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 UPDATE ON THE LAST PAGE!Glazius posted:Oh, keen. So you've got a guy who's been building up all game and you have to swoop in and stomp him? I doubt that he is the only one, the United One waits on Ardania itself and has likely been building up all game as well. That huge dragon skeleton, is it named in-game or did you just make up a name, JcDent? Does it do anything special? Also, nice to fight against Amberon the Dark while being allied with Amberon the Light...
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Sep 14, 2014 09:07
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Torrannor posted:
Well, not to spoil too much, but Amberon's citadel is just a souped up city. I don't remember how strong it is, since back then I had my wreckingball of a hero. This time around, I only have tier I heroes (one of them has died twice despite being level 10) and some temple units. It's not going to be pretty. I won't lose (that's impossible at this point), but it might take some time and grind. I might even have to start listening to the game-y advice you guys keep giving me 
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Sep 14, 2014 09:40
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Build the last two unit types you haven't shown off!
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Sep 14, 2014 10:10
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I feel like I keep missing something; How are you 'resurrecting' new units? I'd normally assume they're just units that died off-screen, but you're treating them as if the Lich had never seen them before.
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Sep 14, 2014 12:55
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Veloxyll posted:Build the last two unit types you haven't shown off! I'm trying, I'm trying! aerion111 posted:I feel like I keep missing something; How are you 'resurrecting' new units? Those are my resurrected units (I can't build Wolves, Flying Galeuses or Sir Hugue Dry Branches), but I'm going at it like King Lich VI knows that they are somewhere afield, but hasn't met them personally (Hugue was hired when KLVI was deep in Resurrection research) before they got sent to Lichgrad by...terminal means. I'm sorry if it's a bit confusing! Also, I didn't have plans for the ship to be Golddale Duck, but someone in the comments gave me the idea. Thank you, mysterious stranger!
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Sep 14, 2014 13:12
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JcDent posted:I first played Endless Legend when it only had zombugs, elves and... whatever else was in back then. Vampire Ghost Knights? I liked it, but the nearer turn 200 it got, the more it devolved into mindless 4X clicking for units to march across half the map and stuff. There really should be a setting in game which forcibly saves and shuts down game one hour in. Space Empire V had the option to replace the date with your clock time, why not have something like that? I sometimes get nauseous when I remember 4 hours streaks of Endless Space... Ahem. Endless Legend's lategame doesn't really exist right now; the research only goes up to Tier... 5 I think, leaving Tier 6, 7 and 8 totally empty, so yeah after the first ~100 turns or so it starts bogging down really heavily because you just plateau at the midgame. What is there though is pretty fun, I'm really looking forward to when they finally finish and the whole game is actually there to play (instead of the first half of the game which is what is there now). Torrannor posted:Also, nice to fight against Amberon the Dark while being allied with Amberon the Light... Well at least now we know what happened to Amberon; the United One split him into his good and evil halves, his good half then either somehow escaped or was kicked out while his evil half was employed by the United One as the guardian of the portal from Ainadra to Ardania. Neruz fucked around with this message at 05:10 on Sep 15, 2014 |
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Sep 15, 2014 04:59
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Amberon the dark is pretty much a chump!, now that being said ardania is a hellhole of death if you aren't megapowered.
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Sep 15, 2014 21:55
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Chapter 19: Intermission “Tell me, my liege, how is that you mages got to rule Ardania?” “Well, Ardania used to be ruled by succession of kings. Unfortunately, one of them got afraid that his rule won't be remembered because... well, because his predecessors had already vanquished all sorts of monsters and villains, leaving none for him” “What about establishing trade, supporting arts, funding universities and magical schools, building really big warships?” “I don't think the king was smart enough to think about it, since his solution was to summon a demon lord, then to kill it and thus become famous. However, demon lords are not known to be pushovers, so the demon was victorious and the kingdom fell to ruin” “Perfect time for great mages to swoop in and stake their claim?” “No, that was a long time after that... after another Great King that vanquished the demon, as well as accomplishing many other tasks. And considering how Ardania was run back in those days, that's no mean feat” “What so special about Ardania?” “Well, you know happens when I want someone dead?” “You send the elite guard to murder everyone and take their gold?” “Precisely. No ratman is going to run away with my gold. However, the king didn't have such power, probably because he wasn't a mage that scoffed at the natural order” “During the years of rule of Ardania, various warrior professions got taken over by heroes, who banded into guilds... and who only worked when motivated by ludicrous amounts of money” “More often than not, said heroes were idiots” “But surely the king had loyal subjects that didn't empty the coffers!” “Oh, there were some of those. His Majesty's Royal Advisor always worked for free. Even provided his own castle to jumpstart the reclamation of Ardania” “It was a small castle, but it had to do” “For one, it had peasants, and peasants were the driving force behind everything done in Ardania. Heroes were hired for the taxes collected from peasants and stayed in guild halls build by peasants while enjoying the protection of towers constructed by peasants” “Pesants were protected by guards and royal guards, lads of variable prowess that patroled the grounds and took a halberd to any threat. After the disappearance of the king, they banded together in a guild and built Halberdhalls. But back then, they were the thin iron line between peasants and death” “Of course, the peasants wouldn't and couldn't tax themselves, so there were tax collectors, making rounds, collecting money, getting eaten by a monster.” “Some say that this system is reponsible for all the gold you can find creature lairs” “Not hard to see why the monsters would eat them” “Aye. To mitigate the tax collector attrition, the king would build guard towers. Simple structures of stone and wood, they were helpful against the more mundane sort of threats. However, the more you built, the more expensive they got” “What? Why? Wouldn't the experience gained by building towers make them cheaper?” “Unfortunatelty, the tradition was to use the most illiterate peasants, and the select the thickest for any sort of construction work. Probably though that their skulls would be more resistant to falling brick” “Likely the peasants would get confused with so many towers, thinking that they already built what was required, delivering materials where they were not needed and so forth” “That sounds horrible” “Little surprise, really. The peasants were so dumb, they used to build their hovels near monster forests and monster lairs” “The only good thing about it was that while the monster was mauling the peasant hunt, heroes could be summoned for help” “Those were some impressively poor and stupid peasants. I mean, their wells used to double as sign posts because they were too poor to get actual posts for signs” “Then again, how could they not have been poor? The taxes were high, all to pay the extortionate rates of hero protection” “150 gold pieces would get you one green ponce with most basic of bows and potato sack tunic” “Rangers and hunters were the most basic of heroes back in the day... later on, when mages took over, they forced the guilds to change tactics and provide entire companies of men for the fight” “You can exert a lot of influence when you're throwing lightning bolts, you know” “Anyways, none of them ever deigned to bring any sort of decent equipment, and the king would have to provide it... in various contrived ways, of course” “Even the smallest exploration task had to have money backing it... and hopefully one of the green idiots would indulge you by doing it. It was no way to run a kingdom nor a military, but the Great King managed” “I'm starting to understand why they're calling him 'Great'” “Oh yes! Even the clerics belonged to guild and had to be paid. Worst of all where ones who sold their power to the king directly. 