Early game slingshot w/ alchemy

[SelfishGene]

I was suprised at the relatively high selling price for gems after some accidental tests. It occured to me one could use alchemy, especially in multiplayer, to create extra income to fuel your early game expansions. Hire another mercenary company, build your fortress a couple turns earlier, ect. In multiplayer small early economic advantages can compound mightily as the game progresses. I suppose this is what the designers had in mind when they gave Ulm an Alchemist Pretender.

[ February 22, 2004, 08:11: Message edited by: SelfishGene ]

[Ragnarok-X]

especially if you think about ulms magic in general. there is not much to do with your gems except forging, so you usually have spare gems.

[Pocus]

no you need the master alchemist, to get 30 gp for each fire gem. Essentially, its a nature/fire/whatever please you rainbow mage. You have to find at least 3 nature gems a turn though, which is rather feasible by searching sites, or with diplomatical contacts. Once it is done, you income increase by 30 gp/turn. You can then stockpile for the Eternal Pyre (that you cast with your pretender) to get a nice +20 gems (600 gp). Thats basically that, an 'underground' gold strategy which cant be spotted and/or hampered by the others players.

An alternate path would be the blood stone one.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by Pocus:
no you need the master alchemist, to get 30 gp for each fire gem.

I had never realised that Fire gems were worth more in alchemy than Earth.

I just started a SP game with a Master Alchemist (to see a few things), on the World map; unfortunately, my starting province was Iceland, and the closest neighbour (Northern America) is Ermor...

[Pocus]

its goes like that:

15 gp for fire, 10 gp for earth

x2 for master alchemist

x1.5 (of base worth) for alchemy stone, or indep alchemist.

[Catquiet]

Originally posted by PDF:
Playing Ulm I never had too many Fire and Earth Gems, forging and Construction "summons" eat up your gems steadily !
However Pocus described me a "financial" Alchemist strategy : with Nature & Fire a RB can forge a boatload of Fever Fetish (give' em to Scouts) producing many Fire gems, that you can sell for cash. Only problem is that this requires your RB himself to forgeing items, so you lose on research/site searching (that's what the guy should do else...)

Too much micro management for me, you have to keep juggling the Fever Fetishes between scouts before they die from disease.

[Ctennyson]

With Master Alchemist + Alchemist Stone, its 30 gp per Earth Gem and 45 per fire gem.

Last Ulm game I had Earth Blood Deep Well and Eternal Pyre both running, along with Fata Morgana and Riches from Beneath for huge income/resources. In my best castle, I could pop out a Knight Lord and 24 Knights a turn, not to mention at least 10 knights(the mounted ones) at every other castle, every turn, with 1000's of gold left over. Obviously thats SP, in MP no one will let you have every enchantment, so you'd need the fever fetish strategies which arent as visible.

Build Blood Stones and Fever Fetishes instead of clams, and you'll be swimming in cash.

[Arryn]

Originally posted by Catquiet:
Too much micro management for me, you have to keep juggling the Fever Fetishes between scouts before they die from disease.

Gift of Health ...

[Arralen]

Originally posted by Catquiet:

quote:

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Originally posted by PDF:
However Pocus described me a "financial" Alchemist strategy : with Nature & Fire a RB can forge a boatload of Fever Fetish (give' em to Scouts) producing many Fire gems, that you can sell for cash.

Too much micro management for me, you have to keep juggling the Fever Fetishes between scouts before they die from disease.

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Use Revenants .. deck out with fetishes, set to "research", forget about them. And they don't cost you upkeep, too! Black Servants will work, too, but you won't get any additional benefit from them. But they are stealthy and wouldn't show up on a spy report (AFAIK).

[Catquiet]

Originally posted by Arryn:

quote:

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Originally posted by Catquiet:
Too much micro management for me, you have to keep juggling the Fever Fetishes between scouts before they die from disease.

Gift of Health ...

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That would help with the afflictions, but would it stop the scout from losing 1 HP per month?