Originally Posted by HoneyBadger
Well, lions are known as the "king of the jungle", despite being dry plains predators, so while it's still an error, it's pretty forgiveable, and might even have been intentional for thematic reasons.
I think Machaka as a theme is still salvageable. It's a jungle/rainforest Nation, obviously, but one very different from Mictlan. Not only is this Africa, Machaka also has much more modern army, albeit one that doesn't currently stand out in any way.
Thoughts: I think you've got good points about the hoplites, Kianduatha. They could stand to be brought up into competitiveness. I was thinking thought, instead of giving them mapmove 2, they might be given a single (weak) poison javelin, along with the plate hauberks and improved Machaka spears. That would make them very effective, more thematic, defensive units, while not unbalancing them due to the poison bug, since they only have a single shot.
Machaka militia could also stand to carry a single javelin into battle. This is a Nation of hunters who live in the jungle, and even the poorest peasant classes would probably carry atleast wooden javelins for self defense. That'd give them a strong militia, which wouldn't hurt their PD. Not a bad thing, I think.
The spider riders could also stand to have one of those poison javelins. That would do a lot to up their damage potential when they're closing to attack, and hopefully synergise with their shortbows enough that they become somewhat more effective when used at range.
I'd also add a stealthy (0) unit to their army. This is where I'd put the mapmove 2: It would be equivalent to a Machaka militia in stats, but instead be armed with a spear and a single (weak) poison net, with an Area 1 poison effect. Basically, a net full of tiny poisonous spiders. They wouldn't be poison resistant, so they'd damage themselves, but those nets in combination with stealth should find some uses.
As opposed to summoning spells (although I still think the Sasanbonsam unit could be a good one-more about that in a moment), I agree that I'd like to see Machaka get more National combat spells. Here's one that seems pretty obvious.
Spell Name: Arachnophobia. Alt 2/Nature 1.
There's every reason in the world to give them a spell that summons a large group of tarantulas in combat. They could have 2 hp, a 1 poison damage tiny bite att, complete poison resistance, 14 action points, and a relatively low Att. (7-9) for balancing reasons. Castable at Alt 2 with Nature 1, 1 Nature gem, and 10+ effects. The spiders could be used to defend the sorcerors, to reinforce the mediochre warriors, and ofcourse to stretch battles out.
As far as summon spells, I've come up with 3.
The first would be an improved version of Mandragora, but instead be based on the gigantic tarantulas the Black Hunters ride.
Spell Name: Instill Effigy. Const 5. Nature 2/Death 2
The spell would give you 3 Black Hunter spiders (called "Obiah"), with Sacred, Undead, MagB, Mapmove 3 and Sleepvines x2. Considering that this is a jungle Nation with a spider theme, the spell makes a lot of thematic sense, and gives you a little more reason to have a decent Bless.
You could then have an undead hero riding one of these beasts.
The second would be a spell I came up with for my Cimmeria Nation.
Spell Name: Construct Skull Totem. Const 0/1 Death. 1 Death gem.
Skull Totem
Hp. 4 Size 2 Str. 2 Att. 2 Def. 10. Prot. 3 (3) Mor. 12 MR. 12 Mv. Immobile/No Teleport. Prec. 8 Weapons: None
Fear (0), Patrol bonus (1) Demon. Self Healing.
Not the most impressive unit, but cheap and massable, which makes it effective with the Fear, and useful enough simply as a PD helper, with the Patrol bonus. It should also help a lot against early Rushes, in combination with some improved Hoplites, since it's immediately available. It remains thematic, with the Hunter theme, and the sprite is even done for it already.
Finally, the Sasanbonsam:
Spell Name: Heart of Darkness. Blood 5. Requires Blood 3/Nature 3
This spell would give you a flying, undead, stealthy (10) vampire (more or less) assassin, with 2 (strong) poison iron hook attacks, a Lifedrain bite, Immortality, and Regeneration 10.
Thematically, harpies occasionally nest on the Black Mountain, and the bravest Machaka heroes occasionally will capture one alive. They cut off it's legs, feed it a drop of the dead god's blood, sacrifice it to the dead god by putting it in a sack with dozens of tiny spiders who take weeks to kill it and fully dessicate the corpse, then the Machaka replace it's feet with several big iron hooks they've dipped in spider venom, and the Sorcerors and Voices of the Lord cast spells and perform rituals over it's corpse. It reanimates as a hideous vampire thing that serves Machaka in unlife.
It wouldn't have any magic paths, and no hand or feet slots, so it's continuing usefulness would be limited, but as an assassin it should be quite effective.
One would think armour made from spider silk and chitin would be lightweight.
Spider armour, it seems to me, should be no more than 2 Enc, tops. Maybe -2 Def, also.
What does everyone think of giving the Black Hunters/Hunter Spiders a spider claw attack? That would make them significantly more effective at dealing damage, especially as Sacreds. I'm also in favor of having the Sacredness carry over to the hunter spiders, themselves. You could additionally give them one of the mentioned poison javelins. It won't go over the maximum 4 attacks allowed, and I think it would serve to make them a top Sacred in the game, dangerous in both melee and at range.
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Re: Balance Machaka
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