Newbie Game EA (Running)

[Ironhawk]

New to dominions? Want to play an MP game but worried about getting slaughtered by bloodthirsty veterans? Well, here is your chance! This game is being hosted in response to the desires of new players to get some experience against players of the same skill level. It will be a pretty basic game so that players have the ability to make mistakes and experiment.

House Rules
1) Only new or newer players allowed (no hardcore veterans)

Server
IP: 66.171.171.25
Port: 2000

Map
Cradle of Dominion

Age
Early

Settings
Starting Provs: 1
Indies Strength: 6
Site Frequency: 65
Gold/Resource/Supply: 150%
Random Events: common
Score Graphs: enabled
Hall of Fame: 15
Research: normal

Mods
None

Players - 20/20
Abysia - Shovah
Pangea - Foodstamp
Ulm - AdrainP
Kalisia - Dexlyn
Neifelheim - WSzaboPeter
R'lyeh - Sheap (temp replacing Mortibus)
Mictlan - Yucky
Helheim - RamsHead
Sauromatia - llamabeast (replacing Isodea)
Arco - Lion69
C'tis - Kydorias (replacing Theonlystd)
Marverni - Xox
Caelum - J Henry Waugh
Ermor - Stryke11
Argatha - Saarud
Yomi - FAJ
Tien Chi - Frank Trollman
Atlantis - Darrel
Oceania - upstreamedge
Vanhiem - Whollaborg

[Shovah32]

O hell, put me down for abysia, ive juggled 2 servers before and i'll do it again.

[Foodstamp]

Pangaea please http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[AdrianP]

Put me down for Ulm please.

[Dexlyn]

I think I'll do kalisia.

[WSzaboPeter]

Niefelheim please. Thank you.

[Mortibus]

I'm up for some C'Thulu action with R'lyeh.

[Yucky]

I'd like to play Mictlan in this game, please.

[RamsHead]

I'll take Helheim and pwn you all!

[isodea]

Put me down for Sauromatia please!

[Lion69]

I'll take Arcoscephale

thanks

[Theonlystd]

The Lizard dudes :p

[Xox]

I am sure my newb credentials are pretty irrefutable. No blitz games of Dom II or III, only a few Dom II mp games. I just started two other Dom III games. This will be my third.

I will take Tien Chi Spring and Autumn and I expect that will make my newbness even more shiny.

[J Henry Waugh]

If still open, I'll take Caelum

[Stryke11]

I would be interested in playing as Ermor, but I have never played multi before and would need a quick bit of info. I assume it would take place over time, and I work during the day and in general am pretty busy, so how many turns would be expected per day and all that?

If the logistics work out, I'm in for New Faith Ermor.

[Ironhawk]

Stryke11 said:
I would be interested in playing as Ermor, but I have never played multi before and would need a quick bit of info. I assume it would take place over time, and I work during the day and in general am pretty busy, so how many turns would be expected per day and all that?




This game will be 24hr quickhost. So you would be expected to play at least one turn every 24hrs. If you failed to get a turn in during that period, the server would auto-host and you would stale for that turn. This happens even to veteran players occassionally, but if you dont think you can play 1 turn/day on a pretty regular basis then you should reconsider.

[Stryke11]

I can easily do one a day. I was just worried you would make it something like a turn every hour or something. I'm completely in. Thanks!

[Xox]

you would probably be fine stryke. turns are usually one every 2 days, sometimes every three days or every one day, The host has not clarified that yet for this particular game. But you can turn in your turn anytime in that period.

But, and this is important. The host has called Ermor and since he is going to the trouble of hosting the game, not to mention he called it already, he should have his choice. Do any other of the remaining interest you?

[Stryke11]

Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see that anywhere, I thought Ermor was open...

Who is left?

[Saarud]

I would love to join. I would love to tryout Agartha.

[Xox]

I am going to switch from Tien Chi to the druids if that is ok?

[FAJ]

Put me down for Yomi

[Ironhawk]

Stryke11 said:
Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see that anywhere, I thought Ermor was open...

Who is left?



You have Ermor. I am not playing in this game as I am not a newbie http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I'm hosting as a public service.

[FrankTrollman]

If it is still open, I would like to play as Tien Chi.

-Frank

[Shovah32]

Swap me to vanheim

[FrankTrollman]

BTW, what is meant by world richness: "rich". Is that 100% gold and resources or more than that?

-Frank

[J Henry Waugh]

FrankTrollman said:
BTW, what is meant by world richness: "rich". Is that 100% gold and resources or more than that?

-Frank



Was wondering that too...

[Sir_Dr_D]

I am newbie to multi-player though not to DOminions.

I would like to play as Atlantis.

[upstreamedge]

oceania is open I think, put me down for them

[Shovah32]

swap me back to aby http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[WSzaboPeter]

I hate Abysia, I wish you would remained at Vanheim.

[Ironhawk]

FrankTrollman said:
BTW, what is meant by world richness: "rich". Is that 100% gold and resources or more than that?



Oops, sorry bout that. I copied the game post from a dom2 one so that was a holdover. I'm going to make all the multipliers at 150% for a nice cushy environment. First post has been updated.

[Ironhawk]

Since there is only one nation left I'm going to start getting the server ready for pretender uploads. Will have an IP for you guys to upload within the next day or two.

[RamsHead]

Thanks!

[Stryke11]

>>But, and this is important. The host has called Ermor and since he is going to the trouble of hosting the game, not to mention he called it already, he should have his choice. Do any other of the remaining interest you? <<

>>You have Ermor. I am not playing in this game as I am not a newbie I'm hosting as a public service. <<

Well, it's cool that Xox likes to make stuff up and then patronize other people and make them feel bad for not being aware of the stuff he makes up.

[Whollaborg]

As you seem to lack a player and Vanheim is still free, i'd like to volunteer although i am not a complete newbie as i have already played in around 5 or so multiplayergames...

But if you find me suitable i'd warmly volunteer as Vanheims player.

[Ironhawk]

Ok, this game is now full. Since we have so many players, I have chosen the map:

Cradle of Dominion

This should allow each player about 10 provinces each. Sea players should be forewarned that the water will be cramped so either get ready to fight early or to expand onto land.

[Shovah32]

You go for a double bless and i will cry http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[WSzaboPeter]

Double bless? No way... Triple bless is a lot better.

[Xox]

Stryke,

Hey sorry about that, I did not make it up, Our gracious host did call ermor in his original post, but he took it out when he reedited it. Did not mean to make you feel wierd about it. I just missed that he took it out. I knew it might sound like i was attacking you when i brought it up and I tried very hard to make my post come across friendly.

I just wanted to make sure the host got the position he wanted. Originally he was going to play in this game. He no doubt became afraid of our combined newb power.

[Ironhawk]

Hehehe. Indeed, the fear is overwhelming me http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[FAJ]

Noobs have Fear(+1337)

[Ironhawk]

Hahahah, nice FAJ http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Ironhawk]

Ok, the server is up for pretender uploads. Begin uploading your pretenders now at...

IP: 66.171.171.25
Port: 2000

Everyone try to get your pretenders in by Wednesday and we will start the game at midnight (PST) on wednesday.

[Lion69]

How do I upload to the IP?
thanks

[FrankTrollman]

Ideally, we'd create a god in the design a pretender screen. Then we'd network connect to IP 66.171.171.25 and then we'd put in the port 2000 and then we'd click on the nation we'd like to play.

But... I can't connectto the server. It's telling me that the server or my connection is down. And I think that because I'm posting this that it's the former.

-Frank

[J Henry Waugh]

I am getting "Dominions server or connection to the internet might be down..." message too...

[WSzaboPeter]

Niefelheim pretender uploaded without any error. I was the first one to upload. Good luck anyway.

[upstreamedge]

Wow, Cradle is WAAAAAAAAY to small for 20 people...

[FAJ]

Yomi grow so slow for an early turn slugfest D:

[FrankTrollman]

Nagot Fell!

So far only one person claims to have been able to access the server. So a 20 person game may not happen.

-Frank

[J Henry Waugh]

I was able to upload but now I get "waiting for game"... ...hope I didn't accidentally click the "start game" link...

[Ironhawk]

There was some connectivity loss last night but the server should be accessible. Keep trying http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Cradle is not too small: there are 200 land provinces and 20 sea. That means there ~11 provinces per player. More than enough.

[Ironhawk]

FrankTrollman said:
So far only one person claims to have been able to access the server. So a 20 person game may not happen.



I'm not sure why you are worried that the game may not happen? Perhaps it is due to inexperience with the game starting process? Allow me to clarify - this is only the pretender uploading stage of the game. What you will do is build your pretender, then connect to the server and select your nation. Once this is done, your pretender will be uploaded and you can exit. When everyone's pretender is in, THEN the game will begin on a 24hr period.

[upstreamedge]

i got in on the pretender upload screen, but I keep changing my pretender file as I refine my strat

[FAJ]

It freezes on "Waiting for game info" for me

[Ironhawk]

Hmm, it appears someone has clicked "Start Game". Its my fault for not having taken that option away to begin with. I will reset the server and make sure that option doesnt appear. Right now we are only uploading pretenders, not starting the game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Unfortunately, I can't fiddle with the server until I get out of work, which will be around 7pm PST today. Sorry for the delay guys, but these things happen occassionaly.

[Shovah32]

It appears i cannot connect at all, iirc mine also freezes when waiting for info (then a few minutes later i get a nagot gick fel)

[isodea]

My attempts to connect have been unsuccessful so far. I'll keep trying when I can though.

[RamsHead]

There is no point in trying to connect. He is going to restart it, see:

Ironhawk said:
Hmm, it appears someone has clicked "Start Game". Its my fault for not having taken that option away to begin with. I will reset the server and make sure that option doesnt appear. Right now we are only uploading pretenders, not starting the game http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Unfortunately, I can't fiddle with the server until I get out of work, which will be around 7pm PST today. Sorry for the delay guys, but these things happen occassionaly.

[RamsHead]

Apparently you can recruit Helhirdings from any fort, but you are not supposed to be able to. So I will only recruit Helhirdings from my capital. Obviously there will be no way for any of you to know this, but I figured that I would go ahead and tell all of you anyways. I might as well play them the way they are supposed to be played.

[Shovah32]

Thanks for that, i just hope vanheim does something similar (or dosnt take a bless and uses its amazingly underpriced troops with glamour)

[Ironhawk]

RamsHead said:
There is no point in trying to connect. He is going to restart it, see:



Well said. I have in fact restarted it now. Everyone will need to re-upload thier pretenders. Additionally, I am pretty sure I removed the "Start Game" button (i used -noclientstart this time) but if you do see that button, do everyone a favor and dont press it. Just upload your pretender and disconnect. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

My apologies again for the delay, but its actually good experience for you guys. MP games sometimes take a bit of work to get started, what with organizing everyone and getting them on the same page. Once they are up and running its pretty smooth tho.

