Tunes of Running Away

[vfb]

I'm trying to get a strategy worked out for LA Pan. The problem I'm having is with what seems to be friendly fire from the Pan songs.

The descriptions in the game say stuff like "This sinister tune frightens nearby enemies," for Tune of Fear.

But half the times my Dryads cast it, they bolt from the battlefield in terror. It looks like they are on squares hit by the spell effect.

So does "frightens nearby enemies" just mean that if enemies are near, they'll get frightened, but so will anything else? Or have I just somehow recruited a bunch of pansy Dryads who cannot stomach a little bit of battle.

[licker]

Maybe they are just really bad musicians?

;)

[Dragar]

I think I can hear Cacofonix playing

[Tifone]

Possibly bug? Can't believe it's WAD if it goes this way :D

[Falkor]

I remember testing this spell with EA Pan and it worked similar to the spell "Panic". Some of the enemies got their morale lowered but never did my units. I think you just got some unlucky rolls by morale check of your Dryads.

_

[Olive]

I'm trying to get a strategy worked out for LA Pan. The problem I'm having is with what seems to be friendly fire from the Pan songs.

If that's the case, maybe scripting eagle eyes should reduce friendly fire ?

[thejeff]

Unlikely, they're zero range. Area effect, random squares around the caster.
Very hard to use offensively.

[licker]

Brave brave sir robin, sir robin ran away...

[Lingchih]

Hmm, odd, my Dryads never run. Your dryads are wimps.

[vfb]

Thanks everyone.

I was imagining that the Tune of Fear was forcing a morale check. I should have noticed that it lowered morale numbers instead! And it does not lower the morale numbers of friendlies, just enemies.

So my Dryads were just being a bunch of girly-girls. I also coincidentally switched from Satyr Sneaks (3 resources, no buckler) to Satyrs (4 resources, buckler), and took less losses in melee. It was probably my meat shields expiring that caused the Dryads to bolt.

[Epaminondas]

I remember testing this spell with EA Pan and it worked similar to the spell "Panic". Some of the enemies got their morale lowered but never did my units. I think you just got some unlucky rolls by morale check of your Dryads.

_

So Panic doesn't affect your own units? ROFL, I ought to put it back in the game :)

[Falkor]

So Panic doesn't affect your own units? ROFL, I ought to put it back in the game :)

No, it doesn't. It's useful spell in early expansion. You go early for Thaumaturgy 2 for site searching spells so it's not a waste. Even one mage can make a difference against strong indies.
_

[Endoperez]

So Panic doesn't affect your own units? ROFL, I ought to put it back in the game :)

Panic doesn't, but Terror does. That's such a tiny detail that it's often overlooked.

[Lingchih]

Thanks everyone.

I was imagining that the Tune of Fear was forcing a morale check. I should have noticed that it lowered morale numbers instead! And it does not lower the morale numbers of friendlies, just enemies.

So my Dryads were just being a bunch of girly-girls. I also coincidentally switched from Satyr Sneaks (3 resources, no buckler) to Satyrs (4 resources, buckler), and took less losses in melee. It was probably my meat shields expiring that caused the Dryads to bolt.

LA Pan? Just recruit the hoplites, and some Centaurs if you can afford them. You are Ulm in essence, with this nation. And the Hoplites are very good.

Of course, the strength of this nation comes later, when they have huge Vine Critter armies.

[vfb]

I was not being Ulm, I was trying something different in CBM, a year-1 cast of Carrion Woods. Turmoil-Luck scales, so Centaurs were right out, and I was neutral in Production, so even Hoplites were hard to mass.

Anyway, it was a bit of a failed experiment IMO. Fun in SP, but not really up to the challenge of the big leagues. Here's my build:

Pangaea, Late Era
Lord of the Wild (Body 812, 95 hits)
Magic: Death 5 Nature 6 Blood 2
Dominion 6
Scales: Turmoil 3 Growth 3 Fortune 3 Magic 1
Dormant

He can basically cast Carrion Woods as soon as he wakes up, and I had Black Dryads summoning Mound Kings for leadership.

[Nikelaos]

I was not being Ulm, I was trying something different in CBM, a year-1 cast of Carrion Woods. Turmoil-Luck scales, so Centaurs were right out, and I was neutral in Production, so even Hoplites were hard to mass.

