Thread 96528583

"Remember the days below" edition

>What is this?
/TG/ DEVELOPED A GAME
IT IS PLAYABLE. IT HAS BEEN PLAYED.
EXPEDITION is a ~1880s era, Jules Verne-inspired retro-futurist, underground blood soaked adventurescape.
It is a Skirmish wargame. Two players with their own expeditions, on a hexgrid map, explore & fight each other for victory and profit.

3 versions of the rules exist, 2 of which have been playtested. The main one is 2e, to be found :
>https://www.mediafire.com/folder/us7vnek39dc6k/AgarthaRules
as with maps, tokens and lore resources.

>TL;DR Doc
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LxdaGoBlJRTMuziMDupG5TeeFwNDnsIW2pfaRAcFDgA
>Main Lore Doc, including links to anon-written short stories and additional lore in "Recommended..." section
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bRrxdD1BMLmcMDFeszwqg2Rcjrt8DDo7tjAxoOB6KQ8
>3e Rules Doc (READY FOR MORE PLAYTESTS)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14ZpHhEyUbjt-SCx2xuAd0lyh7Rs4J7rK5kHkljqykhk/
>Unit Spreadsheet - Currently outdated, requires an update
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rcleQtrT4Q0INiBW50-kq2ZXWJ-cjLOeVTLTJg_oX5E
>Unit Design Doc
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1n0X89OdMPXJKQGm6kYcOABjhjE4NZER1fvmpDmDX1JA
Wiki
>https://eadsttcoteg.miraheze.org/wiki/Main_Page
Kaiser Anon's audiodrama (now complete!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwfxQxrHe4M&list=PLKLbVXLsxBBw1EHR-81wTYMJkWKKiQFfH

>What can I do?
Shitpost, meme, get comfy. Read over the docs to settle in.
Familiarize yourself with rules and ask for an intro game or participate in playtests. If you are interested in designing a faction for a wargame, this is the place.
Contribute if you have ideas. Give feedback on contributions if you don't.

>TQ: How does Atlan's aesthetic look? Reference art will be appreciated.

Previous thread: >>96307884

Archived threads

1 - https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/2023/88453902
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fourth for KILL englishmen

Fifth for Atlantis.

>>96529340
>sebastianist detected

>>96528583 (OP)
>>TQ: How does Atlan's aesthetic look? Reference art will be appreciated.
This would be the noeme of my vision for Atlan.
The way I see Atlan, they are the incarnation of cruel pragmatism. They are not lolwut evil like Chaos or Dark Elves in WHF, like I've said before I don't really see any faction as pure evil, (Hyperborea is pretty darn hard to find excuses for outside of hardcore relativism), but Atlan really grew in my mind to be the Soldier's Dilemma extended to an entire Nation ("You are a soldier on the frontlines. Your presence will very likely not be what decides if your side wins or lose, but for you it means life or death. On an individual level, you are rationally justified in deserting. However, to the General's mind, if every soldier thinks the same, the battle *is* 100% lost." This was the ancient justification for the death penalty for deserting).
As such it feels to me that their armour and weaponry needs to be more effective than ornamental. I would suggest Maximilian armour as a basis, because its reaching toward the apex of heavy armour (Atlan goes to war often, they are practiced, and would adopt/develop something that works) and has a good variety of plain to ornamented. There's also a lot of weird headpieces to draw from.
The greek connection would be drawn through the language used and iconography rather than the shape of the armor itself.

>>96529340
Shut up Malcolm, you only got away because the vile sorceress whispering in your ear cheated you from your rightful death. You are not even a man anymore, only the shadow that Napoleon lacks.

>>96531123
>Hyperborea is pretty darn hard to find excuses for outside of hardcore relativism
Funny enough, there's a really great lecture on more or less that same subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpBJhbSG46A

>>96531123
While I can appreciate the dedication to a heavy plate aesthetic, is there anything Atlan represents besides that? Like what's the civilian population like? If an adventuring party needs to stay at an Atlan city, what do they find there? How would a DM describe it?

>>96531254
I should say: Make sure you listen to the whole thing, because there's lots stuff at the start that only makes sense at the end. If you have time, listen to it twice.
>>96531328
>If an adventuring party needs to stay at an Atlan city, what do they find there?
"They crossed the Sacred Atlan Wall? THIS MEANS WAR!"

>>96510993
>you only roll for those who would be able to claim it at the start of the turn?
Once awareness roll for every group? I like it.
>I don't necessarily see it as OP (at least, not in comparison to the standard set by Warm Meals
The big problem is that it retains it's special properties as a Warm Meal. I think Cost 2 would be okay
>Mounts, that could be a trait for the Uhlan Captain?
That sounds good. I'm not so keen on the Olm-Wyrm anymore.
>>96515096
I image it's more an issue of material than politics.

>>96531351
>"They crossed the Sacred Atlan Wall? THIS MEANS WAR!"
This is exactly the problem I've always have with Atlan. I think it could be so much more than "muh plate armor" and "muh wall, muh war". But it's your baby, I guess.

>>96531582
I think it is politics. Atlantis has shown itself to be a cosmopolitan nation of mostly ordinary Greeks in a land of fishmen, cultic mongols, eldritch worshippers and a secessionist group obsessed with adorning themselves in metal. Out of anyone it'd only make sense they'd be the ones to start diplomatic relations with the colonial powers. They're a people of nearly 5+ faiths with tens of denominations/mystery cults, at least fifteen different languages brought on by hellenized civilizations and conquered populaces, an actual representative government and a rulership not lead by a batshit tyrant. That's not even mentioning the likelihood of Atlantis's involvement in modern greek affairs, how else do you explain how a tiny county in Greece helped achieve full independence other then two islands and a byzantine holdout that was defeated a century previous?

>>96531716
I once tried explaining to the dude he had nothing other then forced memes and parasitically aping off Atlantis for lore relevancy before, but got reddit snark and sarcasm instead.

>>96531799
I'm not the Atlan guy, but I do like them. They have the same kind of appeal that looking at a classic Warhammer art piece can give you, where there's a bunch of freaky weirdos in outlandish getup sneering at each other.

Narratively I think they've progressed to a good point. The Atlan we see in the game era is both new and unstable, having rapidly expanded after the Titking's rise. So it's alright if they're a little psychotic since they'll be due for a smackdown by someone in the 30 years before the deluge, like Taiping or Italy. The big complaint that I have about Altan is that there's clearly a lot of subfaction lore (the hospitalliers, the wall church, the different corps, etc) but it's hard to piece together. I think some more writeups are in order on that front.

Anyways, here's what I think they look like. Except all the models are painted in a unified scheme, the stormcast are given shinbone removal surgery to make them tall but not superhuman (except immortals who we assume are in heels), and bits are crossbashed between figures to maintain cohesion.

I'm currently knocking out some saur order models and testing the waters of magnetization but once that's through I can get back to my Atlan figures and push through some unarmoured (or less armored) ones.

Also, I'd like the shoutout Antediluvean Miniatures for having two ranges perfect for Agartha:

https://antediluvianminiatures.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/shop-lost-world-range/

https://antediluvianminiatures.wordpress.com/2019/03/27/shop-conquistadors-of-mictlan/

>>96531858
See that's the problem. You're convincing YOURSELF that there's depth to it. But even in your own words there's not enough. Atlananon never did shit for expanding on it, other people did that. If everyone stopped doing a thing for Atlan right now, it would die here because the main guy pushing them is an barely functional autist who outside randomly blurbing out shit, doesn’t actually contribute anything of substance. Everyone else has had to carry water for this "faction" and all it's been is dart thrown concepts on a board. Size of a lake, depth of a puddle. Meanwhile even the guy pushing volcano god Italy put in actual fluff of more then a sentence to it, however unlikely the events and timeline of it is. Atlan anon hasn't done shit except mooch off other people's effort.

>>96531971
I had fun carrying the faction water with Ages of Atlan, might as well give it a go for the others at some point.

