Let's Play Master of Magic
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Avoraciopoctules
- Overlord
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You could just keep the lizardmen as auxillaries to scout for your ships and maybe provide naval diversions. The fact you are recruiting some doesn't mean you need to create a whole army of them.MisterDee wrote:Just a note to mention I've played enough to create a Chapter 2. Making the write-up will take longer, but the gaming is done.
And no spoilers, but we're gearing up for an interesting early game.
Of note: yes, we can now recruit lizardmen. Which creates a conundrum: I really wanted to showcase the naval options, and having lizardmen available sort of make the whole "build a navy" step a waste of time and resources.
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Avoraciopoctules
- Overlord
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Chapter 2 - The Power of Magic
Vernon sighed. The plan had seemed such a good one. Instead of fighting the other familiars for the attentions of this generation's potential Masters, get a powerful wizard from another world - in fact, THE most powerful wizard from that other world.
Except that apparently, low-level summonings got you lowlifes. As he waited for Lord Lawrence to finally get his ass out of bed, he unrolled the map of the Empire of the Nomads, such as it was.
As you may recall, those are our two cities. Mudspray to the left and our capital to the right. I didn't mention it, but Mudspray is basically El Dorado, only in the far north. The two yellow swatches next to the city are gold deposits.
"Aaahh... you're up already, Vernon?" Larry yawned. "Any news?"
"No, Lord. The scouts are still moving around the empire, but there's nothng new to report."
"That's disappointing. Think there's something interesting on that mirror? Probably not, I guess." Larry turned to his breakfast "Oh well, maybe there will be tomorrow."
"Actually, Lord, we could use the mirror for something..." Vernon suggested tentatively.
The Earth Lore spell reveals a full map window, without need to scout. It's a snapshot, not a permanent view. If someone builds a new city in the area, Earth Lore won't reveal it. We'll get something better later on.
"That's... actually a cool spell, Vernon. Thanks for suggesting I learn it." Larry said, as he studied the picture. "It's not Google Maps, but it's really convenient."
"Yes, Lord. Now, should Spear Squad capture that city as well?" Vernon asked with a bloodthirsty grin.
"A large city, huh... you think six guys can take that it?"
"Probably not, Lord... but I have a few friends who could help."
Say hello to the Hell Hounds! Frank explained early in the thread that one way to win easily is to start the game with all Spellbooks in one color, which gives you access to some late-game spells, and use a later-level summon to take over the world in the early game. Hell Hounds are the poor man's version of that strategy.
Don't let the unassuming stats fool you: the Hell Hounds' Fire Breath ability more than compensates for them. Basically, whenever the Hell Hounds attack, each figure first delivers a fire attack that's as strong as their regular attack. So the Hell Hound can rapidly destroy a multi-figure unit's ability to cause damage.
Hell Hounds are fairly fragile, however, and their Fire Breath only takes effect if they initiate combat. So care must be taken in maneuvering them so that they don't get attacked by a full strength unit. The tactical AI blows, however, and the Hell Hounds have 2 Move, so it's fairly easy to do.
"When you said friends, I didn't imagine... those." Larry said uncertainly as the slavering, fire-breathing monstrosities ran out of the city. "I thought you'd bring in more of... whatever you are. Or anything that can hold a conversation, really. It's pretty lonely here, you know."
"You want people to talk to, Lord?" Vernon asked. "Well, there's someone who I'd like you to meet. When I realized that you'd never been formally taught magic, I asked around for a teacher, and I found one!"
It seems our first Hero has appeared to join us! Heroes are almost-unique
units (you can only get one of each, but sometimes the AI gets the same as you, only renamed.) Zaldron here is actually an early-game hero, but as your fame (and available funds) increase, better ones will appear.
Zaldron's primary attack is a ranged magic blast (which is sorta wimpy at the moment, but can become devastating once we've equipped him properly.) More importantly, however are the Sage and Caster attributes he has. Sage means that he'll contribute to my research effort every turn he spends in the Fortress. Caster means two things: first, in combat, he can cast spells, and second, when he's parked in the fortress, he'll increase Larry's magic skills.