Anyway, it was a bit of a failed experiment IMO. Fun in SP, but not really up to the challenge of the big leagues. Here's my build:

Pangaea, Late Era
Lord of the Wild (Body 812, 95 hits)
Magic: Death 5 Nature 6 Blood 2
Dominion 6
Scales: Turmoil 3 Growth 3 Fortune 3 Magic 1
Dormant

He can basically cast Carrion Woods as soon as he wakes up, and I had Black Dryads summoning Mound Kings for leadership.

oh i dunno, it could work with some tweaking.

[chrispedersen]

I was not being Ulm, I was trying something different in CBM, a year-1 cast of Carrion Woods. Turmoil-Luck scales, so Centaurs were right out, and I was neutral in Production, so even Hoplites were hard to mass.

Anyway, it was a bit of a failed experiment IMO. Fun in SP, but not really up to the challenge of the big leagues. Here's my build:

Pangaea, Late Era
Lord of the Wild (Body 812, 95 hits)
Magic: Death 5 Nature 6 Blood 2
Dominion 6
Scales: Turmoil 3 Growth 3 Fortune 3 Magic 1
Dormant

He can basically cast Carrion Woods as soon as he wakes up, and I had Black Dryads summoning Mound Kings for leadership.

oh i dunno, it could work with some tweaking.

I don't think so, I've tried the same sorts of builds. One of my fav pan tricks is swarm, and what is it.. haunted forest.. enchanted forest.. the spell where they turn into undead upon death.

However its like enchantment 8 and it comes way too late to really help pan. I'd vote to bring that down a level. (Solar brilliance as well)

[Gregstrom]

At least CBM makes Carrion Woods an option for the early game(in theory, at least).

It does seem a pity that the Carrion Dragon is a worse choice (points-wise) for Carrion Woods than the Lord of the Wild. Maybe q_m will do something about that in a future CBM release.

[Nikelaos]

seems a pity haunted forest has the same effects as carrion woods,

or does it, i always assumed it affected deaths in battles (aswell as the normal spawn from carrion woods) like life after death except carrion critters are made and the enemy is also affected?

[Gregstrom]

It doesn't. I believe Haunted Forest turns battlefield dead into Manikins who disappear after the fight.

Carrion Woods turns province population into Carrion units of various sorts outside combat, and said units are yours to command like any other recruits. Some of the carrion units are really rather nice indeed - the carrion elephants and the Sagittarians are prime examples. I don't know if you can get Carrion Ettins this way, or whether that's some sort of hero event only.

Enchanted Forest generates free Vine Men in forest provinces you own.

[Nikelaos]

Haunted forest seems pretty neat as does enchanted forest,

stacking enchanted forest and carrion woods would be an awesome way to get tonnes of freespawn, plus the recruitable troops makes you pretty dangerous without em,

hmmm just trying to think if there are any other freespawn spells like that?

[chrispedersen]

It doesn't. I believe Haunted Forest turns battlefield dead into Manikins who disappear after the fight.

Carrion Woods turns province population into Carrion units of various sorts outside combat, and said units are yours to command like any other recruits. Some of the carrion units are really rather nice indeed - the carrion elephants and the Sagittarians are prime examples. I don't know if you can get Carrion Ettins this way, or whether that's some sort of hero event only.

Enchanted Forest generates free Vine Men in forest provinces you own.

You get much better carrion creatures with:
strong dominion, and in provinces with temples, and with a strong growth scale.

[chrispedersen]

Haunted forest seems pretty neat as does enchanted forest,

stacking enchanted forest and carrion woods would be an awesome way to get tonnes of freespawn, plus the recruitable troops makes you pretty dangerous without em,

hmmm just trying to think if there are any other freespawn spells like that?

The quintessial freespawn spell is the death spell that cuases spirits and wriaths, spectres, longdeads to spawn at temples.

[thejeff]

Oddly Haunted Forest caused battlefield dead to rise as Manikins even if you aren't in the fight. As long as it's in your dominion.
I saw it in a border province that fell to indies.
I couldn't tell who they fought for, since neither side had any undead leadership, they just stood there and died.

[Endoperez]

The quintessial freespawn spell is the death spell that cuases spirits and wriaths, spectres, longdeads to spawn at temples.

Is that the LA Ermor national Soul Gate global, or is there something that everyone can cast?

[Tifone]

Yep, that's surely Soul Gate. The only similar thing that comes to my mind is Utterdark, as it has Shades random attacking enemy provinces - but this effect is very different from the one described.