Primordial Cake - [Game In Progress]

[AreaOfEffect]

Primordial Cake: A simple sweet game to the death. No complex rules. Self-imposed diplomacy only. Mild pacing. All skill levels allowed. Post if you want to join. Pick a nation when you do.

New Old Rule: Any player who stales a total of 3 times in a 5 turn span will be removed from the game. If their position is good, I will attempt to find a replacement. If not, I will simply find someone to set them to AI.

Details:
-Late Age Game
-All Nations Allowed
-No Graphs
-CMB 1.92 (ettin fix) (thread for mod (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?p=804194)) (direct to ZIP (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11870&d=1336822789))
-Epotara (thread for map (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com//showthread.php?t=36259)) (direct to ZIP (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com//attachment.php?attachmentid=5586&d=1191209992))
-llamaserver (game page (http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=Primordial_Cake))
-All Other Setting Normal

The mod above requires the normal CMB 1.92 (for the sprites). (thread for mod (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=47741)) (direct to zip (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=11322&d=1316193829))

Players (Nations)
-Unoptimized (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=9991) (Ermor) :rip: :dagger::dagger:
-AreaOfEffect (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=9867) (Man)
-Jolly Roger (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=98709) (Agartha) :rip:
-Tiavals (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=7154) (Gath) :rip:
-mattyburn7 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=98371) (Bogarus)
-revenant2 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=8614) (Arcoscephale) :dagger:
-shunwick (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=23872) (Pythium) :rip:
-Ashix (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=98960) (Ulm) :rip:
-Gargouille (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=98891) (Jomon) :rip:
-ghoul31 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=24578) (Patala) :rip:
-Yellowcactus (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=5950) (Mictlan) :computer:
-dark7element (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=70284) (Utgard) :dagger:
-Gokufan1988 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=13515) (Abysia) :rip:
-HoleyDooley (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=98256) (Caelum)
-Reverend Zombie (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=5131) (Marignon) :rip:
-Groundworm (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=39358) (T'ien Ch'i) :dagger:
-danbo (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/private.php?do=newpm&u=9461) (Atlantis) :dagger::dagger::dagger:
-googly1 (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/member.php?u=98896) (C'tis) :computer:
Symbol Key: Defeated :rip:, AI Controlled :computer:, Player Kill :dagger:, Winner :trophy:

[Jolly Roger]

Agartha !

Thanks for setting this up.

Regards, Klaus

[Tiavals]

Gath please. I've been itching to play them for a while.

[mattyburn7]

I'm in as BOgarus.

[revenant2]

I'll join as Atlantis.

[shunwick]

Pythium please. New to MP. What does self-imposed diplomacy mean? Thanks for setting the game up.

[revenant2]

I'll join as Atlantis.

I've changed my mind: I'd like to go with Arcoscephale instead.

[mattyburn7]

Rev: As long as you are not Ermor!!!

[revenant2]

Rev: As long as you are not Ermor!!!

I finally get to be one of the good guys :)

[AreaOfEffect]

Pythium please. New to MP. What does self-imposed diplomacy mean? Thanks for setting the game up.

Means that there will be no mechanism in the game for upholding NAPs (Non-Aggression Pacts). If you make an NAP and stick with it, that's great, but the choice to do so is personal. People can break an NAP at will and I won't care and I won't do anything about it. Now for those who don't like this, oh well. If someone breaks your trust, just don't trust them a second time is all I can say.

[mattyburn7]

So basically in most games if you break the NAP you are somewhat konwn as a "NAP breaker" in that game and others. Per your rules there really shouldn't be a penalty like that for breaking the NAP. Is that a correct assessment?

[Gargouille]

Hello, sory, i speak and understand bad english, "google translator" help me. I play since a month, a friend give me the game, but i buy one for me next chrismas (me poor). I would try first MP with Jomon... Thank for game creator, i play (SP) only with Dominion now, it's realy very good game (me no good player, but i learn).

[tratorix]

Rlyeh.

[AreaOfEffect]

So basically in most games if you break the NAP you are somewhat konwn as a "NAP breaker" in that game and others. Per your rules there really shouldn't be a penalty like that for breaking the NAP. Is that a correct assessment?

Pretty much. However, most people take play it game-to-game. I personally don't try to keep track of who has been untrustworthy in other games.

[ghoul31]

patala

[Athenspatch]

Been gone a few years, but back for some BLOOD.

Please sign me up for Mictlan

-Athenspatch

[dark7element]

Sign me up for Utgard. I'd like to play.

[Gokufan1988]

Can I get in on this as Abyssia?

[Reverend Zombie]

Pythium please. New to MP. What does self-imposed diplomacy mean? Thanks for setting the game up.

Pythium doesn't have a LA version, do they?

[dark7element]

Pythium please. New to MP. What does self-imposed diplomacy mean? Thanks for setting the game up.

Pythium doesn't have a LA version, do they?

They do. It's called the Serpent Cult. You're thinking of Machaka.

[Athenspatch]

Wow...Reverend Zombie still playing...there's an old timer!

Also, Will this map be without sites? I see some of the Alexandria maps roll that way.

[HoleyDooley]

I'm in, nation TBA...

HD

[Reverend Zombie]

Pythium please. New to MP. What does self-imposed diplomacy mean? Thanks for setting the game up.

Pythium doesn't have a LA version, do they?

They do. It's called the Serpent Cult. You're thinking of Machaka.

I stand corrected.

[Reverend Zombie]

Marignon, please.

[Groundworm]

This sounds ambitious and entertaining. I was thinking about another joining another game, and this sounds like a good one. I'm in with T'ien Ch'i.

What are the other settings, like magic site frequency and indie strength?

[shunwick]

So basically in most games if you break the NAP you are somewhat konwn as a "NAP breaker" in that game and others. Per your rules there really shouldn't be a penalty like that for breaking the NAP. Is that a correct assessment?

Pretty much. However, most people take play it game-to-game. I personally don't try to keep track of who has been untrustworthy in other games.

Just so we are all on the same page then, trade agreements are binding but any diplomatic agreement is only valid as long as it is mutually beneficial to both players.

Or to put it another way:-

If you have a NAP-3 agreement with an adjacent nation, it is worthless to you apart from your own assesment of how likely it is that the agreement will be honoured and you really should never expect to receive any warning that the NAP is about to end or even start for that matter.

I don't have any problem with that as long as everyone understands. Whatever goes on in this game should stay in this game. It might be worth making that clear in the opening post.

[danbo]

If there's still spot left I'm in as Atlantis.

[HoleyDooley]

Caelum, thanks.

HD

[AreaOfEffect]

danbo, yes there is still room.

shunwick, trade agreements are another form of diplomacy. As for what happens in-game stays in-game is close to my own personal philosophy on the subject. Still, the point is that I'm not going to enforce any agreements made. For me, doing so turns a game from a game to actual work.

As far as I'm concern all the other settings are normal. So there should be magic sites for the lucky and vigilant. Indy strength 5 and all that other jazz.

[AreaOfEffect]

Alright. We have 18 players, which is my cut off point. Upload your pretenders and we will get a move on this game.

[Reverend Zombie]

Alright. We have 18 players, which is my cut off point. Upload your pretenders and we will get a move on this game.

The LA Alexander map says it is not intended for Ermor or R'lyeh, both of whom we have in this game. Will this map work for us?

[AreaOfEffect]

Personally, I feel that in large games, diplomacy counts for more then actual strength. This goes double for Ermor and R'lyeh.

That said, I wouldn't want people to think that had no chance before the started. If there are any suggestions for a better map, I'm all eyes.

[AreaOfEffect]

I've included links on the main page for the original CBM 1.92 mod, which one needs for the sprites that the ettin fix references. Without it the game will likely crash at pretender creation.

Again, I'll be open to other maps, but if I see all pretenders loaded, I'm going to start the game so that we can get rolling with this. Best to start having fun as soon as one can is what I say.

[Reverend Zombie]

Personally, I feel that in large games, diplomacy counts for more then actual strength. This goes double for Ermor and R'lyeh.


I wasn't thinking so much that these two were overpowered, but that there might be something about the map's start sites that wouldn't work for them (but that would only make sense for R'lyeh, I suppose).

[Tiavals]

I tried the Alexander - Late Era(No Sites) map with R'lyeh in singleplayer, and it worked fine. I also found a magic site, so I have no idea what that stuff means, since it seems to have sites and R'lyeh works fine.

[shunwick]

Yes, I am confused by the "No Sites" tag since there appear to be sites. This seems to be a curious use of the English language with which I am unfamiliar.

[Tiavals]

Perhaps it means that it doesn't have Fixed Starting Sites(rather, provinces or positions)? A poor choice of words, but I could see it.