Bottom line: Zaldron's going to be spending a while in the city. I want him to get experience (he'll get one XP per turn, with his first level at 10XP) and gear (which we'll eventually forge) before sending him out into danger, and unlike many heroes, he'll actually contribute while waiting for that.
"Whaddaya mean you don't know how to summon giants? This guy said you were a great wizard, not a friggin apprentice!" Zaldron spat. "I'm way too old to start teaching a whelp again!"
"I said he was POTENTIALLY a great wizard, old man." Vernon whined. This was not going well.
"Dammit, Vernon, I know I said I wanted company, but next time, bring me someone closer to my age!" Larry fumed. "Preferably someone female, now that I think of it." He added thoughtfully.
"Pfah. He thinks with his dick, too. Hey, that's a fifty-inch mirror! Anything good on?" The old man, without waiting, sprawled on the couch.
"Well, our troops are near Soest, and..." Larry began.
As you can see, Soest is defended by five swordsmen unit. This is a medium-level defense for Independent cities. On Hard, Independent very rarely get to the levels where they can build racial units (you might see early racials like Slingers or Horsebowmen, but I've never seen the high-end stuff.)
Of course, my two packs of Hellhounds burn them to a crisp. One pack would probably not have been enough, but by having two I ensure that both survive.
"Ha! I take it back, kid, you've got style!" Zaldron said as the Hellhounds finished feasting on the Soest Army. "I'll stay on a while. Are you planning any more conquests?"
"I don't know." Vernon replied before the slightly nauseated Larry could. "Lord, why don't you have a look around to see if there's anyone else nearby?"
Quickly, Larry cast the Earth Lore spell, to banish the images of the dying Soest defenders.
That's... a cluttered area. We have two nature node there (the green sparkles), a sorcery node (the blue pool), two explorable ruins, gold veins, two Nightshade groves (the spots north of the yellow city), and two cities, including one belonging to an enemy wizard (that's the yellow-banner city.)
Nightshade protects the city from enemy enchantments. It's not that useful, honestly, because the AI rarely curses your cities on Hard. Still, it's better than not having it.
The enemy wizard's city is an interesting find, however. It's still early enough in the game that we can be sure said wizard's fortress is on the same continent as us. Which means that we'll have our first major war soon.
"Oh oh. We do have neighbors! That'll be FUN!" Zaldron grinned as the images revealed two cities to the south. "And who might that be..." he continued, pointing to a very distinctive yellow banner, flying atop the tallest building in a bustling village. "Only a wizard would dare fly such colors..."
"It looks like we have found our first challenger, Lord." Vernon grinned nervously. "I'd hoped that we'd have more time to get you ready, but I'm guessing that war is coming."
"Great. More war." Larry sighed, disgusted.
Vernon sighed. The plan had seemed such a good one. Instead of fighting the other familiars for the attentions of this generation's potential Masters, get a powerful wizard from another world - in fact, THE most powerful wizard from that other world.
Except that apparently, low-level summonings got you lowlifes. As he waited for Lord Lawrence to finally get his ass out of bed, he unrolled the map of the Empire of the Nomads, such as it was.
As you may recall, those are our two cities. Mudspray to the left and our capital to the right. I didn't mention it, but Mudspray is basically El Dorado, only in the far north. The two yellow swatches next to the city are gold deposits.
"Aaahh... you're up already, Vernon?" Larry yawned. "Any news?"
"No, Lord. The scouts are still moving around the empire, but there's nothng new to report."
"That's disappointing. Think there's something interesting on that mirror? Probably not, I guess." Larry turned to his breakfast "Oh well, maybe there will be tomorrow."
"Actually, Lord, we could use the mirror for something..." Vernon suggested tentatively.
The Earth Lore spell reveals a full map window, without need to scout. It's a snapshot, not a permanent view. If someone builds a new city in the area, Earth Lore won't reveal it. We'll get something better later on.
"That's... actually a cool spell, Vernon. Thanks for suggesting I learn it." Larry said, as he studied the picture. "It's not Google Maps, but it's really convenient."
