Pernicious Peanut - Newbie only 4 player game (Running)

[Maerlande]

Hi folks,

We've had a bit of an influx of new players on IRC and I'm hosting a small quick game for them. It's simple and plain.

Map: Land of Pareto Efficiency by Elmoki (great map maker)
with 4 fixed land only starts
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showpost.php?p=716620&postcount=4
Also download the original map to get the image file:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?p=716620#post716620

Era: Early
Players: 4
Magic site freq: 45
Gold multiple: 100
Resource multiple: 100
Supply: 100
Research: normal
Independents: 5
Renaming on
Mods:
none


Hall of Fame: 10
Graphs: On

Host Schedule:
24h until otherwise requested

Victory:
Last one standing

Other rules:
Open diplomacy. Make or break your agreements at your own risk.
New players only. I'll be watching you :)

I am not playing.

Nations:

1) Ctis - ErikM
2) T'ien Ch'i - Kupiko
3) Caelum - Jorus
4) Pablomatic - Helheim

And here is the game page on Llamaserver:
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=PerniciousPeanut

[Kupiko]

Hi count me in please..If i can choose nation then i choose Tien chi

[Maerlande]

You can choose. You've got it Kupiko.

[Jorus]

I'd like to play as Caelum.

[Maerlande]

Done Jorus

[Pablomatic]

I'll try Helheim then to round this out if you'll have me.

[Maerlande]

Cool. You are in and we're doing pretenders. Good luck dudes!

[Maerlande]

Game is up on llamaserver. Does everyone know how to join? Send your pretenders to pretenders (at) llamaserver (dot) net with the subject "PerniciousPeanut".

[Maerlande]

Game is on guys. Check the OP for the link on llamaserver to follow the status. And good luck. Keep me posted on how it goes. I can't see your turns so it's my only way to follow.

[Maerlande]

And if one of you wants to coadmin and learn about it let me know. I'll set you up with the admin pass. It's quite easy to admin.

[ErikM]

Yaaay! Game, and I got my forum account approved too.

If people want to contact me for realtime diplomacy I hang around the #dominions IRC channel with the same name, and you can PM me for my MSN or IRC.

:D

[rdonj]

Don't forget to enable your PMs! They're not enabled by default.

[Pablomatic]

FYI I can't get the turn file to work. In-game, Pernicious Peanut doesn't show up to be selected. The 2h file is in the correct location (ie. saved games>pernicious peanut). I know how to play multi-player, so it's no error on my part that I know of. I've requested help from llamabeast. Anyway, that's my holdup right now.

[Calahan]

FYI I can't get the turn file to work. In-game, Pernicious Peanut doesn't show up to be selected. The 2h file is in the correct location (ie. saved games>pernicious peanut). I know how to play multi-player, so it's no error on my part that I know of. I've requested help from llamabeast. Anyway, that's my holdup right now.
Dominions 3 does not recognise save game folders that have a space in them. So if you have named the save game folder "pernicious peanut" then it won't display under the list of games. You need to name the folder "perniciouspeanut" or "pernicious_peanut" instead for Dominions to acknowledge it as an actual game folder (ie. Remove the 'space')

Or of course you can just use any name that doesn't have a space in it, it doesn't have to be related to the actual name of the game in any way. "pp" "mygame" "MP_game" "Or_whatever". You are fine as long as the .2h file is inside the folder, and the name of the folder has no spaces in it.

[Pablomatic]

Thanks Calahan, that was the answer.

[Maerlande]

Thanks for helping Calahan and rdonj. My internet is total crap today.

[ErikM]

Three turns in and I'm already worrying about a two front war due to seeing black candles. :(

Also am I correct in reading from the research graph that Caelum also took an awake pretender?

[Kupiko]

This looks to be pretty small map so early engagement with other player is real possibility :) I usually played on much bigger maps.

[Maerlande]

It's a small map. But 15 provinces per player. Which is pretty normal.

[ErikM]

Me on checking in today: "Why hello there Tien Chi, how about a ceasefir- oh, turn submitted already."

[Kupiko]

Ah don't worry my tien chi is very peaceful :)

[Maerlande]

Kupiko, post if you need extra time. We'd hate to see you stale again, but I'm not watching the timer closely on this game so you have to ask me.

[Kupiko]

sorry guys but i had to leave unexpectedly and will je back on thursday evening. Guess it's a few stales from me then unless u wanna just jump in Maer and only build some army no other moves necessary so i have something to act with after i get back. It's a pity cause it looked like a good start.

[Maerlande]

Okay, I can cover a couple turns. Sounds fine.

[Kupiko]

I really appreciate it thanks!

[Maerlande]

Okay guys. I'm covering for Kupiko. I won't attack any of you if you do the same :) But be warned. I'll respond aggressively on Kupiko's behalf if required.

[Pablomatic]

Sorry for staling last turn. I'm back. Not that anyone noticed my absence it seems.

[Maerlande]

Sorry. I was out with the kids and couldn't watch the timer. I usually try to keep an eye on it but I can't make any promises. However, you didn't seem to get in any trouble. Everyone is playing nice so far :)

[Kupiko]

Hi Maer i'll be home tonight and i can play next turn, maybe even replay last one. Thx for all your effort :-)

[Maerlande]

okay. I'll switch it over

[Pablomatic]

Sorry. I was out with the kids and couldn't watch the timer. I usually try to keep an eye on it but I can't make any promises. However, you didn't seem to get in any trouble. Everyone is playing nice so far :)

Didn't mean to condemn anyone for my mistake, just a comment.