[dark7element]

In a multiplayer game with diplomacy, the strength of nations like Ermor and R'lyeh is also a liability, because few if any players will tolerate their presence, much less ally with them. I've only played one Late Age game before (with about 10 players) and Ermor got dogpiled as soon as the other players learned where it was.

[Reverend Zombie]

Yes, I am confused by the "No Sites" tag since there appear to be sites. This seems to be a curious use of the English language with which I am unfamiliar.

In this case, I believe "No Sites" means that our version of the map does not have the special, fixed magic sites (libraries?) that appear in the "scenario" version of the map.

AFAIK, we will have whatever random magic sites are determined by the game settings.

[shunwick]

Ah, that would make sense. Thanks for that.

[revenant2]

In a multiplayer game with diplomacy, the strength of nations like Ermor and R'lyeh is also a liability, because few if any players will tolerate their presence, much less ally with them. I've only played one Late Age game before (with about 10 players) and Ermor got dogpiled as soon as the other players learned where it was.

As someone who's playing Ermor in another game, I think I know why this map is unsuitable: It's too big. If Ermor does well, they'll have to deal with unspeakable amounts of micromanagement.

The lack of graphs will further compound Ermor's misery because players are less likely to concede, which will prolong the game (I like graphs off BTW).

Here is a what a screen-shot from Ermor looks like in the late game (Matty, close your eyes) on a smaller map. Note the large number of arrows, which -- you guessed it -- are hordes of undead streaming to the front lines. These undead might be free, but they don't move themselves.

http://devnada.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/map3.jpg

Not because they are too strong, but out of mercy we should knock Ermor out of the game quick.

[mattyburn7]

Whoa. I did not want to see that!! :)

[dark7element]

Yeesh. It's like the classic painting "The Triumph of Death" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Triumph_of_Death) in the form of a Dominions 3 map.

Then again, I suppose that painting is what it would look like any time Late-Age Ermor rolls into a province...

[AreaOfEffect]

I've messaged tratorix that they are the only player not to submit a pretender. As I see it, unless I get a message back asking for more time, I will force start the game tomorrow evening. See you on the battlefield tomorrow folks.

[HoleyDooley]

Yeah, we have had 17 pretenders submitted for well over 24 hours....seriously.......

[AreaOfEffect]

Game force started. Sorry tratorix, perhaps next game. To everyone else, good luck!

[Gokufan1988]

Maybe tratorix is a cool guy but I can't say I'm too broken up about not having R'lyeh in the game.

[shunwick]

AreaOfEffect,

I have a major problem. The opening turn arrived. I put it in the Primordial_Cupcake folder. I see it listed in game. I open the turn. My pretender is listed on the pretender screen. But my nation (Pythium) is nowhere to be found.

The display shows Map location ??? (9) I have 400 gold in the bank but 0 income, 0 upkeep, and no gems. I have no troops, no sites, nothing.

I requested a resend from Llamaserver and I get the same thing from the resend.

Pythium can not be found anywhere on the map.

Thoughts?

Best wishes,
Steve

PS: Since it seems unlikely that I shall ever be defeated, I declare myself the winner!

PPS: Since I have no candles it probably means that I have already lost!!!

[AreaOfEffect]

Interesting, I have personally never encountered this bug before. My first instinct is to restart the game. Probably the best time to ever rollback a turn. Hopefully we will never have to do this again.

[AreaOfEffect]

I've officially ruined the game by unmaking the turn in the wrong way.

I've had to make a new game page with a different name.

Everyone must now re-submit their pretenders to the Primordial_Cake game page (http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi?game=Primordial_Cake). Sorry.

This sort of puts a big poop stick on what was a pretty awesome day.

Edit: Be sure to use the new game name: Primordial_Cake
(The old one could not be reused.)

Edit: Corrected the game page it accepted the right age.

[Unoptimized]

Hey! Your friendly neighborhood undead here. I had a bit of a brainwave. Can this map handle this many players and does it have starting points for all of these factions? It may be worth checking. I'd hate for this business to happen twice.

[Unoptimized]

Yea, I just did a quick test. With this map and with the mod in place, one random player cannot play. In my test, it was Gath. Can anyone else confirm this?

[HoleyDooley]

Well I guess its lower the allowed players by one and first in best dressed if that is going to be the case.

[revenant2]

Yea, I just did a quick test. With this map and with the mod in place, one random player cannot play. In my test, it was Gath. Can anyone else confirm this?

I tested the map with 18 human players, and the Ermor player had problems loading. However, there were no issues when I tried with 17 players on two separate occasions.

[Tiavals]

Seems like a strange bug. Supposedly CBM 1.92 sometimes has problems with pretender creation compared to - Wild ettin fix, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.

[shunwick]

I asked the question on the chat channel last night and apparently it is not unknown. It happens when two nations are given the same starting province and as far as I know it has nothing to do with CBM.

Let's hope everything goes well the second time around.

[Jolly Roger]

Ilamaserver problem

My first turn bounced back. Received the message - game is unknown on Ilamaserver-

Assume that results from the fact, the game is still listed as waiting for Pretenders ??!!?

Cheers, Klaus

[Tiavals]

Klaus, the problem is that the game start bugged, so we have to resend our pretenders to a game of a somewhat different name(original was Primordial_Cupcake, new game is Primordial_Cake).

[AreaOfEffect]

Map Changed. Download new map (http://forum.shrapnelgames.com//attachment.php?attachmentid=5586&d=1191209992) please.

I've changed the game to using the Epotara map, which is a different wrap-around map without any fixed starting positions. It seems I allowed one too many players for what the Alexander map could handle. Links on the prime forum post will be changed.

[Tiavals]

Ooh, I really like this new map. The different terrains appear in masses, which means that the different survival skills will be very useful. I especially love the big swamp. Splendid.

[Gargouille]

When i try "Alexander_No_Sites" map with 17 or 18 players, there is a problem, but when i try "Alexander Late Era - No Sites" map, it's ok, but the starting point is fixed (it's ever the same for each nation). I downloaded "Epotara" map and i am ready...

[Groundworm]

I'm going to need until at least tonight, possibly tomorrow, before I submit my pretender. I'm completely unfamiliar with this map, and need to do some playtesting- it may require a different pretender build.

[Gargouille]

I see the new map and one think hurt me. The river when you can not cross. Flying unit stop, water unit stop too? But why not...

[Gokufan1988]

Province connections are set manually by the mapmaker after the map has been drawn. Impassable terrain like a river is simulated by not connecting the two provinces. So despite the two provinces being next to each other on the map, the game doesn't recognize the fact that it would make sense if you could fly between the two.

[Gargouille]

It's a shame...

[Athenspatch]

Every mage knows 'You just can't fly over water'. It's the nature of magic. No one has ever flown over water....never have and never will. :D

[googly1]

hi i would like to play as C'tis if they are still available.

[AreaOfEffect]

hi i would like to play as C'tis if they are still available.

Surpriseextraplayersubmitpretenderalready?

Edit: This is exactly the sort of thing that happens when its been a while since you've hosted a game.

[googly1]

O should i not have? I saw what looked like an opening and so i submitted my pretender...

[Athenspatch]

Hahah!

I haven't played this game since about 2007 and am starting to wonder...Will I play it?

Is this start busted or can we work with 19? The map is BIG and seems likely to fit 19 players easily....

[dark7element]

I'm pretty sure tratorix, the one who was going to play R'lyeh, disappeared after one post and never sent a pretender, so there's only 18 players. We're only waiting on T'ien Chi at the moment.

[Groundworm]

Apologies for the delay, my pretender is now submitted.

I believe we've waited long enough. No offense to tratorix, but I've played with him before. He's actually a very good player (even won a game I played in with him), but he does tend to stale/miss turn deadlines, and is in general not very reliable. It's nothing personal, just been my experience with him.

[dark7element]

I just want to say (having just now downloaded and installed the thing) that I really like the idea of the impassable rivers in this map. Sure, it may not make sense that amphibious or flying units can't cross, but I think the benefits to gameplay will be substantial. With impassable barriers between some provinces, obnoxious and frustrating "raiding" tactics will be discouraged and there will be more of an emphasis on front-line battles at the chokepoints.

[AreaOfEffect]

Game underway.

Updated the initial thread post so that player names are now links. The links either go directly to making a private message to the person, or to their personal forum page if they haven't activated pm.

googly1, your fine. It was unexpected for a new player to hop in after the game had already started at one point. We had actually gotten to first turn and had to start over because of a mistake made by me. So the guest list seemed set in my mind. Still, nothing wrong with extra players, particularly on a map this large. Welcome and good luck.

[Gargouille]

Good luck all

[Athenspatch]

Nice Job Area of Effect! Do people normally use the pm to communicate? Most of my games have been back a few years. We didn't communicate very well as I recall. With 18 players, I'd like to see a game of diplomacy form up!

[AreaOfEffect]

I find that if you make communication more accessible, it will happen a lot more.

