Bazooko: Running

[vfb]

Game Status: Running



Intro: I've got room on my plate for one more game, but it'd better be a little one, and I don't see any of those around. And Tifone's Machiavelli theme looked fun. So without further ado, introducing...


Bazooko (http://www.llamaserver.net/index.cgi)


Age: Early
Mods: CB1.3
Map: SixLands (http://dom3maps.wikidot.com/system:sixlands)
Provinces: 90 Land, 3 Water
Players: 6 (Land only)
Experience: Any
Nations: Any (Except water)

Renaming: Allowed
Graphs: Off
All Other Settings: Default
Host Time: 24hrs

Hosted on: Llamaserver (http://www.llamaserver.net/index.cgi) (Thanks llamabeast!)


Special Note: This map is for six land nations only. It scrolls east-west. Every nation starts in the center of each colored province group.

Really Important Note: The Bazooko Circus Casino is theoretically located in that fabulous city of broken dreams, Las Vegas. So, Vegas rules apply: what happens in Bazooko stays in Bazooko. No-one's reputation will be sullied for any reason (except .2h file hacking). You do not need to abide by NAPs, pacts, alliances, promises, or contracts. You do not even need to complete your end of the deal regarding trades. Example:

"Oh, you wanted a Ring of Wizardry for those 100 pearls? I thought you said Slave Collar. It's pretty much the same shape, right? What? You want the pearls back? Sorry dude, I already crushed them up and snorted them through that rolled up piece of paper you gave me. Huh? That was a NAP? Man, my army is already on the way to your capitol, and my radio's busted. Cannot call them back, buddy!"

So, not much point in putting much faith in NAPs or alliances, and you're taking a chance even when you trade.

Just a Tiny Little Note: If you do decide to take Hinnom, even though there is very little basis for trust in this game, you'll probably still get ganged up on.

Extremely Most Important Note: When you're in Vegas, have fun! And don't get mad if you get backstabbed, get even!


Nations/Players: :up: = uploaded :hurt: = defeated
Marverni :up: (vfb (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=8915))
Ermor :up: (subbed in @turn 55:lwarmonger (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=9523)) (was OmikronWarrior)
Sauromatia :hurt: (jimkehn (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=8903))
Abysia :up: (Toran (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=11020))
Neifelheim :hurt: (lwarmonger (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=9523))
Mictlan :up: (subbed in @turn 25:Zlefin) (was Jazzepi)

[OmikronWarrior]

Not a fan of the early age, but could use a small game. So I'm in. Give me a day to pick a nation, if thats OK. Also, whats the word on server?

[vfb]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that I'll be using the llamaserver. As always, many thanks to llamabeast for providing such an excellent method of hosting games.

[jimkehn]

Sauromatia......who else???

[OmikronWarrior]

OK, I'll take EA Ermor.

[chrispedersen]

Machiavelli increased site frequency to 65% and money 150%.

I had started another thread (same idea)... with 5 players that has not yet made. So is there any chance of doing the same with the site frequency/money? If so I'd like to get in with Mictlan.

PS - only 6 players, I'm not sure you have enough to gang up on hinnom = ).

[vfb]

Sorry, I'd like vanilla settings in this game (except for CBM being on, of course).

[Toran]

Hi - I'd like to get my first MP game under my belt (going to the "loss" pocket, of course :P), so if you don't mind me being absolutely fresh, I'd get onboard as... Abysia.

Not extremely creative, I heard, but it's my first MP game.

If you're feeling nice, just behave like the AI :angel

Nah, I'd love to play against someone that doesn't run his forces against PD all the time ;)

[vfb]

Welcome to the Bazooko Circus, Toran!

Since this is your first MP game, here's a link about how to upload your god to the llamaserver:

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=35160

[lwarmonger]

I also can take on one more game... so long as it is small. I'd be happy to take Neifelheim.

[vfb]

Great! One spot left ...

[Jazzepi]

I shouldn't even join this, but I haven't gotten to play in a game with vfb since I tried to crush him in Kingmaker1 and he bashed my face in for like infinite turns.

I'm in.

Jazzepi

[vfb]

Ha ha ha :) I'm still having nightmares about your werewolf horde!

Jazzepi, can you please post which race you want?

We're ready to email gods to the LLamaserver (http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=Bazooko) now. Send your wanna-be gods in to pretenders at llamaserver dot net.

Everyone please remember to enable the CB1.3 mod (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=39679) when creating your pretender.

[Jazzepi]

Well /I/ have nightmares about my retarded Volvas, or whatever they're called, and their inability to land more than one dust to dust during a fight.

I should have gone with astral fires :O

But I was a nub.

Jazzepi

[Jazzepi]

Mictlan. Already uploaded the God.

Jazzepi

[vfb]

I see your nub and raise you an "I was a total N00B without a plan". :)

[Toran]

Deedum. Waiting for the last pretender now... mine probably sucks big time, but then I don't know my nation as well (most probably the excuse of any newbie, but still valid :p).

Ah, "knowing" - I've gone through quite a few FAQs etc, but if you guys talk ingame to each other - is it usually done per forums PM (game PM is just for style probably due to 1 turn delay..), or is there a "secret site" holding the email adresses of the players available (for other players) on the llamaserver?

Other than that, same as Vegas, Bazooko needs its heating turned up quite a bit. I vote for setting 3, any objections?

Addition:
Since this is your first MP game, here's a link about how to upload your god to the llamaserver:

http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=35160

Yep, it seems it worked, since Abysia's listed on the server now.
But after more than half an hour there's no confirmation email for me. Nope, it's not stuck in my spam filter (at least not on my computer), is there a way to make the game server send a test mail?

I know it's (probably) nothing specific to the game, rather the server, but I'm still asking here...

[vfb]

The "pretender received" confirmation emails on llamaserver aren't working at the moment (everything else is).

So, don't worry, you're fine!

Just waiting for the Nief god now...

[lwarmonger]

Posted... sorry about the wait, the day of a PL is rather long.

[vfb]

No problem! The game has started.

Have fun everyone!

P.S. What's a PL?

[lwarmonger]

Platoon Leader.

