Alexander's ever-expanding Tome of Knowledge

[Graeme Dice]

AS YOUR LIFE GOES DOWN THE DRAIN.

THis is a strategy that is only really useful with the nations that have easy access to death 3 and death 4 mages. The nations that can reach death 3 fairly easily include:
C'Tis: Sauromancers(Default/Tombs) and 1/8 Marshmasters(Miasma)
Ermor: 1/8 Grand Thaumaturgs(Broken Empire), Dusk Elders(Ashen Empire/Soul Gate)
Jotunheim: 1/16 Gygia(Iron Woods, Niefelheim), 1/4 Norna(Utgard)
Vanheim: Hangadrott(Helheim)

Any nation that can reach death 3 can also summon a mound fiend for 28 gems, which is a death 3 and unholy 3 mage. This is very expensive in gems however, and you may be better off using them otherwise.

What this strategy involves is the alteration 5 spell "Drain Life". This is a range 25, precision 100, 14+ unresistable damage, armor negating spell requiring a death skill of 4 that both heals and removes fatigue from the caster when cast on a living target. Drain life will damage any creature, but will not provide healing or fatigue reduction against non-living creatures. To reach death 4 costs only ten gems for a skull staff for the above nations, so it is a very good investment.

This synergizes very well with quickness, as the mage will get tired only if they face an army almost exclusively of undead. The mages are also usually smart enough to start raising skeletons (enchantment 3) to protecct themselves and overwhelm the enemy. The AI will then alter its spellcasting to use drain life when its fatigue reaches high levels, and go back to summoning more undead, or casting high level spells such as banefire or cloud of death.

[Pocus]

By the way, where is Alex? Not seen since more than a month...

[JaydedOne]

Just thought I'd bump this thread as it's been a month and I consider it one of the more useful/imaginative compilations out there for players looking to pick up a few new tricks.

I'd add some of my own, but I'm afraid I have to admit to not having had the time or experience to be anywhere near this creative yet.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

SACRIFICIAL LAMBS

(Actually I haven't tried this - yet. But I think it should work).

(1) deploy a bunch of communicants in the front line.

(2) have a communion master with blood magic cast Blood Vengeance. The more communion slaves, the better. Theoretically a +4 communion (ie, at least 16 slaves) should allow even a blood-1 mage to cast a level 6 Blood Vengeance. Anything but the most resilient troops should annihilate themselves on your communicants.

[Gateway103]

Curious, if enemy casts Wrathful Sky, or any non-directly damaging spells, Blood Vengenence won't work would it? Similarly, if they have high MR, BV doesn't work too well either I think...

And isn't BV Blood 9 spell? So you also need to bring a bit of blood slaves in addition to communicants.

-Gateway103

[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by Gateway103:
Curious, if enemy casts Wrathful Sky, or any non-directly damaging spells, Blood Vengenence won't work would it?

I would think that it would, since the wrathful skies depends on the caster still being alive, so it's tied to them.

Similarly, if they have high MR, BV doesn't work too well either I think...

That's the point of using many communicants to boost the blood level of the caster so that it's more difficult to resist the effects of the blood vengeance.

And isn't BV Blood 9 spell? So you also need to bring a bit of blood slaves in addition to communicants.

You'd only need 1 blood slave to have it effect all the communion slaves.

[Yossar]

Does high level blood magic make blood vengeance harder to resist? I tried casting it with a Blood-5 caster and still got Blood Vengeance +0.