Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Thanks for playing Samhain and welcome again to the game buzzsaw! :)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Well then, I stand corrected.
:p

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Well, that was a fine time to stale. My own fault, though: I knew I should postponed hosting earlier. :mad:

It appears my tenure as ruler of Arco may turn out to be quite short now that Ulm has it under siege without me having brought in any reinforcements to defend it. :p

Olm, I figured you were building a fort in 55. I considered attacking but didn't think I had the strength to win and a loss would have been disastrous. Not that you having a base to attack my territories is that good either...

Also, Louist has completed the current turn but will be on vacation for the next week. Elana, who is not on the forums, will be subbing (thank you!). So if you need to contact Ulm for diplomacy please send a message in-game.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

It should have been ready one turn earlier, but I put all my troops on Patrol, including the fortress-builder :mad:
Now lets see how I can capitalize on that fort.
But I am still wondering what makes my people ill in that cursed province.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Hmm, I don't recall any messages about disease but then again Pan doesn't care too much about that. I do, however, have a lot of cursed Pans but I assume that's Arco's doing.

Are you sure it's not old age hitting the crones since we just passed late winter when aging takes place? I hate dealing with old age and found that a pain the one time I played Man.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

No, I have no crones there, only mothers. The old ladies did not join battle yet. And a couple of those mothers are diseased, as well as Lord wardens Castelans and Bards. Normal troops are affected too (only the Knights of Avalon seem to be Immune (or its unlikely on them due to the recuperation) I suspected a Bone Venom Charm, but even with heaviest patrolling I could find none.
Probably some disease spreading Site.

About aging: I don't see that much problem with it. I have growth 3, and I just live with it. Until now not one crone has died (but I recruited them late, I have to say) I have two or three now, that are diseased.
One way to work against age is buff their Nature. For a N4 Crone one
Thistle Mace is usually enough to make them young. For N3 I'd need Treelord Staff or Moonvine Bracelet+Thistle Mace. But thats a bit to costly for my liking. (Though viable for very rare and useful combinations like A4, E2 or W2)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Those are good points regarding aging. Maybe it's just that I don't have the patience to deal with it. The only nation I regularly play that has to think about aging is MA Abysia and there I just factor forging a pair of boots of youth into the recruitment cost of a warlock.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

40 Nature Gems for one fortress inside my borders. Thats rather expensive. And another large army that will probably never go anywhere again. We'll see if that was worth it.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

We'll see. :) I was just happy to take some offensive action. I was getting tired of constantly being on the defensive. Not sure what you mean by 40 gems, though. Faery Trod is 8 gems per casting. Not cheap, but I'm more worried about losing that army than about the gem cost to get them in position.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I postponed hosting since we hadn't received a turn for Ulm. I also emailed Elana to see if she's run into any problems.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Hi All, Elana subbing for louist/ulm. What a wild game this is! Louist has given me directions about what he wants done. I have some flexibility, and some extra earth gems (smile). Maybe a new castle, who knows... let me know if you wish to discuss anything.....

============================
ULM NEWS

Palace announces temporary appointment of "Snuggles" as Ulm's new ( Temporary) Minister of Foreign Relations. No rumors appear to be circulating. One coachman lamented, "oh, yea, more o' the same, I be sure.'

Royal Steward of Castles is seeking a reliable and experienced castle re-decorator.

===============================

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Well, thats a CBM change. Vanilla price is 20 gems. For 16 gems total its O.K.

You put up quite a fight in Arcoscephale. I thought you had no chance, when I saw the lineup, but you nearly pulled it off! But I have to say I was happy to watch this carnage just as an observer. The losses were grave for both of you.

Now do I observe correctly, that your ancient ally Eriu has betrayed you and now lays siege to the castle of Griphons Spires. If thats so, I really have to think what consequences this has diplomatically.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Welcome, Elana! And quite a way to kick things off - that was some brutal evocation spam. The first time viewing a battle I like to just watch it and not click on various units and that was a fun one. I thought maybe, just maybe, my berserkers would pull it off (it's always nice if your side routs but your berserk troops keep fighting and end up winning the battle :)) but point blank magma eruption wiped out those hopes. If only your mages had been a bit more fatigued at the end...

