Anyone played the Ulm Black Forest in MP ?

IMO Vampire Counts are out of whack as far as 'balance' is concerned.

Vampire Counts can take provinces on their own as long as you take the right ones Try using your initial gem income in Black Forest to it's full effect. That would be Death, Nature, and Astral.

You can have a Count taking provinces very easily with a Barkskin Amulet, Pendant of Luck, and Horror Helmet.

It's a logistical nightmare very, very early with Vampire Counts in the game (on a semi-small map, turn 8-10, you will be fighting them with your PD unless your opponent has a reason not to)

Ways to stop it are in having a high dominion (so the VC's MR drops so low they can be banished), playing Marignon and using a few Paladins (for Holy Pyre on hit) or fielding a large enough army or good enough pretender to break past the luck/ethereal/life drain they have early.

On top of that BF has an incredible but limited selection of troops (Rangers and Ghouls) and access to stealthy low cost blood hunters, which makes them really start to churn out the Vampires and Lesser Horrors.

With the fix of the Lesser Horror spell, it makes it much easier to take provinces with blood.

It may not be 'overpowered' per say. But you have to be prepared and it can catch you off guard/make your life hell/destroy your economy unless you can contain the VC's quickly. Which is relatively hard considering that, in the early game, you won't have access to the # of Gems, levels of magic, to strike at a VC before it traipses off and away from you. Plus the VC's get really quite nasty when the BF player hits Const 4.

[ January 28, 2004, 19:40: Message edited by: Zen ]