It didn't turn out to be too bad of a stale, you're right.

[Maerlande]

ErikM is coadmin now. So he can also help with extensions.

[ErikM]

Possible map bug discovered: #23 (Tirannea) borders #34 (Robber Home). They're not adjacent on the graphical map.

Maerlande, I suggest you provide a ruling on whether we ought to
1. play with the connection as is, possibly treating it as a gate/portal/tunnel
2. refrain from using the connection, playing by the graphical map

Either works for me, as long as it's consistent.

[Maerlande]

I suggest you use the connection. There is no way to watch that it isn't used.

[ErikM]

Only about an hour left and Helheim's turn was missing, so I postponed hosting rather than have him stale again.

Is something up, Pablomatic?

[Pablomatic]

Only about an hour left and Helheim's turn was missing, so I postponed hosting rather than have him stale again.

Is something up, Pablomatic?

Sorry, turn's in now. I thought I had sent it in, then went to bed, woke up this AM and saw a message "hosting in 6 hours" so I sent my turn in this morning. You saved me ErikM. Thanks and apologies. No problems except mental ones on my end.

[Jorus]

Could we delay game for 12 hours or so, I won't have access to a Dom 3 computer until 2200 Sunday, Caelum

[ErikM]

Delay set.

[Jorus]

Hey, what happened? I thought we had a delay set, yet I received the new turn with a stale turn notice.
If possible, I would like to replay the turn and have the opportunity to only issue the build orders I missed, but it is not a tragedy if we continue as it is.
But what about next time...?
george/Caelum

[Kupiko]

Lost turn as well but i don't understand i sent turn file so i should have it. Well pbem has it's shortcomings.

[Jorus]

War has been declared between the expansionsist Tien Chi and the peaceful peoples of Caelum due to Tien Chi's unprovoked attack through an "illegal" border on Caelum's defenseless province of Robbers Home.

All peace loving peoples are invited to unite and push the Tien Chi hordes back to refuse pits from which they have spawned.

Jorus/Caelum

[ErikM]

To quote one of the RISK cards in my expanded game set, One World Dominion:

"I CONDEMN YOUR MILITARISM.
You make a strongly-worded speech at the United Nations, and practically everyone supports your motion to pass a resolution castigating the offending party.
This card has no effect."

(Considering turn. Is anyone else interested in a possible extension to do diplomacy with?)

[ErikM]

The lizards of Ctis are pleased to announce that they have reached Construction 4, can make Skull Mentors, Thistle Maces etc. for trade, and would like to buy Earth gems or a Dwarven Hammer.

[ErikM]

~1h left with no turn from Tien Chi in. This would be a really bad time to stale, so I'm putting up an extension for them. More mental problems going around? ;)

[Kupiko]

Only house painting :) takes some time but i managed thx.

[Jorus]

But before you celebrate too much and send your turn in (oh, but you already have) you might want to think about those units you slaughtered - did they have wings? Where did they come from? Is it an empty bag you're holding?

With all due regards, Caelum

[Jorus]

I thinnk it is considerate that the game was delayed for Tien Chin even though unrequested (he does need help), and there still is the unanswered question why the game was not actually delayed when I requested it and the game was supposedly delayed - but wasn't. I ended up with a stale turn!

The real point here is that we should be consistent - otherwise we could get in the area of suspected favoritism. My personal feeling is that the game should only be delayed if the player concerned cares enough to ask for an extension. And then it should be given if possible (unless it becomes too frequent).

Otherwise, let's just remove the deadlines.

I happened to have time today and noticed TC's lack of a submission. I was considering changing my moves accordingly, luckily I didn't. My strategy would have failed miserably if he needed and got an extension I was not aware of (I don't normally check this thread).

In conclusion, I am not complaining - just request that we are consistent.

Jorus

[ErikM]

Jorus: I really thought I had delayed the game when you asked for it. When you reported the result, I then tried to contact Maerlande to ask if it merited a rollback but didn't get a reply, and then the next turn arrived.

I agree that we should be consistent. I'm not sure where to draw the line, though. Thoughts, others?

[Maerlande]

Jorus,

I reread the thread and you requested a delay on the 24th and ErikM granted it. It's even recorded in the admin log on the game page. So I'm not sure why you didn't get your turn to work. Perhaps you missent it?

But generally, it's pure kindness to watch the timer and give unrequested extensions. I don't usually do it because it takes more time than I have. So I don't see any inconsitency unless you requested another extension after the 24th.

If you really need an extension, PM me. I don't check this thread but I get email confirmations of PMs and reply immediately. Except for sleeping time Central Mountain Time, I'm near by.

[Jorus]

ErikM,
I know you tried to arrange the extension, but what's not clear to me (and to you?) is why it didn't work. I have no complaint at all.

Maerlande,
Sorry, but apparently there is a mis-understanding. I asked for the extension, ErikM thought he had arranged it (and so posted) but the server processed the turn on schedule ignoring the extension - before I ever had a chance to submit my orders. ErikM indicates he tried to contact you about a rollback, but as I had indicated at the time it was not worth the effort. And the matter dropped.
I still vote for consistency and not arbitrary extensions. It just causes problems.

Regards, Jorus

[Kupiko]

But before you celebrate too much and send your turn in (oh, but you already have) you might want to think about those units you slaughtered - did they have wings? Where did they come from? Is it an empty bag you're holding?

