Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

Hello, and welcome to the very first During Action Report!

What is a During Action Report (DAR)?
A DAR is precisely what it sounds like: a living AAR for an MP game that is continually updated each turn as the game progresses.

This DAR will be for MA Oceania in the Tophats MP game that recently started.

How does it work?
I will provide my .trn and .2h files to anybody interested in following the game ("tourists" - thanks for the idea Gandalf!), and give a brief rundown of each turn in this thread. These updates will surely be chock full of piercing insights & hilarious commentary (:rolleyes:).

There will be a 2-turn delay, to keep outsiders from submitting unauthorized turns.

How to I participate?
You already are! All reports will be right here, possibly indexed if I have the patience for it. All files will also be here, if you really want to follow along at home [if you're new to MP, just download the files & unzip into a folder within your dominions3/savedgames folder; it'll then show up under your existing games]. If you don't yet have Dominions 3, don't worry, I'm sure some these fine individuals will get you a copy in exchange for money.

***TO VIEW THE TURNS*** you must unzip this file into your dominions3/mods folder:
Attachment 9409
and unzip this file into your dominions3/maps folder:
Attachment 9410

Won't providing all your files ruin the game?
This has been made possible by the gracious cooperation of the fine gentlemen of the Tophats game. These scholars, recognizing the need to encourage our younger generations of Dominions players to take the MP plunge, have all agreed not to glance at this thread or otherwise communicate with you tourists regarding this thread. Therefore the games integrity is intact, allowing me to divulge all the juicy details of my flawed strategies for your amusement.

Why are you doing this?
Lots of folks give back to this great community - some make mod nations, some make maps, some write guides, some admin MP games, etc. This is my own paltry attempt to give a little back. I figure this is a great way to show those new to the game, or those on the MP fence, what the MP game is really like without having to commit. Cause let's face it, volunteering for your first MP game is a bit intimidating. Hopefully this will take the Fear of the Unknown out of it, and encourage a few new faces to join our MP ranks.

Plus it's really ****ing cold where I live, so it'll give me something to do until Spring :)

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So I invite everyone to sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. If you have any ideas on how to improve the implementation I've suggested, let me know!

I'll try to keep the updates simple for those new to the game, but strongly encourage vets to participate. If you have any questions, suggestions, criticisms, etc, please feel free to speak up. This is supposed to be a learning experience, at least for me :D

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INDEX
Preface
Pretender Build
Chapter 1: Where do we begin?
Chapter 2: Meet the Neighbors
Chapter 3: The Annexation of Puerto Rico
Chapter 4: Who ordered the squid?
Chapter 5: Death of a Heroman
Chapter 6: Valentine's Day Massacre
Chapter 7: Slow News Day
Chapter 8: Vine Ripened
Chapter 9: The Best Laid Plans
Chapter 10: Coming of the Capricorns
Chapter 11: The Awakening
Chapter 12: The Calm before The Storm
Chapter 13: The Die is Cast

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Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

C,
Winter Wonderland. It's a Winter Wonderland... :cold:

Interesting concept. Thanks for lighting it up.
-ssj (fellow midwesterner)

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

Preface<o>

</o> Okey dokey artichokie, here’s the Grand Strategic Overview:<o></o>

Tophats is an 11 person MA CBM game on an unusual map. The map is a planetary wrap-around with a bunch of islands connected by underground (cave province) tunnels. All 3 underwater nations are here. It’s a game for Gentlemen, so no lying, cheating, backstabbing, or other such fun is allowed.

<o></o>The map, with start locations in red:
Attachment 9407

I have, in my infinite wisdom, volunteered to play MA Oceania in this game. If you’re unfamiliar with the big O, it’s almost universally agreed upon to be the weakest nation in the game. Viable strategies have been developed, strongly recommend check out Baalz guide, but I’m not holding out much hope for victory in this one. Which is totally fine by me, as I hate late game micromanagement hell, and I want to be eliminated by Spring anyways :) Live fast, die young, that’s going to be Oceania’s mantra in Tophats.<o></o>

But victory is surely possible. By the game’s rules, I only need 4 capitals to win, which is a relatively low number, and certainly achievable for me since all 3 underwater nations are participating. If it’s going to happen, it’ll be by the following gameplan:<o></o>

1) Take over the entire ocean as soon as possible.<o></o>
2) Keep those landlubbers in perpetual war, so they don’t get too powerful.<o></o>
3) Execute a swift and overwhelming attack on the weakest land nation.<o></o>
4) Be extremely lucky.<o></o>

All this before the mindhunt factories come online, and I get microwaved off the map. What could be easier?
<o></o><o></o>
Fortunately, as Baalz points out, Oceania has all the right tools for a strong opening, and is pretty tough throughout the Early Game. I’ll be following his advice here: ichtycentaur expansion parties followed by Kelp Fortress hunting mermages (which apparently are still common in CBM, despite advertisements to the contrary - thanks Frozen Lama).

But apart from that I’ll be taking an unorthodox strategy for this game. By unorthodox, I mean I won’t explicitly be following the rest of Baalz guide. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great strategy, but there have been 2 big changes to CBM since it was written:<o></o>

1) Capricorns no longer lose -1 from all paths out of the water. They now only lose -1 from their Water skill only. This is a HUGE boon to the overall capability of the nation, no longer completely neutered of the water without X-formation.<o></o>
2) Blood stones are now unique. This is a HUGE loss for Oceania, whose paltry earth magic was already hampered by a lack of feet in the water. This change really takes earth out of Oceania’s playbook.<o>

</o> So without Earth magic and with the addition of capable terrestrial artillery, we can break the Alteration mold for some other, less predictable approach. Aha! But of course! The saving spell for Oceania, the one that’s going to put a big +1 in the Hall of Fame is none other than Foul Vapors! (crickets) <o></o>

OK, FV sure doesn’t seem to offer much for Oceania at first glance, but consider the following:<o></o>

