Re: Which nations need help?
 

Thanks for including Marverni - EA, they are in the most need, IMHO

Re: Which nations need help?
 

I don't play MP, but at least in SP they are one of my favorite nations. Cheap sacred researchers, no need for a bless means it's easy to prioritize magic research. No real problems with expansion given Elite Warriors and Heavy Infantry. Easy access to skelly spam and later on Cloud of Death. Magic diversification is a bit of a problem at first, but C'tis has an easy time getting intelligent Tartarians with so many death and nature mages, and Unfrozen mages are an option sometimes too. I don't see C'tis as needing any help.

-Max

Re: Which nations need help?
 

Also, Augur Elders are recruitable anywhere. I haven't played EA Ermor yet--they're on my list to try out--but that's a pretty decent-looking battlemage, amassable in large quantities, with access to Nether Darts and Pillar of Fire.

-Max

Re: Which nations need help?
 

EA Ermor has many advantages - but none zip zilch national spells.

As a pythium clone it's a powerful position - except for the lack of air magic.

Otherwise, as a sacred rusher or the like, it's just kinda inferior. So I gave them some powerful sacred summons (the Angels) and I think that covers that nicely.

Re: Which nations need help?
 

I'm not sure EA Ulm needs help per se. They have some of the better human units in the game.

EA Ctis rocks. 3 Death? Slave Warriors? Chariots? Even City Guard are pretty good, for the age (12 armor) and cost (10/10).

Why *not* an aquatic blood-nation?
 

EA R'lyeh is baaad. However, that's pretty obvious to most people. What I'd really like to see is Atlantis having more spells, and the ability to use blood on both land and sea would be extremely thematic, and fun. Not too overpowering either, because there aren't many blood-sites (if any) in the ocean, so it'd be harder for them to collect bloodslaves-and they'd probably need more than a human nation would, since they maybe wouldn't be as familiar with the most efficient rites.

EA R'lyeh would be better if it had more strong national astral spells, and maybe some earth, since they do live in mud. A little blood would be fine, but I don't really see them being a "blood-nation", as opposed to Atlantis. I can definitely see Atlanteans sending raiding parties to the surface and dragging back screaming victims to use as bloodslaves. They're already maybe breeding with surface-dwellers once in a while for kicks, and they're weird and creepy and evil enough to be very in to nasty demonic rituals. I just don't see the same thing nearly as clearly for EA R'lyeh. They're too alien and strange for blood-magic. They might use slaves for drudge-work, but not for blood magic, except possibly in a very limited capacity-maybe a mutant strain of aboleth has access to 1 blood as a random?.

Re: Why *not* an aquatic blood-nation?
 

EA Rlyeh is fine, at least imo. And they need less, not more, Astral to be thematic, at least.

Re: Which nations need help?
 

Purely for entertainment purposes, it would be fun to stick some dinosaur type summons on EA C'tis, but they're strong already, and any additions for them would just be an indulgeance. I'm sure I spelled that wrong.

Sometimes it's fun to indulge, but if you're just helping out the weakest nations, EA Agartha and EA R'lyeh are the most obvious choices for increased national spell lists. I can think of all sorts of extremely weird, interesting cave-dwelling monsters to summon: giant crayfish, beholders, giant catfish, bats, ropers, purple worms, carrion crawlers, there's tons of stuff ready to grab just from D&D-and most of them have high quality miniatures you can grab for graphics off the internet.

Niefelheim is very, very strong, but they're too much of a 1 trick pony, in my opinion-they really could use some more (not-unbalancing! infact, they should be very expensive) national spells. They've only got 2, and while they're fine, a lot could be done to expand and improve the theme. EA Tien'Chi is another one-they are already very powerful, but they deserve a larger themed national spell-list.

Yomi has HUGE opportunities to expand their national spell list, probably they're the most wrongfully slighted nation when it comes to national spells, and they really could use some help.

Re: Which nations need help?
 

EA R'lyeh sucks. A lot. And they should be the premiere EA Astral nation.

Re: Which nations need help?
 

I don't think EA Ermor is weak by any means, but as far as their national spell list goes? yeah, I can go along with you there, I just hope that whatever spells they get go along with the "vibrant empire, cosmopolitan culture, open-minded, enlightened Citizen of the Republic, might be rotten to the core, but looks very alive, shiny, and full of hope on the outside" feel to the nation.

It could use more of that kind of representation.

Militarily, they can be quite strong, because they have a very incorporated war-machine.