The Artifacts Game - [ HOLY S**T MICAH WON!! ]

[Micah]

Ah, I hadn't realized he had agreed to Mari already, I just suggested Utgard since you omitted it in your earlier post about which nations needed subs, and I would have been happy to have him there. As long as someone's found for it though I suppose it's not too important as far as specifics.

Oh, and the game isn't 400 provinces, it's true, but it has the gems like it is at this point, due to all of the gen items out there.

[Baalz]

"late game fights tend to resemble scared girls slap fighting"

Haha, awesome.

[Calahan]

If you can't find anyone to take Utgard on then I guess I can offer myself as sub, as long as the current hosting schedule isn't some insane 24 hour job (which I very much doubt with the game at turn 100+)

Have sent you a PM WraithLord.

[tgbob]

Oh dear! Upon review, I'm actually trying to attack myself in some places. I gotta get used to the mari orange banner!

[Psycho]

"late game fights tend to resemble scared girls slap fighting"

Haha, awesome.

It's funny 'cause it's true.

[WraithLord]

Yes, Micah's observation is an accurate insight. Although I think this is only true for the first rounds of the war. When the opponents measure each other's worth, weakness, routines and so forth. After that, at least according to my past experience, things do get brutal. In the sense that every ounce of gems, gold, wizardry or arms goes to to holy cause of hurting the opponent.

[WraithLord]

If you can't find anyone to take Utgard on then I guess I can offer myself as sub, as long as the current hosting schedule isn't some insane 24 hour job (which I very much doubt with the game at turn 100+)

Have sent you a PM WraithLord.

The game has 4 day turnaround and is tolerant to further extensions upon request. If ppl start to get stressed due to long turns I wouldn't mind adding another day to the interval.
I have added 48h to this one to allow the new subs to accommodate themselves with their nations.

Welcome on board tgbob and Calahan :)

[Calahan]

Must admit I am a big fan of the friendly schedule :) and I am happy to have the chance to play against the great players competing in this game :)

@ tgbob - are you following me around, or am I following you? As I'm pretty sure you are in every game I'm playing in at the moment?!? Strange how these things work sometimes :confused:

[tgbob]

You followed me into this one!

[Calahan]

You followed me into this one!
I certainly can't argue with that. So guess I'm a stalker. Which I must say is news to me, but at least I know now for future incidents :D

[Lingchih]

Damn, is this game still going on? Give it up Wraith. You are beaten.

Or, perhaps, if I was Wraith, I would take my football and go home.

[Micah]

Be nice, Kent. While I agree that it's somewhat absurd that this game is still going given the subfest, mm hell, and the high likelihood that the game is already over, Wraith hasn't done anything wrong aside from having a difference of opinion on the state of the game. He has acted within his rights as a participant in the game by not conceding. I disagree with his assessment, and I think it's within my rights to whine about it every so often, but the game isn't completely decided yet since there ARE VPs, so he's not even being particularly unsporting by doing so.

More importantly, regardless of the above disagreement, Wraith has acted in excellent faith, including granting me an extension when asked (not the actions of someone that is trying to manipulate the game to his advantage.) He also has not made our difference of opinion into any sort of personal attack, I would ask that you do the same.

(And I'd imagine that no harm was meant by your post, just an attempt at a joke with the football line, but given the tonelessness of the typed word and the somewhat high level of drama over this game in particular it came off in somewhat bad taste. Not trying to jump on you or anything, just to nip any potential problems in the bud, especially since the forum won't let you edit stuff. And I know I've said some stuff in frustration on IRC while doing my turns, so I can completely understand making an idle comment or two, the forum just isn't the place for it.)

[WraithLord]

Hey Micah, Thank you very much for that last comment. I appreciate your sentiment and understanding.

Far be it from me to try and deliberately make the game drag against hopeless odds. To the best of my judgment, and I can at least say I have participated in muchos games over the years and seen a thing or two, this one is not decided yet. You have a good healthy advantage and a nice shot at victory. However, since we are talking VPs and since I have the right to try and stop you from winning (this is after all what this game is all about) I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. Look at it that way, I built up my nation for a hundred turns, so it's kinda stupid to just raise the white flag now. If and when it becomes clear to me that you are unstoppable I'll give up the game. Until then I tell you, come and get it :D

Lingchih, I think your comments directed at me are consistently in bad taste. As for this situation you are welcome to read threads of past games I played, you'll see that I'm not one for surrendering - and you know what, every once in a while I even managed to turn the tables on. So I ain't swayed, moved offended or irritated by your comments and you are more than welcome to cont. them if that makes you happy. This is the last I relate to OT remarks from you.

