Spotlight on:   Hyperborea

Every few weeks or so HWE will feature a review of a different kingdom of Hyboria by players who think that they have what it takes to win!  These contain strategy tips, ideas, and a general direction to go for those interested in making the most of their bid for Hyborian dominance.  Crom is very interested in gathering in as many reviews as possible from different players, so don't be shy about sending them in!  

Chris Krawciw also wrote this article on the albio masters of the frozen north!

Dark Arts and White Witches

Overview

    Civilization and time seems to slip away as you travel north beyond the Graaskal Mountains to Sigtona, where the lands of Hyperborea begin. The passing of friendlier plains and marshes into the brooding mountains gives way to a sense of desperation usually reserved for the tall, pale men and women who live there. They are as remote as their home. Fine leathers become rough furs, and the cities are framed in monolithic stone. The skies take on a pale, solid gray, and rarely does it not rain or snow in the winter. The summers are warmer, allowing for a good mesh of crops, but Hyperborea mainly relies on trade with Virunian and the Hyperborean Wastes. Dried fruits, vegetables, rugs, and silks come to them via the east, while Virunian supplies them with best leathers and metals. Travelers do not stay long. Its inhospitality makes it only a quick stop for most caravans or adventurers. Others, however, stay forever, even after they're dead.

A matriarchal society, this is the work of the White Witches, the highest echelon of Hyperborean culture. They rule Hyperborea with their cold, long fingers and dark arts, looking furtively to the south, always cautiously suspicious. There's little room for warmth in the tundra, except for that provided by their jealousy and hate of the neighboring kingdoms.

Geography

    Hyperborea's position is as monolithic as her cities, making it a well-designed defensive nation possessing the potential to grow beyond its borders in relatively quick fashion. Protected in the east by a border with an NPK, and to the west, somewhat, by the Ice Demon Glacier, it is easy to make several initial conquests. To the south is a relatively peaceful Brythunia with problems of its own and to the southwest is the Border Kingdom, the perpetual thorn. Though you will have an intense need to possess Virunian, attack from the Switzerland of Hyboria should not come any time soon. The real problem is Asgard, your old, old enemy. Hyperborea has battled Asgard for supremacy over the tundra for centuries, and the conflict will only end with either their or your destruction.

The key to Hyperborea's early success is the Icy Wastes.

The Military

    Hyperborea's military is fairly weak considering the array of possible opponents. You are most suited to battle the Border Kingdom, the NPKs, and perhaps Brythunia. Should Hyrkania make it over the top of the Vilayet, your troops will be his equals or better. Zamora shouldn't technically be a concern, but it is always possible. Zamora's mercenaries would make battle with them difficult, but possible. Any edge you will receive in terms of the military will be in readily available sorcery and numbers. This factor should even out or allow you the advantage as time progresses. Troop to troop, Hyperborea is sorely outclassed by Asgard, whose heavy infantry will be able to easily slaughter your light and medium troops. Be ready to carefully back up your PAs, then, with the Walking Dead.

The Walking Dead is your most infamous troop. The albino temptresses have learned to reanimate corpses, but the limitation of this spell is that these troops can only be used for defense. They are treated as heavy infantry, and although slow, are quite sturdy. They are best used in Pas for raids and defense. Also, since the potential for enemies abound due to your unique victory conditions, the Walking Dead are excellent in defensive armies. Even Aquilonia might have to rethink an attack when faced with the prospect of facing 30 troops of Walking Dead. I would encourage you to reserve at least one IA for this purpose at some time during the course of the game. You are forced to maintain a minimum 30% of Walking Dead regardless, making this IA fairly easy to assemble. While this is a hindrance to expansion, it should preserve the integrity of not only your home lands, but any new possessions as well. Your best offensive troop is the Hyperborean Nobles, a medium cavalry unit. Since you are only allowed a maximum of 20% of these troops, you will have to use a combined force of arms in order to be successful. Max out these troops and combine them with Hyperborean Warriors, your medium infantry unit. You are required to maintain 20% of these, so as you can see it will be a little more difficult to maximize your use of the Nobles.

Your remaining troops, the LIA Hyperborean Archers and LI, The White Hand, are not quite useless, but almost so. You aren't required to maintain any of these units, although Pomicia will levy White Hand every two years, a very high rate. All in all, you should try to maintain as many Nobles and Warriors as possible. If you must in order to reach 30 troops, The White Hand should be next, and lastly, Hyperborean Archers. The Archers are the equals of other LIA troops, no doubt, it's just that most nations won't be using them.

The choice between set piece or open field battles will depend on the target's strength. For the NPKs, it is recommended that you choose open field early on, but unless you are going against an Asgardian province with no troops, you should go set piece. It should also be noted that while Hyperborean troops are not necessarily cowards, they have only a moderate tolerance for bloodshed, and have been known to flee the battlefield early due to low morale.

