The Wars of the Jungle

Prologue & Requirements 

RULES

1. Do not cheat
2. If you leave a level without defeating the enemy, then
   1. You forfit 1/4 of your men
   2. Every time the enemy attack, you lose 1/2 of your rear rank.
3. You cannot challenge someone unless you are both the same skill level.
4. When you have chosen your army, you may not continue until you have told me here. The same goes for when you have decided on what to do at each stage.

WHAT YOU NEED

• A link to this page.

SKILL LEVELS EXPLAINED

Basically, your skill level depends on where you are and whether or not you died. For example, lets say I got to Part 2, 4 of 9, and died, my skill level would be 2.4.0. If I got to 2, 4, and lived, though, I would be 2.4.1. If you understand, well done. If not, just prepare to be humiliated.

SETTING

You are in the post-Mediaeval period.

You are trying to conquer Arbalest Island, the first step to conquering Boltyedown City. Other steps are:

• Arbalest Island
• Sasbitrar Archipelago
• Mastarobon Coast
• Boltyedown City

Arbalest Island has a lake at the centre, with an island at the middle. This island has a crate of messenger pigeons, so if you fail to kill everyone then the message will get through to Boltyedown City, and you will be thwarted. You must fight your way through the shore network, the crossbow-rich dunes and cliffs and the booby-trapped jungle. Leave one man alive, and you have blown it. You will be cut down and killed, by the cannons mounted on the castle at the centre of the lake. Remember: failure is not an option!

Part 1 - Battle for the Shore

1 of 10

Which army units will you use? You can have up to 50 different units. Combos are allowed, remember.

1. Archer - 1 archer and a pikeman. Lightly and heavily armoured, they can be effective at close range or long.
2. Infantry - 12 soldiers and a Sergeant. With long swords and large shields, they are noisy and cumbersome.
3. Sailor - 4 sailors and a Marine. The cream of sailing, they are useless on land, and can easily be killed.
4. Scout - 8 scouts and a fourScour. With no armour and only a dirk each, they only have their remarkable tracking abilities to recommend them.

2 of 10

Your army has arrived in boats, and you have settled on an island of the coast. This island could be;

1. Cormorant Isle - a peaceful, rocky isle with some trees in the centre. It is near to a 50-m cliff.
2. Barren Archipelago - a series of small rocks the furthest away from the coast. Intelligence tells you that the coast is only sparsely guarded.
3. Badger's Folly - an island with a large clay mound at the centre. It is just by the harbour entrance, and the galleons will see you and destroy you with cannon balls.

Think carefully, because the wrong decision now could result in failure later. And what is failure?

Failure is not an option!

3 of 10

You have arrived on $X$, and are proceeding to move inland. When do you do this?

1. Now.
2. As soon as your men are fed and rested, and your scouts have gathered enough information.
3. When you have to.

Beware, because if you chose the wrong decision for your island, then you will die.

4 of 10

You are now on the mainland. You have sustained few losses, and are all ready for war. You advance up the shore. When attacked by one of the network outposts, what do you do?

1. Lie down, so they think you're dead.
2. Drop in from behind and kill them.
3. Shoot them down.

Remember, choose wrongly and you die.

5 of 10

Continuing to advance, you are besieged on three sides. This time, none of the previous tactics will work. What do you do?

You must choose for yourself this time. What do you do?

6 of 10

You are unchallenged now. You make your way to the foot of the dunes. Remember, you must leave none alive. How do you kill them?

1. Shoot them with your archers.
2. Murder them with your infantry.
3. Stab them with your scouts.

Remember: death must visit them.

7 of 10

You put that plan into action. Not expecting an attack from behind, the enemy might die. If they do, how much do you celebrate?

1. Lots and lots.
2. Quietly.
3. Not at all.

Your men have to be happy with that decision too, or you will be discovered.

8 of 10

After celebrating, you rest for three days, until a patrol comes over the dunes. What do you do?

1. Hide and shoot them - Archers
2. Rush out and fight them - Infantry
3. When they get to the ground, creep up and stab them - Scouts

9 of 10

You are prepared to advance, but first, are there any more things you should do?

1. Split up into two groups, and split the second into two. Send the two smaller groups around the dunes.
2. Come out in skirmish order.
3. No.

Make the right decision, because this is your final move here. You move on soon.

10 of 10

After conquering the shore, you climb up the first dune. On reaching the top, you rest for a moment before advancing. Scanning the scene, your eye catches a movement as someone springs out from behind a dune. The next moment, the person beside you falls . . .

The Battle for the Dunes has begun.

Part 2 - Battle for the Dunes

Safety point! If you die now, you will be able to start again from here!

1 of 10

You have seen the crossbow men and order your archers to kill them. As they stand up, $X$ of them are transfixed by crossbow bolts. What do you do?

1. Get under cover whilst your archers pick them off.
2. Get under cover whilst you think up a plan.
3. Keep advancing and hope that the losses are sustainable.

Judge wisely, your survival depends on this.

2 of 10

You are ignored by the crossbowmen now, judging by the fact that the rattling of the bolts against the shields has stopped. What do you do now?

1. Advance under cover
2. Stand up and march onwards
3. Push up a dummy before making your move.

Choose wisely, you all could die.

3 of 10

You are now over the largest dunes, but crossbowmen might still be there. What do you do?

1. Barge in in full attack formation
2. Attack in skirmish formation
3. Nothing

This partly depends on your previous option.

4 of 10

The crossbowmen are destroyed, and you now have a fine haul of crossbows and, better still, some maps! What do you do with them?

1. Equip the archers that can use crossbows with them; and keep the maps
2. Destroy the crossbows but keep the maps
3. Destroy the maps but keep the crossbows
4. Destroy them all

These maps could be valuable, remember! Or, they could just be fakes!

5 of 10

You have made it, but the trickiest part is still to come. They knew someone would invade, so you must now pass through a maze of dunes. They could have any number of traps in. Make your move...

1. Give up and go home
2. Try to climb over
3. Go in in teams with a stick and ropes

Note: I never said where the traps were!

6 of 10

You're almost through the dunes! The maze was easy, but now there's a river in the way! What's to be done?

1. Swim
2. Tunnel
3. Go home

If you retreat, you lose all progress, don't forget.

7 of 10

You've crossed the river, but now have to scale a cliff! There are some caves, though. These could prove useful...

1. Climb up a cliff
2. Climb up the face using grappling hooks
3. Retreat

You're almost there - the dunes haven't been a problem! There are still a few more stages to go, though...

8 of 10

You have almost made it, but first you must carefully manipulate your men so they want to advance. How do you do this?

1. Stop and wait for the rest of the day, giving your men the chance to rest and recover
2. Hold a big party, with lots of food and wine.
3. Press on, they can manage.

So, you are ready to advance. There's just one last thing ...

9 of 10

Alright, you know the drill. Anything you need to do?

1. Nothing
2. Spread out
3. Split up and go in carefully

No more you can do except hold onto your hats, cos fun's just around the corner...

10 of 10

You advance to the edge of the jungle. Everything seems quiet. Some of your bolder men advance, and the next moment they're 'boulder' men. Rocks on vines have crashed down from the canopy, and thudded into them. This won't be easy...

The Battle for the Jungle has begun.

Part 3 - Battle for the Jungle

Safety point! If you die now, you will be able to start again from here!

1 of 9

Using your archers you aim at the vines. You are about to give the order to fire, when you notice crossbowmen, high up in the trees. You mention this to a crack squad of archers, who nod wisely. They can hit their target - but can your others?

1. Roll 2 dice and tell me the results here