Re: Game write-up
 

I think we blew out the poor guys original purpose for this thread. Im sorry. Please. Continue with the game writeup

Re: Game write-up
 

Heh. Yeah, some things here are slightly off topic. Not that big a deal. I'm hoping to get a couple turns played tonight, but we'll have to see. I've got to read some Messages here first, then we'll see how much time I've got left to play before I need to sleep. (Must... sleep...)

Oh yeah... I didn't realize that the bless effect scaled up between levels 4 and 9. I just thought the effects were at one level between 4 and 8 and then jumped at 9. Interesting...

Re: Game write-up
 

Initial Review
I've started the game out in a coastal province. For those who like to follow allong, I'm in T'ien Ch'i (112). Of the four non-water provinces around me, one is farm/forest, one is forest/mountain, one is mountain, and one is farm/mountain. My own province is forest. Obviously I have no idea yet about populations (and therefore gold income) or anything else useful.

I take a look at my starting units. I've got Tai, my Arch Mage of course. I also have Naggor the Scout, and Di-ya the Eunuch. Di-ya isn't much of a commander, but he's something. I place my 5 horsemen (light cavalry), 12 archers, and 8 footmen (with pikes) under his command. Since none of these units has any significant armor, I'm going to need to be really cautious of armies with ranged attacks. Against those, I plan to place my melee units far forward and charge the enemy while my archers fire at enemy archers. The cavalry will of course attempt to flank the enemy. Against enemies with no (or weak) archers, I will have everyone hang far back, with the melee units delaying for two turns before attacking. Again, the cavalry will attempt to flank and hit the rear.

With this force, I think it would be wise to hold back for one turn so I can get some kind of estimate about the forces in the provinces around me. I will send Naggor south to Bithyne (102) (the farm/mountain province), as this should be a nice income and resource province for me. I'll then try for the nearby weakest provinces, attempting to work my way north as much as possible to take all the provinces around T'ien Ch'i. In the meanwhile, I'll set about attempting to build a second army featuring some heavier armor, sacred troops, and a priest or two. Tai will be researching until I can get some mages to take over, freeing him up to search for magic sites. I'll focus my research on Construction until I hit level 2, then I'll start branching out. I don't expect to heavily use my mages in combat until later.

Turn: 1
Though expensive, I recruit a Celestial Master. He will be my prophet, and will also help out quite nicely in the research area. In addition, I queue up a Red Guard (the start of my elite cavalry unit), and two spear wielding Imperial Footman. They'll be nice units to guard my archers. This leaves me with 54 gold in my treasury, which will probably be sorely needed later to pick up priests and mages.

********************
Turn: 2
Nothing significant in the Messages. Just a couple prophet announcements.

Naggor sends back a report from Bithyne (102). On the good side, there are only about 20 hostiles. On the bad side, it's mostly heavy cavalry and heavy infantry. Not something I feel comfortable taking on when my main punch is composed of archers. I send Naggor on to the east, to Iron Range (102). This isn't directly accesible from T'ien Ch'i, but I want to get a feel for what's around.

I quick check on the other provinces around T'ien Ch'i reveals that two of the other three feature archers or crossbowmen. The final, Lombaria (120) to the north (along the coast) has approximately 40 light and heavy infantry. This sounds tough, but should be do-able. I send Di-ya and his 25 troops up north (and hope that the enemy size was over estimated, not underestimated).

Sun-pi the Celestial Master has arrived at T'ien Ch'i. He features the standard array of magical skills, plus a single level of death magic. I declare him as my newly discovered prophet.

After recruiting another Red Guard and two Imperial Footmen I am (unfortunately) three gold short of the 100 I need to recruit a Master of the Way to begin helping out with research efforts. I decided to hold off on spending that gold this turn so that I can get a Master of the Way next turn. Following that, I'll try to pick up a Prince General as the leader of my army which is forming.

At the Last minute, I decide to increase the taxes to 110. I'll drop it back down to 100 again before the unrest gets out of hand.

********************
Turn: 3
Another four nations announce new prophets. Of course, the only one that really matters is the announcement from T'ien Ch'i... In addition, I've completed research in level 1 Construction magic.

Feeling a little nervous, I bring up the battle replay.
The Battle for Lombaria
It appears the independants have 5 crossbowmen, 7 heavy infantry, 15 light infantry, and 3 commanders. Hmm...

The battle begins with my archers being unfortunately innaccurate. Probably not too surprising given the shields worn by the enemy infantry. I lose one footman to the crossbowmen before my troops start moving. My cavalry is of course headed off towards the crossbowmen. Good.

My footmen are remarkably bold. They take massive losses, but somehow route the enemy light infantry before the two survivors turn and flee back towards my archers. My cavalry fails to make much of a dent in the enemy rear before the one remaining horseman turns and flees. This isn't looking good... Fortunately, my archers remain strong and force back the enemy heavy infantry in hand-to-hand combat. That proves to be sufficient. The remaining enemy forces turn and run.

