Warlords 5063
Teams
1) Black Dragon Druid Nomad Tomag Ironfist
2) Cimmerians Demon Princes Warlock Eregnon the Black
3) Gnome Illusionist Underworld Imperial Tark
4) Dark Elven Sorcerer Tyrant Netstrider
This was an anonymous game with random cities and all HC issues by secret ballot. Seven regions were required to win. It was the first game I’ve won since winning Alamaze 86 as the SO way back in the paper days. I also wrote an article about a battle from that game called “The Wand is Mightier than the Sword” in Paper Mayhem, for those of you who remember back that far.
Since it was random cities, my DE princes didn’t have much to do the first few turns, except gate up to 3 to help the WA take his city. The WA managed to find his city on turn 1, and I thought I’d have the region by turn 3. It turns out I was exactly 1 village short – since that’s what it took to get it for me on turn 4.
R3 was the only one of my regions that had a city on land, as both the others were at sea. This worked out well for my CI, as I moved my capital there fairly early where it would be relatively safe.
My early explorations weren’t terribly successful, and I didn’t find many PCs. One significant find did happen on turn 1, where my 2DE in R9 passed a DA town which I realized must be his capital. My WA was able to keep tabs on his king with his scrying mirror for the rest of the game.
I did manage to locate quite a few artifacts. In fact, it looked like anybody with an artifact to hide seemed to think it would be safest in the Mists, as I found no fewer than 8 sightings there, the most useful of which were the Crystal of Seeing and the Gem of the Planes.
Regarding artifact sightings, I did have one amusing bit of luck. My 1CI patrol was investigating a Fine at EI, and the next one they were heading for was at AN. I didn’t have enough movement to get there, but I left the order as it was, figuring they would just stop short. Well, the artifact I found turned out to be the Champion Stallions, which means they did make it to the next siting, saving me a turn! If it has been any other artifact at all, it would not have worked.
The CI and DE took their regions on turn 5, as did the rest of the players. On turn 6, the BL started to annoyingly send groups into R2. I looked at what was on land and sea in that region, and figured he had no way to take it militarily, so I decided on a holding action while I kept looking for artifacts and recruiting. I got my top WA wizard to power 6, and brought him in to throw Demonic Visions and Domes where appropriate.
On turn 9, I met up with the 1Bl army at my old capital at FR with my 2CI army group. That’s when I found that my Cimmerians weren’t as impressive in battle as I thought they’d be. The BL ended up with slightly lower attrition at the end, and may have won if he hadn’t ordered an organized withdrawal.
Turns 10 and 11 turned out to be pivotal. The WA got his ESO, but the DE and CI did not. The DE didn’t because I FORGOT TO PROMOTE THE LAST DUKE TO A PRINCE (thus we see the danger of running 3 positions at once).
The CI didn’t get his because one of the three L7 agents I needed got assassinated. I did have a level 6 as backup who was training that turn, but if he got axed I would have no chance. I had the WA ward all 3 of my agents.
On the other hand, the CI not getting his ESO did present an opportunity that was, in the words of Colonel Miles Quaritch from Avatar, “both timely and unique.”
I brought my 1CI patrol to FR on turn 10 and transferred in all my brigades. Between my reinforcements and the losses to the BL, it ended up with 10 brigades, a power 2, and the Gem. The city in 5 was at NH. I had been planning to raise my 2 to a 3 that turn then teleport next turn. But since the 1CI was still an army, it meant I could teleport immediately, and if I got my ESO on turn 11 (which I did) the BL would see an army group show up at his city with no ready explanation as to how it got there, which I hoped would have a detrimental impact on his morale.
Also on turn 10, the NO launched a major diplomatic incursion into the Steppes, and moved in with the 1NO army. I had my DE princes do a triple denigrate, and threw in some status quo orders. I ended up bagging almost his entire diplo corps – 1 Duke, 2 barons and 3 governors. Not a bad haul.
I also had my WA agent poison the food in 1NO, and had my DE fanatic 10 assassinate his Lord Commander. Both missions were successful, although it cost my fanatic 4 levels, which I felt was a fair price. My 2DE army group intercepted him, and we fought a couple minor battles before he left the Steppes.
Here’s where something odd occurred. The UN had an army sitting at the BL city for 3+ turns. He didn’t move in any emissaries, and the troops just sat there. I knew he was still in the game, since I saw actions from him on the reports. When I teleported in with my 1CI, I debated not attacking the group, since I didn’t want to start fighting 2 players at once. I ended up attacking anyway, caught him by surprise, destroyed the group and snagged the rod of fire.
Another oddity happened when I divined towns in 10. I saw 5 towns, but got no “clouded” results, which was strange since I knew the NO started with a hidden capital. A few turns later I found he’d moved it to a village in the sea of Foreboding. I can see the advantages of a capital in the water, but I don’t know why you’d trade a hidden one for one that could be taken by a small division.
