New Challenge attempt

[plebeian]

    For once in my time here, I actually have no questions! *shot* Thanks to lemminkainen's No Last Save challenge idea and Boaster's Solo Champion run ideas I've browsed, I've wanted to try a challenging playthrough of my own.

    Not sure how relevant or interesting this will be (feel free to delete this post if it's inappropriate), but I've been driven to try out a Lone Lord challenge! After consideration, it seemed that playing as the main antagonists of the game (Death) would give the greatest challenge, but feel free to correct me with suggestions, if anyone has interest to.

    So, I wanted to use this post as a recording of my adventures throughout the default Urak map as a pitiful, weak, level 1 scorn that I will be, as well as a reminder of all the additional rules I've thought to myself to ensure the most genuine experience possible.

  

To put it short for myself (or anyone else), my run will involve:

    1. Playing as a Death Mage (Warlock) on Hard difficulty using the default map (No custom map and 2500 Barter points ),

    

    2. No barter or trade exploits (meaning no more than 2500 Barter points and no trading with the AI in-game, Period. ),

    3. Only Shadowstaff allowed as a starter artifact (to prevent unfair advantages to bypass early game ),

    4. No Spell limits, but no new spells will be researched (what you see, is what I get. *shot* ),

    5. No temple liberation (means I cannot research spells or use followers, save the single unfortunate one given at the start of Hard mode ),

    6. No hiring or Mage Tower summoning of units (that includes mercenaries, hirelings and any undead not summoned by the Warlock. Tower-rescued volunteers are allowed, but they will be sacrificed at the start of combat using Embrace of Golgoth ),

    7. No Last Saves (not being able to scout should make it an even more of a frightening experience),

    8. No Auto Calculation (Mages can have a high value, so this limitation is to prevent trivializing battles ),

    9. Kill On Sight policy (meaning I will be attacking any scout my Lord sees, within reason, and inviting early hostility from the AI. Yay. ),

    10. The game ends when every single AI Lord and their followers have been relieved from the burden of Life, or my Lord dies trying,

    11. (NEW) Only Death-related artifacts can be used. (to preserve the tone and not gain OP advantages like the Hand of Fate or Justice spells),

    12. (NEW) Cannot take over AI capitals or destroy their buildings. (to preserve the tone of difficulty and struggle).   

    That's the general idea for the run I'll be doing. If anyone has any idea to add, suggestions are welcome! Punish me hard plz. *shot*

For the time being, I will be leaving some screenshots showing my setup so far. It should still be able to be recreatable via Custom editing:

    

   

P.S. Originally, I've wanted to do the challenge with an Order Arch-wizard, but figured that early Spirit Warriors would have been too easy for the entire game, not just early or mid.

[plebeian]

Day 1 Edit:
    Had to restart the run due to dying cornered and very painfully with many halberds shoved into unmentionables. Learned to keep better mind of terrain and risk-taking. The second attempt was more promising. Horrid, painful and anxiety-inducing, but they survived. Even managed to get an early skeleton that leveled up. But even a level 1 dwelling is incredibly difficult, with both, the Master and the minion surviving with a combined total of 4 health. Next update will be at Day 7.
    



Day 7 Edit:
    Nothing noteworthy happened so far. Cleared some dwellings, lost some skeletons, gained some skeletons, usual Death business. Diluting experienced skeletons with newly summoned rabble hurts the OCD, but 'tis a needed sacrifice. Surprisingly, did not die a second time yet, thanks to the Visage of Horror being Death's MVP spell. Gained a Chalice of Chaos out off a level 4 Statue, though it's yet to be seen whether it will help or harm, like the Chaos magic itself. Proceeding slowly and newbishly so far. Next update will be at Day 14.