The stale the previous turn cost me - not because I could have won the fight if I hadn't staled but because I could have gotten enough troops inside the fort to withstand a siege and thus avoid the fight (Olm is quite familiar with that strategy ;)). As it was, Ulm ended up besieging an almost empty fort and I was lucky the walls weren't breached the first turn. Although with the way things turned out maybe that would have been better as I wouldn't have had a chance to get forces in place to try to break Ulm's siege. As it is, I lost a lot of my best troops this past turn.

It looks like Arco is the place to be for action packed fights! We'll see if Ulm can break the curse of the place and hold on to it (in my time controlling it I only recruited one mystic since it took several turns to bring down the unrest caused the presence of my revelers and by my foolishly overtaxing while besieging Arco).

Btw Elana, I'm sure Louist mentioned the big change with this game regarding limiting magic to level 6 but, in case he didn't mention it, another change is that you can recruit some units from a conquered opponent's capitol. The big prize with Arco's cap is mystics (you can also recruit some of his troops). Not as big a deal to Ulm as to the other remaining nations since you have some astral magic already (that was obvious from the gifts from heaven castings) but still a nice bonus.


I felt confident about the combination of curse of stones and iron bane against Ulm's troops. Where I made a big mistake was forgetting that it isn't really about his troops but about the cheap mages. And for some reason I didn't think he had quite that many mages in that army - and, frustratingly, they all survived.


No, that's not an attack. That fort and Arco's eastern provinces were always intended to go to Eriu. But you are right that my fate is in Eriu's hands. If he sides with me then we'll have a 2 vs 2 fight and there's still hope for Pan. If he sides against me then I'm history. If he keeps out of this round of wars I'm likely also history but there's still a small chance.

In any case, this is fun stuff. I really like mid game battle magic more than SCs or late game magic. :)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

You are too honest for the game :)
Had you told me Eriu betrayed you, that would really have lessened my motivation.
Just another level of gameplay I discover for myself. And another reason why scouting and knowledge is key in this game.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

By the way: I have been wondering for some time, why you keep employing Black Bone. What do you do with him?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I'm willing to sneak attack if I don't have a NAP with some and to dogpile someone (though I'll sometimes feel bad about that) but I can't get myself to flat out lie to someone in order to manipulate them (especially if it will result in an ally being attacked).

I'm curious, though, if Eriu did attack me would you be less motivated because you would feel it wasn't fair? I don't think you should let that trouble you. While it can be great fun to have an evenly matched fight it can also lead to a stalemate that takes both parties out of contention while other nations are winning easier victories. And of course the trick will be avoiding being the odd man out once the current round of fighting ends and the next dogpile begins. ;)


Yes, scouting is really important. One of the things I like about Pan is their great harpy scouts. The fact that you can quickly get them where needed isn't only good for scouting purposes but in case you need some decoys to absorb, say, mind hunts. And on that note, a harpy scout was felled by a mind hunt last month. Pangaea thought it had made the world safe from this foul magic by eliminating Arco but apparently some nations are still engaging in these dark practices. :mad:


Lol. He's cheap enough that I keep him around thinking I may want to use him, though I can't imagine for what. It's got to be the easiest merc job ever as he doesn't do anything. :)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I've postponed hosting so that we can coordinate returning control of Ulm to Louist.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I'm back everyone. Elana seems to have left Ulm in better shape than she found it :)

I've had a quick look at the latest turn, but I wont be able to actually do anything with it until this afternoon.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

So, I went from having an army devastated by magma eruption to having one devasted by thunderstrike. Knew I shouldn't have tried to storm that fort but kept moving instead. :hurt:

It also kind of funny how the AI Arco is still alive. One water province, no army or gold, but still enough dominion to avoid being killed.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I told you it was a bad idea to bring your troops into my backyard. No way they could live very long, or be really effective.
A small annoyance for me and a great cost for you.
I am much more satisfied with my raiders. Stealth really helps in raiding, and I guess I cause much more annoyance with those rather small groups, than you did with your large army.
Talking of stealth: I wonder where your glamorous friend is.I don't see you standing a chance against Ulm and Man without him for long.
And talking of annoyances: That castle in Giants Rest is really annoying. I know it must be a huge effort for you and it binds lots of troops, but still I would rather conquer the province.
Is there any spell that helps besieging, like Iron Walls for the besieged? I guess not...

Btw: Those diseases in Retha are caused by a plaguewater stream. Not so nice.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I'm not yet ready to say it was a waste. It foolish of me to try storming that fort instead of moving on. But providing some kind of distraction strikes me as a good idea as any forces you use to deal with it are forces that aren't on the frontline (I assume you've finished researching).

I would have done the same thing but never had an opportunity to infiltrate forces as I was spread too thin. In any case, I think your troops are better raiders and you have good, cheap mages to back them up.

Well, without autosummoning maenads I can't create the kind of virtually unbreakable forts Pan otherwise could but between summoning them and buying harpies I can make things difficult.

As far as spells to aid sieges, Crumble would work in a normal game but that is a higher level spell that was modded out for this game. So aside from massing troops like you're doing, the best bet is siege bonus magic items or something like the draconians you summoned.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Yes, I figured those would be a good idea.
Next you will see hordes of slingers rush in. Just saw that I can recruit them for resource 2, so with my huge income I can really mass them, to counter your meanads.
The cheap guys will decide the siege.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Could we postpone hosting for 24 hours? I am a bit on the way tomorrow and don't know if I have the time to finish a turn.
And shouldn't we be on a 72h schedule anyway?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

You're quite right. We've been moving at such a good pace I forgot to change it. Hosting interval is now 72 hours (which also extended the current turn by 24 hours).

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Glamorous help is on the way. :D You should have seen a hint of them by now.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I'm making the transition from college to university this month, and my schedule isn't nearly as open as it was. I'll probably be sending in turns much closer to the deadline than before, but I'll make sure not to miss any.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I just realized I forgot to change the hosting interval to 72 hours when we hit turn 40. I've now made that change so that should help.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Wow, Eriu is fielding a really dangerous looking army.
Nice battle in Griphons Spire, so we have to take them into account after all.

Pan has taken to poisoning civilians (Man and Pangaean alike) instead of fighting it out. But this cowardly tactics will not bring them victory. We will hunt down those poison spreaders and come for the leaders behind those deeds afterwards.


Now I have some questions to game mechanics:
1. Flying units should not be able to enter water at all. How could Pan take a waterprovince with a Harpy?
2. What happens to a mercenary with twiceborn after he dies (e.g. from disease)?
3. What happens with mercenary troops if the leader dies from disease?
4. What happens with mercenary troops if the leader teleports away?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Yeah, that was a fun one to watch. The trend of all the exciting battles taking place in Arco's former territory continues to hold true.

Bah, Pangeans are made of hardier stock than Man. We recover just fine from a little illness.

It's funny that you had that illness causing site earlier in the game and suspected bane venom charms as that was one of the strategies I came up with when I switched from Eriu to Pan. Unfortunately, it doesn't work as well when I try to sneak them into your territories since patrollers discover them but I'm hoping it makes besieging my forts even more of a painful process. :p


Just think of them as being like ducks. ;) But there is no restriction on flying units not being able to enter the water as long they have either the amphibian tag or a water breathing magic item.

Hmm, never thought about that before. I ran a test and it looks like twiceborn works as usual but he's still a merc so if you lose him to another nation they will then have the twiceborn wight mage.

I know from a previous game where I teleported a merc mage without remembering that he had troops under his command that the troops get separated from him. It's annoying because you can't assign them to another commander so they are stuck in that province and can't even be scripted.

