Ulm SP AAR- Swords Vs. Sorcery

[RedRover]

re: Two-Front War

Well, at least you're not attacking Russia in the winter.

re: Mechanical Men
Meat shields are even more effective when they are not actually meat.

[boltcutter]

What do you recommend for walking shields? The Crusher hasn't really been fieldtested- it looks like it is NOTHING but a damage sink, and might get ignored. The Clockwork Horrors were fun (SO fun!) but impractical. I don't know what I should be trying to research- I was thinking "Trolls" but I haven't committed to any path yet.

[thejeff]

It's not really thematic for Ulm, but I've had fun with Fall Bears. Tough and Ethereal. Pretty expensive though. Maybe Mechanical Men. Living Statues when you can get them.

Remember that Trolls cost upkeep.

[RedRover]

A Crusher will not be ignored (it may be swamped, but it won't be ignored). Enemy troops with Attack Rear orders may detach some units to go around it, but some will stay, and the Crusher will stump off in pursuit of the rest when it wins.

If you have never built a Crusher, I recommend building one, just so you can see it in action. They're slow, so consider putting it forward far enough that the rest of your shield gets up to it just before the enemy gets there.

If you are in a bad enough way that your forts are under siege, blocking the gates with several Crushers can brutalize the foe, especially if you have a long, narrow gate and a high rate of defensive fire. Unlike recruited troops, summons can appear directly in a besieged fort.

Likewise, sending in a Crusher or two directly against an enemy fort gate (as far forward as you can) while storming might get you in a little easier.

Ulm heavy infantry is pretty good, especially when bolstered by the Legions of Steel spell and Giant Strength. Trolls augmented by these spells are truly awesome in melee, but remain vulnerable to fire and spells. Both need priest support to keep their morale up.

I always considered the Clockworks a little fragile and prefer Mechanical Men if you have the gems (Living Statues are even better). Remember that constructs do not heal hit point damage normally after combat, but that Labs do fix them eventually, so don't ignore your infrastructure when using this troop type: build a few Labs along the way. A Crown of Command (Cons 4, S2) will let a normal commander lead constructs.

It isn't practical to make specific magic research recommendations without knowing your current level in each school, gem income, and research rate. Long term, look at Earth Attack--it's lots of fun squishing enemy commanders with this. Crumble can really embarrass an enemy hiding in a fortress, especially a tough one like a Mountain Citadel. Once you get to Construction 8, making a Philosopher's Stone (there can be only one!) will leverage your money favorably. Put it where you can find it quickly.

Seek out the Global that gives you Earth gems. Once you have this up, you will have a much easier time getting the really neat Ulm-thematic globals: the one that makes you rich, rich, rich, and the one that lets you forge things cheap. Running a Search or two of the forum on these should give you some ideas. I usually use a 2-year net, unless I'm digging further back for something specific.

[boltcutter]

At the moment I have 11 Smiths [having gone through rather a lot in the several disasters. . .] As of the start of the turn, 3 are researching. Yes, I have turn 41 and 17 research points [probably to go up rapidly this turn.] Current gem income: 7 Earth, 3 nature, 3 astral, 2 fire, 2 air, 1 water, and 3 blood.

I have Conjuration 4, Alteration 3, Evocation 4, Construction 5, and Thaumaturgy 2 researched. I'm at about 8 in research; the top 3 [Jotunheim, Caelum, and Vanheim] are at around 18-20.

Priest support [moralewise] is very hard to come by- I have *one* priest that can boost morale- my prophet.

Given these things, I think my best bet is Trolls at about 360 RP from where I am, with Crushers in the meantime.

If I have surplus Earth gems, which would be better:
Uparmoring my Smiths, or lots of commanders with [say] Swords of Sharpness?

[RedRover]

If you are feeling the pinch on priests, you might consider alchemizing some Earth gems, building some Temples, and recruiting some cheap priests.

(One of these can really toughen up a province defense (PD), and 2-3 would be really useful if you hit undead or need to keep those rather chaotic Trolls pushing forward.)

Personally, I like to keep about half to two-thirds of my top mages researching. Of course, I also get my butt kicked for not building enough ground troops...

