The Choosing - 3rd Beta Comments

[The Gray Mouser]

The Lizard Kingdom. 

It was clear immediately how fresh this kingdom is.  They are the Elder Race of Alamaze, though underground and recovering from the 1st Age while 2nd Cycle was underway.  They are certainly not mindless reptilians. 

The military can be a cool strategic and tactical tickle.  The kingdom brigades are kind of average, but can add muscle with their Saurus companions, and deception with the Chameleons, as well as the more fodder-like Swampmen which are cheap.  Supremacy in the swamp/marsh means the Lizard King will likely compel the surrender of marsh PC's, though they may be few. 
        
Cunning, Devout, Cultural, Healing, Order, Ruthless, Spy Network, Trackers, Magic Advantage.
Those are an interesting array of traits.  How will I strategize around that?

I have a town in the Sands, where the Nomad is.  I need a negotiation. 

Magic is "Advantaged", which is pretty good, with lots of spells gotten at earlier levels, especially nature or covert like spells.

This should be a fun kingdom that might want to engage in negotiation and can go in many different strategic directions.  I think this could be a surprise kingdom for those that might think the Lizard King is like the 2nd Cycle Trolls: they are not.  Both magically advantaged and Devout, with Healing but also Order and Ruthless, a Spy Network, Cunning, and Trackers.  That's interesting. 

More later.

[Atuan]

WA - early impressions. Really enjoying the location, feels like the WA should be able to protect the region. Love the hidden capital. Not sure if I like it more for the agent 4 or for the additional protection. Troops and troop movement are seriously poor. You need the agent 4 to help scout the region. Wizards are strong, however not getting eagle familiar until level 3 hurts. When you count your movement speed agents and the 1p4 you get. You will likely be behind other kingdoms in scouting out your region. Politicians and political strength are a weakness and you will need to take a governor and influence to bring those more into balance as a part of your set-up. The companion brigades seem extremely good and flexible. You have early options for recruiting as well as later more powerful 565ing.

Those wishing to reach the scribe of the wa should do so by emailing somethingissilly@yahoo.com

[VballMichael]

Atlantians

From the notes on the last beta, Atlantians not given high marks. Seafaring kingdom but limited. I may be naïve, but I am not seeing that.

Starts with 6 traits, 3 of which raise influence among other things, so start with 14 influence and get an extra order, so 17 orders on turn 1, plus two extra standing orders. So, I won't run short on orders.
Feudal means a couple of extra emissaries plus Oratory makes 330 easier, so should take my region quickly. Secretive is huge, hidden capital.
Then there is Seafaring which makes AT pretty strong in the water and moves very quickly in water, so again helps cover region (though very slow in most terrain). Also gives a L4 agent, so 4 more squares covered.

Nothing special about the military, other than it is a new kingdom with customizable troops, though pretty limited recruiting list.

Seems like a pretty balanced kingdom, with strong political abilities. Magic is light but not ridiculous (level 5), agents are plentiful, and early spells probably not that helpful unless have sea battles.
Given the number of orders, I am actually going to spend one of my points on gold. Then I like the gating ability. Should come in handy throughout the game.

Sadly, 2 of my groups are pretty far away, so they will not be adding any search ability to my region for a while.

Can't forget to get that Fool busy. He was very helpful in the last Beta.

I think the kingdom will get a quick start, and the rest depends on the player and the strategy.

[Hawk_]

Nomad-
The artwork looks a bit like a dark paladin to me.  Cool, but not sure if it fits.  Maybe a horse archer could be found?
I like the kingdom names, they fit the flavor very well.  The agent names are pretty cool too.
Very fun that the Nomads have scorpions, kind of revenge of the mummy type stuff.  That is neat.
I like the way the groups report where they are located. Nice turn sheet upgrade.
The group names are awesome like  "Bloodriders, Second Sons, etc...)
Town names fit the southern sands very well.
Overall, the Nomad kingdom has a strong court and large military full of killer archers.  Hope to get to stage some battles against other players to see what the battle reports look like.
Some decent magic potential with the nomad.  Kind of like the BL dragon in many ways.   Only frustrating thing about them is the movement factor of 5 for the plains.
Shield at level 1 is a nice spell.  Windstorm could be bad news for my groups...  it seems overpowered as defense vs. the Nomad at first glance.  Maybe there should be a 3 level counter winds spell.

[IMPERIAL_TARK]

The Halfling Kingdom

Of course, initial expectations are "small" before opening up the Kingdom Set-up and Turn 0 (probably just a variation of the Gnome after all... right?!)..... NOT!

