Re: Odyssey

From: quixote@hing.lcs.mit.edu (Chris Conley)

Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000

In article <christopher-2702961010200001@async19.city-net.com>,
Christopher Wood <christopher@city-net.com> wrote:
>
>Thanks for the advice. I had figured out some of the tips on my own, but
>others seem quite valuable. A few more questions:
>
>In article <DnFrCs.4tw.0.-s@cs.vu.nl>,
>sjoerd@cs.vu.nl (Sjoerd Schreuder) wrote:
>
>> Some general advice:
>> - Get a copy of the title list
>> - Get a copy of the item list
>> - Get a copy of the status list
>> - Try to get a list of marker effects
>
>Can anybody help me here? Anyone playing in game #7 would earn my
>gratitude for what its worth...

I'm maintaining the title list, and I'm slowly recompiling the status
list; I'll send both to you via e-mail shortly (remind me if I don't.)

The item list is maintained by Simon Marchant - simon@iconz.co.nz

I haven't seen a regularly posted list of marker effects; if you
post questions here, someone can usually answer 'em, though.

>> - Don't buy spells: invest the points in attributes instead. A maxed
>>   out mage will have SP > 100, which is enough to have >60% chance
>>   to learn the spell, so why would one buy it?
>
>I had figured this out, though how about spells that don't fall in your
>character's major att/abil/aff? For example, Nature's Eyes seems useful,
>but would be difficult to learn early on because it relies on Cunning and
>Harmony which aren't in line with other Druid spells.

First, Nature's Eyes isn't all that effective - "sighting" information
is a one-line description.

Otherwise, though, you're probably better off putting a few hundred
points into secondary abilities/affinities than spending points on
spells.  If you spend 4k gold in a guild like Arcane Lords, you can
get a sizable bonus to your chance to learn spells, which should put
you in range of any <100 Difficulty spell very quickly.

>> - Buy an army

First of all, I strongly disagree with the assertion that a starting
army is a necessity.  I've attacked 2 locations/turn in HQ-6 despite
starting off with a grand total of 20 troops.  Spend the points on
a priest or necromancer and let 'em summon troops and learn battle
spells (which make conquering hamlets and even villages effortless).

IMHO, of course; I'm sure it's possible to build upon a strong
starting army too, but it's certainly safe to say that it's not a
necessity even for a position with military ambitions.

>A couple questions here. I had set-up a fair-sized army of mostly hussars
>with some cavalry support to keep their strategic movement high (no foot
>soldiers). However, this makes it quite expensive for the punch (compare
>xbow hussar to light xbowmen). Is the extra move useful early on or should
>I cut costs and stick with a slower but cheaper army? Or would either be
>useful in its own right?

Depends on a number of things, particularly your starting location.
If you're in the Fringe or Wilds, you're going to need as much speed
as you can muster; if you're in the Fold, strategic speed is
considerably less valuable.

And Lt. Xbows move at 14, which is hardly slow.  My personal strategy
is to build my army around these troops, augmented by summoned Stone
Statues and undead (to absorb damage) and perhaps Flame Throwers or
Wind Gliders (for additional missile attacks).  Set line to hold, add
a decent battle arcanist or two, and let 'er rip.

Oh, yeah, and it's very useful for a battle-oriented position to
have some good melee fighters, for two reasons:

- Challenge is important, both for the morale bonus and to take
   out enemy spellcasters before they can hit your army;
 - Den-bashing is easy in the early game, and is a great source of
   much-needed cash to build up that army.  A medium-sized village
   generates maybe 2000 gold/turn; starting dens have up to 20k
   gold, usually guarded by pathetic parties.

>> Personnal views: (which might generate discussion)
>> - Don't buy multiclass characters. Almost everywhere are guilds which
>>   support new skills for 10K gold.
>
>I had thought, from the rules, that it was pretty difficult once the game
>got started, so I was setting up with lots of multi-class. I'll have to
>rethink this a little.

Again, depends on where you're setting up and what your goals are.
If you're in the Fold, Bargain Hunters in Jadmain offers every class
save priest for 4k; if you're off in the Wilds, don't expect to find
too much in the way of guilds.  And, of course, the SKILL command
nets 10 Glory, which is a nice chunk in the early game.

Other things to consider:

- Deceivers.  Because the rewards of the stealth commands are so
   great (average of 150 ability/experience as opposed to 75 for most
   commands), a good starting deceiver can take on nearly anything
   fairly quickly.  In particular, if you have any sort of priest,
   you'll definitely want to find the appropriate Crystal, and the
   easiest way to do so is to BURGLE it from the appropriate church.

- Status Spells.  I never start with statuses, preferring to set
   1 or 2 characters to learn & cast status spells ASAP.  Insipid
   Ceremony is nice, since it allows you to hire a character from
   any location and then convert him to the race you're looking for;
   it's also one of the best easily-acessible statuses for deceivers.

- Fighters.  Magic is very ineffective in melee situations; it's
   worth developing arcanists for their potent battle spells, but
   in melee you'll want fighters.  Push for 1600 melee ASAP so you
   can get a third attack, then fill out hand and defense.

- Equipment.  I'm a minimalist; I don't really expect my starting
   equipment to last too long, so I spend very little on it.  Mace
   & Shield or Quarterstaff, Leather, Great Hawk.

On the same note, be careful when considering heavy armor.  For
   any character with decent melee skills, the mobility penalty of
   heavy equipment will outweigh the defense bonuses - remember
   that mobility affects "initiative" and attack skills...

- Actions.  3 actions is a must for any good character; if you
   have a couple of real powerhouses, 4 is even better.  You'll
   want to use as many actions as possible in the first few turns
   on EMBARK and CAST and LEARN and INVESTIGATE and...  You'll
   earn enough experience to repay the cost of the third action
   quickly enough as well.

Along the same lines, I think it's foolish not to start with 10
   characters.  Even if a couple are 1000-point scrubs, they can
   do early exploration and (especially for trolls) even help in
   melee; after a few turns, they'll collect enough experience to
   pick up a third action and start doing something more worthwhile.
   (Also, if you give everyone a status spell, they'll be useful
   for PROMOTEs.)

All in my own opinion, of course...

- Chris

References

Re: Odyssey
sjoerd@cs.vu.nl (Sjoerd Schreuder)
Tue, 27 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Odyssey
christopher@city-net.com (Christopher Wood)
Tue, 27 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000
Odyssey
christopher@city-net.com (Christopher Wood)
Mon, 26 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Odyssey
sjoerd@cs.vu.nl (Sjoerd Schreuder)
Tue, 27 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000
Re: Odyssey
christopher@city-net.com (Christopher Wood)
Tue, 27 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000
Odyssey
christopher@city-net.com (Christopher Wood)
Mon, 26 Feb 1996 00:00:00 +0000