Dominions 5 - Return of the Octopus Overlords

[RMC]

Hello All,
My new ISP is not playing nice with my static IP address, so we are going to start a game on the famous Server Link.

Basically it is a PBEM version where it emails you your turn, and you download it, play your turn and then upload it again. We can set the server to even do a timer, IE - 48 hrs or whatever, so it will send reminders if you need to submit a turn, so it's a good way to get a reminder.

We can figure out all of the basics we want to play with, but I figured we should get who wants to play and what era.

I am guessing MA, is the easiest to start with. But let me know who wants in, and we can get it all set-up.

Map: Random 200 Provinces
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uzr96uth7sru ... gUMua?dl=0

Game Name: ReturnoftheOctopi (Need to put in subject when sending in pretender)
Game Site:
http://www.llamaserver.net/gameinfo.cgi ... ftheOctopi
FAQ on how to send in pretenders and turns:
http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=35160
But here is the basics:
- Go to Game Tools -> Create a pretender god in Dominions. Don't set a password, since for PBEM games they're not helpful and occasionally annoying (e.g. if you need a sub)
- Go to the savedgames/newlords folder in the dominions directory, and find your pretender file (e.g. mid_pythium_0.2h)
- E-mail the file to: pretenders[ at ]llamaserver[ dot ]net
- Crucially, you must have the game name in the subject line of your e-mail


Players/Nations:
Team Zenn7
Zenn7-Ashdod Not Uploaded
Freyland - Machaka uploaded
RMC- Ys uploaded

Team Sepiche
Sepiche - Marignon Uploaded
Lordmortis - Pangea Not Uploaded
Baelthazar - R'yleah Uploaded

Team Zarathud
Zarathud - Ulm Not Uploaded
Tgb - Bandor Log Uploaded
T-Sceleria Uploaded

[Freyland]

Freyland -- Those Spider dudes, or Ulm since I at least vaguely remember them from Dom3. (Tried farting around last night, really need to review the manual)

[tgb]

Bandar Log for me because monkey people!

[T]

MA is fine. Since I didn't play Dom 4 I'm sure they've added in many new factions, so I am out of touch. I will come up with a faction soon. Are there any we are banning?

[RMC]

MA is fine. Since I didn't play Dom 4 I'm sure they've added in many new factions, so I am out of touch. I will come up with a faction soon. Are there any we are banning?

Nah, I am guessing we will do Coop, so we will do disciples and designate a main pretender.

[LordMortis]

I'll take the healing human guys, assuming we are playing early or middle. I don't think they exist late.

Man, I have some learning/relearning to do.

[RMC]

We all have to remember what the nations are. I'll try to find a list.

I am guessing MA is what we will play. Lots of nations and a good blend of magic.

[Zenn7]

MA is fine.

Suggest we ban the undead factions from our team (if our pretender is undead, the rest of us are screwed; if not and you pick an undead disciple, you are likely to be severely handicapped).

Other than that, we are likely going with 0 change heat/cold scale (to accommodate the most players w/o negative impact). Would suggest staying away from the +2/+3 heat/cold scale factions.

The "spider dudes" are Machaka - they are +2 heat scale so you may not want them, up to you.

I'll pick a faction tonight.

[LordMortis]

http://www.illwinter.com/dom5/dom5manual.pdf

races start on page 99

Ermor is what I want but it looks like only if we play early era. If we play middle they become undead?

Spoiler:

105
Marverni
Marverni is a nation inspired by C
eltic Gaul. Gutuaters, vergob
rets, druid astrologers, and blood
sacrifices are all heavily influenced by the accounts of Caesar
and Roman historians. Bare-chested
warriors or nobles dressed in newl
y invented chain mail fight s
ide-by-side with their
chieftains to prove
their worth. Bronze horns in the i
mage of various animals are a
lso images to keep in mind. Further
inspiration was probably found in
Asterix
, a remarkably good comic by the way.