[Tiavals]

People communicate in a variety of ways. PMs, posting in the game thread(for all to see, like NAPs or general trading), sometimes people use the ingame messages if they want to add a role-playing aspect to it for enhanced feeling.

[mattyburn7]

Hey Guys. I have a problem. I submitted my turn 1 from the original game. Saw it was going to restart. I never got a new turn 1 and saw we are on Turn 2 and Bogarus didn't stall (but I didn't play Turn 1 from the new game, just the old) so I thought it might be glitchy so I requested a turn resend and did not get anything. Did someone else swipe Bogarus?

[AreaOfEffect]

You have got to be kidding me.

[mattyburn7]

Nope. I think I got hijacked. When the game restarted and I saw most pretenders up (including mine) I assumed it was there because I submitted pretender from first time. But somehwere in there I got hijacked.

In the interest of keeping game moving I'll be happy to just take whatever surprise scales and pretender the hijacker created. If you want to do that let me know and I'll PM you my email to switch to.

[AreaOfEffect]

Alright, I'm not in a good mood about this.

Option 1: I unstart the game, kick the current Borgarus player, wait for mattyburn to submit a pretender, confirm its him/her via forum post, and then start the game manually again from turn 1.

Option 2: I hand the current nation of Bogarus to mattyburn by setting the email address to his/hers. Not a very good option as someone would be forced to play a pretender build they had nothing to do with.

Option 3: We continue playing as if nothing happened and let mystery player have their way. Not very fair to matttyburn though.

Option 4: I shut the whole game down cause its clearly a sign from actual gods that I shouldn't try to play god.

[Athenspatch]

On a positive note.....Your SC God Chetyre is kicking butt! He's already at the top of the Experience Boards! Besides the turn one blind invasion, this really sucks Matty. We should all play a game where our pretenders are built by strangers with zero explanation of logic and reason. You will be at a severe disadvantage this game.

[AreaOfEffect]

If mattyburn is around right now, and I'm around right now, then I'm willing to do option 1 as it should only take a few minutes. It'll be frustrating to start over but still not bad since its still only turn 2.

Just have you know though, I really liked my current placement on the map.

[mattyburn7]

I am still around. Let's do option 2. Its not quite fair to me, but I hate to make y'all restart. it'll be fun and it'll serve whoever did this right.

I'm cool with picking it up here. I'll PM you my email.

[AreaOfEffect]

Alright then, thanks matty for being better about this then me right now. I'll be awaiting your email.

[mattyburn7]

No worries. I can definetly understand your frustration. I'd love to know the ***** that did this. In any event it will a better game for everyone not having a hijacker involved.

I just sent PM.

[Athenspatch]

Matty, you may have the pick of Mictlan's finest Blood Slaves!

[mattyburn7]

Cool. I got the email that address is changed. Thanks!

[mattyburn7]

THanks Much Athens! My god is very fond of Blood slaves. A generous offer :)

[shunwick]

AreaOfEffect,

Wow. Your karma must be bad. Did you kick a puppy or something? :)

Best wishes,
Steve

[Tiavals]

Seems like mystery players are bizarrely common. I had one too in a game I hosted a while ago.

[Groundworm]

Since no one seems to mind, I guess we'll continue the game as is.

Props to you, mattyburn7... I've seen before that you're a really excellent sport when it comes to adversity and helping out, but this is particularly excellent of you. Having your nation hijacked, and then taking it over with a mystery pretender build is basically like subbing from turn 1. I wouldn't have any interest in doing that, and I give you a lot of credit for being willing to do so in the interest of keeping the game moving.

[revenant2]

No worries. I can definetly understand your frustration. I'd love to know the ***** that did this. In any event it will a better game for everyone not having a hijacker involved.

I just sent PM.

How do I know this is the real Matty and not some imposter? This isn't helping my natural paranoia any...

[mattyburn7]

Actually I'm one of your undead from BSOD that I captured and then you diseased...I'll be a real mess in this one!

[AreaOfEffect]

Extended the hosting interval to 28 hours. A few extra hours beyond a day always seems to help.

[Gokufan1988]

No worries. I can definetly understand your frustration. I'd love to know the ***** that did this. In any event it will a better game for everyone not having a hijacker involved.

I just sent PM.

Thanks for taking one for the team, I was getting a tad impatient with all the delays.

[mattyburn7]

My pleasure. The Pretender and start is different than I would have taken but Its a fair tradeoff (Awake Pretender and some lower scales vs. dormant and higher). Yea, I didn't have the heart to put a 2nd restart on folks.

Happy Hunting!

[Gargouille]

I just see "Enable Private Messaging", now it's enable (and msn/emese too).

[Tiavals]

Hmm, the map is certainly extremely crowded. I've already met 3 nations so far. I wonder if the rest of the map is equally crowded, or if there's huge swathes of empty space somewhere.

[AreaOfEffect]

That could be the case. I will never claim this game to be fair. My only hope is that its fun.

As it is, with different skill levels all around, some people will naturally be better off then others simply based on the neighbors they have. It still doesn't mean we can predict the outcome of this game until its over. Then, and only then, will hindsight show how natural it was that the winner won.

[Tiavals]

Ah, it was not a complaint, merely an observation. :)

[Athenspatch]

Yep, the winners are the people having fun. That said, Mictlan's Priests are accepting blood donations and praying that some Giants don't show up in our home province before turn 10...hehe!

[shunwick]

Not particularly happy with my starting position but I quite like the idea of having to learn to play the hand you are dealt rather than something that is artificially "fair". Having fun so far!

[Gokufan1988]

Hmm, the map is certainly extremely crowded. I've already met 3 nations so far. I wonder if the rest of the map is equally crowded, or if there's huge swathes of empty space somewhere.

I've only found 1 other nation so far, but I'm so deep in the mountains I haven't found a single province with a pop of over 5000 yet. Kind of a drag for such a blood heavy nation. I'm adapting though.

[Athenspatch]

Time to head for the low ground!

[AreaOfEffect]

Ah, it was not a complaint, merely an observation. :)

I didn't think you were complaining.

I've just played the game enough to know that some things come down to luck, be it magic sites, neighbor selections, or just guessing right about where your enemy is headed.

Though in the long run the impact of your starting point dwindles to nothing once your past it.

[mattyburn7]

LOL...I went from seeing nobody 2 turns ago. 1 nation last turn. Now I see 4 nations. One of whom suddenly popped on my capitol. and oddly enough, other than my capital they are nowhere else to be found. tsk tsk.

[Athenspatch]

Who dares to defy Chetyre? (Not the be confused with Cheater, He who Hijacks) Man, that's a tough start, being occupied on turn 6. The good news is that some of those 4 other nations likely know the guy occupying you (Caelum or a stealth nation). This early in the game, you can't bring strength to more then one or two locations...If he's on you, his own capitol is undefended!

[mattyburn7]

Its Atlantis which is weird. No stealth troops and I'm 99.9% certain they weren't in any neighboring provinces last turn. Not sure where they materialized from.

Definetly a crimp in the plans! but definetly everyone should note that the bulk of the Atlantis army is away from their capital (HINT HINT).

[Unoptimized]

It should be noted that we have a bit of a reputation. If you happen to see my nation, and don't want to be attacked by the (likely mad) Nero and his numberless silent legions, please let me know. We should be able to work out a perfectly amicable non-aggression pact.

[Unoptimized]

Incidentally, my nation is LA Ermor. Get in touch if you wish :)

[revenant2]

Incidentally, my nation is LA Ermor. Get in touch if you wish :)

It's already turn 7 and nobody has called for your immediate destruction. Either everyone is too busy scheming against their neighbors to pay you any mind, or they don't know the incredible threat you represent.

What some might not realize is that the lack of graphs and high number of players will work to your advantage by allowing you to grow in power unchecked and play off feuding neighbors against each other.

Once you hit critical mass, it's all over.

[AreaOfEffect]

Incidentally, my nation is LA Ermor. Get in touch if you wish :)

It's already turn 7 and nobody has called for your immediate destruction. Either everyone is too busy scheming against their neighbors to pay you any mind, or they don't know the incredible threat you represent.

What some might not realize is that the lack of graphs and high number of players will work to your advantage by allowing you to grow in power unchecked and play off feuding neighbors against each other.

Once you hit critical mass, it's all over.

*Moves research toward suicidal rain mages. Also begins construction of an undead-be-gone spray.

[Reverend Zombie]

Incidentally, my nation is LA Ermor. Get in touch if you wish :)

If someone would be so kind as to point us in your direction, I am sure we of Marignon would warmly welcome you.

On another note, what happened to those Atlanteans that were besieging Bogarus' capital last month?

