3001

Hoplite

Is there any chance we could get the game’s timer temporarily set to 72 or even 96h? It’s already Turn 39, and I have one of the geographically larger empires in the game - which is at odds with the pile of job applications I have to fill out over the next few days.

3002

Congratulations on making it to a hundred, I was afraid you didn’t have it in you back at page 60.

3003

I was going to post this over at Shrapnel, but screw 'em :).

GHOULS AND DOMES!

I used to hate ghouls just so much, but against the AI i discovered they do have their uses. Ghouls are great seige units because unlike most undead they are not mindless. I had a heck of a hard time killing MA Ermor with MA Ctis because i couldn’t get enough units over to their cities during a seige to keep up with the ever expanding Ghoul horde and still hold off the two other empires attacking mine. Ashen Empire players should or could take the time to sort out the ghouls from their other troops and keep them in reserve as seige battalions.

I also thought Dome of Corruption was a stupid idea UNTIL i re-read the description a couple nights ago in the manual, and it said that among it’s other effects it increased the magic scales in a province. Now that is a pretty nice effect if you happened to have taken a Drain dominion. Going from -1 to +2 is a big change if your nation (say, LA Marignon) has access to very low level cheap researchers. I still would be hesitant to pop it over your capital but for an out-of-the-way research base it’s pretty nice. Also, if you’re using Sages, most of whom will die of old age anyway, it doesn’t sound like a bad idea either.

3004

I hear ya. You did do a great job of playing from a bad starting position. I don’t think you ever had a true ally, either. This game has been all about the alliances. Now we’ll see if Stormbinder’s prediction is correct, that Agartha has this game in the bag thanks to his sweet sugary words.

3005

I have a question.

In one of my games I am being spammed with a spell that causes a blight. People are starving, begging in the streets. 5% of the populace dies and I lose 80 gold. Per spell. It seems like this should only be allowed to hit once per province per turn, not so.

What is this spell and what are the possible defenses against it? I know there are a variety of spells that slap domes of various protections over a province but I am not sure I have the ability to cast any of them, and I recall them not being cheap or 100% effective anyhow.

3006

There is pretty much a dome for every element and path except Earth and Death. If you have a 4 or 5 path caster in almost any magic line you should be able to make a dome. I believe the Frost and Fire domes will try and attack the casting mage if they catch the spell. It’s very expensive though to protect more than a couple provinces, and you need to stack domes to get near 100% blocking.

3007

Is R’yleh still being run by Clark in this game or is it set to AI?

3008

Someone else took it over. Having Rlyeh constantly changing hands made me twitchy the whole game as it would only take one Rlyeh player to decide I was easy pickings to ruin my day. Honestly, if I was Rlyeh and I knew there was a schlub camped on an island I’d have gone after him. That sort of island base would be great for Rlyeh.

3009

Ah, Vanheim!

I understand that my trolls are very tasty, indeed. As for losing my most powerful army to a minor slip on your part, it is not so bad as it could have been–I could have actually had a useful, POWERFUL army! Now, I have…gold income? Excellent! Does anyone know whether summoned trolls require payment monthly?

ULM

3010

Well, I’m back. I can’t wait to see what damage has been done to my poor nations in my absence. And by the way: in Bandar, Agartha is really, really scary. What are the victory conditions again?

3011

Death to all.

3012

They do. As do water trolls and any other summonable troop that is also recruitible.

3013

Boo!

p.s. - the turn hosts in about a half hour.

3014

Good game, Nick. A lot of fun and interesting battles. I got schooled more often than not. I look forward to the next game.

3015

Bandar
I’m going away for 2 weeks in a couple of weeks.

Abysia hasn’t played in a long time. If we set Abysia to AI, I can probably do daily turns most days, which would advance the game significantly before my departure. I’d prefer not to get a sub, if possible.

What does everybody think?

3016

I am down.

3017

I’m fine with setting Abysia AI - that nation has been abandoned by its ruler - but I can’t promise that I’ll be able to keep up with 24 hour turns.

We’ve been playing this game since October, you’d like to hope that a 2-week break won’t cause any huge problems.

3018

Go for it. I’d like to get the game moving along anyway.

3019

Bandar
Well, that’s four of us that want Abysia set to AI. Nick, can you set Abysia AI?

3020

Hoplite
Can anyone afford to trade me some fire gems? I’ve everything but blood slaves.