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Other Projects => Other Games => Play With Your Buddies => Topic started by: LoSboccacc on December 14, 2012, 06:38:04 pm

Title: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 14, 2012, 06:38:04 pm: If anyone doesn't remember the punchline, it's from the old Master Of Magic, a game famous for its fun factor brought by the insane unbalance that anything within the game has.

Every item is potentially game breaking powerful, so that it basically becomes a rush to the ultimate power, whether by armies, champions or spells.

Spoiler: a bit of introduction (click to show/hide)
for the most part, the game looks like a civilization clone. you build cities, buildings within cities, train units in cities and move stack of units around razing and conquering other cities.

from a comparison stand point, there is one important difference: units are fairly cheaper than building; early on swordsman cost just 3 turns, while a temple comes in 15. the limiting factor for armies is food, not cost.

of a note are also heroes: they are slightly more powerful than your standard unit, there is a limited amount of them, but they fight alone, while a swordsman unit comes with six of them and they all attack and defend. the true power of heroes lies in leveling them up and giving them artifacts, which can greatly enhance them above and beyond what your most powerful unit can become.

and last but not least, magic: you can cast spells that do pretty much anything, both on the world map and in combat, from standard magic and normal resistance to the classical fireballs and bolts; spells have all kind of effects, i.e. one makes a unit undead and also removes its food cost, so there is much potential here for powerful combinations.

the most interesting part of this game is that nothing was actually balanced and anything can become so huge, from paladin armies with invulnerability and crusade spells on them to city breaking spells and immortal invisible flying heroes; this means that you can actually win the game specializing in any sector you like, while having to defend from your absurdly powerful enemies attack.

I figured I should really learn to play this, so I'll be documenting my failures here for the community enjoyment and to steal interesting hint and strategy from your juicy posts.

Spoiler: A pretty standard game (click to show/hide)
(http://i48.tinypic.com/5drse0.png)

Time for choices! I'll be the Old Man, obviously. Because I totally hate this guy:
Spoiler: It has a goatee so you know it's bad (click to show/hide)
(http://i45.tinypic.com/zkn035.jpg)

So, what should a winner look for? I hear chaos is pretty cool, but death magic also intrigues me.
Spoiler: The Old Man in the mirror (click to show/hide)
(http://i49.tinypic.com/28iqlu9.png)

I guess that the old grumpy would not have selected any school in particular, so I will overspecialize in sorcery, with a SSSSSSSSS + conjurer and sorcery mastery retorts. A lot of common spell also comes for free; I just exchanged resist magic with nagas since the counter magic looks better on paper:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/rhn1vm.png)
And I'll go with the High Mans, which are a solid race, balancing the stupid spellbooks selection.

Welcome, to Newland!
(http://i50.tinypic.com/28cmzgh.png)

Spoiler: on spellbooks (click to show/hide)
in this screen you can customize your wizard. spells and research works in a weird way here: the more spellbook of a school, the more spells you are given. spells are given at start, with having more book of a particular school giving you higher level spells. spells then need to be 'unlocked' researching them. the number of spells also influence which spells of which school you can unlock at start for free

Spoiler: on cities (click to show/hide)
city appearance is only influenced by the population size; the blue flag is our banner.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 14, 2012, 06:55:26 pm: Spoiler: The start, on exploration and bemusement (click to show/hide)
We started on a chockepoint, from which we can set one border and decide where to expand next. Meanwhile the city will build the usual suspects, granary at first and then some defensive units.

Scouting aggressively will reveal which part of this area is better suited for starting expansion:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/5duqew.png)

A gnoll hamlet city lies at south west, while two nature node are up north east.

The northern area is closed by the sea, but I would like a city up north to protect the nodes.
According to our surveyors, a city built north of the node wold become an interesting mid size port, sustaining a population of 11 but with very small production bonus.

I will first take the gnoll city, and then move a settler on our northern shore.
The city is currently not heavily defended:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/2qdvlf6.png)

But we will need more than our standard unit to defeat them.

Time to rack up our mana production, we will win this city by spell casting.

Spoiler: on nodes (click to show/hide)
the special tiles up north are nodes. they are magically charged, interfering with your spells, and attract magical creatures which will attack you on sight. if you can clear a node, you can meld a spirit which channels mana directly to your reserves

Spoiler: on races (click to show/hide)
to complicate matters, each race has its own set of graphical sprites. in this screen you see the defenders, which are swordsmen just like my unit and a spearman, but they in their gnollish sprite version
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 14, 2012, 07:20:30 pm: Spoiler: sprites, they all are (click to show/hide)
While the army builds, I uncovered a bit of the southern area:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2dtq643.jpg)
some ruins and a nearby tower, which will be useful later on. or will be our doom.

Besides, at 4 turn per swordsman, I have time to go and check what lurks within the nature nodes. The first one has sprites:
(http://i48.tinypic.com/xb09q9.png)
A couple unit and a hero? can work, if there aren't many. Chaaarge!