1) It’s castable underwater (surprise!), just like its little brother Poison Cloud.<o></o>
2) It’s a pretty devastating spell – a battlefield enchantment that poisons a good deal of the battlefield each round – without any Def or MR checks to save.<o></o>
3) It’s only level 5, which is very low for such a potent spell, meaning it can be brought to bear relatively early in the game. Certainly long before widespread poison counters can be developed by Oceania’s aquatic rivals. <o></o>
4) It’s in the same research tree as Regeneration & Poison Ward, which can be used to effectively negate the poison damage on small groups of elite troops (i.e. ichtycentaurs). Regen will also cut the number of poison-related boo-boos, and my troops can recuperate any that still happen. <o></o>
5) It’s also in the same tree as Claymen, which have 100% poison immunity. With Regen and Mindlessness (take that R’lyeh!) they’re an absolute steal at 6 for 3W (using my mermages). Speaking of poison resistance, this tree also has Skellispam…<o></o>
6) Most importantly, with the new CBM change, every Capricorn can cast it, on land or in the sea.

So I’ll be shooting hard and fast for Enchantment. Since I’m going to ignore Earth magic, there’s no real need to break into the Blood game, so I can safely ignore Lamia Queens. Further, no Alteration means no Mother Oak. Taken together, there’s really no need to take Baalz advice for excessive Nature on my pretender anymore. I like the Death LQs would have brought to the party, so I’ll be sure to have D + W on my pretender to work the Streams from Hades angle, though. A strong Death pretender like a Lich would be a good choice for late-game, but again, I don’t intend to be around that long :) Plus, it’s not very thematic, a bunch of fishmen worshiping some undead corpse…not even sure how that’d work with the whole burial at sea thing. But the Old Man of the Sea I like: a gigantic, half-man, half-sea-serpent rising from the depths to claim godhood. Yup, I’d buy that. <o>
</o>

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

<o>Pretender Build

</o> With natural Astral & Water, the Old Man's kinda like the lord of navigation, guiding ships to safe harbor and whatnot. We’ll give him a bit of Death too, as he likes to send the occasional ship into the rocks (wouldn’t you?). But we don’t need a lot, as good scales are the priority thereby maximizing ichtycentaur output and my chances at an early game upset.

We’ll do a dormant Old Man with Dom9 and S4W4D2, scales at O3S2C3G2L3M1. His magic will let him cast Streams from Hades, Antimagic vs. R’lyeh, create a few Reverants to get the Death pump primed, and maybe even forge a few Astral Rings. He’s no SC, but in a pinch he can teleport in and send off a few water elementals at raiders. Maybe give him a D gem to cast Soul Vortex for the rare front-line detail. If he makes it the late-game (ha!) he can invite a few Abominations.

So I picture something like this:<o></o>
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1)<!--[endif]--> Expand hard and fast with Ichtycentaurs, followed by mermage site searchers.<o></o>
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2) <!--[endif]-->Launch a swift invasion of my closest enemy, preferably R’lyeh, pushing hard toward his capital behind a wall of Light Lances.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3)<!--[endif]--> Bring his capital walls down fast with swarms of ichtysatyrs. I want his capital before the Old Man wakes up.<o></o>
4) Mop up his remaining provinces, and start some serious Enchantment research. Start sending stealthy Capricorns behind my other underwater pal’s lines. <o></o>
5) Hit him hard and fast with another Ichtycentaur charge, supported by a massive Capricorn sneak attack scripted for (Personal Regeneration)(Watershield)Attack against his 1PD provinces.<o></o>
6) Win that war (easy!), then bide my time until Ench-5 & Alt-1 is completed.
7) Pick the weakest looking land opponent, and launch an all-out assault with Foul Vapors doing the damage. Research Conjuration to get Voice of Tiamet & Streams from Hades, just in case my brilliant plan somehow fails, laughable as that may sound.

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

here's some help- Kelp forts are NOT uncommon in cbm qm forgot to add that part into the mod

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

On your way to streams of hades, you will conveniently unlock the bog beast. In CBM you get 3 of them for 3 nature gems and it's castable by your capricorns. Now there's something to supercharge your foul vapor strategy:D Hear your opponent cry in agony as he succumbs to bog beast fumes protected by waves of skeletons.

Quagmire sounds like a goto spell too, to slow down fast units.

Don't forget that Dragon master is doable now that you keep your nature magic on land. You can make quite a drake factory with ice drakes, earth drakes and wyverns. The wyverns are poison immune and can fly in the rear and paralyze mages, and why not throw in a couple Amphiteres (with girdle and lycan ammy?) as well to further empower your poison angle?

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

Chapter 1: Where do we begin?

Turn 1 file: Attachment 9421
(Note that you'll need to download the mods & map from my 1st post to open these files.)

At the beginning, of course.

Hello, and welcome the first in what's sure to be a pathetically few number of turn reports! To get things off on the right foot, we'll begin with a little mood-setting poetry:

Yes, that about sums it up: a foolhardy charge by an outmatched yet proud nation into the Valley of Death.

But before we can get to the being eliminated part, we have some administrative details to sort out, like where we are in the world. Aha! We begin in the North:
Attachment 9418

A good start location, plenty of sea neighbors. The Northern sea start is very easily defensible, with just 2 narrow causeways connecting it to the middle seas; though the same holds true in the opposite direction, and I plan being on offense. Plus I'm bottled up by capital-controlled provinces from my southern neighbor.:mad:

But I can take and hold the entire region quite easily, provided none of my foolish land neighbors venture to dip a toe in. I'll only have one aquatic neighbor, I hope it's R'lyeh so I can kill him before he gets Mind Burn/Soul Slay.

My starting army is too weak to send blindly into battle, so I'm going to raise a little extra cash by overtaxing the citizens a bit, and killing anyone who complains. Taxes to a modest 150%, not unlike here in America; while I could probably safely go higher, I want to minimize the risk of excess Unrest in the capital, which would be very bad for recruitment the next few turns. Captain Haon Door is in charge of patrolling detail, give 'em hell HD.