Mictlan
Mictlan is a nation mainly inspi
red by the Aztecs and their pra
ctice of blood sacrifices. The name is that
of the realm of the dead in Azt
ec mythology. Tenochtitlan was b
uild on a swamp, and so is the Mictlan
capital, but Mictlan, particularl
y in the late era, is also a n
ation of the rainforest, c
loser in resemblance to
the Maya. Toads are common on
mural motives, but the Slann of W
hite Wolf's
Warhammer
is probably
an equally important source of
influence on the Atlantian remak
ing of the Mictlan nati
on in the late era.
Quetzalcouatl, the Lawgiver, fi
gures in most of the Mesoamerica
n cultures as a returning savior figure.
One could not paraphrase a Mes
oamerican nation without having a
t least a fleeting reference to him.
Mictlan is also supposed to be a
backwards nation reminding us
of the arrival of the
technologically (and
perhaps virally) advanced E
uropeans in the Americas.

Nazca
When Nazca was released in a patc
h for Dominions 4 it had alrea
dy been on the drawing board for a
long time. I really like the necrocratic concept where mummifie
d ancestors have a position of influence
in society. A kingdom forced to
expand with every generation as
previous kings and nobles keeps their
conquered lands even after de
ath. A kingdom slowly going bankru
pt as stipends to d
ead ancestors keeps
piling up.
The first ideas on Nazca were just speculations how I wanted a
Caelian splinter kingdom to be, but when
I got the idea of an Inca sett
ing for the new nation it stuck.
I started to research Andean concepts and
cultural history and was intri
gued by mummy bundles, moieties,
geoglyphs and necrocratic practices. I
have no clear idea of the end of the Nazca saga, so there is ro
om for a possible late
era version in a
future iteration of Dominions.

Oceania, Pelagia, and Erytheia
Oceania and Pelagia are nations
inspired by medieval bestiaries
abundant with creatures of the sea
corresponding to beings living on
land. As most of these creatu
res are half-men and fish-beasts, Oceania
as a nation became quite similar to Pangaea. The development of
the Triton Kings incorporated modern
concepts and imagery of merme
n, and in Dominions 4, Pelagia was
made a nation of its own, less
Pangaean in style. Knights arme
d in mother-of-pearl armor, Trit
on Kings on hippocampoii-drawn sea-
shell chariots, and golden trident
s are all part of the Pelagia
setting.
106
With the release of the Domin
ions 4 UW-patch the backstory of P
elagia was developed. It became
intermingled with Berytos and my
first ideas on later developme
nts for the nation emerged. I prefer if
nations are primarily cultura
lly defined, and secondarily racia
lly defined. Pelagia always felt more like a
race thing and less like a kingdom with its own cultural settin
g. The changes in the patch was a step in
this direction, although I find the
new nation Erytheia more in
teresting.
Erytheia is the late era developm
ent of Pelagia. It is a nation
heavily inspired by Ptolemaic Egypt. Like
Ptolemaic Egypt, it is a na
tion of foreign conquerors adopting
local traditions for
ming an isolated
kingdom desperate to keep its r
oyal blood lines and avoid forei
gn influence. I wanted the Ptolemaic
practices of royal sibling marriag
es represented in the game an
d this led to some new mechanics
developed for Erytheia. I also wanted Erytheia to be more of a
contender for the closed realm, Pelagia's
name for dry land. The idea of
a merman kingdom of both worlds
started to take form when I worked on
the Dominions 4 UW-patch. The pairing with Ptolemaic concepts f
it well and Erytheia became a nation
quite different in feel from pr
evious underwater nations.

Pangaea
Pangaea is a nation of wild half-m
en of Greek myth, as they cou
ld have developed if
exposed to a vast and technologica
lly superior humanity: Iron o
r skin. Adapt or die. As in
most cultures exposed to so-called civilization, some inhabitan
ts cling to traditions, or current
perceptions of them; while others
adapt to the circumstances, w
ith loss or gain in influence. The loss of
ancient magic and traditions over
the ages is quite apparent in
this nation, but in the late era the centaurs
have found new paths of magic, giving hope to the nation.