The Court

    A remarkably balanced nation, any deficiency existing in Hyperborea's military is compensated for by its court. You are the sorcerous powerhouse of the north, second only to Stygia in all of Hyboria. There is neither lack nor want of virtually any spell at any time in the game. The most difficult aspect concerning this, however, is in deciding how to employ all of these wondrous weapons. Troops feeling low? That's OK, just choose from your assortment of Fanaticism spells, and their eyes will be gleaming with murderous rage in no time.

With the proper combination of characters accompanying invading IAs, you should be able to get the type of battle you want in the terrain that you want, and heck, while your at it, throw in a Fanaticism and Summon the Dead or two. You will need to do this, unfortunately, as it has already been noted that on their own, Hyperborean troops lack the one to one fighting capability necessary in order to achieve victory against your primary opponent, Asgard.

Other than a generous allotment of magic, you have been granted some fine diplomats. The Chancellor is one of the better starting Chancellor's in the game, and it should be no surprise when you send him off repeatedly to secure peace from one nation or another. HYPE-1,5, and 7 are also superior diplomats, allowing you to simultaneously peace and avoid influence on the same turn. They should be protected, most notably with HYPE-4, if he decides to stick around long enough. He has a wandering streak, but was a very useful character.

What the Hyperborean court lacked early on, an agent of notable combat ability, you should have no problem in securing during subsequent peace years. Throughout the course of my HYPE game in HW #649, Hyperborea's court continued to produce a gluttonous number of priests, wizards, heroes, generals, nobles, and even an agent or two, which completed the balance. For those players who have yet to experiment with court orders, this is the kingdom for you. While the characters are not throw aways, should one be killed while adventuring, or captured, there should always be at least one character who can bring him back to life or break him out of his cell.

HYPE-CHA-great diplomat able to secure peace in just the nick of time. He should be the target of one of your long life spells.

HYPE-ADJ-A great general whose fanaticism spell made him the natural choice as invasion commander early on.

HYPE-1-A somewhat frigid king, but a good ruler. His excellent diplomacy can be used in times of crisis when it is not essential that he actively rule.

HYPE-2-I used him to constantly actively rule the Hyperbor Valley, one of your victory conditions.

HYPE-3-A good backup military commander whose Diplomacy spell also came in handy when I wanted a quick, high avoidance level or treaty without tribute.

HYPE-4-A staple of the court and your only superior combat character. Useful as both a protector and sometimes assassin. While his heroism was only adequate, prodding him into the sometimes blunder, his Strength spell, in combination with his combat, was always enough to get him out of the toughest situations. He also came back from several successful adventures with increased abilities.

HYPE-5-The alliance breaker. This was a tough character to use, but only because it was difficult to decide whether to employ his great diplomacy, or his next to great intrigue.

HYPE-6-Who needs a spy when you have a Far Sight and Prophecy like this? Another good character who was useful in armies when not scrying for information on an enemy's capital.

HYPE-7-One of Hyperborea's premiere diplomats and rulers. Queen of Hyperborea, she was next in line for the throne, and got it…Use her Summon the Dead in armies when necessary. By the second or third turn, you probably won't need her great diplomacy for a while.

HYPE-8-A good wizard used in armies. Great for his Fanaticism or Force March.

HYPE-9-A so-so wizard good for his Sunbane in invading armies. You could also use him to Curse.

HYPE-10-Another wizard good for his Phantom Warriors, Far Sight, or Fear

HYPE-11-Anther Far Sight? You getting the picture yet..? (heh heh)

HYPE-12-More Far Sight, Sunbane, Fear, etc…

HYPE-13-Great Missile Shield in set piece or Diplomacy spell during the peace years. Was also useful as a straight up ruler.

HYPE-14-Probably your most useful and best wizard, he comes with a Long Life, Earth Demon, Far Sight, Magic Blast, Curse, and Summon the Dead. Excellent battle wizard and peace years character.

HYPE-15-Your only real agent, though by class, she is a wizard and province ruler. Mistress Ilga spied, counterspied, and did a relatively good job on all counts, although she was captured from time to time. Great military spies, but keep her out of the courts.

HYPE-16-Your only character classified as an agent, he comes with only an adequate rating. This meant that I usually used him for provincial spies, all of which were successful. He was, well-adequate.

Enemies, Allies, and Strategies

    Before settling on a strategy, you should look at your goals. You already own the Hyperbor Valley, a perfect place for your Walking Dead. You will need to conquer Virunian (both an imperial goal and a VC), The Icy Desert, and your most difficult victory condition, Tanasul. The problem with Tanasul isn't as much as it is an Aquilonian province, as it is in getting that far. You will somehow need to go through the Border Kingdom first, who starts out with a peace treaty on you. The other option is to attack Tanasul through a sequence of alliances, but you should be leery of that route as it could lead to disaster unless you know the players very well. Vanaheim is your most natural ally, as you both will want to get Asgard out of the way. Unfortunately, working with Nemedia is almost out of the question since you need a piece of the Border Kingdom. Another option is Brythunia, already an enemy of Nemedia, or most likely so. With Brythunia's help, you should be able to keep the Nemedia/BK bloc off balance or checked enough to allow you the time for what should be your most pressing matter, Asgard. Fortunately, since you come with 4 great diplomats, keeping Asgard peaced isn't a problem, especially since Asgard lacks any real diplomatic power other than ASGA-7.

