Re: Magic Items under CBM
The Fire and Frost Brand are popular not just because they are cheap, but also because they fill a niche - they provide offensive crowd control while at the same time being able to deal at least decently with tougher targets.
I think that niche needs filling, but if you do not, you are going about it the wrong way. If the well-roundedness is the problem, you should remove the Fire Brand entirely; there are earth weapons that perform the AP damage and the Demon Whip that manages crowd control through area fire. And the Frost Brand could then be replaced by an item similar to the Demon Whip but utilizing cold damage.
Lowering the base damage of especially the Fire Brand will eliminate its use as all-round weapon for commanders with strength in the 10-15 range, while commanders with 20+ strength will still be able to use it as a decent all-round weapon. In short the change would just tip the balance even further in the direction of SCs.
As for making the Shadow Brand armour negating, I do not think it a good idea. There are not that many non-ranged AN weapons and the ones that do exist do not have anywhere near the stats of the Shadow Brand. If you want to keep the stats anywhere near as is - and here base damage is at best a secondary concern - I have to ask why the introduction of such a powerful weapon is warranted, and if you want to bring the stats in line with what already exists, I have to ask why you intend to double up on what is already in the game.
Whatever the answer, it still boils down to making death more powerful. And I do not see that as promoting balance.
When it comes to two-handed weapons, I find the assessment of the 'general' situation rather flawed. Most 2h weapons are ranged, boosters or speciality weapons in some other fashion (Lightning Rod, Staff of Corrosion etc). Even among the rest, there is a lot of special niche-filling going on.
Two weapons have been mentioned specifically, namely the Flambeau and the Wraith Sword.
Now, it escapes me why the Flambeau should need a boost. It is already a very, very good weapon against undead and demons. With its AP and tripple damage even a bog standard strength 10 commander does huge damage to a preferred target (69 AP), no matter how much armour is crammed onto it. It is not the best choice when not fighting demons or undead, but that would seem a good thing if variety is what you are after.
The Wraith Sword on the other hand fills a quite different niche. It is not a weapon that you drool over, but instead a weapon filling the crap-I'm-out-of-earth-and-nature-gems niche for some heavy death nations. It is not a weapon you will forge a lot of in a game, but at times you forge a couple. A construction-heavy Fomoria with a low nature and earth gem-flow may be a candidate. You are churning out one 25 strength King and several 20+ strength commanders each turn, and at least the Kings have a decent shot at getting a water pick, so you are not lacking commanders that can handle the sword.
It is certainly not ideal and it is expensive, but that is the price you pay for being a death nation. Death does not have as many weapon options as other paths.
There are some 2h weapons I have a hard time finding a use for - the Halberd of might springs to mind - but I think a lot of the others just suffer from lack of context in these discussions.
Take the two construction 0 2-handers Sword of Sharpness and Thorn Staff for example. When you have lots of mages, a steady gem-flow and construction 6 researched, these will rarely be optimal choices, but in the beginning of the game, they are sometimes well worth it. They are cheap and provide offensive punch and very good defence respectively. A 1-hander and a shield will not only cost more in both gems and mage-time, but also bring some problems. Earth shields increase encumbrance, which may be a problem, and the high defence of the staff is much better than a shield when you are up against a big brute that hits hard (Agarthan Ancient Lord with a 2h Sword of Sharpness maybe).
Weapons need to be evaluated in a context.
|
Threaded Mode