Newish Questions

[Cainehill]

PyroStock said:
1.If you shapechange you lose item slots which force items to drop into the lab. What happens to the items if you shapechange in battle?

Shapechanging does not cause items to drop into the lab. They remain on the shapechanger, but aren't accessable until they shapechange back into the other forms.

3.If an immortal dies with items does he keep his items or does the enemy win them?

It's just like with any other commander dying with items - some may be picked up by the commanders of whichever side won the battle, with cursed items and unique artifacts being more likely to be found / picked up.

4.Is the Lifelong Blood Contract exclusive to the user or can it be passed around or acquired/used from an enemy once the character is killed in a battle lost? Same goes for 'eye' and 'heart' items.

Can't be passed around, but I believe it can be picked up if the holder dies in battle.

10.Besides Construction research what determines which items a character can forge? The total mage level in a skill or base mage level without items or original birth level?

The mages total, current magic skills - it's very common to put magic boosting items on a mage in order to forge more difficult items. (And if your nation has Forge of the Ancients up, all your mages are treated as though they had one extra level in all areas of magic, even if they previously had none in an area.)

11.Do Enliven Statues work for spreading Mactlin dominion or are sacrifices, prophet & God the only way? Statues would help ease the micromangement burden some.

Enliven statues creates combat units - I think you mean the Telestic Animation spell. I suspect it doesn't help, since the resulting TA simply has Priest/Holy-3, but preaching simply doesn't help Mictlan's dominion. Not sure, since I haven't played Mictlan.

[archaeolept]

Shapechanging does not cause items to drop into the lab.

one exception to this I've noticed, which is probably a bug, is that if my dragon shapechanges to human form his hat falls off

[atul]

Cainehill said:

Shapechanging does not cause items to drop into the lab. They remain on the shapechanger, but aren't accessable until they shapechange back into the other forms.

You sure? I've been using Lamia Queens' shapechanging ability to get cursed items off them. Specifically give Armour of Twisting Thorns (or something, the blood/nature bonus armour) to one, have her cast spells you need, shapechange her into a snake (in province with a lab), ta-da, the cursed item is in the lab. Works like a charm also with cursed weapons.

[Vynd]

atul said:

You sure? I've been using Lamia Queens' shapechanging ability to get cursed items off them. Specifically give Armour of Twisting Thorns (or something, the blood/nature bonus armour) to one, have her cast spells you need, shapechange her into a snake (in province with a lab), ta-da, the cursed item is in the lab. Works like a charm also with cursed weapons.

I have had commanders that shapechange in combat lose their items. Or at leat I think I have. After the first time it happened, I started being pretty careful not to let it happen again.

[atul]

Vynd said:
I have had commanders that shapechange in combat lose their items. Or at leat I think I have. After the first time it happened, I started being pretty careful not to let it happen again.

Just to make sure I wasn't misunderstood, I did mean to talk about shapechanging out of the battle, not in. From what I've seen (playing Machaka makes you see this often) I'd think items lost in in-battle shapechanging are considered the same as items carried by dead commanders. Random retrieval and so on.

I'm not sure but there may have been (is still?) some bug with healing limbs and losing helmets and such that shouldn't be affected. I think I had this Natty with 3 arms left wearing a helmet who got healed by a priestess and he automatically dropped his helmet into lab during host...