Being too low in research is almost as unhealthy as being too low in dominion. Ulm is not noted for the efficiency of its research, though, so as long as you are not dead last or static/declining you may be ok. You do want to see an elevated growth slope on your research graph. Items that may help include Owl Feather (Air, +3), Lightless Lantern (Fire +6), and Skull Mentor (Death +10).

You might consider saving your Earth gems for the globals. At Cons 5 you are approaching Forge of the Ancients (Cons 7, caster E5). You might want to take another look at Enchantments: both Riches From the Earth (Ench 6, caster E5--$$$!) and Earth Blood Deep Well (Ench 7, caster E6--EEE!) will give you substantial benefits.

I would feel a lot better about handing out Swords of Sharpness (which are not magical!) if I knew my thugs were protected by Gift of Health, but that's just me. If you have a hard-charging knight, you might consider a Shield of Valor. Armor of Virtue would protect your prophet at the cost of occasionally putting him out of position--a flight item would return him to action quickly.

[Arralen]

RedRover said:
If you are feeling the pinch on priests, you might consider alchemizing some Earth gems, building some Temples, and recruiting some cheap priests.
(One of these can really toughen up a province defense (PD), and 2-3 would be really useful if you hit undead or need to keep those rather chaotic Trolls pushing forward.)

Ulms priest as those recruitable in provinces are Holy-2 only and cannot cast any moral-affecting spells !

Being too low in research is almost as unhealthy as being too low in dominion. Ulm is not noted for the efficiency of its research, though, so as long as you are not dead last or static/declining you may be ok.

Research cannot decline ...

You do want to see an elevated growth slope on your research graph. Items that may help include Owl Feather (Air, +3), Lightless Lantern (Fire +6), and Skull Mentor (Death +10).

Most important thing about those items is - their bonus is not affected by drain ! As Ulm, you might have some troubles forging them, though:

@Constr-2:
Owl Quill .. Air-1
@Constr-4:
Skull Mentor .. Death-2 (!)
@Constr-6:
Lightless Lanter .. Fire-1

You might consider saving your Earth gems for the globals. At Cons 5 you are approaching Forge of the Ancients (Cons 7, caster E5). You might want to take another look at Enchantments: both Riches From the Earth (Ench 6, caster E5--$$$!) and Earth Blood Deep Well (Ench 7, caster E6--EEE!) will give you substantial benefits.

You need some dedicated (earth) casters anyway: Blade Wind among others is level-depended. And while you're on it, think about one or two dedicated smithes as well: If you empower him (them) to Lvl-1 in some pathes, they can churn out a whole bunch of nice items at minimal cost.

I'll attach two tables with all multi-path items and all magic-boosting items for your convenience (you're playing unmodding, IIRC ?!)

I would feel a lot better about handing out Swords of Sharpness (which are not magical!)

Oc, they are magical. Every item you make from gems is magical.

if I knew my thugs were protected by Gift of Health, but that's just me. If you have a hard-charging knight, you might consider a Shield of Valor. Armor of Virtue would protect your prophet at the cost of occasionally putting him out of position--a flight item would return him to action quickly.

Actually, a charging knight (black knight commander with bunch of black knight bodyguards, set to attack rearmost) wouldn't benefit that much from a shield of valour: As he starts a bit back from the front line, and on the very flank, other troops are targeted by the enemy archers first - and those do not switch target unless it's routed. So the 80%-missleprotection is wasted.
Better get him

- a Stinger (less damage than the sword, but as a length-4 weapon, it repels swords etc.)

- a Girdle of Might (Constr-4; gives him reinvigoration AND strength +3)

If he lives through some battles and gets heroics, you might want to add items which give
- Luck
- Regeneration
Some argue to deck him out completly from the start, but this is quite costly, and might end up very futile in the very first battle. Which items to choose depends on what threats you face and what smithes pathes you can depend on, though: Maybe you need some resistances as well .. e.g. a Burning Pearl is another nice addition if you're up against Abysians or Fire Elementals.

