Playthrough: .982, Karavox, 7 ridiculous AIs, large map [Turn 142]

The rules:

No cheating, but otherwise, every trick in the book.

No restoring except for crashes.

Start position: no restarting.

No house rules.  Using super champions, elusive troops, snaking, trading is A-OK

The race:

Standard: Kraxis

 
The leader:

Standard: Karavox

Turn 1 - 16

Some people like spots like this one. I don't.

Turn 1  Settled Capital on a worthless 3/2/2 spot. Cast Inspiration and Meditation, hired Nochd, who started East.
Turn 2  Started the buried treasure quest.
Turn 3  Karavox found some herbs, cast "Burning blade", killed a wildling warrior. Nochd found a monk's robe.
Turn 4  Nochd killed some ruffians. Karavox found "the art of the fist", killed a wildling archer, picked "Potential I".
Turn 5  Karavox got attacked by a wildling shaman, and looted a lucky skullcap and a burning axe.  Nochd found "Growing a thinker skin".
Turn 6  Karavox started the noblewoman quest, and found "the art of the fist".
Turn 7  Nochd found a round shield, and killed some mites. Karavox found "defense for fools".
Turn 8  Researched "Civics", started "Knowledge". Capital rushed the pioneer, started another one.  Karavox found a healing nectar, killed a wildling archer and saw a fertile patch. Nochd found a rusty helm. The pioneer headed for the spot near Karavox.

This is a good spot, much more worthy of being the capital

Turn 9  Nochd saw Naressa and a fertile patch. Capital rushed the pioneer, and Karavox found a haunter's staff.
Turn 10  Nochd recruited Naressa.
Turn 11  Settled the city of Crystal Grove on a 2/4/2 tile West of Capital. Cast "Enchanted hammers" and "Inspiration". Rushed a logging camp, and started developing a crystal crag. Karavox escorted the noblewoman, received 300 Gildar, picked "Strength".
Turn 12  Capital rushed the pioneer and started developing a Water shard. Naressa killed a rock spiderling.
Turn 13  Crystal Grove rushed the crystal quarry, and stated a bell tower. Karavox killed an air shrill that was headed towards Crystal Grove. Karavox spotted another wilderness to the West of Crystal Grove. Naressa found a sharp dagger.
Turn 14  Researched "Knowledge", started "Administration". Karavox noticed a krag spawn headed toward Crystal Grove, and returned to the city to defend it.
Turn 15  Karavox successfully defended Crystal Grove, but he immediately spotted an army of shrill headed for the city. Crystal Grove rushed the crystal quarry, and started a bell tower. Nochd found an escape scroll.
Turn 16  Capital grew into a conclave. Crystal Grove rushed the bell tower and started a cleric. Settled Flying Waters on a 3/4/3 tile near a river to the East of Capital. Cast "Enchanted Hammers" and "Inspiration", rushed a logging camp, and started a bell tower.  Settled Factory on a 2/4/- patch in the forest between Capital and Flying Waters. Karavox found some herbs.

I think these four cities are enough as initial expansion.  Crystal Grove will need defending, and the low growth, combined with 30% initial unrest seems to make further pioneer rushing inefficient.

oh you tricked me!  i peeked.

I hardly tricked you. I said very clearly "Nothing to see here. Yet." 

Or are you accusing me of unlicensed use of reverse psychology? I assure you, I did not want looking at my mess in progress.

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But before I really actually start playing, I have to say, I am very underwhelmed by Karavox. Second levels in Magic are a stupid pick, given that you are 99.99% guaranteed to get them on leveling, Cruel is a horrendous weakness, especially for an Empire, and diplomat is one of the weaker professions. But of course, Wealthy is great, and he is a sharp dresser!

The starting position is something some people love, but I'm a fan of materials.  Anyway...

Up Kraxis!

Before you get too far - 983?

Arggh!  I did not see that .983 was out until I crashed on turn 35 or so, and was through the production starvation period. The game just became enjoyable!  I am not restarting, at least not until I read through the changelog. 

---

It looks as if little in the new version would directly affect my particular setup.  I would be getting 3 less research, but it's already just 1/5 of my total, and likely to drop below that. The rest is either irrelevant to me, or affects me negatively, with which I can live.  I'll run with it.  Time for my comments.

1. Karavox is a very poorly designed sovereign. The two points for the second levels in Fire and Water are a waste, the lack of death magic is a pain. The diplomat ability will take a while to be of any use, even when it is fixed.  It has three parts.  One I regard as an exploit and won't use - being able to trade 2 iron for 4 is stupid.  The other is worthless - 20 influence? When I last tried the third, it was expensive and could be resisted. I can hardly see myself spending the influence, let alone risking it. And finally, Cruel is an amazingly, horrifyingly, flabbergastingly terrible weakness, especially leading an Empire, especially with the reduced early production, especially with my poor starting location.  Karavox SuX0Rz, even for a standard sovereign, and that's saying something.

2. The RNG really needs looking into.  I am getting a ton of books and herbs.  Some weapons, but no armor. In my last play-through it was all armor, not a single  weapon for 60 turns.

