Mictilan MA->Couatl
The Couatl seems to be a very troubled and weak Capital Only Top-Tier Mage. Since MA Mictlan is being changed, this thread is asking for thoughts about improvements that could be made to this basically not-so-usefull mage.
The Good:
Three Movement Flying:
Awesome for raiding, getting to the battle, leading fast magical troops(MA Argatha would LOVE these guys just for this). HOWEVER, most powerfull Astral Mages don't have much trouble getting places when they want to.
3 Astral- Paths match with Nahualli:
Communion Junky with the Flying Turkeys.
Easy casting of Power of the Spheres, and realitively easy to cast Light of the Northern Star
Astral-3 Nature-2 Holy-2 + Flying:
A very good site-searcher that always searches best first.
No Old Age:
Never gets disease from old age
17 Magic Resistance, 14 Morale, and 20 hitpoints:
Good resistance, good morale, good hitpoints
The BAD:
Size-4 - Flying:
Targeting them is easy.
Protection 5 and no body slot:
Hurting them once targeted is easy to.
400 Gold:
Loosing them is costly
Earth-0, No hands:
No earth path means no Nature path boost spell.
No hands and no body means no Thistle Mace, Treelord Staff.
They can use the Moonvine bracelet.
Only 3 Slots, 1-Head, 2-Misc to most races mages 7-Slots:
Other races top tier capital mages can be loaded down much more heavily than Couatls.
Compared to the Arch-Theurge, Grand Thaumaturg, the non-capital High Seraph, or even the Oracle of the Ancients, the Couatl has serious problems.
While the Oracle is slow, old, and has less paths for the same price, it also has 40 hitpoints and can wear armour, all 7 slots, can easily cast twice-born becoming an effective undead, and earth is easily boostable very high. In any case, MA Argatha has "The Golem Cult" while MA Mictlan lost blood and gained... the Couatl?
So what would it take to make the Couatl reasonable?
Is it okay now compared to some other MA Capital Only mages?
I think it should get extra Misc slots, one or two, and have nature moved to Air. Blocking arrows is no small thing for MA Mictlan. Also, having powerfull Air Magic is a special reserved for Air Races. Which is good and gives the game flavour. BUT, before Conjuration-8 and Construction-8 it is very difficult to get an air mage and all Air Magic boosters are Air-4 so short of designing your pretender with ALOT of points in Air Magic and getting lucky with an Air Indy Mage, races that don't have Air have trouble getting into it, site-searching, ect.
|