Maelstrom Test Game

[PTRILEY]

Same with HA Guarded Attack Also, HA gets Roherem for starting troops but can’t recruit them as companions? Is that weird? Just curious

[unclemike]

It does not:
Level 2: Guarded Attack, Firestrike, Light Of The Evening Star (Intrinsic), Bridge Of Mist, Diplomacy, Create Gold, Ward, Sleep, Reveal King's Influence, Speed, Heal

Level 3: Presence (Intrinsic), Wind Storm, Dispel Magic, Guarded Attack, Ward Population Center, Dispel Dome of Invulnerability, Bridge Of Mist (Intrinsic), Mirror Image, Dire Wolf Familiar, Conceal Emissary, Strengthen Walls, Fertile Fields, Hidden Ore, Dispel Storm at Sea, Ship of Mist, Lesser Masking, Teleport Self, Invisible Patrol, Eagle Familiar

The mistake was in the spell lists that I received for development so I just need Rick's ruling on what level the Ancient Ones should get Guarded Attack.

Yes, the Ancient One spell lists improved.  Guarded Attack now available at P2.  They also get Summon Death at P6 (with now maximum assured of Power 7), Dome of Invulnerability at P6 and Dispel Dome at P3, among other changes.

Again, many kingdoms spell lists changed.  Perhaps none more than the Halflings.

I'll remove the Guarded Attack at level 3 (so it becomes a 2nd level only spell for the AN) but some of the above isn't correct. The spell list for the Ancient Ones does not get Summon Death at 6th level (it's 8th level), and Dome is received at 7th level. To avoid confusion, I can print out the spell lists for every kingdom if Rick wants but it was mentioned in another thread not to disclose such information to allow Maelstrom some mystery...

[gkmetty]

With the new requirements to have a port to build fleets above quality 13. This seems to prevent adding fleets to a sea if the kingdom traits increase fleet quality beyond 13. The AT get a bonus of +3 which brings the fleet quality to 13, then the Sword Coast adds another quality point to 14. This means I cannot increase fleet size until I build a port. Is this how the rule was intended?

[unclemike]

Same with HA Guarded Attack   Also, HA gets Roherem for starting troops but can’t recruit them as companions?  Is that weird? Just curious

The Halfling setup shows Guarded Attack for level 2 and is not duplicated for level 3 so that spell list should be ok. Rohirrim may be a carryover from The Choosing. Rick was fairly rushed during the holidays to get all of Maelstrom done so there may be some minor things like that in the game. I'll clean it up as we go along.

One thing that I added to the kingdom turn report fairly recently was to color code non-kingdom groups at your pop centers (listed under Encounters of Note after the Group section). Since that section is really the only indication that you get if an enemy group is at one of your pc's, I wanted to make the warning more pronounced and noticeable. I really wanted to move that warning down into the food/gold pc production section with its own enemy group line but that required too much work so I just ended up highlighting the Encounters of Note area. I'll continue to improve the game in the weeks ahead but I can't do anything major until my next break.

[PTRILEY]

I saw that, and it looks great, very noticeable

[unclemike]

With the new requirements to have a port to build fleets above quality 13.  This seems to prevent adding fleets to a sea if the kingdom traits increase fleet quality beyond 13.  The AT get a bonus of +3 which brings the fleet quality to 13, then the Sword Coast adds another quality point to 14.  This means I cannot increase fleet size until I build a port.  Is this how the rule was intended?

Personally, I think that naval quality for both the Pirate and Atlantians are way too high. The Seafaring trait should only provide +1 naval quality instead of +3 as The Choosing. Also, I feel that the customization option to improve naval quality by +2 should only be valid for non-Seafaring trait kingdoms otherwise it makes the Pirates and Atlantian fleets way too powerful at the start of the game. But seapower for Maelstrom and the enhancements that customization, trait, or regional character provides will have to remain for a while...

[Calidor]

I can only tell you that two turns ago my brigades disappeared and without notice it was corrected last turn.

It does not:
Level 2: Guarded Attack, Firestrike, Light Of The Evening Star (Intrinsic), Bridge Of Mist, Diplomacy, Create Gold, Ward, Sleep, Reveal King's Influence, Speed, Heal

Level 3: Presence (Intrinsic), Wind Storm, Dispel Magic, Guarded Attack, Ward Population Center, Dispel Dome of Invulnerability, Bridge Of Mist (Intrinsic), Mirror Image, Dire Wolf Familiar, Conceal Emissary, Strengthen Walls, Fertile Fields, Hidden Ore, Dispel Storm at Sea, Ship of Mist, Lesser Masking, Teleport Self, Invisible Patrol, Eagle Familiar

The mistake was in the spell lists that I received for development so I just need Rick's ruling on what level the Ancient Ones should get Guarded Attack.

Yes, the Ancient One spell lists improved.  Guarded Attack now available at P2.  They also get Summon Death at P6 (with now maximum assured of Power 7), Dome of Invulnerability at P6 and Dispel Dome at P3, among other changes.

