves, it gets kinda nasty. Without extreme numbers of wolves, they are better used as moving shrubs.


Pack Bond: All wolves lose RC each time a wolf dies and gain +1 PW till end of game.

LemurShaman [2]

A ring-tailed lemur type creature who walks on two legs, he wears a poncho and has a bag hanging from one shoulder. attacks with a staff.

HP: 37
AR: 4
BL: 53

MV: 3
RG: 1
RC: 2

PW: 20 reduced by armor

Specials:
Healing: heals 19 HP to all units within a chanty AoE, or 2 tiles in all directions. LS gains RC equal to the number of units healed +1.



Behemoth, [2]
keeper of waters
Looks like a large man with a Fish's head. He has a Large Jar to attack with. He smashes you with it.

HP: 70
AR: 7
BL: 30

MV: 4 {tele}
RG: 4
RC: 2

PW: 23

Specials:
Tsunami, by using his special, Behemoth calls a tidal wave that flows from one side of the arena to the other. He turns the jar upside down to do this. This deals damage based on how much damage behemoth has taken. It is equal to damage behemoth has taken, divided by two. That is a max of 34, and it hits all units, even allies, it is reduced by armor normally. It even damages Behemoth. This is a really powerful spell, it can make or break a game by itself, and HP must be watched carefully. It can only be performed once.


GreatHive [1]
Single Gold unit, a ward like creature for the beasts.

HP:48
AR: 4
BL: 0%

MV: 0
RG: 1
RC: 3

PW: create swarm

Specials:

[Swarm] [na]

HP: 12
AR: 0
BL: 50%

MV: 4
RG: 1
RC: 0

PW: 2

Specials:
Distract:when attacking, the swarm causes a focus spell that make the target unable to block. This is broken by hitting the Swarm, or by the target moving away.

Immune to Ground Attacks.



Spiked Tortoise [2]
Received at double gold.

HP: 88
AR: 40
BL: 0

MV: 1
RG: 0
RC: 2

PW: 0

Specials:
Reflect Damage: Reflect damage back to attacker, use AR as a percentage to determine damage dealt. This is the only way the GT can deal damage.

Shell: Close Shell around Self. AR + 20 BL + 100




Sunbirds [.5]

Little birds made of fire. Nothing fancy, but they are handy. The only take half a unit slot, so its easy to get several. You get 2 at double gold, they are a rare drop.

HP: 15
AR: 0
BL: 50

MV: 6
RG: 1
RC: 1

PW: 10 Unblockable

Specials:
Immune to Fire
Immune to Ground

StormTiger [2]

A white tiger half human that walks upright. It is a master of martial arts. It is very powerful. Double Gold unit, no drops. It counts as 2 units.

HP: 84
AR: 4
BL: 69%

MV: 4
RG: 1
RC: 1

PW: 8, + Special

Specials:
Rage: +1 Rage Level for each unit Storm Kills this Battle. This means delivering the killing blow. Only the oponent Units cause Rage to increase. The Maximum Rage level is 5. Rage Starts at 1.

Artist of War:
Storm attacks a number of times equal to his Rage Level.

Combination Strikes:
At Rage 2 or Higher, Once Storm has hit a unit twice in a row during his attack sequence, they lose the chance to block.

Boiling Blood:
At Rage Level 3 or higher, Storm may not be the target of Focus Spells.

Furious Blow:
At Rage 4 or higher, the 4th hit in Storm's sequence causes Stun.

Master of Winds:
At Rage 5 or higher, the 5th hit in Storms Sequence causes Knockback of 1 tile unless occupied.

White Fangs of the Storm: Requires Rage 5. in AoE of Chanty, Deal 40 damage divided by number of enemy units evenly, rounded down, Gain RC equal to the number of units targeted +1. Storm's Rage level is reduced to 2.


a couple of notes, I wanted to do more with this, but I need to move on to other things.
I sat on a drive for several months, I just wanted to post it onstead of letting it get lost forever. the StormTiger is grossly over powered, especially once he has made a few kills. It is still pretty cool, even being so strong.
I had really wanted to set this up as an expansion to TAO, as if it had been invaded by beasts. The four Units that count as two units, along wth the Dragon Tyrant are the Council of Beasts, and they would count towards a complete set alone.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story, and found some of the units to be cool. I think I did half decent job of balancing them, with the exception of the StormTiger, he is really very powerful.

Hope you enjoyed the show.....

--Lord Ash Midnight,
Patriarch of House Phoenix

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quid quid Latine dictum sit, altum videtur

Terror of Kawaii

Wow is all I have to say.



That was the most epic TAO related thing I've read ever.


+rep

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Gypsy

Um....lol....I loved all the text. Some of the units are really lolverpowered.

Black

Wow, you read all that ??? Dang ... i only read like the first few sentences, then I stopped. I agree what Gypsy said. The spiked turtle is overpowered in my opinion, because the health is way too high, and if that unit is stoned by the stone golem. That unit is seemed unstoppable. Another unit that is overpowered is the behemoth. The behemoth is stronger than the knight and the dragon. That is ridiculous.

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Gypsy

Turtle is weak, because you can leave it alone until the end of the game. The StormTiger was very LOL.

Terror of Kawaii

Psh I thought I was reading a forgotten realms novel for a second.


Some are overpowered but others seem like they'd fit in quite nicely.

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