On an unrelated note, I'm making a start on a physical board. It turns out the local workshop has a limit for how many square centimeters you can cut on the laser cutter for personal projects each year and I've reached it in two weeks with only a third of the hexes I'll need (most of them have not been punched out of the wooden sprue yet and are thus not pictured)

It might look a little rickety in the photo but that's because I need to sand all the edges and screw the frame to a backing so it will stay straight since it's in three sections (IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN TWO SECTIONS GODDAMIT)

On a brighter note, the hexes take to spackle very well, which is good for basing. My plan is to paint the backing black so I can use it as pit tiles just by taking any terrain tile off, and then to have the rest be a mix of arid, jungle, and cave style tiles.

>>96532108
It's late, and I forgot the picture. I think the ambrosia has worn off. I can feel my genes melting.

>>96532114
My original plan was to make some of the hexes, make a small jig to test if they would fit with only a little sanding, and then make a big frame to hold them in map form. Unfortunately, I did not realize that I could cut out the remainder of the hexes I needed while making the big map until after the deed was done. I'll just have to use this big plate for something fun, like a location map of a canon-region like Errum or something.

Finding another laser cutter will be a bit of a challenge to, but I'll manage. Worst comes to worst I can just order online from somewhere.

>>96529340
>KILL englishmen
U W0T M8?

>>96531328
>is there anything Atlan represents besides that?
Autarkia, jingoism and the pathos of being a hard man doing hard things because the world is hard on you. The strange amoral bent of (some, but more than you'd expect) Ancients who justified seemingly very evil things through (mostly) valid arguments (either Thrasymacus never made that argument, or he was trolling).
>Like what's the civilian population like?
A very large percentage of slaves, who for the most part are considered cattle. With the exception of rarely glimpsed gargoyles, grotesques, titanium olms and the highly sought after Amazon Slaves, you don't see Subhumans or Degenerated in an Atlan city (maybe in the shadiest ones), only Atlans, or rarely some Deepfolks from a vassal tribe.
An adventuring party would probably not just stumble into one, they'd be invited as part of some negotiations, or captured and brought back, or would have to befriend an Iconodule they've met outside and somehow convinced him to smuggle them in. They probably wouldn't want to, Atlans are a dreary, taciturn and generally unpleasant people to be around, and unless they have some reason to, will be outwardly hostile if not aggressive toward any foreigner. Atlan women are ... "classically" beautiful (i.e, pretty by lower standards imo but that's me... ) but their character ruins any appeal they could have had (tsundere greek girls constantly asking you to die for the King is fairly niche, in an underworld otherwise filled with buxom cave babes) so the usual french (I'd say Latin, but whatever) incentive for contact doesn't apply.
>How would a DM describe it?
I assume it would be highly ordained and defensible, something like Tarragone or Split. I liked the idea of medieval metal brutalism, but if we go with Baroque it doesn't necessarily fit so much.

Btw if you're looking for a better british infantry model line that more accurately fits to the time period of Jules Verne would've suggested some of his philosophy, especially on totalitarianism and the fast speed of science, Team Miniatures has an entire platoon for second boer war khaki drill soldiers, including a scot.

https://www.themilitaryworkshop.com/Team-Miniatures-BOER6010-British-Infantry-Covering-Head-Wound

>>96531971
>Atlan anon hasn't done shit except mooch off other people's effort.
Wtf.
Unless someone else had exactly the same idea as he did, the Minos comparison last thread is his. I never asked anyone to only contribute by writing full lore, its obviously the easiest, if Atlan anon doesn't feel comfortable writing fiction that doesn't mean he isn't contributing. Whatever fault there is in the Atlan lore isn't his, it's mine for not focusing solely on it a year and a half ago, because it had nothing else to it except memes back then.
Atlan anon was the only one who regularly playtested this game for the first year, he's got hundreds of hours invested in this. If you are in some disagreement over something, that's fine, we are building the lore through back and forth and it takes a lot of time and might create some friction on occasion, but dismissing his contribution isn't cool at all.
Anyways.

>>96532431
This must not be the same one I'm talking about because I remember the one that first did way back in the earliest threads just posting memes and not really doing anything of value other then shitposting. This must be a different guy.

>>96532434
Initially Atlan *was* 100% memes, there was nothing else to it but "Part of Atlantis split off, they are mean, they like war a lot", that's it, sure. I'd argue that when you are at the phase of populating a world and generating its components its actually enough of a start, but of course, in comparison to how much meat there was on Atlantis, it looked very much like an joke.
Whoever first incepted Atlan did not remain long, I believe. Atlan anon picked up the flambeau, what, 6 months later, and since there wasn't many folks around back then, and he dedicated himself to Atlan, so he quickly took the moniker. Most of the Atlan profiles are his, as well as a good section of the US, most Olms (if not all of them?), Lost Men, Whalurs and dozen others.
More importantly, he followed through, playtested and improved on his designs over and over again.
Anyways I guess this was a case of mistaken identity, but it still deserved to be said.

>>96532495
>Most of the Atlan profiles are his, as well as a good section of the US, most Olms (if not all of them?), Lost Men, Whalurs and dozen others.
Wait a second, I made those! Well, only the minor faction ones like Olms and such.
You can when tell it's me because I always do
>COMMENTARY:
in all capitals. That, and the fact that most of my units are overcomplicated and unbalanced in the extreme because I haven't played since new year's day 2024.

You called me "Based Profileanon" a year or so ago and that was very nice because no one has ever given me a name before.
Would you like more units? I can make more. Or I can go back to whichever multi-page exploration of a one-sentence minor faction I'm thinking about right now. God, I love minor factions.

>>96532561
>Wait a second, I made those! Well, only the minor faction ones like Olms and such.
Ah! I knew I would get some of them wrong.
> more units
Any idea for fun cavalry mechanics we could slap on as traits for the Austrian Uhlan Captain? Right now I'm only coming up with picrel.
Besides Satsuma being unfinished, the two main factions with the lowest counts of units, from memory, should be Ottomans and Duosicily, but they aren't really crying for more either. Otherwise its Characters (many faction could use a few more) or the Lost Men/La Ombre which could be worked on.
> Ethnic
I've been thinking about a way to generalize the ethnic rule a bit, so that we could say have it exported to Satsuma/Imperial Japan & the USA (replacing the current factional rules).
Basically, if you don't have a specific ratio of models with the various tags, you always go second. That simple of an effect. The rations would be set by the faction rule, and there could be a few, as long as it doesn't take too long to figure out.
Obviously we haven't even tested the current ones but that's just an idea thrown out there.

>>96531716
Fucking fun police.
>it's your baby, I guess.
Danes/North Sea Revanchists are actually my baby (as in, they litterly did not exist at all before me), and Whalurs are my favorite. The very first Atlan unit I posted was the Burdened Whalur, which i've come to think profoundly stupid, but whatever, at least it's profound. I probably could have and still could do more for Danes, but at the time i just really wanted to push it through, and worry about too much imposing and being ahistorical. I figure we'll see how well i do in Doggerland with them and go from there. Danes are the only guys I consider "mine", and you see how I treat them.
>>96531971
Retarded and dangerous mentally. Certified glass house moment.

>>96532373
>Atlan women
"The looks and personality of a statue; take that as you will", is my stance on that. This guy gets it >>4460524
>tsundere
Kuudere.
>>96531788
I'm confused. Atlantis invented firearms independently, at least per the chart. Are you saying the reason they have them and Atlan doesn't is because Atlantis blocks trade to Atlan / Atlantis trades with colonials but Atlan doesn't? Atlantis couldn't block trade from Italians, Austrians, Germans, Ottomans, maybe not even the British, and not to mention smugglers and captured weapons. Also, although they don't have a gunpowder unit, they do have access to Magma Throwers through a Phosphorous rule, and Ottoman firearms through a Trait on Crystal Iconodule; that could all be changed, but that is how it is at present. It's also just much more in character and on theme for Atlan for it to be a material issue.
>>96532953
>if you don't have a specific ratio of models with the various tags, you always go second. That simple of an effect
Genius. I wouldnt want to export Ethnic rules, but i am absolutely for simplifying them to that.

