The King's Dragoons Ride Again: Let's Play Guns of Infinity!

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Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

quote:

You take a long, hard look at your men as they go through the reloading process one last time. It doesn't take you too long to understand the problem: the patch.

Unlike Line Infantry muskets with their smooth bores, Dragoon carbines have rifling, spiral grooves cut into the inside of the barrel to impart a spin unto the musket ball, improving accuracy at range. However, to make that smooth lead ball take to the rifling, a patch of heavy cloth greased up with lard is wrapped around the ball as it is rammed home down the barrel.

It is this patch which is causing the most delay; your men waste precious seconds with each shot trying to force ball and patch down a barrel which can barely fit both. After a few tests of your own, you conclude that a slightly smaller ball would make the job of loading much easier without impacting accuracy.

You dash off a note to the regimental quartermaster with a special order for a new shipment of cartridges. When they arrive, you set your men to firing them, and the improvement becomes evident immediately; men who were barely able to manage two shots a minute can now almost do three.

It takes a few more days of drill to bring everyone up to standard, but you manage it in time for the inspection. Your squadron, barring a few customary misfires, manages three volleys in a touch under fifty-five seconds.

quote:

With your officers handling much of the daily administrative duties of your squadron and Corporal Marion dealing with your personal chores, you find yourself in possession of a great deal of free time over the long winter.

You make an effort to spend most of that free time productively, primarily focusing upon�

Self-improvement; I seek to improve my skills in all aspects.

Writing; I begin working on an account of my experiences as an officer.

Social advancement; I socialise and associate with senior officers.

~~Observation; specifically, I go off and see how Cazarosta is handling his unit.~~

~~Broadening my horizons; I learn the Antari language.~~

I hone my understanding of the Antari language.

My squadron; I closely supervise drills and exercises, offering advice when needed.

You get to do one of these things.

quote:

As of the Winter of the 608th year of the Old Imperial Era

Sir Alaric d'al Sancroix
Age: 36
Rank: Captain
Wealth: 485
Income: 15

Soldiering: 24%
Charisma: 50%
Intellect: 60%
Reputation: 25%
Health: 75%
Idealism: 38% Cynicism: 62%
Ruthlessness: 95% Mercy: 5%

You are a Knight of the Red, having the right to wear bane-hardened armour and wield a bane-runed sword.

You can speak, read, and write the Antari language.

Sixth Squadron, Royal Dragoons
Senior NCO: Staff-sergeant Lanzerel

Discipline: 46%
Morale: 49%
Loyalty: 46%
Strength: 100%

Lord Cyrahzax fucked around with this message at 07:02 on Apr 7, 2016

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:48

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# ? Jun 9, 2024 17:41

George Rouncewell: Jul 20, 2007; You think that's illegal? Heh, watch this.

That's... A pretty weird solution.

We've created a little supply nightmare with our special tiny musket balls. This will probably bite us in the rear end

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:54

ShootaBoy: Jan 6, 2010; Anime is Bad.
_{Except for Pokemon, Valkyria Chronicles and 100% OJ.}

We said we were gonna use this time to work on our men, so let's work on our men.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:54

Ikasuhito: Sep 29, 2013; Haram as Fuck.

We will never get anywhere in this army with a reputation like that.Time for some ~~rear end kissing~~ Socializing

# ? Apr 7, 2016 06:58

my dad: Oct 17, 2012; this shall be humorous

Perfect our Antari lingo. A chance to double down on an enemy-related skill sound pretty good.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 07:23

Thesaya: May 17, 2011; I am a Plant.

Drill our men. I am curious about the other options but this seems most needed. Except reputation but that is just because people can't appreciate the beauty of war crimes and murder.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 11:30

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Drill the men. 3 shots a minute is good. Four is better.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 11:38

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

Self improvement

our soldiering stat is so bad

# ? Apr 7, 2016 12:21

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

Huh. I believe Rifle units had to stick a little bit of leather around the bullet to get it to grip the rifling. I thought we'd just issue bullets pre-wrapped in the leather, which would come to bite us on the rear end when it turned out such a contraption doesn't hold up well during extended campaigns, or even patrols. "Smaller bullets" is just weird.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 13:38

akulanization: Dec 21, 2013

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Self improvement

our soldiering stat is so bad

Mechanical note: while everything in the last game was a flat improvement, almost everything in this game is a relative improvement or penalty. Basically, don't expect to actually fix our soldiering; it's going to be low for the duration.