"Yes, Lord. Now, should Spear Squad capture that city as well?" Vernon asked with a bloodthirsty grin.
"A large city, huh... you think six guys can take that it?"
"Probably not, Lord... but I have a few friends who could help."
Say hello to the Hell Hounds! Frank explained early in the thread that one way to win easily is to start the game with all Spellbooks in one color, which gives you access to some late-game spells, and use a later-level summon to take over the world in the early game. Hell Hounds are the poor man's version of that strategy.
Don't let the unassuming stats fool you: the Hell Hounds' Fire Breath ability more than compensates for them. Basically, whenever the Hell Hounds attack, each figure first delivers a fire attack that's as strong as their regular attack. So the Hell Hound can rapidly destroy a multi-figure unit's ability to cause damage.
Hell Hounds are fairly fragile, however, and their Fire Breath only takes effect if they initiate combat. So care must be taken in maneuvering them so that they don't get attacked by a full strength unit. The tactical AI blows, however, and the Hell Hounds have 2 Move, so it's fairly easy to do.
"When you said friends, I didn't imagine... those." Larry said uncertainly as the slavering, fire-breathing monstrosities ran out of the city. "I thought you'd bring in more of... whatever you are. Or anything that can hold a conversation, really. It's pretty lonely here, you know."
"You want people to talk to, Lord?" Vernon asked. "Well, there's someone who I'd like you to meet. When I realized that you'd never been formally taught magic, I asked around for a teacher, and I found one!"
It seems our first Hero has appeared to join us! Heroes are almost-unique
units (you can only get one of each, but sometimes the AI gets the same as you, only renamed.) Zaldron here is actually an early-game hero, but as your fame (and available funds) increase, better ones will appear.
Zaldron's primary attack is a ranged magic blast (which is sorta wimpy at the moment, but can become devastating once we've equipped him properly.) More importantly, however are the Sage and Caster attributes he has. Sage means that he'll contribute to my research effort every turn he spends in the Fortress. Caster means two things: first, in combat, he can cast spells, and second, when he's parked in the fortress, he'll increase Larry's magic skills.
Bottom line: Zaldron's going to be spending a while in the city. I want him to get experience (he'll get one XP per turn, with his first level at 10XP) and gear (which we'll eventually forge) before sending him out into danger, and unlike many heroes, he'll actually contribute while waiting for that.
"Whaddaya mean you don't know how to summon giants? This guy said you were a great wizard, not a friggin apprentice!" Zaldron spat. "I'm way too old to start teaching a whelp again!"
"I said he was POTENTIALLY a great wizard, old man." Vernon whined. This was not going well.
"Dammit, Vernon, I know I said I wanted company, but next time, bring me someone closer to my age!" Larry fumed. "Preferably someone female, now that I think of it." He added thoughtfully.
"Pfah. He thinks with his dick, too. Hey, that's a fifty-inch mirror! Anything good on?" The old man, without waiting, sprawled on the couch.
"Well, our troops are near Soest, and..." Larry began.
As you can see, Soest is defended by five swordsmen unit. This is a medium-level defense for Independent cities. On Hard, Independent very rarely get to the levels where they can build racial units (you might see early racials like Slingers or Horsebowmen, but I've never seen the high-end stuff.)
Of course, my two packs of Hellhounds burn them to a crisp. One pack would probably not have been enough, but by having two I ensure that both survive.
"Ha! I take it back, kid, you've got style!" Zaldron said as the Hellhounds finished feasting on the Soest Army. "I'll stay on a while. Are you planning any more conquests?"
"I don't know." Vernon replied before the slightly nauseated Larry could. "Lord, why don't you have a look around to see if there's anyone else nearby?"
Quickly, Larry cast the Earth Lore spell, to banish the images of the dying Soest defenders.
That's... a cluttered area. We have two nature node there (the green sparkles), a sorcery node (the blue pool), two explorable ruins, gold veins, two Nightshade groves (the spots north of the yellow city), and two cities, including one belonging to an enemy wizard (that's the yellow-banner city.)