3. Settling a city next to the wildlands is terrible idea.  It may doom my side.  I had not seen the wildlands when I settled (I probably could have, but must have moved and settled without looking)

Karavox could handle any single shrill from quite early, and can deal with air and fire groups by healing with an item after the initial salvo. But if any shrill lord wanders in, Crystal Grove is toast.  Karavox will need to be level 10+ with elemental resistances and Death magic support before he can tackle one.

4. With every single revision, early production is blatantly nerfed.  It makes me hate the early turns, but I am starting to think that a new player would not, and that in the long run, it makes for a better game.  My hat's off to whoever does balance at Stardock.

I'd say it's worth it this early in the game.

You wouldn't find any objections from me if you got the urge to write in your more flavorful style too

> Things that are immune to magic are really immune to magic (not just with really high spell resist)

I do not cast at ophidians, I beat them to death anyway. Or I try. In my last play-through, ophidians were the one thing that really gave Donya a hard time, and Karavox is not Donya, and will never be, the pudgy twerp.

> Fixed an issue where monsters wouldnt use their special abilities in auto-resolve

I do not auto-resolve, ever.  I do not restore, so I cannot take the risk.

> Monster lairs are now more evenly distributed (lots more monsters are in the mix)

That would have been nice, but it would not have really changed my strategy.

> Inspiration is +1 research instead of +1 per essence

That's the big one, especially with my starting location, which required "Civics" to get off the ground.  Until turn 8, Capital had not achieved anything, and with the new rule, it would have been turn 13 until I could get started. So I would have had my 3 pioneers out the door by turn 16 at the very early - compared to having my three cities by then.

There is no way in Hell I am replaying the first 35 turns in .983 with Karavox.  Guy's a loser amongst losers.  I mean, some standard sovereigns are shitty, but he takes the shitcake.

These all affect the AI and its' strategies though.

Turns 17-40

This close to the Wildlands, Crystal Grove will be under constant attack

Turn 17. Capital rushed the water altar, and started a cleric. Flying Waters rushed the bell tower and started a cleric.  Naressa found a healing nectar.
Turn 18. Researched "Administration", started "Restoration". Crystal Grove rushed cleric, started town hall.  Flying Waters rushed cleric , started tower of dominion. Naressa killed a darkling lurker.
Turn 19. Factory rushed the logging camp, and started a bell tower. Naressa found a shadow dagger.
Turn 20. Researched "Restoration", started "Mining". Karavox found a braided belt and some herbs. Naressa found a champion helm. Flying Waters rushed the tower of dominion, started a workshop. Crystal Grove rushed the town hall, started a workshop.
Turn 21. Nochd found a skath claw and killed some bandits.

Karavox tries to keep the shrills away from Crystal Grove

Turn 22. Karavox identified the wilderness West of Crystal Grove as Curgen's tomb, killed some water shrills, picked "the path of the assassin", and looted a tear of Cyndrum. Nochd looted a bag of gold, and accepted to escort a noblewoman.
Turn 23. Karavox looted a toxic dagger.
Turn 24. Flying Waters finished the workshop, and started training pioneers. Crystal Grove finished the workshop, and started a study. Nochd found a library. Researched "Mining", started "Trading". Capital rushed the cleric, and started a sage. Karavox looted some Pariden Wine, killed some a fire shril, and picked "Dodge I".
Turn 25. Factory rushed the bell tower and started a workshop. Karavox killed two groups of shrills, using all his healing, and picked "Dodge II".

The Empire's cities are shaping all.  Well, apart from Capital

Turn 26. Researched "Trading", started "Training". Karavox got attacked by a group of shrills, then killed some more shrills, depleting his mana reserves in the process. In addition to my road network, a trade road was built across my territory, leading West from Crystal Grove and Northeast from Flying Waters.
Turn 27. Met Magnar. Imperium is to the East Flying Waters. Flying Waters trained a pioneer, and moved on to the next one. Naressa found a quest map. Nochd located an abundance of resources.
Turn 28. Karavox cleared a lair of fire shrills and picked "Apprentice Swordsman".  The pioneers built an outpost surveying an iron deposit and a clay pit. Flying Water started developing the clay pit.
Turn 29. Researched "Training", started "Leatherworking". Crystal Grove finished the study, started developing a fire shard. Karavox found a leather cuirass. Naressa found a balanced short sword.
Turn 30. Playing Waters finished the clay quarry and resumed training the pioneers. Factory finished the workshop, and started a town hall. Karavox looted a mage robe. Nochd promised to kill some rats, and on the way there, spotted some wild horses.  Karavox and Naressa sold what they didn't need. Capital rushed the sage, and started a study.
Turn 31. Crystal guarden finished the fire altar, and started a monument. Flying Waters rushed the pioneer and started a study. Nochd cleared the rat nest, but spotted Ceresa near some libraries and quests, and hurried ahead. Karavox and Naressa joined together and traded items.
Turn 32. Researched "Leatherworking", started "Mounted warfare". Nochd watched Ceresa loot two libraries in a row. Karavox and Neressa agreed to look for the "Alchemy" spell.

Ceresa beat Nochd to some of the library, but he got the quests.