Usually I'd prophetize my scout, but Oceania has two compelling reasons to take an alternate route: (1) my starting scout is a Siren, capable of killing commanders in coastal provinces, and (2) I can recruit H3 Bishop Fish, which when prophetized become H4. Not that H4 is terribly useful, but I do plan on fielding some largish armies, so Fanaticism will be helpful, and it'll help with preaching up my good scales.

So with that said, I send my Siren off to the Ripewoods in hopes she can kill off all thier commanders, hopefully to get me a painless backdoor onto the land.

Recruitment consists of our future prophet Bishop Fish, and a pile of Ichtycentaurs. These bad boys, not to be confused with their incompetent and wildly overpriced Trident Knight big brothers, are damn fine units:
Attachment 9419

20hps, 17def, First Strike Bonus, amphibious and a 5:1 gold:resource ratio, which allowed me to take Sloth scales (I'll almost always be gold-limited). We'll be recruiting these just about every turn from now on.

Not much else. No mercs I can recruit, not that I would. But there are a few amusing pretender names, I'll be sure to be diplomatically lienent with those who made the extra effort:
Attachment 9420

Philbert the Round? Might be some kinda big scary Ogre SC. We'll see...

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

Snow Emergency declared, SSJ! Don't get towed! :D

Oooo, I particularly like the the Bog Beast part :)

Quagmire + FV is a potent combo, though I probably won't be able to bring it to bear before I get skellispam online, due to encumbrance issues.

I hadn't thought about the wyvern approach, excellent idea! I'm going to struggle with mobility, and so a few flying raiders should be quite valuable. Bonus points if I can trade for some winged shoes...

Re: During Action Report! Calling all tourists! Everyone's invited!
 

Chapter 2: Meet the Neighbors

Turn 2 file: Attachment 9425

So the indy situation is a bit tougher than I'd anticipated. Bad news, as my strategy's really reliant on a fast opening. Oh well.

My first order of business is to prepare our future prophet for becoming our prophet. This is accomplished stripping him of his earthly moniker and granting him title. He shall hereby be known as Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau, Prophet of Oceania!

Up next, prepare the raiding party. I collect all the crappy tritons into one squad with orders to attack straight up the middle. The ichtycentaurs are put on the flank with orders to stike the enemy's rear.
Attachment 9428

Recruitment is a mermage to get the Kelp Fortress search started, and another pile of ichtycentaurs.

Some VERY interesting information in the score graphs:

1) Atlantis has already captured a province, the only nation to do so. Plus his god Glug is now in the Hall of Fame. Plus the Dominion graph shows he's got strong Dominion. The preponderance of the evidence suggests he's following Baalz suggested build of a Dom10 Ancient Kraken. That's going to be one tough cookie, and may necessitate critical reevaluation of my research strategy if he's my neighbor. At least he'll be predictable.
Attachment 9426

2) Vanheim has a huge research lead, they've obviously taken a rainbow for the research surge...probably to follow Baalz's advice for Helheim. I hate to disappoint, but he's going to have a very difficult time pulling the Skull Mentor trick off with Vanheim, they just don't have a way to prime the death pump in any reasonable amount of time.
Attachment 9429

[To Newbies - let that be a lesson, always check the score graphs! They're chock full of intel if you pay attention.]

Re: 2/9 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR
 

Vanheim, rather than following the Baalz Helheim plan, can go with something similar to the Caelum EK plan. It's more of a hybrid of the two actually, but with the right blessing you can rig Vanadrotts (or Eriu's Tuatha) to conquer provs solo or in duos using Resist Lightning and cast spells. Or he may simply be beelining it to an early research goal like Evo 4/5 for early war. I agree with you that I don't see the drain -> skull mentors implementation working for Vanheim.

Re: 2/9 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR
 

Chapter 3: The Annexation of Puerto Rico

Turn file: Attachment 9450

Our conquest of Divine Ocean was successful! Oceania has doubled in size! It's a great province too, 13,000 population.

Though it was a much closer battle then I would have liked.
Attachment 9447

The Ichtyid defenders proved a worthy adversary, many of our brave Oceanian Tritons fell. At the critical moment, when victory or defeat hung in the balance, Captain Haon Door made the heroic decision to charge recklessly into the fray, slaying 3 and sending the survivors into full retreat!
Attachment 9448

He will get some sort of medal for this, to go along with his now Heroic Agility. Though in reality, it'll probably just be a gussied-up clamshell.

Sade the Siren failed to lure anyone to their deaths. Frankly I'm not surprised, she'd packed on a few lbs during the reign of our old Pantokrator. I order her to fly 2 provinces South, in hopes the workout will get her in swimsuit condition by mid-summer (I'm really hoping for a Lizard Indy province there, I frankly don't need standard human recruits).

The newly minted Prophet of Oceania, Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau, collects his retinue of 10 Ichtycentaurs and sets off to the northwest to join Haon Door on an assault of the Triton held Sea of Carassos. Haon Door is ordered to retreat at the battle's onset, hopefully he has the good sense to come back to the capital...though I doubt it, given his celebrity back in Divine Ocean (the ladies refer to him as The Liberator, while winking meaningfully).
Attachment 9449

I commission a new Mermage and another column of 10 Ichtycentaurs. He'll be scaring up fortresses for us in no time. I also recruit a Ichtyid Commander who make great generic commanders, as they're amphibious and slow (and therefore don't surge forward into combat too quickly, unlike that moron Haon Door). I'll probably recruit 1 every turn for the next while.

Nothing too interesting fromt he Score Graphs. Atlantis is plodding forward as expected. Brittonia has jumped from 1 to 3 provinces, with a Sir Suidbert in the HoF. Joining him is the apparent combat pretender from Ogres.

Glug the Ancient Kraken is steadily racking up kills. Still no idea who my neighbors are. And of course the now-visible province to the west of Divine Ocean is swarming with 50 defenders.