    

Day 14 Edit:

    Still limited by Crystals and the early game, but slowly expanding the army of the dead. Through newbness, managed to de-value two groups of level 5 skeletons into groups of level 2's, but learned from my mistake. The Chalice of Chaos served me well in terms of magic, unlocking the Dispel spell, as well as giving the Infest Cave magic that allowed me to general 3 extra encounters. Also managed to find two powerful artifacts that will serve well, being Ring of Necromancy (resistances + ability to revive a slain enemy/ally on steroids) and Amulet of Indecision (extra tankiness + powerful single target killer, which I will likely never use). Decided to update rules not to include artifacts from non-death faiths.     Also started venturing out, this time in the realm of Earth in search of Crystal mines (yet managed to find nothing but gold and ale... Still good!). Not remembering the map well adds to the experience of discovery. Speaking of which, the Lord of Earth has been spotted nearby (Troll King), so it is uncertain how they will react to my presence. The run might even end in a few days from now. In any case, the quest continues. Next update will be on the 21-st day this time.

    

[Boaster]

Aug 24, 2018 6:13:18 GMT -6 plebeian said:

Day 1 Edit:

Day 7 Edit:
    Nothing noteworthy happened so far. Cleared some dwellings, lost some skeletons, gained some skeletons, usual Death business. Diluting experienced skeletons with newly summoned rabble hurts the OCD, but 'tis a needed sacrifice. Surprisingly, did not die a second time yet, thanks to the Visage of Horror being Death's MVP spell. Gained a Chalice of Chaos out off a level 4 Statue, though it's yet to be seen whether it will help or harm, like the Chaos magic itself. Proceeding slowly and newbishly so far. Next update will be at Day 14.

    View Attachment

What of your Rule #11? Death only artifacts?


Addendum:
...nvm, I see now.

[plebeian]

Aug 24, 2018 9:20:37 GMT -6 Boaster said:

Aug 24, 2018 6:13:18 GMT -6 plebeian said:

Day 1 Edit:

Day 7 Edit:
    Nothing noteworthy happened so far. Cleared some dwellings, lost some skeletons, gained some skeletons, usual Death business. Diluting experienced skeletons with newly summoned rabble hurts the OCD, but 'tis a needed sacrifice. Surprisingly, did not die a second time yet, thanks to the Visage of Horror being Death's MVP spell. Gained a Chalice of Chaos out off a level 4 Statue, though it's yet to be seen whether it will help or harm, like the Chaos magic itself. Proceeding slowly and newbishly so far. Next update will be at Day 14.

    

What of your Rule #11? Death only artifacts?

Addendum:
...nvm, I see now.

    Figured it be too powerful to use any artifact (sadly, was guilty of it already), but came up with the idea early enough in the run not to cancel it. The Chalice of Chaos only gave me the Dispel magic and allowed me to infest 3 level 4 caves, which, while advantageous, doesn´t add enough advantage to consider restarting, so to say (haven´t dispelled a single spell yet. Thank Golgoth sprites don´t infect skeletons with pixies. Water elementals might be an issue, though).

[plebeian]

Day 21 Edit:

    So... Things have gotten interesting, slightly, at least. Since there was not many dwellings of value (and I was afraid that the Earth Lord would decide to be less-than-neutral at my current level), I went further north, into the realm of Order. Figured since Death magic is strong against all Order units, it would be a good starting point to pivot on. However, something unexpected crossed our path:

    

    A Wild Water Lord appeared!

    Figured that since the Water Lord was a thief, and did not have it´s entire army as backup, it would be a perfect moment to strike her down. Thankfully, in battle she gave me ample time to position the skeletons to surround the retreat flag, and move the mage out of her long range. Despite my low-ish level, the combined mana was juuust enough to Curse her to Golgoth's domain. And just like that, one Lord is down, 6 more to go.

   

    Making steady progress towards Order now, hopefully it turns out well. Worried about the coming Water armies, both from the Great Temple and the Capital, though. Hopefully the Warlock manages to grow powerful enough to be able to repel any threat. With four groups of able-bodied level 5 skeletons, I've started sending them out to secure areas around capitals, Death's firstly. While without the support of Death Magic, it should prove sufficient to repel any basic marauders. Will update progress on the day 28. Loving the Ring of Necromancy, especially the survivability and a powerful effect that it offers. Resisting the urge to overuse it, lest I end up paying for it at a bad time.    

