Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I wouldn't mind that much. It would allow me to fix a few mistakes I made last turn. (And allow me to reaim all my site search spells. I didn't find anything last turn, so I now know this, a rollback would save me those 12 gems. (I would also reaim my remote attack spells with the knowledge of Marignon's forces. And use a lot of gems better that I wasted last turn. Call of the winds.. meh))).

I also attacked a random knight attack and lost quite some forces. So I wouldn't do that again. I also could have forged better last turn. (A counter against his kitted harbinger would come turn earlier).

I think a rollback would only make me stronger. (I doubt I would be as lucky with the remote assassination spells, hitting a mage set to retreat is always a win, and killing a mage with supply items also. Best 10 slaves and 26 research points spend so far).

I'm just being open about all this. But I think I could really profit from the additional knowledge I have now. (Also because my spy network is kinda weak).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I wouldn't mind that much. It would allow me to fix a few mistakes I made last turn. (And allow me to reaim all my site search spells. I didn't find anything last turn, so I now know this, a rollback would save me those 12 gems. (I would also reaim my remote attack spells with the knowledge of Marignon's forces. And use a lot of gems better that I wasted last turn. Call of the winds.. meh))).

I also attacked a random knight attack and lost quite some forces. So I wouldn't do that again. I also could have forged better last turn. (A counter against his kitted harbinger would come turn earlier).

I think a rollback would only make me stronger. (I doubt I would be as lucky with the remote assassination spells, hitting a mage set to retreat is always a win, and killing a mage with supply items also. Best 10 slaves and 26 research points spend so far).

I'm just being open about all this. But I think I could really profit from the additional knowledge I have now. (Also because my spy network is kinda weak).

And while I think that it is kinda frustrating to play two turns again. It would be more fair for DragonRider. (Not that last turn killed him or anything, he still has five times the amount of troops I have). I don't know how the rest thinks about it. Basically I would not oppose a rollback. (It would suck that I lose a nice random on a mage that I got last turn).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Sorry about the double post. I ****ed up there.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Would it be possible to get a 12 hour extension? I don't know If I'm able to make my turn tonight.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

No problem; hosting has been postponed to 15:35 GMT Friday.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Just to let you know I've been having internet problems recently where my connection to the internet is going down for a few hours at a time. I'm assuming it a router problem and ordered a replacement earlier this week. I don't think this is a more complicated that will cause problems with me completing my turns but if it does this post should let you know what's happened. I've done this turn earlier as well.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Conveniently, we reached turn 40 and the hosting interval changed to 72 hours. While I don't expect you'll normally need all that time it could be useful if someone is having technical problems like durecellrabbit is currently dealing with.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Dragonrider: nice move on the GoH. Was actually the thing I expected a few turns ago.

Didn't expect the teleporting squad of Grand masters. That kinda sucked. :)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I was going to cast Mother Oak first, but apparently it was not to be (actually, if it wasn't for the stale, Shinuyama and I would have attempted to cast it on exactly the same turn and one of us would have been screwed by random chance). So I figured as long as I have the gems I might as well throw up Gift of Health. Even if I lose it later it'll at least get rid of all these diseases you're so fond of.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I love how the one turn I didn't move directly at Jotunheim's army was also the only turn in which they didn't move away, for no readily apparent reason. Well, here's to another ten months running in circles accomplishing nothing!

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I think you took the prov I was moving through. It was a mistake at my part.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Oh, so you were trying to move two west? I actually failed to take the intermediate province in the magic phase (catastrophically so; that's really going to set me back a lot), but I guess I DID take the one next to it that you must have been moving into. I'm pretty sure I had lost it again before the turn was over, but I guess that still blocks the move.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Loki,

I remember the day when first you presented yourself to our people. I remember the things you told us; the promises you made us. I remember the beating of my heart and the tears in my eyes; I remember the joy I felt being assured, at last, that our people would have a future in this changing world, and that you would lead us there.

I made an oath that day that I would do anything in my power to make that dream come true. I became your prophet and spread that hope far and wide. I stood before the masses and swore to them that the gradual dwindling of our numbers and slow recession of our magicks would at long last be reversed, and that the whole of the land would be ours again, as it once was. They trusted me, as I trusted you. Like me, they pledged their very lives to your cause; they fought and died in your name.

Today, as we continued our routine raids of Marignon, as you ordered, I spotted in Epernia a group of priests, a score at the most, marching across the plains with hardly a knight to escort them. I was certain that they were powerless, as any priest of a false god must be. My men rushed towards them, wildly brandishing their axes and praising your name, wanting nothing more than to smite down those infidels who would dare preach against you, their God.

