Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

What's that sword icon?

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

I believe it's Armour-Piercing weapons. One of my Yakshas cast Weapons of Sharpness which makes all weapons AP.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Okay. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/smile.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Oh, I was thinking it was Astral weapon, but that's right, AW has some kind of flame around the weapon.

I was going to say the Yavanas' one weakness is ranged attacks, but then I noticed they have bucklers, and I bet even bucklers have a good protection, shield bonus.

=$=

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Bucklers are just bucklers. They are the smallest shields available. They help, but Yavanas are still pretty vulnerable to archers. Now Gandharvas, with that insane armor especially for Early Age, THEY are scary.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

yeah missiles are their worst nightmare, despite the bucklers (although I'm sure it would be worse without them). Once you can cast Arrow Fend (which I have, in the screenshot) you're in good shape, and before then using archer decoys works mostly pretty well.

Besides, even without those things the Yavanas close really quickly, so you don't have very long before they enter melee.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 67
A mostly uneventful month: Vanheim attacked T'ien Ch'i, T'ien Ch'i attacked one of my undefended provinces (I left it undefended in my haste to attack T'ien Ch'i's fortified city), Vanheim attacked me with a small force in what used to be T'ien Ch'i's capital; a few magic sites of power were found by ritual-casting mages; a couple of unexpected, but unimportant events occurred...

What is important, and exciting, is that if all goes according to plan I will crush T'ien Ch'i's remaining forces next month, and his so-called 'god' will be banished forever from this realm. This shouldn't be hard: as far as I can tell he only has two provinces left, both adjacent to provinces I hold. Balastha will attack one and Bishen the other (with appropriate forces of course). Then the name of Di-ya, the abominable god of T'ien Ch'i, will be blotted out forever; the so-called Patron of Necromancers will become the plaything of death itself; the pretentious Turner of the Flood will be swept away by the mighty flood of my armies; the much-vaunted Lord of the South Wind will be blown away and the pathetic Lord of Terror will become a by-word of terror to the enemies of Kailasa!

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...7450-67map.jpg

I have re-outfitted Balastha - instead of boots of speed I have given him Winged Shoes, and a sword that makes him lucky. The plan is to cast spells and then fly to the rear of the enemy and kill. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

In the seas, Apala is summoning a legendary Queen of Water to aid in the conquest of the oceans. In the west many items of power are being forged for the coming battle with Vanheim.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Good going. Your enemies have no chance whatever against you.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

I'm starting to think you should have set the AIs to impossible, hehe.

=$=

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

The main problem is, that human tactics is just too much for the AI. Example: human players are using mass mage squads against the AI, and the AI is just not smart enough to do anything against it.
This is why mages in my total conversion mod will be very expensive. The players won't be able to field a mage army.
The mod will focus on regular/national/summoned units mostly. This doesn't means that the human players won't be able to beat the AI of course, however I plan to make other nasty things as well to enpower the AI in a special way. . http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif
You will see that a TC mod can raise the AI to new levels. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 68
An eventful month!

My attacks on T'ien Ch'i proceeded exactly according to plan, without a single loss. Without any province to return to, Di-ya let out a final howl of anguish and entered the Void, never to return.

Thalassa the Queen of the Sea answered my summons. She will promptly be given good equipment and sent out to destroy my enemies.

A fugitive from the hidden kingdom of Elludia arrived at my capital, asking for asylum. I granted this request, on condition that he use his, eh, unique talents in my service.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...-68stalker.jpg

In not so good news, one of my provinces was attacked by a all-too familiar band of Heroes, who quickly overran my Markata and Atavi militia. Yes our friend Bogus the Troll and associates are now squatters on my land. Of course this cannot be, so now that I have finished with T'ien Ch'i I will turn my attention to such matters before war with Vanheim commences.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

One down one left to go! It seems you had mixed luck this turn.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

An ethereal assassin. Dirty. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

I take it a random event brought him to you?

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Your sacred troops can make short work of Bogus. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
Just make sure they have someone who can cast Divine Blessing with them.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Oh yeah, and don't forget to equip commander(s) with anti-missile items as they are going to get hit with at least 2 arrows before they manage to cast air shield.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

If you like Stalkers, at least in Dom 2 there's the 'Hidden Kingdom of Elludia' site, which lets you recruit both Stalkers and, er, Elludian Moon Mages, if memory serves.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 69
Finally my researchers have discovered the lore of unique magical artifacts. Needless to say I will be making some. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Another deathmatch has been organized for the arena. This time I will send Devarama. I think he should be able to take most of what Vanheim can dish up, especially if he gets into melee right away. I will give him winged shoes and tell him to bless himself and attack rear.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...69Devarama.jpg

While Devarama is away fighting for the honour of Kailasa I will organize my armies: prepare an army to take down Bogus + friends and finally kill that Vampire Count from several months ago. This and outfit my commanders with expensive and powerful artifacts.

