Stop the Insanity!

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by mivayan:
I had a starspawn get attacked quite early by a horror: flying, 4 armor-negating attacks with no mr save... nasty! Would ritual of returning have helped? The priest died on the first combat round, but probably survived one or two of the four attacks.

I believe RoR kicks in as soon as you take 1 point of damage, unless that very attack kills you, so in your case the Starspawn should have survived. With the spell Returning, you'd be totally safe - unless you got insanity while attracting that Horror.

the ritual would have to take effect somewhere. Body guards would probably have helped, and maybe a lucky amulet.

If, like I suggest, your Starspawn's first move is to cast Resist Magic, then yes, in that case bodyguards and a Luck pendant would have definitely helped him to survive for a couple more rounds. But I doubt the final outcome would be any different.

BTW, do you guys often see Horrors? I'd say they're even rarer than Vastnesses in my own tests: got 5 Vastnesses (1 hostile), and only 2 Horrors so far.

[NTJedi]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
Yes. To clarify: The void gate is meant to be used with Starspawns, even though it is not in the description of the gate or the unit. Any astral mage can enter, but normally there's a 75% (IIRC) chance of feeblemind, while Starspawns have only a 5% chance, and a certain hero has a 2% chance.

The description of the gate needs to have that info added, as currently it is driving newbies insane. Which is something Ryleh should never do...

So if you capture and conquer Ryleh... don't be using the gate??
That's too bad... if that's the case.

[Saber Cherry]

I set an Illithid Soldier and 4 assorted summons to guard my Starspawn (often a Greater Otherness and a few immobile or aquatic things), and scripted him to cast "Control", and the only horror that attacked got controlled. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep him=(

I suggest giving them a Rune Smasher or other penetration aid, a luck item, and an antimagic amulet.

As for the cost: It is only 5 gold per turn... minimal. 150/15/2 (/2 for as priestly starspawns are sacred) = 5. And all the summons are upkeep-free.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by Saber Cherry:
and scripted him to cast "Control", and the only horror that attacked got controlled. Unfortunately, I didn't get to keep him=(

Heh, that was a brilliant idea! I'm ashamed I didn't think about it myself! Too bad it doesn't work.

[Edit: didn't notice: "Horror". Hmmm, maybe it works with the regular summon? Question: what happens when you try to Control or Charm a Vastness if the Blood Vengeance kicks in - do you get charmed yourself? ]

I'd stick to Ritual of Returning + Returning anyway. It's the safer way to keep your summoner alive, and there's no reason to fight without purpose.

As for the cost: It is only 5 gold per turn... minimal. 150/15/2 (/2 for as priestly starspawns are sacred) = 5. And all the summons are upkeep-free.

You forget the initial investment. If, as I suspect, each attempt to summon incur a 5% chance to become insame, then you can expect a Starspawn priest to Last for ~14 turns, and therefore a turn spent at the Gate (note: not a summon) "costs" you 150/14 + 5 ~ 15.7 gold.

[ January 13, 2004, 17:56: Message edited by: Nagot Gick Fel ]

[Taqwus]

A Horror with four attacks? Hm. A Doom Horror gets four attacks, mostly if not entirely armor-negating, including an instant-death attack ("Consume Soul"). Ritual of Returning might help if you survive the Astral Claw, Soul Leech or Life Drain attacks, 'tho.
(Divine Glyph = ?)

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by Taqwus:
Ritual of Returning might help

Use both if you can. Ritual of Returning (ritual) and Returning (battle spell).

If you are attacked by a summon or an Horror, you get to move first, and casting Returning as your first spell is 100% safe. And the ritual will remain active. Cost: 2 pearls.

If you're attacked and get insane, you won't get a chance to cast Returning, but the ritual may save you. An insane priest is still useful for his Mind BLast, and if he had a high summoning skill you can always cure him and reuse him later. Cost: 3 pearls.

There's still a chance you get insane and insta-killed by a Vastness casting Soul Slay, but nothing is absolutely safe in Dominions - and that's a good thing IMO. Cost: 5 pearls and a Starspawn.

[Arryn]

Ritual of Returning. Cost: 3 pearls.

Not getting your priest with high summoning skill killed. Priceless ...


(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

[Nagot Gick Fel]

Originally posted by Arryn:
Not getting your priest with high summoning skill killed. Priceless ...

Heh, if you priest lost his mind with 20+ in summoning, maybe you've got a good reason to start a war with your Arco neighbor. Such a good summoner might well be worth 40 nature gems.

(Well, I don't really know, my best score was certainly less than 15).

[NTJedi]

So if you capture and conquer Ryleh... don't be using the gate??

hopefully not.

[Taqwus]

Well, somebody should try it at some point.
There is at least one non-Void Gate site which also allows Void Summons. I've no idea whether or not Starspawn priests get an advantage when using that. R'lyeh with *two* Void Summoning attempts per turn might be pretty nasty.