250 gold pieces for a single casting of healing magics? Why, we would have been bankrupt before reaching Ashwind Dale” “What is even more horrible is that today, our serried ranks of troops trample monster lairs without any trouble” “But back then, you had to hope than a man with tights will demolish a wolf lair before the wolves get him, you, and your peasants” “If rats from the severs didn't get you before that... Imagine, sever entrances popping up all over the place and various edicts, pacts and acts forbidding you to demolish them!” “They didn't have crocodiles to keep the sever rats in check?” “No, and wizards would pour potion left overs down the drain, to make it all worse” “Pardon me, m'lord, but Ardania sounds like quite the nightmare” “Funny you should mentioned that... because nightmares were His Majesty's greatest training tool!” “How so?”  “The court wizards decided that it would be a good thing to let the King practice in his sleep, in a dream he could never win” “Oh yes, with the odds already stacked before him, the was purposefully made to be even harder. Can you imagine that? The king had only one goal: survive as long as possible” “The start would be humble – a palace, some peasants, a few gold coins. Almost enough to build a decent defense” “And he would need that because the palace would appear in near proximity of, say, nest of flying vipers. Rest assured, they were as fould in Ardania as they are here” “And haunted graveyards. You wouldn't believe how many of those existed back in the day” “So the king would start with towers and with a hunter guild, since those ponces at least claimed to be experts in hunting monsters. Of course, they weren't really bright – nobody who dresses like that is – so such concepts as clearing out the surroundings before attacking the lair were beyond their grasp” “So it wasn't unlikely that hero would me an untimely – or all too timely – death at the claws of the monsters. This meant getting them a new, special cemetery. Which also came with its own compliment of angry, angry skeletons. “I still have little idea of how spontaneous skeleton risings occur. My current leading theory is that it's all because of moping kids of about fourteen to sixteen summers” “Of course, the cemetary could be used to revive a hero. Again, for a fee. This was a terrible, terrible idea...” “But it was necessary, especially when lairs got demolished, since they used to unleash quite a few monsters. Angry monsters without a home! Individual heroes barely stood a chance against it, and the peasants would prove to be the desserts” “Those that survived, killed monsters and accomplished tasks would gain money, which they would spend on potions, arms and armor. And gues who had to provide both places that sold those things and the merchandise?” “It does seem convoluted, but not too different from what we have today” “You see, I don't have to wait for any useless layabout to go and buy a weapon. I just equip them according to my own judgment. And I equip them entire companies at a time” “Really, though: the lowest rank of warriors would charge into battle with wooden swords!” “What good is a wooden sword against a marauding ogre?!” “Small surprise that the only time they were effective against ogres were when brutes were asleep” “And in the mean time, a band of skeletons would claw their way through the southern part of the base” “And so His Majesty would dream anew. Again, the same palace, the same monster spawners. Hopefully, a new strategy” “'Oh' the King would think 'maybe I'll hire wizards this time! Wizards are powerful'. And yes, wizards are technically powerful. But there's a reason why there are so many wizards, yet so few Great Mages” “Wizards rarely understood when they were outmatched. And when they finally did, it usually was too late” “The King would pay for their resurrection, but wizards saw that as another assurance that their actions had no consequences and would run off again, and get killed” “However, the trouble with wizards didn't end there. Tell me, Rurik, have you ever been to Baytown?” “Only once, after the occupation, sire” “You might have noticed the tall, floating crystal spire there. It's a great thing – only costs me some mana for upkeep, but shoots at my enemies without me paying too much attention to it.” “However, when the King wanted the protection of magic towers, he had to pay money for their continued operation. If the time ran out and he didn't have money to pay, well, some ogres would be having a much easier time knocking down the village” “And they were surprisingly effective against liches, too. Well, those liches were nowhere close to my level, but still, wizard towers were the best defense against them... when the blasted things worked”  “And while you could destroy crypts, you could do nothing against the expansion of severs and their pipes that gave home to ratmen. While ratmen under my command were definitely better than the wild beasts of Ardanian severs, the King didn't have such luck” “And bearmen would be even worse, killing and maiming wherever they went. And once they killed someone...” “Well, I mentioned that paid resurrection was a stupid idea that should have been outlawed. It wasn't and it hurt the kingdom even more. You see, it cost significantly more to resurrect a powerful hero than a green one. I don't know why: for me, the mana expenditure is always the same. Must be the greed” “Anyway, deaths of high ranking heroes could start a cascade where more heroes died, with no funds to resurrect them...” “Vampires would get involved...” “Eventually, the King could only look through the window and witness the mob of critters assaulting the palace, cutting down whatever defenders could be mustered” “He'd wake just as the walls started crumbling around him, where the Royal Advisor would assure him that he did quite well” “Interesting story, my liege. I guess it explains why he disappeared in the Northern expedition: maybe he wanted to run away from the nightmare that was the rule of Ardania?”
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Sep 16, 2014 12:05
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Suddenly Majesty 2. Well played 
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Sep 16, 2014 12:22
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Neruz posted:Suddenly Majesty 2. Well played Really, what a great way to showcase a bit of Majesty 2. The good relationship between Rurik and King Lich VI is also a nice touch.
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Sep 16, 2014 12:51
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I must be a savant at this game or something because I never had trouble with the nightmare levels.
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Sep 16, 2014 13:16
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Drakenel posted:I must be a savant at this game or something because I never had trouble with the nightmare levels. You must be really gifted. This was just the demo, but it kicked my rear end, mostly. Would never LP, for sure. Especially when I checked and BoS works!
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Sep 16, 2014 15:30
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Yes! I may play through BOS again along with the LP. A flawed game, but I had so much fun with it.