The new and improved Halflings are definitely "Stout".  They open with a whopping 11 Traits including the knowledge of two artifacts one of which is the coveted Ring of Invisibility!   With the full monte of Charisma, Cunning, and Oratory, they gain +2 to starting Influence, all their diplomats are at +15% on the full set of 310/315/320/330 orders, a 10K bonus to HC bids,
and agent/defense bonuses.  They get 33% resistance to BOTH death magics and battle magics, are immune to Fear and Chaos, and then 25% reduction in magic damage for what does get through.  Three different traits give them bonuses to PC defenses combined with their industrious nature giving them food/gold production bonuses.  And just for good measure they get the Adventurers trait and Stalwart gives them bonuses to leader promotion/emergence and improved wizard survivability.  Last but not least you get Tricks of the Trade so you get trade bonuses and agent bonuses. So you're already thinking JACKPOT!  But wait..... it gets better..... no.... it gets freaking better!

They get Fight to the Last Man tactic, a huge defense bonus, they get the Hobbit Trading Company so they get a 3:2 trade bonus on Order #200 instead of 3:1.  They also get a special order which reveals ALL trades from all kingdoms that turn.  They can hire a new Marshall, P2 Wizard, or L7 Agent on demand (at a hefty cost of 100K, but still, its nice to be able to hire new help to replace losses).  They also get to start with a bonus Marshall and P3 Wizard. They can also build their Elite ships in any sea even if they DON'T have a port PC in those waters.  Insane right!  But we're still not done.

They only get captured at 25% when your PC falls instead of the usual 50%, their agents get +3 levels when Stealing Food, Gold, or Artifacts AND when doing a 970 Recon.  Their agents also get +3 levels protecting personnel with a 925 order against assassination.  And they get Lesser Masking and combat bonuses in Mountain terrain.  So now everybody wants to play the Halflings.... but I saved the best for last.  This is by far my favorite special ability:  All of their PCs automatically provide you with a L1 Recon of that PC every turn.  They will know when and where every enemy emmy and agent is when they move on their PCs.  Sign me up!

But...... there are some negatives  
Their military is underwhelming and only have one companion brigade type (Centaurs).  Their movement rate is slow in all terrains. Their agents lose 3 levels when conducting Assassinate missions. But the big daddy is that Level 3 Magic is their top level and costs 12K per level.  They can't even gain Teleport Brigade till Level 6.... so they won't be teleporting anywhere.

Clearly they will want to make friends with either a big military or wizard kingdom for protection and then get busy trading and utilizing their amazing diplomats and agents.

I was very, very, very pleasantly surprised.

bschrade@emporia.edu for anyone wanting to be the Halflings "special friend"

[mafmiller]

AM
Here are my initial impressions of my neighbors ...
To my north, are the Druids. I thought these would be like a more magical Elf, but after reading over their materials, I think they are more like a more Elven wizard kingdom. Their military looks ho-hum, but they would seem to me to excel in magic and - in the forest - defense. Resources shouldn't be a problem for them. If the Amazons' long-term goal is to take Zone 1, I would think it should be done early; before those mages advance too far. Be careful, though! The Amazons' military advantage would be cut sharply in the forest, both because of losing the plains advantage and because they would lose some of the effectiveness of their excellent archers (although, they are especially good in the short range, so that would be less effected). I might want to consider building up the navy in Mystery or allying with a naval kingdom there, as the Druids have a weaker sea force than the Amazons. This could provide good support in taking over the Zone.
To the south are the Halflings. These would make excellent natural allies. The Amazons could offer protection with their strong military in exchange for trade and covert assistance. They would be very powerful together. I wouldn't want to try to take them out militarily with the Amazons. They are too strong defensively, and Runnimede has too much non-plain terrain.
It looks to me that my eastern neighbors, the Sacred Order, could either be a dangerous foe or a valuable ally. They seem to me to have a better military over all. If I were to attack them, I would want to improve upon my ranged weapon advantage and knock out as much as I could early. We are both equal in the plains. I guess I would try to plan an attack for the summer. If we were allied, we could really dominate the center and southwest.
Lastly, I want to comment on the Pirates. I would guess that they have a strong presence in Foreboding and Mystery (probably in every sea). This makes me want to reach out to them. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about traveling by sea this early in the game, but I wonder if that's safe now?
Well, this is what the landscape looks like to me at this very early time. It will be interesting to see how things play out ... even more so when the 3rd Cycle games start for real and relationships with neighbors really make a difference!

