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[Devastator]

If we make it cheap before we do it, it's essentaially adding a +1 on the price roll, which is the same as using a revision or an expense chit.  It would be saying that this turn isn't super-critical, and using this one design now to save us several changes in the future.  There's a lot of stuff that expense chit should be used for, such as cheapening lucky strike for more carpet riders and more lucky strike archers, which will help kill their birds dead.  If we roll well, it might be an improvement on future adamantium designs, and I want a big roll on effectiveness.

Secondly, cheap means we can use the rev for all metal being adamantium, which would include arrows, armor, and ballista heads which will let us pre-beat their armor.  It's just too much gain, and it would save a revision doing it before doing the carts next turn.

Besides, the turn after we roll out the carts, I don't want to be spending designs fixing it.  I want to spend a design making a big buff spell or an antimagic projector to knock out their cannons en-masse, from under one of these carts.  We can then just march infantry up into the null zone to wipe them out.

[Madman198237]

eS, can you clue us in as to whether the adamantine cheapening scheme will work, and if it would be suited to a revision instead?

[evictedSaint]

Generally you get a bonus to expense if you're using a cheap component, a penalty if you're using a Very Expensive component, and nothing if you're using an Expensive component.

Expense Credit happens at the end of the turn, so it doesn't matter anyways.

[Madman198237]

...Like, would the "School of Whatever" that he's proposing do anything for our costs? Or can we only reduce costs with an expense credit.

[Devastator]

We did something similar with our ballistas some time ago.

[evictedSaint]

If you want to spend your design making it cheaper, you could do that, yeah.

[Madman198237]

Perhaps a revision instead? It seems wasteful for a design. Nobody's winning right now, but if they keep up the artillery improvements, we'll lose badly. We need this battlewagon, or the all-adamantine ship (Which could then become flight-capable, as a result of its low weight, as leather weighs less than wood. I think.)

[Devastator]

I want to do a revision to replace all our metal with adamantium.  Spending the expense chit to make it cheap would be fine.

That said, the same logic applies, lets do the design after we get the +1 to the cost.  Maybe we should design a new spell or something instead?  Something that'll stack with the carts next turn?  And maybe provide some initial help?

I think I can get behind that, too.  Spell, rev metal-> adamantium, expense chit adamantium.  We could have the spell be something simple like a wand of lightning bolts, so that our carpet riders can blast birds out of the sky, giving us bombing runs back.  It'll mean next turn they have to deal with bombing runs and our new ships, and I don't think they'll manage to counter both.

Wand of Lightning Bolts. This rod of glass can store the power of a lightning storm inside it, to be released at will later.  This lightning can strike out at targets, and crucially, takes only a tiny amount of will to trigger the release, allowing the mage to concentrate on other spells.

I'll go with that plan, then.

Wand of Lightning Bolts (1) Devastator

[Madman198237]

Alright. Revise that wand to hit enemies (Preferably only enemies) in a cone in front of the caster and I'm good with it.

[Devastator]

Alright. Revise that wand to hit enemies (Preferably only enemies) in a cone in front of the caster and I'm good with it.

I think that would be dependant on the effectiveness and glitch rolls more than anything..

Wand of Lightning Bolts (2) Devastator, Madman198237

[Madman198237]

Well, at least give us something to shoot for. It's useless to us if it can't shoot down the flocks fast.

[Devastator]

From the core thread:

Moskurg's new wood seems overpowered. It's tough enough to survive "all but the most close-range, carefully-aimed shots from [our] powerful steam cannons" on top of making their ships go faster. They got this in a single turn with no experience in magic woodwork prior, with the only bonus being from the Jungle wood.

I'm sorry, Evicted.

[evictedSaint]

From the core thread:

Moskurg's new wood seems overpowered. It's tough enough to survive "all but the most close-range, carefully-aimed shots from [our] powerful steam cannons" on top of making their ships go faster. They got this in a single turn with no experience in magic woodwork prior, with the only bonus being from the Jungle wood.

