Jotunheim:Utgard AAR

[Arryn]

I thought I'd try my hand at providing an AAR, which may help folk who are even newer to the game than I am (I've been playing for about 5 weeks, give or take).

I suffered an embarrasing defeat in a MP Friday night where I learned that dual-bless pretenders, which work nicely in SP games, will kill you in MP due to the bad scales you have to take to get them. Zen was gracious and patient enough to explain to me in detail (using lots of comparisons and a Socratic-style method of asking probing questions) just why this is so, but that's a topic for another thread. He was thoughtful enough to guide me through the design of a new pretender, that should have a far better chance of putting up a credible showing in my next MP game. Not having anything better to do until such a time, and being possessed of a highly-developed sense of curiosity (that's a polite euphemism for 'impatience'), I decided to begin a SP game to 'test' this pretender, and what is for me a radically different approach to playing Dom 2. More on why as we get into the game itself.

Without further ado, we begin:

I have loaded the mods for Improved Light Cav (I won't be using any, but this should give the AIs and the Indies a minor boost towards making my life more challenging), Mighty Militia which converts those arguably useless militia into religious fanatics, which are more useful, and can be quite tough to face (as we will soon discover), the Temporary Caelum Cold Fix which I hope is self-explanatory, and Lastly, the excellent Ashikaga Shogunate mod which replaces T'ien Ch'i with what I consider a much more challenging Japanese nation (the Samurai are tough).

The next step is to begin the creation of the pretender. Following the discussion I had with Zen, I select the nation of Jotunheim (one of the 3 nations I'm most familar with) and I select the Wyrm (one of my Favorites) as my pretender. Saber Cherry's Melee Power Rankings Chart ranks it as the 'best' combat pretender (a score of 99.1%), and for good reason as I've come to learn on my own over the past few weeks. The Wyrm has the following stats:

• 160 HP (excellent!)
• 11 Protection (mediocre, but we can overlook this)
• 17 MR (good)
• 26 Strength (excellent!)
• 18 Attack (good)
• 8 Defense (sub-par, but we can overlook this too)
• 50 Leadership (he'll be mainly a SC, but high ldr doesn't hurt)
• 2/10 movement (not as good as the Son of Niefel, my other favorite, but we'll have to make do)

Special Abilities are:

• Regenerates
• Causes Fear (+0) (we will be boosting this)
• Amphibian (will come in handy versus the sea nations, eventually)
• Poison Resistant 100%
• 2 fang attacks with lethal venom

Slots:

• Head, Head, Misc, Misc

Slots are pretty much his only weakness, especially as a SC. Since his attacks will be biting, the loss of the 2 hands isn't so bad. Not being able to buff him with armor or boots is a minus, but not as bad as one might initially think, once he's properly tricked-out with the right spells. Still, I'll miss those Boots of Quickness I'm rather fond of.

I name the critter 'Jorgun' as I'm in a hurry, can't think of anything better, and desire to get on with twiddling scales and such.

continued next post

[ April 18, 2004, 02:24: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Arryn]

Having thus selected the form in which our God will manifest in the earthly realm, I proceed to select my avatar's abilities and influences (scales). For Magic, I give the God Astral-4. Zen had recommended Astral-5, but I decide to spend the difference on scales. Astral is chosen because we will be using some no-gem-cost spells from the Alteration and Enchantment schools that are quick to research (levels 1-3 in each) to provide all the buffs that our SC pretender will need in the early game. Later on, Astral will allow us to quickly move across the map via Teleport or Gateway, or to summon some of my favorite Arch Angels and/or Harbingers (which I find useful in SP, but not likely so in MP).

For scales I select:

• 3 Order
  (we will need lots of gold to recruit the numbers of giants and casters we plan to use)
• 3 Productivity
  (armored giants require lots of resources)
• 2 Cold
  (the preferred scale for Jotun)
• 0 Growth
• 2 Misfortune
  (we have to pay for the good scales somehow, and this is it)
• 2 Magic
  (we will be doing a LOT of research, quickly)

I toyed with the idea of taking Growth 1 / Magic 1, or Growth 1 / Misfortune 3, but I decided that I really wanted the magic boost and Luck -3 was just too much to pay for Growth.

