Sirian's Monsters

This is a lot to think about, and we'll discuss the possibilities of these new troops soon.  But first you need to know about the new broods of monsters that Mad Sirian has at his beck and call.  

Pay close attention.  We've all heard scary stories about these creatures since we were pups.  But now that they have been mustered for battle you'll find that most of what you've heard is flat-out wrong, and most of the rest is even worse, close enough to the truth that it will mislead you.  If you want to know how to fight these things, you need to know what they can and cannot do.

Vampires, for instance.  True, they like blood, but they won't infect you, so don't panic if one bites you.  They are not very tough, either.  I mean, they can hit pretty hard, but one solid blow will kill them.  The most dangerous thing about vampires is their ability to fly.  They are fast and cunning.  One of their favorite tactics is to swoop out of hiding, attack, and fly back to safety before you have a chance to harm them.

Warlocks on the other hand cannot fly, whatever you may have heard.  They do cast spells, though, including battle spells that wound from a distance, so keep your eyes open for them.  Our analysts have concluded that these Warlocks are normally costly to summon, but they have a spell that can summon them immediately if the summoner is willing to wound himself in the process.  And we already know that Sirian is both mad enough and clever enough to be willing. 

There is also a powerful sorcerer travelling with Sirian named Hirud.  We don't know his background yet, but besides being a strong fighter he weaves a kind of spell that interferes with the summoning of Champions.  This pernicious spell seems to affect everyone nearby, both friend or foe, so that is a small comfort, but be prepared to go for longer periods without Champion support.  

Now we come to Ghouls.  The spells used to raise Ghouls gives them a greater strength in combat than other undead like Skeletons, Zombies or Reavers, and it also fills them with a terrible hunger for killing.  Unless they kill quickly and repeatedly this hunger feeds on the Ghouls themselves and they die.  Again.  Whenever one appears we need to either match its ferocity and dispatch it quickly, or deprive it of its food and let its hunger devour itself.  

Sirian has a special liking for Ghouls, and he has adapted the spell so that he can cast it on his entire army.  For short periods they all will feel that hunger and attack with greater ferocity, and also all suffer the consequences of it. Only the sick mind of Sirian Waters could come up with something that hurts his army and even himself.  But his forces are very dangerous while the spell lasts, so beware. 

Another apparent invention of Sirian's is the Corpse Wyrm, a truly hideous monstrosity made up of the parts of many dead creatures, human and otherwise.  It is repulsive, large and hard to kill, but the most dangerous thing about it is that it acts as a focus for summoning, a moveable Wall if you will.  Do not let it penetrate your lines.  It is pretty weak in its attack, so it is easy to stand up to it if you don't let its appearance unman you. 

Before we start discussing our strategy for dealing with these new developments, good and bad, I want to tell you something.  At first this news about the Fallen Kingdom troubled me deeply, but the more I thought about it the more my resolve grew.  We will not be paralyzed by fear, or drown in despair.  We will not be provoked into foolishness, or succumb to rage.  We will stand firm, act with prudence, and trust in that Providence that has never abandoned us.  We will persevere and pay any necessary price until these evils are wiped off the face of Itharia, and the descendents of all the free peoples can truly live free.  

Posted by Bryan Stout

Bryan Stout is a PlaidHatGames.com writer and editor.