Sprite hit hard:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/vdkcww.png)
but I hit harder. I overdid it a bit, but I didn't wan't the nature of the node conflicting with the cast:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/qriyro.png)

we're victorious! 150 gold also were laying just there, probably a gift from an unlucky explorer:
(http://i50.tinypic.com/qxw7bd.png)

a spirit will seal the node and bend its power to our will:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2q0rcid.png)
feel the power! it's the luccicanza!
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2yyctau.png)

With the sawmill just being completed, we probably have some few turn before we can add a couple swordsman to our little army... probably enough to tap the other node?

Spoiler: on ruins (click to show/hide)
a lot of different places holds monsters and treasure and occasionally a hero in distress that may join you; it is important to reap on their bonus early on.
Spoiler: on towers (click to show/hide)
the tower are usually protected by powerful monster; by towers you can travel to the other magical plane, myrror; that plane holds more mana, tougher monster and better treasure
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Iituem on December 14, 2012, 07:36:48 pm: Love this game so much. It's so utterly game breaking at the higher spell levels, but since all of the schools are so woefully unbalanced you can end up with every faction breaking the game equally. Definitely watching this one.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: IronyOwl on December 14, 2012, 07:38:55 pm: Been meaning to give this a try. Not entirely certain what's happening so far, but watching with interest.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Darkening Kaos on December 14, 2012, 07:41:18 pm: I found Gnolls to be fairly useless, better to raze their city and found an outpost of your own on the ruins, {but one square further south}.

I was playing this just last night, nostalgia crept up an me when I wasn't ready for it. I still have the box, books and original CD, packaged as the Players Choice Edition (1994), getting it out every now and then to hammer the wimpy Elves in a storm of raging dwarves and trolls, all led by Mega-Jesus.

Have fun. I'm gonna start a new game now.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Neonivek on December 14, 2012, 08:44:13 pm: Quote from: Iituem on December 14, 2012, 07:36:48 pm
Love this game so much. It's so utterly game breaking at the higher spell levels, but since all of the schools are so woefully unbalanced you can end up with every faction breaking the game equally. Definitely watching this one.

Honestly I considered playing a game with level 1 magic in everything but life (because I've already seen max power life... it is extremely potent) and see what amazing spells I develop along the way.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 15, 2012, 12:05:44 am: Quote from: IronyOwl on December 14, 2012, 07:38:55 pm
Been meaning to give this a try. Not entirely certain what's happening so far, but watching with interest.

I retconnected some explaining; I can't really explain to much since this game is quite weird and each thing would require a wiki page :P

Quote from: Neonivek on December 14, 2012, 08:44:13 pm
Quote from: Iituem on December 14, 2012, 07:36:48 pm
Love this game so much. It's so utterly game breaking at the higher spell levels, but since all of the schools are so woefully unbalanced you can end up with every faction breaking the game equally. Definitely watching this one.

anything works as long as you have mana to back your unit up, specially because you can charge the low level spells to be more effective.
Honestly I considered playing a game with level 1 magic in everything but life (because I've already seen max power life... it is extremely potent) and see what amazing spells I develop along the way.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: TheZoomZoll on December 16, 2012, 02:01:32 am: I like this so far.The format doesn't need much change either.

This looks like an interesting game so I might get it and give it a try too.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: EuchreJack on December 16, 2012, 03:17:28 am: Yay, Master of Magic LP!
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 04:23:19 am: With a noob! I only need something better than tiny pic for uploading images in batch; suggestuon?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: EuchreJack on December 16, 2012, 04:32:50 am: Imageshack allows you to upload multiple pictures at once.

And by multiple, I mean 10+ (I'm not sure there is an actual limit). You just highlight all the pictures you want to upload, and wait for the internet absorb your sweet screenshots.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Robsoie on December 16, 2012, 05:21:56 am: If you're interested in Master of Magic, i recommend this unofficial patch, fixing several bugs and improving the AI so it gives a better challenge :
http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3663
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 06:38:22 am: Quote from: Robsoie on December 16, 2012, 05:21:56 am
If you're interested in Master of Magic, i recommend this unofficial patch, fixing several bugs and improving the AI so it gives a better challenge :
http://realmsbeyond.net/forums/showthread.php?tid=3663

I know, I'm already on 1.40n; just forgot to mention it on the OP.

Spoiler: A diversion before gnolls (click to show/hide)
Well, a diversion first actually, let see what's on the other node; the earlier we get em, the more the gains.
(http://i.imgur.com/jAWHs.png)
War bears? Why not!
(http://i.imgur.com/s34Ff.png)
9 attack and 5 defense each?
(http://i.imgur.com/FqJLy.png)
ok, fail; flee for your life!

Spoiler: on swords and shields (click to show/hide)
The MoM combat system is a bit weird by today standard.
Attacker run a 30% roll for each sword for each figure; defender roll a 30% roll for each shield.
Each successful attack roll minus each successful defense roll is the damage dealt. Both attacker and defender perform an attack roll in melee, at the strength they had when the combat start.
This mean that a war bear attack can kill all the swordsman figure in a single turn! And the swordsman cannot hope to pass their defense.

Spoiler: meanwhile, back in the city of Newland (click to show/hide)

(http://i.imgur.com/b6PhF.png)
The army of the high mans is ready to engage the gnollish city, strong of a wizard, three swordsman, a bowman and a spearman unit.

(http://i.imgur.com/gAkVJ.png)
The gnolls are a bit stronger than us, but we have a powerful sorcerer on our side!

