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Questions about a storygame? Thoughts on Eternal? Any other IF you're playing out there?

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

"The main character is powerful, we get that. It is also hinted that he is capable of leading his undead army onto battle and pull out a decisive victory during his conquests. I was hoping that I could command my soldiers myself during these battles that I only hear happened. This would not only emphasize how powerful and intelligent the main character is, but it could also extend the story a bit with some action."

Actually the battles you entered (that were important enough to be mentioned) were described in some good detail, and the most important ones (the ones where it was possible for you to lose - the taking of Nuro, killing of Velzix (in both the Demon and Death path) were greatly controlled by yourself.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

The battles where you defend Nuro from the Empire is only mentioned. The control that I felt from the game seemed to be more for myself instead of my minions. I would basically send them to attack a certain place or person but that was it. When I said "control", I meant actually commanding your soldiers to attack the enemy military from a weak point, lining in a formation to stop an advance, sending in the undead calvary to cause chaos behind the enemy lines, etc.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Of course you can't do that, you don't control sentient, thinking spirits; you send in unthinking creatures with a single command in mind - "Kill every single goddamn thing you see". It's not like you can see the entire battlefield, and it's not like you were a military commander, your every fight consisted solely of overpowering the enemy forces.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Not all of the undead army consists of spirits. Most are the corpses of the fallen. The Lich Lord's ability is great enough that he is easily able to control the mass army with no issue. And he could see the whole battlefield if he so chose, it's just takes a good area to watch the battle field. Not only that, but the "Kill every single goddamn thing you see" could also be done with flanking. The fact that your just winning by throwing bodies is somewhat the issue. Maybe it's just my desire for strategic conquest, but I was hoping I could win not just by throwing out bodies.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

As Tan (and indeed, myself) pointed out, the necromancer was never a military commander, it was your mistake for assuming he was.

(His strategy at one point consisted of "Yeah, imma raise these big fucking giants and rampage across this kingdom!" and it worked perfectly, his attack plan was "Be more powerful than the people you fight",  and it worked out pretty well.)

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Yeah I guess that makes sense. I was more hoping he would just become a military genius, though it does make less sense when you both put it like that. Just some wishful thinking on my part.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Yeah, who needs strategy when you can raise people from the dead, force them to fight until they die again, then make their spirits fight?

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Another thing to be noted is that the MC wasn't a military genius, he was a  well below-average student who had a knack for Necromancy, nothing more.

So, as Drak said, it was more overpower with numbers than strategy.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

Disregarding all the in-story logic reasons for the Necromancer's battle strategy (Or lack there of), remember, I don't tend to focus on those details of the story.

To be honest I get bored with writing fight scenes at times. I know they're necessary, but they're one of the less fun parts to write for me in a story. Of course there are exceptions when it's something really important, usually more of a personal fight rather than a large military scale conflict.

Using Eternal as a better example, since he is pretty much a military commander genius, I still don't really have a bunch of choices concerning complex military strategies and such. It's just mentioned most of the time how soundly his armies thrashed someone or how many troops he lost. If he's personally involved in the battle, I typically focus the battle on what/who he happens to be struggling with at the time, whether that's a sea serpent or a minotaur with a big axe.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

As far as Eternal goes, it makes much more sense written like that when the character is within the heat of combat. I have a difficult time imagining a military commander effectively giving orders to his troops when he is hacking and slashing away.

The Necromancer could have done it since he isn't one to jump into the front lines unless he needs to. Drak and Tan made a valid statement though. He isn't from a military background, thus he wouldn't have any battlefield tactics to come up with on the spot. And with the limitless supply of soldiers, strategy is pretty pointless, especially since he doesn't have to worry about casualties.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

He doesn't come from a military background? His dad was a mercenary. I know that isn't organized military, but his dad still knows how to command troops.

Necromancer discussion

10 years ago

True, but from what we know his father never taught him anything about the military. The Necromancer's sister got most of the attention from the father.