>>96534542
>This guy gets it
i didn't... >>>/p/4460524
>>96531328
To answer you're serious questions:
>Like what's the civilian population like? / How would a DM describe it?
Book Four and Five of Lord of The Rings. Third Age Gondor in general is not a bad place to look for inspiration. It isn't exactly a one-to-one copy, but take that feel and fuck the EQ, you have something close. The landscapes are the best part. The Emyn Muil, Dead Marshes, Ithilien, Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, the Paths of the Dead. I've said it before many a time, but the Byzantine Empire. You can imagine all the classical ruins, and the medieval architecture built over them. Anatolia, the area around the black sea, these are good places to look for landscapes. Hussite wars are a good place to look also.
>>96532373
>if we go with Baroque it doesn't necessarily fit so much.
Baroque isn't the primary thing in my mind, it's a component. You're attached image's base is a baroque painting. Guess it's not as helpful a term as i thought, but it seems it doesn't matter because everyone has come to more or less the same conclusion.

>>96531870
>They even have aquilunguis
These look great. This makes me want to learn 3D sculpting.

>>96534542
>anon misses the point

I'm sure Britain and British South Africa totally wanted to open up trade and cordial relations with the zulu who wanted them dead or gone. Those boers over there who share cultural ties to europe and are actually hospitable to normal law-abiding people aren't worth dealing with.

>first contact with Atlan vs Atlantis

Secondly the idea that Atlan even has trade with outsiders is so much handwavium. The uber-maniots with a eldritch aspect to them allowing anyone to trade, especially morally dubious smugglers just proves this faction doesn't even have a consistent ethos or logic to it. And yes, it does make sense for them to be isolationist and abscond trade with outsiders, there's a historical precedent with Sparta (which has blatant influences here) the Tokugawa Shogunate, the Qing dynasty, the kingdom of Cambodia and Haijin of the Joseon dynasty. Cultural and societal precedent doesn't just dissapear because reasons. "On character" isn't even written in stone and the theme is so inconsistent anyone could effortpost and its entire "theme" could be changed within a thread or two. Either they're the uber-xenophobe isolationists who focus on martial might and the military while having a weird cult, or they're a wholly inconsistent mess that literally couldn't exist if you decoupled everything from Atlantis in its so far constructed fluff. Secondly I think Atlantis could actually. Even in the fluff stated in the docs and in the past threads it's established Atlantis came first in historical chronology. Which means every expansion, every new village, every new port and outpost was first done by a unified Atlantean people. This wouldn't be a recent thing, it would one over the course of centuries prior to the game's offical startdate. If anyone could control trade around their general borders and the borderlands, it'd be Atlantis and Ulm.

>>96536538
*Mu not Ulm

>>96536549
>Ulm
New faction? Secret Olm-city of the future in the 8th layer? It's canon now that's for sure.

>>96532953
>Thoroughbred (??? Silver)
Double the statistics of this unit's mount. Then, apply one trait (random?) from the inbreeding table to this unit.

The joke is that the mount and the rider are thoroughbreds. This has a potential for fuckery given the wide range of mount options. Don't worry about it.

>>96536538
>"On character" isn't even written in stone and the theme is so inconsistent anyone could effortpost and its entire "theme" could be changed within a thread or two
Do it then.

Around or shortly after the Fall of Paris, a similar sinkhole opened up in the environs near Ulm.
Too small to swallow more than a couple fields, seemingly unconnected to the rest of Agartha, and utterly useless for the purpose of establishing a foothold underground.
Despite this, it did play a role in sparking German interest in Agartha. Initially used for scientific research (miraculous phenomena such as the INNER SUN can be observed within, strengthening the Agartha connection), it now mostly serves as a tourist destination for those interested in the underworld but unwilling to venture into Agartha proper.
Discussions have been made about establishing an Agarthan zoo within the hole, but no serious efforts have materialized.

>>96538304
Come to think of it, there are a lot of semi-entrances around, aren't there?
Clearwater I think would be about as small as an entrance could be while still being worthwhile to explore, and even then it's like climbing a Tibetan mountain in reverse to traverse the damn thing.

>>96538392
I imagine a lot of these could be converted into proper entrances via the appropriate esoteric digging techniques, but that would require the cooperation of groups like the Wall Priests or Lemurian Rockbreakers.

>>96538419
New Mu Geomancers might would cooperate, for a reasonable fee, of course.

>>96534405
I'm not here to be the fun police. I initially enjoyed the whole "wall this is war" thing during the initial round of worldbuilding, but if that's all you have after months of these threads then yes I'm going to criticize it.
I am not telling you to remove what are obviously key parts of Atlan's ethos and theme, I'm telling you to dig deeper. Go further, explore everything there is to be explored with regards to Atlan.

>>96538439
Ah, but could you trust them?
The Atlans would never even be willing to hear the request, let alone accept it.
The Rockbreakers could probably be convinced, but who would willingly invite Lemurians into their nation outside of India?
Mu is right out, for all the obvious reasons, and if they make an offer you should definitely refuse it.
Truly, the whole idea is folly.

>>96538419
I'm not so certain. For example, the British entrance from the third layer to the fifth: Could they cut a hole to the fourth by going halfway down?
I don't think it would go well. Geomancy does sound like your best bet to be certain.

God help the Germans when they try to make an entrance manually and find the 2.5th layer or some such nonsense.

Since we're on the topic of Atlan lore is there anything people want to see? Or stuff for any Agarthan faction. Except Lemuria because I don't think I can properly write out how their stuff works even if I can perfectly intuit the prophecy/cultivation omni-duality

>>96538482
Stories like the Price of Pearls from way back when suggest that Atlan does engage in a modicum of trade with foreigners.
What happens on the rare occasions when Atlan invites foreign nationals in, deals with them, and doesn’t summarily kill them?

>>96538123
>>96538304
>>96538482
>shitposting lore out of spite

you're not disproving the point of Atlan posters not being able to be taken seriously lmao

>>96538518
Not spite, just riffing on the Ulm thing.
Also I’m not really an Atlan guy.

>>96538518
>See someone talking about how Atlan's lore is insufficiently deep
>Ask what people want to see deepened
>Get lmao'd at
Come on man, what do you want from me.

>>96538518
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZrAYxWPN6c

Could it be? The return of atlanfag? I thought he was lost forever...

>>96538500
Fuck you in particular, I wanted to go to bed at a reasonable hour and you made me write lore until 2:00 am again.

On the eastern border of Maximillia is an orchard, a farmhouse, and a sign. In a dozen languages it reads:
>”GEHE NICHT WEITER”
>”NE MENJ EL”
>”OKRENI SE”
>”ŚMIERĆ”
And so on.
Leaned against a fence in the orchard, five men watched the proceedings at the farmhouse. In the yard were two processions, one in angular plates and heavy helmets, the other in crisp white uniforms and feathered hats. There was a great deal of bowing from one side, the other stock-still. It was for the best, two of the watchers couldn’t imagine those heavy suits leaning even a little without toppling over.
Presently, one of the group snickered. He was from east of the sign, wearing a sallet helmet with a long and slender rifle by his side. Resting against the fence was a large pavise, a little redundant considering the man’s breastplate, greaves, and gauntlets. Against the party by the farm he was practically naked, but compared with the surfacers he resembled nothing so much as an absinthe-dreamt knight of old.
“What is he of findings so funny?” asked another one of the group, a Slavic tinge to his German.
Catching the man’s intent, if not meaning, the spring-gunner replied. Another soldier of the Kaiser leaned in, scribbling in a notebook to catch the words.
“Well, let me see… Aha!” He muttered, holding his cracked spectacles over the page.
“What? What is it?” Asked the other.
“The language, it’s different than the Greek we learned at Gymnasium. Did you know there’s Spanish in there? They seem to be using archaic Spanish for-”
“Go! Speak faster!” the first tried to interrupt.
“The Duque, that’s the one of the Spanish loanwords, well, he’s not really a Duke. They call him that, but I think he might be what we would call a Hauptmann. They shouldn’t be bowing to him.”
“Why is he not speak of this?”

