[Spoiler] Playing with Magic, Amurites only!

[Jkaen]

Think I will ded lurk this, and see how amurites should be played!

The only downside to eyes v hawks is that eyes cannot be transfered to other cities and scout on the same turn.

[Amelia]

Jkaen = Welcome to the cave of ancestors. Please take a sit while Dain shows the power of magic.

While it's true that cannot be relocated is a major downside, it doesn't really matter for the Amurites since everyone should be able to cast it.

Edit: And erm, even the most craziest Amurite out there will tech to say, copper warriors for defense, so this is probably not a good indicator of how Amurites should be played!

Editedit: Hmm i haven't explained why i picked the Amurites yet. Let's see.

First, banned civs were Kuriorates (not that anyone wants to play them anymore after PB...), Luchuirp and Grigori (damn).

I refuse wholeheartedly to play elves and the Khazad, so they were out.
Vampires just don't interest me. Out.
I'm playing Lanun already, Out.

That left

Amurites
Bannor
Balseraphs
CoE
Doviello
Elohim
Hippus
Malakim
Sheaim
Sidar

I really didn't want to play a rush civ, so Hippus /Doviello / CoE were out (Tasunke means RUSH).
Malakim without Varn was just outrageous.
As much as i liked the Sidar, i think i would wait for Sareln's mod before trying them out. Just too much of a hill to climb currently.

Amurites/Bannor/Balseraphs/Elohim/Sheaim.

I wanted to try out mages, so that made Amurites first.
If i couldn't get Mages, i would have went with Capria of the Bannor (Second pick). Playing around with religions is fun.
Perpentach was third, just for the fun of it.

(Elohim needs to conquer others to gain their special traits, something which i'm bad at doing. Sheaim... fire zombies and death mages don't appeal to me. I prefer more... variety =) )

So that's it.

[Square Leg]

I am a big fan of the Amurites and Dain. Good luck. You have IMO, the best hero in the game.... Discuss!

[Amelia]

I think i discussed it plenty enough in my magic discussion =)

Basically, i'll swarm opponents with blasts of air, and rows of Angels and Demons working together to bring down the enemy (Hosts and Pit Beasts).

Other tactics include scorching enemy cities into wastelands, Blinding Light + Arcane Laguna to stop enemy from moving anymore, every unit doubling as a hawk with magic eyes, stoneskin on all priests and mages, and setting fire to elven woodlands with fast units (i'll be in and out before they notice).
And burning away all jungle in my area so they become burnt forests, which means mining can chop them.

Heck, i can probably set fire to a forest outside the elven borders, and it'll spread into their beloved forests.

Oh, and any undead unit near me (Spectre) will get a dosage of destroy undead, followed by tons of angels swarming after the casters (vampire).

At least, that's the plan, let's see if it works on practice!

[Amelia]

Now, let's talk Religions.



I think i would probably have to go for this first. I realized upgrading adepts to mages take money, so the extra income will be handy.
Shield on Faith on the Hosts/Pit Beasts won't hurt either.



This will probably be Religion 2. What's better than Shield of Faithed angels and demons? Blessed Shield of Faithed angels and demons, of course =)

With that said, can you actually bless demons? Wouldn't be surprised if you can't.



Religion 3. Hint: Hemah plays a big part here.

I might skip either Order or OO, (or both!) depending on how the game plays out, but RoK seems a must. (Otherwise, mages might refuse to work, due to lack of money!) That means i need Mining =(

[Selrahc]

That means i need Mining =(

What.. your plan was to get arcane lore before *mining*?

[Amelia]

Exactly!

I wanted Festivals / CoL for the Agris combo, then i wanted to beeline to sorcery, and use the two Great Sages to Bulb Arcane law!

But now i realized i need Mining and RoK as well :neenernee

I also thought of starting turn one, put research on Arcane Law, and don't pick any other research till i get it, but i think that was too big of a handicap :neenernee

[Amelia]

Oh right i knew i forgot something, my opponents!

Update to come another day.

[Amelia]

Dain focused, and brought to his mind knowledge he had studied from history books of ancient times.

