[Chris Byler]

Originally posted by Pocus:
I like this idea of having auto search at your level minus xxx.

As much as I have tried, I have not found that investing 200 design points to get 9 or 10 in a magic scale was a good bet. Perhaps the demo limitations bias my results, perhaps not.

A pro argument for high magic levels : the scales dont give much now, far less than in doms I. We have perhaps the bad habit to value them too much. What is worth 120 design points now? (for growth +3, a 30.000 pop province, it is a meager +180 pop a turn, and +6% income IIRC). Perhaps it is worth to invest them in a high magic level.

Even so, it's practically impossible to get two 9s. I just tried it with C'tis, which (IMX) can afford some negative scales: to get Nature 9 Death 9 with a Father of Serpents (the most cost-effective choice despite his high base cost because he is skilled in both paths), I had to take Death 2, Sloth 2, Heat 1 and had no points left to boost dominion strength, get a castle or take any positive scales (like magic, which C'tis really needs). This is of course without the 200-point Desert Tombs theme - it's hard to even get two 4's with such an expensive theme.

Maybe Ashen Empire, Soul Gates or Carrion Woods can afford to take 12 negative scales and have the points to get a powerful bless. But most nations can't.

Either Gods that are skilled in paths of magic need a higher base skill (this would help A LOT for reaching high levels, because it would reduce the cost for each level by 8 and make you have to buy fewer levels - if the Father of Serpents started with Nature 3, Death 2 instead of Nature 2, Death 1 it would probably have saved over 150 points), or the costs to increase magic levels for Gods need to be sharply reduced (say, half as much per level except for the first level). Obviously the second proposal would also benefit archmages while the first would not (except for archmages that start out with one path, like Frost Father or Arch Druid).

It's not that I don't want to take stronger magic on my God at setup; it's that I can't afford to, even with few or no positive scales and a points-cheap castle. I don't like this, because I really like the idea of Gods having more powerful magic (and the bless system that ties into it). So why do they start with less magic skill than mortal mages?


Although I posted earlier that I'd like to see bless effects start lower, I'm recanting that position: what I really want is to see it become more affordable to have a magically powerful God. A magically mediocre God with good bless effects isn't nearly as much fun as a magically awesome God with good bless effects (even if I have to go up against stronger enemy Gods as well).

If this spells the demise of the no-magic, scale-pushing Wyrm, I won't shed any tears. I always thought it was a boring (though effective) choice in Dom I, both to play as and against.