EA Tien Chi: Rainbow pretender. Ideas?

[Balakirev]

I'm pretty new to the game, but wanted to focus on magic, first. Tien Chi seemed like a good choice for this. Any recommendations on how to create a solid rainbow type? The strategy guide offered a couple of examples, but nothing elaborate.

I'm also considering a strong move into forging, so please keep this in mind. Perhaps you can suggest paths to follow that will allow me to improve that pretender in my chosen path. In advance, thanks.

[sector24]

Ooh, this is a job for my forum signature! (Magic Path Boosting guide has a section on minimum rainbow pretender requirements)

[Balakirev]

Yes, I'd already copied that to a note file about a week ago, thanks. Still, for a self-admitted newbie this doesn't help devise a good TC rainbow pretender, or suggest various modes of progress. What it does do, for me, is point to signposts along the way that are Very Important to Get.

So if you, or anybody else, has more to add, I'll be more than grateful.

[Shovah32]

EA Tien Chi is one of the stronger nations as far as magical diversity goes and they could benefit alot more with an early combat pretender - perhaps one with one or two paths you would like higher access to later.

[sector24]

I've only played Tien Chi for about 20 turns, but taking a quick look at their recruitable mages...

Air: Your Celestial Master can rarely get 3 Air, but I wouldn't rely on it. If you want to be able to forge boosters without empowering put 4 Air on your pretender.

Astral: Your Celestial Master can rarely get 3 Astral, and they can more reliably get 2 Astral and 1 Earth (give them Earth Boots and they can forge a Crystal Coin). If you're willing to take the risk, you can skip Astral on your pretender. (Celestial Master with 3 Astral + Starshine Skullcap + Crystal Coin gets you to the important rings)

Blood: You have no blood access, but I rarely put blood on my pretender. There are more important things to do with your pretender than blood hunt.

Death: You only get 1 Death, so you can take some Death on your pretender or you can wait until you forge a Ring of Sorcery which boosts you to 2 which is enough to work your way up from there.

Earth: Master of the Five Elements get get an Earth pick so they can forge Earth Boots and a Dwarven Hammer, so you don't need Earth on your pretender.

Fire: Your highest Fire level is 2, and you cannot get a Death/Fire pick. So put 4 Fire on your pretender to forge the Flame Helmet, and 1 Death for the Flaming Skull.

Nature: You can get up to Nature 2, or Nature 1 and Astral 2 or 3. Unfortunately you're just short of a Moonvine Bracelet, so it wouldn't hurt to put Nature on your pretender.

Water: All your mages can get Water 2 or more, so you're set here.

----

Taking all that into account, I would say go with a rainbow pretender with:

Air 4
Astral 4
Death 2
Fire 4
Nature 4

You can definitely get away with less, but you probably don't want to rely on the 10% Astral pick from the Celestial Master, and an extra level here or there keeps you from jumping through too many hoops and provides a nice cushion. You also get multiple weak blesses for your sacred mages.

So if you pick a Crone as your pretender you are left with 14 points after all of that. This means you need to take some negative scales (sloth or misfortune) or put your Crone to sleep if you want a Dominion higher than 2. She doesn't have a torso slot, but you don't necessarily need it and she can wear 4 accessories.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[Shovah32]

Is fire really important enough to take a 4 level pick on your pretender?
Can't you get W3N1? That opens up Naiads with W3N3. It shouldn't be too hard for you to get a ring of sorcery, and with that you're basically set as far as nature magic goes.

The death and air I can understand, but I would probably prefer to get them on a combat pretender. Compared to most other nations, Tien Chi has a weak EA army. Archers are nice, but without a combat pretender or maybe some sort of bless, you can get steamrolled by many nations. Some early evocations like Acid Bolt can help, but probably not enough.

[sector24]

For me this was more of an academic exercise than a "What would I do with EA Tien Chi?" I almost never take Air 4 or Fire 4 on my pretenders, I'm a firm believer that every problem can be solved with astral, blood, and death magic.

Your point about the Naiad is correct. The reasons I would recommend starting with N4 is:
1) 5% regen reduces the affliction rate on your mages from stray arrows and such (which happens a lot when you're new at the game)
2) The AI is pretty good at casting Mother Oak and Gift of Health eventually, and it takes longer for new players to get there through the Naiad route.
3) The nature/death pick on your pretender allows you to summon Lamia Queens very easily.

As you get more experienced with the game, these things become less of an issue. But it's easier to start with lots of magic and wean yourself off it as you get better.

[Balakirev]

sector24 said:
Earth: Master of the Five Elements get get an Earth pick so they can forge Earth Boots and a Dwarven Hammer, so you don't need Earth on your pretender.

They get E1, not E2. I realize that there's a small chance of E2 with any MFE, but its negligible, compared to the number of turns you take hiring them. So how do you get from E1 to E2, short of empowerment?

[sector24]

I don't think a 20% chance of an Earth pick is that bad, I would just keep recruiting until I got one. But if it's too risky for your playstyle, getting Earth 2 on a rainbow pretender only costs 26 points. If you use Shovah's Naiad path to get Nature then you could change your pretender to:

Air 4
Astral 4
Death 2
Earth 2
Fire 4

A Crone would have 70 points remaining for scales/dominion, or you could choose an Enchantress and have 49 points remaining but you generate an Astral pearl every turn and there are no old age issues.