Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

Actually I just now learned that spamming phantasmal warrior seems to be a viable assasination tactic against indy commanders at least. I was using it with a research order of alt-3 then ench-3 before I headed up the evoc tree. I can see it working against a lot of nations regular troop movers, and it avoids the problem with Holy Avenger against priests.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

The very best thing about Tir are the recruit-everywhere Sidhe Lords. They are the best recruit-anywhere thug in EA and I think probably the entire game. E9 N4+ gives spectacular results and should be very high on your list of priorities when creating a pretender.

I was able to make an E10 N6 (it makes a difference) Dom 4 Cyclops sleeping with Order 3, Sloth 3 (you don't even need any troops until well into midgame!), Cold 1, Death 2, Misfortune 2, Magic 3.

This builds on a few of the nation's strengths.

*You have no vulnerable, aged mages, and no Blood magic, so Death is actually an easy pick.

*Sloth - well, you have no need of rank and file troops, basically.

*Misfortune is synergistic with Order and I think Luck is really getting more play lately than it should. Maybe something to do with CBM but I still don't see it.

*Magic 3 is required in my view because your researchers are often also your thugs, and so research efficiency is key. You are also shorted on Death magic which doesn't make research any easier.

Best of all, your Sidhe Lords are going to be completely supercharged fighter jets.

Sidhe Lords and Ri, their uber capital-only brother, can both do all of the following:

Bless (+4 protection, +5 reinvigoration, +10% regeneration)
Holy Avenger
Barkskin
Mistform
Elemental Fortitude
Resist Lightning
Resist Poison
Mirror Image
Flight
Cloud Trapeze

All with Glamour, which means you can not be counterattacked via ritual spells, and Cloud Trapeze, Forest Survival, this gives you virtually unlimited movement, and a mandate to strike anywhere on the map.

With any kind of real defensive item like Vine Shield, and a little weapon like a Snake Bladder Stick (script resist poison) or Frost Brand, this becomes a master thug. Add a Lucky Amulet and Girdle of Strength, and a Sidhe Lord becomes more or less a supercombatant. Consider that with your bless, you can add a Shroud of the Battle Saint to nearly any unit and increase their effectiveness and survivability by a large margin. You can do all this the instant you hit Construction 4, which should be your first research goal after Alteration 3.

Just watch your Sidhe Lords and Ris trash anything in their way just with a blessing and Barkskin. Imagine that later with just a few effective items.

The one thing I should probably stress is that you are very thirsty for Astral magic. Find some sorceresses or shamans early and pump them out like crazy.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

Resist poison is only 50% isn't it? It seems like the snake bladder would still kill/cripple you.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

Resist poison is total immunity (well, according to the description... can't say I have run tests)

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

The build sounds fun for a blitz, but if you take Misfortune-2 and Death-2, eventually you'll have a plague in your capitol. Tir doesn't get fortune tellers, right?

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

No they don't. Personally I would forgo the magic 3 for magic 1 and even growth/death scales. Compared to Eriu, Tir gets the Bean Sidhe recruit anywhere, and she's a decently cost effective researcher.
@Renojustin I don't have much experience, but I doubt a Sidhe Lord can be made into much more than a very good thug. And how does glamour protect against ritual spells?

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

Glamour == stealth. Hiding occurs before rituals, so if you stealth away instead of moving, you can't be targeted by most attack rituals. Mind Hunt is the big exception.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

AHHH Thanks. Mind hunt is definitely gonna be a problem though, without any astral at all. Guess you have to hope and pray for a shadow seer to escort your lords.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

I think there's some kind of magic built into Dominions so that if your build is much better if you get a certain hero or indy mage, you will only get that indy mage or hero when you are playing SP.

Hire lots of indy scouts, or if you are so unlucky that you have no indy scouts (entirely possible in EA) or even indy monkeys, hire scouts in your forts when you don't have cash for a mage. Try to sneak a couple scouts into each of the provinces you are attacking.

Re: Questions on Tir na nog
 

I can affirm that this is correct. The Devs have somehow harnessed a malicious spirit and shackled it into the code; I suspect it resides somewhere in the nooks and crannies of the RNG.