ASGA-7 and BORD-CHA should be your primary court targets, but your only real assassin is HYPE-4. As such, you might have to resort to contracting out Zamora or another for the hit. Since your treasury starts out at Excellent, this shouldn't be much of a problem, but if that is the direction you choose to go, contact these nations early, as many will already be knocking on their door for their own purposes. You don't want to go into the next peace years with both ASGA-7 and BORD-CHA both still alive.

There are three main strategies I've seen players employ as Hyperborea. The first and most obvious is to open with an attack on Hyperborean Wastes. True, while this nets a quick victory and Imperial Goal, and does place you closer to the Icy Desert, this move allows Asgard to take the Icy Wastes. Once out of his northern cage, Asgard could prove to be your destruction early on without even touching you.

The next strategy is to attack the Icy Wastes. A victory there could seal in Asgard for the foreseeable future and give you time to eliminate ASGA-7. What makes this opening strategy difficult is the fact that unless you commit yourself to a possible set piece against a stronger Asgard, you will most surely lose in you meet him there.

The last strategy is an all out blitz on Asgard in conjunction with Vanaheim. The difficulty here is that, most likely, Asgard will chose to peace one of the other of you, or both if he can muster it. The result is lost time and stagnation. Or, of course, only one of your invasions will go through, you will most likely lose your peace treaty, and will be torn to shreds by his HI.

What to do, what to do?

I believe that early alliance with Brythunia and Vanaheim is your best bet, but that you should commit to set piece in Icy Wastes in case Asgard has declared invasion against it. Also be ready for a turn 3 invasion there by Asgard in case he is peaced by Vanaheim. On turn 1, declare invasion into both Hyperborean Wastes and Icy Wastes, moving your IA into #49. You should also prophecy the world and Asgard in order to pick up any invasion intents. If Asgard did not declare into the Icy Wastes, attack the Icy Wastes and go for open field. Meanwhile, you should have dropped your Walking Dead from your defensive IA, and should have activated it. Make sure to peace Border Kingdom and Asgard as well. Although your Walking Dead are very good, they can't stand up to too many Wolfraven Reavers.

If Asgard declared invasion into Icy Wastes, you can exercise the option of taking Hyperborean Wastes in open field, or bringing in your second IA against Icy Wastes. You'll have to avoid Asgard's influence and try to kill ASGA-7. Svanthal Kiev, VANA-7 is an excellent assassin. Try to persuade your ally VANA that this needs to be done.

If you should be successful in Icy Wastes, race at top speed for the Icy Desert. You can have your second IA take Hyperborean Wastes or swing back for it later. Go for Northern Wastes and then Icy Desert. Once you have that in possesion, you'll be granted IA-3. You should be able to pick up Turanian Tundra and Hyperborean Wastes as well. Once that is completed, you can set yourself to the task of eliminating BORD-CHA or if ASGA still hasn't peaced you, organizing your armies for an offensive on Asgard.

Be sure to also, at some point, keep an eye on Nemedia. He might want to get tricky and sneak through the Border Kingdom for an attack on your lands, a move that makes sense should he end up peaced by all of his enemies.

If you aren't, for some reason, successful in the Icy Wastes, take the Hyperborean Wastes as soon as possible and try to outrun him for the Icy Desert. If Asgard breaks out of his cage, this potentially brings Turan into play, another large kingdom that will have an interest in seeing the Asgardians stopped.

If, after all of this, you still haven't been successful, prepare yourself for a long war. Asgard and Border Kingdom will continue to be your primary opponents, but without the extra IA and extra 30 troops, it will be slow going, even with all of your wizards. This is why quick, early success is essential. Attacking Asgard or the BK with 2-3 armies is imperative.

Endgame

    Hyperborea is an exceptionally well-balanced large kingdom. It cannot boast of a great military, or, arguably, a great court due to the lack of combat and intrigue, but, with a little time, planning, and guile, you should be able to break free from the northern tundra and into the lands of Aquilonia. It is there where you will face your greatest challenges if Aquilonia has still survived by the time you are prepared to arrive. It might be a Cimmerian, Nemedian, Pictish, Ophirian, or Zingaran province by then, who knows? As such, you will need to try to plan for contingencies for each of them, and choose your allies carefully. Were it not for Hyperborea's great hate and jealousy of Aquilonia, you would not even have to venture that far south in order to attain victory, but, of course, these kinds of wishes are for the foolish. This is your kingdom, sorcerous and dark. Rule it wisely, my Lord. The winters grow cold.