[tgbob]

This game is almost a year old! I'm impressed by the fortitude of the players who stuck with it, especially with all the subs coming and going.

[Ironhawk]

"the players"? Only 2 of the original 19 players actually stuck with it, tgbob. You might as well call them out by name :)

[WraithLord]

What?- the fun is just about to begin. So far in this game, all my wars were either a tie or a landslide victory. This last one I think will be very interesting and I'd surely learn a lot on the way. For me that latter is what really counts. That and proper closure.

Had the game not consisted of grizzled vets only and had the map been more run-of-the-mill I assume this game would have been over much sooner. Be that as it may, the early and mid game conflicts saw no clear winners (except Mari's victory IIRC) and it was only past mid game that things really got moving - via the dreaded predator pack behavior.

[Micah]

Don't worry Wraith, I don't intend to let your streak of landslides end, just make sure to check where you're standing when the rocks start falling. =)

Mari's victory was noobicide, was it not?

I also killed Ctis in a solo war, but it wasn't really fair.

[quantum_mechani]

Don't worry Wraith, I don't intend to let your streak of landslides end, just make sure to check where you're standing when the rocks start falling. =)

Mari's victory was noobicide, was it not?

I also killed Ctis in a solo war, but it wasn't really fair.Heh, well I would argue almost any early victory can be counted as either noobicide or unfair (or one side going AWOL).

[DonCorazon]

God this game has gone on so long, people probably don't even remember Pan or Mictlan.

[namad]

yeah i think DC technically got the first kill of anyone

[Lingchih]

Sorry Wraith, my comment was in poor taste. But then, mine usually are. See my sig. Good luck to you.

[WraithLord]

Don't worry Wraith, I don't intend to let your streak of landslides end, just make sure to check where you're standing when the rocks start falling. =)

Mari's victory was noobicide, was it not?

I also killed Ctis in a solo war, but it wasn't really fair.

:lol
Do domes protect from landslides? ;)

I think you are right WRT Mari's victory. And of course you are right about Ctis. I forgot about it. But then I noticed a number of wars around the globe that ended in stalemate. Including our very own failed crusade vs. Atlantis. The 2nd crusade worked a lot better :)

[WraithLord]

Don't sweat it Lingchih, I just made an observation, nothing to be sorry about :)

I would humbly suggest though, that you be more considerate in your future comments, I think ultimately it will serve you better.

I'd also like to raise a toast in honor of all the artifacts players, past and present :cheers:

[Psycho]

My computer has stopped working. It just turned off suddenly yesterday and a smell of something burning spread. It was very hot to touch. I tried to turn it on after it cooled down but to no avail.

If I stale the turn, it means I didn't fix it and you might want to turn Midgard AI.

[Lingchih]

Whoever runs this game, please set me back to Midgard if Psycho's computer is toast. I will go ahead and shepherd them to their final end.

[Wokeye]

BL Psycho, hope your computer isn't too toasted.

Lingchih - If you do get a gig, I hope you know how to fend off a large pack of rather ugly, rabid wolves... :)

[Calahan]

Sorry to do this considering how long the hosting has been on this turn, but can I please get a 18 hour delay of the current turn.

Organising Utgard affairs is proving to be a bit of a nightmare due to random equipment on random commanders in almost every province, so sorting it all out is slow going. Already spent a few hours on the turn, so most of it is done, but won't get a chance to finish it now until Sunday afternoon (llamaserver time) as tomorrow is a wipeout due to a sporting event.

Sad thing is the turn would probably have been completed easily by now if there wasn't a limit on the lab size :( But you just have to work with what you've got I guess....hard life being a sub if the previous owner was a bit, lets say, untidy.

[WraithLord]

Psycho, sorry to hear about your computer. I have no objections to waiting a bit for you to sort it out. Also, It's your call of course whether or not to cont. playing or giving control back to Lingchih.


