I have an idea that I think might address llama's comments regarding feedback that awe on Ri/Tuatha was OP, rdonj's preference for adding something to the units to make them better/cheaper thugs out of the box, and my concern that the current changes sideline Sidhe Lords. What about removing awe on Ri/Tuatha and giving both those units and *also* Sidhe Lords #onebattlespell of personal luck? Before you say "that's completely OP" hear me out.
The thing that's so useful about awe in the early-mid game (against certain opponents) is that initially it adds a layer of defense you didn't have before (for expansion) and later on it adds an extra layer of defense while not forcing you to give up another one (once you reach constr. 2-4 to forge a shield). You get the effects of a shield of gleaming gold while still being able to use your vine shield. This is a significant change. Luck with a vine shield on the other hand is a well tested combination. Basically, even if you fully equipped a thug it would amount to having an extra misc slot - not nearly as much of a problem as having the extra hand slot that awe basically amounts to. It's also worth noting that #onebattlespell of personal luck isn't actually as good as having a pendant of luck since it doesn't protect you outside of combat. I was lucky in that I didn't face mind hunts during my game because the increase in forging costs from 6 to 10 gems for rainbow armor and 3 to 5 gems for pendant of luck or AoMR makes that even more of an issue than before. Which is also an argument in favor of rdonj's idea of making them good enough out of the box and/or cheap enough that they don't need much equipment and the increased attrition rate doesn't hurt as much.
The other thing that luck does is equalize the effects of the bonus. During the early game luck will be equally effective vs all opponents while awe will be disproportionately effective against some opponents (which could account for some of the frustration with it).
I would think there are two objections to awe: that it results in an extremely fast expansion and that it can be difficult for some nations to counter early on. Based on my tests, this solution addresses the former issue - which makes me think it would also address the latter (if you can no longer expand reliably against indies I can't imagine you would do well against a player).
In case anyone is interested in running their own tests I've attached a couple of modified versions of CBM 1.84. The first removes awe but adds a #onebattlespell of personal luck on Ri, Tuatha and Sidhe Lords. The second makes the additional change of removing False Fetters as a secondary effect on the golden lance.
Here are my test results (using luck instead of awe but keeping false fetters):
TNN (E9N6 bless, Ri scripted to: Bless, Air Shield, hold, hold, hold, attack closest)
4 elephants (w/ infantry & slingers) - Ri wins (false fetters stops enough elephants)
4 elephants (w/ infantry & slingers) - Ri loses (false fetters doesn't stop enough elephants)
6 elephants (w/ infantry & slingers) - Ri loses
6 elephants (w/ infantry & slingers) - Ri wins
jade maidens/amazons - Ri loses repeatedly
wolf tribe warriors (2 daggers) - Ri loses
heavy infantry/archers - Ri wins (gets affliction though)
bear tribe warriors (hatchets & spears) - Ri loses
deer tribe warriors (spears, archers) - Ri loses
light infantry/archers (only a few of them) - Ri wins
jaguar tribe (sword, spear sling) - Ri wins
light infantry/archers (medium number) - Ri loses
Eriu (E9N6 bless, Tuatha scripted to: Bless, Air Shield, hold, hold, hold, attack closest)
small number heavy cav/infantry - Tuatha wins
small number knights/longbowmen - Tuatha loses (knights kill)
small number deer tribe (spear, dagger) - Tuatha wins
medium number barbarians - Tuatha loses repeatedly (couldn't get a win - note that with awe won repeatedly against barbarians)
medium number bear tribe (hatchet, spear) - Tuatha loses
small number of knights & archers - Tuatha loses
A few thoughts here. First off, Mirror Image from glamour contributes greatly to victory - once that is gone hits add up quickly and if there's still decent opposition it will probably result in a loss. Also, even when the thugs won they took more damage and had greater risk of losing than with awe. False fetters is responsible for the wins in elephant fights as it removed enough of them from battle - when not enough were removed the thug lost.
Based on viewing the results of the first test and LDiCesare's comment earlier I ran some quick tests with luck and no false fetters and the failure rate went up even more. In particular, the chance of winning against elephants is poor.
I think either of these changes (no awe or no awe as well as no false fetters in exchange for personal luck) would solve the early game issues. I guess the main worry would be could this abused in some way. But I don't really see it - it's the equivalent of a free piece of gear to make up for the increase in forging costs for a thug focused nation.
Thematically I think this change would also be ok. TNN/Eriu to me are more focused on individual champions whereas Van, while also having thuggable commanders, is more focused on troops. And heroes are supposed to have uncanny luck (you can see this too in the personal luck #onebattlespells granted to CBM heroes).
If you think this is too much for a recruit everywhere unit then you could just make the change on Ri/Tuatha and come up with another boost or cost reduction for Sidhe Lords.
Re: Conceptual Balance Mod 1.84
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