[vfb]

:eek:

An Ill Omen hits Marverni's capitol, and who gets cursed? Ol' Snake Eyes himself. :(

[Toran]

Well, better take it as an omen then? ;)

BTW, regarding my former question - is ingame communication usually done per forums PM, or....?

[vfb]

Yes, forums personal message is usual. Of course, if anyone prefers that you email them, then they will tell you.

Please be careful you don't post a "visitor message" by accident instead of a "private message". Everyone can read the "visitor messages".


And mucho thanks for doing 2 turns in a row, Abysia! The game always flows much faster when the last nation to submit a turn does 2 in a row.

[Toran]

You mean those "let's backstab X, I faked a NAP to him" don't belong into the public parts of the forum.... strange.

But THX, I've never seen a forum using those "visitor messages", might have misclicked by chance.

[vfb]

Well, it has happened, I've clicked on a user profile for more info and seen visitor messages like this!

please feel free to take as many provinces as you can. I'm going down and don't want mict to get them all. The most excelent gateway 50% discount on conjuration is in the northern wastes.

[Toran]

Ah, what I wanted to ask - I've never seen those crowns on the map, and they weren't there when I was checking the map myself...

Can anyone tell me what they mean?

[vfb]

In MP games the crowns show up whether or not victory point conditions are on or off.

The crowns mark victory point provinces. When victory point conditions are off (like this game), the crowns don't have any effect except to act as a half-strength temple, for dominion-spread purposes only.

There is a very slight advantage to grabbing those crown provinces, because it'll help increase your dominion.

[Toran]

Ah, ok - I know, basic question, but I had never found those in my test games. Was even wondering if I had missed a mod that was used ;)

[vfb]

There seems to be some confusion relating to the high regard the judges of the hall of fame hold for the esteemed Snake Eyes. This is not at all undeserved!

May we present the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla, the Immortal One, the Big Bomb Himself ... Snake Eyes!!!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w148/vfb_dominions/phoenix.jpg

[Toran]

Looks... rather ...snaky to me, yep...

Nah, what I meant was why there are so many grave symbols next to that poor creature of pain? Can anyone enlighten me (Abysia provides the fire) on what they mean?

[vfb]

Looks... rather snaky to mee, yep.

Nah, what I meant was why there are so many grave symbols next to that poor creature of pain? Can anyone enlighten me (Abysia provides the fire) on what they mean?

He's immortal. He keeps dying. Lots. Lots and lots and lots. In CB, the Phoenix starts battle with the Phoenix Pyre spell active.

[Toran]

Yay, okay, I got that immortal part so far ;), but even if you died once every turn (you'd have to try really hard, wouldn't you? ;)), there's more grave symbols than just that.

That's what I was asking for... what does that number mean exactly?

[vfb]

Oh, Snake Eyes has died more than once a turn. He's on a funky radical bombtrack. Burn, burn, yes ya gonna burn!

Oh wait ... Abysia likes burning. :(


(Anyway, with Phoenix Pyre up, if you are killed, then you are resurrected on the battlefield with extra fatigue. When you run out of fatigue, then you die for real. Except when immortals die for real in their own dominion, they don't die, they just get sent home. There is a tendency to pick up a few afflictions here and there though. Especially if you were minding your own business doin' a little readin' in the library, and all of the sudden the light of a baleful star shines through the window and curses you for life.)

[Toran]

Ah, ok. Thanks for the explanation!

Well, that's my "problem", not knowing *every* spell by heart yet ;)

(Hm, should we call both our pretenders together and just let them cast fire spells on each other? Will take a while, probably the infantry will decide the game then *g* [Nah, I know that a Phoenix doesn't have *only* Fire magic...]).

[vfb]

Oh crap, well my stupid bird has gone and perma-died inside my own dominion. Seems he decided to clone himself and appear on the battlefield in two locations at once. Simultaneously. Silly plan, because it's impossible, and it caused him to vanish in a puff of logic. And my priests can now "call god", which is never a good sign.

I NED A REHOST!111!!!1111 (kidding :))

In other news a bunch of monkeys ran through our town and snagged one of our flags. So if you see some monkeys messing about in your neck of the woods, possibly carrying the flag of Marverni, we didn't do it.

[Jazzepi]

Oh crap, well my stupid bird has gone and perma-died inside my own dominion. Seems he decided to clone himself and appear on the battlefield in two locations at once. Simultaneously. Silly plan, because it's impossible, and it caused him to vanish in a puff of logic. And my priests can now "call god", which is never a good sign.

I NED A REHOST!111!!!1111 (kidding :))

In other news a bunch of monkeys ran through our town and snagged one of our flags. So if you see some monkeys messing about in your neck of the woods, possibly carrying the flag of Marverni, we didn't do it.

I demand a replay.

Jazzepi

[vfb]

Oh, you troublemaker!

Besides, the monkeys are long gone, and we didn't get it on tape. You'll just have to trust us. Honest.

[Toran]

While the Marverni priests are busy praying for the return of the smoldering "Snake Eyes", Abysia wants to announce the new "Museum of Sauromatian archology" opened in Abysia.

In the opening exposition, the main piece is an ancient Sauromatian cyclops arm.

Some remaining magic can still be sensed in it, but it will also serve as an everlasting "Don't mess with Abysia - they bite" sign.

On a side note, rumours must be rejected that Abysian cooks would be busy designing recipes for "Roasted cyclops beef".

[Toran]

(please excuse that typo causing eye cancer - it should be the "Museum of Sauromatian archAEology" of course. But edit time limit is set to 30min, so I couldn't change it any longer).

The arm is still lookin' great there ;)

[vfb]

Meanwhile Marverni's wind of blades has put rest to the troglodyte invaders who caused our beloved, stupid, Snake Eyes to vanish from the space-time continuum.

We will be cooking up some of our famous Cuisses de Trogs au Beurre et Ail.

[jimkehn]

HAHAHAHA!!!! Damn!! Good thing you posted....I hadn't even noticed!!!!!

Now......where did I hide that fairy queen to heal the arm back on???

8-)

[jimkehn]

Banner, the Cyclops Pretender wishes to express his deepest desire that the Abysians break their teeth on his arm which is made of rock!!!

