OK, I'm gonna try and put down some of Baalz's theory on communions in a way that doesn't read like a wall of text written by a dyslexic missing about 10 days of sleep.Archmage wrote:Oh. Well then. That's like +3-4 to all paths, yeah? That would be a hell of a lot more efficient than buffing the leader up to the point where they can...cast buff spells. Might as well let the communion do all the buffing unless the goal is to reverse communion a bunch of smaller mages with power of the spheres and whatnot.
That would've had me dropping lightning all over the place on turn 2 instead of turn 5. Definitely an improvement, and one I'll have to consider in the future.
The main thing I was concerned about there is fatigue distribution, but having reread the way that works the reason for using 15+ dudes is even clearer.
Communions
A communion is a bit like Voltron - you're taking lots of smaller casters, and turning them into one big functioning unit. However, in this way, it's also like baking a cake - you have to follow some basic rules about proportions, ingredients and so forth, or the cake won't rise or taste good. Similarly, communions have some basic principles that you wanna follow, with some scope for variation.
The basics
Communions can be broadly divided into two kinds - true communions and sabbaths. The two are interchangeable, and function on the same mechanics, but require slightly different setups and enable slightly different options. They are built around four key spells - for the former, Communion Master and Communion Slave, and for the latter, Sabbath Master and Sabbath Slave. Each 'master' and 'slave' spell is equivalent - the game treats them as the same thing, accessed differently. These spells, when cast, create links between the casters that cast them, and designate them into roles, specifically those of master and slave.
So what the fuck does this actually mean? It means the following:
- Masters get a boost to the magic paths they have based on the number of slaves. 2 slaves give +1, and each doubling of slaves increases it by another +1 (so 4 slaves give +2, 8 give +3, and so on).
- Slaves get a boost to all paths, whether they have them or not, which is always +2.
- If the master casts a spell, the amount of fatigue received by each slave is equal to what they would have gotten had they cast the spell themselves, divided by how many slaves there are.
- If a slave casts a spell, they take their fatigue normally.
Communions also have some other neat features:
- If a master casts a buff spell on himself, all masters and slaves in the communion get it too.
Based on the above, there are a few variations on communions, which all do slightly different things. It's important to remember that these communions can't all be made with the same ingredients, or the same number of ingredients either - so pick one appropriate to what you want to do, as well as what you have to work with.
Standard Communion
This is your Joe-average, basic communion. This is designed to boost up the masters to do all the casting, and the slaves basically sit around and act as fatigue sponges.
Requires: A good starting point is 5 masters, 10 slaves, although more is better. Generally-speaking, this is the communion to build if you have 15 or more mages to work with.
Does well: There are a couple of massive, battlefield-wrecking spells (like Master Enslave) which require huge path ratings and have immense costs. Communions allow you to mitigate these costs, and potentially spam the shit out of them. It can also be used to spam other generically-good spells (like Falling Fires), but this requires a decent number of masters to be truly effective.
Does poorly: Needless to say, a communion of this type needs a decent volume of masters, or you're just gonna get overrun. You also need a good number of slaves to soak stray arrows. Having one master dedicated to buffing your team is probably not a bad call.
Reverse Communion
So called because the slaves do the casting, not the masters.
Requires: One or two masters, and at least four slaves (but more is better). This communion can be built on much lower resources - six mages is enough to get started.
Does well: If you have slaves with minor capabilities in a path (like F1, D1, or W1), this kind of communion can turn them into spell-spamming machines, as they get +2 to their paths regardless of communion size. You can use the masters as support artillery, or simply as buffing machines - both work equally well. In my experience, battle magic spam is best in large volumes, which these communions provide with greater ease.
Does badly: These kinds of communions have a bad tendency to die to fliers and archers, due to their small numbers. Although they can get going faster than standard communions (both in and off the field), they are also much more limited in what they can do. Lastly, slave quality is a key deciding factor here - if you have very good slaves with other path dips, you're good, but if you only have a bunch of S1 or B1 dorks, you won't manage much.
Linebacker Communions
These seek to take advantage of the buff-sharing capabilities of communions. So-called because of some American football placement thing which I don't give a fuck about - I'm mostly calling them that because that's what the community calls them.
Requires: One or two masters, and as many slaves as you wanna buff. Since these guys will be wading into a fight, pick ones which can - not an easy task.
Does well: Unlike the majority of communions, this one fights - and well. Combining the buffing power of mages with the better stats and armour of things that can actually sword-swing, these can be very, very deadly to your opponent. The fact that the masters can later provide some artillery backup is just gravy.