I then select the Utgard theme (25 points) because I want the Nornas (which give a 15% chance, each, to avoiding bad events in the province they are in) and I prefer Seithkonas to the (cheaper, but less flexible) Iron Woods theme's Vaetti Hags. The Seithkonas will be my main researchers, and also my primary battlefield support in the early to mid game.

I select the 80 point castle because we will need all the resources we can get, and the admin value of 40 will do just that. With the remaining points we have, I increase Dominion as much as I can (to 5).

Having completed the design of my realm and godly attributes, I assign a password to my pretender (though the game will be SP, I intend to use the same god in a MP game in the near future), and move on to selecting the game map and my AI opponents.

continued next post

[Arryn]

For opponents, I enable all AIs except Ermor (other AIs don't handle Ermor well) and C'tis (which I dislike because they always seem to be the first to cast a global enchantment, usually Burden of Time, and I'd rather not gear my whole effort towards countering just them), and I set them all to 'difficult'.

I then select the basic Orania map, which is the map I'm most familar with. Orania is large enough to accomodate all the AIs I wish to use, has no fixed starting positions (unlike the world map, AFAIK), and wraps in both vertical and horizontal directions. The only change I make to the basic game settings before I begin play is to set the independent strength to 5. The default strength of 3 is just too easy to overcome. If you are a new player, I advise that you leave it at 3 until you are more familiar with whatever nation you are playing. Finally, I must select a name for the game I have created, and I do so.

At long Last (well, it seems that way after all this writing) I am ready to take up my role in The Ascension Wars of Orania.

I select Play from the Dominions main menu and I am greeted by the words: "In the beginning, there was Chaos" and "Now the wheel has turned once again." and I cannot help but think about the chaos which is about to be unleashed upon the world as I strive to bring order and harmony to the multitudes of heathens and followers alike. I must eradicate the plethora of false gods which lead astray the creatures of my world, and do so as quickly as possible, so that my Dominion may encompass all lands and seas.

continued next post

[condors]

very nice read, looking forward to updates

[Arryn]

Turn #1, Spring year 1
Forces gather, plans are laid.
Having pondered my task, I consider the modest forces that have gathered for the start of this momentous mission. I have:

• Jorgun, my avatar, embodied in a Wyrm.
• Bdvar, a saavy Jotun Scout.
• Bove, a tough Jotun Herse and leader of
• 8 Jotun Axemen.

These loyal followers of mine are ensconced within the castle of Jotunheim (map province #67), which sits at the eastern tip of a small mountainous peninsula which juts southwest into the eastern end of one of the world's 2 great bodies of water. I have the benefit of being located in a mountainous province for improved resources, but the distinct drawback that I must fight my way up the peninsula, regardless of what opposition might lay before me, to reach the prosperous river valleys to the northwest and east with their high income farmlands. I suspect I am in an inauspicious position. I do not consider expansion directly into the sea at this time, as my troops are unable to follow my Wyrm into the water, should my avatar need assistance. My direction being rather clear, I begin my plans.

My realm begins with:

• 400 Treasury. (standard start)
• 223 Income. (decent)
• 104 Resources. (modest)
• 357 Supplies. (most bountiful)

I make it known that it is my divine desire that a Jotun Gode, a Jotun Spearman, and 2 Jotun Huskarls armed with spears are to heed my call to arms for the forthcoming foray on the peninsula. For the spreading of the announcement I provide 300 of the 400 gold coins in the treasury.

Jorgun takes direct control of the axemen from Bove, as Jorgun's morale of 30 means he will likely be the Last to break in a battle. It is always rude if your commander routs while the troops are still fighting, and I intend to prevent that from happening to me. I set my avatar to research within the school of 'Alteration', my short-term goal being the acquisition of the knowledge of how to cast the spells of Personal Luck, Barkskin, and Eagle Eyes.