Anyway, everyone upload your pretenders.

[FrankTrollman]

Our god is now in play.

-Frank

[Bluebird]

Hi Ironhawk, good to see that I am not the only one who has problems to get the server running. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[WSzaboPeter]

Niefelheim ready. Waiting for others. Good luck and have fun again.

[Lion69]

Arco should be up there now

[Whollaborg]

Mighty Vanheim is in the game as well.

Shovah32: As Vanheim was the last race left for me to pick up i am rather surprised of your fears.

Of cource all things will come under consideration.

I am not sure if i would like to spell any voluntary restrictions for the Might Vanheim during this early phase as it might endager future diplomacy and arrangements to make allies.

[J Henry Waugh]

Won't be able to upload again until I get home today...

[Ironhawk]

No worries JHenry, just put your pretender up when you get time. Since I bungled it we will probably wait until Thursday or Friday for everyone to get thier pretenders up. The sooner the better, of course http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Saarud]

Agartha is now uploaded ready to be humiliated.

[FAJ]

As is Yomi

[Mortibus]

R'Lyeh and C'Thulu are ready.

[isodea]

Sauro is also ready for a beating

[Shovah32]

And we, the humble inhabitants of abysia are ready to KICK SOME ***!

[Ironhawk]

Hehehe. Sooooooooooooo humble http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Shovah32]

Indeed it was, indeed it was...

[upstreamedge]

Oceania is here to maybe inflict some damage on people in the sea (if you are on land you are probably safe)

but the pretender of Oceania is not who you think it will be... heheheheh

[Sir_Dr_D]

upstreamedge said:
Oceania is here to maybe inflict some damage on people in the sea (if you are on land you are probably safe)

but the pretender of Oceania is not who you think it will be... heheheheh


Puny little mermen does not scare the nation of Atlantis. Be forewarned. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

With only twenty sea countries, it is going to be quite a sea battle. I hope I am not the one to be stuck in the middle.

[Foodstamp]

The Goddess of Pangaea is uploaded =)

[WSzaboPeter]

Please someone drop a message when the game is started.

[Stryke11]

I have to go to work now but Ermor will be up this evening.

[upstreamedge]

My money is I win the sea, because I am pretty

[Shovah32]

Well my money is on me conquering the sea because apart from a rare 0? path landing on air or water i have absolutely no way to enter the water (as far as you know)

[WSzaboPeter]

As far as I know in Dominions 3 water magic DOES NOT allow you to enter water.

[Shovah32]

Forging water breathing items ftw! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Ironhawk]

Ok, we have only 2 slots left to fill.

Kailasa - Dexlyn
Ermor - Stryke11

Stryke said he would get his nation in tonight. Havent seen a single post from Dexlyn since he requested Kailasa, so I am assuming he has wandered away. So, looks like we are set to begin.

Pretender uploads will stop at 24:00 Pacific Time tonight.

After that I will work on getting the game running. Keep your eye out for the game-start post here tomorrow or perhaps tomorrow night.

[xennon]

Hi,
If any of those players don't show up, can I play please? I have little experience in Dom2 and almost none in Dom3.

[Ironhawk]

Xennon, you can take Kailasa's place if they have not submitted a pretender by midnight tonight. Check your Private Messages, i've sent you one with instructions.

[Stryke11]

Ok all, the legions of Ermor and the new faith of the prophet dressed in white shrouds has been uploaded. Behold, the mighty Aurelios as he joins the pantheon of the gods and engages in mortal combat with other pretenders and false idols!

Actually, y'know, this is my first MP game so I'm likely going to lose right off the bat, but I felt a dramatic intro would be nice, anyway. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[WSzaboPeter]

Hmmm, then the game should start soon.

[Foodstamp]

Already played my turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[FrankTrollman]

Turn 1

Select your nation, hit OK, and take your turn.

-Frank

[Ironhawk]

Foodstamp said:
Already played my turn http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif



Indeed. Commendations to Foodstamp for a remarkably fast first turn of the game.

Game is now running

[Lion69]

turn up
Greeks being Greek

[upstreamedge]

is quick host on?

[WSzaboPeter]

It seems. May I ask for a pause for this weekend? I know it's only started, but I will have a tournament in Warhammer 40k in weekend in another city.

[Ironhawk]

Quickhost should be on, yes.

As for a pause this weekend thats a hard thing to ask. Weekends are often times when the most turns are done. Particularly this early in the game when turns are fast.

That said, my policy has always been to only pause games if there is majority consent among the players. With 20 players that does seem unlikely. My suggestion is to get a friend to play your turns for you while you are gone. They should be pretty simple at this stage.

[Whollaborg]

Fair ruling. Thats something i like, Cheers Ironhawk!

[Sheap]

I'll volunteer to play your turns (or the turns of anyone else) during brief absences. I played plenty of dom2, back in the day, but never played dom3. Don't play on my own any more but am happy to help out.

[Saarud]

I really want a pause for this weekend as well. I'm going away for my brothers funeral and there will be no chance at all that I can play from 07.00 CET saturday to approx 17.00 CET sunday.

I don't have any Dominions friends (yet) and I really would like to play these first turns myself but if the game is not paused I need a honest sub that could fill in for me.

Daniel

[Mortibus]

I think I did my first turn correctly, let me know if I screwed up (R'Lyeh).

Wow, there ain't much water... there goes my "hide in the water until game ends" strategy.

[Foodstamp]

Gonna be totally drunk and dressed like a german woman saturday night (No I am not kidding), so a pause would be cool with me as well because my play time will probably be limited to sunday evening. If we can't get a pause, that is fine as well http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Ironhawk]

Saarud said:
I really want a pause for this weekend as well. I'm going away for my brothers funeral and there will be no chance at all that I can play from 07.00 CET saturday to approx 17.00 CET sunday.



A death in the family is an completely valid reason to pause. I will turn off the timer for the period you requested. People will still be able to play thier turns but the server will not auto-host.

My condolences, Saarud http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif

[Saarud]

Ironhawk said:

Saarud said:
I really want a pause for this weekend as well. I'm going away for my brothers funeral and there will be no chance at all that I can play from 07.00 CET saturday to approx 17.00 CET sunday.



A death in the family is an completely valid reason to pause. I will turn off the timer for the period you requested. People will still be able to play thier turns but the server will not auto-host.

My condolences, Saarud http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/frown.gif



I am really greatful for that. Really. Thank you Ironhawk.

[Foodstamp]

Saarud said:
I really want a pause for this weekend as well. I'm going away for my brothers funeral and there will be no chance at all that I can play from 07.00 CET saturday to approx 17.00 CET sunday.

I don't have any Dominions friends (yet) and I really would like to play these first turns myself but if the game is not paused I need a honest sub that could fill in for me.

Daniel



Condolences and safe trip.

[isodea]

Take care Saarud.


Foodstamp said:
Gonna be totally drunk and dressed like a german woman saturday night (No I am not kidding), so a pause would be cool with me as well because my play time will probably be limited to sunday evening. If we can't get a pause, that is fine as well http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif



I'll be doing something along those lines aswell on saturday night. The pause will keep me from having to play a really stupid, drunk turn. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Stryke11]

Alas, the great Ermorian capital city of Eldregate is beset on all sides by powerful independent forces of heavy cavalry. This has stalled expansion as even the mighty and disciplined legion of the sons of Aurelios would be better served by going into battle comfortably outnumbering these well armored beasts. In time, however, they will fall, and their sons will one day serve under the same banner which vanquished them.

[Ironhawk]

The key to defeating heavy cavalry is negating thier devastating one-time Lance attack. Normally this is done with chaff troops. Once the lance is out of the way, they are just very good heavy inf.

[Shovah32]

The other way to defeat heavy cavalry is really big, hard hitting weapons (massed barbarian mauls are nice) or crossbows.

[Ironhawk]

Ok guys, the turn timer is back on.

[upstreamedge]

wait, can you reequip standard troops?

[Ironhawk]

You cannot give items to regular troops. Only commanders.

[Ironhawk]

I believe C'ts, Theonlystd, is holding up the show. Whats going on man? I'm sure everyone would like to get thier turn.

[Ironhawk]

So, whats news, guys? You've got a couple of turns under your belts so far now. Anything interesting going on?

[FAJ]

I forgot to specify a sneaking unit to 'move' for an attack. So my army snuck in, and my Dai Oni went in to attack alone by mistake. To die a terrible death. he cut down like, 20-30 barbarians before they swamped him though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif.

[Foodstamp]

Ack, I hate when that happens!

[FAJ]

Especially to a 500 gold commander :|

[FrankTrollman]

Sauromatia, Ctis, and Kailasa staled on their last turn.

[Lion69]

not a lot happening in Arco land
finally got a successful attack
first one failed miserably

[Kydorias]

FAJ said:
I forgot to specify a sneaking unit to 'move' for an attack. So my army snuck in, and my Dai Oni went in to attack alone by mistake. To die a terrible death. he cut down like, 20-30 barbarians before they swamped him though http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif.

Funny thing to imagine. Squads of archers, melee, and cavalry dutifully hiding behind trees and laying in ditches while their commander does all the fighting.

Perhaps the Dom version of "Fragging"?

[FAJ]

Muttering amongst eachother in the bushes, "Wow, he is screwed"

P.S. Theonstyd, who is C'tis in this game, who held up the last turn, appears to have vanished. He is holding up another game I am in, as he hasn't played a turn in many days (and its a 48 hour quickhost http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/shock.gif). He may just be out of town for a few days, but how long do we wait untill he is declared MIA? He hasn't said a thing since he signed up.

[Ironhawk]

C'tis has been slow on a lot of turns it doesnt surprise me that he is staling some. There is almost always someone who does when you get this many players together. For me tho, that is the mark of death http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif I go after those players with a vengeance cause I know

1) the war will be relatively easy (with them staling)

and

2) the game will speed up http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[KissBlade]

If you want I can do a few turns of subbing for Ctis until you guys find a sub?

[Ironhawk]

There was another player who wanted in when the game filled up originally. I will run the position by him. Last night I authorized Sheap to sub for CTis until a real replacement is found. If we cant find a suitable newer player then I will just turn Ctis AI.

Ryleh is also under consideration for being replaced as I note they have been staling some. I'll let you know if I need a temp replacement for them Kissblade.