Nightshade protects the city from enemy enchantments. It's not that useful, honestly, because the AI rarely curses your cities on Hard. Still, it's better than not having it.
The enemy wizard's city is an interesting find, however. It's still early enough in the game that we can be sure said wizard's fortress is on the same continent as us. Which means that we'll have our first major war soon.
"Oh oh. We do have neighbors! That'll be FUN!" Zaldron grinned as the images revealed two cities to the south. "And who might that be..." he continued, pointing to a very distinctive yellow banner, flying atop the tallest building in a bustling village. "Only a wizard would dare fly such colors..."
"It looks like we have found our first challenger, Lord." Vernon grinned nervously. "I'd hoped that we'd have more time to get you ready, but I'm guessing that war is coming."
"Great. More war." Larry sighed, disgusted.
Last edited by MisterDee on Sun May 27, 2012 5:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
You are aware that people actually hate all the bullshit inserted storyline RPing shit you are doing right?
Unrestricted Diplomat 5314 wrote:Accept this truth, as the wisdom of the Crafted: when the oppressors and abusers have won, when the boot of the callous has already trampled you flat, you should always, always take your swing."
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angelfromanotherpin
- Overlord
- Posts: 9749
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
No I don't. I always speak for myself, except when something is so incredibly retardedly heinously stupid that speaking on behalf of everyone is necessary to make it fucking stop. Because that shit is fucking terrible, and the fact that four idiots like it is not an excuse to punish the world with it.angelfromanotherpin wrote:Kaelik, you need some practice in speaking for your fucking self.
Unrestricted Diplomat 5314 wrote:Accept this truth, as the wisdom of the Crafted: when the oppressors and abusers have won, when the boot of the callous has already trampled you flat, you should always, always take your swing."
Actually, considering nobody said fucking anything about it, no, I'm not aware of it.Kaelik wrote:You are aware that people actually hate all the bullshit inserted storyline RPing shit you are doing right?
I'm not wedded to it, though, so if people really don't like it, let me know and I'll cut it out. I tend to prefer having some sort of narrative in the LPs I read so I added one, but I don't think I'm writing the great american novel either here, you know?
EDIT: Oh, and Kaelik, just so you know, you didn't actually need to hurl insults at me. Just asking would have worked, too. But hey, it's the Den, right?
Last edited by MisterDee on Sun May 27, 2012 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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angelfromanotherpin
- Overlord
- Posts: 9749
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
Hey, it really is terrible how you're being forced to read something you don't like.Kaelik wrote: I always speak for myself, except when something is so incredibly retardedly heinously stupid that speaking on behalf of everyone is necessary to make it fucking stop.
Oh wait.
Piss off. It solves your problem and mine.
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Username17
- Serious Badass
- Posts: 29894
- Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 7:54 pm
If you want to, you can take over any magic node without fighting it. Summon a magic spirit (or a Guardian Spirit) and walk it next to the node. Now switch the view to myrror, and take a step in the direction of the node. The Magic Spirit will execute its move in Myrror, scouting a small area of the other dimension. If there's nothing to fight there, and the conclusion of its move it will swap back into Arcanis where it belongs - but being as it is now standing on a node, you can meld it.
You can also use this trick to invade the underworld by myrror moving into an enemy stack there. If you fight a battle when you myrror move, you'll stay in the other dimension.
I believe this particular facet of the game is "cheating".
-Username17
You can also use this trick to invade the underworld by myrror moving into an enemy stack there. If you fight a battle when you myrror move, you'll stay in the other dimension.
I believe this particular facet of the game is "cheating".
-Username17
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Avoraciopoctules
- Overlord
- Posts: 8624
- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
Yep - if you have troops right next to an enemy city, you get a detailed report on the units in the city (look at the first picture of the city of Soest in the second chapter)
What you'll find there depends a lot on the enemy wizard's personality, and whether it's a captured city or something built by the wizard.
