Interesting Nethgul/Blink effects

[vfb]

I noticed some interesting effects from a battle with Nethgul in it:

- If the commander wielding Nethgul has quickness, then Nethgul casts two spells per combat round

- If the commander wielding Nethgul is a communion master, then Nethgul is also a communion master

- If a communion master blinks, then all the slaves blink.

No, Nethgul, NO! Bad Nethgul.

item Nethgul casting autospell Nethgul (cr1)
Autospell is Mind Burn
best Mind Burn this far, 16 7 (8 pnts)
best Mind Burn this far, 15 8 (10 pnts)
best Mind Burn this far, 20 10 (12 pnts)
best Mind Burn this far, 22 11 (71 pnts)
best Mind Burn this far, 22 12 (72 pnts)
best Mind Burn this far, 24 12 (77 pnts)
spellscore, Mind Burn score 74 (boost 96 scorat 0)
Eval: Mind Burn score 77 (fat 5)
castspell: cnr869 spl647 (Mind Burn) vis0 x24 y12 spldmg1010
vis 0 xvis 0
blastsqr: unr21915 x24 y12 aoe0 dmg12 eff2 spc1082282112 as10204 al9
affectvic vic25690 hv0
hitunit 21915 25690 dmg12 spec1082282112 ba1
spec_mr pen 12 mr 15 (unr 21915 vic 25690 dmg 2 eff 12)
resisted
Autospell is Blink
castspell: cnr869 spl633 (Blink) vis0 x54 y12 spldmg30
vis 0 xvis 0
blastsqr: unr21915 x54 y12 aoe0 dmg30 eff20 spc1082146816 as60 al7
blast communion
communion member(?) 11713
communion member(?) 17269
communion member(?) 12849
communion member(?) 18463
communion member(?) 14691
communion member(?) 13940
communion member(?) 14727
communion member(?) 15932
communion member(?) 15128
communion member(?) 19197
communion member(?) 15210
communion member(?) 17973
communion member(?) 21915

[MaxWilson]

Heh.

[K]

A. Hilarious.

B. Interesting.

C. Still hilarious.

[Wrana]

Probably should be duplicated in "trivia" thread?
And don't you think Nethgul's sense of humor may be different from his wielder's? ;)

[atul]

You'd be pissed off too if you were crammed inside a jar...

[lch]

I noticed some interesting effects from a battle with Nethgul in it:

- If the commander wielding Nethgul has quickness, then Nethgul casts two spells per combat round

- If the commander wielding Nethgul is a communion master, then Nethgul is also a communion master

- If a communion master blinks, then all the slaves blink.
That's all pretty logical and easy to explain when you are aware that Nethgul is not a separate entity, like Carcatoth and Holger the Head is (which are being "grown" at the start of battle), but an item in the possession of its wielder, like the Green Eye for example.

They autocast spells, but it is as if the wielder would use an item spell.

[AreaOfEffect]

So a commander with Carcator the Pocket Lich, Nethgul, Winter Bringer, Spirt Helm, Scatata Volturnus, Jade Armor, and Sandals of the Crane (or some variant of these) is a one-man army of spaztastic mages?

4x Lightning Bolts
2x Falling Frosts
2x Death 5 Spells
2x Astal Spells
2x Blinks

That I have to see.

[Aeshi]

Nethgul always casts two spells,quickness or not (for me anyway)

I've seen him use the following:

Soul Slay
Mind Burn
Paralyze
Blink (occasionally)
Body Ethereal (once)
Horror Mark

He wasn't a communion master for any of these.

- If the commander wielding Nethgul is a communion master, then Nethgul is also a communion master

Would this work with communion slave?

All the Green Eye has ever cast for me is Sleep.

[lch]

- If the commander wielding Nethgul is a communion master, then Nethgul is also a communion master

Would this work with communion slave?

All the Green Eye has ever cast for me is Sleep.
If you mean "would Nethgul cast other spells than that in a communion", then no. He randomly casts spells from a fixed spellbook, which might be more or less what you posted. The Green Eye only spams Sleep, yes.

[Gandalf Parker]

All the Green Eye has ever cast for me is Sleep.

Hmmmm good thing to make note of. Maybe add to the "did you know" thread. Not that its a tip, but it can be useful if known and bult around.

Come to think of it, I will add it to my list of eq for assassins/seducers with charm/bloodbind. Having sleeps cast continually while the unit tries to convert the target would be a nice safety feature.

[vfb]

Did you know in the Dominions 3 manual, it says the Green Eye casts Sleep. ;)

[Gandalf Parker]

LOL Ive really been meaning to read that manual. :)
I had already been playing Dom3 for a year before it came out.
Heck, I really should be trying to memorize it.

[AreaOfEffect]

I've noticed in my testing that all items that auto-cast spells seem to ignore quickness. Interestingly enough, I believe Nathgul casts two spells a round whether quickness is involved or not.

Also, even if quickness did apply, it wouldn't apply to Carcator as he actually makes an appearance on the field in the same way that Holger does.

That said, the 10 mages in one thing doesn't work out the way that we had guessed.

[Zeldor]

AoE:

AFAIK items like Spirit Helmet, Scutata Voturnus cast spells twice with quickness. Pocket mages don't though, so carcator, nethgul...

[AreaOfEffect]

In five different combats, each with many rounds of blinking and autocasting, I have yet to see my Jade Armor wearing commander cast more then one lightning bolt or one shocking grasp a round.

Maybe it's been fixed. Or maybe your thinking of spells cast from items that require the commanders action.

[lch]

Misinformation... Items like Nethgul and the Green Eye and a couple of others autocast spells. Their recast rate manages how often it is cast per combat turn, Nethgul has 2, the Green Eye has 1. This recast rate is not influenced in any way, and is done independently of the actions that the commander does in that turn.

Commanders can use items which have activated spells even when they're non-mages. With quickness, they can use up their actions to have these items cast spells twice per turn, just like they'd be able to attack twice per turn, too. Mages can still only cast once per turn, even with quickness.