[Whollaborg]

Greedy Ermor threatens to attack our peace loving nation,

Today Vanheim receved an threat of attack against our mighty, peace loving nation. Ermor claimed that they already had ordered their armies to march against Vanheim.

This is outrageous!

We have sent dozens of negotiators and offered to exchange the province that Ermor has fixed its greedy eyes upon. If Ermor stops its bloody legions and gives us adequate compensation for the province Vanheim liberated from the hands of evil heavy cavalrymen the peace may still be a possibility.
...And on the other hand peace is the only guarantee that could stop bloody legions from stepping into their graves that are already being prepared.

We in Vanheim dearly hope that reason wins and Ermor wont start any hostilities against us.


-Vanherr Thanatos

[Whollaborg]

Ah, bitter scent of ashes of collapsing Ermor.

Ermor attacked as we feared. First legion of 60 men drove our 5 defenders away (pd).

But elsewhere Ermor took the step to the grave. We are sorry to announce that another legion (circa 35 men) died soon after they had driven neutral army from the field. the Vanir arrived and only Ermorian centurion managed to escape.
Not a single Vanir perished.

Vanheims retribution shall be swift and devastating.

[RamsHead]

Ah, I see Helheim's brothers have already been involved in a war! I admire you. Helheim has spotted it's first meal and can barely wait for the feast! A simple death threat has been seen to the pink flagged nation. Stand down or be cut down!

[FrankTrollman]

That would be Tien Chi. Our capitol is to the South of your god, come and get your love.

-Frank

[FrankTrollman]

P.S.: You'll be racing Pangaea's forward army, they are an equal number of provinces from my capitol.

And those temples are doing important duty liberating tritons from Rlyeh. I'd prefer it if we just had a climactic battle at my home castle then play scorched earth in the north.

-Frank

[Stryke11]

This is true folly. There was naught but offers of peace from Ermor and a fair trade of provinces. We do not consider it greedy to seek through trade a border province to our own capitol. Would the mighty Vanir tolerate such an incursion? We think not. The legions were sent when our offers were denied.

Still however the senate of Ermor sees hope for peace. We have sent terms and await a reply. The city and senate of Ermor may indeed fall to the barbaric might of these fey creatures who mask their appearance with play of light, but they will do so honorably, and any attempt to color our glorious nation as one of greed will be dashed by the blinding white light of truth. It is not the perogative of the stronger nation to castigate the weaker as greedy and threatening, while their troops stand before the weaker nation's gates! All who possess sense can see that.

For the glory of the white shroud, the legions of Ermor may be cut down to a man, but they will do so in defense of their homes, and not in agression.

[PashaDawg]

Watch out for that Whollaborg! He's a scoundrel! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[FrankTrollman]

Tien Chi has been watching the conflict carefully.

Vanheim did indeed make a marginally successful incursion into the Fields of Abul (Province 58), which could only rightfully be considered Ermorian territory (being as it was adjacent to their Capitol). Realizing that they could not possibly hold it with the units they had available, they pulled the Van back into their own dominion (where they are invisible) and left only a token force of province defense.

On a similar note, armies of Pangaea and Helheim are rapidly approaching the gates of Spring and Autumn. It's almost as if all the Chinese forces were preparing to defend themselves behind some kind of wall...

The Great Catsby has spoken.

[Stryke11]

OOC

I need some more dang scouts. It seems everyone but me knows what's going on everywhere else http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif But I have to keep the mage production flowing, y'know?

[Ironhawk]

Stryke11 said:
I need some more dang scouts. It seems everyone but me knows what's going on everywhere else http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif But I have to keep the mage production flowing, y'know?



Look for independent scouts. No one builds scouts at thier forts (some nations dont even have scouts).

[Foodstamp]

FrankTrollman said:
Tien Chi has been watching the conflict carefully.

Vanheim did indeed make a marginally successful incursion into the Fields of Abul (Province 58), which could only rightfully be considered Ermorian territory (being as it was adjacent to their Capitol). Realizing that they could not possibly hold it with the units they had available, they pulled the Van back into their own dominion (where they are invisible) and left only a token force of province defense.

On a similar note, armies of Pangaea and Helheim are rapidly approaching the gates of Spring and Autumn. It's almost as if all the Chinese forces were preparing to defend themselves behind some kind of wall...

The Great Catsby has spoken.



It seems Tien Chi has pressures mounting from all directions. I found The Tien Chi pretender in a province with 8 soldiers and decided not to attack.

Pangaea will not advance on Tien Chi, allowing them to face other potential threats. We look eastward for future conquests, as we would rather conquer easy independent provinces and spend the rest of our time in revelry for now. As long as Tien Chi respects our borders, they have nothing to fear from us for the time being.

[Kydorias]

I too am willing to step in and take over a nation if there is a need to do so. I've never played MP Dom before so I should fit right in http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[FrankTrollman]

Ouch. So Helheim is indeed invading us with 19 Hlhirdlings (or so, it's hard to count them with Glamour). We're going to withdraw to our southern Lab and attempt to reseach a way through them before they can take down our walls.

Any assistance in countering Helheim aggression would be very much appreciated.

The Great Catsby has spoken.

[Ironhawk]

I'm keeping a list of alternates who want to fill in for our slacking nations. We should have some good subs in a couple of days.

Actually, since many of you are newer players, I should point out here that it is normally the Player's responsibility to get a replacement if they can no longer play a game. I'm only stepping in here cause a lot of you are new to MP. Of course, if a player just vanishes without warning, like Theonylstd (CTis), then the host does have to intercede.

[Sheap]

I'm currently subbing for c'tis (so don't go invading willy-nilly just yet!), but rlyeh and sauromatia are also staling, you could probably sub one of them.

[Lion69]

i see the new patch is out
should we all DL the newpatch and upgrade?

[Whollaborg]

Pretenders and spectatores!

We indeed took Fields of Abul from nasty heavy cavalry, but as our progress was swift and wind wept on our heels. Thus we didn't have time to scout lands behind the province we liberated. And thus we didn't see a climpse of a sovereign nation behind the vast Fields of Abul.

As soon as our troops met Ermorian border patrols we sent messengers carrying maps and plans of our advance in the western wastes. We proposed peace and formal borders between our nations. We begged for negotiations.
But Alas Ermor just replied with an attack threat claiming that their troops were already on move. Staggering!

No sane word could help.
We offered them Fields of Abul in exchange of an another province.
But the Ermorean first Legion didn't stop as it was ordered by the foolish senate to attack Vanheim.

And as to strengthen the momentum of the armored glove that was directed against our very face Ermor took advantage of our revealed plans of progression in the west and they directed their second legion to province we had announced we were going to liberate. Thanks to Vanvathers, this resulted their death.

But more gravely,
Ermorean first legion of 60 men attacked our nation directly despite our propositions to exchange Fields of Abul to port city in the far west that had been taken by Ermorian fleet of triremes.

Fields of Abul had to be temporary abandoned as Ermor wouldn't listen to our trading propositions and they didn't stop their legions. Overwhelming force of ruthless attackers poured on to the fields and slaughtered our few defenders.

Now Ermor dares to claim that they showed willingness to trade provinces with the Vanheim. Nothing such happened! We were the only ones trying to negotiate.

The Ancestoral spirits of ancient Vanvathers would never forgive if we surrendered to naked powermongering and violence and disrespect of our proposed negotations.
On the other hand, if we would give in, we would loose respect in the eyes of opportunists of this bleak world and soon we would be covered by a mount of carrion crawlers trying to suck the very marrow out of our bones which would have lost selfrespect in the earlier phace of becoming a weakling.

Thus we declare War against Ermor!

Let all know that Ermor is thus nation doomed to darkness. Let the cold winds lick the blood from the wounds of Ermorian legionares!

All Four Ermorean provinces in the delta and to west from the Great River belong to Vanheim from now on - as a prize of foolishness of Ermorian senate.
The rest in the east is for the crows.

[edit: typing, which is poor english anyway, my apologies]

[RamsHead]

I am curious about that as well.

[Ironhawk]

The host has not upgraded to 3.01 yet. It would be best to hold off upgrading for a little while. I will try to get the host upgraded this weekend.

[llamabeast]

Heya,

I'm very much a newbie (just played a couple of games of single player), and really fancy joining a MP game. It looked from some of the earlier posts that a sub might be wanted, is that still the case? I'd be very keen to join, I don't mind what nation.

[Truper]

This post deleted - sorry, carry on.

[Stryke11]

The senate and people of Ermor regret that such ill tidings have come to pass. Nevertheless, though we recognize the overwhelming strength of the Vanir and their eldrich magicks, this is our land and we shall not abandon it. What we lack in glamour we make up for with morale, and where we falter in strength we will compensate with numbers.

Surely fate frowns upon the powerful and agressive, and other empires seeing the strength and ferocity of Vanheim and knowing they very well may be next to face its full force will enter the fray now and face it together rather than wait until they are picked off one by one.

The city of Eldregate prepares to defend its massive walls, the legions stand ready to defend our homeland, and the senate of Ermor bids the other nations of the world watch carefully, for as Ermor goes, so goeth the world.

[WSzaboPeter]

I think patching the host to 3.01 would be great.

[FAJ]

I have alreayd upgraded for another game. What sort of problems could occur?

[Sheap]

Nothing good will come of having two separate versions. At best nothing will happen, at worst your orders will come out wrong and the game will accuse you of cheating.

It should be possible to run two versions of dom3 on the same system. It was possible with dom2. Just copy the game into a new directory before you upgrade, the copy will then have the old version. I think this SHOULD work. I haven't tested it. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Sir_Dr_D]

Sheap said:
I'm currently subbing for c'tis (so don't go invading willy-nilly just yet!), but rlyeh and sauromatia are also staling, you could probably sub one of them.



R'lyeh destroyed itself against independents by turn 3. After turn one they conquered one province, and their god was listed in the hall of fame. After turn two the score graphs showed their armies as decimated, and their god was listed as dead. The army size hasn't increased since then.

If a new player is going to playing as R'lyeh let me know now. I may be close to being within attacking distance of R'lyeh and I would want to give the new player a chance.

Atlantis

[Stryke11]

Would it be safe to say that a nation is overpowered when a few of their regular infantry led by one of their regular commanders can destroy 40ish elite infantry (I'd say Principes are Ermor's best, Triari are armored more, but have stat hits for being old) while losing only ONE of their regular infantry. I mean, this is at a point in the game where magic isn't even a factor due to not enough research.

Kinda takes some of the fun out of it.