Calahan, extension given.

[Baalz]

Sorry to do this considering how long the hosting has been on this turn, but can I please get a 18 hour delay of the current turn.

Organising Utgard affairs is proving to be a bit of a nightmare due to random equipment on random commanders in almost every province, so sorting it all out is slow going. Already spent a few hours on the turn, so most of it is done, but won't get a chance to finish it now until Sunday afternoon (llamaserver time) as tomorrow is a wipeout due to a sporting event.


Yeah, sorry about that. With the forge up (not sure if it still is) I was forging 50 items a turn and hand to clear out the lab every turn. I did have everything kinda organized, but that was one sub ago with a different mind and a different organization strategy....

[quantum_mechani]

Utgard is now on it's 4th player... must be some kind of record.

[archaeolept]

and given the pace of this, it's like each of them has played a full game :D

[Micah]

As I mentioned to QM on IRC earlier: it's a bad sign when I start feeling proud of myself for getting through individual parts of my turn, since the whole thing at once has gotten to be too daunting. =)

[Lingchih]

Is anyone going to switch me back? Turn is just about up, and I am about to go to bed.

[Calahan]

Yeah, sorry about that. With the forge up (not sure if it still is) I was forging 50 items a turn and hand to clear out the lab every turn. I did have everything kinda organized, but that was one sub ago with a different mind and a different organization strategy....
No worries Baalz. Not sure how you organise things, but there doesn't appear to have been any organisation recently. So guessing all the personal assistants you hired to keep things tidy slacked off after you took early retirement :)

[Micah]

Hmm, no word from Psycho (unless it was via PM) and 2 hours til host, can we try to get Lingchih in here and give him enough time to get a turn in? Or is it too late to postpone at this point?

[WraithLord]

I haven't heard back from Psycho. I'll PM him asking whether he plans to cont. playing. If I don't get an answer by tomorrow I'll set Lingchih in his place.

Lingchih - Please PM me with your email address.
Oh, and I am curious, I recall only recently you wanted nothing to do with this game. I wonder, why you want back now?- esp. with Midgard down to two provinces and in hopeless situation. Do you have a secret plan to stop Bogarus and steal the victory? ;)

[Lingchih]

I haven't heard back from Psycho. I'll PM him asking whether he plans to cont. playing. If I don't get an answer by tomorrow I'll set Lingchih in his place.

Lingchih - Please PM me with your email address.
Oh, and I am curious, I recall only recently you wanted nothing to do with this game. I wonder, why you want back now?- esp. with Midgard down to two provinces and in hopeless situation. Do you have a secret plan to stop Bogarus and steal the victory? ;)

Just doing you guys a favor.

[WraithLord]

Thank you Lingchih. I set your email for Midgard. Welcome back :)

[Wokeye]

ROFL I just realised that stupid Purgatory spell kills all undead within my dominion, not just enemy undead. Not a good look for country lead by a vampire counts :P

[WraithLord]

Oh, and here I was being darn sure Micah has enslaved the mind of one of your fire mages to cast this global at your name :D

[Micah]

BTW, next turn you may see some evidence to the latter statement.


I didn't see any fireworks, what did I miss? Or was that said with the supposition that I would waive the notice on the NAP?

[WraithLord]

No fireworks I agree :)

I don't think any harm can come of letting you know that my attempt to overwrite your forge with an E11 mage using 999E gems has failed. The DRN gods have smiled upon you and your forge advantage is maintained. I could retry soon but I'm loath to risk loosing 1k E gems again, so I guess I'd save them for less riskier propositions.

[Micah]

Wow, impressive...that's what, E16 with a full set of boosters? Do paths even go over 15?

[WraithLord]

Naturally, I'll have to postpone full disclosure on that until the game ends.

It would have been much more impressive had the attempt actually succeeded :D

[Micah]

Ha, I'm not really sure if keeping the details to yourself after admitting you blew 1000 gems is going to save you much tactical advantage at this point, but feel free. =)

I'll be happy to hear the details down the road though.

[WraithLord]

Yeah, I was probably overconfident with the recast - I didn't figure you'll go all the way to 999E casting and even at that I figured a strong earth mage would suffice to overwrite - A mistake I can gladly admit to.