[boltcutter]

OK, turn 42-43:

A series of "suspicious events" occurs: Two arrows from the sky- one killing a smith, the other injuring a Commander- an earthquake in T'ien Chi [destroying my temple there] and 1/5 of the population moving out of one of my minor provinces.

Caelum captures the Desert Eye, cutting me off from taking the last T'ien Chi province. Hopefully they will clean that up soon- it's still giving me -7 and -8 dominions in places.

Also, Caelum creates a SECOND global enchantment- the one that gives them millions of Air gems. They must be destroyed, and fast.
I reorganize my armies into one Army, plus a "floating reserve". There is some chaos and starvation but it is brought under control.
I shift my "economic warriors" over to adjacent provinces- the unrest numbers are nice, but the number of patrolling troops is getting a little high.

Shopping- I recruit three Smiths, increase my research- I am two turns from Conjuration 5, and [many] from Conjuration 6. I recruit one or two spies and a Commander or two on general principles, then buy Battleaxemen. I have concluded that the Black Plate of Ulm is basically so good that shields really don't add much except encumbrance, and My troops need to deliver faster kills.

Tactics- I am reorganizing my anti-Caelumite troops. There is no "front" as such, dealing with winged troops, so I huddle my Smiths together, surrounded by a large group of bodyguards, and put the other half of my melee troops up front to [hopefully] reach the archers before they do too much damage. My regular archers are going to have to fend for themselves, I fear; I do have two cavalry in the rear set to "attack flyers".

Strategy- I am pleased to find out that, although there is a huge Pythian army, they have essentially no magical research. I anticipate some ugly times taking the capital of Caelum- hopefully I will be able to storm the castle before my leadership is decimated by arrows. I have about 50 "soldiers" worth of siege warfare. If I could reach Pythium directly, I would attack them next. As it is, the enormous lizard threat is probably My next worry.

[boltcutter]

Ivarr considered the last four years of long, slogging battle as he sat by the fire in the main hall. The grim battles against the lich of T'ien Chi. The months of despair when it seemed that his Lord Ulmon was dead, and the news was all bloody and bad. Then the return of his Lord, the crushing of T'ien Chi, and the storming of the castle at Caelum. Hardly a castle, he thought, looking out at the wooden parapets with no ladders, scorched and broken . Giant mechanicals worked, tireless, repairing those walls. "Better them than us," was all he said to the new men around him. It was not exactly clear what he meant.

Turns 44-49:

Caelum is besieged, then stormed. There are 140-ish troops inside a Mausoleum, and it takes me some time to get the siege train into place. The battle is brutal- they have Air Shields and Confusion, we have three Crushers, dozens of superheavy troops, and enough Smiths to cast Blade Wind over 20 times, delivering over 1000 individual sharp things to the enemy. As always, their spearmen take a few jabs, get nowhere, and rout. From here it is merely a matter of cleanup.

My spies are starting to trickle into Pythium- I have only two there, but three more are on the way. I have learned that if I build unrest, the AI will move a fairly large army into that province- would it be an exploit to use spies to move armies away from my route of attack, or would humans respond likewise?

Shopping: I am now making around 500 Gold a turn over my expenses. I can finally start buying what I feel I deserve, instead of robbing Dominion to buy Province Defense. I have nearly enough Smiths, and have started the luxury of an actual cavalry unit. [I built three horsemen, long ago, and the second just died storming the gate at Caelum. ]

Planning: I need to finish off Caelum, and then start [hopefully] on both C'Tissan fronts with a large supply of angry Trolls.

Scores, etc:

There are basically five Pretenders left worthy of the name. Pangaea's pretender, a blind Cyclops [note to self: be careful with your one and only eye] is dead, and they hold only a couple of underwater provinces and their capital. Caelum is crushed, with a few dozen troops and a handful of provinces left.

In general, the top three are Pythium, Vanheim, and C'Tis. Vanheim and Pythium seem to be carving up Jotunheim[ good neighbors, for evil deathcult heretic unbelievers.]

Pythium is particularly low on research, but high on Dominion [they're at 3, I'm at 1, and the others are at 2.] Other than that it's pretty much a 3-way tie for first.