Dawn of the Grog: Early Age game (in progress)

[Huw the Poo]

I'll keep my eye on the timer in case you have any technical issues.  Don't forget to make sure your new machine has copies of the mods and map this game is using.

Thanks mate, it shouldn't be an issue though hopefully.  I've played the occasional turn in Windows before so I don't anticipate any problems.  I intend to send in at least one turn today. :)

[Huw the Poo]

Byrdman - what a fantastic battle we just had!  I can't believe I won it after an early rout of my sacred units (with supposedly boosted morale  ::)).  It seems clear you're about to conquer me though. :(

[undercovergeek]

byrdmans in a game and hes not my neighbour? i thought he and ubercat HAD to be next to me..............

learnt last turn to always check the orders before pressing go - sent 3 600 gold pieces commanders into battle without any armies - they got mushed - sigh

[byrdman57]

Byrdman - what a fantastic battle we just had!  I can't believe I won it after an early rout of my sacred units (with supposedly boosted morale  ::)).  It seems clear you're about to conquer me though. :(

That was a rather dramatic battle. I think if my dudes had stuck it out instead of running like pansies, we would have won. I do agree that I'm about to conquer you though :)

[byrdman57]

The second battle was much more lopsided.  ;D

[Philippe]

I have a basic question about magic.

I'm researching a certain school of magic, and take a look to see what spells are available to me in that school.

The spells are listed in three colors: white, greyed-out, and purple.

The white spells all show up at levels that I have researched, so white obviously means I know it and can use it, and greyed-out must mean I don't know it yet.

But every now and again a spell that I would expect to show up as white shows up as purple.  At first I thought this meant I was missing necessary magic gems,  but I'm looking at one right now that is at a level in that school that I've already researched, and that I have all the necessary gems for.

At one point I thought that it might have something to do with multiple paths, but there are other multiple path spells that show up in white.

Anybody know what it means when a spell is highlighted in purple? 

Offhand I'm not sure if there's any way to tell from the name that a spell is a ritual, global, or battlefield spell.

[Huw the Poo]

It means it's a national spell.  You can't tell from the name whether a spell is a ritual or not, but I'm sure you've noticed that rituals are marked as such in the spell descriptions.

[JasonPratt]

Also, if a spell affects globally, the description will tend to indicate this in various ways: anything that affects more than one province or all provinces with dominion or which lasts until the caster dies tends to be a global spell. (There are exceptions, like province domes, but while those last until the caster dies, it won't say an opponent can dispel it: being able to dispel something that lasts until the caster dies otherwise is a sign of a global enchantment. Also the description will sometimes just say "global".)

Ditto for a battlefield spell, if the description says "battlefield" or indicates that something affects an opponent directly, that's a battlefield spell.

[Ogaburan]

Also, dont rely on the description of the spells... better use this;
http://dom3-mod-inspector.googlecode.com/svn/branches/i-s-u/index.html?mod=CB1.94.dm&page=spell

[Ubercat]

I've noticed that any spell which states the amount of fatigue incurred by casting it is a battlefield spell. Fatigue would be irrelevant for a ritual, as the caster presumably has the rest of the month to rest and recover.

[Philippe]

This issue came up in the only other multiplayer game I've played, but I never got around to asking the question.

Suppose you have a fortified city and a laboratory in the same province.

And apart from province defense, the only thing you have there is a gaggle of sages conducting research.

When a horde of slathering green-eyed monsters eventually shows up intent on reducing your ivory tower to a puddle of slime, what exactly happens?

The PD shows up on the battlefield, of course, but what about the sages who are essentially useless in combat?

Do they drop their books and run to get slaughtered on the battlefield, or do they stay behind their desks with their noses in their books until the slathering monsters burst into the room?

Assuming that the laboratory and other research facilities are inside the town walls, I would prefer to keep them at their desks until the last, poignant moment.  If nothing else, doing research is a good way to keep your mind off how hungry you are during a siege.

If, on the other hand, the game system is assuming that research needs to be conducted in a suburban executive park, then it's fair to assume that at the first sign of the enemy they'll drop their books and take up their useless places on the battlefield.

Anybody know if researchers stay behind the walls during a battle?

Assuming that they decide that building a wall with their own bodies is the most useful thing they can do,  is there any way to make sure that they survive the battle?  If you give them battlefield retreat orders, will they run back inside the fortress and be safe, or will they retreat to a neighboring province and possibly get slaughtered?

[Ubercat]

Everybody except PD stays behind the walls, unless you have ordered them to patrol. If there wasn't a fort there, then yes, they would get slaughtered unless you had stunningly good luck.

[undercovergeek]

Everybody except PD stays behind the walls, unless you have ordered them to patrol. If there wasn't a fort there, then yes, they would get slaughtered unless you had stunningly good luck.

you can set your mages to reatreat for their battlefield action IF you dont want them to fight - as long as theres a retreat option theyll flee

[Phobos]

Yeah...those monkeys will mess you up.

Their commander has a Soul Contract, a 70 gem piece of gear that allow him to spawn a free devil every turn.  With the number of devils in that province now, direct combat will not be effective unless you have a significant screen of scrubby units in front of your heavies.

Assassination is your best option.  Without a unit capable of leading those devils (demons require the undead leadership ability, granted by the Contract), they will rout immediately.

[Philippe]

I've finished my turn, except for one minor detail.

As soon as I hear back from someone I'll send it in.