[WraithLord]

BTW, anyone heard from tgbob lately?

[Psycho]

My computer is completely toast. I hope you switched Lingchic to Midgard.

[Micah]

Bob's on IRC pretty often, I've spoken to him since the last host.

[tgbob]

BTW, anyone heard from tgbob lately?

I was waiting for more things to stick into the email before responding.

Edit: Yeah, I'll stop slacking now.

[WraithLord]

Oh, he has not responded to my messages so I wanted to double check whether he is still in the game.
Clearly, it makes a big difference whether or not he cont. to play.

[WraithLord]

Oh, great hearing from you. Considering that hosting will go down soon we have lot's to cover in short time :)

[Micah]

Oh, just for a heads up, I will be traveling from July 3rd-12th, and will likely not have the multiple hours it takes to finish a turn on this monstrosity, so I may have to ask for it to be delayed until I get back. (I'll actually try to get a turn done while I'm gone, but don't want to worry about the timer being on.)

[WraithLord]

NP as far as I'm concerned.
Could you plz drop me a reminder closer to your vacation?

[namad]

this thread is going to probably make it to a 1year anniversary without a victor.... WOW

[Calahan]

Ok, there are obviously some big wars on the horizon in this game :) so I am now going to make an attempt to try and nail down when the second big bang is kicking off, and hopefully clear up a bit of possible confusion that seems to exist. Since it seems that at least three players in this game think the NAP's are ending on three different turn numbers.

In everything, I have assumed that all NAP's are 3-turn.
The Nation of Ulm hereby dissolves any NAPs it has with other nations - it is now time to claim our rightful throne.
The above was posted by Wokeye on 15th June 2009. It is also the same date that I agreed to sub-in as Utgard. The game was on turn 101 at the time.

So on turn 101, Ulm gave notice to all nations of cancelling their NAP's. So.....

Game Turn 101 - This is Turn 1 of NAP Cancellation Notice
Game Turn 102 - This is Turn 2 of NAP Cancellation Notice
Game Turn 103 - This is Turn 3 of NAP Cancellation Notice. Hostile orders can now be given.
Game Turn 104 - All of Ulm's NAP's have been dissolved, and any battles occurring are legit (with regards proper NAP cancellation)

The above is the timetable I always use with regards cancelled NAP's. But it's would be good if everyone was singing from the same hymn sheet on this one, so as to avoid anyone getting an early surprise.
Micah, since there is no point in prolonging this game any longer I hereby cancel our NAP. If you like we can wait the three additional turns, though we may as well skip that and allow hostilities to begin immediately. I'll leave the decision to you.
The above was posted by WraithLord, also on the 15th June 2009. The game was still on turn 101 at the time I believe.

Wraith / Micah, I am not sure if you have already arranged a timetable between yourselves, but if not, I think the one above for Ulm could be used here as well if you both agree with it.

Please can I ask all the affected parties to post and voice their agreement / disagreement with the above timetable suggestion. Utgard is personally happy with most interpretations of when the NAP's are actually ending, it would just be quite nice to know what the timetable actually is :) rather than trying to guess it :(

Looking forward to a fair, hard fought, and well deserved conclusion to this epic game.

[Micah]

I generally read them as going x hosts, then attack orders. Otherwise a NAP-1 wouldn't be a pact of non-aggression so much as a "pact of warning you as I attack you." Not that you see many 1 turn NAPs, but it's useful for illustration purposes.

I also have the most to gain by an extra turn here, but I'd like to be on the same page at least, even if other parties are planning on using the shorter timetable.

[Calahan]

Oh well, I guess the Ulm part of my above timetable can be disregarded. Looks like they were eager to get started and jumped the gun this turn by using forged travel documents to enter into Utgard lands.

Skratti, stand by your marks!

[WraithLord]

My interpretation was that hostile orders could be given at turn 103. However, since Micah has a different interpretation I see no harm in waiting an extra turn.