We would also like to publicly thank Abysia for the flames that fell from the skies......without which the annual Androphag weenie roast would have had to have been cancelled due to wet kindling in the swamp province.

[vfb]

Marverni has reclaimed the land of the Hobbits, which Sauromatia stole from us long ago.

They really do not care what color of grass they live on. Plus they were getting tired of being flayed and eaten every Sunday.

[Toran]

*ahem*

Lava heart, director of the "Museum of Sauromatian archaeology" of Abysia, is not able to express how fortunate it feels.

"Look, in the past decades, we have been happy to find even traces of Sauromatian 'civilization', like cave paintings and stone axes. It was hard work, but this way we have been able to prove that Sauromatians actually can walk on two legs and are not just mindless animals as science assumed years ago.

But just recently we were lucky to get an arm of a real Sauromatian cyclops idol! You know, they build those to give some shadow in hot summers, and to threaten their children..... we could not believe we got a part of such a relevant item!

But when our new recruits went out on patrol yesterday, learning to march in formations etc, they stumbled upon an almost complete Sauromatian cyclops! Of course they picked it up after disassembling it for easier transport, and since today morning, people can visit us to get a look at a complete Sauromatian cyclops, as found in nature, including the helpless pose!"

[jimkehn]

......and don't forget the surprised expression on his face!!!!

[vfb]

The Hobbits of Holoma have told us such tales of woe that Marverni cannot stand idly by while the cannibals of Sauromatia terrorize the people of the land.

Those who live under the flag of Banner take heart, for Marverni runs to your rescue!

[Jazzepi]

I'm leaving for Germany today.

Could we switch over to 48 hours no quick host? That would make things much easier for me on my trip.

Jazzepi

[Toran]

Well, even though I love to play on, I don't want to play with just 83% of the players participating, so I'd like to give Jazzepi the time he needs to submit his turns (so, I'm all for it).

Of course, you could just come over here to me (in Germany) and make your turn on my computer, no problem with that ;)

@ vfb: Since this is an example of the features sugessted to llama - he said he would integrate them, but not right now, since he's not working on the server atm. But it's on a to-do list now...

[jimkehn]

Yeah.....let's wait for Jazzepi

[vfb]

I'll switch it now ... okay, 48 hrs, no quickhost.

Please PM if you need an additional extension.

By the way, this is a really great group! Fast turns, and lotsa action.

P.S. Jazzepi, have fun over there!

[Toran]

Hm. After several turns of playing, and even after thorough manual studying, I haven't found out how I can get that montly earth gem income from a cyclops corpse.

The turn I killed it the game stated it would be good for 183 earth gems, extraction time depending on the level of Earth magic for the extractor. Now I don't get that "Extract gems" command.

It's probably "just a bug", but can anyone of you just send a naked pretender over to me so I can try to reproduce that one?

[vfb]

Sorry, mine blew up. There's a bunch of fire gems parked in the grass from that incident, but now I've got no fire mages to peek around looking for them. Maybe later in the game you could pay Marverni a visit and help me look?

[jimkehn]

Toran.....you have to know the magic words!!!



And I'm not tellin....cuz once those earth gems are extracted, his essence is gone and I won't be able to call him back!!!!

[jimkehn]

Hey, VFB, you could let this turn run?? Looks like Jazzepi has his turn in.

[Toran]

Of course he could, but if he did not, the next due turn for jazzepi would be just in 64h, while a "manual quick host" now would make it due in 48 hours.

[jimkehn]

Wouldn't matter, Toran because if auto host is turned off, the game won't host until vfb manually hosts it. In the meantime we all could have our turns. VFB wouldn't have to host it again til Jazzepi says he's back.

But.....matters not to me if we wait. I'm almost dead, anyway!!!!

8^)

[Toran]

Ah, I thought it'd just host once the 48h are over, and quickhost would make it autohost even earlier once all turns are in...

(Of course I'd love to get the next turn as well, and rather wait longer THEN than just waiting NOW *g*)

[OmikronWarrior]

Usually, in a game I run when a player is going to be occupied (moving, vacation, etc.), I just turn the timer off, but certainly not the quick host. Anything else just strikes me as... less than ideal.

[vfb]

I want to see the turn too! :)

But Jazzepi asked for 48 hrs, no quick-host, and no-one objected before he left. Now he's gone, so I don't want to change it until he's back in contact, sorry.

I'll probably start another game on this map, MA, later today. That'll help pass the time. :D

[jimkehn]

OK...let's wait, then. Can I join, since 3 of ya ganged up on me and kilt me so quick??

[vfb]

Okay, I'll put you in as reserved.

Hey, no mixing propaganda in with non-game-related matters! :)

Marverni only took back the land of the Hobbits that had been stolen from us, based on some ridiculous concepts of exterior decorating. And we believe it was Sauromatia itself that initiated hostilities against the Abysians, leaving the Sauromatian borderlands bereft of leadership and benevolent guidance. And the Hobbits desired a small buffer around their province because they were afraid of being flayed some more.

Marverni

[jimkehn]

But.....
but.....
it was our birthday presents

[vfb]

Ha ha ha :D

[lwarmonger]

And to be fair, the only reason you got attacked by three sides at once was because you were trying to double team Abysia.

[jimkehn]

Double team??? Was another nation attacking Abysia when I was????

[Toran]

Pah, do you think you would have managed to get past the first province if I could have focussed on you?

I would have rather asked then for a second pretender sent in so you even had a chance ;)

[jimkehn]

HAHAHAHA!!!!

Well at least you were only fighting two!!! Had I been but fighting two, perhaps I could have held ground!!!!!

<nah>

8^)

[Toran]

.. in order to hold ground, it often helps (of course..) to have your army in your territory, and not on tour through enemy provinces.... :p

[jimkehn]

Well....you hit the nail on the head. I was just "touring". Not actually trying to......uh......"take over" your lands!!! Just sight seeing as it were.

[lwarmonger]

Other nations tend to frown upon you coming in and eying the virgins. "Mothers lock up your daughters" and whatnot.