Pythium
Pythium is based on the eastern R
oman Empire and Byzantium. Its
history and military
bears a legacy of Ermor, as did B
yzantium from Rome. The Theurg
s and their ceremonial
magic are influenced by the l
avish liturgy of the Orthodox Chur
ch. The Cathedral of the
Spheres is filled with chanting, the fragrance of incense, and
processions of Theurgs robed in gold and
silver. Ritual magic is a public and religious affair. The serp
ent-and-emerald part of the nation is more
free-form fantasy fiction, and comes from the name I think.
In the late era the nation is i
nfluenced by the mystery cults a
nd religious worshipers of subjugated lands,
much as the late Roman empire became a melting pot of imported
religious beliefs a
nd faiths. The
mystery cults of Isis/Sarapis, M
ithra, Dionysos and Euleusis ga
ve Pythium in the late era a new and
interesting flavor. The serpent pr
iests are more of a fictional
addition, and probably came about as a
result of the sacred serpent
cataphracts and hydras. Since the
mystery cults were inspired by the cult of
Isis, a serpent priest with a C
'tissian legacy felt fitting. I'
m personally quite fond of late era Pythium,
since my thesis was about the Roman Isis/Sarapis cult.

107
Ragha
Ragha was added in the Caelum pa
tch for Dominions 4. I had play
ed with ideas on a dual
Caelian/Abysian nation earlier on, but it wasn't until I starte
d to remake Caelum that those ideas bore
fruit. Of the Caelian nations it is probably the one most heavi
ly influenced by history and myth. Since
the nation was developed with Zoroa
strianism in mind the mage-p
riests of the na
tion, dasturs and
athravans, became an integral part of the nation and not someth
ing that was added ad hoc. The heat/cold
preferences of the nation made
it a bit difficult to evaluate a
nd balance, but I'm very fond of the concept
thematically. The fact that the nation is based on centuries of
Persian history and two different
dominions nations, gives it mo
re traits than most nations.

R'lyeh
and
Atlantis
These two nations are heavily i
nfluenced by H.P. Lovecraft. Whi
le R'lyeh is closer to the Cthulhu
mythos with Starspawns and stran
ge beings from the stellar void
, Atlantis is a nati
on of deep ones native
to the depths. The early era i
s more heavily Lovecraftian, whil
e the middle era is more influenced by
fantasy concepts and ideas. Atla
ntis is another nation devastat
ed in the end of the second era. Late
Atlantis incorporates Inuit conc
epts apart from the earlier Lov
ecraftian elements.
R'lyeh is the other nation heavily influenced by the fiction of
H.P. Lovecraft. While
Atlantis represents
the more tellurian aspects of the Cthulhu mythos, R'lyeh repres
ents the stranger aspects and beings of
the Lovecraftian universe. Stars
pawns, strange openings and bei
ngs of the Void are mixed with a bit of
fantasy role-playing game clich
és. The nation progresses from a
D&D-ish nation of Aboleths to an
insane nation of dreaming madmen,
mutated lunatics and mind-def
ying void beasts.
F’tagn
.

Sauromatia
Sauromatia is a nation based on Her
odotus' accounts of the Scyt
hian peoples in
The Histories
. Here
Scythians, Amazons, Sarmatians, and Androphags are described wi
th their strange traditions and
unsavory practices, and the book is
a splendid source for any m
odder seeking inspiration for a new
nation. Grave goods, archaeological findings and Osprey militar
y books have given th
e nation further
life. Finally, Witch Kings and ele
ments of the Pythian predeces
sion (serpents, swamps and hydras) were
added to the Androphags to make th
e nation more sinister and Do
minion-esque.

Sceleria and Lemuria
Sceleria is the daughter of Ermo
r and sister of Pythium. In Do
minions 3, the nation was the middle era
Ermor, but with the cleanup of the
history, that which was Ermo
r in the middle era had to be rewritten.
Sceleria became a splinter empi
re that together with Pythium br
oke free from Ermor before the
cataclysm. Sceleria, as Pythiu
m, is of course influenced by th
e Romans. Fantasy concepts of sinister
nations with undead workers and sol
diers walking side-by-side w
ith the living population are not
uncommon.
108
Lemuria is a reprise of the Dom
inions 2 Ermor theme "Soul Gates
." With Dominions 3, the Soul Gate
and the Carrion Wood mechanics we
re remade into global spells.
This change practically removed them
from the game. We wanted them back and with the rewriting of t
he history the new nation of Lemuria
followed in the wake of Sceleria.
Lemuria is an undead nation of ghosts and immaterial undead ins
tead of skeletons and zombies. Think
of grey lands of ash and dust. Imagine spectral hordes marching
forth under banners swaying in a wind
you cannot feel. Stand still and you might hear the clamor of
ancient weaponry when the ghost legions
pass you by. At the horizon a great
darkness is spreading as s
hadows pour forth from the Soul Gate.

