Zen and the art of Thugging

[Dedas]

I know! They lack what we call depth perception (one eye and all that).

[MaxWilson]

In addition to awe/etherealness/luck/vine shield, Astral Shield (attacks MR) is another dimension of protection you can add. It's usually not all that effective because I think attackers get weapon length as a bonus to MR, but sometimes it's better than some of the other options (awe vs. berserk/mindless units).

-Max

[ese-aSH]

Thanks a lot baalz ! I'm still wondering how to make something usefull with the items I forge (right now I sometime right click on a commander and randomly assign him one the -numerous and unorganized- items I got, just because it looks cool to have a fire sword, an orange helmet, an orange armor, and then I call him 'King of Fire', and he dies on the first battle... :'( )

[Illuminated One]

Great thread! This really answers some questions.
And I see I'm putting far to much into a sigle unit.

Originally Posted by MaxWilson

One final thought: peacetime armies (like the United States Air Force currently) sometimes focus on performance, spending lots of money to eke out every last bit of superiority and minimize casualties. In Dom3, though, you're an evil pretender who doesn't HAVE to care about casualties or PR, so you can go for the Russian approach, "quantity has a quality all of its own." A decked-out Seraph with four artifacts is STILL going to die to PD 20 + five indy priests with SotD, whereas an equivalent gem-weight of cheap thugs will take some losses but still kill all the priests.

Haha, in a MP game I'm in I have special rescue teams to save my raiders once I think they are no longer save. Now the enemy attacks me the first mage kills his only leader and the teleported in rescuer casts Vortex of Returning. D'oh.

[vfb]

Umbrals suffer from one of the same problems that I found Mind Lords have. They only have a Life Drain attack. When faced with a longdead, they just stand there trying to eat its soul for 50 turns, like it's some kind of plastic cheeseburger.

I wish they'd just punch it, or in the Mind Lord case, whack it with their tail, or something.

[cleveland]

Baalz, I cannot understand how you ever expect to win another MP game if you keep telling people how you think! Awesome stuff, keep up the good work.

In the spirit of tipping your hand, I'd like to give away my number-one favorite anti-thug item. It's a bit niche, failing against high defense/luck/vine shields...but for those fear/awe/protection/selfbuff guys, it's so devastating, and so deliciously unforseen, and so evil, I can't help but give it away...you guessed it, the Vine Whip!

[crickets]

Oh, you haven't seen a Vine Whip in action? Well, the next time some flying, regenerating, Dom10 Cyclops with 33MR, dual firebrands, and full resistances comes headed your way, calmly (but coolly) forge a Vine Whip, some Winged Shoes, and a Berserker Pelt (17gems+a reinvg item if necessary), and put em on your guy with the highest Attack rating. IED him right in that Cyclop's path.

Practice menacing cackle.

Open new turn file.

Cackle menacingly as the Cyclops spends all 75 turns breaking free from vines, and is annihilated when the hard turn-limit is hit.

Total physical damage dealt: 0 points
Total psychological damage dealt: 15 points
Total style points awarded: 1 million, possibly more

[SlipperyJim]

Originally Posted by cleveland

Cackle menacingly as the Cyclops spends all 75 turns breaking free from vines, and is annihilated when the hard turn-limit is hit.

Total physical damage dealt: 0 points
Total psychological damage dealt: 15 points
Total style points awarded: 1 million, possibly more

That is a neat trick. Most evil!

I often equip my thugs with magic items that assist by bringing other attacks to the party. I'm thinking about Spirit Helmets, Scutata Volturnus, and other gadgets that either:

• attack on their own, or
• summon allies to the battlefield.

Would your whip trick work against a thug or SC with a Spirit Helmet? Can my hat still zap people even when my feet are tangled in vines?

[MaxWilson]

Originally Posted by SlipperyJim

Would your whip trick work against a thug or SC with a Spirit Helmet? Can my hat still zap people even when my feet are tangled in vines?

Your hat doesn't zap people while you're unconscious. I suspect it will still zap if you're entangled, though, since you still get an action ("break free").

-Max

[Tifone]

If you happen to be have blood B2/B3 thugs, casting Reinvigoration (the Blood spell) at the end of the buffs might be a great way not to enter the fight with high fatigue. Just one slave and is at Blood-1 (in CBM at least)

@cleveland: Tested? Does it work? Too funny!

[Redeyes]

Now I think a wine whip calls for being paired with a Scutata Volturnus/Stone Bird/Dancing Trident or just another thug
(Fire/death bless?)

Just watch out for damage shields