Turn 33. Flying Waters rushed the study and started training a pioneer. Nochd promised to escort a noblewoman, and to deal with the disturbance at a farmhouse. Karavox and Neressa recovered the "Alchemy" spell. Neressa became a mage.
Turn 34. Researched "Mounted warfare", started "Agriculture". Flying Waters rushed a pioneer and started developing an iron mine. Karavox bought a horse, and headed to explore North of Crystal Grove. Naressa's plan was to do the same from Flying Waters, but on foot. Nochd promised to escort a noblewoman home, and to deal with a disturbance at a farmhouse.
Turn 35. Nochd found a library, and received "Burning Blade", because he was next to a troll.
Turn 36. Researched "Agriculture", continued onto "Construction". Crystal Grove finished the guarden, and started developing a crystal crag. Flying Waters finished the iron mine, and started developing a crystal crag. Karavox killed an air shrill.

What's better than kicking troll ass? Doing in to defend a pretty girl.

Turn 37. Nochd got attacked by a troll, picked "Potential II" and looted an enchanted backpack. Factory rushed the town hall, and started a study. Karavox looted a rune tablet, then killed three separate air shrills.
Turn 38. A pioneer build an outpost surveying a clay pit, an Earth shard and a Water shard. Karavox killed some water shrills, and then looted the The Champion's Lance from the lair of a shrill lord!
Turn 39. Crystal Grove finished the Crystal quarry, and started a monument.  Flying water finished the crystal quarry, rushed the clay pit, and started a monument. Nochd got the noblewoman home, and received 300 Gildar.  Capital rushed the study and began a monument. A pioneer settled the city of Stables on a 3/2/2 tile South of the wild horses discovered by Nochd.  Stables received "Enchanted hammers" and "Meditation", rushed the logging camp and started a workshop. Naressa killed some mites, but had to use mana to do so. Karavox found a library.
Turn 40. Researched "Construction", started "Education".  Ceresa expulsed Nochd. Stables rushed the workshop, started a bell tower. Neressa found an assassin knife. Karavox saw the Ironeer champion Gaylyn who was an amazing administrator, but whom he could not hire yet.

At this point, I think I have all the cities I need until I have a long term strategy, i.e. whom will I placate, with whom will I trade, and whom I will conquer.  To do that, thought, I need to scout the other nations.  I find it a bit weird that I have only met two out of seven opponents by turn 40, despite being in the middle.

In any case, some comments:

1. Loot has been toned down in general, which is great.  Still, there's problem with huge monsters wandering off their lairs and leaving things like the champion's lance unguarded. I believe it is the most powerful weapon in the game with +2 damage per level, and 66% ignore armor.

2. AI is much better at collecting items and libraries. Ceresa raced and beat Nochd for a couple of libraries.  He got the quests, but maybe she did not feel she could handle them.  Neither did I, but I know that it's the second stage that's hard...

3. This map is terrible compared to the maps I've played before. I can barely find places to settle.  I do not, as a rule, consider 4/2/2 worth bothering with, but I have not seen three essence, and I seldom see four materials, let alone with any essence.

4. The reduced champion growth, combined with Karavox's general lameness plays hell with my growth.  My outposts take ages to get to level 2. Each of my games feels slower than the previous one.

5. I see a shrill lord wandering near Crystal Grove. Undeterministic monsters are stressful.  If it had destroyed the city when it was a hamlet, it would have been no big loss. If it was guaranteed to leave the city alone, I would have nothing to worry about.  But now, every time I put a Gildar into Crystal Grove, I wonder weather the shrill lord will not just crush it five turns later.

Turns 41-63

Turn 41. Crystal Grove finished the monument and started a mason. Flying Waters finished the monument and started. developing a Death shard. Ceresa paid 80 Gildars tribute. Capital rushed the monument, and started a herbalist. Karavox killed a troll, and picked "Potential II". Naressa looted a band of insight.

Turn 42. Flying Waters grows into a town.  Factory finished the monument and started a mason. Capital suspended work on the herbalist to develop a prestigious location that came inside its sphere of influence. Naressa killed some bandits. Karavox looted "the art of the fist".

Turn 43. Researched "Education",  started "Weaponry".  Flying Water finished the Death Altar, started a mason. Stable rushed the bell tower, started a cleric. Naressa looted leather vambraces. Karavox killed a cave bear.

Turn 44. Pariden built the Merchantcross bazaar. Crystal Grove grew into a town. Flying Waters survived an attack by mites. Nochd sold his loot. Stables rushed the cleric, and started developing an Earth shard.

Turn 45. Neressa found a venemous short sword, and located the Tarthan champion Ulfnir. Nochd completed the "rat nest" quest, got 300 Gildar and picked "path of the assassin". Capital rushed the monument, and resumed work on the herbalist. Stables rushed the Earth altar, and started a town hall.

Karavox arrives in time to save the city of Factory from the troll

Turn 46. Crystal Grove finished the mason, and started a well. Factory rushed the mason and started a study. Nochd bought a horse. Karavox killed a bear and a troll that had been wandering the homelands.

Turn 47. Flying Waters finished the mason, and started a well. Karavox killed a bear, picked "Potential III", and looted a pair of leather vambraces. Notched rode Northwest from Stables, and spotted Resoln outposts and Pariden caravans. He found a braided belt and a pair of leather vambraces.