[Unoptimized]

Oh thank goodness. Someone here turned the AC on all the way and it is COLD. Just come on down to

[revenant2]

Incidentally, my nation is LA Ermor. Get in touch if you wish :)

If someone would be so kind as to point us in your direction, I am sure we of Marignon would warmly welcome you.

On another note, what happened to those Atlanteans that were besieging Bogarus' capital last month?

Were those Atlanteans rocking a E9S9N5 bless? If so, that might be the last we hear from Bogarus.

[Tiavals]

Ermor is west of the huge mountain-range. I may have to smack them around a bit.

[mattyburn7]

The Atlanteans: They went for a swim :). I think they will be showing up as a part of Ermor's dead army. Sailing caught me off guard, but we had a nice welcoming committee ready for them.

[Reverend Zombie]

The Atlanteans: They went for a swim :). I think they will be showing up as a part of Ermor's dead army. Sailing caught me off guard, but we had a nice welcoming committee ready for them.

Let's be friends. :angel An emissary bearing Marignon's proposal has been sent through the usual diplomatic channel.

[danbo]

Well, it's the end of Atlantis. But it was a very unlucky game for me. On my first attack I was ambushed by couple of nasty air mages who fried my first squad. Understanding that my expansion is ruined and that I've lost any chances to win the game on such a crowded map, I decided to try some risky moves. From the very beginning I spotted Bogarus just across the bay and used our sailng ability to cross the sea. I think Bogarus ruler should thank The Hijacker for awake pretender who helped greatly in our last battle.

[mattyburn7]

Having the awake pretender and having him 1 province away certainly didn't hurt :). Sorry to hear about your troubles. It was a good gamble to take for sure!

[mattyburn7]

Marignon: An emissary is rushing across the water with a message for your great nation.

[Jolly Roger]

Seems like the Independents are rather strong in this game.
I´ve lost a province to an uprising of a Vampire order that annihilated my local forces !!:deadhorse:
Another attempt to conquer a province of obviously weak independents ended in a defeat too, as they were supported by very nasty mages....:doh::deadhorse:

However I´ve recovered meanwhile...:up::fire:

Regards, Klaus

[AreaOfEffect]

I've had my own spots of bad luck. In my first move of expansion I lost my prophet to some side-swiping infantry. :shock:

Then my capitol was hit with an unrest event. :mad:

Followed by a barbarian attack. The attackers were routed but the event caused even more unrest. :banghead

That however didn't stop me from commanding my units to construct my second castle on turn 3, or from my judges from putting to rest the insolence of my populace. :haha:

[Gokufan1988]

I found a province where the primary unit type is living statues. I think I'll save that one for later.

[Unoptimized]

I have certainly noticed that cbm events tend to be nasty if any unluck is taken.

If it makes you feel any better, a plague hit my capitol! A bunch of my people died, guys! It was so sad!

SO sad.

[shunwick]

I found a province where the primary unit type is living statues. I think I'll save that one for later.

I'm saving that one for later. And since it is adjacent to my capital I am claiming it as a Pythium protectorate. :tough:

Best wishes,
Steve

[Reverend Zombie]

Marignon: An emissary is rushing across the water with a message for your great nation.

Your proposal is acceptable in principle, but the details need to be arranged.

You shall have my thoughts on it anon.

[mattyburn7]

That sounds good Rev. We can discuss via PM here, or via game or any other means. I appreciate it.

[revenant2]

I'm going to be leaving for a trip early tomorrow morning and won't return until late Monday night (Pacific GMT-7).

I'm not going to ask for an extension because these turns are still fairly short, and I think I can sneak in at least a few turns without facing the wrath of my significant other. However, don't be alarmed if I have a stale or two.

[AreaOfEffect]

Well, the last two turns have all has gone splendid for me. Even got some good events that have sort of balanced out all the bad ones thus far.

Hmm... do you smell that? Oh dear, more squabbling peasants are complaining about taxes. One second please.

Rat-a-tat-tat...

Alright then, all is well. Everybody's happy on this end of things.

[Athenspatch]

Usually, I have early plagues, earthquakes, rebellions ect...

This game I've only had 3 really bad events. Barbarians, Villians, and last turn a Troll invasion right where I didn't need it. Ahhh....the Gods of War are fickle indeed!

[dark7element]

Wow, you've gotten barbarian, villain AND troll attacked already? In addition to other bad events? And you consider yourself relatively lucky?

I have friggin' misfortune 3, and the worst I've had to deal with is a couple of gold-loss events and false prophets. Sure, I've got fortune tellers, but they only cover the capital. I hadn't thought of myself as being extraordinarily fortunate, but I guess I am!

[Athenspatch]

The worst events are ones that send your capitol's unrest over 100, or siege your capitol. Both cases would reduce your income and keep you from producing units. In Multi-player, very very bad.

I've had a couple of events hand me gold, and very little unrest. It's a good start! (besides barbariand, villians, and Trolls)

[YellowCactus]

Hey Guys,
I was tinkering with the forums today and came across my old sharpnel forum account. (This one)
If possible, I'd like to replace Athenspatch account with this one. (If it's not too much trouble) I will be checking both accounts until the transition is completed. Primordial Cake is my only 'active' game, so switching accounts shouldn't be too hard.

Thanks!

[AreaOfEffect]

Name and link changed for YellowCactus/Athenspatch on prime post.

[Gargouille]

Lot of words, cry, cry and cry. We, people, king, prophet, ninjas, wariors... live in very poor land. No gold, for us gold is "miracle". But we live with this problem, it's good for learn.

[shunwick]

Arghhhh...:doh:

[Gargouille]

Abyssia's prophet come in my kingdom for give me his head, why not... Thank for this strange present.

[Gokufan1988]

Abyssia's prophet come in my kingdom for give me his head, why not... Thank for this strange present.

It was either you or someone else. I'm basically hanging on out of spite at this point.

Speaking of bad events, I've gotten the one that destroys your temple and kills a few thousand people three times so far. Having a doubly mountain locked capital was also pretty bad luck. Thems the breaks I guess.

[Reverend Zombie]

Abyssia's prophet come in my kingdom for give me his head, why not... Thank for this strange present.

It was either you or someone else. I'm basically hanging on out of spite at this point.

Speaking of bad events, I've gotten the one that destroys your temple and kills a few thousand people three times so far. Having a doubly mountain locked capital was also pretty bad luck. Thems the breaks I guess.

I'd say that Abyssia's misfortune would give Marignon a leg up in the blood game, but our surroundings are both rocky and watery...

[YellowCactus]

This is my first Dominions game since 2007. I'm very pleased to be back with old faces and new. Primordial Cake has some very strong Diplomacy Games going on. Slow starts due to luck can defeat all but the most determined players. Large battles in the later game will destroy many turns worth of built troops as I recall. So if your behind right now, just try to keep up with Research, plan expansion with allies, and save your army for after the titans of the battlefield clash.

I'm no pro, just very very talkative....

[shunwick]

I think C'tis stalled.

@YelleowCactus:- Talkative is good. I am playing in another game and there is no talking at all. I am trying to get some diplomacy going in that game.

[Gokufan1988]

I'm going AI as I'm basically finished. I did have one last glorious battle so it's all good. c u l8r bois

[shunwick]

Gokufan1988,

Well, speaking as the leader of the two armies you have just crushed, are you sure you are finished?

Best wishes,
Steve

[Gokufan1988]

Gokufan1988,

Well, speaking as the leader of the two armies you have just crushed, are you sure you are finished?

Best wishes,
Steve

Well I've got 1 province and like 5 mages and 40 troops left. Anything I did would just be thrashing around before someone puts me out of my misery, and the AI is pretty competent at doing that.

[YellowCactus]

Can someone write a brief history of the Abyssian Wars? It's no fun being in the Dark!

[shunwick]

I am not sure that a brief history would suffice. It is an epic tale of tradgedy, treachery, shameless opportunism, missed opportunities, demented diplomacy, bravery, heartless heroes, outrageous bad luck, and desperate last stands.

It deserves to be written. Perhaps, one day, a furture scholar will stumble across the ruins of this great nation, unearth the lost archives and breath life once more into the hopes and dreams of the dead.

[AreaOfEffect]

Will there be hot trashy sex scenes and explosions?! If so, I'll be first in line for popcorn.

[shunwick]

All the hot trashy sex scenes will be done in the best possible taste and only because they are necessary for the story. Explosions by the bucketfull.

[shunwick]

You know, I like Dominions 3 just as a game. I'm not vey good at it yet but I am learning. However, I really like the role-playing aspect of MP. Sadly, this will probably be my last MP game for a while. I must learn how to play the game better before I venture into MP again.

[shunwick]

Gokufan1988,

Well, speaking as the leader of the two armies you have just crushed, are you sure you are finished?

Best wishes,
Steve

Well I've got 1 province and like 5 mages and 40 troops left. Anything I did would just be thrashing around before someone puts me out of my misery, and the AI is pretty competent at doing that.