Re: 2/10 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 3
 

Regarding Sade the siren, I wonder if it is really her weight so much as her name that scares the men away.

Re: 2/10 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 3
 

When you get a siren like that just rename her Rosanne Barr and put her on the front lines...
-ssj

Re: 2/10 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 3
 

Chapter 4: Who ordered the squid?

Turn files: Attachment 9467

Well, Haon Door did indeed come back to the capital, but those ingrates in Divine Ocean seem to have taken offense to it and organized an insurgency of Brigands in some godforsaken ruin. So much for that high income province, a few extra inchtycentaurs next turn would have really helped against these unnaturally tough indies.

Speaking of which, the North Pole Deeps is now visible guarded by - you guessed it - Sea Trolls & Krakens! At least I'll get some practice this turn, as I'm sending our hero Haon Door against the Troll/Kraken infested Cerulean Sea. This is a risky move, as these indies are always supported by Hydromancers and as a rule of thumb I never engage artillery without artillery. But Haon Door is a seasoned veteran, and with some "attack rear" scripting, I'm gambling my ichtycentaurs will be able to take out that Hydromancer before he water-strikes me off the field.
Attachment 9465

This at-risk decision is made for the sake of expansion speed, as I'm currently tied for last-place in the province count, despite our Prophet's most recent success in the Sea of Carassos. It was a cakewalk, and many of his retinue have picked up their first star of experience. Those troops will be tasked with taking the Sea of Woe this turn, where estimates of defender numbers have fallen to 40.

Rosanne, er, I mean Sade the Siren has reached Morn Woods and has made an unfortunate discovery: our southern neighbor is Atlantis. That sucks, R'lyeh is going to be quite tough when-and-if I finally meet him on the field. My only hope is to swiftly dispatch Atlantis, but his 32-kill Ancient Kraken (I assume) won't make it easy. The known world (note Agartha to the West):
Attachment 9466

I will consequently need to rethink my original research strategy...already. The Ancient Kraken is fearsome indeed, with 4 armor-piercing attacks, an AOE poison attack, 50% poison immunity, 50% cold immunity, fear, and probably Dom10=Awe+2. Not to mention a mountain of HPs in that Dom10 dominion. I'll need to hit him early, before good items or buffs can become available. I really can't expect to outright kill him with damage, not underwater. An artist's rendition:
Attachment 9464

I have a few options:
1) I can try to fatigue him to death with cold. Namely Numbness (Alt-2) or Ice Pebble Staffs (Const-2). This will be difficult, as he has base 50% cold resistance, and his troops can forge Frost Rings that he can wear. Viability - low.
2) I can try to fatigue him to death with Sleep (Thau-2). This unappreciated spell makes any SC completely useless, ramming his fatigue beyond 100, making most hits critical. It does, however, require a failed MR roll, and he'll have base 18mr. However, if I start recruiting Captricons now, I should have a few N4 casters at game time, which will give a +1 penetration bonus...basically a 10% chance of success per cast. However, he can wear a Amulet of Antimagic and be MR buffed by his troops, so this wouldn't work past the early game. Viability - moderate.
3) I can have him hold still. I'm of course talking about that unsung hero Tangle Vines (Conj-1), which all vets know can be devastating vs. SCs when wielded properly. This spell is AOE-1 (read: no chance to avoid) and costs the target his action for the next turn...but not before lowering his defense to zero (or is it cut in half?). Basically, it makes him a sitting duck for 1 round. With a half-dozen casters spamming it each round, it'll turn even the biggest, meanest guy around into a impotent, doomed statue. At N1, all my mages can cast it, preferably right after casting Eagle Eyes. And the AI will tend to target the big guys. As a bonus, diverting to Conj doesn't really change my original research strat too much, just changed the order a bit. Viability - high.

So my new research strategy is to hit Conj-1, then Alt-1, and hope to meet the Ancient Kraken unaccompanied in a single decisive battle. I'll also need to spit out a few Horns of Valor to counter his fear aura and Awe. Probably slap them on some Trident Lords, commanders of the useless Trident Knights.

[Noob-hint: Be flexible! Whatever paltry success I've had in MP can be solely attributed to being adaptable. Like Carl says, "No plan survives first contact with the enemy," so never hesitate to overhaul a long term strategy when when faced with new intelligence.]

One other interesting thing is Morn Woods has a Wolf Tribe. I like this, Wolf Tribe Shamen are remarkably more cost efficient researchers than my national troops. Really. Plus they get a 10% chance at D1, nice to get the Death gems flowing early. Lastly, Wolf Tribe Warriors pack quite a punch in a small package, with size 2 and 2 attacks...especially underwater where there are no arrows, only a big stinking squid in need of some dicing. Sade, take 'em down ;)

Re: 2/12 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 5
 

Chapter 5: Death of a Heroman

Turn files: Attachment 9480

A terrible day! Our hero Haon Door, brave champion of Oceania, has fallen. I knew sending just 10 ichtycentaurs against a sea troll province was a bad idea, but I got too greedy. The approach was successful, as 2 ichtycentaurs did in fact make it to the hydromancer commander, but the execution failed, as his 2 sea troll body guards were able to keep him from being slain:
Attachment 9481

Under a withering barrage of water strikes, we took heavy casualties. As last time, Haon Door held back until he could wait no more, and charged confidently into the fray:
Attachment 9482

But Haon was grievously wounded in the tail, suffering an aqua-limp. With 60% of his troops killed, Haon realized the situation was hopeless and sounded the general retreat, ordering the survivors to save themselves. Haon tried to escape, but the sea trolls quickly ran him down:
[Image censored. - Oceania Dept of Defense]

So my attempt at an early 2nd expansion party failed. Adding insult to injury is the fact that a Death Match has been announced, where Haon Door surely would have been crowned champion. We shall send his understudy, Gorenigrai the Ichtyid Lord, in his stead. Gorenigrai is a vibrant 23 year old with absolutely no combat experience. We, who are about to watch you die, salute you.