Let's cast confusion on them:
(http://i.imgur.com/ApU1p.png)

it failed $:-\$

ok, then: phantom warriors! sorcerers doesn't really have much in the way of offensive spells.
(http://i.imgur.com/0WmhD.png)

spam phantom warrior, actually, since they're so cheap:
(http://i.imgur.com/s6Gr7.png)

in the end, we are triumphant; we lost a swordsman, sadly.
(http://imgur.com/a/bO28w#8)

I decided to keep the gnolls.
They have no high end troops, but they make fine swordsman, stronger than ours (two sword more, from 3 to 5), which will make a cheap and powerful complement to our troops in the early phase of the game
(http://i.imgur.com/a6IMe.png)
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: IronyOwl on December 16, 2012, 06:44:07 am: So is each unit a hit point, or what?

Also, good to see your empire grow. And I was wondering about the wisdom of attacking War Bears.

Why are nodes better the earlier you get them?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 06:49:55 am: because they give you a fixed amount of mana; later on when cities holds temple and cathedral and whatever, each providing mana and research, raw mana from nodes is less relevant (in percentage)

I was attacking war bear because maybe a lucky psionic blast could have killed one, but nodes counter magic makes that difficult.

Also because I used that to introduce the combat system :P

unit usually have one hit, per figure. monster and mounted unit may have more, many more.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: RedKing on December 16, 2012, 07:47:26 am: Nostalgia abounds. I played the hell out of some MoM when it came out. I *still* play it from time to time.

One of the more interesting games I ever had was taking almost no spellbooks and taking a ton of traits (think I had Warlord, Myrran, Artificer and a couple of others). My admantine-clad dwarven army was a thing of beauty. Especially led by Demi-God status heroes with custom-made artifacts.

Of the regular races, I tended to prefer nomads, because SO MUCH GOLD. Plus griffon riders. OTOH, humans get paladins.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 08:31:01 am: Well at any rate you can make eldritch flying invisible bowmans and that alone win sieges.

Substitute bowman with warship for maximum sillines.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Kolbur on December 16, 2012, 09:04:54 am: Yes! Love this game! :)

I always summon a magic spirit at start for scouting. It usually pays back itself by finding empty sites with some gold and/or mana in it (move on sites but don't enter if monsters live there, it can cross oceans too).
Also always remember that gold = 1/2 mana via alchemy (or gold = mana with alchemist trait). Ideally you want to pay all your mana expenses with gold. This way you can pump your entire magic power into research and skill increase. Magic power (obtained from the your mage fortress, magic nodes, temples, terrain specials and some races' population) is the only source for increasing the casting skill so it's always important.

Can you post your mirror information (Info -> Mirror)?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 09:52:11 am: sure, I have the updates to be finished then I'll post a mirror. (I got offline too much and have still about 50 pics to post, the actual update series was intended to end with a mirror and I already got the picture. ::) )

Spoiler: against war bears (click to show/hide)
the new gnomish settlement allow to train strong low level units, they are strong enough to tackle on that war bears, with some support...

I researched enchant item, to give some more punch to our heroes..
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2lm13qo.png)

sadly we can't quite afford yet what I had in mind for the wizard:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/fyketu.png)

since it looks like we're going toward a strong army (since we have few precious offensive spells right now), while I train gnoll swordsmen I'll also expand our food production. According to our surveyor, this place has great potential for a city, despite the danger of the nearby ruins and tower:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2qvb8ed.png)
(http://i49.tinypic.com/344ut6s.png)

now, we can also increment our capital food production, we don't have money problem so we can build some more stuff, like:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/begz5.png)

and since we have some gold but gold is never enough, our engineers will start building a network of roads between our cities:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/9qzm9w.png)

since training some swordmen in the small gnoll outpust will take a while, I'll send some chivalry from the capital to the west unexplored territories:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/nx9vf7.png)
notice the road build in the meanwhile, we're halfway toward the first city!

some raider were intercepted by our chivalry, before they could come in and cause trouble:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/smbo68.png)
(in the upper left angle!)

just a couple of gnolls, dispatched by phantom warriors before they could even reach the chivalry.

A little more exploration and their outpost is found and conquered by phantom warriors:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2nrk0b8.png)
I just let the horsemen finish them for the experience
(http://i47.tinypic.com/5tyjj9.png)
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2iiivd5.png)

but there is no time for that! notice the army of gnolls on south est: they're marching to the war bears.
I'll leave the horsemen up there to intercept potential raiders; but now it is time to conquer the other nature node!

Spoiler: on outpost (click to show/hide)
settlers doesn't create a city ready to be a productive part of the empire. population must grow enough to become a true settlement; meanwhile the outpost is useless to the empire. The population growth bonus applies, so I expect this outpost to grow quickly.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Puzzlemaker on December 16, 2012, 07:42:09 pm: I got this game on GoG because of this thread. I am on an island with no way off, it's so sad.