With all due regards, Caelum

Man i was in a mood to roleplay although i don't remember exactly what message i sent of course if it's message i sent that annoyed you. After all this is only a game and i wanted to move things a bit. Wings or no wings i'll enjoy learning how to counter players. I am not very experienced in MP but i definitely dont mind loosing if i can learn from it.

[Jorus]

Yo, mi amigo Kupiko, sorry if I have created the wrong impression - I'm just happy to be still alive three turns after the announcement of hostilities (in the form of your invasion) between our two nations!
In my role as leader of Caelum and member of the opposition to the Tien Chi hegemony it is my duty to trashtalk about you! Once we sign a peace treaty (or perhaps you surrender?) I will refer to you only in the most reverent of terms.
Until then, en garde!

Jorus

PS
And yes, I am jealous of your position as the most powerful in SSStreamlands.

PPS
I am a raw Noob and have much to learn.

[ErikM]

Yo, mi amigo Kupiko, sorry if I have created the wrong impression - I'm just happy to be still alive three turns after the announcement of hostilities (in the form of your invasion) between our two nations!
This is most amusing to me. On the one hand, Tien Chi is first on provinces and pretty hugely ahead on army but seems to have ended up on the defensive. On the other hand, "everyone dogpile on the leader" is working surprisingly poorly. Over the past 3 turns or so since the war started, net province change has been TC-1, Ctis+1, others 0. Time to bring more hundreds of units and some Death-5 summoners to bear, I guess. :D

Nation Army Size
T'ien Ch'i 1386
Caelum 189
C'tis 725
Helheim 324
Independents 530

On the other topic, I guess the easiest way to be consistent is "no more extensions unless requested", which saves me checking the game page, but I still have to check here and my email.

PS
A tip to Kupiko: I think you mean "losing" here. Loosing is when you set something free. When enemy armies arrive in your capital, you are losing.

[Kupiko]

Yup you're right losing :)

btw those ritual cast arrows are nasty! Never hapenned to me before :( no idea what to do against it..Hope at least it's expensive.

[Maerlande]

Dome up Kupiko. And use a ton of scouts with your armies. The scouts may get hit instead.

[ErikM]

You could also forge the air shields/armor that protect against arrows. I think they work against ritual arrows too.

[Maerlande]

http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Seeking_Arrow

[Jorus]

Jeez, as if he needs any help - you have to give him the secrets to my arrows also! And I missed his blasted Masters of the Five Elements.
Good guess, Kupiko!

Caelum

[ErikM]

Jeez, as if he needs any help
Believe me, he does now. :D

And speaking of arrows, please keep the arrows OUT of this particular engagement or I will be very unhappy at fighting a half-butted battle.

(Also those armies in the screenshot are costing me a third of my income in upkeep so I'd just as well lose a ton of them in an epic showdown.)

[Kupiko]

Haha nice..looking forward to it

[ErikM]

There was a battle in Ireme. Most of the province has been conquered blah blah.

Ctis losses:
0/10 commanders, 145/222 units, 20/20 undead.
Tien Chi losses:
7/26 commanders, 59/222 units, 5/6 magic beings.

So... I won and have now besieged the fortress, but at a fairly heavy cost in units. TC had to bring out a buttload of mages to counter me, and lost several of those. You can see their research suddenly slacking off on the score graph. Watching the battle, I seem to have won in large part thanks to my several Reborn and Sauromancers summoning up large armies of skeletons, leading to Tien Chi routing first.

Any tips on strategic lessons I should be learning here?

[Kupiko]

Very nice battle..Mistake i did was to retreat my mages and my chariots got locked behind melees. Should have let my mages banish you all night long.

[Kupiko]

Oh my..Good guess Erik. You decimated almost all my mages effectively crippling me :) I should have set them to retreat now. I'm so unexperienced when it comes to using mages. Found out they are useless if you don't script them and then i can't find the right way to script them :(

[Maerlande]

ErikM needs an extension guys. He's got some RL challenges. So I'll extend 24 hours for now.

[Kupiko]

Now that's what i call slaughter lolz. Bring it on guys ;)

[Jorus]

Where? Did any of my arrows hit??? :confused:

[Kupiko]

I think they hit on 100% except u managed to kill only one of my commanders. He was immortal, pity it was inside your dominion :( But i meant about you all attacking me at a same time hehe i wonder if i stand a chance :D I lost about 5 provinces in 1 turn :D

[Jorus]

Thanks for the info! I knew your commanders are tough and I would need 2 or more arrows to kill each one. What I didn't know was how well distributed amongst the 15 commanders the hits would be. Sounds like they are distributed pretty well, too bad....:(

[Kupiko]

Yeah seems like waste in this particular case. But still i guess if u attacked me in that turn they would be wounded and would die easier. Very interesting spell :)

[Quitti]

As Maer has now been officially blood-sacrificed in the temple of (in?)justice, I recommend contacting him on IRC or here (http://z7.invisionfree.com/Dom3mods/index.php?act=idx) for your future needs :)

[Jorus]

Kupiko, I have come to the same conclusion. Unfortunately IU had to learn the hard way, and consume many air gems to complete the lesson!:o
But explain this to me, if I may ask, you are besieging me with 250+ units, why are my walls not being damaged? :happy:

Jorus/Caelum

[Kupiko]

I'd love to know that too lol. I guess flyers are good in defending castle but that much? How many do u have inside? Anyway i left from the siege. Those lizardy buggers swarm me :) not even talking about stealthy armies of helheim :D a lot of fun i have to say.