I wonder whether or not Ulm was serious about canceling all his NAP or was just making a dramatic exaggerated statement. It doesn't make much sense to cancel all your NAPs at once - well unless you can easily squish all the other nations. Perhaps this is something that Micah could do. Ha, now that would have been interesting :)

[Micah]

Even if I could kill everyone else off at once it wouldn't make sense to try, since I'd have to deal with tons more raiding and annoyances, and Marignon has provided plenty of things to attack, I haven't been in need of any extra targets.

[archaeolept]

0 turns of NAP is the same as an unannounced surprise attack
1 turn of NAP gives your opponent one full turn of activities in which to prepare

However, a further issue is that if notice of ending a NAP is done in a public forum, or through a forum PM, it is impossible to be sure when your opponent gets the notice, or how much of the turn he has already completed. So, I think, traditionally you start the first turn of the NAP countdown the next turn, for public notices.

ie, in the case in question (let us say), during turn 101 a public notice is given of ending a 3 turn NAP. 101 wouldn't count, as players may already have done their turns. so 102, 103, and 104 are the 3 turns of preparation that your opponents enjoy, and attacks may be launched on turn 104 as they will then "land" in turn 105.

If the notice of NAP ending had also been sent ingame turn 100 such that people received it w/ their turn 101 messages, then the schedule would be advanced one turn.

[Executor]

So the best way to break a NAP is via in-game message.
Pardon my uninvited posting here but I'm amazed this game is still on.
If I remember the sign up began way back when we had the old forum!

[Wokeye]

Apologies to Calahan (Utgard) - you are quite correct with your reasoning. I see where my mistake counting turns was made...(stupid scrawled notes overlain by kids crayon).

Ulm will retreat from the attacked Utgard front for a further three turns. Plenty of other things to do :)

[archaeolept]

So the best way to break a NAP is via in-game message.
no, because there is no record of the message. Best is to do both: send ingame, and then in the turn make the declaration public, w/ the comment that the declaration had been sent ingame; even best is then to explicitly state the turn attacks can land.

[vfb]

p1 - "ZOMG! You foul betrayers of treaties! You can't give orders to attack until turn 97!"

p2 - "Slander! You posted on the boards that you dissolved our NAP-3, and that was in turn 94. My armies arrived in your lands 3 turns later."

p1 - "p2 is a rotten ratfink and cannot be trusted!"

p2 - "By your way of counting, we'd need a negative 1-turn NAP to avoid sneak attacks."

p1 - "No, my way of counting is the right way. I want a rollback."

p2 - "ZOMG I can't believe you attacked me after the rollback!"

[namad]

i enjoy using the forum pm system because you can select to be notified when the message was read.... thereby.... no lying about if or when someone read something or not


some people don't use the forums though ingame is a surefire way to deal with naps with strangers... naps with friends well... you know how a friend likes to be dealt with

[Micah]

Tsk tsk, seems Wokeye's got an interesting definition of withdrawal, judging from the continued sieges of at least one of Utgard's forts. I believe he also jumped the gun on our NAP by a turn, but that could at least be debated.

I suppose I'll be seeing what you've got this turn, Wraith. Hope it's something interesting, nothing else has been of late...

[WraithLord]

Micah, now I have performance anxiety. I don't want to disappoint you, yet, in the face of your tartarian hordes I probably will :)

[Micah]

I think I'm at 54 tart commanders this turn, plus another 100 or so as chaff. I'm somewhat disappointed with the performance of my abomination squads, I hadn't considered their imperfect morale before now, and having them rout was quite annoying. Guess I just need to figure out how to berserk them.

[tgbob]

Do units still fire when they're berserking?

[Wokeye]

Tsk tsk, seems Wokeye's got an interesting definition of withdrawal, judging from the continued sieges of at least one of Utgard's forts.

Hmm... yes I dont know hat happened in 74 - troops ordered out this turn. 57 is a riot by two recalcitrant thralls, Utgard is welcome to do with them what they will. Apologies to Utgard.

[Micah]

Ugh, are we done yet?

[archaeolept]

come on Micah - it's only a few dozen more turns tops!


:eek:

[WraithLord]

Ugh, are we done yet?

I believe we are.
For having a fighting chance to stop you some things needed to happen that didn't happen, chief amongst them:
- Breaking your iron grip on Utgard
- Overwriting your forge (cleverly disguised as Utgard's, you had me fooled for a while :) )
- Making the cost of earning each new VP very high to you. Apparently you just took them as you pleased.