Turn 48. Contact with Pariden. Crystal Grove finished the well, and started training a pioneer. Karavox headed West along the road crossing the Wildlands.

Procipinee may end up as an enemy, but for now, cooperating with her is a pleasure

Turn 49. Researched "Weaponry", started "Charms". Karavox was attacked by an army of earth shrills. Flying Waters finished the well, and started training a pioneer. Naressa killed some mites. Nochd met a group of Pariden pioneers, and arranged a few trades and research treaty. He then killed some mites and looted a silver flute. Capital rushed a cloister, and resumed working on the herbalist. Stables rushed the town hall, and started a monument.

Turn 50. Contact and research treaty with Altar. Crystal Grove rushed the pioneer and started a grocer. Capital rushed the herbalist, and started a workshop. Karavox looted "From tents to thrones". Nochd killed a stalker, picked "Lethal II", bought a treasure map, and looted a recall scroll and a doom hammer. Naressa looted a compass.

Turn 51. Researched "Charms", started "Shards Harvesting". Factory finished the study, started a lumber yard. Flying Waters rushed the pioneer, and started a lumber yard. Stables finished the monument, and started developing a Water shard. As Stables' infuence expanded, it took control of a nearby Magnar stable. The city of Hunting Lodge was settled near some wild game North of Crystal Grove, and started a workshop. Naressa bought a horse. Nochd killed a troll. Karavox killed an ogre, and looted a telescope and a reinforced chain shirt.

Turn 52. Researched "Shards Harvesting", started "Heroes".  Nochd entered Pariden's lands, and sold the doom hammer. Crystal Grove rushed the grocer, and started an inn. Neressa looted an amulet of the eagle. Karavox killed an ophidian, looted "The adventures of Beorn" and picked "Skilled Swordsman".

Turn 53. Factory grew into a town. Stables finished the Water altar, and started developing an air shard. Hunting Lodge rushed the workshop, and started developing an Earth shard. Karavox killed an army of air shrills, and found a pair of leather boots and a library. Nochd found a guiding spear, a midnight stone, and a dragon hide cloak. He sold the guiding spear, and equipped the rest. Naressa set off to explore the forest North of Crystal Grove. Her horse, compass and amulet of the eagle made that much easier than it had been for Karavox.

Turn 54. Researched "Heroes", started "Craftmaship". Altar expelled Karavox. Naressa destroyed a darkling army, picked "Evoker", and found some Pariden wine.

Amazing sword, but will he ever have the level to use it?

Turn 55. Contact with Yithril. Flying Waters finished the lumber yard, and started developing a Death shard. Stables finished the Air altar, and started upgrading the nearby stables to a ranch. Naressa found "Draginol's journal", sold 10 loads of iron to Procepinee for 200 Gildar, and hired Gaylyn. Gaylyn started building a road towards Hunting Lodge, which rushed the Earth altar and started a mason. Karavox received the Druss blade from a demon after a riddle contest.

Turn 56. Factory finished the lumber yard, and started a grocer. Its influence rejuvenated a 3/2/3 tile. Stables rushed the ranch, and started a mason. Capital rushed the workshop, and started a mason. Gaylyn reached Hunting Lodge, and immediately suppressed any unrest. Karavox found a library. Naressa killed two bears, looted a codex of Hosten, and spotted an Yithril town North of Hunting Lodge.

Turn 57. Crystal Grove finished the inn, and started a lumber yard. Flying Waters finished the Death altar and started developing an iron deposit. Stables rushed the mason, and started a lumber yard.

Turn 58. Naressa killed some wolves and looted a round shield. Nochd killed some mites and a stalker, and picked "Apprentice marksman". Karavox returned to Crystal Grove to kill a crystal spawn and sell a number of his accumulated weapons. Flying Waters rushed the iron mine, and started a pier.

Turn 59. Crystal Grove rushed the lumber yard and started a study. Flying Waters rushed the pier and started training a pioneer. Stables rushed the lumber yard, and started a smelter. Karavox destroyed an air shrill army, picked "Dodge III", and looted   . Nochd destroyed a wildling rider's army and found a library.

Turn 60. Researched "Craftmanship", started "Animal husbandry". Signed Trade treaty with Magnar. Procipinee had Nochd escorted to the border, where he met and recruited Janusk the Merchant. Flying Waters rushed the pioneer and started a mill. Hunting Lodge rushed the mason and started a bell tower. Karavox killed an air shrill. Naressa found a wolf token and used it.

Turn 61. Yithril expells Naressa. Hunting lodge was attacked by shrills, but Gaylyn fought them off. Factory finished the grocer and started a bareky. The pioneer constructed an outpost finally linking Stables to the rest of the Empire. Gaylyn relocated to Crystal Grove, because an army of shrills was poised to attack it.

Turn 62. Crystal Grove was attacked by shrills. Gaylyn helped fight them back, picked "Earth Disciple", and went back to Hunting Lodge. Naressa continued into Yithril's lands, killed some mites and ruffians, picked "Death Disciple", and reached the outskirts of Ahilga. Karavox found a rusty cuirass, killed a crag spawn, and entered the wildlands to the South, which turned out to be the Bhinadmi Fissure. Nochd cleared a air shril lair, picked "Skilled Marksman", found the Anguine Edge, and sold it to Resoln. Stables rushed the smelter, and started a foundry. Hunting Lodge rushed the bell tower, and started a study.