[Jorus]

There's a good newbie question - I didn't think the strength of the defenders had anything to do with the wall destruction. You've seen all the flyers, nothing special. :rolleyes:

[Quitti]

Check here (http://dom3.servegame.com/wiki/Siege). The wiki is your friend :) (Just barging in, sorry!)

[Pablomatic]

Since we're all more or less "newbies" here, I thought I'd share some experiences I've had with Helheim.

Dis+Enhare raiders can't seem to get the job done. Perhaps it's because of those damn chariots that trample even mounted troops, but I have lost every one I have committed to battle so far.

Helcarls+Helherdings seem to do a better job. I can think of two possible reasons for the failure of my Dis's. Maybe they pick up too much fatigue when they fly to attack rear, or maybe their Enhare bodyguard just can't do the job, where the Helherding seem to protect the Helcarls from harm.

Also, Shock Wave rocks! I think TC would agree. I had 1 Hangadrott w/helherding bodyguard attack a large TC army (at least 50+ troops including a few chariots (it was an accident). Result? Routed TC army after mistform, airshield, 2Xshockwave, and skellyspam.

I've got to try Caelum in a future game. Eagle Kings mistform, attack rear + Shockwave should be devastating.

Also, blood sacrificing with a B1 mage seems to have minimal effect. I've maintained my own dominion barely, but I'm not impressed so far.

[Pablomatic]

Also, I appreciate Kupiko for not complaining that he's under attack from all three of us.

I for one appreciate the good sportsmanship. I'm also very impressed that he hasn't collapsed already, and seems to be definitely holding his own.

Feather in your cap for being a good gaming partner Kupiko.:up:

[Gregstrom]

Also, blood sacrificing with a B1 mage seems to have minimal effect. I've maintained my own dominion barely, but I'm not impressed so far.

Drive-by comment:

Blood sacrifice is related to your priest levels, not Blood. It generates temple checks (2 per priest level IIRC?), so you're best off doing it with H2 or H3 priests. Jade daggers are your friend here, as they let you sac as if you were 2 priest levels higher.

Oh, and if you don't have a high base Dominion effects will of course be weaker.

[Kupiko]

Also, I appreciate Kupiko for not complaining that he's under attack from all three of us.

I for one appreciate the good sportsmanship. I'm also very impressed that he hasn't collapsed already, and seems to be definitely holding his own.

Feather in your cap for being a good gaming partner Kupiko.

Well i can't really be against it cause it's fun :D trying to beat off 3 of you at once.

I just realized how unfair for my tactic it is to have scoregraphs enabled. Cause my tactic relies on maxed scales and excellent early game, that tho puts me up on top of scoregraphs which eventually leads to everyone considering me threat :D

Next game i vote for scoregraphs disabled so we can't read that much about oponent without using scouts etc.

[Jorus]

I agree that the scoregraphs helped get the United Front formed.

As for learning lessons, I thought I had TC nailed with him only having 4 commanders each with less than 16 HP. I'd send in 8 Seeking Arrows (8HP damage each) - and mop up the remains.
Well, the SA damage is also modified by protection so 3 of his commanders survived (with less than 5 HP) and moved on with their squads. Of course, the leaderless squads didn't move, and they routed immediately at the sight of the magnificent Caelum army!
And now he's loose in my interior, but smaller and smaller....

[Gregstrom]

SA damage is AN, so armour doesn't count. However, each arrow's damage rolls are modified by damage rolls against Prot 0 (DRN rolled to add to the damage, and DRN rolled to subtract from the damage), so I guess you'd expect between 25% and 50% survival rate with the spread you were firing.

[Jorus]

SA damage is AN, so armour doesn't count. However, each arrow's damage rolls are modified by damage rolls against Prot 0 (DRN rolled to add to the damage, and DRN rolled to subtract from the damage), so I guess you'd expect between 25% and 50% survival rate with the spread you were firing.

If what you say is true (and I have no reason to doubt it) why would expect such high survival rates as 50%? I wiould have thought that 25% would have been good. His starting HPs were all around 12, and 2 arrows/commander is 16 HP before the calculations. But yet he had a 75% survival rate! Or was I just extremely unlucky with my roles?

Jorus/Caelum

[Gregstrom]

With starting HP of 12 then yeah, you might expect a lower survival rate. But... say 1 commander luckily survives 2 arrows and is killed by a third. One of the others is very likely indeed to survive. The number of survivors is certainly within standard deviation because of the small sample sizse.

Of course, if any of the commanders had luck, air shield or twist fate (S9 bless and shroud) active, then suddenly the numbers look perfectly reasonable.

[ErikM]

My internet at home has broken down. Since the computer I upload/download from is now different from the computer where I play turns, I can't handle trades and should probably request a sub until I get it fixed, which I suspect won't be during the weekend. Managed to upload today's turn, and that's probably the last out of me for a bit unless my ISP suddenly gets its rear in gear.

Stuff I've learned:
-Foul Vapors is awesome. It takes out back-rank enemy mages and other commanders staying behind troops as well as injuring everything everywhere. It requires a Sauromancer with a water path, a Thistle Mace, and a couple of gems.
-Sauromancers are immune to poison. Regular Ctis troops are only resistant to poison at 50% and will rack up large amounts of injuries if they end up on a Foul Vapors battlefield. Sacred Dancer troops are also totally immune, though.
-Mass skeleton summon isn't that good for holding off trampling nobles when trying to buy time for Foul Vapors. However, it's good for creating poison-immune delayers in a lot of other situations.
-Ctis wants more Death gems.

