National troops and mages vs SC and High Magics

[Teraswaerto]

If you set research to very difficult and magic site frequency low a mid-sized game will be over well before summons and SCs are the only forces worth fielding.

[Cohen]

The problem is in finding players willing to play with these settings.

And I love magic sites because now it's a strenght of a rainbow pretenders ... not fighting but an "explorer" of arcane sites ... who's seeking power ...

And some magic sites are nice because adds some troops you usually cannot recruit, but don't unbalance the game cause they'ren't overpowered ...

[atul]

Originally posted by Cohen:
National armies and mages become almost useless ... so on where's the fun of the tactical differences beetween Nations? Are battle fought by singles or armies?

I'm no expert by any means, but. Following all these discussions about SCs and how they can only be countered with ones alike them, I'm getting a feeling that there's a classical "When the only tool you've got is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail" problem at work. (Have to admit, though, that SCs are a bit like "When only tool you've got is a shotgun, every problem starts to look for an exit" solution)

I mean, if you believe every fight can be won only with SCs, then the game turns into a battle between individuals. Of course you're going to lose if you send masses of regular troops against something that's purposefully devised to slay masses of regular troops. Don't. All things (should) have a weakness or two.

Enemy using say arch devils? Send a couple of mages to freeze 'em dead. Something invulnerable to elements? Paralyze - soul slay - enslave mind. Invulnerable to elements, absurd MR? Acid/magma spells, other armour negaters. Use troops to keep those big guys busy while the mages do their work, if they use life drain put undead boneshield instead.

They start having small squads to help their big guys in battle? Kill the normies, rest will rout. They start to imitate you, putting forth number of mages protected by some screen? Mass Flight is your life-saver. Massed troops? There are more army bLasting spells than I remember out of hand.

You're bound to take losses, just make sure your opponent is hurt more.

Of course, I'm proven myself I'm absolutely lousy in crafting anything heavy-hitting, so have resorted to national mages and troops. Nearly all of the aforementioned has been achieved by one nation's national mages, so they do have uses. You just can't send them off everywhere without planning first a bit.

But then again, I'm sure there's some SC lurking even in my current MP just waiting to prove me wrong. Can't wait.

[Wendigo]

All the way through my MP games, I recruit national mages & troops every single turn.

[Cohen]

Put a limped, crippled unit in the rear, with hold and attack ... the rearmost you can.

Use some units to absorb spells, like LI ... and let SC doing the hard job.

What I mean is ... all the army should do the job, not army takes hits and deceives enemy spells, and SC slaughter all the things.

And with magic items you can be invulnerable to almost all things ... perhaps some death magic spells ...

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Wendingo, you'll find when you start wars with other humans, and not Indies, that soon your troops will be slaughtered and become swordfodder to cover big monsters.

[ April 25, 2004, 10:14: Message edited by: Cohen ]

[Wendigo]

Originally posted by Cohen:

Wendingo, you'll find when you start wars with other humans, and not Indies, that soon your troops will be slaughtered and become swordfodder to cover big monsters.

Only if I field them as fodder, which is not usually the case.

I guess our MP experiences differ, I have yet to face a 'big moster' that couldn't be killed. And when it comes to duelling, the right combination of mages+troops+SCs will beat lone/Groups of SCs any day.

[Cohen]

Troops always comes along with SC, but not ordinary troops, but summons ...