Ulm SP AAR- Swords Vs. Sorcery

[RedRover]

Have been reading and enjoying.

Do hang in and keep fighting--I'm rooting for you. In my own AAR, things are going to hit the fan very soon. There are ways of fighting out of many tight corners. The Forum in particular can be a valuable resource.

Cheerio...




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Think outside the box? What's a box?

[boltcutter]

Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been busy with other things.

Update:

Turns 31-37: Restoration. My forces sweep back through and recapture the TC territory. First and Second armies meet up in the TC capital. The Celestials can be beaten with numerous Blade Winds and some sturdy troops to slow them down- perhaps 12 Blade Winds to 10 Celestials. I try my new plan of bringing reinforcements in before needing them.

Shopping: My loyal people buy Temples and Priests- I have almost none of each- and set them to restore Me. I create a new Prophet- much more heavily armored than the last- and bring up some Cavalry. My Smiths build a Crusher [disappointingly poor attack and defense skills] and a batch of Clockwork Horrors.

Two of My Spies discover the extent of Pythium and start spreading sedition- if I cannot directly destroy Pythium yet, I can at least slow them slightly. Another starts trouble in C'Tis.

Turns 37-41: The Two Front War.

I am restored!

My troops finally win a brutal war of attrition, breaking into the Dark Citadel of T'ien Chi and finding almost no resistance (I lost one Cavalryman to the lich's evil spells and perhaps a few footsoldiers to the Citadel's defenses.) I capture the Desert Eye itself and pin the T'ien forces in a single province.

And Caelum attacks. The southern bottleneck works well. I lose the province [26 Prov. Defense] but, of the 160 attackers, 20 are killed and many rout. In a bit of luck, one province up from there [Ulmwards], the local chief built a fortress with no prompting from me. The bottleneck that was taken was immediately next to T'ien Chi, where My army is pinned down in siege. Caelum attempts to continue the attack (towards Tienese territory )but is repulsed in the next province and, after T'ien Chi itself falls, is thrown back from the bottleneck. Unfortunately, I still had my Smiths dispersed and un-bodyguarded to lower the chance of losing some to the Citadel defenses. Two or three are slain, but two sets of Earth Boots are recovered for the next generation to step into.

In the Desert Eye, my new Clockwork Horrors face an unexpected threat before they can finish off the few [less than 10?] Tienese forces- Caelum attacks me [80 Caels vs. a Smith, a couple of heavy infantry, the Clocks and a handful of Province Defense.]

I did not realize that Clockwork Horrors gained 15 Fatigue per turn, every turn. Fortunately, the flying Caelumites surrounded them near-immediately and the Clocks inflicted great damage before getting smashed. Net result: Approximately 25 Caels killed, all my Clocks destroyed, no other casualties and the province is still mine.

I, Myself, created another miraculous bag of wine, and started moving south to the bottleneck with reinforcements. Soon I will step into T'ien Chi and empower Myself back to pre-death levels.

Enemy Status: Caelum has taken noticeable losses in troop strength. They have cast Dark Skies and their leader seems to [based on his Prophet] have significant Death and Air magic strength. C'Tis has a long border with me, and many large armies along it. Jotunheim has two short borders with me, a huge army, and has driven Pangaea near-literally into the ocean. Vanheim, and Pythium are vague future threats- Abysia shall not last long, I think.

Own Status: Outside of TC's resources, I have found another source of Earth gems [I'm up to 7/turn], and a source of Nature gems. I have a few other small supplies, including an embarassment of blood slaves. Gold is available in reasonable quantities- never as much as needed, of course.

Planning: I require more Smiths. Also, having proven that constructed troops are severely limited, I feel that contacting Trolls is my best bet for "advanced" troops. This will be a long and difficult time researching- My Smiths are almost all needed for war and I have only Conjuration 3. [One Smith is probably the equal of 30 Longbowmen right now, offensively.] My Dominion is weak- destroying the last vestiges of the lich lord of T'ien Chi is crucial.

I want to experiment with economic warfare- using Spies to lower Pythium's available gold and the like. Probably too little too late, but perhaps some defections will occur.

I will also be building a few Commanders to place in the border provinces- they will not survive determined attack, but at least my province defense will not be routed by a stray arrow in the first volley [as has happened.]