I watched those men burn. I watched them writhe in agony; I listened to their screams of pain. And I fell to my knees and wept. I wept at the beauty of it; those flames from the sky, burning so brightly, glowing with a light so pure and true that I knew instantly that it could only have come from God. I wept in sorrow for the lives thrown away for nothing, on this day and all before it; lives wasted in service not to a God, but to a pretender. I wept in shame for the lies I told those soldiers; that their lives and deaths would mean something if only they fought in Loki's name.

My eyes are open now. For too long have our people suffered in the dark and frigid northlands, so far from the warmth and light of God. I shall bring the glory of the Eternal Flame to our home. I shall free our people from your damning lies and give them the long and prosperous future that they deserve. I only hope that when we march into Recenna I have the opportunity to slay you myself for your sins against the Jotun and against God.

--Blacker Than Darkness, Former Prophet of Loki, Emissary of the Eternal Flame



((PS: Who ever said the default mage AI was bad? Mass Enslave Mind for the win!))

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Thanks for the post, DragonRider. Reminded me of a game where I was playing MA Abysia and my main army, that had served me so well, was facing off against Machaka. Heavy losses on both sides but Machaka's King of Banefires was steadily killing off my forces. Then, completely unscripted, a warlock got his fatigue just under 100, took the last couple of blood slaves on the field and cast Infernal Prison. I promised not to say anything bad about the AI for a while after that. ;)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Hi can I please a 24 hour extension. I've just been discharged from hospital after emergency surgery and will need some rest before I can do my turn properly probably missing the currently deadline.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Yes, of course, hosting has been delayed 24 hours.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Nice one DragonRider.

Really hope that my prophet counts as killed now. Probably not :).

I'm actually more sad that I lost Hulvid. The protagonist of my last story. But that is still an interesting story. Especially as he disliked the way the Skratti where acting. Getting only 3 grand masters sucks. (Yeah spam magic on the Lamia, not the fire mages raining down flaming molten death).

Well, hitting into such a large group of mages was not expected. :).

(Has anybody already discovered my naming scheme?).

durecell: you all right?

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Thanks. Got my turn in.


I'm ok. Just got a bunch of medicine to take and to get my dressings changed everyday. Really sleepy as well.

What's up with these priests with militia that keep appearing?

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Hello again from the former ruler of C'Tis! I'm terribly sorry about staling out on you all, but my laptop self-destructed and I didn't have any internet access for quite a while. Good to see the game is still going strong, and good luck to the poor sucker who had to take over my nation :p

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Actually C'Tis is doing rather good at the moment. Research levels have dropped, but armies/land/dom etc is going up.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Would it be okay if we extended the turn deadline by 24 hours? I'm not sure if I'll have time to take an early turn today or not, and I'd rather not have to worry about it on Thanksgiving day.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Sure; hosting has been delayed 24 hours.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Damn! I staled last turn. I totally forgot to send in my turn. (I did do it, just forgot to mail it in).

Could I get a 24 hour extension to see what is still left of my nation? I have little time left today to do my turn.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

That's frustrating, even more so since the turn was ready to be sent. :( And another tough time for a stale, since I assume you and Marignon are still at war.

I will of course postpone hosting. Btw, if anyone thinks they'll need extra time over the holidays please just let me know.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I actually spent most of that turn taking back my own territory and moving onto a fortress which I assume would take a couple of turns to siege anyway, so it wasn't the worst turn to miss in the grand scheme of things. You also got a consolation prize (apparently that Skratti was a blood hunter and not a fleeing unit from a previous engagement, and 17 magic resistance isn't as much as I thought it was).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

A blood hunter? Nope, that was just a trap A test to see if it would be easy to hellbound heart the guys. (My blood hunters are better defended actually).

Really sucks that my turn failed. Else I would have had more than just 1 of them :D.

And, my relief force for the siege would have arrived in time, and not a turn late... sigh. :D

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Apparently I didn't need that relief force after all. (You would have broken the castle next turn).

"Let this day be a lesson for you Sjohara. Denounce the forces of darkness, and those forces will align and destroy you.

Your men will be eaten, your foul dragons banished to the cold abyss, your angels will be crushed when they flee into the night. Not even the queens of air will save you. Your only hope is to bow down, beg for mercy, and pray for a quick death.

To the people of Marignon. You will not be saved by the eternal flame. You will not be saved by the god Sjohara. In fact, YOU WILL NOT BE SAVED! "

(Damn, that combat was very costly in blood slaves. Anybody have some to trade?).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Damn. I thought I was prepared for a vampire attack (though I didn't expect it would happen until they could meet up with your ground forces), but a lot of stuff went very, very wrong. Let's see how much I can pinpoint, for my own benefit:

-The ring of archers surrounding my mages collapsed due to my overestimating their range, exposing the rear mages to instant death before their protective spells were even up.
-Most of the Holy Pyre mages were scripted to cast it too late, and the ones that weren't were the ones who died in the first round due to the above.
-The Incinerate mages decided to burn vampires instead of Skratti.
-The knights were positioned to block Jotun Woodsmen rather than to participate in the anti-vampire activities (I thought I was already okay on that front). They didn't even get past the "hold" in "hold and attack" before the fight was decided. I should have just had them rush the enemy.
-There was a lot more Bloodletting than I expected. I really wish it was easier to tell whether or not this actually affected anything. Ditto for all the other magic that was cast, really.
-Those Zmey weren't even supposed to be there for the fight. I was just regrouping them there for a turn. I hadn't even scripted them.
-Why are the paths required to cast Claws of Kokytus so low oh god.