It has been great fun playing the game with you and I hope to see you again on another battelfield some day. All the best.

[AreaOfEffect]

Shunwick, the best way to learn how to play, in my opinion, is to play more MP games. Also, your knowledge of the spells can be the most limiting factor in this game. With the right spells, paired with the right mages, 5 plus 40 dudes can route almost any early game opposition. Last of all, you will never learn the most essential aspect of MP by playing alone, which is diplomacy. That said, I'm glad to hear your doing so well so far. Good luck to you.

Everyone, I've extended the timer to 36 hours. We are going along on at a good pace and I don't want to lose that. Still, people are heading into player verse player mid-game conflicts, which requires more attention. Gath vs Ermor, Ulm vs Mictlan, Atlantis vs Marignon, and Pythium vs Robot Abyssia are all examples of current or upcoming conflicts.

[Groundworm]

shunwick, I fully agree with AreaOfEffect. When I started playing MP Dominions 3, I was awed by what an awesome spell Falling Fires is. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing on any level- I didn't know the spells or even how the magic system worked, I was unaware how to script or where to position my units, didn't know how defense and protection worked, didn't know about fatigue, etc. Forget about late-game magic, communions, and thugs/SCs... way over my head. And how to build a pretender or what strategies to use... yeah, still haven't figured that out.

But playing MP is an excellent way to learn, even if it is a trial by fire. You'll lose. A lot. I've played about 15 games so far and have one only 1, and consider myself happy to have won even that one. As long as you have fun in MP, keep doing it, and you absolutely will get better. Part of improving is seeing what your enemies do and taking their tricks for your own! :)

[YellowCactus]

Yep Yep! +1 to the above posts!

Some of the best players never win the game. (They are just too scary, and people team up on them!) But the devil is in the details.

Build lots of scouts, try to catch a view of battles between experienced players. Everyone has different styles. One guy might have great coverage with battlefield mages, while another player builds strong diplomacy. There are a few 'Game Winners' in the late game, but I'm not very experienced in late game, just know you want to team up on anyone who casts certain spells like...

Burdon of Time: Kills off everything that isn't Undead. Ermor
Darkness: All provinces yield 1/10th gold, armies can't fight well. Used by Nations with Darkvision
Astral Corruption: Kills off all mages! Used by Blood nations.
Gift of Health with Tartarian Gates: Cures the afflictions of HUGE magic undead SC's.
There's a spell that gives you 1/3 of all Gems used every turn by all players......(WOW)

Some battlefield Combonations to watch out for....

Super Combatants: Single Hero with fancy equipment. You want to know how the enemy is equiping SC's before you meet them on the battlefield. If the enemy has high Defense, try to swarm them. If they have high Protection, use armor piercing/negating attacks. If they have low moral or magic resistance, use that against them. There is always a weakness.

If you see a faction using an element to destroy entire armies, start fabricating items to protect against that element.

Example is Caelum calling Storms and then electrocuting entire armies on the battlefield.

Oh, now I'm rambling...Just make sure you have lots of scouts in the field. They are your best defense, and strategic edge!

[shunwick]

Guys,

Thanks for the encouragement but I am still too new to the game and I don't have that much time to spare. So it better for me, at the moment, to concentrate on playing little test games to try to understand how some this stuff works.

I am not going to be gone for long and I do appreciate that MP is the best way to learn the game. When this game is finished I shall take a couple of months to sort out the basics and then I can return to MP.

Best wishes,
Steve

[YellowCactus]

lolz,

By then it will be 2013 and you will be wanting some BLOOD!

We will see!

[shunwick]

lolz,

By then it will be 2013 and you will be wanting some BLOOD!

We will see!

You may well be right.

[shunwick]

In other news, the triumphant counter attack by Abyssia continues. It seems that the Abyssian Wars are entering a new phase. As the shattered armies of Pythium withdraw through the mountains they are being chased hard by the rampant Abyssians.

Asked if the Pythium retreat would continue, General Voldan explained, "We are not retreating. We are simply advancing in different direction."

In the Pythium capital, the Central Committee are meeting in closed session to discuss the disaster that has befallen the 1st and 5th armies. There are rumours of a power struggle behind the scenes and at least one member of the Central Committee has questioned the competance of the General Secretary, Vsevolod. Whether or not he can hold onto the reins of power remains to be seen.

Open criticism of the General Secretary is bound to undermine his position and it is interesting to note that the front page of Advarp, Pythium's national newspaper, features a prominent piece praising the recent work of Paghat, the current Chairman of the Intelligence Directorate.

The Democratic and Peace-Loving Peoples of Pythium await further news.

[HoleyDooley]

Nice read shun.

[YellowCactus]

So...What's going on with this Great Undead Nation of Ermor????

Have they hit critical mass yet?

[shunwick]

Comrade Paghat, Chairman of the Intelligence Directorate, today issued an announcement calling for the formation of an Anti-Emorian Crusade. In a daring speech in front of Pythium's Palace of Heroes, he called on all nations to unite in brotherhood to end the eternal threat posed by this most unholy of nations.

"Even now, this vast evil is assembling its armies for the conquest of all the land," he said. "It is time for the living to unite against the undead hordes."

"It is known that the Empires of Gath and Patala border onto Emorian lands and that the Empires of Agartha, Mictlan, and T'ien Ch'i are either already in contact with the Emorian Legions or soon will be. Ermor is located in province 188 by the reckoning of the ancients," he revealed.

"Nero, God of Shadows, knows only the hunger for living flesh and the hatred of life itself. He must be destroyed!"

It is unclear if this announcement is a serious attempt to form an anti-Emorian alliance or if it is a power play designed to solidify the Chairmain's position as he manoeuvres into position to challenge the General Secretary for the leadership position.

However, it is clear, that the sentiments expressed by Comrade Paghat, met with overwheleming approval by the toilling masses many of whom gathered outside the Palace and loudly cheered his speech.

He may have overplayed his hand, though. Comrade General Clodius, commander of the 2nd Pythium Army Group and also known as "The Proph", issued a statement from the Abyssian battlefields pointing out that only he had the authority to call for a crusade. Such disunity among the Pythium leadership cannot be good for long term prospects.

The Democratic and Peace-Loving Peoples of Pythium await further news.

[Jolly Roger]

Gentlemen,

I´ll be in holidays now.

JimboJones will replace me for that period.

Please send the files to his email adress now.

Thanks, Klaus

[AreaOfEffect]

I need an email address.

[AreaOfEffect]

Starting late tomorrow I'll be on my way to Gen Con. While in Indianapolis I should have opportunities to submit my turns and respond to diplomatic missives. Though I can't make any guarantees. Also, it will be hardest for me to submit my turn from Tuesday Night to Wednesday Night as I should be in transit for most of the time. Just a heads up. I may delay the game several hours during that span of time.

[AreaOfEffect]

Need astral and death gems (batches of 5 gems preferred). I have excess of nature and water. PM for trade.

[Gargouille]

Utgard forces have attacked a little defended province of our realm, so let's make war against them, and we will hurt them, they will suffer and have heavy losses. Take this opportunity to ravage the Utgard kingdom.
Caelum are liars, they talk about peace, but they massed very large forces on our border. They will also suffer because our largest army is ready to sacrifice for the defense of our ancestral lands. We ask neighbors of Caelum to attack these liars.
We may be defeated, but we own two large armies that will hit hard at our enemies.
We have been faithful to our covenants, we have only one word, we are not traitors and liars, we are ready to fight, we'll take to the grave numbers of scoundrels who covet our lands.

[YellowCactus]

You tell them Gargouille! Double teaming two timing backstabbers!!!!!

[HoleyDooley]

Thats right, and considering my (Caleum) forces are there to protect my castle being built are about 1/2 the size of Jomons troops, its laughable that he accuses me of being aggressive.

Still it seems he wants to fight.......and I have no idea about Jotum attacking him as Jotum is currently at war with Ulm.....

This a bad case of jumping to conclusions...that could end badly for him.

[AreaOfEffect]

jimbojones1971 has asked for a 24 hour extension in order to know his situation.

From now on I ask people post their requests for extensions on the forum, not as a PM to me. This way I don't have to explain what is going on.

[Gargouille]

Caelum, "my army is here" since the conquest of the province, this is my "first force", with my predenter, and you have received confirmation that I would not attack you (i can attack you since my arrival and i have not done... my ninjas watching you, not kill you). Your forces are new, and they are realy big (not 1/2 but 1/1 and you have elephants). I'm not a liar, if you not attack, i will stay in peace with you.
For Utgard, my second force come, next month begin "first cry of giant".
Jomon are proud warriors, not traitors or crazy.

[YellowCactus]

Gargouille has it right! When enemies attack from all sides, there's only one thing to do!!!! Fight Fight Fight!