Antari Language.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 14:58

Dong Quixote: Oct 3, 2015; Fun Shoe

Self-Improvement

Our soldiering will always be bad, but at least we can bump up our INT and CHA to pull off more cunning plans.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:09

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Xander77 posted:

Huh. I believe Rifle units had to stick a little bit of leather around the bullet to get it to grip the rifling. I thought we'd just issue bullets pre-wrapped in the leather, which would come to bite us on the rear end when it turned out such a contraption doesn't hold up well during extended campaigns, or even patrols. "Smaller bullets" is just weird.

Smaller bullets work just fine: During the Napoleonic wars, English balls were larger than the french. Where the french guns just couldn't handle any captured counterparts, the British could make use of the french ones easily.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:19

Xander77: Apr 6, 2009; Fuck it then. For another pit sandwich and some 'tater salad, I'll post a few more.

AJ_Impy posted:

Smaller bullets work just fine: During the Napoleonic wars, English balls were larger than the french. Where the french guns just couldn't handle any captured counterparts, the British could make use of the french ones easily.

Same thing happened during the first Jacobite uprisings, IIRC. There was an entire fortress supplied with British bullets for French guns. But what I meant was "trying to get a bunch of bullets that are smaller than the standard in your army".

Xander77 fucked around with this message at 13:58 on May 2, 2016

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:22

KYOON GRIFFEY JR: Apr 12, 2010; Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

The British also stupidly and confusingly used two small arms calibers for long arms and made rifles for each caliber that were otherwise identical.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 15:23

akulanization: Dec 21, 2013

ButtDoktor posted:

Self-Improvement

Our soldiering will always be bad, but at least we can bump up our INT and CHA to pull off more cunning plans.

Relative improvement makes high stats harder to raise than low stats, proportionally. Basically if we got a choicescript %+10 to all our stats it would look like this: +7 soldiering, +5 charisma, +4 intelligence. There are maybe 4 chances in total to raise stats in this game, and at least one of those requires that you make a choice that will prevent you from obtaining another. Basically compared to Sabres, raising base stats is much harder.

This stuff mostly matters for the unit stats and reputation, since those can be both raised and lowered by events. If you have a discipline of 70 and the game says %+20 you'll get six more discipline, if it says %-20 you'll lose 14.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 16:20

Dong Quixote: Oct 3, 2015; Fun Shoe

akulanization posted:

Relative improvement makes high stats harder to raise than low stats, proportionally.

This stuff mostly matters for the unit stats and reputation, since those can be both raised and lowered by events.

I hear you dude. I know self-improvement isn't the "best" choice, but I like Alaric as a flawed character who historically doesn't min-max decisions. This is the guy who alienated his peers, spent months learning the Antari language for the sole benefit of making fun of the moms of some mounted Antari troops, commits wanton war-crimes, and now has created a horrible logistics issue with non-standard ammo.

I voted self-improvement because I think it's funny to imagine Al being like "man I'm really, really bad at fighting and I gotta cram before the test after phoning it in these past 6 years."

# ? Apr 7, 2016 17:38

Sighence: Aug 26, 2009

All the best war criminals have memoirs. Writing.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 19:27

Rogue AI Goddess: May 10, 2012; I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees.
That was a joke... unless..?

Commit war crimes upon Antari language.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 21:51

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

Vote isn't over yet, but here is the author's explanation on the 'smaller musket balls" scene:

Paul Wang posted:

Basically, you're cheating.

Smaller bullets means greater windage (distance between the ball and the inside of the barrel) which means that the carbine balls themselves aren't as accurate, even with the patch. Considering that the reason Dragoons have rifled carbines in the first place is so that they can skirmish at range, the use of smaller balls to speed up rate of fire couldn't fly as a permanent solution. Ultimately, the way I interpret it is that you're ordering a single case of smaller-calibre balls (perhaps the quartermaster used a pistol ball mould) for use during the inspection only. Once the inspectors are gone, you're back to using your standard issue ammunition (and back to firing two rounds a minute).

That's why none of this affects your unit stats: it's a temporary solution, and one with no lasting effects.

If you have any more questions for him, post them!

# ? Apr 7, 2016 22:43

Deceitful Penguin: Feb 16, 2011

Hahaha, so we should drilled like mofos.

Writing, has my vote, as something suitably amusing to vote for.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 23:28

tatankatonk: Nov 4, 2011; Pitching is the art of instilling fear.

Ha, that's neat. I'm really looking forward to the perfect run of this.

