Late Heavy Bombardment: Turns 11 - 20

And I start getting Looted. Turn 11 opens with someone Looting my Vaults for 6 cards. Fortunately, I don't presently have any big consolidated cards for the thief to steal. I still haven't begun my own Looting. I've needed my darkness for Faust's Contract and increasing charisma. I guess I could have used it for Looting, but I have so far chosen to demand resources in the order slots where I would have Looted. Demanding is a guaranteed income, without cost. The big advantage to Looting is that not only does it help you, it hurts your target. At this stage, I'm not so worried about any one rival to prioritize hurting them over helping myself.

We get our first conclave token on turn 12, one turn after I mentioned the lack thereof in the chat log. My bad. I continue increasing my Intellect. I'm mostly after that order slot, but the ritual slots are nice, and I may want to maintain Demonic Premonitions at some point. I feel that it's unlikely to save me more resources from failed Lootings than it costs, but its effects are not that simple. It may be best utilized when its use and its strength are known to the Deception player, to encourage him to rearrange his threat list because you aren't worth targeting. In that case, it need not be maintained for long. If you're clever enough, you may not actually need to cast it at all.

I acquire three pieces of the four piece manuscript for Machine of Omens by turn 13. I hope those don't get Looted away from me. I'd love to use a Machine or two in the endgame *ominous foreshadowing music*.

All told, during this stretch of turns, I Loot 4 times for a total of 16 cards (including a "successful" Looting on Pele for 0) and get Looted 4 times for a total of 18 cards. I don't know who is Looting me, but the nature of the threat order list (which I rearranged questionably on turn 15) means that all of my Lootings are aimed at Pele or Dorobou.

Bowl of Abject Darkness, Tongue of the Liar, and Finger of Betrayal all got purchased, but none of them got assigned to strongholds or PoP's. Drat. I was hoping to steal some of those. It looks like someone will be immune to Machines, and at least one of my rivals is committing to Deception. The Puzzle Cube is clearly best hidden away in a ritual slot, but its use reveals its presence. So around this time, everyone knows that Pele has it. It's a higher priority than any of those other relics. Faust's Contract is great to get early and use continuously, but the Cube is fantastic to have late in the game and use a handful of times to devastating effect.

I declare in the chat log that I have plans for the PoP's to my immediate north and that I'll put up a fight if anyone else should try to claim them. I do actually think this is a perfectly reasonable sentiment. Their proximity to my stronghold put them within my purview from the very beginning. To deny me these sources of prestige would be to exclude me from the prestige game, leaving me no alternative but to attempt usurpation. Still, some of my rivals react incredulously, as though the PoP's present neutrality voids my claim upon them.

I buy the Lords of the Pit to attack these PoP's, and because their flying is unaffected by my slothful trait. Pele reaches and claims The City of Dis to my northwest thanks to that Puzzle Cube and Dorobou captures the Temple of the Damned to my northeast. That's ok. My real purpose has already been served. I wanted to give the impression that I still cared about prestige, when I've actually committed to improving my stats and eventually going rogue. Buying the Lords of the Pit was a valid component of that strategy, but using order slots to take a PoP would be kind of a waste. Hopefully, I'll successfully misrepresent my intentions when I do that. It's also a good excuse to Pilfer, Coerce and Bribe the Infernal Engine away from Primate of Carceri. I need the Engine to defeat the Temple's garrison, and I believe I'm less likely to incur that Primate's wrath if it appears that I took his artifact for need instead of greed.

I deny a demand from Pele, who declares vendetta. I lose my bodyguard legion to Infernal Affliction and lose one of my few cantons to Pele's invasion. I'm dangerously close to having nothing but my stronghold. If I reach that pitiful position, anyone could declare Blood Feud and kill me. Pele offers to be my Blood Lord around this point. I am glad to see so many players proactively seeking Blood Vassalage. Perhaps Power Behind the Throne is more viable than I thought. I don't think I need Pele's patronage to survive, so I deny the offer rather rudely. In retrospect, I don't think I had much to lose by accepting. Sending the petition would have cost me an order slot, but I could still go rogue as a Blood Vassal, and the entire diplomatic landscape would have shifted. I can't say how that would have played out.