[jimkehn]

"Eying Virgins????"

Cylops can't eye virgins!!! They have only one eye, and need to watch where they are going with IT!!!!!

Besides......in all of Abysia......there ARE no virgins!!

[Toran]

Two points -

a) Your cyclops eying virgins... that might explain his behaviour, doesn't it..? I mean, of course it's absolutely understandable how even a pretending wannabe pretender might fall for the lovely Abysian virgins - they are really hot!!

b) There are virgins in Abysia. At least technically. Of course, once the reproductive cycle has started, virginity is ..lost, but virgins are used for religous purposes as well, you know? After all, the lovely hot juice flowing through their venes is useful for several magic rituals...

[lwarmonger]

Indeed, copulating with said virgins strikes the Giants of Niefelheim as a rather painful experience. Therefore one of the primary traditional reasons behind warfare has gone out the window.

Not looking where he was going strikes our Jarl's as probably one of the reasons why the aforementioned Cyclops is no longer among the living though.

[jimkehn]

HAHAHAA!!!

These flame wars have gone too far!!!

[vfb]

I've added some time to the timer (postponed 12hrs) because Jazzepi is still MIG.

Sorry Toran, you're the only one who didn't make it into Smack I think. Can you hold on while we wait for Jazzepi? I think he said he'd be gone a week or something like that.

[Toran]

vfb, I had been waiting for your "Smack" game, but unfortunately it was set up/started at an "unhealthy time" (just in terms of day time - all slots were filled half an hour after I actually got up that day... grmbl *g*), so I didn't make it.

Well, I will just have to wait. Not much I could do otherwise, there's no point for me in punishing a player that's taking a bit longer once in a while.

If he was doing that every time under a regular schedule, sure, I would mind waiting. But this way... I will just have to remind him of doubling his tribute payments next turn.

[vfb]

Oh no, sorry to hear that! :(

I may get killed in Collider soon, and then I'll need another small LA game. If so, I'll book you a spot!

[vfb]

Jazzepi has been found :) but unfortunately is unable to do his turns.

I think he's back in less than a week, so I'd just like to postpone the game until he gets back. Please let me know if you've got any objections.

[Toran]

Yeah,
I have objections, make him pay for my methadone until he returns...
where am I supposed to get my immediate fix now?

Grmbl.... (yep, of course wait)

[Toran]

Lalala... of course I could be happy now that our game would have stalled anyway due to jazzepi's hunt for Germany's darkest secrets....

but then, I'm just sure that he has kidnapped llamabeast to mask his delay, since he wants to avoid increased tribute.

Tadah, evil plan exposed...

[Jazzepi]

I stuffed him into a closet in Berlin.

I'm back now, so whenever the server stops puking fire and e-mails we can continue :)

Jazzpei

[vfb]

Great! Hope you had a lot of fun on your trip.

I haven't seen anything from the llamaserver yet on this game, and the main game status page on the llamaserver still just has the "unhappy" message. So I don't know when it'll be hosting.

[Toran]

Hi, great that you're back, I'm looking forward to continuing my first MP game. Please ask vfb for my therapist's bill, had to go there due to withdrawal effects.

As for the llamaserver - the message hasn't changed, but he posted at http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showpost.php?p=650294&postcount=74 :

Anyway, I've got it running on a different computer now, so the only problem is that it seems to have got itself in a bit of a state before it crashed, so it needs some nursing back to health. I'm off climbing tonight, so I will try to get it all sorted tomorrow morning. It'll be a relief to get it back on its feet!

So, probably one week to wait....

[Toran]

So... with the llamserver back supposedly, what about sending in the final turn files to get our lil' game kicking again?

Dang, after all that time unserviced, that cyclops starts to rot a bit. Should have taken care a bit more, it's only eye is starting to turn blind. Well, it would have been on the Abysian virgins anyway...

Edit: With the trouble mentioned by vfb in other threads, maybe give it a check before. I sent in my turn file this morning, even got a confirmation, but the game page isn't updating at all..... dee-dum.

[jimkehn]

That's the problem with eating cyclopses in warm climates. The meat goes bad so quickly.

[vfb]

I don't think we need to resend our turns, but it can't hurt. Plus we need a turn from Mictlan still.

[Toran]

Yeah, my post was directed mostly at Jazzepi, is he still recovering from all that beer in Berlin?

The rest of my post was just for motivational fun, to make other nations send their pretenders over (please, unescorted) as well for exposition purposes.

[jimkehn]

I sent my Smack turn in two hours ago, but have not received confirmation. I think the server still has a bit of a fever.

[vfb]

It looks fixed now.

I've set the deadline for Bazooko to 07:55 GMT on Sunday November 9th.

I've left quickhost off in case anyone resubmitted their turn while the llamaserver was insane. If you did, please submit your most recent turn before it hosts, thanks!

[vfb]

Admin:

We're just waiting for Mictlan (Jazzepi).

Quickhost is now on, so whenever he gets his turn in, the game will host.

The deadline is 23:55 GMT on Monday November 10th. Sorry to have repeatedly extended it, but there were the problems with the llamaserver, and then the forums were down.

The llamaserver and forums seem fine now, so I won't make any further adjustments to the timer or quickhost unless I get a PM from someone. I've PMed Jazzepi twice now with no response.

Hopefully he'll be able to do this turn. But if Mictlan stales twice I will just set them to AI, since I don't think anyone is going to want to take them over right in the middle of being invaded (or counter-attacked) by the giants.

[lwarmonger]

The peaceloving giants of the Democratic Republic of Niefelheim are merely responding to Mictlan's imperialist aggression.

[lwarmonger]

The Niefel Jarls continue their advance.

[vfb]

I was going to set Mictlan AI, but Zlefin has kindly volunteered to fight the giant hordes.

Zlefin is the new Mictlan. Thanks Zlefin!

[jimkehn]

Gentlemen.....my internet at home is fritzy and I don't know how long it will take to get it fixed. I may or may not get it working again this afternoon. I will try and keep up to date one way or another, if I have to make a trip to my daughter's house to mooch off of her internet. Please be patient.

