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Total Members Voted: 9

[Bluerobin]

Oh, is renaming on? Because renaming HAS to be on... it's half the fun!

[Il Palazzo]

It's on.
game settings

[Bluerobin]

Oh ok, cool thanks.

EDIT: For those who haven't done a PBEM game before, or who need a refresher: http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/showthread.php?t=35160

That shows where to find the files you need and what you need to do each turn. Also, I had to do a search on my computer to even find the savedgames folder because I just went with defaults during installation. This apparently let Windows 7 put it in C:\Users\MY_NAME\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\dominions3 ... anyone know if there would be an issue if I just moved it into my dom3 folder?

[Belac]

Hi!
Overtime at work has made me unable to start the game up the last couple days, but I am here now.  Thanks, EAlbright! 

I am still open to going non-fixed starts if anyone comes up with the right map, or non-CBM if anyone strenuously objects.  Otherwise, game on!

[E. Albright]

Oh, dear. Expository text? And here I was feeling all lazy. Well, I can at least be unoriginal.

Spoiler: Expository text (click to show/hide)

Cold... Dark... Silence.
Cold... Dark... Peace.
Cold... Dark... A sound?

A touch of warmth. A vague sense of movement. A Name?

That Word... again. That is not Us. That is not how We are called. Have they returned? The abominations? We thought We had slew them all, crushing the life from their arrogant husks and sucking their presumptuous essences into Our own. Did some survive? Do they, in their hubris, seek to bind Us once more?

No. No, it is not them. We do not taste their unclean scent in the water. Who, then, presumes to wake We Who Wait? We feel at Our side for Our Chosen. She is there, but does not stir. We feel again to reassure Ourself it is truly Her and not a degenerate impostor. Who, then, troubles Us? We have hidden Ourself deep, where IT could not find us, even if IT were to return to the infernal prison where Our Essence hides. No, if IT had returned IT would not creep upon Us in stealth - IT knew nothing of subtly. And IT was no longer present in this sphere when We last roused Ourself.

Who, then, speaks that blasphemous Name? We taste again the waters. Nothing. Wait. Yes. Could it be? Our... children? Clean? Free from the degenerates' taint?

We fill the water with the scent of Our curiosity. They do not respond. They again call that... Name. They do not remember the old ways. In Our anger We shift in Our bed and fill the water with Our displeasure. Our Chosen stirs, but does not wake. Our children fall back from Us, and We taste... fear. Awe. Reverence. They have forgotten much, but they remember what We are. They cry that they come in supplication before Our glory, to ask Our aid. They beg Our forgiveness, for they know it is not yet the Time We decreed We would rise in Our glory, but they fear that if they wait until the stars are right they shall have forgotten Us. They whimper that the airbreathers have formed mighty nations, and cast their eyes to the seas. Worse, they cry, a star has fallen upon Our ancient seat of power, and things oozed forth from the ruins of Basalt City, breaking the minds of those who still dwelt in those cursed environs. They whine in terror their fear that if We do not aid them, they shall all be reduced to mindless thralls of these... Starspawn?

We do not know this Word. We signal Our curiosity, and Our children babble in frightened, incoherent confusion. There is no sense in their words, only terror. They beg Us to bless them with the Sword Made Flesh, to once more bring Balance to the seas. We grow tired of their bleatings, but they are Our children. Very well, We whisper in their manner. We shall deign to incarnate a portion of Us, in due time. When they whine they need Our aid now, We languidly reach out and crush the loudest of them in Our limbs. We calmly repeat that the Sword shall come again, in due time. In terrified awe, they retreat.

So. The mouthbreathers seek to bring Our children under their hidebound heel? And some celestial monstrosity would bend Our children's minds against Us? It is not yet Our time to wake, but We shall weave a new Form for a portion of Our might. This We can do even from Our resting place. Our children shall have their Sword of Balance.

