Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

They don't trigger. All you get is damage capped at one point.
Not Vines, not Fire, not life Drain, not anything else. Just up to 1 pt of damage.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

I was mostly thinking that defense-based thugs could basically use their attack rating to keep their defense from going down too fast.

It might also come up in few other situations, but those are really rare. Perhaps if you're really desperate for lightning resistance and had to use Iron Rods.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

The thing people forget about repel is that you only need to have a longer weapon. It doesn't matter how much longer. So if you get a length 3 sword and all your enemies are using shortswords or axes, you're just as likely to repel (probably more so due to stat boosts) than if you had a spear or pike.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

But then again, most PD and many independents have spears, and those are very valuable targets for thugs.

Now that I think about it, Dancing Trident should be one of the best repelling weapons available, since it has length 6 and it deals base 19 damage. 7 gems might be worth it for some high att/def thugs without awe. Perhaps LA Tien Chi Ancestor Smiths?

Ancestor Smiths with a nature random have 15 att and def, 13 hp and a magical two-handed sword with lesser fear (and +3 att/def). They lose their sword if given shield, their armor is enc 3 and they don't start with a helmet, so it can be hard to equip them economically.
Copper plate and Summon Earthpower + Ironskin will give them good protection and minor reinvigoration, and def of 17. Ancestor Vessels are expensive, but have good magic resistance and bows that cause fear, so they could be worth a bless, and Water 9 would help them cause more fear faster. Minor Nature and Earth would help them survive once they get to melee, and would help make Ancestor Smiths thugs work.

I wonder if this counts as meditating? If it does, I just spent about half an hour practicing the Zen of Thugging.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

e9w9 would be good for both ancestor smith thugs and ancestral vessels. Though LA TC is one of those very versatile nations where you can go a variety of strategies, none of which are too clear cut optimal.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

I've also noticed that Hangadrottir w/ Stone Bird get much more survivable, probably because of the Repel.

-Max

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

I think that is likely the case. Even a relatively weak repel effect would potentiate the drott's defense.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

When I play Pangaea and I get that event where the heroes take over one of my Providences I get happy because then I go there with a bunch of pans and charm the heroes. The black knight is especially good.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

I like to put a bow on some assassins. They don't need anything else unless you intend to assasinate, then maybe a ring or some armor.

It may not be the best use for death gems, but some assassins with banefire x-bows is very potent.

Re: Zen and the art of Thugging
 

IMO, the best thugs you can make are ones capable of dieing large amounts of life drain per turn. Think my favorite thug was a Dusk Elder that I had use wish for 'power' to beef him up a bit. And then gave a few items that added additional aoe life-draining attacks along with regenerating items and magic resistance. Every turn he drained a sizeable chunk of the enemy's units, regained life, and repeated until they ran. Worked every-single-time.