I can't help but feel like I could have most likely won that battle if my scripting and positioning had been better.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

The Skrattir where either positioned out of range. Or had 100% fire immunity. The vamps provided a nice target. Else your mages might have cast stuff that could have damaged me. (control spells, or the astral damage spells).

Let me explain my reasoning.

The Rain and Darkness should have stopped your archers. (precision was down the drain due to the rain and the Darkness. Rain also helped to offset the fatigue bonus your fire mages get due to the high magic domain. (I made a mistake here, rain doesn't interfere with archery, storm does)).

Grip of winter was a nice, your troops might get fatigue and frozen spell, while mine are cold immune. This spell also meant, when your mages got above 100 fat. They would never recover. It didn't work as well as I hoped.

Quagmire helped to up the encumbrance on your knights. +2 together with the frozen winter penalty would have helped. the -1 attack and def was also welcome. (Small mistake, the +2 enc on my combat skrattir could have made them get criticals in a long fight).

Your troops had a lot of exp stars, mine didn't. Your royal guard had a def around 21 before the magics. Vamps had 11 attack. After it was 10 vs 10.

The spell Bloodletting does more damage than listed in the description. The 1 dam is actually an open ended roll. So it could more damage, and I was hoping on the 2 hp hits to count as a wound, or on doing enough damage to just kill some troops (Worked on a mage, he died because of the bloodletting spam). This together with the blood rain spell. Would give me a good chance of a rout. And I didn't need to kill your mages to stop the army. I had to kill enough of the troops. Damaging troops also forces morale checks.

Also most of my troops either regenerated, drained life, or had a lot of hp. So I would be harmed less by the bloodlettings.

The rush of strength gave +4 str to all my troops. So the vamps drained 2 more hp and 8 more fatigue on each hit.

And because I took out your escape routes the rout meant that all the troops died.

(I was planning on even more battlefield magic, but I miscalculated in the fatigue department, and some of my mages went a bit offscript. (That is where the claws of kok came from. Which I was very thankful for, as you can imagine. I wasn't that happy with the winter ward on the blood slaves...).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

And yes, if your knights had rushed forward you might have won. I was hoping you hadn't changed the orders of the knights yet.

I also hadn't counted on the Zmey's. But I was very lucky with those. They could have really done some damage.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Hahaa! Forces of the lizardom inflict another crushing defeat on the evil ghost goblins! I really didn't think I'd last over 2 turns! :D

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

And well done.

I'm surprised and intensely frustrated that my superior forces backed by flaming archers and a SC were obliterated by a (admittedly large) group of skellie spammers and lizard PD.

Twice.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Yeah those flaming arrows would be slighly more useful if used versus anything else than swarms of enlargened dragonflies and solo wolves? :D

Howl + few swarms + foul vapors = funfunfun :D

Now if I just had researched serpent's blessing, might've helped a bit... jumping in half way kinda messed up all plans and tactics and strategies and stratagems and tricks and deceptions and flimflams I would've come up with by now... Kinda annoying really, should've really thought about how I could scavenge the situation when I picked up the game instead of just doing something. As you can see, my mobile armies are limited to pretty much only to freespawn and marshmasters, so attacking is pretty nogo.

Looking forward to whacking more of your invasion forces ^^

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

While a number of my flaming arrow volleys were distracted by your wolves and dragonflies, they killed a lot of your lizards, too. I was quite pleased with the flaming arrows. Your battlefield magic was effective... the foul vapors really started to take a toll.

There will be more invasion forces. I've got nothin' if I don't have chaff to spare. But, live and learn. You're not the only one who can come up with a surprise or two. :)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Now if only those lizards weren't PD or freespawn... ;)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

DragonRider,

I'm a bit confused... why doesn't the prophet you liberated from me have any magic levels? I guessed you GoRed him. But where are his magic levels? And is it now stuck in wherewolf form or not?

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Good question! I assumed he would keep his magic levels, but he didn't. I can still make him do his shapeshifting thing, but none of his three forms have any magic.

When I first gained control of him, he was in his full animal form for whatever reason, with stealth and mountain travel. Which means either Enslave Mind permanently strips units of their magic, or the prophet's random path was something other than Water or Blood, meaning the -2 path penalty for the animal form put them all at zero, and Gift of Reason took that to be his base magical aptitude rather than his modified paths. Pretty disappointing, really.