This section concludes with Pele and me each demanding on Dorbou on turn 20 by sheer coincidence. I suppose that's what Dorobou gets for being the leader in visible prestige.

Late Heavy Bombardment: Turns 1 - 10

http://middleborosi.blogspot.com/2011/10/late-heavy-bombardment-initial.html
As I said in the above linked post, my highest priority at the very beginning was a relic, Faust's Contract. I focused heavily on acquiring it in the early turns, to the extent of spending all three of my order slots in turn 1 demanding tribute. Turn 2, I demanded twice and consolidated towards paying for it. Everyone knows that when you take Obscure, you'll get less resources per demand, so you'll have to spend less or demand more. A consequence that I didn't appreciate at first, is having to consolidate more often because with lower average resources per card, you can't fit as much tribute into those 8 tribute slots.

Some players moved their legions around early. Some didn't. Those who don't, I assume they're also gathering a lot of tribute. I had enough resources by turn 3 to bid on Faust's Contract, and I overbid on it intentionally because I believed Madame Pele also had significant resources and was likely also interested.

Both of the praetor single combat manuscripts that I noted got bought from the bazaar almost immediately, so someone (or ones) are pursuing praetor combat and therefore prestige. The more strongly they commit to it, the less incentive I have to compete with them for a prestige win. It's too early to be sure, but it seems like the majority of my rivals will focus on prestige to the detriment of their stats. If that's the game, I'd rather take my chances on the usurper niche.

So on turn 4, I'm assigning Faust's Contract to my Ritual Chamber, and someone else has just bought the Finger of Betrayal. Someone else is interested in succeeding on Deception rolls. I wasn't too interested since I already had Prince of Lies. There are definitely times when I'd appreciate as many bonuses to my Deception roll as possible, but right now I don't know that I'd need it. I would like to know who else is playing Deception and what their Cunning stat is at. At the same time, I get a message from Madame Pele: "Stop that." So it seems like someone else has used Deception on Pele, who wrongly assumes it was me. It's also possible that Pele is just talking nonsense to mix it up or throw me off.

When those two relics got purchased simultaneously, they got replaced. The Bowl of Abject Darkness appears. Nice, but not spectacular. Also, the Puzzle Cube. That's a game changer. The ability to Gate around the map makes every PoP and stronghold reachable. Whoever has it is a great danger to the rest of us. This could easily lead to one of those situations where it's up to the rest of the game to unite against this one player, or that player will run away with the game. I want it. I've just spent my darkness. The cube sells immediately, before I can save up for it. It has a secondary effect, +2 Healing Rate. If I notice anyone healing particularly fast, I'll be appropriately suspicious.

Goblet of the Traitor appears on the Bazaar at this point. This looks to be a game with lots of praetor combat action, and unless I secure some significant foothold within it now, the prestige game is steadily slipping out of my reach. I have a +2 prestige and a +3 prestige PoP immediately to my north, but that means they're strong. I can't get my bodyguard up there, around the mountains, and I can't afford another strong legion. I decide right now to divert my attention and resources away from prestige. I demand a lot, in pursuit of increasing my stats, particularly charisma.

Dorobou meanders around the mountains in between our territories. That's curious. He can't claim them, and I don't see why he would want to cross them, except to fight me. By turn 7, Purcarp has established his borders with Pandemonium inside them. Gotta keep an eye on that one. Dorobou winds up mountainwalking to my south to take the Vaults of Avarice, which Primate of Carceri had so kindly softened up for him, in his own failed assault on it.

The first Event Card I draw is Neutralize Schemers, which can reveal and remove the Power Behind the Throne perk from a player. That's completely irrelevant unless someone takes a Blood Vassal, and pretty pointless unless I'm the Blood Lord. I want Power Behind the Throne to be viable, but I'm not seeing it. I certainly don't anticipate having a Blood Vassal in this game. I draw Evil Revanchism Target to replace it. That, I'll hold onto until someone borders me. It reassigns control of random border hexes from a player of my choosing to a player of my choosing.