[WSzaboPeter]

Stryke11, can you be a bit more specific?
With all due respect, what's that overpowered unit/nation? Magic IS a factor believe me, but we are very early in game, and magic research takes time in Dominions3. Magic heavy strategies are not for early expansions, and deffinitely NOT for early wars.

[Stryke11]

Nononono. What I meant was that this early in the game, due to there being very little research at this point, magic has not YET become a huge factor, and as a result, it's easier to compare relative troop strength in a magic-less envoirnment (as we all know once it becomes involved, magic can hugely change things). Kind of a controlled case study if you will. I guess I am not good at articulating as it seems I am misunderstood a lot. I did not mean to come off as saying magic isn't a factor in the game EVER.

I was referring to the 'Heims and their glamour ability. Many people think they are overpowered due to their blessables and elite troops, but I'm not even looking at that. All I'm saying is thier regular, front line grunt troops cut through their opponents like a hot scythe through butter. As Ermor, which as you know has highly armored, protected, and moraled troops, I feel I have a good vantage point from which to compare. Until summons become a reality, the best Ermor can throw out are Principes and Triarii, and I would wager they beat out a lot of other nations as far as protection due to the (relativeley) heavy armor they wear for early age.

I read elsewhere that someone doesn't even allow these nations in smaller maps (for "blitz," though I don't know what this means) because they are too powerful in early game. I don't know what this map is considered, but people were bumping up pretty quickly.

Now of course NONE of this is directed at either Vanheim or Helheim's players, who have no control over the relative strength of their nations. Vanheim's player is role playing with gusto and making the game fun for everyone (except, it can be argued, for my troops on the field http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif ). I'm just saying it seems pretty obvious to me (though some would disagree I'm sure) that as the conceptual balance thingie comes along that these two nations need to be hit (gently) with the nerf stick.

[Sheap]

I am now playing C'tis, Rl'yeh and Sauromatia until suitable subs can be found or their rightful owners return. To any prospective subs, I consider all three nations to be in weak but serviceable condition, they all have problems but none of them are basket cases.

[upstreamedge]

wow good to know ctis is gone I was gonna attack um

[FAJ]

I am so used to playing with Abysia primarily, I am very surprised at how weak Yomi's troops are. And not a single blessable unit other than commander?

are nations with weak troops early on at a big disadvantage?

[Sheap]

Some nations have weaker troops than others and since dom3 is new the balance is still evolving. It's likely there will be a comprehensive balance mod produced at some point similar to what there was for dom2. There are a lot of components that go into making troops good - not only quality but also price/performance ratio, resource cost, tactical shortcomings (you might have really good infantry but bad archers and cavalry, or whatever). Nations shouldn't all have the same strength early troops, nations with good troops often are balanced by bad priests, overpriced mages, or whatever. I guess I think dom3 is still too new to really decide which nations are strong and which are weak.

[FrankTrollman]

Actually, I'm Tien Chi - not exactly considered a strong early military powerhouse.

Our strategy of falling back to the castle and researching has proved pretty successful - we just achieved Evocation 2 and with it have crushed Helheim's advance forces. We aren't naive enough to believe that they have run out of Helhirdings - but they did run through 20 of them and 10 Huskarls - that's not an insignificant army to lose to a man agains the awesome might of... Sulphur Haze.

Like the Willow in the Storm, Tien Chi bent but did not break. Our lands will be free of Helheim aggression, his god is now dangerously exposed against an army that has proven in the field that it can trade Lion Clan tribesmen 2:1 against the best armies Helheim can produce. That's not sustainable for them and the time has now come for the sun to again rise on the Empire of Tien Chi!

The Great Catsby has spoken.

[KissBlade]

FAJ said:
I am so used to playing with Abysia primarily, I am very surprised at how weak Yomi's troops are. And not a single blessable unit other than commander?

are nations with weak troops early on at a big disadvantage?



Yomi's troops may be weak but they have strength in having one of the most easily massable archers in the game. Your armies should literally be composed of pure bakemono archers +bandit archers led by skeleton spamming hannayas or ones casting flaming arrows.

PS. Though to answer your questions, nations with weak troops early on is at a big disadvantage.

[Kydorias]

I've been offered to take over C'tis and I gladly take up the challenge!

I havent' checked out their situation yet though, so we'll see how it goes http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Sheap]

Excellent. I already played the current turn but you should have plenty of time to submit your own orders since it probably won't be hosted for several hours or maybe until tomorrow.

Anyway, I will send you a PM telling you what I have been up to.

[RamsHead]

So is this turn supposed to be patched or not?

[Kydorias]

Ok, C'Tis is now on the move again. Heh, one of the Commanders (the first-turn "General" I assume) has "Heroic Stupidity". I've never seen that heroic ability before. Glad that it was a combat General that got it, not a mage.

By the way, I'm patched, not sure if the server or other players are or not.

[Sheap]

The server isn't patched yet. Recommend not patching until the server upgrades although apparently no one has had problems yet?

Yeah heroic stupidity is hilarious. It's almost as good as battle bellow (which I once had on a commander who had the "mute" affliction... so he could yell, but not say anything intelligible http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif )

[Kydorias]

Hmmm...Darn it, too late for me, already patched a couple of days ago.

Well I suppose I could re-install and replay my turn. I guess I'd better go ahead and do that.

[Sheap]

OK, PM sent.

[Stryke11]

Kydorias, I'd like to welcome you!

While I'm still around to do so http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Kydorias]

Ok, I reinstalled back to v3.00 and replayed C'Tis' turn. Hope I didn't screw anything up.

[AdrianP]

The other day the cowardly Abysians made a failed attempt to assassinate some poor old man of my kingdom. As of now all Abysians will be killed on sight, no mercy, like the dogs that they are.

However, if this was some sort of rogue black-ops, and the higher-ups had no knowledge of this then I will be amenable to peace talks.

[RamsHead]

Horrible news from Helheim. Magical pixies have apparently spend up time, confusing Aeforge. Last month's orders were not sent, resulting in a powerful and unexpected assault by T'ien Chi', an incursion into Helheim lands by Kailasa, and a vampire count deciding to be a jerk. Oh, and I have a battle affliction somehow. With all these bad revelations, I have decided to ask my former enemys, T'ien Chi', for a truce. Though this pains me to say it, I can not fight a war on two fronts. I am willing to give you back your province that borders your capital and 200 gold for this truce. I also offer this apology, I am sorry. I was too aggresive and attacked you without provocation. I now see the error in my ways. Please forgive me, Aeforge, and my nation of Helheim.

[FrankTrollman]

We accept the offer of truce from Helheim, we shall turn aside from our bid to destroy your god and instead take back the province which is rightfully ours.

We shall send the armor of your fallen warriors back to you so that your priests may consider the wisdom of invading Tien Chi.

The Great Catsby has spoken.

[RamsHead]

Thank you. I hope we will manage to have good relations between our two nations after this unfortunate shortsightedness. Your gold is on the way.

[Ironhawk]

Hahaha, I am glad the wars are raging http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif And glad to see you guys are using diplomacy to boot. It is an invaluable tool.

In other news, replacements have been found for CTis and Sauromatia, so those nations shouldn't stale anymore. New players, why dont you introduce yourselves...

[WSzaboPeter]

Waiting for Abysia.

[Sheap]

On the subject of diplomacy I present "Sheap's Mini-Rant: Recommendations for Diplomacy":
1) Don't make any agreements prior to the start of the game.
2) Don't bring alliances or enemies from one game into the next.
3) Do remember to draw a clear distinction between your in-game (role playing) persona and your out of game self. This is especially important if you are planning on lying and backstabbing.
4) Don't let in-game conflicts turn into out-of-game conflicts. Don't let out-of-game conflicts turn into in-game conflicts either. Keep the wall between the game and the forums/real world.
5) Don't trade things in one game for things in another game, or use position in one game as leverage to bargain in another one.
6) If you agree to a trade that requires several steps to complete or is otherwise more than simple gems or gold, you are obligated to complete the transaction once it has begun, even if you change your mind later. If something intervenes (a third party invades the province you were supposed to give away, for instance) you must make a good faith effort to come up with a mutually agreeable settlement.

I don't speak with the force of law... but if everyone follows these rules as well as simple etiquette, the likelihood of hard feelings is much reduced.

[Sir_Dr_D]

Don't Patch the server! From what I am hearing in other thread the patch has a bug that causes horrors for no reason to attack hall of famers. This used caused Mp games to halt, and forces people to go back to the unpatched version.

[Kydorias]

Hello, I'm Kydorias and I have taken over rulership of the nation of C'Tis. Apparently the previous leadership had lapsed into several months of scaly decadence, turning their attention away from neighboring chaotic lands and instead focusing on the emerald curves of their sacred snake belly dancers.

But Sheap cracked the whip and got them moving in a cohesive manner once again before turning the reigns over to me to continue instilling some discipline in the ranks.

As far as me, this is my first MP Dom game, so I'm eager to learn some of the tricks of MP play (most likely at my detriment, hehe...). But it should be fun. I'm going to play this one honorably and with plenty of diplomacy especially since C'Tis is "restarting" quite a ways behind many of the other nations.

I look forward to working with you all in order to have a fun game!

[Kydorias]

Lord Upstreamedge of Oceania,

The forces you have amassed in your Kelp Citadel north of the C'Tis capital are at the most a direct threat to the soveriegnty of the glorious nation of C'Tis and at the very least alarming.

I can only assume the mobilization of your troops are due to an uneasiness concerning the intentions of C'Tis. Know that C'Tis possesses neither the inclination nor the desire to initiate conflict with Oceania. Should you decide to take advantage of the recent domestic unrest within the C'Tis nation and initiate military operations against C'Tis, you will find that our citizens and military are united in our determination to achieve victory.

If indeed your intentions are peaceful, know that C'Tis respects its neighbors and the soveriegnty of other nations and perhaps our futures may be cooperative and beneficial for the both of us.

Kydorias,
Supreme Leader,
Revolutionary Council of Sauros,
Glorious Nation of C'Tis

[Whollaborg]

Ill news,
Perhaps because of lack of compass vetured an army of Atlantian troops inland - and again to much disputed Bandar-Kadek, south-western port town, that has seen many battles already.

Atlantians have been warned that a dry, cold grave awaits them if they do advance further into Vanir tundra.

We Vanir truly hope that Atlantians see what's best for their prizey troops.

War with Ermor progresses in schedule and our larger divisions arrive to the border as you read this message. We do need many men to breach the Fortification that awaits holding the prize of Ermorean capital in its stony hug.