I am empowering one of my wizards in hopes that I will be able to make the fabled Hammer of the Forge Lord, which will make item forging incredibly cheap for the wielder.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Whoo, great going!

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Devata will surely kick some *** in the Arena. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 70
Vanheim must have figured that he wouldn't win the deathmatch, because he sent an independant commander without any equipment to the arena! Devarama was trained and ready for anything - imagine his surprise when he took the field and saw his opponent. Of course he won, but what an anticlimax! I was hoping for a showdown with Vanheim's prophet.

Vanehim did, though, attack one of my provinces that I had left mostly empty. I recalled my commanders to the nearest fortified city to redeploy, and in my absence the province was lost. Not a big deal though - I can take it back anytime I want; Vanheim's army is not too large.

In other news, last month was a productive one in terms of magical artifact forging: I managed to make the sword Ember, which strikes with both fire and ice; the tome of high power, which increases skill with air and astral magic; Fenris' Pelt - a huge wolf pelt that makes you berserk and calls wolves to you; the boots of Calius the Druid, which give reinvigoration; Krupp's bracers, which aid in protecting and reinvigorating the wearer; finally the Green Eye, which, when put in place of a mage's eye will cast spells of its own accord, and make spells cast by the mage more powerful.

This turn I will be able to forge the powerful Hammer of the Forge Lord.

Boreda the Yakshini and two of her sisters are moving with a small army into the province held by the Vampire Count this month. I am also moving Devarama into the province held by Bogus and friends, to get a closer look and determine perhaps what the best offense should be. He will stay in the back and perhaps pick off one of the raiders before retreating.

Counting my men I have 342 Yavanas, 118 Guhyakas, 43 Bandar, and just 6 Gandharvas. I am forming 5 small Army groups - 4 in the field and 1 in reserve. Two will take Vanheim on the western side of the mountains, and two on the eastern side. Once they get close to Vanheim's capital they can form two large army groups. Devasura will command the reserves, since he is crippled and can't get around so easily. Bishen and Dhritiman the two Siddhas will command two groups, and the two Devatas, Devasura and Balastha, will command the final two groups. In addition I have several Warrior Mages mounted on horseback and armoured as knights that I will deploy. They can cast personal buffs and then charge into combat. They can take care of uprisings, emergency measures and remaining independant provinces. But for now I wait. I wait until the various uprisings have been taken care of, and until I have forged more equipment to outfit my commanders. In the mean time Ratheldun the Elludian Stalker will go before me, knocking out key enemy commanders and throwing the army of Vanheim into disarray.

Here is a view of the kingdom of Vanheim as it stands at the moment:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...-70vanheim.jpg

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Ah, pity about the commander. Anticlimax indeed!

But great going with the items!

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 71
Success! The hideous Vampire Count was destroyed! Here is a shot of one of my Yakshinis banishing the lesser vampires.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...8-71banish.jpg

Success also with Devarama: while scouted the province he was attacked by a Dark Knight mounted on a Griffon. He slew the Dark Knight swiftly and then left the province. Here is a shot of the action:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...4-71raider.jpg

Honestly I think that Devarama and Balastha on their own could probably take out the raiders, but I will put together a support team to help. Ananda, the Yaksha who has a third eye, is now equipped with an Ethereal Crossbow, which means instant death for anyone hit (unless they have very high resistance to magic). Ratheldun the Elludian Stalker is heading out this turn, armed with a lucky sword (and a sword of swiftness), a pair of boots of quickness, and some missile protection. I think he should be able to take most anyone down so long as he can get to them quick enough. He's certainly going to be hard to kill, being ethereal, and having some thick armour now (18), plus pretty impressive defence (27).

Apala and Thalassa the Queen of the Sea are attacking an ocean province this month. Hopefully resistance will crumble at their arrival...

I am being slow in preparing for war - having too much fun making magical items http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Is that the new Banishment effect? It looks great!