Also pixies. Holy shit they keep kicking my ass. I am pretty sure I am doing it wrong.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 07:44:06 pm: there are many spell to get you off an island. floating island is one quite common, also flight spell or nagas could be used to get a foothold on other islands. or ships, but that would be the easy route, won't it? :P

Spoiler: an hero and its destiny (click to show/hide)

we left gnolls waling north to meet the war bears i battle on the field.

back in the capital I use some money to kickstart a project of mine...
(http://i45.tinypic.com/wss952.png)
the cathedral priests will not be used to cure the gnolls (which have one heart anyway so they are either healthy or dead)
and won't be used to cure Zaldron the Sage which is a wizard anyway,
but as heavy ranged unit.

since the capital is starting to hold some important and costly building, I'll start to build some walls as well
(http://i48.tinypic.com/zmzjnc.png)

on the road to the node, a hero join our path, in search of fame and glory.
"Do you have fame and glory, sir?"
"We have war bears"
He look bemused by our offer:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/mhd94.png)

and with our new army, strong of an heroes, two priest and many gnoll swordsmen we can exact revenge on the poor bears
(http://i50.tinypic.com/z3jpc.png)

the battle was censored to protect the younger audience. a maximized bolt passed the node magic protection and reduced a bear to a smoking pulp, while the priest minced the other pair. A gnoll swordsman unit died valiantly saving the life of Gunthar

(http://i45.tinypic.com/szin3q.png)

and another node became possessed by our spirit.

(http://i49.tinypic.com/2e4ltgn.png)
you can also see from this picture that the fallen gnol had been replaced by two horsemen, so priest can actually be useful at healing.

time to return our attention westward!
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Puzzlemaker on December 16, 2012, 08:04:38 pm: Maybe it's because I put all my points into death magic. Hmm.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 16, 2012, 08:14:02 pm: Spoiler: there and back again (click to show/hide)
we left our scout on the west part of the island; this actually happened at the same time of the war bears arc but I didn't want to mess up the story too much, I take enough diversion as it is

the chavalry unit went westward, discovering some more ruins, a node and a lair;
then, suddenly, it happened:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/517z0g.jpg)
mithril! praise the ~~miner~~scout!

now I could be sensible and start a proper mining town with miners guild and all the necessary operations,
but I got stupid and wanted to see the effect on mithril on gnoll swordsmen
(http://i50.tinypic.com/2d5bt1.png)
...except gnoll can't make magic weaponry so I'm kinda stuck with them now.
(http://i50.tinypic.com/b49l6x.png)

The army has moved to take the node just south east of the mithril patch, but stopped by to clear the lair...
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2mzcrp2.png)
you can see that my strategy as cemented on spamming phantom warriors
they're so cheap!

the node is a repetition of war bears:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/fnfvx1.png)

Spoiler: the empire of solitude (click to show/hide)
the scout reports that the island is almost clear from end to end, bar a couple ruins;

north east, the capital, with its nodes and lavish nature:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2e4ltgn.jpg)

center, a gnoll city north and two cities, one at south end near the ivory plains, surrounded by ruins and a looming tower; one at the mid end bridge of the empire of solitude:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/34xrhfq.png)

on the west side, two gnollish cities north and south, with mithril and another looming tower.
(http://i48.tinypic.com/1jkllc.png)

we can now start expanding outside of our island:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/34t5q4n.png)

Spoiler: looking in the myrror? (click to show/hide)
with the island almost clear and an army on the road, why not peek into one of those towers?
(http://i50.tinypic.com/2iw7z1l.png)

spirits survey this one.
LOT of spirits:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/ifo46c.png)
and I only brought the scout, the army was actually going to the OTHER tower

they aren't really impressed by phantom warriors, but every impedement I can get them is one turn more of life from the scout, which can outrun them ghosts while I try to spam evocations:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/ku6tj.png)

after a while, I manage to put them all to rest:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2zfibes.png)

(http://i47.tinypic.com/34fckue.png)
and with the tower cleared, we haev a safe passage to myrror....

are you ready to look at the myrror?
(http://i49.tinypic.com/24mc46o.png)

Spoiler: on towers (click to show/hide)
the game has two plane of existence, arcanus and myrror;
arcanus hold 'standard' races, easy dungeons and nodes and two AI players.
myrror is more dangerous, nodes doesn't have war bears but phantom beast and lairs doesn't have fire sprites, they have demon lords... but nodes give twice the mana and all races here are more powerful one way or the other.
each world has it's own map; the towers act as portal and as anchor between the two planes. any unit on a tower can switch plane and will come out on the other plane in the same relative position; each tower has a corresponding one on the other plane.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Kolbur on December 17, 2012, 04:46:59 am: Quote from: Puzzlemaker on December 16, 2012, 08:04:38 pm
Maybe it's because I put all my points into death magic. Hmm.
If you have 11 death books you can summon Wraiths from the start. They can fly, are immune to non-magic weapons and obliterate almost all regular units easily with life draining attacks that raise them after combat as undead units for you without any upkeep.
You did pick them at start, right? :P

Alternatively you can summon Shadow Demons. Flying non-magic weapon immune regenerating undeads with a magic ranged attack that can plane shift at will.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: IronyOwl on December 17, 2012, 04:48:49 am: Uh. So, what's that mithril going to do with gnolls on it? And can one demolish their own towns?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 17, 2012, 05:13:30 am: I think I can by producing enough settlers.

