fanguad
Junior Strategist
Posts: 210
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Post by fanguad on Dec 16, 2019 19:13:55 GMT
Ditto. I know Khador lost most of the events of the league, but they did win the last one and *still* lost all their airships. Oh, but Cygnar gets to keep theirs. I guess the only difference it made was that Striker died instead of some Khador caster (Irusk?). And it sounds like Khador still lost Strakhov anyway. Also, full-on mustache twirling by multiple Khador warcasters was uncool.
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Post by marxlives on Dec 17, 2019 2:40:19 GMT
Ditto. I know Khador lost most of the events of the league, but they did win the last one and *still* lost all their airships. Oh, but Cygnar gets to keep theirs. I guess the only difference it made was that Striker died instead of some Khador caster (Irusk?). And it sounds like Khador still lost Strakhov anyway. Also, full-on mustache twirling by multiple Khador warcasters was uncool. Right?! I like that the dynamic between Cygnar, Potectorate, and Khador was more BattleTech style practical foreign affairs conflicts. Each human faction has their share of war crimes but most of the wars are territory expansions rather than outright destruction end of the world stuff. That is why we have Cryx.
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Miafan
Junior Strategist
Eater of Brains
Posts: 130
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Post by Miafan on Dec 18, 2019 6:34:29 GMT
Ditto. I know Khador lost most of the events of the league, but they did win the last one and *still* lost all their airships. Oh, but Cygnar gets to keep theirs. I guess the only difference it made was that Striker died instead of some Khador caster (Irusk?). And it sounds like Khador still lost Strakhov anyway. Also, full-on mustache twirling by multiple Khador warcasters was uncool. I guess these days any plot that contains some faction or characters with russian or else flavour that is undesired by USA policies is doomed to devolve into such crap or worse. Still it was sad to read this. I am PoM, not Khador, but it's just plain lame. PP lore was once a masterpiece.
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Post by borderprince on Dec 18, 2019 10:51:21 GMT
Aeryn did a very poor job of handling established characters. The Irusk in Stormbreak is not even remotely the same character from Apotheosis or any of the proper MK II anthology books. Well Stryker wasn't badly handled. And Magnus was pretty good. But the Khadoran characters were seemingly just used as "generic villain". I was about to say that his use in the book doesn't even fit with PP's own description of Irusk2 as someone who accepted failure and would fall on his sword because of it, but I see that PP have removed all of the fluff from the store entries.
And then the weird plot points: Khador is getting/stealing tech from the Circle and can integrate it with mechanika? That's a magic-technological breakthrough probably more significant than anything Nemo has done. And Cygnar has spies in Khador but not in occupied Llael, the area in which they are currently fighting Khador? So much for Rebald as the spy in the setting. Just jarring in places.
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Post by Soul Samurai on Dec 18, 2019 12:18:27 GMT
Khador is getting/stealing tech from the Circle and can integrate it with mechanika? That's a magic-technological breakthrough probably more significant than anything Nemo has done. Wait, what? What tech does Circle have? Wolds? Are we getting wolds? Cos that would be awesome.
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Post by michael on Dec 18, 2019 14:48:17 GMT
Aeryn did a very poor job of handling established characters. The Irusk in Stormbreak is not even remotely the same character from Apotheosis or any of the proper MK II anthology books. Well Stryker wasn't badly handled. And Magnus was pretty good. But the Khadoran characters were seemingly just used as "generic villain". I was about to say that his use in the book doesn't even fit with PP's own description of Irusk2 as someone who accepted failure and would fall on his sword because of it, but I see that PP have removed all of the fluff from the store entries.
And then the weird plot points: Khador is getting/stealing tech from the Circle and can integrate it with mechanika? That's a magic-technological breakthrough probably more significant than anything Nemo has done. And Cygnar has spies in Khador but not in occupied Llael, the area in which they are currently fighting Khador? So much for Rebald as the spy in the setting. Just jarring in places.
I agree. You know what else drove me bonkers? Irusk’s extremely casual mention of an “escape dirigible” when the airship is crashing. WHAT?! So yes, Irusk can convince the Circle Orboros to donate magic floating stone for the Khadoran military industrial complex AND develop a second functional airship technology in the setting! Because don’t forget kids, the last time any flying machine was EVER mentioned in the setting (outside of Convergence) was the HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL hot air balloon that Vinter used to escape the Lion’s Coup 20 years ago. Anyway yeah, Aeryn absolutely butchered every Khadoran character presented. The events could have occurred in substantially the same manner without slaughtering the previous, well-developed fiction. Sigh.