[Jorus]

Well, if Ctis can't get a sub I vote that we extend the deadline until the return of their glorious leader. Besides, my armies want to celebrate the fact that they finally used Seeking Arrows successfully! (for the statistics buffs, it took 7 SA to knock off the 3 remaining commanders of 12 HP each, too many imho).


Jorus/Caelum

PS
Uh-Oh, here comes another 200 TC fanatics:shock:

[Kupiko]

I agree with extending the deadline cause i won't be here as well during the weekend.

Besides, my armies want to celebrate the fact that they finally used Seeking Arrows successfully!

Oh my i didn't know arrows are cast before move..That is definitely very nice tactical advantage you have there. Anyway i had misunderstanding with Erikm there so i'll probably get wiped soon :D

Those 200 fanatics are pride of my army hope they won't go home with their tails between their legs :D

[Jorus]

Those 200 fanatics are pride of my army hope they won't go home with their tails between their legs :D

They're hoping they get home. :)

[ErikM]

Okay! Since you guys agreed I've set the deadline back a little over 48h so that it next pops up on Monday (GMT).

[Kupiko]

They're hoping they get home

Hehe well that's one way to look at my situation but i won't surrender this game is too much fun :D

[Jorus]

They're hoping they get home

Hehe well that's one way to look at my situation but i won't surrender this game is too much fun :D

Tell me, Kupiko, when young men are drafted into your armies (I'm sure they don't enlist) do the fathers weep, the mothers pull out their hair and girlfriends return their gifts? And do these lucky souls sell all of their possessions and make their final goodbyes before they put on their new uniforms?

I'm just trying to broaden my cross-cultural horizons....:rolleyes:

[ErikM]

On that subject, I am happy to report that my armies consist of roughly three parts nonsentient yellow warrior lizards, two parts undead and one part religious fanatics, so the regular C'tissians are largely unaffected by the war. :)

[Pablomatic]

Another lesson learned--stealthy preachers preaching don't participate in any battles that happen in their province. I should have known that, but forgot.

My armies are mostly just commanders, so in my Helheim, those who start wars actually fight and die in them.

[Kupiko]

Well my soldiers follow wishes of my god :) they die happy knowing that this life is meant to be suffering and afterlife is paradise :D And well their families are taken care of in case young soldiers don't survive.

Anyway on another note i seem to still have problems with my internet access so i might have to drop. Even now i staled again. I'll definitely get back in game once all is set but it might be months. In short i have to move from where i live now :(
Guess i switch myself to AI? Can't think of any sub that would take over for me.

[Jorus]

Kupiko, speaking for myself, I hope you find a solution that allows you to keep playing. You have been a most entertaining adversary!
Besides, our eventual vistory will be hollow without your active participation.

Jorus/Caelum

[Kupiko]

I'd love to continue playing but it's impossible. Even now i'm stretching my time :( I hope i at least get you a good sub although i didn't advertise it that well. I should have written there that i'm the strongest :D so people compete to sub for me.

[Pablomatic]

Kupiko you've been an indominable and entertaining opponent. I hope to face you again.

[13lackGu4rd]

Kupiko, maybe I'll sub in for you. I'd like to receive some information from you first, so I'll know what I'm getting myself into before hand.

[Kupiko]

Kupiko you've been an indominable and entertaining opponent. I hope to face you again.

Thank you pablomatic i appreciate it..

Only way i can see myself playing in the near future is maybe once a week organize 2-3 hour blitz gaming sessions. Although that is i believe difficult to do for more than 2,3 players.

[Jorus]

Arghhhh......

[Kupiko]

Wow now that's surprising, my troops actually proved their worth :)
You should have fully utilised your flaming arrows. Guess it's bug that your archers rushed forward? Very nice battle. And those eagles attacked before main army that's pity

And your frost father was too vulnerable there. Did he have air shield on? Cause my archers did short work with him.

[Jorus]

Lessons Learned:
I have no idea why the archers jumped into the battle. It was very costly. I wanted them to do what your archers did, stand back and fire at closest enemy unit with Flaming Arrows and Wind Guide. Their commander had orders to stay bethind the troops.
The mammoths routed at first sight of the TC troops, are they that ugly?
My pretender had an air shield of 80, he actually survived for a while - unfortunately he was one of the last survivors and was hit by numerous arrows at once.
The main unusual factor that had a negative impact was that many of the troops were hungry/starving so they were hit with a -4 morale modifier right at the start.

Jorus/Caelum

[ErikM]

I'm casting Mother Oak now. :D

(I suppose that makes me the next target once Tien Chi is gone. Oh well. First, or tied first, to a global enchantment!)

[ErikM]

Apparently the RNG decided to punish me and sent Bogus the Troll Raider and a gang of other heroes to take one of my provinces in retribution, even though I took a luck scale. :(

[Jorus]

Apparently the RNG decided to punish me and sent Bogus the Troll Raider and a gang of other heroes to take one of my provinces in retribution, even though I took a luck scale. :(

Yeah, I had something similar happen in my other game and it derailed my plans for 3 turns. Sympathies...:shock:

[Jorus]

New Lesson Learned (for a newb);

I spent two turns with all my mages Calling Back my killed Pretender. I knew he would return weakened, but it was painful. He lost one level in all the magic paths he had, and since he was a (mini) rainbow Pretender it cost five levels in total, and he lost access to 3 paths.