Also disappointing: he was given a new random name upon becoming a commander, and since he's already a prophet, I couldn't rename him. I had wanted to call him Brighter than the Sun out of spite. Oh well!

In unrelated news, Zwago the Zmey's Krazy Kokytos Adventure isn't going too well. He was attacked by five Winter Wolves, which would have been trivial to deal with except their stacked chill aura combined with Grip of Winter maxed his fatigue inside of two rounds. Then they very slowly gnawed off one of his heads before getting bored and wandering off after fifty rounds or however long it has to be for that to happen. I wonder if I'll ever see him again.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Strange. A prophet should at least have H3. So even with the reduction it would be H1.

Also, I think your stealing of my prophet has robbed me of the ability to have one. (Secretly I hope he still spreads my dom :) But my coder mind thinks that would be really strange).

The naming really sucked. I already wondered why he had such a odd name.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I really don't like the fact that a single Jotun Skratti, which you can recruit anywhere in huge numbers, with only modest equipment, can kill an (almost) fully-equipped King of Elemental Fire 1v1. Or rather that it WOULD be able to kill a King of Elemental Fire 1v1 if it wasn't shot through the head for 28 damage by the luckiest province defense crossbowman in the history of time.

I also really don't like the fact that Claws of Kokytos has a range of 30. I had missed that little tidbit in my initial look at the spell. Probably due to denial. The hapless barbarians who brought me this information will be remembered fondly. Maybe they'll meet up with Zwago and the four of them will fly out of the depths of Hell together in 2010's feel-good film of the year.

I DO, however, like the fact that like half of my soldiers are gibbering idiots too stupid to move into the province I tell them to, but that they can still completely murder a Skratti that ambushes them while they're scratching their heads and wondering where the hell the fortress is.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I personally like the fact that DragonRider's last two posts have caused me quite a bit of laughter. :)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Somehow the shrapnel forum is very hard for me to reach atm. I had a nice reply typed out, with some good tips to help DragonRider with his problems. But my spotty connection ate them.

Let me make just one remark from the larger previous post. Actually I killed your fire king. Twice. Sadly he refused to stay dead. So there is that :D.

At least in your lands there isn't the constant threat of barbarians messing with your plans :D.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Oh, that doesn't count. Fire Kings are SUPPOSED to explode like that. The guy has 0 base protection for a reason.

And I already paid my dues, independents-wise. I think I got something like four Knight invasions within seven months a while back.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

The main reason I haven't killed Bogus in that one province is just to keep him from respawning.

Just be happy that Skratti wasn't equiped with a blood thorn. :)

(Still having connection issues, what did shrapnel do? Piss off anonymous? :) ).

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Connection seems to be fixed.

For anybody wondering where I get my creepy Skrattir names from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal_%28band%29 This band seems to go pretty well with the general themes of Jotunheim. Cold icy forests. Darkend frostbitten northlands. Crushing of the Church (Marignon ;) ) Etc. Works nicely. But I'm running out of song titles to name my Skrattir. :)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Okay, so the Erinyes are beings who have sworn to slay all practitioners of Blood magic, but when one of them encounters a Skratti surrounded by five blood slaves, what does she do? Go around butchering the innocent virgins one by one until the Skratti kills her. Class act, Megeara, really. Additionally, sometimes they kill death mages without a single path in blood, which I'm pretty sure wasn't in the contract. Let's keep on track here, gals! It's bad enough that there turned out to be a second (semi-)blood nation still in the game; I can't afford to have you crusading against the OTHER two nations on top of it.

Also...

Dammit, Jotunheim! I just finished cleaning the giant blood off of the fields in Cerne. Now I need to start over. Why couldn't you have learned your lesson last time? The dudes who annihilated your last army literally haven't moved from that spot since then.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Yeah, that was dumb. I need more scouts. Sucks to be me. :D

Nice army btw. It scares the hell out of me.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

To be honest, after what happened last time, I'm extremely worried that this invasion will turn out to be another fiasco if anything goes even slightly wrong, but there's nothing to do at this point but give it a go. The loss of those five Skratti does embolden me somewhat, though; at the very least it gives me a lot more leeway than I thought I was going to have.

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

Of course the last time I beat you with a totally different set of mages. Without the gear I just lost.

But most of my army is currently moving against Bandar. He is right next to my lands, you still have some way through your own old provinces before you get tot the castles.

I'll think up a nice strategy to kill you before that :). Or Bandar whipes me before that and it is all moot.

I'm still having fun so that is what counts. :)

Re: Boot Camp - Newbie intro to Dominions MP - Running
 

I'm going to be busy with family and Christmas for the next few days. Could we postpone the turn until say the 27th?