Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

Thanks Aresha!

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

Oh, since you asked so nicely, hit me up in PMs and we can discuss a trade.

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

Well, I made SEVERAL posts in this threads where I explicitly asked for any help, saying I would pay, bribe, or ally with anyone willing to attack either Tien Chi or Jotun. The problem was that the two nations that had borders with them where not willing to do so (I asked them repeatidely), and the rest of the nations (like Man) where very far away, and too interested in growing while watching the decline of Ermor, which is a very legitimate (and clever) decission btw. It's not that I didn't ask for help. I did, several times. But people was not willing to help the guy that was leading in provinces, everybody would preffer to wait to see him "peeled off" a bit. The problem is, once an empire crumbles, it does so very fast. As a rule of thumb, it's probably too late for help when all the castles are being sieged

I haven't surrendered. I just recognize that, with all my castles being sieged, there's nothign I can do. Which is pretty obvious. I can, and will, however, play. I still have several mages in my castles, that can also do some nasty tricks. Tien Chi and Jotun HAVE to take them out, and I'm not going to go AI. They'll have to kill me, and they will suffer cassualties in the process. Maybe, if they fumble the ball, I can wipe one of the armies, who know.

What I can't do, is recruit. So the only thing I can do with my money, is raise PD. Just want everybody to know... :)

It is. Frost aura 21-29, reinvigoration, quickness, firebrand, Vineshield, Fear +5, Awe, Prot around 18-26+ (Depending weather, has strong cold power), Def around 30, luck, Regeneration, high HP (110-170, depending Dominion), that is a SC. Sure, he is relatively weak in one aspect (Magic Resist), and paralize would had take him out. But that was my point: as I had to research to paralyze, and doing such, my research was pointless against Tien Chi, who needed battlefield evocations and troop-enhancing spells like Body Ethereal. I couldn't face both threats easily.

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

I briefly tried the double-blessed vestals last night and i was able to field a functional expansion party every single turn. It was actually really fun.

When you are done please post your pretender design and scales okay? (or do it in your play guide you were referring to)

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

I have never seen an explicit ask for help, perhaps didn't look carefully enough. Even being far away I could have probably done something, at least against T'ien Chi.

I don't recall the son of Niefel exactly, but I know that I felt the urge to cloud trapeze some mages in and blast him away with lightning bolts. That was when I figured I hadn't researched cloud trapeze yet.
He really needs some resistances.
But then SC status depends somewhat on the opposition he faces. So probably you are right, he was a SC under the circumstances.

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

You need resistances depending what are you facing. If you attack Abyssia, Cold Resist is not really that helpful. He is facing Ermor, which has no access to Air-Spamming mages, so he does not really need 100% lightning resist :P

He has 100% cold resistance and 50% fire resistance, which makes him inmune or heavily resistant against fire-brands and frost-brands, and he can kill like six zillions of regular troops and thugs. Chill aura 29 means he almost instantly freeze any regular troops attacking him, and he has encumbrance 2 with reinvigoration 4, which means he can safelly use quickness, to clean 2 full squares of skelly spam per turn. With Defense 30, awe, fear 5, luck and a vineyard shield, he is not easy to take down with other heavy hitters either.

He was smart and moved away from my capitol, so my map1 move grand thaumaturges couldn't chase him easily either. Sure, there are ways to kill him (there are ways to kill every single SC in the game, nothing in this game is bulletproof), but he is not easy to take down. Specially, earlier in the game, when the research wasn't that deep.

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

I looked at the battle again, and yes, fear, awe luck and the vineshield mean he is not hit often. The chill however seems not to be so effective.
And your undeads ignore fear and awe.
But you are right, throw in a Ring of tamed Lightning, and I wouldn't like to meet the guy (though i have ideas for the case).

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

If you mean this battle (this last turn), sure, it wasn't effective, becouse he was killing everything fast, and thus the chill was not stacking.

However, when he get surrounded, it *does* work greatly.

All undeads are not inmune to cold and awe. To be specific, *Vestals* arent :(. Sure, skeletons can go through awe and cold. But they have like no chances to kill a guy with Def 30 and luck (that's an average of TWENTY attacks needed to give his def to 10, which is the skellies attack level), specially if he has prot 18-26 (skellies arent extremelly strong), kills 6 skellies per turn, and have 117-180 hp -depending on dominion- and regenerates.

To kill him, I need mages. I can kill him 100% sure, have done the testing in single player agains exactly that configuration (will tell how, later. I still can resist like El Alamo :P), given the chance to fight with my grand taumaturges. But he is smart, he has no need to bring him to my capitol (or near around it).

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

I have backup gear for him for specific resistances, don't you worry. The big things I need for him right now are a starshine skullcap (general MR) and Rainbow Armor. I just haven't had a chance to bring him to a lab until recently, and I wanted to get stuff locked down first.

Re: Morla MA noob game (running)
 

Not all the provinces of Ermor are going to Jotunheim, including those on the island. T'ien Ch'i has bled as much as anyone in this conflict (more since most of Ermor's troops don't bleed) and it is from that blood that our claim is writ. We have iron-clad contracts with Jotunheim which spell out what spoils will be ours. The chaos of war does not always allow for a clean division of an enemy nation while that enemy is fighting back; Jotunheim is merely securing those provinces for us while our forces are otherwise engaged. And while a contract in Dominions 3 is only so many words, we have secured considerable collateral from our large allies to ensure their fidelity to the agreement. The masters of T'ien Ch'i are no fools.

Rest assured you western powers that Jotunheim will not be getting any more territory than what T'ien Ch'i has agreed to and that giants go splat under meteors just as well as skeletons... even really big SC god-giants.

However, let us come forward and try to quell this hawkish rhetoric. Ermor was a worthy foe and they continue to fight as such. This war has been glorious but now it is drawing to a close. T'ien Ch'i has no desire to celebrate the end of one war with the start of another. Once Ermor has been put to the final death, we plan to live peacefully with those who would have peace. Already we are ramping up our powers of construction and once they reach fruition we would gladly trade the products of our forges with others. We are skilled in all magics save for blood and so we can produce a great many wonders.

The east has known war for many, many turns now. T'ien Ch'i and, I'm sure, Jotunheim are only seeking to a return to peace. A year ago the looming specter of Ermor was seen from every corner of the world. Had Jotunheim and T'ien Ch'i not intervened, had we not fought with all the strength and guile we could muster, then Man would have lost sons to more than just Marignon, and Ulm to Marchaka. Had we not intervened, there would be no talks about who gets what pieces of the island, as the island would be the provenance of the dead that walk. We fought the war that all the living would have been forced to fight sooner or later. For this we don't ask for gratitude, nor praise nor tribute... only peace. I'm sure the kind mothers, sweet daughters and wise crones of Avalon can see the value in our words.

- T'ien Ch'i