Good News,
A non-agression pact was firmly sealed between mighty nations of the Caleum and Vanheim.
This gives both time and safety to operate in the directions both feel best to concentrate.
Formal Pact was signed on the very holy ice of inland sea that Vanir calls Kianta.
The NAP can be dismantled by either side in three months time. If not dismantled the NAP stays.

-Jörund, the messenger of death and prophet of Vanherr Thanatos

[KissBlade]

Sheap said:

3) Do remember to draw a clear distinction between your in-game (role playing) persona and your out of game self. This is especially important if you are planning on lying and backstabbing.




Heh might I point out though, if one of your games you're remembered as a lying backstabbing cutthroat player, players tend to disregard more your diplomatic advances in other games. =)

[Stryke11]

Ermor remembers.

Even if utterly crushed, the few the survive will raise their progeny to seethe in hatred for Vanherr Thanatos. No matter how far and spread out they go, this alone shall unify them. Time, space, and reality are nothing compared to this.

Ermor remembers.

Those who have shed blood, even for partly selfish reasons, to ease the pressure and burden on Ermor's children. They shall be forever praised in song and their leaders shall know, should they ever stumble upon the descendents of once mighty Ermor, wherever they may be, under whomever's banner, that they will be welcomed as friends.

Ermor remembers.

In blood, dust, and fire, all will know that long after the final lights have gone out in Eldregate and seemingly all of Ermor's children have been slain, that even a victory is not a victory. Through all the planes of existence, in times past and future, the dogs of vengeance, empowered by the spirit of fallen Ermor, will nip at the heels of those who now bring treacherous and unjust war upon them. There will be no end. Through thousands of worlds, in thousands of ages, you have been marked, you have been chosen. Hell will meet you wherever your spirit chooses to arrive next.

Enjoy the fruits of your victory. Sip the sweet wine of your arrogance. But take heed, and never rest, never forget.

For Ermor remembers.

[Foodstamp]

Much debouchery is to be had in the forests of Pangaea! Women shed their very clothes to dance in the moonlit forests with the Pans of our mighty nation. Murmurs of war rumble in the distant lands, whispers of battles and clashes brought upon the winds reach our ears.

We share a border with the nation of Tien Chi to the north, and our Satyrs watch, bewildered as their mages work so seriously on crafts of the arcane. Why all this seriousness when there is so much fun to be had in this world?

The Ermorian Legions engage in a bloody war with the Vans, pounding out weapons of metals and fashioning shields to protect themselves from death and release from this grand world.

The lady of Springs comes soon, Nemain shall return to this world with a message of hope. No longer shall you humans have to be under the thumbs of false pretenders forcing their will upon you, driving your menfolk to war. When Nemain returns, the world shall be liberated from greed and the pursuit of power over fellow creatures.

A revolution is sweeping this land, this great war that is emerging shall be the last war ever fought if Nemain succeeds, for never again shall there be anyone called a Lord or Peasant in this wonderful world that is meant to be filled with life, not death and despair.

[RamsHead]

Helheim is a nation of illusions, and, thus, we are masters of them. We are also masters of illusions in the form of words and are capable of seeing right through them. Pangaea claims that it wants to bring peace, freedom, and equality to the world. Yet how do they plan to bring these things to the world when they do not even have them in their own lands? Look into the forests of Pangaea. Do you see peace? No, there is chaos. Do you see freedom? Sure, so long as you do not offend the forest! Do you see equality? No. If there is equality, then why is it that Pans hold most of the power? Why is it that only white furred centaurs are sacred? Why is it that there are no male satyrs who are priests? I will tell you why. Because there is no more peace, freedom, or equality in the forests of Pangaea than anywhere else!

At least civilized nations come together for the betterment of the whole instead of thinking only of oneself. Selfishness is rampant in Pangaea, and only a fool would be too blind not to see it! They dance and frolic around all the time without a worry in their heads comfort in the thought that dawn will bring yet another day. Civilized nations know better! Dawn does not always come. You must strive for the dawn, or it may never arrive!

Perhaps the most telling thing though, is how Pangaea plans on "liberating" us. With all the abundant peace, freedom, and equality in the forests, you would think that they could dream up a better way of facilitating their plan but no. Their answer is of course, war. How surprising! How do you achieve peace? Kill those who stand in your way! How do you achieve freedom? Kill those who disagree with your restrictions! How do you achieve equality? Kill those who are different!

These promises from Pangaea are threats, threats to us all! They merely wish to bring their brand of peace, freedom, and equality to our nations. Will you accept the principles of the half-breeds? For the sake of sanity, I hope not.

This message has been funded by the Hangadrotts of Helheim.
I am Aeforge, and I approve this message.

[WSzaboPeter]

The frost giants of Niefelheim stand watchfully. The time for march is yet to come, but when they raise their sword arms, the very land will shatter. Noone was foolish engough to attack the Sons of Winter, but if that happens only the chilly wind will sang songs about that feebleminded nation who sent soldiers to the land of the Giants.

[Sheap]

The dormant gods are awakening! Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn.

-- Sheap-Niggurath, regent of R'lyeh

[upstreamedge]

To the Nations of the World

Long have the Triton Kings ruled from the depths of the blue. Recently the deep ones of Atlantis have made overtures to the world that was given to us. They will be destroyed. To the nations on land you have little to fear of us. Your world is as alien to us as ours is to yours. We do posses land territory, and we will view any aggression against our land as an act of war

[RamsHead]

Wait! Don't host! I accidently used 3.01 to take my turn. Do I just go in with 3.00 and redo my turn?

[Sheap]

Heh, nothing can stop the server from hosting once all the turns are in. But if you just replay your turn with 3.00 then you will be guaranteed to be ok.

Is there anyone currently using 3.01? I don't think there are any plans to upgrade the server to 3.01 because of the horrors bug. But if anyone is using 3.01 successfully it would be great for them to speak up so we know if it is safe or not.

[FAJ]

I am using 3.01

[RamsHead]

OK, I loaded up 3.00 and played the turn. Thanks for the help.

[WSzaboPeter]

I used 3.01 for my last 2-3 turns and it went okey.

[Foodstamp]

i have been using 3.01

[WSzaboPeter]

A independent landlords in Shirak Steppe sent word to the two neighboring nations to help him fight of some bandits. The two major kingdoms sent troops. C'tis sent two commanders leading 96 lizards, while the Sons of Winter where in scarce of troops, so DreamSlayer decided to send only a commander with his carefully chosen 11 warriros. The bandits fled from the seight of the two armies. But the question remained open: Who will hold the province. The only method was to decide it in the field of battle. The Niefelheimian battlegroup was prepairing for a fair fight, but then the lizards drew swords OF FIRE. This drove the giants in a berserker rage. They droped the armours and fought with two great swords. At the end of the fight a giant as poisoned by a lizard and he died a heroic death, but the lizards lost 83 and both of their commanders.

Now the emissary of DreamSlayer is sent to C'tis. The fiery weapons used in battle where considered an insult to the very nation of the Sons of Winter. An insult that can be settled only with blood.

[llamabeast]

When the Pantokrator disappeared and portents foretold the return of the goddess, there was much celebration amongst the tribes of Sauromatia. The time for honourable war had come again! And once more, the androphags would have something to eat...

And yet, the ancient witch king sat on his throne, and did nothing. The tribes clamoured for action, but the king was too old... he had sat for centuries, gradually consumed by the necromantic magic that kept him from aging, and now he was unable to adapt to the changes taking place around him.

The warrior princesses fought back their frustration, but there seemed nothing they could do - and so the Sauromatian empire stagnated, while those around them expanded rapidly in the new climate of change and empire-building. Then, one morning, the witch king was found dead, poisoned by the blade of an unknown assassin. It seemed the anger of the tribes had grown too much.

While the warrior priestesses and lesser witch kings of the tribes chose a new leader (by means of combat, of course), the High Priestess Sheap took over command of the empire, rapidly dynamising it and raising armies with the vast stockpiles of gold hoarded by the old witch king. An assault from Agartha in the north west was fought off and the position of the tribes was greatly improved.

Now a new ruler has been chosen, and a new witch king sits on the throne. His coronation coincided with the return of the goddess, which was seen as a good portent. The armies of Sauromatia have already swarmed over the surrounding independent provinces, tripling the size of their empire in only two months.

A peace has been found with the Agarthans. They can hardly be blamed for trying to capture the territory of the stagnant empire, but with both sides now possessing large armies a peace treaty seems prudent for both sides.

An army of Arcoscpehale has also been encountered to the east. It is hoped that peace can be negotiated with them as well - the Sauromatians haveplenty of other places to direct their desire for honourable warfare.

A new dawn has arisen for the Sauromatian tribes. They will show honour and respect to those who treat them likewise. Those who do not can expect to be poisoned by hydras, cut down by amazons and eaten by androphags.

[Ironhawk]

llamabeast said:
High Priestess Sheap



LOL

In other news: I updated the original game post to include the new replacement players. Long live the new empires!

[Stryke11]

Ok, so when 50+ heavily armed and armored Ermorian legionnaires are utterly crushed by under ten opponents without even inflicting one casualty, that to me signals it's time to throw in the towel. Oh, and the attack came from a neighbor who announced to everone that they didn't intend to involve themselves in any wars at this time.

I hearby cede what little remains of my lands to Pangaea. All gems and money will go to Atlantis. These two empires have dealt with me amicably and haven't resorted to the kind of scummy lowlife backstabbing and kicking-when-they're-down antics that other, more imbalanced nations have.

Surely the fates will smile upon the honorable and righteous nations mentioned above, and smite down those who spit in the face of honor and are little more than lying, petty, vile thugs who believe themselves strong and convince themselves of this fact by harrassing the weak while hiding from the truly strong.

Remember, life is but a string of consequences for our actions and the choices we make. Dishonor will haunt you and cloud your visage far longer than you can imagine, and your consequences have only begun.

I believe honor and light will win in the end, though the road will be long. The citizens of Ermor, disenchanted with the rule of Aurelios, who slept while they died, have taken up Pangaea on their offer of peace, though they know even under the rule of the forest folk many years of war lie ahead before true peace can be achieved.

May glory and victory follow the hallowed footsteps of Pangaea and Atlantis, and may Neifelheim and Vanheim know naught but pain, suffering, and the sour taste of thier own lack of dignity and integrity.

For the sake of all great nations, do not be so foolish at to believe any words that come from Vanheim or Neifelheim, as they use deceit as the foreguard of their armies. If you attempt to deal with them and expect honor, you will be woefully digging your own graves.

Ermor salutes you. The Senate is disbanded, and the people look to Pangaea for guidance. Goodbye.