Having set my avatar to his duties, it remains that I explore the provinces to my north to see what forces I shall face when I begin my campaign. To this end, I command Bdvar to make his way, stealthily, into the mountainous province of Iron Range (#79), which runs like a spine down the middle of what I am already thinking of as my peninsula.

All orders having been issued, I await the results. The march of time moves on to a new month.

to be continued ...

[ February 08, 2004, 07:46: Message edited by: Arryn ]

[Norfleet]

I'd like to point out that, from personal experience, the most important value of a long-run SC will be his encumberance and slottage. The Wyrm, while very powerful in a short engagement, which is the melee combat rankings are based on, with his encumberance of 4, will prove to be somewhat limp-wristed in an all out battle, particularly if you can't break the opposing army through Cause Fear. Many, many times I've had an SC fall not through loss of hitpoints, but because he passed out like a big sissy and lay there like a useless sack of potatoes until the opponent beat him to death. This has led to my conclusion that a quality SC should have a low or no encumberance. With an encumberance of 4, and 2 bites per round, your Wyrm's maximum kill potential is about 50 enemies before he passes out into the dirt. This will probably be less, because you'll lose fatigue from pre-battle buffing, and because your enemies are surely not likely to be so obliging as to always be hit, always die in the first hit, and always be gathered together in a single square that you can chomp on them with both of your bites. Not to mention that poison is time-release damage, which will likely lead to a lot of cases of "beating a dead horse", as your Wyrm chomps an opponent who's already doomed anyway.

It should also be noted that another disregarded factor in the melee ranking of a combat pretender chassis is the spells you actually buff yourself with, and the use of items. Your Wyrm's item selection is going to be rather limited. I'm guessing you plan on a Horror Helmet or two, and the Amulet of Resilience? Let me know how it goes, and if my prediction of the Wyrm passing out into the dirt from his encumberance rating comes true.

[Arryn]

I have previously played a Wyrm in a Jotun SP game, and in a R'lyeh SP game. In neither one have I ever had my pretender pass out. The enemy always routs before that can happen.

This game I'm writing the AAR for is already on turn 18. I have a lot more writing to do.

Stay tuned ...

If you look at the theme that she is playing Norfleet, it has easy access to Relief. Early in the game the Wyrm may have it's limitations (only being able to instagrab certain provinces alone, including water) but late game it is not affected by the common "encumberance" issue, simply because the nation's mages support it. The nation and the pretender can both teleport so there is no reason that when the Wyrm is running around, he doesn't have a chance of a Relief or two.

[Norfleet]

Relief is nice, although those hanging mages do have a tendency to get killed when your pretender becomes distracted by the oncoming hordes and they swarm past him....and kill your squishy mages, leaving your poor pretender hanging out there alone to pass out. Plus there's no guarantee that your mages will continue to cast relief with sufficient regularity, once your script runs out.

Then again, maybe I'm just used to playing on a high independent strength, where the passing out problem early on becomes much more severe, and the late game is filled with that many more unbreakable units that won't flee in terror when you scream "Boo!" at them, and have to all be killed the old-fashioned way.

[ February 08, 2004, 08:05: Message edited by: Norfleet ]

Relief effects everyone on the battlefield regardless of where the mage is. You can put mage(s) in the very back corner who are casting Relief. You can also have them have Returning on them so you don't waste them if you have a sudden fear (from say a Howl, though more than likely you will be doing the howling) of getting attacked at the back.

A Wyrm doesn't quite accumulate fatigue as fast as something that tramples. I doubt you'd need more than 1 or possibly even 2 Reliefs to keep him in good working order.

Unless you are trying to say that the Wyrm is supposed to be a standalone combatant, which he can be, if you pick different paths than Astral.

[ February 08, 2004, 08:04: Message edited by: Zen ]