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Post by borderprince on Dec 18, 2019 16:12:11 GMT
I agree. You know what else drove me bonkers? Irusk’s extremely casual mention of an “escape dirigible” when the airship is crashing. WHAT?! So yes, Irusk can convince the Circle Orboros to donate magic floating stone for the Khadoran military industrial complex AND develop a second functional airship technology in the setting! Because don’t forget kids, the last time any flying machine was EVER mentioned in the setting (outside of Convergence) was the HIGHLY EXPERIMENTAL hot air balloon that Vinter used to escape the Lion’s Coup 20 years ago. It also surprised me because Khador strikes me as a nation which might well not include an escape device from a flying machine - "if at first you don't succeed, you have failed the Empress and deserve to die" and all that (like in Irusk's fluff, at least before this book. Humph).
Apparently the Khadoran machines used stones/runes like those from the Circle. Not clear if that's Wolds (the Woldwyrds do float after all), the Celestial Fulcrum or something else.
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Post by Aegis on Dec 18, 2019 17:51:08 GMT
I liked the books in general, but I agree that Khadorans, and Irusk in particular are reduced to cartoonish evil guys in the series. They do evil for the sake of doing evil, and that's not what would expect even from a ruthless faction like Khador.
One thing is being mercyless with the enemy and to do evil things for a precise tactical gain, another is doing evil things to both friend and foes just to do most damage possible.
I also do not see any trace of Irusk's and Strakhov tactical acumen in the books, just plain willingness to sacrifice anything just to damage the foes.
Other than Khador handling, anyway, I enjoyed the read.
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Post by Soul Samurai on Dec 18, 2019 18:22:54 GMT
So Khador now has the technology to make stones fly? So I guess that means we're getting flying stone-armoured warjacks in the next CID right?
...right?
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Post by michael on Dec 18, 2019 18:29:49 GMT
So Khador now has the technology to make stones fly? So I guess that means we're getting flying stone-armoured warjacks in the next CID right? ...right? No, Khador doesn’t have the technology. Khador just apparently managed to convince the Circle Orboros to work for them and use their skills to manufacture supplies for the Khadoran military. BECAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE.
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Post by Soul Samurai on Dec 18, 2019 19:10:08 GMT
Morrow-dammit PP! I WANT FLYING STONE WARJACKS!
I mean, good fiction would be nice too, but these days I'd be too busy to read it anyway, so I'm trying to be realistic in my demands.
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bacon
Junior Strategist
Posts: 134
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Post by bacon on Dec 18, 2019 19:24:31 GMT
I read stormbreak pretty quickly so I might of missed some details, but my interpretation was that khador scavenged the circle floating stones from somewhere and did not get them from some deal. Then again how khador would know how to operate the stones without having someone who knows circle's magic is beyond me as iirc druids' magic is drawn from the devourer wurm and not typical arcane magic like the grey lords use.
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Post by michael on Dec 18, 2019 19:49:04 GMT
I read stormbreak pretty quickly so I might of missed some details, but my interpretation was that khador scavenged the circle floating stones from somewhere and did not get them from some deal. Then again how khador would know how to operate the stones without having someone who knows circle's magic is beyond me as iirc druids' magic is drawn from the devourer wurm and not typical arcane magic like the grey lords use. Irusk’s answer to “where did you get the stones?” was a cryptic “I have an arrangement with some allies” kind of response. It made no sense. Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury: this is Chewbacca.
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thelat
Junior Strategist
Posts: 480
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Post by thelat on Dec 18, 2019 21:43:02 GMT
Doesn't the Old Witch know how Circle magic works?
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Post by michael on Dec 19, 2019 1:06:50 GMT
Doesn't the Old Witch know how Circle magic works? She has never demonstrated wold-making abilities before. She was once a member of the organization hundreds of years ago, but the fluff basically stated she did it to steal their secrets. But again, the Old Witch is not the type of being to roll up her sleeves and work 9-to-5 in the airship factory making levitating stones for the military brass.
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