Again, many kingdoms spell lists changed.  Perhaps none more than the Halflings.

I'll remove the Guarded Attack at level 3 (so it becomes a 2nd level only spell for the AN) but some of the above isn't correct. The spell list for the Ancient Ones does not get Summon Death at 6th level (it's 8th level), and Dome is received at 7th level. To avoid confusion, I can print out the spell lists for every kingdom if Rick wants but it was mentioned in another thread not to disclose such information to allow Maelstrom some mystery...

I think many of the setups are already circulating. I would like to see them all in one source document. When it’s only a mystery to some players I don’t really see the point.

[Draugr]

With the new requirements to have a port to build fleets above quality 13.  This seems to prevent adding fleets to a sea if the kingdom traits increase fleet quality beyond 13.  The AT get a bonus of +3 which brings the fleet quality to 13, then the Sword Coast adds another quality point to 14.  This means I cannot increase fleet size until I build a port.  Is this how the rule was intended?

You need to build them lower quality to equal overall 13.   But yeah seems like you should always be able to build strength 13 ships even if your overall quality ends up higher.

[Ry Vor]

First, if Mike finds the time, I think its ok to create a page with the spell tables.  Obviously, we aren't going to have 200 pages of complete spell lists like in the turn report, but a list of spell numbers, description and then what level each kingdom gets them.  Also cultural traits by kingdom.

Mike has done a great job with Maelstrom, and that he is still addressing so many support / forum questions is beyond what he committed to do.  I have been leaving most of these to him because I am not sure what is in the code vs. the various design docs.

There have been entire sections of the forum on the long development of Maelstrom which never got coded because it was too complicated.  In the lull between The Choosing and the realization we weren't going to do Maelstrom I did Amoricia - a pseudo North America map in a game intended for 7 players with some new features and distinct native tribes as potential Companions.  Well, we didn't do that either and then Mike surprised me with a proposal to do a quick version of Maelstrom in a very limited development timetable.  I liked the project oriented aspect of this work, but from a design perspective it involved taking bits and pieces from the greater design and making quick decisions on that and making conclusions on how those choices effected the whole.

Without getting windy, various things that were robust were put in a more limited form if they made it in.  New spells didn't get in.  Sea power had a whole module that was scraped.  Separating Rulership (the number of commands that can be given) from Influence (noble power) didn't make it.  A new kind of combat was going to be attacking castles, but that got scraped too, as did a dozen or so new cultural traits, and a more robust model of differentiating regions, what is called Regional Character.  The whole magic system was going to be revamped, and some of that made it in, mainly in the revisions to spell lists.  Again, with 100 spells and 24 kingdoms and 10 spell power levels (including never available), just that aspect is 2400 cells with 10 alternative possibilities each.  We couldn't do Cantrips, which were a twist on intrinsic spells, in that a high power wizard could cast two spells in a turn, with one being low power.  We went with maybe 20 PC Improvements that were all one turn builds instead of about 50 improvements some of which took multiple turns, could be sabotaged in progress, and had multiple synergies.  We got some of that in the release.  We didn't get to the new kingdoms under consideration.  Then, beyond just deciding what could be in and as always the remarkable difference between what seems easy to the designer and what is easy to the developer, there was a lot of back and forth and in the time pressure of trying to get this mostly done really over the holiday season.

All that mainly to say Mike did a lot more and over a much longer time frame than originally discussed, and from what I can see so far in Maelstrom, it is going largely as hoped and just as with The Choosing vs. Resurgence, players will take awhile to adapt.  I think and hope we may see more frequent "little wars" rather than the overwhelming blitzkrieg that is the usual successful approach in The Choosing.  I can see more border disputes and still more defense orientation facilitated by tight control and loyal populace as well as castles and economic improvements.

Its too early to draw conclusions but I have liked the spread in kingdom selections, generally going to a default more to the balanced and perhaps military kingdoms at this early juncture, and still completely opposite views depending on who is talking on the strength of individual regions.

[Calidor]

Are Minor Cities roughly the same difficulty to take as the 3rd cycle cities?   I honestly have no idea what I need to take any of the PCs.

Simple answer yes harder

Long answer:
Minor city is base 5. 
X1.5 friendly assuming you raised your reaction level = 7.5 difficulty
X2 to go from human control to usurping = 15 difficulty
Random factor =/- 15%.  = 17.25 to ensure you take the PC

So will assume 13 influence 
Duke (70%) = 9.1
Count (60%) = 7.8
Pro Gov(30%) = 3.9

If you used duke to stir unrest (315) and count to usurp (330).  Total would be 16.9. Very close like 90% you take it.   100% if you have cunning or orator
If you also stir unrest with pro gov or an ambassador for sure you take it.

Trying to work through this for my Ancient Ones. They have Acuity (+5 to roll Rebel/Usurp) and Orator (+15% Usurp)
Would this just make my "random factor" range +5% to +35% instead of +/-15%?

So in the example above would my Count be worth 9.1 + (.455 to 3.185) or 9.555 to 12.285 ?