T'ien Ch'i
T'ien Ch'i is obviously influenced by China. I couldn't even re
sist the name Spring and Autumn, from
the period of the same name in C
hinese history. Chinese history
is rich and there is plenty to draw upon.
Daoism and its five elements, i
nner alchemy, and quest for long
evity inspired the Masters of the Way as
did the T'ien Shih—celestial master—of institutional Daoism con
vert into the Celestial Master of T'ien
Ch'i. Heroes come in plenty in the
Chinese tales and the Seven
Immortals are all in
teresting figures. Sun
Wukong and his friends are perhaps
even more so. There is plent
y of stuff to expand on should I or a
merry modder find the time. Finally, T'ien Ch'i has been inspir
ed movies from Hong Kong, China, and
Korea.

Ulm
Ulm is a nation that goes through m
ajor changes with the eras.
In early times it is a barbarian nation.
Think Conan! Or at least, think of
the first five minutes of C
onan, the Barbarian
, when Conan's family
is slaughtered by Thulsa Doo
m and the young boy is brought to s
lavery. Think of fur-dressed shamen
and warrior smiths speaking of the
Enigma of Steel. Then think
of the German tribes described by
Caesar in
The Gallic Wars
, the Roman disaster of the Teut
oburger Forest, and the pagan t
emple at
Irminsul. Ulm in the early era i
s an Ulm before the arrival civ
ilization.
Ulm of the later eras is ins
pired by, amongst others, Teutonic
Knights and German Landsknechts. Late
Ulm is an intended shift of style
towards central and eastern E
urope, southern Germany/Bavaria, and
Transylvania. One of the class
ic ingredients of gothic novels i
s tainted bloodlines. Another feature
common amongst the traditional, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant, got
hic novel is that it
takes place in some
part of Catholic Europe, so maki
ng a Goethicized fantasy “Bavar
ian” Ulm is a natu
ral step, I think.

Ur
and
Uruk
Ur came to be as a result of
Trade & Taint
, an earlier unfinished Illwinter
project. I made the first
Enkidus and Sobeks for that ga
me. Shame, bone readers and reave
rs were some of the possible career
paths for the Enkidu race. In Dominions 5 the Enkidus were give
n a nation influen
ced by Mesopotamian
history. They had it in
Trade & Taint
as well, but in Dominions 4 it
became more pronounced. After
Dominions 4 was released we t
ook up work on Trade & Taint again
and ideas on the enkidus were
developed. Last summer I found m
yself reading more on sumerian
cities and culture. The transferal of
religious and temporal importan
ce from Eridu to other cities du
ring Sumerian times i
s an interesting
process. Thus Uruk became the f
irst new nation added in Dominio
ns 5.
109
Hinnom is to some extent Sumerian, but I wanted the backstory o
f Ur to have a more Sumerian feel. I
like the concept of a single cen
ter of civilization surrounded
by lands inhabited by wild men roaming
around tending goats and hunting game.
This led to the development of the mechanic where some of a nat
ions units are recruitable, not in their
home or fortresses, but in the
ir surrounding lands. It gave the
nation a troop rooster th
at accentuated the
backstory of the nation. And of c
ourse they had to have sirrush
es, the wingless dragons of the Ishtar
Gate.
The nations' shamans and bone readers are also influenced by so
me shamanistic concepts, Caananite
ideas on veneration of the dead and p
robably a dose of some old
RPG's.
Ur develops into Uruk in the middle age and get access to armam
ents of iron. The Ensi priest king of
Eridu will see his power diminis
hed as civilizat
ion spreads and
Ensis of other cities claim temporal and
religious authority. In this ne
w era the Entu of the Moon, insp
ired by En Hedu'anna, the daughter of
Sargon the Great, becomes the unifying power of the kingdom and
Uruk turns into a theocracy.

