The Abysyan problems ...

[Gandalf Parker]

Arryn said:

Yes, he's sensitive to BS, and he's on the lookout for it.

Too bad that half the nation (the so-called "Compassionate Conservative" half -- a prime example of Orwellian doublespeak) isn't equally as sensitive, or as observant.

Hmmm and I thought it was my military training in propoganda which had me going that direction this time.

[JJ_Colorado]

Arryn - please leave your politics off the forum. Thank you.

Cohen - Abysia is very powerful. They don't need to be made more powerful. Just research Conjuration3 for Summon Phoenix Power and your Demonbred or Salamanders can cast Flare. Your Dragons can then cast it for 25(?) fatigue, that's 4 flares before they pass out. This makes Flare very useful....and you probably want Conjuration3 anyway for other purposes.

Abysia has research problems but it's almost always possible to find some sort of independent mage site to recruit researchers...and if that fails then recruit Apprentices or Salamanders then forge lots of Lightless Lanterns (+6) research and you will be fine. It's the Abysian choice to focus on research or blood hunting early. They can be quite good at one but not both simultaneously. This is a valid, fun, and interesting choice to face as Abysia.

Regds,
John

[Evil Dave]

Arryn said:

Too bad that half the nation (the so-called "Compassionate Conservative" half -- a prime example of Orwellian doublespeak) isn't equally as sensitive, or as observant.

Hee, hee, hee. Orwell was a liberal (subspecies socialist) before he wised up. 1984 is a warning against letting those sorts of people take power.

[Graeme Dice]

Cainehill said:
Edit: Oh, and you think they're too expensive? Higher HPs than most mages, 100% fire resistant, and 2 of them, the Salamander and Dragon, are sacred (1/2 upkeep) and have very good priest abilities for dealing with undead, for dealing with morale and routing, and for calling your pretender back from the dead for the 5th time in 30 turns.

Actually, if you go by the modding guidelines, then Abysian mages are priced very appropriately. You pay hardly any premium for the extra hitpoints and fire resistance.

[Zapmeister]

Evil Dave said:
Hee, hee, hee. Orwell was a liberal (subspecies socialist) before he wised up. 1984 is a warning against letting those sorts of people take power.

Yes, but I think the term "Orwellian" is commonly used to describe the society depicted in 1984, not the politics of Orwell himself.

[archaeolept]

Hee, hee, hee. Orwell was a liberal (subspecies socialist) before he wised up. 1984 is a warning against letting those sorts of people take power

ooh, i can't let this horrible misconception, very common in the US though nowhere else, stand.

Orwell was always a socialist, and never gave any indication of ceasing to be one. But he was on the libertarian wing of Socialism; ie. democratic and liberal, like many modern european socialist parties. He hated all forms of authoritarianism; fascism and communism most notably, but imperialism and the authoritarian tendencies in capitalist democracy aas well.

In fact, in Spain, he fought w/ P.O.U.M., an Anarchist militia.

However, in the 80's in the U.S., a number of american rightists (many of them ex-trotskyists who would eventually become known as the neo-conservatives, such as irving kristol) attempted to appropriate him to their Version of anti-communist conservatism. The anti-communism was accurate; nothing else was.

[Evil Dave]

Zapmeister said:

Yes, but I think the term "Orwellian" is commonly used to describe the society depicted in 1984, not the politics of Orwell himself.

Yup. It was just a dig at the OP for a gratuitous OT political comment. I think "compassionate conservative" has meaning, but I can't say that the policies of the current administration are consistent with it. But I really don't want to get into that here...