On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

- Changed from Dom 1: Immortals revive even when your capital is besieged. My Lich Pretender (Ermor/soul Gate) died and Vanheim's Wyrm with 80 or so troops was besieging my capital. Sure enough, Lich appeared in capital!
- Changed from Dom 1: Recruiting troops works even when besieged!

On Void Gate summoning:
Scales: Order-3, Misfortune-1, Magic-2
39 turns (survived through it all)
Starpawn Priest Water-1, Astral-1, Holy-3
Results:
- 9 points in summoning
- 2 Vastnesses (1 per summon). My goodness, you *have* to see these guys in action! Gift of reason, anyone?
- 5 G'nessies (Greater Othernesses)
- 5 Things with Many Eyes
- 4 Elder Things
- 1 Thing That Should not Be
- Got attacked *twice*: Once by 2 Nessies (Othernesses), once by a single Great Thing (like TwME, but nastier).

It would be nice to know, what exactly affects VG summoning.
Obvious: 'Summoning'-skill, being a Starspawn
Not so Obvious: Luck/Misfortune(to what extent?)
Other things?

My conclusions: R'lyeh has the best sacred troops by quality, no discussion! They just have trouble accessing them. Vastness simply blows my mind away! With three mind bLasts per turn! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

- Humer

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

Those names are just too funny!!! We need more! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

I imagine that summoning skill increases survivability, as a 5% brain-fry chance gets compounded to only a 13% chance of surviving 39 turns. Or is it 5% per summon, rather than per turn?

Anyway, how did the starspawn survive the attacks? Or do they attack the province, rather than the mage?

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">I really don't have an inkling about the survivability. As mentioned else-thread, it seems that Starspawn Priest escapes injury more often than not.

Attack is on the summoner and is handled as an assassination attempt, i.e. 5 troops on "Guard commander" are brought along. Ring of Warning has found a use!

Do NOT use Illithids to guard the summoner: most void-thingys are mindless, so your 50gp is rather wasted.

Names, suggest 'em people, let's see what stick! Here's few:

[begin acronymania]

Thing That Should Not Be -> Tessie. Wouldn't you love to have a pet *this* cute. Awwww, look at all the life-draining tentacles...
Thing With Many Eyes -> Tweak (as in weak, because the poor bugger can't move)
Elder Thing -> Ellie
Formless Spawn -> Fossy
Vastness -> VASTNESS. You just gotta shout it out loud...
Greater Otherness -> Nestor (or G'Nessie)
Otherness -> Ness
Lesser Otherness -> Lester. Crap actually.

[end acronymania]

- Humer

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

The real killer on the vastness isn't the mind bLast but the blood vengance. It's so fun to watch the enemy troops kill themselves in hordes I'm tempted to empower my vastness in earth and have it invulnerbility itself...or maybe nature and regen. They just swarm and die by the hundreds. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Of course a demon lord/heliophagus with some slaves could do that to himself with 9 blood researched...nasty thought really. I can se this being ridiculously powerful.

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

Just a question:

The AI will summon things from the void gate?

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

yes there was talk of this somewhere else in the forusm

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

Void Lords / Lurkers came from the Void Gate. They have more important goals then peeking back at their old friends. There is a whole new world to distort. Let the starspawns bother if they find it so interesting. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Best...answer...ever.
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

As Jotunheim finishing up a single-player game w/ T'ien Ch'i being the only surviving AI (and one that had maybe 2/3-3/4 of the map, *shrug* I don't like blitzing, would rather play with magic), I did Wish for a Vastness, cast Gift of Reason on it, found out that it was Astral-3 (no equipment slots 'tho), and empowered it to Death-3. Mmm, Soul Vortex + Blood Vengeance + Nether Darts...

Vastness is likely based on Azathoth.
Otherness... might be Shoggoths. Read "At the Mountains of Madness". *shudder*
Formless spawn came from Tsathoggua, probably.
Elder things also can be found in "At the Mountains of Madness".
Others of their monsters, e.g. hybrids, come from "The Shadow over Innsmouth".
Some others I'm not sure about, but then I haven't read all that much Lovecraft / Derleth / etc.

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

I would lke to see that "Nitrous green flame" thingy, Star Vampires, Abboth and those "lizardmen" from that scifi themed story.

[ November 21, 2003, 17:27: Message edited by: Nerfix ]

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

BTW can the Void *foo* Pretenders of R'lyeh use the Void Gate or do they get fried with 75% chance like any other poor Astral critter trying to use the gate?

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

The Vastness is more of Yog Sothoth, the Lurker at the Threshold, Key to the Gate, whereby the spheres meet. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Good question. I had a game with 5 AIs, inlucing R'lyeh, but I didnt noticed any void summons from that AI. However that AI was wiped out at turn 51. </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">IMHO the AI is using the void gate. [Dev told this before..]

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

I recently finished a game where I clashed with first Jotenheim and then R'lyeh. I mentioned the Jotuns because that delay gave the squishy-boys time to build up their summons. When they attacked, they came led by 3 Vastnesses, backed up by a horde of various other Void Beasts and the obligatory cannon fodder lobo guards and such.

Too bad for them I was playing as Soul Gate Ermor. Those mind bLasts don't bother the mindless much, and even a Vastness gets pulled down pretty fast when surrounded by life-sucking ethereal types. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

I love this game. There's a counter-balance for everything! (Did I mention Marignon and their fire-and-brimstone (literally) priest-mages cleaned me out proper very soon after I'd driven R'lyeh back into the depths?)

That was single-player, so the AI definitely does summon, and very effectively, I might add.

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Good question. I had a game with 5 AIs, inlucing R'lyeh, but I didnt noticed any void summons from that AI. However that AI was wiped out at turn 51.

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

How do I use the void gate? I have my starspawn enter but nothing happens?

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

There is a random chance per turn based on your summoning skill that a creature will be summoned. Just keep him sitting there and eventually he'll either go insane, get attacked or summon some nasties.

Re: On Curious Findings and R\'lyeh
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Give it a few turns.