Sigh....:hurt:

Now we have to start the "Call Competitor" spell and revive Kupiko.

Jorus

[ErikM]

13lackGu4rd appears to have failed to sub in for Kupiko since TC has missed the last two turns for a total of 7 stale turns so far. Should I set Tien Chi to AI so that we don't have to keep waiting 24h for turns and stuff?

[13lackGu4rd]

well, I guess "failed to sub" is the right definition... if only I'd have received some turns I would have played, but I didn't even receive an email from llamaserver saying that I've been added to the game, so there wasn't much I could do about it... when you seek a sub you usually need to halt the game until the sub gets into the game, than give him some time to catch up on the situation and let him start playing. for this to happen the game admin needs to change the email address of the dropping player into the sub's address, so the sub can start to receive the turns. this step never happened in this situation so it was really out of my control...

[ErikM]

Well, thanks for telling us something of what was going on. I had no idea what you and Kupiko might be discussing - I got no requests to delay the game or change email address, so I'm guessing you sent that to Maerlande, who appears to have been banned. Do you want me to try to fix some of it?

Sheesh, confusion and lack of information.

[13lackGu4rd]

actually I didn't do anything, Kupiko wanted a sub, I accepted, it was up to him to change the email addresses so he can be relieved from the game... he said he asked Maerlande to change the addresses but ever since than I heard nothing and received no emails...

[Jorus]

Too bad about the miscommunications/assumptions. We're all newbies here, so we learned something new about playing Dom3 MP.
13lackguard, what do you want to do? Kupiko's position has suffered badly over the last 4 turns. He has 5 provinces now, I believe, down from 19.
If you want to play, then we can pause for a day, or whatever. Otherwise we should put TC under AI command immediately.

Jorus

[13lackGu4rd]

do you guys communicate well with Maerlande since his ban from these boards? if you guys think those 5 provinces still have enough troops and mages to put up a decent fight than I can sub in, if not than just set it to AI, been waiting for them emails, thought you guys paused the game or something, but it seems that you continued. so really, up to you guys...

[Jorus]

I personally would welcome a sub, but don't think that it is a viable option anymore. That ship has left port.
Let's put Kupiko on AI.

Jorus

[ErikM]

Hmm. Setting to AI can't be done from the control page, it needs player action. New plan: Blackguard, PM me your email and I'll set Tien Chi over to you, at which point you can play if you want, or if you don't, use the "Options" -> "Become computer controlled" order and just send that turn in.

[Jorus]

It looks like 13lackguard has taken over, or has the AI attacked me??

[ErikM]

The "Pretenders of the World" screen says AI, and the llamaserver page says it's only waiting for turns from three people.

*sends in turn, starts crossing fingers as common war with TC winds down and game shows signs of becoming good old-fashioned FFA, and forges a Clam of Pearl with water gems from Tien Chi sites*

[Pablomatic]

*sends in turn, starts crossing fingers as common war with TC winds down and game shows signs of becoming good old-fashioned FFA, and forges a Clam of Pearl with water gems from Tien Chi sites*

Bring the Free for All on!
*ponders how that declaration sounds suspiciously like some famous last words...*

[13lackGu4rd]

I've taken over, trained some things and put all those mages to research instead of patrol, no idea what was up with that. than I set it to AI as the situation is indeed pretty hopeless... so I guess the AI attacked you :o

[ErikM]

Helheim: Sorry about that commander who walked into your siege by himself, he was apparently selected instead of a scout since I have a scout sitting around who failed to move. All these human units look the same to my lizards. ;)

(Ctis has no native scouts. This is a bit annoying.)

[Pablomatic]

Helheim: Sorry about that commander who walked into your siege by himself, he was apparently selected instead of a scout since I have a scout sitting around who failed to move. All these human units look the same to my lizards. ;)

(Ctis has no native scouts. This is a bit annoying.)

I had just abandoned the province and you walked into TC.

[ErikM]

...apparently I really wasn't paying enough attention to what that guy was doing. :doh:

(Also: Neener neener I got ahead of you in research at last. :p)

[Jorus]

Is it war?

Caelum's peaceful local reserve units have successfully repelled a totally unprovoked sneak attack by the slimy lizards of Ctis in Validun. :shock: There have been reports of massive troop build-ups across the border, has another Ctis commander jumped the gun because of nerves?
The people of of Caelum call upon all peace-loving peoples of the world ((This means you, Helheim!;)) to unite against these aggressive inhuman monsters from the slimepits of Ctis. :mad:
Unles Ctis repents, of course. :D

Jorus/Caelum


PS
I will not be able to make further moves until 2200 EST Sunday. Please put on hold if necessary, Ctis. Uh-oh....:o

[Jorus]

Hey! I've made Corporal!!! How did I do that? Is it the amount of blood that I have spilled (mostly my own)??

[ErikM]

Is it war?

Caelum's peaceful local reserve units have successfully repelled a totally unprovoked sneak attack by the slimy lizards of Ctis in Validun. :shock: Translated from propaganda:
A commander wandered across the border, said "boo", and walked back upon seeing that the province was in fact inhabited. (He was at the back of the battlefield and scripted Retreat to check if you had bothered putting PD, since I didn't see any units present.) "Repelled", my fragrant french butt. If that's a glorious victory you should be a walkover. :p

There have been reports of massive troop build-ups across the border, has another Ctis commander jumped the gun because of nerves?Ctis confirms the reports and would like to state for the record that the troops are:
3rd Serpent Dancers
10th, 15th and 32nd Elite Warriors
31st Longdead Horsemen
44th Lamia Irregulars

(Numbers made up based mostly on how new they are.)

