About Champion Skull

[Jazzepi]

Actually, since you can pass it around your researchers it's not that bad. Think of it this way. You build one skull, give it to one researcher. 4 turns later, he has +1 research permanently.

Actually, this is pretty useless =\ For 10 death gems you can build a skull researcher which gives +9 research. See the below comparison between the XP skull and the research skull. The totals are the total amount of extra research attained by spending the gems.

I think if you raised the amount of XP the skull gave to +5 instead of +3, it'd be much more useful.

Turn / Skull Researcher / XP skull
1/9/0
2/18/0
3/27/0
4/36/0
5/45/1
6/54/2
7/63/3
8/72/4
9/81/8
10/90/10
11/99/12

Fixed my math. I'm taking Calculus you know, multiplication is below me XD

Jazzepi

[lch]

so, what's ten times nine??

[jutetrea]

no no, 6x9

[Wahnsinniger]

Elementary School Math errors aside...

It really doesn't seem worth it. How about instead the Champion Skull gives +1 Star while equipped. (i.e. When removed you lose the star)

[Meglobob]

The only time I have used champion skull is when I have got one as a random event. I give it someone until they get 1* then pass it on. Had 2 in a 109 turn game recently.

All in all I would describe the effect of the 2 skulls as microscopic over the course of that long game.

I'd never forge one, spend your 10D gems on something far more useful like a skull mentor or 2xBane Blades or Horror Helmet or a Bane.

If you want your units to get stars, have them accompany a army on a few successful and easy battles. Like say the barbarian invasion random events you get with misfortune 3 etc...

[Lazy_Perfectionist]

I often use it to season my assassins.

On a related note, experience can bring precision and morale boosts. Precision is twice as effective over 10, and not all nations have any access to eyes of aiming.

On indie priests, to, it can result in 50% more leadership, if you've got nothing better to hand it off to. I haven't seen it affect magic or undead leadership, though. Though it migth on inborn (not path dependent, say Mound King), undead leaders. On my Angakok, experience takes me from 80->100 leadership. I'm not really sure how it functions.

Exp 1 star...
+1 Attack, +1 Defense, +1 Precision, +leadership (mundane), +1 morale,
no affect on hitpoints, strength, protection, magic resistance, encumberance.

There are probably other effects of experience (including research) but that's all I see off the top of my head.

Nothing spectacular, but not bad for an item whose effects last even after you've taken it away from your high risk unit.

[MaxWilson]

I wouldn't use the skull on researchers, since they gain experience from researching anyway. They usually all end up with one star quite quickly, and two stars (50 xp) will take forever even with the skull.

I've been meaning to check and see whether the skull gives experience to your troops too, like that one site, Academy of War. And... unfortunately it doesn't. I might use the skull for precision boosts to mages, but nothing else and probably not even that.

-Max

[Saulot]

Perhaps it would be a good idea as Jazzepi suggests to give it a nice boost to +5 exp? I certainly like the concept of the skull, and would like it to be moved away from the 'usually not used' category of items.