At least we were fortunate enough to receive a lucky event: 3 Astral gems were found on a starry night...at a depth of 3,000 feet. Logistics aside, these will come in handy against my quadra-tenticled foe, as once they're alchemized to a Death gem my Old Man can use it to Spirit Curse ol' Glug. A Curse will go a long way toward making and keeping him ineffective, even after he gets recalled from the dead (Curses stick forever).

Sade unfortunately failed again at the simple task of convincing a key enemy leader to swim out into the ocean to his death. Hmmmm, fortunately Valentines Day is right around the corner, so hopefully we can get a discount on a new - ahem - wardrobe for her.

At least our Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau was successful, capturing the Sea of Woe without a single casualty. His next task is to capture the North Pole Deeps, which like the Creulean Sea is crawling with Sea Trolls. It'll be a nice warm-up for his subsequent wheel south to exact vengeance upon the Hydromancer of the Cruelean Sea:
Attachment 9483

With the failure of Haon Door, our newest Mermage (W3N1) has no lands to hunt for Kelp Fortresses, so he's directed to finally begin the great research endeavors of Oceania. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the original research plan will be delayed until Conj-1 and Alt-1 are completed.

Cash is starting to get tight, as my army draws a lot of pay and I'm now behind on my provinces. I can only afford another Ichtyid Lord, a Mermage, and a half-dozen Ichtycentaurs.

On the intel front, Shinuyama is now visible south of Agartha. Tien Chi, Vanheim, and R'lyeh all failed to capture a single province last turn, a sign that the choice indys are starting to dry up (not that I had many). Brettonia now has a second non-prophet non-god in the HoF, so they can be expected to be a thug nation; but they've just declared a NAP-3 with R'lyeh (all diplomatic arrangements are made public, per the game's house rule) so it's safe to assume he's located far to the south.

Re: 2/14 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 6
 

Turn 6: Valentine's Day Massacre

Turn files: Attachment 9495

Before we get to the massacre, I'd like to report some fantastic news: an Academy Underneath has been found in the Sea of Carassos! This chestnut of a magic site not only gives a free Kelp Fortress, but also allows the recruitment of Hydromancers! Hydromancers, the race responsible for the death of Haon Door, are potent water mages (W3) and DO NOT loose water magic on land.
Attachment 9494

Hot damn, land water magic is now a reality. This make Evocation a viable detour before I make landfall, which will give me Falling Frost, THE mainline water combat spell.
Attachment 9492

Even if I don't change the research plan, they'll give me Quagmire, which combined with Foul Vapors and Claymen will be nasty synergy.

But with that said, I'm not going to build a lab in that province quite yet. For one, the money is better spent on ichtycentaurs at the moment, as I have some catching up to do on the indy snatching front. But more importantly, I need scouts. Unlike land provinces, the seas lack any sort of indy scout, so if you want the intel you'll need to recruit from a fortress. And I REALLY want intel. The only way I'm going to have a shot at winning is if I can anticipate what I'm up against. [Noobs, this isn't unique to my situation; you ALWAYS want as many scouts as you can possibly get regardless of the nation. Make it a priority!]

Now on to the massacre part. It's with a heavy heart I report that Gorenigrai the Ichtyid Lord did not survive to be crowned Champion of the Arena. Though he did make it to the finals, albeit because R'lyeh was the only other nation that had the guts to send a competitor. [Noobs: always send someone!]

It was a close battle too. Gorenigrai squared off against a W1E1S1 Slave Mage that cast Personal Luck & Twist Fate before Gorenigrai could close to engage. In an extended exchange (read: tremendously long & boring), his opponent drew first blood, weakening Gorenigrai with a -4 Str affliction. Gorenigrai struck back, but the blow was negated by the Twist Luck. Then Gorenigrai landed a second blow, dealing 6 damage to his opponent - interestingly, had he not had the -4 Str, he'd have dealt 10 damage and killed the Slave Mage outright. But the Slave Mage counterpunched, landing a fatal blow and sending Gorenigrai back to the depths in a bodybag.
Attachment 9491

While disheartening, it was very interesting to learn that R'lyeh is pursuing an Alteration strategy. This is good news, as I'm sunk once he gets Soul Slay and Mind Hunt, neither of which are part of in the Alteration path. The only logical explanation is that he's going for a teleporting-Starspawns-of-doom approach, where he'll be kitting kit out his mages with a few cheap items and buffs for an Apocalypse Now type mobility campaign. Very interesting.

On the seduction front, Sade finally found love. And drowned him. Happy Valentine's Day. Wolf Tribes usually have 1 Shaman and 1 Barbarian commander, so she'll need to kill one more before I can take the province.

Our beloved Prophet successfully captured the North Pole Deeps, losing 4 ichtycentaurs to the trolls but convincing me he can take the remaining 5 trolls of Cruelean Sea without reinforcement. Interestingly, I noticed from last turn that the Hydromancer defending Creulean Sea has a Piercer equipped. This crossbow is usable underwater and deals 12 points of armor-negating damage [Noobs: This doesn't seem like much, but AN is really devastating. Since the expected value of a DRN is 3, this thing will do approximately 15 points of damage each time it hits, whatever it hits, without a defense roll.] This thing will come in handy vs. Glug if I can snag it, especially when wielded by someone with Eagle Eyes, so I'm sending a Mermage to join the attack in hopes of picking it up.

The 13-strong force of ichtycentaurs waiting in my capital is being sent to capture the Sea of Mermaids, which is guarded by 50 truly ugly mermaids. Risky again, but I need to make up for lost time, so I'm willing to take the chance.
Attachment 9493

From the score charts, Atlantis also acquired a 2nd fort this turn. Additionally he now has the largest army, though that chart is based on total size, so I'm guessing he's spamming size-5 War Lobsters. Those things can be tough as they're tramplers, but as such Tangle Vines should work pretty well against them. Of note, between the Academy Underneath & a Caves in the Deep located in the North Pole, I now have the highest gem income.