I'll give that a try this evening.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Delta Foxtrot on December 17, 2012, 02:48:18 pm: PTW. My favourite race is probably the barbarians. Highest population growth coupled with strong normal units and early access to berserkers is just too good to pass. Their only problem is stunted tech tree, but that's why you mass up on 'zerkers early on and conquer some high men for late game tech.

Quote from: Puzzlemaker on December 16, 2012, 07:42:09 pm
I got this game on GoG because of this thread. I am on an island with no way off, it's so sad.

Also pixies. Holy shit they keep kicking my ass. I am pretty sure I am doing it wrong.

It might help if you start with the largest possible land mass. It's been a while since I read the manual, but I think it says that the set-up phase landmass determines the water-to-land ratio. I always play with the largest possible, and I always get two or three large continents and little else. The few times that I've tried with smaller land sizes has always made me start on a small-ish island.

Also pixies are Death Incarnate with little fluttery wings.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Neonivek on December 17, 2012, 05:15:55 pm: Much later in the game I find that you will end up getting rid of your heros in favor of the super heros.

The difference between a minor and major hero is just immense >_<

I thought the Abandonia review (I own a real copy) was exagerating that heros end up too powerful... but nope
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 17, 2012, 05:27:15 pm: Spoiler: about the gnoll city (click to show/hide)
it still had only few people
(http://i47.tinypic.com/3149tsg.png)

so I ordered them to pack up and leave
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2947405.png)

and I also paid them to quicken the process
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2947405.png)

in another city, I spent some money to bribe constructors in finishing up earlier, safety be damned...
(http://i46.tinypic.com/avs8jq.png)
...to have a slot free to set up a human settlers caravan:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/29pvxfs.png)

and the next turn
(http://i50.tinypic.com/35l7t5u.png)
mission accomplished!
(http://i45.tinypic.com/2yocv1s.png)

..what could I possibly do with this stack and some settlers?

conquer Myrror, of course!

but suddenly
(http://i49.tinypic.com/332qsft.png)

Sss'ra, taking advantage of the now emptied tower, emerged from Myrror right on top of us!
(http://i48.tinypic.com/jjqz2s.png)

this means his territory already extend to cover the area of Myrror I intended to invade. Bad news, since we're lagging a lot behind in term of magic and physical power, according to our astrologer:
(http://i47.tinypic.com/34y74o1.png)

I call the help of the public! What should we do now about that?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Sonlirain on December 17, 2012, 05:33:45 pm: Open the phantom warrior floodgate.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Mephansteras on December 17, 2012, 06:10:37 pm: Cool, I love MoM!

But...could you put limiters on the image size, please? It's a bit hard to see what's going on with those images on my work monitor.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Kolbur on December 18, 2012, 06:12:56 am: Build stables in the gnoll city and mass wolf riders. They are pretty good and easy to get but cost some production.
Afair you can fight enemy wizard's armies on the field without starting a war so try to get control of the tower. But you will be at war with him soon anyway.
You really need to scout. You know nothing about the surroundings of your island.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 18, 2012, 04:36:36 pm: Spoiler: points taken! (click to show/hide)
disregarding the occasional fireball
(http://i45.tinypic.com/pyn9k.png)
the tower is presto recaptured thanks to Gunther flanking antics:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/330ahiw.png)
and Myrran invaded
(http://i50.tinypic.com/28gs8bt.png)

A naga and a magic spirit are summoned and sent exploring the northern wastes.
(http://i48.tinypic.com/vi1yy1.png)

Phantom warriors are a combat cast only, and only one at turn, (unless you exploit a recall bug)
so we will make up for that with this newly researched spell
(http://i49.tinypic.com/rbxls9.png)
those still are a combat only summon, but they are better, considering the one spell per turn limit

wolf riders starts being trained in the knoll city as well:
(http://i50.tinypic.com/2hx3rjp.png)
while the capital will bring some priest to war:
(http://i46.tinypic.com/rmi4jl.png)

Spoiler: the northern wastes (click to show/hide)
not much to report from the north exploration so far, some interesting node and plenty of space for expansion (not a bad thing)

(http://i45.tinypic.com/258zfjs.png)
(http://i48.tinypic.com/21cbml2.png)

The outpost of Birmingham is founded in place of the gnoll city of the olds:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/2ih2bt2.png)

Spoiler: meanwhile on Myrror (click to show/hide)
two chivalry unit are dispatched, scouting east and north, in search of a place for our settler surplus to take a foothold
(http://i46.tinypic.com/35n110i.png)
a city is found immediately near the tower.

and another further south east
(http://i49.tinypic.com/34zxaw4.png)

jackpot!
it is the capital!
(http://i47.tinypic.com/2qx9sia.png)
Sss'ra lives in that black tower.
also, dark elves
they will be more than a nuisance.

meanwhile the other scout found another city; all the movement attracted some attention
(http://i46.tinypic.com/2chrkld.png)
(http://i50.tinypic.com/20l12dl.png)
the glow around each unit indicate Sss'ra has a passion for magic enchantment.

we can't engage them like this, so let peel them out of their faith armor:
(http://i48.tinypic.com/28hd3za.png)
(http://i46.tinypic.com/14iis8y.png)
but it won't be easy, even if they are just a bunch of units,
each dark elf also dubs as a caster and their bolts do a lot of damage.