[Kydorias]

An offering of truce has been sent to the ruler of Neifelheim over the unwanted skirmish on the Shirak Steppes. Unfortunately the six months of C'Tis inactivity leaves the nation poorly equipped to deal with a determined onslaught of Neifel Giants. Know ye all that should the terms of the truce be rejected by Neifel, the nation of C'Tis will fight honorably to the demise of its last serpent citizen.

[RamsHead]

WSzaboPeter said:
I used 3.01 for my last 2-3 turns and it went okey.


I thought we were supposed to be using 3.00?

[Foodstamp]

This is a newbie game. I would rather see Vanheim and the other nation your talking about allow you to come to peace terms rather than Ermor throw in the towel.

If this cannot be arranged, maybe allow someone to take over playing Ermor via a substitute. I appreciate your offer, and I appreciate the honorable way in which you dealt with Pangaea, but I would not like to gain provinces by having them handed to me.

If the above suggestions are not suitable, hand your provinces over to another nation that has dealt with your aimably.

I hate to see you go in this game =/, and I hope to be able to play with you in future games if you do decide to truly quit this one.

[upstreamedge]

C'tis has moved onto land that was reserved by the Triton Kings for their own purposes. They shall now feel the might of Oceania brought down upon their heads.

[Ironhawk]

Stryke11 said:
Ok, so when 50+ heavily armed and armored Ermorian legionnaires are utterly crushed by under ten opponents without even inflicting one casualty, that to me signals it's time to throw in the towel.



Ughhh! Yeah, that is rough to take a catastrophic loss like that. Particularly so from a nation that said it was at peace with you.

That said, in dominions, almost anything is possible on the battlefield when the combination of units, spells, etc, is just right. In fact look at the example of the SC (SuperCombatant). There you will have a single fighter able to defeat hundreds of opponents - entire armies - by himself.

But as with all things in dominions, there is no strategy, no unit, no SC, that does not have a counter that can defeat it. If you could give the details of the battle: the units involved, spells, etc, perhaps I can offer some useful comments on tactics that would help you defeat this kind of attack in a future game.

[Sir_Dr_D]

Foodstamp said:
This is a newbie game. I would rather see Vanheim and the other nation your talking about allow you to come to peace terms rather than Ermor throw in the towel.

If this cannot be arranged, maybe allow someone to take over playing Ermor via a substitute. I appreciate your offer, and I appreciate the honorable way in which you dealt with Pangaea, but I would not like to gain provinces by having them handed to me.

If the above suggestions are not suitable, hand your provinces over to another nation that has dealt with your aimably.

I hate to see you go in this game =/, and I hope to be able to play with you in future games if you do decide to truly quit this one.




Diplomacy is part of the game as well. The fact that Ermor wants to hand its lands to you showed you played that part of the game well. This is Ermors last effort in trying to help defeat his enemies. Accept it.

[KissBlade]

Ironhawk said:

Stryke11 said:
Ok, so when 50+ heavily armed and armored Ermorian legionnaires are utterly crushed by under ten opponents without even inflicting one casualty, that to me signals it's time to throw in the towel.



Ughhh! Yeah, that is rough to take a catastrophic loss like that. Particularly so from a nation that said it was at peace with you.

That said, in dominions, almost anything is possible on the battlefield when the combination of units, spells, etc, is just right. In fact look at the example of the SC (SuperCombatant). There you will have a single fighter able to defeat hundreds of opponents - entire armies - by himself.

But as with all things in dominions, there is no strategy, no unit, no SC, that does not have a counter that can defeat it. If you could give the details of the battle: the units involved, spells, etc, perhaps I can offer some useful comments on tactics that would help you defeat this kind of attack in a future game.



Might I point out Ironhawk, Whollabug had actually pointed out when he joined that he is NOT a newbie.

[Whollaborg]

As Ermorean senate flees,

Mighty Vanheim despises the decadent senate of Ermor as it flees in hope to save their fat bellies.
Fleeing abroad might give you some years to live, but when true God ascends there is no safe place left for dirty mouths that would like to tarnish the reputation of Vanheim by lowly lies!

What is true is that Ermor attacked us first and thus spelled the doom over themselves voluntarily. Foolish senate would not listen to reason and would not negotiate like a civilized nation would. This barbaric stubborness made them start a war against us.

As the war progressed and senate was shown the true power of our shocktroops they tried to seede to our initial trading proposition but that would not been possible at that time anymore.
More compensation was needed, vanir cannot be humiliated.

We sent a private message and offered Ermorian senate a peace on terms. This proposition would have given Ermor time to recuperate and safety from the strong giants that already eyed upon the Ermor. Foolish senate didn't reply but instead announced that they would flee and leave their underlings to die alone and in vain without their nasty leaders who would make their nation pay in blood the time they needed to pack national gold into their triremes that are now sailing to foreign ports.

Vanheim will offer Ermorean people new leadership that would not abandon them in time of crisis.

In contempt,
-Jörund, the prophet of the True God

------------------

(ooc) Stryke11:
I am in understanding that you are not mixing ingame and outgame messages and i respect that. If i would have gotten to war by two nations with dual bless in the early phase of game i would have had very bad ingame and outofthegame feelings.
I am not sure how well i could roleplay in such a circumstanses as i have never encountered a blessrush against me. (If the current war with Atlantis is not counted.)

Stryke11 you have roleplayed well /threads/images/Graemlins/icon02.gif as in Dom3 kind of strategygame it seems that not all would like to roleplay, which is voluntary as it's not stated in the current gamesetup.

I hope that in games of future you could show same kind of willpower to just roleplay against me, who have shown contempt "in charcter".
If i were you i wouldn't be sure if i could clearly separate in- and offgame like you seem to be able. This requires strenght to see in what category these ingame nasty words belong.

(ooc) Kissjagon:
When I joined I informed that I had played 5 or so MP games of Dominions 2. No-one mentioned at that point that it might be too much experience for a newbie.

Out of those Dom2 games three were so called blitz-games that lasted only few turns (<20). So if you think that two full MP-games change things and remove my newbie status - so be it. But as these are words and words mean what we believe words to mean - i would still count myself as a newbie.

I am willing to leave the game if majority of players of this game think that i play in wrong company.

Of cource if Ironhawk as the respected host of this game would think the same way i would be more than willing to leave the game, but in that case there might be others as well, who happen to have some MP-experience from Dom2 too...

Let's consider who is a newbie?

Not in contempt,
-Whollaborg

[WSzaboPeter]

Kydorias said:
An offering of truce has been sent to the ruler of Neifelheim over the unwanted skirmish on the Shirak Steppes. Unfortunately the six months of C'Tis inactivity leaves the nation poorly equipped to deal with a determined onslaught of Neifel Giants. Know ye all that should the terms of the truce be rejected by Neifel, the nation of C'Tis will fight honorably to the demise of its last serpent citizen.


Greetings Noble Kydorias,
I accept a truce, but with modifications only.
You offered a six-month truce. I offer you a longer one, since I really don't have any intentions to kill you. The time period should be until my inprisond pretender will be free. Then we will talk about a longer peace, or even alliance. In the time of truce I'm open to any trade discussions.
You offered me 200 Gold and 25 Death Gems. I need neighter, so you can keep it and use it as you wish.
I took Koron's Gate (36) from you, but I will leave there NO forces and you can take it back. We both know why this province is so important for you. In exchange I need two provinces that are far less important for you, but they have strategic importance to me. Those are 30 Black March and 15 Mount Zhiva. And I ask you NOT to take Last Climb from independents. If you agree please tell me as soon as possible.
Thanks a lot,
DreamSlayer

[Foodstamp]

Alright, I wasn't sure the etiquette on such actions. If Ermor does drop out, I will start arranging the ceding of provinces to pangaea.

(In Character)

Recently Pangaea was approached with a proclamation from the peoples of Ermor. The Senate had abandoned the peoples, leaving the nation in turmoil. The people of Ermor have nominated a new leader that brings word of wanting join Pangaea in merriment, forgetting the recent hardship of war versus the powerful Vanir and Jutons.

Pangaea considers itself on neutral terms with both the nations of Vanheim and Neifelheim. We would like for this transition of power to be smooth and without conflict with either nation.

You will find that if Pangaea rules over the former Ermor lands, you will have a trustworthy neighbor that will work to protect the stability of the area. The former Senate of Ermor can attest to this.

[WSzaboPeter]

The Sons of Winter are courious of what the Pangaean could bring to the former Ermorian lands. Until you raise sword (or sickles, or whatever weapons the satyrs and centaurs use) against a giant we will not attack you. By the way you could send some Maenads into my provinces, since the Jotuns would love the seight.

[Whollaborg]

Haa, great jokes our woodland friends start telling, We wellcome thee to the lands of former Ermor. Which are Vanir properity by right and of which we already gifted Jotun giants provinces.

Perhaps you have not found out that your hostile pack of centaurs (10+commander) who were offencively sneaking in our port town were swiftly slaughtered and none of the Vanir perished as usual.

If you wish, please send us more sneaky, backstabbing visitors and find out how our people bringing the true death won't be as clumsy as yours http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Cheers,
Jörund, the prophet of True God

[WSzaboPeter]

The Niefel giants now understand the hidden message in Ermor's words. Ermorians wish to give the Panii the province we got as a gift from our Vanir friends? Maybe the old age does it, but that was hard to understand it. Then again, the Sons of Winter could not care less about some tree worshipers, but the very idea of someone taking our precious gift, that very symbol of friendship between Vanheim and Niefelheim... Now that's an outrage.

[Stryke11]

Trajedy, the giants have seized our capital and lay seige to our fortress! We have cast off the rule of Aurelios and many of our citizens have already migrateds north into Pangean lands. only a token force stays behind to guard the citidel, in hopes an army of the forest will come and break the siege.
- Ermorian Consul, Gaius Amalious Ermorius.

OOC

I appreciate the fact that some of you don't want to lose a player so soon but in reality the situation is desperate. I am well aware that with spells, strategy, etc. anything can be done. But I had 5 mages casting fire spells, huge PD, and many of Ermor's best troops, along with my pretender, and I still lost to 8 giants with 2 support units, again without them losing ONE unit. They were swarmed, most of them were on fire by the end of the battle, there was nothing more that could be done. I am down to two procvinces and the fact is what fun is there in playing, even if I last to the end of the game because everyone lets me, with that setup? I either have allies I absolutely won't attack, or enemies who are much stronger (rediculously, unbalanced-like stronger) in all directions. I mean, at least I was able to take out a Van troop from time to time with my superior numbers, but the gaints in the early game with the amount of research I have are impossible to beat.

