Lord who gathers his powers and forces will not go unnoticed. Traditionally this leads to expressions such as: there is a darkness come to the world; a power is rising in the east; and, there is evil abroad in the land. All of these are roundabout ways of recognising that a Dark Lord is Rising.
Fortunately, those who will oppose you once you have Risen will do nothing while you are actually Rising. Rather than nip the problem in the bud they will dither and dally, rush around in a headless panic, and observe from afar but not actually do anything to stop you. This is good. Use the time well.
While your opponent may not be willing to take the initiative and stop your Rising, he will be making his own preparations. Heroes need to be found, relics discovered, prophecies read etc. It’s all time consuming. You must use this time to be ready first and this is the real pressure you are under.
I’m not sure I like the idea of Heroes, thought Morden. They sound dangerous.
Indeed they are, but we will come to those in a later lesson. For now, let’s stay on track with Rising. Now, where were we?
A good Rising should be followed by a sudden Coming Forth (see next chapter). If you have Risen well and disrupted your opponents preparations you should be able to Come Forth and manage some Laying Waste (see chapter after Coming Forth) before the Forces of Good are properly marshalled.
And how might I disrupt these Heroic preparations? thought Morden.
There are many ways in which you may disrupt heroic preparation. The trickier part is knowing who your opponent will be but once known there are several acceptable methods. Dark riders of various kinds are a favourite but they tend to be more bark than bite. Monsters abroad, theft of holy relics, and kidnapping are all worth a try.
I understand.
Good. Now, when Rising the first decision to be made is where to Rise. As with any real estate concern, it’s location, location, location. Traditionally a Dark Lord will seek to Rise in either the north or the east. For some reason, the so called Forces for Good prefer the west, so south may well be an option as well. This will be where you have your fortress.
A fortress. I like the sound of that. Like it a lot. Now that was something I definitely want.
So you want a fortress? Well, the first thing is to look at the geography and consider important features such as impenetrable mountain ranges, nasty indigenous flora and fauna (poison swamps, dragons, immense spiders and man eating plants are all favourable) and the weather. If you are coming into the Dark Lord business later in life perhaps the colder north may not be the best choice as it will play havoc with the rheumatism. But seeing as you are so young, you can worry about that later.
The east is generally a safe bet and has the advantage of having the rising sun behind you for those dawn battles. Nothing seems to upset a Dark Lord’s army more than sun in the eyes.
Wherever you choose, you are going to need property, lots of it. There is plenty of land that isn’t owned by anyone but with a little work is more than adequate for your purposes. You are looking for an area that preferably inspires dread and fear; mountains that are volcanically active tend to have this effect.
Do research and find out if there is anywhere that a previous Dark Lord has Risen. The Forces of Good tend not to be very efficient in follow through and often leave much of a Dark Lord’s domain in a salvageable state from which another Dark Lord may Rise. This is an ideal case as it saves on construction.
Mental note to self, thought Morden. Ask Grimtooth about Zoon’s fortress.
Once you have your location you are going to have to Marshal your Power. You’ll need an army. This may at first seem a daunting prospect but it is easier than it sounds. All you have to do is put out that you are offering a share of the entire world’s wealth. Throw in sweeteners, such as the opportunity to Lay Ruin and
Fortunately, those who will oppose you once you have Risen will do nothing while you are actually Rising. Rather than nip the problem in the bud they will dither and dally, rush around in a headless panic, and observe from afar but not actually do anything to stop you. This is good. Use the time well.
While your opponent may not be willing to take the initiative and stop your Rising, he will be making his own preparations. Heroes need to be found, relics discovered, prophecies read etc. It’s all time consuming. You must use this time to be ready first and this is the real pressure you are under.
I’m not sure I like the idea of Heroes, thought Morden. They sound dangerous.
Indeed they are, but we will come to those in a later lesson. For now, let’s stay on track with Rising. Now, where were we?
A good Rising should be followed by a sudden Coming Forth (see next chapter). If you have Risen well and disrupted your opponents preparations you should be able to Come Forth and manage some Laying Waste (see chapter after Coming Forth) before the Forces of Good are properly marshalled.
And how might I disrupt these Heroic preparations? thought Morden.
There are many ways in which you may disrupt heroic preparation. The trickier part is knowing who your opponent will be but once known there are several acceptable methods. Dark riders of various kinds are a favourite but they tend to be more bark than bite. Monsters abroad, theft of holy relics, and kidnapping are all worth a try.
I understand.
Good. Now, when Rising the first decision to be made is where to Rise. As with any real estate concern, it’s location, location, location. Traditionally a Dark Lord will seek to Rise in either the north or the east. For some reason, the so called Forces for Good prefer the west, so south may well be an option as well. This will be where you have your fortress.
A fortress. I like the sound of that. Like it a lot. Now that was something I definitely want.
So you want a fortress? Well, the first thing is to look at the geography and consider important features such as impenetrable mountain ranges, nasty indigenous flora and fauna (poison swamps, dragons, immense spiders and man eating plants are all favourable) and the weather. If you are coming into the Dark Lord business later in life perhaps the colder north may not be the best choice as it will play havoc with the rheumatism. But seeing as you are so young, you can worry about that later.
The east is generally a safe bet and has the advantage of having the rising sun behind you for those dawn battles. Nothing seems to upset a Dark Lord’s army more than sun in the eyes.
Wherever you choose, you are going to need property, lots of it. There is plenty of land that isn’t owned by anyone but with a little work is more than adequate for your purposes. You are looking for an area that preferably inspires dread and fear; mountains that are volcanically active tend to have this effect.
Do research and find out if there is anywhere that a previous Dark Lord has Risen. The Forces of Good tend not to be very efficient in follow through and often leave much of a Dark Lord’s domain in a salvageable state from which another Dark Lord may Rise. This is an ideal case as it saves on construction.
Mental note to self, thought Morden. Ask Grimtooth about Zoon’s fortress.
Once you have your location you are going to have to Marshal your Power. You’ll need an army. This may at first seem a daunting prospect but it is easier than it sounds. All you have to do is put out that you are offering a share of the entire world’s wealth. Throw in sweeteners, such as the opportunity to Lay Ruin and
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