AAR-Neophyte with Caelum

[Wyatt Hebert]

Thank you, Gandalf, for pointing that out. Unfortunately, I'm spread a wee bit thin right now, and am hoping to expand very quickly, so some sacrifices need to be made.

It was not a point I had thought of previously (though I tended to send lvl 3+ Priests with mine to keep them from breaking), and I will keep it in mind.

Turn 2 aftermath and turn 3 orders going to be posted soon.

Wyatt

[Inigo Montoya]

Originally posted by Graeme Dice:

quote:

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Originally posted by Inigo Montoya:
Having a prophet with a level of 4 is going to spread your dominion much faster than making a prophet from a Storm General.

This is only true if your prophet is preaching, which means that it is not available that turn to cast fanaticism in a battle.

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Not true. A prophet is like a mobile temple. It gives you a temple check every turn in whatever province the prophet is in. You can preach in addition, but preaching cannot spread dominion to other provinces -- it only affects the province in which preaching occurs. This is why your prophet is second in importance to your God in Dominions. The third most important factor is how many temples you have. Preaching is helpful in specific provinces, but as far as spreading dominion to neighboring provinces (not counting the Restless Worshipers special dominion), all you have is your God, your prophet, your capital and temples.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Wyatt Hebert]

Ok, I'm going to try and post this kind of like Arryn's later Posts. A post for results of my orders, then a post for the new orders for the turn. I'll post it like (Turn 2 Aftermath) and (Turn 3 Orders) or something.

Anyways, Turn 2 Aftermath.

I have been blessed by accurate intelligence. The Prophet and Seraph engage 9 Militia, 5 Archers, 3 HI, and 3 Commanders (I'll only post their equipment if asked), for a total of 20 enemies. I have, iirc, 18 Caelian Archers, 10 Spire Horn Warriors, and ~6 Wingless (who guard).

The enemy shoots off a volley, which doesn't even reach me. My return volley (after Wind Guide goes up) does seemingly no damage, but luckily for me, it breaks both the enemy militia and the archer squad! (Stray arrow hit an archer who advanced due to range). My second volley does no apparent damage to the advancing HI/Commanders, and my third volley does nothing but hit (damage, and afflict) one of my Spire Horn Warriors, who just charged. The Warriors then proceed to clean up the enemies, and I take no fatalities in the process.

The mercenary Burelk, in the meantime, hits 5 Crossbowmen, 2 HI, 15 Light Infantry (with Javelins), and 3 Commanders. I lose 6 of the mercenary militia taking the enemy out, and I'm up two provinces.

I finished researching Evocation Level 1, and am heading to level 2. Currently, my research plan is to get Evo 2, then Alt 2 (as I think it's kinda pointless to have quickness with nothing to cast), and then possibly Const 2, to get Owl Quills. I'd appreciate feedback concerning this plan.

Lastly, I find Ulm's second province just north of my prophet's province, which means I have my work cut out for against some of the best infantry in the game. If the computer is smart and goes for the shielded infantry, my archers won't be worth nearly as much. imo, this means that Mammoths are even more important to get started, because I think they'd do a decent level of damage to Ulm. Feedback on this is also appreciated.

My orders for turn 3 are coming up.

Wyatt

[Wyatt Hebert]

Inigo, you are correct in all ways I think except one.

iirc, temple checks (due to anything) are not based on the prophet's priest level. They are based on your max dominion. In that case, the extra turn I get from the prophet is a direct advantage, and the only benefit of the Seraphine is her stealth. I think I'm going to need all the research I can get, so I'm working on that end. Besides, it's done, but I appreciate all the dialogue. As I said, later in the game, my plan is to replace the SG prophet with a Seraphine... who I'll use to Dominion push against Abysia/Machaka types (who like Heat).

That's my understanding of it.

Wyatt

[Inigo Montoya]

Aha! That makes perfect sense! Thanks for clearing that up for me.

[Wyatt Hebert]

Turn 3 Orders:

Recruitment (at capital):
Storm General, Mammoth, 3 Wingless, and 4 Caelian Archers.

I was originally going to get another Seraph, but realized that I'm going to need another commander for the Mammoth force, and I can use this guy to also bring more Air Gems to the Seraph, and have her continue the Wind Guiding.

Move Urgek+Prophet army to the prov NE of the cap (which also has good income). Reported resistance: 20 (Archers/Militia)

Burelk moves to attack the Farmlands to the south.

New Seraph starts to help the research pile, while the Pretender also continues to research. I expect Evo2 in two turns.
I reduce taxes in both new provs to 60% to immediately quell the unrest there. It should work, as both unrests are ~11-12.

Ulm's starting army (plus a potential one turn recruitment) are north of the prophet's army (~20 Infantry of Ulm). Hoping they don't attack the prov I'm leaving. Their new prov has a magic site, which I hope to get from them, but not yet). I have 15G after recruitment, which I use to raise the PD of the prophet's prov to 5.

Luckily, I realized that I couldn't hop the Wingless to my proposed attack stop, so I defaulted back to my original plan, and have the foul spawn mercs and the prophet's army hit the province to the south. Urgek is my shock absorber (if he even saves two of my melee units, he'll have been a break even proposition).

Lastly, I'm moving the scout to Ulm's prov, to locate his capital. It appears from a rogue dominion plot that he has a minimum of Drain 1 and Misfortune 1 (and more likely higher in both). This might cause issues, but I am unconcerned as of right now.

I'm not using the Pretender to attack yet due to lack of a proper spell to cast. I may move her out to start attacking once I get Evo2 (due to getting both Lightning bolt and shock bLast). I also need to make her a Ring of Frost, to make her immune to my cold dominion.

Can't think of any other explanations needed. Questions welcome as always.

[Edit: Obscuro the Hidden Master was up for sale, but I don't think I need research badly enough to pay for him, and I certainly don't need an Air 2 mage, imo. ]
Wyatt

[ March 27, 2004, 15:50: Message edited by: Wyatt Hebert ]

Wyatt,

Are you going to name your AAR anything particularly menacing and frightening? For when it's added to the AAR thread?