Turn 63. Verga had Naressa escorted to the border. The Gilden border. Naressa estabished diplomatic relations, and headed home. Karavox found a gladiator armor, killed an ogre, and picked "Quick". He met the Wraith champion Drakmir, but did not think that hiring him was a good use of 234 Gildar. Nochd bought a treasure map, which led him to a copy of "Growing a thicker skin".

And then, it finally happened: a Shrill Lord left the wildlands, and headed towards Hunting Lodge. Gaylyn shook it off its feet with a "Tremor",  but all she'd done was buy time. Karavox and Naressa rushed to help... but things looked grim.

Ok, this AAR is NOT working for me.  Not because I am about to get my city stomped into the ground on turn 60ish, but because the whole thing is boring to write. I am enjoying Frogboy's AAR, and I cannot even enjoy my own game, because I am writing "Karavox killed two bears, looted a rusty armor, took a dump, and wiped his fat butt".

So, there will be some changes here.

First, no more blow by blow accounting. With .984 around the corner, no one needs my balance babbles about .982

Second, I'm going into character.

Third, I'll only write about high points of the game.  Or maybe I'll attack the Shrill lLord, fail, lose Hunting Lodge and rage quit.

Aaaaaaanyway, if someone is still reading this, tell me what you think.

Hehehe... well Tuidjy I think you should keep in character. With your assessments as a separate reply.

Sounds like a plan. I recommend just focusing on those things you find important to the story or game and share. In character is a pretty cool read. I enjoy these plus it helps get some key points across to the devs.

The hunting of the Shrill

The city of Hunting Lodge was the Empire's newest settlement, but its citizens knew that they were high in their Emperor's thoughts.  Weren't they the first line of defense against the twisted hordes of Yithril?  Didn't they have the most skilled governor in the Kraxis Empire?  Didn't the city often receive Imperial grants to speed the construction of important facilities? The Hunters, as they liked to call themselves, were loyal to Karavox and proud to belong to his Empire.

Hunting Lodge kept patrols in the forests to the North, watching for Trog invaders.  But the first trial came from the West.  The citizens had heard about the monsters streaming out of Curgen's Tomb. The city governor, Gaylyn, would sometimes rush to Crystal Grove and return with tales of repelling yet another shrill attack.  Some foolish Hunters wished that a shrill would come by their city, so that they could impress their women putting it down.

A shrill did wander by. A Shrill Lord! Five times as tall as Earth shrill, hundreds of times heavier, and black as night, it somehow made it nearly to the city walls before someone alerted the governor.

Gaylyn was a veteran, and not one to panic. Her first task was to use a "Tremor" spell to shake the ground under the Shrill Lord's legs, and bring the beast to its knees.  Gaylyn was a skilled Earth mage, and could keep the Shrill immobilized as long as the Imperial mana reserves held, but she would not have a prayer against the Shrill Lord in battle.

So, after assuring her subjects that she had the situation under control, Gaylyn asked for the city's two fastest riders. One was sent North, to summon Neressa, the Quendar Death mage who was scouting the lands of Trogs amd Ironeers. The other sought Emperor Karavox Himself, who was exploring the Bhinadmi fissure to the South. 

For weeks Gaylyn stood under Hunting Lodge's walls, hands buried in the dirt, sending a tremor at the Shrill Lord every time it turned toward the city.  The Hunters got used to the constant vibrations... until one day, the ground stopped shaking.  The Shrill Lord found its feet, and rushed toward the terrified citizens.

All seemed lost, when the Shrill Lord's legs frosted over, and its footing became as unsure as it had been before the tremors stopped.  The beast kept stumbling forward, but its motions slowed greatly. Furthermore, something went wrong with its eyes - it smashed into a grove of dead trees and had obvious trouble extricating itself.

Suddenly a man in Tarth gladiator armor rode into the grove.  Instead of striking the monster, he started cutting the trees a few feet off the ground.  The trees had been petrified since the cataclysm, but the man's strokes went clear through, leaving jagged spikes at the level of the Shrill Lord's belly.  Once the grove resembled a bed of oversize nails, the man started attacking the Shrill Lord. 

The beast was half-blind, frozen, slowed, and hobbled by the spikes, but still kept coming. It could not catch the rider, who cut it ever time it came near. Out of nowhere, a black wolf appeared behind the shrill, snapped at its legs joints, and dashed out of the way as the monster turned. The rider and the wolf worked together to bring the Death of a thousand cuts to the Shrill Lord.

As the beast went down for the last time, a cheer went up from the citizens, and they rushed towards the half-naked rider to congratulate him, but were brought short by their governors shout:

Hold, fools! On your knees before your Emperor!

Well, I'm going to pat myself on the back here, because on turn 67, I took down a Shrill Lord.

I had been keeping it 'Tremored' for 5 seasons, until I could get Karavox and Neressa to Hunter's Lodge.  Before the fight, I "Froze" it, so that its move would go down to one, allowing me to keep everyone bug Karavox out of harm's way.