[vfb]

Admin: I've changed the hosting interval to 96 hrs while Jim gets his internet fixed. Please try to get your turns in earlier if possible. Quickhost is still on.

[Toran]

Hm, I have checked the game status page, and it says turn 26 was hosted (so 27 is recent).

But I did get no email from the server - I then let the server resend the turn, and got turn 27. Is everything ok that way, should I use that turn file, or is something fishy?

EDIT: Forget about it. I must have come online right when the game was hosted. Now guess the probability.... happy slaying!

[vfb]

Hooray! The spectators in Pranda witnessed an extremely close victory of the Marverni forces over a huge Sauromatian army! Sauromatia fled the field of battle, and the Druids held the day.

Well, in the battle replay Marverni won. Does that count? Guess not. :(

How about you Jim, when you watch the battle, does Sauromatia win or run away?

[Toran]

vfb, you didn't write it, but was the actual ingame result a Sauromatian win? It's not fully clear from your posting...

[vfb]

Yeah yeah yeah ... the battle results say Sauromatia won, and they've got the province now. It's the price I pay for not using overwhelming odds :). It could have gone either way, really.

[lwarmonger]

It would appear that Sauromatia lost on the replay, but won on the strategic map?

[vfb]

Oh, did you have a scout in on the action? Marverni pundits have voted for that fight as our "most entertaining battle of the year" and given it top marks in the "brains crushed and splattered" category.

[jimkehn]

VFB and Toran....Indeed the results say that I won the province that was previously held by Marverni. However.....watching the battle replay from the Goodyear Blimp, Clearly, Marverni held the field in the end and nary a Sauromation was to be found. Not sure how that happened????

[Toran]

I have not watched this battle at all, however, there's several postings/threads about this happening.

Quintessence is - suck it up, take the battle view as an entertaining movie and live with the consequences the map shows.. :/

[lwarmonger]

Congratulations Sauromatia! Getting jumped by two players while attacking a third, you needed some luck.

[vfb]

Sauromatia was not jumped by Marverni!

We merely reclaimed territory on our border that Sauromatia had taken from us. Since the dispute was ongoing, Marverni had no choice but to acquire strategic positions from which to defend ourselves from further aggression.

[jimkehn]

lwarmonger...if it were but two. Don't forget Marignon's courageous assault by his single spy. So....it seems I am at war with 4 nations total. Never mind that Marignon fields an Army of One. It was still a 4 nation Cabal. Who can prevail???

[lwarmonger]

No doubt Marvarni felt that the best forward positions were in the ruins of Sauromatia's capital?

As for Sauromatia, you seem very down that four nations have piled on you. That isn't the Sauromatian way! You should be joyous that such a fine source of skin and food is coming to you, instead of you having to go find them!

[Toran]

lwarmonger...if it were but two. Don't forget Marignon's courageous assault by his single spy.

Aaaaahhh, please don't mix Bazooko and Methadone games! I know that many of you are playing in more than just two games, but for me, two games is enough, and I have to do a sanity check every time I want to contact one of you so it's about the right game... :)

[vfb]

Unless the giants have cleverly put on some Marignon disguises, he is only being counter-attacked by Abysia and Marverni, and attacked by Ermor. Except if Ermor's attack is also a counter-attack... who knows! Sauromatia may have tried an early "rush everyone" strategy.

In Marverni's case, we were clearly the victim of Sauromatian aggression which was based on discriminatory foliage colorisms.

[jimkehn]

Our Lizard kings did it. They are notoriously color blind.

PS...thanks for smacking me back to reality, Toran. You are right...I am in 4 games, 3 of which are on the same map with essentially the same players. Hard to keep it all straight.

[lwarmonger]

Lol... yeah, I have found myself getting confused on more than one occasion.

[jimkehn]

SEEE!!!!!! I did it again!!!!! Lizard Kings???? Too much Doors music, I guess. Witch Kings, Dammit....Witch Kings!!!!!

Sheesh.

No wonder I always lose.....plus the fact everyone in the world attacks me.

Jeez....I wouldn't even BE paranoid if everyone weren't against me!!!

[vfb]

There I was, thinking you had alchemized all your gems and wished for a lizard king :).

[lwarmonger]

SEEE!!!!!! I did it again!!!!! Lizard Kings???? Too much Doors music, I guess. Witch Kings, Dammit....Witch Kings!!!!!

Sheesh.

No wonder I always lose.....plus the fact everyone in the world attacks me.

Jeez....I wouldn't even BE paranoid if everyone weren't against me!!!

The key is to gang up on everyone else first (by the way, I heard everyone else talking badly about you... not me though, I would never do that).

Oh, and a little subtle propaganda never hurts. Then there is the tried and true method of talking someone into backstabbing someone else, then backstabbing them. Always fun!

[lwarmonger]

Not that I would ever practise such tactics (well, I've only done that once... and that was because said backstabber who I backstabbed had grabbed some of my land!)

[jimkehn]

Who in the world would ever talk bad things about ME?????

8^D

[OmikronWarrior]

Who in the world would ever talk bad things about ME?????

8^D

From my perspective (Ermor), the worst thing said about you was your nation pick. Sauromatia is considered an EA power, so when an opportunity came up I grabbed it.

[jimkehn]

Yeah....I think Sauromatia is fun to play. A lot of options.

Heck, it's just a game, I don't take this stuff personal and I don't carry things from one game to the next. Each game stands on its own.

[lwarmonger]

Lol... yeah, look at me in Methadone... LA Ermor was jumped by first two, then three nations... and on a map that small, I was barely a match for one of those nations.

[vfb]

LA Ermor should know it will be attacked early. The other players would be foolish not to. And 15 provinces per nation is not small, it is average at least.

[lwarmonger]

Oh I was aware. Unfortunately I let myself be distracted by Man... I should have continued to focus on you.

[jimkehn]

Hrumph.....Are you saying Man is no match?????

8^)

[vfb]

It's bad enough playing 3 games on the same map with the same people ... let's talk about Methadone in the Methadone thread, okay?

Apologies for contributing to the confusion!

[jimkehn]

.......And in the end, not only was Banner's Arm cooked....so was his goose!!!