As far as my enemies: After Caelum [all going well] I must assault C'tis- all my gains in Mictlan and TC could be overrun easily by only a fragment of their strength, and I have only weak defenses in place.

[RedRover]

re: Two-Front War

Well, at least you're not attacking Russia in the winter.

re: Mechanical Men
Meat shields are even more effective when they are not actually meat.

[boltcutter]

What do you recommend for walking shields? The Crusher hasn't really been fieldtested- it looks like it is NOTHING but a damage sink, and might get ignored. The Clockwork Horrors were fun (SO fun!) but impractical. I don't know what I should be trying to research- I was thinking "Trolls" but I haven't committed to any path yet.

[thejeff]

It's not really thematic for Ulm, but I've had fun with Fall Bears. Tough and Ethereal. Pretty expensive though. Maybe Mechanical Men. Living Statues when you can get them.

Remember that Trolls cost upkeep.

[RedRover]

A Crusher will not be ignored (it may be swamped, but it won't be ignored). Enemy troops with Attack Rear orders may detach some units to go around it, but some will stay, and the Crusher will stump off in pursuit of the rest when it wins.

If you have never built a Crusher, I recommend building one, just so you can see it in action. They're slow, so consider putting it forward far enough that the rest of your shield gets up to it just before the enemy gets there.

If you are in a bad enough way that your forts are under siege, blocking the gates with several Crushers can brutalize the foe, especially if you have a long, narrow gate and a high rate of defensive fire. Unlike recruited troops, summons can appear directly in a besieged fort.

Likewise, sending in a Crusher or two directly against an enemy fort gate (as far forward as you can) while storming might get you in a little easier.

Ulm heavy infantry is pretty good, especially when bolstered by the Legions of Steel spell and Giant Strength. Trolls augmented by these spells are truly awesome in melee, but remain vulnerable to fire and spells. Both need priest support to keep their morale up.

I always considered the Clockworks a little fragile and prefer Mechanical Men if you have the gems (Living Statues are even better). Remember that constructs do not heal hit point damage normally after combat, but that Labs do fix them eventually, so don't ignore your infrastructure when using this troop type: build a few Labs along the way. A Crown of Command (Cons 4, S2) will let a normal commander lead constructs.

It isn't practical to make specific magic research recommendations without knowing your current level in each school, gem income, and research rate. Long term, look at Earth Attack--it's lots of fun squishing enemy commanders with this. Crumble can really embarrass an enemy hiding in a fortress, especially a tough one like a Mountain Citadel. Once you get to Construction 8, making a Philosopher's Stone (there can be only one!) will leverage your money favorably. Put it where you can find it quickly.

Seek out the Global that gives you Earth gems. Once you have this up, you will have a much easier time getting the really neat Ulm-thematic globals: the one that makes you rich, rich, rich, and the one that lets you forge things cheap. Running a Search or two of the forum on these should give you some ideas. I usually use a 2-year net, unless I'm digging further back for something specific.

[boltcutter]

At the moment I have 11 Smiths [having gone through rather a lot in the several disasters. . .] As of the start of the turn, 3 are researching. Yes, I have turn 41 and 17 research points [probably to go up rapidly this turn.] Current gem income: 7 Earth, 3 nature, 3 astral, 2 fire, 2 air, 1 water, and 3 blood.

I have Conjuration 4, Alteration 3, Evocation 4, Construction 5, and Thaumaturgy 2 researched. I'm at about 8 in research; the top 3 [Jotunheim, Caelum, and Vanheim] are at around 18-20.

Priest support [moralewise] is very hard to come by- I have *one* priest that can boost morale- my prophet.

Given these things, I think my best bet is Trolls at about 360 RP from where I am, with Crushers in the meantime.

If I have surplus Earth gems, which would be better:
Uparmoring my Smiths, or lots of commanders with [say] Swords of Sharpness?

[RedRover]

If you are feeling the pinch on priests, you might consider alchemizing some Earth gems, building some Temples, and recruiting some cheap priests.

(One of these can really toughen up a province defense (PD), and 2-3 would be really useful if you hit undead or need to keep those rather chaotic Trolls pushing forward.)

Personally, I like to keep about half to two-thirds of my top mages researching. Of course, I also get my butt kicked for not building enough ground troops...