I'm sorry, Evicted.

I don't mind people bringing up concerns.  I mind it when people bring up concerns, and then continue harping on it even after I've made my decision.  I'm one guy desperately trying to figure out the balance in a fictional magic forum game, so I'm going to make mistakes - people questioning the balance gives me some perspective on what would need tweaking.

[Devastator]

Dang it, I was hoping for them to think of it wrong for a couple turns.

Still, though, it should be better than the equivalent in steel.  Steel is a lot heavier, which slows down the boat.  Steel also rusts, which weakens over time and means it doesn't last, particularly at sea, and the extra topside mass means lower hulls in the water and a tendacy to roll over.  It's also much harder to plug holes in a metal boat than a wooden one.  Wooden ships generally took a lot of cannonfire to sink, largely because the wood itself floated, requiring the boat to ship a lot of water before going down.  For a metal ship you need a double hull, watertight hatches and sections, portable pumps and welding/riveting.

A steel ship also doesn't mean fireproof.  Our shells scatter burning liquid over the decks, which should kill crew and wreck stuff it hits.  It probably won't be a one-hit kill, unless we hit the cannon.  Adamantium's heat-absorbing abilities make it ridiculously fireproof.

I'm also hoping that there is more strength improvement possible in Adamantium.. that is, that we haven't maxed it yet.  Have we?

[Kashyyk]

Our Theatre Commander is frustrated with our men dying from Arstotzka's damned cold.  It is something we must address if we ever wish to march into their capitol.  Their new artillery is dangerous, and it utterly outclasses anything we have.  It wouldn't be so bad if we had more air forces that weren't constantly being attacked from bellow - ideally, we'd be able to commence uninterrupted bombing raids night and day.  The jungles provide us with the best wood on the carpet, and we can't afford to be pushed back next year.  This theatre is your highest priority, and whatever we develop next year must help us here.

Our Theatre Commander says we'll likely be able to push them back next year, but their artillery will make it difficult.  Being able to use our lightning helps a lot, and if we could use it in other theatres again we'd likely have a better chance of winning.  Carpets that didn't have to worry about falcons would be ideal, if you could figure out some way of protecting our carpet bombers.  This is our home, and the highest priority for our design focus.

Our Theatre Commander is dismayed by our loss of artillery control.  We invented artillery support, yet Arstotzka has us completely outclassed!  Either we must regain our control of the long-range support game, or find some other way to change the nature of battle in a way that Arstotzka won't expect.  You must absolutely consider this your highest priority.  Oh, and he asks for his uninterrupted carpet air support back.

The Theatre Commander desperately wants to impress upon you the importance of naval support.  If we controlled the oceans - ALL of the ocean, all around Forenia - Arstotzka wouldn't be able to compete with us!  We'd be able to land forces behind their lines.  The armored ships was a good start, but he asks for even better ships to keep Arstotzka from ever being able to match us.  He doesn't care how you do it, you must ensure we don't lose this advantage - the seas are your highest priority.

Okay. General argument is win back artillery and air support. Here are a few suggestions I feel will help all theaters with these issues:

Desert Mirage - Imitating the trickster nature of a midday desert, we can cause our armies and ships to be unseen beyond medium artillery range. Companies of infantry, ballista batteries and ships will appear to be in other places, be random pieces of foliage or not-exist at all. With this we can safely advance comfortably into range and blast the crap out of them.

Pegasi Stables - Using every technique we know about regular horses, combined with a refinement of the enchantments involved, will produce much more obedient and capable carpets much more quickly. As we're focusing on this rather than other improvements, we should be able to drop the expense to cheap, flooding the skies with carpets.

Airborn Ballista - We need better artillery or better air support. Why not both? Make a larger war Pegasi, and mount a ballista on top. It will be much more complicated than it sounds, but we will end up with artillery than can fire on the move, and will be a nightmare for enemy forces to deal with.

Trained Hawks - They're using Falcons to attack us. Let's train up some Hawks for defence as they are bigger. 'Nuff said.