Do You Like to be Teased?

[Ry Vor]

May give the expression "A Fool's Errand" a new meaning, if it means kidnapping a Fool. Your agent advances, your enemy loses 0.3 Influence, you gain a Fool and 0.3 Influence. We want to move more toward kidnapping and rescue over time from assassination and execution.

[Lord Diamond]

It will be especially cool if the Fool is allowed to gain the bonus past the 20 influence max for order 480. Those last five points can be difficult.

[Ry Vor]

As I've said, more than half of design is deciding what can be left out, not figuring out everything that could be put in, and while I have eliminated some of the more complicated concepts, I'm still undecided about a few.

For example, we can leave the HP alone, and so not spend time redoing that model, or we can redo it.  In notes I have:

High Priestess.  Weary and Exhausted health status instead of death through divination, refinements to divinations and artifact classes (such that a key for a quest artifact is in the class of the quest artifact, others).  Captured HP’s become active of the capturing kingdom.  The #790 (Divine short name) order will be modified to provide more precision, such as selecting "In the wild" or owned or either, or by region.  Bless may be a new ability.  Could have a path to acquire a High Priestess of:

• Construct Temple;
  
• Attract Noble Maiden;
  
• Undergo Test for the Gift (like Rite of the Magi), which if successful, she becomes a Priestess with some abilities;
  
• Then with a Sacred Ceremony she becomes a High Priestess with all HP abilities.
  
• Divinations can only occur in PC's with a Temple.
  
• Some kingdoms might have difficulty attracting Noble Maidens and have less success with the Test for the Gift.
  

So its kind of an involved thing for something not broken.  It's sort of a way to introduce PC improvements with the temple, and makes the HP progression more like wizards and agents.  Mainly its just if existing players want it, as I don't think we get new players because of this.

[Drogo]

I would actually like to see the HP have a few more order options. Now that a PC's ownership is identified when you move over it the HP seem to have some lesser value. My wish might be for some more, unique abilities for the HP.

[Lord Diamond]

As I've said, more than half of design is deciding what can be left out, not figuring out everything that could be put in, and while I have eliminated some of the more complicated concepts, I'm still undecided about a few.

For example, we can leave the HP alone, and so not spend time redoing that model, or we can redo it.  In notes I have:

High Priestess.  Weary and Exhausted health status instead of death through divination, refinements to divinations and artifact classes (such that a key for a quest artifact is in the class of the quest artifact, others).  Captured HP’s become active of the capturing kingdom.  The #790 (Divine short name) order will be modified to provide more precision, such as selecting "In the wild" or owned or either, or by region.  Bless may be a new ability.  Could have a path to acquire a High Priestess of:

• Construct Temple;
  
• Attract Noble Maiden;
  
• Undergo Test for the Gift (like Rite of the Magi), which if successful, she becomes a Priestess with some abilities;
  
• Then with a Sacred Ceremony she becomes a High Priestess with all HP abilities.
  
• Divinations can only occur in PC's with a Temple.
  
• Some kingdoms might have difficulty attracting Noble Maidens and have less success with the Test for the Gift.
  

So its kind of an involved thing for something not broken.  It's sort of a way to introduce PC improvements with the temple, and makes the HP progression more like wizards and agents.  Mainly its just if existing players want it, as I don't think we get new players because of this.

I like this a lot. If you get serious about this, and I hope you do, I think this could be the core of something really cool. It would be nice to make the High Priestess as cool and as valued as the wizards, or more so. 

[Rogal]

I really like the idea of the possible navy expansion.  This could lead to less selling the navies on turn one, and more trying to get a population center in every sea for trade.   This could also help those empires who have trouble getting their first region not be left with out another possible income stream.  

[Ry Vor]

The Choosing: Brigades are Forming

Been working on The Choosing brigades over the last few days.  After eliminating maybe 10 or so of them, we currently have 54 brigade types under construction.  That's kingdom brigades, recruitable brigades, special order (565 - 568) brigade types, and summoned brigades.

Battle phases will be altered in The Choosing so that now we will have long and short range missile fire (instead of one phase), and a Charge phase replaces the cavalry phases, such that infantry and other troop types that have a shock value participate in the charge phase, there are two melee phases, where generally more organized brigades are better in the first, but force of impact is still a factor, and the more individual combat types do better in the second melee phase.  Then if the battle continues, there is a composite value where missile troops again find targets, cavalry re-engages, etc, in combined phases, until the retreat.  

At this point, when considering composite attack values and defense, the top strength brigade types are:

Red Dragon
Phoenix
Sacred Order
Hill Giants
Trolls
Mammoths

Phoenix is the Black Dragon special brigade type, Sacred Order is a new kingdom, similar to the Paladins military-wise, Hill Giants (smaller than Stone Giants) are a 565 type brigade for a few kingdoms, Trolls are a 565 for a couple kingdoms including The Tyrant, and Mammoths are a 565 with high conditions, likely including a Marshal and an Elite brigade in the group. 

[Madmardigan]

Naval Changes for The Choosing.

Trade Mission.  Fleets can be sent on a Trade Mission to trade local luxuries and bring in 1000 gold per fleet for the mission, per turn used – new order number #711.  The Trade Mission must begin with a controlled coastal or sea area PC, and name 5 contiguous (and unique) sea areas.  It can be interdicted by a Sea Patrol in those areas.

Sea Patrol has a finite range within the sea.  The default is 8 contiguous areas (seas average about 27 areas).  A Sea Patrol would have the chance to interdict any group that has sea movement through any of those areas.  Two kingdoms both on sea patrol involving any same area have a 90% chance of engaging in a sea battle.  Some kingdoms may have a different range for sea patrol.

Elite Ship.  A kingdom may construct one elite, custom cutter (ship) to transport its patrols in that sea.  The ship is of new technology and so, expensive.  Such equipped patrols will not be interdicted by sea patrol.  They evade combat if their turn is ended in the same area as an attacking navy.  The elite ship can be sabotaged, however, in which case its protections cease (and it is destroyed) until a replacement elite ship in that sea is built.  Costs 6k, one per sea max per kingdom.  Players are asked to name their elite ship when constructing it.
Order #749.
Column A:  Sea Abbreviation (D, F, M or T)
Column B:  Location of kingdom owned PC within 1 area of Sea square
Column C:  Area adjacent to PC in Col B that is in the Sea in Col A
Column D:  Name the ship (up to 20 characters)
Resource Cost:  6000 gold

I love all three of these orders. The first two make navies much more useful and oikely to be used. Elite Ship is cool and will mke me feel a lot better about searching those water based unusual sightings! 

I have to agree with LD here.  These look great.
Has anyone ever discussed rivers and traveling by rivers into other sea areas?  
This would definitely make one want to develop fleets as both a vehicle for attack and defense.  

[Sinestro]

Have you ever thought about letting players choose the names of the Emmys/agents/wizards/ and leaders?

For example, when a game starts up, players have 48 hours to change the name of their people?

I'd like to name some people like Count Dracula and Prince Humperdinck.

Donno if that was a change you made, thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

[Lord Diamond]

Have you ever thought about letting players choose the names of the Emmys/agents/wizards/ and leaders?

For example, when a game starts up, players have 48 hours to change the name of their people?

I'd like to name some people like Count Dracula and Prince Humperdinck.

Donno if that was a change you made, thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

I'm not certainif UM still allows this, but we have been allowed to change all our character names for a $5 fee.