>>96538880
“Would you complain if a whole welcoming committee was organized on your behalf?”
The second thought for a moment, before laughing too. The spring-gunner reached over and grabbed the man’s forearm, placing an armoured palm over the soldier’s mouth and shaking his head.
The first soldier took a panicky step back, grabbing at his rifle-sling.
The other two men of Atlan, who had been lazily jabbing at apples with pikes until now, dropped their weapons and held up their hands, glancing over towards the procession. The spring-gunner released the second soldier backed away towards his comrades.
One spoke, wearing a helmet with many holes and a chestplate with even more.
The first soldier forgot his fear and scrambled for his dropped notebook as the Arkodamode continued speaking. He began to translate aloud.
“Do not laugh, never laugh, laughing bad, very bad.”
The second soldier recovered his composure, as a Slav in the Austrian army he understood what the Arkodamode meant.
“What about him?” asked the second soldier, nodding to the Spring-gunner.
“Stupid, or maybe they mean foolish? Stupid but quiet.” the first soldier translated.

>>96538885
Things settled down again. The interminable ceremonies by the farm continued. Did the regimental band really have to play their entire repertoire for the visitors? They were an impromptu formation at best, and certain instruments are simply not meant to play together.
The third Atlan, another Arkodamode, removed his helmet. The sound of the band seemed very distant and quiet now. The other two looked at each other, nodded, and removed theirs. Apples were more important than protection it seemed, for a moment at least.
The spring gunner was lightly tanned, with fair and curly hair. A sculptor would have considered the man for a classical model, before discarding him because of the missing eye and constant sneer-leaning-smirk.
The first Arkodamode, the one who spoke, looked like a Greek sailor the second soldier had shared drinks with in Dubrovnik, with a square beard and heavy tan. His face seemed more unchanging than his helmet.
The second Arkodamode was a surprise to the surfacers, with dark straight hair and a reddish-brown hue of skin. His eyes were distant, focused on his Duke’s group.

The spring-gunner was biting into his apple while the first Arkodamode slowly cut his into pieces. The second soldier spoke up.
“Where of Atlan are you come? I am of Hrvatska.”
The first soldier muddled and stuttered through a translation, repeating a few of the words to himself.
The first Arkodamode responded solemnly without looking up as he continued to slice his fruit.
“Panthalas.”
“Atlan-tis!” sneered the spring-gunner, gesturing towards the first Arkodamode with his thumb before spitting on the ground. When the first Arkodamode raised his eyes the spring-gunner flinched, quickly apologizing in his native tongue.
“But are they not war?” asked the second soldier.
“Dohelos, Neodamode, Arkodamode” replied the Arkodamode, before handing his apple slices to the second Arkodamode.

>>96538890
Before the second soldier could respond, the spring-gunner began to speak. He thumped his fist against his chest and smirked as he bragged.
“He says that he is the son of an important man, and that he is a spring-gunner because of how they are honorable, respected, loved? There are a few translations.” The first soldier explained.
The second Arkodamode cooly commented as he finished his slices, never looking away from the main Atlan force.
“‘Bat-eater?’ What does ‘Bat-eater’ mean? And does ‘Olm-spine’ have a religious meaning?” rambled the first soldier.
“What of you?” asked the second soldier to the second Arkodamode.
The response came calmly but distantly.
“He says it was ‘this or the mines’, and that ‘the mines were the path of wisdom’. He says his family have been miners for a very long time.” Answered the first soldier.
There was quiet again by the fence in the orchard as the band struck up by the barn. The Atlan soldiers did not ask any questions of the surfacers.

>>96538899
The first soldier began to speak this time, stumbling over himself as he flipped through his notebook to search for words.
“What are you of saying?” asked the second.
“I told them of my home in the city, of our many books and our new electrical lights.”
“They do not seem for being impressed.” chuckled the second soldier.
“Tell them of my mountains, of old fortresses by my sea and my tile-brick roof.” he continued.
“Your tiled roof?” asked the first soldier.
“It being very expensive” replied the second.
The translation commenced again. This time, even the second Arkodamode glanced over.
Each soldier responded in turn, the second Arkodamode went first.
“Mountains are good. Holy, safe.” piped the first soldier.
“Their gunner wants to know how expensive the tiles were.” he translated.
The first Arkodamode did not speak. He held his helmet in his hands, looking into the many holes of the faceplate. He turned around and placed it back on, and would not face the group again.
The spring-gunner grinned cruelly at the Austrians.
“Panthalas.” stated the second Arkodamode.
“Fortresses by my sea.” whispered the first.
The saltwater of Atlantis ran down his cheeks.

>>96538880
>On the eastern border of Maximillia is an orchard, a farmhouse, and a sign
Now I want to hear the story of the farmer that went and set up his farm at the very edge of the forbidden territory. As in, someone told him that crossing the line would mean almost certain death, and possibly war, and he just put up some "Do not enter" signs and just made sure to build everything on his side of the border.

>>96538880
>“Atlan-tis!” sneered the spring-gunner, gesturing towards the first Arkodamode with his thumb before spitting on the ground
I like the implication that -tis has become an a sort of insult suffix. You did a really great job. Landed everything.
>>96539977
In some way or another, he's probably the cause of all this.

Continuing to figure out the Atlan's aesthetic, I've made this, trying to combine Alphonse Mucha's "Byzantine Heads" look for the noble women of Atlan, while also trying to mix weird helmets with medieval plated armor and puffy sleeves. Maybe a bit slender for heavy armor atlan, though...


Also, a bit of a heads up. I'm not going to be able to make much art (or participate much in the threads for that matter) for about a week or two. Work is becoming worse by the day, and until it becomes manageable again, I need the extra time. If anyone has any idea for an edit, please post it and I'll try to get to it eventually.

I like the idea that, beneath the warlike and argumentative surface, Atlan’s culture is possessed of a deep melancholy. Their history is largely defined transgressions against them, vengeance for those transgressions, and either bitterness or grief over the things they lost in the process.
Not the sort of thing they typically share with outsiders, being a people of stiff upper lips, but something expressed in the quiet moments when there is time for contemplation.

Very nearly ready to upload the game on the TTS workshop, anyone wants to suggest art for the background? There's too many good ones for me to pick a favorite.

>>96540147
I like the idea of an underworld chivalric romance interacting with European industrial expeditions and big game hunters.
>Atlan knight, riding an iguanodon
>runs into British hunter and his batsman
>Atlan knight does battle with a Megalosaurus that the big game hunter had been stalking
>despite the Atlan stealing the hunter's kill, the hunter is impressed and the two strike up an odd friendship while both are on their quest/safari respectively
>mystery of the short story is the nature of the Atlan knight's quest

>>96543797
I wouldn't be surprised if the SACRED WALL is either a new invention of the titking or something previously relegated to the depths of the wall church. Regular Atlan units seem more tired than fanatical, it's only when you get to Immortals and up where the ALL CAPS titanium mind poisoning kicks in. I guess the titking only needed to purge or convert the upper ranks when he took over, or maybe they were always like that to some level.

>>96543617
Something like this. Maybe not this exactly, but I think "Eiffel Tower and Paris underground" is the best way to summarize the setting.

>>96544963
To add, there should probably be a military aspect, so maybe an image of French soldiers parading in France with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

>>96543617
I agree that >>96544963 is probably the best option. Though we could fix the smudge right next to the eiffel tower.

workplace bump

Would atlan knight use horses as their regular mount, or would they use dinosaurs?

>>96550579
I think they're really more the walking type of knights. Only their slavecatchers and siege engineers are lame enough to need a mount.