The people of of Caelum call upon all peace-loving peoples of the world ((This means you, Helheim!;)) to unite against these aggressive inhuman monsters from the slimepits of Ctis. :mad:The people of Ctis are peace-loving as evidenced by the fact that they have only cast profitable, defensive spells such as Gift of Health, and not, for example, Burden of Time. (It would have been surprisingly easy considering that I not only get D3?1 mages with Skull Staff, but I've also forged the Skull Face helm and Sceptre of Dark Regency weapon.)

However, we warn any and all would-be invaders that our mages are ready to cast Foul Vapors on enemy armies at a moment's notice, and can get there at the same notice thanks to Obscuro forging Winged Shoes for quite a lot of them. :D

PS
I will not be able to make further moves until 2200 EST Sunday. Please put on hold if necessary, Ctis. Uh-oh....:o
Noted. Once this turn resolves I'll figure out how much I need to delay the next one.

And I think the Corporal title is based on you reaching 50 posts.

[Jorus]

It's WAR!!!

Validun has been overrun by hundreds of lizards. It is an infestation!

Ctis lies - "The people of Ctis are peace-loving as evidenced by the fact that they have only cast profitable, defensive spells". What about invasions???

This is the second Day of Infamy caused by Ctis' unprovoked incursions into Caelum soil. The first invasion ended with Ctis's unqualified defeat. It is amazing how history repeats itself.

Jorus/Caelum



PS
As I mentioned, I may not have time to make my next move until tomorrow evening, if I can do it earlier, I will.

[ErikM]

Postponement set with a bit of margin because I repeatedly miscalculated where EST was.

(Also stop complaining about the attacks, I asked if you wanted to extend our NAP and you said no. :p)

For lurkers, I'm attaching a rough map of the game state that doesn't give away too much information. ;) Lake C'tis is so dubbed because I have an underwater fort there.

[Jorus]

Postponement set with a bit of margin because I repeatedly miscalculated where EST was.

No problem, 10 EST is 0400 CET and 0200 GMT. In the future, which would you prefer?


(Also stop complaining about the attacks, I asked if you wanted to extend our NAP and you said no. :p)


Well, well ... it looks like we hit a nerve. What's the matter, Lizard Lad, the reality of your actions don't match your pure self-image?:( Can't take a little bad press??:smirk:
A few data points;
1. I am not complaining, just announcing.
2. I made a counterproposal concerning the NAP, to which you never responded. Strictly (contractually) speaking we still have a NAP.
3. an attack made without a Declaration of War is a SNEAK attack
4. and finally, even if a NAP expires it doesn't mean you HAVE to immediately attack each other (which I believe I mentioned in my proposal).

Anyhow, no problems here :D, but the press will publish unfettered by the dictates of tyrants!

[ErikM]

If you want to start with the "strictly speaking", I am going to respond that it constitutes aggression when you say you plan to team up with Helheim against me. ;)

I'd prefer GMT since that what the game administration page uses.

[ErikM]

"The army consists of mainly Temple Guards and Eagle Kings."

Aren't Eagle Kings a commander? (That's a rhetorical question.)

Time for some awesome battling, I guess.

[Jorus]

All Quiet on the Western Front, as Ctis contemplates his future or lack of one.:(

FYI, it was not me who launched the hurricane, but thanks anyhow for the locusts. They're tasty. I lost 200 gold, but had lucky random events that gave me 350 gold. :)

However, you can blame me for the Fires from Afar, how are they working out? :rolleyes:

jorus/caelum

[ErikM]

All Quiet on the Western Front, as Ctis contemplates his future or lack of one.:( I'd bet on the former. After all, I just used the income from Mother Oak to summon a Couatl (S3N3), have him forge a Starshine Skullcap, and cast Mind Hunt at you. :)

FYI, it was not me who launched the hurricane, but thanks anyhow for the locusts.Somehow I have trouble believe that a hurricane would randomly strike my capital right after I annoy a nation with huge amounts of Air magic. :rolleyes:
They're tasty. I lost 200 gold, but had lucky random events that gave me 350 gold. :)Hah. I got 1000 gold from extra good tax collection this turn. :D

However, you can blame me for the Fires from Afar, how are they working out? :rolleyes:

jorus/caelum
Rather annoying. But Lizard Kings have 17hp and Sauromancers 12hp, so as long as it's not likely to kill my commanders there I can tolerate it. The main losers are the highly replaceable Longdead Horsemen with 5hp. And by "highly replaceable" I mean "35 for 10 gems". :D

[Jorus]

All Quiet on the Western Front, as Ctis contemplates his future or lack of one.:( I'd bet on the former. After all, I just used the income from Mother Oak to summon a Couatl (S3N3), have him forge a Starshine Skullcap, and cast Mind Hunt at you. :)

Waste of gems/time - it only works on weak-minded commanders. None here.:p

FYI, it was not me who launched the hurricane, but thanks anyhow for the locusts.Somehow I have trouble believe that a hurricane would randomly strike my capital right after I annoy a nation with huge amounts of Air magic. :rolleyes:
I can't help your beliefs, I can only tell you the truth.



