Dragon Master

[CUnknown]

Has anyone used this spell effectively?

I like the concept behind it, but the way I am looking at it, it just doesn't seem all that useful. If I have access to level-8 enchantment, why would I want to spend 30 gems so I could summon level-2 cave drakes? Shouldn't I use those gems to summon level-8 summons instead?

Maybe, using it with Eriu to summon Wyverns? Are Wyverns any good in mid to late game?

I checked it with Iron Dragons, and it doesn't work. I thought that 2 free iron dragons would rock, but I still just got 1.

[Folket]

I don't understand it. Why do people always think dragon master should work with iron dragons? Iron dragons are constructs. That should be saying that people that are good with horses should be good at making statues of horses.

I find that summoning dragons is a totally different thing from making mechanical monstrosities.

[thejeff]

Because they're called dragons and might make the spell marginally useful?

[normalphil]

I've used it with Tir na Nog and Eiru as a world-beater. It isn't so much Wyverns are good in the mid-to-late-game as obscene quantities of Wyverns are good in the mid-to-late-game.

[Sombre]

In vanilla it's an awful, awful spell.

[Folket]

Make the spell cost 100 gems and make it work for Tarrasques. That would make sense and make the spell useful. Or make the spell cheaper in research and/or gems.

[Sombre]

If you're going to do that you might as well just make an improved summon tarrasque spell with the path restrictions of dragon master.

[CUnknown]

So, it doesn't even work for Tarrasques? Where's the logic there? I can see the point made for Iron Dragons, but Tarrasques would seem like ideal candidates for the spell.

I would assume that it's a bug if it doesn't work for Tarrasques? Honestly, it doesn't even seem all that unbalancing, either.. it's not like Tarrasques are seen all that much anyway (from what I understand). I think there should be other powerful dragon summons as well.. like Fire Dragons, Ice Dragons, etc.. They could be on par with Dragon Pretenders (only not commanders). It would give water and fire paths some good summons for the late-game.

And if Dragons start to dominate the game, well, bring out the Dragon-Slaying swords and the like. This all seems like win-win to me.

Maybe there could be a random chance like for Tartarian Gate that you get a Dragon commander who has skill in magic, even. Maybe also a random chance that the dragon you summon just eats the summoner in an assassination attempt, hehe.

[Saint_Dude]

Oh yes! Bring on the dragons!

I think the idea of multiple dragon types (fire, ice, etc.) is terrific, as is the idea of dragon-slaying weapons (cool and unique).

It would also be fun if dragons were not uniform in stats. Older dragons could be rarer but also bigger and more powerful.

[Sombre]

It's quite easy to mod in bigger drakes, dragons etc as summons (though not so easy if you want variance like you get with the tartarians), just so you know.

I think Illwinter steered clear of lots of dragons on purpose - keeping them basically only as pretenders reinforces how special and unusual they are. It also differentiates Dom3 from other such fantasy games where dragon summons and the like are usually the top of the tech tree.

[Meglobob]

There are alot of higher level summon spells that are as or more powerful than the vast majority of pretenders already. So why not change Terrasques/Iron Dragons to be effected by Dragon Master?

Its all very high level, end of game stuff anyway, so at that stage so much heavy duty stuff is flying around I cannot see any problem with balance. A well equipped SC would still take out dragons fairly easily. Just like tartarians are killed in a couple of battle rounds at present.

[Ironhawk]

QM has claimed to have used this spell effectively with Wyverns and ... some other dragon. Cave Drakes maybe? Dont really recall.