Does badly: Aside from the whole 'needing to find slaves who can fight' problem, linebacker communions suffer from the fact that slaves in this case get fatigue from more than one source - which can pile up fast. There's nothing as anticlimactic as having your super-buffed Voltron warriors keel over from fatigue loss. While you can mitigate for this, it takes the right kind of masters, the right kind of slaves, and the right spells - not always easy.
Sabbath
Not a separate type of communion per se, sabbaths are communions that are made using the Blood spells Sabbath Master and Sabbath Slave. They follow all the rules set out in the previous types, with one important exception - casting both of those spells requires a blood slave. This is something to keep in mind logistically, as well as on the field.
Getting Your Ingredients: Communion Mages
Dominions 3 has a shit-tonne of units, and you can be forgiven for thinking that finding the right ingredients is hard. Not to worry - here's some help. They're put in nation order alphabetically.
Early Age
Mystic (Arcosephale): Holy shit, what a jackpot. These guys make for amazing slaves, with a few making for very capable masters as well. Communions involving these guys do tend to become a scripting nightmare though - so keep this in mind.
Paths: S1 +1 FWES +0.5 F + 0.5 W + 0.5 E
Sauromancer (C'tis): Only one in four Sauromancers have the capability to join a communion, but when they do, they bring some serious death magic in there. The SD combination allows you to cast such gems as Nether Darts, and to cap it all off, they come with Nature too, which lets you potentially build up to Relief (and we're not even gonna mention Eagle Eyes, as it's so fucking obvious).
Paths: D3N1 +1.1 WSDN
Shaman (C'tis): These guys make for capable slaves, but aren't very good at casting anything themselves. They ideally need a master to back them up that has better paths. Lucky you have the Sauromancers.
Paths: S1N1
Augur (Ermor): Like the Mystics, these guys make for very capable, and cheap, communion slaves. They're less-than-awesome as masters, but even then, their access to fire can give you some useful capabilities (like Falling Fires).
Paths: F1S1
Augur Elder (Ermor): These guys make for amazing masters, having the FD combo built in (which means Bane Fire) along with the SD one (which means Nether Darts). Their randoms could also land them in Air (which means Thunder Strike or Orb Lightning). Did I also mention you can recruit these out of any fort? Just pure win all around.
Paths: F2S1D2 +1.1 FASD
Ba'al (Hinnom): For obvious reasons, these guys are on master-only duty - but man can they rock it. Basically, see all the Melquart stuff, and multiply it some, and then you have these guys.
Paths: B2H1 +3 FES +0.1 FESB
Kohen (Hinnom): Primarily a sabbath-user, these guys are a tad expensive, but can make for capable slaves thanks to their additional randoms. Also, linebacker communions are kinda cool with them - just saying. Since they have holy paths, you can also use communions or sabbaths to crank their holy up - which can be very handy.
Paths: B1H1 +1 FES
Melqart (Hinnom): As well as being generally awesome, Melquarts can lead some handy sabbaths. Ones with S can be pumped into Enslave Mind, ones with F can do all the cool Fire things, and ones with E can do big Blade Winds. While they're not as screamingly cool as Ba'als for this purpose, they can be used for that. Also, S and E ones cast some awesome buffs if you wanna lineback those Kohens.
Paths: B3H1 +2 FES
Yakshini (Kailasa): These lovely ladies come with lots of Water (which makes Falling Frost spam fun), but also have Nature and Holy, which means not only undead destruction on a mass level, but also Relief. Only one in four can participate, though, so keep that in mind - or just have an ES Yaksha forge you a Communion Matrix and go nuts.
Paths: W3N1H1 +1.1 WESN
Yogi (Kailasa): These guys make for cheap communion slave fodder, being monkeys. However, they bring very little to the table with their paths, meaning that their best strength is in numbers.
Paths: S1
Rakshasi (Lanka): Hoo boy, diversity. These lovely monkey ladies have a lot of options as sabbath masters. They kinda have the Mystic problem in that they can do about a zillion things, but for those who know their spell list, they can do some crazy cool stuff with sabbaths.
Paths: A1D1N1B1H1 + 1 ADNB +1.1 ADNB
Raktapata (Lanka): Cheap, holy, and available-everywhere, these guys make for good sabbath slaves. But that's about it.