# ? Apr 7, 2016 23:30

akulanization: Dec 21, 2013

tatankatonk posted:

Ha, that's neat. I'm really looking forward to the perfect run of this.

There is no perfect run.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 03:09

sullat: Jan 9, 2012

Socialize with officers and tell them long, rambling stories about committing war crimes.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 04:47

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

Okay, we've got a tie between supervising our men's training and honing our Antari. Next vote for one of these two options wins.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 12:20

brakeless: Apr 11, 2011

Supervise

Clearly our Antari is good enough for hurling insults already, hard to see what else a man of Sancroix' caliber needs.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 12:38

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

quote:

You begin to attend the drills of not just the troop you are attached to but those of every troop in your squadron. You are there from the early morning to the very last hours of daylight. All five of the troops of your squadron receive the benefit of your oversight.

Although the junior officers who must lead their men under your supervision may be a little uneasy at first, a few weeks of your observation gets them more acquainted to your presence. Soon, they are throwing themselves into their duties with more enthusiasm in the hopes of gaining your favour.

As for your men, they seem to respond well to your attendance. The very fact that you are taking the effort to watch them drill, praise their strengths, and advise them on their weaknesses raises you in their estimation.

+2% Discipline, Morale and Loyalty

quote:

It is in the latter part of the spring of 609 that His Majesty finally gives the order for the army to deploy. The King's plan is not a complex one. One half of the army under the command of the Duke of Havenport is to besiege the fortified port city of Kharangia to draw Mikhail of Khorobirit's army west. The second, under your sovereign's personal command, is to strike northwards while Khorobirit is distracted, defeating any other Antari armies led by lesser commanders and carving out a foothold in the open expanse of Antar's central plains.

The plan is an exceptionally daring one. Were something to go wrong, it would mean the complete destruction of both separate halves of the Tierran Army, but success would mean the seizure not only of a major port city but a chance to take control of much of the League's agricultural heartland.

Unfortunately, you are not to be a part of it. As the other two squadrons of the Royal Dragoons leave with Havenport's army, you and your men are given direct orders to remain in Noringia and maintain readiness for separate duties.

The reprieve is a welcome one. The extra time could be used to train your men further, and you have little desire to fight another 'glorious' bloodbath like Blogia.

quote:

Several months later, at the very height of summer, another naval convoy arrives at Noringia. However, this time the ships do not unload a cargo of men and supplies at the docks. Instead, the men aboard carry off immense wooden boxes, dozens of them, each easily capable of fitting a grown ox.

The boxes are heavy, too; it takes twelve draft horses to pull the heavy waggon carrying each of the boxes from the docks. From there, the boxes are carried off to one of the fortified warehouses built along the harbour by the Engineers in the first years of the war.

You hear no more of the boxes then. Almost nobody you ask seems to know what the boxes contain, and the few that do seem to know quickly change the subject. Perhaps it is a subject worthy of further investigation?

Investigate the building where the boxes are held.

It's not worth the trouble.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 12:40

George Rouncewell: Jul 20, 2007; You think that's illegal? Heh, watch this.

Investigate the hell out of those boxes.

Lord Cyrahzax posted:

Vote isn't over yet, but here is the author's explanation on the 'smaller musket balls" scene:

If you have any more questions for him, post them!

Hahaha, that's great!
I wish there was an option to have those (+2% discipline) messages ingame. Would make life easier.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 13:20

where the red fern gropes: Aug 24, 2011

haha wow all we care about is passing drill

those boxes probably contain stolen paintings and as a war criminal it is our job to steal them

# ? Apr 8, 2016 13:24

AJ_Impy: Jun 17, 2007; SWORD OF SMATTAS. CAN YOU NOT HEAR A WORLD CRY OUT FOR JUSTICE? WHEN WILL YOU DELIVER IT?; Yam Slacker

Ignorance is lethal. Knowledge is useful.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 13:28

Mightypeon: Oct 10, 2013; Putin apologist- assume all uncited claims are from Russia Today or directly from FSB.

key phrases: Poor plucky little Russia, Spheres of influence, The West is Worse, they was asking for it.

I do wonder what the check for observing Cazarosta is.

I had it available in some games, but not in others.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 13:28

Dong Quixote: Oct 3, 2015; Fun Shoe

Investigate

No one told us not to.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 15:17

ShootaBoy: Jan 6, 2010; Anime is Bad.
_{Except for Pokemon, Valkyria Chronicles and 100% OJ.}

Time to snoop.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 16:53

akulanization: Dec 21, 2013

Mightypeon posted:

I do wonder what the check for observing Cazarosta is.