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Sep 16, 2014 15:51
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Yeah, in most cases the game is about getting a strong opening start. Absolutely the first thing you do is throw down a marketplace as close to your palace as possible and upgrade it with both potions. After that it's usually throwing down a ranger, rogue and then warrior guild and then upgrading them fairly early on because skills are cheap and let your dudes hit hard enough that they can take down early monsters such as winged serpents. I usually wait until my first death to throw down a cleric's guild next to the graveyard and then upgrade it so I can get the cleric's skill that lets them vaporize undead with a high-damage magic attack. If you haven't lost anyone, then just throw it down next to a sewer or something, because clerics are useful. At this point you should be scouting around and following the roads. Places where roads intersect often have trade post sites, so you clear out the area and then set up a trade route to get a convoy of gold to your marketplace every few days. Getting your blacksmith up and running at this point is also a good idea. I don't usually build a mage's guild until I have my first sewer (prime real estate for mages, surprisingly), and I don't hire mages until I've researched fireball and ice arrow (the skill you need to upgrade the mage's guild once to get). Fireball helps mages clear out rats and other trash so they can level, while ice arrow stops dudes in their tracks and prevents them from ripping your face off. By this point you should upgrade your palace to level 2, and have a level 2 marketplace and blacksmith, which allows you to recruit elves and dwarves, both of which are good units. I usually go with dwarves first because they're cheaper and far tougher than fighters, but I'll still get elves later on in the map. Both elves and dwarves have stuns right out of the gate (and elves can get an immobilizing ability on top of that), which is incredibly useful for keeping dudes alive, especially when combined with the rogues' stun when you upgrade the guild to level 3 (a very good investment, and just about always the first guild I upgrade to level 3) plus the wizards' ice arrows. This means you can lock down tough foes such as bearmen, werewolves and dragons for a long time. Just about every standard enemy in the game can be beaten by your basic heroes if they're properly leveled and geared, plus maybe some dwarves and elves to provide support. If you mouse over an enemy you'll see its stats including attack and resistances (the shield icons- shield+sword is melee resistance, +arrow is ranged, +bolt is magic). I don't know how exactly resistance is calculated, but generally higher resistances mean that you're going to do only a fraction of your normal damage. Most enemies have one or more resistances that are not very high, but since there's no real way to pick and choose who goes after what target, your best bet is usually just to have a variety of heroes kicking around. Most of the guild upgrades are skills that multiply your damage in addition to providing some sort of effect, so getting those as quickly as possible means that your heroes can one-shot low-level foes and severely inconvenience higher level ones. For end-game foes such as bearmen, werewolves and dragons I usually just drop a 500 gp or more bounty on them, which generates enough of a dogpile that the target is usually locked down and ground into the dirt. Ogres are a similar high-priority target at lower levels, but at higher levels a fighter or rogue can often solo one, especially if you've got the DLC. If you have the DLC (included in Majesty 2 Complete) there are a few skills that actually make things somewhat easier for your heroes. All heroes get a new ability a level 10 or 15, and several of them are really useful- rangers get a rain of arrows AoE which makes clearing out hordes far easier, and fighters gain immunity to knockback so you can actually have a defensive line without ogres punting them into the woods and then eating your wizards. Wizards get a pet winged serpent that can sort of draw fire a bit, but with other wizard abilities you shouldn't be letting them get that close to begin with. The DLC also includes tier 4 weapons and armor, which are incredibly expensive but turn your heroes into incredible badasses. Once you have a level 3 palace you can start thinking about temples. Holy grounds look exactly like the ones in Warlock and are usually guarded by some form of elemental, so you need a decent bounty to get some tough heroes into the fray, but they shouldn't have too much trouble. Your first temple is pretty much always going to be Agrela because her Priestesses are nice as the only group heals in the game (if you have the DLC then her temple also offers an AoE heal that you can use), and more importantly she has a resurrection spell which only costs 1000 gp regardless of the class or level of the hero, which makes bringing dudes back far, far cheaper (it's usually far better to bring back a higher-level hero than train up a lower-level one). You may be tempted to upgrade one of your existing dudes into a temple unit, but that is almost always a bad idea- since guilds have a finite number of slots you're essentially sacrificing a level 20+ basic hero (warrior, rogue, cleric, ranger) to get a level 20 temple hero, which leaves an open slot in your basic guild. It's far easier to get a level 1 temple hero to level 20 than it is to do the same with a level 1 basic hero since temple heroes start out with great skills and stats, so you're better off just keeping your high level basic hero and hiring a level 1 temple hero who will have little problem reaching high levels. After Agrela, I usually go for Dauros because Paladins are almost impossible to kill with a good healer backing them up (which really helps on any map with a boss unit), but after that it's usually whatever I feel like. Blademasters are always good since they provide strong offense in melee, and Ice Mages are also nice because they provide a lot of AoE and control (the DLC gives them an AoE that also freezes everyone, which is fantastic), but if you want to get Archers of Helia, Beastmasters or Assassins, help yourself. Once I've got a few decent level temple heroes, I usually get a tavern up and form a party. Elves are my favorite party leaders since they respond to flags easily, are good at shooting things, pack two different forms of lockdown and also have a haste ability that they'll cast on party members. I then usually hook them up with a healer of Agrela and a paladin of Dauros, with the final slot going to whoever can bring the heat well enough (often a rogue, but a mage or ranger can be decent, or a Ice Mage if you have one). With two or three of those parties wandering around you can usually take down whatever the map objective is if you haven't beaten it already. Similar strategies work in Monster Kingdom, since the monster heroes are roughly their human equivalents but worse since they often lack valuable skills (minotaurs and koatls don't have the stuns that dwarves and elves have, for example) and their healing aren't anywhere nearly as good since they favor regeneration over burst heals, which doesn't really help you all that much when dudes are about to die. The exception is Noble Werewolves, who are absolutely amazing. They're as tough as paladins if not tougher, come with innate regeneration that stacks with regeneration spells and items, and have a host of skills including stuns, summons, brutal AoE melee attacks. Their only downside is that you only get one Noble Werewolf per manor, so you have to build multiple manors at ever-increasing expense to a maximum of three buildings for three Noble Werewolves, plus three more if you recruit from your Hall of Lords. Six Noble Werewolves will cost you more than 100,000 gp, but they are worth every coin.
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Sep 16, 2014 17:54
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Lot of effort posting, but I almost never use ranger guilds. They suck, and rogues will do the exploring if you must. But really, Warrior and Clerics are the bread and butter. Mage guilds are entirely not worth your time as they're just money sinks for little to no lasting benefit. Getting dwarf and elf guilds are the push for mid game, the former for being able to tank just about anything and the latter for their ridiculous damage. The game says they don't get along, but all that means is they'll take time to run over and stun each other every now and then. Rogues are good for being ridiculously cheap, poisoning your hero's weapons, and they have stun kicks that make fighting bigger monsters much less dangerous. But as always, it's all about the trading posts. Money is everything.
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Sep 16, 2014 21:21
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Drakenel posted:Lot of effort posting, but I almost never use ranger guilds. They suck, and rogues will do the exploring if you must. But really, Warrior and Clerics are the bread and butter. Mage guilds are entirely not worth your time as they're just money sinks for little to no lasting benefit. Getting dwarf and elf guilds are the push for mid game, the former for being able to tank just about anything and the latter for their ridiculous damage. The game says they don't get along, but all that means is they'll take time to run over and stun each other every now and then. Rogues are good for being ridiculously cheap, poisoning your hero's weapons, and they have stun kicks that make fighting bigger monsters much less dangerous. The effort post got me to play more this morning, and Rogues are also great at running in and half killing anything. Then dying because they're made of paper, but can't have everything.
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Sep 17, 2014 04:24
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Veloxyll posted:The effort post got me to play more this morning, and Rogues are also great at running in and half killing anything. They usually run from tough fights, but true. Then again, they're dirt cheap to bring back compared to other heroes.
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Sep 17, 2014 06:18
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quote:If you have the DLC (included in Majesty 2 Complete) My own experiences are...nasty. The game was released during a time when Impulse was still a thing and not part of the Gamestop network. Some DLC was released. Then it kinda...disappeared from a lot of people, including me. Extra maps, the extra levels of weapon, the frost magi, the Lunord Temple...all gone. I'm stuck with it.
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Sep 17, 2014 06:22
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So, just to be clear, I can skip this update and be fine for the rest of the LP, right?
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Sep 17, 2014 06:27
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Yeah this is basically backstory for the Warlock world; the Majesty games explain how Ardania ended up the way it is at the start of Warlock.