Karavox opened with "Slow", Naressa with "Blindness".  It took three casts of "Blindness" before one stuck, but as soon as it did, Karavox moved next to the shrill, and "Fortified". 

Note that there was still a 1/25 chance that Karavox would get hit.  It happened twice. The first blow was a glancing one, and Karavox ate some pork.  The second one was a serious one, so Karavox drank a healing elixer, and Naressa started casting "Flame Dart"... that made a dent in my mana reserves, to go with the one from all the "Tremors".

Whenever Lobo would get two moves between the shrill lord acting, it would dash in, use "Deadly Bite" and dash out.  It did quite a bit of damage, actually.  I wish wolves' attack increased with levels.  I love using them, although they always die at some point...

Your AARs are so much better when you write them in character :D  I still read it for your assessments, but it's nice to actually want to read what's going on in between :)  Anyway, just to let you know, things aren't any faster paced in .983, and while it took me a while to get used to it, I'm now at turn ~90 and at war with two separate Empires, with two others paying me tribute.  I still haven't met every faction, but the diplomacy changes from your game to the most recent patch are huge.

The Death of Abeix

Abeix had been roaming the world before a titan had ever put foot on it.  These days, the elemental lord's domain had shrunk down to a mile wide fissure, but he still guarded it jealously.  Many magic users had attempted to secure the power of the Pillar of Mascrinthus for themselves, but whenever anyone approached, Abeix rose from the depths and smeared their flesh and blood over the remains of their predecessors.

The riders that approached that day didn't appear very different from earlier groups.  Abeix felt their coming in the crystals' vibrations, and snaked his way toward the Pillar.  He liked to kill all trespassers as close to the Earth vortex as possible.  Maybe he enjoyed allowing his victims a glance of what they sought. Maybe he used their distraction to secure the advantage of surprise. Or maybe he viewed killing them as a sacrifice to the power of Earth. 

No matter.  When the riders spread in a file to negotiate the narrow bridge to the pillar, Abeix arose from the depths of Earth and roared his challenge. 

The riders did not seem overly surprised.  In a businesslike manner, they wove their enchantments around the Elemental Lord. He felt his vision blur, and his body stiffen.  Two of the riders started darting around him, striking him with their puny blades, but he was not worried. The blades barely scratched the crystals embedded in his skin - it would take a lot of sword strikes to bring him down.

Unconcerned, Abeix kept lunging at his enemies.  His blows were mostly missing, but the first that landed forced its target to flee away from the fissure, and stay away from the fight.  Abeix knew it was only a matter of time until another intruder ended beneath his massive body.

One of riders must have realized the same thing. It spurred its mount away.  Abeix rose high above the ground, preparing to crush his last remaining opponent. 

But the sound of retreating hoof beats changed. The second rider was coming back, rushing straight toward Abeix! Was it crazy?  Did it think that the impact of its puny body could injure an Elemental Lord?

Abeix was still contemplating the tiny Wraith's hubris as the Champion's Lance shattered the layer of crystals, the thick skin, and finally, the Elemental Lord's heart.

I like the idea of turn-by-turn reports, but I dont think you need them each turn, just overall say "saw a shrill lord at turn 200" or 50 years into the game works too (I think its 4 turns on a year, dam these last few days have my mind spinning upside down).

I really enjoy reading the in-character stuff too, so just add a few important notes halfway out of character, meaby call it "the sovereign received the letter: Start construction on a lumber-mill in "Hunting Lodge", will take approximately 4 years to complete". (A very big lumber-mill apparently).

But as I said before, if you can't be bothered, you can't be bothered, I would rather you have fun with your game than go through any tedious subject you don't want to do.

Sadly I can't follow anything these last few days due to life being in the way.

Sincerely
~ Kongdej

The Autumn of 184 A.C. was a time of prosperity and optimism.  The Kraxis Empire had finished settling the recently liberated wildlands around Curgen's Tomb and Bhinadmi Fissure.  The four new cities were growing along nicely, and were becoming self-supporting. Technology treaties had been established with every known power, exotic goods were available all across the Empire, and tales of Karavor, Naressa and Nochd's adventures made the citizenry feel secure.  The granaries were bursting at the seams, unrest was nearly unheard of, and not a single monster could be found within the borders of Kraxis.

As usual, trouble started in the East. 

Magnar accused Tarth of harboring escaped Quendar slaves, and demanded their return. It never became clear whether there was any truth to the accusation. Before the tiny city state could even respond, Magnar declared war. Resoln declared its support for Magnar, and joined the war against Tarth.

Procipinee considered supporting Tarth, but decided that she did not want to tackle two Empires which were already working together. Instead she eyed the city of Stables. It controlled two clay pits, two iron mines, and a horse ranch, and was the only Kraxis presence on the Eastern Continent.  Procipinee thought that the tales of Kraxis heroics were mere propaganda, and knew that Karavox kept no standing army.  She declared war on Kraxis, and led her armies toward Stables.

Magnar thought that the fall of Stables was preordained, and hated thinking of the fortress in Pariden hands. He knew that he could simply brush Tarth off the map at his leisure, and decided to snatch Stables before Pariden could.  He proclaimed that Procipinee's cause against Karavox was just, and joined her war against Kraxis.