At any rate, as the BL had declared both the CI and DE as enemies, I had the WA emissaries move into 5, as he could get to friendly. I also sold the Gem to the 2DE, and on turn 12 used it to teleport to a town in 10. On turn 13 I gated in my princes, sending 2 to the city and also moved in a few other emissaries via pop centers in 9. I was all ready to make a move on the region, when I saw that there was a TY army group that had moved to the city I just gated to.
Oops.
Okay, no problem, time for plan B. I decided to make a move on 9 instead. I popped my 2DE army group into the mountains to pick up some orcs while I waited to see if my princes would escape, which they did. I then moved emissaries to every pop center in 9 I could see, and teleported my army group to the city, where the DA had moved his capital. I took the region on turn 16. The DA moved his 1DA to the city the turn I took it, and I had planned to have the 1CI move through a portal to be there along with the 2DE, but never having used a portal before I messed up the order. So I threw wall of flame with the 2DE, and teleported to the city in 10. The 1CI did show up the next turn, and we had a fun little battle where I took out 9+ brigades.
On turn 15, the WA gained control of 5. Also, on turn 13 I had noticed the BL groups didn’t move. I figured he was probably going to drop soon, and started moving CI emissaries into region 1. He did drop on turn 16, and the GN/UN/IL dropped on 17. As of turn 16, I had regions 2,3,5,6 and 9, and was on the verge of getting 1. All I needed was one more to win, which I could accomplish in two more turns. I had my WA power 8 leave off training and get into the game with summon demon spells (got a DA fanatic 15 and a TY baroness), and gated into 10. Netstrider, who was playing the SO/DA/TY, made a hard push into 5 and 6, but I managed to retake enough towns to hold onto the regions and secure the win when I got region 10 on turn 18. I also had a lot of agent action on the last turn, the most notable of which was my CI Fanatic 14 armed with the Ruler Eliminator assassinating the TY king.
All in all a fun game, and I benefited from quite a bit of luck. Some things I learned:
1) It is really tough to go after the DE diplomatically, unless you are sure he’s committed his princes to a different region. That denigrate is potent.
2) I don’t see much point in any wizard kingdom raising their wizards past power 7. The spells you get don’t seem worth the investment.
3) When using a portal, don’t put the destination portal square in your movement order (DUH!).
4) Getting adepts and wizards in your ESO when you play a wizard kingdom is a really good idea. They came in awfully handy for diplomatic action later in the game when I was throwing around sleep spells like a clown at a parade throws candy.
5) Best emissary name award goes the TY for Baroness Wagga Butta.
Teams
1) Black Dragon Druid Nomad Tomag Ironfist
2) Cimmerians Demon Princes Warlock Eregnon the Black
3) Gnome Illusionist Underworld Imperial Tark
4) Dark Elven Sorcerer Tyrant Netstrider
This was an anonymous game with random cities and all HC issues by secret ballot. Seven regions were required to win. It was the first game I’ve won since winning Alamaze 86 as the SO way back in the paper days. I also wrote an article about a battle from that game called “The Wand is Mightier than the Sword” in Paper Mayhem, for those of you who remember back that far.
Since it was random cities, my DE princes didn’t have much to do the first few turns, except gate up to 3 to help the WA take his city. The WA managed to find his city on turn 1, and I thought I’d have the region by turn 3. It turns out I was exactly 1 village short – since that’s what it took to get it for me on turn 4.
R3 was the only one of my regions that had a city on land, as both the others were at sea. This worked out well for my CI, as I moved my capital there fairly early where it would be relatively safe.
My early explorations weren’t terribly successful, and I didn’t find many PCs. One significant find did happen on turn 1, where my 2DE in R9 passed a DA town which I realized must be his capital. My WA was able to keep tabs on his king with his scrying mirror for the rest of the game.
I did manage to locate quite a few artifacts. In fact, it looked like anybody with an artifact to hide seemed to think it would be safest in the Mists, as I found no fewer than 8 sightings there, the most useful of which were the Crystal of Seeing and the Gem of the Planes.
Regarding artifact sightings, I did have one amusing bit of luck. My 1CI patrol was investigating a Fine at EI, and the next one they were heading for was at AN. I didn’t have enough movement to get there, but I left the order as it was, figuring they would just stop short. Well, the artifact I found turned out to be the Champion Stallions, which means they did make it to the next siting, saving me a turn! If it has been any other artifact at all, it would not have worked.
The CI and DE took their regions on turn 5, as did the rest of the players. On turn 6, the BL started to annoyingly send groups into R2. I looked at what was on land and sea in that region, and figured he had no way to take it militarily, so I decided on a holding action while I kept looking for artifacts and recruiting. I got my top WA wizard to power 6, and brought him in to throw Demonic Visions and Domes where appropriate.
On turn 9, I met up with the 1Bl army at my old capital at FR with my 2CI army group. That’s when I found that my Cimmerians weren’t as impressive in battle as I thought they’d be. The BL ended up with slightly lower attrition at the end, and may have won if he hadn’t ordered an organized withdrawal.