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Sep 17, 2014 06:31
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Sorry, lot, the update will be delivered in about 12 hours. In a semi-related matter, Guardians of the Galaxy isn't that good would be better if I didn't know who Ronan the Accuser was
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Sep 18, 2014 15:33
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Chapter 20: The Changing Tides of War While King Lich regaled Rurik with tales of Ardania and Great King's campaigns (“The evil mage had a 'sattelite dish' on his lab. What is a 'sattelite' anyways?”), real effort was put into making Ashwind dale more livable. The shard still was a burning hellhole, Tormentors were all but finished.  In fact, the place felt safe enough for elven settlers to appear and start mucking around.  There wasn't much left to kill: the Duke of Hell, a few mobs of imps and those fire elementals that Wolves passed on their way to Ainadra.  Speaking about the wolves... the first foe they encountered in Ainadra was a demonwood, same as anywhere else. And their staves could be mistaken for axes...  The message from Amberon was unmistakable. “Yes, this is the Amberon that I defeated. Still pompous, still not that bright. If the United One is so powerful, why does he need the likes of Amberon to protect him? Sure, he might need proxies because the gods sealed him in Ardania...” “I have... I have no idea who or what that is. It's so... disturbing” “Take your time. We'll find who that was once I destroy his citadel”  "Some say that once upon a time the Black Archer was the leader of elves in some other world, and that he came to Ardania either seeking his fate or running from it. Others believe that it was he who taught the Arethi elves the dark secrets they know, but later left them to wander the world offering his service and his skill with a bow to any who possesses enough gold to hire. When being asked how he should be named in a contract, the Black Archer always says: "Lord Keeper. That's the only name I have left." (From "The Overall Description of Everything" by Master Altus Bumblegate) “And elves just seem to be lining up to serve me instead of Amberon The Other”The mercenary in from of him was, indeed, an elf. Gaunt face, short white hair, and strange armor in gold and green. He also had an impressive bow slung over his shoulder.  “I don't care much for serving, but you are the one paying. And I have nothing else to look for but payment. So we'll do well” “Oh, I have no doubts. If I managed to, well, manage an ogre and a rrat prince, I'll deal with an elf. So, how do I call you?” “Lord Keeper is the only name that I have. It will suffice” “Well, ser Keeper, there's a new dragon nest where lake Deadlin used to be. I don't want it there, so would you kindly take care of it?” Another dragon nest (and, naturally) a dragon was destroyed in Long Shores... and out popped an elder witch. Currently extremely displaced, she was quick to offer her services to King Lich VI. “If I find just one more witch in a dragon's nest, I'll start assuming that this is their natural habitat. I wonder if this one is going to be as much of a pyromaniac as the last one” It didn't take long for Lord Keeper to find the offending dragon. It took one well placed arrow to pierce the dragon's eye, kill the brain, exit through the other eye, and repeat the process with other head. As the lifeless body fell to sands of (former) lade Deadlin, Lord Keeper advanced to loot the lair.  Another dragon that was lucky to encouter elves without particular archery talents, was attacking a temple city devoted to Krypta. Krypta's cultists were caught between a rock and a hard place (or dragon flames and lava flames) and didn't have where to go. Still, there was much running around done elves with faces painted white and nails done in black.  “Some might think that Shadow Spiders aren't that scary. After all, you shouldn't be afraid of some shadows. I hate to disappoint you. Their shadow web holds even tighter than the usual , and their shadow mandibles can easily penetrate any armor.” - from travel notes of “Wild Monsters”, by famous researcher Sir Alen Vidborough  “Shadows, huh? Well, if there's one thing that hastens to melt against the radiance of the Sun is the shadow. Wolves, charge!” It was a simple enough transaction and King Lich hoped that he wouldn't (un)live to regret it later on.   "There's always a great contest for joining the Dragomort troops. Every Svart boy dreams of becoming one of the sky knights and adding his name to the list of the test pilots of mortars. Dragomorts are the most mobile and universal Svart troops. They can do anything: raid their enemy or help their friends, reconnoitre or secure air supremacy." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) Four Elite Guard bearers lowered King Lich's throne in a field and the monarch took his seat (he never sat in a throne that was carried as much out of respect for Svarts as from painful experiences with goblin throne bearers). He waved his bony hand to the assembled Svarts to start.  “M'lord...” “M'lord, I have seen our forces and found them lacking in support. Prospectors might be good at prospecting and making crows talk, but they still fire simple arrows and can't get away fast enough.” “Back home, we had a solution for that, but it was not something we had here” “But I'm nothing if not a legendary smith, and I have spent time productively. I observed the ghost ship, and I sent a merchant caravan specifically to inspect the Flycraft of Order” “We have made many observations on the process of mechanical flight and...” “And behold ye the Dragomorts!”A line of five dots appeared in the sky, getting nearer and nearer. Soon, the onlookers were able to distinguish shapes of Svarts flying in what seemed to be giant upturned thimbles. “Goblets, sir, they're modeled after goblets” “Yes, the Mark II Goblet has four Svartmagical engines and can easily carry a Svart in full battle load for miles. Each Dragomort is clad in light but strong armor, and he can crouch in the Goblet for additional protection” “And the real beauty is in their armament”The Svarts, all shining steel and slightly crested helmets, each held a long tube in their hands that seemed to be connected to the tanks on their back. “The Silver Sigurd runelock is a thing of beauty, it is. It fires a mixture of mana – provided by the backpack – and Dragomort's contempt for the target, and believe you me, Dragomorts have a lot of that. The weapon is too cumbersome for ground troops, but once you're flying... well, see for yourself”The Dragomorts, still in the sky, aranged into a firing line and opened up on a row of simulated targets – pumpkins on a stick. Each shot found purchase, splattering orange everywhere. King Lich idly wondered what would happen if they used goblins. Then the flyers aranged themselves in a continuosly moving circle before moving to another target line. A Dragomort would fire every time his side of the circle turned at the target. Again, pumpkins were mercilessly slaughtered. “With His Majesty providing enough materials, we could make more and more of them. And if m'lord deigned to cast invisibily of them, we'd probably be unstoppable!” “Master smith, this truly look admirable. Begin training as soon as possibe” If Wolves of Helia had known about Dragomorts, they would have requested their help as soon as possible. Dragons and their annoying habit of flying out of staff reach was annoying.   “Alright, you prissy little elves. Disperse! You have shown yourself incapable of running a city here, so beat it!” The Exemplar strode to the top of the Hill and looked down on the Duke of Hell below. “You might be Duke of Hell, but I'm Count of Fist and Baron of Pain! Come meet your doom, you relic!” When the two titans crashed, ripples could be seen in lava pools leagues away.  Another Examplar pumped his fist in their direction. “Yes, brother! Show him who are the news lords of Ashwind Dale! For Krolm and King!”Then he resumed tearing apart a dragon den.  “I feel like it's almost extortion, especially since everyone else is virtually bankrupt. If only they understood the fact...” “Bah, you mages are pompous like that. If Mallacir had the least bit of sense, she'd be offering truce and honeying her words with thousands of barrels of mana” “But apparently one Examplar that effortlessly destroyed forts, skeleton armies and weathered magical bombardments isn't enough of a threat for her” Old Trolls would have been happy to help the Exemplar, especially considering their current stuck situation.  Meanwhile, Cecinia had witnessed the most beautiful and heartbreaking thing of her life: the death of a rainbow dragon. His pearlescent scales twisted and cracked under the relentless assault of fire elementals, and his bright feathers turned to ash as he fell to the ground. She could do nothing to help him, as she was far, far away. She tried to reach out with her healing powers, but it was in wane: they only spread out a certain, if small, distance around her.  “Another trinket! Why must Krolm wex me so?” As the dragon wasn't kind enough to attack the Wolves (and get himself killed), they decided that the interests of Helia and King Lich VI would be best served by doing some exploration. This included finding an Adamantium deposit that wasn't flanked by lava.  “People of Toporsk, you will relocate to what I believe to be a slightly less dangerous place and mine Adamantium there! You have endured Ashwind Dale a lot longer than anyone could demand or would demand if they were sane” “In all seriousness, your decision to settle in land of lava and demons mystifies us all” “So, what did Krel do with that obscene amount of money we paid for the mana he didn't really need?” “Too busy prancing around with yer king to read spy reports? He did what could be expected of him: bought new equipment for his troops as well as giving them higher ranks” “That only means more expenditure for upkeep and wages!” “Well, maybe he hopes to sell more mana to us. Or maybe he has high hopes for those rogues” “Well, this is tempting, but I don't know if I can spare the mana right now...” The fight was rigged from the beginning: after all, every punch thrown by the Exemplar sapped some life from the Duke to heal the Svart warrior. Eventually, after many, many punches thrown, the Duke was bleading all over and his massive horns were broken.  The Duke saw where this was going and tried to slink away with his tail between his legs.  Unfortunately, his retreat took him straight in front of another Exemplar. Meanwhile, the Exemplars to the east had just enacted vengeance on the last fire elemental implicated in the slaying of the rainbow dragon and were about to turn their attentions to the nearby Svart city.  It was also the time when Dragonmorts had their first trial in battle. Fighting a demonwood who had the stupid idea of attacking a city dedicated to Krolm (filled with barbarians who carried large and sharp pieces of metal) wasn't that hard, but they did. Bolts of mana and disdain cracked branches and burst wood, and the malevolent tree was down.  “Well, this will be our artillery support, I guess” Back in Ashwind Dale, entire planes of lava imploded, leaving behind swathes of dark soil, which soon bloomed with gently swaying grass. King Lich figured that troops would be happier crossing grassy plains than lava pools.   "Sky Ships of Arethi are more than just war machines - they are the sign of magical superiority of the elves and the manifestation of the High Truth." - From the "Servants of truth" by High Keeper Teyaran the Rigorous Cecinia stared incredulously at the elven ship, its engines warping reality and keeping the craft afloat. It took her a few seconds to remember her invisibility and she returned to the task of slinging magic at dragons.   “I once read a book about not wasting heavily armored elements in one off attacks, but massing them for a decisive, mobile surprise attacks.” “This would be easier without teleportation misfires” “Hopefully, this will be enough for the invasion of Ainadra”
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Sep 19, 2014 03:49
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Have we seen an exemplar getting level-up bonuses? Or are they not really going to get better, being a cold steel machine?
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Sep 19, 2014 07:50
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Every unit gains experience and levels up. And those Exemplars that were promoted from infantry inherited their previous units' levels and improvements. This is one of the two benefits of upgrading existing units. It's instant and you don't lose precious combat(and the miniscule milling about) experience. The cost in resources is the same as recruiting a fresh unit. So in total you pay the original recruitment cost plus the full price of the upgraded unit.
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Sep 19, 2014 13:39
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Chapter 21: Ainadra Burns While some people got to drive around in giant god machines or fly around in goblet (or mortar) shaped shaped flying... cups, others were sent to dead worlds to exploit singular pumpkin patches for their magical and nourishing properties.  “Eh, it's a living... and drinking” Of course, for some of the lass farm inclined, life included such wonders as leading assaults on necromancer towers all on their lonesome. Especially once the elves got a peace agreement with Mallacir and immediately broke alliance. “I'm sorry, but you refused a peace proposal by Mallacir while I can no longer watch my people die. It's all on you now” “It's all on you” wasn't much of a threat to someone who employed troops that routinely tore arms off fire elementals. The Exemplars of Strength, all tried and battlehardened, were making their way through Ainadra with abominable ease. It could be said that the ground turned from the blood spilled there... had it not been red already (or if there had been enemies with actual blood).  Still, there were forces making their way over the burning plains of Ashwind Dale. There was at least one Exampler, most of the Rune Seers and one angry witch by the name of Misiss Firewick, who was the second elder witch that King Lich VI employed and the second one with an axe to grind against dragons. “Interesting... well, either that, or our scouts are incompetent. “What about it, my lord?” “According to the Planestrider map, we should have encountered a lot more shards than we did. So, either our scouts missed a gate somewhere, or...” “...or there's a separate branch of shards than only connects to Ainadra, but not any of our shards?” “Precisely. The way that your people managed to make it to Burnouts is all the more outstanding... Either that, or there's some mechanics in shard gating that we don't really understand” “I think... I think we would have remembered crossing a land that's basically blood colored ground in every direction” “Well, I'll look into it once Amberon's citadel is down” “But for now, I have to squeeze more mana out of our collectors! I really don't understand these drops in economy”The game is weird. Sometimes, the damage on my Exemplars changes per 50 units, for no reason. Economy fluctuates – I have to check if I don't have riots currently. It's strange, unless I'm missing city upkeep maluses  “Explosives, sire, that's the name of the game!”A Svart was leading King Lich around a factory established on sulfurous baths in Ashwind Dale. “For now, we're sticking them on the ends of long sticks, so that the troops could prod the enemy when they advance. But we have plans, great plans for the future!” “Do any of them include affixing a runelock on an Examplar?” “Er... no. But we are bundling explosives around their fists for some added punching power!” Wolves of Helia had some other ideas about the use of the explosives that were supplied to them. Being immune to heat and blast, they would surround the enemy and, when the correct degree of interspersion happened, set off the explosion. It was a very messy way to handle things and some were wounded by flying bone fragments, but it was better than affixing pertards to their staves. Luckily enough, magic sigils were easy to find in piles of left over burnt viscera.  The saddest thing about was that when an Examplar punched a zombie and the explosion sent burnt bits of reanimated flesh flying, there were no one who would appreciate the sight.  “If this continues for much longer, I won't we able to see anything through the windows. I should attach brushes to the bats or something” Meanwhile, a not-so-simple incantation markedly improved mana extraction in Gatehouse, mostly by fixing leaks and envigorating workers. “You have to spend mana to gain mana, so it seems. Well, seems a little more guaranteed than just sending the troops to ravage the counrtyside”  “Early bird gets the worm... Birds are like dragons... flying around, dropping their dung on everyone... and worms are like dragons, slimy, and long...” “And if I'm fast enough, I could catch and squish them both” “NYAHAHAHAHAHA” “Why can't I find a witch that isn't terminally insane?”  “Ladies... the dragon, if you please” “And now, for the ship”It was horrible, when her bolt hit the prisms powering the elven sky ship. The precarious balance that held the ship afloat and not exploding disappeared. Horrible energies surged, piercing the vessel, twisting the corridors into unnatural shapes and impossible angles. The crew was fused with the ship or each other, inverted into a bloody mass of organs and bone, or worse. Mercifully enough, it only took several seconds for the cores to actually explode and the ship fell to ground, broken beyond repair, and twisted so badly no man would ever dare look upon it.  It took one spin of Exemplar's axes and the two packs of Shadow Spiders were reduced to two piles of twitching shadow appendages. And once the pilot set out to maraud their nests, he found something curious.  