He knew his enemies. He knew their strengths. He knew their weaknesses.

He will triumph.

Mr.Tasunke Yellow, Horse Master of Horse Lords in Horsey Times




How Dain hated these people. They dared to foul the name of magic by calling one of their palace mana HORSES? They dared to say that their horses were worthy of being one of the manas!?

However, Dain reminded himself to be civil. He knew from long ago, that their Ruler, Mr.Yellow, tried to take over a civilization called the Bannor. However, he was desposed from his rule due to greediness and overexpanding. Back then, he didn't have the military to back it up.

Now, he does.

Dain also made a slight note to himself that they were the possessors of Air and Water mana, and that he wanted them. Especially Air. Can't go wrong with Tornados and Hurricanes.

Of course, Dain had no use of Stinky Horses. (But he made another note in his mind not call the Horses stinky when dealing with them).

Dain made a mental note to pack a present of Seahorses.

Misty Capria, Religious Warriorwoman, Child of the Angel




Despite Dain's understand of all things Spiritual, he foresaw that one day, he will be included upon the list of demons and devils and all things despised by Angels. His legions of magics will be prepared that day, but for now, he needed to be diplomatic, to be truthful, to understand them, to work with them.

And to leech their mana. For they possessed the Almighty Stone and Law mana, and he knew the usefulness of both.

Mist however was a leader who always went for the interesting choice. Dain hoped that this time the interesting choice was not a crusade against all things arcane and magical.

He could only pray to the angels.

Endain Ravus Sol, Jonas of the barbaric and shamanic Orc Tribes of Fire.




Dain shuddered at the thought of delightful magic being used by these.... gentlemen. For he realized he will have to work with them, less they turn on him. But what a disappointment.

The Mana of the Orcs were things that he already had like Fire and Body or didn't need like Nature. Dain placed them on the list of civilizations he would like to dispatch from this world. As soon as possible.

But till then, he might have to wear anti-fire clothings.

Decius Mackoti, Prince of blood-seeking fang-baring sunlight-hating paralistic nobles




This was one of the most friendly civilizations out there, Dain realized. By making blood with Mana, he will be able to get friendly with them, and borrow some mana, like Law.

For although vampires were a tales of horror, Dain was an archmage. He knew how vampires operate. He knew their powers of spectre summoning. He knew their abnormal speed, he knew how they feasted to get stronger.

He had a trump card. Destroy Undead.

And probably a fireball into masses of citizens waiting to be fed upon.

Thessa Sareln, Leader of tree-loving fire-hating romantic bow-slinging Pointy Ears




Elves. Dain made a mental note to meet them in halls made out of stone, for it would not do to show them all the forests he had chopped lately, or the jungles which he burned.

Dain had the elves at his mercy. For what could they do? At the slightest sign of war, Dain could set fire to their forests with a simple wave of his hands. They had no choice to submit to him, or lose their forests.

For although Dain had no love of fire, he would let nothing stop in his way.


And that's all for the opponents! Enjoy what you make of this cryptic Dain thoughts, for good or for worse.

[darrelljs]

I don't think you'll be running Conquest since it conflicts with Agrarianism .

While starting with Wizards is nifty, I think it misses the real value Dain brings to the table. FFH2 is about choosing which deep dive you take in the tech tree. If the arcane line is your path, you need to start building a pool of Adepts early so you can have enough Mages when the techs roll in. Cave of the Ancestors allows you to defer the hammers spent on Adepts, which translates to much better expansion. An Adept with 2 XPs has a 1% chance of reaching Wizard status in 20 turns. A Potent Adept with 2 XPs has a 40% chance of reaching Wizard status in 20 turns. A Potent Adept with 7 XPs has a 98% chance of reaching Wizard status in 20 turns. Another way to look at it is the 2 XP Potent Adept needs 36 turns to have a 98% chance of being a Wizard. A regular 2 XP Adept needs a whopping 77 turns (Summoner leaders have to risk their Adepts in combat, skip Agrarianism, build Form of the Titan, etc.). Building Adepts later means building more Workers/Settlers earlier .

I like Dain quite a bit, do you mind if I ded-lurk your thread?

Darrell