Need Help in getting Aura-Emitters to stay put

[tinkthank]

This could be applicable to any nation, but I'll make this specific for my specific problem:
Tien Chi S&A, early game: Get the Iron Crutch around turn 4. I'd like to send him out with my expansion team because he can schlepp those summoned Spirits with him and is a good searcher, also immortal in case things go wrong.
However....
I put him all the way off to the right rear of the field and tell him to cast spells. But he then runs right behind my archers and diseases all my troops and my commanders, who are also behind the archers (rearish left).
I tell him to cast specific spells (air shield, twist fate), but since he cant really cast much else(I am reasearching construction), he has nothing to do and so runs out (pretty fast for a crippled old man, really) and diseases my troops again.
I give him some bodyguards (dispossed spirits, immune to disease), but he still wont "stay behind" them. He then runs with them into the armpits of my displeased Noble, who is obviously too polite to tell him to piss off and go disease someone else.
Now I successfully conquered a few provinces, but my prophet, commander, and half my archers are diseased.
Is there any way to get him (and similar unhealthy-aura emitting units) to keep away from the rest of the troops? Must I tell him to attack? But then I dont want him diseasing my front line troops either....
what can I do (besides: keep him out of battle until he learns some ranged spells)?
thanks much in advance

[Minrhael]

Quick solution would be to give him a bow, any bow, set him behind and away from everyone and fire at something till you have some spells to cast. Have him cast whatever spells you have the first round or two so that something will be in range when it's time for him to fire so he doesn't move up to get in range.

And if you don't want to research to construction 2 first, have you tried setting him in a far back corner on the opposite side from your other troops, setting orders to hold, hold, hold, hold, hold, cast spells, or 5x hold and attack rear? Hopefully he either doesn't get involved, or attempts to flank and stays on his own side away from your other troops; by the time he gets near the enemy should be routing anyway.

[ April 27, 2004, 11:26: Message edited by: Minrhael ]

[Wauthan]

Give him a group of units to "hide behind". The AI will run for cover behind the rearmost group of allied troops (usually archers). Exploit this by putting a group of sacrificial archers close to the aura unit. Bodyguards immune to disease would also be a good tactic in your case (like a bunch of soulless).

[Cainehill]

Alternatively, while I understand why you want him with the assault army, I'd probably set him in a laboratory that early. Turn 4, you don't have any decent spells researched for him to cast.

Also, I'm not positive - but I got the impression he can cause disease to troops in the same province with him, without having to get next to them on the battlefield.

So - I give him a nice province with a lab all to himself, and have him research and/or summon enough undead until he has his own army to fight with.

[Chazar]

I thought that Bodyguards dont count with respect to the order "stay behind troops". Hence you must set apart another unit under his command, which is not set to "guard commander"...

...but then this wouldnt help again, since this unit would have to be ordererd to hold and attack OR fire. So you could sacrifice an archer every once in a while, which is ordered to fire and is placed somewhere near him...

[Etaoin Shrdlu]

Originally posted by tinkthank:
This could be applicable to any nation, but I'll make this specific for my specific problem:
Tien Chi S&A, early game: Get the Iron Crutch around turn 4. I'd like to send him out with my expansion team because he can schlepp those summoned Spirits with him and is a good searcher, also immortal in case things go wrong.

--snip--
Now I successfully conquered a few provinces, but my prophet, commander, and half my archers are diseased.
Is there any way to get him (and similar unhealthy-aura emitting units) to keep away from the rest of the troops? Must I tell him to attack? But then I dont want him diseasing my front line troops either....
what can I do (besides: keep him out of battle until he learns some ranged spells)?
thanks much in advance

This may be completely backwards, but once you have enough spells for him to be useful, bring only archers and put him in the FRONT set to casting self-shielding spells first and let the enemy try their luck getting anywhere near him... (Think Pythian Hydra and such...) As mentioned earlier though, +Dominion provinces only (a Manx Slinger with one lucky toss can ruin his forever...)

[Wauthan]

Okay this is a bit wierd. I fired up a quick game and soon had the immortal in question join. Putting him in the rear of the army didn't work. Sometimes he gravitates over to the larger group of archers anyway (because the archers move forward as the enemy rout). Bodyguards indeed doesn't work (not the first time I've given bad advice ).

Putting him in front of the army or on the flank with cast, cast, attack, attack, cast & spells made him disease the least amount of troops but he still blundered into some of the units.

The moral lesson is this: He's a complete jerk. The description doesn't lie the least. He's an immortal grumpy old monster that wants to make your life miserable. Stick him with immune units like the undead. Atleast they won't mind his endless ramblings about "wussy good-fer-nuffin gods these days".

[tinkthank]

Thanks both of you so far.

Wauthan, like I said, I gave him dispossed spirits as bodyguards, but obviously he doesnt treat bodyguards as troops behind which he can hide.

[Nagot Gick Fel]

I've never seen this guy show up in my TC games, but since he's immortal and so dangerous to use with your other troops I'd just send him alone into unclaimed provinces in friendly dominion - to soften them up a bit .

[tinkthank]

Originally posted by Wauthan:
Okay this is a bit wierd. I fired up a quick game and soon had the immortal in question join. Putting him in the rear of the army didn't work. Sometimes he gravitates over to the larger group of archers anyway (because the archers move forward as the enemy rout). Bodyguards indeed doesn't work (not the first time I've given bad advice ).

Putting him in front of the army or on the flank with cast, cast, attack, attack, cast & spells made him disease the least amount of troops but he still blundered into some of the units.

The moral lesson is this: He's a complete jerk. The description doesn't lie the least. He's an immortal grumpy old monster that wants to make your life miserable. Stick him with immune units like the undead. Atleast they won't mind his endless ramblings about "wussy good-fer-nuffin gods these days".

heheheh ok! thanks much