[jimkehn]

Well, vfb, I'm glad I am not the only one who does this!!!!

At least I have now eliminated ONE game from my repertoire.

[vfb]

Admin: Hosting delayed 24hrs because of llamaserver problems

[vfb]

Admin: Hosting delayed until 06:45 GMT on Tuesday December 2nd.

The game is still on quickhost, so if it hosts I will again delay hosting to December 2nd.

[Toran]

Oh, please forgive me, could not resist to submit my turn ;) - so you'll have to set it againt to delay...

[vfb]

The druids of Marverni are facing a severe economic recession. We have tried to manage this crisis peacefully by lowering the lending rate at the Federal Bank of Mistletoe, to no avail. The only recourse left to use is an expansionary policy based on territorial acquisition.

Niefelheim, you are about to be invaded. Prepare for battle!

-- Marverni

[Toran]

Tststs... the Ermorian diplomat has been served now as roastbeef at the Abysian table - it seems to be the only purpose there was for him, since for sure he wasn't there to handle any diplomatic relations - Ermor doesn't seem to know the least about the habits of politics, it seems.

This was the reason, as well, why we had to ask Thuella, the uber-buffed Queen of Thunder, to leave our backyard again. No visit wihout notification, you know!

[vfb]

Admin: Game postponed until midnight Sat GMT for Nief.

[lwarmonger]

Good to go and turn submitted. Thank you for your patience (not that there is much left to do but die).

[vfb]

Hosting interval set to 120 hours because OmikronWarrior is having PC trouble.

[Toran]

First, hosting schedule: I'll be away from the 20th to 23rd, and from the 25th to the 28th. I'll do my turn in between quickly (even two, if you're fast :p), but would pretty much prefer if there was no hosting without my turn in ;)

Second - I guess I'm free to ask - I got that "A dire portent" message about Ermor casting a spell (is the "dire portent" only about globals?).
I never experienced this one as a player reading about it, so I don't really know which one it is. However, I don't see another Global up except the Eyes of God and my tiny fire gem accumulation spell I just put up - Ermor's spell's description doesn't really sound like EternalPyre to me, so ...? Can anyone enlighten me what's been cast this month...?

[vfb]

Admin: I'll leave hosting at 120 hours for now, and if it looks like anyone's about to stale, I'll extend by another 120 hours. Hopefully we'll play a bit more than that, but if not, I'll survive. :) I thought of taking a chance and setting the hosting interval to 0, and seeing if that just left the game on quickhost with no timer, but I'm worried it will just make the llamaserver host the game immediately with no-one's turn in.

Back to the game:

First, Nief's castle is full of all kinds of interesting surprises, and there should be some entertaining battles there for anyone with scouts in the area. Go bog beasts!

Marverni saw two dire portents this month, the first being that Ermor had acquired a kindling of the fire that fell from the sun, we are all doomed, yada yada yada. The second being that Abysia had acquired a kindling of the fire that fell from the sun, we are all doomed, yada yada yada. So, in an incredible stroke of coincidence, both Abysia and Ermor cast the same global in the same month, and Abysia's Eternal Pyre overpowered Ermor's.

[Toran]

Re: Hosting - Thanks. I usually manage to get my turn in in-time, and a day just in between should be enough.

Niefelheim: Abysian special forces deny any knowledge of certain unknown uber-buffed ice devils that could attack Niefelheim.

Global: Ah, ok, so that one really belongs to EternalPyre. I wasn't really expecting this coincidence, and the description sounded a bit off.

Ehm, greetings to Ermor, you wouldn't think that Abysia doesn't have enough Fire gems to stuff into that spell to make it invulnerable to dispelling? (@ vfb: Well, not as invulnerable as a certain AC casting...) I mean, it basically is an Abysian spell ;)
We just thought "either we're dead in 10 turns, then it doesn't matter if we lose 200 gems right now, or we are still around then, then it'll start to pay off." :p

[lwarmonger]

Lol... glad my "army of whatever I have the ability and gems to summon" is proving to be an interesting match for you. :P

[Toran]

Shhhh! The way you put it doesn't sound as if all your summonings had been thoughtful, towards the ultimate strategy!

Better restate your sentence, into sth. like "Yes, interesting it will be - the perfect way to utterly defeat a Marverni aggressor - you will be surprised, but not see the third turn of battle!".....

[Toran]

Hm... I would have been able to submit another turn, but it seems that Ermor was soooo x-massy that it wasn't able to get its turn done. See you on 28th..?

Toran out.

[vfb]

OmikronWarrior needs a new PC for Xmas I think. Hope Santa gave him something nice. :)

[Toran]

Dee-dum... of course I've read your note about his PC troubles etc - but I'm on "turkey" again now :)
With my "Methadone (TM)" out, I neeeeed a substitute - OmikronWarrior, come back, the other game I'm in is just tooooo many players to be fast... tststs.... :)

[vfb]

Hope you are enjoying your cold Xmas turkey Toran. :D

OmikronWarrior just PM'ed me, and he has a new laptop, and he's trying to get dom running on it now.

[OmikronWarrior]

Good News! Laptop works and Dominions is installed!

Bad News! Haven't gotten the internet to work on it yet. I'll try again tomorrow, at which point I'll need to download maps and patches and turn files again. However, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Toran]

@ vfb: Ah, right, memo to Toran - they say "cold turkey" in English ;)

@OmikronWarrior: Great. Some advance finally, seems it pays off I bribed Mr. Santa. Hope the lighted tunnel offers sufficient bandwidth for your downloads, and finally turn uploads :p

[lwarmonger]

Assassination! Perhaps not literally as in the assassination mission, however it was assassination nonetheless! Other gods won't stand for deicide vfb!

[vfb]

I like how your castle guards dropped a big boulder on my assassin's head as he was just about to escape though. :D

[Toran]

.. I guess this is why people say "Either put no astral on your pretender, or loads of it.." ? But yep, I liked the rocks as well :p

[lwarmonger]

I was working on it... I have next to nothing for my clam farms to use those gems for without astral on my pretender (or on someone else... I figured why not my pretender?), so I started using the pearls to empower him... unfortunately I didn't get very high before what we are now calling "the treacherous backstabbing yokels unfortunately successful offensive."

