Guide: LA Man - Castle Warfare

[Redeyes]

Originally Posted by Festin

Vampire Count and Black Servant have stealth, so it's not the best example, I think. Still, I didn't know that Hearts work on undead.

I simply used those as a confirmation that it works on the undead.
I can't, to be honest, find many units in the palette that would work better with the Black Heart, don't know what you meant with "not the best example"

And, as this might interest everybody:
Assassination doesn't work for commanders besieging a fort, only when besieged or hiding.

[AreaOfEffect]

Originally Posted by Redeyes

By the same logic, shouldn't blackheart work offensively when sieging castles?
Try it with Bane Lords for a thug-chassis.
They are reasonably cheap, have great base stats and (most importantly) are unaffected by the encumbrance from the chest wound.

Though I imagine a Black Servant would be great as well.
Truth be told, I haven't tried the heart with undead so I don't know if it will work. Heading out to do it now.

Edit: tried it on a Vampire Count of Ulm and a Black Servant and it worked with both

Sieging does not allow assassination of those inside the castle. This has been discussed in the bug thread and is likely not to change, not for logical reasons, but because it would be difficult to program given the games current mechanics. That is my understanding. Assassination spells do allow you to target those inside though. Manifestation, as noted, may cause friendly fire.

Yes, undead + black heart = assassin. Using black servants is of course an option and should be one of your bag of tricks. I just wanted to point out the the unique nature of assassination when defending a castle.

Edit: Just so you know, you should be able to assassinate as a third party of a siege.

[Sombre]

Originally Posted by AreaOfEffect

As a side benefit of avoiding those last 40 points you increase the research value of indy mages and lessen fatigue from spell casting. You still get the MR bonus.

Indy mages with -1RP would still probably suck enough you wouldn't bother with them imo.

[Festin]

don't know what you meant with "not the best example"

Well, as I understood, this worked even on non-stealthy undead like Bane Lord, that's all =)

[Stavis_L]

Originally Posted by Sombre

Indy mages with -1RP would still probably suck enough you wouldn't bother with them imo.

Well, several indy mages have sage bonuses, against which -1 RP is not so much. In particular the Adepts of the various metallic orders, Lore Masters, Sages, Wizards, and Wizards of the Crescent Moon all have +5 sage ability.

Scenario: 1S Sage + 5sage ability -1 RP due to drain = 5RP for 100G. Pretty efficient (setting aside the old age disadvantage of Sages.)

EDIT: sorry, Sages are only +4sage, so 1S Sage + 4sage -1RP = 4RP for 100G.

[AreaOfEffect]

Originally Posted by Sombre

Indy mages with -1RP would still probably suck enough you wouldn't bother with them imo.

I was talking more about the fact that you'll hire indy mages just for the sake of expanding you magic diversity, not for research. Its a very small benefit to have them as better researchers on the side. Thats all.

[Gregstrom]

btw, Stavis, a Sage in Drain 1/2 gives 6RP.

[Sombre]

Yep. 1 magic gives you a 3rp base. But sages aren't that common.

[Stavis_L]

Originally Posted by Gregstrom

btw, Stavis, a Sage in Drain 1/2 gives 6RP.

Originally Posted by Sombre

Yep. 1 magic gives you a 3rp base. But sages aren't that common.

Sorry, yes, I didn't add in the base +2RP for having *any* research ability. And no, sages aren't that common. However, one of either sage/metallic adept/lore Master/wizards/wizard otCM is not too uncommon. Sages were probably a bad example, as they are one of the most efficient (again, ignoring age.) However, the point is that having at least one recruitable indy type that's a better researcher than an average national mage is a fair bet. Whether said research-indys will otherwise work into your plans in terms of useful paths is a different question.

[Sombre]

I don't know, maybe because I play a lot of LA, but I reliably get to build special indy mages in about 50% of the games I play.