At the center of (now crushed) egg clutches stood a tree all tied up by ephemeral shadow spider webs. A tree with a face. An angry face.   "Once upon a time, demonwoods greatly impressed Agrela with their tenacity, and the Goddess of Life turned some of them into Treewardens - her own faithful servants and protectors. Unfortunately, this wonderful transformation did nothing to soften the hatred and venom that pumped through the sap of those old angry demonwoods." (From "The Overall Description of Everything" by Master Alfus Bumblegate) The tree grunted and roared as it was freed, but didn't crush the Svart. Instead, it strode off, ready to beat something up. Truly it was proof that even the most gentle of goddesses sometimes need someone crushed.  Unfortunately, he was in region full of dragons, who were not only out of reach, but also keen on burning his wooden hide.  Luckily, he soon found another tree to fight. Wolves of Helia and an Exemplar of Strength agreed: it was hilarious.  In a place far away, a lady was being extracted through a palace window by the hand of an Exemplar. “LADY MALLACIR! You have been bested by my lord King Lich the sixth. You will cease all mage activities immediately and you will be detained until our king determines what to do with you. This will likely be postponed till the death of the Usurper. Submit and comply!” “I suppose this will have to do” “It will! Your only other choice was to be punched into explosion!” Her former seat was, of course, put to the torch. King Lich VI didn't want to mess with such a remote holding, and there were rumors that subversive elements were already on their way there.  Sir Hugue was a little weary of going into combat again. Ashwind Dale had a humbling effect on thim. Surrounded by metal Svart giants and accolytes that never had to bear the elements beating on them, he felt decisively out of his depth.   “Your wounds have been patched, soldier. Feel free to continue your duties!”Having said that, he jumoped back into his flight aparatus and rejoined formation, leaving behind envious prospectors who cursed the fact that they weren't the most advanced of the Svarts forces anymore.   “An improved version of the Sand Golem – harder, bigger, stronger. A desert world civilization created them to protect their temples and palaces” “If they're from a desert world, what are they doing here attacking Amberon?”Usually, I just copy the unit descriptions out of the wiki, but many of the W2 monsters are missing. Instead I found the Destiny wiki, read up on Falled and the Hive, and lamented that a have with lore that seems to be so potent turned out to be Borderlands 3 instead  The last fight left sir Hugue barely standing. Where the Examplars could crush anything that stood in front of them and the Dragomorts simply flew overhead, he had nearly died.  King Lich VI was preoccupied with other things. For example, a new spell, granted to him by Krolm (via a rock that smashed through his tower and left a crater in the throne room). The spell would hurt whoever it was cast on, but it return... well, in return nobody they attacked would return to haunt them.  And there were rumours floating around that Volundr was praparing something nasty in the factories near the jungles and marches, but there was no certain information.  “I tell you that human is untrustworthy!” “Well, if he attacks us, I trust you will be able to crush his hordes” “Ha! Finally you speak some sense!” Krel was still allied to Amberon, likely because the elf mage was so far, far away. Still, he was of no trouble, since his own people were unhappy about it.  “I don't think we're desperate enough to summon a dragon... or our economy can support it” “Runes... runes might be good for peoples like Svarts, but we're elves, we have no need for that” And it only took one metateleportation to let him put that elven magic in practice, shooting demonic trees.  Others, who had power of the gods running through their metal muscle, were able to just punch their way through entire cities and golden dragons.   “M'lord, I fear I have to face truth I never though I had. M'lord, my ability to serve you as a man-at-arms is at its limits. I can no longer sucessfully face the threats that arise... and we have no more threats that are low enough for me to face” “Normally, a king wouldn't do that... but you have already laid your life in my service... at least twice. I formally declare your service to me over and you are honorably released to do as you please” “Thank you... thank you, m'lord. I shall return to order and see what good I could do there” “Well, if not for all those amateur mages getting eaten by monsters, my research would be that much harder” In the meantime, Cecinia discovered a something new on Ainadra: elves! And the Exemplars were already murdering their way towards them.  However, that was not nearly fast enough and another one was teleported in to asses the sitution... and kill everything he finds.   "The theme of today's lecture is Supreme Vampires. Please open your notes from the previous lecture about Elder Vampires, and find the phrase "never cross an Elder Vampire", and copy this sentence to new page, changing "Elder" to "Supreme" and adding "ever" after the word "never". Everybody manage that? Splendid! Thus concludes today's lecture. (From "On Supreme Vampires," a lecture by Necromaster Barbaross the Deceased) A murder later, the Svart had already trashed some monsters and elves, found a magic mask and pressed into service an extremely old vampire.   “So that's where the old fool is hiding? Well, we'll show him how to side with Usurper”
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Sep 21, 2014 13:42
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Yeah, retiring the donkey knight is not a bad idea- there are very few tier 1 heroes who offer all that much compared to higher-tier heroes or even temple units. About the only ones of note would be the healer, shaman, and the elder ogre (since it's a siege fighter who cleaves with every single attack, only other fighter with an autocleave is a tier 3). Supreme vampires are squishy when it comes to resistances, but they've got some fantastic abilities such as 40% vampirism and a 40% vampirism aura for adjacent units right out of the gate, plus the ability to upgrade both of those again so you can have 160% vampirism (190% with the vampiric weapon spell, past 200% if you give vampiric weapons as well). Once you pass critical mass you eat foes faster than they can kill you.
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Sep 21, 2014 17:48
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I dunno, I always liked the Grand Stubborn Master. His attack power starts to fall behind but in my games he always turned basically indestructible in the end, which does have its uses for some armies (although on team Svart, having high starting resists isn't exactly in short supply). I mean yeah, Lords like Sart and Barfor are amazing but they're also really rare, while getting the GM is reasonably reliable and he brings a stun attack which can really help out. And I like his voice bits  Elder Ogre is pretty drat nice if you don't have access to Dwarven Overcomers or Old Trolls. At least to me. I don't really like Construct siege units as much. Except flying ghost ships. Those're too cool.Supreme Vampire is incredible though. Those auras are amazing. Psykmoe fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 01:09
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Is there a reasonable guide as to what all you can build as what races? Starting to look into potentially getting this game, but I've gotten pretty confused from all the stuff you can apparently build without it mentioning what exactly it does. I've taken away that building temples to Krolm is a good idea, if nothing else.
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Sep 22, 2014 01:18
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There's a button you can press on the city build menu that gives you the building tree for that race, but I don't think it's online anywhere. The wikia has a list but it's not very easy to parse. You pick up the basics pretty quickly as you play though, and the trickiest thing is remembering which races can exploit which resources - for example, every race can build silver mines for +6 gold on silver, but humans can build silversmithies or whatever for the incredibly good silver weapon unit upgrade which gives something like +20% spirit damage. Everyone can farm pumpkins for I think +4 food and +4 mana, but monsters can build the Shrine of the Rotten Pumpkin for a very early game regeneration perk, which when you stack it on the natural regen of werewolves or trolls becomes utterly ridiculous. Temples are built on Holy Ground - a very rare special resource - and each race/god combo gives access to a different unit, most of them amazing and a lot of them upgradeable from a more basic unit, like the Exemplars of Strength were. Not all gods are worshiped by all races, though. The religion system in general leads to a lot of very tricky and interesting choices.