Being too low in research is almost as unhealthy as being too low in dominion. Ulm is not noted for the efficiency of its research, though, so as long as you are not dead last or static/declining you may be ok. You do want to see an elevated growth slope on your research graph. Items that may help include Owl Feather (Air, +3), Lightless Lantern (Fire +6), and Skull Mentor (Death +10).

You might consider saving your Earth gems for the globals. At Cons 5 you are approaching Forge of the Ancients (Cons 7, caster E5). You might want to take another look at Enchantments: both Riches From the Earth (Ench 6, caster E5--$$$!) and Earth Blood Deep Well (Ench 7, caster E6--EEE!) will give you substantial benefits.

I would feel a lot better about handing out Swords of Sharpness (which are not magical!) if I knew my thugs were protected by Gift of Health, but that's just me. If you have a hard-charging knight, you might consider a Shield of Valor. Armor of Virtue would protect your prophet at the cost of occasionally putting him out of position--a flight item would return him to action quickly.

[Arralen]

RedRover said:
If you are feeling the pinch on priests, you might consider alchemizing some Earth gems, building some Temples, and recruiting some cheap priests.
(One of these can really toughen up a province defense (PD), and 2-3 would be really useful if you hit undead or need to keep those rather chaotic Trolls pushing forward.)

Ulms priest as those recruitable in provinces are Holy-2 only and cannot cast any moral-affecting spells !

Being too low in research is almost as unhealthy as being too low in dominion. Ulm is not noted for the efficiency of its research, though, so as long as you are not dead last or static/declining you may be ok.

Research cannot decline ...

You do want to see an elevated growth slope on your research graph. Items that may help include Owl Feather (Air, +3), Lightless Lantern (Fire +6), and Skull Mentor (Death +10).

Most important thing about those items is - their bonus is not affected by drain ! As Ulm, you might have some troubles forging them, though:

@Constr-2:
Owl Quill .. Air-1
@Constr-4:
Skull Mentor .. Death-2 (!)
@Constr-6:
Lightless Lanter .. Fire-1

You might consider saving your Earth gems for the globals. At Cons 5 you are approaching Forge of the Ancients (Cons 7, caster E5). You might want to take another look at Enchantments: both Riches From the Earth (Ench 6, caster E5--$$$!) and Earth Blood Deep Well (Ench 7, caster E6--EEE!) will give you substantial benefits.

You need some dedicated (earth) casters anyway: Blade Wind among others is level-depended. And while you're on it, think about one or two dedicated smithes as well: If you empower him (them) to Lvl-1 in some pathes, they can churn out a whole bunch of nice items at minimal cost.

I'll attach two tables with all multi-path items and all magic-boosting items for your convenience (you're playing unmodding, IIRC ?!)

I would feel a lot better about handing out Swords of Sharpness (which are not magical!)

Oc, they are magical. Every item you make from gems is magical.

if I knew my thugs were protected by Gift of Health, but that's just me. If you have a hard-charging knight, you might consider a Shield of Valor. Armor of Virtue would protect your prophet at the cost of occasionally putting him out of position--a flight item would return him to action quickly.

Actually, a charging knight (black knight commander with bunch of black knight bodyguards, set to attack rearmost) wouldn't benefit that much from a shield of valour: As he starts a bit back from the front line, and on the very flank, other troops are targeted by the enemy archers first - and those do not switch target unless it's routed. So the 80%-missleprotection is wasted.
Better get him

- a Stinger (less damage than the sword, but as a length-4 weapon, it repels swords etc.)

- a Girdle of Might (Constr-4; gives him reinvigoration AND strength +3)

If he lives through some battles and gets heroics, you might want to add items which give
- Luck
- Regeneration
Some argue to deck him out completly from the start, but this is quite costly, and might end up very futile in the very first battle. Which items to choose depends on what threats you face and what smithes pathes you can depend on, though: Maybe you need some resistances as well .. e.g. a Burning Pearl is another nice addition if you're up against Abysians or Fire Elementals.

[boltcutter]

Lightless Lantern at Con-6? I may have to research that instead. Because a Smith can build a Lightless Lantern and be twice the researcher. . . plus whatever other wonders Construction-6 delivers.

I would be in better shape if I hadn't lost, over the past few battles, 6 or 8 of my front-line Smiths.

I should be getting back into the swing of the game soon.

Ulm endures.