I had it available in some games, but not in others.

Have him like you and don't have anything in the stat that measures his willingness to kill you. Since he was mad enough to shoot us in Sabres, he's not going to be particularly friendly at this point in Guns.

# ? Apr 8, 2016 17:14

Lord Cyrahzax: Oct 11, 2012

quote:

One day, you spend some time taking a discreet look at the warehouse where the mysterious boxes are stored.

The first thing you notice is that the warehouse's doors are shut, barred, and guarded. In front of the shut doors are no less than twelve men wearing neither the green-grey of the Dragoons, the burnt orange of the Line Infantry, nor the dark blue of the Navy. They do, however, carry swords on their belts and perfectly serviceable-looking muskets at their shoulders, with bayonets fixed.

A closer look reveals even more drastic measures. The heavy wood of the warehouse doors glows with a faint light, and your mind begins to tug in a now-familiar sensation; the doors are warded by banecasting, and any unauthorised attempt to open those doors would likely result in the interloper's swift demise.

You're not getting any answers this way.

quote:

A few days later, a uniformed runner appears at the door to your lodgings just as you are about to leave for the morning. The man hands you a note, sealed with wax and marked for your eyes only.

You dismiss the runner and close the door before breaking the seal on the wax and reading the message:

Sir Alaric,

Your presence is required at regimental headquarters at earliest convenience to receive your orders. You are not to speak to anyone of this message until you have done so.

-Cunaris

Needless to say, your plans for the day have just changed.

quote:

"Sir Alaric," the Duke of Cunaris begins as you report into his office that morning. "What news have you had of the Duke of Havenport's army?"

You shake your head. "Very little, sir," you reply. "I have nothing, save that they had begun a siege of the city of Kharangia not three weeks after their departure. In the nearly three months since, I have heard nothing of them."

Cunaris nods. "That is to be expected. Havenport's army has done little worthy of note since then." The Duke sighs. "The city of Kharangia is the key to His Majesty's strategy; it must be taken. However, its fortifications are too heavy and too well-founded. Havenport's cannon have been unable to make a practicable breach, and his sappers haven't made much headway either."

You nod. If Havenport's army can neither breach nor collapse Kharangia's fortifications, that would mean that he would only have one recourse left: starving the city out, likely to be a painfully slow process.

"Then we are stalemated at Kharangia?" you essay.

Cunaris shakes his head. "Time favours the Antari. With every passing day, Havenport's chances of being able to take the city before winter dwindles. Within another two months, he shall have to make the decision whether to abandon the siege or dig in for the winter."

So, either abandon a year's worth of campaigning, throwing the King's strategy into disarray, or subject eight thousand men to the horrors of an Antari winter in the open.

"Hardly a pleasant situation," comes an unfamiliar voice from behind you. "One which we hope to soon rectify."

quote:

You turn to find yourself face to face with two unfamiliar figures.

One is a middle-aged man standing stiffly in a sober black frock coat and vest, silver-topped cane resting easily in his hands.

The other, the one who spoke, is the very image of a noble-born Tierran lady, a petite figure in a close-cut, dark-red riding habit, her delicate-featured face framed by a carefully arranged mass of dark curls.

"Sir Alaric," Cunaris begins, "if I might present to you Master Edmund Garing of messers Garing, Gutierrez, and Truscott�and Lady Katarina of Royal Tierran Intelligence."

You nod, somewhat numbly.

Two civilians, and important ones at that; GG&T is one of Aetoria's largest and most famous gunmaking firms. Royal Intelligence commands as much respect and awe within the King's government as the Navy or the Foreign Office, and certainly more than Grenadier Square does.

Although your image of a Royal Intelligence field agent certainly wasn't that of an immaculately poised noblewoman dressed in the latest Aetorian fashion.

Cunaris looks back to you, his expression somewhat uneasy. "Lady Katarina and Master Garing are overseeing an operation which may allow the Duke of Havenport's army to take Kharangia before the onset of winter. However, they have informed me that they shall need a squadron of horse to assist them."

Lady Katarina takes over. "It should be a simple enough task. I trust your men are up for a little bit of field work?"

"My squadron is the best in the regiment, I swear it."

"The men are ready, my lady."

"The men need more time, my lady."

"In my assessment, my squadron is not fit for action, my lady."