[vfb]

The remaining nations of the land should disregard the latest propaganda broadcast from the Niefelheim capitol. Marverni publicly made lame excuses for war against Niefelheim prior to our attack. There was no treachery or backstabbing involved. We do admit to a fair amount of yokels taking part though!

Our economy is now much improved, and we have no need for further expansion. I would hope to receive courtesy similar to that which I extended to Niefelheim, should other nations set their hungry eyes on my lands.

[vfb]

Several druids and one Ice Devil perished in the taking of Niefelheim's fortress this month. Charging forward with some quick units is a good counter to Gifts from Heaven, poor Nycafor never knew what hit him. I thought Gifts from Heaven would target the large giants, but unfortunately for me all the druids aimed at the shade beasts and winter wolves on the front lines.

Good game, lwarmonger!

[lwarmonger]

Indeed, good game! Shame I didn't adjust tactics fast enough, but now I know!

[vfb]

Admin: 48hrs added to the turn timer because of a turn mixup.

[Toran]

Hehe. Well, better than a stale, but we need this one to finally complete. I mean, I have prepared already several hundred magma caves for the final resting of my people, so....

[OmikronWarrior]

For those of you who haven't noticed, I'm pretty consistently the last one to submit his turn. My work has kept me pretty busy lately, and though I'm at peace in both this and Smack, it still takes me so long. So, I've asked for a sub for this game. Iwarmonger has he's good for it, but is going on vacation or something in three weeks. I just wanted to get everyone's opinion.

I still plan on taking turns in Smack, as among other things I'm writing the definitive Pythium guide right now.

[vfb]

Can lwarmonger sub for 3 weeks in that case, and give the position back to you when he goes on vacation?

I don't mind if he subs in, even though Nief got eliminated by Marverni. I think he'll play the position fairly.

[OmikronWarrior]

I just checked the response again. Apparently, he'll be gone a month, which is no mere vacation. I could pick the game back up again, but I'd rather not as I'm likely to be even busier by then. I'll put out a general request for a sub, if nothing else comes up, then I'll pass the game to Iwarmonger and hope for the best, and maybe ask for longer timers if I have to start taking turns, especially if a war erupts.

[lwarmonger]

Yeah, I'll be in the field at NTC for about a month, either way I'll be gone from 8 February to 10 March. I'm fine filling in until then, but you're just going to have to look for another sub at that point anyways.

[vfb]

Well, we can just put Smack on hold while you're gone, right? It's just you me and OmikronWarrior in that game.

So maybe OmikronWarrior can keep playing Bazooko, and we put Smack on a longer timer or something, and resume it when you're back.

[OmikronWarrior]

Well, it would appear no one is volunteering, so I suggest we give my Ermor to Iwarmonger. I'll keep playing Smack, and we'll worry about the Iwarmonger's schedule come Feb. If necessary, I'll resume Ermor in Bazooko, and maybe a sub can be found for him by then for Smack. Do I need to email him the turn, or can he just request it?

[vfb]

You can email him the current turn, but:

lwarmonger, please PM your email address to me (I thought I had it, but I guess not), so I can switch Ermor to your account.

I've postponed the current hosting by 48 hours.

[vfb]

I've updated the email address. Welcome back to the game, lwarmonger, and thanks for subbing.

[lwarmonger]

No problem... from the looks of things it is now Ermor, Abysia, Marverni and an almost defeated Mictlan.

[vfb]

Has Ermor heard news from the land of Mictlan? Has the Abysian tide turned against them?

The nation had been abandoned, given up in despair as Abysia invaded from the West and Niefelheim attacked from the East. But a new King of Mictlan emerged, and with cunning stunts he drove the giants from his lands, and then set his sights on the Abysian invaders, who are still locked in a fierce battle with the jungle dwellers. Last I heard, anyway.

Meanwhile, still recovering from a punishing final battle with the Niefel giants, Marverni's druids sit in their groves and tend to their wounded.

[Toran]

The nation had been abandoned, given up in despair as Abysia invaded from the West and Niefelheim attacked from the East.

Well, we must correct this propaganda, probably stemming from the opium smokers in the wet jungles of Mictlan....

Mictlan had attacked Abysia in the beginning, laying its greedy eyes on the beautiful magma streams that make up our lovely country and eying at the wonderful luscious Abysian virgins (I won't re-post a picture, vfb :p). It was then that Abysia repelled their initial attack & took care of a certain rampaging cyclops when we decided that it was time to turn the tide against Mictlan when our cease fire with them had run out. Niefelheim had already retreated from Mictlan lands, so it was a true 1vs1 fight where we got locked somehow, correct.

But the unexperienced Abysian general has been replaced, and so we can proudly announce that "Cyclops Beaf (TM)" is served from "Hot Stone(r) (TM)" from now on, freshly roasted. Not that Mictlan would be beaten completely, but at least we showed them how to serve their god (OOC: I *love* English for the ambiguity in this word :p).

[lwarmonger]

Ermor does not enter the quarrels of demons. The unwashed barbarian masses on our borders also engender our disgust. We wash our hands of all of you!

[Toran]

The Lobby of Abysian Virgin Interests heavily protests against the Marverni incursions on our territory, even without any prior declaration of war on us!

Our cooks were just celebrating the de-petrification of the Mictlan idol when hellish forces entered our realm, without being asked for! Obviously, the attack on a minor nation through one of the two remaining super powers in the world of Six Lands indicates the new low moral standard which seems to be common in Marverni these times, so we hereby demand support from our brethren in Methadone and the import of the army of 127 devils!

(Pah, coward! There's a whole Ermor empire around, and you take on the lowly Abysians? :p)

[vfb]

Marverni is responding to a Raging Hearts in our capitol last month, with a small punitive measure against the most likely culprit. Such retaliatory strikes are permitted under the code of the Menhir and the Mistletoe.

It's not like you lost any armies or anything!

-- Marverni

[Toran]

The Abysian ambassador is hurt deeply by this unjustified accusation which is absolutely wrong.