   

Disgraceful end:

    Alas, my run was ended at the visible on the map level 7 brewery. A level 7 25/20 Death Warrior jacked on a potion of power managed to cut down my 14/16 mage while he tried fleeing for his feeble life. Sadly, the skeletons were not able to penetrate the warrior´s defences, even when Berserking, and I did not make good use of Unholy Strength to bypass the armor (the main reason why I traded it instead of Balkoth´s Word). Made the mistake of overconfidence, and paid for it dearly with the rest of the run, so it´s back to the drawing board... #Rekt

    So...Death has been cleansed in this timeline. "...But how long would this last? Only the Seers can say..."

[plebeian]

Day 23 edit (Second game):

    The last disgraceful defeat taught me a lot in what I could improve. Due to a bit of luck and renewed caution, the first week was rather forgiving in terms of difficulty. This time, knowing there was nothing in the realm of Earth, ventured north instead, to the Fire lands. Fatefully enough, it did contain the much needed Crystal caves, though taking them was not easy. Closest to the border, was a level 7 Crystal cave with the unfortunate spawn of a Storm Drake. Thought the run would end there, but they survived, albeit not without significant skeleton losses.

   

    The second week was spent traversing the desert while avoiding any interaction with the Fire Lord. Nothing much happened during that week, headed west to the lands of Order, the original target.

   

    During the third week things started getting more interesting. There have been a lot of Fire, Earth and Water scouts around my liberated Fire village and Death´s Capital, all have been put to death, which broke the neutrality (Water wasn´t neutral to begin with, but the end result´s the same). While pillaging Order´s property, i´ve managed to find the Ashes of Infestation, which I could actually make use of. Granted, entering an Death-infested level 9 cave without Balkoth´s Word could have been a death sentence, managed to survive thanks to good use of Unholy Strength (not without copious skeletal losses again, though). With my mage gradually strengthening, it was only a matter of opportunity when the Lord of Order would show his face.

  

    Day 23. Sure enough, the day came. The Grand Ranger settled in his Thieves Guilt with an accompaniment of a Paladin, a Wizard, and a squad of units.

       

    Since nothing forbade me from attacking lords inside buildings, I took this opportunity to abuse their magical weakness. Thankfully, the wizard was only level 4, which made the primary target clear. Sure enough, the Lord of Order fell, and the lower resistance of his guards helped eliminate them en masse. The first keystone has been returned to His Nocturnal Embrace.

      

    Since I have attacked the Thieve´s Guild, I´m dangerously close to the capital, and all of the renegade Order forces, which *will* swarm my location, especially on the Plains grass, where Order units have a movement advantage.

   

    With 11 levels, mana to spare and movement to escape, I aim to head south, towards Earth. Seems counter-intuitive, with the high pain tolerance of dwarves, but heading North would put me at a swarmable distance between the Capital and the Great Temple, both of which have highly leveled guards, magical weakness aside. I´ve learned to temper my excitement with caution, which is why I equipped a spare mana potion instead of the Ashes of Infestation, in case the unexpected happens. I´ll see how the current playthrough will progress, but knowing my competence, it will likely end the very same day like last time. *shot*   

    

[plebeian]

Day 35 edit (Second game):

    So, this is the next point I have intended to document before my untimely end in the first playthrough, genuinely surprise I´ve endured this long. Things did not get calmer, with the newly formed bands of Order marauders chasing my level 11 mage downwards. Thankfully, the high-level dungeons provided the much needed experience boost, with the Warlock quickly reaching levels 12, 13, then 15. Especially the last dungeon was both, punishing and rewarding, being a Multi level 10 dwarven barrow, with the unfortunate spawning of 3 dangerous Dwarven Warriors, a Stone Giant, and those nasty, nasty, nasty Axe Throwers. Thankfully, using the slow movement of the dwarves against them, my mage managed to quickly escape both, the axes, the three potion-crazed brutes out for his blood, and the accidental cornering of himself. About a total of 50+ health was gained and lost by the mage, but the most difficult challenge of the game was done, with him becoming level 15 and having enough experience to summon level 5 skeletons straight away. Nothing would stop him now, so the Hunted became the Hunter.