However, given the strength of Pythium's Diplomatic Council, perhaps an anti-cold Dominion Collective should be formed. Caelum and Giants are natural bed partners...

Other Gods should not allow this Tyrany of Frost to continue!!!

[dark7element]

Hmm, I hadn't been seriously considering it, but I like Yellowcactus's idea! Hey, Caelum! Wanna establish the Tyranny of Frost together?

Edit: Oh, and by the way, to Gargouille/Jomon: You had your chance to offer me a NAP when your huge-*** army led by you yourself (I.E. the celestial general) came into contact with my borders. Since you didn't offer one, I assumed that meant you thought you were tough and didn't think I was a threat. My beloved giants are hungry for war and conquest, but if you want to spare your army of tiny peasants any further humiliation, I'll be glad to give you peace for 10 turns... for a sum of 500 gold, delivered up front.

[Gargouille]

Dear giants, we know you are big strength and small brain. You can leave our land, and we forget your stupidity. You can give us 500 gold and we stop our army and revenge. Otherwise, your loss will be considerable. Why your troop enter in our land? You see we not fight against you. Our border is only PD and small troop. We have a poor land, you see that, why attack us?
This is our last offer: "Utgard go home now".

[Gargouille]

We see 260 troops of Caelum. Caelum say me "peace", it's for laugh?
Caelum, you say me NAP3, NAP3 is big ****?

[Tiavals]

The proud giants of Gath have been overrun and will be consumed by the walking dead within months. All is lost!

[HoleyDooley]

We see 260 troops of Caelum. Caelum say me "peace", it's for laugh?
Caelum, you say me NAP3, NAP3 is big ****?


Garg, I have offered you a NAP 3, take it or leave it!

I have never broken a NAP in any other game....you can do the math from there.

The province you are constantly whinging about with my troops also borders Utgard.....I don't hear him complaining and I have had limited discussion with him full stop.

Your ranting is hilarious and I enjoy reading it, as I am sure most of the others do too.

In reality though, you are saying "I am scared" and painting a big 'bulls eye" on yourself.

[HoleyDooley]

Ah guys, I don't want to start a panic, but in another game recently finished, LA Ermor, cleverly played by Rev2, was unstoppable once he got a decent start in the game.

I suggest the neighbours of Ermor start communicating with each other very quickly or you will be searching the forums for a new game starting.

[shunwick]

AreaOfEffect,

I am having problems with my computer. I am in receipt of turn 22 and I request 48 hours extension. Sorry about this.

If I can't solve the computer problems quickly, I may have to withdraw from the game rather than hold up eveyone else. I certainly hope it does not come to that because I am enjoying this game.

Best wishes,
Steve

[revenant2]

Ah guys, I don't want to start a panic, but in another game recently finished, LA Ermor, cleverly played by Rev2, was unstoppable once he got a decent start in the game.

I suggest the neighbours of Ermor start communicating with each other very quickly or you will be searching the forums for a new game starting.

A little birdie told me that Gath's capitol is in serious danger by a horde of Ermorian undead.

Ermor's capitol is quite some distance away (6+ squares), and it's already turn 22. If they are able to mount this type of offensive operation at this stage of the game then there's little hope of knocking our undead friends out early, which doesn't bode well for his neighbors.

It might be time to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. Can anyone out there forge a death staff for us? We have astral, air, earth, and nature gems we can compensate you with.

[YellowCactus]

When the Hunger of the Dead is Aroused.....No Province is Safe!

[Reverend Zombie]

Marignon, the last, best hope against the Ermorian hordes, is short-sightedly under attack by the fools in Man and Atlantis.

[danbo]

Marignon, Atlantis didn't react when you were massing forces on my border but recruiting of amphibian troops was obvious declaration of war.

[Reverend Zombie]

Marignon, Atlantis didn't react when you were massing forces on my border but recruiting of amphibian troops was obvious declaration of war.

Or prudent, albeit ineffective, deterrent, given your warlike nature.

[AreaOfEffect]

Marignon, Atlantis didn't react when you were massing forces on my border but recruiting of amphibian troops was obvious declaration of war.

Or prudent, albeit ineffective, deterrent, given your warlike nature.

Actually, a little birdie told me that it was Marignon that dropped the NAP between Marignon and Atlantis first.

[AreaOfEffect]

AreaOfEffect,

I am having problems with my computer. I am in receipt of turn 22 and I request 48 hours extension. Sorry about this.

If I can't solve the computer problems quickly, I may have to withdraw from the game rather than hold up eveyone else. I certainly hope it does not come to that because I am enjoying this game.

Best wishes,
Steve

Extension Granted. I hope all goes well.

[Reverend Zombie]

Marignon, Atlantis didn't react when you were massing forces on my border but recruiting of amphibian troops was obvious declaration of war.

Or prudent, albeit ineffective, deterrent, given your warlike nature.

Actually, a little birdie told me that it was Marignon that dropped the NAP between Marignon and Atlantis first.

:re:

As far as I recall, Atlantis and Marignon did not have a NAP. Else, I would have added treachery to my accusations of war-mongering and short-sightedness, for Atlantis' attack was without warning.

[Ashix]

Aaaaaand finally my forum account is approved!

For the record, I guess I'm the first "NAP Breaker"... but Utgard did declare it over, and had a massive army headed straight for Ulm's capitol. I could see a massive host of giants heading up the coast, and 3 turns *just happened* to be enough time for him to wade into my capitol. I figured it might be prudent to meet him in an adjacent province, since he declared the NAP over anyway.

I'm surprised I lasted 20 turns in my first MP game ever :) I'll have to try this again!

[YellowCactus]

Good Play Ashix!

Mictlan only attacked because you were the only neighbor that didn't reply to messages. (Making you the most chaotic neighbor, No offense Rev2)

[shunwick]

AreaOfEffect,

My computer is (hopefully) fixed. Thanks for the extension.

Best wishes,
Steve

[YellowCactus]

Yay! Time to get a creditcard and go shopping at newegg Shunwick!

Luck! (Fingers crossed for aging hardware, both mine and yours!)

[shunwick]

The look I got when I said, "Can't you just jiggle it a bit?" was priceless. About the only thing that was.

[Gargouille]

We will not attack Caelum, if they do not attack us. Jomon want fight against evil, not against people of the sky.

[Unoptimized]

*Ahem*

It should be noted that the silent lands of Ermor are not as foreboding as one might be led to believe, given the fiery rhetoric being brandied about. We have spent quite a bit of time and energy wiping out the Giants of Gath such that they would not become the horrific force we all know they could become.

There will be a period where we consolidate, and so there is little need to worry about us becoming some sort of unstoppable Juggernaut.

[Gargouille]

Hard to understand.
An allied say me, attack with me Atlantis, i lose in south more 100 mens in this fight.
After my force go in north for fight giants, and now Atlentis take my province in south.
Where are my allied, my allied are only words?

[Gargouille]

Utgard, you go home, it's good, all my land is mine. I take "druid land", for my peace, the border now is the river. Stay in your land, stop stupidity.

[Gargouille]

In the begining we speak with Caelum, people of the sky. We say, take independents. All you take is your. But Caelum lose his prophet (my ninja see), in fight against rich country. After, i take this rich country. If Caelum is right, this is my land, isn't it? Why Caelum army stay here, next this rich province?

[Gargouille]

I can lose almost my land, this is poor land (and i defend magic land). My land is moutain, but is small land, all my force can be in fight with two months. We lose 100+ men, in underwater fight, this is a small force for fight underwater, this force is dead, but all our best fighters are alive.

[dark7element]

The great enchantress Geirdriful is glad to see that the Celestial General's army is planning to take Druid land. That is good. You see, there is a laboratory in Druid Land, and it will be useful when the time comes for our sorceresses to reanimate the dismembered corpse of Jomon's soldiers.

Utgard assures you, the army you meet in Druid Land will be more than a match for anything the Celestial General can muster. Druid Land will be the doom of the Army of the East. If your troops are too scared to advance, do not worry, our fully mustered army will soon come and find you. Just because we have chosen to strategically retreat from a couple of provinces doesn't mean we believe Jomon has any chance of winning this war. The soldiers of Jomon are puny, even compared to the humans of Utgard. Their menfolk are prancing little ninnies who can't even grow a proper beard nor drink even half a keg of mead, and their womenfolk are delicate little flowers who look like they would wither away in an Utgard blizzard, not at all like the mighty sorceresses of the Well of Urd. And that is only comparing them to our humans... For our giants, the warriors of Jomon are like toy soldiers, their flimsy spears suited only for being a jotun's toothpick. We say all these things not out of malice, but because they are true. Once we have beaten their army we will offer Jomon merciful terms of truce.

[HoleyDooley]

In the begining we speak with Caelum, people of the sky. We say, take independents. All you take is your. But Caelum lose his prophet (my ninja see), in fight against rich country. After, i take this rich country. If Caelum is right, this is my land, isn't it? Why Caelum army stay here, next this rich province?

