Race Spells

[Shadow]

We are working on making casher and farmer strategies work at RWL. We would like input on what race spells to give them.

Bear in mind that both casher and farmer will have rather poor leader defense, so spells focusing on ways to defend resources might be a good way to go.

Suggestions?!

[Firetooth]

One could have a super-version of raise defenses, that could give 1.5 * the bonus raise defenses gives, as well as giving a leader defense bonus. Another spell could produce workers, possibly? Unlike academy and pressgang, you wouldn't have to convert anything, just create raw workers, maybe. FInally, a spell that increases productivity wouldn't hurt.

[Shadow]

The problem with extra raised defenses is that people might just use casher or farmer as leader races and dump resources on there to protect them in team play. I have been toying with that idea as well, but I just see too many ways to abuse it.

Workers already join you ridiculously fast (at 5% tax, 5 turns is all it takes to max them out) so that spell might not be so useful. At high tax rates, I can see problems, since we slowed down the rate at which workers leave, it could lead to people stacking workers and getting artificially high income. So it is a possibility, but would need some very careful balancing. I'll keep it in mind.

The base productivity of workers and foragers is going to be increased drastically, so a spell to add on top of that might be too much. But it is another possibility.

[Firetooth]

The problem with extra raised defenses is that people might just use casher or farmer as leader races and dump resources on there to protect them in team play. I have been toying with that idea as well, but I just see too many ways to abuse it.

Workers already join you ridiculously fast (at 5% tax, 5 turns is all it takes to max them out) so that spell might not be so useful. At high tax rates, I can see problems, since we slowed down the rate at which workers leave, it could lead to people stacking workers and getting artificially high income. So it is a possibility, but would need some very careful balancing. I'll keep it in mind.

The base productivity of workers and foragers is going to be increased drastically, so a spell to add on top of that might be too much. But it is another possibility.

Hmm, I suppose. Possibly a spell so you can have you're tax rat up another 10-30% without losing health?

Maybe an aggressive spell is the way to go, maybe something that allows them to take a smaller % more land per attack?

[Shadow]

oo I like those ideas. No health penalty for tax rate would be a good one for casher since it would allow you to micromanage your cash gains while attacking and produce while attacking, sort of like an indy. Great idea!

[Juska]

Agreed, a spell like that would very useful to a casher. Would be nice to have a spell that negated any health penalty on cash revenues period.....hard to play an attacking casher because cash returns are multiplied by your health, like spell output.

[Shadow]

Also a good idea. Could probably incorporate both of those somehow.

How about for farmer? Farming gains are based on foragers only, workers don't matter to them, nor does tax.

[Firetooth]

Maybe something that makes foragers more effective? Like Wolf's bonus, but when you forage as opposed to feasting. They could also have bonuses that apply to mercenaries, but only for how much they can buy/sell food for.

Sharp also just told be an idea for a casher race. A spell that could for X turns prevent workers from deserting, no matter the tax rate. Is it feasible? I think it could be OP.

[Shadow]

I think stopping workers leaving would definitely be abusable.

More foragers output... meh. It would work, but it's not really interesting ^_^

[The Lady Shael]

Unless we call the secret farmer ability name.  :P Everyone will want to a farmer with that ability name.

[Twilight Shadow]

For foragers, I have been thinking of a way to protect your food/cash while keeping defense up. My solution came to be like a randomized defense where you get raise defense, like fortify or something, except if someone tries to steal or sack or poison that their is a random chances that the effect happens on them instead for example.

Example:

TS attacks Shadow with Guerrilla Strike Sack. (saying that I am a rat and Shadow is the forager)

And with sack I get # of land, # of food, # of cash.

But with the spell make it a random chance of say 1/6 that the "sack" turns against them so it would be like this...

I get # of land, but I lose in the event this # of food and # of cash. So shadow would get some of my food and cash. Or I would just lose some food and cash.


Example:

TS poisons Shadow

Normally Shadow loses # of food

With spell a random chance of say 1/6,

I lose # of food equal to the number I was going to poison. Again shadow would take my food or my food would be destroyed.



Could something like that be a possibility?

[Shadow]

I think that that would lead to people using that race as a defensive leader race rather than what it was intended for, which would be rather overpowered. Keep the ideas coming, though.

[Ruddertail]

I'm assuming by casher you mean "uses markets and tents" type casher. In that case, why not hide a certain amount of  cash in cities, either as a passive or based on a spell? Basically, like the land the city was built on, you would need to take the city to get that cash. It could also not count towards their total for percentages captured. Since leaderers generally don't use cities, this wouldn't be easily abused.

Not sure what to do with foragers. Farmer is such a weird strat in the first place. Maybe they should depend on workers?

[Shadow]

Well, I think we have an initial balance worked out that we are going to try. Neat idea with cities though, I hadn't thought of using them like that. If what we have done proves overpowered or underpowered, perhaps we could apply that idea.