   

    With the Order Lord´s death, all of his forces moved south, to the dwarven lands, where the Earth Lord still resided. The Earth Lord was the original target, having tried to Parley my wrath through peaceful negotiations (up to a point where he offered me gold and a *mage* in exchange for some skeletons), but a brain-dead Valkyrie appeared, unsupported and alone (is the Water AI meant to be this silly? It´s the second time in a row their Lord ends up wandering alone or lightly guarded). With the Earth Lord currently off-screen, and no other target to cleanse (was waiting to be attacked by the bloodthirsty marauders, not to waste movement), Golgoth´s will be done:

    

The Earth Lord was the next target, and within the next day, he and his accompaniment fell surely enough:

    

   

    The closest next target seemed to be Chaos, despite the rough terrain. Traversing the mountains really made me regret not buying more Potions of Movement while they were on sale. The Air Lord has been the most pesky recently, pivoting on Order´s Library and harassing my nearby skeletons with threats every turn. The target was set, though, and on day 33, the Lord of Chaos was hunted down in his own barracks (thankfully he did not stay outside... traversing and combating in those mountains was unpleasant):

       

   

    The curtain seems to be closing. Heading down now into the snowy peaks of Air lands, hunting the next target that was last noticed in Order´s past property. Even with the Funeral March spell and leaving skeletons behind, logistics are difficult when playing as a Lone Lord, even with the +2 elven movement bonus. Will try to finish the run sooner, rather than later. "Victory is nigh. Blessed be the Darkness."

    

[plebeian]

Day 50 edit (End):

    Sure enough, it was only a matter of finding the other Lords. The Lord of Air showed himself soon enough, within a few days since the last update. After he fell, the next target was Fire, but I did not rush there immediately. The majority of days were spent venturing south into Order lands, west into the abandoned Water lands, south towards Life, then encircling to Fire. Was quite a journey, and could have ended the game sooner, but there was certain joy in clearing villages, resource dwellings and statues, and establishing newly raised guards in each.

    It was only a matter of time before the Lord of Fire would fall as well, the near-last of the Lords. Sadly, at this stage, it was only a snowball effect instead of the hardships of early levels, even if it didn't stop me from proceeding cautiously:

      

   

    Not much was left of the game, thanks to the potions of movement, it was fairly easy to travel across the elven meadows, even if a few days were spent searching for the Lord himself. Sure enough, he was found and swiftly dealt with:

       

    So, the seven Lords are dead, their remains guarding over what was left of their property. The Capitals and Great Temples are abandoned, the military dwellings are destroyed by their own units-turned-marauders, the villages and the majority of resource dwellings are controlled by the very races that lived near them. With that said, there was only one Lord left to return to Golgoth's Embrace:

    

"Death conquers all. As it should be."

   

So, what did I take away from this challenge?

    1. Playing any mage except Order in the early game is difficult, yet rewarding if you manage to endure,

    2. Death magic is feared for a reason, especially synergizing with other undead units,

    3. Ironically, Life is the worst AI to counter Death, with the entirety of it´s army having low health and low Death resistance

       (without the help of Life magic),

    4. Level 5 skeletons are not to be underestimated, being almost an equivalent to a level 5 military unit, they are great for cleaning

       trash not worthwhile of the Lord's movement (scouts, thieves, lone mages, small groups, even greater creatures like Demons or Grendels),

    5. While lacking sight, movement and special abilities, skeletons can easily cleanse buildings up to level 5-6 (1 group is enough for any

       level 2 dwelling, 3 groups can easily clear out level 5. Levels 6 and 7 are possible, but not suggested due to potential powerful guards),

    6. One can summon skeletons out of creatures that do not leave a corpse (like Sprites) if their disappearing animation is clicked,

    7. Overconfidence is the greatest enemy. It makes one take unnecessary risks and pay the price. (Yes, that thief *will* Crit you for 25-75%

       of your health. And you *will* regret entering that ´one-more-dungeon-while-you-have-movement´.),

    8. Axe Throwers are painful to deal with, and no amounts of skeletons will alleviate that. Period.

    9. If you do not have viable ways to dispel magic, avoid Water elementals and Sprites like the plague, or focus them first.