I assume the same thing happens if the merc leader dies while he is still under contract.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Well, flying units cannot fly over waterprovinces, so I thought they cannot enter them. So with the right magic item they can enter and probably even fly over them.


Hm, had hoped to have a wight mage for myself then. But I would really be interested how he looks like in the merc list.

Btw. is there a way to get full control of a merc?
I am quite sure I had a game in SP where a merc commander was suddenly a member of my own forces. but I don't know if that was some intended effect, or a bug.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Thanks! After not playing for awhile, it was good to see a battle go the way you intended. Though I`m sure your raiding party attack directly behind the battle was no accident. :)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

As far as I know the only way to move over a water province is to have the sailing ability or forge a pocket ship. What you can do, if you are already in a water province and have the sailing ability, is sail over another water province onto the land.

I ran some tests and had no luck doing so. Had a merc cast transformation and charmed another one. In both cases they remained mercs. Enslave mind removed their commander status but they disappeared after the fight.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Ouch!
So slingers are good at sieging a castle but bad at storming it.
Especially if the opponent has earthquake and arrow fend.
But I wonder why my supporting cavalry came late to the battle. I expected them to move from friendly province to friendly province and thus take part in the battle. Or did they arrive in time but did not take part? Then there should be an order like "move and storm" as it is with "move and patrol".

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I`ve got a game question for you guys.
I had a small raiding party attack Ulm. Did okay and routed his army. As my guy was rushing up to get the last of the army, he routed and of course died since he had nowhere to go.

What the heck would cause that? I thought after a route, that was pretty much it, you won the battle. Can both armies route in the same battle?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Yes, that was almost an ideal situation for earthquake. I've always found the spell underwhelming and if your cavalry had already been part of the sieging force, and therefore expected to participate in the storming attempt, I would have just ceded that fort to you without a fight. As it was, the low to middling defense on the slingers and your mages was about as good a target as you can get for earthquake. Still, I only bought some time and killed some low value units and a few mages and in return lost two mages and their gear so I'm not sure if it was worth it. One of the problems with earthquake (as well as the far more effective rain of stones) is that when using human HP mages the fatigue will often result in them being killed by your own castings. I gave them pendants of luck to improve their chances (and hoped that their higher than human HP would also help) but still lost two of three (ethereal robes would have been ideal but there was no way I could get those forged - even the pendants are only thanks to my one Arco mystic).


That's correct; you can't move and storm in the same turn. I don't think it would be good for SCs especially to be able to participate in any storming attempt that was within flight range. This way the defender knows roughly what they're facing (aside from stealthy troops that only show up for the storming attempt) and can choose how much they want to spend to teleport in reinforcements. Of course the besieging army can count on them doing that and move on to another fort, causing the defender to have spent those gems to no purpose (all this assumes the province is undomed as otherwise your own dome will prevent reinforcements from arriving).


Yes, both sides can rout and in that case having slow units can be useful as they may be the last ones on the field and thus win the battle. Berserking units are also helpful as once berserk they won't rout and can win the battle for you after your forces have routed. I'm guessing the turn limit probably ran out and caused an autorout. This is of course particularly dangerous if you don't have a province to retreat to. Actually, one of the ways to defeat glamoured thugs is to tie them up with something like skellie spam long enough to force an autorout. You can give yourself some protection by raiding two or more neighboring provinces, figuring you'll likely win enough battles to provide provinces to escape to.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Ahhh, it was a very long turn, so that is probably what happened.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

And Arco was again the place to be, except for trolls.
Those Glamorous guys are starting to make me nervous.

I just wondered, if there are some quiet places in our world. Backyard Ulm and Eriu perhaps.
Of Pans country I know that it has been ploughed through and drenched in blood from near to far.
My own provinces suffered disease after disease.
I fear we leave a quite desolate place to the God to be. And that with 3 nature loving nations....

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Truth be known, it was not a good time if you were a troll or undead. :)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Sounds like I missed a good fight. :( I don't know what I was thinking not leaving a scout on Arco's cap.