Paths: B1H1
Mictlan Priest (Mictlan): Given that you want about a million of these anyway, they can be used quite effectively for sabbath slave fuel. If you're lucky enough to get a decent random on one, they could even lead a weak communion themselves.
Paths: B1H1 + 0.1 FWSN
Various Capital Priests (Mictlan): All of these can serve as good masters, depending on what you wanna do. Consider their paths and go from there.
Paths: Vary, but all contain at least B2
Mind Lord (R'lyeh): If you can get these oversized dorks out of the ocean, they make for good communion masters. Given that they potentially end up with S4 (1/4 of them), making them climb to Master Enslave is actually not that hard. Them being able to Teleport doesn't hurt either. If you get one with a Death random, enjoy your Nether Darts.
Paths: W3S3 + 1.1 WESD
Slave Mage (R'lyeh): These guys can leave the water (at the cost of 1 W), which is already a big deal. The fact that they have a variety of useful randoms, but come with Water as standard, makes them good slave material. If you end up with any W3s (and 1/4 will be), they can even make half-decent masters.
Paths: W2S1 + 1 WESN
Enarie (Sauromantia): These guys have the awesome SD combo for Nether Dart spam, and they also all get Nature just by existing, which means that buffs and Relief aren't too far away. All up, they can make communions work just by themselves - and they're recruit-anywhere. And people wonder why Sauromantia's so good...
Paths: S1D2N1
Middle Age
Astrologer (Arcosphale): Holy shit, S3 base Batman! If you're not Master Enslaving with these folks, I'm not sure who can. Since they also have some nice randoms, you can do fun things there too. And they teleport! Worth chucking in with Mystics for when you need to add win to your win.
Paths: S3 + 1.1 FWES
Mystic (Arcosephale): Everything said about these folks in the Early Era still applies here.
Rishi (Bandar Log): Again, S3 makes us happy, and the fact they also come with N2 and get a few handy randoms makes them solid communion masters.
Paths: S3N2 + 1.1 WESN
Yogi (Bandar Log): Everything said about these folks in the Early Era still applies here.
Marshmaster (C'tis): Only one in four of these guys can participate, but when they can, they rock. SD has its Nether Darts, and their access to Water gives them other good options too. These guys also get Nature, just in case you wanted more. Being recruit-anywhere doesn't hurt either.
Paths: W1D2N2 + 1.1 WSDN
Shaman (C'tis): Everything said about these folks in the Early Era still applies here.
Grand Thaumaturg (Ermor): These guys are like Thaumaturgs for communions, but on crack. With access to Air and Water occuring roughly one in four times, this can make for even more fun. However, a lot of the time, you'll probably just use them to make Longdead Horsemen in droves, and that's also fine.
Paths: S2D2H3 + 1.1 AWSD
Thaumaturg (Ermor): In case you get sick of conquering the world using hordes of undead, these guys can do fairly decent communions involving their SD combo.
Paths: S1D1H2
Grand Master (Marignon): These guys can be a bit of a challenge to get to the front lines, but they lead communions like nobody's business. Arguably, the S3 or A1 ones are the most useful, and if you lucksack into S4 or A2, you practically jump for joy, but even the others are still handy - and the FE combination can give you the various Magma spells, which is still damn good. The fact you can crank up their holy to cast crazy shit isn't something to forget either.
Paths: F3S2H2 + 1.1 FAES
Witch Hunter (Marignon): While a little expensive for what they do, these guys can make for decent enough communions. They can kill off undead with H3 spam, cast Falling Fires repeatedly, or just troll people with Phoenix Pyre suicide bombing if you're feeling retarded lately.
Paths: F2S1H1
Arch Theurg (Pythium): I can hear Marignon crying already. These guys are, simply-put, amazingly ridiculous communion masters, being able to do all the crazy communion stuff that you could probably want. They also Teleport as a basic life choice, and end up with S4 fairly often. Totally awesome, if a touch ancient.
Paths: A2W1S3H3 + 1.1 FAWS
Theurg (Pythium): Damn good communion slaves and masters. They can do the crazy holy shit, Thunder Strike spam, Falling Frost spam, or just go nuts with the Enslave Mind. Very versatile, and also conveniently your most cost-effective research mage. People should fear your research parks - and quite rightly so.
Paths: A1W1S2H2
Theurg Acolyte (Pythium): Although very cheap for what they do (90 gold and act as communion slaves respectively), these guys aren't much good for much else. They're not as cost-efficient researchers as your Theurgs, and the fact that you need a lab and a temple to recruit them anyway means that unless you're very short of gold, there's almost no reason to build them other than for slave fodder.