[Belac]

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

They called to him, with their strange unearthly, unnatural voices.  He had heard voices like those before, from the Aboleths in their bizarre, cyclopean city, eons before, but had ignored them then, and was well content to ignore them now.  He was a God, no less than the World Serpent of the previous Pantokrator, who had been of the cast of mind to employ such minions.  But the unsound voices returned again, whining and humming, "Our God!  Be our God!".  He reached out his divine essence and tasted of their souls, then recoiled in instinctive horror from the foulness therein.  These souls were not of this world, but worse were not even of this creation.  Only a God of surpassing vileness, of horror incomprehensible even to a God, could have dreamed such vicious, haughty beings.  Yet still they whined to him, in thrumming voices fraught with quavering undertones, as if such begging was unfamiliar and unaccustomed from their arrogant souls.

He was curious.

[Belac]

Sorry about the thread lock.  I think I inadvertantly clicked on 'lock thread' when posting from my phone.

[a1s]

it's been over 24 hours. maybe we were too optimistic with that rule?

[Belac]

All we are waiting for is EuchreJack.  Since he was the main proponent behind non-fixed starts, maybe he's making a newly-modded map.

[Bluerobin]

Backstory time!  I've never done one of these (semi-in character journal entries from community fortresses is the most roleplaying I do in general...) but it was fun and short.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

The winds drove across the plains of Caelum as the Seraphs and the Seraphine held council. Murmurings and scout reports recently delivered had prompted concern about other nations mustering their military forces. War was never the first option for Caelum, however with the disappearance of the Pantokrator peace no longer seemed possible. It appeared that every other nation had risen up in support of a pretender god intent on spreading their influence, but Caelum had not had one such god emerge. Panic was beginning to creep into the thoughts of those at the council and it was only hope that kept them calm. Hope that a god would arise to lead Caelum to victory.

All the while, ripples played across the water of the fountain in the Holy Temple, as if an unseen spirit danced on the surface.

EDIT: also, maybe PM EuchreJack if he hasn't been around? Although, looking back it looks like his last post here was relatively recent.

[EuchreJack]

Sorry folks, my schedule is getting more busy then I expected.  I'd kind of prefer to have someone else take my slot if anyone else wants to join.  Otherwise, I'll play so as to avoid this game from not starting until 2011. 

I really don't care about the starts anymore.  But, modding Baltic to not have fixed starts is simple, if people want it.

[E. Albright]

Bering, not Baltic. 

But yeah, even w/o fixed starts it has most of the more "undesirable" locations #nostart, so it's just a matter of deleting the actual start locations.

My only worry is the sea nations being dumped right on top of each other since there are only 20 sea provinces, and lots of shared borders. Land, less of an issue.

As to playing or not, if you really don't think you've the time, I'd not want to pressure you to play. OTOH, it would be kinda nice to manage to get going sooner rather than later, since we've been scheming to do this for near to a month now...  Were there any others from the first game who could be suckered in? Wiles? Cthulu?

[Il Palazzo]

How about we play without the seventh player then?

[EuchreJack]

Fixing things for the sea nations isn't that hard, either set all but five or so sea provinces as nostart, or use fixed starts with 21 or so starting positions.

I'd figure that sea players would be less adverse to having the players know where they are from the start than the land players, as most land nations won't be able to invade water provinces until mid-game or later.

[E. Albright]

Looking at the map, I must say that if I'm playing a sea nation, there are only two provinces I'd really want to start in, namely those that are marked as starting places. Well, okay, there is one third acceptable start, though the marked ones are still definitely better. Anywhere else and my capital is sharing a meaningful border with at least two (and generally four plus) land provinces. This makes it harder to get resources for the capital than it would be for a land nation (beaching is required), and it makes it more vulnerable to being preached into oblivion.

If you're really keen on a non-fixed start (and I do sympathize with the feeling), I'd argue to still leave the sea starts fixed. There's so few good starting places that it would be painful to randomize them, and even if we threw the one province with 5 sea borders and 1 land in with the two fixed starts, it would just mean that one of the two would shift one province west from one fixed start, and the other'd be on a fixed start.