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Sep 22, 2014 01:52
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Psykmoe posted:I dunno, I always liked the Grand Stubborn Master. His attack power starts to fall behind but in my games he always turned basically indestructible in the end, which does have its uses for some armies (although on team Svart, having high starting resists isn't exactly in short supply). I think you may change that opinion when you see what the Svarts consider to be a 'siege unit'
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Sep 22, 2014 02:40
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Tehan posted:Temples are built on Holy Ground - a very rare special resource - and each race/god combo gives access to a different unit, most of them amazing and a lot of them upgradeable from a more basic unit, like the Exemplars of Strength were. Not all gods are worshiped by all races, though. The religion system in general leads to a lot of very tricky and interesting choices. That was an interesting link to read through, thanks. I'm amused that undead can worship Krolm, or get genuine paladins. I would have expected them to be restricted to the death goddess this LP and the last keep making fun of.
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Sep 22, 2014 03:16
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Neruz posted:I think you may change that opinion when you see what the Svarts consider to be a 'siege unit' I've seen it and used it. It looks cool but man, two movement points and walking? Way too much time spent teleporting those things after my army  At least the ghost ship doesn't have to deal with terrain with its 3 movement points, and Overcomers/Old Trolls have way more hp and better resists so they can level up off regular fighting and get extra movement more expediently. Psykmoe fucked around with this message at 04:20 on Sep 22, 2014 |
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Sep 22, 2014 04:16
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'Walking' huh? Somebody forgot to research the flight enchantment 
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Sep 22, 2014 04:18
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Cythereal posted:I'm amused that undead can worship Krolm, or get genuine paladins. I would have expected them to be restricted to the death goddess this LP and the last keep making fun of. The Undead in Warlock are refreshingly multi-dimensional. The Planestriders (the multi-racial coalition that united to fight against the Dremer) have skeletal infantry that can upgrade to serve Dauros, God of Law and Order  , and as you said, the Undead race have a variety of Godly choices. To be fair, their Krolm alignment is mostly about the Einherjar and their Paladins of Dauros and Lunord are both resurrected versions of the human paladins of those races, so they're still about all dead, all the time - but that doesn't mean their God has to be.Neruz posted:'Walking' huh? Somebody forgot to research the flight enchantment 10 mana a turn ain't cheap, especially for Svart.
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Sep 22, 2014 04:33
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Tehan posted:10 mana a turn ain't cheap, especially for Svart. I've honestly never had any problems with mana as Svarts; you almost always come across a Dead shard where you can pick up an Undead town and one or two Undead towns on a Dead shard will provide you with all the mana you need even with the penalty.
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Sep 22, 2014 04:38
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I tend not to reach that stage until late-game when I set up an Undead city on some red dragon eggs or a few mana crystal clusters. But then again I always go max casting speed and build up a few supercombatants with every combat enchantment I can give them, so people who use an actual army instead might find spare mana easier to come by.
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Sep 22, 2014 04:45
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Today's delay in posting is brought to you by tourism and arcades. Meanwhile, our sponsor "couple stuff" presents "Next Uptade Will Likely Be On Saturday, Sorry". Cythereal posted:Is there a reasonable guide as to what all you can build as what races? Starting to look into potentially getting this game, but I've gotten pretty confused from all the stuff you can apparently build without it mentioning what exactly it does. I've taken away that building temples to Krolm is a good idea, if nothing else. I usually try to give some sort of fluffy description of buildings instead of mentioning numbers. Buildings usually fall into several cathegories: resource production (farm, mana collector and craftsmen district are basically universal), production modifiers (granary for food, tax offices and banks for gold, etc), unit buildings and upgrade production buildings. Most of them have some sort of upkeep, combine several roles and might be required to build certain building of higher mark. Fortifications come in fort (ranged) and magic tower (elemental) variety. Shrines are new to Warlock 2: they provide some favor with a god, as well as some other bonuses (Krolm shrines are -2 unrest, because everybody gets drunk and watches bloodsport, I guess). The last are buildings that go on resource nodes: all races can build on resources, but sometimes there are alts depending on race. When you build on a unit resource (say, Minotaur), you can usually choose between unit production or a resource production/upgrade. Temples are the high end of this, since they're guarded by Greater Fire Elementals and let you build and, more importantly, upgrade units to Temple Units who kick rear end (well, depends on unit in question). It's all quite easy and there's no such juggling like in Civilization or Endless Space/Legend. Plus, since you only get one building per city level and, most of the time, only one copy of a building (farms and craftsmen districts are exempt), you don't have to toil as hard for a viable settlement. Chapter 22: Gatecrashing Ardania  “I think I could use troops and heroes that are something else than angry trees” “Not to worry, m'lord!”  "Samolom, like many other Svart machines, is a universal mechanism. In peacetime, it's used for digging pits and tunnels, and during war it's a perfect weapon for destroying enemy fortifications." (from "Chronicles of New Worlds" written by Master Vardies Teleran) The machine was huge. Six enormous metal legs held its frame high above the ground. The pilot sat in a box. And from that box extended a next that ended with a set of great metal jaws. “That is... impressive” “Aye, m'lord, it is. Mk. V Mining excavator is one serious beast. Samolom is the name that it uses on the front. The jaws, they can crush rock like nothing else. What a lucky coincidence that walls are also made from rock” “I just wonder if it's going to survive the war we're fighting now. I mean, it's not simple monster towns that we're taking” “Well, you can always resurrect the pilot!” “You know, I'd like it if your men didn't start thinking that any sort of lapse in planing could be solved by resurrection” “I thought I already had the spell to relocate my tower...” It turned out that building a pyrotechnics factory in a land surrounded by lava wasn't the best idea. The survivors used the ruins to build two smaller cities: one for people who decided they want to pursue their own lava related interests, and one dedicated to Krolm, as they were inspired by the Examplars who conquered the original city.  Krolm also gifted King Lich with the power to strip all beneficial enchantments off one target. Like with many spells granted by Krolm, it tooks shape of as astral fist just smashing the spells surrounding the target.  Now, another thing was the troops finding a scroll with Armageddon spell inscribed in it. The scrolls was black, gently smoking and the lettering was done in red runes that looked as if on fire, and if you gripped it, there would be blood left on your hands. “I have an inkling that this might be something for the King”  “These don't look that powerful to me” “I heard somebody found a scroll for Armageddon. Now that's exciting!” "Death comes to out world as a huge stallion, glowing with infernal light. The sound of its hooves frightens even the bravest souls, and its glance chills even the bravest heart. Arethi elves believe that the Spirit of Death carries those faithful to the truth into the land of endless joy, while those without faith are thrown into an endless abyss of pain." (From the "Servants of truth" by High Keeper Teyaran the Rigorous) “Those elves don't know anything. Death comes as a GIANT FIST! KROOOLM!!!” However, not all Examplars were comitted to the assault on Amberon's Keep. Some were still roaming around, killing dragons and other giant, deadly critters. “I don't need armor of power. I already have ARMOR OF KROLM!” But not all Svarts were that enamored with Krolm or Dauros. Some decided that they wanted to worship the god of wilderness and chaos, Fervus. Critics said that giant statues of wolves don't really capture the essence of wilderness or chaos. While I'm naturally inclined towards order gods, Fervus' spells seem to be really interesting, and I regret not playing it. That said, his great weakness are the somewhat boring temple units. Dauros is the one most consistently awesome, although I kind of miss not trying out Black Reapers from Planetstriders. Seeing how it is, I will likely not be playing Warlock 2 after the LP  Amberon's Keep loomed before the Samolom, as giant and forboding as King Lich's tower in lichgrad.  