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

yeah it looks way cooler than before http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Much cooler.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 72
Due to an miscommunication I have lost another province to Vanheim http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif
I instructed Devarama for the battle against the raiders to bless himself, attack once, and then retreat. I didn't communicate clearly enough to him that this course of action was primarily appropriate for that particular encounter, and so when, on his way back to my city, the province he was in was attacked by Vanheim, he blessed himself, attacked once, and retreated. At which point, of course, everyone else decided to leave too, because if the enemy is enough to make the mighty Devarama flee, well, it must be pretty bad. Still here is a shot of the one turn he did attack, and the hopeless fools entangled in vines because they had the temerity to attack him.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...72Devarama.jpg

Thalassa and Apala took the ocean province without problem. The next one, however, has Shark Knights, so might be more of a challenge.

Ananda wanted to try out his Ethereal Crossbow, so I am sending him into one of Vanheim's provinces for target practice. He is to fire a few shots and then retreat back to my city.

In other news, I finally recruited a Warrior Mage with skills in both Air and Earth magic. I have been wanting to forge some combo items, such as Silver Hauberk, and perhaps Shield of Valour, and perhaps a staff of Elemental Mastery. I forged a ring of Wizardry last month, which boosts allpaths of magic.

I think I will send my Warrior Mages into the province next door (which is as yet independant - full of trolls) and see how they do on their own as a fast response unit. No equipment - just a round or two of enhancing magic and then charge into the enemy ranks.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Pity about the province, but good going with other things.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 73
Much happening in my kingdom:

Ratheldun successfully assassinated one of Vanheim's despicable priests. Let this act strike fear into the hearts of any that would preach against me.
Thalassa and Apala took the water province they attacked without much trouble, despite the presence of several shark knights.
Vanheim attacked me with a small force, including some Clockwork Horrors, which don't seem to have a sense of awe when in the presence of my glorious Yavanas. Still, I triumphed easily.
My Knight-Mages rode out to try to grab an independant province held by some trolls, but were horribly unsuccessful. I guess trolls are pretty tough adversaries. Oh well, no great loss. Nothing can stop the Kailasa war machine!
Finally Ananda attacked the neighbouring Vanheim province to try out his ethereal crossbow, only to find it deserted. Naturally he claimed the province for Kailasa.

The time has come to attack these troublesome raiders. I am sending in Devarama and Balastha, as well as three Yakshinis and one Yaksha. One of the Yakshinis is able to cast a newly-researched spell which melts your adversary's bones. This sounds painful, so I will try it out. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif
I am hoping to reap a rich booty of magical items.

Ananda, disappointed that he didn't actually get to kill someone in his attack on Vanheim's empty province, is attacking another one, hoping to put his ethereal crossbow to good use.

Thalassa and Apala are continuing their conquest of the seas. After the province they are about to attack there will only be one left unconquered, which unfortunately contains Amber Clan Tritons, which are bad news. I may need to go back for reinforcements before attacking them.

Here is a shot of the multi-pronged attack on Bogus and friends:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...9180-73map.jpg

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

just wanted to say big thanks and great aar ^^

ps: kick bogus´ a** http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

I don't think you'll even need luck vs Bogus. After that you'll most likely head after Vanheim.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Warrior-Mages aren't really worth what you pay for them and they really aren't worth much at all unless you trick them out - basically they're 200 gp heavy cavalry who can get one or two decent combat enhancements for substantial fatigue. Or they're 200 gp low-end mages with good armor and high ENC. That said, I *love* them because it's so much fun figuring out how to turn each one into a decent thug!

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

yes I feel kinda the same way - they're not really that good, but I like 'em http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

What are their randoms now? I haven't seem them yet.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Warrior Mage randoms are
+1 FAWE 100%
+1 FAWE 100%

so basically 2 random elemental picks. I think this is the same as it was before, though I don't exactly remember.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 74
Good News! Bogus and his cohorts died easily. Here's a shot of Bogus just before he fell to the combined blades of Devarama and Balastha.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...93-74bogus.jpg

Sadly my troops only managed to salvage one magic item from the battle: Bogus' Greenstone Armour. Still, this is a fine memento of this conflict.

Ananda's much vaunted ethereal crossbow is not so impressive: he only managed to kill one enemy before retreating! Vanheim counter-attacked and took one of my border provinces I wasn't really defending.

I summoned some Gandharvas this month, and will summon more this month, and then next month (hopefully) attack. I also summoned a great eagle, because why not?