Vanheim
,
Helheim
,
Niefelheim
,
Jotunheim
,
Midgård, and
Utgård
These are all nations sprung fro
m old Norse myth. The Poetic Ed
da and some later tales, combined with
general conceptions of Iron Age S
candinavia, are the main sourc
es. Vanir, Aesir and Giants are ancient
antagonists in these myths. The
Aesir, being perceived as gods,
have been made pretenders in
Dominions. Not that Vanir weren'
t, but they seem less so than t
he Aesir in most instances. As with most
nations of supernatural origin, it seems fitting that their mag
ic fades with each passing age as humans
become more and more numerous.
Niefelheim, Jotunheim, and Utgår
d are part of the history of a
single nation through the ages. Vanheim,
Helheim and Midgård also share a common ancestry and developmen
t. In the middle era Helheim
merges with Vanheim and disappe
ars as an independent nation. On
ly the valkyries remain as reminders
of the legacy of Helheim.

Xibalba
Xibalba is a nation inspired by M
ayan mythological concepts as
expressed in the Mayan texts Popol
Vuh and Chilam Balam. The Popol V
uh describes the creation of t
he world and other mythological
concepts. It also tells of the
hero twins Hunahpú and Xbalanqué
and their travels to Xibalba, the Mayan
underworld, through which the sun
travels during the night. Eve
r since high school, when I first came
across the pen-and-paper RPG
Chill
, and found a creature named Cama
zotz, I've been intrigued by b
at-
gods and Mesoamerican myth. The ba
t-god was actually the first
god made for Mictlan, when that
nation appeared in Dominions 2. W
hen I started to work on Xibal
ba it was clear from the beginning that
it would be a Mayan nation of bat-people.
In the middle era Xibalba is f
looded and toad people take over.
Toads are important in Mesoamerican
iconography and I wanted them to ha
ve a role in a Mayan nation.
I also liked the idea of a nation that
goes through heavy changes during
the eras. Mesoamerican flood
myths and concepts of the Bacab were
110
used in conjunction with a sligh
tly rewritten Atlantian backsto
ry to fit the concept of a flooded
underworld inhabited by Atlantian refugees.
Xibalba was also one of the fir
st nations to get a national glo
bal spell based on its national backstory.
The concept had been used when we remade the themes and carrion
woods into a nati
onal spell, but we
were never fond of how that worked out. The Xibalban Theft of t
he Sun along with the Agarthan
Unleash Imprisoned Ones reintr
oduced the national global enchan
tments.

Yomi
,
Shinuyama
and
Jomon
These three nations heavily inf
luenced by Japanese history, fol
klore, and myth. The first of the three
nations is an uncivilized nati
on of demonic brutes enslaving an
d eating humans and other races. They
are replaced by Bakemonos, ghostl
y goblins of Japanese folklore
of similar outlook, and finally the
humans take control. The bei
ngs of Shinuyama are quite heavily
influenced by the old pen-and-paper
RPG
Bushido
, although some other sources on mythological beings such as Te
ngus and Kitsune have
been used. Modern myth, such as th
e western idea of the ninja,
also has a place in the late nation of
Jomon.
In Dominions 5, I wanted to elabo
rate on Yomi and make the nati
on a bit more of a swarm-nation with
demons entering this world i
n increasing numbers through demon
gates raised by misled human priests.

Ys
Ys is based on Breton myths of the sunken city of Ys/Kêr-Is and
morgen water spirits. To expand the
nation I added some Irish/Welsh ideas of the merrow as well as
the Marverni tribe of Kernou to give the
nation an opportunity to establis
h coastal forts with their own
unique units. I initially intended to merge
the Ysian backstory with Marignon and add a Melusine morgen her
o for that nation, but never got
around to finish my ideas. It is not
unlikely that Melusine and
some other Ys/Marignon connections
appear in upcoming Dominions 5 patches.

[RMC]

And I just remembered by llamma might not be what we want, I don't think we can do AI vs people... But I will check.

[Zenn7]

Ermor is what I want but it looks like only if we play early era. If we play middle they become undead?