The Abysian army is busy defending against Mictlan aggressors and doesn't need to dabble with Fire magic on nature druids. As you can conclude from the lab journals your rampaging forces have found in our wizards' towers, no rituals have ever been cast against Marverni provinces.

So, how do your Forces Of Evil (TM) now justify their aggression against peace loving magma slurpers?

If you retreat this month, we will not demand the immediate surrender of your demonish thugs to the court of the United Nations of Six Lands.

[lwarmonger]

Does this "small punitive measure" perhaps involve the annexation of Abysia?

[vfb]

No, not at all. Marverni has well enough land for our comforts. But we cannot sit idly by while our helpless fair maidens in our capitol are ravaged by the locals, driven mad by the spells of the Abysians.

We are conducting a snatch-and-grab operation to apprehend the miscreants responsible, and any other deployment of Marverni special forces is just there to provide support and cover. The miscreants will be sentenced and punished appropriately once they are brought safely to the Stone Circle in our capitol.

-- Marverni

[Toran]

If you had checked the evidence you already layed your unholy hands on, you would know that none of your accusations is correct. So it is obvious now that Marverni just wants to attack a peace loving, self-defending nation....

Anyway, can you postpone the hostrun for potentially 24 hours? I've got a date now, and can't predict when I'll be back. ' hope you don't mind these priorities ;), I'll do my turn ASAP once I'm back.

[vfb]

Admin: No problem! The turn is postponed. Have fun on your date. :D

[lwarmonger]

And any territory siezed in the punitive action?

[vfb]

The miscreants have not been located yet. Marverni's support forces are maintaining an open exit corridor for our special forces to retreat through while we conduct our mission. We fully expect Abysia will attempt to sabotage Marverni's efforts to punish the evildoers.

[Toran]

And any territory siezed in the punitive action?

Nope, not really, just about half of the Abysian homelands....

[Toran]

*sigh* Not only were the forces of Abysia uncapable of delivering a final deadly blow to the former Mictlan aggressors, but Marverni troops are rampaging in the lands where milk and magma were flowing in the past.....

But, of course, Abysia will not turn AI (for cowards only :p) but will wait to be killed soon. If anyone's got an explanation why I got two heroes in the two last turns, but none for xxx turns, let me know ;)

[vfb]

Marverni special forces are running around in some sort of three stooges episode. Who is the Abysian poking me in the eyes this month? Larry or Curly?

Marverni needs an optometrist badly!

Unfortunately during our search for the evildoer who has perverted the peaceful residents of Marverni and turned them into raging lunatics, a big decorative fountain in the Abysian capitol was smashed to bits. Such collateral damage is unavoidable in these types of investigations, especially when all of our commandos are running around blindly.

[Incabulos]

lands where milk and magma were flowing in the past.....



mmmm milk of magnesia

Ps love the banter you folks get going in these game threads :D

[vfb]

Oh, what treachery! For all their talk of being civilized, and not entering into the quarrels of demons, the vile Ermorians have joined forces with Abysia to gang up on Marverni. This month they launched several vicious, unjustified sneak attacks on our peaceful people.

Marverni suspects this conspiracy has been growing for some time. Long did the Ermorian nation lay claim to lands of the north, and hint they would be putting an end to the Abysian threat. We see now they are only interested in attacking nations whose special forces have been deployed far into the bowels of enemy territory. Well Ermor, we have more special forces in training, and soon they will be visiting you bowels too!

-- Marverni

[vfb]

Oops, I forgot: the druids of Marverni are very impressed to see an uber-rare Dome of Corruption looming over the Abysian capitol! Desperate measures indeed. We suspect the outlaw miscreant terrorist must be hiding in there. Just turn him over to the authorities, and we can settle this dispute.

-- Marverni

[lwarmonger]

The Ermorian forces are merely launching a preventative action in order to retain the balance of power. Marverni has not been acting in good faith, as their "punitive action" has turned into an attempt at outright annexation of one of the three nations left standing. If they were to merely return all of the territory they have taken from Abysia and give suitable reparations to both Abysia and Ermor to cover certain expenses then Ermor would be content with a return to the status quo.

[vfb]

Hah! A likely excuse for your imperialist aggression.

We were making great progress in our investigations, and we believe that we have located the responsible Abysian terrorist, but he is a wily foe and has thus far evaded apprehension.

But Ermor's attack has been a great setback to Marverni's sincere efforts at ensuring justice. Marverni cannot withdraw from Abysian territory at this time without jeopardizing the entire operation.

-- Marverni

[vfb]

Outside the walls of the besieged capitol of Abysia, Marverni slew two air queens and lost only 7 regular units of our army. Of the Ermorian army that made it to the battle, 9 out of 11 commanders perished.

At the storming of Fenica, Marverni demolished Anthrax and the army he led, with one Gutuater and a few vine men lost.

The 170 Emorian soldiers who were sieging Mapito cliffs also perished.

Marverni has got nearly all the artifacts, the Ice Devils, the Arch Devils, the Helios, and Father Illearth, both Kings of Elemental Earth, and several Tartarian Titans, all fully equipped. Marverni has Mount Chaining and the Ultimate Gateway, and 2/3rds of the map, and is making two tartarians a month. I've also got S2A3 Silver Adepts casting Fog Warriors for my armies.

Is it worth looking for a sub for Ermor?

[Toran]

Is it worth looking for a sub for Ermor?

Well, it's only worth the effort if Marverni decides NOT to surrender his territories to Abysia next month. Yes, the magma throne will accept nothing less than total subjugation of its enemies, but we might accept a single wood province as a reservation for Marverni druids, where they are displayed for visitors.


Other than that - my part and viewpoint is clear, Abysia is lost and Marverni is stinking of power. I can't tell if Ermor has any trump cards left, but from what I see, Marverni is winning.

Pah, tree lovers :p

[vfb]

OmikronWarrior has agreed this one's over, so I've shut down the game on the llamaserver. Thanks for the good times everyone. Yay Marverni! Yay garnet amazons! :)

[zlefin]

Mictlan is pleased to have survived so long, with still no research above level 4. Our great god has been placed in cold storage for the next age, along with some canned heads.
Zlefin :)