You need to do a refresher maths class...most of my force has moved away...some has moved to another adjoining province....not many...maybe they are planning a surprise attack on you....or maybe they are protecting a castle being built in that province....sigh.

Nothing like having a horde of barbarians descend on your 1200G 1/2 built castle to ruin your day.

[Jolly Roger]

Hi.

I´m back from vacation.

Would like to take over command of Agartha again.

Thanks, Klaus

[AreaOfEffect]

Send me your email please.

[Tiavals]

Gath has been captured and will be soon pillaged by Ermor. Can nothing stop the undead beasts?

[googly1]

Hi I will be away for the next two days and am hoping that I we can delay the game by a day or something so that i dont miss a turn...

[AreaOfEffect]

Since C'tis has their turn in, I'm going to postpone the following turn. Just thought everyone should know that I'm paying attention to these things.

[YellowCactus]

Your doing a great JOB AoE!

In fact, every player has been consistant this game. Wish every Dominions Game would run so smoothly!

[Reverend Zombie]

Your doing a great JOB AoE!

In fact, every player has been consistant this game. Wish every Dominions Game would run so smoothly!

:up: +1

[AreaOfEffect]

Thanks guys.

Hosting postponed for 24 hours for C'tis/googly1.

[Gargouille]

The pretender of Utgard, a great enchanteress and 130 giants are on our border. We have forces for fight against him, a lucky ninja kill one small Utgard commander, all enemis of Utgard can attack his kingdom.

[AreaOfEffect]

The great nation of Man, on this day, slew the great demon god of Marignon, a fallen nation. It came upon our brave pious soldiers as they were marching to liberate a small fortified village. The beastly fiend was vile and terrible and its corrupted blade struck down eight of our finest. It was at that moment the tide turned and it shield arm was torn asunder. The terrible beast raged on until it met its end at the tip of metal piercing crossbow bolts.

We tried to consecrate the ground where its blood had been spewed, but to no avail was the taint removed. Only several artifacts were able to be cleansed and salvaged. Its arm is currently being taken back to the capitol of Man. It rests now in a coffin of wood harvested from our ancient forests and bound by magics once used by the witches of our lands. Should the demon rise again, be rest assured its arm will not be there to wield its evil plots.

[Gargouille]

My ninja say with laugh, the story of Summerlands. "Giants of Utgard" fight for empty land, very poor land, and lose Summerlands, a good farmland. Are you happy Enchanteress? You can go home, it's time, i think.

[Gargouille]

Sky of Jomon is ready, thank for god of god, we can give you poor land, the same, remember your first attacks. Now, our troops are not alone, it's time for Jomon born.

[AreaOfEffect]

Extended the hosting time to 40 hours. A little more time for those growing empires out there.

[Reverend Zombie]

Extended the hosting time to 40 hours. A little more time for those growing empires out there.

I have no idea what you are talking about. My turns are taking less and less time to complete. ;)

[shunwick]

This Is The Voice of Pythium

General Secretary Comrade Vsevolod today announced the succesful completion of the Abysian War. In a short address he said, "While the peoples of Pythium should rejoice in the success of our brave armies, it should be noted that we regret the obliteration of the nation of Abysia."

Comrade General Clodius, commander of Pythium's 2nd Army Group, praised the steadfastness of the troops saying, "I am proud of the way they conducted themselves in such difficult circumstancs."

It is known that the Great Enchantress Goku of Abysia was one of those killed at the final battle. Pythium's losses were said to be very light.

It has been announced that Comrade Lugalabzu will take over as the Chairman of the Intelligence Directorate. He will replace Comrade Paghat who has been put in charge of Pythium's sewage system. Comrade Paghat was one of the critics of the leadership's handling of the Abysian War. The former Chairman of the Intelligence Directorate was unavailable for comment on his new appointment.

The Peoples of Pythium await further news....

[YellowCactus]

Tavern Gossip around Mictlan spreads that the Ulmish Wars are over. Yet, new threats arise. Three nations invade Mictlan in conjunction. While the priesthood seems unconcerned, peasants begin to pack their wagons in search of lands less chaotic.

[revenant2]

Tavern Gossip around Mictlan spreads that the Ulmish Wars are over. Yet, new threats arise. Three nations invade Mictlan in conjunction. While the priesthood seems unconcerned, peasants begin to pack their wagons in search of lands less chaotic.

Make that four, blood-letter. Our high-command has decided that this is a most opportune time to reclaim our ancestral lands that you mercilessly subjugated while we were engaged in a great war with Abysia. The worm has turned, heathen. Prepare to be squished under the feet of our angry elephants.

Even though we don't have a non-aggression pact with your vile nation, we give you fair warning so you can evacuate your forces from our lands.

[YellowCactus]

Oh Poop!

[Gargouille]

War "Jomon against Utgard" this month: Utgard lose 2/6 commanders, 67/126 regulars, 60/60 undeads. Jomon lose 0 commanders and 94 regulars (smalls troops). Next month, our great army walk in Utgard territory. We see the héroes of Utgard, we think lose hard, but we want break Utgard for ever. All enemies of Utgard can go with us for down this kingdom.
This month, many giants are dead, this is good thing.
(and i bad play, bad placement, bad use magic, bad use my commanders, i must learn, i bad play, but Jomon army is realy bigger)

[YellowCactus]

Well there's a ray of sunshine upon an otherwise freezing cold topic!

[shunwick]

This is the Vocie of Pythium

Former jailbird and used-donkey salesman, Lucinus IV (or Big L as like to called), surprised everyone today by turning up outside the Palace of Heroes and demanding entry. It is unclear what effect this will have on the administration.

Meanwhile, in other news, a Central Committee spokesman confirm that military operations are ongoing in the Empire of Gath. Coming so soon after the completion of the Abysian Wars, this news military adventure has raised some eyebrows in certain sections of the administration.

Finally, the coverted Miss Pythium title has been one by Flora of Scythia. Congratulations to a very worthy winner.

The People of Pythium await further news.

[AreaOfEffect]

I've added some icons to the original post. If people would be so kind as to tell me who finished off Ulm and Abyssia, I will award them with a :dagger: for posterity sake.

[shunwick]

Area of Effect,

I did Abysia, at least, I killed their pretender and the next turn they croaked. I believe Arcocephale may have been at war with Abysia as well so might not be able to take all the credit.

Currently doing Gath. But again T'ien Chi took some Gathian provinces and I believe Ermor may have done Zu the Magnificent. That's Ermor the fluffy bunnies by the way. B I G army of undead and currently doing Patala. Surprised that Patala has not asked for any help.

Ulm was probably Mictlan or Utgard.

You are doing a great job by the way. Really enjoying this game.

Best wishes,
Steve

PS. And I have just seen the icons. Cool!

[Tiavals]

Gath here:

Practically Ermor killed me, but Tien Chi took the provinces after I had fallen. Technically I still have a province or two left though. :)

[Tiavals]

Gath here:

Practically Ermor killed me, but Tien Chi took the provinces after I had fallen. Technically I still have a province or two left though. :)

[AreaOfEffect]

There seems to be quite a bit of collaboration, a.k.a. dog piling, going on in this game. I'm going to have to contact the defeated players and ask them who they think deserves the dagger the most.

From now on, if your defeated, please choose a single nation to be your greatest foil. I will assume Gath is voting for Ermor, who will get the credit if and when Gath is no more.

[Unoptimized]

For the record, that was an incredible back-and-forth battle. The outcome was a near thing, I dare say, and it was a pleasure to go to war with you.

[Tiavals]

Yeah, Ermor deserves the vote from me.

At one point I thought I would survive, after I annihilated that huge army, but then another battle happened where a small force of knights flanked my priests, which spelled doom, as without priests, I had little chance.

But it surely was fun while it lasted. :)

[Reverend Zombie]

Atlantis gets my vote, over Man, for the imminent destruction of Marignon.

[YellowCactus]

Awe...this game is ending fast!

Looks like the Frozen Alliance of Giants and Birds have taken 1/3 of the map and all the artifacts...Even Ermor doesn't return my diplomatic messages....:confused:

Times is Hard!

[Gargouille]

In south we have big problem with thug of Atlantis, and in north Utgard is strong, he lose many but starve is problem for us, Utgard is a dead land.

[AreaOfEffect]

You know, its actually been a really long time since starvation was a problem for me in any of my games. There must be something I do differently because I generally don't choose nations with a great deal of nature magic very often.

Let me summarize my thoughts.

Tips:
-Use fewer yet higher quality units.
-Build castles near to the edges of your borders.
-Higher undead elephants, they don't even ask for peanuts.

[shunwick]

Well, bum. I have just given a rod of the leper king to a mound king and, despite the description of it not affecting undead, my mound king is now diseased.