Paths: S1H1
Theurg Communicant (Pythium): Hands-fucking-down cheapest communion slave there is. They also don't have to spend a turn buffing themselves, which can be nice. However, they are so niche that I wouldn't recommend using them, instead going for the less budget, but more useable, Theurgs instead.
Paths: None. No really.
Slave Mage (R'lyeh): While everything said about these guys in the Early Era remains true, given the cheap Starspawn, I'm not sure why you want these.
Starspawn (the cheap one) (R'lyeh): Beginning the insanity they're characterized by even here, R'lyeh actually have two units called 'Starspawn', which don't do the same thing. Whatever. These guys make for decently-good communion slaves even without their randoms. With their randoms, they can do some cool reverse communion action. About the only problem is that they're cowardly - lucky that holy fixes that! Some linebacking potential here as well, but don't count on it too hard.
Paths: S1H2 + 1 WESD
Starspawn (the expensive one)(R'lyeh): Holy fucking fuckstars, recruit-anywhere S5?! No seriously, even if it's one in sixteen of these fuckers with it, S5 is seriously awesome. You can climb to Master Enslave almost effortlessly, and Enslave Mind spam becomes super-simple. They can also end up with Death (hi Nether Darts!), Water (Falling Frost says hello), and even Earth (Gifts from Heaven anyone?). They are, however, cowardly and lack holy levels, so it's a good idea to have a cheap Starspawn wired in as a master for that Sermon of Courage sex.
Paths: W1S3 + 1 WESD + 1.1 WESD
Celestial Master (T'ien Ch'i): These guys can cast Aim and Gifts from Heaven in a communion they're leading. I like. They can also get a bunch of other handy things, like Nature and Water, for more toys to play with. Again, not sure if communions are the best way to go here (mostly because fuel is hard to come by), but you do manage it, it can pay off.
Paths: A1W2E1S1H2 + 1.1 AWSN
Imperial Geomancer (T'ien Ch'i): Cheap and effective, these guys get ES, which gives us Gifts From Heaven. While they're about as accurate as a drunk with one eye when it comes to aiming that shit, they can also do some other cool things with their paths. While I'm not sure that you'd want to get a critical mass of these for communions, if you happen to, you might wanna try it.
Paths: E1S1
Late Age
Mystic (Arcosephale): Everything said about these guys in previous eras is still valid here.
Sibyl (Arcosephale): These guys can participate as communion masters with your Mystics, and bring Nature and Death to the party. This means Relief and Nether Darts to go with your Win of A Thousand Flavours that your Mystics can provide. They're also useful to have around in general - not least of all because they add Holy.
Paths: S1N2H2 + 1.1 WSDN
Alchemist (Bogarus): One thing to remember about Bogarus - pretty much every fucking mage you can recruit can participate in a communion of some variety in some way, as every fucking mage you can recruit has at least S1 or B1, and some even get both. The Alchemist is the only Earth you get, and when used as a slave, can cast both Magma Bolts and Gifts from Heaven, so that's something. However, they are fairly expensive, so I don't see a critical mass of these guys showing up any time.
Paths: F1E1S1
Astrapelagist (Bogarus): Like a Kalendologist, but better in almost every way. While having the power to toss down the crazy Air magic that a communion enables makes these guys worth massing, you still have better options IMHO.
Paths: A2S1
Kalendologist (Bogarus): These guys are cheap, and perfectly-serviceable communion slaves. However, you probably don't want them in large numbers, even with fortune teller.
Paths: S2
Occultist (Bogarus): One of the guys who gets both S and B, this guy also gets Death, which would mean Nether Darts, except his path ratings are so low. I generally don't see much point in these guys, since Startsi (plural of Starets) get that and more.
Paths: S1D1B1
Master of Names (Bogarus): Finally, some gold! These guys should be massed anyway, since they crank out research like no tomorrow. Additionally, they come with S2 standard, as well as some randoms. F and A are obviously good for obvious reasons, and S3 ones can potentially get some Enslave Mind action going. The B ones kinda blow, but hey, we all need fuel. Perfectly useful communion slaves or even masters.
Paths: S2 + 1FASB
Starets (Bogarus): Capital-only, which is annoying, but these guys are pretty hardcore. Apart from their research bonus, these guys get access to Air and Fire by default, with a possibility of Death as well. They can lead and participate in Communions and Sabbaths, and bring some serious firepower to the table. I would argue that the D1 and A2 ones are the best ones, and the B2s are turkeys, but it depends on what you're trying to swing. They're also slow, but given that one in four can Teleport (and the others can too, with some help) makes that less of a problem.