Turns 10 and 11 turned out to be pivotal. The WA got his ESO, but the DE and CI did not. The DE didn’t because I FORGOT TO PROMOTE THE LAST DUKE TO A PRINCE (thus we see the danger of running 3 positions at once).
The CI didn’t get his because one of the three L7 agents I needed got assassinated. I did have a level 6 as backup who was training that turn, but if he got axed I would have no chance. I had the WA ward all 3 of my agents.
On the other hand, the CI not getting his ESO did present an opportunity that was, in the words of Colonel Miles Quaritch from Avatar, “both timely and unique.”
I brought my 1CI patrol to FR on turn 10 and transferred in all my brigades. Between my reinforcements and the losses to the BL, it ended up with 10 brigades, a power 2, and the Gem. The city in 5 was at NH. I had been planning to raise my 2 to a 3 that turn then teleport next turn. But since the 1CI was still an army, it meant I could teleport immediately, and if I got my ESO on turn 11 (which I did) the BL would see an army group show up at his city with no ready explanation as to how it got there, which I hoped would have a detrimental impact on his morale.
Also on turn 10, the NO launched a major diplomatic incursion into the Steppes, and moved in with the 1NO army. I had my DE princes do a triple denigrate, and threw in some status quo orders. I ended up bagging almost his entire diplo corps – 1 Duke, 2 barons and 3 governors. Not a bad haul.
I also had my WA agent poison the food in 1NO, and had my DE fanatic 10 assassinate his Lord Commander. Both missions were successful, although it cost my fanatic 4 levels, which I felt was a fair price. My 2DE army group intercepted him, and we fought a couple minor battles before he left the Steppes.
Here’s where something odd occurred. The UN had an army sitting at the BL city for 3+ turns. He didn’t move in any emissaries, and the troops just sat there. I knew he was still in the game, since I saw actions from him on the reports. When I teleported in with my 1CI, I debated not attacking the group, since I didn’t want to start fighting 2 players at once. I ended up attacking anyway, caught him by surprise, destroyed the group and snagged the rod of fire.
Another oddity happened when I divined towns in 10. I saw 5 towns, but got no “clouded” results, which was strange since I knew the NO started with a hidden capital. A few turns later I found he’d moved it to a village in the sea of Foreboding. I can see the advantages of a capital in the water, but I don’t know why you’d trade a hidden one for one that could be taken by a small division.
At any rate, as the BL had declared both the CI and DE as enemies, I had the WA emissaries move into 5, as he could get to friendly. I also sold the Gem to the 2DE, and on turn 12 used it to teleport to a town in 10. On turn 13 I gated in my princes, sending 2 to the city and also moved in a few other emissaries via pop centers in 9. I was all ready to make a move on the region, when I saw that there was a TY army group that had moved to the city I just gated to.
Oops.
Okay, no problem, time for plan B. I decided to make a move on 9 instead. I popped my 2DE army group into the mountains to pick up some orcs while I waited to see if my princes would escape, which they did. I then moved emissaries to every pop center in 9 I could see, and teleported my army group to the city, where the DA had moved his capital. I took the region on turn 16. The DA moved his 1DA to the city the turn I took it, and I had planned to have the 1CI move through a portal to be there along with the 2DE, but never having used a portal before I messed up the order. So I threw wall of flame with the 2DE, and teleported to the city in 10. The 1CI did show up the next turn, and we had a fun little battle where I took out 9+ brigades.
On turn 15, the WA gained control of 5. Also, on turn 13 I had noticed the BL groups didn’t move. I figured he was probably going to drop soon, and started moving CI emissaries into region 1. He did drop on turn 16, and the GN/UN/IL dropped on 17. As of turn 16, I had regions 2,3,5,6 and 9, and was on the verge of getting 1. All I needed was one more to win, which I could accomplish in two more turns. I had my WA power 8 leave off training and get into the game with summon demon spells (got a DA fanatic 15 and a TY baroness), and gated into 10. Netstrider, who was playing the SO/DA/TY, made a hard push into 5 and 6, but I managed to retake enough towns to hold onto the regions and secure the win when I got region 10 on turn 18. I also had a lot of agent action on the last turn, the most notable of which was my CI Fanatic 14 armed with the Ruler Eliminator assassinating the TY king.
All in all a fun game, and I benefited from quite a bit of luck. Some things I learned:
1) It is really tough to go after the DE diplomatically, unless you are sure he’s committed his princes to a different region. That denigrate is potent.
2) I don’t see much point in any wizard kingdom raising their wizards past power 7. The spells you get don’t seem worth the investment.
3) When using a portal, don’t put the destination portal square in your movement order (DUH!).
4) Getting adepts and wizards in your ESO when you play a wizard kingdom is a really good idea. They came in awfully handy for diplomatic action later in the game when I was throwing around sleep spells like a clown at a parade throws candy.
5) Best emissary name award goes the TY for Baroness Wagga Butta.