I don't think anyone should be removed from the game. It's not their fault their nations are overpowered, and I'm sure they can be countered by giant nations such as Ulm (thay guy is ruling the stat charts) or by a combination of nations.

For all his blustering and scoundrel-ness Whollaborg was a great roleplayer and pretty much telegraphed that he was intending to steamroller me. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif The diplomacy side angle was a fun front. As for the Giants, their player is just a flat out liar, taking full advantege of high hp troops with a bless strategy and a favorable starting postions, so watch out for that http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

I believe it should be allowable, since there is no way I can conceivably win the game, to offer my lands to a friend nation. Naturally there is no in-game way to do this so he will have to take them by force, though I will move the defenders away to the best of my ability. The roleplay reason is because Ermor would much rather see the Panii or the Atlanteans triumph, and the Ermoroian people would expect more mercy from them than their enemies.

With a corner postion, more breathing space, and some time, I have no doubt the armies of Ermor would have been quite powerful. The stars didn't align this time, and I don't feel bad about it, so you shouldn't either, Foodstamp http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif. I'm still learning as well, so next time, which won't be for awhile but eventually, I will have more useful early game "strats".

Give 'em heck, guys!

[KissBlade]

In a way though, this is a good if not harsh lesson for new players. Blesses definitely run the current metagame especialy in EA where a lot of blessables are so strong. The ulterior option of course is the dominance of archers. New Faith Ermor is a little tricky, their blessables aren't entirely too great though they do have recuperation ...

[Ironhawk]

Stryke11 said:
With a corner postion, more breathing space, and some time, I have no doubt the armies of Ermor would have been quite powerful. The stars didn't align this time, and I don't feel bad about it, so you shouldn't either, Foodstamp http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif. I'm still learning as well, so next time, which won't be for awhile but eventually, I will have more useful early game "strats".



Thats the spirit, Stryke http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif A lot of times this is just how it will work out. Even for me, as an experienced player, I am sometimes surprised (or underestimate) the power of an early rush and am wiped out in the first 10-20 turns of a game. Remember that only like 1/4 or 1/2 of the nations in any game will survive to the end to see someone declared winner http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif Sometimes you make it that far, sometimes you dont.

On the topic of giving resources/land away when your empire crumbles: This happens in many games and you shouldnt feel bad about doing it. In fact as the game goes on it can significantly change the balance of power (in particularly getting someones treasury of gems in the later game!!!). The only thing to keep in mind when giving land away is that the nation which was winning the war may take offense at you "poaching" provinces which should "rightfully" be thiers. You are seeing this already with Vanhiem and Niefelheim above in the thread. Personally, I expect neighboring nations to poach and will not take much offense (unless it is a key province), but others players may.

[Stryke11]

Pangaea did not request the land. It was offered by the Senate and people of Ermor. Pangaea is welcome to deny the gift for their own safety if they wish, since the majority of the Ermorian people have already evacuated into their lands for safety. Ermor has ceded the land, they no longer have say as to what Pangaea wishes ro do with it, even if they do strategically give it to NH or VH. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[FrankTrollman]

Ermor can beat Van in the field just as Tienchi can beat Helhirdings in the field. It basically requires magic. Van have high defense (which is good against swords), and glamor (which is good against swords). They aren't particularly good against arrows or magic.

Ermor has crappy archery, but its magic is quite impressive. Augur Elders can spam Sulphur Mists and Archbishops are a cheap source of Smiting.

Even Huskarls cost 25 gold a piece, and once you get some magic going you can trade your troops for theirs at perhaps 2:1. That's not something that Vanheim can sustain for long. They need an early age of aggression to pay off or they are toast.

That Ermor was the victim of this particlar wave of early aggression is an entirely plausible outcome of these events. Our condolances.

The Great Catsby has Spoken.

[Foodstamp]

(OOC)

To be honest, it makes me sad in the pants that double blessed nations are allied wiping out players early game. I keep hearing people talk about these nations being terrible in middle game or late game, but honestly I don't see how, they have incredible mages as well.

I am curious to see how this game plays out and see if all these comments are right about the -heims petering out later on.

At the moment my gut instinct tells me that the fire/water bless strategy is going to be an advantage throughout the game because these nations still get pretty solid battle magic and other spells to boot.

P.S. If this is a newbie game, how can these people even comment and say "Oh, vanheim etc etc can be beat later on when you research magic etc etc".

[Kydorias]

WSzaboPeter said:
Greetings Noble Kydorias,
I accept a truce, but with modifications only.
You offered a six-month truce. I offer you a longer one, since I really don't have any intentions to kill you. The time period should be until my inprisond pretender will be free. Then we will talk about a longer peace, or even alliance. In the time of truce I'm open to any trade discussions.
You offered me 200 Gold and 25 Death Gems. I need neighter, so you can keep it and use it as you wish.
I took Koron's Gate (36) from you, but I will leave there NO forces and you can take it back. We both know why this province is so important for you. In exchange I need two provinces that are far less important for you, but they have strategic importance to me. Those are 30 Black March and 15 Mount Zhiva. And I ask you NOT to take Last Climb from independents. If you agree please tell me as soon as possible.
Thanks a lot,
DreamSlayer


Lord DreamSlayer,

Your terms are overly generous and I gratefully accept your offer. I shall withdrawl my forces from Black March and Mount Zhiva, and I shall leave Last Climb undisturbed. I intend to also reoccupy Koron's Gate.

I salute the fighting prowess of your powerful warriors and exemplary battlefield leadership. May you face victory in your upcoming battles on other fronts.

Kydorias

[KissBlade]

In a straight up fight, it is true, battle mages can sway the odds. However, any player worth his salt will know to take advantage of Vanheim/Helheim's uber raiding ability which combined with a dual bless beats any pd/conventional armies. It is stoppable, but needless to say most newbie players are not equipped to do so.

[Ironhawk]

To address the comments on bless-rush nations: You shouldnt be upset that bless-rush nations are wiping out other players early. That is, after all, what they are designed to do. As to how they could possibly be weakened over time, this has to do with thier scales. Bless nations normally have to make significant sacrifices to thier scales which results in overall lower income. If you have a bless nation and a non-bless nation of comparable size it is like that the non-bless nation will have significantly more income. This in turn translates to more research (very key) and more, stronger, mages.

And to address concerns that some players may have about fighting these blessed nations in the future. Dominions always provides a way to counter any strategy. So, when faced with a superior opponent, what you should try and do is look at thier greatest strength and find a way to circumvent it. As Frank says above, the greatest strength of Vans is Glamour and High Defense. The way to circumvent this is Arrows or Battlefield Magic, which ignore defense skill. Neifel Giants greatest strength is thier hit points. But if you attack in a way that circumvents hitpoints, like the spell Paralyze or Gifts from Heaven (which does more damage than a unit and reasonably take) then you should be ok.

It is always good advice to keep an eye on your neighbors. Look at thier units and make sure you have a plan (be it with units, spells, or summons) to counter whatever attack they are likely to bring against you.

[Foodstamp]

Great advice, I will dig through ye ole spell grimoire and see what I can come up with in the event that I am next on the chopping block.

[Shovah32]

Just a little advice to counter bless rushes:
Use AoE magic, i cant stress this point enough as it is probably THE best way to deal with the 'heims sacreds.

Keep some fast response forces (which include AoE mages) to retake provinces lost to raiding and remember, just because the enemy can run away and hdie after taking a province dosnt mean they will

If you using thugs/SCs that dont have insane attack and fear then find a way to damage them that dosnt require hitting (AoE attacks like snake bladders, damage shields like charcoal shields ect)

Dont hold back. Chances are the bless nation(s) will be going at you full force to avoid a counter attack and take you out quickly, if you can push them back (most likely requiring everything you have or something near it) then you have a huge advantage and may be able to rid this world of them once and for all.

[WSzaboPeter]

First of all, I don't play Fire 9 blessing. That's good for Vans, but I think for Niefelheim Water9,Nature9 is A LOT better. Why? Fire weapons are not needed that much against most of the enemies encountered, since my giants got a pretty good strength. The problem with Niefelheim is the COST. It is true that 8 giants and 2 commanders beat your defence forces, but that was a big part of my army. For starters those 8 giants costed 1200 gold. And as it was mentioned earlier I needed some bad scales to achieve that. Without the beforementioned 9 nature bless my giants tend to be NOT cost effective. First of all, they got only 66 hp. And if I don't give them regenerative powers they tend to die, or get a lot of afflictions. The two commanders had only the purpose of blessing the giants, then keeping up with them, and hoping at least one of them survies the battle.
-----*-----
In this game I learnt two things about Niefelheim. First of all, the need of two commanders, second the fact that negative luck scale can hurt A LOT. It is a lot more annoying then it used to be in Dominions 2. And drain dominion makes my very pricey researchers even less effective, so it will take ages to reach something in magic.
In the pro side, this is the second Dominions 3 game of mine, in the first one I started with an awake SC pretender, and got slaughtered pretty fast. I think the SCs are nerfed a lot. This time I started with an inprisoned one to try it. I was afread of the decision at first, but now it seems it was worth it.
-----*-----
Kydorias, thanks for accepting my offer, and I'm glad peace was achieved after a missunderstanding. I hope this shows that I am able to make peace, even if my victory is assured . The next year until my pretender will awake will show that I keep my word.

[Foodstamp]

I figured vanheim was fire/water bless, not neifelheim.

[KissBlade]

WSzaboPeter said:
First of all, I don't play Fire 9 blessing. That's good for Vans, but I think for Niefelheim Water9,Nature9 is A LOT better. Why? Fire weapons are not needed that much against most of the enemies encountered, since my giants got a pretty good strength. The problem with Niefelheim is the COST. It is true that 8 giants and 2 commanders beat your defence forces, but that was a big part of my army. For starters those 8 giants costed 1200 gold. And as it was mentioned earlier I needed some bad scales to achieve that. Without the beforementioned 9 nature bless my giants tend to be NOT cost effective. First of all, they got only 66 hp. And if I don't give them regenerative powers they tend to die, or get a lot of afflictions. The two commanders had only the purpose of blessing the giants, then keeping up with them, and hoping at least one of them survies the battle.
-----*-----



Should've done a n9 (or less), e4 (or higher) bless for the giants. =)

[WSzaboPeter]

KissBlade, great idea, thanks a lot. It makes sense to decrease the fatigue and maybe berserk makes less difference with giants then with other people. And with less magic I could have taken a less destructive dominion. But then again, this was kind of a test game.

[KissBlade]

heh actually berserk works pretty well the giants but you save a lot of points from not taking nature that high =). Also keep in mind, giant skinshifters are very very good EA units. Fatigue is also a killer to the giants.

