Bay 12 Games Forum

Finally! Thank you very much. Still the best way to play even with Steam version out.

Is it possible to let Warlocks raise dead "manually" only in combat?
Like, Warlocks prefer to make lovely skeletons in the workshop without rush and risk, but when they need to protect themselves, they have no choice but to quickly summon several zombies (they may even be common zombies, not civ members).

Why heal at all? If you are sick or injured, the residing warlock just aranges an accident and he gets a new skeleton worker.

Can this be done by using LawWarlock? So the crime in the Tower is to be weak, and when an Acolyte is injured, LawWarlock comes to fight him. If Acolyte dies - so be it, if not, he is allowed to live because he has proved his strength. Presence of an ill Warlock makes others unhappy because he is unpunished criminal.

Another random idea: can something important (like wealth or blueprints) depend on the height of the Tower? Maybe building it really high should have some reason.

I'll just describe an embark of Warlocks as I see it:

You start with a few Acolytes, younger Warlocks that just begun to learn dark paths and decided to raise the Tower of their own.
Acolytes are suited only for war. They can kill and create undeads, that is all. Each time you kill a being you recieve a soul gem, which power depends on the strength of this soul's deceased owner. So by murdering some rabbits and combining their weakest soul gems with some bones you rise your first skeletons. They are your unqualified workers, mining and farming around, building simple structures and being totally brainless.
Now back to Warlocks. To be able to create really powerful items, cast cool magic and raise mighty creatures you need to assign your Warlocks to what-used-to-be Noble positions. But now they are different: one Noble unlocks one profession and one title only for one Warlock making him ArchWarlock - until his death. Thus your Tower will look like a board of very narrow and powerful specialists united by their magic researches and their apprenticies, some king of magical univercity.
Possible examples of ArchWarlocks: DemonMaster (trades soul gems for temporary HFS allies), DeathMaster (by combining soul gems, prescious metals and valuable gems at special workshops can raise more powerful creaters than skeletons, like bone dragons from megabeast's soul and HUGE number of bones), PoisonMaster (potions), TowerMaster (architect of dooms day devices), WaveMaster (crafts magical cloth for robes from souls and whatever) and so on.
Loosing a skeleton is no problem, loosing an Acolyte is OK, but the death of ArchWarlock is a tragedy since he was your only specialist in his field. But there is always a couple of power-hungry Acolytes waiting for someone to die so they can take his place... Or may be one of your ArchWarlocks will run into human siege by pure accident when a more talanted candidate for his position appears...
Warlocks have lowered birth rate and a few migration waves. I don't really think they need slaves or conversion - who can rely on meatbags when you can totally trust your cute zombie? They are not cobolds to loose their time on such things. And only Warlock by birth can be true magician, they are a race after all.
But why should you build a Tower? That's simple. Your ArchWarlocks are gifted, but capricious. They demand something all the time (although the bad mood recieved for unfulfilled wish is lowered) and envy each other since they are all equal in status. And never let an Acolyte have a better room than any of your Tower's rulers!
So playing Warlocks is about killing things (your economy can never have enough bones and souls and there are a lot of sieges because everyone hates you), nurcing your powerful specialists (each of them is unique) and trying to have them all happy.