So by turn 10, I have Charisma 4 with Faust's Contract, for a total of 5 Diabolism. I have Cunning 4, for a third order slot. My economy is healthy, and I'm planning what to do next. I believe that Intellect is the most convenient stat to increase in-game for an additional order slot, so I want to pursue that. I have 13 souls, 6 hellfire, and 11 darkness right now. That's enough to increase my Intellect from zero to one and from one to two on this turn and the next. If I keep up demanding while I do that, I may be able to increase it once per turn until it gets to 4, where I unlock another order slot. To do that, I'd need to acquire 13 souls, 8 hellfire, and 3 darkness in 6 "demand resources" actions. It's certainly possible.

The last thing I have to do in these first ten turns is to set my threat order list. Pele and Primate of Carceri are on top already, and they have the most unaccounted points in their avatars. I can't be sure, but I think that makes them most likely to have the most charisma, so I'll leave them at the top of my list. The rest of the list is unfortunately largely irrelevant. The 3rd slot is somewhat easier to attack than the 5th slot, but I don't really want to attack anyone below 2nd with my rituals. I'd rather rearrange the list first if I want to fight any of them.

Late Heavy Bombardment: My Rivals

Avatar Name (Forum Name)

Legion's combat stats summed: for an explanation, please see

http://si.battlespot.com/wiki/Starting_Legion

Rank:

Public Objective:

Visible Perks: I just started a thread to address this

http://crypticcomet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1479

Points Remaining: These can only be spent on charisma and invisible perks. I speculate a bit sometimes.

Dorobou (Sord)

Legion's combat stats summed: 11

minimum cost: 8

Rank: Baron

cost: 3

Public Objective: Gluttony

cost: -3

No obvious perks

Points remaining: 22

charisma 3 & Infernal Cardinal? charisma 1 & King Maker? A noncharisma stat at 4?

Purcarp (purporc)

Legion's combat stats summed: 15

minimum cost: 12

Rank: Duke

cost: 9

Public Objective: Gluttony

cost: -3

No obvious perks

Points remaining: 12

if he has charisma 3, then he also has a negative perk and another (cheaper) perk or different distribution of non-charisma stats

Madame Pele (Fuu)

Legion's combat stats summed: 10

minimum cost: 4

Rank: Duke

cost: 9

Public Objective: Lust

cost: -3

Slothful

cost: -8

Points remaining: 28

too many possibilities

Gaffer (Moth Bones)

Legion's combat stats summed: 15

minimum cost: 12

Rank: Marquis

cost: 6

Public Objective: Lust

cost: -3

No obvious perks

Points remaining: 15

charisma 3? charisma 2 with different noncharisma distribution?

Primate of Carceri (Chaosguy)

Legion's combat stats summed: 8

minimum cost: 2 (also max cost)

Rank: Baron

cost: 3

Public Objective: Gluttony

cost: -3

No obvious perks

Points remaining: 28

too many possibilities

Marble Mouth (Marble Mouth)

Legion's combat stats summed: 11

minimum cost: 8

Rank: Marquis

cost: 6

Public Objective: Gluttony

cost: -3

Slothful

cost: -8

Points remaining: 27

too many possibilities

http://middleborosi.blogspot.com/2011/10/late-heavy-bombardment-avatar.html

what I actually did

Late Heavy Bombardment: The Initial Situation

So we have common Places of Power, but none of them generated with any special abilities. That's unusual. The PoP's are therefore just for prestige and strategic position in this game. I have two tempting PoP's immediately to my north, but I can't get there right now. I'm slothful. Normal players get to move through their own stronghold, because they can continue moving past it in a single turn. I can only move one canton at a time, so I need an unobstructed path to get anywhere. I don't have one. I will most likely not pursue a prestige victory anyway. In that sense, it's rather convenient that I can't invest order slots to reach those PoP's, because now it doesn't look suspicious when I don't. I could go southwards towards the Vaults of Avarice, or a couple other PoP's, but they are so far away and I'm so slow.