The Battle for Lombaria has been won by my brave troops. I lost 12 men. Not too bad, considering the opposition, but I'm definitely going to have to send Di-ya back to the capital for some fresh troops. As a nice bonus, Di-ya is now apparently in the hall of fame. He has picked up the Heroic Endurance ability. Yeah... that'll be useful.

Interestingly enough, taking Lombaria (120) reveals that Pythium has already taken the next province to the north (along the coast). Grey Mirks (3) may not currently have much of an army, but it's already at a dominion level of -1. That strongly implies that his capital is only one province further away. Something to watch out for.

I also spot another -1 dominion province off to the south in Winter Peaks (95). I should still have plenty of space to expand to the east though.

I set Sun-pi the prophet to continual research in the field of Construction, and send Tai north to Lombaria (120) to hunt for magical sites.

A quick check for unrest reveals that setting the tax rate at T'ien Ch'i (112) to 110 had no effect on unrest, so I happily leave it there. Lombaria (120) is at11 unrest, so I set the tax rate there to my standard of 100 minus the unrest rounded to the nearest 10. In this case that would mean a tax of 90. Seems to work well enough.

My recruits this time will be a Master of the Way, and my now standard allotment of Red Guard and Imperial Footmen. The remaining 91 gold will be needed to purchase that Prince General soon. Well... make that 25 remaining gold. The remainder is spent upgrading the defence in Lombaria (120) to 11.

Oh yes, almost forgot about Naggor (so hard to keep track of scouts). Looks like Iron Range (106) is defended by 30 hostiles, militia and heavy infantry. Should be a good site to hit. Oh... other than the fact it's a mountain/waste province. Hmm... Naggor will move on to the north-east, into the province Keban (111). From there I'll be able to quickly head towards the provinces held by Pythium.

********************

Well, that's it for tonight. Time to head to bed. I doubt I'll remain this detailed (unless people want me too). I'll probably go with whatever feels like an interesting level of detail.

So far I'm finding that game play is definitely slower since I write stuff up as I play, but it's really not that bad. The benefit of course is that I end up putting more thought into my turns and I also have a record to check back on for remembering what I'd planned to do. That should be helpful.

Tune in next time for Turn 4.

Re: Game write-up
 

Just a quick thought: A game write-up like this might be a good walkthrough for newer players. Stating things like who/what you're recruiting and for what purpose, what you're researching and why, how you set formations and deploy your armies are all helpful tips. Entirely up to you of course, but I, for one, am cheering you on! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Taking a break from playing, it's fun to read, and interesting also for the dramatic aspect you place on it. Nice storytelling.

Re: Game write-up
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Hmmm. Can I put a shroud on a normally unsacred mage and have it come back as souless?

(Still don't know answer to the above)

More to the point...Can I put a shroud on say a black hunter lord and have it come back as a huge undead upkeep free spider and zombie rider?? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon6.gif

(I just tested this ... the answer is no, no resurrection on hunters which I think is a serious bug) http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Shouldn't all sacred units have souless equivs, given the life after death blessing? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/confused.gif

Dammit. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon8.gif This is why I wanted the DS, at least there the blessing is useful.... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...s/rolleyes.gif

I think one of the first mods I'm making when pretenders become eligible, is a cheap base3 god for each element avalable to each race...

(moloch-fire)
(titan, or new cheaper (roc?) for air)
(nereid/SotS/new immobile for water)
(cyclops/new cheaper (basilisk?) for earth)
(oracle for astral)
(PoD for death)
(divine serpent/greenman for nature)
(FoB for the femicidial maniacs out there)

It seems like thematic considerations shouldn't grossly interfere with basic bless effect potentials.

(*That* would be permutatively unthematic)

I love this game, this game makes me crazy.

Rabe the failed Mad Spider Taxidermist

Re: Game write-up
 

Prophet announcments can be informative. There have been times I have chosen my first few prophets completely by their name and whether or not that name would give an early clue about my domain/theme.

Re: Game write-up
 

Turn: 4
How nice! In Lombaria, a handful of magic astral gems have been found on a starry night. Always nice to see stuff like that.

While just doing a quick check of what ritual spells can be cast and what magic items forged by Sun-pi the prophet, and the new Kui-xing the Master of the Way. I realize that Sun-pi with his single level of death magic can create a Skull Talisman. This really is one of my favorite low level items. It's great for non-magical commanders, because it gives them something to do during battle that is both useful and keeps them out of harm's way. I've even had battles won in past games because all the regular troops ran off, but one or two commanders just kept cranking out the undead until the enemy broke and ran. I set Kui-xing to researching and put Sun-pi to work building a skull talisman. This means that Di-ya will have to wait around T'ien Ch'i for an extra turn, but I suppose that will just give him a chance to collect a few more of the tougher troops.

Meanwhile, up in Lombaria (120), Tai is assigned to search for magic sites. He's all alone up there, but I not particularly worried at this point. The one adjacent enemy province only has an estimated 4 men. I really don't expect them to attack.