With a bit, or a lot, of luck things might have gone a different route, but they haven't and basically you had all the corners covered. And while I might have enjoyed raiding your lands while you concentrate on other stuff - that would have ultimately proved an exercise in futility.

At this game I have had the privilege to get to know your MO better - both as ally (as we were most of the game) and as enemy (albeit, too little at that). You are indeed an outstanding player, but more than anything, the impression I take of you from this game is of the master manipulator, the unseen puppet master :)
Well done :D I hope to enjoy more games with you in the future.

I for one surrender at this point. If the other player's wish to cont. I am willing to look for a sub for myself.
I also wish to thank all the players that subbed in this game!

[Calahan]

Utgard will be more than happy to call an end to this game and crown Bogarus the winner.

[Wokeye]

Meh I would fight on if others wanted, but if there is a general withdrawal, then I'll turn my thralls to the overlord Micah as playthings.

Not sure I like late game Ulm, those thralls are just plain annoying. :)

[Micah]

Thanks Wraith, this will be one less thing to worry about while I'm out of town. The Forge was mostly motivated by Utgard's E9 pretender/bless, and wanting to take it away from Amhazair, and that providing a guaranteed overwrite, as opposed to being proactive about boosting my own power...I did chip in 800 or more gems for it though, so I felt I could demand forging rights.

The only bit of "manipulation" that I feel I am guilty of was the ceasefire with Marignon when Utgard came into the war, but that was because I had my back to the wall between having Gath's remnants coming after me while I was barely holding off the biggest, nastiest nation in the game. I quite overestimated Utgard's strength (he should have been much better off than I was with national clammers and a better start) and that ended up taking him out of the running, which I hadn't envisioned. I figured that if I could hold off Marignon for 6 turns Utgard could too, especially knowing that help would be coming. Once Amhazair broke his seraph force on Utgard's cap it put me solidly into the lead, a position I wasn't about to give up. So yeah, a bit of guilt there.

Anyhow, more reports may be coming later, gotta get to my flight now!

[Baalz]

Heh, yeah, I kept saying my (Utgard's) position wasn't as strong as everyone thought, though admittedly you have to take such statements with a grain of salt. Few clams (I don't think any when I took over...not many at any rate) and I took an annoying large amount of casualties in my war with Vanhiem immediately prior with no chance to really reap any significant benefit from my associated gains.

[quantum_mechani]

Not sure I like late game Ulm, those thralls are just plain annoying. :)Yeah, if there had been the population/supply to support them easier it would have been ok, but it was really nightmarish managing the snowballing cycle of vampires and thralls (on top of the hoard items).

[Lingchih]

Nice, it's over. Good playing with all of you (on three separate occasions).

Good night from Vanheim. We held our VP til the end :)

[WraithLord]

I'm going to officially turn down the lights on this game in the server. Bye bye artifacts, you lasted more then a year, probably made it the the guinness record of MP dom games :)

[Micah]

Not quite, the anniversary would have been on the 30th I believe.

[djo]

You can have the Dominions 3 record. Yarnspinners 2 in Dominions 2 ran almost 14 months.

Mistletoe is just about at month 10, with its blistering fast 6-day quick host. Graphs are off, so I have no idea if we're approaching the end of that one.

Dominions players must be among the most patient gamers in the known universe. Or stubborn.

[ano]

Qwerty also lasted nearly a year. Not for everyone though:)

[Wokeye]

Thanks to Wraithlord for being an excellent host! Cheers all, see you in another games sometime.

[Micah]

A short AAR for this game, given that the historic details are a bit lost to time by now:

In the Beginning, there was Bogarus, and Micah saw that it was NOT Good. And he spoke: "WTF am I supposed to do with this without an SC?" The Voice of QM responded: "Make a human SC." And Micah listened, and it was...good? Maybe? It was Good Enough. There, I think that sums it up.

And thus the God Micah strode through the planes and smote C'tis with righteous anger and artifact cheese, and it was Good. Then C'tis hid in their castle and spammed billions of shades and had nigh-invulnerable walls because they are not mindless and don't need to eat, and it sucked. But then they dom-died, and it was Good. Enough. For even with the lands of C'tis the nation of Bogarus was still fairly small, because Antilarium was Not Good.