In the short term, I'll pursue a different set of opportunities altogether. The bazaar holds some really fun goodies. Faust's Contract is available. This item is a high priority for me. It improves tribute gathering, which is central to the whole game through generating resources. Having it would give me the potential for Diabolism 7 (keep 5) which is not reachable through charisma alone. It also improves diplomatic position by a point, but that's just icing on the tribute cake. It does get me thinking, though. If I don't get to buy it, I'll want to know who did so that I can use Looting the Vaults more on that target, maybe eventually Dark Augury to see it in the Ritual Chamber and steal it. I record my diplomatic options relative to everyone else. If I do miss out on Faust's Contract, I'm going to see if any of these options change shortly thereafter. That would indicate a rival messing with diplomatic rank.

Also worth buying if I get a good chance: Veil of Smoke and Bleeding Wound are each available. Each is a worthwhile praetor combat move, and each is a single volume manuscript. If a single player gets them both, then they can both get trained onto the same praetor with a single order slot. Unfortunately, praetor combat is really only relevant to prestige wins, and I'm already leaning away from that. Infernal Engine is available. It provides a moderate buff to each of the attached legion's combat stats, and it makes capturing PoP's (including Pandemonium) much easier by doubling the damage. Lords of the Pit have flying 3.

As is often the case, my highest priority at the start of the game is a relic, so I heavily favor souls and darkness in my tribute choices. I got a lot of ichor offered to me. In the screenshot, I have to choose between a 1-darkness and a 1-soul card. I choose darkness. Souls come up somewhat more often than darkness, so it makes sense to take this darkness now, while I have the chance.

Late Heavy Bombardment: Starting Map

The Late Heavy Bombardment: Avatar

http://crypticcomet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1460&start=0

The conditions were chosen in the thread beforehand:

normal game length

Dante's Peak

small map (my choice)

common places of power

no special rules

I'd like to give a big shoutout to Fuu for coming up with a creative and fun way to setup the map, and for hosting.

http://middleborosi.blogspot.com/2011/10/late-heavy-bombardment-starting-map.html

Based on all that, I started with Deception 4. I decided that I wanted to start with a third order slot. I've tried Intellect 4, Cunning 4, and Wickedness 4, and for me, Deception is the way to go. Wickedness is too restrictive. In order to use the Wickedness rituals, you need vendetta status or Ritual Masking (Deception 5.) Also, Wickedness doesn't provide any tribute at all, but Looting the Vaults (Deception 4) can. Intellect is the easiest of these stats to increase in the game and doesn't compare well to Deception for overall ritual ability.

I knew I would have to take negative perks to afford anything else, and I had further desires. I wanted Prince of Lies to minimize the amount of failed Deception rituals, and I'd clearly also need some charisma and some rank. I could grab 3 Fiend points from Gluttony, but to afford everything, I'd need multiple negative perks. I strongly considered Debauched. I decided against it primarily because it cancels much of the benefit of Deception 4, the third order slot. That's where I started, that's what I wanted. So I took Obscure and Slothful. Slothful broadcasts itself to your rivals and costs a lot of order slots if you ever should need to move around. Obscure hits your tribute rolls, and that's where it really hurts. I still think I made the right call by taking both obscure and slothful, but not debauched.

With my 13 remaining points, I couldn't start with charisma 3. You can't have absolutely everything. Charisma 2 is just fine, since I have an extra order slot. I have the option every single turn of making an extra demand. It will be subject to diminishing returns and made with a lower base charisma, but the sheer quantity of demands will more than make up for the reduced quality, I have found. I hope it holds true in this game. Then I have 7 Fiend points left. That's enough for Marquis, but not for Duke. I tried a whole bunch of ways to spend that unspent point, but I like this way the best.