MA Ulm Pretender, because I'm crazy

[Tyr_Doshan]

New to the threads, long time player of Dom III. Let me start with a quick intro: My original infatuation with MA Ulm was primarily spurred by the similarity of the nation with a fantasy setting I've been hand designing for quite a few years now: Rugged human beings clad in black metal armor, brought up in an extremely harsh environment, no concept of light infantry, minimal concept of supporting magic, resource heavy (both in what they use and what they can produce). It was love at first sight and I've been playing the guys pretty extensively with breaks to play other nations from time to time.

Moving along. This is the pretender I tend to use. I am well aware that it will be considered an unorthodox (if not outright moronic) design, but I play for fun and have yet to truly indulge myself in what would likely be a short lived MP game.

Pretender Type: Red Dragon
Magic: Fire 7, Earth 4
Domain Strength 4, 2 Order, 3 Production, 2 Heat, 3 Drain.

I cannot rightly explain my strategy with this particular creature, as it very often depends on the nature of the map itself, what the settings of the game are and if I am playing with human friends. Rest assured there is a lot of gem hunting and Black Priest interrogation involved early on.

Any and all critique is welcome.

P.S.: I recently installed Dom III on a Vista equipped laptop. When I attempt to play the game I cannot get beyond the starting menu as nothing beyond a chunk of the desert backdrop seems to render.. no words, no menu options, not even the sky or trees. Anyone have any clue what's going on?