[ However, you can blame me for the Fires from Afar, how are they working out? :rolleyes:

jorus/caelum
Rather annoying. But Lizard Kings have 17hp and Sauromancers 12hp, so as long as it's not likely to kill my commanders there I can tolerate it. The main losers are the highly replaceable Longdead Horsemen with 5hp. And by "highly replaceable" I mean "35 for 10 gems". :D

Good then, I hope they all have some good sunburn lotion! :D

[ErikM]

Dunno whether to count that as a loss or a win. I lost a couple of commanders (mostly Shamans) and about 60 generic units against taking out 8 Eagle Kings, several of whom were well equipped.

Also, my Shadow Blast guys apparently can't aim for crap, since they fired a few times in the opening round and ended up with at least one AOE-10 spell that hit nothing.

[Jorus]

Noob Lesson #213:

After a raid, move your unit to a FRIENDLY province, otherwise it is 50/50 that the raidee's rescue team will get to you first! Arghh...

[ErikM]

Noob Lesson #213:

After a raid, move your unit to a FRIENDLY province, otherwise it is 50/50 that the raidee's rescue team will get to you first! Arghh...

Wouldn't have worked. The rescue team all teleported/trapezed in. I did that specifically to stop him being able to flee. Also, I was expecting you to throw in a lot more Province Defence, hence the Shadow Blast opening which only hit 1 guy.
(As an alternative, I was pondering 2x Seeking Arrow, but that's only 8 average damage and Eagle Kings have 19 hp.)

What annoys me is that your Eagle King raider fled, so I didn't get to loot his items.

Noob Lesson #214: Undead ignore Awe. If your enemy is raiding with Awe units, leave a death mage with summoning orders in every province where you can spare one.

Slightly annoyed that someone else got to all the cool artifact books first. Anyone want to own up to that?

[ErikM]

We sorta dropped the ball on suddenly ignoring Tien Chi. They've attacked one of my fortresses now.

[ErikM]

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here:
Huge success.
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/6871/tempcw.png (http://img517.imageshack.us/i/tempcw.png/)
Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

Yeah, those are anti-seeking-arrow amulets and robes, and that's three provinces nabbed in one turn, all while repelling an eagle king assault in my homelands. :D

[Jorus]

Nice victories, over 3 undefended provinces! Awesome!!

Let's look at the stats (attached), one could ask - what took you so long?

I did try to Wind Ride my EK out of trouble, and it was successfully cast - but he didn't show up. Another Dom3 mystery.

Anyhow, the moves are a lot easier now....

[Pablomatic]

Gentlemen,

I will not be able to play for one week. Tomorrow, Saturday the 30th until Saturday the 5th.

I have posted for a sub, but gotten no response. Unless otherwise directed, I'll have to turn Helheim to AI and let you two fight it out.

[Jorus]

Well, this is an unwelcome surprise. I don't see any sense in continuing unless there is an active Helheim, who is suposed to be my ally.
So, either we wait a week or stop the game. What do you say Ctis? (victory is within your grasp!).

Jorus/Caelum

[ErikM]

Well, this is an unwelcome surprise. I don't see any sense in continuing unless there is an active Helheim, who is suposed to be my ally.
So, either we wait a week or stop the game. What do you say Ctis? (victory is within your grasp!).

Jorus/Caelum
I'm willing to hold off for a week if you want to continue. Your ally took quite some time to work up enough courage to attack me (or he was just distracted by TC refusing to die, I dunno).

Erik/C'tis

Edit: PS: If you get a sub, make sure they send me their email address so they can get their turn.

[Jorus]

OK, let's wait for Helheim to return to the helm. Have a good week off!

PS
Please make sure that game does not restart until Pablomatic confirms that he is back.

[ErikM]

Bump - thought it might be nice to remind people that it's reached Saturday and by default the game will be hosting in about 30 hours. Consider this a 6 hour warning + a 24 hour "going off hiatus" notice. I've sent in my turn now.

[Jorus]

Thanks, but as I've said before, I see no sense in continuing without Helheim.

[ErikM]

Ack. Still no sign of him? Fine, I've rolled back this turn. Note rollback information from admin page:
Note that once the game is rolled back, it will appear that the game is waiting for 2h files from all players. However, the 2h files from last time the turn was played will in fact be there, and will be used if the game hosts without them being overwritten. This can be useful; often, a game is rehosted in order for only one or two players to retake their turns, while everyone else is expected to make no changes. The game admin can therefore wait till just those players have submitted, and then force hosting. None of the other players will stale (assuming they actually submitted a 2h file last time the turn was played).
So AFAIK only Helheim needs to send in for rolled-back turn (moved from 58 to 57). The rest of us can leave our previous turns on so we don't accidentally use information from looking at the new turn. I've also extended the time some more, although I suspect I'll end up the winner by walkover if not by Tartarians soon.

[Jorus]

Well, I haven't heard from Helheim, and i tend to agree with you (after meeting Orsilochus) that it is just a matter of time. I am disappointed with the ending, as I am sure you are - not being able to demonstrate the scale of your new powers.

So, unless we hear from Helheim, I concede and beg for forgiveness and mercy!

Congratulations to Ctis!

[ErikM]

Helheim sent in a turn with what was apparently a last-ditch effort, since he's set to AI now.

Picture of Orsi attached. He's scripted Earthpower (reinvigoration), Invulnerability (protection in case anything gets through).

[Jorus]

Well, if the picture was for me - it's not necessary, I've seen it, and him in action already. Once was enough! Well done.

You can declare victory, Congrats.

Jorus