>>96550579
>>96550629
I say it's a preference thing.
I think Atlan mostly sees horses as a draft animal, and your typical Saur is too weak to carry a knight in full Titanium armor, but things like Bullsaurs aren't unheard of as mounts and I don't think their use is really looked down on as being unchivalrous.

>>96550579
Right now, basing yourself on the game,
> Generic Hero trait Siege Engineer grants you Bullsaur, Firebreathing Saur and Venomsaur as a mount for itself.
> Warmaster "Armoured Division" grants Bullsaurs and Spikesaur mount for itself.
> Iconodule's Hedge Cavalry unlocks any mounts from the Atlan list.
> Hospitaliers have access to Warhorses.
I believe the Warmaster & Reconquerers used to have access to Horses/Warhorses, but it allowed to create lists that were much too quick and essentially allowed you to bypass the essential weakness of Atlan, low speed. Instead you get stuff like Beast of Burden (Titking hauling frens on his back), Grand Strategist (Warmaster's probably overcosted "move 5 Slave right now") and Titanic Gate (Wall Mystic's move through wall ability).
Imo. jousts between horses and various saurs probably don't often come out in favor of the horse side, they may not have had a very strong Kataphraktoi component before the Civil War so little tradition to follow. Atlan will use what is available and works so a great warhorse happens by, someone will get it.
Finishing putting up my 3rd Immortal, an alternative Warmaster/Iconodule and a second Springgunner atm.
>>96544988
I have this one, I can try cutting the Tower in?

>>96544963
Fixed both smudges, I was going to post but I'm apparently under suspicion of being spam. Have an Atlan castle instead, not sure if it fits the aesthetic anymore, but I had it saved a long time.
Gonna see if I can edit a saur or a zep in quickly into the Fallen Paris one, I've also realized I'm missing Morlocks and one npc book and tokens from the module. Fixing that.
I love the Fallen Paris, and I'm very glad you guys are seeing it as worthy of being the cover, but I wonder if something like the Help of Mercenaries from last thread would not be better? It evokes the setting very well, and showcases the "wargame" part better than Fallen Paris. Has a nice "boardgame box cover" feel to it.

>>96550579
I dunno, I just thought it'd be cool to have an armored knight riding an iguanodon.
Maybe doctrinally they favor foot knights, and mounts are more of a "questing pack animal" sort of thing. You don't fight from them, but you do ride them.

>>96551471
>>96552046
>>96550629
The thing with horses is that, in comparison to dinosaurs, they are probably much easier to breed, tame and feed (plus, they grow much quicker). Not to mention horses are probably faster than most dinosaurs, and possibly have better stamina. Maybe Atlan did not initially used dinosaurs because they were from mesoamerica, and thus no horses there, but if they were part of Atlantis that makes it weird that they never got them from trade.

I imagine that, like it's been said, dinosaurs are a prestige mount. But I don't see how Atlan wouldn't use horses.

>>96554163
Also, an idea. If horses are the mount that the lowest ranks use, maybe they try to outfit them with ceremonial items to make them look like dinosaurs? Maybe like medieval knights, but instead of caparison cloth, they have dinosaur scales, and with a horned chanfron? Not sure how armored they'd be if they are lower rank riders.

>>96554163
Terrain could be a reason.

>>96552801
>I dunno, I just thought it'd be cool to have an armored knight riding an iguanodon.
Beside not wanting to make Atlan faster in the wargame, my main issue with this it doesn't leave much difference between them and Saur Knights at that point.
>>96554163
>and thus no horses there, but if they were part of Atlantis that makes it weird that they never got them from trade.
Atlantis doesn't really uses horses that much either (take the chinese water buffalo logistical supremacy meme and replace it with quinautors) A large number of tribefolks are at a stage where horsebreeding is only kicking in as well. Really, there's only Lemuria and the Amazons which have a lot of them in the Deep. A very well liked Atlan nobleman got kicked in the face by a horse right after the Civil War and the Senate voted to disallow such wild menace unless you have special permission?
and
>>96555234
This.
Only Unmounted models can climb Walls.

>>96556773
>Only Unmounted models can climb Walls.
And cave beastle-riders too
Atlan riding insects would be fitting with the armour gimmick come to think of it.

>>96556842
>And cave beastle-riders too
You are right, I think Sky-Spiders may too (maybe too weak to carry an armoured knight however). Beastles are only Speed 4 too, which is not so bad, and the Beastle of Burden rule could explain why they can carry Titaniumclad knights.
If I'm not mistaken the only insects riders are Sky-Folks, so it could be its niche. There's also the Giant Snail that Altan can already get.
If we did that I'd almost want to remove the saurs, would balance out better (not that saurs aren't cool, but aesthetic distinction matters).

>>96557284
Remove the horses, have only beastles and saurs?

>Atlanschizo is still here and still mad
I am simultaneously surprised and not surprised.

Anyway, I finished "Michael Strogoff" while working on the lore and it was a wild ride. The funniest part is how Verne goes into autistic, seemingly legit details about some things then just writes the most insane shit. Literally from the start of the book he graces the reader with this banger:
>Around this inclosure could be seen three distinct towns: Kitai-Gorod, Beloi-Gorod, Zemlianai-Gorod—European, Tartar, and Chinese quarters of great extent
Ah yes, I was very disappointed to learn that Kitai Gorod does not actually mean "Chinatown" at the tender age of 7 or so. I assume that was what he thought, because his reasoning for quarter designation makes even less sense otherwise.
The funniest shit is that Verne apparently had the book reviewed by Turgenev. Now, I don't know what exactly Turgenev told him, but evidently he didn't tell him enough, and he even said in private correspondence to someone else something along the lines of "Yeah, Verne's book is bullshit but it's fun" I'm like half convinced that Turgenev was deliberately trolling Verne:
>Ah yes, Monsieur Verne, yes, the famous Chinese quarter of Moscow, I do love to give it a stroll when I'm visiting. Mhm, of course, Siberian is an actual language that exists, I assure you. Did you know that our carriage drivers call their passengers "crows" and "eagles"? It's true! A little niche insider knowledge for you, you know, to add to the authenticity
No, seriously I tried looking up 19th century Russian carriage driver slang, I didn't find shit about crows or eagles, did Verne actually just make it up?
It was even funnier to then see how in a 1900 Russian translation all of the wacky parts were edited out.
Why the blogpost? I saw someone add Strogoff to the recommended reading list in the main doc. By all means read it, but do it for the vibes mostly, and take everything else with a hefty serving of salt.

In regards to Atlan, this going to be mostly unsorted ramblings, but hopefully I get an idea or two across.
Aesthetics wise, we should either go more Greco-Roman or straight up some alien shit, I feel like the medieval/early modern knight stuff doesn't do the faction justice. Someone suggested Dwemer armor for inspiration and, honestly, that works? Like that's exactly the kind of thing I imagined Atlan immortals wearing? But, you know, more blue-gray.
Lore-wise, as far as I'm concerned, Atlan had always had a clear theme - an insane xenophobic isolationist army with a state, a dark reflection of Atlantis. This still held true as the lore developed further. Both factions are, as of now, defined by their shared traumatic past - the fall of Old Atlantis, but represent two (and a half) ways of dealing with it, alternating in a kind of cycle.
Atlantis held unto hope, picked itself from the rubble, and tried to rebuild what was lost. They mostly succeeded, for a time, once again becoming a great power and even extending its influence to the Surface (their precursor-type interactions with Greece and such kinda imitate their own uplifting by the Titans). This hope eventually turned into an obsession with past and present glories, arrogance and complacency, leading to their decline, the Epimethean reign (the name is rather on the nose) etc. Atlan initially represented a challenge to that decline, but dire circumstances drove them to desperation, and they found strength in that instead: in order to survive Atlan decided to fight fire with fire, they became an embodiment of the injustice and cruelty they suffered and sacrifice their humanity, to the point where they are more similar to the dreaded Hyperboreans of their mythical past than they'd like to admit. This in turn forced Atlantis to shake itself from its stupor, overthrow the Epimethean regime and try to, once again, to recapture the spirit of Old Atlantis.