However Olm, I'm not sure just how nervous you are given how my forts are beginning to fall at an alarming pace. ;) I of course wasn't going to say anything, but what you're doing now was exactly the approach to take to my piling troops into a handful of forts. Since I don't have enough troops to make all of them impervious to siege you can keep switching around to target the weak ones. Even if the walls aren't breached the first turn, I'll still have trouble getting reinforcements there.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

As you started to disease my large sieging party I panicked a little bit and retreated to rethink the situation.
My playstyle is rather defensive and the diseases (your charms and the stream in Retha) discouraged me. I still don't like to leave that large force behind me, but I see no other way to achieve something.
And remember, its essentially my first MP game, so perhaps I need a little bit longer to figure things out.

Your Bane Venom Charms are very effective, they diseased lots and lots of my mages. I would even go as far as to call them overpowered for the price especially thinking what a strong death nation can do with them. But on the other hand my bards are probably equally effective, if I look at your income. And the everywhere-build wardens also give you hell. MA Man is described as a rather weak nation in the tactics guides. I cannot agree with that.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

A knock at my chamber door. "Come" I demand. The hinges squeak and a daughter in white enters the room. "I's time, mother." "I come."
Without further preparations I rise from my desk and follow the girl. It is two hours before dawn, but I expected the call and prepared everything. All that is necessary is on me. I wrote my last will shortly after the disease got me and it lies on my desk. Since midnight I have just been waiting and meditating. And my mind is not made up yet. Since the meeting at noon yesterday it revolves around the task before us. It is daunting, frightening, but then it is something to do.

For months our lot of diseased crones where just fading away, with nothing to do. It was depressing. But then, yesterday, we were told to gather in the hall, and there the Mistress, may she live and rule forever, spoke to us in a vision. She had a task that needed doing. A difficult task. A very dangerous task. And thats why we were chosen. We are doomed, sure to die in a few month. But we are still mighty mages. So the Mistress told us of the mightiest champion of the enemy. His prophet. A Pan called Ares. A very strong mage of earth and nature. Equipped with mighty gear he is almost impregnable. Even a large force with lots of Knights of Avalon could only win a battle against him, but not kill him. Thats now our task, to kill this mighty warrior.

We are seven, all diseased to the death. But as I see the others I know, they are as resolved as I am. We nod to each other, everyone knows what to do. Then everyone takes her three air gems and invokes the spell. And all seven of us are taken away by strong winds to a distant province where the battle awaits.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

We arrive and are greeted by the scout party in this province. A mother and five bards, so we are twelve now. The bards lead us to the field camp of the Pan. We take positions and start the attack. The camp has magical defenses, so we cannot surprise him. We advance and he starts his spells, strengtheneing himself for the fight. The Mistress figured out a weakness against poison, so the plan is to attack him him with poison and sleep clouds while phantasms keep him from just chopping us up. But he is not alone, a small force accompanies him. Not much, but we are defenseless, so most of us concentrate on them instead of Ares. They go down easily, but where is Ares? I cannot see him. A scream! I turn around, and there he is, just in the middle of our formation. And at his feet lies Gunhild, or whats left of her. He has winged shoes. We need time! Sprites, I call on them without thinking. The others react instinctively too. In seconds the Pan is covered in vines surrounded by Dragonflies and my sprites. Its effective. He is immobilized, cannot harm us. So we blast away with all we have. Most of us use Streams of Life, but I see other spells too.

Its just impossible how many spells he just shrugs off. Spell after Spell, and he doesn't care. And then its over. just so. The last Stream of Life just got through somehow and the mighty Ares, hero of countless battles is dead. We did it.
What do I feel? Relief mixes with exhaustion. And sure there is some pride. But one thought dominates: I lived the day, but it was probably my last great deed. I will not die today. But for sure tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, or another day in near future. We were victorious against one of the mightiest heroes of the world. But there is no victory, against the disease. And the days will become darker and darker. Perhaps today Gunhild was the luckiest of us seven.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Could we postpone the next turn to Tuesday? I will be on short vacation until Monday. I will get the current turn in, but I will probably not have the time to do the next one before Monday evening.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Nicely written! :):):)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Thanks for the in character post, Olm! Nicely done! :) And (unfortunately) very nicely done killing Pan's greatest hero. That was the only unit I had the could stand up to your combined forces and Pangaea is in mourning at his loss.

