The
Fourth Faction: The Great Rhuds
The
fourth Faction by order, although the second to be designed, The
Great Rhuds are so-called for their often use of this descriptive
adjective in nearly every circumstance. And they are in fact, in some
ways the central focus upon which the plot base of Chaos Stone is
centred around, given that they are the true inhabitants of the moon,
Lunar Stone, that is being fought over, residing in their place of
darkness below the moon's surface, a place of eternal night they call
The Underempire. In fact, so integrally bound are the Rhuds to the
Chaos Stones that are found in great abundance within the moon's
surface, that they were in fact, by providence of their highly
mutational influence, the sole cause of the incidence and occurrence
of sentience among this species of rodent-like creatures, with them
attaining a bipedal humanoid form, at the end of this forced
evolution by the effects of the radioactive emission from the Chaos
Stones. Still, they are basic creatures that do not have the
intelligence to match the technology of The Civilisation of Humanity,
if not for their great affinity with these Chaos Stones that they
have realised the full potential in the efficient use of their
incalculable power, and for which they tap and access this potent
source of energy more directly and raw than the other Factions, to a
greater and no less immense effect.
It
is for this reason that I rank them the fourth Faction in order. For
the irony of having the position of last, given the Faction's unique
relevance to the story. No other Faction has such a
close-relationship, almost to a point of symbiosis, with this
resource, although they are all essentially fighting over them. And
it is this one reliance that allows the Rhuds, with their otherwise
rather primitive technological state, to stand up to the forces of
the other Factions and meet them on an equal footing, with the raw
power represented by the Chaos Stones in its own a means of
technology, almost a crux on which the backward society of the Rhuds
depends on and is built around, a contrast to the intelligence and
sophistication of design, of say the Humans' technological
researches. And for which this volatile source of power, with its
risks afforded, gains its potency for the very reason of its chaotic
and unstable nature. In this way, the Chaos Stone Tech that
constitutes the basics of how Rhud Technology functions and is based
on, serves the means and supplements the advanced weaponry and
warfare where the race is lacking, with the inherent risks from the
use of this volatile substance something that only this race can
safely afford to some degree, given they treat the lives of their
lessers as expendable, a direct result of the rate at which the Rhuds
can reproduce their numbers in compensation. As such the potential
for such loss in the utility of this dangerous resource as and
through their weapons, is tolerable and afforded by them, as they
present a threat without distinction to both user and target, trading
the exchange of risks that comes with their destructive power, just
as it consumes the lives of those who use it.
A
trend of significance for this race is their low-average attacking
strength. There is a reason for this, for the main themes of this
Faction is as follows: Speed, Numbers, Cheap, High-Dependency on
Chaos Stones used as Technology, Potency Increased in Exchange for
the High-Risk Usage of Inherently Dangerous Chaos Stone Weapons.
Their units are arguably the cheapest in the game, and they even have
a Tech that allows destroyed Rhud units to have a chance to reappear
on the table, and carry on the fight for infestation. Just like a
race that depends on cheap numbers, with poor fighting strength, they
utilise sneaky tactics such as the mobility of a whole network of
cleverly dug tunnels to outmanoeuvre the opposing army's positions,
undermining their defensive line by appearing behind them. And as
with the theme of Speed, they have many means of generating many
attacks at once, making up for the lack of attacking strength by
sheer volume. Their expendability is thematic as well as functional,
as given how cheap their fighting units are, the risky use of Chaos
Stone Tech with their chance for backfiring is somewhat mitigated in
cost-effectiveness.
The
mini-game within the structural mechanics of how The Civilisation of
Humanity is played, is in the accomplishment of Special Operations
Mission Cards, of their stated objectives in such cards drawn, which
advances the potency of your standing forces by allowing their
promotion to elite levels, with the results of them gaining even more
powerful skills, although there is no statistical increase, which
means some level of skill in tactical application is required in
utilising your elite troops optimally, without any unnecessary
sacrifices that can be avoided by careful strategic planning. For The
Great Rhuds, it will probably be about the creation of Burrows and
Tunnels around the board, allowing for the swift movement of Rhud
troops around, basically severing and crippling all logistical
advantage the enemy forces may enjoy, by virtue of being able to
appear anywhere that is not an enemy's base, with proper and correct
use.
A
lot of the Chaos Stone Tech Research for the Rhuds are focussed
around generating more attacks for even a single Rhud unit. Some of
these units even come with abilities that promote this same trend of
generating so many attacks, the opposition is simply overwhelmed by
the quantity, of which supports the theme that the feel of this race
tends towards, that of quantity over quality. This is even
underscored with how the quality in firepower of the Chaos Stone Tech
Weapons, is interchanged by the potential for the high loss of Rhud
lives just from their usage of these temperamental weapons, with the
sheer numbers of Rhuds that can be mustered by their rate of
production and naturally cheap costs, in itself enforcing the playstyle of the Rhuds' as swarming with overwhelming numbers of low-grade
attacks. It is through such regulations that the Faction of The Great
Rhuds present a significant threat, with the theme of a heavy
emphasis of the usage of Chaos Stones in weapons that go beyond the
designs and capacities of other Factions, utilising them in addition
as fuel for further, more powerful effects, with such power offset by
the potential risk of the loss of lives in using the technology in
the first place, a crude and yet no less potent dynamic.
There
is just one determinating characteristic left, to speak of Chaos Tech
Weapons, in how they have a mutagenic influence on the statistics of
those units attacked by them. That is another thematic reason for
their potency, as with the progress of the battle, even those enemy
units that survive against these weapons are slowly weakened and lose
their combat-efficiency, which once again synergises with the battle
philosophy of the cheap but numerous Rhuds, having their great number
of attacks enhanced in strength against an enfeebled foe.
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