Bogarus was then at peace, which the Great God Micah despises, for it is boring, and does not bend the world to His will. Thus Bogarus secured Caelum as an ally against the rampaging nation of Atlantis, and promptly got its *** kicked, for Bogarus is crappy and its mages feeble and blind, and cannot hit the broad side of an angakok. Bogarus was also too busy snatching up the remaining artifacts to concentrate on their war fully. Thus, peace was again secured, and Bogarus decided to utilize the dark side and pursue the path of Peace for a while longer. To this end Bogarus began spamming clams and blood stones as fast as it could, with the help of a couple of iron crafters from Caelum, for which we thank them. Bogarus also began researching the Wish spell, with which it could get more W gems to make MORE clams. Things were abuzz with excitement in Bogarus over the incredibly fun and complex strategy that their Great Leader had devised. There was also an equally-exciting Sickle farm operation, paid for by the Bogarus Farm Bill for Werewolves.

Quickly growing bored with his new strategy, despite its intricacies and brilliance, and becoming alarmed at the size of Atlantis, Micah began a massive propaganda campaign and secured allies for a new assault on the infidels. Utilizing their new magics and the forged Gate Stone Bogarus was able to secure the capital of their enemy, spreading their former provinces and wealth among the nations allied against the Enemy. And it was good.

Afterward, Bogarus did the same with the new Enemy of Gath, but was met with fierce resistance by Gath, who threw seemingly everything they had against the One True God, and then treachery on the part of Bogarus' Marignonian allies, who attacked before the war with Gath was concluded. It was truly Bogarus' darkest hour.

Bogarus sought allies, and the Agarthan people pledged their assistance. War was joined with Marignon, and the traitorous dogs of Agartha abandoned fair Bogarus to side with their enemy.

While desperately staving off the False Angels of Marignon, and assaulted constantly by a stream of Horrors, Bogarus was simultaneously attacked by the remnants of Gath. Bogarus, standing alone, was forced to beg for allies against the Marignonian threat, and was answered by the great nation of Utgard. Bogarus then promptly sold them out and signed a peace deal with Marignon so that we could deal with Gath and Agartha while Utgard's NAP ticked down, instead of being forced to fight on two fronts with no help for an additional six months. Bogarus was not proud of this maneuver, but felt that it had no choice. The nation of Utgard will forever be celebrated and honored for their sacrifice, so that the True God might ascend.

Bogarus was also pressed into making another difficult choice. The supply of virgins for Marignon's foul blood rites needed to be disrupted, and their gem supply with it. Bogarus was forced to call down Armageddon upon the world. Much devastation was wrought, but the goal was accomplished, Marignon's blood supply seemed crippled, and an opening was secured against them.

In the year-long Marignonian ceasefire Gath was quickly dispatched once and for all, and the nation of Agartha was quickly split between Ulm, Caelum and Bogarus since their treacherous leader was clearly unfit to lead their nation, and could not properly see to their defense.

Marignon grew desperate as their ceasefire drew to a close, and threw their host of angels at Utgard's capital, which were incinerated by magical duels at the start of the fight. Five seraphim lay dead outside of the walls of Utgard in full battle regalia, and Marignon's iron hold on the world slipped away with them. At the same time Bogarus strengthened their relations with Utgard by providing the gems to take the Forge of the Ancients away from Marignon, while Utgard supplied the services of their mighty earth mage leader, who was reckoned at the ninth level of expertise by the standard magical measures. As many gems as possible for a single spell were pushed into the enchantment, which was cast by a mighty mage, and the alliance felt secure in their mastery of the Forge.

At this point a great Madness descended on the leaders of the world, and the leaders of all nations save those of Bogarus and Caelum were struck down outright and were succeeded by their inexperienced heirs, while the leader of Caelum was driven slightly mad and abandoned his alliance with Micah, which Micah had treasured greatly. Seeing that the Pretenders had been laid low, Micah sought to ascend to his rightful place peacefully, but was prevented from doing so by the mad leaders of Ulm, Marignon, and Caelum, while the brave Utgard and Midgard leaders honored the rightful God and stuck by him, for which they shall be forever honored.