Correct. In MA, they become undead. They are supreme undead faction in the game. Their dominion spreads death, you get free spawn fodder, which is how you get your troops for the most part. They have no recruitable national troops. You cannot recruit anything their capital. They can recruit independents. They rely on freespawn and summoning. They can get freespawn commanders too (just mound kings and occasionally censors, no casters). In the capitals, they get freespawn undead versions of the Roman legionnaire troops. Their priests can reanimate the cheap freespawn. At L3 holy, they can reanimate sacred Lictors (fairly tough peeps if you put a good bless on them).

The rest of us would be totally screwed with MA Ermor as our pretendor. Anyone playing MA Ermor as a disciple would be screwed (though I guess if you want to SERIOUSLY challenge yourself, this is one way to do it).

[LordMortis]

Then I guess I go home and choose someone other than Ermor tonight.

[RMC]

Pangea is a fun nation as well.

[Sepiche]

Ermor is what I want but it looks like only if we play early era. If we play middle they become undead?

If you want early Ermor, but in the middle era try Scelaria or alternately Pythium. Scelaria is early Western Roman Empire + undead, Pythium is early Eastern Roman Empire + astral magic.

I'll go with Marignon. And I don't mind playing one of the pretenders unless anyone else wants to give it a try.

[Zenn7]

Arcosephale has healer priests (and scrying). Maybe that's what you were thinking of?

I don't care who the pretender is, but get us some sort of bless to play with. All these neat new bless options, we should try something out!
Just don't forget the powerful ones are in incarnate - they only work while our god (the pretender) is awake (not dormant/imprisoned) and alive (don't get killed!).

I'm contemplating Mictlan or Vanheim, but I'm open if someone else wants those.

[T]

I'll go with Sceleria.

[tgb]

And I don't mind playing one of the pretenders unless anyone else wants to give it a try.

What does this mean? Don't we all control pretenders?

[RMC]

And I don't mind playing one of the pretenders unless anyone else wants to give it a try.

What does this mean? Don't we all control pretenders?

If we play Coop, then the way iti s done now is that there is one 'main' pretender and then we all make disciples. The Disciples are like Mini-pretenders.

It works out really well.

[Zenn7]

And I don't mind playing one of the pretenders unless anyone else wants to give it a try.

What does this mean? Don't we all control pretenders?

If we play Coop, then the way iti s done now is that there is one 'main' pretender and then we all make disciples. The Disciples are like Mini-pretenders.

It works out really well.

The disciples still go through the pretender design (pick out a body and schools of spells), but not the amount of dominion candles to start with or the dominion effect (growth/death, luck/misfortune, etc). And no bless effect. The dominion candles/effect/bless are whatever the pretender player selects - we all get the same.

The other impact of playing this way is no one can create a prophet (the disciple players are the prophets of the pretender).

[LordMortis]

I'll go ahead and be pangea

[tgb]

I see, said the blind carpenter, as he picked up his hammer and saw.

[RMC]

Also, the limitations for Llama server is I can't add AI's, or at least I can't figure out how too. So we have to do one side vs the other.

So we will need two 'leaders'

Zenn7 and Sepiche would be my votes.

And then we can randomize teams from there, as long as that is okay.

[baelthazar]

Hey! I was interested! Can I still be added?

Are we not doing sea nations? Can I be R'lyeh?

[RMC]

Hey! I was interested! Can I still be added?

Are we not doing sea nations? Can I be R'lyeh?

Of course you can be in, and no reason not to do a Sea nation that I can see...

[Zenn7]

On Llama, can we make player factions go AI? Thinking we set our side up and put whoever else we want the AI to have on the AI team (or teams if appropriate) and then just set them to AI after we start the game.

I can do a pretender/leader for one side.

For actual diplomacy/strategy, other than basic game play, I'm not so great (just a FYI).

Hey! I was interested! Can I still be added?

Are we not doing sea nations? Can I be R'lyeh?

I believe there are 4 water factions in MA. No reason you can't be one. Assuming we use a random map, no idea how much water there will be for you to master. But you'll be a heck of an annoyance threat to the land factions (most of whom do not have amphibious units so they have to make some dedicated effort to specifically come after your water territories.

[Zenn7]

Oh, if we do 2 teams, might want to split factions a little focused - then people can play hot/cold nations, just make sure anyone who wants to be hot is on one team and anyone cold on the other. We could likely make the factions +1 hot/cold appropriately to help everyone on each team stay more in balance.