Procipinee saw that Magnar's armies were much closer to Stables than hers.  She warned Magnar to turn back.  When he did not, she declared war on him.

No one knows why Verga declared war on Magnar.  Maybe he hated seeing an Empire attack another.  Maybe he was wise enough to bet on Kraxis.  Maybe he wanted a fight and did not care whom he fought.  In any case, Yithril went to war with Magnar.

It took less than a month.  By the Winter of 184, every single nation with a presence on the East continent was at war.

The war on the Eastern Continent

Karavox took the aggression in stride. If he was surprised to find his lands targeted by both a Kingdom and an Empire, he certainly did not show it. His quick and composed response made his subjects confident in the final victory.

His first action was to call the Yithril ambassador, and trade 50 loads of iron.  With the Gildar from the sale, he set up a command center in Stables. He also rushed the construction of the Earth and Air monuments in the former wildlands, and thus boosted the power of the Empire's enchantments. And then, before the ink on his orders to the builders was dry, Karavox belted the Druss blade, and rode East in the company of Neressa the Death mage.

While Karavox was riding towards the front lines, Gaylyn was placing the city of Stables on a war footing. She supervised the construction of the command center, replaced the "Enchanted Hammers" and "Inspiration" spells with auras of Grace and Might, and started personally training the first Krax commoner troops - the elusive lancers.

The first Krax trained troop, but one that will always remain viable

Every single elusive lancer was an elite warrior. Their training combined the battlefield philosophy of the Empire two greatest heroes. Like Karavox, they were adept at fortifying their positions and avoiding enemy attacks. Like Nochd, they were experts with a lance, able to charge at full speed and deliver an armor shattering blow.

Bottled by Karavox, flanked by Gaylyn's lancers, they will all die

The Quendar were massing their troops in the valley West of Stable. They seemed to hesitate between besieging the fortress, or striking for the rich Krax lands in the Western continent.  Their indecision allowed Karavox and Gaylyn to converge on them in the Spring of 185. The valley ran red with blood. Caught between Karavox's Druss blade and Gaylyn's elusive lancers, a dozen Quendar armies, including slaves and pioneers, were slaughtered. 

Karavox did not allow his enemies to recover from the disaster. The two groups joined, and followed the retreating Magnar champions to Imperium. The fortress was mighty, but it could not stand to the combined might of Karavox, Naressa, Gaylyn, and the 1st Elusive Lancers regiment. The Quendar population was so awed by the legendary champions that Imperium's unrest was kept at a minimum, and the former capital seemed eager to join the Kraxis Empire.

Descent into Madness

There was something strange about the way Karavox was conducting the war in the East. The Krax had handily won every battle.  Three regiments of elusive lancers were ranging around Imperium and Stable, stomping Quendar and Amarians into the ground.  But instead of conquering the enemy cities, and bringing the war to an end, Karavox contented himself with slowly converting enemy outposts to his cause.

After a particularly one-sided skirmish, a lancer, drunk on victory, yelled to Karavox: "On to New Pariden! What are we waiting for!?" Realizing what he had done, the lancer went silent, and stood still as his comrades edged away from him. But Karavox only smiled gently, and answered: "The betrayal. The sneak attack. The knife in the back."

The exchange was the talk of the camp for many evenings, but it wasn't until the spring of '87 that the troopers understood what Karavox had meant.



Terrible news came from the West. Without provocation, Lord Relias had invaded the Empire and had overran the cities of Dragon Lair and Curgen's Tomb.  Hundreds of troops were streaming out of Altar, and the cities of East and West Fissure seemed indefensible.  Janusk the merchant was seen riding out of West Fissure, and there was talk that everything was lost.

Even in Karavox's camp far to the East, the word "Disaster" could be heard... if only in whispers, for the time being.  Naressa felt the dark mood, and entered Karavox's tent to find the Emperor bent over his collapsible desk.

"My Lord, we need to address the troops about the unexpected developments in the West!"

"Unexpected? Unwelcome, maybe, but hardly unexpected, nor unmanageable.  I always expect the worst of monarchs, and I am seldom disappointed. You are just in time for your orders, Naressa, or rather, General Darkflash."

Karavox smiled at Naressa's surprise and continued: "I'm leaving you in command of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Elusive. Your orders are to capture enemy resources, destroy enemy troops, and protect the pioneers and outposts expanding our sphere of influence. Under no circumstances are you to capture cities, or risk the loss of a lancer company.  Your task is to make sure that Pariden, Magnar, Resoln and Tarth fight amongst themselves for as long as it takes us to handle the trouble back West. I know you can handle it. Good Luck!"

As he finished speaking, Karavox grabbed the Druss Blade, produced a scroll of Recall, and vanished in a flash of light.



Naressa proved to be a capable leader. Any Pariden or Magnar troops that ventured into her range were promptly dispatched, including an army led by Queen Procipinee herself. As a matter of fact, neither Naressa  nor her lancers were ever endangered, or even impressed by the opposition.

The news from the West were quite good as well.  The border cities kept changing sides, because Karavox and Nochd could not be everywhere. Still, the champions of Kraxis were decimating Relias' troops. Soon enough, Karavox had sought out and destroyed every Altar army that had invaded the Kraxis homelands. Nochd even managed to capture an artisan town, and renamed it Factory II.

