Poll: Is Clam Hording Too Good?

[Tichy]

Can we call this thread "On the Nerfing of Clams"?
Please?

[SelfishGene]

Clams should only work underwater. Problem solved!

[Lord_Bob]

I don't think clam hoarding can actually get out of hand unless it is very late game, or the power starts as a nation that gets water gems from it's national site, but here are a few ideas:

Mental Drain!
Each clam "creates" it's pearl from the mental and magical energy of it's holder. While this has little effect on the battlefield, the daily drain slows research considerably.
-1 or -2 rp per turn
(thus clams DO COST RESEARCH to have on those research mages)

This change can be added by simply adding a negative Sage bonus to the clams item description.

The Care And Feeding Of Clams:
Clams cost gold upkeep

Hungry, Hungry Clams!
Each clam "consumes" one water gem and produces 1-2 astral gems per turn
clam cost adjusted appropriately

Power Drain:
Clams have a negative effect on holders... lower MR for example. Making them more vunerable to spells and assasins.

Bloodstones:
Horror marking at a real level of power
or
The research penalty.

[Chris_Byler]

thejeff said:
Province targeted item destruction spell is way too abusable. SCs and Thugs would get trashed. Worst use: target air/water breathing items.

Clams would be the least of it's effects.

SCs and Thugs have been getting weakened since Dom I and they *still* dominate. I'd say try this out before concluding that it will be abusive.

Breathing items would indeed be a very nasty use of anti-item spells. But one of the themes of the Dominions series is that anyone can die, except Immortals in friendly dominion. As long as the chance of destroying any particular item isn't too high, I don't think it'd be that bad; the spell(s) would have their costs set to be only truly effective against large clusters of items.

[Kuritza]

Item-destroying global spell is the worst idea I've heard for a long time. Item-destroying combat spell is the second worst idea I've heard.

[sum1lost]

Item-destroying global spell is the best idea I've heard for a long time. Item-destroying combat spell is the second best idea I've heard.

Both of them promise to significantly change up the game if implemented. Ask anyone- what school of magic is most vital. One of the top picks, if not the top pick, is construction. You can't thug/SC without it. Destroying items changes the dynamic of the game significantly, improving the power of battlefield troops and mages.

[Micah]

An army with proper magical support can take down most SCs with little problem. I don't see why anyone would really want to make the 100 gem investment most SCs represent any weaker than they already are. They're great for raiding and killing PD since their strength is in their mobility, but they fold up and die to a significant enemy magic presence as it is. (Earth buffs on the troops, the other elements if they lack resists, mass horror marks or soul slays, disintegrate/drain life, and charm (not optimal due to MR and short range, but a scary prospect for the SC's owner)

[Chris_Byler]

It takes thousands of gold worth of mages to implement any of those (except maybe the earth buffs, which takes thousands of gold *and* resources worth of army + a few hundred gold mage).

Anyway, if item-destroying spells (I wasn't suggesting a combat spell, but a province-targeting ritual attack; a combat item destroyer would be interesting against SoS and a few other item-based strategies, but wouldn't solve the clam problem) had a low chance of affecting any particular item, then one guy with 5 items probably wouldn't be hit at all, or lose at most one of his items. They'd be designed for the province where 20 (or 50!) guys are hanging out with a clam and a lantern each.

I think they would shake the game up in a good way.

[Sir_Dr_D]

Except that the clams would likely be behind a dome, and would be hard to target.

[Nikolai]

The problem with clams/fetishes/stones is they end giving more gems that all magic sites... If gems generated are capped by map size, it will not be a problem, will it?

Killing clam holders is very hard. In a castle, behind many domes, guarded by army, maybe even hidden... good luck!