[shunwick]

This is the Voice of Pythium

Comrade Vsevolod, General Secretary of the Central Committee, formally announced the conclusion of the Gathian Expedition. Although a formal declaration of war was never announced, Pythium’s 1st Army Group has been in constant action these last few months protecting the population of Gath’s most southern provinces and bringing enlightened government to the toiling masses. In a subdued speech regretting the necessity of military action, Comrade Vsevolod explained how, “... the misguided individuals, who even now protest against the legitimate annexation of these provinces, must be treated with respect and understanding.” Several re-education centres have been set up in the new provinces to help explain the benefits of Pythium Governance with this in mind.

The successful conclusion of the Gathian Expedition has further cemented support for the Pythium leadership.

In further news, an unnamed scholar working for the Archaeological Directorate unearthed an ancient tomb and recovered a valuable artefact in the province of Ene Umrul. As so often on Archaeological expeditions, the investigation of the tomb had unforeseen results.

An army of previously alive, commanded by Comrade Capitalist Hyena Rotbrother, the Spectral Mage whose tomb it was, protected the tomb. Fortunately, due to the quick thinking of Comrade General Dolgad, the Provincial Governor, the local defence force was immediately activated and dealt with the problem with surprising ease.

Speaking after the battle, Comrade General Dolgad said, “The legend of Comrade Rotbrother is well known in these parts. He liked his meat cold - if you know what I mean.“

Finally, the new re-education centres are proving surprisingly effective. Comrade Teacher Ooo Shashi, has recently been re-educating several malcontents in the Scraw Pointe caves. Together with his dedicated band of Comrade Outreach Workers, the handsome 23 year old is ready to bring enlightenment to all those who are unfortunate enough not to fully appreciate the benefits of Pythium’s democratic structure.

The Peoples of Pythium await further news.

[YellowCactus]

It's Creative summaries of Dominions events that make the game so awesome! Thanks Shunwick!

[AreaOfEffect]

Well, bum. I have just given a rod of the leper king to a mound king and, despite the description of it not affecting undead, my mound king is now diseased.

Undead units don't suffer the ill effects of disease. So he won't get weaker, and he won't die from it. Its simply a harmless status for him.

[shunwick]

Well, bum. I have just given a rod of the leper king to a mound king and, despite the description of it not affecting undead, my mound king is now diseased.

Undead units don't suffer the ill effects of disease. So he won't get weaker, and he won't die from it. Its simply a harmless status for him.

That's good to know. Thanks for that.

[AreaOfEffect]

Alright, 4 players down and 14 left standing. I've awarded daggers to Ermor, Atlantis, and Utgard. I should hopefully be hearing back from Abysia on their pick.

I've also extended the hosting time to a full 48 hours.

Good luck everyone.

[shunwick]

For Abysia I think the main damage was done by Arcoscephale.

[shunwick]

This is the Voice of Pythium

In an announcement from the Halls of Workers, Comrade General Secretary Vsevolod confirmed the news that the realm of Marignon has fallen to the Empire of Atlantis. He paid tribute the brave defenders of Marignon and expressed great sadness at the passing of yet another great realm.

Former jailbird and used-donkey salesman Comrade God Lucinus IV has been given a special role in the administration. Unfortunately, there is no news on what this special role will be. Speculation is rife that he has been sent to help Comrade Paghat with the redesign of the Pythium sewage system.

It has emerged that scandalous behaviour has been going on in the province of Cimri. The once quiet province close to the border with the Empire of Arcoscephale has seen a number of high profile orgies that have shocked the local inhabitants. “Young wimmin in the nud cavortin and such,” said one outraged homeowner.

It seems that the excavations in Ene Umrul are continuing to provide plenty of exercise for the brave defenders of that province. Last month we brought you news of a tomb guarded by the Spectral Mage Comrade Capitalist Hyena Rotbrother and now this month another tomb has been discovered in the same complex.

The new discovery once again yielded what has been described as a great treasure but also triggered the tombs defences. This was the tomb of Comrade Xirrath, another Spectral Mage and another horde of previously alive. Comrade General Dolgad, Provincial Governor and the victor of last month’s exciting battle, had been recalled to the capital to receive a commendation for his quick thinking and steadfastness.

Comrade Deputy Provincial Governor Grimoald took charge of the provincial defence and lent his priestly support to the brave defenders. Once again, the armies of previously alive crumbled before the professionalism and dedication of the democratic and peace-loving troops.

“Just another Comrade Nut Job,” was Comrade Grimoalds’s only statement.

The Peoples of Pythium await further news.

[mattyburn7]

I'm moving to Pythium

[YellowCactus]

Wohooooo!!!!

Postpone Hosting please. Somehow we got moved to 8 hour intervals!

[AreaOfEffect]

Alright, I made a mistake and it seems that the hosting was set to 8 hours. not 48 like I had intended. But, I caught it in time. Enjoy 40 more hours of planning everyone and ignore that email you got from the server.

[shunwick]

Alright, I made a mistake and it seems that the hosting was set to 8 hours. not 48 like I had intended. But, I caught it in time. Enjoy 40 more hours of planning everyone and ignore that email you got from the server.

The Democratic and Peace-Loving Peoples of Pythium breathe a sigh of relief and rejoice at the error's correction.

Best regards,
Vsevolod, General Secretary, Central Committee

[Gargouille]

Jomon proclaims peace with Utgard.

[shunwick]

This is the Voice of Pythium

The petty reign of Capitalist Warmonger Regic and his bloodthirsty cabal of Bloodhenge Druids is over. The unrepentant 54 year old, known for luring young virgins into slavery and then sacrificing them before the altar of his obscene god, has been a thorn in the side of the Pythium Leadership for far too long. The uneasy truce was almost certainly due to the Leadership’s belief that the strength of the cabal was beyond their means to overcome. But we can report that Comrade General Secretary Vsevolod this month sent military forces into the hated province so as to free the people of that outrageous tyranny.

The liberation forces sent into Bright Woods were commanded by none other than former jailbird and previously-owned donkey salesperson Comrade God Lucinus IV. Aided by Comrade Paghat and the Special Forces of Comrade General Deathstink, the battle for control of the province was a hard fought affair.

Special commendation was given to Comrade Teacher Ooo Daman and his hand-picked bunch of Comrade Outreach Workers who were only present at the battle as a work experience activity and were not expected to play an active part. Nevertheless, as hoards of imps threatened to overwhelm the Special Forces, Comrade Teacher Ooo Daman threw his units into battle with devastating effect. Before long, even the overgrown Vine Weevils of the Druid Cabal were reeling from the onslaught. The warrior spirit shown by the Comrade Outreach Workers will be the stuff of legends in years to come.

The Special Forces Group will now return to the capital where a banquet is being prepared in their honour. There are rumours that they are being refitted to take on the hostile province of Old Man Mountains. the base of operations of renegade Golem Mage Antatus. It is known that Antatus commands an army of living statues and is also believed to have gargoyles under his command. I am sure the Democratic and Peace-Loving Peoples of Pythium wish every success to our outstanding forces.

It has come as something of a surprise to the leadership that the cave province of Banded Hills has changed ownership from the Kingdom of Caelum to the Empire of Mictlan. The Realms of Caelum and Mictlan are currently at war and the capture of Banded Hills would seem to be a response to the war not going particularly well for Mictlan in this part of the world. Nevertheless, the Leadership has deemed the situation serious enough to put Comrade General Quinquatrus and his third army on notice. A Central Committee spokesman said, “It is unthinkable that Mictlan would add another enemy to it’s growing list. But even a small army such as this can be cause for concern.”

The Comrade Tomb Raiders have apparently moved to the province of Runia. The Antiquities Directorate confirmed yesterday that another artefact of great power was recently discovered in an ancient tomb in the province. Fortunately, the tomb was unprotected and there was no repeat of the excitement that Ene Umrul suffered twice in succession.

Finally, it has emerged that Comrade General Deathstink has taken steps to change his name by deed poll. “I have never liked the name Deathstink,” he told one of our reporters, “but, you know - parents – what can you do?” In future, the 196 year-old breathing-challenged Comrade General would like to be known as Eric.

The Peoples of Pythium await further news.

[Groundworm]

"Comrade General Deathstink" had me laughing hard! This is a good game to begin with, but Shunwick... I am loving your write-ups. :)

[shunwick]

"Comrade General Deathstink" had me laughing hard! This is a good game to begin with, but Shunwick... I am loving your write-ups. :)

Groundworm,

I am having fun. Glad you like them. :)

Best wishes,
Steve

[HoleyDooley]

Well I can assure you Groundworm isn't the only one enjoying the stories.

Rev 2 also is a hoot to play with and wrote some of the funniest comments I've seen when we played BSoD, which indecently he won...lol.

HD