[Foodstamp]

Pangaea looks to the south, and sees that Neifelheim has declared ownership to the lands that were ceded to us. We consider this nothing less than an act of war upon our nation.

Neifelheim is to move out of the three provinces ceded by Ermor or be removed.

[FAJ]

Thems strong words comming from goat-people

[Kydorias]

It is unfortunate that Oceania has declared war upon the nation of C'Tis. The declaration that C'Tis could not expand beyond the provinces around its capital was an unreasonable one. I do not understand why Oceania should be so enraged by C'Tis subjugating independent provinces so close to its own capital.

Know that I have never attacked any of Oceania's provinces and have no desire to do so in the near future. Yet Oceania already mounts assaults upon my provinces. Should this treachery continue, I shall have no choice but to attempt to dislodge Oceania from their footholds on land.

Kydorias

[Saarud]

What in the name of Saarud (God). I looked at the turn as usual then did some quick orders when I realized I need more time to think and I have to go to work now anyways so I was in a hurry and pressed save & quit. Immediatly after that I realized I need to change a quic order and now I cannot enter the game to change my orders. Directly after messages I get thrown out....

Help me, anybody I need some help!

[FrankTrollman]

Often that sort of lock gets broken by quitting the game and refreshing.

BTW, @ Arco: Boo!

We're willing to cut this war short with some reasonable borders, but needless to say we're keeping all the stuff next to our cities.

The Great Catsby has spoken.

[WSzaboPeter]

Foodstamp said:
Pangaea looks to the south, and sees that Neifelheim has declared ownership to the lands that were ceded to us. We consider this nothing less than an act of war upon our nation.

Neifelheim is to move out of the three provinces ceded by Ermor or be removed.



Your declaration of war gave the best laughter to the Niefel giants since the days when the Rimtursar walked among them.

OOC: I beg your pardon, but if you take a look at the score chart you can notice that last turn I had the bigest number of provinces, now I'm tied with Ulm. My bless strategy is kind of effective as you could deduct from the beforementioned fact. Then I'm allied with Vanheim, one of the other major powers, who has sailing and maybe even more effective bless strategy then what I got. Who could you think that you can win such a war? Really. Looking to the charts reveal that in the best case you got a school at level 3. Chances are - and I don't blame you for that - you where bluffing. Well, it failed. Good luck, you will need it.

[Foodstamp]

Pangaea has the courage to face evil, no matter the odds. Rather than pick on the weak, and hold hands with another nation while doing it.

I would rather fight you now, seeing how you have no respect for our nation, than sit around and wait for the inevitable. If this means you will drum up the support from the west, then I guess we will be fighting both of you.

(OOC)
There will be other nooby games, and even if you guys do eliminate me, we really don't stand a chance versus your alliance at any phase of the game.

P.S.
My bless strategy is kind of effective as you could deduct from the beforementioned fact.



Give me a break. Next, Vanheim will be saying that he is winning the game because he went to West Point IRL.

[WSzaboPeter]

Foodstamp said:
Pangaea has the courage to face evil, no matter the odds.


It's not about faceing the evil. It's about being the evil or not.


Kydorias said:
It is unfortunate that Oceania has declared war upon the nation of C'Tis.


C'Tis is under the protection of Jotunheim until they regain their power from the recent change of leadership. If Oceania will NOT make peace with C'Tis within a reasonable time the peace keeping forces will help the freedom loving people of C'Tis to protect the human/lizard/giant rights in the contested are (And make sushi).

[Shovah32]

I would prefer you not declare war on my neighbour oceania (who i am at peace with) due to possible dominion conflictions but im pretty sure i cant and wont step in.

[Kydorias]

No one, including me, has declared war upon Oceania. Apparently there is some nasty waterborne type of rabies floating around these seas because Oceania is frothing at the mouth over some imperceived slight by C'Tis.

That or the water is actually whisky.

[Shovah32]

i know, i was just stating my opinion as i know it is a real possibility

[Stryke11]

Wow...why do I feel I got out just before things are going to get really nasty? http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[upstreamedge]

Oceania is not what it seems.

The once gleaming towers of the coral cities now darken. The cheery hearts of the tritons now feel wrath. This is the last age of the coral cities, and the first age of a new god.

Nagash

[Foodstamp]

Not really nasty, it makes sense for the pretenders to dislike one another.

This has actually been a really fun game and I would like to add I really appreciate how fast the game is moving along. I am in two other games that are staling every turn because different nations are going MIA.

So to all the players in this game, and the substitutes, thank you for the timely turns, the mudslinging between personas and the action! This game is far more interesting than the other two I am in.

Ironhawk, thanks for the amazing management of this game. Any games I join in the future are gonna have a tough act to follow after this one. I love it!

[Sheap]

The peace-loving aboleths of R'lyeh wish nothing more than to gracefully wave the tentacles in their deep, dark realm of joy and happiness.

-- Sheap-Niggurath

[FrankTrollman]

Tien Chi is the middle kingdom, the celestial empire which stands at the apex of the world. It is the center, and the barbarian realms which surround it are simply pale reflections of the glory which is known as Tien Chi.

We have made entreaties to Arcocephale to accept a fair border between our nations: the so-called "golden era" taking place in the North where the barbarians live, and the clestial empire of Tien Chi staying at the center around which the world moves. However, Arcocephale has remained silent. If they do not respond to our missives and continue to build hordes of barbarians along our borders, we will be forced to consider this an acceptance of world without end. We have seen the power of your magic and we laugh.

If Arcocephale does not agree to terms, we shall be forced to march upon their capitol and burn the temples of Arcocephale to the ground. Our armies on the border have proven in battle that they want for nothing in their ability to destroy the armies of Arcocephale, and they shall continue to do so.

On a lighter note, we also note that Pangea has adopted a much more reasonable position. The animal spirits of the Pan are perfectly capable of cavorting harmlessly in the forests beyond the Middle Kingdom forever. Naked, and to the limits of their experiences content, the Pan may continue to do as they have done for generations to come. We have nothing that they need, and they have nothing that we want. Surely there is no cause for strife between our kingdoms.

It is for this reason that the celestial masters, in their immense wisdom, propose a border with Pangaea to last a thousand years:

We cede a line of provinces to the Pan: 111, 113, 112. Anything south of that may rightfully be considered the territory of the Age of Revelry.

The Great Catsby has Spoken

[AdrianP]

Ugh, a random event just wiped out all my sages.A random event in the form of a horde of indie knights! I just knew I should have set all my sages to retreat but kept forgetting to do so.

[FrankTrollman]

We just saw our battle reports from the attempted preemptive invasion by Arcocephale. And while it is unfortunate that Joepa managed to limp away from the field of battle, we are just going to have to console ourselves with he mountain of Windrider corpses.

You should have bargained, Joepa. Now we will hunt your limping god to the ends of the Earth and burn all of his worshippers.

The Great Catsby has Spoken.

[Foodstamp]

To the peoples of Neifelheim,

A battle to the south of the Kingdom of Pangaea was fought, and it is worth noting that this battle has made us a stronger kingdom although many centaur were lost. The battle prowess of the giants is simply incredible, and although their numbers were drastically depleted, we will not be invading the old Ermor lands again. These wounded Giants will be allowed to return home to their Mountain Kingdom if they can find a way through the surrounding Vanheim lands. This Decision has been made by the Centaur Cohort of Pangaea, and the Pan will not go against us on this for they respect our decisions most of all in times of war.

Amphious, Heirophant and Cohort leader.



To the peoples of Ermor,

We welcome you freely into our lands to the north. Know that you will be treated with the same respect as any Pan or Satyr. As such, you are expected to live by the same laws as our native born people.

With all sincerity, we hope that the peoples of Ermor are able to live the rest of their many days out in peace amongst our forests, delivered from the hardships of a lopsided war.

To Tien Chi,

Wisdom is rarely found amongst humankind this day and age. When our Pan came to the borders of our two great nations to investigate your intentions, know that they could see wisdom upon the faces of your wizards even with a glance. It was well known to us before your leader even announced aimable relations that Pangaea and Tien Chi would be able to forge a peace, even though our peoples share different values.

[xennon]

Kailasa is going down...

I was at war with Helheim (and losing) and last turn I was attacked by Ulm http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/mad.gif
In just 1 turn I lost 3 provinces, my pretender and almost all my commanders http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/Injured.gif
I guess this is it... I would lose against Helheim anyway, but having to face also Ulm is too much.
But it was really fun, and I learned a lot http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif.

[AdrianP]

We Ulm will honor the beasts of Kailasa by transforming their lands into the world's largest safari park.

After all, the idea of monkey-men having self-government was ludicrous to begin with, it's better this way.

[xennon]

AdrianP said:
We Ulm will honor the beasts of Kailasa by transforming their lands into the world's largest safari park.

After all, the idea of monkey-men having self-government was ludicrous to begin with, it's better this way.



http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/laugh.gif

[Lion69]

The mindles beasts of Tien Chi, those slimy devils, will rue the day they broke JoePa's knee.

Death to Tien Chi and all they stand for

[Stryke11]

To Centurion Marcus Decimus Carulus,

Ave, cousin, as the walls of Eldregate crumble, our sentries were amazed to see what appeared to be an army coming to the aid of this hollow and battered city. Cries of joy as the beseigers were crushed against our walls were replaced with horror as we noted that our saviors were the armies of Neifelheim, who last we thought were allies of those who besieged us. It appears that the giant-Vanir alliance is weak, unless of course those Vanir who were besieging the city were going against the orders of their leaders to cede the land to the giants. Nevertheless, a stray arrow took out the captain of the guard and I am left alone to guard what is left of the city with what is left of our troops. I am no fighting man, but the men respect me as, though a patrician, I choose to die for my city rather than flee as so many others have. It feels suprisingly freeing not to have a god with whom to take orders from, nor the frantic worry of self-preservation. I have heard the Panii accepted you and the rest of my family into their lands, and I hope you can build a new life there. Thank you for delivering them across the border. Their nation my be strange by our standards, but from what I know they have good hearts, seek merriment, and have shown kindness to our people in our darkest hour. I finish what remains of the vintage wine I unearthed in the empty citadel, and it tastes sweeter than one would think. That is so strange; you were the soldier, and I was the one who sought a life of whimsy and merriment, and now how our roles are reversed. Take care of yourself, and what remains of our family. You shant hear from me again, I'm afraid.

--Senator Gaius Julius Carulus, Last Senator of Ermor, Final Defender of the Walls of Eldregate and the Temple of the Holy Shroud, City Prefect, and, until recently, Master of Revelry and the Games.