Early game slingshot w/ alchemy

SelfishGene · #1 February 22nd, 2004, 10:10 AM

I was suprised at the relatively high selling price for gems after some accidental tests. It occured to me one could use alchemy, especially in multiplayer, to create extra income to fuel your early game expansions. Hire another mercenary company, build your fortress a couple turns earlier, ect. In multiplayer small early economic advantages can compound mightily as the game progresses. I suppose this is what the designers had in mind when they gave Ulm an Alchemist Pretender.

[ February 22, 2004, 08:11: Message edited by: SelfishGene ]

Ragnarok-X · #2 February 22nd, 2004, 12:17 PM

especially if you think about ulms magic in general. there is not much to do with your gems except forging, so you usually have spare gems.

PDF · #3 February 23rd, 2004, 02:36 AM

Playing Ulm I never had too many Fire and Earth Gems, forging and Construction "summons" eat up your gems steadily !
However Pocus described me a "financial" Alchemist strategy : with Nature & Fire a RB can forge a boatload of Fever Fetish (give' em to Scouts) producing many Fire gems, that you can sell for cash. Only problem is that this requires your RB himself to forgeing items, so you lose on research/site searching (that's what the guy should do else...)

PhilD · #4 February 23rd, 2004, 02:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PDF:
Playing Ulm I never had too many Fire and Earth Gems, forging and Construction "summons" eat up your gems steadily !
However Pocus described me a "financial" Alchemist strategy : with Nature & Fire a RB can forge a boatload of Fever Fetish (give' em to Scouts) producing many Fire gems, that you can sell for cash. Only problem is that this requires your RB himself to forgeing items, so you lose on research/site searching (that's what the guy should do else...)

What are you using to make sure you have the Nature gems? A Master Druid?

(Also, if you add Death you can give the Fever Fetishes to undead summons so you don't even have to lose upkeep and recruiting costs on scouts)

Pocus · #5 February 22nd, 2004, 03:50 PM

no you need the master alchemist, to get 30 gp for each fire gem. Essentially, its a nature/fire/whatever please you rainbow mage. You have to find at least 3 nature gems a turn though, which is rather feasible by searching sites, or with diplomatical contacts. Once it is done, you income increase by 30 gp/turn. You can then stockpile for the Eternal Pyre (that you cast with your pretender) to get a nice +20 gems (600 gp). Thats basically that, an 'underground' gold strategy which cant be spotted and/or hampered by the others players.

An alternate path would be the blood stone one.

PhilD · #6 February 22nd, 2004, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Pocus:
no you need the master alchemist, to get 30 gp for each fire gem.

I had never realised that Fire gems were worth more in alchemy than Earth.

I just started a SP game with a Master Alchemist (to see a few things), on the World map; unfortunately, my starting province was Iceland, and the closest neighbour (Northern America) is Ermor...