This turn I purchase a Master of Rituals, a Red Guard, and two Imperial Footmen. The Master of Rituals will accompany my single army to provide blessings and other holy support. Next turn I'll get back to generating more mages for additional research.

I thought I moved Naggor into Keban (111) Last turn, but it looks like I canceled his order somehow, as he's still hanging around Iron Range (106). I get him moving again, and dock him one month's pay for his laziness.

Unrest has risen to 1 in T'ien Ch'i. This is quite acceptable. I'll leave the tax level at 110 for now.

********************
Turn: 5
Unfortunately, Tai has discovered no magical sites. I'll send him back to T'ien Chi to continue researching.

Keban (111) is a plains province, and contains 40 heavy and light infantry. I'll send Naggor north along the coast to Acyste (125). This is just east of Grey Mirks (3) which you might recall is occupied by Pythium troops.

Ru Shou is my new Minister of Rituals. He joins Di-ya the Eunuch and the freshly filled army as they head south to Bithyre (102). Occupied by a smaller number of Heavy Cavalry and Heavy Infantry, this should be a tough fight, but winnable.
Unrest is down to 3 in Lombaria (120), so I raise the tax back to 100. T'ien Ch'i's unrest is up to 3, so I drop the tax there back down to 100 in order to give the people a break.

Sun-pi resumes research work. With his help, level 2 construction magic will be reached next turn. A little bit of remaining effort will be put into Thaumaturgy.

Being very short on gold, I am able to recruit one Master of the Way, one Red Guard, and one Imperial Footman. Boy, I need to grab a few gold producing provinces quick here...

********************
Turn: 6
The Battle for Bithyne
It looks like I'm up against 6 Heavy Infantry, 10 Heavy Cavalry, and two mounted commanders.

Normally against armies with no archers I'd have had my melee troops hold back and let my archers fill the enemy with arrows. This time though, I knew there were Heavy Cavalry which would hit my line pretty quickly. Therefore, I set my melee units to attack, hoping in particular that my cavalry would take out an enemy leader quickly.

Once again, my mounted troops are dropped quite quickly (grumble... might start spending less on them). I fear for the safety of my Imperial Footmen, as they take the brunt of the enemy's Heavy Cavalry charge. Somehow though, they stand firm, and within a couple rounds, the enemy cavalry turns and flees.

With just a couple more rounds of fighting, my troops are able to chase off the remaining enemies. Victory is ours! At the final count, I lost 6 men (mostly cavalry) while killing 2 enemy commanders and 16 regular units. I am definitely not pleased with the performance of my Red Guard, although I will admit that even after losing two thirds of the men in their unit, they still fought on bravely...

I set Yu (my new Master of the Way) to researching, while tai moves south to Bithyne (102) to search for magical sites. Di-ya, Ru Shou, and the First Army will move back to T'ien Ch'i to acquire fresh troops.

I switch over all of my research focus to Thaumaturgy. Unfortunately, I will be left just two points short of reaching level 1 next turn.

I drop taxes in Bithyne (102) to 90 to reduce unrest from its current level of 8.

Up in Acyste (125), I see that Naggor is now able to see one province north to Pythium (5). Interesting. I think I'll send him in and see if I can raise unrest to keep his gold totals low.

I decide to forgo purchasing a Red Guard this time. I think I need to assemble a larger unit before I send them into battle. With such a large savings, I am able to purchase another Master of the Way, three Imperial Footmen, and three Archers... Hmmm... nice. Sometime I do need to get back to those Red Guard, but it'll have to wait until I've got more gold available.

Oh yes, I also increase the defense in Bityne (102) to 4 (as much as I can afford).

While looking around the map for any Last tasks, I sudden realize that the two bordering sea provinces to my west are now owned by R'lyeh. Yikes! Despite our nations' common interest in names that include apostrophes, I think I'm going to need to keep a very close eye on them.

********************

It appears that three turns is a nice number of turns to play in one sitting when writing up details of this sort. I might get a larger chunk of time to play this weekend. We'll see.

I'm relatively pleased so far, although I do think that I should have held off building the Red Guard for now. They need to be used in a larger block I think, and I don't yet have to gold to put that together. It's certainly too bad that so many of my surrounding provinces seem to have a low population (and thus supply minimal taxes).

Tune in next time for Turn 7.

Re: Game write-up
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">You can mod that sort of thing quite easily. Pretenders can be modded - you just can't add entirely new ones, control which nations can use them, or change many of their unique abilities. But you can change their magic paths, costs, and most other attributes. So go for it!

PvK

Re: Game write-up
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Alot of that can be done in a .map file if you wanted to do it for one race to play a god not normally allowed as a god (Doom Horror, Ancient Presence, Abomination) butit would be for jsut that map.

[ January 31, 2004, 20:49: Message edited by: Gandalf Parker ]

Re: Game write-up
 

...bump...

Eagerly awaiting the next chapter in the saga. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif