5081

I should mention that I use mastery loosely. I mean that you have the first step toward mastery of many of the magic paths - that step is obtaining a good income of the appropriate magical resource.
To get a start in blood, having a blood 1 mage is key, as finding the blood slaves is the important part of any blood economy. You can empower whoever you want after you have a good income of slaves going.
Also, even without amber clan mages, you have water on your national mages, and construction 6 for the water +1 bracelets, so that is still covered. Incidentally, I think your pretender starts with water-2 anyway.
Death 1 is enough for the site searching spell Dark Knowledge. So you can find all of your death sites - a good start.

By contrast, I’ve only found the amber clan mages, which get me into water. They’ve been downgraded somewhat it seems, as they now get water 2 with only a 10% chance of fire and nature paths. My nationals get me solidly into air and death. It’s expensive to get into nature before my pretender turns up. Astral, blood, fire and earth are all out of reach for now
I had a brief flirtation with astral, when I had Dagan the renegade sage for a few turns. It seems he got a little greedy though, and paid the consequences…
The main problem I face is my unwise choice of drain-2, which has left me miles behind in research (Fomorian druids would seem to cry out for magic-3). I may be able to research a counter for your current strategy in a few turns, but in that time you can do a lot of damage, and research new strategies at a faster pace than I can counter them (and more magic paths available mean more strategies).

I only mention all this as there is a serious danger of your nation romping all over the map in the next 20 turns, without even facing a serious challenge, as the other nations are too busy battering each other to notice you convert your vast lead in gem income and research into concrete gains of territory. And I would hate for you to have to tread such an uninspiring, insipid route to victory, so you see, I really have your best interests at heart… :)

5082

True. However it is not going to happen with me anytime soon. I’ve stoped building blood amazons 3 turns ago because I could not afford them, and I still haven’t forged sanguing rods for half of the 6 that I’ve built. Besides I only have few provinces suitable for blood hunting anyway, since most of my land are wastes and mountain. To do anything usefull with blood 1 fire 1 mage I would need to empower her in blood 3 times, and with my tiny blood income the game almost certainly be over before it will happen. :)

I had a brief flirtation with astral, when I had Dagan the renegade sage for a few turns. It seems he got a little greedy though, and paid the consequences…

You bet Dagan got greedy! After you had outbid me twice on that little weasel, I have paid him 400 gp to abandon you. That’s an Eagle King ransom! :D But seeing your strong lead in army, territory, as well as lead in income, the last thing I wanted to see is for you to add astral path to your collection.

I’ve used him for 2 turns for site searching, and then sent him in general direction of Sauromatia’s capital, with orders to conquer it using his bare hands. Haven’t heard from him since…

I only mention all this as there is a serious danger of your nation romping all over the map in the next 20 turns, without even facing a serious challenge, as the other nations are too busy battering each other to notice you convert your vast lead in gem income and research into concrete gains of territory. And I would hate for you to have to tread such an uninspiring, insipid route to victory, so you see, I really have your best interests at heart… :)

Well, thank you. I am touched. :)

5083

I think Midgard’s about out of it. (If not, I have a few hundred heavy troops and mages waiting in the wings.)

I also think the sheer cussedness with which he has held on stands as sufficient justification for taking him out in the first place. I hate to think what it would’ve been like if he’d been given more time to develop.

5084

Sorry, Dagan attacked during dinner time and our men missed their regularly scheduled supper. So when they finally caught the old man… well lets just say they still fed well that night.

5085

I lost 5 more provinces to Caelum. He brought out the Cloud Trapezing Eagle King thugs this turn.
Caelum’s pretender turned up:
Father of Winters
Earth 4
Fire 2
Nature 2
Water 2

So with nature on the pretender he has all 8 magic paths covered - he has blood available but will likely win the game before he gets anywhere with it. I notice that the aerobatically challenged commanders get a pair of winged shoes to help them keep up with the army.

Caelum’s gem income passed 80 this turn, over double the Fomorian income in second place, and probably equal to the total gem income of all opposing players.

I’m reminded why I don’t like being in the centre of the map - Abysia joined the war against me this turn. Sauromatia, however, has started attacking Abysia. The Southern war involving Mictlan, Ermor and Helheim grinds on.

The war would perhaps become of the remotest challenge for Caelum were several nations to ally against him - but in my experience getting such an arrangement to work is a bit like nailing jelly to a herd of cats.

5086

Crom note:

Crom is back on timer.

5087

Sadly, this game looks like it’s gone pretty much as anyone could’ve guessed from turn 1 when we saw the starting positions. Starting in the middle of a cramped group of capitals is pure suck. So is your prophet getting feebleminded by a bonk on the head. I almost feel bad for trashing Ermor’s start now, though.

5088

Not really. Based upon our starting positions predictions were made by several people that Sauromatia (NW corner) and myself (NE corner) will be dominant nations in this game, while 4 central nations would remain small and bicker over the southern territory.

Instead Fomoria, who was one of the central/southern nations, turned out to be by far the largest nation in the game, with most provinces, income, castles and strongest military. (at least until this war began)

To Barak:

I think Fomoria’s mistake was that they have expanded too fast too quickly, without consolidating their gains. Also when I gave Fomoria 3 turns warning, as required by our NAP, I have expected to see heavily militarized border by the end of these 3 turns. Instead our border turned out to be mostly undefended on your side.

Even today, if one would combine all Fomoria troops and put them against all my troops and mages, Fomoria would win easily. Unfortunately for Fomoria they have such a large empire that spawns from one edge of the map to another, that it will take them forever to consolidate their overstretched military.

As I’ve told GreatAtlantic before the start of the game, Caelum largest advantage are not mammoths (I have yet to use a single mammoth against human player, other than accidental bump with Sauro early on), but its mobility.

It is true, starting in the center of the map certainly posses some challenges, as well as opportunities. You have to tread very carefully, consolidate your gains, and watch your back. Personally when I find myself in such position, I usually do all I can to anchor myself to the edge of the map ASAP, even if it means sacrificing some neutral provinces to other players. You also don’t want to appear too dangerous and powerful too early, not when you are the only nation that borders each and every nation on map, and especially not when your strongest neighbors are not in war with anybody. >;)

That said, you have fought well in the first critical battle of the war. I was quite worried that I may lose when I was watching that battle. Should you have just 10 more unmarked giants, my entire main army would be wiped out, and the situation would be quite different on your eastern front.

5089

Your prophet should die this turn anyway… perhaps its better to be feebleminded when your killed ;)…

5090

Why? What’s happening?

Actually, my first prophet was the one that got feebleminded in my one big blitz fight with Ermor. I killed 3/4 of their army and 5/12 commanders, but my prophet got hit in the head and ran away. Ah, if only things had gone a little differently. Now I’m just small time, spending my days killing jaguar warriors 24/7.

5091

Indeed. My scouts have been watching that war for the last 20 turns or so.

It’s interesting how Helheim in this game just refuses to die. :) They got reduced to just capital and 1-2 provinces long time ago, but they refuse to go away. Their small but tough veteran sacred army keep killing wave after wave of Ermor and Mictlan troops who try to take over their capital. ( mostly Mictlan troops recently)

The soldiers of that crack army must have survived dozen battles already aginst forces that heavily outnumber them in each of these battles. They remind me of “Black Company” from fantasy serial by Glen Cook. :)

For some reason both Mictlan and Ermor have hardly send any mages to these battles, preffering to sacriface hundreds of their troops to grim helheim radiers.

5092

I salute your awesome description.

5093

This is going to change now… trust me ;) No mages??? i cant count the dead fire priests thingies that i have thrown against those §&!"§/%$%$ helheim sacreds… i even tried a blood sabbath once… it failed! but now armies of demons will try where my sacreds failed…

Blood for the Blood God!

5094

I’m taking over Sauromatia for Greatatlantic for a little bit, while he sorts out his priorities in life (as I have). So there is a new Lizard Regent! (I plan to not just sit on his throne, but seize it in a bloody coup.)

Feel free to write me about diplomatic tidings. I enjoy diplomacy, and it’s the only way I’ve survived in Dominions games thus far.

5095

At last! Victory for the Blood God! We didnt got the Prophet but he is fubar, and most of those veterans are a feast for crows…

5096

Diplomacy is about 60% of the game. I’ve only ever won one game where I basically didn’t bother to be nice to anyone or make any allies. That was one a special case, in that it was a Dominions 2 game where I used Ermor to beat up a bunch of players who didn’t know their Ermor counters well.

5097

I’ve won zero Qt3 games so far (in about 10 tries)… well, actually, I did win one, but it started with only 6 people. Anyhow, I usually get to the final four when we start with 10+ people, but it’s mainly because of diplomacy. I have little idea how to play the endgame yet. I don’t know what a “Tartarian Factory” is or what the “Chalice” does or what equipment is best to give a Sea Troll King. (I partly took over for Greatatlantic so he could teach me a little about what things to shoot for. He’s already taught me a few things.)

5098

Hey, we won as a n00b team in that massive QT3 Dom2 game a couple years ago!

I agree about diplomacy…it’s like Survivor; you can’t win without good negotiation skills and making “alliances” and so forth. Good diplomacy is extremely time consuming, though. Lots of tracking and following up and sending messages in-game and out…

5099

There are no teams in Dominions! Are there? Did we hold hands? Did we get to second base? <3

What’d we do, agree to end the game once we’d carved the world up into two halves? I sorta remember it now, now that you think about it!

Of course, my game journal reads:

[I] Dear Diary,

Today Guildboss cravenly asked if we could end the game as joint winners and I agreed because I didn’t want him to cry. So, I win.[/I]

5100

hehe, I seem to remember some hugging in there somewhere… How soon we forget!