The enemy wizards tend to garrison their captured cities with whatever they used to seize it. So in the early game, it's usually a combination of low-end normal units and low-level summons, climbing up to large groups of Great Wyrms and the like. Theurgist personnality wizards tend to focus mostly on spell research and so start popping up mid-level summons fairly quickly, but otherwise it's really a crapshoot.
For their created cities, it really depends on their building strategy. A Perfectionnist wizard tend to want to create every possible buildings in the city, and ends up producing garrisons of high-end racials. An expansionnist wizard, on the other hand, mostly spams settlers from their cities and so end up building a garrison of swordsmen or pikemen, because they never get around to building the building they need.
I'll probably learn of Yellow Wizard's personnality next chapter (we need to have our units meet each other to become officially "aware" of each other, Earth Lore or other vision spells aren't sufficient.)
And regarding Frank's comment: I didn't know that. Thanks for the info (although I won't use it, as it's very probably a bug.)
What you'll find there depends a lot on the enemy wizard's personality, and whether it's a captured city or something built by the wizard.
The enemy wizards tend to garrison their captured cities with whatever they used to seize it. So in the early game, it's usually a combination of low-end normal units and low-level summons, climbing up to large groups of Great Wyrms and the like. Theurgist personnality wizards tend to focus mostly on spell research and so start popping up mid-level summons fairly quickly, but otherwise it's really a crapshoot.
For their created cities, it really depends on their building strategy. A Perfectionnist wizard tend to want to create every possible buildings in the city, and ends up producing garrisons of high-end racials. An expansionnist wizard, on the other hand, mostly spams settlers from their cities and so end up building a garrison of swordsmen or pikemen, because they never get around to building the building they need.
I'll probably learn of Yellow Wizard's personnality next chapter (we need to have our units meet each other to become officially "aware" of each other, Earth Lore or other vision spells aren't sufficient.)
And regarding Frank's comment: I didn't know that. Thanks for the info (although I won't use it, as it's very probably a bug.)
Personally, I find the story-type commentary fairly entertaining... I've played Master of Magic before, and know how the raw game mechanics go; having a plot makes all the difference between 'a story worth reading and chuckling over' and 'bland facts about an ancient game I played to death back in the day'.
Accordingly, I'll be joining angel in telling Kaelik to piss off, on account of how he's a raging asshole who doesn't need to be here if he doesn't like it.
Accordingly, I'll be joining angel in telling Kaelik to piss off, on account of how he's a raging asshole who doesn't need to be here if he doesn't like it.
Last edited by Endovior on Mon May 28, 2012 8:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
FrankTrollman wrote:We had a history and maps and fucking civilization, and there were countries and cities and kingdoms. But then the spell plague came and fucked up the landscape and now there are mountains where there didn't used to be and dragons with boobs and no one has the slightest idea of what's going on. And now there are like monsters everywhere and shit.
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CapnTthePirateG
- Duke
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Avoraciopoctules
- Overlord
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- Joined: Tue Oct 21, 2008 5:48 pm
- Location: Oakland, CA
Since we seem to be weighing in on the narrative, I am interested in seeing where it goes. The characters are fairly unlikeable right now, but they are already subtly changing, and I am genuinely interested in seeing how they'll act once PC factions start interacting with each other.
Is diplomacy a significant part of the game? Can you make alliances with some kind of real mechanical effect?
Is diplomacy a significant part of the game? Can you make alliances with some kind of real mechanical effect?
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Username17
- Serious Badass
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While you are not at war with AI factions, you can trade spells. You can trade Arcane Spells and spells of a color that both of you have a book in. Trading spells is 100% good, because it adds the spell fully researched to your spellbook whether or not it was initially researchable. This is one of the reasons that Artificer is so good - it gives you two arcane spells that you can trade off to anyone you meet, so in the long run it isn't even like you get less spells.Avoraciopoctules wrote: Is diplomacy a significant part of the game? Can you make alliances with some kind of real mechanical effect?
AI teams will slowly (or not so slowly) shift towards hating you and then going to war with you. And that's that. You will go to war with the AI, and probably on about turn 100. In the meantime, you may be able to extract some spells from them.
-Username17