    10. Be mindful of level 6-7 Crystal caves, lest you end up dealing with a surprising Storm Drake or Spirit Warrior.

    11. Potions of Movement are veeery helpful when traveling. If one cannot acquire a native Champion, they essentially turn a slog into a

        jog, depending on the terrain and distance traveled,   

    12. Just to reaffirm, the Warlock is, without a doubt, one of the Lords with the highest potentials in the game, for obvious reasons.

    Welp, that was fun. Shame it didn't last too long, but the game still had value.

    

[lemminkainen]

I enjoyed reading your exploits very, very much! I'm glad you took inspiration from my challenge, too. How many turns did it take in the end to complete your challenge? How did you kill the three high level dwarven warriors in the level 10 encounter? I can't see which spells you could use given a limited amount of mana to complete such a feat. Anyway, well played!

[plebeian]

Sept 2, 2018 13:05:16 GMT -6 lemminkainen said:

I enjoyed reading your exploits very, very much! I'm glad you took inspiration from my challenge, too. How many turns did it take in the end to complete your challenge? How did you kill the three high level dwarven warriors in the level 10 encounter? I can't see which spells you could use given a limited amount of mana to complete such a feat. Anyway, well played!

    Thank you! It is an honor to have the original Senpai notice me. *shot*

    It took about 50 turns, I believe. One of the last screenshots of Life´s domain should tell, since it was taken on the last day.

    While the three dwarven warriors were threatening, they were veeeery slow, allowing my mage with a speed of 5 to easily outrun them around the dungeon like the weak pansy that he was. The main threats were the bull&!%$rapidAimedAttackspamming Axe Throwers with a Stone Giant, which actually decimated the majority of the skeletons at that time. Diverting their attention bought me enough time to perform Death´s Infinite combo, which allowed me to clear the encounter. I will explain below in the spells section.

The spells were originally shown in one of the beginning screenshots, with the custom edit that I´ve used. What I´ve used are as follow:

    1. Visage of Horror - the bread and butter of Death´s army. Good for early, middle and late game because of how much it does just for 4 mana.        Healing (adds health for Death mage´s army, extra to Undead. Great synergy with the lack of health recovery of Death units), Damage (-2        health for all non-death enemies), buffs, debuffs... Order´s Crusade wishes it was this impactful.

    2. Embrace of Golgoth - the most crucial spell to have. Sacrifice a unit you have to convert it´s health into health and mana. This is why        Death mage´s are so powerful. With their skeletons or units, they can have literally infinite mana, and a lot of afterhealth. Not as useful        early game, when raising the dead and Visage of Horror are priorities, but makes the run possible in later levels.

    3. Raise Skeleton - self explanatory, you need an army to do your bidding, whether it be guarding your frail shell, doing the battle for you,        or dying to satiate your power. Great synergy with Visage of Horror. The only unit worth summoning due to the low cost and their potential        to gain experience. Once the mage collects 72000, he can summon healthy level 5 skeletons, which are still a force, and a juicy target for        sacrificing.

    4. Funeral March + Unholy Strength - with not many more custom points remaining, it was either these two or Embrace of Golgoth. Funeral March        is a great movement spell, and allows the lone mage to cover just a bit more distance, with a strong effect on skeletons. Unholy Strength        might seem simple, just adding 3 extra attack/ranged attack to a target, but sometimes that is enough to bypass a Death Warrior or a Vampire        with 20-22 armor. Balkoth´s Word, while powerful, cannot provide enough utility for the early game.

    5. Curse - the last, most known Death spell. Basic bolt magic, but a veeery pòwerful one at that. Becomes multi-target since level 5 of the        mage, and keeps getting stronger to the point that a level 15 bolt covers almost as much radius as Justice or Flame Arrows. Weak and not        worth the mana in the beginning, save for crucial targets, but a beast at high levels, especially with ¨infinite¨ mana. 

    Sorry for the lengthy description, tend to get carried away with this game. Strangely enough, it´s still fun to play to this day, so thank you again, for inspiring me with your challenge!