Paths: F2A1S2B1 + 1ASDB + 0.1 FASB
Iassacharite Sibyl (Gath): Cheap communion slave material, these girls are kinda useful, and fairly efficient researchers as well. They don't do well in reverse communions, due to their lack of meaningful things to do.
Paths: S1N1
Kohen (Gath): These guys are much less inspiring than their EA and LA counterparts, unfortunately. They still make decent linebackers, but having Attack Skill and Defence Skill 9 doesn't really help much. Their random means that they can also act as halfway-decent reverse communion slaves.
Paths: B1H2 + 1FES
Kohen Gadol (Gath): These guys are cap-only and expensive, but in return, these guys are pretty hardcore linebackers, and can also be communioned up into Holy powerhouses without too much effort (as they start with H3). Their randoms also help, but unfortunately, because they're linked, you'll have a bit of trouble getting something awesome like Gifts of Heaven up. On the flip side, one in four of these guys can make Blood Stones without too much effort, so yeah, go for it.
Paths: B2H3 + 2FES + 0.1FES
Yeddeoni (Gath): The bad news - only 1/4 of these necromancer dorks can participate in communions. The good news - any that can bring Nether Darts and Gifts of Heaven to the party. The more bad news - your path ratings are fairly awful. The more good news - these guys are good, cheap reversers. Make of that what you will.
Paths: E1D1 + 1FESD
Onmyo-ji (Jomon): Remember Mystics? These old farts are basically Mystics on crack. They're old, which sucks, but in return, they get access to a metric ass-tonne of paths, as well as reliable access to Nature, which means that they can buff themselves and rain death on their enemies. A shining star amid an otherwise-terrible nation, these guys can do basically anything Mystics can do, and then some.
Paths: S2 + 2.1 FAWEN
Magister Arcane (Man): These guys are a tad expensive, as well as not sacred, which makes massing them a bit of a problem. Add to this the fact that fuel is hard to come by (you only have the tiny randoms off your Magisters). However, these guys are very capable reversers, with the really nasty combo of Aim and Gifts of Heaven. The fact they also end up with random Fire is just icing on that cake.
Paths: A2E1S1 + 0.5FAES
Diabolist (Marignon): Super-cheap, these guys make good sabbath fuel. However, they can also do semi-decent reverse action thanks to their Fire access. Nothing to write home about normally, but their cheapness makes them worthwhile. Just be sure to have blood slaves handy.
Paths: F1B1
Goetic Master (Marignon): Where Diabolists are fuel, Goetic Masters are very capable, well, masters, as their names would suggest. You can crank up your Holy for undead massacring, use all the cool Fire stuff (like Falling Fires), and with an Earth random, the Magma line of spells also becomes available. They're also quite strong reversers, but are just a bit pricey. The Astral/Earth combination, although rare, gives you Gifts of Heaven along with all that tasty stuff, and if you get one with an Astral random, you don't even need blood slaves.
Paths: F2B2H1 + 1.1 FESB
Royal Navigator (Marignon): And now for something completely different! While you can build reverse communions out of just these guys, I'd actually recommend combining them into other communions to either toss down Astral or Air buffs (specifically Aim comes to mind, although the others don't hurt either) or just spam Air magic. They're a useful tool in LA Marignon's toolbox where communions are concerned, and don't need blood slaves to participate either. If you get a Water random, this is even better, although only one in three will.
Paths: A1S1 + 1AWS
Mictlan Priest (Mictlan): Just like their Early Era counterparts. Check out them, because everything said about them still applies.
Nahualli (Mictlan): Everything said about these guys in previous Eras still applies.
Various Priests (Mictlan): Just like their Early Era counterparts, and everything said about them still applies.
King of Rain (Mictlan): Expensive and cap-only, these guys aren't gonna be common. However, they lead communions like nobody's business - these guys can cast Falling Frost unaccompanied. Their other path randoms are also quite helpful. However, to be honest, in my opinion, these guys don't really add anything you didn't already have from other, cheaper, and in many cases more accessible mages. Mix them in by all means, though - more can't hurt.
Paths: W3B2H3 + 1.1WSNB
To come - more LA stuff, spells, items. Hopefully this is enough to get people started, and I dare say it's much more readable than Baalz. People who know more about such things, feel free to yell at me.