The point of that clunky ass summary is that Atlan's insanity *is* what makes it Atlan as opposed to Atlantis. I actually agree with the Atlan Schizo, he is 100% spot on here:
>Either they're the uber-xenophobe isolationists who focus on martial might and the military while having a weird cult, or they're a wholly inconsistent mess that literally couldn't exist if you decoupled everything from Atlantis in its so far constructed fluff.
And I do feel like some attempts to make Atlan "deeper" or "saner" turn out lackluster precisely because they deviate from their thematic strengths. Sure, they can have nuance, and they do: they *were* a Republic, and no regime could hope to completely subjugate every facet of its subjects' lives and thoughts, no matter how it may try. But, like, did we need that whole thing about the "Liquid Wall" and to break up their religion into niche philosophies, rather than stick to the already existing and strong imagery of their self-destructive Titanic orthodoxy exemplified by the Mystic (Sages work fine as a vestige of the more sane times and faith, as I've proposed before)? Or what do we accomplish by forcing them into an awkward friendship with the Austro-Hungarians of all people, and their main colonial neighbor at that? It's things like that that bug me.

>>96558589
>And I do feel like some attempts to make Atlan "deeper" or "saner" turn out lackluster precisely because they deviate from their thematic strengths.
I would like to bring up that the Warmaster is a chart1 unit who's whole gag is being a sane and nuanced figure in an insane faction. I don't think having Atlan be entirely mad works without the melancholy slave soldiers and depressed warmasters to serve as straight men to the routine.

>But, like, did we need that whole thing about the "Liquid Wall" and to break up their religion into niche philosophies
I do agree that there are too many wall church units and that they're all ill-defined and overly similar. I also still don't understand what the liquid wall bit was going for but that's true of a lot of the esoterica of the setting.

>Or what do we accomplish by forcing them into an awkward friendship with the Austro-Hungarians of all people, and their main colonial neighbor at that?
This is an aspect I really like about the faction. It adds a mystery element, and a bit of threat. If we know that Atlan will always attack because of the sacred wall then they're predictable. How they pull off that attack and why are still mysteries, but there must always be an attack. Having Austria as an exception lets people speculate as to why, the nature of the wall, of Austria's colony, and other fun stuff like that. Is something wrong with their colony? Is the sacred wall real? Was Atlan right all along? Probably not, but it's fun to think about that sort of thing. Plus, it gives Austria something related to Agartha. I think a lot of Agarthan colonies have a problem of just being "X but underground", which is cool in the art edits but it happens across enough different factions to make some of them blend together (Germany and Italy both have colonies which are essentially just underground versions of their surface settlements for example). The Austro-Atlan relation helps Austria as much as Atlan for lore flavour to me

>>96558532
>Aesthetics wise, we should either go more Greco-Roman or straight up some alien shit, I feel like the medieval/early modern knight stuff doesn't do the faction justice. Someone suggested Dwemer armor for inspiration and, honestly, that works? Like that's exactly the kind of thing I imagined Atlan immortals wearing? But, you know, more blue-gray.
I think this is largely a case of drawing the wrong sort of early modern armour for ideas. Look at the Horned Helmet of Henry the 8th, or picrel. Weird baroque and grotesque stuff is cool. So is fantasy armour and greco-roman stuff.
The Dwemer armour you posted looks more like what I think a reclaimer would wear. Definitely fitting, but not thick enough for an Immortal.

>Lore-wise, as far as I'm concerned, Atlan had always had a clear theme - an insane xenophobic isolationist army with a state, a dark reflection of Atlantis. This still held true as the lore developed further. Both factions are, as of now, defined by their shared traumatic past - the fall of Old Atlantis, but represent two (and a half) ways of dealing with it, alternating in a kind of cycle.
Agreed 100%

>>96556773
>Only Unmounted models can climb Walls.
Even aside from that, marshes and rocky terrain (Ithilien) are really bad for horses. People can actually move faster than horses given the right terrain, such as a rocky slope or dense jungle. And another thing is the cost of mounts, particularly horses. Assuming Atlan to be Aldi tier cheapskates you can imagine how they wouldn't want to use whatever arable land they have for feeding horses (horses can't live on ferns or mushrooms, presumably the prominent vegetation of Agartha by far); saurs get fed when you win (or lose). I imagine there are places on the 4th and 6th where horses could do well, but those areas would not be controlled by Atlan, at least not much of them or securely. It's also worth noting how easily horses can overheat.
Because there is no established lore, and it can be reasoned either way (if we're being generous), we should default to what makes sense mechanically and work back up from there. I'm speaking to this topic specifically, but also, maybe even more so, generally about how I think is best to handle these sort of forks in the road.

>>96559237
I don't mean to say that the mechanics and game should subsume the lore and story, rather that they should temper each other.

>>96559266
Mechanics-wise, what would people want to see? Atlan has light calvalry with the bat riders and heavy hitters with the bullsaurs, is there a middle ground? My brain says some sort of Siege tower drawn by a fantastical creature, maybe it's on the back of a large crab or a shelled saur? Just spitballing.

While we are on the topic of mounts, here's a /wip/ for my Saur Hakkapelii. I wanted to make knights but Victrix Cataphracts are weirdly hard to get secondhand and I don't want to shell out for a full kit when I need like two of them tops. They will have their day.

The saddle is magnetized so I can swap in Kheshigs, who will be in chainmail with cloaks and face-covering turbans while the Hakkapelii and knights will be in scale mail with masked helmets.

Should the saddle stay roughly as-is, but with maybe tassles and a more defined edge? Or should I make the edges taller like in a jousting saddle? I'm also debating if the Hakkapelii should have a sword or a sword and a horn. There is an option in the kit for it.

>>96558532
>Aesthetics wise, we should either go more Greco-Roman or straight up some alien shit, I feel like the medieval/early modern knight stuff doesn't do the faction justice. Someone suggested Dwemer armor for inspiration and, honestly, that works? Like that's exactly the kind of thing I imagined Atlan immortals wearing? But, you know, more blue-gray.
I feel this isn't the sort of thing we need to perfectly agree on, and that we all do more or less agree, and all disagreement past the acceptable comes from simple and honest confusion. None of us seem to quite agree, but less do we all disagree, so it's fine. I think we are often seeking a higher degree of agreement than necessary with Atlan because of the atypical lack of images for it and it's turbulent history betting insecurity. I'm saying I don't we all disagree on the aesthetic of Atlan much more than we do on the other Agarthan factions, but the lack of material makes us look for more common ground than we actually need. I do not at all mean to disparage talking about it (somewhat) casualty, though I do mean to discourage 'discussion and debate' on it, and am taking this opportunity to explain why I tend to treat the subject so lightly. It is a light matter, to me at least, and one that's already settled, though we can't see exactly how yet. It's a big faction, so there's room for more than one armor style.
Dwemer armor is cool. I don't tend to like super alien shit, but do see it's appeal. The image for Wall Mystic is a character from Elden Ring. I like them having lots Eastern Roman style stuff because to my mind, that's kind of what they are. The late medieval/early modern stuff being for the upper ranks, and the lower ranks being more like gladiators.

>>96558589
>did we need that whole thing about the "Liquid Wall" and to break up their religion into niche philosophies, rather than stick to the already existing and strong imagery of their self-destructive Titanic orthodoxy exemplified by the Mystic
No, but i did in order to change the Wall Shaman and Adamant Mystic the Wall Mystic and Resonant Representative. Consider it scaffolding. I needed the idea for a time, but i'm not hung up on it or anything. I don't exactly consider it "canon". If i ever bring it up i'm making fun of myself.
>what do we accomplish by forcing them into an awkward friendship with the Austro-Hungarians of all people, and their main colonial neighbor at that?
Apparently >>96538880 . For campaigns it could be good, it's narrative befits are obvious, and for pick-up games lore is always a second thought anyway (and any fighting between the two can be handwaved as before they had their awkward friendship). It is cute, and it just werks, while presenting an interesting but not unsolvable puzzle "how the hell does that happen?". It's equal parts lazy and stimulating: very greedy. It actually does bug me also, but the benefits and appeal are apparent to me. Atlan needs some connection besides warring with Atlantis (and to a lesser extant Mu) in order to feel material and defined, and a friendship with Austria-Hungry is as far as you can get from warring with Atlantis, so it's a natural counterbalance to seek like a dog eating grass. I'm strongly ambivalent on the matter, it seems, but am playing devil's advocate here. Another light matter already settled, it feels like. The timeline has become long. The question now is the lazy puzzle.