War was declared, years passed, and Bogarus rampaged through the sites of power in the world, conquering one after the other and driving the forces of her enemies before her, before finally the opposing leaders saw the futility of their opposition and yielded to Bogarus. Micah, weary and saddened by the additional bloodshed, was then finally allowed to rest.

[Ironhawk]

Huzzah! Artifacts has ended. My greatest and most terrible accomplishment in game hosting ever inflicted on the world of dom :)

Congrats, Micah!!

[WraithLord]

The most terrible thing about clamming is that the added income is hidden. If that were to change I'd have no problem with clamming.

Note, I have also eaten from the same honey. I had enough astral income to wish every turn and do more stuff like the occasional summoning of a golem. I have had an even larger earth income. BTW, more than anything else - had the other VPs not been so easy for you to take I'd have cont. fighting. That was what broke my spirit :) not the 1k earth gems lost on failed forge rewrite, nor fear of your armies.
As of artifacts I think I kinda like RAND games better.

I congratulate you (again?) for your victory. Hope to to meet you in a future game though next time I'll be less gullible (hopefully, perhaps as a thumb rule I'll double the gem income the score graphs show you have :D)

[Mithras]

Brilliant the only time Agartha gets mentioned is under my leadership, the I get called incompetant! :P
Congradulations. I'd say I hope to fight you again someday, but I'm not nearly good enough to put up a decent showing.

[Micah]

When the subs happened I had 110 clams and 110 blood stones, and added 3 stones and 6 clams/turn after that...I think I lost a few to Utgard stales and a few Earth Attacks, but you can still do the rough math. I was also spamming juggernauts at the end, so I was up to something like 80 temple checks a turn at dom-10, and adding 10-12 more each turn.

Wraith - If you weren't afraid of my armies why didn't you come fight them? I spent hours on my turn when our NAP broke scripting against a possible third party strike from you at one of Mari's VPs, but you didn't come. Seems you were a bit more scared than you let on, no? I was hoping the juggernauts would take you out before too long though, since actually having to fight you in the trenches wasn't very appealing.

[WraithLord]

Oh, I stood no chance against those numbers.

I didn't come and fight your armies b/c I don't do what's expected of me when/where expected. I like to choose my battles and change my routines. Besides I had a significant amount of my armies busy killing Midgard. Last, when I did last turn I didn't think I'd end-up conceding on the next one :)

so - I didn't throw everything I had at you. I was just probing. Too little, too late, and anyway you had it all planned well and I stood no chance against you.

Feel free to give us more dirty details :D

[Amhazair]

Ooh! Look at that. Game's ended, and over a month ago now. (Gonna still necro the thread a bit to congratulate Micah. Hah!)

Your defense against my attack on you might very well be the best piece of strategy I've faced in my Dominions career thus far, and won you the game. Together with convincing Utgard to join you obviously. But without the stellar defence Utgard would just have been too late to help you, so I still maintain it is that defense that did it for you. :D

Although by the end (by which I mean the end for me, but not yet for you, obviously) actually playing the turns had become a nightmare, I still had great fun on a tactical/stragic level. Pitting my wits against the best the Dominions community had to offer certainly proved a serious challenge and I look forward to giving it another go at some time in the future. Maybe. Someday. If I can work up the courage. Or get me a slave monkey to actually do all the MM stuff while I ponderously ponder deep thoughts...

[quantum_mechani]

Although by the end (by which I mean the end for me, but not yet for you, obviously) actually playing the turns had become a nightmare, I still had great fun on a tactical/stragic level. Pitting my wits against the best the Dominions community had to offer certainly proved a serious challenge and I look forward to giving it another go at some time in the future. Maybe. Someday. If I can work up the courage. Or get me a slave monkey to actually do all the MM stuff while I ponderously ponder deep thoughts...No gem generators is the new standard for vet games, so hopefully that will make future games a little more pleasant MM wise.

[Amhazair]

No gem generators is the new standard for vet games, so hopefully that will make future games a little more pleasant MM wise.
Yeah, just been browsing through some threads to get a tiny little bit upper to date, and saw this mentioned. Have to say I have no objoctions to that. (Except that it's a pitty to loose the potential E boost from blood stones. Can't have everything though, I guess.)