Re: 2/16 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 7
 

Chapter 7: Slow News Day

Turn files: Attachment 9514

The good news shall be reported first. Our Prophet has finally exacted revenge upon the Hydromancer of the Cerulean Sea. And he took the Hydromancer's piercer as his prize (the crossbow...what a filthy mind you have). A nice pickup, as mentioned in the previous Chapter.
Attachment 9517

Now the bad news. Our forces suffered defeat in the shifting tides of the Sea of Mermaids. It was my own fault, as I hurried the turn and stupidly placed my ichtycentaurs at the far right with Attack Closest orders. This had them charge just shy of the ichtyid front, allowing the smurfs to draw first blood. Since they wield nets, my centaurs were sitting ducks, and quickly cut down before they could land their high damage charge bonus. 7/13 killed, and yet another failed attempt at a 2nd expansion party.

In diplomatic news, Nekehara (aka Tomb Kings, the excellent mod nation by llamabeast) has captured the land province east of my capital. This is very interesting because Nekehara is an undead nation, and as such can readily enter the water. He's frankly the only land nation in Tophats that can realistically threaten a water invasion before lategame. It has been my intention to secure a Non-Aggression Pact with him since before Turn 1.
Attachment 9516

Fortunately, I didn't even have to make the first move. He immediately send a diplomatic overture requesting friendship. Normally I'd insist he first leave the territory immediately surrounding my capital, but water provinces get no benefits from land neighbors, and frankly it's not worth possibly instigating a fight over. Besides, I couldn't hold it even if I tried, much better to have a friend look after it. So I offer a Non-Aggression Pact with a 3-turn warning clause (NAP-3), and he accepts. Per the house rules, no breaking NAPs, so I'm definitely secure for a while.

Sade again failed to lure the tribesmen. I'm starting to think there's something wrong with her. Will follow up with Department of Health & Humanoid Services to see if she's got some sort of genetic defect. Like a piercer or something :D

Sending the Prophet against a tough indy: 60 Tritons, Guards, & Troopers (estimates had been as high as 80). I'm reinforcing with the newest batch of ichtycentaurs, so still following my monotonous climb up the province chart, 1 province per turn.

Speaking of provinces, R'lyeh hasn't captured any new ones recently, but his army size has been steadily declining. I wonder if he's at war with Glug...?
Attachment 9515

Re: 2/16 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 7
 

Chapter 8: Vine Ripened

Turn files: Attachment 9528

So to open, I got a lucky event, but it was a crappy Festival Held In My Honor. Big deal. Where's the damn gold!?! I blew quite a few design points for the luck-3 scales which is usually good for some cash by now. These steroid charged indies aren't helping my troop count either.

But at least there's one less. The Prophet has captured the Tritron Trooper prov NE of the capital. Very good. He was supported by a Mermage, get searching my friend.

Ooooo, a successful lure! That's 2, which in my experience is the limit for Wolf Tribes. I don't have a separate commander to take the province, so I'm sending Sade in herself. With some conservative orders, just in case.
Attachment 9527

Conjuration-1 will be complete next turn, giving me Tangle Vines. Excess research is being plowed into Alteration to get Eagle Eyes open.

While Tangle Vines isn't a game changer, especially against massed troops, it's better than nothing, so I'm sending a Mermage in with my 11-strong Ichtycentaur squadron back into the Sea of Mermaids.

Recruitment remains boring, a Mermage & max Ichtycentaurs in Oceania, and a Scout from the Sea of Carassos.

At least the indy expansion phase is nearly over, so we can get this party started. Prophet's tasked with taking the last province of the North Seas. Of course it won't be easy (duh), guarded by troopers and shark knights. This expansion really hasn't gone to plan, I'd originally hoped to be invading my first neighbor by now...
Attachment 9526

Re: 2/19 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 9
 

Chapter 9: The Best Laid Plans

Turn files: Attachment 9533

3 attacks, 3 victories. Gotta love breaking a losing streak:
Attachment 9536

During the bloody Second Assault Of The Sea of Mermaids, our supporting mermage routed, and was literally scared right out of the water. Dragging himself onto the shores of the newly conquered Morn Woods, he's been greeted with orders to search the Woods for Enchantresses.

The veterans of the Sea of Mermaids crew are ordered to head west, where they'll meet up with reinforcements to attack Tenvir. Tenvir is a land province guarded by heavy infantry, which shouldn't give our boys too much trouble. Upon successful capture, they will continue west to take on the nasty 60 ichtyid Sea of Nuptia.

Now that Prophet is finished capturing the north seas, it's time to begin mobilizing for a move against Atlantis. Where he's located, heading west means I'll be able to launch the attack in 4 turns, east means 5 turns. This may ultimately prove to be a mistake, but I'm going to take the longer eastern route. This is so he'll be in a position to capture the Sea of Nuptia if my attack on that province this turn fails; this will prevent Shinuyama (who can recruit amphibious kappas) from taking that province and cutting off 1 of my 2 approaches to Atlantis. Also, at this point, I'm so behind schedule that a turn 12 attack isn't really much different from a turn 13 attack. I wouldn't be so flippant if the indies had cooperated, wherein a turn 6 vs turn 7 attack would be substantially different. Further, the eastern route will let me build up a larger invasion force. Here's a map of The Plan:
Attachment 9535
Yellow: Turn 9
Orange: Turn 10
Green: Turn 11
Blue: Turn 12
Red: Turn 13

And what's this, Monsieur le Comte de Maquereau has risen to the Hall of Fame! We shall arrange a hero's welcome for him back at the capital, and setup a big effigy of Glug for him to practice smiting with his now Heroic Precision :rolleyes:

Sade the Siren, good work. Rinse and repeat with the heavy cav province of Ostmark.

Recruitment: mermage, max ichtycentaurs, a scout, and another ichtyid lord.