But there was no way back and the mechine lurched forward. The jaws crashed into the outer wall and bit out a chunk of rocks. It wasn't much, but I got the Exemplars to pound the ground in excitement!  “...and then fly in over the wall, shooting at everything as we go. ZAP ZAP, skeletons falling apart everywhere, zombies bursting like over-ripe pumpkins, bats turning to ashes before they hit the ground... it was great! Wait, I'm getting a message” “Goblet-1, this is Lichtower. Enact scorched earth policy and get back to roaming status, over” “...well, at least it's an undead city. We're not some dragoons to go pillaging villages” All the while, more and more Exemplars answered the call and massed outside the walls of Amberon's keep.  A few still roamed around, usually using themselves as bait to lure in dragon... and then punch them into dragon pulp! There were thoughts about installing a miniature sprocket cannery that would process the meat tenderized by the Exemplar, but it was decided that it would likely be a blasphemy, especially since Krolm's barbarians rarely eat food they didn't kill themselves. This played readily into farmer's hands, since blademasters would line up to reap wheat as they had to kill their own bread, too.   “It like they didn't do any maintenance to this sea at all. Not even long shores had some many lairs” “Well, Razor-2, that's why we're here. To bring peace and stability to the land, and to kill anybody who doesn't like it” Unfortunately, Samolom's driver had to take his que in the “Waiting for Resurrection (no gambling)” line as the spells protecting Amberon's Keep proved to be too much. Fortunately, Exemplars didn't really care about such paltry incantations.  Soon, walls were ripped apart and the biggest blocks were thrown at the tower, all to bring it down sooner and faster. The imposing structure shuddered and collapsed, leaving behind a scenic tower ruin, as per tower ruin traditions forged at the begging of time, set by the first dwarf and the first tower.  “Ardania is within reach! And likely filled with uncounted horrors. Nobody enters the gate until we get some scouts here!” Meanwhile, in a plane far far away, goblin shamans were starting to realize that the city – the future site of which they were guarding – would not likely materialize soon or at all. That was a dreadful idea – being left behind in an empty shard while all others were at the front. And the for the first time in their lives, the goblins had to fend off thoughts about ending themselves. Seeing how their were goblins, it wasn't that hard to dodge Death's icy grip.  “Ah, this looks like a potent spell. Never have I seen it before... or heard of it. This will be interesting!”  “Lichtower, we have finished translation to Ardania, and we have Cecinia in tow.” “Excellent. Now, to kill the United One's leutenants and be dealt with him”. “Now why would that kill him?' “Because getting all sorts of magical power doesn't mean that you become that smarter. Else he wouldn't have antagonized the gods. Now, he was sealed in Ardania, but great mages were not. So, fearing mages that didn't bow to him – mages like me – he invested power in his lackeys, who would go out into the shards to hunt us” “Unfortunately, Great Mage doesn't mean a good warrior, either. You see, Amberon the Dark stayed there because he thought that United One was the Truth, for some reason, and groveled at his feet. Elspritster is likely still too scared of losing to go out for a real fight. The Empress, well, she was always too keep to use the undead for her goals. I mean, can you really call yourself emperor when you're ruling over people who can't rebel against you?” “I knew that you lot are a bunch slackwits. Wait, what about the dragon?” “He's powerful by the virtue of being his father's son. Almost a spitting image, especially in laziness” “So we have four powerful individuals who can't go against the United One as the source of their power, and are too drunk with power to do anything that matters” “Maybe we should have stayed with the Stone King. He doesn't seem that bad compared to you”King Lich smiled – which meant that his ghostlight eyes flared. “Well, this was very beneficial for me” “The origin of Shadow Dragons remains a mystery, despite the best efforts of Mages and Alchemists. Only thing is for sure – Shadow Dragons are somehow connected to the extermination of the dragons of Ardania” “What is that? I think United One's meddling has made Ardania worse for wear. I'm going to have so much trouble once I retake it”    "Five Dragomort Guardsmen from 'Sky Hawks' Royal Regiment in their newest heavy combat stupas are flying by the castle, with the head stupa piloted by Mayor Dagar Streltsoff, holder of the Order of Stone Heart and Heaven Glory of 2nd degree" (from the report of the military parade in honour of the millennial anniversary of the King of Svarts) Dragomort Guardsmen were required to know parade drills, be trained not to fall for lone, attractive women, to shoot on sight at anything suspicious or taller than a Svart, not to fly while drunk and show all sorts of gallantry. But it was mostly done to get the spiffy new armor which Dragomorts envied the Halberdiers and Veterans.  “Oh hell, a dragon? In a spider nest?” "These land-locked ratmen are true sea wolves. That is to say, well, yes many of them have never even seen the sea in their lives, but the free-wheeling spirit of a sea wolf lives in the hearts of each of these rogues." From the collected works of His Majesty's Advisor. Luckily, it was one of the ubiquitous Shadows of Vendral, the most common and annoying kind of dragon. Even the ratmen robbers – his first victims, after the dragon flew off to the mountains – didn't occur as often as Shadows did.  “Oooh, shiny things!” “drat it, Razor-3, concentrate! You're a trained reconnaissance crow in King Lich's service, start acting like one!” Back in Lichanium, a manufactory was built by some of the hardiest svarts around. Their mission? To extract swamp iron and make it into the hardest steel there was...  ...Dwarven Steel. “Why is it called like that? I have never seen a dwarf!” The fact that Svarts might not known dwarfs didn't matter: the steel was hard and deadly efficient.  Dragons died and Tormentors fled before the onslaught of Svart rage, Krolm's fury and flurry of Dwarven steel axes. “I COME TO DANCE THE DANCE OF DEATH!”*** “I swear there we no tormentors in Ardania before that United One business. What did that fool do?” Back in Ainadra, two Shadows of Vendral were fighting. While dragons usually stroke fear into the hearts of men, it was nice to see two of the pests going against each other.   “Lunar wisps are not nimble, but they are playful creatures. They just love to play catch and play it with everything that moves. Actually, they never run themselves, but they prefer to chase...” There were other, shiny problems in Burnouts. So shiny one could not look at them directly, but that didn't stop King Lich from absentmindedly casting a spell in their direction. After all, he was more concerned with something else...  “Big words for a man who spent the Dremer invasion locked in a tower and going through books and scrolls faster than anyone else. Why, if you had spent time outside, maybe you would have learned something about war and real power” “Now, you will pay for it. Prepare to die!”
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Sep 24, 2014 06:53
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quote:“You know, I'd like it if your men didn't start thinking that any sort of lapse in planing could be solved by resurrection” Oh Svarts, you so silly.
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Sep 24, 2014 08:25
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Resurrection also beings to life the massive steel machine huh...
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Sep 24, 2014 15:25
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Alavaria posted:Resurrection also beings to life the massive steel machine huh... Look at it this way: the pilot is the most important part, since it's he who's getting all the experience bonuses and stuff. And since people (and ghost ships) are resurrected at the capital, it also likely teleports the remains. As for fixing the stuff... well, I think that construct repair magic exists, so why not?
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Sep 24, 2014 15:47
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