[Spoilers] Cometh the Messiah - Varn Gosam and the Malakim

[fire&ice]

About the Heroic Warrior, Serdoa must have gotten the event ages ago, because he managed to promote that guy combat 5, Heroic Str 2 and Heroic Defense 2. Nine promotions, which needs more than 82 xp!

Last turn, I decided this guy had to go, because he could have easily picked off every unit of mine while fortifying his other troops in the stack on the hill. I had to sacrifice a C2/Shock Priest to kill him, but I think it was worth it.

Odds and who died. please

[Ilios]

Odds and who died. please

The C2/Shock Priest only had 10% odds, but managed to damage the Heroic Warrior to around 4 Strength.

I then used another Priest (C1/Shock) to kill it. Had about 50% odds, so basically a coin flip, which I won.

[Ilios]

As if things weren't already interesting enough...

Hey there,


It's been a while since last we talked, so I decided to send you a message.

As you've probably already noticed, the Balseraph attack has turned into a dogpile, with Calabim units joining the fray.

I'll be blunt, and ask you directly: Do I need to be worried on my southern border as well?

I hope you aren't!

I'll soon have an extra source of Gold, should you be interested.

Anyway, should you wish to discuss anything else, feel free to send me a message.


Regards,

Ilios


I hate to say this... but the answer is yes =(


I've been threated by some other civs in the game to attack you, among which includes the clowns, the vampires and also the wild tundramen who passed along a message.


I was told that unless i help out, they would ensure that i would have no other place to extend to, and that once you've been disposed off it'll be my turn =(


They did reassure me that they'll allow me take a city or two from you though, and they after this there will be peace for a while.


So.... i'm sorry =(

Uh oh...

I sent another email asking her to reconsider, but she replied her hands were tied.

This is turning into quite the dogpile, isn't it?

[Gaspar]

It'd be a more interesting dogpile for the lurkers if you all were playing/updating more frequently.

Anything new on the Clown/Vampire front?

[Square Leg]

This is turning into quite the dogpile, isn't it?

It would appear so! Are there any sign of Launen forces yet and how do you plan to prepare for a such an attack?

[Ilios]

It'd be a more interesting dogpile for the lurkers if you all were playing/updating more frequently.

Yes, and will become even more sad once I'm gone and you're all left with Serdoa's and Darrell/Sunrise's "minimalistic" approach to thread updating...

It would appear so! Are there any sign of Launen forces yet? and how do you plan to prepare for a such an attack?

As of last turn (T100), no Lanun forces were in view.

how do you plan to prepare for a such an attack?

Pray, very hard...

Seriously though, I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I didn't have a lot of time on my hands and frankly, I was feeling a bit down because of the attack.

To answer Gaspar's second question, the Calabim stack has joined the Balseraphs on the hill tile. A C1/Shock Priest had below 75% chances of killing the top unit of the stack (a C2 Dwarven Axeman), so I decided to hold off thinning out the opposing troops.

I've converted to Way of the Forest (two cities going into unhappiness), and three Lightbringers have been upgraded to Priests of Leaves. The have already summoned Tigers and have been Shield of Faith'ed.

The Capital has started on a Siege Workshop, which will finish end of next turn thanks to some chops. I'll have enough overflow to finish a Catapult at the end the turn after, by sacrificing a zero exp Soldier of Kilmorph.

Two more Lightbringers will finish in one and two turns, who will move towards the Capital, and be upgraded to Priests as well.

As for what I'll do against the Lanun invasion, well, it depends what Amelia will show up with. I'm guessing Saverous will be joined by some Bronze Warriors, which I think I'll be able to handle. (my Kingdom for Destroy Undead!).

It also depends on how well the three teams manage to coordinate their attacks. If that Calabim/Balseraph monster stack decides to start moving further into my lands, and at the same time Lanun forces appear from the south, I think I'm pretty screwed, and will have to concede Horus without a fight, hoping that Amelia keeps the city instead of razing it.

Anyway, I've probably left out some stuff, I'll try to post some pics as well tonight.

Side note: My Power rating is through the roof, so I think Priests are worth at least 10K Power.

[DaveV]

Side note: My Power rating is through the roof, so I think Priests are worth at least 10K Power.

Looks like 15K for Kilmorph, Leaves and OO, 12K for Order, Empyrean, and Veil (from the iPower numbers in CIV4UnitInfos.xml).

[Ilios]

Looks like 15K for Kilmorph, Leaves and OO, 12K for Order, Empyrean, and Veil (from the iPower numbers in CIV4UnitInfos.xml).

Hmm, so not the best units to build if you want to mask your Power rating...

Anyway, I owe you some screenshots, so here they are. I've had to replay the turn, so I might have forgotten some stuff I did or moved the first time around.

First off, an overview map:



As you can see, the combined Calabim/Balseraph stack hasn't got any really worrying units, but it makes up for that by being very very big...

I've circled the Priest/Tiger stack, hidden from view (at least, if Uberfish isn't providing the enemy with tactical information).

I forgot to mention earlier, but I plan on promoting my 10+ exp Priests to March, so I can hit that stack and move back out, healing in the process. I think I should be able to get C2/Shock/March on most K Priests soon.

Techwise, I considered and dropped a couple of ideas.

Empyrean and Chalid: I'd need to pick up Way of the Wise (280 beakers), Writing (380), Horseback Riding (360), Trade (400), Honor (700) and Religious Law (2400). = too expensive

Rangers: Only need to pick up Animal Handling, but again, very expensive at 1800 beakers. Lightbringer -> Disciple of Leaves -> Ranger would cost about 130 gold per upgrade. I'm hesitant, would take too long to research, too expensive.

Camel Archers: needs Horseback Riding (360) and Stirrups (800). I'd need to build a Stable somewhere. Again, heavy on the upgrade costs, I already have mobility with the Priests.

Ok, I've put a turn into Sanitation, but I think it might be a better idea to head for Warfare first, so my units can take the City Garrison promo, and I have option to switch to Military State Conquests/Civics.

If things look really grim I'll just switch to God King and Conquest and maybe Mil State (does anyone know exactly how drafing works in FFH? Which unit can be drafted etc, which building is used to draft, eg if I have a Stable and an Archery Range, which unit is drafted?).

Here's a shot of the Malakim Armed Forces (MAF):



And demographics:



Power:



I'd be surprised if the Calabim can send a lot more at the moment to be honest.

So, any questions? Any screens you'd like me to show?

Oh and the Elves built the Form of the Titan. I think Uberfish will be the one to beat once I've bled the fighting teams.

[Mardoc]

Lots of questions! But none that I can think of how to phrase in a manner that's both 100% spoiler free and 100% non-suggestions. So, um, just know that I'm on the edge of my seat over here and will appreciate any details you care to share.

It's worse because I'm rooting for you, and I've found that's when I'm most likely to slip in other games, so I'm keeping my lips sealed as much as I can bear.

[NobleHelium]

Hey, can you give us the entire list of technologies that you have so far?