But there was only so long that Verga could watch a good fight without wanting to join it.

In the winter of '87, Yithril declared war on both Altar and Kraxis. In a lightning attack he captured the city of Dragon Lair, and sent a column of juggernauts into the heart of the Empire.  

Karavox rode hard toward the juggernauts and intercepted the column near the walls of Garden Grove. Before he could engage, he was accosted by a wildeyed Wraith messanger, who spoke without any preliminaries: "We are being crushed by Pariden. Oracle Ceresa asks for your help!"

Karavox could not help but smirk "Are you sure this is the right time? And anyway, in a few moments, I may be no longer able to help anyone."

The envoy waved at the towering juggernauts dismissively "Them? You kill the Jugs by galloping past, and cutting them before they can take a swing.  You will cast Slow on all of them, but by the time you're done, you'll have realized they're sluggish enough that you could have saved some of the mana.  The warg riders hate the Jugs, and will join you for the asking. You won't suffer any harm, and before the day is over, you will have significantly helped our war effort...  but we discuss this only after the fight."

Karavox had heard about the insane sorceress, and clearly, she was pretty good at surrounding herself with likeminded people.  Chuckling to himself, he headed towards the juggernauts.



He was no longer chuckling as he rode back, unscratched, accompanied by three warg riders, and regretting he had spent any mana.  He gave the Wraith a hard look, and suggested "This looks like a good time for you to explain yourself."

"Both your people and ours have been burned by Empire and Kingdom alike.  You and the Oracle will sign an alliance. As both of you treasure your self-image more than life itself, the alliance will last until the end. Today, you'll make available to me all the secrets your researchers have uncovered in years. In my saddlebags, I have the gold you will use to buy yourself a dozen years of peace from Lord Markin. This will give our nations a chance to survive the war that has engulfed the continent."

"An alliance which will last until the end... Care to elaborate about the end?"

"The Oracle's vision did not extend that far."

"How inconvenient. What if I ride for Dragon Lair without wasting any more time here?"

"You will not."

Karavox was tempted to prove the Wraith wrong, but he had caught a glimpse of gold from the heavily loaded saddlebags. Whether or not Ceresa's gift of prophecy was real did not really matter, as long as her gold was pure. Kraxis did not need Gilden amongst its enemies, and Ceresa's gold would buy a temporary respite. Sharing the research seemed devoid of risk, as Ceresa did not have enough of production base to be a threat.

As for the alliance... Well, Karavox had been betrayed many times, but never by a mad sorceress. Maybe you had to be mad to value your word more than self-interest. If so, Karavox didn't want to be sane.

He certainly did not feel quite sane as he found himself doing exactly what the Wraith had spelled out. But it was a good plan, wasn't it?

By the beginning of the year 188 since the Cataclysm, every single nation on the continent was at war.

This for some out of character comments.

1. I am starting to get impressed with the game balance.  This war is very entertaining.  I'm on the defensive, mostly because I do not have enough units to go around.  I have yet to lose a fight with my main champions, but there have been a few close calls - Nochd is out of potions, and Karavox has only one left. Money is tight, but not too tight. Resources are another matter.

I am very happy with the elusive lancers, which are extremely versatile. Dodge 35+ (55+ when fortified) decent armor for turn 120, and very respectable damage.  Their only problem is that they cost 22 crystal per rider, i.e. I need 110 crystals to build another squad.

I can also theoretically build elusive wargs, which have even higher dodge, but I am saving my wargs (all acquired through trade) for archer mounts.

The enemy troops are interesting. Being in the middle of the map, I get attacked by pretty much everyone, all the time.

Magnar insists on building slave based troops. They miss my elusive lancers 90% of the time even without Naressa blinding them. Tarth is actually kicking their ass as well.

Pariden just does not have the production base to send much my way. Their troops are mostly crystal based, slow, and end up on a lance's point before they can act. I really would like a ceasefire with them, because I'd love to trade for crystal and spellbooks. They do fine against Resoln, though, so I have to send some lancer to cleanse them when they get to close to Hagdust.

Yithril's juggernauts are surprisingly ineffective.  Lacking both move and initiative, they chase my people on the battlefield, and get nailed between actions.  Not a surprise with Nochd or Karavox, but even the lancers are picking them off without trouble and even city militia can more or less avoid them. Of course, without heroes or lancers to actually kill them, avoidance is useless.

Altar is giving me the most trouble with balanced troops.  Nochd has had a few close calls.  Despite 40+ armor, he can't afford to get hit, so he mostly avoids the enemy until he gets a double strike, and usually kills his target. By the way, Altar has fielded a storm dragon, and both Karavox and Nochd are avoiding that stack until Naressa gets there.

I'm very happy with this game, and may come back to write some updates even after .984 is released.

Two things that really bother me are Tremor lasting only one turn, and troop upgrades being broken in at least two separate ways.

Juggernauts pack a punch, but they are slow and lack defense.  My current game, I gave them golem shields and the big one-handed Gilden hammers, along with some magic gear and replaced their maul ability with charge.  This created a pretty solid offensive unit, but still fairly vulnerable.  Going to be fun to play against those units in my next game.