I rush to attack, before they can recover their magical protection;
as a opener the spearman get confused
(http://i48.tinypic.com/2n1uoet.png)
then, as chivalry closes in with the hell hounds, a maximized psionic bolts get rid of the priests
(http://i46.tinypic.com/5p1lwp.png)

we won, but with some casualty. we are now forced to wait the wolf raider and priest reinforcement, which are on their way from Arcanum

Spoiler: the cliffhanger (click to show/hide)
Sss'ra must have noticed the difficult situation we're in; we can't really retreat without letting her/him/it control of the tower, and we aren't strong enough to attack.

It/He/She has made a sortie with a army of 4 hell hounds and a swordmen, aiming at the tower.

Tank to our vantage position and anticipating Sss'ra intention, I managed to move the army into a checkmate:
(http://i50.tinypic.com/2me7p.png)
Blue moves first.

we can intercept the hell hound army; we have a small chance of victory, but we will have to retreat whatever the outcome (I can't foresee any better than heavy casualties)
(http://i50.tinypic.com/29gmko1.png)

we can also make a dash for the city, hoping that the unit back on Arcanum will be able to contain and repel the invading army:
(http://i49.tinypic.com/2napvuh.png)
our victory here it is not to be taken for assured.

the reinforcements are a bit far away (two riders and two priest, some gnoll may get along from nearby cities but we're not that strong)
(http://i49.tinypic.com/zo9qh0.png)

so, what now?

Spoiler: in game information (click to show/hide)
the historian records:
(http://i45.tinypic.com/sealcl.png)

the astrologer predictions:
(http://i48.tinypic.com/5nnbsm.png)

our magical laboratory
(http://i49.tinypic.com/35hpvlw.jpg)

our new enemy
(http://i47.tinypic.com/16hu3at.png)

Spoiler: on the wizard tower (click to show/hide)
the winning condition is to conjure the spell of mastery, but you can also kill other wizard out of competition and win a military victory.
this is performed by taking control of the city with their tower; it is not a granted victory however: if the wizard has enough mana and the right spell, it will just come back into another city of his.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Mephansteras on December 18, 2012, 04:50:30 pm: Hmm...tough. Hell hounds are nasty, although if you can arrange it so that you're attacking them first you negate a lot of their advantage. Fire breath only works when they attack, not when they defend.

Summoned units can also be a boon against armies like that, since their loss isn't a big deal. Although fire breath will pretty well trash phantom units if I remember right.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 18, 2012, 05:06:17 pm: I think phantom beast can be evoked and move immediately. They should be able to squish one unit and die giving serious damage on the second.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 20, 2012, 02:52:14 pm: Spoiler: a field day (click to show/hide)
we shall conquer their city, as it will both deprive them of resources and provide us with a foothold in this realm

so city it is; since we're so near to Sss'ra and he's sporting a copious chaos grimoire, I'll open with a counter magic
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at90240p_zpsb94b0083.png)

which proves immediately useful
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at90335p_zps494a836c.png)

With much of his mana locked on evocations, there isn't much that he can do. eventually he overcome the barrier, even if too late.

The advancing formation open up for letting a phantom beast being evoked:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91230p_zps1c5dfa54.png)

It lay waste on their formations until it dies of exhaustion.

Under the safe cover, the bow~~men~~gnolls advance and start engaging the hounds. they don't retaliate, for fear of leaving the city protective fire wall
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91502p_zps05e141f4.png)

When the bowgnolls show is over, they open up again for the second time, letting another horror charge unto the enemy
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91624p_zps8162bb65.png)

The hounds hare hunted and killed to the last by Gunther, after the phantom beast had reduced their ranks:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91713p_zpscf46a95a.png)

(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91805p_zps26af0637.png)

The hounds are strong and fierce creatures, but the phantom beast has quite some advantage over them.
Having the beast reducing their rank allow for Gunther the barbarian to engage the hellhounds in relative safety, greatly increasing the beast effectiveness.

Spoiler: lol u mad? (click to show/hide)
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at93457p_zps530765c2.png)

Spoiler: no loose ends (click to show/hide)

(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at92025p_zps46d3a1e6.png)

Since the phantom beast proved to be so much effective, I take a bold decision.

The mounts, still fresh after the city assault, are dispatched to follow and intercept the incoming Sss'ra army.

(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94259p_zps4707b943.png)

Sss'ra opens casting heroism and eldritch weapons on his spearman
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94710p_zps8e64bca1.png)
but a confusion spell knocks them out of combat; still, they managed a heavy hit on Gunther.

a moment before the armies clashes, a phantom beast risen and start taking opportunity hit to passing by hell hounds
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94725p_zps809a43af.png)

making it easy for the chivalry to overwhelm them.
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94823p_zps1101c5b4.png)
while confused, the spearmen still are a dangerous foe and in a moment of sanity they manage to pick off a wounded chivalry unit.

but the following charge from the mounted man at arm vanquish the foe:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94918p_zpsa9689950.png)
usually confounded unit flee, but it was for the better in the end to have it standing to the last man.

the tower is still under our control, and the following turn the first batch of reinforcement arrives:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2001%20A%20field%20day/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at95006p_zps0c75ae61.png)

the wolf rider should be able to go one on one with the hell hounds. the chivalry lost will be replaced by the other that was scouting east, and all is well on the Myrror plane

