Dud nations

[Dedas]

Yes, that would be cool indeed.

[B0rsuk]

That's what I thought. Animal Awe is rare enough that it wouldn't affect the balance all that much. But I'd hate to play Bandar Log once all pikineers get Animal Awe ! The best fix I can think about would be removing animal tag from most of their units.

Other than that, I see no reason spells (etc...) affecting animals shouldn't work on cavalry as well.

[Xietor]

Endoperez,

I like your mod for ulm, but 1 huge glaring exception. I would make the warlord identical to Man's wardens. Even if it is capital only.

Ulm needs a military thug that is not crippled with the mr 9. It is a waste of a fire brand to put it in the hands of a unit that is so vulnerable to a simple smite.

I also think all of Ulms troops and commanders need their mr raised to 10. 9 is just crippling, and the r"lyeh just salivate if they see ulm.

I guess you could put a lead shield in the thug's shield slot, but it is a crappy shield except for the mr. Maybe one answer to ulms commanders is to give ulm a better mr shield at construction 4. Give Ulm a unique shield that no other race can get.

15 earth gems

protection 20
parry 8
spiked(ap attack)dam 3
plus 4 mr
encumbrance 2
plus 4 attack(it is hard to miss with a shield bash, the target is right in front of you)
minus 1 defense

In fact unique items in the construction tree seems thematically better than spells. But regardless, do away with the 9 mr. I would never play ulm with a 9 mr. It is too huge of a disadvantage.

I also do not like the noble concept with a morale of 8. Cowardly leaders of a nation that disdains magic and prides itself on steel seems unfitting.

[HoneyBadger]

I totally agree about the 9 MR. I mean, I have problems occasionally with Niefel Jarls, who have between 18 and 22 MR right off the bat. 9 is just ridiculous for a nation that doesn't use or want anything to do with magic.

[Dedas]

You have to use drain scales, iron will and tempering the will or you be dead.

[Xietor]

Drain scale is only in your own dominion. Are you not supposed to send your armies into enemy dominions, which may have a magic scale9mr 8 now for ulm).

Temper the will is a joke. It is down a tree ulm does not research, and it is deep in that tree for ulm. Meanwhile, your expensive black lords are being one shotted by races that get smite from the start of the game(they do not have to research to level 5 a tree they would otherwise not use to get smite).

I can see crippling units like elephants with low mr, but why Ulm's entire race? Ulm already has no priests to speak of, crappy mages and research, (to add insult to injury, its crappy mages get old age lol), resource hog troops like abysia's, but nowhere close to their power.

If low mr is the price of drain 3, remove drain 3. Id rather have better units than a "free" 120 points. It really is not free in that it cripples you in use of independent mages. Take away that small chance for an additional magic slot, and give better troops.

one race should really be able to win with little or no research on the back of its armies. And that race should be MA ulm.

[Dedas]

Yes, "tempering the will" is level 5 but "iron will" is level 3. It can save your expensive units if you place the mages nearby scripted with it.

And why are you fighting inside the enemies dominion? That is not a good thing unless you have a lot of morale and in some cases magic resistance. Instead, slowly advance forward preaching and building temples and castles (production bonus) in the manner of Ulm MA. Almost all their unit have map move 1 anyway so don't rush it and play like your playing Caelum or something. If you do it right you can let the enemy tie up his forces against your high defense fortresses whilst you turtle your way to his capitol.

[Xietor]

If you are always able to fight in your own dominion, then god bless you. What if your enemy is ctis and he took dom 10 to start. Ulm has crappy prists, it will lose a preaching fight against most races.

I have never found it to be a successful battle strategy to only fight in your own dominion. And a race like Ulm should not have both low mr and low morale to force it to. I guess ulm basic infantry does not have low morale, it has 10 morale, but is handicapped unlike most every other race, with no way to boost it.

So we have no blessed troops(blessed troops get 2 morale among other things), beyond weak priests, poor research, poor mages, low mr, average(at best) morale, poor mages(with old age), a natioanl spell that tries to compensate for a penalty that Ulm should not be saddled with, a forge bonus, but no unique construction items or national summons, very limited magic access(so limited the manual says to take an awake alchemist, which of course makes a great sc(saracasm on).

And in return Ulm gets infantry that would be crushed by many of the other races that have high mr, good mages, strong priests, ways to heal afflictions, low resource troops with high defense, wide acces to magic, strong national summons.

Ulm does get spies, which are not a great fit with a nation forging its path with steel. So i would not cry to see them removed either in return for better fighting infantry.

[normalphil]

Xietor said:

(snipping any and all supporting statements to the conclusion, because the conclusion is the thing and the whole of the thing)

"One race should really be able to win with little or no research on the back of its armies. And that race should be MA ulm."

Yes.