Just thinking out loud about options.

[baelthazar]

R'lyeh is an annoyance to most factions (and has the coastal hybrids). I do not think the MA version is the one that has the creeping madness... if that is the case I can pick another faction. Because the creeping dominion-based insanity would throw a huge monkey wrench into allies and enemies alike. But I think that is LA.

[RMC]

On Llama, can we make player factions go AI? Thinking we set our side up and put whoever else we want the AI to have on the AI team (or teams if appropriate) and then just set them to AI after we start the game.

I can do a pretender/leader for one side.

For actual diplomacy/strategy, other than basic game play, I'm not so great (just a FYI).

Hey! I was interested! Can I still be added?

Are we not doing sea nations? Can I be R'lyeh?

I believe there are 4 water factions in MA. No reason you can't be one. Assuming we use a random map, no idea how much water there will be for you to master. But you'll be a heck of an annoyance threat to the land factions (most of whom do not have amphibious units so they have to make some dedicated effort to specifically come after your water territories.

I can switch to a water nation as well, if needed. And you are right, I think as Admin I can log in and set them AI.

But sometimes it get's funny about the same Key having multiple nations. But we can play with it and see.

[Zenn7]

R'lyeh is an annoyance to most factions (and has the coastal hybrids). I do not think the MA version is the one that has the creeping madness... if that is the case I can pick another faction. Because the creeping dominion-based insanity would throw a huge monkey wrench into allies and enemies alike. But I think that is LA.

Pretty sure that is LA and it's only an issue IF you are the pretender. Otherwise, you are stuck with the pretender's dominion. It's why MA Ermor is flat out OUT. Same for the carrion woods nation (A something, not the A w/ giants).

[Zenn7]

R'lyeh is an annoyance to most factions (and has the coastal hybrids). I do not think the MA version is the one that has the creeping madness... if that is the case I can pick another faction. Because the creeping dominion-based insanity would throw a huge monkey wrench into allies and enemies alike. But I think that is LA.

Pretty sure that is LA and it's only an issue IF you are the pretender. Otherwise, you are stuck with the pretender's dominion. It's why MA Ermor is flat out OUT. Same for the carrion woods nation (A something, not the A w/ giants).

[Sepiche]

Also, the limitations for Llama server is I can't add AI's, or at least I can't figure out how too. So we have to do one side vs the other.

If it's like Dom 4 on LLama server we could add a second team of "human" players and then set them to AI on the first turn.

That said I'm fine with either coop or teams.

[Zenn7]

Also, the limitations for Llama server is I can't add AI's, or at least I can't figure out how too. So we have to do one side vs the other.

If it's like Dom 4 on LLama server we could add a second team of "human" players and then set them to AI on the first turn.

That said I'm fine with either coop or teams.

That's what I was thinking. And Dom5 has an added option that you can set the AI of humans who go AI, so they're not all easy/brain dead. Plus we can design their team to give them a small boost by better design if we are so inclined.

But I'm fine either way as well.

[T]

I think we should do teams with no AIs. If there are a lot of noobs maybe they can do a co-op AI game.

[Freyland]

I think we should consider an AI game. There are a lot of noobs that were invited and they probably shouldn't be excluded just because a latecomer doesn't want to deal with them.

[RMC]

I think we should consider an AI game. There are a lot of noobs that were invited and they probably shouldn't be excluded just because a latecomer doesn't want to deal with them.

Either way, and Noobs can play a Disciple game as well, it's still a fun time either way. We will play Teams, so everyone will have experienced players with them.

I don't plan to turn anyone away.

[T]

I'm in as Sceleria. MA is fine. I would also make sure any new players are balanced across both teams.

[Zarathud]

In as Pretender Ulm MA. Tell me how to sign in and I'm there.

[T]

Are we doing a disciples game (or whatever it’s called) meaning we need to know the scales of the pretender before we create disciples? I never played Dom4, so this might not be accurate, but I think you can get the idea.

[Zarathud]

The Pretenders should be choosing scales that are generally helpful or announce if they want +heat/cold allies.

[RMC]

Yes a disciple game. I'll let the leaders announce the scales. If people want to change nations that's fine as well.