Can a warmongering expansionist slaver state be isolationist? Maybe they want to be isolationist, but in practice they are the furthest thing from it. They're isolationist like America is isolationist.

>>96558589
>But, like, did we need that whole thing about the "Liquid Wall"
? Don't remember that.
>break up their religion into niche philosophies
You mean the Icons? I don't see that as comparable to the different cults?
>Or what do we accomplish by forcing them into an awkward friendship with the Austro-Hungarians of all people
Now that Austro-Hungaria is done maybe its more due to their ability and willingness to befriend weirder Deepfolks than other Nations, rather than anything Atlan did itself? It also works at making Austria-Hungary seem more menacing/sinister than it should be.
>>96559310
>is there a middle ground?
Not currently, because it was a design constraint. I'm responsible for that, because I wanted to stick to what I saw as the initial intent for an Atlan force from the chart, which was, above all,
> Heaviest armour all around
> Slowest all around
> "Atlan has no good range options"
which I saw as a fun challenge to design an interesting force around.
At one point Reconquerers could take horses and springguns, I ran a list with a mounted Iconodule with a pistol gained from traits, it was really egregious how little I felt worried about them.
>>96559310
>maybe it's on the back of a large crab
My mind is stuck on the snail/beastle idea, I feel like the distinction it brings would be worth purging the list from anything else (except the molerat/molebat), it might allow to tweak the profiles better. Like, replacing the firebreating saur with a Firebreathing Giant Tardigrade?

>>96559571
I'd very much want to keep the Bullsaur at least, but otherwise, if you've hit on the idea, then i'd say go for it. I'd like to keep the Firebreathing Saur for Phosphorous, but i'm not so set on that.
>Firebreathing Giant Tardigrade?
Bombardier Beastle? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombardier_beetle
>their ability and willingness to befriend weirder Deepfolks than other Nations
I like the part of it, for sure. Maximiliana is sure to be an interesting place. Like the other guy said, the connection also helps give form to Austria.

>>96559637
>Bullsaur
What kind of saur is a bullsaur?

>>96561436
Trike, but really any ceratopsian.

>>96561436
Cavesaur : Large Theropods, going up to about the size of a Carno.
Clawsaurs : small theropods, mostly Dromaeosauridae
Swarmsaurs : very small Theropods
Bullsaur : any Ceraptosian
Spikesaur : any Ankylosauria
Megasaur : anything very large but not a Terrorsaur
Firebreathing Saur : picrel
Terrosaur : T-Rex
These are popular categories, not scientific ones, and anything that doesn't fit in the others fall into Cavesaur, even if they are not theropods.
>>96559637
>I'd very much want to keep the Bullsaur
Would it be for the bull analogy with the Titking? It could be a Bull Beetle? If not then its fine, I'm not so incredibly set on it, I just thought it made a lot of sense.
In regards to including the Beastle directly as a mount, two ways come to mind right away, a "harness" equipment which grants the Platform/Vehicle rule to the Beastle for one model (maybe with the caveat of giving -1 AP to the Beastle), this way it keeps the Beastle of Burden rule, or else just make a different mount profile for it, say a Titanium Shell Beastle? For its rules, maybe Move 3 (ignoring Wall will be a big movement buff on its own, and even +1 Move to Atlan would allow them to put a lot more pressure, 4 I think is too much, especially if you account for Reach), and a very slight buff to Limb Armour (depending on who get it, as long as Immortals do not, it could easily be +2T or +3T)?

>>96563148
don't the amazons have an option for a beastle mount? I vaguely remember writing that.

Also, +1 for keeping Bullsaurs as an option. Atlan would still have more than one type of mount if we got rid of them due to the bats, so I think this is a case of style over consistency.

>bullsaurs
I read this as bulbasaur for a hot minute. Don't tell me we have more pokemon knock offs.

>>96563733
>Don't tell me we have more pokemon knock offs.
I may have bad news for you.

>>96563838
I know about that one. I was worried about another.

>>96563148
>In regards to including the Beastle directly as a mount
I would just give it a mount profile, and only give it to the Hospitaliers, Reconquerers, and Warmasters, and make sure the unit can be taken as a Mercenary. Reworking Siege Engineer seems like the big challenge. In lore it would make sense for Immortals to use them, but they would be too strong in game with them, probably. I think you could just cut Siege Engineer if you wanted, save yourself some trouble. The whole point of it was to allow more dinosaur usage, but seeing as thats not longer an objective, there isn't much reason for it. Maybe give Tartarodon mercenary option?

Warbeastle: Cost 7
Move 3, Strength +1, Evasion -1. Health +1,
Attack: Acc 5, Str 7, Pen 2, Lethality [X] / [G]
*Models with this mount may Climb, and count as having Climbing Gear

Something like that is what i would go for. What about the Stone Shell Snail?
Iconodules should be able to take Climbing Gear, i think.

>>>/an/5047503
Beetle thread.

>>96564400
>>96563148
>Ginat rideable bugs
How much are we going to lean on fantastic fauna? Do we make it so that the lower layers have more fantastic and less historically accurate fauna, or do we follow other reasoning?

>>96567457
>Reasoning
At best you could make an argument the terrain of each layer determines preferred mounts, but this is a case of style first generally.

What would be this setting's version of this meme?

>>96567457
>How much are we going to lean on fantastic fauna?
There's already a lot of Beasts across the different books, the vast majority of which are somewhat "fantastical".
>>96567457
>Do we make it so that the lower layers have more fantastic and less historically accurate fauna
Nah, Lemuria, the deepest "Nation" (excluding Old Mu), is the one that focuses the most on normal mounts, camels, horses and bisons, which they may have brought down with them or picked up from other people bringing them down.
In my mind I was going with the ~15% surface reduction between the Layers, which means we're still talking 30k+ km for the 3rd and the 4th, so you'll still have the space for a lot more variety than what could be assumed if you read the "biome" lists and think that that's all there is to it. The Biomes in my mind was always the primary, dominating ones, and I'd say its about the same with the Fauna.
>>96564400
>I would just give it a mount profile
>and make sure the unit can be taken as a Mercenary.
I'm not sure I understand. You can't recruit faction mounts by default on mercenaries, that has to come through a trait or a rule on the mercenary.
>>96564400
>Maybe give Tartarodon mercenary option?
Sure.

>>96570057
I mean allow recruiting this guy in addition to having the mount version, kind of like how Olm-Steeds are.

Are the campaign prototype rules lying around anywhere aside from sup/tg/? I've had some thoughts of my own to spitball and I'd like to review them before doing so. I'll go digging if they're not pdf'd anywhere.

>>96570145
The "scenarios" (Anomalies, Lost Temple, Treasure Chests, Shapes in the Shadows and The Lemurs) rules are part of the Conditional Rules section of the main Rule Book (toward the end), the campaign rules proper have not been been turned into a book yet, I'll have to do some editing before uploading a version because it currently contains the hidden events as well.
>>96570133
Ah! Yeah its missing from the Atlan Merc list, will add it.

>>96569923
>1860's anthropologist
>Ah! These subterranean ape-men must be the Neanderthals that they've dug up in Germany! Fascinating!

>>96571093
>Look, I haven't seen the skeleton, but I'm pretty sure it was one of these subterranean monkey men, and WRESTLED its prey to death
>OMG! did it have guns too?
>Probably.