Spoiler: the aftermath (click to show/hide)
The people under the Old Man are really happy of the recent events
really, really, happy.
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at94525p_zpsaa65333b.png)

In the overworld, construction and expansion continues..
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at93028p_zpsf22e1c8c.png)

..a klackon tribe is found north..
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at90011p_zps4ccea3bc.png)

..and the empire get some needed reorganization. now that research comes mostly from cities, I can allocate the mana to more urgent matters, since the recent event left a dent into our reserves:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at92103p_zps2368108c.png)

just to be safe in this mana crunch I transmute some gold in mana crystals:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at93446p_zpseb3e6504.png)

while our new Dark Elf city start producing some of those pesky caster units:
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at91943p_zps6e5bcbc1.png)

overall, I'm happy with our current situation
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at93052p_zpsfc777b7a.png)

but a new peril casts his shadow over Myrror
(http://i1336.photobucket.com/albums/o652/LoSboccacc/MoM%20Update%2002%20Recovering/MasterOfMagic2012-12-19at95041p_zps13ea80d0.png)
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 20, 2012, 02:58:01 pm: OOC of various nature

I am having issue with internet, and I'm about to depart for my winter holidays, so probably won't get updated until after christmas

phantom beast are more or less equivalent to 1.5 hell hound, but because of how figure works it is much much better to attack three hound units instead of killing one and halving another, because it makes safe for hero/chivalry to attack them (two hounds are barely enough to bypass their defences, while four are more than a match)

Spoiler: true spoiler (click to show/hide)
I can't reasonably stop that army of high elves;
I am divided between
- sell anything in the city and abandon it
- leave only foot garrison and try a mad charge just to reduce their numbers

Either way chivalry will move toward the capital, the scout reported hell hounds here....
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Mephansteras on December 20, 2012, 04:24:42 pm: Yeah, dark elves are a pain. At least until you get some units with really high magic resistance, which can pretty much shrug off all of their attacks.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: RedKing on December 21, 2012, 12:03:04 pm: Dark Elf Warlocks though....Doom Bolts for EVERYBODY.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Akura on December 21, 2012, 02:01:44 pm: Quote from: IronyOwl on December 16, 2012, 06:44:07 am
So is each unit a hit point, or what?

Spoiler: Long, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics (click to show/hide)
Each guy in a unit, called a figure, is basically a hit point bar. If a unit has 3 hp, then every 3 hp of damage it takes kills a figure(healing that will revive dead figures). Total Attack stat(and, technically, HP) is multiplied by the number of figures(example, Spearmen with 1 Attack but 8 figures effectively has 8 Attack). Losing figures can effectively weaken a unit. It's worth noting that although a hydra(Nature summon) appears to have one figure, each head actually its figures(which, combined with their abilities) makes them lethal.

Every point of attack(called "swords" for short) is an attack roll. Each roll has a 30%(+10% for every To-Hit bonus) to hit. Then, every sword that hits goes against the defender's defense rating(called "shields"). Each shield makes a roll to negate a hit(30% each roll, 20% if attack has Eldritch Weapon). Each successful attack roll must make a roll against each and every shield. Every attack roll that makes it past the defense inflicts 1 HP of damage.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Delta Foxtrot on December 21, 2012, 04:56:28 pm: The smaller image sizes are appreciated, they're much easier on my monitor.

Did you know that having shamans and priests in your stack increases the heal rate of all units within the stack? Try to get a good stack or two with strong units and a few priests and send them over to Myrror. No use fighting over that DElf city if you can't defend it. Abandon it and retake it when you have more forces. Based on what you have right now, I'd probably train a mix of gnoll riders/pikemen/summons.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Sonlirain on December 21, 2012, 06:39:56 pm: Quote from: Akura on December 21, 2012, 02:01:44 pm
Quote from: IronyOwl on December 16, 2012, 06:44:07 am
So is each unit a hit point, or what?

Spoiler: Long, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics (click to show/hide)
Each guy in a unit, called a figure, is basically a hit point bar. If a unit has 3 hp, then every 3 hp of damage it takes kills a figure(healing that will revive dead figures). Total Attack stat(and, technically, HP) is multiplied by the number of figures(example, Spearmen with 1 Attack but 8 figures effectively has 8 Attack). Losing figures can effectively weaken a unit. It's worth noting that although a hydra(Nature summon) appears to have one figure, each head actually its figures(which, combined with their abilities) makes them lethal.

Every point of attack(called "swords" for short) is an attack roll. Each roll has a 30%(+10% for every To-Hit bonus) to hit. Then, every sword that hits goes against the defender's defense rating(called "shields"). Each shield makes a roll to negate a hit(30% each roll, 20% if attack has Eldritch Weapon). Each successful attack roll must make a roll against each and every shield. Every attack roll that makes it past the defense inflicts 1 HP of damage.
Spoiler: Additional, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics and slight clarification (click to show/hide)
It's a bit more complicated. 8 spearmen with 1 attack each don't actually deal 8 attack. They do 8 attacks worth 1 point.
now let's assume we have a creature with 4 defense being attacked by 8 spearmen OR a creature with 8 attack.