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...95-74eagle.jpg

I myself am traveling to the front to oversee the preparations.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Good going with Bogus.

Have you considered replacing the ethereal crossbow with something else?

Perhaps you could use the Great Eagles with those Siddha's or Devarama's (that's the name of them right? I already forgot the name of the blue skinned fellas http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif ) as an airborne task force. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

any suggestions? I probably need to get him to cast Eagle Eyes on himself before firing - maybe that would help him hit something.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Here's a shot of Devarama's defence, with all factors added in:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...evaramadef.jpg

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Can you make Vision's Foe or Piercer? Or maybe Bow of War if you can make it. Perhaps even Thunder Bow, IIRC it has high accuracy as well damage=strenght.

Using Eagle Eyes might be a good idea too, actually, it is a good idea. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

I might try 'vision's foe' - I'll see what has the best prec. bonus.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

The Air/Death path it needs is wonky, but it's a good weapon, albeit slow.

I would imagine that it would be as frustrating as trying to have BBQ party in Niefelheim against Agartha... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/biggrin.gif

Then again, you're not fighting against them.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

hmmm... yeah air/death isn't a combo I have...

Maybe I'll try a thunder bow...

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Thunder Bow + some strength enchanting item(s) works fine unless you run into lightning immune/strongly resistant enemies.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

since the game is being shipped I will try to speed up the endgame - my goal was to have the game finished by the time people got their games.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 75
Vanheim attacked a couple of times, once casting a spell which made my Yavanas believe they were chained with magical bonds and couldn't move. But it was not enough to save win the battle for them. Below is a shot:

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...lsefetters.jpg

Ananda again ventured out for target practice, but again found the province he attacked deserted.

I am sending out two army groups this turn: one from the western fortress to take over the troll-held province, and then on to further conquests. This group is led by Devarama, along with two Yakshas and two Yakshinis. They have 100 Yavanas/Guhyakas and some Bandar.
The second group is composed in exactly the same way, but is led by Bishen the Siddha. This group is leaving from one of the southern fortresses and heading into Vanheim's territory. In the next month or two I should be able to send out two or three more such groups.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

That's the new False Fetters effect? It looks good. Let's hope all goes well with Vanheim.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Turn 76
Success on every front! Both my attack in the south against Vanheim and my attack in the west against the trolls went off without a hitch. Well ok there was that one time that some of my Bandar got a little to close to a magically induced hail of frost and a couple died, but in general everything went very smoothly.

I also attacked some independants in the north - the last independantly held province left in my territory. This one had an interesting mix of inhabitants: knights, woodsmen led by a druid, and barbarians.

http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...8-76indies.jpg

The reason why so many different kinds of people were in the same province is that now when you attack independants and they rout, they flee to neighbouring independant provinces. Undoubtedly many of these guys didn't start here - but this was the last stand of many fugitives from other battles.

In the south there was a lot of tension in T'ien Ch'i's former capital this month. I have been carefully keeping Devasura and the Devatas apart, but this month, for the first time, Balastha and Devasura came face to face. Devasura, I may remind you, is a fallen Devata that was cast out of the Celestial Sphere and stripped of his powers. Eventually he turned to blood magic in an attempt to regain power. Balastha is a Devata, one of Devasura's brethren before he was cast out. I think Balastha is a little perturbed that I have accepted Devasura, and even more agitated by the fact that he (Devasura) is my prophet. If Devasura was in full health it might have come to blows, but as it is he has to be carried around by a pair of Bandar apes on account of his war wounds. Nonetheless, I am sending Balastha into Vanheim's territory at the head of another battle group, in part to separate the two. He will be heading south this month.

The other two army groups are also attacking this turn - continuing the offensive. As yet I haven't encountered any real strength from Vanheim. I suspect it is concentrated in his fortresses to the south. I also know he has been attacked by independants several times, and so much of his strength may have gone towards fighting them off. However, his so-called 'god' is up near my border, and so it is always possible that there will be an attack. I welcome the chance to destroy this upstart!

Apala and Thalassa are attacking the Amber Clan this turn - we will see if they can prevail.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

Actually no, this is a result of having several events happen in independetn province. Since indie provinces can also get random events, this one got struck by knight and barbarian events. Since they were all indies, they joined their defense instead.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

That sure was a curious mix of indies. The new barb and woodsman sprites look great.

Re: Silent Seas AAR
 

erm, yeah, thanks for clarifying that Daynarr... a little confusion on my part... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/image...es/redface.gif