[Jumpingfist]

TY


There is no question the Tyrant his here to make some noise and rule by fear.  Being a kingdom that has no "home region" but rather they own the south with 7 PC spread out between region 5 and 7-9.  My capital in one region but two of my 3 starting divisions in another with a brigade of Warg Rider in a 3rd.  Although no hidden capital the capital can start in any of three regions so just running across one of 3 the starting TY towns does not mean you found the capital early on.  
They take what the want and keep what they take.  11 starting brigade spread over 4 starting groups with a max of 6.  able to recruit 7 types of companion units likely 8 as the have siege engineering but war machines are not available/listed in setup.  Having two traits that boost defense and two traits that maintain a status for a +20% defense bonus to owned PCs and 4 points of maintain status quo.  Being Ruthless they cause fear to enemy troops and PCs lowering there combat strength by 10%.  To finish the military off they get a P4 wraith (but does not have teleport)

Politically they have the minimum emissaries but there influence is a strong 13 which will help manage the military orders needed.  The status quo will also help keep other from overwhelming the TY with low ranking emissaries.

Covert. They have an average cost to raise agents and start with many including a lvl 6.  They also get intrinsic covert defenses for there PCs.

Magic.  Substandard and two of the three early spells are still past the maximum assured power level.  But they do get a level 4 wraith in addition to the standard complement of would be wizards substandard provides.  There spell lists are miserable but what were you expecting.  They also have a +33% susceptiblity to battle magics.

If you like a kingdom that starts strong and can flex there muscles early this is the kingdom for you.  They also have soon good high end companions and traits to help them survive in the later game.  But this is not a building up type kingdom.  To do well you will certainly need to make enemies.  I believe the TY is a great kingdom for beginners and has enough nuance to also be a great kingdom for the experienced players as well.  They can threaten in full diplomacy and swarm in an anon game making them a strong kingdom in any format.  I believe the TY will be one of the signature kingdoms of 3rd cycle.

[Jumpingfist]

Tyrant continued

Scope of the lands
Looking around being so spread out there are many potential enemies. First likely no need to expand to the north since I already have holdings in 3 southern regions plus amberland. The fastest way to combine would likely be to move all my groups into R5 or R8 but is that best when considering what kingdoms are in each region
R5 - Sacred order and Pirates. SA though not riders get flanking and even worse they are stalwart so would be immune to my ruthless fear. I may be able to win by numbers but why fight such a strong military power when there are weaker ones to be had. In all likely hood the PY would also aid the SA vs me if blows were exchanged.
R7 - Halfling - weak military though they do get stalwart. Also weak magics. HA does make for a temping target. But the HA ability to make good income could likely play a role in a favorable negotiation or extortion.
R8 - Illusionist - a pure Mage. Could get very ugly quick if I were to jump on a well prepared Mage. But also better to take a Mage out ahead of time. If I plan to fight the IL it is better that I attack hard and early
R9 - Lizard men - a balanced kingdom but one I may stack up well against. Some magic but not much to start the game.
R10 - Nomads - another balanced kingdom but a lot of strengths that would work well again me. Riders so flanking, archery to hit my already weak middle defenses of my groups even harder. Lots of deserts which they fight well and I have a hard time moving through.

[Netstrider]

Druid

I think the Druid kingdom will be a lot of fun to play. Nice magic kingdom with a ton of spells and special abilities. Eagle familiar is a very powerful spell for early/mid game.

My feeling on 3rd cycle is that there are lots of options but not enough time/space to do all of them. Experimenting with strategies is going to take a lot of games playing a lot of kingdoms.

One suggestion is that you take a look at increasing the general availability of orders to match the general increase in numbers of things you can do. And if you could make the early game customization/eso/name change orders free that would help tremendously. I'm using all of my orders just to cast recon spells and move my groups. Will have to give up something important just to claim my customization and I shouldn't have to make that trade.

Another thought - getting into battles in the early turns may be interesting as Cimmerian, but some kingdoms get better with age. Not sure how many more betas you are going to do, but a 12 turn beta doesn't say much about how the magic kingdoms are going to do later in the game. My strategy with the DU would be to build up for a mid-game assault, say turn 15, when I've had a chance to build up some companion and summoned troops. 12 turns probably won't be enough to both build and march somewhere.

Already late for work and sorry for the stream of consciousness feedback

[Jumpingfist]

For me I actually like there being less than enough orders to do everything. It forces you to prioritize. If we had enough orders to get everything done on turn one I believe it would actually lead to a more unbalanced game as some kingdoms especially the balanced ones just have more things they can do. So would have a new kind of advantage. For my TY I made a choice not to activate my 6th group and instead save the orders for 2 other things. I also did not train all my agents I wanted to. But that was my choice on how I wanted to form my kingdom and strategy.
If I had to many more orders it would not be much personalization in how I plan a kingdom vs someone else because all things could get done.
All that said I do still agree a few orders that basically everyone should enter like 11 and 991 should be free