>NO, you dumbass kid! That toy is scientifically inaccurate. It's supposed to be a short guy with lots of hair that only ate berries and clams.
>Can I go home now?

>>96564400
>What about the Stone Shell Snail?
Rereading the rules, its okay as is, since the trait specifies you take it as a specialist under your control. The only thing would be to specify how models on top of it interacts to it moving, and perhaps have a way to start on top of it.

Where was the unit image for the New Mu Nomad sourced? I tried reverse searching and a couple other things and nothing came up.

I saw a tutorial on how to make ghillie suits for figures a few days ago. They look pretty crappy but the effect could be used on a nomad I think, so I'll try that tommorow. If it works I will have found a way to make a figure using only one arm, some greenstuff for a mask, and some gauze. Here's hoping.

Gonna throw in the towel for tonight, I was really hoping to upload the whole thing but I can't fucking figure it out. I've set it to public, everything should show up, but I can't find it anywhere in the community workshop. I'll try and figure it out tomorrow afternoon. Sorry, again, about the delays. At least we know it can hold all the books with no issue.
>>96572232
>Where was the unit image for the New Mu Nomad sourced?
Gonna try to find it again, it was a random duckduckgo search for something like "historical picture masked cannibals".

>>96572335
Must have been the harmful content check, it just appeared, took its sweet time too.
This is only a start, expect a lot of quality of life improvements (token being resized, maps being added, some quick sheets references, etc etc), but at least you have all the books and tokens in one spot, ready to play.

>>96572335
it just takes a bit to show up, i went and checked and i immediately found it
i salute you, man

>>96572335
>>96572388
I can see it too. Does it show who subscribers are? I'll have to make an anonymized steam account if so.

>>96569923
>1790's paleontologist
>look I have discovered this rib and tooth, surely it proves that God destroyed evil creatures following the great flood
>omg, did it breathe fire?
>1860's agarthologist
>NO, you dumbass kid, that toy is scientifically inaccurate, it doesn't even have the right color or the ability to squirt blood from its eyes at extreme pressure, look at this scar on my face I got that from the real thing
>;_;

>>96572412
On the author's page it only shows the number of subscribers and visitors, so I'm going to tentatively say no, it would be very weird if it appeared to the public somewhere else but not here... but that's only logic and reason, which the world is under no obligation to follow.
> picrel
So this is what it looks like. Middle is the map (duh), top table you have the NPCs, tokens and books in their respective bags. The big map table has 6 (I think) maps in a bag, more will be added very soon (I would appreciate help with making maps as well, if possible, since the assets are on the mediafire, anyone with paint 3d should be able to do as well as I do, if not much better) as well as the Worldbook (last version, current one is still heavily under restructuring), the Letters from Home table has the main rule book on it as well as a book containing essentials, walls, pits, smoke, dices, a chest and dread counter. The Amazon table has all the factions, with their books inside the bags as well.

>>96572494
I'd like you to know that I am reassembling my old Jamboard Agartha team as I type this. Godspeed you magnificent madman.

>>96572494
>I would appreciate help with making maps as well, if possible, since the assets are on the mediafire, anyone with paint 3d should be able to do as well as I do, if not much better
I can give it a try when I finish my work. I'll think of something meanwhile.

Anyone got the pixel art pic of the mother unknown? It's the only one I don't have saved I think.

>>96573403
I don't know if this is the final version but here you go.

I'm downloading the map icons to try some map making later. I think something happened to the jungle folder, there's no jungle, only desert.

>>96575436
I added a bunch just now, there's only 2 palm trees/jungle in them atm but I'll cut more this evening and upload them as well. They are in the top Map Asset folder, sorry if its a bit of a mess right now, I'll reorganize them as well. Its easier imo to use the ones from the folders I've just uploaded than the ones in the Area Feature or Single Map Feature folders.
These are pretty much all downloaded from
https://kmalexander.com/free-stuff/fantasy-map-brushes/
and there are way more than those I've used, different styles as well, I strongly recommend the site if anyone feels these aren't enough.

>>96576934
A proposition for this. Instead of dozens of individual small files, what about having one big photoshop file? That way, making the maps could be as easy as copying and moving the layers around.

>>96577231
Thats the main format they come in on the website >>96576934
Blaeu (great Brokens hills)
Gomboust (buildings & city blocks)
Hogenburg (Shitload of stuff, medieval castles, shrines, forests)
Janssonius (tropical)
Moronobu (Satsuma themed)
Popple (woods, swamps, grass, hills)
Vischer (fields, mountains, towns,)
These are mostly gigantic. picrel is one of 8 from Vischer.

>>96577665
Should I just post the most useful ones right here?

>>96577685
There's no harm, but i wouldn't say you *should*. I'm going to look at everything anyways, unless you tell me it's pointless.

>>96577665
I mean, instead of uploading dozens of small images to the mediafire, have one single photoshop document with all of the items categorized.

>>96563838
What's the lore behind atlanchu?

>>96580245
If I remember correctly, Thunder Moles were an attempt by the meta-universe company behind Agartha to cash in on the 90's Pokemon fad. The reception to them was divisive, but the setting is stuck with them.

I've been thinking of ideas for a map, and I thought of this. A desert map with dotted oasis along the terrain. A massive herd of sauropods are moving from oasis to oasis drinking them. You have to take water and compete with your opponent, as well as with the sauropods to take enough "water tokens" to score higher than the other player. Not sure how would work in the fine details, though.

>>96580245
This >>96580522 pretty much nailed it.
I don't actually know anything about Pokemon, the joke was contained to the Thunder Mole, the Bullsaur was unintended.
>>96577725
>photoshop
Ah, well, because I don't have/use/know photoshop. My apologies.
>>96538123
>>Thoroughbred (??? Silver)
>Double the statistics of this unit's mount. Then, apply one trait (random?) from the inbreeding table to this unit.
>The joke is that the mount and the rider are thoroughbreds. This has a potential for fuckery given the wide range of mount options. Don't worry about it.
Kek. If it doesn't affect the Movement stat that's not that broken at all, if it does, its absolutely insane and should probably cost 25+ silver on its own. Which, with all the discount rules the Austrian gets probably will still see lots of play.
Your choice, I'm fine if he's the one strong melee contender, he's never going to be anywhere close to invincible, and losing a Hero will be harsh on Austria.
> picrel
Anyone got ideas for traits for this one? Anything to do with anomalies, weird interactions, possibly stuff that function out of having many Academics?

>>96582646
Since I'm going to make this file anyway, once I add everything relevant, could I send it to you and you upload it to the mediafire? I'm sure someone can find some use for it as a quick mapmaking tool.

>>96582646
These are the unfinished traits for him i was working on, an age ago. Exposure Therapy is obviously broken now, but i want to make it work. Maybe it should be split into two Traits, one that makes Fear effects stronger and one with the Patient stuff. The fear strengthening came first, the Patient stuff came as a way to ensure you benefit from it, but it probably works better as it's own thing.

For each Academic in your expedition place 4 Unknown tokens on the board.

Exposure Therapy: The effects of Fear and Primordial Fear are doubled. Before deployment, chose one model to be your Patient, that model gains Fear [Deep]. This model gains
“You’re Cured!”: May only be used on Steady Patients being affected by Fear. The target gains +1 AP and Immune to Moral for the rest of the game.

Gains Engineer + Assembly Instructions

Dissection + may perform Dissection on Anomalies. Failing triggers it.

Secret Passages

>>96582719
Of course!
>>96582863
Splitting it is the easiest way to make it work, but it isn't so insanely broken that we couldn't put it at a relatively high cost (say 15 Silver) and let the fragility of the model compensate for it otherwise. Its very directed, Tsardom, Germany and Italy won't like him, but also, these are the last factions that will have a hard time putting him down once they draw line of fire. Also, you need to risk the patient.
I like the first one, to work with the student how about making it something that triggers on 1st and 3rd turn?

>>96582909
I was thinking you would place them after Walls. Maybe it happens once automatically after Walls, but then you can trigger it manually once again as an action?