> > >That's true. But it seemed that Salinargs army did not know of the bat.
> > [...]
>Ok... I gathered it from the description in KOS
>"That night a glow from the north unreasonably frightened the Sartar
>army. Many fled and saved themselves. Others watched as a huge bat,
>town-sized and glowing like the Red Moon itself, heavily flew into sight
>and clumsily swooped towards Runegate..."
>It just sounds to me like they have no Idea what they are facing, and
>that they definitely expected no such thing.
It could easily mean they were unreasonable to flee from a mere glow and should have waited until it was confirmed they were facing the bat _before_ running like buggery.
> > >So what keeps the bat from being the deciding factor of every war the
> > >Empire faces?
> > It's difficult to control.
>But they have a whole cult to control it. The details fall onto them.
The existence of a whole cult doesn't mean that it's any less easier to control the bat.
> > The Bat does not will it.
>I sure hope this is not a factor. Isn't the bat of animal intellect
>anyway? Poor Lunars if the bat is a willful and intelligent demon.
It has normal intellect in the RQ3 rules (13). As for it being
willful and intelligent only makes the Lunar Empire more interesting
IMO.
> > The resummoning rites to the bat haven't been performed since the
> > Stars are not Right.
>Does it tend to die a lot then? It seems almost impossible to kill with
>less than a truedragon.
No, the rites are stated to be extremely difficult.
> > Professional rivalry by the Yanafali who like to win clean and
> > honorable victories without the excessive devastation caused
> > by the Bat (and also by the Lunar College of Magic). Not using
> > the Bat is like not playing in God Mode in Doom/Quake/Duke Nukem
> > etc. It's riskier but people respect you for it.
>That's true. But is it really THAT powerful? (the mind boggles). So if
>the armies fail, you can always nuke the site? (send in The Bat)
Nuking the site can be done by the Crater-makers. But if the enemy takes to the hills and the Lunar Army is knackered, then the bat is the weapon of choice.
> > The High Priest of the Bat has more important things to do right
> > now (re-enact the bat's spiritual enlightenment, punish nobles
> > who slighted him, clip his toenails) than to stoop to petty
> > mundane conquests. Should messengers attempt to command the Bat
> > to obey the orders of the Emperor, the Bat will digest the
> > implications of the messenger at length before informing the
> > High Priest of her desires.
>:) amusing, but I think the Lunars are more disciplined than that.
Why? This is a doctrine dedicated to insanity, illumination, change, transformation and chaos. Discipline is a non-starter. Since virtually all other factions within the Empire have agendas why not the High Priest of the Bat?
--Peter Metcalfe
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