The spearmen in theory can do the same damage BUT each point of damage has to go through 4 shields (each having a 30% chance of blocking the damage) while a creature with 8 attack will ALWAYS do 4 damage and the shields have a CHANCE at stopping the remaining 4 IF they all work (30% chance per shield).
This makes singular creatures with more attack much more effective than a bunch of weaker ones even if they seem to have the same # of swords/shields as a whole.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: LoSboccacc on December 21, 2012, 11:43:07 pm: Exactly, that's why at start when every beast with three defence basically laugh at your spearman the two strengh bonus on gnolls make a hell of a difference

*see adventures of wonder gnolls in war bear lairs.
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Neonivek on December 22, 2012, 03:40:56 am: It is why a few "Cannon fodder" races can laugh at you... Dang Zombies!
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Akura on December 23, 2012, 09:19:32 pm: Quote from: Sonlirain on December 21, 2012, 06:39:56 pm
Quote from: Akura on December 21, 2012, 02:01:44 pm
Quote from: IronyOwl on December 16, 2012, 06:44:07 am
So is each unit a hit point, or what?

Spoiler: Long, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics (click to show/hide)
Each guy in a unit, called a figure, is basically a hit point bar. If a unit has 3 hp, then every 3 hp of damage it takes kills a figure(healing that will revive dead figures). Total Attack stat(and, technically, HP) is multiplied by the number of figures(example, Spearmen with 1 Attack but 8 figures effectively has 8 Attack). Losing figures can effectively weaken a unit. It's worth noting that although a hydra(Nature summon) appears to have one figure, each head actually its figures(which, combined with their abilities) makes them lethal.

Every point of attack(called "swords" for short) is an attack roll. Each roll has a 30%(+10% for every To-Hit bonus) to hit. Then, every sword that hits goes against the defender's defense rating(called "shields"). Each shield makes a roll to negate a hit(30% each roll, 20% if attack has Eldritch Weapon). Each successful attack roll must make a roll against each and every shield. Every attack roll that makes it past the defense inflicts 1 HP of damage.
Spoiler: Additional, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics and slight clarification (click to show/hide)
It's a bit more complicated. 8 spearmen with 1 attack each don't actually deal 8 attack. They do 8 attacks worth 1 point.
now let's assume we have a creature with 4 defense being attacked by 8 spearmen OR a creature with 8 attack.

The spearmen in theory can do the same damage BUT each point of damage has to go through 4 shields (each having a 30% chance of blocking the damage) while a creature with 8 attack will ALWAYS do 4 damage and the shields have a CHANCE at stopping the remaining 4 IF they all work (30% chance per shield).
This makes singular creatures with more attack much more effective than a bunch of weaker ones even if they seem to have the same # of swords/shields as a whole.
Since when does 8 attack guaratee 4 points of damage? Was that added in a later patch that I probably don't have?
Title: Re: Old Man! You seek the spell of mastery!
Post by: Sonlirain on December 23, 2012, 10:43:21 pm: Quote from: Akura on December 23, 2012, 09:19:32 pm
Quote from: Sonlirain on December 21, 2012, 06:39:56 pm
Quote from: Akura on December 21, 2012, 02:01:44 pm
Quote from: IronyOwl on December 16, 2012, 06:44:07 am
So is each unit a hit point, or what?

Spoiler: Long, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics (click to show/hide)
Each guy in a unit, called a figure, is basically a hit point bar. If a unit has 3 hp, then every 3 hp of damage it takes kills a figure(healing that will revive dead figures). Total Attack stat(and, technically, HP) is multiplied by the number of figures(example, Spearmen with 1 Attack but 8 figures effectively has 8 Attack). Losing figures can effectively weaken a unit. It's worth noting that although a hydra(Nature summon) appears to have one figure, each head actually its figures(which, combined with their abilities) makes them lethal.

Every point of attack(called "swords" for short) is an attack roll. Each roll has a 30%(+10% for every To-Hit bonus) to hit. Then, every sword that hits goes against the defender's defense rating(called "shields"). Each shield makes a roll to negate a hit(30% each roll, 20% if attack has Eldritch Weapon). Each successful attack roll must make a roll against each and every shield. Every attack roll that makes it past the defense inflicts 1 HP of damage.
Spoiler: Additional, unnecessary explanation of battle mechanics and slight clarification (click to show/hide)
It's a bit more complicated. 8 spearmen with 1 attack each don't actually deal 8 attack. They do 8 attacks worth 1 point.
now let's assume we have a creature with 4 defense being attacked by 8 spearmen OR a creature with 8 attack.

The spearmen in theory can do the same damage BUT each point of damage has to go through 4 shields (each having a 30% chance of blocking the damage) while a creature with 8 attack will ALWAYS do 4 damage and the shields have a CHANCE at stopping the remaining 4 IF they all work (30% chance per shield).
This makes singular creatures with more attack much more effective than a bunch of weaker ones even if they seem to have the same # of swords/shields as a whole.
Since when does 8 attack guaratee 4 points of damage? Was that added in a later patch that I probably don't have?
Well there's the chance of the attack missing completely before defense is taken into account.
My point still stands however. 1 shield can block only 1 sword and if once creature connects more swords than enemy sields the damage becomes unblockable (because there are no shields to block them).
Unlike several weaker units with the same # of swords total.