Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

It would seem like a logical solution, but has anyone tried it? Unless the devs specifically coded for it, I can't imagine it working.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

It would be nice if it does, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

It doesn't heal feebleminded. Comes up a lot with tartarians.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

There are lots of rather retarded leaders in the world. Gift of reason and leader capabilities didn't make them much brighter http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

That said, maybe Gift of Reason should remove the mindless tag...

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Nah, because mindlessness indicates the physical absense of a brain-in whatever shape or form.

Gift of reason provides the virtual framework for sentience, so you can run Consciousness '98 ver 1.0 on your I-Am system, but not the physical hardware.

Feeblemindedness is just a virus.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Would a Lycanthropos amulet cure the problem?
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DireAussie stated in page 71 of the bug thread.....

I'm not sure if this is a bug or a feature. I'm playing Machaka and 2 of my black sorcerers got feeblemind. Afterwards I set them on the front lines with attack orders. As you may realise black sorcerers turn into great spiders when they 'die'. When this happened to both of my feebleminded sorcerers and they got all their magic skills back! They were able to cast during the same battle, then once the battle had finished and they reverted back to their normal human form, they had lost feeblemind and had all their magic skills.

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This opens the door to the idea that any transforming item/spell might cure the affliction.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Since the Lycanthropos' Amulet also makes your leaders berserk, it wouldn't much matter if it did eliminate feeblemind (at least as far as spell casting goes).

As for the black sorcerers example: I believe that each time a unit shape changes it has a chance of healing afflictions. So rather than send the sorcerers into battle, maybe you should put them in back with a script to reapeatidly Change Shape?

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Sorcerors, unfortunately don't get the Change Shape order.
They just change on death.

I would hope that the chance of healing only applies to those who change when wounded.
Can you heal Dragons by changing back and forth?

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

It looks like thejeff is right, i.e. only those that change shape when wounded have a chance to heal afflictions.

I just ran a test game with a dragon pretender. He charged into battle turn 1 and got a limp affliction in the process of securing the province. I then set him to the back of the main army and scripted him to Change Shape 5 times and attack rear. After 20 battles (100 shape changes), he still has the same limp affliction.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

The reason shape shift sometimes cures afflictions is because it was originally an attribute of serpent cataphracts. When the rider dies it would be stupid if the serpent had an affliction. The game has evolved a lot since then and there are probably lots of strange effects not intended. Now it is possible to temporarily change shape, on death, to and fro, etc.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Gift of Health cures feeblemind.
Chris

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

One situation I have always felt was abusive was arcos use of mind hunt. Their priestesses can heal feeble mind, so they basically get free mind hunts. With 4 priestesses sitting in their capital healing, they get to eliminate the penalty for unsuccessful mind hunts.

To alleviate this advantage, I think mind hunt should backfire and subject the caster to the soulslay, in addition to feeble minding him if his cord is severed.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

I set up a Mind Hunt "factory" in a game once playing Bandar Log. Got The Chalice to heal the feeblemind and started letting them fly.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

does penetration help mindhunt? I'm tempted to load up my mindhunters with runesmashers, void eyes, and the little penetrator thing.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Penetration most definitely helps with mind hunt.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Very good idea, its spell focus btw... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Also boosting your astral level helps, though not as much as boosting penetration. The best of both worlds is (if you can afford it) to use a ring of wizardry/sorcery to boost both.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

2 casters with eyes of the void and skullcaps are going to be cheaper and more effective than 1 with an eye and a ring though, 40 pearls for 1.5 penetration is not a good deal.

Does anyone know if the penetration boost is calculated from soul slay (S3) or Mind Hunt (S4)? Needing S5 or S6 for the extra +1 is a pretty significant difference.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

I think the penetration boost is calculated for the soul slay, after all that is the real attack.

The curious thing is that when I have run simulations to test various mind hunt configurations, it appeared as though there was a built in 3 points of penetration for mind hunt (possibly all remote spells). That is to say that the soul slay associated with a mind hunt is much more potent than a soul slay on the battlefield.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Astral races have far too many advantages as is, and in a perfect world, I would like to see the gem cost raised for mind hunts to at least 5 astral gems, and when the cord is severed have the "backlash" subject the caster to the soul slay.

Then the penalty for failure could be the loss of the offending mage, and any items he is using to boost the penetration bonus.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Wouldn't that make your standard-issue S1 way too powerful? Maybe change to:
S-any still causes feeblemind (or maybe insanity instead), but an S2 or higher instigates a remote Magic Duel or similar, with the proviso that if the caster wins, his own mind is still toast and he will never cast again.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

An s1 mage has a 40 percent chance to severe the cord. I do not feel it makes the s1 mage too powerful, because the player casting mind hunt gets to select the province in which to mind hunt.

Obviously if there is no real risk attached to casting, as with chalice, gift of health, or units that heal afflictions, then you can cast mind hunt without fear.

But if having the cord severed had REAL consequences, then the nation casting mind hunt would have to use spies/scouts
or battle replays to choose wisely where to mind hunt.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Given how easy it is to counter mind hunting with a single astral mage I don't see it as being a problem. Mind hunts are one of the main strengths of astral magic, and causing them to implode a 40-gem mage would make them completely worthless, especially considering that astral mages can teleport in to protect leaders.

Even if the caster doesn't stay feebleminded for long it's a couple of gems and at least 1 mage-turn gone if you cut their cord, and since mind hunts are best done in volleys against high-priority targets one mage can get lucky and take down 3-4 enemies in a turn if he's positioned correctly. It's a damn good spell to be sure, but Vengeance of the Dead annoys me a lot more due to there being no way to counter it outside of high MR (which isn't reliable due to the open-ended rolls, and fills up vital slots with MR gear, and works just as well against mind hunts)

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Vengeance of the dead does not kill a sc instantly with no combat. Many sc's can destroy chaff regardless of number.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

Til they hit turn 75 and explode. The only counter to vengeance after around 500 kills is returning, or somehow being able to pull off a damaging battlefield enchant without going unconcious from fatigue, and the gems and script to actually cast it. Neither of those options is readily available compared to having an astral mage tagging along with your army.

Re: Question: Gift of Reason to cure Feeblemind?
 

I keep thinking of my gorgon.

It is rare that it takes more than 20 turns to kill even a whole battlefield of chaff.

You have a good point, but it does not really take away from mine. At the very least, the gem cost of an instant kill mind hunt should be more than 2 gems.

And not every race has astral mages that can tag along with every army. Sure independents may be found, but not always.

I think adding a cap on the vengeance of the dead spell at 75-100 would make sense also. You should not lose a good sc to a turn limit.