You almost took the fort in 64 as well. Unfortunately I lost some quality troops (as well as a lot of chaff) and with your raiding and my decreasing number of provinces putting me in the red, there won't be any replacements, and all my successful defense did was postpone things a bit.


Yes, of course. Enjoy your vacation! :)


As far as the bane venom charms go, they are a particularly good match for Pan since I can use them without fear of crippling my own mages. This is even more so the case in this game with the lack of indie mages. In a normal game if I had any half way decent indie mages I would hesitate to use a bane venom charm when under siege. Here the only non-national mages I'm likely to have (barring taking - and keeping - an enemy cap) are undead who also won't be bothered by being diseased.


Keep in mind that given all the special circumstances of this game it's hard to draw lessons that would apply to a normal game. Where Man really suffers is in the late game and of course that's not a factor here. It's also worth noting that most of those guides were likely written before CBM started buffing Man.

One thing about these settings was that they were intended to really emphasize national strengths - and weaknesses. In a normal game there's a decent chance that you'll be able to break into new paths of magic with indie mages and their complete elimination has a big effect on how things play.

Btw, if you like this version of Man you'll definitely want to check out the 1.92 version as it has everything you're using plus additional boosts.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Well, it did not work as intended. I wanted to poison him to death.
But my mages reverted to streams of live.
What I found interesting is, that it seems to me that every SC, even the mightiest, can be stopped by a low level spell like entangling vines. He needs every turn to break free. So I can perhaps not kill an SC, but there is a way to neutralize him. Is that correct?

That problem remains for you.
The fort is now taken, and your home province under siege.
Your income has dropped to neglegible levels. I wonder how you will try to turn the tide.

But with an undead nation like Ermor, they must be killer.

Yes, I started a game with Man under CBM 1.92. (The idea with always taking Man is to really get to know one nation, before trying others).
Definitely cool stuff added. I always missed a commander for my Knights of Avalon, and now its there. The downside is, that the hero Rhianna is not so special anymore. In our game she is very special to me, because she uses the full potential af the KoA's in terms of speed on the tactics map. Addition of healing to the daughters is cool I think. And the added spells are great and very thematic.
But I guess I will miss those slingers. really got to respect them as siege force.

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

It may not have been what you had in mind but it worked well enough. Sometimes the AI can drive you crazy but there it did a good job with tangle vines to pin down my prophet and then stream of life to go for the kill.

Yes, tangle vines works great. And it appears that as long as the arrow hits the square the target is in the effect is automatic (no parry attempt and air shield doesn't help). It won't get you the kill but will help your troops kill the SC. Or, as happened here, protect your mages while they take shots.

I think my current plans have less to do with turning the tide than with making a last stand. ;)

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

I've got a game mechanics question regarding another game:

I had troops in Province A, the enemy had troops in province B.
Now I moved all my troops to B.
It seems he moved his troops to A.

I expected a clash of all troops in either A or B, depending on who is faster.

But the result was a battle in A AND B with my troops being split.

My understanding was that troops from one province move together. Is that wrong, or did something else happen, which I did not take into account?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

Seems to me a battle likely occurred in the magic phase in province A and after you won that your surviving forces fought the battle in B. Or is there something that caused some of your troops to be left behind (forgot to issue movement orders or commander(s) assassinated resulting in troops being left behind)?

Re: Nations - MA, CBM 1.6, max lvl 6 magic, NI, Assimilation mod - Running
 

No magic movement. And even with left behind troops the two armies shouldn't be able to pass each other, right?
I will have to investigate further.