From the score graphs, Tien Chi and Vanheim each seem to be getting gobbled up (see above). Also, Atlantis's army size shot way up this turn, probably from more war lobsters...my guess is they're pretty effective against R'lyeh.
Attachment 9534

Re: 2/19 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 9
 

Thanks for putting the time and effort into this, Cleveland. It's interesting, informative, and a fun read. And based on the view count for this thread, I'm not the only one who thinks so. Keep 'em coming.

Re: 2/19 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 9
 

Unfortunately, the way his lack has been going lately in that game, he may not be able to....

Re: 2/19 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 9
 

No spoilers! :D

Will do paarfi, though rdonj is right, my position has gotten, er, interesting of late. But it's great to know folks are enjoying it, thanks for the feedback!

Re: 2/21 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 10
 

Chapter 10: Coming of the Capricorns

Turn files: Attachment 9550

Finally some gold! Some merchant "donated" 250g to the "temple." Right, I'm sure it was out of the goodness of his heart, and has nothing to do with the upcoming vote to remove tuna from the endangered delectables list. Whatever, sorry fishies, but daddy needs a new octopus squisher.

My new found wealth is going to be invested in an unorthodox scheme that might just give me the upper hand against Glug. I'm using it to buy a Capricorn and a whole pile of ichtysatyrs. And not the good ichtysatyrs either, I'm stocking up on the crappy ones.
Attachment 9549

Why? Because these guys are stealthy, as is their Capricorn commander. The thought is to send this stealthy raiding force behind enemy lines just prior to the main attack, and have them strike the Atlantis capital (which is only separated from my boarder by 1 province, see the map below).

Unfortunately these ichtysatyrs are really bad, with a base 8 morale, which makes it 7 in enemy territory. Which translates to really bad with Glug's fear aura.
Attachment 9547

To boost this, I'm going to give their Capricorn a Horn of Valor, which should mitigate the morale issues somewhat. How the horn works underwater is beyond me, but my skilled mermage blacksmiths assure me it's possible, so I commission the item. Combined with Eagle Eyes, Tangle Vines, and the element of surprise, it just might be enough to take out his Capital PD at the same time as the Prophet conquers Boat Eater. Should be fun.

A word on sneaking. I'll be buying over 60 ichtycentaurs. Capricorns have +10 stealth, which means the group will be at around -10 destealth strength (formula is in your manual). This will be bad if he has any significant amount of PD in Boat Eater, but from my scout that just reached Broken Ocean, it seems Atlantis does the classic 1PD in his provs. This fact is driving the decision to pursue this risky endeavor...again, stock up on scouts!

The Plan is progressing according to schedule, with the land province of Tenvir captured at the cost of 1 casualty. Nuptia is next, and the last indy I'll be attacking before my move on Atlantis. The newest scouting report puts the defenders of Nuptia at 40, so not so bad. They'll still have Tangle Vine support, and the Prophet will be on hand to press the attack next turn, if needed.

Interesting international intrigues from the message boards: Bretonia is crushing Tien Chi, and Shinuyama is at war with Vanheim. Of note, Vanheim has killed the Shinuyaman god (based on his gloating) and prophet (based on the Hall of Fame). All this info gives me enough to build a rough idea of the layout of nation starts:
NORTH: Nekehara - Agartha - Oceania
CENTRAL: Arcoscephale - Vanheim - Shinuyama - Atlantis
SOUTH: Brettonia - Tien Chi - Ogres - R'lyeh

Here's the updated Plan, keeping the same colors:
Attachment 9548

Re: 2/22 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 11
 

Chapter 11: The Awakening

Turn files: Attachment 9559

Glorious day! Our lord, our king, Monsiur le Marquis de Sous-Marine is here! Like a seasoned frat boy, he awakes just in time for the party.

In celebration of his arrival, we immediately alchemize our 4 Astral pearls into Death gems, and present them to the Marquis. These will be invaluable should the we meet the octopus on the field, who will be immediately Cursed by our serpentine overlord:
Attachment 9562

But curses alone won't win slay the beast, nor will unending tangle vines. We need a way to hurt Glug. His fear/awe blend will be tough, especially on his home turf, and I suspect he'll have mage support to boost his protection. Hmmmm, well for one, berserk ignores both fear and awe. Berserker pelt is a trinket I can forge immediately, but who will wear it? Well, the Trident Lord would be a good choice, if his armor didn't suck...oh wait, with the berserker pelt, his encumbrance drops to reasonable levels. But he ain't hurting an ironskinned Ancient Kraken with that silly trident. But the Hunter's Knife is armor-piercing...and length zero...how's a dual AP knife wielding berserk part-man-part-fish-part-horse sound? Like victory, that's what; sushi-grade victory. A last batch of ichtycentaurs to accompany him:
Attachment 9560

Our sneaksky new Capricon gets the codename 007, of course. This is a gentleman's game, after all. Q gives him his high-tech underwater Horn, his 62 ichtysatyrs join him, his last martini is shaken, and off he sneaks to the South.

Some unfortunate news, however. My scout network has finally reached Boat Eater, the lone Atlantian province between me and his capital, and it seems the PD is "quite well organized." This could mean he's got 10+ PD there, and if so my secret mission might be compromised. Negative stealth is very risky against even PD=10. But we'll see, as of now he's going to stick to the plan to sneak behind enemy lines:
Attachment 9561

In other news, a clam field was found in the north, Sade seduced one of the commanders of the Heavy Cav province, and we captured Nuptia in a close battle, losing 4 ichtycentaurs and the mermage support in the process. The survivors will join the Marquis in Tenvir for the attack!

TC has been crushed, and has no provinces left, though he's not dead. He capitulated to Bretonia in the game thread, but cheers to Starshine_Monarch for staying until the bitter end. :beer: [Newbies: ALWAYS fight until your capital falls!]

Re: Feb23 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 12
 

Chapter 12: The Calm before The Storm

Turn files: Attachment 9569

I'm not going to execute the sneak attack with 007. This decision is based on a calculation I ran: if he does indeed have 10PD, the probability of detection is approximately 84.1% - yes I built a program to calculate it, yes these bruises are from fighting. Though there's a good chance he has exactly 6PD for this reason, I don't want to risk blowing my cover for a low chance at a quick Capital capture:
Attachment 9568

I frankly think the probability that he notices my buildup on his boarder is lower, given his war in the South with R'lyeh. The likely outcome is that he'll notice my buildup and pump the PD up to 20, which I'd rather battle than potentially lose the equivalent of 75 wall siegers (11 str each...@ 8gold, some of the most efficient recruits in the game, 2nd only to indy Atlantan Militia). I order 007 to hold position this turn, with the intention of sneaking along with the main force carrying gems. Besides, our fish monger can use the Horn of Valor (see below).

Full disclosure: if this were a normal game, I would absolutely send Atlantis a PM right now declaring my friendship, explaining that my forces are simply guarding a new fort in Sea of Mermaids & attacking the indies of Ostmark, and asking for a NAP. And other such lies. But because this is a gentleman's game, lies aren't permitted; or if they are, this gentleman won't be doing it. So I'll just hope he doesn't notice, but normally I'd lie through my teeth :D

Here's my fish monger. Enc-7 is still high, I know, but as long as Glug is tangled up, it won't matter, he can deal quite a bit of damage in 100/7 = 15 turns...assuming 8prot, that's about 30 damage per turn...450 damage plus curse afflictions before passing out isn't bad at all:
Attachment 9567

So our frontline troops move into position. Sade kills another Ostmark defender. All's well with the world.

Re: Feb23 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 12
 

Awesome write-up Cleve - hilarious and insightful. Watch out for the aqua-limp!

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

Chapter 13: The Die is Cast

Turn files: Attachment 9575

Big day is finally here! It's so exciting, you bring a nation into this world, try to raise him right, hope you've given him all the tools he needs to make it. But nothing can prepare you for that first day of mortal combat. They grow up so fast!

Zee attack vill proceed as planned. Nothing fancy, just a textbook delayed ichtycentaur charge, supported by Tangle Vines & Frighten spam. An Air-random mermage has been given the Piercer; he'll cast Aim on his square, improving the accuracy of the Tanglers, and be set to Fire Glug.
Attachment 9576

Oh wait, maybe something a little bit fancy. Our champion approaches...sing it with me!
Attachment 9578

Dah....dah! Dah-dah, dah dah dah. Dah! Dah! Dah! Dah-dah dah dah, dah-dah dah dah dah! (chime!)

He slices! He dices! He makes calamari fritters in under 2 minutes! Yeah, I'm gonna be in a great mood all day. He'll start the battle berserk, so to keep him from joining combat immediately I'm going to place him in the back corner with a few ichtycentaurs set to guard commander. They'll keep up with ol' Omurtag as he immediately charges into the fray, and get a boost to their morale from the Horn of Valor he'll now be tooting.

Since Omurtag is sacred, I'm going to have the Prophet start the battle off with a Divine Blessing, which will give Omurtag a slight boost to his defense, which otherwise is being sapped by the berserk. The Prophet will then proceed with other holy incantations, boosting our morale, and hopefully paralyzing our 8-legged foe.

The remaining ichtycentaurs will be split between the front line with Hold & Attack orders, and in the other back corner with Attack Rear orders.

As mentioned, hopefully he won't notice my little buildup on his boarder, but even if he does, he'll probably let me take this province uncontested to see what I have.

I recruit a bunch more ichtycentaurs to replenish any upcoming losses, send my siege forces in pursuit of the spearhead, and sneak 007's stealthy sappers along with the main force. Additionally, I order another Capricorn.

My scout network has reached the Atlantan capital: he has ~40 Reef Warriors, War Lobsters and Ichtyids in defense, led by a King of the Deep. Seems he's stocking up on siege troops to lay the death blow on R'lyeh.
Attachment 9577

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

nice, you've got a N5 Capricorn on your 2nd attempt! this guy will allow you to even take Baalz's tip and go for Mother Oak, and you already have Alt1... I do wonder however why you're starting to recruit mass Capricorns so soon, seeing as they're not holy like the Triton Kings of EA, so they're really going to start choking your economy while not pulling their weight, as far as research goes the Mermages are mot effective, and you can't use their high N skills yet due to lack of research. also, when do you plan on building that 2nd lab? you seem to have plenty of scouts already and you got some land provinces too, hopefully the next 2 will also give you Scouts.

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

@Blackguard: Capricorns are pricey & a huge hit to the upkeep, but I need N casters that can sustain Tangle Vines against Glug...I'm not too worried about his front line troops, but as of now I have nothing that can really kill that Kraken, so I need to invest heavily in troops to hold him in place. Plus they're really not that bad of an investment, being stealthy & usable on land with CBM 1.6

Sorry for the delays updating, I've got family visiting so I haven't been able to sneak away to continue this tragic masterpiece. No worries, they leave Sunday, giving me back my free time to continue this tragic tail (rimshot!)

-c

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

So....family stay longer than intended? I miss the updates you and Trumanator were doing. So I guess this constitutes being a bump :)

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

I completely agree Bandar. First blogs I have actually followed.
-ssj

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

How cruel to bump this thread, here I was expecting a continuation of the cliffhanger cleveland left us with and only finds a bump. :)

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

Can people please stop bumping this thread? It is only causing unnecessary pain and disappointment.

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

Ahem, it's called a dramatic pause... :D

Actually, like most good family visits, this one was punctuated by, well, drama. But have no fear, my unparalleled mastery of the written word will shortly be once again applied to the silly tale of the Capricorns. Stay tuned until after St. Guinness day...

c

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

Prepare to end dramatic pause...

Re: Feb25 Update - Calling All Tourists! - MA Oceania DAR - Chapter 13
 

...next Year?